Here's What I Came Home To This Afternoon

This ain't ballet--it's jiu jitsu.

Pictures from the Cruise

The back of the boat at night. Very picturesque.

Words to live by.
Muddy buddies.
"Why did I let him drive?"

This is a good representation of how muddy we were just halfway through the ride. R and M got the worst of it, because they were the lead buggy.

Every Morning, Every Evening, Ain't We Got Fun?

People of a certain vintage may remember Kathie Gifford singing that song on Carnival Cruise Line commercials. Unfortunately, I couldn't download it from YouTube. But here's another one:



Our little three-day cruise went well. I still prefer land trips to cruises, but there were several pluses to this experience.

It was one of the first trips in a long time where I could just relax--I didn't have to be anywhere at a particular time, or have people that needed to be visited or several people's itineraries or agendas to be satisfied. The boys spent most of the time with their peers at the 15-17 year old club. They got along and had a great time. R and I had lots of excellent couple's-time. As a family, we did a dune buggy tour, which was a total, muddy blast.

I ran on the treadmill in the ship's gym, which was a strange experience. Now we're home, and occasionally it still feels like the floor is moving. I hear that is typical.

Our next trip will be up to Utah to see our girl graduate from high school. Later in the summer, we are planning on a trip with the head of the Tilsit Orphan Education Fund to Poland and Russia. There's so much to do before then--saving money, spending that money, applying for visas for the kids, and practicing Russian.

The Looooove Booaaat!

We are leaving today on our very first cruise. R, K, M and I are sailing from Long Beach to Ensenada, Mexico and back. Just a little three-dayer, something to get out of town and get our feet wet (so-to-speak). J has AP exams next week, so she opted to stay home and study. She will do well, I'm sure. She's worked SO HARD this year.

Our friends, Claire and Loren, took the same cruise a couple of weeks ago. Claire described it as "fun, but kind of like being in an off-strip Vegas hotel". I think it will be fun, and just so nice to be out of town and not somewhere where we have to work at anything.

I've packed four dresses, two pairs of shorts, three tops, four pairs of shoes, two pairs of running shorts and tops and six swimsuits. I wanted to be prepared. And I also have a scopolamine patch behind my ear. I'm so prone to seasickness, I even puke when I'm surfing or snorkeling.

Yesterday, I checked the work schedule to see what I was coming back to on Tuesday and was delighted to find that I have Tuesday off, also! Yay! A day to recover, go to classes at the gym during the day and maybe go to the movies with my sweetie in the middle of the day. Heaven!

Trivial Pursuits

R and I went to a local establishment's Trivia challenge tonight. Going into the "Final Jeopardy"-type question, we were in third place. However, the final question was totally random, and we wagered poorly. Oh well!

We will have to go back. Our competitive natures won't let us stay away.

Here's some trivia about me:

I was on the team that won the Provo City Trivial Pursuit Championships in 1985.

I was also on the BYU Varsity College Bowl team from 1984-ish to 1987. We went to the NIT Championships one year and took third place.

Not Much. You?

Other than boot-camping, there hasn't been that much going on here at Casa B.

Rowdy and I were going to substitute teach in Sunday School today, but unbeknownst to us or to the person who asked us to sub, someone else was called to fill in. It was a letdown not to teach, but we both felt like we learned something from our preparations.

K got his driver's license on Monday. He's really enjoyed the independence, and we've liked not having to take him to Seminary and school in the mornings.

R competed in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Pan-Ams and got third place.

I'm on call next week, which tends to be hit-and-miss as far as busyness and excitement.

Oh, and there were the earthquakes. Weird, dizzying at times, but just a few pictures askew on our walls.

And that's it. Pretty standard stuff. Hope you, loyal reader, have a great week!

And Boy, Are My Arms Tired!

The other week, I was talking with Angela who works at my local women-only gym (not Curves). We both decided that we needed some kind of kick in the rear to get our workouts going.

Well, never underestimate Angela, because one week later I got a call from one of the boot camp instructors, telling me that the gym was going to offer a four-week Boot Camp Challenge. It was going to be a structured program with contracts and weigh-ins and measurements. Since I had asked for it, really, I went ahead and joined the group. The plan is: four days of boot camp a week and at least 40 minutes of cardio, six days a week.

About 20 women showed up at 6 am last Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday for an hour of...fun. Well, you know, it really is fun, even when it's kicking your trash all over the place.

My cardio started out with walking to-and-from the gym and to-and-from work (1 mile each way), but I actually ran on Friday for the first time in months. So that's good.

Instead of Boot Camp on Saturday, I went to a three-hour Krav Maga Self-Defense seminar that my hairdresser recommended. Krav Maga (in case you were wondering) is a combat system developed in Israel. The purpose of the seminar was to empower people (mainly women) to be able to defend themselves if attacked. We learned different moves (punching, striking, kicking) and got to practice them in a mock attack situation. It was really eye-opening. Definitely, if you are ever attacked, scream, yell and fight like crazy.