Yesterday was the airport hassle and today the battery in my car decided to die. Oh well, shit happens, the good news is my travel plans got rerouted for tomorrow, my luggage was located and made it to my final destination and I was able to get the battery changed this afternoon.  All’s well that ends well 🙂  xoxo

I spent the entire day at LAX trying to get to the east coast to visit my family for the holidays and ended up right back where I started. Our connecting flights through the frozen tundra (Minneapolis) made it a no go. So, I’m back at my place in LA until Sunday and then we try again. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!  🙂

I just approved the design of our new shopping cart and I’m really pumped up about it.
We still have work to do but I’m hoping the new cart will be ready for New Year. Working hard and training hard. xoxo Denise

A friend had a tree trimming party last week and knowing me as he does, he suggested that I could be as naught or as nice as I wanted to be. Dissatisfied with every ornament I saw in the stores, I decided to construct my very own custom made ornament for his tree 🙂 I bet, Martha Stewart would even think this was a pretty crafty idea 😉 – Happy Holidays! xoxo Denise

At almost 3 hours long, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a great way to spend my Sunday afternoon. I will quote the movies director, David Fincher who said “It’s about mortality and life and the people and places we meet along the way, and the way we’re touched and affected by those people. And I do think it is scars that they leave, these impressions that remain. And the way you’re changed for better and worse by those around you.”  The story, the acting, the makeup and cinematography make this movie my personal best picture pick so far this year.- Denise

I’ve heard it said that if you walk away talking about two scenes in a movie after you’ve seen it, it’s going to be a hit. I went to see Ron Howard’s new movie Frost/Nixon recently and walked away talking about three things, so does that make it a hit? Well, how much of a fan hit Frost/Nixon will ultimately end up being remains to be seen, but for me, the move is a must see. Richard Nixon played by Frank Langella is without a doubt one of the best performances I have seen this year. Having said that, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Kevin Bacon’s incredible performance as Jack Brennan (Nixon’s right hand man). As a fan of subtlety, both Langella and Bacon deliver the kind of exquisite nuances of human emotions that, well, are hard to explain. And so, you must simply watch. As they deal with the demise of Nixon’s presidency, his war record, illegal wiretaps and their follow up failed attempts at correcting Nixon’s public image, I was left with an indelible sense of DejaVu. Let me close by saying both men deserve Oscar nominations. – @{———– Denise

On our last day of camping we packed up our blue love shack and went geode hunting. Geode’s are rocks that are filled with crystals when you cut them open. A pick-axe, some gloves, lots of water and a little luck is all you need for this rugged, rock digging adventure. I loved every aspect of this camping trip, but when I reached the Palm Springs hotel we decided to stay at on our last night during our journey back to LA, the hot shower and king sized bed made me realize just how nice creature comforts are.

Now I already told you that tents make me horny and that I love nature and, that I had a great time camping during the Thanksgiving holiday. But what I haven’t filled you in on yet, are a couple of the other interesting details of the trip. For example, I froze my ass off the first couple of nights when the weather dropped into what I believe were the high 30 degree temperatures. Being a bodybuilder, with a body fat level that averages 10% year round, doesn’t exactly make me the best candidate for staying warm in cold temps. Anyway, a good fire and a hot body to rub on was all I needed to stay warm. And then there were the neighbors. Like the howling, screaming sounds of the packs of coyotes that sang for us one evening and the tarantula that was crossing the road I happened to be on. Can you imagine finding this furry sucker in your tent? Or your boot?! Now thats what I call an adventure with plenty to give thanks for.  xoxo Denise

   
I love being on the road and I always enjoy driving through different landscapes. On the way to Joshua Tree National Park, our caravan enjoyed the beautiful Sky’s, mountains, rainbows and windmills. Did I mention that tents make me horny? <smile> xoxo Denise

After being away from the gym for a week because of my Thanksgiving holiday camping trip, I got right back to work yesterday and decided I needed to hit the gym hard. A one hour hike followed by a chest workout and some sit-ups hit the spot. A good nights sleep, followed by a morning workout that started in bed and ended with a round of heart pounding aerobics got my day off on the right foot 🙂  Emails, calls, errands and an intense leg workout filled in the rest of my day and I’m still working on my to do list. Lining them up and knocking them down, one by one. xoxo Denise