What Do You Define as Leisure Time?

Ok I could hardly wait to do this post..I had plotted out my day like most women do pretty much the night before. I knew I needed to do a little bit of computer work before I drove my father-in-law to have his second cataract out-patient surgery. I took the book I have been trying to finish since my trip to Washington D.C almost a month ago so I could possibly try to finish it. My mother-in-law was with me and she usually never remembers to bring something to occupy her mind instead of sitting and worrying about how the procedure is going. After about 45 minutes she gazed at her watch and asked "Gee I wonder when they are going to come get me to see him?". I told her it had only been a little while (but I guess it seemed liked forever for her). Shortly after that they called her back and a few moments later she came out saying that I could go get the car to pull to the front.

As I turned the corner to exit the building my father-in-law is walking out the door with a nurse running out after him. Oh I forgot he has a hearing problem and refuses to wear a hearing device. I proceed to tell the nurse "can you please take him in so I can get the car?". She is trying to look at the situation as humorous while I am thinking he could possibly fall on his face because he still has somewhat blurry vision. Needless to say it was like trying to stop a three-ring circus but we managed to stop everyone in their tracks while I speedily got the car. (Thank heavens for handicapped parking plaques).

I managed to get them both out of the car at separate times, which is no small task. Got them inside and proceeded to tell them I had alot to get done at home. By now the first half of my day had ticked by quicker than I wanted.

The rest of my day was as follows:

Answer e-mails and phone calls from clients, stop at the Dollar Store for brooms to do sweeping that I hadn't done over the weekend, do some filing, pay some bills, do a load of laundry, pick up in the yard, plant some herbs, (yes I am on a quest to grow my own veggies and eat healthy, lets see how this one goes!) sweep and vacuum and try and plot tomorrows strategies.

Well it probably wasn't as busy a day as the day before was but it still for me took a measure of focus, to try to keep things running as smoothly as possible.

I happened to watch the episode today on Dr. Phil which was largely about how at home mothers have on average, according to a university sociology professor who I will not call by name in this post because I at first had a name for him that was very nice, approximately 40 hours a week of "leisure" time....Hummmm I thought is this guy from another planet?

After listening further, his definition of leisure time differs greatly from mine.. Leisure in my book is, for instance, reading a book for fun, sitting out in my yard on a sunny day, playing with my dogs, ok you get my drift...Some of his were: Having a root canal (going to the dentist), community work, personal care. I guess it is all in the interpretation but lets just say their were alot of extremely unhappy women in that audience.

I guess if you were to chalk my day up according to this gentlemen my whole day was leisure except for maybe the first couple of hours..and sadly the few minutes I took to watch the episode.

Well back to living my leisurely life, sitting on my lounge, eating my bon-bons and pointing at my royal subjects--yeah right...Well what do you define as leisure time???

The Leprechaun Story

I had a very uneventful St. Patrick's Day. No green beer, and no cornbeef and cabbage. But today on a walk with my daughter she told me a story that topped any celebrating I could possibly have done.

A friend she had told her a story that he claims is totally true. I am glad if it is true that it happened in our small town because I doubt if it had happened anywhere else that it would have been handled in such a kind way. I guess it pays to have compassion and a sense of humor all in one.

Anyway a woman who works at a local retailer was at work on Wednesday when her mentally challenged son called her from home. He is able to stay at home on his own and do the basic daily tasks. He called her on her phone very excited with the news that "He had caught a leprechaun and he had a pot of gold". "That's nice", the woman replied to her son and hung up. After multiple excited calls back to his mom, the woman told her boss that she thought there might be something wrong at home and maybe she should check it out.

When she got home, her son excitedly greeted her at the door with "I caught a leprechaun, he's in my room and he has a pot of gold!".. His mother was a little frightened to see what he had in his room but she proceeded in to his room.

There standing in her son's room was a "little person" on his cellphone holding a bag. It turns out that the person was a Jehovah's Witness going door to door delivering his message.

Anywhere else the police would have been called, the young man probably would have been arrested but apparently the little person was somewhat understanding of the situation.

It have to admit it made me laugh...

Mrs. Goalder Goes to Washington

Well the last couple weeks have been like I would imagine the feeling of being in the eye of a tornado. I often complain of being way to busy or never having enough time for down time, but yet my down time from Thursday of last week to Tuesday of this was anything but down time.Several months ago, my friend Linda asked if I would like to accompany her and her granddaughter to Washington D.C. for the Alzheimer's Summit. She has taken her two oldest grand kids so that they can experience what some would term something only for "old people" but nothing can be far from the truth. Unfortunately, Alzheimer's is quickly climbing the ladder of the major diseases, two quickly really. We had the opportunity to visit our Missouri Senators Kit Bond and Claire McCaskill and also our Congressman for our area, Ike Skelton. All seemed really eager to support the Alzheimer's causes. With this being a busy "health reform" year I think they were probably a little more receptive than usual but you have to take what you can get and hope they are true to their words.

