S for Stairs

Husband walked outside to empty the trash and the porch broke. It's just a good thing my dad wasn't the one walking outside. The UPS guy is being funny leaving my package on the top step.

Good news! Pastor is going to change the schedule so play practice will be during Zumba. She asked me if it would be okay with me. Very sweet of her. Woohooooo! So happy. I will miss my front row kidlets. They were truly a pleasure. I shall not miss several students one iota. I required everyone to move today under threat of receiving a "minus." And I explained at length that Zumba class is the easiest class to get an A in and thus raise their GPA. Today they all participated well, but for me to have to hammer them daily to get them to move is a lot of work. I just want to teach Zumba! It's been a learning experience I suppose and I am glad to be moving on. I now understand why a college degree in teaching requires so many courses in what they call "classroom management." I used to think it pathetic that there weren't more course on teaching, but evidently teaching is only part of being a school teacher.

Oh, in the process of being the disciplinarian Zumba instructor today, I caused one student, a little girl about ten years old, to cry. Yes. I, Liliana, brought a little girl to tears. I felt lower than a snake's belly.

R is for Remnant

Romans 11:5, "It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God's grace--his undeserved kindness in choosing them."

When Jesus left he told everyone to wait for the promise. About 500 heard him say, wait, tarry, but of those only 120 stayed. The rest had errands or work or something more important to do than wait on the Lord. I suppose it's the same today. Easy to find other things to do instead of pray or study. Sometimes a week goes by and I haven't cracked open my Bible. I wonder, what is wrong with me. I think of God every day. But I need to open my Bible more often. I get my Bible, get the other Bibles in the house (we have four now) and I dig around and get Google involved and spend a couple hours with it. I need to spread it out more and do it more often. I want to be like one of the 120. Steadfast.

Today! I get to use my new unrefined coconut oil with my heating cap. So excited to do it. Yes, indeed, this is the excitement of my day. I've been using the coconut oil for my skin as well and it likes it. Wore my dragonfly Flexi-8 to church this morning and got a compliment on it. I am now a Flexi-8 fan. Also got a compliment from another lady for all the different ways I wear my hair which I thought odd because I wear it with the Ficcare every day the same way. Color me perplexed.

We saw a lady at McDonald's with a braid almost to her knees. My husband commented on its thickness and I punched him in the arm. It was as thick at bottom as it was at top. Color me dubious. I don't know, but I wondered if it was real because it looked like it might be attached at her neck to her real hair and it didn't move right. It looked like it may have been cheap, fake hair. If it was her hair, she dyed it solid jet black from top of her head to the ends. She was around my age.

Q for QWERTY

QWERTY keyboard. That's the name for the arrangement of keys on a typewriter or computer keyboard. Very good to know for a game of Scrabble.

I was a typist in 1982. I typed huge books of numbers for engineers who had barely legible writing, eight to 10 hours a day, six days a week. I got up for work, drove son to babysitter, drove to work, worked, drove to pick up son, drove home, went to bed. That's all I did for months. On the ten hour days I went to bed at 7:30am and got up at 4:00am. They were the bad old days.

I met my husband there. Then began the good days.

P

Whoops. I did N, then O, then N. I forgot I did N. And I guess I forgot P comes after O.

P is for peanut butter, which, I had peanut butter toast and chocolate milk for lunch.

I thought Pastor didn't read my whole email yesterday saying that I'm gonna quit teaching Zumba after this semester. Saw her today and she did read it. She was still real nice. That's one thing I notice about this church. If you start something and it's not for you, they let you go without hammering you about it. That's nice. She didn't even ask for a specific reason. She said she'll make other arrangements for next semester. I don't feel too bad. I made an effort. I have 24 hours in a day and I want to expend them best I can. Being miserable with other people's poorly behaved teen-age girls is not my cup of tea. And now I don't have to fret about going out in the cold this winter to do Zumba. Yeesh. It's either hot, windy, or cold outside and the pad is cement. I do feel physically fine in spite of it. At first the cement hurt my hips, but it doesn't hurt now. I can't imagine it would be good for my body over the long term though.

I'm making cupcakes and brownies for the church Fall Festival for the kids tomorrow. Don't call it Halloween though. Meh. I'm glad they're doing something for the kids of the community. There is a lady, Laura, and she's really gettin' it done. She's something else. I told her I'll volunteer from 3pm to 6pm tomorrow. I wasn't going to but she's working so hard. I'd like to say the Holy Spirit moved me to volunteer, but it's just plain old guilt.

N as in Not

Okay, I'm not giving up on Zumba with the kids yet. Not...yet.

