I have a soft spot for vintage 3D movies… okay, so I have a soft spot for vintage movies in general. Fortunately, the Laurelhurst Theatre is fabulous about bringing classic movies back to the big screen. No matter how many times you see it on video, nothing rivals seeing a movie in its full glory. This is why I try to see Casablanca *every* time the print comes to town.
Last night I dragged Aaron to see the Creature from the Black Lagoon in 3D. (Okay, so the dragging *really* wasn’t necessary… ) Yeah, the glasses give you a headache after a while, but the look and feel of vintage 3D is so cool! Amusing to watch the scientists chase after the Creature, alternating between trying to kill it or study it, depending on whether you were talking to the “power-hungry, jealous cuz he wasn’t getting any” scientist or the “I’ve got the girl, I’ve got the smarts, and I’m the most likeable character” scientist. Sure, the Creature killed a couple of lackeys, but only because he wanted the girl! It’s also regrettable that they didn’t do a follow-up flick with the Creature starring opposite Esther Williams — that would have been really fun!

Peppery chicken fried steak. Delectable gravy. Hashbrowns perfectly crisp. Eggs cooked the way I like them. Sourdough toast with just the right amount of butter. High octane coffee. I pushed aside the new eating regime for a morning to discover a taste of heaven hiding in my backyard.

Ever since I’ve moved to Portland I’ve been looking for the ultimate diner breakfast with incredible food, friendly staff, and reasonable prices. Up until this weekend when I was introduced to the Hollywood Burger Bar, nothing was quite right.

I can rejoice — I have finally found my “real breakfast” fix for those days when nothing else will do but tasty artery-clogging comfort food. Hooray!

I used to think that people who stop to read every nutrition label while grocery shopping were a bit obsessive, but since I’ve recently started doing it myself I’m in no position to cast stones. Some of the information is downright astonishing, like the frozen meals packaged like a single serving but detailed as 2.5 servings per container, 75% DV Sodium and 60% DV Total Fat per serving. While I’ve never actually seen Hungry Man’s All Day Breakfast on the freezer shelves, a meal that provides 231% of your suggested cholesterol intake in one shot must set some sort of record for unhealthy food.
I’ve switched to five little meals a day, lowered my fat intake, increased my protein, and I’m trying to keep my overall caloric consumption lower. My water bottle stays filled and goes with me everywhere. No more soda. Less coffee. Lots more fruit and veggies. Working out three times a week.
No, I was not kidnapped by aliens.
While I’d like to lose a few pounds, making a conscious decision to eat healthier is the bigger goal. Still sort of on the fence as to whether I would actually allow a bathroom scale into my house – historically I’ve refused to own one.
I’ve determined that it is nearly impossible to stay within the sodium guidelines, and that there aren’t nearly enough low-sodium alternatives available in traditional grocery stores. Dairy is one of my weaknesses, but I’m discovering that low-fat cottage cheese can be used as a substitute for a lot of my less healthy favorites. I’m having fun trying to transform some of my favorite recipes into healthier fare.

I finished the hat up this weekend, so I am on to a new project. It’s getting too warm to think of sweaters, so after perusing the back issues of Knitty I settled on the Cleo halter top.
Next stop? The Cozy Ewe. It is a mix of dangerous and convenient to have a yarn shop near my work. Becky and I found two really nice colors to double-strand for this project, and I was off to my Craft Night lickety-split.
I didn’t make as much progress as I wanted to because I had to wind the skeins into balls, and one skein I royally hosed and tangled beyond belief. It took over an hour and a half to untangle! Kim got frustrated with watching me play with it, so she took it to untangle after she showed me the correct way to unleash the skein for winding. I got the two final balls wound in less time than it took her to untangle the messed up one.
The good news is that I was finally able to get started on the pattern, and it is looking gorgeous after only five rows!
The bad news is that I knitted the incorrect row on the third and need to unravel to that point and pretty much start over again. At least I caught the error!
This is the first time I am knitting something that is not scarf, socks, or washcloth, so it is definitely a challenge.

At the beginning of the year I had been playing with some remnant yarn and tried knitting a hat without benefit of a pattern, which turned out rather badly. It wound up relatively flat with odd reduction rows.
We created a new game with it during Craft Night at Touchstone this evening: Knitting Frisbee! Kim and I spun the hat through the air frisbee-style, testing variables to determine the best way to make it fly. Spinning it upside-down worked best. The fringe on the outside helped with the aerodynamics, giving it weight to help it soar.
After a while we got the hang of throwing it, sending it back and forth with agility and speed until a wrong flick of the wrist would send the disc into the other room and Kim and I into hysterics.
A brainstorm we had was to turn this sort of thing into a two-part competition. First each participant has to knit a disc, then go through a testing phase to determine which discs fly the best.
Ahh, the science of knitting!