wreathing

Wreathing is another good way to get outdoors and exercise with the kids. We had fun picking evergreen boughs and berries. Then we made some wreaths. I love giving them away this time of year. Its fun having something nice to give away that didn't cost me any money. Just fresh air, fun and a giving spirit.

ijoy 130 robotic massage chair

Once in a blue moon, we each get some spending money. After carrying mine around for a year or so I finally decided that I was not going to be buying a sectional, a jacuzzi or taking a trip to Europe with my allotted amount. Once reality set in, I remembered an incredible experience i had..................

I had worked ALL NIGHT in the emergency room. My husband brought moonbeam in to nurse on my break. Between being er nurse and mom, at the end of my 12 hour shift, i was exhausted. Kevin had found a buy in the paper he was picking up afterward in another city. Long story short, i was found inside of Costco with a screaming child, tired body and time to kill. I have this issue with wearing socks polluted with bodily substances so i refused to wear mine, leaving me with tootsies begging to stop walking.

Then i saw it..... heavenly lights illuminated the chair and i heard an angels choir. The screaming baby wanted to eat NOW! I sat, and had a heavenly visitation. WoW! It was like nothing i had ever experienced before. Right there in the middle of the costco. Cloaked in a veil of blanket, Moonbeam happily slurped. I sat there stunned that such pleasure could exist in the middle of a busy store. It rolled, it kneaded, it did everything but make coffee. It was truly a memorable experience. Mainly because of the chair, partly because of the assorted looks from fellow shoppers. Getting a variety of responces often amuses me, this being the case, i enjoyed a good laugh.

It is a good step in my journey to fitness. Something enjoyable without calories ;-) Other than meeting the delivery guy in a back alley of another city (like i was buying some illegal substance), the delivery was decent. Nobody delivers up the remote mountain we live on anyway.

Since we've had it, I love it! Word to the wise : The 150 which costco has is bigger. The 130 fits me great, but i am pretty small framed. I wouldn't order one for a person with a larger caboose, i'd get them the 150. Right now Costco.com has a $150 rebate which made it affordable to me. Pictured here is Moonbeam in it (everything in my house i don't want c0vered in grubby child paw prints must be covered).

Fitness tip #102 tromp all over looking for, cutting down and dragging in a tree with your kids! I was glad i could revert to the chair many times that day!

Responces from my children about the ijoy 130 :

karsten : "it's going to change my life"

kaleb : "it reminds me of a monster coming out of the chair to get me". It also reminds me of a "crashing airplane."

Kevin III: "i can't believe you spent your money on THAT!"

kiana: "it gives you a sore back"

krystiana : "goo"

my husband: "whatever makes you happy dear"

me : EVERYBODY STAY OUT OF IT!!!! ITS MINE MINE MINE!!!!!! DON'T TOUCH IT!!! BLAH BLAH BLAH.........AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

The misadventure of my first Buck

This is my daughter Kiana. She's incredibly virtuous. She's an outstanding student, smart as can be. She's a great cook. She knows how to sew and embroider (which i don't). She's great with the smaller kids. This year, her first hunting year, she single handedly shot this bear and buck dropping them with a single bullet each. She then gutted her own deer and helped cut meat off and process both. Incredible girl. Not so with my hunting endeavors.......

Perhaps it's because I grew up in an anti hunting family. Maybe I can blame the ranting and raving I witnessed as a child each hunting season. Rude hunters trespassing, threatening to shoot our dogs, terrorizing the deer and our family. I grew up with my mom, my grandmother, and my aunt all of whom abhorred guns and hunters in general. Every year I asked for a toy gun and every year the answer was an emphatic "NO!". Finally one year, some one took pity on me and got me a silver toy cap gun with a single toy silver Lone Ranger Bullet. "No Caps!" I was told. "Their Dangerous".

Perhaps it was the first year of our marriage when my husband brought in a hacked off deer leg and told me to cut it up when he was gone at work. That fight eventually ended in some valium, a lecture to him from his mother and him cutting up his own awful deer corpse, which I might add, I did not eat!

Whatever the reason, hunting never came natural to me. I finally started shooting does, not far from the road, in the later years of our marriage, just to try and share in something that Kevin enjoyed. Bucks however always eluded me and it didn't bother me all that much.

This year though, I actually got one. It was shortly after I got my doe, which, by the way, my oldest son helped me get. He spotted it, he gutted it, he drug it out and loaded it up. He then skinned it and he cut the meat off it. He's incredible too.

It all started when they (my kids) insisted I go rattling. Though I was quite skeptical, I went along with it. In years past, I hated rattling because I got too cold. This time I wore many layers though, kind of reminding me of the marshmallow look. There was no impressing my husband in this get up. To add insult to injury, he told me my coat was "too noisy" and insisted I wear an ugly coat of his. Later, I crept through the woods in "too noisy" of a fashion.

