Boot Camp Blooper

Sorry I haven't gotten this up quicker. Here's the promised (to all you in Hutch in Cardio Mike's Boot Camp) video footage of Matt's crash at the end of the bike ride. Email me (check my profile), Matt, and I'll send you frame by frame clips of exactly what the bike did when it crashed.

I'll put up another post later in the week with pictures from the other sessions we've taped.

Life on the Prairie

Just a random thought to post today, I'm achy, feeling flu-like with headache. So my thoughts ramble. A post on Prairie Dreams made me think of the above photo. She posted a shot of an old rusty windmill and the above is a pic from my folks album of a windmill just going up. Windmills bring back memories. As a child I remember giving a family friend's grandmother more gray hairs by climbing to the top of their rickety old windmill. Hey, she (my friend) dared me and I was game to climb anything. I would also visit my best friend's grandparents farm and we would run through the dry creek bed in the pasture, hiding out in the deep cuts made in soft, sandy soil. On hot days we'd find the windmill in the middle of pasture that fed the stock tank and drink deep from the cold, fresh well water that the windmill would pull up with the pitcher pump. I also remember running quickly and diving under the barbwire fence to get away from the bull that spotted us at his watering hole. If it wasn't for their beagle, Sam, I don't know that we would have made it. Such things are memories made of.

Blogging for a Great Cause

I'm against abuse in any shape or form. I believe that all abuse needs to be addressed and eradicated. That mental and emotional abuse is just as enduring and damaging as physical abuse. I googled "abuse" and below is my initial listing of causes to fight for...

Related phrases: sexual abuse substance abuse alcohol abuse physical abuse drug abuse child abuse emotional abuse child sexual abuse carnal abuse drug of abuse

Definitions of abuse on the Web:
mistreat: treat badly; "This boss abuses his workers"; "She is always stepping on others to get ahead"

pervert: change the inherent purpose or function of something; "Don't abuse the system"; "The director of the factory misused the funds intended for the health care of his workers"

maltreatment: cruel or inhumane treatment use foul or abusive language towards; "The actress abused the policeman who gave her a parking ticket"; "The angry mother shouted at the teacher" a rude expression intended to offend or hurt; "when a student made a stupid mistake he spared them no abuse"; "they yelled insults at the visiting team"

misuse: improper or excessive use use wrongly or improperly or excessively; "Her husband often abuses alcohol"; "while she was pregnant, she abused drugs"

wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Made to Last

I was scanning some old pictures to send to a friend and came across these of me, my brother and the feeding table that my mother got when my brother was a baby. These old pictures I put in an old day planner as an album. The date on the edge of the photo is Aug '56. Has anyone else seen a feeding table like this?

I still have the table and it has been used by my children and my grandchildren. It needs to be repainted again, but otherwise is in excellent shape. I searched the Internet, but have not been able to find another one like it. It has no manufacturer name on it anywhere that I can find, either.

The "chair" back removes and repositions in the hole to make a juvenile table. The seat folds up into the bottom so it is out of the way of little legs sitting in chairs. The legs also fold like a card table for storage.

1st Week of Boot Camp

Meet Cardio Mike...

Mike is committed to fitness and likes to enjoy getting fit. He'll do whatever it takes to get his message out there.

And work with whoever shares his interests...

Cardio Mike's Boot Camp is his latest challenge to fitness...

He has it all laid out and this session is all booked up...

Cardio Mike is all suited up and ready to train...

A glance at the start of the 1st week...

Way to go Mike!

Cardio Mike's Boot Camp

I thought that Cardio Mike had a website but I can't seem to find one. My son and I are taping his "Boot Camp". I'm not real sure what I can post on my blog about it, he has fliers and posters about the Boot Camp, but I'm not finding anything online. Mike is a Group Fitness Instructor at Genesis Health Club in Hutchinson Kansas. This is a wonderful new facility. T&S Mobile Projectors taped an exercise session in the club with Mike about a year ago and the transformation of the bare, warehouse to the new modern facility is simply amazing. I really did not feel like I was in the same place. Check out the link and I'll get with Mike and find out what I can put on my blog, so check back here.

