Two things

1. Last night I had a dream that I suddenly discovered that there were a bunch of prequels to the Lord of the Rings besides the Hobbit. It was a nightmare. I've read all of those books and I just can't muster any excitement about them.

2. Two days ago I went into the garage and our furnace was leaking. It had to do with the pump on the side of the furnace, and when Sparky called the furnace people, he was informed that the nice extended warranty that we'd bought didn't cover the pump. We prepared to pay a ridiculous amount, but today the guy came, fixed it, and refused to charge me. He said it was easy to fix, no big deal. I didn't know that there were any nice guys left in the world (besides my friends and family of course). A bright spot in a rather lousy week.

Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed.

Looks like BYU women's soccer had a rough time yesterday. Check out these clips on Sports Center last night. Watch for #15 on New Mexico. There's aggressive and then there's evil. Thanks, Sparky, for sending me the clip.

All The Cats Join In

Does anyone remember when this used to play on The Disney Channel? It was back when The Disney Channel was fun, before it was taken over by a bunch of lame shows geared at tween girls. I loved "All The Cats Join In." I heart Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa. I used to say all the time that I was born in the wrong time period, until I started having health problems. If I could go back in time and visit just one concert, it would be a no brainer for me - Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall, 1938. That concert made big band music legitimate, and it changed music forever.



Anyway, I was working out this morning, and I was tired, and the thought suddenly came into my head - I need a giant animated magic pencil to erase a few inches off my butt and thighs like the one in "All The Cats Join In." It sure worked for that girl. If only.

Bashing The Myth About Exercise

Last month, Time magazine came out with an article that still has me steaming. It tries to convince the reader that exercise won't help people lose weight, and that it's awful and meaningless. It misrepresents a study done by Dr. Timothy Church from LSU, who actually found in his study that exercise results in weight loss. Dr. Church was interviewed on one of my favorite podcasts, Fitness Rocks, where he explained the study and the importance of exercise.

I have been trying to get over this article and I can't. The information in this article is wrong (So wrong!), and it could affect the health of so many people. The average American is looking for an excuse to not exercise, and John Cloud is giving it to him. I don't know how he can sleep at night.

Feet on the Ceiling

This morning, while "snugging" under the covers with Thing 3 (AKA Genius The Monkey), he informed me that, "I love you, but not as much as I love dad because he can put my feet on the ceiling!" I can't compete with that.

Wobbly Bits

What is up with the middle-aged-to-old women and locker rooms? Someone needs to teach them how to get dressed without scaring the children. Yesterday, my friends and I took our kids to the pool, and while my friend and her daughter and I were in the women's locker room, there was... an incident. Look, I get that it's a locker room, and people are changing, and everyone is going to see some things. But this lady was not getting dressed. She was just walking around, butt-naked, taking her time, bending over repeatedly as she stuffed things into her bag. Not pretty! In my mind, I was pleading with her to stop stalling and get dressed already. I wanted to run to all the children and cover their eyes. To quote Bridget Jones, we don't want to be seeing your wobbly bits, lady.

I move that anyone who violates the Fireball Locker Room Changing Standards (not giving little children nightmares) should have to be paired up with a surfer for changing lessons. Have you seen these guys getting dressed in beach parking lots? They are masters! And half the time they're dealing with wet suits. All they need is a water jug and a towel, and in two minutes they've had a shower, they're dressed and ready for work, and no flashing. No wobbly bits.

Our House

Here is a conversation that took place in our car yesterday:

Thing 3: "Mom, does our house have a name?"
Me: "No..."
Thing 3: "Hmmm. How about Mr. Fred? Or Whitey!"

I was glad we were in the car so he couldn't see me shaking from held-back laughter.