Aqua Tone

Last week I joined the YMCA. It has a beautiful pool with lots of classes that looked awesome.

Yesterday morning I walked into the pool area to look for my class. I wasn't sure I was in the right place because everyone in the pool, EVERYONE, was 70 years old +. I asked the Lifeguard where the Aqua Tone class was, he pointed to my white-haired friends and said "right here ma'am".

At this point I was already in my swimsuit and all wet because I did as instructed and showered before getting in the pool.

I had no choice, so I hopped in  . . .

I thought the instructor had started class but I couldn't listen when all the ladies around me were talking about their bridge clubs, how they voted, the cold weather, and their kids. I quickly came to realize that Aqua Tone was Senior Social Hour in Your Swimsuit.

I kept trying to follow the instructor and do what 5% of the class was doing but I was easily distracted.

Some of the ladies got a little disgruntled once we got the water weights out. Betty #1 looked over at the clock 15 minutes into class and said, in a very matter of fact tone, "The clock must have stopped running because no way have I only been doing this stuff for 15 minutes". Betty #2 agreed and moaned that the exercises were too hard and the pool was too cold (82 degrees) and she was finished. She walked faster into that locker room than she did any lunges in the pool! Betty #3 complained that the swimmer practicing her freestyle in the lane beside her was getting her hair-do wet every time she swam by. While all of this was going on, the one male in the class was making his rounds around the pool talking up the election results with all the ladies. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to participate but it so hard with all this going on around me.

The lifeguard was laughing at me. I knew it. But I gotta say, I laughed the whole time and I felt really good the rest of the day. I don't know if it was the great exercise routine or that my spirits were high because it's the first time I could do everything the instructor showed me in a gym class twice as fast as everyone else.

But hey, kudos to those ladies for showing up and putting their swim suits on! At 70! That's awesome! I might have to just go back and make sure the Bettys keep their hair from getting splashed during class.

The Final Debate

Now, that the election is over, we can get back to the REAL debate: iPad or iPad Mini?

It's keeping me up at night. I can't decide. Do I want really small, very portable, compact enough to fit in my purse or do I want kinda small, still portable, not as compact but has better resolution? Both are awesome. One fits in my smallest purse, the other allows me to see more of the Anthropologie site on one page. Oh, this is when I hate being a Libra. I have to weigh everything. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!

When I tell people about this I can just see them roll their eyes - for goodness sake, woman, just get one and be done with it. But, I don't buy this kinda stuff often. In fact, I might be one of the last people on Earth without an iPad or any small tablet device. I don't own a kindle and truth be told, I still haven't purchased my iPhone 5 (don't get me started!). I had one iPod. One. It never died. I never replaced it.  Now it's an antique. So you see, these decisions are tough because I have to live whit them for quite some time. I also think I don't know much about this stuff because if it were a paint color, I could pick it in 20 minutes flat and know I'd have to keep it for years and be totally happy. I know paint. We get along. We have a relationship. Techy stuff - I try to know her but she's tricky. She's always changing.  She always has something new and better to show me and I can never feel like I can keep up.

So, weigh in. I have to make this decision soon. Like Santa soon (wink)!

Small Town Voting

I ran off to vote early this morning and I have to say, small town voting is the best!

1. I walked to the voting site, hot tea in hand.
2. One person was ahead of me.
3. I ran into one of my neighbors as he scanned his ballot.
4. I scanned my own ballot.
5. I ran into 2 more neighbors on the way out the door.
6. I walked home.

Easy. Social. Civic.  Can't ask for much more!

Now go vote!

GO VOTE!

Happy Birthday Brother!

Today is Brother's birthday. He's good fun. If you haven't met him, I highly suggest you buy him a beer, introduce yourself and get ready to laugh. He's a funny one. You'll like him. I promise. If you have met him, just buy him a beer for goodness sake, it's his birthday!


Brother,

Hope you have a super fabulous birthday that includes a giant warm chocolate chip cookie!!!

Love ya,

Meya

Brother & Me
Western Days : Tucson, AZ : Circa 1982

Good Ol' Fashion Fun!

Before Hurricane Sandy came crashing in, I convinced Husband to buy a puzzle.

My thought : Romantic! We'll sit by candle light, sip wine and hover over the table, share puzzle pieces and just be together.

Husband's thought : Boring! We have other things to do like watch all of Season 1 of Breaking Bad or re-read Les Miserables, so when the movie comes out I can quote every line.

My reality : We never lost power so we sat with the lamp on, gulped wine and hovered like 2 crazy people over this puzzle for hours.

Husband's reality: MUST FINISH THIS PUZZLE NOW!

We both ended up loving every second of it. Monday night I could barely get Husband to go to bed because he was looking for just 1 more piece . . . and that 1 piece to finish that corner  . . . and that 1 piece to finish the green part  . . . and  . . .

It was just good ol' fashion fun and that's what I loved about it. It didn't cost us much except a few hours of sleep. We could do it and eat at the same time. We could do it with power or without. We could do it and still listen to the Weather Channel. We could do it together. We could do it for fun.

I think by the end of winter, we may become puzzle hoarders.

Isn't she pretty?

Can you find the missing piece in the picture below?  I accidentally vacuumed up 1 piece before we started the puzzle. Talk about driving you crazy . . . looking for that piece forced us to consume 1 entire bottle of wine!

Impromptu

Yesterday morning I decided that it would be a good day for a pot of chili.  It was Halloween, and cold and rainy out and I knew Husband and I wanted to stay home for the Trick-Or-Treaters.

I found a recipe a friend of my mom's had given me at my bridal shower and went off to the grocery to get what I needed. By 2:00pm I was back in the kitchen chopping away and by 3:30pm I decided that I had enough chili for the neighborhood . . . so I invited the neighbors over! By 4:30pm they were all coming. At 5:00pm I decided it was also a good day for a apple cranberry crumble, so I ran off to the store to get more apples and by 7:30pm the crumble was in the oven!

We sat around and ate and drank and enjoyed the warm food on a cold night. We laughed, we shared funny stories, we refilled each other's glasses . . . everyone stayed until after 11:30pm! It was just simple good fun.

Now, I could have planned that evening for a month, shopped early, sent out an invitation to everyone and it never would have worked out so well. Sometimes, impromptu is so much more fun! It's no stress, no one expects much and everyone is just happy to be doing something fun. Maybe I should start to plan my next impromptu event. Ha!

If you want to see what Penny looked like while everyone was at the house, here ya go.  At about 11:00pm, she scratched at my boot and made me hold her until everyone went home. She is not a party animal!  Maybe it was the sweater . . .

Halloween 2012