Why do I always sit still in the drive thru?

by Maria Glazener

Okay, I admit it; I am totally obsessed with McDonald’s sweet tea. I love it because it is good and cheap, in that order. So, I find myself making my way through the drive thru numerous times a week. That $1.00 drink really gets me through the day. What I have come to notice is that the drive-thru is not what it used to be.

I worked at the McDonalds on Reynolda, two buildings ago, and was a whiz at the drive thru, if I do say so myself. I mean, you had to be fast. You were timed and got in trouble if people had to wait!
Nowadays, that doesn’t seem to be the case. I find myself sitting in line a lot longer than I used to. I am not sure if it is the patrons who seem to have a hard time ordering, or if the employees just don’t think hurrying is that big of a deal. Either way, I seem to find myself saying, “Really, why is this taking so long?” All I want is my tanker of tea and I will be on my way. How long does it take to fill up a 32 oz. cup?

Okay, before you say, “You could just get your lazy self out of the car and go inside.” I must tell you, I seem to always only have 2 minutes allotted for any “me” time. (Moms, you know what I mean)

So, getting out of the car and going inside, only seems to detract from the illusion of actually having a few minutes to myself.
Will I stop going through the drive thru? No, I love my sweet tea too much to give it up. I have decided to try and embrace the sit still and think of it as a mini vacation. We are all in too much of a hurry anyway, so maybe the slow drive thru is just life’s way of saying, “Enjoy the moment, Life is too sweet to waste!”

Do you have any Drive thru stories to share?

Oh no! A 5 Minute Microwave Chocolate Cake!

Chocolate Cake In 5 Minutes!

Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons cake flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons oil
1 Mug

Instructions:

Mix flour, sugar and cocoa:
Spoon in one egg.
Add Milk and Oil.
Put in the microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power.
Wait until it stops rising, tip out of the mug and ENJOY!

Chocolate cake whenever we want it! Do you have a quick recipe?

Rollercoaster of Emotions-Part Two

Back in September I registered for the Disney Princess for a few reasons. I could say that running the race was my primary goal but I’d be lying, and my Mother taught me not to lie. Yes, running a ½ marathon is on my list of goals but what I really needed was a break and this event was a good excuse. I’ve been caring for my mother in various capacities for the last 30 years due to her chronic illnesses. I thought that running through Disney and visiting with my Dad and friends would be great. My plans were to turn off my cell phone and let my brother (he lives in Colorado) be primary contact for Mom for 5 days. Well now I’m not so sure. What if she is lucid and she is scared, asks for me and I’m not there? But what if she is disoriented and doesn’t even realize that 5 days have passed and it won’t matter that I’m not there? What if I don’t go and she remains stable for another week, month, year, will I regret it? What if I go and she dies while I’m there, will I be able to forgive myself? What if she dies tomorrow I can’t imagine being able to run, but maybe I’ll have an angel on my shoulder. What if I don’t go and she dies in the next 2 weeks, will she be upset with me for not reaching my goal? (I’m curious how she will reveal her presence to me after she’s gone). I know there will be plenty of more races to run but I feel that this one has special significance, am I supposed to be a Princess?

What are your goals and how are you working towards them?

I’ve started drinking!

The cold, snowy winter finally drove this woman to drink. After not drinking for 52 years, the frigid winter months broke me down, and I found drinking not only enjoyable, but necessary! (Did I mention that I was talking about coffee?)

Over the years people have been surprised when I have politely responded with a “No thank-you” to their offer of a steaming cup of coffee. I don’t know why I never developed a taste for coffee, because both of my parents were avid coffee drinkers, and so is almost every other adult I know.

One stark, gray morning this winter, however, my husband commented that he would love it if I would drink a cup of coffee with him in the mornings. I couldn’t really figure out a good reason not to, so I said “Yes!” I did, however, decide that if I was going to drink coffee, I was going to drink it black, and never taste it with the “good stuff” in it. I started drinking the bitter brew in little sips, a few swallows at a time, and within a few weeks I found myself enjoying that warm cup of coffee in the morning.

Unfortunately, I have discovered that not all coffee is the same. I have developed a taste for Starbuck’s Pike’s Blend and Panera’s Hazelnut. I’ve also discovered that coffee in a cute little coffee cup is much better than coffee in a plain mug.

What is your favorite coffee and what is your favorite tradition surrounding your cup of coffee? Why do you drink coffee?

Finding my waist-What defines finishing?

How do you classify a Fitness Freak?

