Highlight of my Kauai Trip

This picture is the highlight of my trip to Kauai in April. Wes and I took a snorkel cruise that went along the Napali coast, then to Lihua for some snorkeling, then on past Niihau and back to Port Allen.

I have NEVER seen a monk seal while I've been in the water before, much less had one swim almost right up to me! Now I do have some zoom on my camera and this pic is cropped from the original, but dang, it was so exciting to have one swim right up! He swam right up to the group, hung out for a couple minutes, then swam away. About 15 minutes earlier he had come around for a few minutes, but I was much further away. The Hawaiian Monk Seal is an endangered species so it's illegal to harass them, but it's not illegal for them to harass humans! LOL...

My Favorite Spring Flower

It has been awhile! Setting up my new computer was a royal PITA. It took weeks to find all my disks. Also, I'm evaluating CS4 to see if I want to upgrade and I finally got around to installing it last night on my laptop. I don't know what the heck I'm doing yet but I did figure out how to change this pic from a RAW image to a .jpg.

This is a clamatis - Crystal Fountain. It is my favorite flower that bloomed in my yard this spring. I've had this in the ground for 3 years now. This is the first time it has bloomed full-sized blooms. The first year it managed a single pathetic little bloom. Last summer it was so disease-riddled that I thought I lost the whole plant. I'm finding the hotter it gets, the more the plant suffers. This spring, it came back and I got a grand total of TWO blooms. This is one of them.

Facebook Page for Cloud Nine

I created a Facebook Page for Cloud Nine. My Cloud Nine blog will feed the Facebook page so if you prefer to get updates on Facebook, you can keep up with me there!

If you become a fan of Cloud Nine, you can also post product reviews, start or contribute to a discussion, or write on the wall.

To follow Cloud Nine on Facebook, click here. Hope to see you there!

Cloud Nine News

I decided to implement a new flat rate domestic shipping charge of $6.00! I do need to raise prices on a few items but I think this new shipping rate will help offset a portion of of this. And be sure to use the coupon on your orders!!

Coming soon: new lotion fragrances (pineapple, raspberry vanilla, sandalwood vanilla, and Drakkar), unscented lotion stick, and I will finally get around to putting the Aroma Ornaments on the site!!

New Year's Resolution

Happy New Year!

My new year resolution is a continuation of last year's.... (ugh). The good news is I lost 15 pounds in 2008. The bad news is I have a ways to go... this goal will get me to a BMI of 22.Yep, that is a Wii! In addition to the running and the Nike+, I'm using the Wii for balance, coordination, and a little strength training. This thing also keeps track of my weight over time. It keeps me honest... after the balance board weighed me it plumped my "mii" up to the pic you see above. Nice...

Facebook

Yes, I finally signed up for Facebook. Go here to see:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Randi-Aldridge/1115979647

Vacation

I'm headin' to Hawaii! I'll be back on the 8th. Here's a couple pics of our last trip to Maui in 2005.



Meanwhile, I'm having a sale in my Cloud Nine Candle and Bath store. All orders received over $30 in product while I'm gone will be discounted 15%! So take advantage and stock up.



I can't wait to see the whales again, and I hope to see more dolphins this time too!

100 Miles!

Here's the proof!

4 Milers!! and... Hawaii Here I Come!!

Another milestone has been reached - I can do 4 miles without stopping!! WOO hoo!! The scale still hasn't budged... must be the Halloween candy. So much for my bikini goal for Hawaii and we are leaving in 10 days. We will be spending the first two days in this room in Hana, Maui.

Ahhhhhhh!! Can't wait.

Last 5 Runs

OK - Let's see if this works. Below is supposed to be my last 5 runs. As you can see by the jagged lines, I'm still walking some. I thought I really had a breakthrough last week, but the heat came back. All week I've run after 8pm, tonight was 85 and humid at 8:15pm...ugh... I really don't like running so late but it's too hot!!!!

2 1/2 miles without stopping!

Just had to share my mini-feat today. I can now run 2 1/2 miles without walking. YAY! Pretty soon I'll be able to do 3, then I can start adding mileage. It wasn't tiredness limiting me, my feet were pretty much dragging due to tight achilles there at the end. A couple minutes of walking loosened them back up and I was able to run the rest of my 3 mile loop.

