In other news...

While the news of the previous post has been pretty foremost in our thoughts, I did happen to live the life of Jimmy through it as well:

Friday Night was launch night for the new workout programs... and I did two in a row: Weights and Dance. And I loved both of them: I really want/need to make time for 1-2 dance classes a week in addition to my weights class. It's good cardio, and the moves and coordination are a real challenge. Also, it's fun to wiggle my hips.

Saturday I discovered that the people who do the ChinesePod lessons that I love so much have done a SPANISH site: www.spanishsense.com And the lessons are fantastic - I'm at the intermediate level, so they're quite challenging but rewarding. So yes, I'm actively working on Japanese, Spanish, and Chinese. I just don't want the Spanish to get stale... It's the one language I could actually use daily around here, and I should really get more comfortable with it.

While the language tapes I've used (Pimsleur) have been very good, they're very focused around business language - small talk about kids, introductions, travel. All conversation forms are around the formal "you" (vous, usted, ihnen). They're not everyday conversational. And that's where the Chinesepod/Spanishsense lessons really shine - they're focused around conversations you might have with a coworker or friend. And the lessons are around 10-14 minutes, which is perfect for my commute.

Book: Yes, the second BrainChallenge book is finally in print: http://stores.lulu.com/brainready (it'll be at Amazon in a month or two - but we'll get less mo-nay for it, so go on and buy it here.) I do note that while it's available for download for a few fewer dollars, the book form really is the best package, for the Challenges at least.

Life: We spent a LOT of time this weekend enjoying the sunshine and being outside in "the big room". Bella has pink cheeks, as do I. The neighborhood came alive, with the kids starting a lemonade stand and playing tag in the front yards... Even Isaac was enjoying some outside time - he was pleased to hear how his delighted shrieks echoed in the world.

Finally, with the craziness of the weekend (and not always the good crazy), I didn't have time to make that American Idol contest entry: It had a good hook, but the lyrics... meh. I just don't do lyrics that well, and I especially can't do lyrics when I'm trying to target it toward sometone that I'm not (Joe and Jasmine America).

PS - in the NYTIMEs crossword this AM (last Sunday's for most others - we have a one week delay in our local paper), a clue was "Different World Actress" - Awwww YEAH you know I love that JASMINEGUY. I even had her single back then.