Ladybug Studio

Self Evaluation

Tennis is becoming a full contact sport. I might have to start wearing knee pads and shoulder pads. Maybe a full Michelin Man suit! Last night an opponent at the net whacked a ball right at me and the ball smacked right into my left biceps. (the "s" is correct, though it looks funny) It didn't leave a bruise (again!), but it's sure sore to the touch. That was par for the course concerning that doubles match. My playing was so bad last night. I don't understand it either. I was hitting really well during Monday's lesson, which usually leads to good play on Tuesday.

Hm. I did have a stomach ache. It started up around 3:00 and continued on to about 8:00. There's no telling what triggered that, but I am having less of these mysterious pains since I started taking meds. (Zelnorm, until it was recalled. Scary! Now it's Amitiza) (I've also been eating Activia yogurt) Anyway, it might have contributed to the poor execution, but I wasn't consciously aware of any pain while I was playing.

And it's too ironic. I was just that day exploring the USTA (United States Tennis Association) website, looking for a tournament to play in. I guess I was feeling a little full of myself. Anyway, here's what lead me to that - As our lesson was coming to an end on Monday, a couple of young teenagers who's group lesson is after ours, starting coming onto the court next to us to warm up. Instructor Tom asked two of the girls how they did in their tournament over the weekend. When I left, I quizzed the Tennis Moms, who were watching from the stands, about the tournament. Was it school related? No, they explained that anyone with a USTA membership can sign up for local tournaments. Apparently you rank yourself based on their guidelines (I rated myself 3.5-4.0) and end up playing people with similar rankings. Sounded like fun! Now, not so much. But who knows - maybe I'll play well on Thursday and start considering it again.

Freelance Sidestep

There's nothing like a freelance rush job to make me clean the house. I had planned to go straight to the computer on Saturday morning and put in a couple of hours before anything more distracting could come along. Putting my breakfast dishes away led to cleaning up the clutter on the countertops, putting a load of laundry in the wash, sweeping the bathroom floor (With my awesome Dirt Devil Vacuum Broom!) and a multitude of other household tasks. Then there were some errands to run and lunch to eat. The clothes coming out of the drier needed to be folded before they wrinkled… let's see, what else can I do?

Sadly, I ran out of convenient chores and finally gave in. I ended up spending about two and a half hours and made some decent headway into the latest calendar. I also cleaned out my Tivo stash, between the shows that I watched and the ones I deleted because I had already watched them on the Tivo in the spare bedroom. (And throwing out all episodes of Ghost Whisperer, because that show's gone lame this season.)

On Friday afternoon I made a trip into the attic. I didn't spend a lot of time in there, but did find some garage sale items fairly quickly. I also discovered that some large ants have made themselves a comfy nest in and around a cardboard box using some blown insulation. I don't even begin to know what to do about that. (I don't know what's so attractive about that particular box either. Did I end up packing away some Christmas candy or something?)

One thing I did bring down was a box of birthday cards and such that I have been keeping for many years. It's funny, because my sisters and I were amazed that Mom had apparently kept every card ever given to her. (I think I mentioned that) Well, the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree, let me tell you. There were cards dating back to early high school. (and that's just what was in this particular box) I flipped through them, scanning to see who each card was from, but ultimately threw them all away except the ones from Mom and a couple from Tom.

That lead me to go through a bunch of more recent letters I had stashed in the slat top desk in the spare room. (Recent is relative. With email being so handy and cell phones with free long distance, letter writing has become a lost art.) I started reading though some of them and realized that my memory is really poor. I don't remember half of the stuff the writers are referring to. (Ann and Denise, mainly.) But I found them interesting to read again so I'm keeping the majority.

Note: When I die, whoever is helping Tom go through my mighty collection of… stuff (and he will need help, believe me), please feel free to pitch out all letters and cards. ('cause I feel bad throwing away my mother's letter collection but OMG, there are so many!)

