Back to the old fashioned way to drying clothes

My dryer is broke!!

Don't know what's wrong with it, but what I do know is that it won't dry my clothes.

Last time I had an appliance mess up, I called the repair guy and he came to charge me $55 and to tell me that the microwave just needed to be unplugged and plugged again.

Can you say RIPOFF?

I could have bought a new micro for that amount of money.

AND, it still doesn't work properly.

So I spent last night after church playing repair woman.

Hubster is out of town, so that means I get to figure this out on my own.

I'm determined not to call a repair guy(dryer no longer under warranty) until I have done everything I can to make sure it's not something that will make me look like an over worked, underpaid house wife/mom.

I got my handy dandy little screwdriver and my just as handy dandy little flashlight and set off to work.

I took off the lint screen thingy ma jiggy and vacuumed all the lint and sand and you don't want to know what else, out of there.

I then pulled the dryer out and tried to see if the vent hose was clogged up. It's such a tight space so I can't really see.

Then I talked to Hubster and he said just to wait for him.

So I guess I'll wait for him to come home and pull the dryer out enough for me to clean the vent hose.

I'm sure I'll have to call a repairman, but in the meantime I am making sure that it's not those things.

I had washed two loads yesterday before I came to the conclusion that the clothes were just not going to dry in cold air. There was no hot air coming out.

If you come to my house today, you will see clothes on hangers all over the house. From undies to bras to shirts and karate uniforms.

Very cool huh?

It's a good thing nobody comes visit me.

Nothing like having to explain why all my undergarments are drying in the dining room.

My favorite Reality show

While I don't watch television all day long. I do revel in some shows.

I like to watch the CSI's, Numbers and NCIS. I also watch Hallmark channel or Lifetime Movie Network when Hubster is out of town and he can't tell me that the movie I'm watching is plain dumb.

I do watch reality shows like The Apprentice and The Biggest Loser. For a while there, I watched a little bit of The bachelor, but that show is just plain dumb. I don't know why people subject themselves to that. But that's a whole other story.

The Biggest Loser is my favorite. I like to watch the transformation these people make. Some have been obese their entire lives and some only since a trauma happened in there lives.

I do find it hard to relate sometimes because it is their job for that amount of time they are at the ranch. They workout up to 8 hours a day. Who has that time in real life?

They have a personal trainer there. Who but the rich have a personal trainer for that many hours all the time. Maybe I'm wrong about that.

While I enjoy watching the show, sometimes I become perturbed with it.

Last night was one of those times. As a mom, I believe that I would do anything for my children. When I was single and kid less I couldn't understand why parents sacrificed what they wanted just to give their kids what they needed.

Having kids changes the way you think.

The ones to be up for elimination last night was a mother/daughter team. I think I was a little bothered that the mom said she wanted to stay and to send her daughter home. I had mixed feelings about this.

Yes, the daughter had already been at home for a month and had lost some weight, but she wanted to be there as well.

The previous mother/daughter or father/son teams all had the parents fighting for their child to stay on the ranch. I took it as being selfish on the mother's part to not fight for her daughter.

The mom had been skinny at a time, so she obviously had some insight as to how to lose weight. The daughter has never been skinny. To me it's a no-brainer.

The daughter said that she would rather go home because then her mom would get to stay on the ranch and lose weight and then she would be able to have her mom live a little longer in life.

I see that point as well, but it doesn't change the fact that the mother should have sacrificed her spot so that her daughter could have a chance in life.

Obviously, the mother met a man and had children or the daughter wouldn't be there. The daughter deserves that as well.

Maybe I am looking at this wrong, but as a mother, I would think that if put in that predicament, I'd fight for my child.

The other thing that bothers me is that the contestants say that they can't make it without Jillian or Bob.

Don't get me wrong, I would like to have a Jillian or a Bob in my home kicking my booty with their workouts.

If they don't think they can make it without the trainers, then they aren't really learning anything.

