On Friday I spent five hours at the Senator Inn Spa. I started out with a long workout in the gym. I forgot my ipod so I didn't really enjoy my time on the treadmill but I still persevered and did about 30 minutes cardio and the rest weight machines, free weights, balance ball and jump rope. After a quick shower I headed to the pool area.
The pool area is my favorite part. It looks like serenity with a painted cloud ceiling. There is a hot tub on one end and a large mineral pool for when the hot tub is too warm. There is also a steam room and dry saunas. Heaven!
After being wet for a while I was ready to just relax poolside in my white fluffy robe reading some magazines that I had picked up in the fitness room.
Finally, I headed up to the treatment rooms waiting area and had a fabulous massage. It's even better that work reimburses me for the massage as part of a wellness incentive. So, a perfectly lovely day...and all for a $20 co-pay!
I apologize in advance for what may be the most boring post ever but I haven't written in a while and I fear if I don't write SOMETHING that I may never write again! I'm hoping this will spark some creativity and motivation!
I will start by saying that I am not a fan of Trader Joe's. I've tried. When it first opened I made a couple of trips hoping I would find it lived up to all of the hype. For me it did not. However, in these excursions I will admit to finding a few items that I really do enjoy. Because of that I do make a Trader Joe's trip every once in a while to stock up on items that I really want. I try to get in and out as quickly as possible. They were playing some really heinous music this trip which just added to the pressure to get done quickly!
I bought a bouquet of tulips for 4.99. In my mind, and the minds of everyone else around here I believe, spring has arrived. There is no better way to celebrate the arrival than with a pretty bunch of tulips. The vase is one I just recently bought at a friend's "At Home America" party. I paid a lot of money for it and I was disappointed when it arrived. The base looked unfinished and in need of a coat of spray paint. The glass vase was really thin and had a couple of blemishes on it. I had bought it because I love the idea of a tapered base so that stems aren't just floating around like they always seem to when I arrange them in my customary mason jar vase. I put the tulips in the vase and....bummer...the stems are much too short for the vase. This picture actually makes them look very good but in reality the flowers aren't poking up out of the vase enough. I'm afraid this expensive vase is a going to be a great find for someone in a yard sale!
I discovered that I really like the peanut butter at Trader Joe's. Some natural peanut butter is grainy and not very rich tasting. This one is very smooth. It works great for spreading on apple slices. It also has a yummy flavor that makes it good enough to used in sweet baked goods. But it still has a simple, short ingredient list. Score. I stocked up on 3 jars so I won't need to go back for a while.
I also discovered an incredible edamame hummus. It is obviously made with raw soybeans instead of chickpeas. It doesn't actually taste like much of anything. It has a fantastic whipped texture and is great for dipping bagel chips into!
That completes my exciting adventure at Trader Joe's. Hopefully this will spark some much needed creativity!
I am back to blogging after a brief absence. I took a trip to Denver and had an amazing time. Unfortunately, I got sick and on the plane my ears plugged up leading to a sinus infection. I had never had a sinus infection but I promise you I'm not being overly dramatic when I say that I was in agony! I've had the flu twice and this was so much worse. I hope to never have to go through it again!
So, back to the regularly scheduled random musings...
According to my cruise countdown I leave on vacation in 63 days. My cruise partner could narrow that down to the hours, minutes and seconds but I am fine with knowing that in just over 2 months I will be on a plane.
I am not a last minute kind of girl and I also tend to make lists, check stuff off and double check the list. Since coming back from Denver my suitcase was still sitting out. I decided to start pulling cruise stuff together knowing I won't be using or wearing any of it before the cruise. So, the result is this sitting in the middle of my bedroom floor. The good news is I still have quite a bit of room left in that suitcase.
I am very fortunate that a friend of mine was gracious enough to loan me a formal dress and a pair of strappy silver heels to wear with the dress. This means that I don't have to buy a dress that I'll probably only wear once for a few hours.
