Locker Room Etiquette

Now I remember why I don't join gyms.

I completely forgot about the locker room at a gym. I understand that having conversations in the locker room is completely inevitable. Sometimes I feel like I am in the geriatric unit of the hospital, but no one has any clothes on. Please people at least put some underwear on. Maybe this makes me a prude, but come on, standing in the middle of the locker room naked for a ten minute conversation about what procedure you are going to endure this week has to be a little on the weird side. Wouldn't you be cold?

Another issue I forgot about is territory.

I was dressed, my stuff packed and I walked over to a mirror. I just had to comb my hair and put a little powder on (it would take me 2 minutes). I placed my make-up case down on the counter, I was abruptly stopped by one of those geriatric patients.

She said, "You're in my spot."

I looked around the counter and there was nothing that would indicate she had placed anything down. So I replied with just a little attitude "Oh! Oookay." Now what I wanted to say was I don't see your name anywhere, but of course, I held my tongue. I slid my stuff down the counter to give her "spot" to her and went on my merry way of combing my hair.

Except she couldn't just leave me alone. She caught my reaction and was trying to back peddle because she realized how ridiculous she sounded.

She continued, "You must be new here."

I couldn't really reply so I just said, "hmm."

She said, "It is kind of a joke around here because we all have our own spots. And plus I have so much stuff I need the space." As she is placing multiple bottles of product on the counter. But she couldn't help herself, she repeated, "You must be new."

I replied, "You might consider me new."

She said, "Well, when you have been here for ten years you just get accustom to a spot."

I had to get out of there so I just said, "Oh! Oookay." (Maybe with a tiny bit more attitude). And I walked out. My expression probably didn't help matters.

I probably wouldn't have been so irritated, but this was the same woman in the pool that asked me to stop doing flip turns while I swam because I was causing the lane line to move into her lane. She completely interrupted my workout and I didn't want to stop doing flip turns. I was kind of irritated. Okay maybe I was a little pissed because after I stopped doing the flip turns she stopped swimming and had a ten minute conversation with another woman in the next lane.

We will see what happens next time. Don't worry. I won't do anything crazy, but being a little passive aggressive can be fun:)

Windless, but icy...

So the weather has been indecisive lately. Wisconsin goes from rain (which melts all the snow on the lake) to 9 degrees (which freezes the rain on the lake) and back to a light fluffy snow cover (which covers the lake).

Anyway, today we drive out onto the ice to do a little ice fishing. Nephew #1 and Nephew #2 are out on the ice already waiting for us. The girls are really excited to get out of the truck. We park and James goes to help his brother get the holes drilled and I open my door to get out to help the kids get out of the truck. I place my foot down on the ground and before I know it I am laying on my back under the truck door. Of course, I am laughing on the ground and I can hear the kids getting mad because I am not helping them out of the truck. I recover, get up and help the kids out.


Everyone was having a blast running and sliding on the snow. At this time, there were several holes in the ice with tip-ups and a few holes were open for jigging. Nephew #2 was running and his foot disappeared under the ice. His leg went all the way up to his knee. His dad put him in the truck to dry off his boot and sock.


Then the girls had to go potty so I packed them up in the truck and drove them back to the house. We came back and I opened the door to get out of the truck and, yep, again I am lying on back under the truck door.

Apparently the ice was more slippery than I expected it to be.

The girls brought back buckets and shovels. As the kids were building snow castles, Child #3 freaks out and I see she had dipped both of her gloved hands into the water in the hole. I see she lost the shovel in the water so I pull her hands out, grab the shovel and tell her she can't put her hands in the water like that. I take her immediately to the car to warm her hands and dry her gloves out. Poor baby, she was so upset that she was going to loose her shovel.

What an adventure. With all that drama, everyone still had a great time.

Girly-Girls vs Tomboys

I love it, but I don't get it.

The girls choose to wear dresses, tights and all the girly-girl stuff for Child #1's winter school concert. And I let them pick out their dresses and tights even if they don't match (I completely support individualism. Child#3 wore a spring tank top light green flower dress with a long sleeve pink and white poodle shirt and brown tights, black shoes).

All three act sophisticated and mature during the concert. Child #2 is extremely excited for next year when she will be able to get up on the stage and sing.

Then we get home from school and I take a few minutes to talk with James before I start dinner. Meanwhile Child #1 and Child #2 decide that it would be fun to run from the back of the hallway to the kitchen and slide on their knees (still dressed in dresses and tights). Each one is trying to see how far they can slide. Next they get the great idea to fold a blanket, run and slide on the blanket across the kitchen floor (I have to say it does look fun).

I know you were expecting someone to get hurt, so was I. No one got hurt.

So I can relate to the crazy act (it really looked fun), but the girly-girl stuff is a little foreign to me(at least when I was a kid, my mom always had to fight to get braids and dresses on me). Maybe you can be both a girly-girl and a tomboy. As a kid I always thought you couldn't be both, but that could be because I grew up with two brothers.

I guess the girls will be more well rounded than I was. They can dress girly, but can have fun when they want to. Only time will tell.

I am really enjoying this.

Gym Factor

So the last time I used a gym was when I was teaching swimming lessons/lifeguarding at the the YWCA/YMCA (I think over 12 years ago). And the only reason I used the facilities then was because it was free.

Over the years, I have thought about joining a gym. The main factors I used to prevent myself from signing up for one was money (of course, I only buy things on sale) and because it would be way too inconvenient to haul my butt there.

Since then, I have acquired a treadmill and recumbent bike (which I use consistently during the week and love the convenience) in my basement ( I would love a universal machine, but we currently have other priorities right now. Oh, I don't know like food). This has been my mode for training for triathlons (except when it is warm out, I will run and ride outside). Plus having kids makes it way too hard to get to a gym. Or at least that is what I have been telling myself for the last 7 years.

Understanding that I don't really train for the swimming part of the triathlons (yeah, I know, I don't train at all), I thought, since I am not working right now, I could maybe start training for the swimming part. Oh wait, it's winter. Oh and I don't belong to a gym. Interesting thoughts.

Wouldn't you know fate intervened and I just received a free membership to a local gym. Since I am not working right now, I will be able to train for the swim part after all. That is, of course, until I find a new job.

I just took the tour of the facility. Child #2 and #3 (Child #1 was in school) absolutely loved the play area. I am already planning out my schedule to take part in classes, weight lifting and lap swimming. Now, I will be able to play Racket Ball with my husband again. I think I am going to have to be accountable for those last ten pounds now unless I can just use the excuse its all muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. Right?

Friends appear in mysterious ways. Thank you Music Man.

In conclusion, the only factor that really prevented me from joining a gym was the cost.

Grandpa, you would be proud:)

Mom, what if...

"Mom, what if no one had heads?"

"Mom, what if no one had lips?"

"Mom, what if you mix french fries with snow?"

"Mom, what if you take ketchup and put it around your eyes?"

Over the past few days, I started to analyze a few of Child#2's questions. I hadn't really thought about this until she had asked about the french fries, but looking back she asks at least one of these types of questions every day.

Either she is going to be a stand up comedian or we may have a creative scientist on our hands. I am not sure which one is scarier. Every time she asks this type of question, I answer with a really long and in depth answer. And I absolutely love to watch her absorb my answers. I can see the wheels turning as she is absorbing and thinking of her next question.

However, the french fry one really made me laugh. After I laughed, both Child #2 and #3 broke out with a full barrel laugh (which my most favorite thing about being a parent, to hear them really laugh), which made me laugh even more.

I have to say I am really enjoying myself and I will have to catalog more of these questions as they come up.