This morning, for the first time in a very long time, I gazed affectionately at my 10 year old white iBook laptop. With a smile on my face I had flash backs of using my first tiny little Macintosh computer at college, with it's black and white screen and floppy-disk drive. Then, at a different college using larger versions of the Macintosh as I learned to be digitally creative.
I remember when the art department at the newspaper got its very first batch of G1 Power Macs and we were all so excited because they were a huge upgrade to what we had been using. I remembered being jealous of my boss at the newspaper because he had an Apple Newton.
I remember buying my very first computer at Harrods, a black all-in-one PowerMac, and reminisced about how excited I was to be able to use it's (I think) 12kph modem to connect to the internet at home using Netscape Communicator. I remember the 100mb Zip Drive I bought not long after.
I remember living in Aruba, hating that I was without a computer and then paying extortionate amounts of money to buy my iBook because there was an Apple dealer on the island. I remember being able to watch DvD's for the first time in my dingy little island home after spending long days underwater. I remember finally being able to get rid of all my really heavy scuba instructor manuals because I could now buy them on CD's.
I remember laying on a balcony studying for a scuba instructors further education class in Florida when some random cute guy started talking to me. I remember IM'ing with that same guy late at night once I was back in London as we made plans as to which Caribbean island we would find work on. "That guy" would later become my husband.
I remember being in the British Virgin Islands and able to research my family history because I had my iBook and a high speed internet connection. I remember the excitement of finding long lost cousins and slowly being able to piece my way back to 1747.
I remember my disappointment, once we were living in the USA, when I realised that I would have to buy a PC as the desktop computer at home.
I remember the Keynote events that launched the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. I remember the excitement of buying my first generation iPad because I was back to using the brand I loved. I remember my husband saying to me "I'm never buying a PC again, only Apple from now on"
Thank you for my memories Steve Jobs. Rest in peace.
Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Uninspired
Its Wednesday morning and frankly I'm already board with this week. I need to find better things to do during the day than actually working for a living, there's got to be more to life than this daily grind.
So Google released their new "dynamic" views for Blogger yesterday which is why I'm writing this here as I'm testing it out and seeing how I like it. I'm having a good first impression although the layouts really lend themselves to photographs and large bodies of text. I really like the lightbox feature for each of the posts. My only concern is how do people see the profile of who's writing the blog? And where do you find the tags, outside links etc... that bloggers usually have in their sidebar? Maybe this new style with encourage me to write here and cross-post to G+ which is where I seem to be spending most of my time these days. One thing that would be nice is if you could write posts (messages?) over on G+ with the option to be able to simultaneously cross-post them to Blogger.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Captive Queen
Captive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir
I've wanted to read this book for a while as I had really enjoyed The Wars of the Roses. In that book I had been thrilled with her writing style, using a mixture of historical fact, conjecture and creative license.
On starting this book I remember being a little disappointed at first because it seemed quite different from the other, as if it had been written for a purely fictional audience. I felt like I had been thrown onto the set of HBO's The Tudors with all the abundant sex scenes and passion detailing the early relationship between Eleanor and Henry. Every time I turned the page they were at it again, and frankly I'm amazed they didn't both die of exhaustion!
For much of the early part of the book I had flashbacks to things I had read in Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth and by the time I reached the murder of Thomas Becket I was replaying the imaginary movie I had originally made up in my head a year ago. Then towards the end of the book, when Henry and his sons are warring against each other, I kept waiting for Russell Crow to make an appearance. My mind was running through the early scenes of the latest Robin Hood movie recalling the similarities between the two and each of these famously historical figures had Hollywood faces.
Moving through the pages though was a very easy read as layer after layer of depth is added to each of the characters. Each of them becoming quite complex and really having you wanting to go off in search of more information about them. Now I find myself with a long list of people I would like to read more about. You really start to feel for each of these historical figures regardless of whether you consider them a "good guy" or a "bad guy". The descriptive change in Eleanor's demeanor while she is locked in her tower as Henry's prisoner is very subtle. Then later, after they have mellowed a little, the momentary tenderness that Henry and Eleanor show towards each other in their old age is very compelling as you again catch glimpses of why they originally came together but are sadden by the fact that they had grown so far apart.
