I give up. I got close. Actually, the only genre I have left for the Monopoly Challenge is Chick Lit. I might still get there before the year ends. But there are too many books I want to read for me to make room for books I don't want to read. And I just can't bring myself to care about a book I know that I'll disagree with (September's challenge). So I'm done. It was interesting while it lasted.
At least I hit my Goodreads goal of 52 books this year. I wonder how many I'll eventually end up reading (with TV back and the holidays coming up, my dedicated reading time is probably about to shrink).
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
Work Hard, Play Harder
Like the rest of summer, the last couple of weekends have been filled to the brim. Over Labor Day weekend, we had Zach and Sarah over for games. We finally got to play Settlers of America, a mash up between Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride, sort of. I bought it for Kevin years ago. But it really only works with four people, and it takes hours to play. It was a good game, if a little long.
On Sunday we went up to Baltimore for a baseball game. Except we went early to eat burgers, drink beer, and watch a soccer game. The baseball game was long. And hot. It's been four years since the last baseball game I went to, and it will probably be another four before Kevin manages to drag me to another one. I just don't understand anything about that sport or why it appeals to people. Though I've been told that the games have gotten significantly longer in recent years. Given that, I wonder if they'll eventually start playing fewer innings, to get the length back down.
Labor Day itself was spent on the couch watching TV while I tried to finally kick a cold I've had for way too long. The cough is still lingering, something like three weeks after I first got sick. It wouldn't be so bad, except that Kevin managed to get over this damn thing in about three days.
Last weekend was filled with the Renaissance Festival and football. We all trooped out to Maryland to enjoy mead and cider and turkey legs. I bought a game I've been coveting since the last Renaissance Festival called Octiles. It's a variation on Chinese Checkers in which the path across the board is constantly changing. We also saw a short adaptation of Henry the V but Shakespeare's Skrum, which was a lot of fun.
Football was something of a mixed bag. Zach, Connor, and Kevin's mom all came over for the Redskins game, which was disappointing. They never quite seem to get their act together, and if they do it all, ultimately, falls apart. It didn't help that all of the scoring happened in roughly 3 minutes of gameplay, which resulted in a game that was both frustrating and a little boring.
But then I made nachos, which I've been looking forward to for weeks, and we watched the Niners game. The nachos were delicious, and the Niners are a much better and more exciting team than Washington. They scored in the first minute of the game and proceeded to walk all over the Cowboys.
This weekend promises yet more football (I love Fall), and some downtime. Which is good. I really need to clean out my office. It looks clean, but there's so much filing to be done. Not to mention that my bookcases are, once again, overflowing and could stand to be reorganized. I'll spare you the pictures this time.
On Sunday we went up to Baltimore for a baseball game. Except we went early to eat burgers, drink beer, and watch a soccer game. The baseball game was long. And hot. It's been four years since the last baseball game I went to, and it will probably be another four before Kevin manages to drag me to another one. I just don't understand anything about that sport or why it appeals to people. Though I've been told that the games have gotten significantly longer in recent years. Given that, I wonder if they'll eventually start playing fewer innings, to get the length back down.
Labor Day itself was spent on the couch watching TV while I tried to finally kick a cold I've had for way too long. The cough is still lingering, something like three weeks after I first got sick. It wouldn't be so bad, except that Kevin managed to get over this damn thing in about three days.
Last weekend was filled with the Renaissance Festival and football. We all trooped out to Maryland to enjoy mead and cider and turkey legs. I bought a game I've been coveting since the last Renaissance Festival called Octiles. It's a variation on Chinese Checkers in which the path across the board is constantly changing. We also saw a short adaptation of Henry the V but Shakespeare's Skrum, which was a lot of fun.
Football was something of a mixed bag. Zach, Connor, and Kevin's mom all came over for the Redskins game, which was disappointing. They never quite seem to get their act together, and if they do it all, ultimately, falls apart. It didn't help that all of the scoring happened in roughly 3 minutes of gameplay, which resulted in a game that was both frustrating and a little boring.
But then I made nachos, which I've been looking forward to for weeks, and we watched the Niners game. The nachos were delicious, and the Niners are a much better and more exciting team than Washington. They scored in the first minute of the game and proceeded to walk all over the Cowboys.
