Notesgirl

Libby Says...

Monday, August 29th, 2005	Author: Libby Ingrassia
*Yoga: Eagle, Running...*	Time: 12:20:53 PM
Comments? Add / Read (0)	Location: Houston, TX

One of the yoga poses I've been working on a lot is the Eagle (Garudasana). It's a balance pose that supposedly has some specific benefits for reproductive organs. Not that I'm trying to reproduce at the moment (probably a bit too much information for some of you, but...), but I need some healthful help in that area. So.

Start in tadasana. Place your left foot forward slightly, centered on your body, planted firmly. Spread your toes and ground your entire foot. Soften your knees. Place the weight on that left and bring your right foot and leg around, crossing over your left thigh. Your right toes should be pointed and curving around your left calf, your knees and thighs should be together, bent, and gently sqeezing together. Your legs should be strong and engaged.

Bring your arms straight out to your sides (spread your wings) and stretch slightly to open your back and chest. Then bend your elbows, so your hands point up. Bring your arms across so that your left arm is on top of your right arm and they are intertwined - left arm in the crook of your right elbow, elbows still bent, palms facing each other. As you sqeeze your knees together gently, also squeeze your hands and arms together.

Breathe. Keep knees bent but continue to feel as though you are being lifted up from the crown of your head. Hold for 15-30 seconds and then repeat on the other side. To help your balance, keep your gaze forward on a single point -- easiest if that point is in a mirror.

Because I've been doing this pose a lot and thinking about it, when I recently read Tennyson's poem, The Eagle, it seemed to me to match how I feel when I'm in this pose. My yoga teacher was kind enough to let me recite the poem aloud during class while we did the pose -- not as easy as it sounds -- it's hard to get a supported breath in this pose to project your voice and let the entire group hear!

And for anyone who's counting: 10 miles run/walk (more walking than running, but...) yesterday in preparation for the half marathon in October.

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Wednesday, August 24th, 2005	Author: Libby Ingrassia
*Yoga practice - digestion and stress relief*	Time: 06:30:00 AM
Comments? Add / Read (0)	Location: Dedham, MA

I wrote a yoga practice for a friend of mine, with the goals of stress relief, relaxation and tension release, and supporting the digestive organs. I've done it a couple of times myself and like it, so I thought I'd share it. It feels like an evening practice to me, but there's nothing that says it can't be done at any time of day.

Full disclosure and caveat: I practice yoga and read about it; I am not a trained yoga teacher. This is not a treatment plan or recommendation or anything like that -- it's something that I'm doing with a friend and sharing for your reading interest. That's all. Don't sue me or yell at me or aything, and don't do yoga practice or any exercise without appropriate training, etc. Whew. That said...

