What I did yesterday

Each year the Federal Aviation Administration mandates that I must Go Out Flying. I have to spend time in the cockpit of the airplanes that I dispatch. I dread doing this every year because it's a huge pain in the butt, I have to fly for hours to get my required amount of time in, and the jumpseat (which I have to ride in) is fairly uncomfortable. But in the interest of keeping my blog um... interesting, I captured our departure out of Washington-Dulles on video so you could see my perspective on takeoff. See what I go through for you??



Here are some other pictures from my flight.

The Little Drummer Girl

It seems those lessons are starting to pay off!

(Yes, Abby is actually reading music during this lesson!)

She loves me

The leg that I was fondling today

I found myself fondling a leg today, totally disregarding who might be watching and who might consider my actions inappropriate. If someone thought that the soft words that I was whispering while I ran my hand up and down this leg, slowly and precisely, were of an outrageous nature then I didn't notice and didn't care. It had to be done.

This coming Saturday morning I will be taking an Anatomy and Physiology lab exam on the muscles of the body, their actions, and their orgins and insertions. I'm good on the major muscles and their actions but not so good on origins and insertions. I have a lot of studying to do between now and then.

If it's not one thing, it's another...

My, how she's growing

Emily was admiring the bikes at Target while we were shopping earlier. When she expressed an interest in a particular bike I walked over, noted the size and wondered aloud how tall Emily was to see if she would fit on it. My darling daughter, going the distance to either appease me or increase her chances of actually getting the bike for her birthday in June, happily walked over, stood in front of me and raised her hand over her head.

"I'm as tall as your boobs!" she declared.

She's nothing if not resourceful.

Certification | Last Day

Thank goodness that's over!

More sitting, only a few notes worth taking, a few practical exercises (both literally and figuratively) and then it was lunch. An hour's worth of time for me to eat, reflect, study and mentally fortify myself from being sick to my stomach with nerves and then BAM! Test time.

All in all, it wasn't a terrible experience. I'm confident that I did well on the written test. There were only a couple of questions that truly gave me pause. The practical exam is where things start to get fuzzy. I was so nervous that I ended up doing exactly what I didn't want to do: talking too much. I think I did okay on it (I know I could have done better), but I'm not quite sure... that whole experience is blurred now.

Now it's "hurry up and wait". I may not know whether or not I'm certified for upwards of six weeks. Or it could be as early as three.

I wonder if I'll get a thick or thin envelope in the mail?

Certification | Day 2

More sitting. More slides. A little bit of stretching. More note taking.
My hand hurts.
I learn by repetition when I can't grasp a concept immediately. Needless to say, I find writing and rewriting and rewriting yet again a useful way of learning (especially when a lot of information is thrown at me). During the whole process something clicks and I finally get it. This writing and rewriting thing is exactly what I'll be doing tonight after I'm finished goofing off with this update. My official certification test is tomorrow (Sunday).
So, among other things, I'll be writing and rewriting what muscles flex and horizontally abduct the shoulder (that would be the anterior deltoid and the medial and posterior deltoids, respectively... I double checked!) and shooting for a bedtime prior to midnight for a decent night's rest.
Thanks for your continued good wishes! I'll be by Sunday evening to visit and catch up.
In the meantime...drop and give me 20!

Certification | Day 1

Here's a really quick update:
Today went really well. There was a ton of stuff covered in the lecture portion that I already have a firm grasp on. Then we delved into some stuff that I know that I need to focus on, so I'll be doing that over the next couple of days. At the end of the evening we did some practical work on assessment tests (flexibility, cardiorespiratory endurance, strength and endurance, etc.) by way of pairing off and testing each other. I had done the very same things in school not a month or so ago so I felt totally comfortable doing that.
I'd just like to ask the world why someone thought it wise to schedule this day to finish at 9:30 and start tomorrow at 8 a.m.? Anyone? Anyone?
And that is why I'm off to bed. Good night!

Pump me up

This is it. Tomorrow. 4.11.08. My certification. My personal training certification.
I'm afraid to go to sleep because I know I'll have to wake up and then it will be tomorrow and then I'll have to do this but **insert pause to take a breath** I gotta do it.
So. I'm going to go off to bed, hopefully calm myself sufficiently enough to get a decent night's sleep, and think positive thoughts. I trust a freak winter storm won't roll through here and force another cancellation of this workshop.
Wish me luck!

Update: 0849
"I trust a freak winter storm won't roll through here..." Ohmigosh, we're forecasted to get SNOW here on Saturday. I think I jinxed myself!!!

A bit of shameless self promotion never killed anyone.

I need a new entry but I'm sure that you don't want to hear about the intensive house cleaning that I've done in the last two days. Instead I'll tell you about my dinner last night. Go here to read about it.

Basking in the warmth

I'm feeling a bit more sultry today.
A bit more exotic. A little more mysterious.
Somewhat sassy, definitely more feisty.
I'm in the mood to flirt. To push a button or two.

I must have got my hair colored!