Friday, August 27, 2010

Save the Date - Shayla's 30th Birthday Party

Save the Date - Shayla's 30th Birthday Party

Yep, Save the Date for my party.  I typically keep it simple and small -- a little pizza party, bowling, dinner and karaoke -- but this time I'm doing it a bit bigger!  The soiree will happen a little later in the evening,  I'll wear a nice dress, do some dancing and of course, have CAKE!!!

Get ready y'all...

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Swimming and...

So I'm not even going to waste time apologizing for not having written in awhile.  If you've read this blog or know me, you know that I'm not a consistent or prolific blogger.  I trickle...  When I have something to share, I'll share it.  And guess what?  I've got something to say!

At 29 years and 10 months old, I am finally learning how to swim!! 
Here I am in the locker room...
Don't I look like a swimmer...
Then I display that I clearly don't know what I'm doing...
After a search for an appropriate swimming swimsuit proved fruitless, my mom pulled out one that she had planned to wear for aqua aerobics.  Surprisingly, I liked it. It's sleek and unlike the swimsuits I bought prior to my trip to Vegas, which aren't really meant for swimming, I don't run the risk of flashing anyone. So with my swimming outfit taken care of, I decided that I could learn to swim. ha!

Yes, I strolled over to the Harlem Y, signed up for eight lessons and thus far I have had two.  The first lesson was cool.  I had to put my face in water, which freaked me out a little bit because I had NEVER done that, but after taking many deep breaths, eventually I dunked my head in.  I did some kicks and used a "noodle" to kick across the shallow end and then...I began to feel sick. Like, "I need to vomit!" sick.  I asked if feeling nauseous was normal and my instructor thought it was nervousness.  But it wasn't.  So I jumped out of pool. And yes, I did get sick, but not in the pool, thank goodness.  There was a class with two little girls, and I had visions of them saying, "Ewww..." and the pool needing to be closed.  I had to spare them and myself the trauma.  Later that night I diagnosed myself as having motion sickness. And for my second lesson, my dad bought me earplugs, which were supposed to help.

I went back the next week for lesson #2 and did even better.  I had a different instructor because mine didn't show up.  I found out today that she doesn't work at the Y anymore. It would have been nice if the Y had told me instead of my having to investigate, but I digress.  This new instructor had different techniques that really resonated with me. I was dunking my face in and blowing water out of my nose with relative ease...it was cool!  I was working on gliding and getting more comfortable in the water.  Felt a little queasy by the end, but didn't get sick.  My dad thinks I might be swallowing the water.  But wouldn't I know if I was doing that?? Ah well, on to lesson #3...