RAISING THE BAR

After my unexpected trek up the (9 flights) stairs yesterday--and surviving, I made the decision to shun our elevators from now on.

Said elevators are not that reliable as it is. Thankfully, I have not ever been "stuck" on them, but why risk it? And besides, taking the stairs is so much better for my health.

Having gotten into a good routine with my cardio and resistance workouts, I think that adding a new habit of taking the stairs is going to be a great benefit to reaching my goals of staying fit and healthy. I ain't gettin' younger, but I do want maintain my good health and continue to feel great!

Climbing the stairs is good for all the obvious reasons. Descending stairs is good for the same reasons, but did you know that it is also very good for your bone density health? (listen up ladies! Your bone density health becomes super important as you age. Start now and stay on top of it) Imagine how great my bones will be walking the 9 flights down to the parking garage 5 days a week!

So this morning, I bypassed the elevator and went straight up the stairs. I was winded when I reached the 9th floor, but I felt great having done it for the second day in a row. This afternoon, I will take them on my way out.

Tonight is our Bowflex workout night...I am ready! However, my abs are not so sure...they are still sore from all the crunches I did Monday night. I'm not listening to them....

GETTIN' IN THE GROOVE

I am blogging today that we have completed a full week of treadmilling and Bowflexing !

Yesterday we started our our second week. I was up at the crack of dawn to get my treadmill workout done.... Actually it was still very dark and dawn was nearly two hours away when I got up--5:00 a.m. I always seem to dread excercise at that hour...but it sure feels great when I am done!

Today, I not only got my cardio on the treadmill done, but (much to my dismay) our elevator was out of order when I got in this morning and so I traipsed the 9 flights up (with my loaded down work tote over one shoulder and my coffee mug in hand). Actually, it was much easier than I expected it to be.

I am so ahead of the game today.

I HEART MY HUNNY

I am already thinking about Valentine's Day...

(you know it's certainly not to early to start planning (or making reservations) for your special lunch/dinner celebration)

Valentine's Day falls on Sunday this year, so those of us who work full time and normally celebrate with dinner after work, have some more options for our celebration. A lot more options--no football on TV either. Right?

We usually go out for a nice dinner, and then Bruce suggested the idea of going on another Hornblower brunch cruise. Then the realization that that this, being an El Nino* year, might bring rain, wind or more ugly weather for our cruise around the harbor, and for that reason, we reconsidered and are going to plan something else.

* plain and simple explanation more rain for California. You can go to NOAA for the real deal facts and figures

Summer is a much better time for harbor brunch cruise. I can attest that sunning yourself on the top deck of a large boat along the San Diego Harbor is glorious in July! And for you photographers...there are some perfect photo ops of our city and bay from out there!

So back to the drawing board...but I have an idea churning in my busy brain. I just have to go surf the web and see what pans out...stay tuned.

Do you have plans made yet? Homemade dinner or Reservations? Inquiring minds want to know...

CAN YOU SAY COOKIE, PLEASE?

Oh my....look at these cookies by Cookie Crazie. The girl's got mad skillz! I seriously want to start making cookies that look like these. B-e-a-utiful! I just had to share...I'm dangerous like that...

BLOG SURFING

I was blog surfing this weekend...

Blog surfing is a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon (when you should be writing something for your own blog, but just don't have anything to say). You can certainly lose yourself in this activity in an afternoon. I add the blogs I want to read more of, to my 'favorites' and then I can go back later to each one.

I found several wonderful baking/cooking/foodie blogs that got me excited to try their recipes and ideas. Here is one such blog that I found myself drooling over several recipes. Check out those stuffed mushrooms, and the apple cinnamon rolls...oh yeah, keep scrolling down....until you get to the pumpkin ice cream!! Thanks, Amber, I cannot wait to try these out!

I promise to share more of the gems I have discovered in my blog surfing adventures...and feel free to share the blogs you love, with me too!

Happy trails to you.....

SUNSHINE AND A NIGHT DOWNTOWN

We woke up to sunshine and blue skies. Our temps were still chilly and there were some scattered gray clouds in the sky that delivered some sprinkles, but all in all, it was a beautiful morning!

We are supposed to have three sunny dry days before the next two day storm arrives. Enough time to let our soggy soil dry out and for us to clean up the debris in our yard and get some quick yard work done.

We have been in a long drought, so this rain storm was both welcome and much needed. Our plants really needed it. I love the rain. I love how clean the air smells after it rains.

This morning, we ran out and took care of our errands at Costco -- we had a short list and filled the Jeep up with gas. While we were there, we also found a good space heater to use in our garage during our evening workouts. After our grocery run and a stop at Kohl's we were home for the rest of the day.

Tonight, we are meeting some friends downtown in the Gaslamp for dinner at Blue Point and then walk to a couple of other places and check out the bands and enjoy our local night life. I'm looking forward to getting out of the house after a housebound week of rain.

What are your plans this weekend?

SOGGY

We've been getting a lot of rain all week and it's soggy out there now. Last night I awoke to the sound of it raining hard against the house and our (very large) dog curled up between us. She started out at the foot of our bed, but I think all the noise outside made her feel uneasy, so she decided that scooting up between us was the best place to be.

I got her settled back at the foot of the bed and closed my eyes and that is when the lightning and thunder began. That is certainly not San Diego weather. This much rain is not normal for San Diego either, but anyway, the thunder storm moved out quickly and I went back to sleep until the next one rumbled overhead, this time I barely came awake before falling back into deep heavenly slumber.

Today, we are supposed to get more rain, more wind and more thunderstorms. We've had downed trees, power outages, flash flooding, and just lots and lots of rain. Snow in our mountains will be falling at the 3,500 foot level. It's gonna be another crazy weather day in Sunny San Diego...