Cool music podcast

Thanks to Brian from Coverville for turning me on to another great music podcast. I love covers but I especially love acappella covers. So when Brian did a quick shout-out to Acappella U at the end of Coverville #149, I was searching for the link in a flash.

Acappella U is a weekly show that started in September. The presenter, Joey C, has that radio DJ sound that I haven't heard in a while; I half expect him to start the show with "Hey, this is the rockin' Joey C spinning the platters for you!" It's not as annoying as you might think, though, at least for me. He focuses his 30-minute show on collegiate acappella groups, a genre that I wasn't even familiar with before hearing a few of them on a Coverville acappella special. Mixed in between the four or five tracks he plays are interviews with performers and news from the collegiate acappella circuit. The first show opened with a killer rendition of Dave Matthews Band's "Ants Marching", and within 30 seconds I was hooked. Give it a listen!

Busy corrupting young minds

My fondest dream is coming true. I am turning M into a lover of Broadway musical scores. First, I eased her into that direction by letting her listen to both of my Lascivious Biddies CDs. Now I have her listening to Hairspray. I thought she was only going to listen to it, but she actually read the plot synopsis in the liner notes. I'm so proud!

When I was M's age, one of my favorite pastimes was to read the book of a musical while listening to the score. Our local library had these collections for each year called "Best Plays of _____"; I wonder if they still publish those? I would love to read the book for Wicked or Avenue Q, since I doubt I will ever get a chance to see either one.

Doctor, my eyes!

When did small print start to bother me? I picked up a copy of Last Minute Knitted Gifts from the library and the type seemed to be miniscule. "The publisher made a poor choice," I told myself. Then I picked up a copy Games magazine and looked at the Games 100 list. "Didn't they use a different layout several years ago," I thought to myself. There's no denying the truth, though. My eyes are getting worse. For the past week, I've been rubbing my eyes and wiping my glasses constantly to make my vision clearer. Sadly, it hasn't helped. I guess I'll have to break down and spend the money on an eye exam.

Crazy things can brighten my day

Who knew that someday toilet bowl brushes would make me happy? I have three bathrooms and it grosses me out to carry my one toilet bowl brush through the house to each one. Finally, after much nagging, ABM brought me three fresh brushes today. Life is good, and soon my bathrooms will be clean!

I only gained half a pound this week, which is good. That doesn't excuse me from getting my butt in gear, though. Watching The Biggest Loser and seeing two of my daughters struggle to find pants that fit them -- these are two events from this weekend that woke me up a little bit. I've got to get in better shape for myself and to set a better example for my children.

I seem to struggle when I leave the beginner stage. If my life were an MMORPG, then you would see me getting killed immediately after I level up. I've tried to do Flylady four times but every seems to fall apart when I get past day seven of the beginner baby steps. With dieting (yes, I said the D word), I start sabotaging myself as soon as I learn the routine. Whether it is counting points or calories or fat grams, once I learn the diet's gimmick I start adding things. Part of it is boredom and part of it is not knowing what to do next. When I was on eDiets, it worked great when I lived on salads and Lean Cuisines. Soon, however, I got tired of frozen meals and ABM got tired of spending the extra money. It all fell apart when I tried to cook my own meals. I'm back in that same place again and I've got to figure out how to make healthy eating and exercise a lifestyle.

Will wonders never cease?

For the first time in our 16-year marriage, ABM suggested on his own that we cook our big meal on Saturday instead of Thursday. I've said for years that it makes no sense for me to cook a full Thanksgiving meal when no one was going to be here. He argued that it wouldn't feel like Thanksgiving if he didn't have leftovers, but he couldn't have that if he was eating at his grandmother's house. Hence, being the good wife that I am, I have cooked on Thanksgiving every year. Of course, I've scaled the meal way down over time. The first few years I coooked everything from scratch just to prove to myself that I could, but now all the side dishes are instant or canned. This year, however, since he has come to his senses I may treat him to the real deal.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope that all of you have had your fill of turkey/ham/turducken/tofurkey and enjoyed your time with your family. Me, I am thankul that I can use this four-day weekend to assuage some of my bad-Mommy guilt by doing some well-needed housecleaning. No Thanksgiving dinner for me, unless ABM brings me a plate from his grandma's house. I spent the earlier part of the day preparing the lower floor for possible drop-in visitors, and now I am taking advantage of my family's absence to clean M's cluttered little cave. Lest you think that I am ignoring my family, I've got a few games in mind for the little ones while M is visiting her cousins.

