Spring in DC {and the Cherry Blossom Festival}

Hubby has a conference in DC this week. Since I'm on vacation I used this opportunity to travel with him. As luck would have it, we are lucky enough to be in DC during the Cherry Blossom festival.  Turns out it's not only the Cherry Blossom Festival BUT it is the 100 Year Anniversary of Japan's Cherry Blossom gifts to the U.S. So, Hubby and I spent our first day in DC at the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms in bloom.

The Mystery of the Bird Food Bandit

The squirrel can't be the only bird food thief! Right?  You remember that I was driven to crazy antics because a Pesky Squirrel was TAUNTING me. Not long after my meltdown {involving a broom} my sleuthing husband caught Pesky Squirrel in the act of outwitting us.

Happy Year of the Dragon

Last year was my first Chinese New Year post. In fact, I was a little ashamed to realize that I had such a limited knowledge of the Asian Tradition.

Interestingly, since the Time Square Ball Dropping New Year's celebration, my 2011 Chinese New Year post has received a spike in "reads".  I tried to decide if I would write a 2012 Chinese New Year post and almost didn't. There were two reasons I thought my Chinese New Year thoughts were a one-time musing. The first reason is/was that I didn't post about it on January 23rd (or even the 24th). The second reason is that I wasn't sure I could find something new to explore for how the Chinese New Year fits into my life.

I'm glad that I decided to revisit the topic, because, of course, there is more to explore.

Please don't judge me for my lack of knowledge about this holiday. There are many holidays that I was not raised with that I do not know details about. My lack of knowledge is not an indicator of my lack of respect. (At least I don't intend it to be.)

Anyway, I did not realize until I started toying with the idea of writing about the Year of the Dragon, that the New Year celebration actually lasted until the first full moon (2/6/12).  So, with that new knowledge, I'm still late to the "party" but I wanted to write about it anyway.

Last year I learned that I was born in the year of the Tiger. Knowing this is no different than knowing the year in which I was born. (You will have to check Tiger years if you want to guess my age.)  For me, naming the years based on an animal can be similar to thinking of it as a memory tool. --You know, like knowing that the last year of the Dragon was 2001.

The years also have qualifiers (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water). 2012 is a year of the Water Dragon. 2001 was a Metal Dragon. The last Water Dragon year was 1952.

I struggled with History classes in both high school and college.  To this day I regret taking a World History course in college when it was not required.  (The university made it a requirement for Freshmen entering college the year after I did). Why do I regret this choice? Because it brought down my GPA. Calculus did a number on my GPA as well.  But that was necessary for me to learn some major concepts (like, I shouldn't choose a major that required calculus).

Coming back to my point about the naming of years and history. If I had thought to think of timelines in a different way than what was presented, I may have remembered more of what makes history important.

Anyway, the Year of the Dragon is thought to bring: Well, I'm not quite sure. But I understand that people born in the Year of the Dragon are typically brave and innovative highly driven and successful.

The celebration of the Chinese New Year includes decorating with things that symbolize wealth happiness and good fortune.  It's also a time of gift giving and thinking only good thoughts.

The home should be cleaned before the start of the New Year so that there is a fresh start and there is no need to focus on "work" in the first days of the New Year.  The tone of the New Year celebration week sets the tone for the year.  So, you want to be zen with your world during this time. You know, peaceful, harmonious home, and having/promoting harmony in your relationships.

While I was only familiar with the first day of the Chinese New Year, the 15-day celebration is marked with a different emphasis each day.  For Example:
Day 1: Is to Honor You Elders (specifically in your own family).
Day 3: Typically is not for socializing with relatives or friends (I'm not sure if this is a day of meditation or what...more research is definitely needed.)
Day 15: Is the final day of the Chinese New Year and often includes a Lantern Festival.

I began writing this post back on Feb. 5th. But stepped away and didn't finish. I've decided this day is a good day to share my very little knowledge of the Traditions of the Chinese New Year.

Enjoy.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090516/Happy-Chinese-New-Year-2012-Millions-welcome-Year-Of-The-Dragon.html#ixzz1l6GnU15w

Thursday Tidbits

I'm not gonna lie, I'm over Law & Order. I'm especially over SVU.  But I totally love the sound of "Bum Bum" between scenes.  I think everyone knows when we are about to hear that sound effect.  Most of us (or maybe it's just me) make the sound effect with the TV. 

But, before you think this is a hater post, I have to say that I saw comedian John Mulaney on Conan two weeks ago and he really made me laugh when he talked about Law & Order SVU. I thought he was so funny that I have to share the video clip with you here. Spoiler Alert: As the Soda Fountain photo implies (found and posted on Pinterest), Ice-T gets more than an honorable mention.

Personal Training

My back issues started in earnest when I first started working out with a personal trainer (about 5 years ago). It was my first experience with a personal trainer ever. And I was out of shape (of course) but had never really exercised before. (I don't think P.E. in Jr. High really qualifies.) I was exercise adverse. I don't mean that I was/am against physical activity. I just was against the kind that involved a gym, equipment, looking stupid and sweating. I had several times in my life where I went to Jazzercise or Aerobics class (back in the day when we all wanted to look like Olivia Newton-John as she "Got Physical").  But I digress.

I had amazing health insurance at the time and it paid for a medical program that included a weekly nutritionist, 3X / week personal training and periodic check-ins with the doctor.  It was a one time program and I had to pay a portion, but I wouldn't have been able to afford it without the amazing health insurance plan. Anywho, the program expected dramatic results (which it achieved). And the personal trainer I was assigned to was a young man. I believe he felt pressure to be able to write down quick physical fitness improvements in my chart.  (The program was heavily monitored by a team of professionals that were evaluating the program as a whole as well as the results of individuals).

Lots of lessons AFTER I was hurt.

This seems obvious, I know.  But...there's this weird thing at work here. I'm paying this trainer to help me get into shape. I believe that what he is asking me to do will actually help me get into shape. I believe that he knows better than I and would not instruct me to do an exercise that I wasn't ready for. Whenever I wanted to say, "No, I don't like this", I wasn't sure if I just didn't like it OR if there was a reason I shouldn't do it.
Turns out, one of the reasons I got hurt was because my trainer DID have me doing exercises I was not ready for.  A big reason he didn't see that was because with each exercise he would show me, I would mimic fairly well. Because I was able to lift the weight or hold the pose I believed that I was actually seeing the results of my new workout routine. The trainer was happy because he could write down in the little chart that I was progressing.  I was happy because I thought I was progressing.

The things that were important were the things that were not visible to the eye. That is, I was doing the exercises by using the WRONG muscles. He said "Lift this", so I lifted it, period. What I learned in physical therapy was that all along I had been using my back muscles for every exercise. EVERY exercise. This whole exercise thing was new to me, so I had no idea how to identify that the correct muscles were working for each task.

This is exactly what I had to do. I had gone to the doctor with my hurt back and he sent me to the physical therapist. So I had to add physical therapy 2X / week on top of personal training 3X/week. I shared with the trainer that I was in PT and what I was instructed to change in my work out. But I had to really stay strong and confident because as I got physically stronger, he kept encouraging asking me to return to an exercise I had been doing before I was hurt.

Exercise is not supposed to cause actual pain. Discomfort maybe but not actual pain.