Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning!

I guess it goes without saying the Gallery Pics are from my FIRST Zumba class. My friends, Joan and Lauren, attended the class with me. It was their first time, too, and we all made it to the end of the class. We are survivors, plain and simple. For the long, drawn-out narrative, check out Randomness below!

Oh, and I've included the October 7 through October 12 pictures of the "October Photography Challenge." It has been a fun and "fallish" thing to do.

RANDOMNESS - Of course, I'm not going to just say, "I attended a Zumba class" and leave it at that! It's not my style!

First of all, I tried a Zumba class as a "life experience." I wasn't necessarily going to make it a "life changing experience." However, Joan and Lauren LOVED it and are now planning on attending two to three times a week. That means my one and only criteria for exercise has been met... I have someone to perform the exercise routine with me.

I cannot walk alone either. I have tried. It isn't that I don't LIKE to walk alone. I CANNOT walk alone. I want to scream after the first lap... and I usually do... which annoys the other walkers on the track. That is why God gave me Cam, Julie, Kim and Cam (in that order) to walk with each week.

So now my Zumba Buddies are Joan and Lauren (and anyone else who would care to join).

When I first walked into the class, it wasn't intimidating. Yes, there were the Zumba hardbodies (I didn't talk to them), but there were young women, women my age and even women a little older. There were several first-timers. It was a plethora of women. (Even my brain was stimulated by Zumba! Have you ever heard me use the word "plethora" before?)

The instructor immediately gave us a colorful little sarong with little jingles on it to wear over our shorts. Very cute, and the little jingles were a little uplifting, I think.

The music was loud, but not annoying. There were a few African-type songs, but most of them were Latin American. The dance steps were not too complicated. However, I admit it will take me MANY, MANY classes to get them all down. (My goal is to know all the dance steps by April, 2011!)

After a while, I was getting a little worried. I could tell my Zumba experience was about to come to an end... whether the instructor said it was over or not. In my mind, I was sure we had been exercising 60 minutes, but I knew if I looked at a clock, it would probably say we had 45 minutes to go. I wasn't going to make it. Oh, the horror and humiliation.

I walked to the water fountain and on my way back to my "spot," I was thrilled to see a clock. And I was even more thrilled to learn we only had 12 minutes! ONLY 12! I could finish this, but ONLY if the last song was the obligatory warm-down routine. And guess what? IT WAS!

The rest of the evening was a blur. My exercise pain came within ten minutes of finishing my first-ever Zumba class. It didn't wait until the next day. And I was ready to go to bed almost immediately, but I still had things to do. After all, it was only 5:30 p.m. when the class ended. The sun was still up!

All in all, it was a positive experience. Joan and Lauren are hooked. They are going to the Saturday morning class, but since I'll be camping with the family, I'll have to miss that one. Ahhh! However, Wednesday night after church and Thursday afternoon are written in ink on the calendar!

The only negatives I can report are as follows:

1. Immediate pain and exhaustion upon completion of the class (for me).

2. You don't get to keep the sarong.

Weekend Happenings

I mentioned it above. We're going camping in a few hours. It will be a short trip. We'll be home Sunday around lunchtime. Since it is a long weekend, Josh and Roxie wanted to "do it all," so we've incorporated family AND friends over the next four days.

Plus, Austin has a game Saturday AND an exhibition after the game in Georgia. Camping was out of the question for him... and we still haven't gotten used to doing things as a foursome. We've only been on one camping trip with just the four of us, and Josh and Roxie whined about going without Austin the entire time. I wanted to, but being the parental unit, I didn't feel it set a good example. (I'm all about setting good examples! Yeah, right!)

However, we know we cannot wait until college football season is over or we'll miss the time with Josh and Roxie. We'll see Austin for a little while Sunday since he's coming in for church, Melia and us.

Sunday evening and Monday I will no doubt be doing a lot of camping laundry, entertaining teenagers, etc., etc.

I am sure it will all be one big fall weekend blur by Tuesday morning... but I am so looking forward to each and every day of this long weekend.

School (and Zumba) just wear us out!

Have the best fall weekend EVER! Enjoy this beautiful weather with your family and friends. Next week's posts will be a smorgasbord of fun ideas for you and yours (and mine). Remember, the post on Mindless Monday will be AMAZINGLY short, but the pictures will tell the story. Come back for a "quick" read on Monday!

I will not be posting pictures on Belinda's Project Life Friday and Saturday, but I'll be back on schedule Sunday night. Don't worry!

Take care, and I'll talk to you Monday.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda