Saturday night was the annual BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) party thrown by my friends Shawn and Melanie. It was a great time, we carved pumpkins (of course), ate some AMAZING food (Scharffenberger brownies w/ Scharffenberger-heavy cream ganache, anyone?), and watched scary-ish movies (Batman Returns-scarily bad, A Series of Unfortunate Events-cute and scaryish, and The Serpent and the Rainbow-scary zombies/Bill Pullman sex scene scary). And I got to see a bunch of people I hadn't seen in a while. AND, I got to taste Melanie's Mead of Mystery, which has aged very nicely, and tastes much like butterscotch. Good times! Thanks ladies, for throwing such a great party!

I also got pictures of two or three of the finished pumpkins (including the most twisted, Tim Burton-esqe creation), which I may post soon.

Current state: Bored at work
Listening to: Rob Zombie, Metallica, System of a Down
Reading: Bryson and Bradley (still, haven't had much time to read)

Quotes for the Day: "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."--The Dalai Lama

"I've learned there are three things you don't discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin."--Linus

(Buddhist) Quote for the Day: "It is necessary to cultivate some discipline of mind, for an undisciplined mind always finds excuses to act selfishly and thoughtlessly. When the mind is undisciplined, the body is also undisciplined, and so is speech and action."--Anguttara Nikaya

I need a heavy dose of discipline. As much as I've been complaining about other people's (mostly training clients) selfishness and thoughtlessness, I realized today I've been all kinds of selfish and thoughtless myself lately. A disturbing and humbling realization, indeed. I've mostly been noticing it in my internal thoughts, feelings, and attitude, but I can't help but wonder how much of it has been translated into my outward actions and demeanor. I hope to gods it hasn't come out nearly as much as I suspect it probably has. I have some serious self-adjusting to do.

Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug...

I got stood up this morning by another personal training client. *splat!*

I've had a headache for most of the day, my skull feels like it's in a vice grip. *Splat!*

And, I just found out my dog died. Well, not MY dog, the family dog, but still. *SPLAT!!!*

Goodbye Bo, for the last 16 years you were the best dog a family could ask for. Rest in peace, my friend.

If I hit any more windshields today, I'm going to lose it!

Recipe of the Week: Quinoa with Autumn Vegetables

-1 Cup Quinoa
-2 Cups apple cider
-assortment of sliced/diced/chiffonaded fall vegetables of your choice (I used sweet potatoes, parsnips, and Chinese cabbage), 1-2 cups, according to your personal taste
-Cinnamon
-Nutmeg
-black pepper
-sea salt

In a skillet, brown the vegetables in canola oil. Add quinoa, cider, and spices (to taste). Stir and cover, cook 15 minutes until quinoa absorbs all the liquid. Would likely also be good with dried cranberries mixed in (I didn't have any).

Quote for the Day: "Today, dear reader, I have two words for you: night sweats. And I’m not referring to the kind that can result in babies."--Molly over at Orangette, on her current flu-ridden state.

How NOT to Cancel an Appointment With Your Personal Trainer...

...via text message. Seriously, if you EVER cancel an appointment with me at the last minute via text message, I will SO charge your ass anyway!

And another word of warning...standing up your personal trainer is NOT a nice thing to do. We'll make you pay, in more ways than one. First, we'll charge you for the session anyway. Second, we'll work your ass so hard during the next appointment, your muscles will feel like they're on fire by the end of the workout. Not just any fire mind you, I'm talking white-hot raging inferno here. And that's just the beginning. Two days later, when the full force of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) hits, you'll feel as if you've been trampled by an entire herd of brontosauruses (brontosauri?). Twice. Bottom line...

NEVER piss off your personal trainer!

Hard to believe, it's been three and a half months since my last post. A lot has happened in that time, lots of ups and a couple of (extreme) downs. I started my new job, working full-time as a Health and Fitness Specialist for a corporate fitness center, and part-time for the same company as a personal trainer. I'm making more money which is fabulous, for the first time in a long time I'm actually coming out ahead at the end of the month. I had a great vacation up north over the summer, discovered Ann Arbor's Farmer's Market (which is fabulous), went to a couple of SCA events, worked my first henna gig, and as you've likely noticed, changed the look of the blog (got sick of the old template).

I also had to have my 6-year-old cat put to sleep in July, and lost my Grampa last month. Like I said, extreme downs.

I'm not sure how often I'll be posting, but I'll aim for once or twice a week. I probably won't be posting nearly as much of the political stuff, as I've gotten pretty burned out on it. Don't get me wrong, I still pay attention to what's going on, I just don't feel quite as compelled to comment on it. I will be adding blurbs about what I'm reading, watching, listening to, etc., for those of you who might be interested. And there will still be the occasional Quote/Stupid Quote for the Day. Feel free to let me know what you think of the changes!

Reading: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, Fall of Atlantis by Marion Zimmer-Bradley
Watching: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the '80s BBC series, courtesy of Netflix)
Next in the Netflix Queue: Black Adder II, Red Dwarf series 3, Black Adder the Third (What can I say, I'm on a British comedy kick!)