Day 137: Lean and Mean

I got on the scale today.

It seems that, between all the extra karate practice, the wearing of ankle weights around the house, and my work schedule of the last two weeks, I'm back down to my skinny-two-summers-ago weight.

There's a hint of a six-pack emerging in my abdominal region.  :-)

It kind of makes sense.  I've been getting up for work, having coffee and allergy medicine, working until after lunch, scarfing down a Cliff Builder bar and / or a banana while I'm scoring or driving home, then spending several hours at karate and kickboxing, only to arrive home too late for anything more than a snack. 

Being lighter has its advantages, besides just looking nice.  Tonight I pumped out the burpees like they were nothing. 

I'm feeling strong. 

Looking forward to sparring tomorrow and the final week of prep for my red belt test.

Loving the way I feel right now.

Day 136: Picture Day

Day 135: He's Back...

The Teen returned to the dojang today.  He watched while Middle and I took the afternoon class, then took the cardio kickboxing class with us.

For someone who isn't used to this level of torture, he hung in there pretty well.  I encouraged him to pair up with a female ex-boxer who I knew would give him a strong workout and they both seemed to enjoy it.  He did as much of the pushups, crunches and burpees as he could, and by the end of class he was just as soaking wet as the rest of us.

I was really proud of him.  I'm sure it was hard for him to come back after being away for so long and after gaining so much weight, but everyone was happy to see him and made him feel welcome, which I'm sure really helped.

Tonight I will alter his gi for him and sew his patches on.  Hopefully his new belt will be waiting for him when he gets there Thursday.

Good to see him taking this positive step.

:-)

Day 134: New Routine

I've been working.

4 days last week, at least 3 days this week.  So far.

I'm starting to get used to it. 

I get up as Savageman and the Teen are leaving for the high school at about 7:30.  I get dressed and ready then get the neighbor kids on their bus at 8:30.  Check email, do Home Management stuff.  I leave for work at 9 and arrive by 9:15.  I get my tests ready to go, make copies of anything I'm running low on, sharpen pencils and wait for my patient's clinical interview to be over.

I do the testing and score the tests.

Then it's home, catching up on what's been going on there, getting things done, getting the place cleaned up.

Then we're off to the dojang for the rest of the night if it's Monday, Wednesday or Friday.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have other responsibilities as well, but we still reconvene at the cafe by 8:30 or 9 on those nights for some social time and Karate Nerd conversation.

Tonight was Teen Ninja Girl's birthday, so we stayed late and had cake and a Candied-Bacon-Topped Apple Pie that Middle prepared for her.  Much fun.

The only thing I miss?  Staying up late and watching a movie with Savageman.  I could, but I want to be sharp for work in the morning, so I don't.  We read instead.  For about 10 minutes.

It's different... but it's been working.  If I needed to do it full-time, I probably could.

But I'm hoping I won't have to.

:-)

Day 133: Butterfly Run

Day 132: More Demo Fun

Another Demo today for the Team - this time at Armed Forces Day on City Island.

Six hours, five performances, all outdoors in the sun. 

They were hot.  They were tired.  Half of the teens (mine included) had done sleepovers last night where they had not slept. 

They still looked great.

Very proud of all of them - they work so hard at this, and it really shows.

From there, we headed for Greek Fest, where the dojang family relaxed in the shade and feasted on amazing Greek food to the sound of Greek festival music.

On the way home, the ninjas in my car started to doze.  At home, Middle passed out on the couch for a while next to me and Teen Ninja Girl.  He was snoring.

When we finally revived him, he went out to the back porch, dumped a bucket of ice water on his head, and we hit the grocery store for cookie ingredients. 

They're watching a movie with Little now.

Life is good.

:-)

Day 131: Paddling, Sparring and Sanity

My client canceled and the Teen had no school today.

I made him go kayaking with me.

He was reluctant at first...

 But after a while, he began to relax and enjoy it.  When we got to our takeout spot, he insisted we trade kayaks and keep on going.

No problem.

We went to the next takeout, and decided to go some more... and some more.

Nine and a half miles in all, and we paddled the whole time (about three hours).  It was exactly what we both needed.

We had lunch together afterward, and picked up some job applications for him.  He came with me to sparring, where he let me and Middle and the Guru have at him for a while.

He left with a new gi and a promise to give karate another chance - to help with some changes he wants to make.  We had pizza and fun with the ninjas, and Middle brought home two buddies to sleep over.  Savageman, the Teen, and I watched a movie together.

Sanity (at least temporarily) restored.

Deep sigh...

Day 130: Long Day, Teen Angst

Life - not always so easy among Savages.

