Penelope,

Hello you.
I yoga'd with my fav teacher just to find out she's leaving again. Whatevs! And I do only have one more class left in my series and need to decide what to do. Also i was very brave and returned things to actual stores to get some pittance back, and even complained to michaels about the inferiority of a product and they took it back! Rock. I capped it off with a salad to erase the memory of the bad salad of last night. Though props to the bar keep for a tasty watermelon martini. And I said no to: more shopping at Ross, a caramel apple, and a latte.

Yesterday in addition to bad salad, I walked 3 miles to prep for my warrior dash. I won't be dashing fast. I could get to maybe a 14.31 minute mile, but will probably be able to sustain a 15min mile and then add the obstacles. I credit swimming with giving me stellar lungcapacity that if I could I would try for a solid 13 or 14mins if I could run. But as it is I can feel my thigh getting all twitchy and I need to figure out what sort of gear i need to buy/procur to protect myself from the tumbleweed field, the haybales, the rope obstacle... not to mention the wall of fire and mudcrawl. I'm thinking my dad has some gloves... hum. I would wear my rollerblading gear but thats a tad cumbersome i feel. Kerry is totally making a warrior costume which she is trying to get me to wear but i said only if she walked with me, and she's not willing, so i win. I will braid my hair, because that will look totally cute. Oh do tell me about you walking barefoot for a couple miles, how that goes and all. Because that in itself is your own activist dash. Though it'd be way more awesome through miles of sand. ;) or chocolate or a coal walk like pam on theO. But anyway our WD, there's about 20 people from church doing it and there's a hubub and carpooling excitement afoot. (oh and ps. have totally lost 30lbs total).

And in other yesterday news my new/old battery is completely lame. Not holding a charge and i don't know if its my ipod or the battery. But that the whole thing is entirely lame because it dampers my assembling techgadget victory. I hang my head. Who wants to start over? Suck.

Also I read about your chocolate post. Totally fixated now. Lindt gets a semi-sweet rating. I can't do dove anymore but i do occassionally sneak peanut m/n/ms but i pay for it. So bitter has been ruled out by natural selection. Poor cocoa slaves. I forget ben/jerrys... again, i love the newyorksuperfudgechunk but when i eat i pay the price. rash, hives, allergy. Stupidfrickinsoylecithin. I'm having trouble letting go of dairy. Thou betrayer.

Allright i'll stop babbling. I totally should be working on my essay. Totally not. It's so shiny and lovely outside. Sigh. Next time i'm going to talk about you being a warrior for the light.

m.

Dear Penelope,

this was today,
i'm eating a popsicle and pondering that no, the oatmeal didnot cut it.

i decided with nothing to do i would do my taxes. so check that off the lst. i'm pretty sure i filed my state ones becs then it said take the survey but i was too fast closing windows but i hope it submitted. we'll see. i'm suppose to be getting $293 back total ... fairly good for not having made any money this year. there was that month and 1/2 though.

also randomly this woman had my business card from a couple yers back and wanted to buy some seaweed prints. crazy. so thats cool and wanted to chat about SAIC and if seaweed pressing is a good natural project for this craft magazine and is going to fwd my info to her editor... wha....? so i had some shenanigans trying to update my websitewhich i've been intending to do for like months.... but it proves the websites usefulness. and that it should show copyright stamps from 0'10 and not 08. also maybe as i'd been intending to do for the last 2 years, to go collect seaweed. and get some more.

interesting developments.

and though i have no money coming in, as my unemploy check is still not here... its all going to be ok. i havent cut up the card yet but i think once i see the wheels turning again i will...

ive also started downloading songs... uploading? anyway. want to make me a mix cd of your favorites??

birthday review

Overall this year, I give the day Two Thumbs Up. It certainly trumped last year. Yes, I was unfortunately a little Green and passed on the Coldstone Creamery cake that I so coveted in my mind for the past few weeks. I feel that I will be able to better enjoy it next year, and it will be my 30th, so. And anyway, my Mom, earlier in the week, brought me my very favorite birthday cake in the whole world, a banana cake with this icing that I don't even know how to describe... I requested it most every year while growing up, and in college, I would take back most of the leftovers to the dorm and eat it for like, every meal. So tasty. And I didn't even ask for it this year! I wanted to, but then didn't, and then there it was. Yay.

J.Lo, K.Lo, and I went to breakfast in the morning to Middle McDaniel, and though the hostess was disinterested and slack at best, the rest of the service was fine, and the food was pretty tasty. K.Lo, who has been improving her own way beyond the Squish Test, chowed down on ham and hash browns with no reservations. The day was rainy, but a kind of a peaceful rain, and a long overdue rain, so we kind of lazed about the rest of the day and did a whole lotta nothing. J.Lo vacuumed for me, eeeee! That right there? Present. I opened other presents, and among many fantastic treats received an iHome, which is currently rocking my entire kitchen experience. In addition to the ipod hookup, there's radio, weather, AND tv in there. So I can like, listen to Ellen while washing the dishes, it's just fabulous.

Received: 2 birthday phone calls from friends, one admirably from mendacious at 5:50 am PST. Love you, mendacious! And also, lovely birthday mail in the form of cards and presents.

