Body and Soul Part 2

Why do I bother taking out the "ar" in "Part"?  It's already a short word!  So that stops here.

Anyway, making a list of all the reasons why I should get healthy and get in shape.  (Note to self: look up origins of idiom.)  Maybe I'll print up individual list items in large fonts and paste them 'round my house as motivational reminders for my husband and myself.  Big, big letters.

1. Be a better parent. (You know, playing outside and role modeling healthy choices, etc.)
2. Better job opportunities. (In a perfect world, this would not be the case, but there you are.)
3. Nicer clothes.  I like clothes.
4. I could go swimming again.
5. Feel better physically.
6. Increase confidence.
7. I could actually try to play sports (for fun).
8. Recover faster from illness/surgery (I am feeling this one right now.)
9. Lingerie.  I love it.  I no longer wear it, but I want to do so again someday.
10. Smaller breasts.  Most people may not understand this, but those who know me do.
11. Smaller feet.  I have small feet already, but the last couple of years my shoes have been a little tight.  I want to go back to my old shoe size.  I like those shoes, damn it!
12. Have my wedding ring fit the way it's supposed to, and be able to actually take it off.
13. Be able to wear slutty Halloween costumes again. I really didn't do a lot of that when I was thinner, and now I regret it.  So, I want to slim down so I can dress up as Poison Ivy sometime.  
14. Cook more often.  See, healthy food usually requires more preparation than junk food.  If I get myself liking healthy food, I'll have to cook more.  I want to like cooking again.
15. Function better mentally/emotionally.  Healthy bodies fuel healthy minds, yo.

That's all I've got for right now.  I know I'll definitely be adding to this list later.  Any suggestions?  WRITE A FREAKING COMMENT!  I'd really like more comments.  Thank you.

Anyway, I've also decided I don't like people who approach me simply in order to push their own agendas, especially when it involves either A) transferring money from me to themselves; B) me owing them something in the future; C) me doing something I would normally not do and really regret later if I did; and/or D) something divisive, hurtful, ignorant, biased, stupid, trivial, etc.  I had some "friends" who for a long time only seemed to call me when they wanted something from me, using the guise of wanting to hang out to lure me into complacency so they could spring their agenda on me.  I started avoiding their calls pretty quick, let me tell you.  There was a time when my husband would say he wanted to spend time with me, but it was really him wanting me to stay home and not go out because he wanted to keep an eye on me.  Ergo, I told him to shove it.  (We're doing much, much better now, btw.  He only says he wants to spend time with me when he actually does in fact want to spend quality time together.)  And I do not accept random friend requests on ANY networking/social/community/whatever site (except perhaps Roosterteeth), because usually they're spambots pushing porn or rich-quick scams or whatever the internet version of snake-oil is.  So, therefore, I am warning anyone who approaches me on this blog or Facebok or tweets me on Twitter that if I don't know you and you try to push something on me, you will be BLOCKED.  I don't care if you think we have common interests.  I don't care if you think you're doing me a favor.  If you are not approaching me fully in the spirit of friendly curiosity, you can fuck off.  For realz.

Sorry, Batman; I think I just squeed all over you.

New addiction?  Batman: Arkham Asylum.  It may just prove to be worth all the hype.  I'm only at the Bane fight, but so far?  LOVE it.  The only way I can see me not being happy with this game is if it doesn't naturally get harder as the game progresses, the ending absolutely sucks, or it's too short.  If all three happen I'll be very sad instead of mildly disappointed.

The combat is smooth, visceral, and not too complicated.  As in, not complicated at all, in my opinion.  Yes, it relies on achieving combos through simple button repeats and pairings.  I'm sorry if you gamers out there who love extremely complicated combat mechanics don't like it, but for someone like me who came to gaming after my childhood and adolescence were over, the complicated stuff is too much for my hand/eye coordination and ergo I don't enjoy the game experience.   I thoroughly enjoy kicking thugs into walls, pounding them into the ground, flipping over their heads, and punching them in the face when they're down without having to sprain my hands and wrists to do it.  The camera moves sooooo fluidly with Batman that I never get lost.  Remember the terrible camera work on Legend of Kain: Defiance?  You try to fight an enemy, but the camera switches back and forth so much between four awkwardly-set angles that you just want to scream or puke before it's even half-over?  Not here.  Plus, in BAA the slow-mo in combat is well-timed and feels like the cherry on top of every lil' combat cupcake.  Tasty, tasty cupcakes.  Mmmmmmm...