Grumble, grumble, grouse, grouse

I spent 20 minutes writing a post about M and our search for a suitable book for her big book report, then the work computer ate it. Grrr! I can just imagine it floating around the internet like a piece of newspaper being blown by the wind.

Rather than recreate the whole thing, let me get to the heart of the matter. M (my 12-year-old with the 11th grade reading level) is reading Wuthering Heights and I promised her that I would help her get through it by reading it with her. Should I just get the book, or should I give us both a break by either getting an enriched version with commentary or SparkNotes to go along with the book? I'm hoping that some of you bookish girls read this post and give me your opinions.

Did I say I wasn't knitting for Christmas?

At least I have a month's notice. The saga of the MIL's socks continues. My Vari friends know most of this story already. The short version is that the MIL went from thinking that needlework was something that only white women did to appreciating my knitting after getting a pair of handknit Wool-Ease socks from me a couple years' ago. She is a woman of few words, so I didn't know how much she loved the socks until I saw that she had worn them thin. So last year I knit her a new pair. Silly me, I assumed that when I gave the MIL a new pair of socks that she would throw out the old ones. Today I found out that not only is she still wearing the old holey socks around the house, but she is also washing and wearing the new socks every day now that it has gotten cold. At this rate, it won't be long before she wears out the new ones. If I can focus and knit quickly, perhaps I can provide her with more than one pair of socks for Christmas so that she can alternate. What pressure I put myself under!

I Don't Like Mondays

I've got that queasy Monday feeling again. Although I talk a big game, there is no escaping the guilt. I can avoid it most of the time, but at 5a on Monday morning the guilt monster wakes me up and presents me with a list of ways that I ruined yet another weekend:

--I didn't spend much time with the kids.

--I went out with friends on Saturday and stayed gone most of the day.

--I didn't do any housework.

--I went to see a kids' movie (Harry Potter) without the kids. I didn't even tell them.

--I bought a card game, knitting magazines, and expensive chocolate truffles.

--I spent $30 on Amazon. Even though it was for a catechism book and handwriting books for the kids, I still feel guilty.

--Of course, I didn't exercise or eat right.

Usually, if I list all the things I did right this weekend it makes the feeling go away. That trick isn't working today. My face hurts and I can barely keep my coffee down. I think I should have called in sick and cleaned my house to appease the guilt monster.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I went to see the new HP movie with a couple of friends yesterday and I had a great time. If you're expecting me to do an in-depth review, I'll have to disappoint you. My memory of the source material is so bad that I would not be able to do a decent comparison. I can say, however, that a person who has not read the books could still enjoy this movie. I couldn't really say that about the other movies, especially the first one which was rather disjointed. The pacing of this one seemed to be more like the British TV shows that I've watched, although I could just be projecting that onto the film because I know that the director (Mike Newell) is British.

Hats off to the costume designer, Jany Temime (yes, I was impressed enough to look her up). The blue hats and traveling robes that the Beauxbatons students wear are gorgeous! I also like the sports robes that the TriWizard champions wear. They definitely look like they should be in the Adidas Magic line.

I've seen a bit of fuss made about Emma Watson (Hermione) coming of age and looking more like a woman in this movie (she is the latest celebrity minor to inspire a countdown clock), but nobody has commented on the guys. Besides Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), several of the supporting lads have gone from goofy to almost appealing. Tom Felton (Draco) is getting even better looking, Matthew Lewis (Neville) is looking a lot less homely, and Rupert Grint is growing into an attractive man body. A good haircut would fix them all right up.

Health Update

There is nothing much to say. I've gained another pound, which brings me back up to 257.5 pounds. I haven't gone back to Weight Watchers, I haven't exercised, and I ate whatever I wanted. This is a common pattern for me. I refuse to feel guilty about what I eat so there are weeks where I don't make very good choices.