Take today, for instance.  After some Serious Teen Angst last night, I got three hours of sleep, got up and went to work.

Worked through lunchtime, came home, dealt with Serious Parenting Stuff, drove teen ninjas to the dojang, came home without taking class, took a small nap and got ready to teach childbirth.

Collapsed into the arms of good friends afterwards at the cafe.  They took my mind off my troubles and got me to laugh.  I don't know what I would do without these guys.

Ditto for Savageman and my parents.

Collapsing into bed now.  I'm back to work in the morning.

Day 129: Seventeen Days

That's how long I have to prepare for my red belt test.

Which is, according to The Master "plenty of time."  I think he's expecting me to test.

And honestly, it probably makes sense.  I know my red belt material extremely well.  It's the older, more basic stuff that I've been working to improve now.  Stances, chambers, speed, power.  Sparring.  Grappling.

I can pass my red belt test.  But do I look like a red belt student? 

I'm beginning to feel like I do.

And I know what to do in the areas that still need work.

Like he said, I have time.  I'll keep working at it.

Day 128: ... And Workin'...

Seems the person I'm covering this week is sicker than we had thought.  I worked again today, and am scheduled for testings on Thursday and Friday as well.  I hope she is restored to health quickly, but in the meantime I'm happy to be able to help and to get the hours.

I actually really love my job, although part of what I love so much about it is that it is part-time.  I come in, I do my thing, and I leave it behind.  It's perfect for me right now.

Work was followed by productive time at the dojang and lots of laughs with the ninjas afterwards at the cafe and grocery store.  Happy for the extra ab workout I get just from the laughing part.

It's been a full day. 

Of course, it's after 11:00 and it feels like 8:30 right now.  I need to unwind better tonight than I did last night - thinking a movie and a rub. 

Thinking I'd better get to that...

Day 127: Workin' 9 to 5

An uncommonly long day for me today gave me an appreciation for how many of my friends live. 

Get up, work all day, come home, change, work out, squeeze in a protein bar here and there for sustenance, come home late to home and family and laundry and chores.

Except in my case, my family members (including Savageman for quite a while) were at the dojang with me.  At least they weren't home messing up the house, although the tradeoff is that we're eating dinner at 10:30 p.m. 

Thank God they're homeschooled and can sleep in tomorrow.

I, on the other hand, am going back in to work again tomorrow.  One of the neuropsychologists is sick so I'm filling in for her.

It was nice having Savageman at the dojang after classes tonight.  I practiced open hand and kum do forms in the second room and he lounged on a stack of mats and chatted with me.  It was a good exercise for me because by now they should be automatic enough to execute while carrying on a conversation.  Thinking I could actually do this at home in my new practice space, but it's ever so much more fun in the spacious dojang with all my friends there. 

I got yet another complement tonight - this time from the Tough Guy (ex-Marine?) I sometimes work with in kickboxing.  He was watching me work on my forms before class started and he remarked that the transformation in me was amazing - that something must have really clicked for me recently. 

It made me feel all squooshy inside. :-)  But just for a minute.  I'm a warrior, remember?  I kick ass.

Tonight?  My ass is kicked.  I need to go to bed and get up again for work in the morning.

Day 126: Mothers' Day

Which, really, should be the Most Important Day of the Year.

At least at my house.

It actually was a pretty good Mothers' Day.  The boys prepared a Huevos Rancheros Omelettesque Type Thing for breakfast and served it to me in bed.  (Note to self: teach them how to make coffee.)

We went to church, where I received the special blessing.  Which I need more than once a year, I'm thinking.

After the usual Sunday cleaning chaos, we loaded the kayaks on the car and I took my own beloved Mom kayaking for the afternoon.  We did about 5.5 miles on the creek in about 2 hours.  Saw lots of birds, enjoyed the sights and smells and overall serenity of the trip. 

There's something about the wet, earthy, woodsy smell of the creek that always reminds me of summer.  I found myself breathing it in deeply, trying to memorize it.  It was lovely.

Following our adventure, we had dinner at their house to celebrate both Mothers' Day and my Dad's birthday. Dad always cooks Sunday night dinner for us, but this time, he went all out with an Italian Feast. I'm still stuffed, and we brought home a week's worth of leftovers. Great guy, my Dad... :-)

The recipe for the homemade pie he served for dessert:

PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE PIE(Serves 6)
1 pre-made vanilla cookie crumb or graham cracker pie crust
Filling:1-1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1-1/4 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
Glaze:1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

For filling:Combine peanut butter, cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and butter with an electric mixer.
Set aside.

