Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Kellllllllyyyyyyyyy.....Happy Birthday to you.

My little sis turned 34 today. A few highlights from June 26 gone by:

In 1870, the first section of the boardwalk at Atlantic City, N.J., was opened to the public.

In 1917, the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force arrived in France during World War I.

In 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco.

In 1959, President Eisenhower joined Britain's
Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonies officially opening the St. Lawrence Seaway.

In 1968, Chief U.S. Justice Earl Warren announced his intention to resign.

In 1977, 42 people were killed when a fire sent toxic smoke pouring through the Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tenn.

In 2003, Strom Thurmond, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, died in Edgefield, S.C., at age 100.


Today's Birthdays: Actress Eleanor Parker is 84. Jazz musician-film composer Dave Grusin is 72. Actor Josef Sommer is 72. Singer Billy Davis Jr. (The Fifth Dimension) is 66. Rock singer Georgie Fame is 63. Actor Clive Francis is 60. Actor Robert Davi is 52. Singer-musician Mick Jones is 51. Actor Gedde Watanabe is 51. Rock singer Chris Isaak is 50. Rock singer Patty Smyth is 49. Singer Terri Nunn (Berlin) is 45. Rock singer Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays) is 43. Rock musician Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) is 37. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson is 36. Actor Sean Hayes is 36. Actor Matt Letscher is 36. Actor Chris O'Donnell is 36. Friend, daughter, sister and mom Kelly Bennett is 34. Actress Rebecca Budig is 33. Country singer Gretchen Wilson is 32. Actor-musician Jason Schwartzman is 26. Actress Kaitlin Cullum is 20.


Chris Isaak is 50???

Pedicure!

Aren't feet weird looking? Maybe it's just mine. I know I have one really odd toe (fourth toe on my right foot), which kind of curls under the others. Also, my feet grew so that my toes formed a point - you should see when I point my toes, they actually form a very shart point. I also think the longer second toe is freaky. I've heard all sorts of theories over the years about how that means something, but to me it just means my feet aren't as pretty as some others. I take comfort in the fact that I don't know anyone who has what I would call "pretty feet". I supposed it could be worse - my husband is dark-haired, and he said the (very sparse) hair on his feet makes him look like a hobbit. Heh. Hobbit feet.

I bought a new camera last week. It was equal parts a present to myself for my recent promotion (yay!), and a practical purchase in the sense that we're going to spend about 3 weeks in Europe this fall, and I'm trying to go with one small carry-on suitcase (yeah, we'll see how that goes). On the one hand was my beloved D70, which is a) heavy, b) bulky & hard to pack, and c) very, very expensive. On the other hand was the very reasonably priced Canon PowerShot SD600, which fits in the palm of my hand, and is far more easily replaced (price-wise) if I lose it or break it.

Anyhow, I was messing around with the new toy in the office last week, and snapped the photo above - the very first photo taken! The view is from my cubicle out onto Pearl Street in Boulder.

More to come....

Internet problems in the office yesterday afternoon (damn you, C0mc@st) prompted a group of us to go off, laptops in hand, in search of free wireless Internet. In a town like Boulder, you don't have to go far. In fact, two doors down is the lovely Allison coffee house, which I've written about in previous posts. However, Allison does not have air conditioning, and since it was around 90°, my compadres and I kept walking. Then, in flash of genius, I remembered that Conor O'Neill's has free wireless, and air conditioning, and both Stella Artois and Harp on tap. I'll give you two guesses as to where we spent our afternoon. We were not necessarily productive, but we had a good time.

Jodi had a conflict come up for Tuesday this week, so we met this morning instead. I was able to drag my ass out of bed early enough to do about 15 minutes of fast walking on an incline before she got there (so much for my cardio). Once she arrived, we did this:

• Push ups - 3 sets of 12


• Hip adductors - 70 lbs. - 3 sets of 12


• Hip abductors - 90 lbs. - 3 sets of 12


• Standing leg extensions - 3 sets of 12 / each leg


• Seated wide grip pull downs - 35 lbs. - 3 sets of 12

I feel pretty good today. The leg extensions that we did today were easier than the ones last week (for me at least). I stand on one leg and lean forward to hold onto a bar, then draw my other knee to my chest, and then extend it out straight behind me, pivoting the hip joint of my standing leg. Since I used to do both ballet and gymnastics, this particular strech isn't difficult for me, but doing a lot of reps is certainly a good little burn.

Jodi also gave me some diet advice last week, and so starting today, I'm on the bandwagon of 5-6 small meals, about every 3 hours. This is hard for me, because I'm often not hungry, and I tend to lose track of time while I'm sitting at my desk. But I'm going to try. Just so that you'll all pity me, here's today's menu:

6:30am
banana
protein bar

9:30am
2 hard-boiled eggs, whites only
5 whole wheat crackers
handful of green grapes

12:30pm
grilled chicken
small salad

3:30pm
1 c. of oatmeal
1/2 small red bell pepper
string cheese

5:30pm
small apple
2 small slices tri-tip steak
green beans
dinner salad

Seems like a lot of food. We'll see how I do.

I was thinking that the best way to let you know that I'm keeping my commitment over at Neil's to "move my ass" is to post about my visits to the gym. Let me know if this gets boring.

I meet my trainer, Jodi, on Tuesdays and Thursdays before work. We do a half hour each time we meet, focusing on weights and core work. Squats and crunches exist in every workout. I usually try to get there a half hour or so before I'm to meet Jodi, and I get on the treadmill for a brisk walk / slow jog. I usually select one of the preset programs on the treadmill - "calorie burn" is my favorite, it speeds up and slows down and increases and decreases the incline. I always feel good after I get off the treadmill, and I feel nice and warm by the time I start with weights. We don't do any heavy weights, just lots of repetitions (usually 3 sets of either 12 or 15). I have very long limbs, so building the long muscles works well for me. I played a lot of sports as a child/teen (gymnastics, swimming, volleyball, softball, track), so I have a tendency to build certain muscles (thighs, back, shoulders) faster than others. I'm trying to be careful about building any big muscles - I don't want the thighs of my jeans to be tight!

