March 18, 2013

March 17, 2013

  • Our Adventures:  It's Sugarbush Time!

    This weekend, we went to Sugarbush at Blandford Nature Center.  It's actually our second time going... I think Lydia was four or five last time, and I had Isaac in a sling and wore him thru the tour, that's how long ago it was.  And we'd gone with a HUGE homeschooling group, so I didn't hear half of it, and... well, I was excited to go back - this time with kids that were older and with Brian along, too!

    May 9th was actually the Sugarbush festival, with tours all day, a pancake breakfast, and all sorts of activities.  But you know me - I don't like people.  The festival promised to be packed (because everything around here, is), BUT...!  I went to the website and checked their calendar, and they were having a smaller tour the next weekend, open to limited participation.  So THAT sounded more our speed, and we signed up!

      I learned a LOT this time around.  Way more than last time, for sure.  First, did you know that sugar maples are not found throughout the US?  No... here's a map of the only area in the world that has sugar maples... and of that, the green areas are the ONLY areas that have the proper temperatures for getting maple sugar.  The yellow areas have sugar maples, but do not have the correct temperature for the trees to be tapped.  And the blue area above is an area that has them, but is too cold.  It's what they predict will be able to sugarbush, if temperatures keep increasing.  But right now, the green areas are where 99.9% of the maple syrup in the world is from.  I hadn't realized that most people CANNOT go to a sugarbush!  I mean, this time of year, we drive around out by where we live, and it's common to see trees with blue sacks or hoses tapped into them.  It's kind of a thing... a lot of people do it.  I always wanted to, but... it wasn't until Sugarbush yesterday that it even became a possibility.

    Last time, they told us to identify a sugar maple by its bark... which, depending on its age could be smooth or rough or even rougher... and I was completely baffled and unable to identify jack squat.  THIS time, though, the lady explained to us that the better way to identify the sugar maple was by it's buds and branches.   A sugar maple has syrup colored (darker brown) buds, while other maples have red or branch-colored buds.  Also, a sugar maple has OPPOSING branches (like two arms off a body - opposite of each other), while other maples have ALTERNATING branches.  Now that I can work with!  We've been identifying them, ever since.

      Trees get tapped two to three feet from the ground, because the sap runs downward, so to collect it, you drill a hole about 2" into the sapwood.  Here they let the kids try it with a hand drill... even Baby Owen!  Then they got to tap the spile into their hole, just like the real thing.  Of course a bucket or sack (or hose) gets hooked up to that, and a lid put on the bucket to protect the sap from debris.

    We got our own tour guide - apparently our family of seven is a whole group on its own!  It was kind of nice, not having strangers with us, this time around.  I don't think it was supposed to have worked that way, but when it was time to go, Denise was like "Okay, first group, come with me, let's go!" and everyone else was like, "Um... is it time, are we ready? Where's your hat, let me get my stuff..." (typical society), while I was like, "See that lady?  We're with her, let's move!" and we were out the door - the biggest family, ready first.  So that's kind of how it happened.  Which... just more of what I'm saying about people in general.

    They took us back in time, to the Native Americans.  Legend has it that an Indian male was chopping wood for his family, and stabbed his axe into a sugar maple, and the liquid came out and ran down the handle.  He collected it to drink, and found it had a slight flavor... so he took it home to his squaw, who used it in cooking the evening meal.  It boiled down and gave the food a sweet, delicious flavor, and so they took to collecting it... and the rest is history!  Here we are, in a wigwam, learning about how the Indians collected it, boiled it down, molded it into cakes or ate it as sugar.

      Then the Indians taught the settlers how to collect the sap, and they whittled the first spiles out of sumac trees, and used large kettles to boil down the liquid to syrup.  The kids got to try wearing a yoke, just like the pioneer children who would go thru the woods and spend the early spring days emptying the buckets and bringing them back to their mother to make into candies, sugars, and syrups.  It was NICE by that fire - it was only about 30 degrees, yesterday (but one tree was running, so we got to taste sap right out of the tree.).  Oh, and inside the wigwam, it was pretty nice, too, I must add... even though the fire was out by the time we got there.  The smoldering coals still kept it pretty nice, inside.  And of course I had kids in their snowsuits, so they were warm.

