Get the spray kids

If you've seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you probably remember how the dad always had a bottle of Windex handy for treatment of all kinds of ailments. Well, I have to tell you, I have a similar item that I use for just about any kind of skin issue. It's called Dermoplast. It's a antibacterial/pain relieving spray. I first came in contact with the product when working in the maternity unit, we would given this to women who had torn down there or had an episiotomy....making for very sore hoo-hahs. About a year ago, I saw it on the shelf at Tar*get, and thought "hmmm, if it's safe for using on hoo-hahs, it's gotta be great for other parts of the body too". So I bought a can, and used it first on a burn I got from the oven. After spraying it on, seriously I did not feel the burn again. Since that first discovery, I have gone through several cans, as now anytime my kids have a scratch, bug bite, blister, or any other bothersome skin issue, they request "the spray", and it always makes everything all better.

Today, both kids have mosquito bites because we "attempted" to go fishing yesterday....long story in itself. I will say that at one "fishing hole" we got out of the truck and literally 7 seconds later we all jumped back in because there were so many mosquitoes flying around. Unfortunately we had glanced at the bug repellent while buying fishing equipment, but had passed on it thinking we would get some at another store......which we didn't. Lesson learned!! Currently the Dermoplast is sitting on my desk for whenever the kids come in complaining of itches. So far it seems to be effective for a couple of hours. Not bad!

Don't you just love products that work so well and are so multi-purpose!!

The logic of UPS??

I like UPS, really, I do. However, I don't understand their shipping methods at all. Currently I have a package coming from Ama*zon. I just tracked the package and it came from Nevada, went to a town 1.5 hours away, and then traveled the opposite direction to a town 4 hours away, and it is schedule to arrive here tomorrow. Doesn't it seem like a waste of gas?? A couple of weeks ago, I had a package go from California to Tennessee before coming back to Oregon. Where is the logic in that?

Random thoughts

Last night after the kids were in bed, Steve and I watched the new show Wipe*Out. Initially, Steve had rolled his eyes at me turning the TV on as he was trying to read, but I could tell he was interested. Long story short, I have not laughed so hard at a TV show in a very long time, maybe never. I know, it's a little twisted that we're laughing at people bouncing like rag dolls off big rubber balls, but hey, they volunteered for it. I think what made the show was the commentary, which we found to be very witty.

Also, I haven't mentioned this before, but I've been meaning to. I've been going to a chiropractor for the last few weeks for some neck problems I am having from working at my computer. I've gone to a chiropractor before, but all he did when you would walk in is ask where it hurt, plop you down and crack your back...which sometimes left me breathless because it hurt so bad. I figured this may not be helping the problem. So I did some internet searching and found another chiropractor. This guy was pretty much the opposite of the other chiropractor. He didn't "crack" anything until the 3rd visit, and even then it was so mild in comparison that I wondered if he was really doing anything. He also uses a very interesting technique that I have named "voodoo magic" because I swear he's not doing anything. He has you lay face down on a chiro table, and he stands at the foot of the table and examines your foot length to determine if they are equal, then he pushes down on your right butt cheek *I'm not kidding* (I try not to clench...you know what I'm talking about), then he looks at your feet again, then he pushed up on the right cheek....repeat on left side. Then he makes a swirl motion on your sacral/lower back area, looks at feet, then swirls in the other direction. Apparently something is usually out of whack because he gets this little thumper thing out and "adjusts" your pelvis...basically it produces several thumps (for lack of a better way to describe it) to several key areas on your pelvis. He does this pushing up and down thing on multiple areas of your body, then looks at your foot length. Mind you he is pushing very very gently so I still can't figure out what my feet have to do with it, but I know that this is an actual method they teach in some chiropractor programs. At one of these sessions, I was telling him that it was my left neck/clavicle area that was really bothering me, which he seems to rarely address even though this has been the key area of discomfort since the beginning. So he is doing his whole voodoo ritual, and starts doing the same thing on my clavicle area. When he pushed down on one area of my clavicle, then checked my feet, he said "oh, there's the problem", and then got the thumper out and "adjusted" my clavicle. It's bizarre to say the least. I try not to giggle while he is doing it (it's good that you're face down), because it just seems so strange. All that being said, my neck has somewhat improved since going to him, but I'm not entirely sure it's just from his "adjustments" or if it's because I've been going to Pilates as well. The best part of the visits is that you get like a 5 minute mini massage each time, which is like a mini vacation. I love it.

