OK, here’s one last gala photo. I’m including this one because my sweet husband Brian is also in it.
I’m trying really hard not to say anything negative about this photo, since last time so many people very sweetly told me to shut up with the disparaging comments about myself. I’ll just leave it at this: We are neither of us very photogenic.
By that I mean we look better in person--especially my very attractive man.
OK, here’s one last gala photo. I’m including this one because my sweet husband Brian is also in it.
I’m trying really hard not to say anything negative about this photo, since last time so many people very sweetly told me to shut up with the disparaging comments about myself. I’ll just leave it at this: We are neither of us very photogenic.
By that I mean we look better in person--especially my very attractive man.
OK, here’s one last gala photo. I’m including this one because my sweet husband Brian is also in it.
I’m trying really hard not to say anything negative about this photo, since last time so many people very sweetly told me to shut up with the disparaging comments about myself. I’ll just leave it at this: We are neither of us very photogenic.
By that I mean we look better in person--especially my very attractive man.
OK, by request I’m deleting some of my own negative comments about myself. Yes, I would have liked to look better in my dress, but I am pretty hard on myself. Even when I was a skinny little college girl I was never satisfied with how I looked (except in retrospect how I would love to have that body again which required hardly any exercise).
I’m trying to focus on better points. Check out my cute silver jewelry! I actually borrowed all of it from a nice lady in my town who runs a cute little boutique. She very generously offered to lend me a few pieces for the gala when I had intended to buy something from her. I did buy a pretty silver purse from her for the event.
Excuse the weird pointy undergarment thing--wardrobe malfunction. Instead notice my shapely shoulders and my ample bosom. There, Shelley, is that better?
We also have a professional photo of Brian and me, but I had trouble scanning it in for some reason. I will try again later.
Finally, just a little picture of the hubby and me, outside the New York Public Library the day after the gala.
OK, by request I’m deleting some of my own negative comments about myself. Yes, I would have liked to look better in my dress, but I am pretty hard on myself. Even when I was a skinny little college girl I was never satisfied with how I looked (except in retrospect how I would love to have that body again which required hardly any exercise).
I’m trying to focus on better points. Check out my cute silver jewelry! I actually borrowed all of it from a nice lady in my town who runs a cute little boutique. She very generously offered to lend me a few pieces for the gala when I had intended to buy something from her. I did buy a pretty silver purse from her for the event.
Excuse the weird pointy undergarment thing--wardrobe malfunction. Instead notice my shapely shoulders and my ample bosom. There, Shelley, is that better?
We also have a professional photo of Brian and me, but I had trouble scanning it in for some reason. I will try again later.
Finally, just a little picture of the hubby and me, outside the New York Public Library the day after the gala.
OK, by request I’m deleting some of my own negative comments about myself. Yes, I would have liked to look better in my dress, but I am pretty hard on myself. Even when I was a skinny little college girl I was never satisfied with how I looked (except in retrospect how I would love to have that body again which required hardly any exercise).
I’m trying to focus on better points. Check out my cute silver jewelry! I actually borrowed all of it from a nice lady in my town who runs a cute little boutique. She very generously offered to lend me a few pieces for the gala when I had intended to buy something from her. I did buy a pretty silver purse from her for the event.
Excuse the weird pointy undergarment thing--wardrobe malfunction. Instead notice my shapely shoulders and my ample bosom. There, Shelley, is that better?
We also have a professional photo of Brian and me, but I had trouble scanning it in for some reason. I will try again later.
Finally, just a little picture of the hubby and me, outside the New York Public Library the day after the gala.
OK, the problem with that title is that I went to weigh in at Weight Watchers today and I actually did lose a pound. Of course, it had been at least 3 weeks since I’d weighed in.... Probably my sporadic meeting attendance is not helping weight loss, since those meetings really do seem helpful for keeping me interested in my weight loss program. Now that the kids are getting settled to school, I should be able to start going to meetings regularly and even staying for the whole meeting. Theoretically. I’m going to make the effort. The plan is to go on Mondays or Wednesdays while Ewan is in nursery school. I won’t be able to do that next week, however, since I’ll be in New York City Monday through Wednesday (woohoo!).
