Cricket Walker

Oh I really gotta check this old shack out. It’s not like trespassing or anything Mom. The fence was already down.

C’mon! Where’s your sense of adventure? You aren’t scared are ya?

Okay, so maybe it is a bit darker in here than I was expecting it to be.

Hey! Let’s check out the deer stand. Ya think there is anything in it?

What am I gonna do if the sheriff shows up? Is that what you asked me? Well first I am gonna bat my long eyelashes at him . . .

Then I am gonna show him my killer smile! Ya think that will work?

We’re not hunting dang it!

Okay, we may be kind of, sort of trespassing, but not hunting.

Ya know, I may be a blond, but I think someone has been hunting!

Can I finish my Caramel Macchiato now Mom? Oh wait. Too late!

Can I just finish this chapter real quick? It will only take a sec.

Okay, fine . .  I will explore for a bit.

Mom thinks I am looking for snakes, but I am really I wondering if HE is gonna call . . . (The cell phone is in my pocket just in case)

Hold on a second, the world must pause because HE is calling!

Oh yeah! I knew he would call! Okay forget the river Mom. Can we pick him up and and head to the lake? Can we Mom? Can we?

We could just sit here and talk like we are mature individuals . . .

Oh we can say to heck with it and run in the water!

Dang it JJ! You got my hair wet on purpose! Awwww Haley girl . . .

The day started out innocent enough as we headed out to one of my favorite places in the country, but then we realized we had wandered further than we had ever been, and we were pretty sure we had taken a few extra turns.

Turn left Mom. Let’s see what’s up this way!

When we came across this old train track, we had a pretty good idea that we didn’t have a clue where we were, but we were definitely in the mood to do some exploring.

Hey Mom? Where is Calhoun county?

I don’t know Haley. I have never heard of it. Why?

Well Mom, that county road sign over there says Calhoun county.

And Mom? I can’t remember the last time we saw a car.

Ruh roh . . .

I gotta get a shot of this old railroad bridge.

I can already see this old bridge in black and white, so wait a sec.

Umm . . .

Haley? Did you say Calhoun county?

Yeah Mom? I told ya we should have turned right!

Ya say what Haley??

You know dang well if ya don’t smile for the camera it’s gonna be black and white, right?

Hey now Mom! I am the one that found the train tracks!

Yeah, turn left. I remember Haley.

As soon as I mention we need a new pic for Mikey, you suddenly find a huge smile huh? I’ll remember that girl!

So Haley?

Yeah Mom?

Did we bring the cell phone?

Nope Mom. Ya said we wouldn’t need it.

Haley? Ya happen to have an idea which direction home might be?

Go straight Mom. The road has to end up somewhere eventually.

Not in Alabama though, right Haley?

Haley?

Did we happen to pass a gas station?

Young love . . .
 
It’s so sweet and innocent. Just seeing them sneak peeks at each other brings back memories of Junior High School.

Do you remember your fist kiss?
 
The problem is, that as I am taking the pictures, my brain panics.

WAIT!

This is my little girl, my baby!

Then the scene in front of me changes to this.

Omggggg! Stop looking at my baby like that!

And, in my mind’s eye I stop seeing this sweet boy next door look.

And instead, he takes on that bad boy look, as if he has put on a black leather jacket and just pulled up in the driveway on a Harley. 
 
 Lord, I really need to buy a shotgun.

C’mere . . .

Escape from the world with me for a little while

Just for the moment, shut everything out

Rest your weary eyes

Find that place in the very middle of the field

In your heart

That is where you will find me

I have been there all along, right beside you

Let me be your safe haven in the storm

C’mere sweetheart . . .

I love wandering up a trail and coming across a scene like this.

Well, at least I do until Miss Haley starts hissing at me about stuff like private property, trespassing, and the local county sheriff.

Spring is definitely in the air when the daffodils start blooming!

Ya wanna be friends?

Oh yeah, I like the green stuff. Gimme some more!

C’mon! Let me out of here. Ya know ya wanna!

Hey! You aint gonna leave me here. Right?

Just a little bit of winter still hanging around.

My camera and I have a thing about fence posts and barbed wire.

Hey! Do you know where they took my mama?

