madameblogalot

My family has just returned from another week at church camp. I am always happy to hear that they have had a good week. It was especially nice to hear how others were very proud of our kids too. Our son was a team captain this year. He apparently did a really nice job and I am happy to hear that! He had a little girl on his team who has trouble walking. He has been a great friend to her already this year and I am glad they were together on this team. I am so proud of him for exemplifying good sportsmanship. He is a very competitive person, especially in sports, so to hear him saying that everyone should get to play, including those who are less able, is awesome. He was really upset that another team took advantage of this but he knew he took the high road in just playing the game and supporting all of his team mates. It’s something fairly new to hear him say that a game really doesn’t matter, and it looks good on him!

On the flip side, my daughter came home this year in a sling! This is one year after my son came home from the same camp with a broken collarbone! Thankfully hers is only a sprain. But the nurses there are pretty much on watch for my kids!

I guess I am a slow learner when it comes to taking care of my own blogs! For example, I have had this blog on its own domain for two years. I never could get photos to post on it. So I kept loading them on to Flickr and then putting them in the blog from there. Well, today, I accidentally was able to insert an image into a post without loading it on to Flickr first! (Which is really good since I am nearly out of room on my Flickr account) So, as a note to myself:

I copied the image.
Then I clicked the “img” button.
Insert URL info and title.
Then the photo should be inserted.

Hopefully I can pull it off again next time I am ready!

As kids are out of school and folks’ schedules change, the days are longer and everyone stays up a little later, it seems that everyone is spending more time outdoors. This is always good, though where I live the heat and the mosquitos can melt you or carry you away! In spite of that, it seems everyone around us is having barbecues and outdoor parties. It’s the time of year people are buying new outdoor furniture . I have even found websites where you can purchase nearly any outdoor furniture you desire.

I have not bought outdoor furniture in years. If I were going to buy this year, I would first start with an awning for the back porch area. Then maybe one of those fire pits. All our neighbors have one and they are a nice feature for outdoor relaxing. Of course then I would need outdoor seating to enjoy the fire pit. I would go for at least one chaise lounger (I love this double chaise) and a few chairs. They would have to be able to stand up to outdoor weather, including extreme humidity. They would have to be mold and mildew resistant in this climate. Then I think a table and some nice outdoor lighting would round out the patio area nicely.

I agree that watching tv can turn your brain to mush. Mine is quickly becoming that way after all the tv viewing I’ve done. But I have learned some things too along the way. Everything to why flamingoes have pink feathers (a diet of shrimp and algae) to stone massage (minerals considered therapeutic) to sleep apnea and snoring (both are linked to being overweight) to recipes and crafts. All this with a lot of game shows in between. And some reading. And finally some blogging too!

I don’t have an “i” anything! I have never owned an apple ipod, an iPhone, or any other personal “i” portable electronic device. My husband has the iPhone and loves it. He pretty much lives by it. Everything he needs is on there-whether for work or for play! My son told me he nearly bought a used ipod touch to give me for Mother’s Day. See, I love to play Scrabble and now my husband (who does not love it) plays it with all the other iPhone users he knows. Sometimes I borrow my son’s iTouch (which has all the same capabilities as the iPhone-minus the phone) so I can join in the fun. So, my son figured it would be a good idea to get me one of my own.

We are thinking about getting the new iPad for our son when he graduates next year. And we have enjoyed our Mac computer, though there are still lots of things that I still don’t know how to use yet. So I am not sure if I would be ready for one of the hand held gadgets just yet. But maybe one day.

I have been looking to see what kind of exercising I can do during my recovery phase. So far, only arm/upper body workouts. I was trying to think of what I will be able to do so I don’t lose my endurance. After laying around already for a week, I know it’s going to be hard. I imagine after my stitches come out then maybe I’ll be able to swim. But I came across an interesting new contraption that is allowing some athletes to maintain endurance run training during injuries.

The G trainer is a sort of “anti-gravity” treadmill that reduces the athlete’s body weight allowing him/her to continue training during injury. This is done with an air regulation system reducing the effective body weight by up to 80%. I don’t think I would be able to do it even if there were one nearby, but it does look pretty cool!

I am not good at video games. I am not sure I can even tell the difference between a playstation 3, an xbox or gamecube. I have spent a little time playing with the kids when they were younger. I mean, it was always fun to laugh at mom losing so badly!

Now, the kids just play by themselves. And they are old enough to purchase their own xbox 360 accessories and games too. It has always been good for my son to receive gift cards that allow him to pick out the stuff he wanted to add to his video game collection. At least he is always smart enough to buy the xbox bundles to get the best deal.

Our cousin has been visiting a few times lately and he is really a video game aficionado. I don’t know what all games he loves, or if he even plays our games or brings his own. It was cute though this past weekend. He and my son (both good sized teenaged boys) were in the other room trying to beat out the Disney Skateboard game my son got when he was a pre-teen. That is much better than some of those other games out there!

My husband is known for his “antics” and wild hairs. He was trying to get me to sit in a wagon or something the other day so he could pull me around and get his exercise and I could get out of the house for a bit. I did not want to and don’t think I’d fit in a wagon anyway. He even tried to get me to just sit on my bike and he’d pull me! Um, not safe I think!

Come to find out this morning, he went around to 4 or 5 of the neighbors’ houses asking for a wagon to pull me in! That is so embarrassing! At any rate, the little girls across the street thought I’d love it! I am sure the neighbors were having a good laugh at that. And I can only imagine if he’d actually gotten a wagon and pulled me!!

In this day and age, sometimes the best times are when we slow down and look to other days for ideas of fun and entertainment. In looking up summer time fun ideas, yo-yos can be just the ticket! Teaching your kids to yo-yo and maybe even showing them some of your old tricks can be a great way to pass the lazy summer days, either indoors or out.

I came across a website that specializes in yoyos. You can browse by brand or by skill level. I like the light up and triple action yo-yos. I’ve never been very good at yo-yoing, but my husband used to be able to do a few cool tricks.

Getting yo-yos for the whole family could be the perfect summer treat!

Since my foot surgery, my main source of getting around has been my office chair-it has wheels! But from this different perspective I have also seen just how dirty things around my house are. The handles on the refrigerator, the underside of the microwave, the top of the water dispenser….ugh! At any rate, I’ve had a small taste of what it must be like to be wheel chair bound. I know that my time is very limited and not even close to the same, but it’s been interesting to see what it’s like being pushed to the toilet, washing hands from the chair, rolling over carpet. Everyone’s been super nice to help me and even entertain me. (The doc said I should really milk it!) But I know that it can hard when you are looking at things from this perspective.