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Three Beaks Are Better Than None?

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Phoebe (or one of her offspring?) returned again this year to nest in our pool grotto.

This is an annual tradition.

(If you are a new-ish reader – Phoebe is a Black Phoebe who nests in our pool grotto every single year.)

I haven’t been keeping an eye on the nest as closely as I usually do.

(Don’t you hate it when Real Life interferes with Things We Like To Do?)

Her eggs must have JUST hatched, though, because there’s a messy mass of feathers and fluff visible now.

Black Phoebe Hatched © SHaggerty 2013 W-1

If I didn’t know what I was looking at, I’m not sure I would even be able to tell there are birds in the above photo.

I spot three beaks.

It’s possible there’s a fourth that isn’t visible.

Can you spot all three beaks?

(Hint:  They’ve got some yellow on them.)

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Stormy Skies

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Last night, as I drove home after a very (!!)  long day …

I saw a flash of light in my rear view mirror.

My first thought was, “I must have been speeding.”

I thought I was getting pulled over and ticketed.

But, there was no police car (with or without flashing lights) in sight.

Awhile later, as I drove towards home, there was another flash of light somewhere out there, in the darkness.

And then, eventually another.

It took FIVE flashes of light over a 30 minute period before I realized I was looking at lightening in the distance.

I guess that says a lot about how rarely we get electrical storms?

Earlier in the evening, my world looked like this:

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

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And In Other News …

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I’ve posted a lot about my gym exploits recently.

I use this space to write about whatever is currently going on in my life -

Lately, a lot of my time has been devoted to getting a routine established at the gym.

Here’s a little bit about other things going on in my life right now:

•  Paul Newman is fine.  And yes, he’s completely in the loop in regard to my adventures at the gym.  (I wouldn’t dare try to get anything past him!  The man has x-ray vision regarding my life, even when he’s not with me.  Seriously – it is uncanny and creepy and kind of cool all at the same time.)

•  Paul Newman can move me into a lot more bendy-arm positions now that he’s been taking care of me for awhile.  He loves seeing how bendy he can make me, by the way.  (Ahem?)  My pain levels are so much better as long as I see him fairly frequently.  He’s become a mandatory part of my life.  He’s a great help, and I think he’s a fantastic (and hilarious!) person too.  I never, ever, want to go back to pre-Paul Newman days.

•  No, my arm/upper body is not “normal yet” and I don’t think anyone expects it ever will be.  That makes me all the more grateful for every ounce of improvement I make with both my pain level and my function.

•  My entire life seems to be about Slow Progress.  That’s okay with me.  Slow progress is better than NO progress.

•  Nike is also FINE.  She and I went for a long walk last week to get caught up.

•  On the photography front:  I have a meeting with two clients this week.  I also have a shoot.  I also need to redo my price lists, again, because the price list (charged to me) from my printer is changing.

•  I recently purchased a Drobo 5D.  I have computer file storage problems.  (As do most photographers.)  I still need one more Drobo.  Storage is expensive, but my photography is my life’s work.  I can’t imagine losing it all.

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•  A million hummingbirds live in my backyard.  Or, at least, 30-40.  I make 24 cups of hummingbird food at a time.  I have two feeders.  I’m considering purchasing a third feeder so I don’t have to refill the first two as often.  But what if more hummingbirds arrive as a result?  I love hummingbirds, but I already “have” more of them than anyone I’ve ever heard of.

Hummingbird Feeder © SHaggerty 2013 W-1

•  I’m freaking out a little.  One of my kids is graduating from college next month.  Another will be graduating from high school in June.  How is that even possible?  (I have upcoming trips scheduled to North Carolina and Texas as a result.)

•  My new favorite sunscreen is called Elta MD.  I received a (free!) bottle from one of my doctor friends and really liked it.  I noticed it was also listed in this month’s In Style Magazine as the best sunscreen for faces.  It’s more expensive than most drugstore brands so I’d recommend getting something cheaper for the rest of your body.  I like it because it doesn’t feel greasy on my face.  Also, my very sensitive skin isn’t irritated by it.  Many of you know, I’m very careful with the sun.  I wear sunscreen every single day, year round.  (Available through doctors and online.)

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•  My favorite slip-on sandal this year is Sophie by Dansko.  I’m all about comfort, and these can’t be beat.  (I prefer slip-on sandals because they’re so easy to get on and off as I run out the door, or when I get to the sand.)  They come in lots of colors.  They aren’t the sexiest sandal out there, but they’re sort of cute.  More importantly … ahhhh!  They’re Dansko’s so you know they feel great!  (I might own more than one color?)

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•  Have you noticed I’m on a kick to “get my shit together?”  This goes for every aspect of my life …!

It might be a case of spring cleaning run amok?

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Failing At Physical Fitness?

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As most of you know,

Less than a week ago I decided to join a gym.

Since then, I’ve been trying to mentally process how out of shape I (apparently) am.

Last week, after my first workout, my ass was so sore I could barely move.

Going up and down stairs, or for that matter sitting on a toilet, became excruciating for several days after an extremely-ass-focused workout session.

Over the weekend, I didn’t go to the gym.

I did, however, record around 20,000 steps both days on my pedometer.

Yesterday, I was back at the gym.

It was my first appointment with my “real” Trainer.

(Last week, I was treated to a “freebie” training session I received when I joined the gym.)

I don’t have a blog name yet for New Trainer, but this is what I can tell you about him so far:

•  He’s enthusiastic and full of energy.  (Don’t you hate people like that?)

•  He’s intelligent.

•  He ignored an OC woman who was shamelessly flirting with him at the gym.  (Brownie points and instant respect!)

•  He’s attractive in a boyish way.  (He looks a lot younger than he is.)

•  He’s a “baseball guy.”  My family has been immersed in the baseball world (in one way or another) for years – so I’m sure we’ll have a lot to talk about.

•  Although New Trainer doesn’t know enough about my “story” to understand my last 6+ years, he has worked with people with disabilities before.  I (so far) really like the way he’s approaching my situation.  He had clearly put some forethought and planning into finding things I CAN do before I even arrived.  (You’d be amazed at the number of people I’ve come across since the accident who blame/guilt me for having limitations and pain.)

New Trainer informed me immediately upon my arrival I would be doing an “upper body” workout.

“I can’t,” I reminded him.

“Your other arm,” he answered.

Oh.

Blink, blink.

I’m only meeting with New Trainer once each week.  I realize now it’s going to take quite awhile until we make it through all my body parts.

Yesterday was “arm” day, next week will probably be legs, eventually a day will be  ”abs,”  ”ass,”  etc., etc.

Ideally, he said he’d like me at the gym 5 days a week starting now.

(And yes, he was full of ideas of what I can do at the gym until our next meeting.)

Of course, I didn’t plan on joining a gym right when I did.  My calendar is booked up like crazy this week and beyond.

I have no idea how I’m going to juggle things to be at the gym that much.

(And in the back of my brain, I hear the word “commitment” repeating over and over again.)

But folks, going to a gym five days a week, separate appointments for physical therapy on my arm two days a week, photography commitments, blogging commitments, a ton of family shit going on ….

It’s overwhelming.

Which?

Is no excuse, I know.

After having me do a multitude of arm exercises, New Trainer set me up for a cardio “interval” workout on a tall bike.

No problem, I thought.

After all, I regularly walk 4-5 miles.

I have an elliptical I use at home.

I hike, trudge through sand, and climb all sorts of obstacles on a regular basis.

I almost always exhaust everyone who walks or shoots with me because I keep going, and going, and going.

(Yes, a lot of people DO drink those high-energy drinks like Red Bull when they hang out with me.)

But …?

Holy crap!

New Trainer informed me he’d start my interval training at an “easy” difficulty level of 10.

He explained to me how I should be pedaling at a minimum of 60+ RPM on “flat” areas and 85+ RPM on the hills.

He set me up for 30 minutes of interval cycling to “end” my workout for the day, and then moved on to his next client.

I quickly realized how damn hard it is to pedal 85+ RPM up gigantic (imaginary) hills.

By minute seven, I had lowered the difficulty level to 8.

By minute twelve it was at 6.

At 20 minutes I said, “F*ck thirty minutes,” and started my cool down.

I was DRENCHED in sweat.

In other words, I’m pretty sure I’m failing in every way.