The Detective Mode is pimp.  Hell, I usually stay in it most of the time, just to be on the look-out for any surprises that might pop-up. The one thing I want more of in this game so far is surprises.  I have this love/hate thing with nasty surprises in video games.  Especially dark and/or spooky ones (Bioshock say what?).  I like the tension to build and build until I'm halfway expecting something nasty to jump out at me, and then still be sort of shocked and thrilled when it happens in a creative way.  Anyway, Detective Mode lets me see through walls and find important objects.  Plus I can see an NPC's heart rate and therefore assess their mental state.  Nothing like picking off a lot of thugs one by one in a large room to raise up the last couple of dudes to a completely terrified state.  Tee hee, I'm mean.

Fun gadgets so far?  I only have a small fraction of them.  The batarang and the grappling gun come standard. Later you pick up the explosive gel dispenser (when you dispense the gel on a crumbling wall, you make a gooey bat shape!) so you can blast your way through blocked off areas.  There are a bunch more slots open and I cannot wait to see what fills them.  The upgrades, however, make the wait tolerable as they allow you to get the most from what you've got.  Experience points buy you upgrades; you can boost your bat armor, learn new combat combos, improve combat techniques and gadget efficiency, and learn new skills to help you defeat thine enemies.  My favorite so far has to be the inverted takedown, wherein Batman hangs upside down from a gargoyle (conveniently located in strategic places around the asylum) and ropes himself a bad guy.  After you've glide kicked ("Doom from above!"), taken down, beaten up, or given the "silent treatment" to all the bad guys in the room, you can cut down the bad guys you've strung up with the batarang, thus dropping them to the floor and rendering them unconscious.  Batman, of course, never kills anyone.  It's his one rule, so he only knocks the bad guys out.

So far, BAA is the perfect mix of everything Batman.  Bats himself is very much Dark Knight style Bats, but without any emo b.s. thus far.  He's the right blend of super-sleuth and ninja master, with a little bit of old-fashioned American hero muscleclature to round him off.  Dude, he's built like an effing ton of bricks.  He's got the Michael Keaton quiet poise with the Christian Bale aggression, and interestingly enough, George Clooney's chin.  The villains are a healthy dose of cartoony with a large dash of murderous psychosis thrown in, and Harley Quinn looks like a BDSM dream nurse come to pixelated life.  Can't wait to ogle Poison Ivy.  I hope she lives up to expectations.  The mood is somehow dark and suspenseful yet still a little optimistic.  Probably because you know that not only are you the protagonist, but you're one of the most bad-ass super heroes of all time.  I mean, you're Batman.  You win.  Duh.  And kids who grew up in the nineties will appreciate the voices of Batman and Joker being reprized by Mark Hamil and... the dude that played Batman in the WB animated series.  I forget.  Look it up on your own time.

There are, of course, a lot of little frills for us gamers who like to get anything and everything extra by collecting stuff.  These objectives are kindly provided by the Riddler, whose vaguely-effeminate voice occasionally gets on my nerves.  Ah, well.  Look for little green "?" trophies and updates on side-objectives as you go.  At one point you can pick up a map add-on that has places where Riddler objectives are located marked out for you.  Now I am hoping Bats can back to previously visited areas to get the stuff he couldn't get at before.  Stupid WayneTech security fields bein' all efficient and stuff.

Well, I need to finish off this segment in the game so I can go remember what sleep feels like.  My doctor will have no sympathy for me when I show up bitching about feeling shitty when she notices the dark circles under my eyes clearly marking me as a sleep-dodger.  If I feel like it, I may add to this review later.  Have fun, kiddies!  (I say this to the 0 people who read this blog.)