Playing it Safe

My elbow is fine now. I played tennis yesterday and it didn't hurt even the tiniest bit. In fact, my backhands were really great, for a change. I won both sets, the first one quite easily. Which surprised me because Nancy and I are usually neck and neck. Perhaps the lessons are paying off. I haven't gone back to the new instructor since the end of February. March was so hectic, with the CFW rehearsals, that I took a break from the extra lessons. While I liked that Instructor Chip focused more on competitive playing than Instructor Tom, I'm concerned about all the spin shots and flicking of the wrist. That sort of stuff can lead to tennis elbow and as my right elbow has been feeling "tweaky", I don't want to take any unnecessary risks.

We have another lovely mostly unstructured weekend ahead. Probably mountain biking on Saturday afternoon and tennis with Alex (while Tom has baseball practice) on Sunday morning. The rest of the time is pretty well open. I want to spend some of that free time searching the house and attic for garage sale items. I'm going to have a sale sometime soon and I've gotten myself into a purge mode. (probably due to clearing out some of my mother's things last weekend with my sisters) (Stefani - I'm sorry, but I completely exaggerated the amount of buttons she had and my oldest sister wanted what there was.)

Truthfully, I'd rather poke my eye out with a stick than go into the attic. The weather has been warming up a lot lately and it's likely to be a sweat-fest. But there's a treasure trove of garage sale items up there, I just know. Things that haven't been touched since we moved into the house in 2000. I've been tagging and pricing as I go, for the most part. That will save me a huge headache closer to the sale date. Which I haven't picked yet. But I think a deadline would keep me on track and not draw out the quest, so I'll come up with one soon.

I also have some freelance to do. I had requested some work and got a nice large package. The spring is much more laid back than the fall, so I expected to work on it at my leisure. Then I got the news yesterday that it's actually a rush job. Not what I had in mind at all. My schedule has been so busy lately. By the time I get home from tennis, shower, cook, eat dinner and clean up, I am exhausted. There's no way I can stay up working on the computer. Just no way. I will have to portion out my time this weekend and stick to the schedule. Hm. The weekend is looking much less unstructured now. Boo.

Tennis Lesson

One thing you learn to do when playing doubles is call for the ball if there's any doubt as to who should be trying to return. Usually, it's so that you don't each think the other is going after it and find that no ones returns it. However, sometimes it's a good idea to yell "I've got it!" so that you and your partner don't both go for it. I learned this the hard way on Tuesday afternoon. My partner in that set and I had quite a big collision as a result of not heading that fundamental suggestion. I got the worst of it, probably because he was bigger and heavier than me. My left elbow took a hard whack from his racquet. I didn't realize how badly I was hurt, until later when I tried using my backhand. OMG. It was excruciating. Thankfully, we were at the end of the match and I didn't have to keep faking that I was fine. (I felt so silly about the whole incident)

There wasn't much to see, darn it! If I'm going to get injured I at least want to see a blazing purple bruise and some swelling. But the pain was definitely there. When I got home I took several ibuprofen and iced it good. I couldn't bend my arm very far or reach upward for anything. (undressing and showering was a challenge). I had to sleep with a pillow under my elbow as even the soft comfy bed was too hard for it.

I took more ibuprofen this morning and the elbow is feeling much better. I have mobility again, but it's still very tender to the touch. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to play my singles match on Thursday, but I'm pretty sure I will be fine. Which is good, because I'm scheduled to play Nancy and we always have a good match.

In non-tennis news, I ordered some furniture today. We are getting a sleeper sofa to replace the futon in the spare bedroom. The futon isn't particularly comfortable, either for sitting on or sleeping on. I've been wanting a small sofa for a long time and finally decided to make it happen. The color scheme I wanted (red with multi-colored striped throw pillows) is considered a special order and may take 5-6 weeks for delivery. Tom's cousin is coming to stay with us at the beginning of June and Ann may stay with me when she visits at the end of May. I was motivated to get my order placed so hopefully our guests will have a comfortable place to sleep. I did have the saleslady fold out the bed so that I could try it out. It was surprisingly nice!

Now I just have to figure out what to do with the futon…

Far East Fuchsia

Dog-gone! It's just a little past lunch and I only have 4 Points left for the day. I sure hope we get to play tennis this afternoon, or dinner is going to be really sparse. I seriously need some Activity Points. I'm blaming it on my so-called friend who gave me a piece of Cherry Chocolate Cake. It's actually low fat and at 4 Points for the whole piece, not too bad. The problem is, it was very good. I had intended to eat just half, but couldn't stop myself from eating every crumb.

