I've been reading Garrison Keillor's Life among the Lutherans. It's a collection of his weekly Lake Wobegon updates that all have a story about the Lutherans of the town. I came across a paragraph last night that I wanted to share. I was eating my free Punch Pizza and texting with Josh, who, earlier in the day, had wrapped up the financial arbitration portion of his divorce. I thought it was apropos.
Marital Memorial Day
...and then Arlene looked up over her coffee and said, "You know, there ought to be a Memorial Day for marriages."
"A what?" he said.
"A Memorial Day when we honor those who have been divorced. Our noble fallen."
"Well," he said, "I can think of a few divorced people I wouldn't care to honor."
"Oh," she said, "there were plenty of men who got killed in wars who probably had it coming to them, too, but that's not the point. Marriage is noble. It's admirable and brave and very idealistic for anyone to ever imagine they could live with another person all their life - it's much nobler than going to war and more dangerous - and in the course of things some marriages crash, and others, like ours, pull through, and you know it could've been just just as well as them, so why blame people who failed? All you do is encourage young people to imagine they can learn to avoid mistakes, and that's crazy - life happens to everybody, so why shouldn't there be an event where people who believe in monogamy honor those who tried and went down?"
"Where are you going to hold this?" he asked. "At church?"
She looked at him coolly. "Of course. That's where they got the idea to get married in the first place. Of course it should be in a church. Why not?"
They hadn't gotten much sleep that night, so they took naps that day, and she didn't mention the Marital Memorial Day idea to him again, but he thought about it. He thought, "This could be the idea that, if a brought it up at a church board meeting, would cause them to thank me for my many years of service and I wouldn't have to fund-raise anymore."
I like the idea, but my favorite part was the husband's idea that by bringing this up, he could avoid future church functions. :)
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Wordless Wednesday
Monday, November 14, 2011
Critters
I sent this email to my landlord this evening with the subject, "Scoreboard."
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Allison: 1
Mouse: 0
He met his demise in the trap under the radiator in the kitchen. I will keep you updated if the score changes...
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------------------
Allison: 1
Mouse: 0
He met his demise in the trap under the radiator in the kitchen. I will keep you updated if the score changes...
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Thursday, November 10, 2011
Quest for Greatness
So Rudi told me about her Quest for Greatness Mediocrity and I thought I'd hop on that bandwagon. I'm slowly recovering from a horrific back injury and it's about time that I start adding exercise into my eating routine.
It is officially 1/3 of the way through November and I've worked out every single day (including Oct 31)! There have been a few days when I totally planned on going to the gym, but instead went home. Lucky for us Minnesotans, November has been downright mild and I've been able to take walks around the 'hood. Yesterday's 37-min/500 calorie walk included a hike down and then back up Ramsey Hill. About halfway up the hill I was starting to think that it was a bad idea... But I got to the top and thought that, come spring, that will be a good workout. I may even jog up it! (HA)
Today's workout (and most days' workout) was the elliptical at the gym. 30-40 minutes, Dr. Oz and Kare 11 news, and a Minnesota Monthly help to keep me plodding along. I'm pretty sure I can keep this going through the entire month and it's a good challenge! It's feasible and anyone can do it. Go for a walk, rake some leaves, deep-clean the bathroom - anything to get your heart rate up and burn 200 cals. Do it!
Calories burned November 1-10: 4,524 (an average of 452 cals/day)
It is officially 1/3 of the way through November and I've worked out every single day (including Oct 31)! There have been a few days when I totally planned on going to the gym, but instead went home. Lucky for us Minnesotans, November has been downright mild and I've been able to take walks around the 'hood. Yesterday's 37-min/500 calorie walk included a hike down and then back up Ramsey Hill. About halfway up the hill I was starting to think that it was a bad idea... But I got to the top and thought that, come spring, that will be a good workout. I may even jog up it! (HA)
Today's workout (and most days' workout) was the elliptical at the gym. 30-40 minutes, Dr. Oz and Kare 11 news, and a Minnesota Monthly help to keep me plodding along. I'm pretty sure I can keep this going through the entire month and it's a good challenge! It's feasible and anyone can do it. Go for a walk, rake some leaves, deep-clean the bathroom - anything to get your heart rate up and burn 200 cals. Do it!
