Well, I managed to go see the eye doctor and am once again among the people who can see without glasses. My eyes are still adjusting but I am happy they had room to take me today seeing as how I just showed up out of nowhere around 2pm. I bought a cute hot pink glasses case with a kitty and baby chicks on it, presumably for children as it was in that section. I didn’t think the doctor would give me a pair of contacts to wear outta there. In fact, she gave me two pairs and some solution which was really nice. And, I want new glasses frames after trying some of them on!

I made it down to Rockin’ Rudys downtown which was full of construction. The entire front parking lot was being torn up so I got to use the super cool back door that is just for employees normally. I could spend hours in that store without even getting to the extensive rekkids section. ;) I got some really cute paper. It’s french and adorable.

Check out a tour:

Oh and on my drive I saw two interesting signs one was from the Sweetheart Bread store and the O of the Open sign was a big heart. Aww. Next was a computer repair shop called “Re Computing Computers Inc”. Hehe. It reminded me of fonejacker.

It was 45 degrees out today and I cant wait for summer. I am getting more and more excited by the day. Summer=Dave which is most important and Summer also = fireworks, vacations, swimming, the dog park, picnics, downtown shopping and lunch, outdoor music, ATVs, camping, swinging in the hammock, bright mornings/fab sunsets, boating, the farmers market, shakespeare in the park, orange popsicles and frozen yogurt! :)

I also got a really good buy today on sea salt body wash from Target- it was like 2 dollars for 27oz. I love when you can get a scrub for that cheap because they are usually expensive which is stupid as you need more of it by the very nature of the product.

I hope everyone had a gingerly start to the week and work isn’t too demanding yet. :)

I’m not doing anything today but I’m also by myself with my dog so…doesn’t really make sense to dye eggs, haha. The documentary I watched the other day My Kid Could Paint That was so good. It really makes you wonder about people and art. I personally think the dad did help create the paintings to make money. It kind of makes you wonder what art is, what defines it. Personally, I like modern art and how simple it is but maybe that is just because they usually do it on such a grand scale with a huge canvas and then it has a presence and doesn’t have to be so “busy”.

I need a catchy name for my new health section and am having trouble thinking one up but either way, it’ll be all systems go by this week at the latest so I better start figuring it out. I’m going to be posting some more recipe ideas, general tips, and hopefully people will want to discuss things as well or give their opinions.

I am also considering buying an exercise ball. Maybe the golds gym brand because it apparently doesn’t slip underneath you and they have them at a local wal-mart for under $20. I need something to do crunches on and at first I was just going to dig out my yoga mat but thought that with the ball I could lift weights much like a bench press would let me do. And, it’s deflatable so that is always good. I’ll wait till May though when I have more room here and get this huge desk out of my room to make space for it. Anyone use a fitness ball? What do you use it for?

I also found this post on Oh No They Didn’t yesterday that cracked me up. It’s quite a few prominent male celebrities next to their mothers for a comparison. It really makes you question why you thought some of them looked good in the first place. And, Orlando Bloom, all I want to say about that one is: I told you so! I’ve never thought he was attractive and I just knew everyone who did was a bit off.

I am really glad that netflix will let me rent blu-ray and work-out dvds. I just think it’s nice to offer movies that would otherwise be super expensive or that you might not want to buy because you aren’t sure what they are made up of.

I’m starting to get excited for Bumbershoot this year. They have a new design team working on the site and have a countdown at 164 days left till the ‘08 festival. They are gonna have some new merch and goodies coming up within the next few months. Hopefully Dave and I will get to go, if not, another Seattle trip will do just fine. It was so amazing last year!

I was pondering the contents of lotion earlier and I have a few thoughts. First of all, do you use something natural that is actually free of chemicals and not processed(except for maybe heat)? I don’t think I’m too into putting a bunch of chemicals on my skin and just letting it absorb. However, I really cannot ask the hippie whole foods people down the road because I just know they will go way too far to one side and start talking nonsense about certain oils being “cold stone pressed by refugees” and whatnot.

I read today that a man got jail time for figuring out how to get some free tacos and posting it on youtube. Apparently, a “concerned citizen” of the town alerted the authorities. I just don’t get how someone was on youtube, actually clicked on something about screwing del taco out of tacos and then called the po po. That person sucks at life. The real victims are probably the people getting charged way too much for a taco to start with, not effing del taco. And, anyway, how many times would that really work? I think most employees would stop giving out free food to a pretend CEO after it happened all of once or twice. Is that really any different then them not messing up your order and you saying they did to get another free one? I know like a million people who do that.

