just workin' on my fitness

last weekend, we'd gone out to dinner with the ILs at (i'm kind of embarrassed to admit this) the seafood restaurant attached to bass pro shop out in BFE. even more embarrassing? we waited for over an hour for a table. heh. but the store is ginormous and filled with all sorts of stuff ranging from north face clothing to shotguns to fly fishing gear. during my first visit to this store, i found that they also had quite a selection of moon pies in every flavor imaginable, as well as a fresh supply of valomilk candy. yup, i love me some marshmallows.

anyway, it was a decent meal with my favorite part being these cute little loaves of soft bread with a sugary crust. when i spied a whole loaf sitting on the table, untouched, at the end of dinner, i scooped that shit up and put it in my purse. ha! the hub rolled his eyes so hard, but MIL just smiled at me conspiratorially. she knew i'd do something delish with it.

and i did indeed! the next morning, i decided to slice it up, coat it in cinnamon-y, eggy batter, and make mini french toast for breakfast.

see how cute they were? this is my 8" omelet pan, and four slices fit perfectly in it.

and despite his exasperation at my impersonation of a grandma with a ziploc bag in her purse at the ready for any leftovers to take home, the hub sure didn't protest when i presented him with this lovely little platter of sweet, chewy goodness.

a little while later, i took off to meet up with lilcee and check out the warehouse sale at the pasadena convention center. i'd been to a similar sale once before, with amber, and been quite disappointed at the shitty stuff they were trying to pawn off on us. but hope springs eternal - my optimism led me to give it a shot again and see if there might be better stuff in there this time.

there wasn't. wah waaaah. oh, well. i dropped lilcee off at her house and then headed back to old town pasadena to meet up with my junior leaguers and torture my body for a free session at bar method:

i scampered up the stairs:

pulled off my shoes and stuck them and my purse in a cubby (which kind of reminded me of preschool):

glanced at the flyers and brochures as i filled out a quick information sheet:

tiptoed in quietly, grabbed my weights from the bins just inside the door, and found a spot in the back of the class. i was about five minutes late, but it didn't look like i'd missed much. the room was bright and airy, but whew - was it warm in there. i started sweating as soon as i began the warm-up exercises.

our instructor, jessica (of course, she was a super toned, skinny, gorgeous broad) called out instructions and encouragement, and as i followed suit, i could feel my thigh and ass muscles crying out for mercy. there wasn't a whole lot of movement involved in this class, with the exercises isolating each muscle group. i couldn't stop smirking - i could see myself in the giant mirrors struggling to keep up with the rest of the class, which was comprised mostly of jessica look-alikes. oy vey. and if i'd had the energy, i'd have been cracking up as i thought of how i thought i'd prepped myself somewhat with those wii fit/ea active workouts. oh, man.

"did we actually sign up voluntarily for this?" i muttered to the girl in front of me, and she just grinned as she damn near touched her nose to her knee with her foot propped up on the bar. blech.

and as i continued to sweat like a freaking pig, legs shaking and thisclose to crying from the pain of it all, i looked out the window and saw this:

pfbbbllllllllt.

when the agony finally came to an end, we staggered out of the classroom, gathered our stuff from the cubbies, and grabbed bottles of water. the girl behind the counter handed out flyers with the class schedules and current pricing, and i was amused to see this:

oh, i'll tell you what i think of bar method, alright. heh.

okay, but in all fairness, after going through the class, i knew that with regular attendance, it would definitely deliver what it promised: flatter abs, sculpted arms and legs, overall toning. but at that precise moment, i couldn't even imagine doing it again anytime soon. that shit was intense - but, i had to admit, in a good way. it kicked my ass, but if i could stick to it, the results would be pretty fantastic. and they were offering a great introductory special: $100 for 30 days of unlimited classes. i wished it was closer to home, but i'm not about to drive out to pasadena two or three times a week. oh, well.

i hobbled my sore muscles back down the stairs and felt the pain immediately.

immediately, people! the class hadn't even been over for five minutes and my ass was already staggering around in immense pain.

that being said, i highly recommend bar method. i'm being serious here. go to the site right now and see if there's one nearby and you, too, can sweat and strain and weep like a little girl from the abuse.