Weight Loss Wednesday, June 19

 

Man, it’s becoming a standard refrain around here, but I am operating on far too little sleep these days.  Right now, I’m getting by on about 10ish hours over the past 48, and I’m on track to add five or six more to that total tonight.  I feel a major crash coming on when Friday evening finally rolls around.  I’m still very glad that I’ll only have two classes left to finish next semester, but carrying nine hours this summer in conjunction with a brand new job is definitely taking its toll.

And, literally every single day I say to myself “tonight is the night I’ve got to get a workout in”, intending to at least pop in a walking video or something and squeeze in thirty minutes of a fitness regimen.  And yet, every single day, I find that whatever energy I have must be devoted to cranking out the day’s homework, and then with my last moments of wakefulness, I manager to post whatever chit-chat is on my mind here.  Nights I don’t have school, I manage to throw together an evening meal for the two of us, but beyond that, nothing else.  I’m still hoping to find the fortitude to change something.

Maybe sheer desperation will ultimately do the trick, as this week I gained 1.5 pounds.  I’m hoping it’s a short-term spike, driven primarily by today’s more-than-usual exhaustion along with a very late dinner last night, but who knows?  Certainly so much butt-time is not helping.  Wish me luck.

	Steps	Activities
Wednesday	5,107	--
Thursday	6,030	--
Friday	5,550	--
Saturday	1,410	--
Sunday	5,421	123 minutes fitdesk
Monday	4,338	--
Tuesday	6,973	--

At This Moment

 

So, I have this instructor who likes to help illustrate her teachable moments with movies or television episodes.  As you might imagine, she and I get along pretty well.  I even introduced her to Suits last fall semester and got her hooked.  She said she didn’t really have time for another show, so I’m not sure she’s entirely forgiven me for that, but what can I say?  I know good television, and I know my audience.

Anyway, tonight it wasn’t a television show we were watching, but the old Jodie Foster movie, The Accused.  It’s a good movie, but I’ve seen it several times in the past.  In fact, I was one of the only people in the room old enough to have seen it in the theater.  And, we were there until 10:30 tonight finishing up the thing, which is not only half an hour past the scheduled class time, but also at least an hour later than she usually keeps us.  5:30 is going to come awfully early tomorrow.

Anyway, that’s a long build-up to say that in a bar scene in the movie, they were playing “At This Moment”, by Billy Vera and the Beaters.  I adore that song, but I can never hear it without remembering the first place I ever heard it, which was on an old episode of Family Ties.  Well, since my classmates had not been around to see The Accused in first run, it also makes sense that they looked at me like I was a little crazy when I started to wax nostalgic about a wonderful moment between Alex and Ellen, and how that song is forever melded to that television moment for me.  Kids just don’t know what they’re missing out on.

If you’ve never seen it, or would like to relive that magical (though heart-breaking) moment, you can watch the episode on Hulu.  Fittingly, it’s called “The Real Thing”.  It’s a two part episode, but “the song” and the accompanying dance are at the end of part one.

  Also, because I love a good romance story as much as the next person, I also just love the fact that Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan actually fell in love while they were working together on Family Ties, and even now, 25 years later, they’re still together, and by all accounts, still happy.  That’s a wonderful thing for any couple in any walk of life, but for a Hollywood couple, it seems pretty rare.  Especially if you think about the health challenges Fox has faced; that can’t be easy on a marriage.  I love the fact that they’re still a couple.

And did you know Fox has a new show out this fall?  I’m pretty impressed with that, too, given those health challenges just mentioned.  I’ve always enjoyed his work, including his recent recurring guest role on The Good Wife, and I’m looking forward to seeing if the new show lives up to his past reputation.  Still a few months before we’ll know, though, but I’ll definitely be tuning in to give it a once-over at least.  But even though he’s older now, and has had dozens of roles since the days of Alex P. Keaton, I will still see him in that one pivotal scene from a sitcom from days gone by, dancing to a song I adore.

The Man Who Writes the Songs

 

As I’ve mentioned once or twice before, I am a life-long fan of Barry Manilow.  Some might say his music is just a bunch of silly love songs, or simplistic, or even sappy, and I don’t think I have an argument for any of that.  Except, of course, to say, “So what?”  I’ve got nothing against sappy, and I’m not looking for my musical diversions to crank up my brain power.  And as for silly love songs, heck, even Paul McCartney agrees that there’s nothing wrong with them, and who wants to argue with Sir Paul?

