Prancercize

I don't know why this didn't catch on in '89 (well, yes I do), but it is remarkably close to what I do in my fitness routine, albeit on the treadmill in the privacy of my own home without the galloping or cheesy music (see Rolling Stones playlist post below).  Shoulder pads notwithstanding, this Jane Fonda wannabe has a smokin' body. Don't knock it 'till you've tried it, I guess. 

Jalapeno infused tequila

In my ongoing pursuit of skinny cocktails that offer as much flavor as the "real" things, I've discovered the joy of infusing tequila. The trick for instant gratification lovers like me: Small batches and big peppers.  First, get a good 100% agave tequila. I like Camarena because it's moderately priced and it goes on sale a lot, making it almost bottom shelf cheap.  Next, slice a jalapeno in half, remove seeds and ribs. (Wash your hands, the knife and cutting board immediately!) Place jalapeno in pint jar, fill with tequila and give it a good shake.  A few hours later, you've got tequila with a kick. Hint: Keep tasting as the hours go by to get it to the perfect level of hotness, then pitch the pepper.  (You can do this with a habanero in even less time.) I am currently mixing mine with diet tonic and lots of lime juice or Fresca.  Muy bueno!

Moves like Mick

Nobody but Mick can move like Mick, but I'm coming close with my new treadmill playlist featuring all Stones all the time for 40.5 minutes. It's just what I needed after going way too long with hits from (warning: nerd alert!!) "Glee" and "Rent."  In order, from warm up to cool down:  Start Me Up, Honky Tonk Women, Gimme Shelter, Satisfaction, Brown Sugar, Tumbling Dice, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll, Ain't Too Proud to Beg, Happy, Harlem Shuffle, Beast of Burden.  Now, that's a rockin' workout!

All rugs on deck!

In a flash of inspiration, I decided to move the plastic rug, purchased from Fab Habitat last year for the screened porch, to the deck in order to cover up the off-color wood that was under the hot tub.  That allowed me to buy these outdoor poufs (God, I love that word) from Target (currently on sale for a very reasonable price) for the porch, which will go rug-less until I figured out how I want to repaint the floor. (That's one of many home projects on my retirement to-do list.)

Then, when winter returns, I can move the poufs inside for additional seating for basketball watch parties. (Poufs are perfect for that.)  I'm not sure how that plastic rug will fare out in the elements, but I love the way it perks up that old deck.  Of course, the irony is that by the time I get my outdoor spaces looking the way I want them, it will be so hot and humid, I'll have shut myself in the A/C until September.

School supply score

Yeah, yeah.  I know I don't have kids in school anymore. But, that didn't stop me from rushing like a bat out of hell (I may have run a red light) to Best Buy where all school and office supplies were marked down to .49 each! (It was a Facebook friend who tipped me off. Thank you, Facebook friend!) Six dollar packets of pens...huge rolls of duct tape in white and black...jumbo packs of Post-Its....colored pencils....sketch pads... glue... SHARPIES!!...file folders....tape dispenser refills....my heart palpitates just looking at it all.  The bounty you see in the picture cost me only $24.01! Seems our Best Buy is discontinuing their office/school supply department. (The staff wasn't sure if other BB stores were following suit.) Did I mention I had a massage today, too? This holiday weekend is off to stellar start. Have an equally great one, friends!

To market, to market to buy an umbrella

    We put the old hot tub on Craig's List under "Free" and you can't believe the number of people who volunteered to take it off of our hands. In the end, it took four burly men (one of them, my husband) to haul it off of our deck forever, leaving a nice area for the old patio table and chairs which I hope to spray paint this weekend.  In the meantime, I couldn't resist this sweet 9' market umbrella, on sale at World Market. I got an additional $10 off thanks to a coupon I happened to have in an email on my phone and - voila! - another deal I couldn't refuse.
  My next shopping quest:  Two inexpensive outdoor poufs for the screened porch.  I'm thinking a pair of these might fit the bill....

Swimsuit season: Don't freak, HydroChic!

