Wondering

When my mother and I left the repast on Saturday, she pointed out one of her childhood homes. We got our first phone there and we had a party line. Wow, we've come a long way -- maybe too long. I wonder how many homes my grandmother had to move in and out of raising seven children.

Although I haven't done much research on it, I've been thinking about StoryWorth -- heard about it while listening to a podcast. Wonder if my family members would participate.

I've also been thinking about how mother said that my aunt Girt has always had a mouth on her. No need to wait for old age; she's been saying what she has wanted to say since...

Alison and I were in negotiations on Saturday night about what activities we wanted to do and where we wanted to do them.  Knew that I didn't have much time to play with (a.k.a bicycling) so we decided to go to yoga and then breakfast after yoga.

Towards the end of class, I snapped this picture of Alison. Some people were doing headstands and because I don't do headstands, I watched. Alison said that she is trying to become accustomed to the idea of being upside down...

Guess I could have done downward-facing dog on the wall but I was ready for savasana and not wall play...

This woman that I used to work with moved back to St. Louis from California. She was hoarse and said that her voice has been that way since she moved back to St. Louis. She also said that she used to take allergy shots but doesn't have time to do that right now.

Got home from work, changed clothes, walked the yard to check for debris then mowed the lawn. Followed that up with pulling weeds for one hour. By the time I was finished, felt like I had little shards of glass in my skin.

I had been feeling better and less congested but I should have worn a mask because my stint outside has me nice and congested.

The Icing and... The Woman Who Gained Weight

The promise of a wintry mix and a two hour end-of-day meeting on Friday sent me in the direction of home and not to the FriYAY! yoga class that I've been going to. I haz regrets...

The other day my mother told me about some woman that she'd seen on the news who exercised and dieted all the time and was unhappy. The woman finally stopped dieting. At 200 pounds, the woman is now happy.

It's kind of funny that my mother told me about this story. I thought she'd seen it on the world news but couldn't find it. Also couldn't find the story on the local news. Maybe she made it up? Just kidding.

Lately, I've been saying no less. I had put the kibosh on cupcakes because they are definitely high up on the kryptonite list.

My supervisor left a mini raspberry cupcake from one of my favorite places, Sweet Art, on my desk Friday and I ate it then restrained myself from running my finger around the box to collect the rest of the icing.

When I think about my mother, I don't ever remember her being overweight and she eats what she wants: cake, hot water cornbread, whole eggs etc. Guess that's what you call eating in moderation.

I think I might need a Rumspringa from food hypervigilance...

And, of course, I need to remind myself to embrace my body's present moment...

Did you see the article by Oliver Sacks? Like so many, I am moved and inspired by his candor and attitude.

One of my favorite lines:

There is no time for anything inessential.

Not Where I Want To Be

My aunt Girt, a nurse, asked me how my abrasions were doing. The thing about abrasions, she said, is that they get infected very easily.

My mother (also a nurse) wanted to touch my arm. I looked at her suspiciously, at first, then let her touch around the wound.

My aunt Alice is not a nurse but we jokingly refer to her as Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. She thought I might need a tetanus shot, wanted to know exactly how the incident happened then said, We might need to take that bike away from you.

My aunt Alice reminds me of Marie in the Liars episode of Everybody Loves Raymond; she knows how to suss out the truth.


I miss swimming, climbing, doing planks and lifting weights.

I miss moving around effortlessly.

Even though I haven't been doing my usual routine, which might be a good thing, I've decided (again) to exercise for a minimum of an hour a day. I've been slacking on that time frame and, as result, I'm in maintenance mode which is not where I want to be.

I still have around 15 pounds, if not more, that I want to lose.

Okay, I'm going to put antibiotic cream on my abrasions because that's what my medical staff said I should do...




Marie susses out Raymond's lie (1:36).

A Short Valentine's Day Story

My father was a not a big gift giver and forgot my birthday more than once even though it was a mere six days after his birthday. He would also occasionally say that my mother was just being ornery when she wouldn't deliver on his birthday so you would think that he would have no problems remembering when I was brought into the world.

My father often remembered me on Valentine's Day though.

If you were a card, you would be queen of hearts -

If you were in movies, you'd be a great star -

This is my 2011 puppy courtesy of my mother; she said that she couldn't resist.



Hope that you have plenty of sweet Valentine's Day memories or sweet memories from some other day...