As an added bonus, Creeper (every gym has one?) was seated accross the way, facing me, the entire time I was cycling.

He didn’t stop staring at my boobs for one milli-second.

Why, oh why, does every gym have a guy like that hanging around?

I mean, I know my girls are pretty fabulous …

But, really???

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Saturday In San Clemente

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I hope you had a nice weekend.

It has been very summer-ish here lately.

The weekend was warm (hot!) and beautiful.

San Clemente @ SHaggerty 2013 W-1

My son and I spent Saturday in San Clemente.

He’s been taking a photography class and he wanted to “play” with my camera.

Photographer Shadow @ SHaggerty 2013 W-1

I didn’t know what to do without my camera in my hands.

(I hadn’t thought to bring my other/old camera.)

So, I took iPhone photos of him while he took photos.

Nerdy much??

There were a lot of people hanging out on the sand.

There were a lot of people out for walks and biking too.

Bike Riders @ SHaggerty 2013 W-1

Bike riders rode past us and called out, “Take our picture!  Take our picture!”

My son turned and snapped the above frame just as they smiled and gave a thumbs up.

It made me smile and I love how he captured the moment.

After a few hours, and several miles of beach walking, he was done.

He handed me back my camera for the last part of the afternoon.

It’s a good thing too,

I was getting itchy palms without it.

Click on photo to purchase, or view larger, in 24atHeart gallery.

All in all, it was a really great day.

P.S.  Did I tell you my “sometimes surreal/impressionistic” photography style was discussed recently on a Trey Ratcliff show?  How exciting is that?  (Exposure to another 5+ million people!)  Woo Hoo!  (And thank you again, and always, to Thomas Hawk for believing in me/my art and promoting me/it!)

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First Experience With a Personal Trainer

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It seems like “everyone” in Orange County has a personal trainer.

My son, a high school senior, has a personal trainer – an awesome man who was hired to “train” the varsity baseball players.

Yesterday, an enormous man named Caleb (6’5″ tall and around 280 pounds) gave me my first-ever personal training session.

I would not want Caleb to ever get mad at me.

Caleb is huge.

I can’t do any upper body stuff so my session with Caleb involved cardio (a stationary bike for my first day), a leg workout, a butt workout, and some ab work.

Caleb was awesome because he never once laughed at me.  In fact, he was very supportive and very understanding that life sometimes sucker punches us to the ground.

We agreed on a few things:

1.  I have “no” core.  (Your core is very important!  I don’t have one.  I need to get one!)

2.  Even the muscles I think of as strong, are not.

3.  I need to go at a slow pace due to the state of my post-accident body.  My biggest goal?  Not to hurt another body part!

4.  A slow pace is better than NO pace.

Also -

1.  Caleb was very polite, but I know (in exercise terms) I did next to nothing during my first session.

And still, I could barely do what he gave me!

Caleb had to help me on a couple “easy” things.

Sometimes it was due to my injuries.

For instance, I can’t use my right arm to balance myself the way a “normal” person can.

I weave and wobble … and I might fall down.

Caleb stood next to me and “acted” as my right arm for balance when I needed it.

Sometimes it was just because I have no muscles in certain body parts.

2. My ass hurts.  Already.  Can you imagine how sore I’ll be by tomorrow?

3.  My training session made me realize what bad shape I’m in.  I think a lot of us kid ourselves into thinking we’re in better shape than we are.

On a positive note,

I’m glad I joined the gym.

I’m glad I’ll be making improvements, even if I go about making them at a slower pace than a “normal” person.

I’m okay with slow progress – I just want to make progress.

I’ve had a lot of personal stress in my life lately -

It feels good to have something positive and concrete to focus on.

Exercise is a stress reducer.

I won’t be working with Caleb on an ongoing basis, but I have decided to use a “trainer” once a week for a couple months.

(I don’t have a blog-name for New Trainer yet.  He’s a friend of one of my friends in The World of Sports.  He has a master’s degree in kinesiology.  He has better than Average Joe’s understanding of my limitations.  He’s attractive.  Of course, being attractive is very important – right?)

My goal is 4 workouts per week.

Each week, one of those workouts will be with New Trainer.

He will help me develop a program designed around my Not-Working-Body-Parts.

I’m hoping, after a couple months, I’ll “graduate” and no longer need New Trainer’s help.

We’ll see how things evolve.

My goal is not to have my 20 year old body back again,

Mainly because I can’t have it back even if I wanted it.

For me, this is more about getting my whole life to a better place than it has been since the accident.

Of course, I’m sure I’ll find lots of blog material at the gym along the way.

This is Orange County, after all.

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L.A. Fitness

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Yesterday, I signed a membership agreement with L.A. Fitness.

I also decided, all gyms should offer you a taco the minute you walk in,

Just to make you feel more comfortable about being there.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with L.A. Fitness, it’s a “chain” of gyms.

There are a lot of them in Southern California, and they’re located in many other states too.

I’m in different parts of the county every day, so the idea of being able to use a gym’s facilities in different cities/locations was appealing.

(Briefcase and I are also discussing the possibility of selling our house sometime in the next year so I didn’t want to get locked in to a small, specific, geographical area.)

I signed up with the (very nice) general manager, Christopher Prekup, at the Alicia Parkway (Mission Viejo) location.

I really liked him.

He isn’t your typical Full-of-Shit gym salesperson.

(No, I’m not getting a thing for referrals.  But, if you think of it tell Chris I said hi if you decide to go visit.  He thinks I’m funny.)

The Alicia facility is NOT the L.A. Fitness closest to my home and it probably won’t be the location I’m at most often.

It was, however, the closest one to where I was yesterday.

I expect I’ll be visiting L.A. Fitness locations all over Orange County (and L.A.) on various days.

There are, of course, all sorts of different memberships you can sign up for but I decided on one that will only cost me $19.99 per month.

The price is hard to beat.

The pool is heated to 80-84F which is perfect.

The pool water is checked, and “treated” every 4 hours so I know it’s clean.

The gym offers a lot of various types of classes too, at no additional charge.

(I hate it when gyms charge extra for specific classes like yoga or pilates.)

I plan on trying a lot of different classes – even though I know I won’t be able to do any upper body stuff in the classes.

I really like the fact there were people of all ages and all fitness levels walking around.

I would feel very out of place in a gym of entirely 20 year old hard-bodies.

Today, I’m having an “assessment” done by a hard-body He-Man named Caleb.

(Chris warned me Caleb is a big muscly guy.  He didn’t want me to be intimidated by him.  He told me Caleb-The-He-Man is “very nice” and “not everybody here looks like him.”)

I’m pretty sure I’ll die of shame from the experience.

Is there such thing as a fitness level of negative 75?

If there is, that’s where I’ll be.

On the other hand,

It can only improve from this point, right?

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Gym Search

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Today I’m going to (hopefully) stop by a couple gyms “just to take a look.”

Since the car accident, I haven’t thought much about re-joining a gym.

I can’t do any upper body stuff with my injuries, so it seemed like a waste of money.

But now, I’m in search of a gym with a pool.

Paul Newman is going to give me a whopping “5 minutes per day” of pool stuff to do.

For some reason he thinks I tend to overdo arm-related things I enjoy.

Who me??

Every spring/summer, I modify “normal” swimming and compensate for what I can’t do by overusing other body parts until my body flips out in pain.

It’s my post-accident reality.

(In truth, it’s what I do for any dominant-arm-related tasks.)

Paul Newman is trying to reign in my pool enthusiasm with strict time limits.

In spite of his  very controlling nature   protectiveness,

I really like him still.

(He’s such a good fit for me PT-wise.)

I want to be able to be in a pool (5 minutes per day) year round, not just during the months our home pool is warm enough.  (May through September.)

Besides my “allowed” five minutes, I can do unlimited laps with a kick-board.

It isn’t AS fun, but it’s better than not being in the pool at all.

There are a surprising lack of gyms with pools in the South Orange County area.

In fact, I only know of two.

I’ve been told one of them is exorbitantly expensive.

I’ve been told the other “isn’t that clean.”

But, I want to check things out for myself.

I may have misinformation?

Maybe the expensive gym isn’t really as expensive as I’ve heard.

Maybe the not-so-clean-gym has decided to clean up its act?

In any case, I’d love to hear from some of you.

Do you belong to a gym?

