ê¿êspi20.com — watching and writing

I was listening to NPR News this morning and they had an article on a girls’ soccer team and how they have been plagued with injury — specifically leg injuries and even more specifically, knee injuries. The team trainer discovered or learned that girls going through puberty do not develop muscles the same way boys do and tend to build muscle on the top and front of their legs rather than the backs, which was causing unusual torque when the girls went to kick the ball with that funny sideways kick that soccer players use. He had the team start doing specific exercises that targeted building up the gluteus and gracilius muscles which are the ones that run from your buttocks to the back of your knee.

Since the team has been doing these exercises, they have been injury free, which seems to support his theory on why the girls were getting so many injuries.

As you know, I have osteoarthritis in my knees. I’ve had arthroscopic surgery on both of them to remove the meniscus which was torn in both knees and causing excruciating pain. While “in there”, they scraped out the joint to remove some of the buildup of arthritis, but it’s coming back and repeat surgery is not an option.

The only thing I can have done is to get total knee replacements which is a really big hairy deal kind of surgery that my orthopedist would like for me to put off as long as I possibly can for a multitude of reasons, one of which is that I’m too young.

You also know that I’ve joined a gym and have been trying to go 2-3 times a week. I work out on various strength training machines as well as walk on the treadmill and use the elliptical machine. Lately I’ve also used the recumbent bike as I am now flexible enough that my knees will bend far enough to rotate the pedals without pain.

Several of the machines I’ve been using target these very muscles of the trainer’s study. After hearing this article, I’m fairly certain that part of my knee problems are due to those muscles not being as well developed as those on the front of my thigh even though I’m long past puberty.

Since I’m peri-menopausal due to a complete hysterectomy 15 years ago, my hormone level is probably pretty similar to that of an emerging pubescent female, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that this would hold true for me. And further, since I’m far from being unique in this state, I thought it worth mentioning to all you other ladies who are in my same condition.

Of course, now that I’ve been working out, and the back thigh muscles are building up, I have true thunder thighs, but maybe as I lose weight, those will become more sculpted and more attractive. As it is now, my clothes are fitting looser everywhere but my thighs where they are tighter. What a conundrum!

ê¿ê

No, this post isn’t going to be about sex.

Sorry to disappoint, but I thought that in all fairness I should get that disclaimer out right away. I wouldn’t want any of you to be reading this under false pretenses and then feel cheated somehow when you got to the end and realized there was no spicy, juicy much less explicit anything.

No, this is just another rant from me, your favorite dog-loving, people-hating curmudgeon.

So, if it’s not about sex then just what am I ranting about today you might ask (since you’ve read this far, I guess you’re down for the count so I might as well make this good).

It’s about stupid, ignoramuses who put clothes on their dogs.

I’m not talking about the occasional Halloween costume, or once-in-a-blue-moon photo shoot either. I’m talking about the nutcases who think the dog is NAKED if it’s not wearing the latest in doggy dressups. This phenomenon has become so prevalent that there is now an entire freaking DEPARTMENT IN PETSMART for doggie apparel!!!!!!

Now I can confess to hitting up the thrift store for used baby clothes to dress the dog up for a costume contest or I even once upon a time had this brainstorm for a relay race game to play at a party where you had to race to a pile of clothes in the floor, dress your dog in a top and a bottom, then race back to the finish line with the clothes intact on the dog. You were not allowed to pick the dog up either, it had to make it back on all 4 paws and it’s own steam. That was hilarious fun and I’ll have to trot it out again at the next dog party I organize.

I’ll even confess to putting t-shirts on the Cresteds (the hairless ones, not the puffs) in cooler weather and of course the Whippets have their coats to wear outdoors when the weather turns frosty. THAT is not the type clothing of  which this rant is all about. No, it’s the dresses, jogging outfits and pajamas that are made just for dogs that I’m referring to and the nutty owners who insist on Fido wearing these fashions every day, day-in-day-out. It’s like the dog is now some kind of dress-up baby doll or something.

People PULEEZE! Dogs are DOGS and most of them come with perfectly adequate coverings made of hair called FUR. These covertings are perfect for all weather conditions and social occasions, trust me.

ê¿ê

Image by nycgeoff via Flickr

I think I’m becoming a vain person.

I looked back through and I have nearly a dozen posts that have something to do with my body.

Who wants to read that stuff? I mean nothing I said in any of them were uplifting or educational as far as I can tell. I just go on about how buff I’m getting (not very yet), how I’m losing weight (big whoops, all of 8 lbs!). Next I’ll be yammering about how my teeth aren’t white anymore and I need to seek out a charlotte cosmetic dentist or something.

Now won’t that be a big turn off?

Ok, so my teeth AREN’T as white as they used to be - they’re 50+ years old for crying out loud! You show me any ivory that isn’t yellowed after that many years of (hard) use!

No, I don’t smoke (and never have). I guess the staining is coming from the coffee and tea consumed over the course of those years. And I have no intention of giving up either beverage either. A person has to have some vices after all!

And yes Mother, I brush regularly with a good toothpaste — none of that crap from China that has plastic or lead or whatever it was in it. I also go to the dentist twice a year for cleanings. And I switched to one of those toothbrushes with the twirly heads that are supposed to clean better. Per the dentist, those really do the job as I had much less plaque on my last visit.

According to an article I read recently, there are a couple of things you can do to reduce tooth staining. One that’s enjoyable and not what you might expect is to eat raw strawberries. Since I love strawberries, that’s an easy one to comply with. Other tips included drinking coffee and tea with a straw (not something I usually do with hot beverages!) and carrying a whitening toothpaste with you to brush after every meal, snack or beverage — a bit extreme if you ask me. I noticed there are some tooth whitening chewing gums out and I won’t mind having those at hand since I do chew gum (hey! If you’ve got the teeth with no dental work for the gum to stick to, why not??)

Even though they aren’t white anymore, they are all mine and besides that, they don’t have but one filling in any of them either. How many people in their 50s can boast of that I ask you??

ê¿ê

Related articles by Zemanta

• Which Teeth Whitening System to Select?
• Assessing Your Teeth Whitening Alternatives

My little Suzuki SX4 just turned 3 months old. Although I had a few minor problems with it at first, those have pretty much disappeared.

It had an annoying rattle in the dashboard for about 10 days that has gone away — whatever was loose must have shaken out. The gas mileage issue has improved as the engine broke in. I get 32 mpg on the highway, but only about 28 mpg in my work commute. That’s still better than I was getting with the Caravan, so I’m satisfied with those numbers.

Yesterday, the little car that would had a pretty hard test to pass.

I had to drive to Raleigh, NC which is a solid 5 hour drive one way from my house. I planned to make the round trip in one day, which meant 10 hours + on the road. Not something to look forward to even when weather conditions are great, but yesterday saw really bad storms complete with tornadoes, hail, wind and rain.

It wasn’t too bad until I was on the way home. That was when I hit the worst of the weather. There was a lot of standing water on the highway and traffic was heavy and drivers erratic, so I had to be on my toes every second.

No matter that the water lying on the road reached out with malevolent fingers to try to grab my tires, no matter that the angry winds buffeted the little car relentlessly, no matter that the storm hurled buckets of rain onto the windshield, the little car kept going like a trouper. It agilely avoided the mammoth trucks that swerved into our path and stopped on a dime despite the inches of water lying on the roadway — a condition that would have had many other cars skidding into the ditch! My little blue car came through the storm with flying colors and brought me safely home.

I still have some issues with it - it’s not the perfect car, but it’s a pretty good car even with it’s flaws. I would definitely recommend it to someone looking for a sporty, quick, economical ride.

Why did I have to go yesterday? Well, Tigger is entered in shows in Raleigh this coming weekend, but neither Ken nor I could go, so his breeder graciously offered to show him for us. I just had to get him there. Oh, and to sweeten the deal, a new Whippet darling came home with me, so watch out for Ms. Nikki in the coming months. She’ll make her debut in the show ring about November.

Of course I had to take Tigger AND his Zero Halliburton so the little car was packed to the gills! These prima donna dogs sure take a lot of baggage!

ê¿ê