and p.s.

brought to you by sean and paul, future m.d.

sponsored by iphone and chattanooga bookstores.

go buy this NOW

i just finished the best workout dvd ever.

Women's Health: The Wedding Workout

(side note: the back of this dvd said that it can also

be used for other "special occasions" such as a high school

reunion or beach vacation. so there. i SWEAR i'm

not a wannabe bride. i just wannabe hot for mexico.)

i have MANY dvd workouts. and a problem i have always had with each is the inability to customize the workout. so you can guess what this one does :) THAT'S RIGHT!! EEEK! here's how it works: you have 2 initial options: pre-built workouts or custom workouts.

with the custom workout, you can create your own program from 11-12 minute segments of cardio, upper body, lower body, and abs & core. you can arrange them in any order you want, repeating each as many times as you want. there's also a 4 minute warm-up and 3 minute cool-down that you should put at each end of your workout.

the pre-built workouts are split into two options: the strapless dress workout (emphasis on upper body) and the short/hiphugging dress workout (emphasis on lower body). the beauty of this is that each "workout" gives you a weekly plan with the segments i mentioned before split up between each day of the week. for instance, on monday you do cardio and upper body, and on tuesday you do abs & core. each day is something different. and while the segments are the same, the order they come in keeps your body guessing.

the cardio is the only thing that i feel is "lacking", but you can easily substitute running or another dvd cardio workout for that. but if you're just looking for a quick cardio session to move around a little, this is perfect.

target, $7.99 SERIOUSLY WORTH IT.

moving on.

i had another fun experience today- i went to the public library to renew my library card and checkout a book on nashville for my weekend trip! i also got a 2009 book on mexico for some more tips for riviera maya. and i think the favorite book that i got is a monograph of the sculptor, Richard Serra.

this is Joe. we saw it in st. louis at the pulitzer museum and it was amazing. such a dynamic and engaging sculpture. i perused the art and architecture section of the library today and almost gave up on finding anything i was interested in when i saw SERRA on the thick white spine of this book. i immediately grabbed it and went to checkout. i'm looking forward to some time with my library books and learning more about nashville, mexico, and richard serra. and i'm excited about renewing the library's presence in my life. it's been too long and i spend too much money at bookstores. $1 for a library card and i can have all the books i want for free. seems like a good idea to me.

that's how i roll

i had the best day!! well, maybe not the best, but it was pretty damn good. lately i've not only been waking up early on the weekends, but i've actually wanted to do so. on days when i desperately need the sleep (i.e. post-2 am bedtime or after slightly too much vino) i can definitely  s l e e p  as long as necessary. but i find that i don't really WANT to do that anymore. if i can accomplish x y and z before, say, 1 pm then i feel victorious and unstoppable. 

so today went something like this:  i woke up at 8:30 or so and read a little, did some sudoku, feed zoe, and strategically contemplated when i should wake up sean. this is a delicate process. wake him too early and you could get the evil eye... but wake him too late and he will start the day feeling as though he's already behind. i've got a 2 out of 3 chance of screwing it up, but i've gotten good at reading his sleep "mood" and can fairly accurately predict the best time to interrupt his beauty sleep. 9:00 we made breakfast. and by we, i mean me. bagels and eggs scrambled with fat free ham and cheddar cheese. delicious. 10:00 field trip to starbucks with sean and paul, then back to the house to enjoy. 11:00 i did some emailing, facebooking, cleaning, and kitty cuddling before grabbing my grocery list and heading to superlo. 45 minutes and $77 dollars later, i'm at home and having a tumultuous inner dialogue about whether or not i'm going to go for a run. i beat myself and decided to go for it. 1:45 it was definitely cold outside today- was 37, but no sun and a slight wind made it much worse. it was torture for the beginning. i kept thinking "i should have worn a hat, or another shirt, or put some vaseline on my lips" but eventually i warmed up and really fell into a groove. 3.6 miles in 33:07. not record-breaking, i know, but i was proud of myself. 3:30 i spent the afternoon at my parent's house, where i read my new book (which after only 15 pages i ADORE- i'm sure this book will have a post all it's own in the near future) i was told there'd be cake, essays by sloane crosley, drank some wine, 5:00 gave my mom a facebook tutorial (yeah, my mom's on facebook!!), 6:00 had dinner, 7:00 dessert, and 7:45 watched some of the SAG awards.

now here's the highlight: the following conversation took place as my dad was preparing to make dinner. i was so amused by this that i had to write it down immediately. i will most likely tell this story every chance i get for the next week or so. hopefully i can just continuously meet new people so i can just keep on telling it.  

dad: "you'll never guess what i found at the store- i had to search everywhere..."

mom: "ooo-what!?"

dad: "thick spaghetti!"

mom: "eww, i don't like thick spaghetti"

dad: "well that's just too bad. that's how i roll."

and i'm spent.