jfowens
osarah
obeniFiled under: Our Goings On | Tags: exercise, Speedo, swimming, working out
1 2 3 breathe! That’s what I repeat to myself as I swim laps and am struggling for air.
Oh, I haven’t mentioned swimming before? That’s because it’s a new activity in our lives. John and I started swimming laps at the beginning of last week. Last night I swam 100m freestyle without stopping. That’s fairly decent progress for me during the past two weeks. Our first workout was 400m. Last night, we either did 600 or 650m. We lost count. I never thought I would enjoy swimming laps, but I do!
The pros to swimming:
- It’s low impact, so it doesn’t hurt my knees.
- Better yet, it does not hurt John’s knees. (If we haven’t mentioned before, he has pretty bad knees.)
- Both John and I enjoy it, and it’s something we can do together.
- We don’t have to get drenched in sweat or endure extremely hot or cold outdoor temperatures to do the exercise.
- It’s a great whole body exercise that works cardio as well as many muscle groups.
Forseeable cons:
- The only downside that I can think of is the incredibly expensive pool membership fees. So far we haven’t gotten a pool membership and continue to pay the entrance fee (3 Euro each, or about $4.50). That won’t last long, though.
We also ordered some new swim gear last week. We’re waiting on new Speedo swim suits, goggles, ear plugs and swim caps for each of us. And guess what? We got all of that – including shipping – for $75! That’s a definite win in my book.
Have any of you swam laps for exercise? Do you have any drills or workouts you’d like to share? We’re definitely interested and would love to hear what you have to say.
With tomorrow being one of my first full days off from work in the past 6 months, I’m glad Chelsea at Roots and Rings has already taken care of the subject of today’s post: her Ten on Tuesday questions!
1. What gift are you most proud of giving?
While dating, John and I spent a great deal of time apart. Between his basic and advanced training courses as well as his assignment to Germany, we had to figure out other ways to stay connected instead of going on dates and hanging out in the evenings. One thing we did was frequently send random text messages. I saved most of our conversations and wrote them down in a journal. When we got married, I included all those texts, as well as all our old handwritten letters (and some emails later on) sent while he was in training. I also included photos from the times we were together. I love this scrapbook that I ended up giving him the week of our wedding.
2. What’s the best gift you ever received?
This is a multi-answer question. 1 – my engagement ring and wedding band. 2 – the necklace John gave me on our wedding day. The necklace is a diamond drop necklace with 3 diamonds. The first is from my maternal grandmother’s wedding ring. The second is from his paternal grandmother’s wedding ring and the third is a new diamond from him to me. I cried when it was given to me.
3. In honor of my husband: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?
I have been very lucky. I have never anything major happen to me. I haven’t even had my wisdom teeth out (not yet, at least). The most traumatic injury that I have had, however, was in second grade when I tripped on a speed bump and busted my lip and elbows open. I even cut that piece of skin just inside the upper lip. Ouch. I was in the school nurse’s office for hours before getting sent home (only to go to doctor’s visits to ensure everything was ok).
4. They say everyone gets 15 minutes of fame. Who’s 15 minutes has gone on far too long? (The Gosselins are not acceptable answers, be more creative.)
Gee, being over here, I don’t get subjected to quite as much media. I’m not sure. I recruited John for some help on this one and between the two of us, we couldn’t come up with anything other than John & Kate, so call us uncreative, but we’re throwing in the towel on this one.
5. You have 20 minutes and $1000. What do you buy?
I add in another $500 or so from us and I get a big flat screen TV from the PX. We have 1 TV, and it’s small by most people’s standards. Also, it’s 220v – aka it won’t work in the US, so when we move back, we’ll be tv-less.
If it’s against the rules to add in our own money, then I would (assuming I could be anywhere when I receive this money — any FYI I’d be in the States so I could spend it more easily and it wouldn’t automatically be reduced to 650 Euro) buy John a number of nice slacks, sweaters, and button downs for when he enters the civilian workforce in 18 months. If I had time and money left over, I’d go get myself a pumpkin spice latte and I’d get a huge bone for Béni.
6. Tell me three blogs that I need to read.
There’s not much I can suggest that I haven’t already, so here are two of my current favorite “reads.”