Anyway, it’s Barry’s birthday today, so I thought it only fitting that I should say yet again how much I enjoy his music.  The part that’s astounding to me, though, is that the man is no 70 years old.  Can you believe that?  Seventy.  Somehow, against all logic, that makes me feel like I must be a hundred.  He’s a generation ahead of me, so he’s not my contemporary, but hearing his age makes me feel very old for some reason.  It seems like I’ve been listening to him all my life.  And, really, he released his first album when I was only ten years old, so he has been around for most of my life.  Add to that the way that listening to someone’s old music makes them seem frozen in time, and you can understand my amazement at the man’s true age.

Also, it was only a year ago the last time I saw him in concert, and while he might not be zipping around the stage quite the way he was thirty or forty years ago, I promise you that he also was not looking like a near septuagenarian.  I was worn out just watching him and seat-dancing along with the music.  Which now makes me think that I’d really like to see him again.  My friend, Kim, and I have seen him many times before, and I’d hate to see the tradition end.  A quick web search reveals that he’ll be performing in my neighboring state of Texas in just a couple of weeks.  I wonder if Kim is up for an impromptu road trip?

Anyway, happy birthday, Mr. Manilow.  Thanks for the music and the memories, and here’s hoping that you’re still making both for a long time to come.

Image courtesy of Weatherman90 at en.wikipedia

Snapshot Sunday, June 16

 

Well, here we are at the end of another weekend, and I’m once again going to bed without accomplishing nearly everything I had hoped to.  Oh, well, you can only do what you can do, right?  All the must-dos got done, and even a couple of the should-dos, so I guess I’ll call it a win.

Let’s get going with this week’s pictures and then I’ll head off to dream land to get ready to start another long week.  As always, photo prompts are provided by Chantelle at Fat Mum Slim.

  Prompt:  From down low.  Underneath my favorite tree, a mimosa. (Which is just starting to bloom, yay!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Prompt:  You! Hard at work in my new office.  Well, not really.  And, it’s not really my office, yet, either.  I’m still the odd man out until the girl I’m replacing actually has her last day, which will be around the end of July.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Prompt:  Something funny.  Two of my classmates, Chancee and Laura.  They always make me laugh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Prompt: 11 O’clock.  Proofreading a response to some motion or another.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Prompt:  Kitchen.  Okay, technically, this is the break room at work.  But, it’s where we prepare our lunches and eat them, so I say that’s like a work kitchen, right?  Though this wasn’t lunch time, but a birthday celebration.  The young girl on the left is Calley, the birthday girl; she’s the one training me to take over her position.  And the other is Tara, our case manager.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Prompt:  Texture.  It’s probably not exactly proper to say so, but I like this picture; I’m pleased with how it turned out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Prompt:  From above.  Okay, this one is a cheat, since I took this photo almost two years ago.  But it’s one of my favorite “above” pictures, taken from a tiny (terrifying!) sea plane above Vancouver and the surrounding mountains and glaciers.  I have to say that I’m glad I overcame my terror and took the flight; it was beautiful up there, and one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.

And that’s the photos for this past week.  Drop by Chantelle’s site for the full list if you’d like to play along; I like to see other people’s pictures, too.  So now, goodnight, and a wish for a great week ahead for all of you.

Six Word Rotation

 

 

Sleep, homework, sleep more, homework, sleep.

It’s another Six Word Saturday.

Five Question Payday

 

 

It’s Friday, and boy am I ever glad!  Not sure what finally caught up with me today—lack of sleep, iffy diet, lack of exercise, or the head cold thing I was fighting earlier this week—but I went out for lunch today and had a small heat attack—got too dizzy to keep walking and had to call Brian to come get me and drive me back to work.  Which, incidentally, was only about three blocks away.  Ridiculous. Not sure what was going on, but even though I went back to work, I made sure to take it easy and drink lots of water. 

Unfortunately, the lunch I was on my way to was the legal assistant association that awarded me the scholarship, so I feel really badly that I couldn’t get there to accept the honor in person. 

