Lizzie Borden Took An Axe

Have you ever heard this macabre rhyme? Well, it's not quite accurate. 

    Lizzie Borden

Yes, Lizzie Borden is probably the person who gave her STEP-mother 19 whacks and her father 10-11 whacks. It was quite the gruesome crime!

 

               Andrew Borden                    Abby Borden

Abby and Andrew Borden were murdered on August 4, 1892 at their home in Fall River, MA. Andrew's daughter, 32 year old Lizzie, and their maid, Bridget Sullivan, were the only other known people in the house at the time of the murders. Lizzie was immediately suspected of being the killer due to her being the only person with the opportunity and motive (hatred of her stepmother and money) to kill her parents. But there was scant physical evidence, and the jury of men found it very difficult to believe that a woman could have committed such a heinous act. (This was the Victorian Era, after all.) Because of this, Lizzie was found not guilty of the murders. She and her older sister, Emma, inherited their father's fortune and lived the rest of their lives relatively isolated.

Obviously, I could go into all the gritty details of this crime, but there are write ups all over the internet, so if you want to know more about it, I'm sure you can find it! It's one of the most notorious "unsolved" murders.

But here are some links to get you started...

One of the best books I read on the crime.

An awesome 11 part podcast!

A Wasp Looks at Lizzie Borden (article)

The Trial of Lizzie Borden: An Account (article)

Yes, I think Lizzie is guilty. The only suspects are Lizzie, the maid, or an intruder. It's clear the maid did not have the opportunity to do it without Lizzie knowing. So that theory is out. The only way an intruder could have done it is if they killed Abby, then hid in the house for close to two hours, waiting for Andrew to come home and kill him. But that raises lots of questions... Where would the intruder hide? How would the intruder know that Andrew was going to come home? How was the intruder able to kill Andrew without Lizzie seeing? Why did the intruder not kill Lizzie or Bridget? 

Lizzie is the only person who could have done it. Plus, she was all shady and burned a dress a few days after the murder saying it had paint on it and it was ruined. PAINT? Likely story. What an idiot.

There is a reason I am sharing this crime with you. In a couple days, Paul and I will be visiting the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast on our way to Cape Cod. That's right, you can spend the night in the house Lizzie (probably) murdered her parents in. I mean, you can actually SLEEP IN THE SAME ROOM her stepmother was found dead in!

 THE ROOM!!!!!!!!
Abby was found dead right there on the carpet between the bed and the dresser.
There are bloody pics easily found online if that is your thing...

 The house then.

The house now.

Paul and I are not spending the night, but we are taking the tour. I would never want to spend the night there. I don't believe in ghosts AT ALL... however... I don't want to take any chances!

Have you heard of Lizzie Borden?

Do you think she did it?

Would you stay overnight in a room someone got axed to death!?

Weekly Workouts!

Wow, I did a lot of different things this week. I had a little bit of Exercise ADD going on!

Saturday- Zumba! It was intense. Did you know I travel over four miles during Zumba? Zumba with Cat is where it's at!

Sunday- 6 miles before the rain came. We parked at Ridley Park. Paul played disc golf and I ran loops around the neighborhood because I was scared it was going to start storming on me.

Monday- 30 min Zumba, HIIT circuits, 2 miles. I had Exercise ADD today. I was feeling blah and just had no direction. I found some cool Zumba videos on Youtube! I liked this one and this one the best!

Tuesday- 45 min Zumba and 4 miles on the treadmill. I danced in my carport and wondered what my neighbors thought of me! Then I went to the gym with Paul. Wow, it is so much easier running in the a/c than the humidity!

Wednesday- 6 morning miles. It hasn't been super hot this week, but it has been HUMID AF! I mean, it's always humid in PA, but I feel like this was next level. When I got home, Paul asked if I got caught in the rain. I said nope, just sweat from the humidity!

Thursday- Lifting @ Planet Fitness. I forgot my headphones and they were playing country music...

Friday- 6 morning miles and a 3 mile walk later that night. I was that girl scrolling through her phone during her walk...

How were your workouts this week?

5 Favorite Zumba / Cardio Dance Videos

Hey all! I am linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for Friday 5 2.0!

