Be A Bond Girl

It’s been a while! Day 160 (Feb 12)

Posted on February 12, 2014December 3, 2014 by Sandy

I’ve had so many things going, that the blog has fallen by the wayside – sorry about that, non-existent readers! 🙂

One thing I want to do is to try to figure out how to “re-link” the website to iTunes. I have a ton of podcasts that I did now years ago that were tied to my book (I want to say I stopped in 2010??? WOW that was a long time ago), and I’d like to get those back in play. I’m not so smart when it comes to “such things” and I asked Raja (my web designer) to see if he could do it, but unfortunately somehow he’s blocked from doing it from India, so I’m stuck.

Be that as it may, Moddie and I are doing our FIRE DANCING class tonight! I have the handheld video recorder all juiced up. This should be funny.

Yesterday worked out with the 9:00 class, since H is in Basel this week. It’s all the same cast of characters as M-W-F 9:00 as I surmised. Amanda coached, which was GREAT! I had my iTouch so when the 3rd part of the WOD was tabata situps, I was able to give her my Tabata Songs to use. I like it when I can help 😉 The best part is that she really liked it – I’m not sure she’d even known there were specific downloadable Tabata songs (with the count) on iTunes. The ones I use are HERE. I have “House” with the coach and “Metal” with the coach (that seems to be the one folks like the best).

Felt REALLY strong in the workout yesterday. It might be because on the chest-to-bar part (where of course I’m using the big fat black band!) I was on facing bars to Karen, who is immensely inspiring. I pretty much pay attention to myself in the WOD (“laser focus” – though I do have a little of the “Sister Shari praying to Heaven” going on too LOL) – but in my “general” vision I had Karen doing her chest-to-bars while I was doing it. I wanna be there!

I’ve been contemplating staying doing the 9:00 WOD and then also going and doing 6:30pm with H T and Th. NO, not NOW (laugh) – but say in a month.

Oh – that reminds me – a random guy I met at a booth at Moxie Madness had been to the Crossfit I was thinking of visiting in Hawaii and he said they “run on island time” – so the fact they haven’t emailed me back, etc. is probably just par for the course – but to definitely do it. (Do the WOD, get the T-shirt LOL)

I didn’t work out on Monday because I had hired a TaskRabbit to help me re-organize downstairs, as a present for H for his birthday. It was WAY WAY too expensive because I didn’t know enough to put like a per-hour time on it (e.g., she bid $X, but I should have said “the lesser of” $X or $Y/hour for hours worked). I wound up having to do it with her the entire day (just left to do my work trade – didn’t do Crossfit, didn’t do yoga) and we still did not finish. Frustrating as it was not inexpensive – and she had SAID that she could get it all done herself (without me). The thing is, she’d come up from Sunnyvale so when she asked if she should “come back” to help me finish, I just felt too bad to “make” her do that – that’s ridiculous on my part, that shouldn’t have mattered. Ah well lesson learned!

As I typed the fact I’ve been at the whole TAR thing for 160 days (2 more weeks it’s over HALF a YEAR), I get a little bummed. HOWEVER, I know I have really progressed, and that I’m not as “scared” to do things that would have flipped me out before I started. I was SO careful with my shoulder, knees, etc. and was always still hurting them. I can thank the coaches and the way our box is run that I am WAY more confident about the fact that THIS time I think I am doing things in a way that will BUILD them, not work for a while then ultimately thrash them.

I can’t quite remember where in the “days” I started doing Crossfit. I think it was pretty close to the beginning. However, I also know that I’ve had a few big periods off – the Holidays going into my eye surgery being a HUGE long period. I am still toting around a barrelful of extra body fat that’s frustrating, though I’m trying to address it – likely now too far over to the “fat side” – need to re-set that. Have been SO much better to my body (as has H!) that I/we have been in years – though I’m having a glass of wine at night when he’s gone (what can I say? My client with the vineyard sent a bottle and it is – well, WAS – MARVELOUS cab!). I think I need to add hiking, something like that back in – today there is running in the WOD, but I need to get out and do more, I think, outside, especially hiking-esque.

Did I mentioned Moddie and I are going to go do beginner fire dancing tonight – and the Aquatic Park open water Sunday morning at 0-dark-00? Yeah, we’re just collecting video selfies for WHEN The Amazing Race calls… 😉

Here are yesterday’s workout, and today’s:
Pull Up 5 x 2 (I did the first 2 with the black band then the next 4 with the green. OMG. H=A=R=D! How does ANYONE lift their doggone body weight???)

8 Min AMRAP
3-6-9-12-15-18…
Squat Clean & Jerk 50/35KG (I did the 10 pound swirly bar)
Chest 2 Bar Pull Up (I did with the black band) – got through 3 rounds plus 12 squat/clean/jerks

Tabata Sit Up

Today:
4 RFT
400M Run
5 Shoulder Press

10 Min AMRAP
60 Bar Facing Burpees
30 Front Squat
30 Pull Up

============================
CROSSFIT NOTES:
I’m getting WAY BETTER with the whole squat/clean/jerk thing – the squat being the operative part. In the s/c/j what you need to do is to do the “Jump boost” to get the bar to your shoulders (clean), then you squat down, then you push it up overhead out of the squat. I have been REALLY scared to do a “deep squat” because of knee issues and all that jazz. I’ve mainly put a box behind me, because the idea of bailing is SUPER scary to me too – this way if my knees give out, I just am “sitting down.” Today I didn’t use the box, and really concentrated on getting the squat DOWN. I felt really powerful doing that and the chest-to-bar round (not that it didn’t suck, mind you LOL). I have to remember that though I’m doing it with the 10 pound swirly bar and I’m watching ALL the other girls doing it at or close to Rx (35kg or 77 pounds), that I am doing MY best.

On today’s workout, I was able to do the “unassisted” (whatever they call “not using your legs”) shoulder presses with the 10 lb bar. I felt strong doing that and Anthony said I had good form. The run sucked for some reason. Then on the (B) portion I did 50 burpees then lay on the floor after time was called and couldn’t get up (laugh!) I just jumped over the bar on the ground, but I did do FULL burpees – doc had cleared my shoulder – so they were “real” burpees that would count as Rx, just not “jumping” up and down (instead, walking my feet up and down). Makes me realize just how much of “machines” the Cave Grrls were at Moxie Madness!

Moxie Madness – The Cave Crossfit Marin Team Rocks It!

Posted on February 10, 2014December 3, 2014 by Sandy

This is Sandy, The Cave mascot and inveterate Crossfit scaler. I thought I’d do a quick writeup about The Cave Grrrrls awesome showing in San Jose at Moxie Madness!

