I joined a gym. I had never even considered doing such a thing until I had a conversation with a woman in McDonalds about a month ago who was telling me about the gym down the street and how it was pretty reasonable and the childcare was free so she got to enjoy some much needed “alone time”. I had a sudden epiphany. It was exactly what I needed! We need to get out of the house most days or risk going crazy, but there are few places to go in colder months. What better place to go than were they can play and run off some energy and where I can get some BADLY needed exercise? Why had I not thought of this before??!!??

So, I went right over and joined- it’s only $45 a month.  Little D has a mini-panic attack when he sees the play area as he’s still in the “keep Mommy within sight at all times” stage, but he calms down eventually. Big J has to struggle not to have a fit when we leave, and the fact that he loves to go there to play will be added incentive when the newness wears off for me and I start wondering if we really need to go EVERY day. And we do need to go EVERY day, I’m telling you. I am ridiculously out of shape.

Today, as I was walking on the treadmill watching Rachael Ray talk about this new treatment where they freeze your fat cells to get rid of them (!), an instructor came by recruiting for a cycling class. I thought that sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try. It was not long before I remembered why one should not try to do an hour-long cycling class if one has not sat on a bicycle for over 5 years. It was not the pedaling. I could have done that for an hour, but after sitting on that seat for only a couple of minutes I was wishing for some of those embarrassing looking padded bicycle pants. After about 20 minutes I had to give up, and I felt totally lame walking out of the class. Not that I care all that much what people think about me… It was a fun class. I’d do it again. After I spend some quality time on the bicycles in the main room that is.

The big gift this Christmas was this Up & Down Roller Coaster:

It is a great toy. I’m not a big fan of giant sized toys, but we have a very large back patio to put it on and the reviews on Amazon were all 5 star (plus they had it on sale for $30 off and free shipping). They love it!

Which is cheaper? Wal-Mart or Target? A Super Target recently opened near us and while I would much prefer to visit Target over Wal-Mart, I wondered if I would end up spending more by doing all my grocery shopping there. So, I did a little un-scientific price comparison and thought I’d share, since I’m sure I’m not the only one with this question.

(Some products at both stores were on sale, but this is not noted in the price comparison.)

So, with this mix of products, Target is lower, although if there weren’t quite so many store brand products, I suspect that Wal-Mart would be have been lower.

This video is mesmerizing. (via Laughing Lion Design)

It’s amazing to think of how quickly things have changed over the last 20 years or so. Wonder what things will be like when my boys are in college? When I was in college, I knew one person who had a computer. I didn’t know what a font was. My parents lived in Germany (my dad was stationed there) and I talked to them once a month on the phone because it was so expensive. I used the card catalog in the library and turned in papers typed on a typewriter. For some people, simpler times = better times. Not me. I love having information at my fingertips. I love feeling so connected to my family even though they live so far away.

Here’s an interesting quote from the video:

It is estimated that a week’s worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.

I just joined a Freecycle group and after only a couple of days I’m already thinking it is totally cool. We all have stuff that is perfectly good that we no longer have a need for, but don’t want to bother with trying to sell or save for a garage sale sometime in the distant future.  There are over 4,700 Freecycle groups across the globe, giving people the opportunity to find someone who might be able to use the stuff they don’t need anymore. You can also post messages seeking particular items that you’re in need of. Check it out!