JenLeoLIVE!

I want MBT Shoes

I was flipping through the Bliss World catalog that just comes to our house for some prior tenant, and found these cellulite fighting, posture enhancing, overall good-for-your-body-while-you're-doing-nothing-but standing-and-walking—shoes. MBT shoes. MBT stands for Masai Barefoot Technology and the shoe was developed by a Swiss trainer named Karl Muller. At $245 their pretty pricey, but you have to consider all that extra engineering and the fact that Cher and Gwyneth wear them.

I want them. I want them so bad. However, I want to go try them on, not just order from a catalog. Footwear, Etc. send it in one day and have FREE shipping both ways, in case you don't like it. Obviously, there will be a getting-used-to them period.

Apparently, they're pretty popular already, but I've never heard of them. Here's an article from the Calgary Herald about the shoes. And here's what About.com writer Desiree Stimpert has to say about the shoes, complete with testimonials. I used the store locator in the About.com article to find some stores in Glendale, and Los Angeles. Now, I just have to decide which color, and style to get. Do I want sneakers, or do I want sandals. I kinda like the red ones.

Pinny at a Kosher McDonalds in Israel

I met Rabbi Pinny Gniwisch at a WOMMA conference. He's fun-loving, smart, and ambitious. I liked talking with him and wish we got to spend more time together. Pinny is Kosher and has never eaten at a McDonald's. But, he went to Israel and found a Kosher McDonalds! Check out this funny video, and the lively comments he's getting on the YouTube page about the appropriateness of the video.

Pinny's day job keeps him busy with Ice.com and the relating blogs including, Sparkle like the Stars. I haven't talked to Pinny about it yet, but the "Pinny's First Time" YouTube video is connected to a more serious mission, March of the Living.

Decorating Tug of War

Even though we're just renting, I want to "do" the house. Call it nesting, or feeble attempts at interior decorating, either way I have a long way to go. And, like everything, I want to do it all right now. Though John and I get a long in many respects, we definitely have different tastes in furniture. He swings from liking uber modern like anything found in Dwell, to interesting relics from the 1950s era when Howard Hughes was living the high life. Me? I'm not sure how I would definite my tastes. I think I'm still figuring them out. Comfy classic wth a touch of sentimentality. I prefer woods to glass. Fabric to leather. And am finding some fun in buying things from thrift or second sale stores.

It is labeled as a Cram's Antique World Globe. I got it at our local thrift store for $15, but curious about how old it was, I started looking up Cram's. It turns out, they have a whole bunch. If you want your own world globe, check them out. And if you're interested in truly antique globes, check out MurryHudsen. They have rare terrestrial and lunar globes from the 30s, 40s, and World War II era. And now, of course, it makes me want to hunt down a Philip Lea Pocket Globe. Still don't see what you're looking for? Only Globes has a truckload in all price ranges.

Neither of us seem to care much about the bedroom and it has zero decorations, pictures, or anything. My interest is more focused on the living room. It's sparse, the way John likes it. Me? I want some kind of armchair or lounge, a rug, a better tv stand (I made the mistake with the first piece of junk), and  end tables - nothing too extravagant. He wants nothing. I know I can't just turn up at the house with my perfect armchair. But, I did surprise him yesterday with a  big find. Something I've always always, one more time...always wanted. The light up globe. And while we're showing off my sneak purchases, here's the vintage radio I bought, too. Luckily, both of these passed.

If I haven't told you, I'm creating a club house in the back of the house. Just for me. It's where my desk is and a reading chair. It doesn't have the best view in the house, but it's good for writing private letters, sneaking online poker, having some quiet time with trashy magazines, and just having a lone time. Ideally, I'd like to have my own club house in a renovated Airstream or farm barn. But for now, I've got a few feet in the back of the kitchen. My day dreams take me to thoughts of building my own house complete with indoor/outdoor swimming pool, secret rooms, screening rooms, and built-ins. But for now, I'll keep hunting the stores up the street for treasures.

Current: Pasadena, CA
Next: Nowhere (October 7 - between timezones) - John asked me to put this up.
Then: Brisbane, Austrlaia (October 8-10)

Back to Blogging!

I know, I know, I left you hanging. How rude of me after starting the new pretty JenLeoLIVE! I have no excuses. I was enjoying quality time with friends that I might only see once a year, and spending time in the London casino doing a little bit of blogging for PokerBlog.com. All my online time went to urgent work to dos. So, lets catch up. And please use the comment boards. This TypePad software is much more user friendly than the old Blogger software. You don't have to be a member or anything. Just comment.
Now, what happened while I was gone?

PASADENA: John got us a cleaner! Lourdes did an amazing job, way more than we were expecting and most importantly, the floors look great! We'll still do most of the normal cleaning, but having her every three weeks to do the hard wood floors and a thorough jobbie on the shower, let alone dusting the moulding is a treat and a half! BBE!

KIDS: Three of my friends have a baby six months or younger which is terribly exciting and wonderful. But I think the cake goes to my friend Heather's boy, Aidan, who is four years old and taking Mandarin Chinese lessons. I might have to take some classes too to keep up with him!

