Monthly Book and Movie Review

One of the the things that I would like to do is reivew the books that I have read and the Movies that I have watched each month.  You may have noticed on the side of the blog is a collection of lists that I am trying to complete.  It is a mixture of book lists, movie lists and tv episode lists.  Some of the book lists include the 1001 books to read before you die, The NEW York times Top 100, The Big Read.  Some of the movie lists include 1001 Movies to see before you die, American Film Institute's 100 Best Films, the films that have won the Oscar for Best Picture.

I am going to try a review the books that I have read and movies that I have watched in the last month.  I will warn you now, I typically read for plot, not for the underlying symbolism or the alliterations or all that stuff that I was supposed to remember for English class in high school and college.

Currently Reading/Listening:

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo
• Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
• The 4 Percent Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality by Richard Panek
• The Bible

Movies I have watched this Month

• Despicable Me 2.  I loved it. You may quickly learn that I love kids movies.  Disney, Pixar, most animated movies.  This movie was funny and as cute as the three girls are, the minions totally steal the movie.

I admit that I am going to try and watch at least one movie a weekend.  Many will probably be older films as I try to complete some of the lists that I am working on.

Weekly Update

Current Weight:
Miles walked this week: 2 miles

Produce in my CSA

• Cucumber
• Snow peas
• Lettuce
• Squash - zucchini, patty pan, and summer squash
• Blueberries
• White peaches
• Apricots
• Plums
• Beets

Meals I plan to make:

• Greek chicken pitas - I made Tzatziki with my cucumbers last week.  I think I will probably make pitas with some grilled chicken, lettuce, red onion, cucumber, feta cheese and the tzatziki.
• Asian Stir-Fry.  with some of the peaks from last week, the broccoli, the zucchini, probably some sort of protein.
• Maybe a frittata or quiche to use up more of the squash.
• Pickled beets - I have tried roasted beets in the past and I fee that just taste like dirt.  The first beets we got from the farm I made into a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting.  it turned out to be pretty tasty.  But I can't just keep making cakes.  Reading some reviews for pickled beets, some people say that it takes away the dirt taste.  I have the beets already from the farm so I figure it is worth a try.  But what do you use pickled beets for?
• I think some of the fruit might make it into a crumble or a crisp or a cobbler.

Other goals

• I did drink a few sips out of can of Coca-Cola yesterday. But since it was only a few sips I may still reward myself on Sunday.

Rewards/incentives

I have tried to make detailed goals for myself in the past but I have never really established a reward system so I am going to try that this time

For example.

I know I need to drink more water and less soda.  For now the plan is that if I drink water all week, than when I am at Panera with my friends knitting on Sunday I can have a soda.  I plan to eventually ease that to once a month.

I am also trying to get off fast food again and return to home cooked meals or at the very least food from actually restaurant.  Maybe I will try to establish a weekly eat out night and do everything possible to limit myself to only that one meal a week.  I also would like to try to go to more local restaurants rather than the chains.

I am once again instituting my rule that I am allowed desert but only if it includes the fruit from my CSA.  This will have to be reevaluated when the CSA ends in October.

I need to come up with some sort of incentive for exercising.  Any suggestions out there??

Weekly Update

So this is the first of the weekly updates.

Current weight: 263lbs
Miles walked last week: 0

Produce from my CSA:

• Cucumber - lots of cucumbers
• Zucchini
• Blueberries
• Black raspberries
• Peas
• New Potatoes
• 1 last garlic scape
• 1 last spring onion

Meals I plan to make:

• Steak with green peas and potatoes (probably roasted)
• Salad with Grilled chicken, zucchini, cucumbers and possibly homemade vinaigrette
• Cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches
• Triple berry oat muffins - with blueberries, black raspberries and strawberries

Goals-For Life and for the Blog

One of the reasons that I am starting to blog is keep myself accountable.  That is only possible if I tell everyone my goals.

Goals for Life

Better Health

There are multiple parts to this goal.  A big one is losing weight.  While in college I did gain weight.  I can't tell you exactly how much because I don't know.  And then for about a year and a half after college I was working two jobs.  I often ended up eating fast food while I ran from one job to the other.  I am 5'7 and currently weight about 260lbs.

About a year ago I managed to get motivated enough and went to the gym on a regular basis and dropped about 15-20lbs.  But then I stopped.  I know I am a stress eater and a big project at work had me working late hours and I stated eating bad again.

In order to lose weight I know that I need to start working out again.  I just moved and have already worked out some walking loops in my new neighborhood.

I also need to start eating healthy.  I am currently participating in a CSA to help me have regular access to fruits and veggies.

Well Read/Watched

I enjoy reading and watching movies and TV shows.  I am working on completing several lists on lists of bests.com.

Knitting projects

The goals are to make at least 1 project a month from the yarn that I inherited from my Grandmother last year.  There is a lot of it and I figure one project a month will be necessary for me to use it up.  I also want to spin at least 4oz of fiber each month.

Goals for the Blog
*Weekly blog post which contains the following:
  - Meal plan for the week
  - Number/amount of workouts each week

*Monthly post with all knitting projects completed in the month
*Monthly post reviewing Books read and Movies watched.

The Begginning

Once again I am going to try to start a blog.  I am going to blog about my life, in all of its weird quirks.

Now for a little bit about me.  I grew up all over the country as the daughter of a military man. My parents still reside in North Carolina where my dad was last stationed.   I ended up in college in Erie, Pennsylvania and then followed a job to Virginia.

I work as a chemist, hence the nerd aspect.  Not to mention the fact that I like sci-fi and fantasy movies and books.

Now these are not the only movies and books that I enjoy.  I have recently started watching more classic movies, for example, The Godfather, Casablanca, Psycho.  It began when I discovered this website.  Listsofbests.com  I became slightly obsessed and there are not over 1700 lists that I have added to my lists that I am following.  The majority of the lists are movies, TV show episodes, and books  This website has helped me discover movies and books I had never even heard of.

I really enjoy cooking and baking.  Probably because I love food.  One of the things I love about baking is when it actually works.  When the dough rises because of the yeast.  It always makes me laugh a little.

I am also a knitter.  Well I say knitter because that is what I learned first.  But I began spinning my own yarn about 2 years ago.  and in the 6 months or so I have started to crochet as well.  I learned to knit back in 5th grade but didn't keep up with it.  I started knitting again back in 2005 when I went to California to visit family.  My aunt knits so when I was there I started again.  Since moving to VA I have met up with a group of other crafters who have kept me motivated and inspired me to try new things.

So yeah.  The housewife who knits and bakes cookies and has dinner on the table as well as the nerd who can spout of certain chemical formulas, love doctor who, and is slowly becoming a treky all in one person.\