Life: random thoughts

Has it really been almost two weeks since my last update? 

Taking a break from blogging was hard at first, but breaking the addiction cycle has left me wondering when I had time to sit in front of my laptop.

What's going on in Washington Valley? I may not be running but I am walking/jogging the same distance (which takes longer).  I'm outside about three hours a day and loving every minute.  Yes... I'm the gal walking five miles in the rain, with an umbrella!  If it's 75 out and I'm not chilled... a few drops of rain can't get in my way. 

Health & Nutrition: I saw Dr Oz'like' today.  He's not concerned with my weight loss (whew) and is happy to know I'm not tired like I was a few weeks ago.  So... why is this happening?  There are a few explanations:

- I'm embracing gluten free again (allergic to wheat)
- I have also given up refined sugar... if only to make life harder for everyone around me! HA
- What's for dinner?  SOUP - at least when the WT is home. He likes to eat at 8:30 and having anything more than soup isn't healthy that close to bedtime.

Garden:  I finally have a garden!  Two tomato plants, two cucumbers, three watermelon, one each cantaloupe, hot peppers, basil, and rosemary.  A nice start for a beginner...

Photography: A friend of mine bought a new SLR camera recently so she and I have been taking day trips to the Hamptons, New Hope, Frenchtown... and have a few more places planned.  I love getting out the camera, playing with F stops and taking a great photo.  The photo at the top of this post is from Frenchtown.  It's the oldest wooden covered bridge that crosses the Delaware River.  Built in the mid 1800's. 

Reading:  I haven't been reading the last few weeks but finally picked up a book a few days ago.  I'm half way through Wife 22 and am enjoying it.  Most reviews are solid but I have read a few that say it ends poorly... so I'm setting my expectations.  I hope I like it!

That's the update from Washington Valley!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend planned, enjoying family, getting ready for vacation, relaxing.

It's Monday!

An update:  Would you believe me if I told you that I'm still recovering from Tough Mudder? I have a few bruises left to heal and I pulled a muscle in my right arm. 

I also thought I had the flesh eating virus this week (kidding) but it ends up I had a rash that looked like bee stings on my stomach and legs. I didn't know what it was until I realized the World Traveler also had a few spots on his legs, and it was only in places where we crawled through the mud.  Interesting...

Life Balance: At book club last week my blackberry went off every two minutes... for two hours!  So this weekend I gave myself the gift of an internet free weekend!  No twitter, blogs, fb, email.  Working three full time jobs is proving to consume a lot of my time.  On top of work... I'm still not eating well (for three weeks now), so I have no choice but to think about my overall health with forced downtime.   

Life is too short to spend it in front of a computer, instead I want to spend time in this hammock (photo above) - doesn't it look splendid! 

What I'm reading (hosted by Book Journey): Last week I finished Purge and book three of the Fifty trilogy.... so happy to done with Mr Grey.  Seriously every other word in book three is Mr, Mrs, or Grey. 

It's safe to say no one in my book club enjoyed Purge - my neighbor and I went for a walk today and agreed to give it 2 stars on goodreads.  Maybe 2 1/2... 

On my iPad: I'm going to start this book tonight, The Garden of Happy Endings.

Synopsis: After tragedy shatters her small community in Seattle, the reverend Elsa Montgomery has a crisis of faith. Returning to her home town of Pueblo,Colorado, she takes refuge in a local soup kitchen. Preparing nourishing meals for folks in need, she keeps her hands busy while her heart searches for understanding.

Meanwhile, her sister, Tamsin, as pretty and colorful as Elsa is unadorned and steadfast, finds her perfect life shattered when she learns her financier husband is a criminal. Enduring shock and humiliation as her beautiful house and possessions are seized, the woman who had everything now has nothing but the clothes on her back.

But when the going gets tough, the tough get growing. A community garden in the poorest, roughest part of town becomes a lifeline. Creating a place of hope and sustenance opens Elsa and Tamsin to the renewing power of rich earth, sunshine,and the warm cleansing rain of tears. While Elsa finds her heart blooming in the care of a rugged landscaper, Tamsin discovers the joy of losing herself in the act of giving—and both women discover that with time and care, happy endings flourish.

