#2765 weekend wrap-up

 It has been a busy and eventful weekend for me. I meant to write on Friday, then it got to be 11 pm and something had to give, so sleep won out over writing. Let's catch up...

On Friday, I went to the gym for the first time in awhile. My work friend told me she was going to a Zumba class at the Vasa near my house and encouraged me to come dancing there. I think the last time I went to a Zumba class might have been in March. I do love to Zumba, and I was planning to go to the gym anyway, so what the heck? I went and we danced our faces off. 

Note that I said I was planning to go to the gym. I set a goal for myself this month that I would go to the gym at least once a week. CHECK!

After dancing, I came home, heated up some leftovers, talked to my mom, picked T up from work, and then I was done with being awake. 

On Saturday, MT and I drove up to Pocatello to attend an open house baby shower for our best friend's son. Caz. He and his wife are having their first baby, and we had to go wish them well. I hadn't seen Caz in awhile, so it was nice to catch up with him for a few minutes. Of course it was wonderful to see my bestie, LA, and her husband. MT always says that they are our oldest friends, which is true. We have been solid friends for over 30 years. 

MT had some work thing he needed to do, so I hung out at Linda and Jake's house (my in-laws). The three of us sat out on their back deck, read, and snoozed. The temperature was in the 70s and it felt wonderful. It was a little smoky because of fires in the area, but it wasn't bad enough to send me inside. They live in a quiet neighborhood, their yard is nice, and my seat on the deck was shady and comfy.

Sitting there with an iced PSL and reading my book was exactly what I wanted to do that afternoon.

MT and I had an early dinner with LA and Rob at a cute little BBQ place. The restaurant had a groovy patio. We enjoy sitting outside to dine, so it was pretty wonderful. The food was good and the company was even better. 

We drove home in the early evening, and the harvest moon greeted us when we got home.

Kind of a cool photo, huh? I don't know how that line got involved, but I like it.

This morning, the day started slow, just how I like it. I made a cup of coffee, grabbed a book, and sat out on my deck for 10 minutes or so before the rush of the day started. So good.

After that, it was all go. I did the docent gig. It was beautiful up at the Garden this morning, of course. 

Wouldn't you like to sit on that bench and let the sunshine warm your face on a cool morning? That's the bench I sit on when I'm in my feelings. That isn't where I hang out when I am being a docent, though.

After the docent shift, I needed to record blooms. I was unable to get to the Garden after work last week, and I will often do blooms on Saturday morning, but I couldn't do that this week, so I had to do them today. The blooms are really winding down now. The anemones and asters are going strong, and there are still some roses and a few others, but not too many fresh new flowers. The leaves haven't quite started to turn yet, except in the highest branches of the tallest trees, like this guy:

I actually took this pic last week, on the 2nd. He's a little more orange and gold up top now. 

I got home around 3 and let myself chill out with football and phone games for about an hour before I started on some chores. I picked T up from work at 6:00, and we went to Lowes. I bought some mums to plant in a pot on the deck. I also bought a coleus plant. I've been wanting one for a long time, and today was the day. He will live inside the house.

After that, it was dinner time (orange chicken from Trader Joe's), a quick walk with the dogs, then helping MT with some paperwork. I just took a cool shower to relax, and now here I am, writing and thinking back on the weekend's good times. 

I really need to get to bed, but there are pages that I want to read. I've gotten myself into another book situation. I can't help myself! Here's the thing: I'm reading Wrong Place Wrong Time and it is really compelling and I need to find out what happens to Jen. That one is an physical book from the library. I am also reading Carrie Soto is Back. Will Carrie win a Slam, five years after she retired from the WTA? Will she become a better human? I gotta know! That book is also from the library, but it is on my Kindle. On Friday I got a notice from the library that a book I had on hold had arrived, and I've been wanting to read it for so long that I couldn't let it go back into circulation. That one is called Beach Read. While I was at the library, I couldn't help but look at what else was available, and on the Lucky Day rack, there sat the new book by Sarah Addison Allen. I LOVE HER BOOKS! I had to get it. The twist on that one is that I can only have it for seven days, no renewals. I just started it this morning, so I only have five days to finish it now. PLUS, I just got a new book from Ekpe for book club. I've got to read 150 pages of that by Saturday at 1:00. To recap, I am reading one book on my Kindle, plus three physical books, and one book impatiently waiting on my nightstand. I know. I'm a nut when it comes to books. #bookworm #problems

So I'm going downstairs to lay on the couch and read for 20 to 30 minutes, hopefully. Honestly, I'll probably fall asleep with ten minutes, but what can I say? 

What's coming up this week? Not too much, really. I'll go to the gym at least one time (#goals). I will finish Other Birds, the book by Sarah Addison Allen. I don't have any concerts or events this week, so it ought to be pretty calm, hopefully.

Take care! Write on your blogs! I want to know what you are doing :)

#2717 three things: 10,000 steps, walking the dog, and a photo

 

1. 10,000 steps. Yesterday I worked at home. When I looked at my Apple Watch at the end of my work day, it told me I had walked just over 1,300 steps that day. I think I put my watch on around 10 am, and I finished working at 4 pm. That’s six hours, so I walked about 216 steps/hour. That’s not much. The wellness program at work gives me points that turn into currency to get gift cards and fitness devices and such when I get 10,000 steps in a day. While I was on vacation, getting 10,000 steps was a fairly common occurrence. Since I’ve been home, not so many steps each day.

Because I like to break things down so I know what I’m dealing with, I decided I wanted to know how many steps I would have to take in an hour to reach 10K steps in, say 12 hours. That number worked out to just over 800 steps/hour. It would take about 714 steps/hour to get to 10K in 14 hours. Today, I decided to see what that would be like. 

My sister has a Fitbit that alerts her every hour to get moving to reach her goals. The Apple Watch may have a similar feature, but I don’t know where it is, so I set a timer every hour to remind myself to check the step count and reach my goal.

My time frame is 7am to 9pm. The first five hours, I was right on track. Then I had to spend about an hour in the car going back and forth from work to home to take T to work. That hour I didn’t get many steps at all, and so by 2:00, I was about 1,000 steps behind. Right now, it is 8:30, and I have almost 7,900 steps. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow. 

Work’s wellness program also gives me points if I meet a certain level of active calories burned. I’m happy to say that even though I don’t have 10K steps today, I did reach the active calorie level, so I’ll still get my 10 points today. YAY!

2. Walking the dog. Speaking of walking…you know I walk my dogs in the neighborhood every evening. We pass by the same houses, hear the same barking dogs, admire the same trees, flowers, and yards daily. It’s a simple neighborhood walk, right?

