My Musical Tastes

So, this handy tool will probably make its way into my About page as soon as I get around to it: my top ten artists, as calculated by Last.fm. Fun!

Keep in mind, though, that this only counts the music I listen to at my computer at home. It can’t count my iPod plays (yet), which would totally change the dynamic of artists and tracks. (Much more J-Pop, and Death Cab For Cutie would definitely be higher up in the Top 10.)

As it stands, Depeche Mode is #1 due only to the fact that they provided the correct mood for writing last month’s vampire story. And most of the music in my Top 10 is basically just good music for websurfing — or for web designing, in the case of the Moby and the Oakenfold. I like to design to trance, don’t ask me why.

But, yeah. Fun. If you decide to join up on Last.fm, be sure to friend me! I need some friendage, yo.


Shake That Healthy Butt

It’s a slow morning at work, so I figured now would be a good time to catch up on some blogging.

So, Aaron decided to go on Induction this week, and to step up his daily exercise. While I haven’t exactly been on Induction myself (thanks to the McDonald’s and Barry Bagels breakfast runs my co-workers have been making this week), I have been working on stepping up my own exercise. I’ve continued walking during my lunch breaks, despite the freezing temps, and I did some leg exercises with dumbbells on Tuesday night. I’m still sore from those.

Wednesday when I came home from work, I was FULL of energy. It was bizarre. I had offset my meal schedule by having a late breakfast and a later lunch, so I wasn’t hungry at all; I’m sure that was also a major factor in my energy spike. Usually I come home and forage for food as soon as Aaron goes to work. Instead, I got Mom’s birthday present wrapped and did some other randomness before sitting down to work on some genealogy for a few hours. I ended up not jogging on the trampoline like I’d planned, but that’s no big deal, since I’d walked for 45 minutes in the freezing cold over my lunch break. I think that was probably sufficient.

Tonight, though, I’m planning to do either some jogging on the trampoline (assuming my sore legs and butt can take it), or maybe my Pilates For Dummies DVD. That’s good stuff, too.

I’m just sick of that extra 20 pounds — well, 30 pounds now. I want it gone.

Update, 9pm: Is it wrong that the Tae Bo Instructional Workout (i.e. the one that shows you how to do the moves, but doesn’t take you through an entire session of tae bo) still makes me tired and almost sweaty? Next on the agenda: Locate the Tae Bo Basic Workout for cheap or free. Maybe Goodwill or Savers will turn up something.

Obligatory Update

I don’t particularly feel like writing right now, but I figured I’d give everyone a rundown of Thanksgiving and the long weekend.

OK, first off: Aaron and I were maybe 15 minutes down the turnpike, heading toward Cleveland, when I started swearing vehemently. Aaron didn’t miss a beat: “Pie,” he said.

I’d left it in the fridge.

We didn’t go back to get it, although we ended up making good enough time (and dinner ended up being late enough) that we totally could have doubled back and gotten the pie. Ah, well — more for us.

Thanksgiving wasn’t as weird as it could have been. We spent a lot of time chatting with Pete’s kids, who range from 12 (I think?) to 21. Joe, the youngest, finally hit the beginning of his growth spurt and voice change, so that was unexpected and kind of weird to witness. Grammie’s getting a little forgetful in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s, and Aunt Elaine is going into a nursing home this week due to her own Alzheimer’s-related issues. Things had the potential to be awkward, but really weren’t.

As far as Atkins cheating goes, oh yeah. I cheated, and I didn’t regret it. (Very much.) In the category of not-Atkins-friendly foods, I ate stuffing and sweet potatoes and a little pie, among other things. Oh, and the acorn squash with brown sugar and honey and whatever else couldn’t have been too good for me, either. But there was also ham and turkey and green bean casserole and fruit salad and mashed potatoes and gravy (although I opted to pass on the potatoes).

This week, Aaron’s starting back up on Induction again. He’s changed jobs at work, from a labor-intensive job to a fairly sedentary one, and he’s not happy with the weight he’s gained. So, I’m doing Induction with him. I, too, have gained back most of what I lost in our early October two-week Induction, unfortunately. I’m hoping that some of that is just pre-PMS water weight, but I can’t count on that.

I’m going to make a concerted effort to exercise daily, also. Since it’s getting colder (and rainy / snowy), I’m not going to be able to have my lunchtime walk in the park, so I’ll have to plan some evening indoor activity. Yoga, pilates, tae bo (maybe… Billy Blanks kicks my ass, as a general rule), trampolining / rebounding, or just working out with my free weights. Today was a gorgeous day for November (60°F in Ohio!), so I went ahead and walked. Tomorrow may be 40° and not rainy, so I may walk tomorrow, too. After that, though… *thumbs down*

In other unrelated news, I’ve loaded up my Brownie Bullet camera and am planning to shoot a test roll this week. It looks like it’ll cost me around fifteen bucks to get it developed, though, which kind of sucks.

In even more unrelated news, my old RCC cohort Jeff Hawley included me in his mass e-mail update today! I haven’t talked to him for maybe three or four years. Turns out he’s finished writing a film script, is engaged to a Japanese girl, and did graduate work in England (although I’d already heard that last bit through the grapevine). I e-mailed him back and shared my much less interesting life events with him.

I’m not unhappy with my life, though. I turned out a lot more normal than I could have — and, when I say “normal,” I mean it as a completely good thing.

A White Thanksgiving

The first snow is falling.

There’s a fine white mist outside my office window, and I’m unsure whether it makes me excited for the holidays or not. The child in me wants to be giddy and happy about snow and Thanksgiving and having four days off in a row. The adult in me is not thrilled about travelling to Cleveland tomorrow with a Winter Storm Warning in effect, not to mention walking to my car after work today in the bitter cold.

I really want to be excited about the holidays, but it’s just not there.

Thanksgiving this year just seems kind of underwhelming, somehow. Aaron’s dad made the point that it’s kind of depressing, going to holidays now: Grammie and Poppa are getting old, finally, and Aaron’s aunt is going into a nursing home next week. Watching so many people decline in different ways at the same time is just saddening. Plus, now that holidays are being held at Uncle Pete’s house, he doesn’t seem to want or need our help with dinner; the old potluck-style Thanksgivings at Grammie and Poppa’s made us feel needed, somehow.

Then there’s the upcoming holiday season. Christmas, Yule, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, insert-your-holiday-here. Not looking forward to that. I don’t really have a list of people to buy presents for anymore, which really takes the fun out of the holidays for me. Now it’s really just Aaron I’m buying for, plus shippable presents for my own scattered family members.

I could try being all artsy-craftsy and making the pine bough wreaths and garlands I’ve been thinking about, but I know the cat would try to eat them (since they smell like Outside), and the sap would probably ooze onto the walls and furniture, and eventually the needles would start to drop on the floor and generally make a mess.

What an un-cheery point of view I seem to have. Maybe I’ll get into it as the winter wears on.

The steady, powdery snowfall is starting to accumulate now. Happy Thanksgiving.

Butternut Squash Pie, Mark II

Some of you may recall that, last Thanksgiving, I attempted to make a butternut squash pie. It was pretty yummy, although it didn’t set up very well due to my forgetting to add the eggs.

This year, I remembered the eggs. Not only that, but I made the edges of the pie crust all pretty, and sprinkled the top with allspice.

But I’m taking the pie to Thanksgiving in Westlake, so I can’t eat it for a day and a half. o.O

Mind you, I should have been podcasting tonight instead of baking, since my next podcast has already been promised to the listenership as “The Thanksgiving Survival Guide,” and it’s going to be pretty much useless if it comes out on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving…