...and replaced by Ikea.

Fortunately, the closest store is in Tempe, which is about an hour and a half drive from here.

I've been on a home organization kick. Well, I've been on an I-should-get-organized-and-live-a-more-grownup-life kick. So I was looking on the Ikea website on Friday night for some quality inexpensive modern Scandinavian furniture, which is the style (and price!) I like. I found a couple of pieces but didn't do anything with that information.

The next morning, I received a text message from Jason inviting me to join him on a trip to the Ikea store that day. Creepy coincidence or kismet?

For a variety of reasons, I decided to forgo my three-hour Saturday yoga practice in favor of joining Jason on a jaunt to what I now call the Promised Land.

That place is magic!

I ended up only buying a lamp and some storage boxes because the flat-packed furniture I was eying wouldn't fit in Jason's Prius. I figured I'd just order it online and have it shipped, but that almost doubles the price!

Fortunately for me, I have a friend with a minivan who offered to take a road trip with me. Thanks Hillz!

Inspired by all this chic furniture, I finally cleaned out my walk-in closet last night, which was long overdue for a solid cleaning/reorganizing.

Now I have an old dresser with two of five drawers broken that I was tempted to "repurpose" into a secretary desk. Upon further consideration, and remembering that I'm not really very good at that kind of thing, I may just trash it when Ikea has much better furniture at affordable prices.

So thanks to Jason for popping my Ikea cherry.

And fear not, Target may no longer be #1, but it's still near and dear to my heart: Hillary and I spent a good two hours there yesterday!

Labels: Hillary, Ikea, Jason, not really newsworthy, personal, Target

I went to Target tonight to pick up a Bluetooth headset and protective case for my new smart phone. They had a limited selection and I could have chosen items from what was in stock, but none of it really did it for me. I then walked through the rest of store (as I generally do), and walked right out without making a single purchase.

Self-discipline. How unexpected.

Labels: Palm Treo 700wx, self-awareness, Target

Because I know you're all just clamoring to know what's on my mind and leave your own comments...

• Everybody sing along..."When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, 'what should I be? Should I be pretty? Should I be smart? Here's what she said to me...'"


• I may have a slight Target problem, but I can quit any time I want. Really.


• For what it's worth 10 months before a single vote will be cast, I'm supporting black horse candidate and current New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson for the Democratic nomination for President. His resume is more comprehensive and impressive than any of the other candidates - former member of Congress, former Secretary of Energy, former UN Ambassador and now Governor of a rapidly growing state in the mountain west. I got behind Howard Dean five years ago because of his experience and record as Governor of Vermont.
  
  Also, the last time a Democratic member of Congress won the Presidency, we were at the start of the Cold War and career options for women were limited to nurse, actress, teacher, model, ballet dancer and airline hostess(see item 1 above). Not a reason to vote for Richardson above the others in itself, but history can be instructive.


• I can definitely feel the difference when I go to yoga class versus when I don't. I went last night and this morning and I feel better than I have most of the rest of the week when I didn't get to go. So who's joining me tomorrow or next week?


• I'm still house hunting, and very little of what's on Craig's List or in the papers meets my needs. Who wants to go riding around town with me hunting For Rent signs?


• V-Day Tucson 2007 is next Friday and Saturday at the Fox Tucson Theatre. Publicity has been less than visible this year, so please consider purchasing tickets (available through the Fox's website or at various retailers around town). It's for a good cause and some really deserving people are being recognized for their work at intermission on the 16th.
  
  Please note, I no longer manage the V-Day Tucson website, so comments about the layout and/or outdated content can be directed to this year's organizer.


• I meant to post before Progressive Lobby Day at the Arizona legislature on Tuesday but didn't get around to it. I have to say I was pretty impressed, having participated in my share of lobby days back in Albany. Giving credit where it's due, AHRF did a hell of a job herding the progressive cats. We were also graced by the presence of a number of legislators from both parties, demonstrating that our common causes may not be as hopeless as we're sometimes led to believe. Thanks to those legislators who broke bread with us, and especially Senator Aboud for introducing our group, which filled the Senate gallery, from the floor.


• Are these not the cutest shoes ever? They're totally mine come next payday.


• My dear sister wins a prize for correctly guessing (or remembering!) who Ilene Graff is, without the assistance of IMDB. I don't know just what that prize is yet, but kudos to you, Deb!


• Speaking of both my musical sibling and fellow IC alums, don't forget to tune into "Grease: You're The One That I Want" tomorrow night (NBC, 7/6c) and vote for Kevin Greene to win the role of Danny in the latest Broadway revival. I'm going to tune in despite the fact that Andrew Lloyd Webber is a guest judge.


• A childhood dream come true.


• Speaking of movies I intend to see when they come out...


• And finally, since I'm on the topic of movies, the SHORTBUS DVD comes out on March 13.

Update, 4:42 PM: I meant to mention this when I wrote the original post, but Leonard Clark, the Iraq War veteran who tried to mount a primary challenge to Jim Pederson for the Senate nomination last year, is working on filing a petition to recall Senator Double-Talk himself. Cliff Schecter's original post mentions that there's no legal mechanism for recalling an elected federal official. Based on a cursory glance at state laws, this does not appear to be true, as Arizona law does apparently provide for the recall of any elected official: see these three statutes (that last one in particular specifies that members of Congress are included among those who may be recalled). If I read the law correctly, Clark would need to get signatures from a number of registered Arizona voters equal to 25% of the number of total votes cast in last year's Senate election for all candidates for the recall to make the ballot at the next statewide consolidated election. The recall would be an almost vertical uphill battle, but it sure could put a dent in the ole Double-Talk Express.

Labels: alumni, AZ Legislature, Bill Richardson, gift giving, Ithaca College, moving, musicals, personal, Pres-08, Progressive Lobby Day, self-care, social justice, Target, V-Day, women's rights, yoga

I should probably stay home and rest until I kick this nascent cold for good, but I'm so close to the end of the maha challenge I can smell it. Maybe I should do laundry more than once a week.

Tonight's class was nice and small, but I didn't feel like I got much more personal attention than when the class is packed with 40 or more students. I don't know if that means that my alignment is good and I don't need much help or if they think I'm just a lost cause or somewhere in between. Regardless, I'd like a little more feedback. I guess that's what private lessons are for.

We were all about the shoulders tonight. Shoulder stands were the pose of the night. I've always, since I was very young, been able to come into a shoulder stand with ease. I was surprised to find myself at the end of class a little disappointed that we didn't do more hip openers. I guess I've become spoiled by how loose my hips generally are at the end of a practice. That wasn't the case tonight and I missed the feeling.

I feel like I'm pushing this sore throat out as fast as possible. My hope is that it'll be gone for good by morning.

In completely unrelated news, I won a $25 Target gift card today in a door prize raffle at our all-staff half day meeting this morning. They are totally enabling my unhealthy Target habits.

Maybe I'll finally get that scratching post for Leif that I've had my eye on.

Labels: Leif, personal, Target, yoga

Pretty crowded class tonight, though I think it was more crowded last night. There were a couple of people in class with me tonight who I knew BY (before yoga), so that fun to experience them in that environment.

Tonight's theme was about the essence of yoga. Yoga literally means a union, joining or yoking. As Bruce explained it (again, working from memory, I may not have this quite right), it's about matching who you actually are with your perception of yourself and vice versa.

Again, this resonated with me. I've been told time and again that I am frighteningly self-aware. But I've also been criticized - and rightfully so - because I at least know where my weaknesses have historically been, but have done nothing to strengthen myself.

Until now, of course.

It was actually Chad who put it so bluntly and also led me to this door. I opened the door and walked through it myself, but he gave me the kick in the ass in the right direction that I needed.

I think it's fair to say that I'm becoming more a man of action than ever before. I'm working to embody that joining of who I am with who I know I can be.

On a largely unrelated topic: I'm starting to worry a little about my Target spending habits. I had to go there tonight to pick up a few household items. I ended up leaving the store with, among other things, a new bathroom scale that also measures body fat. I've never owned a bathroom scale before, let alone one that measures body fat.

I won't reveal my weight (a lady never tells!), but I'm very pleased to report that I have 7.1% body fat.

Apparently, that's excellent according to the Homedics user guide.

Labels: body fat, personal, self-awareness, Target, yoga