Working on my Fitness

I haven't decided when I get to cross off the exercise tab.  Because really, if you want to get technical, I probably get to once I've finished one week with four days of exercise for 45 minutes.  The spirit of the item, though, is to really make this a habit.  So I'm going to give myself a little bit more time before I start patting myself too hard on the back.

For a couple of weeks, I was hitting the gym about three times and getting in some sort of fun maybe-fitness weekend activity (like whitewater rafting or dancing on Fire Island).  This past week, however, was the first time that I really had full on workouts for the whole week.  My new workout schedule is a 2-1/2-1 plan which is two days of strength training (one day upper body, one day lower) and cardio (roughly 30 minutes each although I skimp on the cardio if I'm running late) and one day of either longer cardio (45-60 minutes) or some fun class or outdoor activity like yoga or whatever strikes my fancy.

I'm planning on continuing this for another couple of weeks at least or until I have to stop for personal reasons (which will be some time in the next two months).  I will have to think about whether I get to cross it off then or if I should wait until I'm back on track again to make sure I've really picked up the habit. For now, I'm just excited about the workouts which included two yoga classes and a lot of sore muscles.

Diary of a Anorexic GIrl by Morgan Menzie

So, I really am stretching it by calling this one non-fiction.  I generally include memoirs even though that's usually a completely different genre.  This time, I chose a based-on-a-true-story diary which means that it is a lot embellished or fictionalized and certainly crafted more than a chronicle. But since I had to read three  this month to catch up, I say it counts.  For August, I'll step it back up a notch.

As the title suggests, this book is the diary of a girl throughout middle school and high school dealing with your typical teen angst issues - fitting in, finding a boyfriend and trying to figure out who you are - as well as her process pretty much from start to finish of dealing with anorexia.  The diary certainly hit the nail on the head when it comes to that self-aware intelligent teen with a flare for the dramatic writing for herself.  I'm fairly certain if I went back to my diaries, I'd find a very similar style and even the sporadic letters to the future and side commentary to the reader.

Because the character was so familiar, it was easy to get absorbed in Blythe's world and even start to believe her worldview made just a little bit of sense.  This leaves you a little bit shocked when all of a sudden the outside world breaks in and you realize just how unhealthy Blythe has gotten.  This book was heartfelt and honest and an interesting way to present the issue.

It looks like it is in a series of religious teen help books which I didn't realize when I picked it up.  Blythe's school is a Christian private school and she does write about her issues with faith throughout her worries about boys, friends and clothes, but it doesn't overwhelm the book.   There are some very very brief guides in the back about how to get help if you have an eating disorder and how to help a friend with one.  My jury is still out on whether this book would help someone who was struggling themselves, but it might give a bit of insight to someone worried about a friend or child.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book to just anyone.  I don't think it was ground-breaking or so provocative that it should make it onto people's lists.  But there is a right time and a place for everything. It might be educational in certain situations and then I would say it's worth a read.

Everyone Says I Love You

I rewarded myself after a long week with a lazy night in with the dog, Netflix streaming and a glass of wine.  I generally find the whole Netflix thing hard because of all the hundreds of movies that are available to me, I can almost never pick *the* movie that I want to see right now.  That's even harder with streaming because the movies are not the Oscar nominees or big blockbusters that at least I know I should see.

Netflix streaming does have Starz movies only available for a short time which helped me pick Woody Allen's Everyone Says aI Love You last night.  It was my only movie with a deadline, one that I've wanted to see pretty much since 1997 when it came out and it's not really available on DVD via Netflix.  So, it won out.

I enjoyed the movie, although I couldn't really tell if it was taking itself seriously (as seriously as a musical comedy can) or it it was trying to be tongue-in-cheek about the whole musical thing.  I don't think the story really went anywhere and there were too many overlapping stories to really make you feel like there was one big dramatic arc, but it was light.  The singing also was pretty mediocre, but I don't think that Drew Barrymore, Ed Norton, Alan Alda, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts or Woody Allen were chosen for their singing voices.  All in all, I have it a solid three stars since it was fun, but I didn't get too caught up in it and I definitely don't need to see it again.

