My New Year's Resolutions

My New Year's Resolutions for 2009:

• Run a 15K mini-marathon
• Run a half marathon (I don't know if this will happen, but I'm going to train for it)
  
• Get my weight down to xxx (you don't need to know the exact number now, do you?)
  
• Complete three ArcGIS classes
• Develop the perfect recipe for whole wheat bread in my bread maker
• Finish three knitting projects and six sewing projects
• Update this blog on a regular basis
  

Blizzard!

The predicted snowstorm has been upgraded to a blizzard. It's Cincinnati's first blizzard since 1978! Staying home from work today was truly a capital idea. I think we've had four or five inches of snow so far and we're expecting up to a foot total snowfall. I'm so very ready for spring.

I spent the day studying my Intro to ArcGIS course work and I love GIS. It's so much fun playing around with maps. I see a new career blossoming before me.

Finally, I leave you with this interesting New York Times article about MSG. I worked for many years in a Chinese restaurant and the "no MSG!" people always got under my skin. So many would claim to be deathly allergic but would still order the hot and sour soup or the eggrolls after I (not so) patiently explained that those items contained MSG and there was nothing we could do about it. I still think claiming to have an allergy when none exists does a real disservice to those people who have genuine life-threatening allergies, such as those to peanuts or shellfish.

Drum Roll Please...

I ran a mile today! OK, it wasn't fast and it certainly wasn't pretty and little old ladies out for a walk were passing me by, but I ran a mile, by all the gods in Olympus!

I'm dead chuffed.

What a week's worth of food looks like

I keep revisiting these photos and pondering the various implications within. The trite observations are easy enough: Italians eat a lot of bread, Germans drink many of their daily calories, Americans hardly eat any real food whatsoever and people in Chad don't have enough to eat.

It's inspired me to photo document my groceries for two months. I decided on a month at a time because what I buy during any given week isn't necessarily what I'm eating that week; if canned tomatoes are on sale into the cart and cupboard they go. I also really don't know how much I spend on food. Although Quicken has a category for groceries, I put everything I buy during a food shop under that category, even if it's paper products, medicines or light bulbs. So I'll spend some time pouring over my receipts and figuring out how much money I'm spending on actual food. I'm also curious to know if I'm buying and eating as much fresh produce as I believe. Since we're coming up on a new month, I'm going to photograph my groceries for the month of March and repeat the process during the month of July (which is when the farmer's markets here are in full swing). I'll be posting the pictures on my Flickr account and I'll probably post a month end wrap up here.

I admit this is a way to keep the dining table free of books and sewing projects once in a while. I'll need somewhere to lay out the groceries.

Finally, Neil Gaiman has posted his novel American Gods on the web for your reading pleasure. As I understand it, it will be available for two months free of charge by way of his blog's 7th year birthday gift to his readers. Or something. Anyway, he asked his minions to spread the word and the link far and wide. Of course, I do his bidding. You will find the link in the sidebar to the right.