The Haydenettes

This is a video of The Haydenettes' long program. They're one of the top synchronized skating teams in the world, and they're based in Massachusetts. I cannot express how difficult this program is or how scary it would be to skate. The audience is cheering so much that you can hardly hear the music at some points.

Deborah Burgoyne North American Invitational 2007

This past weekend, I competed at the Deborah Burgoyne North American Invitational in Wyandotte, MI. It was my seventh year competing there, and I had a good time as usual. The arena was remodeled this year, and the new locker rooms and registration (warming) room are great! The bleachers are much easier to climb, too, especially in skates.

I placed third in freestyle and fourth in interp, so I got two medals. I skated both programs reasonably well, especially considering that I hadn't skated since the previous Sunday because of the weather. It was fun to skate in the same event as one of the skaters I practice with on Thursday nights -- I'd never seen her interp program before, and it was great.

My friends Dan and Melissa let me stay with them, and it was so nice to see them again and catch up with them. They recently moved back to Michigan from Texas, and they're settling in well to a nice new home and town. They always make me feel so comfortable in their home, and they put up with me dragging them around half the state to watch me skate, too. I got the chance to take them to Ikea for the first time on Sunday, and I think they'll go back. I got the curtains we wanted for the living room that were out of stock when we went this summer (you can hardly see the light tan vine pattern on them in the picture; notice, too, that they aren't available in mail order) as well as another Dave, which may be the best thing Ikea ever made. I exercised an extreme amount of self-control and spent less than $100 in all.

Snow day!

Well, not really. I'm working at home. We got a lot of snow (8-10 inches?) yesterday and overnight, and this morning we determined that it would not be possible to get my car out of its spot unless the person behind me moved. That happened a while ago, but it took us about two and a half hours to clear enough space in front of the house to get the car out. (And that was with the snowblower's help.) Spike had quite a time going potty this morning.

NYR update 3

1. Floss. Doing well -- I think it's become a habit.

2. Go out to lunch at work only once a week. Doing very well. This week's free burrito adventure doesn't count as going out, as it was free. Sometimes I make lunch for my co-worker Alan, and he pays me $3 per lunch. I've decided that making two lunches for Alan is equal to going out one extra time, and this (plus going out less than once per week so far) has reduced my "lunch debt" from last year to 10.

3. Be on time to work. I still can't get the hang of getting out of the house on time.

4. Land flip. No flip yet, but new loop exercises. Because there's a loop in the flip, they should help.

5. Save money. I'm not spending much, but not saving much extra either. This resolution has become more important in light of the news that my company was sold this week.

6. New recipes. A few weeks ago I made peanut sauce for a stir-fry, which turned out really well. This week I'm considering making regular chili, which I've never made before.

7. Less trans fat. I was doing well until today. We were out to lunch with some friends and I ordered potato salad with my burger. One friend ordered cottage cheese, but they brought him fries instead. He didn't want them, so I ate them. (It was probably a good thing after all, as I didn't like the potato salad.)

8. Perfumes. Doing well. I can see the difference in two of the bottles, but one of them isn't disappearing as fast. Still, I think I'll make my goal. I use a different perfume about once a week for variety.

9. The Compact. I'm not doing as well as most other people on the e-mail list I'm on. However, I've made a list of everything I've bought this year, both to make myself consider the items and to keep track of whether I use them.

Burritos

Last week I got a voice mail message that I'd won 15 free Chipotle burritos in a drawing. (I'd dropped my card in a fishbowl the week before.) I called the guy back, and as it turns out, I had to redeem my 15 burritos all at one time. So I headed over there at lunchtime today with five of my co-workers, Steph, and two of Steph's co-workers. They gave us our burritos and even threw in free drinks, and they let me take the remaining six home. I told the guy that I'd be back and that I'd recommend the place. The burritos are tasty and are big enough that I could have saved some for later. I'm thinking that if I made some side dishes to go with it, Steph and I could split one of the remaining burritos for dinner.

Super Bowl joke

Courtesy of our friend David:

What do you call 53 guys sitting around watching the Super Bowl?

The New England Patriots.

Chicken soup

I'm not feeling well, so I thought I'd have some chicken soup for lunch. Campbell's Chunky Chicken with White and Wild Rice doesn't hold a candle to my dad's chicken rice soup. Unfortunately, I don't know how to make my dad's soup, and we don't have any in the freezer. I'll have to get his recipe -- he's told me several times how he makes it, but I haven't written it down.

Soup from a can always seems to have a certain taste (maybe it's the preservatives?), with the exception of Campbell's Italian Wedding soup. Homemade soup just tastes better.

Blogging from the hotel

I'm in Madison, WI, for the Careers Conference. The conference has been great -- I've attended several interesting presentations and met many interesting people. I felt like I finally know enough about careers to make attending the conference worthwhile to me, and thanks to the clothes Steph got me for Christmas, I finally felt like I looked like I belonged there. I'm on a public computer, so I can't post my picture of the clothes.

You see, my laptop and my suitcase are on a shuttle to the airport. They were keeping my stuff downstairs until my shuttle, but they mistakenly put everyone's stuff on the earlier shuttle. Fortunately, they have the Internets in the lobby and I have a book in my bag. Also, the earlier shuttle will be returning before I have to leave.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the conference and I hope my boss will send me to another one soon.

Update: The shuttle driver brought back my luggage and apologized profusely. I was, of course, very understanding, especially because they had the Internets in the lobby and I had a book with me.

Colts win!

I tried to call Michelle to talk smack to her because the Colts will be playing the Bears in the Super Bowl, but it appears everyone else with Cingular is doing the same thing, so I don't have service. It was a very exciting game, though, with the largest comeback in AFC championship history.

Disclaimer: I am the world's biggest fair-weather fan. I don't follow football. I've only seen two entire Colts games before, and that's only because we had free tickets.

VW ASCII art

On the New Beetle list, I've seen quite a few different pieces of VW-related ASCII art. However, someone on the Prius list owns a '65 Beetle, and I think his is my favorite so far:

Carl
Proud Owner of Stanley, a 1965 VW bug!
(O\|/O) (.\~/.)

I love the back of the Beetle. I would have used lowercase Os for the headlights, though -- I think it's more to scale:

(o\|/o)

NYR update 2

1. Floss. I forgot to floss the other night. However, I've flossed each night except that one, so I'm working on forming the habit.

2. Go out to lunch at work only once a week. Doing well. I went out to lunch with some co-workers yesterday, and that was the first time I've done so all year, so I even made progress on my goal of catching up from last year's excesses.

3. Be on time to work. Not doing so well. I still can't get up early enough to get out of the house on time.

4. Land flip. No flip yet, but I learned a new jump sequence (half lutz-toe loop-falling leaf-salchow), which is seriously kicking my ass. It's most assuredly going in the program by the time I compete in February.

5. Save money. Doing okay. I'm saving money by cooking more at home, not buying stuff, and not shopping on eBay (except for the new walking shoes I bought to replace my walking shoes at work, which had split at the heel seam).

6. New recipes. Some progress. I'm making a new variation on white chicken chili tonight, and I made a version of baked ziti with some substitutions last week.

7. Less trans fat. Doing pretty well. I found a loaf of garlic bread with no trans fat last night at the grocery store, and I haven't had a single french fry all year.

8. Perfumes. Doing moderately well. As I said, I picked out three perfumes, and I've been wearing them a little more than half the time. Today I marked the level in each with a marker. (One has about 1/4 bottle left, one has about 2/3 bottle left, and one is almost full.) However, I purchased three new bottles of perfume at the Body Shop the other night. They were on clearance ($6 each, originally $16 each) and they've been discontinued, so I felt I had to get them. I already knew I liked them because I have a little sample pack of nine of their scents. They're keeping four of those and getting rid of five. I feel kind of bad about buying them, though, so I'm not going to use them until I finish at least one bottle of the three I'm trying to finish.

