L is for Lips

 How about a little pop culture quiz about famous lips? See if you can guess whose lips these are.

1. These lips aggravate Marge.

2. Her lips have been used for international adoptions.

3. He used to play football, and these lips still talk about it.

4. Her lip kits made her hundreds of millions of dollars.
 Her famous family didn't hurt the business.

5. Only Wilbur knew these lips could talk.

6. His lips deliver the weather with a smile.

7. These lips have been an enigma since
they were painted over 500 years ago.

8. It's a myth that there were wooden dentures
behind these lips.

____________________________________________

Answers: 1. Homer Simpson, 2. Angelina Jolie, 3. Michael Strahan, 4. Kylie Jenner, 5. Mr. Ed, 6. Al Roker, 7. Mona Lisa, 8. George Washington

How did you do?

Until next time...

K is for Keeping up with Exercise

Since retirement, I have focused on getting more exercise. I post weekly updates here to hold myself accountable and see my progress.

I'm pleased I've been keeping up with this exercise effort for the last two months. However, this week, there were two times I had plans to go to the gym but made up excuses and didn't go. I made up for it in other ways, but I know that feeling of not wanting to exercise all too well, and it's taking more effort to get past it. But this week, I managed to compensate in other ways.

Saturday, April 5, 2025

Ballroom Dance: Ward and I went to a ballroom dance sponsored by USA Dance, which has the goal of making ballroom dance more accessible. The local chapter hosts two monthly dances, which start with a lesson followed by two hours of dancing. We learned two moves for the West Coast Swing during the lesson hour. We didn't know all the dances, but we tried the ones we knew. And sometimes, that meant hovering in the corner, trying to remember steps. All in all, it was a decent aerobic workout.

Sunday, April 6, 2025

Free Day: We practiced some for our ballroom class tomorrow, and that was about it for exercise. There was no yard work, as it was a cold, rainy day.

Monday, April 7, 2025

Strong and Balanced: This was becoming one of my favorite classes, but today was grueling. The class is meant to work on strength and balance, i.e., a lot of standing on one foot and using weights and squats, among other things, to strengthen muscles and balance. Each person has a chair if needed for balance, but generally, we don't sit. Today, there was a sub, and while she said all the right words about doing things at your own pace, she didn't lead that way. We spent about 1/3 of the time sitting, mostly doing weight and shoulder exercises with weights. My shoulders were definitely feeling it, and so was my back. In fact, that's the most weight work I've done in any class of any type. 

Ballroom Dance: Ward and I practiced this week, so tonight's class went better than last week. This is a new session, and we will focus on quick step, cha-cha, and jive. Tonight, we worked on the quick step and a bit of cha-cha and reviewed the samba routine we were working on last week. While I was sometimes confused, I wasn't totally lost like last week, and that felt better. We did a lot of fast-tempo dances, and I got a good aerobic workout. 

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Line Dancing: I had been exposed to all the dances we did today at least once before, so I was never totally lost. Yay! However, certain sideways movements bother my knees, so I'm trying to figure out how to modify them. I've been telling people about this class, but I'm going to stop. If there are any more people, it will be crowded. I continue to enjoy this class and get a good workout.

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Free Day: I had intended to go to Tai Chi today, but when it was time to go, I was doing other things. And I convinced myself that it wasn't worth the drive to go to 1/2 hour class. I did some yard work, but not enough to count as a workout.

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Dancing: This morning, I had planned to go to a Zumba class but decided I wasn't ready for that intensity yet in my day. So, instead, Ward and I practiced ballroom dancing for 20 minutes. Then we went to a line dance in the evening. We went to this venue a couple of weeks ago and liked it, so we tried it again. Over the evening, I'd say that I got about 1 1/2 hours of vigorous exercise. At least the amount I was sweating suggested that. :)

Friday, April 11, 2025

Strong and Balanced: In this class, the instructor says to get a lighter and heavier set of weights. I have only been getting a lighter set. Today, I actually took two sets and used the heavier set when appropriate. Still, much of the class has heavier weights than I do, but I'm improving. I have said before that I like this class, and one of the reasons is that they pay attention to most parts of the body--more than just the major muscle groups. Today, we exercised for the arches of our feet. 