   When the sweet people at HydroChic sent me samples of their "sun protective activewear" to test drive on my trip to Mexico in March, I was eager to give them a go. The line of tops and bottoms offered my skin cancer-prone skin UV protection on the UPF 50 level, and significantly more coverage than my go-to bathing suit. "Sporty modest swimwear" is what they call it, illustrating the concept in this tongue-in-cheek video depicting a woman's day at the beach....

   I have felt that gal's pain, but I've let go of most of my modesty as the decades have passed, especially when I'm on a beach with a bunch of people I'll never see again.  (Who cares if they see my dimply thighs? Another margarita, please!) But, the skin cancer thing. That's serious.  So, I wore the top seen in the above picture along with a regular bottom when I swam in the ocean.  The hubs said I looked just like those Size 2 surfer girls. (Clearly, he'd had one margarita too many. And, no, I don't have a picture. You'll have to take my word for it.)
   My favorite piece, however, was this "fitness skirt" which I wore on a 3-mile hike through the jungle...

then into the ocean to cool off.  The skirt dried in twenty minutes, just in time for me to hike back to the hotel for another margarita, I mean, nap. I expect to wear that skirt everywhere this summer, especially for travel.

    You may not want to actually swim in a skirt that long (the company offers shorter and still-longer lengths) and there is some 'getting used to' swimming in sleeves. But, if you're beyond the 'baring all' stage - for whatever reason - check out HydroChic. It may get you back in the swim.

And the winner is...

I loved everyone's breakfast ideas. So, in the end, I put the comments in a hat and picked the ICBINB "Breakfast After Dark" Giveaway winner at random. And that person was - drum roll, please - Jo Hardesty! (I swear, it was a totally blind drawing. It had nothing to do her Bloody Mary suggestion.)  Jo, message me with your contact info and I'll forward to the "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" folks.  Congrats.

Embarrassing moment No. 568

The following is a true story:
I dashed to the grocery store today at the perfect time - after KU Commencement traffic had cleared and before the tornadoes were to scheduled to move in (any minute now).  I'm making another cauliflower-crusted pizza tonight. This time, with Brussels sprouts, asparagus, bacon, carmelized onions and cheese.  Eager to get home, I picked up some deli bacon, then dashed through the produce aisles for the rest. I wanted to buy some slivered almonds for a salad, but I couldn't locate the fresh nut display THAT'S ALWAYS RIGHT THERE. I looked and looked, making several laps around the entire department.  But, the slivered almonds were nowhere to be found.  I approached a store employee who was busily applying stickers to oranges.  "Excuse me, sir," I said, apologetically. "But, I can't seem to locate your nuts." That's right.  Not, "the nuts" or "your slivered almonds." I said, "I can't seem to locate your nuts." He paused, and I thought later that he must have been trying very hard not to say, "That's what she said." But, he simply pointed me in the direction of an out-of-the-way end cap and went back to work. That's when, instead of saying 'thank you', I burst into a raging fit of hysterical laughter.  Like the kind you get in a crowded elevator or in the middle of a somber funeral. Or, maybe that's just me. Shoulders heaving up and down, this fifth grader in a 57-year-old woman's body took refuge in the "seasonal merchandise" aisle until she collected herself enough to check out.  I was still laughing all the way home.  Truth be told, I'm giggling a little right now.

You lose some, you win some.

OK, so the jackpot went to a lucky schmuck in Zephyrhills, Florida. My year-long trip around the world - the "Eat, Shop, Spa" tour - will have to wait. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying a steady rain in Kansas from my screened porch after a wonderful evening out with friends, still feeling like a winner... and only mildly regretting that $40 I put down on an impossible dream.

Buy bike basket. Insert cat.

 

My extravagant payday purchase of the month was this charming Nantucket bike basket for my bicycle.  (For local readers, you can find them at Cindy's Simple Life, a great new retro gift shop on E. 8th Street downtown.) It's all part of my retirement plan in which I pedal to my coffee shop of choice every morning, laptop in tow, then onto the market to pick up fresh veggies for dinner....after yoga class, of course. True, the basket isn't quite big enough for the computer, groceries and a yoga mat. (Who am I kidding? I'll probably drive all those places, anyway.) But, it sure is cute. Especially as a Kiki the kitty carrier.