The Time When I Die of Excitement...

Each summer, John and I take a "trip of a lifetime." Yes, it's funny to say we do this annually, but really we didn't give it that name. We just thought it was funny that ever trip we take get dubbed this by others.

We alternate who picks. Trip of a lifetime take 1 was a cruise to Mexico, Grand Cayman and Bahama. Trip of a Lifetime take 2 was the whirlwind 7 islands in 7 days cruise. Take 3 was Ireland, my pick. Take 4 was Egypt, John's pick.

So I'm up again, and I think I landed a good one. John is super stoked too, so I feel like I did a really good job picking. This summer we are cruising the Mediterranean. We hit Barcelona, Monaco, Tuscany, Florence, Rome, Naples, Sicily, Palma De Mallorca and Marsellies.

We are just about 2 months out. This is the point where I typically lose my mind with excitement. I cope with this by spending a week or two obsessively planning. I love to plan and it helps me channel some of the nervous energy.

Of course, the great thing about a cruise is everything is taken care of. So, there's not nearly as much planning required. So I guess I'll have to busy myself with selecting side trips, making a packing list, and learning a few key phrases from the Library's newest product, Mango.

Potresti aiutarmi? Sto cercando John.

You Need to Cross the Road with Urgency...

I work on a college campus. Every day I want to pull a oblivious student aside and have this discussion. Check that, on a good day I want to have this discussion. On a bad day, I want to put them in an "unenviable position."

College students don't do anything with urgency.

Side note, I love this commercial series. They will make you laugh: possum, crab, hamster, lobster, pig, unicorn, mole, penguin, platypus, burro, fish, rat, pigeon, rabbit, parrot, turtle, kangaroo, goat, blue-footed booby and pointer

This Week I Heart: Sally Hansen Salon Effects

I had seen the latest Sally Hansen product in magazines for a couple months, so when I found some on the shelf at Walmart, I couldn't resist trying it out performing an adoption theory experiment.

NOTE: If you aren't a total PR nerd like me, just ignore the side comments and look at the pictures of my pretty nails.

I love having "done" nails (look! compatibility), but I'm so hard on a manicure that it never lasts long. If I plunk down the $15-35 for a professional mani, I can keep it looking nice for 3 or 4 days. If I do it myself, forget it. It'll be chipped by the end of the next day.

The box claims this will last up to 10 days. We'll see about that. I put them on Sunday afternoon (there's my trial-ability). It took a little getting used to, but it was really pretty easy and I'm typically a mess with nail polish (aaaand, there the complexity). It took about 20 minutes, but I was also watching tv.

The best part is no messy cuticles and no drying (relative advantage!). Half the time I've smudged it up before I'm completely dry and I didn't have to worry about that.

Moment of truth: washing my hair Monday morning. Something about the hot water and scrubbing usually does in a fresh at-home mani. My Salon Effects still looked perfect afterward. Two more shampoos later and it doesn't seem to have an effect on these (more relative advantage!).


The first tiny chips showed up Tuesday evening (can you even see them above?). That is about what I'd expect from a professional mani. But since then, they have stayed in great shape. It's Friday now, and I'd say my nails are still event ready.


At $8.50 per set, I won't be wearing these non-stop. These will, however, certainly be a go-to for special events, vacations and any time I need low-maintenance fancy nails for a week. I'm interested to see if they make it the whole 10 days, but I'm already thrilled they made it this long.

Rave Reviews

Part of the reason my blog sat idle prior to the 30 Day Blogging Challenge was because I was starring in the Town and Gown's production of The Odd Couple, Female Version.

It was an awesome experience. I think the best theater experience I have ever had (and that is saying something). It was a super cast, especially my co-star Dawn. There is no way I could have developed my character, maintained the script's high energy and channeled Flo (the female counterpart to Felix Unger) every night if she hadn't been there giving it right back with 100% intensity 100% of the time.

We also had a fantastic crew who managed our dramatic set changes and numerous props. And, best of all was a wonderful, wonderful director. I had never been directed by Paul before, but he was fun, creative, sweet and supportive. Everything you want from your director.

We enjoyed ourselves every night. It must have showed because we actually got reviewed! And they were good!!

It's hard to link to small town newspapers (they don't put all their content online), so here are the highlights--you know, the parts about me!

"Cain-Wood's portrayal of the squeaky clean, overly obsessive, emotional Florence was very enjoyable. The back and forth fighting and conversations between Cain-Wood and Wilson are spot on..." Chase Rheam of the Stillwater Newspress

"Bonnie Ann Cain-Wood, as Florence, proves adept at broad, physical comedy in portrayal of the twitchy high-strung, perfectionist. Her Florence is the neurotic love child of Desperate Housewives character Bree Van de Kamp and Lucille Ball. The voice (that voice!) defines her character and helps the audience understand how Olive could find allowing Florence to cook, clean and generally take excellent care of her to be an imposition." Michelle Charles of the Perkins Journal

My First Marathon, Ok Half Marathon, Ok So I Just Watched...