On the upside of the day, I got my first paycheck.  If I haven’t already said so, I’ll explain that I’m not exactly signed up for a mega-million contract, but it still feels nice to be earning an income again.

But, enough of all that.  Let’s get on to the questions, because I’m seriously considering going to bed about eight o’clock tonight.

 

1. What do you appreciate most about your children's Dad?

In terms of his Dad-hood, I most appreciate his stability and responsibility.  Being a good provider might not be the most important thing about being a parent, but there’s no denying that it is important.  I’m grateful that I never had to worry whether my kid would have a roof over his head or food on the table.

2. Do you always wear your seat belt?

Well, most always.  Often if I’m sitting in the backseat—which doesn’t happen all that often—I don’t buckle up.  The belts in back are far more uncomfortable than the ones in front.  Of course, I know that’s a poor excuse, and I should wear the belt regardless of the circumstances, but that dang back seat is my weak spot.  But if I’m in the front seat, always.

3. Do you dream and do you remember them?

I do dream, though I remember them far less frequently and vividly than I used to.  More than an actual memory, I am often left with some sort of feeling, so often all I know is if it was a good dream or closer to a nightmare.

4. What is one thing you swore you'd never let your kids do before having them, that you have now changed your ways about?

Honestly, I don’t know that there is anything.  Not because I’m all that good at sticking to things, but because I just don’t know that there was anything I put on the “not in my house” list.  Something that I am is fairly practical, and when I go into something new, I easily recognize I don’t have all the answers, so I don’t make too many grand proclamations about how I’m going to do it. 

Oh, but now that I’ve said all that, I will say that there was one thing I did say I wouldn’t do:  spank my kid with a belt.  Let me be clear:  as a kid, I was disciplined and not abused, but as an adult, I decided that no weapon was necessary to do that.  I’ll admit that I spanked my son a few times, but there was never more involved than my hand on his butt.

5. If you could be granted one wish, what would it be?

I’d like to say that I’d wish for world peace, or something completely altruistic like that, but I’d need at least two wishes before I’d get to that, maybe three.  But if I could have only one wish, it would have to be for my son to truly find happiness in his life.  I know there are a lot of pieces involved in allowing a person to be happy, but I do worry that he’s not managing to put those pieces together so far.

There you have it; this week’s questions.  Thanks for dropping by, and if you’d like to see other answers, drop by and visit with Mama M.  Have a good weekend!

You Have the Right

 

So, I was doing my usual browse through the This Day in History site when I came upon something that definitely caught my eye:  today is the anniversary of the landmark Miranda ruling. Yep, on this date back in 1966, the Supreme Court handed down Miranda v. Arizona, the decision that led to criminals (alleged and otherwise) being advised of their Constitutional rights when they are taken into custody.   (To be clear, June 13 is the day, since it’s going to be “tomorrow” before this posts!)

  I’m sure we’ve all heard this spiel so many times on television and in the movies that we can recite it ourselves, even without any sort of personal experience with the process.  It’s so commonplace that it’s kind of hard to imagine that there was a time when the police could just arrest you for whatever reason and then just hang onto you until they got their confession.  Who knew you had an actual right to keep your mouth shut?  Sure, maybe anybody (including Mr. Miranda) should have had sense enough to figure it out, but who would’ve thought it was an actual law?                                                Image courtesy of sattva at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My classes this summer are Juvenile Law and Criminal Law, and in both, we’ve been talking about the rights and responsibilities contained within our legal processes.  Today in particular we were talking about search and seizure laws and how they come into play in different circumstances.  I wish I’d known a few hours ago about today’s momentous anniversary; I bet I could’ve scored some extra credit.  Or at least some brownie points.

Oh, also, you might not know (I didn’t understand this for many years of my life) that when the USSC takes on a case, it’s rarely just one case.  They often elect to hear several cases at once that rest on the same general legal issue.  That’s how it was in this case, too.  I’m not sure how they choose how the cases are listed, order of filing would be my guess.  Anyway, the point is, along with Miranda, the USSC also heard arguments on California v. Stewart, Vignera v. New York, and Westover v. United States.  Just imagine, rather than your Miranda rights, you could be hearing the “Vignera”  spiel rattled off at every arrest.  Doesn’t roll off the tongue quite the same way, does it?

So happy anniversary, Miranda; here’s to 47 years of due process.