Living Active

Ballroom Dancing - Swing

2012-01-27T09:27:00.000-08:00

The theme in dance class this week seems to have been swing. Hubby and I went to our private lesson at Arthur Murray and our very friendly teacher informed us that she was going to teach us 3 more dances: Hustle, Tango, Swing. Exciting right? Well, yes if all you want to learn is to move your feet in the right places without taking music, rhythm, turns, or any other topic around what makes dancing fun into consideration. In 30 mins, she spent 10 mins on each basic foot pattern. For example.

Tango
In the tango, the basic foot pattern is so simple that I hope you can understand what a waste of 10mins it was. The lead or the man will take 3 forward steps starting with his left followed by a step together. Left, right, left, step together. And the leader or the woman will simply follow so she takes 3 steps back starting with her right foot then step together. Simple. Ridiculously simple. Yet she spent 10 mins on it when she could have easily taught us a simple turn or something else in that time.

Because I don't trust that you understand just how simple it was with my description....here's a video to demonstrate exactly what we did for 10 mins.

That's it! That's it! Seriously! That was IT! I ran out of patience after the first minute.

Hustle
I really don't even feel it necessary to discuss the hustle because the steps she taught us for that are exactly the same as the simplest version of the single time east coast swing. For the man, it's sway left, sway right, rock step with the left foot. For the woman, it's exactly the same but opposite sides since we're facing one another. I don't know about you but I've seen Saturday Night Fever and what they did doesn't look anything like the east coast swing basic.

This is the hustle:

This is what we learned for the hustle lesson:

West Coast Swing
Then she taught us the West Coast Swing basic. This she actually got relatively correct but with a small variation to the video below. Instead of the triple step demonstrated below, our brilliant instructor at Arthur Murray told us to tap a toe behind us. I'm sure it's not horrifically incorrect or anything but just different.

Now that our private lessons at Arthur Murray are over, I have to say that I'm glad. We still have the one group class we can attend from our introductory offer. I'm sure we will take that group class sometime in the near future though I'm not confident that it will change my opinion of the dance center or their methods. Overall, I wouldn't recommend Arthur Murray unless you have a lot of money to blow and don't really care about learning to do any real dancing anytime soon. At the end of our second private lesson, we were quoted $144 per 40min private lesson with an 8 lesson commitment that can be used at our discretion. Personally, I didn't feel that the two 30mins lessons we got were worth the $60 we paid, but that's just me. Two thumbs down for sure.

Washington Dance Club
Last night, we attended our last group class at Washington Dance Club and all we had was hope after the Arthur Murray disappointment. Well, we were not disappointed again. Our teacher at WA Dance Club, Christa Quackenbush (who is also the owner btw) did a little review of our previous lesson with the waltz. She reviewed all the fun stuff we learned last time which was great because we actually now have enough knowledge to enjoy a real social dance if a waltz song comes on or if we attend a wedding or something like that. Hubby was dancing me all over that ballroom and it was wonderful and fun and I loved every second of it.

Then our fabulous teacher decided to do a bit of swing dancing too. She focused on east coast swing to get us started. More specifically, she focused on single time east coast swing which is the video I displayed above as the lesson we got for the hustle from the other stupid school. But instead of just doing the simple sway right, sway left, rock step and nothing else, she started there but then progressed into actual turns so we can use it to build upon to do real dancing in the real world. And as if that wasn't enough, she also showed us the triple time east coast swing too. See below for all the fun.

This shows the single time and triple time basics in closed position.

This shows the turns and changing places in triple time.

Our group classes at Washington Dance Club are also now over, however, because of the snow last week, we have a coupon to attend a Friday or Sunday night workshop and social dance to make up for the lost class. It is sad that our dance month was interrupted by the snow because we were going to learn the cha-cha last week and didn't get a chance to do that. But! We fully intend to continue going to Washington Dance Club for their Friday night workshops and dances and maybe even sign up for other lessons so we can learn more than we did this month. I love how they focus their classes. Each class is dedicated to one particular dance so you have the time and attention to learn more than just the basic footwork and can actually practice and apply what you learned at the dances. Brilliant! We haven't seen the last of this dance school even though there are others out there that can be considered as well.

If you have taken a dance lesson or two and decided it wasn't for you, I would highly recommend you give it another try at a different school or with a different teacher because not all classes, teachers, schools are created equal. I would have given up after the Arthur Murray experience too if I hadn't already had positive experiences before going there to know that learning to ballroom dance can be and is extremely fun, especially after you make it past the uneventful basic footwork. I really am grateful that I signed us up for the Washington Dance Club too because I would have been severely disappointed if I relied on the one negative experience.

Ballroom Dancing Week 4

2012-01-25T10:20:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to demonstrate that I haven't forgotten about my commitment and I'm still doing the damn thing.

This month has gone by much faster than I expected. Last week was pretty much a bust because of the snowmageddon that took place in my area but not all was lost. Nope. Our Arthur Murray lessons were rescheduled to today. And the Washington Dance Club lesson was cancelled and not rescheduled but...the owner is giving us a coupon for a Friday night workshop and the social dance that follows so we can still take advantage of that.

There you have it. I'll post more about tonight's lesson, tomorrow's group class, dance costumes, etc.

Snow Day

2012-01-19T14:08:00.000-08:00

Well, it appears as if Seattle and the Puget Sound area where I live and work and dance has been hit with the great winter storm of 2012 or so the news people are calling it. Much of the surrounding Seattle area has received 6-8 inches of snow in the past couple days so the world as I know it has come to a grinding halt. Roads are icy and covered in slush, trees are down from the weight of the freezing rain and snow, power is out all over. It's complete chaos. Not really but we're not used to this type of weather up here in the rainy northwest so when we get any trace of snow, we freak out.

You know what the interesting thing about this week is?

It's that just last week I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and afraid that I had yet again over-committed myself to activities or obligations after firmly resolving to abstain from doing that to myself any more. I was thinking that perhaps my schedule of happy, healthy, wonderful, fun things was a bit more than it needed to be. Then blamo!, we get the great winter storm of 2012 which covered all appointments and obligations in a layer of icy snow.

All dance classes have been cancelled this week either because most of the students have communicated their unwillingness or inability to attend due to the conditions or the school has closed to keep the staff and students from braving the icy roads. Either way, there is no ballroom dancing this week.

My 3 personal trainer appointments every week? Cancelled.
My physical therapy appointment for the stupid chronic back pain? Cancelled.
Arthur Murray dance classes? Cancelled
Washington Dance Club class? Cancelled
French class? Cancelled
Guitar lesson? Cancelled
Every work meeting on my calendar? Cancelled

Perhaps the universe decided that I may have had the right idea about having too much to do and decided to help me out with it, A.

So you know what I've been doing instead of all those things? I've spent the week working from home in the comfort of my jammies and fuzzy slippers. And since I've had so much time on my hands (after I'm done with all my work of course) this week, I decided to put my hands to a different kind of work. I've been knitting. Yes, that's right, I knit. My grandmother taught me just a couple months ago. Since then, I've made a dish cloth that is less than attractive, 3 fuzzy scarves, and now I've decided to try to make a slouchy beret hat by knitting in the round. After starting and pulling it out 5 times, I think I finally figured it out on the 6th try.

And for my activity? I've been walking in the snow. One of my favorite things to do is to take walks in the rain and even better in the snow. I wait until the sun goes down, then I bundle up and head outside for a nice long walk. It's best when it's dark outside because you get that perpetual dusk feeling with all the street lights and the moonlight reflecting off the snow so it's very comforting on the eyes. Plus, after the sun has gone down, people are typically home and settled in so there is no hustle nor bustle out and about. Perfect calm. Also, the snow deadens the white noise of the world so you get a sweet silence that you can't really get any other way.

Last night, hubby and I ventured out for a long walk. 2 hours later we returned home chilled and happy. We changed clothes and warmed ourselves on a nice hot cup of tea by the fire. I can't think of a better way to spend the evening after a snow day.

Food Allergies

2012-01-16T02:52:00.001-08:00

How are you bowel movements?
Are you regular?
Do you feel complete when you hehum move your bowels?

Those questions were only a few among what I had to answer not once or twice but three times recently. My nutritionist was the first to pose such questions. Then it was my magical Chinese acupuncturist followed by my naturopath.

I was happy to answer all the questions in the affirmative as all is normal in my life. But that's not something you want to know nor is it something I want to share.

In the spirit of integrative whole person naturopathic medical practices, my doc proposed that I submit my blood for a food allergy test. I've been extremely agreeable when it comes to my healthcare lately so of course I agreed to give up more blood even though I really didn't see the point of testing ME for any food allergies. I have never been allergic to anything in my life. But, according to my nutritionist, people can have a sensitivity to different foods even if it isn't obvious, if you know what I mean. And sometimes those sensitivities can impact your ability to lose weight. What, what?

So, I agreed and after a few extra pokes of the itty bitty butterfly needle because my veins are just that difficult, my awesome doc collected enough blood and sent it off to be tested. He told me it would take a couple weeks to get the results. That was just before Christmas.

Well, the results are now in. Interestingly enough, apparently I have or have had an allergic reaction to milk, beef, and lamb in particular. The results also stated that I show a sensitivity to all dairy, whole wheat, and gluten products. The news came as a surprise to me. I wouldn't think I have any of those things going on at all just by judging how I feel. But, doc suggested that I try cutting some of those things out of my diet for a few weeks then introduce them again. If I notice after introducing them that I feel sick or lethargic at all, I will know that the sensitivity is currently present.

I very rarely eat beef or lamb so those will be simple to eliminate from my diet. The problem will be the dairy products. I love cheese. I have milk in my oatmeal every day. I rely on plain yogurt as a staple snack.

Before even starting to reduce my dairy consumption I'm already feeling a void. But I've decided that I will give it a try. And I can still have goat and feta cheese so that's good news. I bought some soy milk and some almond milk to try.

I'm still not of the mind to remove gluten from my diet after reading about all the problems that can cause but I am willing to reduce the amount of gluten rich foods I consume. I've become willing to do just about anything in my power to tune up my immune system and be the healthiest person I can so we shall see how this dietary change will improve circumstances.

Ballroom Dancing - The Waltz

2012-01-13T10:10:00.000-08:00

Well here we are, in the second week of the month dedicated to ballroom dancing. I'm loving it!

Unfortunately, the week started a little slow. I wasn't feeling well on Tuesday or Wednesday so not only did I have to miss my first day back to French class, but I also had to reschedule our dance lesson at Arthur Murray. Sad.

I was feeling better yesterday though so Hubby and I joined the sea of steel coffins inching down the road toward our soon to be new neighborhood to attend our second of four group dance classes at Washington Dance Club. Traffic was horrendous but we eventually made it even if ridiculously late.

Our tardiness didn't seem to be much of a bother though because they spent the first few minutes reviewing what we had learned in class last week. We got there just in time to practice a bit of it before we started our new lesson of the week.

The Waltz

I love the waltz. It's just so romantic. If you want a dance to make you feel like a princess, the waltz is sure to deliver. Even after nearly drowning in the stress and tension of the day and still in my work clothes, I felt whisked away in the arms of my true love. Sort of like Beauty and the Beast, only Hubby is nothing like the Beast. Much less hair.

The waltz is a simple box step set to an 3 even counts. 1, 2, 3, slow, slow, slow.

Step forward on the left foot, step right with the right foot, pull left foot to meet the right, step back with the right foot, step left with the left foot, pull right foot to met the left. Rinse and repeat. See? Simple. All pictures represent the leader's foot steps. The follower gets to just follow them so when the leader steps forward with his left foot, the follower steps back with their right foot, etc

We also learned to do 1/4 turns to the left (leader's left, follower's right). This picture of the quarter turn is for the leader's steps.

We also learned to travel the waltz so we learned to move it forward and back again. Step forward with the left, right with the right, pull the left foot into the right to step together. Then instead of back with the right foot like we did in the basic box step, we step forward again using the right foot, left with the left foot, and pull the right foot into the left to step together. This moves the dance forward (leader's forward, follower's backward). In order to move it back, you just do the same thing but the leader takes their first step back instead.

Ok then. Got it? No? Personally, I never really understood how people learned to dance by following the graphed foot steps so....how's about a video or two to demonstrate.

The best videos I could find to demonstrate what I learned do not allow me to embed so...you can simply click on each link to be redirected to view them.

How to Waltz - Basic Pattern
How to Waltz - Posture and Framing
How to Waltz - Swing and Sway
How to Waltz - Rise and Fall

Next week, I get to look forward to our next private lesson with Arthur Murray, a group lesson with Arthur Murray, and another group lesson at Washington Dance Club. Fun stuff.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Maybe Just Maybe

2012-01-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

I just met with my nutritionist last night. The first thing she asked me is what I found out about my thyroid test. I answered with parrot talk from my awesome new naturopath and the endocrinologist I saw as well. A slew of TSH counts and antibodies found fell from my mouth. After listening patiently, she said, "it's Hashimoto's disease isn't it?". Of course I confirmed and we concluded the diagnostic discussion with a high five over having something in common.

Now that's what took me by surprise. I had mentioned my plan to get my thyroid tested to her previously and not once did she inform me that she also has thyroid problems. Nor would I think that she does because she's thin, petite, fit, normal. Well after the tiny bit of shock wore off, I realized that if she has Hashimoto's disease and can be thin, petite, fit, and normal...perhaps there's hope for me too.

Maybe just maybe once my thyroid levels are regulated, this weight will start coming off like it should.

Maybe just maybe I don't have to keep fighting and struggling for seemingly no results.

Maybe just maybe I can start seeing results.

Maybe just maybe resolving this issue will finally allow me to breathe easy and stop worrying.

Maybe just maybe it means that I'm not and haven't done anything wrong.

Oh the relief if this really does prove to be a solution.

Funny? Every time I say "Hashimoto's Disease", it makes me think of this song...thanks to Hubby.

I like musicals

2012-01-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

I saw my first ever Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie. Swing Time. I love the classics. Classic music, classic books, classical guitar, yes please. I love it all. I wasn't so sure if I would feel the same about the movies though. I'm not a huge movie buff. I could care less who wrote or directed or who acted in what film. That type of information has just never appealed to me at all. But, I have to say that I do always love musicals and I wasn't disappointed by Swing Time. It was cute, it was fun, it was entertaining, and it tried to be funny. No wonder those two became as famous as they did. I just can't believe it took me as long as it has to finally see one of their films. I can't wait until the next one comes this week.

Watching Swing Time got me in the old timey musical mood so I decided to watch Hello Dolly again too. Yes, again.

I love Hello Dolly so much that I used to sing the song to my dog. Her name was Polly.

Heeeelllllooooooo Polly, well heeeelllloooooo Polly.....

Ballroom Dancing - Foxtrot Fundamentals

2012-01-06T10:58:00.000-08:00

Last night was my first group dance class at the Washington Dance Club in Seattle. There is definitely a difference between what we did on Wednesday and what we did in Seattle last night.

Wednesday night at Arthur Murray, we had a 30min private lesson where we had one instructor's undivided attention to walk us through the basics of 5 dances. Last night was a 45min group class where one instructor walked 5 couples through the basics of one dance, the foxtrot.

The instructor began by teaching us to walk heel-toe and to sort of drag our feet between steps. She also went through other basic fundamentals of dancing with a partner.

Always keep your feet in line with your knees, in line with your hips, in line with your shoulders
The leader should always keep their frame (their arm structure) slightly to the right of their body to avoid stepping on each other's toes or bumping knees
The follower should always keep a "toned" frame so they can feel where the lead wants them to go
The leader should always lead off on their left foot

This video is slightly long and dull but it contains all the fundamentals we learned last night.

After the instructor had us practice the basic walk, she then introduced the first foot pattern for the foxtrot basic. I provided a video in yesterday's post that I think covered this information well. In fact, I felt far more confident in my understanding about the foxtrot basic after watching that video then even more so after last night's class. Perhaps I simply misunderstood the guidance from our first instructor at Arthur Murray. We shall see next week when we see her again.

We practiced the foxtrot basic while in ballroom position (meaning in the arms of your partner) a dozen times. Walk, walk, step together. Walk, walk, step together. Slow, slow, quick, quick. Slow, slow, quick, quick. The problem with only knowing the forward basic though is that you simply end up moving further and further into the opposite corner of the room and that can't work. Hubby and I ended up in the little kitchen area several times. Then it came time to learn to take that back the other direction. Simple. Instead of the leader walking forward, he just walks backward and the follower follows. Back, back, step together. Back, back, step together.

That means it must be time to learn another pattern that can get us out of the corner. Next we learned the rock step and the 1/4 turn.

Ok, now that we got a few basics down....it was time to practice. Cool right? Well, yes and no. Practice is always a good thing but in my opinion it's not fun when I have to practice with someone I don't know, never met, and who can't figure out which foot is his left and which one is his right. Yup. You guessed it. She had us switch partners a couple times so every woman got a chance to dance with every man in class, except for the couple that refused to switch partners. I'm thinking they had the right idea.

Pros of switching partners:

You get a chance to experience what it's like with someone who you can't predict their movements
If you're a follower, it's a good thing to learn how to just let go and trust what the leader is doing and that's easier to do with your own husband or boyfriend or whatever
If you're a leader, it's a good thing to learn to lead all the time and not let the follower lead you which happens more times than not in a committed relationship
"Dancing" with 4 other men last night made me appreciate how fantastic my husband is at leading and how much I really do love dancing with him

Cons of switching partners:

One of the primary reasons I like ballroom dancing with my husband is that it really makes me feel closer to him and if I'm dancing with someone else then I completely miss out on that
I don't ever dance with other men so there is no need to learn to do it
I don't feel like I can improve if I'm constantly having to adjust to my new partner's abilities (which last night and in my past experience were significantly retarded - their abilities that is)
I have a nice roomy personal bubble and for strangers, it's considerably larger so asking me to allow them to touch me let alone come within arms length of me is asking me to compromise my boundaries...no thanks

Was it a great workout? Not at all. But it was just the basics. Perhaps when we get into more actual dancing, it'll be better exercise but for now, it was barely active. Fun and interesting for sure but a good workout it was not.

Ballroom Dancing - Just the basics

2012-01-05T11:29:00.000-08:00

One class down, and Hubby and I learned 5 dances. Amazed? So was I when the dance instructor informed us of this little factoid. Here's how it went.

Last night was our first ballroom dance lesson at Arthur Murray. They had us fill out a little paperwork to tell them why we want to learn to dance and what benefits we're interested in deriving from it. They also give you a list of dances they teach and ask you which ones you're interested in learning. We signed our life away and off we went with the instructor.

She asked us about our experience with ballroom dancing. Since we had taken a few classes with the Boeing Dance Club years ago, we had some basic experience, none of which either of us could remember. That dance club was awesome too, until we got kicked out. Neither of us work for Boeing so they decided to close it to anyone not employed at Boeing. That was a sad day.

Waltz
Once she got us on one of the 3 dance floors they have in the building, she started with the Waltz basic. In my opinion, the waltz is the most beautiful dance. I get the below image in my head when I think of the waltz. Deborah Kerr in The King and I. It wasn't the waltz they danced while she wore this dress though, I think it was the polka they danced. The polka is not pretty at all but I'm sure it would be fun and tiring.