What are you reading this week?

Life: I am a Tough Mudder!

Most of you have been following me through my running journey over the past few years... from marathon's to Ultra distances to becoming a Tough Mudder.  So you earned this with me! 

Thank you for all your support.  For letting me bombard you with running summaries, photo's from the trails.. etc.. You have been my cheerleaders. 

It's about twenty four hours after the run - I'm happy to say I'm feeling great!  I'm black and blue, my knees are a hot mess (black & blue, bloody, tender).... but I did get in a run today.  Which is a big success. 

It will be a few more days before I have photo's to share but let me tell you... it's tough!

Here's a recap:
We started in waves of 100, every twenty minutes.  To get to the starting line I had to scale a ten foot wall.

With two obstacles in the first mile, my knees are bleeding from the muddy/rock crawl (under barbed wire) and I'm wet from the ice bath.  Does it help if I tell you the water is blue, and smelled horrible (I wonder if there was manure in the water)... ICK! 

Most of the mileage was on a trail and the mile mud run was one mile straight up!  Try running a mile up the side of a mountain, in 6 inches of thick, wet, slimy mud.... super tough and slippery.  People who have completed other TM runs were telling us this was the most difficult one yet.  Usually the runs take place on flat surfaces like race tracks so natural terrain adds another level of difficulty.  

I ran through fire, scaled walls, climbed ropes, carried a log, crawled, ran in mud pools, walked balance beams, I even made it through the one I feared the most... the long tunnel filled with swamp water. 

So... what was the toughest obstacle for me? A thirty foot jump into murky water that was so cold my lungs compressed.  Followed by a short swim and rope climb out of the murkiness... I never need to do that again!

Twelve miles and about twenty military obstacles later, I did it. I'm a Tough Mudder!

It's Monday!

Just a quick post today... last week was tough. :)  Tough Mudder was exciting, exhilarating and exhausting. Post to follow.

Happy Mudder's Day!!  Now it's time to move on to reading, summer night's on the deck, relaxing.  I have no races or events scheduled, woohoo!

What I'm reading (hosted by Book Journey): With a two hour drive to/from the event, I did finish The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.  I didn't love it, or hate it. Review to follow.

on my iPad:  I haven't started this yet but I think I'm going to read Objects of my Affection next.  Just what I need.  Light

Synopsis: Lucy Bloom is broke, freshly dumped by her boyfriend, and forced to sell her house to send her nineteen-year-old son to drug rehab. Although she’s lost it all, she’s determined to start over. So when she’s offered a high-paying gig helping clear the clutter from the home of reclusive and eccentric painter Marva Meier Rios, Lucy grabs it.

While trying to stay on course toward a strict deadline—and with an ex-boyfriend back in the picture, a new romance on the scene, and her son’s rehab not going as planned—Lucy discovers that Marva isn’t just hoarding, she is also hiding a big secret. The two form an unlikely bond, as each learns from the other that there are those things in life we keep, those we need to let go—but it’s not always easy to know the difference.

What are you reading?

It's Monday!

Washington Valley: Was Friday really only two days ago?  This weekend sure zipped by. 

Friday evening we invited some neighbors over for an impromptu BBQ.  They have two little boy's, it was the perfect night for a fire, s'mores, time in the hot tub. 

Saturday and Sunday were dedicated to Tough Mudder prep.  With training complete... running twenty miles this weekend (including a ten miler), shopping for the perfect camera friendly outfit was my primary focus.  Based on the photo's I have viewed from the last few weeks events it's safe to say you will see me on the course. 

The World Traveler is also getting excited.  He secured his gear which is also bright and has been playing with a new gadget that we bought at Costco - the Helmet Cam.  A betting gal will say the Cam is returned this week but time will tell.

I'm so excited that it feels like the week before my first marathon, back in the 90's. Let the countdown begin, six days to race day!!

