Internet at last!

Check out the details so far at this site

www.elcamission.blogspot.com


Adios for now!

Empty house

It is amazing how quiet a house can get. With Leanne and Brenna off to their school missions trip to Bacalar Mexico , ( I think they are there, I have not heard from them) there are few noises in the house beside the furnace running, refrig kicking on and off and a some unidentified sounds. As much as I like having some peace and quiet, this is too much. So I have followed some Leanne tradition this morning and got up early, made coffee and fired up the vacuum cleaner. There was no one in the house to protest the early morning noise, so I could cruise along with a clear conscience. This is definitely a time to be thankful for a small house because I was finished in a matter of minutes. Leanne usually heads for the bathroom before daylight to get them cleaned first, but I am going to mix it up a little and have coffee, write this blog, have breakfast first. I may even play with the dog ( she misses Brenna a lot) first and might venture out to the alpaca barn and talk to them a while before braving the hostile world of bathroom cleaning.


For all those folks who were hoping Leanne was composing this blog with exciting details of their adventures in Mexico, I join you. No news is good news? Not true. Hopefully they will surface today and acknowlege that they really are working and not sunning themselves on the beach while we daily pull on our rain jacket and protect our face from the rain that is coming down sideways.


I can not sign out before a little football news. This is one thing that brings some excitement to the day beside cleaning house. Both Oregon teams have important games today in their bid for the Rose Bowl . Of course I will be cheering for the Beavers to win, I still do not want Arizona to overtake the Ducks. But until then back to the daily duties.

ET (LVE) call home!

Tentative

Here's the thing - I MAY not have internet while I'm gone. I know, your daily routine could get very disoriented during my absence and I am truly sorry. So I have enlisted the help of someone very near and dear to all of you, my hubby. He has kindly agreed to offer a few insightful posts while I am gone and dis*connected.

IF we do find a live wire to the world and we are not cooling off in the pool at the compound, we might be posting to the following site. Either way, we'll post photos there when we return.

www.elcamission.blogspot.com

Here's the other big IF: I may not have a coffee maker nearby when I wake up. Therefore I will make one last trip to the store today for instant java.

Birthday Girl (guest post by hubby)

Happy Birthday Sherry. For years it was easy being Sherry's little brother, but the past few years things are beginning to change. I now get mistaken for being an older brother. You know most people look older as they get older but not Sherry, she has let everybody pass her and she looks the same and acts the same. But I am still her youngest brother. Isn't it funny how even as you get close to being classified as, well let me say passing out of middle age, how one can still feel like a little brother. I don't know how long this will go on but I am afraid I am doomed to that feeling. It's like you still always look up to your older sibling and expect them to tell you what to do. You still look for their approval and expect to get wise advice. Well, Sherry has always been a terrific older sister. Without getting into details that long have been forgotten, she has always been there for me. She really is still the great older sister that everyone needs. Thanks, Sherry, and I love you. Have a great birthday. If anybody asks when Earl takes you out to dinner, just tell them he robbed the cradle.

Getting Ready

So how does one get ready to go to another country? Good question, it's hard to put into words.

http://www.owlhaven.net/

But if you check out the blog in the above link, see the Nov. 12 post you get some idea of what my thoughts have been lately. She says it so much better than I could hope to do. It's a struggle of knowing we have so much more than we need, yet finding ourselves in need of a shopping trip.

Like we are going to celebrate Christmas with our family early, the day after we return!

My Fitness Routine

Today I will take you along on my workout. No smirking or guffawing please. While I can't begin to compare to my hubby's rigorous and disciplined daily ritual, I can say that at least I have a sort of regular routine and it begins here.

I don't "work-out" every day but fairly regularly, as long as it's dry, not windy and not too dark. Also not too soon after meals.

These are part of my gear. They are good for fifties flab when you pump them up and down with your arms. I have several pair, strategically placed on my various routes. Yes, this pair is a bit muddy around the edges. It's been rather dark and rainy lately.

I will not likely ever work my way up to heavier gear like these. But I like walking by them and dreaming of no flab arms.

This path along the edge of the property is a good place for this activity. It's quite private.

Except for these neighbors over the fence. They're not too impressed so far. I guess they don't mind fifties flab.

I can also program elevation changes

and obstacle challenges into my routine.

The secret to a good workout is to stay focused. You cannot allow yourself to be distracted by plants that beg to be set aright.





Giving in to the temptation to tidy up as you go

can seriously sabotage your 20 minute strategic route.

However, I do make exceptions for nails or other hardware on my treadmill. It's good for the planet, and good for the maintenance budget and good for abs. You just can't argue with those reasons.


You don't find too much hardware if you watch the geese.

Almost back to my starting point. Ah, see that? One last temptation to tidy up the place lies directly near my finish line. I'll probably pick that up tomorrow, or next week.

Very Lucky actually

On Friday, the 13th, I got to have lunch with this handsome guy:

And we bought game tickets so that hubby could spend the day with him tomorrow, on Dad's weekend.

Perks of Sick Time

It's really not so bad being sick when you have a family like I do. They take good care of me. In the last 24 hours I have had:

perfectly cooked porkchops from hubby, with potatoes AND GRAVY
B's warm down comforter
a toasty fire
hot lemon, chamomile and mango tea (hubby calls it foo-foo tea)
sleeping in
watching the same news stories about 10 times over

The only problem with TV news is they don't go to the stories you want, that's why online is better. And if you want the latest on how my Virginny kiddos are doing during the flood watch, I've added a new webcam for their campus. Except you won't see him there today b/c they've called off school. We're just thankful they live on the second floor.

OK, back to the couch for me.