My latest project and Gym Characters

My parents are throwing a baby shower for a co-worker of my dad's, so my mom asked me to make a diaper cake. She knows that I like to do this kind of creative project... so I went all out and had a blast! What do you think? How much could I sell one of these for on eBay?


On another note, I have had a lot of time to observe people at the gym lately since I've been going 5 days a week. Today I increased my time on the elliptical from 30 minutes to 40 minutes so I had even more time to observe people. I get a real kick out of the characters at the gym. Those of you who go to a gym know what I mean. One of the things I love about my gym (24 Hour Fitness) is that it's not a showcase for hardbodies by any means. The membership is made up of all kinds of different people, different body types, ages, races, etc. I always feel like I fit in there because it seems like every "type" is represented and everyone is there to work out and do their own thing. Some of my favorite types that I've seen lately:

• The senior citizen wearing sneakers that, I kid you not, have to be as old as I am (and that's old!) I imagine him rummaging through the bowels of his closet after joining the gym, thinking to himself "I know I've got an old pair in here somewhere... no sense in spending good money on a new pair when these will work just fine."
• The middle-aged woman I saw today who was sporting an authentic Jane Fonda style leotard, paired with a huge pair of black baggy sweat pants and a pair of ratty, big, unlaced black Reebok high-tops that just look like they smell bad. She had this hilarious hair that was dyed bright red and back combed so it stuck out all over, she had 80's style big black plastic hoop earrings and a plastic bead necklace, and she spent at least 15 minutes getting ready to work out. She fiddled with her iPod (encased in gold sparkly sleeve), filled up her water bottle (pink, Race for the Cure logo), sought out the remote so she could change the channel on the nearest TV to CNBC (must have a lot of stocks to keep up with!) By the time she started, at a very leisurely pace, I was already half way done with my routine. Then, ten minutes later, a gentleman about her age came in and climbed onto the elliptical next to her and she chatted him up. I felt sorry for him.
• The 20-something who had a braid down past her bottom and low-rider sweats, rolled down to the middle of her hips, and dropped a full cup of lemonade and ice on the treadmill and the hysterical look on her face as it rode the treadmill at running speed and then flew off the back and all over the place. She was mortified. Yes, she cleaned it up.
• The elderly woman who always walks on the treadmill in jeans. Not that there's anything wrong with that but it does seem a little weird...
• The tiny dynamo with 2% body fat who stripped naked in the sink & mirror part of the locker room (which I consider one of the "Clothed" areas - there are naked areas, by the lockers and by the showers, but not where you wash your hands!) and threw ALL of her clothes into the sink and washed them out at a feverish pace with hand soap. Then, she left them to soak while she whisked off to the shower. Some people surprise me at how comfortable they are zipping around strangers and going about their business all while completely naked.

I'm sure tomorrow I'll see some more characters to add to my list.