Blog break

I've noticed that a few of the blogs that I read are taking a break. What?!? There are a few different reasons: it's summertime, they can't think of anything worthwhile to write, they have lost their rhythm, they need to re-balance their lives, etc.

Not me. I'm revved up and ready to blog.

When does it become a habit?

I'm happy to report that I've been exercising every day for six days. That's five 30-minute walks and one 40-minute bike ride. I had a mean streak two years ago of walking 20 minutes a day but it didn't last. So here's my question. How long until this craziness becomes a habit? Some say 2 weeks, some say 4 weeks, some say 6 weeks.

All I know is I'm going walking on the town track tomorrow morning at 6:00am.

Summer Reading Club

I finished reading The Devil Wears Prada today (I'm looking forward to seeing the movie which is in the theaters this Friday). I went on a bike ride tonight and stopped by the library and checked out 5 books from the New Fiction section. My bike basket sure came in handy. Now I need to decide which book to read next...

One stamp

I love to mail letters and articles and pictures and notes. In envelopes with a stamp in the upper right corner. Real mail. Every now and then people ask me how much I spend a month on stamps. I'm not sure but if I had to guess I'd say I mail at least 100 things a month. So I guess that would be $39.00. I always have a stash of stamps (post card stamps, air mail stamps and stamps for extra heavy letters). I usually buy 100 stamps at a time. I like being prepared.

Today I went to the Post Office to mail a package. While I was there I stocked up on stamps. I turned to walk out the door and the gal behind me in line went up to the counter and said, "I'd like to buy one stamp."

One stamp?!!

This is serious business

When we were growing up and our Dad wanted to make a point, he would say, "This is serious business."

For quite a while I have not been happy with the shape and size of my body. And that some of my clothes don't fit. I've talked about what I was going to do to change that but I always seem to want to start tomorrow. Lately I've been watching the Oprah Winfrey Show: 20th Anniversary Collection. OK, I admit I've been glued to it; I think that's called obsessed (a few nights I watched until 2:00am). Anyway, there are 6 DVDs and each one is about 3 hours . [This six-disc anniversary collection compiles the most touching, surprising and entertaining moments of Oprah's long-running show -- including interviews with the top stars of the last two decades, coverage of news events, makeovers and on-the-air stunts -- and offers a glimpse into the icon's home life and early years in television.] Since I'm a working gal, I never get to watch her show hence the interest in the anniversary collection. Last night I watched one segment on WEIGHT. She interviewed people that weighed over 500 pounds and had lost hundreds of pounds. It was amazing and inspiring. She also talked about her book: Make the Connection - Ten Steps to a Better Body and a Better Life. She shared 4 suggestions. (1) eat breakfast, (2) have a cut-off time when you stop eating, (3) redistribute calories (eat a big breakfast and smaller lunch and smaller dinner), and (4) make healthy food choices.

So instead of starting tomorrow, I started last night. I didn't eat dessert at my book club (even though I took blueberry cake). And, for the first time EVER, tonight I walked on my treadmill for 30 minutes (I've only walked for 20 minutes in the past).








My plan is to try to exercise 30 minutes every day, not eat after 9:00pm ("not even a grape" as Oprah says), and try to be a healthier eater. Wish me luck.

This is serious business!

It's Summertime

It's hot and it's Summer. Each season I make a list of things to do. Here are a few things on my Summer list:

• go on bike rides
• organize my crawl space
• gather dark red fabric for my next quilt
• take friends antiquing in Maine
• have dessert parties

Happy Summer!!!

THE MIAMI HEAT ARE NBA CHAMPS!!!

What a great game! What a great series!! I knew they'd win this year!!!

To quote Ira Winderman, Robes' co-worker, "Somewhere, someone up above is smiling."

(photo by Joe Cavaretta/Sun-Sentinel)

Busted bus

I am a big fan of public transportation but every now and then I get annoyed. For years I've said, "I can count the times I've been delayed on the bus and subway on one hand." I might be up to three hands now. Yesterday I got on the bus heading home after a long hot day and ten minutes into our ride that alarm went off again (see June 1, 2006 blog entry). Now unlike the last bus driver, this bus driver was alarmed by the alarm and she stopped the bus and called for help. This was my first time being on a disabled bus! We one-by-one exited the bus. We stood on the lawn and waited for the replacement bus. One cranky old man asked the bus driver to call his daughter and tell her where we were stranded and to pick him up (see, everybody doesn’t need a cell phone). Our replacement bus arrived after only 5 minutes. The bus driver hopped on and we followed her. One passenger said, “Do I get on this bus?”

As annoying as this was, it still beats driving.

My Maine Birthday

I had a fun weekend in Boothbay Harbor with the Cox family. The weather was absolutely gorgeous!! I enjoyed showing them around Boothbay, eating a lobster roll Saturday night, and relaxing in the red cottage. Thanks, Cox family for a really fun birthday weekend.

the little red cottage

I'm heading to the little red cottage in Boothbay Harbor, Maine for the weekend with the Cox family. I'm going to read and relax and enjoy one of my favorites places in the whole world with some of my favorite friends.

