Three Things Thursday

The Birthday Girl!

Listening to the Proclamation about the Day in Her Honor

(Her husband is near her - he is 98!) 

1.  Monday night I went to a very special birthday party. My friend's mom turned 100!  The party was at the nursing home she is living in and the party was packed with friends from her town. I was amazed at all the people who came. When we left the line of people waiting to wish her happy birthday was still out in the hall.  She was a cook at the second school I taught at and homemade bread and rolls were one of the many constant wonderful things on the menu.  Her younger sister (now 90) was the other cook!  This woman is one of the people I bore on a regular basis and send a letter to each week. The poor woman knows far more about me than she wishes to I am sure but she puts up with my drivel to help fill her mailbox!  The town she is from declared it a day in her honor Monday and read the proclamation at the party.  My colleague had the students do some math problems related to her mother today such as telling them the year they got their first car and how old her mom was each time the Red Sox won the World Series.  If I remember correctly it was 7, 93 and 96.  Then they all thought of a question they wanted to ask her. I hope if I live to be 100 I have half as many people who want to wish me happy birthday!  Her husband was there too and he will be 97 in a few weeks.  MJ comes from some good genes.

2.  I seem to be getting to the gym twice a week these days.  ( 2 gym days, 1 pool days, and 2 outdoor running days on the weekends).  I have to say all of my treadmill workouts have been great. Maybe because I have to keep up with the pace I set I have better runs pacewise than outside.  I workout by songs. I start at a pace and each time a new song comes on I move it up. I move it up for 7 songs and then start going down.  Lately this plan has worked great for me and before I know it my miles are done. I do a minimum of 4 miles running which generally takes about 10-11 songs. I usually feel I can keep running for one more song. I can take a walk break after 7 if I want but I often keep going.  It is just one of the many mind games I play to get though my treadmill workouts but lately they really have been going very well.

3. Watching - The Good Wife - I am almost at the end of the second season. I love that show.

Reading - Tag Man by Archer Mayor - a Vermont author.  This is one of his best books yet. I have the new book by Chris Bohjalian, another Vermont author (who was also at the gym tonight) waiting for me at the library.
I'm still reading the book about running on all 7 continents at the gym. I don't read much there so a book takes me forever. I just finished the chapter about running on Antarctica and I loved it.  There is a small part of me that thinks that would be such an awesome thing to do!