Ladybug Studio

Boom Boom

Space Shuttle Endeavour has landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center. We all went outside to watch for it. After the twin sonic booms, everyone shaded their eyes and scanned the skies for the fast moving craft. One of my coworkers caught a glimpse, but by the time the rest of us were looking in the right direction, it was too late to see anything. There was the most interesting sound though, I've never heard it before, sort of a low pitch humming. Similar to a plane, without the engine noise. Very hard to explain, but totally awesome to hear. Giving up on seeing Endeavour, we trooped back inside and were able to watch the actual landing on television. It looked pretty perfect to me. A successful mission all around.

We were more than a little concerned, with the tile damage issue. According to my discussion about it with Tom, there has been similar damage many times, before the new cameras. Plus the site of the damage, not on the leading edge of a wing, was not a critical location.

I had a whole entry written in my head. It was interesting and entertaining too. I hate when I do that, because I can never remember what I wanted to say or how I wanted to say it. Rats.

On the Run

Yesterday afternoon was busy, but that was good. It kept me from lounging around at home, snacking. Even though my latest craze is pretzels, which aren't particularly bad, I have a hard time stopping after a handful or two. Most of the time when I snack, I'm not even hungry. Just bored and want something to chew on. Yeah, yeah, chew gum, I know. But that's not always satisfying. For me, staying busy seems to be the best bet.

So I visited Dad right after work. I had made a batch of Bev's Italian Veggie Beef Soup on Sunday and brought him a container of it. The soup is so very yummy and just full of healthy vegetables. Dad's appetite is still down and he really needs to eat more nutritious foods as Glenna tends to feed him a lot of sandwiches and sweets. I stayed for a little bit and watched the end of an episode of Little House on the Prairie. I left as another episode was coming on. God bless the Hallmark channel because Dad really enjoys it. Though I still wouldn't mind actually visiting with Dad, instead of just watching TV with him.

Next I went to Stacey and Greg's. We had plans to walk/run and since I haven't seen baby Jackie in ages, I thought it would be nice to meet there instead of at Parrish. She's almost five months old now and has really gotten cute. Great big blue eyes and an easy smile. And she's so good! Didn't cry at all and only got a little fussy when the sun was in her eyes and when she dropped her pacifier and couldn't get it back to her mouth.

We took her with us in her ultra cool jogging stroller. It was the first time Stacey had actually run while pushing it. Jackie didn't seem to mind the bumps, so it was a good outing all around. We only ran a small percentage of the route, but it was enough. At first, my calves tightened up, indignant about the abuse. By the third run session they were doing much better.

I don't have any lofty goals with regards to running this time around. I would like to be able to run 5K in the KSC Intercenter Run next month, but that's all I'm hoping for. I realize now that I'm never going to become a runner. My exercise induced asthma and my short tight calves aren't going to let that happen. But it's okay, because I have my biking and my tennis. That's plenty.

So Tired and Sleepy

I was ready to go to sleep at 9:00 last night, but I kept puttering around until 10:00. Why oh why didn't I just go to bed? Now I will be dragging myself through this entire day. It's like I never quite woke up this morning. My head is foggy and my eyes aren't quite all the way open.

I participated in the weekly tennis clinic last night, which I'm sure contributed to my fatigue. We worked mainly on volleys so there wasn't an excessive amount of running around, but just being out in the heat for two hours will really take it out of a person. We had another small group so there was a lot of personal attention and everyone hit a ton of balls.

I'm really getting to know a great group of people, through the clinic and the Saturday round robins. It gives me even more to look forward to, not just the tennis playing itself. This week our instructor will be out of town, but a bunch of us are planning on going to the courts anyway. Should be interesting to see how well we organize ourselves into matches.

Sports Related Injury?

I seriously doubt I can get away with calling this a sports related injury, but the truth is a tad embarrassing. I hurt my arm last night playing a game on my PDA. Not even an action game, but a tile matching type of game. I was playing Crazy Combo and I was really into it. Matching at the speed of lightning, I didn't realize how clenched up I was, until I finally turned off the game and found that I could hardly move my left arm. I was worried that it would still hurt this morning and that I would have to see the massage therapist in the next building. But it's better today. (whew)

Tom and I have made official reservations for our fall mountain biking adventure. We will head to North Carolina for the weekend of October 20th. It seems so far away, but it will be here before we know it. I've got a few (quite a few actually) pounds I'd rather not take up there with me. (less to haul up the mountain trails!) I have time, if I can just knuckle down and make a commitment. I don't know why I'm having such a hard time getting back on program. I've been there before and it wasn't a terrible hardship. Most of the time I was quite happy with what I was eating and not eating. Now that the every day rain has stopped, I've been able to get back to my physical activities, so there's no reason that I can't meet my weight goals. It's entirely up to me though (and I am not the most reliable).

Regarding real sports related news etc., yesterday I joined the USTA (United States Tennis Association). They were running a special rate for new members in conjunction with the US Open Series and upcoming US Open. Only $25 to join instead of the usual $40. As I've been planning on joining anyway, this seemed like a good time. Along with my membership I will receive Tennis Magazine every month. Now I need to get serious about playing in a (somewhat) local tournament. I think it would be fun, but I want to make sure I find one that's not ultra crazy competitive. If there is such a thing.

Private Lesson

Finally! A day without rain! Actually, it's been dry for a couple of days. I don't dare complain, but I have to say that now it's extremely hot. Africa hot. Hell hot. Surface of the sun hot.

