Category: Character

Character!

Mother knows everything, so don’t lie

Sigh.

You know, it’s quite an experience coming home from Martial Arts and having your child absolutely deny he broke something of his siblings, when 20 seconds prior, he readily admitted to it.

Sigh.

Very frustrating, indeed. I really dislike coming down on my kids, but realize…it just has to be done. Sigh. So I told him, Mom knows everything, it’s not wise to lie. I had him search thru the house to look for the missing piece of the broken thingee; it was very draining.

The good news is, he’s gaining more courage, and will stand straight when being disciplined and not cry/be weak/cower/etc. So I did have to praise him for that. The bad news is, he’s been banished from the computer until he finds it or until tomorrow, whatever comes first.

Being stern and holding the line when raising kids is very much NOT FUN! Necessary, yes, NOT FUN, definitely. But it’s what a mom has to do.

Time to rest,

Barbara

ps – Want some resources for raising kids?

But Mom, I’m tiiiiired!!!! Dealing with whiny children and exercise fitness

Kids. Gotta love ’em, else you’ll implode with grace and joy.

As you probably know if you read my blog, I’m a mom of 4 who lost 45+ pounds and currently is into staying healthy and fit. I do P90x, cardio, workouts, karate, etc.

Speaking of karate, I participate in that with all my kids. We recently received our blue belts (yay!) and generally go for an hour or two every other day or so.

Well, yesterday…one of my charming children whined to me, but Mom, I had gym, and I don’t feel like exercising, and I really want to play on my computer, and and and and and Mom, why are you laughing at me now?

You see, I’m a firm believer in walking the walk I talk to my kids. They have seen me push myself when my get-up-and-go-had-gotten-up-and-went, they saw me modify my workouts after recovering from surgery, etc.

In short, they know that “I’m tired from gym” doesn’t cut it with Mom – it makes her laugh instead.

Which brings me to the next point! Kids being kids, sometimes they’ll choose the easy way out. Why exercise if you can sit in front of the computer and play games?

This is where parents have to stand firm. True, if your child really is sick or really did over-do it etc., you can consider giving a break….but generally, you’ll find that once your child is at the activity, they’ll have a superfun time. I ended up taking all my kids with me to karate yesterday, and they all had a blast.

It was just the ‘getting them there’ that was a chore.

I’m certain, of course, that some year…they’ll internalize within themselves that taking care of their bodies is a Good Thing. Until then, however, it’s Mean Mommy Ling to the rescue! :)

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – here’s some kids fitness goodies:

The secret to round house kicks – balance and center of gravity

Howdy all,

If there’s one thing my surgery and subsequent recovery has taught me, it’s that even if things are quite difficult, you can always find a way around the problem and begin to master your goal.

Take round-house kicks. I’m somewhat decent with them on my right side, but my left side…because my left ankle is missing that 1/2″ of bone, balance is, well, kinda sorta non-existent. So I kept falling over when trying to round-house kick that way.

Needless to say, that just pissed me off. I refuse to accept the fact I’m lousy at it…so while my kids were taking nunchaku during the following hour, I spent that time simply practicing pivoting on my left ankle. And guess what I discovered!

  • If you don’t throw yourself outside your center of gravity, you don’t fall over. Wowsa!

Okay, true, this is kinda sorta common sense….but I never really realized that until today! I have to train myself to recognize when my body is in the optimal position during the technique, and not push it so far that I begin to fall.

Round house kick after round house kick, I did them again and again and again and let me tell you, my left ankle is currently whimpering at me this moment. But! I think (emphasis on the word THINK) I have the concept down…now all I need to do is practice.

Like everything else lately that’s been happening in my life, this experience reinforced the fact that while life happens, it doesn’t mean you have to accept the status quo! Just because the rest of the world might think you’re a tad insane for trying something that logic would decree is impossible for you…doesn’t mean you should listen.

I still can’t get over how much I am enjoying leg techniques and kicks now, even with a bum ankle (you can read about that relavation here) 3 months ago, you’d never have convinced me I’d have progressed to this point.

Dare yourself to break past your own preconceived boundaries! You might be surprised at what you can achieve.

Time to sleep,

Barbara

ps – some great karate kicking resources!

Healing Touch – Important in family and friends

Morning all,

One of the most important things you can give your children (and spouses, and friends, and people who are important to you) is the gift of the healing touch.

