Wow.

If you want to make yourself feel horrible.. take a picture of yourself with just a sports bra and capri's on. I shed a few tears.

But, I've resolved to do something about it. I set it as my background on my computer (so I can see that I don't want to look like that anymore) and Jillian and I have a date each night.

I did my first night of The 30-day Shred. Seriously, Jillian is going to kick my @$$. I'm pretty sure I walked upstairs and told hubby that I hated her already. Of course, it's a good hate.

Here's to getting my body back!

Pole Dancing...

Pole dancing... Sounds pretty crude, doesn't it? I'm sure you're all imagining a skinny version of me stripping and being really klassy. Well, turns out those ladies are on to something. It's an AMAZING work out. I could barely get out of bed the next day because my abs were not used to working out that much.

It's basically a step up from Pilate's and yoga, combining those techniques with dancing. I'll admit, I was pretty skeptical about it before going.. now I can't wait to go back and dance some more.

Sure, it had some "sexual" moves.. but there was not a guy in sight and about 10 overweight/under worked out gals attempting to dance. For those of us who vomit get annoyed with the idea of working out, it's a great work out. It's ideal for those ladies, like myself, who break out in hives at the thought of working out. Especially those with workout ADHD (you know, can't stand to do one activity for more than .6387 seconds).

It's okay, you can go back to picturing me dancing on a pole. Just make sure it's the skinny version you're imagining.

School, School, and more School!

Okay, my life has officially gotten boring. I feel like all I do is go to school, come home and work on school work for regular school, then do more school work for my grad class. I'm not sure this is what I had in mind when I said I wanted my master's in two and a half years. I love school, I really do. I just don't think I love school as much when I'm teaching full time and taking two classes. Yuck.

On a brighter note, I got some exercise today (which totally means I can now have a second helping of dessert, right?) and actually sort of enjoyed myself. Shhhhh! Don't tell hubby. He'll think I should do it more often.

Curious as to what kind of exercise I got? I rode my bike! I have a fabulous bike and there's just something about going for a bike ride when your bike rides like a BMW. Not too shabby considering I used to ride a bike that was 12 years old and squeaked when I used the brakes. There's just nothing like feeling the wind in your face. I was actually taken back in time to a day when I used to enjoy riding my bike daily. The weird part? I felt like I was going really fast. Come to find out, I wasn't. Shucks. Oh well... nothing says I have to be the fastest bike rider (just the cutest!).

Thanks for letting me use you as a great break from my grad papers! You are such a distraction, Blog.

Sunday "workout"

Okay, so hubby and I have been talking about doing Tai Chi at the gym since we joined (two years ago..) and just haven't gotten around to it. Since hubby is training for the marathon, he's looking for other things to do to keep him stretched. We totally thought Tai Chi would be for us. You know, relaxing, stretching, deep breathing. Fun, right?

Maybe if you don't mind not talking for an hour (which I CANNOT do!) and trying not to make eye contact with your husband for fear that you'll break down into a fit of laughter.

I'm sure it's great for some people, but it's not for us. We're not all about the slow-motion martial arts, finding our "chi", and deep breathing. I spent the whole time wondering if I could find my chi even though I wasn't breathing correctly. At least we had a good laugh AND he took me to breakfast!

A side story... yesterday, hubby comes into the house and tells me that something is wrong with his car. I immediately panic (because that's what I do) and think, "Crap! Ashley just spent like $1,000 on her car.. we can't be doing that!" So I ask him what's up. He explains that when he stops, especially suddenly, there's a loud clanking sound. Crap! That can't be good, right? Breaks shouldn't clank. I tell him we'll keep an eye on it and if it continues, we'll have to take it in.

Later on in the day, we're heading to the store in his car. He reminds me to listen for the noise. Well, we break and I hear it. But it totally sounds like it's inside the car and not coming from the car itself. I reach under his seat and pull out.... a HANGER! Yes, a plastic hanger.

I about died laughing and proudly proclaimed, "That's blog-worthy babe!" and he gave me permission to tease him on here. He's so wonderful.

Aerobics

I LOVED the aerobics class! The neighbor and I headed over to the gym to try a half/half class. It was half aerobics and half muscle conditioning. It kicked my butt, but it was totally fun! I have never done aerobics and kind of thought it was reserved for the *ahem* elderly. Turns out, it's not! It was quite a work out. Plus, we finished up with sit-ups, push-ups, and some leg work outs. I totally got my cardio and strength training done in one session. Awesome for me!

On the other hand... I went with cute little neighbor girl who doesn't sweat and looks fabulous doing all the moves. Me? I look stupid and sweat like a fat cow.

To prove my point? Hubby rolled by the studio to check in on me (he was worried about the knee...) and when he came home he was like, "I saw you in class! You looked a little confused... Has C done it before? She looked like she had it under control." Nice. Ah well... so I looked a little stupid, at least I wasn't barfing in the corner. Maybe next week I'll actually figure out the moves that confused me.

The good news? I found something I liked... which means maybe now I'll shed some of the pounds I've packed on. Next up? Tai Chi tomorrow with the hubby. He's going to put me to shame, too. He's all super-athletic boy in everything he does. I'm just athletic girl in basketball, volleyball, and softball. Him? Everything he tries. Damn.