Start standing, in tadasana (mountain pose) - feet together from big toes to heels, toes spread, firm thighs to lift kneecaps, weight balanced, tuck the tailbone, lift the ribs, keep the chin slightly down to give the neck full stretch, shoulders back. Goal is to be in full alignment with a slight stretch up - like there's a string from the crown of your head through your backbone through your feet, pulling everything up. Breathe normally. Stay here for 20-30 seconds.
Bring your hands to anjali mudra and begin conscious yogic breathing - in through the nose, inflating the abdomen first, then feeling the breath expand throughout the diagphram and up into the chest and throat. Inhale for a count of 8 (that's the goal; start at 4 count if needed). Hold for 8 (or 4). Then exhale for 8 (or 4), reversing the oxygen flow from throat to chest to abdomen. Do 4 cycles of breath while standing in tadasana.
Sweep the arms up on an inhale, bringing the hands together and looking slightly up, gently. When your hands are overhead, look up, stretch so that your arms cover your ears, but make sure your shoulders don't come up around your ears. Lift your whole body up to the ceiling while remaining strongly balanced and grounded through both feet.
As you exhale, bend into uttanasana (standing forward bend). Bend from the hips, not the waist - you're stretching down toward the floor, trying to put your chest flat against your thighs, nose to knees or shins. Start gently, placing the tips of your fingers beside your feet and trying to eventually place your arms on the backs of your calves. Let your head and neck hang down, stretching the crown of your head toward the floor.
Stay in uttanasana and breathe for 2-3 breath cycles. On each inhale, slightly lessen the stretch; on the exhale, deepen the stretch.
On an inhale, roll up (walk your hands up the front of your body) slowly, bringing your hands overhead into a stretch. When your hands are overhead, look up, stretch so that your arms cover your ears, but make sure your shoulders don't come up around your ears. Lift your whole body up to the ceiling while remaining strongly balanced and grounded through both feet.
Repeat 4-5-6 fully two times. On the third repetition, place your hands flat on the floor next to your feet and step your feet back one at a time into Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward-facing dog). Press the heels toward the floor, lift the tailbone to get a good hamstring stretch, roll the shoulders down away from the ears and back, toward each other, drop the head but don't let it hang, firm the outer arms. If needed, lift the heels one at a time a few times (walking your dog) to help get your heels down. As with uttanasana (and all poses), on the inhale, relax your stretch a bit; on the exhale, deepen it. Hold for 2-4 breath cycles.
On an exhale, put your knees down and peel down (knees, hips, ribs, chest, and chin) until you are flat. Place your hands in push-up position and on an inhale, straighten your arms, arching your back into bhujangasana (cobra pose). Firm but don't harden the buttocks, open the chest, don't arch too much - just go to a comfortable height. Hold for 2-3 breaths.
On an exhale, lift up into adho mukha svanasana (down-dog). Hold for 2-3 breaths. On an exhale, peel down, and then push up into cobra. Hold for 2-3 breaths.
On an exhale, push back into balasana (child's pose). Hold child's pose for 3-4 breaths.
Turn over and lay flat on your mat. Stretch your arms up above your head and your feet down - give yourself a full body stretch out. Bring your arms back to your sides.
Bend your knees and bring your feet as close as possible to your buttocks. On an exhale, press your feet and arms into the mat and lift your hips up into setu bandha sarvangasana (bridge pose). Make sure to keep your neck neutral - don't turn your head, although you can tuck your chin down a bit as you pull your hips up into the stretch. Knees should be over your heels, thighs should be parallel. If possible, clasp your hands under your hips to bring your shoulder blades in toward each other. Hold for at least 4 breaths and release down to flat on an exhale.
Bring both knees in toward your chest and clasp them. Let yourself roll slightly left and right. Bring your nose up to your knees while you rock, curving your back outward.
Place the left leg flat on the floor, foot flexed, and bring the right leg straight up in the air. Use a strap or clasp your hands around your flexed right foot. You are in supta padangusthasana (reclining big toe pose). Extend the leg up, stretching it, while maintaining the left hip squared on the floor and the left leg in contact with the floor. Both feet are flexed. Deepen the stretch (bringing your leg toward your face) with each exhale. After 2-3 breath cycles, drop the right leg to your left side and place your right arm out to the right - you're creating a twist in your back. As you breathe, try to imagine the oxygen you're taking in going to that space in your back where the twist is. Keep your right shoulder blade on the floor, as flat as possible and look toward the right hand.
Bring the leg back to center and release it. Repeat on the left leg, with the right leg on the floor.
Bring both knees in toward your chest and clasp them. Let yourself roll slightly left and right. Bring your nose up to your knees while you rock, curving your back outward.
Let yourself come to savasana (corpse pose). Let your feet fall apart, pull your shoulders together a bit, but not too tightly, let your arms fall out to your sides. Close your eyes and relax your face, your jaw. Release your hips to let your thighs fall outward. Lay here and breathe for 3-5 minutes, breathing gently.
Try to let your mind empty. When it tries to focus on something, don't worry about it, just acknowledge the thought and let your mind come back to your breathing, your releasing of tension. If you can't think of nothing, visualize each part of your body, starting with your toes and moving upward and imagine the tension flowing out of that part of the body, down into the ground. As the 5 minutes comes to an end, begin to deepen your breathing and start moving your fingers and toes gently. On an exhale, roll to your right side and gently push yourself up to sitting. Sit in cross-legged or lotus pose, with lifted torso and think about one thing you want to dedicate the yoga practice to – what you want to take out of it. Maybe you want to take a calm mind into going to sleep. Maybe you want to take good energy into your day or to a particular meeting or clinic. Something that you want to take from the practice and hold onto.

~Namaste~

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2005	Author: Libby Ingrassia
*Music from the year you graduated*	Time: 06:32:38 PM
Comments? Add / Read (6)	Location: Dedham, MA

Some friends on LiveJournal are doing this right now and since I'm waaaayyyy too tired to think of anything real to say, I decided to snag this. You try it.

The instructions are: Go to musicoutfitters.com, and do a search on the most popular 100 songs from the year you graduated high school. (You can do this by searching on the year you graduated). Bold the ones you actually like. (Understand that the word "like" in this case means, at the very least, "wouldn't immediately change the radio station from.") Pick a favorite. Underline that favorite. And Strikethru the ones you loathe. Italicizethe ones you consider to be guilty pleasures.

1. Look Away, Chicago
2. My Prerogative, Bobby Brown
3. Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Poison
4. Straight Up, Paula Abdul
5. Miss You Much, Janet Jackson
6. Cold Hearted, Paula Abdul
7. Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler (I actually sang this one in high school. Must've been the senior talent show or something like that...)
8. Girl You Know Its True, Milli Vanilli
9. Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird, Will To Power
10. Giving You The Best That I Got, Anita Baker
11. Right Here Waiting, Richard Marx
12. Waiting For A Star To Fall, Boy Meets Girl
13. Lost In Your Eyes, Debbie Gibson
14. Don't Wanna Lose You, Gloria Estefan
15. Heaven, Warrant
16. Girl I'm Gonna Miss You, Milli Vanilli
17. The Look, Roxette
18. She Drives Me Crazy, Fine Young Cannibals
19. On Our Own, Bobby Brown
20. Two Hearts, Phil Collins
21. Blame It On The Rain, Milli Vanilli
22. Listen To Your Heart, Roxette
23. I'll Be There For You, Bon Jovi
24. If You Don't Know Me By Now, Simply Red
25. Like A Prayer, Madonna
26. I'll Be Loving You (Forever), New Kids On The Block
27. How Can I Fall?, Breathe
28. Baby Don't Forget My Number, Milli Vanilli
29. Toy Solider, Martika
30. Forever Your Girl, Paula Abdul
31. The Living Years, Mike and the Mechanics
32. Eternal Flame, The Bangles
33. Wild Thing, Tone Loc
34. When I See You Smile, Bad English
35. If I Could Turn Back Time, Cher
36. Buffalo Stance, Neneh Cherry
37. When I'm With You, Sheriff
38. Don't Rush Me, Taylor Dayne
39. Born To Be My Baby, Bon Jovi
40. Good Thing, Fine Young Cannibals
41. The Lover In Me, Sheena Easton
42. Bust A Move, Young M.C.
43. Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Great White
44. Batdance, Prince
45. Rock On, Michael Damian
46. Real Lov, Jody Watley
47. Love Shack, B-52's
48. Every Little Step, Bobby Brown
49. Hangin' Tough, New Kids On The Block
50. My Heart Can't Tell You No, Rod Stewart
51. So Alive, Love and Rockets
52. You Got It (The Right Stuff), New Kids On The Block
53. Armageddon It, Def Leppard
54. Satisfied, Richard Marx
55. Express Yourself, Madonna
56. I Like It, Dino
57. Soldier Of Love, Donny Osmond
58. Sowing The Seeds Of Love, Tears For Fears
59. Cherish, Madonna
60. When The Children Cry, White Lion
61. 18 And Life, Skid Row
62. I Don't Want Your Love, Duran Duran
63. Second Chances, .38 Special
64. The Way You Love Me, Karyn White
65. Funky Cold Medina, Tone Loc
66. In Your Room, Bangles
67. Miss You Like Crazy, Natalie Cole
68. Love Song, Cure
69. Secret Rendesvous, Karyn White
70. Angel Eyes, Jeff Healey Band
71. Patience, Guns N' Roses
72. Walk On Water, Eddie Money
73. Cover Girl, New Kids On The Block
74. Welcome To The Jungle, Guns N' Roses
75. Shower Me With Your Love, Surface
76. Stand, R.E.M.
77. Close My Eyes Forever, Lita Ford
78. All This Time, Tiffany
79. After All, Cher and Peter Cetera
80. Roni, Bobby Brown
81. Love In An Elevator, Aerosmith
82. Lay Your Hands On Me, Bon Jovi
83. This Promise, When In Rome
84. What I Am, Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians
85. I Remember Holding You, Boys Club
86. Paradise City, Guns N' Roses
87. I wanna Have Some Fun, Samantha Fox
88. She Wants To Dance With Me, Rick Astley
89. Dreamin', Vanessa Williams
90. It's No Crime, Babyface
91. Poison, Alice Cooper
92. This Time I Know It's For Real, Donna Summer
93. Smooth Criminal, Michael Jackson
94. Heaven Help Me, Deon Estus
95. Rock Wit'cha, Bobby Brown
96. Thinking Of You, Sa-fire
97. What You Don't Know, Expose
98. Surrender To Me, Ann Wilson and Robin Zander
99. The End Of The Innocence, Don Henley
100. Keep On Movin', Soul II Soul

