I'm trying to think of some Bests

...to recap the year.

Most memorable meal -- spinach salad and chocolate cake, a la Swedish Hospital

Best movie popcorn -- Columbia City Cinema

Most anticlimactic moment (in a good way) -- amniocentisis, August 6

Best 2007 movie -- Sweet Land, with The Namesake as a close runner-up

Best 2007 movie I haven't seen -- Once (hope to rectify tomorrow)

Best character from Harry Potter 7 -- Mrs. Weasley

Best sound -- August's laugh (we just learned she is ticklish!)

Best smorgasbord -- Sheila's annual chocolate tasting party

Best discovery -- my new earrings embedded in my hoodie after August swiped them off my ear just a little bit ago AND Tamarind Tree (Vietnamese restaurant in the ID...I don't remember who first discovered this)

Most missed -- Luciano Pavarotti

Best nurses -- Swedish Antepartum Unit

Most addictive television -- What Not To Wear, Ninja Warrior, Top Chef, Girls Next Door and of course Project Runway

Best way to kill time on the couch -- Tour de France

My least favorite holiday

I don't like New Years Eve. Based on previous experience, I have come to dislike what others find as a fun night of revelry. I won't say hate, because I haven't completely denied responsibility for the fate of my own holidays.

There are 3 main reasons for this, and probably more though I've blocked those other occasions out because they're not coming to mind at the moment. Anyway:

Bad New Years Eve 1991: ordinarily nice and docile boyfriend gets drunk, gets in argument with his best friends and brandishes a weapon. Stupid stupid stupid. I had to drive him around and help patch things up.

Bad New Years Eve 1992: new boyfriend gets drunk, hits on other women at a party and acts generally stupid. On the way home he says/screeches random unpleasant things, tells me to let him off on the freeway, threatens me, then leaves the car with a parting "I hope you get AIDS!" Thanks buddy and goodbye. You will be pleased to know that me and my friends now refer to you as Psycho Don.

Bad New Years Eve 1996: roommate with history of anger management problem gets drunk, picks a fight at our house party (which was super fun up until then), threatens my boyfriend and forces us to vacate our own home for a few days. Again.

My resolution for each of these years should have been to avoid drunk, angry men whenever possible (rocket science!), especially on the last day of the year. Now, I like to avoid drunk people on this evening in general as it brings back bad memories of drunk angry people.

For me, New Years Eve is better spent with a G rating: nice dinner, game night, or maybe an overnight at a spa/nice hotel with pool...

"March of the Emperor"

Hilarious! (Short too.)



Ohmygod. Here's "Brokeback Mountain."

Biathlon anyone?

Yes, it's Christmas, and my head is filled with gifts, carols and gingerbread...and summer sports!

I'm totally thinking about putting together a really informal, fun biathlon for those few people who may want to (or tolerate) swim and bike without the run. Any takers? Julie? Sooz? Erin?

I'd post something else...

...but since my blog is part motivational tool, part confessional, and part a bunch of other stuff, here goes.

Yesterday I was having an interesting conversation with Ray's dad about his diabetes management. Afterward I went online to find and print out info for him on counting carbs and meal planning. One of the items I came across is the good ol' Food Pyramid. Though this relic of the 70s has been modified to accommodate more varied nutritional needs, it still highlights what we all remember from 3rd grade: eat a balanced diet of grains/starches, veggies, fruits, meats, yada yada.

I sat there looking at the pyramid for a few minutes, and thought about my day. Heck, I thought about most days since I came home from the hospital 4 months ago. My diet, I admit, has nutritionally spiraled to include mostly carbohydrates, sugar, with some veggies, fruits and protein thrown in. Oh, and Bailey's.

Like a million other new parents, I have digressed to easy meal "staples", like cereal for lunch. Readily available treats fill in for proper nourishment quite regularly. My fave summer fruits are long gone, and I haven't quite got into my winter apple/orange groove. We eat salad most nights with dinner, but these green leafy players can't carry the entire vegetable team.

Bottomline: I need to shape up, literally. This week I took August for her first visit to the gym's daycare (she's now old enough!), and I got 45 minutes of aerobic activity. I've gone back to my morning routine -- stretching, followed by tea/coffee and the newspaper -- before August wakes up (so far I've been lucky). And I made a simple little grid so I can mark off how many servings I've taken in within each food category. I'm hoping this will help remind me to eat more from those neglected food categories, and cut the carb and sweet categories down to the appropriate size. Hopefully my gut will follow suit.

Why

Why do women who show dogs wear such amazingly ugly shoes in the ring?

Winner: Worst Restaurant Name

This morning, Sooz, Bretney, Mel and I met for breakfast someplace new. We were attempting to meet at the Longshoreman's Daughter in Fremont, but somehow it's now called Silence-Heart-Nest. That's Silence - Heart - Nest. Huh?

When I walked in to the place, I thought I was lost. I asked the waitress where to find the Longshoreman's Daughter, she explained they'd moved in 2 years ago, adding, "We kept a lot of their menu, except for meat. We're vegetarian, so we have some wonderful soy-based meat products." Wonderful?

Anyway, turns out we had a great breakfast and plan to go back. But I couldn't help but wonder about the name of the place. It really couldn't be any worse. Their website explains...

All of us who work here are students of meditation, and study with the Indian Spiritual Master Sri Chinmoy. The restaurant is a reflection of the impact Sri Chinmoy has had on our lives, and it is inspired by him.

Our name is taken from a poem written by Sri Chinmoy on our opening day March 18, 1986.

"Silence-Heart-Nest
Eternity’s silence: The silence that embodies vision, light and delight.
Infinity’s heart: The universal heart that expands and expands.
Immortality’s nest: The nest of birthless and deathless nectar-delight."

Hmmm, deathless nectar-delight. I wonder if that's on the menu.

Anyway, here he is, Sri Chinmoy.

Ray: "He looks like the guy from the Love Boat."

Me: "Wha? Captain Stubing?!"

Ray: "Yeah--doesn't he?"

Victorious

Excellent weekend in Victoria.

3 movies
- Dan in Real Life (not bad, not great, some really funny scenes)
- Mars at the IMAX (fascinating!)
- The Polar Express at the IMAX (much better than I expected)
3 swims in the hotel pool
3 grossly overpriced (but decent) meals
and 1 Afternoon Tea (also overpriced, but worth it)

Happy Birthday

4 months today

A little gift

I've been enjoying a little bit of Bailey's on ice some evenings lately. It feels quite decadent, especially calorically. I finally snuffed up enough courage to look up the caloric content of a small glass. Woohoo! 1.3 oz = 94 calories.

Merry merry hurrah!

Jampacked

Woa, it's been a whirlwind around here, but in a good way. I/We have potlucked and chocolate-tasted, craft-perused and skin-edified, with a cpr class and work party thrown in. My car's getting worked on, then we're celebrating Ray's birthday in Victoria for the weekend while August stays with her Nana. Somewhere in there I've got to finish Christmas shopping, send out cards, make cookies and finish painting the living room. Or maybe that will be part of early 2008.

This is a perfect time for August to start sleeping straight through the night. We're crossing our fingers, hoping it sticks!