Quote of the Day

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have - Thomas Jefferson

What is Nia?

I'm on a quest to try all the different exercise classes at the gym.  I missed the kickboxing class today so I saw that Nia was about to start and I quickly ducked inside before the door closed.  The class was full, but I thankfully found a spot in the back corner.  

Scanning the room, I noticed a huge array of ages, shapes, sizes - even amongst the men in the class.  Perhaps this is the class for me, I thought. Following my classmates, I put my shoes and socks off to the side and formally claimed my spot.  I'm not a big fan of going barefoot unless it's the beach or a freshly cut lawn, but I was game.  

The music started and before I knew it, I was surrounded by swinging arms and jutting hips while our feet marched a simple 1-2-tap step.  This was modern dance meets people who just aren't coordinated for structured exercise class.  The instructor was awe-inspiring as her fluid movements reminded me of a Cirque du Soleil dancer.  The rest of the class had a long way to go - myself at the head of the list.  

I tried to feel the drum beat in the rest of my body while my feet followed the pattern, but I felt like Elaine from Seinfeld as part of my body went in one direction and my arms in another.  I pushed myself to go in directions I wouldn't normally go, as per our instructor's guidance, but it wasn't pretty.  

Before I knew it, the hour was up and we were doing our final floor sweeps with deep breath.  I was sweating, I felt good, but I have no idea what just happened.  

Fun expenses

My husband equates Seattle with being artsy.  When we first married, we lived in Seattle.  He was literally fresh off the boat from Italy (he worked for Princess Cruise Line) and had never lived in the States before.  So, our few forays to the theater and art museums quickly made Seattle appear to be rich with cultural.  

When we moved to South Florida...well, let's just say Seattle retained the title of artsy and cultural.  In small town Italy, the local theater was about as good as going to a junior high play.  His hometown was more about people and food and less about the arts.

Back in Seattle and this year being dedicated to fun, my husband had the grand idea to get tickets to the theater and the symphony.  I hopped online and began research to see what was happening this year, pricing, and seating.  I compiled the results and presented them to Massimo.  We had the symphony and their assorted composers and eras.  The 5th Avenue for musicals.  The Moore for eclectic comedy shows, cabarets, and dance.  Admittedly, it was a lot to consider.  Massimo, being the gentle, considerate soul that he is, shrugged after reading through it all and said, "you decide".  

I tried.  I tried doing the pros and cons of each.  I tried to weigh which we'd like more than others and then, being prone to the occasional impulse purchase, I bought them all.  $800 later, worst seats in the house for each, we've got a year of fun planned that's for sure!  

We recently went to our first fun night - Beethoven and wine at the symphony which I think was a bad combination because it was all I could do to stay awake.  I looked at Massimo and he lost the battle, chin on his chest head lolling to the music.  

Next trip is to watch the movie "Psycho" with the symphony playing the music.  I have high hopes that I will be wide awake for that one, enjoying every last minute.  Part of the fun is the anticipation of the next event.  

How to make a cold fun

I go out there and announce I'm going to have fun and what do I get?  A cold.  Which is decidedly not fun.  But my weekend of quality couch time got me to thinking that having fun doesn't require leaving home, having company, or really doing much of anything.  It can be fun, sometimes, to have absolutely nowhere to go.  

This weekend, in between nose wipes, I started counting all the fun things I was doing without doing anything in particular.  I had bought a Groupon for housecleaning from Green Cleaning Seattle.  I have never had my house cleaned by someone else, but I liked the fact that they use all natural cleaners and essential oils.  Plus, I got a great deal through Groupon (if you don't know what this is, it's worth checking out!).  And it was very fun to sit and watch Season 11 of America's Next Top Model while my house became increasingly shiny and clean.  Magic.  

That led to picking up those knitting needles with a partial afghan on them and getting back in the groove.  It was really fun until I discovered that I bound off too soon and it's more of a lap blanket than a full afghan.  Hmmm...

My husband did all the cooking this weekend.  I love it when that happens.  When I cook, we eat cereal.  But I sat on my designated sick bed while hot tea, homemade pasta, and bacon hot dogs from Swinery were intermittently put before me.  

When co-workers asked about my weekend, all I could say was it was fun!   And then I'd blow my nose while they all got out their bottles of Purell and backed away.  

A year dedicated to fun

A few weeks ago, I was brainstorming with some girlfriends.  They were all figuring out their goals for the next 6 months and year.  When it came to may turn, the only thing I could think of us was that I wanted to have fun.  

Three years ago I had left my corporate job, aka source of all stress in my world, and moved to Italy.  I went from having more to do than time to having nothing to do.  My high-charged, fast-paced life became my year of loneliness.  I loved the challenge of learning a new language yet at times just wanted to not work so hard to be understood.  For the first time in my life, I kept all of my opinions to myself because I had to not because I discovered tact.

Last year, on a trip home to Seattle, we decided to stay.  There's something to be said for the ease of life in the States.  Things work here. Public toilets not only flush, but there's usually toilet paper, seat covers, doors that lock, toilet seats (that rim is just uncomfortable), and then warm water and soap afterwards.  They're all good things in my book.  That began my year of uncertainty.  What did I want to do?  No idea.  How were we going to pay rent?  Good question.  Did I want another corporate job?  Maybe.  Were there any corporate jobs?  Oh, yeah, the fact that we moved back in September and the bottom dropped out of the economy in October, I'd say our lives were a bit uncertain.  

Now, we're here, settled, and it's time to set goals.  And all I could think of was - I want to have fun.  

I started my quest for fun when our nieces were visiting earlier this month.  We went o Vancouver, saw Teatro Zinzanni (love, love, love it!), went to the Pink concert, ate all kinds of foreign food.  We had fun.  Now they're gone and I'm trying to find some thing - one thing - to do each day that I thoroughly enjoy.  

If you have suggestions - send them my way.  If they're free, even better.  Tonight, I'm going to work on my blanket that I'm knitting.  Believe it or not, it's fun to knit.  I never would have thought that before.  I'm trying a blanket this time, we'll see if it's still fun by the time I finish.  Wish me luck!