Just ugh.

It's New Year's Eve. It's raining and will be all day. Lee is sick with a bad cold and is useless. All my friends are out of town together (not that we could have gone even if we had planned to, since Lee is sick). We were supposed to be camping at Hanging Dog, but the only thing worse than being stuck here all day in the rain is being stuck in the cabin all day in the rain.

I am thinking about taking the boys to see "Night at the Museum" this afternoon, though it is really not appropriate for Will. I am trying to save "Charlotte's Web" for next week to see with Beth & her boys.

I did make it to a hot 90 yesterday morning...it was a crowded class. I felt kind of toxic and tired, but made it through okay. My left knee has quit hurting so my balance was better, and I did padangustasana on my left foot without wobbling or falling for the first time. Yay!

Don't know when I 'll make it back to a class - one night next week, hopefully.

Update -
Lee rallied a bit and I went to the thrift store. I bought a few things for me, a few things to sell, and a George Foreman grill. I think it must be the first one ever made. I keep hearing about how wonderful they are, but I don't have room for another space-hogging appliance. Brenda & Ted have a big one and it lives on their counter all the time. The one I got is for one or maybe two people; it's pretty small. I made room for it on my appliance shelf. Anyway, I cooked myself a Boca burger when I got home; it cooked quick and tasty. However, if I cook something with juices I am going to have to put a plate or some paper towels under the edge of the grill, because the fat/juices runs down the grill ridges. Later models - or maybe this one is just missing the fat tray - have a tray that hooks under the edge of the grill. Oh well, I only paid six bucks for it at Goodwill. Maybe if I love it I will buy a more modern version sometime.

New Year to do

1 - dust all blinds downstairs
2 - which wall to paint next?
3 - replace LR rug
4 - get down all empty storage bins and boxes of stored clothes
5 - sort - all fall clothes or stuff for the boys to wear later gets grouped and labeled; all stuff for spring sale gets stored and put where it's easily accessible
6 - go through boys toys/books/clothes and cull for future sales/donation
7 - go through Michael's legos and make up a couple of grab bags for the consignment sale (to be done when he's in school)
8 - look at other storage options for Michael's closet/legos/knex
9 - organize attic so stuff is grouped by item (holiday, clothes etc). May need additional boards to lay down on attic floor.
10 - catch up on ebay spreadsheet entries for '06 - need to have done by the time Lee gets w2.


Finally went back to practice after a week off - the poses felt familiar, yet unfamiliar in a wierd way. My balance wasn't so great, but that may have been because it was dark outside and not too many lights on in the room.

Hot - good god, it was hot. I almost felt feverish, it was so hot. I thought my face was going to explode. Even after getting home, Lee told me my face was really red. I sweated buckets and had a headache all evening.

There was a new teacher - she was fine, but she'll be better when she finds her own style and goes beyond simply reciting the dialogue. There were a couple of folks there with terrible form and she did not give any individual pointers like Anna or Susie would have.

DHY will have 8:30 am classes on Tues & THurs, so it's possible I could get in four morning classes a week.

Why can't every day be like Christmas....

why can't this feeling go on.....endlessly.........

I wonder if that's what Elvis was thinking as he sat on that toilet in August 1977. Ha!

I'm getting ready for the big day....all shopping is done, and a few presents are wrapped and under the tree...school is out.....meals are planned and I only have a few things to pick up on Sunday morning at the grocery....cards are sent....and housecleaning has begun. I started dusting and polishing tonight. I have to finish that tomorrow, then clean the kitchen. I may also do a little bit of baking tomorrow - either another batch of almond roca, or a batch of congo bars, or both. Saturday I vacuum downstairs and mop - that in itself will take half the day. I'll also vacuum upstairs. Then I wrap more presents on Saturday afternoon/evening. Sunday I clean bathrooms, strip and change the beds, do some meal prep for Christmas eve meal/Christmas morning breakfast and dinner. I don't have a whole lot of prep to do, but I do want to get my Christmas dishes down, make sure stuff is ready to be set out, etc.

I got to yoga last Sunday and yesterday and that's probably it until one night next week. I could have gone tonight, but attendance at the studio is really down, and I like the collective energy of a full class. The hot 75 yesterday morning (which was actually more like a hot 95) only had four people, and it's usually well attended. It was kind of like a semi-private lesson with lots of adjustments. It was a difficult class because I was trying to follow the teacher's pointers, and some poses we held longer than others while she worked with us. The floor series she kind of blew through because we were running so far behind. Instead of the regular Bikram situp, we did some Pilates-style situps and I was pleasantly suprised to feel the strength I've gained in my abs and in my sides and middle back.

This class, though, made me see how much more work I have to do right here where I am.

My left knee felt really unstable yesterday and my balance on the left leg was really bad. I couldn't fully lock it, so I kept it just a bit soft during balancing poses, and I kept having to compensate. Today my knee hasn't bothered me a bit. Why does this joint pain come and go? Why can't it go on a day when I'm practicing?

I signed the boys up for the Winter series of Yogakids - one on Monday and one on Thursday - and I mentioned to Debbie how much I wished I could sign up for the "intro to Ashtanga" series starting in January on Tuesday nights. She has not had enough people sign up yet to say for sure it will take place, but she said she'd let me take it on a drop-in basis.

I have started doing some backbending at home, on days that I don't practice. I almost always do the first part of half-moon, because the stretch feels so good. After I do that a few times, I put my hands in namaskar and slowly backbend, going as far as I can depending on how warm I am. I can go a lot further with my hands in namaskar than I can with my arms up as in the second part of half-moon. And backbending, which I used to despise, feels sooooo good. I get such a rush of energy afterward.

Today Lee went on a field trip with Will's class to a jumper/inflatables place. Afterward, he said that he thought we needed to cut Will some slack at home, because his class is so highly structured. His teacher is nice, and warm, and loving, but very structured. Knowing that made me feel more tolerant of him, though the amount of noise he generates is still bothersome.

Tomorrow morning I'm getting up early to walk. The boys are going to write short letters to Santa, then we are going to walk to the post office and drop them in the "santa letter" box. After that, I'm not sure what we're going to do. If the weather is bad and it looks like Lee will be in the office until close to five, we will go see "Happy Feet".

Speaking of movies, we watched a trailer for "Order of the Phoenix" online today. Oooh, it gave me chills. I can't wait! I just finished listening to the audiobook and it is on my mind.

Too busy to blog.

Random thoughts:
forty.
left knee (intermittently achy and popping; I can't lock it).
holiday stuff.
job angst (lee).
yoga (of course).