Sarah: Armando finally gets talked about, like he requested.

As I mentioned earlier, I recieved a digital camera for Christmas. I'm not sure, however, that Armando is pleased with the results.

Namely, pictures of him on the internet. There is nothing like Christmas to inspire some Man-Love:

(okay, that's actually my little brother restraining Armando from escaping the photo.)

Continuing the Armando theme, I have included a list of the names people have called Armando during the past week:
Almanzo
Fernando
Juan
Orlando
Pedro

Lisa: Pre-training: Week 4, Days 3 & 4; Week 5, Day1

If I am going to keep track of each training session this way, I really need to stay on top of it better. Three at one time is crazy. Anyway.

Week 4, Day 3:

After I got off work on New Year's Eve, Sarah and I went up to the Red Butte Gardens area to check out the trail we were supposed to try the Tuesday before, when I stayed home sick. We ended up parking behind one of the corporate buildings in Research Park that had an entry point to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. When we got up to the trail, it was totally muddy and full of puddles but we kept going anyway, heading north up past Red Butte (which was closed) toward the hospital. The trail seemed to end behind the cancer center, so we turned around and headed back to the car. It turned out to be great timing, because our 45 minutes was up right when we got back. We probably went a bit slower than usual, because we had to keep navigating around sinkholes. Our previously pristine running shoes got covered with red mud, but it was nice to be out walking in the daytime when we could actually see the great view from the trail. This part of the Bonneville trail will be good to try again when it is either colder, so that the ground is frozen (but not snowy), or warmer, so that the ground is drier.

Week 4, Day 4:

Unfortunately, Jessie had to work on Sunday afternoon (New Year's Day), but Sarah, Mallory, Marci, and I met at the 48th South entry to the Jordan River Parkway and headed south. It was a gorgeous day, and the paved trails and wooden bridges made for easy and fast walking. This part of the Parkway is quite flat, but the area is really pretty and I think it will be a good place for us to run--especially on Sundays when Mal is with us. We saw the most people that we have seen at any of our running locations yet, but that is probably because we went at a time of day when regular mortals are actually awake.

Week 5, Day 1:

This morning Marci and I met at Big Cottonwood park. We started actual jogging this week instead of just fast walking, and it was kind of a nasty shock. I was feeling so great with the walking, and I guess I thought I was in better shape than I actually am. The schedule was jog 5 minutes, walk 5 minutes, jog 5 minutes, walk 5 minutes, jog 5 minutes, and walk 5 minutes (for a total of 30 minutes). The worst jogging section was the first one; after that we kind of got used to the fact that jogging is a lot more painful than walking. In our 30 minutes, we circled the baseball fields, then did a big figure-8 around the rest of the park, finishing up with two more loops around the ball fields. A few minutes into our session it starting raining pretty hard--our first true running-in-bad-weather experience! We are so hardcore.

1/1/06: 130 lbs, 29% body fat
1/3/06: 129.5 lbs, 29% body fat

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MALLORY!

Sarah: Crafty, part 3

You might say that I could have used my long weekend to clean my apartment. And you would have been right. But instead, I hung out with Blake and Lisa, had dinner with the fam, watched some dvds, trained for the marathon, and Jessie and I ran errands, had lunch with our friend Staci, and picked up some records. I spent the remainder of the evening making record bowls and boxes. I've decided to see how these items fare on our site. If you'd like to buy a bowl and/or box, leave a message in the comments. These will work on a first come, first serve basis. Any shipping costs will be arranged through myself and the buyer. Of you want only the box, they are $2 each. All boxes, unless otherwise noted, are 3 inches tall. Any box that is not spoken for will be included as a free gift with its corresponding record. Thanks, and I hope you like them!

Big Bird Sings record bowl and matching box:

I took a picture of this box and bowl from the side, but it mysteriously removed itself from my camera. I will post a side view tomorrow. Bowl: $7, Box: $2.

