AfricanKelli

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Yesterday I received both of these in the mail and couldn’t help but laugh at the irony. Something tells me I’m not going to burn 320 calories at lunch by enjoying the Bon Appetit cover article.

Who burns 320 calories at lunch? Not this Phoenician. I can tell you that it is in the 90s here this week and we’re sweaty driving to lunch, much less going for a walk or workout this time of year.

On the flip side, the postman also brought me two rocking new Amy Butler patterns. Giddyup. I can’t wait to dive into these!

Why yes, this will be my new summer tote. Can’t wait!
~K

P.S. If you are a Phoenician and interested in meeting this crafty gal, she is going to be at the grand opening of the new Blissful Living Studio in downtown Mesa on Saturday.
{I hope to make it post SheRox, but timing and energy levels are questionable post-tri.}

Come to find out, you guys read a ton. We read a lot of the same authors (Kingsolver, Lamott, Coehlo) and you had some mighty suggestions. For anyone interested in a recommended summer reading guide, here is what you’ve suggested in comments that I have not read:
(I copied these directly from comments, forgive the lack of editing style. Some are authors, other book titles.)

Beatrix Potter
Corrie Ten Boom
Jane Austen
Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff
Come Back, by Claire and Mia Fontaine
Lucky by Alice Sebold
The Golden Compass
Sala’s Gift: My Mother’s Holocaust Story by Ann Kirschner
Pride and Prejudice
In Lucia’s Eyes
The Historian
The Book Thief
The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show
Janet Evanovich’s number series
Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinkski
The Devil in the White City by Erick Larson
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Necessary Madness by Jenn Crowell
You’re Not You by Michele Wildgen
The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Jane Eyre
Dr. Oz’s book How to Keep Young
PS I love you
March by Geraldine Brooks
The Last Witchfinder by James Morrow
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Last Summer of You and Me
Hypocrisy of Disco
See You In A Hundred Years
Highest Tide
The God of Animals
Lullabies for Little Criminals
The Solace of Open Spaces
Haven Kimmel
Ron Carlson’s Five Skies
Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth
Gaia Girls
Wee Free Men
The Birth House
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe by Douglas Adams
Mezzanine Nicholson Baker
A Woman in Berlin
Persepolis

And these I have read and have provided a brief review:
{On a banana scale, Summer Sisters by Judy Blume is a 1 (horrific!) while A Hundred Years of Solitude, The Power of One, The Poisonwood Bible, are all 5 bananas, absoloodle. Fives changed my way of looking at the world. Ones make me want to burn the pages for kindling.}

The Poisonwood Bible — 5 bananas
My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult — 3 bananas
Kite Runner — 4 bananas
Tom Robbins — 4 as a general rule, always entertaining
Eat, Pray Love — 4, loved it, love Elizabeth Gilbert more in person
Hemingway — 3. I realize he’s a classic, but not my favorite.
Blink — 3. Liked the topic but was bored by the end.
Freakonomics — 3. See above.
Sue Grafton — 2. Summer mind candy, good for the occasional craving.
White Oleander — 4, great read, descriptive writing
Water for Elephants — 3, candy.
The Namesake — 5, love Jhumpa Lahiri
The Alchemist — 5, one of my faves of all time. Coelho is gold.
Secret Life of Bees — 3, enjoyed the story
The Red Tent — 4, great imagination, loved the Biblical references
Life of Pi — 4, great story telling, great for discussion afterward
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver — 3, good summer read
Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld –2, couldn’t identify with the main character

Now, what to read next…
~K

Today was much sweeter. I woke up after a good 11 hours of sound, deep sleep feeling headache-free. Granted, my heart still aches, but that will take more than a night of rest to change. Baking could help.

Tomorrow we are having a potluck at work and I’d signed up for dessert. I definitely got carried away, but the relief I find in cooking is parallel only to running and I just didn’t have the stamina for a long run tonight. Tomorrow’s menu includes Sweet Sedona bundt cake, lemon coconut cookies and Mexican cinnamon brownies — all in celebration of Cinco de Mayo.

Maddy and I had a great time. She is a doll and such a great reminder of the joy of life. I watched her today with her girlfriends and family; I want to be more like her — she’s carefree, confident, strong and sweet to a fault.

Thank you for your kind words about yesterday’s post. My apologies to the Monday dieters cruising through the blog.
~K

I went to a funeral today for a friend’s brother who died in a plane accident. He left behind a wife, who is expecting their first child next month. They are both my age and the funeral left me with one of those crippling headaches behind the eyes that makes you want to crawl into a cold, dark cave and hibernate until such tragedy doesn’t occur. I cried so hard I’m sure made those around me uncomfortable. Sorrow for me at times is like a storm that suddenly becomes a hurricane. I was expecting the wind, but not to have my roof blown away.

Tomorrow is Maddy’s birthday party. Sewing these tote bags this morning was creative therapy. It was mindless piece-work that kept me from curling up in a ball. I look forward to tomorrow, with the giggly girls and the rock climbing. It’s set to be a weekend of contrast. It’s cheesy and trite and cliche but true: each day is a gift. Today was a great reminder to live like tomorrow isn’t quite yet a done deal.

