Laptop bag dilema...

My not-so-old laptop backpack is falling apart. One strap has come off and there is a hole at the top of the bag. Don't get this bag (Pacific Design Ruckus Laptop Backpack):


For the second weekend in a row, I have failed to replace it. This is because I can't decide if I should follow the advice of one of my trusted colleagues and get a more "professional looking bag":


Or stick with the backpack solution (probably better for the back...):


I travel a lot! Mostly it is not to customer sites. Maybe once a month. However, when entering an important meeting with a suit, nice shoes, and styled hair, the backpack thing just doesn't work too well.

Hmmm, maybe I'll just have to get both...

Domesticity continues...

Cooked pancakes for me and Becka this morning (whole wheat).

Fixed lunch (chicken and rice).

OK - maybe that was all on the domestic front.

I also went to my favorite lake with some of my favorite people/dogs.

I sang a lot. And played the piano.

I checked my brain age: 23.

In other words, I had a life this weekend.

It's freaking me out!!!!

Domestic Tabita - Part II

Cooked breakfast for two sleepy girls.

Three more loads of laundry. It's all put up (Todd and Rebecka helped). All our clothes are officially clean.

Grocery store - twice.

Properly cut up a fresh pineapple.

Baking bread as I type (this is called multi-tasking)... Unfortunately, it isn't rising as it should, so it may be more like a fiasco than a domestic success.

Cooking dinner as I type (more multi-tasking).

That's it... For the next six months.

Benevolent Tabita

Today, when going through the mail stack, I decided to donate to all the charities in the pile.

It felt good.

Domestic Tabita

I'm being domestic today. I'm on my third load of laundry and I have gone through the massive pile of mail from the past week of being out of town. And it's only 10:47 AM!!

Granted, I haven't worked out yet. I should probably do that now. More on my domesticity to come...

Forgot...

...to bring a change of shoes to the gym this morning. I've been wearing my sweaty Brooks Glycerin 5 running shoes (without socks) all day. Pretty gross. Oh well...

I love these shoes so much. Last time, the evil people at the running store tried to get me to buy some other size "WW" shoes. I gave in. One week later, I was back to exchange them for my trusted Brooks. And sure enough - the toe box has expanded nicely to fit my "special" feet.

It's Friday. That's exciting. I'm really exhausted. I'm ready for a leisurely dinner followed by a movie in bed. That is my idea of a perfect Friday night.

I need to get out of these shoes... so I can lace them back up tomorrow morning for an awesome two-hour workout.

I love weekends.

Tribute to Todd

This is in appreciation of my husband...

For washing our clothes.

For doing homework with Rebecka.

For taking Sophie out to do her business.

For being the most disciplined person I know.

For taking me out on dates.

For cutting the grass in the summer heat.

For telling me that I am beautiful.

For making sure Rebecka gets to school every day.

For embracing my country.

For seeing me when I was invisible. (yes - corny reference to The Princess Diaries)

For teaching me how to write proper English.

For your enduring support and encouragement.

I love you.

Things that annoy me...

Improperly racked weights at the gym. How hard is to do number matching? Isn't that a preschool level skill?

When Panera employees put my Soy Chai in a to-go cup instead of a cozy mug.

Underachievers.

Returning to my locker at the gym to find that someone's parked right next to mine with 25 other open lockers available.

Poor writing. I would strongly suggest the US school system start putting more emphasis on communication in general.

Novice travelers. They need a frequent traveler fast lane in the airports. Actually, apparently there is some special card you can buy to get through security quicker in some airports: Story here. I doubt MKE and BNA are part of that...

Indecisiveness. Just make a decision and move on. How can you learn how to make good decisions if you don't make a few bad ones first?

The western world's view of the "ideal" female body (i.e. Barbie). It's not real! Women who look like that do not eat. Actually, they don't even exist.

George Bush.

Promises that are not kept. Yes - sometimes I annoy myself.

Stream of consciousness...

The internet password at my hotel this week is "jailorange."

I like oranges. They make me feel healthy.

What do you think about Hillary's mandatory health insurance idea? Makes sense to me. If you have a car, you must have car insurance. If you have a body, you should have health insurance. Are cars more important than people?

Do you know what the world's most sold car is? It's the Swedish candy car:


When I was in Jr. High, I used to stop by the store on the way home from school and buy a bag of "Bilar" (Cars), go home, curl up on the couch and read a good book while munching on the yummy cars. That was not so healthy.

That was then. This is now.

My family thinks I'm a health freak. I think they secretly buy junk food while I'm gone on business trips. Although... Todd is being really healthy right now. I'm impressed. He stopped putting cheese on pasta. This is a BIG deal.

I'm losing 5 lbs in 4 weeks. Yep. My jeans are tight. I need them to be non-tight. I have this picture on my desktop for motivation:


I don't really want to be this skinny (not even sure if it is physiologically possible considering my viking build), but I think the concept is helping.

I realized I needed to lose an inch or so when I went shopping for jeans this weekend and realized I didn't comfortably fit into a size 6 anymore. I don't really feel like replacing my entire wardrobe.