Finally, we sat. He told me to quit fidgeting. I can't help being a multi-tasker and sitting waiting around for a deer is just to single tasked. I tried mini crunches and ab exercises. "Stop that fidgeting!!!". Finally I begged to go home. "Wait till dark" he said. Waiting till dark is just too scary, but he was already getting annoyed with me so I figured I'd just better sit. "Can we go home now?" "NO!" He said. "Can I take a nap?" "OK" he said, thinking it was the only way to get me to stop fidgeting. Watching him crash two antlers together a scrape his foot on the ground trying to act like a rutting buck was only entertaining for the first 15 minutes.

Suddenly I woke up to a horrid smell. "Did you fart?!" I said in an accusing whisper. "NO!" he whispered "SHHH". I was just sure it was a bear, because my neighbors told me once if I ever smelled a bad smell in the woods, a bear was sure to follow. "PLEASE can we go?!" "NO". Just then I heard a crashing sound not far away. It was a terrifying sound and I felt goosebumps appearing on me. I just knew it was a killer bear coming to get me. I was froze in a curled up bundle (since I had been taking a nap). Out of the trees appeared a huge mule buck doing the funny mule looking dance. I knew that this was my big chance. Laying there on my side, I took aim. It took forever to get him in my scope. Kevin blew a grunt with his grunt call. It looked straight at me and I shot. He dropped. Then I had a very happy husband. After being married to him for 17 years, his wife had finally shot a buck.

The part we don't tell anybody when he brags is that when I helped him drag it out, I tripped on a rut and fell down with his gun wrecking his $200 scope on a rock. He didn't say anything about that, but his face showed the pain (and maybe just a little pride).

Testimonies of God's Supernatural Protection this Hunting Season

For our Family, Hunting Season is important for several reasons 1. Because the men of my family enjoy the sport and look forward to it all year long. 2. Because we have a family of 7 and the spoils feed our family throughout the year. 3. Because its a season steeped in tradition, passed on from generations. Its a time when Parents and Grandparents pass on something of value to the upcoming generation, instilling self sufficiency and pride. A time where our little community overflows with excitement and lots of extra people. 4. Because I can escape and go shopping and no one will notice.

This year we've had some extra-ordinary encounters and I want to Give God Glory for His Protection.

On election day, Kevin, my husband was out with Kiana. While hiking, she passed up a 3x3 looking at something over the hill. As they looked up, they saw black. Thinking it was an elk, they charged up the hill only to find a mother grizzly and 2 grown cubs with her. The bears saw them, but didn't act aggressive and they separated from them safely.

This past week, my husband was charged by a forked horn buck while he was putting something in his pack. He heard it running and stood up, putting his pack in front to brace for the blow. At the last min., it skidded to a halt and jumped off into the woods.

Just the day before that encounter, our son was hiking in the forest by himself. Kevin had taken me to rattle up a buck - my first ever - a mule 3x3. It was late dragging him out and we were late to pick up our son from his designated location. When we got him on radio, he was staring down a lion. This cougar was waiting for him on the trail in the dark, crouched down ahead of him behind a log. Our son happened to shine a light that reflected it's eye. Seeing the eye saved his life. He shined a flashlight on it's face and yelled at it to leave, then it walked off.

Also this week, my husband was driving our daughter and son back from a hunting hike and the car flipped over on its side because of the ice. It avoided a drop because a large rock prevented it from rolling further down the side of the hill.

I just have to Thank God in all these instances that He was faithful to protect my family. I remember Psalm 91 and I thank God that we dwell in that secret place where we are fixed under His shadow. I hope this will build faith in the hearts of those who read it :-)

We also have had an awesome harvest thus far - I shot my first buck, and got my doe. Kiana got a doe, buck and bear. Kevin Jr. got a buck, bear and doe. Kevin III got a buck and doe. Our freezer is FULL!

Nordic Walking

Ok, I admit it!! When I first saw people Nordic walking I thought It looked wierd. I never even considered doing it until I read an article about it this month. Here are some things I like - now that I've tried it :
Its a good balance help - especially on icy surfaces
Its a full body workout
Its easier on my joints, especially when packing moonbeam.
I don't have to walk as far to get a good workout so it saves me time.
The neighbors and assorted family members give me strange looks ( I have an unusual sense of humor so that amuses me).
The poles can also be used as a primitive weapon to fend off attacking chipmunks.







Fitness tip 101 : Con Your Kids

This is Karsten's "Special Rock". He likes to ride his bike to it while I hike. I can usually con him into riding further if I ask him to go to "special rock".











Now that she's out of her pack, she can do her favorite passtime - play with and suck on her toes!!

Here I go Again......

Here I go again..... Its a dreary November day and I'm starting the second week of my new fitness program to try and get rid of those extra baby pounds.