A Very Lucky Girl

The thing about inner staterooms on board a ship is that they are extra dark. It could be 3 PM and it's as dark as if it were 3 AM. So on Monday morning I woke up well-rested around 9:30 AM and immediately scouted out a lounge chair in a sunny corner of Deck 11. I regret to inform you that I did not don any sunscreen on this day....which in hindsight was a poor decision, especially considering I spent approximately 5 hours laying out. I do this every year. Foregoing sunscreen for the inaugural tan time, but then religiously applying SPF 4 for the remainder of the trip. During one of those sun soaked hours on deck a busybody chair neighbor pointed out my jewelry: "I notice you have a medical alert bracelet on, what's wrong with you?" Several things actually, sir....Are we talking mentally? Physically? Emotionally? Narrow your nosiness, if you please. I stealthily crept away from the gentleman and continued to furiously read the novel Sharbear supplied me with before m...

I crawled out of bed on a Tuesday morning over Christmas Break at 5 am to accompany Sharbear to her 5:30 am kickboxing class. I have never boxed in my life, kick or otherwise. I felt EXTRA uncoordinated. That's another plus to running: the clumsiest person can do it with little ill effects. Nevertheless, I persevered through the class, pausing to gulp water only 3 times.  Sharbear is member at a small gym, the class had maybe 9 participants (the time likely drives everyone away) and had your stereotypical bouncy, overly energetic blonde who no doubt was headed to pilates upon completion of the class, the front row mom who did the opposite of whichever side the instructor commanded, the lone middle-aged man who reminisced about his old boxing coach before class began, and the obnoxious girl to my left who sang along to every. single. song. Honey, you aren't kicking hard enough! I really enjoyed the group aspect and the coach dynamic of the gathering. It felt vaguely li...

The kids came back from vacation at the beach this week. I walked in on Monday morning, expecting to be bombarded with hugs and exclamations of, "we missed you!" Instead, my kids sat like two slugs in the giant bean bag until I said, "uhhh, THIS is the welcome I get?" After that they clung like a psycho ex-girlfriend.  I've made them do Rosetta stone, violin scales, and soccer drills all week. I'm always looking for time fillers. While they kicked soccer balls around I decided to use my time wisely and get a second workout in. I always hit up the treadmill before I head to their house every morning, but some extra crunches, jumping jacks, and squats never hurt anybody. The squats were a big hit. My thighs wouldn't agree, but the kids laughed and laughed at the workout I did in their driveway as they meandered around with a checkered ball.  If you act really excited about something minuscule, the whole attitude in the house is amped up. So I made a ...