Escape by Carolyn Jessop

I am fascinated by the FLDS culture - both non-fiction and fictionalized.  I've read a handful of books and articles and of course watch Big Love.  This is the first real account that I've come across and it was fascinating.  Carolyn Jessop escaped the Colorado City FLDS community in her early thirties with eight children (including one with serious medical needs and a preemie) and managed to secure her freedom from one of the most powerful men in the FLDS community run by Warren Jeffs.

Warren Jeffs is the one that most of us heard about in the last couple of years, on the run and capture in Vegas with wigs and a stash of cash.  Carolyn spent enough time in the Colorado City community to be able to reflect on the changes over thirty years from a seemingly more open and liberal society to the fanatical conservative compound that Warren Jeffs created in Texas.  Her awakening and realizations about the ways religion was corrupted by greedy men as mind control are captivating.

Carolyn Jessop's personal story is at once fascinating and terrifying.  The book itself could use some serious editing, but it strings you along nonetheless.  The tales of abuse are intense and the relationships between the Jessop family members alone are incredible.  Carolyn's struggles to protect herself and her children are inspiring.

There are too many more adjectives I could bring out to describe this reading experience.  The mind boggles, as they say.  I highly recommend this one.

Brooklyn Forager Post Round Up

The goal is to be more on top of getting things listed over here.  I think I'm up to date on the list for number of blog posts written (give or take a couple), but I haven't been listing or linking here for awhile.  Here are the ones that I missed:

• Scallion update!
• Ginger Scallion Noodles with a Twist
• Vermont Special: Earl's Eggs with Chinese Chives
• Sundays in Brooklyn: The Pizza Edition
• Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Rosemary Vinaigrette
• Meatless Monday: Spicy Garbanzo Burritos with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Date Afternoon: Polo and Danny Meyer picnic

Back in June, we went out to Governor's Island to check it out and to watch Prince Harry in a polo match.  The island itself was lovely despite the oppressive heat.  We couldn't see all that much of the polo since the grounds were pretty crowded and people had obviously gotten there quite early to set up picnic spots.

We did get to have food from Box Frites and Blue Smoke (Danny Meyer's catering company did the concession stands) and Austin got to see Prince Harry's horse ride by without Prince Harry when he took a tumble.  It was a lovely date afternoon which we followed up with beers on Water Taxi Beach with some friends who met us out there after the match.

New Recipe Round-Up

I've been tracking my new recipes in a list, but not so diligently.  I am going to catch up with a quick list of a couple and then I'll probably do a monthly round-up going forward.

For now, the recipes I've tried in the recent past include:
Tofu Basil Noodles with Mint Dressing
Broiled Five Spice Salmon with Sesame Black Bean Sauce
Crunchy Chickpea Salad
Sesame Balsamic Chicken

They each turned out well, but I haven't blogged about them yet.  I will try to remember and update this post with links or else they will get included in a Brooklyn Forager round-up when I get organized enough to put one together.

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

Did you read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? If you have any interest, you probably should.  Then read this one.  It's the second in the series about Lisbeth Salander and another insane mystery.  There's been some pushback because of the hype, but I really got into these books.  The second one is even more interesting to me because the scenery has been set and the reader gets to delve further into Lisbeth's character.  She is endless fascinating and a very interesting drama evolves throughout the book.  I am counting the minutes until I can read the third (and sadly final) installment.

Deerfield River Whitewater Rafting

I set off to Vermont this past weekend with some friends.  Usually our Vermont weekends are relaxing, but not so very adventurous.  This time we decided to head down to Massachusetts and go whitewater rafting.  The experience was fabulous and I can't believe that I didn't do this previously.

We spent a couple of hours on the Deerfield River near Charlemont, MA.  There were about 7-9 rapids all either Class 3 or Class 4.  I am definitely going to do this again - so much fun! (The picture above isn't our group, but that's the same company - Moxie Adventures - out on the same river.)

This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin

 I haven't been keeping up with my non-fiction reading this year, but that's because this book took me the last two months to read.  Partly I wasn't giving enough time to it, but also this book is fairly technical and in-depth, so it was slow going.

Overall, I found the book interesting - I think a lot more research has to be done, but reading about some of the theories and studies was engaging.  My main complaint is that it sells itself as the answer to some very intriguing questions like why a song gets stuck in your head and plays over and over.  In the end, that was one part of one page and I wasn't really satisfied.