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

4 mintues

So I go to Spinderellas spin class today...I love her class and I am always happy when it is Tuesday and I can go and die on an indoor cycle bike. This time I made my sweet friend---let's call her "Sistah" because she is like a little sister to me---come with me.

Now Sistah is about a foot taller than me and she has legs for miles...I'm envious...because these legs aren't just long, they are beautiful, strong, tennis-playing legs. Sistah is a sporty girl...and beautiful...and she can play tennis.

I may belong to the Houston Racquet Club but you will never see me swing a racquet at a ball. Because I am bad at tennis. Hopeless. Awful...

A long time ago when I was in middle school, my mother hired a tennis coach for me and my sisters. I think she really just wanted to date the guy, but in any case we were forced into learning to play tennis. He worked with me a day or two. And then he told my mother she could have her money back because I was never going to be a tennis player. Ever. Hopeless...

How bad to you have to be for a coach to declare that there is no point?

"how awful is Anice at tennis" Part 2:
At camp they didn't even make me play. I got to chase the balls...

So I belong to the HRC as a place to hang out, drink, and work out. And have dinner (the food is...mehhhh...). But not to play tennis.

So Sistah and I spin...45 minutes...15 minutes of abs...and then 30 more minutes of Spinderella making us ride those bikes like we were Lance Armstrong climbing the Alps. Sistah did great and it was her first spin class. I can't wait until she tells me that she can't sit down tomorrow...I didn't mention that part to her...

Today Spinderella showed us Madonna videos as a way to keep our minds off of the fact that we were in brutal pain. Videos from the 90's.

Videos like:
"Bedtime Stories"----very strange...I get wigged out when her eyes become mouths
"Human Nature"---also odd...and all this bondage stuff...
"Ray of Light"---a little crazy
"Take a Bow"---the video that launched a craze for Chanel Vamp nail polish
"the Power of Goodbye"---Goran Visnijic...need I say more?

Conclusion: Madonna is more beautiful as a brunette. JMHO...

So Spinderella has us all on the bikes and she opens the class with "4 minutes"...

And that got me thinking...

what can I do in 4 minutes to save the world...like the song says?

or maybe what can I do in 4 minutes to save myself? But saving the world is more noble...

In light of the week I am having, with my friends losing their son in a tragic accident, I can't help but feel like there is something we can all do to save the world. Or ourselves...or a friend...

4 minutes...not much time...or a lot of time...

In four minutes, I can do a lot for myself...

I can do squats, or bicep curls, or a wall sit, or triceps...

I can brush my teeth (sonicare 2 minutes) and wash my face...

I can put on sunscreen (heaven help me...I love my tan...)

I can heat up some veggies...those little "steam in the bag" things are convenient!

I can use the fancy little bumpy scrubby thing that is supposed to make my cellulite go away....although I suspect that I can stay in the shower and use that thing until the next day and I will still have cellulite, but I bought into the hype...

I can open a bottle of wine and pour a glass (ok, maybe that is not as healthy, but it sure makes me happy)...

I can pet my cat (they say that petting an animal reduces your blood pressure)

I can eat a cup of yogurt (Fage...2%....honey) for the calcium

And I can do things for a friend:

I can send a note or email to thank someone for being my friend (that sounds hokey, but it really is sweet...and think of how much that would mean if someone did that for YOU)

I can pray for someone...we all know people who need our prayers...

OK, I'm not going to get in to all the things we can do for the greater good here because we all know those things...and besides, I had a good bit of red wine (a nice Gigondas) at dinner and I am tired...but you get the picture...

4 minutes is not a lot of time...but we can use it well...and so, I plan to spend that time a little more wisely...

My friend Sistah is a great person...she's a real sweetheart...she is younger than me but I learn from her every day...she has great faith in God, she loves the Lord...and she treats her friends like they are gifts...I am lucky to be one of those friends...she uses 4 minutes well...even on the spin bike...and especially when she is praying for me and being my friend...

use your 4 minutes well...

I'm off to brush my teeth and wash my face...

"4 minutes" by the awesome and amazing Madonna...or the Glee cast version...4 minutes to save the world...or yourself...

bye darlings