Deal Bombardment

Am I the only person that is getting an email bombardment of deals? Yes, I do most of my shopping online and so maybe this is why I'm overloaded with deal after deal after deal. And, some of the catalogs are sending daily emails with deals and so it's obvious they are desperate. I'm creating most of my gifts through one source this year and so I've vowed that I am not going shopping for clothing or electronics until after Christmas because I think the deals will be absolutely amazing.

Anyway, I thought I'd list the companies that are throwing themselves at me just in case you hadn't gotten the bombardment:

• Kohls
• Jessica London
• Chadwicks
• Eddie Bauer
• HSN
• Borders
• Barnes and Noble
• SkyMall
• DSW
• Buy.com
• Limoges Jewelry
• Dell
• Costco
• Sam's Club
• JJill

One catalog was clever (or not) enough to send an email out with a mistake and then follow up the next day with another email saying "Oops - we are sorry for the mistake. Take 30% off on us." Wow, is this a more giving world suddenly or ....

the recession is officially here. (I couldn't believe that this was the first week the news actually annnounced this after we all know we've been in it for over a year)

Regardless, happy shopping! The next few months look like a good time to buy some of those high (now low) priced items on the your list.

Secret Happiness becomes Blatant Exhaustion

Well, I admit, I went a bit overboard. I rode my bike about 1 mile yesterday and then figured I could take another ride today.

This is when you realize that you live in hilly neighborhoods! I decided to ride to the bike store to purchase a bike lock. After about two miles I was exhausted and luckily there was a Dick's Sporting Goods store nearby. I bought the lock in there and started back. I had to sit down at a park for about 30 minutes before getting on the bike to do the last mile.

After the six mile trek, I barely made it into my door and I fell down on the ground and just laid there. I almost fainted, felt dizzy and almost got sick. But, one minute on the floor and I was recovered.

Rules for "the wind, the road, and the freedom" in no particular order include:
1 - Wear a helmet
2 - Wear a backpack
3 - Roll up your right pant leg or wear shorts
4 - Bring two bottles of water
5 - Bring ID and medical card
6 - $40 cash for whatever
7 - Know your limits

I'm a far cry from college when I would ride my bike up in the foothills and the canyons of the Rockies everyday, but gotta start somewhere.

P.S. Later in the evening I did get sick - very sick. Not sure if it was from food, sun, biking or a combination of the above.

Secret Happiness - Biking - the wind, the road, the freedom

I have a secret happiness today. Spring fever set in after having one nice day this week. Since the last couple of weeks have been filled with the "Portland Mist" and cool weather, it is a relief to finally see the sunshine and feel it's warmth.

I've had the urge to ride a bike lately and so I drove home and changed into appropriate attire to test out a good bike. My entire life I've ridden bikes. I rode them on my paper routes, sometimes to school, at college, my first year or two in the DC area and as my nightly transportation in grad school. I vowed I wouldn't buy a car until I turned 30 years old, but that goal lasted until I was 28. Even then, the car sat in the parking lot most the time. When I moved to my condo, I stopped riding my bike and finally donated it to Goodwill or gave it away. That's been 3-4 years ago. Not good.

Anyway, I got to the shop and the store manager (Buck) helped me pick out a couple of bikes that could suit my fancy. He let me out the back door and I got to take some test drives around the back of Walmart, Michaels and Target. The minute I got on the last bike I felt at home. I didn't realized how much I missed that feeling of riding high up off the ground with the wind blowing against me. There is such a sense of freedom that can't be felt in a car.

I took it on one test drive this evening, but realized that the first day on a bike after a few years means sore body the next day.

Oh, and I also bought a back pack. Maybe this is a mid-life crisis? I'm reverting to how I dressed when I was 20. Hmmm.

Ok, I'm up late and Jay Leno just asked a guy why he rides motorcycles and he said "the wind, the road, the freedom."

Picture: Campground near Toronto, Canada where we rented some funky bikes way back in the 80s.

Weird: Right after I wrote this and AFTER I posted the picture, the guy told Jay Leno that he was raised in Toronto. Also, my little "Ode to Chris" entry ends up being old because my brother just barely posted in his blog for the first time in over a year. Meaningless coincidences, but nevertheless interesting.

Confession and Memory Lane - Pride and Prejudice

Ok, so, this is a confession and a trip down memory lane. Oh, and this is a confession from a Mormon, but the term is used loosely and not religiously.

Yesterday I was at Costco and went to the aisle that I frequent only every six months. It's the one in the middle that has all the kids books, novels, movies, DVDs, etc. I'm not a shopper, but for some reason I spend about 30 minutes in this aisle every time. As I make my way around the circle I keep adding, and then subtracting, items from the cart. I'll keep finding something better or I'll find the CD version of the book and have to decide which one is either cheaper (book) or more practical for my life in traffic (CD).

Either way, yesterday was one of those very expensive days. I bought the C.S. Lewis book collection, the new Ken Follett book (World Without End), a yoga/pilates DVD set, Atonement, John Adams, Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice. What? The "what?" is for the last line. I don't know what got into me, but I had the sudden need to own the two movies that all of my sisters and friends love - Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice.

A few years ago one of my roommates got in a car accident and was at home for a while before returning to work. She watched Pride and Prejudice all the time and often asked me to watch it with her. I always declined because I really wasn't interested in the "people dressed like that" and "talked like that." Prejudice from Rebecca? Anyway, a couple of years ago, my brother and his wife lived with me and encouraged me to watch the series with them. I remember thinking that I should be able to handle it if my brother enjoyed it. Long story short...we stayed up all night so we could finish the entire 6 hours. I really liked it, but never figured I'd watch it again.

So, after having an extremely productive day on Saturday, I decided to pop in the DVD around 6 p.m. and as was expected, I watched the entire thing. I loved it! Perhaps I'm just socially delayed, but I'm understanding these movies a little more each time and the outfits didn't bug me as much. It's amazing how much they still do relate to our society even though those moments of pride and those moments of prejudice may manifest themselves in other ways. We place so many limitations on ourselves.

I don't see myself becoming too enthralled with the array of movies that depict these past times, but I will most likely be open to one that I would have shunned in times past. After all, I did read "The Pillar of the Earth" by Ken Follett recently and it's about knights, monks, and castles. Soooo not what I'm interested in.

Just for memory sake, I'm going to throw in a photo of the "Victorian Club" that was formed by my sisters and our friend Marcia way back in the 1980s. We had a few little gatherings, but I couldn't tell you what they consisted of because it wasn't quite my thing. In actuality, there were probably 1-2 meetings and the rest of the time it was primarily everyone looking at the Victorian catalog to find refined ways to decorate their bedrooms.

Ok, I'm the one that is not wearing any lace and didn't prepare a proper hair do.