    Then we got to watch the young guys drain a load out of the 'sap-sucker' into the tanks at the Sugar House (see above), and we went inside the sugar house to see what happens, there.  It's just a wooden mini-lodge, with just enough room around the stove/boiler pan for a group to fit in and watch.  The sap is run into the boiler pan and heated with the wood stove under it.  They boil it about six hours, and forty gallons of sap makes 1 gallon of syrup.  It seems like a lot of work for little yield, but it's fun, and educational, and tastes really good by the time you're done.  Brian had a lot of questions for the man running it... but if/when we do it at home, it'll be on the stovetop in a kettle.


    We had a good time at the Sugarbush presentation.  ((grins))

    Brian, to my surprise, really was intrigued by the whole thing, and wanted to try it.  I mean, I had wanted to try it when we went years ago, but when it's just me, and I don't know much... but he REALLY wanted to try this, so I got a free brochure from their information center on Sugarbushing at home, and we drove ALL the way out to Hudsonville to Gemmons' Hardware.  ((Gemmons is a special place - it has all old-fashioned toys, and things most normal stores don't carry... and they had spiles.  A lot of them!  Plastic ones that didn't look like they'd hold up, metal slugs that you could drill your own spiles out of, and packs of stainless steel ones... but only two packages left.  I bought both of them.  Hey, the plastic cheapy ones were $3.25 each, so $18 for four stainless ones seemed like a good deal (and otherwise, I'd have to order on-line and pay shipping, anyhow).  Silly manufacturer... they have pictures of alternating branches on the package!!

    At Blandford, they had little maple candies for $1 each, but that seemed pretty pricey... but at Gemmons they had homemade caramel sticks that were 5/$1, so we did those, instead.  They weren't maple, but had maple flavoring, and that worked perfect for me!

    So this morning, we got up and (okay, I re-potted my banana trees and served green milk and mint oreos and Little Debbie Shamrock cookies for breakfast... hey, it's Patty's Day, after all!)... then the kids got eight emptied and washed out apple juice jugs while Brian got his hole saw blade and drill from the barn.  We drilled a hole in each bottle, and rinsed out the bottles (from plastic debris) and got everyone dressed up and went out to tap some trees on our property!  It was nippy - only 26 degrees out, so the sap wasn't running yet, but everyone was excited.

    The problem is that you can't tap a tree smaller than 10" in diameter, and the ones that are ten inches or more?  The branches are WAY up there!  But we found eight of them, and each kid was in charge of two bottles.  Daddy drilled into the trees and used a mallet to set the spiles... and we hung our bottles right on the trees.

    So as of today, we've tapped a few trees around the play yard at home.  We actually have over an acre of virgin hardwood forest on our property in the back, so there is a CRAPload of trees we could tap, but we're just giving it a try up where we can get to them easily, at this point.  It's fun to try new things, and... well, the kids are pretty giddy about the whole thing.  They've been watching the temperature all morning, hoping for it to get over 32 degrees, today.

    So there's our weekend adventure...
                        and we're trying something new on the homestead!

March 16, 2013

March 15, 2013

  • Yehovah vs. Yeshua

    Yeah, since I've got everyone's attention...

    I saw a video this morning, filmed at the Kotel (Wailing Wall in Jerusalem), and it was of a Rabbi being questioned by a Christian pastor about why he won't believe in Jesus.  I was piqued by the idea of this video... mostly because I believe both views (Christianity/Judaism) on the subject matter are wrong.