...But, I was part of a runner support team, so I was still kind of sort of a participant.

If you read this blog regularly, or if you know me for-reals-like, then you know that I got a wild hair about 7 months ago and started running. My husband, John, is an amazing athlete and has been coaching and encouraging me as I take on running.

I was trying to come up with a special treat to thank John for basically being the best husband in the world. I saw one of his friends was entering the Austin Marathon. John is currently training for a marathon, so I offered up a quick trip to Austin, so he could enter the Half and test his progress. John was totally on board.

If you look closely, you'll see the entire Congress St. Bridge filled with runners. The "pack" was never-ending and, well, packed.

The race was huge, more than 20,000 runners! There was 5K piggy-backing on the event, but I decided to skip it. This weekend was all about John and with a physical challenge like this, you really do need a support team. So, I planned, mapped, drove, carried, photographed, cheered, fed, hydrated and filled tubs with ice.

These are the leaders passing 2 miles. You can tell the 2 in the front are Half-Marathoners because their bib numbers are white. Marathoners were black.

Then the pack came by, and came by, and came by. High fives all around! It really was fun to watch. I was using the Austin Marathon ap to track John's progress, but there were so many runners, I never saw him at the 2 mile mark.

You could tell a lot of runners didn't take themselves too seriously and were there to have fun. Here are the duck hat ladies.

And, this guy who was making a video of the crowd as he ran, and encourage us to cheer and ham up for him.

And, the guys with no pants.

And, OMG, is that Santa! Looks like running has been good to him!

I used the pace runners (this group is running fast enough to finish the full marathon 3:20, the half in 1:40) and the ap, but I missed John again at the 8.5 mile mark. Sigh, so I booked it to the finish line via a short cut and crossed my fingers that I'd see him at least once.

And I did! The ap said I was 15 minutes early, but as soon as I edged up to the finish line shute, I saw John come around the corner! There he is, in the blue, making a strong finish.

I've never seen John so wiped out after a run. He really pushed himself. He will disagree, but he did GREAT. His goal was to finish somewhere between 1:50 (the best he was hoping for) and 2 hours (the slowest he'd be happy with). He finished in 1:55:47.

What he didn't realize when he set these goals is that Austin is a really, really tough marathon and half. It's super hilly. So hilly, in fact, that when we drove it the day before, I nearly stalled out the car a couple times.

This was John's first Half Marathon, so (for now, at least) this time is his lifetime personal record. It's one, I think he should be proud of.

See more Austin Marathon pics on my Flickr photostream.

Austin: I Can't Quit You

I've blogged about our visits to Austin before. While, I always seem to tell people how unimpressed I am with Austin, somehow we keep coming back for more.

Our first trip to Austin was a rare anniversary in the states. We decided to experience train travel (it'll be just like the Hogwarts Express!) and Austin was a convenient end of the line. Our second trip was a conference John attended on my birthday. He made it up to me by bringing me along and letting me have a spa day at the Four Seasons.

On these trips we stayed downtown (the Driskill and then the Four Seasons) walked most of the time, and enjoyed the Congress Bridge bats and the various restaurants, bars and museums nearby.

At the Lady Bird Wild Flower Center.

Here's the thing with Austin. It has a reputation for being cool, and everyone (meaning everyone from Austin) knows it. The place so freaking pretentious, you just want to punch them in the face. Don't get me wrong we had a good time. Bats, awesome. Food, awesome. Museums, awesome. People, get over yourself, you are ruining this for me.

So when I decided to give John a special treat with a last minute trip to the Austin Marathon, I wasn't expecting a great time. But thanks to some great tips from friends, we saw a new side to Austin.

This was a last minute, on the cheap, trip to Austin during a jam-packed weekend. We couldn't get a hotel downtown if we had wanted. We drove more than ever. Traffic was a nightmare, but it freed us up to see some things we wouldn't have bothered with otherwise.

We took a shopping excursion and purchased a "bed picnic" at the Whole Foods (thanks, Dustin and Karee). The next day we "hiked" to the top of Mount Bonnell. It was definitely a highlight of Austin (thanks, Caitlin!).

On top of Mount Bonnell, the Austin skyline at our backs.

The Austin Marathon, well, that was great, too. It deserves it own post. I'll get back to you on that.

30 Day Blogging Challenge is Off!

We have so many 30 Day Blogger this time! It's going to be awesome. If you like the nifty badge in the corner of my blog (thanks Ruth!) and want one for your blog, just click it to grab the code to add it.

Here's the updated list of bloggers. Whether you are participating or just lurking, I hope you'll follow along and provide a little comment-y encouragement for everyone.

And.... we're off!

• There's Only Ever One Bonnie by Bonnie
• Naked Wife by Valerie
• Clear as Mud by Ruth
• Honestly Cassie by Cassie
• WillowBee Hive by Andrew
• Dust on the Mirror by Richard
• Seoul Searching by Garrett
• To Be Determined by Marissa
• CK by Caitlin
• Awesome Takes Practice by Rachel