Spin Class is going well, Thank You.

Remember this post? Yeah, well, as of last week I still hadn't stepped foot in a yoga studio or a spin class. But I was gently reminded of my agreement with myself regarding my "BP" as we walked into Thanksgiving Dinner #3 & people promptly asked me how spin & yoga are. hmmm, maybe I should go so I could tell them.

Later on I signed into my myspace page to find a comment from an old college friend asking yet again how spin class was going. I laughed outloud & showed the comment to Handsome Randy who asked what I was going to tell her. Nothing; how can you reply when the answer is "I don't know, I haven't gone"?

So, Monday morning I woke up early (for me) with the gracious help of Handsome Randy and, in a zombie state, I traveled to my local ywca to partake in early morning spin class. Though times have changed since last winter, now it is simply called "cycle". I felt so good when it was over and even called my friend Jenny to tell her about it.

So getting there the first time is tough, but sometimes going back can be harder. So true.
This morning I arrived at the Y about 30 minutes too late for spin, er, cycle, but I did have one hell of a workout on the elliptical. And for that I can thank Le Tigre's "Deceptacon" for making me move. When it came up on my Ipod playlist I moved and grooved and bopped my head as though I was on a dance floor. I can only imagine what the woman next to me thought as she read and ellipticized. I feel really great & I almost am looking forward to the elliptical & deceptacon tomorrow morning.

Thanks for asking me about spin & yoga - if you hadn't I might still be putting off my BP action plan until next week, or maybe the week after...

xoxx

"13 Seconds in August"

this is a nice __________ (something, I can't decide yet: tribute, honorum, memorium) for those who were on the 35W bridge when it collapsed.
xoxx

a pefect sunday.

I caught up over brunch at victor's & a walk around Lake Calhoun with my great friend, Miako who recently played lots of phone tag me and endured many canceled plans on my part. Later, I had a few really nice finds thrifting at Savers. A little time with Handsome Randy before I headed off to psycho suzi's to have a beer and some pickle roll ups with my pal, Josh who was in town from New York. And what would a Sunday night be for me if I didn't end up at my aunt PAL's? I arrived around 11, beer and pickle roll ups on my breath in time to watch the day's episode of Brothers and Sisters (via the technology of VHS recordings, thank you very much) as I enjoyed a nice refreshing RC and caught up on family gossip. My last stop was grumpy's ne where I crashed a "bro down" in order to give Handsome Randy his biking gloves he'd left behind on Thanksgiving. I chugged a small glass of magner's leaving HR and his Bros to continue downing whiskey and old yarns. My final stop was walgreens. My hairdye is on sale this week for $4 off and I thought I'd stock up.

Catching up with 2 good friends, thrift store finds, family gossip over RC, cheap hair dye and being the sole reason a "bro down" takes a recess. Nothing more could have made my sunday more perfect.

xoxx

Today I cried at Valvoline Oil Change.

This is why.

I was reading the metro section while we waited for the oil on The Blaze to be changed. I was struck by the photo attached to this article and as I read the article I welled up (which is not that uncommon) and soon was silently crying. Nobody else knew in the room, not even Handsome Randy.

It was the last sentence that got me.

xoxx

four.

Yesterday was one for the record books.

It was Thanksgiving x 4 for Handsome Randy and I. Round trip, we traveled 25 miles to 4 houses and ate 4 dinners with 33 different relatives. We left our house at 12:30 and returned home around 11 pm. It was a great day, one that entailed lots and lots of really good food. Ready for this? We ate...

4 Turkeys
1 Ham
5 varieties of stuffings
3 bowls of cranberries
2 green bean casseroles
1 corn bake
4 mashed potatoes
1 apple salad
1 spinach salad
1 cole slaw
1 greek salad
4 yams, all different styles
1 dish of jello
1 creamed onions
4 gravies
5 glasses of wine
1 pepsi
1 piece of apple pie
1 piece of pumpkin


we did good; we paced ourselves and even arrived at our final dinner a little bit hungry. Now next year, maybe we'll shoot for five...

xoxx

another favorite shot.

I took this last June of Longshot, often on the road touring with psalm one. probably coming to a city near you..
xoxx

Meet Wyatt.

My cousin, Heather gave birth to a healthy baby boy on Friday afternoon. Wyatt Robert Hanson came in at 6lbs & 8oz. His arrival has been much anticipated in my family as our youngest member is 17!

What a sweet little baby he is, I can't wait to get to know him more!

For more photos of Wyatt go here

xoxx

mpls/st.paul talk

This is headline news in the Twin Cities today. It's the talk all over, I even overheard two people discussing it on the skyway this afternoon.

It is a big deal, that is for sure. But I feel for the mom. Growing up with a single mom from age 3 on & working with single moms in the social service sector I get where she's coming from & I hope child protection does too.

I'll keep you posted on this one.

xoxx

touche.

I clapped my hands when I spotted this.
xoxx

Now That Ain't Hip Hop

This review of The Hip Hop Live show on Sunday night in Minneapolis set me off on quite a rant today.

A link to the review was posted on mnspeak & I commented giving an abreviated version of what I was thinking so my point would not be lost.

But, alas, I have a blog. So I can continue my response, a little subdued now, but none the less here it is.

