Sunday, January 28, 2018

January 28, 2018 LOST BOY

Really enjoying yoga and learning A WHOLE HELL OF A LOT TOO. First of all--I am NOT FLEXIBLE ENOUGH. I think this is a common problem for runners. We spend TOO much of our time getting in the MILEAGE OR THE HILL WORK--then we are too tired to do anything else. I'm learning that deep stretches--relaxation--mindfulness are JUST AS IMPORTANT. I NEED to pay more attention to my form too-- keep my shoulder blades in  and my arms up when I running.  This sounds SOO easy--BUT IT'S NOT. I have to keeping reminding myself to pay attention to my stance --because it changes my whole gait and takes the pressure off of my back. CORE strength is also CRITICAL too--another thing I've been neglecting--so I've been focusing on core while practicing yoga too. It's all a work in progress but I can say that I DEFINITELY FELT BETTER when I ran this weekend and I KNOW IT'S BECAUSE OF YOGA. Namaste.
Susan Humsinger, practices yoga as a way to cope with her husband's declining health in Alice Lichtenstein's moving book Lost. Lost is essentially the story of three people brought together during a search and rescue mission in up-state New York in frigid January.  Corey, a young boy rendered mute after starting a fire that killed his brother, is wandering through the woods one winter morning when he spies a man lying on his side. While Corey doesn't know if the man is dead or alive, he is afraid to speak up because he fears he will be blamed. Susan Humsinger and her husband Christopher, who is suffering from dementia, are new to the area.  Needing a reprieve one morning, Susan ventures outside for a few minutes while Christopher is sleeping. When she returns, Christopher is gone. After Christopher goes missing, a search party brings Susan together with Jeff, a Vietnam vet with a cheating young wife, who also happens to be a search and rescue expert. Throughout the search, the trio reflect on their own lives and question the choices they've made. Find out what happens to Susan, Christopher, Corey and Jeff when you read this well written book for yourself. It's not a huge commitment--at only 240 pages or a 3 mile run--it's worth the read and hard to put down.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

January 25, 2017 BEAUTY SCHOOL DROP OUT

I'm now at the point where I have to color my hair every 5-6 weeks. IT'S CRAZY. First of all--I'm really bad at anything that requires maintenance.  That's why I've never been one to get my nails done or even have a pedicure--It's just ANOTHER THING TO DO. Seriously though--I can't possibly get my hair done that often. And there's nothing WORSE than looking in the rearview mirror and seeing an inch of grey down the middle like Pepe Le Pew--right?? SO--I've taken drastic measures. I ACTUALLY BOUGHT "MAGIC" HAIR SPRAY!! Seriously. It's made by L'Oreal and comes in several colors to match your hair--I bought "Golden Brown." After I wash and dry my hair--I spray the potion on my roots AND WHOOLA--THE GREY IS GONE. I feel like HOUDINI. WHO'D OF THUNK--I could get an extra week or two spraying my roots for a measly ten bucks. Special thanks to the Hair Gods for that one!!
Mia Warren, the main character in Celeste Ng's new novel Little Fires Everywhere needs to pray too--that the past she wants to keep hidden--will stay that way. Mia Warren is an single mother and artist with a fifteen year old daughter named Pearl. They've moved around quite a bit but Mia is now determined to stay in Shaker Heights, a planned community in Ohio where she has rented a house. Also living in Shaker Heights, are her landlords, the Richardsons and their three children. At first the families seem to bond, but after a Chinese baby is abandoned at a fire station and taken in by the McCullough family (also of Shaker Heights and best friends with Elena Richardson) things change. Just when the McCullough's dream of adopting a baby are about the become a reality,  the birth mother resurfaces to claim her baby.  Mia gets entangled in the court battle  and Elena, looking for revenge for her friend, plans to take Mia down. What does Mia have hidden in her past? Will the McCullough's adopt the baby or will the birth mother regain her rights? Find out the answers to these and many more questions when you read this Best Book of 2017 pick. It's a real page turner--of about 340 pages or a 4 mile run--that you will NOT want to put down.

Sunday, January 21, 2018

January 21, 2018 RICKY DON'T LOSE THAT NUMBER

Great running weather this weekend. Only wish the sciatica were feeling better--ran ABOUT 5 SLOW miles before IT STARTED SCREAMING--STOP.  I've tried just about everything--ice--heat--rolling--you name it and it's only 60% better. So I've decided to try something new. YOGA FOR SCIATICA PAIN. According to Adrienne--my new Yoga instructor on YOUTUBE--IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE SCIATICA. It's about hip alignment--shoulders--AND CORE CORE CORE.  I'm trying to STRETCH my rib cage, hamstrings, neck, EVERYTHING. I've literally folded myself up into a pretzel several times-- a hard thing for someone with LONG LEGS but --I have to admit that I'm feeling better after just two sessions. I'm SORE ALL OVER BUT THAT'S A GOOD THING--I THINK. I'm definitely not the most FLEXIBLE person in the world BUT THAT'S ALL GONNA CHANGE. Here's hoping that Yoga and MINDFULNESS will be the cure.
Georgie McCool is looking for a cure too but in this case for her marital problems in Rainbow Rowell's novel Landline. Georgie and Neal have been married for fifteen years and are the parents of two little girls. Neal is a stay at home father while Georgie is a sitcom writer in Los Angeles. A week before Christmas--she and her writing partner get the opportunity of a lifetime. Their own sitcom but there's one hitch-- four episodes must be written ASAP. Georgie decides to forgo Christmas in Omaha to stay  home and write while the rest of her family goes to visit her in-laws.  Soon after, Georgie begins to reevaluate her marriage, family and priorities. While visiting her mom one afternoon, Georgie picks up her old landline and is magically back in the past--talking to Neal at the beginning of their relationship. Find out what happens between Georgie and Neal after Georgie relives her past. Will their relationship survive?? Will Georgie's priorities change? Will the sitcom be a success?? Find out the answers to these questions when you read this book for yourself. The characters are funny and quirky. It's also an easy read of only 300 pages or a 3.5 mile run that will have you remembering the good old days when we all had landlines.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

January 16, 2018 I'D REALLY LOVE TO SEE YOU TONIGHT

I'M BACK. Haven't written in a while BUT I HAVE A REALLY GOOD EXCUSE. I went back in time.  I boarded a space craft with a friend and was TRANSPORTED BACK TO THE 1970s. Okay--I'm exaggerating a LITTLE  BIT. I actually went to Tampa for a long weekend for a MINI REUNION with a few friends from GRAMMAR SCHOOL--YIKES--that was 38 years ago. It was SURREAL. Haven't spent time with these GALS IN AT LEAST THIRTEEN YEARS--but it seemed like just yesterday. Our friendship and shared experiences have definitely stood the test of time. IT was an AMAZING experience that I highly recommend.  We laughed until we cried as we reminisced about the GREAT OLD DAYS-- singing in the variety show-- sneaking cigarettes behind the gristmill--even playing basketball for LeBlanc's Leftovers. It was PRICELESS. A WEEKEND THAT I WILL NEVER FORGET. We're  a tiny bit older now and instead of sharing boyfriends as we did in the old days--WE'RE NOW SHARING READING GLASSES--but it's all good. Thanks for going BACK to the 1970s with me. It meant the world. In order to get myself ready to go back in time, I decided to read Steve Rushin's memoir Sting-Ray Afternoons. 

I was initially attracted to the cover of this book--only a product of the '70s would recognize the bike and the groovy striped pants of the boy riding it. I actually had a Sting-Ray with a banana seat and handle bars that made it look like a motorcycle. It was THE COOLEST  bike at the time AND what 8 year old wouldn't want to be seen on a bike that looked like a Harley right??  Anyways, this is very funny coming of age story set in the 1970s in Bloomington, Minnesota. Rushin grew up in a family of seven with ONE bathroom, a father who worked as  a salesman for 3M tape, and a stay at home mom who ran a tight ship. Rushin reminisces about spending five hours every Saturday morning watching cartoons, poring over the Sears Christmas Wish book, remembering Romper Stompers, Bic pens, Mr. Clean and even vacations when the family piled into the wood-paneled station wagon, the kids  in the way back and seatbelts were a foreign language. This is a great book that will have you remembering things you have long forgotten--you will LAUGH OUT LOUD. Check this new memoir out if you get a chance. It's about 320 pages or a 4 mile blast to the past you'll never forget.