What is that, I hear you ask? Well, ask a dozen different folks, and you’ll get a dozen different answers. I myself have my own brand of this, that has grown out of raising my family. My grandmother and parents passed it on to me.

For me, the healing touch encompasses many levels. You can perform it with just touch, or you can let your spirit animate your hands and lend energy and healing to the person you’re touching. The second form is very beneficial for physical and emotional healing; it gives the body focus and energy and rebuilds the person’s inner strength.

Using the healing touch is very different than massage. While you can heal with massage, mind you, I find the healing touch to be far more effective. Instead of using firm strokes, you use only the tips of your fingers and trace over various parts of the body. I tend to follow the energy meridians, and take great care to build upon each prior touch until I’ve reconstructed the entire energy flow.

This is superb for family and friends! I’ve rejuvenated my kids, energized my friends, and helped calm down family who was suffering from various sicknesses and the like. I think it enables both people (the healer and the recipient) to tap into the energies of the universe; I’m always surprised it’s not widely known.

Some resources for massage/healing touch include:

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – some neat Healing Touch Resources include:

Karate kicks, Kendo hits, and bruised elbows oh my!

Howdy all,

Before I give myself permission to collapse in a heap from this evening’s workout, I have to post about:

I can actually do vaguely decent karate kicks now.

Not only that, but I actually like them. Hand techniques were my favorites before…but now that I can actually (gasp!) move! and kick! and almost balance! and … you get the idea…I really like doing kicks now.

This is an unbelievable shock to me, let me tell you. I’ve always been timid about using my legs and always felt like I didn’t have the ability to really use control. But today, I found myself asking for kicks as part of the practice and then mentally slammed myself – is this me? Me, asking to do something I never did well before….and now, actually really like doing today?

I really cannot wrap my mind around this. I honestly cannot. Decades of being totally incompetent with my legs, and now, it’s coming together. Wow.

And in Kendo today, it was the first time in 1.5 months that I did sparring…..and my oh my, you could tell. I’ve gained more confidence but lost whatever skill I might have had…I now have a delightful 3 inch bruise on my right elbow. Ouch! But it was still great fun (so I went a second time!).

I honestly wish I could package the wisdom I’ve been accumulating since July (when I found out about my doorknob on my femur) up until now….and instill it into my kids. But I think it’s something you have to experience and live yourself before you can fully internalize all the gifts it gives to your inner self.

Just had my coffee, and it’s time for sleep. Night night everyone!

Best wishes,

Barbara

ps – great karate stuff!

Want to interview at Google? Check out these unbelievable…

Morning all,

As well as being an author, I also teach recruiters how to find candidates online.

This came by yesterday from Recruiters and Sourcers Exchange, and it’s quite an eye-opener!

From Google Job Interview Questions, Brain Teasers etc:

Example Brain Teaser Questions:

Personal Interview Stories:

Fascinating, no?

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – some more Google goodies:

Evening hot baths, morning coffee, listening to your body wrt fitness and more

Morning,

Well! It’s just after 5am and amazingly, I have NOT yet done my morning workouts!

My gosh why, I hear you ask?

Simple! On Monday, I did massive DDR with the kids, Tuesday was P90x Core plus Cardio GoGo plus two hours of advanced karate including 10 minutes of boot camp plus one hour of Kendo and let me tell you, boys and girls, I’m feeling it this morning.

Yes, it’s true – apparently the body at 43 ain’t the same thing as the body at 23! My gosh, how I wish I had valued this fact back then. :) Ah well.

So! It’s time for (drumroll please) modifications. I’ll still do my workouts, of course, but modify them to suit whatever my body says I should do. Today’s P90x workout is Kenpo, and I’ll make certain to use my Goju-ryu moves during the majority of it. Hey, might as well improve the form! Pivots will be lessened and I’m going to focus instead on balance today.

And that brings me to the important topic of the day. MODIFY WHEN NECESSARY! You never have to damage yourself when working out – go to the level of which you are capable and make it work THERE, not some idiotic level that will end up causing massive amounts of hurt to your body.