Update: As soon as I hit the publish button, my Aunt Girt was at the door. She dropped off this V Day bag below. I've been feeling like I'm coming down with something and thought about going out to get ginger tea and there's a baggie within the bigger bag that has about 15 bags of tea -- two of them green ginger. Are you kidding me?

(More) Stuff People Say To Me

We all have something going on. I just try to keep my face off the floor., Onetime play mother that I unexpectedly ran into.

It's always good. If it's not good, I'll make it good., A colleague

My friend (Lori): Why do you have a bottle of cooking wine in your bedroom?

Me: Because it didn't make it to the pantry????????

Cousin: Are you still working out seven days a week?

Me: I rest on Friday.

Cousin: So this has become a way of life?

Me: Yes.

Bosnian one: I feel bad that you are not taking anything (sweet).

Bosnian two: See what you're doing to these Bosnians?

You got them in and that's what counts.

Swimming lane neighbor about my 20 slow laps.

I was waiting for you., Lifeguard

The last time I had seen the guard, my quiet entrance made her jump about three feet in the air.

Anonymous: I had a therapeutic massage.

Me: Silent but wondering about the emphasis on therapeutic...

Colleague: I would love to take a couple of weeks off.

Me: What would you do?

Colleague: I would clean, play with my dog, read, make yogurt.

Me: I have news for you; everyone wants those same two weeks off. I would skip the yogurt part though.

Your back is bigger. Is that from swimming? Rock climbing?, My Mother

Did anyone see Please Give? There's this one character who makes snide remarks about her ex's girlfriend and she's fond of mentioning that the new girlfriend has a big back which caught my attention because I've always had a big back and it is probably bigger now. But who cares? It works fabulously...

Stuff That Moves Me

My mother sometimes tries to get at my motive for eating certain foods like Greek yogurt and organic sugar. Does it have less calories?, she wants to know about the sugar.

Well, I let my mother take a gander at a Cooking Light that I had because she had been looking for quesadilla recipes; she ended up cooking edamame succotash for me. I was so moved that I didn't even ask about the bacon type. I also have not knowingly had butter in ages; it's a slippery slope, you know...

Edamame Succotash


Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)
Cost per Serving: $2.47


Ingredients

1 slice center-cut bacon
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups chopped sweet onion
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen, shelled edamame, thawed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons torn basil

Preparation

1. Cook bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan; coarsely chop bacon.

2. Increase the heat to medium-high. Melt butter in drippings in pan. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn kernels; sauté for 3 minutes or until lightly charred. Add edamame, and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vinegar and next 5 ingredients (through bell pepper); cook 30 seconds, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with bacon and basil.

Nutritional Information

Calories:300
Fat:12.1g (sat 3.3g,mono 3.3g,poly 3.6g)
Protein:17.9g
Carbohydrate:37.2g
Fiber:10g
Cholesterol:10mg
Iron:0.9mg
Sodium:386mg
Calcium:28mg

Julianna Grimes, Cooking Light, AUGUST 2010

Cooked anything interesting lately or had someone cook something interesting for you?

Foot-Long Memories?

Me: I have brown rice.

My mother: I grew up eating white rice. You have a taste for what you grew up with...

What my mother said got me thinking. I really don't have anything that I crave from childhood probably because the kitchen table was the site where I tapped into my stubbornness when people tried to make me eat things that I did not want to eat.

I still have temperature, texture and visual issues to this day. Maybe I just have issues; I feel like that deserves and LOL and, yet, I'm hesitant to insert one.

I do have McDonald's memories and macaroni and cheese (my aunt's) memories. Candy corn, without fail, makes me think of my paternal grandfather which is funny because he used to grow greens and watermelons and whatnot but I associate him with a Halloween treat that he often purchased for the occasion...


This billboard has been up forever in my neighborhood. When I see it, I think, finally, truth in advertising.



Did you catch this Nightline segment about foot-long hamburgers?





Is there something food that you crave from childhood?

The Plan

Patti: What’s the plan for tomorrow?

'Drea: First, LOL, I plan to take an Epsom Salt bath. My calves are so sore that I was walking down the steps sideways. I did a bit of yoga so they are feeling better. You know that I wanna climb though. So, if the Ep doesn't do the trick, I might just gut it out anyway...

Colleague One: What is going on with you?


Mother: Are your legs sore?


Colleague Two: Are you okay?

Colleague Three: What happened?

Me: Too much exercise.

Colleague Three: That has never happened to me.

Me: Maybe it will.

Colleague Three: It hasn't happened yet.

Colleague Four: I should take a picture of you.


Mother: Whatever exercise you did, don't do it anymore.


My sore calves and penguin-like walk are courtesy of Kate's Tuesday night special. About 15 minutes into class Kate asked us, in the middle of jumping jacks, how we were doing but no one answered because, well, we had already exerted a lot of energy. Our inability to respond resulted in more jumping jacks -- not to mention the lunges and planks that followed.

In the end, I should know better than to take a class from someone who wasn't alive in 1980 or 1985 or 1989.

Been to any painful exciting classes lately?

I Stand Accused

My mother called me a haint.

haint [ haynt ]


noun

Definition:

Southern U.S. ghost: a ghost or other phenomenon believed to be supernatural

One of my friends told me that I have forsaken family and friends for exercise.


My brother feigns surprise whenever he catches me at home.


And my cousin said something like I bet you went rock climbing when she asked about a fish fry that I was absent from.

I'm so grateful that I'm not as defensive as I used to be.

A couple of episodes ago on The Biggest Loser, Ashley said that people were sneaking away to get in exercise. I feel like I have to sneak away sometimes especially when I want to double my exercise efforts.


On the other side of the world, when my mother saw how devoted I was to exercise, she started taking water aerobics classes which helps with her arthritis and achy knees.


My brother called me the incredible shrinking woman and my friend recently asked me to show her some exercises for her abs since she is having persistent back problems. So, there we were on a Friday night working on our abdominal muscles.


I wish that I could have the fish fry back. My aunt is prone to cook large amounts of fried fish, fried hush puppies, fried okra etc. and, when I mentioned that to her, she said How could you think that I did not consider you? My aunt had baked some fish for me. I definitely wanted a do-over on that one.


And my cousin?


When I started this journey, I walked and walked. I was reading Prevention and saw and ad for a marathon and I started training to walk in a marathon because I had heard of people losing weight this way.

As I walked in Forest Park, an aunt joined me then my cousin joined us.

The three of us participated in the 2008 Go! St. Louis Marathon.


My cousin got a scare recently when the doctor told her that her blood sugar was elevated which was definitely cause for concern since my cousin's father and every last one of his siblings has diabetes.

Last Sunday my cousin, aunt and I were sitting on the couch talking and my cousin said that she went to the doctor and all of her tests, including cholesterol and glucose, showed improvement.

Thank you, she said. If it had not been for you, I would not have started going back to the gym.

I almost fell off the couch.

My cousin has lost 21 pounds since she rejoined a gym about a year ago.

I stand accused. Sort of...

Ain't No Mountain...

My mother: What's next? Climbing mountains?

Me: I chuckle then I hadn't thought about that but now that you mention it...

It's funny that my mother mentioned mountains to me because I feel like I'm on top of one or that I'm right near the top, one foot down and one leg poised to push over the top.

In the immortal words of James Brown, I feel good. And I feel strong.

When I was doing some ab work, I noticed how solid my core feels and how I'm able to do tall sit ups without struggling.

While climbing, I noticed that those routes that have been a pain in the behind weren't so grueling. I felt as if I could have climbed all day.

Route tally:

Sponge Bob, 5.7
Truxton or Bust, 5.6
Bright Idea, 5.8
Face Plant, 5.8 (2x's)
JW, 5.8
Unnamed, 5.6 (Ascended and Down Climbed)
Rainbow Bright, 5.8 (Ascended 3x's + Down Climbed 1x)

JW has been my long-term nemesis but I climbed it more cleanly today. I felt as if it wasn't so hard. I'm stronger. And I did Face Plant twice today. Hello!

I need to thank Patti for indulging me. She knows that I'm a pushing specialist. So, she often throws down the gauntlet and challenges (or indulges) me...

Jessica, if you're out there listening, I went climbing with your athletic family. Your brother, who hadn't been climbing in ages, had me cracking up with his it doesn't matter which route I climb, it's all the same to me. It's so wrong that he can climb a 5.9 and hasn't been climbing in ages. Your mom (as usual) was climbing like she meant business and your father, and I'm paraphrasing here, said something like your mother was the best thing that ever happened to him. Wish you were here...