Different kinds of pain

Ok, so to finish filling you in on snowboarding - it was so much fun!! I'm really glad I went. I just wish I could have gone more this winter. But I was in a ridiculous amount of pain for the next two days, every muscle in my body was sore and it hurt to move. I knew I would be sore, but it was still surprising. I mean, how did I work my triceps? Then on Tuesday, my neck started hurting. By Tuesday night I was in so much pain that I took 4 ibuprofen and slept on an icepack. Wednesday morning I went to the chiropractor and he took a couple of X-rays then did that stereotypical twist-the-head-really-fast-and-hear-the-neck-crack-a-million-times chiropractic move. It was weird. It helped, though, and I went back on Friday and that helped even more. But my neck is still a little sore. I probably should have gone in again already, but I'm cheap.

Last week would have been a rough week even without the pain, so it certainly didn't help things! My boss had a business trip from Tuesday to Friday, so I had the kids for 4 days straight. And they had half-days! Aaaah!! They did not make things easy on me either. Suffice it to say, I could not wait until Friday. I convinced my friend Jayme (also a nanny) to come dancing with me, then we sat talking at my house until about 4 in the morning! But here's the most shocking part - I then slept until 6:45 pm the next day!!! Unbelievable, right? I usually don't sleep much during the week and sleep in late on Saturday - but this was ridiculous. I think I must have slept so much because I didn't get any extra sleep the weekend before - not to mention the fact that the kids wore me out.

Saturday night (basically right after I woke up), I went over to Jayme's house for a party. It was fun and provided a much-needed release after the week I'd had.

Jayme, me, Christin
Sorry there aren't more pictures. I left my camera on the table and told everyone to feel free to take pictures with it. They didn't.

That is all.

Fright night

OH MY GOODNESS - I ALMOST DIED. I just went out to the garage to get a can of soda. But little did I know, I was not the only one entering the garage. Just as I reached to open the refrigerator door, I looked up and saw Walter - FIVE FEET AWAY FROM ME!! He had just come through the cat door and was poised at the entrance to the cat condo. I froze, my heart racing. And Walter? Well, he just played opossum. It took me a full minute to calm down enough to actually move. We both stood there, our gazes locked, frantically scrambling for an exit strategy. Finally, I decided that since the refrigerator door opened towards me, I could stand behind it as I opened it, then reach over the door to get my soda. Then I would high-tail it out of there. As I slowly opened the door, Walter dashed into the condo. I snatched a can of Icy Cold Carbonated Goodness and quickly made my escape. This is the first time I've seen Walter since I posted about him the first time. Obviously, I didn't really run him down as I threatened to. But now - I may have to send out a posse.

There's a chance that I'm crazy

Last Friday night, I didn't end up going to bed until 2:30 in the morning. I just didn't feel like going to sleep before then. I usually average about 5-6 hours of sleep per night during the week, because I like to stay up late and have to get up early. So by Friday, I'm tired. And it's not that I wasn't tired last Friday, it's just that it seems so wrong to go to bed early on a Friday, even though I'm getting up early the next day. So, I stayed up late and got 4 hours of sleep before spending the day snowboarding. Wheeeeee!!

I got up on Saturday totally pumped (ninja style) - I couldn't wait to show off my totally awesome skillz (and by "show off my totally awesome skillz," I mean "learn the basics of snowboarding"). My friend Christin and I had been planning to go snowboarding all winter. Neither one of us knew how, so we were planning on taking lessons together. However, between our busy schedules and NJ's crappy snow season - this was the first time we actually managed to go.

Anyway, I met up with Christin and we headed up to Mountain Creek, where we met up with her fiancé, Brian. He already knows how to snowboard, so he took off on his own while we headed over to our lessons. Brian and Christin could only stay for 3-4 hours because they had other plans. But not me. I had no other plans for the day and I wanted to learn as much as I could as quickly as I could. Eight hours, two lessons, and countless wipeouts later, I decided to pack it in. I actually excused myself from the last lesson about 15 minutes early (the lessons are 1:45 long), because I was ready to collapse. It didn't seem to bother the instructor, though, he still asked for my phone number...

Anyway, I got home around 7:00, showered, ate some dinner, and left the house by about 8:15. Because although I had been snowboarding all day, I couldn't go a weekend without dancing!* I didn't have quite as much fun dancing as I usually do, because by this point, my muscles were not happy with me. It was still fun, though, and I was home by 1:00. So I managed to get about 9 hours of sleep before I had to get up for church on Sunday.

