kids, don't try this at home.

Lately I have been doing stupid things--things I don't recommend trying.

Example #1: Thursday night I had a band dress rehearsal and there was a really good swing band playing that night so I headed there after the rehearsal. I got there and for some reason my follow was really in demand, making for a good night of dancing for me. So good that I lost track of time b/c I was dancing like every song. Four hours later, it's really time to go. Plus, I have to wake up early tomorrow so I can go to the gym before heading to San Antonio. On the way home, there was a bad accident so it took me FOREVER to get home. With that in mind, I began to (stupidly) ponder the fact that if I go to sleep when I get home, I will not want to wake up in a few hours to hit the gym. Soooo, rather than go to sleep I had the bright idea of just going straight to the gym for my six-mile run. Long story short, I didn't sleep that night, and I left straightway to go to San Antonio. Yes, in San Antonio I was zombie status, not very personable for my extended family. Sorry everyone. I do stupid things.

Example #2: While in San Antonio, I had the privilege of staying at Carol and George's lake house and going jet skiing. It was great fun, and Kevin had the really good idea of going and jumping off the cliff that everyone jumps off into the water. I was all for it, and I climbed up and jumped off. Fifty feet later, I hit the water like I was hitting a brick wall. The water didn't cushion me like it should have because I was wearing a life jacket. Kevin didn't jump....stinker. So, right about now I have a huge bruise/rash/ugly thing on my right thigh (good thing I'm not a short skirt kinda gal) and my upper chest and the back of my head and neck are in more pain than I think I have ever been in. I was crying last night because I was in so much pain (and I don't cry often anymore). It still hurts and I am worried that this injury might put a damper on my running and dancing habits. That would be like a death sentence for me because as you know dancing is what keeps me out of depression which allows me to be successful in my weight loss attempts. So I will try running tomorrow, and I really hope it will work. I'm not much of a medicine fan, but I think these are circumstances that warrant some really good pain killers!

Anyway, don't try that stuff at home. I will say that the dancing was worth it, but perhaps the all-nighter wasn't. The cliff thing was fun just to say I did it, but the pain pretty much prevents me from ever doing it again.

On another note, I played with the Houston Symphonic Band for 2 Methodist worship services today and it was sooo much fun!! It was a patriotic theme of course and there were at least 600 people at each service. Quite the crowd. The church served us breakfast between services, which was nice. The preacher gave a really good sermon on "what America needs from us as a church" and how Christians should set a example to the country of kindness and goodness, and supporting the country as a whole. He talked about Geroge Washington's values, and then he talked about Jesus Christ being full of grace and truth. All in all, it was a neat experience. HSB is mucho fun to be a part of.