In another bowl, beat cream, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form.
Stir a small portion of the cream into the peanut butter mixture to lighten it.
Fold in remaining cream.
Spoon filling into crust. Refrigerate until firm, 5-6 hours.
To make the glaze:Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan.
Reduce heat to low. Add chocolate and stir until smooth.
Cool chocolate 5-10 minutes, and then pour over peanut butter filling.
Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to one day before serving.
Yeah.  It was amazing.

Looking forward to getting back to the workout routine this week, possibly with the addition of running once more.  I plan to do a 5k next weekend so it wouldn't hurt to get a few good runs in between now and then.

Day 125: Baseball, Basics & Birthday Fun

A thoroughly enjoyable day.

Beginning with Little's baseball game, where I relaxed with the family and watched Little do his Baseball Thing. Sometimes the adorableness is just too much.

Weekend karate practice was small, but began with Pumpkin Cheesecake topped with Nutella Ganache.  I have a multi-talented friend, whose patient attention to my poomse and tae kwon do actions today resulted in appreciable improvement yet again.  Each new success feeds on itself, and while I continued to receive new complements this week on the sudden leap forward, I know that a large part of the credit belongs to him for the time and encouragement he's been giving me.

After about three hours of practice, my favorite Teen Girl Ninja and I left and headed over to The Master's house for his daughter's birthday party, where we met up with Savageman and the boys.  We enjoyed the rest of the night in the company of good friends.

 I couldn't have designed a better day if I had tried.

Day 124: Another Day, Another Demo

Day 123: Wheel of Misfortune

So, I've got this wheel on my fridge.

I made it out of heavy paper and one of those little brass thingies that holds stuff together.  The wheel itself has the three boys' names on it, and around the outside of the wheel are the three daily household chores that vex everyone the most: Dishwasher, Laundry, Trash.

Once per day, the wheel is turned one turn clockwise.  Chores are distributed accordingly. 


They call it the Wheel of Misfortune.

Of all the chore systems I've come up with, this one has worked the best.  The fact that any one chore only comes up for any one boy every three days (and occasionally doesn't even need to be done that day - like when the dishwasher doesn't get run or there's not enough laundry to do) keeps them from burning out.  And each one knows it's fair becuase he knows his brothers have to do the same chores. 

We're reasonable parents, and we really don't ask for much beyond this small responsibilty. So when someone refuses to do his chore when asked, it's a Big Deal.  Extra chores are assigned.  Privileges revoked.  Natural consequences apply whenever possible.

"I need to drain this pasta but I can't find the sink!"

"Well, did X unload and load the dishwasher yet?"

"No."

"Then you have a sink full of dishes.  It sucks when one person doesn't do his job. Take it up with the person who was supposed to do it."

:-)

The more they hold each other accountable, the less I have to do it.

Which, at their ages, is a good thing.

My job, after all, is to make my job irrelevant.  I want them to be self-sufficient, independent people who don't need Mom telling them what to do all the time or jumping in to solve their problems. 

Sometimes this is easy.

Sometimes.

Day 122: Seven Hours

A rare treat indeed.

I think.

Due to some scheduling changes, and the fact that Middle wanted to go in early and help with the beginner children's color belt tests today, we wound up staying at the dojang for 5 and a half hours, and then spent another hour and a half eating and engaging in Karate Nerd conversation tonight.

I probably overdid things a bit today, but it felt so good and the muscle I pulled in my hip (what else is new?) doesn't really hurt so much right now. 

But really, it's all good.  Middle has 22 days before his black belt test.  If I so choose, I will test for red the same day.  Not making any decisions yet; I'm just working as hard as I can to fix the things that need to be fixed and I'll see where I am closer to the date.  I went in today planning to go over all of my forms and wound up spending 2 hours working on just one of the recent ones - with much of that time really spent only on the last 4 moves of it.   Like, make this one motion look more like two distinct motions and rechamber the right fist before throwing it out again as a punch.  Amazing how much effort it took to change just these two details, and how much better I looked as a result.

And that was one I thought I had mastered.  I can only imagine what I might find if I dig into some of my older material...

My standards for a red belt are pretty high.  As they should be.  I don't just want to wear the belt; I want to feel like I've achieved the rank and have met my own standard for it.  And seven hours of practice and discussion brought me only a small step closer to that, with so many more to go.

This an extremely time-consuming discipline, if it is to be done right.  As always, I am grateful for the time I have on days like today to really immerse myself in conditioning and improving, grateful for the friends and teachers who take me seriously and show me what needs work, and eternally grateful for my family for supporting me and Middle as we approach these next milestones. 

Feeling blessed.  And exhausted.  And proud.  And humbled. 

