Today my daughter graduated from Preschool. Yup. A Preschool graduation ceremony. And let me tell you, no matter how ridiculous you may think it is to celebrate graduating from preschool into Kindergarten, if you are at your kid's ceremony, you will have tears in your eyes. My baby had the first line: "Welcome to our Graduation!" They sang a series of songs, then walked off the stage, and came back on to Pomp and Circumstance in their powder blue cap and gowns!
She did so good, and stood still and everything! And if you knew my daughter, you'd understand why her standing still was such an achievement. After the ceremony they served pizza and cake and cookies and stuff. We had a nibble, then went home for a while before heading out to see Toy Story 3. I cried for that, too. Seriously, it was a weepy day all around for me!
As for this weekend, I will be dragged along to Maine with the good ol' 319th. Travel Friday. Do stuff Saturday. March a parade the morning of the 4th, then march off the parade line onto the bus to come home. What fun! Then Monday the 5th we will be packing equipment, and on the 6th I will be off to Oklahoma for 2 weeks. With no internet access. What would really be awesome is if the barracks had wi-fi or something, but I know we're gonna have some crap accommodations. As long as it isn't open bay, though, I guess I'll be ok. Then I have to decide if I want to bring my lap top, or just my net book. I brought my lap top with me last year and didn't really use it at all for anything I thought I would use it for (watching movies/playing games). I basically had it on to write. And I can do that on the net book and it's easier to carry. I guess that's settled.
Don't worry, though, I shall attempt to document all I can of my journeys and when I get back I'll have a bunch of posting to do. Not all at once. That would most likely be overwhelming. Maybe I'll do a series. "Chaos with the 319th, Installment 1."
That's all I really have to report for now. If I come up with something more exciting in the next 2 days I will be sure to share. So, blog readers (who?), I bid you adieu, au revoir, and all that good stuff, until I return on the 21st of July.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
And I'm Home.
The trip home yesterday was, how shall I say, tiring. Yes. Tiring. But tiring is putting it mildly. It took me a good 6 1/2 hours, mostly due to the fact that I had to keep stopping to pee. On the way up I was drinking coffee like a mad woman and only stopped 3 times. On the way back down, I only had one mug (on account of the one rest area I stopped at, their coffee vending machine only spit out creamer and hot water), and I must have stopped 5 or 6 times. And not like a "I think I'll stop and try to pee." No, it was a full on "OMG thank god that rest area came up; I would NOT have made it to the next one" feeling.
But I finally made it home, and as luck would have it, Caelyn wasn't home yet. I got to sit quietly for about 45 minutes before she came in like a whirlwind. I was seriously so tired, when I put my car away, I could barely summon the strength to open the garage door. I was completely wiped out.
Driving up into the mountains is so much more enjoyable than leaving the mountains and entering NJ on Route 17S. Now THAT is depressing. I get so elated when I pass the sign that says "Entering Adirondack Park" and I feel like it's welcoming me home. But when I pass the sign that says "Now Leaving Adirondack Park" my heart sinks. Which is kind of funny. I've lived my entire life in New Jersey in this same little apartment (minus the first few months of my life when we lived in Texas). Over the years we have made countless trips up north, and out to Western NY to visit family on both sides, but not so many in the past few years. I get comfortable here in Jersey, the convenience of everything, yet stuck in a rut, just living a routine without meaning. But when I am up north, that is when I really feel like I'm home. My heart expands to take in everything around me. It makes me feel that I could (and want to) live out the rest of my days there. And being only 28, that's a lot of days!
Let me get a little more serious here. There's this grocery store there called Aldi's, and holy hell they sell these cheese puff things, it kinda looks like Pirate's Booty, but it's BUTTER FLAVORED. Puffed butter flavored corn bits. I'm officially addicted. When I gave some to my mom to try, she asked why there was still any left! I told her I really had to control myself to not eat the whole bag. Caelyn had 2 bowlfuls of it, and even Hercules (our rabbit, not sure I've mentioned him before) likes them! He nearly jumped up on the couch to try and steal Caelyn's out of the bowl.
And that's about it. This week is going to be a little weird, I have to fit in cleaning and laundry and last-minute trip shopping since I will be gone with the Army July 2-4, then again July 6-21. With no internet access. I will have my netbook with me, so I will definitely be keeping a record of all the chaotic insanity that is sure to ensue. And I hereby promise not to drink as much wine as I did last year. What a disaster that was, but that's a whole other story I can't get into right now. Or maybe ever.
