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Hundred Push Ups Anyone?

Once upon a time…

I found a website with a program where the goal was one hundred consecutive push ups no matter how many you could do to start with. I thought this was excellent and started the program. After a few weeks I was able to do 50 consecutive push ups.

Then I started having trouble with my back hurting.

Then I found out I was three months pregnant.

Then I quit.

The End.

Now I’m trying again, because…

1) Once my Mom told me if you are going to do one thing for exercise it should be a push up, and I always do what my Mom tells me to.

2) Spring is coming and I need muscles to do fun things like paddle,  move sheep and hang laundry on the line.

3) My jeans do not stretch quite enough to keep up with the stretching my middle is doing.

4)John hates push ups. Therefore he doesn’t want to do them with me. Therefore I will soon be able to do more push ups than him. This gives me bragging/teasing rights over my husband. This is always a good thing!

5) Lets be honest, being able to do a hundred push ups would just be pretty awesome!

So I’ve started the program again and to keep myself on task I’m telling all of you.  (Theoretically there is a push up logger that will automatically tweet things for me when I do my workouts, but right now it’s smarter than me…) Admittedly I’m also hoping someone might want to join me, anyone? anyone? If so, you can follow the link in the picture below to the website, it’s easy to get started, it’s only a few minutes three times a week, and all the cool kids are doing it…

Anyone?

Anyone?

 

Snow Dog

“We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare.  And in return, dogs give us their all.  It’s the best deal man has ever made.” – M. Facklam

When Life Gives You Lemons… Get a Saw.

It doesn’t happen very often but every now and then I’m seized with a sudden urge that- THINGS MUST CHANGE NOW.  It wasn’t until a few years ago that I noticed the not so coincidental fact that those random room changes happened right when I felt that the rest of life was spiraling out of control.

Today it wasn’t until I had the saw in hand and was cutting a hole in my living room wall that I realized that perhaps my manic need to move the stereo into a separate in-wall shelf of it’s own and then rearrange the furniture accordingly had something to do with the rest of my day/week.

Tonight I’m feeling better, my couch is on a new wall and I have an in-wall-out-of-sticky-finger-range-stereo.

I’ve also learned something.

Know your target and beyond should also be a rule for falling drywall.

So, next time I get the urge to cut a hole in my wall I’m going to try not to drop the chunk of drywall on Clara’s head.

Nerdy Fun

Last April when I first started this blogging thing my very first post was about John.

Specifically it was about John being a chemistry nerd.

Because as much as he tries to deny it – he is.

Unfortunately most of his chem nerd skills are not especially useful on a daily basis.

Smelling different household chemicals to identify them is a neat trick, but it is not particularly useful.

He can do stoichiometry to figure out cooking conversions, but I think that is perhaps making things a bit more difficult than necessary.

Sometimes he can figure out substitutes for a chemical we need but don’t have.  This is useful, but I can only think of twice in the last 10 or so years where it was actually needed.

So while his chemistry skills aren’t a daily boon to us at home (Other than the whole job/paycheck bit, we all appreciate that!) there are times like tonight when being married to a chemistry nerd is fun.

Let me rephrase that a bit. I love my husband, and of all the nerdy chemists I have met he ranks very high on the fun scale. Being married to him is almost always fun.

-Except for when he falls asleep in .2 seconds while I toss and turn. That’s not fun, I hate that. What is it with men and being able to do that anyway? Anyways, as I was saying…-

Tonight there was fun, nerdy chemistry fun.

Tonight there were boxes of dry ice to be had.

A box of dry ice and a bathtub full of water, and we had a good 20 minutes of nerdy chemistry excitement.

Ivy almost had as much fun as John did. As she played in the smoke  she asked, what it was, what was happening, and why it was happening faster than John could spit out answers in three year old language.

On the other hand Clara was less thrilled, while John and Ivy played around she exited the bathroom.

