Bank Robbers on Meth

A new day, a cooler head, 40 laps at the pool, a little shopping -- and the kids have been taken off the market. I found it kind of funny that they got more upset at the fact that I was ready to sell them into slavery than they were about the house being a wreck.

I punished the offenders by making them plant the pansies I'd bought -- deal 'o the day at Lowe's - for just $1.00 a pot! They are gorgeous --



Some of the simplest pleasures in my life are pansies and windchimes -- the beauty of the sight and sound. And right there for the looking . . .


I got no sewing done yesterday, but I did spend an hour or so at Lowe's, my favourite store. I collected paint chips, priced new base cabinets for my kitchen, perused the weather stripping. I bought sawtooth hangers for my photo wall and pansies for my front yard. I had a nice chat with Ms. Ruby, whilst standing at the checkout waiting. She, in her broad southern accent, was commenting on "whetha ower not theeeese clay pots ah goin' t' protayect mah wateh-feeyilled buhrd bayeths fruhm freezin' an' crackin'." The concensus was yes, these tiny clay pots would probably do the job.

I love living in the south in this small town. There is such a personality to it. Another small pleasure!

Swimming my laps was highly therapeutic. I get into the water, and I get into a zone. Laura Bennett of Project Runway fame is a daily runner, and she put it this way:

"with running, you get the added bonus of the endorphin rush. And then you’re like a bankrobber on meth. You can just plow through your day on endorphins."

I think that swimming does the same thing for me. I try to do a mile, which is 34 laps. Now folks, it's important to remember that a lap is two lengths of the pool, not just one. Up and back 34 times. It's not as hard as it sounds -- I do the first and last lap freestyle, as well as every 5th or 10th lap. The rest is all breast stroke, which is easier for me. I breathe with every stroke, I'm working every muscle in my body, and it's all non-impact. Even isometric, if I move my arms just so. I put my brain in neutral, and in my mind I design dresses and purses and redecorate my house, and the hardest part is simply counting the laps.

We all have our exercise that works for us, and this works for me. I walked for years -- but then I moved away from my walking partner, and it just was never the same. So walking, running, swimming, biking, hiking, whatever works for you -- I encourage you to get going and move.

Watching my weight has always been an issue for me. Most people scoff at me when I say that, because I have a frame that is long-legged and generally slender. But I've never had flat abs; never, in my whole life. No kidding -- and we're not just talking a pooch. We're talking about rolls. I carry all my weight, literally ALL my weight, around my waistline. And with the births of my children, my ribcage has expanded, giving me even less of a waist than I used to have. I am long from shoulder to apex, and short from apex to waistline. My hip bones sit a mere 2" below my waistline.

No matter whether you are 20 lbs. above your idea weight, as am I, or 120 lbs above it, we all struggle to eat healthy food in moderation. The battle is a universal one for all people. I am a choco-carb-aholic. I love sugar, I live for sugar -- even my husband says my kisses taste sweet to him! This sugary, acidic body chemistry helps in the burning of fat -- but when you eat so many more carbs than your body can burn, that gets stored as fat anyway. The accumulation has gotten worse as I've gotten older, as I've continued to eat just a little more than I burn, I move a little less, and the storage of fat has gotten incrementally bigger. So as I age, I get fatter. The trick is to eat smarter and keep exercising, and slow down the process. Sounds great. If only I could just be consistent and do it!

My resolve for today is just to drink as much water as possible. My fingers feel fat and swollen today, and I'm sure it's the Diet Coke I drank last night. Fizzy drinks make me retain water. Drinking water solves that, believe it or not. It flushes it all out. I've also read that carbonation leeches the calcium out of your bones. No osteoporosis for me, thank you very much!

And all the better to fit into the new clothing I'm making! I'm hoping to get the photo wall up today, a project long overdue. Hopefully my replacement needle threader for my Pfaff will come from England today, along with needles for my Singer serger. And hopefully my needle plate for the Elna serger! I need a serger for clothing -- I don't like the look of unfinished seams. And then there's chili to make for dinner, and paint color to pick for my bedroom (again!), and swimming with B --

it's a busy life. What more can I say?