Where Have I Been?

I'm scratching my head trying to remember what I've been doing that's kept me so busy I haven't had time to check-in for a while.  Hmmm...

I did some work, as in a "real job", for an awesome Interior Designer.  Writing her press kit and website info was easy because I LOVE her design aesthetic.  You might have seen some of my (very over-shared) photos on Facebook.  No???  Click here to see her Guest House for the Pasadena Showcase House of Design.

Facebook-- Gawd I've spent too much time on Facebook lately.  I dove into it for the above mentioned job's social media push.  But I'm afraid I'm too easily addicted to endless scrolling through posts that really have no relevance to me just to see what the handful of people I truly love are up too.  It's become a bad habit that takes up too much of my day.  I have to quit cold-turkey!

So anyway... that all took several weeks, was a total blast, and now I'm "retired" again.

And we went to Israel for a fabulous family wedding.  I so love it there.  Great family (on my husband's side), amazing food, perfect weather and wonderful people.  This trip we spent all our time in Tel Aviv.  The purple Jacaranda trees were in bloom.  So were the kumquat trees at our hotel.

We stayed at a small boutique hotel called The Norman.  It's a lovely hotel with a chic Moroccan vibe-- Hip but quiet in the middle of the city's Rothschild section.  My idea of perfect.

Since we were exhausted, we camped out in hotel room's bed far more than usual to catch up on our sleep.  The linens and duvet were scrumptious-- And by Frette!!!  Do you know them?  I did-- and what I know about them is that they are far to expensive to ever be on my bed at home!  But there they were in all their glory at The Norman.  It was like sleeping on, in, and surrounded by, a silky cloud.  Heaven.

One morning I woke and figured out how The Norman tracks these gems of sheets-- Senors!  Yep, they are actually sewn into the seams so guests don't walk off with them!  Never saw that before.

Traveling though, not so fun.  I've come to the sad realization that a 10 hour time change and 20+ hours of flying and layovers are just too much for my body.  Talk about a killer.  It took nearly 5 days to adjust and catch up then it was almost time to come back home again.  Once we actually returned home it took another 5 days to get myself together.

Makes me wonder how I traveled like that for business all those years.  I know I was younger but sheesh-- It really wore me out.

While in Tel Aviv I discovered a new cookbook-- New to me at least, and I'm working my way through the recipes.  The amazing thing about the food in Israel-- and let me tell you-- we ATE and ATE and ATE, day in an day out-- was that both my husband and I actually LOST weight by the time we got home!  The menu is so filled with fresh vegetables and fish that even though we indulged, we felt great and dropped a few pounds.  That was an unexpected treat at the end of a vacation!

So now it's almost May and I'm working on getting central air conditioning in our house.  Last year's brutal two month heatwave was the straw that broke the camel's back. We live close enough to the ocean that we really didn't miss having it in the past but climate change, global warning, or old age-- whatever you want to call it, has changed things at Casa Jenkins!

How are YOU?
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins

What I Didn't Do On My Summer Vacation

In all honesty, Summer is no different in my world than any other season of the year, it's just hotter.  I don't have kids so my daily routine is pretty much the same.  But still, as the big yellow school buses start rolling again it's a reminder of the (almost) passing of another season and all the things that didn't happen, despite my best intentions...

This summer I did not...

...Sleep in.  Not at all.

...Find a contractor to paint the exterior of our house.  Or an electrician or a handyman for a long list of "to-dos" around here.  To say I chased my tail trying to find contractors that actually showed up is an understatement.  Grrr!

...Buy hot weather summer clothes.  It's 100 degrees and I'm sitting here in blue jeans.  Not cool on any level.

...Read a book-- any book, not even "Fifty Shades of Gray".  Heck, I barely read the newspaper.

...Exercise.  Nuff said.

...Entertain...  Not a single BBQ or pool party, although I'm not sure that's a bad thing.

...Go to my 35th high school reunion.  Rumor was the mean girls would be attending.

But this summer I did manage to...

...Swim two or three times a week with my godson.

...Shock of all shocks, I got my husband to take Fridays off work this summer in an effort to get him to cut back his usual nearly 70 hour a week work schedule.  And, for the first time last Friday, I think he actually relaxed and "unplugged" from the office for at least 5 whole hours.

...Kill ants!  Millions and millions of them.  It's so hot and dry here that they made their annual pilgramige to my kitchen in search of water.  Completely surrounding my big window frame, they marched, jammed packed in circles while I sprayed and sprayed for an entire month.  And they are still circling.  Grrrr.

...Made another quilt.

