Kerry's Junior Recital

I have been back from Kerry's recital for almost two weeks and this is the first time I've gotten a chance to write about it and post some of the pictures.

It was a fantastic weekend and we were thrilled to see our girl. She looked great but was definitely nervous when we got there on Thursday night. It turned out that her clarinet choir had a concert that night. It was nice to sit in a big concert hall and listen to the kid play her clarinet with all the other underclassmen and graduate students. There were 32 of them and they really played well.

The UF Music Building

The UF Institue of Food LOL

During the concert Kerry's professor, Mitchell Estrin, came out and performed Motzart's clarinet concerto. Professor Estrin has played with the NY Philharmonic for many years and still plays with them today. He has many performances on DVD and CD and I guess he is like a rock star in the clarinet world. Pat and I recognized the music because Kerry had played it in ninth grade and we joked about how much better ninth grade Kerry was than Professor Estrin. LOL It was a real unexpected treat to hear him play.

Kerry and her very proud dad

Kerry's recital was the next day and although she had been pretty nervous earlier in the day when the time actually came she was suprisingly calm. She wore a long black dress that was very silvery so it sparkled every time she moved. She also wore her black high heels that we bought just for this event.

Kerry's favorite shoes

Kerry dressed and ready to go

She had a pretty full house and she was very happy with the turnout. She walked out on stage and played for a full hour(no pictures allowed). She was absolutely fantastic and got a standing ovation. Everyone came over to her to congratulate her and she also got quite a few flowers at the end of the performance. Professor Estrin came over and told her how proud he was of her. She was very happy with her performance which is highly unusual. It turned out that she didn't have to do this recital. She chose to do it. Professor Estrin said that it was going to answer some life questions for her. I think he was right.

We also got the pleasure of spending time with Kerry's boyfriend. His name is Sean and he is studying at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He is a very talented French Horn player. We hope to see him perform one day as the first chair in the New York Philharmonic or maybe the London Symphony Orchestra which would work for me. LOL He is a very sweet guy and they seemed very happy.

Kerry and Sean

Pat and I were very proud of our only daughter. I still am amazed at how well she did, how beautiful she looked and how far she has come in just a few years. She never fails to amaze me with her determination, talent and drive. There is no doubt in my mind that she can do anything that she sets her mind to. Isn't that right, Dr Peewee? We love our girl.

Up to Gainesville to see the kid

I am here in Gainesville waiting to see Kerry. Her junior clarinet recital is tomorrow evening at the University of Florida and we are here to see her performance. She is very nervous but that is to be expected. She will be performing 4 pieces that will take one hour to perform. Three of the pieces will be played with a piano accompanist. One of the pieces will be played alone. Just Kerry!! I am very excited. It has been a few years since I have seen one of Kerry's concerts. Before she went to Gainesville I went to ALL of them so it will be great to see how much she has improved. I haven't even laid eyes on her in over a month so when I finally see her I will be a very happy mom.

I will take some pictures and I will post them here.

Stay tuned......

Claudia's Book Club

I have allowed myself to be addicted to television for most of my life. The first thing I did in the morning was turn on the TV and I would leave it on the whole time I was home. It had occured to me that I should find something else to wake up to. I was tired of all the bad news that comes out of the TV. Unhappiness, war, death, violence, disease and cruelty are all things that seem to emanate from this box and I was tired of starting my day thinking about these things. I decided to spend the first hour or so of my day reading uplifting books and writings as opposed to sitting in front of the "idiot box" and listening to it spewing it's venom.

I really didn't know which books would help me to start my day on a happy note so I turned to the most enlightened person that I know. Juliana, my beautiful yoga instructor. I had heard her say that she doesn't watch TV because she when she does have extra time she reads happy uplifting books. This statement stuck with me so I asked her what book she thought would be a good book to start with and she told me to read a book called The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. She had a copy of it and she lent it to me knowing that it would be perfect for me in my present state of mind.