    What do I mean?  Let's do a quick recap:  Christians have Messiah' death on the cross that they use to negate the need to keep Torah's commandments.  So they have faith/trust without obedience/works.  And at the same time, you have Jews who have Torah's commandments and don't believe the man Jee-zus was any greater a son of God than the rest of the sons of God.  They have the scriptures which say to obey for ALL generations, and believe that will result in salvation.  So they have obedience/works without faith/trust. 

    BOTH are wrong. 

    Scripture says that 'faith without works is dead' - so christianity is a massive lie, in that it says you don't have to keep God's commandments, anymore.  Didn't Messiah Himself say 'if you love Me, keep My commandments'?  Since He said that BEFORE the NT was written, what commandments do christians think He was talking about, if He and God were One?  Yet christians only seem to recognize 10 of the 613 Old Testament commandments as even BEING commandments, for pity's sake, and they don't even see them as needful, because they have the free ticket of Jee-zus' blood.

    And on the flip side, the Jews reject Messiah because they cannot reconcile a man as being the physical embodiment of Yehovah.  Well... as an abstract in the future, yes, but Yeshua bar Josef didn't do things the way they wanted them to, and so they ruled Him out.  The prophecies were for humility/lowliness AND triumph/leadership, and they wanted it all in one big, immediate package together... not with two separate visits - the first being 'undercover'/spiritual in fulfillment, and the second being obvious/physical in fulfillment.  Too many prophecies in the OT to even start to address that in one blog.

    Regardless, you have two extremes, both of them hopelessly short of Truth.  Both of them leading to destruction/eternal death, because BOTH of them reject a side of the salvation coin.  It's Trust AND obedience.  It's Faith AND Works. 

    And knowing that, here's the video... watch knowing that both men are wrong:

    Above, I wrote that it's Trust AND obedience, Faith AND Works.  But there's something else, too:  For the rabbi, it's Ha'Shem.  For the Christian, it's Jee-zus.  Yehovah vs. Yeshua... when the reality is that it's Yehovah AND Yeshua.

    And you know what?  Something really hit me, this morning.  It's TRUE.  When I was a christian (for 30 years of my life!), it was all about Jee-zus.  God was an abstract, far off, unable to relate to men... only Jee-zus understands what a person goes thru.  ((That's a lie.  We're made in Yehovah's image - time and again scripture shows Yehovah burning with anger, grieved by our behavior, betrayed or pleased.  But christianity says only Jee-zus feels your pain.))   You prayed to Jee-zus.  You cast out demons in the name of Jee-zus.  What a friend I have in Jee-zus.  Jee-zus is the rock of my salvation.  (<-- did you know that verse was written by David to Yehovah?)

    The rabbi has a point.  The King of the Universe has taken second Place to the prince, just like in the rabbi's story.  And I guess I didn't really think about it until today, because I always (abstractly) have known that 'I and the Father are One'... but now that I think about it, since coming out of churchianity?  I pray to Yehovah Elohim, my Father ABBA, the creator of the universe.  And when I was a christian, I rarely did that - my friend was Jee-zus.  I... don't even know when and where that change came, to be honest.  But somewhere along this transition in my faith, I have restored the Sovereign to His throne.

    Now, of course the rabbi was wrong in many of his statements.  For example, he says Malachi prophecies Elijah bringing peace, and says that Yeshua can't be Messiah because he said He did not come to bring peace but a sword.  ((I love that... because churchianity doesn't teach a sword-bearing Yeshua, they teach a 'prince of peace' and 'lamb of god'.  They emasculate Messiah to make Him palatable to the 'seeker sensitive'.))  Regardless, Malachi's prophecy isn't about Messiah, it's about a coming Elijah... and if John the Baptist was the 'second Elijah' (Luke 1:17), it would've been him, not Yeshua, that the prophecy talked of (unless it's the future coming 'third' Elijah - Rev 11:3)

    I watched the video with a very objective view of both sides... which might not have been possible ten years ago... but I see Christianity being owned by Judaism, because Judaism is actually closer to the Truth these days that Christianity is.  The fact of the matter is that Yehovah IS a jealous god, and to be passed over for this Romanized version of His Son, who is stripped of His Judaism and Hebrew characteristics, with Torah yanked from the picture and only the blood (Christians reject His water and only claim half of the atonement)... for Yehovah to be replaced with this anglo-prince who's a poorly drawn, cartoon rendition of who Yeshua really was?  He has got to be BURNING with anger.