So I was able to have my tennis lesson yesterday. It's supposed to be a group lesson, but as I was the only one who showed up, I ended up having a private lesson. At the group rate, too. Can't beat that! The one on one instruction was great and I really got a lot out of the lesson. My backhand and back swing were much improved by the end of the hour. But it was tough out there by myself. I did a lot of hitting and my heart rate got crazy high several times. 195 is not a number I like seeing. That has to be right at my maximum heart rate. Or above it. Way above it.

But I survived and I'm looking forward to attending tennis clinic this afternoon. This class has been a great filler until our doubles league starts up again in September. When the two month break was first proposed in the spring, I was pretty disappointed. But with this heat we're having now, I am so glad that I don't have to play tennis for several hours. I can if I want to, but I don't have to.

I can't believe it's Tuesday. The weekend wasn't all that wonderful and it doesn't seem right that it's only the beginning of the week now. In a nutshell, the weekend was full of obligations, with very little me-time. I know it's selfish, but I do enjoy time to do whatever I want.

Friday I made the serious error in judgement in agreeing to go to Tom's baseball game. It was held down in Melbourne Beach, so there was about an hour drive time on each end. Plus the game seemed long. Then the light meter ran out because no one was paying attention and we had to sit in the semi-darkness for 20 minutes while the lights warmed back up. I had pretzels for a snack, but no dinner so I was fairly grouchy when we finally left the field at 10:45. There weren't a lot of choices at that time of night and I got the opportunity to remember why we quit going to Subway.

Saturday morning I had to get up early, after coming home quite late, in order to attend a Central Florida Winds rehearsal. I was grouchy about that too. Partly because it meant missing out on Saturday Tennis. The rehearsal was okay, but my lips were trashed pretty early because I haven't been practicing. I knew the date was coming up, but there was always time to practice later, tomorrow, next week. Oh well, why mess with tradition?

Saturday afternoon Jo and I made dinner for Dad. He hasn't been eating very well lately and is losing weight when he really needs to gain it. Jo made dutch oven steaks (cubed steaks with mushroom gravy) and rice and I provided a green bean casserole. It was all quite tasty and Dad cleaned his plate. It was good to see him enjoy a meal for a change. His caretaker keeps feeding him sandwiches and fast food. Not exactly the nutrition an 80 year old man needs.

Sunday morning we met Alex, Jeanene, Dallas and Dallas's friend Nydia for a biking on south River Road. Jeanene's parents were visiting so they strolled with Akiva while we biked. It was a nice morning with very little wind and it felt great to be out exercising. Afterward, we all went to Murdock's for lunch. I like Murdock's, but they don't have the healthiest food, unless you like eclectic salads, which I don't. Plus I'm very susceptible to scrumptious foods and ended up ordering a bunch of fried stuff and had a bit of a tummy ache later. Much to my regret.

The rest of the day was much lazier. Too lazy in fact. I bummed around and watched Tivo. Which reminds me - there are some great summer television programs on this season. I am really enjoying Burn Notice, Psych, The Closer and My Boys. In addition, I am also trying out Side Order of Life and State of Mind. So far so good.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Ack! Will it ever stop raining? Day after day, every afternoon, rain, rain, rain. It is really interfering with my activities! I haven't been able to play tennis in over a week now. It would have been nice to go on an after work bike ride, but that's certainly not happening. And lately it isn't our usual quick thunderstorms, but a real settled in for the night soaker.

But it's not all bad, I suppose. Our neighborhood homeowner's association is having an important meeting tonight. The plan was to hold it at the playground at 7:00. Mosquitos just love that time of night. Stupid idea, frankly. Anyway, the meeting will more than likely be moved to a local church, which will be much more comfortable for everyone.

I'm not looking forward to the meeting though. Guaranteed, the same stupid people will go on and on about the same stupid topics. My patience was very sorely tested at the last meeting I attended.

Novelty

I ended up taking a two hour nap yesterday. That sounds lovely, I'm sure, but it wasn't actually a planned event. An oncoming migraine made the decision for me. Which sucks. I hate giving up such a great portion of my personal time. But of course it was worth it when I got up later and had no pain.

However, due to the lengthy nap, there's nothing of interest to talk about.

Oh, unless I mention some weekend stuff that I never got around to posting. I can do that. Let's see…

Tom and I visited some of the new businesses that have recently opened in Titusville. First we went to Home Depot. Very nice. The store is bright and clean and the employees were very friendly and helpful. Because the store has been open for about a month, it wasn't crazy busy either.

Can't say the same for Target however. It opened unofficially earlier in the week and was a bit of a zoo. It reminded us of Wal-Mart. The store was quite crowded and for the most part, the shoppers were rude and selfish. We got what we needed and left as quickly as possible. There's a Starbucks in the front of the store and I had intended to buy an iced coffee drink of some sort, but it wasn't worth staying there even one extra minute. I just hope all of this is due to the newness and novelty of the store. Could it be possible that it's not a "Wal-Mart" thing, but a "Titusville" thing instead? I'm afraid it might be. If after a couple of months I find that the new Target is still as bad, I will happily drive the extra miles to the store in Merritt Island.

Hey readers - make sure you go back and check the comments. I notice some of you are commenting to each other (which I think is great!) and I would hate for you to miss out. (this is also a plug for more comments…)