Who Knew I Could Be Aggressive?

So, the small bowl system seems to be working. I had a small bowl of cornflakes with banana and skim milk for breakfast. A small bowl of stringbeans and chickpeas over salad for lunch. A small bowl of fruit salad for an afternoon snack, and a small strawberry non-dairy smoothie and a small soft pretzel (no butter no salt) at the mall before my kickboxing class. This was a good combo before the workout, by the way. It gave me some energy and I took a few tums to keep the smoothie from burning. Normally I would go for the yogurt in my smoothie for some protein and lactic acid, but Alex recommended not eating any dairy before exercising, in the interest of not puking (which is currently my only workout goal). 4 litres of water today too!

Kickboxing was SO much fun! Who knew I had it in me to beat the hell out of a punching bag! I also liked that this regime got my heart pumping and the sweat pouring without requiring any jumping up and down, and with minimal coordination. Since there were only 10 of us there for the class, the teacher was able to help us with the technique. I learned to jab, roundhouse and uppercut, front kick and side kick. By the end we even went up against the teacher with target gloves. The boxing gloves were the only offputting part. They were borrowed from the gym, and by the time I was done my hands were soaking wet. Which means that the previous person's were probably soaking wet too! GROSS! I washed my hands 3 times before I left the gym!

Tomorrow is my mentor's favorite workout. It's called "Brickhouse" and is supposed to have the best music! I'll let you know.

I thought I might Puke, but I was still having fun!

Mom has asked me to contribute with some anecdotes from the Fitness Boot Camp in which I am participating this summer. I have enrolled in the ReinventU Boot Camp for the next 12 weeks, and I am hoping to get a healthier approach to my life. Part of the program is journaling, so I guess this counts!
Saturday evening I attended the opening orientation which was at the gym that hosts the camp Chizel It . I could tell from the orientation that this was going to be a great experience for me. The format of the camp very much suits my personality (and weaknesses). The group of 50 women are divided into teams of 7-10 people under the leadership of a mentor that was also a participant in the last bootcamp in the winter. In your team, you are also matched up with a "workout buddy" whose skill and schedule match your own. My buddy will be assigned next week, but I am pretty sure it will be a woman who is an RN and keeps a very similar schedule to mine.
Last night I went for my first 1 hour workout session, and it was brutal but fun! We meet every Monday night from 7-8 for a "mixed workout." Charles (the owner of the gym) started with some low impact cardio, then high impact, then step, then floor exercises, and finally stretching. I was a bit thrown to not have a warm up, and with the lights off, the strobes and disco ball flashing, and the hip hop music pumping like a night club, I realized that skipping dinner was probably a mistake. But I powered through the nausea, and did what I could to keep up with the seasoned women who have been doing this for 6 months. Everyone was really helpful and many of my new friends took the time to help me work on my form and give me advice on how best not to injure myself. Some of the combinations of pumps, kicks, punches and steps were confusing, and I felt like as soon as I had gotten into the groove we would change sides! I am sure in a few weeks I will be a natural, but for now I am only mildly coordinated. It was really so much fun, and I am happy to say that I did not throw up or embarass myself in any other way.
It was really uplifting to feel the common energy and vibe of a group of women all hell bent on improving themselves physically and emotionally. The director of the program, Frances, is incredible and has the wonderful attitude of encouraging her women by boosting them up, and not judging.
My mentor Marcia is bubbly and giving, and our team ended the night together with her offering a prayer that was both inspirational, and well-spoken from her heart, and that I think was worthy of our major accomplishment and our future challenges.
My goal for the next 10 days while Alex is away is to attend a class at the gym every night. Once he returns, getting home after 9 every night may not be so do-able, but by then I should at least have a foundation of exercise that I can do on my own at home, and a healthy eating and water drinking regimen (which I started last night as well).
One of the "free gifts with purchase" was a set of portion pals. They make it easy to see how much you should be eating of the things you like to eat. (if a bit depressing at the beginning) so after looking at them and considering the practicality of actually putting my food on them and cutting etc. I realized that this would not be a practice that I would keep up. My compromise is to only eat meals that will fit into one of the plastic Gerber bowls I have for the kids. They are almost exactly the right dimensions to match the pals. Last night I had a chunk of challah with a Tablespoon of TJ's Peanut Butter and a teaspoon of light cream cheese, and an artichoke.
Tonight I am off to kickboxing!

Monday, Monday, So Good to Me

My dear friend Roxy called in the middle of all this and suggested vehemently that I ignore my family and go back to my previous meandering way of writing my blog. I definitely agree with her. It is not nearly as fun for me to try to pigeonhole my life and my thinking into various categories. It makes everything seem unrelated and inside the box. My synapses rebel at having fences put around where they can go. If you are going to comment, just make it clear in your comment about which tidbit you are commenting.