The drive down to San Jose was really “Event Zero” on Sunday. The rain deluged Marin, and was coming down so hard it was difficult to even see the “Botts’ Dots” on the road. But after Oakland – poof! – all rain disappeared! San Jose was completely dry, and except for a bit of “hide the Convention Center,” everyone arrived safe and sound.

Ashley was up first in Event #1/Masters. It was an (A) (B) round, 20 minutes total time:

(A)-1 2 minute AMRAP – hang snatches 85# (rest a minute)
(A)-2 2 minute AMRAP – hang to shoulder 95# (rest a minute)
(A)-3 2 minute AMRAP hang shoulder to overhead 115# (rest a minute)
then
(B) 4 rounds for max reps: (1) 30sec Pullups, (2) 30sec box jumps, (3) 30sec KB snatches (30 sec rest in between)

Each part was scored separately, counting as 1/6th of the total WOD-1 score.

Ashley was warming up when I arrived, and Shari noted that the event used Men’s Bars, which had them worried about grip. I compared my Man Hands to Shari and Ashley’s – once again finding something that has bothered me in “real life” (big glutes, anyone?) to be a serious asset in CrossfitLand. Their hands spanned just shy of my middle knuckle. Wow. Go girls! Hang on!

It was interesting to watch the judges for the competition. Ashley had what to my untrained eye seemed to be the best of the bunch, as her first judge. He not only went through the moves with her when other athletes were a little slow getting into the arena, but seemed to be a friendly, coaching kinda guy.

Ashley of course had come with notes, pound-to-kilo conversions, etc. typed out and ready. If I ever go into battle, I want General Read at my strategy table. There was only one nascent “judge arguing” moment when she was no-repped on the hang shoulder to overhead (from the ground, it had to have three clean pieces – hang – shoulder – overhead). As you can see from this photo, it all ended well. (And General Read even came off the floor saying, “I did NOT argue!”)

In the 6 parts, she came in 3-3-2-2-1-1 and it was announced she was in 2nd at the end of WOD 1.

_IGP5962 — Sister Shari communing with the Heavens

Shari was up next. In the “Open,” (A) was the same, but instead of straight pullups, (B) was first chinups, then pull ups, then chest to bar, then bar muscle ups. Sister Shari’s “praying to God” style did her well; the extra adrenaline of actually finally being on the floor had her in 7th after A-1. In the 6 parts, she came in 7-16-20-20-27-11.

She and Seraphina both wisely sat out the Muscle-Ups in the final part of (B) – Shari using the final portion of the WOD to power out the kettlebell snatches, Sera to box jump like the Duracell bunny.

Serafina’s group was last. Her support committee (Mom and Sister) cheering her on, she came in 11-4-20-28-31-3, really smoking the hang to shoulder. Sera was a bit more interested in what was going on in other arenas during the (A) round (hey, it was an MMA/Crossfit/etc. competition – there was a lot going on!), and her Mom shouted herself hoarse with “Focus! Focus! Focus!” During the (B) round, when the competitors were closer to the audience, Sera didn’t get that chance!

Event 2 was a 15 minute time cap on:
30 back squats (85# masters, 95# open)
50 bar facing burpees
25 front squats
40 bar facing burpees
20 overhead squats
30 bar facing burpees

General Read was once again a Crossfit machine in Heat 2; her burpee “twirl in the air” technique – and of course lift strategy – getting her into 1st place by a couple of points.

As an aside, the Teens were in Heat 1 – it was amazing watching one gal who was MAYBE 115 pounds soaking wet. (Teens was won by a gal from Ross Crossfit – yay Marin!)

please...God? one more? — please…God? one more?

Sister Shari had a good showing, her burpee technique slow and steady. She had the one judge who seemed like he would rather be almost anywhere but there – frustrating to watch. The other judges were uniformly helpful, but at one point when Shari was no-repped for an OHS then had to chase the bar down and roll it back (the other judges – whether allowed or not – were all helping roll back or backstop the bars) I thought she might just let the bar roll across the room and be done with it. But she persevered and ended the round in 17th place.

Serafina had a few “let me just lie here” moments with the burpees (us Peanut Gallery folks yelling “Get Up!” “Lie Down!”), but her bar work was amazing, especially the overhead squats. Wow! She rocketed to 15th place in the Open.

The final Event was a 12 minute AMRAP of:
10 deadlifts (135# masters/155# Open)
20 double unders
60 yard suicide (6 times back and forth, 10 yards a time)
15 DL, 30 DU, 60 suicide
20 DL, 40 DU, 60 suicide
25 DL, 50 DU, 60 suicide
30 DL, 60 DU, 60 suicide…
(you get the picture).

Ashley came to the floor in first by a few points. The nerve-wracking part was that the announcer knew it, too, and so was constantly pointing out to the audience (and Ashley) where she was vis-a-vis the other gal. After the 2nd round, the 2nd place gal had pulled into 1st. She was just as much a machine as Ashley. But then in the 3rd round, she lost her double-unders and couldn’t get them back. Ashley, who is not only leading the charge for a double under clinic at the box but also constantly worries about them, was, quite honestly, amazing. By only having 2 breaks in her 50 DU set, she cemented her place in first. Shari and I were so nervous every time she hit the rope (because of her aversion to double unders) that we held our breath and didn’t even call our her name, for fear of breaking her concentration. Watching Ashley in her nearly unbroken 50 DU set vis-a-vis the “then in first place” gal only getting 1 or 2 off before tangling her feet in her rope was a wonder to behold. Shari and I found ourselves murmuring “OhMyGod, OhMyGod, OhMyGod…” over and over! In the end, I believe Ashley got through the 30DL set through the suicides (not quite sure, we were cheering too loud when the MC pronounced her as a “lock for first”).

Rich LeFurgy was kind enough to put up with me texting him “blow by blow” reports, as he was the only box participant for whom I had a cell phone number (thanks Rich!)

Shari was a force in her Event, pulling herself up to ultimately finish in 15th place. I unfortunately had to leave before Serafina’s competition (had to get my husband to the airport), but she did great, taking 18th in the Open!

Not as amusing a write-up as Martin’s – but I hope that gives you the “spirit” of the competition! All the photos can be found HERE: culled down from over 600 to about 200 😉

quick post for 2/5 – “Death At 50”

Posted on February 5, 2014December 3, 2014 by Sandy

Crossfit workout today was “Death @ 50.”