Another plan is to switch back to the Weight Watchers Flex plan. I like Core, but looking back at the last three months and my pitiful weight loss (seriously, I’ve lost like 3 pounds) I’m obviously not doing it very well. So I’ll go back to counting points and be strict with myself. I’m thinking I’ll still try to stick to a lot of Core foods but count the points. Hopefully I’ll be able to re-start cardio soon as my ankle heals. I can’t believe I’ve just kind of whistled my way through the last three months with so little weight loss, though like I mentioned in a previous post, I have gone down in clothing size, so it’s not all bad. Still, I think I can crank this up a bit and lose some actual weight before Halloween--so I can wear a smokin’ hot costume, of course. OK, maybe not smokin’ hot but at least not a chubby pumpkin costume.
Anyone else out there who wakes up and says, “Hey, what have I been doing all summer? How do I lose this weight?”
Note: Yes, the picture at the top is me just before my wedding in May 1999. Don’t ask about the hair--had a misunderstanding with the hairdresser--since when does “soft curls” translate to “tight ringlets”? Plus I never wear my bangs that way. I should really try to get over it, I know. Gorgeous flowers, though. I include it because I sure wish I could still fit in that dress!
OK, the problem with that title is that I went to weigh in at Weight Watchers today and I actually did lose a pound. Of course, it had been at least 3 weeks since I’d weighed in.... Probably my sporadic meeting attendance is not helping weight loss, since those meetings really do seem helpful for keeping me interested in my weight loss program. Now that the kids are getting settled to school, I should be able to start going to meetings regularly and even staying for the whole meeting. Theoretically. I’m going to make the effort. The plan is to go on Mondays or Wednesdays while Ewan is in nursery school. I won’t be able to do that next week, however, since I’ll be in New York City Monday through Wednesday (woohoo!).
Another plan is to switch back to the Weight Watchers Flex plan. I like Core, but looking back at the last three months and my pitiful weight loss (seriously, I’ve lost like 3 pounds) I’m obviously not doing it very well. So I’ll go back to counting points and be strict with myself. I’m thinking I’ll still try to stick to a lot of Core foods but count the points. Hopefully I’ll be able to re-start cardio soon as my ankle heals. I can’t believe I’ve just kind of whistled my way through the last three months with so little weight loss, though like I mentioned in a previous post, I have gone down in clothing size, so it’s not all bad. Still, I think I can crank this up a bit and lose some actual weight before Halloween--so I can wear a smokin’ hot costume, of course. OK, maybe not smokin’ hot but at least not a chubby pumpkin costume.
Anyone else out there who wakes up and says, “Hey, what have I been doing all summer? How do I lose this weight?”
Note: Yes, the picture at the top is me just before my wedding in May 1999. Don’t ask about the hair--had a misunderstanding with the hairdresser--since when does “soft curls” translate to “tight ringlets”? Plus I never wear my bangs that way. I should really try to get over it, I know. Gorgeous flowers, though. I include it because I sure wish I could still fit in that dress!
OK, the problem with that title is that I went to weigh in at Weight Watchers today and I actually did lose a pound. Of course, it had been at least 3 weeks since I’d weighed in.... Probably my sporadic meeting attendance is not helping weight loss, since those meetings really do seem helpful for keeping me interested in my weight loss program. Now that the kids are getting settled to school, I should be able to start going to meetings regularly and even staying for the whole meeting. Theoretically. I’m going to make the effort. The plan is to go on Mondays or Wednesdays while Ewan is in nursery school. I won’t be able to do that next week, however, since I’ll be in New York City Monday through Wednesday (woohoo!).
Another plan is to switch back to the Weight Watchers Flex plan. I like Core, but looking back at the last three months and my pitiful weight loss (seriously, I’ve lost like 3 pounds) I’m obviously not doing it very well. So I’ll go back to counting points and be strict with myself. I’m thinking I’ll still try to stick to a lot of Core foods but count the points. Hopefully I’ll be able to re-start cardio soon as my ankle heals. I can’t believe I’ve just kind of whistled my way through the last three months with so little weight loss, though like I mentioned in a previous post, I have gone down in clothing size, so it’s not all bad. Still, I think I can crank this up a bit and lose some actual weight before Halloween--so I can wear a smokin’ hot costume, of course. OK, maybe not smokin’ hot but at least not a chubby pumpkin costume.