The bummer is my weight is being stubborn and not budging. Grrrrrr... I must be adding muscle! (hmmmmm....)

Carmindy Giveaway

Go check out the Soap Bar blog - they are having a contest! Leave a comment on your beauty routine and you are entered to win a book, tell them I sent you and **I will get extra entries**! So if you want to know what I said, visit the blog and read the comments!

Here is a description in the promo material:

In GET POSITIVELY BEAUTIFUL, makeup artist Carmindy, from TLC’s hit shot What Not to Wear shows you how to change your mindset from negative fault-finding to a positive beauty philosophy. You learn how to find and focus on your best features and how to combat negative thoughts about your appearance. Carmindy demonstrates easy makeup techniques for the eyes, brows, lips, cheeks, and skin, and how to adapt looks to different weather conditions and “beauty
moods.” Completely unique, GET POSITIVELY BEAUTIFUL mixes self-help and makeup how-to in this total beauty book.

Contest ends Monday - good luck!

A little more about the Nike+ SportBand

I've only had the SportBand a couple days and I have some likes and dislikes already.

Likes

• I don't need no stinkin' iPod to use the cool online features on Nike! This thingy doesn't do music, it only tracks speed, distance, time, and calories. I don't have iPod... I like my Sansa better... not that I listen to music when I run anyway, not when I have 2 crazed Sibes in tow! (or should I say.... yanking me along and not always in the same direction!)
• Plug the thingy into a USB port and all the runs you've completed since your last upload are uploaded automatically! No more remembering... how far did I go last Wednesday???
• Hard to cheat... you can delete runs but cannot alter them after they are uploaded.
• A pause button! (handy when a pup stops to.... you know....)

Dislikes

• I can't set a POWERSONG on my widget thingy... (bummer but not enough to make me run out and buy iPod)
• No backlight... makes it hard to use in the dark. And I am a night owl who likes to run in the dark sometimes.
• The distance and pace isn't perfectly accurate. I'm wondering if this will become a problem for me at some point since I'm rather anal about seeing improvement and there have been a lot of complaints about how it can be tough to properly calibrate this thingy.
• If you forget to turn off the thingy after your run, it really screws up your stats and there's no way to fix it, other than to delete it altogether.

That Nike+ Thingy Over There...

OK - see that Nike+ profile widget thingy over on the right side of the screen? That tells you how far I went on my last run. It also shows my average pace and total miles run (yeah, totally lame right now but cut me some slack - I just started..... AGAIN!!! and I pulled a muscle in my back at the gym on Saturday.... ow.....) It's not totally accurate but good enough to serve its purpose, which is to get me out on the road again.

So if you don't see that widget thingy updating for awhile, please tell me to get off my big lazy butt and take my dogs for a run.

I haven't set any real goals yet other than to get out there and run at least three days a week until it cools off, and then I will crank it up a notch or two. We are going to Maui in late-November and I would like to lose some of this extra flab. Not a long term goal but I have to start somewhere.

Wish me luck!! Randi

You Tube Videos

I created a You Tube account. Below is the video player!

Day 2 - another blog!!

Well I just figured out that I can have more than one blog! So after considerable pestering from my pupper-roos, I've made them their own blog. Check 'em out at:

http://kaylamaebe.blogspot.com/

Oh, I just checked with the girls... they are pestering me because they want me to get off the dang computer!! Ya, OK.. it's getting late. TTFN!

Look who's blogging now!

Hey, it's my first blog post! Please excuse me while I feel my way around the blogosphere here... I've seen lots of cool things on other blogs. I think I'll start by posting pics of my pups... woo woo!! Let's start with their really cool eyes.

This is a close up of Maebe's eyes. My Dad took this pic of her with a fisheye lens. She will be 4 years old in September. She is a bi-eyed Siberian Husky, her right eye is blue and her left eye is brown.

This is a close up of Kayla's eyes. She is Maebe's twin sister. Her eyes are parti-colored. Her left eye is blue, and her right eye is parti blue and parti brown!! To learn more about the eye colors of Siberian huskies, go here.

Well, this post took me 2 hours to put together but I learned a lot! See you soon.