Dance Walking - I'm Hooked!

With all the flash mobs that have popped up all over the place, it's a wonder how any one is able to stay so serious.  For the most part, they seem to be about having fun or spreading some sort of message.

Back in April, I participated in International Pillow Fight Day, and I was really eager to participate in more random fun activities.  So, naturally, when I heard about Dance Walking, I had to get involved!

Basically, dance walking involves going down the street, grooving to whatever happens to be playing into your headphones.  No one else can hear what you hear, but when you feel the beat you just have to move.

I had been trying to recruit friends to join me, but to no avail.  It honestly made me a little sad to go by myself, especially since I wanted to share something fun with other people.  I almost didn't go just because I didn't want to feel lonely.

I would have felt like an idiot if I stayed home just because I had to do something by myself.

It was SO worth it!

I made sure to prep my usual workout music with more dance tunes, and I was happy to see a lot of other eager and excited faces.  I found the group along the Commonwealth Avenue parks, and we traveled through the Public Garden and Boston Common to finish in front of the fountain near the Park St. T Station.

dance walking through the Public Garden...

getting our grooves on...

safety dance!

I think I was changing my music...

someone busted out a bit of the robot...

collective groove...

jazz hands!

It was really way more fun than I could have anticipated.  We were all hoping that more dance party sessions would happen throughout the summer.  I remember thinking at one point how much I just love random spontaneous dance parties, so this felt like a natural thing for me.  When it was all over, I almost couldn't stop myself from continuing to groove down the street and during the T ride home.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to attempt to make my kids at the summer camp do a bit of dance walking as a daily activity.  Who says it all has to be serious when you grow up?

It's Too Late Now

I feel like I'm doing such a horrible thing.

Since I moved in with the boyfriend back in 2008, we've done laundry at a laundromat a couple of doors down from our apartment.  I try my best to be friendly with people, sometimes to a fault.

I realized a couple of weeks ago that the man who runs the dry cleaning and laundromat thinks my name is...Celeste.

Okay, so I'm lying.

I thought he thought my name was Celeste a long time ago, perhaps a year ago.  But I was counting on the fact that he would forget my name, and ask me and then I could correct him.

But nope.  I'm still Celeste in his mind.

I mean, don't get me wrong.  Celeste is a really pretty name.  I've thought of giving my future daughter that name or a variant of that name.  But, it's not my name.  It's not even a nickname.

It get worst.  He's called me Celeste to my face and I didn't correct him.  I think I wasn't sure if I heard him correctly, or I just chickened out.

The only thing left to do is to move away or never do laundry there.  But instead I'm just going to casually avoid him and hope that he will just forget my name eventually.

My Big Fat Greek Adventure - Long Flights with Funny Ladies

What an amazing July it's been so far!  I'm so excited to share my adventures in Greece with my friend, Jenny.  So, let me get to it!

Long Waits and Rides
On June 5th, Jenny and I embarked on our long-awaited trip to Greece.  We were a little bit late getting to the airport.  But since we didn't have to check any luggage, we were pretty much right on time.

We had a stop-over in Montreal, Canada, where we discovered the wonders of Canadian ketchup.  Yes, that's right, Canadian ketchup from Heinz.  As we took several bites from our fries, we realized there was a slight sweetness to the ketchup.  We laughed, saying that maybe they put maple syrup in the ketchup.  Apparently, we weren't that far from the truth.

Liquid sugar???
Definitely better than corn syrup.

After about 3 hours, we were officially on our way towards Greece.  Unfortunately, we were on a plane that didn't have television screens for every chair.  Fortunately, the company was pleasant.

We sat next to this woman who was flying home to Lebanon after visiting her sister in Montreal.  She talked to us quite a bit, asking us how we met, where our families are from.  She even proceeded to show us her pictures from her trip.  The poor woman does not sleep at all on the plane, so she makes a lot of stray observations.

Well, she noticed a couple to our left and a couple to our right.  Of the couple on the right, she basically observed that they must have been brother and sister, since they didn't really talk to each other even though they slept on each others shoulders.  Of the couple on the left, she quietly pointed out how ugly the guy was when he was sleeping..with his mouth wide open!

Generally, I'm pretty good at sleeping on the plane.  I discovered that turning one of those travel pillows so that part of the arms fits under your chin.  Your head gets a rest, and you prevent falling asleep with your mouth open.  Win-win for everyone.