The Jazzercise Nazi

You may see her right before class, in her tiny black dance pants with the crazy designs down one leg and a teeny tiny workout tank. She is adjusting her Jazzercise belt and straightening her ponytail. She does a little neck roll and boxer step in her Rykas. She has a hard glint in her eye and a 200 calorie lunch to burn off. She is the Jazzercise Nazi and she is here to make your Jazzercise experience a worthwhile, yet hellish one.

I have my favorite teachers at Jazzercise. Well, one favorite teacher. The Nazi is not her. Not that she's not good - she's almost too good. She doesn't stop between songs, she can carry on a full conversation about Dancing With the Stars while chasseying and side stepping and hopping at the same time. While the other members of the class are dripping sweat and trying not to pass out, she glistens and continues to grin manically as she steps into the first beats of a Beyonce song.

Can you tell that I had a hard time at Jazzercise last night? Not that it wasn't fun and not that I didn't feel incredible after it was over. That whole endorphin myth is actually a reality. The JN's class is just the hardest one I've ever taken and she never stops! She never seems to get tired, even at the end of class when all anyone wants to do is stretch and then possibly lay there for thirty minutes and chat about the work day.

Oh well, today is a new day, with another class and another instructor tonight. We'll see how that goes.

Nie

I have specific blogs that I read every day and some that I have been reading since I've been blogging (well, blogging regularly). It's amazing how many people out there are avid bloggers like myself and also amazing how easily it is to get sucked into their worlds if the writing is good. I think of them as "Black Hole Blogs" and there have been times when I have lost hours reading a good blog because I feel like if I don't start at the beginning, I'm going to miss something.


Some of the "black holes" that have caused me to lose hours of my time are Melanie, Angie, Lindsey, and my real time friend, Lauren. All of these blogs have enriched my life in some way - Melanie with her funny stories, Angie with her heartbreak and spiritual insights, Lindsey with her way with words, and Lauren because it has been such a joy to catch up with a friend that I thought I had lost forever and see her gorgeous family grow and change. I literally drop what I'm doing when I see that these women have taken the time to write. It is my addiction.

My latest addiction has been Stephanie, aka Nie. I found her through Lindsey's blog and can not stop reading her. Her story is beautiful and sad and inspiring. If you haven't had the opportunity to catch up with her, DO IT. It will take your breath away. When I first visited her site, I couldn't get her off my mind. I have prayed for her and her family and awaited anxiously for each new post to come up. How strange that this blogging world has become so important to me! I don't know any of these people in real life (except for Lauren), but I feel that they are my friends. Their triumphs and tragedies affect me and I pray hard for them as I do for my own.

It seemed strange and a little dorky to "blog" once upon a time. Now it's my outlet. I can let my mind run free and my fingers do the walking. And maybe somewhere, at some point, my story will touch lives as these women's have.

Paranormal Chili Beans

I have a confession to make. I am a bean freak. I love beans - well except for lima beans, but they are just WRONG, in my opinion. Anything that color should not be worn or ingested. I love pinto beans with cornbread, navy beans, green beans...you get my drift. However, the true love of bean life is my mama's recipe for chili beans.

Let me take you back to my childhood. My mom was not really well-known for her culinary skills. I mean, what she cooked was great, but her variety was lacking. As in, we had the same menu every week and if it changed, someone was sick or dying. Every Thursday night (right in line with dance class, Family Ties, and the Cosby Show) we ate chili beans. It was my favorite night of the week.

Fast forward to the present day. I too cook chili beans once a week. My husband has come to love them. Actually, that's a lie because he was raised on fatback and fried chicken and mere chili beans cannot erase true Southern culinary works of art, but he deals because it's truly my favorite meal EVER.

Last night we had them because I like to shake things up with our weekly menu. We ate chili beans and watched Paranormal State. Because obviously the two things go together so well.

For anyone that's never had the pleasure of watching Paranormal State, let me give you some background. First of all, it's on A&E - the nerd channel, and I'm calling myself a nerd, here, so don't get offended. This is the channel that shows television greatness like "Dog the Bounty Hunter". Yeah. I watch it religiously and so does Chad. It really does have some good shows, in all seriousness, like "Intervention" which makes me cry every time I watch it, but that's not the point of this post. The point is Paranormal State, this docu-drama that follows these college kids as they solve mysteries/ghosts/etc. It's kind of like Scooby Doo for adults. And there's no dog. In all honesty, I was quite disappointed by the new episode last night. The mom looked a bit nutty, even though if I was living in a home haunted by a ghost called "the lady vampire" I would probably not look my best either. Question - why don't the people who live in these places just MOVE to another home?

Recipe for Paranormal Chili Beans:

1 medium yellow onion
3 cans Bush's chili beans
3 cans Campbell's tomato soup
1 lb lean ground beef
McCormick chili powder

1. Brown the ground beef and onions together, drain
2. Mix meat, onions, beans, and tomato soup together
3. Add chili powder to taste
4. Bring chili to a boil
5. After boiling for a few seconds, turn hit to simmer
6. Simmer for 25-30 min
7. Top off with crackers & Tobasco and enjoy!

Don't let the ghosts get you!