Hl/wwsg - 4/13 - 4/26

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hello friends, visitors, and lurkers and welcome to the Healthful Living and Weekly Workout Support Group for the middle two weeks of April. If it’s not bad enough, tax day is just around the corner (and financial aid packages too). If memory serves me, this two-week post will cover Passover and eastern Orthodox Easter but I won’t make a fool of myself again and get it wrong so I’ll leave it at that. These past two weeks were good and we had really positive reports all around. Weather has been and still is impacting lots of the regulars and lurkers on the boards luckily no snow that I remember this season. Hopefully we can get through a couple weeks without too many distractions from the weather and get back to a healthful life and “normalcy” (if there is such a thing to be had). With that, a recap from the past two weeks may be in order:

Life successes/Good News include - Kate made a quick couple reports that she was doing well and the pain was gone, working hard around the house on a couple days off, got out to see and ride Mack a few times too; Karen kept life moving and sane with spring break coming up as well as Passover, took care of her knee and still got meaningful workouts in, succeeded in getting DD a birthday present (9 y.o. girl is hard to buy for); and I played nicely with my body and had a productive couple weeks as the new quarter began, building my regularity in my workout routine too.
Stressful living - Laura was MIA but not unexpectedly with work being pretty ugly busy in the past couple months; Kate is still fiddling with a new job and the stress of searching for a job; Karen tweaked her knee but let it get better, had the kids around for a little extra time as school got ready to let out for spring break; and I can’t complain too much except for the seasonal allergies that have finally kicked back in. :(

Workouts: I’ll run Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday both weeks. Tuesday will be something, maybe a ride or a spin. Thursday will be up in the air this quarter because I’m in class all day (start at 9 am) until 5 pm, and Friday and Saturday will be interesting as I’m heading out of town to play in an Ultimate Frisbee tournament on Saturday - should be fun too.
Healthful living: Keep up on my exercise because that helps me maintain balance with my life and a better outlook. Also, I’ve stalled long enough and need to get my tooth looked at before it becomes too much.

It looks like we like the two week thread and at least until summer when I have fewer competing interests I’ll keep it running. So I’ll sign off and say until later - be good to yourselves, stay warm and dry and have a good week.

Peace to all,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Thanks for starting us off once again. Sounds like you have a few very LONG school days this term. OUCH! And that frisbee tourney ought to be a lot of fun.

We had a good weekend all around here. DH was working(from home), but we all kept busy. It helped that it was about 70 degrees yesterday!! Today was back in the 50's but the younger two kids still managed to go out into the woods during the afternoon and bring home mud. . . all over their clothes!:rolleyes: Friday night we went to services. DD went up on the bimah with a friend/classmate of hers to do the blessings over the candles. Also made an unplanned trip to the orthodontist with DS#1 to fix a wire that came out. Saturday I did a bit of baking/cooking for Passover and today I did most of the rest of my holiday shopping with the exception of picking up my fish and fresh fruit on Thursday of this week. We go to SIL's Sat. and our house next Sunday for the two Seders. This week I am going to try to do as much advanced prep. as I can including setting the table.

I ellipticized both Sat. and Sunday this week since I will likely be exercising more at home this week than my boxing with the kids home on spring break. During the week I will use the treadmill and bike. Tomorrow I will go to boxing, however, as I have to go out and return a movie anyway. I also still plan on swimming early every morning.

That's it! Have a good week,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Ah mud... love the stuff and good to see that you have healthy kids when it comes to mud. ;) I'm "blessed" with a weird schedule this term: 14 hours in class a week with 10 evenly split between Thursday and Friday, 3 on Monday and 1 on Tuesday. Oy vey! It makes for a long end of the week. That doesn't sound like a lot of fun with the "emergency" trip to the orthodontist. Good that you had a good weekend and a warm one too. It was weird in eastern MD - about 70 on saturday afternoon then cool and rainy in the evening. I hope that you have a good week as you bak in prep for 2 Seders.

I was able to get a spin in this evening - not as long as I would have planned but still after the weekend, 48 minutes is grand.

Time to prep for class and contemplate sleep. See you tomorrow and peace,
Les

[karen w]

Good evening,

Busy day here in my neck of the woods. I had a great swim this morning. The pool was a bit on the cooler side and so was the jacuzzi, so no warming up after my swim in there. :( I warmed up my tummy instead with some steel cut oatmeal mixed with a T. peanut butter(my favorite way to eat it) bananas, raisins, and milk for breakfast(yum). That kept me going through the morning for boxing. DS#1 decided he wanted to spend the day with daddy at work and DH obliged, so I dragged DD and DS#2 with me to my class after a quick stop to drop off our movie rentals from the weekend. Boxing class was really good and we had a full house this morning!! First time in a long while. I'm wondering if perhaps people had time off due to spring vacation(although there was only one other kid there). Either way the studio definetely was filled with more energy.

