I'm back!

I haven't discussed it at all publicly, but a shoulder injury required that I scale back my hula hooping activities. Really scale back. As in, just thinking about lifting a hoop was painful. Despite the pain, though, I continued offering my monthly Intro-to-Hooping classes through May of this year, and then took a break over the summer to focus on physical therapy.

I honestly didn't think my shoulder was going to get better, but now I'm beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel! So I've updated my blog with lesson information and I'm ready to schedule time to help local budding hoop enthusiasts get started on their new fitness activity.

Both private and group lessons are available, but I highly recommend setting up a private party at your home or local park! Gather up some friends and let's hoop and laugh together! There's nothing like hula hooping with friends to bring joy and laughter to a forever memorable get-together!

How to pack a Pocket Pie for school lunch

My kids enjoy Hot Pockets. I'm not a big fan of processed foods, but I will happily admit that last school year, Hot Pockets were an occasional life saver...especially after I figured out how to pack them for lunches.

I was so excited about my new school lunch option that I, of course, told all my friends about it. Which is when I discovered that some people are intimidated by the lunch packing how-to's. So I'm sharing the process here. It's not complicated. Really. And your kids get a hot meal without having to spend precious lunchtime minutes waiting in a cafeteria line.

Hot Pocket packed in a Thermos for school

How To Pack a Hot Sandwich for Lunch

What you need:
1 Wide-mouth Thermos
Hot water, enough to fill Thermos
2 parchment paper or aluminium foil rectangles. Large enough to mostly cover half a sandwich.
1 hot sandwich (e.g., Hot Pocket or a grilled cheese sandwich)

1. Fill Thermos with boiling water. Let sit for a few minutes.
   I do this before I make breakfast for the kids thereby giving the water plenty of time to heat up the Thermos.
2. Cut two pieces of parchment paper or foil into rectangles. They should each be large enough to cover half a sandwich.
3. Warm up Hot Pocket in microwave. (Or prepare your warm sandwich.)
4. While sandwich is warming, quickly drain and dry Thermos. Resealing the lid when you're done.
5. Working quickly, cut warmed sandwich in half and wrap each portion in paper or foil.
   (Wrapping the portions individually makes it easier to pull them out of the container.)
6. Place in Thermos and seal.

I've asked my kids how warm their sandwiches are by lunchtime and one responded that they were still "hot." But that's my sensitive one. I doubt the sandwiches are "hot," but I'm confident that they are, at the very least, warm.
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Okay. I wasn't being entirely honest about how often I fed my kids Hot Pockets last year. They were waaayyyyy more than an "occasional" life saver. Which is why I'm spending the summer looking for an alternative that will lessen my mom-guilt, if even just a little bit. And I've found some options! I'll share them later.

My to-do list: February 7, 2012

I'm thinking that it will be therapeutic to share the insanity that is my to-do list. Here are just some of the things I want to do soon. Or now. Or yesterday. Of course, this list does not include my "regular tasks." You know. Like my full-time job, my part-time job, my other part-time job, my hooping activities, my involved-mom tasks...

• Try this recipe. I'm actually planning to make it for dinner. Tonight.
• Make this dress. I already have fabric for three (3!) of them.
• Work on this quilt. I'm scheduled to "Quilt 'Til I Wilt" this Sunday. Yay!
• Introduce Mason to Lacrosse. For a variety of reasons, tennis isn't going well.
• Finish my picture wall. Well. Hang the frames on my picture wall, anyway. Getting pictures in those empty frames is another project entirely.

What’s on your to-do list?

Welcome to my gym

Since becoming an over-scheduled parent, I've attempted several times to incorporate exercise into my daily life. Each plan and good intention was invariably thwarted in some way. One July I started swimming in the early morning only to later discover that the pool would be closed during the entire month of August. I started hiking at a local state park only to learn a few days later that someone was attacking females there. I started walking in my neighborhood only to develop severe lower back pain due to my swayback (such an old-fashioned word!). I truly have multiple examples of how each of my plans was foiled.

So here's my newest creative approach to getting exercise...my office building's stairwell. It is a really great workout and fits so well into my schedule. In about 5 minutes I can climb 17 flights of stairs, get my heart rate up, tone my muscles and then get back to work. Perfect. (Knock on wood.)

A 500 year flood

I'd prefer to keep sadness out of this blog, but I really want to record this recent local catastrophe. It seems like it's the least that I can do. I feel that if I don't mention it, it's as if I'm pretending it didn't really happen...

Photos: www.11alive.com

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, "The flooding around Atlanta this week is one for the record books. The rivers and streams had magnitudes so great that the odds of it happening were less than 0.2 percent in any given year. In other words, there was less than a 1 in 500 chance that parts of Cobb and Douglas counties were going to be hit with such an event."

The "1 in 500 chance," translated in terms of years means that a flood of that extreme would likely occur once every 500 years. One expert, taking into consideration the level of flooding that occurred at Clarkdale Elementary, stated that he thought it was an event even more rare than once every 500 years.

In my world, this was a local event and yet I still can't believe it happened.

Blindly driving through the night

I'm having vision issues. Easily rectified, I assume, but that in combination with wonky headlights does not make for relaxed non-daylight-driving.

As I headed into the office in the wee hours of the morning, I caught sight of two branches JUST in time to swerve and avoid them. That's when I realized that I tend to "blindly drive through the night assuming that the paved roads ahead will be clear of debris."

But don't we all do that?

Working mom guilt

Well, not really. What I experience on a daily basis is a longing to be with my kids. I don't feel guilty about being at work because I understand that it's what I have to do. Now, if I wanted to be at the office, and chose to do so rather than staying home...then I would feel guilty. So, instead, I'm just a little bit heartsick everyday.