Best. Workout. Ever. I had a GREAT session at Spudds today. We started off doing the normal gym circuit: treadmill, bike, elliptical, boxing, jumprope, weights, climbing machine. My legs and hips were pretty tight from my long run on Sunday, so I didn’t feel great at first. But I quickly noticed that I was starting to feel strong, especially in the boxing. Spudds said it was my best boxing round yet. Then instead of making us run around the block and do the circuit again… we went to the park! It was a beautiful day. We took a couple rugby balls, and Spudds had us start out doing catching drills in a circle. Then it was the dreaded “suicides.” (That’s what we used to call ’em in Indiana.) You know, the thing where you run to the first line, touch it, run back, then run out to the next line, each time going a little bit farther? Yeah, that kinda sucked. Especially when he made us do squats at each line. Then finally it was time for some fun. We divided into teams and started kicking the balls back and forth. I immediately flashed back to every horrible school gym football experience and braced myself for the inevitable embarrassment. But you know what? I was fine! Spudds showed me how to do a drop-kick, and I managed to get 90% of mine up in the air to the other team. I even managed to catch most of the ones that were kicked to me. It ended up being so much more fun than I’d expected. I’m so glad we did it. It’s such a confidence boost to find out you can do things you didn’t know you could.

This is the last of the three necklaces I bought in the Etsy Bushfire Appeal Shop two weeks ago. This one is from TangledAndShackled.

The first photo is me this morning; the second one is from the seller. The pendant is hand-made from shrinky-dink plastic; I assume that means she painted it herself. It’s strung with seed beads and some other funky crystals. I bought it thinking that it was ugly but that I loved it anyway. It’s fun!

This is the second of the three necklaces I bought in the Etsy Bushfire Appeal Shop two weeks ago. (Here’s the first one.) This one is called “The Swallow’s Treasure” and it’s from Eclectic Moi. It’s not the type of thing I normally go for, yet for some reason the little bird really appealed to me.

The first photo is me this morning; the second one is from the seller. The swallow and chain are brass, and she carries a little Swarovski crystal beneath. Snookums was a little dubious about it at first. He said it reminded him of the joke in Monty Python and the Holy Grail about swallows carrying around coconuts. The seller’s description sounded as if she was referencing a story or myth though. So I did a bit of googling, and whoa! It’s a Korean folk tale! I had no idea. Isn’t that just perfect? I love it.