Pilates

I'm really excited.... In November I am getting certified in BASI mat Pilates. What is Pilates you ask??

"Developed in the 1920’s by Joseph H. Pilates, this safe well rounded approach to exercise focuses on flexibility, core strength, a return of muscular balance, coordination, and improved posture. Since its beginning people have been experiencing amazing changes when they practice Pilates. The workout leaves their mind and body feeling stimulated, rejuvenated, and alert. They are stronger, more flexible, and more “connected” to their bodies."

I've been doing Pilates for the last several months, and awhile back I was addicted to a mat Pilates class at the YMCA. After taking a long Pilates break, I got back into it after having some neck pain that kept recurring from working at my computer. Pilates has been a huge help with my neck pain, and overall it just feels great. It's a very gentle, yet challenging type of workout.
There are so many different Pilates certifications, and some of them are a little scary. Just like becoming a certified personal trainer, you can go online and pay $49.99 and get "certified" for Pilates. That is NOT the kind of certification I am getting. I will be doing class time, student teaching, and taking both practical and written tests.
I really think that in the long run, this is going to be hugely beneficial for my neck issues and posture, and also really look forward to doing classes with my Mom and Grandma, who could both really benefit from this type of gentle but effective exercise.

Someday I may also get the full certification using the reformer and other Pilates equipment, but it costs A LOT of money, which I just can't justify at this time.

Sports for exercise

Yesterday I was in need of some fun physical activity and needed to get myself and the kids out of the house, so I called up my Dad and asked if he wanted to do something. We decided on Tennis. Dad played tennis in high school, while I have only played a handful of times...but we both haven't played in about 10 years. I wouldn't necessarily called what we did "playing tennis", it was more along the lines of individual serving with the occasional volley. Because I knew I'd be doing a lot of running around, I wore my heart rate monitor. We "played" for little over an hour, and I burned around 700 calories. I think we're going to try to do it more often as it was so much more fun than doing a cardio machine for an hour.

I think the key to exercise is to find things you enjoy doing. What a drag to force yourself to workout if you hate what you're doing....you probably won't last long doing it. For me, the key is variety. I have LOTS of different things I like to do to get my workout in, and it rarely looks the same from week to week.

A great weekend (last weekend)...

Last Friday, the 13th, Steve and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. Despite it being Friday the 13th, we had a fantastic day. Steve took the day off, and we started out with gifts in bed. Aaron had made us an anniversary gift all by himself. He drew a picture of the 4 of us, then put it in a frame he had found and wrapped it. He was so excited to give it to us, and we were just tickled by his thoughtfulness. We then told the kids we had to pick up a "friend" of Grandma and Grandpa's at the airport, then we were going to our favorite restaurant in Grants Pass (Matzukaze). Well the "friend" we were picking up was Auntie Deanna, whom the kids adore. It was so fun to surprise them. Grandma and Grandpa were also surprised, although Grandma in all her wisdom had figured out that Deanna was coming. We had our yummy lunch, then Steve and I headed back to Medford, did a little shopping, then headed to the cottage in Jacksonville we had rented for the night. We had a great dinner in Jacksonville. The next morning we woke up (too early I might add), laid in bed, read, sent Steve across the street for coffee, then finally got up and went out for breakfast. Saturday was Lyle and Jean's (aka Grandma and Grandpa, shoe fairy, the bestest mother-in-law, etc) 40th anniversary and Jean's birthday, and we had planned a BBQ at their house with some of their friends to join us. It was a great evening. Then Sunday we all went down on the Hellgate Jetboats, which was just a blast. The kids had ear-to-ear smiles.
Here are some pictures. 1st, Steve and I on our 10th anniversary (notice my new Tiffany's necklace)


On the jetboats


Auntie Deanna and the kids at the O.K. Corral (the restaurant you take the jetboats to)

Some elk we saw on the river

What's real and what's not??

I found this video very interesting, and an eye opener/reminder on how you have to view magazine pictures with a grain of salt. Also need to be careful what my daughter views, and make sure she knows (eventually) that these pictures are not "real".



This is another example, which many of you have seen before, but I found it fascinating.

