Sundance Shoes

I bought these last week and just love them! I feel like I'm walking in warm mud. They last all the work day with no hot spots or pinching toes. They come in a few other colors that are beckoning me.

I'm a happy teacher when my feet feel good. :)

The Penultimate Gift Idea - #4

This may come as a surprise to some because I'm sure nobody else does this, but I think about my weight a lot. Over the years I've gained and lost weight many many times. Like Oprah. I'll lose a boat load of weight then become the spokesperson (to my friends) for whatever program worked at the time. Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, Cambridge, Slimfast, Bariatric, you name it, I've done it and usually quite successfully. However, I have about two million less friends and about fifty million less dollars than Oprah. :) I would have done a commercial if anyone had asked. (I think about my fifteen minutes of fame a lot too.)

Lately I'm thinking about overall good health and weight loss. Yes, I know...but better late than never. Exercise is an important part of overall good health but ... you know ... it's ... h.a.r.d. I've done all the classes: Aerobics, Jazzercise, Pilates, Yoga, Zumba, and my personal favorite Sit and Be Fit. They all work as long as you go to class.

Now I think I'm on to something. This isn't new and I'm certainly not the first person to ever do this, but I've found that wearing a pedometer makes me MOVE! And moving is a key component to burning calories and keeping your heart healthy. Who knew?

So, I put this little gizmo on my pocket or belt loop everyday and watch my steps go up and up and up. Before I know it I'm at 8500 steps and it's only 2 PM. Before the pedometer and I became friends, I'd get home from teaching high school and zone out on the sofa for a few hours. Now, I look at my little gizmo and think, I'll go up and down the steps a few times or walk to the mail box a few times and viola! I'll have my 10,000+ steps in no time. I'm aiming for 20,000 a day in the new year.

It's a personal challenge to get the steps. It's me against me. No twenty-something spandexed blond Zumba-ing beside me, or smarty pants kid stretching her legs over her head and touching her toes to the floor ... of the next room. Nope, it's just me pushing for the 10,000th step. It's fun. I don't count calories, I'm too busy moving. I don't snack as much, I'm moving. Really! I know it sounds too easy and believe me I'm all about the easy. But it is....it's easy.

I bought a good pedometer, but there are hundreds of different kinds out there. One of them even talks to you. That's a bit much for me, but anything you like will do. They cost anywhere from $5 to $75 (that's the talking one.)

So here's my next to last gift idea for a friend, preferably your best friend. The person you've had countless conversations with about losing weight and exercising. The one who would really appreciate this little gift. The one who will move with you if you ask. A pedometer!!

Get moving! Get walking! Get healthy! And who knows maybe someone will call (me) and ask you (me) to do a commercial.

For the close readers and purists: The picture was taken on a Saturday and I didn't put the pedometer on until around noon.

OnStar

The last three Chevy Blazers we've had have been equipped with OnStar. I love having OnStar in my car. It makes me feel safe and more connected with services I might need in case of emergency. When we travel I can easily find things like hotels, restaurants, points of interest, less congested routes, and local radio stations. In addition, I can talk on the phone hands-free to whomever I want. It's comforting.

I like it so much that in my fantasy camp mind, I've imagined myself in one of their radio commercials. You've heard them, actual taped conversations with an OnStar operator talking with victims of an accident. The commercial ends with the OnStar client thanking OnStar and wondering what they ever did without it.

I thought my 15 minutes of fame had come one summer when I needed OnStar for the first time. I was working on a Mission Project with my church. Families from our church were building a home for a family who lived in the heavily wooded mountains of Pa.

Our group traveled to the area and set up camp for a week. Everyone, no matter how young or old, had a job. Kids and adults hammered nails into the studs, guided the roof frame into place, drilled holes for the wiring, rolled on and attached the insulation, hung the dry wall, shingled the roof, installed the windows, laid tile on the kitchen floor, installed appliances, carried the supplies, etc, etc. You get the picture. Many hands doing many jobs.

So, what was my job? Feeding all those many hands three meals and snacks daily. And I was happy to do that. I can't hammer in a nail straight and I end up wearing more Spackle than I put on the walls. People laugh at me when I try any of the jobs...with a smile on their face and love in their heart, I'm sure.

Anyway, on this particular day, our first full day at camp, my friend and I were up at the crack of dawn preparing breakfast in the kitchen of a youth camp nearby. When everyone had eaten we cleaned up and began preparing sandwiches, drinks and snacks for lunch, all the while driving coolers of water, lemonade, and ice tea back and forth to the workers. Around noon, with lunch for 125 hungry workers securely packed in the back of the Blazer we headed to the work site to feed the masses.

