And Now For The Wiener....

Well, almost.  I have ALMOST chosen my gym-of-choice-winner.  I had an awesome spin class tonight (I walked in there with 3,200 steps on my pedometer, and walked out with 10,500!!!).  I was HOPING that I would enjoy the spin class, and I did!  I was immediately pleased.  You have no idea how difficult I am to please.  ;-)  I was happy when I walked into the room because it was COOL!!!  The dedicated full-time spin room was prepared for people to exercise and heat up.  It's a miracle.  That was my make-or-break test.  My next test of this gym will be zumba.  Not sure when I can make the class, but we will see.

Let's see, Gold's gym has this going for it:
1. Spin classes,
2. In a cool room!
3. Zumba classes--they have them.
4. Swimming pool--so I can really ramp up my training!!!
5. There is a location by my work, for lunch time work outs; and a location near my home for the weekends.
6. For $20 a month, it's a huuuuuuuuge bargain compared to what I was paying, AND there are way more classes that I will be able to make now because the times work with MY schedule.

I think the winner is pretty clear, but I will still use my 7-day free pass just to make sure!  I made a spreadsheet of all my gym choices and the details of each, but I don't even need it.

Having a gym chosen will make me feel better because I will not feel so in limbo.  I will soon have my home-away-from-home selected.  Yea, I'm addicted to working out, it's not a bad thing.

Jus, My Hero

My roommate from college is an amazing woman.  She is my only close friend from any kind of school...  I don't keep in touch with anyone from high school, and nobody else from college.  So she is my longest close friend.  Geez, I've known her now more than half my life, yikes.  There can be years that go by when we don't have a chance to communicate, and then something happens and we know we can write or pick up the phone and it's like we pick up right where we left off.  We've seen each other go through a lot, and it is amazing how the years have flown.

Now for a digression in the story, but trust me, it IS related.  I love to drink water (just plain tap, nothing fancy out of a bottle).  Not only is it usually free, but I prefer it ever since I moved to the desert and I drink so much more of it.  I really don't care for soda very often.  When Jus and I would go eat during our freshman and sophomore years of college, I would always order her water for her.  She has an English accent (so adorable) and people could never understand her when she would order water.  Still to this day I always think of her when I order water.

So, why is Jus so amazing, and why is she my hero?  I will tell you, glad you asked.  She joined the National Guard, and she left to fulfill her duty and serve our country on Friday.  I still can't believe it.  I'm so very proud of her!  The other important detail is that she went through and graduated boot camp last year, AND SHE IS MY AGE!!!!  I am so amazed at her courage.  It had to be the hardest thing ever to get through.  I can't imagine the physical stress, or the mental stress, of going through that at our age (with a bunch of youngsters!).  She's one tough cookie.  She wants to do something very meaningful, and she wants to make a difference with her life.  She's doing that. 

I'll update you as she goes on her adventure of a lifetime.  She is stationed at a few bases in the US before being deployed to probably <gulp> Afghanistan.  I worry about her going overseas at such a tumultuous time, and I will not rest easy until she is back safe and sound.  She's got a great family waiting at home to come back to. 

Godspeed, Jus.  And all my love.

Let Me See Ya Shake Your Tail Feathers

Holy aerobic dancing, Batman, have I missed Zumba!!! I had a total butt kickin' good time tonight dancing like an uncoordinated football player on a ballroom dance floor. IT WAS A BLAST!!! It has been a long time since I have been lucky enough to attend a zumba class. Probably a year. I was never good at it to begin with, but I don't care. It is just an hour of somewhat choreographed chaotic energetic movement. And it is the best aerobic exercise ever. If you've never tried it, it does take a half dozen classes to "get it". But the cool thing is, IF YOU ARE MOVING, YOU ARE DOING IT RIGHT!!!

I walked into class with my pedometer around 2,000 steps. I walked outta there with... Wanna guess? Go ahead, guess. Ok, I'll tell you. ALMOST 11,000 steps!!! I've never gotten that out of an hour exercise class. Ever. And my sweat crystals had sweat crystals!!!!

I quit my old gym yesterday, and I've never felt better. I feel liberated. I am gym shopping and trying every available gym this month to select my final one. How fun is this?!?

DRIVERS* Start Your Engines!