Anyhoo, the waltz basic is just a simple box step. Here's a video to show you how the basic goes for a man. The woman does the same step but while the man steps forward, the woman steps back and vise versa so both people are moving together.

No matter how clumsy you may be, I think it's impossible to feel anything less than beautiful when you are doing this movement. How do I know? Well, last night I had to rush to class right after a session with my personal trainer. I was still sweating all through the dance lesson. Can't get much less beautiful feeling than that and I still felt pretty even doing just the basic in my husband's arms.

Rumba
The next basic she taught us was for the rumba. The rumba is known as the slow and sensual latin dance. The rumba basic goes like this:

I like Robbie and his red shoes. Our teacher didn't teach us all the body movement that he emphasizes in the video though. She just taught us the basic foot movements while dancing together. I feel robbed now after seeing how fabulous he is in the video. She did tell us something interesting that he didn't though. The rumba basic is very similar to the foxtrot basic. One difference between the two is that the rumba and most latin dances are intended to stay in one place on the dance floor while the foxtrot moves beautifully across the floor.

Foxtrot
The foxtrot was the next basic we learned. It's similar to the rumba in the quick-quick-slow, quick-quick-slow part of it. But as I mentioned above, the foxtrot can easily move across the floor. It is also faster and a tad more bouncy than the slow sensual rumba. Watch.

Hmmmm....now I'm thinking our teacher might have taught us something incorrectly because that basic was nothing like the rumba. Good thing I have another class at a different dance school tonight where I can ask questions of someone new.

I think I'll wrap this post up here and save the swing and the hustle for tomorrow.

Happy Dancing....

Balltap Danceskating

2012-01-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

In preparing for this month of ballroom fun, I decided to turn to Hollywood for some much needed inspiration. On my netflix cue is a few of the many Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films.

Swing Time is about a gambling man who ditches his fiance to dance with Ginger.

Um.....ROLLER SKATES! That's all I have to say about Shall We Dance. How can you not love it?

Only in the classics can you find song a dance numbers combined with crossing the line of doctor patient confidentiality.

Mistaken identity? No problem. Let's dance anyway.

We've all heard of or seen or watched without fail all the Dancing With the Stars seasons so we all pretty much know what ballroom dancing is. The big difference I see between what we get on the modern television show compared to the classic films in terms of dancing goes is that Fred and Ginger don't really seem to be ballroom dancing much at all. They do some strange and enticing mix of tap and ballroom with far more elegant costume.

I wanna know where the Fred and Ginger school of balltap dancing is and how I sign up for that!

January 2012 - Ballroom Dancing

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

You may have guessed it from the lovely picture above or you may have already read my intentions in a previous post. Either way, I have decided to kick the new year off right with the beautiful drama of ballroom dancing. That will be my focus for the entire month. Ok, lets be real here. I can't focus on just one thing. I don't work like that. So, I will direct part of my attention to ballroom dancing while still balancing all the other things on my priority list.

Hubby and I have taken a couple classes before but it was years ago. We have often talked about doing it again but without any real resolve to make it happen. For Christmas, he decided to make it happen. Lucky me! One of my gifts from him was a gift certificate to Arthur Murray Dance Studios. He got us an introductory offer that includes 2 private lessons, 1 group lesson, and entrance to a dance where we can practice our moves.

I thought about it and realized that 3 short lessons weren't going to be enough to get a real taste of such an in depth and intricate activity as ballroom dancing. People spend years perfecting one dance and there are dozens that fall into the vast category. No, 3 little lessons were definitely not going to be enough, fabulous as it was of hubby to take the first step.

I did a bit of research and found another option that I think will work wonderfully. At Arthur Murray, we will get evaluated and be given specific advice for how the two of us can dance together in general while learning some of the basic steps and such. Then we will go to another dance school I found in Seattle called Washington Dance Club where we will learn to Waltz, Foxtrot, Swing, and Cha Cha.

We will not have enough time to perfect anything I'm sure but at least we'll get a taste of a few of the different dances so we can decide if it's something we want to continue to do together.

Below is my calendar of activities for January. You can also view all my activity calendars by clicking on the Activity Calendars tab above. I highly doubt I will be successful in doing every one of those activities every day but it's something.

January 28th is a winter dance FEST where we can put all of our hard work and lessons to the test on the dance floor. Looking forward to that!

Sunday guitar lessons are back
Tuesday French classes are back too
Yeehaw!

Happy New Year

I Wanna - Part 2

2011-12-31T07:00:00.000-08:00

I Wanna...Relax. Chill out. Be more easy going, less stressed out. LESS STRESS! Stress has probably been my biggest problem throughout my life. I've been stressed out since I can remember. I was 7 years old when I first remember feeling stressed out and it's been pretty constant since then. For the past few months, I've been focusing all of my attention on stress management. I even have a little biofeedback device to tell me when I'm in a relaxed state because I can't even recognize it on my own. I read, I write, I play my guitar, I sleep, I exercise, I have bubble Fridays, I learned to knit. I want to learn to walk slower, and in the rain. I want to play more. I want to day dream more. I'm learning and will continue throughout the rest of the year and probably the rest of my life.

I Wanna...Write. Well, blogging will take care of some of that. But I want more than that. Some of the happiest days I had last year were spent writing essays for a book that is being written my Suzette Standring. The great and ominous "They" say that if you want to know what you're meant to do with your life, you should ask yourself what you choose to do when you have no other obligations. Or you can ask yourself what you think about when you're brushing your teeth. For me, it's writing. I read books or journal when I have nothing else going on. And when I'm brushing my teeth, I'm running through all the ideas I have for things I could write. But do I write? No. Why? Because I'm an emotional basket case who has tortured myself into paralysis from doing what I love to do. I did the same thing with playing my guitar. Well I'm done. Done allowing that bitch in my head to steal my joy.

I Wanna...Speak French. Hubby and I took French classes all through 2011 to prepare for our big vacation to/around France. We studied and studied and practiced and got all ready. We went to France and spoke mostly French the whole time we were there. Then we got home and haven't spoken a word of it since. Ugh. All that work to just come home and lose it all? I don't think so. We have signed up for the next level French class starting on January 10th. French 4 here we come. And our wonderful French friend is super excited to help us read all the children's books we bought in the beautiful ancient bookstores I found in Lyon and Paris. Parlez vous Francais? Oui oui.

I Wanna...Donate. Yes, I wanna give money to charities. I'd also like to give time too but I'm already running short on that with all my big plans for the new year. Originally, I was thinking I would like to volunteer for a playhouse. I love seeing plays and musicals. One of my favorite things to do. And there are opportunities but they all ask for a long term commitment and I just don't know that I can do that right now. So, I'm going to pick a charity and Hubby is going to pick one and we'll start giving our money away. The nice thing about it is that both of our companies do a match so if we give, we make our companies give too. I've given lots of money and time to the breast cancer people. I'm done with them. I'm trying to decide between the MS Society or the Humane Society. Maybe both. Another benefit of donating? "They" say that people who give money to charities tend to become more wealthy than people who don't give. Win, win!

I Wanna...Save. While we're on the money subject---. I've always been a saver so it's not a huge stretch for me. I'm a planner through and through so saving is like second nature. But I do also love expensive shoes. This year, Hubby and I have vowed to simplify our already uncomplicated existence and just sock all of our excess money into savings so we can have and keep a little rainy day fund. Who knows, maybe I'll want to quit my job and be a struggling writer. Or maybe he'll get burnt out and need to run away for a few months. Then what would we do? We'll have the rainy day fund. I have a friend who calls it her "f&ck you fund" because if she feels like flipping her boss the finger and walking out the door, she can. Brilliant!

I Wanna...Do it NOW. I want to stop procrastinating. I'm not a huge procrastinator to begin with but I do tend to put some things off. Another thing I do pretty regularly is attach the "some day" statement to the end of a desire. I would love to write, some day. I would love to go sky diving, some day. I would love to learn to ride a motorcycle, some day. I would love to be fluent in a foreign language, some day. I would love to travel more, some day. Well, some day never comes if you don't sometimes make some day today. I started doing this in my own life a couple years ago and I'm getting better. I'm a work in progress. But I have learned to ride a motorcycle, I have been learning to speak French, I have travelled to some amazing places. Life is short and you never know when the sky will fall so you might as well live for today. Today, I'm writing because it makes me happy. Today, I'm playing my guitar because it makes me happy. Today, I'm going to hang out in a stinky old used bookstore because those are my favorite. If I want miracles in my life, I have to learn to act on my inspired thoughts when I have them or the enthusiasm will die and the magic will disappear. I don't want to be left wondering what could have been just because I was lazy or afraid to find out NOW.

I Wanna - Part 1

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

This year, instead of making firm "resolutions" to state that I must accomplish such and such by a particular date to consider myself a success...I've decided to just focus my attention on the things that I want to do.

What do I want?

I Wanna... Clean house. I wanna go through everything I own and sort, label, organize, and toss whatever I haven't used in a year, forgot I had, or doesn't fit me right now. One reason I've decided to put this on my Wanna List this year is because there's just something refreshing about cleaning out the old. I love the feeling I get when I go through my closet and pull out things that I've felt the need to keep for years because of nostalgic reasons or for the hope that one day I'll fit into it again. The other reason I have put this on my Wanna List this year is because of the next wanna.

I Wanna... Move. I have lived in the suburbs for over a dozen years and it has never fit me, not for a second. I'm a city girl through and through. I belong in the city. For the past several years, hubby and I have talked about moving back downtown and we are finally, FINALLY on the same page. We are going to be moving in March or April to a condo in the sky. "Well good morning doorman, what lovely weather today." We currently live in a house so when we move, we'll be scaling down which is great motivation for cleaning house. Hallelujah! Hear the angels sing.

I Wanna... Lose weight. But doesn't everyone want that? I know I'm not original and it ain't the first time that wanna has made it on my list. Hopefully it's the last! I've struggled with my weight for years but now I am better armed with more info about the inner workings of my body so hopefully it helps resolve the weight loss problem. The blogging, working with a personal trainer, watching what I eat, vitamins, thyroid replacement, good sleep, drinking lots of water, and monthly activity shuffle should also help a bit too.

I Wanna... Play Classical Guitar. Yes, I love my guitar. Yes, I've taken lessons before. Yes, I quit taking those lessons a couple years ago because I was being mean to myself. Life has recently provided me a little perspective though and I'm ready to slap that inner bitch in the face and tell her to shut the F#$% up so I can once again enjoy learning to play the beautiful music I love on the instrument I love. I already contacted my old guitar instructor and am scheduled to start lessons again on January 8th.

I Wanna... Spread joy. I know, I know, so very vague. The thought hit me recently that I just don't do a lot for others. Yes, I'm generous and thoughtful and all that stuff but I don't feel like I contribute much to the happiness or joy of others. Instead, I think I'm more of a negative Nancy sucking the joy from the room if ever I'm given the opportunity. Why? Because I have always found sarcasm and biting wit to be funny. Funny to me, yes. But I never stopped to consider what I was taking from others by being that way, until now. So I want to start being nicer to people. I want to be more considerate. When someone wants to merge, slow down to make room for them. When someone goes up to a grocery line the same time I do, let them go first. Smile at people. Say "good morning". Doing those things doesn't take anything from me so why not just do them to give to someone else. I already got the ball rolling on this too. I sent out 20 blank note cards to 20 random people I blindly chose from the white pages to wish them happiness and prosperity. No signature, no return address. One stranger sending good wishes to another. Hopefully it made 20 people smile even if for just a moment.

I have more wannas coming in Part 2. Stay tuned.

Resolution Schmesolution

2011-12-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

Every year I make resolutions and every year I review them to see that I haven't really accomplished any of them as I had previously defined. Then I take a moment to throw a mini pity party for myself before I realize just how much I accomplished through the year that may not have been on my new years resolution list.

Example #1- One of my resolutions for 2011 was to finally get this extra weight off. Here I am at the end of the year and I'm 9lbs heavier than I was on January 1st. Total failure? Not exactly. I have been doing pretty rigorous weight training and I'm told that I have built a substantial amount of muscle which could explain some of the gain. Plus, health isn't just all about the scale either. I have maintained a consistent exercise regimen throughout the year even with the sky falling all around me.

Example #2 - Another goal for 2011 was to have a significant amount of money in savings but I'm no where near that balance. Again, failure? No way! I was still able to save more than I had in previous years and take a dream vacation to France and I enjoyed going out with friends and fun activities with my nephews. Success!

Example #3 - I had a goal of getting my dog into agility training in 2011. I did NOT do any agility training with her though. That seems pretty cut and dry as a failure. But knowing the dog she was at the beginning of the year and how she is now shows me that I have successfully helped her through her psycho fears so she can be a normal dog. So what if I didn't pursue the agility course for her. She's no longer deathly afraid of everything and she can be a happy dog. That's success in my book.

I've weighed in on the new years resolution debate before (Resolutions, Goal Setting) and little came of it so I'm not concocting any master plans this year. Instead, I'm just going to give a simple list of what I've been thinking of putting on my new years resolutions list. Of course the following items don't meet the requirements of appropriate goal setting and they're mostly vague but I don't care this year. I'm just writing down what makes me happy and I'll go from there.

Clean house (organize, label, sort, toss)
Move
Lose 50lbs
Guitar
Spread joy
Write
Relax
Speak French
Donate
Blog
Save
Do it NOW
Be nice

I'll elaborate on them and will also likely revise the list as time goes by but at least it's an idea and it's in writing. Actually, I'll elaborate on one of them right now.

BLOG
I've totally slacked on the blogging in the past few months, for very good reason. Regardless, I've decided to reinstate the monthly activity list and maybe even the voting feature if I can figure out this new stupid Blogger interface. When I started blogging back in 2009, I did so because I love to write, I wanted to start "journaling", and I wanted the accountability and support network that comes from blogging as I figured out how to remove the couch fabric from my ass. It was a brilliant plan and it worked well for a long time. And....it was fun. Very important! So I'm doing it again. Blogging regularly and choosing a different activity to dedicate myself to each month.

January. January is going to be dedicated to.....ballroom dancing. Woohoo! Stay tuned for more info. I'll have my activity calendar posted and I'll let you all know my plan so you can watch, point, and laugh at me as I stumble my way through the month.

And just for fun.....other bloggers and their take on resolutions:
Happiness Project Resolution Questions
Endurance isn't Only Physical Resolutions
Helen doing a 180 - To Not Sucking

Hope

2011-12-28T14:20:00.000-08:00

Struggling to get the taste of 2011 out of my mouth, all I have is hope for the future.

As I sit here running the memories through my mind of the last 360 days, I realize that this year has been one of the most challenging of my entire life, although nothing can compare to 1989. Puberty was a bitch! I'll just leave it at that.

2011 in the world of Salina has challenged everything I believe, everything I thought I knew about myself, my future, my friends, my family, my health, my priorities. This blog started as a weight loss journey under the concept that if I choose to just live an active lifestyle, my body will naturally reflect my choices and shed the excess weight. As the year comes to a close, I'm forced to pick up that measuring stick and look at where I've been so I can make a plan for where I want to go.

I started the year at 167 lbs. A hop, skip, and a KO later, here I am on December 28th and the scale reports 176 lbs. Was I perfect? Apparently not, but perfection is not a prerequisite for progress. I have gained 9 lbs over the last year despite:

all the food tracking on sparkpeople,
exercising 5days per week,
working with a nutritionist,
working with a personal trainer,
having the world's best accountabilibuddy,
taking vitamins,
drinking 60oz of water every day,
sleeping 8hrs every night,
journaling every day,
taking a 3 week long dream vacation to France

So what happened.....again? Stress! Stress! Stress! Oh and a couple medical situations. The more important of the two is a disease called Hashimoto's Disease. You can read about it at the link provided but basically my immune system is attacking my thyroid gland so it has to work harder and harder to process enough thyroid hormone, which it's not doing so well. It's easily treated with thyroid replacement though. Time will tell how it impacts my weight loss efforts.

Stress is the primary suspected culprit. I'm still undecided about disclosing to the internet what exactly has happened but for now I will say that I have had a medical situation rock my world for the better part of 2011. In addition to that and Hashimoto's, my husband and I had to deal with a significant death in our family. No wait, two deaths. Our dog died this year too. Sweet Pollyanna!

RIP My Sweet Girl!

I think time has shown that my hypothesis was flawed. If I live an active lifestyle, my body won't necessarily reflect those choices and shed extra weight. Unfortunately, I have found that there is more to the equation than that. Do I have the answers? No freakin' clue! Perhaps I do but I haven't yet figured out how to implement them in my life.

I don't see my "project" if you want to call it that as a complete failure over the past few years though. I have successfully built a life that I love and friendships that have saved my sanity more than a few times. Once upon a time, I considered myself a couch potato but today that is no longer true. Even with challenges in my life, I'm living active and actively living. I have not and will not allow a diagnosis, a disability, a death, or any other challenge life decides to throw at me keep me from living the kind of life I want and deserve. I just get to redefine the path I suppose.

Mother nature spontaneously sets fire to her beautiful work to clear the debris and make way for new growth. Perhaps that's exactly what she has done in my life this year too. All I have now is hope for a better future no matter what it brings.

Treadmill Dancing

2011-11-23T08:49:00.001-08:00

Don't forget to have fun during your holiday workouts!

Thanks to C for sharing the music video with me.

Dear Nutbar on the Treadmill, you are my hero!

My French - Pictures Part 4 (Paris)

2011-11-15T10:01:00.001-08:00

Bonjour Chateau Versailles

Golden Gate

The Hall of Mirrors

Queen's Bedroom

Marie Antoinette

Just being a tourist

Orange trees

Chateau from the Grand Canal

Fountain with the Grand Canal behind

On the way to Marie Antoinette's

Just Beautiful

Vegetables, yum

Bonjour Paris

What a beautiful day!

Notre Dame

Because I LOVE used book stores....but.....I was disappointed to not find one book in French

Arc de Triomphe

Proof that Victor Hugo was correct in his statement that "to loaf is Parisien"

Palais Garnier (Phantom of the Opera site)

Palais Garnier where we saw Psyche

Palais Garnier and the famous chandelier

Louvre

Psyche and Cupid's kiss

Mary Magdalene

Venus

Eiffel Tower

View from the top

View from the top with a shaddow

My feet hurt and....what a beautiful sunset

Sunset from the top of the Eiffel Tower

Bonne Nuit

And we managed to get back down just in time for the show

Thank you France. We had a fabulous time and can't wait to return.

Au Revoir France

My French - Pictures - Part 3

2011-11-11T08:47:00.001-08:00

Bonjour Cote D'Azur (Antibes)

La Baie Dorée where we did almost nothing for 6 days

View from our balcony

Vieille Ville d'Antibes

Pétanque dans le parc

Musée Picasso, Antibes

Sunset in Antibes

Bonne Nuit Sud de la France

Nous Vous Aimons

Paris is next......ooh la la

My French Pictures - Part 2

2011-11-10T08:08:00.001-08:00

Bonjour Lyon

Place des Terreaux - Fountain. And we ate at the restaurant L'etage, Fabulous!

