I've been whatted?

Apparently, I have been tagged. I am not sure what this means, but I think it means I'm supposed to answer some questions about myself or something. I'm not sure what they're supposed to be "about," and some of my things are the same as Sara's, but oh well. Here goes nothing...

Eight Things You Might Or Might Not Know About Me:

1. I really like to learn new things, but I don't have a very good memory.
   
2. I used to be a ballerina.
3. I like the way asphalt smells after it rains.
4. I am a little bit of a freak about organization, and I watch HGTV a lot. A lot, a lot.
5. I love watching Law and Order: SVU, but can only watch it if The Boy is with me...and is sleeping over.
6. I love a good girls' night in.
7. I am a stickler for grammar and spelling. No, really. I will silently judge you.
8. I really like making lists, and I am one of those people who will put something on a To Do list that I've already done, just so I can cross it off.

So, there you go. My little list of 8 things. Serves me right, getting tagged, as I haven't blogged in several days. Anyway, I tag...Shonelle! If you don't read her blog, you should. She is hilarious and lovely.

TiVo: ACTIVATED!!!

Ok, so I am officially awesome. I hooked up my TiVo ALL BY MYSELF (with the help of a few customer service representatives). It took a grand total of...well, let's say it was less than 3 hours (but not by much), and involved me moving my ~400 pound TV away from the wall to plug in some cables. For those of you that know me, you know that I am not exaggerating when I say I am a bit challenged in the figuring-out-technology department. So this is a major accomplishment for me. I didn't cry, and I didn't give up. It's the start of a new era, I think.

For some reason, most of my channels below 35 are in duplicate, sort of. For example, I have two channel 33's listed in the guide, but only one of them is right. I don't get it. Oh well.

Things I didn't know I could do with TiVo, that I think are way awesome:

• Use my TiVo remote to turn my TV on and off, as well as to switch the TV input (to switch to the VCR/DVD player, for example). I used to have to use 3 remotes: one for the Comcast cable box, one to switch the TV input, and one to use the VCR/DVD player. Now I only need two: one for the VCR/DVD player and one for everything else. Yeah, it's only 2 instead of 3, but that one less makes a difference. Especially since I can now just put the DVD/VCR one in the TV cabinet until I'm ready to use it. I like simplifying my life. One remote at a time.
• Order movie tickets! I haven't figured it out yet, but apparently I can order movie tickets from my TiVo. I mean, I could just order from my computer, or buy at the theatre, but it's still cool.
• I can access my iTunes and iPhoto libraries! So, for example, I can have a slideshow from my iPhoto library playing On. My. TV. Wirelessly. What??? I'm so hi-tech I don't know what to do with myself. I can just imagine having a group of friends over and playing a slideshow of photos from other times we've hung out. Rather than dragging my computer out into the living room and opening up iTunes (which sometimes takes a while), I can just open the photos up on TiVo. Easy Peasy.
• Rent (buy?) movies from some sort of Amazon.com-related service. Kind of like on-demand, I think, but with more options. I don't know yet about pricing and how you actually do it, but I can't imagine it's too difficult, and I'll figure it out soon.
  

And those are just a few things I've learned in the last hour or so. I'm sure there will be more to come -- I'm already loving it.

I'm Awake, Are You?

The first ever monthly Craft Night was tonight, and it was a success. There were only four of us, but it was really fun, and I can't wait to plan next month's.

But there are more pressing issues.

Such as:
Have you ever felt as tired at 1:39am as you did earlier, at 1:39pm? This is how I feel right now. A combination of too-tired and mildly-awake, I'm thinking about how I can't wait to (attempt to) install my TiVo tomorrow, all by my Big-Girl Self. Even though it means going to buy a Wireless Adapter because I didn't realize I needed one...and despite my past practices, I'll probably end up just buying the TiVo brand one, because even though it might cost a little more (I'm just guessing) I am not what you would call "technology-gifted." And from the reviews I've read, the TiVo brand adapter pretty much sets itself up (as opposed to the other brands, with which you would have to think about codes and WEPs and compatibility and crap), which to me is just the kind of magic/technology I am looking for. And let's be honest: one of the perks of having a decently-paying full-time job is being able to spend an extra $20 or so and avoid a huge headache.