In Rome, there are lots and lots of people who walk their dogs. Usually the dogs are a lot smaller and much more well-behaved than my beasties, but that’s another topic. The day we were at the Colosseum, I noticed a man walking his dog on the Colosseum grounds - not inside the gates, of course, but there is a large area around the Colosseum, Constantine’s Arch, Palatine Hill, and the Forum that is open space for anyone to enjoy. The gentleman and the dog were in this ancient space, minding their own business as they went for a simple neighborhood walk. What a neighborhood, though, right? 

3. A photo. I did not take a photo of the man walking his dog, but here is a photo of Constantine’s Arch that I took from inside the Colosseum. The grassy parts you see are not for walking on because they are full of ancient ruins. As you can imagine, Rome is full of ancient Roman ruins. Anyway, you can see the sidewalks, full of people, and that’s where I saw the man and his dog.

Fun fact: the Colosseum had already been in use for over 200 years before that arch was built. The arch was constructed in three years, between 312 - 315 AD. 

It boggles my mind. 

#2610 it wasn’t what I thought it would be

Tonight I tried a new class (for me) called Hip Hop Dance. I thought it would be like Zumba except with hip hop music instead of Latin music. Maybe sometimes it is like that, but not today. Today the class consisted of learning the choreography for one song. One. Song. 

We did the first 16 counts like 70 times, then the instructor added the next 16 counts, and we did those a jillion times and then he turned on the music. We practiced those first 32 counts lots and lots of times. We did eventually get through most of the song in the hour. The middle part of the song included lots of twerking and even a bit of floor humping. I skipped the floor humping part, but my twerking skills are semi-strong. (HAHAHAHAHA)

The weird thing is that I don’t even know the name of the song or who sings it. The weirdest part is that even after repeating those steps over and over and over and over, I don’t think that I could remember how to do the dance. I’m pretty sure I could remember some of it, but probably not all the way through.

Will I ever do the class again? I didn’t have a great experience, but I remember the first time I tried Zumba.  It was hard and I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. The first time I tried cycling my bum hurt so bad from the stupid tiny seat that sitting was painful. I tried both of those classes a second time and it became more fun and less painful. So, yes, I will likely do the hip hop class again. I’ll report back on my progress.

#2594 three days of getting sweaty

Tonight I made my somewhat triumphant return to Zumba. I joined a gym, Vasa Fitness, and I took my first class in what feels like a jillion weeks. It was a Zumba class, and wouldn't you know it? I knew the instructor from the West Valley fitness center! Small world. It was fun dance again. I kept up pretty well. Sometimes my arms and legs weren't doing exactly what Stacy the instructors arms and legs were doing, but I kept moving anyway. 

When I was done with that class, I was a sweaty mess.

Yesterday I walked in a virtual 5K for San Diego Pride Week. I've been walking every day with the dogs, but I haven't walked 3.1 miles at one time. I walked at the fitness center track because I knew that two times around was about 5K, and there is shade there. I walked at 8:30 in the morning and the temperature was already in the mid to upper 80s.  I figured I'd walk about a mile in about 18 minutes, which is exactly what I did. No, I didn't bring the dogs with me. That would have put my time at closer to 28 minutes/mile! I popped in my AirPods, got a summertime motivation playlist from Apple Music, and away I went. I imagined my sister walking somewhere near her house, since we were walking at the same time. We talked to each other right before we started. It was fun.

When I was done walking, I was a sweaty mess.

On Saturday, MT and I went to the Sundance resort for another Bluebird Cafe concert. We park in the upper lot, then walk up to mid-mountain, where we then take a trail down the ski hill to get to the amphitheater. It's about half a mile, but there's altitude and it's a mountain. I always have to stop to catch my breath.

When we got to our seating area, I was slightly sweaty.

I can't remember the last time I got sweaty three days in a row from activity. Feels pretty good, but I think I'll rest tomorrow. 

#2593 Saturday with Sandy

I'm writing early today because MT and I are headed back to Sundance tonight for the second show in the Bluebird Café concert series. It's not as smoky around here today, and I'm hopeful we will have clean, beautiful air at the venue.

This morning I said good-bye to my WW coach, Lana. She's not going anywhere, but I have cancelled my WW membership and to forge my weight loss path on my own. As T says, it is the end of an era LOL. I came to the realization that although I know the plan absolutely works, it wasn't working for me anymore, totally because I wasn't working the plan. After a lot of thought and conversations with MT and Lizzie, I made the decision. Like I told Lana, I'm going to trust that what I've learned at WW over the many years will stick with me. I know that's where the food rant on my last post came from. I've been obsessing (a little) over this decision and it's scary to lose my WW security blanket. I feel good about the decision, actually. I'm going to be okay.

I did do something to sort of take WW's place today: I signed up for a gym membership at Vasa Fitness. I've even booked a couple of classes for myself next week, on Monday and Wednesday. I feel ready to get back to the gym and get sweaty. The membership I purchased lets me have access to any Vasa Fitness. There are a couple of gyms close to me, and another that isn't as close, but still do-able if they have a class I am interested in taking. I'm excited. I love Zumba, and I'm looking forward to getting back into it. I signed up for a Zumba class on Monday at my "home" gym, the one nearest my house, just over a mile away, and a cycling class on Wednesday at the Vasa about four miles down the road from my house. It's gonna be good.

Happy weekend! I'll see you back here on Monday. I'll let you know how hard the Zumba class was after over a year of not taking any classes :)

#2528 a few random thoughts

I am not sure why I didn’t write on Saturday. I don’t remember doing anything that would have kept me from writing, other than the evening just slipped away from me. I logged on to Lizzie’s poetry reading show on Zoom, which was cool. T ended up working later than expected, and I think I filled the time between the poetry reading and picking T up with reading. 

There wasn’t much to write about on Saturday anyway. I bought some new walking shoes and spent some money at Target. I got a new shower curtain and bathroom rug. It feels fresh and I like it. I’ve been scrolling through Pinterest for easy ideas on updating my spaces at home. I’ll keep you posted if I do anything interesting. 

Usually on Monday I like to talk about music and share a video. I’m not going to post a video tonight because it’s a little late and I haven’t looked for anything. I did want to tell you that I did a quick Zumba workout at lunchtime today right in my house. I used the FitOn app on my phone and I found a 17 minute Zumba dance workout that was really fun. I’ve missed going to Zumba classes. I’ve missed working out, believe it or not. I like taking the dogs for a walk, but that has turned out to be more of an upper body workout (lol) as I just hang on and try to keep the dogs going in the same direction at roughly the same speed. 

