Get in Shape, Girl!

For all of you children of the 80's out there, this trip down memory lane is for you. And, by default, for the family members who raised them into the yuppies they've become today.

When I was kid, there were products marketed toward teeny boppers entitled "Get in Shape, Girl!". I don't remember all the items you could buy, but I still have the jingle stuck in my head. I was given a couple of things for birthday presents along the way, and due to my pack rat tendencies, probably still have somewhere.

The gist of this line was to encourage girls to lead active lives and become healthy - probably in retaliation of the fact that we were the Atari/advent of the Nintendo generation. It could be argued that toys like these could lead to negative body images (i.e., where were the "Get in Shape, Boy!" items), but let's be honest. Girls and their mommas responded better to the hot pink/banana clip commercials better than the males species would, and that's what capitalism is all about.

I never quite had the body for hot pink lycra and leg warmers, and the mass on top of my head known as hair busted through every banana clip my mother ever bought. While my "Get in Shape, Girl!" items did not greatly change my body (puberty took care of that with mixed results), I stayed active and fairly fit into my teens. After a lag known as the "freshman fifteen" which lasted about four years, I discovered working out in my early twenties.

Which brings us to today......full time career. Husband with an even busier full time career. Soon to be four year old who does not require a lot of sleep. A gene pool which is German on one side and Southern fried on the other. So, working out and the body of my youth? Yeah.........................

I've been wanting to focus on fitness and taking better care of myself for a while, but it's been difficult to start. Recently, several instances, coupled with my own feelings of wanting to be healthier, have motivated me to join a certain fitness center featuring a guy who dumps rock stars and rides a bike. The motivators?

1. Supportive/caring (honest) feedback from sibling
2. A co-worker who exclaimed "You're Pregnant!" when I said I had good news. Actually, I had just completed a report in compliance.
3. The girl child in my home: "Mommy, your belly's getting really big. When is the baby coming out?" Nothin' cooking, kiddo.

I'm sore, but it's getting easier. So, in honor of my effort to tone up and fit into about 1/2 the clothes in my closet, I'd like to know what others do for a fitness routine. Better yet, if there are any who remember "Get in Shape, Girl!" products, share how they worked out for you and what you'd recommend today.

Exiting lurkdom......

Okay.....

After five years of lurking around the blog world, we've taken the "plunge."

We're up and running. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing; but hey, I felt the same way when I birthed a baby almost four years ago. I consider I've done a pretty good job in the motherhood department as my child has all of her limbs still attached. (Oh, and she has a confidence and smile that I hope to have once I decide what I want to be when I grow up).

We're not the most organized lot, but we finish most tasks and manage to fold a few loads of laundry in the process. So, I figure this blog will probably follow the same format. Document my family's activities and preserve memories for the previously mentioned child. As I have forgotten to update the baby book for the last three and a half years, maybe this can fill in some of the gaps.

If you are a grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, or in any other way related to our family, you may want to ignore those last few lines.

Ready? Here we go...........................