One day last week, I went on a book binge. I bought 3 books and checked one out at the library. I'm about a third way done with "Eat, Pray, Love" - I find myself happy when I'm reading that book.

I signed up on Facebook so I could see Krysta's pictures and videos while she's in Japan. I don't really get how the thing works, but it's nice to keep in touch with the kids. I think it's cute that Ryan and Travys even added me as their friend =). So with Colleen and a massage school classmate, I have a total of 5 friends! It's funny how it says "JoAnn and Colleen are now friends 7:35pm". Krysta has posted some cool videos - she's in Kyoto now. I'm so glad she's having this exprience. I know when we go and see her, she'll have mixed feelings of finishing school, and leaving Japan.

Last night I thought it was the end for Mark the fish. He was floating on his side again and his skin looked weird. So I decided to put the rest of the salt in the pond as a last resort to save him. As I thought about it before I went to bed, I thought that maybe the green medicine solution wasn't agreeing with him. So if he survived the night, I wouldn't use that stuff anymore. Just the salt. And I was relieved to see him still alive this morning. I checked on him every hour and he did look better to me. I still don't know if he'll recover, but I'm a little more hopeful right now. At least he doesn't look like he's getting worse.

I'm a little worried because he still isn't eating. But I guess when he feels better, he'll eat. He's much tougher than I thought. It seems that the salt is helping in the healing process. I read somewhere that it also calms fish down. Which makes sense to me because epson salt baths are good for humans. And God wrote that we are the salt of the earth, which has many redeeming qualities. Giving flavor, preserving, cleansing, healing, grounding.

I had a good restful 3 days off. I'm not working every weekend since I now know that I'll have a tax refund to help with my trip. But I'll still work some weekends.

I've been having some good luck at the casino lately. I think this week I've won almost $200 =). I think I may finally buy those new windows for my bedroom and Mom's bathroom. I've been saying that for a while, but this may be the week! Then after that, a security door for the front. I wish they didn't look so...security-like?

I got my renewed passport in the mail. I mailed off my massage license renewal. I need to call the gym to give them my new atm card exp. date. I need to pull weeds in the backyard.

I want to make an appt. with a Naturopathic Doctor so she can run some tests and get an idea about my health. A co-worker is going to her and is working at getting her body in balance. I also want to do a colon cleanse and get to the gym to tone up my body. I just want to feel strong and healthy. I don't feel weak and unhealthy, but I just think I could feel better.

I'm pretty sure Mark the fish thinks I'm trying to kill him...and make it look like an accident. But I assure you, that's not my intention. It's been a rough week for Mark. I don't remember if I already mentioned that one fish died. Then one day I saw that the other little fish was looking bad, so I took both fish out of the pond and put them in an ice chest. Well, I left the little fish with the pond guy and he told me to keep Mark in the chest and treat him with this green stuff I bought. Well, in the meantime I kept looking online for info and it seemed like I needed to keep the water aerated (?). I kept testing the ammonia level and it kept showing a little high, but I didn't know what was too high.

Last night, I was looking at Mark and he was not looking good. At one point, I thought he died because he was floating on his side. So I decided to go ahead and take him out and put him back in the pond (it was too late to call Shawn at the pond store). Since I had treated the pond with salt and this other stuff Shawn gave me, I figured it'd be safe from parasites, etc. I was worried that Mark wouldn't make it through the night.

So I was relieved that he was still alive this morning. But I'm still worried that he won't recover. I called Shawn to ask him if I did the right thing to transfer him and he said yes. I'm glad. But the little fish ended up dying. So I check on Mark often and I haven't seen any signs of improvement. I would like to see some improvement. This whole ordeal has made me think that I'd be a nervous, protective mother. I guess all mothers are like that.

I really didn't think it'd be so hard to take in a fish...and noone else seemed to indicate that it'd be problematic. But now that I have him, I have to do everything I can to keep him alive. I feel like a med student in my first semester trying to keep an ICU patient alive with one other med student in his third semester to help me.

Today is a beautiful day so I spent some time outside on the hammock reading a new book. "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. It's about her experience after her divorce moving to Italy, Indonesia and India for one year to study what she thought those cultures had in some way perfected. I would love to do something like that. Travel, live life, learn lessons, write about it. I like the way she writes - transparent, funny, smart. I'm going to figure a way to do that. Right now, it doesn't seem possible. But she didn't think it was possible for her either, but it happened. I have many things I'd like to do, but what does God want me to do?

What has He placed in my heart? What makes me live more on the practical side? Even though some would not see my life as practical - after all, how long can one be a massage therapist with no health insurance?

Elizabeth notes that she's not a good traveler - problems with her stomach, doesn't blend in with her appearance, doesn't have the poker face that apparently comes in handy when you travel (?), bad sense of direction, doesn't research before she travels. I like what her friend said of her: "You have the opposite of poker face. You have, like...miniature golf face." I don't know why, but that made me laugh =).