    I... this... it just really was a wake-up call, a revelation to me this morning.  That somewhere along the line, I have gone from being Jesus-centric to adding the Father back into the equation.  I hadn't even realized it.  It's like in coming away from the one extreme, I found balance between Savior and Creator.  Well... actually, I have to admit that I'm more Creator-centric, with Him at the head of all things in my life.  It happened almost naturally.  It doesn't mean I've rejected Christ - but I have Messiah Yeshua as my brother (Luke 8:21)... with Him as the Firstfruits/firstborn of those who will rise in Yehovah (1 Cor 15:20), paving the way with His sacrifice of water and blood for me. (John 19:34)  Not that He *isn't* God, He's a different facet, that's all.

    I hadn't seen this, before this morning.  And I can't thank Adonai enough for this... it's like being given a star of my paper, this morning in school.  A little wink from my teacher, showing me something I had learned that I didn't even realize I had!

March 14, 2013

  • About the New Pope Elect

    Well, in case you haven't heard the news, we've got us a new Pope.  Pope Frank.  I made some rather coarse jokes about that (in reference to altar boys and the homosexual scandals) yesterday in my comments... you get the gist of them from this, and we'll leave it at that.  I also teased a girlfriend about how the two living popes you have to tithe to support are now Frank & Bens.  Get it?  Hahahahahaaaaaa... But frankly, it ain't over 'til the inauguration, so we shall see what happens. 

     BUT FOR THE RECORD: 
    http://www.cbsnews.com/8...266th-leader-roman-catholic-church/

    The world's 1.2 billion Catholics have a new leader. His name is Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but he will be known henceforth as Pope Francis. Bergoglio, the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires and a member of the largest Catholic order, the Jesuits, is the first pope from the new world. Born in Argentina to parents of Italian descent, he represents a bridge between the Church's European roots and its future, which lies, according to many, in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Bergoglio's chosen name, Francis, is a nod to the patron saint of Italy, Saint Francis of Assisi.

    Having said, I have been looking for a correlation to the prophecy of 'Peter the Roman'.  And at first, I didn't see anything.  Then I asked my friends for some input, and got a little feedback, and it's actually looking like this might be our man.  Again - until the 19th he's just pope-elect (I called him half-pope to my kids last night to simplify the concept... and besides, it sounds more fun).  But it ain't over until the fat nun sings.

    However, in the meantime, here are a few fun things that I've read about this new dude:

    • Frank-firster's last words of his first sentence as Pope were 'fine del mondo',  means 'end of the world'.  Ironic, that.

    • He seems to have a lot of 13s associated with him.  He was born on Dec 17th 1936 1+9=10-3=7+6=13.  He is 76yrs old 7+6=13.   He entered the Society of Jesus on March 11th 1958 - 1+9=10-5=5+8=13.  He was ordained into priesthood Dec 13th.  He is was ordained as a pope 3/13/2013.  He is the 265th pope 2+6+5=13 He seems to have a lot of 13's to his person. Also the he came out of the curtain at 9:13.
    • His name, Bergoglio, is interesing.  "Berg" means "mountain" in old english, dutch, norse, icelandic, Proto-Germanic, and Indo-European... all Euro/Roman countries.  "Oglio" is a river in Italy, pointing us to Rome.  So we have the new Pope's name meaning rock-rome.  Peter means 'rock'.  So some are saying his last name is Peter/Roman.
    • Others are saying he's not going to be Peter the Roman at all... because of the eerie similarities to John Paul I (who was pope for a mere 33 days).  The similarities?  Frank is the first pope to wear the real cross since John Paul I.  He's also the first to choose a name that is a 'first' since John Paul I.  So based on these things, there are people who think his days are numbered at a mere handful.  We shall see.
    • My friend (Garfette) pointed out that since both of his parents are Italian and merely immigrated to Argentina, that he is, indeed, of 100% Roman blood.  I agree with her wholeheartedly - and this might be part of WHY the prophecy calls him Peter the ROMAN... to highlight the fact that  - despite what everyone says about him being from the 'new world' or whatever - this man is a Roman.
    • Another friend (Ammathia) suggested that he chose the name Francis based on Saint Francis: Francesco di Pietro (Peter) di Bernardine.  It's a weak possibility, but it *is* there, and I can't refute that.  I just wonder if it would be that... embedded.  For lack of a better word.