Let's talk books!

I reviewed two books last week: 
Skinnydipping (3 stars)
The Lola Quartet (3 stars)

What I'm reading (hosted by Book Journey):

Listening to: I'm half done with The Dovekeeper's.  I'm enjoying it very much but haven't had time to listen. 

Synopsis: Nearly two thousand years ago, nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived.  

Based on this tragic and iconic event, Hoffman’s novel is a spellbinding tale of four extraordinarily bold, resourceful, and sensuous women, each of whom has come to Masada by a different path.

On my iPad: I read The Book of Summer last week after seeing a promotion for it on GoodReads.  More on this book later this month - it was really hard for me to read (childhood memories) so I need to think about how to review this one.

Synopsis: For nine-year-old Beth Lowe, what begins as an innocent vacation to Hungary ends with the devastating separation of her parents. Beth and her father return home alone, leaving her mother, Marika, behind.

Over the next seven summers, Beth walks a tightrope between worlds, fleeing her quiet home and distant father to bask in the intoxicating Hungarian countryside with Marika.

Now, years later, Beth receives a package containing a scrapbook, a haunting record of a time long forgotten. Suddenly, she is swept back to the world she left behind, forced to confront the betrayal that destroyed her—and to search her heart for forgiveness.

Reading now: I'm about 100 pages in and am enjoying this book.

Synopsis: Before there were blogs, there were journals. And in them we’d write as we really were, not as we wanted to appear. But there comes a day when journals outlive us. And with them, our secrets.

Summer vacation on Great Rock Island was supposed to be a restorative time for Kate, who’d lost her close friend Elizabeth in a sudden accident. But when she inherits a trunk of Elizabeth's journals, they reveal a woman far different than the cheerful wife and mother Kate thought she knew.

What are you reading this week?

Life: random thoughts

I started this post a few days ago... I'm decompressing from a tough two weeks from work and thought you might enjoy a few random thoughts:

Don't you love this photo?  I saw this on Apartment Therapy and had to share it.  I'm not sure what I like more, the wall of books or the picture window!

Revenge: I'm hooked!  I found this show when I was looking for something to watch while working out.  I'm enjoying it so much that I have watched fifteen episodes in a month!  I only watch it when I'm working out, so it's a treat and my workout fly's by. 

I LOVE this beach home.  Are you watching it? 

Bible Study?  Last week I caught up with a friend who keeps me in the loop with 'all things Omaha'... and the Omaha Housewives (HA). Oh the drama!

She mentioned joining a bible study, then started laughing.  She and some friends meet weekly to watch GCB.  They watch it together with a pot luck and a glass of wine.  If you knew this group you might laugh too. She can't wait to tell a service guy/contractor type, 'Tuesday afternoon's don't work, I have bible study.'

It takes a village to clean this house!
By village I'm referring to the vacuum, carpet shampooer,  electric broom, old fashion broom, the cloth broom, and the wood floor steamer.  I'm not even going mention all the spray bottles and home remedies that get used around here.  How many gadgets do you have to help you clean?  Do you use them all?

I have been spring cleaning.  Moving furniture, dusting, organizing bookshelves, etc... it feels so good to have the house back in order.  Omaha order. 

Happiness: Look at these adorable glasses I found last weekend when I stepped into Crate & Barrel! 

I bought six and will probably buy more next time I go to the mall. It may sound silly but I love drinking my fizzy water from a happy glass.  They are a great addition to my white theme. 

What's a white theme?  I have been invited to so many home parties and with Tuscan overdose... I decided my kitchen will be 'white and clear' only, all glass (no plastic). Throwing in a few wood serving pieces for a rustic/casual look. I can sprinkle in color with napkins, place mats etc... creating a refreshing look is super easy. 

Dinner Parties: Speaking of tablescaping.... we are hosting two dinner parties in May.  Both will be for 20+ guests.  I need some new ideas - do you have any suggestions?