As she was pointing out reasons why she's not a good traveler, she said the one thing she did very well was make friends with anyone. I thought about her points, and I have a few good traveler characteristics - iron stomach, can eat almost anything, good poker face, fair sense of direction. But I don't know about making friends with anyone...I'll be an acquaintance, but I don't know about friend =). But I do like meeting new people. I guess I just don't want to hang out with them all the time! People in controlled doses.

I think I have allergies. Since last week, I've felt congested, a little headache-y, body achey and a sore throat. I was trying to figure out if I was getting sick, or if I had allergies. I'm still not certain, but leaning towards the later. I haven't been taking anything. Just suffering through it! I don't like taking stuff...especially if I'm not even sure what's going on. So in the beginning, I just took a few epson salt baths and was taking Airborne. I made it through work and now I'm feeling better.

I'm sorta watching the UNLV-Kansas game...gotta support the local team. 29-34 Kansas leading at the half.

It's been beautiful outside. Yesterday I changed the rocks (element) for the pond pump, I also treated the water with salt. When I went out to check on Mark the koi, he was stuck against the pump! He was looking pretty frail so I turned the pump off and made another visit to the pond store. I told the guy what was happening and so he asked if I was treating the pond with salt. No, I wasn't because I don't know anything about koi fish! I think that's why Mark was looking so bad. I'm going to buy a book on koi. One of the other fish I bought died =(. One is still alive and I plan to buy one so that once again I'll have 3.

I went to get my taxes done yesterday and I get a larger refund than I expected =). So that'll help out a lot with my trip to Japan. I'm giving some to my mom, but I figure I can put $2,000 towards my trip =). I'm still going to try to work extra to save more though.

I can't believe Kaba Modern got beat out by Status Quo on ABDC. I think it should have been JabbaWockeeZ and them in the top 2. Here's JW's routine last Thurs. and the guy's headspin at the end is crazy.

It's been a good day so far. I woke up and checked on my new guy living with me =). His name is Mark and belonged to a co-worker who wanted to give him a bigger home. He was in their tank and was getting big for it. So Tues. she brought him over and he's adapting from being inside to outside. He hides a lot.

Hi, my name is Mark

I guess they named him Mark because of the way he eats. Cynthia's boyfriend Mark eats a lot, I guess. That same morning that they brought him over, I went to the pond store to get him other pondmates. A goldfish and shubunkin (sp?). One is red and the other is spotted brown. Because I couldn't remember the type of fish the brown one was, I named it Shaq (for shubunkin?!) and the other one Kobe because I think they should all just get along (even though they're on different teams). =D They all mostly hide and as a first time fish owner, I'm worried they're not eating - I think they are when I'm not there, but I'm not sure.

I went to PetSmart to get Mark the kind of food he's used to - the shrimp pellets that sink to the ground. I had the other kind that floats on the top so I think maybe he doesn't know it's food? After PetSmart I went to the newer Einstein's that's really big. Oh, I forgot to mention that Liz and I went there a few weeks ago. It's a nice place, with seating outside. I also haven't mentioned how I'm starting to like my iPhone more now. When I saw Liz, she told me about some new features I didn't know about because I hadn't updated my phone. It's nice because I'm not stuck with the same phone - they update the software with improvements. Yay! So now I can text multiple people and change my home screen to customize it more.

So after eating my bagel sandwich, I read a bit and sipped on coffee. I think it would be hard for me to give up coffee. For the most part, I've given up soda - it just doesn't have that same appeal to me. But coffee is like a comfort drink to me. I like to read and write while having coffee. And definitely coffee with dessert. I'm almost done with "Anatomy of the Spirit". Some quotes...

Guidance requires action, but it does not guarantee safety. While we measure our own success in terms of our personal comfort and security, the universe measures our success by how much we have learned. So long as we use comfort and security as our criteria of success, we will fear our own intuitive guidance because by its very nature it directs us into new cycles of learning that are sometimes uncomfortable.

She writes in language that speaks to a broader range of people and she considers herself spiritual but not religious. I find that many of her beliefs about God are quite similar to what I believe.

This last stage in developing self-esteem is an internal one. People who can maintain their principles, their dignity, and their faith without compromising any energy from their spirit are internally evolved: people such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela. The world is filled with people of much lesser reputations who have accomplished this level of self-esteem, of course, but these three peoples' spirits took charge of their physical environments - and the environments changed to accommodate the power of their spirits.

I thought the last sentence was interesting and wondered if that's the nature of miracles and faith. Jesus defied the physical through miracles, walking on water, changing water into wine, being raised up from the dead.

We are unaccustomed to giving value to what we cannot see, and we cannot see the power emitted from a healthy psyche. Thus, those whose work is "waiting and becoming" can often appear useless.

This book has given me much to think about. I feel like I'm going through an external change and wanting to be authentic in how I look. Meaning I want to discover my own style and look instead of feeling like I need to imitate another image. To be completely comfortable with myself. In the process, I believe it will translate into an internal transformation. I'm not sure why something that seems superficial (physical appearance) is taking on such a significant role in my life right now. I wonder if it has something to do with drawing attention to myself. I'm not comfortable with that and so maybe I've grown up trying to appear "normal"? I don't know. I need to journal more about this.

