go buy this NOW

i just finished the best workout dvd ever.

Women's Health: The Wedding Workout

(side note: the back of this dvd said that it can also

be used for other "special occasions" such as a high school

reunion or beach vacation. so there. i SWEAR i'm

not a wannabe bride. i just wannabe hot for mexico.)

i have MANY dvd workouts. and a problem i have always had with each is the inability to customize the workout. so you can guess what this one does :) THAT'S RIGHT!! EEEK! here's how it works: you have 2 initial options: pre-built workouts or custom workouts.

with the custom workout, you can create your own program from 11-12 minute segments of cardio, upper body, lower body, and abs & core. you can arrange them in any order you want, repeating each as many times as you want. there's also a 4 minute warm-up and 3 minute cool-down that you should put at each end of your workout.

the pre-built workouts are split into two options: the strapless dress workout (emphasis on upper body) and the short/hiphugging dress workout (emphasis on lower body). the beauty of this is that each "workout" gives you a weekly plan with the segments i mentioned before split up between each day of the week. for instance, on monday you do cardio and upper body, and on tuesday you do abs & core. each day is something different. and while the segments are the same, the order they come in keeps your body guessing.

the cardio is the only thing that i feel is "lacking", but you can easily substitute running or another dvd cardio workout for that. but if you're just looking for a quick cardio session to move around a little, this is perfect.

target, $7.99 SERIOUSLY WORTH IT.

moving on.

i had another fun experience today- i went to the public library to renew my library card and checkout a book on nashville for my weekend trip! i also got a 2009 book on mexico for some more tips for riviera maya. and i think the favorite book that i got is a monograph of the sculptor, Richard Serra.

this is Joe. we saw it in st. louis at the pulitzer museum and it was amazing. such a dynamic and engaging sculpture. i perused the art and architecture section of the library today and almost gave up on finding anything i was interested in when i saw SERRA on the thick white spine of this book. i immediately grabbed it and went to checkout. i'm looking forward to some time with my library books and learning more about nashville, mexico, and richard serra. and i'm excited about renewing the library's presence in my life. it's been too long and i spend too much money at bookstores. $1 for a library card and i can have all the books i want for free. seems like a good idea to me.

victorious!!

i did it! my first 10k! the longest distance i've ever run! and it felt great. well, maybe i should wait until tomorrow to really give an accurate account of how my body responds. but for now, i'm good.

i've found that the first 10-15 minutes of any type of cardio that i do is some of the most difficult. i don't know why it happens that way, and i wish it didn't. it's always a bit aggravating to feel like i need to stop when i'm not even that far into a workout. however, once i pass that time frame, i feel like the world is mine to conquer. without fail, that's how today's run started out. it was a chilly 40 degrees outside, with a bitch-of-a-wind that would not let up. (thankfully the rain held off until after the race. if it had started raining during the race i would have had to say peace out.) we ran through downtown, the south main district, uptown district, past st jude children's hospital, and finished at autozone park. when i got to the 2 mile marker and saw that i was on pace, that gave me a little boost of self-confidence, and the rest is history!!

63:21 and a smile on my face :)

side note: apparently we had "good" weather for the race because as i look out of my window, sleet is starting to cover the roof of our neighbor's house. thank you, mother nature, for holding off until we could all get warm and safe inside our homes. i think i'll go make some hot chocolate now.