101 in 1001 - Third Time's the Charm?

Start date: 12-21-2010
End Date: 9-17-2013

Self Improvement:
001. Complete Living in Season’s New Year’s Dreams course (Blogfodder)
002. Complete Living in Season’s seasonal workbooks (Blogfodder)
003. Lose another 25/50 pounds
004. Work out on WiiFit at least 3x a week for 2 months/for 6 months/for 1 year.
005.Take dance lessons with my husband
006. Keep my home ‘drop in’ ready for 3 months/6 months/1 year
007. Have laser eye surgery done
008. Pay off CapOne card
009. Pay off Citi card
010. Enjoy 10 Manicures/Pedicures (0/10)
011. Enjoy 3 professional massages. (0/3)
012. Complete Year and a Day in Magick book (Blogfodder)
013. Decide if I want to do a teaching program and get my license, or continue with Masters and teach college.
014. Finish teaching program/take Praxis ii/get license OR complete masters program of choice
015. Keep a Daily Happiness Journal and use it at least 3x a week (Blogfodder)
016. Donate 100k grains of rice on FreeRice.com

Food and Drink:
017. Cook at least five recipes from each cook book I currently own, & blog about them

(Caveat: just the ones currently in the house. Most of them are packed up.)

018. Take a cooking class
019. Learn how to make 10 different cocktails
020. Make cookie boxes for family/friend gifts for 2011/2012
021. Create a personal cookbook/recipe file of my favorites (Blogfodder)

Creative:
022. Complete a jigsaw puzzle with my husband
023. Participate fully in the 52 in 52 knitting challenge (Blogfodder)
024. Participate fully in the Year of Stash Socks challenge (Blogfodder)
025. Take a quilting class
026. Go on the Believe in Yourself retreat
027. Complete a Journal Journey (Blogfodder)
028. Put together a wedding/Our Life scrapbook
029. Create a photo wall in my office with framed pictures of friends and family
030. Finish the afghan kit I have in the stash (Blogfodder)
031. Finish the beaded bag kit I have in stash (Blogfodder)
032. Finish the beaded scarf kit I have in stash (Blogfodder)

Photography:
033. Take a photograph to represent each month (0/33) (Blogfodder)
034. Upload photos to BlipFoto at least 3x/week for 1 month/6 months/1 year
035. Complete Project 365 (0/365)
036. Submit a photo to a photography competition (Blogfodder)
037. Take part in the 4am project
038. Take ten pictures of things that make me happy (0/10) (Blogfodder)
039. Take ten pictures of things that make me sad (0/10) (Blogfodder)
040. Make a coffee table book out of our travel photography
041. Photograph a landscape from the same location, capturing all four seasons (Blogfodder)
042. Participate in at least one 26 Things list (Blogfodder)

Reading/Writing:
043. Leave 12 notes in 12 different books for strangers to find (Blogfodder)
044. Answer the “50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind”
045. Read 10 novels off the Modern Library’s Top 100 list (Blogfodder)
046. Read 10 novels off the 1001 Books You Must Read before You Die list (Blogfodder)
047. Blog about each of my 101 things as they are completed
048. Send two postcards a month through PostCrossing
049. Participate in and finish NaBloPoMo
050. Read 1 book every month and blog about it
051. Write 1 poem every week for 6 months/1 year/18 months/2 years
052. Reach 500 blog posts in my personal journal/photo journal/knitting journal
053. Submit my writing to a publication every 3 months
054. Read the books I own but have never finished

Movies/TV/Music:
055. See 10 movies on the AFI Top 100 list (Blogfodder)
056. See 25 movies on the IMDB top 250 list (Blogfodder)
057. Compile a playlist of my 100 favorite songs 
058. Compile a list of my 100 favorite movies 

Places to Visit/Things to See:
059. Travel somewhere by train 
060. Take a cruise longer than 3 days 
061. Watch the sun rise and set in the same day.

