dailey fusion

Posted on by samenewsong

Today, I am going to step out of my comfort zone and take a class called Dailey Fusion at The Dailey Method in Napa.  I am a master instructor of TDM, however, I have never taught nor taken the latest class being offered.  What’s more intense, is the teacher is Claudia, and she teaches a SUPER hard regular class.  I cuss and moan audibly in her classes.  Should be an interesting way to kick off the weekend.  A weekend, I might add, full of delicious food and drink!  Wish me luck.  I will report back post class, if I can move my arms to type.

top five beats

Posted on by samenewsong
  1. A Love Bizarre by Sheila E. if this doesn’t make you get off your tail and jam, we can no longer be friends.
  2. Knee Deep by Zac Brown Band.  another example of summer chill.  YAAAAAS
  3. Send My Love by Adele.  never loved her until now.
  4. Ride by Twenty One Pilots.  like 311 but so much better.
  5. House Party by Sam Hunt. try to not feel like he is singing to you.  F U N.

25 things

Posted on by samenewsong

I love the prose questionnaire or the things-you-don’t-know-about-me lists.  So, I have decided to share one with you about me.  Here goes:

  1. If I could get away with being a vegetarian, I would.  I love vegetables so much.  But the rest of my family does not, thus…
  2. I have two cell phones.  They each serve a super important purpose, and cannot be combined into one.
  3. My Audi wagon is my perfect car: fast, spacious, low to the ground, and the opposite of fussy.
  4. Wall calendars, lists, daily schedules are all a part of my world.  I have to write it down and see “the big picture” as well as the day’s tasks.
  5. My drink of choice these days is a vodka martini.  One isn’t enough and two are too many.
  6. I rarely order what I really want off a menu.  Instead, I will choose what I think is healthiest.  I rarely regret the nights I splurge.
  7. I am still addicted to hi-ball energy drinks.
  8. I am counting the days until our annual trip to Lake Tahoe.
  9. Dancing with my kids is one of my favorite things to do.
  10. I am so lucky to live in California again.
  11. My husband’s sarcasm is often only tolerated by me.  His personality is an acquired taste.  Most of the time, I find it super funny.  Sometimes, not so much!
  12. I love Birkenstock sandals. They are so ugly but so awesome.
  13. My hair looks best 3 days dirty.
  14. Summertime is so marvelous, but I dread how quickly it goes by.
  15. I still talk with our family nanny in Utah at least once a week if not more.
  16. How good are ribs?
  17. And tacos?
  18. Jo Malone’s English Pear & Freesia is my summer scent.
  19. My toenails are sunflower yellow right now and I have never loved a color so much as this.
  20. Lately, my car has been my office.  If it weren’t for podcasts, I would be miserable.
  21. I do my own eyebrows and I do not wax any of me.
  22. I think I bathe my children too little.  They smell fine.  But I have used the pool as an excuse for a few weeks now.  Yikes!
  23. I hate the flavors of Indian food.  Always have, and likely will never change.
  24. I have the best Mother in Law.  She is like a best friend that I just happen to be related to.  I would have married G just for her.
  25. I have terrible luck with babysitters.  Ask me about it sometime.

oh hey, me again

Posted on by samenewsong

Just being totally frank.  This blog is public.  That gives me anxiety.  Anxiety is something I have suffered from most all of my life.  It intensified a way I never knew it could after I had my first child.  Thankfully, I was ready for pharmaceutical help.  And boy did it help.  But that was nine years ago.  Today, the dose of medication I take just isn’t enough, or life has grown to be too stressful, or who knows.  The reason I share this is because I go to post something, I pause.  What if my boss reads this?  What if I reveal too much?  What if this pouring of personal life is used in a way that would hurt my family?  Then I stop.  There are two people that read my blog with any regularity, and it is a miracle they still do.  I used to be a great blogger.  Now I am trapped in fear that this blog can never be what I want.  But I am going to just go for it.  So all two of you can assure me that my pontificate post is nothing to worry about.

But for reals, if you suffer from anxiety, there are ways to lessen the load.  If you have never talked to your doctor about it, do.  It is so simple to lessen the load.  Seriously.  You will be no different than you are now, just more able to deal with all that life has.  It can seem like there is no way to make anything better, like the world is about to set it’s entire load upon you. It isn’t, and the world continues regardless if you are in a panic or not.  I can tell you as someone has considered leaving this earth by my own hand, there’s help and it is there for you.  But the world keeps clicking along.  It is too big to care about our silly issues.  So I am asking you to take care of you with every option you have.  Don’t suffer anymore.

bottlerock

Posted on by samenewsong

This past weekend was Bottlerock.  As you may know from my previous post, we had planned to attend only Saturday of the three day festival .  The weather turned up to the 90s and the town of Napa was primed and ready for this epic event to take place.  The lineup was awesome and everyone was really looking forward to it.

My boss planned on going all three days.  He of course had Platinum level tickets.  We had single day VIP tickets.  As I was driving to work on Friday morning, my boss and his wife called to say they were not going to use their tickets on Friday, and asked if we would like to use them.  DUH!