~K

*

I haven’t posted much lately about my “training” because with 7 weeks on the travel docket this summer, there isn’t much planned for Fall races. I’ve got three Splash and Dash left and a sprint triathlon next weekend for the Spring tri season, and then a long hiatus until the Tour de Scottsdale come October.
And you know what? I couldn’t be happier. I’m going to pick up Ultimate again this Fall (and possibly tennis) and swing by this new running shop in Tempe that is getting rave reviews to be fit for a great new pair of sneaks. Then, the Tucson 1/2 come December with a goal of 2 hours. My current personal best is 2:14, so this would be a rocking improvement.

My day-to-day routine when I’m without a specific training race for goes something like this: Monday, Wednesday, Friday — lots of running and cycling. I’ve recently taken up spin classes because if I fall off that bike there is no risk of being hit by a car. And if I fall of the spin bike, I am officially too dumb to be on a bike and should never return to riding the open roads with the Rudy the Tempest. It is just getting light enough to make my annual transition from the treadmill to the canal and head back outside for morning runs. (We once had a serial killer here who was randomly picking people off with a sniper gun. I stopped running outside by myself in the dark during this time and have yet to return with any confidence. Too many crazies, even though they caught this nut.)
I try to run 15-20 miles per week, typically at at 10 minute mile pace. There is are a few weights sprinkled in there too; more so on the weeks when I receive my copy of Shape and feel particularly motivated. I am actually considering buying this bikini and hanging it up in my bedroom as a daily reminder of my annual Mexico trip this fall. It is wowza cute, very much my style and I will certainly need to curb my late night cereal snack habit to rock that baby with any sort of sober confidence.

Tuesdays and Thursdays I am coaching the master swim program and put in 1.5-2 miles pre-work. I try to walk or take yoga in the afternoons, but it all depends on my dance card. Social events take precedence because frankly, I can have a flat tummy and be home alone or be jolly out with friends. Jolly wins.
Weekends are a mix of errands on the bike, running when so moved and hiking with friends. I try daily to be moving at least 30 minutes a day, ideally 90. I know that I’m a cardio freak, but I am my happiest with those exercise endorphins flowing. Anytime I can be outside and not melt, I’m on the patio.

A few great resources new to me for those fellow wannabe athletes:
1. Fantastically free calorie web site. Food journaling is my friend.
2. Bike I am currently coveting.
3. Did you know they made watches that monitor caloric output? And you can find them for a smoking deal on eBay.
4. Love this magazine. Just read my first copy this week and it is really different from the other health stuff out there. Entertaining, stylish and informative in useful portions. Hmm… useful portions…

~K

* A super secret project for a certain friend’s 11th birthday party. Let’s just say she is a huge Phoenix Suns fan and we are going rock climbing.

It’s no secret around here that I’m a huge Jackie O fan. Love the pearls, the bobbed coif, the giant sunglasses. I’ve been copying her for years and think perhaps the only perk of marrying Tom Cruise is a new and improved Jackie O-inspired sense of style. Katie Holmes, I adore how you are looking these days, even if you are a bit Stepford.

I’m not sure when I became a fashion prude but I couldn’t be happier that this style is on its way back. I am sick of the thong panties peeking out the top of too low, too snug, muffin-top-inducing jeans. (So I don’t spin around in the mirror. Ha!) In all seriousness, you don’t have to be thin or wealthy to dress like a million bucks these days. Nothing looks better than clothing that fits — including bras that hold the girls at attention, jeans that are hemmed to the right length and heels that are appropriate for the occasion. You can being wearing Tarjay next to Hermes and I wouldn’t know the difference if the model had both items tailored to her size.
I’ve made my fashion faux pas a time or four and am frankly one of the least fashionable in my gaggle of girlfriends. White eyeshadow in college? Overlooking the warning for brunettes on the Sun In bottle in high school? Wearing plaid during a brief, very ugly and very distraught grunge phase? Considering clean pajamas a great clothing day at NAU? All shamefully true and yes, they do make me want to hide behind an even larger pair of JKO frames.
In these missteps I’ve learned a couple things. Diane Von Furstenberg is always a classic. Pearls are always good to have in a pinch; they’ll make any item seem more polished. I am my happiest in flip flops or running shoes. I’ve learned I should spend money on good handbags, shoes and a lipstick that flatters any time of day. I wear my Gap basics thin, while trendy items often hit the Goodwill basket before they’ve lost their Old Navy scent. Black is my slimming best friend. Jeans, a white t-shirt and a sincere smile often catch a man’s eye when a slinky dress just makes me look like every other girl in a Scottsdale restaurant — hungry and uncomfortable. (And really wishing I wasn’t holding a $12 glass of wine.)

So, what to sew in the next Finny and Donk Sewing Adventure? Why, dahling, I thought you’d never ask. The wrap skirt, of course. Make it a length you find suitable and post your best fashion forward photo in the pool by June 30th. We’ll select a winner (of fancy goodies, no less) by her creativity and style.

~K

P.S. I need a haircut. I’m thinking the Jenny McCarthy asymmetrical bob. The uneven length may drive me nuts, but I think she’s looking pretty fabulous.