50 each of: Ring Row, Box Jump, Toes-To-Bar, kettle bell swing (I did yellow), Lunge Step, Dumbbell Push Press (I did the swirly bar), Deadlift (I did 20k – I was going to do 30k but with this my 3rd day in a row at Crossfit, it was too heavy for 50). OH and THEN… to finish it off . . . Burpees!

I do my box jumps on 2 25k plates…I had to ROLL them across the floor to stack them back up at the end, I couldn’t lift them.

Also couldn’t lift my arms to drink water. Even tried to balance my water bottle on the key shelf and “tip” it into my mouth.

WHAT a BLAST!

Mind you, AFTER I’d finished I thought to tell the coach that any of us OVER 50 should be allowed to SUBTRACT that “how many years we are over 50” from the set . . . (yes, that would be ME, the only one in the box to benefit from that LOL) It came to me when the guy who does the workout after us (I don’t know his name, but he’s also after 50) was warming up – and I told HIM he should have Anthony allow that 😉

Enough of that – have work piling up, and not getting things done like I should. Crossfit is great, but getting there and coming home takes a HUGE chunk out of the day.

Also need to do my “GiveIt100” DUs and rope climb today – plus, I think I might want to add another one for the Nutrition Certification. We’ve stalled and I REALLY want to get that under my belt.

As you likely imagined – no word from TAR. YET! Turns out (!!) that the niece of one of the gals in my book club is a PRODUCER for TAR. She has told my book club gal that she should apply – but of course, she can NOT TELL her if she DOES apply! (Funny.) She’d likely be great – not sure who her partner would be though! She’s the one who is fairly close to 60 now, but just did the Hawaii Ironman – she got there on points, NOT by lottery! 🙂

Day 150 (Feb 2): “Conditioning” workouts…

Posted on February 4, 2014December 3, 2014 by Sandy

You know, sometimes I think that Bo (our programming director) is just evil.

Here is the regular WOD, and the Conditioning WOD, for today:

WOD = “OGAR”
14 Min AMRAP
3 Snatch 61/43KG
1 Muscle Up
12 Wall Ball

Scaled
14 Min AMRAP
12 KBS 1.5/1P
5 Pull Up
12 Wall Ball

CONDITIONING
4 RFT
5 Overhead Squats
400M Run
then
“OGAR”

I mean, SERIOUSLY. So we have to do the 4 RFT and THEN we have to do “OGAR”? Yeah, that’s what Conditioning has become – it’s always like “regular WOD – Fran. Conditioning – run a mile – Fran – row a mile.”

My eyes are doing much better (thank you). Frankly I think I might see just as well as I did with my glasses. Which is brill, since they said that I would have perhaps worse “close” perception. I think I am doing fairly well there.

Yesterday’s WOD:

Regular:

A: Shoulder Press 4 x 5

B: 5 Rounds 30 Sec On 30 Sec Off
Box Jump 24/20″
Burpee

C: Rounds 30 Sec On 30 Sec Off
Row For Cal
Deadlift 70/45KG

CONDITIONING
A: 5 Rounds 30 Sec on 30 Sec Off
Shuttle Run 10M
Shoulder Press 30/20KG
B: same as reg. part B
C: same as reg. part C

The shuttle run was funny because the Columbian gal (can never remember her name – she shows up every month like once) was running with her Boston Terrier puppy, all hunched over him. It was mad.

Yesterday I also did Bikram, plus work trade, plus my double under and rope climb for GiveIn100.com – and I was so wiped afterwards that I had to have H help me fix dinner, then zoned out and even kept the warm pad on all night. I had a thought that this would keep my body from seizing up (laugh). Well, it might have worked because though my body feels “tired” today, it doesn’t feel sore.

Today had the dentist appointment plus a billion errands to run because H has to head to Basel in a few days so suddenly a lot of chores are falling on me. And more by the second.

Okay making my “patented” roast chicken now (we are going through 4 chickens a week at this rate!) and need to go out to do my double under and rope climb videos – then we’re off to Crossfit for the 6:30 p.m. class.

Weight is still ridiculous- though today my body fat is at 27.9% which is lower than the 30% it was at. So that’s good.

PLEASE do this if you see it TODAY (1/31/2014)

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Sandy

Hey ya’ll: I SO SELDOM ask for anything…PLEASE do this???

My father-in-law is turning NINETY next week. His WONDERFUL wife died a while back, and he’s alone in an apartment in Vienna, Austria (he is Austrian). He is a lovely, lovely man. I would post a photo – but I don’t have one – all our photos are on my husband’s computer and he’s at work!!

Now, mind you, he doesn’t speak ANY English (a few words here and there).

I would LOVE to flood him with birthday cards, but you’d have to do them pretty much today or tomorrow because his birthday is 2/6. If you were to send a beautiful card, and just put inside “glücklich 90. Geburtstag, Herr Wolfram!” (Happy 90th birthday, Mr Wolfram) that would rock – 90. btw is how they do 90th.

You can use Google Translate to say more – it’s fairly good.

Pretty please????

If you are not a SendOutCards user & don’t have a birthday card and a stamp in a drawer somewhere, you can go to www.sendoutcards.com/40431– scroll to the bottom, click “SEND A CARD” then click on “YES” to Automatic Walkthrough and I’ve already paid for you to send a card to him (yes, with international postage) – NO obligation. I’m trying to make this easy-peasy.

The last time we saw him (last year) he was getting a little grey and looked old – we were with him for a few weeks and at the end he was hale and hearty. I think he’s just “tired” and not sure folks are out there that “care” about him. It’s hard for me because I’d call him every day to check in, but my German is AWFUL. I would REALLY REALLY appreciate it if you would take ONE minute to just send him that card.

Herr Karl Wolfram
Blumauergasse 5/19
Vienna (if you’re using SendOutCards, put that in City, then put “Wien” in State/Province)
Austria 1020

PS: Not “funny” cards. He’s not a “funny” guy. He loves beauty though, and travel. If you’re using SendOutCards you can search for a card from your state for example, he’d love that. You probably should sign it as a friend of mine – otherwise he will be VERY confused (In a good way!)

Day 145 (1/30) – “I need some Bonnying”; Diana Nyad; GiveIt100.com; WayOfTheWhale.com (Susan Bird), The Gabriel Code

Posted on January 30, 2014January 17, 2026 by Sandy

Moddie and I watched the Diana Nyad documentary “The Other Shore” together last night. ARE YOU KIDDING ME – ?!?!?!?!?! WHAT a story! I knew about it “in 2 dimensions” – the aborted tries, the storm, the jellyfish, the training, but – Wow. I didn’t know that she hadn’t swum in 30 years (since her last try to swim Cuba to Florida); that she’d had abuse in her background; etc. I loved the fact that her trainer from 30 years ago was with her, her friend Bonnie, etc.

One thing she talks about is how she “hasn’t had a relationship” in 20 years – meaning a sexual relationship (one gathers). The thing is, when you look at the team of folks who are there for her, you gotta know that many folks who have “sexual relationships” with partners don’t have that sort of depth of caring and feeling. Methinks that the definition of “relationship” has to just stop including sexual relations – if you gots that, great (and we all wants that!) – but what you see in this movie is so, so much more.

Another thing Moddie and I talked a LOT about is how her BFF Bonnie The Bulldog (said lovingly!) tries and tries to have her give up on her Goal to do this swim. She tries it a number of times in a row (I’m not going to tell you how many if you don’t know already – go get the movie LOL) – and each time she gets out of the water saying “That’s it” and then a few days later she’s telling Bonnie “I had mire, I could have done it” and Bonnie is STRONGLY telling her that she’s stuck in a rut, she has to give this up, this is going to kill her.

The thing is, as you will see in the documentary, Nyad had abuse in her background. And she talks about that abuse – and how when she was molested (for a year, by the coach of her swim team, and it sounds like before that by her father) she basically never said anything about it. Looking back, she says she “can’t figure out why” she didn’t say something to her mother, to her teachers, to anyone.

I pointed out to Moddie that I think that actually standing up to Bonnie and standing up for her Goal – especially with this history of just “Oh, okay,” going along with something that isn’t what she wants was a BLAZING healing point (for me to see, on her behalf). The fact that she DID “speak up for what she wanted” was (to me) MONUMENTAL.

Moddie and I were texting each other a bit today – and I told her that WHEN we are on The Amazing Race and (you KNOW THIS WILL HAPPEN) we read the clue somehow “wrong” so that I volunteer to do the challenge and it turns out to be hugely physical – so I’m up there hanging off some rock wall a billion feet in the air, that we now have a deal. If I yell out “I NEED SOME BONNYING” she needs to start blowing horns, waving her arms, talking tough, she’s just gotta “get her Bonnie on.” Just typing this makes me smile, but it’s great code. (Besides, “Bonnie” and “Moddie” sound like one another, so they might not even edit it out 😉 )

Next subject: GiveIt100.com . Way way back at LEAST 100 days ago in this blog (I am SURE it was during my “count up”) I mentioned that I’d found a YouTube video of a gal who wanted to break dance (Japanese gal), and she did a YouTube video EVERY DAY for a year of her practicing. She had said she was going to start a website dedicated to the idea – and though I signed up to be notified, it took a friend of mine to send me the link yesterday to see that she has DONE it. The website is for anyone who wants to do anything – and you “pledge” you’ll upload a 10 second video EVERY DAY toward your goal. You can also “follow” other participants who are working on THEIR goals. I found some and followed them. I started out by putting my 100 day goal (you can do 100 or 365) as “The Amazing Race” but then deleted that one, because the deal is that you do a video that shows you working toward a certain goal where you can see progress, EVERY day. The second one I listed was double unders, pullups, rope climbs (all together), then I realized (again…) that was not going to work. Because you only get 10 seconds a day to post. So I deleted THAT one, and put up ONE for double unders, and ONE for rope climbs. I figure 2 is enough! Also, I can do those two at home, whereas I have to do pullups at the box. So it’s easier to do the videos. I do realize that we’re going to Hawaii for 10 days during this time span – the GOOD thing is that I can pack a jump rope. The BAD thing is I’m not quite sure how I’m going to work on the rope climbing. The closest Crossfit box to where we will be is a LONG way away. Who knows, maybe there will be some “rope-esque” thing at the gym at the Four Seasons (which is super nice and pretty “outfit” so it might really be possible). Either that, or I will go steal ninja some of the ropes strung between the big poles to keep people on the paths…they’re about the same diameter…(bad me)

Last – The Gabriel Code. I think I talked about this before, but I’m really liking the Morning/Evening inductions with The Gabriel Code. I’m also LOVING the induction that Sue from WayOfTheWhale.com did for us in re TAR. It’s masterful. I was super sad in cleaning out my bookshelves and closet (for the latest remodel) that I had to get rid of a LOT of inductions that Sue has done for me over the past 20+ years. They were on tape, and I don’t have a tape player. Then again, they were written for a different “me” working in a different reality . . . the last time that I had her do one was YEARS and YEARS ago. Moddie and I talked about the induction, too, and how PERFECT it was. I’m telling you – if you have to work on ANYTHING, you gotta get Sue to do an induction for you. I don’t care if you don’t think it works (smile). It’s like gravity – you don’t have to believe in it for it to work on ya!

That’s enough for now. Oh – on EveryMove.com (and for the GiveIt100 challenges), today and yesterday I did 5 x 100 single unders, and then yesterday I did 4 “up and down” climbs on the rope with my hands (in other words, going from standing holding the rope to lying down, then back up), and today I did 20 second jump/hang/foot locks. The hand thing is tough – not only is it hard for me to keep hold with my zaftig bodyweight, but my abs aren’t strong enough to keep me in a “straight” position, so I wind up sitting before I can lie down. So it goes. With the foot lock, for me, I realized last night just as I was drifting off to sleep how to use my pole dancing experience with the rope climb.

For ME, in pole dancing, I would lock the pole on the inside of my left knee and outside left of my left foot. In pole dancing, you always have a “climbing” leg and a “holding” leg for getting up the pole. My left was the leg I would “lock” with, then the top of my right foot would go basically behind my left knee (so the pole is between them), so that leg is bent, and I would push “up” off the top of my right foot until that leg was straight, then re-lock the left, etc.

With the rope climbing, I realized that if I put the rope going from the inside of my left knee out to the outside of my left foot, it was similar in “position” to how the left leg would be in pole dancing. Then, I “stood” my right foot up on my left foot. Mind you, I haven’t a CLUE how I would “climb” from here, but I did finally figure out the “foot lock” which I have NEVER really “gotten.” So that’s a start.

Taking videos of trying to do the double under and then trying to do the foot lock and also the “climb down and up” from standing to lying and back was pretty hilarious. I had to rubber band my phone to H’s tripod, tilting the top ALL the way back to sort of “lean” the phone against it. It was hilarious. Of course each video starts with the whole “press the button then run to do the exercise” thing – and as you only have 10 seconds (and if the video is longer than 10 seconds, they only take the FIRST 10 seconds), that was hilarious in its own way. Yes, yes, I am willing to be a total public doofus. Why not?

Tonight is Book Club – wanted to go to Crossfit but H is in the city and I’m still beholden to folks driving me during the evening. The class is at 6:30 which is dark.

And that’s all she wrote!

The BEST and EASIEST roast chicken recipe in the UNIVERSE!

Posted on January 28, 2014March 17, 2026 by Sandy

You will need:
2 cut up chickens (It’s so good, you’ll want to make 2. Trust me on this one.)
2 seasoned cast-iron skillets (Don’t have them? Go get them. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.)
An oven (duh. Preferably a convection roast one, but any oven will do.)
Seasoning (I use Andy’s Rub, you do what pleases you.)
Oven mitts (cast iron gets HOT!)
a Cookiesheet
some paper towels
Hand soap (it’s CHICKEN silly)

Here we go . . .

1. I get the butcher at my grocery store to cut up the chicken for me. Hopefully you have a friendly butcher who will do this for you. They don’t even charge. I ask them to roll up the back and the “gizzards” into a separate butcher paper, since I throw that into the freezer to make soup later. (I also throw ends of celery, wiggly carrots, ends of onions, etc. into the same bag with the chicken . . . when it gets big enough, I make soup. But that’s another post.) Have her cut the chicken into 8 pieces. What this means is that they cut the thigh from the leg. Otherwise, they will cut it in 6 pieces – which leaves the thigh and the leg together. I personally get the Organic, Free Range, They-All-Had-Names-And-Were-Massaged-Daily-Until-We-Snuck-Up-Behind-Them-While-They-Were-Doing-Meditation-And-Cut-Their-Heads-Off chickens, but you do what suits you. And while we’re talking about chicken, click HERE if you haven’t seen Julia Child’s episode about chicken. She does her chicken differently than I do, but it’s important to know the difference between a “fryer,” a “broiler,” a “roaster” and all the rest. Give this video a peek. It’s fun, anyway. Love Julia. (If you’re new to this blog, go Search on Julia Child to see some of my previous posts about my relationship to the great French Chef.)

2. Come home from the Market. Put your two seasoned cast-iron skillets into a COLD oven. If you don’t know what seasoning is, click HERE. Cast iron needs to be seasoned. And it doesn’t matter if “they” say on the label that it’s “pre-seasoned.” When did you pay attention to what “they” say? (smile) No, seriously, season your skillet. And if you don’t HAVE a skillet, then start rummaging around thrift stores. You’ll find one. Go for the deeper one if you can – it gives you better “sides” for cooking. Even if you find one that’s rusty, you can usually scrub it up with steel wool and season it and it will be totally fine. BTW, in this link they say “never” to wash cast iron with water . . . I do, but I dry it thoroughly after. And ONLY if it really needs it. (Best to wipe it out and leave the oil, etc. “in there” to continue seasoning the pan.)OH, and be SURE that you have the BOTTOM OF THE OVEN lined with aluminum foil. The way that you will make this chicken (particularly the wings) will make fat “drip” down off the pans and onto the bottom of the oven. It’s a MESS but super duper easy to clean up IF you take the SECOND to line the bottom of the oven (under the heating element) with foil. ‘Nuff said. If you make a mess, don’t blame me. 😉

3. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. If you have a “convection roast” setting, use that. If you don’t, bake is fine, but the cook times might not quite work as they do here – it’s really best to try to use a “roast” setting. But if you have a super old-fashioned oven where your choices are basically Bake (on the dial) or “High” for the top coil, go for Bake. It’s safer. Remember RECIPES ARE FOR TWEAKING! 🙂 Oh and before you ask, YES, you are heating the cold oven up to 425 degrees with your skillets in there.

4. Open up the butcher paper wrapping, using it to shield your countertop. It’s CHICKEN, remember? Chicken contains all sorts of ugga-bugga germs. Even the aforementioned Massaged-Meditated-Named chicken. Keep your countertop shielded.

5. Arrange the chicken on the paper. Wings with wings, and so on. You want the wings and legs together, the breasts and thighs together. (The back and insides are in the freezer, remember?) Arrange them “skin side down” and pat them dry with a paper towel. YOU HAVE TOUCHED CHICKEN – GO WASH YOUR HANDS!

6. Wash Your Hands! This needs its own number. When you touch the chicken, you aren’t getting down and rolling your bad self all over it. Parts of your hands will touch the chicken, parts will not. TURN THE WATER ON IN YOUR SINK WITH A PART THAT DOES NOT TOUCH CHICKEN (like, the side of your palm where your thumb attaches to your wrist). This is one of the biggest issues in kitchen cross-contamination – you are careful about “washing your hands” but you turn the water on with the part of your hand that touched chicken, and then you don’t wash the handle. REMEMBER which parts of your body touch the chicken, and which do not. Use accordingly.

7. Season the Chicken. I use Andy’s Rub. I love it. Use whatever you like – I think the first time it’s best to use a “seasoning” mix that you’re familiar with (Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute is another suggestion), then you can branch out and make Cajun chicken, etc.

8. Flip The Chicken Skin Side Up. Flip the chicken on the butcher paper so that the skin side is now up.

9. WASH YOUR HANDS! (Did you go to grab the seasoning bottle with your ugga-bugga microbe’d fingers? NOW you have to wash the BOTTLE AND your hands…)

10. Season the Skin Side. Your oven should be pretty close to 425 degrees by this time.

11. Cut off any extra skin that isn’t attached to the Meat. When the butcher cut the chicken into pieces, she will have whacked on through the thigh, breast, etc. connections. On the “edges” of these pieces in particular, there will be skin that’s not really “attached” to the meat – it’s “loose.” Get some scissors and cut all this “loose skin” off. NOT the skin that IS attached to meat – just this “loose” skin.

12. Wash Your Hands. Wash Your Scissors. Did you think I wasn’t watching you??? In case you care, I use an organic soap that kills all the bugs and then some, by Young Living based on their “Thieves” brand. If you’re taking photos, don’t touch the cell phone ANYWHERE that you have put your ugga-bugga fingers. And yes, I know these photos are crappy resolution. Sorry, my bad 🙁

13. Put The Chicken In The Pan. This is important . . . pull out the top pan. It’s HOT! (Note in the picture I have these little “mitts” that fit on the end of the cast-iron skillet? They’re awesome.) BE CAREFUL! Put the breasts into the pan “thick side up” and as many thighs as fit into the bottom of the pan (usually two). Look at the picture, you’ll see what I’m talking about. Put this pan back in the oven, with the pan part as far back and left as it can go (so the handle will be pointing towards the front right corner of the oven). Take the 2nd pan out (BE CAREFUL) and – this is IMPORTANT – drape the wings over the cast iron like you see in the picture. Then take the legs, and arrange them like the picture, PRESSING them into the cast iron “side” of the pan. Last, put the thighs that are left in the bottom of the pan. And…what’s wrong with the picture? Yes, there are 5 legs. I started laughing so hard as I was taking this photo I nearly let the oven temperature drop! I don’t even WANT to know what the poor soul who took his chicken home after getting it butchered thought, opening up the wrapper to find just one leg . . . Put this pan on the lower rack, with the pan as far to the RIGHT FRONT as it will go (so the handle will be pointing toward the “back left” of the oven). Why? Because you are trying to have as little “overlap” between the bottom and top pans as possible. If you don’t get what I’m talking about, it’s not that big of a deal, but hopefully you understand where I’m going with this. When you take the bottom pan out you’ll need to roll out the rack so you can grab the handle – which WILL BE HOT . . . OH, and the reason you are pressing the legs (and wings) into the “side” of the pan is that these pieces have skin on two sides. You want both sides to get crispy, and the only way is to have them up against the side of the pan. It will “sear” them when you put them there. The fat and “chicken juice” will leak out of the pieces as they cook, and if you have the legs or wings anywhere else in the pan, they don’t crisp up, they just lie in the juice at the bottom of then pan. But the thighs only have one “skin side” so it’s fine that they don’t “crisp” on the side down in the pan – because it’s just meat, not skin.

14. Cook The Chicken for 15 Minutes. Set the timer for 15 minutes, and go do something nice for a while. Be sure you have your fan on, the chicken will smoke if the fat drips off the pan and onto the FOIL-LINED bottom of the oven.

15. Ping! 15 minutes is up – Switch The Pan Positions Around. This is the only “tricky” part of the whole enterprise. Now, if you are only cooking ONE chicken or only have ONE pan, you can figure out how to do it – just be sure that you know how to position the chicken in the pan, and you can cook it the entire 30 minutes in the middle rack of the oven and be done with it. And when your husband devours the entire chicken before dinner (as I write, we are now down to 2 legs (of FIVE) and 3 thighs, I see . . . “someone” has been sneaking in behind my back), you’ll wish you had made two, BUT I DIGRESS (how unusual). Anyway, so CAREFULLY take down the top pan, and swap it for the bottom pan. Particularly if you’re using Convention Roast, you will for sure see that whatever part of the bottom pan was “under” the top pan while it cooked will have no color on the chicken. It’s not as integral the second time around where you position the pans, but I try to put whatever part of the breasts/thighs that are lightest in the “open” area under the top pan.

16. Cook The Chicken For 15 Minutes. Nurse any burns you have. I told you to be careful . . .

17. Line The Cookie Sheet with Paper Towels. You’ll want to have at least 2 layers of paper towels on the sheet.

18. When the buzzer goes off, take the wings/legs out first. Arrange them on the cookie sheet with the wing tips “draping over” the side of the sheet – then the legs with the bone up. See the picture. Basically you’re not only trying to leave enough room, but you’re also trying to have the “fattest side” down on the towel. Now do the same with the breasts/thighs.

19. “Schmaltz” and Chicken Juice. The pan that had the wings and the legs in it will have very little “chicken juice” and a lot of “schmaltz.” That is a Yiddish word for basically rendered chicken fat. It’s the most delicious part of the whole process. I, in fact, make this twice a week not only because it’s the most juicy, crispy, delicious chicken you will ever have, but I get to eat all the schmaltz. Are you wrinkling up your nose? GREAT! I will be RIGHT OVER to eat yours, too. Anyway – skim off the schmaltz from the juice, and pour the juice from the wings/leg pan into the other pan. It will have a little schmaltz, but not much. What now? Cook greens in it! Beyond delish – pile a TON of greens (kale, collards, etc.) – HEAP them into the pan with the chicken juice in it, and turn them with tongs over and over as you heat them. Once they are covered with the chicken juice, put a top on the pan, turn it on low, and steam until they are done. I happen to have a see-through glass top that I use ,so I can really TELL when they have wilted. But you can use just about anything – if your cast iron pan didn’t come with a cover, use a plate. (BE CAREFUL IT WILL GET HOT!)

20. Send Me A Thank You. The only thing that might “go wrong” here is if you use an ENORMOUS chicken (almost impossible if you’re eating organic) and the meat near the bone in a big piece (like the breast) isn’t cooked all the way. If that happens, and you’re NOT using monster non-organic chickenzillas, that likely means that your oven and this recipe don’t get along. What you need to do is LEAVE THE CHICKEN IN THE OVEN after you turn it off (after the 30 minutes cooking time) and let it cook in there WITH THE OVEN OFF. I have only had this happen at one friend’s house, and we found that leaving it in for 15 minutes (again, oven OFF and closed) did the trick. The idea here of course is that the cast iron holds the heat, and just radiates it back out enough to cook the chicken through. But honestly, if you’re using “regular sized” (organic) chickens, this recipe should work for you unless your oven is odd.

Ta- da!!!

Day 143 (1/28) – EveryMove app, MindValley, & Misc.

Posted on January 28, 2014December 3, 2014 by Sandy

Today H and I will go to Crossfit at 6:30. Workout is:

3 RFT
400M Run
4 Rope Climb

5 RFT
10 Deadlift 100/70kg
5 Wall Walk Up

My max in deadlifts was 45k, so that’s like 30k (66 lbs) more than that. Yeah, not. Of course we also know that rope climbs and I don’t get along. I can do the run, I can see if I can do the wall walk-up. It was weird yesterday how my shoulder acted up in the jumping rope.

Given as the 45k was HARD for me in the deadlift, and I’ve been away for 3 weeks basically, I figure tonight I should probably just start there. That would be the orange bar (15k) plus 2 10k and 2 5k plates. 10 in a row is going to be rough, but it’s only 5 RFT.

I think I mentioned that I did pullups yesterday, didn’t I? Just 10 with the black band. It was too heavy, so I mainly practiced “hanging” with my arms bent – it was still too much (laugh) but all the green bands were taken. Had to do dips in the warmup and a bunch of other things and there were so many folks in the gym (and I was a tiny bit late) that I just didn’t do everything. Candlestick rocks, stuff like that – which I suck at and need special padding to do (due to my tailbone pointing out instead of tucking in, etc.) – with all the “biggies” there, and it being my first day back, I bailed on those parts. Yeah yeah bad me. I’d like to do pullups every time I’m there, but it’s hard on T and Th because H wants to jet RIGHT after we finish the WOD (he’s not “social” in that way).

Speaking of social – it’s interesting to listen to the Girls Gone WOD Podcast – apparently at their box they “cheer” for one another and start with like some sort of “ra” thing – that would FREAK me out. I don’t want to know that ANYONE is watching me! I DO like a thumbs up if we’re passing each other on the run or a “Go!” if I’m finishing something up, but none of this “big cheer” stuff. Can’t IMAGINE! It’s good to hear though, sort of “backwards” – Joy was talking about going to see her inlaws, and how the Crossfit box there worked – and how she “missed” the whole ra-ra aspect they had at their box which she basically discussed as “the norm.” I am now glad I know that is “out there” because if I were to drop into a box and there was that aspect, I’d probably have a heart attack and be embarrassed as crap.

In my standard rambling blog way 😉 a couple other things I’m trying out this week:

1. EveryMove app. FINALLY an app that syncs with the BodyBugg! THANK YOU! This app is super user-friendly, and gives you “rewards” for being active. Of course, I signed up for the $50 off at NakedWines.com – ! (Of COURSE I did!) I actually signed up a week or so ago, but it sends you little “hey are you out there still?” reminders, so I checked it out more fully today. It’s kinda cool….

2. MindValley Academy. Sue put me onto this one. Jon Gabriel has a whole “Body Transformation” mind/body thing that she recommended to me. I was a bit skeptical but I listened to this week’s audio (no time to watch a video) when I was driving to my eye doctor appointment. I am cautiously optimistic. Also listened to his Morning Induction afterwards (and then sat in the parking lot at the grocery store to finish it), and I liked that, too. He has some very good points. He also talks a lot about “set point” – he and Jonathan Bailor should link up.

Did have my eye checkup, and need to go back to doing the steroid 4x/day as there is some “issue” going on. Harrumph. HOWEVER I don’t have to stop working out or working at the computer. Still can’t swim, use a hot tub, etc. – that’s fine, it’s not on the horizon. Not sure why “sweat in the eyes” is okay – probably the whole chlorine aspect. Went from Berkeley to Kaiser to get the new drugs, they had been called in wrong, walked over to get more Quest bars from MaxMuscle (oops, way longer away than I’d anticipated LOL), then back. Hit United – Mary’s Organic Free Range We-Pet-Them-Every-Day-And-They-Listen-To-Mozart-Until-We-Sneak-Up-On-Them-Super-Fast-When-They-Are-In-A-Meditative-State-And-Wring-Their-Necks-Off chickens are half price still, so I got FOUR more. Yeah we eat a LOT of chicken. I keep telling myself I need to do photos and then a blog post about The World’s Easiest And Best Chicken Recipe – maybe this time!

Only one more day on the free 7-day Transformation emails from Diana Nyad. They’ve been very nice. Moddie’s coming over Wednesday night because I got the Diana Nyad documentary on DVD and we’ll watch it when H goes to his class. I have to leave it in its shrinkwrap because I am ITCHING to watch it! I’d sneak otherwise. Bad me 😉

UPDATE: I am now taking the photos whilst roasting the chicken. So the post COULD happen! I’ll also have to do a “yes, you REALLY have to season your cast iron pans” post – can’t believe how many people “believe” that their cast iron is “self-seasoned” when they get it.

Day 142 (1/27) – first Crossfit and Bikram day back

Posted on January 27, 2014December 3, 2014 by Sandy

>Went to Crossfit today, though I usually don’t do Mondays (because I have yoga work trade plus I try to do yoga at least this ONE day, for the work trade hours! Yes, I could go EVERY freakin’ day every freakin’ hour but noooo-ooooo, I clean those nasty floors and drains and never use the trade. MUST CHANGE!!)

Anyway – so today was:
(A) 5 RFT
5 Back Squat 120/80kg
50 Double under

(B) CrossFit Games 13.4
7 min AMRAP
3-6-9-12-15-18-21…
Clean and Jerk 61/43KG
Toes 2 Bar

I did the back squat with the orange bar plus 5 kg each side and the medium box behind me – it was supposed to be a super duper he-e-e-avy squat as you can see from the above, but this was my first day back. I tried going down to the lower box, but that was a little too low, though the medium box is a little too high. I should likely have done a heavier weight to the medium box, or kept the lighter weight I was doing, and go for the shorter box.

My right shoulder really ached – even though it was only 25 squats, I wound up having to turn my grip over and hold it in close to my shoulder. Grump.

I got up to 75 reps on the (B), again scaling – did the C&J with the 10 lb “swirly bar” and then the T2B just “knees up.” That was ridiculously hard. Yeah so I didn’t work out for 3 weeks, and not really for 2 weeks before that. Harrumph.

I could have done the C&J with the orange bar – not sure I could do the jerk with weights on it – but the swirly was a little heavy by the end but mainly I was doing it with good form. T2B sucked. I think I said that.

Oh – and I did 100 single-unders instead of 50 double-unders. Bill told me I had to do ~200~ single unders, and I basically said “yeah, make me.” Not a chance. The single-unders redlined my heartrate and I had to stop and catch my breath a few times. I actually found a good-but-not-Crossfit jump rope when I was cleaning up the to-be tatami room for H (more on that in a second), and I think I have to just bite the bullet and practice at home. I haven’t wanted to use my Momentum rope because there’s nowhere here to do jump that wouldn’t thrash the rope or the floor. It’s either hardwood where the ceiling would be high enough to jump, or concrete (outside). I found today that I also had trouble with my right shoulder when I was putting the rope “up and over” my head on the first of any set of jumps. (Meaning, if I missed the rope, the next one, where you have to get the rope over your head, then after that your hands are by your sides.) That was new, too. Not so happy. Need to make more appointments, obviously, with Kristina and Chappy. Plus my right hip is really tight and hurts. I’m falling apart!

This weekend went to the Cow Palace dog show on Saturday and saw Susie and Izzy – it was a BLAST! OMG I haven’t been to a dog show in like…years!!!! Izzy got Select which got her her 2nd Grand. She’s such a cutie pie. COMPLETELY fell in love with the miniature bull terriers, and a 9 month old harlequin Great Dane named Beau. Did you know Great Danes are from…Germany? Yeah, I thought Denmark, too. Reminds me of the old joke, “What color was George Washington’s white horse?” “Grey” (since it wasn’t an albino, it was actually a super duper duper light grey horse).

