Heyyyyy macarena aight!!!

So I have been a busy bee!

This weekend I got in a good swim with my friend Barbi who completely schooled me whilst being pregnant. (I am trying not to hold it against her) In any case, I headed off to belly dancing again on Tuesday which was fun as usual. I went for another round of swimming with my cousin on Thursday, which aside from working on not running into the lane guards due to my foggy goggles, is pretty standard. The surprise this week came just yesterday when I joined my good old pom girls for Zumba at the Bally's in Wheaton. In no time the weird began to set in when we checked in. The gentleman at the counter told us that the woman who taught the class cancelled, and that something else was going on up there instead. We asked if it was Zumba, to which he responded "something similar." We paused for only a moment in confusion but then he said we didn't have to pay, so we were immediately back on board since you can't beat free.

Once in the room we were greeted by a tall man with a lisp, short shorts and capezios.(For those of you unfamiliar, they are fancy dance shoes). He basically indicated that he was a student and that he was going to teach the class instead because he "needed to get his workout in". Amazing. was all I could think as we went straight into some serious pelvic thrusting and jumping around with no warm up. I am not sure where the real fun began, but what I can tell you are several highlights that will make me wish that every class I go to is taught by this man. I should say that I felt like we were interrupting his private dance moments as he swirled around in dancing bliss. Anyhow, the first brilliant moment came when... come to think of it, I can't remember his name, for the sake of the story I will refer to him as Cha Cha... when Cha Cha came around as each of us girls shook our butts and he proceeded to fo-play the bongos on all of them. Yes... he played our butts as instruments. Then "Apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur" began to play and we did some rendition of what only I could consider the macarena. (I may have taken a moment to add a few extra shakes in order to complete the set) I can't forget to mention when we formed an actual conga line and proceeded to shake and hop our way around the room without actually catching the dance steps since Cha Cha was in a world of his own. But my favorite moment may not make sense to most of you. See these are the girls who helped make dance what it is to me. So when "somehow" I ended up in the back of the class with my old roommate Amy, I was not at all surprised to see Kesso and Mya up front diligently trying to catch every step, while much like our years in high school Amy and I stood in the back figuring out how to fake it why still looking like we had it down.

This is not to say that we weren't working our butts off- this was just self preservation so there was enough energy left to at least walk out to the car. So- lesson learned? Take lots of strange classes so you can laugh at yourself while somehow managing to get your own sweat in your mouth (yuck), and have the rest of the gym gather to stare at you through glass walls. But I think the better part of this evening was doing it along side of the girls I learned how to dance with and having Cha Cha ask us where our cohesive dancing came from to which we proudly held our heads high for a moment to say 'we've still got it'.

Thank you ladies- next up? Amy has discovered a Glee dance class, let the Journey begin. Also in the works- hip hop, and a possibly purchase of the shake weight. Stay tuned and don't forget suggestions are welcome!
*****Update!!!**** Next Up: Jiu Jitsu on Sunday! I can't believe I got convinced to do this... eek!

Michael Phelps better watch it.

So I have been getting my swim on folks! To be fair I have had a bit of a rocky week. After going to visit a friend out of town and eating lovely foods that I shouldn't have then skipping out on my belly dancing class to see a friend in concert, I have some serious redemption to work on.

I joined my cousin, who has agreed to be my swim buddy bless her heart, last week for our first outing in the pool. I get to the register, "can I buy some goggles?" I ask. Sure he says, "do you want the $5 dollar ones or the $10 goggles?" Hmmmm lets be honest, I tend to be one of the cheapest people I know- "$5 bucks please!" And we are off to the pool. After securing a lane together we first had to figure out how to swim by one another without laughing... Seems easy right? You try staring your cousin in the face while you look like your drowning with one foggy goggle lens... not so easy. Damn you $5 dollar goggles!

In any case after a grueling 10 laps... yes you heard me correctly. I would prefer to say 20 laps since that's how many times I huffed and puffed back and forth in the pool, but details, details... Now all I have to do is get out of the pool and go sit in the hot tub. Oops, that's right, I hopped out and fell right back in. Apparently when I am unable to sweat after a workout, I am also unaware of how tired I am. Clearly my arms weren't having it, but after going for it on the second try... phew! success.