EDIT: And if this brief and tatty little review didn't make you want to play it, then check this out: 

10 reasons you must play Batman: Arkham Asylum

Body and Soul Pt. 1

So I read this great NPR article (love NPR, btw) about Interval Training.  It's a great idea for mums with wee ones that are too young to amuse themselves while mums have "serious grown-up exercise" but too old to sleep or sit gnawing gently on their own feet the whole time.  It takes less time and the shift away from maintaining focus on one activity for a long period of time is a huge plus to ADD me.  Being a complete novice at the whole fitness concept, I will admit I know very little so far.  I want to know more, though, and I want to find a kid-friendly interval training program here in CoMO, so that Liv and I have someplace we can go each week to shape up and socialize.  If I can't find one, maybe Katrina, Jesca, and I can create a program together.  It could serve the needs of all sorts of chicks; skinny chicks, heavy chicks, pregnant chicks, endo chicks, whatevs.  Most especially, though, it would allow chicks with kids to have fun with their kids while they exercise.  I know lots of people have done similar things (nothing new under the sun), but I really like the idea of creating something like this with and for my friends.

I've decided the new plan for food is simply to stop eating food that makes me feel like crap afterwards.  I mean, I even had my stupid gallbladder with its giant pistachio-sized stones in it taken out and pizza still makes me want to vomit.  I think this is my body's way of saying as clearly as possible: "Don't effing eat it, then, MORON!"  Usually food that makes me feel bad isn't good for me, anyway, so I feel like this plan has a lot of merit.

I like Rainn Wilson's call to de-lamify spiritual dialog.  I used to be really involved in the search for meaning and discovering the deeper connections between different paths of spirituality.  It helps that I can have some really awesome discussions with Kurt and/or Katrina after gaming group.  Also I can have good discussions with Kirstin about atheism and mysticism.  Still, I want more.  I want to really dig in to some religious and metaphysical wossname, and I really don't want it to be deadly serious.  I feel like if I just get around the next corner, I'll find the key to tapping into something really cosmic, you know?  But I have to do the work to get there.

One of the best resources for discussing how people approach and grow in their spirituality is Finding Your Religion by Scotty McClean.  It's really a great perspective.  I use his 6-phase model all the time when discussing why people choose different alignments at different times, and how religion has evolved as we have evolved as a species.

Coraline Cakes! Squee!

I want to make this cake I found surfin' around online. Maybe Kirstin will let me make it for her party, or if not, I'll make it for Halloween. It's the cake from Coraline's first visit to the Bel Dame's other Pink Palace. I love to bake, but I would not say I am accomplished enough as a baker to try a really complicated cake. This one is simple enough, cute, and references a fave movie. Yay!

Anyhoo, I found a great website with the recipe and a neat little carousel widget with all the necessary stuff on it. I like widgets. Squee! It also has a companion Button cake guide; the recipe calls for 2 boxes of cake mix and the cake only needs 3 tiers, so the 4th tier can be a new cake! I figure they can be two separate flavors, depending on how Kirstin's (or whomever's) tastes run.

Welcome Home cake: http://www.hurryupcakes.com/special-occasion-cakes/birthday-cakes/coraline-birthday-party-cake

Button cake: http://www.hurryupcakes.com/miscellaneous/coraline-button-cakes

Going to have to invest in widgets.

Preliminary Plans for Coraline Costume

Liv loves Coraline. The first two weeks we owned the DVD she watched at least a dozen times. She talks about Coraline Jones all the time as if she were a real person. So today when I idly suggested she go as Coraline for Halloween, she practically glued her face to the computer screen to see what sort of things could make up her costume. I know lots of people are doing this, but I want to do my own, with an emphasis on making/reusing as many items as possible.