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Monday, August 22nd, 2005	Author: Libby
*Marathon Fundraising*	Time: 01:12:37 PM
Comments? Add / Read (0)	Location: home

You all know that I'm planning to do the half marathon in October in SF. The cause for this marathon/half-marathon event is The Leukemia and Lymphoma society, which helps to fight blood cancers.

I've decided to try to raise a little bit more than my $100 registration fee, via their Make Cures Happen Fundraising Page. According to the society's research:

Someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer every 5 minutes.
Someone dies from blood cancer every 10 minutes.
Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under 20.

There are a lot of causes I try to support, but this one just tugs at my heart strings. If anyone else feels this is an important cause to them and would like to support it, this is an opportunity to do so.

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Saturday, August 20th, 2005	Author: Libby
*Blog changes - Plazes!*	Time: 11:42:08 AM
Comments? Add / Read (1)	Location: home

Yes, I'm a copycat, I admit it. When my friends Ed and Chris do something cool, I'll often follow along. In this case, while I was trying to fix the fact that you can't see my archives by month correctly (anybody know what's up with that in the DX Template, btw?), I thought I'd add in the Plazes finder that they added in a while ago. So, on the left, if I'm logged in and I've found a plaze, you can see where I am.

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Thursday, August 18th, 2005	Author: Libby
*Frailty, Indeed*	Time: 02:06:57 PM
Comments? Add / Read (0)	Location: home

From the Baron Munchausen role playing game, via my friend Chris...

DISCLAIMER: The words ‘he’, ‘him’, and ‘his’ are used throughout this book as generic third-person singular pronouns. With this usage the author, a man of great gallantry, does not wish to imply that members of the fairer sex are any less likely to have astonishing adventures than their male counterparts despite their frailty, lack of education and great aptitude for giggling and fainting. He does not assume that flouncy crinolines and a décolletage like alabaster might make them any less able to engage in espionage against the French while disguised as a haddock, or that their extensive skills in needlepoint and household management would be anything but an asset when seducing the Empress of Russia. In short, he belives that in many ways women are just as brave, capable and interesting as men, and in occasional circumstances more so. Bless their little hearts.

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Thursday, August 18th, 2005	Author: Libby
*Running and Yoga in Houston*	Time: 12:53:00 PM
Comments? Add / Read (0)	Location: home, contemplating exercise

Still prepping for the half-marathon in October....

Note to self:

Walk to Rice from Dunlavy/Kipling = 2 miles
Around Rice = 3 miles
Walk home = 2 miles

7 miles = just over an hour

My favorite exercise right now is to get up and do the 7 miles listed above and then hit the best yoga class in Houston. I've tried a lot of them, but the hatha yoga taught by Kay Westcott still seems the best in town to me. I tried the hot yoga and liked it, but it's too inconvenient and uncomfortable; I do yoga at the 24-hour fitness, but she's not a very... gentle teacher... So, now I do yoga at 8 am on Friday mornings at the Nia studio and love it, love it. If you're in town, Kay is teaching that class for free on Sept 2nd.

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Wednesday, August 17th, 2005	Author: Libby
*More Movies and Books (Wicked review), and an Interview*	Time: 10:38:18 AM
Comments? Add / Read (2)	Location: home

Okay, I forgot to mention another movie that I'm very much looking forward to in the fall, again, mostly because it's from Neil Gaiman. I was reminded of this movie by the weekly newsletter from Powells.com. Powells is a spectacular bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that sells both new and used books, takes up a square city block, and enhances its Website and store with interviews and discussions with authors, such as the interview I got in my inbox this morning that compares authors to otters. Gaiman's doing a book tour (completely unfairly bypassing Houston) to support his new book, Anansi Boys, and, at the same time, stumping for the new movie that he did with Dave McKean, MirrorMask (from the children's book by the same name).