Anyway, I went to GVR to play keno since I've been winning lately. So I came out $60 ahead =). I came home and visited with Mark in the backyard. And I checked on my passport renewal and it was received yesterday so I should have my passport in 4-6 weeks!

It's getting hotter and I'm loving it! Although the temp. will drop tomorrow and may rain on Sun. But I'm hoping to get a lot of time outside in the backyard on my hammock =).

I'm all caught up with watching America's Best Dance Crew online and I like JabbaWockeeZ and Kaba Modern...and not just because they're asian! I like their choreography and style. I also like BreakSk8 because they are so unique - being on skates n all. But this is my favorite routine from Kaba Modern so far. They've done a lot of cool things, but I really like the chest isolation and the beginning part of their routine.



I like the show because the dance crews have to choreograph their own routines. I do like SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance) but they don't choreograph their own stuff - they have professionals doing that for them. But they are amazing dancers. Shouldn't that be coming on again soon?

I think I may work on the yard tomorrrow. I've been trying to get the pond ready for some fish. I'm de-chlorinating the water and putting stuff in to get rid of sediment. I really need to clean the filter though. I cut the dried up leaves from the palms but I need to pull some weeds too.

I think we change our clocks again this weekend...I may be wrong though.

I'm getting excited about going to Japan. I talked to my sister last night so she'll try to arrange some tour things for us to join. And I'm all set with time off from work =).

Oh, Linda, about the takoyaki - yes, there was actually tako inside! Not big pieces, but enough to taste it! I wish I had some right now =P.

I've just discovered America's Best Dance Crew on MTV. We don't have cable so I've been watching all the first episodes online http://dancecrew.mtv.com. I'm watching the audition episodes right now. I found it through a YouTube video with the JabbaWockeeZ.I think if we had cable, I'd watch too much TV!

Phoenix

The drive from Sedona to Phoenix was fine once I got onto the main highway. They were doing lots of construction on the roads in Sedona. And then when I got to Phoenix a couple of hours later, there was more construction! They had a bunch of lanes closed off and no left turns =(.

Since it was too early to check into the hotel, I went to eat lunch at Boston Market. I had a salad and sat down to eat and relax before my class started at 1pm. I was sitting in a booth, about halfway through eating, when a woman put her drink on the corner of the table. She put her tray on another table and then started to take her food off the tray and onto my table. I wasn't sure what she was doing, so I just watched as she moved everything over and started to sit across from me! I thought, "So people just share their tables here in Phoenix?" She finally looked up and saw me and looked very surprised! I said Hi =). I guess she thought I was someone else. We laughed and then her friend said, "I'm over here!" as she waved from the other side of the divider - I could only see her hand. We all laughed for some time. Even when she sat with her friend, I could hear them laughing about it.

I went to my class and we got out about 6pm. I went over to the hotel, checked in, then headed out to that Japanese restaurant I wanted to try. It was called Hana. It was already packed and I waited for an opening. They don't have a liquor license so a lot of people had brought their own bottles of wine. It was a nice small setting. A spot along the sushi bar opened up so I sat there, but I wasn't planning on eating sushi. I sat down and the chef gave me this:

There were 2, but I ate one before taking the picture.

It was some crabmeat on a tortilla chip! It was a nice delicate taste. I thought it was quite creative of them. And the owners looked Japanese to me. Their menu looked pretty authentic. I ordered Butaniku Ramen and Takoyaki. I hardly ever see Takoyaki on menus here in the US so I had to order it!

Again, it had 6 but by the time I took this picture, there were only 4 =)

Two women next to me asked me what I ordered and I told them what was in it. I asked the women if they had been to the restaurant before and if it was always so crowded. They said it's crowded after 6:30. We started talking and one woman was retired (but she didn't look young enough to retire!) and the other woman was a freelance writer. I told them about the class I came for and that I found the restaurant online and wanted to try it out. They knew eachother through a French class they were taking. We had a nice conversation. I ordered green tea ice cream and they gave soooo much! It must have been about 4 scoops (large scoops) in a medium sized dish. There was no way I was going to finish it, but I tried my best. I tried giving some away to the women, but they didn't want any.

I went to bed pretty early because I wanted to be well rested. I got up early the next morning so I could eat a good breakfast. I asked the front desk guy where I could eat breakfast. He suggested The Eggery...how could they not have good breakfasts with a name like that!

So I went there

And I like their style: a pot of coffee and a pitcher of water all for me! =)

I liked this place so much, that I went there the next day too. One day I had Bacon, Eggs and Potatoes, and the next day I had Oatmeal and a slice of French Toast. The first day I had a hard time deciding btwn the Eggs and the French Toast, so I had to return =). The service was good and so was the food.

The second night, I went to Boston Market again and ordered a Turkey dinner to go. And, I got a brownie =). So I ate in my room then reviewed some material from the class.

I saw more snow on the drive home.

I thought I'd see a really nice sunset, but no, nothing spectacular...