Kenny Loggins is ALWAYS a classic:

He looks a little like he just finished creating the universe, and is bestowing upon our humble planet a sun to warm the land, but that's ok with me. My confusion, however, was that I thought he was hardcore (well, as hardcore as songs like Danger Zone) until he had kids, at which point he made Return to Pooh Corner. This picture makes him look less Top Gun and more benevolent celestial being. Anyway. The best part of this box and bowl is the back of the box:

I know. It's great. Oh, and as far as quality control, I noticed after taking this picture that the sides of the box were coming a little unglued. That situation has since been remedied. Bowl: $7, Box: $2.

Next up is Saturday's Warrior. Let me start by saying that I've never listened to or watched this production, so I am not sure how it actually compares to Beowulf, Ramayana, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, or Dante's Divine Comedy. This is a fine specimen of LDS culture, and is a two-record set. As a result, I have one box and two bowls:

These can be sold as a set, or separately. Bowls: $7/each, Box: $2.

In keeping with the wacky religious enthusiasm theme, I found several awesome looking bands when searching for more information regarding the band Rockin' Horse, but not the band that made this record:

They have a great looking album cover, and also dedicated this album to L. Ron Hubbard.

The dedication is easily visible on the side of the box (which is 3 1/2 inches tall). Bowl: $7, Box: $2. With this item, I am offering the optional Scientology package, which will include the Rockin' Horse bowl and box, plus the TomKat pin featured on my previous post and a few other Scientology/celebrity-related pins. This package will be $11.

I thought this box and bowl was a little punk-rock, a little classical.

Mozart! Bowl: $7, Box: $2.

Thanks for tuning in!

Prices have been changed to more accurately represent fair, competitive prices. Thanks.

Sarah: Button, button, who's got the button?

First of all, the sideview of the record bowls and box, as promised (with a coke bottle for scale):

And now, I present some 5 button sets, selling for $4 per set. Remember, these are a little bigger than a quarter.

Cartoons:

Risky Business:

Eyewear:

Flowery:

Girl's best friend:

Health-nut:

Party Girl:

Pretty patterns:

Self-love:

Wordy:

As a side-note, the "show us a nude scene" button came from a magazine article about Keifer Sutherland and 24. I think that makes the pin even better...

So there you go. Leave me a comment if you're interested. Thanks! I'm going to stop bogging down our site with pictures for a while, but I've just been having so much fun with my camera. Sorry to monopolize!

Lisa: I dip, you dip, we dip

I am officially a grownup. Proof: I was given a food assignment for an extended-family Christmas party! My aunt asked me to bring bean dip. I know, it's not homemade rolls or anything, but you have to start small.

Here's the fabulous dip I made. I arranged the tomato and green onion in stripes for extra festivity.

You can see from the cross-section that I achieved the proper beans-to-other-goop ratio. The pitfall of too few beans is all too common. The layers are (from the bottom) refried beans, salsa, grated cheese, sour cream, and tomato/green onion. Yummy!

Sarah: Etsy

I didn't like the idea of filling up our site with items that I've made, trying to sell stuff to my own friends and family. After looking around the internet for craft fairs and other selling options, I've almost decided upon selling items on Etsy, but I'm going to first design a banner and hopefully get some feedback about their site from you guys. Thanks for your support, and for your nice comments. Let me know before Jan. 10 if you're interested in any specific items that I've posted here, and I'll make sure not to sell them to anyone else.

Lisa: More Adventures in Millinery

I made beanies to go with the girls' Christmas presents this year. They were inspired by a beanie I saw at Anthropologie last winter. I couldn't find a picture of the beanie online anywhere, so I just had to go from memory, but I think they ended up pretty close. If you bought this beanie and recognize it, let me know!

Anyway, here's the yarn I used. It's a lightweight worsted yarn, made of easy-care acrylic and nylon, but it is really soft and feels a bit angora-y. Two skeins was more than enough for five hats. I could have gotten them all out of one skein if I hadn't kept the giant, loose version I made first.

I used YLI 4mm silk ribbon (which I finally found at the Stitchin' Station) to do the ribbon embroidery. My mom showed me the stitch for the rose and what she called a "lazy daisy" for the leaves.