After lunch I took DS#2 and DD to Target. I had promised them we could shop for a few pieces of clothing that they pick out for camp and DD still had a gift card. She picked out a DS chip with her card. For camp, they each picked out a few shirts(one for 4th July, another for Shabbat/banquet nights), 1-2 pairs shorts, and a swim cover up. DD also got a pair of slip on shoes to beat around in like her brothers. DS#2 decided to bring some of his own money and spent ~$10 to add to his Magyx card collection. When we got home, they went out to play until dinner while I prepaired dinner and threw together an eggplant relish that I can freeze and use to spread on matzos either at the Seder or next week.

Tomorrow I will swim and bike. The kids have a dental appt. early afternoon and guitar late afternoon.

That's it! Have a good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Karen - I'm tired reading what you do on a not too busy day. Kids on vacation, swimming and boxing, cooking for Seder(s), and buying for upcoming summer camp. It does sound like you had a great day and that you are making good progress on the Seder(s). I hope the dentist isn't too bad tomorrow - shouldn't be considering all the hardware. :rolleyes:

I had a good day lots of stuff at school and I even ran this evening after school. It was really nice out and I was strapped for time so I went with a 45 minute run and even did a negative split - almost a minute faster coming back than going out (21 out and 20 coming back). I was talking to one of the guys who is playing Ultimate and he said that my stamina will be great in the second and third games (40 minute running clock halfs) which will be played late morning and early afternoon on Saturday - the fact that just under two hours of running with breaks too will leave me in good stead - those poor folks don't know what they're in for. ;)

I'll probably run midday before work tomorrow. Off to fill out my financial aid paperwork (not that I'm getting financial aid just need to fill it out for a complete file).

Peace all and have a great Tuesday.
Les

[mackandme]

Karen, I'm sure the kids are really enjoying spring break (and keeping you busy). I sure wish we adult folks (wait, i'm an adult?!?) got breaks like that!

Have been busy at work lately, and my days off are split and turned around this week, so I'm not working tomorrow but am working Saturday. Today I had a phone interview for a PR job. I should know by the end of the week whether i made the cut for a face-to-face interview. Also heard back from that job I'd applied to that had the hiring freeze. They can't get an exemption and won't be able to hire until October, but stress that I'm "a top contender." Hopefully I'll have found something before then. Though DBF and I are both toying with the idea of going back to school full time in a year or so.... the main stumbling block being the house, as we would have to relocate.

I did get to the gym Friday, and found that the gardening and riding has definitely paid off. 20 minutes on the bike was easy. Didn't have time for more, but i would have been ok doing 25. Rode Mack on Saturday. Not sure how the rest of the week will pan out.

Les, that's a really lopsided school week you have! I would find it hard to get motivated at the end of the week.

[karen w]

Early check in since I happened to be on the computer searching for a recipe(did not find it yet). . .

Kate-Sending you some good job vibes. I hope everything works out. What might you go back to school for if you decide to go that route? And finally....yay, on the gym successes! Baby steps!

Les-I agree with Kate. . .you have a lopsided school week, but hopefully you'll balance things out and won't let it get the best of you.

I've already had my swim for the day and a great bike ride. This morning the pool was much better(temp. wise) and the jacuzzi was also warmer, so I indulged. One child has made an appearance, but the younger two are still in bed(not like them, either). They stayed up last night to watch Jurassic Park 3(DH had taped it for them from the TV) and went to bed pushing 10 pm. Ahhh. . . .vacation. I peaked into their rooms an hour ago and jokingly told them that it was Wednesday and that they had slept through Tuesday. Since they had missed all of their meals on Tuesday, I put them all in the Vita mix and it was waiting for them on the kitchen table with straws!!:D I got an "OK" out of them. That's it! Still have not come down for breakfast. Hmmmm. . . .wonder why???:D

But seriously, I'll take them to the dentist and guitar later today. Now I am going to go dig out my good china so I can set the Passover seder table before Saturday sometime.

Have a good day.