As far as the Anansi Boys novel goes -- it shares a character with his American Gods novel, but is in no way a sequel, according to Gaiman. You can preorder a signed first edition right now from Powells.com, which may or may not turn out to be valuable monetarily, but surely is cool.

I finished re-reading Wicked (by Gregory Maguire) this morning before dragging myself out of bed. I'd read it when it was first available in paperback, and enjoyed it a great deal -- I love when stories are reimagined. For those unfamiliar, this novel tells the story of the Wizard of Oz from the perspective of Elphaba, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West. We meet the poor, green girl with her strange allergy to water on the day she is born, and see her grow up with her preacher father, Frex, her slightly addicted and unhinged mother, Melena, her needy sister, Nessarose, and her perfect brother Shell. We follow Elphie to university in Shiz, where she ends up making friends with her very different roommate Galinda (later Glinda) and a cast of characters who follow her through her life of activism, love, charity, repentance, and madness, to her eventual death at the hands of Dorothy Gale.

It's an enchanting retelling and reimaging of the fairy tale that contains all the themes of life itself: the nature of humanity, the nature of evil, what can drive a person mad, what forgiveness requires of a person....

I'm excited to be going to see the musical in the fall with some of the folks from my book club, but I was even happier to re-read the book. It's a joy.

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Tuesday, August 16th, 2005	Author: Libby
*Movies I Can’t Wait To See: Beowulf, Pride and Prejudice*	Time: 02:59:14 PM
Comments? Add / Read (0)	Location: Houston, TX

Okay, so it's pretty clear that I like movies with a literary angle. Big surprise from someone with a degree in English, a published author, a writer, an editor, etc, etc.

So, here are two I'm excited to get to see:

Beowulf (2007) -- Happened to see some discussion at NeilGaiman.com that makes it clear that he's one of the writers on this project, which makes it an easy one to look forward to seeing.
Pride and Prejudice (2005) -- I recently watched the A&E miniseries version(you know, the one with Colin Firth) with a friend and then had to reread the book to confirm what was missing etc, and am now looking very forward to seeing another treatment of the story. I have promised myself that I'll be very careful not to get my hopes up too high for something that follows the book very closely. Instead, I'll look for something new and interesting that shares an ancestor that I like very much.

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Monday, August 15th, 2005	Author: Libby
*NBC Should Be Ashamed*	Time: 03:17:31 PM
Comments? Add / Read (4)	Location:

Ok, let me say that I have made many mistakes. And some of those have even gone out in magazines or here on my Website. And every time I do, I cringe in pain and shame. They're almost always typographical errors made in haste and just... missed. So, I know that mistakes happen.

That said... I was watching the TiVo'd version of an NBC show and saw an ad for their new fall show Inconceivable. Ok, fine... I'm watching the ad (unusually enough) and see the following text...
These are the people who make it happen... even at it's worst (emphasis mine)...

Arghghghghghghghghghghg.

It's = It is
Its = possessive

Ok, so I'm an editor/writer and those things bug me. Ok, so I'm not perfect and have made errors in my life. But OY vey. Please. For the good of the world, have someone competent copyedit your work before putting it on national television. Really. I'll volunteer if it will help. :-) This is just not okay.

If you need a refresher on its/it's and they're/their/there, try this quiz to refresh your memory. Here's a link to some Notorious Confusables, and a link to my number one favorite grammar and style guide: The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White.

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Monday, August 15th, 2005	Author: Libby
*Thanks Y’all...*	Time: 03:14:07 PM
Comments? Add / Read (0)	Location:

Many thanks to my favorite blogjackers and all of you for making yet another birthday a good place. I'm feeling old, but not too old.

The day itself was busy and harried, but ended with a lovely picnic and a showing of Hamlet at the Houston Shakespeare Festival -- just right.

Look for a review of the Lotus User Group of Houston meeting from that day at that site -- http://www.lughouston.org.

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Wednesday, August 10th, 2005	Author: Chris Miller
*BLOGJACKED: She forgot to mention that thing called birthday*	Time: 10:28:36 AM
Comments? Add / Read (12)	Location:

Do I need to say more here? Where are the comments saying Happy Birthday to Libby?

