Exactly one year ago today I started a new adventure with the "101 things to do in 1001 days" project. I had already spent several weeks (months?) creating my list at the encouragement of one of my very best friends and set up this blog to record my progress. I was excited and a little nervous going into it... after all, I had put some pretty big tasks on that list.
So, 365 days later, what have I accomplished? Well, fourteen items have been crossed off, and nineteen others have been started. I have done things to improve my health, things to improve my relationships with the important people in my lives, and things to just have fun!
What have I learned so far? Having a list really does help me get things done. Things that seem scary in my mind are rarely as scary in real life. I am much more a creature of habit than I ever would have guessed. It's just as important to schedule and make a point of doing fun new things as it is to schedule and make time for chores. I cook even less than I thought I did. And I really am good at procrastinating! (although I already knew that, but had maybe forgotten exactly how good!)
I do know that I need to make a better effort to review the list regularly, because I could have crossed off a lot more items if I had just remembered that I was supposed to be doing them! But over a third of the way through, I can definitely say that I am still excited and still a little nervous... there are quite a few major things that still need be crossed off! 636 days and counting...
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Food!
I have been failing miserably on the count of trying one new recipe every month (#73). As a matter of fact, I am realizing exactly how little I cook at all. It really is appalling! But a few months ago, I did get a strange craving for a dessert called "peach stuff" we used to eat when I was growing up. I never knew what the proper name for it was, but in searching the internet for baking instructions, I found out that it is essentially a dump cake. It could not be easier to make... canned peaches, a yellow cake mix, a little cinnamon, and butter!
It's not particularly attractive, but it is sooo yummy! The cake mix makes almost a crust on top, so it comes out a little like a cobbler. Perfect with a glass of cold milk!
For the holiday season, I decided to make "mix" according to my grandmother's recipe. It's a chex mix, but so much better than any other I've ever had. It's fairly easy to make, though, except that you have stir it every 15 minutes for the 1 1/2 hours that it bakes. And it makes two huge roasting pans. I've never had an oven large enough to fit both pans in at the same time, so I have to bake them separately which doubles the time committment. The end product is always worth it, though!
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| It's hard to tell the scale here, but these are the largest foil roasting pans you can buy! |
It is the perfect salty, savory snack, and it always makes me think of my grandmother. She used to give it to everyone for the holidays, usually in Pringles cans that she had covered with foil wrapping paper and topped with a doily. A very good memory!
Even though I don't cook very often, I am constantly looking at recipes and cutting them out of magazines. I have a huge stack of them, all organized into categories(!), just waiting to be tried. Because of that, I had become intrigued with the idea of brussels sprouts. My initial reaction is still "eww, gross!", but that is mostly based on the mushy bitter sprouts that probably came out of a can or freezer bag back when it seemed like all vegetables were cooked by being boiled to death. And I have discovered over the years that there are many foods that I thought I hated, but it turned out I just didn't like the particular variety or method of preparation that I had been brought up on. So when they had cases of brussels sprouts at Trader Joe's last week, I bought a stalk...
Nothing intimidating about that bad boy! Nope! So it sat there on the counter for a few days. When I finally checked the recipes I had pulled out, and I was mostly interested in pan roasting or oven roasting them, I found that I didn't have any of the other ingredients that I needed. So the next day I talked it over with one of my co-workers who cooks a lot, and she said she had recently gotten into cooking brussels sprouts, and that she usually just tosses them with some olive oil, salt, and rosemary. Now that I have! Or so I thought. I threw out a lot of my spices and herbs when I moved last summer, because many of them were old and I figured this was a good way to refresh my stock. Unfortunately, it has mostly resulted in my searching for something that I know I have only to find out that I actually don't. So, I ended up using some garlic-infused olive oil, salt, and thyme, and then they roasted in a 400-degree oven for about 15 minutes. It could not have been any easier.
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| The finished product along with some Trader Joe's turkey and dressing |
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Getting organized and Keeping clean
Okay, so this isn't on my list, but I do have to brag on myself a little bit. As you know, I am slowly but surely getting things unpacked, sorted, and decorated around the house. The only things on the actual list that have to do with this are getting all the boxes unpacked (#80) and decorating my bedroom (#16), but it really does carry over to all the other rooms too.
