★ Little Sunshine's Wonderland ★

: Hey, I hear you and Stephanie are really getting serious.

Michael: Yeah, I think she'll be impressed with my new exercise program.

Josh: What? What are you talking about? What exercise program? What did you tell her?

Michael: Well, you know, I enjoy staying in shape. [Right] First, I generally get up every morning at 5:30 a.m.

Josh: Oh, yeah. Since when? You don't roll out of bed until at least 7:30 p.m.

Michael: No, no, and on Mondays and Wednesdays, . . .

Josh: Ah, not another tall tale . . .

Michael: I almost always go jogging for about a half hour, you know, to improve my endurance.

Josh: Hey, jogging to the refrigerator for a glass of milk doesn't count.

Michael: Of course, before I leave, I usually make sure I do some stretches so I don't pull a muscle on my run.

Josh: Right. One jumping jack.

Michael: Then, I told her that I usually lift weights Tuesdays and Thursdays for about an hour after work.

Josh: Humph.

Michael: This really helps me build muscle strength.

Josh: A one-pound barbell.

Michael: Finally, I often go hiking on Saturdays with my dog [What dog!?], well, and I like hiking because it helps me burn off stress and reduce anxiety that builds up during the week.

Josh: Oh yeah, those lies.

Michael: Well, uh, as for Fridays, I sometimes just relax at home by watching a movie or inviting you over to visit.

Josh: If I buy the pizza.

Michael: But . . . bu . . . And on Sundays, I take the day off from exercising, but I usually take my dog for a walk.

Josh: Forget it. She'll never buy this story.

Vocabulary,

• generally (adverb): usually
  - She generally does aerobics right after she gets up.
• tall tale (noun): unusual or unbelievable story
  - His running in a 100 kilometer race is just a tall tale. He gets tired just walking to the kitchen table.

• endurance (noun): the ability to keep doing something difficult for a period of time
  - I don't know if he has the endurance to play the entire basketball game.

• burn off (verb): get rid of
  - The teacher had the boy run around the gym to burn off his extra energy.

• anxiety (noun): feelings of being worried
  - Working out at the health club helps me get rid of anxiety and frustration from work.
• buy a story (idiom): believe something that is probably not true
  - Don't buy his story that he exercises everyday. It's just not true.

• "throw in the towel" = give up and accept defeat
  - "Jim realized he couldn't continue the race, so he threw in the towel."

• "put on pounds" = gain weight
  - "He's put on a few pounds this past year, so he decided to start jogging."