So much news...

A bunch of little stuff to report...

I had a fun weekend with friends and good food. Saturday I met my friend, Michele, for a belated birthday celebration (very belated...her b-day was in February). We had a wonderful lunch at some new pub at Chandler Fashion Mall (yummy salad with mandarin oranges, strawberries, sliced chicken and candied nuts) and then we went to see "Over the Hedge." I would highly recommend you see this movie. It was so funny. Two thumbs up.

Saturday night Casey and I had dinner with Hope and Bitsy. We went to our favorite Thai restaurant, Swadee Thai (Hi Jen!) and had two wonderful appetizers and four excellent dishes. Then, because we weren't full enough, we hit Cold Stone Creamery. Yum!

Sunday we repented for our sins and worked out at the Y. I'm planning to join for the long, hot summer and the Y was offering a weeklong free membership so I've been trying it out and loving it. Yesterday was my best run yet. Almost 2.5 miles (mostly running with a bit of walking thrown in here and there). I started at 3.5 miles per hour and pushed myself to 6. I was really pushing it and feeling so good. Believe it or not, Ms. "I hate exercise" enjoys running and is looking forward to tomorrow's run. Can you believe that?!?

Sunday night consisted or more eating...Father's Day dinner with dad. We went to an Italian restaurant. My entree was disappointing but my pasta fagiola soup was to die for! (did I spell that correctly?)

And on to non-food news...

The other day a client said that he was trying to find the gallery and Googled me (wouldn't it have been easier to Google the gallery?). Anyhoo, he told me that I should Google myself because I'm listed as some artist somewhere or other. Well, I didn't find that, but I did find an Ericca Kern who is a body builder and an Erica Kern who is a model. But the stranger thing is that one entry was one of my posts from Ann's blog! It was so strange to see Ann's Blogger entry as a listing. If you haven't already done it lately, Google yourself...it is kind of cool.

A friend of a friend recommended this skin care line called Arbonne. She told me about it because I have this discoloration on my face (called Melasma aka mask of pregnancy...no, the next entry is NOT going to be that I am pregnant. It is just a hormonal thing) and her friend also has it and found that these products really help. Well, it turns out that this friend (Kari) sells these products a la Avon. I wasn't expecting the sales pitch and the push to try to get me to agree to start selling the products, but the woman is really nice so it was still pleasant to hang out with her for 40 minutes. And, she gave me a cosmetic case with samples (full-size bottles) of the whole skin care line (one of three lines) to try for 7 days. There are 7 (yes, 7!) products to use 2x per day, including a cleanser, toner, serum, eye cream, night face cream and two others I can't remember. It is quite a production...it is a good thing I'm not working full-time...I would never get to my job in time! But, my face feels much smoother and softer and better hydrated. I don't know if it looks any better but I'm toying with the idea of buying a few of the products. I won't buy all of them, and have no plans to become a rep (even if the top selling reps do get a white Mercedes of their choice!) but they seem to be pretty good products. Have any of you heard of them and have any feedback? I tried to find some info online but didn't have much luck.

I think that is all for now...

Namaste.

Kate asked me to write an update on partner yoga so here it goes...

It was great fun! The class was pretty much the same (1/2 yoga, 1 hr Thai massage and 1/2 hr facial/cranial massage) but the instructors added a few new postures for us regulars. For some reason it felt more strenous (in a good way) this time. Our friends Creed and Shaunna joined us and when we left we all commented on how much we felt it. After the class we went next door to an Italian restaurant and gorged on salad and pasta.

One of the things I really like about the yoga class is how good I feel the following days. Saturday morning (the morning after the class) I got up at 6:45 and went running. Normally this is an ungodly hour for me but now that it is 112 degrees during the day I have to get up this early just to survive the run. Ideally I should get up around 5 or 5: 30 but I would have to go to bed a 9 o'clock the night before to get a decent night’s sleep and I'm just not prepared to make that sort of commitment.

Anyhoo, back to my point...my Saturday morning run was so wonderful because I was so loose from yoga. I ran my longest distance yet (almost 2 miles) and my legs didn't hurt. They were tired but they didn't hurt the way they often do. I felt so great and empowered when I finished. I hope to run again tomorrow...if I can drag my lazy bones out of bed. I had hoped to go this morning but I was tired and still slightly sore from Saturday (it is amazing how out of shape my poor legs are!). If my legs could carry me I would run every day because I feel so great when I get home. I can't wait until they are strong enough so I can easily run more than 3x per week. Right now 3 is my max and as I increase my mileage it is getting more difficult to run 3x because my legs really need to rest. Right now I'm definitely doing 2x per week and do 3x on occasion. My sister (the 1/2 marathon runner) suggested I also do strength trainer (weights) but I think that will just tire my poor legs even more.

Hmmm…what else? We went to see Down in the Valley with Edward Norton. It was playing at Camelview and I always like the movies that play there, and Edward Norton is usually great, so we thought we would give it a try. My two cents – don’t bother paying the $7 (or more) to see it. My friend Janet came with us and she left about 20 minutes in, as soon as she finished her popcorn. To quote her, “I don’t really care how it ends. I don’t care what happens to these people.” I think that says everything. Casey and I stayed until the end but neither of us were wowed. Plus, the popcorn was mediocre at best and Camelview usually has the best popcorn. Popcorn can make or break a movie for me.

I better run. I’m roasting garlic red and yellow potatoes on the grill and I need to check on them. We’re having potatoes, pork chops and salad for dinner. Yum! Casey is busy assembling mailboxes (his business is going crazy. He is so busy he no longer works for the development company and just does his mailbox work!) but should be done shortly.

Have a good night.

More later…

A Long Overdue Post

Hi all. Nothing too exciting has been going on...hence the lack of posts...

I went to FL two weeks ago to see Claudine, who was visiting her parents. We had a great time lounging by the beach, watching movies and just visiting. I haven't seen her in over a year so it was so nice to have some quality time together. Her parent's condo is right on the beach so we just walked out the door and, bam, there's the beach! It was really nice. We took some photos with Claudine's camera and once I get them I'll post them.

Tomorrow night is installment #2 of partner yoga and I'm really looking forward to it. Casey is even giving up poker night with the guys to attend! I could use the stretching; I'm feeling a bit tight these days.

I'm continuing to run but it is getting much too hot in AZ! Monday I went to my parent's club and ran on the treadmill. I'm toying with the idea of getting a month-to-month membership somewhere (for the summer) so I can still run without getting up at 5 am!

Hey, did any of you catch the season premier of Rescue Me? I love that show! Dennis Leary's character Tommy Gavin is such a great character. The end was so powerful, as it always is (I won't give details in case you tivo'd it and haven't watched it yet).

That's all for now.