I did it!

You can just start calling  me Tech-Tisha!  I got my sister's new Mac wireless system up and running in less than 15 minutes.  I am on my computer which found her new network with no problem at all (easy when I know all the passwords!).  Now all I have to do is find the right cord so I can get her ancient PC and printer connected to the network.  She's asleep in that room right now, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow. I think I'm going to get myself one of those Airport Extreme routers --they are awesome.

I decided to check a bag on my flight down.  I usually travel with a 26 inch suitcase, but, because I was bringing the computer & router as well as a couple bulky boxes of Christmas presents, I decided to bring my huge suitcase.  I checked it and only managed to squeak under the 50 pound limit by decanting a few items to a carry-on bag.   My trip was otherwise uneventful.  Oh, I did finish the "difficult" level sudoku in the flight magazine that had apparently been attempted by several previous occupants of my seat.  That felt good.  I also started reading the book Unbroken, by the author who wrote Seabiscuit.  This one's a true story, but it's not about horses.  It's about a second-generation Italian boy who was on the fast track to becoming a delinquent until he discovered he could run.  Really run. He ran for the US in the 1936 Olympics and was on the way to breaking the 4 minute mile.  Then the war came.  His war involved flying, crashing into the Pacific, being a prisoner of war, and becoming an unsung hero.  I like this kind of book and it's so well written, it almost reads like a novel.

This is how I like 'em best, cut in wedges.

I think I'm going to do fine staying OP here.  We had baked fish, 1/2 of a potato, and green beans for dinner.  I'm going to run to the store tomorrow and stock up on a few of my staples.  I'm already missing the huge box of navel oranges I scored at Costco on Friday.  They were delicious.  I want some NOW.  :-)  Hmm, maybe it's time for a nice glass of water.  I always have trouble staying hydrated when I fly.

I brought along my running shoes and my Nike+ ipod thingie.  I'm going to try to get out for a run tomorrow.  I only have about 25 miles to run to reach 500 for 2010.  That sounds like a nice round number, no? It's supposed to dip down into the 20s here tonight, so maybe I'll wait to do that run until the sun has had a chance to warm things up a bit.

Okay, that's it for now.

Have you enjoyed the first northern hemisphere navel oranges of the season yet??

Thank You

When I opened my blog today, I was greeted by an award from Michele (Ruminations and Uncovering:  Toward a New Me).  Thank you, Michele!  Not only did I discover a new friend with whom I have a lot in common, but now I have a topic for today's post!  Here are the rules for the Versitile Blogger Award:

1.  Thank the person who gave you the award

2.  Share seven things about yourself

3.  Nominate 15 newly discovered blogs

4. Let your nominees know about the award.

Okay, 7 more things you might be interested in knowing about me . . .

1.  I love cookbooks.  I collect them and have since I was a teenager.   Lately though, I've gotten a little more selective about my cookbooks.   I like to have a beautiful color picture of the food for each recipe.  I also want to have the nutritional information at the end of the recipe.  And, of course, there's the food.  I want food that fits my life plan of eating.  I have multiple cookbooks from Cooking Light, Eating Well, Weight Watchers and Williams Sonoma.  Then there's the index--I want a really good index.  The WW cookbooks, which I love, used to have terrible indexes.  They've gotten a little better.  I use the index to circle the recipes I love.  If I want to make roasted red potatoes with rosemary, say, I'll end up flipping to the index of several cookbooks to find the recipe I want.  I've started getting rid of cookbooks that don't meet my needs.  I've probably given 60 of them away over the past year.  I try to copy my favorite go-to recipes to my computer as my friends and family often want the recipes for foods I make.  

2.  I'm the youngest of four kids.  Even though my older brother is 10 years older, my sister is 7 years older,  and my younger older brother is 3 years older,  since I became an adult I've always felt older then all of them.  Older in a good way.  Older as in wiser, more responsible, more in touch with the ways of the world.  

3.  I like to run.  I prefer running alone.  I like to set my own pace and not be slowing someone else down.  I like listening to my playlist (60s classic love songs with some classical mixed in), but if I'm with someone else, I feel like we should chat.  The best thing about running with someone else is the added impetus to get out the door, but, it can also be a bad thing if that other person convinces me to wimp out of going when I sorta really felt like going.  

4.  The only recipe I know absolutely by heart is the recipe for my mom's brownies.  The best brownies in the world.  I used to make them at least once a week.   Actually, it's been about six months since I've made them and maybe I'd better take a peek at that recipe before I make them again.  They're only for very special occasions now and only when there'll be enough folks around to get a sensible brownie/person ratio.  Gone are the bad old days of making a batch, nibbling all day, and then making a replacement batch so no one realized that I ate the whole thing.  (Unless, of course you consulted Mr. Scale--he realized it.)