Outside or Inside?  I'm thinking appetizers and drinks outside.  Dinner inside with bite size desserts.  Do you remember the Holiday dinner when EVERYONE brought dessert?  A lovely gesture but our home looked like a bakery that night.  Seriously, we have dessert for about 200.  We did find a good home for the treats (a local church).

That's enough randomness for today... I have a new episode of Revenge to watch!

Review: The Lola Quartet

Why I picked it: The Omaha Bookworm's read Mandel's first novel - we even had the opportunity to discuss the book with her over the telephone thanks to Lisa from Lit & Life (for setting up the call).

I have continued to read her novels, she has a very interesting writing style.

Synopsis: Gavin Sasaki is a promising young journalist in New York City, until he’s fired in disgrace following a series of unforgivable lapses in his work. It’s early 2009, and the world has gone dark very quickly; the economic collapse has turned an era that magazine headlines once heralded as the second gilded age into something that more closely resembles the Great Depression. The last thing Gavin wants to do is return to his hometown of Sebastian, Florida, but he’s drifting toward bankruptcy and is in no position to refuse when he’s offered a job by his sister, Eilo, a real estate broker who deals in foreclosed homes.

Eilo recently paid a visit to a home that had a ten-year-old child in it, a child who looks very much like Gavin and who has the same last name as Gavin’s high school girlfriend Anna, whom Gavin last saw a decade ago. Gavin—a former jazz musician, a reluctant broker of foreclosed properties, obsessed with film noir and private detectives—begins his own private investigation in an effort to track down Anna and their apparent daughter who have been on the run all these years from a drug dealer from whom Anna stole $121,000.

Type: Fiction

Quick Take: As mentioned above, Mandel's writing is amazing.  She knows how to write a story, keeping the reader guessing, leading us on. This novel is part personal story, part mystery.  Her readers have come to appreciate the many twists and turns she includes in a story.

I don't normally read mysteries, who dunnit's, where are they books.... but if you like this genre, please try reading a Mandel novel.  If I'm going to compare her work to a movie, The Fugitive comes to mind.  The Lola Quartet is an interesting story that leaves the reader thinking.

Rating: 3 stars
Source: Review Copy

Review: skinnydipping

Why I picked it: Like many of us, my family first discovered Bethenny Frankel on Martha Stewart's version of The Apprentice.  I appreciate her honesty and what she's willing to share.  I love that she's willing to show that life isn't perfect.

Do you watch her show on Bravo? I can't believe I'm going to say this... I hope she signs off from reality TV soon. While I enjoy watching her show I think her family deserves some time away from the camera, to live a normal life.  I just hope to see a peak of her new apartment first!

Synopsis: Faith is an aspiring actress just out of college, who moves to L.A. determined to have it all—a job on the most popular TV show, a beach house in Malibu, and a gorgeous producer boyfriend. But when reality hits, she finds herself with a gig as a glorified servant, a role that has more to do with T&A than acting, and a dead-end relationship. Finally, Faith decides she’s had enough of La La Land and moves back to New York with just a suitcase and her dog, Muffin.

Five years later, Faith has finally found her groove as an entrepreneur and manages to land a spot on a new reality TV show hosted by her idol—the legendary businesswoman and domestic goddess Sybil Hunter. Diving into the bizarre world of reality TV, Faith’s loud mouth and tell-it-like-it-is style immediately get her in trouble with her fellow contestants—the delusional socialite; the boozy lifestyle coach; the moody headband designer; and her closest friend, the ambitious housewife who eventually betrays her. Even Sybil is not what she appears.

Type: Fiction (chic-lit)

Quick Take: I'm happy I'm writing my review after watching her interview on The Today Show.  In the interview she mentioned this novel is a palette cleanser, and that she had so much fun writing it.  For me this is important... let me explain why:

If you are familiar with Bethenny, this novel is so close to the life we observe on television.  It's a super light, fun book that follows Faith's journey on a 'Martha like' reality show.  While reading the book you will try to put a name to the characters. 

A super fast read, funny, and left me wondering what bits happened in real life.

Rating: 3 stars
Source: NetGalley (review copy)