Here's the finished product! Unfortunately, the photo is crap, but now I've given them all away so I can't take another picture. Maybe I'll force Sarah to model hers so I can get another shot.

The embroidery part was surprisingly really easy. What also surprised me was that I had such a hard time crocheting the hats. I used a simple double-crochet beanie pattern (I'll post the link later if I can find it), but I had several problems. First of all, I don't think I really understand crochet patterns. I mean, I know what all the stitches are, but there are still some confusing things. For instance, why does the pattern want me to close off each row with a slip stitch, chain a few stitches, and then start the new row? Why can't I just crochet the whole beanie in a big spiral? Anyway, the first time I tried the beanie with the recommended yarn weight and hook size, it came out humongous. I guess I am a loose crocheter. I tried a much tighter version, which hurt my hand, but that turned out like a little skull cap that ended above the ears and looked ridiculous. I ended up adding a few extra rows of DC above the SC edging, and just ignoring the row separations--I did it in a spiral. After I got all that stuff figured out, each hat took about 2 1/2 hours to crochet and then the embroidery took about 20 minutes.

Sarah: Etsy, part 2

Well, Lisa and I have made the decision to open a shop on Etsy. I hope you'll all check out our shop and the other awesome craft items available on this site. Please tell your friends about Etsy and about our shop. Thanks to everyone for their support!

Lisa: Amputees are so hot right now

Something strange was afoot at Wendy's. Possibly at the whole chain. When I went to my work conference in Provo, we stopped for lunch at a local Wendy's. It must have been near a high school, because soon after we were seated, the restaurant was flooded with high school students. One of these groups of students was clearly jocks. What made these particular jocks notable was that over half of them were wearing immaculately clean football jerseys. These were not jerseys that had been played in. These were not mesh affairs worn over t-shirts. These were blindingly white, shiny, stiff game jerseys with extra room in the shoulders for the pads and everything. But they weren't wearing pads. And the jerseys, which taper in quite a bit at the waist, were paired with jeans pulled down low to expose a variety of underclothing. The jeans ended ungracefully at giant puffy white athletic shoes. This was one of the most hideous ensembles I had ever seen, but I was forced to come to the conclusion that it was FOR SOME UNFATHOMABLE REASON considered attractive and/or desirable among the jocks' fellow students.

I blissfully forgot this incident for several weeks, until I met Sarah and Mallory at the Wendy's near the library where I work. Right on schedule, as soon as we sat down with our food, the line filled up with high school students. And FIVE of them were wearing the jerseys. This time I had the presence of mind to get Sarah to take a picture of one of them with her camera phone. Maybe they think the puffed sleeves make it look like they have bigger muscles? Or perhaps legs have become undesirable to high school students, so they want to downplay them as much as possible?

Careful, kids, you're only a short step away from some K-Fed-style manpris and a wife-beater.

Sarah: Spring

Back to school,
Back to school,
To prove to Daddy that I'm not a fooooool.

Lisa: Pre-training: Week 5, Days 2 and 3; Week 6, Day 1

1/7/06:

"Diane, it's 7:44 on the morning of Saturday, January 7th, my mom's birthday. I just got to Memory Grove, which is where we're running this morning. It took me a lot less time than I thought it would to get here, probably because of the lighter morning/weekend traffic. I left the house at 7:28, so it took me about 16 minutes. Anyway, I've got a while to wait for the other girls, so I'll keep you posted on how the run goes."

