See Emma run. With your heart.

I swear; this little girl has captured my heart. I forget the fact that she sometimes answers my yes/no questions with a "maybe." Or the fact that she stretches the neckline of my shirts as she climbs onto my back or my lap. Or the fact that her favorite words THROUGHOUT the day are: "Auntie Boo, look. Auntie Boo, look." As in, Auntie Boo, stop what you're doing and look at what I'm doing.

She does this thing where she asks me if she can do something, I respond "no," then she asks me again as if I didn't hear the question correctly, I respond "no" again, and then she replies with a drawn out, "ooookaaaaayyyyyy." As if I was giving in to her. These kids nowadays.

Damn it, I love her.

Bonus: She's all into cuddling, hugging tightly, and getting the remote control for me.

I was flowing all right

Today I didn't feel like going at it on the crosstrainer or treadmill, so I wandered over to the group exercise schedule board. At 5:30, a class called BodyFlow would be starting. Why not, I thought.

Boys and girls, I stretched, twisted, and bent in places and ways I didn't know possible. BodyFlow is a Tai Chi, yoga, and Pilates combo workout, meant to leave you long, strong, centered, and calm. The workout concludes with a few minutes of meditation (which was my favorite part because I was lying down, closing my eyes, and duh). The instructor said softly, "Now close your eyes and think of a peaceful place, and imagine yourself there right now. The surroundings, the feelings you have at this place--let your mind and body take those in." Or something like that.

I imagined fishing on Guam's blue waters, but then I realized I don't like the person with whom I fished with at the time, so I moved on to visualizing myself napping on my La-z-boy recliner in the middle of the day--and success; I was way relaxed.

I liked BodyFlow enough to attend again because hey, I'm all for being centered and calm. My only problem is I need to control, hmm, how can I put it gently, my FartFlows? They were the short, silent kind because I was trying my best not to let one RIP. Whether it smelled, the peeps surrounding me would have to answer that. Any tips on how I can control this "other" flow? Dude, my body was contorted. Okay? Contorted.

Below is a 30-second clip of BodyFlow, but the link above shows a better demo. Happy flowing! Stop laughing at me.

Monday update

I cannot shake this head cold. Someone, please chop my nose and/or head off, PLEASE! Blowing and wiping my nose is a bitch because my skin is naturally dry in that area, and I look unkempt if I don't immediately apply lotion.

I have been sick for the past three days, and the fact that I had to call in sick on Friday does not sit well with me. Ya know, new job and all. Eh, at least my new coworkers heard me hacking and saw me constantly with Kleenex tissues and Halls cough drops all day today.

The three days also included NOT going to the gym, although I toughed it out tonight. I do love me some BodyPump. I tried out a new group exercise class called BodyAttack and thought it was kind of silly and awkward. Bleh.

In lighter news, today I answered a reference question from a dude who worked in the Secret Service. I never thought I'd do that!

Plus, I am looking forward to visiting my little sister this holiday weekend. We might take a road trip to a White Castle. I'll be Harold, and she will be Kumar. Or maybe we'll mix it up and switch. It would be super-effin-funny if we met Neil Patrick Harris on the way.

A little over the first four minutes should give you a preview of this so-called White Castle experience.



Don't worry; I'll take pictures. Maybe even video.

A gangsta spy among us

I took nephew Khayleb to the International Spy Museum in DC for a special KidSpy Fest where he was able to choose his diguise (hence the gangsta look), learn about ninjas and ninja paraphernalia (see blow-dart), and meet a real (retired) spy and polygraph expert, among other spy activities.

Gangsta ninja spy--watch your neck!


Dusting for fingerprints. The scar on his cheek was part of his disguise.


Spy goggles--not meant to detect low-lying, impatient children.


My favorite part of this field trip: Khayleb's excitement over the ninja demonstration.

Least favorite: Photography wasn't allowed inside the museum-museum.