My First Zumba

Yes, I finally took the plunge and went to a Zumba class on Tues.  Up until I pulled into the Y parking lot I had every intention of still going to the Silver Sneakers class.  Then, I think I realized what I was going through just getting to the Y by 9:15 and thought I should probably make it worth my while.  That's when I thought I'd try the Zumba.  As I walked in, everyone was very friendly with words of encouragement for the newby.  It was definitely a happy place with no chairs.  I was still concerned that it would be too fast and too many dancey moves and both of those were justified.  But I managed to survive if only for 45 minutes instead of an hour.  I think the warm-up was the worst part and then it got better.  Not that I was, mind you.  I basically tried to do the feet movements the best I could and I'll leave the arms for another class.  The girls said it takes at least 3 classes to learn the moves and for me maybe more.  But that's OK because I had a good time and really felt good when I left.  Isn't that what exercise should be all about?

Classic Sitcom Moment

Talk about inspiration!  I think I've written before about some of the TV shows I've been watching, such as Castle and the Mentalist but I've also been catching some old sitcoms late night on Tvland.  One that I love is King of Queens.  I almost wrote a blog about "What would Carrie do" a couple of days ago when something really irritated me.  I might get back to that one again but last night was a classic moment on the show.  I think it was titled "Strike Out" and was about Doug and Deacon on strike and sleeping all day.  Carrie and Kelly arranged a play date for the 2 of them plus Arthur and the baby.  They were totally bored especially when Deacon was playing with the baby with the See N Say farm animals.  We all remember that one , right?  They ended up betting on which animal would come up next.  That energized them and they had a great day, for a bunch of guys.  What a classic!

Brilliant Flash

At the end of an e-mail sent by my sister, there was a line that said  -  My mind is like lightning, one brilliant flash and it's gone.  I couldn't have said it better about my mind/memory.  I've read all the stuff about keeping your mind strong and things you can do to help.  I suppose I could do more but maybe I forget to.  Who knows.  At least I can write about it here.  One incident happened sometime before Christmas (can't remember exactly when).  I was at the post office when a young girl came in and requested a package for her grandmother who was a neighbor of mine.  As soon as she said the name I remembered her name from preschool.  When I asked if that was her she was immediately surprised that I remembered her.  We chatted for a couple minutes but I know I made an impression on her and myself.  How could I remember such a thing when I don't recall stuff that happened yesterday?  Anyway that will always amaze me as it did with my mother-in-law who told us the same old stories over and over and swore it was the first time she ever told anyone.  Even as I sat here writing this it crossed my mind that I wrote a blog on it before, but I couldn't remember how to get to that list of all my previous blogs.

Squeaky Wheel

We have been frequenting the Cleveland Home and Flower Show for a good many years.  Most of those times have been very positive despite the time our car broke down and getting it fixed involved a rental car and second trip over.  It all makes for memories in my book.  Last year we made our annual trip with both my daughters and future son-in-law.  The theme was TV shows and that brought back a lot of memories itself.  One feature I always try and do is the cooking demonstration.  Sometimes it's Gloria Paganini herself and other times her pastry chef daughter puts on the show.  I always enjoy it especially when we get to sample the food.  Last year we looked up the time of the demonstration and planned accordingly.  However, they changed the show to be a vendor only show and that really upset me.  As far as I was concerned, mid afternoon on a Sunday should be for the ticket holders not the vendors who are working their areas as they should be.  There were almost none of the vendors at the cooking demonstration anyway.  I fumed to the people there to no avail and then as we were leaving I voiced my displeasure to a girl who worked in the office.  Evidently she was the perfect person to talk to because she apologized to me and said she'd send me some free tickets to this year's show.  She even called me to ask my address but no tickets ever showed up until today.  I received 4 complimentary tickets to the Cleveland Home Show in the mail today!  I guess the squeaky wheel actually does get oiled!

GPS or No

Last time I wrote about our close call on the road when it was foggy.  Another incident that got me thinking that happened that night was the encounter with an elderly lady at Over the Mountain.  She walked in and came to our table to ask directions.  Evidently, she missed her exit on 80.  She didn't know the exit number just that it was the one with Dutch Pantry which is 120 and the second Clearfield exit.  It was no surprise that she couldn't see anything in that fog.  My hubby proceeded to give her a couple of options as far as getting to where she was going.  She was frazzled to say the least and we would have had her follow us back out had she stayed long enough.  At one point I asked her if she had a GPS, to which she replied, "No".  I thought about that after and came up with my list of reasons in favor of a GPS.

1. I think the best reason for one is in the case of fog or limited visibility.  An added concern is when you don't know the area to even estimate where your turn is.  At least with a GPS you have someone telling you when and where to turn. 
2. I like having company when I'm driving by myself.  My girl is called Mandy and though at times she can be annoying, I know she's there with me. 
3. Humans are definitely flawed.  With that said, I use the GPS in conjunction with directions given to me by someone else, just in case.  It has helped!
4. I also like the fact that Mandy will tell me in advance which lane to get in, before I'm confronted with a lane shift.

So, there you have it.  I will continue to keep it handy, just in case.

