Turning 232 Years Old

We’ve got a birthday to celebrate! In just a couple of weeks America will turn 232 years old! Everyone seems to celebrate it in one way or another, or at least acknowledge it.

I just say the words, ”4th of July” and immediately you’ve got images of fireworks, parades, and barbeques flooding your mind. Everything is red, white, and blue. Uncle Sam has a big grin and is dancing about in the streets. Flags are waving away and there’s an overall feeling of happiness, right? At the very least, most of us think of the 4th of July as the start of summer and spend some time outside basking or playing in the sun – slathered in sunscreen, of course.

Here’s some interesting facts you may not know about Independence Day. Share them with your friends and family and you’ll look utterly brilliant, and, no doubt be the life of the party on the 4th of July.

• The first Independence Day was celebrated on July 8th, 1776 – not on the 4th!
• The 4th of July wasn’t even a federal legal holiday until 1941!
• In 1776 there were 2.5 million people in the 13 original colonies. Last year on the 4th, there were 302 million in 50 states.
• The US imported about $216 million of fireworks in 2006, with $206 million from China.
• We also imported $5.3 million in flags – again, mostly from China.
• Americans eat more than 150 million hot dogs on the 4th of July!

Throw on your party clothes and celebrate Uncle Sam’s birthday. Do it in style. Red, white, and blue is the way to go - whether you’re in a bikini, shorts and a t-shirt, or a suit. Top off the look with a party hat just right for the occasion. We’ve got your traditional Uncle Sam top hat, a way-cool rainbow version, AND we’ve also special Republican and Democratic versions as well. You just can’t go wrong with these! They are all really well-made and fun. I love the quality of these and the velvet-like material they are made out of. They are comfy as can be and hold their shape fantastically. And they all have this great little feature - size adjusters inside. You can make them fit your head perfectly. This comes in really handy for me – being of the more compact size than most.

These are these are the perfect party-hat for whatever type of birthday celebration you may having for our country this year. I’m thinking --- great with a bikini at the beach or in the stadium watching some killer fireworks extravaganza. Heck, they hold up so well, you can use them again come election time in November. Proudly show support for your candidate (if he’s from one of the big two) at the conventions, on the street or at the polls.

So get out there – watch those parades, hit the beaches, light up the grill, oooh and aaahhh over fireworks, wave your flags, blow your horns this Independence Day. Celebrate! It’s party-time!

Pay Homage to the Sun

Before I moved to Santa Barbara, I barely heard about Summer Solstice. I wasn't entirely ignorant. I knew it was the official start of summer and that it was the longest day of the year – more daylight than any other day. I never really thought much more about it.

Up here in Santa Barbara, and apparently all around the world, people really get into celebrating Summer Solstice. And why not??? First of all, I’m always up for any good reason to celebrate and have some fun. And to celebrate sunshine, well, that just makes total sense to me.

I’m a sun and water girl totally, so this is my kind of celebration. I long for summer all year long. I don’t dig on snow (other than from a distance – like on TV or in pictures). I don’t love the cold and all that bundling up that goes along with it. My friends who live in other parts of the country have diagnosed me with a terminal case of cold weather wimpiness. It’s true. I consider anything under 60 degrees to be FREEZATION! I can’t even imagine living where the temps get to 40 or lower. It just sounds so unreal, so uninhabitable --- like the frozen tundra. Humans were not meant to live there – not this human, for sure.

For these reasons alone I advocate excessive celebratation for Summer Solstice. Enjoy the 15 hours of sunlight you are going to get this Saturday, June 20th. Welcome the first day of summer in a way that befits the greatest season of the year. Winter is passed, the days are longer and warmer, flowers are blooming, the best fruits are in season, and fun is just calling your name.

Summer Solstice has been celebrated since ancient times by so many cultures around the world. There were bonfires, feasts, parties, and love celebrations. What’s it going to be for you? Does your community have some sort of celebration? If so, get out there and celebrate. If not, do your own celebrating.

