My Bad

In the interest of keeping karma intact, I owe the folks in my immediate vicinity an apology.

I've been working on "getting into shape" since January.  This has meant cutting out many carbs and getting up ridiculously early to exercise every morning.  I could tell a huge difference.  Once I can pull jeans/dress pants up and down without unbuttoning them, they get tossed up to the top shelf of the closet.  I have a few pairs of pants I could adjust the waist on so that I didn't have to go naked.

But, NO ONE commented.  I tried to chalk it up to surrounding myself with people who are totally aware of the body issues one can inflict with focusing on weight over health.  But, surely, SOMEONE would notice, no?

Poor Phenom was regularly forced to reassure me I actually looked like I were in better shape.

Then, last weekend, I had to buy a few items to wear.  I was quickly running out of clothes . . . and "shopping" in my closet wasn't providing enough wardrobe.  I've been reluctant to buy lots of new clothes because I'm not quite where I'd like to be and I don't want to spend money on clothes I won't wear very long.

Apparently, the lack of comment was my own damn fault.  Wearing the same clothes left people wondering if I'd lost weight or what?  Once I started to wear things that fit . . . they no longer were questioning . . . and the compliments came flying.  YES!  I totally needed a touch of external validation. (I know, I know . . . it's not the weight but the health.)

I go to the doctor this week . . . and hopefully she will give me extra gold stars.

Julia Sugarbaker says it all

I spent way too much time coasting the couch this week and trying to hork up my lungs.  It seems that blowing my nose only encouraged the production of more snot.  The upside was that I got to catch up on my day time television viewing.  I discovered a channel that plays several episodes of Designing Women back to back.

I just love how this show, some 20 plus years old still holds true today.  Preach it Julia!!

The New Season, thus far

I've been catching several of the new tv shows this week. Thus far, we've seen:

Two and a Half Men (I'm considering it new due to the changes)
Two Broke Girls
The New Girl
Raising Hope (I know, was on last year, but I totally thought it was new)
Up All Night
Free Agents
Harry's Law

I think they handled the loss of Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men well. I'm not sure the changes are going to work.

I like Two Broke Girls. I think there was good introduction of the characters, good development of the characters, care taken to not make them into caricatures, and there is an over-arching story line that will tie episodes together. And, there were some pretty good lines.

I really want to like The New Girl. I like Zoey and the idea of three hunky guys trying to develop the skills to live with a female roommate none of them are sleeping with is a good start. However, the show is built all around the female lead but the male characters are more interesting and better developed. The pilot was cute, but I didn't see enough to make me think they could sustain beyond 5 episodes. The female lead is more cute-quirky than developed. Only the male characters have multi-facets.

I made it through the whole episode of Raising Hope. I don't think the characters or story line is broad enough to last another season. Which is disappointing, because I like Martha Plimpton as an actor.

Twelve minutes in, we changed the channel on Up All Night. Again, good actors but the story was contrived and lame and it was painful to watch. I liked the painful to watch flavor the office had, but this wasn't funny enough to keep me tuned in.

I lasted less than 5 minutes with Free Agents. There wasn't enough done to introduce the characters or the story line.

Harry's Law has real potential. Of course, Kathy Bates is a good actor. But, the story line seemed compelling and there wasn't too much introduction to the characters, which will allow you to learn their stories over several episodes and lets the show focus on the story line. There also seemed to be enough people in the show that the focus can shift to fill space and time. It may be the next law show to watch.

My latest crush

I tend to throw myself into situations whole-hog. When I was younger, I had a friend tell me that I was addicted to feeling. I like the highs and lows . . . and not in a bi-polar sort of way . . . just in a sensual way. The intensity can wear a person out. Perhaps this is why the Phenom and I work so well . . . we're pretty evenly matched in being intense.