Velopop! Brilliant!

Only one day in Lyon wasn't nearly enough to properly take it in. What I did see though, I loved!

And now...ROAD TRIP through the Rhone Valley.

Bonjour Avignon

View from our fabulous little B&B

His little machine was playing "La Vie En Rose"

Oh please take a moment to let the hair stand up on your arms and chills crawl down your spine.

Je l'Aime

Palais des Papes

Palais des Papes - Stairway to Heaven

Palais des Papes - The Doors

Palais des Papes - Dining Hall

Palais des Papes - Rooftop

Oh....I can see it! The bridge!

Sur la pont d'Avignon, l'on y danse, l'on y danse

How can you NOT be happy on the bridge of Avignon?

Hubby listens to the guided tour like a good little tourist.

We came, we danced, we sang, we took the picture....no what?

Le diner en Place de l'horloge? D'accord

I think it's time for some sleep.

Bonne nuit Avignon,

vous resterez dans mon coeur comme ma ville préférée musicale

My French - Pictures Part 1

2011-11-10T07:47:00.000-08:00

Bonjour Genev

Flower Clock in Geneva

Jet of Water at Lake Geneva

St. Peter's Cathedral in Geneva

Bonjour Mont Blanc

Absolutely Breathtaking (literally)

Le Mer de Glace (the sea of ice)

Aguille du Midi from the Cable Car

Aguille du Midi

Care for a bit of hiking?

Ice Cave

Just a Spectator at the Ice Cave

Bonjour Yvoire

Jardin des Cinq Sens

Happy French Chat

Ahhh....

Bonjour Annecy

Hubby and Reblochon Cow, Happily Ever After

The Hills are Alive

Reblochon = Miam Miam

Cheese Shopping

More Cheese Shopping

Behold the Cheese

And it Tastes Soooooo Gooooooooood

Merci pour tous les fromages merveilleuse

Bio-Impedance Test

2011-11-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

What is a bio-impedance test?

The long name is bioelectrical impedance analysis or BIA. The medical and fitness professions use it to test body composition. You know, how much fat versus lean body mass you carry on your person in addition to body water content.

Your gym may have a simple version that is a hand-held device which runs an electrical current through your body and gives you a percentage of body fat when it has completed it's process. I also have a simple version in my scale at home.

My personal trainer used a fancier system for which I had to adequately prepare myself.
Rule 1: No food for 4 hours prior to test
Rule 2: No coffee for 12 hours prior to test
Rule 3: Drink lots of water

For my first appointment with him, I had to follow the above rules then lay down on the table with my right foot and hand naked and exposed. Then, out came the machine.

It was at about this point that I started feeling like Frankenstein's monster....especially after my trainer hooked me up and stepped back a few feet. But there was nothing to fear, no pain, no discomfort, no embarrassing pinching of any inches (which is another way to test body composition).

I have a fat caliper at home that I can use in the privacy of my own bathroom with the door locked, the lights out, and the mirrors covered. Why? Because I have more than a little inch to pinch and no one needs to see that. That's why.

So anyway, the bio-impedance test only took a minute. After it read my body composition, it displayed a simple number on the screen which my trainer then took and plugged into a nifty software program that spit out a report which looks like this:

That was my results from August 15th which was my starting date.

Six weeks later (after skipping 3 weeks because I had to take a fabulous French vacation) on October 28th, I took another BIA test. I was nervous for this one around because my clothes haven't started feeling any different, the scale hasn't moved much at all, and did I mention that I was in France eating foie gras and baguette pretty much every day....

For as nervous as I was before the test, I felt equally as relieved after getting the results. So, the scale hasn't moved much. I've lost 1 whole pound in 6 weeks. But in reality, my body has started moving about 7 lbs in the right direction (4lbs of fat gone and 3lbs of new muscle here to stay). That's something to celebrate.

The results also surprised me. I wasn't expecting to have gained any muscle at all but rather just toned the current muscle tissue I have. To see that I was able to build muscle while also burning fat at the same time made me question some previous reading I've done. Have you ever heard of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle? Well I have, and I've read it. Although I think it's mostly a sound book chalked full of good info, it misses on one small piece of information. It states that it is impossible to build muscle while burning fat at the same time as they are two opposing actions. Apparently that's not entirely true because I have just seen my body do both simultaneously. Interesting.....

Also, because I'm in the mood to give full disclosure, feast your eyes on these numbers.

Those are my measurements over the past couple years. Pay closer attention to the difference between August 15th and October 28th of this year. Oh ya baby! I'm shrinking. Love it.

Thankfully, there are more than a couple ways to measure success. I'm a numbers girl all the way but that doesn't mean I ignore the touchy-feely methods at all. I do pay attention to how my clothes are fitting and how flabby or tight my frame feels before and after working out. It seems that a hybrid method works best for me. If the scale is a lie (which is usually the truth) then I can rely on my measurements and the bio-impedance analysis with my trainer as well as the simple body awareness.

How do you like to read and track your success?

Green at the Gills - My Rowing Adventure

2011-10-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

August was a month of rowing in my little active life.

A good friend of mine emailed me one day and said (try to read with a subtle french accent in your head)

"Hey, check this out. They have classes for beginners. Wanna take one with me?"

What could I say in response to a question like that besides "OF COURSE"....

So we promptly signed up for the Learn to Row 1 class. Nevermind that they offer a Row for a Day class to try it out and see if you're even interested in learning more. We don't pay attention to such details. We jumped in with both feet, literally.

Step 1: Sign up for the class online. Check.

Step 2: Print out and complete all the forms to consent to put your life in their hands and not blame them if they fail you. Check.

Step 3: Take a float test. I found a local community swimming pool and got to take the test for free. Some pools will charge you a couple bucks but mine was free. What is a float test you ask? Easy. Jump into a swimming pool with all your clothes on and float without the aid of anything or anyone for 10 mins. If you drown or cling to the wall, you fail. Well, there is one more step to determine pass or fail. At 9mins 30sec the guard will throw you a life vest and you have to put it on and get it zipped up while still floating by the 10min mark. If you do that (which is super easy), then you pass. Hint: Don't wear jeans, sweat pants, or cargo pants or you might just sink. Check.

Learn to Row 1 was a month long commitment. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 pm for the month August, our lives were dedicated to the Sammamish Rowing Association. My friend (lets call her C) and I were all ready, having signed our lives away, emptied our wallets, and risked a public drowning to get to our first class and row our hearts out. C was desperate to build her back muscles while I just wanted the cardio workout. Plus we were both excited thinking it was going to be fun and maybe even peaceful on the water.

Lake Sammamish, WA

How wrong we were.

The first class consisted of a tour of the boat house, role call, and an educational safety video. Yawn. I have a faint memory of singing Kumbaya but that might have been from the dream I had that night. I know they have rules and regulations and laws and stuff that need to be followed for newbies but disappointment is disappointing.

Perhaps we get to row during the 2nd class? Nope. Third for sure? Nope. We were allowed on the water during the 4th class. The earlier classes were all about learning proper rowing technique and the intricacies of coxswaining and the language of rowing, etc. I'm not even going to go into all that. If you want to know, sign up for a class and enjoy.

The first few times we were on the water, we barely made it to the end of the slough before it was time to turn around and return to the dock. Why? Several reasons.

We were in the heaviest boat known to man
There were 8 people in the boat (plus the coxswain) who all needed turns to row by themselves
We were all brand-spankin-new to rowing
For some mysterious reason...adult people (much like most children) don't know how to follow simple instructions

Octuple (8 people plus the coxswain)

Sammamish Slough
Notice the lily pads on either side? We spent some quality time in those lily pads.

Eventually the coaches got most of us going pretty well and we made it to the open lake and were able to paddle around a bit before we had to return to the dock. They even got us out in smaller boats so we each got a lot more active rowing time. And as if that isn't cool enough by itself, we eventually got all 4 or 8 persons (depending on which boat we were in) rowing at the same time. Wowy!

What's the big deal?

Boats are most stable with all oars flat on the water (like you see in the picture above). As each person starts adding in (meaning they begin rowing as a group one at a time), the boat becomes increasingly unstable unless everyone is perfectly in sync. A team of newbies who don't know how to follow simple instructions are most definitely not going to be perfectly in sync. Right? Right! So it's very cool that we were able to get it going even if for just a stroke or two.

4 weeks, 2 classes per week, 8 classes total. Overall impressions? Hated it. It wasn't all bad though. There were definite highs and even more definite lows.

Pros

It was summertime on the beautiful Lake Sammamish
We got quite a bit of inactive time in the boat so I did get to experience a tiny bit of that peace and take in my surroundings like I had hoped for
I got to try something that I had always wanted to try
I got to spend time building a wonderful friendship with C
Our coaches were amazing in every way
I learned something new which is never a bad thing
I got the opportunity to practice my skills in patience over and over and over again
C found a new hobby that she loves and I got to be there with her as she discovered it

Cons

There was nearly no cardio activity included in the Learn to Row 1 class other than carrying the ridiculously heavy boat to the water and taking back out of the water again
My patience was tried over and over and over again so my hopes of peace were shattered more times than not
People can't follow simple instructions. What do you think "oars flat on the water" actually means? Put your F$#!ing oars FLAT ON THE WATER
It requires interaction with other humans and that usually doesn't work out so well for me (see the second and third bullets for more info)
I didn't get to row nearly as much as I had hoped
Blisters and scars from sculling (I still have scars on the top of my hand), ouch
By the end of the session, I felt like I let C down because.......
Sea sickness sucks and
I didn't enjoy my experience nearly as much as everyone else did

So here's the story with the sea sickness. I am extremely sensitive to motion sickness. If I even turn my head too fast I might get sick. I've tried the ice behind the ears, the wrist bands, and the motion sickness pills. All have failed me at different times but I find that Dramamine works most of the time. MOST of the time. It failed me in a big way during a gorgeous helicopter ride over Molokai but that's a long story for another day or maybe never.

So anyway, of course I took the pills every day before class and expected to be fine. All was well, at first. That is until: 1) I was put in a smaller boat with only 3 other people and 2) We got out to the open lake on a choppy day rowing all 8 together. The smaller boat meant quite a bit more side to side rocking motion which was not good for me. The choppy day on the open lake was also the day that I was in the octuple boat and the coaches got all 8 of us rowing together which meant rocking side to side to the Nth degree in addition to being splashed in the face by the rowing dude in the seat in front of me because he was all over the damn place. Everyone was out of sync and doing their own thing and I was turning greener and greener with each clumsy stroke.

I don't think anyone wanted to have to watch my vomit float away because before it ever got to that point, the coaches asked if I was ready to get off the boat and go back to the boathouse. My answer was silent but obvious. So, they pulled the launch (coach's small motor boat) up to the oct and I climbed up and out and found myself on steady ground in just a few minutes. That was the last day of class so I missed seeing it through to the very end. I tried, I really did, but like I said before... disappointment is disappointing. I hate not being able to do things even though I believe I can and should be able to do anything I want.

Did I mention that I caught a crab too? I caught a crab. Luckily it wasn't a bad one. It didn't throw me overboard but it did get me in the gut good which was not comfortable.

Oars

Sculling (2 oars per person)

Sweeping (1 oar per person)

Although it may not seem like it, I really am glad I gave rowing a real try. In all honesty, I'm a little jealous of all the people who love it because it is one of those things that you either hold dear to your heart or you don't. For many, rowing is what they think about, talk about, and dream about all day, every day. For others, it's just not their thing. I fit into the latter category but I couldn't be happier for C that she found herself in the former.

If you find yourself interested in giving it a try, I highly recommend you look for a rowing association in your area and contact them for any classes they may offer. Also, C tells me that it gets much better in the next class and even better once you get onto a novice team and you start rowing with more people who know what they're doing. I'm also told that it is a great workout once you graduate to single and double person boats which typically happens in the Learn to Row 2 classes.

If you're lucky and find yourself in the great northwest where we have beautiful bodies of water all around us, I highly recommend the Sammamish Rowing Association. Not only were our coaches amazing, helpful, patient, and funny but every other member we met coming and going from the boathouse was equally as pleasant.

Enjoy!

Nailhead meet Hammer

2011-10-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

I wish I could consistently come up with a way to express what I'm thinking and feeling but sadly I find myself at a loss for words, or maybe it's not a loss but they are all just so jumbled that I can't quite get them organized. Sometimes I'm lucky though and I find others who have said it better than I ever could and I can just point to them and say, "what he said".

Well, I stumbled upon one such instance just moments ago. When it comes to the constant struggle of losing weight and finding that healthy balance in life, I just feel......What he said!

I've been up so high that I felt I'd never come down again, convinced that I finally found the missing piece to my puzzle. Then I'm woken by the thud of me hitting the ground yet again.

Lost 25lbs in 1 year. Gained 20lbs back in 1 year. Back to the starting line.

Blogging
Journaling
Tracking food and exercise every day
1,400 calorie diet with 50% carb, 30% protein, 20% fat
Exercise 5 or 6 days per week
Drink 60oz of water every day
Vitamin D
An attitude of gratitude is always a winner

The Activity Calendars

No exciting fitness plans for right now but I reserve the right to get bored with the plan as is and find something different to do. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know. I could use a little support and challenge right about now.

To Gluten or Not To Gluten

2011-10-24T07:30:00.000-07:00

Just last week, my nutritionist mentioned a sneaking suspicion that I might have a "sensitivity" to wheat and/or gluten products. Why? Because.....

I crave bread always and forever - She says that a continuous craving for bread products is consistent with people who have a sensitivity to those grains because their bodies don't necessarily process them the same as other people.
I have a difficult time losing weight even when I am exercising regularly and eating a healthful, well-balanced diet - She says that difficulty shedding weight even when trying is a common complaint/experience of people who have a sensitivity because our bodies retain everything we feed it....including water.

I've read a few little articles here and there since the last meeting with my nutritionist about the new gluten-free diet fad sweeping the nation.

The November issue of Health Magazine has an article on the topic. It basically says that cutting gluten from your diet may not actually help in losing weight if you choose to just replace the same breads and other baked goods with the gluten-free counterparts because those products often have more calories, carbs, fat, and sugar than the original wheat products.

WebMD is another place I found some helpful info. This article talks about who really needs to be on a gluten-free diet and why. Short answer: people with celiac disease. Also people who test negative for celiac disease but who still suffer from some of the same symptoms are considered to have a sensitivity to gluten so a restrictive diet can also benefit them. It also specifically says that eating a gluten-free diet is NOT necessarily healthy and must be done very carefully to avoid a deficiency in vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, magnesium, and fiber to name a few. Read the article for more.

Fitness Magazine also had to weigh in on the gluten debate.

The MayoClinic is yet another source I found info on gluten-free diets.

So far, it looks like either my nutritionist is wrong or perhaps she was just using the wrong terminology because I have none of the symptoms of celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. But, I did stumble on another concept that may better fit the bill. Carbohydrate (and/or gluten) addiction.

Here's an article I found on the subject: Addiction to Carbohydrates and Gluten.....
I know nothing about the source so don't blame if it sucks. The article does talk about the cravings and the difficulty losing weight.

Here's a website dedicated to carb addiction: http://www.carbohydrateaddicts.com/
Again, I know nothing about the source so don't blame if it sucks.
Ah merde! I just took their little carb addict quiz and guess who scored in the moderate zone.

Scholarly articles on carb addiction

Here's an article from The American Heart Association: Carbohydrate Addiction

After looking through all the above articles and consulting my own healthy living beliefs about what is right for me, I'm thinking I need more information. It seems to me that the gluten-free diet fad is just that, a fad for people who don't have celiac disease but are looking for the next easy answer as to why they can't lose weight. However, I'm intrigued by the carb addiction concept. I don't feel like I'm out of control but I do love bread and I have a long history of losing and regaining weight over and over again.

Thoughts?

One personal trainer vs. One heart rate monitor

2011-10-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

Bold Statement: The perceived exertion scale is bullshit.

I wear my heart rate monitor (hrm) during almost every work out so I can maintain my hr in an optimum range (140 - 166 bpm) the entire time and check it for regular feedback so I know when to rest for a minute and when to push a little harder. Every time I stop for a moment, my personal trainer hops on his soapbox enthusiastically motivating me to hurry up and get to work. When I tell him that my hr is at 176, he responds every time with a "psha" and says that the hrm must be broken.

You see....he doesn't use a hrm because it is his opinion that the scale of perceived exertion is much more reliable and he can't possibly understand how my heart rate could ever be 176 if I'm still able to have a winded conversation.

Trainer - On a scale of 1-10, how do you feel?
Salina - 176
And the battle is on....

Trainer - That's not an option on the scale.
Salina - 175

Trainer - Still not on the scale.
Salina - 173

Trainer - I can't understand how your hear rate could be at 173 if you're able to tell me that it's at 173.
Salina - 170

Trainer - I just don't believe it.
Salina - You want to argue with my heart rate?

Trainer - It just can't be right.
Salina - Well it is.

Trainer - It can't be.
Salina - Feel my pulse if you don't believe me.

Trainer - Holy shit, it's racing.
Salina - 165, I told you so.

Trainer - Well at least it drops quickly. That's a good thing.
Salina - 150

Trainer - It just shouldn't be getting that high with weight training.
Salina - Even if I'm working the major muscles doing combined exercises like lunges on the Bosu with hand weights to a bent row in between?

Bosu Ball

Trainer - Ya, even then.
Salina - Now I don't believe THAT!

Trainer - It just means that you're not conditioned.
Offended face....GO!
Salina - Even though my hr drops 30+ bpm in 30 seconds?

Trainer - Well, no, that's a good thing.
Salina - Perhaps the racquetball several times every week for the past almost 2 years has trained my heart rate to jump and fall quickly? Ever think of that?

Trainer - Not possible.
Salina - Psh (insert eye roll here)

Then we decide to change subjects to more political topics like whether Michael Jackson was guilty of molesting little boys. That's another post for another day.

Finding the balance

2011-10-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

Time to get real with the weight loss stuff since I did claim this to be a weight loss blog once upon a time.

Before the 2010 holidays, I weighed in at 160 lbs.
Now, a year later, the same display shows 172.8 lbs.

What happened? Intuitive eating; I stopped counting my calories. That's really the only difference. Well, and the extended vacation from blogging but I don't necessarily see the correlation with blogging as the cause to regaining 12lbs. No, I think I just got complacent and maybe even lazy when it came to calorie counting and meal planning. Lesson learned. You can find me on SparkPeople.

I'm back in the thick of it though and finding balance is the name of the game. Back from a fabulous 3 weeks in Switzerland and France where I did not concern myself with a diet or exercise or calorie counting or work or family or anything of the kind. I visited beautiful cities and met wonderful people. That is another post though. This one is about the weight loss. Focus!

I briefly mentioned the current "program" I've enrolled in in an earlier post. Remember? It's the comprehensive weight management program benefit offered through my hubby's fancy new job.