I know there are Zumba workouts to be found on YouTube, also. I truly don’t know why I haven’t taken advantage of these tools! I’m going to do some of these dancing workouts :) 

You know what else? It might almost be getting warm enough to take my bike out and go for a ride. It wasn’t warm enough today, but maybe this weekend. We’ll see.

One more thing, completely unrelated: I’m getting my second vaccination tomorrow! YAY!!

Have a great week! I’ll try to remember to write on Wednesday,

#2414 WW Wednesday

WW is continuing with the virtual meetings. I usually sit in on a meeting on Tuesday, and sometimes on Saturday or Sunday. We are currently in the middle of a six part series called "What Happens to Your Body When..." and each week builds on the previous weeks' topic. 

I changed things up a little this week with my plan. WW offers three plans: Green, Blue, and Purple. Blue is pretty much the standard plan we were using before the three plan system came along. You get a certain number of SmartPoints and weekly points plus 200 or so zero point foods. Green has fewer zero point foods, but more SmartPoints; Purple has lots of zero point foods and few SmartPoints. I've been on the Purple plan because I liked the idea of lots of zero point foods. The idea is to build your meals around the zero point foods and I kinda got away from that. It has been helpful in maintaining my weight, but I really want to be a loser. I switched over to Green. It's only been a day, but I like it. It more closely mirrors the original WW from when I came back and I was pretty successful. I like the idea of having a points "budget" and figuring out how to stay in that range. I was feeling pretty stale with Purple, so I think the switch will get me back in the groove. 

Another thing I've been doing is adding in some movement daily. I downloaded an app called FitOn. I learned about it from WW. FitOn has some workouts on the WW app. I decided to get the FitOn app because there is more variety. There are so many options! Lots of yoga, dance, weight training, stretching, body weight resistance training (using your body as resistance instead of hand weights). Since going to the gym is not an option for me - although it is open and they are having classes, I just can't bring myself to go in there and breathe other people's moist breath air and be around the sweatiness - FitOn has been a nice alternative. MT and I also get out for walks a couple of times a week and we have a goal to ride our bikes at least once a week. Maybe that doesn't sound like much, but at least we are doing something!

Speaking of which, I'm going to do a back stretch workout right now. My back is still feeling tight, and a good stretch sounds pretty great. 

#2260 a full day of play with LA

Late Saturday morning, MT and I headed up to Park City to meet with our friends Rob and LA who were visiting from Pocatello. We have been friends for, well, let's see... I started working at the paper in Poky in 1988, and that's where I met LA. I think we started hanging out regularly in  early 1989, so that's 30 years. Rob and MT became climbing and skiing buddies, and the four of us were tight. There was a lull in the friendship when MT and I moved to Salt Lake and were getting settled in, but we have stayed in touch and visited each other as much as we can.

We planned this visit so we could hear about their recent trip to Iceland and to get in a bike ride. Of course, it is getting cold now, so we decided to meet at noon at the outlet mall at Kimball Junction. We had a good time shopping in Eddie Bauer. I got a pair of jeans, a vest, and a sweatshirt, if you are interested. I can't wait to wear that down vest!

For lunch we went into Park City itself. LA mentioned a place she and Rob had breakfast once that she remembered as being very good, but she couldn't remember the name of the restaurant. She did remember the approximate location, so we started walking up Main Street. She led us to The Eating Establishment, which happened to be the place Lizzie and I had dinner before our ghost tour back in June, so I knew it was good too. We wanted to eat outside because even though it was chilly, it was sunny and we were all eager to get a bit more sun before the grey, cold winter sets in.

It should have been a clue to us that at 1:30 in the afternoon the breakfast dishes had not been cleared from the patio, but we did not heed the clue. Inside, the restaurant was very busy, but the host had someone clear the tables outside and we were seated there after about a ten minute wait. We got menus and that's it. Soon other diners were seated, their water was poured and their orders were taken. We were still sitting there with just our menus. We sat there for about 20 minutes before we decided to find another place to eat. Very disappointing.

We wandered down the street to a place called The Spur Bar & Grill. They have a patio on the second floor. We were seated immediately, given water and menus. I have to say it was a lot warmer up on that patio than down on the street level, both in temperature and in welcome. The smiling server quickly took our order and made sure we didn't want anything else to drink. Rob and LA told us stories about their time in Iceland and showed us some photos. LA gave me a gift: a unique and beautiful bracelet handmade from native volcanic stone. LOVE!!

The food at The Spur was delicious. We all had the same thing - the Spur burger. I like it when you can taste the beef in a burger. So good! I would have been happy to sit up there drinking a beer or two, but we all wanted to ride our bikes and temperature was at the warmest it would get that day, so after lunch, we drove back down to Kimball Junction to start the ride. We all agreed it would be nicer to do the hard work of pedaling uphill at the start of the ride, then coast back down to our cars at the end.

My personal goal was to make it to the barn, which is four miles up from Kimball Junction. I don't know if I have ever ridden wearing so many layers of clothing. Going uphill I got plenty warm. The menfolk got out to a fast start and were pedaling ahead of us. LA has a bad back, so she has an electric bike. She still has to pedal, but she gets an assist from the motor. I was the slowest and the heaviest breather (and heaviest in general) by far. The air was brisk, but I got warm and sweaty.

We made it to the barn (YAY!) There is an underpass that you can take to get from the west side of the road over to the barn, so we did that. It was a gorgeous afternoon, so I took photos of course.

Fall is definitely in the air and you can see it in the changing colors of the leaves.

Over on the east side of the highway, we noticed there was a trail that would take us back to Kimball Junction. We would be farther away from the highway, so it would be more quiet plus there was the added bonus of the view of the quaking aspen trees.

I mean, that's a pretty trail!

So we rode our bikes down this trail and it was gorgeous and we were happy. The men picked up speed and zoomed down. LA and I took our time, chatting and taking photos.

selfie!

We met up with the men. Rob pointed out that we would either have to cross the highway - without a light - or ride uphill a little ways until we could find a light. There was no way I was going to cross the highway without a light, so we had to pedal. It was steep. I was in the lowest gear I have on my bike and I was struggling. We got to a place where the road was being repaired, so we had to get off our bikes and push them around some construction machinery. The road after the equipment was even more steep, so LA and I ended up pushing our bikes for maybe a quarter of a mile uphill. I am saying now that I *probably* could have rode up that small but steep hill, but I didn't. No shame!