But I finally made it home, and as luck would have it, Caelyn wasn't home yet. I got to sit quietly for about 45 minutes before she came in like a whirlwind. I was seriously so tired, when I put my car away, I could barely summon the strength to open the garage door. I was completely wiped out.
Driving up into the mountains is so much more enjoyable than leaving the mountains and entering NJ on Route 17S. Now THAT is depressing. I get so elated when I pass the sign that says "Entering Adirondack Park" and I feel like it's welcoming me home. But when I pass the sign that says "Now Leaving Adirondack Park" my heart sinks. Which is kind of funny. I've lived my entire life in New Jersey in this same little apartment (minus the first few months of my life when we lived in Texas). Over the years we have made countless trips up north, and out to Western NY to visit family on both sides, but not so many in the past few years. I get comfortable here in Jersey, the convenience of everything, yet stuck in a rut, just living a routine without meaning. But when I am up north, that is when I really feel like I'm home. My heart expands to take in everything around me. It makes me feel that I could (and want to) live out the rest of my days there. And being only 28, that's a lot of days!
Let me get a little more serious here. There's this grocery store there called Aldi's, and holy hell they sell these cheese puff things, it kinda looks like Pirate's Booty, but it's BUTTER FLAVORED. Puffed butter flavored corn bits. I'm officially addicted. When I gave some to my mom to try, she asked why there was still any left! I told her I really had to control myself to not eat the whole bag. Caelyn had 2 bowlfuls of it, and even Hercules (our rabbit, not sure I've mentioned him before) likes them! He nearly jumped up on the couch to try and steal Caelyn's out of the bowl.
And that's about it. This week is going to be a little weird, I have to fit in cleaning and laundry and last-minute trip shopping since I will be gone with the Army July 2-4, then again July 6-21. With no internet access. I will have my netbook with me, so I will definitely be keeping a record of all the chaotic insanity that is sure to ensue. And I hereby promise not to drink as much wine as I did last year. What a disaster that was, but that's a whole other story I can't get into right now. Or maybe ever.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Road Trip
I'm going to try and make this post short because I am tired and need to drive home tomorrow. Home from home. Get it? No? Let me explain. My parents bought a house in Malone, NY. That's where I am right now. I drove up mostly to see if I could do it, and so far so good! Yesterday's trip up went smoothly with no hiccups. I guess that's not very exciting to blog about, is it? But better for me, because I don't do well under pressure, especially when I'm by myself. Driving the scenic mountain route was a bit harrowing in the dark. It was the first time I've driven up solo, AND in the dark. Generally we drive up in the early morning when it starts out dark and then gets light. It was very strange to start out in the light and have it get dark.
At any rate, the trip went well. Took me just about 6 hours, and I only made 3 potty stops. Anyway, on to what we did today. We peeled wallpaper off the wall of "the office." Yes. This house is HUGE. Let me put it this way: right now I live in a stinky little 2-br apartment. It's roughly 700 square feet. The living room in the house is about 650 square feet. JUST THE LIVING ROOM. Extend the living room about four feet wider, and OUR ENTIRE APARTMENT can fit inside it. Did I mention that this house is huge? Yeah. So, keeping that in mind, you can see how it took us an entire day to steam and peel wall paper off of two walls in one room. Luckily, only those two walls in that room had wall paper to begin with, which means it only needs to be cleaned, spackled, and painted.
But there are give or take 15 more rooms that need "fixing." Thankfully, the bedrooms do not have wall paper on the walls. Just god awful ugly paint colors. Oh, and each room (Did I mention there are 7 bedrooms?) has a different border up by the ceiling. The room I'm in now has lovely olive drab walls and a tan and pink daffodil border.
Enough decor. Which means end of post. There's nothing else really juicy to tell. We ate at the Chinese buffet and OMG it is super awesome. Then we walked over to walk through Aldi's, which is a small, cheap, grocery store. Then we went to Walmart (Wally world, anyone?) to pick up a bunk bed (we are keeping it as 2 twins, one for my bro, and one for Caelyn), and some other things. I went to swipe my card, and horror of all horrors. It was declined. We tried every way imaginable to swipe it in, manually enter the numbers. Nothing. I owe my dad a mattress or something. Then we went to Price Chopper (the North Country equivalent to Shop Rite or Pathmark or A&P) to pick up some beer. I figured I'd give my card another chance. Still a no go. WTF.