26 weeks
3 meetings with the attending physician
7 meetings with the nutritionist
5 meetings with the behavioral therapist
64 meetings with the personal trainer

My first appointments with each of the professionals were mostly to establish goals and an understanding of my past, why I want to participate in the program, and what I hope to achieve. The physician started off with measurements, photos, and medical history which was to be expected.

The nutritionist I was a little more apprehensive about....simply because I had a nutritionist before and got absolutely no value from her. This one is different though. She read my food logs and talked to me about my nutrition and immediately suggested a few changes I could make. The one tidbit that really surprised me was that I should try to get more fat from my breakfast. That was totally contrary to my normal routine of fat free, non fat, skim everything for breakfast. More fat for breakfast will prevent the cravings for higher unhealthy fatty foods later in the day so I can easily get through my day without looking for the cookies in the afternoon.

The behavioral therapist is just a normal therapist only she seems too young to be long out of school. Whatever, that doesn't matter. She's there to help me understand my emotions and beliefs about food and my body and exercise and just general mental health. I've had a few therapists in my time so this process is not new to me. I've been talking mostly about all the stressors in my life at present and how to (if possible) find a way to reduce and maintain a lower stress existence regardless of my life circumstances. The positive input I've gotten so far is that my concerns about having difficulty losing and/or then regaining weight due to stress can most definitely be an answer.

And that brings us to the personal trainer. My first appointment with the trainer consisted of a body composition test (bio-electrical impedance) to get a measure of fat and muscle content in my body. I have no idea what the little machine said when the test was over but I have a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't good because I get a hint of those numbers on my fancy scale at home. It's always good to have a benchmark though. I meet with the trainer on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays every week until the second week of December then I drop the Fridays and just see him twice every week until March when the program ends.

What I find refreshing is that once the program is over in March, it's not actually over. I will not be meeting with the trainer every week for my workouts but they do continue to follow-up for up to 5 years with clients to make sure that what was done in the program is being continued in real life. I am 5' tall and 172lbs so I'm easily 60lbs overweight. There is no way I can lose 60lbs in 26weeks, nor would I want to. I love that they will continue to keep in touch and do periodic follow-up calls/meetings to keep me on track as I shed the extra weight and maintain it over the next few years. I have a feeling it's going to be the best $1,500 I ever spent. Don't judge, look at all I get for that money. I dare you to price out just the personal trainer alone before you get sticker shock.

So there you have it. Opinions? Feedback? Questions? Let's make it a conversation.

An extension of me

2011-10-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

When it's near, I feel the most beautiful turmoil. On one account, it brings joy and a sense of serenity to my naturally chaotic mind. It's almost like it speaks to me. It tells me that no matter what I do with it, I will always find peace and acceptance. Nothing of which I produce with it's soft flowing dye can possibly be anything less than divined by the greater powers that be. What those powers are is still to be determined. Where they reside, I have yet to discover. How to access them at will is but another mystery to me. Even in the randomness of it's production though, my soul breathes freedom as it soars across the page.

On the other account, I get a feeling that I'm being taunted. Perhaps it's just projection by the natural tendencies of it's master. Is it possible to imprint human emotion upon an inanimate object? An existential question for the void. While one side of the personality I understand is nurturing, the other side is nothing less than antagonistic. I feel a sensation of something reminiscent of playground bullying if the bully is really your best friend. Is it the doubt surfacing or could it possibly be the playful child inside just testing the boundaries to be invited out to play? Peek-a-boo. Neener-neener you can't catch me.

I have yet to produce a modern masterpiece with it's splendid support but it brings a level of intrigue to what I once considered a mundane activity. That in itself has, I am glad to say, whispered sweet songs of the morning to the sleeping artist. If the playful child is in fact peeking out to find a playmate, I have faith that with a bit of tenderness, that masterpiece is quick to follow.

Questions

2011-10-09T16:24:00.000-07:00

Trying to be what will make others proud. Trying to achieve what my preconceived notions define as success. Trying to live up to the image I have of myself. Trying, trying, trying....no wonder I end up tired, overwhelmed, and disappointed.

Feeling lost because I can't put my finger on the one big thing that defines me or the one tag line that describes me. Comparing myself to others because they seem to have a perfect elevator pitch or the perfect body. Feeling, feeling, feeling less than acceptable....no wonder I end up feeling faulted.

Thinking about where I've been. Thinking about all the times I've tried and failed. Thinking about all the people I've invested in and judging the ROI. Thinking, thinking, and over-thinking everything to excess....no wonder I rarely cross the finish line when it comes to putting my thoughts to action.

Believing that I can be and do anything I put my mind to. Believing that spirit will conquer limitations. Believing that the world holds something greater for me than what I currently experience. Believing in everything outside of myself....no wonder I lack the belief in exactly who and what I am today.

What if I really am blessed as I am? What if I currently live success in whatever definition I choose? What if I don't need a tag line because no one simple statement defines me? What if I stop trying, thinking, and feeling so much and just start to enjoy and appreciate what is?

Life lessons and a bit of humility

2011-10-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not yet intuitive enough to maintain weight loss using intuitive eating as evidenced by the 12 pounds that have taken up residence on my ass again in the past year
Hard work and sacrifice really do payoff eventually
Stress is the devil

Those are the life lessons I've had to choke down along side a healthy serving of humble pie and egg in the face. Perhaps I'm being a bit over dramatic with it all because there have been some really amazing things happen in my life too.

Here's a recap.
Before the 2010 holidays, Accountabilibuddy and I decided that it would be a good idea to try the intuitive eating plan to see if she could continue her journey without WW and if I could continue mine without counting every single stinkin' little calorie. In hind sight, it wasn't such a good idea after all. Slowly but surely, the weight started to creep back on. I was still being mindful of what I was eating and I was still very active but I suppose I took in too many calories and burned fewer than I thought. After all, that's the basic math in losing weight. Or is it?

With every step on the scale, my stress level went up with my weight. Correlation or causation? That's another chicken and egg type of debate. In my opinion, weight gain and stress are not mutually exclusive. But I digress.

I was honored by a good friend to be asked to be maid of honor in her wedding. See? Good things happen too. Weddings are supposed to be fun and planning is supposed to be fun. Well, there were fun moments but if I'm totally honest here, wedding planning is mostly stress, stress, and more stress. I may have developed a phobic fear of dress shopping. Dress makers already can't seem to agree on a size template so one dress maker says size 10 equals such and such measurements where another one says those measurements are actually a size 16. That is NOT good for someone who has issues with weight and body image already which is, oh I don't know, the majority of the female population in the United States. Shouldn't there be some kind of quality assurance or regulatory board somewhere that sets the measurements for every size and that is the same for everyone, everywhere? I think so!

Another good thing....hubby got himself a fancy new job so that was a pleasant event in my year.

Skip to June 2011. Early one morning, I woke up to....um....nothing. Weird. I couldn't see anything in one eye. Yes. Blind in one eye for no particular reason. So, you can imagine that wasn't so great for the rising stress level. That's where a list of doctor appointments came in and have yet to disappear from my calendar reminders. Annoying little buggers. The good news is that the vision returned and better than when it left. I no longer need glasses to read distances. Brilliant!

I learned about a cool benefit offered by my hubby's fancy new company. It's a weight loss benefit. Actually, they call it a "weight management" benefit. Whatever flowery language they want to use is fine with me because I quickly figured out that I qualified for it. I promptly jumped through all the hoops and got started. It's a 1 year monitored relationship with a team of professionals all there to help me figure out what is broken in my weight loss journey and how to fix it. I have a physician, a nutritionist, a "life coach" which is just non threatening language for a therapist, and a personal trainer. I just started a couple weeks ago so I have yet to see any real results but I'm optimistic.

France! Oh hallelujah I love France. Yes, we finally did it. Hubby and I were planning our trip for over a year and it finally happened. We started French classes in January so we could hack our way through the language no matter what little nook of the country we found ourselves in. Three successful weeks of travelling around that beautiful country came to an end just last week and I can't wait to return.

Now that all the craziness of life seems to have settled down and I managed to get away from work and stress for 3 beautiful weeks, I stepped on the scale and guess what....a tiny bit of movement in the right direction. Voila! Let's see if this lesser stressed me with a team of babysitters can figure out how to shed the weight once and for all, shall we?

And how are you?

Jenny's Adventures - Cedar River & Lake Washington Trails

2011-05-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

Cedar River Trail
I rode part of the cedar river trail last year but it's a long one so we didn't make it all the way. Last week, hubby and I rode it again, just a different section of it. As you can see, this section is pretty flat and boring but it does go along the river so you get to see and hear the river at some spots.

Courtesy of mapmyride.com
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/33817638

Hubby has matching shoes so I let him ride Jenny for a bit.

Weeeeeee!

Lake Washington Loop
This loop is just under 52 miles start to finish with a few decent sized hills to get your heart rate pumping. I didn't do the full loop yet but plan to tackle it in June. My new bicycle buddy and I did about 10 miles of moderate hills from just north of the Renton Municipal Airport to the I-90 bridge and back.

Courtesy of mapmyride.com
http://www.mapmyride.com/s/routes/view/bike-ride-map/washington/seattle/1989913

KEEP YOUR BIG TRAP SHUT!

2011-05-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

What is your worst fat fear?

My worst fat fear is that I will be accused of being pregnant. Why? I'll tell you. It's because when I was a young adolescent, probably around 10 or 11 years old, my aunt who was 4'10" tall and probably a good 200lbs had that exact scenario happen to her in my presence. An innocent little child approached her one day when we were out about town. The child ran up to my aunt and grabbed her belly yelling "mommy mommy, look, there's a baby in there!". The child's mother with a horrified look on her face, obviously knew that my aunt was just a fat woman, grabbed her child and hurried away. I could hear the apologies fading as their distance increased. That wasn't the worst of it though, at least that's not what was burnt into my mind. The worst part was listening to my aunt and my mom talk about how retched that woman and her child were and how humiliated my aunt felt after that scenario was over.

Less than an hour ago, my husband and I were eating at a new Mexican restaurant near our house and as we were paying the check and walking out the door, our waitress looked at me and said "how many months are you?". I wasn't sure I heard what I thought I heard so I asked her to repeat herself. She obliged my request with a clear and concise confirmation that I did in fact hear her right.

My response?

"I'm not pregnant, I'm just fat!"

That brief moment of emotional torment for my aunt and the conversation that followed taught me one very important lesson. Never ever ever ask a woman you don't know how far along she is or mention anything pregnancy related. The pain and suffering that can result if you're wrong far outweighs the possible joy YOU may experience with that stranger if you're right. This lesson did me well several times in life. The big one that stands out to me now is when I met a friend of a friend who looked very pregnant. I never said a word to her and later learned that she had undergone a surgery to remove the massive cyst from her abdomen. She wasn't pregnant. She had a very uncomfortable and painful medical condition that was also emotionally stressful. Thank god I kept my big trap shut.

Reasons to KEEP YOUR BIG TRAP SHUT:

Not everyone who looks pregnant is. They might be fat, they might have a tumor, they might have a cyst, they might have cancer, they might have nutritional deficiencies so KEEP YOU BIG TRAP SHUT!
Not everyone who's really pregnant is happy about it. They might have been raped, they might have been molested and are carrying their father's child, they might have just been dumped by the baby daddy, they might not know who the father is, they might be carrying a baby to term with no intention of keeping it. All those possibilities are very real in our world and they are all good reason to be unhappy about being pregnant so it's best that you KEEP YOUR BIG TRAP SHUT!
Pregnant women are smug. I've lost many a friend to child so I know what I'm talking about here. Happy pregnant women usually love to talk about all the ins and outs of their experience which does nothing more than reinforce their smugness. There is no need to encourage them in their hormonal justification so KEEP YOUR BIG TRAP SHUT!
Some pregnant women get sick and tired of:

talking to everyone because they're pregnant,
people touching their bellies even if you happen to know them well,
politely listening to your advice,
answering the same stupid questions you people ask over and over again (how far along are you? is it a boy or a girl? have you picked out names yet? are you nesting yet? are you having it naturally? are you going to get drugs? are you doing a home birth? have you had a baby shower yet? where did you register? have you decided if you're going to breast feed? are you going to be a stroller mom or a marsupial mom?),
listening to your experiences and how they differed with each and every little miracle you have sprung from your overactive loins so...KEEP YOUR BIG TRAP SHUT....and keep your hands to yourself.

There are often complications with pregnancies. Those unfortunate people who have complications and have to go to the doctor several times every month aren't exactly excited about their experience so KEEP YOUR BIG TRAP SHUT!
You're just being selfish. Talking to someone who may look or even be pregnant about their current situation does no good for that person what-so-ever. You're not talking to them for their benefit but maybe to satisfy your own curiosities or alleviate your own discomfort in a situation if you happen to be feeling that way so KEEP YOUR BIG TRAP SHUT!

Holding me back

2011-05-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

I took a little hiatus from the land of blogz and all the structure that ruled my existence for the better part of a year. Looking back at my journals, my blogs, my successes, my struggles, my proud moments, and my not so secret shames, I realized that I was just sick and tired of saying the same things over and over again and I needed to step away from the accountability to really figure out what was keeping me stuck.

Accountability is a good thing until we are unable to meet the bar we've set for ourselves and that accountability then becomes a tool of self-destruction. I think that's what happened in my world. I defined the bar for myself and when I didn't meet that bar, I took it off the shelf and started beating myself with it...figuratively speaking of course.

Last week I had an AHA! moment. Hubby and I were talking about how each of us would be different if we didn't have a significant other in our lives. How would I make decisions differently if I didn't have a husband to consider? What would I do differently? Where would I live? What kind of car would I drive? How would I wear my hair? How would I change my style? What hobbies would I have? It was essentially an exercise in evaluating how closely or distant our joint life aligns to our individual values. An interesting thing happened.

Hubby started answering my questions and his answers surprised me. If he didn't have a wife to consider in his decisions he would: take better care of his body, spend more time doing the hobbies he loves, not live in the house we have lived in for 10 years, have totally different furniture, drive a different car, spend more time with his guy friends, buy a Harley, not have the dog we have, etc. If I didn't have a husband to consider in my decisions, I would: take better care of my body, spend more time doing the hobbies I love, live in a high rise in the city, have totally different furniture, drive a different car, spend more time with my girlfriends, not have a dog, totally change my wardrobe, etc.

It was my belief for, oh I don't know...ever, that I was compromising all the things on my list for his sake. What I found was that I was mistaken. We both were. The only one holding me back is me. Hot damn!

Perhaps it's time to get in touch with the single Salina mindset a bit. Relax, not to cheat or anything like that. Ew! No! Perhaps recovering a bit of vanity isn't such a bad thing...since it is what would motivate me to take better care of my body if I were single. What about the house? Rent it out and move to the city. Hallelujah! Not all of our furniture can go with us though. Perfect! Have a yard sale and get new stuff for our new life.

I'm done selling myself short. I deserve to be the best me I can be, and my husband deserves to have the best version of me as well.

What would you do differently if you lived in harmony with your true values?

ReAnimateHer in a music video. Yeehaw!

2011-03-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!

Just how hard ReAnimateHer ROCKS!

Rat City Rollergirls

Who loves derby?

Burlesque

2011-03-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

Has the art of burlesque come back in style or am I just new? It certainly seems as though it has come back with a vengeance. I'm typically not one to get excited about the cyclical nature of fashion. I was all too thrilled when we grew out of the horrid style of the 1980s and when I started seeing some of those ridiculous clothes making an appearance again, I cringed and gagged a bit, I have to admit. But, when I saw my first live burlesque show a few months ago, I was absolutely thrilled. Then the movie came out with Cher and Christina and I couldn't wait to go see it in the theater.

If you've been under a rock, allow me to explain what I'm talking about.

Burlesque has been a loved art form for centuries actually. Did you know that the word is derived from an Italian word meaning "joke". Back in the olden days, it was simply a satirical representation of serious events. It eventually morphed into a variety show on stage with elaborate costume and performances to entertain the masses. The Americans eventually got word of it and turned it into a strip tease of sorts. Pesky Americans always with sex on the brain. It lost a bit of steam around the late 1940s, but it sure seems to be back now and I'm all over it.

You may or may not recall that I did a bit of belly dancing a few months back? In doing so, I found out about the fabulous Miss Indigo Blue's Academy of Burlesque right here in Seattle. The idea crossed my mind that I may want to try one of her intro to burlesque classes out to see if I might like to get schooled in the art of the tease. I did nothing with those innocent little thoughts...that is until recently.

I went to a burlesque performance called J'Adore which was a special Valentine's Day performance at The Triple Door in Seattle (fabulous venue by the way even if the food served is just...wrong). Guess who was one of the performers! You'll never guess. Guess! Ok, I'll tell you. Miss Indigo Blue of course. I promptly went home and scheduled my burlesque for dummies class otherwise referred to as "A Taste of the Tease". The 1 hour class is designed to give you a little introduction to the world of burlesque with fun and playful lessons in the basics. No coordination or experience required!

How did it go?

I LOVED IT! Not only was the class fun and interesting but Indigo was an amazing teacher. If you're like me and maybe a little shy with your jiggly bits, trust me, you have nothing to fear in one of Indigo's classes. She was a wonderful instructor. Cute as can be, she was dressed in a perfect 1950s house dress complete with fishnets and cat eye glasses. She definitely looked the part but instead of being cross and overbearing as one would typically expect from someone who calls herself a "headmistress", she was welcoming and kind.

Class began with a welcome and everyone went around the room introducing themselves with a little story about what interested each of us in burlesque. Everyone said basically the same thing, "it just looks like fun so I wanted to give it a try".

Side note: Did you know that Miss Indigo Blue is the star of her very own documentary? A Wink and a Smile. I haven't actually seen the documentary myself. Not yet anyway. I do know that it's a Seattle indie film that follows a few of our local burlesque performers around though. I believe you can stream it on Netflix if you're interested.

Anyhow, after the introduction, we got moving. We learned a handful of basics. Let's see if I remember them all here.

The bump and grind
The burlesque basic
The walking basic
How to shimmy and shake
Flirty tricks
Fun with props

I feel like I may be forgetting something but you get the idea anyway. If you have no dance experience, have no fear. If you are shy about your jiggly bits, rest assured. There were no complex dance moves and no stripping required. Well, that's only partially true. We did do a bit of stripping but we did not take off the clothes we came in with. No, no, no. Instead, we put a few things on so we had a few things to take off.

The bump and grind was the first of the exercises we learned. Bump the apple, bump the orange, and griiiiiind the coffee. Don't forget to remember the division between church and state now. That's very important.

As simple as the burlesque basic is, there's just something about it that makes you feel sassy and ready for fun, or maybe that's just me. Putting it in motion though, that's where stage domination comes in, I'm sure of it.

What can be said about the shimmy and the shake? I mean really. Actually, I found this part of class rather reassuring. It's no secret that I have a bit more of me to go around than I would prefer. You know what happens when you shake what the good lord gave you? It takes on a life of it's own. In the past, that would be something I would shy away from. Fat girls just shouldn't shake their shit in other people's faces, that's been one of my many mottos over the years. Well, I got a distinct feeling from attending this class that Indigo would snap my fingers with her ruler for that comment because she encouraged us "shake it to the bone".

