Stones Under Rushing Water

Life has been a whirlwind this past 2 weeks! The great news is that I'm doing really well on the Game On Diet with my friends. My favorite thing is trash talking the competition—sooo fun!

Well here's a quick rundown on some things that have been going on lately:

Thanks to the Game On Diet, I've traded in my pizza for salads and smoothies.

I've also traded in my potato chips for these:

And boy are they tasty! No but really, I've always liked cucumbers and carrots and stuff like that, so it's not that big of a stretch* but the hard part is resisting the other things I love . . . like pizza . . . and chocolate . . . and cupcakes!

The seasons have changed in the city and I'm loving the fall here in the city. Even with the rain, it's been really nice. I've had to layer up a little more to stay warm at work, but they're working on fixing the heater in my office, so that's a plus!

One of my favorite parts of the Game On Diet is getting together each week to watch The Biggest Loser and Glee! I get to do my weigh-in and then watch as others work toward a better health as well. Then I get to forget about any pounds I may have gained ;) by watching Glee! Yesterday on Biggest Loser, we kept rewinding the DVR because at one point, Jillian grabbed one of the other girls by the butt and made the funniest faces. And THEN, Deb saw a cockroach crawl across the floor when they were at the table doing the elimination round! We still don't know HOW she saw it, but we rewound the DVR and sure enough, it was there!

This morning when I came in to work, I got a special treat in my mailbox: NEW MUSIC to listen to! This is an album from a local Seattle band, THE HEAD AND THE HEART. I spent some time this morning listening to it and I loved the mellow sound. I really appreciate that it incorporates so many different layers and instruments—ones that you don't typically hear on a mainstream candy-coated album.  It was a sweet treat for the indie folk parts of my heart. My favorite song off the album is Cats and Dogs.

In other great news: I have been whining and complaining (mostly to myself) about not getting to see the HBO mini-series BOARDWALK EMPIRE . . . which is a creation of Terence Winter, who made The Sopranos. But not only does it have great writing, it's backed by Scorcese, and it stars Steve Buscemi. Yes, that Steve Buscemi! And, as if that wasn't enough, the story takes place in one of my favorite eras—The Roaring 20s! Gangsters, flapper gowns, bright lights, drama to the max! But now . . .

I'm more than excited to start watching it—I don't even care if the season already started! The only thing is I have to wait until I'm done with the Game On Diet game, because it comes on at 10 and I have to be in bed asleep by 10 so I get my sleep points . . . and as much as I love TV, I'll turn it down for some butt-kickin' points!

Welp, that's pretty much it! My past few days in a nutshell. And oh what a refining process that nutshell is going through. ;)

In other news, I leave for Dallas next week for my Birthday Weekend!!! YAY!

* See what I did there? ;)

New Fang

Linus and I have something in common: a security blanket.
Granted, his might be an ACTUAL blanket, but now really isn't the time to debate technicalities. ;p



My security blanket actually happens to come in the form of a backpack. I'm definitely a social being and I'm always on the move. Most of the time I'm headed out to hang with friends or to the nearest caffeination station. My handy dandy backpack totes around all the things I might need if I ever got stranded in some random neighborhood for an evening. My laptop, wallet, books, magazines, Clif Bars, toothbrush & toothpaste, pens & Sharpies, phone charger, and other things I keep handy just in case I need to pretend to MacGuyver my way out of a situation.

My current backpack is an OGIO "Transit." I've had this bag for the past 7 years and it's been a faithful companion—until last night when I noticed it finally had a tear in it. *holding back tears* Yes it's true, all good things must come to an end. Last night as I was packing up my stuff in my backpack, I noticed the tear and decided it was big enough that it might do some damage if it ripped any further from wear and tear, and so I should call up OGIO and let them know I needed to order a new one.

You see that orange peeking through?
It's the inside built-in laptop protector sleeve.

The good thing is that I have a Lifetime Warranty for my OGIO bag, so when my original one I'd gotten 10 years ago broke 3 years later, I called OGIO. They said that my particular model of bag had been discontinued but I could choose another from the site. So I chose the Transit bag. It came in the mail the next week . . . free of charge :)

I looked on the site this morning and apparently they don't carry the Transit anymore. So I think I'm gonna go with the "Hip Hop." I would LOVE to replace it with another sling backpack, because I don't like double strap backpacks, but they don't have that I like on the site.


I really like bags with only one strap and kinda miss my messenger bag phase. So I guess it's time to revisit that season. I hope my new bag is here by the time I get back from my trip and I hope my old bag holds up until then!