holiday party what!

We had our holiday party on an Odyessy Cruise last night. Look at me and my ladies - Sarah on the left and Megan on the right. We had fun that's for sure. Still laughing about scenes on the dfloor. My feet still hurt after two nights in a row of heels.

We experienced Richard (my boss) rapping "Ice Ice Baby" in it's ENTIRETY. O-M-G! I've heard about this uncanny talent but this was my first time hearing it. After picking my jaw up of the floor and Megan's off the floor three times (she really couldn't believe it, haha) we went out with Sarah and were his back up dancers. Hysterical.

Here's the ultimate shocker of the night... I didn't go to the after party. Look at that responsible decision making. Though, I think it was mostly my feet hating on my heels that swayed me to go home like a good girl. I managed to walk barefoot from where the boat docked all the way to getting a cab haha. Staying classy, you know.

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just being

hahaha.  I just had to laugh at my blog for a hot minute.  The ad running on it was for rheumatoid arthritis and now that I've typed it out - it's likely that you're seeing it right now on the right hand side.  hahaha laughing again at my old lady self.  It's probably because I talk about getting old and having geriatric knees (which I do - I swear).

Well why don't I give O-M-G some youth...

Let's talk about the Wii and how I want one so I can beat my 5 year old and 7 year old cousins at bowling, tennis and Mario Kart.  At the moment, I'm totally slacking.  It's embarrassing.  More embarrassing, however, is the tech department in my company that is syncing 3 Wii's to play 12 man Markio Kart against each other on the projector screen in the lunch room tonight (it's a Friday).  O-M-G!  I will not be there to improve upon my skills, thankfully.

I asked Christian if we could register for the Wii and he said "Why not? People will get it - it is a young wedding." I go "Uhm great people think we're pre-schoolers pretending to get married." Please note, this wedding is not make believe (but I still want a Wii haha).

In the meantime - bring on Christmas!  I'm in a good holiday spirit these days.  All bright eyed and bushy tailed today.  Went to a yoga class on my lunch break.  I am back at work just "being" and that apparently means blogging and not doing work when I should - eeek better get back in reality.  

Namaste :)

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we're all going deaf

Picture me talking at (not on) my phone.  Not saying "Call Dad" but rather "Boston Common movie times" or "How many oz in a liter?"... Would you think I'd lost my mind completely and just hope there is someone on the other end or would you realize that I was searching Google?

Just read an article Richard sent across talking about how Google has unveiled voice-enabled search.  How crazy is that?  I think my favorite benefit of this new technology is

"Still not convinced? There just might be a few other benefits to voice recognition software. As we reclaim our voices, perhaps our eye-strain and carpal tunnel syndrome will subside."

How true that is.  I sincerely fear getting old.  I think that between the non-stop computer madness and my addiction to my ipod I'm going to be deaf by the age of 35, legally blind by the age of 37 and have severe arthritis by age of 39.  So basically I won't really want to even go over the damn hill.

I can’t see myself walking down the street saying search commands to my phone, though.  I am not even confident enough to wear a bluetooth headset in fear of looking like a crazy person talking to myself.  Which is really interesting because I talk to myself all the time without realizing it.

There are a lot of people claiming our generation is going deaf at record speed.  I can't say it's hard to argue it any differently.  I have even noticed that I struggle to hear correctly 100% of the time.  I'm pretty sure many of you have experienced me repeating what I heard back to you that makes absolutely no sense - haha.

Maybe I will just risk looking like a crazy person in an attempt to avoid losing quality of life before forty.

BTW - still desperately want an iPhone.  Do you think Apple accepts wedding registries? ;)

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98 cents

I've learned a couple interesting things this afternoon.  My boss instructed me to join an SEM forum while he was away on honeymoon as a task.  Clearly it's two business days before he returns and only today did I deem it a good time to scout out a good forum.

I joined SitePoint and started reading forums about blogging.  One forum simply asked how much people make per week from their blog.  I started thinking... zilch for me!  I don't drive any traffic to this site other than friends and family for the most part.  I also don't have a very topical blog - well a consistent topic of interest, anyway.  Some day I will make my blog sophisticated and unique. 

