Cruella – here at 84 degrees
I am 8 degrees away from Cruella Freedom! It’s both a blessing an a curse.
The Blessing(s):
- I get out of the house – I have wicked cabin fever.
- The 4-6 hours a day I’m lashed to Cruella are no more!
- My thighs will no longer be featured across Facebook.
The Curse(s):
- I’ve learned to sleep on Cruella so I’m losing “naptime.”
- PT begins on Wednesday – that list is scarier than Cruella.
However, overall I am delighted. After many days of ups and downs on this bizarre Cruella contraption, I’m finally in the final 10 degrees. 92 degrees, to be exact.
But… It’s funny isn’t it, how the closer you get to a big goal, the more impatient you get. And the more nervous you get about the “next steps?” It seems like every goal works that way.
Since most of my TV watching is with the Little Bean these days, the first example that popped into my head is from Tangled (which is about dreams, by the way). There’s a scene just before the end of Act 2 that perfectly describes the funny, capricious nature of dreams:
[In the boat, Rapunzel sighs, suddenly feeling afraid]
Flynn Rider: [noticing the look on Rapunzel’s face] You OK?
Rapunzel: [whispers] I’m terrified.
Flynn Rider: [softly] Why?
Rapunzel: I’ve been looking out a window for eighteen years, dreaming about what it might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it’s not everything that I dreamed it would be?
Flynn Rider: It will be.
Rapunzel: And what if it is? What do I do then?
Flynn Rider: Well that’s the good part, I guess. You get to go find a new dream.
Well, I’ve been looking at Cruella for about 18 days, dreaming of what it would be like to walk again, and the first step is to kick her out of my damn house.
The next step is starting PT this Wednesday, and getting off crutches.
The final step will be getting back to Crossfit, hopefully by Thanksgiving.
You know I’ll keep y’all posted. In the meantime, my Facebook pals have been giving me most excellent playlists to rock out to while I Cruella-cize. We picked songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s so far. It’s been a tremendous help on the motivation front.
So lay it on me, More Cowbell posse… What is your favorite song or group from the 90s? Do you get scared while you’re working toward your goals? How do you power through? Enquiring minds always want to know these things here at More Cowbell!
~ Jenny
Jenny Hansen's Blog 
Definitely use music! Wooly Bully sung by Joan Jet! So glad things are getting where they need to be! I went with the hubs through hip replacement surgery. NOT FUN! Hope at the end you are rocking it to the oldies!
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Pauline, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Joan Jett’s version of Wully Bully. This is AWESOME. And depending on when your hubs had his replacement, that therapy is easier than a labral tear, which kind of bummed me out. But today’s hip replacements are amazing…they have people going up stairs in 2 weeks!
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Yeah, there were no torture devices though he found the walker humiliating. Joan Jett is awesome!
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I can relate. I have a walker in my garage, but I actually found that sitting on a lawn chair in my shower is easier. 🙂 As are crutches, once I got over them popping my ribs out of place.
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Oh my goodness!!!
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You’re going great guns Jenny. Well done. Almost there but don’t rush it and hurt yourself.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
ps, You’ll find plenty of 60’s, 70’s and 80’s on my blog but I have no idea what happened in the 90”s, I must have dreamed my way from 1990 onwards.
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The three bands I remember most from the 90s, David, are No Doubt, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana. Also the Dixie Chicks started hitting then. Who can’t rock Cruella to the Dixie Chicks?? 🙂
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Woo-hoo! Way to go, Jenny! My 90s song suggestions: “Teen Spirit” by Nirvana, “Walkin’ on the Sun” by Smash Mouth, and “Believe” by Cher. Just about any U2 song from the 90s is fab, too! So glad you’ll get to leave Cruella behind! 😉
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OMG, I can’t believe I forgot Smash Mouth! Those are some EXCELLENT songs, Kathy!!
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Yay to 92 degrees! Yuck to PT. 😀
Glad you’re progressing so well, Jenny. Hopefully this will all just be a bad memory soon. Favorite 90s band? Hmm. I’m going to say the Backstreet Boys. Love those guys. Or at least I love their 90s music.
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Thanks, Lovely!! And the BSB were cute, cute, cute. Loved all those boy bands. 🙂
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Good for you for making progress. Glad to hear it.
Now the 90’s are a little harder for me because that’s where I made this weird musical genre switch. Some big band, swing music, Rat pack stuff, some country music and a lot of show tunes. So have a good time with that one.
And PT won’t be so bad. (stifling snicker). Really. It’ll get you out of the house. (coughing)
Keep at it my friend.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
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Yeah, that’s what I had to say. I won’t even look at the PT list anymore because it makes me whimper.
On the music front, I’ll pretty much listen to all of it as long as it doesn’t degrade women. That kind of leaves out the heaviest of metal and the raunchiest of rap, but otherwise I’m good. 🙂
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How about “Lovers in a Dangerous time” by The Bare Baked Ladies. It’s a top 40 song from 1991 in Canada.