More daylight than any other day?? Well that just begs a visit to the beach, wouldn’t you say? Solstice and swimsuits are a perfect combination. Tie on that bikini, slather your body with some good-smelling sunscreen and go pay homage to the sun.

Here in Santa Barbara we’ll be having a huge Summer Solstice Parade and Celebration. We’ll have more than 1,000 folks in crazy floats, wild costumes, and huge, colorful masks parading down our main drag on Saturday. It’s great fun to watch. But why be just a spectator? Be a part of the fun. Just throw on a crazy hat or headpiece a wild wig, or some fun wings and you’ll have an even better time and be a part of the celebration. Or do like these two girls did, just throw on a head bopper and glasses and you are set for the parade itself.

Just a Hat

I’ve got three sons --- three grown-up, man-sized sons. In May, two of them turned 21 and the other turned 23. We all got together for three days up in NorCal for a group birthday celebration. For those of you who are not-so-hip, or in the dark, “NorCal” is what we cool people call Northern California. Confession – I’m not that cool myself. My son, who lives up there, recently edumacated me in this very fine piece of information.

We ran around San Francisco and Berkeley for a day and enjoyed the sights, the shops, the scenery, the food, and . . . the people-watching was fantastic. We stumbled into a hat store in Berkeley, where my son saw your basic, cheap, nothing-fancy pirate hat. He just had to have it. It was like one we used to carry in our costume store in Santa Barbara. He was bummed when we replaced with a bigger, better version, so there was no way he was going to pass this one up. He knocked over a student, an old woman, and a blind man in his mad rush to get to the cash register. Okay, maybe it wasn’t quite that bad, but you get the feeling of how excited he was.

“No bag, thanks. I’ll wear it out.” And he did wear it . . . for the rest of the day . . . everywhere we went. My son already dresses rather interestingly – he calls it dressing cool and original. His little black pirate hat went so well with his lime green shirt with large white polka dots generously scattered about, along with his blue striped jacket with buttons (think of the “flair” Jennifer Aniston was wearing in Office Space), his snug-fitting jeans, and his bright green converse tennis shoes. The only thing truly pirate about him was the hat, yet all the comments he got were piratey.

An “arrgggh” here, a “where’s yer boat” there, with a few “aye, matey’s” thrown in. We heard every pirate phrase and joke imaginable that day. He got all sorts of compliments and those who stayed silent, gave him a smile or the look. You know the look that makes it clear someone has noticed your odd look, that look that is envious but hiding it, that look that admires you for being brave enough to be different and have fun.

Yes, I know, I’ve raised me some fine young men. First of all they get how to have fun!! This is key. And maybe equally important, they love pirates. I think it’s genetic. I’m a big ol’ pirate inside . . . and even outside at times. I’ve been spotted do my rounds in full pirate garb. And the reactions of those on the street or in the stores are just wonderful.

A hat is all it takes sometimes. It’s something so simple, but it somehow it is so powerful. Just a goofy, fun hat and the whole day takes on a whole new feel. BANG! I’m smiling more. BAM! Others are smiling more. BOOM! Perfect strangers are making conversation! BOING! I’m having more fun, just like that. All because of a hat.

Yippee and Yuck Awards

Here we go for my final thoughts on the Rosarito to Ensenada Fun Bike Ride from April. Beyond the costumes and accoutrements (don’t you just love that word) there were other parts of the ride I just have to comment on. I could justify my need to comment by saying it’s for all of those out there considering the ride. I could say it’s that I want to help my fellow fun-loving cyclists have the best experience in future rides. That sounds so good, but, let’s get real. I’m sharing my all-important, ever-so-valuable, opinions on all things Yippee and Yucko, because I can. Sort of like climbing a mountain just because it’s there.

These things deserve a Yippee Award. They made the whole day even better.
Yippee . . . .
~to the one-legged rider! You make us all feel like we can do anything we set our minds to.
~to the “big” people who didn’t walk their bikes during the tough parts.
~for the unexpected route. I thought we were going to take the main road, but instead it was the alternate route through the hillsides.
~for the closed roads – keeping us all alive for another day.
~for the kids who rode
~for the guy on the elliptical bike – never seen one of those before
~for the family on the tandem bike with the attached trailer. Now that took some effort
~to the inline skaters who did the whole 50 miles and kept up with the cyclists
~for no kidnappings or muggings (that I know) of, that our friends and families were so sure would happen
~for the shuttle return. They took good care of our bikes and the ride was comfortable. Enough with the horror stories.
~to the guys with the most unique roadside sign “Show Us Your Tits.” Now that was creative.

If I have a Yippee, you gotta have a Yuck Award as well.
Yuck . . .
~to those walking their bikes for no good reason – no injury, no malfunction
~to the guy hauling humongous speakers in his bike trailer and blasting his music in our ears
~to the guy who grabbed on to the passing truck and hitched a ride
~for the first few miles – way to crowded with crazy, scary, kamikaze riders

As you can see, hardly any Yucks. I loved this ride and this experience. So, if you've been considering joining this ride next time, consider no longer. Go do it . . . . in costume, of course.

Fun on the Road

Last weekend I headed south of the border for that oh-so-famous of cycling adventures --- the Rosarito to Ensenada 50 Mile Fun Bicycle Ride. I agree, that is one long name for an event that only last a few hours, but, I suppose, the longer the name, the more illustrious the occasion. I have been wanting to do this ride for a couple of years now, so I was so excited as we made our 7 hour trek down, down, down, through the southernmost regions of California and into the land of our spicy, southern neighbors. On the way, I realized that I had forgotten to make the most important of preparations. This ride is known for being “fun;” thus the reason for “fun” being in the title. I had seen photos of people dressed up in fun outfits for the ride, but in all the rush to get on the road I had forgotten to plan out my fun outfit. So I did the ride, loved it, but also found myself just a tad perturbed that I hadn’t gotten that part of my act together.

You see, I have an ever-growing, truly wonderful Life List – things I want to do, places I want to go, activities I want to try in my lifetime. On this list are “do the Rosarito to Ensenada Ride” (I took poetic license and shortened the title) and “wear fun outfit or head decorations in bike ride,” among many other things. I could have done two things on my List, but now I was going to only get to do one. Making the best of it, I pedaled my way to Ensenada doing some really fun people-watching along the way. I made note of the outfits others had on – what was cool, what worked, what didn’t – so I could do a bang up job on my own outfit in my next ride.

Here’s the cool thing about cycling. It has a built in element of fun. Cyclists get to wear some fun, crazy, loud jerseys and no one thinks a thing of it. It’s just part of the sport. The whole idea is to stand out visually in order to extend your life, so wild jerseys are just the ticket. So I rode along, checking out the many different jerseys people were wearing. Some were pretty sedate and some were bright, and cheerful and fun. This is the one thing I did have prepared. I had my favorite, funnest jersey on. It’s got a huge Cookie Monster stuffing himself with chocolate chip cookies on the front and back. I am happy to report that I didn’t see anyone else wearing this same jersey. I got some compliments on it, and smiles as people checked it out. The one guy who stood out to me the most in the Fun Torso Coverings category wasn’t even wearing a cycling jersey – just a t-shirt with these words on the back in big red letters “I’m over 65, but I’m in front of you.”

Some of the riders stepped it up a notch from a fun jersey but still kept it simple, with just a fun decoration on their helmets. Some people got creative and used nothing more than zip ties to make helmet spikes. Others used colored chenille wire to make antennae. I loved the helmet Mohawks, myself. Simple, yet very fun. They were brightly-colored, thick strips of faux hair running the center length of the helmet. There were afro wigs in many colors to be seen and a variety of hats attached to the tops of helmets – Viking helmets, big tall sombreros (how they got those to stay on, I don’t know), and cowboy hats.

