Gimme A Break

Yawn, I haven’t been sleeping well these few nights. The weather’s hot and dry. We haven’t had rain in a week or more.

I’d say this is the best weather for the beach. I might just pack a picnic basket, bring along my favorite Beach Chair and take the kids out there this weekend.

Only problem is the beach is 60 miles away and I’m not sure I even feel like driving that far in this heat. My poor kids haven’t been there in months since it’s quite out of the way for us.

Well, we’ll see how it goes. I hear there’s some new restaurants that have just opened up there so it might be worth killing two birds with one stone.

• sound of the falling rain
• a prestigious address
• the hula-hula awaits
• back to the grind
• sparkling clean car, yeah right

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DH, who is our resident golfer, has lots of interesting stories to tell about his games. The kids and I love having a good laugh at the expense of a few grown men chasing golf balls up and down hills and plains (or whatever they call them in golfing terms).

Thing is not all the stories are funny. There was this one time when DH hit the ball into a pond behind some bushes. So he went looking for it. It was only when he came back after finding the ball that he heard someone say that a crocodile had recently been sighted in the vicinity of the pond.

Yikes! Imagine coming face to face with a croc as you look up from from picking up your ball. Not a very nice thought at all! If it were me, I’d have quit right there and then. But we all know golfers don’t quit, rain or shine or crocodiles!

• misbehaving car
• selfish new neighbor
• the answer is no
• school or beauty contest?
• fun dressing up

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It’s funny how many of us grew up collecting stamps for a hobby. I have no idea what’s happened to my modest stamp collection. I probably lost it when I was moving house.

But a friend tells me she found her stamp albums all still in good condition while looking for something in the store room the other day.

She’s got no use for them and was wondering if she should sell them on eBay and use the money to maybe collect US Mint Coins instead. I guess it would make more sense as I’m sure coins would appreciate faster in value than stamps.

• wouldn’t you rather be counting gold?
• we got a new sofa
• crooked
• add another white elephant to the heap
• may the power options be with you

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I really admire those friends of mine who can take their own car apart and put it back together again while the rest of us have no choice but to rely on our mechanics for repairs or upgrades.

I have to confess I didn’t know about the existence of midwest auto recycling centers where you can get used engines and other parts to tinker with if you’re so inclined.

Some people make it their hobby to soup up old vehicles using used or recycled parts. I’ve seen it on TV and I’m amazed at the amount of time, material and loving care that’s gone into these ‘masterpieces’.

• glimpses of doggie year
• melon soup with seaweed
• Korean ginseng fix
• hurried tomyam soup
• constant traveler

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We’re hardly a month into the new school year and already my kids’ extracurricular activities are in full swing. My chauffeuring schedule is close to bursting at this point.

I can appreciate the sports practice and games but I don’t appreciate the extra bus runs these involved. I am being selfish, but just a little . It’s the short gaps between picking up one kid and dropping another off that drives me nuts.

We’re always happy though when the kids show an interest in a new sport. If your kids are into baseball, a good place to check out Baseball Gloves and other related gear is KidSportsInc.com which carries a wide range of sports gear.

What I really like about the site is that they have a replacement parts section. You know how kids are with their stuff. So as a parent, it’s a good thing to know where you can find replacements if something breaks and needs fixing.

The clearance section on the site is also good to know. Personally I try to save whenever possible when buying kiddy stuff which they will usually outgrow in no time.

I think sports enthusiasts are easy to shop for when it comes to gift ideas. Just grab their favorite sports gear and you’ll have them beaming from ear to ear.

• new car? what new car?
• dressing up as your favorite character
• getting your kids to do their chores
• non-stop fun for the whole family
• what kids want

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I’m learning a slew of fast dances at my dancing class and I’m lovin’ them. I prefer fast dances even if I haven’t eaten chocolate to make me hyper . Slow dances like waltzes put me to sleep on my feet.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been jiving to some pretty hot, current tunes. Fast dances require lots of stamina without which you will soon be breathless and you just won’t be able to last through them.

I like the challenge of fast dances. See, your mind has to be as quick as your feet. Even before you can take the next step, you must know in your mind what the next series of steps are. Otherwise you won’t be able to keep up to the beat and you’ll be completely lost.

Our teacher is a little sadistic in that she makes us practise the same dance like four times in a row with breaks that last as long as it takes her to hit the replay button . She’s wierd!!

