Knees

So today, my knees are killing me. I don't know what is going on exactly. On the way down the steps this morning to get Lukin up, I thought my knees were being weird. They had this dull ache to them. They almost feel like they are separate entities today. I don't even get it. Then when I was walking into work, I tripped over my own feet and thought that it was because of my knees. If anyone has any advice for me and my knees, I would be glad to hear it.

Generations

So this weekend, I spent time with my grandma, her husband, my mom, and my son. There were others, but those were the main players in my weekend. And I have to say that it is funny how the more time you spend together, the more obvious the generational gap seems to be.

For example: On Saturday night, my grandma and her husband were preparing this big meal for the family so we could celebrate my son's 2nd birthday and my grandma's husband's 65th birthday. While they were in the process of preparing all this food, they got warm. Well, their solution was to turn the AC down to 70 degrees. Now, I know that if you are hot, that would seem like the logical thing to do. But I think it was this generational thing that made me upset that they thought it was okay to let the AC run at 70 degrees. At our house, we would never think to turn it down to 70 in the summer (nor would we let it be as high as 70 in the winter).

I just had to shrug my shoulders because what good would trying to lecture about preserving the planet do when explaining it to those who are older? I didn't know the answer.

On a side note, I also noted that the older you get, the more that you feel having floral patterned stuff if okay. I am glad I am not there yet either.

YouTube

I don't know if I have ever mentioned this before, but I really enjoy YouTube. I don't use it for much reallly, but whenever I have a song in my head and want to hear it, I just go to YouTube, type it in, and there's my song. I love that. Today, I decided that I wanted to hear 'Say it Right' because I haven't heard it in a long time. Then I decided that I wanted to hear some Paul McCartney from the 90s, post Beatles Anthology, pre-Linda passing away. I just think it is nice that there is the technology available so that I can tune into these songs whenever I really want to. That's pretty awesome. Thanks YouTube.

Jumping Jacks

Lots of things are running through my head on which I would like to comment like the fact that I didn't know my blog would become a place to debate airplane fuel efficiency. Or maybe I should comment on the fact that I still don't have pics of Lukin's birthday on here. Or maybe I should comment on the new job opportunity that has presented itself. But instead of all those things, I want to talk about jumping jacks.

Jumping jacks. The words themselves bring to mind phy ed in elementary school. They weren't hard to do. They didn't require any equipment. They were just part of the mandatory gym drill and we didn't ever really question why. Now I know why. If anyone would have mentioned them before yesterday, I wouldn't have given them a second thought.

Think about it. What is a jumping jack? I never really thought about that before. But after my workout yesterday, I now know that jumping jacks are cardio. I never would have assumed that ever. I never thought of them as being anything to get my heart rate up in elementary school, but then I wasn't really thinking about my heart rate in gym before either.

You see, I have started circuit training. I say started because yesterday was my first day. And at the end of every circuit is jumping jacks. Can you do jumping jacks for an entire minute straight? At this point, I cannot. I told the school nurse and she said that it's hard to do that or jump rope for an extended period, but that she knows this guy who can jump rope for like 30 minutes straight. He is the most physically fit man she has ever met. I bet.

So I must wrap this up so that I can go home and do night number two of circuit training. Think of me huffing and puffing as I try to do 15 separate minutes worth of jumping jacks/jumping rope. Yay me.

Patience, patience.

I know that some of you are wondering where the birthday pictures are but I haven't had time to sit down at the home computer (or rather the patience to sit down and do it on the home computer). I plan to get that on here sometime during my weekend. Maybe Friday or something. But don't worry, the pictures are coming. That way everyone can see some updated pictures of the Little Man.

Dear "Anonymous"

So a couple days ago, I was on this rant about how this guy that I used to know moved to another state and is now working for a private jet company...remember? Anyway, someone must have misinterpreted what I was getting at, and left this rant of their own in the comments. (To review the entry and the comments, see Happy and Sad entry (May 7th, 2008) and read the comments.)

Anyway, my husband gets this magazine called Aviation International News, and in the most recent edition there was an article called: ATA: bizjets are bigger polluters than the airlines. Sounds like I found the proof, that the individual who made the comment said, that I wouldn't be able to find.

In the article, James May, Air Transport Association president and CEO, "claimed that airline jets are five to six times more fuel efficient than corporate jets. '...carrying 200 people and cargo across the country in a single plane burns a lot less fuel than 33 separate corporate jets, each flying six people.'"

The article continues on talking about how airlines in the U.S. have improved their fuel efficiency by 103% between 1978 and 2006. And also about how, "ATA carriers have made a committment to improving thier fuel efficiency by an additional 30% by 2025."