In talking with Juliana during my private yoga practices I had told her that I was very unhappy with my job. At the time I was working in real estate doing corporate rentals for staffing companies. It was a very stressful job. I spoke about the constant cancellations and changes that had to be made with every deal that was done. I felt as if I was putting forth all of my effort in knocking my head against a brick wall. I complained about my job constantly but didn't have the courage to change it. I was stuck in a cycle that went round and round. I went to work. I hated what I was doing. I complained about it and then I did nothing to change it.

I took Juliana's book home and the next morning I reached for this little book instead of turning on the TV. I sat and read in the silence of my home. I was blown away by this book. It was the story of a simple shepherd boy named Santiago who gave up everything to go on a journey to find his "personal legend". It talked about how omens showed themselves in his life and how he learned to recognize them and act upon them. This book really spoke to me. So much so that I told Pat about it and he read it.

After reading this book I knew that I needed to change my work situation. I didn't know exactly what I was going to do but I knew that I had to do something so that I could find my own personal legend. I started looking in the classifieds and also online when I came across the website for the Curves For Women gym that was located right around the corner from my house. I clicked around the site and saw that they were looking for a person to help train and motivate the ladies that go there. I knew right then that an omen had showed itself and it was up to me to recognize it and act upon it. I emailed Curves that day and found my new job which I love. I am much happier and I am proud of what I do when I go to work.

I am still on my journey to find my personal legend but I feel that I am much closer than I was. I will continue to spend my mornings reading uplifting and enlightening books like The Alchemist. No more mornings in front of the TV for me. Read this book and maybe you, like Santiago, will find your personal legend.

Free Yoga Day

This weekend was the fifth anniversary of a local yoga studio called The Yoga Source and they had an anniversary party on Saturday to celebrate. They offered 4 free yoga classes along with a yoga bazaar which featured all kinds of things yoga related. I am always ready for free yoga so my yoga friend Ruthie and I decided to check it out.


We got there early and signed up for two of the classes that were being offered. One of the classes available was a Hatha class. Some time ago my yoga teacher and mentor Juliana had told me she wanted me to check out other classes and teachers. It has been years since I took a yoga class from anyone other than her. She wanted me to spread my wings and try other yoga instructors so that I could enjoy a different yoga experience. I signed up for the Hatha class given by Mary so that I would be a mindful student and follow Juliana's sage advice. Ruthie had just gotten out of Juliana's Saturday's Hatha class so she signed up for a NIA class which was going on during the Hatha class that I was taking. We both signed up for the Kundalini class that was being offered right after both the Hatha and NIA classes.

As we were waiting for the free classes to begin we were walking around the bazaar and looking at the merchandise. Who did we see? Juliana!! She had decided to come and see what was going on at the anniversary yoga party. Everyone there came up to her and hugged her and wanted to talk to her. It was like she was the rock star of the yoga world. Well, she is certainly the Paul McCartney of my yoga life. I was hoping that she would take the Hatha class with me but she decided on the NIA class that Ruthie was taking.

When the time came Ruthie and I split up and I went into the Hatha room. There were about 15 or so people taking this class with me and the yoga instructor was very nice but she was no Juliana. I did enjoy the class but I didn't get as much out of it as I do when Juliana is teaching. The first thing that Mary did was put on music which is okay with me but it was so loud that I had trouble hearing her cues. The asanas were pretty much the usual but Mary seemed to be in somewhat of a hurry. When Juliana guides us she allows us time to expand and deepen while in the postures. There was no time for that in this class. I found my mind wandering and it was hard work to stay in the moment. When it was over I was glad that I had done it but the one thing that I learned was that I was right when it came to my love for Juliana's classes. There was no comparison.

When my Hatha class was over the I found Ruthie and we set up our mats in the Kundalini room. We were talking and waiting for it to start when a tall woman came in the room dressed in long white robes and a turban on her head. Ruthie and I made jokes about it but settled down for the class. After two minutes we both felt guilty for making fun of our amazing teacher's garb. It was a lesson in "don't judge a book by it's cover."

