Week 37: Yogi Maria

In the past week i have tried two different classes at the Endless Mountains Hot Yoga center in Shadowbrook.  So far i like both classes better then my at-home MTV yoga DVD (that i’m pretty sure my sister stole anyway) and the class i went to at Browns (my gym).  i think this may be the ticket to keeping my back loose and happy this winter.  the classes were:

1. Hot Yoga. I have never sweated this much in my entire life.  i didn’t even know my knees could sweat.  This is a class where they heat the room to 100+* and slowly go through poses and compressions.  it is less of a ‘vinyassa type flow through poses’ class and more of a major detox.  a lot of the poses and compressions are designed to ease pressure in different areas and clean out different organs (i think).  there were at least 2 poses that the instructor said cleaned out your colon.  kinda weird, but hey, a clean colon is a happy colon i suppose.  plus you sweat SO MUCH that you lose all your water weight and feel super skinny for a few days.  so thats fun.

2. Warm Vinyassa.  This class was great. even though it was at 6 AM. i know right? ridic. but the very best part of having a workout buddy is that if you make plans you have to go.  even if it is cold and pouring when you wake up at 5:30AM.  the room is just slightly warmer than normal, i’d say 80*ish so your muscles stay nice and warm and loose.  this class was more challenging than the Hot class and had much more flow through the poses.  not sure how many 6AM classes i will do once it gets cold, but it was a nice way to start the morning. i bought a package of 10 classes, so i’m at least locked in to that long, hopefully that will be enough to get me hooked!

one problem with working out in the morning? i already feel wicked productive by 7AM.  which means i have to remind myself to keep working at work.   yes i worked out and am very awesomepants. no, i did not cram a whole work day into my yoga class.  must. keep. working.

Foggy Fall Lake

Extras: Attended a very charming wedding on saturday.  i was a replacement date, as my friends date couldn’t make it at the last minute, so i didn’t really know the couple very well, or any of the guests for that matter.  but it was beautiful outside (outside wedding in the park), the couple looked super happy (despite the fact they got flooded out last week) and the best man dated one of my friends in high school.  such a small world.  went from the wedding to a 9 year olds mexican themed b-day party.  and was so special they let me wear the serape.  (you know the super crazy cool mexican poncho?) man i really lucked out at that party.  plus i got even more free food, wine and cake.  it was a bang up saturday.  then i did penance for all my eating and drinking and whooping it up, by mowing my lawn and mopping my porch.  and doing laundry and dishes.  and watching lots of bad tv. as one should do on a sunday.

Coming up: Weekend Wedding in Cocoa Beach!

Week 36: The Flood, 9/8/11

Tuesday: rain. all day and all night.

Wednesday: rain. all day and all night.

Thursday Morning 6AM: My mom calls and asks me to get down to the garage to help move cars. For a while it seemed fun, very “Gone in 60 Seconds” with all the cars running and people hopping in lines of cars then pulling out one right after another. that lasted till about 8AM when the water started to hit Tioga street. Then it got scary and frantic. Each time we came back to get more cars the water was further across Tioga and by 9AM we couldn’t go through it and had to go side streets.  VanDuzers were throwing sandbags while still pumping gas.  We have one determined town.   Never in my life have i driven so many trucks, especially diesel trucks.  Although the situation was pretty dire and scary i still felt like a badass plowing through water in a giant diesel truck.

Thursday afternoon: the river keeps rising. businesses on both sides of the river are taking on water, the streets are closing, and Gays has water all the way up the front doors. My dad and others begin using canoes and kayaks to check on their businesses. Water is hitting many business and houses from more than one side as the creeks and streams flood.  The pic above is the creek behind the garage.   More than one house floats down the river and explodes against the main bridge in town.  They just hit the pillars and the rivers currents are so strong they just crush the houses and pieces come appear on the other side.  Most of the roads in town are now closed.  My power goes out for four hours, then miraculously comes back on!

when i got home around 11, my dock was under water as well

Thursday night: we wait. we wait for the river to crest so the water will begin to recede and clean up work can begin.  We drove downtown and stood under the red light with about 40 other people and just looked at the town.  Water covered the roads looking East and South.  It was an eerie sight.

Under the red light looking south

under the red light looking east

Friday morning: 8AM, clean up begins.  Luckily the garage only had a few inches, so we concentrated on the Skidder shop which had 30 inches.   I am officially now the shop vac queen.  my shop vac muscles will be VERY sore saturday.  Bartons had 37 inches which also seems minimal compared to Gays which had at least 7 feet i think.

See the water line in the Skidder shop, about 30 inches.

 

What happens when the water goes down: my dad's office

Saturday: 8AM: Move all the cars back to the chevy lot.  This was more fun that moving them out during the flood. AND i got to drive the enormous silver truck (drive by the dealership it’s in the front line on the used car lot, was on the corner of the front display).  i felt like a could drive over a car. it was awesome.  my sister and cousin came up from DC to help, so we moved from the skidder shop (they had things under control) to Dana’s Hardware to help them sort out. 