I will probably still end up taking 3 times as long as I should to set it up, and it may involve referencing manuals and websites until I'm almost in tears, and then calling the very nice engineer on my team who tried to prep me on the "it's really not too hard, I promise" setting-up of the TiVo today at work, Taylor (who is always my technical savior), or even the TiVo help line.

At this point, I can't decide whether I should crawl into bed or wash the giant pile of dirty dishes that's sitting in the sink (and, um, on the counter. This is unheard of for me. I'm not kidding). Anal-Retentive-Organizer-Kim says, "Just take care of the dishes. You'll sleep better knowing they're not waiting for you in the kitchen when you wake up." Sleepy-Time-Half-Hallucinating-Kim says, "Get your damn self in bed. And tomorrow, get a pedicure."

Just a little listing...and linking...

This video about the creationist museum is definitely worth watching. I've read and posted about this museum before, but this video really shows it off I guess. Mildly disturbing? That's an understatement.

Jon Carroll wrote about an episode of 30 Rock that I actually saw. I really like the show, I just always forget when it's going to be on...definitely something that'll be TiVo'd when my TiVo arrives. This particular part of this particular episode was particularly funny. And I totally agree with Jon Carroll about life-as-a-musical. 100%.

Mark Morford, hippie-nut that he is, wrote a semi-funny article about Tom Cruise. I mostly like it for introducing me to the term "Tom Cruise crazy." Read the article to find out what it is. If you can't guess already.

I, too, was surprised that I know of and have read most of these bloggie blogs.

A new blog I've been reading talked about a fun project that I might adopt for one night of my new monthly craft night...

Emily linked to this article about Obama's 26 year old speech writer. What's with all these uber-successful 20-somethings??


What I am eating for lunch today (because I inadvertently skipped dinner last night and all I had for breakfast was string cheese and a cookie): salad (spinach, cucumber, bean sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, garbanzo beans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, broccoli, mushrooms, dried cranberries, green beans, red and yellow bell baby bell pepper, sprinkling of parmesean cheese, and a mix of balsamic and honey mustard dressing), one small scoop of pasta salad (it's a "yellow item" at work, but oh so good...), one small scoop of tuna salad (tuna is good for you, right?). I also grabbed a banana and two mandarin oranges, which I may be too full to eat -- good snack for later (in addition to the white cheddar soy crisps I also grabbed). I also grabbed a few samples of the desserts (chocolate/cream cheese cupcakes, triple chip cookies, and a raspberry financier, whatever that is), because it all looked so good!!! I have food on the brain (and in the tummy)!

I will be eating a small and healthy dinner tonight. :-)

We're Number 1! (and more...)

Google has once again been voted Fortune Magazine's #1 company to work for! Check out the link for more info and some fun little inside-the-company interviews and such.

And speaking of work, this picture cracks me up big time.

My work-buddy Balen sent me this video and this video. They, too, crack me up big time.

I can't believe I actually get the jokes in this video. I feel so tech-savvy. I think I've already posted about it, but oh well. It's worth posting twice.

Enjoy, and Happy Tuesday!

Sara in People Magazine? WHAT?

Shonelle just told me that Sara is in the latest issue of People Magazine. Wicked. She also has a video on the People Magazine website...pretty cool. I'm going to have to go buy People. It's the issue with Matthew McConaughey on the cover. Crazy cool.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Whoever writes the incidental music for this show is a genius. Seriously. I mean, I'm a sap to begin with, and I would probably cry watching it on mute, but honestly, I probably cry every 90 seconds when I watch an episode of this show. Incidental music is supposed to manipulate your emotions, and man, this composer takes the cake.

My favorite memory of this show is watching it at the Oakland Airport while waiting for an 8:00 flight on a Sunday night. There were a bunch of other people watching it in the waiting area, and we were all looking up at the plasma screens with glassy, teary eyes and that "I'm about to cry" lip quivery look on our faces. I knew not ALL of these people could be as intrinsically sappy by nature as I, so I lay all credit/blame upon the incidental music composers: Randy Guess, Eric Allaman, Rob Cairns, Brad Chiet, and Anthony Echegoyen (via imdb).