There were quite a few people like Ruthie and myself who had never taken a Kundalini yoga class before so I think this class was geared towards beginners and newcomers. When I turned around to see how many people were there I noticed Juliana sitting close to me. It was a real thrill to take a class WITH her instead of FROM her.

In Hatha yoga an asana can be held for one minute, five minutes or even more. This Kundalini class had us in almost constant motion. It was definitely not you mother's yoga class. LOL.

The teacher guided us through and ended the class with chanting and singing. She had us close our eyes and sing along with music that was playing. I didn't know the words when I started but I soon learned them and was singing loudly with the rest of the class. It was a wonderful class. It gave me a sense of peace and happiness which was similar yet different to my usual Hatha classes.

When it was over Ruthie and I ran over to Juliana and told her how much we enjoyed it. It turned out that Juliana taught Kundalini in the past and was willing to guide us though our own class on Wednesdays . Ruthie and I decided on the spot to take some Kundalini classes from Juliana. We are both very excited about it.

I told Juliana that I had taken her advice and had practiced Hatha yoga with different teacher. She was glad that I had spread my yoga wings even though I made it quite clear that I won't stray again until she absolutely makes me. We both laughed about that.

All and all it was a wonderful day. I got to practice with new teachers and I also got to try a new kind of yoga. The best part of all was that I got to spend time with my good friends and favorite yoga people, Juliana and Ruthie. Namaste.

Office Politics

Oy vey, it's starting already. I work with two other people. One is Lisa and she is the owner of our Curves. She is very nice but also expects things done the way that she wants them done. Now, believe me, I have absolutely no problem with that. I happily do what she tells me to do. Lisa has told me many times that she is very happy with me (no applause, just money). She has also told me that the ladies love me. They find me very happy and motivating. I love to hear that. It makes me feel like I am doing something worth while with my career.

I also work with Michelle who is the gym "manager". She is the one who I had to interview with before I got to Lisa and was offered the job. She takes care of all the insurance issues and does lots of the paperwork required for the club to run smoothly. She has a very strong personality which does not bother or intimidate me. You know me. I just let it roll off my back. I don't let things bother me and I don't cop attitudes. It's just not my style.

Lisa is supposed to work with me on my Tuesday and Friday night shifts but as she has become more comfortable with me and my work ethic she is not afraid to leave me alone at the club. She has also been giving me a few more hours here as she has a small child and sometimes needs some extra time off. That is what happened yesterday. She had me work both the morning and afternoon shifts. Yep, I am tired but happy to do it as things like Pat's $1700 re-root canal happen and every buck helps.

I work on Monday nights with Michelle and lately I have been getting a strange vibe from her. She has been kind of cold towards me or at least that's what I have been thinking. It occurred to me that she was not happy that I am working out as well as I have. I think that my natural ability and feel for this job has taken her by surprise and she may be feeling somewhat threatened. I have also been told by many of the members, old and new, that they prefer to come on the days that I am there. They like my style better than Michelle's. Maybe she has heard some of this too.

Last night when Lisa called to tell me that she would not be coming into work she seemed a little talky. She told me that she had given Michelle instructions that last Monday night she wanted me make some telephone calls to the members that have not been working out lately and to invite them back. She told me that she wanted me to do this job because she had heard me on other phone calls and felt that the ladies would respond to me better than to Michelle. Of course, I didn't know any of this. I just did my usual thing and thought everything was fine. I did notice that Michelle was on the phone all Monday night but I really didn't think anything of it until Lisa talked to me about it yesterday. She said she thought that Michelle was feeling threatened by my presence. I guess she is beginning to fear for her job.

Lisa also told me that she wants me to learn the computer system. She wants everyone who works there to be able to work the computer programs. I got the feeling from her that Michelle is not happy about that either. I think she is more comfortable keeping me in the dark about some of the things that she does. I told Lisa that I would be happy to learn all about the computer. I enjoy computer work and Lisa already knows that I am computer literate.

I really hope this situation works itself out. All I am doing is trying to do the best job that I can while I am there. I am not looking to squeeze anyone out because I'm not looking to work full time anyway. I am perfectly happy with the part time hours that I have now along with the few extras that I pick up along the way. Lisa already offered me another night and I turned it down. I want to be able to spend time Pat when he gets home from work. If I am working four nights a week I would not be able to do that. I told her that I would like some day hours if they became available but I was well aware that Michelle worked most day hours.

I really love the job. It's perfect for me right now. I am extremely happy motivating people to reach their weight loss goals and making them feel better about themselves. I am proud of what I do. I just hope that the office politics don't come to bite me in the butt.

Hitting The Casino

Pat has a golfing buddy named Bing who got two free tickets to the Honda Classic which is the PGA event that takes place in Palm Beach Gardens. Pat told me about it last week and I wasn't mad because Tiger Woods wasn't going to be there. If Tiger had been appearing in this event I would have put up a stink and gone myself. Yep, I'm a fan. Anyway, this left me with a whole day alone with nothing to do so I got dressed and went to the Isle Casino in Pompano Beach with $100 in my hot little hands. Even though I knew it was against the house rules to take pictures I decided to take my camera and see if I could sneak a few in for this blog.

Making the turn on to Race Track Road


If I lost my car in the lot I had this picture to remind me of where I parked


The Isle Casino

When I walked in the door my nose was hit with that "casino smell" that always makes me stop and sniff. Oh yeah, I love casinos. Can you tell? I immediately took off in the direction of the 2 cent machines.

I slipped a 20 dollar bill into a Blue Dolphin slot machine and started my gambling experience. As you can see the machine has an ocean theme with fish, sea horses and dolphins.



I didn't do so well so I started moving around to different machines. I sat down at a machine called Sun and Moon. It had lots of Egyptian looking coins and pyramids. This machine started to pay off a little and I found myself up a few bucks. I was unable to snap a photo of this machine because it was located right by the door where the casino personal congregated.

The Sun and Moon machine went cold so I went over to the Brazilian Beauty machine for a while. I was back to my original $20 when I finished on this one.




I noticed the machine that my Mother In Law had played and had good luck at about a month ago was free so I sat down. It is called Babylon and it has ancient coins, faces and numbers. Well, I hit a jackpot of about $80.00. As you can see on the picture below I got 5 coins across and the video money started flying.


I guess I should have stopped there because by the time I left the casino all that remained from the $80 jackpot and my original $20 was 7 cents. Oh how sad.


Of course, the gambler inside of me said things like "oh, that's ok. You had way more than $19.93 worth of fun." which is totally true. Next time I am going to hit the video poker games. The money lasts a much longer time. Those slot machines sure are fun though. I guess it's a good thing that I don't live in Vegas. Maybe someday........

Being sick sucks

I woke up Wednesday morning not feeling well. I was sick enough to call Juliana and cancel my private yoga session. You know that I must have been really sick to do that. She was very understanding considering I gave her less than an hours notice that I was cancelling. I layed around in bed most of the day in hopes that I would feel better the next day.

I woke up yesterday feeling worse than I did on Wednesday. That blew off another yoga practice and once again I spent the whole day in bed. I drank tea, took aspirin for the aches and pains and curled up with Rigby. Once again I was hoping that I would feel better when I woke up today. Well, that didn't happen. I am still feeling pretty crappy. I have a headache, my throat is sore and my nose is clogged and I can't breathe too well. Someone get the Afrin.

The main problem with being sick is that with nothing else to do I find myself with my head in the fridge. You would think that not feeling well I would not have any appetite. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I have yet to be too sick to eat. The last two days have been horrible eating days. I need to get back on track with my food.

Work just called to see if I could come in this morning. Michelle didn't recognize my voice. She thought I was a man. Well, that's not good. Too bad. I could have used the extra hours. I am on the schedule for tonight so I am going to hang out in bed this morning and hope that I am feeling better later on in the day.

