head & shoulders, knees & toes

Sara: I’ve decided if I have a child, I’m going to teach it the proper names to the muscles and bones. K.. why do we lie to ourselves and our kids from childhood with made-up general names for things...? up until a week ago I thought the elbow bone was called the humerous.. no.. the whole upper arm bone is called the humerous. And biceps are biceps brachii.. and don’t get me started with the “calf muscle”. – end note.

Shelly: Haha lol. U can start with teaching ME the proper names for things!!!

Sara: No probs you can point to things and I’ll tell you what they are called in real life. I know all of the main guys. And I’m pretty good at figuring out which muscles control which movements. I’ll teach you two things for now. The biggest and strongest bone in the body is the femur. (the “thigh” bone.. if you will) it can take up to 600 lbs of vertical force. And the second strongest and most stout bone in the body is your “chin” bone, called the Tibia. Stay tuned.



Sara: Hahaha not CHIN but Shin rather..only I have a big strong chin.. not everyone is so blessed.

Shelly: Haha i was like CHIN? REALLY? Shin though, that makes much more sense. My shins take a lot of abuse from running. Can you tell me a bit more about shin splints?

Sara: The bottom of this page has some good exercises you can do to strengthen your shins/ankles for running. www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/0161-shin-splints-treatment.htm

Sara: Dorsi flexion is when you bring your toes toward your shin (like flex your foot) – the muscle that does it is called the tibialis anterior (the muscle you can feel in front of your shin bone). Plantar flexion is when you point your toes or stand up on your toes – acting muscle is the gastrocnemius and soleus (calf muscles)

Shelly: Lol i feel stupid for not knowing all my body parts now. the song “head and shoulders, knees, and toes” should totally be altered to... uhm, well u know...

Sara: I know, especially when they throw in strange explanatory words – see, if our parents taught us properly we would know these things! Cranium, scapula’s, patella’s and phalanges.....patella’s and phalanges... patella’s and phalanges.. doesn’t have the same ring..

Sara: Lol go right ahead.. you may want to know that the scapula is actually the shoulder blade.. don’t think the shoulder has a name.

Shelly: Mmm i don’t think it matters for blog purposes. I’ll check with my editor though.

Sara: HAHA do you really have an editor?

Shelly: Bahahha. No! Just being facetious.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings us to WORD OF THE DAY:

fa·ce·tious   /fəˈsiʃəs/  [fuh-see-shuhs]  –adjective
1. not meant to be taken seriously or literally: a facetious remark.
2. amusing; humorous.
3. lacking serious intent; concerned with something nonessential, amusing, or frivolous: a facetious person.

two wheelin' fool

Hey, remember when I fell off my bike and broke both my arms? That was fun {insert straight face here}. My main bike riding goal is to NOT do that again. My secondary goals are as follows:

1. To be super ridiculous cheetah speed fast.
2. To not quiver in fear every time i encounter a hill (up or downhill).
3. To acquire an amazing biking outfit (think Lance Armstrong).
4. To be able to bike to work at least once a week and arrive in a timely, non sweaty fashion.

Story time. My bike search ended abruptly yesterday after work. I had officially decided it was time to add bike to my life. A whirlwind tour of Capps, SportMart and SportChek left me dazed and confused, but nonetheless determined. 300 questions and 3 hours later I met Blue Lightning. Him and I and Snazzy White Helmet got loaded up into the car, with the help of Kevin the Salesman, and rode off into the sunset.

Back at the ranch, I got all geared up and then spent twenty minutes trying to fit the non fitting helmet onto my head. {insert lightbulb above head here} THE INSTRUCTIONS! After reading those and cursing for five more minutes the helmet had made it securely onto my head. You can't even imagine how ravishing i looked at this point.

Then it was time to put the front tire back on the bike....no sweat right? wrong. the front brakes are now rubbing on the rim. La de da, sitting in lobby messing with bike. Friendly neighbour comes to the rescue and helps me put it all back together The Right Way (note to self, do things The Right Way first time to avoid lengthy swearing episodes). I jump on my bike and wobble down the street.

Stopped by Uncle Ron's to show off my new ride. What'd you get that for? he asked. Idunno, i replied. I think he was mad that i didn't bring a loaf of banana bread with me.

then I began to ride. Tooker up my usual route down 200th (on the sidewalk of course). The occasional pedestrian and fellow biker were very courteous and usually let me have the right-of-way. I think this is because they saw the terrified expression on my face. I ran over two banana peels to no incident. I got some road riding in on the back streets and headed home when my butt could take it no more. My rudimentary distance calculator in my noggin says i did about 12km.

Guys, meet my new friend Blue Lightning...