I am sick...yuck!

I've been at home all day - sick with a bad cold or something. I figured I'd spare my coworkers the sneezing, coughing, and germ-spreading. So I've been lying in bed, sleeping, watching movies, talking on the phone, and drinking tea. Let's hope I feel better by tomorrow. Being sick is no fun, even if I didn't mind spending my whole day here:
Oh, and I watched "Under the Same Moon" - a WONDERFUL movie (you must see if you have a heart), and I also watched "The Counterfeiters", a German movie. Both were awesome.
Unfortunately, a DVD is stuck in my MacBook Pro, so I will have to take it in to get it fixed. Grrr...

Saturday and Sunday

On Saturday I met my girls D and S at a sushi place to celebrate S finding a decent job.
S finally got the scarf I knitted for her. Not very timely for warm September days, but it will come in handy come winter. Sushi was delicious, as expected. I tried to restrain myself from eating all of it (but barely).
Afterward, we goofed around Target, where S found some 60s and 70s hits CDs. We ended up singing along to the blaring classics in the car all night long. Met some friends (and made some new ones). It was, as always, tons of fun. These two are trouble.
Sunday was a little more low key. Got to catch up on some house work, and then met my team to work on our class project. (Hi guys!)
We had the most wonderful meeting place (at a pretty lake), and our meeting lasted a mere 30 minutes. What a dream team! If only everyone was as easy to work with...

PPGI Fall 2009 Book Sale

Sisters and I volunteered at the Planned Parenthood Book Sale tonight. Our checkout station was super-efficient. I was asked to be the Volunteer Coordinator starting in the Spring 2010 Book Sale. Sweet. I am a super-volunteer.
We were so busy the entire time we were there. Most people were super-friendly. There were also some "interesting" characters. I also got to see my ex-boyfriend's parents. That was a bit awkward.
Once again, a pretty fun time spent with my sisters, while doing something good for the community. I am so exhausted now, though, I am going to bed.

My puppy is a killah

Today I decided to invite my sisters over for dinner. I figured they would enjoy to eat a nice home-made meal. I made Ginger Lime Tilapia with Banana Ketchup & Curried Quinoa - another recipe from the Clean Eating Magazine. We ate it before I remembered to take a picture, so here is the photo from the magazine. It pretty much looked exactly like that (my fish was seasoned a bit more, so it wasn't so pale).

Then we played Frisbee outside with the dog.

He actually managed to catch the Frisbee . Too bad I didn't get that on video. It was pretty funny.

He also tried to carry a basketball in his mouth. He is THAT ambitious.

There he is, two serene minutes before he snapped the leash and attacked the neighbor's dog. We had a hard time catching him. When we finally got a hold of him, he had blood on his tongue and lip. Not sure if it was his or the other dog's. Yikes! I am slightly afraid now... not that the other dog didn't have it coming. She kept provoking him forever. She surely learned her lesson. Don't mess with the big golden guy.

All in all, it was a fun evening. We ate, we played, and then we watched some Flight of the Choncords. I always enjoy spending time with my little sisters.

And tomorrow we are volunteering at a book sale together. Yay!

Why are you doing this to me, Kim Hargreaves?!? Why?

Some time ago, I shared with you how I wanted a book of knitting patterns by a certain knitting designer. Well, I have not gotten over my desire for "Breeze" yet when Ms. Hargreaves puts another one out, appropriately titled "Precious". If you are familiar with the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, the reference to Golem will not escape you here. "My preeeciooous!"

Here are some of her excellent designs:

::swoon::

Food log... or dlog (as in Web log is blog...get it?)

If you ever found yourself wondering "I wonder what she eats every day" (I mean, who hasn't wondered about how I keep my apple shaped, pudgy figure), you can now track my every bite here.

I really do hate tracking everything I eat, especially if it's something someone else made (I measure every single ingredient in every recipe I make on my fancy new food scale, so that I can have a almost accurate estimate of my calorie intake). But keeping track and making it visible to others makes me accountable and less likely to give in to 3,000 calorie chocolate and pizza binges.

So, please feel free to review and judge me on my food choices. Make sure to stop me and scold me on days I choose to eat a pot full of pasta or a jar full of Nutella. This is all for my own good. It's the only thing that has truly helped me lose weight, feel good, and gotten my blood pressure down - and will (hopefully) lower my cholesterol.

Exercise makes even doggies tired

My puppy and I ran 3 miles this morning. He was so tired afterward, he wouldn't even stand up for his water. He just plumped himself on the floor by the impromptu water dish (he was too tired to run downstairs to his regular water dish).
Poor guy. I hope I am not working him too hard. He always gets excited about these runs, and he is the one running ahead of me all the time. The vet said exercise would be good for him (he packed on a few pounds in the past year).
And here is a video of my puppy. Note his heavy panting. And keep in mind - if a rambunctious pup is this tired, just imagine his owner right now. :)