's motd Wed. June 18, 2008

[Guest guest]

OFF TO TEACH!

Wednesday, 18 June 2008

Well, it's time to put my traveling shoes on again and hit the road, Jack...or Jill! I've got classes to teach in Traverse City, Michigan and in Charlotte, North Carolina this weekend. Last year, I did a conference for a very large insurance company that insures school employees. They insure everyone from teachers to principals, school nurses, school bus drivers and cafeteria workers. They cover them all.

I had a terrific time with them last year and they've invited me back. Last year, I asked them all to come to my website and help with my efforts to get the Fit Kids Bill passed in Congress. It's part of my ongoing agenda to get P.E. back into our public schools. And I have to say, I was just thrilled at how they all spread the word as thousands visited my site to help in our effort! I can'twait to see them all again in class tomorrow morning. On my way from the airport to the conference last year, I saw a little store called Cousin 's Pasties. Do you know what a pastie is? Well, it's basically a whole meal in a turnover. They're well known because miners took them along to eat for when they worked deep in one of the mines. I remember the first time I had one, way back in the 70's. One of my neighbor's husbands had been a coal miner years before and she still made pasties for him...and he still loved them! And if you've ever had one, it's easy to see why. Here's how they're made.You take some dough and roll it out into a circle. On one side of the circle, you place cut-up carrots, parsnips, potatoes, onions, pieces of chuck meat, salt and pepper, filling up one half of the circle. Then you fold the other half of the dough and pinch the sides together to form a turnover. Slit the top of the pastie to alow the steam to escape. Then place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degress for one hour. After that you bake them and then...it's time to eat them! Oh!The meat and all of the vegetables cook together and, I'm telling you, you've never tasted anything like 'em! Last year, I had one for the first time in many years and yum, I was in seventh or even eighth Heaven! I plan to have one for dinner tonight after I get in.I leave the next day for Charlotte where I'll be teaching an exercise class at Sun City. It's an active lifestyles community and I've been asked to teach a class for all of the residents there.

Years ago, I was the spokesperson for a similar community in Florida called Century Village. I helped developed their gym and all of their exercise programs. And boy, were those residents at Century Village ever active. They walked, they swam, they played golf and made visits to the gym where they got in their cardio and strength-training.So I'm looking forward to teaching at Sun City and meeting all of the terrific people there. I'll write you from on the road. So take care of yourselves while I'm away and I'll think of you when I have that first bite of my pastie tonight!Love,