$1000 BET: Our diet has been so blown out of the water. I've been travelling for a month. And while we were on holiday, we were somewhat conscious, but not too restrictive. And I was having regular glasses of wine. John is still down five pounds, and I'm back to the original weight. We've got a little more than a month and a half left. You might need to make some new bets. Though the original goal was 20lbs. Will anyone be betting to see if we even make it to ten each?!

POKER SOAP OPERA: I swear poker could make TV right now and I'm not talking about watching some No Limit tourney. My friends Amy and Tim wrote a series of articles for Poker News that showed how there were extra chips in play at the WSOP and that Harrah's knew but didn't do anything about it. My friends at Wicked Chops Poker broke a story on how the WPT was blocking Shana Hiatt from taking a position with NBC's Heads Up Poker Championship. Then they followed up with how Shana Hiatt was fighting back, and then wrote about the lawsuit and why Shana left the WPT because of harrassment.

PSYCHIC: So, I had a session with a high rent psychic who works for cops like in the show Medium. She said that I'm supposed to be a teacher. And that I should jump on this asap becasue the babies are coming and they need stability. First one good kid (a boy), then a second (a girl)  that will require much more attention. She also said that my stomach is in bad shape, overly acidic, (one part of the cause for the weight gain), and that I need to really work on an alkaline diet. And then get my body in shape to conceive and carry these babies that are coming. Hey, no pressure, you know?!

More later...lots to do.

Current: Pasadena, CA
Next: Brisbane, Australia (October 8)

Oh Cadaques!

We got so lucky. Cadaques is a total find. Not the kind of unknown destination secret that travel writers treasure and hesitate to tell publications about because they want it to remain forever untouched - but a glorious getaway nonetheless. Here's how we got lucky. One of my friends-that-I've-never-met asked the Lonely Planet Spain writer for some ocean front getaways for us. Cadaques was one of his/her(?) suggestions. Only three hours north of Barcelona by train + bus, or just bus, and you're in a little seafront town with outdoor restaurants and cafes, barely a dozen hotels, and just enough activity to keep you interested while still relaxing. The hotels have internet, but there's nothing fancier than three stars, and the locals pride themselves on their quality of life. We rarely heard English spoken in the three days that we were here and had to guess a couple of times if we even saw any Americans. Most of the tourists we saw were from within Spain, France, plus a couple of Brits and Germans.

We stayed at the high end hotel in town, Hotel Rocamar. Our room was simple and decorated with antique Spanish headboards, wooden dressers and nightstands, and old iron table lamps. The balcony had a stunning view of the town and we paid 130Euro a night for a "Sea Superior" room. Other rooms in town can be had for 50-75 Euro. The view from the balcony—stunning. Here it is on the left.

John's favorite part of the trip was exploring the outskirts via a scooter (33Euros/24 hours). Walking in Cadaques is easily done and everyone is out on a Spanish stroll, but the scooter did allow us to go farther. We went to Port Lligat where Salvador Dali lived, saw remote beach houses, schools, ate gelato, discovered Estrella Damm, and more. Yesterday we went as far out as the Cape de Creus where Kirk Douglas and Yul Brenner starred in The Light at the Edge of the World. Even Salvador Dali (who lived in Cadaques) made an appearance in the movie.

Casa Nun (972 25 88 56) is the place to have dinner. They serve fresh grilled fish dishes inside of the converted house and outside on a deck. It's tucked away around the corner from the main plaza. We stumbled upon it, but sadly couldn't get in after waiting 45 minutes. Clearly, those in the know book ahead. We were this close to waiting the extra 30 minutes, but just couldn't had to eat. Still, that was the place, if you can add Cadaques to your travel itinerary. But look the other way when you see diners with their guidebooks on the table. The news is out.

Anyway, this is my personal blog, not a travelogue, so I'll stop here and maybe write up the rest for a travel site. And maybe, just maybe, when I get to London I'll join the flickr-evolution and post all the pics.

However, as the editor of a travel misadventure series, I know full well that this has been a perfect trip, which equals BORING when retold. Good travel makes for bad storytelling. We all know to skip the niceties and get straight to the gore if we plan on tellings others about our travels. Well, I know this. John might not. He might still gush to those that inquire. And that's great, because it's nice to see him letting his hair down. Viva Espana!

Welcome to the new JenLeoLIVE!

Hi Friends! Welcome to the new blog! It's crazy. It's been weeks and weeks. Basically, I just wanted to tell you that I'm fine and give you the new link. I've been in the Pacific Northwest for the past two weeks on tour for What Color is Your Jockstrap? I had events in Portland and Seattle and managed a visit to Eugene and Olympia, too. All is well.

Do I have lots to catch you up on? Yes!
Am I in Barcelona and trying to catch a train to a romantic three day getaway two hours north of here? Yes!

John got an assignment to cover the first two events of the European Poker Tour, so we managed to put together some miles and bring me along. Barcelona seems fantastic, only we're hardly here and have been in the casino the whole time.

So, while I work on catching you up on things. Check out where we're staying! Hotel Rocamar. I don't think I've ever stayed in a place this nice. Well, you know, with a man. A few nights with Susan at the Bangkok Oriental is on a different measuring stick. Now, we're talking Love Travel. Finally.  Yay for the BBE!

More sooooooon......

Current: Barcelona, Spain
Next: London, England (Sept 21-15)