Funny story about this show...to the best of my knowledge, it originally started off as a spin-off from Extreme Makeover, a makeover show like any other, except the makeover included plastic surgery, lasik eye surgery, etc. Kind of sick. I previously had my facts mixed up and combined Extreme Makeover with The Swan, which was even sicker. The Swan (a FOX production, naturally) is just like Extreme Makeover, except once the women get a plastic surgery makeover, they THEN compete in a beauty pageant. I cannot even go into how twisted and awful that is. "Sorry, lady. Even after complete re-constructive plastic surgery, you're STILL not pretty enough!" Gross. Thank god neither of these shows is on the air anymore.

Anyway, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (commonly referred to as Extreme Home Makeover, which is really what it should be called) is a welcome departure from the original show. I think. It's a good concept, though I've heard that the homes' quality aren't that great (when you build a mansion in a week, what do you expect though, I guess). I don't know. Superficially, anyway, it seems like a good thing. And the music and these families' stories make me cry. And that is all.

Gotta Watch This

This video is awesome. The Internet Party: What Happens When Google's Parents Leave Town For the Weekend.

Check it out. Please.

I was very productive this weekend with the hanging things up on the walls. Pictures to follow sometime soon.

I am really liking this three-day-weekend of reorganizing, hanging apartment decorations, and just sort of generally cleaning up around here. Sometimes it's just really nice to get settled. Plus, I get to see some family and friends, which is always a plus.

Relaxation. It's good.

I just bought TiVo.

I have been wanting to buy it for a LONG time (months, at least since, like, summer). I can think of 3 instances in the last week (just off the top of my head, without even thinking about it) when I've wanted to use the TiVo I don't have. And tonight, around midnight, I realized I have enough money to pay for it. So I bought it. Also, because I bought it during the holiday rebate season, I'm getting $150 back. The whole thing (1-year pre-paid subscription included) will have cost me under $100 once I get the rebate. I have a feeling it will be SO worth it.

Macworld Wrapup of Sorts

Earlier this week, I was lucky enough to spend the day working at the Google booth at Macworld, and boy howdy, was it an event. At one point, I took my lunch/snack break, and thought it might be fun to wander around the hall to look at the other companies' booths. My god. I haven't felt that overwhelmed and unenthusiastic in a long time. Mostly, I think it was because of the teeming mobs of people, shuffling around somewhat aimlessly (as was I), because man, there were a lot of people and I don't like crowds. Also, I think it had something to do with the fact that I didn't know anything about most of the products. I don't need a designer laptop case, or a rubbery holster for my blackberry. I don't want to buy software I don't understand, though much of it was shiny and pretty. I did eat a fortune cookie that told me something along the lines of "your personality shines the brightest on the showroom floor," though I have no idea what company was handing them out or what they had to do with fortune cookies. Probably nothing.

Anyway, I did have a great time working the schwag counter at the booth. It brought back fond memories of working box office windows, concession stands, bars and merch tables for so many years. I do enjoy the customer service aspect of these jobs -- interacting with people like this is something I think I'm good at and don't get to do all that much. I think it would be really tiring to do it all day, every day, but every once in a while, I do enjoy it. And hey, I got my backside photographed and published online in an article on CNET (Thanks Josh!). I do love his comment about how we were the most popular booth (aside from Apple's, I assume) even though we weren't showcasing any new products (though we did just announce our 2008 Google.org philanthropic efforts). Also, The MacBook Air. Too cool. I mean, come on. It fits in an interoffice envelope. Awesome. I'm not sure how I feel about the iTunes movie rental thing. I don't like watching movies on my laptop if I can help it, and I'm sure not buying an Apple TV thingy. Josh wrote another article about how Apple is possibly trying to get rid of traditional media, and how there is the potential that someday we will rent movies and TV shows (and purchase software?) on our iTunes, watch them on our iTV or iPod and never hold a CD or DVD in our hands again. I don't like that; mostly because, as many of you know, I am not so good with the technologies. Yes, I know I work at Google. But I think there's something to be said for holding a physical THING in your hands. Not that I buy too many CDs these days--truth be told, I tend to buy one or two songs from iTunes and put 'em on my iPod. But I DO burn CDs for road trips and such...which I couldn't do with the MacBook Air, I don't think. I don't think that thing has a CD drive. Maybe it just doesn't have a DVD drive. I don't remember, and I don't care enough to look it up. I think that says something about my feelings towards the technologies, no?

