We're baaaaack!

Did you miss us? OK, we were back yesterday but I had a lot of work to catch up on and I was just tired by the end of the night even though Lina did all of the driving. I swear, being a passenger and napping the whole way home is exhausting!

On the way up it was a rainy and cold drive. Perfect sleeping weather, which is what I did, LOL. I did relieve Lina for an hour. Then we pulled over to the playboy leather store that we found last summer. Apparently the department of transportation is closing them down because they're widening the exit lane (why, I don't know) so the playboy leather was 75% off. I must admit I went a little crazy. I bought 4 more leather skirts and I haven't even worn the one I bought last summer, LOL. Lina says I'm one of those people who will go poor saving money when I exclaimed I had to get them for 75% off! Come on, they were priced great before the sale. So now I have a suede skirt, one with pink piping, one with white, one with zippers, you get the idea, LOL. The rest of the trip was uneventful. We did stop and eat at a Sonic. I just had to say that to rub it in to Nancy who loves their drinks. We were even there during happy hour but I didn't order a drink, saved my calories for the tater tots.

We didn't make it to Dicks on Sat night. So no dicks for me, I know, how sad, LOL. We had heard that they had new management and went downhill and so I stayed in to spend time with the big D. OK, she's the little D since she's so tiny. She had just made banana nut muffins and they were so tasty. A perfect midnight snack.

Sunday was a lazy day. While Dao was working Lina and I watched Hairspray. I don't know why I took so long to watch this movie. I love musicals. I guess it's just because I didn't know anything about it. I loved this movie and I thought all of the actors were great but especially James Marsden. I always thought he was cute but he was positively dreamy in this movie and it makes me want to see 27 Dresses even more. Once Dao came home we went to eat and then once we got back to the crib we all took a nap. Wow, what a great weekend getaway, LOL.

Once we got moving it was time to get ready and head out to the game. Dao couldn't go with us since she works on weekends and is pooped by the time Sunday night rolls around. The arena was packed so we decided to do our souvenir shopping later. Since I thought the game would be more fun with a buzz I made my grey goose and tonic a double (as well as the other 2 I ordered, LOL). I also had a pretzel and a chili cheese hot dog. Lina was on a hockey high and didn't notice what I was eating. Plus, I made sure she had her Guinness. When we got into the car Lina realized she had forgotten her camera batteries in D's but no worries, I have my camera. First picture she takes and the batter light comes on, wah wah wahhhhhh. Since the game had just started and Lina is a die-hard hockey fan and this was the All Star game off I went in search of batteries. Can you believe the souvenir shop doesn't sell double AA's? Then they wouldn't let me out to go look in the CNN center which is connected to the arena so I went to the Guinness stand to buy Lina a drink as a consolation prize. While there I was lamenting the fact that there were no batteries to be found one of the guys working the stand offered to go get batteries. How awesome was that? My whining paid off! Of course he got a hell of a tip but it was worth it so Lina could have some memories and here are a few.

I know you're sad to not see pictures of me but I didn't like my pictures and you all know how vain I am, LOL.

I have to say the game flew by. I am ready to go to a real game for the bloodlust. Afterwards we went to a Mexican restaurant and when we got back to D's place I literally passed out. I didn't feel drunk but I was sawing logs (like a trucker) 5 minutes after we got home. Thank goodness Lina can sleep through anything, LOL.

Our first road trip...

Will be happening tomorrow. Apparently the NHL All Star game is this weekend and you know a certain someone is a die hard hockey fan. Hmmm, I wonder who that could be? The game is in Atlanta, long time no see, LOL. It will be a quickie trip, the game is on Sunday, we're driving up Sat and coming back Mon. Since we will be there Sat night I think a trip to Dicks is in order. After all, I wasn't able to give them a fond farewell which was sad.

Since I won't be around this weekend I need to get on my guest bloggers about getting back on track. Since I had been slacking I couldn't very well get on them about slacking but now that I am back on track time to get them going too.

Sorry the game isn't working that I had uploaded and I can't find something to replace it.

Today was weigh in day...

I only lost 1.4 pounds this week. The good news is, it was a loss and they do say, 1 to 2 pounds a week is very healthy. Of course, I like it better when I have bigger numbers but I'm realistic and will take any weight loss I can get. Today Lina said I needed a rest day, which means only one trip to the gym, LOL. She whupped my butt in that one trip but it was still only one trip. I'll take it.

Anyone else watching the Biggest Loser? I'm a little sad to see Bettie Sue go. At first she was just crochety old woman but she really grew on me. Of course, her and her daughter did a horrible job of pleading their case, LOL. I like the yellow team so I'm glad they got to stay though. The real reason I'm bringing the show up is, in the beginning I loved the orange team but now I can't stand them. I had heard that this season people were going to be penalized for deliberately gaining weight but I guess since they still posted a loss that doesn't count. I don't like it. I don't like the way they're playing the game and at this point I actually like Mark more then the orange team. I am almost always doing cardio during this show and it really makes the time fly.