At any rate, I recently got my office/library room all organized, and I am sooo pleased with how it turned out! I can't say that it's 100% finished, because I haven't hung any pictures and I have two bags of random papers to sort through, but on the whole, it's done. There are two bedrooms on the main floor; one is the guest room, and then this one has my computer, papers, and the majority of my books. I wasn't happy with the original furniture arrangement, so I did my best Winnie the Pooh imitation and sat and thought and thought and thought, and came up with this:
This bookshelf is a particular triumph, because it was a complete disaster previously. I really should have taken a "before" picture, because it was completely (and I do mean completely) crammed full of papers and notebooks and computer stuff and every other imaginable bit of random stuff that never really seems to have a home. So, when our Container Store opened here in October, I went a little bit crazy and found these gorgeous boxes to help control the madness. Okay, maybe it was a lot crazy, because I spent $285 (although one $25 box did get returned). I am justifying it, though, by saying that the boxes are very sturdy (which they are) and so beautiful (which they are) that I will have them around for a long time, and every time I look at them, they make me smile. I spent several hours looking at different combinations of different types of boxes and trays, but I liked these the best. Then I looked at all the different colors they had, but I finally realized that what was catching my eye in the display was the combination of all the different colors rather than using only one or two colors. It really keeps them looking bright and fresh.
As for the rest of the house, I have been making an effort to keep it tidy since my mother and her husband were here before Thanksgiving. With all of the holiday stress and craziness, I decided it would help my brain feel more restful if the house weren't a wreck. So November 27th was the official start date of my six weeks with no dirty dishes laying around (#41), and so far so good! Like I commented on the list, it is truly pitiful that I had to even make this a project, but there it is. And with the exception of all my shopping bags that accumulated over the last week or so (which all got put away last night, thank you very much!), the rest of the house has stayed nice, too. Really, my ultimate goal in life is to have my house always looking presentable enough that if someone showed up at the front door I wouldn't be mortified to have them come inside. It's really not in my nature to be clean and tidy all of the time, so this requires a lot of effort on my part. I have found that often the clutter just doesn't even register to me... meaning I can leave the same glass sitting on the table for a week and not really "see" it. Or I don't even think to empty the dishwasher after it's been run. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it's true. I guess that's my abstract-random nature showing through!
So the other piece that goes along with this is getting my house professionally cleaned (#64). I haven't actually done this yet, but I did buy a deal from Angie's List that's good for four hours of cleaning. This particular company is supposed to specialize in detailed cleaning, which I find very exciting. The one time I had someone come in and clean my house (when I was selling my house in Memphis), I was very disappointed at the quality of the work. I guess I was expecting meticulous work since I was paying for it, but that is not what I got! So maybe if this company works out, then I could have them come clean occasionally. Ultimately, that's another one of my life goals... to have my house cleaned professionally on a regular basis. It's one of those things I never have seem to have the time to keep up as well as I would like. It seems like such a luxury, but really, isn't that why I've worked so hard to have a job that makes good money? So once I actually have them out to the house, then that's one more that I'll be able to cross off!
At any rate, I recently got my office/library room all organized, and I am sooo pleased with how it turned out! I can't say that it's 100% finished, because I haven't hung any pictures and I have two bags of random papers to sort through, but on the whole, it's done. There are two bedrooms on the main floor; one is the guest room, and then this one has my computer, papers, and the majority of my books. I wasn't happy with the original furniture arrangement, so I did my best Winnie the Pooh imitation and sat and thought and thought and thought, and came up with this:
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| View in from the hall -- I am really liking having the desk face out into the room rather than at a wall |
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| View back to the hallway... and books! |
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| Nice view out the window and lamp found on One King's Lane... and more books! |
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| Huge (3' x 4') cork board from Pottery Barn Outlet... note the 101 in 1001 list down in the corner! |
This bookshelf is a particular triumph, because it was a complete disaster previously. I really should have taken a "before" picture, because it was completely (and I do mean completely) crammed full of papers and notebooks and computer stuff and every other imaginable bit of random stuff that never really seems to have a home. So, when our Container Store opened here in October, I went a little bit crazy and found these gorgeous boxes to help control the madness. Okay, maybe it was a lot crazy, because I spent $285 (although one $25 box did get returned). I am justifying it, though, by saying that the boxes are very sturdy (which they are) and so beautiful (which they are) that I will have them around for a long time, and every time I look at them, they make me smile. I spent several hours looking at different combinations of different types of boxes and trays, but I liked these the best. Then I looked at all the different colors they had, but I finally realized that what was catching my eye in the display was the combination of all the different colors rather than using only one or two colors. It really keeps them looking bright and fresh.