So, I guess that if "Anonymous" didn't get that I was basically talking about the whole idea of commercial airlines being like the way to "carpool" in the sky, then I guess finding the information to support the bigger concern beyond that (that being increasing fuel efficiency) wouldn't really make any difference...except to prove that I am right, and not wrong as they suggested.

But again, I welcome all comments. This particular entry is dedicated to "Anonymous" who, by commenting, made creating this entry kind of like a game. And that was fun.

May 12th Post Script

Thank goodness that the person the post script is about can't read yet. He might be mad he was the post script. I just wanted to take a quick second and say:

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY LUKIN!!!

Love,

Mommy

Lighter Side

So, I can remember my husband saying something about, "oh, why don't you just complain about me in your blog?" over something that he did and I remarked, "Really, I don't get around to venting about you much anymore." So I thought I would do as my husband requested and vent about him, but I couldn't remember what it was I was going to say...that was until I read Amanda's blog entry about Mother's Day...then I remembered.

So yesterday morning was this barrage of phone calls and text messages to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. One call was a combined call of my Mom, Dad, and Grandma. One call was my sister. And one text message was from my BFF. Now that was a lot of calls to get on a Sunday morning for me. No one ever calls. So when the phone rang again, and it was my husband, I was expecting a Happy Mother's Day wish, but have this tendency to forget that I am not his mother and therefore this holiday doesn't pertain to me from him...or so he says... He knows that if he ignored the fact that I am the mother of his son, that he would probably be taking up residence with his parents again because he surely wouldn't be staying at my house.

I think this is a learned behavior though. I remember listening to Carin talk last year about she would hear Dan say that she was not his mother, merely the mother of his children, so why did he have to do anything for her for Mother's Day. I'm a little sassier and of a different generation than she is, but I would say, if Sonny said that and meant it, "Try me. See how happy your home life is for a while."

I entitled this entry 'Lighter Side' because Sonny jokes about the fact that I am not his mother, but in the end he pulls through. Even though he did try to ask me if I was upset with him because of the fact that we had talked on the phone two times yesterday morning and he didn't once mention Hapyy Mother's Day. I think he thought asking a question with the key words in it got him off the hook...not so much... But like I said, he pulled through in the end. A gift card to the spa is always a greatly appreciated gift, especially for Mother's Day.

Side note

While I am on my environmental kick, I would like to comment on a story that I saw on the news about how the Prius is a "bad" car because it is quiet.

Now I (generally) don't mean to be difficult, but the kid in the news story, should have been paying attention before he darted out into the street on his bike. Just because you can't hear a car, doesn't mean there isn't a car.

The reporter from the story spoke with the President for the National Federation of the Blind in MN and she was talking about how people who are blind rely on sounds to help them, especially in nature. She is also in favor of laws that would require cars like the Prius to emit some kind of noise when it is running on it's battery.

While, that seems like a great idea for when (and if) it happens, here's something that can be done now. If you drive a car, whether or not it is a hybrid, you should be aware of your surroundings. (I don't know how some people get a license without that skill.) And never assume that the people (especially kids) that you see out walking, running, biking, whatever, know not to dash out in front of your car.

Personally, I would like to own a Prius. But I would not like to acquire a hearing loss in favor of saving gas money.

Happy and Sad

So last night, I was checking facebook and a couple people I knew from college had added me so I was searching for more of my college friends. I decided to try and see if I could find one guy in particular because I haven't talked to him since probably my senior year of college.

I have tried to locate him before but have not had any luck. So I decided that I would check myspace. I don't have a myspace account, and really don't plan to, so I was happy and sad when I found my friend on there. There he was, just a click away, but I didn't want to have another website to have to check up on from time to time so I didn't write to him.

But then as I was reading through his profile, I was happy and sad again. Happy to see that he was able to go into the profession he has wanted to be in for as long as I knew him, but sad at the company that he works for. You see he works in aviation. Now that part doesn't make me sad...pretty much every other guy that I was friends with in grad school was someone that I worked with and they all seemed to be aviation majors. Strange, but true. (I wonder where all of them are...great. more searches ensue.)

Anyway, this guy works for a private jet company and that makes me sad. I mean, I don't have an issue with him having a job, just that fact that there need to be private jet companies.

Say what you will about commercial aviation. But if you think about it, commercial flights are basically bus routes in the sky. They run, whether they are full or not. I don't know why the people who think they need private jets need them. There is already "public transportation" going to any locale you want. I take issue with private jets, not because of the money issue (people with private jets probably have money) but because of the environmental impact. If you have a private jet, think about the carbon footprint you are leaving. You would, or at least you should, be embarrased about it.

I don't really know why, but I have been on this environmental kick lately. I haven't gone all "Hippie Granola" but I am making strides. I never would have ever even thought of this stuff, yet, if I still lived in GF. But that's a whole other rant.