We scrambled for a sitter.  We put on our festival wear.  I cancelled my nail appointment and spray tan.  When you are offered Platinum, you pull out all the stops to make it happen.  And it was so much fun.  We clinked glasses with Gordon Ramsay in the lounge.  We watched Michael Franti from high above on the sky deck.  What an unexpected fun night!

Saturday was equally as amazing, with an afternoon in the hot sun, with all of our dearest friends.  Florence was beyond anything I could ever imagine.  She has energy and spirit like none other. I danced so much my calf muscles will take a week to function normally.  I have unexplained bruises all over.  I lost my voice.  I am sunburned and my feet smart.  But boy oh boy, it was a blast.

I cannot WAIT until next year!

may redux

Posted on by samenewsong

Where did this month go?  There was a lot going on, for sure.  But it seemed like the first part of the month just flew right by.  G’s birthday was mid-week, so I sent him to the spa during the day.  We both celebrated a few days later on my actual birthday, which was on a Saturday this year.  Dinner at Cole’s Chop House with an amazing bottle of Shafer Relentless couldn’t have been more perfect (thanks, my very best in-laws for the  juice).  We met friends later at the Mansion at Silverado for more celebratory cocktails.  Our neighbors gave us a ride home, and of course joined us for a nightcap.  That last little sip turned into a late night house party at our pad, with other friends stopping by to join in.  Let’s just say it was a banner celebration for a silly forty something birthday.

What’s even better, G and I had been talking about joining a club or a rec center so we would have access to a pool for the summer.  We have friends at each local country club; really dear friends.  My mom has been a member of Silverado for nearly 30 years.  But, Napa Valley Country Club is a very young, family friendly place.  Silverado is primarily a resort.  They cater to people coming to Napa for vacation.  It is beautiful and stately.  It feels like a classic “club.”  Napa Valley CC is also picturesque, but there it is just the members.  No resort.  No fluff.  The pool is for the families.  The clubhouse is small and understated, but the popcorn machine runs all day and the kids have a ball in complete safety.

I received one gift for my birthday: a NVCC membership!  It is a gift the whole family will enjoy year after year.  Half of our friends are definitely disappointed that we picked Napa.  The other half is so thrilled.  They have been including us in events there for the past two years, and we have always had a ball.  Today, Memorial Day, we went to the pool for their annual celebration.  Between the hot dogs, water balloons, cannon ball contest, parent/kid swim relays…I would say we’ve found our happy place.  Happy Birthday to ME!cannongirlsnvcc

 

 

friends

Posted on by samenewsong

We have the best friends.  I am sappy today, because we really do.  I think G and I are pretty easy to get along with, we are super casual, we are easy going, our kids are well behaved (most of the time).  We seem to be closest with people just like us.  What is most fantastic, our friends are effortless.

Flash to yesterday.  I decided to clean the garage after picking up the kids from their care spot.  As I am shoving things around, one of our besties pulls up in her mini, she was dropping something off to a friend down the street.  After a quick chat, we decided to do an impromptu family dinner at our place.  It was a school night, and all four of the adults work full time.  Now, this is totally horn tooting, but it is my damn blog and I can toot away.  In about 30 minutes time, we planned a pretty fantastic menu of grilled pork chops, porcini polenta, asparagus and green beans.  We put together an amazing cheese and charcuterie plate to start.  Even the wines were paired.  The kids were thrilled with pizza, strawberries and cookies plus tons of outdoor fun.  There was little effort put out by any one person.  We all just took a little part and did it while chatting about upcoming fun. I know some people are completely incapable of putting together a home cooked dinner for just themselves, on any night.

What was so awesome about last night, it was so easy because we have such incredible friends.  We always have a great time: at home, on the town, at kid events, at school!  So cheers to our friends for being ours!  Couldn’t ask for much more.

springing into summer

Posted on by samenewsong

There are 19 days of school left for my kids.  I turn yet another year older in just over a week.  Per the usual, we have only one real vacation on the books.  However, given that we live in a place that people take vacations seriously, the weekends will be filled with all kinds of sun and fun.  I have not considered my body tone in months.  The holidays flowed right into hard work.  I reward all the hard work with wine.  Workouts have been pushed right to the furthest corner of my world.  Considering exercise used to be paramount in my life, this whole work/stress/drink/exhaustion/repeat cycle has to be adjusted.

While it takes a lot of time to plan for, the “clean” diet really does work.  And by work, I mean you lose inches, weight and you do feel great.  It can get super repetitive and it can be challenging when dining out.  Paired with a barre3 online class, or a Dailey class taught to myself or in the rare instance that I can actually make it to the studio, for my body, it is the fastest and most effective way to see results.

Here I am, three whole days into my health kick.  I am not dry.  That’s not going to change. Instead of the four (honest) glasses of wine each night at 500 calories and residual sugar, I am having one vodka on the rocks or a skinny margarita.  One drink makes me feel relaxed, and I don’t feel like I drank at all the next day.  I am avoiding gluten, grains, dairy, soy, legumes and sugar.  But keeping it in perspective is my main focus.  That way, no one else is impacted by my program.

I will post progress, highlights and pitfalls here.  Let’s hope I can greet the beaches of Lake Tahoe with a comfortable and content self.