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fenchurchFun-filled and fairly busy weekend... my church's women's group had its annual Super Saturday last weekend -- we had a whole list of classes we could take on a variety of projects. I didn't manage to get into the one on toffee making (it filled up fast), but I did go to one on making Cookie in a Jar type gifts. Oddly enough, I actually learned something there (which I was not expecting... I mean, you just layer ingredients into a jar, how tough can it be?), the instructor ended up having some clever tips I wouldn't have thought of.
After lunch (a baked potato bar with all sorts of yummy options), I took a class on glass etching. The process is a whole lot easier nowadays, at least compared to the last time I tried it... there are new products that are not nearly as messy. The worst part was all the tedious cutting out of the stencil-thingy... which would have gone a lot better if I hadn't done that stupid stubborn thing where I start a task with one hand and forget to swap out partway through. That's supposed to be one of the big benefits of being ambidextrous, right? Instead I just keep going and going with the hand I start with, even when it starts to cramp... and then feel stupid when I realize what I've been doing. Of course, now everyone knows what sort of gifts to expect from me next year! Hmmm... I wonder how easy it would be to stencil James Marsters or Sean Bean onto a mirror...
The real treat of the weekend was when![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rackham's aunt and uncle drove up from Olympia on Sunday for a visit! It seems like it's been forever since we last saw them, even though they only live about an hour and a half away... lots of chatting and Rackham got to show off his 1337 cooking skillz by making Baked Macaroni & Cheese a la Alton.
Monday I had my first meeting with my coach at the YMCA and got to learn how to use a few of the machines: an elliptical trainer (very, very weird... but I suppose I'll get used to it), a Lifecycle, a UBE machine (Upper Body something or other -- it's like an exercycle for your arms, very funky!), and a rowing machine. It's always odd starting new exercises... I mean, I only spent three minutes on each machine and I was still tired and sore (this should get better rather quickly, if I'm good about going to the gym regularly), but I also had that lovely feeling of exhileration and energy when I was done (gotta love those endorphins!). Tired and energetic at the same time, it's a weird combination.
One of the things that really appealed to me about the YMCA, other than its location, was the FitLinxx program. They have several kiosks set up around the gym where I can log in to get started... then most of the machines are networked into the system, so all I have to do is punch my personal code in and it will log my distance and degree of difficulty and all that jazz. Plus, I can access it at home and record any other exercise I do (such as Curves) and keep track of how often I'm going and how well I'm doing. I love the way it keeps track of things like the amount of Calories Burned or Weight Lifted -- calories is done in Gummi Bears (as in how many you've worked off) and weight is done in number of VW Beetles lifted. Hee!
Then Monday night I went back to the Y for a cooking lesson... it was supposed to be Salmon and Leeks Risotto, but the instructor wound up doing Scallop and Corn Chowder. Still very yummy and I made the recipe for dinner tonight while it was still fresh in my mind. I think I may make this class a regular Monday night activity!
We ended up definitely deciding not to go to my dad's for Thanksgiving Dinner this week, and it's looking more and more like the right choice. There was another rockslide today up on the pass... not enough to block any more lanes of traffic, but it's slowed down progress on the work they were doing and it tied up traffic for a bit. They're also expecting freezing rain and snow this weekend... not something I would have enjoyed driving through, especially since the driver's side seat heater isn't working at the moment (and I know how that sounds, but really... if you ever have a chance to get a car with a seat heater, I highly recommend it. It was about the last thing on my list of requirements when we were car-shopping, but I don't think I'd ever get another car without them). Fortunately, it's still under warranty, and will be going in to get fixed later this week.
So instead of traveling, we'll be combining efforts withtaradaktyl and her family (who also dumped their travel plans for the holiday), and I think mekle and textualdeviance will be joining us as well! We picked up our turkey yesterday from Trader Joe's (got a really good deal... and it's fresh, free range, vegetarian fed, organic, blah blah blah) and are starting to stock up on everything else we're going to need. Should be a lot of fun! And a lot of food!
After lunch (a baked potato bar with all sorts of yummy options), I took a class on glass etching. The process is a whole lot easier nowadays, at least compared to the last time I tried it... there are new products that are not nearly as messy. The worst part was all the tedious cutting out of the stencil-thingy... which would have gone a lot better if I hadn't done that stupid stubborn thing where I start a task with one hand and forget to swap out partway through. That's supposed to be one of the big benefits of being ambidextrous, right? Instead I just keep going and going with the hand I start with, even when it starts to cramp... and then feel stupid when I realize what I've been doing. Of course, now everyone knows what sort of gifts to expect from me next year! Hmmm... I wonder how easy it would be to stencil James Marsters or Sean Bean onto a mirror...
The real treat of the weekend was when
rackham's aunt and uncle drove up from Olympia on Sunday for a visit! It seems like it's been forever since we last saw them, even though they only live about an hour and a half away... lots of chatting and Rackham got to show off his 1337 cooking skillz by making Baked Macaroni & Cheese a la Alton.Monday I had my first meeting with my coach at the YMCA and got to learn how to use a few of the machines: an elliptical trainer (very, very weird... but I suppose I'll get used to it), a Lifecycle, a UBE machine (Upper Body something or other -- it's like an exercycle for your arms, very funky!), and a rowing machine. It's always odd starting new exercises... I mean, I only spent three minutes on each machine and I was still tired and sore (this should get better rather quickly, if I'm good about going to the gym regularly), but I also had that lovely feeling of exhileration and energy when I was done (gotta love those endorphins!). Tired and energetic at the same time, it's a weird combination.
One of the things that really appealed to me about the YMCA, other than its location, was the FitLinxx program. They have several kiosks set up around the gym where I can log in to get started... then most of the machines are networked into the system, so all I have to do is punch my personal code in and it will log my distance and degree of difficulty and all that jazz. Plus, I can access it at home and record any other exercise I do (such as Curves) and keep track of how often I'm going and how well I'm doing. I love the way it keeps track of things like the amount of Calories Burned or Weight Lifted -- calories is done in Gummi Bears (as in how many you've worked off) and weight is done in number of VW Beetles lifted. Hee!
Then Monday night I went back to the Y for a cooking lesson... it was supposed to be Salmon and Leeks Risotto, but the instructor wound up doing Scallop and Corn Chowder. Still very yummy and I made the recipe for dinner tonight while it was still fresh in my mind. I think I may make this class a regular Monday night activity!
We ended up definitely deciding not to go to my dad's for Thanksgiving Dinner this week, and it's looking more and more like the right choice. There was another rockslide today up on the pass... not enough to block any more lanes of traffic, but it's slowed down progress on the work they were doing and it tied up traffic for a bit. They're also expecting freezing rain and snow this weekend... not something I would have enjoyed driving through, especially since the driver's side seat heater isn't working at the moment (and I know how that sounds, but really... if you ever have a chance to get a car with a seat heater, I highly recommend it. It was about the last thing on my list of requirements when we were car-shopping, but I don't think I'd ever get another car without them). Fortunately, it's still under warranty, and will be going in to get fixed later this week.
So instead of traveling, we'll be combining efforts with
taradaktyl and her family (who also dumped their travel plans for the holiday), and I think mekle and textualdeviance will be joining us as well! We picked up our turkey yesterday from Trader Joe's (got a really good deal... and it's fresh, free range, vegetarian fed, organic, blah blah blah) and are starting to stock up on everything else we're going to need. Should be a lot of fun! And a lot of food!
