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Wii play
Winter continues to be wet and wild. There was a fair bit of damage around Perth although most in the southern suburbs from what I can tell. I think it may be clearing up tomorrow. Funny thing is I saw some rainbows both yesterday and today and that’s been unusual for me this year. Usually, that’s one of the benefits of winter around here but I must be missing them or something.
Tonight, the Scientist and I spent time with the boys playing their new game. I had played a couple times on the previous version of this game and failed to see what was so great about it. It was always hard to follow what was happening, not to mention take part in the battle. Today was my first attempt at the new one and although I still find it hard to follow, I think there’s a chance I might be competent enough to join in a game once in a while. I will never particularly enjoy it though.
Earlier in the day, I did a Wii Fit exercise routine that lasted nearly two hours. Much of this time I was engaged in balance, yoga and muscle exercises so I didn’t burn off that many calories. I don’t really enjoy many of the yoga poses in the program, mainly because it feels somewhat unnatural to use the Wii Fit board. I do like doing the warrior pose, though and not just because I am very good at it. Most of the time it feels quite comfortable, the muscles I use for it are strong, and it is just a satisfying feeling. There is a very much modified sun salutation and that one just doesn’t have the right feel to it. Mostly I find that I don’t go into and out of poses the way I should be doing. One day I will try another proper yoga class and hopefully get proper guidance again. Meanwhile, I will keep the idea of doing some proper yoga poses at home alive…and perhaps one day make progress in that direction.
My big accomplishment today on the program is doing the jackknife challenge and completing one hundred of them to “beat” the trainer. I really like this exercise and I am getting much better at it. Far easier than trying a sit up and I think I am getting some benefit to my abdominal muscles.
I’m hoping to get back out on my bicycle on Monday to get some different exercise. I find it hard to stay with the same routines all the time and mixing it up seems to help. I don’t seem to be improving on the weight all that much but I think my fitness level has improved quite a bit. I think my addiction to chocolate may be the problem with the weight…I am just finding it too hard to resist lately.
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Happiness is…
Both boys have had a major fix to their obsessions over the past couple of days. Yesterday, the long awaited Lego Club magazine arrived and obviously, Lego Lover was thrilled. Earlier in the day while the Games Fanatic and I were at his Dungeons and Dragons group, I espied a copy of this same magazine and was wondering where LL’s copy was. In fact, it arrived in the mail the same day. The next few hours were spent poring over the new Lego catalogue and describing the next sets on his list to buy.
Today was a momentous day for our Games Fanatic because the very long-awaited Super Smash Brothers Brawl came out. Guess who was at the store quite early this morning to get a copy? I was tucked into a warm bed at the time while the Scientist made the early morning trip with him. Lego Lover was also enthusiastic about the game. so much that I had a battle when I enforced a long break from play today. Normally, we don’t allow video game play very much during the week but made an exception today. Tomorrow, the rules return to normal.
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Oldies
We have two small cd towers filled with albums that we almost never hear. I think it’s kind of an out-of-sight, out-of-mind thing. I mean, they are quite visible to me on a daily basis but I never seem to look there to augment my usual musical soundtrack, which consists mostly of Finn-related recordings and local (to Australia) music. I decided to venture into my musical past recently and pulled out a couple Beatles albums that I’ve not listened to in a very long time. I often list the Beatles as one of my favorites artists but then I never listen to their music now. Weird…
So last week, I was driving home late in the evening and feeling really stressed, anxious and tired at the time. But listening to the radio turned out to be a good distraction for me because the show was playing some great old songs that I remember from my childhood and teen aged years. The last song I heard played was Question, by the Moody Blues. I enjoyed it so much that the next day I went to seek out my one Moody Blues cd, a compilation of some of their “greatest hits”. I have their Long Distance Voyager album on lp somewhere but we don’t have a decent turntable so it’s not likely to be played any time soon. I didn’t find the album immediately but did run across some albums that I haven’t even looked at in years.
So I’ve been listening to some “old” music. I’m listening to Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, Peter Gabriel, Elton John, Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. I may even drag out our one Madonna cd before long because I think it’s been fifteen years since I’ve heard it. I’m pretty sure I’ve got a couple other albums that are even more forgotten but can’t even recall the artist now…
I did eventually find the missing Moody Blues disc, sitting on the shelf next to Fleetwood Mac. Our discs are ordered alphabetically by artist, so I’ve no idea how it came to be there unless it occurred accidently while cleaning one day. Anyway, I loved hearing the old music and I am even tempted to buy more music now.
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Stardust
We watched the Stardust dvd tonight, after the Lego lover and I finished our together time. I read the book a couple years ago and had looked forward to seeing the film. Part of me was a bit anxious to see the film for fear of being disappointed, but I totally enjoyed the movie. I found the casting worked really well and the movie seems to have kept the essence of the book quite nicely. I had heard that Robert DeNiro and Michelle Pfeiffer both had memorable performances and neither was disappointing. The performance and presentation were very well done.
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Together time
Tonight, the Lego lover and I spent an hour watching his Spongebob Squarepants dvds and eating popcorn to excess. He now knows how to make the popcorn in our air popper without any help and we ended up with three big serves of it by the end. We had a really nice time, just the two of us. We’ve done this a few times lately and it has been a good way to spend time with him.
LL has been somewhat clingy lately, repeatedly asking where I am when I go out. He told me recently he felt like there was a string connecting us and later elaborated that it was like a string of Lego that breaks apart when I am away. His psychologist suggested at a recent appointment that I write down where and when I am going so that he can see where I am at all times. That was the first really good appointment for LL and he seemed pleased with the suggestion. So far, he says it’s helping him to feel better when I am away. I’ve just taken a small exercise book and written down day, time and my location most times when I am out.