Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Been busy doing a whole lot of nothing. Just the day-to-day stuff. Taking care of the kids, fitting in my workouts, daydreaming about winning the lottery, doing laundry, dishes, cleaning. You know, the usual. And actually, I did buy some tickets for the big drawing tonight. Rick would call it "a tax for people who can't do math." Well, I'm not that great at math, so I guess I'll consider that my taxes paid up for the next while - until I hear about the next BIG jackpot that has been growing because no one had the winning combination of numbers. The idea of waking up tomorrow a millionaire is a nice, big, fat daydream, I know.

But, as they say, a girl's gotta have her dreams, right?

And someone has to win that big jackpot one of these days - so why not me? You can't win if you don't play!

What would I do with all that money? Spend some, give some away, save/invest a lot. Go on vacation. Too many thoughts and ideas. Ah, the hours that could be wasted on such dreams...

Anyway. Back to reality.

I've been renting some workout videos from Netflix and testing them out for some variety in my exercise routine. Here a brief recap so far:

Billy Blanks Boot Camp - I thought this was a pretty good workout program. I worked up quite a sweat and there were parts that were more challenging than others so I have some work to do before I could make it through without modifications and rest breaks. I don't have his special "Billy Bands" that make some of the moves harder, but for now it was hard enough anyway. Update: Found a great deal on the whole Boot Camp set of DVDs and bands so that should be arriving fairly soon!

"The Firm" Series - I've tried a couple of the workouts from this series and found them to be a good workout but the women are a bit robotic. They sound so scripted and terse with no real energy or enthusiasm (especially compared to Turbo Jam where Charlene Johnson at least tries to make exercise seem like fun). So, those workouts kind of bore me. Still, they do make you work pretty hard so they are worth using again as long as it is not every day. Also, on the first run through I found their transitions a bit abrupt, but with time I'm sure it would be easier to follow.

Denise Austin - I attempted just one of her workouts recently. I say "attempted" because I got through the first 30 seconds of the warm-up and felt like chucking the DVD across the room. I COULD NOT listen to something like this for more than about thirty seconds (and that outfit in that clip! OMG - purple and yellow? And that belly cutout? At least she had on something less glaring in the one I rented - and yes, that looked like the 80's with the big hair and all, but Sweet Jesus! She looks ridiculous!). This woman is sooooo ANNOYING! That voice! And that overly cheery attitude that makes you want to just give her such a smack! She seems to just talk to hear her own voice. If that were the first workout video I tried I would have given up entirely on workout DVDs! How that woman ever made a name for herself in the fitness world is completely beyond my comprehension. She is so FAKE and did I mention how very ANNOYING she is? Good grief! Oh, and the lack of background music was another aspect of that workout that sent it right into the can. Her voice (ugh!) and nothing to drown it out? No way...moving right along.

Beach Body series - This company has a bunch of workouts on the market that are hosted by a bunch of different fitness experts. I have done some of Tony Horton's Power 90 series, Chalene Johnson's Turbo Jam series (she's a real hoot!), and Debbie Siebers Slim in 6 series. I must say that I've enjoyed all of these fitness experts and what they bring to the workouts. They seem to really enjoy what they do and they come across as real and not overly bubbly and annoying (like someone else I could mention). And the workout programs all seem to have a variety of intensity levels so you can start at a good comfort level and work your way up.

Rick commented that I'm quite opinionated about this sort of thing all of a sudden. I think he is just jealous that I'm spending time in the evenings with my new "friends" Charlene, Billy, Tony, and Debbie (but, of course, not Denise - hell no!) instead of him. Just kidding... He is actually being extremely supportive of my recent efforts and I should be thanking him publicly instead of razzing him! Thanks, Rick! I love you!

Oh! And in related news I should report that I have mostly made my way out of the Elastic Waistland! I'm wearing good old-fashioned regular waist jeans today...in black. Slimming, dontcha know. I've been wearing less and less of the elastic waisted stuff (aside from the exercise togs, of course...) and even some of the pants I bought last fall are getting a fair bit loose. Perhaps the blog will need a new title? Or perhaps it will pay homage to my workout clothes that have become a daily "habit" - both in dress and behavior.

OK, E just walked by and with her went a suspect odor...and R is due off the bus in about 10 minutes...so I must run.

I'll update with my millionaire status in the morning!