New Flu Strain Alert....

I know the media is keeping us all updated on the latest health scares floating around. And every drugstore is pushing flu shots to keep us safe. I also warned you about Wine flu on my other blog - if you missed it check it out at girlygirl.pnn.com - Wine flu is a lot of fun to get but the recovery can be a real kick in the head. And not in a good way...now some people believe in tequila shots to help speed up the recovery from wine flu but you be the judge of that. Today, I have another warning for all my friends but especially those that play tennis. Tennis flu....

This particular strain of flu strikes the morning after a match where you and your whole team takes a spanking....This is not to be confused with wine flu - unless, there was some serious wine consumption involved in order to forget this demoralizing team loss...Tennis flu is diagnosed when for whatever reason your opponents manage to kick your ass on the courts...or make you seriously consider trying badminton as your new team sport. You could still wear all your cute tennis clothes and that little birdie can't hurt much if someone tries to take your head off with it. Now that I think about it...badminton is sounding better and better - but, this is prolly just the tennis flu delirium and fever talking. Which goes along with all the body aches and painful memories of all the points you'd like to play over and see the ball actually go where you had big plans for it.

I recommend that if you find yourself waking up with tennis flu that you stay home. Pray for a rainy day. Stay in your jammies. Resist the urge to spend a kajillion more dollars with your favorite pro on more lessons. The first kajillion is obviously not working so hot for ya...recover first then next week when you are ready to face your next opponent by all means throw your money at the pro, buy a new outfit cause the one you wore this week is cursed for all time now and by all means inoculate yourself before the match. Some teams find a really good warm up before can prevent a reoccurance of tennis flu. Some go with bloody marys. I'm thinking since we just warmed up this week and look what happened that maybe we should go with an order of bloody marys this coming week.

As for the recovery time at home in your jammies, I find I play much better while watching lots of tennis on tv. I am at my best on the sofa watching others play. This also happens when I am just sitting court side watching my friends play. I have no problems figuring out which shot to go for and why the opponents just won another point. So after any good tennis spanking you need to just chill and boost your confidence by watching. You will know you have recovered and are ready to PLAY when you can go to the bathroom without pain. I am talking about the pain in your fanny (from the spanking) and your screaming thighs. This is the real reason I recommend staying home. It is impossible to leave the house when you might need to "hover" somewhere. As in a public restroom...it is not a sure thing that you will be able to hover long enough while suffering from tennis flu. Since it seems to affect the whole backside area and can in extreme cases cause arm and shoulder pain and back spasms. In extreme cases of tennis flu I have even known and heard of people having to give up their tennis career in favor of golf. Which would be a really big waste of lots of cute tennis clothes. So, until next week's drills and match...stay home and sit on the sofa - sit on your own clean toilet until you can safely hover in a public restroom - and watch tennis on tv and drink lots of fluids. And don't forget to eat your veggies - that celery stalk is not in the Bloody Mary just for decoration!

I'm a mag hag

I'm always amazed when someone tells me they don't like to read. I think reading is more natural than breathing to me. I think about reading all the time. I love book stores. Could spend hours in them. The only problem is - besides spending all that money there - I at some point realize I want to be somewhere else reading these books and then the stress sets in. To buy or read...there is only so much time in 24 hours. I don't just stop at books. I love magazines. That is why I love the mail truck. I love the surprise (well, not really a surprise...if you have subscriptions to almost every mag known to woman odds are THERE will be a mag in the box....) of opening the door and inside underneath all the junk mail - hate that almost as much as the pesky unsolicited phone calls ...really do need to get rid of that land line...is a thick stack of magazines....that is a worth the trip down the driveway in pouring rain.

The wonderful thing about magazines is that whatever you are interested in - there is a mag for that!!You name it, go ahead and try one topic and I can almost promise you there is a mag for that. So even people that "don't like to read" have to have interests in something. Grab a mag and take 20 minutes to just expand your knowledge and drink a cup of green tea while you're at it. That is another one of my fav things - hot tea and my new electric tea pot that gets the water super hot super fast without that annoying whistle blaring sound...I have a real problem with loud noises. THANK god neither of my kids wanted to play volleyball. I even tried to get baby girl to try it around 5th grade when we realized she was going to get her father's height. Little did I realize it meant sitting in a gym with bells and buzzers going off every 4 minutes and that you would be stuck there in buzzer hell for hours and days and every weekend for freaking ever. I am awed by my girlfriends that devote all their reading time to sitting and doing that. They don't even get "Sorry, weather is too hot, too cold or raining/sleeting/snowing" breaks. That is the bad thing about we can play in any weather sports. Prolly why my kids like tennis, golf and lacrosse. Good old outdoor sports that usually need dry good weather conditions to play. Most of the time anyway...

