Ready?!? Go!!!

BOOTCAMP...a word that was whispered by friends, mentioned on Facebook, and posted in advertisements.  When fate has a plan it becomes very obtrusive in one's life, so I gave in.  Hours before an appointment to sign a contract at a "typical" gym, there was Mikila's  Bootcamp, front and center at a trade show I happened to pull into.  Fate. Destiny.  Whatever you want to call it, it was where I was supposed to be. 


 After the holidays were over, I decided that I needed a little bit of a physical "polish".  The gym I had belonged to for years kept raising the prices, and was only effective for me if I had guidance from a personal trainer (my favorite had recently moved on).   In these economic times, it was not an efficient way to spend money or time.  So began the hunt for a new gym.  Gold's, Oz, Oakway, Courtsports....all were great gyms with a lot to offer, but lacked a key ingredient.  Motivation for me to go.  Treadmills, ellipticals, weights, and lack of guidance will always be a staple in any gym, and that is the problem.  I know what to expect when I arrive, and dread the reality. There is a sense of defeat before even giving myself the opportunity to achieve my goal. The simple problem of not knowing what to do, or where to start is a never-ending cycle.

Five days a week (six, if you like Saturday runs up the Southwest cliffs hills) I have a trainer who leads a tough, heart-pumping 50 minute class.  It's personal, it's unexpected, and as their slogan goes, "there are no excuses".  I prefer to get it over with in one of the morning classes offered. Yes, there are multiple times to choose from.  Morning bootcamp does not have to be at 6am...no, thank you.  8am?  10am?  That's do-able.

"GO!!" It begins...the class frantically starts pumping free weights, running through the obstacle course, flipping tractor tires, pounding metal mallets, and doing various exercises with their own body weight used against them.  The more incentive to lose that weight.  Match that with a realistic list of high protein, clean foods that come as part of the program, and watch the scale go down at the two week check-ins.  The tools are laid out on that cold gymnasium floor, and there is no guessing as to what you have to do to get in shape.  Success is already planned.  Pick a comfort-level, which may not be so "comfortable", and get moving...results will happen, and defeat will no longer be an ominous feeling.  That's enough incentive for me.

Chocolate and china patterns

As children we look forward to Easter to go on egg hunts and see what the "Bunny" put in our basket.  Usually it was full of dolls, hair bows, colorful plastic eggs filled with coins, and Hershey chocolate.  Now that I'm older, I still get a glimmer of hope that I will wake up to a large wicker basket full of pastel paper grass, though my expectations have elevated to it encasing jewels, Belgian truffles, and perhaps a shopping spree down avenue Montaigne (plane tickets included). Though I have my sights set high, reality must play a factor.

This year I am limiting it to chocolate and china...

Both are decadent, whimsical, colorful, preferably expensive, and have a tendency to break easily.  I love variety and choices...some people prefer milk and white, I prefer dark and bone (china, that is).  Greens, turquoise, reds, oranges, gold, pinks...it doesn't matter.  Just fill my shelves with porcelain confection and I'll be happy! How often do you detour yourself into shops to admire the patterns and artwork that add a touch of decor genius to any place in the home? Stop and smell the flowers, but while you're at it, look at the china too. 

What are you asking for in your basket this year?