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| Still have the slidey things under the feet... oops! |
As for the rest of the house, I have been making an effort to keep it tidy since my mother and her husband were here before Thanksgiving. With all of the holiday stress and craziness, I decided it would help my brain feel more restful if the house weren't a wreck. So November 27th was the official start date of my six weeks with no dirty dishes laying around (#41), and so far so good! Like I commented on the list, it is truly pitiful that I had to even make this a project, but there it is. And with the exception of all my shopping bags that accumulated over the last week or so (which all got put away last night, thank you very much!), the rest of the house has stayed nice, too. Really, my ultimate goal in life is to have my house always looking presentable enough that if someone showed up at the front door I wouldn't be mortified to have them come inside. It's really not in my nature to be clean and tidy all of the time, so this requires a lot of effort on my part. I have found that often the clutter just doesn't even register to me... meaning I can leave the same glass sitting on the table for a week and not really "see" it. Or I don't even think to empty the dishwasher after it's been run. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it's true. I guess that's my abstract-random nature showing through!
So the other piece that goes along with this is getting my house professionally cleaned (#64). I haven't actually done this yet, but I did buy a deal from Angie's List that's good for four hours of cleaning. This particular company is supposed to specialize in detailed cleaning, which I find very exciting. The one time I had someone come in and clean my house (when I was selling my house in Memphis), I was very disappointed at the quality of the work. I guess I was expecting meticulous work since I was paying for it, but that is not what I got! So maybe if this company works out, then I could have them come clean occasionally. Ultimately, that's another one of my life goals... to have my house cleaned professionally on a regular basis. It's one of those things I never have seem to have the time to keep up as well as I would like. It seems like such a luxury, but really, isn't that why I've worked so hard to have a job that makes good money? So once I actually have them out to the house, then that's one more that I'll be able to cross off!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Wahoo!!!
After realizing that I was woefully short on CE (i.e. I only had 14 hours, and I need 30 by the end of the year!) and, oh yes, finishing the PSAP chapters is part of my list anyway (#68), I decided to pull out one of the books and try to slog through some of it this past weekend. For those who may not know, PSAP stands for Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program. It consists of eleven books that are published over the course of 2 1/2 years, each book focusing on a different topic such as cardiology, geriatrics, infectious diseases, etc. Each book is broken down into three sections which are then further broken down into three more subsections, each targeting some particular aspect of the book's topic. Each subsection is followed by around twenty questions that you are supposed to be able to answer after having read the material. The point is to help keep you updated on new drugs, studies, and guidelines. The PSAP chapters are usually used by people who are board certified as a way to keep their certification current without having to retake the exam, so you can guess that the material is a little more in depth than your average CE program. I stupidly decided to give myself the challenge of keeping up with these even though I am not currently board certified. I suppose I thought this would be a good way to keep up with what's new out there, but at a cost of $435 on top of the ACCP membership fee ($260), I probably could have come up with a better way of doing things.
Now, these books randomly show up on my doorstep (via FedEx, no less!) every few months. The idea being that you should have already finished the previous book by the time the new book arrives. I think in order to get credit for BCPS, you get three months to complete each book. These books started coming out in January 2010, and I have completed exactly zero of them. I have started quite a few, though, so I realized I needed to get to a point where I had enough done to get some CE credit. Each section is worth 5-8 hours, depending on how involved it is, so you can get anywhere from 15-22 hours per book. Well, I finally finished the first section from book 3 (Women's and Men's Health - subsections included such juicy topics as emergency contraception, HPV, postmenopausal hormone therapy, sexually transmitted infections, and special considerations for women with HIV infection... fun!), went to the website, and submitted my answers. I literally had a knot in my stomach, because you need a score of 75% to pass. Otherwise, it's all a waste of time. So after waiting a few excruciating seconds, the scoring page appeared... and I passed!!! With a score of 86.67%! (average score = 84.01%) Wahoo!!! There is a nice statistics page that shows your answers, the correct answers, and then what percentage of people gave which answer for each question. I was very happy to notice that most of my incorrect answers came from one section, and most of those answers had a very high percentage that chose the same answer I did. In fact, on one of them, more people chose the same wrong answer than did the correct answer. I think the people who wrote that chapter need to go back to remedial test question writing.
*sigh of relief* I have to say that this is quite a confidence booster, and it does help give me a boost toward getting through some more of these books. I may actually have to open a bottle of champagne if I get a whole book completed! For now, I think I'll go have one (or two... or maybe three) of the chocolate chip cookies I baked yesterday and then head off to bed for some well-deserved sleep!
Now, these books randomly show up on my doorstep (via FedEx, no less!) every few months. The idea being that you should have already finished the previous book by the time the new book arrives. I think in order to get credit for BCPS, you get three months to complete each book. These books started coming out in January 2010, and I have completed exactly zero of them. I have started quite a few, though, so I realized I needed to get to a point where I had enough done to get some CE credit. Each section is worth 5-8 hours, depending on how involved it is, so you can get anywhere from 15-22 hours per book. Well, I finally finished the first section from book 3 (Women's and Men's Health - subsections included such juicy topics as emergency contraception, HPV, postmenopausal hormone therapy, sexually transmitted infections, and special considerations for women with HIV infection... fun!), went to the website, and submitted my answers. I literally had a knot in my stomach, because you need a score of 75% to pass. Otherwise, it's all a waste of time. So after waiting a few excruciating seconds, the scoring page appeared... and I passed!!! With a score of 86.67%! (average score = 84.01%) Wahoo!!! There is a nice statistics page that shows your answers, the correct answers, and then what percentage of people gave which answer for each question. I was very happy to notice that most of my incorrect answers came from one section, and most of those answers had a very high percentage that chose the same answer I did. In fact, on one of them, more people chose the same wrong answer than did the correct answer. I think the people who wrote that chapter need to go back to remedial test question writing.
*sigh of relief* I have to say that this is quite a confidence booster, and it does help give me a boost toward getting through some more of these books. I may actually have to open a bottle of champagne if I get a whole book completed! For now, I think I'll go have one (or two... or maybe three) of the chocolate chip cookies I baked yesterday and then head off to bed for some well-deserved sleep!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
and a Movie
I watched Gandhi a few months ago, which is one of the ten on my list to watch (#67). It was interesting, especially because I realized as I was watching it that I knew very little about this man. I think he did a lot of very good things, but I wonder what it was like to be one of his inner circle. He seemed to act according to an unswerving inner moral compass which I think would make it very difficult to get close to him. I have to admit that when I finished the movie I felt very small and unimportant, and it made me question some of my actions. It also made me think about why I am here and what my purpose might be in life. Obviously, not everyone can change and entire country and create shock waves that will be felt around the world and through history, but am I meant to be doing something more?
Friday, December 2, 2011
Back to Books
I promised myself that I would write one blog post this weekend. It's been so long that I've written anything, that I have now blown it completely out of proportion in my head and the thought of writing anything has become totally overwhelming. And it's not even like I haven't had anything to write about, because even though there have been no posts, I have been crossing things off my lists and keeping my book and movie lists current. So I thought I would start with something fairly easy. I have finished two of the books that are on my list to read (#66)... Peyton Place and A Month of Sundays.
I consulted several lists in addition to my own internal wish list when I created this group of fifteen books to read, and I think I added Peyton Place because it was said to be so controversial when it came out (in 1956) and it became such a part of pop culture that it is still a common phrase. I know I've used it to refer to my high school marching band and to places I've worked (probably better if I not name those!), so I thought it might be good to make sure I was using the reference appropriately. Well let me tell you, I was! The book itself was a little slow at times, and there were points when I thought to myself, "this is supposed to be controversial?". But once it gets going, it was a slippery slope and not a single character was safe. The story was actually set in the late 30's and early 40's, which I didn't realize at first, and follows the interconnected lives of the residents of a small New England town. I think the one thought that kept coming up for me over and over while reading this book was how little society has really changed. People like to paint the picture of how much more refined things were in the "olden days". That certain things just didn't happen and that life was much more pure. But's that's just not true. The same things happened then that happen today; they were just overlooked or glossed over or accepted or swept under the rug. I don't know that I would say that this book was good or that I got an entertainment value from reading it, but it was very interesting, and for that I'm glad that I read it.