After that, it was all literally downhill. We safely crossed the highway at a light, then coasted down the rest of the hill to parking lot. We were out a total of one hour and 24 minutes; total distance was 8.3 miles. My average speed was a blistering 5.8 MPH (lol). Don't judge me! hahahaha At least I was out there doing it even though my personal rule is that I don't ride if it's not at least 70 degrees. LA must be a damn good friend for me to lower my temperature rule by a good 15 degrees.

After the bike ride, our fun was not over! We were fortunate enough to get tickets to the Jazz game. It was the first preseason game of the 2019-2020 season. The Jazz were playing a team from Australia. The big three stars for the Jazz - Conley, Gobert, and Mitchell - did not play, but it was still fun to be in the suite and see the new guys on the team. Since the game was a blowout - the Jazz won by over 50 points - we talked more about Iceland and looked at more photos. I liked that!

Extra bonus: one of the guys on the other team missed two free throws in the fourth quarter which means we all get a free chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A. HOORAY!!

When the game was over, so was our day of fun. We bid our pals farewell until we meet again. They went back up to Park City where they spent the night at a hotel. They went back to Idaho this morning.  Both MT and I miss Rob and LA. It is fun to do stuff with friends!

I hope y'all had a wonderful weekend and have some fun plans for the week.

#2247 three things: it wasn't meant to be, Gov't Mule, and Dorian

1. Gov't Mule. Last night I worked a concert at RBG. The artist was Gov't Mule. There are only two words to describe the music: jam band. It seems like many jam bands come to the Garden, probably because people are drinking and relaxing and chatting (or reading) and music is a good background for all of those activities. If you're interested (and even if you're not), last night's show was my fourteenth concert at the Garden this season and I have three to go. That will be 17 out of 31 shows.  Pretty good season for me!

2. It wasn't meant to be. The gym I go to released a new class schedule for the fall. I was excited to see that my favorite Zumba class was moving back to 7:00 on Thursday night - it had been at 6:00 for the summer and I couldn't make it, mostly because the book club was meeting at 6:00 on Thursday or I had a concert. The book club is on hiatus while Ekpe is participating in a tournament with his Chinese team and I didn't have a concert tonight, so I was going to go to Zumba. When I got home around 6:00, after running some errands, I was tired and thought I'd stay home and watch football, but then I gave myself a stern talking-to and got ready to go. When I got to the gym though, the 6:00 class was finishing up and it was Zumba. WTF?! I quickly scrolled through the gym's Facebook postings and saw that they had posted something in the past couple of days saying they would not be changing the times of the Thursday classes and that Zumba would remain at 6:00. Dang it! The 7:00 class is  Shakti yoga. I tried it before and didn't enjoy, so I just turned around and went home. I guess going to the gym tonight was just not meant to be. I couldn't even bring myself to walk around in circles on the track. I was glad to come home, to be honest. Maybe it will work out better next week since I'll be able to plan for the 6:00 class.

3. Hurricane Dorian. MT has a fascination with hurricanes. Whenever there is a hurricane that may make landfall in the U.S., the Weather Channel covers it and MT cannot get enough hurricane coverage. We both agree that the worst thing that can happen is when Jim Cantore shows up in your town. (If you watch the Weather Channel, then you know what I mean. Cantore always goes to the locations that are smack in the eye of the storm. His arrival means bad shit is coming your way.)

I feel particularly worried when a hurricane is heading toward a place I have been since I feel a kinship with that place. Dorian wreaked a bit of havoc on Charleston, SC and may graze the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Dorian ravaged the Bahamas, as I'm sure you heard. What's kind of crazy is that MT and I had been talking about going to the Bahamas in February. Guess we'll have to wait on that one.

#2196 WW Wednesday

Last Saturday in the WW workshop, we talked about doing a different activity. (Activity is what we call exercise because apparently there are lots of people who hate the word exercise. *rolls eyes*) Lana asked the group what they wanted to do but were scared to try. Skydiving came up a couple of times. One lady said she really wanted to try yoga but was afraid all the people in the class would be looking at her.

I hear that comment so much, that people don't want to go to the gym because they think that other people will be looking at them. Here's the rock-hard, straight-up, solid truth: the people who are at the gym to work out, to exercise, to get in some physical activity, are too wrapped up in their own business to bother looking at you. A person might glance your way if you get on the machine next to the one they are on. They might appear to be looking at you when they are taking a break between sets, but they are probably not really registering you as a person and almost certainly not making a judgement about you.

When I am in a class, I notice that there are other people in the room, but I'm pretty wrapped up in my own insecurities to make any kind of judgement about anyone else. I might think something like, "Wow, that lady is really energetic," or "She is really working hard today! She's feeling it!" but I don't think I have ever thought about the way a person looked, except if they were wearing a cute outfit or had on cool shoes. I believe most people are like me in that they are at the gym to work out and move on with their day.

So I told the want-to-be yoga lady to not worry about others and just go try it. Several other people said the same thing. I hope she goes to a yoga class. I probably won't find out, though, because she's in the 8 AM group and I don't intend to go back to that group unless I really need to.

I thought about what I wanted to do but hadn't done. I came up with a couple of things. One would be water aerobics. I picked up the water classes schedule a few weeks ago, but I haven't found a time that works for me yet. I want to do it though. The second thing I want to do is go to a real spinning studio to take a real spin class.

I take cycling classes at my local fitness center and it's fun and energetic, but I've seen videos of spin classes at studios and it just looks extra. Back in January I looked online for cycling studios in SLC, and I found one that looked promising. I told myself that when I got back from vacation in Thailand that I would go. March went by and I didn't go. April was coming to an end and I hadn't gone.

Last Saturday after WW, I drove to the studio so I would know where it is and to find out a little more about the place. It is called Ride-ologie and it is in Sugarhouse. I met the owner, Alli, and we chatted about what I could expect. She told me about some of the instructors and advised me not to start with Taylor's class.

MT went out of town on Monday night, but I had something I'd already planned to do that night, so I decided to try a class on Tuesday since MT would still be gone. Wouldn't you know that the only time that I could go, at 6:30, was a class taught by Taylor? I almost talked myself out of it, but it was the end of April and I really wanted to complete this goal of mine, so I signed up for the class. By the way, the first class is free!

I showed up a bit early, as instructed, to sign the waiver and set up my bike. I met Taylor, a super-cute and extremely fit young woman who, like Alli and all the other people I'd met there, was extremely energetic and positive and peppy. She walked me through some basic spin things, which I was pretty familiar with from cycling class. People started to fill in the studio and Taylor turned on the music and we started to warm up.

