A friend of mine at work, Jennifer, is a member of a local gym, and they had a "bring a friend" day the other day. She and Leanne, another coworker, go to a kickboxing class, and both of them had been saying how much they enjoyed it. So, when she invited me, I had to take her up on it. What could be more fun than kicking and punching things? Especially on Thursday, when I had a really stressful day at work.
The lady who was teaching the class was the regular teacher. Both Jennifer and Leanne said that when they first started, they thought she was really tough and mean, but they had grown to like her. The teacher was not what I expected. Instead of some skinny, muscular, workout princess, she looked like a regular person. She was a little chunky, but very muscular. She also wasn't dressed in fancy workout clothes, just a t-shirt and sweats. That made me feel a lot more comfortable.
In the yoga class I take, the instructor starts out by chatting a little bit before getting started. Not this lady. Instead, it was turn on the music and let's go!!!! I wasn't familiar with a lot of the moves, but I tried to keep up and when I wasn't sure, I would either move a little bit or just stop and watch. My main goal was to not hit anyone. The class lasted for an hour, and after a while I allowed myself a peak at the clock. I thought for sure it was about halfway through. No such luck! 15 minutes in and I was drenched with sweat. And if that wasn't enough, time for Turbo! Which is instructor speak for "the next three minutes are even higher intensity and a living hell". Actually, I didn't mind the turbo so much, since I couldn't really keep up. The best thing was after turbo you got a short break-enough time to towel off and gulp down some water.
At that point, I didn't think I could make it anymore, but I had to tough it out. I couldn't be a wimp in front of my friends. So more lunges, jabs, cuts, bob and weaves, and two more turbos. After that, we did some stretches to cool down, which I was more comfortable with since they were very similar to yoga stretches. Even so, by the time I was done I was DONE. I think a couple gallons of sweat left my body that night. During our breaks, Jennifer and Leanne kept asking me if I liked it, and I honestly couldn't answer.
When I got home, I was a serious couch potato. I fully expected to be sore the next morning, which I was, but not to the extent I thought I would be. They also warned me that it would take two days. I gotta admit, it was really hard to get out of bed this morning, but as the day has gone on I feel a lot better. They asked me again today if I liked the class, and after evaluating it I really did. If I end up joining the gym, I think I will make it a habit to attend that class.
Next up, bellydancing! That's on Wednesday, with the lady who teaches my yoga class. I'm really looking forward to that!
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Monday, October 23, 2006
Wrinkle Free
I'm glad I was born in modern times. By modern times, I mean the times when women do not stay home and do housework. You've seen the cute little plaques and cross-stitches with the chores list-"wash on Wednesday", etc. Most of those chores aren't so bad. And some days staying home and doing housework doesn't sound so bad either. No, I'm talking about a specific chore on that list, and that chore is ironing. I really hate ironing. Just in case I'm not being clear enough, let me repeat-I hate ironing.
Most of my clothes that need ironing get worn infrequently. They get worn, they get washed, and then they get shoved into the back of the closet until I am either out of clothes or I can sweet talk Mike into ironing for me. The problem is there's always that piece of clothing that I really like, and gets wrinkled really easily. Then I eventually break down and drag out the iron. Of course, I try to rationalize it first-"why bother ironing, it's going to wrinkle as soon as I put it on anyway?" Sometimes I can get away with it, but not always.
The problem with my ironing is that it doesn't look much better after I'm done. When Mike irons my shirts, they stand up and walk back to the closet and hang themselves back up. When I iron my shirts, they kind of slouch back into the closet, yawn, and take a nap. Plus I never seem to be able to keep them on the ironing board-they tend to slide away just when I have them turned the right way. I may have to get a staple gun to solve that problem.
We've made great strides with wrinkle free pants, now the laundry geniuses need to come up with wrinkle free blouses. Or better yet, a home version of a laundy press like they have at the dry cleaners. Until then, there are some shirts I won't be wearing a whole lot.
Most of my clothes that need ironing get worn infrequently. They get worn, they get washed, and then they get shoved into the back of the closet until I am either out of clothes or I can sweet talk Mike into ironing for me. The problem is there's always that piece of clothing that I really like, and gets wrinkled really easily. Then I eventually break down and drag out the iron. Of course, I try to rationalize it first-"why bother ironing, it's going to wrinkle as soon as I put it on anyway?" Sometimes I can get away with it, but not always.