It's hard to maintain weight when traveling. Really hard. Best way is not to go out for dinner. But going out for dinner is fun and relaxing. Solution: Go out for dinner and eat a salad.

I've had salad two days in a row. I feel good.

I'm working out in the morning. I'm excited.

This means I should wrap up work and sleep soon.

This means I should stop this stream of consciousness.

A Day in the Life of Tabita

4:30 AM - Hear the vibrating sound which slightly precedes the very annoying alarm on my phone.
4:45 AM - Get in the car and start driving toward the YMCA.
5:00 AM - Arrive at the YMCA and start working out.
6:30 AM - Leave the YMCA after 1 1/2 hours of running(2.5 miles today!)/lifting/stretching.
6:45 AM - Eat breakfast in one of the cozy chairs in the Reading Room with Sophie on my lap.
7:00 AM - Hit the shower and start the beautification process.
7:45 AM - Frantically pack for three days in Wisconsin.
8:10 AM - Leave for the airport.
8:35 AM - Check in at the very empty Midwest counter.
9:15 AM - Take off.
11:30 AM - Get my bag and car and jump on the first conference call of the day.
12:00 PM - Reach the local Pick N Save and pick up a fresh salad from the salad bar.
12:27 PM - Arrive at the WI office and start eating the fresh salad.
12:30 PM - Conference call #2 (I'm still eating).
Blah, blah, blah...
6:00 PM - Check to see if anybody needs pizza (yes, there are some takers).
6:15 PM - Order pizza.
7:15 PM - Pay for pizza.
7:20 PM - Socialize with pizza-eating developers.
8:00 PM - Register for Usability Conference and book travel for the same.
8:30 PM - Start getting tired.
9:00 PM - Decide it's time to go check into the hotel.
9:01 PM - Start blogging (even though it's really time to go to bed).
9:10 PM - Finish blogging.
9:15 PM - Leave the office and head over to the hotel.
9:20 PM - Stop at gas station to pick up water bottles and Balance bars (for morning workouts).
9:30 PM - Find out what my room of the week is.
9:45 PM - Hopefully sleep.

What's your brain age?

This year, I decided that I would scrap the traditional shirt-tie combo and buy Todd a toy for his birthday instead. So Rebecka and I got him a Nintendo DS Lite. He received this gift with a mixture of shock and guilt. Obviously, he is not used to getting toys (I'll have to do better in that area going forward).

However, he quickly warmed up to the idea and went out and bought himself (and the rest of us) a game called "Brain Age." It is the coolest game ever! Basically, you take a series of quick tests to see how old (or young) your brain is. The lowest age you can get is 20. The main goal is to keep your age lower than your real age.

Today, I managed to get my brain age down to 20 during a practice round (I selected the games I wanted to play). I.e., I don't quite have this machine beat, but I'm working on it. It's amazing what kind of brain boost you get from just a few minutes with this game.

On a similar note, Todd mentioned the other day that he saw a segment on the Today Show which described a series of tests one can take (if one has lots of money) which determine your "inside" age. I.e. how old are your organs, bones, etc. It's called a Body Age Assessment. Here is an article about the same.

It's interesting we spend so much time focusing on the outside when the inside is really what is important if you want to live long and feel good. Although, I think someone who is healthy (physically and mentally) on the inside will automatically gain beauty on the outside. It's all connected... in the great circle of life. Or something like that.

What Would Darwin Say?

More things that make me happy...

Ice cream
Working hard
High quality wine
Bubble baths (with high quality wine)
New clothes
Tiramisu
Balance bars (esp. Chocolate Peanut Butter)
Heineken
Shoes which fit my "special" feet
Snuggling
Falling asleep to movies
Other things I cannot mention here due to my partially puritanical audience...

What makes you happy?

161

The number of emails I have in my Inbox for follow-up.

Things that make me happy...

Sushi
Running
Family
Singing
Good conversation
Popcorn Jelly Bellies
Responsible people
My red iPod
Learning
Friends
Movies
Oatmeal

Email breakthrough

Today, I decided to stop filing my email into different folders in my archive and instead rely on Outlook's ever-improving search capabilities to find old emails. I know this is not a novel concept, but for "Miss Organized", it's a big step.

I'm hoping this will increase my productivity dramatically. I read an article about this over a year ago where the main point was that just because we file papers into folders doesn't mean that we need to file electronic files such as email into folders. The heavy, black filing cabinet does not have search capabilities - the computer does. Use it!

All I have now is a "Processed" folder indicating I have looked at the email and taken required action. All other emails remain in the Inbox.

I feel liberated...

Relaxing...

I forgot how relaxing it is in Mobile, AL. Yep - we're here for the long weekend. The trip down (almost 9 hours due to bad traffic) was not that fun, but sleeping in until after 9AM, working out forever, and spending time on recreational activities is really fun!

Tonight it's dinner with the whole family. My mother-in-law has been cooking since before I woke up. I have a feeling it's gonna be good - yummy.

Well, I'm off to Target to buy makeup. Not that you care...