You Should Be Dancin' - Yeah!

One more fun post before I get back to recipes in the next few days...

To go along with the healthy eating challenge, much like Ellen Degeneres, I enjoy dancing and think everyone else should too.  I'm terrible (at dancing), by the way.  But in the privacy of my own home, or around friends, why should I care?

The first way to incorporate more dance into your life and let your freak flag fly is to have regular "dance parties" in your home.  It is especially helpful if you have preschool to elementary age children to give you an excuse to look like a complete idiot, but if you don't, I won't tell :)  Our 4 and 6 year old can get DOWN.  They are hilarious, which is enough laughter for a workout in itself!  But I have their very own "dance mix" on my iPod and we play them regularly.  Their current favorite song?  "You Should Be Dancin'" by the Bee Gees.  They of course know it from the hit movie "Despicable Me" (which is one of my favorites too), I however actually owned it, on VINYL, as part of the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack back in the day.  That's right, you do the math, I am less than a year from my 40's... awesome!

The second way is quite possibly the best find I've made on Pinterest thus far.  Real Simple featured it in their magazine, it is a website called "Jog FM" at http://www.jogfm.com/

It is a brilliant little sight.  The idea is you simply plug in your mile time, whether you are wanting a mix for a run, jog, walk, bike, or in my case, dance party.  Yes, I do sometimes "run", but my pace is maybe 12 minutes per mile, so I'm not sure that qualifies.  Anyway, if I plug in 12 minutes, the "hot" choices include...

Party Rock Anthem (LMFAO)
Moves Like Jaggar (Maroon 5)
Hot N Cold (Katy Perry)
Club Can't Handle Me (Flo Rida)
Jessie's Girl (Rick Springfield)
Tainted Love (Soft Cell)
Hey Baby (Pitbull)
you get the idea....

So, not only does it generate an enormous list of songs, but you can click on the album to hear a sample, AND you can click on the title to see playlists people have added that particular song to.  It's much easier to navigate than the iTunes playlists (no offense).  I am seriously excited about this new little tool, so I wanted to share.

The third way to add more dance to your life (and ultimately more happiness and calories burned, duh!) is if you own a Wii or similar gaming system, purchase or rent to try one of the "Just Dance" games or "Michael Jackson The Experience".   I seriously sweat and pant after dancing to just one or two of these songs.  It's a workout disguised as FUN!

And the fourth and final way is to crank up your favorite playlist while you are trying to get through a cleaning or laundry session at your house.  I personally can't stand the mundane nature of these chores, but turn a little dance music on, and even cleaning the toilets might bring your "SexyBack"!