Anyone else out there who wakes up and says, “Hey, what have I been doing all summer? How do I lose this weight?”
Note: Yes, the picture at the top is me just before my wedding in May 1999. Don’t ask about the hair--had a misunderstanding with the hairdresser--since when does “soft curls” translate to “tight ringlets”? Plus I never wear my bangs that way. I should really try to get over it, I know. Gorgeous flowers, though. I include it because I sure wish I could still fit in that dress!
It suddenly hit me this weekend that the 3 days in New York City, including the gala celebration, are coming up next week. This also means my sister-in-law is coming to visit and she’ll be staying with the boys while we are out of town. This sister-in-law is the cleanest, most organized person in our family. She’s also one of the sweetest, so I know she won’t exactly judge me if my house is less than stellar, but I can’t help wanting to make it the cleanest it’s ever been for her benefit. This is going to eat into my workout time, but I’ll do the best I can.
(The picture is of the cute little purse I'll be taking to the gala, by the way.)
It suddenly hit me this weekend that the 3 days in New York City, including the gala celebration, are coming up next week. This also means my sister-in-law is coming to visit and she’ll be staying with the boys while we are out of town. This sister-in-law is the cleanest, most organized person in our family. She’s also one of the sweetest, so I know she won’t exactly judge me if my house is less than stellar, but I can’t help wanting to make it the cleanest it’s ever been for her benefit. This is going to eat into my workout time, but I’ll do the best I can.
(The picture is of the cute little purse I'll be taking to the gala, by the way.)
It suddenly hit me this weekend that the 3 days in New York City, including the gala celebration, are coming up next week. This also means my sister-in-law is coming to visit and she’ll be staying with the boys while we are out of town. This sister-in-law is the cleanest, most organized person in our family. She’s also one of the sweetest, so I know she won’t exactly judge me if my house is less than stellar, but I can’t help wanting to make it the cleanest it’s ever been for her benefit. This is going to eat into my workout time, but I’ll do the best I can.
(The picture is of the cute little purse I'll be taking to the gala, by the way.)
So, the scale isn’t moving much lately, but I see changes in my body nevertheless. I’ve recently moved down another pants size (down at least 4 sizes since moving back to the U.S. a year ago). I’ve also gone down in bra size (and that’s a good thing when you’re a little too full-figured). A smaller size means more pretty bras--they just don’t make as many lovely lacy numbers for those bigger bazoongas. Plus in general I just feel a bit more trim, in spite of the fact I’m not getting much cardio since the ankle injury (it’s been a month already). So it’s all down to eating better and lots of upper body weights. Today I also did some lower body (finally) with Cathe’s Butts & Guts floorwork and abs premix.
I’m sharing photos even though I’m far from buff. I’ve seen other women’s photos on Cathe’s forums and I can only dream of being as muscular and buff, but at least I’m a bit less flabby than I used to be.
You’ll notice I didn’t show the face. you’ll just have to trust that it’s me. I just didn’t want to bother with making my hair look just so and worrying about my face when the focus is the trimmer figure. I tried to stand in a similar pose to previous photos I posted. Too bad I didn’t have better lighting.
Here are the old pics for comparison:
So, the scale isn’t moving much lately, but I see changes in my body nevertheless. I’ve recently moved down another pants size (down at least 4 sizes since moving back to the U.S. a year ago). I’ve also gone down in bra size (and that’s a good thing when you’re a little too full-figured). A smaller size means more pretty bras--they just don’t make as many lovely lacy numbers for those bigger bazoongas. Plus in general I just feel a bit more trim, in spite of the fact I’m not getting much cardio since the ankle injury (it’s been a month already). So it’s all down to eating better and lots of upper body weights. Today I also did some lower body (finally) with Cathe’s Butts & Guts floorwork and abs premix.