"Well, I did it. I ran this morning, but it was kind of a fiasco. I got here at about 7:45, and we were supposed to run at 8:00. I knew I had a while to wait, so I started doing my Sudoku puzzles. By eight THIRTY, no one was here except me. I don't know why I waited that long, except that I was busy doing my puzzle and also couldn't believe that when we were running at EIGHT people would sleep in, but whatever. Anyway, I started, and the first two five-minute running sessions were hideous. The third one wasn't so bad. The problem was that after the first running session, I got the feeling that my key wasn't in my shoe anymore. I didn't want to wear my huge coat, and my little jacket doesn't have any pockets, so I decided to time my five minute segments with the song lengths on my iPod, which I carried in my hand. (Coughing.) For lack of a better way to carry it, I took my car key off my keychain and put it in my shoe. Somehow, I guess it flew out while I was running. That was genius. I kept an eye on the trail on my way back since I couldn't feel the key in there anymore, but didn't see the key lying anywhere. I got all the way back to the beginning again, and checked my shoes, but my key wasn't in there. I started retracing my steps, and ran into these nice people with dogs. They said they had seen a key on the little plaque about the park right by the entrance, so I went back there and sure enough there it was--about TEN FEET away from my actual car. So, criminals, follow me running, and you'll totally get a free car with lots of sweet stuff in it. Luckily, my car was still there with all the sweet stuff still inside. I guess all's well that ends well. It's 9:11, and I'm heading home to get ready and then to go run errands for Mom's party. There you have it--half an hour behind schedule but I guess none the worse for wear."

"Memory Grove was a pretty nice place to run. It wasn't too crowded and it has a sort of paved road, most of which is not accessible to motor vehicles. It was flat but with kind of a gradual incline on the way into the canyon. I saw lots of other runners and dog walkers at the entrance to the park, and some people over on the trail that runs parallel to the paved path, but most of the time when I was running I was alone. You know, and then there are those nice key-finding elves. So, that's got to be good, right?"

1/8/06:

Sunday, Marci and I ran at the Olympus track. We went 8 times around, which makes 2 miles.

129 lbs, 28% body fat

1/10/06:

"Diane, the date is Tuesday, January 10, 2006. The time is 5:46. I'm at Liberty Park on the south side. I got up this morning for running, but accidentally snoozed! I woke up at about 5:15, hurried my butt over here, and was in the parking lot by just a few minutes after 5:30. I got a text from Sarah right around the time I got here, saying she was on her way, so I will stay here until she arrives."

"Well, Diane, it's now 6:24. Sarah showed up just a couple of minutes after I talked to you last. This week we started doing two sets of running ten minutes and then walking five minutes, for 30 minutes total. It wasn't too bad. The first five minutes actually went by really fast, so the first ten minutes almost felt like the first five minutes used to feel. We went all the way around the park and back to the cars once, but we weren't done yet, so then we went about a quarter of the way around again and then back-tracked to the cars, but we still weren't done. We kept back-tracking around to the corner and then went back to the cars. I think we did about two minutes extra walking on the whole thing, but I'm going to draw a picture when I get home so that I can figure out how far in distance that we went."

I figure we went around the park 1 3/4 times. The path around the park is supposedly 1.25 miles, so that means we went a total of 2.19 miles!

129.5 lbs, 29% body fat. I hope there's an overall downward trend, because there seems to be a lot of fluctuation up and down.

Lisa: Triptych

Once I got my super cool Jamaica Trinnaman oil paintings for graduation, and put the big one up in the living room (I will try to remember to take a picture of it), I didn't think the print we had hanging over the couch went so well in there anymore. Plus, we had a blank bedroom wall where the print would go perfectly. I moved the print into the bedroom, leaving the wall over the couch blank.

Now, the over-the-couch area is tricky, because it is so wide. Whatever you hang there has to be big enough to visually balance the couch, or it looks dinky. I used some leftover inspiration from Vern on Trading Spaces, and decided to make sort of a triptych of abstract red oil paintings. The idea was that they would be simple and relatively easy to do, but create a visual impact and mesh with the more modern oil painting by the real artist hanging nearby.

Here's the living room before, with the print Blake gave me for Christmas last year. He remembered that five years ago in a print shop I said I liked it! Anyway, it looks right at home in the bedroom.

I bought three canvases on sale at JoAnn's. They're the kind that don't have visible staples on the edges, so they don't have to be framed. Then I painted them quick-and-dirty in three slightly different styles, and sprayed some varnish stuff over the top. Easy peasy! Here's the result:

Should I hang them further apart?