The flirty tricks were totally cheesy but equally as enjoyable. Burlesque is all about making fun of the serious aspects of life, literature, events, etc. and using exaggerated expressions to do the fun making when it comes to sex was perfect. If you feel silly trying to act sexy, then why not turn it into a silly sexy joke? Want to know a little secret? Silly sexy jokes work for heating up the stage too, even if it is just in the privacy of your own bedroom.

Nothing adds to the exaggeration better than a big fluffy feather boa. Am I right or am I right? Yes, you guessed it, out came the props. We learned to enhance our tease with the boa and some of those silky, luxurious gloves. Remember, you can't take anything off if you don't first put it on. One of the most important lessons I learned in the class was that the tease is so much better when it's first decorated. It's true. You can strip out of your street clothes just as well as you can strip out of a gold sequined dress but the sense of occasion (fantasy) you get when you first dress up makes the taking it off all the better.

It's no secret that the boys are visually stimulated creatures so why not use that to your advantage? Get yourself a sparkly costume and adorn it with jewels and feathers and gloves, oh my. Then sign up for one of Indigo's burlesque classes to learn the moves to flaunt your stuff. You'll have your guy drooling in no time. And I might add that you'll feel like a million bucks, no matter what size you are in the bust or around the waist.

My Master Plan and Other Such Stuff

2011-03-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

In my last post which happened to be almost a month ago, I mentioned a hint of a master plan. Instead of sulking in my mashed potatoes when I clearly wanted au gratin, I made the decision to make the best out of the mushy situation.

The situation (no, not the douche from Jersey Shore):

I am not selling my house and moving to the city this year.
I now have the gift of time.
I'm still overweight.
I still have not written the great novel of this century.

The plan then is to dedicate each and every day to accomplishing the two goals in my life that I most desire (second to moving to the city of course).

I'm in a wedding in September which I would very much like to not feel like a fat cow in a strapless dress mooing as I walk down the isle (you know....like the moo cow toys).
My mission then is to lose 27lbs in 27 weeks. But how?

1,400 calories per day
50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat
Drink lots of water
Take vitamin D every day
Clean eating. Check out http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/
Exercise 5 days per week.
Sleep 8 hours per night
Journal every day

I love to write, I stay I want to write, but I don't write. Well, I do write in my journal every day but that's not the same thing. I want to create stories and plays and novels and whatever else my brilliant brain can put together. So, I've decided to just write. Every day. If I write something, anything, every day, eventually I'll have something tangible. And you know they say that writing begets more writing so I just need to write, right? But how?

I made a very lazy attempt at participating in the NANOWRIMO challenge last fall and did not follow through with it. Lame, I know. I still have the (I don't even know what to call it) word doc I created for NANOWRIMO in the state it was left in when I gave up on the challenge. It may just be time to dust it off and start writing in it again. Yes?
Now that spring is almost here, the geniuses over there in nanowrimo land came up with a challenge for this time of year. It's the SCRIPT FRENZY challenge and I just have to do it.
I recently discovered an amazing resource right here in my home town. It's the Pacific Northwest Writer's Association (PNWA). I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this resource. Perhaps I will find myself attending the next meeting to give it a once over before I decide to join?
My favorite lady writer Suzette Standring is also working the radio circuit on BellaPetite to discuss her new book The Height of Power: Petite Women Speak of Stature. I'll be keeping one eye and one ear on her over the coming months for greatly needed and appreciated inspiration.

What else has been going on? Oh lots. I have so much more to share but it will have to wait until another post. Burlesque class, French, and other activities galore.

change my perception, change my life

2011-02-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

I'll tell ya, there are so many things happening lately. Seems like one crazy adventure after another. For a while, I found myself in the dumps. Yes, I got way too negative for a little while. It doesn't happen too often but when it does, I find that it's better if I just retreat and wait it out in solitude. For if I don't, I'm afraid that I may end up just attacking the innocent or taking my irrational frustrations out on those around me simply because they are around me. I don't want to do that to you. I'm sorry I disappeared but it really was for the best. The good news though is that the cloud has passed and I've recovered the real me again.

What happened?

I'm afraid the answer is going to sound familiar to those of you who know me or have been reading my crap for a while now. I stopped doing all the self care stuff. I stopped eating healthful meals as consistently as I once was. I got lazy. The gym was not on my to-do list for a couple weeks. My journal was beginning to collect dust. The vitamin D in my cute little pill container may have even expired. My quality of sleep had disintegrated. My poor little guitar sat lonely in my spare room for far too long.

When any one of those things happen, my mood starts to go south and I get irritable then it's a slippery slope unless I can manage to recover the missing piece. Well, it took me a tick to realize what was happening and I was not able or willing by that time to see my actions or inactions. I was in the middle of my negativity storm and everyone and everything was on my shit list. Friends were pissing me off for no good reason. My husband was....well....that's nothing new. ;) Work became nearly unbearable. I wasn't willing or able to tolerate family. Even the people at the gym, whoever they were, made me want to just lash out irrationally.

It became abundantly clear to me just how ridiculous I was when I saw myself get bitchy and snotty with my dearest friend in the world. Accountabilibuddy. She has been there for me through everything in the past year and a half and she has been amazing through it all. She did me a little favor and I didn't like what she had to say so I snapped at her. When I realized what I did, I felt horrible and was forced to look at myself in the mirror. If I'm not happy, it's not her fault, nor anyone else's for that matter. I'm the only one who can manage my mood. And I'm the only one who knows what I'm really doing and not doing, what I'm really thinking and not thinking. My world is based on my perception and my perception only. So, it stands to reason that if I change my perception, I change my life. I've done it before and I realized that I slipped and needed to do it again.

In my last post, I talked about Goal #3 which was to sell my house and move to the city. Well, that goal seems to need some renegotiating now. After doing some homework, I've discovered that it just doesn't make financial sense to sell at this time. At first, I took that news really hard. I'm a city girl stuck in the suburbs. The idea of staying where I don't belong for yet another year or more just took all the wind out of my sails. So, I need to either suck it up and sell for a loss or I need to redefine what this all means in my life. I'm either "stuck" in the burbs for however long, OR I've been granted a golden opportunity.

I choose the latter.

My plan was to list the house in Feb, sell in Mar, and move in Apr. That eats up 3 months (at least). So, now that I'm not going to be selling, packing, apartment hunting, or moving, I find myself with time. What ever shall I do with extra time? Oh I know....how about I redirect that time to spend on accomplishing one of my other goals. Let's see here. I want to learn French, get my little monster into agility training, write a book, and lose weight. Those are the biggies. I'm already taking French classes. I already have the little monster signed up for doggy class. I haven't been writing much lately. And I managed to gain 6.8 lbs over the holidays and hang onto it until well....yesterday when I weighed in at 165.8.

By George, I think we've found it. I get to focus more time and attention to losing weight and writing a book. Hurray!

I spent this past weekend looking at those goals in detail and I think I've put together a master plan to make sure I can accomplish BOTH by the end of the year. Wanna know how? Stay tuned...

Obviously, doing this self reflection stuff gets me thinking about what others are going through too. Am I the only one who's mood was drenched by toilet water? Are you struggling too? With what? What did you do to get out of it? Do you have an opportunity to redefine your perception and change your life in the process? Do you have any witty insight for me? Any stories you want to share?

Thanks for being here.

#3 Goal for 2011

2011-02-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

Of my 3 big goals for the year, this one was the one I was most looking forward to. That might sound strange considering that the other 2 I shared were nothing short of wonderful.

#1 Goal - Melt the fat, ALL of it!
#2 Goal - Learn to speak French and take the hubby's dream vacation
#3 Goal - Defect from the suburbs for good

Yes, it's true, I desperately want to get the hell out of the wretched suburbs more than anything else in the world. You see, I'm a city girl. I love walking everywhere rather than driving from one end of a strip mall to the other. I love the boutique shops you find in the city over the over sized superstores that plague suburban American life. I prefer listening to the drunk homeless guy yelling profanities outside over the sound of the neighborhood kids drag racing down my street.

I had a plan and a beautiful plan it was. I have owned my house for a decade now and in that time have successfully remodelled it inside and out. We bought the house with the intention of staying no longer than 5 years because I detest the suburbs but we wanted to experience home ownership in all it's glory. We bought a fixer upper and fixeder up real good. It only took us 10 years. Now we're done and we planned to have it on the market at the end of February, priced to sell by the end of March. We were to be organized, packed up, and moved into our new high rise building in the city by mid April.

Cue the bad news.

The price to sell quickly would net us a bit of a loss with the crappy market the way it is now. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you out there depressing the market with your foreclosures, HUD homes, and short sales. Thank you very very much for ruining the fun for the rest of us....RESPONSIBLE people who can figure out how to pay our bills and make decisions to get ourselves into properties that are NOT above our standard of living. Thanks to you, my house is now worth the same amount it was worth back in 2000 when I purchased it.

So I get to sit and wait it out. How long? Who knows, a year, maybe 3. Bye bye high rise, bye bye door man, bye bye boutiques and drunk homeless dudes. I'll miss you, for I must sacrifice more years to the lifestyle that does not fit me or my goals and values.

#2 Goal for 2011

2011-02-02T08:49:00.000-08:00

When I graduated from college, all I wanted was to take my dream vacation. "All" I wanted. Listen to me. It's like my dream vacation isn't much to ask for. It took me 11 years to complete my BA degree so I figured I had more than earned my dream vacation. My dream vacation was to travel around Italy. I had always been fascinated with that country for some reason. The language is beautiful, the food is my favorite, the culture is rich. What's not to love about Italy?

I got my wish. I spent a few months studying up on some basic Italian so I could get us around the country. We spent 3 weeks travelling and it was spectacular. We started in Rome, then rented a car and drove through Umbria and Tuscany, Viterbo, Greve, Pisa. Stayed a few days in Firenze and Fiesole. Then we ventured to Portovenere and wondered the Cinque Terre. We took a train to Milan for a bit of shopping then headed over to Venice to explore the waterways. We stayed in tiny little inns and ate in local favorites but strayed as far from the tourist attractions as possible. When I travel, I want to know what it's like to be of the region so I did what the Italians do and stayed where the Italians stay and ate what the Italians eat.

Shortly after our return, my husband decided he wanted to go back to college and of course his request was to take his dream vacation as a graduation celebration. His dream vacation is to travel across France. He graduated last year but we had too many other things happening to consider an international vacation at the time. Well, this year is going to be the year.

The #2 goal for the year is to travel to France.

You know what that means don't you? I get to learn to speak French. Oui! I took some francais in high school but didn't continue with it because I was more interested in espanol. Hubby took a bunch of French in high school though and always loved the language. So....we decided to relearn to speak the romance language together.

We signed ourselves up for a French 1 class at the local community college continuing education program. Class started on January 12th and will continue through mid March then we will have to see about francais deux. If all goes according to plan, we can surely make it through French 1, 2, and 3 before our trip. That should give us enough to have some elementary conversations with the locals and make our way through the country without presenting as the newest stupid americains to polute the country. I have to say that although the French have a reputation of being assholes, I absolutely love them. They're my kinda people. Kinda like New Yorkers. Love em!

We don't yet know where we want to go or what we want to do in France but we do know we need to find some great recommendations that do NOT include tourist activities. Are you French? Been to France? Do you have any kickass recommendations for us? Think hidden jems and accidental pleasant finds that no tourist would ever know to be as spectacular as it actually is. That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for.

Sparkpeople

2011-01-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

I just got my sparkpeople page up and running. If you're on there, please come find me. I like friends.

SalinaLyn

Goal Setting

2011-01-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

Goal setting theories are one of those asshole things.

You know, everyone has one.

Yesterday, I posted my #1 goal for the year.

Before I break down how I choose to attack my goals, I want to give you a bit of information about how others recommend we set goals.

Psychologists say that goals should be specific and challenging. Research by Dr. Edwin Locke back in the 1960's resulted in a lovely acronym for effective goal setting. He said that goals should be SMART.

Specific - Be precise in defining your goal. Make it significant! Make it count!
Measurable - Make it meaningful! There has be a way to define success.
Attainable - There has to be a way to make it happen. It must be within your control.
Relevant - Make it rewarding! It has to mean something to you.
Trackable - There should be a time set to it. Give it an end.

I'm a huge fan of goals. They help me feel organized in my life and in charge of my own destiny. Without them, I tend to feel chaotic and disinterested. Years ago, I felt that goals added a level of stress to my life. I did not enjoy defining what I wanted because if I was unable to achieve them, I felt deflated and that my already negative outlook on the world would just be reinforced. What I found was that it's all in my perception. I could choose to look at it that way which could be nothing but the truth or I can choose to look at it how I do now, and that is that goals help me get more out of my days, months, and years. Without them, I feel like time is just passing me by. With them, I feel engaged in my own life.

Goals are a valuable resource for building self confidence.
Thinking about your goals is just the first step in creating the life that you want and becoming the person you want to be. If you haven't been asleep or unconscious for the past year or two, you would have heard about the new agey stuff going around with the laws of attraction. Laws of attraction suggest that like attracts like. So if you are thinking and feeling not so good about you or your surroundings, you'll experience more of those not so good things to generate more of the same thoughts and feelings but if you think and feel happy and proud and content then more things will come into your life to support those feelings and thoughts. Setting goals, in my opinion, is just a tool to manipulate the laws of attraction in your favor.

So here's how I do it.

I start with a spreadsheet because I'm a numbers nerd and I love spreadsheets. It's my thing, leave it alone. You don't have to use a spreadsheet, you can just write them on a sheet of paper if you want. I start with the weeks of the year across the top and group them by month then by quarter so I can see them at a glance or look at the entire year at once. Down the left side, I list my goals. I start with my ultimate goals for the year, then I break each of the year goals down into quarterly targets, monthly actions, and weekly to-do lists. Then across the page under the week/month/quarter that I intend to take the actions I defined, I will either put an X or a note to myself so I can track everything in one view on a timeline.

For Example:
Annual Goal - Weigh 120 lbs by December 31st, 2011 (I put it in positive terms to tell the universe that I don't intend to misplace the weight but shed it completely)
Quarterly Targets - Q1 Weigh 156 lbs by April 1st, Q2 Weigh 143 lbs by July 1st, Q3 Weigh 130 by October 1st, Q4 Weigh 120 lbs by December 31st.
Monthly Actions - Create new activity calendar with full exercise plan. January ice skating, February ballroom dancing, March push-ups.
Weekly To-Dos - Meal plan, grocery shopping, exercise at least 5x, do monthly activity 2x, track calories

For this particular goal, I have a daily to-do list that I keep as well because I personally need a daily reminder of what habits I need to maintain in order to experience the success I want. I shared that list yesterday if you want to refer to it.

I also make a note to myself on my goal spreadsheet to set a new goal every quarter so I have something new that is keeping me engaged in my goals and I have a reminder to review and evaluate my goals on a monthly basis so if I need to adjust them up or down, I can do that as the year progresses.

Calorie counting is one of those things that I do religiously. I tried to get away from it toward the end of last year but ended up putting a couple pounds back on so I'm back to tracking everything again. I've been using sparkpeople and love love love it. So easy to use. You can track your food, water, vitamins, exercise, and other goals. There are blogs and articles and tips and forums and groups to participate in if you should so desire. If you're a sparkpeep, look me up. Salinalyn.
Well, there you have it. Goals alla Salina.

Oh, and I just found this site too. I haven't signed up to use it yet but thought I'd share it with you.
Stickk.com
It's a free site where you can sign up and input a goal for yourself, define your referees or as I like to call them Accountabilibuddies and you can even pledge money to a charity as a financial motivator if you want. If or when you default on your goal tracking progress, the site automatically generates an email to all of your Accountabilibuddies to inform them that you've been slacking and if you have pledged cash, you lose the money or it goes to an anti-charity (something you don't want it to go to).

Do you have any special goal tracking methods that you just love and would like to share?

#1 Goal for 2011

2011-01-17T12:56:00.000-08:00

Melt the fat like an ice cube on a sizzling griddle.

I officially started the weight loss journey in February 2009. "Officially" meaning when I began the consistent effort and not giving up even when I slip a little. I'm like every other person on the planet who has tried to lose weight and given up a number of times but I can honestly say that although I haven't gotten far in my journey, I have not given up, not even for a second. I trip and fall but dust myself off and get back to business every time.

February 2009, I weighed in at 178.6 lbs. For a 5 foot tall little thing like me, that's a lot of weight. I was consistently eating about 2,000 calories a day and although I was exercising, I was only burning an average of 70 calories above and beyond my basal metabolic rate (due to my inconsistent exercise habits). That just so happened to also be the month that I had my metabolic rate tested too. According to the calculations you get from the many standard charts out there in Internet land, I should have been burning around 1,850 calories per day at rest. When I got tested, I was burning 1,296 at rest. Then, they added another 387 calories to that to take my daily lifestyle into consideration. When all is said and done, I actually burn 1,683 calories a day just being me.

2,000   Avg. Calories intake (food I ate)
1,683   Avg. Calories I burned in a day just being me
-70       Avg. Calories I burned in a day on average from exercise
247      Avg. Calories I was in the hole on a daily basis

With those excess calories in my diet, I could expect to gain 1 lb of fat every two weeks.
Something had to change!

Here's what I did/DO:

I altered my diet to eat whole foods and limit the processed crap.

Reduced my calorie intake to 1,400-1,500 calories per day.
50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat intake which for 1,400 calories per day equals 175g carb, 105g protein, 31g fat.

Drink 60 oz water every day (at least)
Take Vitamin D - My doctor and the nutritionist I hired at the time informed me that vitamin d helps in weight loss. It also does wonders for mood and skin as well.
Exercise 6 days per week burning 400 calories each session.

Target heart rate - 140 beats per minute (75% of maximum HR = Maximize fat burning zone)
Alternate days with interval training - target heart rate 125 bpm for 1 minute then reach 166 bpm within 30 seconds and hold it there for another 1.5 mins before letting it drop to 125 again, rinse and repeat for 35 mins minimum. This is GOLD for repairing a broken metabolism!
Incorporate strength training to tone muscle (muscle is a fat burning machine) 2-3 days per week.
Because I get bored easily, I started incorporating a different/new physical activity into my plan every month to stay interested and engaged in being active...thus was born Living Active.

Sleep - Getting a full night's sleep is absolutely necessary to set me up for success. When I'm tired, I'm more likely to get moody and emotionally eat and less likely to plan or prepare healthful meals.

Here's the math: Calories Summary

1683 Maintenance Calories
1400 Daily calorie intake (16.8%/283 calorie deficit)
400 Calories burned w/exercise
683 Total calorie deficit per day
4098 Total calorie deficit per week (1400 intake, 400 burn 6days/week, 1683 calories on Sunday)
1.17 Lbs fat lost each week
1500 Max calorie intake 6days/week to still lose 1lb/week

From February 2009 to October 2010, I managed to lose 20lbs. That's 20lbs in 85 weeks. Yikes! An average loss of 0.23 lbs per week. That's definitely not the 1lb per week I was planning for.