I’m sharing photos even though I’m far from buff. I’ve seen other women’s photos on Cathe’s forums and I can only dream of being as muscular and buff, but at least I’m a bit less flabby than I used to be.
You’ll notice I didn’t show the face. you’ll just have to trust that it’s me. I just didn’t want to bother with making my hair look just so and worrying about my face when the focus is the trimmer figure. I tried to stand in a similar pose to previous photos I posted. Too bad I didn’t have better lighting.
Here are the old pics for comparison:
So, the scale isn’t moving much lately, but I see changes in my body nevertheless. I’ve recently moved down another pants size (down at least 4 sizes since moving back to the U.S. a year ago). I’ve also gone down in bra size (and that’s a good thing when you’re a little too full-figured). A smaller size means more pretty bras--they just don’t make as many lovely lacy numbers for those bigger bazoongas. Plus in general I just feel a bit more trim, in spite of the fact I’m not getting much cardio since the ankle injury (it’s been a month already). So it’s all down to eating better and lots of upper body weights. Today I also did some lower body (finally) with Cathe’s Butts & Guts floorwork and abs premix.
I’m sharing photos even though I’m far from buff. I’ve seen other women’s photos on Cathe’s forums and I can only dream of being as muscular and buff, but at least I’m a bit less flabby than I used to be.
You’ll notice I didn’t show the face. you’ll just have to trust that it’s me. I just didn’t want to bother with making my hair look just so and worrying about my face when the focus is the trimmer figure. I tried to stand in a similar pose to previous photos I posted. Too bad I didn’t have better lighting.
Here are the old pics for comparison:
I promised (or threatened) to write a blog entry about my athletic prowess...or lack thereof...in my continuing examination of whether I am a klutz. I’m pretty sure I’ve already shown that I am definitely a klutz, but I will write this one anyway, because I do have an amusing history as an unaccomplished athlete.
I should start by saying I am the youngest child in a large blended family. I am the 10th if you count the whole group altogether, but at most only 8 of us lived together (my stepfather’s 4 children and my mother’s 4). I am 7 years younger than the nearest in age, so I am most definitely the baby of the family. I mention this because it relates to my early experiences with sports and the like. My brothers and stepbrothers were all somewhat athletic. We lived in a small town so there was plenty of opportunity to join the high school athletic teams. One brother in particular played in several sports--basketball, football, track, perhaps more. This brother, Tommy, also tried his darndest to interest me in sports as well. At first it was just teaching me to wrestle. I mainly used those skills in fights with my sister Kendra, the only sibling in which I had physical battles. I also had some prowess in defending myself on the school playground, but had little call to use it since everyone knew I had the 4 older (and some of them very large) brothers. Tommy also taught me some football at a young age which I attempted during recess with the boys. I think I held my own, but the boys didn’t always let me play since the teacher wouldn’t allow tackling if girls were playing (sexist).
As I got a little older, Tommy focused on teaching me basketball. The poor guy did everything he could to show me the right moves. I got to where I could do a decent bank shot and make a few free throws, even occasionally some nice easy layups. But when it came down to it, I was 1) short, 2) clumsy, and 3) horribly freaked out under pressure. I played in both 5th grade and 8th grade. I don’t even remember much about 5th grade except being on a team. In 8th grade we only won one game. With a score of 9-0. Tommy pointed out that it was more like a football score than a basketball score with those low numbers. In our defense, we were one of the smallest teams in the league--we only had 7 players on the whole team so we didn’t get much rest during a game. I was one of the starters (not very impressive now that you already know it was only 7 people) and I was clueless half the time even about the rules of the game (in spite of Tommy’s tutelage). I don’t know if I ever scored in a game--maybe once. So my basketball career was a bit sad and ignominious. I should also mention that at this time I was also the junior high school’s mascot. Yep. I had intended to try out for the cheerleading squad (and probably would have actually made it because our school was so dang small) but I was sick with the flu during tryouts. Instead I made it to mascot tryouts a week later. Only two of us tried out and they actually made us both mascots so we could take turns. However, the other girl was always flunking and therefore disqualified from extracurricular activities, so I became the sole mascot. I wore a longhorn cow suit. Oh the shame. So I would play a game of basketball and then have to put my sweaty self into a boiling hot longhorn suit to go cheer on the boys’ game. At least they won a little more often than the girls’ team. So this story does nothing to improve my history of clumsiness, but it does show how dedicated I was.
Here’s my 8th grade basketball photo:
I’m sorry to say I don’t have a picture of myself in the longhorn getup.
The photo above was taken at my church youth group in high school. Hey, I sewed that shirt in a crafty phase! Anyway, I used to have some skill with hula hoops. I think in the picture above I was doing it for some sort of competition, but I also learned a little trick in college. I would twirl two hula hoops around my waist, and at the same time I would get two yo-yos going and then I’d eat a cookie. It’s a great way to work the calories off while consuming the cookie, I suppose. I’m not saying I didn’t have the odd accident with this trick, but I could usually pull it off. See, not always the klutz!?
My senior year of high school I had a swimming class and I turned out to be pretty decent at that. I find it much easier to be graceful in the water than on land (like a big ol’ manatee or something). I did particularly well when we used kickboards and propelled ourselves across the pool using leg strength along. Once we used arms the boys were faster (which is a bit sad because they were mostly freshmen). I did not join the swim team, just took the class for a P.E. credit, but the coach told me that if I’d come along as a freshman, I would have been a great backstroke swimmer for the team. I treasured that thought since I have so seldom had a compliment on my athleticism, even such a small one as that. This reminds me that I really need to join the local Y soon so I can swim there.
In college my main attempt at sports was one semester playing intramural water polo. In case you don’t know the term, intramural means we played other teams within the university, so it wasn’t a super-tough competition between schools. My team won the intramural championship that year, though I don’t know how much I affected that. At least I didn’t cause us to lose; I know that much. I still like to wear our Intramural Championship T-shirt when I want to pretend I’m athletic. I should probably admit that the whole intramural league used inner tubes to float in to play water polo, though I remember being surprised when I realized that--I was all for playing without them.
Finally, I should mention the picture at the top of this blog entry. I have only been skiing one time (when I went with a few college buddies to visit our friend Brian in Colorado--not the same Brian who’s now my husband). Brian gave me some pointers on how to ski and I took off and quite enjoyed it. I don’t think I did too badly my first day--except for the stopping. I mainly stopped by falling down. I usually fell down on purpose to stop, but still--not graceful in the least. I felt great until the next day when I was incredibly sore. If I get to go skiing again (probably when the kids are older) I hope all my workouts help me to ski a little better. Work those legs!
In conclusion, I have made several sad attempts to be athletic, but the only thing I came close to decent at was swimming. Considering my recent pivot repeater injury, I wonder if maybe I shouldn’t have stuck with swimming. I am a klutz extraordinaire.
I promised (or threatened) to write a blog entry about my athletic prowess...or lack thereof...in my continuing examination of whether I am a klutz. I’m pretty sure I’ve already shown that I am definitely a klutz, but I will write this one anyway, because I do have an amusing history as an unaccomplished athlete.
I should start by saying I am the youngest child in a large blended family. I am the 10th if you count the whole group altogether, but at most only 8 of us lived together (my stepfather’s 4 children and my mother’s 4). I am 7 years younger than the nearest in age, so I am most definitely the baby of the family. I mention this because it relates to my early experiences with sports and the like. My brothers and stepbrothers were all somewhat athletic. We lived in a small town so there was plenty of opportunity to join the high school athletic teams. One brother in particular played in several sports--basketball, football, track, perhaps more. This brother, Tommy, also tried his darndest to interest me in sports as well. At first it was just teaching me to wrestle. I mainly used those skills in fights with my sister Kendra, the only sibling in which I had physical battles. I also had some prowess in defending myself on the school playground, but had little call to use it since everyone knew I had the 4 older (and some of them very large) brothers. Tommy also taught me some football at a young age which I attempted during recess with the boys. I think I held my own, but the boys didn’t always let me play since the teacher wouldn’t allow tackling if girls were playing (sexist).
