TAMAQUA AND HOMETOWN, PA
A Dying Area
AARP recently did a video on my hometown area of Tamaqua, Pa. It is a sad thing but it is also a sign of the times. Go to the link below for the video.
A WALK IN MY SHOES.... Years ago I began a blog but then stopped updating it due to the fact that I had the opportunity to become a columnist and share my life through a weekly column in a local newspaper. As a retiree, I still feel the need to share. This journal has been resurrected as an outlet, a replacement to my column which was called A Walk in My Shoes, to share my life and in many cases, to simply say what people are thinking but are afraid to say.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
A NEW BEGINNING...AGAIN
O.K...never give up is my motto.....I have not posted here since September and I have been in Weight Watcher hell!
On January 10th, I began a new journey....not just diet...but a commitment to something that I am proud I even went so far as to commit to.
On January 10th I signed up and weighed in for Boot Camp at our local YMCA. What is even more exciting is that I did it by myself....no friends in class with me...just me to be responsible to get there and do it.
Today started my third week of Boot Camp. We are encouraged not to get on the scale as you gain weight first and I have not but I know it is doing nothing but good. I have time slots where I can choose to attend. I can go from 6 to 7 a.m., 10 to 11 am or 6:30 to 7:30 pm, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
I have basically stuck to the pm class led by Ricco and Mikey. Let me tell you....Mikey may sound cute but he is a former drill sargeant and a slave drive and Ricco is just as bad. Our evening consists of heavy duty work-outs in the parking lot of the Y. Running sprints....jogging....lunges....running with weights....curls.....crunches...you name it. If you forget your dog tag in any class, you are punished.
On Martin Luther King Day I tried out the 10 a.m. class led by Judy. Judy is a sweetie and very helpful. We did a spinning class and I was just happy that when I got off the bike the seat wasn't stuck in my crack!!!! LOL! I did pretty good and then we also did elastic bands.
From today forward I have to attend the 6 a.m. class on Mondays. Yes....6 a.m! This means I got up at 5 a.m. and left my house at 5:30. Got to the gym and this morning class is led by a lady named O'Shaun (sp?). O'Shaun was great also. Don't screw up because then everyone has to do 10 more push ups! We did ball tosses, sprints, lunges, band work, frog hops, leg lifts, etc. I finished class and got a shower there in COLD water as we live too far away from the Y and I had to get to class. I did feel good today after exercising but I will probably fall asleep early.
My muscles ache....I keep finding body parts that I did not know I had but it is a good thing. I have been watching my diet along with the exercise so I am hoping for some good results.
We don't get weighed in again until the following Saturday as it is an 8 week session and we get weighed in the beginning, middle and end. I'm hoping for some great results or I'll die trying!
Friday, January 23, 2009
SEW FUNNY!!!!!
On Sundays after mass, a group of church people get together and go to breakfast. Our conversations run from football, computers, music, teeth to who knows what. This week I was telling everyone how excited I was because I watched a You Tube video on how to fold fabric! I then tried it and took every single piece of fabric out of my sewing room closet and began folding. I was like a kid in a candy shop....sew excited. It took me two days to fold everything.
After explaining this to the group, I noticed that they just weren't as excited about it and stared at me like I had two heads. My organist, Dan Cotter, shook his head in disbelief wondering why anyone would spend two days folding fabric and told me that he could not believe my enthusiasm for it. He said I should have my own crafting show. I guess it is a sewing female thing! LOL!
Anyway...I'm sew excited sew here are the pictures of my sewing room to prove just how neat, organized and spacious this folding method has made my room!!! Men...you could only wish your tools were so organized
Friday, January 2, 2009
THIS IS IMPORTANT...BE A FOLLOWER!
If you click on the Follower spot on the left hand corner of this Blog, you will know when I updated my Blog as you will receive an e-mail with the updated story. This is the best feature that the Blogspot has come up with as now I don't have to e-mail everyone when I've updated my blog. So everyone....be a follower if you want and save me from sending such a massive e-mail!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
WHAT CHRISTMAS GIFT IS GOOD FOR A CRAZY BROTHER? Each year I am faced with the dilema of what to buy my family for Christmas. I had already purchased gifts for my brothers when I came across an item that I just KNEW had to be for my oldest brother, Robert. You see...my brother LOVES footy pajamas. I happened to be in Target and saw sock monkey footey pajamas and just knew that as nuts as he is, this was the gift for him. My girlfriends Marcie and Barbara both agreed.
Here is a picture of my brother modeling his p.j.'s. Cute....huh? Notice the monkey sock feet. No...I was NOT trying to make a monkey out of him...he does that all by himself! Love you Robert!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Tampa in December 
Over the weekend of the 13th, my best friends, Barbara and Marcie and me went to Tampa, Florida to visit my daughter Jessie. Her church, Idlewild Baptist Church puts on a show for Christmas that is like a Broadway production. This year was no exception. On top of all of it, the guest star was Jim Caviezel who played Jesus in The Passion of Christ. It was sensational and the new church is huge. The pastor welcomed us and said that we probably think we are at Six Flags Over Jesus!
While there, my daughter's fiance, Jackson, insisted we stay at his house. He made points with the girls as there was coffee and creamer every morning. At Jessie's house there is NO coffee whatsoever.
Marcie asked Jackson to tell us where an address was. It was the address for a friend who lived in our neighborhood when our girls were little. It just so happen that it was right around the corner so we went and visited our friend, Denise Smith. Our pictures are above.
We had a great trip.
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