Now you knew dang well I couldn’t make it through an afternoon in the country without taking at least one picture of a calf. Aint he adorable? Yeah, I know he is just itching to try out those new lil horns of his, but he is gonna have to wait a bit longer yet.

Thanks for sharing our afternoon in the country with us!

The best laid plans don’t always end up the way we expect, but that doesn’t mean things can’t still be good. Haley and I set out to find the signs of Spring that have been popping up all over here.

Since it was a gorgeous sunny day, we knew we were headed straight for the country. In fact we figured it was a perfect day to show you pictures of Taylor, Mississippi.

HOWEVER . . .

A few wrong turns, (okay, maybe more than a few) and we discovered the longest possible round about way to end up in Oxford, Mississippi.

It took Haley all of about five seconds to spot the infamous Square Books store, and she was off and running.

Before I knew it, she was already inside, and I had missed the shot of her walking in. Talk about ignoring the camera!

Eventually I found her holed up in a little corner upstairs, peaking through the books. She didn’t have much interest in looking up at me by this point. She was lost in a world of books.

But then I spotted Neilson’s and was instantly drooling all over my camera. My credit card was more than pleased that they were closed.

Haley relaxing on the steps before we move on with our adventure, while at the same time trying to convince her mama of the many reasons she needs a signed copy of the new John Grisham book (The Appeal) in hardcover.

There is something so regal about the Chancery Building in Oxford.

I even convinced Haley to run up to the balcony steps for a quick picture. I love that smirk!

You know there was no way I could leave that shot alone right? I am addicted to cropping and editing snapshots. It’s an affliction of mine!

That same addiction made we wanna see this picture in purple.

Okay, I had to try the shot full length too. Lord, I need help!

Thanks for sharing our day with us!

One voice, one girl
Sitting all alone
not caring who you are
She’s ignoring the world
and playing her guitar

Don’t want to do anything
but sing and play
The stress and the drama
it all goes away
Not worried about makeup or nails
instead she sings about her trials and tales

One voice, one girl
Singing with her guitar
ignoring the world . . .

When Southern women get cold, they tend to get a bit grumpy, and they hide in the biggest warmest hoodie they can find.

When I was born, my father told his friends I was the ugliest baby he had ever seen, and that I sounded just like a cricket. I think that must have been the moment that I became my Daddy’s little princess.

As a little girl, I remember seeing my daddy sitting at the kitchen counter, drinking his first cup of coffee every morning. Because of a broken finger that never quite healed right, every time he took a drink, his pinky finger would stick up a little bit.

When I grew up, I wanted to be just like him.

By the time I was 10 years old, I was drinking coffee during the summers at my uncle Charley’s dairy farm. Back then I needed a ton of sugar and cream to drink the stuff. Nowadays I use just a little cream, and I sweeten it with the fake stuff, but to this very day, my pinky sticks up a little, every time I take a drink of my coffee.

We have always shared a love of various farm animals. Well, except for that mean old goose that used to chase me around the yard hissing at me, and nipping me in the butt when I tried to run away.

One day I saw the goose trying to do the same thing to my daddy. He turned around and stomped his foot. Then he got right in the goose’s face and said “git on out a here now”.

I thought he was teaching me how to stand up to an old goose, but what he taught me was not to run from things, to stand up and face my fears head on. It took me many years to finally learn that lesson.

I cannot begin to count how many runts I thought I could save over the years. I had a weakness for piglets that were too small to survive with the litter. He would help me sneak them past my mama, and into the house. I would set my alarm to feed them every couple of hours.

He did this, even knowing that I could not save them all, knowing that some would die, and he would have to pick up the pieces of my broken heart, but he was teaching me not to be afraid to take a risk, to have the courage to try even when all the odds were against me.

I started working at the restaurant with my daddy, in my early teens. There were times that I thought he was tougher on me than the employees. He was tough, and he expected nothing less than the best. It was many years before I realized he was teaching me good work ethics and that anything worth doing, was worth doing well.

Growing up, one of my biggest fears in life was disappointing my daddy because I could not bear to see that look in his eyes.