When we got back to the house I immediately called customer service and demanded to know why my card (currently with no previous balance) was declined. Well, apparently, they blocked the purchase because it seemed suspicious, and I got it all fixed when I called and told them that yes, it was me in possession of my own card. I guess being more than 300 miles away from your billing zip code, making a rather large purchase (I don't really use it for much), shot up a little warning flag for them. Which is good, I guess, because I could have called and had someone tell me that it was run up to the limit and that's why it was declined. So yeah, good it wasn't thieved or anything, but not good for me when I'm at the checkout and the line behind me is growing longer, and I'm that asshole that keeps insisting the card is good when it obviously isn't going through.
So that was my one moment of excitement today. Aside from amazing Chinese buffet. Did I say that I was going to try and keep this short? I guess I didn't try hard enough. I'm going to TRY (hopefully better than I tried here) to get up early enough to get home before Caelyn gets home. I told her I'd be home when she got home, but we'll see what the morning brings. I'm praying that driving in complete daylight will make the trip through the mountains a little bit easier than in the pitch blackness (Oh, those high beams ARE good for something! And God bless cruise control!)
At any rate, the trip went well. Took me just about 6 hours, and I only made 3 potty stops. Anyway, on to what we did today. We peeled wallpaper off the wall of "the office." Yes. This house is HUGE. Let me put it this way: right now I live in a stinky little 2-br apartment. It's roughly 700 square feet. The living room in the house is about 650 square feet. JUST THE LIVING ROOM. Extend the living room about four feet wider, and OUR ENTIRE APARTMENT can fit inside it. Did I mention that this house is huge? Yeah. So, keeping that in mind, you can see how it took us an entire day to steam and peel wall paper off of two walls in one room. Luckily, only those two walls in that room had wall paper to begin with, which means it only needs to be cleaned, spackled, and painted.
But there are give or take 15 more rooms that need "fixing." Thankfully, the bedrooms do not have wall paper on the walls. Just god awful ugly paint colors. Oh, and each room (Did I mention there are 7 bedrooms?) has a different border up by the ceiling. The room I'm in now has lovely olive drab walls and a tan and pink daffodil border.
Enough decor. Which means end of post. There's nothing else really juicy to tell. We ate at the Chinese buffet and OMG it is super awesome. Then we walked over to walk through Aldi's, which is a small, cheap, grocery store. Then we went to Walmart (Wally world, anyone?) to pick up a bunk bed (we are keeping it as 2 twins, one for my bro, and one for Caelyn), and some other things. I went to swipe my card, and horror of all horrors. It was declined. We tried every way imaginable to swipe it in, manually enter the numbers. Nothing. I owe my dad a mattress or something. Then we went to Price Chopper (the North Country equivalent to Shop Rite or Pathmark or A&P) to pick up some beer. I figured I'd give my card another chance. Still a no go. WTF.
When we got back to the house I immediately called customer service and demanded to know why my card (currently with no previous balance) was declined. Well, apparently, they blocked the purchase because it seemed suspicious, and I got it all fixed when I called and told them that yes, it was me in possession of my own card. I guess being more than 300 miles away from your billing zip code, making a rather large purchase (I don't really use it for much), shot up a little warning flag for them. Which is good, I guess, because I could have called and had someone tell me that it was run up to the limit and that's why it was declined. So yeah, good it wasn't thieved or anything, but not good for me when I'm at the checkout and the line behind me is growing longer, and I'm that asshole that keeps insisting the card is good when it obviously isn't going through.
So that was my one moment of excitement today. Aside from amazing Chinese buffet. Did I say that I was going to try and keep this short? I guess I didn't try hard enough. I'm going to TRY (hopefully better than I tried here) to get up early enough to get home before Caelyn gets home. I told her I'd be home when she got home, but we'll see what the morning brings. I'm praying that driving in complete daylight will make the trip through the mountains a little bit easier than in the pitch blackness (Oh, those high beams ARE good for something! And God bless cruise control!)
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Blemish Be Gone! And other stuff.
For those who read regularly (uhh, who?), you may notice (or not?) that I deleted one of my posts. It was a mar on my semi-humorous blog, and a moment of stupidity on my part that I don't want to relive every time I read through my old posts. And yes, I say semi-humorous only because those who HAVE read this blog (and told me about it) have said that they laughed out loud at something. I never knew I could write funny, but apparently I can. Without knowing it.