Until next time...

J is for Jurassic Park

I was talking with my sons the other day, and they couldn't believe I hadn't read Jurassic Park or seen any of its movies. I hadn't because the idea of cloned dinosaurs terrorizing the earth was not at all appealing to me. Wally said I needed to read the book for cultural literacy's sake. I use the cultural literacy argument on my sons all the time, so I decided that I should put up or shut up.  So, I recently read Jurassic Park by Michael Critchen. 

I chose to read the book instead of watching the movie because I have enjoyed other Michael Crichton books. And what did I think of this one? It was a compelling read. I enjoyed the science and philosophical discussions but got tired of the dinosaur slashing. 

I don't plan to watch the movie based on the book (or any other movie in the franchise), but I looked up how the book and the movie differed. Basically, the book is more violent with more bad guys. So there. Now, I'm not the last person on earth to read or see movies about Jurassic Park. (BTW, the fact that it's in the news that an extinct wolf has been brought back to life scares me!!)

I've been trying to catch up on my cultural literacy with a couple of other things, also. We don't have any streaming channels except Amazon Prime, so I'm often out of the loop for current shows. However, I have been able to see two of them through library DVDs.

The first was Ted Lasso. The series came out 5 years ago and had three seasons, with talks about a fourth. I had heard the name mentioned frequently, but I had no idea what it was about other than soccer. In case you're living under a bush like I was, Ted Lasso is about a football coach from the US who goes to coach a soccer team in England. He knows nothing about soccer but is the eternal optimist and makes other characters see things in different ways. Ward and I thoroughly enjoyed the series and were sad when we finished it. I understand why the show has won so many awards. 

The other show that we tried recently was White Lotus. I hear people talking about it all the time, discussing plots, etc., but I didn't know much about it. The show takes place at a fancy resort where rich people bring all their problems and stay for a week. The staff have their own set of problems. 

The show is described as a dark satire about human behavior. At first, we were intrigued with the show. The characters were odd, but we wanted to know more about them. But by the end of the third show, we were done. Behaviors and events got worse to the point we were uncomfortable watching. And with promises that things would only get worse until the end of the show, we didn't want to spend any more time on it. 

Each season is filmed in a different resort with different guests. However, we won't be watching anymore, but I think we're in the minority when I hear the buzz around the show. To each their own.

Until next time...

I is for "In Search of..."

In honor of National Poetry Month, I thought I would post a poem from one of my favorite poets, Shel Silverstein. He has written several books for children full of clever, humorous rhymes.

Here's a Sample of his work:

In Search of Cinderella

From dusk to dawn,

From town to town,

Without a single clue,

I seek the tender, slender foot

To fill this crystal shoe.

From dusk to dawn,

I try it on

Each damsel that I meet.

And I still love her so, but oh, 

I've started hating feet.

From Shel Silverstein's A Light in the Attic

Until next time...

H is for "How Come"

My 7th-grade science teacher
who wondered about "how come"

Did you ever wonder why we say "how come," meaning "why?" I certainly never had until my 7th-grade science teacher posed the question to us. He didn't answer—he just moved on to how a car engine works. But many times when I say "how come," I think of him. And in all the years since then, I never looked up how the expression evolved—until now. 

Ward's latest puzzle. How come he is so
much better than I am at working them?

Like most discussions on the origins of a phrase or word, the beginnings of "how come" are complex, and scholars argue about its origins. Part of the reason for that is that language is continually evolving. Rarely does a new word or phrase become part of the common language overnight.  

Most agree that the use of "how come" in modern language started in the mid-1800s. However, Shakespeare used the phrase over 200 years earlier. Today, we use it interchangeably with "why," but usually in a more informal way. 

Have you ever noticed whether you use "how come" or "why" more often? Do you use one in some circumstances but not in others?

Until next time...