ski wonder
I had planned to go skiing with all the boys, but basketball games kept the older ones from the slopes, so it was just the two of us - and boy can that boy move. give him some time to put on weight to keep the momentum going, and it'll be hard for me to catch him.

on the move
next week I start training for the first century of the year, the wild goose chase in april on the eastern shore. it's a metric century (62 miles), but I'm training like it's a 100-miler to make it that much easier. a shorter ride falls in week 3 of the 10-week training period, waba's vasa ride around dc with hot blueberry soup at the swedish embassy at the end of 28 miles. after the wild goose chase, I'm going to train for my first-ever mountain bike race, the cranky monkey right after my birthday.

in the long term
plan a hot-air balloon trip, enter a photo contest, a third seagull century, CAPS 2008, find a belayer, go to NYC, see "the monkey wrench gang" when it finally becomes a movie and hopefully have finished the book by then

unexpected goodness
talked to aunt olivia
heard an owl in the backyard
foil chicken is a hit
silver lining of a ski mishap
gus back to work
"21 grams" and "1408"
shibani at the hopper
AMC oscar showcase tickets
apple/carrot/cauliflower/celery juice
authorized anarchy
7 on explore

hopper
made it to the edward hopper exhibit just before it closed. wow. I knew a couple of his works, but everything else knocked my socks off too. the information near the artwork was helpful, but oh to have my dear artist ginny along.

resolute
I'm not into making new year's resolutions, but this year I have A PLAN. I like having a plan. and I like checking things off lists. so I've been making a monthly sheet of things I want to do (bike, go to movies or museums or parks, date, finish books) and should do (find a dentist, juice, go to church, apply myself). I leave some blank space too for that unexpected goodness. and there's a list down the side of longer term stuff I want need should do. january finished with lots of unfilled bubbles and some surprises. who knew I would see two sunrises? I biked less and walked daisy more than I had planned. and I finished 3 books - which is big news for me because I'm "in the middle" of about a dozen at any moment. february's sheet is filling quickly and I feel like more is getting done, which was part of the plan.

reading
I finished stephen king's "stationary bike," a pleasant surprise of a short story; chuck barris' "confessions of a dangerous mind," so is it true or not?; and dean koontz's "by the light of the moon," with characters I'd like to know and a slightly entertaining story. I've started "candy freak," perused "an underground education," and restarted "another roadside attraction" and "picnic, lightning."

RIP heath
caught heath ledger in "10 things I hate about you" after he was found dead. not sure I buy claims he's the new james dean. ask me again in another 50 years.

cloverfield
I had no intention of seeing this movie I had never heard of, but in the end I'm glad I did. I wonder though, would it have been as believable before 9/11? and did the producers think enough time had passed to air it? and would I have kept filming? and oh by the way, the jumpy picture and all made me ill but I left the theater liking what I had seen.