9. The Compact. Doing okay except for the purchase of some small stuffed animals (at 75% off) to throw to my skating friends at competitions and the aforementioned perfume. Also, I bought walking shoes, but that's kind of health-related, as I need to take care of my feet and my old walking shoes were cutting into them and making them bleed.

Blogiversary

I started my blog one year ago today. In honor of my blogiversary, I changed my template and added a blogroll.

2006 Year in Books

I read only 23 books in 2006. That's more than I read in 2005, but not as many as I wanted to read. Here's the rundown:



I read this for book club, and it was just okay.



We got an advance reader's copy of this at work, and I was excited to see a book about a kid with two moms. I ended up disliking some of the characters, though, which frustrated me.



Prep got mixed reviews, and I agree with those who felt the main character, Lee, didn't change or grow very much. I mostly enjoyed the book despite Lee's flaws, though.



Another book club selection. I enjoyed this book. I felt for Grady even though his predicament was all his own doing.



I forget the answer to the title question, but I found this book entertaining. It wasn't just another boring health book.



I read a different edition of this book. The cover has Encyclopedia Brown pictured wrong! Doesn't he have reddish-brown hair? It certainly isn't that dark. I had a bunch of Encyclopedia Brown books as a kid, and I found this one at a garage sale. When I was at my dad's last weekend, I found my old copies, so more Encyclopedia Brown may be on my reading list for 2007. He's still a good detective.



Steph picked this book up at a book sale; I read it one day when we were sitting around her house. It was a fun way to spend a couple hours on a lazy Saturday afternoon.



I bought this book for my not-exactly-a-niece Raven, who's 14, and I felt I should take a look to see what it was like. It's a good thing I did, because after I gave it to her, she called me to ask what some of the British words meant.



Yet another book club book. I thought it could have ended sooner. It was interesting to read a classic science fiction novel.



I like memoir-type books in which people talk about their daily lives. Karol Griffin has a very different life from mine. I enjoyed learning about the world of a tattoo artist.



I loved these essays, especially one in which the author and a friend made a contraption to remove stray plastic bags from trees.



One of my favorite books from sophomore English. We read The Great Gatsby for book club, and I enjoyed it almost as much nineteen (!) years later. I loved it for its social commentary.



I picked Amalee up at the library because I was interested to see what kind of book Dar Williams would write. I like her music.



Steph bought Geography Club because it is about a gay kid in high school. I wasn't out in high school, so it's interesting to read about kids who are.



I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I read this book. I got it at the library sale for Michelle because we used to watch General Hospital.



Another book club selection. It was a fun read; I borrowed his earlier book Jennifer Government from my mom, and maybe I'll get to it this year.



Jim Henson rocks.



I liked the premise, but I couldn't relate to the author very well.



I wasn't young enough, fabulous enough, or broke enough for this book. I already knew most of the stuff she covered -- I think I need a different Suze Orman book.



This book was a little unsettling. Freyer had friends over to tag items they thought were representative of his life, and he sold them on eBay. I liked the stories behind the items and the description of his process, but I was sad that he sold many of his photos and other items that were really meaningful to him.



This book didn't work for me. The dialogue wasn't realistic and the story seemed a little forced.



Adding to my collection of skating books...



Definitely one of my favorite books of the year. I loved reading about the author's relationship with the encyclopedia and with knowledge in general.

I hope to read a little more in 2007. I've already started two books, and Steph and I are reading a story each night from a book of 365 bedtime stories. This year I also need to buy fewer books and clear out a few more of the books I don't want to keep.

NYR update

An update on my resolutions:

1. So far, so good. I flossed after I got home from Dan and Doug's last night in a semi-tipsy state because I figured it was after midnight, so it counted.

2, 3, and 4. Haven't worked or skated yet this year. Did watch some skating today, though.

5. Didn't spend excess money at the grocery when on mission for soup vegetables. Oh, wait, maybe I did. But we will use the items I bought -- crackers to go with the cheese my aunt sent us and marinade for the chicken in the freezer.

6. I made bean soup a little differently today. It turned out okay.

7. So far, so good.

8. I chose three perfumes and wore one of them. I'm not sure I can stick to wearing only those three, but I can at least focus on using them a lot and using them up.

