The dub dub

For those of you that don't know (which is probably a small number since I've been broadcasting it), I joined Weight Watchers on May 3. So far it's been going fairly well and I've lost 8.4lbs which means I'm almost half-way to my 10% goal! People have been talking about goals lately so I thought it would be a good idea to get mine written down. Besides, public humiliation is always a good motivator! :)

• Control high blood sugar - don't want to take medication!
  
• Feel good about myself again and finally believe A. when he tells me I'm beautiful.
  
• Be able to buy clothes that I want and not worry if a store will have my size.
  
• Be generally more healthy.
  
• Tone mid-section.
  

I've been sticking to the plan pretty strictly (aside from this past weekend - oh, the wine...) so hopefully I don't fall off in a spectacular fashion! Here's to watching the numbers get smaller and smaller!

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I finished reading Alice Munro's Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage a while ago and I really enjoyed it. It's the first of Munro's books I've read (shocking, I know) and it won't be the last. The stories were interesting and entertaining and it always makes the reading fun when you recognize the places she's describing. A definite recommendation!

Oops

Well, it's been quite a while since I last posted and a lot has gone on, most of which I can't remember details of.

I've been reading slowly but I was able to add a book to the tally. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon is Haddon's sophomore effort and was just as enjoyable as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. I don't remember my initial impressions of the book but it was hard to put it down.

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We bought two new Ikea bookshelves and some throw pillows for the couch - I'll add pictures once I get them onto the new computer we bought yesterday. We also got a sweet 22" LCD monitor.

Edit: Here are some pictures of our Ikea bookshelves and pillows from Pier 1.




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Several weekends ago we decided to get out of the city so we drove down to Leavenworth, WA, a gorgeous Bavarian village in central Washington. It's surrounded by mountains and rivers, has fantastic German food, and Andrew said it took him right back to Germany. It's a 4 hour drive on a twisty two-lane highway, but it was definitely worth it.



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We also finally went up to Whistler last weekend with my Mom and Gary. The village was nice and we went up the gondola and chair lift which was amazing, but I have to admit, I think I like Banff better.

My VisualDNA

There are a ton of quizzes out there that will ask you to answer some questions and will then spit out a "personality report" but this is the first one I have seen of it's kind. Instead of various different written scenarios this one asks you to choose between a bunch of photos. They all evoke different thoughts and emotions but only one is right for you. Give it a try.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Designing dilemma

Calling all home decorators - I have an issue.

We have decided that we want to inject a little bit of spice into our condo in the form of new throw pillows for the couch. Here's the problem - up until now I have stuck to a colour palette of yellow, gold, blue and brown because the space is so small and I didn't want it to look all crazy. Now, however, I am sick of the gold and beige coloured throw pillows that basically blend into the beige couch.

I bought a rug that I LOVE in Afghanistan that has some dark fuschia, brown, green and yellow in it. I was thinking of perhaps going with fuschia or red and brown but now I'm not sure.

The duvet cover is a light blue, the wall that the couch is on is a goldy yellow and the fireplace surround across from the couch is brown.

Here is a picture of the offending couch.



Suggestions?

Life in point form

• Home safe and sound.
  
• Had an excellent visit with A.'s parents (also went to Peterborough & Ottawa.)
  
• Saw a lot in DC - the pictures are up at Flickr.
  
• One of our favourite stops was the International Spy Museum. Very, very cool.
  
• Stayed at the Adams Inn, a fantastic B&B in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood.
  
• I'm addicted to Facebook.
  

That is all.

The mysteries of Philadelphia

Unfortunately the blogging spirit isn't strong in this one at the moment but I do have a book to add to the list.

Before I get to book number six there are a few points about The Lovely Bones that I wanted to mention that were discussed at our book club meeting this past Sunday. Overall, I loved the book and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to people however, there were some flaws. The thing I had the biggest problem with was the "fall from heaven" sex scene. If you haven't read the book I won't say much more than it caught me off guard and kind of interrupted the flow of the book for me. Several people mentioned that the characters were basically just two dimensional outlines and, while I agree in some respects, I also think if Sebold had tried to flesh them out any further the book would have been a lot longer than it was. This was an incredibly emotional read and I think this is why I enjoyed it so much - I let myself be immersed by the story rather than thinking about the details too much.

Once I finished reading The Lovely Bones I moved on to Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon which I received as a Christmas gift. I really enjoyed the movie version (even with Tobey Maguire) and have wanted to read the book. While most of the story was similar to the movie there were large chunks, as with any adaptation, that were left out. I especially enjoyed the Passover scene with his in-laws and the "rescue" of James Leer from his family. This is one of the rare times where I don't have a definite opinion on whether I liked the movie or the book better - both were highly entertaining and I will return to both again in the future.

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A. and I leave for our holiday on Monday and we couldn't be looking forward to it more. We will spend time with his parents and then we are heading into the States for a 5 day road trip. If anyone has been to Philadelphia or Washington, DC and has any suggestions of things to do or see or restaurants with fantastic food, please leave a comment.

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We have spent an obscene amount of time watching the first three seasons of 24 and A. is now hooked. I think I've created a monster.

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I took a bunch of pictures of the condo and posted them on Flickr. If you have a good eye for furniture arrangement or have any organizational ideas, please comment on the photos or let me know.