a little yoga here, a little yoga there

I would be no means say I'm a "yogi"(is that what those that practice Yoga call themselves?) but I did find a great Yoga DVD that I'd like to share with the blogging world. As you know I'm a Real Housewives junky ~ If you don't know Real Housewives, it's a reality show on Bravo that films these women's lives and how they interact with each other. They have four housewives shows that are set in different locations across the U.S. - Orange County, CA; New York; New Jersey; Atlanta. It's really quite funny and sometimes a little maddening to watch.

Anyway ~ Bethenny Frankel is from the NY show(one of my favorite housewives) and she is a chef, has published two books, and has a yoga DVD called Body By Bethenny. I'm currently reading her first book and it is definitely changing the way I perceive food and impacting how and what I eat. I've even lost some weight so it's making a pretty big impact on me.(you all know that I don't have the best eating habits). Her twists and ideas on salads make me crave and only want to eat salads. Obviously, I can't just eat salads but I think I've found a new love for salads and veggies. So I read some reviews online about the DVD and decided to order it.

I did the 40-minute Yoga section tonight after work and it was awesome. I wouldn't necessarily say I'm a beginner at Yoga and certainly am not advanced...I probably fall somewhere in between. It was easy to follow and modifications of the different poses were provided. Even if you've never tried Yoga before, I would definitely recommend this video. It exposes you to many of the yoga 'standards' but is incredibly challenging. I felt amazing after I completed it. There are also some nice little bonus features on the DVD too.

P.S. The names of her books are: 'Naturally Thin: Unleash Your Skinnygirl...' and 'The Skinnygirl Dish.' She also has some great info/recipes on her website ~ http://www.bethenny.com/

a couple concerts

Last night, I went to Wolf Trap and got to see Sheryl Crow and Colbie Callait in concert. Mike works overtime at Wolf Trap(since it's a National Park) during the summer on his off-days and he was able to arrange a ticket for me. We were able to ride together and he was even able to sit with me for 5 minutes and watch Colbie. I have to say it was one of the best concerts I've seen, besides the fact that I was there by myself. It's a really great venue and it was a beautiful night, not to mention the music was incredible. Take a look at Wolf Trap by clicking here...pretty cool, huh?

Mike just called and he won tickets from the radio station to go see Carole King and James Taylor next week at the Verizon Center. Sweet! Looking forward to it!

get comfortable, this is a LOONNGGG post

'Uno, Dos, Tres, Lupita'
Those were the words to our resort's theme song and I've been singing them since we got back to the U.S. last night. Vacation was incredible, as usual! We did a whole heck of a lot of laying by the pool, laying on the beach, laying in a hammock while reading our books. Since we were staying at an all-inclusive, we didn't venture too far from the resort and we didn't partake in any excursions. Why venture out when you have all the food, drinks, and entertainment you need at your finger-tips?? :) Mike didn't even dive on this trip...but I can't decide if he really didn't want to or if he was too nervous leaving me by myself for a 1/2-full day. Guess I probably need to jump on the band-wagon and get certified to dive. Hey - if my dad can do it, certainly I can too, right? :)

On our first full day, we walked 5th Avenue(the main touristy street) in Playa and ended up doing a couples massage. It was a great way to start our vacation and relax from the LONG day of travelling the day before. (at least I think waking up at 3:30am makes for a long day!!)

We did participate in a few hotel games ~

• Bingo ~ I even won the first day we were there! I got a nice little certificate...and I got the "you look like Nicole Kidman" comment again. Something about Mexico I guess - someone told me that when we were there in December. I don't see it at all but hey, I'm not going to complain if someone would like to call me Nicole Kidman. ;) I think it's just 'cause I'm blonde, blue-eyed, and pale as pale can be. :)
• Paper airplane making ~ I thought mine would for sure go the farthest but it kept boomer-ranging back to me so I didn't win. Mike's wasn't so great either.
• Mr. Riu Lupita 2010 ~ Mike participated in this and participated in the different games for points. Games included stuffing balloons in the mexican 'pajama's' he had to wear, a race to do 5 push-ups and drink a glass of beer through a straw, a type of simon-says army style game where the leader would call out a phrase and the participants had to do the "motions" to the specific phrase(last man standing without screwing up won that round), had to impersonate the different sounds of their favorite animal(Mike picked a Wolf), and finally...a lap dance. Unfortunately, Mike was not the winner but I've never laughed so hard - he represented the U.S. well. France won, which seemed pretty obvious because France outnumbered U.S. resort guests probably 50 to 1 so I could only cheer so loud for my American. :)

• Sand Volleyball ~ We played sand volleyball which was fun, but like I said before, most guests at the resort spoke French so it was hard to cheer on your teammates when you don't speak each other's language. But hey, it was still fun and I'm pretty sure our team won!
• We watched the Riu Lupita "olympic games," watched water volleyball, and water polo. The funniest rule of water polo that the men couldn't touch the women when she had the ball but the women could jump, tackle, punch the guy if he had the ball...how does that sound fair?
• Each evening, the hotel had some type of entertainment and we always enjoyed some or all of it.

• The resort was swarming with these little guys...they are called different things in different countries but in Mexico they are called Coati's.

It amazes me each time we go to Mexico how the hotel staff explains all the activities in Spanish, then in English, then in French. It's also interesting that the majority of Americans speak only English, while most other countries speak at least their native language plus English, and sometimes a third language.

We are anxious for the rest of our 2010 travels ~ Oregon coast w/ Mom, Vegas w/ a group of friends to celebrate a 30th birthday, still trying to convince Mike we should go to Cape Cod-I don't think I'm going to convince him. :( Then off Puerto Vallarta around the holiday time with Mike's parents!! Hopefully there will be some camping, hiking, a few trips back to Nebraska, and maybe a few weekend trips in there as well. I think I was born to travel...I love it and I love reading and hearing about other people's travels/recommendations/etc. I enjoy my current job but I think my dream job would be to travel. Maybe we could have a show on the travel channel??!! Or maybe we could win the lottery and use the money to travel?(guess that means we should start playing, huh?)

Hope your summer is filled with some vacationing and fun experiences!

P.S. Would you believe that Mike and I packed all of our stuff into one suitcase?? Take that mr. airline!!

retiring a great pair of jeans and a NEW CAR!!!

I went to a movie on Monday night and I have quite a story to tell ~ First of all, you have to know I was by myself(I typically go to movies by myself and really quite enjoy it - try it sometime). I got to the theater early because I was going to watch Sex & the City 2 and it had just opened last week so I wasn't sure if there would be a crowd. I walked to the ticket-taker and my theater wasn't ready so she asked me to go to this roped-off line to stand behind two other women waiting for the show. Instead of walking the 10-feet around the rope to get in line, I squatted down and went under the rope. THEN...SSSPPPLLLIIITTTT...I knew immediately I had split my pants in the back. I stood against the wall and felt the split and it was huge. I really wish someone would have been there to laugh at the situation with me but instead I carried my square purse over my butt and acted like nothing happened. In my defense, I haven't gained weight(unless my booty has gained weight) but I did buy these jeans in college when "Silver" jeans were cool thing(maybe they are still cool today?). These were my go-to jeans that I put on whenever I need to run out of the house and want to be comfy. May they rest in peace!

We are officially the proud parents of a 2010 Mazda 3. :) After a long test drive, 4 hours spent at the dealership, debating the black interior (yellow dog hair and black don't mix well), pushing every button on the dash, trying out the hands-free phone feature(never had that before), signing more paperwork than I signed for my house, we drove away with our new car on Monday. Our first major purchase as hubby and wife.

Protege who?? I'd like to say I still miss my Mazda Protege but I think I've quickly moved on. The Protege was my first car that I purchased back in 2003 when my Geo Metro convertible(which my parents so graciously bought for me at age 16) hit the dust. It was my first major purchase as an adult(besides my college education) and I remember feeling so adult-like. We stayed in the Mazda family because, although the Protege died sooner than we hoped, it was a great car and I never had any problems. With the new car, my husband has already restricted what I can drink in the car to water and clear liquids. :) We are on the hunt for a fancy-dancy back-seat pet cover to hopefully reduce the dog hair accumulation.

Looking forward to many memories in our new vehicle. Here are a few photos of our new baby:

They say Mazda 3's are very 'happy' cars ~ Look at it smiling back at you. :)