I've started a new weight training routine in the past week or so. Nothing fancy - just some stuff with dumbells, and a few squats and crunches thrown in, and maybe some knee pushups if I'm feeling ambitious. What's new about it is mostly that I'm making the time to do it regularly, by sticking it in at the end of my regular aerobic exercise sessions every other day. We'll see if I can keep it up.

So far, what I notice the most is a) my triceps are sore and b) I wake up hungry. I used to not get hungry until after I'd already been awake for a while - so I'd do my morning exercise, and then eat breakfast. Now I find myself having a snack before I work out, and then breakfast afterward. It's like having breakfast, and then second breakfast. I'm turning into a hobbit!

However, I don't think that hobbits are noted for being fond of lowfat cottage cheese, so perhaps I'm not really turning into a hobbit after all.

I've been having a nice long weekend. Our good friend (and my Clarion classmate) Diana Sherman is up visiting us, which is fun. We spent much of Saturday hanging around, drinking coffee, and catching up on life, the universe, and everything. We had dinner with her college friend Phil, who is a fun guy to hang out with, even if he and Diana do have a tendency to gossip about people that Daniel and I have never met.

On Sunday, Diana went out to work on some kind of film project that some other local friends have corralled her into being involved in. Daniel and I went to Sportsmart for some exercise gear (I got a stability ball, and some exercise bands), and then to Beverages and More for some booze. Daniel has become quite fond of a vanilla-flavored cognac called Navan (made by Grand Marnier), so we got a bottle of that. I got a couple of bottles of wine to try. (Apparently, the way to sell me a red wine is to describe it as "spicy", with notes of "black cherry" or "raspberry". Of course, something like 75% of the red wines that BevMo carries are described this way, so I'm somewhat suspicious.) I'm trying to branch out a little bit from my tried and true, "If it's red, I drink Zinfandel or Chianti Classico; if it's white, I drink Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc" formula, so I got a vinho verde from Portugal, and an Italian Sangiovese.

I'm trying to become less of a wine ignoramus, but it's a slow process when you only drink a glass or two a week.

When we all arrived back home, Diana discovered that she'd sold a short story to Black Gate. Wheee! So we went out for a celebratory dinner, with Phil along again, to the Village Bistro in Santana Row, where the food was okay, the wine was fine (I had a glass of grenache), and the company and conversation excellent.

I have today off from work, so I slept in a bit this morning (I'm a little bit weirded out that, these days, getting up at 8 a.m. constitutes sleeping in), went for a walk, and have been puttering around on the computer. I'm expecting that everyone else will be up soon, and there will probably be an expedition to the bookstore in the offing, since we have a pile of 20% off coupons at Borders.

Hope all of you are having a wonderful holiday weekend as well. Cheers!