I worked for these two women when I lived in Austin, and they’re both very talented photographers. Sometimes it’s nice to have a break from all the reading and to just be able to look at pretty pictures!
7. Would you rather go without pizza or ice cream for the rest of your life?
Pizza. Although I loooove pizza Hawaii (pineapples and ham), I would miss all the varieties of ice cream/gelato, especially Blue Bell and Ben & Jerry’s.
8. Would you rather go to a beach or a snowy mountain?
I used to say beach, but living in Germany has given me an increased appreciation for the beauty and majesty of mountains. I honestly can’t decide. I loved sitting on the beach in Mexico on our honeymoon sipping cocktails and enjoying the sun and relaxing sound of the waves (pictures here, here and here), but I also loved our brisk hike through the Swiss valley near Jungfrau in Lauterbrunnen.
9. Are you a night owl or a morning person?
Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m either. I used to be a night owl, but living the Army life has forced both John and me to become accustomed to waking up and getting moving early in the day. I don’t mind getting up in the morning nearly as much as I used to. And most nights, I have to be in bed by 10 or else I get grumpy. Speaking of, it’s 10:08 PM. Grumble. Grumble.
10. What word do you always misspell?
I’m not sure. I’m sure there’s something I’m always misspelling and don’t even know about!
In the movie Airbud, the dog played basketball. On Sunday, our dog became the basketball:
done
Filed under: Our Goings On | Tags: first email, Monsterpiece Theater, Sesame Street
My Ten on Tuesday post this week mentioned that one of the things I remember about elementary school was sending my first email. This apparently made a few of you feel ancient. I apologize. You shouldn’t. I bet you didn’t realize that the first email was sent in 1971. Yes, just 2 years after Sesame Street debuted and Cookie Monster was smoking his pipe during “Monsterpiece Theater,” the first email was zipping along the information superhighway. It probably was not much of a superhighway then, though. I imagine it was more like a country road or maybe maybe a suburban neighborhood street…in a gated community.
When I sent my first email in 4th grade, it was part of a project with the gifted & talented class. I didn’t know what email was, nor do I think the teacher even called it email. All I recall is that I was instructed to write a letter on the computer to an assigned “buddy” at the other elementary school in our district. The teacher told us the message would go through the computer to the student at the other school. So yeah, I “emailed” in 4th grade. However, my family didn’t get a modem until midway through high school. I remember around freshman year in high school when I kept begging for my parents to get the internet. I truly thought the internet was a piece of software. I remember going to Best Buy and looking all around the software section for a program called “the internet.” Wow. That’s embarrassing to admit, especially since I now work for an IT company.
I don’t know how to tie this back in, so please excuse the abrupt shift back to the topic of Sesame Street. This morning I read this article on CNN, and I’m interested to hear everyone’s thoughts on it. Personally, I think the “adults only” comment is ridiculous, and I’d love to buy the set to show to my children some day. I think things can get too censored and PC and it just becomes flat-out ridiculous.
Filed under: Our Goings On | Tags: Alison Sweeney, gardening, health, health education, Obama, obesity, The Biggest Loser, Washington DC
For the second day in a row, I’m going to talk about Chelsea. Besides the fact that she’s a fabulous writer, a good friend and an amazing woman, she has a fantastic weekly Biggest Loser recap/commentary feature. This week’s recap can be read here. If you don’t watch The Biggest Loser and you have any interest in reading the rest of this post, it would be a good idea to go read her recap. Heck, even if you do watch the show, you should read her commentary!
Ok, did you read it? Good. Now we can continue.
This was perhaps my favorite Biggest Loser episode to date. (Note: I have only seen the past two seasons.) John and I had a great time watching it together, and it seemed like every few seconds, one of us had something great to add.
Examples:
When they announced the contestants were going to DC and Tracey celebrated, John said “Tracey is Washington’s biggest fan.” (an allusion to Chelsea’s post from last week’s recap)
And at the end, when Tracey said “I was on the Biggest Loser. How many people can say that?” I added (very matter of factly) “206.” And yes, I know “factly” is not a word.
