Isn't it Ironic...

An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
And isn't it ironic... don't you think
It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures

~ Ironic by Alanis Morissette

The '90s song Ironic was in my head first thing this morning.

Just like the song lyrics say: Isn't it ironic I wait 30 minutes in line to pay for a car wash last night (above photo) and I wake up to FREE rain pouring from the sky?

That put a damper on my mood. Yes, pun intended.

It was actually more of a sleet-type rain. But it changed to rain then tapered off by late afternoon. I had a few tentative plans for travel – visiting my nephew in Winnebago and/or hitting Staples and Michaels, etc., in Stevens Point. I couldn't tell what the weather was going to do, so I did neither.

We did venture out as a family to attend the pancake breakfast at Assumption High School. Had a nice meal and visit with one of Carter's teachers. Came home and did a little freelance work then went grocery shopping. Apparently, we need to stock up for the week because of some Groundhog Day blizzard coming!

This could be serious business! The projections, as of today, put us in the 8-12 inches line. But we're only a quarter inch or so left of the 12-18 inches area on the map! So who knows?

I remember a few weeks we thought it was going to be snow-maggedon here in central Wisconsin and it was pretty much a false alarm. This one, though, they've been talking about since last week. We'll have to see what they know in 24 hours.

In the meantime, I made sure I enjoyed one more day of mild temps and took a walk with the neighbor. We liked that it was mild out but liked even more that it was still light after 4 p.m. Spring must be right around the corner!

Just might have to snowblow to get there.

Kicking It In Gear

Today was the day we kicked it in gear, literally, at Park Institute. Had the 37th Anniversary Open House and two demonstration shows. It was a long, seven-hour day but worth it to be a part of it and see some things I've only seen in movies.

In case you missed the show – and I know you did – here is my friend Teri and I kicking butt and taking names. Also known as jumping up to break boards with a front kick...

Ha. Just kidding. These are two teenage girls who are far more skilled and daring that we are. I mean bare feet? Ouch.

Here's Teri and I for real, showing of our mad skills of balance, fashion and ...

Attitude!

We did have a great time. There were more than a dozen segments to the show. Our kickboxing/fitness demo fell right in the middle. We had 6 of us demonstrating basic punches and kicks, using our bodies and the punching bag, and strength and balance, using our bodies, the weighted body bar, flex bar, dumb bells and kettle bell. We fit a lot in in less than 10 minutes.

Here's me demonstrating balance while holding the weighted body bar.

My long-time friend Ted, who got me started in this a year ago! Over 70 years of age, he and his wife are living proof anyone can do this!

The "nunchunks" weapons demo is always popular, especially when it is choreographed to "Uptown Funk." Awesome to watch!

Of course the biggest thrill beside board breaking was breaking concrete. Not kidding. I realize all the pictures are blurry, but the guy above is breaking through concrete with his foot! Crazy.

And this guy is using his hand to break concrete. Insane, right?

I just see pain, but somehow these men and women of all ages have learned focus – and strength, obviously. That's what was so cool to watch. We normally just do our class and go. We don't see these other activities in our martial arts world.

It was also nice to see a lot of people attend the event today. There were around 50 guests at each show. They wanted to see what the fuss and fun was about. Hopefully a few signed up for our classes. We definitely could use a few more bodies in the fitness area.

I promise... no wood or concrete required.

Fat Tuesday :: Take 2

According to the real 2016 American calendar of events, Fat Tuesday will fall on Feb. 9. By then it will be the third one we've celebrated around here. First we had MY Fat Tuesday the day before my come-to-Jesus meeting with the scale at Weight Watchers.

Today they had the German version of Mardi Gras at Assumption. The middle and high school German classes made doughnuts for the students, teachers and staff to celebrate Fasching. That's their word for it. While they have carnivals on a large scale over in Europe, the kids settled on deep frying little biscuits then injecting them with sweet jelly. Probably rolled them in sugar, too. I don't know. Carter informed me there were absolutely no leftovers!

I guess they were good then! Probably best I am not tempted anyway.

As for me, I thought it was called Fashion day – not Fasching – so I fashioned up a Fat Tuesday outfit. See how good I am at Weight Watchers already? I no longer eat ice cream. I wear it. Though it was almost tempting to lick my shirt.

No, it really wasn't. If I wanted that dry taste, I'd have another bowl of Fiber One cereal. Whoo-hoo!  No one parties like me – on either side of the ocean.

Happy Fasching!

My Generation's JFK Moment

Every generation has its defining moments in history where everyone remembers "where were you when...?"

For my parents, it was when JFK was assassinated. For my son, it was 9/11. For me, one of them was Jan. 28, 1986, the day the space shuttle Challenger blew up.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the disaster, and I am among the Americans old enough to remember watching the fateful flight. Well, let me clarify. I watched replays immediately after the event.

On Jan. 28, 1986, while I sat in Mr. Lake's accounting class at Luck High School, the Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven on board and forever changing the lives of those who witnessed it.