...Realized my reading glasses are no longer strong enough so instead of spending the money to change my 6 month old presecription I practiced squinting without wrinkling the skin around my eyes and forehead.  No small feat, if I do say so myself, although it's a losing battle.

...After 25 years and about 15 moves to 6 different states between us, I found a long lost childhood friend.  She's back living in Ohio and we reconnected through my step-brother.  What a treat!

...I ate calamari and still don't like it.

As September nears, I'm looking forward to....

...Going to Ohio this week to visit my family and to see my sweet sister-in-law who just had very successful heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.  She's my hero.

...NYC is in my future for a family wedding too.... which means clothes shopping for a dress to wear.

...A new baby in the family.  One has not been announced yet, but I have a feeling.....

...Hopefully finding a painter, electrician and handyman who actually shows up and do some work on our house.  What is it with these guys?  They schlepp to my house,  take measurements and chat me up for an hour like they'd LOVE to work with me, and then they vanish into thin air!

...A vacation with my husband, even for a weekend, with just the two of us.  I can't tell you how long it's been since that happened.

...Getting back into the swing of blogging again.  (I promise I'll catch up with you soon!)

...Laughing, lots and lots of laughing.  This past year has been kind of a downer around here lately and it's time for a change.  Things are looking up.

How's your Summer been?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins
Photo Credit: © Studio Barcelona - Fotolia.com

Good News + GIVEAWAY

Remember my niece and her boyfriend who were going wilderness hiking in Yosemite? If you do, then you can only imagine the huge sigh of relief I felt when they pulled back into my driveway yesterday safe and sound.

The trip was amazing and fun for them but I'm pretty sure this will be the last wilderness anything this couple does together. My niece said it was a once in a lifetime experience but "OMGosh hiking nearly straight up the side of a mountain is way harder than it looks".

I think it cured them, or at least her, of attempting this type of extreme adventure ever again-- "Extreme" being defined as anything that does not have a wood floor, a roof over her head, running water, and preferably an elevator.

But, they lived to tell the story, didn't see one bear along the way, and saw some spectacular sights. Speaking of sights, this is the sight I saw as they unloaded their gear from the rental car.....

Is this all the gear they took? Oh no, no, no. They were loaded with stuff. THIS is the gear that smelled too bad to bring into our house!

*******

Don't forget to enter my BFF Julia Roberts GIVEAWAY to win a $25 Fandango Movie Ticket Gift Certificate and a Larry Crowne Prize Package-- Two sets of prizes are up for grabs. Giveaway ends Monday, June 27th at midnight PT. CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Boots-- His and Hers

When my just college graduated niece and her boyfriend arrived here from Ohio earlier this week, I thought their plans to wilderness hike in Yosemite National Park was a fun and amazing opportunity.

But as I watched them pack their gear, including a humongous knife they laughingly referred to as "the bear knife", I realized they weren't kidding about driving north into the "wilderness"-- As in they are not staying in campsites-- with other people-- and Forest Rangers-- and lights or running water! Instead they'll hike the trails and "find a nice spot in the middle of nowhere to pitch a tent".

This caused my eyes to nearly pop out of my head, my heart to skip about a thousand beats and a deep concern that my niece had not shared this bit information with her mother, my baby sister-- Because I'm sure if she had, Baby Sister would have never, ever, driven her cherished daughter to the airport to visit me.

I immediately started asking questions about cell phone reception (probably none), "wilderness" experience (to which the boyfriend responded "seven times" meaning seven nights TOTAL in his entire 22 year lifetime, not seven trips) and if they'd like me to gift them a hotel room instead (no thank you).

Upon learning this news, my response was to write my niece's name and emergency phone numbers in permanent marker on her back and stomach before they pulled out of my driveway on their adventure. And I'm not kidding about that either.

So for the past three nights I've laid awake, secure in my warm bed, praying and wondering how that "wilderness" thing was working out for them.... And counting the minutes until they call and check back in with civilization again.

Tick, tick, tick.....

*****

I have a GIVEAWAY coming next week so stay tuned!!

*****

Happy weekend everybody.

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Sundays In My City #51 - Clack-a-clack...

I've missed a few Sundays due to vacation and traveling so it's nice to be back with Unknown Mami and the Sundays In My City community.

I was in and around Manhattan for a week and made two fun stops-- One that has always been a "must see" and one that will forever more be on my "I gotta go now!" list.

First up was the brand new Eataly-- My idea of the "Happiest Food Place On Earth". It's a 50,000 square foot Italian food paradise brought to you by Mario Batali, Lidia Matticcho and Joe Bastianich. And let me tell you-- They did themselves proud!

Eataly is a gorgeous, high end, grocery store, wine store, book store, housewares store, with multiple glorious restaurants and oh so much more-- All under one roof. I was in heaven, so much so that I only took one picture before I entered the store because once inside I was drooling too much for picture taking.

The only bad part was that since I don't live in NYC, I couldn't bring home most of the amazing foods they sold (homemade pasta, olive oils, balsamic vinegars...) Now my hope is that Eataly is so wildly successful they open one in Los Angeles. And if they do, I swear I'll apply for a job just to spend more time in the store! I wonder if they'd have a taste-tester position.

My other "must see" stop is Macy's in Herald Square. I've been going there for the past 40+ years-- Not for shopping, for it's original 1902 escalator....

Every visit I wind my way around the way too big, and a little confusing to navigate store, to step onto their vintage escalator for a clack-a-clack-a-clack step back in time. It's beautiful.

I take my hat off to Macy's for keeping the original escalators leading to their top floors. I'm sure parts are very hard to come by and it's expensive to maintain, but the escalators are a piece of history that has been in action for well over 100 years. It feels different, smells different, and sounds different from any other escalator I've ever been on and I love that Macy's has preserved it.

And the best part at the top of the escalator was that Macy's had this-- Cuz you know Santa rides into town after their Thanksgiving Day Parade....

But their Christmas department and decorations were still under cover... Not like the Macy's in Los Angeles who's been hocking Christmas for nearly a month already. Yeah!

How's your Sunday?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Click HERE for more Sundays In My City participants.

It Was One Of Those Vacations...

Beloved Husband and I just returned from the East coast after meeting up for a wonderful family reunion that brought 15 of his relatives together all under the same roof. From two countries, speaking three languages, and with a whole lot of jet lag thrown in, we had a fantastic time catching up with each other, sharing family stories, sorting through old black and white photos and laughing til our bellies ached. In short, it was a perfect get together albeit it too short.

But....

It was the kind of vacation that had me rummaging through my purse for my camera time and time again only to remember I left it in the hotel room that day....

The kind of vacation that had me reaching for my laptop only to remind myself I left it at home because this was a "real vacation"....

The kind of vacation with one great blog topic after another floating through my head as I reached for my iPhone to email myself the idea.... Only to totally forget the idea because my mind was just blown by a 90 year old granny wearing a gold sequined and chartreuse halter dress and 6 inch red platform heels in Time Square....

Yep, it was one of those vacation-- loaded with great blog fodder, but as I sit back a home, laptop at hand, I have no memory of what I was going to write about. Except for this photo I snapped quickly with my iPhone as we crossed a busy Manhattan street....

Mama with her Victoria Secret shopping bag in one hand, cell phone in the other, and the sweetest, most angelic looking sleeping baby strapped on her back wearing a colorful hoodie. I followed them for three blocks to get this photo because it was so, so, so-- New York and urban and in a strange way comforting to see the blissful baby amongst the hubbub of a big city.

I will be making the rounds on blogs to catch up on nearly two weeks of your posts. As I told one dear blog friend yesterday, 20 months ago I didn't even know what a blog was, now it's part of my daily routine and when I'm away I miss you, blogging, and everything that goes with it.

So while I try to piece together more stories from our vacation, I'll be by as soon as I can. Until them, happy October one and all.

How have you been?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

What I Did NOT Do On My Summer Vacation

Since I was so bold as to proclaim all the things I was planning to do this summer HERE, I think it's only fair to tally up my accomplishments and own up to the fact that I pretty much failed-- at least if you just look at the numbers. I'm barely 50/50.

Oh I had grand ideas, but you know what they say about carefully laid plans. Life got in the way, along with Mother Nature, missing motivation, distractions and a few unexpected twists and turns along the way.

On the top of my summer "to-do" list was spending more time connecting with friends over potluck dinners. Applause please-- I did really well on this goal. Beloved Husband and I entertained a lot this past summer and we're really glad we did. You just can't beat good food and quality time with loved ones. And, with all the cooking and grilling I did, this simple "confetti corn" recipe turned out to be the hit of the summer.

Second on the list was planting tomatoes and trying my hand at gardening... Again. Four plants and a full summer later, I harvested a whopping 7 tomatoes. Big sigh. I am still not gardener. But I made up for my lack of a green thumb at Farmer's Markets. I bought so many heirloom tomatoes that some weeks I was giving them away like those lucky folks who have awesome gardens of their own. But I always owned up to the fact that I purchased the tomatoes rather than grew them myself-- At least most of the time I did.

As for my trip to Ohio with Godson to meet my newborn great-niece-- Number Three on the list, all I can say is SCORE! It was such a fabulous trip that Godson and I are still talking about. And for your viewing enjoyment, here's a new pic of our still tiny but growing bundle of joy.