Things to Buy:
062. A traditional Anniversary gift for my husband on our 10th, 11th and 12th Anniversaries
063. An iPad

Other:
064. Drink beer (wine, mixed drink) at noon on Tuesday in a bar that faces a giant car wash
065. Leave 20 Operation Beautiful notes somewhere (Blogfodder)
066. Repaint our kitchen cabinets white
067. Repaint our bedroom
068. Paint bathrooms
069. Encourage someone to write their own 101 in 1001 list
070. Have my wedding rings resized
071. Frame and hang our diplomas when we get them in January/February
072. Decrease my stash by 1 tote/2 totes/3 totes
073. Have my holiday gift list finished by September 1st 2011/2012/2013
074. Have all purchasable gifts wrapped by December 1st 2011/2012
075. Frame the print we bought in Asheville last year, and my poster, and hang them somewhere
076. Clean out my closet every six months and donate old clothing to Goodwill/Tender Mercy

Resolutions

Well, a lot of mine work into my 101 in 1001 list, but I can post a few that I’d like to do -this- year and not by August 2013.

1. Continue losing weight and exercising
• I started this weight-loss journey at about 220lbs. At last check on WiiFit I was 194, which is up about 15 pounds from my lowest point. I've been off the wagon for almost 3 months, so it's time to get back on. I'd like to see 150lbs by the end of the year.
2. Get the kitchen cabinets repainted
• Hubby and I have been slowly trying to make the house more 'us'. We did a lot of improvements over the last year, repainting and stuff, and there's more to get done, but repainting the cabinets we know we can do without much fuss. 
3. Knit and Spin from stash (as much as possible)
• I have a sizeable (at least 7 large totes chock-full!) yarn stash and I want to use it up, because it's all yarn I love. My spinning stash is notably smaller, but it's still loved, and I want to use it too.
4. Get a handle on christmas gifts early
• Part of this is going to be knitting/crocheting/sewing quick-and-easy gifts throughout the year. Also, making a 'What I'm Giving' list early .. like, by springtime .. will help.
5. Continue decluttering the house
• We've done good at this too, but there's still work to do. We're slight packrats .. not on the same level as hoarders, but we still have too much stuff. Starting with clearing out more clothes, and going through the back attic, I want to donate/trash a few bags of stuff by Spring.
6. Date night with hubby at least twice a month
• We don't do enough together, and when we have gotten out here in the last little bit, it's been amazing fun. I'd like to take dance lessons when we can afford it, but until then, dinner out, or a movie, or -something- fun and just us twice a month will be good.
7. Find a job to help pay down debt
• I've been trying to find something, but the job market is, as it is almost everywhere, pretty awful. Sending out applications every day, and if I get no bites signing on with a staffing agency will get me to this goal much faster.
8. Find a graduate program and get accepted
• This is assuming I still want to teach college. That is the current thought, but I'm still deciding if I might not want to teach younger students. Either way, I need to get into the appropriate program, whether it be graduate school or a teacher education program, or at least get moving on getting into it.
9. Participate fully in 52 in 52 - 2011
•  52 projects completed in 52 weeks. Shouldn't be difficult, right? Except with my attention span, projects tend to languish. I have a Wrapigan sitting in a back that refuses to be finished, and a knitted owl toy that is only half done. I am going to try to use this challenge as a way to get some simple gifts made though.
10. Participate fully in Year of Stash Socks 2011 
• I have less hope for this, but I'm going to try at the very least. I have a lot of sock yarn, and love wearing hand-knitted socks. They're warm and toasty. So we'll see!
11. Write more often (poetry/short stories/essays/anything)
• I love writing. Creative writing. I haven't been able to do much at all lately, and I miss it. I've subscribed to several prompt blogs and such, so we'll see if I can do this a little more regularly this year.

Christmas Recap

Okay. So.

After dealing with the aftermath of being burgled, we still had to deal with Christmas. Our tradition is to got to Brandon's for Christmas eve, bringing all our gifts to eachother as well as for them, and we spend Christmas morning there, then drive up to Cary to have Christmas with Jason's family. This year, his parents decided not to go to Stephanie's, which made Jason and I a little upset, because that meant they'd be alone for Christmas, but we couldn't exactly cancel our tradition, so the plan stayed.

I was a busy little beaver the couple of days before Christmas, sewing and stitching and wrapping gifts that had been put aside in the aftermath of the break-in. I had already come to terms with the fact that not everything was getting done, and I was fine with that even. I still had things to get done that I knew that I -could- get done.

Well, Christmas Eve day, I'm making cookies. Another tradition is that Johnny gets a batch of snickerdoodles for Christmas, because i apparently make them the best. The first batch burned. Horribly. I had tried to cook them on the lower rack and the upper and switched them halfway through baking .. bad idea. I was so frustrated that I threw up my hands.

That was when we discovered the leak. Jason was working on cleaning up so we could make a second batch .. when water started pouring out of the cabinet beneath the sink. Horrors! We open it to discover that the garbage disposal .. which has been making an awful sound the last few times we've used it .. is leaking. Badly.

We think back at this moment to a time several weeks back when we discover a truly horrifying odor coming from said cabinet only to discover a bowl of stanky, moldy, disgusting water curiously under said disposal. It was not placed there on purpose, but served to hide the leak from us apparently, and we didn't realize at the time that there was a leak, so never had it checked.

The upside to this is that we thoroughly cleaned out anything under the sink that we just don't use .. old cleaning products and the like .. and now everything we have kept sits happily in a basket that can me kept under the sink but keeps things contained.  We dealt with the water on the bottom of the cabinet and on the floor, placed a vase under the main leak, and went on with our plans. Nothing to be done about it at that moment, except to avoid using that side of the sink.

Of course, this event set us back a bit, but we managed to get on the road at a fairly decent hour .. only for me to remember 20 minutes into the 45 minute drive that we'd forgotten one very important present. Back home we went to pick it up, and then we -finally- got to Brandon's around 9pm. Christmas Eve was lovely, filled with good, simple food and watching the outtakes of Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas. Actually, just one outtake .. the one with the drum.

Sleep was broken by occasional peeks outside to see if it had snowed yet - it hadn't- and I finally woke at 7am and texted Brandon to see if he was awake. Then I got up and nudged my husband awake.  Christmas day is always a time of joy with Brandon and his family, and from what I could tell everyone loved their gifts. I was pleased that Jason's slippers fit him .. though they were inexplicably still damp that morning, though they'd been finished days before. He got me some pretty wonderful things .. in addition to the ring which was stolen but I got back, he also got me a beautiful freshwater pearl set, some pigment powders to play with, a rusting and a patina kit to play with, some wood wick candles, a yarn tasting, and a new pizza stone.

After a leisurely breakfast of eggs and bacon and sausage, we got on the road to Stephanie's. Christmas there is usually rather chaotic, and once Mike (their brother) got there with his three children, that trend continued.  IT was mixed with hilarity however as Savannah broke out her new Wii game: GLEE Karaoke Edition.  We watched her sing a few songs, all the while trying to get David, Mike's eldest who thinks he's a rapper and looks like a thug most times, to get up and do 'Golddigger'. He refused, even when bribed, so I got up and did it. And did pretty good if I do say so myself. David thought it'd be funny to record me doing it, but I got him back, because they -finally- got him to try it .. only he didn't even know half the words. Only the chorus. So I have him on video just standing there like an idiot.  I call that insurance.

We woke the next morning to snow. And not just a dusting .. there was a good 6 inches on the ground, and it was still falling! I took several pictures, and we all got ready and went to IHOP for breakfast because Joe wanted to see how his truck handled. (It handled fine.) Brittany and Brett came over, with the crazy dog Numa, and we all hung out for a while, waiting to hear from mike so he could come over again. We never did get in touch with him, and though it seemed to stress Stephanie out, we decided not to bother trying to get him to come over. Steph's chili was delicious, Britt and Brett went home before the roads iced over, and we went back for seconds of the singing, this time with Sing Star .. Jason and I did a couple of hilarious duets, though this time there's no video proof anywhere.

We went to bed kinda early, but not -too- early, and woke up -way- early. Like 2am early, and were wide awake. We decided that it was probably best for us to just head home then, while stupid people were sleeping .. than to wait and try driving home that afternoon. So we showered, packed up, and slunk out of the house like a couple of runaways.  I felt bad, especially for Savannah, but it really was the best option. Both of us were starting to feel bad by then, so had we waited, we would have been just miserable by the time we got home.  As it is, we got home around 7am and crashed out for a nap, and woke up both obviously sick.

All in all, it was a wonderful holiday, though I do wish Jason's parents had come to Stephanie's, if only for the day. I understand that Steph stresses them out, and so does Mike. Being around them for a weekend stressed me out. But .. it's a time for family, and I just wish they'd have been there.

Post Holiday Crud, and other news

Jason and I came home from Stephanie's house with the crud. We used to call this sort of thing 'con crud' because normally you picked it up at whatever convention you'd been to that weekend. But since he and I aren't part of that world anymore, it's the 'post holiday crud' now, because typically, we get it from having gone somewhere other than our house. Mostly it's sinus issues, though he seems to have gotten it worse than me. Either that, or (as he suggested to one of the ladies he works with) I'm just not as much of a baby when I'm sick as he is.

