Skip To My Lu

My newest favorite store is now Lululemon. It's on Grant across from the BR flagship store (Banana Rep). Lucy's used to be the place for me to purchase my clothes for teaching. Since I teach musical theater, a lot of movement is required and I like to wear comfortable dance clothes. The trick is that I want to be able to walk out of the studio and not feel like I look like someone coming out of a yoga or dance studio. I have done this all my life and realized that seeing other people walking around with their tights on and etc just didn't look so great. In came Lucy's activewear where I was purchasing my clothes. I have to say they have great sales, but I found that after a few washings the clothes didn't keep it's stamina in color or wear. I figure with the prices I was paying for the Lucy clothes I should get a better outcome.

Now I have Lululemon to go to and see if their clothes will hold up. The salesperson said that it would. So, I'll have to test it out. Their prices are higher, but the quality of their clothing seemed a lot better. The sad thing is that they don't have a lot of sales. Bummer for me since I love the sales rack. Nonetheless, I purchased my "yoga coat" and with all this rain I will put it into good use. I'll let you know if it passes the washing test.

I Like to Eat, Eat, Eat Apples and Bananas

Wow, schooling has changed since I've been in Kindergarten. Geoffrey is in Kinder and he has homework. Not just the dot to dot stuff, it's 1st grade material!!! We've worked on vowels and handwriting, and of course, reading, reading, reading. Fortunately, Geoffrey is doing well in reading. He is reading and loves it! There will be the occasional, "How do you say this mom?" I go back to my teaching days and use those infamous rules i.e. when two vowels go walking the first does the talking. Mind you, I was teaching reading in 1st grade and here's my son learning to read, as suggested by his teacher, in Kinder. What ever happened to naps and play time? The more you know........then what? Has anyone in the higher chain of commands ever wondered what one does with all that knowledge if s/he isn't liked by his/her peers because the social skills are lacking? sigh. Well, off to....I like to oat, oat, oat opples and bononos.

De Lovely

Today was my second visit to the Korean Spa. It is quite the experience and I have to say you all should try it at least once. There is the women's side and the men's. My first visit I was quite intimidated, but realized that this must be what they do in Korea. You walk in and are given generic shorts and a loose top with some towels. You get a locker to put your things inside. I walked into the women's locker room and everyone just walk around naked. So, I do what the Romans, I mean, Koreans do and strip down. I"m asked to shower first and then I can relax in the stone room where the granite floor is heated and I melt as I lay down on it. Of course, I am not understanding anyone, but hey, I"m relaxing and feel no need to talk.

After my body is completely heated, I head to the jacuzzi for 5 minutes as asked and then a very hot and very wet sauna for 2 minutes. I'm guessing to open my pores. Then I go to get my body scrub. Wow, when they say scrub, they aren't kidding. Every inch of my body was scrubbed down. It was a little painful at first, but I got used to it real quick. The ladies that are scrubbing me down are only in their underwear since it's so warm and humid in the room. After my skin is now babysoft, they start the massage and it's amazing!!! The hot oil they pour on you is soothing. The massage was very good and very relaxing. They even massaged my scalp and washed and conditioned my hair. I received a facial mask and then a wash down with hot water. Aaaaaaahhhh! The final phase is this ginseng-type (or at least it smelled like it) liquid moisturizer. After 90 minutes, I'm done and asked to wash off and enjoy the rest of the spa. They have this room that is a cave made of jade and amythyst (spelling?). I guess it's for some sort of energy thing.

I felt amazing afterwards. My skin is a soft as a baby's bottom and I'm relaxed before my next day of work dancing and singing.

Check it out: Psy Health Town, 14075 E. 14th Street, San Leandro 94578. It's de lovely.

Losing My Mind

I'm not sure if this is due to motherhood, age, or both, but I've been having one of those days where you walk to one part of the house and forget why you were walking there. I would stand there and say to myself, 'What was I coming out here for?' I swear I was driving myself nuts!!! I have always been someone who has had an incredible memory, but this short time memory lapse has got to go.

Maybe I need to get out and play mah-jong to keep my mind fit. It's like I'm 'losing... my...maaahhhhhnnnnndd'

I Can Cook, Too

You just have to love bread machines. I bake our own bread since my boys are highly allergic to nuts of all kinds. I have learned to read labels religiously and found that a lot of breads, even at Whole Foods, have been processed in a facility where equipment is shared with nuts. It's exhausting looking for breads that are completely nut-free. So, I decided to bake my own. It's been great!! The boys love it. The house smells so yummy. And, it's all nut-free. Gotta love that!!! I have found there are certain yeast brands that are better than others as well as bread flour. These bread machines have so many options these days that I think it can even make you a sandwich! Ha.

