This weekend was pretty chill.

Yesterday I went to th final farmers' market in my neighborhood for the year, and cleaned. I also played Portal. The thing about Portal is that it's really addictive, but then somewhere around level 15 I suddenly became totally stumped by everything. If I go back to it in a day or two it will make sense, right? Oh, I also cooked a big pot of black beans. Now I just need to learn how to make ranchero sauce and my dreams of a Texas breakfast whenever I want will come true.

Today the main event was a hike on the Billy Goat Trail. The weather was beautiful. I love seeing families out, kids learning to hike and enjoy nature... I just wish they weren't all on my trail. Fortunately all were nice and let me pass, something that doesn't always happen on the bike trail (seriously, if your kid can't ride more or less in a straight line on the right of the trail, they don't belong on the trail yet). I was thinking I'd like to organize a group hike there sometime soon. It would be a nice break from all the parties that are about eating and drinking and eating some more, I think. I was also thinking of inviting people at my Weight Watchers' meeting to go. I don't really know any of them, but most seem to be young professional who work near me, and we're all interested in losing weight and being healthier, so we have at least that in common. Maybe there are other people there who are thinking, "Man, I wish I knew some of these people, and I like to hike." Would it be weird to ask? Maybe it would be awkward, but maybe it would be awesome, right? I dunno, I'll think about it.

I made these super tasty muffin top pumpkin cookies tonight. They're called muffin top because the texture is more like a muffin than a cookie, not because they'll give you muffin top. They're actually pretty healthy! (for cookies)

My trip to Austin is almost over - I fly back to DC bright and early (but not too early) tomorrow morning.

I had a lovely time with angledge and hotpantsgalore last weekend and again this evening. I watched my 4th live sporting event ever, one of HPG's softball games, and I have to say it was probably more entertaining than either the Os or Nats game I saw.

The conference itself was pretty good. I learned stuff and caught up with some people. I do wish I hadn't had to do so much real work while here and could have focused a little more on the conference, but c'est la vie. I also met some new people and remembered I'm not that terrible at small talk and chatting with strangers. I even enjoy it in the right circumstances. Considering that, why do I become such the wallflower or huddler-with-friends at most parties? So silly.

I didn't eat terribly healthfully (especially not today) but it could have been worse (except maybe today) and I did get in a good walk with AL on Saturday and make it to the fitness room on Monday and Tuesday. I tried very earnestly to go for a good walk today but discovered it was simply impossible to escape the strip malls. At least I tried. HPG and AL have me thinking about taking on some sort of athletic endeavor. HPG is doing Team in Training for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

I'm glad I came down, and hope I can make it to Austin again soon. I think we budgeted for SXSW, but I'm not sure who or how many people we budgeted for. If not that, then just to visit.

Alas, now it's time to finish packing and get to bed.

I've been reading LJ in the morning and just haven't really had the chance to write as work has been busy. Also, nothing much exciting is going on.

Weight Watchers has been going well so far. I'm on my 4th week and I've lost 5 or 6 pounds- enough that I could wear some previously-ill-fitting jeans comfortably last weekend. I don't feel too deprived, though I may have to get some of those WW ice cream pops or Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches before long, because my sweets craving hasn't really subsided much and though I tell myself chocolate Fiber One bars are like dessert... they're really not. I've lost some of my jogging stamina, so I'm back to intervals on the treadmill. I didn't slip too far, so I think I'll be back to straight jogging in another week or two. My bike is back from the shop, and if we're done with rain for now I'll be riding to work again regularly (at least until it gets really cold).

My birthday was mellow and nice, just dinner out with a few friends. Mmmm, Indian!

I ordered a TiVO as a birthday present for myself. It should be here any day.

I'm thinking of taking up knitting.

Clay and Emily are coming down this weekend, and I'm trying to come up with options for them but haven't really had a chance to do the research.

Did I mention work is busy? I had a week or two where I was getting nothing done for no good reason. I've been really productive this week... but mostly on things that cropped up this week and not on things that have been lingering on my to do list. Next week I get to build a microsite on top of everything I already haven't been accomplishing. Why did I volunteer for that?

And I should be going to bed.

Sometime soon I'll write something deeper instead of this laundry list of what I've been up to.

Speaking of laundry, there's something on my personal to do list I'm behind on...

Does it ever end?

Last night, for the first time in almost a year, thereject , xgreenjudasx and I headed out to the goth club. We got there at 11:00, which we thought was reasonable, but there was just one lonely gothling spinning around on the dance floor. So we started drinking. Eventually more people got out on the dance floor and I danced a bit, but the music was very hit or miss. Sad.

I only had three drinks, and was drunker than I've been in recent memory. Granted the drinks were vodka-based, but I really used to be able to handle much more than that even when dancing.

I had at least three cups of water at the club, and another three big glasses of water where thereject and I went for food after. I also took a B vitamin pill before I went to bed.