A lot has happened since my last posting .. which really wasn't all that long ago. Two weeks ago exactly, at this time, I was dealing with the aftermath of a burglary in my home. Some 19-year-old nitwit broke into our home and stole Jason's and my wedding rings, the Wii and our games, Jason's laptop (but left mine sitting in plain sight), and a ring Jason had bought for me that was hidden well in Jason's office closet.

The whole story starts like this: I left that morning to pick Brandon up. We were planning to spend the night at Jason's parents' house since they were supposed to be out of town. Well, on the way back I had to stop to get gas .. I hadn't been planning on it but when the gauge says 'E' you kinda have to. Anyway, we got home about noon and I sorta half noticed that the laptop wasn't where I remembered it being. Then I saw my jewelry box and the drawer it was in were sitting on my desk. And I went upstairs .. looking for the laptop .. and saw the jewelry armoire honey got for me on our honeymoon was standing open too.

All of this didn't necessarily add up to being robbed though, and I continued to go about my routine, commenting to Brandon that "Jason must have come home and got the rings because he's gonna have them sized for Christmas .. how sweet is my honey?" I decided, however, to call him anyway, just in case. I started to go about my business and emptied the dishwasher, and Brandon commented 'Someone's been in the presents.. ' and I remember fussing at isis for it.

That's when I reached Jason, and he told me that no, he hadn't been home and that if the deadbolt was locked I needed to get the heck out of the house.  Which I did. We went and sat in the car while I called the police and waited for them to get there. I was starting to fall apart then, realizing that someone had been in my house .. in our bedroom .. and had taken our wedding rings. That was the worst part, really. I was terrified we'd never see them again.

The police responded pretty quickly .. first with a single officer who checked the house out for me, figured out the guy'd gotten in through the back office window, and assured me the house was empty, then with the K-9 units and finally the forensics units. Jason got home not long after and helped reassure me everything was alright. Brandon and I went over to momma and diddy's a few hours later, while the cops were searching the neighborhood .. one of the K-9 officers told me they were sure he hadn't managed to leave the neighborhood.

The story does have a happy ending. About 6pm Jason called me to tell me that they'd caught the guy and that all our stuff had been recovered. We stayed at the in-laws' house that night, though the window was 'secured' by use of a 2x4 jamming the window in place, and spent a lot of the time stalking the York County Sheriff's Current Inmate's website to get a look at the idiot who was caught.  His name is Gavyn Michael Lovett, and he just turned 19 on December 1st. Come to find out this is not his first time at the rodeo, and he's more than likely ruined his life with this most recent run of burglaries.

The next day I was on my way to bring Brandon back home to Kannapolis when the detective handling the case called me to have me come pick up my possessions. If I hadn't gone then, I'd have had to wait because everything would be in the evidence locker. Of course, i went and picked it up .. including the ring Jason bought me for a Christmas gift. So we have everything that was stolen .. except for our peace-of-mind. But that will come in time. We have to send our laptops in for repair .. mine got covered in magnetic fingerprint dust so I want to checked, and Jason's using the opportunity to have it fixed finally. In addition, we have to have the back window replaced, and are using the burglary to get the bedroom door replaced and probably replacing a couple of chairs as well. There's lots to get done still. But we're getting there.

"50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind"

These questions have no right or wrong answers.
Because sometimes asking the right questions is the answer.

1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?
3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
5. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire.  They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend.  The criticism is distasteful and unjustified.  What do you do?
12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?
14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?  What’s holding you back?
18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
20. Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
22. Why are you, you?
23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
25. What are you most grateful for?
26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
27. Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?
29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset?  Does it really matter now?
30. What is your happiest childhood memory?  What makes it so special?
31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
32. If not now, then when?
33. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
48. What do you love?  Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday?  What about the day before that?  Or the day before that?
50. Decisions are being made right now.  The question is:  Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?

Holiday Cards for the Troops

When filling out your Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to this address: 

Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD
20791-5456
 

If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get!!!

My (Sorta) Grown-up Christmas List

A list of things I would love to have, if money weren't an issue. You never know .. someone rich might see this and decide to send me a happy!

