Hula Hooping For What Ails Ya

I'm excited.  I've been coveting an ice-cream maker (currently on sale at Williams-Sonoma) but my husband has pretty much vetoed the idea...  Can't say I blame him.  He doesn't eat desserts-- yes, seriously.  No wonder he's so trim.  Plus he worries about my health.  I do, too.  But I got a refund for something last week, so I've been in a "spendy" mood...  If not the ice cream maker, then what?  (Weird how that works- I don't have any extra money, not really, but getting the refund made me feel suddenly wealthy).  Anyhow, I finally settled on something to buy- a weighted hula hoop!  Yee ha!  Let the good times roll!

It all started on a mother-daughter weekend a few years back.  We went to Ojai.  We were sitting in the park, enjoying live musicians, when suddenly a group of women wheeled out a giant cart laden with what appeared to be home-made hula hoops.  They started dancing with them, and it was quite a sight.  Before long, hula hoops were flying off the cart, as men, women, and kids got in on the action.  I must say, I was mesmerized!  Later that day, I purchased a hula hoop from the local toy store (one of those tiny, bean-filled numbers with the pink stripes), but found it impossible to keep up on my hips.

I was determined, however.  As soon as the trip was over, I got to work researching on the internet, and discovered that there's an entire movement of adults hula hooping for fitness and fun- it's called "hoop dancing."  Awesome!   Apparently, the child hoops are too small and light to be of much use for an adult.  I bulked mine up with layers of duct-tape, and it helped, but it was still not very effective.  So I kept searching the web and soon I found instructions on a website called "Jason Unbound" for making an adult sized hoop.  I immediately went out and bought supplies, including a jumbo roll of irrigation tubing and colorful electrical tape, but I couldn't find one key piece (a plastic coupling that holds the two ends of the tubing together).  So for many months now, the supplies have sat in the garage, gathering dust and undoubtedly annoying my ever-patient husband.

Yesterday, I decided it was time to make the hoops (I have enough tubing for eight of them!).  I got on the internet and found a source for the couplings.  They're 65 cents each- what a deal!  But shipping on my order was going to run $10.  So I moused on over to Amazon, and found a nifty weighted model in rainbow colors for $29.  I still plan to make my own, but I refuse to pay exorbitant shipping fees--- I'll find a local source for the couplings.  In the meantime, I'm looking forward to the joy of hooping, and maybe toning my tummy in the process (it's quite the workout, believe it or not!).