I get high marks on my goal of long weekend getaways, day trips and a vacation to New York City with Beloved-- Resolution Number Four. Hubby made a very concentrated effort to spend less time at the office and more time relaxing. It was a real treat for me and I took full advantage by getting us out of the house.

That brings me to Number Five-- The @#$%^&! treadmill and exercising pledge. Let's just say I laid a big fat goose egg on making that happen-- "Fat" being the operative word. See Resolution #1 and #4 and all the eating, entertaining and traveling that helped pack on several extra pounds. In short, I ate my way through summer vacation.

After all the angst, construction and expense of fixing our sinking pool and deck, goal Number Six on the list was nearly a total bust-- Pool parties. Mother Nature did not cut a break to Southern Californians near the beach and graced us with some unusually cold temperatures while the rest of the country got blasted with a major heat wave. So the pool was only used once all summer-- for about 30 minutes. On one hand, I like looking out the window and seeing the back yard stable and secure again. On the other hand, it was a very expensive dip in the pool.

Yoga and finding "zen" was Number Seven on the list and all I can say is that it's still on the list. (I didn't even buy a mat or yoga pants yet. Not even the excuse to shop made that happen.)

Same goes for Number Eight-- reading War and Peace, only it's not on the list anymore. Who was I kidding?!? But I did read all three books about the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Eat, Love, Pray. That's four more books than I finished all winter.

Which brings me to Number Nine on the list and remembering to cut fresh flowers and roses from the garden. Check and check. I did that A LOT this summer, and when there weren't any in the garden to cut, I brought big bunches home from Farmer's Markets and the Flower Mart. Ahh, that made me really happy. (Full disclosure-- I still do not have a green thumb but I do have a man who tends to the roses for me.)

And last but not least, my "fluff" to-do item on the list-- Number Ten-- "mindless entertainment" started with the sequel to Sex In The City. What a dog of a movie, but it didn't deter me. With minimal expectations and occasionally a pair of ear plugs, I also saw Flipped, Inception, Salt, Iron Man 2, and Robinhood-- And if those movies don't qualify for "mindless" I don't know what does. I also saw, and loved, Mao's Last Dancer. (Now I'm waiting for the Wall Street sequel to hit theaters.)

So technically speaking, that adds up to just "so-so" on my summer "to-do" list. Not exactly a glowing sense of accomplishment but as September begins I'm feeling pretty good about the meaningful connections with friends, family and my sweet husband this summer, and I'm looking forward to continuing as the year presses on.

I also have another trip planned to Ohio to see my family and a trip with Beloved back to NYC again for a reunion with his fabulous cousins this fall. Still, I know War and Peace will never be in my book bag and tomatoes will not grace my garden, but I'm okay with that.

What I do have to do however, is to get my head around the whole treadmill, yoga, "zen" thing. Seriously, I'm 52 years old. It's time to get over the love/hate relationship I have with exercise and stress. I've come to realize fitness is feast-or-famine with me, and yes, I acknowledge the pun. But it seems the older I get, the better I get at procrastinating the work it requires.

So as we move into the later quarter of 2010, I'm not making a year end "to-do" list. Rather I'm just going to "do" better at, and more of, the things that are important to me and stop wrestling with the things I need to be doing. Just saying it makes it feel a bit easier.

Are you a list maker?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Photo Credit: © Bob Faulkner - Fotolia.com

Sundays In My City #46 - A Nice Surprise

Thanks to Unknown Mami for Presenting Sundays In My City.

It's hard to imagine that just a week ago hubby and I were in New York City on vacation. After countless trips to The Big Apple (Do people still say that anymore?), and having worked there a long time ago, I was pleasantly surprised to come across a Farmer's Market smack dab in the middle of Midtown Manhattan at Rockefeller Center.

Tucked between skyscrapers and across the street from the famous Ice Skating Rink, Hubby and I wondered the short block filled with the nicest group of vendors you could ever ask for...

It had all the usual Farmer's Market produce but it seemed even more fabulous to me because it was in the middle of the city....

There were numerous stands with samples of food and let me tell you, sample I did....

This sweet man was very popular...

...Because he sold these... I sampled, bought, and ate, way too many, justifying each bite with all the walking I was doing in the city. Ha!

I met the "Bee Lady" who sold honey from rooftops, balconies and community gardens in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queen. I bought a delicious jar....

...And spent the week dipping these homemade pretzels into the sweet honey. Again, claiming I was doing a lot of walking....

Since I would have needed to STILL be walking to burn off the enormous quantity of calories I consumed on our vacation, I SHOULD have been eating these.....

