Today I was given a relaxing make-over by my friend Nancy at the Boots aisle in Target inside Westgate Mall.  She’s this sweet woman with a light touch and a magic for makeup.  

Many years ago when I was in England for business and some fun touring, I was introduced to Boots cosmetics, after forgetting to bring my moisturizer.  This product is a must have in England, the weather over there is not very forgiving on a persons skin.  So I was directed to the “Chemist” down the street from my Inn.  Chemist? Skeptical, I headed over not knowing what to expect, my mind raced with visions of  mini chemical bottles and weird potions.  I was pleasantly surprised “the Chemist” is the same as our Pharmacies, and the the aisles are lined with makeup, skin-care and the usual OTC healthcare remedies.  I was directed to the moisturizers by a friendly gal who gave me a thorough look, and handed me a No. 7 product, perfect for protecting my skin in the cooler climate. 

Since then, I’ve had  my mother-in-law from No. Ireland either send me the products, or bring it over on visits.  I found this wonderful skin-care line, and I wasn’t giving it up.  So, when Target added a Boots aisle to their cosmetics I was overjoyed!  Now when I shop at Target, I head to Boots if not to buy, just to browse the products. 

So, today, Nancy asked if I wanted a make-over, and since I had time, I took this offer and we started chatting.  Turns out, she and the other Boots Beauty Advisor Jenna are hosting a Complimentary Make-over in the Boots aisle this Saturday, Oct. 25th,  12:Noon to 5:PM

For those of you in Cupertino, Nancy and her co-Beauty Advisor Carol are hosting a Complimentary Make-over Friday evening Oct. 24th, 4:PM to 7:PM in the Target store at 20745 Stevens Creek Blvd.

All this is all in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month,  a subject close to Jenna’s heart, her mother being a survivor.  And this big bonus, 10% of the proceeds of the  sold Boots No7 Mascara will go to the Susan G. Koman Fund.  They hope to see you!

The Boots Aisle at Target!

P.S. Nancy told me, if you don’t want a make-over, she’s happy to give you a hand/arm massage, what a treat!!!

To the runners preparing for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Half-Marathon this Saturday, Oct. 5: Good luck!

To the motorists planning on driving through the city this weekend: Good luck! You will meet plenty of road closures, clogged freeway exits and a lot of athletic-type people running around. They get their exercise while you continue to pollute, which makes these traffic headaches even more guilt-inducing.

But never fear! Here’s a map to help you avoid running over those athletic-types with your SUV (click to enlarge, and notice I said AVOID):

And here’s more traffic information I got via the marathon’s Web site:

Freeway Information

No freeways will be closed on race day; however, expect delays on Highway 87 near downtown and Highway 880 near Bascom Avenue due to the close proximity of the race course to those roads.

Specific Access Routes
Fairmount Hotel / St. Joseph’s Basilica:
Due to close proximity to the finish line at Plaza de Cesar Chavez, allow extra time for alternate access and expect delays before the race starts (7- 8:00 am). Use the following access route during the race (8:00 am – 12 Noon): From San Carlos Street, use 1st and 2nd Street to connect with San Fernando Street. Hotel guests will be metered in/out on Market Street.

Hotel DeAnza
Please notify the hotel’s valet parking service on Saturday night if you will
be leaving between 7:00 and 10:00 am. The race organizers have arranged
for hotel parking on Notre Dame, between Santa Clara and Carlysle
Streets. From this parking area, you will be able to drive north on Notre
Dame, turn left on Julian Street, and access Highway 87/Guadalupe
Parkway. To access the San Jose airport, follow directions above to
Highway 87 north and follow signs to airport. Prior to the complete
reopening of Santa Clara Street/The Alameda at 12:30 pm, use Highway 87
to return to the Hotel De Anza before 10:00 am. From Highway 87, exit east
on Julian Street, turn right on North Almaden Blvd, left on Carlysle Street
and right onto Notre Dame Ave.

