A list

This week's winning recipe: Baked Ziti

Honorable mention: Blondies from Baking Illustrated - Altitude adjustment 1. They're not quite right yet, but it was a step in the right direction - the edge pieces aren't insanely gooey.

Daytime high temperature: 85

Daytime low temperature: 40

Number of layers worn today: 3

Most annoying thing about working from home on a cold day: If I hold one dog in my lap, the other gets jealous and demands playtime.

Last weekend we had some friends come into town, and we had fun showing off some Colorado-isms, as well as our house and cooking abilities. (N proved that yes, yes, he can grill steak pretty darn well. mmm. And at his brilliant request, I made a well received buttermilk pie.)

The dogs and I got our fall haircuts. They look like labrador puppies and I'm looking a lot more corporate and grown-up than I asked for... which is probably for the best.

I'm getting jazzed about my new work project - I love getting to do some research for work. I'm still pretending to be a java coder, but it's taking less of my time.

I need to mail in my form for the next judo tournament. Got Sensei's signature approving my entry in my division. Speaking of judo, I totally broke my left baby toe last week, so both little toes are miserable. Flip-flops for awhile, just when it's starting to get cold. :|

It's looking like a pretty quiet month, but October has two judo tournaments and a conference, so I'm trying to savor the quiet.

This week I ..

• fought in my first judo tournament - lots of things went wrong, but I had a great time
• talked to my 2nd line for the first time ever, to let him know that one day, I will need a real job - went pretty well?
• gave my thesis proposal - went really well, no one said I needed to do more stuff, and now; now, I have an approved plan for getting from here to thesis-done.

I'm going to have a holiday weekend now. Perfect timing.