Yesterday's workout was as follows:

• Bicep curls, seated on fit ball for core stabilization - 15lbs in each hand - 3 sets of 12


• Squats, each followed by a lateral shoulder raise (10lbs each hand) - 3 sets of 12


• Crunches with one knee drawn to chest - 3 sets of 12 for each leg


• Tricep extensions - 3 sets of 12 at 25lbs

The last exercise we did was kind of strange (well, it was new to me), and it's the one I'm really feeling now. I stood with my feet firmly planted, about 4 inches apart, then raised one leg and stood with that knee bent. I then extended that leg out straight, and returned it to the bent knee position, remaining balanced on one leg. I repeated this 12 times, then switched legs. Did both legs 3 times. By the end of the third, I could barely extend my leg, felt like it was lifting a bag of cement every time I kicked out my ankle - and of course it has to be done slowly and smoothly!

Anyway, that was Thursday. I'll be back at the gym Saturday morning, on my own this time - can't afford Jodi more than twice a week!

Good news this morning! My mobile rang about 7am with the news that my friend Kim had her baby. Lily R. was born late last night, weighing a healthy 7lbs. 4 oz. Kim is such a trooper, she said the delivery was surprisingly easy (although clearly not as easy as my friend Joni, who described the delivery of her twin boys as "they shot out like they were on a water slide"), and she and the baby will be going home tomorrow. My best wishes go out to the new mama, and Papa Dean.

P.S. I'll bet you thought I was kidding when I posted recently about all the babies, huh? It just keeps coming - found out the other day that our friends R & D are expecting their second baby this fall. I swear, there's something in the water here.

I was a couple of hours late to work today, because this morning at 9am was the opening of the Title Nine warehouse sale. At least, I thought it was a warehouse sale. They sent me a flyer about a sale, but I lost the stupid flyer. Then last night, I went to Bonfils for my regular blood donation, and there was a sign about the sale posted in the empty storefront next door. I figured, what the hell, I like Title Nine but won't usually spend the ungodly amount of money that they want for most of their merchandise, so a warehouse sale works for me. Turns out, it wasn't really a warehouse sale, except in the sense that every woman in Boulder between the ages of 18 and 70 was there. Some even brought their husbands (I think so that the hubby could be used as a barricade when digging through a particularly deep bin of sports bras). I had to park in a WHOLE SEPARATE STRIP MALL LOT!! Come on, this isn't Boston or LA - we NEVER have trouble parking, especially at a strip mall that until today boasted of a Blockbuster, a Glacier ice cream store, and the Outback Saloon.

So the part about how it wasn't really a warehouse sale is in reference to the fact that this shit was still REALLY expensive. Elbow your way in, push against the human tide to get close enough to a table to grab an item that MIGHT fit, wait in the cashier line that wrapped twice around the lenghth of the store, only to still pay $29 for a t-shirt? $19 for a sports bra? I get that it's less than in the store, but it's hardly a bargain price. Hell, I can do better than that on Sierra Trading Post or Campmor, and can even find some of the same brands. Plus, no one steps on my toes or snatches a sweatshirt out of my hands when I shop online.

About three weeks ago, I made a commitment over at Citizen of the Month to exercise at least 3 times per week, or else publicly humiliate myself on my blog. Ha! No public flogging here! That's right, I am on track with my thrice-weekly visits to the gym. I've even reached the point where I sort of look forward to it. With the help of my trainer, Jodi, I'm getting toned, little by little. She and I meet two mornings a week, and then I make it at least one more time each week on my own. Here's what we did this morning:

• Tricep extensions


• Chest presses


• Hip adductors


• Hip abductors


• Crunches on a fit ball, pushing medicine ball skyward at the top of each crunch

Unfortunately, I was running late this morning and didn't get any time on the treadmill, which is how I usually warm up. Maybe tomorrow....

On my iPod for the gym:

Gorillaz
Earth, Wind & Fire
Crystal Method
Pussycat Dolls
Fat Boy Slim
Kanye West
Nirvana

I know. Weird.

I got back into town last night from a long weekend in Durango. A friend of mine participated in the Adventure Xstream race, and I was part of the support crew ("crewing" became a favored term over the weekend, and was usually invoked to describe what we were doing when we were sprawled on the couch or floor in the condo, drinking wine and eating cheese). I love Durango, it's a very scenic town, with very mild temperatures this time of year - mid to high 70s during the day, low 50s at night - as opposed to Boulder and the mid-90s temperatures that I have to look forward to all this week.

Our condo was on the mountain at the Purgatory ski resort, about 25 miles outside town. The view from the couch was straight out across the valley, to the Needles peaks opposite the resort. I would show you photos, but my trusty D70 has taken to turning itself on while in my bag and thereby draining its battery - so no pictures until I hear back from the rest of the team (the picture above is from Google Images).

P.S. In my defense, I tried to post last week, really I did. Fracking Blogger was down. I'm surprised I could even view my blog, 'cause I sure couldn't post to it.

I set up my site for RSS feeds, via FeedBurner (see the clever little icon on the lower right) - feel free to sign up. Go easy on me, I'm feeling very technically challenged by all of this and am resisting the urge to whimper. Clearly, I do not spend enough time online and perusing blogs. I may have to change that....