Beat the crankies with this exercise routine

Today was a productive, creative, fun-filled, mentally exhausting day at work. So exhausting that I took a nap when I got home, and I am not a good nap-taker.

I hit the pillow like a ton of bricks. Then the pitter-patter of little feet and an unusually loud-voiced 3-year-old woke me up about an hour later. I wasn’t ready to get out of bed, but who is? Sleeping is awesome.

I begrudging drug myself out of my goose down, pillow top and walked like the hunchback of Notre Dame to the nearest bathroom to see what kind of hot mess I’d become during my one-hour blackout. I felt awful and cranky.

Donnie wanted to go out to eat so I was forced to pull myself together. I did the best waker upper I could think of (no not jäger bomb shots-it’s frowned upon before a family dinner). I did my 5-minute workout. It’s literally 5 minutes and it really gets my blood flowing.

Step away from the computer for 5 minutes and try it (in this order):
50 jumping jacks
5 pushups
20 crunches
20 mountain climbers
30-second plank
7 burpees

Well? How do you feel? I feel great! Best I’ve felt all week. Let’s Buffalo Wild Wings it up!

You are who you hang with

Man. My friends are funny. I just got back from playing volleyball and it was a laugh-fest. I love hanging with witty, funny people.

In fact, now that I think about it, my work friends are funny too.

And, my family. They’re pretty funny too (in their own way).

Come to think of it, I tend to surround myself with funny people. I watch funny shows, follow funny tweeters and read funny blogs.

A while ago, a sharp-witted friend of mine gave me what I thought was advice. I told him he was so funny (and he was, he was on all the time). He said, “You know what? I just surround myself with funny people. If you’re the funniest one in the room, you’re in the wrong room.”

I’d never really thought about it like that before. You pick up the behavior of the people around you. Is that what my mom meant when she said “You are who you hang with” Silly mom “hang with.” Who says that? But, I guess she was right (don’t tell her I said that).

Maybe it’s the challenging factor. These people are so funny. I want to be funny too, hence, I’m challenged to up my funnyness.

If you think about it though, it’s applicable in several characteristics. Smarter people make you smarter. Neater people make you neater. Motivated people make you motivated. It even worked for my ex. He surrounded himself with douchebags and now he’s the biggest douchebag of all.

I digress.

What an observation. With all the funny people in my life, I’m bound to be hilarious.

3… it’s a magic number

So, the other day, my eight-year-old (Anya) was taking her sweet time getting ready for bed. I mean, literally, it took her 15 minutes to brush her teeth (that’s including all the face-making in the mirror).

After her marathon teeth-brushing, she moseys out to the kitchen and says, “Can I have some water?” Now, I’m not too stressed because I start the bedtime routine a good 20 minutes before lights out. But this was getting ridiculous.

I gave her a glass of water and said, “Now get your booty in bed. I’ll be there in a minute to tuck you in.”

She slowly turns as if her feet are stuck in semi-dry cement. I’m near my wit’s end, I say, “One…” I don’t even know where that came from. I used to count to 3 all the time to get her to pick up the pace. I hadn’t used it in years. And, not with Logan at all.

So, anyway, I said, “One…” At that, Anya darts to her room. I didn’t know she could move that fast (and I’ve seen her play basketball). Then I thought, “It’s a magical strategy. I start counting, she starts moving. This is wonderful.”

This is what Schoolhouse rock was saying when they sang, “Three is a magic number.”

Ok, maybe the video doesn’t specifically send the message that this a good way to control your kids, but I’m reading between the lines here.

Me: “Logan, pick up that Play-Do”
Logan: “O…k.”
Me: “One…” Logan stares at me and doesn’t make a move.
Me: “I said, one…” Nothing.

Maybe Logan needs a little training on the 1-2-3 method. That, and he usually starts his counting at zero (which he pronounces “Oh”). So I’m sure he was wondering why I started counting in the middle.