Joan's randomness: October 2008 Archives

There's definitely a nip in the air this week, as we approach Halloween.

That, and some photos that Jo recently shared with me, got me thinking about this guy:

According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the woolly bear caterpillar's reddish-brown and black segments can predict how tough the winter will be. 'According to legend, the wider that middle brown section is, the milder the coming winter will be,' the almanac's Web site said. 'Conversely, a narrow brown band is said to predict a harsh winter.'

Anyone seen any of these furry friends? I'm taking a poll... what's your prediction for how many bad snowfalls we'll have in York County this winter? I'm HOPING it's one (or none!) but my bet goes to three severe storms. Comment... cast your vote!

This fall's election promises to be huge, no matter who you support.

So here's my public-service message: Read up on the issues and the candidates. Decide who you're going to pick. Then show up three weeks or so from now and vote!

Want some one-stop-shopping for election news? We're doing our best to offer both national updates plus news on local elections, like the Platts/Avillo race for the U.S. House. Check it out in our politics section.

And if you have an election question that you'd like answered (or, if you're a grammar Nazi, that you'd like TO HAVE answered), post a comment and I'll see what I can do.

Just because I haven't given one in a while, here's the latest on my workout routine:

I'm still doing it! Best friend Dan and I are going to Planet Fitness every Tuesday and Thursday, and alternating work on legs and arms using the Body for Life system. Those workouts get followed up by Myoplex protein shakes, and we try to fit in cardio on the off-days. (That's not 100 percent successful on either of our parts.)

We are also doing at least 20, sometimes up to 35 minutes of cardio after the legs or arms. And we're working abs each time we go.

I've kind of backed away from my run-a-5K plan in favor losing some FAT first and toning muscle, but it's not off the table. I still want to do it, but I think in the long run, this weight and cardio combination will help me get healther and stay that way.

More on my exercise saga:

Sept. 12: Run away! Run away!
Sept. 3: Still exercising
Aug. 20: Gettin' healthy

First of all, can I just say I have the most observant blog readers ever?

Second, I have to publicly apologize for posting documentation of my bad driving habits.

No, it is in no way safe to be driving 80 mph. And of course, it's even less safe to be doing that while taking a cameraphone photo.

I truly am sorry. Thank you all for worrying about me and calling me on it. I'll be honest, I didn't even NOTICE, either at the time I was doing it, or when I posted the picture, what my speed was.

Last Sunday, one of my best friends got ice time up at the Giant Center in Hershey with some of his hockey buddies. Being the third wheel that I am, I tagged along with him and his girlfriend so I could see him play.

And, of course, I forgot my "real" camera, though thankfully I had my cameraphone.

Here's the view from atop the main level of seats:

Here's the goofy goalie on the bench:

Here, we got him to pose for a pic.

Now, I don't know much about hockey players, but don't they usually look aggressive and tough, not... smiley? :)

Even so, this was not an odometer reading that I particularly loved hitting:

And by slightly better, I mean that you can see the color more accurately, not that this is a better photo of me. I'm not exactly photogenic by any means, but I seem to be doing even worse lately.

A certain photo-boy friend of mine is supposed to take some better pictures of me, but he's been busy doing PAID photography work (imagine that!)

Do they still do Glamour Shots any more? I had those done at the Olan Mills studio that used to be in the Manchester Crossroads shopping center when I was in about seventh grade. I still have some of those pics... I'll have to post a couple sometime!

I had mentioned last week that I was going to get my hair cut and dyed.

Well, I ended up not getting it cut much (just the ends and my bangs trimmed), even though I kind of wanted to.

But I did get a fairly drastic dye-job.

As you can see in the not-great picture at right... it's brown. It's actually even darker than it looks in the photo; that was taken with the sun behind me, so it looks a lot lighter.

At any rate, it's darker than my natural color, and darker than my hair has been since middle school! I'm not sure yet how I feel about it... it's only been a week, and I'm still getting used to it. Lots of people have said it looks longer dark. I don't know. (Even more people have said that I look like my friend and coworker Amy, who also has reddish brown hair.)

What do you think?