Rambling about e-readers and "Losing it with Jillian"

After the excitement of our short trip to Mount St. Helens, and then the excitement of meeting Ali and Ron and spending the afternoon and evening with them, this morning it was nice to sleep in and relax.  I resumed my usual weekly get-together with a couple of my good friends.  We usually meet in the coffee shop section of Barnes and Noble.  It's a nice place to meet, and other people must think so too, because they were crowded today.  Maybe it was that it was still raining.  What better place to spend a rainy afternoon than at a bookstore? 

Barnes and Noble is touting their new e-reader, the Nook.  It looks like a nice machine.  Whether or not it's better than the Kindle, I don't know.  At this point I can't justify getting an e-reader, but if we traveled more it would be really handy to be able to carry all those books in a little e-reader.  I'm such a library fan, though, that it would hurt me to have to buy, rather than borrow, all the books that I want to read.

The Nook e-reader.  Is this the way of the future?

On another topic, because of the rain, we had to exercise indoors again today.  We watch TV while we exercise because it distracts us, makes the time go faster, and kills two birds with one stone.  Today's program of choice was Jillian Michaels' new program on NBC, "Losing It With Jillian".  It's an hour-long show which features Jillian coming to people's homes for a week to teach them how to lose weight, get fit, and eat right.  It's like a mini "Biggest Loser" show, but the people don't come to the ranch, and there's no contest to win $250,000.  We like the first episode, and it felt good to be exercising while Jillian was yelling at the people and putting them through the paces!  Click here to learn more about the show.

 

Utah Reflections

It's raining here in Vancouver, WA again today.  The rain has really been getting me down since we got home.  I was so used to no rain in Arizona and Utah.  We exercised inside today and I'm glad we have that option, but it's not as satisfying or refreshing as being able to exercise outdoors.

Speaking of Utah, I was impressed with the wide, spacious streets of the towns that we visited.  I understand they were planned that way in order for buggies and wagons to be able to turn around on the streets.  The first town where I noticed the wide streets was Nephi.  We went for a bike ride there and we were able to ride on the main street because it was so wide.  Then I noticed the same thing in St. George, Hurricane, Bluff, Moab, Richfield, and Brigham City.  To me, it felt midwestern because that's the way my hometown of Osage, Iowa was laid out, even though it wasn't settled by Mormons.  It definitely made me nostalgic!

The other thing that reminded me of growing up in the midwest was that many businesses and restaurants were closed on Sunday in Utah.  Even the RV park office in St. George was closed on Sunday.  This used to be common when I was young, but gradually that custom has gone by the wayside, and we just expect that places will be open on Sunday. 

I also noticed the lack of litter and graffiti in those towns.  I'm sure the cities have their share of crime and drugs, etc., but it wasn't evident.  Theologically, I don't believe what the Mormons believe, but I do think they know how to run their cities and their states. 

Wildflowers at Capitol Reef National Park