yoga, books, movies, tv and WAY too many crime procedurals – not necesarily in that order
I’ve been a legal Colorado resident for one year. My trip to the Driver’s License office was on New Year’s Eve 2008. What a year!
We’ve enjoyed the town and love living here. That bodes well as we never felt that way about Saginaw. I’ve also nailed down some full-time work, which kicks the year off famously.
I also finally finished East of Eden today. Despite my earlier Farrah-induced prejudice, I really loved this novel. I wouldn’t have read it at all but for my GoodReads group, so I’m thankful for that. I’m looking forward to rereading it just as soon as I get through some of my TBR list. It was incredibly timely and does a fantastic job of looking at nature vs. nurture and the complexity of family interaction. Loved it.
During my shift tonight I also read the latest Sookie Stackhouse book. I continue to admire how Charlaine Harris pulls off the books in the series without becoming repetitive or dull, and I enjoyed it as much as I’ve enjoyed every other book in the series. While I loved season 1 of True Blood, it really doesn’t hold a candle to the charm, humor, and intensity of the novels.
Next up from Chicks on Lit: Middlemarch. Given my own personal dislike for George Eliot, I’m hoping this turns out as well as East of Eden.
I’m not much for resolutions, but mine for this year is to live each day like it’s my last. Enjoy every minute. More reading, more yoga, more great conversation.
From Real Simple this month:
.5 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 sweet potato, grated
.5 cup chopped spinach
1.5 c shredded cheddar
2 sheets frozen puff pastry (thawed)
Brown ground beef and garlic. Add grated sweet potato and spinach. Cut puff pastry sheets in half. Add ground beef mixture to pastry sheets, split cheese between pockets, seal. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
I used a package (1.3 lbs) ground beef so I doubled the garlic. I also had a MASSIVE sweet potato but only about a 3/4 cup of frozen chopped spinach, so those things seemed to even out. Was short on puff pastry, so I used refrigerated pie crusts instead and it worked perfectly. Very easy to make, surprisingly flavorful. I had enough that I made a batch of 4 pasties on Sunday and another batch for dinner tonight and STILL had a bit of ground beef mix left over.
We went and saw Avatar in 3D yesterday and it was precisely as awesome as has been retold all over the intarwebz. The most amazing thing about it was that it reminded me of when I was a little kid and desperately wanted my stuffed animal/Transformer/Bugs Bunny to come to life and hang around with me. Avatar looked REAL – incredible, in-your-face, I can’t believe how real REAL. It’s worth seeing just for that. The story was somewhat predictable but, as Spouse said, “For a three hour movie, there wasn’t a single part that was boring.” You stay involved the entire time. It was excellent. Two thumbs up, worth every penny to see it in the theater.
One of our ‘family’ holiday gifts was Wii’s Super Mario Brothers and it’s FANTASTIC. Being able to play two players at once is simultaneously the best and worst thing than ever happened to SM – great because no one sits around bored, terrible because if you’re like me then the other person playing will use your character as a springboard. We’ve had a blast relearning an old fave. For those attempting to play: even though it’s tempting to use two controllers, stick with the Wiimote and skip the nunchuks. The game is MUCH easier to navigate without the second controller.
Tonight I tested out Your Shape for Wii (by Ubisoft). I first heard about the game through an online commercial feedback survey at least six months ago. Having seen the promo, I was anxious to see the reception for the game because it looked pretty awesome. In a serendipitous twist, I entered to host a Your Shape Fun, Fit, and Guilt Free party (in conjunction with the new Jello Mousse Temptations) and won. I got a free copy of YourShape as well as some coupons for Jello Mousse Temptations* in order to test the game (and Mousse) with friends and post about it on the House Party website.
Your Shape doesn’t really come with an extensive instruction booklet (there’s a really short one inside the game). With the Wii off, I plugged in the camera and then situated the camera on the Wii sensor strip on top of the TV. I put the game in and it was pretty easy going from there. You can skip the Jenny McCarthy intro by pressing the A button (fyi) but if you’re not familiar with the game it might be helpful. The idea is that you’ve got a coach inside the game and the camera tracks your movements to make sure you use correct form, letting you know what you need to adjust and when.
Most of the reviews I read on Amazon mentioned that the camera is picky about your motions. I made sure that I could fit my whole body on the screen (which seemed to help) and the only issue I ran into is what seemed to be a slight lag in the camera picking up my motion. Regardless, the 15 minute workout I did was DEFINITELY a workout. I’m really looking forward to seeing if, based on my results today, the game will adjust my workout routine for Wednesday.