I went to a couple Zumba classes this summer. I freaking love Zumba! But sometimes I feel like dancing when there isn't a class available for me to attend

That's where Youtube comes in!

These past couple days, I have been trying out some fun Zumba and cardio dance videos. Some are just "eh" and I won't do them again, but others are super fun and I save them to do again.

Today, I'll share 5 Zumba / cardio dance videos I found so far that I really, really like!

~ Que Si, Que No ~

Zumba with Kristine has a ton of videos on Youtube. I really like her style and the intensity of her routines so I am going to find more of her's that I like! In this video, I particularly like the dance combination during the chorus!


~ Born This Way ~

I like this video for two reasons. First of all, I love the song. Second, I feel very sassy when I do the routine. I do alter some of the dance moves during the chorus and the interlude to make it a little more high intensity.


~ Jump Jive and Wail ~



This routine is SO. FREAKING. INTENSE. No modifications to increase the intensity needed.


~ Mamma Mia ~





Who doesn't love some 70s style dancing? I found this routine tricky to catch onto on my first try. I will have to do it a couple more times before I can do it perfectly.

~ Waka Waka ~




The reason I like this video so much is because it is one of the very first Zumba routines I did when I started doing Zumba several years ago at the YMCA. Ah, memories!

If you have a favorite workout video on Youtube, drop the link in the comments! They don't have to be dance related!

1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Grade

My parents have been cleaning out their house of clutter and things they don't need anymore. Every time I see my mom, she has a bunch of things for me to look at to see if I want them. Sometimes I take stuff, sometimes I don't.

A couple days ago, she gave me 8x10s of all of my school pictures! I thought they would be fun to share on my blog along with a couple of school memories from each grade. I hope you enjoy!

~ ~ 1st Grade ~ ~

My 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Rudy, read us Charlotte's Web and I loved it!

I got in trouble for giving my friend, Misty, a piggy back ride when my teacher wasn't in the classroom. For punishment, I had to stand against the wall at recess. A classmate made fun of me so I told them it wasn't me, it was my twin sister that got in trouble and had to stand against the wall.

There was a computer in the back of our classroom and I loved playing Word Munchers!

~ ~ 2nd Grade ~ ~

One day, our whole grade level squeezed into a classroom. Our teachers rolled a TV/VCR into the room and we watched The Little Mermaid. I LOVED THAT MOVIE!

I also remember watching Rescue 911 in school! I guess they wanted us to know what to do in case of an emergency, but really, was that appropriate!?

We learned cursive. I was sooooo excited to learn what made a cursive T different from a F. I just couldn't figure it out. I wasn't the smartest crayon in the box...

~ ~ 3rd Grade ~ ~

We had a THIEF in our classroom! Someone stole my friend Ashley's unicorn bookmark. Someone stole my silly puddy. Someone stole our classroom's multiplication rap tape. Our teacher had us all switch desks with someone else and we had to look through our classmate's desk to try to catch the thief! I never found out who the culprit was...

Our teacher read us Happy Hollister and Trixie Belden books. Maybe this is where my love of true crime came from!?

My teacher also had a paddle. One boy got paddled in the hallway. When he came back into the classroom, he said all big and tough, "That didn't hurt."

~ ~ 4th Grade ~ ~

My 4th grade year started out with a long term substitute who was reading us this awesome book. All I remember is that it took place in the old west and there were grave robbers. Well, we were almost done with the book and I could not WAIT to hear the ending, but apparently our class was really obnoxious that day, so for punishment, our teacher never finished the book! I never found out the ending. I wonder what the book was called...

I'm going to tell you something horrible I did... We had a small math workbook and oftentimes we would switch books and grade another student's work. Well, one day the girl who's book I had did terrible. She had so many questions wrong, so at the top the page, I wrote "F" really big and circled it. I added a frowny face. I remember the girl cried and I was so scared my teacher would see what I did.

DANG THAT WAS REALLY SHITTY OF ME!!! WHY DID I DO THAT!????

Tell me a memory you have from elementary school!
Do you remember Word Munchers?
Did your teachers have paddles?
Did you ever do anything really mean?

Exercise ADD

For the past couple days, I have had Exercise ADD. Instead of doing one normal length workout (about 45-60 minutes), I have been doing 2-3 smaller workouts!

