Lesson No. 14 - Understanding...Football

I don't know if it's the South or the times, but I don't remember football being so important when I grew up. anyway, last night I attended a "Mom's football clinic" held by my oldest son's football coach. My son will be playing JV.

We met in a restaurant and after our meal, the coach got up to talk. He spoke about values and about football, taught us terminology and his philosophy about plays (lots of repetition, learn a few but learn them well) and a bunch of other things. I now know what a triple option and a veer play are, and the numbers and letters used to describe the positions of the players on the field and the gaps between them. (I found a site, which seems to explain well, too. Use the dropdown lists at the top.)

The coach had a few gems, from which we can draw other life lessons. Unfortunately, only one really comes to mind now (I wish I had taken notes!): If your defense is strong and you keep the other team from scoring, you will not lose. Very smart, I thought...

Watching what one eats and listening to advice

Well, while I'm exercising heavily, I'm falling down in the first area mentioned above. You can see from the link to the left, that I'm not entering info most days...

As for the second, you must listen to this, weekly. It's a great radio show, called the Weekend Workout, broadcast in Florida, NY/NJ and LA, but available on demand online...

Great mix of interviews & advice...

I'd write more, but I'm about to host a Hadassah programming meeting at my house right...now!

Farklempt

I took an interesting survey yesterday, conducting by professors researching the use of Yiddish and Hebrew words in English (social scientists at Hebrew Union College). It's meant for both Jews and non-Jews; Jews are also asked about their upbringing. It's interesting, as I said, and if you complete it, you can sign up to have the results emailed to you.

The day before, I'd heard a non-Jewish radio broadcaster here in the South use a very Yiddish word, farklempt. For some reason, I always thought that meant disheveled, but it means choked up. While Googling to make sure I spelled it correctly, I found an online multi-player game called Farklempt, which has to do with managing emotions in an artistic way...don'tknow if I have the time to play, but someone else might...

Anyway, while certain Yiddishisms entered the English language long ago (thanks mostly to Hollywood, I should think), this was not one that I ever expected to hear, especially in Georgia!

Getting back on track

Yes, I've kept up with the exercise, but after two weeks of not watching what I'm eating, I haven't lost any more weight.

If I keep a food journal, I behave well.

If I don't..., well, I don't.

So, in an effort to get back on track, I've created a new account at www.fitday.com and am making it public, for all the world to see (okay, maybe I have 1 or 2 people reading this?)

My goal: to lose 40 pounds and two sizes by the end of the calendar year. I participate in a boot camp three times a week, and exercise two other days a week (usually elliptical for 30-40 minutes, although today I did for an hour!), and am trying to limit my caloric intake to around 1200 calories a day.

Anyway, the link (at left) will show my intake, activities, and a journal, which will only have notes about the exercise equivalents (their list of pre-sets isn't exhaustive, so I have to fake/explain)...

Wish me luck, please!