Day 121: Four Months

It's been four months, and I must admit, I've liked having Savageman home.

He will probably get a job soon, and I will miss him terribly.

Grateful for this time together and hoping to find a way to have the best of both worlds.

:-)

Day 120: Not Inspired

I'm wrapping up the school year.  Working hard at karate.  Nuturing my family and friendships. 

I'm not cooking - and I miss this from time to time.  But it just hasn't been a priority.

We have healthy, natural food on hand, but we consume it in ways that require little effort or creativity. 

The boys all know what to do if they want to create something of their own.  They just don't like the rule about having to clean up the kitchen when they're done.  :-P

I remember the days when it was exciting and fun to make up a menu plan, research cookbooks and websites, make elaborate shopping lists, and devise interesting ways to use leftovers.

Of course, I also remember spending a small fortune on a new recipe I wanted to try only to have everyone sullenly pick at it and then make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for themselves later.

I remember washing container after container of leftover meals down the garbage disposal - meals I had planned, shopped for and taken hours to prepare.

The wasted time and money.  The feelings of resentment.

Yeah, I don't miss that.

Which isn't to say I wouldn't try it again, once in a while, with input and help from the family.  I even suggested it to Savageman tonight, since he was going to be home with the Teen for a few hours while the rest of us were at the dojang.  Making a yummy meal together might be a good way to bond.

He laughed.  I'll admit that the idea of the two of them in the kitchen together was a bit of a stretch.

C'est la vie.  I whipped up some tuna salad when I got home at 9, exhausted and drenched.

It was delicious.

Day 119: I So Needed That

Three hours of quality practice time today, much of it one-on-one fine-tuning of forms and techniques. 

Preceeded by the consumption of Bacon Cinnamon Buns, prepared by the Guru and served to us hot from the oven.  I was skeptical - it sounded like something a couple of college guys would come up with - but he was right; they were amazing.  Next, he'll be bringing us his trademark cheese-filled, beer-batter-dipped burgers.  My arteries are clogging just thinking about it.

Thankfully, I wasn't too stuffed to practice after such a treat.  The focus today was on Judo and falls, then we spent a long time nit-picking forms, then going over (and over, and over) Sword II.

It's been a stressful few days around here and I can't even begin to express how good it felt to go in there with people I love and trust and to put everything out of my mind except this form, this throw, this fall.

I had one of the teen girls in the car with me on the way home and I told her I could have worked for another three hours.  I think she understood - in our own ways, we're both dealing with the stresses of High School right now, and the dojang is our sacred space. 

Grateful tonight for renewed peace of mind, for my wonderful friends and mentors, for my supportive family, and for a wonderful home-cooked lunch and dinner. 

And for the relaxing movie and a leg massage from Savageman that await me now.

:-)

Day 118: Training

Got my CPR and First Aid renewed today.

Yay!

I can officially save lives.

(As long as I properly obtain consent to do so and do not venture beyond the scope of my training as a Level I First Aider.)

Whatever.  It took all day, it's done, and I don't have to do it again for two years.

It's the other stuff, for which there is no cool Red Cross training program, that I wish I could know.  Why can't there be step-by-step flow-charts and procedures for dealing with things like Teen Angst -  with and without Defiance and Loudness?

When they come up with that training, I'll be the first to sign up. 

In the meantime, I'm doing the best I can and making it up as I go.

Day 117: Demo Season

Middle and the Demo Team were great in their first demo of the spring season, even in the rain on the slippery mats.  The stuff they do isn't easy with traction.  I was waiting for someone to blow a knee, but thankfully, it was all good.

As always, Friday nights are a good time.  Only a few of us made it to sparring, but everyone met up for pizza and most of the kids went to the movies as well. 

Grateful tonight for Demo season and all the fun it brings!

:-)

Day 116: Nice To Be Home

Woke up at 7:20 after about 6 hours of sleep.

Put neighbor kids on the bus, left for work.

Did neuropsych tests until 3.

Came home, picked up clothes and boys, picked up girls, headed to the dojang.

Took two classes.

Came home, took quick shower, headed to childbirth class.  Watched reactions of couples who had never seen serious birthy videos before.

Met up with Savageman and ninjas at B&N cafe, closed cafe, walked over to Giant, spent another hour together at Giant cafe.  Went grocery shopping with six ninjas for bacon cinnamon bun ingredients.

Home finally at 11:30.


I haven't been in my house all day, and now it's time for bed.

Of course, there are dishes to wash, clothes to wash, stuff to pick up, and 5 games of Words With Friends that need my attention. 

Not to mention Savageman, who totally rocks.  I did get to see him while we were out earlier, but he came home early to put Little to bed.  Because he totally rocks. We'll be up until 2.