I have been reading Lisa Kleypas' A Scandal in Spring. As much as I enjoy all of the paranormals I read whenever I pick up a good historical it reminds me why historicals will always be my first love. Sure, paras are new and exciting but historicals are my comfort food.

One day its hot...

and the next day it's not but you know what? It snowed this weekend in Atlanta so I cannot complain, LOL. Saturday there was a tornado watch and at one point there was a clap of thunder and a bolt of lightning so close it made Lina and I both jump out of our skin. Actually it was like BOOM BOOM BOOM but like gunshots. If we had been struck by lightning that would not have been a good thing, LOL.

Lately all of my money has been spent shopping. Want to guess what for? Why it would be for workout clothes because I now workout twice a day and my wardrobe was not designed for that much sweating. I even had to buy more socks because I was running out faster then I did laundry. I had bought a pair of sweat pants at VS that I loved so I went online where there was more of a selection and they were having a big sale on them and ordered a bunch in the same size my other ones were. They didn't fit as well when I got them so I had to send everything back. Well a couple of the pants fit but were too high waisted and not meant for my short body. Next I went to Ross where I spent a fortune but a part of that fortune was on new tank tops and shorts. The shorts I own are short shorts or dress shorts, not meant for the gym. Yesterday we went to Target where I bought even more workout clothes! This getting in shape thing is putting a dent in my wallet but at least I look cute when I get to the gym, let's not talk about what I look like when I leave, LOL.

We finally hit the NASCAR bar

and while the drinks were ass, the environment was a lot of fun. I ordered a blue drink in honor of Nancy. The blue drink that was on the menu the bartender told me wasn't very good so then we decided on a blue margarita and guess what, it wasn't very good either, LOL. My next drink was a grey goose greyhound but their grapefruit juice tasted horrible, after that I decided I was done drinking for the night. I may have to just drink shots when I go there next time. We thought they would have karaoke but apparently that is Thur and Fri night so we will have to go back. Lina pinkie swore with the bartender that we would be back (otherwise she wasn't going to let us leave, LOL).

Of course, before we went out for a couple of drinks we had to eat. On the menu was the winter squash soup and the tortellini spinach salad with skewers of scallops and mussels wrapped with bacon. Damn, my mouth is watering just typing that out. F

You know the gym is only open for 3 hours on Sundays. Well we didn't get there til half an hour before they closed because Lina was watching the football game. So she says that makes up for the night we missed the gym because I was talking to my brother, LOL. Of course she says I still owe her for the chinese buffet. Something tells me I'll be paying for that meal for a long time to come.

I achieved failure today...

and apparently that is a good thing. Lina had me doing bicep curls with 15 lb weights and I got half way up on a rep and couldn't go anymore, that was a good thing. I don't know why. Maybe the fact that I pushed myself so far. My arm literally just dropped halfway thru, LOL.

Last night Lina and I were sitting around, replete from our dinner and she said she's now in the mood to make soups. Of course I was very enthusiastic. She said if I find the recipe she would make it. Next thing you know I was searching epicurious for highly rated recipes. One of the ones I found was for a winter squash soup with gruyere croutons. Guess what Lina made today? She used vegetable stock instead of chicken and milk instead of heavy cream and it was fabulous. She used the croutons with the leftover lettuce soup and OMG! Mouth watering good. I'm not a crouton eater and I normally don't put crackers or anything in my soup and these were so fantastic. Even if you don't love squash, which I do, you should try making the croutons for your salads or soups or use bigger pieces of bread for spaghetti (I'm thinking of your family Rosie).

Today my friend Susan who lives in Austria sent me a recipe book for Austrian desserts which is PERFECT! I probably wouldn't make the recipes but my roommate will bake them for me. Color me happy! Talk about timing, she also sent coffee. I don't drink it but if you want to try austrian coffee come visit.

I went to Ross today, I decided since there is actually a cook in the kitchen I should get some more pans LOL. When I moved to Atlanta I didn't bring any pans with me. I didn't really need more then a couple so that's all I bought but I want to make sure that my chef has the tools that she needs. I bought a pot for soups and a wok style pan for stir fry. Thinking about that, the last pan I bought was because I didn't have a sauce pan for Lina when she visited me in Atl and was cooking for me there. Next up is a cheese grater. She had to slice the cheese by hand today. Oh, I also need to get my knifes sharpened. I always just use my steak knives for cutting since I was too lazy to get my knives sharpened but Lina is not lazy so I will have to work on that also. I also bought a new pair of flip flops tevas this time, I don't have this color, LOL and some workout clothes. I was too lazy to try them on at the store (hey, I can't change overnight) so they may be going back. I bought a couple more photo albums, my pictures came! Now I have to actually sit down and put them in an album. Maybe I'll work on it this weekend but I'm not making any promises!

Lina was in a cooking mood today...

