Missed Musings

Well, I have a handful of things I could have posted about over the last few days, but I missed them.  Even though their moment has passed, I'll highlight them anyhow.

*Sunday the weather became truly gorgeous.  Boo and I took a nice long walk in the afternoon.  We walked all the way to the park, stopping to talk for a moment to Michael from the Laundromat who was out for a ride on his bike.  We played on the playground a bit, and then Boo said he was thirsty.  The water fountain wasn't on yet, and the ice cream place a block or two away opens this weekend, not last weekend.  So, we start heading home.  We have to pass right by my friends Ali and Dave's house, so we decided to see if they were home.  They were along with the kids.  Boo had fun playing with the kids while Ali, Dave and I hung out for a few before finishing our walk home.

*Monday was a special day.  Monday was the actual 100th anniversary of the first Girl Scout meeting.  To celebrate I wore my membership pins to work.

*I also dug the bike out of the basement storage locker and got the tires pumped up.  (Boo had only been asking about the bike for a few weeks...)  Boo and I managed about a 10 or 15 minute short ride.  It was nice.  We came across Jen and John and stopped and talked with them for a few.

*Yesterday was mostly uneventful, we had our weekly Girl Scout meeting and it was fun.  We wrapped up a few things and talked about a few more things and overall had an enjoyable hour or so.

*Today is the first day this year that I was able to pick Boo up on the bike.  He was quite happy to see the bike.  We took a little ride and then ended up at the park again.  One of the girls from his daycare was there and they enjoyed playing together for about half an hour or so.  We then took a round about way home before picking up Gak from work.  Let me tell you, riding uses different leg muscles than swimming... I really feel it in my inner thighs and my knees were really feeling the pressure of peddling.  But, I really enjoyed it and I've missed my bike all winter.  I just hope the warm weather is here to stay.

Anyhow, that's the bullet item list of what's been going on the past few days.  Tomorrow I have a pot-luck lunch at work.  That should be yummy.  We've got errands to run after work and we'll see what's going on.  Friday I hopefully will be able to pick the boy-o up on the bike again.  I'm not really sure what's going on this weekend.  Gak and I thought about going out Saturday evening, but our babysitter has a bowling tournament all day Saturday.  Mom has her next doctor's appointment to follow up on her knee tomorrow and she hopes to be opening the business back up Friday or Saturday.  She probably won't start coming back up here on Mondays until April.  All I know is that Boo can't wait for that and I'm sure Amma can't either.

So, I'm going to wrap this up here and hope that I can do better with keeping up with this in the future.  I've got a few odds and ends bumping around in my brain, but nothing worth putting on to paper, virtual or otherwise.  You'll know if I ever get it sorted out.

Peace to all and may your lives be full.

New Training Partner

Yes, you're getting two posts in two days.  There may even bee a third one tomorrow if I can get my thoughts in order...
No, this isn't an ad.  At least not a sponsored one or anything, just me raving about a product that I think could be life saving, or at the very least game changing.  But, I have to share.  Last night I got something really cool in the mail that I ordered, and I love it!

Jon and Becca are runners and very adventurous folks.  A while back they got shoe Road IDs and they love them.  I saw them when they were out here over the summer and commented on how nice they were.  Mom said she liked the idea, especially for Dad.  He's not prone to wandering, but you never know, especially as the Alzheimer's gets worse.  I'm often out by myself, or just with my boy-o (who will be 4! in June...).  Sure, I've got all kinds of contacts in my phone.  Yes, I have ID in my wallet.  And yes, I usually have both of these with me...

...But what happens if I'm in a bike accident and my phone gets crunched?  Or if I'm at the beach and something happens when I'm going for a walk or a swim?  Of if I'm swimming at the gym?  Or if I'm hiking in the middle of the woods?  How will anyone know who I am, or who to contact or my insurance info or vital health information?

Well, now I have something that can (but will hopefully never have to) speak for me if I can't.

