Janet is....

Learning. I am trying to learn a bit of Japanese before heading off to Tokyo for a month. It seems like a fairly easy language to speak.... very hooked on phonics kind of pronunciation. But I am not even gonna attempt to write this language. All those characters... eek! Of course, its all those characters that somehow has me all intimidated about my up coming trip to Japan. I have lived in friggin' New York City, but I am a little scared of Tokyo. I am pretty sure it is the language barrier that is causing the anxiety.


Purchasing. After my old Minolta digital SLR conked out on me down in Miami, I broke down last night and bought the Canon 40D that I had my eye on. It was time and I'll have the Tokyo trip to get used to the new toy. I traded in most of my entire Minolta camera set which included 1 camera body, 4 lenses, and a gaggle of other accessories. Unfortunately, due to the digital bodies recent fit, I was unable to t5rade it in... and it was by far the most valuable thing in my Minolta collection. Crap. I got in return (plus a some added dinero) and Canon 40D body, a 17-85 IS lens, and a 28-300 IS super zoom lens. Its a start and I am looking forward to trying it out.



Reading. A while back, I read Cormack McCarthy's The Road. I really loved the book even though it is a bit grim. I really liked the way in which McCarthy tells his stories; not your normal style of storytelling prose. So, I am now reading his No Country for Old Men. I heard the movie (now an Academy Award winner) was a bit violent and to an extent the book is too, but I guess not any greater in violence than any Bourne movie I've seen recently. Of course, the main difference is that a lot of the violence in this book is that horrible random acts of violence kind. It's disturbing. Even more disturbing is that there are probably actually folks like this out there in real life. It's a good book so far and I am enjoying reading it.




Cooking. Tonight I am making Cincinnati Style Chili. I am having a diner party tomorrow night and the guest of honor is a friend, who like me, grew up in Ohio. So Cincy chili it is. I LOVE the stuff, but it can be an acquired taste. Its not like the chili most people eat. It is basically a meat-y spaghetti sauce kind of spiced chili that you put over spaghetti or make into coney dogs.... my favorite. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Can't wait!

Janet is.....

Enjoying: The fun that was Superbowl Sunday. I didn't really care who won the game, but I was thrilled it was close and exciting. Bravo to the Giants for a great game and bravo to Eli Manning for stepping out of his big bro's shadow.

I hosted a party for the game and we had a great time grilling out on the deck, socializing, and cheering on the game. And I actually had guests who helped me clean up before they left. How nice is that?!!


Replacing: My trusty old Foodsaver Vacuum Sealer finally bit it and went to the 'ol kitchen appliance heaven in the sky. Poor thing just couldn't hold its seal anymore. But since I LOVE my vacuum sealer and save so much money in keeping food unspoiled (especially cheese), I went out and bought a new Foodsaver unit.


Traveling: Next week, I am headed to Miami, FL for a two-week business trip. Miami in February! Rough, I know. I am looking forward to the training class as I think it will be a great learning opportunity, but I am also looking forward to a few of the off-work hours activities. I am taking my camera and hope to spend some time in the Everglades National Park and maybe the Florida Keys.

Hoping: I have always wanted to see a Space Shuttle launch live and in person. To see the shuttle clear the tower and hear and feel the roar of the rockets as they lift the Shuttle into Space would be awesome. Unfortunately, I arrive in Florida 3 days to late, so here's hoping that the Shuttle launch gets delayed until Feb 10th (shuttle is set to launch on Feb 7th @ 2:45pm). Hey NASA, a launch anytime on Sunday the 10th would be best for me, so pleasepleaseplease delay until then. :-) If NASA can't accomodate me, then my co-worker and I still plan on heading up to Kennedy Space Center for a tour of the facility.



Purchasing: I have been using my old trusty iPod during workouts for a while now and have found it to be just so big and bulky. It's way to big to clip onto the workout gear and I certainly don't need the 2,000 plus songs the large iPod holds. So I visited the always fun Apple Store and got myself this cute little iPod Shuffle. It perfectly holds my workout playlist and weighs next to nothing. I also got an armband and some new earphones that actually may stay in my midget sized ears. I also spent a few minutes drooling over the MacBook Air.... *sigh*.

Janet is.....

Reading: Currently working through Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris. A subtly funny book about life in the corporate world during a time of layoffs.









Buying: A Tokidoki by LeSportsac purse. I happened by the display in Macys and fell in love with these cute purses with adorable Japanese style designs. Its the most I have ever paid for a purse, but I have gotten so many complements on it. My design is slightly different than the one shown here. My design is called Transporto and has all modes of transportation on it from high speed rail to hot air balloon to skateboard.




Cooking: In my current effort at eating healthier and loosing weight, I discovered this recipe for Oven Fried Chicken. I made it last night for myself and some friends who were over watching the football games. The chicken came out quite well and is fairly good for you.




Pondering: I currently have a Minolta Maxxum 5D Digital SLR, but due to Minolta's exit from the camera world, I am looking to finally make the leap over to Canon equipment. Which means basically starting over.... I really like this little baby pictured here. A Canon 40D Digital SLR. Great rating with lots of features.






Watching: I caught the new show, Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles on Fox the other night and to my surprise, it was good. Along with the rest of the world, I had seen the 3 Terminators movies and this TV show nicely fits, plot-wise, into the Terminator world. I also must add that the kid playing 15 year old John Conner in hte TV series has an amazing similarity to the actor, Michael Biehn, who played Kyle Reese, John's father, in the very first Terminator movie. It's good fun for TV and I am enjoying watching.