I hardly ever hear any noise from other apartments surrounding me apart from maybe dogs barking except people scooting their bums across the bathtub *squeeeeak*. Why is that so distinctive? I really hope it’s not just me who recognizes this noise. Maybe if my neighbors owned the rubber ducky radio I would only hear music. I used to have a floating radio for the hot tub and I loved that little thing!

I found some cute shirts that come with a book at popular ink. Such phrases as “she said yes but only to apple pie” and “technically, i should not have been building a robot at work”. So cute, right? :) I also found a coffee table/stool thing made out of scrap electronic parts encased in clear resin. I am convinced with this that I am able to make one. I have a rule that I will never buy anything if they can’t even show me the price. That means they know they are ridiculous.

I really plan to have another health section of this website soon, an about me, and hopefully now that it is spring and my hubby will be here soon more pictures of where i live and me/us/guin. I really want a new layout too but that probably won’t happen too soon unless you know a free designer I can use.

Lastly, I really really like the new Danity Kane song Damaged.

So, first of all, I really need to buy myself one of those lamps that clip onto your headboard for extra light. I just cannot see the keys on my black macbook in the dark. I wish they were light-up style! I guess my often made fun of night blindness doesn’t only occur on the roads. The creepiest thing about all of this is I know I’ve bought like two of those damn lamps and my room is literally so cluttered I can’t find anything resembling a lamp. I will be so happy when Dave and I can use this apartment as our own so we have more storage space and I can bust out my hello kitty toaster and other more important items like nice pots and new knives and dishes. I love when it’s just the two of us, being newlyweds and all. I’ve also noticed a married girl just cannot cram all her crap into one bedroom. I need to donate a lot of it of course but I also need space to organize that in that won’t have all my stuff in communal areas. I can now only reminisce about the days when i packed my entire life into my car for college. OK, two cars but whatever.

Today I also decided to restart my Netflix membership. This happened only due to my extreme desire to watch My Kid Could Paint That. I was so bummed out about forgetting to catch it while in England so I’m glad I will get a chance to see it. I also realized most of my *cough* downloaded *cough* movies don’t include my much adored documentaries and independent films. Plus, Netflix has a distribution center so close I get everything in a day there/day back. So, here is to me spending the evenings curling up with a good book or a good movie on my laptop snuggled in bed! That really is the joy of staying up somewhat late yet still getting up early. I am able to get in my workout, three meals and daily errands/chores but I get free time at night.

Moving on to some cooler thingys:

Ever use stumble? I have found many a cool/funny/interesting item because of it. I would suggest something called me.dium as well. It is an add-on that shows you where you are on the internet, who else is also there and where you might want to go based on your browsing activity. It also lets you see what your friends are browsing as well and not just strangers. It basically takes away having to copy and paste links in msn messenger because by clicking your name on me.dium your friend can do directly to the site you are viewing.

Next, is delicious monster. It’s only for Mac users. You are able to catalog, browse and share all your books, dvds, cds and games(video of course, no one uses boardgames anymore right?!). All you have to do is hold up your item and let your isight camera scan the barcode and delicious monster does the rest for you. It fully integrates with your address book and ical calendar to make lending items out to friends super easy. Not only will you know when to start bugging them to get it back but it’ll also let them browse what you have and vice versa. I might check this out.

*Note: would my dog kindly stop staring out my bedroom window for HOURS in the pitch dark? It is truly like I don’t even own an animal anymore, it’s just a dog body with a missing head because it’s always behind the curtain peering out at absolutely nothing. Then again, maybe I’m lucky. There could be any sort of psycho lurking around and he definitely likes to know who is coming ahead of time, if you know what i mean. ;)

This show looks like the BIGGEST load of complete and utter shit. I am actually really angry about it because I have had not one but at least four people I know comment to me about how they are watching it and then relaying his advice to me. I can see why it will be popular and I can see why people are excited, everyone is always looking for the quick fix. I am so tired of people like this guy and even networks like TLC exploiting people who do have a real health problem with being overweight or obese. It offers a set-up for failure by creating unreal expectations and giving bad information. Let me break it down:

1) The title of the show.

Only YOU can make YOURSELF thin. No one and no little trick can do it for you. Losing weight is also about much more than being “thin”, it’s about being healthy and strong. Most people at their idea weight will NOT look like Nicole Richie or Victoria Beckham. And, that is important because being thin with no muscle tone is pretty lazy, just as lazy and being overweight with no muscle tone. I do not like the fact that it draws up a fantasy image in most peoples heads of what they will look like as a skinny person. Instead of focusing on how much more active they will be, how their life will change for the better, how they will sleep better and be happier and none of it has to do with what they see looking back at them in the mirror, it has to do with how physically fit they are. So, that is the other thing- why in the HALE does this not include at least moderate exercise?! There is no way you can be thin and healthy without it. No freaking way. And yes it sucks at first and yes its hard to squeeze in time but there should be no excuses. It is your life we are talking about here, there is always time to make sure your body is conditioned. Some people learn to love exercise and others always dislike it but it’s something that has to be done. We take out the garbage so the house doesn’t stink, right? Same thing. It might be a chore but it’s necessary.

