When Gloria's Away

Gloria's still away so Alison and I went to Maury's yoga class again and, after class, we went across the street to have breakfast at Rooster. The owner has several restaurants including the one I visited during jury duty to get that yummy chickpea burger.

Thought about trying a Finnish pancake or pancakes with caramelized bananas but I went the a la carte route and got eggs, potatoes and toast. The woman next to me wanted to know what kind of bread was on my plate and I offered to share my whole wheat bread (made by Rooster) because I knew that I wasn't going to eat all of it. She'd already eaten so she declined but she did tell me what a fabulous bacon shake they have at the downtown place...

Went to see Motown the Musical with Chiquita last night. We both enjoyed it and now I need to get busy putting Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and lots of others on my iPod.

There was a really funny and sweet moment during a Diana Ross scene. Just about the entire audience held hands and sang Reach Out and Touch. The audience was prompted by the actress to participate but no one had to prompt the audience to respond when the actor sang Marvin Gayes' Inner City Blues song and reached this line:

Trigger happy policing...

Turned A Corner

I was so energized this morning. I got up and did ab work. I was going to say that a strong core is helpful for rock climbing but a strong core is good period.

I ate a champion-like breakfast: oatmeal with almond milk, cinnamon, flax seed, and a mashed banana.

As I was making a morning snack of strawberry and pineapple, I was thinking that I don't really care for strawberries by themselves but with pineapple -- yummy. Of course, I started singing Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

HER: One can have a dream, baby
HIM: Two can make that dream so real
HER: One can talk about bein' in love
HIM: Two can say how it really feels
HER: One can wish upon a star
HIM: Two can make that wish come true, yeah
HER: One can stand alone in the dark
HIM: Two can make the light shine through

CHORUS (BOTH):
It takes two, baby...

After I had climbed my second route, Patti said I think that you've turned a corner in your climbing. Patti is right. I'm more comfortable on the wall and, more importantly, I'm more conscientious.

We had so much fun today. It was an interesting dynamic because normally Patti and I or Jessica and I or Jessica and Patti will go climbing. We haven't all been together in awhile. We teased each other endlessly but, don't worry, no one got hurt. Well, I almost got hurt when I swung off of Beware of Bats but that's another story.












Route Tally for 4/10:

The Five, 5.5 (Climbed 2x's & Down Climbed 1x )
The Seven, 5.7
Sponge Bob, 5.7
Bright Idea, 5.8
Face Plant, 5.8
Hallelujah, 5.8
Rainbow Bright, 5.8
Beware of Bats, 5.9

The 5.8 by the name of Hallelujah is pretty accurate because, when I made it up to the top, that's definitely what I wanted to sing.

By the way, see that picture (the fourth one) where it looks like I'm doing a split? Wow, I didn't feel myself doing that and I can't believe that I'm that flexible now.

Ain't No Mountain...

My mother: What's next? Climbing mountains?

Me: I chuckle then I hadn't thought about that but now that you mention it...

It's funny that my mother mentioned mountains to me because I feel like I'm on top of one or that I'm right near the top, one foot down and one leg poised to push over the top.

In the immortal words of James Brown, I feel good. And I feel strong.

When I was doing some ab work, I noticed how solid my core feels and how I'm able to do tall sit ups without struggling.

While climbing, I noticed that those routes that have been a pain in the behind weren't so grueling. I felt as if I could have climbed all day.

Route tally:

Sponge Bob, 5.7
Truxton or Bust, 5.6
Bright Idea, 5.8
Face Plant, 5.8 (2x's)
JW, 5.8
Unnamed, 5.6 (Ascended and Down Climbed)
Rainbow Bright, 5.8 (Ascended 3x's + Down Climbed 1x)

JW has been my long-term nemesis but I climbed it more cleanly today. I felt as if it wasn't so hard. I'm stronger. And I did Face Plant twice today. Hello!

I need to thank Patti for indulging me. She knows that I'm a pushing specialist. So, she often throws down the gauntlet and challenges (or indulges) me...

Jessica, if you're out there listening, I went climbing with your athletic family. Your brother, who hadn't been climbing in ages, had me cracking up with his it doesn't matter which route I climb, it's all the same to me. It's so wrong that he can climb a 5.9 and hasn't been climbing in ages. Your mom (as usual) was climbing like she meant business and your father, and I'm paraphrasing here, said something like your mother was the best thing that ever happened to him. Wish you were here...

Got To Give It Up

I don't know how I convinced myself that veggie chips are okay. I was reading Prevention magazine and came across this article.

What's in Your Veggies Snack?

And then I googled upon this one:

Veggie chips: Trick or treat?

I got to give it up. It being veggie chips although my mind did drift to Marvin Gaye.

I gotta finish the remnants first.


Kudos to what's his face Bob Harper of The Biggest Loser fame for, according to the June 29th issue of TV Guide, eating 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day of unprocessed food.

List of Natural Foods