Back to mags and more hot coffee so I can focus and not ramble. This whole blog started because I was reading the March issue of O Magazine. I've already mentioned I read a lot...and what I consistently love about Oprah's mag is the writing. Every month I find my moneys worth in just that alone. I haven't even finished reading it and I just had to stop and share with you how good this issue is. I was blown away by the article by Zoe Fitzgerald Carter who wrote about dealing with her mother's decision to end her life. Lisa Kogan never disappoints... I am always laughing and most of the time thinking did I just write that or read/say/feel that. Only wish I had just written it. She is great and a staff member and there every month. Getting it right every time. She also has a book coming out and I'll be watching for that on one of my trips to my heaven on earth/book store. By the way, if you can still get a copy of Jan. issue do not miss Paige William's article "My Bra's Too Tight". Again very funny but also so inspiring for women everywhere that wake up and realize they need to make some major changes in their life. Major or small making changes means we are growing and getting better. We all need to keep doing that. Try a magazine - I really think we are all readers, we just need to find what we like to read.

As for me, time to get back to O - lots more to read and lots more really fab things to dream about that most of us prolly can't afford. Keep checking back in and I'll keep sharing the Good Stuff you and I can!! And if you're wondering if I just sit around all day reading - of course not!! I'm on stand by right now waiting for Gman to let me know if I can go watch him play his first JV golf tournament...for some reason he was not sure when I dropped him off if MOMS were allowed to be there. I was even willing to caddy for him. Imagine that! Thank God he sent me home to wait. Did I mention that it was 34 degrees and play was delayed due to frost??? Why the H&%$ does anyone want to do anything outside when it is cold? And no I don't throw myself off mountains of snow with little razor blades strapped to my boots either. I prefer poolside vacays with cabana boys waiting on me hand and foot while I READ a big thick stack of mags and finish at least half the suitcase load of books I brought.

A Perfect Day

Let's make this easy and start at the beginning....okay, night of sleep - not great but at 48 yrs. old it was better than lately. Not Wonderman's fault cause he was out of town...just pesky little hot flashes waking me up every 45 minutes. Then about 7:ish..I started thinking about how good that coffee was going to taste so I got up, cracked the shutters and OMG!!!A freakin winter fairyland was in my own backyard!!!SNOW and I mean a lot of Freakin SNOW for TEXAS was all over everything. How cool is that to start your morning? Then I got online and found out the schools were still babysitting for the day and HELLO!! It got even better!!! Heh, heh, heh!! Drove Gman to high school bitchin the whole way while Mommie was doing Happy DANCE in my seat!! Then I remembered the house fairies/maids were coming and that kinda sucked the joy out for about as long as it took me to realize at the end of the pretty snowy day I was going to have an amazing CLEAN house - that someone else cleaned - so WOW!! How cool is that???

Morning kinda of dragged on as I got the house ready for someone else to come clean - and let me tell you that is WORK people....then I got the desperate, pitiful help me text from Gman begging me to spring him from boredom and high school babysitting...almost said no, but - I am fun mom after all so I said "Fine, 1:45 but no earlier." Plus that gave him time to take his quiz. And I needed to take him to get stuff for his lacrosse tournament this weekend.Then I found out hubby had landed during the snow storm and would be home for dinner....shift from macaroni to plan B. (Hope there was something that would defrost in the freezer - have you ever BEEN to the grocery store when it was actually snowing like freakin crazy??? And I'm not talking about the day before when the newsreporters are just gassin on about a possible storm...I'm talkin about snow everywhere already AND STILL COMING DOWN!!!Lucky for me Wonderman had gotten some free (I KNOW) chicken from Market Street this week and I thought - duh, slap something together with that and wha la...beats macaroni...Let me just say. Slap something - shit nothing...that was an amazing dinner. I think I could have put Gman's plate in the cabinet without water cause he licked it clean and said - I quote - "OMG MOM YOU HAVE TO MAKE THIS AGAIN!!! - Score MOM!!!

Now, while this amazing feast was cooking I was cooking and watching my taped shows like: Cougar Town, which I hated the first week but, OMG LOVE it now....hate to be wrong but this show is so freakin funny now!!! LOVE it and I apologize to Ms. Cox for trashing the first week...still think it was weak but awesome now... then I watched the cutest thing ever on tv and that would be White Collar!!There is just nothing hotter than the prettiest man on the planet that would not in a million years want to have sex with me!! Weird - no, cause I am happily married to a Wonder(ful)man that would not like for me to be crushing on another super hot man - unless, there was NO CHANCE IN HELL THIS MAN WOULD BE INTERESTED IN ME...WINK WINK! And that too is okay!! THis man is so beautiful and NOT interested in me that the whole threesome thing takes on a whole nother meaning...;)Lookout Wonderman..all I'm saying is I LOVE this show...

And speakin of shows it just gets better and makes my perfect DAY cause at the end I get to watch Vampire Diaries!!! WHO HOOOOO...THURSDAYS ROCK!! Specially, every other when the house fairies come and every week when dinner rocks and Vampire Diaries is on!!Did I mention that I need to go pack now cause Hubby is taking me to Pebble Beach tomorrow to watch celebrities and pros play golf for the weekend...????? Perfect Day - I think so!!!