BMW Trailer

I have no idea who these people are, but they were just getting ready to leave as we pulled up to the pumps at this station in Cape Girardeau. I had gotten out to help dad fill up the van and my hubby started calling at me to come get a picture. About this time my cell phone started ringing in my ear, too! So I had this voice in my ear while I was asking these nice folks if I could get pictures of them and their unique trailer. Is this neat, or what!

Run, Run, Run

That's what it's been ever since getting back from Cape Girardeau. I figured I'd better post to let it be known that we made it back safe and sound. Got back late Monday night, around 10:30 pm. I got everything unpacked and pretty much put back where everything belonged. When I got up Tuesday we went through the snail mail and got caught back up on everything but the newspaper. Before I knew it, it was time to get ready to go to Wichita and hubby's class at Cowley. On the way home from that my son called to say that the starter had gone out on his car and we turned around and went back to town to help him with that. Got back home around 12:30 am and had to finish up on a video that we need for today. I was up till about 6:30 am and grabbed a couple hours sleep so I can get around and get ready to go to Hutch for more "Boot Camp" with Cardio Mike. I'll put a post up explaining more about that tomorrow after I've had some sleep. Gotta RUN!

Mighty Mississippi

A barge on the Mighty Mississippi. Took a short walk along the river while we were in Cape Girardeau.

Looking downriver at the Bill Emerson Memorial bridge.

An interesting building along the riverfront.

Out the front window of the van crossing from Illinois to Missouri.

We'll be heading back to Kansas in the morning, will be a long days drive.

See you there!

Last Hurrah of Summer

I've been really busy so have not had time to post pics from over the holiday weekend. We didn't have a planned celebration since my kids all seem to have jobs that makes it necessary for them to work while the general population gets off. One grandson asked if he and a friend could come over and swim on Sunday night so I asked if he wanted to pitch the tent and watch a movie and play video games also. He was all for it. I rode the mower over to my son's house with the trailer attached to pick up a load of small limbs for the fire pit and the older granddaughter road back on top of the load. Below is a pic of the movie on the side of the house shot over the top of the fire from the firepit. I don't have a camera with a lot of function adjustments so this first shot is simply with the flash turned off.

The next shot is with the flash on, you can see more details.

What the pictures don't show was the kids having a blast with the glowsticks I gave them. We buy bulk off ebay so during the summer holidays the kids have them. They love playing with them in the pool and it makes the little ones feel safer, plus you can see where the little ones are! We also cooked marshmellows and made s'mores. Everyone had a great time.

The next one I stepped in front of the fire and used the flash. The kids and my son are playing xbox on the side of the house.

Just a shot I took as the fire was dying down, waiting for the kids to fall to sleep.

Here's the tent they slept in.

This is Labor Day, the kids are rolling up their sleeping bags.

Clowning for the camera.

A bunch of kids showed up to play with our trikes in the driveway. It amazes me that the older ones still get on these bikes to ride up and down the drive.

Fish Tale

OK, just have to share this story about my adorable little granddaughter. (See picture)...

My daughter called yesterday and asked if I'd like to go with her to the new Dillon's Marketplace in Wichita. My daughter has two sons, so every once in a while, she'll "kidnap" one of her brother's daughters and this day she had the youngest of the two. One of the first stops in the store was at the frozen fish cooler and we each picked up a package of talapia. As we were going along, as a means to hurry my daughter up a bit, I would remind her that that the "fish was thawing". After a while my daughter started saying, "it's all your fault, mom." "What's my fault?" Then I heard it, my granddaughter attempting to imitate my "complaint" about the fish thawing. Only the sweet, dutchy, little girl seems to have problems with the "f" and "sh" sounds. Just replace those with "b" and "ch" and you'll have what SHE was saying. Now my daughter and I were belly laughing and the poor little one didn't have a clue what was so funny.

My daughter tells me that her best friend's little girl had the same speech difficulty at that age. The little one would say that she was going "biching" with her daddy with her "biching" pole.

Children can be soooo entertaining. Just gotta love 'em.