Lisa: Hello, Sailor

I posted some of my marble magnets in our Etsy shop. So far I've just got one set listed, since the photos didn't come out very well, but it's eight color-coordinated magnets in a round tin. Go check it out!

Lisa: Pre-training: Week 6, Day 2

Blake (who is training for a triathlon) and I ran at the Olympus track tonight. The track of course isn't lit, and I was trying to time my sessions with song lengths on the iPod again--the problem is that I haven't figured out how to turn on the backlight. I could only check my times at one spot on the track where it was light enough to see the screen. Anyway, I went nine times around, so about 2.25 miles. I think I started off a bit too fast, because I had a small sideache during the first ten minute running session. Of course, I hadn't warmed up or anything, so that probably didn't help. Even considering the sideache, why do two sessions of ten minutes seem so much easier than three sessions of five minutes?

128 lbs, 26% body fat

Lisa: Pre-training: Week 6, Day 3

We had a smaller Sunday group yesterday because of the snow, but Sarah and I toughed it out at Sugarhouse Park. We clocked our distance with her car's trip counter afterwards. It's 1.4 miles around the road that circles the park, and we went 1.7 miles. It's not as far as we have been going lately, but Sugarhouse has several killer hills that make it a much harder place to run than Liberty Park or a track.

I forgot to take our pictures until we were almost home.

128.5 lbs, 29% body fat

Sarah: Do you use a spoon?

Someone at my work just ate a bowl full of brownie. How intriguing...

Lisa: miscible

In fifth grade I was a spelling machine. Our teacher held a class spelling bee to determine who would participate in the school's competition. She even promised to take the top two spellers in the class out for ice cream at the local Leatherby's. Now, I was not my teacher's favorite student. In fact, for some strange reason she hated me. This may have had to do with the fact that she hated my mom. ANYWAY. One of my good friends was my teacher's favorite student, and I think she offered the ice cream prize with that particular student specifically in mind. Imagine her chagrin when a male classmate and I earned the top two spots! Her favored pupil was number three, so the ice cream party was expanded to include her as well. But I digress.

I held my own at the school-wide spelling bee (against sixth-graders!), but stumbled on the word miscible:

Pronunciation: (mis'u-bul)
--adj. Chem., Physics.
capable of being mixed: miscible ingredients.

Ironically, I spelled a homonym, missable.

I redeemed myself somewhat in seventh grade, at my junior high spelling bee. I took second place after losing to my crush, who couldn't understand how I could not know the word nemesis.

Sarah: The only time I've wished to be Christina Ricci

Armando and I recently watched the final 5 minutes of Slackers when it was on tv. We watched in silence, except for when I said "Hey! It's Casper."

To which Armando acted like I was insane, because Devon Sawa is not a cartoon. Oh, it is troubling to date someone so old and out of touch... Next thing I know, he won't be familiar with Tom and Huck.

Lisa: Pre-training: Week 7, Day 1

Yesterday I met Sarah and Jessie at Liberty Park for our first-ever 5:00 am training session. 5 feels much, much earlier than 5:30. I set my alarm for 4:30, a time I think most humans should never, ever have to see. You can tell by my eyes how much more tired I am than usual:

This week we started doing two sets of running for 15 minutes, then fast walking for 5 minutes. 15 minutes of running also feels significantly longer than 10 minutes, but we ignored what our bodies were telling us and got through it just fine. 40 minutes took us exactly twice around the park, for a total of 2.5 miles.

128.5 lbs, 29% body fat

Sarah: Falling Down a Slippery Soap

Today I added soap to our shop. They come in two shapes:
Round:

and rectangular:

Check them out! I really like them because the size is manageable and fits in your hand, and they make a very rich lather. Plus, they're handmade, which is cool.

Lisa: Pre-training: Week 7, Day 2

Who: Just me

When: EARLY-ASS O'CLOCK

What: Running for fifteen minutes, fast walking for five minutes--twice--for a total of 40 minutes. I went ten times around the track (2.5 miles).

