It seems like each time I get comfortable with my blog and how things work, I get a notice that they've updated it for ease of use and then I have to learn things all over again.  Well, I guess it's good for my aging brain.


Last night Wes disappeared into his room for over an hour.  I decided he was vegging out playing Xbox when he came into the den asking me to come outside to check something out. He'd found a telescope that Tom picked up several years ago at a Thrift store and had been playing around with it.  He'd gotten it put together without any instructions and had found a cool, blue disc in the sky.  We didn't have the stand for it to sit on so all three kids and I were taking turns lying on the ground looking through the lens.  It's not the most powerful thing, but it was still very cool.  I love it when my kids surprise me and are learning after typical "school hours".


Today we did some normal school things after the plumbers left (yippee, an easy and inexpensive fix, praise the Lord).  We also decided to get on a kid's internet site for the White House.  We all looked at "First Pets" of various Presidents and the unanimous decision was the Socks, Bill Clinton's cat, won the cuteness award while Lyndon Johnson's two beagles named Him and Her got the most creative award~for being so totally uncreative, LOL!  


Wes put together a presentation on the history of voting in the country that was interesting and we discussed it at dinner.


Maddie, Ty and I headed out to piano this afternoon and then had to stop by Flower's bakery for some bread.  The best news of the day was coming home at 4:30 to chicken all ready in the crockpot, knowing that I just had to cook some veggies and rice to have a meal on the table.


Today's workout:  Denise Austin's Shrink Your Fat Zones Pilates, Upper Body; Molly Fox Skinny Jeans Conditioning Workout with Weights.

Okay, here's today's random cuteness!  Tucker totally thinks Tyler is his chew toy.  Of course, we can't convince Tyler that rolling on the floor and attacking Tucker is encouraging this behavior.


We have a leak in our bathroom pipes (the bathroom the kids use) and have spent part of two days waiting for a plumber who has gotten caught up in more pressing matters, lol.  They let us know this afternoon that they should be here in the morning.  So, the kids and I decided to take off for the afternoon and get out of the house~we felt like we'd been handed a "Get Out of Jail Free" card.


We went to Barnes and Noble and spent time looking at books, DVDs, and magazines.  Then we ran by Kmart where the boys examined the latest Xbox and Nintendo DS games while Maddie and I checked out the latest makeup!  Finally we headed to Steak and Shake for Happy Hour and some half-priced sodas.  There is nothing I like better than a diet coke from the fountain with cherry flavoring in it, yummmmmm.........


Tom has a meeting out of town so we have nothing on our agendas other than cleaning out the fridge for dinner and walking Tucker when it cools off.  I'm looking forward to a night of relaxation~and maybe control of the remote since Tom is gone, lol.  


I'm grateful to God for the privilege of rhythm in my life~rest, work, laughter, tears...it all points me toward Him.  The older I get the more I see my own sin and am reduced to repeating this phrase over and over:  "Oh Lord, you are SO good to me."


Today's workout:  Petra Kolber BREATHE. This was my first cardio workout since the hip bursitis and I chose it because it can even be done barefoot!  It's an old workout of mine that is moderate cardio based on yoga, tai chi, and dance.  Tonight I'll walk the dog and then do a yoga workout, probably Element Yoga for Stress Relief and Flexibility.

Wow, did life get away from me last week or what???  Thursday we had a great day celebrating Tom's 50th birthday as a family.  Some buddies from his spin class at the Y took him to Panera Bread for breakfast; Maddie decorated the house; he got tons of Facebook messages, texts, cards, and calls.  The two of us went to Chick Fil A for lunch and he had some of his favorite foods and cake for dinner.


Friday we headed out to Atlanta and he had a nice dinner with his parents, sister and brother-in-law.  Then we went to Stone Mountain where Tom, the kids, Ernest (FIL), Leslie and Richard (SIL/BIL) did a sky hike (kind of a high ropes course).  This was followed by 18 holes of Putt-Putt.  We stayed in a wonderful hotel right in Stone Mountain (just Tom and I) that was a gift from my SIL.  We found a fabulous, inexpensive restaurant where we dined on Tilapia and some of the best salad I've ever eaten!