I was worried that McCarthy might seem kind of annoying as a coach, but the best thing about the game is that you can set your mood at the beginning: Nothing can stop me, Pretty good, You’re lucky I’m even here. I’m guessing the amount and type of coaching changes based on how you’re feeling. I went with “Pretty good” and it was just enough – not too perky, not too persistent, and the attaboys weren’t over the top. The form in individual exercises was really good. Since that’s a pet peeve of mine- and a big part of the reason I stopped using the yoga portion of Wii Fit – I was really happy to see that. The workout scheduling setup was also pretty cool and the fact that you can adjust your workouts by 15 minute intervals is fantastic.
All in all, I’m very happy with Your Shape. I’m looking forward to testing it out more in the next week but so far I’m optimistic. I’d recommend setting the game up wearing a typical workout outfit. I was in baggy flannel pajamas and I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to redo my profile, now that I know how the game works and what can/can’t be in the field of view. P.S. Your dog will not help your score.
*I’d already tried (and liked) Jello Mousse Temptations so that was just kind of an added bonus.
People are often surprised that we celebrate Christmas or that I make a holiday music mix each year. After all, what do two atheists have to do with Christmas? For me growing up, Christmas wasn’t about church or Jesus. Christmas was a time when all of our family (even the extended family) got together to celebrate. It wasn’t until much later (junior high) where church became part of the holiday season. As a result, I still think of the holidays as a time for family celebration rather than religious. As to the music- just because I don’t believe in god doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy songs that express joyfulness and hope. Even if it’s inspired by something I don’t share, it’s JOY. And HOPE. If I could find a great holiday song that used the word “namaste” I totally would, because THAT’S what I think the holiday season is about.
“Namaste” is a traditional South Asian greeting which is translated as everything from ‘hello’, ‘goodbye’, and ‘thank you’ to its more literal root: The Divine Light that resides in me recognizes and appreciates that same Divine Light residing within you. The last is how I use namaste. Divine Light can mean anything from spirit to God to enlightened consciousness. I choose to believe that that thing – the divine light – is that electrical spark which animates us and the shared human experience. Not the collective unconscious of Jung, but close. We are born, we live, we struggle, we experience joy, we die. Those things are what make us uniquely human and something that all humans – regardless of color or creed- share. And THAT seems like a divine light – we are each alone but simultaneously not alone because millions of others have shared these experiences, even if not in the same time or space. THAT is what I believe in.
That’s what I think the holidays are about. Sharing the good things (and sometimes even the bad things) about our human experience.
Because of that, I also believe in dharma and karma. Not the serious Buddhist reincarnation kind of karma, where your life’s actions determine your path to enlightenment via punishment-by-life-as-an-ant, or the idea of dharma as your life’s path being determined for you.
I believe that we all have a path but I also believe that we choose that path every day. The decisions we make create the life we lead and therefore CHOOSE to lead- dharma is simply the acknowledgement that none of our actions happen in a vacuum. My take on karma is similar- it shares the bones but not the elaborate theory. I think that all of our actions are energy in the world. Putting out positive energy can only lead to good things. That’s not to say that you never do/say/think bad things (because we do) but I also don’t believe that having one shitty day makes a house fall on your head. Sometimes bad things happen to people and they are in no way to blame – the number one reason that Law of Attraction stuff is bullshit. You can’t control the actions of others – only the reactions that YOU have to them. I fail to see how trying to put the positive spin on things, or being kind just to be kind, can ever lead to bad things.
So have happy holidays. I hope for health and wellness for you and yours, an ease to suffering for all, and joy to offset your sorrow.
Yeah, yeah, I know there are people who think “Happy Holidays” is designed to “Take Christ out of Christmas.” To those people I say: think about how many holidays are celebrated in December. Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, New Year, Solstice. There’s more than one holiday. Hence happy HOLIDAYS. So suck it. Also, please do not get me started on the Xmas debate. See Snopes or Wikipedia and KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT before you start bitching about that X.
On a different note, I’ve been WICKED busy at the new part time job. While I’m enjoying it, it’s been a while since I’ve worked 60 hours a week. As a result, not all the holiday baking is done yet. I haven’t had a day off (no work at all) since two weeks ago Wednesday. Luckily I’m off Christmas Day (both jobs) and we’ve been invited to share Christmas Eve with some friends in town. If I have my way, part of Christmas Day will involve Avatar and possibly Sherlock Holmes. We’ll see.