Friday morning, the water was still receeding, thursday it was over the metal roof.

Sunday: My sister, mom and I went to Gays to help clean.  It was overwhelming.  and this is after they had been at it for a day. they did so much in one day, but there is still a lot to do.  the water line was way higher than i could reach, i’m guessing 8 or 9 feet?  Also, I was so caught up in our small town disaster i forgot for a while it was the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  I’m kind of glad i spent the day cleaning instead of watching the coverage.  I know it’s monumental and deserves recognition, but it just makes me so sad.  and cleaning made me feel useful and like i could actually do something to help, whereas with 9/11 we are all so helpless.  that said, the coverage i did see and the new monument are very moving and impressive.

Major props to: (1) WNEP who had a live newscast all day thursday and did a fantastic job keeping people informed. (2) Everyone who helped feed people cleaning.  There were grills set up all over town during the weekend with people buying food themselves, grilling, and giving it away to any volunteer in town.  They did such a great job keeping everyone fed.  (3) Facebook- the greatest way to share pictures and stories in real time. (4) All the friends and employees who worked so hard to help everyone in town. This is really the advantage of a small town.

A couple ways to help:

1. The Red Cross is collecting cleaning supplies and pet food at the 911 call center in Tunkhannock, at the top of the hill past Shadowbrook.

2. Donate to the United Way: https://secure.donationreport.com/donate.html?key=GHIHJHIA0333

i know both of these methods will get all donations/help directly to the Tunkhannock area.

Week 35: We Need More Weight!

Labor Day = Wyoming County Fair! 

I helped with the horse pull this year which is a new thing because while we watch it every year (my dad runs it) i have never been a part of it. ended up being a lot of fun and per usual i got sucked right in to horses pulling concrete blocks….  and it was a record breaking pull in so many ways.

#1: New Record weight pulled for the lightweight horses: 10,500 pounds.  Usually the lightweights top out around 8,000.  The difference was the track was a little wet and therefore made the pulling easier, which led to…

#2: The lightweights outpulled the heavyweights! the heavyweights won with 10,000 pounds.  This was because the track dried out some between the light and heavy weights.  Which is too bad because of….

#3: They ran out of weight.  due to the record breaking weights pulled, the fair ran out of 500 & 1,000 pound blocks.  They only stock up to 10,000 pounds, which means that for the lightweights to pull 10,500 they had to recruit a couple of 250 pound men.  Which luckily is not hard at a county fair…. but i did hope the heavyweights would pull up to like 11,500 so we could watch 6 large men balance on top of the sled. not a lot of room up there, could have been a real photo op/mud & poo covered disaster.   but alas, the track dried out.

Next year i hope to graduate from record keeper to announcer.  i think i could really spice up the commentary, i mean gary did not once comment on how pretty the horses were, or how nice the shoulder pads looked, or even give a shout out to the one contestant helping like all the heavyweight teams….. i wish i had gotten some pics, especially of the men on the sled, but once again i forgot. dur.  my outfit also deserved a pic: hat, plaid shirt, tank top, and jeans tucked into rain boots.  cause it was MUDDY.  especially down on the track getting the team names i was in mud up to my ankles.  should have been disgusting, but i was pretty happy to actually put them to use.  i may have purposely stepped in the deepest mud and some horse poo just because i could.  then washed them off in a puddle 🙂

Other fair highlights: the truck pull. every time i watch it i make fun of it for like 5 minutes then get totally sucked in and find myself asking other bleacher sitters about the rules and strategy. i think my “countryness” increases by 1000% as soon as i walk through the fair gates.  went for a peach delight instead of an apple dumpling this year.  kind of regret it.  got pizza, lemonade, and potato pancakes.  had some of a friends cactus taters with old bay.  watched a little team calf roping and barrel racing with the high school rodeo.  (sidenote- my friend told me that pro barrel racers are now buying retired thoroughbreds.  crazy…) and of course got my michael mootz fudge. best fudge in the world.  i get 1 pound every year.   

How i know it’s fall: i wore closed toed shoes to work yesterday for the first time since may. blow dried my hair today for the first time since may. have had both hot apple cider AND an apple cider donut.  my lawn guy went back to college. and bath and body works smells like pumpkin spice. 

Movie News: Captain America! was greeeeeat! I am SO excited for the Avengers now. 

Not sure why i was thinking about this, but: one thing i really REALLY miss about high school: having all my best friends live 5-10 miles away. thats one part of growing up i really dislike. although it is fun to visit everyone, and we all have great friends that live close, i would totally go back in time to high school (for a bit) just to have the opportunity to see everyone whenever i wanted again.