I Did 1,874 Stair Push Ups in February

And I am proud of myself. That's an average of 67 each day! I am cool. I am woman! Hear me roar! This month I am moving down a step. February's nearly 1,900 were with me leaning on the fourth step. This week I want to average 100 a day with at least 50% on the third step. Dang, moving down one step makes those push ups much harder. My form on the fourth step is good. Butt down, back straight, and body all the way down each time. Form is not so good now that I am down a step. Gives me something to work for.

Shots Fired at Coastal Carolina University

Albert called last night to tell us the campus was on a lock down. Some one shot a nineteen year old student in a university owned apt around 7:30 Tuesday evening. The call scared the heck out of me. Granted the shooting was in the evening, it was off campus, targeted one person only (as far as I can tell)and Albert was miles away. But an on campus shooting brings up terrifying images of dead children. While I thank God that my son and his friends are safe someone's son is dead. I bet those parents love him just as much as I love Albert.

Month Ending Goal

I up too 100 4th step pushups daily. I ususally do 25 or 30 at a time which means i need to do 3 or 4 sets I order to get my 100+ in. Since I'm ready to stay at 100/day for now, I've started working on form, making sure my butt is down and I move slowly and go down as far as I can. I'm proud of what I'm doing but it is more fun being laz. In March I move down to the third step.

Doing Myself Proud

I am pleased witah myself. I am turning into the stair push-up champ for the 61 year old chunkettes. I have done stair push-ups every day (but one) this month. I started out doing two sets of ten and last night I did 4 sets (30,25,28,16) for a total of 99. Way to go girl.

Stair Push-ups

For a little over two weeks I've been doing stair push-ups. I stand on the first floor, put my hands on the fourth step and do full body push-ups. It's not as easy as it sounds. But it is a lot easier then floor push-ups. So far today I've done two sets of thirty and plan on a set of twenty to twenty five before bed. The tough thing is soon I have to move down to putting my hands on the third step. It is a start.

Family

So this morning, I spoke eloquently to my husband and son, about how brave and daring I was. How I was charging off through the bitter cold to save the world by placing library books on shelves so the public could find them. They laughed me out of the house. In other news I've been fascinated (in an icky sort of way) with on online flame war between a Harvard educated blogger and a street wise blogger. Not surprisingly the Harvard education trumps the street smarts. What does surprise and sadden me is harshness and pettiness of some of the comments by supporters especially on the Harvard side. Nothing wrong with taking sides. But some of them sound so gleeful with the anticipated downfall of the other side. That's just sad. Maybe we never leave high school.

I do miss blogging.

Knitting is my passion theses days. I love the red shawl I made with Cephlapod Travelers's yarn, Red Sea. It is a gorgeous color and fun to wear. I need to take a picture and post it. Right now I'm working on a dog hat for Albert. Picture needed.

I Miss Blogging

I'm thinking of concentrating on my knitting and reading and getting healthier. Right now I am almost finished with a sweater. I can't remembered how many sweaters I've started but I think I only finished one before this one and it is too snug. I working on a yoked cardigan made of Cherry Hill's Oceania yarn. I bought the yarn several years ago. At that time (I was a new knitter) I was mostly impressed with the fact that one skein was enough to complete a sweater. I'm learning that is not a good reason to buy yarn. I don't like the yarn because: The color is coming off on my fingers because the tag says it knits at 4.5 stitches per inch, i'm getting 6 stitches per inch and finding that a bit loose And because it is sparkly. I like it because: I have plenty of yarn The colors (tropical storm) are gorgeous It was in my stash I like it enough to spend a zillion hours making it and I think I will like it enough to wear.

New Horizons

I've just finished reading Noelle Hancock's book, My Year With Eleanor. Noelle lost her job shortly before her 29th birthday. Seeing a quote about conquering fears from Eleanor Roosevelt, she decided to spend her 29th year facing a fear a day.

That inspired me. I'm not a particularly fearful person and I don't feel the need or have an interest in facing a fear a day, but I'm retired and my life is kind of boring. I'm going to to spend a year doing at least one thing a week to expand my horizons.

This week my horizon expansion is to check out yoga classes in the area and choose the best one for me.

Restart

I may be ready to start up blogging again. I've been knitting up fish hats galore. Tomorrow I'll post the pictures.

Years of the Socks II

This will be the year of the sock. I've finished the first pair and I'm almost done the first sock of the second pair.

Entitled

I work in retail. Most customers are pleasant people. Some aren't. While the ones that aren't pleasant are frequently annoying, the up side is we can always laugh at them.

Being rude or condesending to clerical staff doesn't mean you are smarter then we are or better then us, it just means you have issues. Being angry with me because I don't have the book you want in stock doesn't mean I'll suddenly become clarvoyant and know what you want before you do. It just means you are rude. Leaving trash (used tissues, food trash or papers you no longer want), doesn't mean your time is more important then mine, it just means you are lazy or disqusting or both.

While that kind of behaviour annoys me it also makes me laugh. I laugh because it shows people being themselves. People's weaknesses are easy to spot'

You Are Never Too Old To Kiss Your Mother

Getting kisses off teenage sons is tough. I have to bribe my boys to get a measly peck on the cheek. And if truth be told the rare cheek kiss is get is just not enough kisses.

Albert thinks that now he is in college he is too old to kiss his mother. Luckily I have the car keys and the money. Every once in a while I refuse to give him one or the other or both if he refuses to give me a kiss. He hates it.

Sock Of the Month Club

I joined a Sock-of-the-Month club, the kind where once a month they send you a pattern and enough yarn to make a pair of socks. I've received 3 kits so far and finished about 1/3 of one sock. And I'm not following the pattern. I almost never -- well maybe never--follow a pattern. I have more fun making up my own as I go along.

Of course there are problems with never following a pattern. The gloves I made for sweetie are the prime example. They are beautiful but they are two different sizes. And I remade the second one twice. I have learned to keep count of the stitches. So I think the socks will both be the same size.

Back to the sock of the month club. I am in a sock making frame of mind. I plan to make lots of socks this year. Socks will be given as gifts. But I need to pick up the pace. I've been in the SOM club for 2 months and am 1/6th of the way through one set. At this rate Al is the only one who will experience the Joy of Socks.

People

The more I work for the public the less I like people. I stop seeing that the vast majority of people are pleasant and thoughtful and see the minority who just don't care for any one but themselves. The thoughless few wear me out. Recent examples include the mom who told me I wasn't looking hard enough for the book her daughter needed for a report due the following morning, even though I was on my knees looking book by book, or the parents who allow their toddlers to pull books off the shelves and gleefully tell other parents how nice it is to be out and not have to clean up after their kids, or the people who leave trash, tissues, used diapers for one of us to clean up.

I don't forget about the many adults and children who thank me for my help, who cleanup after themselves or tell me how much they love the store.

I'm tired of allowing myself to be brought down by the negative few. I think I'll start paying attention to the nice folks. I'll make a mental note of the people who are thoughtful or kind. I'm going to work on noticing the good and ignoring the bad. I love this job. I want to continue to enjoy it.

I'll be a single parent for a few days

Al will drive down to to pick up our number one son and bring him home for spring break. I think he is looking forward to a few days away from the routine. I'm wishing it was me that could go, and if it were me I would go down a week early.

Oh well, I need to save my vacation days for the summer. When it is nice and warm and I can spend the days at the beach.

Work is Called Work for a Reason

I spent all day changing over displays from one set of books to another. I like interacting with people, not moving books around. It seems that more and more of my job is moving books around. It makes me wonder what I my ideal job. What do I most want to do?

I don't want to subsitute at the local elementary school.
I don't want to go to my pre-retirement job.
I don't want another job in retail.
And I don't want to sit at home all the time.
So what are my options?

It's Been a Year

Dad died a year ago today. It's been a rough day.

I miss him.

My Boys Are Here

I haven't seen the boys in almost 3 weeks.  I've missed them.  But finally they are here.  They flew in this evening.  I met them in the airport and promptly broke into loud discordant sobs.   It had been so long since I had seen  them, it felt so good to hug them.  My sons are with me and it feels good.

Of course the minute I started to cry the boys told me to stop.  And they told me I could never meet me at an airport again.  I don't care.  My boys are here.

I'm In Heaven

I am in the middle of a month's vacation in Myrtle Beach and it truly is my idea of heaven, or as close to it as is available on earth. Mom and I (the mom part of that is going very well) took several days to get here. We spent the first night with my nephew and his wife and the next two nights with mom's cousin and her husband. Both of those visits were wonderful. But I was really anxious to be in my own little house near the beach.

Mom and I got her Thursday afternoon. It is such a pleasant house. It is quiet, no kids, no animals, no TV, no radio--no husband. I do what I want, when I want and how I want. I'm working on quilting, knitting, sunning myself and reading a book a day. It's the life for me. At least for a couple of weeks. I miss the boys and I really miss Al. I have no one to snuggle next to in bed, to bounce ideas off. I miss him. But even so, it's nice to be here. I'm glad I came.

Being with my mother is nice. It is going better then I expected, but in a way it is a little sad. It's as if our roles are reversed. I am the responsible adult and she is -- oh she is somewhere between the obedient child and the well mannered guest. She is happy to go along with what ever I plan, happy to help in any way possible, but not willing, on anything more involved then what she wants for dinner, to take charge or make make a suggestions. This is not the mom I know and it's not the mom I really want. I would like our time here to be more equal, to be a partnership. That said, I am having a good time, and I am seeing her in a different light. I hear more if her stories from her childhood and her young adult hood. Not only am I enjoying them I can relate to them on a woman to woman level.