shanmonster | And She Knows How to Use Them

On my way to dance class the other night, I was stopped by a woman with a parrot on her shoulder. "Great legs," she enthused.

At first, I thought it was the parrot who had complimented me.

But she repeated herself. "Your legs! They're awesome! They look so incredibly strong!"

I thanked her, and told her I was on my way to dance class.

"So that's why they're so strong," she said.

Her parrot's name is Reefer, by the way....

So yes, I do have strong legs. But they're not so strong that Thursday's floorwork class left me unscathed. I led the class through 100 Hindu squats and 100 dragons. I hadn't done any dragons in a few months, but was happy to see they weren't impossible. We also did 25 side plank push-ups (per side), and I was feeling them by the last five or so.

That morning, I'd done a wack of bridge push-ups, too. In case you don't know what they are, it's when you put yourself in a bridge position (hands and feet on the floor, belly arcing high), and then you raise and lower your upper body to the floor with your arms. Although regular push-ups are still quite the trial for me, these bridge push-ups require next to no effort for me. I'm not sure what it is I do that's left me so strong across the back and deltoids, but I'm not complaining.

But I am sore pretty much everywhere today. Luckily enough, several massage therapists were running a fundraiser at the farmers' market this morning, so I got a 15-minute back massage. At the end, the therapist said it was frustrating because there was so much that needed to be done, and 15 minutes just didn't do the trick. I'm not complaining, though. My muscles feel much more relaxed and happy, now.

Oh, and my massage therapist spins fire poi, too. We'll have to get together sometime and compare notes....

This afternoon shall be filled with feast preparations. I need to bake a couple of pumpkin pies and do up a batch of cranberry sauce. And tomorrow, I roast the turkey. I think

realbethy and

snowy_kathryn are doing the rest. I think this will be the first time I haven't prepared the whole feast myself.

Are you ready for some links? I thought you might be. Enjoy!

Kids in car during sex, drug bust: The mother of the year award may go to this women who turned tricks in a car with her kids in the back seat, and who snorted cocaine off her baby while it nursed from her. Brava.

Daggers: Check the fourth one down for the tackiest novelty knife I've ever seen (thanks,

g026r).

Woman left in CT scanner after clinic closes: "A physician who works at the practice and knew of the incident told The Arizona Daily Star it’s not the first time such a thing has happened."

Mormons Exposed: Buy a calendar of hunky Latter Day Saints. I must say I'm tempted, as conceptually I find this very amusing.

All Hail Technoviking: I must say, he certainly has attitude! I wish technoviking would dance with me (thanks,

schwartzung).

Captive breeding 'weakens' beasts: "Animals bred in captivity to help conservation programmes can quickly become less fit for survival in the wild, research suggests." No shit, Sherlock. And people who rescue squirrels and have them nursed by their dogs or cats have created squirrels which will be eaten the first day they're released into the wild.

In the Face of Death: Interesting article about the always-controversial Norwegian death metal scene. I find these guys fascinating!

Martin: Genital Evolution: NSFW. An interview with a body modder. He brings himself to the cusp of Darwin Award status, only to pull himself back into the gene pool in the nick of time (thanks,

warrenellis).

In other news, Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy is currently in principle photography for a horror movie being filmed in Toronto: Repo: A Genetic Opera. One of his co-stars is Paris Hilton. I fear.