Sunday, January 7, 2018

January 7, 2018 I GO CRAZY

Remember the poem--All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten?? Well I'm going to change it to--All I really need to know I learned on SOCIAL MEDIA--and it AIN'T PRETTY. Not sure why BUT people show their true colors on social media.  They say RIDICULOUS things that make me question their integrity and MENTAL HEALTH. Trump is an excellent example of this. Every day he flaunts his IGNORANCE AND STUPIDITY for the whole world to see on TWITTER.  He proves OVER AND OVER AGAIN that he is a LIAR--NARCISSIST--AND A MORON.  It's hard to believe that he has an IVY LEAGUE education in light of the fact that his vocabulary is about as sophisticated as a THIRD GRADER. What grown man AS HIGHLY EDUCATED AS TRUMP would ever use the word LIKE as a conjunction--he sounds like a VALLEY GIRL. It is SOOO GROSS. Just think--If Trump didn't tweet EVERY thought IN HIS EMPTY HEAD--THEN MAYBE--JUST MAYBE--the general public wouldn't question HIS MENTAL STABILITY. Somebody ought to take his phone away. ENOUGH SAID. Just finishing up The Little Red Chairs by Edna O'Brien--a frightening look at war, violence and the victims left behind.
The story begins in a small, isolated Irish village called Cloonoila. One night a mysterious man comes to town and decides to make the village his home. His name is Dr. Vlad, a handsome man who draws attention from all the women in town--even the married ones. Fidelma, the main character in  the novel, is the most beautiful woman in the village. She's unhappily married to a man twice her age and yearns for a different life.  She and Vlad have an affair that goes bad  after he is arrested as a war criminal for atrocities he committed during the Balkan War. After the affair is revealed, Fidelma leaves her tiny village and relocates to a refugee community in London and later The Hague. This book is about the consequences of forbidden love, violence, prejudice, being a victim and moving forward. The writing is beautiful but I feel compelled to warn you that there is one scene in the book that is graphic, violent and deeply disturbing. Find out what happens to Fidelma, Dr. Vlad and the people Fidelma meets as a refugee. This book was an International bestseller in 2016 and rightly so as O'Brien is a great writer.  It's about 320 pages--or a 5 mile run--that you will never forget.

Thursday, January 4, 2018

January 4, 2018 ITCHY TWITCHY FEELIN'

Apparently we are in the middle of a BLIZZARD. Near white out conditions. Winds gusting up to 50 MPH. The meteorologists have been chirping ALL DAY. One things for sure--it's been biting cold lately and my skin is screaming!! Top reason I HATE WINTER--I LITERALLY FEEL LIKE A SNAKE. Pretty sure I'm shedding particles of skin everywhere. I've got--BLOTCHES--BUMPS AND RASH LIKE CONDITIONS EVERYWHERE . Can't even scratch because it hurts and starts to bleed. You would think lathering in copious amounts of Vitamin E cream AND JUMPING in vats of coconut oil would help. APPARENTLY NOT. Reminds my of CHAFE in the summer but different. At least chafe is contained in a specific area.  That's it-- I'm covered with chafe from head to toe. OUCH. My lips are also SOO CHAP they feel like a leather belt AND IF I SMILE THEY'LL SPLIT-- ATTRACTIVE RIGHT?? Seriously, I'm not lying!
If the characters in Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies told the truth, their lives would have been very different. Not sure why it took me so long to pick up this award-winning book that's now an HBO series, but I'm glad I finally did. Moriarty's novels are fun to read because they are about real people in everyday situations. In this novel, three very different women become unlikely friends because their children go to the same school. Madeline, my favorite character, is a hot ticket. She can be vicious, but at the same time, she's also compassionate, honest and the kind of person I would definitely want in my corner. Celeste, the beauty of the trio, seems to have it all. A rich gorgeous husband, twin boys and a lifestyle we all see in magazines. Rounding out the group is Jane. Jane is a single mother new in town with a secret past. We learn at the beginning of the novel that someone has been murdered at  school trivia night but we don't learn who the victim or murderer is until the very end of the story. Moriarty takes us back six months before the murder and into the lives of the people in this Australian suburb-- the husbands, wives, ex-husbands, affairs, schoolyard  scandals and the "lies" both big and small people tell themselves in order to survive. I really enjoyed this book and didn't have a clue who was killed until the very end which made it even more fun.  It's about 500 pages--an easy read--or a 5 mile run that you will not be able to put down.