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Wednesday, August 10th, 2005	Author: Libby
*Catalog and Magazine Suggestions*	Time: 08:39:32 AM
Comments? Add / Read (0)	Location:

I've got a new catalog and a new magazine that I've been reading, both of which I really like.

The catalog is Bas Bleu -- Booksellers by Post. The mix of books is eclectic and literary, but very interesting. I recommend them highly. Especially good travel and children's books. I wear this t-shirt from them all the time...

The magazine is Mental Floss. Sheer silliness, connected by tissue of extreme brilliance. Last month's issue included a nice long article on the Muppets (and Jim Henson), an article on stamp collecting that was interesting (surprisingly!), and an article on Nicolae Ceausescu that was informative, while still causing some chuckles.

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Monday, August 8th, 2005	Author: Libby
*Book Review: Educating Alice*	Time: 08:09:05 AM
Comments? Add / Read (1)	Location:

I've been reading Educating Alice for months, not because I'm not drawn into the story and enjoying it, but because I wanted to savor the book (something I do all to rarely, with my quick inhaling of books). The book is a memoir written by a Pulitzer-prize winning former columnist/journalist who quit her job at a newspaper to travel the world taking classes, meeting people, and discovering herself. Alice takes classes like the cooking class at the Ritz Escoffier in Paris, Japanese arts like dancing and the tea ceremony in Kyoto, Jane Austen in England, and border collie training in Scotland. Through the classes and small tours, Alice learns a lot of interesting things about some interesting topics, but she learns even more about herself and about the people she runs into.

One of the things that's so endearing about Alice and the travelouge is her manner of befriending people whereever she finds herself and listening to their stories. She finds ways to relate to people she meets in Havana, a train in Paris, the Scottish highlands, a geisha house in Japan, and a bookstore in Prague in ways that let you see their lives in a very sympathetic (which I mean not in feeling sorry for them, but feeling like you can feel their situations and lives in a very personal way) manner.

Of course, it made me not only want to follow in her footsteps, but also wonder whether I could travel alone so happily and easily as she has done (clearly her ability to talk to sympathetic interesting strangers is a very important skill) and what types of classes in what parts of the world I would take. She combined place and topic in a very engaging manner.

As for the classes.... I'm compiling a list. It might include poetry in Greece, yoga in Inda, or James Joyce in Dublin... What would be on your class list? I've been trying to think whether I'd choose classes first or places...

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Monday, August 8th, 2005	Author: Libby
*Weekend update*	Time: 07:46:38 AM
Comments? Add / Read (0)	Location:

Pretty good weekend, all in all. Took some time on Friday to have a girlie day with my friend Angelique and her baby before Ange goes back to teaching this week. We did a little shopping, a little lunching, and a little Pride and Prejudice movie marathon (the A&E version) watching. We then, along with a group of friends, went to see As You Like It at the Houston Shakespeare Festival. Since we just watched Stage Beauty, the typical Shakespeare masquerading-of-gender took on an interesting angle. Not that I didn't know that men played all the parts, but seeing how some of them worked and a thinking about the complications of a man playing a woman playing a man made for some interesting conversation.

Saturday was helping my friend Julieana with some computer stuff, then spending some relaxing time with her doing a yoga class and meeitng my new goddaughter. Callie is beautiful and so interactive and curious -- I can't wait to get to know her better and to watch her grow up. She's having her first birthday in a few weeks and I hope by then she'll be even more comfortable with me, although her mom and dad were very pleased that she was willing to come to me and let me hold her, as she's apparently not only a daddy's girl, but also much more likely to go to men than women. She liked me and her Thea Julie (Thea is Greek for Aunt -- I'm her Nouna (godmother). Saturday night was watching Angelique bellydance -- I'm amazed at how wonderful she looks just a few months after having a baby.

Sunday was some cleaning and some lazing. Then another friend came in from Austin (my former roommate, Julie) and we had a very, very, very nice dinner out at Churrascos, which has the best steaks in Houston (not to mention, the best tres leches!). It was a big splurge, but so enjoyable. And then we had to have some Firefly watching, since I'm trying to make sure Philip sees all the episodes before the Serenity movie comes out in September.

All in all, a very good, relaxing weekend. Not long enough, but I think they never are!