I decided to log into my AdSense account and see what was shaking.  AdSense has been live on my blog since Oct 3rd.  Since then I've had 227 ad impressions (226 must have been from me) and ONE CLICK.  You might think I'm upset... quite the opposite.  I was PUMPED to see this.  I have made a whopping 98 cents from my blog so far.  I think I will publish a thread in the forum telling everyone about my financial success.

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domesticated.

I know... I've been really bad about blogging lately.  Truth be told I spend more hours on a computer than I do sleeping!  Between working really hard, planning for the wedding and still trying to train I just can't seem to find time to do much other than worry about working really hard, the wedding and training.  :)

I did make time this weekend to find a new obsession - the show Mad Men.  I saw a bunch of episodes on OnDemand and ever since I've been addicted.  SO GOOD!  I've been meaning to check it out as it won loads of awards this year.  Takes place in the '60s in an ad agency on Madison Ave - mutliple character story lines.  Anyhoot - highly recommend it.  Hmm... watching all these episodes I suppose negates my first paragraph of excuses for not blogging ;)

You'll be happy to know that cardio and I are no longer enemies.  We're working on it.  So far so good.  I still hate Boston Sports Club, though.

I also finished a book this weekend.  Marley & Me is a book my dad gave me when we were home two weeks ago.  A feel good easy read that definitely made me laugh and cry.  I recommend it and will lend it to you after I lend it to a friend at work!

Now I'm reading Web Analytics: An hour a day.  Talk about a change up.  Richard gave me this book called Search Engine Posistioning I also want to check out but I can't get over the fact that it was published in '01.  I'm sure there are fundamentals to read about but arghhhh so much has changed by now.  

I spent four hours cleaning today - literally on my hands and knees.  Don't I sound so domesticated - all this reading, running, cleaning (oh and cooking too, of course)?  I'm going to be a great wifey.  I hope... ;)

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out of shape but i have a beautiful ring

It's official :) Christian and I are engaged! I haven't blogged (or ran more than a mile) in almost two weeks. I've been lost in la la land with my fiance. Christian got here late on Friday the 17th and that's the last time my legs were in a running motion for more than 10 minutes.

I am out of shape and totally enamored with my beautiful engagement ring. A girl gets at least 10 days to gloat, right?

But I'm really perturbed by how fast I just got out of shape. According to some article I found on Google this is what happens after two weeks:

At zero workouts for two weeks, you will see a moderate decrease in your aerobic fitness (more if you are a new exerciser, less if you are more experienced). You will notice less loss in your (anaerobic) strength fitness. But you’ll regain what you’ve lost in two to four weeks after you get active again; much faster than if you were starting from scratch.

I'm so excited to spend the next TWO TO FOUR WEEKS getting back to where I was at mile 6 before Christian got here. I'm determined to prove these people wrong. However, last night's experience at the gym would definitely indicate that they are correct. I called it quits on the treadmill after only 15 minutes but I reckon most of it was a mental problem I was having.

The other thing that is really making me mad is that BSC at S. Station just signed up way too many people. WAY TOO MANY!!! I had to wait forever for a treadmill and when I left there was a 6 person line for the treadmills. Totally inexcusable and really discouraging. This girl needs all the green lights you can give her.

Buttt there is still this beautiful ring to look at and a beautiful wedding to plan with a beautiful (ok, handsome) man! So... life is good. :) Derek did a photoshoot for us on monday, that is where the pic is from. His pictures turned out so nice!!! I've also started on our wedding website, check it out.

GO Phils!

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phils to the world series!

WOOPTY WOOP!  The Phils are sick and nasty to put it in Boston terms but in Philly terms the Phils are phantastic!!! I'm SO excited. Almost as excited as I am to have Christian here as of tomorrow night. ;)

I just looked at tickets for games 3-5 home in Philadelphia and well it turns out I will not be able to afford $500 SRO tickets!  If someone has a hook-up definitely let me know but otherwise I will be wearing my Phillie's gear in a bar with huge TVs at home all weekend eatting nothing but artery clogging food!!!  Take that marathon training!