Which makes it a good thing I am always in an eating mood. She is really utilizing her new cookbooks, yay for me. One of them was a cookbook on soups and appetizers. Both things I love and adore (I know, bug surprise). She felt like making a soup today and decided on a creamy arugula soup. When she said arugula my response was, isn't that lettuce? The thought of a lettuce soup was not appealing. But then she said creamy and I was like, ok, now you're talking. This soup also had potatoes, onions, leeks, parsley and cream. While Lina was slaving away on her made from scratch soup, I went and took a nap. I did wake up in time to eat the soup though. I'm a very supportive friend like that. Plus, the smell of the soup made it's way into my bedroom, closed door and all and I couldn't resist it's siren's call. The bug had really bitten Lina, while I devoured the soup (why did I doubt her?) she was making banana nut muffins. She had found these adorable little bread tins so she used them for her muffins, yes, from scratch. These are better then what you would find in a bakery. Lina only allowed me to have half, she wanted me to wait until after we went to the gym but I whined about the fact that they were warm now so she relented, LOL.

It's not like I can complain because in between making batches of muffins she made my dinner because I was hungry. So she whipped up a beef salad for me because she knew how much I love it. She actually cooked mushrooms with the beef and added pine nuts. Need I say it was delicious?I think not!

BTW, since she had all of the ingredients out she decided to make savory muffins also full of cheese and herbs. It almost tastes like pizza bread. Lina says it will be perfect with spaghetti, mmmmm.

Now don't be too envious of me (of course you should be a little) because I also had to go to the gym twice today. She even called me to make sure I was on my way before she got home (dang it, she caught me, I was planning on going after my nap, she was having none of that). She had tried to wake me up to go with her in the morning since it was too rainy for her to run but I wasn't getting up. I explained later to her that I must be mentally prepared. She can't spring something like that on me. Guess what we're doing tomorrow morning?

BTW we now have a coffee maker. Neither of us are coffee drinkers but you know we're all about being the hostesses with the mostesses so any coffee drinkers that visit can get their morning fix. Although, since neither of us are coffee drinkers we don't really know how to work the coffee machine so while we'll be fabulous hostesses, you'll be making your own coffee, LOL.

One more for the blog...

That is what Lina said to me at the gym today on my last set of exercises. So I did one extra muscle straining push just for my blog. I actually thought I was developing some muscles in my chest while I was working on my triceps and looking at the mirror in front of me, then I realized what I was looking at was a sweat induced mirage. Once I wiped my eyes the muscles disappeared.

But don't worry, I am beginning to see a difference in how fast I move. Lina and I went grocery shopping this morning and Lina remembered we needed parsley while we were in line so I zipped to the produce section and you should have seen how many old people I passed! Yep, I didn't let that old guy with the walker outpace me and the guy with the limp, I smoked him! Since I grabbed the wrong parsley (there were 2 different kinds and of course I grabbed the wrong version) I had to go ALL the way back to the produce section again and I wasn't even winded. I was so proud of myself as I briskly walked thru Publix. I really felt the working out was paying off.

Did you notice how I said we went grocery shopping in the morning? Lina wanted to go first thing this morning. I don't normally leave my bed for a couple of hours after I wake up, thank goodness for my lap top, LOL and she wanted me to get up and go grocery shopping? Obviously I did. How can I resist the lure of food? Lina says she's going to start dangling food in front of me as I walk to make me walk faster, LOL. For some reason she thinks it's funny that I spend the entire time walking looking for new places to eat.

The Biggest Loser was on last night and you know what that means don't you? Yep, I had to weigh in before we went to the store. I lost 4 lbs this week, woot woot! So I have officially lost 7.2 lbs in 2 weeks. Yes, I count the point 2s when losing weight but not when gaining weight, then I round down, LOL. Talk about awesome motivation! I guess all of that talk about diet and exercise actually works but don't you worry I will still continue my love affair with food. Lina hears me wax poetic all of the time about one food item or another, much to her chagrin, LOL.

And the winner is...

I swear the contest is not rigged. I sent a text message to my sis and told her to pick a # between one and seven and she picked three. I was going to ask Lina to pick a # but she reads my blog, unlike my sister. I try to keep it as impartial as possible. So congratulations Nancy, you won the audio copy of Bloodfever!!! Once I receive it, I will then forward it on to you. You all may not know this about Nancy because she hides it behind her sweet smile but she is as competitive as I am so I know as she reads this is doing a happy dance, partly over Bloodfever but partly just because she won, LOL.