While mom was happily viewing all these photos and videos last night with Saul, she suddenly became very sick and dizzy and could not walk back to her room. Saul had the idea to sit her in an office chair and push her back to bed. She fell asleep almost immediately, but I got up several times last night to slip quietly into her room and listen for the sound of her breathing. Saul was up several times last night using the bathroom in reaction to the medication for his colonoscopy today. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep last night. The only reason I didn't call an ambulance was that I knew Mom was going to see her doctor today.

Larry Shipper arrived to take Saul to the hospital at 8:15 a.m. Mom didn't feel great this morning, but managed to get dressed and walk into the kitchen. She usually insists on getting her own breakfast, but this morning, I got it all together for her. My sister, Adele, arrived to pick up Mom at 11:45 a.m. In between, I shlepped the moon bounce out of the garage and set it up because the weather looked wonderful at first. Sami used it for 10 minutes and Izzy wasn't interested. Within an hour, the sky got as black as night outside and I shlepped it back in. Ten minutes later, the sun came out and stayed that way most of the day.

Almost everyone arrived within a minute of each other at 11:45 a.m. Adele brought Randi along, so she could bring mom back from the doctor, Saul and Larry arrived bearing the news that Saul had two small polyps that were easily removed and that he felt fine and didn't need to go back for three years. Jamie arrived also to meet her mom and grandmom with her new ultrasound photo (see guest blog below) and do some errands with her mom. We all had a raucous impromptu lunch with me pulling all the leftovers from Friday out of the refrigerator to feed us all. When Randi brought mom back, we got the good news that the doctor felt her heart was fine and she did not need to see a cardiologist and that her pneumonia was gone. Randi and Jamie had both had bouts of dizziness while on the same antibiotic as mom was taking for the pneumonia. Her final pill was this evening, so hopefully, the good spirits that arose from all the camaraderie and good news today will carry her through the next few days.

Jamie stuck around for a while and had dinner with us--delivery pizza and ice cream. She just called to say she arrived home safely. Alex called the girls from Israel today. His plane took off and landed as scheduled. Alex was called upon to lead an adult tour when one of the rabbis injured his knee. He was just there in December leading a teen tour.

When Larry came this morning, he brought me an article from The Wall Street Journal about elder blogging. Then, when I asked Roxy how the writer's group meeting went this morning, she said that Cynthia had brought in a copy of an article about elder blogging from The Wall Street Journal. I am really convinced that there are no coincidences. Rabbi Sidney Greenberg used to say that coincidences are God's way of remaining anonymous. So now that I introduced the subject of blogging to my writing class, here is the link to that article about elder blogging entitled "Put It in Writing.”

I think that this is the most amazing form of communication ever. Ronni Bennett has been blogging for four years now and look what she has accomplished! No longer does one need to harness one's imagination, inspiration, or creativity to conform to what is commercially considered fit to print. You can simply run your ideas up the flagpole and see who salutes. How self-affirming!

In addition, there is the kaleidoscope of sight and sound to accompany the written word, appealing to more of the senses. I only wish there was a way to transmit the smell also--the scent of flowers and trees on a summer day, the steam of an iron on freshly washed cotton. Perhaps there will be a library in the future where one can grab the appropriate scent just as one can grab the appropriate graphic right now to transmit an idea.

It was a very happy Monday!

Our Great Weekend

Beth works for Toll Brothers and their company picnic was this weekend at Camp America. We had an absolutely spectacular time! The food was wonderful and included delicious veggie burgers with melted cheese, potato salad, cole slaw, chips, two pasta salads, tossed salad, a dozen different types of iced drinks and water, all kinds of ice cream, funnel cake, soft pretzels, and cotton candy to name a few of the things in which we indulged.



The girls climbed rock walls, moon bounced, went paddle boating, swam in the large pools, went down a water slide, and climbed in a ball pit. There were many other activities available for which we did not have time, such as pony rides, face painting, water balloon tossing, and a host of others. Sami passed a swimming test by swimming the length of the pool which entitled her to a bracelet which gave her permission to go into any of the pools without adult supervision. We returned home totally exhausted and totally sated.


No one complained at bedtime that they weren't tired.

While we were waiting to go to Beth's picnic, Izzy serenaded us on the piano with a rousing version of Modei Ani Lefaneyha.


We also spent a day at Beachcombers, our swim club. The weather was incredible and both girls had a chance to go diving off the diving board into the dedicated diving pool. A lifeguard waited below with a float. Both girls jumped off without any hesitation and Izzy is only four! They both loved it and neither needed the float.





Saul also had a chance to video them riding their bicycles.



In addition to all this good stuff, they finished my patio this weekend! With the blocks that were left over, Saul and I began reconstructing our garden with block walkways and planting a few Cherokee Purple heritage tomatoes among the zinnias in the hopes that the deer, bunnies, and groundhogs won't notice them.