I find myself now on Mondays and Fridays impatient for the bus to come because if the bus is late then I’m late to my MANIAC training session. I’m not waltzing in at the last minute like a diva, I’m running in sweating before the class starts because I don’t want to miss it!

Today is a whole body adventure , because April, our instructor has been watching some type of English Tower of London torture videos as she comes up with “fun” exercises for our class. I won’t bore you with the details, but it entailed my shoe slipping in my sweat on the floor, April in my face when I wanted to drop from the 7 minutes of continuous plank, to my grunts when she showed me that my plank was not LOW enough!

Biggest lesson learned when working with these types of classes are lessons learned when you race in that first race-that triathlon, that 5K, that 10K, that marathon. It’s a life lesson in determination. I’ve been in a race and wondered how I was going to finish the last 10K in a marathon, I’ve had the back spasms in a Half Ironman wondering, can I finish this run, I’ve even been in a 5K winded from starting too fast wondering if I can sustain for the last 2 miles!

When you hit that point of thinking of giving up you can do one of two things-give up, put your tail between your legs and move on saying, “This isn’t what I wanted to do” or, pull deep and explore what you have inside you and find that one sliver of reason to finish the damn thing and use that to convince yourself that you can do it. In some cases it’s the “I want that finisher’s medal”, other cases can be, “I’m not going to let my friend beat me” or it can be something as basic as “I’m not a quitter and it’s only 7 or 10 or 30 or 60 more minutes.” Whatever it is, as I try to finish that class, I revisit those races I thought I couldn’t finish and with arms shaking find the last of the strength to pull it off.

The rush of finishing when you think you can’t is better than a race run perfectly. When you’ve been at that edge of the cliff and at the bottom of that cliff is every reason to just say “screw it” and give up, don’t ever think about jumping over because when you’re finished the view is sweeter than anything you could imagine.

What are you waiting for? What stories do you have of overcoming when you think you should give uP?

The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat!

by Maria Glazener

Either way, the Vancouver Winter Olympics have proven to be something to watch. I have to look no further than my living room, to see my daughter chanting U-S-A, as the men’s hockey team scored a last second goal to send the game into overtime. Her look of defeat, after their loss, also tugs at my heart.

I admit the late nights, and the lack of sleep have made me a little grumpy, but for two weeks it was worth it. I found myself screaming and crying and rooting for ALL the athletes, from the Canadian skater who lost her mother a week earlier, to the US bob sledder who had lost his vision 2 years prior. I chatted with strangers about the athletes and the teams. I learned the lingo and searched the internet for the rules of curling, just to try and figure out what was going on. I loved learning about the athletes and the trial and tribulations they had to endure, just to get to the Olympics. So many of them doing it for the sake of representing their country and so many of them never reaching their dream. I can’t imagine training so hard just to fall short. The time and determination that it takes just to make it to the Olympics has to be extraordinary.

With the games completed, and the closing ceremonies in the book, I admit that I am sad. I like the feeling of the world united for a brief moment cheering on their heroes. As hokey as that may sound, I think the Visa commercial says it all….Go World!

I look forward to the 2010 summer Olympics in England and the 2014 Olympics, which will be held in Russia, until then, I will keep my memories close at heart.

What is your favorite Olympic memory?

Finding my waist – What happens in maniac class staying in maniac class..

Before I sent the family off to work and school I did a quick jig in the kitchen to their astonished faces.
“What are you doing?” My youngest asked.
“I’m showing you that I can actually move normally.”
“Nice moves….” My husband adds.
“Well look now because I’ve got my maniac class this morning so it’s going away.” They laugh, but I am serious.

This class starts with our sweet instructor saying, “This is gonna be fun!” Everyone groans and looks at each other, we know this translates to, “This is gonna be fun, cause I’m gonna kick your ass and have fun watching it.” As she goes through the moves, the translation proves true. How in the world do you go from squat to plank to jump to slide? “Doesn’t this look like fun?” She asks but no one answers!

We have to slide on paper towels and all I can think about is how clean the floors around me will be once the class was done. My sweat wets the floor, the paper towels then “wipe on” and “wipe off” on and on and on and on and on. It’s super clean because I don’t glow, I don’t perspire, I SWEAT! There’s nothing ladylike about my prespiration. I thought I was cleaning the floor pretty well until the prison guard comes to tell me, “MOOOVVVVVEEEE!” “Yes master.” (Note to self: Don’t go out to that nice RICH dinner the night before maniac class.)

