The Body Shop at Home Foot Fun Party at The Animal Store in Astoria

On Tuesday, April 22, I hosted a Body Shop party with Lee's daughter (and my good friend) Laurel Sullivan as the consultant. We held it right in the store front, which was a little unusual, but entertaining. It was a lot of fun. You can read more about it and see more photos on Laurel's blog. Today in my office we downloaded the photos and she made her blog post about the party. I snapped her picture (below) almost unannounced. She must have had a clue I'd picked up the camera, because she smiled big when I called her name to get her attention. We did it in one take! Brunch and blogging. What a nice way to spend Sunday. By the way, Laurel puts on a great Body Shop at Home Party (that link is to her Body Shop web site) . . . if your'e in the North Coast area and are interested, send Laurel e-mail and she'll be happy to set up a party to pamper your guests. I have to say, I've given very, very few parties over the years, and she made it easy. I also have not been much of a product person (of course, I enjoy bubble bath and such), so I'm enjoying being introduced to a new age of smells and sensations. It really has been fun. Now I have to get to the gym, so I'll keep this short. More to come soon, as always!

Laurel at my computer

More snow in Astoria, Oregon . . . on April 21?

It's raining today (April 22) and has rained virtually all day. In fact, it's rained since about last October. But this is Oregon. Nobody gets too worked up about rain day after day. "What do you want? This is Oregon," you hear a lot. But on April 21, we had cold once again, and we had snow. It didn't stick much down here by the water, but it stuck for awhile. Across the river you can see snow on the low mountains. You can see snow on Saddle Mountain to the south. The other day it was shrouded in clouds, and it was beautiful. I almost took a photo, but we were driving across the bridge and I was on the wrong side of the car for a shot. It was sunny out (Sunday, April 20) and we went to the beach. It was pretty (photos if I get time), but cold. Despite either tolerating the rain, or not minding it too much or actually loving the rain as some of us do, I would say most most people in Astoria at the moment are looking for a day with sun that isn't also cold. This has been an unusual year. We're ready for shorts, bikes, and balmy afternoons. Which usually arrive before the end of April. Except for one remarkable Saturday (which, stupidly, I spent on the computer thinking Sunday would be nice as well), our sunny days have so far come with very little warmth.

Sweatshirts on the Beach

It was goreously sunny at the beach on Oregon's North Coast, but Lee added one more sweatshirt to the two he was already wearing. I was in my winter jacket, and was none too warm. He'd left his jacket in Bend and come back to the Coast in shorts a couple of weeks ago because we had a day or two of teaser warm weather. Actually, the teaser warm weather was in Bend. When he arrived in shorts, the rest of us here were freezing.

The wreck of the Peter Iredale - a local landmark - and a lot of people in sweats.

Lee gives a boost to someone's Spiderman kite.

Scenic and mellow. Typical Oregon beach. Fantastic.

FREE Transitions Seminar in Astoria, April 30, 2008

Read or download flyer

Why diets don't work! Please see the flyer above and be sure to call (503) 338-8646, (503) 325-3179, or send e-mail to sign up for the free seminar.

Space is limited!

This is an exciting event . . . the FREE Transitions seminar I attended in 2007 changed my life. I lost 40 very stubborn pounds and achieved additional health goals.

Resveratrol Supplement Available Now

There has been a lot of talk in the news and online about the value of resveratrol, a potent anti-oxidant. You can see the Barbara Walters interview on YouTube. It's called Live longer with this new breakthrough. They talk about a pill they may have five years in the future, but resveratrol for human consumption is here now! I am a Market America Independent Distributor, and you can get Isotonix Resveratrol here on my web portal. I've just started taking it myself, and I'll report my personal experience here on the blog.

Get Isotonix Resveratrol here

Reseveratrol absorbs easily and quickly into your body in this unique isotonic formula. It tastes really great and can be mixed with other Isotinic antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

I've had very good results with other Isotonix and other Market America products, including the Transitions Lifestyle system. I lost 40 pounds, feel so much better, and soon Sue and I will begin teaching a Transitions class here in Astoria. I'm very excited about it! In the classes I took last year, I saw so many people change their lives and begin to feel better after many years of distress. I can now say I'm one of those people. When you find something that makes you feel that good, you want to spread the news!