With my 16 years of past civil service experience in California it brought back alot of memories from dealing with government officials. To be honest alot hasn't changed, unfortunately, and I am really not sure if it ever really will but you have to keep trying over and over again. Maybe if they can know you by name like our Congress does my friend Linda, she must be doing something right. Sometimes the form letters in response to your letters or e-mails just are not enough, a face to face speaks volumes and we did with approximately 650 Alzheimer's advocates speaking to their representatives.

At least we were able to have some fun time too. I have only been in D.C. once on business with David and we were never able to be tourists. What an experience it was. People who voice their opinions about Washington without being their truly don't have any idea what a powerful feeling the city gives. To visit all that we did:

The Lincoln Memorial-It actually brought a tear to my eye to stand and look at the massive monument and see a man that was one of many who brought our country through some difficult times that people all over our country are still affected by.

Washington Memorial-Something I learned it took 82 years to build.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial-That long, black wall seemed to go for miles. 58,000 names of those that sacrificed so much and still those living that are paying the price for fighting for our country.

The World War II was the most beautiful of all the memorials and holds a special place in my heart.

Smithsonian-Hard to hit all of them but the Ruby Slippers from Wizard of Oz and Brian Boitano's Gold medal skates were worth it.

I could go on and on and I think my family has already gotten tired of the stories so far but all I can say is every American should experience a trip their. I truly think it means more if you are a mature adult who enjoys history but hopefully everyone can bring away something from an experience like I had. The weather was the most beautiful 5 days that we had all winter so we were pumped with enough Vitamin D to last us a few days.

Oh and I can't forget that the Omni Shoreham Hotel where we stayed was a historical significance also. The Beatles first performed their when they came to the US in 1964, several presidents have had their inaugural balls their and the 8th Floor Ghost Suite was four flights above our room. We did have some strange occurrence's happen, the non-believers can think what they want but with a town full of history you have to expect a few strange happenings here and their.

Walking through the Petersen House (where Lincoln died) was enough to make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck (something that happened a couple times on this trip) and the Ford Theatre where Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth (no it is no relation!!) was another experience. I know I am missing some of my experiences but their was just to many.

I will always be a city girl at heart and the electricity that a large city provides helped to pump me up for a while. To coin a phrase from an Orange County Housewife "my tank was depleted and now my tank is full for a little while" until I get the urge to visit another big city.

Winter Olympics Vancouver 2010

Well today is the last day. What a two weeks it has been. The excitement alone has been an adrenaline rush. It's helped make the long, long winter a little brighter.

Thank you to MSNBC for replaying the entire figure skating groupings this morning. It gave me a chance to get a closer look of the things I missed. I am much more critical of it because it was a major part 33 of my 48 years. Living and breathing something puts everything in perspective.

Individually, my take on the games. Something that will really never change about the sport is that exposure to international competitions greatly influences where you place in the Olympics. Favorites will always win before true skating. The outside stories also tend to influence the outcomes. Overall the competitors did well but the inconsistency of rewarding or overlooking the obvious still will probably never really change in this sport.

In re-watching the ladies competition it was very obvious. Korea's Kim Yu-Na really was alone in the race for gold. After watching her program a second time it was very interesting how many influences she had in her program. I saw alot of Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen, and as far back as Nancy Kerrigan. Of course also saw alot of her coach Brian Orser. Much of the footwork moves were all Brian. (I couldn't help but think back to the "Dualing Brians". He lost the gold that Olympics and made me think he got his gold medal with Kim's performance) It will be interesting to see how she holds up in her career. She really doesn't seem to skate for herself more for her country and culture. Something that will never change in the Asian nations. The same could be said for the silver medalist Mao Asada. Her story was alot like the men's silver medalist, Plushenko. Although her tricks included three triples or was it two, they were not clean and complete so it really didn't count. You could really see the sadness in her face also. She had the silver medal but still didn't seem happy.

Canada's Joanie Rochette was a heart rendering story in itself. I can't help feel her performance was awarded due to the fact also of the sympathy factor and home advantage. Although her program was good, it did have several mistakes but those seemed to be slightly overlooked due to her personal tragedy to still give her the bronze medal.

The same is true with the ice dancing. The Russians ecked out a bronze, partly due to their higher scores in the Compulsory Dance. The "costume question" in both the Free Dance and the Original Dance were the same issue. But, since the Russians have always placed in the top 3 since the inception of the Ice Dance category, the really squeaked by.

In the men's competition it was really only Lysacek/Plushenko. It goes to show here any quad won't do.

It will me interesting what the World's Championship next month will bring. In the past most Olympians chose not to compete. I am sure it won't be any competition like the Olympics but still it's just as important.

