Monday 22 November 2010

Potter Prattle

Lori:  I think you'd enjoy the books.  While I especially like the Fantasy, I am picky about good writing and some of it is just horrid.  (I tried listening to the Twilight series to see what all the fuss was about, and I just couldn't finish the first book.  Let's just say it was a little TOO embarrassingly like what a young teen would write in her journal, all that mooning about Edward and the like.  I know I wrote like that back then in my journals...*blush*.  If someone had been *forcing* me to listen, I probably would have ripped my ears right out of my head without so much as a whimper.)  I'm a huge Tolkien fan, and I love the Harry Potter books just as much.  You're spot on about the audience, though; it seemed to me that each book is written to an audience about the age that Harry is in each book.  Therefore, Book 1 has a younger "voice" than, say, Book 7.  I love her imagination, her references of classical mythology, the whole "hero quest" theme going on, and especially the humor.  It's not *flawless* - I disliked Harry's pity partying in book 5, and several of the longer books had parts that dragged a bit, but taken as a whole, WOW!

Debby:  Oooo, I've been very interested in hearing the books read!  I'll have to check out the DVDs and have a listen.  I'm glad they had the same fellow reading all of the books, because from what I've heard, people really liked his voice.

As for the "war movie" factor...that is a good question!  I think because with previews, you have such a limited time to build interest, and they're going to use the action sequences...which tend to be the battles.  Conflict drives plot, and the last book is set during "wartime," so yeah, there are definitely more battles, culminating with the big showdown.  But you're right, the stories are so much more...each one is more of a mystery story than a battle story, and even in the final book, it's the 3 kids trying to solve puzzles so that they can defeat Voldemort.    And while I admire Hermione's cleverness, it seems more of a neutral trait in these books...you see wizards and witches using their cleverness for both good and bad purposes. Ironically enough - as much as the "war" aspect comes into play in the movie - courage trumps might every time in this story.

Party Thoughts

Lori, can I say that this post really resonated with me?  Especially this part:

"I don’t believe in deprivation, but I also know that is is okay to *not* want something."

I've been going to a lot of kids birthday parties lately, with lots of active stuff going on, and afterward there has been veggie snacks or salads and pizza and cake.  The kids' parties always have tons of cake, and then they get to passing it around to the grown-ups.  I'm not a big cake person - unless it's gourmet or homemade - and believe it or not, most of the time I just don't want the cake.  And I'm okay with that...I'm usually not the only one saying "no, thanks" so I don't stand out in the crowd.  But I find the assumption that people are "being good" or "oh, you're on a diet?" to be kind of annoying when one refuses cake.  Or even, as I heard at another recent party, "Oh, you don't like cake?  Wish I didn't!"  I guess I could take a piece, smush it around with my fork, and then throw it away, but that seems kind of wasteful.  On the other hand, this strategy might make other people feel okay about their really wanting a piece of cake.  I've been on that side of the issue, too, going for the cake with gusto when others were politely declining it...and yep, I too made annoying assumptions about it being from fear of getting fat or from being on a diet, but now I realize it could be for any number of reasons.

Well, we seem to be at a lull in the birthday party season, so perhaps this is a moot point for now.  At Thanksgiving, I'll be with both people who eat with gusto and people who eat until they feel full and then stop, and no one pushes food.

Now if it was only okay to want to wander off and take a nap after Thanksgiving dinner...    

Monday, Monday...

Oh, yeah, the food! Monday went pretty well. Packing a lunch ahead of time was really helpful.

Breakfast: Representative photo of what I grabbed for breakfast, because I was in too much of a hurry to take a photo. I had 1 slice of my flax toast, some almond butter, and some sugar-free jam. I waited to get to work to have the coffee.

At work: I had my chia coffee right away, then another cup with some almonds about mid-morning.

Lunch:  When I was prepping lunches on Sunday, I went ahead and fixed up a salad with lettuce, celery, and yellow bell peppers.  I put the sliced tomatoes and feta cheese into separate containers and tossed them in with the Tuscan Balsamic dressing when I got to work.  Oooo, that's good stuff!  Jane, you're going to looooove having a Trader Joe's!  I also had some cottage cheese and apples (kids' leftovers, chopped and tossed with lime juice, then sprinkled with cinnamon I keep at my desk).

A digression:  When one of our grocery stores closed (corporate restructuring), about 10,000 people petitioned Trader Joe's to open a location in our town.  For 10,000 people in our area to agree on anything is a minor miracle.  Anyhow, they responded by stating that a location in our area was not in their business plan.  We have about 30,000 people in our general area, which is isolated by a small mountain range from the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area.  Yet, right on the other side of the hill, there are TWO Trader Joe's locations in San Mateo that are within 5 miles (if that - I'm probably overestimating) from each other.  Hmmm.  Anyhow, we eventually got a New Leaf market, which is like a mini Whole Foods. Their hot food bar comes in handy at times, and their produce is really good.  Otherwise, kind of expensive for general purpose shopping.  OH, and they have my Clemmy's and they are really wonderfully supportive of local programs, such as the Health, Environment, Agriculture Learning (HEAL) program at the schools.

What's really interesting is that a local (and much beloved) store owner retired and sold her family's much beloved grocery store to a family from the other side of the hill. (They opened a deli AND bought another local landmark as well.)  When New Leaf opened, people wondered how it would impact the other store.  New Leaf hired said retired store owner when they opened, and she promoted the new store.  Things that make you go "Hmmm."  (Or "yawn"....Back to the food!)

I also had some walnuts.

On the way home, I had a sugar-free Jolly Rancher candy.

Dinner:  Skinny steak (with sauce) and broccoli.

Experiment #1: Fruit at end of dinner to discourage further snacking.

This Cutie orange has a sticker that reads "Thankful for Cuties!"  One of my cuties was taking the photo!

I also had a sugar-free Lifesaver mint.

Hmmm, I still wanted the nuts.

I also had these pieces of peppermint bark.  (For the record, the Halloween candy "Cow Tails" is revolting.  I spat out the nibble I took.)  And then I made some hot tea.

After everyone else went to sleep, I jumped on the stationary bike and rode for 40 minutes.  My hill interval program was for 30, but I was watching Billy Elliot on Netflix instant view and got into it.  The music was especially good for stationary bike riding.

Mr. Handsome-and-Handy update:  Mr. H&H's eye seems to be doing a bit better, but his vision is still poor in it.  (And his legs got sore from too much sitting - I noodged him to jump on the stationary bike for a bit.  "It's low impact, and if you put it on a low setting, you'll be moving yet not have too much exertion.")  I'm taking him to a follow-up appointment today.  I think if the driving thing goes on much longer, we'll have to do some sort of carpool re-arranging.  Drop off is no problem, but pick up?  That could get sticky.  So far, we've been using after school care, but that gets expensive.  Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts & prayers - much appreciated! :-)