Saddle Sores

No. Not the saddle sores you get from riding a cute horse on a sunny afternoon, down a dusty trail....but the kind you get from punishing yourself at the GYM.

Lydia and I have been going to Lady Fitness. I would not say regularly, but we are attempting to make it a part of our regular schedule. I really enjoy going with someone who actually wants to workout!

Anywho--on Tuesday I see that there is a PEDAL-PUMP class, so I mention it to Lyd. She is up for it and away we go. The room is filled with plenty of inshape women as well as some that are a little more in my category (those being the envious of the inshape girls). The first 45 minutes of the class was x-biking. Basically it was a a spin class with a little added tension in the handle bars. You could pump the handlebars while you were peddling. It was a good workout except for the comfort of the seat. It was tiny and hard! I seriously thought as I stepped off the bike that I would see blood dripping from the seat. I felt like it had rubbed my butt raw!!!!!!!! No joke

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Then was the second portion of the punishment--the PUMP portion. We did tons of repetitions with low weights on all different upper body muscle groups. It felt like it was working after doing just one set, but we did what felt like a million. By the time we were done my lower back was on fire and my arms were shaking. My elbows are still hurting, because being the idiot that I am, I grabbed my 8 lb weights for the tri-cept work out--one for each hand.

Half way through I was dying...I knew I had bad form because I was not holding my elbows in because the weight was too much. I stopped looked around and realized everyone else had only grabbed ONE WEIGHT. They did not have a separate one in each hand. Rather, one held by both hands. NO WONDER I WAS SHAKING.

Now, don't get me wrong with my heavy sarcasm, I enjoyed the workout. But sitting down the yesterday and today at work has been a challenge. I now feel sorry for all missionaries who go ride bikes for 8 hours, get sore, and have to get up and do it again the next day.

Lydia and I have a goal to lose weight before Christmas. So if anyone has any good recipes, or cures for cravings, please let me know. I am shooting to lose 25 lbs. It is sad to think I have gained 40 POUNDS since I moved to Utah (6 years ago). I didn't really notice it so much. It seems like one morning I just woke up and thought, "Wow you now have a gut that matches the size of your butt, NO GOOD!". So I will shoot for 25 and see where I get! It's not over until the fat lady sings right???

Simply Wonderful

Well, simply wonderful is just how I felt as I went with Clayton's family to get their pictures taken. Of course I was nervous as all get out--what to wear, etc. But it all turned out so well. We went up to Snow Basin (a skiing resort for my friends out of state) and took these beautiful pics. The colors are so viberant! I think I am really starting to fall in love with FALL. It was beautiful.

Back to pictures. We arrived a little early and Clay and I visited the lodge. The bathrooms are just spectacular, not to mention the rest of the lodge. I could live in those things, my own private stall or something. It is the kind of bathroom that just makes you feel wealthy with lotion and formal chairs, mirrors covering the walls, background music, you get the picture. Then we met up with the family outside. They all looked so cute with their sweaters and jackets. The photographer had the perfect spot for us to sit. Everyone was enjoying "holding that pose" for 20 minutes while she snapped tons of shots. Pretty soon Clayt and I got the 3rd degree (in a good way) about if I was in the picture I had to become part of the family. I would actually love that. They are the sweetest bunch I have ever met! That made really made my day! I just chuckled and played along as they were teasing us.

Clayton and I had some single pictures taken too. As soon as I get those back I will post them on here, but for now we just have the oens we took on the side of the road. Of course I whip out my camera and the BATTERIES ARE DEAD. Crossing our fingers, we licked them and put them back it. Apearently it gave them enough juice to take a couple of pictures. The coloring is off, due to the low batteries, but these will have to do until we get the actual pictures from the photographer. Yes, it is beautiful up there!!! I can not wait to see our professional shots!