Lina and I have a great relationship, she cooks and I clean. Tonight she mentioned how many dishes there were to do, I looked at them and wasn't phased a bit, I used to do dishes for 11 of us, three meals a day. Not that I enjoy doing dishes but I certainly enjoy having someone who loves to cook like Lina does as a roommate. My mom loves to cook too but it's all fried (which is why it's so delicious, LOL). I had to beg her to cook vegetables when she lived with me in Los Angeles. Of course they were cooked in a lot of butter and oil but they were oh so good. Actually my fave thing my mom made was a beef salad, it is so simple yet mine never tastes like hers. But I digress, Lina and I walked to the Dancing Avocado Kitchen yesterday and we both enjoyed it. She had the vegetarian burrito and I had the shrimp and there were lots of yummy shrimp in it. Sorry no pics were taken. I will get back into the habit of sharing my food with you. There were some chips and salsa served with our burritos but I was a good girl and didn't eat the chips (but I wanted to). Of course Lina helped by taking them off of my tray, LOL. Then we walked to the ubs which had a paltry selection of romance books but what they did have was a lot of cookbooks and lucky for me, Lina found 2 she wanted. She has already bookmarked a couple of recipes she wants to try, yay for me! She loves to cook and I love to eat. Like I said, a match made in heaven.

Tonight when we went to the gym The Biggest Loser was on. When we first got on the machines there weren't many to choose from so we were on the other end of the tv it was playing on but when BL came on it had cleared out. Unfortunately the tv it was playing on was the one tv that doesn't play closed caption so 10 minutes into the workout I get off of my machine, without saying anything to Lina and go ask for the remote control. Lina laughed when she saw what I put on. I could not watch msnbc when I knew my show was on. Having something on tv you want to see makes cardio so much more bearable. I couldn't pay attn to my book on tape though so I put music on while watching Bob and Jillian do their thing. Even though I think 2 hours is way too long for this show it does give us time to get home in time to watch the weigh ins. So far I think the right teams have gone home but where I used to love the orange team I find myself disenchanted with them now. I don't like it when teams are too cocky. BTW, after cardio we did abs. We ALWAYS do abs. I don't like doing abs. Lina introduced a new ab exercise today. I did not like it LOL. You know it's bad when crunches are the easy exercise.

It's time for another Mannion contest...

This one brought to you courtesy of Brenda. I have turned Brenda onto the joy of the audio book. Like any good pusher, I gave her a taste by lending her Darkfever and then she went out and bought Bloodfever. Woo hoo, my master plan worked, LOL. BAM has loaded Bloodfever onto her ipod so she no longer needs the cds and she is donating it to a worthy cause, to the happiness of my Mannions. Everyone who posts to this blog in the next 24 hours (til midnight eastern time on Tuesday) will be eligible to win. I just finished listening to BF, sure I've read it a few times already but I pick up things while listening that I missed while reading. That and it makes cardio so much easier. Since I'm done with BF I'll be listening to The Highlander's Touch next. It's nice to have connections because cardio is a bitch and anything that can make it go by faster I am all for.

Thank you Brenda for being so generous and yes, this contest is open to all who read and if you live out of the country that is not a problem. I will mail wherever.

Ever hear of a Kentucky hot brown?

Neither have I! That is, until I watched Throwdown with Bobby Flay tonight on te Food Network. I don't know if it is a good idea for me to have the food network, LOL. A hot brown is an open faced turkey sandwich with a cheese sauce, tomatoes and bacon on top. You had me at cheese sauce. I can't believe I've never heard of this sandwich and more importantly, I can't believe I've never had one! Flay says it's one of the most popular things he sells at his NYC restaurant so while it's a Kentucky staple it can be found elsewhere and I'm determined to find one. Maybe after I move away from Daytona, LOL.

This weekend I had lunch with roofer author Gennita Low, otherwise known as Jenny from the block. Lina was not happy to hear that we had lunch at a Chinese buffet, LOL. I have to say though, while I didn't eat fabulously, compared to how I normally eat at buffets, I was a saint! Those of you who read her blog know about the famous, or rather, infamous ranger buddy. I asked her what he was doing since he's laid up for awhile and not able to roof. Turns out he's spending all of his time working out at the gym and then she points to me and says, he knows you. I was like, huh? Guess which gym he works out at? She told him to keep an eye out for us and he said he knew exactly who we were and once I pieced it together I remembered seeing a guy in a full leg brace working out at the gym! Now I have to figure out how to introduce myself to the guy who bikers give a wide birth to, LOL. I saw him today while I was working out on the bike but I didn't say anything. Don't worry, I shall, one of these days.

After lunch I went to check out Jenny's work. The houses that they roof are gorgeous. She tried to recruit me into helping her work but I pointed out that I'm decorative, not functional. I had on my cute new shorts. I bought them months ago but hadn't worn them yet. I did finally crumble and offer to help but then she sent me on my way. Whew! I got out of there quickly! But I have a whole new appreciation for kickass roofer author Gennita Low.

Coming tomorrow, a giveaway brought to you by our very own BAM aka Brenda. Yes, I'm mean, I'm going to make you wait a day, LOL.

Observations...

Atlanta may be all blacks and gays but Daytona is all bikers and grays. I knew DB has bike week because when people found out I was moving here they all told me about it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known. I didn't realize until I moved here the prevalence of motorcycles the rest of the year. I did know there would be a lot of older people here though, that didn't come as a surprise, LOL.

