Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

Tonight is the girls night dinner.  Part of our eat the world adventure, we're going for Persian. And I'm looking forward to it.

I've been indulging quite a bit these last few days. The Holidays are only to blame in part.  You see, I've also just been diagnosed as Insulin Resistant and pre-diabetic.  Thankfully, it appears to be a mild case of insulin resistance, and my doctor is of the mindset that we treat without medicine if possible. So once the holidays, and all their associated obligations, are over I'm starting a carefully regimented diet and exercise program for three months.  Our hope is that this gets the insulin resistance under control and is something that I can adopt going forward, that we avoid drugs to treat.

I'm in favor of this.  Most of the eating will not be difficult. I already follow many of the guidelines when I'm in my normal routine.

But. There's always a but.  I HATE to exercise. Well, that's not completely accurate.  I like the actual exercise, and I like how I feel when I'm done. But when I'm faced with a choice of doing nearly anything else and exercising, well, nearly anything else nearly always wins. For a number of reasons. Some of them are even GOOD reasons.   Come next week, that is going to have to change.

When I write "Gym" on my calendar (yes, I'm old school like that. I like paper calendars. I track everything on paper and electronically. That's another post) I'm going to have to treat it like it is a client meeting. Something I actually must show up for and deliver.  And although I'll be dragged into it kicking and screaming, I know I'll be very grateful, if in the end, it keeps me from being dependent on medicine for the rest of my life.

So, here's to hoping I find some exercise I adore doing.  And that I can balance eating my healthy meals with lunches out with the guys in the office.  Everything in balance, yes?

Best of 2010, Part 1

I decided to do a Best Of list for 2010.  Cliche? Perhaps. But this captures some of the many, many highlights of my 2010.  I reserve the right to add to this list as new things occur to me (hence the Part 1).  This was originally posted on my Facebook, so names of people not on Twitter or in the blogosphere have been removed to respect their privacy.

Best New Music: Mumford & Sons.  I adore their Sigh No More CD.

Best Book about an animal: Homer's Odyssey- Don't ask me why this little cat sucked me in so, but he did.

Best Decision:  There's a three way tie: First, working with Carrie Tallman. We worked through some of my crazy stuff, and I made a new friend in the process. Second, Working with Suellen Germani, and Third, checking out Atlanta HP.   I've met some wonderful new friends through Atlanta HP, and I look forward to any chance to get my geek on. 

Best New Experience: Dragon*Con- y'all, I had so much fun.  Tickets for next year are already acquired.

Best Celebrity Encounter: Yes, there was more than one.   But this stands out the most. Meeting Emily Giffin at a launch party for Heart of the Matter.  Such a class act. Such a great author.  One of my faves.

Best Weekend:  Florida girls weekend - I don't care how old we are. We had a blast at Universal Studios Theme Park in Orlando. No drama, just lots of fun.  I can't wait to plan our next trip.

Best Charity Event: For The Kid Toy Party earlier in December.  So much fun and so many toys for needy kids.

Best Girls Night Out Plan:  Eating the World with my GNO dinner crew.  We were inspired by Jen Lancaster's "Jenaissance"

Best Concert: There were a lot of concerts in 2010. Hands down, the best was Green Day! Such a fun show.  I'll see them any time.

Best Blog/Community- And here we have our second tie.  First, is Bitches on A Budget. Consistently interactive on the blog and on FB, with a passionate community. Rosalyn Hoffman cares about her work, and takes time to read and respond to comments.  

Second is my SAMCRO Community on Twitter. I've never seen so many people excited by a Television show, and taking a personal interest and investment in other friends.

Third is The Belle Beat.  Bunny Belle also blogs about books, but she and I follow each other on Twitter and she's fun to read.

Best Techie Discovery: Twitter.  Y'all. I love my Twitter.  It's kind of my crack.

Best Movie: I saw some good ones. But I'm a fan girl. You know this. So in 2010, it has to be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  Although Inside Job was really good, and I am now in LOVE with Fight Club since I (finally) saw it.

Best Bullshit Detection Moment:  Any weekend spent with my college roommate. Enough said.

Best Bachelorette Party:  There was dancing.  With a pole. And it was fun. 

Stay tuned. There will be more.

It's A Renaissance

It's a Renaissance, or

Eating the World

My friend Lisa and I both read Jen Lancaster's My Fair Lazy: One Reality Television Addict's Attempt to Discover if Not Being a Dumb-Ass Is the New Black, or, A Culture-Up Manifesto.

While we both laughed out loud at reading the book, Lisa decided she needed to undergo her own cultural renaissance.  So her first item of business was to throw out to our 3 Day Girls Dinner Group that we broaden our dinner out selections and try all kinds of different cuisines.  I adore food, so I was happy to say YES!  We did Thai last month. This month is Persian, and then I'm going to lobby for Indian.

The challenge is that we are all suburban girls. And the best cuisines are not in the 'burbs where we are. But with jobs and kids and spouses and boyfriends, etc, it is hard for us to get to a lot of places during the week.  Logistically this is going to get interesting, trying to find times where we can go explore Bangladeshi, Vietnamese, and African menus.  But we'll make it happen.

The other thing is that we get to go see more plays and musicals and concerts now.  Which I've always loved doing, but its hard getting people to go to things like that sometimes.  Thankfully, this little renaissance means that the Girls are excited about doing more.  We saw Trans-Siberian Orchestra Friday night. Phenomenal show. Great light show, great music, and flashbacks to 80's hair bands.  Once the jerks in front of us left the concert, we had a brilliant time.

Next week is "A Christmas Story" and January is "West Side Story"  and then I get to look for more things to do.

So this is when having friends who are excited about doing new things has its benefits.  I get to do some stuff I already enjoy with people I have a good time hanging out with.

I'm excited to see what we discover this year.