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Kate - Sorry your one job is still in a hiring freeze and I hope that something comes from your new job interview. I'll be pulling for you. Any exercise is good exercise in my book - even if it's short.
Karen - I know what it feels like to have time off and not want to get up (even if I really want to). Funny call and I'm not sure I'd go down for a three course vita-mix meal either. :D Great swim and jacuzzi fest this morning - hopefully your afternoon went better than your morning.

It is a little hard getting into the end of the week but the plus side is the two afternoon classes are pretty interesting - Thursday is the Philosophy/Systematic Theology class that asks the "What is Faith?" question and Friday is a class on Teaching Children at Church (not how to as much as theory and practice/psychological/theological issues). If they weren't fun it would be tough slugging through the end of the week. On the plus side, having two days that are light midweek makes studying a little easier (if that's possible in Grad School) because I can focus on Monday (the book or Revelation) on the weekend and the Thursday and Friday classes on Tuesday and Wednesday.

For today... I was able to get a brief run after my meeting and before work - about 4.5 miles up and down the hills (nothing like yours mcgeiger). Time to get back to work (although no one is in the lab) because tomorrow may be a bust since we have a community event tomorrow night and there is a practice that I should try to go to also (and I'm meeting with my spiritual director, and...).

Enough for now - have a great day and a recharging hump day. Also - hope your taxes are done too.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

WARNING!!!! Vent ahead. . . .

Well, first I'll start at the beginning. I had a great swim this morning after staying up way too late(for me:o i.e.10:30PM) last night. After my own breakfast and feeding the kids(who DID wake up this morning and got out to play rather quickly since we are having a spectacular week weather wise), I put DS#1 in charge with explicit instructions and went out. I picked up milk and a few last minute things for our seder(at least I thought:mad:) on Sunday, went to boxing(fantastic class!:)), Target to get the kids chalk per their request yesterday for their driveway artwork:) and picked up my wedding bands at the jeweler(the stones had to be re-aligned...they had shifted). All that and I was home before noon feeling good and having accomplished so much already. DS#1 did a good job as the charge so I paid him(and don't worry. . . he has already taken a babysitting class through our town hall parks and rec dept. and learned CPR at school in health, so you can back off the dogs and protective services etc...). Before I even get settled the phone rings. It is the gentleman who is supposed to come on Sunday for our seder with his wife and 3 boys. He decided since they are not getting home from their vacation until Saturday, they probably need a quiet day at home on Sunday! Well, HELLO!!!! You knew that over a week ago when we first spoke. What's so different now. . . now that I have bought everything, prepared things, ordered my fish, opened up the dining room table, gotten out the good china!!!! Couln't you tell me a bit sooner. . . like when I first invited you and you knew your families schedule then. PUULLLEASE!!:mad:

Well. . . after calling DH at work to vent, simmering down and feeding both the kids and I lunch, I made a phone call to SIL to ask her if she needs another ton or so of food for Saturday since we have way too much now. She is going to keep her chicken in the freezer and I will roast my chickens to bring(re-heat there). I will bring one of my kugels and desserts. Some of the rest of my stuff I will just prepare and we will eat or keep in the freezer. I think I will keep our dining room table open and the china out so DH, the kids, and I can have a nice "mini" seder at home Sunday night. BUT SHEESH!!:mad:

OK. . .as for the rest of the day. I took the kids to the library for a movie since they are doing afternoon movies there all week since it is spring break. The feature was Water Horse. Cute kids movie, but nothing spectacular.

Tomorrow I am going to try to box one last time this week. DS#1 has an appt. with his counselor in the afternoon. And yes, I am still going to pick up my fish and make it(Dh insists). We will just eat it ourselves.

Here's to a brighter day tomorrow,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Fly by - busy day and busy evening... all good but no time to respond so I'll beg forgiveness and chat tomorrow.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Another full day so I am going to be brief(I still have 2 loads of laundry to fold:rolleyes:). After a good night's sleep and a good swim, my perspective and disposition on this whole Passover dinner disaster is much better. As a matter of fact, after breakfast I got started on making my veggie side dish since I had bought everything already as well as getting stuff ready to make my fish. DH and I also broke down the dining room table that we had set up just yesterday!:mad: I did take a break to further vent my aggressions by going to boxing mid-morning. Nothing like a bit of bag therapy to work out the anger.;) After lunch I made my haroseth(kids love that stuff so that will get eaten without a problem). Then we went to DS#1's appt., stopped at the store to pick up my fish order, and we bought popsicles for the kids. It has been very warm all week and they have been playing outside alot, so this was a nice pre summertime treat they requested(and earned with some decent behavior this week).