Also not really surprising is the lack of good restaurants. So far nothing has blown me away. I searched online and found this chinese/vietnamese restaurant. Never a good thing when it's a combo (although Japanese/Korean restaurants I like, mainly cause they're run by Koreans and that's what I plan on eating, LOL). She told me their Vietnamese selection was small which I don't mind but I was disappointed in the food. The pork was cooked more Chinese style then Vietnamese and the kicker was it was more money then I would pay in a Vietnamese restaurant catering to Vietnamese (they always jack it up for the anglos). If it was great I would be ok with it but it was barely good and since I can make the dish at home I guess when I get a craving that's what I'll have to do, if the one Asian store I saw carries what I need. It's a small asian store not a Super H.

What they do have plenty of is pizza places. I swear, there seems to be a pizza parlor on every other block. I guess bikers just want pizza, LOL. I need to research and find out who has decent pizza. I've seen a bunch of attorneys at law too. Bikers need a lot of representation, LOL.

One thing I didn't notice in the ATL that Kim pointed out to me was the fact that they didn't have 7-11. Kim noticed this because she has a slurpee addiction, otherwise, I would have never noticed. Luckily DB is safe for her to visit, there are plenty of 7-11s here. The spring breakers need their slurpees.

Also missing are Nordstrom's and Trader Joe's. I will have to go into the big city if I want to go to Nordy's which just means I won't be spending as much money, which is a good thing, LOL. We have found a used bookstore but haven't had a chance to go in yet. Lina and I will walk there next week because it's by a restaurant we want to check out called the Dancing Avocado Kitchen. I looked at their menu and read the reviews. I have high hopes. Then again, some of the other places I've eaten at had great reviews also, LOL.

Finally!

I finally ordered all of the prints I wanted to put into photo albums. I know I have been talking about it forever. I was a year and a half behind, do you want to know how many pics I got printed? 885!!! Keep in mind I went to Europe during this time, there was the Sherri signing in Seattle, RWA Atlanta, RWA Dallas, vegas and Jersey trip, my cruise, visit to Orlando, trip to Charleston and various trips to Atlanta from my wonderful friends. I actually practiced some serious editing. There 900 pics taken in Vegas/Jersey alone, LOL. Luckily snapfish is having a 9 cent a print special until the 14th, the catalyst for all of this. Of course, I ordered so many prints that my shipping is $26 but that ended up being cheaper then if I picked them up at Walgreens which would have then been 19 cents a print. Now I have to buy a few more photo albums and dig out some of the empty frames I have packed up. I do have one or two empty photo albums but I have a feeling I'll need more.

So yesterday Lina had me go to the gym and do some cardio while she was in school. The night before we had gone to the gym and I was kicking ass on the elliptical so I fully planned on doing the same yesterday. Such was not the case. I was planning on doing a half an hour on the elliptical at a nice brisk pace and then 15 minutes on the treadmill. The last minute or two on the elliptical I was dying but I wasn't stopping but then I headed over to the treadmill which is usually not too bad after the elliptical but I was so pooped from the other machine I only lasted 5 minutes and then decided the bike would be easier because I could sit down, even though I hate the bike, makes my bum sore and my knees don't like it. I was so out of it that a trainer had to come over and help me move my bike seat. The bike was a no go also because I couldn't pedal enough to keep the machine going so I was done, LOL. I called it a day and went to meet Lina to get our pedis. Don't worry, we went back to the gym later on that night to do weights.

As for pedis, I went with a nice bright pink. I like pink in the summer months and since it feels like summer I decided to celebrate with a fun summer color. Now I just need a tan to go with the summer colors. If only I could work from the pool. I wouldn't be able to see the computer screen with the sun shining on it LOL. Maybe this weekend I'll lay by the pool and read. I have so many books calling my name. I want to have a little bit of a tan before my first visitors come in. Nancy and Su have bought their tickets. I lured Nancy here with the weather and Su with happy hour in walking distance! They'll be here next month. I'm hard at work researching where we can eat. I may have to skip the food log that week, LOL.

You know what is awful?

Stanky people at the gym! There is a difference between stink and stank! I swear, if you have odor when you sweat then slop on the deodorant and fabreeze your body is necessary. Fabreeze works, use it! I got on the treadmill next to a guy who had some serious body odor but I didn't want to hurt his feelings so I didn't move. What was I thinking? It was awful! From now on, I'm moving. You have to be aware of the fact that you stink. If you're willing to force your body odor on me and my breathing then I am going to move.

You know how much I love the Biggest Loser. We were at the gym while most of it was on but we did get home in time for the weigh in. Lina was able to say spot on what people would lose. It was pretty impressive. She would be like, based on their age and body type they will have lost 4 lbs and voila, that's what that person lost! And she was saying this while in the kitchen (she watched it last week with me).

So the BL comes on Tuesday nights. Well I am living my own BL right here in my own home. I weigh in Wed mornings. You know I am not a fan. But it's a great way of keeping me honest. That and my food journal. I just ate 5 pretzels and the first thing I did was log it. So my weight loss for last week was 3 lbs! So as the BL season moves along we'll follow along with my own journey. Once the show ends though, I'm not telling you anymore, LOL.

