less leslie

  • Why Are Thousands of Teens Having (Unapproved!) Weight-Loss Surgery?

    Weight-loss surgery surges among California kids, especially white girls. That was the headline on a story in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times. Before I continue, let’s pause for a minute and say a prayer for their misguided parents . . . Amen. Now: What in the hell were the parents thinking? Bariatric surgery IS NOT approved…

  • It Was Gravity. That’s My Story, and I’m Sticking To It.

    I could hardly lift myself off the mat. Now that was disappointing. We’d just finished doing planks, and were suppose to shift to the side-plank position. Kate the trainer and the one other soul in our modified boot camp moved with ease and grace. Me, I rolled onto my right side and became completely confused.…

  • Keeping Exercise-Induced Asthma on a Short Leash

    Tanner, the family dog, was treated to a long-overdue pedicure Friday, so now he can stop slipping and sliding on the hardwoods, and cease aerating our clothes. Just about every t-shirt in this house has a tiny hole or 10 along the hemline – punctured by Tanner’s talon-like toenails every time he’d jump up to…

  • Blogging from Bed

    I am so sick. Today’s entry will be shorter than others. (Wait. Is that applause I hear?) I have chills, but my temperature is just a degree or two off right now. The worst part is the nausea and dizziness. Not sure what this is, but it feels like a 24-hour bug. I struggled to…

  • ‘Biggest Loser’ Fitness Resorts? I’d Go in a Heartbeat

    Frankly, I didn’t even know these things existed until I read this USA Today story. I’ve talked about so-called “fat camps” in the past, but those are geared toward teens. I don’t know about places for adults. Maybe if I took the time to research them, surely I would have come across these resorts. If…

  • 100 Shopping Days until Christmas

    The 15th is my second favorite day of September, No. 1 being the 23rd, of course – the first day of fall. Starting today, there are 100 shopping days left until Christmas. Now is when I make my gift lists and start budgeting. Stop laughing. I have to plan this far in advance, especially this…

  • Best Time of Year to Get Your Sweat On in the Parks

    I overslept. Actually, I failed to set my alarm. That almost never happens. Blame it on all the season finales I just had to watch last night: Lie to Me, The Closer and Rizzoli and Isles. I actually had to DVR The Closer because it came on at the same time as Lie to Me.…

  • First Clue: She Wore a Long, Black, Velour Dress

    I was driving down my street when I spotted her strolling, shakily, down the sidewalk: A strange, old woman with a walking cane, dressed in a long, strapless, black velour dress; metallic gold, high-heeled shoes; straw hat and a beaded necklace.  She carried white, plastic grocery bag in her left hand, but I was certain…

  • Limited Options in a Fast Food Nation

    It is the second time in as many weeks I’ve run into a fast-food dilemma while running errands for hours. This time, I was out for three and a half hours, mostly dealing with home- and car-related stuff. (Am I the last person on earth to find out you can get funky-looking keys made at…

  • The Sound of One Hand Clapping

    I’m not into Zen riddles, but that was the first thing that came to mind around 6:10 a.m. today when it was apparent I was the only person who showed up for the second boot camp teaser. I was part disappointed that I’d be all by myself, part paranoid: Is there something everyone else knows…