Life is good!

BTW - today is national Boss's Day, who knew?  The card I deemed appropriate to send today, haha.

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'08 even better than '93

Phils Phils Phils- let's go Phils!  I'm so excited!  We're only one game away from the World Series! I really want to know what the possiblity is that there will be a home world series game while I'm home in Philadelphia Oct 23 - 26 because THIS GIRL wants to go!!  Anyone have any insight?

On sadder note - the Sox are flat out STRUGGLING.  :(  Down 1-2 in the series and in game 4 right now they're down by 4 runs in the 3rd.  I suppose a play-by-play in my blog is not that exciting, interesting or even appreciated, haha.

Today I didn't do a distance run.  However, I ran 2 miles in 17 minutes which is really fast for me!! It may seem like peanuts to all you super in shape people, but I'm proud of myself.

T minus 3 days until Christian gets here omg I can't waittttt!!!  I'm thinking we're going to check out the Head of the Charles this weekend if anyone is in Boston and wants to join us/hang out.

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have you seen my kneecap?

I think I lost my kneecap around mile 4 today but for some reason I kept running.  Maybe the treadmill ate it in my delirium.  I keep icing my knee area in hopes that it will return.  Advil might be able to help me find it as well - we'll see what the winning combo is.

I wish I had one of those things you see in movies where the person in the hospital bed has their leg hanging in a sling from the top frame of the bed.  I need to see if I can install one to the ceiling above my bed so I can properly "elevate" my injury in my sleep.

Despite my complaining, my new running shoes are glorious.  I reckon my knee would have removed itself from my body around mile 2 in the old shoes.  At least that is what I'm telling myself to justify that giant spend this weekend! ;)

I looked up knee injuries on WebMD and surprisingly at no point did the description say I was going to die.  They did however diagnose something as "Runner's Knee" - they're so witty and technical.  No weird diseases - just overuse for the most part.  Maybe tendinitis.  Maybe arthritis (please I hope not).  But no sudden death caused by knee pain.

I'm going to go with the diagnosis of "Runner's Knee" which recommends the ice, advil and elevation.  Now I'm going to throw 8 hours of sleep into the mix and I reckon tomorrow will be OK and my kneecap might actually come home in the middle of the night.

Go Phil's!

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i love my baby yep yep

Christian gets here on Friday and I cannot wait :) I threw this video together on animoto.com - check it out. It costs money to make it (not to watch it ah-ehm Sarah!) - not much - but I thought it was fun and worth it! If it takes awhile to load just hit refresh on the page - it should work!




So the video is corny, I realize. But it's our song and it makes me happy.

This weekend was good! I bought my official running shoes - the woman fitted me for like 7 pairs before finding the winning pair which put me out $13o OUCH (charlie)!

The Phillies were up 2-0 in the series but they're losing by 6 in the top of the 7th so I'm thinking we might be giving this one to the Dodgers tonight. Oh well - just as long as we win 4, right? ;)

Woop - they just scored and we've got 2 on base and no outs. But this is where I go to bed (because I am an old lady and because my company is a bit like a plantation).

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zipping

Zipcar is brilliant. I just joined and I am super pumped about it. So let me break down how Zipcar works for all my (crazy) readers that do not live in metropolitan areas.

There are a couple different options for signing up. It depends on how much you drive. I signed up for the "occasional driving" plan. I pay a $50 yearly membership fee and a one time $25 application fee. I can rent cars for about $10/hour or around $70/day but guess what - it includes GAS! Can you believe that?

So I have this credit card looking membership card that unlocks a particular car I reserve by waving it over the driver-side window. Inside there is a credit card for gas so I never pay out of pocket.

Zipcars are parked all over the place. Within a less than half mile distance of my apartment there are roughly 5 different parking lots that all feature at least two Zipcars. I can reserve them for a quick doctor's appointment or for up to 4 days at a time.

Here's a fun one. I rented one for when Christian is here so we can go home to Philadelphia for a few days! :D It will be great to see the family. It will also be fun to do a road trip with Christian. In our almost 7 year relationship we've done very few a road trip. Christian is wondering if we should file for divorce now or? Kidding.

