Kristin’s Playground

I love games. So this week, you get a list of games/sports from my life, past and present.

1. Sheepshead! In our family, Sheepshead is the quintessential game to play. At any family gathering, you’d better have some change to play with - for sheeps is serious business. It’s a rite of passage to finally be able to play at the table with the adults, and as a kid you always wanted to “help” the adults play.
2. Soccer (Football): Like many American kids, I played soccer when I was little. My dad coached our team for awhile, and I was usually goalie or at least a defender. While I enjoyed it, I didn’t stick with it, and the whole having to run thing wasn’t really something I liked, so I quit in middle school.
3. Softball: One season I joined a softball team. I wasn’t terribly good at it - played left field mostly. And again with the running!
4. Chess: In high school, I joined the chess team. This probably had something to do with a certain other person who was on the chess team, but I liked it. I only played on the JV team, and while I wasn’t bad, I certainly wasn’t great either. I really loved it when there were 6th graders from other schools beating me. Our high school chess coach was a great guy, and hubby and I picked up some of his speech mannerisms. Fair enough.
5. Tennis: I never played tennis in any official league or what not, but it was one of the sections in gym that I liked more than others, and I think I took lessons one summer, too. It takes a lot of practice for me to get a consistent overhead serve, but I enjoy it. These days, though, I’m more likely to play tennis on the Wii than on an actual court. I’m hoping to change that a bit this summer.
6. Red Rover: One of the best games played as a little kid. Seriously. I loved Red Rover, and I still do. I don’t remember the last time I played, though.
7. Trivial Pursuit: This is a game to be avoided in my family. My father can take us all on single-handedly.
8. Risk: A fun, albeit long, board game of world domination. I like having Australia (and/or South America) as my base of operations. Once, hubby’s brother spent quite some time rolling the dice over and over again to see if they were weighted incorrectly. ::sigh::
9. Poker: I’m not good at poker. However, in high school, our youth group would sometimes have poker parties where we played with M&Ms. Fun times, even if I was quite bad. I don’t bluff well.
10. Scrabble: Another major family game. My parents are both quite good, and the title of family champion goes back and forth between them every now and then. Sister and I can compete with them nowadays though, so it can be quite intense if we all get together for a family scrabble tourney. Games take a long time in my family though - Mother requires a lot of time. “I know there’s a seven-letter word in here somewhere!”
11. Solitaire: I love card games, and know and play many different versions of solitaire. Sometimes you just need a mindless card game to relax.
12. Four-Square: Another childhood favorite. Fun to play at camp or on the playground, and you can make up fun and interesting new rules. It’d take me awhile to get back into the swing of it, I think, but I have fond memories.
13. Inner Tube Water Polo: The newest one on the list, I just started a few weeks ago. It’s fun, and for those of us who aren’t in shape, still some good exercise. Our team went undefeated* in the regular season, and we have playoffs in the next week or so.

*Okay, so there were only three regular season games, one team flat out didn’t show up, and one game we were playing 7 (plus 2 subs) vs. 4, but still. Undefeated!

In keeping with my take on last week’s centered theme, I thought I’d share with you 13 yoga poses - some that I like, and some that I don’t. This is my first Thursday Thirteen. We’ll see whether I can actually come with 13 things to talk about each week, but we’ll give it a try for now.

1. Child’s Pose: This can be a good pose to get you into your yoga for the day. It’s a gentle stretch, low to the ground, and is a good place to start focusing on your breathing.
2. Chaturanga: Ah, push-up pose. I’ve never been terribly good at push-ups, and Chaturanga is made especially hard by forcing you to keep your elbows closer to body. It makes you work your triceps a lot more, and my triceps have never really been my strongest muscle group.
3. Crow: Every now and then, I’m asked to do a yoga pose where I have to balance entirely on my arms. Mainly, these involve me flailing around, occasionally getting into the pose for a few seconds. More often than not, however, I end up falling on the floor. With Crow, I can almost do the pose, but only when my elbows are bent.
4. Half-Moon: I like half-moon, but it’s surprisingly hard to keep my balance.
5. Cat
6. Cow: Cat and Cow go hand in hand. You inhale as you go into cow, opening your chest, dropping your belly, and as you exhale you move into cat - rounding the back and dropping the head. I like doing this sequence, and it’s a good warm up to your practice.
7. Triangle: I also like triangle. It’s not too technically difficult, but you can focus and really get a good stretch out of it. Plus, I think it looks cool.
8. Eagle: Seriously. This pose is crazy. It’s a remarkably good stretch through the shoulders and arms when I get the top half right, but my legs just can’t wrap around themselves all that well. Keeping your balance is hard!
9. Reverse Warrior: I always feel graceful in reverse warrior, although I have to be careful in any of the warrior poses to protect my knees.
10. Pigeon: I love pigeon. Anyone who has seen me knows that I don’t sit in normal positions, so pigeon is quite natural for me. You can do a forward bend from this pose, and I could just stay there for quite some time. Comfy.
11. Tree: Tree amuses me, and I’m not quite sure why. It’s a pose I don’t think I’ve ever really done during a yoga class, but it’s one I just like to do anyway.
12. Dead Bug’s Pose: The first time I heard of dead bug’s pose I had to laugh, but it really is a good description. Lie on your back, grab your toes and let your legs drop open. It’s a good pose as you’re finishing up - a relaxing stretch.
13. Savasana: The end of your yoga practice. Relaxation. Surrender. Good night. ::ashoo::