The Wide Angle & Macro Lens Adapter

$50 at photojojo.com

The Dreamy Diana Lens

$60 at photojojo.com

Wooden Camera Stamp

$10 at photojojo.com

Macro and Wide Angle Camera Phone Lenses
$20 at photojojo.com

 Clear Acrylic Stamps: lasting Love Quotes
$15.99 at scrapbook.com

 Clear Acrylic Stamps: Loving Words
$16.99 at scrapbook.com

 Clear Acrylic Stamps: Squarely Sentimental
$7.99 at scrapbook.com 

 Clear Acrylic Stamps: Quincy
$24.99 at scrapbook.com

Clear Acrylic Stamps: Created by Hand
$2.99 at scrapbook.com

Witch Shoes Carved Stamp

$9 at paper.fruit.hair's etsy shop

Witch Hat carved Stamp

$7 at paper.fruit.hair's etsy shop

Witch Cauldron Carved Stamp
$11 at paper.fruit.hair's etsy shop

Baby Penguin Carved Stamp
$7 at paper.fruit.hair's etsy shop

 Adventure Glimmer Mist 1oz Set
$16 at mytatteredangels.com

Ranger Ink Perfect Pearls: Aged Patina
$15 at scrapbook.com

Ranger Ink Adirondack Alcohol Inks: Tuscan Garden

$10 at scrapbook.com

 Kromski Fantasia Spinning Wheel
$363 at woolery.com

 

Schacht Wolf Pup LT Loom

$1099 at woolery.com

 Apple IPad 16GB

$499 at apple.com

Unique Sheep Crochet-along

$50/3 months or $100/6 months at theuniquesheep.com

 Membership to TKGA (The Knitting Guild Association)

$30-1 year/$54-2 years at tkga.com 

Sennelier Oil Pastels: Landscape, Original, Still Life

$33.96 st DickBlick.com

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Dickens :: Christmas
2. Collection :: Result
3. Weekends :: Honey
4. Travel :: Peru
5. District :: Nine
6. Vampires :: Blood
7. Peep show :: Madonna
8. Crochet :: Knit
9. Lion :: Sleep
10. Fetch :: Dog

Dear Wonderful Husband

Dear Wonderful Husband

Thank you for the wonderful day out. For taking me to the farmer’s market, and the art store, and to the barbecue place you love so much, to the liquor store which is always such fun, and to the craft and office supply store. They were all much fun, because they were with you! Thank you for being encouraged and excited about a new artistic venture, enough that you went back out to make sure you had the right tools and supplies, rather than getting discouraged and giving up. Thank you for letting me buy a pretty ornament for our tree this December (Yes Christmas stuff is -already out, and Halloween too) even though it’s only July.

Most of all, thank you for being you, for being my husband, and for being silly and dorky and wonderful!

Your Still Very Much In Love Wife

Survived

Well, on Wednesday, our AC went out. It didn't go out until the evening, but by 7pm it was 78-degrees downstairs.. add ten degrees for the temp upstairs with no AC working.  By 7:30pm it was 81-degrees downstairs. We couldn't sleep in that, so we packed a few things and spent the night at Jason's mother's house. Thank the gods that she lives close by, we'd probably have had to stay in a hotel otherwise.

The following morning I came back to the house to check it .. still not working. So I filed a request for service with American Home Shield and proceeded to do some last-minute cleaning up. It didn't need much really, luckily - thanks to the RTH group on Ravelry, I'm inspired to keep my home neat enough for visitors all the time - but I had to vacuum downstairs, and put a few things away, and wanted to close blinds and curtains to try to keep most of the heat out. At 9am it was already 85-degrees downstairs; again, add ten degrees for upstairs, at least.  The man called, said he'd be here between 2 and 5pm and I went back to MILs house to spend the day there. I did some homework, I knitted a lot, and I waited.

Three-o-clock came and went. Four-o-clock. I went over to the house around 4:30pm to make sure I had a checkbook, but it was too hot to stay. Closer to 88 downstairs. Probably a hundred upstairs. Five-o-clock came and went, and no phone call, nothing. I finally called the main number around 5:45 to get an update. Then again around 6:15 when I still hadn't been called. The owner called me about 5 minutes later, then 5 minutes or so after that to let me know the man was in my driveway. He could have called, I'm thinking, to let me know he was on his way, but I'm being Southern, and holding my tongue.

Jason was closer even than I was, so he went to the house, waited while the guy replaced a capacitor that was apparently the culprit, and packed more clothes for himself for today. It wouldn't cool off in time for us to sleep there sadly, so we had to spend another night not in our own bed.  Isis had to spend another night not in her home, using not her own litterbox, but she survived it, bless her little heart.

Thankfully, it only cost us $60 .. well, plus the $500 for the AHS contract for the year. But that covers everything in the house through this summer and most of next. And by then, hopefully, we'll be in a better financial position. For one thing, I -should- have a job by then.

The joys of RAKs

Part of the fun of being in the Reclaiming the Home group on Ravelry is the Random Acts of Kindness. Not receiving them .. though that's always a happy shiny in my day .. but the sending of them. I get a special joy out of putting together big and little packages alike. I put a total of $5 (postage not included yet) into seven packages now waiting to be mailed, which I will do tomorrow. Nearly everything is something I already had, that I'm not using/not enjoying/have too much of that is much better used by someone else.

Because the theme of the month is saved, I thought I'd comment on my recently rocky friendships. Friend 1 and Friend 2 are both male - I often get along better with men than women, which I'm told is a trait of my astrological signs (Scorpio/Tiger) - but Friend 1 is about 12 years younger than I, while Friend 2 is my age. Friend 1 was with me through the evilness I experienced in WoW when supposed-friends turned into backstabbing psychos and I paid a serious price for it, in the form of my sanity and a nasty bout of depression. Friend 2 is a more recent find, but has still been there for me through some rocky times.  

Both of them have given me cause to struggle mightily with keeping said friendships, but I feel like they're both worth the effort. Friend 1, though young, is always there for me to vent to, whine to, and generally to lift my spirits. Friend 2 has been the same, for the most part. both of them are people who I connected to pretty instantly, as though we'd always known one another, and considering my beliefs, I'm not shocked by that feeling. I'm certain I've known them both before, and that I'll continue to know them in future lives. I just with that they'd be a little less frustrating sometimes.

Two of the lovely ladies in RTH said something that made dealing with both of these problematic boys so much easier. The idea that they .. specifically Friend 2 lately .. may be dealing with something they don't want to talk to me about for whatever reason and it's causing the snappiness and friction that's giving me fits makes it easier to understand, and now that I have some understanding of what's possibly going on, I feel less stress about their sometimes inexplicable behavior.  Thank you Wench and April, for your unplanned kindnesses!

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Authorized :: Access
2. Flirting :: Good
3. Bad :: Dog
4. Digit :: Middle
5. Sexy :: Lingerie
6. Combinations :: Food
7. Guard :: National
8. Retina :: Eye
9. Motion :: Sensor
10. Concert :: Piano

13. to spend less money

So. The idea behind shopping at Wal*Mart is to spend less money, ie: to save.  Right?

So why is it every time we go we end up spending a small fortune?  On things we probably do not really need, and could have probably saved the money for things we really do need?

Tonight, husband and I went to Wal*Mart for groceries we needed. We only needed a few things, really. Breakfast shakes. Cabbage. Vitamins for him. Toilet Paper. Cheese and crackers.

We ended up spending close to $200.

How can you tell me that we actually saved any money, when we bought an extra sensor for the Wii to go to his mother's house, a package of underwear for me, several bags of sugar-free candy, 100-calorie snacks for me, and Station Cash for EQ2?

Mind you, I'm not concerned about spending the money. We wouldn't spend it if we couldn't. But Wal*Mart has a racket going on, I'm telling you. You go in there for toilet paper and cabbage, and come out with a big-screen tv. And somehow, you think you've saved.

Me he salvado!

I am saved!  Saved that is, by the wonderful tools in the Audacity audio editing software I use for recording oral projects for school. I'm taking intermediate level classes now, Spanish 211 and 212, and pronunciation and comprehension is a big part of it. So we have to record ourselves reading passages. In this case, it was a poem by Bessy Reyna called Mientras tú.

Poema Mientras Tú de Bessy Reyna

Mientras tú
llega a la casa,
abres una cerveza,
observas la televisión
mintras tú
te acomodas en tu sillón de siempre
comentas lo duro que se pasa en la oficina
ocultas la veces que le propusiste a la
secretaria una cita
las veces que con tus compañeros en el café
piropeaste a las mujeres
mientras tú
decides a cuál bar irás hoy
o te sumerges en el comercial y esperas la cena
ella
trata de olvidarse de los piropos de mal gusto
que soportó camino al trabajo
de las proposiciones del jefe y los clientes
ella
trata de preparar la cena
arreglar la casa
sonreír a los niños
y pretender que tus escapadas
son un juego pasajero
que tus caprichos son un juego pasajero
y que a pesar de todo ella es una
Señora feliz.

