Got any leftovers?

I have to start with a big hello to Vangie's parents, visiting from Alabama! It was great to see y'all last night, and if I didn't say a proper thank you for dinner, let me say it now. The ribs were supah!

It's actually cloudy here today. While cloudy skies make me want to lounge in bed, then after I can no longer resist the lure of the TV, move to the couch to lounge there, I was forced by employment to get out of bed and go to work. But it's all good, because we need rain, and I don't have any outdoor plans today. So, rain, do your thing!

I actually woke up about 20 minutes early this morning, so I went ahead and got up and was able to get ready for work at a more leisurely pace. I even paid attention to the morning news - or the commercials anyway. One, in particular, got my attention. It was for a lap dance seminar. Well, actually it was for a lap *band* seminar, but I swear to God it sounded like they were saying lap dance. And after the annnouncer said that Dr. Fat Begone was bringing his lap dance seminar to Austin, the first testimonial was, "It's the best thing I've ever done!" I admit I had to stop what I was doing and go take a closer look at the commercial. I mean, I might not have been surprised to see an ad for a lap dance seminar at 3 a.m. during "Blind Date" (right after the "Girls Gone Wild" commercial), but this was 6 a.m. during the news.

It made a lot more sense when I realized it was for laparoscopic obesity surgery. But this begs the question, do you really want to select your doctor by whoever is bringing their traveling sideshow to the Ramada this weekend? Perhaps you could consider talking to your real doctor and getting a referral. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

Speaking of getting in shape, I'm back to working out this week. And it's crippling me. I did a lower-body workout on Sunday, and my thighs were possibly torn. There was a time my legs were like iron. I took gymnastics when I was a kid, and even in my 20s, I could do this thing where you sit down with your legs straight out. You bend one so that your ankle is up against your butt, and then you push up on that leg to a standing position while holding the other leg straight out the whole way. Try it. Really - I dare you.

I could not do the leg thing right now. I can barely get up out of my chair without using the arm rests. But I'm determined to do it again. I hate when I get this wussy. It's not about how I look. I look fine. It's about how I feel. Vangie and Dave and I were talking last night about taking a martial arts class. They want to kick ass with Krav Maga. That's an Israeli-developed fighting/self-defense class. I'm fine with kicking someone else's butt, but not so hot on getting mine kicked (I'm averse to pain), so I'm thinking more along the lines of Judo. Judo is self-defense more geared toward using the other person's weight against them. I'm small, so that sounds like a good choice. I realize all martial arts (except Tai Chi) are going to involve getting bruised at some point, but I have to figure it happens more often with some forms than others, and I opt for the one where it happens less.

I've still got 3 more salsa classes to go, though, so I'll stay focused on that and consider Judo later. Or I'll forget the whole thing and just pull out my Tai Bo tape and convince myself that counts. Or maybe I'll get distracted by what to do with my hair...