Bikinis and Bridal Gowns

Welcome to Vegas sign

Where can you see a bride in a beautiful long wedding gown holding a bouquet of red roses and two young women in bikinis standing a foot away? (The bikini girls were in a Starbucks line) Only in Las Vegas, right? This was just one of the bizarre sights I encountered during my recent trip to Las Vegas to work a conference.  There was no shortage of wild and skimpy outfits and certainly no shortage of body art, as in tattoos and piercings!

One of my favorite pass times is people watching. I think that I might be addicted. The past few days provided me with more than enough entertainment to last a few weeks. Honestly, people have always intrigued me. I love to notice hairdos/haircuts, clothing styles, accessories, the way people walk, what food and drinks they order. I am also fascinated by peoples’ body language plus the way that people communicate and interact with others. I’m just mesmerized!

Most of the time I’m not passing judgment but there are times when I have to wonder if the individual owns a mirror or has at least looked in one before leaving the house. These individuals make my imagination kick in and I try to guess their “story”. I’m sure these people are much more “creative” than I am and their creativity is just coming out in the way they dress.

Maybe next spin will be a winner!

Since Las Vegas has gambling everywhere you look, it’s the perfect location for people watching.  People get so intense – it’s better than theater. I didn’t have much time to participate in my pass time but in just walking through the lobby from my room to the meeting rooms, I saw all sorts of dramas. And it amazed me that on the last morning as I was checking out at 4.30am, there were still a number of people in the lobby casino.

A lot of people go to Las Vegas for special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries. This was the case for some of the people on my plane out and the shuttle service from the airport to the hotel. I don’t want to admit that I was eavesdropping but they were talking so loud, it was impossible not to listen to them. There was also a group of young women in the hotel lobby who were celebrating Katie’s 21^st birthday. How did I know this when I had never seen them before? Because they were all wearing identical tank tops saying “It’s Katie’s 21^st” – except for one, whose top said that she was Katie.

Too many candles for my little cake.

I got to celebrate my birthday in Las Vegas too. I worked during the day but three of the people I was working with bought me a little cake and sang to me. In the evening I went to an incredible photo exhibition celebrating the 125^th anniversary of National Geographic – by myself. There were fifty of the most well-known photos that were featured on National Geographic covers. I’m guessing this isn’t the most popular entertainment in Las Vegas since there was only one other person in the whole exhibit while outside it was complete chaos and pandemonium. The exhibit was absolutely wonderful and I got to spend as much time as I wanted without feeling guilty for taking so long.

Conferences have always made me feel as if I’m in a microcosm, a whole different world where the outside world doesn’t exist. This is especially true when I’m staying in the hotel where the conference is being held. Days can pass by without my ever going outside into the “real” world. When the location is Las Vegas, the outside “real world” is filled with strange and peculiar displays. It’s like walking through an over dramatized reality show.  I’m back at home now and have transitioned back to peace and calm with a big sigh.

 

 

 

Moving to Mexico – Insanity or Adventure

Sunrise looking over Banderas Bay

My husband and I have just returned from another trip to Mexico. Having made the decision to move to a Latin American country within two to three years we’ve made several trips trying to decide exactly where. After visiting Puerto Vallarta in April, we were pretty sure that was where we wanted to be but all of the locals told us to come in August because it is absolutely unbearably hot and humid then. So our August trip was to see if we could handle the heat and humidity and begin to look at what homes are like in the area.

Our wonderful radio (courtesy of Europcar)

We rented a condo and tried to live as much as possible as the expats who have already moved there. After arriving we had to run the gauntlet of hiring a car. It’s never an easy task and this time was no different. Since we arrived late in the afternoon, our choice was limited – as in only one car. Steve checked over all of the dents and scratches and took photos of every scratch before we set off to find the condo -- only to realize that the radio had no knobs! OK, we’d just go back the next morning and exchange the car. This didn’t happen because by the time Steve got there, there were no more cars. So we listed to Mariachi music for the whole two weeks.

The condo rental manager had left a key with security along with a note saying that she couldn’t meet us but would come by early the next morning.  We found our nice little condo but the area where we’d spend most of our time, the main lounge, dining area and kitchen, was at ground level with an all glass front and one of the large blinds covering half of the glass was missing.  We also realized that the extra security lock on the door didn’t work and the lock on the 2^nd level balcony didn’t work either.  These prompted a call to the condo manager with a very unreliable connection on a Mexican phone that had been left for us. We were promised a visit early mañana to sort everything out so we went to the local Mexican Supermercado. We’d been there several times in April so we were familiar with the layout of the store and our shopping was done fairly quickly.