Since October 2010 when I weighed in at 159lbs, I managed to gain a few back. Sunday, January 16th, I weighed in at 167.2. That's a gain of 8.2 lbs in 16 weeks. Um...ya...that's an average gain of 0.5 lbs per week.

So obviously I'm not perfect. What happened? Oh life. Life happens. Holidays, birthdays, fun with friends, laziness, illness, injuries, etc. Life! The point isn't how much or how little I accomplished, the point is that I'm still here. I'm still active, I'm still living the journey, and I'm still not giving up.

In the spirit of not giving up and redefining my goals for the year, I put this one on the top of the list. This year, I want more than anything to reach a healthy weight/size/shape for me. I don't want anything outrageous. Don't care if I'm a size 2 or if I've got a six pack. Don't care if I'm supermodel material. I just want to be healthy and happy in my skin. Because I believe in setting hard and fast goals that can be measured as well as attainable, I feel the need to assign a number to this here plan of mine.

A healthy person of my size and stature should be between 106 and 123 lbs. I've been 106 lbs before and I think I was probably too damn skinny because I didn't have any muscle at all. That's too small for me. I'll shoot for 120. If I stick with the plan to lose 1 lb per week, which is doable if I exercise regularly and eat between 1,400 and 1,500 calories per day, I could reach that goal by the first week of December. Is it challenging? YES. Can I do it? YES. Am I going to try? Absolutely! Will I be crushed if I don't make it? No. As long as I don't give up on myself, I'm happy being content with progress. Progress means I'll get there eventually and eventually is better than never so I'll take it. And in the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy this active lifestyle that is now the norm for me.

So there you have it.
My #1 goal for the year.
My justification behind it.
My plan for how it will be done.

Because I'm totally and completely analytical about this kind of stuff, I also have it broken down into daily habits.

EVERYDAY

Eat 1,400 calories (50% carb, 30% protein, 20% fat)
Exercise burning 400 calories
Track all food and exercise on sparkpeople
Drink at least 60oz of water
Take Vitamin D
Sleep 8 hours
Journal (feeding my soul is critical too)

What is your #1 goal for 2011? And how do you intend to accomplish it?

The pains of racquetball

2011-01-17T06:30:00.000-08:00

Have you ever cracked a rib playing racquetball? I think I managed to do just that. How? I have no freakin' idea. I played racquetball with Accountabilibuddy on Friday. We had 3 vicious games, all of which I barely managed to win. She's a tough competitor! I felt perfectly wonderful during and after the games until later in the evening when my right side started to hurt a little. Then on Friday evening, I lay down in bed and it was hurting a little more. Apparently, I woke hubby up in the middle of the night crying in pain as I was attempting to roll over. Saturday, I woke up and could barely move. I labored to breathe, sneezing was torture, I wasn't able to sit down or stand up, bending over was totally out of the question, even laying down to rest was painful.

What's the first thing anyone does when they think they may have injured themselves? They poke the painful spot of course. I did that! I poked it to see what and where exactly it hurt. Maybe it was just a strained muscle or something. Definitely not muscle pain. I had to appease hubby too who was worried about an internal organ spasming inside me or something. He's always the first one to say "go to the doctor". That is something I do not like. I'll go to the damn doctor if I think something is wrong with me beyond my understanding or if I know it's something that can and should be treated by a doctor but if something hurts a little....no thanks. They typically just tell me to take it easy and take some Tylenol or something. I can figure that out on my own, don't need to pay $150 and wait in an uncomfortable emergency room for someone to tell me to go home and lay down or a pill for it. The pain wasn't deep, it was close to the surface. I moved my rib cage a little and POW, like a shot, the pain blasted me. Yup. It was my ribs. Ouch! It hurts when I do this!

I took it easy on Saturday, went to bed, and when I woke up Sunday, it felt significantly better. There was still a dull pain present but nothing like it was the first two days. I decided to try to go swimming to see if I could manage that form of activity. No problemo! There was a slight twinge of pain every once in a while but for the most part, I was totally fine.

This morning, I woke up and feel perfectly normal again. Hmmmmm...that doesn't sound like a broken rib now does it? I read a few forums and doctor's websites and crap like that and most people with broken/cracked ribs complain of pain for months. My pain lasted 2 full days. Either I'm a super quick healer or there were no fractures in the first place. Bruised rib maybe? I hate being fragile.

Ever cracked a rib?

Exciting News

2011-01-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

Today, my friends, I get to be featured on FitBlogger. Yay for me! I'm pretty sure the post is a masterpiece but you can be the judge of that. Go on over there and take a look for yourself. Don't forget to leave comments. You know how I love those.

In other news, I had an idea. A master plan if you will. But aren't all my ideas brilliant? No. Anyway...

New Years Resolutions
I've noticed over the past couple years that my gym fills up in January and February then in March it starts dying down again. Three words - New Years Resolutioners. Every year, we begrudgingly put a list of goals together because we typically feel like crap if we don't and every year we fight with ourselves about whether or not we should actually do what it takes to get a move on any of the things on the list. Do we really WANT to do what it takes to change our lives? Sometimes. But if we could have exactly what we wanted without having to do any work for it, would we gladly sign right up for that option? Absofreakinlutely!

I've read articles over the years that say we're actually better off not making an new years resolutions. Why? Because the chance of us actually following through with our goals or promises to ourselves is slim to none. The majority of us will make a list, contemplate what we need to do to realize those goals, maybe we'll try for a little while (a month or two), then decide it's just too much work and we give up. I don't know about you but when a friend of mine tells me that they are going to be there for me or do something with me and then they don't show up or give up on me after minimal effort, I feel dumped and unimportant. I'll typically give them a couple chances because lets face it, people are fallible and we all make mistakes. After a few times of being let down and disappointed though, I'll eventually stop trusting them. What do you think happens when we give up on ourselves? Same damn thing.

In my opinion, setting news years resolutions is a golden opportunity to build some valuable self efficacy. If you struggle with believing in yourself, it's time to put yourself to a challenge. Not a list of challenges. One! Choose one thing that you want more than anything else in the world and focus your attention on it. If and when you do that, you end up feeling like you can conquer the world which is contagious. All we need is one little flame lit inside us and with every small success, the fire grows and before we know it, we have flames shooting out our asses.

So how do we do it? How do we get that tiny little flame to start burning? Well, it's a 12-step process. Naaaaa, just joking. One more word for you: SUPPORT. Ignore the nay sayers, they've just given up on themselves and want to feel less shitty about it by making the rest of us believe we can't succeed either. That's bullshit! Let the nay sayers learn from our example instead, that's what I say.

Over the past couple years, I've struggled and experienced a few successes as well. I sometimes get down on myself and judge myself too harshly but I have figured one thing out for sure, no matter what...I NEVER GIVE UP on ME. I can't take much of the credit though. The one thing I've done right in my estimation is I got myself a support network. I kinda sorta feel like it's payback time. I'm still chugging along with my own goals and stuff but I really really really want to be there for others too.

So my brilliant idea is this: I'm offering to be your Accountabilibuddy if you want one. I'll share my goals for the year and my plans for successfully accomplishing them if you will do the same? If you're struggling with what to do or how to do it, tell me and I'll do what I can to be a resource or just a cheerleader in your corner. If you have advice or suggestions for me or for others to get that flame a'burnin', email me or leave comments. I want to give more than I want to take this year. We can do this new years resolution thing together and show the nay sayers where they can shove it.

So what do you think?

The Great 2011 Adventure

2011-01-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

My last post was about all the things I'm most proud of from last year. Well, I do have to admit that what I displayed there did not reflect ALL that I did and am proud of which makes it even more rewarding to me. This year, I have a new adventure planned and yesterday was the first step on the journey that will likely last all year long and quite possibly longer. But before I get to that, I suddenly decided that I want to give some of the other things I did in 2010 the attention and curtsy they deserve.

Hiking in the Redwoods

Golfing

Swimming bliss

Belly Dancing classes and bought my very own finger cymbals

I was taking lessons in the beginning of the year then put my guitar down for a few months and recently picked it back up again. That's my happy place. I tried to name her Lucille but hubby said that name is already taken by BB King. :(

Down 2 notches.

Japanese cooking day was a blast and oh so good

Totally and completely landscaped my yard (front, back, and sides)

I invented the Tortizza. Yummmmm!

I managed to read a few books last year too.

And now, for the pièce de résistance......drum roll please....

Hubby and I are taking French classes together. First class was last night. And if you're interested, our teacher puts her lessons for newbies on her French blog. I took one year of French in high school after taking 2 1/2 years of Spanish before that. I just remember it being so frustrating because I would get the two languages mixed up and speak Frenish which no one understood but me.

Last night we went through tons of stuff.

Pronunciation
Body parts by way of singing head and shoulders, knees and toes
Weather
Gender
Greetings

I have a list of homework and a text book that I can't understand. I thought it would all come back to me but so far...no such luck.

A bit of the story is still missing though. I left out the reason for my lessons.

That's riiiiiight! If all goes right this year, I will find myself taking my next international vacation sometime during the year. It's about time too. It's been about 5 years since my last hop across the pond.

What great adventures do you have planned for the year? Losing weight, exercising, running marathons, going back to school, getting a new job, starting a business, facing your fears, something else?

I'm most proud of....

2011-01-10T07:54:00.000-08:00

Working with Chica to make her a better, happier, healthier dog

Hubby and I reaching out to be Uncle and Auntie to our niece

My wonderful Accountabilibuddy and all the fun we've had on the racquetball court

Facing my estranged family so I can be there for this little guy who is my nephew

Facing my silly fears and overcoming them one by one

Roller skating and attempting derby even though I hurt myself and had to postpone it

Jenny the wonder bike and all the adventures we had this past year

Trying new things even if I do look silly doing them

Completing my first ever organized bike ride allllll by myself (in the pooring down rain I might add)

The work I did on myself going through The Artist's Way

Finally doing Punk Rope classes in Seattle

Steve and all the participants for the Hot 100 Challenge

My favorite Big Girl Bombshell for all the progress she's made overcoming her own fitness fears this past year

What are you most proud of?

The Holiday is OVER! YeeHaw!

2010-12-27T13:34:00.000-08:00

Lots happening and not happening. Changes are everywhere. Some successes some not so much. Where to start?

Punk Rope - I decided to let it be. Meaning? I'm not willing to sacrifice everything that I would need to sacrifice to make it as successful as I would like it to be. It's just not that important to me. Yes I enjoy it. Yes I worked very hard to get it. I'm willing to do it but not at the price tag it bears. The good news though is that I conquered the retarded fear and I feel a million times better now that I have.

Belly Dancing - I hated it. I loved it. It was strange and enjoyable, frustrating and liberating. Did I do it the justice I was planning? No. Not even close. Could I? Can I? Yes. Will I? No. There were just too many other things happening to give it my full attention. And, I'm not one to over share my embarrassments like many of the other bloggers out there. So...if you wanted to watch me get all dressed up and wriggle my jiggly bits well then you should have participated and requested it. You didn't..so I won't. Deal with it.

The Artist's Way - I will admit that I'm a little behind. The stupid Christmas bullshit got in the way and instead of just sticking to what worked for me, I freaked out a little and threw my comfortable routine right out the window. That included reading and journaling for a week. So, I'm starting week 7 today. More to come.

Challenges - I did not update the Hot 100 last week and I'm not going to do it now or anymore. I almost made it through the entire thing but I must admit utter failure. I don't have any good excuses nor bad ones now that I think of it. I just failed. I did not meet any of my goals. Not only that but I didn't come close to any of them either. NO weight loss. I gained a couple pounds back actually. No book. Didn't even finish the NaNoWriMo challenge. I didn't blog consistently either and I'm not sad about it.

Blog - You might have noticed that I've been MIA lately. I've had a bad attitude and took time away. Blogging has recently felt like more of an obligation and an empty one at that rather than the motivational tool it once was. The idea has been rolling around in my head to abandon it altogether. If it aint workin'... But instead, I've decided that I will do what I want, when I want, how I want, and you can either read it and like it or go away. This isn't meant to be mean or antagonistic at all. Well, that's not entirely true. It's meant to be antagonistic to me. I fear that I've been writing this blog for the past few months in hopes of getting more attention or more readers or more comments or whatever. I've been doing it for you and somewhere along the line, I lost my own motivation in there. I've removed the fluff so you are no longer going to be asked to vote, there aren't blog awards flashing or links on all sides. I no longer have a goal to blog a certain number of times every week or any other little hooks to try to get your attention or make you happy. Now...it's just me, exposed. Take it or leave it.

Activity - I'm still going to do my monthly activities for the most part. If I find something I like and want to do it longer, I will. If I find something I hate, I'll switch it up. My calendars are still posted and I'll still share my experiences with you. If you're interested, cool...if not, so sorry. Because the voting was tied, I just decided what I wanted to do this month and the winner is....

Now I don't want you getting your little feelers all hurt or anything. I still very much welcome and appreciate all your feedback and advice and questions and criticism. Believe it or not, I read every single one of them and take them to heart. My intention with the shift going into the new year isn't to alienate anyone but rather pull the focus back on to myself because I've been slacking lately and need a tighter leash now. That's all.

I hope you all enjoyed the worst time of the year and are back and ready to kick your goals back into high gear like I am. Failure or not...I'm back baby.

Hot 100 blah blah blah

2010-12-17T08:20:00.000-08:00

Last week, I talked about shin splints. Those bitches. I tried taping my legs for Punk Rope to see if it would help and it did not seem to do much good at all. Crap. I'll try again tomorrow and see if we might have just done something wrong. I'm not holding my breath.

I've pretty much lost all interest in this challenge and blogging and most everything so forgive me if I'm just blah today.

Weight - no clue. don't care.

water - no
workout - limited due to shin splint pains shooting through my fucking legs
meal plan - no
tracking - no
sleep - kinda
journal - barely
food - sometimes

blog - no
book - no

How you like them apples?

The Artist's Way week 6-7

2010-12-13T07:38:00.000-08:00

The Artist's Way Week 6

I only journalled one day last week. ONE! No wonder I'm feeling a little lethargic today. Nevermind that it's 6am on a Monday morning. I'm sure that has nothing to do with it what-so-ever. I thought about journalling all week. I had every intention of journalling all week. I just never picked up my notebook and my pen to make it happen except one lonely time on Wednesday.

Week 6 was about abundance. Personally, I don't really have much trouble with this concept. What I have trouble with is more along the lines of believing that I'm "lucky enough" to be included in the list of people that get to reap the rewards of the abundance concept. Yes, for some strange reason, I tend to see myself as an exception to most universal laws and human conditions. Maybe it's an illogical egotistical thing. I don't know. In order to overcome this twisted thinking, I just practice visualizing my ideas of a perfect world. Pictures of condos in New York, paintings of cottages on the beach, a passport packed full of stamps, maps of the countries I still want to visit, and images of experiences I dream of having appear on my computer desktop and tickle me with anticipation. It's a pleasant reminder that the world is a much larger and flatter place than my day-to-day routine allows me to see. The pictures appear and whisper "don't forget out us" as I'm dealing with family drama, back-to-back meetings, and overflowing inboxes. Truth is, it's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of WHEN I will realize the experiences I dream of.

Week 7 is all about recovering a sense of connection. Connection huh? Rediscovering the airy breath that speaks the language of creative indulgence. I love the mention in this chapter about how Michelangelo said that he simply released David from the marble block he found him in. Have you ever seen the David? Magnificent! I could have sat in that gallery all day long just staring at him. To me, he seems both powerful and timid. He is a strong protector but is not lacking vulnerability. Perfection (even with the oversized hands and slightly disproportioned body)!

Connection seems to be all about how to get out of your own head and allow the creative voice to speak to you. True artists don't create, they allow. Writers don't think, they listen. You've heard of white knuckles or wishful thinking? White knuckling life is all about control. Squeezing the life out of everything because we need complete control. Wishful thinking is the opposing side where we simply throw our hands up and wish and hope for things to work out but typically this is paired with taking absolutely no action toward making our wishes real. In other words, we wish but aren't willing to do the footwork. Connection is about finding the balance between the white knuckles and wishful thinking. Letting go of the control while remaining open and willing to witness what the universe has to present.

This week, I'm going to do my best to let go and let it be what it will. Instead of stressing out about my stupid shin splints and all the what-ifs related to that, I will go with the flow and see where it takes me. Instead of forcing my agenda at work or with family and friends, I will participate and contribute without directing. Perhaps this will be a good week to pick up my guitar and listen to that beautiful voice I've chosen to ignore for a few months. We shall see.

How was your week 6?
What can you let go of this week?

Fitness Fear Friday - Shin Splints & Hot 100

2010-12-10T07:32:00.000-08:00

A week or so ago, I went to my gym and was talking to my favorite cutie petutie front desk boy there. He was telling me all about how he has started training to run a full marathon but that he's been having strange pains in his shins. In the past few years, I've had my fair share of shin grief so I told him about my experience doing the breast cancer 3-day walk a couple years ago and all the post event treatment I had to go through to recover from that. He got a congested look on his face and said "oooooo, ouch - did you have to go get shin splints? I think I might need to get some."

So obviously that got my wheels a-spinnin' just a little. Is this the picture he had in his head about shin splints I wonder? Or maybe it was the image of a couple sticks and some duct tape wrapped around his leg?

Leg Splint

Here is the definition according to Wikipedia: Shin splints is a general medical term denoting medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), a slow healing and painful condition in the shins, usually caused by exercise such as running, jumping, dancing or other sports. Ten to fifteen percent of running injuries are shin splints.

Shin Splints

What does all this have to do with me right this particular moment? Good question. I've got the damn shin splints again. I'm sure it's because I've been jumping rope a lot more than I really need to in order to teach the Punk Rope class and apparently...I'm fragile or some shit. In all honesty, it's not a surprise that I'm having pains in my shins again. I had problems during the breast cancer walk, I had problems when I started the C25K program earlier this year, I had problems when I took the Punk Rope instructor training. It's just unpleasant and I don't appreciate it much at all, especially when I'm trying to do things here.

My fear for today is that I will have to sacrifice something or multiple somethings in order to do Punk Rope.

My shins of course
The other exercise I do because I'll need to spend time every week recovering from the damage I do to my shins every weekend
Alllll my time
More of my own money
My weekend freedom

My other fear is that I will have to sacrifice Punk Rope for those things listed above.

I don't know if this has any validity or not but I found this picture on a medical site that described some treatments for shin splints. Perhaps I'll give it a try and see how it works this weekend for my Punk Rope class. Other than that, anti-inflamatory, ice, and rest are the only other treatments I'm aware of.

Shin Taping

---------------------
HOT 100
---------------------
The OG
The Hot 100 Daddy
The Update

Weight - Now this is a strange one right this moment. I don't know what to say other than...huh? I stepped on the scale last Saturday and it said 162.4 which is pretty much what I was expecting. Then, because my normal weigh in day is Sundays, I decided to step on it to confirm what I saw the previous day and I saw 164.2. Very very strange considering that I burned 900 calories on Saturday doing Punk Rope and drank a ton of water and ate perfectly healthful foods. 2 pounds overnight? I don't believe it. So I'm suspending judgement until I step on the scale again this weekend.

