How long could you live on beer alone?

Explainer at Slate answers this burning question.

one of *those* students

Body Swap

Life: Easier as a Robot?











Probably.

Every time I go to sleep

Sing sweetly.

deets

Yesterday I re-did a difficult workout that was originally completed the first week I started at the bootcamp. A comparison of "time-to-complete" as well as some key weight measurements. The result? My original time of 22:30 minutes was reduced by 4 minutes to 18:30!

(Yeah, I'm proud of myself).

My legs and arms haven't changed in circumference (well, they've gone up by a few mm but the scientist in me says those measurements are not terribly precise nor statistically significant), my waist is exactly the same but my hips and bust have become an inch (or more) smaller. I still cannot fit into my "skinny" (ie bootcut but one size smaller than I currently am) jeans but perhaps if I keep it up I will. *beaming*

holiday treats

I can pound away alot of jelly beans in one sitting, no doubt. But the real addiction comes in the form of Cadbury Eggs. But (as everything these days) they are expensive and the quality of chocolate is the waxy-cheap-North American-variety. Another option: make your own!

Homemade Cadbury Eggs:

local butter

organic vanilla

organic fair trade chocolate

organic coconut oil

salt

regular old* corn syrup

regular old* icing sugar

orange flavor & food colouring if desired

(*can't win 'em all.)

I am certain, even with homemade ones, these are on NO ONE'S "healthy" list. Oh well :)

secretsecret

I just made a salmon stirfry in the toaster oven at work. Huzzah!

Important because: I'm off to the gym. A place where people sweat on purpose...such a foreign affair to me (the bookish nerd). Thing is about a month ago I won a gift certificate through an online auction-slash-advertising campaign I originally saw mentioned in the local paper. I don't live in a very big place, and this online auction thing was relatively new. Local small business offer up gift certificates as an advertising campaign but non-interest means $100 restaurant GCs regularly go for half their value. This translated to my situation as: winning a $105 gift certificate for a month long "bootcamp" trial for $11. You can imagine my glee as a bargain shopper to have paid only 10% of the value of something, even if it WAS a gym membership.

So I started going three times a week for about 45 minutes: 10-15 to warm up then 30 minutes of high intensity workout (like this):

Learn About Crossfit Training

I thought I was going to get skinnier but so far that's not the case. I am fitter though, which is important. I hauled a GIANT log (barely) at the house the other night, and went canoeing yesterday (with a dog in the canoe at one point) and had good balance.

My secret auction site hasn't been discovered by enough people apparently, since I just won another month long membership for $16 today. A total investment of $27 for two months of workouts is great, because I'm actually GOING. I show up with maybe three other ladies at a convenient time and follow my trainer's instructions. I suck at self-motivation to get my butt to the free fitness centre on campus but I am really good at following directions so... that's what I do. Wobbly legs and all.

sweet sorrows

I just finished reading this borrowed novel: On Beauty (Zadie Smith). Unlike the Observer review, I did not think it was "wonderfully funny".

I had big plans for today, but somehow I find myself sliding into physical apathy. Pajamas, long baths, 50 pages of a new novel, a movie (documentary?), online stalking/online bidding and cookies.

Zero Degrees

Still cold this morning (zero degrees celsius upon waking up - not scooter weather yet), but the snow banks are slowly melting away. I took some picture last week of the house with my new phone. Some inside, some outside, some of our animals. An update.

Moose roaming around in our front yard (taken from second story window):Chickens, also in the front yard:

Fresh backyard egg plus bat-face dog:

Two gardens waiting for the soil to dry before tilling. I'm planning a third garden (out of view on the left) so I can plant green manure on a three year cycle in each bed:View over the bridge to the orchard:
Remnants of one of our fallen trees:
Canuck decorations strewn about our front porch:

View from the kitchen sink down the hall to the front door with arched entry framed in, and new plywood subfloor:

Alcove design will let us display nifty art and pottery one day:


Slim fridge nestled between beams in our newly expanded kitchen area. Patio doors stored next to the growler (we're classy like that).Hearth with supper (framed by bright purple insulation):Newly framed pocket door interior wall, one of many new interior walls (also, stack of firewood):

Feline pet thing:

Canine pet thing hanging out in our upstairs living room (the one with real furniture, curtains, bookcases and carpet):Hand-drawn design of our exterior "master plan" including vegetation, out-buildings, and planned changes:

SkillSets

I've started designing things for my job. There is an unavoidable lag between when I send in my idea, and when the expensive process of making it can finally get tested. The first test for my first ever design was completed today by my co-worker, and my design looks beautiful. Yay! Validation makes my life. Sigh.

Commercial Appeal

This played on the local campus radio this morning.

Orange-ish Red

Two things.

1. Evan Rachel Wood doesn't look good as a blonde. Wrong colouring. I tried this when I was a teenager. She should go back to being a redhead.




2. This dress isn't nearly as flattering as I thought it would be. Bummer, since I bought it online from the States so an exchange is not really worth the hassle.

migration imagination

well well well. A few weeks ago I got a new Macbook Pro and an iPhone for work. Since I inherited my old computer, I didn't want to migrate all the settings from old to new, so I migrated applications while trying to attempt to transfer about 8 Gb of files another way.

What I tried:

1. migration assistant...cannot choose files only - fail

2. firewire...new 800 port incompatible with my cord - fail

3. LaCie harddrive...not recognized on the new laptop - fail

4. burn two CDs of data...cd drive not functioning on old macbook -fail

5. email items using WeTransfer...2Gb limit -fail

6. use internal M: drive to transfer items...200 kb limit -fail

7. Dropbox?...takes forever to sync -fail

8. Use my new 8 Gb iPhone to transfer data...but Tiger version of iTunes is too old and won't even support the newest version -fail

I'm running out of ideas.

Horoscope April 2011

Art Nouveau

Art Opening in the village. Best part is the space used to be a Dollar Store. Then it got transformed. Awesome.From the artists:

Naomi Collins

Ainslie Moss

Jon Cleveland

BabyDubstep.

Gruff love

Born Ruffians are playing here soon. Growl.

away from home

Last month I was in North Carolina, this month to New England and then next week I'll be spending the whole week on an island learning a technique from a colleague. You know what this means? My plants are dying because I'm never around to water them.