I steal a look around and everyone’s face is as red as mine, there’s no southern belle glowing in this class, we’re all sweating pigs! We’re letting it all hang out because we believe that’s what separates us maniacs from other. All the grunts, farts, sweat, and moans stay a secret between us maniacs. What happens in Maniac Class stays in Maniac class!

Rollercoaster of Life – My path with Hospice and the Hospice Hope Run

by Kathylyn Barnhill

I love rollercoaster’s, the higher and faster the better. But the rollercoaster I have been on lately, not so much fun. This ride is the most “death defying” ride I have experienced and I mean that quite literally.

My mother has been admitted to Hospice twice since November 09. The first time for 5 weeks, 2nd time 3 weeks. Not many people walk out the front door of Hospice. She was transferred to assistive living between admissions. She has crashed (been actively dying as Hospice refers to it), 8 or 9 times since November, I’ve lost count. She is 65 years old and now in a nursing facility. People ask me how she is, I reply “she’s existing” as she’s not “actively dying” but being short of breath, intermittently confused and anxious is certainly not the way she wants to live.

I love to run, but I focus much better when I have a specific event in mind. My training has been intermittent at best. I wish I could run daily, it would help clear my head and relieve stress but I’m lucky to run 2 or 3 times a week. Many of my runs have been cancelled or interrupted due to my mother “crashing” again.

The Hospice Hope Run 10K is in 8 weeks. Running 6.2 miles seems simple enough as my first ½ marathon is on March 7, 2010. Thirteen miles to 6.2, piece of cake, although there’s one challenge….chances are my Mother may not be alive on the day of the Hospice Hope Run, but then again, maybe she will.

Who will you run for?

You want me where?

Or the benefits of group exercise….

So I woke up feeling all lazy, thinking “grey morning, good cup of coffee, morning paper, in just that order.” As I roll out of bed I’m still a little sore from last Friday’s “maniac” class so I tell myself, I’ll just take it easy today. See this is where the benefits of group exercise kicks in…..

I sit at the computer and satisfy my first addiction, Facebook! Two seconds into stalking all of my friends, there’s a nice BIG post from my friend/instructor for the MANIAC class! She shares my blog entry with all of her exercise people and entitles it, “KELLY, class on Monday starts at 8:30, get your ass over there!” Down goes the cup of coffee as I am called to the carpet in cyberspace. What about my plans? What about my paper? Out the door I go to my second MANIAC class.

Much to my disbelief this one is worse than the one on Friday, we’re doing jumping jacks (Note to self: being over 40 and two kids later make sure you go to the bathroom before the MANIAC class), squats, running, pushups, it was such a blur I’m not sure what else. My normal sweet instructor is yelling at me like a prison guard, “You WANT that waist line by summer, you’re not gonna get it with those WIMPY moves!” At the end of the class she laughs when we say Thank you, “Funny you’re thanking me for kicking your ……”

So here I sit (Thank God! No, really you don’t know what I went through) with my arms shaking, wonder if I’ll walk again in the morning. By committing to group exercise not only do I have motivation to be there (everyone’s counting on me) but plenty of people to shame me into getting there if I try to think otherwise!

Any stories of group exercise?

Finding my waist, one class at a time…..

This year I am determined to find my waist again. I’m going to let that vampire white skin finally see the light of day. Luckily, I’ve got quite a few months to work on this goal.
Part of this determination is starting a new exercise routine, I want to shake up what I do, I’m bored with the old endurance based exercises. So true to self, I show up for one of the hardest classes at the YMCA, the “maniac” class. Why start things slow when you can just jump right into it.
The instructor looks at me and explains the class, “This is an advanced class, we go until you either throw up or fall over.” My vampire white belly says, “What?” I think, do I look that bad, does she think I cannot do this? As I set my mat up, a very nice girl pats my shoulder and says, “Just do what you can…” I’m getting scared.
We start with squats with a medicine ball, adding jumps, and planks and pushups. Ten seconds into this I’m questioning why I’m there, but a little jiggle from the belly confirms my reasons. I’m trying to keep up with the class, my total lack of coordination getting in the way. When we get to the ab work it entails putting the ball between your feet and bringing them up and tossing it to yourself. I’m chuckling because I can’t even get part of my legs up let alone catch the ball!
I make it through the class and the rush that I actually did made all the pain I felt in my waist worth it. My first step to letting it all hang out this summer in a two piece bathing suit. Now if I could just walk normally without all the sore muscles I feel. Oh well, save walking normal for another day.
What are your plans for summer, do you have any goals?