School Is Never Really Out...

We were driving in the car yesterday when I overheard Noah and Bella in the back seat, discussing the Shakespeare plays they have read. They both agreed you should never read Hamlet or MacBeth before you go to sleep because they will give you nightmares. They both think A Midsummer Night's Dream is weird.

Bella: How could one guy write all those plays?

Noah: I don't know. He had a good imagination. But then there is always the Baconian Controversy...

Bella: Huh? Wha...?

Noah: The Baconian Controversy. The theory that it was not William Shakespeare, but Sir Francis Bacon that actually wrote all the works.

Bella: Bacon? Wasn't he a science monk? Oh, wait a minute, that was Roger Bacon.

I was proud of the kids. They held their own mini lit class in the car. AND they retained some of the stuff we discussed during the school year! Wahoo! The dream of every homeschool mom!

Now I'd better go brush up on my Shakespeare...

Ah, the price you pay to Freecycle...

I have been using freecycle a lot since our move. For those of you that aren't familiar, freecycle is an online community where people can give away things for free to others who might want them. You can also post a want ad for something and you may get a response back that someone has the thing you are looking for. I have gotten a couple of things off freecycle, including my nightstand that I faux finished and my beloved elliptical machine, that I use, but not enough. Mostly, though, I give things away.

The people who lived here before us left a corner computer desk in a walk-in closet. I don't want or need the desk. It is in pretty good condition, so I decided to freecycle it. I got about 6 messages from people who wanted the desk. I chose the woman who made a funny comment in her e-mail. I e-mail her back that she can have the desk. She replies that she would like to come today because her husband is off from work and they can load it into their truck together (everyone out here seems to own a truck). Well, I was leaving in a little while to drop Bella off at a birthday party and then do marathon errand running, so I wouldn't be around. I decide that, along with getting 5 children cleaned, fed and ready, I would also dismantle the desk and leave it on the driveway for the freecycle woman. I rummage through a really, really, messy garage (we just moved in) and find what tools I need. Then I remove the hardware. I enlist Noah to help me get it out of the closet. We pick up the desk and hear a cracking sound. Part of the desk came off. Aaaarrggh! I look underneath and see that there is a piece of hardware that I forgot to remove (in my defense it was really hidden). What am I gonna do now?

I go upstairs and e-mail the woman and tell her I am sorry but I broke the desk. She e-mails me back that she would like to come look at it anyway. OK, so I go back down and continue trying to lug the thing out, when I hear another sickening crack. Yep, another chunk came out of the desk. Have I mentioned lately that I am the type of person who could be considered slightly klutzy? Anyway, I go upstairs again and call her on the phone and explain the situation. Miraculously, she says she still wants to come get it. I hang up, tell the kids to make themselves presentable and get in the car. By this time we were running late. I am really hurrying now. I rush into the closet, trip over the remaining part of the desk and gash my leg. Out of my mouth flow some words that, let's say, warrant a trip to the confessional. I get up, drag the thing, limping, through the obstacle course of a garage, and prop it up at the exterior wall. Then I run into the car and back out. As I am backing out I realize there is a piece of the desk I forgot to bring out. It was a small shelf that the younger girls decided to use as a doll table. I shoot back into the driveway, Bella hops out of the car, gets the shelf and dispenses of it, then we go on our way.

By the time we left the house, I looked like I had been through a war. Did I mention the temperature hit 90 today? I was sweating like a pig and my hair felt like it was on fire. I drove like Cruella de Ville to the party and dropped Bella off, got my errands done (barely) and we got home safe and sound.

When we pulled into the driveway the first thing I noticed was that the desk was gone. Hallelujah! I am now one desk lighter...but I had to work for it.

Healthy Trinity

All my life I have struggled with my weight. I have tried lots of different diets and I was always starving on them. Finally, this January, I tried an online fitness program that combines diet and exercise. They had a quiz on there which helps you eat right for your body type. I usually think those things are ridiculous, but, since I had nothing to lose (but weight, of course) I decided to follow the guidelines. I had to cut out wheat and sugar completely. The only fruits I can eat are apples and pears. Yes, there are no bananas for me. Religiously I have stuck to it. Not too easy, as you might imagine. The only bread I can eat is a bread made from lentils and sprouted wheat (yes, sprouted wheat is wheat, but when it sprouts it changes the protein and apparently this is OK.) These guidelines are actually working. I am utterly amazed, especially at the fact that I am not starving all the time. After a lifetime of trying to eat "naturally," it turns out that all those whole wheat foods were the problem to begin with!

I look at this as a lifelong fast and I offer the lack of my special foods (pasta, for one) as a sacrifice. Well, the big, black circles have disappeared from my eyes, I have lost 2 dress sizes and I have more energy. Now I actually have the strength to exercise! I have the strength but where do I find the time? I know I should exercise in the morning when the kids are still in bed, but that is my prayer time.

I prayed for God to find the time for me. One day, at Mass, a thought popped into my head that I should exercise and pray the rosary at the same time. I tried it the next day. Instead of praying it by myself, I turned on my trusty MP3 player with the rosary loaded onto it as soon as the alarm rang. I offered up the beginning and ending prayers for my hubby and each decade for one of my kids (it is very convenient that I have 5 of them). During each decade I did a different type of strength training; crunches, arm work with the weights, etc. (I did the crunches first because you have to be laying down for them and I was tired.) Then, when I was done, I went and took my vitamins. I started taking B6 for the stress and I have increased that to 2 tabs a day. The past few days have been the least stressful of my life.

So, my healthy trinity is prayer, exercise and vitamins.

Now, if I can just find the time to do my cardio...