What saved me was the fact that in Audacity, I can easily edit the recording.  As I read it, if I stumbled I just repeated the messed up part correctly, and continued on. Then at the end, I went through it and just cut out the parts that were bad, leaving me with a good recording. That's not to say it's excellent by any stretch. my pronunciation leaves a lot to be desired still. but I'm getting there. I imagine were I taking a traditional class, actually having to speak daily, I'd have better pronunciation.

NaBloPoMo July - Saved

This will be an interesting month, trying to post 31 days about something saved. There's so many meanings I could use, after all.

1. to deliver from sin 
2. to rescue or deliver from danger or harm 
3. to preserve or guard from injury, destruction, or loss 
4. to store (data) in a computer or on a storage device (as a floppy disk or CD)
5. to put aside as a store or reserve : accumulate  
6. to spend less by
7. to make unnecessary : avoid  
8. to keep from being lost to an opponent 
9. to prevent an opponent from scoring or winning
10. to maintain, to preserve
11. to put aside money 
12. to avoid unnecessary waste or expense : economize 
13. to spend less money
14. to make a save

So many places to go with this. I'm gonna need to take some time to plan out some ideas for some of these.  For now though, since the daily prompt asks about a favorite movie, I'll leave you with this trailer for one of the funniest movies I've seen.

101 in 1001 - Again

I'm beginning this all over again. My original list I began back in September of 2005, and was only 15 out of 101. Having rediscovered the 101 in 1001 on Ravelry, I started all over again in 2008. I'm giving it another go, and going to make part of my goals keeping up with it.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.
2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.
3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.
4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.
5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.


Calculating the End Date

You can easily find out when your project will end by using this handy tool at timeanddate.com.

Things and Stuff

We cleaned out the closet this weekend. I'd already done a fair bit, going through my own clothes and pulling out anything I don't wear, or is too big/way-too-small for me, but I have been trying to get Jason to do the same. he resists it, because of all the money that's in the clothes we buy him, but I keep trying to tell him to not think about it. We already spent the money, it's being wasted whether we give the clothes new homes or whether it sits in the closet unused. He was grumpy though, which makes for not-so-fun times. I think he's happier now though, especially since we can actually hang all of our clothes in the closet again. We can get dressed somewhere other than the laundry room!

That bench on the short wall in this picture is where my half of the three bags had been sitting for months as I waited for him to get in gear and go through clothes himself. It's actually empty no. We could, feasibly, use it to have people over to eat! Not that most people want to eat our crazy low-carb diet. We got rid of our heavy down-like comforter and the duvet too, plus some blankets and shams and stuff. So much stuff collecting dust in our tiny home. Yay us!

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Collectors :: Ring
2. Passion :: Love
3. Winner :: Crown
4. Uninhibited :: Sex
5. Challenge :: Lie
6. Self :: Worth
7. Your :: Love
8. Viewer :: TV
9. Random :: Thought
10. Vice :: Miami

Myrtle Beach

Jason and I went to the beach this weekend. It was a wonderful time, and we had a lot of fun, even though there was some .. unexpected "excitement" in the form of a fire two floors up from the condo we were staying in, and a shark about five feet from my feet.

We stayed at Louise's condo at Sand Dunes Resort on 74th ave in Myrtle Beach. Louise works with him at Tindol; she and her husband went to Florida for a week, so she let us use their condo for the weekend, free of charge.

We left early Saturday - early for us anyway - and drove the whole way to the beach. We got there about 1 in the afternoon and got all our stuff up to the condo, got settled, then headed out to Barefoot Landing. Our first destination was a winery we'd heard about that makes fruit wines, like blackberry and strawberry. We tasted a bunch, bought a few bottles for gifts and for ourselves, bought a blackberry wine slushy, and headed out to check out the shops. We found a few more gifts and me some pretty shell earrings, then picked up our wine and moved to the other side of the landing.

Almost Done

Three classes this summer, then two in the fall, and I’ll have my Bachelor’s in Liberal Studies!

See more progress on: complete my undergraduate degree