My eyes were so tired when I got home just after noon that I had to lie down. Susie and I were discussing how all the sound in the Cow Palace (especially where they were – which has a metal roof) must have been COMPLETELY overwhelming for the dogs. Well obviously my “new” eyes had the same issue with all the “sights” I was seeing! OMG. I couldn’t even watch TV that evening. Usually H and I (bad us) watch a show or two together after dinner but I couldn’t do it. Listened to an audiobook Sherlock Holmes instead!

Sunday was “Honey Do” day. I had done what H asked me to do in the “room that was my office and is now going to be a tatami room” – moved everything to the side that had been in there, gotten everything out of the closet, bookshelves, etc. etc. Well, he needed more room. He just wanted me to basically push everything back more, but we know I don’t work like that! So I spent quite a bit of time and went through everything that was still in the room, sorting, boxing, etc. I remember when I left Petaluma for San Rafael, at the very end, H was so grumpy about me “taking so long in packing” that he basically made me just throw things into boxes. Then those boxes took me like 10 years to unpack (I wish that wasn’t the actual truth.) Everything was, as my mother would say, “cattywumpus” in the boxes and it was impossible to try to sort them out. So I actually put on the Induction that Sue Bird from WayOfTheWhale.com did for Moddie and me (more on that next paragraph) and sorted and sorted. It was very productive, and I really got things down to smaller sections and into boxes.

One of the big things that I did was sort up and box the workout stuff that I had – 20 lb. kettlebell, hand weights, pole, dumbbells, etc. Anything that I”m not currently using. That’s where I discovered that jump rope (which I’d forgotten I had). It’s a good rope, but not the “Crossfit kind” – it is more of a “boxing” rope. I’m going to see whether it’s actually long enough for me, and start using it. What the hell, I totally didn’t even know I had it (it came in a “set” of stuff I got ages ago), so if I ruin it on the concrete it doesn’t really matter.

I got Sue to do an induction for both Moddie and me that is a hypnosis for The Amazing Race. She’s unbelievable – I”m serious, if you have ANYTHING that you want to overcome, she’s your gal. I’ve been working with her now for – wow, like 20 years. She talked out what the induction would be with Moddie and me – what we came up with is that we are on Day 4 of The Amazing Race, running up to the mat, Phil is there with a representative from the country, and we’re super excited, we’ve made it through another day, but more importantly, “everything has led up to this moment.” Both Moddie and I are having some trouble with motivation – when we did the Ironman, you have a “count down goal” to it so you have the “fear factor” that if you do not make it to a workout, you will not make it over the finish line. The reason we set it as “Day 4” was that this means that we’ve made it past being the “first couple to get eliminated,” and of course it means we are ON the Race. Sue talks a lot about having to firmly have your energy “connected” to your goal, and if you are FIRMLY connected, the Universe will “find a way.” So by making it Day 4, it means we are not only THERE but we are already succeeding.

I listened to the induction while I was cleaning/sorting, because I wanted to really HEAR what it said. She can do inductions that you can listen to in the car (doesn’t involve the whole “curl up in a comfortable space” and end with “now float off to sleep”) or sleep – we had her do a sleep one, but of course you can listen to it any time. (Just not in the car!) I had listened to it while going to sleep the night before, but of course, I fell asleep!

It is a MASTERFUL induction. It is SO GREAT – I actually listened to it three times through! Just fabulous. Moddie hasn’t listened yet (well, she has done what I did – listened but as she was going to sleep). I told her she’s gotta do it when she’s like doing dishes or laundry so she can hear how great it is.

She’s coming over Wednesday night – I got the Diana Nyad Documentary, and we’re going to watch it together. I want to watch it NOW, but I left it in the shrinkwrap so I keep my sticky paws off it!

And that’s that – off to yoga! YAY ME!

My Cinderella Moment on Day 137 (yesterday, January 22)

Posted on January 23, 2014December 3, 2014 by Sandy

I was supposed to go to Crossfit today (first day back), but the WOD I can make is at 6:30 p.m. and I realized that will not work. Why you ask? Let me explain!

Yesterday was my first LONG day out after surgery. I had lots and lots to do . . . talking to my potential new collaborator on re-doing the Fempowerment workbook for first girls (8-12) and then teens (12-16) – returns returns OMG SO MANY RETURNS (I know H likes to buy things, but I discovered when he’s the sole shopper, the returns factor goes up astronomically!) – then my blessed blessed HAIRCUT. It’d been WAY too long – it’d been “way too long” the week BEFORE the surgery, but I had one of those “sudden realizations” that I wouldn’t be able to drive for a couple weeks after and TRIED to get in, but no chance. So I’ve been in that “longer than too long” space for a WHILE.

ANYWAY, so one of the things that I had said I would do was to sub for someone at the yoga studio I do work-trade at (for free yoga). I got there a little late, because he didn’t text me until 15 minutes before he was supposed to be there that YES, he DID need me – and i was all the way up in Santa Rosa! So I FLEW down (amazingly, no traffic), and busily started working as usual . . .

His shift is 4:00-6:30 (I do 2:30-5:00 on Mondays). So I got there at like 4:20, SPED through all the stuff I had to do to sort of “catch up” (can you say laundry, laundry and more laundry?), then took a bit of a breather because I had to wait for the 4:30 class to get out at 5:30. No big, thinks I . .. puttering around cleaning the bathroom and all that good stuff, hosing down mats, etc.

So the class ends, and a friend of mine was in there, and I’m chatting, waiting for them to clear out so I can get all the towels, etc. out of the room. I casually look outside, and realize that it’s DUSK. And I am NOT ALLOWED TO DRIVE after “pre-dusk.” Also, I can TOTALLY see why, because the globe lights on the fence at the restaurant across the street are on, and they look about 10 sizes bigger because of the HUMONGOUS halos around them.

I grab my friend (who also does work trade – we’re “work trade friends”) and ask if she can PLEASE PLEASE STAY and tell the manager that I had to leave like RIGHT THEN. Manager was on the phone and also dealing with some $ stuff, so I didn’t want to interrupt. She said she would, and I SPAZZED out of there, and that is no mistake. Thank GOODNESS our house is literally like 2 miles from the yoga studio! When I got home I had to turn on the outside lights (BLLLLING!!!! Halo Heaven!) and H came out on the porch with his arms crossed, saying: “Hello? Do you just not know what the word ‘Dusk’ means?” (good-naturedly, mind you, and always super funny in his thick accent.)

And then I watched the BMW melt into a pumpkin and 8 little white rats . . .