Swimmin

We went swimming today. This picture is from a few days ago, Abbie and her cousins were trying out her "slip and slide." When I got home today, it just seemed like a day to be in a pool. Abbie's cousins Jake and Zach were over and I asked if they wanted to go. They have a pool in their subdivision. Once I said swimming, Abbie was all for it. She said "swim, swimmin," to me about 20 times in a minute or two, so we went swimming. Abbie loves it. She has a floaty vest that she wears, but she is pretty brave when it comes to getting a mouthful of water. She knows to kick her legs and really has a ball with it. If Daddy hadn't gotten sunscreen in her eyes, it would have been the perfect time. I hope she continues to enjoy swimming and that we can keep giving her those opportunities.
Tonight, I worked out. It was the first vigorous workout I have done in almost a year. Anyone who has seen me recently will attest to this. I got my Garmin out and hooked in to the new computer, so now I just need to push myself some to get back to running. I think 3-4 weeks of regular workouts on the eliptical and I may be able to venture onto the track. I will keep you posted, keep your fingers crossed.
Have you ever had one of those miniature tape recorders for notes and stuff? I have one and I did not even have to pay for it. It is the Abbie Kay Young virtual repeater 3000. She has a nack for spitting out whatever goes in her little ears. At times it is funny, sometimes embarassing, and sometimes downright scary. I enjoy getting her to say "hi, thank you," and "you're welcome," even though she can still get the timing mixed up. I may try and get her to read her favorite book for you all soon, so keep watching. Have a good week.

"He was his own greatest fan"

I often wonder why it is that I generally laugh the hardest when I tell a joke or funny anecdote. Is it that I am the only one that gets it, or is it that it is just not THAT funny? I get a kick out of plays on words and sayings that you have to think about for a second to catch the humor. For instance, have you seen the stickers at the gas pumps lately that say "our gas has at least 10% ethanol"? I saw a sign outside of a liquor store today that said "our ethanol has absolutely no gas in it." I guffawed for a block or two over that one. But, most people probably barely giggle at that. I am one of the oddballs who likes a good pun, even though that is probably an oxymoron. I just think a good pun is its own reword. See, even now, I am having trouble not giggling at that one. A pharmacist I used to work with would tell people who were about to take a colonoscopy prep, "I hope everything comes out ok." Generally, when I come up with one of my own puns about something at work, I think it is hilarious and everyone else moans in agony. The oddities of words and how they can be twisted has always been cool to me. I love words like "palindrome," "onomatopoeia," and "over-pronation." Maybe my enjoyment of words and the twisting of meanings is also the reason for my aggravation at butchering those same words with bad grammar. I would like a little input on this blog, let me know what you think of puns or if I have ever annoyed you with one before. In the meantime, here is one I found just now, so enjoy!

A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named "Amal." The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him "Juan." Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his mom. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Amal. Her husband responds, "But they are twins-if you've seen Juan, you've seen Amal."

Thank you, thank you very much.

Signing Time

Greetings and salivations to all. I hope the week is going well. I was wondering if I have talked about Signing Time yet? If I have, I am sorry, but it is such a big thing around here that I would be remiss if I did not talk about it. Signing time is a children's show on PBS that teaches ASL (American Sign Language). The host of the show is a woman whose two girls use sign language due to their disabilities. They make learning signs enjoyable by using children and songs to show and remind what the signs are. Abbie loves it. She is starting to get her ABC's down and she continues to surprise me with signs she has learned. The other day we were getting ready to go somewhere and I asked her if she was ready. She said and signed "ready". I had no idea that was a word she had learned. Another time, Abbie was wanting me to watch her and she signed and said "pay attention" (That was both cute and scary at the same time). It is pretty neat to see her get into singing and signing a song. If you get a chance to see Signing Time, just watch for a little while. It is a pretty neat show.