Water - Not as well as I hoped but I'm determined to do it damn it.
Workout - This one sucks butt this week. I haven't been able to exercise at all because I've been limping all week long with shin splints. Anti-inflammatories and ice just aint cutting it yet.
Meal plan - Yes!
Tracking - Yes
Sleep - Yes, for the most part. I had a couple nights of tossing and turning but I'm not depriving myself of sleep so that's good.
Journal - Not too much, no.
Food - Healthful planned meals every day. Yay!

Blog - Yes
Book - Nope. Not even trying anymore.

Regardless of what my progress on the Hot 100 goals looks like, I'm feeling pretty damn good. I looked at my goals for 2010 a couple months ago and came to a nasty realization that I hadn't accomplished much this year in terms of being able to definitively cross anything off my list. I did become a certified personal trainer which was a weird thing for me and I did overcome one of my biggest fears this year. I actually did Punk Rope. I'm actually DOING Punk Rope! Just a couple months ago, I had pretty much written it off as a failed attempt and a reason to feel shame so turning it around and making it happen before the end of the year feels like a huge victory.

Victory lap! And the crowd roars with excitement. No? Just in my head? Whatever.

PLEASE

Vote for my January activity. Top right side bar, you'll find a poll. Vote vote vote! Pretty please.
Check out the Punk Rope Seattle facebook page and share it with all your friends. With a cherry on top.

The Joy of Finger Binging

2010-12-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

Today, boys and girls, I'm going to teach you all about, yup you guessed it, finger binging. Finger binging is fun for the whole family. No really, I mean it. Why more people don't learn how to properly finger bing is really a mystery to me. I can't believe it took me this long to discover just how fun and enjoyable it is.

Ah Geez! Get your minds outta the gutter people. I'm talking about playing the finger cymbals for belly dancing.

Recently, I went to dinner at a local Persian restaurant in Seattle where they have a belly dancer perform a couple nights every week. Of course I have to explore the belly dancing culture while I'm desperately trying to immerse myself in the month's activity.

First - The restaurant, Caspian Grill

Fabulous food. Fabulous service. The decor is outdated though, which would be my guess as to why they aren't more popular. Well, that and their location isn't the greatest. They are located in the University district but are a bit removed from all the action of the strip. We got there at about 7:45pm and the belly dancing was scheduled to start at 8pm. We got seated front and center with no problem at all. The dancer came out a little late but it wasn't a big deal.

Dressed in hot pink pants, a jeweled bra, and flowing scarfs she shook and shimmied everything as it should be I suppose. A lovely voluptuous dancer she was and she did a great job of making eye contact with each and every person in the room. I think she was flirting with me. No....that's just her job. I couldn't help but feel that something was missing from her performance though. She had the costume, she had the moves, she had the music, she had the attitude. She was missing the finger binging. No cymbals?

I had no idea how much those little accessories add to the entire belly dancing experience until I thought I was going to watch a whole set without any tiny cymbals crashing together. But not to fret, half way through, out they came. Oh how wonderful! Three cheers for finger bingers! Hurray! Hurray! Hurray!

Then I realized something. I realized that my new little girl crush Fuchsia Foxxx did her entire set at the Pink Door without any finger binging. And there was no mention of finger cymbals in her class either. Uho....have I signed up for a class that doesn't teach the essential piece of the belly dancing puzzle? She's a master of the undulation and the snakey sexiness but what about putting my little musical instruments to good use? No such luck? Alas, I guess I'll need to focus on my own personal finger binging experience in private. Playing with yourself has a time and a place but when it comes to finger binging...I much prefer playmates. Don't you?

I shared a few videos last month but I came across an interesting website that might help with the self study finger bingers out there. The below link goes through different patterns you can practice but there is quite a bit of other information on there for music selections, technique, etc. Check it out if you want.

Zill Patterns

Because some prefer to watch and listen to reading, first play it with no sound. Then try again with the sound on.

Possibilities - Abundance

2010-12-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

Bye bye Artist's Way week 5, Hello week 6.

Week 5 was all about recovering a sense of possibility. Basically, daydreaming and thinking about all the lovely things you want in your life. I did all the activities in week 5 very thoroughly my first time through the program so I didn't really uncover much more than what I was already aware of. I did find myself face to face with a question of what to do with this Punk Rope/ LivingActive business situation though. That's kind of a biggie right now.

My first ever Punk Rope Seattle class took place on Saturday, December 4th at the Queen Anne Community Center. I had about 8 people show up to class, thanks in large part to one friend in particular for bringing a group of friends with her. Although the turnout for the first class was not quite what I had pictured in my head, it still went very well I think. I had fun and burned 884 calories in 1 hour. Can't beat that! Fun AND a killer calorie burn. YeeHaw!

December 11th - Class will be themed for a beach vacation. We get to splash around in our imaginary ocean, play some beach volleyball, and jump around with sand in our toes. The perfect playtime for the middle of December in the northwest in my opinion.

December 18th - Punk Rope says HOHOHO. Oh ya! It's a Christmas theme complete with super fun Christmasy drills and relays and games, oh my. Have you ever heard Christmas punk music? Well this is your chance to get a good sample. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies like you've never heard before.

December 25th - No class. Boo.

January 1st - No class. Boo.

The rest of January is a question mark right this particular moment. Why? Oh I'm so glad you asked. Because the Queen Anne Community Center is not going to be open on Saturdays starting in the new year due to parks and rec department budget cuts. Lame. So....I need to find a new permanent home for Punk Rope. I'm open to ideas. If you have any, friend Punk Rope Seattle on facebook and share your thoughts there or you can email me at salinalyn@gmail.com.

Talk about recovering a sense of possibility! For a full year, I sat, stewing in my negative self doubt when it came to Punk Rope and my ability to be a decent instructor. Last week, I think I more than overcame that fear and self loathing. I held my first class and it was awesome. Fear and self doubt be gone forever.

Artist's Way week 6 is all about recovering a sense of abundance. Abundance? I love that word. More than enough to go around. Gotta love it. Ask and you shall receive. Whatever hang-ups you have about money...you will face them this week.

I know too many people who believe that money is the root of all evil. Actually, I used to be one of them. I spent much of my life afraid that I was a bad person because I wanted to be wealthy.

To want money means you must be selfish and greedy, right? No! FALSE!
To have money means you must be stuck up and snobby, right? No! Wrong again.

Time to question your honest beliefs about the green stuff and its place in your life. Do you believe that money is bad? If so, why? Where does that belief come from? Are your beliefs serving you well? No? Perhaps it's time to challenge your ideas about money? Perhaps it's time to decide what you really want out of your life and start taking healthy steps toward accomplishing those things one at a time?

One of the first things in this chapter is a nice little warning that you may experience some emotional volatility this week. Speaking from past experience, I would have to agree. Last time through, I had a few outbursts of erratic behavior. Don't say you weren't adequately warned.

Friday Follow-up Fitness Fear and other F words

2010-12-03T08:26:00.000-08:00

Question for you! When you think of Living Active, what comes to your mind?

I ask because I've been asking myself that question for a while now and I'm feeling a little schizo these days. When I started this here little blog thing over a year ago, I did so for a few reasons.

I wanted multiple streams of accountability for my then new healthy living journey.
I wanted to journal in a way that seemed more user friendly to me than hand writing in a notebook every day.
I wanted to create and/or just be part of a community of people who all share the same interests in living a healthy and active lifestyle.
In soliciting your votes for activities I hoped it would turn into a group participation thing where readers would do the activities with me and we could have an open discussion about what we learn, what we think about different adventures, embarrassing stories, fears, etc.
In choosing a different activity every month, I hoped it would keep me from getting bored with the same old tired gym workout. You know the one? A hour on the elliptical followed by alternating weight training days with the occasional swim and sauna thrown in for good measure. That workout is all well and good but for me...it gets boring quick. When I get bored, I move on.

Now, I'm faced with a challenge. A totally new kind of challenge actually. I've been talking about Punk Rope for a year and if you've read anything I've written in the past couple weeks, you've seen those words a few times at least. In preparing to get Punk Rope up and running in Seattle, I started myself a little business so if I do end up making any money from this thing, I'm totally legit. My business is LivingActive LLC. So now...I'm faced with the decision about what I want LivingActive LLC to be. Do I want it to become a real business or do I just want it to be a silent shelter for my Punk Rope activities as more of a hobby? If real business is the way I go, what do I want it to be? What would my mission statement be? What would my vision be? What if anything should I make it? I don't really want an answer to these questions. I think I just want to put the questions out into the void but I suppose if something comes back to be I'd be okay with that too.

HOT 100 Update #10
The OG
The HOT 100 Daddy

Weight - I haven't stepped on the scale in 2 weeks so I don't know exactly what it is right this moment. I have my normal weigh ins on Sunday's so I'll step on it in a couple days to see where I am. I suspect that I may have put 1 lb on in the last couple weeks. My guess is that I'm at 162 right now. I decided to revise this goal a little. Probably a good idea since I haven't lost anything in the past 10 weeks of this challenge. My new goal for weight is to lose 4lbs by January 1st. Assuming that I currently weigh 162, I'm just shooting for 158. I want to break through the 160 mark for good. That's what I really want. So...I'm starting fresh and I'm proud to say that this week has been stellar as far as my actions go.

Water - I'm not drinking as much as I want yet but I'm definitely trying and I'm tracking it
Workout - Um...YES! Actually, this week I had a huge record breaking workout. I did a practice run through a Punk Rope class with my Accountabilibuddy and Hubby and I seriously burned 895 calories in 60 minutes. Do you have any idea how crazy insane that is? You do now! It's totally crazy insane!
Meal Plan - Yup and I'm working on next week's meal plan today too.
Tracking - Oh YA! I started a new thing with this too. I've been using a local software program on my personal laptop to count calories and carbs and proteins and fats then I transfer that data into a huge ridiculous spreadsheet I created to track my diet and exercise every week. That process has worked pretty damn well for me so far but I'm finding it a little inconvenient lately because I've been all over the place and not spending too much time in front of my computer at home. So, I installed the SparkPeople app on my iPhone and have been using that. LOVE IT! If you have a SparkPeople account, what you update online will automatically update what you have in your phone and vise versa. So freakin' convenient. I've noticed that the exercise calorie tracker is WAY off of what my HRM says for calorie burn but other than that, it's been great so far.
Sleep - Sleep has been choppy this week. Why? I have no idea. Last night I took a Tylenol PM and passed out. It was AWESOME!
Journal - Every night before bed.
Food - PERFECT! I've stayed right on plan and right on calories all week long and I feel soooo good. Amazing what eating all whole foods all week does for the body!

Blog - Well, almost. I didn't do a Monday post but that's because the week kind of started faster than I anticipated. I've been feeling a little chaotic lately with all this Punk Rope, LivingActive LLC stuff I'm doing on top of the belly dancing classes, dog training, friend issues, family issues, holiday crap, blah blah blah.
Book - Let's just call this goal done for the year shall we? NaNoWriMo is over now and I never even came close to finishing it. What can I say? I'm easily distracted by shiny objects and Punk Rope and sequins from belly dancing costumes are far more sparkly than the blank page.

THE ARTIST'S WAY
I didn't do my normal Monday morning Artist's Way update this week so I'll just mention it briefly right here and now. Me thinks the Artist's Way is kicking my sorry sappy little ass all over the place this time around. I said in the beginning that I wanted to address the Punk Rope issues this time through. Ask and I shall receive. Nuff said!

OTHER STUFF

Please show the love and support for Punk Rope Seattle by clicking the Like button on the Facebook link in the right side bar!
Share Punk Rope Seattle with all your friends whether they are in Seattle or not. Pretty please? I have a little bit of info on the Punk Rope Seattle page as of now and will be adding more and eventually will have http://www.salinalivingactive.com/ up and running with all the info you could ever want. Or you can just go to http://punkrope.com/ for info from the Punk Rope Daddy.
VOTE VOTE VOTE! January activity options are up and waiting for you to vote just above the Punk Rope Seattle Facebook Like link. Wow...that was a mouthful.

Oh and....I don't want to let you down when I threatened other F words. So....um....let's see...what are some other F words? Funny, flip, filth, fowl, flarn, fluff, foofy (is that a word?)

WTF it's Wednesday?

2010-12-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

What would you think if I told you that I've been working on becoming the next big fitness sensation in Seattle?

I apologize for my absence but I have good reasons.

I've been hard at work trying to get Punk Rope off the ground in Seattle. The list of what I've been doing lately is far too long to share right here but it involves all kinds of business stuff and insurance and marketing not to mention all the jumping rope and rockin' out to some kickass tunes all the while. For the time being, I have simply added a page right here on my blog dedicated to Punk Rope Seattle. And if you haven't already seen it, I added a Facebook button on the sidebar for Punk Rope Seattle too. Please check it out and come over to visit me there. Lots of potential crazy Punk Rope happenings coming this month and in 2011. You HAVE to come participate. It's just going to be too much fun to avoid it.

Then there's the issue of BELLY DANCING, right? Of course. Like I would forget about that. I was supposed to have my very first Academy of Burlesque Fuchsia Foxxx belling dance infusion last Tuesday but because Seattle got about 2 inches of snow, everyone freaked out and closed down the city so class was cancelled. Probably a good thing since the location is atop a big hill and Seattle people have enough trouble driving in the rain, let alone slush, ice, and snow.

All that to say that I did attend my first Academy of Burlesque Fuchsia Foxxx belling dance infusion last night. I must admit that it was a glorious experience. I have a tiny girl crush on Fuchsia Foxxx because she's just the cutest little peanut I ever did see but also because she's an awesome dancer and she seems to be a great instructor too.

The class is 1 1/2 hours long which I thought was a little strange compared to all the other classes I was looking at and taking until I actually did it. The first 30 mins were spent warming up and stretching and a thorough job we did indeed. Then she took us through a series of basics. Sexy shoulders. Sexy undulations. Sexy isolations. Sexy snake arms. Sexy shimmies. Sexy rib cage circles. Sexy hip circles. Did I mention it's all sexy? If I were watching the class, I might think it looks like a waste of time and what little bit of energy appears to be getting spent but doing it is much different. True, my heart rate didn't get over 117 beats per minute the entire time but each area of the body we worked felt a little tired by the end of it.

So that was the first part of the class. It was fine, nothing too surprising. Kinda hohum if I do say so myself. But then came the best part. It's the piece of this particular class that excited me the most aside from Fuchsia Foxxx being the teacher. The Belly Dancing Basics program at Academy of Burlesque is actually a series of 8 classes. Fuchsia Foxxx teaches the students a choreographed belly dancing routine through the entire session. She starts off with basic combinations in the first class then reviews and builds on them in each following class until the last one when we all have the opportunity to perform our group dance in a class recital.

Did I just say dance recital? YES! I haven't done a dance recital since I was in ballet and jazz dance classes as a little little kid. I actually talked to the coordinator person last week because I'm starting classes in the middle of the session and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to catch up. She said I should be totally fine and I was. After we did our basics, Fuchsia and the returning students ran through the choreography so far and I was pretty much able to keep up. But just in case I wasn't, she broke it down for everyone again. We practiced each piece individually then slowly put it together so by the end of the class I was actually able to do it.

I'm on my way to becoming a belly dancing diva for sure. Oh YA!

Miss Indigo Blue's Academy of Burlesque

Punk Rope

Punk Rope Seattle

Punk Rope Seattle Facebook Page

Whatever Wednesday

2010-11-24T07:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was supposed to be my first Fuchsia Foxxx belly dancing burlesque class but it seems that the world as I know it must come to a sliding stop because we just got a couple inches of snow 2 days ago. Class was cancelled! Cancelled! Damn it. I went downtown with an idea to spend a nice peaceful time at SAM because picasso is in town and can you believe they closed the museum too. Seriously people. I love Seattle and all but we (read to not actually include me) are a bunch of wimps. So my staycation is now just a little less fun and interesting than before. And you know how much I just love being at home in suburban hell anyway. Is it too late to hop on the first flight outta town? I'm guessing yes because I'm sure the airport has been totally stumped as to how they should go about thawing the runways. Ever considered looking at what others do who get enough snow and ice to justify "severe" weather classification? Um... How about oh I don't know... Maybe Iceland or something. Those inbred Icelandic peeps are actually very smart and resourceful when it cones to dealing with frozen everything. Geothermal. Ok so we might not have the geothermal activity here in Seattle but you get the idea. Think outside the tiny chilly box. Sorry for the rambling. Happy turkey day tomorrow.

Reflection

2010-11-22T08:34:00.000-08:00

There's just something about watching it snow that allows you to see into your own soul with a clarity and stillness that is unlike any other. As you know, I've been going through The Artist's Way a second time and giving a little update about how it's been going and what issues I've uncovered but mostly I think I've complained about feeling. Feeling lonely. Feeling lost. Feeling dejected. Feeling feeling feeling. I'm typically not one to be all about the feelings nor am I about expressing the feelings to whoever feels like watching and listening to me.

No, the only feeling I've ever been comfortable expressing before is anger. Somewhere through the years, I learned that anger meant power while expressing vulnerability in any way meant weakness. Lets not consider for a moment that anger itself is actually a vulnerability in disguise. It took me many years of reflection in all its forms to learn that basic insight into myself and the common human condition to misunderstand what part anger actually has in our lives.

I love what The Artist's Way says about anger. It says that anger is a guide to tell us where our boundaries lie. It is something to be acknowledged and treated with care and response but not reaction. The difference? A response is calculated whereas a reaction is not. If I find myself feeling angry for whatever reason I am forced to ask why. What has just happened to me to push my boundary whether clearly defined or not? And because anger is actually a secondary emotion, I have to ask myself what fear I'm being faced with. Having that information then allows me to decide the appropriate response to my triggered anger so I don't find myself doing or saying something I don't actually mean (react).

Recently though, it's not anger that I've struggled with. It's the vulnerabilities that contribute to the woman I am. The true person within me and whatever image I portray to those around me. Am I a little wishy washy because I can't seem to settle down on any one hobby? Do I seem a little schizophrenic with my long list of activities? Am I out of balance with overtasking myself then realizing just how many hours there are in the day? Am I really a sensitive whiner on the inside of this hard angry (less so now) shell?

In sitting in my comfy chair with my favorite patchwork quilt made by my mother-in-law, my laptop warming the legs it rests on and watching the snow fall outside it all just seems so clear. Trivial. I've struggled for one full year with feeling not good enough, not worthy enough, not smart enough, not thin enough, not popular enough that right now, right this moment as I reflect back on the past 365 days, tears gather in my eyes and stream down my cheeks. I'm crying not out of pain or anger or fear as I may have in earlier days or weeks or months. I cry for pride. I cry for joy. My tears are singing my own praises and the feeling is almost as magical as the first snow fall of the year because I have finally done the one thing that had me frozen in my fear for the whole of 2010.

I faced my fears and I conquered them. I WIN! And it feels so good I don't know how else to express it other than to just allow the tears to fall in celebration of the woman who is emerging from the dust.

