High maintenance dog

(that's the arm of the computer chair at the left and my leg that his paws are resting on)

\For some reason Dexter has been super needy these past few weeks. Usually, when I am at the computer, he's content to sit on his pillow next to me. But the past few weeks, he's begged and begged till I let him up on my lap. And it's not a silent beg. It's a beg with a few groans and whimpers to make me feel bad and look at him more sympathetically....and it works. The only problem....well, for him to sit on my lap I have to cross my leg to where my ankle rests on my knee. When Dexter gets on my lap, the leg that is crossed inevitably falls asleep, so I have to switch legs about every five minutes. Not only does this annoy me, but Dexter groans when I do it too. I mean...how dare I mess up his cozy lap. Also, I usually have to go into the other room to get a book, paper, drink, phone, or something, which means that I have to put him down and pick him back up again. He also doesn't like that. But...I do have to say...despite his neediness lately, he's been keeping me warm as the weather has cooled. And...he's good company

Life right now...

...is very mundane and boring. It consists of me waking up, jazzercising, and then reading and writing till my fingers fall off and my eyes glaze over. After my mid term last week I am frantically trying to finish my thesis by Nov 17. So, there won't be too much to report lately. But, maybe if my creative juices start to flow I will discover something blog worthy.

Jazzercise....it shows!

I have been reading this slogan for almost a year now. That's how long Dave and I have belonged to the Grapevine Recreation Center, where we workout, where the local Jazzercise classes take place. You see, I have been exercising pretty consistently since I was 14. At this age, my mom became an avid power walker and, like the excellent mother she is, encouraged her children to be active with her. So, I started walking with my mom. The block we lived in was just under one mile for each time around, so we would go anywhere between 2 and 4 times around. I remember it being hot on summer evenings and us walking and sweating. We always seemed to have great conversations while we walked. This was a time for us to talk about all the things moms and daughters talk about, along with so much else. So, at 14 I began exercising. Walking eventually turned into drill team practice during the school year, treadmills and stair masters during the summer and even the occasional aerobics class. In college we had an awesome fitness center where I fell in love with elliptical runners (and my husband!) and started using weights for the first time. Each summer I shelled out hundreds of dollars to 24 Hour Fitness to keep the habit up. Now, am I in perfect shape? Absolutely not. But, I do think that exercising has enabled me to stay healthy, maintain my weight (my freshman year in college doesn't count!) and relieve stress over the years.
For the past three months, I have really struggled with exercising. More then I ever had in the past. For the first time in my life, I hated exercise. I dreaded going. When I got there, I usually quit early cause I was so bored. I began to notice my endurance declining, and I was not taking as good of care of myself as I had been in the past. I needed a change. I needed to find some form of exercise that was different, challenging, and gave me motivation to go.
So, this past week, I shelled out a nice sum of money and joined Jazzercise. Wow....has it kicked my tail! I was sore all last week and actually couldn't finish the classes several times. I had to march in place while all the Jane Fonda look alike women in their mid 50s continued on. Every muscle in my body hurt, but in that good way that lets you know you have done something good for yourself. Because of some of my dance history, the steps come easily to me, but that doesn't mean that Jazzercise is easy. It is quite the opposite. I am anxious to get to the point where I am in shape enough that the classes come easily to me. Boy....that will be the day!
So, if you see me in the next few weeks doing the grapevine down the church hallway or a ball-change in line at the grocery store...I'm not crazy, I'm Jazzercising. And I am determined to make it show!