it's starting to feel like a new year

the big news today is that i went back to the gym yesterday. rodney hadn't been going for a while because of his shoulder injury and then finances, but recently started going again--to ironworks in creswell. he offered me the chance to go with him, and they have a daycare room that customers can use--during certain hours there are mothers manning (or womanning, heh) the room, but the rest of the time it's available for people who have children old enough to manage themselves (and in our case their little brothers). so, i went. it was good. i rode the recumbent bike for 20 minutes to warm up, then rodney had me pick a muscle group to work on (biceps and triceps) and he gave me a series of exercises to do with the weights and various machines. it was three different tasks for each of the groups, doing three reps of ten for each task. so you can do the math, but i can tell you what it equals: my arms are sore! and my legs from the bike and the elliptical machine i did after to "warm down", as i like to call it. but it's a good sore. we're going back tonight so he can show me the machines and exercises to do for my friday muscle group (legs), as he goes to the gym at school on fridays, since he's there anyways. so i have to motivate myself to go on friday. i didn't do them yesterday, but i plan to do abs every time i go, as well. they have a torture device that sort of inverts you on a slab and you can do sit-ups on it--they have another one for obliques, but i'm gonna have to work up to that one--it's like upside down sideways sit-ups--real fun for a fat lady to try doing in a room of hot body building young men. woohoo! actually as i was working out yesterday i developed a minor fantasy in which i become the chubby mascot of the body builders and they all support me and help me with my form and watch me shrink into some amazingly fit, healthy woman who could run a marathon (or something like that which doesn't involve actual running!)
i'm excited to be going to the gym again and trying not to hear the niggling voice that says--you went before and didn't lose ONE DAMN POUND! besides, even if i didn't lose any weight (although that seems impossible!!!) it would still be good for me to work out. right? right.
i am grateful for:
my muscles
my breath
my heart
my husband
my girls who so willingly watched jubal for almost three hours!
and i'm grateful that jubal was mellow that whole time and here's a little prayer that it always works so well.