Where: Well, the schedule said we were supposed to meet at Cottonwood Regional Park. That is code for Wheeler Farm. There is one lit parking lot right at the front of the park/farm (see diagram), but I remembered vaguely from the website that the walking trails were somewhere at the back, where I could see nothing but a pool of inky blackness.

The whole place was freaky, dark, and deserted except for (I assume) barnyard animals, so after waiting for the other girls for a while I absconded to Cottonwood High's track. It's not too far from Wheeler Farm, and the track is well lit. Unfortunately, by the amount of ice on the track I can only assume they are preparing for a speed skating competition of some kind. Walking was a lot scarier than running, though--I guess your feet spend more time in contact with the ground. There were a few skiddy moments, but I didn't actually fall down. My knees hurt for the first time this morning, but I think it was more from the cold than any kind of strain or injury.

I would be willing to try Wheeler Farm again when it is light outside and/or if I have the map with me. It's pretty far away for a weekday run, but might be a good option for Sundays when Mallory joins us.

Lisa: Pre-training: Week 7, Days 3 & 4

On Saturday, Sarah and I ran at Liberty Park. We got about 2 1/4 times around the park, which makes 2.8 miles. Now that we are really starting to run, we are starting to see photographic evidence of the phenomenon my "friends" like to refer to as "tomato face."

Yesterday, Marci and I ran on the killer hills of Sugarhouse Park. We went exactly twice around the loop in our 40 minutes, which is 2.8 miles (woot woot!). At the end of our run we were right behind this couple walking two dogs. Almost immediately after passing this sign...

...admonishing dog owners to clean up after their pets, the bigger of the two dogs pulled over for a dump. The man just waited until the dog was finished, and then moved on. No picking up of the crap was even considered! If you recognize this couple, please ask them to be more civically minded. Bags are even provided in the dispenser below the sign!

1/21/06: 128 lbs, 29% body fat
1/22/06: 129 lbs, 29% body fat

Sarah: Man was not meant for Internet cafes alone.

I don't understand why my wireless internet has been gone for three days. But I know that it is sucking my life away.

Also, guy that sits in front of me in class: A quasi-mohawk that hasn't been washed for weeks on a dandruff-prone head is less emo-hot and more greasy-gross. I'm just saying.

Lisa: Pre-training: Week 8, Day 1

Yesterday morning I ran at the Cottonwood Park with the ball fields. We are now on 20 minutes of running followed by 5 minutes of fast walking, repeated once. The good news is that 20 minutes feels about the same as 15 minutes. The bad news is that the similarity lies in the fact that they both feel really long. None of the other girls were there, but luckily I wasn't lonely as I was befriended by a friendly but masked man with a dog and a nearly unintelligible accent. I think he was enthusiastically telling me that his dog wanted to run "All around!" but I am not completely sure.

128.5 lbs, 29% body fat

Lisa: There's so many things I need to know

Utah is kind of a weird place. I'm sure this isn't news to anyone. I guess I should say that the culture of the predominant religion is what is weird. Not bad, just a little odd. The church places a big emphasis on youth programs, including what they call "seminary" (taking a Sunday School class as part of your high school schedule) and a sort of sleep-away camp called "Especially For Youth." Seminary teachers and the EFY counselors and speakers are placed in the awkward position of entertaining teenagers and teaching gospel principles at the same time. Let's just say that sometimes they resort to...interesting techniques to get kids to pay attention.

FOR.

EXAMPLE.

High School Boyfriend and EFY Devotee: "You know that Styx song, Crystal Ball?"
Me: "..."
HSB&EFYD: "Anyway, I have a tape of it. When you listen to it, substitute the words 'Book of Mormon' for 'Crystal Ball' in the chorus."
Me: "Book of Mormon?"
HSB&EFYD: "Yeah, it's awesome! It really fits."
Me: "..."

Fast-forward ten years. Whenever Crystal Ball (actually a rockin' song, by the way, so I'm glad I was introduced to it) comes on, Blake and I always yell out "Book of...MOR! MON!" over the chorus and laugh maniacally. Good times.

