An unorthodox gift

Handsome hubby and I had made a pact not to buy each other Christmas gifts this year. With my stepdaughter at her mom's for the holidays, and our families geographically out of reach, we've been a little light on traditional cheer. Even our beautiful tree has been off more than on - and aside from a smattering of nick knacks around the kitchen, I've held back on decking the halls.

Hubby and I figured we'd take a few days over the holidays to snuggle up and watch movies, read, hang out with the dogs... Spend some alone time that's been lacking since "the teen" moved in - and believe me, that's not a complaint. The house feels empty without her laughter, and yes, even her typical teenage snark.

But something happened a few days ago. Hubby and I discovered the XBox 360 Kinect.

I confess, I am not a gamer. At all. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been caught up in a video game, aside from Zombie Farm on my iPhone. The very thought of purchasing a game console seemed absolutely frivolous.

Until we watched a demonstration of the bowling game on the Kinect. For the less  gamer-savvy (like me less than a week ago), the Kinect is like the Wii Fit, except there are no controls to hold on to - the system detects your movement. So for instance, when you "bowl" you're actually making the movements as though you are in a bowling alley. Not to mention the sound effects and SNAZZY outfits.

I threw one "ball" at Future Shop. And haven't stopped thinking about the system since, especially after watching a little girl dance her heart out to some of the moves I've learned in Fit Hop.

As excited as we were, spending money on a game console didn't fit in the budget, even at Christmas.

Fate suggested otherwise. Or maybe some of our family members were just in sync this holiday. Several Future Shop GC's were tucked in Christmas cards, and everyone knows you can't exchange them for money.

So we bit the bullet.

And wow, am I sore. Hubby and I boxed, bowled, snowboarded, and played table tennis until I could barely move. We laughed, we egged each other on, and we woke up this morning issuing new challenges.

No, I'm not naive enough to think that Kinect can help me lose those unwanted pounds or replace the dance lessons I get through J'Adore (though there are NO mirrors!), and yes, I do recognize a writing procrastination tool when I see one. But. It's just me and hubby this Christmas and I'm totally excited about a morning of coffee and Bailey's, followed with kicking hubby's butt on the bowling alley...in my jammies.

P.S. - Donna! You need to come check it out. There is KENDO. I bet you'd win!

The Book In My Bag Today: Afraid, Jack Kilborn