Next year I am getting a flu shot. Being sick sucks.

Shopping With The Kid

Kerry and I bond as mother and daughter by shopping. This is something that we have done as long as I can remember. We always have a great time and Kerry usually ends up with something new. Our trip to the Town Center Mall yesterday was no exception.

Entering Town Centre Mall

The first store we hit was Abercombie and Fitch. We always shop the sale racks there.

Kerry liked this tank top

She liked this one too!

This one was a NO!

This one was a definite maybe!

We ended up buying 3 tops but got very hungry shopping so we hit the food court. When we go to this mall we always make our own salads at Salad Creations.

This is my salad with low fat ranch and Caribbean mango dressing. Yum!

Kerry eating her greek salad.

When we finished lunch we hit Bloomingdales. It is one of our favorite stores. Great stuff and great sale racks.

Free People is one of Kerry's favorite line of clothes

Off to Juicy Couture !

Then to Tiffany's

And Saks Fifth Avenue. They have a really nice bathroom.

Note the Dr Seigal's Cookie Diet kiosk. You gotta be kidding me. Richard, where are you?

Then it was time to go to American Eagle. Kerry needed jeans but there were more shirts that needed to be tried on!

We both liked this one.

This was my favorite of the day.

We stopped for coffee and took a picture together. We are a happy couple.

It was time to leave and we were shopped out. When we got there the parking lot was full. Now my car was the only one left in the lot. I guess we shopped for a long time.

So that is a typical shopping trip with me and the kid. It's the best time in the world.

My Job At Curves

Today is a work day for me. I will be reporting in at 3:30 and work until 8:00. I will be standing on my feet and exercising the whole time I am there. Needless to say I am bushed by the end of my shift but I am always happy and feeling good about what I do when it is time to go home.

As you can see from the picture above, there are 24 stations which consist of 12 platforms and 12 machines which are all arranged in a circle. The client starts their workout on one of the platforms and no, it doesn't matter which one. There are signs taped to the floor in front of the platforms which give a "suggested activity" such as "jog in place" or "do the swim" or "do the twist". The platforms are to get your heart rate up and to keep it up during the workout. The music (it is basically disco music for Curves) is playing and every 30 seconds a woman's voice says "change stations now". That is the cue for the ladies to move one station to their left and they keep going until they have gone around the circuit 2 or 3 times.

I can see why this franchise is so popular around the country. First of all the demographic is the over 40 overweight woman who feels overwhelmed at a large gym like Bally's. These are ladies who have no desire to have the guys looking at them or to hang out with the 20's spandex crowd. When they come in the door they are greeted by a friendly "Hi, how are you Sarah" (or whoever). They like being welcomed by everyone who is already working out and you can see that some friends have been made in this little ladies gym.

Having the stations in a circle promotes talking and most everyone joins in on the subject of the moment. By now I know a little about their lives so the conversation flows pretty easily. Well, anyone who knows me knows that conversation flow is not a problem. LOL We talk about all kinds of things. Husbands, kids, work, food (lots of talk about food), exercise, Paul, Britney and just about anything that you can think of. This conversation helps the time go by so that the ladies go around the circuit a couple of times, get in their exercise and it is over before they know it. It is actually (dare I use the word?) fun. After the workout is over we suggest that they stretch in our designated stretching area. Then they are done and they can go home feeling as if they have accomplished something to help themselves get fit.

Most of the ladies who join are also looking for motivation to keep them on track. I have my before and after pictures up on the board so that everyone can see that I have been where they are now. Of course, Richard is always in the discussion. He is really well loved by all these ladies and they are all jealous that I know him and that we actually email and party together at his yearly retreats. I tell them what Richard always told me. I tell them that they are worth the effort and that they really can do it. We always talk about how hard it is to get a grip on food and I tell them that I am right there with them struggling every day. They appreciate the fact that I feel their pain and have been where they are now. Of course, some do better than others.

