I like to read, but I don't. I feel guilty sitting down and reading when there is always something to do around here. So I've decided I'm going to work hard, but I'm going to find some time to actually read. I've started with one of the books that Steve gave me for Christmas...
We ended up coming a day early because no place was open to pick up the Uhaul from on New Year's Day. It was nice because we had some time to relax and visit with friends. On Saturday morning, neither my Yukon nor the Uhaul truck would start. Can't say I really blame them since it was -27! (It was +10 in Sidney). So, we got off to a late start. By about 11, everything was running and we had a good crew of 5 guys moving furniture. We knew the Uhaul probably wouldn't be large enough but figured we'd just get a trailer, if needed. Well, no trailers to be found here on Saturday! So, Ray and a friend left around 4:30 pm with the Uhaul back to Sidney. They arrived there around 10 and started unloading. They will finish at 8 am this morning and then return for the 2nd load. My good friend came and helped me finish packing. There's a little left today and then I can start cleaning. The kids have been playing with friends and I hope that we can leave by at least 3 since they have school tomorrow.
Did I mention we also have a 2nd showing tomorrow? The realtor is really positive about the couple. They saw the house filled with furniture and now they'll see it empty. We just need to cover up that hole in the wall from getting a couch out of the basement!
Dear 2009:
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Kordan, I’m still befuddled. When I finally sat down for a proper listen of Longing, my immediate thoughts were “where did I go?” and “how long am I staying for?” As I’m sure I mentioned in previous reviews, the power of Kordan lies in their ability to transport listeners to a strange, rich realm of multi-sensory experiences. Perhaps that’s an exaggeration; but for most of us, whose lives are defined by shopping malls, mid-size vehicles, Starbucks lattes, and the occasional wild night of domestic brews and bar darts, Longing feels like a vacation from the mundane. We will never be this hip, but for roughly half an hour we can pretend.
The Longing is essentially an elaboration of Fantasy Nation, Kordan’s first EP released July of last year. Same bag of tricks, that is. Dizzy, spacious sound layers over a steady beat—at the core, dance grooves with an experimentalist complex. Where Fantasy Nation tapped the club vein, Longing searches for the abstract quality of pop music. Listening to the album is like listening as a musician attempts to define city or love or life simply in audio. Of course, this reads pretentious, as does any creative adventure that involves conceptual thought. The reason I’m not harder on Kordan is simple: despite the possible pretense, I can’t imagine the band playing any other style of music than this ultra stylized pretty. There’s truth in purposeful cool, even if it’s easy to spot the GWBs (Girls With Bangs) and BWGs (Boys With Glasses) somewhere in the crowd.
Thanks to production magic or magic hands, “Fantasy Nation” and “Tokyo Tears” softened a bit from their EP debut: flavors steeped, mechanics fine tuned, less thrust more lust. Actually, compared to Longing, Fantasy Nation sounds decidedly reduced, as though Eisele and co. were practicing for grander occasions. Such is the occasion. Besides “Fantasy” and “Tokyo,” tracks like “Mirror” and the haunting “Shinjuku” stand out while in sum, the album remains fairly amorphous. Eisele’s distant vocals amidst the instrumental mixed bag keep Longing interesting, but I wonder what’s next for Kordan. Logically, the progression favors total ethereal bliss (as it is, the lyrics seem secondary), but I accept all bets.
For now, the band keeps busy with live shows in and around New York City. Visit their Website / Myspace / Facebook for more information. The Longing is set to officially release in February of 2010. You can preview the album here.
01/02/2010 21:38:20 ♥ lara (
/lara206.vox.com)
♥
kordan.tv ♥ myspace.com/kordantv
I'd say I was going to get back into shape and lose some weight.
I know, everyone says that, but I really mean it. I purposely am not calling this a new year's resolution for two reasons. One, it's going to last more than a week, or even a month. I am going to do it. I'm not going to try, I'm going to do it. I lost weight before, and I'm going to do it again. I'm going to start with a goal weight that's anywhere between 5 and 9 lbs below where I am now (depending on the day) and go from there.
