A Walk to Forget...err Remember.

In October I'll be participating in the Atlanta 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk and so I've been training for the past oh, 3 weeks I would say. So far it's all been roses and sunshine, minus the getting up early every morning, but the roses and sunshine went out the window this Saturday. I don't know if it's because I'm old or my body's getting used to it, I'm walking incorrectly, or d.) all of the above. But, I am currently experiencing what I will call a "belt of pain" that is aptly named because it sits pretty much where a belt would. My abdomen and lower back are not friends of mine right now. This could be due to the fact that I walked 5 miles on Saturday and then went to a wedding where I danced, in HEELS, for about 2 hours. It's like I was asking for muscle pain. But I think it's my body getting used to walking/cross-training everyday, so I'm hoping that eventually this will get better. I've also considered that I might need to do additional stretching or perhaps crunches/back exercises and perhaps that will help. I love crunches about as much as I love the CW though, which if you know me, is not very much (darn you CW for canceling Veronica Mars! A plague on your network!!).

Anyway, I'll be sure to keep you updated on the state of my "belt of pain". I know you are dying to know. So far, Myoflex and Aleve have been my BFF's. Oh, and if you, my faithful readers, know of anyone who would like to donate to my walk in October, consider this a shameless plug for that because I'm including the link to my website below. I'll be walking 60 miles in 3 days, in honor of my grandmother.

http://www.the3day.org/atlanta07/jburns

PS - I particularly enjoyed this picture because of the lightning bolts. I think it really captures the pain this woman must be enduring. And because maybe it will make you think I'm as muscular as she is.

108

So, I started reading a new book this morning at the gym. Eat, Pray, Love - which 22 pages in, is excellent so far. However, the most delightful thing I discovered upon starting the book this morning is that in the first 2 pages, it references the number 108. Now, for all my fellow Lost fans out there, you know why this was exciting to me. Apparently, in India, they use something called a "japa mala" - which is similar to a Catholic rosary, in that it is a strand of beads and with each bead, you recite your mantra. The interesting thing about it is that there are exactly 108 beads on a japa mala. And here is the reason - because they view 108 as a perfect number, divisible by 3, and the numbers in 108 add up to 9, which is three 3's. And, 3 is a very important number in religion, i.e., the Holy Trinity. Anyway, I was just very interested to read about it and to discover a little bit more behind the mythology on "Lost". Yes, I'm a tv dork, but you, my dear readers, already knew that!

Maybe the next thing my book will reveal is who the heck Jacob is.

Crazy for Swayze!

Tonight I am going to see one of my all-time favorite movies - Dirty Dancing. They are re-releasing it for the 20th Anniversary. Side note: it's been 20 years since this movie came out? Yipes. How old am I? Anyway - big plans to go see it tonight with a friend of mine and I'm totally geeking out, I'm so excited. I watched the horribly cheesy Patrick Swayze "She's Like the Wind" video in preparation. My favorite part is that the entire video is done as if you're looking into a puddle. Brilliant, really. If you haven't seen it, do take a look. You won't be disappointed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1tLvbyy7AM

I can't wait to see Baby and Johnny do "The Lift" on the big screen. I hope it's everything I ever dreamed it would be. I also wonder if there will be a steady murmur in the theater of people quoting every single line. I know I will. Maybe it will be interactive like The Rocky Horror Picture Show and people will dance in the aisles at the end like they do in the final scene of the movie. That would be sweet.

Other movies that should be re-released that I didn't get a chance to see at the theater: Adventures in Babysitting, The Goonies, The Princess Bride. When are their 20th anniversaries? Wouldn't it be great if there was a theater that just showed awesome movies like this all the time? Has anyone thought of this? Maybe I should keep my trap shut so no one steals this brilliant idea.

Mr. Clean

The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser might be the coolest thing I've discovered lately. Goodbye scuff marks on my baseboards! Goodbye scuff marks on my tile! Hello to my new favorite cleaning product. Yours for only $2.99 at Walgreens. In a pack of 2. Good things do come in pairs.

The World Is Not Your Ashtray

I need a bumper sticker that says this. One of the things in life that makes me angry and flushed as soon as I witness it is someone throwing a cigarette out of their car while driving down the road. Really? You don't have an ashtray in there that you can use?? Because I really think you do. Every time I see it, it just makes me upset. You don't want to leave cigarette butts in your car, but you will throw them out of your window and litter the streets with them? That's awesome. Really. Maybe there's some other reason that makes more sense as to why people do this, but if there is, I'm not aware of it. Please enlighten me if so.

Along those same lines - I was in line at the drive-thru the other day and witnessed a lady get her drink, open her straw and promptly toss the straw paper out of her window. In addition to the world not being your ashtray, it is also not your trashcan! What the heck? Are you that lazy? Didn't you learn when you were like 3, to pick up after yourself? That's just lazy and irresponsible. It's like people are living in their own little world with no regard for what goes on around them. It's very disconcerting.

Aren't we all supposed to be good stewards of the earth? Am I making that up? I think at the very least, not littering the streets with trash and cigarette butts is a step in the right direction.

End ranting diatribe.

Singin' in the Rain

One of my favorite movies is Singin' in the Rain and it was on Turner Classic Movies last night, a fabulous station that shows fabulous old movies. It makes me wish I lived in the 20's and could wear cool flapper dresses and dance with Gene Kelly and sing like Debbie Reynolds. Growing up dancing, I'm not a hard sell when it comes to musicals, but I have to say, even my husband stopped to watch for a little while. Ahh musicals, making marriages stronger, one showtune at a time.

I wish there were more of them today - there's something to be said for escaping into a world where everything's in technicolor and problems are solved with a song and dance. The women are beautiful, without looking anorexic or hoochie-fied and say things like "honest". The men are dashing gentlemen who romance their ladies and say things like "By george, I think I've got it!". They're just so dreamy and happy and lovely. It does a girl's heart good to take time out of her day to watch one.

Don't get me wrong - I love the heavy stuff too. The Last King of Scotland was one of the best movies I saw last year. But it's nice every now and then to just escape. And I think Hollywood would be well-served to remember that. They put out all these heavy, dark, morality tales - some excellent, some not and I think we need more of the light-hearted stuff sometimes to let us escape and remind us that there is good in the world.

Stay tuned for my next blog entitled: "My Favorite Torture Scenes." :)

Hotel California

I've always sort of known that I'm more a hotel kind of girl than a pitch a tent kind of girl. More into room service than campfire cooking (though I do heart s'mores). A fan of big fluffy robes and not big hairy spiders in my tent...or bears....or anything big and hairy for that matter. More like Troop Beverly Hills than the Redfeathers. But this past week I finally really gave in - I always felt like I wanted to be one of those cool girls that could hike and camp out for days, but really, I'm just not. I love being outdoors, just not living there.

And the reason I gave in might have to do with me just being wise beyond my 27 years, but really I think it had a lot to do with staying at the Loews Santa Monica in CA this past week. A big king size bed with super soft sheets, that big fluffy robe, and a balcony that looked directly onto the beach, with the Santa Monica pier to the right. Oh, and all the little bottles of shampoo and lotion that smelled so good I wanted to eat them.

I think my first inkling of this though, might have come from a trip in high school I took with some friends to go white water rafting on the Ocoee. White water rafting = awesome. Camping in torrential downpours while holding up the center of the tent so it wouldn't fill up with water and collapse = memorable, but not awesome. And one of the funniest parts of that was when the huge bolt of lightning illuminated our tent around 2am or so and one of the guys we were with shrieked "Oh my God, we're gonna die!". That's right, these fellas we were with were not so much the outdoorsy, rugged type as the intellectual, chess-playing type. So the girls ended up pitching the tent ourselves. Good times. Girl power. It really is one of the best high school memories I have, despite the drama of it all.

So all this to say, bring on the 5 star, 500 count sheet, mint-on-my-pillow hotels, because this gal is ready to check in.