As I got a little older, Tommy focused on teaching me basketball. The poor guy did everything he could to show me the right moves. I got to where I could do a decent bank shot and make a few free throws, even occasionally some nice easy layups. But when it came down to it, I was 1) short, 2) clumsy, and 3) horribly freaked out under pressure. I played in both 5th grade and 8th grade. I don’t even remember much about 5th grade except being on a team. In 8th grade we only won one game. With a score of 9-0. Tommy pointed out that it was more like a football score than a basketball score with those low numbers. In our defense, we were one of the smallest teams in the league--we only had 7 players on the whole team so we didn’t get much rest during a game. I was one of the starters (not very impressive now that you already know it was only 7 people) and I was clueless half the time even about the rules of the game (in spite of Tommy’s tutelage). I don’t know if I ever scored in a game--maybe once. So my basketball career was a bit sad and ignominious. I should also mention that at this time I was also the junior high school’s mascot. Yep. I had intended to try out for the cheerleading squad (and probably would have actually made it because our school was so dang small) but I was sick with the flu during tryouts. Instead I made it to mascot tryouts a week later. Only two of us tried out and they actually made us both mascots so we could take turns. However, the other girl was always flunking and therefore disqualified from extracurricular activities, so I became the sole mascot. I wore a longhorn cow suit. Oh the shame. So I would play a game of basketball and then have to put my sweaty self into a boiling hot longhorn suit to go cheer on the boys’ game. At least they won a little more often than the girls’ team. So this story does nothing to improve my history of clumsiness, but it does show how dedicated I was.
Here’s my 8th grade basketball photo:
I’m sorry to say I don’t have a picture of myself in the longhorn getup.
The photo above was taken at my church youth group in high school. Hey, I sewed that shirt in a crafty phase! Anyway, I used to have some skill with hula hoops. I think in the picture above I was doing it for some sort of competition, but I also learned a little trick in college. I would twirl two hula hoops around my waist, and at the same time I would get two yo-yos going and then I’d eat a cookie. It’s a great way to work the calories off while consuming the cookie, I suppose. I’m not saying I didn’t have the odd accident with this trick, but I could usually pull it off. See, not always the klutz!?
My senior year of high school I had a swimming class and I turned out to be pretty decent at that. I find it much easier to be graceful in the water than on land (like a big ol’ manatee or something). I did particularly well when we used kickboards and propelled ourselves across the pool using leg strength along. Once we used arms the boys were faster (which is a bit sad because they were mostly freshmen). I did not join the swim team, just took the class for a P.E. credit, but the coach told me that if I’d come along as a freshman, I would have been a great backstroke swimmer for the team. I treasured that thought since I have so seldom had a compliment on my athleticism, even such a small one as that. This reminds me that I really need to join the local Y soon so I can swim there.
In college my main attempt at sports was one semester playing intramural water polo. In case you don’t know the term, intramural means we played other teams within the university, so it wasn’t a super-tough competition between schools. My team won the intramural championship that year, though I don’t know how much I affected that. At least I didn’t cause us to lose; I know that much. I still like to wear our Intramural Championship T-shirt when I want to pretend I’m athletic. I should probably admit that the whole intramural league used inner tubes to float in to play water polo, though I remember being surprised when I realized that--I was all for playing without them.
Finally, I should mention the picture at the top of this blog entry. I have only been skiing one time (when I went with a few college buddies to visit our friend Brian in Colorado--not the same Brian who’s now my husband). Brian gave me some pointers on how to ski and I took off and quite enjoyed it. I don’t think I did too badly my first day--except for the stopping. I mainly stopped by falling down. I usually fell down on purpose to stop, but still--not graceful in the least. I felt great until the next day when I was incredibly sore. If I get to go skiing again (probably when the kids are older) I hope all my workouts help me to ski a little better. Work those legs!
In conclusion, I have made several sad attempts to be athletic, but the only thing I came close to decent at was swimming. Considering my recent pivot repeater injury, I wonder if maybe I shouldn’t have stuck with swimming. I am a klutz extraordinaire.
