competitive dancing, part 2

We're back in the world of competitive dancing, this time, with our son.  In seventh grade he and several friends tried ballroom dance and loved it--a bunch have stuck with it.  Yesterday morning he came in at 6:00 am and asked for help with his make-up.  Nick later said, "If I'd known 15 years ago that one day my son would come into my room at 6:00 am to ask for help his his make-up . . . " (I won't print the rest).

I'm getting used to the hairspray, mascara, and fake tans. Sort of. I noticed that most kids from most schools didn't look tan (unlike the kids from our kids' school), so I might protest silently.  I suppose I should get used to competition culture, because we have several competitions this year.  I didn't mind going to yesterday's meet--it was 10 minutes from home and I like watching dancing.  But I now understand why each school holds its own: to benefit from judge bias (and to make money so teams can compete at all the other meets).  In the team events, the host high school won both of the events they competed in and the best thing about their performances was their costumes.  Their formations were pretty good too, but they didn't deserve to win.

Then I got to thinking that judge bias factors into every competition, though it's not always clear what the biases are.  We like to think that judges are fair and awards are earned, but judges are biased and sometimes award winners are lucky.

exercise

Whenever I log on it's a little like turning on Wii Fit Plus and seeing, "It's been 23 days since your last visit" (I do other forms of exercise, thank you).

Speaking of which, I tried jogging a few weeks ago for the first time in 20 years and discovered that I'm in worse shape than I imagined.  I can walk for miles, and three times a week I bike 7-8 miles on our exercise bike (I can read while I exercise--yay!). But when I tried jogging, I felt like I was going to die every step of the half mile or so (I felt virtuous--and sore--for days afterward).  Clearly, jogging is much more efficient than my usual forms of exercise.  A few days later I had to try again to see if I could go further (I did), and last week after missing my Zumba class, I decided to try once more.

Yes, I finally tried Zumba and discovered that it's really just aerobics, but I enjoy aerobics, so I think I'll go back.  Our university has a free class for employees and spouses, right during the time my preschooler is playing at the neighbor's house. I teach til 10:50 and Zumba starts at 12:10, which is fine--good time to work in my office--but then I have to bring a change of clothes and change in the locker room (yuck) before and after Zumba or walk across campus in my workout clothes (I feel conspicuous) or find a parking spot near the athletic building (which is impossible). Not as convenient as working out at home.

For anyone who happened to read my "skim milk" post many moons ago, I have bad news and good news. The bad news is I haven't lost any weight; the good news is I quit gaining weight. So, I'll keep drinking my skim milk, eating my brownies, and riding my exercise bike.

peanut butter chocolate bars

Warning: these are dangerous

bars:

• 3/4 c butter, softened
• 3/4 c white sugar
• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 3/4 c peanut butter
• 2 t water
• 2 eggs
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 c rolled oats
• 3/4 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 
  
• topping (choose one):
• 2 cups chocolate chips (milk chocolate or semisweet, or a combination of chocolate and butterscotch chips)
• or chocolate frosting (with or without a layer of peanut butter)
• or 1/2 c. peanut butter melted with 1 c. milk chocolate chips
• or Nutella
•  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 10x15 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, peanut butter, and water. 
3. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. 
4. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture. 
5. Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan.
6. Bake 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the top. When the chips look glossy, spread evenly. (Or wait until bars are mostly cool and spread with frosting.)

watching Olympics

So far my favorite things to watch, besides the gymnastics and swimming, are the views of the UK--Tower Bridge, Parliament, the Globe, Piccadilly Circus, Stonehenge, the White Cliffs--make me almost wish I were there. Except that when the Olympics were here, we didn't go--didn't make any attempt to go--avoided the venues--and when we were in London for the Jubilee we again avoided the crowds (and the rain) and watched on tv. But seeing London so beautifully captured makes us a bit homesick (London-sick?). Not our kids, who have repeatedly commented, "Been there, done that," but are very happy to be home.

color blind Greeks?

Just heard a blurb on NPR: Expert says, "All the Greeks were color-blind. They saw everything in black and white, with maybe a tinge of red." How on earth would we know this? Unless he was speaking figuratively. Seems likely, except that the context was a preview of a segment on how people see colors.

Middlemarch

One of my new favorite books. I avoided it for years because it's sooo long (about 800 pages, depending on the edition), but am glad I finally overcame my reluctance.  George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) develops a great cast of characters, but what's particularly refreshing/interesting to me is that the book focuses more on marriage than courtship.  If you haven't seen the movie and don't want to read 800 pages, I recommend the movie as excellent and very true to the book. 

bury the guns

How many people will be shot before we embrace gun control? (I fear the answer is "all of us")
Who, having read a book, watched a movie, or visited a museum about war, would engage in war?
I'm trying to imagine a world without guns, hate, war, disease, hunger, fear, poverty, worry. Kinda hard to imagine, actually.