I’m not sure if it was that she couldn’t see her feet, that the rest of her family was acting ridiculous or that she’s not cut out to be a chemistry nerd herself, but whatever the reason, Clara was not impressed!

Oh The Dichotomy

We have never hid from Ivy any of the realities of the farming and hunting that we do.

Ivy also loves pink, princesses, dresses, sparkles and anything else fancy and girly.

The combination has made for some interesting times…

It’s one thing for her to be helping her Great Gramps track a deer in the woods.  Tracking a deer with her imaginary friend Belle who is wearing camo coveralls over her pretty yellow dress, that’s an Ivy special.

Pretending to go hunting I don’t think is an odd activity for a girl who has been exposed to so much hunting herself. But when she is dressed in a pink dress with her pink six shooter cap guns, it’s just funny.

Then of course there was the time we ate Rudolph.

So I shouldn’t be so surprised and amused anymore when my girly girl tells me things like:

“Want to hear about my fairy song?
First they go flying, and then they kill stuff.”

But I am.

Edges

It appears that when Clara is cold she takes matters into her own hands.

Now, if you want to know why she’s covered with bumps and bruises, check out her feet.

The girl has no concept of edges!

OFG on Skis

All right! All right!

I know, it’s been DAYS since I’ve written, but seriously people calm down.

I was out of town, and now I’m back and I’ll tell you a story, show you some pictures and we’ll all be happy right?

Right.

SO…

Ever since my Uncle Jim, ( You remember him? ) Started cross country skiing again and setting OFG records some members of my family (myself included) have been harassing him, on his speed or lack thereof (it’s almost like a tradition, remember the triathlon?).  Last weekend while we were in Michigan visiting for another Storm surgery there was some time to play when the vet work was done.  It was then that I think Uncle Weasel enlisted Ivy’s help in getting me back for all my back talk on his skiing speed.

Sunday morning was beautiful, calm, sunny and cold, 7 below when we headed to the Allegan forest. Knowing it was a bit chilly out I had dressed the girls and I appropriately.  Ivy had double socks and mittens and lots of layers under her snow suit, Clara was bundled up and then put into my amautik. I had long underwear, sweatshirts, jeans, snow pants and the amautik (which I can’t wear unless it’s at least down to about 20-25 or I overheat) lots of socks, mittens and my thickest hat on. After we hopped out of the car and got suited up we spent a nice leisurely Ivy paced 10 minutes on the trail and I mentally congratulated myself on all my layers.

Then Ivy was DONE. John swooped in and took her on piggyback snowshoe ride and Clara and I headed out with my Uncle down the trail. So here I am, dressed to be virtually standing still skiing with Ivy at seven below, really skiing down the trail. I had a thirty pound heater on my back with the ability to lurch from side to side  (that’d be Clara) no poles (can’t use them in the amautik and don’t need them with Ivy) and my perfectly layered clothing was suddenly way too much! Clara soon feel asleep in her cozy spot but would grumpily and noisily wake back up if the motion of the skis was a bit too much (gliding all the way over one ski or the other, almost falling down, etc.), or if we were to, heaven forbid, stop.

I had a great time trailing after Uncle Weasel down the trail,  as I admired the beautiful morning and tried not to be trailing behind by too much I discovered something.

He is pretty speedy for an OFG!

But take away Clara, three extra layers and give me back my poles and I think I’d have him!

Once upon a time…

… a little girl woke up from her nap.

The little girl was very unhappy and very hungry so her mother fed her oranges.

Once she got a handle on all her orange slices..

…and started getting them in her mouth…

…life improved.

Then something startled the little girl causing her to start crying mid-orange.

It just so happened that her mother was taking her picture and caught the orange falling out of her mouth, complete with drool.

This did not make the little girl happy.

Fortunately for the little girl her mothers friend came by to take care of  her while her mother and father went out for the evening.

Recognizing the friend as a woman who would not take pictures of her screaming and drooling and then post them on the internet the little girl leaped into the friends arms and was happy the rest of the night.

The end.