Small creatures and other sundry items were attached to helmets for laughs as well. A stuffed crab was perched on one rider’s head. Flags of various countries were abundant and other stuffed creatures. My favorite in the Helmet Decoration category was the man wearing the Barbie doll on his helmet. He had her nicely dressed, seated, facing forward on his helmet. She looked mighty happy to be enjoying the ride from that vantage point.

Some cyclists took their fun ride more seriously and put out some real effort in their costumes and decorations. I saw quite a few people with various types of capes flying in the wind behind them. A cape has a way of making someone look fast and superhuman. They may have been keeping only a moderate or even a slow pace, but I still looked at them with awe. Red capes, blue capes, short capes, long capes. Capes made from a country’s flag or the flag of a favorite soccer team. They were all so cool. That is a one thing I just have to make a part of my Ultimate Bike Riding Costume in the future.

In the Cool, Yet Impractical category, were all the guys wearing the Lucho Libre masks. They were fun looking, but there’s no way they did the whole ride that way. Their faces would have melted off. I think I even saw one guy’s skin dripping out from underneath the mask around mile 43. Then there was the guy wearing the Nacho Libre costume – the whole thing. He looked good at the start when we were just pushing our bikes through the mass of people trying to get to the starting line (which took about 10 minutes, by the way. What do you expect with 7,500 riders?). I saw him again about midway and I think he was seriously reconsidering his choice. Those tights were making his legs unable to breathe, and the mask was off. The cape was still looking mighty fine though, flowing behind him.

Winner in the Most Unusual category had to be the guy with the butt. Now I know, everyone out there had a butt, but this guy had the foam butt strapped on over his bike shorts. This is a pretty realistic looking set of cheeks, so it gets your attention. It got mine, at least. I’m pedaling along, working my butt off. I look up and what do I see? A guy’s bare butt cheeks – oh wait, it’s just a costume. I thought maybe this guy was working even harder than me and his butt was just about to fall off. Fun! Made me laugh – and that is what it’s all about sometimes.

This ride was a good physical workout and an educational experience. I came away with lots of ideas about what to wear when I’m ready to dress up in my Ultimate Bike Riding Costume (the date is still to be determined). For this ride, I should have at least brought along my stuffed Cookie Monsters (a 10” one and my 2” one) and strapped one to my helmet and one to my bike. A tiny bit of effort for a whole lot of fun. I’ll have no such regrets on my next “fun” bike ride though. You know I’ll at least be sporting a cape and looking superhuman as I cruise through the course. There are so many great hats and headpieces to decorate a helmet with, there's no way I'm going with a "naked helmet" next time. At the very least, I'll have some sort of head bopper or antennae on top. All of these little touches are sure to keep me smiling and laughing even while I'm working hard and sweating up a storm.

Stay tuned for my next installment – more on the Rosarito to Ensenada Fun Bike Ride. “Yippee” and “Yucko” awards to be announced. Don’t miss it.

I Want to Feel Like a Woman

I have become a Biggest Loser watcher. I didn’t start until just about 3 weeks ago – with only a few episodes left. I am just floored every single time I watch this show. I’ve even cried a couple of times – that’s saying a lot since I’ve only watched the show three times. I amazed at the determination, the heart, and the progress of these folks. When they show clips of the contestants from the beginning of the series and you see the person now – WOW! They look totally different. Some of them have lost well over 100 pounds – they have lost more than my entire bodyweight. It’s like they had been living their lives with me hanging around the neck or waist. They just carried around that load of extra pounds everyday of their lives.

So last night, they showed a clip of one of the final two women contestants. At one point several weeks earlier, she said she wanted to lose weight so she could wear dresses, heels, pantyhose, and feel like a girl. She kept re-stating that – she wanted to wear clothes that made her feel feminine, like a woman, pretty.

