Jones Fulfilled

Had a low-grade jones for hot yoga so I went to check out this new-ish studio in town.

I decided to take Slow Flow (Warm) and I was told that it would be 85 degrees which felt about right. The heat smell was completely familiar...

It's a gorgeous studio with showers and towel service. I got there early to sign a waiver then chilled out in the lounge area. Loved the chakra art in the main office.

And let me tell you -- nothing says relax from the top of your head to the tips of your toes like your teacher anointing your head with essential oil then unfurling your eyebrows then upping the ante with No need to rush after savasana.

It's The Falling That I Don't Like

It's been exactly seven days since I stepped into Upper Limits. Finally, my jones was fulfilled -- for now.

Remember that 5.8b route, And You're Ready Now?, that I tried to tackle so many times and finally was able to ascend? Well, it's gone now -- a bouldering competition casualty. I was straight up looking forward to ascending that route more smoothly.

Guess that's just a little life lesson about being prepared for change.

I did try a new 5.8 route, A Savage Salvage Project, and it was a tad bit, as indicated, savage. I didn't think that I would be able to make it to the top but I called for a take mid-way and I was able to get up the rest of the route.

I also tried a bouldering route even though I'm not that fond of bouldering since I unexpectedly fell off the wall once. I think it was helpful that I wasn't expecting the fall because I was more relaxed. Plus, the floor is rubbery. Still, I can see how a person could injure themselves. The bottom line is that I probably should not do a whole lot of climbing without a belay system.

While I'm not enthusiastic about bouldering, here's one young lady that loves it. This video is pretty cute.



And, oh yeah, just in case I didn't say it, it's the falling that I don't like when it comes to bouldering.

Old Jones, #3: Hand-Crafted Deliciousness

Merb's Candies is so wrong for this billboard. These confections of apple, caramel and pecans used to be the apple of my eye and they really need no press since they speak for themselves. Even at the height of my self-indulgent days, I couldn't eat a whole apple at once. I did know, though, how long I would have access to the apples. Around Thanksgiving, bionic apples start to disappear.

I also had a jones for the dark chocolate hash at Merb's. It was sooooooo good. I even liked the store which is a small little confectionery.

'Drea's Top Ten List

I'm usually happy to see the Arch come into view when I'm on the St. Louis Riverfront Trail.



When I see this scrawled, homemade sign, I'm relieved especially when it's been a rough ride because the finish line really is just a heartbeat away when I see this graffiti.



I saw lots of tailgaters but was surprised to see so many Packers' fans who ended up with plenty of reasons to celebrate since the Packers beat, with a capital B, the St. Louis Rams.

I didn't think that I would have a place to park but the football fans left the trail parking to the bikers. Thank you. In honor of my bicycle jones, here is 'Drea's Top Ten list of why she enjoys bicycling:

10). Throwing leg over bike frame at the start line.

9). The open trail.

8). The scenery/nature.

7). The wild turkeys, frogs, cardinals etc.

6). Flying down hills.

5). Leaning into curves.

4). The feeling of balance.

3). The feeling of movement.

2). The workout of lifting the bike before the bike ride.

And the number one reason?

1). The calories burned.

Hello To Pomegranate Season

I was really bummed that it didn't get really warm this summer. My state of mind had everything to do with my recently acquired swimming skills. I was jonesing to swim outdoors so that I could do the back crawl while watching the birds and the clouds.

I felt like we went from fall to fall but I was genuinely happy to see pomegranates, a definite reason to celebrate fall. I've only seen small ones so far but I'll take what I can get.

Old Jones: A Non-Fairy Tale

To quote Anthony Hamilton:

I'm a mess right now...

My room is too.

One of my colleagues, who is cleaning machine, said that she would help me but I would have to let her throw away stuff.

My friend, Martene, told me that it probably wouldn't benefit me to hire someone since I would need to be involved as far as okaying what to throw away.

And, finally, I told my friend Lori that I would be mortified if I died and someone saw my room in such disarray. Lori promised me that, upon hearing the news of my death, she would rush over and tidy things up so that people would have fond memories of me as opposed to frowning upon my messiness.

Guess what I've been doing? Cleaning up. Not because I'm inspired. It's the forced clean up because company is coming.

Folks, I don't stand a chance. I'm such a pack rat. I went to San Diego about two years ago where I was chasing other things besides sunsets. It is amazing how sunsets become the thing to watch when you're by the ocean. You rush to get a front row seat when it's that time of the day.



I had a serious jones for Manner of the milk chocolate variety. It's a terrible feeling when you realize that you haven't seen your jones in awhile. I saw this one store that listed milk chocolate Manner as being in stock but when I got my package in the mail, I received the chocolate cream Manner and the woman told me that it was the new milk chocolate Manner.



I didn't care if it was new or not, I didn't want it. Now, there's nothing wrong with the original hazelnut or lemon or vanilla Manner wafers but I just took a liking to the milk chocolate.

As I was cleaning up my room, I saw a piece of paper with the following information:

Sausage King
811 Washington
(619) 297-4301

I chuckled because I remembered having such a hard time finding the Sausage King. And what did the Sausage King sell? Manner wafers and, well, sausage. When I got there, though, he had chocolate cream wafers and I never found the milk chocolate ones again.