Cory Neighborhood
Residents between Newhall and Hedding, Monroe and Bascom, can use
Cherrystone Drive to exit this part of the route between 7:00-11:30 am.
Roiscrucian Neighborhood – YMCA, Calvary & Scientology Churches
Residents, YMCA patrons and church visitors can use Park Avenue for
inbound access and The Alameda for outbound access between 8:00 am
and 12 Noon.

For more assistance regarding road closures and alternate access routes, please
email SJCommunity@eliteracing.com. Please provide as much information as pos-
sible, including your starting and ending destinations, so that we can more readily
assist you.

Photo courtesy of The Fairmont Hotel

We have all heard the recent call for change. The Fairmont Hotel wants change too, your pocket change that is. Visitors to the Fairmont will have the opportunity to rid their pockets of those funny looking foreign coins and currency collected on summer travels. Now through November 19, 2008 donations (American coins and cash, too) can be left in the decorated suitcase located in the Fairmont’s Fountain Restaurant. On November 20, 2008 the money raised will be awarded to the Courageous Kids of American Cancer Society.

The Courageous Kids of American Cancer Society is a volunteer group providing services for children who have had their lives affected by cancer. Your generous donations may help change their lives.

Fountain Restaurant – The Fairmont Hotel
Daily from 6:30am to 2pm
Saturdays and Sundays from 7am to 3pm.

So I’ve long been obsessed with horses.

As a kid, we’re talking pony rides at events, trail riding on family vacations, the Saddle Club, and My Little Pony. Forget Barbie Dolls and Cabbage Patch Kids, give me a horse plushie any day. As an adult, I am embarrassed to admit that I chose Wells Fargo as my bank because they have horses in their ads (and a very cute horse plushie). Basically, I am as horse crazy as an urban/suburban gal can get.

Now that I’m older (and more importantly, have my own source of discretionary income to spend) I try as often as I can to go riding short of buying my own horse (not THAT much discretionary income just yet).

So to celebrate this wonderful obsession of mine, I thought I’d do a round-up of bay area horseback riding locales:

Garrod Farms Stables: [Saratoga] This is a nice big stable. Very fine and right next to a vineyard. They offer trail riding up the mountains where you can see spectacular views–even a bit of San Francisco on a clear day. They offer western and english style for $30-$35 per group lesson. Each lesson is an hour, and they’ll have the horses all saddled up for you so you get to ride the full hour. Very casual atmosphere though I thought the instructor did more talking than instructing sometimes. Still, this was the very first time I got to play groups games while on horseback and went out for drinks with classmates for the holidays. I actually felt like I could bond with my classmates and teacher. And dude, they even offer vaulting lessons!!!! (think gymnastics on a horse’s back!!)

Sea Horse Ranch: [Half Moon Bay] I only do their early bird special. $45 for a two hour ride on trail and beach. I’m not talking about nose to butt trail rides either as they often have groups of 30-40 people riding at the same time. Once you’re on the beach, you’ll get to canter/lope as you please. One of my favorite places to ride on the weekend, and I have a favorite horse (Grumpy!!!). Lots of new riders and tourists with a few more experienced folks sprinkled in. I wrote a way long post on Yelp here.

Hampton Place Stables: [San Jose] Very tiny and hard to find but a wonderful place for rescue horses to go. They take in horses that have been mentally and physically abused and rehabilitate them. I don’t have too much else to say about them because I only managed to volunteer once before we moved out of San Jose. I spent the afternoon grooming horses there. I noticed lessons going on so if you live in San Jose, check these guys out. I doubt their lesson fee is too expensive, and your money will go to a great cause.

3K9 Ranch: [Sunol] I’m currently taking western lessons here, and I wholeheartedly recommend this place to anyone who wants to learn to become a better rider. This is a small establishment and is privately owned by a family who lives on site. This means for the price of a group lesson elsewhere, you get a private lesson on horses that the owners ride competitively at local competitions. No lifeless school horses here. Lessons are $40 for an hour and a half, and if you have time, you can stay longer too!! I got to drive an atv dummy cow, learn how to rope, and herd cattle too. The only downside for some people is that he is not always available every week for lessons. For me, this just means I get to go ride at Sea Horse Ranch so it works for me.

