Til' we meet again.

President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away a couple of days ago. He was the prophet of the LDS Church and I have a very fond place in my heart for this sweet loving man.

I remember the day I first saw him. Unlike the superstar musicians of my youth that I screamed and cried and shoved to get closer to, I stood in awe at this celebrity of a different type. He was with his wife, Marjorie and I mostly remember how much he loved her. He showed it without worry of public attention, holding her hand, guiding her arm and loving caresses.

I remember that he spoke of tolerance, kindness and Christian living. I think I loved most about him that he demanded that true "saints" back up their words with actions. Something that so many of us fall short of at one time or another.

I love his smile, his short stature and his quick laugh.

I do not know this man. I never went to his home, broke bread with him or walked down a street in his company, but I would not call him a stranger and he has changed my life.

I read the biographies, the memorials, the tributes, the stories found on www.lds.org but the comment I found that most echoed my own sentiments was this,

"President Hinckley had the gift to make people want to do better and to feel that they could...For me, he raised the standard of what it is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, giving all." President Henry B. Eyring

How piddly the things I worry about seem when I dwell on the work of this great man. Spiritual giant of the world...friend of all religions...admired by millions...loved by all who have taken the time to know him.

Til' we meet again, dear friend. Til' we meet again.

Snow Day

"Mrs C, can you come here for a minute?"

I looked at him warily...Mr. C had been in the mood lately for doing things that made me nervous like jumping out at me and tickling.

"Please? I promise, just for a second."

I stood and walked to where he stood near the front door. He turned the handle and opened the door.

I gasped. "Its beautiful."

And there we stood for the next few minutes watching the snow fall...our late weird weather Pacific Northwest January snowfall. The streets were white, the night silent, the cold air rushed around our bare legs and we just watched the fat flakes float down and for me, the world was at peace.

Picture of the day

North Head Lighthouse - We watched for whales, but didn't ever see any!

Beach Weekend

Dead Man's Cove - Near Cape Disappointment, WA


Fort Stevens, OR - Playing in an old army jeep


The Living History role players at Fort Canby. We learned all about World War 2.

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse - anything but a disappointment. What a beautiful view!


Watching the tankers coming down the Columbia River in Astoria's Maritime Museum.


Errrr...is that a TORPEDO you are sitting on?


My serious cowboys...


The SUPERSTAR family! Playing around in Seaside, OR.

THR vs RPE...

I'm having a problem. I am exercising daily at an average of 60 min/day cardio + strength training.

What Sparkpeople tells me is to eat 1800-2100 calories! WOW...thats a lot more than I'm currently consuming. I have lots of questions about that, but I'm going to save this topic for another day and perhaps a nutritionist?

The problem that I'm having has to do with my exercise. I started looking into what the "optimum" way to maximize the results of the exercise and after much reading I am as confused as ever.

First there is a Target Heart Rate (THR). For me...the zone is about 112 to 149. then there is Borg's Rate of Perceived Exertion Level (RPE). This is the way you FEEL when you exercise...how hard are you actually working and is often shown by a 1-10 scale.

So, lately, following the THR method, when I exercise I feel good...Heart rate monitor shows between 130 and 145 usually. Muscles are warm, breathing is slightly labored...but I'm not "exerting" myself. I don't feel like I'm doing ENOUGH. I should be sweating and breathing hard and muscles burning by the end of it...

Right?

I'm such a health idiot...really...I've had bad information fed me for so long (thanks to poor image magazines...be skinny by eating NOTHING!) and such a poor understanding of what my body should and should not be able to do that I'm confused on whether I'm doing what I should be doing or on if I'm being a total slacker.

That being said...they say that the talk test is also a good indicator...you should be able to carry on a conversation and still breathe comfortably

(i can do that!)

...but you should not be able to sing.

(haven't tried this yet!)

So - the questions continue...the confusion is still here. I have a personal trainer small group meeting tonight. I think I will pose these questions and see if I can't feel better about all that time spent exercising!

Hoorah for Birthday Rollovers

A comment brought the birthday rollover story to mind. Its such a classic that I thought it needed to be documented for family history purposes. Besides...everyone needs a good laugh every once in a while.

So, it starts in Bear Lake, Idaho last summer. BIG family reunion - all my siblings, step siblings and parents plus children staying at a vacation cabin. It was a blast. 40+ people and a private beach, gorgeous lawn and our very own golf cart to zoom around in.

We had a cabin, but most everyone chose to stay in a tent on the lawn. One morning as we all sat around the front of our tents in our camp chairs discussing this and that we had quite the laugh. My oldest sister J--A (names are removed to protect the embarassed) crawled out of her tent to a resounding tune of Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!

She graciously accepted our well wishes and made herself comfortable in her own camp chair. Not long after, her husband J--N also crawled out of the tent...and made this announcement, "Well, J--A...I hope you enjoyed your birthday rollover."

Silence.

And then it started...gut splitting, bend over, hold your belly laughter. Not a dry eye in the circle. Part of it was J--A's face when he said it. Mostly it was just the comment itself.

The explanation of what he meant has never fully sufficed...something about being the one to rollover all night long with sweet baby E--R. Apparently she fussed all night long and as a birthday gift to his wife he's been the one to "rollover" and care for her.

Forever more there shall be a place in my heart that shouts, "Hoorah for birthday rollovers!"

One measly little pound

Humph....worked my buns off and weighed in one measly little pound thinner this week.

Grump...so I did extra today.

snarl...60 minutes of yoga class this morning

growl...45 minutes on the elliptical

740 calories burned

And now I have to climb my stairs up and down 7 times.

Thats 98 stairs total. I'll add two more for an even 100.

That scale better be down further next Monday.

TESTING...1...2...3... TESTING.

I just discovered that my comments link was disabled when I switched my page template...sigh...and I though ya'll just didn't love me anymore.

Its back on and now you can comment to your hearts content.

B...b...b...babies?

MC had a vasectomy reversal today. Talk about painful...but we DID it!!!!!!! (Thats the eternal "we" as in I was there supporting and feeling appropriately sick about those big needles poking and prodding.) I couldn't believe the way nurses just jab with needles...gaaah. It really was disturbing.

MC is asleep right now...been loopy all day from the med cocktail they gave him...he was so brave...he was pretty nervous this AM...I could tell...it was a bag of mixed feelings for both of us.. His mood would go from playful to thoughtful then sad then back to happy....

When he had the "numbing solution" injected in I thought he was going to pass out...instead between large intakes of air to try and keep the pain minimized he squeaked out, "One is not enough...for this kind of pain you better want at least two kids...got it." Our nurse thought that was hilarious.

In his drugged dazed conciousness MC remembers the doctor talking about his swimmers...saying they looked healthy and "ready to rumble." I talked to the doc afterward and he basically said the same thing...I was hoping for him to use the term, "ready to rumble" but he didn't.

Then he handed me the post-op at home care sheet and I read these words, "If you do not acheive pregnancy in 3-4 months please reschedule an appointment to test the validity of the sperm."

My stomach dropped...it became real...THREE to FOUR months?! Suddenly I couldn't think straight...I mean, I know that we don't have to start trying for children immediately...

We had this done now more because MC is at that point where waiting longer reduces his chances of everything working right by like 30%...

Suddenly I was stopped dead in my tracks and all those fears...did we do the right thing? Are we too old? Did we think this through well enough?

Another mixture of feelings...happy, nervous, worried, happy...happy...happy.

Biggest Loser

Its 2008. This is the time of year when gym memberships increase and people swear to get rid of that spare tire around their middle or the tone that cellulite on their thighs...

Me, I'm part of Sparkpeople. Its a free online calorie and exercise tracking log as well as a support network. I'm really excited because next week starts the BIGGEST LOSER Challenges for my sparkpeople teams.

Biggest Loser is a tv show that I'm a little addicted to. I love seeing the transformation of these people on the show. I know its not realistic unless you've got the dietician, 8 hours of exercise/day and your own personal doctor and staff watching out for you...but really...there has to be a dedication on the part of the participant too.

Plus...I love BOB and JILLIAN. Bob is like the kind trainer...he's softer and gentler and trains by example. Jillian is the pusher...she yells and demands and doesn't accept no for an answer, but you always have this feeling that its because she wants whats best for you and she KNOWS you can reach a goal.

I would LOVE to be on this show...but instead...I have sparkpeople.

I'm in two challenges this next quarter.

1. PINK TEAM - PINK SHRINKERS - I'm the captain and there are about 37 team members...Gaaah! Thats a lot. But it should be fun. By week 3-4 there are usually about 1/3 that drop out or disappear because they aren't totally dedicated. This is an 8 week challenge and I hope to drop 16 pounds by the end of it.

2. Purple Pound Punchers - This is a new team for me...they are crazy. I log on once or maybe twice per day and there are 5 pages of posts that I have to catch up to. They are also very motivating. This challenge is 12 full weeks. I'm hoping to be down 24 more pounds by the end of it.

I'm really excited. I've been waiting for these teams to get started so I could feel that same motivation that I had last year. I've got my exercise plan in place...my nutrition plan in place...this should be a good year for me to be the biggest loser.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

1. Get matching tattoos

2. Travel to foreign lands

3. Get rid of a few bad habits

4. Pick up a few good habits

5. Be more adventurous