This weekend, I hope, will be exciting. When Caelyn's father picks her up for the weekend tomorrow, I will straight away head up to my parents' new house in Malone, NY. I am hoping he can pick her up early because I really would like to get there some time before midnight. I am mostly going to test myself. To see if I can make a weekend trip there and back by myself. The other reason is so I can see where me and Caelyn will be living after Christmas, and after I finish my LAST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE. Oh, sorry, did I type that all in caps? I SURE AS HELL DID! Anyway, looking forward to a good trip up and back, so I better plug in my MP3 player now so it will be charged and ready to rock when I leave at 6PM tomorrow.
In other news, I got this brilliant idea today to start a serial on this blog. So if anyone knows how to make separate tabbed pages, I'd appreciate any help you all have to offer. Otherwise it will just be a weekly serial update (on the same day every week, at least that's the plan at the moment) in betwixt my other blog posts. I really have to figure out this bloggy thing a bit better, organize and categorize. Or something like that.
Right now I'm not sure what the story will be about or whether I will take a more realistic direction or veer towards a more F/SF type setting. Anyway, we shall see if this idea even makes it off the ground. I hope it does, as that will at least keep my writing muscles in shape. I am also still debating whether or not to register for the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction contest. I'm pretty sure I will, but I guess maybe I'm having fun just having something to deliberate about.
This weekend, I hope, will be exciting. When Caelyn's father picks her up for the weekend tomorrow, I will straight away head up to my parents' new house in Malone, NY. I am hoping he can pick her up early because I really would like to get there some time before midnight. I am mostly going to test myself. To see if I can make a weekend trip there and back by myself. The other reason is so I can see where me and Caelyn will be living after Christmas, and after I finish my LAST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE. Oh, sorry, did I type that all in caps? I SURE AS HELL DID! Anyway, looking forward to a good trip up and back, so I better plug in my MP3 player now so it will be charged and ready to rock when I leave at 6PM tomorrow.
In other news, I got this brilliant idea today to start a serial on this blog. So if anyone knows how to make separate tabbed pages, I'd appreciate any help you all have to offer. Otherwise it will just be a weekly serial update (on the same day every week, at least that's the plan at the moment) in betwixt my other blog posts. I really have to figure out this bloggy thing a bit better, organize and categorize. Or something like that.
Right now I'm not sure what the story will be about or whether I will take a more realistic direction or veer towards a more F/SF type setting. Anyway, we shall see if this idea even makes it off the ground. I hope it does, as that will at least keep my writing muscles in shape. I am also still debating whether or not to register for the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction contest. I'm pretty sure I will, but I guess maybe I'm having fun just having something to deliberate about.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Reading and Writing
I probably should have added this to the end of my last post, but I didn't think of it until now. I took out a couple books from the library last week, none of which I've had the inclination to sit down and actually read yet. One is the first 3 books in a Manga series called Sand Chronicles. I started reading the first one AT the library, so I figured I may as well take out the next two; it was going quick. It's not a serious Manga, just some dipsy child love story or something, but entertaining. I already packed up my entire Love Hina collection (which I also haven't read yet) and sent it to the house, so I figured this would be a good fill in until I'm up there in August and can (maybe?) relax and finally read it. After all, they've only been lying around for 5 years now.
The other book I had taken out, Runaways, is, indeed, X-men related. But I don't really know that universe intimately, so I was kinda lost. Especially since the one I took out happened to be a compilation of issues 25-30. So not only do I not have any background on the universe, I am behind 24 issues. I read about 3/4 of it, but it wasn't able to hold my interest merely on the fact that I can't keep the characters straight.
Another I borrowed last week and haven't looked at yet is Watchmen. I haven't seen the movie, although I wanted to. I figured reading it would be more thorough than watching a screen adaptation of it. Caelyn will be with her father this coming weekend, so maybe I'll actually sit down and relax a bit to get these books read.
One more that I have lined up is To Kill a Mockingbird. In my mind, this one goes hand in hand with Catcher in the Rye, simply because I hadn't read either of them during my illustrious school career. Since I finally did read Catcher, I figured it was about time to read Mockingbird as well. I had the library put it on hold for me since someone else had it out. They called a few days ago and said it was in for me. I was going to pick it up this morning on my way home from the bank, but tomorrow is me and Caelyn's library day, so I figured I could wait one more day.
And now onto the writing portion of my post here. The next NYC Midnight writing contest is coming up. Early registration ends July 8th, so I still have plenty of time to register early (and for cheaper), plus I got a $5 off registration code in my email. I kinda dropped the ball on the last one I was in, the Short Story contest. I waited til the very last minute, and didn't spend enough time actually working on it. It was mostly taken up by the actual writing of the story. I didn't do very well. It was a good story overall, but the execution was something to be desired. This next contest coming up is Flash Fiction. Every contestant will guaranteed to have 2 chances to write. And as with the last one, contestants are given a genre/subject (or genre/setting/object, I'm not sure which combo. But you're given some basic set-up like that), but no more than 1,000 words. Seeing as how in my fiction class last semester we had to stick to under 500 words for our short pieces, I figured I can really cook having 1,000 to work with.
It's not so much the work, though, it's the money. It's kinda pricey for a writing contest, but a lot of the same people are going to enter, and they have forums, and peer reviews and stuff. Which were infinitely more helpful (and entertaining!) than the actual judges' feedback everyone is entitled to. Which is also good. But I think for a lot of [us], the forums and camaraderie is what draws us back. I'm still thinking about it. I'll probably wind up entering; then at least I'll have something new and (exciting?) to blog about aside from my failed attempts at working out.
The other book I had taken out, Runaways, is, indeed, X-men related. But I don't really know that universe intimately, so I was kinda lost. Especially since the one I took out happened to be a compilation of issues 25-30. So not only do I not have any background on the universe, I am behind 24 issues. I read about 3/4 of it, but it wasn't able to hold my interest merely on the fact that I can't keep the characters straight.
Another I borrowed last week and haven't looked at yet is Watchmen. I haven't seen the movie, although I wanted to. I figured reading it would be more thorough than watching a screen adaptation of it. Caelyn will be with her father this coming weekend, so maybe I'll actually sit down and relax a bit to get these books read.
One more that I have lined up is To Kill a Mockingbird. In my mind, this one goes hand in hand with Catcher in the Rye, simply because I hadn't read either of them during my illustrious school career. Since I finally did read Catcher, I figured it was about time to read Mockingbird as well. I had the library put it on hold for me since someone else had it out. They called a few days ago and said it was in for me. I was going to pick it up this morning on my way home from the bank, but tomorrow is me and Caelyn's library day, so I figured I could wait one more day.
And now onto the writing portion of my post here. The next NYC Midnight writing contest is coming up. Early registration ends July 8th, so I still have plenty of time to register early (and for cheaper), plus I got a $5 off registration code in my email. I kinda dropped the ball on the last one I was in, the Short Story contest. I waited til the very last minute, and didn't spend enough time actually working on it. It was mostly taken up by the actual writing of the story. I didn't do very well. It was a good story overall, but the execution was something to be desired. This next contest coming up is Flash Fiction. Every contestant will guaranteed to have 2 chances to write. And as with the last one, contestants are given a genre/subject (or genre/setting/object, I'm not sure which combo. But you're given some basic set-up like that), but no more than 1,000 words. Seeing as how in my fiction class last semester we had to stick to under 500 words for our short pieces, I figured I can really cook having 1,000 to work with.
It's not so much the work, though, it's the money. It's kinda pricey for a writing contest, but a lot of the same people are going to enter, and they have forums, and peer reviews and stuff. Which were infinitely more helpful (and entertaining!) than the actual judges' feedback everyone is entitled to. Which is also good. But I think for a lot of [us], the forums and camaraderie is what draws us back. I'm still thinking about it. I'll probably wind up entering; then at least I'll have something new and (exciting?) to blog about aside from my failed attempts at working out.
Insanity - Day 2
Yesterday I did the second Insanity workout, Cardio Power and Resistance. It wasn't nearly as bad as the first day's workout. There wasn't nearly as much jumping, although I did wind up dead tired by the end of it. Of course, it not being as bad could also be because I didn't do anything on Saturday. Did I ever mention how lazy I am? I'm pretty damn lazy. I have trouble sticking with something that I'm not totally crazy about. This crazy workout thing almost feels like too much to do every day. I guess that's the point, though. What I really need to do is straight up situps, and go running. It comes down to that. Insanity or not, I need to run. The best way (at least for me) to improve my 2-mile is to go out and run 2 miles.
I still want to try Insanity in it's entirety, I won't throw it to the wayside yet. Maybe I'll do the next one tomorrow. I was also thinking that I want my "rest day" to be Sunday. If I continue and do every other day this week, then rest on Sunday, then next week I can go every day like I'm supposed to. Maybe that will work?
I still want to try Insanity in it's entirety, I won't throw it to the wayside yet. Maybe I'll do the next one tomorrow. I was also thinking that I want my "rest day" to be Sunday. If I continue and do every other day this week, then rest on Sunday, then next week I can go every day like I'm supposed to. Maybe that will work?
Friday, June 18, 2010
Insanity - Day One
So I made it through the first real workout of Insanity. And let me tell you (as I've said probably too many times already) it's not called Insanity for nothing! Number one, the warm-up was ok until we got to the second run through of it. I almost thought it was a broken record. Wait, a THIRD time?? And this is just the WARM UP? Thankfully, Shaun T. is generous with the water breaks, although he could have given me a teensy bit longer. I can't even remember what the workout was, let me look on the DVD... Plyometrics Cardio Circuit. Whew. I remember possibly 2 different circuits, and we did each no less than 3 times each.
Let me pause here and define plyometrics. I didn't know what it exactly meant (only that it sounded official and intimidating), but thanks to Dictionary.com, I am happy to know (or maybe not happy?) that Plyometrics is "a type of exercise using explosive movements to develop muscular power, esp. bounding, hopping, and jumping." Yes. There was A LOT of jumping. I thought the whole house would fall down around me. And I'm not a big person, but all 4'10" of me was enough to shake the shelves and cabinets enough for my mom to ask if I really had to do all that jumping.
YES, Mom, I do. Otherwise I may as well just not do it. I really tried to push it out at the end, but I'm afraid I was doing more resting than working, and when the blessed stretching came around, my thighs would not let me assume the stretching positions Mr. Shaun T. prescribed. I sat and did some stretching of my own (ie. laying flat on my back and wondering if I would be able to walk at all today).
I'm not sure I'll be able to do the next workout tomorrow, possibly later in the afternoon, but I'll be so worn out from a trip to Governor's Island (no, not for pleasure unfortunately, but for some 319th mayhem), I may just want to nap.
Let me pause here and define plyometrics. I didn't know what it exactly meant (only that it sounded official and intimidating), but thanks to Dictionary.com, I am happy to know (or maybe not happy?) that Plyometrics is "a type of exercise using explosive movements to develop muscular power, esp. bounding, hopping, and jumping." Yes. There was A LOT of jumping. I thought the whole house would fall down around me. And I'm not a big person, but all 4'10" of me was enough to shake the shelves and cabinets enough for my mom to ask if I really had to do all that jumping.
YES, Mom, I do. Otherwise I may as well just not do it. I really tried to push it out at the end, but I'm afraid I was doing more resting than working, and when the blessed stretching came around, my thighs would not let me assume the stretching positions Mr. Shaun T. prescribed. I sat and did some stretching of my own (ie. laying flat on my back and wondering if I would be able to walk at all today).
I'm not sure I'll be able to do the next workout tomorrow, possibly later in the afternoon, but I'll be so worn out from a trip to Governor's Island (no, not for pleasure unfortunately, but for some 319th mayhem), I may just want to nap.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Insanity: Fit Test
Wow. Sweat is pouring off of me and my legs are already sore. It started off OK, but by the fourth exercise I was running out of steam. Two exercises later when he said "suicide jumps" I was starting to think he really meant it. By the last exercise of the session, I was flat on my face for most of it. Despite all this, I'm ready for the first real workout tomorrow!
What I like so far: He is motivating! He doesn't yell, but it's a subtle push, encouraging, like he really wants me to succeed! And that makes ME want to succeed as well! I love the workout, I like working until I'm drenched and heaving for breath. I hate getting started, but once I reach the end, I know I've accomplished something worthwhile.
What I don't like: Nothing about the videos. What I don't like is how out of shape I feel!
Now I shall shower, eat some lunch, refill my water bottle, and get some $work$ done!
What I like so far: He is motivating! He doesn't yell, but it's a subtle push, encouraging, like he really wants me to succeed! And that makes ME want to succeed as well! I love the workout, I like working until I'm drenched and heaving for breath. I hate getting started, but once I reach the end, I know I've accomplished something worthwhile.
What I don't like: Nothing about the videos. What I don't like is how out of shape I feel!
Now I shall shower, eat some lunch, refill my water bottle, and get some $work$ done!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Insanity. Or Not.
So I really was going to start today. For real!... What happened is that Windows DVD Maker did not like the file type I downloaded. So I downloaded a file converter with a free 30-day trial period. I open it and it says my trial period is expired. WTF. So I download another file converter (very hard to find one that was completely free without a time max for conversions), and convert ALL the files from MP4 to .AVI. Windows DVD Maker STILL didn't like it. Ugh! So, since the converter only converts to and from MP4, MPG, and AVI, I had to pray that WDM would be ok with the MPG's... And it was! Hooray!
By this time, it was late, almost 10:00pm, and after I had told myself all day long that me and Caelyn needed to get to bed much much earlier. This going to bed late and then waking up cranky has got to stop. Easier said than done. Ok. So I said to myself, "I'll just burn it quick in the morning." I had it converting files overnight so I could do just that.
We get up late. Of course. I'm rushing, Caelyn is whining because she wants to paint her pets (a paint-your-own-pets set she got for her birthday), so I tell her she can start one IF she eats breakfast and gets dressed really quick. This has always been a problem for her, to focus and do things quickly. She spent most of the morning rolling on the floor complaining that I won't let her do fun things. Great. I convince her that it would be better if she painted after school, and that way she could paint ALL of them, and not just a little bit. She was eventually OK with that, but between getting her dressed, shoving Honey Nut Cheerios into her face, and starting the Windows DVD Maker, I forgot to make her a lunch.
We get to daycare and while I'm parking is when I remember that I didn't make lunch for her. WTF. So I tell the teacher I'll be back to drop it off before lunch time. I go back home and the stupid DVD Maker is at like, .5% encoding. I'm thinking "this is gonna take forever!" So I let it do its thing, make Caelyn's lunch (chicken salad sandwich, I hope she likes it!), change into some shorts, tie my sneakers on (praying that they won't give me blisters), and head out. I drop off the lunch, then head over to the park to get a run in. I knocked out a mile and figured that was good for a start.
So here I am back at home, still no real work done so I'll have to make some coffee (I didn't even have coffee this morning, boo), and knock out some billable hours. I will definitely be reporting on Insanity after I actually do it.
By this time, it was late, almost 10:00pm, and after I had told myself all day long that me and Caelyn needed to get to bed much much earlier. This going to bed late and then waking up cranky has got to stop. Easier said than done. Ok. So I said to myself, "I'll just burn it quick in the morning." I had it converting files overnight so I could do just that.
We get up late. Of course. I'm rushing, Caelyn is whining because she wants to paint her pets (a paint-your-own-pets set she got for her birthday), so I tell her she can start one IF she eats breakfast and gets dressed really quick. This has always been a problem for her, to focus and do things quickly. She spent most of the morning rolling on the floor complaining that I won't let her do fun things. Great. I convince her that it would be better if she painted after school, and that way she could paint ALL of them, and not just a little bit. She was eventually OK with that, but between getting her dressed, shoving Honey Nut Cheerios into her face, and starting the Windows DVD Maker, I forgot to make her a lunch.
We get to daycare and while I'm parking is when I remember that I didn't make lunch for her. WTF. So I tell the teacher I'll be back to drop it off before lunch time. I go back home and the stupid DVD Maker is at like, .5% encoding. I'm thinking "this is gonna take forever!" So I let it do its thing, make Caelyn's lunch (chicken salad sandwich, I hope she likes it!), change into some shorts, tie my sneakers on (praying that they won't give me blisters), and head out. I drop off the lunch, then head over to the park to get a run in. I knocked out a mile and figured that was good for a start.
So here I am back at home, still no real work done so I'll have to make some coffee (I didn't even have coffee this morning, boo), and knock out some billable hours. I will definitely be reporting on Insanity after I actually do it.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Crochet-a-long
I am participating in a crochet-a-long with some friends of mine and so far it's going well! There are 6 different block styles, 3 colors, for 8 blocks of each style (except the first block, that one gets 9), to make a total of 49 blocks, about 7x9 inches each. At first, I couldn't get past my sense of symmetry and made 2 square blocks (7x7). And then I was deliberating on different color schemes (eg, first two block styles are of the same color, but I was going to make each style in all the colors).
I finally settled on going back, making my previously finished blocks the prescribed dimensions, and sticking to the color scheme/pattern for the whole thing. I think I may need to get more yarn, though, I'm not sure I can squeeze another 5 blocks out of this skein! But we'll see. I'm excited as this will be my first official blanket for the new house! If I do 2 blocks a week I'll have it done before Christmas. I'll probably wind up doing more than that, though: I plan to bring my yarn to Oklahoma with me, and I expect to have plenty of down time to work on it.
Other than that, there's not much going on at the moment. I still haven't read the book I took out from the library, but I don't have to return it for another 3 weeks. I'll get around to it eventually. I've been a bit obsessive about Neopets lately, and that is taking up way more time than it should. I'm gonna have to cut back and actually get some real work done this week... but more on Neopets another time. I'm going to try and finish this 4th block before Caelyn gets home from her dad's.