2) Buy things you LIKE to eat just don’t eat too much of it. When Mr. McKenna thinks of low-fat food he thinks “chemical rubbish”.

Argh! There is a big difference between a full plate of portioned out protein, carbs and fat than a bowl of mac n cheese. The entire plate full is about 400 calories, the other is nearly 1200 and much less food for you to eat and basically all carbs and fat so you are likely to not feel satisfied. Protein is what helps us feel full. No matter how many times Paul tells people they just need to slow down, savor, chew each bite 340984589 times, it will not help. Food will turn to absolute icky mush in your mouth if you chew too much. By all means, slow it down a bit but no need to get crazy with it that is what the stomach is for, breaking down food. And NO you can’t just eat what you want all the time because it’s probably not healthy. And, making a choice like wheat instead of white doesn’t affect taste. Neither does buying cheese made with less milk fat than full fat cheeses. It doesn’t taste different and it’s better for you which seems like a no brainer. All you need to do is look at the labels and learn what the content means(I will discuss this in detail soon). I do agree that some diet foods do taste like ass and are way beyond something that anyone would keep eating forever to actually achieve the lifestyle change needed for permanent weightloss but you’ll learn to pick those out. Sometimes low-fat sour cream is better than fat-free sour cream. And better than that is greek yogurt which tastes the same and is less calories than both of those just as an example. With his suggestions, you might lose a few pounds by cutting down your portions of unhealthy food with no exercise but it’ll get you nowhere fast.

3) Don’t weigh yourself daily, only do it weekly.

This to me isn’t the most result producing idea. Yes, it does make sense if you have a regular scale that only shows the weight number(assuming you calibrate it at least once a month!) because when you gain muscle and lose fat it might show as a gain so each week is a better estimate. However, I would suggest getting a scale like the Tanita I have that shows your weight, body fat percentage, muscle lbs, water percentage, visceral fat(fat around inner organs and stomach) and bone desity. This way you can match your new recipes to if you gained fat and lost muscle or if you lost fat or if you just stayed the same weight and fat percentage but gained muscle. It lets you know if you are eating too little( you will lose muscle and fat which is Bad Bad Bad because the more muscle you have the more fat your burn). Or, if you are eating too much. I would say this is an investment worth making because it is your health afterall and you need to know what works for you daily.

There is so much more to say but basically- don’t watch this stuff. Do you really want to support the diet industry and it’s billions of dollars a year that they take out of your pocket by boosting your confidence and then not delivering results? Wouldn’t you rather change your life for yourself and without any fad or technique? You’d be better serviced by going to the gym or curves for half an hour or even reading on google about carbs, fats, proteins, sodium, etc. In addition, you can read my new blog as well(it’s coming soon) because I’m a normal person going through this now and I can hopefully be of some help with real topics and real photos/ingredients of meals i actually make.

First of all, Happy St. Patricks Day from a non-Irish person! My dog is named Guinness though and he has greenish eyes and red/tan hair so I feel like I’m the mom of an Irish themed creature at least. Also, I don’t know if I am just being snobby this year or what but I am really put off by dressing all up in green. I was walking out of my apartment today in a black dress and leggings with my very cool green messenger bag and realized “OH God! People are going to think I am trying to wear green!”. Why this was so horrible, I do not know? We all know many a person rocks green hair, leprechaun stickers, kiss me i’m irish pins, etc on a day like today. I think I’m feeling shy this St. Paddys Day. Maybe it’s because if you don’t have friends or family around you do just pretty much feel like a weirdo getting into costume.

Actually that leads me to something I told Dave a couple weeks ago that I overheard in the UPS Store. A dad walked in with a bunch of packages he was mailing with two toddlers:

“UPS Employee: *smiles* How is your day going today little guy?

Kid: *pauses for a moment* Kinda weirdo.

Dad (as he is walking out the door with both kids): When someone asks you how your day was you don’t say….”

I thought it was so funny because of the honesty. Poor thing hasn’t yet been conditioned to always say “good, and yours?”. I like the uniqueness of that.

I also need to document the fact that my mother said “stoked” the other day perfectly in conversation. When my brother and I naturally laughed and dropped our jaws asking her where on earth she heard that she replied with “I know the slang!” which right there more than anything proved she did not in fact know “the slang”. She is so cute!

Moving on, this weekend, Dave has a long-weekend off. I’m thankful to be able to talk to him lots. Hopefully we will also figure out how to add another section to this website with all my health stuff. I tried it myself and I can’t quite get the hang of it. So, I just thought I’d write a little(or not so little) update. I found this really interesting short speech on all these amazing sea creatures here. It is a place called TED and there is so much on there I love to watch, it’s kind of like my Youtube for when I want to actually learn something or engage in deeper thinking. I also randomly found out today that you shouldn’t write on CDs or DVDs with a Sharpie. Apparently it damages the disc, especially over time. I guess I’ll have to go buy some special CD safe markers for all my free burned downloaded movies, haha. There is irony there, there really is.

You can catch the trailer here. I love Disney and Pixar! Or maybe I just love animation but either way- it looks cuuuute.

How cool is this rug? I’ve always hated bear rugs or even worse buffalo rugs *shudder*. My old boss had them all around her cabin and it was one of the saddest, grossest things ever. As a child I did have a panda bear rug(fake, naturally) with a head and collar and now that I type this out it seems creepy but it was actually adorable. Anyway back to the point, who doesn’t want a monster rug made out of cashmere? I am scared by it and I think it’s cute- that is a strange combination but I’ll run with it. It’s made by artist/designer Joshua Ben Longo. Purchase at longoland.com if you dare.

P.S. - You are aware that it probably costs a bazillion dollars though right? And, why wouldn’t it? I don’t suspect it’s too easy to catch a monster.

Shortly, I’ll have a new section of the blog for recipes and other health stuffs. This is a preview of a couple dinner ideas.

First, I thought I would try broccoli, pasta, and mozzarella cheese as a side to chicken flavored with italian dressing(not pictured). As far as making the pasta, it was easy because the pasta and cheese were both broken up into 8 serving for a package. So, i added 8 cups of broccoli and voila! 8 servings of a dinner side with a calorie count of 310 per serving. Add 4 oz. of chicken(equal to one breast) and seasoning to that for a total of 435 calories, 46 carbs, 6 fat and 41 protein total for dinner.

Ingredients: 8 cups broccoli florets, 1 package weight watchers low-fat mozzarella cheese, and 1 package great value brand radiatore pasta. Pardon my microwave as a set- I do not have much anywhere else to photograph food items.

Next, I just wrapped the pasta in wax paper and foil for the freezer.

After thinking about a healthy pizza alternative I came up with this dinner:

Same low-fat mozzarella, honey-wheat pita pocket bread, great value brand pizza sauce and turkey pepperoni. I also added one serving of green beans to this meal. The photo below is before the oven:

And, after:

To be quite honest, I cannot tell the difference between other pizza and this one made on a pita- the crust is the same, everything tastes the same. I’ll be the first to admit- most health food takes yucky but not if you make the meals you love and just tweak and swap a few ingredients. I don’t think I’d have ever thought it was this easy until I looked into it and decided to be accountable for what I was putting in my body.

The total for the pizza and veggies is 420 calories, 42 carbs, 13 fat, 30 protein. Both meals are very low in fat, carbs and calories(protein isn’t included because you should *want* to get lots of that) and low in sodium compared to any and all frozen items or tv dinners. I’ll even put it out there that you could go completely wrong with this and quadruple your calories just by using white instead of wheat or regular instead of low-fat. Not everything follows this principle but if you look at the labels you can learn a-lot and then maybe I won’t feel like I’m the only one in the grocery store who does.

After seeing the new commercial for the fabulous: “Wow, it’s so thin!” and not so fabulous: “Where is the f-ing CD Drive!?” Macbook Air, I couldn’t get the song out of my head. I had to know more, being nosy as I am. It’s New Soul by Yael Naim, who appears to be a french singer. Enjoy!

I know every computer and software company has their downfalls but I just need to state how much I am unimpressed with Microsoft. Windows Vista is possibly the worst software I’ve seen since Windows ME. Well, maybe it’s not all bad but since it takes 2349825987 years to load anything and then freezes I guess I’ll never know. Dave has been touting the new Microsoft Office 08 for Mac so I am excited to check that out, but wary at the same time due to my experience with Vista. It’s times like these when I think about my parents who have limited computer skills and how software messiness really can put a person off of learning on a computer. I expect more in general. I don’t want computers that squeak or break or can’t run software so everyone needs to come together and give people what they pay for. It ain’t cheap, man. It ain’t cheap.