Showering at the AA "Y"

Ann Arbor, Michigan has a beautiful new YMCA. It has two pools, one maintained above 90 degrees specifically for children and a lap pool, an indoor track, amazing cardio machines, top-of-the-line weight machines, saunas, classes and so on. Along with these amenities they have done all they could to accommodate people with a wide variety of locker rooms. There are five: a family locker room, one specifically for girls (females under the age of 17 and their female parent or guardian), one for boys (males under the age of 17 and their male parent or guardian), a locker room for adult men only and one for adult women only. That said, I must say I haven't been in the women's locker room once when there were no children in the room.
One might think... what's the big deal with a child or two? My opinion: Adults taking the time to go to the YMCA or any other gym are going to relax, workout... de-stress. One child in a room completely changes the room’s chemistry. The noise, even if they are cute and endearing, is a distraction from ones relaxation/alone time/ meditation and so forth, and children do not respect an individual's solitude. Example: Saturday morning, I was just finishing up a nice 1 1/2 hour workout followed by a sauna. Headed for the showers I took off my towel and laid out my brush, lotion and shampoo and reached in a shower to start the water warming. As I reached past the shower curtain, I felt a small, soft finger tap me on the ass. "Hey lady, you have a bandage on your butt", came from one of two young boys whose mother saw fit to bring them into the women's locker room. The mother seemed a bit upset that her children were witness to a naked adult female. (She had taken every effort to make sure she would be completely covered by leaving on her swimsuit and putting her street clothes over it.)
What the heck!!! Why the Hell would this woman think she has the right to bring male children into an adult women’s locker room? Apparently, she and many other women feel their rights as mother supercede any rights other women may have or that because we are women we should understand. I have just about had it but am not sure how to proceed. Do I run to the help desk every time there is a woman in the locker room with a child or children? Do I put up with it? Do I ask for my money back and work out at home? Suggestions?

5 Weird Habits

The first player of this "game" starts with the topic "Five Weird Habits of Yourself" and the people who get tagged need to then write a Xanga entry about their five quirky little habbits as well as state the rules of this game clearly. At the end, you need ot list the next five people who you want to tag, and then go to leave a tag smooch on their Xanga.

"Five Weird Habits of Mine"
1. I hate to say "good bye" to the day and go to bed.
2. I would rather keep sleeping than to get up and start a new day.
3. Before all the bath water is out of the tub both of my feet must have been outside the bathroom.
4. Popping zits intrigues me.
5. Women that bring children into the adult women's locker room, even though there is a family locker room, one for girls and a seperate for boys, bug the "HELL" out of me.

sugar, candy & cookies

last night was an evening of friends and sugar. the andres came over with their two cute little girls and we decorated some sugar cookies, downed pizza and drinks. the girls headed for our bedroom with their video of "the santa clause" after dinner and the adults enjoyed some conversation. it was just a quiet night at home... and very enjoyable. (tomorrow nutrition becomes important again)

eating right and sleeping nights

since i have returned from europe my sleeping schedule seems to be more inline with the rest of eastern standard time. tomorrow it will be a week since i returned and i am still getting up between 6:30 and 8a - hopefully, i can keep this up. i have more energy and don't seem to be overwhelmed at thoughts of too much work and too many projects. the extra sleep must be a large help but it could, also, be that i am eating healthier.
during my travels i have tasted many differant types of cuisines and have decided to bring some of them home. for instance, the japanese breakfast fills me up and lasts longer than an american breakfast so i bought salmon, made some brown rice and miso soup and am enjoying them in the a.m. i, also, have started going through my asian cooking books and trying new recipes. for lunch today i made corn and chicken soup - with a chicken broth and an eggdrop finish. while searching borders in ann arbor, i discovered a great vegetarian cook book with many interesting ideas. tomorrow, i will start with the first recipe and work through the book.
it's not january first yet but this does have all the earmarks of a new year's resolution. wish me luck!

keeping warm in graz

temperatures plummeted but it didn't deter our outdoor activity. climbing the slossberg (graz, austria) warmed us in the morning and drinking hot spiced wine warmed us in the evening. - top photo is Z & I after a walk up the slossberg.
bottom photo - from left to right - michael, z & hans partying and helping raise money to fight cancer.

right back at it

tuesday evening, i arrived dazed at detroit metro airport. souvenir bloated bags tumbled about the baggage cart and made passing through passport check, duty-claim and agricultural inspections awkward. (evidently the dried beans bought at the graz farmers' market set off a warning flag.) out through the aluminum swinging doors i burst anxious to see a familiar face, but was met with hopeful faces of strangers wanting to see their loved one. tired and disappointed, i wheeled my booty outside and waited for a ride - 5 - 10 - 15 - 20 minutes... a half hour.