New Jones

I was strolling down the organic aisle at Dierbergs when I spotted these nacho cheese puffs on sale and I thought I would give them a try. I liked them enough to buy three additional bags. Snikiddy claims the following about these baked corn puffs:

no corn syrup

gluten & wheat free

no hydrogenated oils

no trans fat

no preservatives

low in saturated fat

If I could kick the processed food habit, I would do better with the weight loss but life would also be dull and unsatisfying.

Comic Strip Relief

The sign of a true jones -- when you'll actually jump through hoops for the object of your affection.

Maybe Lola has the right idea about doing a little inspired cardio before decadence. Some folks also advise to just go for a walk etc. before indulging in something you may not need or really want.

Courtesy of the July/August Fitness magazine, here are some ice cream statistics:

1896

Year the first ice-cream cone was produced

23

Billions of dollars in annual ice cream and frozen dessert sales in the U.S.

273

Calories in one cup vanilla ice cream

380

Calories in one cup cookie-dough ice cream

45

Minutes you'd have to bike to burn off that cookie-dough ice cream

21

Quarts of ice cream the average person eats per year

301

Number of runners at last year's Walnut Beach Festival Ice Cream Run 5K in Milford, Connecticut (free cones for all!)

14 Wrappers

Finally, I got something in return for one of my habits.


I saw that Attune was giving out rebates and all you had to do was send them 14 wrappers from, of course, Attune bars.

My favorite Attune bar used to be the Lemon Crème then I had to wean myself because of the calories. The Strawberry Bliss wasn't bad either. I stepped down to smaller bars, the blueberry vanilla and mint chocolate. At any rate, I hope those probiotics are doing their job.

Bowling Doesn't Burn Many Calories

One of my peeps invited me to go bowling which I haven't done in eons. There's something about slinging a bowling ball down a lane and knocking down pins that moves me.

I took my workout clothes to work just in case the bowling didn't pan out but when it did, I was still considering doing a drive-by workout since, let's face it, bowling doesn't burn many calories.

I thought about the time it would take to do a drive-by workout and between travel time and an actual 30 minute workout, I would be rushing to the bowling alley sans dinner.

My back-up plan was to go home, grab my bike and ride around for 30 minutes. Bicycling is my new, non-food jones. I'm so glad that I hopped on a bike again. I love going downhill and having the wind at my back; it's so exhilarating. There's also something about the movement that you can achieve on a bike that's different from cardio machines.

I rode around then went in the house to eat before heading to the bowling alley. I should have followed my first mind and cut down my fingernails but I didn't and I loss a couple of nails the hard way. My scores were awful (63 & 76 et al) but I didn't care. I had fun.

Old Jones, #2

I was going through some clutter and found this relic.


I can remember hauling myself across town for Il Vicino when I could have been making my own pizzas. Besides having good pizza, I liked that Il Vicino's was not Pizza Hut where they would unceremoniously dump almost whole red onions onto the pie.

Il Vicino is inviting. The interior and exterior is visually appealing. If you sit outdoors, you can look at the beautiful metropolis of Clayton and contemplate where to dine next at perhaps First Watch or City Coffee House & Creperies or...

Usually, I would pick up my pizza from Il Vicino then head straight to Straub's. How could I not go? Straub's was right up the street. And as Shug said to Celie in The Color Purple : I think God gets angry when you walk past the color purple and don't pay attention. I felt the same way about Straub's and getting to the dessert corner.

Jones On The Horizon

As I was heading toward the door of The Wreck Center, I saw this woman that works there but we've never exchanged a word. I tried to make eye contact with her and she finally looked over her shoulder and said, What would you say if I told you that the pool was closed? Ah man is my instant response. I started to calculate my options when she said just kidding.

I can't believe she wanted to punk me on our first communiqué.

I barely managed to squeak out 21 laps today. First, there was a slight pinch in my back and I hardly ever have back issues. Then the pinch moved to my rib area which made swimming laborious for awhile. I stretched on the pool wall and just kept plodding away and, finally, I felt like myself. So, here's some appreciation for all of those days when I am without pain or discomfort.

Before I went swimming, I stopped by Jay International to score some basil. What a bargain!



The basil was used to make Garlic & Basil Beans.

I love the smell of basil and the taste is even better.

I was going to try a new chicken recipe, Chicken with Jerk Sauce and Cool Pineapple Salsa, but when I went to Trader Joe's, I saw some precooked marinated chicken breasts which I got instead; they were quite yummy and I can see a jones on the horizon.

Semi-Jones

I shouldn't have spoken so soon about not having a jones for Soyjoy bars.

http://tinyurl.com/d5oauc

So far, I've tried apple and strawberry. They're a little weird and look a little burnt; I wasn't quite sure if I liked them but...

After a couple of tentative bites, I committed to the bar and decided that it wasn't too bad. I like them as a pre-workout snack and they seem to tide me over between meals so when I saw them on sale at Walgreens two for a $1 dollar this week, I decided to get a handful.