Overheard in my daughter's kindergarden classroom:

Volunteer parent to 6 year old kindergardener: "So, Lucas, what are you into these days?"

Lucas, cute little blonde kid with glasses: "I am really into music."

Volunteer parent: "Really? What do you like?"

Lucas: "Oh you know, Green Day, Blink 182..."

Postscript: my point may have been missed as I left things vague. I was trying to indicate that I find it amusing that many so-called "alternative rock" bands these days have somehow morphed into (via marketing, overexposure)  bubblegum-pop (i.e. - for the kiddies) dressed up in torn clothes and wacky hairdos.

My own 6-year old has, on her favorite CD mix: Pink, The Ramones, Outkast, and Johnathan Richman. She also used to dig Nelly but I had a hard time finding the "Radio Disney" edits of his singles for her!

Once all the hub-bub of my family's winter/spring schedule dies down, I am gonna check THIS out, especially since I have been having roller disco fantasies for YEARS! I was overjoyed to learn of these lessons since the rink is literally 5 minutes from my house.

Not to mention, I  have my own old-school white-boot & purple wheel skates in my attic.

Roll-Bounce, Boyyyyyeeeeeee!

My husband decided to go "legit" (somewhat) with his MP3 collecting and subscribed to Yahoo!Music. I was on there this morning gathering tunes for treadmill time and was shocked to find only ONE  version ("special disco version!" - duh!) of Heatwave's "The Grooveline" and zero, I tell ya', ZERO copies of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack nor any of the booty-shakin classics from it that may have been reissued elsewhere. WTF?!?

I did snag one of my fave (albeit corny) synth classics:"(Keep Feeling)Fascination" by Human League. In case you need to know - it's an excellent paced jam to accompany hill running or stairmaster torture.

Each day that I glance outside to view my backyard, I get antsy. Its still not much more than a scarred mudpit after last fall's "surgery" to install water and sewer lines.

Granted, I don't believe in sod. Sod is just the laziest concept I can imagine. But its not just a matter of getting the grass to grow. The ground desperately needs to be leveled. And some kind of layout needs to be assigned to the various portions of the outdoor living space.

I think I have convinced hubby to install a small pond in the yard - its already torn up so why not cover one of the divots in vinyl, rocks, water and plants?? I've gathered info in magazines, books, and online relating to pond installation and maintenance. One nice thing is that we already have a nice supply of rocks/small boulders left after the construction. I gathered them into a large pile last fall, hoping to somehow incorporate them back into the garden. I'm also looking forward to the water garden being not just plants and water but a HABITAT for frogs, birds, snails, and small fish. We do have Herons in our area in the summer so I have to ensure that the setup includes hiding spaces for aquatic creatures to give them a fair chance. Naturally we'll be doing this project on a budget but from the research I've done so far it appears do-able in our price range.

In order to reasonably (i.e. without injury) undertake the landscaping that needs to be initiated in a few short weeks, I realized I need to step-up my fitness routine. Since I have barely shed any pounds, despite working out vigorously (cardio, weigh training, yoga and pilates) at least 5 days a week fo the past 5 weeks, I had been concerned about where my cardio-vascular fitness level was - and per my monitor findings, its wasn't too great. I started working out w. my heart rate monitor again and I think that will be the key to training in the zone I need to be in to affect change.

Yesterday, I got on the treadmill with my electronics in tow: mp3 player to pump up the jams and heart rate monitor to pump up my blood. I guess I was enjoying the digitized tunage because before I knew it, I completed 5 miles of walking/running/and hill-climbing. I kinda wanna go for that again today! I won't be able to swim for a few days because my kiddo is home sick with a cold, and of course, I have those feminie issues to deal with, making swimming a less-than-ideal option right now.

I always wondered who wore the kooky, semi-kitschy and moderately pricey duds from Urban Outiftters...

...and then I caught a bit of #1 Single on E! and realized that it must be Lisa Loeb who is single-handedly keeping that chain of overpriced juniorwear afloat.

And what is UP with her flashing her thong'd lil' heine to Isaac Mizrahi? Speaking of whom... can I just note that, though I appreciate his sense of style and humor, he has got to be the worst talk show host on the planet. Although one interview I'd adore: Isaac Mizrahi talks candidly to resident Alien, Roger, from Fox's American Dad. 

I was having a terrible weekend: after my initial elation/exhaustion from my swimming workout on Thursday, I awoke on Friday to discover that I got my period AGAIN. Yes a full week early - thus giving me TWO ,count 'em, TWO menses within one month's time thus far in 2006.

The resulting skin breakouts, mood swings and weight flux put me in foul spirits which resonated until this evening.

Upon the suggestion of the Hubby, I picked up Chinese food for dinner. After inhaling copious amounts of Kung-pao chicken, I opened my fortune cookie:

"Remember: After a rainstorm there is always sunshine."

So in a few days, I guess I can expect butterflies and daisies to come fluttering out from betwixt my thighs?!?! Whatever...as long as its not that bouncing yellow Wal-Mart smile face, whistling dixie as he emerges from my nether region, I think I'll be fine with it. (insert smart-a** grin here.)

My community pool offers "Adult Liesure Swim" each day from 1-2pm. Basically it means you can move around in the pool with kickboards or floats (provided), walk the length of the pool, tread water, or even SWIM, but without the restriction of having to stay within a lane at a certain pace.

I went and did all of those activities, tried various swimming strokes, did some "toning"/resistance training with the floats, as well as some post-kickboard stretching, for about 35 minutes. Then to further drain my system I hopped in the sauna for 10 minutes. Man, I am WIPED OUT!

Liesure, my arse!!

Hey!

Tomorrow (Wed.) on CBS' "The Early Show" there will be an interview with author, restaurant reviewer and all-around fun gal Lauren McCutcheon, on her new book, A Virgin's Guide To Everything.

Lauren is one of my sister's best friends; they have collaborated together for many years (i.e. - my sis and her hubby often accompany Lauren when doing restaurant reviews) and I can tell you for a fact that Lauren has some excellent karaoke skills!

Peek in on the interview and check out her book, too!

...was supposed to be Jack Elliott's due date.

My mom reminded me of this over the weekend. I'm ok about it all but my daughter was lamenting his loss today.

*sigh*