Let me tell you about this studio. It is more like a cave. It's a pretty good-sized room filled with these high-tech spinning machines. They look like a bicycle, but just have a fly-wheel on the front. You adjust the tension on the fly-wheel to make it harder or easier to pedal. The seat and the handlebars are adjustable too, just not when you're riding. You want to make sure you're bike is set up to suit you before the class starts. Alli showed me how to set up the bike, but I felt like my seat was a little low. I like to be up higher since my knees don't bend like other people's knees. Not as much bend, you know.

Now picture this big room filled with 30 bikes that have maybe a foot between them on any side. It's tight. There are no windows. There are fans mounted on the walls. The front wall is a mirror. There's a platform front and center for the instructor and her/his bike. There's a stand next to the bike for an iPad that the instructor uses to control the lights, music and sound level.

I'm a little bit claustrophobic and when the door was shut and the lights went out, my breathing quickened up a little bit. I was kind of glad I was in the front row. I don't think I would like to be in the middle surrounded by people. When the music started, though, and Taylor turned into a spin class drill sargent, I kind of forgot about everything other than trying to follow her instructions and to just keep pedaling. I figured that even if I couldn't keep up (I couldn't) that if I kept pedaling I was still way ahead of where I usually am.

The class was a solid 45 minutes but with the time I spent warming up, about 10 minutes, and another five or so minutes that were spent doing extra squats (WHY?!?!), I clocked about 60 minutes on my fitness device. The calorie burn was pretty phenomenal, too. During the class I could really feel the burn in my legs, but today I am more sore in my arms and core. We did mini pushups on the bike and a bunch of side crunches, plus some light weight work. Do all that shit when you're trying to pedal at a good speed. Your core gets involved very quickly to stabilize. It's kind of awesome.

In the end, I was proud of myself for going to the class and for making it through without stopping, passing out or throwing up, both of which were slight concerns. Not passing out so much, I guess, although I was a little worried about the claustrophobia. I'm gonna go ahead and say I was the largest person in there, but that's okay, because I was doing it! I felt happy and full of endorphins when I was done. That is totally a thing, you know? I was extremely hyper when I was done with the class and full of love and joy for all things.

Will I go back? Yes I will. I'm looking at my schedule next week and I think I'll try to get into Amy's class on Monday evening at 5:45. (Alli mentioned that I should start with Amy.)

Yesterday I wrote that my work is doing a fitness challenge this month and my goal is to get my 10 (or 15) points every day in May. Today I walked two miles around the track at work, and I got in my 10,000 steps - good for 10 points! YAY! So far so good.

I'm thankful that Lana put out that little challenge last Saturday. It was the nudge I needed to try something that I've been wanting to do. It was hard, and I'm glad I pushed myself a little and did it!

#2050 three things: LEGOs, zingers and straws

1. Nature Connects at Red Butte Garden. Today I had the opportunity to take a guided tour of the Nature Connects exhibit that is opening on June 2 and staying through September 16 at the garden. There are 14 LEGO creations on display and they are all truly fantastic. I like the way the creations have been set up in different areas so they look like they belong there. RBG has planned several events to coincide with the exhibit. It's going to be a fun summer up there!

2. Zing! I have had an active exercise week. It started on Monday morning when I did a back-to-back workout of Strong and then Zumba. Between the two classes, it was just over 100 minutes of sweatiness. The Strong class made me sore. I work out pretty regularly, and I've taken Strong classes many times, but for some reason Monday's class totally wiped me out. I mean, I felt good at the time, but Monday night my legs, bum and back were tight and sore. On Tuesday I went to Zumba to try to work out the soreness. That helped. On Wednesday I went to Strong (different teacher). I felt ok, then during the warmup - THE WARMUP! - I felt a zing just under my right bum cheek. I actually reached back, grabbed my bum and shrieked a little. I made it through the class, but I was on a little slower speed than the rest of the group. I'm good now, but, wow. that was not fun.

3. No more straws. I drink a lot of water and I typically drink it from a 24 oz tumbler through a disposable single-use straw. I buy the straws from the grocery store and I use two or three straws a day. A few weeks ago I heard a story about how the U.K. was going to ban single-use straws because of the terrible island of plastic that is floating in the ocean. I decided I would try to drink water without a straw, but I found I wasn't drinking as much water if I didn't have a straw, so I went back to straws.
Today I heard a story on NPR that has made me vow to give up disposable straws forever.  They were talking about companies that are no longer going to provide plastic straws. They go on to talk about a sea turtle that had a plastic straw up its nose. (Here's a story about it from National Geographic.)

I have an affinity for turtles. I cannot bear to think that something I use could harm of my favorite animals, even though I don't live anywhere near an ocean. Hearing about the turtle with the straw in his nose made me immediately get on Amazon.com to buy reusable silicone straws (they will be here Saturday). When I go to McDonalds for my Diet Coke, I am going to start giving the straw back to them. I will bring my own straw from now on. I can't/won't be responsible to turtles with straws in their noses. 

That's all I got tonight! Talk to you Saturday! Hope y'all had a great May!

#2044 3 things: no, then yes

Tonight's three things all have something in common.

1. Cooking. I do like to cook. I like to prepare food and enjoy eating the food. I also like to see people enjoy the food I have made. But...thinking about what to make and buying the ingredients isn't that much fun. When I'm actually preparing the food - chopping, sauteing, stirring, tasting, putting in the seasoning and watching it all come together - that's great. The cleanup isn't fun either, though I usually do that as I go along. When the food is all prepared and the family sits down to eat and the food tastes good and tummies are satisfied and leftovers are stored, I always think, "That was pretty great."

2. Going to the gym. At the end of a work day, sometimes the only thing I want to do is come home and sit on the couch. There are some days when that happens. I put on my relaxing clothes, plop myself on the couch to watch TV or lay on my bed to read a book and that's it. Most days, though, I change into my gym clothes and head over to the fitness center to go to an exercise class. I have to go to class. I'm not disciplined enough to push myself by working out on my own, plus it's just more fun for me to exercise in a group. I pretty much take whatever class happens at 7pm and fortunately, I like all of them, except for Wednesday's class. Wednesday night's class  is Strong by Zumba. The class is physically challenging because it is a HIIT class (high intensity interval training). You start out with a fast-paced warm-up, then you get your heart rate up, then back down then back up and back down. There are lots of squats and lunges and burpees all set to a very energetic beat. It's fantastic and awful all at the same time. I dread going, but when the workout is over, I always think, "That was pretty great."

3. Bloom recording/going to the garden. If you read this blog very often, it's pretty easy to figure out that Red Butte Garden is one of my favorite places in the city. I enjoy volunteering there and I love to wander around there...once I'm there. I have a regular docent shift on Saturday afternoon, and usually I don't have any problem with going to cover that shift. It's the bloom recording that makes me drag my heels. It's best if I leave directly from work to go record blooms because it's much closer to the garden than if I come home first. If I come home, I mostly just want to stay home. Sometimes I think about going to record blooms and I don't feel excited, but I committed to do it, so I do it. Once I am at the garden though, I push open the visitor center doors to enter the courtyard and the beauty and the scents hits me. I walk up the path to the Children's Garden and marvel about all the new plants that are blooming, different from the previous week. I feel sad when plants I know were blooming last week are done with their blooming time, but I feel happy when I see new plants bursting with color. After I'm done looking at all the plants in the Children's Garden, I walk through the rest of the garden and as I make my way back to the visitor center, I always think, "That was pretty great."

#2013 walking in circles

I've had stuff to do in the evening last night and tonight, so I haven't been able to get to the gym. Since I am determined to not make a payment on my Apple watch this month, I have to get those 10,000 steps in for my 10 points. Fortunately the weather has been nice the past couple of days, so I have taken a walk outside on the track at my office during lunch break.

There is something sort of meditative about walking around the track. I turn on some music and just walk. I don't think about anything other than the music. I focus on the lyrics. It's restful for my mind and good for my body, so win-win!

Last night was the final discussion in the Twitter book club I joined. I thoroughly enjoyed participating in that group and I liked the book very much also! Can't wait to find out what the next book will be.

Tonight MT and I are going to the Jazz game. We haven't been to a game for awhile, so I'm extremely happy to be able to go! Here's hoping for a win over the Pistons tonight! Go Jazz!

#1976 that video will need some editng

There is a new instructor, Miki, at the gym and I like her a whole bunch. This morning after her Zumba class, she was going to do a demonstration of a new Shakti yoga class that she will be teaching on Monday nights. I have been wanting to get back into yoga and I like Miki, so I thought I'd stick around for the demo, especially after she asked me if I would. Another lady that I see at the gym regularly, Barb, also stayed for the demo.

I put out a yoga mat over where I had been for Zumba, but Miki told me to bring my mat over closer to hers. She also pulled Barb's mat right over next to mine. The mats were pretty close together. About that time, Lisa, another one of the instructors walks in. She's wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Right after that, another instructor, Anthony, came in. He was also wearing non-workout clothes.  Lisa says, "Oh great! Are you two okay with being filmed? Let's get going Anthony!"

Wait. Did she say filmed? What?

"What?" I say.

"Oh, we're just going to make a little video to put on the website to get people to come to the class," Lisa says brightly.

Let me just reset the scene here for you, friends. There's Miki, a lovely, small, fit and toned Hawaiian woman with gorgeous long hair and a beautiful smile. There's Barb, a tall, willowy blond with amazing cheekbones and a lean dancer's body. And then there's me. I found myself humming this Sesame Street ditty:

Anthony takes out his iPhone and says that he is ready for us to start. He zooms in on me and Barb and then steps back to get all three of us in the frame. Miki tells us to sit on our mats and she asks Lisa to turn on the music. It's very upbeat and not at all yoga-y. Miki begins to move her arms and bounce her knees and flow with the music. I try to keep up, very aware of my flappy arms and the fact that my knees don't quite want to bend into the akimbo position we are in. Anthony keeps moving around.

 Miki is now standing up and wiggling her hips, arms straight out like she's on a surfboard. She looks amazing. Barb looks amazing. I look like I'm convulsing. A few different positions take place, including cat/cow which is done on the knees. I can't/won't be on my knees because the scar tissue and the parts feel weird. It feels sort of like a low voltage jolt of electricity when I try to be on my knees. I don't like it and I won't do it. So I just sat there, basically ruining the video, not that I hadn't already made it awful earlier. Oh well. (I apologized to Miki when it was all done.)

I think they will probably make another demo on Monday after the regular yoga class. I heard Lisa, Anthony and Miki talking about it while I was putting my stupid yoga mat away and getting my stuff. They were all super nice and said thanks a bunch of times, but I left feeling a little humiliated and out of my league. Miki's Shakti yoga was unlike any yoga I've ever done. It was high energy with constant movement. It will probably be fun, but I was sort of caught off guard by the whole thing.

If they end up putting any part of the video out, I may let you know, but I think it's pretty doubtful. It would probably take way too much editing to make it usable, although I'm pretty sure there's at least one image of me smiling maniacally as I tried to follow along. They could probably use that with the caption: "If she can do it, so can you!"

Ugh.

Have a great weekend!

#1944 3 things: Snap Judgement live, these shoes don't match, and the beauty of fall

Yes! I have three things to tell you about today!

1. Snap Judgement Live was amazing. Last night MT and I went to the beautiful Eccles Theater to watch storytellers in action. Snap Judgement is a program on National Public Radio that I've been listening to for the past couple of year. The show bills itself as "storytelling with a beat" because there is often music playing in the background as the stories are being told. In the live show, the band Bells Atlas is the live band that plays during the storytelling. There were five storytellers plus the host, Glynn Washington. Washington told a couple of shorter stories during the evening, and each of the others told one longer story. I thought they were all very good, but I especially liked the two women, Joyce Lee and Jen Kober. I liked Joyce's story about the difference between being chosen and being the chooser. I thought it was a good message. Jen Kober was just flat-out hilarious. Her delivery, her body language, and the story itself was perfection. Don Reed's story had me laughing and crying at different parts of the story. The whole show was everything I imagined it would be. I'm so glad we went.

Because we were out late, this morning things just didn't work out well for me.

2. These shoes don't match. My plan this morning was to go to Zumba class at the gym, then go over to Weight Watchers. I got up around 8:30 and the class starts at 9:00, so I had to hurry. I got dressed, then I put my gym shoes in my bag along with some socks and some other stuff and I headed out the door. I got to the gym just in time to sit down and change my shoes and socks. As I'm putting on my right shoe, I think to myself, "Huh. I never noticed that the tongue of my gym shoe is just like the tongue of my cycling shoe." I get up and walk into the class and my gait sounds something like step clomp step clomp. I look down at my shoes and sure enough, that right shoe with the tongue like my cycling shoe actually IS MY CYCLING SHOE. The two pairs of shoes sit right next to each other on my closet shelf. I didn't even turn on the closet light this morning and I just grabbed two shoes, one from each pair. You cannot Zumba in a cycling shoe because it is a very hard slick sole and metal clips. Yep. I was on my way out when Lisa, the instructor, told me I was going the wrong way. I explained about my shoes and she busted out laughing. She doubled over a little bit and said she had done the same thing.

These shoes are not the same

All was not lost. When I came home, I put on one pair of shoes and walked to Weight Watchers, so I still got in a little movement and I gave myself a good chuckle this morning.

3. I love fall. I've said it before and I'll say it again, October is just about my favorite month. I love the colors and the changing light of the autumn. I have a love/hate thing with Halloween. I love/hate the decorations and the costumes and the candy. Here's a couple of photos that I took that sums it up.

Red Butte Garden

The Clown Houses on Brud St.

Have a good day y'all!

Go Utes!

#1942 make it fit

A few months ago I was chatting with one of the instructors, Lisa, over at my gym. We were talking about exercise and why we do it. I mentioned something about exercising to look good in clothes and about to fit into old clothes I haven't worn for awhile. I remember that she got really excited about my statement and said she wanted to devise a contest around the theme, about being able to fit into an old favorite piece of clothing.

Now she has done it! She calls it the "Make It Fit Challenge." The idea is that you have four months to exercise and eat right and fit back into some piece of clothing. She has photos of people with their non-fitting clothes. The people are just holding their clothing - they are not in the embarrassing position of actually trying to clothes on in the photo that is on display for all to see. (That would be cruel!)  I haven't signed up for the challenge so I don't know all the details.

I have a pair of jeans that I used to wear that I really liked. They were my favorite jeans. I kept them because I used to fit in them and I would like to fit in them again. I pulled them out of storage in January 2016, I think, along with a cute shirt that I used to love. My goal was to be able to wear them by my birthday that year. Didn't happen in 2016. Didn't happen in 2017 either, but I was probably closer in June 2017 than June 2016.

Those jeans and that shirt are still hanging up in my closet. Maybe tomorrow I'll try them on and see how close I am to being able to wear them without squeezing and sucking and hoping a button doesn't pop. It's my own personal little measuring stick; a non-scale victory in the parlance of Weight Watchers.

Updates to follow...

#1937 Saturday with Sandy

I got up around 6:20 this morning to get to the 7AM cycling class at the gym. It's kinda hard to get up and get moving on a cold, dark Saturday morning, but I did it and I was glad. After class I came home, cleaned up the kitchen, showered, dressed and headed over to the WW meeting. I like the 10AM group. I like the 8AM group too, but there are usually three or four people who do all the talking and I am looking for different perspectives. I speak up more at the 10AM class. It's a nice group.

My plan was to get a chai latte from Starbucks after the meeting, but the drive-thru line was out the driveway, so I had to skip the chai. I hadn't eaten and was super hungry, but my hair appointment was at 11:15, so there was no time to stop anywhere. I got some fresh color and a trim on my hair. Feels good! Looks good! Every girl likes a little salon time. My stylist, Lanna, is great. I've been going to her for nearly 19 years. Wonder of wonders that she is in the same salon after all that time, and even at the same station. I think she's great.

By this time, I was extremely hungry. I wasn't hangry, but I could feel it coming. I swung by Great Harvest Bread Co. to get some of their cinnamon burst bread (T and I love it!) They also give a sample slice of whatever bread they have on the cutting board and there are typically four or five to choose from. Today I got a slice of the honey sunflower wheat bread. They cut a thick slice and I smeared butter on it. Oh my goodness. I like bread. That piece of bread did not last long.

When I got home, MT was back from his half day of work. He hadn't eaten lunch (it was 2:00) so I suggested that we head over to Copper Creek Pub, a little locally owned sports bar in our neighborhood that we enjoy. I had the bacon bleu burger along with a Full Suspension pale ale and it all hit the spot. I was/am so full!

After lunch I had to take a shower to rinse off all the little hairs that had got stuck on my t-shirt and were rubbing my back. I also rinsed my hair because that's what I do after a haircut. Lanna fixed it really cute, but didn't really feel or look like me. MT went downstairs to watch TV and I sat on my bed to watch the Yankees/Astros game and promptly fell asleep for a little while. I woke up just in time to see the Astros win on a great hit and awesome base running  in the bottom of the ninth inning. Go Astros! You know, my favorite teams are the Padres and any team playing the Yankees.

Now I'm headed downstairs to take over the big TV from MT. The Utes are playing at USC at 6PM. I don't know how confident I feel in the Utes tonight, but I'll watch and cheer for them anyway. I have a couple of Corona Lights in the fridge that I can have in case the game and my emotions get out of hand.

Go Utes!

#1936 feed the beast

The class I took at the gym tonight is called Power Tone. It is a strength training class. We lift weights and do blasts of cardio in between sets. We do the same exercises every time: squats, lunges, push ups, bicep curls, tricep work, etc, but every week the instructor manages to make it completely different from the time before. The instructor's name is Heather is she is this incredibly fit blond lady who is also super nice and fantastically positive and an overall awesome person. I can't say that I sweat harder in her class than in any other class because honestly, I am a sweat-ball. It's not pretty. I am quite gross by the time I leave the gym.

At the end of class tonight, I was quivering. We worked every single body part and all of my muscles and wobbly bits were quivering. I'm surprised I was able to make it out to the car without sort of collapsing. I don't feel sore tonight, but I'm sure there will be some stiffness tomorrow. I'm always surprised at myself when I complete a hard workout like that. I am not a physically strong person. My upper body strength is minimal. My legs are pretty strong but I carry some extra weight (to put it kindly) so I have to work extra hard.

The cool thing is that my knees feel fine after my workouts. I don't have the soreness and the pain that I used to have. When my knees hurt is after I've been sitting for awhile and they stiffen up or when they are cold. It's not really pain; it would be more accurate to say that they are stiff and don't straighten or bend as freely as normal. I usually just rub them to get them warmed back up and get the blood flowing back through them and I feel better.

So after tonight's tough workout, what do I do? I was all shaky and quivery and my stomach was growling and all I could think of was I NEED A TACO! I went over to Del Taco and got exactly what I wanted and I feel slightly guilty about that choice, but supremely satisfied.

Sometimes you just gotta get what you gotta get.

#1902 three things: breakfast, hiking and closing the circles

1. Breakfast. Today started a bit unusually. My sister Lizzie had a two hour layover here in Salt Lake for a flight to Detroit (where she is visiting a friend). She asked me yesterday if I wanted to meet her at the airport and hang out a little. I said I'd bring breakfast. So this morning I hit McDonalds for a couple of breakfast sandwiches and bottles of water and met my sister around 9:30. We sat outside - it was warm, but it's a dry heat - and ate our breakfast and chatted. It was fun and different and I was glad to be there.

2. Hiking. What is the difference between a hike and walk? Is a hike just a walk, but with elevation? Maybe, but it also has to do with the type of terrain. A walk is mainly in urban areas on concrete or asphalt. A hike is on a more natural path or trail. (I always wondered.) Today the temperature in the valley was around 100 degrees and I really wanted to go for a walk. MT suggested we head up to the mountains where it was bound to be at least ten to twenty degrees cooler. We settled on hiking above the Alta ski area around Albion Basin on a trail known as Catherine Pass. I was looking for a hike that was fairly easy, that I hadn't done before and that was around three miles total.

We ended up hiking about 2.5 miles round trip. There was still some snow on the trail, and when we were pretty close to the top there was quite a big patch of snow to cross and I didn't want to do it. The trail was a pretty steady climb, not steep, but definitely steady. There was an elevation gain of nearly 850 feet, so going up I was huffing and puffing and stopping fairly often. On the way down it was a matter of watching where I put my feet and staying upright. The knees held up great and I felt good overall. The hike took us about an hour and 45 minutes (I'm slow).

MT was right about the temperature. It was in the low to mid 80s, so it was still warm but the breeze sure felt good. When we were coming back down, the afternoon storm clouds were gathering over the Wasatch Mountains. We made it back to the car just as some raindrops sprinkled the windshield. As we came down the mountain back into the valley, the sun was still super hot and the temperature was, in fact, 102 degrees.

Here are a couple of pics that MT took:

 I am standing on snow on 2 July.

I'm not sure why this photo is kinds of filmy. I think MT put his finger on the lens and it smudged.

3. Closing the circles. I got an Apple watch through my work. We have a healthy lifestyle program called Vitality and they offer an Apple watch as an incentive to exercise and better health. I had to pay $57 for the set-up. Each month I have to pay $13 or less, depending on whether I achieve the healthy activity goals that have been determined for me according to my height and weight. 

There are three goals which are represented by circles on my Apple watch. The smallest circle represents a "standing up" goal. You may have heard that sitting is the new smoking. My fun new watch tells me to stand up every hour, if I haven't already, and it keeps track of the times that I stand. My goal is to stand up 12 times a day, so once an hour for 12 hours. It seems like it should be easy, but when you're watching a movie, for example, you probably don't stand up in the middle of it when you're in the theater. Overall, it is an easy goal though.

The second goal is represented by the second biggest circle. It is a 30 minute exercise goal. The activity doesn't have to be all at once, but throughout the day, you should rack up 30 minutes of activity that gets your heart beating faster than normal. 

The third goal is the biggest circle and the most difficult to complete. It is the move goal which differs from the exercise goal in that it monitors the amount of active calories that you burn and also the total number of steps you take in a day. You may have heard that walking 10,000 steps/day is good for you. I don't know for sure about that, but it is a target to try to reach. If you are walking 10,000 steps, you're not sitting around, right? The tricky part of the third circle is the amount of active calories being burned. I don't know how the watch figures it out, but I'm going with it. My goal is 650 active calories, which is a lot because I'm a big girl. It takes effort for me to burn that many active calories. There are some days, like when I'm at the gym, that I succeed pretty handily. Other days, like yesterday, were much harder and I found myself marching in place in my bathroom at 11:30 trying to get the last 15 calories burned. (I did it!) Today my active calorie total was a smoking hot 1,378 calories and I think 1,200 of them were burned during the hike. So that's awesome. 

How does this all relate to paying for the watch? Well, every time I close my circles, I get 10 points from Vitality. 10 is the maximum number of points you can earn each day. During the month, I have to get 250 points in order to pay nothing for the Apple watch. As you know, there are 31 days in July meaning there are potentially six days that I could slack off and not get the points . Since I have some a couple of trips planned this month, I cannot afford to do much slacking which is why we went for the big hike today. It is possible to get just five points from Vitality, but those little five point workouts don't count toward the 250 points. GAH! So much pressure! And I have to do this for two years?!? 

The upside is that potentially I will lose some weight from all this activity, or at least possibly some inches. As I've said before, you can work out all you want, but if you don't control what you feed yourself, you're not gonna lose the weight. Exercise has lots of great benefits, but weight loss is mostly about what you eat. 

This post turned out to be a little longer than I planned, but you're caught up with what I'm thinking about tonight. 

Happy July everyone!

#1896 three things: the 100 page rule, gym clothes and my new planner

1. The 100 page rule. I like to read and I will read just about anything but some books are more to my taste than others. Many years ago, I asked MT if he always finished a book. He said that he had a 100 page rule: if the book hadn't drawn him in by page 100, he would give up on it. I thought that was sound advice and I followed it for a long time. Lately, though, I have forgotten the 100 page rule and I suffered through a couple of books that I should have abandoned. Interestingly, while I was reading the latest John Grisham book, Camino Island, two of the characters were having the exact conversation that MT and I had. One of the characters actually had a 50 page rule and justified it like this:

"...I've never understood people who grind through a book they don't really like, determined to finish it for some unknown reason...[she] would toss a book after the first chapter, then pick it up and grumble and growl for four hundred pages until the bitter end..."

Oh my gosh! I grumbled and growled through Truly Madly Guilty and then Sweetbitter knowing I didn't like them after 100 pages, but finishing them anyway, I am heeding John Grisham and MT's advice. The 100 page rule is in effect FOREVER!

2. Gym clothes. I have purchased a four week pass to take classes at the gym and today I updated my gym clothes wardrobe. My clothes were outdated and sort of sloppy-looking and it was a bad look. Now I will have clothes more like the other ladies wear. It's more fun to have cute gym clothes! 

3. My new planner. It's the last week of June! I started using the the new adorable Erin Condren planner that Lizzie got me for my birthday. I feel like I've had the planner forever and have just been waiting for June 26 to come along so I can start using it. I have written in the future appointments and events that I know about, like my dentist appointment and haircut and vacations. This is going to sound terribly nerdy, but I even bought a couple of new pens to go with the planner. (heehee) Honestly it is such a totally simple pleasure for me. It doesn't hurt anyone and it gives me joy. There is no harm in that at all!

~~~~~~

Check out the 2107 Reading List page for my thoughts on these two books that I read.