This weekend promises yet more football (I love Fall), and some downtime. Which is good. I really need to clean out my office. It looks clean, but there's so much filing to be done. Not to mention that my bookcases are, once again, overflowing and could stand to be reorganized. I'll spare you the pictures this time.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Hey Big Spender
We got a couple of big ticket items during the Labor Day sales, and I'm super excited about both of them.
First up is our new bed. We splurged on a Sleep Number mattress (that was still expensive at 50% off). I've wanted one for ages, and I've been bugging Kevin to upgrade our mattress basically since I moved in with him. I had a glorious pillow-top back in Colorado that I bought while hungover on New Year's Day. But it didn't make financial sense to bring it out to Virginia with me. So it moved to my mom's guest room, and I've been sleeping on an Ikea foam mattress that Kevin loved for it's firmness and I hated for the same reason.
But he finally agreed to buy a new mattress, so we went to the Sleep Number store. We'd also looked at some Tempurpedics, which were wonderful but even more expensive than the Sleep Numbers. We found ourselves torn between a foam-top and a pillow-top, and the price difference ended up making the difference for us.
When it was first delivered, it was a little ridiculous. The delivery men placed both foundation and mattress on top of the slats that our Ikea mattress had laid on, which meant we were sleeping nearly three and a half feet above the ground. But over the weekend we fixed it, and the mattress is now at a much more reasonable height (and Kina can get in bed with us again). I'm so, so, so happy with the new mattress. It's like sleeping on a cloud.
We also bought a new oven. I've been wanting one for a while, and it became more important when the big, front burner on our old oven started turning off at random. It's hard to cook when the heat suddenly disappears. I knew I wanted a flat top oven (we're not hooked up for gas and drip pans are the hardest thing in the world to clean) and Kevin did most of the research to find one.
The oven arrived earlier this week, and I'm super happy about it. It's so much easier to keep clean. I can just wipe it down instead of disassembling it to get at the mess. And all of the burners work, which makes me happy. The only thing is that I'm going to have to relearn how long it takes to cook things. Boiling a pot of water for pasta last night took forever, much longer than it's ever taken me to boil a pot of water before. It's probably because of the glass top between the pot and the heating element. But I will eventually get used to it, and then everything will be wonderful again.
First up is our new bed. We splurged on a Sleep Number mattress (that was still expensive at 50% off). I've wanted one for ages, and I've been bugging Kevin to upgrade our mattress basically since I moved in with him. I had a glorious pillow-top back in Colorado that I bought while hungover on New Year's Day. But it didn't make financial sense to bring it out to Virginia with me. So it moved to my mom's guest room, and I've been sleeping on an Ikea foam mattress that Kevin loved for it's firmness and I hated for the same reason.
But he finally agreed to buy a new mattress, so we went to the Sleep Number store. We'd also looked at some Tempurpedics, which were wonderful but even more expensive than the Sleep Numbers. We found ourselves torn between a foam-top and a pillow-top, and the price difference ended up making the difference for us.
When it was first delivered, it was a little ridiculous. The delivery men placed both foundation and mattress on top of the slats that our Ikea mattress had laid on, which meant we were sleeping nearly three and a half feet above the ground. But over the weekend we fixed it, and the mattress is now at a much more reasonable height (and Kina can get in bed with us again). I'm so, so, so happy with the new mattress. It's like sleeping on a cloud.
We also bought a new oven. I've been wanting one for a while, and it became more important when the big, front burner on our old oven started turning off at random. It's hard to cook when the heat suddenly disappears. I knew I wanted a flat top oven (we're not hooked up for gas and drip pans are the hardest thing in the world to clean) and Kevin did most of the research to find one.
The oven arrived earlier this week, and I'm super happy about it. It's so much easier to keep clean. I can just wipe it down instead of disassembling it to get at the mess. And all of the burners work, which makes me happy. The only thing is that I'm going to have to relearn how long it takes to cook things. Boiling a pot of water for pasta last night took forever, much longer than it's ever taken me to boil a pot of water before. It's probably because of the glass top between the pot and the heating element. But I will eventually get used to it, and then everything will be wonderful again.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Feeling Strong
I'm gaining weight again. Which is maybe something I'm just going to have to learn to live with. This time around I'm fairly sure it's muscle, though. So there's that at least. Really I should just stop getting on the scale at all. Except that I really thought I was doing well, and that I'd finally see that damn number go down instead of up.