Did you quit going to a gym out of boredom or because you never used it after a little while?

If you go to a gym (or have gone to one in the past), what did you like doing at the gym most?

(If you’re in The OC … let me know if you go to a gym you love, particularly if it has a pool.)

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Problems Being Girly

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Yesterday, I shared the sentimental perspective on a wedding I attended last weekend.

Today, I thought I’d share the many challenges I had “being a girl” for the occasion.

Most of you already know, I’m not a girly-girl.

I  only  mainly wear sweats or jeans, t-shirts, and flip flops.

I have my camera around my neck 90% of the time,

People often find me crawling on the ground or climbing on top of things just to get a particular shot I’m after.

As a result, I procrastinated the inevitable -

And woke up the morning of the wedding with absolutely nothing wedding-appropriate to wear.

And …?

My face was severely peeling.

Particularly my nose.

The Splotchy-Look is SO pretty.

I wear sunscreen every day,

But my face (especially my nose) frequently peels anyway.

I arrived at our local mall at 10:00 a.m. when it opened.

I tried on approximately twenty dresses before I found one I hated-less-than-others.

In fact, it was kind of sexy.

(In a hint-of-cleavage, but still wedding-appropriate, way.)

But wait …

I needed a jacket or sweater to go with the dress because it was an outdoor, beach, wedding with an evening reception.

Beach evenings in April get downright chilly.

After much searching, I found a light jacket I could wear with the dress.

But wait, again …

The dress I picked out was form-fitting -

I needed Spanx.

I ran to the lingerie department to find the right kind of Spanx.

(One of my all-time most read humor posts is about Spanx.  If you haven’t read it, you can find it here.)

•  Dress purchased – check!

•  Light jacket purchased – check!

•  Spanx purchased – check!

•  Shoes …?

I raced to go shoe shopping.

After some shoe hunting, I decided on a very sexy pair of black patent high (!!) heels.

I would look hawt for the wedding with such sexy shoes.

(And a sexy dress, I might add!)

What was I thinking?

I haven’t worn high, high, high heels in a loooooong time.

Clearly, after all that rushing around, I wasn’t thinking at all.

But wait, yet again …

My grubby toenails would show through the peek-a-boo toe of my new heels.

I bolted off to a nail salon and explained I needed a quick, emergency, pedicure.

I managed to stress out a woman who spoke no English, but who did understand my agitated, waving, hands.

•  Bad Pedicure – check!

But, oh no!

I’m a melanoma survivor.

I’m outdoors all the time, but I  *don’t*  tan.

I wear clothes that cover me up.

I wear lots of sunscreen.

My legs were ghostly white.

If I wore a dress, with very high, sexy, heels -

I absolutely couldn’t have ghost-white legs.

I suddenly remembered I had one remaining “spray tan” from a package of five I bought two years ago.

I dashed from the nail salon to the tanning salon.

There were some (ahem?) problems at the tanning salon.

In fact, my rushed tanning salon experience was a disaster.

(And yes, I might have wandered topless down the hallway of the salon at one point.

But that’s an entirely separate story for a different day.)

•  Bad Spray Tan – check!

By the time I got home from all my frantic, last minute, errands,

I had less than an hour to get ready for the wedding.

I probably should have done all of the wedding-preparation activities earlier in the week?

How did it work out?

Well, I looked hot.

As hot as a frumpy woman can look while sobbing at a wedding.

Also …

•  I smelled strongly of spray-tan chemicals for three days, even after several showers.  I’m pretty sure my remaining color will “come off” on Paul Newman when he touches me today.  (Oh, how he looks forward to my visits??)

•  I couldn’t walk, or even stand, in my heels.  At all.  I sat almost the entire night.  Even then, my feet hurt for a full two days after the wedding.  (I will wear my flip flops to the next wedding I go to.)

•  The dress was a success.  I think I will wear it again, if I ever have to wear a dress.  Have I mentioned, I hate wearing dresses?

•  I couldn’t breathe.  Or drink.  Or eat.  I know a lot of women wear Spanx every.single.day, but I have no idea how they can bear it.  I’m pretty sure Spanx sucked my fat in so intensely that my intestines became entangled into still existing knots.

And yes,

I fail at all the girly stuff.

But, at least I tried, right?