Over 50? Play Volleyball!

I am a volleyball junkie.

I play whenever I can, at least once a week. Volleyball is the one thing that gets me off my rear after sitting in front of the computer screen all day. I also walk my dog (he's gotta go when he's gotta go!) but it's not as much fun. I have tried working out in the gym and found it be possibly the most boring activity on the planet. Ditto for aerobics.

I'm the competitive type. I need to smack a ball at someone and get points for it. I need people (especially younger people) to nod at me and say "nice hit." I need to pound aces into the opposing court; I need my spectacular serving skills to eventually win the game for my team. And, oh yeah, I need exercise too.

I'm probably the oldest person in my VB crowd; definately the oldest female. However, I've played regularly for at least the past 12 years, usually at local community colleges, on church teams, and informally whenever the opportunity arises. I've always played at the level of players much younger than me, so I've constantly pushed myself. My skill level is good, a serious game of power volleyball doesn't scare me. I have a nice pass, I can spike, and I have a killer overhand serve. Conversely, I can't jump so my blocks are fruitless, and my sets are lousy, but getting better. I plan to play this game forever. (I also plan to live forever.)

The advantages of volleyball are:

• you don't need physical strength
• you don't have to kill yourself running (like basketball, soccer, or the treadmill)
• you can continue to improve your game at any age
• it's genuinely fun.

Disadvantages? Fear of the ball (you can get over it) and broken nails (oh, please!).

There are volleyball clubs for all ages. Anyone can play community college volleyball, and many churches and city recreation centers have volleyball teams. Click here to learn more about joining a team.

If you are looking for a great way to get off your bum , have fun, and get real aerobic exercise, play the awesome sport - play volleyball!

Modern Teens Playing MONOPOLY???

Wow! Today my 18-year-old son surprised me! He and two of his friends spent hours around a table in the basement playing Monopoly! Does this still happen? Is this normal? The really amazing part of this story is that he just recently hooked up his new Xbox Live, complete with Halo 2. He can now play this game with anyone in the world, even speaking to other players live as they interact in the game (headset included).

Granted, he and friends played video games for a great many hours during the last couple of days. Actually, his friends played more than my son did. He got bored and came upstairs to play the piano or he lay on his bed to read for much of the time.

In any case, it was great hearing these boys laughing and giggling over Monopoly this evening. And get this! They've arranged an all-night Monopoly marathon this coming weekend.

I'll buy the sodas and make the popcorn!

Caught in a Time Warp!

I think my state, the Gem State, often called the Potato State, should be renamed the "Time Warp State." This is because living in Idaho is like living in California 50 years ago. The Idahoans I have met agree with me on this. They admit life "moves slow here," and some are even apologetic. But in the long run, it's the very reason people move here, and the reason natives never leave.

Here, kids leave their bikes and skateboards strewn all over the front lawn and the next morning, they're still there!

Here, people own guns that they actually use for hunting; and no one complains or protests when gun & knife shows come to town, except for me (silently).

Here, teenagers wear regular clothes that fit. No saggin' baggin' jeans on the boys, and no bare bellies and spaghetti straps for the girls.

If dogs get out of a fella's yard and attack a city councilman, inflicting wounds that require stitches, the owner is told to keep his pets in the yard. After all, dogs can sometimes be dangerous. (This really happened.) (By the way, what's a "leash law?")

Here, you can find plenty of candy or soda for sale in the middle and high schools. Hey, what's lunch money for, anyway?

Here, most male Idahoans 60 and under drive pickup trucks with no mufflers. Many of the younger ones also own sedans with all windows tinted completely black.

Here, kids typically ride in the beds of pickup trucks, and dogs enjoy the same privilege, untethered of course. (After all, the kids aren't tied down!)

Here, no one's ever heard of the term recycling. For the record, the Cub Scouts have a paper drive bin at the neighborhood strip mall (remember paper drives?) , but bottles and cans are no deposit/no return.

Here, you can leave your car unlocked and your front door wide open and no one will help themselves to your stuff; although they may walk into your house to see if everything is okay.

Here, if you hit a cow that's standing in the middle of the road, you are at fault, even if the cow broke through the fence. But if someone shoots down a couple head just for the fun of it, the owner probably won't press charges. He'll just want the shooter to pay for the cows.

Here (get this) there are no helmet laws for motorcyclists, bicyclists, scooterists, skateboarders, rollerbladers, rollerskaters, or anyone else!

Seat belt laws exist here, but only a few of the elderly wear seat belts, and no one is ever cited, unless they can be pulled over something more serious, like throwing empty beer cans out the window in front of a police car.

Here, car restraints for children are rarely used. Children prefer to climb over the seats and hang out the open windows while the unbelted parent struggles with the family dog (on her lap) as she attempts to drive the car.

Here, by my observation, approximately one half of the population smokes. (The other half are Mormons.) I took particular note of this because in California, smoking has been nearly eradicated. Any poor souls still clinging to the filthy habit are delegated to the dumpster areas in alleys behind office buildings. But here, public smoking is common!

Here, although 90% of the residents are white, race isn't considered an issue. In fact, folks make a special effort to not say the wrong thing to "people of color."

Here, wages are low, but homes are cheap, neighbors are friendly, and groceries are a bargain.

Here, after voting for one's favorite Republican, one notices that there are no propositions listed at the end of the ballot. Being possibly the most conservative state in the Union (even compared to Utah!) it's a fact that new laws, regulations, ordinances, statutes, or whatever, rarely make it to the ballot. As a result, the world changes, but Idaho... uh, doesn't.

No More SNOW???

One of the best things about Idaho is the snow!

I realize that many Idahoans and and others in the northernmost reaches would disagree with me on this. Apparently they see snow as a big pain in the a** . However, having experienced snow the first seven years of my life, then having lived in California the rest of it, I really really missed the snow. (Well, all of the seasons for that matter.) I ached to see tree-lined streets filled with the flaming colors of fall, and I missed swirling silent snowflakes and the scrunchy sound of newly-fallen snow under your boots (or athletic shoes, as the case may be).

Now, I can sit at my computer and as I work I gaze out of the big picture window in my living room. Those first few snowfalls were like magic. I sat mesmerized, and of course, got absolutely nothing done.

In all, we got maybe all of six inches of snow this winter, so far. I don't know what everyone was whining about! Well, maybe I do. They say years ago winters here were much worse than they are nowadays. Maybe they're exaggerating, or maybe we're headed for a drought, or maybe global warming is messing everything up. I heard on the news that right now the snow pack in the mountains here-abouts is less than one-fourth of normal, and that it would take a miracle so late in the winter season to get it up to one-half of normal. I know the farmers and ranchers are worried about it (this Southeastern Idaho valley is actually a desert, you know).

Isn't it ironic? Folks don't appreciate the snow until they don't get enough of it. Kind of like most things, isn't it? All I know is that for me, I'm looking for more white stuff before the end of the winter, or maybe a surprise blizzard in the spring!

Western Appalachia

We recently moved.

California and Arnold and $120K homes selling for $450K are history now, at least for us. And we haven't looked back. (Or at least when we have, we knew we done good.)

Now we are residing in the "Gem State." (Why do they call it that? I haven't seen any gems, and very few jewelry stores). Have you figured out my new home state? No? Okay, this state is sometimes referred to as "Western Appalachia." (However, don't actually say that around these folks, they don't like it.) No? How about the "Potato State"? Ahhh, that was too easy! Idaho, of course!

Folks around here really do grow potatoes! Lots of potatoes. So many, in fact, that they give a good portion of them away from the backs of pickup trucks. Some of the farmers here are paid by the government to NOT grow potatoes. Kids in some schools have two weeks off in the fall to help with the potato harvest. And many of them really do harvest potatoes! Everywhere you go in my little town, folks talk "potatoes," and, of course, everyone eats potatoes every night for dinner. Different recipe, same main ingredient. (My kids are already hesitant to accept dinner invitations unless they are craving something new and different involving potatoes.) Spuds are "dirt" cheap here (get it?), so why not?

One day last fall, I was at Walmart in the greeting card section, searching for a belated birthday card for my son, when I overheard two potato farmers discussing "potatoes." They were standing together in the candy section, arms folded, and I knew they were potato farmers because they both wore flannel plaid shirts and muddy boots. The younger guy in blue jeans and suspenders was getting potato advice from the older fella, who obviously knew more about "tator farming" because he wore dirty overalls and was doing most of the talking. The conversation went something like this:

"Well... we got most of it done now, just a couple more acres to go."
"Yeah."
"Ya know, they got them new varieties out now."
"Yeah."
"They're pushin' em on us, ya know."
"Yeah."
"Ya know, they're not the same as the Russets."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, they're different. They look nice, pretty color. Nice shape. Smooth."
"Hmmm."
"Look pretty on the store shelf."
"Yeah."
(Neither one of these fellas, I might mention here, has looked up once during this conversation. They seemed to be focused on their muddy boots.)
"But, ya know, they don't taste the same."
"Yeah."
"Oh no. Not the same at all."
"Hmmm."
"And they don't cook up the same."
"Yeah?"
"Oh, yeah. Any housewife could tell the difference."
"Yeah."

At this point, I almost fell asleep from sheer boredom. My eyes had glazed over and my purse had slipped off my shoulder and I had forgotten why I was at Walmart or what I was looking for. I quickly left the store and took several deep breaths of cold October air. Then, for some reason, I went straight home and fixed Rice-a-Roni for dinner.

I'm a Blogger!

I've wanted to blog ever since I figured out what blogging was. (About a week ago.) Now, finally, I'm blogging. I blog. This is great! It's way better than folding laundry ! (Even clean laundry!)

Okay, now that I have contained my excitement, I will blog my first point:

During this past week I came up with maybe a million witty and wonderful ideas to write about; perfectly worded, laugh-out-loud funny, really great stuff. At the time I was vacuuming, or driving home from Walmart, or sound asleep. Did you ever notice that when you sit down (later) to type up all this great stuff, OOOOPS! You go dumb.

You think, "what the heck was that I was going to write... wasn't there something I wanted to say about... something... oh crap!"

This just happended to me. Dang. Some blogger I am.

Nevertheless, I plan to survive and even thrive as a Class-1 blogger. Starting tomorrow.