Jon and Becca gave the family Road ID gift certificates for Christmas.  Mom ordered hers and dad's a while back.  She loves hers.  She got the version that velcros to her laces.  Dad removed his and tried to throw it away.  (I have no idea if Becca convinced him to put it back on or not... I'll try and be sneaky about it next time I go over...)  I got a pretty blue wrist sport version (see the picture above, but imagine it in a nice bright blue and with my info on it...).  I'm wearing it right now. Yes, I'm in the office and my wallet is right here and my phone and I don't expect to fall over any time soon.  But honestly, it's very comfortable and very comforting.

What I really love is the fact that they have an "interactive" version where you create a web page filled with your information that first responders can get to with a serial # and pin on the back either over the phone or on the web.  This means I can keep everything up to date and not have to worry about the info laser engraved on the tag being inaccurate.  Yes, it'll cost me $10/year for the account, but if you ask me, it's well worth the price.  (The first year is free with the purchase, so that's pretty cool.)  I also picked up a shoe strap so that way if I decide to put it on my shoes instead of my wrist, I can.

These things are great looking, very high quality, made in the US and could potentially save your life.  I'm thinking that I really should order one for Boo as well.  I mean, he's a typical little boy.  He doesn't often wander far, but there is the one time that he does.  Or what if both of us get hurt on a ride or a hike?  He's also not quite 4 and doesn't exactly have my, or Gak's, phone numbers memorized.  (And we don't have a home phone any more, so he really should have both memorized...)

So, I invite everyone to go look at www.roadid.com and read some of the stories and look at their stuff. And if you don't use one of theirs, make sure you have some kind of ID on your person. (I don't know how many stories say "I had ID with me, but it was in the bag on my bike and no one looked for it...) Especially as we become healthier and more active and more prone to doing silly things like going for a bike ride at 6:00 in the morning before work on busy roads, or taking long hikes in the middle of nowhere with just your kid(s) and things like that.

Peace to all and may you never have a time when you need something to speak for you because you can't, but may you have it if you need it.

Bike Time

Today I got to do something totally awesome.  I got to pick my son up from day care on my bicycle!  Last week I was finally able to pick up a helmet for Boo and a seat for Lady (my bicycle).  As you can see, I now own a mom-bike (pardon the lousy picture, I took it with my phone and I'm still learning how to get pictures with it.).  And I'm so totally thrilled!
There were a few misadventures and a bit of grease and it took a couple of tries, but I got the seat on.  Boo had been saying he didn't want to ride on my bike, until we got to the store and I showed him the box.  I told him we'd get it and try it, and if he didn't like it, I could take it back.  (I'd just claim I couldn't get it to fit on my bicycle, which was almost true...)  Anyhow, once we got it into the cart, he wanted to ride my bicycle right then. It took me until Friday to get it all set up right, and away we went.  Let me tell you, I was only planning on taking a short ride Friday, but I think Boo would have let me ride to Amma's and back.  (Yeah, that'll never happen... it's 45 miles on the highway!)

Anyhow, today I was able to get home early enough to quick change into shorts and grab the bike and the helmets.  You should have seen the look on the ladies' faces when I pulled up and Boo was saying "my Momma's here!" and they didn't see the truck.  They both thought it was pretty funny.  I thought it was awesome, and so did Boo.  We took a nice 15 minute round about ride home.  (We mostly rode on the sidewalks even though you're not supposed to... I don't mind riding on the roads, but the sidewalks were empty and seemed a hair safer, except at the corners without ramps...)

Hopefully if It's not raining tomorrow I'll be picking him up on the bike again and we'll head to the park.  We didn't have enough time today.

I just thought I'd share this new adventure that I'm sharing with Boo.  I really love it.

Peace to all and may your transportation be happy and fun!

