Saturday, December 02, 2006

Taking A Break

Things have been really busy with school lately. Lots and lots of group projects - meetings, presentations and papers. But, I've been taking some breaks to enjoy myself. Thursday night I decorated my apartment for Christmas. It took me all of 15 minutes since I only decorate inside and my apartment isn't that big. I found a Christmas "radio" station on the Internet and rocked out to golden Christmas oldies while I decorated. It was fun! Last night my mom was in town. She had been in town this week for a conference, which ended yesterday. We went to dinner and hung out in the hotel bar. It was one of those sky bars with windows looking down on the city. It rotated! It was so subtle I almost didn't notice! It is always nice to hang out with mom. I made good food choices - broiled salmon cakes and cucumber salad, but I drank way too much beer. That's why I have stopped keeping it in the fridge. It's too tempting. I love beer. But I have been much better today. No beer. And I haven't used any flex points.

I've done a bunch of work for school tonight, so I am taking a break. But I have more to do. I have a group meeting tomorrow at 1pm that I have to prepare for. I'm not looking forward to it. Classes are done December 12th and all my papers and projects will be done by December 20th. I can't wait! I'm not doing anything Christmas-y, except decorating, until I go to my parents in Vegas at the end of the month. Maybe I'll listen to some Christmas music on Pandora <http://www.pandora.com/> while I prep for tomorrow's meeting. You've got to check out Pandora if you haven't already. It's this internet music radio station that plays songs based on your last selection. They have analyzed half a million songs over the past century and the algorithms search for like characteristics and play songs they think you'll like based on your initial selection. It's great!

Does anybody swim laps for exercise? I've been thinking about starting now that water aerobics is over. The next session won't start until the end of January. I love the idea. I just find it so monotonous. They have music playing under the water, which should help, but it is hard to hear it.

6 comments:

Amazon Alanna said...

I have a close friend who is a swimmer and her parents got her a swimP3 player...she totally loves it and it makes the miles and miles that she swims go by so much faster. The neat thing about it is if you try to listen to it above the water, it doesn't sound right, but it sounds perfect under the water...maybe it's something to put on your holiday gift list...

Kimberly said...

Music under the water! How cool!

If you're looking for a good Christmas station, my local one broadcasts online as well, although I don't know if you can get it outside this area. It's www.k103.com

Happy holidays and take it easy with all the school stuff.

TrixieBelden said...

Alanna,

Thanks for the tip about swimP3. I might invest if I keep up with the swimming. I went today, which was good.

Take care,

Trixie

TrixieBelden said...

Kimberly,

Yeah, it is cool, but they didn't have the music on this morning when I went. Somehow I managed without it :)

I'm going to check out your station tomorrow when I start writing one of my many papers.

Congrats again on the 5 lbs. That's awesome!

Take care,

Trixie

Lori G. said...

That's really cool that they pipe in music underwater. Lucky you! I'll have to look at the swimP3 player too. But there's something to be said for just steadily going and doing laps. I'm glad you had a good time swimming Trixie.

Have a good holiday and enjoy your break from school.

TrixieBelden said...

Hey Lori,

I know what you mean about just swimming laps. Sometimes it can be relaxing. I just talked to a friend of mine from school who is part of the masters swim club. She says they practice 3x a week for an hour and a half. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that, but she says there's people of all levels. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Holidays!

Trixie