I'm a coffee drinker, not so much a tea drinker. But today my friend and I decided to try the Des Moines tea scene. There's this great little shop called Gong Fu Tea in the East Village. It's been there eight years, but I've never even heard of it. It was very relaxing. The people working there were super helpful. I admitted I was a tea virgin and needed to be pointed in the right direction. She suggested I started with something lighter and pointed me to a wall with 30 jars. You can smell each jar and then read about it in the 20-page menu. I went with Cloud Nine. It smelled good, not like grass, hay or pipe tobacco like many of the others. When I checked the menu it said it had strawberry, rhubarb and raspberry flavors. No wonder I liked it. As we sipped our tea, I played my first game of chess. Yes, believe it or not, I've gone through my 25 years of life without ever playing a game of chess. Guess what? I lost. No surprise. That's what I get for playing a master. Hopefully I can remember all the pieces, moves and rules for my next game. Maybe I'll get my own set to practice. I hate losing.
0 Comments
Bring on the 100 Day Challenge! It's a Live Healthy Iowa initiative to get people more committed to their health. If you've read any of my blog entries, you'll know I've been working out. I also eat pretty healthy. The Young Professional Connection asked me to be a team captain for the challenge and recruit my own team. I said sure. There's a group of us at ABC5 that will be sweating away the next 100 days to try to beat the other YPC teams. The challenge starts 1.23.12. Let's do this!
After reading last week that I have improper swimming technique, today was the first time swimming "properly." Go figure, it was easier. When you swim freestyle, you're supposed to be kind of rolling from side to side for each stroke. You are also supposed to breathe every three strokes, which means on both sides. That's still hard for me to do on my left side, but I figure I'll get there eventually. You also bend your arm when it comes out of the water. The book Championship Swimming says I'll become a faster swimming in 30 days or less. If not, I want my money back. (Scratch that, I rented the book from the library which is free.)
For the first time, I purchased a personal training package. I've already worked with Michael Martin aka Iron Mike at Fitness World West for free for three one-hour sessions. He knows what's up. So I figured to be in top shape for the Tough Mudder in T - 4 months, I would need one-on-one help. The $149 package gets me six half-hour sessions. Mike claims that's a steal of a deal. Instead of comparison shopping like I usually do, I thought I'd give Mike the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure he's worth every penny. I've been inspired by music this week. I would not consider myself a musical person. Sure, I took a year of piano lessons when I was 10, was in the church choir, and played the clarinet through junior high. Even with that impressive resume, I am not musical. While perusing my facebook news feed, I saw a post for the band Walk off the Earth. After watching that video, I was intrigued to see what else these guys could do. Several videos and an hour later, I was amazed. Some people are so frickin talented it's unreal. That got me thinking, what would this band be doing if it weren't for YouTube? Before the days of the Internet, how would they put their talents to use? Radio would not give these credit. Maybe join the circus? Regardless, I envy people who are so talented and passionate. Not only am I re-learning French, my Spanish is still spot on! OK, maybe not. My Spanish is just as rusty as my French. In fact, now I blur the two languages together. It's no bueno. I am planning a vacation to somewhere hot this summer, and I have my eyes set on Florida. I've been to Florida a bunch with my family, mostly Orlando, Cocoa Beach and the surrounding area. I've never researched Florida before so I spent my dinner break and before bedtime looking up places like Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Daytona Beach, Punta Gorda and Port St. Lucia. I've heard of all these places before, and now need to decide which is the best for me to spend a week on the beach. I beach is a beach, true, so I don't think I can really go wrong here. Any recommendations? Here's a little flashback to have you thinkin tropical with me on this cold Iowa day Sunday was a long drive back to Des Moines. I hate driving with a fiery passion. I get highway hypnosis so easily, and it doesn't help that I-80 is a terribly boring, unscenic drive. Now, that's unfair of me to say. There's the I-80 truck stop, which is the largest truck stop in the country, and the Mississippi River. I try to listen to as much music as I can to keep from falling asleep. This trip included entertainment by Celtic Woman and the Bridesmaids soundtrack. Celtic Woman is a very talented group. I appreciate its Irish/Scottish influence. Bridesmaids was a pretty funny movie, almost like a Hangover for girls. The soundtrack was good. Paper Bag by Fiona Apple really stuck out to me. I only remember her vaguely from the late 90s singing Criminal. I looked up some more of her stuff. I might have just become a fan - 15 years late.
Saturday was my sister's baby shower. My mom and I put it together for a small group of close friends. It was a great time for everyone to see my sister and her big ole belly (she's 36 weeks). My brother-in-law was also there for support and to help open the presents. I don't know when guys started coming to these things, but he was also at her bridal shower three years ago. Times are a changin'. They loved, well not loved, but appreciated very much, the diaper pail I got them. I'm glad my practical gift-giving plan worked.
One of my goals for 2012 is to practice my French every Friday. I took Spanish in junior high and high school because it was more practical than French. In college, I decided it was time to learn the language of love. I've always loved France, even as a kid, long before I ever visited the country. I believe it has something to do with my French roots. On my mom's side, a family member traced us back to Le Mans, France in the 1600s. I find that so interesting. So on this past Friday I busted out Edith Piaf's song La Vie En Rose about 10 times on my drive to Chicago. I've heard the song before but never looked up the words or the translation. You might know the song from Saving Private Ryan. My French is not good enough to translate the lyrics, especially since many of them are figurative meanings and not word for word. According to LyricsTranslate: He tells me words of love, Words of every day, And in them I become something. He has entered my heart... It’s he for me and I for him, throughout life, He has told me, he has sworn to me, for life. And from the things that I sense, Now I can feel within me My heart that beats. It's way more beautiful in French, but we already knew that because French is the most beautiful language in the world. It's hard as hell to learn because you don't pronounce half of the letters in the words. Anyone who wants me to swoon over you, just say a few things in French and I'll be smitten.
So we all know I've been working hard to become a swimmer. Just like when I got fed up with how hard running was for me, I decided it was time to hit up the library to do some research on swimming. Just like running, I discovered I was doing it wrong. I picked up the book Championship Swimming. I took swimming lessons as a kid and can hold my own in the deep end, but that doesn't mean I know proper swimming technique. I'm glad I figured out now that I'm doing it wrong and not in another month. Now, time to put the proper technique into practice. As the book says, practice does not make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.
My sister's baby shower is this weekend, and I realized I need to get her a gift. As a sister, I feel like there's a bit of pressure to get a great gift. Well, I don't know if my gift is great, but everything was on her registry so I know she wants it. Besides, I'm a practical gift-giver. Why give a play toy for a 9-month-old when the kid isn't even born yet. I decided to prepare her and my brother-in-law for baby time in the tub, trash, and car. That includes super cute duckie hooded towels and baby soap/shampoo, plus a diaper pail and bag refills, and of course the Baby on Board sign, a car window shade and a mirror so the driver can see the baby when it's in a rear-facing car seat. Welcome to the world, baby! Also in honor of my first niece/nephew, I was getting ideas for newborn photos. I'm hoping my sister will let me take some pics of the new baby. I would love to photograph him/her. This picture is freakin adorable. (If you click on the picture, it will take you to the photographer's website with more amazing photos.) I'm not saying my pictures would be this beautiful, but I have a pretty nice camera and would like to prove myself as being able to shoot more than bridges, leaves, and grave stones.
|