Burn A Little Extra

Lately I have been thinking about additional ways to burn calories.  Ways that don't necessarily feel like you are working out, but are still effective.  Everyone should move for 60 minutes every day.  Some will have to wait until I am in better shape.  Some just made me giggle when I initially saw them performed (but laughing burns calories, right?).  

I was driving down the road and noticed a large grassy area on the side of the road.  There was a road on the West end of the grassy area with a stop sign.  Chained to the stop sign was a 10-speed bike.  Completely out in the open.  No person anywhere that I could see.  Not a house around.  My best guess is that someone rode their bike to the bus stop, and chained it there to ride it back home in the afternoon.  Interesting new way to burn some cals.

The bicyclists of Milwaukee believe the own the streets.  They ride in the middle of the lane, and refuse to move over and let you by.  On Tuesday I was behind a gent (probably 25-30ish years old) with a tight gray tshirt (which accentuated his muscular back nicely, if I do say so myself) and had loose mesh shorts, tanned/muscled calves and regular tennis shoes on.  I was slightly annoyed that I was unable to get around him, but realized I should embrace relaxation...and just sit back and enjoy the view.

I have plans to ride in "Ragbrai" (an fun/quirky biking fest in Iowa) in July 2011.  I guess I better get my butt (literally) in shape, and round up a bike!

I was at the gym the other day and witnessed 3 - 50-somethings playing badminton.  I haven't played that since high school, and just the visual of people playing makes me laugh.  Not sure why.  Either the combination of the fact that I was so horrible at it in gym class, or just that flying birdie.  Either way, very funny.  There were two ladies playing against one dude, because apparently boys are better at badminton.  It was to be taken very seriously - one lady was even wearing a glove on her racket hand, sort of like a white-lady-Michael-Jackson (someone who was legitimately born a white lady, not someone who paid doctors to turn into one).  If I see them playing again some day, I may ask them to join.  They look like a pretty tight-knit group, but maybe they'll take pity on me.

I hope she kicked off the side of her foot!!

One thing about my dad - he is always a coach.  Regardless of the sport, or the people he is playing with, he is a coach.  He likes to conduct what I lovingly refer to as "skills clinics".  My sister Wendy has more than a small amount of my dad's personality in her.  I like to call Wendy "Junior" because of this resemblance.  Wendy is a great athlete.  She throws softballs so hard that there were boys on one co-ed team that were scared to have to try and catch them.  Cut to my niece Macy's 5th birthday party last weekend.  Macy is apparently pretty in to soccer (a sport no one in my family has ever played), and asked for a soccer ball for her birthday.  She got a super-cute one with shiny pink on it, socks with shin-guards, and two small soccer nets.  Her dad and my dad put the nets together at her party, set them up, and used the metal stakes provided to anchor them to the ground.  It started out nice.  Both of my nieces were kicking the balls into the net, and Wendy would toss them back to them to kick again.  At one point she told Jorey "good job, bud" and must have really gotten a hold of the ball for the toss back - - it was moving at about 95 mph, and ricocheted off Jorey's leg and almost scored, again.  Funny stuff...I got a good giggle.  About 5 minutes later I happen to glance back over, just in time to see the ball flying a million miles an hour at one of the mini-nets.  It was moving at speeds too advanced for the tiny stakes to handle - and all 4 were ripped out of the ground, the net lifting about a foot off the ground.  Wendy had decided to conduct her own skills clinic, and show Macy how to kick the ball off the side of her foot.  It would appear mini-nets for kids aren't meant for pregnant ladies with a ton of power.  Honestly, I laughed until I was crying.  Kicking the ball around with your nieces burns calories, but the laughter caused by your sister putting on a soccer expo burns more.  

There are always ways, other than the treadmill, to burn some calories - you just have to keep your eyes open!  Do you have an entertaining way to burn extra calories?