Tomorrow I am going to swim and treadmill. I have to make my fish and roast the chicken. And that's the last of the Passover preparations. I'll be glad to get it over and done with this year.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Karen - I'm sorry that the guy backed out after all the work you put into hosting him and his family for Seder. I can fully understand being upset with him and it's probably good that you didn't take the dining room down until today. Still, it is frustrating when someone says "I guess now that I've accepted for us and just 3 days out we'll back out." :mad: I bet the bag felt good to slug a little and just vent some frustration. It sounds like you had a good couple days with the kids and everything else. Have a good day tomorrow at the house doing the last things for the weekend. My prayers go with you as you get all the remaining food ready.

Yesterday was a great day - no classes but a lot of work done and a great session with my spiritual director. That is such a blessing it's hard to believe it (not really - it's just catches me by surprise once in a while). But all the stuff yesterday kept me from running like I wanted and as expected I didn't run today. To top it off there was no Ultimate Frisbee either. I think the team went to a Bachelor Party at the Orioles Game for one of my classmates who is getting married on Saturday (during the time of the Ultimate Tournament) which I decided to opt out of so I can get my studies done that I won't get done tomorrow or Saturday.

Speaking of which, I have to fly so I'll see you sometime later - maybe tomorrow.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Exhausted after another full day. I had a good swim and once home with breakfast cleaned up, I got my chickens prepped and in the oven before I hopped on the treadmill. I did a power walk/run for about 45 min. By then the chickens were just about done and ready to come out of the oven. It was time to get started on my gefilte fish. That is a big project, but it is done and they are chilling now. I'm sure we will enjoy them, but my heart really was not into it this year. I started using up some of the food that I prepared that I am not bringing to SIL's for dinner tonight. The kids really enjoyed it. They had brisket and raisin farfel kugel among other things and were very happy to have an early Passover. I guess I have nothing to worry about with any food going to waste in this household.

The two boys are now officially bored, so I commented today that perhaps it is time to go back to school. The fact that I did not get a return comment back from them was a big deal. Maybe they realize it, too!:cool: DD went with a friend to New York today where they played at Chuck E-Cheese(yuck!), mini golf, and she had her first taste of McDonald's. Yep, I am a mean Mom and don't indulge my kids with that stuff. But it was a special treat for her so that's OK. What was funny was that she wanted just a plain cheeseburger. She hates ketchup or anything else on her burgers. Since she had never been there before, she did not know that a cheeseburger comes with pickles, ketchup, onions etc... She said when she got it, it had all this "stuff" on it!:D

Tomorrow I will be able to exercise as usual and give the kids a leisurely brunch before we head on out to SIL's on Long Island for our seder. And I guess Sunday will now be a quiet day at home for us.

Have a good weekend,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey Karen - that's too funny that you had no balking from the boys when you talked about them going back to school - that is an interesting sign. That's too funny about DD and her reaction to the cheeseburger. I don't think that's a mean mom - probably would be a lot better as a society if people didn't pacify their kids with McD. It sounds like you had everything in hand for Passover and I pray you have a safe trip to your SIL's house.

Today was a lot of fun and mostly successful for me (didn't get too terribly beat up and didn't get significantly injured). My team had a perfect record - 0 and 3. :eek: But in our defense, we played against two powerhouse teams who play at least 2-3 hours a week and probably more than that (Princeton and Union - Richmond). We were somewhat hampered because by our 3rd game (when it was ~85 out) we only had one sub and I'd say that of the 8 people who were there maybe 3 were in decent or better condition. We ended up losing our first game in the last 2 minutes - went from leading by 1 to tied to behind before we knew it and ended up losing in the last 45-60 seconds of the game. I did well and actually threw a goal against the team that should have won the tournament (we left before the Championship game so I don't know if they won). I got a little sun burned and some of my arthritis is talking none too politely to me. The minor injury is an aggrivation of my ankle - nothing terrible and probably hasn't swollen so I bet I'm in the clear (I tried to occupy the same area in the time-space continum with a good sized guy in our second game and I lost and came down a little funny on my right ankle). Still doing a little damage control with ice and aspirin but should be in the clear.

Time for bed - this puppy is a little beat and definitely needs some sleep after sleeping on an air matress last night.