I ended up thoroughly enjoying this book, even reading the authors notes at the end, which is something I very rarely do. Now I have to tackle my self-created further reading list...
I've wanted to read this book for a while as I had really enjoyed The Wars of the Roses. In that book I had been thrilled with her writing style, using a mixture of historical fact, conjecture and creative license.
On starting this book I remember being a little disappointed at first because it seemed quite different from the other, as if it had been written for a purely fictional audience. I felt like I had been thrown onto the set of HBO's The Tudors with all the abundant sex scenes and passion detailing the early relationship between Eleanor and Henry. Every time I turned the page they were at it again, and frankly I'm amazed they didn't both die of exhaustion!
For much of the early part of the book I had flashbacks to things I had read in Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth and by the time I reached the murder of Thomas Becket I was replaying the imaginary movie I had originally made up in my head a year ago. Then towards the end of the book, when Henry and his sons are warring against each other, I kept waiting for Russell Crow to make an appearance. My mind was running through the early scenes of the latest Robin Hood movie recalling the similarities between the two and each of these famously historical figures had Hollywood faces.
Moving through the pages though was a very easy read as layer after layer of depth is added to each of the characters. Each of them becoming quite complex and really having you wanting to go off in search of more information about them. Now I find myself with a long list of people I would like to read more about. You really start to feel for each of these historical figures regardless of whether you consider them a "good guy" or a "bad guy". The descriptive change in Eleanor's demeanor while she is locked in her tower as Henry's prisoner is very subtle. Then later, after they have mellowed a little, the momentary tenderness that Henry and Eleanor show towards each other in their old age is very compelling as you again catch glimpses of why they originally came together but are sadden by the fact that they had grown so far apart.
I ended up thoroughly enjoying this book, even reading the authors notes at the end, which is something I very rarely do. Now I have to tackle my self-created further reading list...
Monday, August 29, 2011
Survived
Well, we came through the storm unscathed, only loosing power for about three hours on Sunday evening.
One thing I did notice over the weekend though, is just how very sensationalist The Weather Channel was. I had it on as background noise while I spent two days reading on the couch (Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir). Why do reporters INSIST on standing out in the worst possible weather they can find to show us how bad it is? I mean come on, we can still see how bad it is if you face the camera at a tree. I kept expecting a billboard to take out the reporters!
One thing I did notice over the weekend though, is just how very sensationalist The Weather Channel was. I had it on as background noise while I spent two days reading on the couch (Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir). Why do reporters INSIST on standing out in the worst possible weather they can find to show us how bad it is? I mean come on, we can still see how bad it is if you face the camera at a tree. I kept expecting a billboard to take out the reporters!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Operation "New Kitchen": Appliances
Firstly, I am STUNNED and amazed that a single, skinny guy in his (probably) 50's was able to get all these appliances in the house and kitchen ALONE! Apparently he's been doing this for a couple of decades.
Thankfully the hubby got home just as the new fridge was being brought in to the house so they could "man-speak" their way through the issue of getting it through the small gap. WOW! Erm, did I say WOW?
I have a headache just listening to them.
BUT, we now have appliances. The fridge is fully installed and cooling down nicely. The range is functional but won't be fully installed until the countertops arrive, but the microwave is awesome. Dishwasher won't get hooked up until the sink gets installed with the countertops and all the plumbing can happen at the same time.
I've added a bunch of new photo's to the album...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thankfully the hubby got home just as the new fridge was being brought in to the house so they could "man-speak" their way through the issue of getting it through the small gap. WOW! Erm, did I say WOW?
I have a headache just listening to them.
BUT, we now have appliances. The fridge is fully installed and cooling down nicely. The range is functional but won't be fully installed until the countertops arrive, but the microwave is awesome. Dishwasher won't get hooked up until the sink gets installed with the countertops and all the plumbing can happen at the same time.
