Day 4

Zumba! The dance craze sweeping the nation..and yes, I have been caught up in the wave. It's a lot of fun. It's the same concept as aerobics, or jazzercise, or any number of other group dance/cardio class, but my favorite thing is the music. If it's got good music, I'll go to the class. (Yoga exempt..I like calm Yoga classes). The teacher is tall and blond and probably my age, maybe a little older. She screams 'athlete'.  I've always envied people who seem so naturally athletically aware. It's taking me years to get to a point where that's even something I thought about consistently. It's funny, though. I always loved being outside when I was little, but I never considered it being 'healthy' or taking care of my body. I just thought it was playing outside. (I was obviously a poster child for 70% of weight loss is what you eat..I played outside a lot, and was still Chubbs McGee) This mind-body connection that is so essential to healthy living was lost on me for a long time. I even loved girls camp and being there..so much so that I actually lost weight when I went up there, when others gained weight because we always had so much to eat. I remember not finishing food sometimes (shocker), I was just so happy to be in trees and mountains, bonding with nature. Since then, I've realized my surroundings are essential to my well being. I love living in beautiful places and surrounded by color. Sometimes Vegas does it for me, but I LOVE oceans and mountains/forest. Both together (Prince Edward Island! Washington/Oregon! Maine!) are ideal. Soo..after all of that... yes, I went to Zumba today.

Today was also a 'Relief Society Meeting' (gotta love the new terms) on Food Storage. The teacher was really into it and had a lot of good info. I left wanting to for sure put together officially the 72 hour kit in my car and start thinking of ways to put my 3 month supply together. It's hard, though, when you are single and live in someone else's house, or live in an apartment, or plan on moving. I know it will come in handy, though, and more and more frequently we're receiving counsel from church leaders to get it together. Ironically, though food storage is one of the 'peculiar' things about LDS culture, and one of the things we're known for, only about 15% of homes actually have adequate food storage. Pretty interesting, huh? Since this month's VT message was on Self-Reliance, it was a good addition to something I'd already been thinking about. I love being able to do things my self (but paying someone else to do it if I don't want to), so this was another challenge to take on. I can't eat a ton of processed foods without having it affect me, though, so I've been putting together a pretty good list of things I could eat without it being too much junk food, etc., but still liking it.

After that, MJ (who was so kind to invite me)and I went to a movie night at some guy's house (who's name I've already forgotten, unfortunately). We watched "Stranger Than Fiction". It's one of my favorites, and it's one of my favorite Will Farrell movies (there are so few I like). It's a really good story, so clever and so well acted, and there are so many clever elements I caught this time that I hadn't before..like Ana Pascal's bakery is called 'The Uprising' and she turns the pink boxes inside out so that it's brown on the outside and pink on the inside. So rebellious.  There are so many fabulous moments in the film, but this is one of the 'sweetest'. I want someone to bring me flours.