A Guzmania bromeliad comes to my office on the Columbia River

Lee's gift to me before his trip to Bend this week was a beautiful jungle plant for my office here in the (nearly) frozen north. It reminds me of the bromeliads we saw in Panama. Nice memories of an amazing time, and a splash of color on a gray day. Astoria is actually in a rainforest, but not of the type this plant would call home. Here it looks out the window over the Columbia River. There is plenty of water here for a bromeliad (billions of gallons, nonstop), but the heat rises only on the occasional day each year. The pamphlet says I should pour purified water into the leaf pockets (oops, I hope it will forgive me for drowning the soil at its feet an hour ago) and I should let it dry out between waterings. I can do that - ask my other plants. When in doubt, I can go to Kent's Bromeliad Nursery Inc. according to the brochure and get further hints on keep it comfortable. Eventually, if I'm good to it, it will have puppies, or pups, which you replant when they're half the size of mom. Hmm. That could be interesting. Check back next year and see if the jungle has flourished.

Andy!

I hadn't seen Andy in 30 years (approximately). Actually, we couldn't remember when the last time was. It was probably one day when he lived in Ventura and I lived in Los Angeles on Durango Avenue. So I decided to drive down from Astoria to Sacramento. I think we were both a little scared, then very relieved to find out it was as if no time had passed at all. Incredible. The best kind of friend. Lots of laughs, a few tears, some great conversation, and promises to get together again soon. The weather was nice. The drive was great (a bit of wet snow and lots of rain in Oregon, then sun in California). Exceptional scenery. A good visit with Gary and Beth in Cottage Grove, Oregon, going south and then north. I'll post some photos when I can find the time (I hope; I always say that, and I mean it, too). Sacramento is full of trees. Nice! I came back with some new ideas for the web site. That's always fun. Uh, wait. I just noticed we're both wearing tapirs on our shirts. I didn't plan that, honest!

Flowers in California, a treat for the weary traveler

I didn't stop that many times on this trip, and I must have been having nature withdrawals, because the flowers were such a delight when I finally stopped for gas somewhere in Northern California. I don't know what it was. I was especially drawn to them. They were pretty and fresh in the disappointing landscape of a semi-urban freeway pit-stop, and yet tamer and heavier than the wilder-feeling redbud trees of Lakehead rest stop. There were masses of them, and they were welcome. I don't remember for sure how they smelled, but I think they were perfumy. I spent time taking pictures, hoping to get a couple of shots in focus, as the breeze tossed them around in the viewfinder. I wanted some record of them to send home to Lee - some bit of beauty on the road. They seemed vulnerable, and the delicate blooms had already begun to wither in the spring heat. They seemed an auspicious sign at the time, and so they were. It was on a happy journey. But I don't remember the name of this place along the highway.

Spring beauty at Lakehead rest stop in California

Maybe better known as Lakehead rest area, not far from Mount Shasta and Shasta Lake. The spring colors were delightful and soft like the afternoon air when I pulled over on I-5 at the Lakehead rest stop. It wasn't even that I needed a break at that point, but I'd been seeing brilliant purple trees along the road and I wanted to take a photo. The rest stop seemed a good bet.

Andy later said these were redbud trees, and sure enough if you look them up online, you'll see. Please click on the photo. The flowers are beautiful up close! I'm not going to take the time tonight to research the species, but I expect they're an import and not native to northern California. That would make them an invasive species, which is not a good thing, but wow, are they gorgeous. Green is beautiful, but it was the bright purple that caught my attention alongside that stretch of freeway. The timing was perfect.

Speaking of green, the greens were also outstanding and varied. Soft, bluish and almost dusty looking on the manzanita with its deep red bark, pale spring green in the tall trees just leafing, and the contrasting dark of the pines.

I was also more than pleased because I FELT GOOD when I got out of the car after such a long time on the road. In the past, my left hip would have been in such pain I'd be nearly bent over until I could unkink. Something has happened in the last few days to relieve me of a 7-year-long irritation, and it was heavenly to walk around the wooded area feeling no pain. Feeling . . . almost normal!

I remember when rest stops were either gas stations or a lucky scenic turn-out on the road. You didn't usually get restrooms and scenery at the same time, so I think it's a nice innovation. I don't know if all of the states have this now, but California and Oregon both have some good places to pull over for bathroom and stretching breaks. Nice. It was a pleasant respite from the road. With color.