I promised (or threatened) to write a blog entry about my athletic prowess...or lack thereof...in my continuing examination of whether I am a klutz. I’m pretty sure I’ve already shown that I am definitely a klutz, but I will write this one anyway, because I do have an amusing history as an unaccomplished athlete.
I should start by saying I am the youngest child in a large blended family. I am the 10th if you count the whole group altogether, but at most only 8 of us lived together (my stepfather’s 4 children and my mother’s 4). I am 7 years younger than the nearest in age, so I am most definitely the baby of the family. I mention this because it relates to my early experiences with sports and the like. My brothers and stepbrothers were all somewhat athletic. We lived in a small town so there was plenty of opportunity to join the high school athletic teams. One brother in particular played in several sports--basketball, football, track, perhaps more. This brother, Tommy, also tried his darndest to interest me in sports as well. At first it was just teaching me to wrestle. I mainly used those skills in fights with my sister Kendra, the only sibling in which I had physical battles. I also had some prowess in defending myself on the school playground, but had little call to use it since everyone knew I had the 4 older (and some of them very large) brothers. Tommy also taught me some football at a young age which I attempted during recess with the boys. I think I held my own, but the boys didn’t always let me play since the teacher wouldn’t allow tackling if girls were playing (sexist).
As I got a little older, Tommy focused on teaching me basketball. The poor guy did everything he could to show me the right moves. I got to where I could do a decent bank shot and make a few free throws, even occasionally some nice easy layups. But when it came down to it, I was 1) short, 2) clumsy, and 3) horribly freaked out under pressure. I played in both 5th grade and 8th grade. I don’t even remember much about 5th grade except being on a team. In 8th grade we only won one game. With a score of 9-0. Tommy pointed out that it was more like a football score than a basketball score with those low numbers. In our defense, we were one of the smallest teams in the league--we only had 7 players on the whole team so we didn’t get much rest during a game. I was one of the starters (not very impressive now that you already know it was only 7 people) and I was clueless half the time even about the rules of the game (in spite of Tommy’s tutelage). I don’t know if I ever scored in a game--maybe once. So my basketball career was a bit sad and ignominious. I should also mention that at this time I was also the junior high school’s mascot. Yep. I had intended to try out for the cheerleading squad (and probably would have actually made it because our school was so dang small) but I was sick with the flu during tryouts. Instead I made it to mascot tryouts a week later. Only two of us tried out and they actually made us both mascots so we could take turns. However, the other girl was always flunking and therefore disqualified from extracurricular activities, so I became the sole mascot. I wore a longhorn cow suit. Oh the shame. So I would play a game of basketball and then have to put my sweaty self into a boiling hot longhorn suit to go cheer on the boys’ game. At least they won a little more often than the girls’ team. So this story does nothing to improve my history of clumsiness, but it does show how dedicated I was.
Here’s my 8th grade basketball photo:
I’m sorry to say I don’t have a picture of myself in the longhorn getup.
The photo above was taken at my church youth group in high school. Hey, I sewed that shirt in a crafty phase! Anyway, I used to have some skill with hula hoops. I think in the picture above I was doing it for some sort of competition, but I also learned a little trick in college. I would twirl two hula hoops around my waist, and at the same time I would get two yo-yos going and then I’d eat a cookie. It’s a great way to work the calories off while consuming the cookie, I suppose. I’m not saying I didn’t have the odd accident with this trick, but I could usually pull it off. See, not always the klutz!?
My senior year of high school I had a swimming class and I turned out to be pretty decent at that. I find it much easier to be graceful in the water than on land (like a big ol’ manatee or something). I did particularly well when we used kickboards and propelled ourselves across the pool using leg strength along. Once we used arms the boys were faster (which is a bit sad because they were mostly freshmen). I did not join the swim team, just took the class for a P.E. credit, but the coach told me that if I’d come along as a freshman, I would have been a great backstroke swimmer for the team. I treasured that thought since I have so seldom had a compliment on my athleticism, even such a small one as that. This reminds me that I really need to join the local Y soon so I can swim there.
