I have to confess, I haven’t really been working out since I moved to Seattle back in April. I’ve been to the gym once or twice, but mostly I’ve been justifying my laziness by thinking that since I essentially walk at least 2 miles a day (work is 1 mile from my place x twice a day), 5 days a week, I’m probably getting enough exercise. And I also walk around a lot on the weekends when I run errands in my neighborhood. And in truth, I probably am getting enough exercise – far more than the average couch potato American, in any case. But I haven’t gotten rid of these 10 pounds that I added over Christmas, so I think it’s time to take it up a notch. Last night when I got home, I had the energy to work out, but no desire to change clothes & drive to the gym. So I just moved the futon & the coffee table and did my Tae Bo workout video in my living room. I can’t remember the last time I did that, and of course I was completely arrogant in thinking what kind of great shape I must be in due to all this walking I’ve been doing, so I opted for the advanced workout instead of the basic one.

And may I just say: ow. Seriously, can someone please get a spatula and scrape me off the floor? Every single part of me hurts except my teeth, fingernails & hair. I’m glad that the sidewalks are relatively uncrowded in the morning, I whimpered throughout my whole commute to work today.

In other news, my cousin Catherine is going to be in town next week for some business thing. She lives in North Carolina, so I don’t get to see her that often – usually just once a year at our family reunion. She’s one of my top two favorite cousins, so I’m really excited to see her. Her husband Tony is also really great (I was a bridesmaid in their wedding), but he won’t be with her on this trip. Oh, interesting side note: Catherine is the first person I ever got drunk with, when I was 9 years old. She was 12 at the time. Open bar at the family reunion and a lack of supervision from the adults were primarily to blame for that one, I think. I’m pretty sure my mom still holds a grudge against her for that, although she’d never admit it. But once you’re appointed the “bad influence” by a parent, I don’t think you ever get past that reputation. Even though Catherine now has her Ph.D. in psychology and is very successful in her career. Oh well, I think one of my aunts considers me to be the bad influence on her kids because I was once designated driver when they all got completely wasted in New Orleans. (Go figure, I guess I was supposed to forcibly remove the drinks from their hands.)

Anyway, assuming that I can figure out a way to negotiate everyone’s schedule, it looks like Catherine may be the first family member who gets to meet Dave. My mom is very jealous. And this, dear friends, is the convenient thing about living over 2000 miles away from one’s immediate family – the whole issue of meeting the parents almost never comes up. And thank God for that. I like Dave, I don’t want to scare him off just yet.