I've added a bunch of new photo's to the album...
 |
| Operation "New Kitchen" |
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Operation "New Kitchen": Weekend Blast
It's been a whirlwind weekend but we finally have our house back, well mostly anyway since we don't have countertops or appliances yet.
We had intended to go to Vinland Raids (Cape Cod) this weekend but by the end of Friday night we were exhausted and so decided to make the decision and bail. We would have liked to go but the thought of a 10 hour round trip was a little more than we could bear after this past week.
Friday night we finished installing the cabinets, ripping out and painting the pantry, installing the all important electrical boxes and lighting, and setting up a temporary sink. The best part though was being able to get some of our crap back into its new home(s). We seem to have a ton more cupboard space now which is brilliant.
Saturday we slept later than intended, but ended up at Lowes to buy various little bits we needed. The two big jobs for Saturday were the installation of the real copper backsplash and the rebuilding of the pantry, including roll-out shelves. The backsplash looks phenominal against the dark cabinets and we haven't even taken the protective plastic coating off it yet, that'll happen after the counteryops go in.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
We had intended to go to Vinland Raids (Cape Cod) this weekend but by the end of Friday night we were exhausted and so decided to make the decision and bail. We would have liked to go but the thought of a 10 hour round trip was a little more than we could bear after this past week.
Friday night we finished installing the cabinets, ripping out and painting the pantry, installing the all important electrical boxes and lighting, and setting up a temporary sink. The best part though was being able to get some of our crap back into its new home(s). We seem to have a ton more cupboard space now which is brilliant.
Saturday we slept later than intended, but ended up at Lowes to buy various little bits we needed. The two big jobs for Saturday were the installation of the real copper backsplash and the rebuilding of the pantry, including roll-out shelves. The backsplash looks phenominal against the dark cabinets and we haven't even taken the protective plastic coating off it yet, that'll happen after the counteryops go in.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, June 17, 2011
Operation "New Kitchen": Hanging Strong
On a much lighter note, the wall cabinets went up last night. Hubby spent the first part of the evening laying out and measuring which cabinets go where, after that the wall cabinets went up fast. He needs to make an adjustment here and there but I can start cleaning them and loading them up when I get home tonight =)
We also bought the base cabinets in to the kitchen last night, the HUGE corner lazy-susan was particularly entertaining. I could barely lift the stupid thing, until that is we'd struggled most of the way down the hallway where I found that the base of the cabinet actually had hand-holds built in. Hubby wasn't amused. >.>
Tonight will be finishing off with the base cabinets, installing the under cabinet lighting and most importantly loading the cupboards up with all the crap that's dotted around the rest of the ground floor. We're both starting to feel VERY overwhelmed with how messy our house is right now, we're not used to having this much crap everywhere. It looks like we're hoarders =(
We also bought the base cabinets in to the kitchen last night, the HUGE corner lazy-susan was particularly entertaining. I could barely lift the stupid thing, until that is we'd struggled most of the way down the hallway where I found that the base of the cabinet actually had hand-holds built in. Hubby wasn't amused. >.>
Tonight will be finishing off with the base cabinets, installing the under cabinet lighting and most importantly loading the cupboards up with all the crap that's dotted around the rest of the ground floor. We're both starting to feel VERY overwhelmed with how messy our house is right now, we're not used to having this much crap everywhere. It looks like we're hoarders =(
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Operation "New Kitchen": Fancy Treads
Cabinets were delivered yesterday and I had the guy play garage tetras with them. They all fit though and are now stacked nicely awaiting installation.
Last night was devoted to laying the floor. When we moved in, back in 2004, we bought a Pergo floor for the entire ground floor, even the kitchen. We laid the flooring throughout the rest of the ground floor but the packets of boards for the kitchen have been upstairs in the attic gathering dust ever since then.
Hubby's back was starting to get a bit "GRRRRRRR" last night, so hopefully it'll calm down again and we can hang at least the wall cabinets tonight. I have to admit that I've gotten to the point where I'm feeling very claustrophobic at home because there is so much displaced crap everywhere, it all just seems so very dirty and grimy.
And if you're interested in seeing the photograph's of our progress...
Last night was devoted to laying the floor. When we moved in, back in 2004, we bought a Pergo floor for the entire ground floor, even the kitchen. We laid the flooring throughout the rest of the ground floor but the packets of boards for the kitchen have been upstairs in the attic gathering dust ever since then.
Having the flooring in has started to tone down the minty-fresh green on the walls which I'm happy to see. There are a few spots that need a little touching up but that can wait until the cabinets are in.
I got up this morning, bleary-eyed, craving granola and coffee (both of which I had to wait until I got to work for) to find the hubby marking out stud lines and measuring out cabinet placement. He was also tormenting the poor cat with the laser-level >.>
And if you're interested in seeing the photograph's of our progress...
 |
| Operation "New Kitchen" |
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Operation "New Kitchen": EEWWWWWWWWW
Major demolition happened last night, we ripped out EVERYTHING.
All the old crappy cupboards are gone, as is the disgusting "dishwasher" that we've never used and the aweful stove. It was a pretty nasty process though as we unhooked the water supply from the sink and dishwasher, "old" water running out and the smell of the sewer coming up through the drain-pipe. I am also HORRIFIED to share that there was lots of grime and dead bug carcasses under the cupboards. Needless to say, its all now gone, and we have a clean fresh-slate.
After we got done with demolition and cleaning, it was time for me to paint. Ceiling got a fresh lick of paint, white with a creamy yellow undertone, to cover up the accumulated grime. I'd just like to point out now that popcorn ceilings are AWFUL. The walls are now green. The wet paint looks very "minty" in colour but it dries darker, so unfortunately it looks a little sickly at the moment because there are not other colours in the room to balance it. Once the brown-tones of the cupboards and floor are in then it'll look a lot better, then even better once the cream coloured counter-top's and copper back-splash get added.
I finished up about 11pm covered in paint. Tonight, cabinets get delivered after yesterdays debacle and the floor gets installed.
PS: I have been taking progress photo's which I hope to start posting tonight, just need to upload them.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
All the old crappy cupboards are gone, as is the disgusting "dishwasher" that we've never used and the aweful stove. It was a pretty nasty process though as we unhooked the water supply from the sink and dishwasher, "old" water running out and the smell of the sewer coming up through the drain-pipe. I am also HORRIFIED to share that there was lots of grime and dead bug carcasses under the cupboards. Needless to say, its all now gone, and we have a clean fresh-slate.
After we got done with demolition and cleaning, it was time for me to paint. Ceiling got a fresh lick of paint, white with a creamy yellow undertone, to cover up the accumulated grime. I'd just like to point out now that popcorn ceilings are AWFUL. The walls are now green. The wet paint looks very "minty" in colour but it dries darker, so unfortunately it looks a little sickly at the moment because there are not other colours in the room to balance it. Once the brown-tones of the cupboards and floor are in then it'll look a lot better, then even better once the cream coloured counter-top's and copper back-splash get added.
I finished up about 11pm covered in paint. Tonight, cabinets get delivered after yesterdays debacle and the floor gets installed.
PS: I have been taking progress photo's which I hope to start posting tonight, just need to upload them.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Operation "New Kitchen"
And we're off! Operation "New Kitchen" is underway!
We spent the better part of Sunday clearing out the kitchen, transferring pots, pans, food and various other crap into storage boxes making the house a MESS! There is stuff EVERYWHERE. We set up the camp kitchen on the deck for cooking purposes, it amazes me how useful most off our SCA related stuff is mundanely.
Hubby went to town ripping out the AWEFUL 20-year old pressboard cabinets and disassembling stuff. Go to Thesaurus.com and type in "disgusting" to get my feelings on the subject.
Apparently the plumber-friend came this morning to shut some stuff off.
The cabinet delivery people SUCK. So much for the 8 - 9am delivery window. Hubby is P.I.S.S.E.D. since he stayed home from work to take delivery. They didn't even call him to say they would be delayed until much later, and this coming from a company that wants him to use them for the next apartment project he builds...
Tonight, I paint.
We spent the better part of Sunday clearing out the kitchen, transferring pots, pans, food and various other crap into storage boxes making the house a MESS! There is stuff EVERYWHERE. We set up the camp kitchen on the deck for cooking purposes, it amazes me how useful most off our SCA related stuff is mundanely.
Hubby went to town ripping out the AWEFUL 20-year old pressboard cabinets and disassembling stuff. Go to Thesaurus.com and type in "disgusting" to get my feelings on the subject.
Apparently the plumber-friend came this morning to shut some stuff off.
The cabinet delivery people SUCK. So much for the 8 - 9am delivery window. Hubby is P.I.S.S.E.D. since he stayed home from work to take delivery. They didn't even call him to say they would be delayed until much later, and this coming from a company that wants him to use them for the next apartment project he builds...
Tonight, I paint.
Friday, June 10, 2011
New Kitchen!
When we moved here from the Caribbean back at the end of 2004 we bought our little townhouse. I had seen it, as had the hubby's mother and friend, the hubby however had NOT. He bought it unseen. Thankfully he liked it!
The place was about 20 years old when we bought it. Plain white walls, dark wood trim, disgusting carpets, original kitchen and appliances. You know the type of place and we spent that first winter making a lot of upgrades, ripping out the floors, painting etc... The one thing we never got to was the kitchen. We tried over the years but one thing or another got in the way.
Fast forward six and a half years and we're finally getting a new kitchen!
The cabinets get delivered next week (we're installing ourselves with the help of a contractor friend) and over the next couple-few weeks we'll be ripping out the aweful cream-coloured formica countertops and laminate cabinets, lay a new floor, paint the walls, hang new cabinets, install new countertops and get brand new appliances!
I'm so excited. We'll finally have a beautiful kitchen that fits with the rest of our decor, not to mention that we'll finally have a working dishwasher!
I'll post before / process / after pictures over the next few weeks.
The place was about 20 years old when we bought it. Plain white walls, dark wood trim, disgusting carpets, original kitchen and appliances. You know the type of place and we spent that first winter making a lot of upgrades, ripping out the floors, painting etc... The one thing we never got to was the kitchen. We tried over the years but one thing or another got in the way.
Fast forward six and a half years and we're finally getting a new kitchen!
The cabinets get delivered next week (we're installing ourselves with the help of a contractor friend) and over the next couple-few weeks we'll be ripping out the aweful cream-coloured formica countertops and laminate cabinets, lay a new floor, paint the walls, hang new cabinets, install new countertops and get brand new appliances!
I'm so excited. We'll finally have a beautiful kitchen that fits with the rest of our decor, not to mention that we'll finally have a working dishwasher!
I'll post before / process / after pictures over the next few weeks.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Project Fencing Armor
YAY! My nice new red linen arrived.
I decided back around the time of K&Q Fencing Champions (Jan / Feb?) that I really wasn't happy with my current armor. There's nothing really "wrong" with it, I just don't like it. It kinda just hangs like a sack and the sleeves are annoying me.
SO ... I have two pictures I'm going to be using for inspiration. Both can be found online at the Hope Greenberg site and they're actually part of the collection of images I used while working on my red 15th/16th century Court dress that I've worn in the past.
This image probably shows the upper detailing a little better than the other one. The dress is going to be in red and will detail the square neckline and short sleeves as shown, it will also be just past knee-length so that I don't trip! The sleeve-ends and skirt bottom with be trimmed in black, similar to my current fencing armor.
However, because it's to be used for fencing I'll need to make sure that none of my skin is exposed at the neckline. This means that where you see the exposed throat in this image I will actually extend the black all the way up so that I still give the impression of the under-dress but that so it is list legal.
I decided back around the time of K&Q Fencing Champions (Jan / Feb?) that I really wasn't happy with my current armor. There's nothing really "wrong" with it, I just don't like it. It kinda just hangs like a sack and the sleeves are annoying me.
SO ... I have two pictures I'm going to be using for inspiration. Both can be found online at the Hope Greenberg site and they're actually part of the collection of images I used while working on my red 15th/16th century Court dress that I've worn in the past.
However, because it's to be used for fencing I'll need to make sure that none of my skin is exposed at the neckline. This means that where you see the exposed throat in this image I will actually extend the black all the way up so that I still give the impression of the under-dress but that so it is list legal.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Haley Reinhart: House Of The Rising Sun
So my current dirty little secret is that I've been suckered in by this season of American Idol. I'm not one to post about this stuff but I wanted to share this, it is amazing and gave me goosebumps when I heard it last night.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
So yeah....
The last two weeks ended up being a nightmare.
Work has been crazy, with the culmination of two HUGE projects. First there was the ongoing saga of the company brochure. We took the first steps for this project in December, asking the printing company to organize a designer. The first one SUCKED! Just because Photoshop and Illustrator have a bunch of plug-ins and filter, doesn't mean that they need to be used at every single opportunity. She quit after I sent back a rather scathing email. The second designer did a solid job and produced a good proof but didn't really "get" what the boss was looking for. So, after some discussion, I convinced him that we'd be better off having me do the design as he would get exactly what he was looking for and it would end up being quicker than trying to get an outsider to understand his ... erm ... "tastes."
So after a number of weeks of back-and-forth we finally have a new company brochure. There are things I would have liked to do differently, but for the most part I really like it and its a huge weight off the shoulders.
The other project was a MASSIVE redesign of the company website. We put this in motion literally just before Christmas and the first few weeks was hands-off as the web company worked with us on the design and then started coding it all. The last three weeks I've finally been able to start filling in and updating ALL the content to get it to the point where we could go live. Its been a couple of weeks of long, lunch-less days and delayed home-time to get it out by my self-imposed April 15th deadline. However, the deadline was made and the website is live even are there are more developments in the works for it, the main thing is that they're not as imperative.
Then of course I'd been goaded into entering my very first A&S competition, which happened to coincide with the website deadline. To say I was stressed last week was an understatement! I spent all week dealing with the website only to come home and have to finishing preparing my three A&S entries for Pent Central. By Friday night I was done, completely drained and ready to just fall over.
Pent Central was pretty cool. Never entered into an A&S competition before, but was goaded into it by JP. I entered the Calligraphy, Illumination and Fine Arts categories. For calligraphy I showcased my 14th century cursive hand in the form of a paragraph from a period document. For illumination, I enter the Silver Crescent award scroll I did for JP and I have to admit that it looked pretty impressive sitting on it easel, framed. For fine arts I submitted my personal research and experiments with gilding. As always, there's room for improvement but I was happy with it and got really positive feedback from the judges. I even won two of the categories, calligraphy and illumination, so I'm now the proud owner of scrolls by Heather Rose =)
And now I can breathe again. I can sit, I can relax, I can play WoW, I can read, I can do what ever the hell I want without feel pressured but stuff I HAVE to do. For a couple of weeks anyway.
So, I'm off to think about the design for an AoA I have to do and chill a little before Game of Thrones makes it's debut on HBO =)
Work has been crazy, with the culmination of two HUGE projects. First there was the ongoing saga of the company brochure. We took the first steps for this project in December, asking the printing company to organize a designer. The first one SUCKED! Just because Photoshop and Illustrator have a bunch of plug-ins and filter, doesn't mean that they need to be used at every single opportunity. She quit after I sent back a rather scathing email. The second designer did a solid job and produced a good proof but didn't really "get" what the boss was looking for. So, after some discussion, I convinced him that we'd be better off having me do the design as he would get exactly what he was looking for and it would end up being quicker than trying to get an outsider to understand his ... erm ... "tastes."
So after a number of weeks of back-and-forth we finally have a new company brochure. There are things I would have liked to do differently, but for the most part I really like it and its a huge weight off the shoulders.
The other project was a MASSIVE redesign of the company website. We put this in motion literally just before Christmas and the first few weeks was hands-off as the web company worked with us on the design and then started coding it all. The last three weeks I've finally been able to start filling in and updating ALL the content to get it to the point where we could go live. Its been a couple of weeks of long, lunch-less days and delayed home-time to get it out by my self-imposed April 15th deadline. However, the deadline was made and the website is live even are there are more developments in the works for it, the main thing is that they're not as imperative.
Then of course I'd been goaded into entering my very first A&S competition, which happened to coincide with the website deadline. To say I was stressed last week was an understatement! I spent all week dealing with the website only to come home and have to finishing preparing my three A&S entries for Pent Central. By Friday night I was done, completely drained and ready to just fall over.
Pent Central was pretty cool. Never entered into an A&S competition before, but was goaded into it by JP. I entered the Calligraphy, Illumination and Fine Arts categories. For calligraphy I showcased my 14th century cursive hand in the form of a paragraph from a period document. For illumination, I enter the Silver Crescent award scroll I did for JP and I have to admit that it looked pretty impressive sitting on it easel, framed. For fine arts I submitted my personal research and experiments with gilding. As always, there's room for improvement but I was happy with it and got really positive feedback from the judges. I even won two of the categories, calligraphy and illumination, so I'm now the proud owner of scrolls by Heather Rose =)
And now I can breathe again. I can sit, I can relax, I can play WoW, I can read, I can do what ever the hell I want without feel pressured but stuff I HAVE to do. For a couple of weeks anyway.
So, I'm off to think about the design for an AoA I have to do and chill a little before Game of Thrones makes it's debut on HBO =)
Monday, April 4, 2011
P90X: Day 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83 & 84
And I'm an entire week behind again...
Day 78 was Chest, Shoulders & Triceps followed by Ab-Ripper X.
Day 79 was Plyometircs.
Day 80 was Back & Biceps with Ab-Ripper X
Day 81 was Yoga.
Day 82 was supposed to be Legs & Back followed by Ab-Ripper X but I had to make the 6 hour round-trip out to Rhode Island for Coronation. So I ended up doing nothing.
Day 83 was Cardio X
Day 84 is fencing.
Feels a little weird that its all coming to an end, can't believe we've been at this for 90 days already. Not that we'll stop, we'll modify a bit and carry on pushing play.
Day 78 was Chest, Shoulders & Triceps followed by Ab-Ripper X.
Day 79 was Plyometircs.
Day 80 was Back & Biceps with Ab-Ripper X
Day 81 was Yoga.
Day 82 was supposed to be Legs & Back followed by Ab-Ripper X but I had to make the 6 hour round-trip out to Rhode Island for Coronation. So I ended up doing nothing.
Day 83 was Cardio X
Day 84 is fencing.
Feels a little weird that its all coming to an end, can't believe we've been at this for 90 days already. Not that we'll stop, we'll modify a bit and carry on pushing play.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
P90X: Day 73, 74, 75, 76 & 77
Day 73 was Shoulders & Back + Ab-Ripper X
Day 74 was Yoga. I really didn't feel like doing anything except sit on the couch, but the hubby MADE me get off my arse and workout. I think I started thanking him about 15 minutes in and by the end I'd said thank you about six times!
Day 75 was Mudthaw. First of the major events of the season and I got to spend the day fencing! Always a great time so refer to this post. Technically we should have been doing Legs & Back but I would say that our martial activities were a good substitute.
Day 76 was Cardio X. I was exhausted from Mudthaw and my legs felt like jelly, but I got through it albeit at a less than usual intensity.
Day 77 was fencing. My horrible and mean Don says I have to suck it up and learn to like the Kempo workout =(
Day 74 was Yoga. I really didn't feel like doing anything except sit on the couch, but the hubby MADE me get off my arse and workout. I think I started thanking him about 15 minutes in and by the end I'd said thank you about six times!
Day 75 was Mudthaw. First of the major events of the season and I got to spend the day fencing! Always a great time so refer to this post. Technically we should have been doing Legs & Back but I would say that our martial activities were a good substitute.
Day 76 was Cardio X. I was exhausted from Mudthaw and my legs felt like jelly, but I got through it albeit at a less than usual intensity.
Day 77 was fencing. My horrible and mean Don says I have to suck it up and learn to like the Kempo workout =(
Thursday, March 24, 2011
P90X: Day 71 & 72
Day 71 was Chest & Back followed by Ab-Ripper X I have to admit that I'm pretty amazed by what I can crank out now. It may not be world class but its definitely a hell of a lot more than when I first started.
Day 72 was Plyometrics. For some reason was feeling pretty bloated and ugly last night when doing this but I worked hard and got through it feeling great. I'll definitely be continuing with this workout after my 90 days are up
Day 72 was Plyometrics. For some reason was feeling pretty bloated and ugly last night when doing this but I worked hard and got through it feeling great. I'll definitely be continuing with this workout after my 90 days are up
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
P90X: Day 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 & 70
CRAP, I am a full week behind .... work has had me running ragged. Anyway...
Day 63 was technically a rest day but being Monday it was off to fencing practice for me. I have to admit that I have noticed that I'm not nearly as out of breath at the end of the night as I used to be.
Day 64 was Chest, Shoulders & Triceps followed by Ab-Ripper X.
Day 65 was Plyometrics.
Day 66 was Back & Biceps with Ab-Ripper X
Day 67 was Yoga
Day 68 was Legs & Back followed by Ab-Ripper X. I actually bonked REALLY badly about 20 minutes into this routine and had to sit out for the rest. I hadn't eaten enough during the day because I was consumed with being artistic and didn't realize what the time was until I got summoned to workout...
Day 69 was Cardio X
Day 70 was fencing. I love fencing.
Day 63 was technically a rest day but being Monday it was off to fencing practice for me. I have to admit that I have noticed that I'm not nearly as out of breath at the end of the night as I used to be.
Day 64 was Chest, Shoulders & Triceps followed by Ab-Ripper X.
Day 65 was Plyometrics.
Day 66 was Back & Biceps with Ab-Ripper X
Day 67 was Yoga
Day 68 was Legs & Back followed by Ab-Ripper X. I actually bonked REALLY badly about 20 minutes into this routine and had to sit out for the rest. I hadn't eaten enough during the day because I was consumed with being artistic and didn't realize what the time was until I got summoned to workout...
Day 69 was Cardio X
Day 70 was fencing. I love fencing.
Monday, March 14, 2011
P90X: Day 59, 60, 61 & 62
Day 59 was Shoulders and Back followed Ab-Ripper X.
Day 60 was supposed to be Yoga but we both wimped out a bit as we got home later than usual and couldn't face an hour and a half of exercise. We did X-Stretch instead. I know it's not quite the same thing but .....
Day 61 had us back to Legs & Back followed with Ab-Ripper X and I have to admit that my legs are still a little tired from that. Not quite sure why, but it does feel really good!
Day 62 I was on my own for Cardio X since hubby was off beating guys with sticks. Such a more enjoyable workout than Kenpo.
 |
| Yup. That's my back at Day 60. |
Day 61 had us back to Legs & Back followed with Ab-Ripper X and I have to admit that my legs are still a little tired from that. Not quite sure why, but it does feel really good!
Day 62 I was on my own for Cardio X since hubby was off beating guys with sticks. Such a more enjoyable workout than Kenpo.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
P90X: Day 58
Day 58 was Plyometrics. I felt this last night, for some reason I really struggled through it and started to get dizzy towards the end. I came to the conclusion that my food intake during the day hadn't been idea and that I was thus feeling the effects. I completed it though and by the end my legs felt like lead. Its still my favourite of the cardio workouts.
I can't believe that we're approaching the end of this round. Funny thing is I'm having some doubts as to whether there's been any physically obvious changes. Probably all in my head and once we take our Day 60 photos this weekend I'm sure I'll be in a more positive place.
And, the hubby is developing a head-cold so he'll probably have to either dog-it or or sit out completely for the next few days, which means we'll probably have to extend by a week.
I can't believe that we're approaching the end of this round. Funny thing is I'm having some doubts as to whether there's been any physically obvious changes. Probably all in my head and once we take our Day 60 photos this weekend I'm sure I'll be in a more positive place.
And, the hubby is developing a head-cold so he'll probably have to either dog-it or or sit out completely for the next few days, which means we'll probably have to extend by a week.
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