Getting healthy is not about starving yourself and depriving your body of nutrients it needs.
It's about eating the right foods and exercising daily.

In real life, unless it's your job, we can't workout 8 hours a day. We can't have that personal trainer to push us those 8 hours.

We have to push ourselves and find the time in our busy lives to exercise and to eat the right foods.

We even have to find our own Jillian or Bob in our friends. Maybe with an accountability partner they can push us until our booty's hurt.

Rambling Monday

Eating better is what I'm trying to do. That doesn't mean that I do it all the time. I still have my weaknesses.

Like this weekend for example. UB's birthday is later this week, but Hubster is not going to be able to take the day off, so we took UB out to eat.

It was also Valentine's Day, so we killed two birds with one stone.

UB chose a steak house. I could have gotten a steak and some veggies and a salad with the dressing on the side. But what's fun about that? Especially since it was V-Day!

I miss those wonderful tasty chicken fried steaks from Texas. And this place has an awesome chicken fried steak. So I got it. And boy was it good.

I indulged in a chicken fried steak, steak fries and some bread. Not something that I should have been eating.

I have lost 6 pounds as of today. It is slowly coming off. And I'm OK with it being about 2 pounds a week. I want to make sure I keep it off.

This morning when the alarm went off, I snoozed it, and snoozed it and snoozed it. I really didn't want to go run. But I knew that if I didn't go, my day would not be good.

Been running for 30 min. now. At a pretty good pace. Today was a slow pace. Guess that chicken fried steak was slowing me down.

Wordless Wednesday

I did it!!

I did recover from the twisted ankle. And proceeded to continue on towards my goal of running more than a minute without feeling like I'm going to pass out.

I had been discouraged last week. Discouraged because in my mind I didn't calculate my age plus the fact that I hadn't been physically active for a long time.

I only saw me running 3 miles on the first day. That's when my body went into shock.

As I began training for the 5k I started slow. And I was supposed to pick up minutes every week, but excuses and obstacles came barreling towards me.

On and off I'd run/walk down my hilly road. I'd make it up to 10 minutes (don't know how far) and then I'd stop.

So last week, I was disappointed in myself because I was only at 5 hard minutes. I'd do sprints up and down the hills along with the running.

Yesterday I did it!!!!

I ran 2 whole miles without stopping. I know I probably could have kept going but didn't want to push it. The furthest I had run was almost a mile.

I did talk to several people who run this hilly roadside and at the gym and they said that the gym is much easier to run at.

I guess I was doing good with what I was doing outside. Even if it meant not running as long.

I even ran the 2 miles in about 17 minutes. That is a big accomplishment for me.

I'm hoping to add on another mile by the end of the week.

See? Gloria Gaynor was right "I did survive"

I didn't fall, I was just looking for something

Oh what a glorious day! No ice. No rain. No cold. Just a nice windy 70 something day.

A great day for jogging.

We had finished tests and I sent the boys outside to play while I walked/ran. I hooked up my pedometer to my pants, laced up my shoes, strapped on my ipod and off I went.

I turned on the music and I warmed up by walking. Enjoying the warmth of the sun but trying to stay erect from the force of the wind.

Up the hill and then down the hill. Breathing in then exhaling out. Faster and faster I walked to warm-up.

It was finally time to start my jog. One foot in front of the other, listening to good music. All is well, and then it happens.

My weak ankle didn't get enough warm-up and it turned on me. Knocking me off my feet and onto the ground.

I quickly get up and look around. Making sure that no one saw me make a fool of myself. Living out in the country does have it's advantages.

Coming to the conclusion that nobody was around when I gracefully fell, I pretend to be stretching (just in case someone is coming up the road) and check out my hurt knee.

No scratches, just a bruise starting to form. I give my ankle a lecture and continue on. Fighting against the wind, to finish what I started.

Ironically, the song that I was listening to said "Every time I fall" Maybe I need to start listening to "I will survive".