Chinese take-out for dinner, mmmm. Caught up on Ugly Betty, Grey's, lamented the lack of Survivor. Watched half of 50 First Dates, and then, you know. Fell asleep circa 9:00 PM, but ah, what can you do. Hurrah for b-days!

scattered

For the moment I've given up trying to hook up my (cooler, sans cookie issues) computer to the wireless network, because the problem looms large, and I don't know how much longer it will take to solve. I can't strap mendacious with the hassle of posting my posts forever. I'm scattered and only have some random things to offer at the moment:

1) Last night I updated my ipod and wanted to listen to Lily Allen before bed. Here I am in a fairly quiet bedroom, earbuds in place, half asleep anyway, and the thing starts up at volume: MAX. Literally, I felt like I was going to puke for a good half hour from the jolt of it. It was a scary loud, a complete accident that rocked me down to my tippy toes. I couldn't listen to Lily right away, my senses being so assaulted, and so opted for Sarah Harmer instead. Was disappointed to discover that I accidentally did not load her first album onto pod, despite intentions.

2) Went on a brief road trip this weekend to RDU, and on Saturday had lovely night to myself at surprise party for friend. Party truly was surprise, as his bday was two months prior, but it was pulled off so well. After a mid-party lull, we played a round of Cranium, which my team totally rocked, as well as Imaginiff. I heart party games.

3) I'm still pregnant. I know! I already can't wear jeans because it feels like I'm squishing the baby. Okay, the baby is smaller than a pencil eraser at this point, and it's not like my jeans don't actually fit, but there's some squishing going on. It's absurd. And if it turns out to be twins... mendacious will hear my gasp clear across the country. Because then we will have to purchase a minivan, a cruel reality I am not at present prepared to face.


4) I want to talk about Grey's Anatomy with anyone who will talk about it with me. And also, Friday Night Lights. Anyone who claims TV is a cesspool for society has not watched (and subsequently become addicted to) these brilliant productions. Currently, am sort of in love with Kyle Chandler and his irritated silences, his piercing gaze. Bonus, he was on BOTH shows last week. Here's why I love Grey's: unlike most shows, when a character throws out a declarative statement such as, "George, your marriage is a mistake," the statement is not necessarily prophetic and then fact. Characters fight back against the so-called "truth," i.e. Callie tells Izzy, "Actually, no, I'm here to stay, so get used to that." And Friday Night Lights? You so do not have to be a fan of football. The acting, writing, and camera work on this show all speaks for itself. So FANTASTIC.

5. Finally, finally watched Jesus Camp yesterday. It was one of those movies I lusted after in the Netflix queue for so long, and once it finally got here, I had no desire to watch a documentary. What I really want to watch is Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, even though I didn't really like it the first time around. But, Jesus is going back today. It scared me, just like I thought it would. Frankly, on the whole I felt like there was a little something missing from the production, like maybe a little more framework would have been nice, or some added points of view? But the camp director properly horrified me with the statement that Harry Potter, had he been in the Bible, would have been put to death. Because Warlocks are the Devil. I think she's in cahoots with Voldemort, I really do.

This week: still on a closet-cleaning tear. Hope to: clean fridge, dust here and there, purchase brilliant presents for March birthdays (not including my own), figure out the beaded bracelets, spend minimal amounts of money, not totally give up on working out. Tamilee, you continue to slay me. And, ANTM is starting, wahoo!

new grooves

I think it was in a college class where I learned that music makes a little map in your brain when you hear it. So the songs you've heard and loved before have already made their grooves in your mind, and when you hear them, they fall in instantly. Whereas new songs, songs you aren't familiar with, have to cut an entirely new path, which might explain why it's harder to accept them right away.

I'm the kind of girl who likes to listen to a song or CD over and over and over (and over and over and over) again before changing it out. It drives J.Lo, who regularly brings tall stacks of different CDs to and from work, crazy. If I pick him up from somewhere, sometimes I'll change over to the radio before he gets in, out of embarassment. Because seriously, I must average about one CD a month in the car.

My mom gave us her "old" (i.e. a year old) ipod last year, and I immediately handed it over to J.Lo. I knew he would get way, way, way more use out of it than me. He could create a massive song list on the computer and change it out whenever, and he did--still does. He uses it in the car, at the office. And I was just as happy for him to have that.

I asked for an ipod for Christmas because while the desire wasn't as pressing, I thought I could get some use out of it. On walks, or while vacuuming, gardening, or whatever. It'd be way more manageable than the Discman, and way less primitive than the pocket radio. So J.Lo hooked me up with the nano, and I have to say... I love it so.

I listen while I'm reading, mainly, and while taking care of some of the chores around here, and it totally transforms the world. It's like your life literally set to a movie soundtrack, as I've heard Kim discuss. How fantastic is it to dust to the songs you love--as many times as you want in a row, without assailing the ears of those around you?

I notice, though, that as ever, I'm falling into the same old habits. My playlist is pretty long, and because the ipod is convenient to use, I purposely included some new stuff on there so that I could, I don't know, actually listen to it? Like the new Amos Lee, Sarah Harmer, Donovan Frankreiter, and Madeleine Peyroux CDs we received for Christmas. All on there, and yes, I've listened to them each one time apiece. Then there's OKGO, which I've been curious about since the VMA awards because they seriously look like fun. Made it through a track or two, one time only. And the Little Willies--I love Norah Jones, why haven't I listened to the Little Willies yet? Most of the time I scroll through the Artist list and I'm like, totally I should listen to... hmmm, yeah nevermind. Maybe later. And it's always The Beatles, and Simon & Garfunkel, and John Mayer, and Amos Lee (the old album), that I'm drawn to. It boggles the mind that I'm so in love with all of these--how and when did my ever-resistant brain allow those old grooves to form? And am I going to do the same thing to The Shins on January 23rd, dissing Wincing the Night Away for the known comfort of Oh, Inverted World? I should hope not. Talk about missing out.