See you tomorrow and have a great weekend,
Les

[mackandme]

Just dropping by quickly. Had a really tiring end-of-week. I made it past the phone-interview stage to the in-person interview, and spent thursday and friday a.m. preparing. had the interview friday afternoon. it went well, but i don't think i'll be one of the finalists for the second interview. i don't think i have the experience they want. i am preparing for it just in case. but still, a good interview experience for me. stressful and exhausting though!

mack has thrown a shoe and the farrier is sick, so the big guy is suffering standing around in his stall. he is C-R-A-N-K-Y!

karen, that's a shame about your guests!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Sorry that Mack is so cranky and I can only imagine how hard it is for him to be in for an "unknown" (to him) reason. I'll send good thoughts to you for a second interview (or is that a third one?).

I hope that Karen isn't clobbered by the rain like we are right now. Something like 2.5 inches in the last 4-6 hours. :eek: On a personal note - things are better this morning and definitely no worse than normal with my ankle.

Paper calls and I've got work to do.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

No rain. . . NOT A DROP! Just a gorgeous weekend with lots of sunshine. Can't complain there. And, in spite, of my Passover guests for Sunday being so rude, we had a nice holiday at SIL's house on Saturday. All the food I brought was a hit, and beleive it or not we are just about out of leftovers after tonight. The kids all loved my brisket and chicken. They even all liked my gefilte fish this year! Now that is amazing! I guess that was enough to cheer me up a bit, but I will admit that I was in a bit of a funk as the day began Saturday. Once at SIL's and after having such a nice time, Sunday was not so bad. And I am glad we had the day to ourselves, too, as we did not get home Saturday night until midnight.

I did get some exercise in both days(elliptical). Today was back at the pool and boxing. Tomorrow as well.

Hope everyone else had a nice weekend and good start to the week.

Karen

[karen w]

Back to backs. . . Les must be a busy school boy this week. . . or something?!

I had a good swim today and made it to my boxing class. Most of the rest of the afternoon I spent with DH and in and out around the house. Our weather here has just been SO beautiful and is expected to continue all week. The DS's just got new bikes for their (early) b-days(24" hybrids. . .they both needed a bigger frame than their old ones) and they have been taking advantage of our glorious evenings. I only wish DD would take to bike riding. She is a bit fearful for some reason nobody can quite figure out. DH has also begun taking down the deer fencing that protects the foundation plantings around our house. A true sign spring is really here. He even planted the first few more frost resistant veggies in the garden. Yeah!

Not much more to say for today. Enjoy the evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Back to backs. . . Les must be a busy school boy this week. . . or something?!
Sorry to say that has been the case. Although I've been keeping up with classes this week was really busy because I have two significant papers due on Monday (5 pages double spaced and 4 pages single spaced) that are exegetical works (delving into scriptural texts in detail). I have one in the bag (singel spaced paper) and one that's 80% done (double spaced paper). I should be able to complete the second tomorrow and focus on the two one page papers that are hanging out for the week (both due on Friday).
I had a good swim today and made it to my boxing class. Most of the rest of the afternoon I spent with DH and in and out around the house. Our weather here has just been SO beautiful and is expected to continue all week. The DS's just got new bikes for their (early) b-days(24" hybrids. . .they both needed a bigger frame than their old ones) and they have been taking advantage of our glorious evenings. I only wish DD would take to bike riding. She is a bit fearful for some reason nobody can quite figure out. DH has also begun taking down the deer fencing that protects the foundation plantings around our house. A true sign spring is really here. He even planted the first few more frost resistant veggies in the garden. Yeah!

Not much more to say for today. Enjoy the evening,
Karen
It sounds like you had a great Passover and time with SIL and her family. It also sounds like spring has hit New England. It's still spring here (rains at the drop of a hat and schizophrenic temperatures). I'm still spinning on a little reading and then time for bed. I've missed working out today and might miss tomorrow but on the plus side I'm headed to the massage therapist in the morning - it will be nice after the abuse of the weekend.

TTFN and peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Sounds like you are doing well pacing yourself with the school work. I can't even pronounce the word "exegetical" let alone fathom what the topic is all about. Better you than me!;)

Tired tonight after another busy day so I may try to be brief. I had an excellent swim and boxing class was just as good today. Did a new drill that made for some nice variety. Other than that it was business as usual around here. The weather is still beautiful here. Tomorrow it is going to be pushing 80degrees with plenty of sunshine. The kids have been going out each night for bike rides, and get this. . . . the pressure worked(FINALLY!). DD felt left out so last night she hopped on her bike and rode along. And she did a super job. Now she can't get enough of it. She's out there again tonight. We knew she could do it, just had some sort of psychological hurdle she had to jump. Anyway, looks like she'll be needing a knew bike for her b-day, too, as the one she is riding is several years old and way too small. We never got her the next size up a few years back when she could have used it since she would not ride it, but now it is time.:) That's in the plans for this weekend, perhaps.

