To bling, or not to bling?

As you know, I enjoy my gym time. I've blogged more than a few times about it. My gym time is something I take very seriously.

I have several pet peeves at the gym. A few have to deal with what people wear while they're working out:

• I hate when girls wear sports bras with no shirts. What are you trying to accomplish?
• I also hate it when girls totally color coordinate their entire outfits -- down to their eyeshadow. Yes, eyeshadow. I've seen girls show up at the gym with teal shirts and a hint of teal eyeshadow to match. Is that eyeshadow going to help her do more crunches? And why did she put on makeup to go to the gym?
• I especially love it when girls wear big hoops or dangly earrings to the gym. How do you run on the treadmill like that? Can you honestly tell me your hair doesn't get caught in those things? I didn't think so ...

So as you can guess, I'm not big on wearing jewelry to the gym. It just doesn't go together. But now I find myself stuck on what to do.

I feel naked without my ring, and it's something I love to wear. The first time I went to the gym after K and I got engaged, I didn't wear it. I was going to be working out -- why did I need it?

The thing is, though, that I worry about it no matter where it is if it's not on my hand. What if someone broke into my apartment and stole it? What if I left the ring in my car and someone broke into it and stole it from there? What if I left it in a locker just while I'm working out and someone stole it from there?

The only place I feel safe leaving the ring (besides my finger) is my apartment. Even then, I worry a bit, and I still want it on my finger.

My band is platinum, so it isn't as easily damaged as gold. Any scratches could simply be buffed out. Besides, when I do any kind of lifting at the gym, I wear gloves so I don't have to worry about having calluses on my hands. Those would protect my ring.

I'm still stuck on what to do, though. So tell me -- do you wear your ring to the gym? And what about other places?

Do you take it off to shower or to put on lotion? Is it on when you're using hair gel or antibacterial hand cleaner? Do you swim with it on, or do you worry about the chlorine? Do you only take your ring off when you're cleaning it?

Any advice you have on the wearing of the ring would be greatly appreciated. I want this ring to be in tip-top shape for a long time. After all, I'm going to be wearing it for the rest of my life!