I stumbled across the now viral video totally by accident. But, this is my latest girl crush. When I first saw the video, I was struck by the notion that in real life, I'd probably like this person because I think we can appreciate each other's quirks. But, I also think she may be on to something. I find my self thinking about her ideas a lot. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around her . . . and figure out, in a Quaker sort of way, what her ideas mean in my own life and how I approach others.

Doing good

So, in a desperate effort to beg out of a meeting today, I found myself frantically searching the inauguration web site for any sort of event I could claim to be participating in or viewing via the internet. After all, who is going to argue that you shouldn't be a patriot and attend some hellish meeting?

And, I see that the inauguration committee has set aside January 19 . . . a paid holiday for most folks . . . as this event: Renew America Together: A Call to Service. The Bidens and Obamas are planning on spending the day involved in service projects. Beyond the sappiness of it, I have to say I like it. I know, they didn't ask my opinion before hand . . . which we'll have to discuss later . . . but I like the idea of encouraging folks to use a paid vacation day to extend themselves within their communities.

So, in recognition of this call to service and in recognition that most folks are likely to intend to do something but end up sleeping late instead . . . I give you a list of web sites where you can do some good and stay in your jammies.

Kiva . . . you can loan people in developing parts of the world as little as $25 for their enterprises. They pay you back and you can take your money back or reinvest it. You can thumb through their ever changing list of projects and pick something that is close to your heart or just tugs at your heart.

If you want your shopping to have a more positive impact, you can check out the items on Ebay's World of Good site. Everything from recycled goods to jewelry.

For a longer term, even more passive approach, try making GoodSearch your home page. You can find a charity you like, or add one you like, and every time you search anything on the internet, the charity of your choosing will get a penny. The more people searching, the more money your charity earns. Their site says they have 73,000 charities listed, so you're sure to find one you like. Additionally, on the same site, there is GoodShop. If you access one of the many many(they say they have over 700) online retailers (from ebay to macys to nike to overstocks.com) through GoodSearch, the charity of your choice gets a percentage of your purchase . . . and it varies from retailer to retailer.

If you'd like to design your own project and solicit donations or sponsors, you might check out setting up a FirstGiving site. You can list a charity you already work with or you can find one that is near and dear to your heart. I've seen kids set up pledge sites for their own activities and charities set up sites for fundraisers.

These are just a few ways you can contribute to your community or the charity you love. There are lots of other things you could do . . . if you take a shower and change out of those jammies.

quick response

Library Ghost . . . honestly, I don't know.

The trouble with deep thoughts

The chick has turned me on to a couple of new blogs lately . . . and I've found a few through the regulars I read. I love it when a blog makes me laugh. Cookie Bitch is one of the funniest blogs I've read in a while. I think I even proposed marriage to her once. ESK thinks that my reading Cookie Bitch in the office may be what kills me off, finally. I laugh until I can't breathe.

Another new fave is Oh, The Joys. She is funny, smart, has a great writing style, and has made me cry. Making me cry is a good thing . . . since it's actually fairly hard to do.

And, a personal friend of The Super Bongo . . . who also has a damn fine writing style . . . honest and funny and sweet and sad and very often exactly to the point . . . is The Chick. There are quite a few more . . . like Death by Children.

The upshot is that all these really well written blogs has started making me re-examine my blog and my own writings. I'm thinking that perhaps I ought to put more effort into my blog . . . perhaps be a bit less off the cuff. Maybe have a bit more razzle dazzle.

The problem is . . . at odd times during the day, I'll have a deep thought I think I ought to blog about . . . like today when I was at the "spa" (passing as human takes incredible work from a team of "beauty" experts) and had this great, deep thought. And, now, in front of the key board, it's gone. I don't even have a clue what it might have been about . . . but it was great. Or, at the time I thought it was great. . . but there were heavy chemicals in use near my face too. sigh.

Nominated

I just learned that I have again been nominated for a Blogger's Choice Award . . . best animal blogger. And, you know what? I didn't nominate myself!!!

There is a taggy thing on the side if you want to go vote for me. My goal this year is to get more than 3 votes.