It goes both ways though. Not only do I help them but they help me too. I have gotten some fantastic advice about how to bring down my astronomical homeowner's insurance. I have been told about the best shoe sales coming up at our local Dillards and I have also been motivated by the same ladies that I am getting paid to motivate. Just watching them come in that door every day and work so hard makes me think twice about straying from my food plan. I still stray but at least I think about it more.

So, yeah. This is my workplace. This is my Curves where I work with my clients who are now my friends.

My double yoga days

Yesterday was my very favorite exercise day. It was my double yoga day. First I had my private practice which lasted for an hour. After my private came the group practice which always lasts for about an hour and a half. That makes two and a half hours of yoga. I always look forward to these double days.

Juliana said that we should take some pictures to put here on my blog so I dressed in black and brought my camera. Here are a few of the pictures that we took. I hope you enjoy them.

This is my beautiful and most wise yoga teacher, Juliana

This is the yoga studio complete with the Om on the wall and the gong which is used at the end of the practice during meditation. Feel the vibrations traveling through you.

This asana is called pigeon pose.

Next is a spinal twist.

This is a side angle pose

Here I am doing a downward facing dog.

This is called tree pose.

This is a toughie. It's called wheel pose. Be careful of your back.

This is my favorite picture. It is me doing a full forward bend holding my feet and spreading my toes.

Namaste

I love yoga so much. It always leaves me feeing peaceful, happy and mindful. I hope you will all give it a try. It really is easy to do if you find the best yoga teacher. Oh, you can't. I've got her. LOL

Talking It Out Is A Good Thing

As soon as Kerry could talk I told her that we could talk about anything and I meant anything. I always told her that no subject was off limits. Through the years we talked about all kinds of things usually over breakfast. Sex, drugs, age, college, dating, clarinet, soccer, teacher, friends, family......you name it and we talked about it.

Kerry called me on Saturday and told me that she wanted to talk to me. It turned out that she realized that she had hurt my feelings the other day when she decided to go to Cincinnati. She had been thinking about it and came up with a way that she could spend time with her boyfriend and come home to see us too. I was thrilled to hear this.

We had a wonderful conversation about everything and I feel much better about things. Kerry assured me that she was not going to run off and get married. Now, there's some good news. :) She said that she doesn't plan on getting married until after med school. More good news. She also said that she is just having fun dating. Both she and Sean(present boyfriend) are thinking more about their working futures than their romantic futures. Oh yeah, I am feeling good about this. She also apologized to me for doing what seemed to be picking Sean over me. Jewish mom guilt works. :) :)

This conversation made me realize how lucky I really am. Most kids Kerry's age are so self absorbed that they don't even consider whether or not they hurt Mom's feelings. They don't bother to make time for family and just go along their merry way partying and lying. Kerry is not a liar and is very good about taking my feelings into consideration.

Yes, I was feeling sorry for myself the other day when I felt that I was being taken advantage of. Like Angie had said, I felt as if I had been fired from being Kerry's Mom. I told her how I felt and she just broke out laughing. She told me that I will never be fired and I need to understand that this is a job I have taken on for life. OMG!!! I am so glad to have that lifetime job. I don't ever want to collect unemployment. Me with my lifetime job. Pretty nice workif you can get it!

Letting Go Or Not

I was 34, almost 35 when I gave birth to my daughter Kerry Leigh. She was perfect with all ten toes and fingers, chubby cheeks and a big curl of brown hair on the top of her head. She came at 10:10pm on a Monday night. I remember this because the Dolphins were playing the NY Jets on the labor room TV while I was squeezing this amazing human being out of my body. She was gorgeous and I was thrilled.

Kerry at 7 months old. Cute or what??
I remember looking out the window from my hospital bed with this baby lying on my chest. It was around 4:00am and the hospital was quiet. I looked down at my new daughter and told her that I wanted her to be a free spirit. I told her that I wanted her to make her own decisions. I told her that I would never tell her what to do but only guide her in the right direction. YEAH, RIGHT!!! I brought her up telling her what to do every step of the way. "Clean your room". "Do your homework." "Try out for the soccer team". I'm sure I drove her crazy telling her what to do.

My mom had warned me about this. When I was 40 years old my mom still used to tell me what to do. She told me that she couldn't stop telling me what to do because "it's the mom thing." "Someday you'll understand". Boy, was she right about that?

Kerry is now 21 and in college. She makes up her own mind about everything. What to wear, where to go, what to eat, who to date, who not to date. It's all up to her now because it is her own life. I am having real trouble with all of this. How do I go from telling her everything to telling her nothing? It's a hard transition and I am not transitioning well.

Kerry on her 21st birthday

The hardest part so far for me is her choosing her boyfriend over me. Yeah, I know how this sounds but it is true. Pat and I both work in order to keep her in money and in college. We have mortgaged our house to pay for Kerry's housing, books, tuition, food, trips, and fun however when it became time to plan her spring break she decided to fly to Cincinnati ($500 , thank you very much) and spend it with her boyfriend. It's looking like we won't see her at all.

Now, I do remember young love. I really do. I drove my parents crazy when it came to Pat. They didn't like him and I was determined to be with him. I remember the power struggle very well. It was hard but we made it through the hard times. My parents ended up looking at Pat as their other son and having a wonderful loving relationship with him.

I am not trying to go through the same power struggle with Kerry. I have a totally different relationship with her than I did with my parents. As close as I was to my mom, it is nothing compared to the closeness that I share with my wonderful daughter. With this closeness comes hurt feelings and that is how I am feeling right now. I can't help it. I know I need to get over it but it is hard to do. I guess it's the mom thing.

Now Claudia, don't jump into that chocolate cake. It won't help a thing. OK, Richard. I hear ya.

Hair Today

Every 6 weeks or so it becomes time to dye my hair again. When I was young I had long, beautiful very dark brown almost black hair that reached down my back almost to my waist. It was my best feature. Well, that may be because I weighed 225 pounds and I was unhappy with all of my other features. My hair never let me down. It never looked fat no matter what I wore and if it got a little out of hand an old fashioned iron would do the trick. If nothing else at least my hair looked like Cher's.

When I reached 40 or so I decided to take some length off and cut my hair up to my shoulders. I had heard that once a woman is over 40 she should not wear her hair any longer than that. It makes her look old. Oh No!! Not that!! On top of that I also noticed grays invading my beautiful dark brown almost black hair. That really bothered me until I finally decided to do something about it. I found Preference by L'oreal. Oh yeah, Preference #4 was the one for me. I tried other colors but always came back to good old #4.

When I woke up this morning I looked in the mirror and saw the dreaded gray hair that makes me feel as old as the hills. I pulled out my old friend Preference #4 and am at this moment sitting and typing with this horrible smelling goop on my head. I know I will feel better about myself once I wash it all out and my hair is back to dark brown almost black. Begone gray hair!!

The Farmer's Market

I was reading the newspaper yesterday and came across an ad for a farmer's market that had recently opened up fairly close to where I live. I was thrilled. My good friend L has taken me to some of the best markets in the world and I have been searching for a good one around here for years. You would think that we would have many to chose from being in South Florida but that is not the case. I couldn't even find one.

I got in my car and did the 20 minute drive to find this new market. When I finally found it there were employees in the parking lot directing traffic because it was so busy. I felt like I was in Disney World. I parked in Goofy 22! LOL! It was so busy you would think that they were giving stuff away for free. NOT!!

Once I got inside the disappointment hit me like a ton of bricks. The produce was small and the prices were big. I was able to get some inexpensive Florida grown oranges, mushrooms and red peppers but everything else was below expectation. I would have been better off doing my produce shopping at my usual grocery store, Publix.

I will continue on my search for a good farmer's market. I hope I don't have to wait to go back to LA to find one.