Saturday we had a wonderful buffet breakfast, ran errands, picked up the kids and ate lunch with Tom's folks, and got home around 5pm. Maddie had to babysit and Tom had to attend a function of a church member.  Yesterday we pretty much all crashed after lunch, lol.


Today the kids and I went to the grocery and library. We got some books we need to use for our school work for the week.


I will strive to be more consistent with my blogging this week, I do enjoy the reminders of what goes on and seeing the little and large evidences of God's faithfulness to us.


Workouts:  Thursday~Erin O'Brien PNR, Level 3; Denise Austin Hot Body Yoga, Yoga Sculpt(used light 2 pound weights).  
No formal workouts after that until today.


Monday~Karen Voight Slim Toning on a Ball (weight workout using the stability ball, works the core well with all the upper/lower sculpting moves); Denise Austin Hit The Fat Zones Pilates, Lower Body. Tonight will be some sort of yoga.  Early this morning I walked Tucker a mile to enjoy the cool 60 degree day before it hit 93 right now!!


What I'm reading:  Debra Waterhouse, Outsmarting the Midlife Fat Cell(http://www.amazon.com/Outsmarting-Midlife-Fat-Cell-Strategies/dp/0786884126/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314650095&sr=1-1 )  When I went to the doctor I realized my weight had crept up a few pounds over the last year or so.  I'd not really changed my diet or exercise so  I've been pondering changes to make.  I have also been thinking about how Jesus and most of humanity has lived.  Lots of walking (not beat-yourself up cardio), lifting objects to keep your muscles fit and strong, regular work, etc.  And the problem had generally been eating enough food for all the exercise they did!


Along came the recommendation for this book. It's so encouraging. She recommends moderate cardio, moderate weights, and scaling back on the amounts of food while not denying yourself.  She also explores the physiology of WHY women gain weight, especially around their middles, at midlife and explains how the fat you gain helps produce estrogen. Once you've gone through the change, the need for the weight decreases and things do improve~thank goodness.  Her moderate approach and encouragement to accept ourselves and not try to look like 17 year old models is a breath of fresh air indeed!!


P.S.  Since I've made dietary changes to help improve my cholesterol some of my clothing is fitting a bit looser.  I wasn't happy about the high cholesterol but there is a silver lining I guess, LOL!!

Oh boy, my day got away from me again.  Wes had a bracket break on his braces so he had to go to the orthodontist.  Tom took him while I took Maddie and Tyler to piano.  We went to Dollar General to get decorations to put up for Toms' 50th birthday tomorrow~he always decorates for us so Maddie wanted to decorate for him.  Then we needed to stop by the bread store.  After that I had to get dinner ready, we all played outdoors with Tucker and Penny(Penny likes to walk, Tucker likes to play soccer, lol), and then ran to the store to get the things Tom wants for dinner tomorrow and the ingredients for Maddie to make a cake.  So once again, no fun projects got done.  Oh well, there's always next week!


Tyler has been wanting to take more responsibility for getting his work done, like the older two.  I've let him and he's been procrastinating. Today he still had two work pages to finish after dinner and had friends who wanted to play. Well, he was none too happy that Tom and I made him finish the work, lol~maybe that will encourage him to finish things in a more timely manner.


Today's workout:  Tamilee Webb's Tight on Time Hot Spots, warm up and upper body (rental from Netflix, liked it); Leslie Sansone Shortcuts, Lower Body (all lower body work done on the floor, gentle on the hip).

Something wonderful happened today.  I was able to walk Tucker for almost 2 miles.  We had a lovely 20 minutes outdoors around 8 pm and it didn't hurt my hip at all.  As long as I don't move certain ways, etc. I wouldn't know it had been a problem all last week. With some more gentle exercise and laying off cardio for a week I think things will continue to improve.


Today I had to take Tucker to the vet for his final shots until next year.  In true Tucker form, he charmed the vet and all the patrons and workers he met there!!  By the time I got home Maddie and I made a grocery list and went shopping~as well as card shopping for Tom's birthday~so again, regular school was all that we got done.  We're really missing doing some fun stuff so we're planning on looking at different genres of literature tomorrow and creating some fun math games online.


Today's workout:  Erin O'Brien, PNR (same as yesterday) but I did Progression 2 (15 minutes); Denise Austin Hot Body Yoga (awful name, wonderful 30 minute practice focusing on strength and balance poses.  I worked up a bit of a sweat and got my heart rate a bit elevated).  And, of course, tonight's dog walk.


What I'm reading.  The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller. (http://www.amazon.com/Prodigal-God-Timothy-Keller/dp/1594484023/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314148958&sr=8-1 )    Our Sunday School is reading this.  It talks a lot about the older son who was angry with his father for throwing the party for the younger son and how our "religion" and works can actually be a way to manipulate and control God, thus keeping us from his love.  Very thought-provoking read.  


I've also been working through the book Food, Fitness, and Faith for Women.  Excellent little book broken into 21 daily readings.  The thrust is that how we treat our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit, is a reflection of our love for and obedience to the Father.  Again, thought provoking read.  (http://www.amazon.com/Food-Fitness-Faith-Women-Journey/dp/1605871664/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314149125&sr=1-1)

I spent part of the day working on contacting people to send Tom cards, emails, etc. for his birthday.  His sister Leslie came up with a fabulous idea for people to contact him so he gets at least 50 cards/letters/emails. I sent her email onto people in my contact list, Facebook, et.  Tom hasn't been reading my blog for a while so it will be my luck he reads this and it ruins the surprise!


Maddie came home from the White Water Rafting trip starting a cold, poor thing.  She stayed home from church yesterday and still feels a bit puny, although she did work on her pre-algebra and did some reading and drawing. They boys did some cleaning chores for me and some reading and school work too.  The day seemed to fly by so we didn't get any extra fun stuff in.  Now that we're caught up on chores we'll do more of that tomorrow.


Today's workout:  Yes, I have one to report, yippee.   I did Erin O'Brien's Postnatal Rescue (I understand that my youngest is 11, lol, but got this from www.swapadvd.com and love it.)  It is mostly pilates based and is really good for rehabing the abdominal and hip areas~actually it's a great warmup for other workouts and teaches really good body alignment.  This was 12 minutes.


Next was 25 minutes of mostly seated upper body work from Leisa Harts Arms of Steel (the new one released a few years ago). I then did the 10 minute yoga section of the dvd and ended with hip openers and some foam rolling for my hip/ITB band area which felt great.

Yesterday I seemed to turn and corner and today I've been walking pretty normally and am ibuprofen free.  I'm so glad that my leg is healing, to God be the glory.  Now I can go to church tomorrow and be with his Body!


This week the kids and I have studied some planets, comedy, nutrition, Proverbs, the scientific method, grammar, and quizzed one another on how quickly we can make change!  All in addition to the "regular" things.  


Exercise~yeah, right.  I've done some light stretching and that's about it.

A lot of you know I've not been posting lately because I've gotten hip bursitis. It's painful, annoying, and keeping me from exercise. That's not a good thing because I'm nicer when I can move and sweat, lol.


The kids and I are still plugging along with school and enjoying fun little challenges and discoveries each day.

I'll try to write more later in the week, when I feel like sitting at the computer!!


Friday I did workout, Skinny Jeans Workout. After that my hip blew up, so to speak.  So no exercise since then.


I read The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (http://www.amazon.com/Sugar-Queen-Random-Readers-Circle/dp/0553384848/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313541134&sr=8-1)and it was a good novel that a friend recommended.

Okay, small rant coming.  I try to be grateful and not complain because, by nature, I am a complainer.  A glass half-empty kind of gal.  So I am trying to fight that.  BUT, I'm frankly sick of the weather being so dark and foreboding a great part of each day this week, very humid, and not raining.  Sigh.


Okay, if that is my greatest complaint at the moment I'm truly blessed.


Today we did some work on stars and black holes for science. Each of the children looked up information and wrote a report.  Tyler has some glow in the dark stars he put on the wall of his room and he explained how he made various constellations with them.  Wes and Ty played some matching games and learned about 17 different constellations.  We all confessed we would never have gotten a bear, etc. out of the star patterns if it had been left up to us.