I finally settled on going back, making my previously finished blocks the prescribed dimensions, and sticking to the color scheme/pattern for the whole thing. I think I may need to get more yarn, though, I'm not sure I can squeeze another 5 blocks out of this skein! But we'll see. I'm excited as this will be my first official blanket for the new house! If I do 2 blocks a week I'll have it done before Christmas. I'll probably wind up doing more than that, though: I plan to bring my yarn to Oklahoma with me, and I expect to have plenty of down time to work on it.
Other than that, there's not much going on at the moment. I still haven't read the book I took out from the library, but I don't have to return it for another 3 weeks. I'll get around to it eventually. I've been a bit obsessive about Neopets lately, and that is taking up way more time than it should. I'm gonna have to cut back and actually get some real work done this week... but more on Neopets another time. I'm going to try and finish this 4th block before Caelyn gets home from her dad's.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Books
Ok, I know when I've been cowed. It's hard to admit it, because let's face it, who actually wants to be wrong, but there you have it. I spoke 'in the moment' out of irritation and was wrong. On some things. Ok, most. I do know the importance of being well informed, I just forget to do it sometimes when emotions are running high. (Is that like excusing behavior because of PMS? Naahhh...) Thank you to those who pointed me toward some very informative articles without accusing me of ignorance. I promise I'll do better at looking for them myself in the future before wanting to write something, and then I shall wisely choose not to.
On to other news. I'm gonna leave politics well enough alone and stick to what I DO know pretty well: my personal life. I was at the library yesterday and picked up a graphic novel.. comic book..?.. Called Runaways: Dead End Kids. It's Marvel. I think the X-Men are in it. It looked interesting. I'll report back when I'm done.
And, in rummaging through three huge boxes of books last week, I found one that I had been wanting to reread for a few years, The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector. I don't think I was able to truly appreciate it the first time I read it, due to it having to be read for class. (Doesn't school always ruin the best books?). And speaking of books to read for school, has anyone read Ethan Frome? The other English class when I was in high school read this one, but not mine. I can't remember what WE read... But I recently borrowed an audio CD of Ethan Frome and actually enjoyed it. I can totally see how high school kids would be bored by it, but 10 years removed, I appreciated it. Of course, I could just be weird, because I also enjoyed reading Silas Marner which most everyone else has indubitably hated. Or at least disliked.
I have also just read Catcher in the Rye. I had never read it before. I can now say I've read it, and I'll leave it at that, lol. It was... ok... Again, I can see how, when it was first published, it was such a sensation and such a crazy story. But reading it today in the present, it's not all that shocking. The poor kid just wasn't into the whole college thing. Another one I have never read is To Kill a Mockingbird. I have it on hold at the library, so when that comes back I'll be sure to say a few words on that one as well.
Anyone know of any other "school cannon" reading that they have found interesting (or not)? I feel like there is a reason these books are read in school, and if I haven't read them, I'd like to, and find out for myself why they are still considered "classics." And, I suppose in some cases, I'll never know. :D
On to other news. I'm gonna leave politics well enough alone and stick to what I DO know pretty well: my personal life. I was at the library yesterday and picked up a graphic novel.. comic book..?.. Called Runaways: Dead End Kids. It's Marvel. I think the X-Men are in it. It looked interesting. I'll report back when I'm done.
And, in rummaging through three huge boxes of books last week, I found one that I had been wanting to reread for a few years, The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector. I don't think I was able to truly appreciate it the first time I read it, due to it having to be read for class. (Doesn't school always ruin the best books?). And speaking of books to read for school, has anyone read Ethan Frome? The other English class when I was in high school read this one, but not mine. I can't remember what WE read... But I recently borrowed an audio CD of Ethan Frome and actually enjoyed it. I can totally see how high school kids would be bored by it, but 10 years removed, I appreciated it. Of course, I could just be weird, because I also enjoyed reading Silas Marner which most everyone else has indubitably hated. Or at least disliked.
I have also just read Catcher in the Rye. I had never read it before. I can now say I've read it, and I'll leave it at that, lol. It was... ok... Again, I can see how, when it was first published, it was such a sensation and such a crazy story. But reading it today in the present, it's not all that shocking. The poor kid just wasn't into the whole college thing. Another one I have never read is To Kill a Mockingbird. I have it on hold at the library, so when that comes back I'll be sure to say a few words on that one as well.
Anyone know of any other "school cannon" reading that they have found interesting (or not)? I feel like there is a reason these books are read in school, and if I haven't read them, I'd like to, and find out for myself why they are still considered "classics." And, I suppose in some cases, I'll never know. :D
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