Back at the condo, as it got dark, we felt as if we were in a goldfish bowl because of the missing shade. This wasn’t so much of a problem because we’d been up since 2.30am to catch an early flight so we had an early night.

The next morning, the manager’s husband came by “early” (somewhere between 10.30 and 12.00) to sort out our missing locks and blind. We were actually very pleasantly surprised that it happened so quickly and efficiently!

The start to our stay had me thinking about what a major decision moving to a new country really is. We’ve both done it – I’ve done it twice and when I moved back to the US after living in the UK, I still suffered culture shock. This time will be more difficult because of the language and cultural differences. Even little things like foods that you automatically take for granted won’t be available. Major things such as medical emergencies will prove really difficult if we can’t understand what the doctor is telling us. Fortunately, there’s quite a large expat community in Puerto Vallarta so finding doctors who speak English might not be such a problem.  However, I did have to go to the farmacia to ask for some cream for my hands and I wanted to do it in Spanish. I had practiced with Steve so was all set. The only problem was, the woman answered me in Spanish and so quickly, I didn’t have a clue what she said. But she showed me the cream and I purchased it and the whole transaction was done in Spanish!

Our big challenge on this trip was to settle on an area that we liked and actually look at some condos because we want to spend at least a year there before deciding whether or not that will be a permanent home. We found our first real estate company quite by accident. We were looking for a restaurant and the real estate company with the same name was next door. We were very lucky because the manager spoke very good English. After describing what we were looking for, she told us that the rental agent was out but would be back on Monday. After calling on Monday lunchtime to confirm that the rental agent would be there, we stopped in the office at the appointed time. The rental agent wasn’t there and couldn’t be reached on her cell phone. Finally, the manager arrived back from lunch (around 4.30pm) and she personally took us to view three condos. We asked that information be emailed to us but we’ve seen nothing yet. Maybe she meant "la semana que viene" (next week). See the time scales definitions below.

We stumbled upon our next real estate agent again by accident. We were looking at areas and found a building that we liked and there just happened to be a business card outside the security gate. When we called, the woman answered in a very Canadian-sounding voice and she immediately set up an appointment for a couple of hours later. When we arrived, she was already there and buzzed us through the security gate. After showing us the condo, she asked for our contact details and by the time we were back at our condo, she had emailed us asking for our feedback. A couple of days later, she’d arranged for us to see another condo and again was there ahead of time. As before, she’d emailed us immediately so by the time we got back to the condo, we had an email asking for our feedback plus we had full descriptions and dimensions of both properties. The experience with the two real estate agents couldn’t have been more polar opposites.

Is this our future view?

We managed the hot, humid and rainy weather with no problems. It was just like being back in Maryland except at home we don’t have the ocean or palm trees outside our door. Our next test will be a visit during peak tourist time. Although we don’t want to live in the tourist area of Puerto Vallarta, we’ll be close enough that when the PV beaches are full of gringos from the resorts, the locals will flock to a beach just outside our terrace doors.

We came back excited and enthused. Yes, we know there will be “cons” and we’ll have huge challenges, but if we remain flexible and are willing to adapt and force ourselves to learn Spanish, we will find it easier and more enjoyable. Every day will mean that we are constantly learning and we’ll take more notice of our surroundings. Here in the US, we can almost operate on auto-pilot and make it through the day with our eyes closed. In a new country with a new unique culture and language to learn and new people to meet, we’ll have the opportunity to challenge and change our lives.

Mexican Time Schedule

“ahora” – definition ‘now’ but actually means ‘in a while’

“ahorita” – definition ‘right now’ but actually means ‘in a while’

“mañana” – definition ‘morning’ or ‘tomorrow’ – when used as tomorrow actually means some day other than that

“cinco minutos” – definition ‘5 minutes’ but actually means 5 Mexican minutes

“momentito” – definition ‘in a moment’ but actually means 5 Mexican minutes

We learn fast!

Reliving the Battle of Gettysburg – 150th Anniversary

Union Soldier's Tent

When in school, why did I hate history class with a passion?  Maybe because my teachers were never interested and could have cared less so they just wanted to “get by” in these “boring” lessons by giving us a list of dates to remember. Do I remember any of them – NO! Not to mention, neither do I remember why I was told to remember them.

Now, years later, I can’t seem to get enough of history. I’ve recently been spending hours enthusiastically reading historical novels, mainly based in England beginning with the early 11^th century. But I have to admit my interest in the British history didn’t begin until I lived in the UK and my husband took me to visit various castles and other places of interest.  Other trips included historic sites throughout Europe, Egypt, Africa, Asian countries and Central and South America where even more history suddenly became real for me.



Confederates outnumbered the Union Soldiers

In the last few years I’ve visited Jamestown and Williamsburg but my interest in US history was never really realized and it was only when I spotted a very small article in a Salt Lake City newspaper about the 150^th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg did I take any interest in the Civil War era. The article described reenactments and events that would take place so I immediately began planning a day trip to see live "the single largest and one of the most pivotal military engagements ever to be fought on American soil". Since moving to the US, we’ve never developed any sort of 4^th of July rituals so this seemed to be the perfect day to visit the Gettysburg reenactments.

Cannons shook the ground!

On the morning of the 4^th, although leaving home early we still had to queue two hours to get into the grounds! After just missing the Gettysburg Address by an actor (not Daniel Day-Lewis or I would have been out of the car and walked the final 3 miles to hear him) we just got to the first battle reenactment as it started. Cannons were booming out across the battle ground and right next to the grandstand shaking the grounds. While rifles and muskets fired more deafening volleys continuously, we watched several parts of the battle progress through a smoky haze. I had binoculars and Steve had his long range telephoto lens so we got to see up close how realistic the enactments are!



Part of the Calvary

We were never able to determine the exact number of reenactors, or “living historians” as they prefer to be called, but were told that it was in the range of 15,000. We also learned that there were 400 horses used for the Calvary and I was completely blown away (no pun intended) by the fact that the cannons and rifle fire didn’t bother them one bit. This was the largest battle that any of the reenactors that we spoke to had ever participated in. It was definitely a breathtaking tableau playing out across a huge field, often in a smoke-filled haze. One can only imagine what it must have been like during the battles 150 years ago when the two sides suffered over 50,000 casualties.

Union General

After the first battle, we wandered through a living history village, mainly showing us how the officers lived as well as other people who followed the troops; the military camp, where the front-line soldiers lived; the medical tents, and other activity tents. During the four days of reenactments, quite a few of the historians actually live in the same type of tents, cook on wood fires and live as closely as possible to the way it was 150 years ago. We got a chance to speak at length to one of the reenactors and found out exactly how knowledgeable and passionate these historians are because of the amount of time and cost involved in their participation. This isn’t just a weekend hobby - their passion, dedication to the authenticity of their uniforms, equipment, living arrangements, etc. was just beyond belief! They actually live their characters’ lives four to five times a year.

General Robert E. Lee

We spent the rest of the afternoon going around to activity tents to visit the reenactors and listened to them give their “stories”. We heard all kinds of stories from a woman who was one of the best spies of the Civil War, other stories of women who helped their causes, listened to a band that used 150 year-old instruments and a better band with quite young children (maybe 6-10 year olds) who played drums and the flutes. I’m pretty sure there were children of these ages that were used back 150 years ago too. One of the best was the session with the generals from the south. Steve and I were standing by the entrance to the tent so we were rubbing shoulders with the “brave generals of the south” as they entered and made their way to the stage.

Union re-enforcements

We watched the second battle of the day at 6.30pm. This was close to the actual time of the second battle on July 1^st 1863 and the weather was pretty much the same as well. It was around 90 degrees, humid and I can’t imagine what it would feel like in the wool uniforms worn by both armies. Most of these reenactors had worn their uniforms throughout our 90+ degree temperature day but they still performed beautifully!

If any of you get a chance to visit a reenactment, I’d very highly recommend it. It breathes life into history through sight, sound, smells and the passion that flows through each of these living historians. It doesn’t make a difference what country you are living in, historic scenes that they are playing out has had a direct impact on your life today. Live and breathe it, if only for a day!

There were far too many photos to include in this blog and even with Steve’s telephoto lens, some of them might be a bit hard to see. For those of you who are history buffs, if you’d like to see more photos, click this link: https://picasaweb.google.com/102840684536112573599/Gettysburg?authuser=0&feat=directlink

 

On the Road Again – Salt Lake City

Beautiful, majestic temple

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Salt Lake City (SLC)? Is it the Tabernacle Choir, the Salt Flats, Temple Square (the center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) or the Winter Olympics in 2002? During my first week in SLC, I was busy working a conference but I made up for lost time by packing my three leisure days with tours of things that Salt Lake City and Utah is known for.

360 choir members and orchestra

I was lucky enough to hear the Tabernacle Choir twice. On Thursday night, I went with the conference delegates to a private performance for them and a another much smaller group from the UK.  They announced that a few days before, Bryn Terfel (famous Welsh opera bass-baritone) had recorded with the choir for an album that will be out this autumn. The choir, accompanied by a full orchestra, sang two Welsh songs so hearing those along with sharing the music with the Brits in the audience made me feel very at home. Not only do many of the Choir members have Welsh ancestors, but the beginnings of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir are traced to Welsh immigrants, who settled in the Salt Lake Valley in the mid-nineteenth century. My second time to hear them was during a recording of Music and The Spoken Word on Sunday morning. The Tabernacle was packed. Since the Choir will be off on tour in just over a week to promote their new album, the timing for my visit was perfect.

SLC Capitol Building

My next adventure was a tour of all of the top spots in downtown and close to the center of the city, including the State Capitol building (beautiful!), the Governor’s Mansion, the Old Mormon Pioneer Trail, the Pioneer Heritage State Park (an authentic historical village), Lion House (Brigham Young’s home and his other homes that housed all of his wives and 56 children), the Olympic stadium and village and many other sites along our way.

Summer on main street in Park City

The next day, I had my own private tour of Park City and the surrounding area. Historically, a mining town, with only a few thousand residents, it welcomes over 600,000 tourists each year, especially during the ski season. It’s also home to the Sundance Film Festival and many celebrities and politicians have second (or third or fourth) homes up in the mountains. I saw examples of ski runs directly behind their homes so they don’t have to slum it with the mere mortals who can only afford to stay and ski from town or nearby resorts. It’s also home of the USA Ski Team and I watched some of the young ski jumpers practicing. It’s strange to watch them jumping onto wet mats and then sliding onto the wet grass without snow!

My final day was filled with explorations that couldn’t have been more different. I spent the morning at the Family History Library at Temple Square. Since I’ve traced my ancestors back several centuries, I had very specific ancestors and dates in mind to circumvent the brick wall that I’d hit on both sides of my father’s ancestors. The library has so many volunteers who are incredibly knowledgeable and help people with their searches. With their help I was able to go a branch further on both sides. Now, on my father’s fathers side, I’ve gone all the way back to 1600 . On my father’s mother’s side, I was researching a Scottish ancestor who, according to a census record, was born in Ireland. Thanks to the extensive family search database, I was able to find out that both his daughters were also born in Ireland. I only had the morning so I couldn’t determine where, but volunteers gave me maps and a list of further websites that might help me with more research.



Endless salt flats

My afternoon was spent at Salt Lake. If you are going to be in Salt Lake City, you have to see the lake, right? I guess I’m one of those people who has to see things that I’ve always heard about, but I quickly decided that while maybe I’d recommend seeing it once, once is enough! The salt flats are amazing to see and it’s hard to imagine the size that the lake used to be while now it’s just vast stretches of salt.  There just wasn’t enough visual interest for me.

I found Salt Lake City a wonderful city to visit. The people are all so warm and welcoming. There are numerous things to see and do, the streets are pristine (actually, the whole city is pristine) and very walkable. But you have to realize that their city blocks are much larger than most and quite often you are walking uphill. There’s a convenient light rail and within the downtown area it’s free. Downtown is filled with an eclectic collection of restaurants and bars and the ones that I visited all had great food; however, you do have to be aware of their unusual alcohol rules.

I loved learning about the fascinating history of the challenging Mormon journey and the development of the mining area around Park City. That whole area is well worth a visit!

 

Colorful and Vibrant Mexico

Sunrise from our balcony

We’ve just experienced two gorgeous weeks in Neuvo Vallarta, on the West Coast of Mexico, with absolutely perfect weather. It couldn’t have been more ideal. We savored cool evenings (but not cool enough for a jacket) and warm sunny days with a sea breeze.

Another view from balcony

 

What could be more perfect that staying in a lush, green tropical resort positioned just on the ocean front with mazes of walkways, pools and a beach? And of course there were plenty of restaurants and bars so in addition to our own happy hours on our balcony overlooking the ocean, we were never far from our much loved guacamole and margaritas.