Close Call on the Road

We had a very foggy weekend, all the way from here down to our cabin.  I noticed along the way that the more snow there was, the more fog.  My hubby explained that it was called sublimation or when a solid (snow) goes directly to a gas (fog).  This all took place because of the temperature change.  Anyway, it was definitely worse up on the hill at the cabin and as we took off to eat Sat. night, the road to the restaurant was no exception.  My hubby took it slow and with the fog lights on was able to see the lines on the side of the road.  Visibility was quite low for oncoming traffic but we were managing.  Of course, some people were not as cautious as we were and also thought as long as they were driving a big truck with 4-wheel drive, they were invincible.  At one point I saw my hubby veer to the right off the road, then the oncoming traffic moved to our lane and that aforementioned truck was driving on the berm on the opposite side of the road.  It all happened so fast.  I attribute all of us getting out of that in one piece to my hubby for his quick thinking in moving off so others could avoid a collision.  Then, to top it off, when we all resumed our lanes, 2 other cars behind us passed like bats out of hell!  Were we going too fast?  Hell, no!  That was exactly right for weather conditions.  Those other drivers put the safety of everyone else on the road with their actions. 

Poinsettia Success

I think I finally cracked the code on keeping poinsettias alive over the holiday season, but not because I tried.  I've gotten at least one plant sometime in Dec. almost every year, put it on the tv stand and tried desperately to keep it alive at least through to New Years.  This year, I guess my heart wasn't in it or because I got a really good deal on the plant at ValuKing.  It sat there drying out for days and I would remember about watering it while we were gone.  So I finally got around to watering it about once a week after it had dried out completely.  I put it in the kitchen sink and poured water inside until the foil around it bulged.  It sat there for a few hours letting the water absorb back into the dirt and then when I felt it was safe to put back on the stand, back it went for another week or so.  When I finally put 2 and 2 together and realized what I had done, I was amazed.  There's no a leaf dried up, fallen or curled.  It looks better than the day I got it and I didn't even try.  I even thought I saw a couple new shoots coming from the bottom.  Now comes the attempt at keeping it alive and well until Valentine's Day  -  whatta ya think!

Morning of Exercise

Yes, I finally started exercising again but this time with a twist.  I have a space set up downstairs for my exercise dvds, ball, weights, etc. but have lost interest in it the last several months.  I knew with the new year I would need to start up again if nothing else but to reassure the cardiologist that I am, in fact, exercising.  I realize I could have told him anything, just to get him off my back, but that's not in my nature.  Even if it's one lap around the mall with some strategically placed stops, it's still exercise.  Anyway, my hubby was the one who suggested enrolling at the Y to help him lose some weight and I was totally on board.  I have wanted to do some classes there, even Silver Sneakers, since I retired.  That's what I did this morning and I really feel great.  I'm probably the youngest with the least amount of gray hair and also able to do what the instructor asks.  There was a lot of stretching going on which I'm sure will feel like muscle spasms come tomorrow morning.  It  was a good place to start  until I work my way into another class.   No major expectations this time around though  -  just for the fun of it.  That's what it's all about for me now  -  doing things I enjoy!

New Year's Projects

As usual we get rejuvenated at the beginning of the new year.  The same holds true for me.  I was off to a slower start this new year but I've already finished a few projects that never were completed last year.  This was all stuff still sitting on the bed in my sewing room with no where to go until done.  The first project was the handy hotpads started in Nov.  I made one before I wrote about the new way to sew on binding.  Now it was time to make the second one using my new technique.  They are great for lids and handles when you don't need a big pot holder and these I'm keeping for myself.  The next project was my bucket bag that was begun early Nov. in a class.  I'm not thrilled with this for several reasons.  I was in a rush to make it that day and the pockets are not how I would like them.  It's OK but I prefer my bow bag that I put a new strap on (one of my projects, too).  Previously it had 2 straps that were not lined with fleece so they had to be replaced.  Then I made 2 pillowcases for the grandkids.  These were new projects though.  The last project since the new year is to put the border on my quilt that I made in class.  We're supposed to get together sometime this month to show our quilts and thought I should probably have it done.  At first I was going to do some half-square triangles around the top and bottom but then I decided to do the same starburst pattern in the quilt only a smaller version.  It will be a slow project I'm afraid but I'll keep working on it.  This one might stay on the bed for awhile.

I'm back!!!  Hopefully I will continue to write this blog and not be so overwhelmed by other things.  I really do miss writing little tidbits that I experience or notice on a daily basis.  This one is about our trip to Applebees for lunch yesterday.  The neighbors gave us a very generous gift card to use there and when my hubby suggested stopping for lunch somewhere, I brought up the card.  I enjoy eating out wherever we go and that's why I usually leave the decision up to my hubby.  It's not because I want to take a back seat or anything submissive in nature but, after 39 years of marriage you learn when and where to assert yourself.  However, he was the one who wanted to go to Applebees and after initially trying to get him to go somewhere else, we ended up there.  From my perspective the meal was great.  This was the type of meal I wish more restaurants would offer.  By this I mean smaller quantities or portions along with smaller prices.  I ended up having the soup and half sandwich combo which was more than enough for me.  What bothers me about other places is that the sizes are so big that I have to take half home and usually it dries out before I get a chance to eat it or reheating it is not a very good option.  The sandwich was well filled with meat, cheese, bacon and condiments and the soup was full of fresh vegetables.  I probably shouldn't have ordered the diet coke because that always fills me up too quick.  The last thing I noticed was the dessert menu which intrigued me.  Two things on it were the brownie bite for a dollar and ice cream shooters for $1.99.  My hubby had the brownie bite and I had the hot fudge sundae shooter and both of us got more that what we expected and it was delicious!  I read somewhere that you only need 3 bites of something to satisfy a craving for it.  I think it was true.  Anyway, lunch was a success, in my opinion and the bill only came to $25.29  -  only .29 over our gift card.  All in all the day went very well, money wise because I took back some things from Christmas, found other things that I needed and got a free lunch to boot.