As for exercise, it has never been my friend. I try to convince myself that I like it when I'm doing it, but it doesn't take much for me to give it up even if I've been doing it regularly for weeks. There are people who develop the habit and say they feel lousy physically when they don't do it, but I'm not in that camp. It is more mental than anything for me. When I'm exercising, I feel good because I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. When I'm not exercising, I feel bad because I feel guilty. I've never been able to stick to it long enough to get any physical benefits other than weight loss.

I'm not setting any goals for the coming week because I doubt that I will meet them. It's not for the reason you are suspecting, either. Thanksgiving is not a big obstacle for me because I usually stay home while ABM and the kids go visiting. If I do go with them, his family's cooking is not much of a temptation for me :-). My biggest challenge will be to drag myself away from the computer and get some exercise. With a four-day weekend, I will be tempted to catch up on my blog reading and play games. Don't be surprised if I post another weight gain next week.

Knitting meme

Since I haven't talked about knitting much lately, I thought I would post this. I snagged this from a Carolina blog that I found in my travels. What amazed me is that my answers are very similar to hers.

What is your favorite all time yarn to knit with? Like the gal I snagged this from, I knit whatever I can afford. Access is also a big factor in what I knit. I know that I can mail order stuff, but we all have felt the need for instant gratification from time to time. Since it is difficult for me to get to the yarn shops in my area, I tend to use a lot of Red Heart and Lion Brand yarn. Last year, however, I knit some mittens using Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride bulky wool and I adored it. I kept saying to myself as I knit, "Is this what it is like to knit with wool all the time?" Sadly, I've knit with some scratchy wool since then.

Your favorite needles? I don't have a favorite brand, but I do prefer circulars. My new set of Denise interchangeables hasn't been properly christened yet, but I think I am going to like them. Just being able to have a range of sizes available is going to be cool; for years (even after I finished high school and had my own money) I would pick projects based on the one size of needles I had!

The worst thing you've ever knit? That would probably be a black/white/grey striped vest for ABM that I knit sideways. It wasn't truly ugly but it didn't fit my husband's style. It was more earthy-crunchy while my man strives to be more GQ. I would wear it myself except that it has mysteriously disappeared :-).

Your favorite knit pattern? There are so many patterns out there that I try not to knit patterns more than once. Note that I said I try, because more often than not I get lazy and fall back on a pattern that I know well. The 5-Hour Baby Sweater seems to get pulled out every time someone is pregnant because I wait until the last minute to buy yarn for the baby gift. I would link to it, but I thought it might be better to advise you to Google it. I used the original pattern found on Woolworks, but there are many adjustments out there that you may like better. For boys, I like knitting it with the hood.

Most valuable knitting technique? Casting on :-). I know that sounds flippant, but I knit many items before I was able to cast on without referring to a book.

Best book or magazine? Although I like the trendiness of Vogue Knitting and knit.1, I've knit more patterns out of Family Circle Easy Knitting than any other book or magazine. I have limited attention for complicated patterns and I knit more kids' patterns than anything else. FCEK seems to cater to knitting moms like me.

Favorite Knit a Long? Knit-alongs usually involve yarns that I can't buy and patterns that require attention. I've joined a couple but not followed through.

Favorite knitblogs? Most of the blogs that I read are written by knitters, but I don't read them for the knitting anymore. I've become interested in their lives. A few of my favorites that mention knitting regularly are Bookish Girl, Poor Miss Finch, The Divine Miss Em, Yarnageddon, and In the Pink. Of course, I also check in on the biggies like Yarn Harlot, Dogs Steal Yarn, and Yarn-A-Go-Go.

Favorite knitwear designer? Nicky Epstein. I haven't knit a lot of her stuff, but I love her books of embellishments.

The knitted item you wear the most? I have yet to knit anything for myself. I'm a big gal and it just seems like it will take forever to knit something my size. When I finally do, I will head straight over to White Lies Designs for a pattern.

Read about the creator of Crafster

Yesterday I directed you to the latest craft challenge at Craftster. If you found that interesting, read about the woman who started it all. I admire anyone who tries to carry the appeal of handiwork to the next generation.

Another cool Craftster Challenge

Another cool Craftster Challenge has ended. This was their 7th challenge called "Old Jeans, New Life". You guys have got to check out the results. There are some truly talented folks that frequent the Craftster boards. The winning entry was a portrait done in the form of a woven tapestry and it is stunning.

Congrats to all my babymaking friends out there

I let my loner flag fly the other day and posted a cranky mini-rant about not being interested in other people's babies. For all my gestating gal pals, this does not mean that I don't want to hear about your pregnancies. For those of you who have already pushed out your little spawn, go ahead and bring those baby pictures around. I want to hear about them because I care about you. It's when I barely know the person and I am expected to coo over their kid that I have a problem.

My friend NotMissy is attracted to all babies, no matter who birthed them. I, however, had trouble being interested in my own kids until they were about two. Now that they can all play cards and carry on a decent conversation, they've become much more fascinating to me. So you may want to wait until your offspring can discuss his favorite video game before you risk exposing him to me; then I can be "Mom's cool friend" rather than "that grumpy lady Mom knows".

This is why I can't call myself a computer geek

DISCLAIMER: If you are not a geeky gadgety person, you can stop reading this right now. I know that probably applies to four out of the five people that read my blog, but I felt that I had to post about my tech stupidity. There may be another poor ignorant soul with the same problem, so I am posting this story hoping that a Google search will bring it up for that person.

ABM, being obsessed with all things video these days, wanted me to figure out a free solution to watching video on our PDAs. There is an open-source program called TCPMP that is all the rage in the online PDA community. Open source means free, but open source also means limited instructions on how to use the thing. Two weeks ago I installed it on my PDA, put an episode of "One Tree Hill" on an SD card, and it didn't work. I got sound but I didn't get a picture. Numerous Google searches turned up nothing resembling my problem. I kept finding tutorials for different programs used to convert and shrink the file before putting it on the SD card, but I ignored these. After all, I knew that I had the right file format (.avi) and it was only 350 mb in size. Since I had a 512 mb SD card, I didn't see the problem.

Fast forward to yesterday. I couldn't let this thing die. There must be a reason why it worked so flawlessly for everyone else and not for me. I started looking through one of those tutorials again for a program that came with my Palm. It started talking about different settings for shrinking the file based on the size of your PDA's screen. All of a sudden, it clicked. I didn't need to shrink the file to fit on the SD card -- I needed to shrink it so the picture would fit on the screen! What a doofus I am! It took me an hour and a half to convert the file, and then I had TV goodness on my Palm. Now I can start throwing iTunes some of my money for those new videos :-).

The bottom line for anyone who got to this through a Google search: when you use TCPMP, you have to convert the file or else the picture won't fit on the screen. Shrinking a 350 mb file down to 75 mb is just a side benefit. Enjoy the show!

Strange branding

Did you know that "Evian" (bottled water brand) spelled backwards is "naive"? What doe that say about the folks who spend $25 a case for water?

Here we go again

I didn't go to DJ's school conference because he seemed to be doing well. In 2nd grade the marks are 1 -4 rather than A - F, with 4 being the best. DJ got 4s in all the math categories and 3s in language arts on his report card. The only below average mark was for his handwriting and I already had plans to work with him on that. So I was a bit surprised when I got his reading test today and it said that he is reading at a 1st-grade level. I refuse to let the test throw me, however. This kid has had a reading explosion in the past few months. He reads road signs, cereal boxes, game rules, and anything else he can get his hands on. What's more, he puts his reading in context more than my older kids do. He's the one to send into the pantry for the corned beef hash because he will actually read the cans. For now, I choose to believe that he was tested on a bad day.

Health Update

I don't have much to say. I'm at 256.5 pounds because I didn't care this week. Counting points wasn't really a priority and I didn't exercise. I could present you with a myriad of reasons for why I didn't stay on plan this week (a cold, my period, my daughter's 1st period, school conferences) but I don't believe in making excuses. It is too easy for me to come up with good reasons to let myself off the hook. Perhaps I can come up with more motivation next week.

My Jennifer Love/Hate Thing

I keep being drawn back to Ghost Whisperer, which stars Jennifer Love Hewitt. In the beginning, I was determined not to watch it because I was still mad at CBS for cancelling Joan of Arcadia. Ms. Hewitt is considered by many to be more of a pop tart than a real artist, and the show isn't that good. Still, I can't help watching it. The vintage clothes her character wears along with the false eyelashes and the slightly teased hair extensions give her the 1960s starlet look that I love. I don't want to like her, but I can't take my eyes off her.

