Books, Yoga, and My Own Little Life

Online Yoga Classes?

2009-01-08T08:54:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite sites, lime.com, got bought out by Gaiam. That's the brand at Borders and other stores that sells yoga mats and pilates videos and such. I was hoping that it wouldn't lead to lime.com turning into another online shopping site. I checked it out the other day, and ended up on Gaiam's site, and found this:
Gaiam Online Yoga Club

You pay $5/week for 12 weeks and you get a follow-along at home yoga program. Now that's $60, I realize. But that's also less than half of what it would cost going to the studio an hour away and taking classes there. 12 weeks at a brick-and-mortar yoga studio would cost around $200.

So I guess it's expensive in general, but a great deal for some good yoga classes. But learning yoga while watching a computer monitor? I'm not sold. I wonder if this online program is worthwhile or not. It would certainly be something to carry me through most of the winter, give me something to be committed to and not get the winter blahs. I dunno. Hm

The Second Job Christmas

2008-12-28T19:56:00.003-05:00

The holiday job thing is great for money, I made a ton of extra money this holiday. It's just not so good for things like.... trying to enjoy a holiday. I got my tree up and that's it. No decorations. No christmas cards. Hell, I barely had time to shop for gifts, but luckily that was one thing I could accomplish at job #2. Macy's is an ok place to work, but my feet will need weeks to recover from this. I'm scheduling lots of pedicures in January, lots of yoga, lots of outdoors. That should get me back to normal. Anyway, there are definite perks to working at Macy's. The employee discount is one. Seeing what hits the clearance table before others is the second. Having something to do during the boring inclement weather is the third. Though I'd have to say the worst thing is wishing people a "happy holidays" and having them firmly correct me "you mean MERRY CHRISTMAS". Did it ever occur to people that I'm not trying to be PC, but maybe I'm actually not a Christian?

My holidays were nice. I got alot of nice gifts, and the days are getting longer. I'm getting tired of doing the light therapy and such to keep the SAD at bay so I'm thrilled for the Solstice to come and go.

I did finish a little project in between all the craziness! I'm thinking of giving it as a gift after I get it framed. I was a little worried how long it would take to do so much beading but that turned out to be the fast part. This was a Mill Hill Button and Bead Kit, and I think I'll definitely do more of these, next time I need a little project.

Book Review: Isolation

2008-10-30T11:10:00.002-05:00

Ok so Halloween is here, and I can't seem to find anyone up to watching scary movies with me. So this year, it's scary books. I just finished a very recently published book called Isolation by Travis Thrasher. It turns out that this book has a heavy Christian flair, but since it's a really good story of cult worship and ritual murder, it kinda plays into it and didn't annoy me all that much. The story is about a missionary family that returns to the states for a brief time, and are put up by the church in a large old house where other in-transit missionary families stay. It's a mansion that is sorta the folly of a rich old man who never lives in it, and whose family donated it to the church after he dies. The family thinks they will have a nice time to reconnect and rest, but what they don't know is that the house has a dark past and that someone is watching them.

The only thing I don't like about it, obviously, is the Christian dilemma. The husband is sure that if God loves them, they will be safe. If there is no God, the danger will get them. And though most rational adults of many religions would find that silly, the book reinforces this idea in many ways. And the book seems to be saying that the safety of the family hinges upon the husband coming to the right resolution during his "faith crisis".

But if you just look at the religious undertone as a great offset to weird cult stuff, like I did, it's a good backdrop for a horror anyone can enjoy. It's well written and has fantastic twists. Very quick read. Great for Halloween.

Grade: B

Smartie and Me

2008-10-26T21:20:00.002-05:00

I just love my new car, a Smartcar Passion Coupe. This is a picture of it, a day or two after he came home. This car is alot of fun and I have alot of really nice high-end features on an affordable car. LOOOOVES it

Oh and this is Domo. He thinks the car is his.

But new cars isn't all that I've been up to. This is a little quick project I made for my sister, who for some reason thought this phrase was perfect for her.

Now, I'm working on a new one, a little Prairie School Sampler called "November". I don't have much done but this is the progress so farOn a side note, the craziness at home is slowing down a bit. Right now, all I've really got on my plate is work, which is alot more manageable without relatives in nursing homes and things like that. We'll see if things stay quiet for a few days so that I can get caught up around the house. I also think I might get a fun holiday job if things stay quiet, just to make a little cash to offset heating bills and car payments.