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I’m mad for the Barenaked Ladies, Cory! Have you ever seen them in concert? It’s well worth the price – they ROCK live. 🙂
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Just stay strong and gut it out through the PT. You’ll heal up in no time. In the meantime, drink some wine and chill out.
90’s bands for me are all metal – Pantera, Metallica, Slayer, Alice in Chains, etc. I like it heavy!
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I loved Metallica. That’s hilarious that you were all Metal in the 90s. Most people branch out a LITTLE, dude. 🙂
And as far as gutting it out. I’m hoping they shrink my gut a bit!
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You kidding? I still prefer hard and heavy music. Still go to concerts. Iron Maiden is my fav band. Why branch out when most other music sucks, especially in this age of disposable bands and talentless boring acts. Most of the 90’s grunge music was crap except for a few bands. Sure, I like other kinds of music I’ll admit, and will listen to it at times. But I always come back to the hard driving tunes with power that gets me pumped.
Now get out of that brace and rock out!
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Iron Maiden shall ever and always be kickass. I remember hearing them in 1982 and going, WOW. I felt that way about Ozzy too. Of course, now he has no mind…
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SHARON!!!!!! Somehow, he still puts on a great show!
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So glad to hear you’ll soon be flying out of the cage. I’d be bonkers by now.
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What, you don’t think I’m already bonkers?! LOL. I did get into a friend’s Jacuzzi on Saturday and that was delightful. It was only a tiny outing, but it was lovely. 🙂
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The ’90s are my least favorite decade for music. Well, the whole 1300s were a wash out, musically, but I assume you mean since sound recording devices were invented.
I gotta go with Green Day for the 1990s, although their best album came out in the aughts. They Might Be Giants had a good run there in the first half of the decade.
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Giggling –> “Well, the whole 1300s were a wash out, musically, but I assume you mean since sound recording devices were invented.”
And I’m a huge Green Day fan too, Eric. 🙂
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I have zero recommendations for the 90’s – my kids were little then and I was completely out of the music loop during that decade. Pauline’s Joan Jett mention will soon be on my iPod though. I LOVE Joan Jett – my favorite angry girl band. So I know it’s 80’s but Bad Reputation, Fake Friends, and I Hate Myself For Lovin You all get my vote.
Question: Is PT worse than Crossfit? My experience has been that 100 different ways to do a burpee is pretty excruciating.
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Those are fantastic Joan Jett songs, especially the last one. I don’t know yet whether PT is worse than Crossfit. I’ve never been before. But I’ll tell you, Crossfit is like writing…you like “HAVING DONE IT.” As in past tense. 🙂
I’ll just be excited to walk without crutches again. I’m not what you’d call a patient woman…
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Go Jenny Go!!!
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Thanks, sweet Jane! There’s nothing like getting on your feet and falling down again with the flu. It’s taken me a while to get back here. 🙂
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You GOT this, Jenny! Soon you will be able to dance to all that music. 🙂
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I can’t quite dance yet…but I can just now wiggle. Seriously, it took a lot after the whole subluxing fiasco for my husband to not give me stink eye over it. However, this hip is staying IN.
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So if you’re looking for upbeat music (not profound music), there’s always Wannabe by the Spice Girls, Gettin’ Jiggy with It by Will Smith, Gonna Make You Sweat by C&C Factory, or anything by aptly-named 98 degrees!
But if you’re going for some of my faves, there’s Epic by Faith No More, Rubberband Girl by Kate Bush, Ray of Light by Madonna, Are You Gonna Go My Way? by Lenny Kravitz, It’s Love by King’s X…and I could go on. LOL.
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Julie, as usual I love your style!! These are great songs. I’m no longer on Cruella for hours at a time, but I totally hit all these while I was, except for the Lenny Kravitz song. I’m gonna program this for my one hour of PT tomorrow. 🙂
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Major progress, Jenny. The wonderful part about all of this is you are able to see what you probably teach to your students. The long term goal needs short term goals, which can only be achieved with short term objectives. Each day you reach another objective and get closer to your short term goal … to get the “f” out of the house and throw Cruella to the street.
Next you will take more steps until you are back to full-press PA and a powerful hip to swing you out to your next move. Kind’a makes you think of dancin’ …
I’d go with Lenny Kravitz for the 90’s … but to liven up your life … take a listen to Heart’s CRAZY ON YOU … might be about sex … might be about relationships … it is surely about how some of us nuttier types see life and music 🙂
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Exactly so, Florence! And I completely understand the parallels with writing. In that way, this has been marvelous for me. I’m seeing the daily progress and it’s keeping me going, even when it’s a few degrees. I need to transfer that fine attitude to my stories, as our pal Laura Drake always tells me. 🙂
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