When I was a senior in high school some friends and I snuck out of the house to go to a party. Before that night, I had never drunk a single drop of alcohol but apparently I was making up for lost time because before I knew it, it was noon the next day.

It was time to face my daddy.

Seeing that look in his eyes was way worse than the butt whooping I got. To top it off, he still made me go to work, sicker than a dog, and praying to the porcelain god. That was one lesson in life that I learned very quickly, because I remembered it every single day of the 30 days I spent grounded afterwards.

During that same year, it was my daddy who took me for a long walk up the hill to quietly tell me that my very best friend, Ronnie Winston, had died at the age of 17. Looking up into my daddy’s eyes, I could see his heart breaking for me as he tried to explain that there are some things in life that not even daddy can fix.

It was then that I first began to truly understand the serenity prayer, to accept the things I cannot change, to have the courage to change the things I can, and above all, to have wisdom to know the difference.

It has been 46 years since I became my daddy’s little princess, and you know what? I grew up to be just like him.

I love you daddy.

I see folks reading or watching television during their workout. They have these huge frowns on their faces, and look like they would rather be scrubbing toilets than there in the gym trying to get back in shape.

If you absolutely hate what you are doing, you won’t do it for very long. You will find any possible excuse to skip getting some exercise.

You need to add music to your workout! If you are working out at home, crank up the stereo full blast and just start letting your body move to the beat of the music. In the gym, I use a little iPod Shuffle with upgraded ear pods so they stay put during my workout.

The first 15 - 20 minutes you will want to take it pretty easy, allowing time for your muscles to warm up, and mostly to let the outside world start to slip away, so you can get your head into working out.

Something like Drift Away by Uncle Kracker is a good starter song for me. Listening to Toby Keith singing Crash Here Tonight melts my heart, relaxing away just about any stress hanging around in my mind.

Now, when you are about ready to start getting into your workout, jump on a treadmill, or just start walking, and let Trace Adkins sing to you about how you are one Hot Mama.

Make sure you have a gym towel within reach though because you will be drooling all over yourself. *smirk*

By the time he starts singing Honky Tonk Badonkadonk to ya, your hips and arms will start swinging to the beat automatically and everyone around you will wonder what you are smiling about.

If I am having a bit of a man hating day, listening to Miranda Lambert singing about how she is gonna show him that little girls are made of Gunpowder and Lead, helps me blow off a little steam! Heck, just about any music by this lady adds some extra motivation to my workout.

If I follow that up with something like Rockstar by Nickelback, or Hurts So Good by John Mellencamp, you will likely catch me playing the air drums on the treadmill console, smiling, and happier than a ‘possum eatin’ poo poo. C’mon now! Ya have to make it fun!

Okay, you can quit growling at me about you not being a country music fan. I don’t care if you listen to Fall Out Boy, Oasis, Slipknot, or even Metallica. The only thing that matters is that you love it enough to get lost in the music and it gets your body moving.

Although I change up my playlist often, this is an example what I am listening to on my iPod Shuffle when I am working out in the gym.

Warm Up or Cool Down

Toi - Corneille
Drift Away - Uncle Kracker
Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
Take Me There - Rascal Flatts
Sweet Child of Mine Sheryl Crow
This Woman Needs - SHeDAISY
Crash Here Tonight - Toby Keith
Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton
Here Without You - 3 Doors Down
Every Rose Has Its Thorn - Poison
A Little More You - Little Big Town
Ready Set Don’t Go - Billy Ray Cyrus
Like a Butterfly - A Very Special Cowboy

Weight Training and the Treadmill

Rockstar - Nickelback
Country Girl - Rissi Palmer
Heartache Tonight - Eagles
Walk Away - Kelly Clarkson
Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top
Free and Easy - Dierks Bently
Rock and Roll All Nite - Poison
Real Good Man - Tim McGraw
Life Is a Highway - Rascal Flatts
All Jacked Up - Gretchen Wilson
I Ain’t No Quitter - Shania Twain
Rock This Country - Shania Twain
Hurts So Good - John Mellencamp
Dirty Laundry - Lisa Marie Presley
Redneck Woman - Gretchen Wilson
Here for the Party - Gretchen Wilson
Babyy Likes to Rock It - The Tractors
Strokin’ (Long Version) - Clarence Carter
Honky Tonk Badonkadonk - Trace Adkins
Gun Powder and Lead - Miranda Lambert
Mockingbird - Toby Keith & Krystal Covell
I’m Just Talkin’ About Tonight - Toby Keith
If Your Going Through Hell - Rodney Atkins
Keep Your Hands To Yourself - Georgia Satellites
I Love Rock ‘N Roll - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Heaven Heartache and the Power of Love - Trisha Yearwood

Over the years I have developed a thing for staying in shape. It’s become of second nature to me. Sure I worked hard to get into the shape I am now, probably more than most people, but I learned so much along the way. I only wish I knew then what I know now. But, then again, that’s more or less how it is with everything in life.
 
I have been doing parkour for about 12 years. I spent about 10 of those years kick boxing at the same time, so I spent half that time in gyms and fitness centers. What did I learn after years of fitness drills? That I could have done it all from the comfort of my own home.
 
The body is really not as complicated as people make it out to be, especially when it comes to losing weight and toning it up. Every part of the body has one of two ways of doing an exercise to achieve one of two goals, simple as that.

Now, If I were to share everything I’ve found out about losing weight and getting fit, it would take up all of Cricket’s blog, which would suck, so I’m going to give you the 10 most important tips to staying fit while losing weight.
 
First of all, and I can’t stress this enough, you have to be mentally prepared to go through with a certain fitness routine and must be dedicated. If you’re not, you only have yourself to blame when you look in that mirror and see no results.
 
Put your mind to it. You can achieve most realistic goals within a couple of months. It does not take years or anything.

It’s easy if you put your mind to it.
 
Water, yes that liquid stuff we drink so much of, drink more. Did you know that drinking about three bottles of water a day can stretch your life span by about 15 years? No? You do now.
 
This is not the only reason you should drink a lot of water, drinking more will make you feel full, and not as hungry most of the time, which means less consumption of food which as we all know, is the devil. Yes, food is the devil.
 
Eat small portions, not snacks, actual meals, but small in portions, three meals a day. Make the breakfast a good well-portioned meal. Come lunch, you should not go all out and have something equal to two toast sized sandwiches, a side salad and fresh juice of some sort.

Dinner should always be kept light. Don’t eat meats and so on at night. Try to stick to yogurt, or fruits, something light. Aim to have dinner before 8pm after which it’s only water.
 
If you get hungry, do what I used to do till I broke the late night hunger thing, eat an apple. Just that, an apple will be enough to get your mind off food long enough to go to bed!
 
Caffeine, it’s a killer. I know, some of you have kids, heck some of you have husbands, which at times is just as bad and coffee is pretty much the only thing keeping you sane, but honestly think about it. What if that was the key to helping you lose more weight.

Tea, coffee, sodas and so on, just drop it. Oh, and I’m not even going to go into smoking, because you’re all mature enough adults to know what smoking does, right?
 
Working out should be fun, and it should not take time, 30-45 minutes a day is a good workout. You should walk at least 10minutes a day, more walking never hurt anyone.

When it comes to workouts you should do a full body one every day. At first if you’re not doing so, it will take time for your body to get used to it, but you will eventually adapt to the daily routine.
 
 I suggest:
 
 -Start out with a 15 minute walk/jog to get the blood circulating and the body warmer, a little more flexible for the work out (10 min cardio. , whatever you want it to be, you could run up and down stairs for 10 minutes but your calf’s will be aching after a few days of that, just break a sweat, that’s the first key)
 
 -As soon as you’re done with that 15 minutes of torture as most women call it (smirk), take a sip of water (not cold, mild) and get down to hitting the abs. Do some sit ups, crunches, not many, just enough to get the abs working at the start of the workout. Do two sets of 15, take small pauses between each rep if you must. This should take you no more than 5minutes.
 
 -Get up and jump. Jumping is really good to shake off the pounds. This could be you skipping rope or jumping on the spot as if you were skipping rope. Remember to keep your arms moving too so you work the under arm areas and tone them up. A few minutes of this should do the trick.
 
 -Steps. Get a solid box of some sort that won’t move when you climb onto it, something a foot off the ground, no more, put it against a wall if you must so it does not move, and go up and down it as if it were a step. You could use actual stairs if you have them at home too. Up and down the first step without turning to come down it.
 
This could easily be done every day, and if you stick to it. Cut the caffeine intake, eat smaller portions and watch the fat intake then you’re on the right track.
 
It’s really important you ask a professional before you do any kind of sport or fitness program for health risks. If you have back problems then seek help and get the right fitness program for that.

Michael Kane
www.michael-kane.com

Michael Kane is a very well known Michigan Designer, with Inlip Designs. He is also known as a fitness guru, one of his newest projects being the Yoga Training Yoga Blog.

Why are we so afraid to admit to our kids that life aint no fairytale? Yes, I know how to speak proper English, but ya know what?

I aint in a proper English kind of mood tonight, you know?
 
I am serious here though. 
 
How many little girls still grow up thinking that their knight in shining armor is gonna show up on their doorstep one day, and they will live happily ever after?

Did we bother telling them that An Officer and a Gentleman was just a dang movie and that life just usually doesn’t go that way?

Do they know how to find happiness inside themselves with or without a man? Did we teach them that relationships aren’t sprinkled in fairy dust and that they have to work at a good marriage? 
 
Do we tell our boys that they might not grow up to be NFL football stars and that just maybe they should have an alternative ready? Did we warn them that not all girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice?

Do they know that the star player of the basketball team doesn’t always make the basket at the critical moment? That sometimes they are gonna miss the shot? Do we remind them that the baseball player with the record for the most home runs is often the same player with the record for the most strikeouts?
 
Do they know that sometimes bad things happen to good people?
 
Even as we teach them about knights in shining armor, fairy dust and happily ever after, we need to teach them about the bumpy road that gets there. Just about anything worth having will take hard work. And it takes knowing how to respond to disappointments.
 
As we prepare them for the joy of successes, we must teach them that failure is not only okay, it is to be expected and that a big part of success is learning how to respond when we fail.

I want to teach my daughter how to live the serenity prayer, to accept the things she cannot change, to have the courage to change the things she can, and to have the wisdom to know the difference.
 
I am not talking about keeping our kids from dreaming big dreams, and believing that they can do anything they really set their minds to. I am talking about teaching them the realities of achieving those dreams.

Working out in your 40s is absolutely nothing like it was in your 20s and 30s. This is especially true if you spent 20 years physically active, and then spent the last 6 years sitting on your butt, working behind a computer every day.

The first week or two after I first started working out again, I thought I was gonna die. I was walking (limping around) like an old lady, complaining to anyone who would listen to me, and I was sure there was no way in heck I would ever survive.

More than once I thought about forgetting the whole thing, but I tend to be a bit stubborn, and after those first few weeks, I really started getting into it. It wasn’t long before I found myself totally addicted to how good I felt after working out.

I thought I would take you through the steps of my average workout.

Hip Abduction - Outer Thigh (100 reps)
The hip abduction equipment has the most impact on your workout when the reps are done slowly, but it takes every ounce of motivation that I can muster up to keep from whipping through these as fast as possible because this machine loves to leave my thighs feeling like a quivering mess of jelly.

Hip Adduction - Inner Thigh (100 reps)
This fitness machine is exactly the opposite of the one before this. Instead of pushing your thighs apart, you pull them together. I’m usually pretty warmed up by now, and getting into my workout, so I don’t complain too much at this point. Well, at least not until I reach the fifth set of 20 reps, then you may hear a quiet grumble or two.

Leg Press (100 reps)
Doesn’t this machine look like some sort of medieval torture chamber? It’s a lot like doing squats, but you are laying down. After 5 sets of 20 reps you will be certain that you never want to use this machine again, but when you start to see what it does for your body, you will fall in love with it and start sweet talking it every time you see it.

Ab Roller (50 reps)
When you look at this piece of equipment, you cannot begin to imagine that something so simple could cause so much pain, but 50 abdominal crunches with the ab roller is enough to have me begging for mercy and swearing never to touch another piece of chocolate.

This piece of equipment has cost me more than a few bucks in the cuss jar, and it is the only part of my workout that I still can’t do more than 10 reps per set, and no more than 5 sets.

Treadmill (45 - 60 minutes)
Believe it or not, the treadmill is my favorite part of my workout. An old knee injury likes to act up on me when I do any sustained running, so unless I am blowing off some steam, I tend to walk (3.5 mph) on the treadmill these days.

This is where I really crank up the tunes on my iPod Shuffle and get totally lost in the music. More than once I have been caught playing air drums on the treadmill console, with a big grin on my face, but ya know what? If you are gonna work out, ya might as well have fun!

What’s Haley doing when I am working out?

Sometimes she is encouraging me, or even working out herself, but most of the time you will find her stretched out across one of the benches, half awake, snacking and watching television. Lord what I wouldn’t give to have the metabolism of a teenager again!

It has been a year of extremes. Looking back never makes a lot of sense to me because there isn’t much we can do about the past beyond hopefully learning from our mistakes.

I’m looking forward to a new year, to a new beginning.

At some point before the new school year begins, after we have had some closure on some challenges in our life, I would like to move back home to Texas, back to where life made more sense to me.

I dream about having a small place in the country, nothing fancy, just a place where I can sit out on the porch and see Texas Bluebonnets across the field, a place where my daughter can laugh again, a place where we can truly enjoy the simple things in life.

A few months back, I started working out at the gym every day. This is something that I intend to continue throughout the new year. It isn’t that I have suddenly become a fitness nut. It is more that it just makes me feel good, you know?

During a workout, I get in this zone where I can shut everything else out. Nothing exists but the music in my ears, and taking the next step, or finishing the next set of reps. Unless of course I am working out on the thigh machine, in which case I spend a lot of time adding up how much money I am gonna have to put in the cuss jar when I get home.

The feeling that happens after a workout though is almost addictive. It is a feeling of believing that you can accomplish just about anything.

I am thinking that at 46 years old, it might be about time to figure out who I am too. I have spent so many years being someone that others thought I should be, that I never quite figured out who I am inside.

Well, that and I would like to be able to open a jar of Vlasic pickles when there isn’t a man around to do it for me. As long as I am at it, it would be nice to know how to drive a fence post in the ground without dislocating a shoulder in the process too.

Maybe I will spend the year being less afraid to try new things, like learning to play the guitar. Or, maybe I will just spend more time watching PRCA bull riding and drooling over the cowboys.

Did I mention PRCA bull riding is coming to Batesville in January?

Lord have mercy, I really think I should be there to photograph every single moment of the event, don’t you? Maybe do a few interviews?

I don’t know what this next year has in store. I only know that I am not going to spend it looking back. As I do with most things in life, I am just gonna take things one day at a time.

Thanks for being a part of my life!

Unless you don’t mind pictures of her back, trying to get pictures of Haley during the holidays requires a lot of patience.

There are simply far too many things to do that are much more important, like opening presents and eating chocolate.

If ya zoom in real close and call her name to try to surprise her, you will be rewarded with a close up picture of the back of her head.

Okay, I admit, I may have pulled that trick a few too many times already. She doesn’t fall for it anymore.

After dozens of shots that all ended up being variations of the back of her head, I decided to walk around outside for a bit . . .

Just about the time that I had resigned myself to talking pictures of old birdhouses and any other rustic scenes I could find, Haley decided to wander outside to see what her Mama was doing.

Okay Mama. You can take my picture on one condition. Elvis has to be in the picture. Elvis? (Ya mean that scraggly dust mop mutt of an excuse for a dog adorable fluffy dog that’s running around here?)

Yeah, that one. Isn’t he adorable Mama?

(Uh huh, this picture is definitely gonna be in black and white if ya want me to make that mutt, ummm, I mean that cute lil dog to look adorable. Oh for crying out loud. Fine, I will show it in full living color too.)

But, I am warning ya. He is a whole lot cuter in black and white.

(To Johnny and Toni Holloway: Thank you for making the holidays so special for us. The Christmas Eve party was wonderful as always. No, I don’t really think your dog is a scraggly dust mop mutt of an excuse for a dog. Honest, I don’t. Seriously! Dang it! Why doesn’t anyone believe me?)