I'll have lots of photos to post when I return. Stay tuned...

Kimballs

I went with friends to Kimballs tonight for ice cream. It didn't matter that it was a 20-minute drive and it didn't matter that it was raining.

I got a kiddie cone of Moo Tracks (vanilla ice cream with chocolate and peanut butter cups swirled in it!) for the first time and it was yummy.

We all scream for ice cream!

HOPE for the HEAT

I just finished watching game #3 of the NBA Finals. The Heat won (98-96)! It was an exciting game right to the finish.

Now this is a cool photo of Dwyane Wade. It was taken by Sun-Sentinel photographer Robert Mayer.

LET'S GO HEAT!!!

You're never too old...

When I started college my parents announced that if/when I got married I could have a thousand dollars OR a reception. I always said I was sure I would score both since I was the only girl. And that was back in 1978 so isn't that more like $10,000 or maybe even $100,000 now days?

One of my friends called recently and in the course of our conversation she mentioned that her father (a widower of about two years) had asked about me...and remembered that I was attractive...and then said, "She wouldn't be interested in a seventy year old man, would she?"

I hope my parents know where their checkbook is.

12 payments down 348 to go

This weekend marks the one year anniversary of buying and moving into my condo. I like the place even more than the day I moved in! I feel so lucky to be a condo owner.

The Purse & the Person

I went to the Concord Museum this morning with three friends to see the exhibit "The Purse & the Person: A Century of Women's Purses" (http://concordmuseum.org)

The purses in this exhibition are far more than containers for life’s necessities; they are private repositories of life stories – our grandmothers’, our mothers’, our daughters’ and our own. Bejeweled, embroidered, crocheted, or made of gold mesh or the most sumptuous leather, these handbags and their contents—from gloves and sunglasses to compacts and chewing gum—were brought together by a collector who has a passion for purses. The exquisite designs of Whiting & Davis, Judith Leiber, Chanel, Gucci, Prada, and Kate Spade are side by side with the timeless day and evening styles carried by generations of women.

It was really fun to see a century's worth of stuff women put in their purses! It was a cool exhibit. I bought a nifty little accessory bag in the gift shop. You can never have too many purses!

Oh so tired...

I've been very tired today. Like head-bobbing on the subway ride home and not remembering what I read in my book and feeling like I could slip into a coma and rest for hours if not days. Then I remembered that last night I watched my friend's kids while she picked her husband up at the airport. His flight was delayed from 12:05am to 12:50am so I didn't get home until about 1:45am and didn't fall asleep until about 2:00am.

That's why I'm oh so tired...I'm hoping to sleep in tomorrow morning which should be no problem as long as that jackhammer doesn't operate on Saturday!

Screamin' for a screen

Last Fall I decided I wanted to have a BIG screen made for my BIG window. I called a local company and when I told them it was five feet across I think they assumed I didn't know what I was talking about. I requested that they come to my condo and measure the window to be sure it was right. They sent someone over and he measured the window and then when the screen was ready, they said they would deliver it for free because I had waited so long. How nice! They arrived at 8:00am on a Saturday morning, brought the screen in for me, and IT DIDN'T FIT! They said they'd fix it and call me back. That was last November. Now that it's the time of year that I would use a screen, I called them last week and asked if it was ready. They delivered it today and........IT FIT!!!

I'm looking forward to enjoying a condo filled with fresh air.

Who needs an alarm...

...when they start jack-hammering the sidewalk outside your window at 7:15am?

ten toes

I met my distant cousin's new baby Jordan yesterday. She's three weeks old and adorable. I took lots of pictures of her; this being one of my favorites.

Movie reviews

I love going to the movies but haven't been for about six weeks until this weekend; I went last night and tonight.

Akeelah and the Bee -- THUMB'S UP! It's excellent (and filmed in L.A.)
The Break-Up -- well, it was fairly predictable and not very good

Ellen Ebert

LET'S GO HEAT!!!

They are headed to their first ever NBA finals!!!

HOORAY!!!

Sing along with me...

I thought I didn't have anything to blog about today until I got to my bus stop at the subway station. So in honor of my crappy commute home today I have written three new verses for "The Wheels on the Bus".

Sing along with me:

I waited for the bus and it was late
It was late
It was late
I waited for the bus and it was late
Late fifteen minutes.

The air conditioning was broken on the bus
No air conditioning
No air conditioning
The air conditioning was broken on the bus
Everyone was sweating.

A noisy alarm went off the whole way home
A loud annoying alarm
A loud annoying alarm
A noisy alarm went off the whole way home
Gave us all a headache.

Here's hoping that tomorrow the bus is quiet, cool, and on time!