The problem with my ironing is that it doesn't look much better after I'm done. When Mike irons my shirts, they stand up and walk back to the closet and hang themselves back up. When I iron my shirts, they kind of slouch back into the closet, yawn, and take a nap. Plus I never seem to be able to keep them on the ironing board-they tend to slide away just when I have them turned the right way. I may have to get a staple gun to solve that problem.
We've made great strides with wrinkle free pants, now the laundry geniuses need to come up with wrinkle free blouses. Or better yet, a home version of a laundy press like they have at the dry cleaners. Until then, there are some shirts I won't be wearing a whole lot.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Dude, Pass the Doritos
Am I the only the one that's confused by this story? I thought pot was supposed to kill brain cells and cause memory loss, now they're saying it might actually prevent the progression of Alzheimer's disease. What next, are they going to say that drinking alcohol will actually help your liver in the long run? Eating McDonald's will help you lose weight? Eating chocolate is good for your heart? (Oh wait, that one's true.)
I can already picture the nursing homes of the future, and what festive places they will be. Instead of folks dozing into their applesauce while watching Price is Right and Jeopardy, the residents will be laughing and giggling, munching chips and brownies while watching Comedy Central. The term "old person smell" will take on a whole new meaning. And forget the stereotype of the person forgotten in the nursing home, I bet the relatives will start visiting with the hopes of catching a contact buzz.
Oh, what the future will bring!
I can already picture the nursing homes of the future, and what festive places they will be. Instead of folks dozing into their applesauce while watching Price is Right and Jeopardy, the residents will be laughing and giggling, munching chips and brownies while watching Comedy Central. The term "old person smell" will take on a whole new meaning. And forget the stereotype of the person forgotten in the nursing home, I bet the relatives will start visiting with the hopes of catching a contact buzz.
Oh, what the future will bring!
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Urbana Doesn't Completely Suck
In keeping with our summer of doing things in the area we hadn't done before, yesterday afternoon Mike and I went to the International Beer and Chili Festival in downtown Urbana. It was advertised as having over 140 beers to taste, as well as a chili contest. When we got downtown, we noticed a HUGE line of folks waiting to get in. The festival opened at 3, and this was a few minutes afterward, but still......the first 500 folks to get in free received a special glass for the beer tasting, and there were a lot more than that by the looks of the line.
After driving around a bit we found a parking spot and headed to the end of the line. There were actually two lines around the block to get in, and they almost met each other. We saw Kanno and Becca, and for some reason didn't skip in with them. Oh wait, that's called common courtesty not to skip a line. Unfortunately, a group ahead of us didn't know that and we watched two people turn into twelve.
The line really didn't take too long, so we finally got in around 20 minutes later. We paid our 5 bucks and received our "over 21" bracelets, so on to the drinking. In order to taste the beer, you purchase tickets worth fifty cents. Most of the tables (there were 35 in all) were one ticket, and five or six required two tickets. We each got $10 worth of tickets-that's some serious tasting!
I figured out later we each tried 15 different beers. You got a sample cup at each table that was filled with 2 1/2-3 ounces (depending on the pourer). We also made sure to get different samples so we could share. These were all beers from smaller breweries located in the US and various other countries. None of that Miller or Bud stuff here! I discovered that I really like wheat beer, and I think my favorite was Boulder Sweaty Betty Blonde Wheat from Boulder, CO. Mike thinks his favorite was Two Brothers Heavy Handed IPA from Illinois.
At some point we took a break from the beer and decided to try the chili. A lot of places had already packed up and left, as they were out of chili. One of the stands had a long line, so we figured that must be a good one and got in that line. The chili was also one ticket and you got a small sample cup for that. When we got to the front of the line, it turned out they only had two bowls left. YES! We rule, we got the last of the chili! I'm glad we did too, because it was really good. They posted the ingredient list, and it contained (amongst other things) maple sausage and brown sugar, which gave it a really sweet taste.
Back in for more beer. We kept running into Kanno and Becca, as well as Darcy, Grady, and Kristina. We were able to compare notes, and were advised to skip a certain table as the pourers were drunk. Gotta love volunteering at the beer festival!
Near the end, we decided to use some of our tickets for more food. Mike got some curly fries, and I got a larger bowl of chili. After the other stuff, it really wasn't that good. As we were standing outside eating, we were approached by a reporter from a local TV station. She wanted to know if she could interview one or both of us. I said sure, what the heck, why not? She made the comment that she was constantly turning down the drunk college kids who wanted to be interviewed. Guess she picked us because we weren't college kids (which was about 90 percent of the crowd). I don't think I realized how buzzed I was, because in the "interview" I rambled on about how great all the beer was. Afterwards, we tried to find the rest of the group so I could brag about how famous I was, but we couldn't find them. So on to the Esquire to get some real food (and more beer), where I ran into an annoying ex-coworker. She told us about her recent trip to Alaska, which I have to admit sounded really cool (no pun intended).
We then went home to watch my television debut. When the story finally came on, I was very nervous to see how it would turn out. Turns out I had nothing to worry about, because my stunning discourse on all the wonderful beer ended up on the cutting room floor. I think I'm relieved, because I'm not sure I really wanted to be on TV.
So there is a good festival in Urbana. Why haven't we been to this before? I don't know, but we are definitely there next year. And we are getting there much earlier-I want a souvenir glass.
After driving around a bit we found a parking spot and headed to the end of the line. There were actually two lines around the block to get in, and they almost met each other. We saw Kanno and Becca, and for some reason didn't skip in with them. Oh wait, that's called common courtesty not to skip a line. Unfortunately, a group ahead of us didn't know that and we watched two people turn into twelve.
The line really didn't take too long, so we finally got in around 20 minutes later. We paid our 5 bucks and received our "over 21" bracelets, so on to the drinking. In order to taste the beer, you purchase tickets worth fifty cents. Most of the tables (there were 35 in all) were one ticket, and five or six required two tickets. We each got $10 worth of tickets-that's some serious tasting!
I figured out later we each tried 15 different beers. You got a sample cup at each table that was filled with 2 1/2-3 ounces (depending on the pourer). We also made sure to get different samples so we could share. These were all beers from smaller breweries located in the US and various other countries. None of that Miller or Bud stuff here! I discovered that I really like wheat beer, and I think my favorite was Boulder Sweaty Betty Blonde Wheat from Boulder, CO. Mike thinks his favorite was Two Brothers Heavy Handed IPA from Illinois.
At some point we took a break from the beer and decided to try the chili. A lot of places had already packed up and left, as they were out of chili. One of the stands had a long line, so we figured that must be a good one and got in that line. The chili was also one ticket and you got a small sample cup for that. When we got to the front of the line, it turned out they only had two bowls left. YES! We rule, we got the last of the chili! I'm glad we did too, because it was really good. They posted the ingredient list, and it contained (amongst other things) maple sausage and brown sugar, which gave it a really sweet taste.
Back in for more beer. We kept running into Kanno and Becca, as well as Darcy, Grady, and Kristina. We were able to compare notes, and were advised to skip a certain table as the pourers were drunk. Gotta love volunteering at the beer festival!
Near the end, we decided to use some of our tickets for more food. Mike got some curly fries, and I got a larger bowl of chili. After the other stuff, it really wasn't that good. As we were standing outside eating, we were approached by a reporter from a local TV station. She wanted to know if she could interview one or both of us. I said sure, what the heck, why not? She made the comment that she was constantly turning down the drunk college kids who wanted to be interviewed. Guess she picked us because we weren't college kids (which was about 90 percent of the crowd). I don't think I realized how buzzed I was, because in the "interview" I rambled on about how great all the beer was. Afterwards, we tried to find the rest of the group so I could brag about how famous I was, but we couldn't find them. So on to the Esquire to get some real food (and more beer), where I ran into an annoying ex-coworker. She told us about her recent trip to Alaska, which I have to admit sounded really cool (no pun intended).
We then went home to watch my television debut. When the story finally came on, I was very nervous to see how it would turn out. Turns out I had nothing to worry about, because my stunning discourse on all the wonderful beer ended up on the cutting room floor. I think I'm relieved, because I'm not sure I really wanted to be on TV.
So there is a good festival in Urbana. Why haven't we been to this before? I don't know, but we are definitely there next year. And we are getting there much earlier-I want a souvenir glass.
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