Tomorrow I will swim. I may try to get one more boxing class in this week. The right knee is reminding me it is still attached again these days, so I'll try to take it easy again(try is the key word:rolleyes:).

Good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hi Karen, it does sound like a busy day for you. Sometimes being left out is sufficient impetus to do something like ride your bike so congratulations to DD for overcoming and getting out. If she's willing to ride a new bike probably isn't a big deal at this stage. Yep, take care of you knee but I know you will and know that you'd be lost without your boxing. Speaking of which, good job on your day's exercise. Enjoy your rest and I hope you get up refreshed.

FWIW the definition of exgesis (the thing that you do when you are exegetical) is something like:
Exegesis (from the Greek 'to lead out') involves an extensive and critical interpretation of an authoritative text, especially of a holy scripture, such as of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the Talmud, the Midrash, the Qur'an, etc. Exegesis also is used to describe the elucidation of philosophical and legal texts.
So kind of something that us religious folks do. ;)

I had a good day - the massage was great and (of course) the therapist pushed on my back and made my shoulder want to explode. But I took my "lumps" for an hour and once I got the drool wiped away I was a new man. Gotta love the endorphins... This evening I did a 45 minute spin in the basement and did a bunch of reading all the while. Now I'll have to figure out what to do about a breeze because it is getting pretty stuffy in the basement - not warm just really humid.

Back to the stone so I'll see you later. Peace,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

Back-to-back and I'll be brief. It was a good day all around for me and I spun tonight (I got off a little early from class today) and made 65 minutes on the trainer. I set up a fan and was pretty comfortable for most of the ride. Got all my reading done for my first class in the morning so that's a bonus.

I'd love to chat but more work to do before bed tonight. Peace all and happy Friday,
Les

[mackandme]

hey all, busy busy busy at work. mack did get shoes wednesday, so i'm hoping for a nice ride saturday. giving him some time to go out in the pasture and get the ants out of his pants (tho it poured rain last night so none of the horses went out today. bummer).

i didn't get that job, but i didn't expect to. still just a really great experience to get the interview. the guy i interviewed with said tons of my co-workers applied for another position they had. from what i understand none of them got as far as the interview, so i'm really happy with how far i got.

oh, also, gloom and doom here at work as we had layoffs last week. we're all waiting for the next round....

[karen w]

Kate-Sorry to hear about the job and the layoffs, but sounds like you have a very positive attitude about it. And thank goodness you DO have a job, especially in these times now!:( Too bad Mack could not play in the mud like all the rest of us kids!;)

Les-Hang in there. The school work will get done! I have faith!!;)

Sorry I was MIA last night(can't even remember what I got busy doing. . . now that's sad! I'm not ready for "senior moments" yet:D). Anyway, had a good swim this morning and a fantabulous bike ride at home along with the periodic bed stripping-laundry home workout!:D Aside from that got my haircut. . . .super short, too! Not sure I wanted it quite so short, but it's only hair and it grows. And the style is not bad, so it will be nice now that the warm weather is approaching as well as for swimming.

But, of course, today was our last warm day for a few. We are supposed to get some cool damp days coming up. A good weekend for cooking as I have some planned since we just finshed off the last of the meals that I had stashed in the freezer. I do have some soups still, but it is time to fill the empty void again. Aside from that we have a few little things planned for the weekend like getting DD a new bike, DS#1 a haircut(we've been calling him "cousin It" lately:D) , etc.... That and my usual as far as exercise. . .elliptical tomorrow and treadmill on Sunday. I also need to get in some weights since I was remiss with that today.

Have a good weekend,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Kate - Sorry about the layoffs and not getting a call back on the interview. I'm with Karen, it sounds like you have a good attitude and you'll be fine all around. I hope that Mack gets to go out in the mud soon.

Thanks Karen, I think I'll get everything done and still be able to sleep. ;) I wouldn't call it a senior moment - it's not like you don't do anything anyway. With everything that goes on I'm not surprised that you can't keep track of your daily events. I hope cousin It enjoyed his haircut. And I hope you have a good weekend with workouts and family time.

I'll claim a ride today outside. I decided to reward myself after finishing two projects today and getting a good start on one of my last papers for the quarter. Today's ride was an hour on the mountain bike and I found some new roads etc. It was a grand time all around.

See you all tomorrow and peace,
Les