Wii Ha!

So I have been working out every other day for about five weeks. I have noticed a difference in the way my clothes fit and also in the way I feel. That thing you always hear about people having more energy when they exercise, well it's true! So I was looking for something to do on my off workout days. I know, why don't I just workout, well I'll tell you why. Because I'm old and totally out of shape and it hurts when I do too much. I'm hoping that will change over time, but right now the strenuous stuff is limited to every other day. Anyway I was talking to my friend Shannon the other day and she could not say enough good stuff about the Wii Fit. It's more fun than strenuous, and the focus is on balance and working your core. So I got one. And let me tell you, I had so much fun with that thing last night. The are the highlights, in no specific order:

1) Tightrope walking. If you don't keep your balance, you fall to your death! It's hilarious!
2) Hitting soccer balls with your head. You also get cleats thrown at you, which make the best noise when they hit you in the head!
3) Ski Jumping. I suck! It's great!
4) I think the best thing is the aerobic dancing. It's like a cross between step aerobics and Dance Dance Revolution. The best part is that your Mii does it with the other Miis you have in your system. So I'm on the screen dancing with Bob Ross, Abraham Lincoln and Michael Jackson. And when you do really good and hit all your steps perfectly. Bob Ross and Abe turn around and smile at you. It's the best!

And after playing for half an hour, I actually felt sweaty and like I had a slight workout. It is the perfect compliment to my fitness routine. And a heck of a lot of fun! If you have a Wii, go get Wii Fit. Seriously.

Office Cleaning Highlights

Well it is Memorial Day weekend and since 1) the weather today is supposed to be crappy and 2) my sister is coming up here in 5 days, I thought I'd clean my office. I am slowly getting through it, even though I have been calling people to try and stall but nobody is home! You would think this is a holiday weekend or something.

Anyway, I have come across some very interesting things in my cleaning travels. Here is a sampling:

1) A fortune cookie fortune that says: You will find the desired link within the next month. The desired link? Like a website? Or the missing link? I'm confused!

2) A post-it note with two words written on it: Toilet Paper.

3) A christmas card from my niece with this lovely sentiment in it: Thanks for moving, now our whole Christmas tradition is screwed! You're welcome, Nichole.

That last one cracks me up! OK, back to cleaning now, have a great weekend!

Parade of Pink Trees

So yesterday I got in the car, put Aerosmith's "Rocks" in the CD player, cranked it, and set about getting some pictures of pink trees. They are everywhere right now and they are so awesome! I call my picture taking style drive-by shootings because I barely stop if I stop at all, aim the camera in the general direction of the desired object, snap to photo and hope I got the shot. I actually got lucky on a few! Here they are:



You can click on the pics to make them bigger.





And just so the white trees do not feel left out:




This last one is my favorite. It is currently my desktop wallpaper:



Not bad considering I was going about 30 mph! Have a great day and get out and enjoy the trees!

Same Song, 99th Verse

Today has been an absolutely great day. Not that anything has happened to make it great, other than the weather is gorgeous, it's super warm and everything is green and the birds and squirrels are so cute! Steve finished my bitchin flower bed yesterday, so as soon as it cools down a little I can plant all the flowers I just bought. I finally have a flower bed that is in full sun, so now I can grow sunflowers and dahlias and daisies and plant bulbs in the fall for tulips and daffodils next spring. And just so you know, the bitchin flower bed is it's official name. Because it's bitchin, man!
Tonight is the Lilac Parade downtown, the official name is the Armed Forces Torchlight Parade. It is huge and draws a big crowd. Faythe and I were going to go and stand around for hours in the 90 degree heat to see it but instead I will be going to her and Ryan's house for a barbeque and we will watch the parade on TV! And eat steak! Really good steak!
Let's recap: Birds! Squirrels! Bitchin flower bed! Bitchin flowers! Parade! (did I mention the 40+ marching bands?) Steak! Life is so so good! I love Spokane!

Love Don't Cost A Thing

So today is Mothers Day and my kids didn't have any money to get me anything and I didn't want to give them any money to get me anything because then I might as well buy something myself and eliminate the middleman. So this is what I got.

Leo stood in front of me, threw his arms up in the air and yelled SURPRISE! HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! and gave me a big hug. Then I said, so what is the surprise, at which point he threw his arms up in the air again and hugged me and told me that he loved me. I guess that was the surprise.

Then later when we were having a fabulous Mothers Day luncheon at Arby's, the boys were describing me with adjectives. Here are some of them, in alphabetical order:

Beautiful
Caring
Charitable
Funny
Giving
Gullible
Honest
Loveable
Polite
Sarcastic
Squishy
Trustworthy (to which Leo added, except when it comes to secrets--not true, Leo! I can keep a secret sometimes!)

I'm just glad they didn't list the bad adjectives, because that list is probably longer!

And just now after dinner I did what I do every year on this day. I went to the china closet and pulled out the Mothers Day books my kids made me when they were each in the second grade. We always laugh at these, because in them are gems like:

"The best gift for my mother wudd be a Jeep grand cherikey or a 4 X 4 monster truck." --Max

"My mom deserves a special day because she's tired." --Leo

"My mother looks like a mom." --Max

"My mother reminds me of a girl in the price is right TV show." --Leo

But the one that always gets me is one that Leo wrote: "My mom is special because she cares about me and loves me with her heart."

Indeed I do, boys. Indeed I do.

Feeling Kind of Crunchy

If you know me, you probably have heard me use the word crunchy. You know. Crunchy. Like Granola. And the people who eat it. Crunchy. Like Birkenstocks with tye dyed socks. And the people who wear them. Crunchy. Like carrots. And the people who eat them exclusively. I have nothing against the crunchy segment of society, quite the opposite. I just have never considered myself to be crunchy. I'm more of a chewy person I think. But lately I'm not so sure.

Recently, I bought these. They are reusable grocery sacks, which everyone has jumped on that bandwagon but these are better for me because they fit into my purse and now when I check out at the store I don't have to say Dang! I left my shopping bags in the car! I can just reach in my purse and pull them out. A tiny bit of crunchiness in my purse. I highly recommend them. They hold a lot and they are so colorful that Max said he will never go shopping with me again.

Also, I asked a co-worker today who takes the same route to work if she would be interested in carpooling. Me. Carpooling. I will let you all digest that for a moment. OK, moment over. Part of it is a response to the high gas prices, but another part of me just wants to do their part for the environment. This is the same person who said I don't give a shit about the landfills, I'm using Pampers not cloth diapers. So this whole carpool thing is a suspiciously crunchy turn of events.

AND! I have started taking vitamins. Except I keep forgetting to take them and I remember when I use the bathroom at work and my pee isn't a neon color. So I got the brilliant idea of buying a bottle of vitamins to keep at work. This led me to go to Super Supplements today on my lunch hour. That is an extremely crunchy store!

I do not know what has gotten into me. And I don't know what other crunchy escapades I will be having, but I am drawing the line at listening to the Grateful Dead. (Although I do have tye dye socks.) And I also will not be buying vegetarian cat food for my cats. They will just go outside and eat a small animal, which defeats the whole purpose. And you will never find me anywhere near a bottle of that stinky supercrunchy patchouli. But I'm open to other things, like growing more of my own food and learning how to can fruits and veggies. Last year I grew tomatoes, I wonder, does squash grow well up here? What about corn? I think I might like to tear out some of my lawn and put in a mini cornfield. I feel myself becoming less chewy by the minute! I think that might be a good thing.