It all started on Monday when I decided to try some Zumba videos I found on Youtube. I put the cats in the bedroom, moved the music room couch, and shut my curtains. I danced my booty off for 30 minutes. It wasn't as fun as being at an actual Zumba class, but it was fun!

Then I decided to run two miles. I was slo-o-o-o-o-w thanks to the humidity and all the jumping and step touching during my Zumba workout. I stopped running when it started to rain.

Then I did this circuit five times in my carport:

Donkey Kicks- 20

Bicycle Crunches- 40

Mountain Climbers- 20

I also did 1000 jump rope rotations sprinkled throughout the circuits. For my first set of jumping rope, I did 500 rotations without stopping or messing up! That's the most I did in a row!

How's that for some Exercise ADD?

I had no idea I'd do something similar the very next day!

On Tuesday, I did Zumba videos again, but this time I did it for 45 minutes and I did it in my carport. I propped my phone up on an empty cat litter bucket and used my wireless headphones for sound. I can only imagine what my neighbors thought if they saw me... Doing my own little silent dance party in my carport!

Then Paul and I went to the gym. I ran 4 miles on the treadmill and I did something very strange while I ran...

I LISTENED TO MUSIC!!!!!!

I know, I never listen to music when I workout. But I guess the Zumba songs got me in the mood for more tunes. I listened to:

Look What You Made Me Do- Taylor Swift

Single Ladies- Beyonce

Bad Romance- Lady Gaga

Born This Way- Lady Gaga

Sugar Pie Honey Bunch- The Four Tops

Shut Up And Dance With Me- Walk the Moon

Tomorrow Is A Latter Day- The Book of Mormon

I thought maybe I would do some push ups and row after my run, but I was too tired.

Running on the treadmill in the a/c was so much easier than running outside. My paces outside this summer have been hovering around 9:00-9:30. In the a/c I was able to run in the low 8s easily. That made me feel better. I thought I was getting slower, when I guess it's just the heat and humidity that has been slowing me down.

Do you ever get exercise ADD?

It's been a blah couple days.

Guys, I have been so blah the past couple days. I've been feeling under the weather, unmotivated, tired, sad, and bored.

I hate that I am feeling this way during the summer. I should be living my best life!

Hopefully, I wake up tomorrow feeling like a new woman. Maybe I'll have some motivation to clean the house or even leave the house!

Do you ever feel blah for no reason? How do you cheer yourself up or get through it? I try to just hunker down and with time it passes.

Cuddling the cats helps too.

Weekend Wrap Up!

 

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a great weekend.

Here's what we were up to...

It was a chill day, which was just what I needed after a busy couple days.

I worked on a puzzle...

We caught up on Colbys...

We went to Planet Fitness...

And I took these pictures of Christmas...

It was the perfect summer day!

I set my alarm this morning because I wanted to get up to go to a 9:00 Zumba class! The only instructor I take Zumba from is Zumba with Cat because I know I'm going to get a really good workout every single time. I checked my Garmin and discovered I went over 4 miles during Zumba! How crazy is that!? I was drenched by the time I was done.

 

When there's a disco ball at Zumba, you know shit is about to go down!

Then I took Ellie and Clementine to see Hansel and Gretel at Popcorn Hat Players. It was a fun play with singing and dancing! I will definitely take them back to see more shows at Popcorn Hat.

After the show, we all gathered at Tyler and Debby's house to celebrate Tyler's birthday. I had so much fun laughing and talking with my family!

I didn't mention this, but my sore throat was coming back. It hurt a lot on Saturday night. I worked on a puzzle and contemplated whether to go do a race the next morning. I wanted to do the Double Trouble 15k/30k at French Creek State Park but I was so tired and my throat felt pretty bad...

I slept until 11:30, so needless to say, I did not go to the race! All night, I dreamed I was at Urgent Care waiting to see a doctor. AUGH IT WAS TERRIBLE. I woke up and my throat still hurt but not as bad as the night before.

Paul and I had a disc golf/running date. I got 6 miles in before it started to rain.

Other than that, all I did today was work on a puzzle, watch TV, and go to bed super early. I was very tired and just didn't feel 100%.

One last picture of Chrissy!

Tell me something fun you did this weekend!