This review made me really, really mad. As I worked my shift tonight I tried to figure out exactly what made me see so much red from reading it. I think back to that show on Sunday night & feel lucky to not only have witnessed the show, which was phenomenal, but to have been a part of that crowd. A friend of mine called me yesterday and we gushed about the show together and agreed that if we had the opportunity to travel to another city to see it we would. This is how good it was. Okay, well that's my review of the show, I guess. Despite that, reading Marsh's review really brought me down. I can tell myself as much as I want that race is irrelevant in this - and to me it is - but I realize that for some it is striking to walk into a Hip Hop show & find a colorful crowd raising their hands in the air together, and it should be. It's a beautiful thing. But when you're on that plane and find yourself reading the term "white negro" in a context that is quite sincere it's infuriating, especially when the opening sentence of the column contains an equally odious name & it's all in the name of stereotyping. Aren't we beyond that? I do believe so.

I imagine Steve Marsh discovering Norman Mailer's "White Negro" essay & excitedly saving it for just the right show to review not even realizing how offensive the whole idea is because, well, he's Steve Marsh. Or perhaps I'm giving him too much credit & he knew how offensive & heinous it was but just didn't give a damn.

Shame on him either way.

xoxx

my BP.

In the Spring of 2002 I was about 15 - 20 pounds heavier than I am presently. I was determined to lose the weight & be healthier. I put together a plan of action and called it "The Dahli Beautification Project" or "The BP". It worked. I lost the weight in a couple of months, acquired better eating habits and felt better than I had in years.

I still feel pretty good, but every year about this time I notice that my daily work outs have become bi-monthly & I tend to justify eating pasta with heavy cream sauces more often (it'll make me feel warmer, I say). Ha! Maybe so, but not in the manner I'm imagining, in another that involves pants worn with the top button undone & lots of guilt. But having had a summer that left me feeling really, really good, I am determined to keep that feeling & not wait until January to do something about it.

I have just comprised a BP for 07.

Less cream sauce, more appearances to be made at spin class and yoga & more walks, snow or shine.

I am blogging it so I stick to it. You see, it's now in writing and I encourage you to ask me how spin class and yoga is going next time we meet - then I will keep on keepin' on..and go & work out. for real.

xoxx

a favourite shot.

visit from dad + 3 Hip Hop Shows + dinner at Fogo De Chao = a very busy weekend & plenty of photos.

Here's one of my favs...

I took this at the Atmosphere show on Saturday night at First Avenue.

xoxx

judging books by their covers.

A few days ago, I was in a book store looking for a book. Nothing specific, just a nice work of fiction to read as I fall asleep at night. As I made my way through the fiction section at my local bookseller I became conscious of my book choosing behavior.

First I go to the shelves of favorite authors, Joyce Carol Oates is one, Edgewidge Danticat is another. I stay open to anything appealing I may stumble across along the way. Next I peruse the tables and the endcaps. I end up wandering around with an armfull of books and sit down to look through them all in order to whittle it down to the one.

In the end a few factors ultimately help me make a decision: I like to support women authors, so I look at that, I also think carefully about the story at hand and the price matters too. But what I really, truly tend to depend on is cover art. seriously. I know it goes against the classic saying, but I just can't help it. There are some pretty amazing & appealing covers out there.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is a shining example. This also happens to be the book I purchased and am currently reading. The cover art is quite lovely and completely caught my eye. The book itself is a fantastic work of fiction and came highly recommended by a number of friends. But in the end, as I stood at there, trying to pick one of three books to purchase the cover is what sealed the deal.

xoxx

& he's back.

Handsome Randy arrived early saturday morning cold & a little banged up. But I'm happy to have him home in any form. I've been taking photos of him as if he's about to go out of style & he's reveling in the bask of my flashbulb. yeah right.

xoxx

Here's to Hattie

Tonight, Handsome Randy & I were lying on the sofa flipping through cable channels & stumbled upon the last hour of Gone With the Wind. We watched sort of half giggling at various film elements especially the gender roles. Rhett Butler was a "Man's Man" without any question and as a person who holds a degree in Women's Studies Scarlet O'Hara/Butler gives me many reasons to shake my head.

That aside, the progressiveness of the film was not lost on us. The role of "Mammy" played by Hattie McDaniel lead to the first Oscar nomination and win of an African American. As we watched the conclusion of this landmark film we marveled at her and her role.

xoxx

pretty good, for Halloween.

I had a great Halloween. I think one of the best ever.
Pippi Longstocking was a hit & I had a fantastic time at work as her. She gave me a bounce in my step and a twinkle in my eye.
Work was preceded by a nice adventure with my friend, Anthony. I ran into Anthony unexpectedly and finally ended up at Grumpy's Downtown, a bar Handsome Randy & I frequent.
This is the best part of the night...
Anthony & I sit down at the bar and order a couple of pints. When they arrive we are invited to carve pumpkins. So we do & it's really fun We eat tater tots & concentrate hard on our masterpieces not saying a word to one another for moments at a time. We're nearly done when server Kim comes over and declares to Anthony that she hopes he wins.
Wins what?
The Pumpkin Carving contest.
!! We had no idea.
We press on and smirk over the prospect of Anthony winning and laugh about if he really would win..ha ha ha.
Well guess what? He does! He won the contest. We couldn't believe it.





















Anthony's Winning Jack O' Lantern & My Keebler Elf look alike
Happy Halloween!
xoxx