Did I miss anything? Here’s a great website that’ll give you a list of all the possible places you could ever hope to ride at in the bay area.

Photo Credit: From Garrod Farms Website

A survey of 100 cities conducted by Men’s Health magazine has determined that San Jose is one of the best places a man can call home.

Though San Jose ranked 36th for air quality and job growth, San Jose was in the 2nd spot for fitness.

Overall, based on health, fitness, and quality of life, San Jose came in 2nd place. One can only wonder why Raleigh, North Carolina took 1st place. (?)

Note: San Francisco will need to try harder if it wants to improve on its 16th overall ranking.

Our busy take-out lifestyle has helped childhood obesity become epidemic, and I was shocked to hear the recent American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that cholesterol-fighting drugs be given to some young children. Luckily, DooF (food spelled backwards) the new PBS program that is all about helping kids to make healthier food choices will begin airing in 2009.

DooF-a-Palooza 2008:
Help raise funds for DooF while having family fun – A DooF-a-Palooza admission ticket includes hands-on activities, games, food, music, free stuff, and a silent auction for the adults.

The place to be with the kids this Saturday: Purchase Tickets and Information

Google Headquarters
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View
Saturday, July 12, 2008
11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

The American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women and The Best Places group did a study to find the most heart friendly cities for women. The Bay Area came in third in the study with Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area first and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC area second.

The study used the 200 most populous metropolitan areas. Some of the selection factors in the study included: cardiac mortality rates; physician diagnoses of diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol; smoking cigarettes; alcohol use; healthy eating; exercise; among other factors.

Go Red For Women conducted this study to help women better understand how personal health and environmental risk factors influence heart disease.

The Go Red For Women site points out these heart health statistics:

• One in three adult women has one or more forms of cardiovascular disease.
• Cardiovascular disease kills approximately 460,000 women per year, approximately one woman per minute.
• More women die of cardiovascular disease than the next five causes of death combined, including cancer.

For more information about Go Red For Women, the study, metro area rankings, heart healthy tips, and more check here.

For those in the valley who do not have the luxury of air-conditioning, relief may be as simple as an afternoon at the movies or a mall.

For others it may be more relaxing or practical to spend the day at a local community cooling center.

Keeping cool is critical for the elderly, infants and young children. At risk are people who are physically or mentally ill; especially those with heart disease or high blood pressure.

Cooling Centers: Open until 9:00PM

Wednesday through Friday — May 14-16

Note: A bag lunch or dinner from home may be required.

Cooling Centers

Join thousands of Bay Area residents by leaving that smog inducing car at home. Strap that helmet on and get on your bike!

Why? Because May 15 is Bike to Work Day!

As part of this exciting event, there will be a over 190 Engergizer Stations strategically placed throughout the Bay Area where volunteers will be handing out treats, tote bags and bicycling commute-related information.

It’s healthy! It’s economical! It’s environmentally friendly!

I’m taking part! You should too!

 
Our local police, firefighters, and paramedics must be prepared for immediate response in the event of large-scale biological sabotage. The state Office of Homeland Security is asking the citizens of Santa Clara County to help professionals with an emergency training drill tomorrow.

Victims are needed to show signs of inhaling or ingesting a chemical agent. Just like being in a big Hollywood movie, cards will explain your character.

All ages are welcome, so bring the kids, toddlers, and the grandparents. Volunteers who are deaf, blind, or in wheelchairs will be valuable to the exercise. Non-English or bilingual speaking participants are encouraged.

Some good reasons to attend: The weather will be ideal. Breakfast and lunch are complementary. Movies and live bands will entertain. While helping with readiness, volunteers will take pride in preparing their community.

Wednesday, November 14th.
8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
San Jose Municipal Stadium, 588 E. Alma Ave
Volunteer pre-register by calling (408) 247-1126
(Drop-in volunteers are welcome that day too)

VOLUNTEER CENTER OF SILICON VALLEY

 ”Words concocted by the lyrical locksmith, as deadly as 10 droplets of Ricin toxin.”
–”Master Thesis” by rap artist Canibus