Kαλό Μήνα - There Is a Cow in Your Backyard

Quick, go look!  Seriously, it's by the barbecue.  Quick, quick!

That was my mom's favorite April Fools joke.  She played it on us a couple of times if I remember correctly.

What I didn't mean as an April Fools joke was making you all wait a whole month for a new post.

EHL is back from her Florida trip for spring break.  SEL stayed home and watched movies all the time.  She enjoyed her, "Sophie time" but she got bored by the end and missed her sister.  CML stopped by for a weekend on the end of her spring break and we had a nice, if short visit.

I'm at what I hope is an all time low for my fitness.  My weight is up, my cardio is down, my BP is slightly up, my triglycerides are up and my right elbow has a mysterious pain.  The good news is, I'm aware of it and I am in the very initial stages of an exercise regime.  Also, I know how to get back into shape.  Now it's just a matter of doing it.  I'm going to keep track of that here on this blog.  I'll let you know how it goes.

I also have most of a post finished with my goals for 2014.  I will post it this week.

Oh, later we will discuss the last poll and I'll put up a new one.  What would you guys like to vote on?

Καλό Μήνα, Λιοντάρι

Not Simba nor Nala

Happy new month, lion.

March is in like a lamb, out like a lion.  I've also heard, in like a lion, our like a lamb.  This is the lionest March 1st that I can remember.

Our last poll was what kind of Christmas tree do you have.  3 respondents said inorganic (aka artificial), 1 said organic (sometimes known as live even though it is cut down and dead) and 1 said other.  Since I also had a "None" choice I'm guessing the "Other" was a holy-gram or something else virtual.

My new post is based on something that one of my daughters pointed out to me, a video about the Disney Princesses.  I posted my opinion about the video, but here I thought I'd ask, in the name of my three Mundelein Princesses, who is your favorite Disney Princess?

Happy Saint Valentine's Day!

I'm having a good Valentine's Day so far.  I bought Mrs. Prop a shrubbery.


Actually it was more of a potted plant, to show that our love is a living thing.

I also got her candy and made a card all in Greek that I left on the bed for her to wake to.

She suggested we get a Chicago Style Pizza and spend a romantic evening snuggling and watching a movie.

I don't know what movie yet (go to Illini6 for my discussion on manly romantic movies).

Hope you all have a very romantic or at least nice holiday.

Don't fight it

As you wish

Kαλό Μήνα, Gopher!

Okay, so it wasn't a gopher, it was a groundhog (at least the Bill Murray part was right), and I totally missed the first, and the second (which was actual Groundhog's Day).  Can you blame me though, I mean this weather, and the gopher, er groundhog says we have to have six more weeks, ugh!

I want to share with you a wrap up of my goals for 2013.  It is very late, but I've been having trouble getting my thoughts together about it, and I'm switching things up from Illini6.  Up until this year I always did my goals and New Year's Resolutions in Illini6, but this year if it isn't about writing and professional stuff it doesn't go there.

My goals for last year were discussed on Illini6 as I went along.  I went round and round, but I finalized them here.

Here is a recap, and how I did:

1. P90X - I completed this.
2. Learn Greek to level S2 or B1 - I failed
3. Quarterly Dates - I failed utterly
4. Get a New Job - Failed, but I am still employed at my current job
5. Get Girl Scout Training - done
6. Get Journey to Excellence Gold level for the Aptakisic District for which I'm District Commissioner - Silver
7. Fortnightly Chicago History podcast - canceled
8. Learn the Trees in my Neighborhood - canceled
9. Participate in an Archaeology Activity - postponed
10. Join a Club - canceled

I had realized I had bitten off more than I could or should chew about half way through the year so I canceled some things.  That was also about the time I learned that I would be going to Tanzania for a month.

You can see that I only actually accomplished two things on the list.  Of those, the P90X exercise program was a bitter win.  I often would have to take days off or heavily modify the exercises because of injuries (my joints are no longer capable of doing plyometric exercises at all).  In the end my right elbow still bothers me, and I feel like I'm less fit at this time than I was when I started the program last year.

On the plus side, I did get accepted to go to Tanzania and I spent a once in a life time month working there.  Also, I completed a novel in November.  I think Hidden Temple to the Lost Gods is my best effort so far.

So, that was 2013.  I feel in general it was a big disappointment.

I'll be back with 2014's goals.  They will be leaner, if not meaner; and I'll be wanting help from all of you to get them done.

Thanks ahead of time.

(Possibly) First Ever Flowers of Mundelein Poll!

Kicked to the curb

I don't remember ever doing a poll here before so this may be the very first.

We are struggling to get Christmas packed up here at our house (in fact that's what I should be doing rather than writing this blog post).

It got me to thinking, what kind of trees do ya'll use (I think, "Ya'll" is a perfectly good word to use that helps distinguish between you (singular) and you (plural) and I support its use, even north of the Mason Dixon line)?

You can answer in the poll over on the right column.  If you want to talk about it, you can add a comment to this lil' ole post (grr, I gots to talkin' in Southern n' I jus' kent stop muself).

Enjoy!

Χρόνα Πόλλα καί Καλό Μένα!

Happy New Year Everybody!  Happy First of the Month too!

I wanted to write about my goals for 2014.  I shared them in general on Illini6 but I want to keep that blog for professional items, writing in other words.  In this blog I want to keep the more personal stuff.

I think my goals for 2014 will be (in this order):

1. Learn Greek
2. Archaeology
3. Writing - this belongs squarely in Illini6 and will be covered there.
4. New Job
5. Commissioner

These aren't written as goals, but I want to go over them and write them up as legitimate goals for the year.

In general learning Greek is pretty straightforward, but I'm going to set steps, milestones and specific measurable results that will define is more precisely.

What I mean about Archaeology is I have been wanting to keep Archaeology fresh in my mind.  My BA is in Anthropology and eventually I want to go back to school and get my PhD.  Archaeology is a discipline of Anthropology.  I had originally wanted to get my degree in Marine Archaeology, with a big dive watch, awesome tan, diving on sites off the Greek islands.

I think I may have to modify that just a little bit, but I do want to stay involved and informed on the subject.

New Job is a pretty clear goal, or so it would seem so.  Again I need to set up steps, milestones and specify exactly what I mean by it (different vs new).

Commissioner really doesn't have a meaning by itself.  I am currently the District Commissioner for our local Boy Scout District (Aptakisic District of Northeastern Illinois Council).  Last year I had a goal to have our District earn a Gold level in Journey to Excellence.  We didn't make it.  I need to set goals for myself in this role of my life.  Should I carry forward my goal from last year or make a new goal?

I'm going to take the next couple of days to review and chew of these until I get my goals for 2014.

I'm also going to review what I did with my 2013 goals.  My initial feeling is that it wasn't a successful year, but I may need to take a closer look to see what positive things I have from last year, and if they outweigh the negative.

Our Version of Hawkey

In 2010 when the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup I promised myself that the next time they won I would learn to play hockey.  I'm think I also promised myself a pair of in-line skates.

So, in 2013 when the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup again I immediately said I would have to learn to play the game.

I'm here to tell you now that it is not a cheap game to play.  With everything else going on in my life I just don't have the time or money to do this.

I started looking around to see how we could play hockey without actually learning to skate and all the other expense.  I hit upon Knee Hockey, and I still want to set some things up so we can play that.  It will be a good indoor activity in the winter.

In the meantime I came up with something based on some web searches I did.  I took the lid of a cardboard box and a plastic coathanger.  I marked lines on the lid, cut goal holes and cut down the hanger into sticks.

Using a quarter or nickel works great.  We haven't decided which one we prefer.

We start by placing the coin in the center and tapping sticks three times.  There are few rules:

1. If a play knocks the coin out of play the other player gets a penalty shot from the redline (open goal).
2. If a player plays the coin when it is behind the other player's blue line that player gets a penalty shot.
3. No fingers
4. Play nice.

It has been loads of fun.  I think it is actually more fun than air hockey because there seems to be less random whacking at the puck, and the bluelines add more hockey-ness to it.

My only regret is that it is only for two players.