Fiscally Fit Bootcamp Whips Your Wallet Into Shape

I guess that you could say that Billy Joel and I have a little something in common. No, I’ve never married a supermodel even though my husband Justin is pretty hunky. All I can play on the piano is “I dropped my dolly in the dirt” so there’s no similarity there. But, just as the chorus in Billy’s hit song “I Go to Extremes” says, apparently Billy and I both go to extremes and neither of us knows why.

In the summer of 2009, I had an 8 month old baby boy and 17 pounds of baby weight that didn’t leave my body when the baby did. Instead of slowly starting a workout regimen to walk off the pounds or enrolling in a nice, leisurely yoga class a few times per week, I got an extreme idea. I guess it was the Piano Man part of my personality breaking through.

I had been driving around town and kept seeing these little signs stuck in the grass called Operation Bootcamp. I went to the website and watched all of the video testimonials. Operation Bootcamp is a 30 day outdoor workout routine held locally in parks. Did I mention that I signed up for the June/July session and that it is outdoors?  Did I also mention that it involves running (which I hate), push ups face down in the grass, sit ups (which I could not even do at the time), bear crawls, and some monstrosity called a “mountain climber”? Continue reading Fiscally Fit Bootcamp Whips Your Wallet Into Shape

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The 2011 Imaginary Family Project – Week 16

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Imaginary Family Project - Week 16

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With all my moving across this wide open mid-western country for near sixty years one would think I’d have organized something about my life.  Every time I unload a moving truck into bedrooms and kitchens I am amazed at the boxes I’ve not opened since my last move. In the unused study the boxes rise against the wall. I’m not running from anything because I carry it with me, sealed in plastic cases and shoe boxes.

My last move five months ago landed me as a library assistant in a small town in Oklahoma bordered by miles of ranch land. All the major county roads are lined with fence posts and barbed wire, and the black cows are scattered alongside a creek snaking through a field almost barren of trees.  There’s something peaceful about gazing across flat land at a lone tree and a cloudless blue sky stretched like a blanket above my head.  And as I gaze for too long and become lost in my thoughts, the tree becomes a stranger staring back at me until I lose the contest, look away, awed by the ache of quiet.  Continue reading The 2011 Imaginary Family Project – Week 16

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Music from the Man Cave: Chronology of My Concert History at THE INCOMPARABLE MYRIAD

I stayed up way too late last night watching a rockumentary about Rush on Palladia.  I love Palladia; it’s what MTV could have been.  I think it may be owned by MTV.  Nevertheless, there were musicians from several other bands talking about Rush and the influence that band had on their own music.  I started thinking about the times I’ve seen Rush and how they are kind of a man cave band.  I’m not sure why women don’t dig Rush like guys do….maybe you’ll enlighten me.
Anyway, that train of thought led me to man cave music and eventually to the concerts I’ve seen at, as they used to say, “ Doctor shopping for Soma prescription The Incomparable Myriad!” Naming rights to the building have since been sold to Cox Cable but it’s still the Myriad to me.

My first concert there was in 1977 while I was just in 7th grade.  I could not imagine turning my 7th graders loose in a venue that large….not sure what my Mom was thinking but we both survived the experience.  And, I saw Led Zeppelin on their last North American tour.  Yes I did.  For $7.  John Bonham, if memory serves, played his orange chrysolite Ludwig drums and had a platform that rolled to the front of the stage for Moby Dick.  That and Jimmy Page being surrounded by a cone of lasers while he played his Les Paul with a violin bow are about all I remember…..but I was there DUDE! Continue reading Music from the Man Cave: Chronology of My Concert History at THE INCOMPARABLE MYRIAD

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Oklahoma City Bombing Memory and Moment of Pause

I was working with a colleague of mine administering the “Iowa Tests” to seventh graders at Oklahoma Christian Schools.  We had already completed our short devotion, read the daily announcements, turned in the lunch counts and absences and briefed the students on instructions for their exams.  I hated Iowa Tests; to this day I tend to be a conscientious objector to the whole process.  However, my co-teacher Tammy was one of the “radical” teachers at OCS and if there was anyone to be stuck with all day long, coaxing our students through the never-ending task of coloring in circles, it was her.

I was strolling from the front of the class to the back, observing 24 heads bent down tediously over their papers as I passed when a rolling thunder-like roar filled my ears.  The ceiling tiles were lifting about six-inches from their positions as the shock wave passed, much like you might observe a crowd at any football game do “the wave.”  I immediately turned and caught Tammy’s eyes.  “Students,” I said, “please remain in your seats, close your tests, and pass them forward in order,” I said trying to keep my voice calm.  We had been experiencing a long-term construction process on the campus grounds and I assumed one of the Bobcats had hit a gas line.  The result from any explosion wasn’t going to be good.  I began to feel shaky.  I couldn’t imagine what my students were feeling at that moment.

Tammy and I conferred.  She would go check on the situation while I stayed with the students.  I opened the back door to visually check the construction zone while the students buzzed in speculation behind me.  All clear.  In fact, there weren’t any construction workers on the grounds at all.  The equipment was parked.  Could it have been a low-flying plane? Continue reading Oklahoma City Bombing Memory and Moment of Pause

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My Little Victory Garden, Entry Nine: Gimme a Little Quiche!

One of my favorite Spring sights: Our Japanese Maple unfolding all its beautiful leaves to receive the sun's rays.

When I started these posts, I was a little worried about having enough content.  After my first two or three entries, however, I now struggle with CUTTING enough content to avoid overwhelming our reading friends with too much information!  This week was certainly another struggle.  Included in today’s post will be information about the bargain eggs at St. Francis of the Woods on Highway 33, the opening of the Edmond Farmer’s Market and some treasures I found there, a beautiful olive oil, tea and vinegar shop in Edmond, broccoli and why it bolts, and…101 ways to cook with spinach.  Okay, I’m joking about the spinach – I’m just sharing one way.  If I were going to write a book on 101 ways of anything right now, it would be, “101 ways to pack 12 gallons of cleaned lettuce in your refrigerator.”  We’ll get to that.  But first, my journey to St. Francis of the Woods… Continue reading My Little Victory Garden, Entry Nine: Gimme a Little Quiche!

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Showcasing Red Dirt culture ~ authored and managed by contributors with connections to the great state of Oklahoma.