Not giving up on the hoop-a-thon

It was a weekend filled with hula hooping, creepy moose, diabetes fundraisers, Christmas spirit and good friends … oh wait, that was just Sunday! Good golly.

Coming off my evening of decadent culinary eats, I figured I should get some exercise to work off the rich food, but it was cold out, like -4 degrees cold. And I know, I know, that’s nothing compared to other places that are like -27 degrees cold, but what can I say, I’m a west coast girl – my body is not used to the frigidity. Lucky for me though, yesterday just so happened to be my annual hula hoop-a-thon, also known as my four-year-old nephew’s birthday party.

For the past three years my brother and sister in law have held my nephew’s birthday party at the rec centre, which is great for both the kids and adults. For one hour, you’ve got free reign to do whatever you want in the gym, flail around in the bouncy castle, shoot pucks at your brothers who look more like Roberto Luongo than Patrick Roy, play soccer, football, wheel around on imitation skateboards, and yes hula hoop too.

Now, I’m not much of a hula hooper (in case you didn’t get that from the picture) never have been, not even when I was a kid. I can’t seem to figure out how to keep the hoop spinning around my hips and not crashing to the ground within a second. But that’s never stopped me from trying to figure it out – every year. If nothing else, I am persistent. I tried watching my moms and sister in law who both told me they were star hula hoopers back in the day, but who today seemed to have lost all skill. I tried taking lessons from my 12-year-old niece who spun that hoop like there was nothing easier, letting it shift back and forth over her somewhat non-existent hips. Hmmm, maybe that’s my issue. Or, maybe it had something to do with my flailing arms and hips and legs and everything else that could flail to keep that hoop afloat. (It seems to be great amusement for my one sister in law who encourages me every year to give the hoop another try and who giggles uncontrollably at the sight!) Despite my failed efforts though, if my achy shoulders, back, arms and hips are any indicator today, I still got a pretty kickass workout out of it. I am sore!

After the birthday gifts and birthday songs and birthday games and birthday cake were all gone, I headed out to a diabetes fundraiser with my girlfriend Shona (who has made an appearance on Princess of Pavement before, you might remember her as the best cheerleader EVER!). The fundraiser was an annual ladies night put on by Art Knapp Nursery that supports the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the leading charitable funder and advocate of Type 1 diabetes research worldwide. With complimentary wine and appies and cupcakes and cookies (both Shona and I have a sweet tooth – we liked the cookies!) we noodled around the store looking at Christmas tree after Christmas tree all decked out in holiday style with ribbons and ornaments and glitter and, uhm, interesting tree toppers.

I walked away from the evening with a special ornament that I can’t yet describe or show, but time will tell all (teehee ;)) and some sparkly plant like items for a Christmas arrangement that I hope to create as long as my procrastination doesn’t get in the way, and a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart knowing that I was apart of something good for diabetes research.