Purchases

This weekend I made two, hopefully, life changing purchases.  I'm not sure which one I'm more excited about really.  I think it may be the more expensive one, or at least the more expensive one up front.  In the long run, it'll be the bargain.  I'd been going back and forth between which thing I wanted to get.  They're very different and serve very different purposes.  One was very high tech and the other pretty low tech.  Both can help me with goals I have and both are fun.  I thought I was only going to be able to get one or the other, but as luck would have it, and thanks to a sale at Target and a generous offer from Gak, who knew I wanted both and couldn't decide, I was able to get both.
Do you see that lovely picture up at the top of this post.  This is a picture from the web of my new bicycle (actually, mine's purple, not blue).  Yes, I actually bought myself a new bike.  Gak helped pay for a bit of it and a new helmet since I got rid of my old one ages and ages ago.  I'd been bitten by the bike bug when we moved into this new apartment.  It got worse, much worse, this spring.  You see, I've become quite active again and well, I always loved spending time on my bike rolling around the neighborhood and getting around.  Town is nice and flat (for those of us who aren't used to biking hills right now...) and we live close enough to the grocery store (and many others) as well as the park and some other fun things, that running errands or going for a ride with my son would be awesome, not to mention gas saving.  (Sorry about the run-on there...)
I have yet to get Boo a seat for the back of the bike and a helmet for him to wear.  I wanted to get back into the swing of things before getting that.  Also, I was hoping Kat still had her old one because this will be the last year that Boo will be able to ride it because by next year he'll be too tall even if he's not too heavy.  But, her old seat is being borrowed by another friend, so I'll invest in one of my own to keep in the family or sell/give to someone else next year.
I got to ride for a good bit Sunday after we picked her up, but it's been raining most of the last few days, so I haven't been able to.

As for my second purchase, it was a new phone.  I was eligible for a new upgrade.  I'd been toying with and tossing out the idea of going to a smart phone.  I figured if I did, it would be to an Android based OS.  Partially because I knew I'd never afford an iPhone (I know, the 3G or 3Gs is $50 now... but, I'd want to go 4 because with electronics always get the newest/fastest you can for your buck).  Partially because as much as Gak enjoyed his iPhone, it had a few quirks I didn't enjoy and you seem to get so much more with a 'Droid.  Well, Gak said he'd buy me a new phone.  It turns out he didn't have to.  We'd gone to the AT&T store to play with some of the phones a few weeks ago, and again over the weekend, and I'd found a couple that I really liked.  It turns out that one of the top rated ones was on sale at Target.
Yes, Target again.
For free.
Yes, that's right.  Free.
I go the Samsung Captivate.  It's got a huge screen.  It's got some really cool features and is very easy to navigate.  And did I mention the Droid app store is huge?  I've downloaded a handful of free apps, including two from Weight Watchers.  (Yes, I'm still following the plan, but even if I wasn't actively trying to loose weight, I'd still be following the plan to some degree, as it helps keep the amount of food I eat "real" and helps me not put all that hard work back on.)  I think I'm going to enjoy being a smart phone owner, even though I fought the idea tooth and nail for years.  Actually, I was still fighting it a week or so ago when Gak ordered his new phone (an LG Windows phone) because we were both up for upgrades.  (I was going to just hang on to mine for a good long time since it wasn't broken and did what I wanted it to, but then I realized I was paying for a new phone in my monthly bill anyhow.  Yes, most cell companies pad your bill with the cost of a new phone as part of your monthly access charges, even if they don't say so... that's why a $500 phone can be "free".)

So, in the long run my $180 bike will cost less than my free phone, but that's only because I now have a $15 a month data plan.  (Which is more that I'll probably need since I'm on wi-fi at home and try very hard not to use it at work...)  I'm very happy with both my phone and my bike.  I've been able to use the phone more, if only because I can use it when it's raining.  (Yes, I can bike when it's raining, but I prefer not to...)

Anyhow, I'm very pleased with my purchases, but I've now got 10 minutes or less to get together my breakfast, my lunch and get dressed and out the door.

Peace to all and may you get the tools you need and may they be ones you love.