Today, I reflect on my year long journey from personal weakness to personal power by sipping my tea and watching the snow flutter to the ground. Now that's living active.

Fitness Fear Friday - So many things, so little time

2010-11-19T09:58:00.000-08:00

BELLY DANCING

I'm bored with this place I'm going to. True, it's just the basics but the teacher is a super slow-talker and she slurs a lot. Seriously makes me wonder if there is something not quite right with her. She's really nice and very helpful, don't get me wrong. I just feel numb going into her class and coming out of it. I don't think belly dancing class should have that effect. So, I've decided to call it quits at that school and try my hips at a different one.

Are you ready for this? Oh, I have a really really really good feeling about this new adventure.

Miss Indigo Blue's Academy of Burlesque

Miss Indigo Blue, Head Mistress

Fuchsia Foxxx, Belly Dance

My husband and I had the pleasure of seeing Fuchsia Foxxx in action. We went to a burlesque show at The Pink Door in Seattle and she was one of the performers. Absolutely amazing! We had no idea who was going to be there, nor had we ever heard of her before but let me tell you, she was AWESOME! She does this belly dancing-burlesque fusion kinda thing and it's HOTTIE HOT HOT HOTTTTTT! A few days later, I found myself surfing the net, looking for belly dancing schools in Seattle and stumbled across the Academy of Burlesque. So I checked it out and who did I see on the list of instructors but Fuchsia Foxxx herself in all her HOT pink glory. I had already paid for the other classes though so I felt I should give it an honest try. I tried. I'm done. I'm going with Fuchsia Foxx and the Academy of Burlesque.

She does a 6-8 week session like most of the other schools too and this session has already started but I talked to the school and they said I should be totally fine to just do a drop-in and try it out a couple times. So that's exactly what I'm going to do. My first Fuchsia fusion is this coming Tuesday. Should be interesting.

HOT 100 UPDATE
The OG
The HOT 100 Daddy

Last weigh in was 161.8 so still no loss.

water - still a struggle but I have not given up
workout - this week...not even close. I'm bummed out about it too. :(
meal plan - YES
track - YES
sleep - YES
journal - YES
food - YES

Blog - YES
Book - sadly...no. I have vacation this coming week though so I'm planning to catch up. I have faith.

FITNESS FEAR FRIDAY
If you didn't read my Wednesday post, please allow me to announce my HUGE accomplishment again. I have FINALLY conquered my stupid, silly little big fear about Punk Rope.

I no longer care what people think of my weight as a fitness instructor because Punk Rope is super fun and I know something they don't know. So there!
I no longer care if people know how much I know and don't know nor do I care if they think I'm doing it all wrong because I know something they don't know. So there!
I no longer care if I try and fail because I'm doing something that others wouldn't dare to even consider trying themselves. So there!
I no longer care if people take me seriously because Punk Rope is fun and so am I. So there!
I no longer believe that I have no right to teach people to exercise. I have all the right in the world because I know stuff that other people don't. So there!

In the past few days I have:

Booked a venue for the month of December to start Punk Rope classes. December 4th, 11th, and 18th.
I applied for a business license in Seattle.
I applied for liability insurance so don't go getting any ideas about suing me.
I got the music downloaded for the first class.
I contacted a writer lady who offered to send someone to my first class and hopefully get them to write about it in a local Seattle publication.
I started creating a flier to hand out this weekend.
I put the class curricula together for all three classes. First class is going to be Punk Rope Goes to the Movies. The second class is going to be a little tropical vacation from the freezing temperatures around here. And the third class is going to be in the spirit of the season. Hint? Kids are welcome.

If this is offensive to you....too fucking bad. Suck it up. Christmas exists and it's called "Christmas". If you don't like it, stay home with your 30 cats and tell them all about it because I don't care.

I put my list of invitations together so I get to email them all out today as soon as my flier is done.
I purchased the http://www.salinalivingactive.com/ domain name. It's still not active yet but it will be shortly and I'll probably be moving my blog over there and I'll post all Seattle Punk Rope classes and events there as well.
I have a whole list of people to contact and ideas for marketing Punk Rope properly. The marketing festivities will likely take place tomorrow.

Watch out Seattle, here comes Punk Rope!!!

Flooded with What-Ifs

2010-11-17T08:27:00.000-08:00

Today is a momentous day! A huge thing happened! Not just huge but HUGE. NO.....not even that does the trick.

Oh YA! Oh YA! That's the stuff.

What's the big deal?

Hints...

I took the Punk Rope instructor training on November 1, 2009.
Then I got my personal trainer certification from the ACSM on March 19, 2010.

Since then...I've done nothing with either accomplishment. Instead, I distracted myself with all the other fun things I did this year all the while feeling disappointed and a little shame for not following through with the original goal. I invested so much time and money and anxiety into the process, it just felt disgraceful to let it go unfinished.

So I finally decided to do something about it. Yesterday! Today! And every Saturday at noon starting in December!

What: Seattle, Meet Punk Rope
When: Noon on Saturday, December 4th, 11th, and 18th
Where: The Queen Anne Community Center
1901 1st Avenue West, Seattle, WA 98119, (206) 386-4240

If you're in Seattle or know of people in Seattle who would love to come and have a super fun workout, please send them my way (salinalyn@gmail.com). The first class is free to all!

Punk Rope

I'm so excited (I could jump for joy) and ridiculously proud of myself for finally making good with this personal challenge. Where I stand today, I can't even imagine how I could be happy with myself had I not taken the steps to walk through all the silly and unfounded fears around Punk Rope.

What if you walked through your fears and found yourself waiting on the other side?

In other semi-related news - I am now the proud new owner of the salinalivingactive.com domain name. I don't have any hosting or website ready to go yet but hope to have it up and functional very shortly. Stay tuned...

The Artist's Way Continues

2010-11-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

For whatever reason, last week was a rough week for me, emotionally speaking. There isn't much actually happening to warrant the emotional response I was experiencing. I can't even blame the little visitor for my erratic outbursts. Although it's still a bit of a mystery to me, I have ideas about the cause and the treatment.

Week 2 of The Artist's Way was all about recovering a sense of identity. The first two words of the chapter are "GOING SANE" just to give you an idea of what I'm dealing with here if you aren't also reading the book. It talks about "poisonous playmates" and "crazymakers" who are all essentially people who sabotage our efforts at recovering our creativity. Then the other saboteur is me. We all sabotage ourselves through our skepticism and self-doubt.

All last week, I found myself thinking and writing about everyone that sucks me dry. In doing so, I felt empty, lonely, sad, lost, and confused. Perhaps the process allowed me to evaluate my relationships to see which ones are healthy and which aren't. As well-intentioned as that is, I think it also forced me to evaluate my relationship with myself and I wasn't happy with what I discovered: A list of goals and ideas and promises that have not been honored, criticism oozing from every pore.

There is a paragraph in the chapter that reads as follows: success or failure, the truth of a life really has little to do with its quality. The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention. When I read those words, I realized that somewhere along the way, I stopped paying attention. This time last year, I found myself gazing out my office window at the trees painted with vibrant colors and appreciating the beauty of the season. This year, all I've focused on is how I feel, what I get, why I'm being ignored, how I've been wronged, etc. Instead of just taking a moment to appreciate my surroundings, I'm all about me. No wonder I've been struggling. No wonder I feel so alone. I haven't been here for me.

I was talking to hubby the other day about the art of paying attention and it reminded me of an experience I had recently. A few weeks ago, I was feeling stressed out and overwhelmed (big surprise) so I decided to just take a quiet bath. I put lavender smellies in it and dimmed the lights and everything. A tranquil place to just breathe. I was lying in the tub, belly down, resting on my elbows with my knees bent and my feet playfully sticking out. My gaze fixed on the surface of the purple bath water, I was gently blowing toward the bottom of the tub so the air was making tiny ripples. One breath then I would allow the water to settle before I repeated the process. In doing this, I noticed something. I could see my reflection perfectly while the water was still. Once I forced the ripples with a gentle wind, the image of me was blurred beyond recognition. To see myself clearly, be still.

Sunday, I sat in my jammies all day long. I made breakfast for hubby, sipped on espresso, then spent most of the day putting a puzzle together. I took a break to make lunch then another one to make some banana bread but I allowed myself one full day to do nothing but just be. Putting a puzzle together is like a moving meditation. Those who like to knit or crochette or do origami or wood working know what I'm talking about. It's a stillness in your mind and in your soul while engaging your senses in a simple monotonous task that allows freedom to sing in your heart.

Week 3 is all about recovering a sense of power. The beginning of the chapter warns of possible erratic behavior again. Bursts of anger and joy and grief. OH MY! Just what I need. It introduces the concept of synchronicity or if you prefer as I do, serendipity. Happy accidents. Shame is another topic this week.

How was your week 2?
How did you do with going sane?
What do you do to pay attention?

Hot 100 - Week 7/ Feeling

2010-11-12T08:43:00.000-08:00

Lonely

Confused

Unsure

Irritated

Lost

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HOT 100

The OG

The Hot 100 Daddy

The Update

I haven't weighed in so I don't know. I feel huge.

Water - almost
Work out - yes
Meal plan - yes
Tracking - no
Sleep - yes
Journal - yes
Food - yes

Blogs - no
Book - I started off really good but haven't written much at all this week. I'm just a little behind in the NaNoWriMo thing.

The Artist's Way

2010-11-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

Review Week 1
Did you finish chapter 1?
Did you do your morning pages every day?
Did you go on an artist date?
Did you do the time travel tasks?
Did you write the letter to the editor?
Did you write about your imaginary lives?
Did you discover your blurts? Turn them into affirmations?

I've managed to get myself into a good routine of journaling every day but I do it in the evening. I find that it helps me dump the stress of the day so I can sleep better. Plus, I'm not a morning person at all. Asking me to wake up 30 minutes earlier is just unrealistic as I get up at 4:45am as it is.

I did not go on an artist date per say, but I did take good care of my inner artist so I suppose I can call it the same thing. I woke on Saturday morning, made breakfast with hubby, grabbed my espresso and plopped myself in front of my computer where I stayed for four hours. During that time, I wrote and I wrote and I wrote some more. 5,000 words came flowing through my fingertips. It was probably the most enjoyable Saturday morning I remember having in a very long time. Who knew that spending four hours writing would bring me so much joy?

I did not do all the tasks for the week either. No time travel tasks, no imaginary lives, no brisk walk. But I did discover the blurts and turn them into affirmations. It feels like a slow start to the Artist's Way for me. I wrote like a crazy person and as I think back through the week, nothing really stood out to me as an aha moment or anything. I'm really just working on going with the flow of whatever happens and reserving my judgement until later. Not an easy challenge for me but I think it'll be worth the effort.

Looking at Week 2
Week 2 is all about recovering a sense of identity. I like the first words in the chapter, "Going Sane". Going sane talks about discovering the self-doubt and all the sabotaging crap we say to ourselves. I caught myself doing that last night as I wrote my pages. I wrote 5,000 words on Saturday because I allowed myself to get behind by 3 days in the NaNoWriMo stuff and needed to catch up. Then after getting caught up, I told myself that I wouldn't fall behind again. Yesterday, I didn't write so immediately after making the promise, I failed. With an eye-roll and a swift judgement, I emotionally slapped myself in my pages. Although slightly understandable, that's not what I need. Focusing on the negative will only bring me more of the same. No bueno.

Crazymakers and skeptics. Do you have those people in your life? I know a couple crazymakers still but they are mostly removed from my daily life so their crazy doesn't affect me much anymore. The people who I surround myself with now are very supportive of my efforts, no matter what they are.

Week 2 was where my world flipped upside down my first time through the Artist's Way. Strangely enough, I'm a little afraid of what else will happen this week in my life. Only one way to find out.

Fitness Fear Friday - Questions

2010-11-05T07:03:00.000-07:00

For those of you out there who have things you want to do or unfulfilled dreams keeping you awake at night, yes you, the ones who want to try something new but are too afraid to act...I have some questions for you.

If you could do anything without fear or obstacles (time, money, sitters, talent, etc.) in your way, what would you do?

What's the payoff for continuing to allow your fear or obstacles to determine your actions?

What do you gain by staying in your comfort zone?

What are you missing out on by staying in your comfort zone?

What's the worst that could happen if you chose to just act on what you want?

Is the worst possible scenario bad enough to logically justify selling yourself short?

What's the worst that could happen if you chose to just ignore the little voice in your head that says "but I really want to _________"?

Is it really worth it to you?

If your best friend or child came to you with the same answers you just gave to the questions above, how would you advise them?

What did you do yesterday that made you glow with pride?

What can you do today to give those embers a little oxygen?

Acknowledging and facing our fears is one of those things that is really easy to ignore. It's simple to pretend we are perfectly satisfied with our normal daily routine and we never want or dream of more for ourselves even if more just means taking a class for fun. We don't miss what we never had right? Maybe that's true but is it good enough for you? I've already decided that it's no where near good enough for me. I've been working through my fears one by one for the past few months and I know a couple of you out there have started doing some of that for yourselves as well. Brava! I want more. I want more for you. You've been here to cheer me on and give me a little push when I just wasn't feeling it. I want to return the favor and be here for you. All of you.

Answer the questions above if you feel so inclined.
Comment to let me know what your fear is and what you're going to do to challenge yourself and I'll follow you and do what I can to give you the "atta girl/boy" you need.

If you just don't wanna, fine...be that way. I'm still going to be working through my fears right here for all to see.

Happy Friday

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HOT 100 Update

The OG
The Hot 100 Daddy

The Update

I weighed in on Sunday last week at 160.4, down 1.4lbs from 161.8 the week before. Still not below the 160 mark but at least the TOM gain is gone now.

Water - Still a struggle. I'm working on it though.
Work out - 4 days so I'm very very close to getting there. Next week will be spot on, I'm determined.
Meal plan - Technically I did not meal plan but it's because I had a ton of left overs from last week that I've been finishing.
Tracking - I haven't tracked for the past 2 days but plan to update everything today so I'm going with a YES. :)
Sleep - YES.
Journal - YES.
Food - YES. Well, slight side note here...I had some Halloween candy which was not part of the plan but that was the only slip. The rest of the week was fabulous.

Blogs - YES.
Book - YES. NANOWRIMO baby! Come look me up if you're signed up too. SalinaLyn in Seattle, WA.

What if I was a Belly Dancing Mama

2010-11-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

There I was (original right?) parked on the street and walking toward the community center in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Seattle. Do you all know about the Beacon Hill neighborhood? My guess is that your answer would probably be NO for the most part. Beacon Hill is actually a lot nicer today than it was five or ten years ago when it was ghetto central. It's probably not the safest neighborhood as it has been known for gang activity. There are a few other areas that I would personally classify as more seedy but it ranks among the top five in my book.

Strange little fact about me? I love raw city life. My favorite. I lived on Capitol Hill for a few years and loved every second of it. I had a studio apartment on the top floor of an old 4-story walk-up right on Broadway. $525/mo for 525 square feet. That was back in 1999 or close to it. I lived there when the neighborhood was being terrorized by a serial rapist. Did I mention that I worked just a half mile down the road and walked to and from work every day? I walked everywhere. Loved it. Yes, even the homeless people who slept in the dumpster behind my building. There was one drunk homeless dude who would get totally pissed and walk in the middle of the street during the night and yell at the top of his lungs "I DON'T GIVE A FUCK!". *make sure you read that with a very drunk slur so you get the right effect*. One night after he had done this a few times right under my window, my boyfriend at the time (who is now my hubby) leaned out and yelled back "Hey! Can you go not give a fuck somewhere else?". How can you not LOVE raw city life? I mean really!

I entered the community center and made my way up the old linoleum stairwell to the top floor where the hallway was plastered with art, clothes, food, collages. It looked like they were having an art fair or cultural celebration or something. I didn't take time to appreciate all that was on display though because I was on a mission and needed to make sure I found my destination without fail this time around. It was a matter of moral importance and I could not be distracted by bright colors and pretty pictures.

I found the room all the way at the end of the long corridor. As I walked in, just past the sign gently requesting shoe removal, there was a clothing rack loosely filled with hip scarves, skirts, pants, and a lone black jeweled bra for sale. Belly dancing swag. Sweet! Focus, do not get distracted by the pretty sparkly things. At the end of the clothing rack was a small table where I was greeted by a rather large woman in purple flowing fabric and a lacy lavender bra. "Hello" she said, "I know I've completely forgotten your name". I replied with a puzzled eyebrow lift and said something about how that's interesting because I've never been there before. She smiled, as did I.

After I got all signed in, removed my shoes and placed them in my very own personal cubby along the wall, I made my way right back to the pretty sparkly things. I found the perfect belly dancing outfit for me. Too bad it would have cost me $125 for a bra, $59 for a mesh skirt, $39 for a hip scarf, and $29 for the zills. Ya...um...a little more than I'd like to spend on a slutty outfit to dance a dance I don't even know how to do yet, not to mention that I am um...a little shy about wiggling my jiggly bits while exposing as much skin as possible to anyone.

One of my goals for these belly dancing adventures is to become a little more comfortable with my jiggly bits while simultaneously reducing the density of said parts.

After meeting and chatting with a few of the women in the class and the instructor, I realized that I was walking into the second class of the repeating 6-week series. I had no idea it was a series there too. Their website should really explain their programs a little better because I wasn't sure that I was even showing up to the right beginner's class. The title of the class was Belly Dancing Phase 1. Then they had a Belly Dancing Beginner's Fitness and a Belly Dancing Beginner's 2 as well. Luckily, I chose right and was in the beginner's class for dummies. Katrina (the instructor) informed me that they did an overview of belly dancing basics in the first class last week and she would start breaking them down as we move forward so I should be good to start now. Phew!

The class began with a ridiculous amount of stretching. I'm all for stretching and getting the body warmed up but 15mins of it for a class that doesn't require much of the body in the first place just seems like overkill. It's not like we were doing gymnastics or anything. Just a little wiggle and a bit'o jiggle. But whatever. She started walking us through a little warm up with the arms and pretty wrist and hand stuff then we moved on to learn "the wave" which is technically called undulations in belly dance terms, the Egyptian walk, and then we played with the zills a bit before doing a cool down and calling it quits for the day.

Here are a few videos for you to watch and learn or just be entertained.

Pretty Wrist Stuff

Undulations or "The Wave"

The Egyptian Walk alla Sahira

Fun with Zills

There you have it! My first belly dancing class EVER. And what do I have to show for it?

MY VERY OWN FINGER CYMBALS!

I think I'll leave you with that for now. Stay tuned though because I'm a belly dancing mama for the rest of the year and I have a plan. Oh YA! A plan. I have some fun stuff coming for this belly dancing extravaganza.

Skin Deep Dance Studio

And I may or may not be willing to get all dressed up and do a little dance for you all as a year end present from me to you. Of course, you'll have to convince me though because...as you know...I'm a little shy with the jiggly bits. The best way to convince me? COMMENTS. Lots of comments. I'm gonna need some serious convincing.

What if I got all dressed up at the end of the year and did a little dance for you?