As for the school thing and the contestants lobbying the Congressmen, it was my understanding that it was for all youth, not just elementary school kids. Think about it. If you got to high school and only needed a semester or two of a PE-type course and you were not athletic to begin with, what would teach you to be active? Where would you learn about a healthy lifestyle? Even schools that have more PE credit requirements typically don’t do a good job of trying to make the work outs fun and/or engaging. I think this is a significant downfall in our education system.
On the second challenge (the pennies), I am sure they told the contestants they could not use their shirt to carry the pennies up the steps, but if that was the only rule they gave them, I would have taken my shoes off and scooped pennies into them! I also thought it was awesome how excited Ali got toward the end of the competiton. I even rewound the DVR to watch it again. It was so cute and raw. It’s like we got a snapshot of the “real” non-BL host Ali. She’s cute!
Besides all of that, I enjoyed the part filmed at the White House. I think it’s awesome that the First Family has a garden that they eat from. I think that is an excellent example for Americans. I wish Newsweek, Time, etc. would do a big feature on it. As a side note, coming up with an article pitch like that makes me feel like Ugly Betty, another one of my favorite shoes. I also loved Bob’s comment about how he wanted to squeeze the Obamas because he loved them so much for their garden. (It was something to that effect – I didn’t take notes, but I should have this week!)
At the weigh in, I wasn’t upset to see Tracey or Liz fall below the yellow line. I was ready for either of them to go home, and though I’m not a big fan of Tracey, I do wish her well. I was blown away by how amazing she looked in the transformation moment segment. (Moment segment…hmm, I’m not sure if I can use those words together like that, maybe I should say “Transformation Moment” segment. There, that’s better.)
Bottom line: if you don’t watch The Biggest Loser, you should!
I haven’t felt like I have anything original to say lately. We haven’t had anything interesting happen to us except that Beni has been kind of down lately. I guess that’s different, but not in a good way. So instead of lamenting our boring past few days, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and join my friend Chelsea with her Ten on Tuesday post. You can click here to see a list of everyone else’s answers.
1. What animal should cease to exist? (Not including bugs. That’s too obvious.)
Since we got Beni, I have become such an animal lover that I have a hard time answering this question. I don’t like snakes and most rat-like animals, nor am I a fan of jellyfish and eels, but I know they all have their purpose. If snakes didn’t have a purpose, however, I guess they should cease to exist.
2. What was your favorite part of elementary school?
Wow, too many things come to mind! I loved our library – it had a reading loft that was like a fort. I also thought the smell in the cafeteria on mexican food day was great (though now I’d probably gag). I also liked visits from King Antonio, watching Voyage of the Mimi, silent sustained reading (SSR), mad minutes, book fairs, sending my first email in 4th grade, playing Oregon Trail (and using actual floppy disks…not the hard kind). I also miss 4 square!
3. If scientists found a way to allow dogs to talk, do you think we should implement it? Or should we just keep them quiet?
I think it’d be hilarious, because I have this image from the movie Up of talking dogs. However, I do love interpreting Beni’s looks, whines and barks for myself.
4. How do you order your Starbucks?
Considering the only Starbucks in Heidelberg is downtown on the main street where there’s no parking so you have to pay to park in a garage and walk several blocks to get there, I rarely have Starbucks. I think I have been there twice in the 18 months we have been there. However, I do love pumpkin spice lattes and coffee frappucinos. I used to like mocha frappucinos but they’re too sweet for me now.
5. What’s worse? People who don’t know the difference between your and you’re OR people who smack their food?
The former is worse. I am pretty strict on grammar even though I frequently publish my posts with missing words and spelling errors. For that, I apologize. I should get better at proof reading.
6. What CD can you listen to over and over?
Garth Brooks – The Hits, Dave Matthews Band – Live at Luther College, Dave Matthews Band – Before These Crowded Streets
7. What was the most surprising thing about college?
I remember being completely stunned that I couldn’t turn into a morning person. Before starting college, I thought “ok, I’ll be an adult now, that means I can get up early.” I signed up for 8 AM classes MWF and 9:30 AM classes on TTH. Worst. idea. ever. Like Chelsea said, I, too, became a big time napper.