Preliminary Checklist:

Yellow Rain Jacket

Yellow swampers (read: galoshes)

Blue wig/temporary hair coloring

Blue jeans

Pink striped shirt

Mini Coraline doll

Dragonfly hair clip

Blue nail polish

Other possibilities:

Captain hat

Messenger bag (faded red)

Button Key necklace

The nice thing is that Liv's eyes are brown and she has already mastered the pouty expression. I figure the jeans and pink shirt outfit is the easiest. I might even try a light grey sweater and black slacks with a phony neck brace to match. Although with my boobs, if I invest in a ridiculous-looking corset and a blonde wig, I could go as Ms. Forcible. :P

Resources

General

http://www.polyvore.com/coraline/set?id=6692567

http://community.livejournal.com/coraline_movie/

http://evilbuttons.blogspot.com/

Hairclip

http://www.ehow.com/how_4441123_make-beaded-dragonfly-hair-ornament.html

http://ai-risa.deviantart.com/art/Dragonfly-Clip-130355483

Coraline Doll:

http://www.make-baby-stuff.com/free-doll-pattern.html

http://www.ehow.com/video_4940541_making-rag-doll-head-body.html

http://www.ehow.com/video_4940551_stuffing-rag-doll-body.html

http://www.clothdollconnection.com/FabricandSupplies.html

General Notes:

• Dragonfly hairclip has blue body and pinkish wings
• Hair is parted on the left
• Coraline has five freckles on each cheek
• Captain hat is dark navy with brass tacks at each temple and a red device center
• It occurs to me if I go with the hat, the hair clip would be pointless (hmmmm...)

Let's try this again.

I really want to take this blog seriously. That being said, I'm going to make a list of projects I want to get done and start detailing my efforts to be productive. Now that I'm not in school, I have time to do all those little things I've always wanted to do or recently decided would be cool to try. So, since I have my randomly me blog and my secret stuff blog, this will be my self-improvement blog. I think everyone should have a self-improvement record of some sort. If you are diligent in recording your efforts at self-improvement, you're more like to actually improve, I think. It's a way of keeping yourself on track; plus, every time you actually accomplish something, you have something showy to remind yourself of it to bolster your confidence for the next venture.

So, here's a preliminary list of things I want to try out or actually accomplish. I'm going to group them in different sections: academic/professional, craftiness, parenting, health, and miscellaneous. Sometimes these groups will overlap. Each post will labeled with the category (ies) that post belongs to first, then any relevant tags will follow (e.g., Coraline, birthday, poetry). There may be more groups later. I'll just edit this post should those change. For simplicity's sake, on this post things listed that cross groups will be listed once under the category I think is its primary. EDIT: Apparently this stupid blog alphabetizes the tags. Grrrrr...well, doesn't matter.

Academic/Professional

Study for GRE

Submit to at least four (4) poetry mags this fall

Take GRE (holy crap! $140 is painful!)

Enroll in a grad level class

Research grad programs

Look for job opportunities

Update resume

Reorganize portfolio (this entails LOTS of editing)

Craftiness

Complete at least one project from my knitting book by my birthday

Complete at least one project from my jewelry book by my birthday

Become proficient with Photoshop

Bake a Coraline cake; if not for Kirstin's birthday, then Halloween

Master at least four new dishes by my birthday

Practice drawing until I draw something I actually like
Find an affordable quilting class (quilts are the most superior form of blanket)

Parenting

Pull together a relatively inexpensive Coraline Jones costume for Liv

Create Liv's "Storymaker"

Teach Liv French or enroll her in a foreign language class
Commit to weekly social activities

Miscellaneous

Memorize at least three traditional drinking songs (1st up, "Molly Mallone")

Get all the achievements for Bioshock 2 (can't do this 'til November)

Attend some sort of humanities event that I have not previously attended

Explore various writings and deepen my spiritual understanding
Tattoos, tattoos, tattoos.  I'm about to scream if I don't get another soon.

Health


Try the Wii Fit at least twice a week, especially teh yoga
Find more information about interval training
Develop a new way to feed my body that leaves both body and mind satisfied
Give up soda
Quit smoking for real
Play outside with my kid more (buy a soccer ball?)