Kevin finally got tired and fell asleep early last night, he was out when I came back from my class.

At my water aerobics class last night we did laps around the deep end instead of just going back and forth. We did one lap each of:
jogging
cross-country skiing (keeping legs straight)
wide-leg frog (works the inner and outer thighs)
ankle taps, forward and backward (like a jog but you touch the opposite ankle with each stroke, works your abs)
alternating hurdles (like a jog but you stretch out your legs like you're jumping hurdles)
breast-stroke arms, no leg movement, they stayed straight down, toes pointed.
Then we put our "bells" under our knees and jogged around the pool and did other weight work.
We finished by standing on one bell and po-going. That was fun.

11:00 am Edit: I forgot to add that last night the instructor played dance-track versions of ABBA songs. Hard to dance and jog at the same time, but was fun trying.

If you click on the link you'll see six different sizes varying in resistance. I have a set of the dark blue ones which are 80% resistance. The lower the resistance the easier they are to use. I'm not sure how they relate to real world weights, but I am challenged with these and am not ready to try the 99% bells. The problem with the 80's is there is lots of foam which makes them very wide and jogging with them under my knees feels like riding a trike that's too small: awkward.

I got a guest pass for one of my local readers. If you'd like to join me next week, comment here, email or call me. (Mom? AM? Linna?)

I like this class and I am starting to feel and see its benefits. (My weight's not down but my legs are trimmer.) I just don't like how much time it takes to go to every week. I invested in the bells and float belt so I should sign up again, but I haven't decided yet. I've got a couple weeks to think about it.
 

What the ... ?

Winter weight.

I just heard the cringing and moaning of all the women who read me. Sorry, but I gotta unload about this.

I haven't been under my Mendoza line in ages, maybe two or three months. I'm so tired of seeing that middle number on the scale every time I get on. It haunts me, it taunts me; I hate it. Every time I get close to the line, with just one more pound or even a half-pound to go, something will interfere with my progress: a birthday, a wedding, a house warming party, Halloween, and I'll have to start over again. One day recently I saw a number on my scale I hadn't seen since I was pregnant. Seven months pregnant. So utterly depressing.

I'm trying to be more aggressive about getting in shape, getting the weight off. I enrolled again for the deep water aerobics classes and try to do the weight class at the gym at work. I'm trying to be more proactive about weight-loss than just doing the 40-minute walk in the mornings, "eating better," complaining, and crossing my fingers hoping I'll lose the weight.

This morning I was pleased to see I'm back within striking distance of my "never-ever-want-to-go-over-that-weight" line. I could be under by the weekend!

Put all that aside for a moment.

Nordstroms is having their half-yearly sale and a couple weeks ago I found myself in the lingerie department after perusing the other departments' sale racks. I was tempted by a pair of $100 dress pants that were long enough for my 34" legs on sale but passed on them because I really don't want to buy clothes until I get well under the Mendoza line. Anyway, lingerie department. There was a huge rack of bras unmentionables, designer ones, pretty $50 ones, marked down to something I could consider. I tried on several and they all seemed to fit except they were a bit tight in the band. Once again I think, all I have to do is lose a couple pounds, do a couple more lat-pulls, get rid of some back fat and these will be golden. So I bought three. They still sit in the shopping bag in my closet.

Another day, another store, and as one thing lead to another as things tend to do, I got a bra fitting. Because of the weight gain I was mentally prepared for the fitting specialist to tell me I need to go up a band size to a 36. But she didn't tell me that, she told me I needed to go up a cup size. Or two. What?! She had me try on a 34D and it fit. I was stunned and stood staring at the tag. I had to see it with my own eyes. I was wearing a 34D. Me? A D? No way. I don't look any bigger than what I've looked like forever. I'm still stunned.

So, after all these twenty-something years of being a B-cup girl, I can forgo augmentation surgery, and go from a B-cup to a D-cup by getting a $79 dollar bra!

 

 

 

I gotta get under the Mendoza line soon, I can't afford a new wardrobe of $79 bras and the new clothes I'd have to get with them.

 

Day 1: Going for Gold at Anne's House

Seventy-five percent of the Anneshousehold were starting new classes yesterday. Fern was to start gymnastics, Dan was to start his 05:00 fitness boot camp class, and I was supposed to start two new programs.

The gym here at work has a partner program where they match you up with someone with your same goals and schedule. I'd been matched up with "Donna" a couple weeks ago but because of vacations, etc., yesterday was the first day we were to get together, meet, and go the the "On the Ball" class at 12:40 to 1:25.

I woke up at 6:00 for my three-mile walk, a couple pounds over the Mendoza line (again, sheesh!), and realized Dan was still in bed. He totally missed his first day of class.

At 12:30 I headed down to the gym for the ball class. I dislike gym aerobic classes for the most part because of my clumsiness and if I'm not there from the class conception, I have that lost feeling when everyone else knows the language of the class and I don't. I put on my gym clothes and my brave face and headed to the exercise room. The instructor is also the guy doing the partner matching so I introduced myself. Donna was a no-show. Grrrrr.

The ball class was good, challenging workout without being too advanced. The instructor said I did well. I'll go back next week.

After work I got ready to take Fern to her gymnastics class. It is scheduled to be an hour, 7:15-8:15. As luck would have it, there is a deep water aerobics class scheduled at the same time on the other side of the building. I signed up for it so I didn't have an idle hour.

After Fern reported for her class I headed to the locker room to change into my swim suit. My class was supposed to be 7:30-8:15. We didn't even get into the water until 8:00. Sheesh.

Well, it's understandable really, the instructor went over all the administration stuff first. She'll provide float belts and barbells for two weeks and expects us to bring our own after that. We can order a set from her for $40. I looked on eBay this morning and was surprised that $40 is reasonable.

I got my belt on and got in the water. The assistant instructor gave us warm-ups to do while everyone else got fitted. That's when I noticed how many of my classmates were clinging to the wall of the 13.5' deep pool. With float belts on. You signed up for a class called Deep Water Aerobics and you're afraid of deep water, what were you thinking?

Anyway, I was plenty sore when I woke up today. The water class was good too. I'm glad I'm taking it. It was nice chatting with the other women and it will be interesting to observe my classmates' comfort levels grow over the next weeks.

When Fern was finished with her class she sat in the natatorium and waited for me. She babbled happily on about her class while I got dressed and complained her back hurt. She tried a back bend into a bridge even though she hadn't done one for years. Silly girl.

On the way home we stopped at Chick-fil-A for fries and a coke.
 
 

Trick or Treat

We had about 20 beggars to the door last night dipping into the family stash. Fern and Hermione went out together around our neighborhood. Don't they look smashing!



Hermione is wearing a dress I made for Fern a couple years ago, by the way.

 

I'm so proud of myself: I've gotten up in the dark 3 mornings this week and walked by myself. Yay Me!

We had a fire drill here at work a couple weeks ago. I work on the fifth floor so I took the steps up after the all-clear. Oh my goodness, I got to Three just fine, was huffing and puffing by Four and blown down by Five. I tried again a couple days ago with the same results. Now I've vowed to take the steps once a day until it's no longer hard, then I may do twice a day. It's exactly 100 steps to the fifth floor from the lobby. I guess my 1.75 mile walks in the mornings haven't been hard enough for my heart.