Hey there!  How are you?  How was your Memorial Day weekend?

The Tuesday Tune-Up is where we can have a weekly virtual coffee date and catch up a bit.

Before we get into the nitty gritty wrap up what’s been going on here on my end, I need to announce the winner of the LATHER + SoulCycle Giftbag Giveaway:

Congratulations to Jill Conyers! Your gift bag will be on it’s way to you shortly!  Enjoy!

This week I got to have a breakfast date with a friend from high school.  Subhash used to live in LA but moved back to New York right when my family moved here.  It was great to catch up and have a green tea latte at one of my favorite places, Urth Caffe.  Yeah, I learned about Urth from Entourage.  Please tell me that I’m not the only one eagerly awaiting the Entourage movie?)

I also had a fabulous smoked salmon omelette on Sunday.  Two eggs topped with avocado slices was the perfect way to end a weekend of camping – see Family below.

Yes, we like to go out for meals to end the camping experience.

After having my ass handed to me in SoulCycle last week, I knew that my stamina really needed some foundation building.  It was great that I was able to complete two 50 minute Pilates sessions with my Physical Therapist this past week but I need to work on the cardio as well.

I decided to try a bike ride.  It was only 5 miles but slight inclines are much harder to ride than I thought!  I know that with time it will get easier but it’s still very frustrating.

Even though I have a mat Pilates routine that my Physical Therapist gave me, it’s easy to get bored.  I’ve used the 2 following Pilates YouTube videos this week and wow, they were more than challenging – 30 Minute Intermediate Core Blasting Pilates Workout #1 by GymRa and 30 Minutes Exercises Full Workout Doing at Home (awful name) by pilateslearn

We went camping for the Memorial Day weekend and the weather was not typical California weather – it was cloudy with a high in the low 60’s (which is not ideal for camping).  However, the central coast of California is really beautiful.  We stayed at the Montana do Oro State Park and it was nice to see views like this along the way:

Look closely on the left, 1/3 of the way down and you’ll see the reflection of my car’s dashboard to confirm that this was taken from my car.

After 5 hours and 20 minutes (for an estimated 3 hour drive), nothing was better than seeing the horizon as we neared our campsite.  Setting up camp before the sun went down was quite a race!

We spent some time the next day at some tide pools and went to see the Elephant Seals in San Simeon during their molting season (I promise they’re not dead, they’re just sunbathing):

It was very windy and cold at night so we didn’t get a chance to have the typical hanging out kind of camping experience.  I think we’ll return to this area of California when the weather is a little warmer.

Our concert season has officially begun!   Jay and I went to see Neil Diamond at the Hollywood Bowl last week.

At first, Neil spoke much of his lyrics and I was afraid that his voice had gone but luckily, it just seemed that Neil needed a little bit of time to warm up because when he began to sing, it was a like having a great cup of coffee – warming, familiar and enjoyable.  The set list had old favorites and a few new songs.

I know fans are crazy but who knew that Neil Diamond fans would be so hands-y!  Neil actually had to tell fans to “take it easy” when grabbing him more than a few times.  It was pretty great to hear Neil acknowledge that UB40’s version of “Red Red Wine” is played on the radio constantly and that it makes him a ton of money!

In other music news, did you hear that Duran Duran will be one of the headliners at the Life Is Beautiful Festival in Downtown Las Vegas Sept 25 – 27.  Even besides Duran, the bill looks pretty awesome (Stevie Wonder, Imagine Dragons, Weezer, Death Cab, Brandon Flowers) but ticket prices are pretty steep.  I’m not sure that I’ll be able to attend (although I *really* want to) but who knows what other Duran dates will be coming down the pike?

DDHQ keeps hinting that more US dates will be announced.  I’d love to attend this festival but I’ll take a solo show over a festival any day of the week.

Also, I’ve decided that I need to name my bicycle.  I thought a Duran Duran themed name would be a nice tribute and motivator.  Any suggestions?  Contenders are Arcadia and Khanada for now:

Image: Duran Duran Wiki

  This is a photo of my bicycle if you need reminding:

 So that’s a summary of what’s been going on in my world this week.

Do you have a name for your bicycle or any specific piece of sporting equipment that you have?

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Disclosure:  This is NOT a sponsored post.  I have mentioned the Life Is Beautiful Festival but have no professional affiliation with the event.