Hairplanes!

Hairplane Spotting

Avery and I went "hairplane" spotting this morning.  I packed up a bunch of snacks and we headed to the top deck of the airport parking garage to watch planes take-off and land.  It was quite a good view and Avery really enjoyed it, though she spent a lot of time simply climbing from one area of the car to another, then telling me to do the same.  However, it was a fun outing.  We'll try it again, but next time I think we'll try N Marine Dr as a watch point since we have to pay for parking at PDX while we're there. 

Weird People

On the upper deck of the parking lot, I saw several airplane spotters: people watching, videoing, and photographing each landing.  They seemed less interested in the take-offs.  Why anyone would want to watch commercial airlines land is beyond me.  I was there to entertain my toddler; they were there to entertain themselves.  I get watching fighter jets land or take off, but commercial airlines?  To each his own, but man, that's a weird hobby.

Cough = much better

Avery was able to sleep in her own bed last night, which is another way of saying her cough is way better, as is her runny nose.  It's still a wet cough, but I feel like she's well on her way to getting better.  Now the question is whether her dry cough return after the antibiotics are done. It was a bummer to miss the brunches this weekend, but it was probably for the best that we stayed in and got lots of rest. 

Today she seems to need more sleep than usual.  She fell asleep in the car on the way back from spotting airplanes, slept there for an hour, woke up for an hour, and has now requested that she take another nap.  As to whether this second nap will actually happen, that remains to be seen.  All signs point to good things - fingers crossed!

Google Reader

Two new features (new as of when, I cannot say) of Google Reader have come in quite handy recently. 

First, I have found several new blogs to read by clicking the arrow next to a blog I follow, then selecting "More like this one."

Second, you can now put in any web page as a URL to follow, even if it's not a traditional RSS feed. When changes are made to that page, Google Reader will let you know what changes have been made.  I tested out this functionality by monitoring the Tea clothing sale section.  While I can't say for sure that it has notified me for every change (since I don't check the site often), I can say that each time I've been notified there are have been new items in the sale section. 

Jamie Oliver Food Revolution

When I watch The Biggest Loser, which isn't all that often any more, I can sit there and eat my way through the show without feeling at all bad about it.  For whatever reason, the show does not inspire me to eat differently.  It does, sometimes, inspire me to workout.  When I watched the sneak preview for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution last night, however, I had to pause mid way through to get some healthy food.  I snacked on a head of raw broccoli while watching shot after shot of pizza, burgers, fries, donuts, and a variety of other fried foods.  The site of all the grease just disgusted me that I needed something pure to calm my stomach.  Then, this morning, I skipped my usual Diet Coke for breakfast and subbed in green tea.  I ate salad and miso soup instead of a bagel drowning in butter. 

I've never had a show make an impact on me for much longer than a few hours.  I think what pushed me over the edge was the wretched lunch lady.  She is exactly the type of person whom I loathe.  If me eating better puts me further away from who she is, then I'm a happy camper.  Regardless of how long my little healthy eating diversion lasts, picturing her face is a powerful motivator.