She's a Maniac

So, it's been 3 weeks and I'm still on a roll on my treadmill. Having been a dancer for over 25 years and then retiring myself from the stage, it's been an uphill battle to get my body back into shape. It really is tough to get back into shape after having kids. I didn't believe it, but it's true!!!! After my 1st child, I bounced right back. After my second child, there's a lag time with my back end during my gait. sigh.

We were in Toronto staying at the One King West where they had a very lovely exercise room/spa. It overlooked the lake and was gorgeous since all the walls were windows. That wasn't the kicker that got me on the treadmill. It was the lovely cable television that kept me running. Wow, time just flew by. My mind was distracted and it worked. Those that know me know that I really can't stand to run. It's boring and jarring to me. I always said that if I found a runner smiling while running then I'd pick up the sport. But no, it's not the smile. It's the distraction and I found my distraction.

I now run on my treadmill with the portable DVD on it watching my movies. Hmmm...maybe it's time to get Netflix?! Oh, I don't run with a ripped sweatshirt collar and shorts. LOL!!!!

Another Hundred People

Well, it's that time for me again to start teaching at A.C.T. It's a great job and I literally have the most awesome boss. I"m still in shock that I have 4 guys in my high school musical class along with about 6 girls. What fun is all I have to say!!!!! My middle school class has 16 kids!!!!! My 8 - 10 y.o. are filled with 13 kids. Yeah............it's so great to have such creative creatures in my class.

Off to prepare......"a 5,6,7,8...."

WII like it!!!

Well, I succumbed to my kids wanting very much to play video games. I know, I know.....it's suppose to be horrible for them, etc. However, I secretly was interested in it as well. So, I thought my only game plan was to find a system that had another element to it.

Then came WII. I thought this was clever in that the kids had to MOVE. I am an active person with a lot of dance/sport experience. It's ingrained in me to move. This WII system was amazing!!! I loved it and loved the idea. Off to shop for one. Well, not so easy. Every time I went to purchase the system, the store would be sold out. To make a long story short, I was able to purchase one prior to the Christmas rush.

I love it and the kids love it. WII sports is the bomb!!!! I haven't gone too far into the games where one just sits and moves the remote/nunchucks. I want my kids to move. This isn't a cop out for getting my kids outside; however, with all the rain.....this keeps them moving inside. We are sweating by the time we are done. My muscles are sore the next day from boxing. I went out and purchased the DDR to keep "dancing". It's loads of fun.

Two thumbs up from the Pott Family!!!!!

You Can't Stop the Beat

I just got my haircut at Dekko Salon. I had such a hard time looking for a hairstylist after my hairstylist left Oxenrose to Hawaii. Oh, the agony. We develop such an amazing relationship with the people who cut our hair. Well, at least I do. My haircuts have always been important to me due to the theater biz. I find the right haircut and then I can't change unless I want to put a lot of money into changing my headshots. Then, certain shows have my hair under contract due to them not wanting us to change it too much from the time of the show.

I finally find this wonderful man in S.F. and he has been cutting my hair for the past 7 years. Now, he's gone. I search and search for another one. I'm reading up on everyone's background. I think I found someone. I will see. I have to do the styling myself and see how it holds up with me styling it.
So, yes, haircuts and hairspray CAN stop the beat!!

Why?

So, why "take a bao" someone asks? Well, being Chinese, I love dim sum and a dish I choose is bao. It can be filled with meat or sweet bean. I love them both. I am also someone who has a theater/dance background. So, my thought was to combine what I love to do eat and entertain. Hence, "take a bao". You like? I like. Thank you. Oh, please, stop....thank you.

Rain, rain, go away

I know we need the rain, but this is crazy, eh? I'm driving to an appointment and whilst listening to NPR, I hear that the San Rafael/Richmond Bridge is shut down cuz of high winds that knocked over some big rigs. I wasn't singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". I just kept hearing that music from Wizard of Oz with the "witch" riding her bike/broomstick amidst the wind and rain that came pelleting down on my windshield.

Well, it's cold and rainy now and I decided that we will have crab for dinner. The great thing about living in Fremont are all the Chinese Markets so close to us. Gotta love that!!!

Catching up with the times

Well, I"m giving this blog thing a try. Everyone keeps telling I should, well, my friends tell me I should because of all the traveling I have done in the past. It was just really difficult to keep up with all of this while taking care of our children, Geoffrey and Sebastian. They keep me busy!!!! They are wonderful, rambunctious, loving, and active. I have to stay one step ahead of them at all times or else the mommy with the bulging eyes tends to show.

Happy New Year!!! 2007 was full of fun and a lot of work. We travelled to Disneyland, Seattle for the premiere of Young Frankenstein, Sebastian started preschool and Geoffrey started Kindergarten. The excitement just doesn't stop and it's great!!! We are so lucky!!!