What I will say is after going swimming for the second time last night, I made a vast improvement. I was able to drive home without the fear of loosing my grip on my steering wheel which is a plus. But that stupid pool exit is killing me. Who knew getting my long legs out of the pool would prove to be the most difficult part?? (Well that and when my co-worker convinced me to jog through the deep end, right?!) This time I ended up with a charlie horse that left me clutching my calf as I took an awkward seat by the pool. Thank goodness it left as quickly as it showed up and I hit the showers.

I will conquer this pool yet I tell you, wait and see. In other news I was invited to yoga with my neighbors which might be neat. Considering the only thing I have done with them yet is drink outside, this could also get weird real quick. They obviously don't know that nobody wants to do yoga with me since I laugh constantly and act like a two year old since I always end up next to the guy that is so relaxed he farts. Hmmm decisions, decisions...

I like to move it move it.

Sooooo... slightly rocky start. Swimming with Barbi didn't actually happen. To be fair her country was in the World Cup and drinking started early. So instead I lifted some weights in the house which is much more dull than it sounds. In order to bounce back I headed off to belly dancing class on Tuesday. Prior to the class I made a slightly sketchy Craigslist sale which left me feeling fraudulent well... after the guy called me a fraud. It seemed like as good a time as any to get my shimmy on to shake away the thought that someone might be waiting for me in the parking lot (to end the suspense, i lived).

All was going well until "I like to move it move it" came on in the arabian nights version. I will admit I was slightly thrown off but I worked my way through the high school flashbacks of when this song was actually popular, you know without the new jingling in the background. In any case I am enjoying belly dancing but my knees are not. Don't let them fool you- your belly does practically nothing! In any case me and my knees are looking forward to a swimming re-do tonight with my cousin Connie. Slightly concerned that I can't swim straight but I guess I will deal with that if I run into an old person or something.

By the way, is it possible to call Comcast and have them personally remove Man v. Food from my t.v.? Don't forget to post suggestions for exercise- I am down to try anything once, just so long as it doesn't break the bank.

Possible upcoming workouts: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, some sort of stripper workout? (clearly my friends are enjoying this 'try anything once' suggestion box), plyometrics, and hip hop dance class. Stay tuned for my input which involves mall walking with the oldies and some infomercials like the inappropriate shake weight and that crazy neckline slimmer that makes you look like you are nodding yes to everything.

Till then!

-Sara

I eat as I type...

Good Morning!

So for those of you who may not know me, my name is Sara. At one point in my life I weighed 125 pounds at 5'11. You do the math- but basically I was practically invisible. That is no longer the case, and at 27 years of age I now weigh___ . You didn't think I would give it up that easy did you?

But this isn't your average chubby girl's struggle to greatness- I am attempting to find my old body somewhere underneath the rubble that I call my new body (I use the term "new" lightly since I have been this way for about 5 years). So in order to do this I thought it would be best to keep myself honest and document the process on here for the whole world, or those who don't have anything better to read, to see. For instance, I am currently eating a granola bar this morning for breakfast. In an attempt to do away with my morning bagel routine- this Quaker chewy granola bar has become my poor substitute. To top it off it is about the size of my index finger and I am aware that my stomach is now growling for more like a rabid dog. But alas! this is how I got into trouble in the first place. So... eh hem.... pay no attention to the growling dog in the background and lets stay focused.

If you are wondering why I decided to start this process now, I can simply say it had something to do with a recent belly dancing class and the obvious difference between my shimmy and that of the girl next to me. Now before anyone gets the wrong idea, let me be clear. I don't hate myself, I love my giant ass and I can still dance till my face falls off. So please do not confuse this for some self deprecating blog where everyone needs to tell me I still look great. I am interventioning myself away from the potato chips and plan on telling you what I can only assume will be hilarity in the process of taking on new exercises in an effort to reclaim my turf. So I hope you join me on the journey- suggestions to new activities are welcome!

First stop: Swimming this Sunday with Barbi. Note: must go buy bathing suit in order to complete this task. Actually have to put said bathing suit on in public. Clearly not a thought out activity, but will participate regardless.
Next: Belly dancing again on Tuesday possibly followed by some hip hop on Thursday.

Wish me luck!
-Sara

Oh p.s. To the left we have me after a crash diet looking somewhere close to my former self and to the right we have me close to now. Not bad.... but whatever you get the point :)