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By kilax, May 16, 2009 5:49 pm

Guess who got their full dose of Vitamin D today?

I did! And Diane probably did too, since we were together all day. I can’t believe I got so red. I usually slather myself in sunscreen. And I even had it in my car today, but was having so much fun, I didn’t put it on. And… that’s how you get skin cancer! I won’t let this happen again. Anyway…

Diane and I went to Grant Park for SELF’s Workout in the Park. It’s a huge workout – they have a main stage set up and everyone follows the workouts. They also had a “quiet zone” (which was right next to the loud speakers for the main stage) to do yoga and pilates, as well as various vendors there.

The main stage

The weather was absolutely perfect – sunny and blue skies! But the ground was absolutely saturated with water. I wonder if they had two shoe vendors there because they knew buying new shoes was sure to be on everyone’s mind at the end of the day?

Our very muddy shoes… and the very muddy ground.

Diane and I tried a few of the main classes (Cardio Tai Box, Movieography, and Million Dollar Knockout) and one “Quiet Zone class – Hippie Yoga. (Jeez, is that all we did? Why do I feel so tired?). I was worried about the yoga, because I’ve only taken ONE yoga class and I got really sick and dizzy at it. This “Hippie” yoga focused on your hips and upper legs, so we didn’t have to do any of that crazy upside down stuff and I REALLY LIKED IT! Maybe I will start doing yoga now? Steven did the P90X yoga for the first time this week and really liked it. He thinks I should try it (but admits he has his doubts about me calming down enough to do it).

Looking good after working out all day… right? RIGHT?!?!

We kept commenting on how there was such a variety of people there! Different ages, different races, different SIZES – it wasn’t what you would expect to see at a workout. It was empowering to see such a variety of people out there, working on being healthier, together. It encouraged what I already believed – you can get healthy at any size!

Jillian Michaels is a contributing editor (or something?) for SELF now, so she was there. She gave a very short introduction, then signed books for 50 people who had lined up at 5:00 (!!!) in the morning to receive a special ticket to get to meet her. I saw the line of girls there to talk to her, and some looked really emotional. One girl was even crying, as she talked to Jillian. I wonder what it is like to have that much influence on someone… to be that inspirational, I mean.

Jillian talking…

Me and Jillian. See, I got my picture taken with her! Ha ha ha.

Overall, this was a really fun event. It really got me pumped up, and made me wish I could take a fun class at a gym… with Diane!

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By kilax, May 14, 2009 5:54 am

I was flipping through an old issue of SELF magazine (July ’08) at the gym last night and felt like the blurb “Prevent summer letdown” was speaking directly to me:

(In fact, that entire page – front and back – may have been speaking directly to me. The article next to it was titled “How I stopped cursing a blue streak” and the one on the back side of the page was “Be a good gossip.”)

I spend a lot of time during the winter and spring fantasizing about the summer. A LOT. Steven can back me up on this because he’s had to listen to me talk about it all winter long.

What am I fantasizing about? Weekends spent at the cabin in Guttenberg (Iowa), boating, swimming, eating, lounging… and also nice summer days, with long runs in the warm sun.

Steven and I have coordinated our schedules so we have a quite a few 3-day and 4-day weekends this summer. But, who’s to say that we will be able to stick to our plan of getting away to Guttenberg 100%? I know we won’t. We already have weekends filling up with plans that require us to stay home over the weekends, and who knows what the weather will be like anyway. Oh, and it would be good to get some chores done and not abandon Data completely.

The article recommends keeping an element of reality in your fantasy. And isn’t that good advice for any fantasy? I would say so. It seems our fantasies become more attainable (and turn into goals!) when we DO give them a sense of reality.

So I am going to follow some of the tips when I feel like I am “stuck at home” this summer. We have an amazing forest preserve system in the county I live in that I have really been wanting to explore. We have a grill, and neighbors we like to spend time with. And we do live “close” to that wonderful city of Chicago – there might be something to do there!

Maybe I should have saved this for a Friday Question (since I seem to have trouble coming up with them), but do you have summer fantasies? Do you usually see them out? Or do you need to prevent summer letdown as well?

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By kilax, October 22, 2008 8:20 am

The short article below, from the November issue of Self, gave me the courage to write about something that’s been on my mind lately.

I think blogging can lend itself to be a platform for oversharing. Which is fine with me. I need that outlet. I need to let my thoughts out, even if they are too personal, detailed or crazy.

But I sometimes feel like “blogging” is my only friend. Sure, I have my live-in best friend, Data Steven to talk to every day, but I sometimes wish for someone else, a girlfriend, to talk to about life. Someone close to me, who knows me well. Someone to vent to, cry with, and share happy moments with… someone who would also feel comfortable to be that open with me.

I love talking to Steven. But I am continually bouncing the same repetitive stuff off of him. He needs a break from time to time. And I need a fresh perspective.

Feeling like this gives me urges to overshare. I don’t dish out things I regret, but I find myself eager to talk to someone different. I think I am looking for someone else to care about what’s going on in my life… besides my husband, family and extended blog family.

That’s not too much to ask for, is it?

(Yikes, this came out all wrong. It’s not meant to offend any of the wonderful people already in my life. It’s just meant to explain a yearning I have.)