You know you're in California when....

....a friend of yours opens an "US" magazine with wedding pictures of Rosalynn Sanchez (from tv show "Without a Trace") and Eric White and she says, oh, here are pictures of my ex-son-in-laws wedding

....a friend of yours says Tom Selleck lived next door to us

....another friend had a house near Oprah's house in Monticeto

....when they're harvesting lettuce as fast as they can on January 12 so it won't bolt because of the unusually warm weather

....the beaches are crowded like summer and the rv parks are nearly full again the middle of January

....schools start the 2nd week of January to accommodate Mexican ex-pats who go back for Christmas

....the state is furloughing state employees every other Friday without pay to save money

Hula hooping

The fitness center has 2 hula hoops available for clients to use. One day the director was saying that the literature that comes with the hoops claims that if you use the hoops for 10 minutes a day for 30 days you can trim up to 3 inches off your waist.

These hoops are weighted, about 5 lbs., and have bumps on the inside circumference. Having more than my fair share of muffin top or love handles or call them what you will, I was game and decided to give one a try.

I started hulaing just before Thanksgiving and in the first 30 days lost close to 2 inches and with nearly 7 weeks under my belt, I'm closing in on 3 inches! who knew! The cost about $38 and you can read about them here: http://www.sports-hoop.com/ pretty cool. I've got everybody using them at the fitness center. I think the secret is consistent use.

A very good friend indeed

Every week my good friend, JA, and I do a "blue tooth" walk with her in Connecticut and me in California. She is a very good friend indeed! Over the last month, due to snow or ice or both, she has taken her 90 minute walk with me inside her house at least 3 times, doing laps all around the place. She is amazing! The time flies by for me but I can't imagine how difficult it must be for her. It reminds me of the years I would run up and down my little driveway in WH when K was little and still napping and I couldn't leave the house, or the laps I ran around her in the playgrounds while she would play either with toys we brought or on the playground equipment.

Ah! A delicious cup of clam chowder

Today T and I walked along the beach in our shorts and sandals in 70 degree weather and went to Pismo for a cup of Splash Cafe's world famous clam chowder. Some say the best in the world. I wouldn't go that far but it's pretty darned good http://www.travel-watch.com/splashcafe1.htm

Wow! Another almost perfect day!

Today is one of those days that I want to pinch myself it is so beautiful. The temperature is in the low to mid 70s with just a slight breeze. The sky is a perfect blue and there is a full moon tonight! Our camellias are blooming all around the house and our little rose bushes are full of blossoms and new buds. Our little lemon tree has at least 2 dozen baby lemons starting to grow. I'm not sure how it will support all those lemons when they ripen.

News from our CT friends says there is another snow storm there today and it's shoveling out time. Days like this remind us why we moved to California!

A new law

This morning there was an article in the paper that talked about a new law taking effect February 10th that requires all children's clothing and toys to be teasted for lead and phthalates. Any product not tested by that day will be considered hazarous waste, regardless whether they contain lead. Small stores and thrift stores would be driven out of business due to the cost of testing. Everyone at the thrift store was up in arms about the law and trying to figure out what to do.

This evening there was a follow up news story that said thrift stores may be exempt in the next version of the law. We'll see.

Pedicure update and the joys of a sinus infection

I just received this picture of all the people who took part in the pedicure experience yesterday - can you guess which one is me?

So after suffering for almost 2 weeks with what I thought was a cold, the symptoms changed to sinus infection ones. A visit to the doctor confirmed sinisitus and wrote a prescription for the Z-pack and off I went. I hope it works quickly and completely - the last time I had a sinus infection it took multiple course of antibiotics to get rid of it. At least it's not the flu, not a cold, not a ......