We rented a MINI Cooper. It's green. It's tiny. It's fast (I hope). I've always wanted to drive one. That is another brilliance of Zipcar. You can rent a regular coupe/sedan, pick-up trucks, SUVs, or luxury cars such as BMWs and Vovlos. Do I sound like a Zipcar commercial yet?

Anyway. Christian and I will be home Thurs, Oct 23rd through Sunday Oct 26. Hope to see everyone I miss so much. Maybe we could have a big get together for whoever is around.

T minus 10 days until Christian gets to Boston and I cannot wait!

By the way. Can we talk about average temperatures in Boston while I'm training for a marathon? I'm LITERALLY training during the coldest months possible in Boston. Awesome. Good one, Jillian.

I'm going to Marathon Sports this weekend to blow my paycheck on (unfun) things like proper running shoes, the special socks, the water bottle fanny pack (oh geez) and anything else an educated salesman may be able to convince me is worth more millions of dollars.

There is a science to running shoes, but after mile 3 in my Nike Shox I believe it. They kill after a few miles. So better get the right ones.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to breathe in sub-freezing temperatures? Or know a good way to make my cell phone auto-dial 911 when I collapse on the side of the road?

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26.2

Amazon delivered this funny little package on my desk today containing two books. Book number one, The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer and number two, The Nonrunners Marathon Guide for Women. You may be wondering if this is some kind of shipping error. But no, they are two books I ordered to jump start a goal I've always dreamed of achieving.

I may be setting myself up for failure but I really hope not. I've read the introductory chapter of the first book and that's one of their first recommendations - make the commitment tell all your friends and family you're running a marathon. So all my little eyes and ears out there let this be the first time I'm coming out and saying this is something I'm going to do!!! Hold me to it, please.

Recommended 16 week training.

So this first book (and I'm pretty sure the second book as well) is all about starting from square one and is designed for someone who has never ran before or never enjoyed running or just never dreamt they'd be capable of running 26.2 miles. It's based off a class offered at U of N. Iowa that has seen all but one person who joined the program finish a marathon based on the training provided.

The introduction spoke at length around the mental preparation involved in training for a marathon and how it is as equally if not more important than the physical preparation. I'd have to say even without reading into too much detail yet that I can see how this is the case.

I am apparently ahead of the game in the pretraining. They require you to be able to run/jog 30 mins straight before beginning the 16 week program. I am doing at least 40 mins of uninterrupted cardio 3 to 4 times a week already so I think I can essentially start training exactly 16 weeks before the marathon.

Speaking of "the marathon," I guess most of you would assume I intend to run the Boston Marathon. It is one of the most prestigious marathons in the world and I would be honored to be a part of it. However, it's not just a matter of signing up. I need to fund raise in order to get a bib. I'm not sure how much money but I think it's upwards of $3.5k! More research to follow...

I do want to do a half marathon in February in LA, though! Go see my Libby and run 13.1 on Sunday, Feb 1st. I think it will make it fun. Check it out - it goes all along the coast and is said to be one of the most beautiful routes.

Oh man... I'm really putting myself out there. I have a feeling this blog might be talking an awful lot about running should I persevere (oh and don't worry, I intend to!). I think it's just something I need to do and that I am at the right time in my life. Wish me luck!!!

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color is good

jarryd, this one's for you.

i've updated my blog to be a bit less bland. i put some stuff up on the right hand side as you can see :) i've also eliminated grammar and punctuation for this post. hence the lower caps, run-ons, fragments, etc.

this weekend is just rain rain rain here in boston but i'm excited to have an excuse to be low key. working tonight at the bar (come see me and tip me generously please) but other than that just have some dates with my favorite girls around boston to do fun things like eat, shop, and lounge!!!

let's talk about the "hunt for october." doesn't look like the sox are going to play much this weekend which means they may not clench any division title. i think they'll grab the wild card though. on to a more important and personal team... the PHILLIES... well, they're equally in some heat for a race to the finish line. can't wait to see them in the post-season. reminds me - who's jersey should i wear?!

let's hope for less rain and more wins for philadelphia and boston teams this weekend...