    • uPDaTe:  At a Jewish site, I read: "And then we have his last name Ber-Gog-lio...  the prefix of Gog in the last name is Bear, and that the suffix is Leo the Lion.  So then I told her as follows.  David slew a bear and a lion to protect his sheep.  And that we should be calm about this.
    • uPDaTe:  From the same site's comments: 
      Jorge = George = GOG
      Bergoglio or Bar-Goglio = Son of Gog = MAGOG

    But FRANKly (hahaha...) the ideas thrown out there were pretty fun and interesting to read.  And I thought you might like to see what people are saying.

March 13, 2013

  • Rosh Chodesh Nisan

    Yesterday was Rosh Chodesh Nisan.  What is that?  'Rosh Chodesh' is the first day of the month, and 'Nisan' is the month.  So because of the New moon on the 11th, the twelfth of March was the 1% moon, or new moon.  Hebrew months always start on the new moon... so March 12 was Rosh Chodesh Nisan.  There's your Hebrew lesson for the day.  ((wink!))  Hey - it's fun to learn something new, right?

    Having said, Rosh Chodesh Nisan is slightly more significant than other 'first day of the month's.  Why?  Because Rosh Chodesh Nisan is exactly in the middle of the Hebrew year.  It's the middle day, according to many teachers... or so I've read.

    And yesterday was even MORE special.  Why?  Because we're at an extremely important point in history.  The last pope has resigned.  The trump judgments are about to begin.  We're on the cusp of the coming wrath.  The time is upon us.  And don't think for a second that Yehovah isn't a god of order/patterns.  He has set up certain days to be special, and things happen on those specific days according to His plan.

    Nisan is full of special days.  March 25th (at sunset) begins Pesach/Passover.  The following day is Unleavened Bread, followed by Firstfruits.  For a week, all leavening must be removed from the home and is not eaten.  The Counting of the Omer is about to begin.  We will celebrate the Seder with Elijah's cup, anticipating his arrival.  LOTS of very important things are on the horizon, and as for me and my house?  We're pretty geeked.  Already watching the videos by Aish - they have two cute ones I'll link to, later.

    But as for Rosh Chodesh Nisan?  It did not pass insignificantly:

    CARDINALS BEGIN ELECTION PROCESS
    http://abcnews.go.com/...cardinal-dolan-predicts-pope-thursday-vote...101

    March 12 - Black smoke poured out of the chimney above the Sistine Chapel today, signalling that the first vote for a new pope did not succeed in settling on a new pontiff.  Few expected the first vote to determine the next pope and the black smoke was not a surprise. The next vote by the Catholic cardinals is expected to be held on Wednesday.

    The cardinals retreated to the Sistine Chapel in a choreographed procession with the 115 cardinals eligible to vote marching in two by two while singing prayers. ...The cardinals read the secrecy oath in unison, and then came forward to individually to put their hands on the Gospels and repeat an oath of secrecy... 

    New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan predicted a new pontiff by Thursday. "My guess is that we'd have a new Successor of St. Peter by Thursday evening, with a hoped-for inaugural Mass on March 19..."  The diocese spokesman confirmed the letter to ABC News.