Pushing Yourself to the Limits

I feel as though I have been living my own Olympic event the past 11 days. Valentine's Day was suppose to be a day of love and heartfelt giving and it was my first day of feeling totally awful. I spent the day in bed feeling like I had been literally struck in the heart with an arrow but this arrow was a good case of bronchitis. I made my way to the doctor's office where his first comment was "gee I haven't seen you in a long time".. Which like most is the way you like it unless you are a hypochondriac. I proceed to get my z-pac and codeine cough syrup and today is the first day I have felt actually human again. I guess this is my version of my gold medal getting back to good health.

My path has been fully loaded with way to much on my plate as usual with no end in sight. I guess this was my bodies way of telling me slow down. The one bright spot in this is that I have been able to direct my attention to many of the Olympic events. Being sick made me think of how often athletes compete while being sick. Adrenaline can push you through things you never imagined you could make it through. Plus the desire to put in the best performance possible, no matter what your chosen sport is. Being on autopilot can make you forget how sick one can be and still make it through.

I remember when I was competing with the synchronized team one year I had to compete with a terrible inner ear infection. Thank goodness I had people on each side of me who could keep me standing because I doubt if I would have made it otherwise. A take it for the team attitude can get you through anything.

By the way I hope one year synchronized skating will be a part of the Olympic experience so I can say I was part of the pioneering teams. I guess I can at least be happy that our pictures grace the Figure Skating Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs as part of the legacy of skating. We pushed the envelope many times.

The Russian ice dance team made me reflect again on how costumes can push the limits of the sport. They did it in a not so tasteful way but any extra publicity definitely puts you on the mind of the viewing public and judges. Our team did it with top hats and splitting the team in half where half wore black tuxedo coats and the others white dress (I unfortunate got to wear the tuxedo) we ended up winning that year and were the talk of the competition, not unlike the Russians.

I look forward to the finals in ice dancing and the start of the women's skating events in the next week. Another week of pushing the limits and I will have a front row seat.

A Little Sunshine in this Long, Long Winter

I speak for many when I say "I am sick of winter!". It is probably the worst I have experienced in my lifetime. The color white has become a constant reminder. Some have actually said to me, "but you loved figure skating so winter should be your favorite time of the year". But those must realize you can step in and out of a rink and experience the outdoor season. Skating is a way of life, like any sport. My body totally got used to being in the little dresses, or almost naked as some used to remind me, but it was completely different. I compared it to football players who play in the snow, you are working mostly on adrenaline and it's something that is a part of your life, like putting on your shoes. Only those who are passionate about something in their life can truly know a little how it feels.

Although I have been a little under the weather the last few days I have still managed to click on the television and watch skating. It brings back those truly magnificent times in my life where I felt like nothing was unattainable.

Figure skating constantly changes but the one thing that is the most enjoyable is to watch the "older" more seasoned skaters come back and try just one more time to capture a moment in their hands they have worked all their lives for.. To put it in perspective their are 10 figure skaters out of the millions and millions who skate who worked up the ranks this year to be able to be an Olympian. You dedicate your whole life, 24-7 to the sport, you live and breath it, it takes tremendous focus and determination. Believe me not everyone has the talent. Personally I was always happy to just do the best I could. I was always my own worse critic (and still am). It's a very harsh world.

I remember long ago our local newspaper wrote an article on my parents about their love of the sport and my dad being quoted he wanted to be "buried with his boots on". That quote made me think about the young man who tragically died on the luge course. It was quoted on the internet this morning that he had told his dad he would either win or die trying. My first thought was be careful what you wish for, but it also made me felt although we never have a chose on how we leave this world, he died doing what he loved.

So with that in this long, long winter from east to west, the Olympics is bringing a little sunshine and fond memories to my life.

The Biggest Contest of the Year

It has been a few years since I have taken the time to sit down and watch a football game. Truthfully, probably the last one was our son Matthew's last high school football game 5 years ago. Bittersweet as it was, admittedly I was glad it was over. But as a mother I needed to support his desire to play.. Our family truly has never been a sport watching family. I don't lose my husband on the weekends to any of the major sports like other women do (thank God) but occasionally a Super Bowl has been enticing enough to watch.

I have been invited by a friend to her Super Bowl party. She has many reasons to cheer this year. After Hurricane Katrina she was one of many families that had to relocate somewhere else. Her husband had a chance for a transfer here so Missouri became her new home.. Needless to say she is on "cloud-nine" that the New Orleans Saints have a great chance to win the Super Bowl this year.

Usually I root for the underdog and heaven knows New Orleans has had it's share of struggles the last several years. It would be wonderful if they win.

New Orleans is a great town. I had the chance many years ago to attend a conference their. I remember the wonderful food, sights and people. Although Katrina took alot of that away, step by step and little by little I am sure they will one day be the New Orleans I remember best.

Who Dat!!! Saints....