It’s International Fun-At-Work Day! Since I keep hoops at work in case of nice weather and a chance to hoop over lunch, I decided to have fun actually at work for a few moments while my co-worker Heather took a few photos of me.
What can you do to have fun at work today? After all, it IS Friday. Get ready for the weekend. Cut loose over your lunch hour. Do something out of the ordinary with your co-workers. Have fun at work!
A while back in the Hoopinions days, I wrote a TBT post about my first hoop, which was a Christmas gift under the tree when I was probably about eleven years old. You can read about it here and how my dad fixed it up for me so it was usable.
That purple and teal hoop was probably the best presents I ever received at Christmas, and so far is my favorite hooping Christmas present! What’s yours?
I came across a great list of gift ideas for hooper a few weeks ago, too. I’m sure some of those would be great to find under the Christmas tree.
In short, what I’m getting at, is that I’d like to wish all of you out there a very Merry Christmas, a fantastic Solstice (which is today!), a Happy Hanukkah, and a wonderful New Year. My best!
I would like to introduce everyone to a our new dog, Sputnik! He’s a Great Pyrenees/Labrador mix, hence a “pyrador,” and is six months old. Sputnik is going to be a BIG boy.
My husband and I got him from LaMancha Animal Rescue in Unionville, Pennsylvania, USA, not far from Coatesville.
LaMancha is a beautiful rescue facility! They are a working farm with chickens, cows, horses, and, of course, dogs in clean kennels and cats in a special house to adopt.
Sputnik’s story is that he came from Alabama, USA, where he was a stray. LaMancha transported him here, called him Zeus, and he was barely there a week until Sam and I snatched him up.
We were going to LaMancha to see two other dogs and didnt’ know about Sputnik until we got there. When we arrived, we were told that the one had been adopted, and the other one we walked for a little bit, and he seemed frightened. Not a match. We asked about the other dogs there, and were told about Zeus. We walked him on a trail on the farm (all the dogs get walks there), and were treated to kissed, hugs, and was known as the Pyr Lean. Great Pyrenees will lean into you really hard you pet them.
We had our dog.
Sputnik was put into the back seat of my car, and I was treated to hugs and kisses on the way home as I was sitting back there with him. Here’s a video of me introducing him.
That’s Sputnik’s story thus far. He has a tiresome amount of puppy energy, but the quiet times are worth it. I haven’t introduced him to hooping yet. He’d probably chew on the hoops or be afraid of it.
I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving! I did. To work off the turkey, Rachel Skye from Studio Spin had an open pole/hoop/silks jam at the studio, and we did a mannequin challenge video while we were there.
I was the hoop mannequin, obviously. I chose to do a one handed float move as my pose, and my arm was starting to shake by the time Toni, who was taking the video, came by and got me on camera. I managed to hold my position, though!
Here’s the video if you want to see it. I think it turned out really great!!
I am done with physical therapy (PT), and I feel pretty good! On Sunday, I felt good enough to go the Ephrata Rec Center and hoop while Sam did his weight lifting, so I did.
Unfortunately, the gym was full of guys playing basketball, as one would expect in a gym. Luckily, Jenny, who happened to be stationed at the front desk, said I could go into the assembly room and practice. I had a great space all to myself, and I had fun.
I noodled around for a bit, and decided to do something I had been toying with for a while; going on Facebook Live. I had stuff with me to make a stable video, so I went for it. I had a few likes and views!
I was able to upload the video on YouTube, so you can watch it there. It’s pretty good, I guess, for a live video, but I want to share it with you. I figured it was a good way to celebrate my recovery (I’m still not 100 percent, but I’m much better) and share my happiness with others.
Anyway, here’s the video. It’s kinda long, but it’s fun and I’m having fun in it.
I have been back to the Ephrata Rec Center a few times over the course of a few Sunday afternoons to hoop. I know I haven’t been very post-y here lately, but I’ve been concentrating on getting back better, being bogged down at work, and just generally busy and going nuts.
Still, back to the Rec! It’s been nice having at least part of the gym to myself for an hour on Sundays. I did have some company one afternoon, as three young children came through to play as their dad did his work out. The little girl in the trio was quite fascinated with my hooping, and at one point she waved to me. I waved back.
In regards to my back and hooping, it had been getting worse, so I did have to go back to my doctor, and convinced my pain management doctor that some joint shots would be good. My family doctor put me on prednisone…again….and increased another nerve medication drastically. That pill has since kicked in, and I’m feeling a million times better than I did this time last week. Yay!
So, that being said, I hope to get back to the Rec soon. I heard rumors of hoop classes being held there in the winter, too, so keep an eye out here!
Photo by Sam Dixon
Yes, indeed! I got to hoop this past weekend! I know it’s Wednesday today, and we’re halfway to the next weekend, but I am pleased that I got hoop, and even give an impromptu performance!
Friday, the 28th, was Studio Spin’s annual Halloween party, and my husband Sam and I went. He went as Preppy Bowie, complete with Aladdin Sane makeup, and I went as a crazy mad scientist, complete with periodic table leggings. That’s what I wore in the above photo.
Party of the games we played at the party was to give an impromptu performance, which I did. I asked for a hard song, and Rachel, the studio’s owner, gave me “Bad Girl” by Avril Lavigne. Luckily, I had hoops with me, so I went to town! It was fun, and it reminded me how much I love performing.
Overall, it was a fantastic party!
Sunday, I went to the Ephrata Rec Center for the first time with my new gym membership. The Rec had finally processed it, and I took some hoops with me, and practiced in the gym, dodging balls from a game of kick ball and basketballs, but I had fun, even though Sam (he was lifting weights), told me about an empty class room that was open. The door was open so I went in and had some fun, until two staff members came in and asked me to leave. I explained how I got in there, but I had to relocate back to the gym. Way to get in trouble your first day, Jenn.
As to hooping and my current physical therapy series, I did not do hoop moves that hurt. Hip hooping hurt, as did leg hooping, so I avoided doing those moves. Once my sacrum is healed, I’ll be back doing all my moves.
So, yeah, that was my hoopy weekend! I plan on going back to the Rec on Thursday, and again on Sunday to work out. I’m looking forward to it!
I’ve been stuck between a rock an a hard place, hooping-wise, for a month and a half now. The last time I was hooping was down in the Outer Banks a few weeks ago. Here’s what been going on, as there are three major excuses affecting my situation right now.
Again, good ol’ PT. I’m only going once a week, and I’m doing a good bit of work at home with PT, but, still, with a hurting back, it prevents me from hooping. Well, I should say the pain prevents me from hooping. That’s probably a better assessment.
What hooping has done to benefit my PT is that my core strength is very good. I’m able to do a lot of the stretches a bit more ease and good form due to hooping warm ups, yoga, and well, hooping itself. My therapist is pleased, and, truthfully, he didn’t say I couldn’t hoop.
Chronic pain makes me lazy and give out a lot of excuses. The pain is better right now, so I need to start hooping more.
My regular hoop class at Studio Spin has been put on hold right now due to a lot of factors. This has made me fall off the practice and learning wagon a bit. I often look to those classes to keep me motivated to hoop, and to give me something to scratch my brain while learning something new in class.
At least for the next few months, I’m going to have to learn to motivate myself. I can’t depend on someone else to do it for me. I need to buck up and get going.
Yeah, fall is in full swing here in PA, and it’s harder and harder for me to get outside during the week to hoop. By the time I get home from work, the sun’s mostly down. My weekends are busy. Besides, it’s been really windy, cold, and sometimes rainy. Yuck. Not the hooping weather I want.
I’m glad you asked.
I signed up for a program that my place of employment offers. Participating gyms in the area will let you join for $25 a month though my health insurance. The one my husband lifts at participates in the program, and I know they allow hoopers in the gym to practice.
I’m going to go tonight.
I’m going to start slowly, and hopefully this will get me out of my hoop slump right now. A gym will offer a consistent place for me to get back in a little better shape, a consistent place to practice, and protection from elements outside. I think this is starting to sound like a plan. I will be letting you guys know how it goes.
I was in the Outer Banks last week, and only got to hoop on one day. There was a lot of pre-Hurricane Matthew flooding (luckily we missed that), and it was either raining or my back was out of whack during the rest of them. I did get to hoop on Sunday, the 2nd, the day after World Hoop Day.
I haven’t gotten around to editing my own pictures from the OBX, so I am using one of my husband’s. This is Hannah, and English springer spaniel he met on the beach near the house we were staying in. She is eight, and this was her first time on the beach. She loved it.
There have been a few factors as to why I haven’t been hooping that much lately. First off, my back has been bothering me. Hooping doesn’t really exacerbate it, but it’s just more of a motivating factor as to whether hoop or not. I did start physical therapy this morning, and the therapist I’m working with didn’t say not to do it when I told him about hooping.
Second, I have been sort of burned out with hooping. I had been pushing so hard with the recital back in August, moving, and practicing, I just needed a break. It made me a little sad to take a break, but the good news is that I’m ready to get back into the swing of things when Studio Spin offers their next hooping series.
Well, I guess those are the only two reasons really. A third would be that I was so involved with moving I sort of ran out of time to practice and hoop for fun. I need to do that again.
Back to that one day of hooping in the OBX….it WAS fun. I listened to some good music on my earbuds and danced. I hooped. It was awesome.
So, that’s what’s up with me. I hope to share more hooping stuff here soon again, as well as update more regularly.
I LOVE getting up early and going down to a beach when I have the opportunity. Last week, I did, since I was at annual gathering of friends in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. We had a lovely time, and I took a hoop, of course.
One of those mornings, I made it a point to get down to the beach early to hoop. I set my alarm for I think 7am. When that time came, I got dressed, grabbed my hoop, and proceeded to head down to the beach.
I put my earbuds in my iPod for some music (Beck’s version of David Bowie’s “Diamond Dogs” off of the Moulin Rouge soundtrack is great to get you ready to hoop.), and walked through the casino where we were staying. I got some weird looks and some loud comments from some loud frat boys, but it was nothing I haven’t heard before. After I had successfully navigated the maze of slot machines, I made it out to the boardwalk and beach.
I think I hooped for about a half hour before I got tired and wind picked up, so I walked down to the ocean and got some pictures, like the one above. It was a great way to start my day with music, hooping, and the ocean.
Jennabee Hoops 