OMW: Days 7 and 8, also dress appointment!!

Mr. T and I are now fully embracing the 3 days per week workout schedule (this is our second week on this schedule). I figure we'll do this for one or two more weeks, then move up to four. I wasn't sure how to deal with Mondays, because I drive into work that day rather than taking BART, so I was facing walking to the gym and then walking home afterward to get the car (20 minutes each way). However, it turns out that the gym validates parking for the lot next door, so I can drive there and park for $1, and then I can drive home and shower in my own tub, which I love (gym showering is always a little icky...I wear flip flops in the shower). So Mondays are now my new favorite workout day.

Mr. T seems to think the morning workouts are feeling easier now, physically. I'm not sure I agree. Getting up is still hard, getting up at different times each morning is hard, forcing myself to go to bed earlier is really hard, and the quality of the workout really depends on how rested I feel, frankly. And walking to the gym in the cold and dark at 6 a.m. is never going to be very fun, I'm afraid. But, I persevere. I know it will all be worth it. My belly rolls (that means the belly dance belly roll movement, not rolls of fat!) are actually visibly improved by the ab work I've been doing, and my skin is better too. I think the latter is from drinking more water (32 oz at the gym, then 24-32 oz at work). I wish I could say my clothes are fitting better, but alas, no. I don't think the cupcakes I've been eating lately have been helping (birthdays, baby showers, sigh).

This weekend the MOH and another good friend and I went to the Ethnic Dance Festival Auditions, another budget outing. For $7 you can see a whole day of auditions. The audition performances are exactly as they will be in the final show--outfits, music, staging, etc. The only thing that will change is the lighting; at the auditions the stage lights are on steady the whole time, and the curtain remains up. I love attending the auditions every year. The downside is for every good group you see, you see about 5 times as many mediocre or just plain bad groups, but in a way, that's entertaining, too, and as a dancer, it's certainly educational. It's also fun to predict who will get into the show. I was bummed not to see more audition days (we could only make it to one of the four days), because I don't think I can afford to see the real show this year, but we'll see. I love this city--so many good and affordable cultural experiences!

Finally, in actual wedding-planning related news, I made an appointment with the seamstress!!! She has a business in San Francisco and specializes in corset-making. The appointment is the third week of February, so it will be awhile before I can report back, but I'm excited! Ironically, the appointment is one day before my co-dancer's wedding. I will have an all-wedding weekend!