Sunday, January 14, 2007

Weekend Wrap-up

OK fellas, here’s a little tip for ya to keep peace and harmony in your relationship. When it’s
been snowing all day and you begrudgingly go outside to shovel but have only been out there for 20 minutes and shoveled only half the driveway, don’t come inside and say, “Boy, if you need some exercise, you can come out and help shovel.”

This is just wrong on so many levels. I ignored him at first. Then he said, “Honey?” and repeated the statement, this time even more jovial. He looked so pleadingly at me that I decided to help. And being the better person, I didn’t remind him that I did all the shoveling last year by myself because it always snowed while he was on shift. Hey, I know we had a mild winter, but snow is snow and shoveling is, well, shoveling. And let’s not even get into the whole implication that I NEED this exercise. He may not have meant it that way. And it doesn’t matter that I do need exercise, that’s not the point.

And here’s the kicker, it kept snowing, so there’s another few inches out there. But even though he’s supposed to have tomorrow off for MLK day, he’s going into work. So, guess who’ll have to shovel what’s left out there, including that thick pile of ice and snow that the plows left. Uh huh. I could wait until he got home, but I probably won’t. But I might call him and tell him to be sure to go to the gym since he wasn’t getting any exercise by shoveling.

Shoveling also shows another difference between us. I’m a little neater, for lack of a better word. For example, here’s Al’s side of the driveway during our last snow:



And here’s my side:




Before you talk about how much faster Al is, just know that as I got near the end and he was zooming to the sidewalks, he asked me to go back and clean up those lines.

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We went over to our friend’s house for pizza Friday night. They have two girls, but for some reason it had expanded to four. Seems 11 and 13-year-old do that—they clone on Friday nights in search of a slumber party. This family also has three dogs, two Great Danes and a chocolate Labrador, so it was a pretty full house. But we had a great time, and I got my dog fix. Here are a couple of pics of them:

Anya and Addie love the fireplace



Addie and Cocoa wait for a cookie



The girls were playing Dance Dance Revolution or DDR, that arcade game where you watch a screen and try to match the steps on the screen by stepping on the correct arrow. For some reason the girls just had to get me out there to play, too. Everyone wanted to play against Kell. Ya think that’s because I’m old and uncoordinated and they knew it would be an easy win? Yeah, me too. Actually, it was a lot of fun, and the girls had pity on me. Well, they had pity after I humiliated myself with the first song. So for the second song, they chose the “easy” one, the “slow” one, “Get Down Tonight” by KC and the Sunshine Band. Yeah! Now we’re talkin’! Bring it on, baby! And I did good, too. So good that they went back to a fast song next. Competition starts early, I see. All the songs sound like that Barbie song—“I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world.” And I’ve learned, after watching the experts, that the key is not to worry so much about getting back to center. If you’re standing on the left arrow and a back arrow is coming up fast, you don’t have to go back to center and step back, you can leave your left foot on the left arrow and step back with your right. I tell you this so that when you are in this situation, you’ll be ahead of the game. Learn from my mistakes. Plus, if you’re a rather, um, womanly woman, with rather large womanly features, you might want to wear a jogging bra. Those “jump on two arrows at the same time” moments are a little tricky.

BTW, I’m sure Al is taking bids on showing the video he took of me. Oops, that got deleted! How did that happen?

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I went to a “Foundations” class at a local Yoga/Pilates studio. I’m so bored with my workout and I think I need something to help with balance and flexibility. This is the year of balance, remember. I was there for 3 friggin’ hours! I don’t even like to do something I really enjoy for 3 hours. It was interesting and I learned a lot, but by the last 30 minutes, I was getting cranky. That may have had something to do with the fact that I hadn’t eaten since 7:30 and it was now 2:00! Cranky, definitely cranky.

However, it was fascinating. I think I’m just going to do the Yoga for now. The Pilates classes are done on these machines called “The Reformer.” Doesn’t that sound a little intimidating? First of all, I keep hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger say it, but also I keep imagining some future world where people who wear color have to go through “The Reformer” and change into an army of grayness.