We arrived on the single lane mountain road in front of the work site. Our plan was to stop there, unload the food and then park the Blazer out of the way so we could set up lunch. We jumped out of the Blazer and slammed the doors, quickly going around to open the hatch and get the lunches out of the back. When I slammed my door, I heard a very quiet almost inaudible, click and I knew immediately that all the doors had locked automatically. The keys were in the ignition, my bag was on the front seat and lunches for 125 hungry men, women and children were locked in the back as the temperature inside the Blazer on that hot summer day began to climb.

Lots of bad words were flying through my head, but since this was a church trip that's where they stayed, unlike the Mouse in the House incident of a few years back.

So instead, I remembered I had OnStar! Great! But, the number and my OnStar card were in the locked car. Luckily my friend had OnStar on her car and she did have the brains to take her bag with her when she hopped out of the passenger side. She had her cell phone and the OnStar number with her.

The conversation between OnStar and me went something like this:

OS: "Hello, this is Kelly from OnStar how can I assist you?"
Me: "Hi Kelly, this is LJ and I've locked the keys in my Blazer"
OS: "Okay, you've locked your keys in the Blazer and you want us to unlock it for you?"
Me: "Yes"
OS: "No problem, LJ, we do this all the time."
(Whew, I thought, I'm not the only idiot and they can fix this and I can do their next commercial. That fantasy camp mind of mine works 24/7.)
I gave Kelly all the information she needed to unlock my Blazer.

OS: "LJ? Just step away from the car leaving about four feet between you and the car and in about five minutes we'll have the car doors unlocked." And thank you for using OnStar. If we can be of assistance in the future please don't hesitate to call. Have a nice day! Goodbye."

About now the kids began to realize their lunch had arrived but there was a problem. Nothing makes kids hungrier than knowing the food is near but they can't have it. Suddenly about 50 starving kids began circling the Blazer like hungry tigers circling wounded prey, peering in the windows to see what they couldn't have.

My friend announced in a big, booming voice, "Step away from the Blazer boys and girls, so the OnStar satellite can unlock the doors."
The kids were intrigued and immediately became quiet as they backed away from the car. I could see in their eyes they were thinking a beam from the Mother Ship was about to descend on the Blazer, light it up and unlock the doors.

So we waited, and waited, and waited. Nothing. No Mother Ship. No beam. No magical door opening.

We called OnStar again and the kids began to move towards the Blazer.

OS: "Hello this is Donald from OnStar how can I help you?"
Me: "Hello Donald, this is LJ. I just called a few minutes ago about having locked the keys in my car. Do you have my information in front of you."
OS: "Let me look and see what I can find. Please hold.
Oh great, I'm on hold, the ice is melting, the lunch is getting warm and Elvis's "All Shook Up" is playing in my ear. How appropriate.
OS: Thank you for holding LJ. I see you've locked your keys in the car, is that correct?"
Me: "Yes, keys are locked in the Chevy Blazer. All doors are locked. Yes, everyone is standing four feet away from the Blazer. We're still waiting for you to unlock the doors."
OS: "Okay, Please hold."
(In my head I'm practicing my lines for the commercial while I'm on hold with Donald. Kids are inching closer to the Blazer.)
OS: "LJ may I ask, where exactly are you?"
Me: (Giving detailed information about our location.) ..."and we are on a small single lane road surrounded by the tallest most beautiful trees in the state of Pa. It's pristine and beautiful. (You can hear a script forming here for the OnStar commercial, can't you?)
OS: So, you are in the woods, surrounded by tall trees?
Me: "Yes!" "Yes we are, we're building a house for... (This was going to be in my commercial script too. A mention of our church and all the good things we do.)
OS: Interrupting..."LJ, The OnStar satellite can't find you if you are in the woods. We're sorry. Thank you for using OnStar. If we can be of assistance in the future please don't hesitate to call. Have a nice day! Goodbye."

And goodbye to the commercial in my fantasy camp mind as it disappeared with the click of the OnStar person hanging up."

There was only one thing left to do and why didn't I do this first?

Me: "Okay," I shouted, "You two older boys over there, get a crow bar out of the tool truck, plus a few shims. Does anybody have a coat hanger? Let's get these doors open the old-fashioned way so everybody can have lunch."
Big cheer from the starving masses and in five minutes everybody was eating.

Do I hear Hallelujah, Amen?!

Movie Talk

Ask any adult if they have a favorite line from a movie and most will say they do.

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

"Go ahead, make my day."

"I'll be back."

"Play it again, Sam."

“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.”

