So, I’ve had my nook from barnes and noble for about just about 2 weeks and I thought I’d go ahead and post my thoughts on this little baby so far.

Things I ADORE.

1. The hardware. This bad boy is SOOOOO good lookin’. I love the color touch screen. I love the curve of the back, I love the size of the screen, I love the location of all of the plugs, buttons, speakers etc. It has a great weight, and feel.

2. I swear I read super super fast on the nook. I’m a pretty darn fast reader anyway… I go through novels in 3-5 days usually… but on this thing, I SWEAR it’s faster. Don’t know why, but it is what it is.

3. I love the e-ink display and the fonts. It looks great, is super easy on the eyes, due to not being backlit, which I love. I’ve found a font and a font size that I love… (amasis small)

4. I love that it runs on the android operating system… has beta apps like web browsing, and encourages the developers at large to work on products that will make the nook even better.

5. I LOVE that it uses multiple file formats, allowing me to shop at lots of different sources, and even download eBooks for free from my local library.

6. I LOVE going to my local barnes and noble and downloading free content… I LOVE showing my nook at the cafe and getting a free sample of Godiva truffles (which was a promotion last week)

So awesome.

Things I don’t LOVE…

1. meh… wish I could read it in the dark… but don’t REALLY want it backlit… it looks great with a book light… just wish I could somehow have the best of both worlds.

2…

Sorry… I can’t think of ANYTHING else I don’t like about this.

I have the $149 wifi only version, which means it doesn’t have a 3G connection, and isn’t able to download without a wifi signal. But since I have great wifi at home, which I return to every day (duh!) and since so many places have wifi, and since ALL ATT WIFI HOTSPOTS ARE FREE, it was a no brainer, 3G would have added nothing to my experience.

I’ve been toting it around in this sweet little number:

Which is currently on sale for 30% off (along with several other accessories.) … sweeeeeet.

Now, I want to leave you with this video from the tech wonderboy of the world, kevin rose…

He made this video showcasing some features that he’d like to see for ereaders in the near future. I’d like to point out that his suggestion for lending books IS A FEATURE of my sweet little nook, but that I LOVE his ideas about

-integrating social networking on readers… tweeting a favorite passage, or current page in a book

-reading stats, pages read, books read, estimated time till completion, etc

-in depth notation options.

Do you have an e-reader? I love the smell of the bindings, and the feel of the pages, I SWEAR I do… but this is really an amazing device.

Comment below and let me know if you think e-readers are a crime against books, or a great tech advancement!

   This blog post is now WELL over a month late… as in, the night in question was late JUNE… oh hi mid august…

Oh well. The food, photos, and friends were great, so I’m posting it anyway. Enjoy…

The night began @ Medina Oven and Bar and Daron and I shared this AMAZING dip sample platter with the most amazing, warm, fluffy pita I’ve ever tasted… It contained a little bit of all the amazing dips on their menu. (detailed photo of menus follow photos below)

We shared a couple of phyllos (Goat Cheese of course), and a couple of skewers too…EVERYTHING we ate was tremendous… We truly loved the spices and flavors of every dish.   

Our meal was followed by warm mint tea which was also a bit sweet… The glass was small and perfect. I was ready to call it a meal, but of course DARON had to FORCE me to eat dessert… So… we did. This chocolate moussey-cakey thing was small, sweet, and perfect to share so we’d have just the perfect number of delightful bites.

Thanks MEDINA for providing excellent service and food… you’ll have our patronage again, absolutely!!

After that, we went to the book release party of my dear friend RANDY! Randy just released his first book, a beautiful biography about the life of Karen Carpenter titled Little Girl Blue!

Shameless SHOE PROMOTION!

Coming soon on this here little bit of webspace:

I’ve been a new sprint customer, and new android user for 2 months now. My iphone addiction has been totally broken, and I love my evo. My thoughts on the transition, and this sweet little handset will be up soon… (along with my experience with android 2.2 froyo, which was just pushed to evo users this week!

Daron and I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The only thing missing was lola, who shares my love of Harry to the ends of the earth. Full recap of butterbeer tastings, owl postings, and roller coaster induced concussions.

I finished Stage 1 (my only stage) of the New Rules of Lifting for Women… Did I gain? Did I lose? Did I get stronger? WILL I POST BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES? Hahaaa.

I’m the proud owner of a Barnes and Nobel Nook WiFi! If you have any tips, suggestions, or supplemental gear you’d like to tell me about, or look into, let me know. I already sense that this little booger will be with me ALL the time. I’m really, really enjoying it so far.

More soon,

Well, it happened.

There was no fanfare…

No Parade

No balloons or cake

I didn’t jump up and down.

I barely even smiled.

A year and a half ago, when I decided I wanted to get healthy, I had an unspoken goal in mind…

I wanted my weight to start with the numbers 1-3… To be in the 130s represented being in my healthy weight range for my size and body structure.

To have a weight starting with 1-3 would mean that I was at a weight that I’d not seen since 9th grade… (maybe even 8th) and sitting at 173ish lbs made it seem virtually unattainable.

But it wasn’t… and as you know, I’ve been sitting at 144 lbs since something like August of last year. Within ~2 lbs, I was 144. Unchanging, through CHRISTMAS, through plantar fasciitis, through running and not-running… I remained unchanged. 142, 144, 145, 143, FOR EVER.

Then, surprise of surprises, I was cast in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. This is a vivacious comedy, one that keeps us moving and active most of the time, including a few dance numbers. Rehearsals started, and we worked Monday-Thursday for 3 hours at a time. Then slowly rehearsals trickled to Fridays too, and got a little longer.

Somehow during this process, I found my appetite shifting a LOT. I had very little desire for breakfast, (but always made myself choke down ~350 cals worth). Lunch is usually a 100 cal veggie steamer or turkey sandwich, coming in at right around ~250, plus maybe some veggie chips ~120, and fruit. Midday snacks just left me feeling more and more nauseated, so those went out the window and have been replaced with GOBS and GOBS of water. easily 50 oz during the work day alone. Occasionally I’d have a cookie, if some kind parent left them in the break room, and I have a secret stash of dark chocolate raisinettes and Annie’s Cheddar Bunny mix… but for the most part, I’m currently eating around ~800-1000 calories before “dinner time”.

So, I come home, and know that I’m only an hour to two away from galloping around on stage for 3 hours and the last thing I want is a bowl full of turkey breast bolognese sauce on a bed of whole wheat angel hair… (a delicious meal that Daron and I enjoy weekly)

So, I resist… Now don’t yell at me. I have thus far not missed a dinner before reherasals… but I try not to eat too much because it makes me feel so sick. So, my dinners have been pretty light.

I’ve had an upset stomach for what seems like a week and a half. :-/

I do snack at rehearsal if I need a pick me up, though. A packet of Justin’s Maple Almond butter is a favorite, as well as fruit, raisins, and almonds.

But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that in the past few weeks, my activity level has gone up, in the form of rehearsals… (and spontaneous push ups bonanzas) and my calorie intake is right around ~1650-1800 a day. If I was counting.

And I’m not. Right?

Obviously. HAHA.

So… after a sinus infection a week and a half ago, and very sensitive tummy after eating ANYTHING… it happened.

I weighed in this morning at 139.4

It’s funny though. Because it almost feels like it shouldn’t/doesn’t count… Cause I haven’t been doing it on PURPOSE. I mean, yes, I know that my calorie intake has gone down, and I’ve been active…

But somehow it seems less… deserved since it hasn’t been from doing “workouts”.

Anyway… I’m sure some of you want to shank me right about now, for not relishing it… but surely someone understands how I feel a difference?

I will say it has been AMAZING to see production photos… sometimes I can’t even believe it is me… because I usually feel like I look like this:

But lately… I’m actually looking like this:

That mind/body image disconnect can be a real bitch.

So, yay me, I guess.  But I’ll feel better when I actually get some muscle back.

Cheers, gang.