They do a lot at this studio—hypnotherapy, massage, Reiki and Ayurveda, a type of ancient Indian treatment that takes into account your “dosha”, or body type. If your dosha is out of balance, you have certain ailments, so if you know your dosha, supposedly you can focus on foods and exercise to obtain and maintain that balance. You can go here to find your dosha. I’m a Pitta, BTW, I think, with quite a bit of Kapha. There are parts of me that are all 3, but that’s the way all those test things work out for me. The questions always seem to be black and white—Are you this, this or that? Well, I’m a little bit of this and that. Anyway, it seems to be all the rage here.

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So that’s how my weekend went. How was yours?

12 comments:

Jay said...

I think I would go to Home Depot and buy some of that snow and ice melt stuff and throw it out while Al's at work.

Anonymous said...

Well, I'm an Aries, and don't have the patience to find my dosha. By the way, I'd take Jay's suggestion, if I were you, and could get the car out.

Mom (It asked for my user name, etc., etc., and I didn't have the patience for that, either.)

Anonymous said...

You're supposed to shovel snow??? No wonder all my glaring and swearing at it hasn't made it go away yet. Am I supposed to do the road too?? LOL

Welcome to the world of DDR. Are you going to join he sleepover circuit and play every weekend now?

Anonymous said...

Not sure how much it snows there but that driveway is so huge I think it must be time for a snowblower. It is the one tool that keeps our sanity here in Idaho.

Kell said...

Jay--snow melt? Are you crazy? Do you want him to have a fit? It's bad enough he has to drive on the roads with that stuff getting in the tires and up in the wheel well. He has issues.

Mom--Problems with patience seems to run in this family.

Susan--Don't laugh; Al shovels in front of the mail box so the mail truck can get in. And I would imagine my legs would be in good shape if I did DDR every weekend.

JD--We thought about a snow blower when we got here, but so far we haven't had enough snow to really justify it. But we'll see. The driveway isn't that bad, it's the sidewalk that goes all the way around our corner lot that is a pain.

Anonymous said...

The weekend was great, thanks for asking! :)

My Dosha: People with more Vata in their constitutions tend to be thin, with a slender frame and prominent joints, delicate skin that is naturally dry, and dry voluminous hair. They are quick and lively in thought, speech and action, and make friends easily. There is an element of airiness to their step, a quality of lightness in their laughter. Change is usually their second name. They are light sleepers and gravitate towards warm environments. Creativity and enthusiasm are hallmarks of balanced Vata.

*gaping open jaw*

They've got me pegged. BIG TIME.

acaligurl said...

snow is hard work! thats way i have only visited my sissie in colorado one time during snow season!!!(i've only been in snow 3 times total in my life!!)

Gracey said...

I have never had to live in snow and I dread the day when we get stationed somewhere that I have to live in it!! God will be humorous and make us live in Alaska I'm sure of it. :)

Kell said...

Ch3ll3--Those descriptions do hit pretty close to home, don't they? I think my biggest problem is that I'm not the same person I was, so I'm not sure how to answer those questions. Plus, with the MS, I don't know what's me and what's the MS making that me. Oh dear, that didn't make sense did it? It's just the Pitta in me!

acaligurl--Welcome! We don't get as much snow as some, but it's more than I've had to deal with for quite a while. Colorado definitely gets more than we do, especially this year.

Gracey--The most snow was when we were stationed in upstate NY, but it was followed by a warm one. It's all part of the adventure!

Newt said...

I like to shovel - especially when it's the light and fluffy kind. And I did that DDR thing with some friends of ours. It was actually a darn good work out. But alas, we left their house and the game stayed with them. Maybe someday. But I really really sucked at it. THey had to do the same thing and put it on teh slow and clumsy setting.

Tink said...

I tried playing dance dance revolution once. I don't know what was more humiliating... twisting my ankle or being shown up by a six year old.

Kell said...

Newt--The girls do DDR in their PE class at school. Our PE was never that fun.

Tink--*Snort* Those 6 year olds are ruthless!

Chelle Y--I just had to take that pic. I don't think he knows I did that.