"I'm gonna' make him an offer he can't refuse."

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

"You'll shoot your eye out."

"I'll have what she's having."

"There's no crying! There's no crying in baseball!"

"Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal."

"Nobody puts baby in a corner. "

...or the less popular quote from the same move,
"I carried the watermelon."

I'll bet anyone over the age of 20 who is reading this (both of you) can name the movie the above quotes are from.

But, can you name the movie these quotes came from?

"To infinity, and beyond!"

"When life gets you down do you wanna' know what you've gotta' do? Keep swimming. Just keep swimming."

"This isn't flying. This is falling, with style!"

"I create feelings in others that they themselves don't understand."

"I'm H2O intolerant."

"Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave."

"Okay, he either said, "move to the back of the throat," or he "wants a root beer float.""

"I am a nice shark, not a mindless eating machine. If I am to change this image, I must first change myself. Fish are friends, not food."

"You've got to move it, move it, move it."

Did you get them all right? If you need help with any of these just ask a five-year old or a seven-year old. My adorable niece and nephew and my daughter and I sat around the pool one day this summer and talked. Yes, talked. For once it wasn't, Aunt L. watch me! Or, Aunt L. look over here at me, I can swim on my back. Or, look Aunt L. I can do a flip now.

This time we sat in a circle and shared lines from our favorite movies. These two little geniuses could match us one for one with lines from their favorite movies. Turns out we've seen some of the same movies. Pixar, Disney and Sesame Street got it right when they made movies adults and kids could watch together.

My niece and nephew don't watch much TV, but when they do, they remember! Those little minds are blank hard drives waiting to be filled with sights, sounds and dialog. My nephew will run through the house chattering away with the Buzz Lightyear action figure in his hand. Sometimes he's making up his own story, but sometimes he's quoting the movie almost word for word.

My niece will dress in her princess gowns, complete with high heels. She'll grab the microphone from the Karaoke and sing her little heart out to the tunes from Beauty and the Beast or Lion King. She even knows the words to most Hannah Montana songs.

Of course their lives are filled with other activities too, like gymnastics, soccer, karate, swimming, all the things kindergarten and elementary school kids are into these days. But my tumbling days are long gone, so I'm loving the fact that there's still at least one way we can have fun together.

So how about you? What's your favorite line from a movie?

Back To School

"Don't you love New York in the
fall? It makes me want to buy school
supplies. I would send you a bouquet of
newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your
name and address."
You've Got Mail.

I love You've Got Mail and this quote from the movie was one of my favorites.

It's back to school time around these parts and for me it's the best time of year. Of course, I don't like seeing the end of my summer, but September, I love September.

Here, let me count the ways:

1. High School Football! Pom-Poms, majorettes, confetti, Friday nights, hot dogs, cokes, marching bands, dance teams, cheerleaders. The enthusiasm is contagious and even though I'm well, well, well, (okay enough!!) past those years, I still get emotional with the first drum cadence of the season.
One time we had a Superintendent who said, a winning football team can carry you all the way through the first semester. Clearly this guy had his priorities in the right place.:)

2. Dry Air! Yes, I said dry air. For a few frizz free weeks in the fall the humidity goes down and the temperature stays warm. Naturally curly unruly hair becomes manageable and darn near straight, a dream I've had since I was fourteen. In the summer humidity after a day at the beach, or just outside in the humidity, I looked like a Carmen Miranda impersonator. You know the picture, a woman with the fruit on her head as an adornment? In the '60s and '70s I longed for Joan Baez hair or hair like Mary Allin Travers from Peter, Paul and Mary. Parted in the middle and long and straight, no matter the weather. I also yearned for their vocal talent, another gift nature didn't bless me with. What I got instead was hair so unpredictable that I never went on a swimming date. A long walk in the moonlight was misery for me because when the walk was over and the lights of the dorm lobby hit me I had gone from Mary Travers, (a look I'd achieved after hours of work under a hairdryer bonnet with juice cans for rollers. Then a straightening iron that had absolutely no high heat monitor or automatic off switch. You could get 3rd degree burns on the side of your face and burn your dorm to the ground if you weren't careful) to Angela Davis in less than an hour. Dry air is my friend.