Old School Sesame Street

Don't ask me why, but yesterday, I suddenly had a song from old school Sesame Street in my head and decided to type it into YouTube to see what would pop up. Let me tell you that I found tons of the old bits that I loved when I was a kid and that I even watched into my senior year of high school..."Mr. Timian, I couldn't practice for my flute lesson before State because I was watching Sesame Street last night."

Anyway, so I typed in a few things and found some treasures. So I will list the ones that I have remembered all these years, that I found and then you can go check them out and see if you remember them, and see what other ones you can find. You can just copy and paste the addresses, or type in the subject line, or find your own gems.

1. Teeny Little Super Guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjvt6xqKwV8
2. Pinball Number 12: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgocE-JfWFI&feature=related
3. African Alphabet Song (Kermit with Muppet Ladysmith Black Mambazo characters): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcpTCKOzJjA
4. Ladybug's Picnic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr8vUTm64h0&feature=related
5. Veggie Order (Number 10 Cartoon): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egk7-m1lwsA&feature=related
6. The Sign Says 'Don't Walk' (this one reminds me of Dr. Hook or some band like that): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV9rKeC4FEc
7. Don Music (The "Oh, I'll never get it!!" piano guy): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Roewb-FxHM0&feature=related
8. Ernie's song "Dance Myself to Sleep": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AihWK5On7tc

Now, I hope you all have some old school Sesame Street songs in your head for the rest of the day!

Lordy, lordy. Look who's 39 and 12/12th.

So this weekend it was Sonny's 40th birthday, as the sign says. We got a group of Sonny's and my friends together and went to a Twins game. It was a lot of fun. And a big thanks to "TR2" for taking the pictures and emailing them to me so I could post them.

Four of the eight of us (Brenda, Amanda, Sonny and I) drove to the train stop together and met up with two others (Tom and Tricia) and all took the train down to the Metrodome together. Once there, we met up with the other two people (Naomi and Nick). It was at that moment that I realized that Sonny and I were the only ones who didn't have first names that started with the same letter like the other two couples. Oh well.

I would like to tell you how exciting the game was, but if you know me, you know that I pretty much talked the whole time. I know that we won, and also had the opportunity to vote for the All-Star team, but other than that, I don't really know what was happening. But, hey, it's not totally my fault. When you go to those things with people you haven't seen in a while, it's hard not to visit.

After the game, we were lucky enough to get on a train that wasn't totally packed so we were able to visit all the way back to our where we parked. Then Tom and Tricia had to drive over to our car to deliver Sonny's 40 gifts...40 bottles of different kinds of beer. So, if anyone wants to invite us to a BBQ any time soon, we will be set for beverages.

After that, we went to Joe Sensor's and met up with Brenda's sister (Deb) and her husband (Sam) who weren't able to join us for the game because they had a previous plans for the early part of the evening. But it was fun when we all met up. Deb showed me some pictures of one of our sorority sister's weddings and the wedding of a "gamer friend" we know. I use the term friend rather loosely because I haven't talked to him since my sister's funeral, or maybe the summer after. Anyway, we had a good chuckle at the fact that his wedding party favors were 20 sided die. Seriously.

So, all in all, Sonny's birthday party was fun. He was a pretty tired old man when we got home, as he quickly retired to bed while Amanda and I sat up and visited.

As for his 'real' birthday, we went the Gast House (or however it's spelled) in Stillwater. It's a German restaurant. It was a nice meal and it was a really fun weekend.

Thanks to all who were involved for your participation!!

Happy May Day!

So here it is May first. And for whatever reason it is, and I honestly don't know the reason, I had a basket ot flowers on my classroom door this morning when I got here. They were made of paper in a basket that was made out of yard glued around a balloon until it dried and then the balloon was popped leaving a basket shape. I knew who they were from because I had seen them in the elementary classrooms earlier. I just didn't know I was going to be voted on by the students to receive one. That was pretty cool.

Then later on, I was working with a student and there came a knock at the door and one of my other students was at the door and he had made little May Day basket as well. His had a fake flower in it with green paper shredded so it looked like grass with some candy in it. Super Cute.

It was at this point that the student I was working with asked me why people give baskets for May Day. He probably didn't even word it that way because he probably didn't even know it was "May Day". The one student thought it was a distress signal or something, like "May Day!! May Day!!"

So if anyone knows the story behind the May Day basket. Please let me know. I know I could look it up but don't feel like it right now.

In other news, one of the PSAs will be done after tomorrow. So today we had a pot luck for her. I couldn't believe the spread. One lady brought noodles that she had cooked and then she chopped up several little dishes of veggies and had chicken and shredded cheese, and different dressings and mayo to make your own pasta salad. It was really good. All the stuff was. I actually got a recipe out of it for my husband's birthday this weekend. I hope it turns out as well as it did for her.