Upping the ante

My sister and I have been doing circuit training--level 1 of Jillian Michael's program. My sister printed out level 2! So now instead of 10 minutes of aerobics, I have 15 minutes. So today I have 30 minutes of circuit training, 30 minutes of sparring class and and hour of HKD. And tonight we warm up in HKD with running.

Weaving

My beautiful cardboard loom and my maize and blue scarf. I weave 12 rows of blue and 10 rows of yellow and repeat.

So Relaxing

I read the book "The Tooth of Time" by Sue Henry. Some of the characters in the book are weavers. I researched table top looms and weaving for children. If I ever want to know something in a hurry, I check out "how tos" for children. The information is quick, insightful, easy to understand. Knowing how I am with new projects, ie rocket building, guitar playing, candle making, I decided to make a simple loom out of cardboard. Now the floral shop has lots of cardboard. I made a loom 5 feet long, and notched the narrow ends every 1/4 inch. I then headed off to the Thrift Shop. You know what they say, "One person's junk is another's treasure." I chuckled when I brought home skeins of yarn for $10.61. I am making a scarf, and in season could buy 3 scarves for $5. I had no preconceived idea of the color of the scarf--but since I found 4 skeins of yellow, I thought, maize and blue. I say to myself "another 5 rows" and when those are finished, "5 more rows"...

Thinking outside the box

I have been struggling with cooling problems in the Sebring for several months. A new radiator helped it along until the end of May. The shop installed a fan, but unfortunately a short test drive told me there was more to the story. The mechanics figured it was gasket problems, that the extreme heat had warped the gaskets, so it was in for a couple weeks while those were replaced. Got the car back and a short test drive told me there was more to the story. (sorry for the repetition). Took it back to the shop. The mechanics discovered that one of the jerry-rigged o rings was allowing the coolant to leak, and consequently the car was overheating. They ordered 2 factory o rings that will be in tomorrow. There may be more, the rest of the story. Stay tuned.

My mouth has been watering

For the past couple weeks, I have been yearning for cajun shrimp. I found a very simple recipe online--shrimp, garlic, oregano, thyme, cayenne, paprika. I mixed the spices together in a baggie and coated the shrimp. Then cooked in butter. I served the shrimp with wild rice pilaf, strawberries, and crisp tender zucchini and carrots. A colorful and tasty meal. I am wondering if I can intensify the spicy flavor by drying the shrimp. A fun and different meal.

Coming up roses

Things are coming along well for a work colleague. Her pregnancy is progressing normally even though she has gestational diabetes. She and her husband are closing on a house tomorrow. More space is needed with a new baby soon to join the family. Her daughter got into a charter school She told me today that she is nervous... nervous about losing her pay check, worried that with the new house payment her financial situation will be more precarious then it was with her daughter. She will look back at these days as the happiest in her life--a time of new adventures. For me, it is the same old daily routine.

Jillian Michaels "The Toughest Trainer"

My goal is to lose 24 pounds. I am eating fruit, veggies, lean meat and some grains, and following Jillian Michael's circuit training. On Monday and Wednesday, my sister and I plow through the circuit training before my martial arts class. The M/W routine includes 15 different exercises, repeated 3 times, lasting for either a dozen repetitions or a minute. The DVD varies a bit. Today I did 6 circuits with a bunch of exercises, repeating each circuit twice. It's hard for me to jump rope or do jumping jacks. It will be well worth it if I don't have to lug so much weight around.