More and more I see people including their pets in their blogs. While I don't want this to become only about the furbuckets, I know it will include them.

Now the question is do they get their own page - all as one page, or just blog intros?

Hello summer

This past month has been crazy. I've gone from spring coats with a winter scarf to layering so that I didn't melt on the way to work or free on public transportation. I am not complaining about the warm weather now but rather that there was a such a severe jump from cool to 90 degrees. The good thing now is it is sundresses and bare feet rather than sweaters.

I'm currently watching the dogs staring out the front door. They are utterly confused by the neighbor boy's remote control car. The cats are usually in the window moving their heads like some sort of ping pong spectator.

Zumba this week was much better. It was only one other person with me since it is the holiday weekend and all. The other girl knows how to salsa dance, like SERIOUSLY knows what she is doing but isn't all showy about it. I am still not too excited about the belly dance part of it - the shimmy shimmy part is awkward - but I am getting the hang of more of the Latin based footwork. I love that moment when you stop concentrating and realize that you are getting it - the giant wall mirror also helps.

I missed my hoop class due to my allergies/cold making my head spin otherwise. I wasn't happy at all about it but I knew if I was dizzy it was best to just stay home and get more sleep.

Yesterday was the Hubby's bday BBQ. We didn't have a ton of people so it was a nice mellow time to sit outside. We ended up moving a TV so that we could watch the Hawks win too. Someone in the neighborhood was shooting off fireworks too. We could hear them but not see them. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same house who had the fireworks after the White Sox World Series victory. We just played Chelsea Dagger twice and cheered.

This morning was my first Zumba class. I've been watching videos on YouTube to get a sense of it and had watched some even before I decided to take the class. I've always liked the 90s hip hop style of dance and this caught my interest.

I went to class expecting something like this...



Or this...



Of course it would be much much much more basic but the overall concept.

My instructor is one I have had before. She's really good, explains here stuff well and gets you moving. What I didn't know was that she made the class a Zumba/Belly Dance class. I have tried belly dance workouts before and they are fun. There is a DVD or a VHS tape somewhere in the attic of it. The attic being the main element here. I am going to continue taking the class but it wasn't exactly what I had anticipated it to be. Overall though I DID get a great workout today.

HOOP YEAH!

I just got back from my hoop class and I am hooked... even more so than before. True I have tried learning some stuff from online videos but there is nothing like having an actual person in front of you. It's that extra "Yes you got it!" or "Try this" that is sooo much better. Having hooped at home helped with the basics and I had it going for at least 20 mins til I got hoop bumped (DARN!) but oh well... there is always next week.:

This weekend I'm adding practicing to my plot of gardening and buying a birthday present for my cousin's 2 yr old daughter. Ity bity clothes shopping is always fun.

Today's workout brought to you by the Healthy Living Summit

I am SOOOOOO excited that I am going to be one of the 200 lucky people attending the Healthy Living Summit!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I rushed home= total power walk to the train/bus/house, got the HLS website up, fed the pets, started dinner prep and then it began..... the wait. I feel like I just hooped for an hour. This is going to be so much fun. The Hubby called just as I was printing the confirmation so he got me all hoppy happy squeeky on the phone. He knows it's a big deal to me so he dealt with it.

Tomorrow is Day 1 - technically class 2 - of Hooping. I hope I didn't miss too much with not being able to attend last week.

Time to check on the chicken and unleash the cats from the bathroom. (We are being invaded by ants again! EEK! Ant killer = locked up cats when applying. I don't want them getting sick.)

Zumba... almost

Today was the first day of Zumba... or so I thought. I got up, make a quick bowl of oatmeal, got misc stuff done around here, got ready and got going. I get to the building, go upstairs and luckily I stopped before I bounded into the room. I would have scared the group of model railroad enthusiasts who were set up in the normal workout space. OOPS! I never got the call that my section was cancelled due to low enrollment. Grrr. HOWEVER the lady at the main desk was GREAT and transferred me into the Saturday morning class. It starts THIS saturday so I won't have missed any classes! WOOP!

I did miss last week's hooping class due to an event and so I am extra excited about this week. I can't wait to learn how to do tricks/moves/whatnot the proper way. The proper way results in my hoop getting launched slightly less across the backyard. :)

The garden is planted - in pots since we aren't sure exactly where an inground gardent will be permantly - with four tomato plants and four bell pepper plants. I am super excited since I love home grown veggies. Tomatoes taste sooo much better than from the store. I've gotten a chance to get to the farmers market here and there but the closest one is during the weekday and so a bit hard to make it consistantly.

Excuse me, my name isn't Bridget

I had a Bridget Jones day today. Random oddball things going wrong and/or happening to the extent that I seriously wanted to start looking for cameras. A random voice over probably would have worked as well. Missed bus, a different bus breaking down, fighting with an umbrella as my damp hair stuck to my face... yadda yadda.

One thing that ended up as a good thing today was realizing that my "that's a long way" distance isn't that "long" anymore. True the walk I had today was at least twice as long as my normal walk but it didn't seem like it. The aggravation caused by the collection of random annoyances this morning did help fuel me to walk faster but overall I surprised myself.

I like the moments when the little push isn't needed to do something. The latest major one was adding a 15-20 min extra walk to my evening commute. While I do take the bus all the way around when it is horribly extreme weather, I find that when I don't walk it, I miss it.

Listening to music like Chemical Brothers and The Crystal Method today has me looking forward to my hooping class this session. (I am missing the first class due to an important event and hopefully it won't be too hard to catch up. ) I also really want a travel hoop with this in blue being the front runner. I have my normal hoop but this will be easier esp when we go to the beach this summer. It's a more low key one too so I won't get started at too much. When I finally learn some tricks then I won't mind an audience.

When it rains it pours

My ambition has gone by the wayside lately. It was first due to just being busy/worn out but I kept going. I've found by getting changed right when I get home on a class day I can't talk myself into staying home. Last week this totally worked and I got in a great workout. The prior week was too much weight for the reps but that time I got the right mix.

The second and most important was due to my friend's mom being sick. She has had cancer for a few months and while we all have known, it gets hard to accept at times. I am a firm believer that sometimes you just need to be in a funk. Then it's time to get out of the funk. Well this time the funk is more like gloom. She passed away Monday morning and since she was like a second mother to me, it's been hard.

Some people scream and cry. I cry then move to stop crying. Walks during lunch. Stairs at home. Straightening up WHATEVER just to keep moving. Keeping myself busy helps keep my mind busy until I wear myself into a rut. This time the rut is the head cold that The Husband had and is slowly getting rid of now. I have to remind myself that sorrows can't just be drowned in junk food and that sleep is necessary so that I can kick this and be there to support my friend when she needs me.