5.  Our oldest, Laura, is a wunderkind.  She learned to read when she was two.  She was very shy.  She's beautiful.  She chose her college partially based on the caliber of their Ultimate Frisbee program (she went to Stanford).  She and her husband live near Seattle.  She is a children's librarian, but has chosen to homeschool her three children.  This is a picture of Laura with her youngest.

6.  I'm a chronic re-reader.  I read a lot.  I usually have a CD book in my car, an audiobook on my ipod, a paperback in my purse, and at least two books (a novel and a non-fiction book) by my bed.  I love to discover new authors  (M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raison series,  Dana Stabenow's Liam Campbell series, and Adriana Trigiani are among recent finds) and I tear through all their books until I'm waiting impatiently for the next one.  I love historic fiction.    My all time favorite book is Here Be Dragons (Sharon K. Penman).  I have reread this one at least once a year since I discovered it in 1985.  A library patron kept recommending it to me and finally put a copy on my desk.  I was put off by the title (I don't care for fantasy), but I decided to read 50 pages to give it a try. I was totally hooked.  It's not fantasy.  Anyway, I re-read this often and love it.  Other books I re-read are Gabaldon's Outlander series, Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear series, Francine River's A Voice in the Wind series.  All really well written.  BTW, for that book in my purse, it's usually a re-read.  A paperback of one of my favorites so it's easy to get right into it when I have just a bit of "found" time.

7.  It sounds like a cliche, but I knew the very day I met him, that I wanted to marry DH.  We met our senior year in college, at a birthday party for a mutual friend.  We were singing and he was standing near me.  He complimented me on my voice and we started talking.  He called me that night (just as I was telling my roommate about him) and invited me to go dancing in Sausilito the next day.  That was January 27, 1973.  He proposed in April and we were married the day after graduation.  Thirty seven years and counting.

Hmmm, 15 Newly Discovered Blogs--I'm going to fail this one.   If you haven't gotten this award yet, please consider yourself awarded!

Just curious, what's your favorite novel?

Onward and Downward

I'm still in the midst of my re-charging, bachelorette long weekend and, let me say, it's great!  I took DH and B to the plane on Friday morning.  Note--Jay is still home, but he's pretty self contained and very undemanding.  That day our weather turned great (much lower humidity, lower temperatures too).  I did a leisurely shop at Whole Foods, concentrating on their wonderful produce section.  My meals have been wonderful--and delicious.  The best, so far, was pan-seared scallops with a splash of lime, mango-avocado-cilantro salsa and corn on the cob.  I've been able to  avoid former alone-in-the-house pitfalls (such as buying a big bag of lime tortilla chips)--thanks, Patrick (Responsibility 199), for the idea of working for an "A" on my report card--I always was a grade-grubber.  On the exercise front, I biked 14 miles on Friday and I scored an 8 mile run (with a generous sprinkle of walking) on Saturday.  I took yesterday "off."  Who was it that posted over the weekend about the "newbie tendency" to try to work out every single day??  I may be ready to tweak that goal of 7/7 days of workouts in favor of a 6/7 schedule.  I ran an easy 3 this morning and, if the thunderstorms hold off, I may bike this evening, too.  I've gotten about half way through my new book (To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick--really good historic fiction) and plan to hop into bed early-ish again tonight so I can read in bed again.   Tomorrow I get the babies again and I'm ready for them!  We're going to walk to the Farmer's Market and get some tomatoes.  I'm craving great, "real" tomatoes.  Our two plants gave us a good first harvest, but slacked off on production when the weather was so hot last week.

It's hard to believe it's already August.  A new page on the calendar, full of possibility.  This August I'm going to take advantage of all 31 days and move ahead toward my weight loss goal.  Like Karen (Waisting Away), I'm going back to my basic diet plan for a push start.  I use the WW CORE plan (yes, I know, WW doesn't acknowledge the CORE plan anymore, they call it Simply Filling, but I still have the book and the CORE plan is a plan I can use to lose and continue to use for life).  I'm going to re-read the book today and look for any areas  I need to tweak.  I still have 7.2 pounds to lose by September 7th to meet my goal for the Summer Diet Buddies Challenge.  I'm gonna do it.

I am adding one goal to my list this week.  This one is guaranteed to make me look slimmer, younger, and better.  I don't have to change any of my eating habits to accomplish it.  I don't even have to add anything to my exercise routine.  The goal?  I want to work on my posture.  Head up, shoulders back, tummy in.  I always admire people who stand up without slouching.  I practiced in front of the mirror this morning.  I look way better when I stand up straight.  Like a before and after picture.  My goal:  I will leave a note on my bathroom mirror to remind me.  I will use good posture on the walking bits of my runs.  I will walk around my block (1 mile) every other day using good posture.  Maybe I'll throw in a bit of my Wii Yoga, too.


How's your August shaping up?