The second reason it's not a new year's resolution is that this really has less to do with it being a new year than it does with the holidays being over. I decided a month or so that I'm ready to diet again, but didn't want to set myself up to fail by trying to do it during Christmas. So I decided I wasn't going to worry about it until after the first of the year.
Right now I'm not planning to go back on South Beach. I had great success on it before, but I'm not willing right now to go back to no- and low-carb unless I have to. ("Have to" being defined as if I fail in my original plan.) My ultimate goal is to just get us all on to good eating habits that can be maintained long-term. I'm thinking of buying the Mayo Clinic Diet Book (yes, the famous, up-until-now-mythical Mayo Clinic Diet does actually exist). It just came out and I can get it at a discount.
I also have a new workout DVD that I did (and I use that term loosely) for the first time yesterday. It's very cardio-oriented and it totally kicked my butt. I want to get back to a level of great cardiac fitness. I don't think I've had that since college....but I sure felt great when I had it. And it can only be good for my metabolism and this body that unfortunately is beginning to age. :(
So.....wish me luck! I'll try to update my progress so feel free to ignore those posts if you want. :)
So I've had this roaster for probably almost two years and I've never really used it, except to keep stuff warm at a party. Just after Thanksgiving, turkey was on sale (imagine that!) and we decided to get one. Well, today I decided I would thaw it and roast it. My first problem was getting the neck out. I couldn't find the dumb thing, and ended up taking out something that in retrospect was probably part of the spine. I thought to myself, gee, how can it be so hard to remove the neck? Digging a little deeper, I put my hand on something and pulled. Voila, the neck. It came out as easily as I would have originally expected. :)
I even stuffed it. I used Brownberry seasoned stuffing, chicken broth, and margarine. Then I also stirred in some pork sausage and celery that I'd cooked. Then I threw in some Craisins (a suggestion from the back of the bag but fully endorsed by Joey - he loves Craisins and in fact won't eat salad without them). They were a yummy addition.
All in all, the turkey turned out ok, except while it was cooking it was heating up really fast. I had violent flashbacks to the prime rib of the other night and ended up turning it off an hour early. It did get done, and stayed moderately hot since I didn't open the roaster. I'd followed the directions on the back of the wrapper - heck, I've never roasted a turkey before, what do I know - which said I should cook it for 4-4 1/2 hours. During supper I hypothesized that maybe the roaster cooks faster than an oven does since it's a smaller space (or something). I just looked at the owner's manual for the roaster.....and sure enough. 2-3 hours for a 14-16 lb roast, which was about how long it took. Dumb me.
Oh well, this is why I practice & learn around people who are forgiving.
Dinner was rounded out with the stuffing, which went over famously, and mashed sweet potatoes, which I thought were the bomb but no one else was terribly impressed with. All in all, it was a good meal.
Or at least, that was my plan. I was going to blog or at least post a picture to my blog every day. Yeah, didn't happen. But today is a palindrome. And that makes me really happy. Happy enough not to worry about starting a bunch of sentences with conjunctions. Although, I like to blog like I'm just kinda talking and I start a lot of sentences with conjunctions when I am talking, so I've decided I'm not going to worry about it.
- Had my youngest 2 children. One in 2000 and one in 2002.
- "Retired" and became a stay at home mom in 2003.
- Spent 5 years in a book club.
- Served on church council and started directing 3 musical groups at church.
- Learned to play handbells.
- Made lifelong friends.
- Moved home to MT.
- Put a large addition on a house.
- Built a house.
- Entered my 30's. I'm now on the downward side and I must say, my 30's have been the best!
- Traveled to Pittsburgh twice (Steelers games), Las Vegas, Jamaica, South Carolina, Wyoming, Minnesota, Glacier National Park, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Disney World twice, and Utah.
- Was part of a Babysitting Co-op.
- Became interested in landscape photography.
- Served on PTO.
- Volunteered with various groups.
- Said goodbye to one dog and hello to a new one.
- Started a blog ;)
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