Lisa: Zazzlin'

If you love the redesign as much as we do, buy a shirt from Zazzle to commemorate the occasion. HAHAHAHAHA! Sorry. Anyway, I did make a few more shirts--one with the new TLT artwork, and one for Concert Black.

Lisa: Pre-training: Week 8, Days 2-4

It looks like the marathon group has dwindled to just me and Sarah. It's weird, but I think we feel more committed than when there were five of us. If one of us doesn't show up, it's guaranteed that the other person will be training alone. It also means we can be a bit more flexible with training times and locations.

1/27/06

Sarah and I braved a snowstorm to run at the Highland High track. Apparently one end of the track is always in shade, and consequently was covered in snowdrifts. We stuck it out, though, going 13 times around for a total of 3.25 miles.

128.5 lbs, 29% body fat

1/29/06

We couldn't face hills again on Sunday, so Sarah and I ran at the Olympus track. We went 13 times around again (3.25 miles). The second 20-minute session was pretty horrible, but we made it!

132 lbs, 31% body fat (but I had just eaten, so whatever)

1/30/06

This morning Sarah and I met at Liberty Park. Our 50 minutes took us 2 1/2 times around the park (3.13 miles). This week is the first week my legs have felt sore after every run. That's got to be good, right? I'm starting to get a little paranoid that the muscles on one side of my body will be longer or something, since we always run counterclockwise around the tracks and parks. I'm afraid that if there are any right turns on the marathon path, I won't be able to turn that way and I'll veer uncontrollably off the path to the left and crash into a laundromat. I guess I could take care of the problem by running clockwise once in a while, but that just seems so wrong.

130 lbs 29% body fat

Lisa: Pre-training: Week 9, Day 1

This morning Sarah and I slogged through two inches of slushy snow at Canyon Rim Park. The regimen for this week is 25 minutes of jogging followed by 5 minutes of fast walking. That's it! No repeating. I think that's the only thing that kept us going up the hill to the top of the park each time. We ran once around the park, twice around the park and the church, and then walked a shorter loop around part of the park to finish up.

130 lbs, 28% body fat

Sarah was not enthusiastic about getting her picture taken...

Sarah: Dolla Dolla Bill, Y'all

I believe that it's fairly obvious at this point that I enjoy crafting. I also really like the idea of being able to sell the items I make. I've decided that my downfall at this point is my lack of original ideas. I sometimes come up with wacky schemes, but end up either not executing them, or executing them poorly. The only ideas I trust enough to follow through on are ideas that someone has already come up with and created successfully. As a result, I can't sell anything, because everything I've made has been done before. The point of all this is that, starting this week, I'm going to start a new ongoing feature: Dollar Store crafting. Other crafters have flexed their brains by gathering bizarre materials from the dollar store, and turning them into something new. So this is my mission. I hope to make this a regular practice, although because I am in school, it's uncertain how quickly projects will be completed. Still, I hope to have something to show you within the next week. That's all for now!

Lisa: A Dukedom Large Enough

It is hard for me to talk about the serious stuff unless I surround it with a sort of superficial duck blind. Nothing to see here!

SUPERFICIAL

There is a girl in her early 20s at the library dressed completely in pink. Baby pink shearling coat over a hot pink cowl neck sweater; baby pink belt; baby pink jeans tucked into hot pink knee-high ruched stilletto boots. I think she is channeling Madonna? Otherwise I have no explanation for that kind of behavior.

SERIOUS

Instead of going to work last Saturday, I got to attend a children's literature conference at BYU. Authors Katherine Paterson and Kimberly Heuston and illustrator Eric Rohmann gave really excellent presentations. Admittedly I was a bit emotional that day (Possibly overtired? Sorry if your teacher thinks I'm a freak now, Jeff.), but several of the things they said rang true for me. I even took notes! Here's what I wrote down:

Eric Rohman:

Kimberly Heuston:

Katherine Paterson: