When I think of tubing down the river, I think about sitting in a tube and drifting lazily down the river. That's not exactly what happened when my daughter and her family took us tubing down the Comal river in New Brunsfell, Texas near San Antonio. Not that you really need what New Brunsfell is near except I'm pretty sure I misspelled it.

This was a new experience for me. For starters, the water is ice cold, even with the never ending heat wave from Hell that us Texans are suffering through. But since the tube has a headrest, and a net to plant my butt in, it wasn't so bad.

My lovely daughter tells her father and I that when we go down the first chute, we'll get splashed. I'm thinking the log ride at Six Flags.

Not even close.

The chute was long, really long, and when I exploded out the other end I swear a hundred gallons of ice water was thrown in my face. I sucked in about half of it when I tried to catch my breath.

My daughter had already told me to paddle to the right as soon as I was free of the chute, except someone yelled go to the left. By this time, I'm still struggling for air, and I can't focus because my glasses didn't come with tiny windshield wipers. So I paddled valiantly toward the left--and got caught in the current.

I'm wondering if the person who yelled 'go left' was sitting on the bank and laughing at all the idiots who listened to him. If so, I hope he gets jockitch.

I soon discovered it wasn't easy to escape the current. The water moved me over, across, then sucked me back toward the chute. This repeated several times. Once, I came very close to freeing myself, but some other frantic tuber shot out of the chute and bumped me back into the current. I now know how a pinball feels.

My youngest granddaughter finally took pity on my situation and braved the current to reach my side. With great effort, she dragged me to safety. She's a true heroine.

I don't think I've had that much fun in a long time. We spent about 3 hours on the river, and we can't wait to do it again. Next time, I'll paddle to the right.

Best,
Karen

I've come to the conclusion that if I'm going to keep losing weight, then maintain it, I have to exercise. This is diet number--well, shoot, I've lost count. So, anyway, I started exercising a few months ago. The key to weight loss is exercise and diet! Woo-hoo, I've finally discovered the secret!!!

I'm being sarcastic. I already knew that. This time I've actually been doing both. Who'd of thunk? The other day, I worked out with weights. It was a fantastic workout too. I felt the burn! My heaviest weights are a whopping 3 pounds if that tells you anything. I didn't lose any weight, though. Inches, yes, but not pounds. It was very irritating.

I weigh every morning. I know I'm not supposed to, but I can't help it. I bought new scales because I could lose or gain 10 pounds in a day on my old scales. Losing was great, but gaining was a real downer.

So now I have the new scales in the bedroom beside an over-stuffed brown chair that has seen better days. The reason I put them there is so I can balance myself on the chair and the ironing board as I ease onto the scales. Kind of like sneaking up on them. It's cool to see my lower weight, well, until I let go of the chair and the ironing board. The numbers are still going down, though, and that's nice.

I started working out to a new DVD because over the years I've gotten tired of looking at Richard Simmons. This morning I popped in the new DVD, Crunch: Cardio Salsa.

Any workout video with the words Crunch and Salsa should probably be avoided at all cost. At one point I became a human pretzel. Okay, it wasn't that bad. I was sweating ten minutes after I started and that was the warm-up. I'm determined to learn the steps, although, I'm not too sure about moving my feet, hips, and arms all at the same time in different directions. I'll let you know what happens.

Have a great day!
Karen

Hi Everyone,
Okay, I am tech illiterate and I can't remember a darn thing when it comes to tech stuff, but I'm attempting to improve. This is a new blog so I've stumbled a few times getting here. I am proud to announce that I now have it completely figured out---I think.

I have the same problem with Facebook. It changes almost daily, it seems. I have a feeling I'm not alone in the tech jungle. Thank goodness I have a wonderful husband who is also very patient.

I have a new review posted for How To Seduce A Texan at http://www.thefictionalbookshelf.blogspot.com/ I was thrilled when Marissa contacted me to ask if she could post it on her site. You can read it for yourself at the above link. It's listed on the right side. I would've posted sooner if I could've figured out my blog! But I have it down pat now---I think.

Anyway, check out Marissa's reviews and her site. It's pretty cool!

Best,
Karen

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce I've signed a three book contract with Sourcebooks! Keep checking back on my website or here for more details!!! Don't forget my free newsletter. I have lots of contests planned with fabulous prizes.

Best Wishes,
Karen