Last night's dinner was a whole wheat penne pasta with yellow squash, zucchini, mushrooms, shaved parmesan and shrimp with a tomato dipping sauce. She made enough for lunch today, yippee!

Sunset in Fl

Lina took these pictures a few nights ago every 20 minutes. This is the view from our balcony.



And tonight when we came back from the gym Lina made dinner, a spinach and tortellini salad with mushrooms, cranberries, red onions, pine nuts, shaved parmesan and shrimp for me. Yes, life is good.

I started my night with a purple hooter...

and then I had a gladiator. That was my Sat night, how was yours? Sorry there was no new blog yesterday. I had a chat at Karen's message board and then was working on some stuff before we settled down to watch Rome. My days and nights are flying by, then again, 2 hours of my day is spent working out, that could have something to do with it, LOL.

Weekends do not mean no gym. It doesn't matter that the gym is only open for 3 hours on Sunday, we'll make it there sometime during those three hours, LOL. Last night since I had a scheduled chat there was no time to dally... We spent an hour at the gym doing weights and then came home to change shirts (you know I'm a sweater) and then head back out the door to walk. Since the gym is open 4 to 7 we didn't go til after 4. You know what that schedule means don't you? There was no nap for Ms Leiha yesterday! I don't know why I was thinking after the gym I would be going home, LOL. We got home 10 minutes before the chat started, just enough time for me to put a load of laundry in the wash. All of this working out means I had a ton of laundry to do. I needed workout clothes for today, LOL.

Fabulous author Marjorie Liu is in China for a month and like the dedicated blogger she is, she's blogging about it. She is not at her normal blogging address because she can't access that for a month but if you want to read her adventures click here. Her latest post tells a hilarious story about how to catch a cab. It's made even more hilarious by the fact that every time I've met her she's calm, cool and elegant. Now picture that and read her blog post. Yes, I am the Leiha who won her latest contest. What can I say, I really am lucky when it comes to books.

So are you curious about Sat night? I thought you were. Lina and I decided that we should hook up with Ana before school starts and life starts getting busy. Well for her, I already feel like I'm busy, LOL. Luckily Ana had no plans so she got a babysitter for the night. I did get to briefly meet Little Jack and let me say, I am in love! I would have loved to have spent more time with him. He is smart as a whip! I think he's almost 3. Ana's new house is great. It's huge and a perfect party pad, which it will be next month.

Lina wanted to go back to the British pub we went to for Ana's birthday. I had no problem with that because the pub has karaoke! Woo hoo! Even better, it wasn't busy so that meant a lot of singing for me! Lucky me, unlucky them, LOL. We sat at the bar and the first thing I see is a sign for 2 for one drinks. I can't pass that up. I didn't realize they were shots and huge ones at that. I can't remember what was in the drinks, a few of the ones had jager in them so those I avoided like the plague. The purple hooter was a tad sweet, I liked the gladiator more, imagine that, LOL. Here's a pic of me, Lina and Ana after we first got there. And this was our awesome bartender Rob. He's british and he can sing! He is the lead singer of his own band. Lina talked him into singing a song and he rocked an Oasis song. But he's not the only one who rocked. I did too, LOL. Ana and I put in a bunch of songs right away thinking that would keep us through the night but by the end of the night as people left she kept us in the rotation. We found that out when we saw Ana's name in the cue and she couldn't remember what she put in. I thought for sure she had another song in but she didn't as she found out when she went up there. The lady running it asked her what she wanted to sing and Ana had no clue, LOL. So at least I was prepared when my name came back up again. Ana has a wonderful voice and I love how she's willing to try new songs. I picked Colbie Calliat's Bubbly. I knew I knew the song but couldn't remember how it went. Some girls were excited when the song came on, I heard and oh, I Love this song exclamation. I told them, when I'm done I don't know if you're going to feel this way, LOL. But I did ok on it. The other songs I sang were, The Carpenters Top of the World (Gennita Low turned me on to this), Poison's Talk Dirty to Me, Johnny Cash Ring of Fire (I had fun singing this song, first time I have sung that live), Madonna's Like a Prayer (the audience cheered but I lost track at the end so I stopped singing, LOL) and Ana and I sang Lita Ford's Kiss Me Deadly. It was so much fun! It's a very supportive crowd, especially the people who run the karaoke. They totally supported and cheered on Coco, LOL.

Rob was actually in Daytona last weekend with another bar patron Fat Bastard (yes, that's what they call him) at a bar down the street from us and he told me the bar (a Nascar one Linda) has karaoke until 3am (sound the choir now)! I'm so there!

We had planned on going to the irish bar down by Ana's but the next thing you know it's 1am, LOL. That' what happens when you're rocking the microphone. Lina and I brought clothes in case we wanted to stay the night but we both wanted to sleep in our own beds and more importantly for me, to lounge in my bed the next morning, LOL. So we resisted Big Jack (he was home when we dropped off Ana) and drove the hour home. It was a great evening and the weekend flew by! I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend.

