I went to Australia for a week to take a break and visit my aunt, who has a beachside house in Rockingham--a small but charming industrial town an hour’s drive from Perth. The prospect of free accommodation, fresh air, and a long stretch of beach road for running and biking was just what I needed.

Since every weekend athlete knows that there’s no better way to get motivated than with brand new gear, I brought with me the Timex Ironman iControl, a nifty new watch with lots of interesting features, including the ability to wirelessly control your iPod from your wrist.

I spent the recent holidays in China, and the highlight of that trip was going to a “big freezer” called Harbin. 

Located at the northernmost part of China, Harbin’s temperature during the New Year was at minus 15 to minus 20 degrees Celsius! Just how cold was it? A little girl forgot her bottle of water inside the tour bus on our first night. By morning the water had turned to ICE! They also sell ice cream on the street without using an ice box. The entire place IS an ice box!

Diego (right), Sienna, and I (not in picture) are overwhelmed.
 
Since the site was launched last January 31 (just 5 days ago), over 200 members/Certified Shopaholics have signed up and the site has received over 10,000 page views! I'm ecstatic, elated, excited--and all other synonyms you can think of--over the love and support for the site.