Even though it was the mid-'80s, not every major event had live television coverage. This did, however, because it was historic before it left the launch pad. There was so much hype leading up to it because it was the first time a teacher was on board with the 6 astronauts. At that point in time, Christa McAuliffe was as much a household name as Mary Lou Retton, Tom Cruise and Madonna. Only in this case, she was an everyday person with whom we could connect.

A big deal but still not big enough we had TVs in all the classrooms. There was one on in the library, though, and someone quickly went from room to room telling the teachers the news. I don't think we got out of class early, but the next hour I had a study hall and went to the library to watch the footage. Over and over again.

On a small-ish, grainy television, you still couldn't grasp the magnitude. Did it completely explode or did it just break apart and there'd be survivors landing in a capsule somewhere in the ocean?

It was surreal. Every time we'd watch it, we somehow hoped that this time, the Challenger would make it past the 73-second mark and continue on into history for a different reason. Sort of like 9/11. Every time you saw the plane hit the tower, you think, "What? Did that just happen? Did I really just see that happen?"

The event had more of an impact, for me anyway, than the attempt on President Reagan's life 5 years earlier. Maybe because I was older now. Maybe because he survived. Or maybe because it confirmed there was just another crazy person in the world. Keep in mind that came at the end of the Iran hostage crisis. So just like today, we wondered, "What is this world coming to?"

But to see the space shuttle explode was a disturbing reality check. We grow up thinking we are this advanced, powerful nation that leads in everything – and something somewhat routine "technically" goes wrong and 7 of our citizens die? Just like that.

And on a more personal level, our teachers became human. I remember seeing our librarian cry. The tragedy had a profound impact on all of them. Christa McAuliffe was one of them, their sister. They were probably thinking, "That could have been me. Could have been any one of us."

Just like we think when tragedy strikes on any scale. "That could have been me," followed by, "Thank you, God, that it wasn't."

And bless those today who still feel the pain... who still need to heal. Amen.

Gas-X

As far as I'm concerned, the best way to relieve gas pains is to lower the price at the pump.

I know you were worried I was going to talk about gas because I had broccoli for lunch. No need to fret. I won't go there.

I was just excited tonight to see petrol prices plunging. Relatively speaking.

Apparently, the last time it was this low was 2009. But it had been way up before that so it felt more like a temporary reprieve. Probably like now. But it was back when Carter was a baby that it started inching from the bottom up.

In December of 1999, when gas prices were at $1.34 a gallon, a AAA Wisconsin spokesperson said it ranked as "the highest price of the decade." Then, a few months later they made their way up to about where they are now and people were panicking – and understandably upset with the oil industry. One angry Cheesehead said, "They're insane. Americans are never going to survive at $2 for gas it's not foreseeable. It is not foreseeable."

It wasn't funny at the time, but it's kind of amusing now that we've survived that and so much more!

I just find it so ironic that after driving 100 miles a day for work the past 12 years that now that I have a 12-mile round trip commute, gas prices decided to decline. Just figures. I suppose I can't complain. I only have to fill up my tank about every other week! That's nice. I'll enjoy this while I can.

I also plan to choose something different for lunch tomorrow. In case you were wondering...

Home Court Advantage

In case you were wondering about my vertical leap... it looks nothing like this. In fact, I wonder if my feet totally leave the ground when I jump in my kickboxing class. It feels like I should look like this, but reality, age and gravity tell me differently.

Just one of many reasons I love watching high school hoops. These boys have hops!

Tonight we hosted Wausau Newman Catholic. Always a fierce rivalry in our conference. When we played at their house in December, we lost by just 2 points in an insanely tense, well-fought game. Now it was their turn to come to "our" house.

It did start off pretty similarly, with the Royals having only a 3-point lead at halftime. But our boys kicked it in gear, stayed out of foul trouble (mostly), and ended up taking the victory 75-61.

It was fun sitting between the mother of a player who scored 22 points and the grandmother of a player who scored 15. They were both so proud and excited, I couldn't help but be, too. That's what's fun about the game at this level. We're all happy together and we all take the losses to heart.

Even though we split the season with the Cardinals, it still counts as a Royal win for us. In fact, doesn't a victory in front of the home crowd count as double?

Beats me. I never was that good in math.

Or jump balls.

See What the Fuss (and Fun) is About

This commercial message is brought to you by your friends in the Park Institute cardio kickboxing class...

It's not really a shameless plug on behalf of the owner. It is a shameless plug on behalf of me, who will be co-starring in the shows at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Saturday!

And by co-starring I mean there are 5 other "stars" in the fitness/kickboxing demonstration. Well let's just call us class participants, not stars. After all, our moment in the spotlight will only last about 5-7 minutes per show. The rest of the presentation focuses on Tae Kwon-Do type stuff, which should be cool to watch, too.

Seriously, stop by. Eat something. Maybe a win a prize. Maybe see just enough of our fitness demo for you to want to give kickboxing a try! You'll see how fun it is. You'll see how easy it can be. You'll see that anyone can do it – all shapes, sizes and ages. Basically, if I can do it, anyone can.

If you can't make it Saturday, let me know and I can give you a private demo.

Just contact my agent.