I was spending entirely too much money for a gym membership that I never used. I’ve just been so busy (I know, excuses, excuses).

But, I really want to get back into a semblance of shape other than a circle.

So, I did some research on DVD fitness programs.

At first I thought of the P90X program. It was a bit pricey, but seemed like it could get some results. After doing some research, I concluded that it is not for me (yet, perhaps). The guy on there sounds like he’d be annoying after the first week. If I get a chance to buy them on craigslist, I might spring for them later, though.

Then, I thought about Bob and Jillian from the Biggest Loser. After doing yet more research, I figured that I wanted a set of Bob’s DVDs. I may go to some of Jillian’s earlier DVDs later. I hear those are much better than the latest set.

In any case, I started Bob’s day 1 workout for beginners today. It was only 25 minutes, but I am definitely feeling it. I couldn’t even get through all the exercises. Maybe I shouldn’t have used any weights this time 😉

It was a nice routine though. Pretty simple and easy to do. I liked how he walked through some potential problems and encouraged as we went. I also liked his interactions with the other people on the video. Since I have had a trainer before and been to the gym, I was pretty sure that I was doing the exercises correctly, but it would be nice if there was some way to identify bad form. Maybe the Kinect for XBox will come up with something that can do that.

In any case, my legs are wobbly and my arms can’t go above my head right now, so I’m betting I’ll be pretty sore tomorrow. Should be interesting!

Schlock Mercenary: The Blackness Between by Howard Tayler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have to admit that the first volume (chronologically) didn’t really pull me in. But, because I know Howard, I kept coming back to the story and the current storyline at the website. And, I started to get hooked.

Chronologically, this is the 4th (I believe) book in the series, and though Howard was still honing his art skills at the time, the storyline was very engaging and often hilarious.

I highly recommend the series and the web comic!

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The End by Lemony Snicket
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Finally finished it! Took us a long time because I’ve been so busy and we just weren’t into the story as much as with the first couple of books in the series.

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Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone: The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival by Dene Low
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My sister-in-law bought this because Dene Low is related to our favorite writer, Orson Scott Card. Unbeknowst to my sister-in-law, I know the writer and teach writing at the same university.

In any case, this was a fun read. It reminded me a bit of Rape of the Lock and similar semi-serious but fun stories.

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I got my wife addicted to Dr. Who over the Christmas break. We’ve recently been watching the fifth series (that’s season for us Yanks across the pond) – the one with Matt Smith as the Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond.

I have already seen all of the episodes, but it has been fun watching them again (thank you magic of DVR!).

Tonight we watched the episode about Vincent van Gogh. It still brought tears to my eyes at the end.

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dave Ramsey just has a way of inspiring and energizing the reader. The stories shared in this book are fun and incredible. I like this book better than Financial Peace because it is more about the process instead of the theory. That’s exactly what I needed right now.

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Tonight was one of the funner classes to teach.

I regularly have the classes I teach play the game, “Win As Much As You Can.” It’s designed to get people to learn about trust. I use it to specifically get them thinking about communication and in presenting an argument. They usually have a fun time and learn a little about themselves and each other in the process.

I also had them go through several “research” examples and decide which ones are plagiarism and which are okay. We didn’t get time to talk about them, but it should prove to be interesting because their definition of plagiarism is not usually the same as mine.

It’s been a rough day. I am still not feeling well (I worked from home today), even after a good nap.

I haven’t gotten nearly anything done (as opposed to yesterday when I was just starting to feel sick).

And to top it off, I just spent an hour trying to unclog a toilet.

Most of that time was spent getting wet as I tried to use a plunger – all to no avail.

I finally pulled out the big guns – a toilet auger. Those are not the easiest things to use when you try to do it by yourself. It is not a good idea to do that either because I scratched up the porcelain pretty good. Heidi came home and helped and we finally got it unclogged. And now maybe we can get a toilet that doesn’t get clogged every other day.

Tags: home repair

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I started actually reading this at 10pm last night and read straight through until 3am. So, it is definitely a pretty quick read and a page-turner.

And now I know why some people didn’t care for this final book in the series.

Actually, I didn’t mind it. I even liked it better than the first, Hunger Games.

The ending is a bit strange. I thought it was a big dream or something for a long time because it just seemed so abrupt after the explosion. Everything from then on felt a bit predictable and rushed. But, at least it had as satisfying an ending as possible for this kind of book (and her choice of Gale or Peeta was supported throughout).

There were several spots where I teared up – the hospital scene, the attack of said hospital, when the boys were talking about her when she was supposed to be asleep, the stuff about Rue, and a few others. So, Suzanne definitely knows how to tug on my heartstrings.

And while I thought it was a bit strange to have the games-type stuff in the city (although it makes a perverse sense I suppose), at least this book was different from the first two.

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