I have so much more to post, but it will have to wait until another day. I'm tired.

Christin recorded this with her phone - you can see the point at which I realize she's recording. Bear in mind, I had only been snowboarding for about 2 hours when this video was taken. I was happy if I made it to the bottom of the hill without falling down!

*Over the last couple of months, I have gotten back into dancing - ballroom, latin, swing, etc. I usually go Friday and Saturday nights, but due to the weather last weekend, the Friday dance was cancelled.

1,105 words

Ok, so I'm really trying to blog more consistently. I've had a few good runs where I've posted three times within a week, but then it's another month before I post again. So, although I don't have time right now to tell you what has been keeping me busy for the last couple of months (or even the details of this weekend), in the spirit of frequent-blogging, I'm posting a picture that was taken yesterday. I should be able to post more details in the next couple of days. Until then, why not try to guess what I was thinking when this picture was taken?

Hot ice and wondrous strange snow...

It was 80 degrees on Wednesday. It was incredible. I was ecstatic. I enjoy winter, but it has been so much colder here than what I'm used to. Over the last several weeks, it has frequently been in the teens - add the wind-chill factor, and it's even worse. So, I have been eagerly anticipating Spring's arrival. However, 80 degrees in the middle of March was more than I ever would have hoped for. Then yesterday, the high was 62 and it rained. That was still okay, though. It didn’t rain until late afternoon, and after all, it is only March, right?

But today - today it snowed. A lot. School was cancelled (which is annoying in and of itself). They are predicting 8-14 inches of snow for the area. I would guess that we've already gotten about 6 inches. Which causes me to say...

This. Is. Ridiculous.*

I always thought that weather in the Northwest was erratic and bizarre, but it is NOTHING compared to this. It was a new experience for me, and consequently, my sentiments about the whole situation went through an interesting progression.

Are you wondering what that looked like? Would you like to take a peek? Well, then, fasten your seatbelts and allow me to take you on a magical ride through the "Thought Processes and Emotions of Marianna." Before boarding, please demonstrate that you're tall enough to ride this ride and sign the waiver assuming all risk. Also, watch out for flying debris. Thoughts tend to bounce around rapidly for no apparent reason.

And now, without further postponement or procrastination**, please permit me to present you with a pictorial portrayal of the process.

Initial Reaction: Shock and confusion. I realized the weather was going to get colder again before spring was really here, but snow? Seriously??!!

Secondary Reaction: Frustation and resentment. What a mean trick! What was the point of Wednesday? I mean, it even smelled like summer! Son of a Vondrook!

Tertiary Reaction: Acceptance and appreciation. We've had horrible conditions for snow sports all winter. But now, I can finally go snowboarding! Guess who's going snowboarding tomorrow :) Yep, that's right, I am.

Fourthiary Reaction: Reconciliation. The snow is now my friend again.

Fifthiary Reaction: Here we transition from emotions to thought processes. And their results. I thought I would try to take a picture of myself making a snow angel. The photo you see here is my third attempt. It may not be a great photo, but hey, I was taking the pictures myself using a tripod and a timer. As I said, this was my third attempt. By this point I was Pretty Freaking Cold. Every time I flopped down in the snow, it went up my back. If I didn't post this picture, it would mean that I had suffered in vain. I just hope you appreciate all I do for you. Ingrates. Hmph.
At this point, the subject was dead. Naw, I was just cold. So, I went inside, changed into some warm clothes and ate some sushi.***

End of the ride, folks. Go ahead and get off. Let me know if you liked the trip, maybe I can arrange for another one. However, if you spent the trip utilizing your barf bag, you can keep that to yourself. And now, I should go to bed. I'm getting up at 6:30 to go snowboarding!!


*I felt that it would be appropriate to appropriate the Atorian Style of Emphasis here. Props to you, Atoria, for pioneering said style. Please permit me to aid in it's propagation, for I am a proponent, and I propose that its practice will provoke its proliferation. Umm..I may have gotten a bit carried away...
**Please note that I did not say "without further alliteration," that is something I simply shall not swear to. Also, I'm a nerd.
***I did not eat the sushi to get warm. I ate it 'cuz I like it.