Happy New Decade!

Dance Dance Dance!

It's a NEW DECADE!!!

Dancing at Beats Antiques in November.
If you get a chance to see these guys you HAVE to go!!
Based out of San Francisco they travel all over the world. Zoe is the belly dancer and standing right in front of her made me want to just strip off my leather corset & dance with her. Oh wait. I did dance with her. Just left the corset on. (grin)
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Pictures from a photo shoot in my store

I really like all 3 of these. They show different parts of my personality. Plus they look young. Maybe I should ask the photographer if he photo shopped me. brb Calling him. No answer. I'll say no. That my skin is flawless. And that I really don't look 49.

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So New Decade. Welcome 2010!

I have so many plans for this year.

1. Exercise: I've lost 43 pounds over the past year. Basically all thru diet and very little exercise. I see it in my loose skin all over my body. It's time to tune & tone.
I know I have to exercise. I was diagnosed last year with osteoporosis. 49 is wayyyy too young to have an old ladies disease. Exercise is a basic "cure" for osteoporosis. Simple things like a walk.

So exercise starts this week. Then stops next Monday when I have surgery. Nothing serious. I'll blog about it later this week.

2. Fashion shows:
My "Luscious Ladies: A Fat Girl's Fashion Show" was a huge success. SRO with lots of press both before & after.
Steve & I went to a pot luck on Christmas. Two women were talking about the fashion show with a couple of other women. I was eavesdropping and the hostess walked over & said "Are you talking about Fat Girls? That's Lauren over there the designer!"
They gushed over me. Yeah. I said gushed.

I'm planning a spring show or early summer.

I've been asked to be part of an all white fashion show in the spring.

And

I want to put on a Trashion show with 3-4 other designers for Earth Day in April.

3. Weight:

Forty three pounds = 3.5 cans of Crisco.

My current goal is 10% or 19 pounds. That would put me at 170. Very do-able by June.
Goal for the year: Be in the 150's by my 50th b'day in Dec.

Other goals:
Get out of debt. Big nut to chew since we still owe $67K to the hospital for Steve's stroke in 2006.
Reno is #4 in the nation for people being upside down in their homes. Our block has 8 houses that have been foreclosed on in the past 2 years. Our block has made the papers both local & national about how bad the foreclosures are.
The city has come in & bought all the houses & is making them section 8. They bought the house next door for $30K. It's now renting for $550 a month.

Wayyyyy upside down.

Store is down about 15% over 2008. Tie-dye business was down. Yup we're part of that section of America: Medical bills, housing issues and small business owners that the gov't seems to be ignoring.

I really want us to pull it out this year.

That's it for now.

Welcome new Decade. I'm excited to see what you have to offer to me.

Millet! Not just for the birds

1.  I'm eating too fast.  I gobble my food right in.  New habit starting right this minute:  slow down & actually TASTE the food.  Feel the textures in my mouth before swallowing.  Clean out my mouth before taking the next bite. 

2.  Every time I weigh myself I think of this guy.  He does this thing where he taps the scale 3 times before stepping on.  I have a special spot that I move my scale to.  It's in the middle of one of the designs on my bathroom floor.  If it's not balanced exactly in the middle then I feel like I'm not getting the right reading.

3. I bounced this morning for 20 mins & then put in dvd #2 that I got for free at the Salvation Army.  Turns out it's part of a set & I need exercise bands to go with the dvd.  I'll keep my eye open since I'm at various thrift stores every week. (I own a vintage clothing store.)

4.  This is the light fixture in my store.  Every day I just stare at it.  It's 89 hand blown pieces of glass.  No, not a Chihuly.  It's our Chihuly knock-off.

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Millet! Millet! Millet!

As I said earlier this week I am eliminating my dependancy on brown & wild rice.  

Millet is an amazing grain.  Rather than fill up my blog with millet info you can go here and read all about it.

I love the flavor.  It's sweet and very easy to cook.

Basic directions:  1 c millet to 4 c water.  Bring to a boil & let simmer until water is absorbed. (About 30 mins.)

This morning I added a handful of almonds to the millet pot.  After cooking I added coconut butter, salt, pepper and nutritional yeast.  I scrambled up 2 eggs but it was more than enough b'fast without the eggs.  

Be prepared for millet recipes the rest of the week!

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12:12 pm Monday: 

Green drink & organizing price tags.