In college my main attempt at sports was one semester playing intramural water polo. In case you don’t know the term, intramural means we played other teams within the university, so it wasn’t a super-tough competition between schools. My team won the intramural championship that year, though I don’t know how much I affected that. At least I didn’t cause us to lose; I know that much. I still like to wear our Intramural Championship T-shirt when I want to pretend I’m athletic. I should probably admit that the whole intramural league used inner tubes to float in to play water polo, though I remember being surprised when I realized that--I was all for playing without them.
Finally, I should mention the picture at the top of this blog entry. I have only been skiing one time (when I went with a few college buddies to visit our friend Brian in Colorado--not the same Brian who’s now my husband). Brian gave me some pointers on how to ski and I took off and quite enjoyed it. I don’t think I did too badly my first day--except for the stopping. I mainly stopped by falling down. I usually fell down on purpose to stop, but still--not graceful in the least. I felt great until the next day when I was incredibly sore. If I get to go skiing again (probably when the kids are older) I hope all my workouts help me to ski a little better. Work those legs!
In conclusion, I have made several sad attempts to be athletic, but the only thing I came close to decent at was swimming. Considering my recent pivot repeater injury, I wonder if maybe I shouldn’t have stuck with swimming. I am a klutz extraordinaire.
I used the dress as motivation today while doing Cathe’s Gym Style Chest & Triceps workout. As I was doing tough tricep kickbacks with the resistance band I just kept my mind on the dress. It’s nice to have some definite goal in mind while working out. It inspired me not to cheat on my workout but to push myself all the way. That was a little tough today because I was still sore from yesterday’s workout.
Yesterday I did Kimberly Spreen’s Amplify Your Strength From Within DVD, which is a non-weighted workout. It’s advertised as a total body workout, but it definitely emphasized lower body. I had to modify a lot because of my injured ankle. (By the way, I still haven’t seen the doctor though I was supposed to yesterday--insurance confusion--will update soon). Every time she did lunges or side lunges, I did squats or plié squats--I had to be careful even with the plié squats. The workout also included some side planks which I had to do on my knees to spare the ankle. I was worried with all my modifying that maybe it wasn’t effective enough, but I burned 300 calories (not bad for a non-cardio workout) and I could really feel muscle soreness today in my quads, glutes, inner thighs, obliques, and my lower back. I’m not sure what it was that hurt the lower back. I’m always particularly pleased to have inner thigh soreness since I’m eager to tone those inner thighs!
Tomorrow I’ll either be doing the lower body and core sections of Tracy Effinger’s Squeeze DVD or a Pilates workout.
Any time you want me to review a particular video that I own, or you have a specific question for me or blog idea, put it in the comments or send me an email. I can always use ideas.
I used the dress as motivation today while doing Cathe’s Gym Style Chest & Triceps workout. As I was doing tough tricep kickbacks with the resistance band I just kept my mind on the dress. It’s nice to have some definite goal in mind while working out. It inspired me not to cheat on my workout but to push myself all the way. That was a little tough today because I was still sore from yesterday’s workout.
Yesterday I did Kimberly Spreen’s Amplify Your Strength From Within DVD, which is a non-weighted workout. It’s advertised as a total body workout, but it definitely emphasized lower body. I had to modify a lot because of my injured ankle. (By the way, I still haven’t seen the doctor though I was supposed to yesterday--insurance confusion--will update soon). Every time she did lunges or side lunges, I did squats or plié squats--I had to be careful even with the plié squats. The workout also included some side planks which I had to do on my knees to spare the ankle. I was worried with all my modifying that maybe it wasn’t effective enough, but I burned 300 calories (not bad for a non-cardio workout) and I could really feel muscle soreness today in my quads, glutes, inner thighs, obliques, and my lower back. I’m not sure what it was that hurt the lower back. I’m always particularly pleased to have inner thigh soreness since I’m eager to tone those inner thighs!
Tomorrow I’ll either be doing the lower body and core sections of Tracy Effinger’s Squeeze DVD or a Pilates workout.
Any time you want me to review a particular video that I own, or you have a specific question for me or blog idea, put it in the comments or send me an email. I can always use ideas.
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