      We are at a very important junction.  What happens next is prophetic, will effect every nation, ever religion, every people group.  It will make history.  This is the last prediction before the end - Peter the Roman, who will see his flock thru tribulation.  And are you surprised that this very important event would begin on Rosh Chodesh Nisan?  Because I'm not.  I'm just smiling.  Because Rosh Chodesh means nothing to the Catholics.  They don't factor it in... but as for me and my Lord?  Oh, it's very poignant timing!!

March 12, 2013

  • Guest Post (Referral)

    Yeah, don't laugh, k?  I'm busy, this morning.  I have stuff.  Everywhere.  From last week's printing extravaganza, and it has to be organized and/or put away, and some of it finished up.  And I don't have TIME for everything, you know!  And I'm starting to get buggy about getting photo stuff done, so if I can get on top of the paper clutter and school projects, I might get to picture editing tomorrow... which would be SO kewl, since I haven't done it since September, so I'm WAYYYY behind, again!

    So... because I'm doing stuff elsewhere, I'm redirecting my readership to something a friend shared with me yesterday on Facebook.  It's called "The Coolest Experience I had as an Apple Store Employee".  (LINK).  I followed the link, and the story really made my day.

    ...And I have to tell you, I loved this, because my kids and I use Sign Language a LOT in public.  Mostly because I don't like having to raise my voice when we're out and about - it's easier when I need a kid and I'm at the fast food counter and they're in a booth just to sign the name of the child I want and 'come help me', and it happens without a word.  At a yard sale, I'll hop out, and if I see a Magic Tree House book, I can sign to the car "Lydia, need Tree House Book 24?" and she can sign yes or no back, without me having to run back and ask (True story.).  Or if we're at Great Wolf Lodge and Brian's got the bigger kids on the slides and I'm with the littles on the lazy river, I can sign to him 'Aaron potty' as he comes out the tube and makes eye contact with me.  It's SO nice.  When we went to Quaker Steak & Lube the other night, and that joint has something like THIRTEEN televisions, all blaring hockey, basketball, races, etc... we couldn't hear ourselves across the table.  So we just switched to signing.  Makes it SO much easier with a long table seating seven people!

    Anyhow, this story made me smile.  It's about a guy helping a classroom full of children get laptops... a classroom full of children who spoke Sign Language... and the fun little twist at the end, when he goes on his lunch break.  You'll like it - it's worth five minutes of your time.  ((grins))

March 11, 2013

  • Weight n' Workouts

    I am typically a very driven person.  I research stuff up until it's so dissected and analyzed, it's not funny.  I'm pretty meticulous about schedules, have a metric crap-ton of goals at any given moment, and...

    ... yet I am so freakin' out of shape again...!!!!!!

    Okay.  Okay.  I... did really well with the 30-day shred, but frankly it wasn't for me.  Honestly?  Fitness work-outs aren't for me.  As a goal driven person, I wanted there to be a finis at the end of the measure, for there to be a desired result, and do you know what sucks about fitness?  You NEVER get there.  And even if you do, if you don't keep KILLING yourself to maintain?  It's over, baby.  Everything you did is immediately undone.  One three-day bout of flu and you're set back a month.  And I have a hard time with that.  It's like playing Triple Town... no matter how many floating castles you score, you are GOING to DIE... there's no winning that stupid game.  Irritating to the nth.  It's the same with the 30-day Shred.  No matter how hard you work, how many calories you take off, you are GOING to get FAT again, unless you beat yourself to a bloody pulp and live a life of sweat and pain and misery, and will someone PLEASE tell me where the joy is in that?  Because (yeah, go ahead, laugh) I just do NOT see it.

    I'm chubby.  My daughter said so.  "You're not fat, Mom, you're chubby."   Ha. Hahahahhhhhhnnnevermind.  I know it.  Okay: I know that I'm chubby.  I have a six-baby-wide butt'n'belly.  I did it to myself, and I don't regret it, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, because the ends TOTALLY justified the means.  But that doesn't mean I like the ends.  It just means that I choose the chub, if'n it means I get to find stuffed animals stuck to my fridge, matchboxes between the sofa cushions, pictures of Optimus Prime under my chair leg at the table and legos under the soft spot of my foot.  ((Nix that last.  That hurts.))  Of this pic, I'm second from the left, where belly/bottom is concerned (except I weirdly have super slender wrists/arms and calves/ankles)  I'm a weird combo, and it's the part that's second from the left that's not acceptable.  Not for me, anyhow.

    I thought I'd use MFP starting with the new year (5773, so we're talking Oct 2012) and lose weight.  And I did Tae-Bo in the mornings and elliptical in the afternoons.  And I lost ten pounds!  Woo-HOO!  And then I thought I'd kick it up with the 30-day Shred with Brian after kid bedtime, and I sloughed off on the Tae-Bo (but still did elliptical), and STILL lost another seven pounds.  WooooT.  Then I kind of got lazy around naptime and dropped the elliptical, and gained weight.  "Oh, that's muscle!" Jillian lied to me.  Bull-hooey.  So I added back the Tae-Bo and did the Shred... and gained weight.  So I was shredding my hiney off, Tae-Bo-ing before breakfast... and gaining weight.  And was getting majorly pissed off, because you don't gain muscle weight until you shed the 25-poun'a fat-butt, hello.  So I got mad and quit.

    Besides, my MFP group sucked, and that was discouragement on top of discouragement, and screw that un-joyful way of living.  I'd rather be fat and happy and have chocolate and joy than stinky and sweaty and sore and unhappy.  And I told my MFP group that, too.  They blinked, and said nothing... so I figured if they didn't give a whup, neither did I.  So I walked.

    And now here I am.  Sucking in to fit the only jeans that I can still button (barely).  I think I'm back to square one, and that's pretty amazing, considering I busted some major booty from October 15 to January 15... and it's only March 11.  THAT's discouraging - gain it in half the time it took to lose it?  That seems just wrong, don't you thik?  And so yes, yes, YEAH, OKAY, I know I have to do something, or stop complaining... and I'm NOT about to buy new jeans.  No way.  So...

    I got to thinking.  And here's what I saw:

    1. Tae-Bo + Elliptical + (nada) = weight loss.
    2. Tae-Bo + Elliptical + Shred = weight loss.
    3. (nadda) + Elliptical + Shred = weight loss.
    4. (nada) + (more nada) + Shred = GAIN
    5. Tae-Bo + (nada) + 30/Shred = GAIN
    6. Tae-Bo + (nada) + (more nada) = GAIN

    So what I'd done shows that Tae-Bo does nothing.  Shred does nothing.  the ONLY numbers that show loss are the ones that involve elliptical (which is the softer/better version of running, fyi).  So if you want to lose weight, you don't buy the videos.  You don't crunch and plank and strengthen.  You can crunch and plank and strengthen until you're blue in the face and sweating buckets... it's the RUNNING that does it.  Nothing else will ever, ever, ever work.

    So I went looking for an elliptical plan.  Except people apparently do plans based on WORKING ellipticals, that can adjust to certain inclines or tensions.  And my elliptical?  I got it for $25 off Craigslist because the digital thingers don't work.  ((This pic?  Pretty much like what I have.))  I have no readout, no adjustments.  I can increase tension with the twist of that knob, but it doesn't have numbers on it, so it's not like I know what I'm adjusting to/from, and with five littles, I never know what setting some child walked by and twisted it to.  But I can use it, regardless, and it's mine, and... so apparently I have to create my own workout plan.  My own 'Booty-to-Buff(er)' workout plan for elliptical.  Because if there's a wheel to be had, I have to re-invent it.