And just one final tidbit...I have less than zero intentions of seeing this movie, but I love this review of Cloverfield. It's the kind of review I love to write. Snarky and sort of mean, but with lots of references that show that I kind of know what I'm talking about. It's my guilty pleasure.

Sara's On Leno! And More!

So, I often get all giddy and excited when I hear good things about Sara and her successes. You would think that I'd be used to it by now, but no. I get super excited and gushy and feel like I want to tell the world how proud I am of this rockin' babe. Cause I am. So, here I am, blogging to the world. I feel like her mom or something -- sorry, Bonnie (hi, Bonnie!) (Bonnie definitely does not read my blog).

Anyway, Sara is going to be on Leno tonight. I don't know if I'll be able to stay up to watch it, but I just found out you can watch full episodes online, so maybe I'll just watch it tomorrow on the way to work.

And also, I just opened iTunes and noticed the following great things. Just had to share screenshots...too cool.

And one final note: I was at Best Buy in December, and there was Sara's CD, with a big ole "Best Buy Recommends: Sara Bareilles Little Voice" sign on it. I took pictures. See below:

Barenaked Ladies, Sara Bareilles...you know

VH1 You Oughta Know Artist!

And yes, I am aware that I am a huge nerd. Love ya, Sara.

JUNO: Michael and Ellen Sing About Jason Reitman

This made me really, really, REALLY happy. It makes me miss the days when I used to improv songs with my friends. I want to do that more. Even though those friends live 400 miles away. Improvising songs is one of the funnest things you can do with your time, I think.

A List...What Else?

So, today I happened upon, or was linked to, several interesting things. I'd like to share them. And y'all know me, a list is my favorite way to do this (yes, I know sometimes I do it in paragraphs, but um, it's still a list of paragraphs. I'm so adventurous).

1. This video, a selection from a new documentary called Before The Music Dies. I definitely want to pay the $2.99 to see the whole thing!
2. This article from the NY Times today...it would be funny if it weren't real. Most of the time while reading this, I found myself sighing and shaking my head. It's so frustrating. What am I talking about? Bling in the Middle East, and Bush's experience with it.
3. This stuff might be the solution to my sort of grimy looking kitchen floor. See post on AT for details.
   
4. This is cool, even though I don't totally understand it. Now you can make your own iGoogle theme. It says that if you can build a website, you can do this. Well, I can't really build a website...but a lot of people out there can! And where did the term "Easter Egg" come from, anyway?
   
5. This poem is really nice. My friend Nick posted it on his blog, at the website for his company, which you should totally check out if you have any interest in digitizing your non-digital photos/home videos (of any format!). It's really great. Yes, a friend of mine started a company.
   

So...check 'em out!

Reasons I Don't Want To Watch "10 Items or Less"

1. "The show given an A- by Entertainment Weekly" - Why would I want to watch a show that was given an A- by Entertainment Weekly?
   
2. "A more spazzy, fast-paced version of The Office" - More spazzy? Really? And, um, I like the fact that The Office is not "fast-paced." That's kind of what makes it brilliant.
   
3. "The show that is so big it will leave you breathless" - This doesn't even make sense.

These quotes are from the actual commercial advertisements for the show 10 Items or Less which follows the reruns of The Office on TBS. I do not plan on watching it. No thank you.

I can't stop laughing.

Maybe I'm a little giddy because I've been staring at a computer doing expense reports for the last 6 hours (numbers make my brain hurt), but I cannot stop laughing at this.

Please do yourself a favor, especially if you're having a bad-brain day, and go to this website. Thank you, Sara. Thank you so, so, so, so much.

Meet Me At Macworld...and more!