Our Little Bean

I was told by the Senders clan that I can type anything I want. Oh boy, are we in trouble! How much time do we have? Putt... putt... putt. Anyone who knows me is aware of my reputation as a chatterbox, however, in this case, I will keep it simple. I just have three little words: We are pregnant. Well, technically, I am the one who is pregnant. My husband, Andy, is along for the wonderful adventure... and foot rubs (tee hee!). He's actually been very attentive these days. We both went to the doctor on Friday, June 13, 2008 (Yep, Friday the 13th -- Do you expect anything less from me?) and got to see a picture of the latest addition to our family... our Little Bean. That's what we've been calling him (or her) these days. Our Little Bean measures up to a whopping 8 cms (about the length of the short side of a credit card) and is due to arrive on January 12, 2009. See our Little Bean below (and we think you'll agree that the nickname is appropriate).





Grandmom and Grandpop Strongin (that's Kenny and Randi nowadays!) are very excited. This is their first grandchild, after all. Also, both of Kenny's sisters and all of Randi's siblings are each grandparents already... so the Strongins are more than ready to step into their new roles. Auntie Haley and Unkie Erik are also pleased with the news! I have already been dubbed "J-Mama" by one of Andy's close friends from college. The Parker Grandparents (John & Cindy) are thrilled to be only a half hour away from us in Dover, DE and very excited to welcome their 6th grandchild to the bunch. My sister-in-law, Suzanne, has three little beans of her own. She is an angel for offering up some of her best maternity clothes and enough books to last me from now until the baby is 18 years old (and she says she has more!). All in all, Andy and I are extremely blessed to have such an amazing and supportive family as we prepare for the journey of our lives. There is lots of love to go 'round, so keep spreading it. Eventually, it will come back to you... maybe from our Little Bean (who I am sure will be full of love and laughter for everyone he or she meets!). Thanks to Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Saul (and especially Ari, who is the FCOR -- First Cousin Once Removed -- of our Little Bean. Haha!) for allowing me to post this short (ahem) blog.

Friday With Sami, Izzy and the Family

Click here for additional photos.

A few days earlier, Erica had called and asked if their family could come to Friday night dinner. She had scheduled family portraits for Saturday morning with Mom and was supposed to fix Mom's hair. The pneumonia intervened and Mom wasn't feeling up to it during the week, so she figured by Friday, Mom would be feeling better. She wasn't. We all did have a wonderful dinner, though. Mom ate a little and went back to her room after a while, but really seemed to enjoy the family around her. She was feeling somewhat better in the morning and the portraits came out beautifully.

First thing on Friday morning, Sami and Izzy helped me to bake a sour cream pound cake for dessert. We had bought ice cream and whipped cream and giant strawberries to go along with it. I was missing a few ingredients, so we took the girls and went to the supermarket while it baked for an hour and a half. We also squeezed lemons and limes together and made fresh limeonade as Izzy calls it. Izzy particularly loves to work in the kitchen. Saul and I made strawberry soup, seafood lamaize, blintzes, tortellini, hydroponic lettuce salad, steamed broccoli, and corn on the cob. The girls are experts at setting the table from their experience with Mommy and Daddy at home. With all that, we had some time to play in the afternoon. The girls took their bikes out and rode around the cul-de-sac while I watched, and they met two of our neighboring girls, Joelle and Camilla, also on bikes. Last year, Beth bought a Chuck E. Cheeses Moon Bounce that was a terrific deal. She paid $50 for it and on the side of the carton was a coupon for $25 worth of credit which we used there last year. I went next door and brought it over in my wheelbarrow and set it up so that Sami, Izzy and Brenna could bounce before dinner. I just wish there was some way to bottle all the energy they expend and transfer it to our old bones.

More Family Networking

My family tells me my blogging should be more subject-specific. If I am going to cover a number of topics, I should write a number of blogs each day. That way, people can read only what interests them and respond in the comments to the appropriate subject. Usually, when I sit down to write, all things are connected in some way, at least in my mind. Today, I think I can separate all the topics I wish to cover. Unfortunately, since I am writing this introduction first, it will be superseded by what I write after, so if you do make it all the way through today's date, you have just read my introduction.

My cousin Alan Paller wrote last week and sent a short video preview from his recent wedding. When I wrote back, he gave me permission to link them to my blog. Alan's father, Edward, was one of my mother's younger brothers and the second oldest of the five. He died much too young from complications arising from an accidental blow to the head when he was doing renovations around the house. I had gone with my mother to see him in the hospital the day before he suddenly and unexpectedly died, I'm not sure how many years ago, but I think it has been at least 20. Alan was born on the same day that my mother's mother, Anna, died of cancer and he is named for her.

Alan has been the leader of a band for many years now and his music has made all of our family celebrations incredibly beautiful and memorable. He also does the best videos around. We treasure all of them and appreciate the sense of humor he injects into them. We all wish him the best on his new life with Faye!