....But tomatoes don't really go with honey or moonpies... or vacation.

How's you Sunday?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

It's great to be back at Sundays In My City. To visit more participants CLICK HERE.

And I'm still catching up but I'll be around to visit everyone soon.

Vacation

It was actually warm today-- in Southern California-- Really, truly, warm with the sun coming out in the morning and lasting all glorious day long. Ahhh, summer is finally here... I hope, I hope. And it's about time.

We've had just 14 days over 80 degrees so far this summer and the hit and miss of sunshine has made for a lackluster time. But I'm pretty sure the weatherman is right and we're going to start heating up for summer fun!

School doesn't start until September 13th around here so we'll actually get to use the repaired pool and deck (it's been too cold to swim!) before for it's time to hit the school car pool lane and nightly homework routine again.

So I'm taking a few weeks off to grab a little summer, catch up on some much needed rest, and spend a little extra time with my sweet hubby-- including a week in New York City for our 17th anniversary.

I'll be making the rounds to read blogs when I can but I won't be posting much until September 1st-- Or at least that's the plan for the moment. You never know, I might miss you too much and be back sooner.

Regardless, happy rest of August everyone. I hope you enjoy every minute.

Cheers,

Joanna

Going Ape

Clearly having lost my mind, I agreed to head over to Universal Studios Hollywood this week with Godson to check out the new King Kong 360 3-D attraction. I knew better than to hit the park in August because it's too hot and way too crowded to really enjoy, but King Kong is new and was calling our name.

And it was so worth it! What a great, all be it too short, 3-D larger than life movie, ride, whatever you want to call it-- It was cool.

After a long day at the park, Godson's mom picked him up from my house and had the following conversation.

Her: So how was Universal Studios today?

Him: (half asleep) Fine.

Her: Just fine? I thought you liked the zoo.

Him: (waking up) Theme Park, Mom. Theeeeme Park. No zoo.

Her: Was it crowded?

Him: Jammed.

Her: (pulling his leg) Hogs, dogs and frogs everywhere, huh?

Him: (dead serious) Just people.

Her: I thought for sure there'd be dinosaurs.

Him: Only fake ones.

Her: Did you go on the new gorilla thing?

Him: King Kong 360-3D, it's huge, Mom. It's not a "thing".

Her: Did he bark?

Him: Who?

Her: King Kong. Did he bark?

Him: (now fully awake) No, but the dinosaurs sneezed all over us. That was pretty cool.

Her: King Kong's a dinosaur?

Him: No, he's still a gorilla but there were dinosaurs too.

Her: Any pink ones?

Him: *Blink*

Her: How about dancing girls? Any of those?

Him: Not at King Kong.

Her: Was Conan O'Brien there again?

Him: He got fired, don't you remember?

Her: So I guess that means the interview you did with him last time didn't go so well, huh?

Him: It wasn't my fault.

Note: This photo was taken at Universal Studios earlier this year when Conan had his brief stint on the Tonight Show. (NBC owns Universal Studios.) My guess is the wax figure of Conan is locked away in the basement somewhere.

Do you do amusement parks, roller coaster or the likes?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

King Kong Photo Credit

Note: I was not compensated in any way for this post.

Sundays In My City #42 - Clowning Around

I'm a happy member of the

Sundays In My City Community (SIMC)

hosted by the fabulous Unknown Mami.

Wanna see the world and join the fun? Click HERE.

It's been a busy few days since Godson and I returned from vacation with lots to do and catch up with. It's to the point that I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation! So what did I do???

Godson's Mom scored some free tickets to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus so we took a few friends to see the fun. We loved the circus so much last year that we didn't want to miss the thrills and excitement again this time around.

The pre-show started with a painting elephant....

Then things kicked-off with a bright, colorful, parade followed by an action-packed show. The little person in the pic was the sidekick to the Ring Master. He was our favorite clown of the show and, frankly, was more fun and had more personality than the Ring Master....

Of course there were death-defying acts and fabulous acrobats. Do not try this at home...

There were some real babes in the show too. See the little guy in front of his Mommy....

Although the tigers were gorgeous, I couldn't stop wondering why a grown *ahem*middle*aged* man would were shiny spandex tights in a cage with a bunch of tigers. It just seemed so very wrong....

After too much popcorn, cotton candy and all that clowning around, I brought this guy home with me....

We had a blast and will, hopefully, go again next year if the circus comes back to town. It was the perfect "official" end to our vacation. Now it's time to get back to work!

How's your Sunday?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Photo credit: Joanna Jenkins

Click here for more Sundays In My City participants