Aside from that number (which I really ought to just ignore) things are going well. I'm definitely getting stronger across the board. I can do 60-70 pounds on the lat pull down and row. I'm up to 15 pounds on the Arnold Press and 30 pounds on the dead lift. I've added weight to my step ups and feel completely stable doing them now. My trainer noted that, while I still have balance issues on the single-leg dead lift, my knee doesn't wobble at all. When she pushed me to fatigue on various exercises, I was able to do 20 pushups, and then another 15.
All in all I feel stable and strong when I'm lifting now. It's hard to figure out how this relates back to the ways my body is changing. My stomach feels and looks larger, but it's always been the last part of me to show change. The shorts I bought at the beginning of the summer feel loose. So I think I'm heading in the direction I want to be heading.
If I can just remember to stay off the scale, everything should be great moving forward. Despite the weight gain, I'm pretty sure I'm healthier than I've ever been. I'm certainly more active than I've been since high school. And I'm eating way more veggies and less junk than I was back then. I am getting results, as slow as the process has been, and it's making me feel good about myself.
Aside from that number (which I really ought to just ignore) things are going well. I'm definitely getting stronger across the board. I can do 60-70 pounds on the lat pull down and row. I'm up to 15 pounds on the Arnold Press and 30 pounds on the dead lift. I've added weight to my step ups and feel completely stable doing them now. My trainer noted that, while I still have balance issues on the single-leg dead lift, my knee doesn't wobble at all. When she pushed me to fatigue on various exercises, I was able to do 20 pushups, and then another 15.
All in all I feel stable and strong when I'm lifting now. It's hard to figure out how this relates back to the ways my body is changing. My stomach feels and looks larger, but it's always been the last part of me to show change. The shorts I bought at the beginning of the summer feel loose. So I think I'm heading in the direction I want to be heading.
If I can just remember to stay off the scale, everything should be great moving forward. Despite the weight gain, I'm pretty sure I'm healthier than I've ever been. I'm certainly more active than I've been since high school. And I'm eating way more veggies and less junk than I was back then. I am getting results, as slow as the process has been, and it's making me feel good about myself.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Autumn is (Almost) Here
I realize this is a bit premature. We just had the hottest week of the entire summer. The equinox is still a few weeks away. In fact, summer wasn't even that bad this year. It was fairly mild and gorgeous with an abundance of perfect weekends, so it's not like I'm even that anxious for it to be over. But I can't help but be excited for the signs that point towards Fall's imminent arrival.
A few days ago, Kina jumped up on the couch to cuddle with us, something she never does in the summer time. She doesn't start cuddling with us until the weather cools down. Which means that her desire to hop into bed with us points to cooler weather coming our way. And walking her the other night, I passed a tree that had started to drop it's leaves everywhere.
Football started, which means that it's time for the Sundays spent on the couch drinking beer. Not to mention all the food I associate with cooler weather: nachos, stews, and casseroles. I may have jumped the gun on this a bit, with a delicious casserole last weekend (cinnamon + rosemary + cranberries = perfection). But soon that food will be part of the regular rotation again. And I think I want to learn how to cook a chicken pot pie this year. Or maybe a Shepherd's pie. Something warm and hearty with a flaky crust.
On top of this, the forecast has temperatures in the 70s and grey skies for the foreseeable future. It's time to fling open the windows, switch over to my Van Morrison/Tom Waits Pandora station, find some sweaters and tights and enjoy the cooler weather. I'm so happy.
A few days ago, Kina jumped up on the couch to cuddle with us, something she never does in the summer time. She doesn't start cuddling with us until the weather cools down. Which means that her desire to hop into bed with us points to cooler weather coming our way. And walking her the other night, I passed a tree that had started to drop it's leaves everywhere.
Football started, which means that it's time for the Sundays spent on the couch drinking beer. Not to mention all the food I associate with cooler weather: nachos, stews, and casseroles. I may have jumped the gun on this a bit, with a delicious casserole last weekend (cinnamon + rosemary + cranberries = perfection). But soon that food will be part of the regular rotation again. And I think I want to learn how to cook a chicken pot pie this year. Or maybe a Shepherd's pie. Something warm and hearty with a flaky crust.
On top of this, the forecast has temperatures in the 70s and grey skies for the foreseeable future. It's time to fling open the windows, switch over to my Van Morrison/Tom Waits Pandora station, find some sweaters and tights and enjoy the cooler weather. I'm so happy.
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