8. What’s the best deal you ever got? (Biggest sale item.)
I have no idea. I recently bought a Christmas gift for someone that ended up more than half off. I also just got my Kenneth Cole jacket that was probably 60%+ off. *shrug*
9. Who is your role model? Why?
My parents are my roles models, because they have set such a great example for me of life and love.
10. What movie would you like to see that is in theaters right now?
Julie & Julia is FINALLY set to come out here this weekend, and I can’t wait to finally see it!
Filed under: Our Goings On, Seven Quick Takes | Tags: autumn, cooking, fall, Halloween, parenting, recipes, Seven Quick Takes
It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another (my second!) round of Seven Quick Takes. Admittedly, I forgot all about it last week, but I’m back on board now. Visit Conversion Diary to see everyone else’s Seven Quick Takes this week.
1. I wore orange and white today as a nod to Halloween, which is not nearly as cute as the elementary school Halloween costume parade I witnessed this afternoon. The kids from the DODDS school on post had a short 2-3 block parade around the school with an MP car escort. Parents were standing on the sidewalks waving and taking pictures. Freaking adorable.
2. Béni keeps wiping his doggie snot on my shirt right before I go to work. Is this what it’s like to have kids? My mom said she once spent the day at work with baby spit up on the back of her skirt and didn’t know it. It was probably my fault. Oops.
3. The trees have exploded this week. Some trees around our building are almost bare now. Winter, here we come. On that note, Kenneth Cole jacket, where are you? (I ordered one about a month ago and had it shipped to my parents. They mailed it to me almost two weeks ago. I’m going to need it soon!)
4. It’s only 55 days until Christmas. Living overseas, that’s more like only 30 days since I have to allocate time for shipping. I still have two major Christmas projects to do and 4 people’s gifts to buy. Yikes!
5. As a result of daylight savings time last week (Europe does it one week earlier than the US in the fall), it gets dark so early now. This is my 3rd year to experience it, but it still surprises and annoys me. Today the sun sets at 5:09 PM. Imagine going to work just after it gets light and getting off work when it’s dark. No fun, right? Oh well, at least the Christmas markets are just around the corner!
6. We made Pumpkin Yumkins and Mar-A-Lago Turkey Burgers this past week. The pumpkin muffins were great, but I recommend no icing at all. I wasn’t a big fan of the yogurt icing and thought they tasted great without any topping. I’d also be willing to try cream cheese on top or even a buttercream or powdered sugar-based icing. The turkey burgers were also tasty. However, if you make them, just be careful with the patty size. We halved the recipe and had 5 LARGE patties. I would say halving the recipe yields 6 patties. Also, if you make them, be sure to get ground turkey breast. If you just get ground turkey, it includes the dark meat too, and this yields nearly the same nutritional value as ground beef.
7. Tonight is our friend’s birthday party. She and her husband aren’t affiliated with the military, so there are a number of American goodies they can’t get on the German economy, so we’ll be bringing some fun treats to the party (root beer, Oreos, Sun Chips, chips & dip, etc.). I’m sure we’ll look like some enthusiastic health nuts when we go to the check out at the grocery store. Hah!
Happy Friday & Happy (early) Halloween!
Filed under: Our Goings On | Tags: Christmas cards, mail, mail delivery, postal service, USPS
I was elated to see our Christmas cards arrive in the mail today. I ordered them from Snapfish on October 19th, and receiving an order in just 8 days over here is nothing short of awesome.
You won’t believe what else we received.
Seriously.
Along with this year’s Christmas cards, came a returned Christmas card from last year. This this was stamped at the post office on December 8th. It’s been 10 months and 21 days or 325 days since we mailed this card. Really, postal service? Really?
Note the date of the post mark. Dec. 8!
I want to take this opportunity to apologize if anything I have ever sent to any one of you has gotten lost in postal service never-never land or if, you know, I have ever forgotten to finish writing on a card to you. Yes, that has happened as well. This past August, my sister-in-law informed me that I stopped writing mid-sentence in her birthday card. I didn’t even sign it. How embarrassing!
Have any of y’all ever had something like this happen? Mail returned (or delivered) incredibly late? Blatant and embarrassing forgetfulness?