My top 10 reasons to exercise

1. My body can't be eating more calories than it's taking out. My body tends to become friends with the fat that comes in it and it won't let it leave.

2. I don't want to look like a flabby soon to be 40 yr old.

3. I want my kids to learn that exercise and nutrition are good choices to make.

4. I would eventually like to get Hubster off his medications.

5. I don't want to have cottage cheese looking legs.

6. I want to fit back into my skinny jeans.

7. I don't want UB to play with my muffin top anymore.

8. I don't want AB to tell me that my fat looks like an extra muscle.

9. I want my boys to run races with me.

10. I want to live a healthy lifestyle.

My legs are throwing a pity party

When I decided last year to do some getting back in shape stuff this year, my mind was whooping and hollering. In a good way.

My body, especially my legs were telling my mind that it was crazy. It was the most ludicrous thing they had ever heard.

But my mind didn't listen, it kept picturing the way I ran back when I was in High School and keeping positive thoughts about how I could do it again.

With a little extra hard work.

My legs were the first to complain. They were not liking that one bit.

I started in January and my legs threw a temper tantrum. Much like the tantrums that toddlers throw when they don't get that candy at the store.

Unfortunately, my legs weren't the only ones that threw that tantrum. It seemed like my entire insides did too. My lungs complained that they couldn't catch their breath, my kidney's said they hurt, my bladder said it couldn't hold it that long and my heart, boy, my heart said that it felt like it was going to break.

My legs were encouraging all these other body parts. Telling my mind what they thought about the whole thing.

My mind kept thinking positive thoughts and listening to good songs in order to ignore the tantrums.

Last week was not a good week. Ice everywhere. Ice on my house. Ice on my plants. Ice on my sidewalk. Ice on my driveway and ice on the roads.

I did what my body wanted me to do. I ate and ate and ate all the bad foods and didn't exercise inside the comfort of my own home.

I sure did pay for that on Monday when I started back again. I've been running/walking outside my house and my land is hilly. Those hills are brutal. Punishing my legs to feel pain they hadn't felt in a long time.

My kidney, bladder and heart were upset with my legs because they were actually enjoying the exercise and have come to be one with my mind.

Now it seems that my legs have recruited another part to join them in this opposition.

My hiney.

My hiney agrees with my legs. They mostly complain when I do the sprints up the hills.

Last night they complained while I was trying to sleep. Guess they thought they could teach me a lesson.

I'm not giving in. I'm going to fight 'till the end.

All I'm going to say is "Legs and Hiney, Hit me with your best shot!!!"

I have become THAT Lady at Wal-Mart....

you know, the lady at Wal-Mart you don't like to be behind at the register?

The one with 20 little items in the 20 or less checkout lane?

Well, I'm not THAT lady, I'm the other lady.

After the ice storm last week, we were needing some groceries. I hadn't gone out in a week and even if I wanted to drive in the ice, the boys were not getting in the car with me.

I went grocery shopping on Saturday. I had to go to the dreadful Wal-Mart only because they carry some things that the other store I like to go to doesn't. But I still ended up going to the other store as well.

I was dreading going to WM but I was excited because I was alone. No kids to tell me they needed to go to the bathroom. No kids to put powdered donuts in my basket when I'm not looking. No boys to be fighting down on aisle 9 over who gets to ride the basket.

Did I mention no kids?

I had forgotten that it was Superbowl weekend along with payday first of the month. So the lines were long and people were jam packed in every aisle.

I had gone through all the sale ads and had written down stuff that I was going to ad match.

So I am THAT woman. The woman who has lots to ad match and you don't like being behind because it takes lots of time.

But I didn't care. I was alone and could concentrate on saving money.

I did have a long list that saved me about 10 bucks at the end. I also had coupons. (vicious laugh here)

And the cashier knew of some items that I hadn't said were ad matched, but she remembered.

So, anyone THAT woman like me?