The Friday Funnies

What are you willing to lengthen your workout for?

Personally, I have a jones for many things. Who would have thunk it, right?

I like Kashi's TLC (Tasty Little Cereal) Bars. I also dig Crisp 'n light Wasa crackers which I usually adorn with Sabra Red Roasted Hummus.









What's your Achilles' heel? What do you stock up on?

To See A Belly Dancer

Several of my coworkers said that I looked spring-like so I took the opportunity to pose for another staged photo.

Do you see a collarbone? Do you, hunh?

That's the March Shape magazine in my hand but if you get a chance to, you should check out the April issue. Diane over at Fit To The Finish is profiled in that issue.

And, back to the workplace, yet another colleague stopped me in the hall.

Colleague: Do you like belly dancing?

Me: I've never tried it.

I'm so into exercise right now that my mind went straight to belly dancing classes. Only, she was talking about going to see a belly dancer. She then handed me a menu. Um, no thanks. I'm not going to see a belly dancer while noshing on fried falafel, baklava and onion rings but I wish the new restaurant well.


I went to Cardio and Muscle class today. Found out that Kate, the instructor, is 20 years old. No wonder she is kicking my butt. I'm almost old enough to be her very nice auntie. By the way, the oldest person in our class is 63. Cool.

I wish that I had had enough sense when I was 20 years old to be serious about exercising. What can I say? There's no experience like bought experience.

I stopped by Big Lots on a whim after exercise class and they had my beloved Wasa crackers in stock. They have not had them in ages and they are way more expensive in the grocery store.


I was like Santa Claus when I emerged and, really, I should have purchased more.

Eyes On The Thighs

I was heading out to lunch to have my usual turkey sandwich, hummus, Wasa crackers and baked chips when one of my colleagues pulled out of the alley. I've worked with her for over five years but she said, at that moment, she almost didn't recognize me, wanted to know how much weight I had lost and couldn't believe that I wanted to lose more weight (a recurring theme lately).

Sometimes I forget how much weight I've lost but, yes, I have lost a significant amount of weight but being up close and personal with the mirror yesterday was also a reality check. My BMI is still in the obese range and I still have some heft to contend with but contend with I will.

I took it to the StairMaster today -- sore behind and all. I climbed for 45 minutes, came home and stretched for ten then soaked with some Epsom Salt in the mix.

Speaking of contenders, I love this Dayquil commercial featuring Apolo Ohno. I also have a thing for super heroes. Possibly my need to believe that good conquers all...



I love the thighs on the speed skaters and I love to watch them do that side exercise they do, with and without the special belt that is used. And here's a video that showcases what it takes to be an Olympic speed skater which, in the end, just makes me want to push myself harder.



If the video doesn't work, here's the link .

You Should Be Drinking Not Climbing or Month-End Review, December

One of my friends was taunting me by waving a bowl of Hershey's chocolate in my vicinity; she, essentially, beckoned me in a voice that said chill out about the sweet stuff.

I decided to retaliate in my own little way and asked her if she wanted to go rock climbing after our half day at work. She looked at me in horror when another associate actually voiced his horror. You should be drinking not climbing. Oh well, to each his or her own.

Plus, the taunter failed to realize that Hershey's would not make me cave. Kinder Bueno? Yes. Hershey's? No...

As I was belaying for Jessica, one of the Upper Limits folks came to give us the countdown to closure. What? We thought the gym was closing at 4 p.m. instead of 2 p.m. Can you say rock climbing interruptus?

Before I left the gym, though, I was able to make it up the 5.8 Face Plant route. So, I'm able to climb that route on every other outing. Ha.

I headed to the bank with the intention of going from there straight to the gym and squeaking in because, clearly, I hadn't worked out enough but, dang it, I didn't have my tennis shoes.

I headed by the house, ate a few Wasa crackers and hummus and headed back out. When I got to the gym, there were no signs about early closure and I was told that there would be no early closure. Hmmm, I could potentially play Biggest Loser contestant and really get my exercise in today.

When I got to the locker room, I discovered that I did not have my MP3 player. Ironically, I did not have the energy to put on my street clothes and go back to the car to retrieve my tunes. I blame my misplaced MP3 player on too many bags: bag with rock climbing gear, bag with work gear and another gym bag with my regular workout stuff. I did a little self-talk and told myself that I could gut it out for at least 30 minutes without the television or music. Almost the whole time, It Takes Two, was on loop in my head. It's all the fault of that goofy little flick, The Proposal.

Here's how things played out this month. I deliberately set aside more time for stretching which felt good...

10 Minute Solution: Fitness Ball Workouts (Upper Body), 1 x

10 Minute Solution: Kickbox Bootcamp (Fat Burning Blast), 1 x

10 Minute Solution: Tone Trouble Zones! (Stretching), 3 x's

10 Minute Solution: Yoga (Flexibility and Relaxation), 1 x

Adaptive Motion Trainer, 3 x's

Crunch: Candlelight Yoga, 1 x

Drills To Make You Sweat (Class), 1 x

Rock Climbing, 6 x's

StairMaster, 3 x's

Stationary Bike, 1 x

Step and Muscle (Class), 3 x's

Swimming, 6 x's

Treadmill (with bouts of jogging), 14 x's

Best sound of the day: Primal screams from a female lead climber as she made an ascent.

Honorable mention: Me. I'm told that I was making Serena Williams-like sounds going up the Face Plant route.

Phrase of the day: Amazonian Toes -- a male to his female friend after a discussion about rock climbing shoes.


And the song of the day?????????

The Fine Art of Packing Lunch

I was packing as if I was going out of town this morning (crackers, hummus, turkey sandwich, watermelon and yogurt). I had to attend a training session and knew that there would be Papa John's for lunch. I was packing my snacks and lunch when I had a small dilemma. What was I to do with my delicate Wasa crackers?

I didn't want to put them in with the food that required refrigeration and I knew that they would get crushed in my satchel.

Bubble wrap popped into my mind. I went looking for the clear stuff and found the perfect Wasa carrier.

Voilà!