9. I didn't buy anything new today. Only food.

Music?

If you recognize the music behind the EV1 commercial I just posted, please let me know. It'd be fun to skate to.

1996 GM EV1 commercial

Pretty cool.

New Year's resolutions

It's the last day of 2006 -- time to post my New Year's resolutions.

1. Floss every night. I used to be really good at this one, but I started forgetting sometime this summer, and I need to get back to it.

2. Go out for lunch at work only once per week, cumulative (not counting weekends or when I'm on vacation). I've made this resolution since 2005, and I've varied in my success. In 2005, I ended up two ahead, but in 2006 I was 16 behind, so I have 14 weeks to make up. Guess I better get started on that ham and bean soup.

3. Be on time to work. Despite six months of my best efforts to leave earlier, I keep leaving the house at the time I used to need to leave when I lived on the east side. Old habits die hard.

4. Land my flip again. I've landed it twice from a standstill, both in 2005, and I want to transform that into a real flip jump. Unfortunately, it seems like most of my jumps arrive during times of great personal hardship. I'd like this one to come more easily.

5. Save money. We have a long list of things we want to do to the house and items we would like to purchase. I'd like to save more money toward those things. The next few items include a chest freezer, a new computer for Steph, and getting Phoebe's check engine light (yes, it's back on again) checked out.

6. Try more new recipes. I bought a new cookbook yesterday called A Slob in the Kitchen, which has some interesting easy recipes. My adventures in cooking have mostly turned out well, and I'm interested in exploring several other cookbooks we have. I've started dating recipes when I try them, too.

7. Less trans fat! I've been trying to cut down on my trans fat consumption recently. Guess I'll be getting my fries from Chick-Fil-A or Wendy's when the craving hits. I admit that the Shedd's Spread Country Crock limited-edition cinnamon spread that I love so much has half a gram per serving, but I should be allowed one indulgence, right? Besides, I don't use much of it.

8. Use up at least three of my perfumes. I have a lot of perfume, and as much as I've tried, I'm not a one-scent kind of girl, although Flower Moon could almost make me into one. I'm running out of space on top of my dresser for perfumes, and about three-quarters of the ones I have are scents I like but don't feel the need to purchase again when I run out.

9. The Compact. The Compact is a movement in which people don't buy new stuff. They do, however, buy used stuff. Exemptions are made for such things as food and health and safety items. We're going to try it and see how it goes. New stuff resold on eBay seems to count as used, too.

What we're watching tonight

Elizabeth lent us An Evening with Kevin Smith.



I love Kevin Smith.

What are you watching?

Holiday season in review

We've had a busy holiday season this year (as usual). Over Thanksgiving, we drove to Iowa to visit Steph's dad's side of the family, which was great fun. We attended several Christmas parties, hosted one, and went to four family Christmases (well, Steph only went to two). Steph got pleurisy again and had to stay home on Christmas. I hit the after-Christmas sales with Michelle and got some good deals. We shopped yesterday and today with our Christmas gift cards, and now I have more work clothes and we both have many books to read.

For Christmas, I gave many fun gifts and received a lot as well. Some of my favorite presents include a Wheel of Fortune game, the Out on the Porch calendar, two pairs of slippers, an excellent pair of gray pants, a book on living green, and a scribe (for drawing circles on the ice so I can learn some school figures).

Merry Christmas

I'm at my dad's, blogging from the other side of the kitchen table (opposite the side where I usually sit), which seems to be the only place in the house where I can scam on the neighbors' unsecured wireless.

Steph is at home with pleurisy. I was very worried about leaving her, but she convinced me to go, saying that she'd be fine and that she'd call Dan and Doug if something happened. I miss her. And the pets.

So far, my dad and I have cooked the turkey, which is almost ready to eat, and we (mostly my dad) replaced the other taillight gasket in the Honda so my trunk won't leak. I painted the wiper arms flat black where the paint had burned away (sounds like a precious thing to do on a 13-year-old car, but the silver metal on the tops of the arms reflects into my eyes in an annoying fashion).