The realization that the cruise is in only 2 months has kicked my motivation into high gear and I have been working out almost every days. Most days I choose one of these DVDs. I love Billy Blanks and Jillian Michaels!
The main reason I wanted to go on this cruise is that it includes a stop in Cozumel, Mexico. When we went on a cruise two years ago our excursion didn't leave any time at all to wander around and really check out the place. For this trip I was determined to not book an excursion but to just wander around checking out markets and eating fantastic local food. Thank goodness for the library!
I realized that I've only ever done a couple of blog posts featuring Lou. He certainly deserves more space... just ask him.
Last night he really seemed to be showing his age of 16 years 10 months. That's nearly 84 in human years.
It takes him a bit longer to lay down and get into a comfortable position:
Because he moves slower I can often get some pats in. He loves when I take his whole head in my hand:
His body looks skinny in this picture and with a bigger head he reminds me of the starved Hollywood actresses with their lollipop heads:
Finally all settled in:
2012 is the year I turn 40. For some reason the way I am dealing with it is to fill the year up with as much fun as possible. I don't think this started as a conscious effort but it has certainly evolved into a year full of great plans. So, here is my 40th year timeline. It is obviously tentative but quite impressive if I do say so myself!
January 27th: Twisted Roots Concert because being in a mosh pit makes me feel like I'm 23 again
Feb 3-7th: Trip to Denver to hang out with my Mountain Time Zone family
February 19th: Red Claws Basketball Game with my Hens so that I can say I had a new experience this year
March 21-23: Trip to Kripalu Yoga Center so that I can become centered with the idea of being 40
April 21: Pat Benatar Concert because she looks awesome for her age and I hope that will be inspiring
April 28-29: New Orleans during Jazz Fest just because NOLA is a cool cruise port to leave from
April 30- May 5: Carnival Cruise with two stops in Mexico because I refused to turn 40 without being on a beach in Mexico at some point. End of story.
May12: Visit from my step-sister Heidi from Denver to assist with what will prove to be the great yard sale of 2012
June 16: Relay For Life because clearly my friends and I enjoy subjecting ourselves to being cold, wet and miserable
July 12th: My actual 40th birthday and the culmination of events with something I have in the works that plans to be a "striking" good time!!
Hello, My name is Jen and I'm addicted to Diet Coke. Well, at least I was addicted until two weeks ago when I managed to stop cold turkey. I have been drinking it for as long as I can remember. I even dated a guy in high school who worked for Coca Cola. This was only my third time trying to quit in over 20 years. The first time I was in my early 20's and decided to stop on January 1. The only trouble was I partied hard the night before and had a massive hangover on New Year's Day. I didn't stand a chance. I then tried to quit a few years ago but once the bad withdrawal headache hit I freaked out as, at the time, having really bad headaches had completely screwed my life over and I wasn't welcoming one for any reason.
Which brought me to the end of December when I was able to embrace the huge headache and flu like feeling and it's now been over 2 weeks since I have had my favorite beverage.
I definitely don't consider myself "cured". I'm not sure how long that takes or if it ever happens. And quite frankly I really need to see some positive benefits to give me incentive to continue indefinitely. But just knowing that I could stop was really a good feeling!
My employer is very serious about being a "Great Place To Work". They are trying to come up with creative benefits to make it a more desirable work environment. For example, we now get our birthday off and every day is jeans casual dress. I have been quietly advocating for months that many of the the Great Places To Work companies have some equivalent of a nap room. I think we should have a space to get away, plug in some soft music and lay back in a massage chair. I haven't sold the idea in my department quite yet but our marketing department just unveiled this room. Theirs isn't so much a relaxation space as it is an energizing, cool hangout. It totally rocks!
Clearly Marketing has a serious budget to afford this furniture:
This is the sign that greets you at the door:
Their bookcase is loaded with neat stuff:
One whole wall was painted with chalkboard paint!:
