I check Xanga 2-5 times daily (depending on the kind of day I'm having) and have noticed that some older posts keep bouncing back up to the top.  Like this one.

If your post isn't getting enough attention, do you turn into a time stamp whore and adjust the date and time so it pops back up to the top of your friends' lists?

(Note: If you are offended by the word whore after time stamp, then I can assume your answer is yes.)

After reading Tyche's entry that included a bit about the Hunger Games I decided to read them, so I put them on my "Kindle Books" wish list for Christmas.  I am currently reading the third book.  The first book was very engaging - it read like a futuristic Philip K. Dick novel.  The second book wasn't quite as engaging, IMHO.  So far the third book is not grabbing me.  I hope it does!  I'll continue reading to the end. 

This is a series put out by Scholastic Books.  They should have a PG-13 rating on them, though.  They are quite violent.  Harry Potter is definitely safe. 

Last night a friend and I went to a Sweet Adelines rehearsal nearby.  There were five of us who were new, and the director took us out in the hall and had us sing "Row Row Row your boat" in several keys.  Because I could hit the lower notes so strongly, she suggested I sing "Bass"

Sweet Adelines is a barbershop group and the music is written for tenor, lead, baritone and bass.  It's like the melody accompanied by a three part harmony.  So tenor is like high soprano (although it really doesn't get that high - maybe the G above the staff if you read music.)  Lead is like mezzo-soprano (and as the name suggests, sings the melody).  Baritone is like a high alto, and bass is a low alto.

I have a 2 1/2 octave range so I could have sang any of them, but I guess they need strong voices at the bottom, so she suggested bass.

It was fun.  There is no accompaniment, just a pitch pipe for the key.  The director is very good at sight singing and was able to sing all the parts for each section on a new song they were learning.  I was standing next to the assistant director who also sings bass and at the end of the night she complimented me and said I did an awesome job and that I must be a 'reader' because I was able to sing the right notes of a song I didn't know.  I guess my sight-singing and ear-training class my last semester a few years ago is coming in handy

So they want newbies to attend at least three rehearsals before committing, then they have to 'audition' by singing their part of a four-part harmony, although they will have someone with them who sings the same part for help if needed.

I'm not used to standing for so long.  My feet were numb and tingly after two hours.  I was glad we got a break!  I took my friend Sheri with me.  She used to sing in a different chapter of the Sweet Adelines.  She had degenerative disc disease and is on disability retirement because of it so after an hour she had to sit down.

I think this is going to be fun.  They have a performance coming up in February at a hockey game for one of the Michigan minor league teams.  There is a competition in May in Dearborn.  I don't know if it's regional or national. 

My favorite quote:  A goal without a plan is just a wish. --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

So here are my goals and plans:

Goal #1: Lose weight (doesn't everyone make this goal?)

Plan: Follow the plans for goals 2 and 3.

Goal #2: Lower Cholesterol

Plan: Since I can't take cholesterol meds because of my liver condition, I need to eat better - so I'm going to go vegetarian (cholesterol is from animal products) and exercise more.  Roger got me an XBox 360 for Christmas, as well as a Dance video and a Workout Video.  I plan to do them every day, working up to one hour a day (maybe two 1/2 hour sessions.)  I tried the dance video last night and it was a blast (if you overlook that I have two left feet!)

Goal #3: Have an A1c that is less than 6.5

Plan: Get back to eating only healthy foods, monitor my glucose levels OFTEN (every morning, every night and before every meal and even more if I get the urge to check), take meds without fail as prescribed.  I've put a kit in the kitchen (meter, test strips, lancets, glucose pen) as well as one in the bathroom so I should never forget.  And when I go somewhere, I can easily grab the one in the kitchen so I have no excuse not to inject before a meal.

These are not just "I should do these" goals.  These are "If I don't accomplish these, I'm probably not going to be around next year to see how I did." 

I had my last session with my physical therapist last Tuesday and today my shoulder is bothering me again.  Why?  Well...because I haven't done any of the home exercises I was given to do.  This makes me realize the therapy doesn't end when my insurance company says it ends.  It ends when my shoulder no longer bothers me.  So I'm off to start my own PT program.