Spinning

Well....I finally bit the bullet and joined the Y. To take full advantage of my membership, I decided to start trying out the classes, and went to spinning this week.

Honestly, in all my miles of running, I wasn't quite prepared for spinning, but I think I put up a solid showing (this after raising my eyes through the blinding pain in my flanks to the mirror to watch my form). The other newbies appeared to be dying more painfully than I, so I felt a little better about my athletic prowess.

...In short, my review of spinning is as follows:

Pros:
- Instructor Rita - Two Thumbs Up! She was super helpful, funny, and very motivating, made me feel right at home, (if home involved burning glutes, shortness of breath, and my bum poised above a bike seat for an hour).
- Workout - Overall great bang for your buck! Definitely not for the faint of heart. (I won't lie...It was HARD...I was unsure that I would be able to walk when I got off my bike (similar to an experience I had at Manny's when I was 21 and thought two apple martinis in one sitting would be jolly good, but I digress)...We even finished with a hard core ten minute mat abdominals session, so I was essentially rendered immobile in one fell swoop. Just kidding...I totally made it back to my truck.
- Participants - Mostly very nice and accommodating...I didn't feel like I was breaking up an exclusive club or anything, friendly. A good mix of about 65% women, 35% men, and all ages and skill levels.

Cons:
- Crabby lady  (you know who you are) - Why you gotta be hatin'? C'mon...
- Perfectionism - It's very important to go at your own pace, so you get the most of your workout without injuring yourself or being too sore to workout for the rest of the week. That said, it's very hard to be able to look in the mirror and not want to keep up with the top performers.

So, I daresay that I will certainly return. Today? No...Maybe tomorrow!

It's beginning to look a lot like....

Christmas?

Lately, God's really been pressing upon my heart that it is far more important to just be still and know that HE is God rather than "acting out" what I think MUST be done. 'Tis the season after all, right?

This year, maybe we won't make it to all of the pageants and festivals and Santa celebrations, but we will be taking the time to read the Christmas story in the actual Bible. I am committing to opening a dialogue with my young children about what it meant for Christ to come to earth as a little, tiny baby. A human baby, helpless, with needs, susceptible to hurts, pain, injury, and even death.

Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

So what does this look like? Is God commanding that we simply sit and merrily sip egg nog,while the world rushes by? Methinks not. Being still is a heart state, not necessarily a physical one. Being still before God is a position of humility in which he is allowed to take center stage in our lives.

If we can't grant God this central position in the Christmas season, when can we? This Christmas, I will be still. I will not be worried about whether or not the sprinkles on my cookies match, or if my cat tips the tree over for the 80th time in four days. Annoying, yes, day ruining, no. I will, however, be focused on allowing time and creating room for God in every corner of each day this advent season.

Whether this means that I will be further inconvenienced by allowing someone else to take the closer parking space, letting the elderly woman go in front of me at the grocery store, not having a tradition go my way, meeting a lonely friend for coffee (even though I really have no time!), or even spending an extra $20 to pay for the lattes for the car behind me, I will be looking for ways to interject Christ back into Christmas. A baby is oh so cuddly and lovable to behold in stark contrast to all the ugly in the world. Here's to looking for ways to meet that ugly with HIS love this Christmas.

"I tell you the truth, when you did it to the one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me." - Matthew 25:40

Bah...Sidelined by injury again...

As you may or may not know, my running plans were foiled last March by a minor bout of Plantar Fasciitis in my left heel. Three weeks of no running, icing, stretching, and retraining my stride with a new pair of Vibram KSO's got me right as rain and on my way to the Hottest Half Marathon this side of H-E-Double Hockey Sticks in August.

As we moved into my least favorite season, winter, my knees began to ache with the cold. I wasn't increasing mileage, (loosely following a mileage schedule that hovered around only 20 miles or so a week). I don't think it could be just the running. It's a far less strenuous schedule than that of this summer, and I was actually cross training by throwing in a bootcamp class every week.

So, one trip to the doctor and I'm on a three week running hiatus (again!)...which means that I am NOT a happy camper. No water, no swelling, but there is definitely more "popping" coming from those joints. Here's to hoping this is just a short lived bout of "Runner's Knee"...Stupid joints. I really don't want to resort to swimming.

Any advice on cross fit exercises and/or stretches? I have a staggering amount of Christmas baking to do and need some sort of caloric release to avoid turning into this:

Cookies....or Fiery Ruin...

Either way, I'm in.



It smells like cookies baking, but alas to my knowledge there are no stoves here at my office suites complex (such a horrible string of words...the connotations alone are enough to bring a grown woman to tears).

Therefore, I have come to the immediate hypothesis that there are either cookies baking or said office suite complex *shudder* is on fire. (Excellent!)

I like cookies, I like fires...I like big black telephone wires. I would be equally satisfied with either outcome. If it is indeed a fire, I'll just have to go home and bake my own cookies. I'm thinking almond butter with some chocolate chunks...mmm...

It's that time again!

There comes a time in every girl's life. You know, the one where all of the hoping, planning, and dreaming is about to come true...No, not marriage....and no I am definitely not preggers (again), thank you very little.

I am talking about the infamous business planning stage. Lo and behold, I actually am lucky enough to be able to claim authorship to not one, but two business plans. This time, though, I am expecting to go all the way.

There's a wee little conceptual baby business nestled deep within the bosom of my realm of possibilities. She's growing, I'm nurturing, and you bet I take my vitamins. So, be on the lookout for somethings old, somethings new, and trust me darlings, you will definitely want to borrow the swag that I'm peddling.