The mountains continue to be the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen – reinforced daily on my drive to work. It’s hard to believe I’ve been out here for a full year now. While it’s been a big change from Saginaw, the change has been entirely for the better. The town is lovely, if quirky, and the weather can’t be beat. I’ve enjoyed the change of pace from living in the city and the views from anywhere in town can’t be beat. Becoming a Colorado resident was a great way to start the last year.
This year, back in retail for the holidays, I’m surprised to find that customers have been generally happy and cheerful – no crankiness presented as yet. Since we’re getting down to crunch time, I hope the trend continues.
I hope EVERYONE has a safe and wonderful holiday season!
Which for me just means my other job. I’m actually doing double duty tomorrow: 9-1 shift down the mountain, back to Pb to work 3-11(ish). In additional awesome work news, I won’t have a day off work until Christmas which means hella bonus cash for the holidays. With any luck we can buy our new front door before the new year!
Tonight’s dinner-cooking was inspired by my email inbox again. I did a variation on Meatloaf Wellington – made my usual meatloaf (1.5-2.0 lb ground beef, 1 pkg French onion soup mix, 2-3 T of A1, 1 egg, breadcrumbs) and after I cooked it for about 45 minutes, I drained the fat. Then I took a package of crescent rolls and unrolled them, layering them over the top (and slightly overhanging the sides) of the meatloaf and cooked another 15 minutes. It was FANTASTIC and will definitely be added to the regular line up. I didn’t make a gravy and, because I knew I’d be using the crescent rolls, I baked it in a small round casserole dish and angled the beef in away from the sides. It worked really well.
The other day I got an email about a southwest chicken bake using green chilis and tortillas. I sauteed diced chicken with the two shallots leftover from Thanksgiving and 1/4 of a red onion, salt, pepper and some cumin. I took 5 small cans of diced green chilis and put them in a bowl with 1 small jar of salsa, 1 can of kidney beans and about 1/2 c of chopped frozen spinach. Just before combining with the chili mixture, I added the remainder of a package of frozen corn. Stir everything together and then I put a tortilla on the bottom of a round casserole dish, filled it with the chicken mix, topped it with cheddar cheese, then continued layering. I topped it with a tortilla and cheddar cheese. Bake for 1 hour at 350. It made enough that I have dinner for tomorrow and leftovers for the weekend, plus a casserole that I put into the freezer for baking later.
Considering I won’t be home from 8am until almost midnight tomorrow, I’m feeling pretty good about my advanced prep skillz. Now I just have to clean the kitchen before I leave for work in the morning.
The old hard drive remains impervious to my efforts to access files. I’m searching for things which will let me at them but in the meantime the only thing I’m really MISSING is my holiday card list from last year. Damn and blast. I was quite proud of myself for having done that, too. This year I’ll upload it to Google docs and save myself this sort of aggravation in the future.
TV this week has been awesome. The Glee midseason finale was about as close to perfect as you get on television, plus a fantastic closing number. Criminal Minds cranked it up a notch by forcing a leadership decision. Also, the killers who want to pretend to date their victims still creep me out the most. The Mentalist was great tonight and it was nice to see the chemistry returning to normal. The odd insertion of a new Red John team didn’t really ever fit right for me but Jane is funny enough that I didn’t care.
I’m still plugging through East of Eden, though I’ve been distracted by work lately and not making as much progress. I’ll take it to job 1 tomorrow and get some pages in while it’s slow in the afternoon.
Mom is headed to Mexico this weekend. I hope she has a great trip – she deserves it. My next (last?) holiday task is to bundle up cookies and mail them out.
Why?
1. Closing shift – virtually no traffic on the way there or on the way home. My only complication in life is people who don’t know how to drive in the snow and/or mountains. Takeaway: if you can’t, DON’T.
2. Glee! I love Glee.
3. Criminal Minds! I love Criminal Minds. The last couple of episodes have been crazy intense. Such a good show.
4. Mercy! It was back tonight after a hiatus and I am surprised by how much I MISSED it. I have a hard time describing for people why I like it so much but all of the characters are messed up in their own way and no matter what happens on the show, I feel GOOD when I’m watching it.
5. I don’t work until 1pm tomorrow which means AMBIEN.