The cool thing we found was a site that showed what the night sky at various latitudes look like this time of the year~very interesting to try to find the constellations that way.


We also read about Samuel Champlain's settlement of New France in Quebec and studied paragraph writing(particularly topic sentences and supporting sentences) and writing in active versus passive tense.  All this in addition to our "regular" seat work.  It's always amazing to me what you can get done with three children in a concentrated amount of time!


Okay, God totally has a sense of humor.  I just looked out the window and guess what~it's raining, LOL. God, you are truly so good to me.


Today's workout:  Cardio!  I'm trying to increase my endurance and aerobic capacity doing about 45 minutes of cardio three times a week. Today I did about 15 minutes of medicine ball cardio and 30 minutes of Firm Cardio Sculpt Blaster.

Tucker the pup had his surgery today.  He did really well and now we don't have to worry about him becoming a daddy, lol.  I got up early to exercise and got him taken in and then got my hair  cut.  The kids slept in until after 9am due to the late night at the pool party.  


After the kids got breakfast we practiced piano, did regular school work, etc.  The fun part of the day for me was watching them get excited about their creative writing projects.  They each had to write about a special place they'd like to go.  Tyler created Tylerina, Wes wrote about Middle Earth from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Maddie will unveil her special place tomorrow.


Maddie and Tyler had piano and Wes and I picked up Tucker and then ran to the grocery.  I'm looking forward to a less busy day tomorrow where we can get some fun projects underway.


Today's workout: Slim Series Tear it Up 

Quick post for me today.  We did some math and other regular school work. The kids finished their writing assignment on something fun they did over the summer.  Then we played on a website featuring a lot of quizzes. It was fun~we did quizzes on Greek History, US History, State Capitals, US Geography, Bones of the Body, Chemistry, Electricity, SAT English Prep and many more.  Oh, the kids felt good that they could do the easy French, Spanish and German quizzes since they can count to 10 in each of those languages.

This afternoon Wes finished watching Gods and Generals about Stonewall Jackson and the Civil War while Maddie and Tyler watched a short video on the Boston Tea Party.  That way they felt like they got some "TV" time in but it was on thing we are studying or will study in school this year~and they were short.

Tonight is a swim party for the church at some members' home.  But, I've been fighting a sinus headache all day~it's looked like rain~so I stayed home. And now, I think it's going to rain, lol.  Oh well, the food will still be awesome, as will fellowship with other believers.

Today's workout:  Leslie Sansone, 3.5 miles.  2 Mile AHA Walk and Walk and Firm.

We're back from our vacation. The lake house was a blast~plenty of boating, swimming, tubing, etc. We were totally unplugged~no cell coverage, Wi-Fi or TV so we relaxed, read a lot, played games, etc. My dogs had a ball~they played in the lake, rode the golf carts and went for boat rides, lol. Friday and Saturday we spent time in North Carolina and went river tubing, mini golfing, etc. We decided to stay in a hotel the last two nights that kept dogs and that was nice~we didn't have to drag tents and stuff and deal with all of that.

Today we began school again~where in the world did the summer go?  We eased into things with some reviews in math, writing about a favorite summer memory, getting our work spaces cleaned out and ready, etc.  This afternoon Wes had an orthodontist appointment and he's doing really well.  They're estimating that his braces will be off in about 8 months or so.

Wes has also been reading his Driver's Ed book and taking some online tests to prepare for getting his permit.  How in the world did my child get to be 15 so quickly?

Tonight Wes has scouts so things are gearing back up from the slower days of summer.  Now, if the heat would just slack off a bit.

I'll have some pictures up of our vacation as soon as I can!!

Workouts:  I did an hour of Powerfit workouts last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday but no other formal workouts last week.

Today was Slim Series Express Cardio Core and Cardio Sculpt. Tonight I'll walk Tucker and do Slim in 6 Slim and Limber.

What I read last week:  Everything Homeschooling (parts); part of  The Dirty Life; part of Mary Daheim's The Alpine Christmas. (http://www.amazon.com/Alpine-Christmas-Emma-Lord-Mysteries/dp/0345382706/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312833469&sr=1-11)