an aggregate of all things Johnson

reading: The Girl Who Played with Fire. I actually haven’t started it yet, but I just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I enjoyed it. It didn’t 100% live up to my admittedly overly high expectations — so many otherwise strong female characters fell in love with the dashing male protagonist that it started to feel like the author’s fantasy — but it was an enthralling mystery. I will definitely finish the series.

playing: Tiny Tower. Travis introduced me to this cute iPhone game. You build a tiny tower community floor by floor. I have 17 floors so far…

watching: Portlandia. Travis and I watched the full first season over the weekend. It is a weird show, but as a past Oregonian, I often laughed out loud. In the first episode there is a line about how people in Portland ride unicycles and double-decker bikes… which is funny because it is completely true.

getting pumped for: The TinkerBell Half Marathon. In just 22 days, Chelsea and I will be running 13 miles through Disney Land! I can’t wait to visit family and ride Space Mountain!

What are you up to at the start of this fresh, new year?

Related posts:

1. intellectual pursuits
2. july stuff
3. Deadwood, I love you

watching… PBS – Channel 13 in NY. This will sound very nerdy, but PBS has the best programming on tv. I love Antiques Roadshow, Poirot on Masterpiece Mystery, and NOVA Science Now with silly/brilliant Neil DeGrasse Tyson. I should really go make a donation…

reading… A Game of Thrones – but I am only 250 page in.

using… Google+ – Google’s answer to Facebook and Twitter. I am reluctant to start up a whole new “life” on another social networking site, but + does seem to have some nice features, like selective sharing. Check out my +profile and let me know if you want an invite to join.

participating in… IndieBizChicks Twitter Party on Tuesday night, 9-10:30 EST. We’ll be discussing crafty businesses. Join us by following and using the #indiebizchat hashtag. I’ll be using my SwapbotNews account.

feeling… exhausted and discouraged. Running is very difficult for me and it refuses to get any easier. A straight year of marathon training and I have nothing to show for it. No increase in fitness — my apartment stairs still leave me breathless. No gain in speed — I am one of the very slowest on our team. No weight loss — I still feel like a slug. And definitely no gains in confidence — every time I run, it makes me depressed and angry. That sounds dramatic, but it is the truth. I’m not really sure where to go from here… I guess running just isn’t going to be my thing, no matter how many 10-mile Saturday runs I complete.

What have you been up to lately?

Related posts:

1. Martha Show redux
2. another trip down Martha lane…
3. omg! Martha!

• Writing… about my dislike of spammy SEO for the Ace Gazette. (Also, we are hosting a live chat about living a life of entrepreneurism tomorrow, Wednesday, April 13th, from 7-8 pm EST. You must be an Ace member to join in and we’d love to have you, so come on over and sign up!)
• Reading… this Vanity Fair piece about economic inequality in America: “The top 1 percent have the best houses, the best educations, the best doctors, and the best lifestyles, but there is one thing that money doesn’t seem to have bought: an understanding that their fate is bound up with how the other 99 percent live.”
• Searching… for shoes to wear to a certain wedding in a few weeks.
• Hosting… the second annual April Stash Bust swap on Swap-bot. Come join us and reduce your craft clutter by swapping some of your stash!

What have you been up to?

Related posts:

1. colorful inspiration
2. weekends are for work
3. i’m hosting a christmas matchbox swap!