Let me explain the title of this post. Last night, I made myself a hot bath after returning from karate/kendo, and ended up relaxing for 15 minutes (without any kids bashing thru the door saying,
“Mom, I sensed you were relaxing so here I am!” Amazing, that). Upon staggering out, I slathered Tiger Balm on my ankles/thighs/lower back, and made my way whimpering to the bed where I collapsed. After 5 minutes, one of my kids came in and said, ‘Mom, are you okay? I heard you making weird noises!’ Apparently I was mewling to myself as I tried to get comfortable, and didn’t even realize that! Talk about hearing sensitivity. :)

This morning upon waking up, my body tactfully told me, coffee. Massive amounts of coffee. Bless thy system and imbibe the drink of the angels and that favors life. So here I am with my morning coffee, feeling energy starting to flow back into my zombie-like self.

So many people over 40 challenge themselves to surpass their own expectations. I’m highly in favor of that; heck, I’ve done it again and again. But there does come a point where your body says, woah! Slow down and modify and when you’re recovered, pounce at full force once again….and THAT is a good thing to which to listen.

You can take that to the bank.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – if you enjoy hot baths like I do, consider:

Anti-military lawyer damages Marine’s car on eve of deployment

Morning,

I just read about the following on the self-defense mailing list I’m on. Do yourself a favor and read up on the background – it’s amazing what kinds of jerks live in the US.

…Marine Sgt Mike McNulty is on activation orders to Iraq (second tour). On December 1st, 2007, Mike went to visit a friend in Chicago before deploying to say goodbye. In order to get to his friend’s residence, and keep in mind that Chicago is a myriad of diagonal and one-way streets, the front entrance (right way) to the one-way street was blocked. Mike, being a Marine, overcame and adapted by driving around the block to the other end of the street and backing up all the way to his friend’s place.

While saying goodbye, at about 11am, he noticed a man leaning up against his car. Mike left his friend’s apartment and caught the man keying his car on multiple sides.

After caught in the process, the man told Mike, “you think you can do whatever you want with Department of Defense license plates and tags”. (In Illinois you can purchase veteran, Marine, or medal plates. Mike has Illinois Marine Corps license plates.)…..MORE…

And here’s the resolution:

Man who keyed car gets day in court; so do Marines

Jay Grodner, the Chicago lawyer who keyed a Marine’s car in anger because the car had military plates and a Marine insignia, finally got his day in court last week.

Grodner pleaded guilty in a Chicago courtroom packed with former Marines. Some had Marine pins on their coats, or baseball jackets with the Marine insignia. They didn’t yellor call him names. They came to support Marine Sgt. Michael McNulty, whose car Grodner defaced in December, but who couldn’t attend because he’s preparing for his second tour in Iraq.

Grodner was late to court for the second time in the case….MORE….

Amazing…absolutely amazing.

What do YOU think?

Barbara

ps – Marine keepsakes!

From mom to child – Bridging 21 years, Rutgers Math

Howdy all,

My gosh, it’s things like this that make being a mom all worth while.

Back when I was in college, I was the founder and president of the Rutgers University Math Club (loved the subject, couldn’t do it to save myself, but loved it nontheless…which is one reason why all of my kids are superior in it, I made certain they learned to love math at an early age). During my senior year, I decided to have a fund-raiser by designing and selling the Rutgers University Math Club t-shirts!

I vividly remember sitting outside Hill Center and drawing the building. Then I went home, added all the embellishments, and brought the finished product to a silk-screener close by the campus. To make a long story short, it turned out quite wonderful and when I graduated from college, I made certain to bring some back with me.

Fast forward 21 years. Last night, one of my kids brought out her sleeping mattress from my closet to sleep on the floor; somehow that hooked on one of the t-shirts. This morning as I was returning the mattress, I found that t-shirt on the floor, looked at it and told my eldest, hey look, Rutgers Math! And she said, math? I love math! Let me see!

She was absolutely entranced by the t-shirt, and more so that her mom was the artist. I found a medium size one for her, and told her the whole story of how it was made. Then she noticed how I signed it – “IKMP ’86” and asked what that was all about. And I told her, kid, when I was a senior, I made a promise to myself that I’d make a mark and nobody would ever forget me. That stands for:

I Kept My Promise, Class of ’86

Oh, the look in my daughter’s eyes – it was a keeping moment.

You know, back when I was at college, I never really thought of how my children would view my achievements. What an unbelievable feeling it was to see my kid appreciate my work. I was a child back then, I’m a mom right now….and yet it all became bridged during that moment.

I thank the universe for that experience, I shall never forget it.

Rutgers Math

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Some nice Rutgers goodies: