Weekend(s) Update

Some things, some photos:

1) I tried my very first Zumba class ever this past Friday. I've been tired of jogging (and thus, haven't been doing it), and looking for some new activities to supplement/take its place. Zumba is something I've wanted to try for a while - I like music, I like dancing, and this combines both of those with calorie-burning purpose. During the class, there was little to no instruction, just a solid hour of me doing my best to watch the instructor and make my arms and legs do what her arms and legs were doing. I was only semi-successful. I'm sure I looked unhappy the whole time, but it was really just my intense concentration on attempting some form of coordinated movement. I liked it, but it kicked my butt. Also, with the exception of one other person, I was the youngest participant by at least 15 years. And I ain't no spring chicken anymore - in fact, my half birthday was yesterday (come on, it's a thing), putting me officially closer to 36 than 35 (and also closer to 40, and also death).

2) I may have neglected to mention that I downgraded my Weight Watcher's membership several months ago... not because I achieved GOAL WEIGHT, but because I just wasn't going, and it seemed a waste of $40 a month. Well, this weekend, I signed back up again, and today I attended my first WW meeting (I tell the kids they are my "learning how to be healthy" classes) in at least 6 months. It is needed. I have fallen WAY off the "eating responsibly" bandwagon. I'm trying a new meeting day and time, because my last one was at 8:45 on Saturday mornings, and after a while, lounging around drinking coffee began to win out over getting dressed and scooting out the door to step on a scale in front of someone. We'll see how it goes. As with the Zumba class, I was younger than most of the participants by a LOT. I may not find a new "couple" or "mom" friend among the group, but I'd probably do well if I was in the market for a bridge partner.

Also, there was a man in a kilt there.

Side note: I must say, I still tend to feel "young" a lot in general. When will that stop? I've been with my office for almost 7 years, and yet a lot of times I still feel like a kid fresh out of grad school in the eyes of others. I'm not the youngest, but I FEEL that way a lot. Will that ever end?

3) In a final fitness-related note, I bought a copy of Jillian Anderson's 30-day shred - in fact, I ordered it the same day I re-signed up with Weight Watcher's, the morning after I spent a couple of uncomfortable hours in my "but these just fit me a couple of months ago, I swear" jeans. I previewed it this morning, because Finn insisted he wanted to try it (he saw the DVD cover in the kitchen, and when I evaded his questions about the midriff-baring photo on it by telling him it was a workout video to help me "get stronger so I can do more fun stuff with you," he became obsessed with doing it himself). He begged to watch it at 8 am, and since I hadn't had even a drop of coffee yet, I put it on and let him go it alone. He did pretty well, actually, though his form could use some improvement :-). Lucy was there, too, but dropped off to go color after about 3 minutes. Smart girl. Dude, I wish I had the stamina of a nearly 6-year-old. M. and I did the workout tonight after the kids were in bed (yes, I am making M. do this with me - he's been complaining of so many aches and pains that his old-man-ass clearly needs to work on regaining some core strength and flexibility from his lost youth), and it completely kicked our butts. I'm surprised I'm even able to type this many words, as all of my arm muscles are exhausted. I guess the finger muscles are not a target in level one.

The gist is that it's a 20-minute workout that you can do with only a set of small arm weights. My thinking was, if I can't fit in 20 minutes to workout, something is wrong with my lifestyle. But it is called the "30-Day Shred," so I'm guessing that I'm supposed to actually do this every day for a month. Wish me luck - I have a feeling that Days 2 and 3 are going to be excrutiating.

4) We went apple-picking last weekend:

5) We also bought an inflatable bounce house. Perhaps not the most practical purchase for a family with a postage stamp-sized backyard, but we did it anyway. Why, you may ask? In our area (probably in LOTS of areas), we have been invaded by a number of inflatable bounce house businesses. These places are all the rage with the 8 or 9 and younger crowd for birthday parties - we have been to at least 10 in the last 2 years. They are all pretty similar - two separate rooms with different things you can bounce in/climb on, plus a couple of party rooms for pizza and cake. Finn and Lucy have both begged at various times to have birthday parties at one of these places. The catch? They are over $300 a pop for a 2-hour party, and that does NOT include the pizza and cake.

Um, no.

So for $199, we bought our own bounce house. One that we can use as many times as we want (or until the kids break it).

Finn DOES have a birthday coming up (my baby! Is turning 6!), so we will hopefully use it during his party. Though my track record with weather and outdoor parties is terrible. But the nice thing is that this is a gift for BOTH kids, and even better? It actually ENTERTAINS both of them. For a REALLY, REALLY long time. It's a total jackpot. Yesterday M. and I sat outside on our patio and watched the two of them bounce for nearly two hours, while we drank Octoberfest beer, read, listened to music, and did other generally adult things. There was some minor policing of conflict, but all in all, a relaxing way to spend an afternoon.

And now we have lots and lots of pictures that look like minor variations on this:

I've already written more and stayed up later than I intended to. Time to get these sore muscles off to bed!