O for omelet

O for Omelet. I've been cooking egg omelets on the week-ends. They're not too bad. I like doing it. I knew I would use O for Omelet for days. This Sunday I plan to invite Mayela over after churchity-church and make her an omelet. I do it just plain with cheese, but I need to think of something special to make it a special omelet for her. I'm not much of a cookity-cook. Usually I cook everything too fast because I'm hungry. I don't plan ahead for the hunger much even though after 50 years of getting hungry I should know to plan for it. My husband does. He's very good that way.

I woke with the song "We are stardust, we are golden, and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden." I thought the song was so deep. Now I think the lyrics are idiotic.

Started a Zumba class for Wednesday nights and six people came. Nice. I have really nice people in my class. I wondered if anyone would come.

The Zumba kids class is a see-saw for me. An emotional see-saw. I'm not really built for see-sawing. It wears me and gives me a stomach ache. I need stability. Children are not stable. One girl yesterday yelled out "I hate Zumba." And she was flopping around like a rag doll instead of trying to do the simplest move. She's 15 years old! Should I have stopped the class and marked her down for it? I don't know. I know I don't like disciplining other people's large children. And I don't mean large as in too big, but as in a very big child who should know how to behave politely in a group setting. I wonder what's really wrong with her, I mean, inside her heart. I think she's afraid to apply herself. I think it's easier to be a clown than to try, so she's a clown, albeit a mean one. The other girls, two of the teens, are afraid she will turn on them, so instead they try to be friends with her so she won't insult them. The younger girls are aware of her bad behavior and do not follow suit. They boys couldn't care less what she does. It's playground politics as Dr. Laura would say.

N for Nary

I've nary a thing to say about the letter N.

I have Zumba with the kids today in 45 minutes.  I don't want to do it next semester.  I need to tell the pastor.  I know she'll ask for a reason.  Why do people always need reasons.  Can't I just say no and leave it at that?

M for Moxie

I went to see a lawyer once when I was 25.  She said I had moxie.  I thought it was something good because of the way she said it, but I wasn't sure.

My Flexis.  I got them today!  I bought size mini, small, and medium.  I have to order a large.  I thought large would be too big but the medium is too small to hold my hair in a French twist.  Guess I underestimated my hair size.  I am happy with the two smaller ones.   I do like the butterfly on the medium but it doesn't matter what light it's in, my beads are not purple as the ones depicted on the website.  Mine look dark and colorless.  I'm thinking about exchanging it.  Question is, do I want to wrap it, take it to the post office, and spend five bucks for an exchange?  I emailed them and asked if they will make me a size large with a heart, but with bright blue beads substituted for the crystal (white or clear) beads.  I think they'll say yes.

First photo is from the Flexi site and second is of my Flexis.  The mini green one is gorgeous.  I'll use it when I put a very little bit of hair into a half-up, which of course isn't really a half up, but that's the idea.  The size small dragonfly is real pretty to me and it contrasts with my hair nicely enough.  I can use it for a half up with more hair or with a full pony in the back.  My hair barely fits as a pony with the small, but I am able to use either the small or medium for a pony.  I've been wanting to wear a low pony tail to church for the longest time but had nothing to hold my hair.  Now I do. 

I finally used my Mastex hot oil cap on Sunday.  I bought that thing about three years ago.  No kidding.  Finally tried it out.  I used olive oil.  It worked!  I want to do it every week now like Lori and Cinnamonhair.  I think they deep condition weekly.  I used Prell to wash it out and though it all came out of the ends, near my scalp there was some residual oil.  It's wasn't too bad, but would have been better if more came out. I did a super de dooper good job applying the oil section by section.  I got oil all over the bathroom counter though.  I cleaned it up with Fantastic.

I sat with the heating cap on for 20 minutes then left the oil on for about three more hours due to laziness.

But the biggest change I'm making is no more hair elastics at the bottom of my hair.  Had an epiphany.  My hair is growing but I have to keep chopping the ends because every six months they look haggard.  A year and a half ago I hit 47".  Got a trim again a couple weeks ago and I'm at 47".  Well, I've been wearing my hair in a single braid a lot to Zumba for over a year.  Those little girl elastics are ruining my ends.  I have to get off of them!   

I saw a good example at the forum that shows how to wet a piece of ribbon, wrap it around the bottom of the braid, then put an elastic over that.  That's what I'm doing from now on.  We'll see if in one year my ends are good enough to keep.

I'm having a hair revival lately I guess.  Next, I hope to get a new comb.  I want a wooden one.  It's supposed to not get static like my broken Madora one does.

This is the ribbon in my hair right now and the pink elastic over it (you can see barely if you look for it).

I was in the bedroom taking about 70 pics of my ribbon and my hair.  All engrossed in myself.  My husband came in to check on me (I guess I was quiet too long like you have to check on kids when they're too quiet for too long) and he saw what I was doing and he came over and kissed me.  I was kind of embarrassed.  Lucky he loves me and doesn't make fun of my self-engrossed-ness.  Here I am holding my braid in a myriad of positions all around the bathroom and bedroom to take a photo of a bow.  Sheesh.

