3/19: toot your own horn

Hi Friends:

Hope you had a great weekend! Now that the weather is finally getting nice (knock on wood), the reward at the end of our Zumba class at Nu'uanu Elementary is a beautiful sunset!

The Zumba Home Office sent me some cool news: two women in People Magazine's annual "half their size" issue are devoted to Zumba! Here are their profiles:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/zumba/www-zumba-com/en-us/press/pdf/People-Magazine-Half-Their-Size.pdf

Although their hard work and dedication is impressive and inspiring, I don't think you have to wait until you've lost 100+ pounds before you can congratulate yourself on your accomplishments. Every inch and pound lost, every time you find that you're just a little bit stronger or can dance a little bit longer, every time you take the stairs instead of the elevator, every time you each a piece of fruit instead of a malasada--congratulate yourself.

If you read these women's profiles, Zumba is only a part of their overall lifestyle change. I feel that one small change that you feel good about is more likely to stick than an extreme, uncomfortable shift. Let yourself feel good about things you do (saying "I choose fruit" as opposed to "I absolutely have to avoid chocolate")! More changes will come, also in stages--and step by step is how anyone changes their lifestyle or loses weight, whether five pounds or a hundred.

I have an app on my iPad that trains you to do a hundred pushups in a row--training over six weeks. After every session of five sets of pushups, it sends a message to my Twitter account (or would if I tweeted) that says "I just completed Week X, Day X of the hundred pushups apps. I'm on my way!" or something like that. Maybe you can post on fb after every time you come to Zumba, or go for a walk, or eat healthy. Even if you only tell one person, via email or something, brag a little for doing something for your health. Usually, you'll get an overwhelmingly positive response--especially if you email me. ; )

Have a great week!

-meredith

3/6: the amazing world indoors and all around

Hi Friends:

I hope your rainy Monday morning is going along well, with no power outages or water damage. Since we're stuck indoors, I thought I'd share some links to amazing aspects of common household objects. Warning: you may never look at a glass of water the same way again:

Physics fun with utensils:
http://littleshop.physics.colostate.edu/onlineexperiments/Flatware.html

Ten party tricks with stuff you find in a bar:
http://www.youtube.com/user/quirkology?ob=4&feature=results_main#p/u/15/i_f3SkxTWxc

Water tension (the upside-down glass of water trick):
http://www.youtube.com/user/quirkology?ob=4&feature=results_main#p/u/0/3rY0auw5wCo

Cloud in a water bottle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUdR9xESD64&feature=related

Charge your iPod with fruit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuiPDBA3XZI&feature=related

Impress your friends! Keep your kids busy instead of having them watch tv! And be amazed--always, be amazed with how cool the world is.

Have a great week,
meredith