Couple of Things

2008-09-24T06:56:00.005-05:00

There's been a couple things happening lately. Firstly, happy Autumn Equinox. For a moment, the day and the night were exactly even. The sun is giving way to the moon, which reminds me that sometimes the light gives way to dark and this is just natural. It also reminds me that the sun always comes back... eventually.

On the positive side, work's been going ALOT better, and I am wondering if all my hard work is going to pay off. I and my boss were the guests on a local radio show, and we recorded two shows. Those will be on the air October 11 and 18.

On a sad note, J's grandfather has been in and out of the hospital the last few weeks, the most recent being a heart attack which he suffered Tuesday morning. He was already in the hospital at the time to have his gall bladder removed, so I'm grateful that his blocked artery was found before he was put under total anesthesia for that procedure. Instead of having his gall bladder removed, he had a stint put in the blocked artery, and if he responds well to the stint and medication he's on, he's going to have his gall bladder removed in a few days. J and his mother are besides themselves. J's grandmother just died in December a day after Christmas, and now his grandfather. His mother raised him with the help of his grandparents, and so he is very close to them. Last night we tried to be there for his mother, I cooked for us and then we took her to an ice cream shop to sit outside and enjoy the fresh autumn air.

And on a totally different note, this is the project that I started while I wait for the material to arrive for my sister's project. So far I only have the blue mug part done, I'll get some WIP pics posted soon.

My WIP

2008-09-17T05:54:00.003-05:00

This is something I've been working on for a while now. Well, I haven't really been working on it solidly. It's been off and on over the last year. It's Permin kit 12-1395, modified.

It's not complete yet, it needs backstitching, washed, ironed, and then beads attached. I'm doing the beads last so that they don't melt from the iron. Then this is going to the local framing shop right by where J works to get professionally framed.

Definitely Shorter Days

2008-09-05T07:23:00.004-05:00

I started light therapy already for this year. I decided not to wait until I get sick but to be more proactive and try to stay healthy. It means getting up very early as it takes at least an hour a day for the therapy to work, and it must be done in the A.M. When I realize the way my health is tied to the changing seasons, the sunlight, and the moon, it's obvious why I have accepted nature spirituality. The interconnectivity of all things is not an abstract concept to me, but a fact of life.

The only problem I'm having is getting to bed at a better time so that I can get up in the mornings. It seems like 11 o'clock, when I'm about to retire, is the hour for things to crop up. Last night, I ended up getting into an unavoidably deep convo with a friend who is cheating on her husband and then when I finally headed to bed, I came across a doggie accident which meant 20 minutes of cleaning before I could finally get to bed. I really need to work on severing the evening when I should.

Wish my luck!

Movies Movies Movies

2008-09-02T09:17:00.002-05:00

I've seen so many movies in the last few days. Rather than split them up in a ton of posts, here are all the movies from the last week or so.

The Happening
M. Night Shyamalan's newest. I watched this via hotel room pay-per-view during my stay in Columbus. This was a massive and total disappointment. The characters were well-rounded, but they were rounded out to be soft-spoken boring people. I like Mark Wahlberg alot. More than I should. This role wasn't a good fit for him. The storyline was too far of a stretch. This movie is comparable to The Village in my mind, for kinds of twists and far-fetched basis. However, the characters in The Village are amazing and engaging. I have to say I didn't really care for any part of this movie at all. Grade: D

Vantage Point
A different kind of movie. One of those ones that tells one event over and over again. This movie is an assassination/kidnapping attempt of high ranking politicians, told from the views of such bystanders as Secret Service, media, and public. I liked this movie until the very end. The very very end. When there is the car chase with dramatic zoom-ins on the eyes in the rear view mirror, I threw in the towel. The corny level went up 200% in the last 20 minutes and ruined the ending. The rest was pretty awesome otherwise. Grade: C+/B-

Iron Man
LOVED IT. Fantastic movie. Tony Stark is not an asshole, as commonly portrayed and perceived. Just a child prodigy who grew up with different standards than the rest of us. His story is real and engaging. The action is entertaining. Pepper Potts is a strong and feminine female role. The way the story transistions Tony Stark from jerky aloof guy to totally involved hero is spot-on. Go see it. Grade: A

Hancock
Another fantastic movie. F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C. This movie isn't a super hero action flick like any of the comic adaptations. It's a movie that focuses on a very human conundrum, framed in a story that is larger-than-life. When the weight of what one is expected to be is too heavy, how does one cope? How does one cope when life continually swipes our legs out from under us? How does one cope when true love and friendship are not possible because the higher calling of duty prevents it? Charlize Theron is not a favorite of mine, but her acting makes the twist believable. I didn't guess it, but she told through glances and reactions that there is a gigantic twist in the road ahead. Grade: A

Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull thingy
I guess I don't go for cheesy mindless entertainment. J knows this about me. He knew right away that Hancock was a movie for me and this was not. It was fun to watch I guess. It was well made for what it was supposed to be. It seriously was a bunch of old people trying to run around, with a few memorable moments. The mystery behind the artifacts in this latest installment was WAY left field for me, even though I know that it is a fairly legitamate theory I hear now and again. Anyway, wasn't my cup of tea. But if you like Indy Jones, it probably is yours. Grade: C

3:10 to Yuma
This movie was one on my to-watch list, because of Christian Bale. I didn't know much else about it besides the Western theme. This movie is fantastic. Christian Bale's character (Dan Evans) is identified early as the protagonist, but I wouldn't call him heroic at all. He's not particularly brave, smart, or skilled. He meets an evil man named Ben Wade, and through the course of their several day journey, they both change. Dan finds heroism, Ben finds a scrap of humanity. The ending is perfect. The pacing starts slow but I liked what the pacing did for the movie. The beginning and end are night and day. I'd prefer a movie that starts off with slow purpose and ends with exhiliration, over a movie that starts out wow and ends eh. Grade: A

Downtown Dayton: Riverscape

2008-09-01T10:41:00.002-05:00

My sister and her husband took me to see downtown Dayton in the evening. There's a very nice area around the rivers that flow through Dayton called Riverscape. It was partly under construction when I was there, so I couldn't take pictures to show the beauty of this little area. But here are a few pics:

Yay Dayton!

2008-08-30T20:20:00.005-05:00

I've been out of town for about a week now, visiting my sister and attending a work conference. I've got tons of pics but I'll space them out over a few posts.

First is the lovely Cox Arboretum. It was really hot the evening we went, but amazingly lovely.

And last but not least, me and my crazy sister, I'm on the right:

British Podcasts are Funny

2008-08-25T16:22:00.002-05:00

So J is just awesomeness. He got me a Zune! A pink Zune! I am now the queen of podcasts and all things downloadable! It really is the coolest mp3 player, hands down. So I've subscribed to alot of different podcasts to have talk radio to listen to in the car and during my days in Dayton/Columbus this week.

And I have to say, British people do the funniest podcasts. "If anyone out there would have a story that would like to contact us, that would be grand. Yes, just grand." They speak with the stereotypical formal politeness of the Brits. There are podcasts for ANYTHING, I never realized before.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

2008-08-20T08:04:00.002-05:00

I finished up another book yesterday, Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I'd been reading his short stories and really loved them, so a friend recommended this book as her favorite. I have to say, though it was easy and enjoyable reading, it was a little cliched at parts. Gimmicks I've seen everywhere (such as saying "watch your head" and the guy says "what? OW!") were everywhere in this book. The creativity and originality was almost drowned out by the rehashed and overdone. When I forget all the little bits I've seen other places a million times, and focus on what was Gaiman's vision, the book is amazing. The world he paints with characters, interconnectivity, and imagination pops right off the page. The ending, though, was also cliched and formulaic.

This was his first novel and definitely a good summer read, unlike his short story collections which are a must-read. Grade: C

Eventful Sunday

2008-08-18T07:37:00.002-05:00

Well I headed out to go to the local grocery store Sunday morning and found my car door wide open and the glove box open and empty. Yep. Broken into. I don't keep anything valuable in my car, but they took all my papers (registration, insurance, car manual) and the little mp3 adapter.

So the police came by and told me that apparently, when the highschool down the street from me starts gearing up, there's early morning crime from kids who are there for activities or practices or whatever. J found all my papers down the street, ripped up. He also found a nice old man's wallet, of course missing any money, credit cards, or license. The police officer took the wallet back to give to the man. I honestly felt ok after I got my papers back, and really felt sad for the nice old man, whoever he is.

But then when I got in my car this morning to go to work, the seat was moved back really far. And then I felt sad for me. The last person who sat in that seat was the one who wanted to take things from me.

Star Wars Clone Wars

2008-08-15T09:02:00.002-05:00

I checked this movie out at last night with J, a friend and her husband and little son. I'm not big into the Star Wars universe, however, I like the stories and some of the concepts. It's fun to go see a movie at midnight. And the company was great. It was a really great movie for a family, and was more simplified than the Clone Wars animated series on Cartoon Network. It's aimed towards a younger audience then I realized, which is just fine with me because the other movies and cartoons really have some concepts that aren't for small children. There were some cute funny moments, but being a simplified story for children, there were also some parts that were a big grueling. As usual, I hate stupid Anakin Skywalker and totally don't care that he turns into Darth Vader. As usual, Yoda is around, representin' the height-challenged. And as usual, there's cute lovable androids and robots. Grade C+

Now... for the trailers... I can't wait to see Bolt! It looks SO CUTE! Definitely a must-see on opening weekend! Who's with me :)

Feeling For Bones by Bethany Pierce

2008-08-09T15:32:00.004-05:00

I read this book about a month ago but I wanted to mention it, Feeling For Bones by Bethany Pierce. It wasn't something that I thought I would like, but the narrative style immediately attracted me. This book deals with issues of coming-of-age and anorexia. It's written in a way that the reader can really feel affinity for the main character, even if they are middle-aged with an emotional eating problem. It's by Moody Publishers which seems to focus on issue-driven works, which I think I might look into to read more. My only issue with this book is the ending. Well, only part of the ending. I won't give any of it away, except to say the spiritual revelation just lost me. But even if I regarded that part with a bit of disgust, I still believed it.
Grade: A-

Welcome Back Football!

2008-08-08T07:57:00.003-05:00

Last night's game between the Browns and the Jets left alot of hope for the coming season. The Browns looked AMAZING and dominated the game until the players on the field started shuffling to 2nd and 3rd string guys. Our receivers were show-stopping and our defense really put up a wall when called upon. Bernie Kosar, like last year, brought a lighter side to broadcasting and had me laughing throughout.
Braylon Edward's catch is playing on every replay reel today, I'm sure. It's the stuff dreams are made of. Do we have a good team this year? Yes. Are we going to go places with it? I hope!

OMG

2008-08-07T13:59:00.000-05:00

Football. It's here. Go Browns!!!!!!!!

Solomon Grundy Born on a Monday

2008-08-06T11:51:00.002-05:00

So if anyone remembers, I did all my senior research work on graphic novels. While I focused on Frank Miller's Sin City series, I did some initial work with his Batman reworkings too. Lately I'm getting back around to reading all of the modern Batman works (thanks to a certain new movie release), and I'm currently reading Long Halloween, Dark Victory, and Haunted Knight by Jeff Loeb and Tim Sale. I don't like the artwork nearly so much as Frank Miller's style, but the story is really a great read.

Anyway, this commercial from Cartoon Network made me laugh, I haven't seen in it a long time and it's more funny after meeting Solomon Grundy in Long Halloween.

Lughnasadh - A Bittersweet Time

2008-08-05T13:49:00.002-05:00

Well, J tells me that it seems like I'm always crying "Summer's ending!", even before it even starts. But the end of summer really makes me feel a touch heavy hearted.

The druid tradition of festivals appeals to me because they recognize the changes and celebrate those. Lughnasadh is a time of recognizing the closing chapter of summer and the opening of fall. I know it's still hot and humid every day. I know that the leaves won't fall for 2 months yet.

Yet... I noticed my English Walnut tree starting to drop its leaves (it's always really early), a little rain shower of golden yellow leaves every strong breeze. I also noticed that everything is full grown. Meaning it's time to harvest the gardens, and within 2 months, they'll be gone too. The height of the victory of summer has passed, and the evenings are starting to get shorter.

Maybe it means more to me because of my philosophy of balance, harmony and cycles. Maybe it's because the shorter days means seasonal affective disorder will be returning? Maybe it's because I think the most about the fact that everything must end when the summer ends.

But that's what is so wonderful about Imbolc, next February... Though everything ends, there is always the promise that things start again.

Roscoe Village

2008-08-01T07:54:00.004-05:00

Ok so continuing with the events of the last few weeks, during our stay in middle-of-nowhere Ohio, we also visited Roscoe Village, which is a historic style main street with a mix of educational museums and shopping. It's really a smart way to get people to come and visit their little historical village. We opted not to get the pass to go in and see the historic buildings (which included a one room school house, a period doctor's office and dentist's office, and things like that) but we did get the pass to go on Canal Boat ride, pulled by horses just like "back in the day".

Dennis Knight of River Ridge Leather makes beautiful leather items, all by hand and using leather cured with the traditional tanning technique rather than chemical processes. Even all of the sewing is done by hand. I really appreciated the ecologically conscious way he worked. He showed me how patterns are pressed into leather, how stitching by hand works, and personally explained to me how each item I asked about was done. There wasn't an air of trying to make a sell, but rather, sharing his passion. But there was no way I could leave without one of his creations, and so we got some leather tree ornaments and a set of sleigh bells for Christmas. Thanks Dennis!