Wahoo for the girls!  Way to go, Danica Patrick.  I watched (delayed) her win 4th place in today's Nationwide race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  She set a record for the best ever finish by a female driver.  Keep an eye on her, she's going to keep getting better.  I can't wait to see her in victory circle.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nascar/feed/2011-01/danica-patrick/story/danica-patrick-registers-best-finish-by-female-driver-in-nascar#ixzz1FnM5LSOj

Who gives a damn that it ended up being a fuel mileage race.  Think anybody is going to remember that next year when they say how she came in 4th this year?  Nope. 

She's a badass in my book.



Oh, and congrats to Mark Martin for winning the big enchilada.  I think he's pretty cool and so happy to see him win!!!  Totally deserves it.

I've also got my eye on Jennifer Jo Cobb, hoping she does well this season.  Looks like I'm going to have to start watching the truck series too!
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/02/jennifer_jo_cobbs_finish_made.html

*Since there were two women in the race, they couldn't say "Gentlemen, start your engines", so it's "Drivers, start your engines"--I love it!

When Good Cakes Go Bad

I went to the grocery store yesterday with the intention of buying a pre-baked angel food cake for a recipe I am making to take to work tomorrow.  However, when I saw the selection in the bakery, I reconsidered.  They had a small dinky cake for $4.  It was like the size of MAYBE half of a standard angel food cake.  So I went to the cake mix isle.  I got a mix for $3.  I swear I stood there for 10 minutes debating the price of that cake mix.  $3 for a friggin cake mix?!?!?  You've GOT to be kidding me.  And *I* gotta bake it?  So, it's been awhile since I've done the grocery shopping.  Obviously.  I was expecting it to be $1.49 at the most, like a regular cake mix.  Apparently this one is special.  So I buy it.  I'm in a time crunch and have no other options, other than the over priced small dinky pre-baked one.

I prepare to make it last night.  I read the high altitude instructions.  Cause, well, I'm at a high altitude.  The special instructions say to add 2 TABLESPOONS of corn starch to the dry mix.  I read it 5 times to make sure it didn't say teaspoon.  Nope, it definitely said tablespoon, and 2 of them.  So I do it.  I add all of 2 leveled tablespoons.  I mix it for the required time.  It foams up as expected and gets all full, as I remember.  I put it in my special angel food cake pan.  I put it in the oven.  I wait.

I check it after the first 5 minutes.  It's rising!!!  Holy cake batter, Batman, it's rising!  I always get nervous about baking, cause baking at this altitude is NOT like baking in KS.  I let it go another 10 minutes and check it again.  It's rising MORE!  Wahoo!  It feels like real success.  I'm all happy with myself because I made a wise decision.  I just let it go, cause it's looking like a real angel food cake. 

Another 10 minutes go by.  My hubby walks through the kitchen and says "Uhhh, I think you need to check this".  I run over to the oven.  OMG, the thing has morphed into some kind of cake monster.  HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN???  Oh yea, the corn starch.  All 2 tablespoons of it.

Keep in mind, you can't see some of the stuff that slid over the edge and onto the bottom of the oven that is under the foil I quickly put down.  Can you see that haze?  Yea, that's SMOKE.

The good news?  Our house smelled like toasted marshmallows all evening into the next morning.  I love toasted marshmallow flavoring in my latte (along with caramel--awesome combination).

So let me ask, does anyone else have a GLASS bottle (with a metal cap, not plastic) on which to turn the cake over to let it cool?  Remember how mom used to bake/cool an angel food cake like that?  My mom always used a Heinz vinegar bottle.  Thank goodness, I had a bottle of limeade carbonated beverage for some booze concoction I had in mind at one time but never got around to making.  Otherwise, I would have been screwed.  Again.

Life

So... I'm bored. In many ways. I'm bored with what I'm doing in many facets of my life.  My gym bores me, so I'm changing this spring.  An association or two I am in are boring me so I am not volunteering as much.  All the tasks I can't get caught up on at home bore me.  The weed pulling I know I will be doing this spring is going to bore me.  My daily commute is really boring and stress inducing.

Thank God for my pups and the fact that my hubby cooks.  He cooks well.  He cooks creatively.  He is an awesomely inventive master chef.  The man is amazing.  He can take a few ingredients and make something that makes me salivate weeks later just thinking about what we ate.  I have very few specialties.  I make a mean gourmet grilled cheese (this ain't your mom's grilled cheese), but I can't just whip up something from nothing.  Thank goodness he's in charge of the food around here, otherwise life might be *really* boring. 

I need to find more time to do fun things, so I get out of this boring rut.  I think a new gym will help immensely and I will ramp up my physical training.  I have to change some things, cause I don't deal well with boredom.  Sorry for the boring post.