M...is for myriad.  That's serendipity.

L for Limpid

I always liked the analogy, "Her eyes were like limpid pools of azure."  My favorite eye color has always been brown though.  My little sister had big blue eyes when she was little and so they were average to me since I saw them every day.  When we moved to El Centro all the Mexicans had brown eyes and I thought they were beautiful.  My husband has brown eyes.  At first I thought the word was "lipid" pools of azure, but that would be disgusting.  Who wants eyes like the chicken fat that was floating in my Campbell's chicken soup today at lunch?  Nobody.

L is for Mr. Limpit, i.e. The Incredible Mr. Limpit, a movie from 1964.  Don Knotts turns into a fish.  I loved that movie.

L is for 'limit' in the song "Take It To The Limit" by the Eagles in 1975.  It climbed to #4 on the Billboard chart.  I was 16.  I remember listening to it like it was yesterday. 

K for Kiddles

Okay, well I looked at Jules' blog and her word was 'Kids,' so I got stuck and Liddle Kiddles came to my mind.  I can't look at her blog because I can only think of the word she picks if I read it.

1968.  Mattel.  Kiddles were a teeny doll.  Mine was Lily of the Valley and she came in a plastic bottle, very small, and had a fragrance.  I got one for Christmas in December 1968.  I was ten years old.  I liked her very much.  I remember breathing in the delicious fragrance, but I don't actually remember the smell.

I couldn't bear to leave her home alone so I took her to school in my brown lunch bag on the first day of school in January after Christmas vacation.  Ate my lunch, threw the bag in the dumpster, and not much later it hit me.  I realized my Kiddle was still in the bag.  I had inadvertently thrown her in the garbage!  I was quiet so I didn't tell anyone.  Waves of sadness washed over me. I never got another Liddle Kiddle.  Back in the day, if you lost a toy you didn't get a replacement.  I've relived the internal trauma over and over again - realizing I'd thrown her into the dirty, filthy school dumpster.  I still suffer emotional damage from the memory of it.

She's alive!  She's on eBay!

J for Jump

I'm taking all the jumping out of the Zumba routines for the Saturday class.  I'm making it into a low impact Zumba class for seniors and anyone else who wants a gentler dance fitness workout.  I'm looking forward to it.  I have one new routine already but am now wishing I'd picked something else because I had to choose a version with about three edits for bad language, and there's still a section that I just don't like because it grates my ears.  Might try to delete that section myself.  I wonder if anyone will come on Saturday and I wonder how many will and I wonder if it'll gain popularity.  If I can get a steady ten people it would be very nice.

J is for jewelry.  I have blue owl earrings. They cost $1.00.

Zumba was good and not so good tonight.  I got my . last night and it threw me for a loop.  A mean one.  I knew I'd feel better once I started class, and I did, but I felt not so good for a short time too.  My cool down stinks.  Got a great song, but I can't improvise very well.  One night I was feeling the music and I did well with it, but I don't always feel the music.  My poor students.  I gotta fix that cool down for them.

I is for I

At church we do a confession before we study our Bible.  It goes like this:

This is my Bible

I am who it says I am

I have what it says I have

I can do what it says I can do

Today I'll be taught the Word of God
I open my eyes and my heart

To receive divine instruction

From this day forward

I will never be the same

Never, never, never

Because the entrance of God's Word

Brings

Understanding

It has six I's in it.

H is for Hair

Of course, of course. What else could "H" be for! I've been planning ever since "G" to take a hair picture. Didn't get it done. I took other pictures, but not the hair.

Last night had a big, shall we say, discussion, with son in which I yelled like a banshee. It's not my best look. It's not my best side. Then I watched stupid tv for half an hour with my husband, stewing all the time. Turned off my computer and went to bed. That's why nothing at all got posted last night. I did think about "H" though.

Updated:

My hair laying on the bed.  Olive oil lightly applied last night.  Scalp wash today.

My hair looking forward to wearing brand new Zumba winter jacket!

G is for girls

I like pretty girls.  I like the saying that pretty is skin deep, but ugly goes to the bone.  My favorite saying is, "Hoo-rahed by a little girl," a line from the western movie True Grit.  If my husband is watching a movie I ask, "Are there any girls in it?"  Because movies with all guys are usually boring.  I do like one oldie movie that has all guys, The Treasure of Sierra Madre. My daughter-in-law and I were talking about how we always take notice of what female Fox News commentators are wearing and how their make-up and hair look and we have to comment about it before we listen to what they're saying. Haha!

Candid shots.

There was a 14-year-old girl at the lake.  The daughter of a friend of a friend.  She was quiet.  Serene.  An unusual quality for one so young.  Her profile was classic.  Big nose.  Indian.  American Indian.  I surmise she'll be an exceptional beauty when she's older.  She had gorgeous, silky black hair which she never tucked behind her ears.

She saved one of the babies from a bad water experience.  My granddaughter, the fearless three-year-old, boldly stepped toward the deep, then ran forward, and, unable to stop her momentum she went under not understanding that people cannot breathe underwater.  The older girl saw it.  Without hesitating for a moment and ran/swam through the water to the rescue.

F is for furry

I'm doing the alphabet challenge with Jules of New Zealand. I missed A through E so will start from F and advance forward from there.

F is for Furry

Firstly, F reminds me of Angel's fur.  She is the sweetest cat I ever knew.  She gets into everyone's lap.  If you sit, she will climb up to your lap.  She especially prefers our son, but if he's not here she'll get into my lap.  I'd like to let her into the house but son is allergic.  Plus, she rolls in the dirt.  I've often contemplated the question, "Why does Angel roll in the dirt?"  I googled it since Google searches are known to uncover a treasure trove of information.  The best answer I found was this one, word for word, letter by letter, begging for punctuation and proper choice of article:

"She might have a itch. Cats exhibits all kind of strange behavior that no one can explain. If we knew boy could we make money."

Is that an answer or is that an answer.   

She's a great huntress and has no tail.

F reminds me of fairground and number fifteen, our son's number this year.  

The fair barn.

Getting ready for the horse show.

Dawn breaks.  Kids work preparing animals for show and will get to enjoy the carnival tonight.

And fuzz.  One day I saw a fuzz stuck on a piece of grass.

I trimmed my hair and like it so much better.  Today I ordered some Spectrum unrefined coconut oil.  In the past I've used the refined and liked it.  My monoi oil went rancid so I had to buy something.  I hope the fragrance isn't overpowering.  I read that it dissipates quickly.  I got such a nice hair compliment today and she asked me how I grow my hair.

Church was good this morning.  

I'm opening a new night for Zumba in a couple weeks.  I'll be doing Tues/Wed/Thurs evenings.  The new Wednesday night class will be a later one - from 6:30-7:30pm.  Hope people will come.  It was requested so somebody better come!  I'm changing the Saturday class to a low impact class and will market it as Zumba for seniors.  I am looking forward to it very much.  It'll be easier for my body and still fun.  I've already found a cute Zumba Gold routine that I'm learning.  I don't know why Zumba isn't offering Gold training very much.  Seems to me a good demographic.

I am liking Herman Cain very much. But I think the political machine will only accept Romney or Perry. If the election was today I'd cast my vote for Cain. I don't see how Obama can win again. Even his democrats aren't behind the new jobs bill stimulus. They see how the first stimulus went and there's little chance the new bill will get through. I fail to understand why Obama doesn't let parts of it get through. He's all or nothing to his own detriment. My husband and I are gonna have a big party when Obamacare gets repealed. My health insurance, which Obama promised I could keep, unchanged, went up again. Yeah, thanks for that. Maybe the Supreme Court opinion will be that it's unconstitutional.

I need an attitude readjustment for my Zumba kids class. Half the kids like Zumba, half don't. Usually, as in normally, you only have people signed up for Zumba who want to be there. It's, how do you say, a challenge. And today an older girl, who surely knows better, came to class in socks. You can't do Zumba in socks. It's been announced. P.E. clothes, they know, are required. So I tell her she needs shoes. She says, "I know. I didn't bring them today." Okay, I say. You'll get a minus for today then. She sharpens up and says, "I have softball shoes I could wear." I asked if she'll slip in them. I'm thinking of softball shoes with nubs or cleats on the bottom. She says, "They're in the car." She comes back in regular tennis shoes.

Well, where I come from we call that a L I E. Either you have shoes or you don't, but don't make me stand there and listen to a lame lie. I love Zumba, but I do not like repeating the same things to the same teenagers over and over. That. Is lame.

But then tonight I felt a little sorry for her. She's not doing well in school I gather. I gather she doesn't apply herself. Hmmmm. Who does that remind me of. Me? Unfortunately, that's a big, fat, yes.

I feel behind in Zumba. I'm not ready with a new routine this week because I haven't practiced for two weeks because of company. I'll catch up though. I hope.

I'm dog tired. Today was the fair. Son's horse, Bella, came in third. I was so sure she'd do better than that but the competition was stiff. A grey came in first. It's a gorgeous grey. And a black horse came in second. Next year he's going to sign up for halter, and showmanship, and one other thing.

Tomorrow at 7:30am is the piggy show. Hope little Petey places. He weighed in today at 275 pounds. He's kind of sad being at the fair. We hate it too. He looks beautiful though. And he was super easy to clip. Everyone can tell son has spent a lot of time with Petey.

The babies are gone. And our son and his wife. It's terribly quiet here now. No babies! Boo hoo!