A Post on the Olympics

My blog wouldn't be complete with out a post on the Olympics. At this point, I am waiting for the gamesmaker or Professor Dumbledore to show up and a few deatheaters hanging in the shadows.

I have seen all the pictures of the tiny athlete village beds, the athlete stuck first in the bathroom and second in the elevator, and the nasty colored water which I wouldn't want to use to flush the toilet, never mind personal hygiene.

I have sort of followed the events - I simply do not have that much time in my life to watch that many sporting events.  I have watched a few things that I find interesting and rarely seen.

But what I do miss about them, is being able to do many of the sports that they show. I must say I have never been anywhere near as good as any Olympian or other professional but I could  hold my own for many of them.

I have cross country skied, I have down hill skied, I have even run the gates a few times in slalom and giant slalom. I did like to ski the moguls but was not into losing contact with the snow for jumping. I used to ice skate and spent many hours in a practice rink. I was in shows but not in competitions. I also used to snow shoe, winter hike and all those things that involved being outside in the snow.

February 1, 2003 was one of the last days I went down hill skiing. I remember the date because the space shuttle crashed and we would learn little details from each other on the chair lift. I had a great day of skiing but my right knee with its partially torn ACL and my then boyfriend now husband both protested the event. I greatly curtailed my down hill adventures after that.

I continued my cross country and snowshoeing through the following years with my boyfriend/husband. A badly sprained ankle three miles into the woods of NH didn't help my body any.

Five years and two weeks ago was my last attempt at significant winter adventures. My husband and I headed to an annual trip outside Lake Placid in the Adirondacks. On the way out of the woods, my back would give me so much pain I was doubled over and had to head back.

Now my adventures are limited to short snow shoe treks from the house. With RA and fibromyalgia and back issues combined with everything else, has turned me into the viewer and not the participant. I have gotten rid of much of my outdoor sports gear as I realize that I should not physically even try any of them due to potential danger to my body and increased risks of falls because of my ailments.

However I wouldn't mind a few deatheaters flitting on through combined with the gamesmaker who could throw in a few twists to make things more interesting. But between pouring rain, fog, and 60 degree temperatures I am not sure the Olympics need anything more.

I'll keep watching. I'm not sure when they even end. I just know they go on and on and on and I can watch them until they end....

Komen-diculousity of course!

Today, MLB has decided to allow players to wear and use pink items to promote breast cancer awareness. I am not a big fan of sports teams wearing pink at all. But this one drives me crazy.

There are pink bats made by Louisville Slugger, and hats and gloves and pads and all sorts of things so the manly guys who play baseball can be pinkified for a day. After the day, the pink items will be raffled off with the benefits going to charity.

Not that this is bad enough but Nick Markakis of the Baltimore Orioles and Trevor Plouffe of the Minnesota Twins had special bats made by MaxBat because their mothers had breast cancer. These bats are back with a pink logo of the manufacturer. They made this special effort but can't use the bats.

The rules about this are a bit fussy

"Spokesmen for both MLB and Louisville Slugger said players are allowed to use pink bats or partially pink bats by any manufacturer on Sunday so long as that company donated to the Komen fund. There also is another stipulation.

According to an MLB-wide memo that went out to all teams on April 3, the non-Louisville bats could not include “ribbons, corporate logos, distinguishing marks or names of charities.” So Markakis’ bat, for instance, would be permissible if it did not have the MaxBat logo in pink. If the label was pink but did not include a rival company’s name, it would be fine for Sunday."

So the secret is out: Komen spun their spidery web around Major League Baseball and are getting all this money and not allowing people to do what they want. They want it all.

Ridiculous is the only word!

Its Friday

In fact it is the last Friday in September before the deluge of pinkification. And there are only 39 days until the elections.

The sporting world is overjoyed that NFL refs are back on the job. They received a standing ovation last night. I am sure that will last one day.

The sporting world is also saddened that the NHL has cancelled all their preseason games. The bars outside the NHL arenas are probably very sad as their business will be way off during that time.

The Boston sporting world is saddened that the Red Sox have ended the season with the worst record in decades. Would anyone like to place a bet if Bobby Valentine will have a job next season?

(What? Am I supposed to write about cancer and health all the time? There is more to me than just medical ailments.)

This weekend I am going away for a girls weekend (and my husband will be helped by the cat in guarding the house while I am gone). I will leave after I get the stitches out from my skin biopsy - which I am sure will be nothing. (See I snuck in a little medical stuff.)

I am looking forward to a weekend of 'Girls Rule - no pets, no children, no husbands, no rules'. We have hula hoops and are having a pizza themed weekend. I am making a carb free one with an egg plant crust. We may go antiquing. We will definitely eat too much.

During the next two weeks I am very busy - basically over committed through mid October. But what else is new?

After this afternoon's doctor appt, I don't believe I have another appointment for three weeks? What will I do with my time?

But life goes on. Its Friday and I will enjoy the weekend.

My Olympics

In the midst of the 2012 London Olympics here is my version. The opening ceremony was on too late at night. I did not want to spend 5 hours in front of the television watching it until midnight. It would also interfere with my regular TV viewing. So I took the easy way out and DVR'd the opening ceremonies that were aired about 2 am.

Saturday morning we went to watch the history-of-England-set-in-Bag-End-with-deatheaters-highlighted-by-Mr-Bean-and-Paul-McCartney misery. I was really looking forward to the parade of teams coming into the stadium but it was trimmed from Bosnia to Uruguay or so with all the other countries cut out. Wah! I could have skipped the Harry Potter visits Bilbo Baggins and watched the other countries. I should have recorded the other version.

Then began the men's swimming and water polo where very fit healthy people accomplish feats that I couldn't do when I was healthy in Speedos. I convinced my husband to watch the Olympics when the women's beach volley ball came on proving his California background by commentating for me. Yesterday I skipped most of it (so I could go to the beach) and caught up with the morning news. I will watch tonight to get the women's gymnastics teams. Don't laugh but I wouldn't mind seeing the synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics at some point.You never see them anywhere else.

I admit I am looking forward to the end of the Olympics all ready. I wouldn't mind seeing some more but they go on for more than two weeks. I just admire the athleticism on all their part.

Years of work to get to the state I am in

I have worked very hard for many years to get my body into the shape that it is in. Its taken many years of sports - ice skating, skiing (alpine and nordic), snow shoeing, biking, hiking, roller blading, and more - to get to this finely honed 'state'. I get aches and pains all over but now its mostly in my hips.

These days my biggest problem is that I have bursitis in my hips. I have had it in my left hip for about five years. Now I have signs of it in my right hip. What can you do for bursitis? Anti-inflammatories - which I take daily. Ice - which I use regularly. And rest - which I also parttake of. I am happy to sit around and be lazy. I also have had multiple cortisone injections.

And it still hurts. But I (suck it up and) go to the gym and attempt to exercise regularly (because that prevents cancer and all sorts of other good things). It does limit me to three times a week at the gym.  I can't work out without a day off in between. If I do, I end up in a lot more pain.

What is bursitis? It is inflammation of the bursar which are little sacs located in major joints - like your hips. It is caused primarily by over use I think. Sort of what I have done to my knees and ankles as well.

So to round out the back pain which is exacerbated if I attempt to stand up for more than ten minutes at a time, my hips then hurt if I sit in the wrong position, or any position some days. I have to sleep with a pillow behind my knees so they don't pull on my back. I take my pain pills, my pain patch, and ice pack in hand, I am ready to go.

I can say I had a lot of fun getting my body into this state.