I haven't been very good about being On Program lately and wanted to start fresh today. (because my meeting/weigh in is on Thursday, that's when I start tracking my week) I don't want to get into my Flex Points already. Meal-wise, I have managed pretty well, it's the snacking that's causing my grief. The ordinary suspects - Xtra Cheddar Goldfish and pastel M&Ms. Not only the milk chocolate, but also the peanut ones. Bad stuff.

After two rainy days, which canceled tennis plans, yesterday was completely gorgeous. A bit hot and muggy, otherwise perfect. But I had a pedicure scheduled and didn't get to enjoy it. Though, having a pedicure is a pretty nice way to spend the afternoon, too. In honor of spring, my toes are sporting a bright pink called Far East Fuchsia. It pretty much clashes with everything, but so what.

Carl picked up my new road helmet for me yesterday and brought it to me today. I wanted to have it for Sunday's Ride for the Red. But now I don't know if we're doing the ride. The weather forecast is calling for wind and rain. Hm. Depends on when this weather is going to hit. If it's after noon, then we'll be fine. But I have no desire to ride 62 miles on a windy, rainy day. We can register the morning of the ride, so we'll just see how this one rolls.

Easter Weekend Update

Easter Weekend 2007 was a pretty good one. Mostly due to a successful Day Before Easter Annual Picnic. The annual get-together hasn't been as much fun in the last several years as it had been in the past. I wasn't particularly looking forward to it, but it ended up being a really nice time. The weather was good - sunny and breezy, even a touch cool early on. I found that as long as I stayed in the sun I was happy.

We played volleyball this year too, an activity that had been missing for the last couple of picnics. (personally, I see a connection) Despite several smallish children and a couple of inept adults (hello!), we had a good time. I will never be good at volleyball. For one thing, I only play once a year at most. Plus I'm not too fond of a large white ball coming to me at a high velocity. I'll take the small yellow fuzzy variety instead. Besides, I feel much safer with a racquet in my hand.

Easter day itself wasn't as good, weather-wise. It was cool, gray and dreary. Very disappointing. Tom and I had brunch with his family, took a short nap, then ran a couple of errands. I caught up on some of my Tivo queue and continued with my cleaning and organizing of the paperwork in the office. (will it ever be done?) We didn't ride our bicycles at all, which I hope has no bearing on next weekend's 62 mile Ride for the Red…

Soon I'll Have a Quadro of Knives

No one laughed at my knife trio. And basically, all I really need to add is a good quality 8" chef's knife. One of the chefs sharpened my knives for me too, though it was primarily to show me how to do it. Yeah, right. Like I'm going to remember. Next time they need sharpening, I guess I'll have to sign up for a cooking class.

Last night we dealt mainly with seafood. In addition to the more basic items that we all cooked with (shrimp, scallops, snapper, sea bass) the chef played Show and Tell with a lobster, a soft shell crab (blue crab), clams, mussels, an octopus (ew!) and various kinds of funny looking fish. Oh, he did demonstrate how to cut a tenderloin into filet mignon, from which we all got a lovely steak. Mm. Herb Crusted Tenderloin of Beef with Blue Cheese Cream. I'm not a huge fan of blue cheese (and a lot of the other students aren't either) but we all agreed, the sauce was amazing.

Because I'm not the fastest cook in the world, I was one of the last students to leave. But that wasn't a bad thing at all. One of the chefs was cooking dinner for our chef and his helper. One other student remained and we were invited to sample some tortilla soup, followed by black beans and rice with smoked pork. I very stupidly asked for "just a little". I certainly could have made a pig of myself, especially with the rice. The herbs and spices make all the difference, I guess. Actually, I almost said no altogether, then it occurred to me — a chef is offering me food… only an idiot would turn that down!