It's not just her looks, either. She is also a great singer, which I would never have guessed. She looks so sweet that I was totally caught off-guard by the fire in her voice when I heard her do a rendition of "Me and Bobby McGee".

So why is my first instinct to dismiss her? She is obviously talented. Maybe it is the "gee whiz" vibe she gives off in interviews. She comes off as either airheaded or unbelievably innocent. Perhaps an evil role or two would make me take her more seriously. It worked for Mandy Moore.

My So-Called Digital Life

After I posted about not having any music in digital form, it made me start thinking about ways that my digital house (my computer) resembles my real house. I discovered that I've carried my bad habits into my digital life. My inbox is filled with e-mails that I've saved because I think that I am going to need them one day. My bookmarks folder is cluttered with websites that I have marked so I can go back and shop at those sites one day. Bloglines taunts me every time I pull it up with all the blog posts that I haven't read yet. I've learned to control all the mail, magazines, and catalogs that used to clutter my bedside table but I have replaced them with email, blogs, and shopping sites. At least the digital versions don't make my bedroom look cluttered.

I survived the parent/teacher conferences, but I am worn out. ABM and I usually split the conferences but he couldn't get off work so I had to decide who I needed to talk to the most. M and C2 have been giving me the most cause for concern this term, so I chose to visit their teachers. It was a tight schedule because their schools are 30 minutes away from each other and we had to drive in rush hour traffic. Luckily, the teachers were a bit behind schedule so I looked like I was on time :-).

M's teacher was very nice but it almost felt like a waste of time to go to that conference because we've been in communication with her via e-mail for the past few weeks. Still, I recognize that if you don't show up for these things the teacher gets the idea that you don't care about your kid's education. So I put in my face time and assured the teacher that I am concerned about M's disorganization.

C2's conference was a bit more productive. It turns out that her teacher taught special-ed classes before coming to this school, so I asked her if she saw any signs of ADD in C2. I know that it has to diagnosed by a doctor, but I wanted to know if she felt that there was any cause for concern before I made a big deal about it. She said that C2's main problem was working slowly, and that she didn't really see that as a true problem because her slowness comes from being meticulous in her work. She also stated that C2 was much more focused than any of the ADD/ADHD children she has had in her classes. That was a great relief to me. The teacher suggested that the fatigue and unwillingness to work that I see at home may be a result of all the effort that C2 puts in at school all day; by the time I see her, she's probably just tired of schoolwork in general.

One thing I like about the elementary school conferences is that the teachers have papers ready for you to see so you can have a visual for what your kid is doing. I finally got the results of C2's reading benchmark and she is at grade level as opposed to below grade level at the end of 2nd grade. Thank God! At M's school, the IB program tries to groom them for adulthood by teaching responsibility for their own actions so the conference is more student-led than anything else. The teacher addressed M directly most of the time, asking her why she made a D and what she was going to do about that next term. M is good at saying what you want to hear so this is of no use to me. I preferred the sheets they gave out last year that showed me a list of the assignments and what her grades on each of them. Both of M's core teachers are new; they were called in as replacements just a few weeks before school started. Perhaps they will get themselves together before the next interim report is due.

Another thing I had to deal with today was the school book fair. I enjoy the book fair but the timing was just wrong because this is not a pay week. Also, I didn't have ABM with me to help me guide the children toward reasonable items. More and more book fairs have started selling toys and little gadgety things. I know this stuff makes more money for the school, but ABM and I both feel that the point of going to the book fair is to get books. This is one of the few times during the year that we buy books because they are a little cheaper and the school gets a kickback. To make things worse, most of the items on DJ's and C2's wish lists were gone because we got there late. DJ was more excited than usual to go to the book fair and all of his picks were sold out.

On the other side of the century line

Yesterday I became keenly aware that I am still a slave to radio. My new-to-me Tungsten E has Real Player on it, so I was loading up a 512 mb SD card with music to get me through the day at work (switching CDs or radio stations messes up my productivity). Even with recent online purchases, I did not have enough music in digital form to fill up the card. I barely went over 300 mb! So much for my dreams of getting an iPod -- I'd have nothing to put on it.

