Exercise Alternatives

I don't like to work out...at least at the moment. I know that deep down there is an athlete somewhere in me, but I keep drowning out her cries for liberation with ice cream. I have, however, decided that I need to do something and want to make it fun for myself as well. Therefor, I have purchased an exercise hoop and attempt to keep it spinning.

I read awhile back about a new exercise craze called hoop-notics, which utilizes weighted hula hoops to help strengthen the core muscles. For me, I'm working a lot of  the "bend over and pick the hoop off the floor" muscles....but I swear that I'm going to keep at until I can actually keep the hoop moving for more than 3 seconds.

When discussing my new exercise plan with my sister, she told me what she was doing and I have adopted that as well. She read in magazine that you don't have to go to a gym or have a bunch of equipment to work you muscles. Instead, you associate the muscle work with something that you do regularly. What she has started doing is squats every time she goes to the bathroom and some triceps and biceps curls when she is brushing her teeth.

I started doing this yesterday as well (in fact I stopped at Target and picked up a 5 lb weight just to leave on the bathroom counter). It is all still early, but if I can make it a habit, then I think I will be able to keep it up. We'll see how it goes with me doing squats in the bathroom stall here at the office today, but I have high hopes.

Acrylic Ink Adventure

This past weekend I went on an adventure. My mom and I had planned to do an art quilt weekend with Judy Coates Perez for about 6 months. We made all the plans, mom bought all the materials and did lots of planning and communicating with the instructor. On Friday morning, I rolled out of bed, packed up the car and dog and as I was pulling out of the driveway to take Leo to his spaw weekend, Mom called and told me that due to unforeseen circumstances she was not going to be able to make it after all, but my sister had been roped in to take the Acrylic Ink Adventure with me.

I went by my folks' house to pick up all the supplies that mom had packed for us then met up with my sister and headed out to La Grange, TX (known for being the home of the Chicken Ranch from Best Little Whorehouse). The drive down was fantastic. It was about 4 hours of laughing and catching up (Marti and I haven't had any one-on-one time since she came out to visit me in California). We got to the hotel and checked in...and eventually got into the room. We took a short little rest and then headed out to the "Great Expectations Creativity Center", the location of where the workshop was being held. Marti and I had lots of fun coming up with Dickens references as we headed over. Sadly, we got slightly lost. Here are the directions that were provided:

General Directions to Windy Hill Lane: If you came from Highway 71 (which we were), once you are on 159/237, go about 5 miles. You'll see a few green street signs on your right; you'll pass the Jersey Barn and your left, a working oil pump-jack, then two red barns. Windy Hill is just past the second red barn. Turn left. If you reach a little white restaurant (Fishes and Loaves) on your left, you have gone too far.

We found 159/237 and started clocking the 5 miles...with Marti speeding along. We pass one sign that read Dairy Tours, Milk a Cow. I commenting "ooo, better than a wine tour". We then see some signs and one that I thought may have said "Windy Hill" but we kept going. We passed a white building that I thought was a restaurant, but it didn't look open, so we just kept on rolling along. I did ask Marti how far we'd gone and if she could slow down. Her response was "we've only gone a couple of miles, we haven't gone 5 yet". We then didn't see anything...at all...except fields...and no place to turn around. We eventually DID get turned back around because it was agreed by all parties that we had some how missed the turn. (As an FYI, when we left we clocked the distance and it turned out to be around two miles.)

We eventually did make it to Great Expectations, got checked in and set up. We threw the coordinator of the event when we told him that Marti was not Jay, even though she was forced to wear a name tag that had the wrong name all weekend (we did mark through and change the name or just put "NOT" Jay, but still). The class got started and Marti and I dove right into doing something that neither of us had any idea what it was all about. We ended up dying and painting on fabric using Acrylic inks and learned all sorts of new techniques with intentions of coming home and having a "girls' weekend" at Casa ABBA where Marti and I can fill Mom's head with all of our new found knowledge.

Here are pictures of our final "exams" where we used some of the various techniques that we learned. Now there is still work that we will both probably still do on these, but here they are as we left La Grange:

Andrea's Flower Garden

Marti's Texas Boot

 

Happy Birthday, Marti!

Happy Birthday to the best sister in the world!! You have been the person who has been by my side the longest. You protected me when I was little, you shared your cookies and cake with me (she would bring home half her treats that she got in school for her baby sister who was still at home). You also tried to drown me on more than one occasion, but I will let that go....for now. As we grew, we grew apart, as sisters will do when one is in high school and the other is an annoying junior high kid. When we moved to Texas, you were my rock when things were tough and whether you know it or not I really depended on you being there for me and love you for that. The college years, well, you taught me how to, ahem, we'll say "enjoy life"!

You inspire me all the time. I used to want to be like you but I know that I can't because you are your own unique and lovely person. You approach life with an open and giving heart, and well, we all know that I'm just too selfish!! Thanks for being my sister and best friend. May we always keep one another in our hearts...and always remember to laugh together!!

Marti - I love you.

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 29

I cannot believe that I have gone this whole month and have not recognized the gratitude that I have for my fantastic sister, Marti (and by extension her husband Graham). Marti was my first friend and my best friend and will remain so forever. She is a wonderful mother to Kathleen and Colin:

Kathleen, who, sadly decided to go to the University of Texas in Austin
and is now a Longhorn. She is an amazing kid with an old soul.

Colin, in September celebrating his 15 birthday. Sitting next to him is his cousin, Luke.
Colin has been a charmer since the day he was born.  

Marti is also a great teacher and from what I understand has the patience of the angels to tolerate her classes. She has an incredibly sensitive heart and cries when she reads "Where the Red Fern Grows" to her students. Marti and I can get tickled at the silliest things together, usually our mom. My only wish is that we would spend more time together just the two of us, but I know she is busy with the kids right now, but hopefully in a couple of more years we can hang out together for sister time.

In the meantime, I'm very grateful to have such a wonderful sister who has given our family two great additions as well as brought into our fold her husband, Graham and via Graham a whole extension of his parents, sister, brother-in-law, and their kids. When Marti and Graham got married, we increased our family not by just one but by 6 and then some.

Oh, and one last thing, totally unrelated to my gratitude for my sister.....

There was a time many, many moons ago when Kathleen wore a Texas A&M shirt!!

August Blog Challenge Day 17

Today's challenge is to post a picture of myself as a baby. So, here it is:

I am the baby with my sister. Have I mentioned lately how incredibly fabulous my sister is? I could not have asked for a better big sister, even if I didn't always show it. As kids there were times that we would fight like cats and we have drifted apart at times but always find one another again. Some fabulous things that I can say about Marti:

• When she was in school before I was old enough to go, when her class had a party she would bring treats home to share with me. 
• She tried to drown me, twice.
• She blames me for a makeup smear on her wedding dress. 
• She took me to my first fraternity party, let me get drunk, and then cleaned me up the next morning before our parents picked me up. 
• She can get into laughing fits together, usually when we are making fun of our Mom but often times as not we get to laughing over absolutely nothing.
• She gave me a reason to live at a time when I was at my darkest.
• She accepts me for me. 

Oh, this blog was probably not supposed to be about anybody else, but it isn't like I've stuck to the rules throughout this challenge.

World Water Day

I just found out that today, March 22, is World Water Day.

Last week while I was driving with my sister up to visit my grandmother, she told me her campaign to help with water waste. It started at breakfast at the hotel on Saturday. One of the kids had a bowl of cereal and there was a bunch of milk left in the bowl. Marti picked the bowl up and instead of throwing the bowl and milk into the trash she took it upstairs and poured it out in the sink. When I asked her why she did this, she gave the following explanation:

The world is in a serious water crisis and there is so much water (in many liquid forms) trapped in plastic bottles or trash bags sitting in dumps. I am going to make it my work to inform people that they need to pour the water out and release it back into the environment.

After that talk, I promised her that I would help spread the message (of course I then promptly forgot until just now) and that I would start making it a point to pour out my water bottles, soda bottles, etc. when I don't finish the drink rather than throw the bottle away with liquid trapped. I then saw that today was World Water Day and I am keeping my promise to my sister and spreading the word.

Don't let water stay trapped inside plastic. Pour out your liquids and release the molecules back into the universe.

Parade Plans

This is a conversation I had last night with my sister:

ABBA: You knew that I'm not in DC, right?
Sis: Huh?
ABBA: My trip to DC was canceled.
Sis: Oh yeah, Mom told me that. So you aren't going until the Fall?
ABBA: Nope, going over Easter. I'm going to be there during the Cherry Blossom Festival. I'm going to get tickets and sit in the Grand Stand during the parade. I know, I'm a big dork, but hey, how many people do we know can say they saw the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade?
Sis: I have on my bucket list that I want to go see the Rose Bowl Parade.
ABBA: I HAVE CONNECTIONS!! I might be able to just make that work for us!!

FYI...connection out there...

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to the BEST sister in the world!!

Flashback Friday

We are celebrating my sister, Marti's, birthday this weekend. When we were kids, Mom would make us doll cakes using a Skipper doll and a cake baked in a bowl.