8:57 AM: Allllllllrighty.... the crock pot is going! Did all of my chopping, peeling, slicing, etc etc and got tonight's dinner underway by 8:30 AM. Go me. It will cook on low for a long time and we will eat it when I get back from Lisa's 6:15 spin class tonight. It better be good, cuz I'm going to be hungry! Other than that... not much on the agenda for today... maybe watch some movies, vacuum the downstairs, and do some paperwork type stuff with the contracts for the wedding. Backed up the computer last night. (That's always a relief... especially given the great iPhoto debacle of 2010.)

So, not much to see here, kids. Have a fantastic day! Don't do anything I wouldn't do...

Oh, but before you go... please enjoy this photo of Molly, erasing Chris' hard drive....

Now, to be honest, I don't believe she actually erased his hard drive... but she did manage to delete his background screen saver photo and cause the computer to make some interesting noises... Molly is a heat whore, so that keyboard must have been hot hot hot!

8:54 PM: Well, as you can see, I made it to the gym! Ate the crock pot goodness. It was... OK. Not the best crockpot recipe I've ever tried, but not the worst by far. I was hoping for a "9-10" recipe and this was about a "6.5-7"... in other words... a little bit better than your average crock pot recipe. Don't get me wrong, we both devoured it, and we both enjoyed it very much.... but I was hoping for something akin to our Porterhouse experience of last month... Let me know if you want to try this one... it was Sherried Chicken with walnuts and golden raisins...

1:41 PM: Didn't get up early. Slept til almost 10! Then got up and went to the store to pickup some ingredients for a crock pot recipe that I'm going to try tomorrow. If it's any good, I'll post it here so you guys can try it too. 

Not a whole lot on the agenda today. Might try to do a trainer workout. Might not. Will finish organizing and preparing myself for 2012. Lots going on this year... including a move, a wedding, a wedding reception... Not to mention the OTHER fun stuff we have planned that is not of our own making, like the wedding of our pals Jana and Jay in March. 

Lots to do. Lots of fun stuff ahead. Not a whole lot on the race schedule for me, though... yet. 

Meanwhile... photos from last night. 

Me and IP's lovely wife, Willa. 

Me and Chris... we set up the couch to take everyone's photo... my camera only focused on about half of the pictures. User error! I need to figure this out, and fast! 

The clock struck 12! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Me and Lisa and Vik and Beth... chatting. 

Here's everyone... except Ed and Steve and Kathy... we forgot to take a group shot until after half the group had already gone. 

And me and Peter.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2011 was great. I am looking forward with anticipation toward 2012 and beyond! 

Yeah... I didn't do anything that remotely resembled "working out" today... however I did clean out all of the drawers in the master bathroom, throwing away or recycling a bunch of stuff I don't need/use/want/or was expired whatever. Don't want to start 2012 with 2011's leftover trash! Then I vacuumed and put all of the laundry away (this was a major task). By the time we left for Lisa & Craig's party, I was reasonably happy with the progress I'd made on the second floor. I love to get rid of stuff. I love the space the stuff leaves behind. I can't explain it other than that. 

We packed up our bikes with the intention of getting up early (at like 6) and driving down to the SCTC NYDay Spinny. Both bikes and trainers are in Chris' car as we speak. 

Slept like the dead for 10 hours last night. I so *SO* wish that the 3rd event  in a triathlon was SLEEP. Swim/Bike/Sleep. I'd totally win. I know I say this a lot, but seriously, NOBODY sleeps like I do. NOBODY. Out. Dead. Kaput. 

In the PHOTO FLIPPER, in commemoration of my sleepy friend Irish Peter, I give you a close up face shot of us @ the athlete dinner before IMWI 2009! Wheeeeeeeeeee!

MEET THE PALACE THUGS:

Orbit: AKA Scarface. Very vocal, very crotchety, somewhat curmudgeonly. Would like to be left alone. Defends himself when necessary but really just wants to walk around unmolested. Would like to be able to leave the confines of his office during the day. (Wouldn't we all?)

Quentin: AKA Sweetface. Everyone is his friend... until he decides they're not, and bites thru the meaty part of their arm. He moans, hisses, and is generally disgruntled around Orbit. Tolerates Molly. Obsessed with Orbit's litterbox and will scratch and scrape in it for (no exaggeration) an hour or longer, if we don't stop him. 

Molly: AKA The Mollinator. Will kill you. And eat you for sustenance. She tolerates nothing, attacks everything. Loves only her Mom, and only sometimes.

So tell me, what's the best way to get these jerks to get along? Molly and Orbit fought yesterday morning, ran into a door, and knocked the screws out of the hinges. Yes. You read that correctly. Look at poor Orbit's face! Although, to be fair, everyone has scars and scabs all over them... so I think the fights are pretty fair. Orbit just happened to take one in the face. Everyone has claws. Imagine the fun! 

Wait? What? You are interested in what I may do in terms of exercise today!?? Since this is not a feline behavioral forum and is, instead, an exercise log, I am here to inform you that I am going to try a spin class @ X-Sport tonight. 5:30. Provided I can get out of work at a decent hour. Stay tuned. 

7:24 PM: So I hoofed it back to X-Sport for another shot at Piloxing. It was easier this time... possibly because I knew what to expect, and possibly because I was more relaxed and able to think and concentrate... I wasn't so worried about what was coming next or what I was going to do next... 

Here's a video that shows pretty much what it is... barefoot... with some variations, obviously... but this is pretty much it:

PILOXING. DON'T JUST THINK YOU MAY BE UNCOORDINATED, CONFIRM IT!  Haha. Actually it's a decent workout if you check your ego at the door, and just try to DO IT.