It's awesome! Kicks my butt, but it's good. Lots of cardio and toning stuff. It's very athletic - so if you were a high school athlete, it brings you back to your roots. We do tons of squats, lunges, suicides, mountain climbers, wall sits, and abs.

I really like it - don't like the 4:45 a.m. wakeup call, but like the class overall. Doing it with coworkers next month at 6:00 p.m. - but that will be more hot!

Well, they are only protecting you. Any old person could show up and say they were you. We used to look people up with their driver's licenses, but then people get to expect it. Pretty soon, our circ staff was looking up dozens of people every day, which is a huge waste of time.

I have noticed that it is getting light later. When my dog alarm clock wakes me at 5am, it looks like the middle of the night! Susan

Melanie, you crack me up! Glad the movie turned around for you last night. You can watch my share of gorey films because that is *not* my thing at all!!!

kshe, you got an awful lot done for avoiding housework! Enjoy the rest of your day off!

Susan, are you a librarian? What a great job!

Kara

but I'm 1300 miles away and I was simply renewing the books....I can see if I am there in person trying to check out a bunch of books without a card.....

I'm not sure about the library that you work at (or seem to), but the librarians around us are extremely rude. The last time I was checking books out, my son wanted to check out a few DVDs as well. He was holding the DVD in his lap when we went through the checkout line, and because he didn't put it on the counter fast enough - I had to unstrap him - she gave him a lecture that included lines about how 'stealing is not ok'. He's 2. She made him cry and then told him to stop overreacting.


I wanted to show her a thing or two about overreacting....

I'm sure they are busy, but do they honestly need to give a big *SIGH* and then amble over as if I'm asking them to re-invent the wheel each and every time I have a question or need to check out a book.

Hah, high school athlete!!! I was thin in high school, but not an athlete, I was lazy. Straight up. My athletic prowess extended to walking to and from school. But hey, my legs looked pretty good then if I do say so myself.

So, I'd probably be laid out on the floor in the first few sessions of bootcamp if I had any nearby. Definitely not stuff I could do on my own... lunges used to kill me ('cause like I said, I'm definitely not an athlete!)... I have attempted lunges before and squats and if ANYBODY has an easier way to attempt them, let me know! They kill me! But with a boot camp instructor, I'd be able to do it. (It would be more motivational to have an instructor in person.) The early wake up stuff would kill me, but, from all of the good stuff I've read about how structured it is, and how much cardio and muscle-strengthening goes on, it's got to be a killer workout. (Uh, have I said "kill kill kill" a bit too much? I blame it on the Grindhouse movies, they have warped my fragile little brain.) I'm envious Kshe78, I really wish we had something like that in my area. You're going to have an awesome body when you're through. EDIT: Not to say you don't have one now! Was proofreading my post and realized how that sounded.

I'm warped! I do like psychological thrillers most of all though, as opposed to gorefests and gagfests (also known as romances) and comedies (most are predictable, I like something that is not quite so predictable). Then again, I have watched a wide variety.

Zeffryn, I would have dragged that woman across the counter and kicked her in the teeth. Okay, not really, because in said scenario, there were children around. Plus I wanna stay out of jail. That was pretty effed up to scold someone elses' child like that, what sort of establishment are they running there? I hate when other people try to yell at someone else's kid. It's on my list of pet peeves.


Me:

I was just on the phone with one of my bff's who just went back to college on Tuesday, summer is officially over! Man she talks forever, I clocked that conversation at 85 minutes! Been gone 4 days and she already needs her Melanie fix. Now I'm doing laundry and I'm bored!

Zeff -- boy if you want a good library system you should be in the SW, we have a fabulous library and had a really wonderful one when I lived in NM too. So much is setup on line that I literally can renew and reserve books without going in. I reserve the books I want, they put them on a shelf with my name on it, I stop by, pick them up, scan them out and leave. 5 minutes tops including the time it takes me to park.

That head cold is really going around, my DD in NY State just found out her's has gone into pneumonia and my DD in AZ just called me and was describing how badly she felt and she's the foreman on the job she's working (she's an electrician) so she can't go home. Take care of yourself.

Speakin of Doggie wakeup calls: My grand-dog (30 lb black pug) loves to just sit and stare at you when you are sleeping. You will wake up in the morning with a sense of someone is watching you and when you open your eyes CJ will be there lying on the bed with his nose just an inch or so away from yours. As soon as you open your eyes he licks you and you simply don't have time to react. I actually think what wakes you up is feeling his breath on your face. He is such a character. My daughter was telling me about this and said it was creepy but then when I dog sit he does the same thing to me and I just have to crack up, what a fun way to wake up in the morning to a happy little face eagerly awaiting for the moment you open your eyes.

The pugs are not allowed to sleep on the bed at night but all of them are all to eager to come up and wake you in the morning.

Gotta love 'em.

Wooooooohoooooooo Friday!!!

Sorry, Beachies, but I didn't get back. Baking did not go well and I realized I am just exhausted! Claire and I were chatting about how much I have on my Life Plate and I started to cry when she gave me heck. I can't use TOM as an excuse either!

Anyhow, I went for a nap and things are better now. I have four pineapple cakes and 12 packages of a dozen cookies ready for the sale and that's it! No pies or bread will happen this time - they'll appreciate it more at the next sale. (I may take pie orders for later in the fall.)

Someone asked who the Hyper Pypers are. Was it Mel?

They are a family who bought Bailey who is one my Hershey's puppies about seven years ago. We hit it off right away and I've become their "grandmother" - I am their dog's grandma so the kids (15 and 17) refer to me as Granny B. Margo is in her forties and lost her mother a few years ago and Glen's mum is gone too so I am the psuedo granny. They are noisy and very high energy and even call themselves the Hyper Pypers. They love to come here and spend time out in their boat on the Lake and are really good eaters - two blueberry cheesecakes yesterday plus chicken, corn and tomatoes. I love them dearly but they are exhausting.

Here's a last summer picture of Elaine with dear departed Lucy, Bailey's sister.

Kim - We should talk bosses one of these days

Pacergal - I wish I could start every day with yoga. I do so much more work in class no matter how hard I try on my own.

to all the cleaning Chicks. Hope your day is successful and you get tomorrow off!

Phew, busy day! I don't know how you all have parties all the time, it's exhausting!

I picked up a cute new top to wear (I do love clothes and thrift stores...). Here's the pic along with one I found in Julie's collection.

Oh Cyndi, I love that top, so cute and retro. I am trying to find a bathing suit similar Is that other picture you? Wow, awesome before and after!
Hope little Guy had a nice, non-grumpy birthday weezle!
Poor Kim, glad you didn't get stranded anywhere yesterday.

We are off to the potluck dinner at the pool. I am armed with a ww couscous salad loaded with tons of garden veggies, so I think I'll be okay.

Schmoodle, your couscous salad sounds delicious!

Cyndi, you look absolutely terrific! Great find!

Ruth, glad you got in a nap! You've got a heaping pile for that bake sale and I'm sure they'll appreciate each and every morsel.

Enjoy your Friday, Carinna!

Evangeline, I would guess it's the SMELL of the breath that wakes you up!!!

So I did finish my cleaning and *almost* got the laundry done. One more load for tomorrow. Ah, I see it's "tomorrow" already as it's past midnight so now there's no hope for finishing it all before the official weekend. I don't feel guilty. I chose to work out with Tom instead of finish the laundry. We got an incredible session in and my legs are shot! I just reread that and realized it could be interpreted in so many fun ways! Really, we were doing an exercise video. Seriously!

Time for a shower and bed. I'm beat!

Kara

I'm not too good at taking pics of myself so you can't see the pants. They are really narrow black capris, very 50s. I thought it made a cute outfit. The other pic is me somewhere near my top weight. It's a first date pic so it gets to live It would make a cute bathing suit. I gave up on that this year. Still couldn't find anything I liked.

How is the ww couscous? I bought a box to try but haven't braved it yet. Any tips? I seem to overcook ww pasta all the time and then it's gross. My Mom made some and it was good though, maybe because she cooked a whole package and it was easier to time?

EofAz, heh, the story about the creepy dog made me laugh out loud. Sounds like a very unique dog. I often wake up to find myself covered in cats, and my DB says I am a crazy cat lady. Though, I'm not sure if any of them lay there and watch me sleep. A few times I wake up to feel a little warm furry body on my chest and eyes glittering in the dark. Adorable! Hope your daughter gets better!

Carinna, amen!

Ruthxx, yup that was me. Ah, so that's who they are! That's wonderful how you've adopted them as family. It sounds like you guys have great memories and great times together (whooa, 2 cheesecakes? They certainly can eat! Yum!) The picture you posted is adorable; the pup is so cute (may she r.i.p) and the girl is lovely, her eyes are such a striking color. Cute!

CyndiM, you look great! How do I get amazing arms like that?? Your new top is so cute.

Schmoodle, couscous is so delicious. It's been one of my favorite foods for a long time. Any chance you'd post your couscous salad recipe?

Tomandkara, yeah yeah suuure that's what you were doing! lol! (Just kidding!) Good night!

Back to CyndiM again, I think your outfit really was well chosen and I swear I can see defined abs underneath your shirt, what are your secrets? You are the Exercise Queen of the SB forum, what sort of exercises do you recommend? I'm very eager to know.

Cyndi, ww couscous is very easy to use, you don't really "cook" it so I've never had a problem with overcooking it. You just boil some water, pour it over the pasta (2:1 water to couscous), add a T of olive oil if desired, cover and let it sit until it's done plumping up and all the water's absorbed. You can use broth instead of water or add bouillon cubes for extra flavor.

Melanie, I don't really have a recipe, usually I just chop up a bunch of stuff I want to use up and mix it all up, but here is what I did tonight:
2 cups couscous made as described above (with bouillon), then poured about 1/4 cup of lemon juice over it, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 chopped cucumber, about 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved, one yellow tomato, chopped, 1/2 onion chopped, 1 cup of peas. Mixed it all up, then topped with fresh basil, and some curls of Parmesan cheese. This made a ton though, so you might want to halve it if making for fewer people.
Sometimes I add tuna or chicken, chopped egg, capers, whatever you like and have around. It's great for using up all those leftovers and veggies that are getting a little past their prime. This is one of DH's favorite summertime dinners.
I made it look really pretty, and you know what? Most people didn't even taste it. They went for the Ramen noodle salad, fried chicken and macaroni and cheese pretty heavily though.

Well, I enjoyed it, and those that didn't get intimidated by all the veggies said it was good. Good thing I liked it because I'll be eating it for a couple of days! I am feeling superhuman right now because I resisted the brownies, homemade chocolate chip cookies, blueberry pound cake, and cupcakes. Go me.

Well, the kids are staying at Grandmas, and DD1 is out somewhere, so I am all alone in the house, which I enjoy greatly. I am going to read and listen for hamster noises. We have one on the loose and with all the quiet I'm hoping to hear her scratching around somewhere.

Schmoodle - That sounds like something I'd like. I'll give it a try!

True confession time - the abs are the result of sticking faithfully to my PT exercises for months. I have a couple of severely herniated discs so pain was a great motivator. I'm a relaxed exerciser. I spend about an hour a day doing some kind of cardio - either walking or biking. Honestly I walk 3 miles which is pretty laid back compared to lots of other people. I also do yoga a couple of times a week, 1 class and 1 dvd and I should be doing my PT exercises every other day but I've slacked a lot this summer. I also do a basic arm workout with weights a couple of times a week - maybe 15 minutes. I am starting weight training this fall, which I'm really excited about. It's unlikely I'll ever be one of those super cardio folks. Between the back and arthritis in my knees my choices are a bit limited. I do love the exercise I do though and really have become addicted to it. I was a total couch potato before and never believed people who said they got hooked on exercise but it's true! I really miss it if I skip a day. The best part is my metabolism is really ramped up. More info than you asked for