Calories burned November 1-10: 4,524 (an average of 452 cals/day)
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Three Things Thursday
Well, it's been awhile. School has been hectic, but now with tennis being over, I'm finding a *tad* more time for myself.
1. Rudi and I decided to get back in the exercise/eating well routine on Oct 31. Our goal is to burn at least 200 calories per day in November. So far, so good, but it's only Nov. 3rd. I stepped on the scale and it hasn't budged since last Saturday when I dared step on it for the first time in months. A debilitating back injury and nerve issue has caused me to postpone my tennis-playing until the spring. Halloween was the first day back at the gym since I threw out my back in mid-September. It went really well and my back is holding together nicely (knock on wood). I'm even up to 3 weeks between chiropractor visits. He promised me that one day I'll be back to 3 months. Sure, Tom, sure.
2. I've had Eleanor Roosevelt's autobiography now for a week past when it was due. I needed to write down the quotes that I liked thus far in the book. There aren't as many good quotes as from her Learn By Living book, but it's still a good read. I fear I will have to return it and read the two books I borrowed from the library yesterday - one about the New Deal and another from Garrison Keillor about life among the Lutherans. That should be a quickie - it's pretty short. I'm on chapter 23 in the autobiography, which is a good place to stop and start up again later. I need to start reading every night before I go to bed.
"Somewhere along the line of development we discover what we really are, and then we make our real decision for which we are responsible. Make that decision primarily for yourself because you can never really live anyone else's life, not even your child's. The influence you exert is through your own life and what you become yourself." - Introduction
"I realize now it would have been better to have devoted the time which I gave to hockey to learning to play tennis, which would have been more useful to me later on." - Adolescence, pg. 23
"But the thing he felt most strongly was that there was a vitality in the people that could be slavaged. I believe it was from his faith in the people that he drew the words of his first inaugural address: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - I Learn to Be a President's Wife, pg. 162
"Nothing we learn in this world is ever wasted and I have come to the conclusion that practically nothing we do ever stands by itself. If it is good, it will serve some good purpose in the future. if it is evil it may haunt us and handicap our efforts in unimagined ways." - The First Year: 1933, pg. 180
"Not only his old friends but with various other people my husband had frequent run-ins over the new theory that government had a responsibility to the people. I remember that when Senator Carter Glass insisted that Virginia needed no relief, Franklin suggested that he take a drive with him to see some of the bad spots. The senator never accepted his invitation." - The First Year: 1933, pg. 181
"Soil conservation and forestry work went forward, recreation areas were built, and innumerable bridges, schools, hospitals, and sanitation projects were constructed - lasting monuments to the good work done under these agencies. It is true they cost the people of the country vast sums of money, but they did a collective good and left tangible results which are evident today. They pulled the country out of the depression and made it possible for us to fight the greatest and most expensive war in our history." - The First Year: 1933, pg. 182 (speaking about the PWA, CWA, and CCC)
"Franklin said he thought people had to prepare themselves, that all he could do was to give them the opportunities and see how they worked out." - Second Term: 1939-1940, pg. 214
3. So last night my doorbell started ringing at 6:15 pm. I never answer my doorbell bc if someone's coming to see me and I want to see them, they would have texted or called me. The doorbell rang incessently so I ducked out my back stairwell and walked down the alley, around to the front of the house. It was some middle-aged white guy with glasses and khakis. He had papers in his hands. I thought perhaps that he was wringing the wrong doorbell and he meant to serve papers to the tenants below me. So I walked around a bit and then noticed that he was gone. When I got back to my apartment, there were papers under my door. Turns out the building is being foreclosed. The sheriff's sale is December 1 and they have until the 11th to pay what is owed. If they don't, then the renters are out in six months. At first I was disgruntled that my landlord didn't advise me of this. Then I thought - sweet!! If I get that short sale, this could be my loophole! I emailed my landlord and he apologized for the scare and said that he had just talked with the owners and they are taking care of it. In the meantime, my landlord/his company will continue to fix things, etc. So either I have to finish out my lease or I am allowed to move out in June. I win either way.
1. Rudi and I decided to get back in the exercise/eating well routine on Oct 31. Our goal is to burn at least 200 calories per day in November. So far, so good, but it's only Nov. 3rd. I stepped on the scale and it hasn't budged since last Saturday when I dared step on it for the first time in months. A debilitating back injury and nerve issue has caused me to postpone my tennis-playing until the spring. Halloween was the first day back at the gym since I threw out my back in mid-September. It went really well and my back is holding together nicely (knock on wood). I'm even up to 3 weeks between chiropractor visits. He promised me that one day I'll be back to 3 months. Sure, Tom, sure.
2. I've had Eleanor Roosevelt's autobiography now for a week past when it was due. I needed to write down the quotes that I liked thus far in the book. There aren't as many good quotes as from her Learn By Living book, but it's still a good read. I fear I will have to return it and read the two books I borrowed from the library yesterday - one about the New Deal and another from Garrison Keillor about life among the Lutherans. That should be a quickie - it's pretty short. I'm on chapter 23 in the autobiography, which is a good place to stop and start up again later. I need to start reading every night before I go to bed.
"Somewhere along the line of development we discover what we really are, and then we make our real decision for which we are responsible. Make that decision primarily for yourself because you can never really live anyone else's life, not even your child's. The influence you exert is through your own life and what you become yourself." - Introduction
"I realize now it would have been better to have devoted the time which I gave to hockey to learning to play tennis, which would have been more useful to me later on." - Adolescence, pg. 23
"But the thing he felt most strongly was that there was a vitality in the people that could be slavaged. I believe it was from his faith in the people that he drew the words of his first inaugural address: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - I Learn to Be a President's Wife, pg. 162
"Nothing we learn in this world is ever wasted and I have come to the conclusion that practically nothing we do ever stands by itself. If it is good, it will serve some good purpose in the future. if it is evil it may haunt us and handicap our efforts in unimagined ways." - The First Year: 1933, pg. 180
"Not only his old friends but with various other people my husband had frequent run-ins over the new theory that government had a responsibility to the people. I remember that when Senator Carter Glass insisted that Virginia needed no relief, Franklin suggested that he take a drive with him to see some of the bad spots. The senator never accepted his invitation." - The First Year: 1933, pg. 181
"Soil conservation and forestry work went forward, recreation areas were built, and innumerable bridges, schools, hospitals, and sanitation projects were constructed - lasting monuments to the good work done under these agencies. It is true they cost the people of the country vast sums of money, but they did a collective good and left tangible results which are evident today. They pulled the country out of the depression and made it possible for us to fight the greatest and most expensive war in our history." - The First Year: 1933, pg. 182 (speaking about the PWA, CWA, and CCC)
"Franklin said he thought people had to prepare themselves, that all he could do was to give them the opportunities and see how they worked out." - Second Term: 1939-1940, pg. 214
3. So last night my doorbell started ringing at 6:15 pm. I never answer my doorbell bc if someone's coming to see me and I want to see them, they would have texted or called me. The doorbell rang incessently so I ducked out my back stairwell and walked down the alley, around to the front of the house. It was some middle-aged white guy with glasses and khakis. He had papers in his hands. I thought perhaps that he was wringing the wrong doorbell and he meant to serve papers to the tenants below me. So I walked around a bit and then noticed that he was gone. When I got back to my apartment, there were papers under my door. Turns out the building is being foreclosed. The sheriff's sale is December 1 and they have until the 11th to pay what is owed. If they don't, then the renters are out in six months. At first I was disgruntled that my landlord didn't advise me of this. Then I thought - sweet!! If I get that short sale, this could be my loophole! I emailed my landlord and he apologized for the scare and said that he had just talked with the owners and they are taking care of it. In the meantime, my landlord/his company will continue to fix things, etc. So either I have to finish out my lease or I am allowed to move out in June. I win either way.
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