Stephanie & Carol: Adventure bent again!!

It's time once again for the MIL/DIL team of Carol and Stephanie to make a memory today! We are moving our beloved Katherine into a nursing home. There's only one other moving team that's just as awesome and that is Stephanie with her sister, Jennifer.

Let's review the memory making adventures of Carol and Stephanie (For all those just tuning in, Carol Pope is my MIL--mother-in-law):
1989: road trip from Austin to Kerrville...first impressions, you know
1992: moving Bobby to Corpus Christi (Bobby and I were engaged by this time)
1993: Home Depot and the microwave on stilts followed by wallpapering the apartment
1995: moving to Shreveport, LA from Corpus Christi; complete with Bobby tearing her a new one
1996: moving from Shreveport to Bryan; this time I rented the truck...
1997: road trip to Jewett in search of the quilt machine lady
1998: airport trip to Houston, including a faster than lightning "we have to go back for my passport, Stephanie" turn around
2000: crosstown move from Sterling Ave. to Park Haven Cir.
Please realize this is the "Reader's Digest" version of the past 20 years! (Bobby and I met in January 1989.)

ANYWAY, Katherine was Dave and Carol's housekeeper for 45+ years. She is 88 now and has no children of her own. Her 2 nieces are not able to care for her due to their own poor health. (One lost both legs and eyesight to diabetes, the other just her eyesight). Bobby and I are her adopted children and caregivers now. Carol and I helped move her into her assisted living apartment one year ago this month. This last week, however, we have come to decide that she can't live on her own any longer. Long story short, when she started using the "help, I've fallen and can't get up" button for security to bring her a drink of water, we decided round the clock care was necessary. Today is moving day...again.
Seriously, God has totally provided for her care and will do so again because HE ROCKS!! We found a nursing home with availability right away.

Stay tuned for more on the "Katherine Story"

Feel the THUNDAH!!!

We-ee-ee-ee-ee are the champions...we-ee-ee-ee-ee have our green belts...gone are the losers 'cuz we are the champions...

In our "breaking" headline (pun intended), the Pope family successfully executed the required tae kwon do form AND back kick board break (Stephanie can do it with her eyes closed!) Trees around the area are trembling...as is much of the furniture in the Pope household. Nothing builds your confidence more than busting a 1/2 inch thick piece of wood! Stephanie was the first in the class of yellow/green belts to break. On her third try, her foot went straight on through the board with a pleasing "CRACK"! (Bobby fearlessly held the board for Steph to kick...He's so brave!) Josh went next, followed by Manasir.

THEN it was Evan's turn. He is a super tae kwon do-er!!! Mr. Effortless performed the break like he could do it in his sleep. In fact, it looked like he just tapped the board with his toe and it crumbled in fear.

Cue Bobby. Stephanie returned the favor for Bobby by holding the board for his break. His first kick landed on her hand. (She's so tough that it didn't even phase her). The next kick, however, splintered the board in two!!

Call the "Waaaam-bulance"

WAAAAAAAAAAA...my legs HURT!!! Quads, calves, hamstrings, fanny...all of it. Sitting down is now a challenging activity. Basically, I point my bod where I want it to go and then do a modified "Nestea Plunge" so as not to use my legs anymore than necessary. My Blitz group (I tutor 2nd graders at Evan's school) laughed a little this a.m. as Mrs. Pope tried to sit "criss cross applesauce" on the floor. Did you hear the faint laughter in the wind? Yeah...What about the low growl? That was me; the laughter belonged to the kids. I am grateful to Hailey for a face of compassion. Thanks, Hailey!! She didn't laugh. LOVE her! Next week I bring Ben Gay with!

So I met at the gym with Angela and Chrisinator ready to work out some stress. Trying that these days instead of munchie therapy/retail therapy. I tried to put on smile (because sometimes that helps). No dice, people. Sarcastic Steph was on a roll! Eye-rolling, snarky comments...Major kudos to Angela and Chris for putting up with me today!

Close to the end of the session, Angela gave me a bracelet she's been wearing...from A Complaint Fee World. Here's the 411: you put it on and every time (EVERYtime) you complain, you move it to the other wrist. The point is that it gets OLD very FAST to keep moving it, so you stop complaining. (Just stating fact...not complaining. Don't want to stop blogging just to move said bracelet). I think I moved it 20 times in the last 10 minutes of the workout. Yeah. Needless to say, today was a "glass is half empty" kind of day. Amazing to find out just how many "complainy" sounding things come out of my mouth. What's up with that? (move bracelet) Who uses so many "quotations"? (move bracelet) Must......close.......mouth....

HI-YAAA!

P.S. There's a belt test on Friday at TKD! The Popes are testing for green belts with a back kick break. What I want is matching superhero tee-shirts for us, a la The Incredibles! (An addendum to The Sweat Goes On: I told Chrisinator last Friday that I was going to put his picture on the board I was going to break. I just want to say that I was under duress at the time and cannot be held responsible for anything said. Extreme sweat does that to people. FYI.)

The Sweat Goes On...

I am here to tell you that it's official...Not only did I SURVIVE my week-long bootcamp, I also finished STRONG! (Admittedly, I was a little testy with Chrisinator on Friday) But I came back for MORE this week!! Dare I say it...I'm addicted to the gym? Me? How long have I waited for the day to come when I could say, with a straight face, my vice is exercise? I said it. My nose didn't even grow (so I must really mean it.) Take today, por ejemplo. I had a session this a.m. from 9:30 to 10:30. This afternoon I was honestly trying to figure out if I could get back over there after tae kwon do ("TKD" to those in the know:) Seriously. [pause for laughter]. Be warned, people! There's a NEW Stephanie in town! She loves the gym AND she breaks boards! I am sooooo the next Charlie's Angel!

Call Me "Sweaty Betty"

Talk about gettin' your sweat on!! I'm on day 3 of my week long bootcamp with my trainer, Chrisinator. A fellow parent from Bowen saw me today and complimented me on my slimming shape. She asked me how I'm doing it and I told her I have a 21 y.o. trainer to which she replied, "Where can I get one?"

Surprisingly, I am not as exhausted as I was anticipating. I'm sore, for sure. But not exhausted. Good sign? I'll take that as a yes...we go for the small victories. I never thought I'd be the kind of person who "loooooves" the gym (not that there's anything wrong with that). I totally enjoy going! I've become so addicted to my ipod and putting together playlists and then trying them out and then that turns into me liking the working out, sweaty part. If I'm not soaked by the time I leave the gym, even with a "5-5-5" or "10-10-10" cardio thing (minutes on arc trainer, treadmill and recumbent bike) then I haven't worked hard enough. Sweat stains are my badge of honor, including the embarrassing ones...you know, THOSE sweat marks...

As I was finishing my arc experience today, complete with a body bar held above my head like a soldier running with a rifle, I was gulping air like it was cold water. I thought to myself, "Chris does this so I can't run my mouth during the workout". His grin confirmed my suspicion...IT IS POSSIBLE TO STOP STEPHANIE FROM TALKING!!!! Stick her on a cardio machine at high intensity for 8 to 10 minutes and she shuts up!

Oh, my aching back!

I am SORE! Love my trainer, honestly, but I am definitely "Susie Aches-a-lot" tonight. Angela is my sweet friend who sweats alongside me. She and I left today's session in a state of pure exhaustion. She headed home to get ready for her trip to New Orleans next week. Me? I headed to the medical supply store...for Kinesio Tape. That's right, sports fans, I have shin splints (they plague me frequently) and am going to try out the black tape that was made so fashionable during the Summer Olympics by Kerri Walsh. I'm anxious to see just how fabulous it is. I should probably take a photo of my legs: stubble accessorized with black stripes extending down my shin and wrapping so elegantly around my foot in a graceful curve. Quite a sight to see.

25 Random Things...

So, I went ahead and responded to the latest craze, "25 Random Things About Me", in facebook. The thing is, now I think of things I wish I had included...what's up with that? Like I need to think more about me...

Books, Books and More Books

I totally LOVE reading...just finished The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl by Shauna Reid. Definitely a MUST!! Am now re-reading Such A Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster. She's another of my heroes! (all 3 of her books are awesome!!)

Oh, to have a money tree and be able to spend anything I want on books (and yarn, of course)!