Isn’t it amazing the power that clothes have on our minds? Wearing certain clothes can make us feel happy, silly, glamorous, sexy, or frumpy, serious, dark, or tired. If you wear baggy sweats, you probably are feeling comfy, cozy, and like lounging around, right? If you wear something snug fitting, with a low neckline, along with some pants cut in a flattering way, dressier shoes, all topped off with sexy panties, you probably feel a bit different than you did in the sweats. I am very aware of how the way I dress makes me feel and I use it on purpose. Feeling kind of down or low energy? Time to put on a goofy shirt. Want to feel sexy and “like a woman?” Slip into a fun, sexy bra and panty set, and then build from there. Pick out the shirt that shows off your best features, the pants that make your butt look just right, and so on. Then just watch – your walk changes, along with the look on your face, and the way you feel.

So, basically, you could say everything we wear is a costume in some way or another. We wear our work costume to the office. We wear our lie-around-the-house costume. We wear our I-just-want-to-be-happy-goofy-and-silly costumes. We wear our workout costumes for those fun and sweaty times. We wear our swimsuit costumes for our beach and poolside appearances. We wear our sexy costumes to make dates and bedroom time extra fun. Costumes, costumes everywhere, everyday. Each one works for us in a different way. Some we wear for others. Some we wear for the way it makes us feel. Think about the costume you are wearing right now. Now think about how you’d like to be feeling – and pick out a “costume” that makes that happen for you. That can be anything from underwear, to lingerie, to shirts, or the full-on, official costume.

Summertime = Swimsuit Time

I was talking with a friend yesterday about her upcoming trip to sunny, warm, Mexico. She leaves in just 2 days and I was asking her if she excited and if she was ready to go. She laughed and rolled her eyes and said that she had packed way too much and was in the process of weeding out the stuff she didn’t really need. She said, “Really, I don’t know why I packed so many clothes and shoes. The truth is, I’m going to spend just about all my time in my bathing suit.” Ain’t it the truth. She said she had already unloaded 4 pairs of shoes and was going to trim down her load even more. It’s all about the swimsuit when we get to vacation in a sunny, warm destination, isn’t it?

We had, what I call, a mini-summer last week. For about 8 or 9 days, the sun was out, the temperatures were up, and everyone’s mindset changed, it seemed. Everyone was thinking about summer and swimsuit season. On my treks through town, I was amazed at the sudden transformation. People were out in droves – biking, walking, running, sunbathing on the beach, surfing, paddle-boarding, working out with their personal trainers or exercise groups, or playing beach volleyball. Santa Barbara is just like that – the second we get anything close to summer, everyone comes outdoors. We have a pretty steady representation of the die-hard, committed fitness and outdoor folks – those who are out there year-round. The sun shares a bit more of its rays, boosting the temperature one degree above 70, and everyone else joins the die hards. It’s as if they are sitting at their front doors, gear in hand, ready to burst outside at the first hint of summer.

The beaches transform from a places of solitude, sprinkled with a few runners, walkers, or folks getting taken on walks by their dogs, to busy, happening places, crowded with people. And what thoughts do we have as soon as one of these mini-summers appears? Where is my swimsuit? Does it still look good? How will it fit? I need to get in shape, summer is almost here. I need a new swimsuit.

No denying it, I am right there too. I’ve already bought 2 new suits this month. Hey, I needed them. And I do mean need. If you say, “want,” then it just doesn’t have the same effect. “Need” sounds so much more serious, almost as though your life depended on it, and really justifies buying one or even two.

I really put my suits to the test too. Another great justification for owning two! I have the bikini that is meant more for lounging about on a Santa Barbara beach or on a tropical island. These types usually have strings, and ties, and are cut a little lower or a bit more skimpy – giving them a bit of a sexy flavor. Then I have my functional – yet still cute and fun looking – one. This is for my in-the-water time where I swim, snorkel, or kayak. Between the two types, I’m set for summer, mini-summer, or a tropical vacation. Welcome back, summer! I’ve sooooo missed you.