Yep, there’s barely enough time to catch our breaths and she’s onto us again. Those who can’t take the drill will just walk out to the patio to catch their breaths and hope she doesn’t come barking at them for slacking off, the slave driver !

• keep right on dancing
• what do octopuses and toy soldiers have in common?
• crazy ’bout lions
• it only takes discipline
• the newcomer

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Yes, I know I’ve been slacking at the gym. My two-hour workouts 3-4 times a week first dwindled to once a week and now I’m down to nothing .

But with good reason, let me get to that. It’s the school holidays and I’ve been busy having fun, going out, hanging out so something had to give.

Avoiding the gym is the most convenient excuse I have for now… till my toned arms start to dangle and wobble .

No, seriously I’ll be going back to serious workouts next week. I love working out and I’m not about to give up now .

I’m still taking my nutritional supplements but those are to give me energy and to supplement what I may be missing out from my meals, not to build muscles.

There are many types of nutritional supplements as you can see from the Stronger Nutrition website. My gym buddy, for instance, takes muscle building supplements so he’ll have girls dropping at his feet .

As for me, I have no wish to look like a woman body builder. I just want to stay fit and look good in a tank top which is becoming my standard dress code to beat this incredibly hot weather we have!

• ouch, my aching arms
• starting over at the gym
• after the fever and flu
• all things tech plus tronics
• a nutritional supplement drink maybe

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We had a newcomer walk into our dancing class this week. We would’ve welcomed her with open arms if only she had her head in the right place. I’m not sure if there’s a softer, kinder way to describe her mental condition but that’s the best I can do for now.

We were in the middle of a pretty fast number which we’d been practising for a couple of days now. When she jumped in, I noticed she didn’t have the steps right but then I thought she was fumbling, just like I always am, with my two left feet.

But after a while, it was clear she was simply prancing around (not unlike good old Santa’s reindeer) and running straight into people. A normal person would’ve felt embarrassed and stopped.

But she kept working her way up the room until she was dancing right next to the teacher. For a while, no one knew what was going on. We just kept on dancing while the teacher pulled her aside for a little chat.

When she came back, she told us that the poor woman had confessed that stress had made her lose her mind some 12 years ago. OMG! I felt so sorry for her. Stress does this to you? I guess if you give it 12 years to work on your system, it’ll gradually work its up to your head.

• the slacker is back
• what do octopuses and toy soldiers have in common?
• sloppy mechanic
• the making of a fool
• the rhythm of the mall

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You know we’ve been having some pretty torrential rains lately. But nothing stops DH and his golfing buddies. Not rain nor hail nor sleet nor snow. Well, hail is extremely rare here, and sleet and snow, we don’t get any.

But still the rains are bad enough to damage a perfectly good pair of golf shoes. If I were the shoe salesperson, I’d be laughing to see these guys come in every couple of months looking to replace their soggy, muddied shoes.

I really hate to see an expensive pair of shoes go to waste, so I would painstakingly wash them and put them out to bake in nature’s oven. Most days are scorching hot (just before the rains come) and once you get the shoes thoroughly dried out, they do last a whole lot longer.

But here’s a thought. Have you golfing manufacturer types thought of making golfing boots? I’ll help you promote them to the golf widows out there. I promise they’ll sell like hot cakes .

• nature’s carwash
• get $20 back for your iPod earphones
• Mother Nature’s free car wash
• due for a car wash
• freaky storms

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I don’t know of many people who are ardent collectors of rare gold coins. I’m thinking it would be a pretty expensive hobby only the wealthy can afford. But since gold is expensive, it isn’t just a hobby, it’s also an investment.

In my mind, I can see Ebenezer Scrooge sitting at his desk all day counting his gold coins over and over. Wouldn’t it be nice to be rich enough for such a pastime?

It sure beats knitting and beading and any of the other pastimes that require counting . But seriously, if you were into gold coin collecting, you’d want to engage a trusted investor to advise you on the finer details of the investment programs that are available out there.

I mean, when there’s so much money involved, I doubt you want to jump in just like that. The least you can do is look up some rare coin resources and know what you’re getting into.

• wouldn’t you rather be counting gold?
• collecting coins instead of stamps
• good time to invest in silver bullion
• buy gold, not wear it
• investing in gold

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