Spring is here (really!)

Well, Spring is finally here, or so they say. New York has been pretty dreary for the last three days, with rain and the threat of snow which frankly didn't materialize.

Since Spring is here, I decided to celebrate by kicking my work-out up a notch by taking a different class at my gym. I've been taking Pilates and body sculpting for the past year, but I'm bored, so yesterday morning I got up early and took a NIA class. NIA for those who dont't know, is Non-Impact Aerobics. In this case, a dance class. At the earlyish hour of 9:00 a.m. yesterday I was bouncing around the studio pretending to be a member of Riverdance. Now, I haven't taken a dance class since I took Swing dance a few years ago, but this was something else entirely. For the first half-hour we didn't stop moving! I was exhausted, I was sweating, I thought I was going to throw up, I was so tired. It got my heart rate up however and I actually had fun in an exercise class for the first time in a logn time, which has been missing from my work-outs lately. Not much fun in lifting weights or doing sit-ups. It's like eating broccoli, you know it's good for you, but it's not fun.

This morning, my body is sore as all get out. My legs are stiff, my lower back hurts, and I'm exhausted. Jason warned me but I didn't know it would hurt this much. Not enough to put me off going back to class next week. Summer will be arriving before you know it, and I'd like to be able to wear a pair of white jeans without looking like a water buffalo.

It didn't help that I had strange dreams about deer, thanks to the guys of Blue Collar TV, like Jeff Foxworthy who kept doing routines about deer hunting. So I had a dream that a baby deer was living in my house for some reason. I don't know what it means, Freud would probably have a field day.

I don't have a problem with hunting per se, if you're hunting for food. I do have a problem if you're hunting just to have a trophy to put up on your wall. Animal heads should not be used for decoration. It's gross and unbelievably creepy. I feel the same way about people who have animals that have been stuffed (taxidermy). Ewww! Don't even get me started on fox hunting which is absolutely pointless. You can't eat fox, and I don't agree with wearing fur, so the whole practice is positively barbaric and cruel to the animals. There are other ways to do pest control if you think you're having a problem with foxes stealing chickens from hen houses. But fox hunters are just doing it for sport, and frankly it sucks.

Now that I've ranted on the subject of hunting, I did go to see the orchids at the New York Botanical Gardens.
I've never been to the Botanical Gardens even though I'm lived in the city my entire life. Maybe because it's such a schlep to get there. You can either take the D train and then a bus, or you have to go from Grand Central to the Botanical Gardens station, which is conveniently located across the street from the Botanical Gardens.

Despite the fact that it was raining out, the trip was worth it. I love flowers and have since I was a child. My mother told me that she used to have to physically restrain me from picking flowers whenever we went to the HoJo's in Kingston, because I would make a beeline for them. Growing up, my grandmother had rose bushes in her back garden, and we had a lilac bush at our house upstate, so I grew up surrounded by flowers. Even now, if I had my way and the budget my apartment would be filled with flowers at all times. Unfortunately, I have a black thumb when it comes to growing things, otherwise I might have been persuaded to purchase one of the beautiful orchid plants that were for sale at the Botanical Gardens.

The exhibition was amazing. I had no idea how many species of orchids there were, despite having read Susan Orleans remarkable book The Orchid Thief. I'm now reading a Silhouette Bombshell by Sandra K. Moore called The Orchid Hunter to continue the experience. I was surprised that Silhouette didn't have copies of the book at the exhibition. It would seem a great tie-in for the author.

I just managed to get to the Botanical Gardens before they closed, which gave me an hour to see the exhibition.The exhibition is only running through next weekend, which is a shame. A month was really not enough time for an exhibition of this beauty. Normally, I complain about how much museums are charging these days, but I thought that $15.00 which included everything including the Orchid Show was quite reasonable. I thought it was interesting that Tiffany was the main sponsor! The only problem was on the way back. The Metro-North trains only run every hour on weekends, so I had to wait a half-hour for the train back to Grand Central. Next time I go, I will plan more time.

I had just enough energy to finish watching Red Dragon when I got home. Another creepy scary movie that is best watched early in the morning. I understand that Thomas Harris is possibly writing another Hannibal Lecter novel. I would suggest that he not, since at this point the character is becoming a bit of a caricature or that may just be Anthony Hopkins performance of the role. I hated the movie Hannibal and I refused to read the book.

I'm almost done with the W.I.P. although I'm so tired, if I make my ten pages today it will be a miracle.