Calories burned with Wii Fit

My heart rate monitor/calorie counter watch has been out of commission for a couple of months due to a dead battery. I just put a fresh one in this morning and decided to see how many calories I was burning while doing Wii Fit. Here are the totals

Hula Hoop x 10 minutes (5 min going right and 5 min going left) = 70 calories
Free run x 5 minutes= 47 calories
10 lunges per side, 6 push-up plank combinations, 30 second plank= 69 calories
Total for 21 minutes of Wii time (about 25 minutes actual)= 186 calories

Not too shabby!

Very interesting article about maintaining weight loss

This article was very interesting to me because ever since my first Body for Life challenge, which was very successful and got me at an ideal weight, I have struggled to maintain that ideal weight. In fact, I am now about 10 pounds over what I would consider my ideal weight. I've always felt it was easier to lose weight rather than maintain weight and now I know why. It's a long article, but rather interesting.

God's Timing

We have some dear friends, Brad and Alisha serving God right now in Uganda. Our link group (bible study group) got together and made a care package for them and sent it over. It took about 3 weeks to arrive. About 2 weeks later, I sent another package to them with some stuff I REALLY wanted them to have. Well, 3 weeks came and went and the package had not arrived, then 4 weeks, 5 weeks, 6 weeks. I so badly wanted them to get this particular package, so we prayed that it would arrive. When I had sent the packages, I got a receipt with a tracking number on it, but I hadn't been able to find the receipts in order to track the packages (kind of important). Today, I was sitting at my desk, tidying up a bit, when I found some paperwork about a warranty I needed to register online for. I couldn't find the receipt I needed so I was looking in my desk drawers for it. Low and behold, I find the tracking receipts for both packages I had sent, so I got online. Unfortunately, it only said that it had left the US on 4/14/08 and no additional information was available. So I called my MIL because she is a retired Post Master, to ask if there was anything else I could do to see what happened to that package. As she is telling me that there really isn't anything I can do, I get an email from Alisha, and I opened the email while still on the phone with my MIL, and the first line was "GOOD NEWS...Guess what arrived in the mail" . See, God does have a sense of humor, and such good timing!!
Thank you God for seeing that the package arrived safely!

OH, AND I then saw that Alisha was on Skype and got to talk to her, and since she had her webcam set up, I also got to see her!! Isn't technology amazing!!

Nose in a book

When it comes to reading, I seem to go in waves...come to think of it, so does my fitness routines! Hmmm, I'll have to ponder that later. Anyway, for the last 2 weeks or so, I have been reading a Christian Fiction series by Liz Curtis Higgs (Thorn in My Heart, Fair is the Rose, Whence Came a Prince, and Grace in Thine Eyes). It all started when my dear friend Jen got me an Evangel gift certificate for my birthday. Being the avid (read: anal) online researcher that I am, I scoured Amazon in search of the perfect book. After writing down a list of all the books that looked interesting and had gotten great reviews, I marched myself down to Evangel full of hope. Alas, they had NONE of the books on my list. So then I had to find some other strategy for picking out the perfect book, which is a little tricky because I don't read the back of books before reading them. I feel like it gives to much away, and I don't like to know ANYTHING prior to opening a book. So I carefully thought about how I might pick out a good book, and settled on finding an author that had several books out, and then something with an intriguing cover. Forget the "don't judge a book by it's cover"...that's exactly what I did. After carefully checking the book to make sure it wasn't part of a series, and finding no evidence that it was, I purchased the book. I rushed home and checked on Amazon to see what the book was rated, and discovered 1) it was rated really well...yeah, and 2) is was #3 in a series...drat!!! Anyway, I went and bought #1 at another book store since Evangel didn't have it at the moment. About half way through DH said he was ordering a book from B*arnes and Noble, so he ordered the #2 book for me as well. That was the week where it was raining and dreary for days on end, and I think I read about 300 pages in one day. So then I was in a quandry because I finished the #1 book, but the #2 book wasn't expected in for 5 days. Thankfully B&N had #2 in stock and said they would let me return the one coming in the mail. I finished that and started #3 on Saturday, which I finished today (it's 537 pages long). Thankfully, when I returned the #2 book to B&N this morning they had JUST received the #4 book about an hour earlier. So, I gotta go.... I'm anxious to start the last book, but also sad that it's the last book. It is an amazing series.