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workin out

It has been ages since I've written. I'm shocked to find out that a few people do actually read my blog - I've been getting a bit of slack from people about not writing! I like that :)

I haven't been writing for a couple reasons. My brain is pretty fried on a daily basis as work has been busy and I was consumed with a few things there. I have very few hours in a day to actually do something that is not work or sleep or... working out. Yes you read that correctly - working out, haha.

This is the inspiration for tonight's post. I find it so frustrating how many different opinions there are around what is best for you in terms of weight loss, muscle toning, getting in shape in general, etc. What's more is that god forbid a "trainer" gives you the same advice on just about anything.

I've sampled several "free personal training sessions" upon gym signups over the years. I can't recall one of them truly saying the same thing. So I'm taking matters into my own hands and seeing what works and what doesn't work! Here are the things I've been getting into:

Running: Pros & Cons. From what I can tell there are obvious benefits to getting your heart rate up by jogging/running. But I've also read that there are cons to running due to up to 4x body weight force being exerted on your lower joints. However, I'm not getting old any time soon so I'm going to worry about my joints when I have grey hair. What I can really be convinced on is interval running for weight loss versus just continuous running keeping the heart rate up.

Weight training: Well low high weight low high reps - whatever. I just stick to between 10 - 15 reps that leave me (well a particular muscle group) really exhausted by 2 sets. Whaddya reckon boys? I don't think I'm getting bigger by any means. I know that you need muscle to burn more calories. However - I've mostly been sticking to machines and apparently there is always something else I'm supposed be doing - free weights. I don't see my self on the bench press any time soon, though.

Power Yoga: Also referred to as Vinyasa yoga but done in a heated studio - 100 degrees!!! . Okay so I've really only done this once lately but I plan do it more. Once these strange parts of my body aren't so sore from the class I did last Thursday. I was literally raining sweat - I seriously don't think I've ever sweat that much!

So yes... I've been pretty tired! And also resentful of my laptop by the time I have a moments free time!

I've been watching the Emmys tonight - writing on commercial breaks. 30 Rock & Mad Men all over the place here, suppose I better watch those sometime. But I've also been catching sneak peaks for this Thursday's season premiere of GREY'S ANATOMY! I can't wait! I don't care that everyone hates Meredith and is "over" the show. I still love it. O-M-G though, McDreamy is carrying Rose's baby!!! Still love him, though.

I'll try and write again sometime soon but who knows. Working at the Cacti (btw - I really ought to free lance for their website - it hurts my eyes) on Tues & Thurs in hopes of making some money during the last week of the Sox's regular season.

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I'm allergic to the suburbs

So here I find myself in Brookline, MA just outside downtown Boston. Still on the T (D line) but I really feel like I'm in a whole other world out here. There are kiddos and basketball nets and flower beds. :) However... this is also marks the second day that I cannot breathe in my own house!! I must be allergic to something out here - all the nature perhaps!

I just seriously hope it's not mold in the apartment that I'm reacting to. That would be awful. My allergy symptoms still linger while I'm at work but at home they are 100x worse. This is not good :(

I'm stealing internet from someone at the moment - thank you Linksys owners :) But we won't get our own internet and cable until Saturday. Entonces... I've FINALLY gotten into The Office. Which I know everyone raves is hysterical - and it totally is. I'm addicted, haha! Too bad it's on at the same time Grey's Anatomy is during the regular season. Will probably still watch Greys and catch the Office on DVD at some later time.

Help me with these allergies someone!!!!

On a much more exciting note - CHRISTIAN IS COMING!!! Yayyy :) I love my baby yep yep. He'll be here the 17th - 27th and I'm so psyched! I think we'll be heading home for a weekend on the tail end of his trip to see the fam! :)

Hope everyone is well!

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lately.

It's been a long week. Apologies for no witty updates in awhile. Work has been.... stressful. I'm just getting through it one day at a time. :)

So, I got a new phone. I feel like gadget girl, haha. Obviously I'm broke but both my Palms got old and quit on me. I finally gave in and got a Blackberry - shame on me, I know! I still love Palm phones but can't help that T-Mo has the cheapest rates and no Palms to offer!!

Speaking of Palm, I just met up with my old boss from Palm EMEA this evening. Had a lovely dinner and some wine down on the water. It was good to catch up with Fiona - she always has a lot of good advice in advancing my career!

This weekend is Labor Day weekend. Guess what I get to do? MOVE. effin-a. I really hate moving, so tiring and usually realllly stressful! I have to pack everything up Sunday night and move first thing Monday morning. Bah Humbug. However, I'm so excited to be living in Brookline!!

Yeah so I guess I didn't have anything witty to say after all. Hope all my secret readers (all 3 of you? haha) are doing well.

Muchos.

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green tea for you and for me

I just want to discuss my new found love for green tea. It is probably one of the healthiest beverages you can drink other than water. It's got amazing health benefits and tastes good (to me at least).

Green tea has been known to help conditions such as cancer, arthritis, high cholesterol, heart disease, infection, and impaired immune systems. The Chinese have been using green tea for all kinds of purposes for centuries and I'm only sad that I didn't get on board with it sooner.

I know that caffeine is bad for you but green tea has a much less amount than coffee and you can get decaf green tea as well if you'd like. I was getting green tea downstairs at Starbucks everyday either hot or cold and it was good. However, I just discovered "Boston Beanstock Coffee Company" across the street and their iced green tea is amazing! They also have a large variety of tea bags for hot tea that are AWESOME.

So this little mom & pop coffee shop is amazing. Their website is under construction but would be interesting to see it once it's back up. However I read some reviews of the Boston Beanstock Coffee Company online and everyone seems to agree that the quality, taste and price all match up. I had lunch there today as well - yummy panini with not too much cheese and really fresh ingredients. I highly recommend anyone in the area to check it out sometime.

This place far surpasses the Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks outside the building. I'm happy Sarah introduced me :) Don't have to feed money into those conglomerates anymore - woohoo!

Go out and get some green tea!

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my beautiful little baby laptop

She's hereee!! I finally just got a new laptop because my last HP died FOUR times!! Luckily, I bought the Best Buy protection plan on it and because it broke a fourth time it was approved for their "no lemon" policy meaning that they would give me a brand new equivalent laptop at no cost. Hooray for a brand new laptop one month before the protection expired :D

Here is my new baby laptop. I promise to start putting more pics up now that I'm in possession of technology again. I love the design on this laptop. I also love that the guy from Geek Squad hooked me up bigtime with a deal on all her software. MS Office, Anti-spyware, and anti-virus all for $100. This new machine is 5x more powerful (fast) than my last laptop and holds 4x as much data. Woop!

So now I've moved up in the world to Windows Vista. I hope I don't have that many problems with it. I still really want a MacBook but I'm surviving with my replacement for now!!

I also still really want an iPhone. Does anyone know if the new 3G version is capable of being unlocked? I last read that some company in Brazil could do it for something astronomical like $500 before shipping charges. Christian can use an application on his iPhone that is similar to Skype and call me for so cheap - I think that's super cool.

Well back to work homework. Busy busy - saving qas.com one day at a time. I've probably made six pages now just this week. Once they're pushed live I'll post links to share with you. :)

a healthy heart :)

As it turns out, I have excellent blood pressure and excellent cholesterol. I had a health screening today free through work. Have to admit I was a little bit nervous about the whole thing. But, as it turns out, I'm a pretty healthy kid. Woot!

Have you ever heard of "good" cholesterol? It sounds like "good" fat - how those two words could ever be associated together is beyond me but it's apparently true. Good cholesterol is called HDL it's supposed to fight off the bad cholesterol. The lady told me today that you want your HDL to be at least 60 and mine was 77 which she said is awesome. Hooray for my HDL.

Wanna know how you can increase your HDL? I did... Turns out there are fun things that can help your HDL like having one to two drinks a day and PEANUTBUTTER. There are other typical factors that will help, like exercising. Exercising isn't as fun as drinking a glass of wine but I do both and maybe that's why my HDL kicks butt!

I do, however, wonder if my cutting meat out of my diet has helped any of these numbers recently. I mean I only went one week without meat and had chicken over the weekend. (I hope you all know that I'm not eliminating it completely. But for now it's meat free weekdays.) Anyhow - just would be interesting to know what all the numbers looked like before I changed my diet around.

I'm reading a book called The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing and am 2/3 way done after only picking it up yesterday in the car on the way home from Long Island. I'm shocked I was able to read for hours in the back of the car - maybe my HDL was fighting off motion sickness for me, haha. Anyone ever read it? I've seen it around for years now and am glad I picked it up. I really like it so far. Interesting narrative.

Anyone have any good songs to recommend to download? Gym friendly songs preferred - my music is getting old and I need some new songs to keep me motivated! Let me know.

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going organic

I am sitting here with Sophie (my roommate's adorable dog) and playing online with my recent interests in organic and vegetarian foods. I just read Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. They claim that in order to get skinny you have to give up quite a lot. Let's start with my vices - caffeine, sugar, CHEESE, alcohol and pretty much anything you want to eat. Anyhow, the points made in this book can be viewed as extreme but I do think there is a lot of truth to what is said.

The easiest way to break down the book is into three major eating habit changes. One is to go organic - on everything. Two is to give up meat and three would be the final stage of their recommendation to actually give up all dairy products as well... aka be a vegan. Now... I don't know that I'm really entirely capable of numbers two and three but I am giving number two a shot at the moment. Today is day three of no meat of any kind and I don't miss it and I don't feel weird. What will be almost impossible to resist is a good filet mignon once in awhile.

There are a lot of really interesting points brought up in the book about things like sugar substitutes, over the counter medicine, chemicals in food, and even animal rights. Some chapters you really need a solid stomach to read but it's worth it. Of course take everything you hear with a grain of salt but just the same there is truth behind a lot of it.

You can read almost the entire book online for free from Google Books (great tool, saved my butt from the library numerous occasions in the latter part of my college career). Chapters I definitely recommend reading: Carbs: the Truth, Sugar is the Devil, The Dairy Disaster, and You are what you Eat (this is the tough one to stomach).

Here is some other research I stumbled upon...
What does organic mean?
Top 10 reasons to go organic
Why give up meat?
Vegetarian options
Check this out - it's a free vegetarian starter kit.

I'm personally a big proponent of the motto - "everything in moderation." So I don't intend to give up meat entirely but I am cutting it out extensively for awhile and see if I notice a difference in my health. Organic - I am pretty much sold and will try to buy organic going forward whenever possible. Vegan - unlikely. Skinny Bitch talks about something called casein that's found in cheese that is highly addictive. And well giving up addiction isn't easy ;)

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o-m-g i made a blog... i did it

Well here is one new years resolution to cross off the list a full 8 months later. Let's see if I have the wit and charm to keep you reading on some kind of regular basis. :)

I'm supposed to be doing homework on how to help the website I work on for Experian QAS to be more attractive and generate more leads. I decided it's time for Web 2.0 intervention and find myself writing my own blog instead. It's hard to imagine how interesting address verification really is - which is what my company does but what do I know. What I like is the Web and my boyfriend thinks I'm the biggest nerd on the planet. However I think I make more money than he does... ;)

I just got back from Denmark and had a fantastic time with Christian. While I was there it was Fashion Week for all of Scandinavia and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to do some observing about Danish life. Here is my "what's hot" in Denmark:

Hot:

• Black leggings (who would of thought they are still in... but they are!)
• Layering
• Nyhavn
• Ben & Jerry's
• White
• "Malene" - Sys Bjerre
• Paris Hilton
• Fashion Week parties
• The Olympics
• Debate over immigration laws
• ...and apparently landscaping for your mother-in-law ;)

Let me know if any of you have any additions! Or any "Not" recommendations.

I'm also fundraising... to move my half Scandinavian self back to Europe. Donations welcome.

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