I was recruited (oh, ok, I volunteered) to work at the Google Schwag booth at Macworld next week. I've always thought Macworld sounded kind of ridiculous and fun, and I'm really excited to get to go. I won't get to hear the keynote or anything (you actually have to PAY to hear that), but whatever. It'll be up on YouTube soon after the event anyway. And let's be honest, I probably won't understand what half of the jargon is anyway...I'm not THAT big of a MacNerd. More like a MacLover. I digress.

Google has posted its Official Announcement about our being there, and you should really come by and check it out if you can. You can still get free admission (reminder: free doesn't get you into the keynote) and other kinds of admission (which come with cool perks) by going to this website. I will be working ALL DAY on Tuesday the 15th, so come on by and say hi! We'll have lots of cool schwag I'm sure, but we might make you earn it!

In other news, I think wall stickers are the stupidest invention ever. I mean, they're just dumb. [note: I have always had a weird OCD dislike of stickers, which may or may not affect my viewpoint of this particular style of home decor. I'm just saying is all.] I mean, come on. A giant sticker? For your WALL? It sounds to me like it would look really cheesy, and every time I see one I want to vomit (Really??? A fingerprint?? On your wall?? REALLY???! Who honestly thinks that is a good idea?). They make me sick. They're so dumb and hipster-looking, and I really just don't understand how this became trendy. Though I guess the fact that it's trendy means it's bound to be idiotic, right? And that's my honest-to-goodness opinion. Truly.

Want to see something that WON'T make you hurl? Check out these old-school ads, sent to me by the incomparable Erin (sent to her by a boy named Jon). They won't fill you with disgust, unless really funny (funny uh-oh AND funny ha-ha) things make you sick. Ok, so they're a little disturbing...but in that "oh, those people in the 1950's. what were they thinking?" sort of way. Which I happen to love.

And a Happy Thursday to you!

Lists and Links

Call me a nut for all things homemakery, but here are a couple things I'd like to share:

Lifehacker's Top 10 Food and Drink Hacks. Things like how to close a bag of chips without a chip clip. Now what am I going to do with my collection??

Tile Tattoos. I think they might make my kitchen look too cluttered (very small, not a lot of counter/backsplash space), but they are so rad! On some cheap tile, they would even make pretty coasters.


And on a non-housey note:

Jon Carroll wrote a funny article about liberal vs. conservative media support. Made me laugh. A lot.

Mark Morford's Top 12 Top 10 lists of 2007. I really like it a lot, otherwise I wouldn't be posting it. Duh. But it's actually a really interesting list.

And Giselle Bundchen (a really hot model, apparently) posing in a water-dress. Yes, a dress made of water. I don't know how they took this photo, my guess is a lot of photoshop, but it's really cool no matter how it's done. Another picture, different pose, different "dress," same level of hotness here. And because I know you're as fascinated as I am, here's the page of Google Image Search results.

Enjoy, and Happy Wednesday!

Impossible is the Opposite of Possible

Too many brilliant quotes to quote. Thanks to Sara for sharing this with her blog, and thus with me.

Lasagna For A Week, part 2

Ok, so the lasagna is delicious. Absolutely delicious. I served it on a bed of spinach, just for a little extra-healthiness. I was a little nervous about the bread, because it looked like the cheesy garlicky part was just in the center, but it turns out to be delightfully garlicky all the way through. Yum! Photos below:

the lasagna in all its glory

the bread

the place setting

the lasagna with my piece cut out of it, for proportion

I think I'm going to go have another piece, with another little piece of bread. Mmmm.

Lasagna For A Week

I purchased a crock pot over the weekend, I hope to start making large batches of soup/chili on Sunday nights to turn on Monday mornings, so when I get home from work I'll have a nice, warm dinner waiting for me. I want to make large batches so I can freeze the leftovers (unless I want to eat it that same week).

This post doesn't have anything to do with the crock pot though.

I am writing this while I wait for my giant batch of "lasagna" to bake, and I thought I'd share my recipe. I sort of made it up as I went along, using recipes for various lasagnas to estimate baking time/temp. So...here ya go:

Kim's Healthy Lasagna

• 1 pkg (mine was 1.25 lbs) ground turkey (I chose 99% fat free ground turkey from Trader Joe's, but you can really use whatever ground meat you like best. Ground sirloin is mighty tasty)
  
• 1 jar marinara sauce (whatever you have on hand; I used two 1/2 empty jars of Classico, different "flavors" but it doesn't matter at all)
• 4 zucchini, sliced thin
  
• various spices, I'll list as I go
• lots of cheese; I used shredded mozzarella, jack and cheddar, with some grated parmesan just for good measure.
• 1/2 spaghetti squash (I had 1/2 leftover from some I made the other night)
• spinach, if desired
  

Cook spaghetti squash: if you have 1/2, you've already sliced it lengthwise. If you only have a whole squash, you can certainly use all of it -- I kinda wished I had more to go around, actually. Anyway, take your 1/2 squash, and put it in a microwave-safe dish with a bit (1/4 cup-ish) of water. Cover it with saran wrap and microwave for approx. 10 minutes. Let it stand and cool for about 5 minutes or so before you scrape a fork along the inside to separate it into spaghetti-like strands. The scraping is my favorite part; I still think it's pretty rad.

While squash is cooking: start on your meat. Empty the package into a pan that is big enough to hold the meat. It cooks faster/better if you sort of mash/crumble it as you go. Otherwise, you have to spend some time crumbling it up with a spatula while it's cooking. Which is totally fine, and I always end up doing that anyway. Season the meat with whatever spices you have on hand. I used oregano, lemon pepper, chili powder, paprika, and some steak/chop grill seasoning. I like to add the grill seasoning to my meat sauces because it gives things a little bit of a smoky meaty flavor. Let the meat do its thing in the pan until it's cooked -- it won't be pink/red anymore; you'll be able to tell. Every once in a while, stir it around and use up a spatula to break up the bits that have clumped together.

While meat is cooking: make the sauce. Pour whatever sauce you have into a pot that is big enough to hold sauce and meat (the sauce alone should fill the pot about halfway, I've found). I added some frozen basil cubes (I love Trader Joe's) and a little dash of the grill seasoning, just for fun. Once the meat is done and the sauce is warm, add the meat to the sauce.

You can slice the zucchini while the sauce/meat is heating/cooking up; I forgot to mention that.

By this time, the squash should be done. The meaty sauce should be done. The zucchini should be sliced. Tonight, that all happened wonderfully at the same time, but I think it always happens like that. And I think that's because the meat/sauce/slicing stuff takes about 15 minutes. Magic.

Get out your big ole lasagna pan (any baking dish will do; I have a deep-ish 13x9" pan, but I've also made smaller batches in square pans). Layer like so: light layer of sauce; squash; zucchini; cheese; sauce; squash; zucchini; cheese; more cheese. I love a thick-crispy-gooey layer of cheese on top of my lasagna. Mmmmm.

Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes at approx 350 degrees. I think. I'm waiting for it to come out of the oven now. I will post a follow-up with details on how it came out. Perhaps I will take pictures.

Enjoy!

update: my apartment smells amazing, and I just stuck a loaf of TJ's Organic White Cheddar Roasted Garlic Filone (fancy word for bread?) in with it for the next few minutes. Heating up bread (baguette, batard, ciabatta, filone, whatever) for about 5 minutes in the oven really makes a difference. The crust gets crusty and the inside is warm and squishy. It really makes it all bread-wonderful.

I Want A Pet: Pros and Cons

I have been thinking lately that I want a pet. Why? Probably because it's winter, which is basically cuddle-time, and also because my neighbors have a new puppy and I saw my friend's new puppy, and my old roommate's new kitty...and they're just so darn cute I want one of my own! However, I do not think I will be getting one soon.

Cons:

• cleaning a litter box/picking up poop
• cost of pet food
• cost and time commitment of going to the vet
• a cat would probably get bored in my small apartment, and I wouldn't want it to go outside (too many busy streets)
• a dog would have to be walked a few times a day, and also would get bored all day in my apt (I can't bring it to work every day)
  
• finding pet-sitters
• cat/dog hair all over everything

Pros:

• really cute and cuddly

So...yeah. I won't be getting a pet any time soon. But it's nice to think about, and someday, when I have reached a point in my life when I'm not annoyed that I have to deal with making sure my plants get sunlight and water, I'll look more seriously into getting a pet. For now, I'll just visit my friends and neighbors to get my fill of cute and cuddly creatures.

Resolution-y

I went to the gym this afternoon. It felt good, though I could definitely tell that it's been too long. I took a shower afterwards, and I am feeling more awake and more ready to have a good evening than I have in a while.

Here's what I think:

• exercise releases endorphins which make you happy. this is a known fact. i think.
• showering makes you feel good. makes me feel good, at least.
• going to the gym/showering from 3:30-5pm is the perfect way to break up my afternoon.
• showering at work means I don't "have" to shower at home, which is good when I have a list of things I want to accomplish in the 4 hours between getting home and going to sleep!
  

Now I will go home, and I WILL organize/clean out my hutch (on my to-do-list for yesterday, but I was taking care of The Boy, who was feeling sick...excuses, excuses)!!!

"Without the MacGuffin, I will not go near this thing."

It is articles like this that make me want to subscribe to Vanity Fair. But then I remember all the advertisements, and the wasted paper, and that I receive too much paper in the mail anyway...and I realize I can just read it online. Does my not paying for a subscription hurt the magazine? I don't think so, or they wouldn't have it available for free online. And I can just ignore the ads online...shhhh.

New Year's Resolutions, Short and Sweet.

I am going to try to make this short and sweet for a few reasons, mainly because I am a list-fanatic and will end up with a list of 150 resolutions if I don't. So, here we go...

1. Eat less, exercise more. I think that's pretty self-explanatory, but I'd like to exercise more frequently than my usual maybe-once-a-week-if-I'm-lucky. Like everyone this time of year, I'm wishing I was more toned and less flabby in certain areas, but I'd also like to just feel healthier in general. I eat pretty well, but I sometimes forget that just because food is healthy doesn't mean you should eat 10 servings. I hear exercising also gives you more energy, and that's always a good thing too. Overall, I think I will be a healthier, happier person (not that I'm not happy) if I can just suck it up and go to the gym. Goal: 30-45 minutes, 3 times a week.
2. Spend more time with my girlfriends. I have a pretty great group of girlfriends up here, and I don't see them nearly as much as I'd like to. And as much as I love lounging around with The Boy, I think it's important for me to remember my friendships outside our relationship, and not to let a month go by without seeing my friend's beautiful baby girl, or without indulging in a little silly movies/pedicures/gossip session. I love these girls, and I don't want to grow apart because we don't see each other enough. Goal: at least one girl-time day/night a month.
   
3. Organize a bi-weekly craft night. This kind of goes along with number 2. I have been talking to a few friends at work about organizing a craft night, where we meet at someone's house for snacks and chatting while we work on whatever craft we like, be it knitting or beading or scrapbooking, etc. I used to go to a monthly-ish knitting night when I worked at the theatre, but it kind of fizzled out, and I don't work there anymore anyway. I'd like to get the girls from the knitting night together with the girls from work, and anyone else who'd like to join in and make it a solid thing, every other week. I'm thinking a Friday night. I'm picturing cheesy movies, celebrity gossip, yummy snacks, and finally finishing my scrapbook from two years ago. And start some new knitting projects. Goal: every other Friday night, craft night with the girls.
4. Keep my apartment clean. I think that if I'm having people over every other week, I'll have a built-in motivator, but in general, I'd like to implement a regular cleaning schedule so that the bathroom sink doesn't get to that "oh my god I have to clean this" place, or so that I don't notice small clusters of dust bunnies in corners. Hopefully my new Kone will help with the little day-to-day maintenance. :-) Goal: have an apartment that is always clean enough for a surprise guest.

So, those are my New Year's Resolutions for 2008. They're not as abstract as resolutions in the past have been ("do my best to live day-to-day rather than obsessively planning for the future" and all that), which I think I like. I think having more concrete goals will help me to achieve them, and these are all things that I really do want to do in the next year.

Best wishes with whatever resolutions and goals you are setting for yourself, if you are setting any at all. Happy 2008!

I love someecards!