The truth is that I don't buy much music and I almost never buy it new. My meager collection is filled with vinyl and cassettes that came from library book sales and the remainder bin at Record Bar. I guess my buying habits are a holdover from cash-strapped teenage years. Also, Top 40 radio played songs into the ground so often that there was no need to buy a song that you could hear once an hour for free.

It is time to redefine my self-image. In my mind I am a music lover, but until this job I only listened to it for about 15 minutes a day. I consider myself a sci-fi fan yet I have never seen any of the Star Wars movies and I don't read sci-fi novels. For that matter, I might as well turn in my library card because I have gone from the girl with her nose constantly in a book to reading two novels a year. Somehow it escaped my notice that I've stopped doing all of these things. If you asked me to describe myself, I would still say that I am a geeky music lover and an avid reader. That may have been what I was when I was 16, but what am I now?

It's so hard to be nice

Sometimes I want to do something nice for someone without talking to them. If I hear in passing that a coworker is interested in collecting teddy bears and I happen to find a cool article or website about collecting teddy bears, I just want to give it to her and be done with it. I don't want her to feel obligated to talk to me at the coffee pot the next day. Does that make me a grump? I just happened to be blessed with a brain that holds minutiae until I can distribute it to someone else. Once I've given it away, I have room in my head for other stuff.

I am the same way with baby stuff. Sometimes I knit it because I know the mother and I know she needs stuff (like the single mom I've mentioned before). A lot of times, though, I give away baby stuff because I like to knit it and somebody has got to wear it. I don't have any babies in my house so if you're pregnant and in my general vacinity, chances are you will get a baby item. This does NOT mean that I want to hold the baby or look at scads of baby pictures. Truth is, I don't have much use for kids until they are about two (and that includes my own). Go ahead, revoke my Good Mommy license; I should have gotten a ticket a long time ago :-).

SO glad to be back at my desk

I am not at my best in a crowd. Not that I have panic attacks, but I think I come pretty close. Over the years I've learned different tricks to make things easier on myself, like always carrying my knitting with me to soothe my nerves.

The large ministry where I work has meetings of the entire staff every morning. This is exactly the type of situation that freaks me out, but I handle it by sitting out in the hallway leading up to the meeting room. My boss has never given me much grief about it because I can hear the speaker fine from there. This morning, however, they removed the chairs! I had to sit in the main hall. I felt SO trapped. I've been out of there for 30 minutes and I still feel shaky. I don't know what I am going to do tomorrow if the chairs aren't there.

Blog Guilt

I know that many of you have experienced this feeling which is unique to our internet age. When I wasn't working, I set up a routine of reading a list of blogs every morning with my coffee. Since all bloggers don't update on a regular basis, I slowly started adding blogs to my aggregator so that I would always have something to read. I became a regular commenter on the blogs I liked, partly to encourage the new bloggers and partly to experience that special feeling you get when you are a regular anywhere ("...where everybody knows your name/and they're always glad you came...") Now, however, I don't have time to read all these blogs. Currently, I have 75 feeds on my Bloglines list and I haven't read them in almost a month. The funny thing is that I feel bad for not reading them. I feel like the bloggers can see me skipping them every day and they are disappointed. I know that most of these people don't even know who I am, but I still feel guilty. It's like I started something and didn't finish it.

You Should Get a PhD in Liberal Arts (like political science, literature, or philosophy)

You're a great thinker and a true philosopher. You'd make a talented professor or writer.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

Halloween Candy Overload

I think I have finally reached the point where holiday goodies don't tempt me much. The kids hauled in a lot of candy (enough to fill two plastic grocery bags to bursting) and it wasn't the cheap stuff. After sifting through it with ABM to remove all the gum, though, there were very few items that I thought were worth the calories. I felt the same way last Christmas and I wasn't even dieting then. I don't really believe in taking any foods off my "allowed" list; for instance, I am having macaroni and cheese and fried okra for lunch without a pang of guilt. However, I am working on only eating stuff that I truly want. This is not the same as only eating when you are hungry. A lot of times I am hungry but I am too lazy to cook, so I will end up eating five things that don't require cooking. I could save a lot of points if I would just take a few minutes to cook the thing I really wanted.