My Two Cents for the Day

Sometimes you experience something that makes you realize just how truly amazing life can be. When you think you have hit rock bottom all of a sudden something happens that makes you pop back up to the surface. Change is constant and inevitable. Life is too short to allow anyone to control any portion of your life and make you miserable for a single, solitary minute. Change is scary but often necessary for mental and physical survival and we are often stronger than we give ourselves credit. Seek out happiness and to hell with what other people think. Don't waste the time God has given you on people who make you feel less than what you are. Besides, no matter how hard you try to hide it, others notice and the only one you are fooling is yourself. 

All Downhill From Here

Tonight signified the halfway point in our workout program. I only have to go 12 more times to get the coveted Dog Days 2010 t-shirt and we still have an entire month to go! All of my friends, I'm sure are so flipping tired of me talking about it but it's been forever since I was a part of this kind of structured program and I love it. It has had some other significant benefits as well. I don't typically do well in large crowds of people and I don't anxiously seek those types of situations out. If I can just convince myself that it's okay, then I usually end up benefiting from the experience. This case has been no different. Not only am I acquiring the physical benefits from the regimen, I have also met some amazing people that I probably would never have crossed paths with otherwise thus providing a tremendous mental benefit as well.

Twelve more trips and that shirt is mine! I may never take it off.  

Happy Father's Day

Mom didn't want to spend this weekend home alone and my sister just happened to need a babysitter for Saturday night so it was Grandma to the rescue. She and Blake had a big time playing softball and watching movies, so much so that he was barely asleep by the time we rolled in from KC. Sunday morning was relaxing starting with a big breakfast that I had prepared in advance knowing we would all be beat and not in the mood to cook.

Later we all wandered out into the backyard to take advantage of the sunshine and play some ball.

Even Nick the B.B.D (big black dog) got in on the game. 

And then Blake did some repairs to the deck...

Our Father's Day was missing the head of the table but among us all it was a quiet understanding and we didn't feel the need to over talk it. We had a good talk with mom about some other things and she seems to be doing much better. She is getting out with friends and is planning several trips. Mom even bought a GPS but she emailed me saying she couldn't get it to "talk" to her and she might end up taking it back to the store. I told her we would take a look at it this weekend. The conversation went like this:

Mom: I can't get this silly thing to tell me the directions. It shows me the roads but that doesn't do me any good when I'm driving.
Jamie: (after reading the instructions) Did it talk to you on the way here?
Mom: No.
Jamie: Hmm... that's weird because it talked to me when I turned it on.... Did you have batteries in it?
Mom: Well, I didn't have it on. It was in the box.
Jamie: Oh... well... uh... it's not going to talk to you when you are just sitting in your house. You have to be moving.
Gentry: Yeah Grandma. You should have walked around the block!

Hopefully her trips will be a lot easier for her now that we got her TomTom out of the box and convinced to "talk" to her.  (Good grief!)

It was a great Father's Day and I know dad was here with us. We have had some freaky things happen around here in the last couple of months that make me more convinced of that than ever before. It's a little unnerving but if it is our dad's spirit hanging around it's just him being ornery.

Happy Father's day Daddy. We love you.

I am not use to my bestie TC texting me out of the blue to say "Hey, I'm off this weekend. What do you have planned?" So I was thrilled when it worked out that they would be able to meet us in KC for a play day at Worlds of Fun.  We met them there later in the day and all of us, with the exception of "Pops" rode the roller coasters well into the evening and closed down the park. Roller coasters aren't his thing but he didn't mind because he was making new friends sitting on the bench.

The park really is beautiful after dark and I wished I had my camera but it wasn't worth the risk of ruining my new Nikon. The roller coasters are even more exhilarating at night because you are not able to see what is ahead or around you. The girls L O V E D that especially Syd since she is now well over the 48" height requirement! All I know is by the time I got home we all smelled like pond water, we were exhausted, and my throat hurt from screaming but it was a perfect day with good friends.

The last time TC and I were at Worlds of Fun together we were probably in Junior High. We laughed at how much we have changed. We remember our parents use to turn us loose at the entrance and we would run all day around that place. The park seemed so much bigger then. Now we are more selective in what we ride concerned about whether or not it will make us sick and our energy level was clearly not as high. You know you are getting old when you look forward to the train ride just for the opportunity to sit and rest for a bit.

We aren't allowed to listen to our iPods when we work-out so I try to find other things to do to pass the time and concentrate on just finishing the route. Tonight I needed something to take my mind off my screaming calf muscles that I apparently did not get stretched out well enough so I made a few mental notes.

Guys, please don't wear black socks with your running shoes especially the ones that are about five inches high. Nothing says "I'm a dork" more than that.. well, unless you are wearing sandals but that's a whole other faux pas. Also, those tall athletic socks are out. It's not the '70's so leave them in the drawer. I also made a mental note that men look better jogging in sleeveless shirts than t-shirts. I'm not sure where that one came from and it's just my opinion but I noticed some dudes that would have looked a lot less gay if they had simply picked a different shirt. 

There are two other very important little tidbits I thought about tonight that are worth passing along. Ladies, even though there may be lots of eye candy running along side you, it's not a good idea to re-apply your eyeliner before leaving the house especially when it is 91 degrees. I'm not saying I did that... it's just good looking out and I'll leave it at that. 

Lastly, and most important. You don't have to be the first one to finish. It's perfectly okay once you find your rhythm to just cruise at your own pace and forget everyone else. However, you have to analyze the herd and move accordingly. The last thing you want is to get stuck behind the big guy that sweats profusely.. especially when it's windy. Ask me how I know. Yuck!

I really thought today was going to be the day we would skate by with sunshine until at least dark but heck no! She (mother nature) did it to us again and boy did we get hit hard! I was getting updates as soon as I got to the house; reports of streets flooded, stranded vehicles, and tree limbs down. In less than two hours this is what we had; ljworld photo gallery  (Note the basketball goal in the fifth picture down).

My nephew has inherited a fear of storms from his mother. Whenever it rains he makes sure no one goes to get the mail from the mailboxes on the corner because he says, "lightning will get you and make you dead!" For this reason he won't go near a window or allow anyone else to either. Tonight he was on the phone with his daddy making sure he understood that when he arrived home that he was not to go get the mail and that someone would get it later. He kept repeating that until finally his dad agreed with him. Even though it was out of fear, his concern was very cute and his little voice very sincere.

It was a crazy night for sure for a lot of people. We were lucky in that we didn't have any damage but a lot of people in other towns were not as fortunate. If this rain keeps up I may consider trading my car for a boat and possibly start rounding up animals.

Week 3

We are now into week three of our summer workouts. Unfortunately it has gotten off to a slow start thanks to mother nature and her incessant need to make it rain every single day. Tonight we wondered if the weather would even give us the chance to get in our 25 needed nights. Last night we ran up campus to the Kansas Union and then ran down the parking garage, touched the wall and then ran back up to the top and back to Robinson field. The distance was only 2 miles total and we were done with our entire workout in 30 minutes. I'm starting to notice I have better control over my breathing and really only struggle when we have to go up one of the steep campus hills. This is a huge personal improvement and I am finally feeling like I won't be out of shape for much longer. Last Thursday both of the girls went to Dog Day's with us and it just happen to be one of our football stadium nights. As we were running forward and backward sprints my 12 year old looked at me, sweat running down her face and announced, "This is hard!" I agreed with her but it is worth it.

The rain is not only soaking the ground but it is seriously dampening my spirits. Tonight after work I drove around a bit; just really not in the mood to go straight to the house knowing we wouldn't be taking off for campus. Sometimes it just feels good to put the windows down and drive without any particular place in mind. I am always finding new places; shops, restaurants, coffee houses, etc. that I want to try so I make mental notes. Aside from some residential set backs, I'm finally starting to feel like I belong here. The weekends I stay here are so relaxing and even when I'm driving back on Sunday evenings I've noticed my mood changes significantly once I get past Topeka. I liked the idea of being in Lawrence but that calm, that peacefulness to me confirms that this is where I am suppose to be.

Last week I got a message checking my availability to be the "surprise" for one of my dearest friend's birthday. Birthday's are a huge deal to me so there was no way I was going to let her down plus, I was really in the mood for an adventurous weekend although close to home.

Saturday I arrived at the Marriott in the Power & Light District of KC about an hour before the birthday girl. She had no idea that I was just on the other side of that adjoining door so imagine her shock when she answered a knock at the door only to have me say, "I heard someone here was having a birthday." I was then surprised to see her burst into tears.. happy ones thank goodness!

We had reservations at the 801 Chop House just a few blocks from the hotel so us girls got dressed up and off we went for wine, dinner, more wine, then concluded with three extremely succulent desserts. The only thing truly worth mentioning about the entire meal was the sweet peanut butter sauce that I insisted had honey in it but who knows. The food didn't matter to me because the atmosphere and the company was amazing. We tried to convince her we were all going to the Waffle House for dinner but she never bought it. She knows her husband much too well.

