Letters from the road...I love you, Sissy!

Faded.

We're staying in Vancouver, WA,
about 9 miles from downtown Portland.

Yesterday, we went to the Chinese Garden
and the Japanese Garden, had lunch in Portland.

Cody rented a car for us
and they have a TomTom GPS.
I don't agree with big brother,
but that shit is the deal.
We've been going all over the place.
Look it up on the internet,
put the address in,
there you are.

On the way home we stopped at Up In Smoke,
the best head-shop in Potland, (Portland, ha!)
and it totally is.
We were just picking up a small pipe,
he gave us 2 pipes, 2 lighters, 2 little tupperware cup keychains,
2 spoofers, 2 incense and 2 bags to put every thing in.

Then a guy comes in saying Portland has the best lotion
in the world, besides Alaska and Denmark.
I say, "I'm ready now" and he pulls out a
tupperware full of lotion.
So I tossed out a $10
and we hit home on the GPS.

Dinner at Sapphire Hotel, AMAZING.
Can't wait to tell you all about it.
http://www.thesapphirehotel.com/

This morning, after moisturizing,
we went to the Zoo and it is amazing.
We met Cody and Kyle for lunch at
Po'Shines Cafe De La Soul - a soul food cafe.
Delish.

Then, ran and picked up
our pre-ordered lotion
so.......
it's pretty much ON for the next day
and a half, to get this to a manageable,
transportable amount. wink.

I love you!

Can't wait to see you and show you our pictures!

XOXO

-C

I got your resolution right here.

BALANCE in 2010.

Balance my diet.

Balance my work and personal life.

Balance my time at the bar and my time at the gym.

Balance my time with family with that of friends.

Balance on one leg with my eyes closed while rubbing my stomach, patting my head and reciting the lyrics to Bubble Toes.

Where's Waldo?!?

I spotted Waldo's doppleganger at the Phoenix concert at La Zona Rosa in December.

res-o-lu-tion

I promised Donna I'd tell her my New Year's resolution by sundown on New Year's Day. Since that never happened I wasn't sure if I was even eligible to make one. Does anyone know the ruling on that???

I remember standing in line at Furr's Cafeteria with my Bunny (grandmother) when I was a kid. She told Buffy (that's right...I have a Bunny and a Buffy) and me we could order whatever we wanted, but to not let our eyes get bigger than our stomachs. I learned a valuable lesson that day as I was forced to consume massive amounts of food (and further the epidemic of childhood obesity in this country). From my point-of-view, a New Year's resolution is just another opportunity to bite off more than you can chew. Less than 10% of the population ever realizes their resolution anyway. That being said, I think it's also important to point out that 47% of statistics are made up on the spot.

I think resolutions would have a bigger chance of sticking if people got to choose which definition they wanted to use:

1. resolution (n) - a firm decision to do or not to do something (This seems so black and white and I've worked hard to live my life in shades of gray).

2. resolution (n) - the action of solving a problem, dispute, or contentious matter (I do this ALL DAY EVERYDAY...I'm personally leaning toward this definition).

I resolve to have a New Year's resolution by the end of the week.

Now, leave me alone and let me think...

Float On

I decided to give the anti-sensory tank a try in lieu of a massage a few weeks ago after I'd heard about it on the radio and did a little homework on it. I made an appointment with Zen Blend in south Austin (Zen Blend is tucked away in a neighborhood off Slaughter Lane). When I saw the set-up I thought my claustrophobia would get the best of me. Of course, I'm always up for a good challenge. I went in for an hour and a half.

I felt like I was climbing into a submarine as I pulled down the hatch closing out the daylight and the rest of the world. A slight waive of panic came over me as I lowered myself into the pitch darkness. The air was thick, warm and salty and my breathing felt labored. I couldn't clear my head. So far, the float was not as relaxing as I'd hoped and I couldn't believe I'd signed up for 1.5 hours. But, the salt water felt like silk and the soothing music pumping through the underwater speakers helped me fight through and focus my attention elsewhere. The realization of the pitch darkness no longer frightened me but rather intrigued me. I floated staring upward at the top of the tank and winked and blinked and closed my eyes always to see the same thing. Nothing.

By the time the music faded away so had my worries and I fell into the deepest state of relaxation I've ever experienced. The complete silence allowed me to hear the beating of my heart and the heaving of my chest sending me deeper into my subconscious. The only noise was the occasional splashing of water against the metal sides of the tank. The echo danced through the air and reminded me there was no cell phone ringing, no text alerts, no questions to answer or problems to solve. I might as well be floating in the middle of the Dead Sea lost to the world. It was an out-of-body experience I desperately needed.

I'm always the girl on the airplane that falls asleep and does that crazy jumping thing where the arms flail around or the book gets thrown in the air and startles my neighbor. I never fell asleep while floating, but I did my crazy jumping move four times. It was incredible.

If you need to get away and don't have time for a day at the spa, you can take it down a notch or two in a floatation tank. Of course, do it after work when you can keep the phone on silent and spend the rest of the evening in your own little world. Does it replace a great massage? Not a chance. But I discovered closing the hatch to the world and floating, suspended in weightlessness, does a body good.

Sniffing Out a Cure

From L to R: Jo, Sadie, Dionne, Brittney, Quentin

Sadie and I joined Gap, Inc. a few weeks ago for the annual AIDS walk.  I don't remember what the official name of it was, but Sadie and I were under the impression it was a one mile walk. Turns out, it was a 5k.  For the first mile I thought Sadie could smell the cure at the front of the pack because she was bobbin' and weavin' through the masses trying to get to the front.  This was her debut into Austin's super-social canine scene and she loved it!  There were hundreds of dogs (all shapes and sizes) participating, but people just couldn't get enough of my little Sadie. You'd think she was Frank the Pug from all of the attention she was getting.

It was a good thing so many people wanted to hold Sadie, because after she passed the half-way marker she fell off the curb from exhaustion and spent the rest of the walk cradled in the arms of me, Dionne, Crystal and some random chic (I think she was walking with her co-workers from a local hair salon).  I had to keep an eye on her, though, she looked like she might pugnap sweet Sadie.  After the walk Sadie and I went to Panera Bread to refuel.  Sadie sat perched in her chair and enjoyed an apple while I had my sandwich.  We then went to this cute little pet store and I bought her some pupcorn for participating in her first 5k.

Thanks Crystal and Dionne for inviting us to join.  And, thank you Gap Foundation for playing such an active role in our community!  Are you looking to hire a marketing genius to help out with your operations in the UK?  If so, look me up!

She's BACK!

It's just not Halloween without Bad Mithy. And, since I'm not throwing a party this year, the least I could do was give her a little face time on the blog. Happy birthday you old wench. Thanks for the memories.