You Don't See That Every Day

I'm getting a crown this month. Unfortunately it isn't gold, it doesn't have diamonds, and there is no title associated with it. No, I got to wade into the swamp of dental work this week. Not something many people look forward to, except for maybe the dentist. My back tooth needs a crown, so earlier this week my first appointment included a number of drills and numbing material and 2 hours in the dentist's chair. And then a week (or maybe more, who knows?) of not being able to chew on one side of my mouth. And not eat hard, crunchy food. (So long beloved cashews.) But there is a positive side to this! I've been much more aware of what I'm eating. I haven't been prone to mindless snacking, -- which has played right into the journey I have been on since summer ... Back in August I went clothes shopping with my teen girls. It was depressing. Nothing fit right, everything looked dumpy on me. And I was not used to this! I was the kid who could eat anything an...

The Mr. works more at a computer now than he did earlier in his career. He used to be out in the fields a lot more. And because he and the team he works with all plant their seats in a seat most of the day, the boss sprang for FitBits for all of them. He wants to keep his workers healthy! He also added in some friendly competition. The Mr. - being the competitive type - eagerly took to the task. He was already in the process of getting back to running; he had several months off to let his Achilles heal (pun intended!) This FitBit was just an extra push. So because there are points not only for time but also for steps, we have been taking more walks together. It gives us uninterrupted time to talk and listen to each other. The last couple of months feel like some of the best since we got married. The Mr. also had a chance to do some hiking on his day off last week. Ever since I have known him, he has been a climber - answering the call of the mountains. He was in Central Oregon last...

We harvested some pumpkins this weekend. Some? I mean like 300 billion.  On Thursday the girls and I went to the farm and filled the back of our pickup with pumpkins. Guess who did most (all) of the lifting? We sold some to the neighbors that day, and the next. Had to unload a few on Friday to get our 'real' groceries in. And then on Saturday I needed firewood. So I unloaded every single one, set them up in our driveway and we all drove to the farm; where we loaded firewood. And then we went to see what was happening down in the garden. My brothers and my dad were down there ... harvesting pumpkins. So we stayed to help. Which meant lifting and moving more pumpkins. Heavy pumpkins. But I made the kids unload the firewood once we were back at home. And then we decided to go and try to sell some more pumpkins So that meant reloading the pumpkins back into the pickup. Guess who did that. When we got to the selling place, we unloaded just a few pumpkins so people driving by c...

The other night the Boy challenged me to a duel; a battle of strength; a test of endurance. We arm-wrestled. I don't recall just how it came about - he was probably dissin' me about something and we needed to settle the matter. What I do remember is the awesome result of the match. His right arm and my right - arm, well yes, he is stronger and took me down after a little struggle. But then we changed sides. And he couldn't get my left arm to move. He tried everything too, but I just happen to be stronger on my left than he is. With lots of giggles and glee, I reminded him of the benefits of packing around an almost 3 year old child regularly. Who needs a weight-set when you have kids?!

I ran 5 miles earlier in the week. The furthest I have gone yet in my training. I've got a 6 miler staring at me this week. So today was a bit of cross training and 'rest'. Ha. Like a Saturday is a rest day around here! The Boy and I loaded up a bunch of the junk that has been laying around from the construction. It was one of the first sunny, fairly warm Saturdays that we have had in a long long time. After sorting through the junk for recyclables and actual garbage, the Boy and I headed to the dump. Greeting us at the docking area was a sign telling us all children under the age of 16 must remain in the vehicle. Groan. That means I have to unload everything myself. All the heavy stuff that we had loaded together became my weight lifting workout. All the light stuff became my aerobic workout as I turned and flung them into the pit. It was good exercise. And then I nearly got tears in my eyes. No, not from the smell (although it was a bit ripe.) I saw a family ...

We spent another afternoon at the farm. This time I weeded pumpkins, rows and rows of them, while my husband took care of stringing up the beans and planting some more carrots. As I raked that hoe continually I began to feel the ache in my arms, my back, my stomach. I thought, this must be a great addition to my workout! Now instead of lifting hand weights, I can hoe and weed and build up my arm-strength. How come those fitness gurus never caught onto that?! And the stomach - oh, I had my abs in tightly, working on that flab those 4 sweet little leprechauns left me. I even tried different ways of holding the hoe and ways of moving to see which side worked best, which side worked those arms more. No conclusive data there. Just a little blister on my hand.