    I'm basing it on this dude's plan... which is too simplistic for me.  I need to mark things off as I go, dagnabbit.  A plan means executable steps which can be reached.  Something that - if I get sick, go on vacation, or take a break, I can back up on a little and get back to where I was without starting ALL over, winging it.  And I can get into this machine.  I can do the elliptical thing without worrying about five children not keeping up behind me.  Can do it at home, with little room, little investment, little trouble.  I just need a plan.

    And running?  I love that.   I run.  Running and swimming are the only sports I ever got into.   Probably because they can be done alone and I hate human interaction. ((Although I ran with a guy named Greg in college.  I miss Greg.  He was a Criminal Justice major and we just hit it off, and he was fast and I'm long-legged, so we ran well together.  I wonder if he ever ended up CIA, like he wanted...))  Running is just... total body, total cardio, it's... freeing.  So is swimming, for that matter.  It's running in water, sort of.  And elliptical is for people with children, LoL!!  And while I'm torn about whether or not I'm EVER going to not hate fitness... maybe if I get back to what I enjoy, it'll be better... no?

    So there's my chart.  S'why this post is late (after noon, anyhow).  Well, that and Monday's are busy school days.  But I hope to get started... and see if I can make this new schedule work for me.

March 10, 2013

  • Adventure Day!

    I haven't been home today to post.

    We went to our old town, today, to see a play directed by a friend of mine.  I love her to death, and we always drive up to see the shows she puts together.  And the kids like it, because the shows are geared toward younger patrons.  This time it was  'Cinderella: The Untold Story'... which fits perfectly with the faerie tale unit we're doing this year.  And of course my kids love going to the barn theatre... it's really unique, an experience in itself.

     Then we drove past our old house... it's looking so terrible.  The owners have ripped the boards off the front of one of the barns... it's just trashed.  The house looks saggy and forlorned, nothing like it did when we lived there.  Old man Jensen across the way must've died, because his house is completely empty, half the trees have been taken down around it, and there's a big excavator in the yard.  We drove out past my never-was-really-a-friend N's house... it didn't bring back any good memories, either.  Brian says he misses our old town... but everywhere we looked, we saw bad memories.  The players?  Yeah, THAT went well for us.  The church?  Um, no... MOPs?  That wasn't a good experience, either.  Dance?  Miss Marci's gone.  Even the little gamer shop our friend Steve opened seems to have folded.  So sad.  I just don't see much to go back to.

    We went to Walmart (rare for us), and got Brian a new work watch.  His old one lost the crown, and with Daylight Savings?  It was time for a new watch.  While there, I got Lydia a watch, too - Isaac got one for X-mess and LOVES it... and now Lydia's entranced with hers, too.  I also bought too many reams of printer paper (homeschoolers go thru it) and FORTY pair of socks.  Laugh if you want - with seven people in the house, we need them!

    Then we drove down to our tax lady's house and picked up our return from her and had a nice little visit.  The kids love going there - her husband is a big-time hunter, and there are elk, deer, caribou, pheasant, and more all over the walls.  And of course they love throwing the ball for their dog, Tag.  It's always a nice visit, going there.

    And to wrap up our adventure, we took the kids to supper at Quaker Steak & Lube.  We'd never been before - there were motorcycles and cars hanging from the ceiling everywhere!   Our boys were giddy out of their minds with all the cool stuff to look at, and their kid meals came in car-shaped boxes (that they're loading with little people, as I type!).  We ate way too much, and brought home two full lunches boxed for Brian.  It was good food - and for every adult entree, a kid meal is free, so Lydia, Brian, and I covered the cost of Isaac, Ethan, and Aaron's meals.  It was very nice!

    But I must say, I'm pooped!  I wish I had pictures of the show to share, but my camera batteries were dead and I didn't know it.  So bummed... I'm hoping the drama class will put one on-line for me.  ((wink!))  But even so, we had a full, wonderful day.

    AND... did I mention we finished moving my mom into her new house yesterday?  So yeay... that's done, too!!  I think it's time for a nap, though.  This time change business stinks...

March 9, 2013

Anna

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