3. Colors! Red, Orange, Yellow, Apricot, Asparagus, Bittersweet, Brick Red, Burnt Orange, Burnt Sienna, Atomic Tangerine, Copper, Gold, Golden Rod, Indian Red, Mahogany, Dandelion, Neon Carrot, Olive Green, Vivid Tangerine, Radical Red, Raw Sienna, Razzmatazz Red, Sun Glow, Sunset Orange, Torch Red, Scarlett, Outrageous Orange, Laser Lemon, Unmellow Yellow, Sunset Orange, Torch Red, Scarlett.
If a trip to Maine or other parts north are out of the question, come to Western PA during the first two weeks of October. The Allegheny Mountains are awash with the colors of fall and splash against the sky an artist's palate of reds, oranges and yellows...and variations of those colors as mentioned above from the 64 count box of crayola crayons. :)

4. Pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn, and corns stalks. Who doesn't like to hike through the pumpkin patch and find the perfect one on which to carve a scary face and frighten the beejeebers out of the little kids who come to the door?

5. Apples and Apple Cider. Simmer a pot of cider on the stove with a few sticks of cinnamon and guests will think they've walked onto Walton's Mountain in the fall.

6. Did I mention dry air and straight hair. :)

7. Fall clothes! Love, love, love fall clothes. Just enough coverage to hide troublesome spots, yet still light enough to be comfortable and fashionable.

8. Chrysanthemums....pots of these fall beauties all over the porch and deck. And do you know you can smell the seasons? Another reason to love the fall.

9. New students. Teaching is a great profession and I love it. Kids are funny and nice and each year I get a whole bunch of new ones. Oh sure, there are a few here and there who curl my hair... Ha!... as if. But for the most part, they are wonderful.

The first day of school and September and Fall are like New Years' day for me. I start fresh and reinvent myself when September rolls around. All the missteps of the previous year are forgotten, and promises are made to myself to do an even better job in the new year.

Besides all the wonderful advice from Randy Pausch's Last Lecture that I plan to use in my classes this year, I found this on the web and will use it as my personal mantra for this school year:

"YOU MAY BE THE ONLY BIBLE SOME PEOPLE EVER READ. IF EVERYONE YOU MEET CAN NOT SEE GODS LOVE THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS, THEN YOU HAVE FAILED HIM"

My good friend Betsy

Betsy and I have been friends for the last 28 years. Her husband and mine were fraternity brothers and we became friends when we were all graduating from college. We're not best friends, we're good friends. She lives a distance away and we see each other about two to three times a year. Recently her husband (the frat. brother) was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and his treatment is in our city. So there's bad news and good news. The bad news is he has to have chemo, but the good news is we get to spend more time with them than ever because they've stayed with us during a few of his treatments.

They are the type of friends who knew us when, who are just like us, who have two kids out of college, and who, (and this is the best part) can come and stay at our house and I know I don't really have to prepare much, if I don't want to. She doesn't care if I've cleaned the bathroom or changed the sheets. She doesn't care if I cook or if we eat out. She doesn't care if I have to get up the next day and go to work while she stays at our house. Betsy just likes me for me. And I feel the same way about her.

We have shared college years and young married life together as well as the joys of raising kids, the pressures of work and the angst of middle age. She is as sweet as can be and always brings me something when she comes. Sometimes it's a recipe and sometimes it's a Vera Bradley bag. Sometimes it's donuts, and sometimes is flowers. When we stay at their house, there's a surprise on my pillow when I go to bed. She makes me laugh and she laughs at my jokes.

But the best thing is there's a comfort level that only happens after years of being friends. There's no pressure, just laughs; no one-up-man-ship, just an equal playing field, no judging, just accepting.

I said we weren't best friends, and that's probably because we live so far apart, but she's kind and funny and thoughtful and the best kind of friend to have.

Box of Chocolates

I'm so proud. Since I started this blog I've been planning to write about a former student. In my 25 years of teaching I've had about 2700 students pass through my classroom door. Many keep in contact for a year or so after graduation and less keep in contact longer. I have a handful of students well past college age who I still keep in touch with.
However, one student got under my skin, crawled through me straight to my heart and sat herself there like a naughty kid in the time-out chair. She wasn't poor or homeless or lonely or friendless, she just needed something that, apparently I had. A few times a week she'd appear at my door after school, to talk, to question, for approval that she mattered, I think. She'd sit and stare, comfortable with the quiet as I would finish up some work...a dear...a petite blond, with big brown eyes peering at me..silently.
You would think "cheerleader" if you saw her even today. However, this sweetie has seen more of life than most people and has been to "there" and back too many times. She suffered her share of teenage angst and then had many years after high school seriously struggling to get her act together. And I mean, seriously. She'll write her own story about those years one day.
But now I'm happy to say I attended her wedding and rejoiced with her when she had a little baby girl. She's a wonderful wife, mother, and.........blogger! You can find her here: http://boxofchocolatesblog.blogspot.com/ blogging along with her best friend. I think they are hysterical. They make me laugh out loud.