Jillian Michaels...the Devil!

Realizing I am going to two beach weddings next year - one in Costa Rica and our wedding in Cabo San Lucas, I decided I had better tone it up, or at least start working out now that winter has officially hit (even though it hit a record 75 degrees today).

Now I knew just what to use those randomly earned travel rewards that were about to expire for...I ordered not one, not two, but three Jillian Michaels (from the Biggest Loser) workout DVD's. Between those three workouts and playing soccer twice a week until December I figure I have to have it covered, and will be looking my best EVER next year.

Earlier this week I was feeling fairly energetic after work so popped in "Jillian Michaels - Trouble Zones" workout DVD, and looking at her and her ripped buddies, I immediately started to sweat. After a warm up of old school cardio moves she instructs you in five different exercises for one circuit and then repeats it all twice so by the end of the circuit you are sweaty, exhausted, and already feeling "the burn". At this point she yelled at me through the screen, "Come on, you should still be feeling fresh, this is only the first circuit!". That's when despair sets in, because I realized I was really only about 7 minutes into the workout!

I managed to claw my way through 2 1/2 circuits before my legs suddenly became jelly and I collapsed onto the rug in front of the TV, totally spent. Now even though I do know better, after years of being coached in soccer and doing yoga, I was so disgusted with myself for only lasting 20 minutes that I refused to do the cool-down after the workout...and I sure paid for that for the next two days!

That night I convinced my man to take pity on me and give me a massage for a change; my tired ol' legs were killing me and felt so tight I could barely do the stairs!

Re-connecting even when I don't want to...

Its been two days since I threw down the gauntlet and challenged my fiancé that I could give him 365 days worth of massages in exchange for a second dachshund.

I had had what felt like a really long week at my stressful nursing-home job and was looking forward to an evening of relaxation and comfort from my two family members. After taking the Bob out for his evening bike ride (yes he runs beside my bike, and yes people point and laugh at us) I found my pre-husband already upstairs playing Starcraft 2. This he continued to do for the next five hours, stopping only to eat my leftover pizza and then disappear back upstairs.

As you can imagine I was not feeling particularly giving at this point in the evening, but with some positive self-talk about how glorious it will be to have another dog in our lives, I trudged upstairs to offer up a hand/back/neck massage. Unconsciously picking up on my tone of voice I think he was suspicious of my intentions at first, but quickly fell into a blissful computer gaming state of man-happiness.

As I massaged his neck and shoulders, I realized what was really bothering me was his lack of interest in doing anything with me on a Friday night while most of my coupled-up friends were with their partners, going out for dinners or staying in together and being happy, happy, happy.

I vowed to go out into the world and find some new girlfriends, ones who weren't all coupled up and happy to go out and explore the culture and nightlife of Portland.

When my hand and finger muscles started to ache I stopped massaging him, and he suggested we go get ice cream, which is one of my favorite Friday night rituals...only 363 more days to go!