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Monday, August 8th, 2005	Author: Libby
*Happy Late Birthday...*	Time: 07:37:50 AM
Comments? Add / Read (0)	Location:

I can't believe I forgot to post -- but as with all the other Lotus folks out there, I'm wishing a very happy birthday to Ed (late).

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Thursday, August 4th, 2005	Author: Libby
*In Search Of...*	Time: 04:19:15 PM
Comments? Add / Read (0)	Location:

Alain Romedenne, if you're out there, will you contact me? This is in regards to LotusUserGroup.org, and you can get me at libby at lotususergroup.org.
Thanks!

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Thursday, August 4th, 2005	Author: Libby
*Movie review: Stage Beauty*	Time: 12:28:25 PM
Comments? Add / Read (0)	Location: Houston, TX

Saw the movie Stage Beauty on DVD over the weekend. I loved it. The story follows actor Ned Kynaston, who specializes in acting the women's parts in plays, in a time when women were not allowed on stage. His dresser, Maria, finds a way to get on stage in the same role he's currently playing (the role of Desdemona in Othello) and comes to the attention of King Charles II (post-restoration cocker spaniel-loving King Charles II, played by a spectacular Rupert Everett) and his mistress Nell Gwynn. Charles reverses the law and proclaims that women may no longer be played on the stage by men, sending Ned's fortunes falling (at the same time that he's been beat to a pulp by some snotty holier-than-thou peers).

The main characters, played by Billy Crudup and Claire Danes, really show a range of emotions and all the strangeness of humanity. The movie echoes Shakespearean themes throughout, with the idea of what it means to be on stage and what it means to be dressing/acting as something you're not.

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2005	Author: Libby
*You thought I was gone, didn’t you?*	Time: 11:15:25 AM
Comments? Add / Read (6)	Location: Houston

Well, I thought I might be gone, too. It took a little while for me to feel like I had anything to say again, but, I've had enough kind inquiries to convince me to start writing again (thanks to all of you who pinged, e-mailed, called, or anything else to check up on me).

As some of you know, I'm working with the folks at LotusUserGroup.org as the new program director for the group. I'm still living in Houston, so I'm remote, but considering the group is intended to help draw together Lotus professionals all over the world, well, I'm not really that remote, am I? We'll be doing all kinds of virtual events, as well as supporting live meetings in various regions. If you aren't a member of the group yet, come check us out!

In other news....

I'm starting graduate school in September. I'll be working on my Master's degree at Rice University. This is a new (this is the first semester) interdisciplinary liberal arts program geared toward working adults. When I graduate, maybe two years from now, I'll have a Master of Liberal Studies degree. I'm nervous and excited -- I've been wanting to go to graduate school for a long time and have been wimping out for various reasons. I suspect this program is just the first step to more, but it's a step!
I'm running again, finally. I keep starting and stopping and having things get in my way, but I'm training for a half-marathon (hopefully) in October in SF -- the Nike Women's Marathon. I've only gotten up to doing 6-7 miles, but I've got 2 full months and change before the run, so I think I'm in good.
I'm reading a ton. Both in my local book club and on my own. I'll probably be writing some book reviews here. I've been writing them in my head and I've put them on some other sites, but it would be easier for me to just pop them on here. If you're not interested, just pass them by.
Babies, babies, babies. Not me. A lot of my friends and family, though. It's been so nice getting to spend time with all these cute, sweet babies. And now I'm going to be a godmother to one of them -- my "big brother" and his wife adopted Callie and I get to be her godmother. I'm so excited. I spent a lot of time growing up with my best friend Julie and her godsister Carol -- it always made me very aware how special that kind of relationship could be.

Other than that, I'm spending lots of time with my nice boyfriend Philip and my friends, doing a fair amount of yoga, eating out too much, and trying to find ways to save money while doing all of that. I'm hoping all is well with all of you!

Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link

:: About ::

Libby (aka Notesgirl) talks about Houston, the Lotus community and other technology, books and movies, running, cooking, yoga, and other varied interests. Tune in and take note.

Today is

About Libby

Portfolio

follow notesgirl at http://twitter.com

:: Finding Libby ::

•Send me e-mail

•IM Me at AOL: LibbyNicoles, MSN: LibbyNicole@hotmail.com, YahooIM: LibbyNicoles, or Sametime via YellowBleeders

•RSS Feed

::Currently Reading (or Watching or Hearing)::