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January 17, 2007

Book Reviews

I finished Opening SKinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century by Lauren Slater.

Great book. Seriously, even if you know or have heard about Skinner, Kant, Wundt, Milgram, Rosenhan, Darley and Latane, Festinger, Alexander, Moniz, Kandel, Loftus, and Harlow - at least, their experiments - this is a book you should read. It raises some very good points, and Lauren Slater does well to interview not only those surrounding these individuals - family members and friends - but also stretches out to interview those who opposed either the research, the way the research was conducted, or the findings of said research.

Ms. Slater has a very interesting wit about her writing style, and she is not afraid to admit a few gems from herself or explore the experiments on her own two feet. She presents both sides of a coin, so to speak, and does so eloquently.

Loved this book.

I also purchased The Biggest Loser Cookbook after reading some of the reviews and bits and pieces that are in it. I generally don't like to engage in the purchase of cookbooks, because usually everything you want is out there on the internet.

However. And this is a big however. The cookbook breaks down every recipe by serving size, nutritional information, etc. It talks about exercise, calories, and how much protein and how many carbohydrates you really should have in every meal - not in just one day, but in every meal, which is a huge difference. It also has some inspiring stories from the people who participated in the TV program, some exerpts about what to watch out for and what to indulge, and so forth. It's easy, it's simple, and.... Dundundun...

I like the recipes. I've made one so far, and it wasn't bad, AND I used fat-free in it. Wonders never cease. If you're trying to eat healthy - for whatever reason - get this book.

Posted by Kelli Little at 11:41 AM

Long-Winded, If Generic Update

Christmas
I had an awesome Christmas. It was wonderful to see my five month old nephew, family, and friends. It was awesome to shovel snow. (No sarcasm.) It was nifty to be back in clean-aired Alaska, where everyone isn't Barbie-cut, eating Barbie food, living in Barbie houses.

I didn't get home until 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 27th... And given that I had to head to work in three and a half hours, I stayed up, spent Christmas with Joe, finished a book, and then showered.

And proceeded through the next three days in a sort of fog. I knew if I had tried to sleep after three days without sleep (seriously, no sleep) that I would be worse for wear. And that's saying something.

Martial Arts
I received my red belt. I'm going to really push to correct some of my bad habits these next few months, so that they are not hindering me in the future. We have an excellent teacher coming out this weekend, which will also kick my ass, but it'll be well worth it. This is where the rest of my Xmas money went.

Birthday
For a 'surprise' (which consisted of my dear friend Kelly obviously lying to me about things, and a few other people inadvertently spilling a bean or two) party, friends and Joe and I met at a local watering hole and chatted for a few hours. It was nice, seeing those that could make it, and I was spoiled by presents, which was a pleasant surprise.

I was spoiled rotten for my actual birthday too, just as with Christmas. My parents and sister sent me money, which will help with bills, and I apparently badgered Joe enough that he actually went and purchased for me a dozen beautiful red roses. Surprisingly, the roses actually smelled like roses, which is something that has been disappearing now that mass production has hit the flower industry. On top of it - boy, does my man know me well - he gave me a gift certificate to a spa where I receive an hour long massage.

Boy. Howdy.

For my birthday, Joe and I headed over to The Big Swede's and had hamburgers and french fries and wine - odd combination, but tasty nevertheless. Andrea and I partied it up with tag, hide and seek, and spin-the-girl-round-and-round in the yard. Between the last dregs of my insomnia (or at least, I thought it was going away until last night) and Teh Little Girl, I was pooped, so I actually konked out before I could sink into some real Swede Movie Action.

God those movies are depressing.

The Rest

  • I'm done drinking for a while. I know, I've said that in the past, but I'm serious this time. There are two exceptions: this Friday (possibly) and my friend's wine tasting party at the beginning of March.

  • I'm reducing my exercise to martial arts for now. This is to help control my eating.

  • I'm reducing my calories to 1250 calories per day.

  • I am going down to 145 lbs.

  • I expect the people around me to be supportive. I don't want to hear 'Awww, just one drink', or 'Come on, you never go out to lunch with us anymore'. If you're honestly my friends, you'll support me in this. IE, f you give me shit on this, I will verbally beat you. Expect it worse than usual, too, because when I am denied the comfort of good tasting food and maintenance calories, I get mumbly in a big, big way. I also don't want to hear 'you don't need to loose any weight'. It's bullshit. I do in fact need to loose weight. I want to be happy about myself, I want to fit into clothes again, I don't want to become diabetic or experience heart disease, and I want to live 10 years longer than I will with the path I am taking now. So if you're thinking of saying anything along those lines, do us both a favor and shut it.

  • I am going to my cousin's wedding at the end of January/beginning of February. This is very exciting, and I cannot wait to see everyone, including some old friends in Montana that I have not seen in a while.

  • If by February 1st I hear nothing definitive about the job I've been waiting to be created, I will start looking seriously for another job. I want this job beyond all reason - I love what it is, I would love my boss, and it has the benefits of working from home occasionally, opportunities to learn, higher pay, and the ability to move up in this company - but I am not willing to wait another year, sticking around in this dead-end job, being taking advantage of and receiving no credit for the ass-kicking I do.

  • I am going to my friend's 80s birthday party not this weekend but the next. God help us all. And no, I can't promise any pictures.

    • Well, I was going to pose more, but off to work I go. I'll try to update more later.

    Posted by Kelli Little at 08:20 AM