Like a Prayer

I'm having a love affair with a mechanical device.

Every day...me and the...machine

Now before your brain takes you "there" and you assume that my machine is a small hand-held device, get your mind back on track and follow me to the gym.

My love affair is with the Precor elliptical machine. I actually have one in particular that is the one I am most fond of...5th machine from the left...

The last time I dropped major poundage I did it by working my patootie off on the Precor and by spinning like a mad woman. I don't like the Stairmaster...or the treadmill...and I HATE stationary bikes (but somehow LOVE spin bikes, go figure). I like the elliptical. In an hour to an hour and a half I burn 650-1000 calories. It shows me (the machine's calculated) calorie count...I'm not convinced it it totally accurate (even though I put my weight in) but I think it is close enough.

But today when I went to the gym I was not feeling the love...

I climbed onto my favorite machine and...nothing...it was all I could do to get going. I felt like I was going through Jell-o.

I blame it on Saturday night...

My dear friend D came over and we had a great visit...over a bottle of wine...we got started a bit late so time slipped by us. We decided to watch an episode of "Glee" that she had missed (never looking at the clock). So we fire up the DVR and start in on the "Power of Madonna" episode...one of my favorites---they are all my favorites, but I love the Material Girl so much that this one ranks way up there at the top.

I looooooooooooooooooove Glee...I looooooooooooooooooooove Madonna!

Before we know it, it is 1:00 am...so she headed home and I still had to write The Cutest Boy in the World at camp...after my nighttime routine it was easily 1:45 before I closed my eyes...maybe later.

So 8:00 am came quickly this morning and I think I had 4 oz more wine than I should have...

So there I am on my beloved machine and I'm not feeling the love...or the power...

But then I did what any True Blue fan of Ms. Ciccone would do...

I let the power of Madonna get me going...I hit "iPod" on the iPhone, hit "artists", hit "Madonna" and hit "all songs" and "shuffle"...and a few minutes later I was rolling...but not my usual stride.

It took awhile for the power of Blonde Ambition to take over...43 minutes to be exact...but once "Like a Prayer" came on, I was rolling...great song...any song that can use a gospel choir to drive it home is alright by me!

So thank you, Madonna...because I hear your voice...it's like an angel sighing...I have no choice, I hear your voice...

I think another issue with getting rolling is that I might have had a little melancholy going on since it is Father's Day. My husband is a great father but both of us have lost our own precious Daddies. For me this day always comes on the heels of my mom's birthday so I get a double-whammy of sad days during the month of June.

I miss my dad every day...he wasn't a perfect father by any means, but he did make my life a whole lot more interesting when he was around. He had a sense of humor that couldn't be beat and his personality was larger than life. He knew more about horses and cattle than he did about algebra, but I'll take his horse-sense any day...

So I sent up a prayer of love and thanksgiving for my wonderful Daddy...and all the dads in my life---my husband, GOTT, TGG, and my other friends...because any man can be a father...but it takes someone special to be a DADDY.

I know my dad is in a better place and that someday I will be with him...but I hope that it isn't too soon! That's why I am doing all this hard work...he died after having bypass surgery because he didn't take great care of himself and I feel like I have a chance to make things right for myself before it is too late and heart disease has set in.

After my workout I spent some time in the pool and then I went to help GOTT and TGG get things ready for the theater camp production this week. Today I made "monkey pants" and Barbie/GI Joe clothes...trust me, you don't want me to explain this one...and dressing Barbies is harder than I remember...it would be easier if she could bend her arms...

So today was all about pushing through...and letting the power of one very amazing pop singer get me to do that push...and my father's love (even though he is gone) to keep me going on that machine.

Oh...and I did an hour and a half on my machine...not bad considering I started off with praying I could handle 30 minutes...

The Power of Madonna, People...use it...

"Like a Prayer"....from the unbelievable ever-changing diva of pop...MADONNA...or the Glee cast version...Just like a prayer, I'll take you there...

bye darlings