Along a similar note, there was another store which practiced ecologically responsible crafting. Even though it doesn't have a link, Krasco Customs is also located at Roscoe Village. There are baskets, hampers, and decorative pieces made entirely of recycled plastic milk cartons. And they are wonderfully done, everyone in our group thought these items were actual wicker until they were close enough to inspect the baskets up close. We did not purchase anything at this store, unfortunately, because there were no hampers that matched the size that fits in the bathroom. However, I really loved this store as well.

Lastly, at G.A. Fisher Jewelers, J popped in while I was at Krasco Customs and bought me a beautiful necklace made of dichroic glass. Glass jewelry has caught my eye alot lately, and the pieces by Renaissance Glass Studio were beautiful.

Oh yes and we also picked up a bamboo cutting board at the local coffee shop/gift shop at Roscoe Village.

I loved this place! Definitely check them out if ever around Coshocton, Ohio!

Sheesh The July I Wasn't Home

2008-07-31T07:37:00.005-05:00

So I won't be going ANYwhere till end of August now, when I go visit my CookinSistah and her new house. But in July, I had houseguests 2 weekends, I went to Buffalo and Niagra Falls, and I went with my fam to a vacation home in middle of nowhere Ohio.

Ok so obviously I have some pics. But for today, I'll just share some of the beauty of middle-of-nowhere Ohio. I'm embarrassed to admit I've crossed through Ohio many times and I never knew what I was just dismissing as boring nothingness. It's actually quite beautiful. These pictures were taken in Knox County, Ohio. When I took a walk around the block, it ended up being 4.5 miles long of beautiful rolling hills and dirt roads. I guess it makes sense that they don't pave most of the roads, it'd be miles upon miles of pavement for only a few farms. But they must not have the winters like I am used to. (A little side story: the Knox County guy we rented the house from apparently has a vacation home in Colorado where the nearest other person is 15 miles away... so he can get away from it all?)

Sale at Gap!

2008-07-07T07:22:00.002-05:00

I did a little shopping this weekend, I'm really happy with what I found. Here's some pics of some of the stuff:

They also had some really cute socks and 3/4 sleeve tops, and I finally opened a Gap Card, so now I have mountains of coupons to use (yay me!) I used to have a New York and Company Card, but their styles went way in a direction that just isn't me, and I couldn't find things I liked there anymore. So after checking out the other fish in the sea, I think Gap is def. my new love affair. J loves how their clothes look on me, and their pants are to die for.

Happy Birthday Me!!!!

2008-06-21T19:22:00.003-05:00

Yes I am the dreaded 28 now. My birthday was yesterday, and my only request was a day at the beach. J worked and so I went with Kristi, my fave beach bum. We biked the island and then did what beach bunnies do... we picnicked and sunned the afternoon away. Kristi made her super famous oatmeal cookies (which I even had for breakfast this morning)

But I don't even want to talk about the misadventures on the drive home in which we could not get the bikes to stay secured to the rack, and stood on the side of the highway PRACTICALLY NAKED in our swimsuits. Thank god nobody honked at us.

And now the pic to commemorate the day that I will look at and sigh all winter long:

Something to Check Out

2008-06-12T08:01:00.002-05:00

I've been really into "Endless Ocean", a game on the wii that is a new style of game... it has no direction, no required things you must do (but plenty is offered to do if you want), your character doesn't "die", and it's purely meant to be a de-stressing game experience. Basically, you are a researcher who dives to explore, catalogue, and experience the ocean. There's fish, sharks, dolphins, penguins, whales to get to know and catalogue. There's also deep caverns with the potential for bigger discoveries (I haven't gotten my deep sea diving gear yet).

Anyway, the thing to check out isn't just Endless Ocean, but the woman who sings the songs that are used in this game. Her name is Hayley Westenra, and apparently she's already a big hit in England. Her voice literally has made anyone at my house while I've been playing this game stop to find out who she is.

So if you are into modern classical music like Charlotte Church or Andrea Bocelli, check out Hayley Westenra!

John Grisham You Kidder!

2008-06-10T14:46:00.003-05:00

The best dorky english thing I have seen in a long time is this article on The Onion. A few gem quotes:

"I was talking to my friends James Patterson and Patricia Cornwell the other day, and they told me about this new thing called "symbolism," where you make one object "represent" another more "abstract" concept."

"I suppose you could even plot out the whole story arc ahead of time, before you start writing, and put in the hints as you go along. Usually I just sit down and start typing, and then come up with a climax when I get to 450 pages."

Satire? I wonder....