Lack of Class

My last cooking class is tonight and I have to say that I'm glad. I have been enjoying the lessons, especially the results. (extra yummy take home) But the time is taking its toll. With tennis three days a week, Wednesday had been my day off. It was the one day during the week that I could go straight home. I could relax, read, weed flower beds, work on a project, wash my car, whatever. These three weeks of not having that day have been exhausting. Then there's the added inconvenience of getting home so late after class.

After last week's lesson, and meeting our regularly scheduled chef, I was a bit stoked up about the cooking series and thought I might continue with the next two sessions. But I've had time to consider the implications and determined that it's more than I can handle.

One thing I've learned is that I really need to get some decent knives. My tiny collection of three completely inadequate knives isn't going to cut it. (ha!) At the very least I need a good chef's knife. I brought my trio with me today and I plan on asking the chef to recommend a couple of additions. I just hope he doesn't laugh.

I Really Need to get an Interesting Title

We did go to Orange Cycle after work on Friday and it was without a doubt the most horrific drive. Friday afternoon combined with the first rain we've had in weeks. Throw in a lot of construction on the 408 and you get traffic that's barely inching along. Regardless of which lane we were in, the one next to us was moving faster. Isn't that the way it always is?

Shopping was good though, once we finally made it to the bike shop. As always, I made a beeline straight for the women's clothing section. I selected a couple of sleeveless jerseys and a pair of road shorts. Made by Sugoi, they're supposed to be the best biking shorts available. At the price I paid for them, they'd better be. Tom didn't get much, which is highly unusual now that I think about it.

We decided that trying to eat dinner in Orlando would be difficult, as there would likely be crowds anywhere we went. So we headed back home instead and ordered our usual Friday night delivery from Stone Creek Pizza. We always get the same thing - a large cheese hand tossed with an order of Cinna-Rocks. The same guy always delivers our food, too. (I found out that his name is Jimmy. We're practically old friends by now so I thought I should know his name.)

Saturday morning we got up leisurely and took our time with breakfast. We eventually got ready for our bike ride and Dallas rode over to join us. The plan was to ride the 30 miles route and we almost managed it. The wind was pretty fierce and the last section would have had us riding up a gradual hill against a strong headwind so we opted for a short cut of sorts. It only took three miles off of the trip. Well worth it in my opinion. I wasn't exhausted at the end by any means, yet at the same time I was happy to be off of the bike. I'm not sure what that means with regards to our 62 mile ride in two weeks. 

Saturday night Tom and I went to Viera. I needed a few items from Bed Bath & Beyond and we both wanted to visit Sports Authority (I haven't mentioned SA in quite a while, so I figured it was time.) At BB&B I bought several shower accessories. I have quite a collection of shampoos, shower gels and other shower products, but haven't had much luck organizing them. We used to have a three shelf corner stand, but it started rusting. Then I bought some metal baskets with suction cups, but they don't hold well and tend to come crashing down when least expected (usually in the middle of the night). I recently found a new sort of suction cup basket with PowerLock™ Suction! I bought one as a test and it seemed to be working really well. So I bought a few more. Now I can keep as many scented shower gels in the shower as I want. Because variety is the spice of life, don't you know.

After that uplifting and exciting purchase (it really was!) we moved on to Sports Authority. The store in Avenue Viera isn't very large and the tennis clothing section was practically non existent. But that didn't stop me from finding something to buy. I found a very cute pair of tan capris by Columbia and a couple of shirts to go with them. Tom made up for not spending at Orange Cycle and got quite a bundle of stuff, including a pair of shoes which he really did need and a pitcher's target which he did not (that's just my opinion, of course.)

Sunday wasn't as interesting, as I finally got down to the business of house cleaning. Tom had gone to baseball practice (it's nearly that time again) so I had the house to myself. I made a trip to Publix and also a trip to Stein Mart where I got the cutest pair of sandals. Actually two pair - one brown and one black. I had needed something to go with the capris after all.

Toward the end of the evening I started feeling bad about the paperwork disaster in the office. I had sworn to myself that I would do something about it this weekend, but hadn't so much as looked in the room. So, armed with my iPod and audiobook, I finally waded into the mess. And found a second wind. I got quite a lot done and before I knew it, it was after 11:30. Oops. Not a good way to start the new week.