 

Church in San Sebastián

Our first week was a busy one with activities such as Spanish lessons, looking at areas that might be a possibility to move to (even going as far as looking at some condos), a trip into the mountains to San Sebastián, a village that is over three hundred years old, a tequila distillery and a cooking class (highlight of our first week). The second week our schedule was much more relaxed so we had more time to either lounge and read or participate in various activities centered around the pool. I did get to take a “back of house” tour which blew my mind away and on our last day, we had the ultimate finale, a swim with dolphins. It couldn’t have been a better way to end our holiday.

Our cooking class was held at My Mexican Kitchen in Bucerias, a short drive from Nuevo Vallarta. Travis and Edgar were waiting and warmly welcomed us into an intimate kitchen set up for six students, the two chefs and their helper. Chef Edgar, who is from Puebla Mexico, and Chef Travis, who is from Seattle, had laid out the ingredients that we would be using to prepare a five-course dinner. There were all kinds of colorful peppers and vibrant vegetables and fruit. Their display was truly a work of art.

We started by preparing an Agua Fresca, water that has been infused with fresh fruit, then prepared the Salsa Verde, a green salsa. Travis enlightened us on the differences in the peppers and the taste and spiciness of each and asked if we liked our foods spicy. Three preferred medium spicy but I wanted the level of spicy that causes tears to run down your cheeks. We learned that the tomatillos used in our recipe have a totally different flavor than tomatoes and that different flavors can be given to the salsa by roasting, sautéing or boiling the tomatoes or chilies. Edgar blended all of our ingredients and reserved some for the “mild flavored” students while adding more chilies to make extra spicy salsa. We got to sample the salsa with handmade tortilla chips. YUM!! Actually, I nibbled on the chips and salsa all evening.

One is spicy and the other HOT!



Learning to make tortillas

The rest of our meal included some new foods for us, including Tlacoyos, a bean stuffed tortilla. Did you know that a tortilla in Mexico has two very different sides? (one side is a little puffy and the other is flat and it makes a difference how you fold them!) The rest of our menu included Sopa Azteca or Tortilla Soup, Arroz Mexicano or Mexican Rice, Calabacitas or Pan Fried Zucchini and Mole Poblano. We each got to chop the ingredients and help in the cooking but the best part was getting to eat our traditional meal! As we were eating, Travis and Edgar made Plantanos Fritos, Sweet-fried Plantains, as the dessert and the grand finale Cafe de Olla or Mexican Coffee. I didn't have room for the Plantanos Fritos but the smell that wafted my way was warm, sweet, cinnamony and delightful. The coffee was pure heaven. Even those who don't like coffee wouldn't able to resist the cinnamon and dark sugar that enhance this coffee. It's more like a dessert than an after dinner coffee.

YUM!!

If visiting the Puerto Vallarta area, I would recommend anyone who likes Mexican food to take a class with Travis and Edgar at My Mexican Kitchen. You'll leave full of the wonderful food and filled with enthusiasm for trying the recipes at home.

The afternoon of our last day, we went to the Vallarta Adventures’ Dolphin Center for our swim. Before we got in the pool, we had an orientation to tell us about the Bottlenose dolphins that are in the Center. Steve and I were in a group of eight and our dolphin was Mila who is a six-year old female. She had broken her jaw at the age of six months but had survived so her name is a shortened version of Miracle (el Milagro). 

Mila

 

After entering the chilly pool, we stood on a platform so that we were in water about waist to chest high. Our trainer brought Mila over to us so that we could pet her and feel her skin, which felt a bit like wet plastic. He gave us more in depth information about dolphins and their environment before putting Mila though her “tricks”.

 

She seemed to love all of the attention but then dolphins always look as if they are smiling and they are so playful. We all had our photos taken with Mila, got a kiss from her and gave her a kiss, and then we each got a ride around the pool on her belly. The dolphins ended our session by racing each other around the pool just a couple of feet away from us causing waves that nearly knocked us over. What an extraordinary and memorable experience!

Everyone we met was so warm and friendly and hospitable and their culture so colorful and vivid that you can’t help but fall in love with Mexico . The end of our holiday came all too quickly but I’m already looking forward to my return. Hopefully, it will be soon!

 

Family, Friends and Laughter -- an Instant Cure

My past couple of weeks have been filled with lunches and get togethers with friends and babysitting grandchildren. What better way to transition into spring than to renew these relationships and to catch up with what’s been going on in their lives since we last saw each other?