And OMG, I woke up at 7 with one of the worst headaches I can ever remember having in my life. I took a couple of Excedrin and went back to sleep... until noon. Noon! I definitely can't remember the last time I slept that late. The headache was sort of gone. Thankfully I'm not feeling pukey. But my tummy definitely isn't quite right and overall I feel a bit... off.

Seriously, body. I know I'm not 21 anymore, but did I really deserve that?? It was only three drinks!

(I'm definitely glad we went. I miss dancing! But apparently I'll have to take it easier on the booze in the future...)

Is the Facebook Friends Page not working right, or are people just not posting? Seems like something strange is going on, as even Dinosaur Comics isn't showing up daily, and XKCD is even more erratic than usual.

Baska and Abel's wedding was lovely. There was sand, fun, laughter, a little dancing, and OMG so much food. Family is heading out today and more friends will start arriving. It's about 85 degrees, not a cloud to be seen, and the waves look perfect for some easy body boarding. I fave a feeling it's going to be an excellent week at the beach!

We got a big HDTV a couple of weeks ago. Last Friday our landlord and some guy apparently named Remy mounted it and wired everything together with nice cables running through the wall so it all looks neat and tidy. Too bad we can't figure out how to make it work. Seems the cable box needs to be initialized (how to do that we know not), and while the Wii works the more-important PS3 (more games, plus it's the DVD player) does not. Hm. All we have to go by is a list hand-written by Remy with three bullets, two of which are wrong, and a number to call if we have questions. Double hm.

We had a nice weekend in Ithaca visiting friends, bracketed by too much driving on either side. While I'm confident the smaller roads we took on the way back did save time over construction-riddled I-81, my god was it tedious driving for four hours on winding roads with speed limits constantly switching from 55 to 25 to 40 and back.

I get Friday off, so only seven more work days until the next vacation. Whee!

On a different note, I'm thinking of trying Weight Watchers. I'm thinking having the meetings to go to would help keep me accountable. But will learning the Points system be totally irritating? And will I like the other people who do meetings, or will they be too whiny and/or upbeat and piss me off? It's a delicate balance, you see. Anyone tried it?

I'm also having thoughts again of becoming a teacher...

Max just tried to jump up onto my desk. Through the glass bedroom door.

Poor kitty.

Pennsic was nice. It was pretty low key - not much drumming, dancing, or partying, just a lot of hanging out with old friends. All of Pennsic seemed a bit more toned down, actually. Is it the economy? Is the SCA just getting older? I also only went to two classes, both on the last day. There weren't as many classes available as usual, and I wasn't interested in many they had. I waitressed at Your Inner Vagabond. It made me think that I probably could work as a waitress if I had to, but glad that I've never had to. It did fill the time and give me some extra cash to spend.

Being back at work is a little weird. I had serious trouble sitting still all day yesterday.

I'm going to bike in today, but need to start adding more exercise other than biking. I don't think P90X is going to happen just now, as thereject hurt himself twice in the first couple of weeks that we were doing it semi-regularly. He wants to start with some less punishing exercise, and I know I won't do it alone. So it's back to the gym for me. I also need to work on the whole "eating well" thing. I know what I need to do... I just need to do it.

Yesterday after getting my hair trimmed, I stumbled into a Japanese grocer! It's probably not any bigger than my bedroom, but they had a couple of things I haven't been able to find at the big suburban Asian grocers (which are much more Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean). I just had anpan for breakfast! They also had barley miso, and okonomi sauce. Thereject has never had okonomiyaki, so you can guess what will be on the menu sometime soon! Unfortunately I wasn't quite thinking about everything I'd need for okonomiyaki, so I'll have to go back for a couple of other ingredients. Very exciting.

Our old landlord finally sent our security deposit back, two months late. She only took money off for a couple of small things. One or two are bullshit charges, but she didn't try to charge us for repainting the trim as she'd originally threatened, and I think it's probably worth the $100 lost to not have to deal with her again and be guaranteed the amount back that she did send.

Back from Pennsic. What did I miss?

I biked to work last Wednesday through Friday, including extra biking to pottery and back (probably a total of 10-12 miles that day). I went for an hour long ride on Sunday, and then rode to work again yesterday.

This morning I was feeling super sleepy, so I decided that maybe taking the bus and dozing would be the way to go.

What was I thinking??

After all that biking, walking to the bus stop seems SO SLOW. The bus took forever to arrive (I'd just missed a flock), and then even though it was an express bus it seemed to take forever. And I'm still super sleepy. The bike ride would have taken half the time, and done a better job at waking me up.

I guess that's it, then. I'm officially a bike commuter.


P.S. Yesterday I made it up Meridian Hill for the first time without stopping. I mean, I was out of breath and kind of felt like I was going to die at the top, but I didn't stop. Now I just have to work on that not dying part. ;)

J'aime les baguettes, les croissants, et l'arte de France! J'aime aussi mon amie Virginie!

Yesterday I did a bit of fabric, thread, and button shopping. Plus I bought my very own sewing machine! It's a basic Brother, nothing terribly exciting, but it works. Today I started making a Turkish coat, and astoundingly it seems to be turning out more or less like it ought to. All these years of sewing geometric-based garb without a pattern... how on early did I never own a yardstick/long straight-edge before?

This morning I went for an hour long bike ride while the boy slept in, and then we did yoga. No wonder I've been starving all day. Tomorrow we're due for P90X legs and back. Fun. I may take the day off of biking after that one...

I got a heart rate monitor last week with a calorie count function (it's a Polar F4) and I love it. You enter your gender, height and weight, and based on that and your heart rate it figures out about how many calories you're burning. This gives you a more accurate count than websites where you pick an activity and duration.

We opted for sleep instead of p90x for the past two mornings, so feeling guilty (and wanting to enjoy the nice weather) I decided to ride my bike to work. But it being pottery night, I then rode it to pottery, and then home past the pretty lit-up monuments, and through Rock Creek Park, which was rather dark but I enjoyed the lack of cars. My heart rate on the way home peaked at 181 (stupid hill) and I burned a total of about a gazillion calories (or more like 1,000, but still!)

I'm now trying to feel sleepy, and kind of failing.

I got a new haircut! It's cute. I hope it's still cute tomorrow after I wash it and style it myself. But I told my hairdresser that I wanted something that required no effort or blowdrying, and that's more or less how she styled it, so I should be ok. Nonetheless, I will make thereject take pictures when he gets home.

I came home today to find the latest Spore expansion pack waiting waiting on my desk. Aw!

And now, for your amusement, allow me to share a recent conversation.

Me: I really need to get my eyebrows waxed.
thereject: They're like yetis! Or little wookiees!
Me: [trying hard to look insulted and not laugh]
thereject: I love your little wookiees!

We started doing p90x last Wednesday, so we have two workouts left in the first week. Overall, I think it's going to be a good program for us. I had been making it to the gym about twice a week for just 40-50 minutes and then biking for an hour or more once a week. So it's definitely making me exercise more often and for longer than I had been. It's also nice to be exercising with thereject. That's been extra incentive to get up and get moving - I can't slack and sleep in if he's not going to.

We have been doing the videos in the morning, though, which is a challenge because we have limited time (though probably less of a challenge than finding a time we can both do it in the evening). The one problem we've really run into there is that we thought each day we'd need just an hour. On the days you do strength training, though, it's really an hour for the initial workout, but then you're supposed to do Ab Ripper X (a 20 minute ab routine) on top of that. So you really need an hour and 20 minutes. Somehow I don't find it so bad to wake up at 6:00, but 5:30 sounds really painful. Maybe we need to just do abs in the evening? Not sure what the answer here is...

( My thoughts on invividual DVDs so far )

Two days left in the first week - Legs and Back, and the Kenpo which looks to be like cardio kickboxing. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

I took my measurements the other day, and let's just say that seeing those change, and he prospect of getting back into some pants that no longer fit, will be good incentive to continue with this.

P.S. No, I'm not usually up at 6:20 on Sunday mornings. Stupid insomnia. I'm going to try to go back to sleep now.

About to risk the weather and go for a bike ride. While I do really like the ride up through Rock Creek Park, I'm thinking maybe I'll go the other way this time, on the trail down along the Potomac and out to VA. I may also swing by the grocery store and test out my spiffy grocery bag paniers (and get groceries).

thereject and I are planning to start p90x soon. Yesterday I got all the weights we'll need, plus a pull-up bar and strengthy stretchy tube thingy so that we should both be able to do the routines at the same time (assuming we have the space to both do the cardio routines at once...). I think we do need to pick a date to start, or every day it's going to be like, "I'm tired this morning, we can start tomorrow." We really have no excuses anymore other than laziness. I'm nervous about how hard it will be, but looking forward to having a structured, regular routine. I've been better about exercising the past few weeks, but still not really up to snuff. I have a number of friends who say the program really works, and from seeing keilbasa_007 before he started and after he'd been working on the program for a while, it makes me think that the before and after videos and photos out there from people who've done it aren't (all) paid shills for the company. I won't be following the p90x diet as it's more or less impossible for vegetarians (it's Atkins-esque in the beginning), but will count calories and whatnot.

I got a bike on Saturday! It's not fancy, but it works. I didn't realize how much I missed riding until I was on the road again. I keep seeing it and thinking, "Why am I sitting here when I could be riding my bike?" I also got a pair of these awesome grocery bag panniers which will make shopping trips much easier. If there's bike parking in the grarage below my office, or if I'm allowed to bring my bike up, I may start riding to work.

I went for a lovely ride yesterday through Rock Creek Park.

Last night we had a BBQ at xgreenjudasx  and kielbasa_007 's with them and two other friends. Yum!

The farmer's market had strawberries this week! AND I got cherries, which I love love love.

Tonight we're seeing The Decemberists out at Merriweather Post Pavillion. Should be fun, but Merriweather is such a pain in the ass to get to. On the up side, this means I get to leave work early.

Which means I really should leave for work.