No longer just famous in my own mind...

Create Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

OK, I guess I won't be coming to a news stand near you but a girl can dream, can't she? Now it's your turn to play. Email me the code for your pic (or the pic itself) and I'll post it here. There are a bunch of covers to choose from. Pic the small image to save.

Since Nancy never gets on on the weekends and I know she would want to play, I'll do hers, EG!

This will teach her not to check my blog on the weekends, LOL.

My roommate is a Maxim gal if ever there was one!


Nes decided to show us her inner rock star! At least she's not puking like some people!


JK and Nes in Palenque, Mexico. You know my #1 fan had to get in on the fun.


You know how picture horny Nes is. Why do one when you can do three?


Aimee's pic is so cozy she should be on Martha Stewart living, LOL! But we all know she's more comfortabl on Rolling Stone, I have a feeling many of my readers will be Rolling Stone girls.


I always thought Mich was the first one of us who would grace the cover of Sports Illustrated!


I think Steve Carrell and Mich make a wonderful couple of the year.


Emma is practicing to be on America's Next Top Model!

Gennita picked a picture where she was the normal looking one but trust me, she is not.


Is it love, lust or like?


Here's our Cosmo gal Linda!

I totally planned on blogging last night...

I had the pics taken and downloaded but Lina has turned me on to the wonder that is Rome. She brought the first season down with her and we've been watching 2 episodes a night and Rome and the nekkid men on there take up all of my attention. Normally staying up late to blog wouldn't be a problem but since I have to get up to go to the gym, no more late nights for me. I am trying to get to bed at midnight each night or as close to it as possible. Actually I planned on only watching one ep last night and go to bed but the show is so damn good! We had to watch two, LOL.

Yesterday was cardio day (yes, you'll be hearing lots of workout stories *G*) and we were going to do an hour on the elliptical. I was listening to Bloodfever on my ipod but it's hard not to be bored while doing cardio. After 15 minutes I would say, I'm a quarter of the way thru, at the 20 minute mark I said I'm a third of the way thru, at the half hour mark I was like SHIT! I'm only half way thru, LOL. After 35 minutes Lina leans over and says, how about we only do 45 minutes and then come hell or highwater we walk tonight. I would have agreed to anything to get my cardio session to end sooner, LOL. Of course, she made me walk faster for the last 10 minutes, dang it!

So last night we bundled up to go walking which also included leather gloves and a scarf for me. It was that cold. And we headed out into the elements. It was also quite windy. Not fun, not fun at all, LOL. The funny thing was, no matter what pace Lina set I was always a couple of steps behind her. She thinks it was so I could look at her ass but if I wanted to look at a fine ass I would just look at mine in the mirror *G*. By the end she was holding my hand so I would keep up. It was cold, it was windy and I had to go to the bathroom! The good news is we walked for 47 minutes and I thought we were only out for a half an hour, the bad news is, we're going walking tonight and we're walking longer. Plus she wants me to walk faster! I don't walk fast. I have short legs. I stroll. I prefer to drive if I have to leave the house. Wish me luck! I need it!

My furniture was delivered on the first woot woot! Here are pics of our living room/office and the view outside of our balcony as well as the pool and hot tub.





The good news is I still love my furniture. The couch is totally comfortable. I think we need to put something on our walls but other then that we're pretty settled in. We're using the dining room as an office and my table is in the kitchen. Lina actually sits at the table to eat, not in front of the tv, what a concept! I bought the bamboo table at Ross, it's tv tray style and so convenient I love it and you know how much I love Ross. You can't really see it but I have another bookshelf on the other side of the tv full of photo albums. Lina is happy we got a couch since I spent all of my time in my bedroom until it got delivered. I didn't like sitting on the floor. I keep telling her I'm a delicate flower but for some reason she doesn't believe me.

Mind, body and soul...

That's all Lina wants from me. WTF!?!??! Meet my new workout partner, otherwise known as Evilina. This is how her mind works. I asked her what time we would have to get up today to workout, she said 8, I was like, oh cool, I normally wake up around 8:30 so that's not that bad so she decided 7 would be better then! Luckily she was generous and didn't get me up til 7:46am yes, I looked at my clock, LOL. I did appreciate the extra 46 minutes.

Luckily it doesn't take much for me to get moving. I don't like getting up and getting moving but I can. I brushed my teeth, got dressed and was ready to go. I don't drink coffee so I don't need caffeine in the morning. We drove to the gym Lina decided we were joining (I wouldn't tell a chef what to cook) but turns out they just were bought out and change their name and their prices in the 2 days since Lina talked to someone. They couldn't tell her this over the phone apparently, LOL. Anyway, we drove to the gym that was closer to home and decided to join them even though they don't do classes. I mean, I have Evilina, why do I need a class? After a warm up on the treadmill we went to do weights! I never do weights. It's just not my thing but apparently that's going to change.

We did the leg press machine. Lina put 110 lbs for her round and she put 20 lbs for me! I told her I could do more then 20, until I did one and boy was I ever thankful she only put 20 lbs on, LOL. There went my delusions of grandeur. OK, I had no delusions when it comes to weights but still...20 lbs? I think I did ok holding my own on other machines. The machine where it feels like you're at a gynecologists office was difficult but she says that will help my muscles when it comes to other things, wink wink. Put another 10 lbs on! OK, not really, LOL. I did impress her with my biceps curls though. She started me at 10 lbs then in the next round she went up so I had to go up. There were no 12 lbs so I did 15 and she said do as many as I could with the 15s before going down to 10 and I did 2 sets with the 15s. I must say the last few were tough but I did it. The abs weren't pretty but I survived them, LOL. Lina says I have severe deconditioning of the spinal erector (erector spinae) muscles but my arms are exceedingly strong (for someone so out of shape).

Once we got home is when the DOMS hit (delayed onset muscle soreness). I've never heard of it either but that's what it is called when your muscles realize how much torture put them thru and as the day progressed I felt it more and more, especially in my lower back. It was too cold for us to go walking tonight, yes Lina says 2 a day workouts EAK! so while I didn't like the fact it was too cold for me to soak in the hot tub I can't say I was disappointed to not go walking tonight. After all it is dangerous to workout in the cold and you know I always say, safety first!

I'm also keeping a food journal. Can't say I'm happy about that but I'm less happy about the fact she bought a scale tonight and I have to get on it tomorrow, LOL. I'm keeping my eyes closed. I will have no secrets from Lina while living here but I can have secrets from myself!

Happy New Year's from L&L

As you can see Lina made it safely here. I was going to blog on Sunday (Lina got in late Sat) but my roommie forced me to have a drink and that drink turned into half a bottle of champagne so I didn't get beyond a paragraph, LOL.

Lina was a road warrior and drove from Philly to Daytona in one shot. She got stalled in Jacksonville due to holiday traffic and people coming into town for the bowl games (college football for you non-Americans, LOL). But she persevered and made it here a little after 10. She started her day at 4am, gasp! We got her unloaded quickly thanks to our neighbor's shopping carts and settled down to drink some wine (Lina travels prepared) and catch up.

Sunday was exhausting. We began our day at 9am. I can tell Lina is going to be changing my lifestyle. We went to a few furniture stores to get Lina's bedroom set up and you know it was a shock to the system when we went to the store where I got my couch and they weren't even open yet. I should still be in bed! After we hit the furniture stores we went to the grocery store to get Lina some food, a quick stop back at home to eat and off we were again. We went to Ross, TJ Maxx and Bed Bath and Beyond. We had to be back at 3 since Lina's bed was being delivered. Thank goodness since Lina is a machine! I was pooped. Shoot, I start the day pooped, LOL. We came back home and I went down for a nap after the movers left Lina was going back out to get more stuff and I stayed in bed. My sleep kept getting interrupted but I didn't give up and kept going back to sleep, it would just take awhile.

Unfortunately I have had an upset stomach since Sunday. I woke up Monday popping pepto bismal pills. Lina didn't feel that great either but we were determined to go out, especially since they have a NYE celebration blocks from our house. The nearest drinking establishment is .2 miles from our house. Woo hoo! So after lounging around in the afternoon (and my nap) we finally pulled it together to go out. Yes, I wore flip flops. I was going to be walking! I did wear some flats I've never worn yesterday while I was running errands though. My New Year's resolution is to wear more then flip flops (even though I bought 2 more pair at Ross on Sunday, LOL) and to get in shape. Lina will be making sure I keep resolution #2. She's off to find our gym today. I'm laying in bed today. See, we balance each other out, LOL.

It's actually a block party down the street. They close off the road and there were a bunch of live bands playing. This band was our favorite. Not just because the guitar player was shirtless but because they rocked it. They have a myspace page, too bad I can't remember their name but they'll be there at bike week again so we'll see them then. Lina chose Guinness as her drink of choice, I went with vodka. We started the evening at Gilley's Pub 44 which will be our neighborhood bar. Not only is it .2 miles from home, they have happy hour and their regular priced drinks are pretty spectacular. I was drinking grey goose greyhounds and they were only $6! After that we just wandered and drank. I stopped drinking after 5 or 6 drinks.

About 1am we came home to hit the hot tub. Lina thought I was joking when I said we're going to the hot tub. Yeah right! My feet needed some TLC I was on them all night! So we changed into our suits, ignored the sign that said what the pool hours were and hopped into the very hot hot tub. It felt great but after a few minutes we were done. That and we got tired of our neighbors watching us from their balcony, LOL. Then we crawled into Lina's bed so we wouldn't start the new year off alone. I think I passed out before Lina even made it into her own bed LOL. Yes, the adventure has begun!

I hope that you all had a fabulous New Year's eve. So what are your resolutions?