After dinner it was back to the hotel to change once again and go for a drive to The Edge of Hell. We had tickets for the "Ghosts and Gangster's Tour" that departed from KC's famous haunted house that sits at exactly 666 feet above sea level earning it the name, "Edge of Hell." To find out more about what this tour entails, you can check out my newest blog Trippin'. 

All of these pictures were taken at night in pure blackness. It wasn't until we reviewed our pictures that we saw what we had captured. In almost all of these pictures there are white orbs floating around. These are not sunspots or street lights, they are spirits that are only visible with the help of a flash and they were everywhere

In this picture our undead tour guide convinced me to go up to the door of this church with a mini tape recorder and ask the ghost of Father Jardine if he would speak to me. Check out the large spirit orb and the two smaller ones back by the door. Oh, and in case you are wondering, the ghost apparently had nothing to say to me.

 Sauer Castle was my favorite stop. We couldn't get very close because it is guarded by three very vicious dogs but it sits in on a hill in the middle of an older neighborhood. The stories surrounding this one property are extensive. 

We had just listened to the storyteller talk about a distraught woman who upon thinking her lover was dead, promptly went to the top of this tower and hung herself. Some people have reported seeing the image of something swinging in that tower. The wind picked up and as we stood there staring at the house. Suddenly a strip of white curtain swung out of that top tower window and a group of us about wet ourselves!

 

Just so you know, that is not the moon in the upper right corner.

Stay tuned

I promised I would have tons to write about after last weekend and I really, really do. I had an incredibly good time with my bestie "T" and I can't wait to get that all in writing. The kicker is I have been totally consumed with getting my new blog fired up. This one is called "Trippin" and will focus more on local travel sites, interesting things to do and see, places to eat, etc. That's my idea and the influence and energy is so strong right now that I've basically put everything else on hold to take advantage of this opportunity. I have some interesting pictures from this last weekend that I will post here just as soon as I can so stay tuned.

The first week of workouts is finished and I survived. Whoo hoo! I have to admit having a couple of days "off" to let some muscles heal sounds like pure heaven. Even though it's a good pain, today my hamstrings were screaming with every step I took and my abs are so sore I don't dare cough. Man it sucks to get old!

Thursday we rushed through our workout of forward and backward sprints, lunges, shuffling, and laps at the football stadium to get to Blake's first night of Blast Ball. This is a program that teaches little tiny people the fundamentals of softball and gets them ready for T-ball. It was so cute! Blake and his bestie Vaughn are already very athletic for their age and I can totally see them playing baseball or even football when they get bigger.

The kids started out playing catch with a parent. Then the leaders had them hit a ball off the tee and run through first base. The fun part was when they stomped on first base, it would 'honk' at them! It was so cool except for the kids who didn't like the sound and couldn't swing the bat because they had their fingers in their ears. Not Blaker though; he couldn't get enough of it!

By the way, my nephew is a lefty and although his wind up looks extreme, he is very accurate with a ball.

Day One

A while back I decided I needed to find a sure fire way to get rid of this emotional funk I've been in once and for all. It's been four months since dad passed and I still can't talk or think about him without crying. I know that's normal to a certain extent but damnit, moping around isn't going to make me feel any better. Plus, it's just not my style. So one day it hit me: I am going to channel that pain into a more productive kind of pain that ultimately won't hurt anymore! I'm going to take all that emotion inside and use it to reach another goal. I'm going to make exercise my therapist. 

I started doing the P90X workout last month with my sister and bro-in-law. Today we started another regimen; Dog Days. Basically it's an exercise program open to the entire community. We meet at either 6am or 6pm four days a week, do 30 minutes or so of calisthenics then Coach tells us the route he wants us to run. You never really appreciate the steepness of the hills on the KU campus until you are out of shape and having to run them in 95 degree heat. Wow.  It's pretty cool though when you finally finish that run and at the end there are 200 plus total strangers cheering you on. Next week we are going to attempt to set the world record for the largest group workout.

Tonight was hard and as I was chugging up that first hill I thought, "what the hell was I thinking?" This is something I have always wanted to do to prove to myself and to a few other people that I can actually do it. It also isn't going to hurt the way I look in the smokin' bridesmaid's dress my friend picked out for her wedding this August. That's my secondary goal. *wink wink* Plus I have the wedding singer to compete with and that won't be easy!

We really need to break the habit of going for ice cream after we work out though. I wish I were kidding about that, but it is absolutely true. We had to chuckle when the girl behind the counter said, "Did you guys do Dog Days tonight?" I'm not sure what tipped her off; our beat red faces, the funk permeating from our clothes, or our sweat drenched hair maybe? No clue.

Anyway, day one is complete and if I can roll out of bed in the morning, then bring on day two.. and some Tylenol please.