School/Jazzercise is back on!

Yeah, school started the day after Labor Day here, so that means the kids are now out there interacting with other kids, making friends, learning and, just as important, not watching Sponge Bob Square Pants so much!

I was so excited when I picked them up at the end of the first day, as Madison brought along a friend to meet me. This little girl lives in the same neighborhood we will be in by the end of the month and she walks to school. The next day, this same friend asked if Madison could stay for another hour after school to join her Brownie Troop (the prelude to Girl Scouts...). Of course, I couldn't say no, so Madison is now officially a Brownie and already earned her first patch at that meeting. She's super excited about knowing she'll have friends from school in the same neighborhood.

Dorian has also made many friends but has told me it's too early to make any pronouncements on best friends yet. Beatrice found us a nice back road to get back home from the school, and yesterday we saw two deers and one doe. I stopped in the middle of the road and they just stood there and looked at us! So close - it was so amazing!

And, with the kids gone most of the day, it was more than time for me to find my new Jazzercise haven! When I was looking at locations on-line, I noticed that several places around here meet at churches, which didn't sound very appealing to me (how can you get groovy with it at a church??). Just my luck, wouldn't you know, the closest place to my house, which is actually across the street from the kids' school - how convenient - is at a church? Well, I was so Jazzercise starved that I didn't pay much attention to anything except signing up and starting right away. Well, once I started, I finally looked around and realized that, the room we exercise in is about a quarter of the size of the place I was used to in Texas. It also does not have wood floors or mirrors. Not to be the inflexible import, though, I still gave it a try for two days because, after all, it's within walking distance. But in the back of my mind, I began to realize that in the long run, I was not gonna be very happy in those crowded conditions.

So, I went in search of the next closest Jazzercise, which is about 8 miles from the house, and, bless my poor exercise deprived soul, is at a Dance Studio, which means it has wood floors and mirrors, not to mention that it is a lot more spacious. Today was my first day there and I loved it! They even offer Personal Touch so that will be awesome. Not as loud of a crowd as my Texas bunch (miss you Francine, Allison & Susan), but once I get them warmed up to my short shirts, I intend to let my hair down.... Watch out!