With my friends, in addition to our activities whether it’s golf, gardening, exercising or yoga; during these get togethers we’ve talked about books, movies and various TV series. We seem to all have a common like for several PBS British television series, whether it’s Downtown Abbey (we can’t wait for the next series but some are new to it so are catching up), Call the Midwives (some of us are going to download the books that the series is based on), Vikings or Mr. Selfridge. My interest in these is probably more natural since I spent a fair amount of time in the UK, and my interest in Mr. Selfridge is very appropriate since I used to shop in Selfridges. Little did I know at the time that the store was started by an American. If you’ve not tuned in to any of these, I’d highly recommend any or all of them. You can catch up on previous seasons on Netflix.

The thing that stands out the most from these recent get togethers is that it’s as if we have never spent a few weeks (or months) apart. We pick up exactly where we left off and we laugh with and empathize with each other. The really great thing is that we can completely relax and share what’s on our minds and what we are truly feeling and know that it will be respected and appreciated. It’s our time together to just enjoy the moment and share interests and activities.

 

One of the things that I've loved most about these recent gatherings is "sharing laughter" - there's been lots of that! I can't think of anything more relaxing than a really good laugh. It binds you to the other person and you have a shared experience that brings a certain intimacy. I've also read that it releases endorphins, the body's natural feel good chemicals. I can't think of a better, cheaper and "non-chemical" way of feeling good!!

 

In Spain, I also experienced a lot of laughter. I shared a week with people who just love life and love to laugh and it’s so infectious and I thought quite a lot about this when I returned. Laughter is good for the soul and the body but I don’t think we in the US do enough of it. We seem to take ourselves far too seriously. I just felt that the Spaniards were more ready to let their hair down and laugh.

I’m off to Mexico for a couple of weeks and I’m going to try and incorporate a lot of laughter in my days there. Most of the people that I’ve met in Mexico are also very ready to share a laugh so I’m sure to have a good time and laugh a lot.

To all those, both family and friends, who have shared time with me recently, I’d like to dedicate this:

"Close friends contribute to our personal growth. They also contribute to our personal pleasure, making the music sound sweeter, the wine taste richer, the laughter ring louder because they are there."

Judith Viorst

 

 

Spring Beckons but is Being Illusive While Winter is Persistent

Spring is just around the corner, right? Or for those of you in the other hemisphere, autumn is just around the corner. Here in Maryland, we are supposed to be experiencing a renewal with flowers blooming and trees leafing out and the warmth of springtime sun – where’s that been recently?!? We first of all had grey, dreary days and just within the past couple of days had snow with even more predicted! I’m hoping that the cherry blossoms are on schedule because we have a trip into Washington DC planned to view the blossoms and we’d like to have them in full bloom and not freeze while we walk around the basin.
Springtime is a traditional season of optimism, transformation and sunniness, isn’t it? It means that the fresh shoots of flowers and grass start to pop up, plus we have fat little robins running around our garden. Springtime gives us a time to get a fresh outlook on our lives and the whole world. Well, to celebrate the season of revitalization and my return to the US after Spain, one of my daughters and I have had a couple of mother/daughter spa treatment days (thanks to Groupon purchases. No advertisement intended, but I found a couple of good deals on facials and reflexology which I couldn’t pass up.) My middle daughter has found a bit of time to get away so she was more than happy to double up on the offers and join me for treatments.  Of course, lunch and a bit of shopping followed (note to our husbands – it was only window shopping!).

Our next rejuvenation adventure is a juicing and detox workshop at Whole Foods for mother (me) and both daughters. This is my early Mother’s Day present to both of them. A great way to make sure that our spring is healthy and that we are filled with energy is to prepare healthy juices. With all of the fresh new produce in the stores or at the farmers’ markets, it’s a perfect time to “spring clean” our winter diets.

I’m really looking forward to the workshop. I already know most of the more popular healthy eating tips such as not keeping any junk food in the cupboard; keeping fruits and fresh veggies handy and available for snacks; making salad (with no creamy dressings) and veggies a big part of meals; using smaller plates and drinking lots of water throughout the day but it’s always nice to have a reminder and have someone “nudge” you to remember all of these and to make them a part of a healthy lifestyle.

So while I’m spring cleaning my house, I’ll also be focusing on spring cleaning my diet. Although two days following the class, I have two weeks in Mexico with at least one cooking class planned. This is not the best way to begin – maybe both spring cleans will wait until after Cinco de Mayo!