Need more hours.  Or less sleep.

But it's all good.

Grateful for so many good things to fill my time on a day like today.

:-)

Day 115: Healing

My body is bruised and sore from the Mudder, but I've logged ten hours at the dojang so far this week... and it's only Wednesday. 

As of tonight, I have been taught all of my red belt material.  I have a month to make it all look beautiful if I want to test in June. 

My two new open-hand forms are already looking good, I've been told.  The kum do (sword) form is committed to memory now and just needs to be tweaked.  And I've had my sitting hapkido techniques for several weeks.

On to my old material...

I've been working my way down through my older poomsae, looking for sloppy chambers, weak stances, and general stylistic changes to make.  Today I started looking at the taekwondo actions themselves, with Middle's help, noticing a bent wrist here, a fist too high or too low there.  My hapkido and fighting techniques need fine-tuning as well, but I am hesitant to bother Middle (or anyone else, for that matter) to practice those with me for any real length of time.  Joint manipulations hurt, as does being repeatedly thrown by someone who wants to get a technique exactly right.

I'm sore, but I'm happy to be healing and working on all of my color belt material, new and old.  It will be three years in July that I've been doing this, and the red belt I will test for will be the last color I will wear before becoming a black belt. 

Grateful tonight for the support and the help I've had and for a strong mind and body that have brought me this far.

Day 114: Fried Again

Maybe I just need more sleep.

Or a catchup day. 

It could have been today, but two of the ninjas and I took a small roadtrip, which was fun and probably good for all of us.  As a result, tonight I'm pissy that the place looks like it does.

And I'm bruised and sore, although that didn't keep me from my double class routine today.  The more I move, the better I feel.  We split a tasty dessert at the cafe tonight, and I came home to homemade brownies with homemade peanut butter icing, courtesy of the Teen and Little.

Normally a day like today would leave me feeling happy and fed. 

But instead, I'm just wiped out.

One of the ninja buddies loaned me a book.  I should get in bed and read it.

Tomorrow can be my catchup day.

Day 113: Thoughts on the Mudder

Well, it was quite a day.

We left at around 5:30 a.m. and had a nice ride up.  Good conversation, pretty scenery, and a sunrise.

Parking was at the Pocono Raceway and we boarded a schoolbus there for Pocono Manor, which seemed like it was a nice resort before the Tough Mudder people got a hold of it and covered it in mud and obstacles.

We registered and found the rest of our team, two of whom were also from the dojang.  Found bathrooms, got ready to start.  Our start time was 9:20.

I opted for the water shoes, which was a good choice.  The Master thinks he might have messed up his own minimalist shoes, and I would have been upset to lose my Vibrams.  The water shoes had the same feel, and they held up pretty well.  Much of the course was trail running, and people asked me if I minded feeling all the rocks, etc. under my feet, but I guess I'm used to feeling the terrain and it didn't bother me. 

What did bother me was my Camelback - it didn't work very well and it was cumbersome to carry with me, especially with so many obstacles to crawl under.  A waterproof fanny pack or something would have been a better choice to hold my camera - and the rest stations on the course provided enough water and bananas that I didn't really need to carry any food or drink of my own.  Lesson learned.

As far as the obstacles went, I had no trouble with the crawling through the mud, through the dark, sticky trenches, and the other muddy fun.  Running through fire was hot and a little choky, but fine.  Climbing over the walls was good with help.  I wasn't planning to go swimming or get zapped with electric current, but I did hike through a semi-deep stream and I fell off the balance beam at one of the last obstacles, so I went for an icy swim there.

Probably the most discomfort I felt the whole day was at the very end when we sat down on the grass to a protein bar and a beer.  After 5+ hours of constant movement, sitting down felt wrong (I should have been stretching), and I was cold and soaked and the wind was blowing hard and we were all shivering despite the foil blankets they handed out.  I felt better after I changed into my dry clothes, but it took a while for me to feel my hands and feet again.

All in all, it was a good experience, and I was glad for the arm-twisting and Jedi Mind Tricking. I had planned on spending the entire winter training for this thing, and had feared that the lack of said training would really impair my ability to complete the course.  I definitely didn't have the upper body strength to do things like monkey bars, but I was expecting that.  And I didn't condition myself for the challenges of the icy cold water.  But endurance-wise, my daily regimen of karate and kickboxing was enough to prepare me for running, climbing and crawling, and in that respect I was fine.

Sore today, and a little scraped up (I tripped at one point and banged up my knee), but feeling strong.  Ready to resume my normal schedule tonight.  I have Red Belt material to learn.

:-)