A Month of Sundays was an entirely different kind of book. I think I found this on a list of "new classics", and the full title, A Month of Sundays: Searching for the Spirit and My Sister, caught my attention. Here's the blurb from Barnes and Noble...
So, of the fifteen books on my list, I have now completed five with another two in progress (but on a current hiatus). And I am very excited to announce that I am now in possession of all fifteen books on the list! (A shoutout to Half-Price books and their Indiana authors section for providing the last one, A Girl of the Limberlost!)
Well, that wasn't so bad. I might even write another one this weekend... maybe.
I consulted several lists in addition to my own internal wish list when I created this group of fifteen books to read, and I think I added Peyton Place because it was said to be so controversial when it came out (in 1956) and it became such a part of pop culture that it is still a common phrase. I know I've used it to refer to my high school marching band and to places I've worked (probably better if I not name those!), so I thought it might be good to make sure I was using the reference appropriately. Well let me tell you, I was! The book itself was a little slow at times, and there were points when I thought to myself, "this is supposed to be controversial?". But once it gets going, it was a slippery slope and not a single character was safe. The story was actually set in the late 30's and early 40's, which I didn't realize at first, and follows the interconnected lives of the residents of a small New England town. I think the one thought that kept coming up for me over and over while reading this book was how little society has really changed. People like to paint the picture of how much more refined things were in the "olden days". That certain things just didn't happen and that life was much more pure. But's that's just not true. The same things happened then that happen today; they were just overlooked or glossed over or accepted or swept under the rug. I don't know that I would say that this book was good or that I got an entertainment value from reading it, but it was very interesting, and for that I'm glad that I read it.
A Month of Sundays was an entirely different kind of book. I think I found this on a list of "new classics", and the full title, A Month of Sundays: Searching for the Spirit and My Sister, caught my attention. Here's the blurb from Barnes and Noble...
After witnessing her older sister's losing battle with pancreatic cancer, "her journey though the dark landscape of religious doubt toward her God," Mars was overtaken with a compulsion: she wanted to go to church. So, she dedicated herself to visiting 31 houses of worship over a period of as many weeks. A Month of Sundays is the story of her enlightening spiritual pilgrimage.Since I am so unsure of my own opinions about spirituality much of the time, I was interested in hearing about this woman's journey. And this was an emotional journey. I laughed and cried and made notes and looked stuff up. This book was satisfying and yet made me want more. I was a little surprised and disappointed by some of her choices for churches, but that really was secondary to the things that came out of her visits. And I liked the sense that this book really was like a segment of a lifelong journey... things are not cleanly wrapped up with a neat and tidy message at the end. But that's how life really is. And I think that's something that bothers me in some books about people's lives... do they really go through something and then come out with all the answers? Are their lives magically perfect or suddenly have massive clarity at the end of this piece? I see how you might reach some epiphany that changes your life, but that doesn't mean that there isn't more to learn (unless you are Buddhist and have somehow reached Nirvana!). I think I'm getting off track here, but the point is that for whatever reason, this book resonated for me and I think I would recommend it for anyone who is on a journey for meaning and spirituality.
So, of the fifteen books on my list, I have now completed five with another two in progress (but on a current hiatus). And I am very excited to announce that I am now in possession of all fifteen books on the list! (A shoutout to Half-Price books and their Indiana authors section for providing the last one, A Girl of the Limberlost!)
Well, that wasn't so bad. I might even write another one this weekend... maybe.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Smile!
Finally had my dental appointment this morning (#24)... no cavities! In fact, the dentist said everything looked great and that I should keep on doing whatever I'm doing. Wahoo!! And not even a word about needing to floss. See, this is another one of those times when the anticipation of something is about a thousand times worse than the actual thing itself. But now I'm wondering... how badly do I really need to floss (#57)???
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Fizzy up the Girl
In case you don't get the title reference, I was just listening to the Goo Goo Dolls. And I drank a Coke today! For the first time in a month (#46). Wow, was that sweet! (in the syrupy sugar-high kind of way) And so refreshing! It also left kind of a gross film in my mouth that made me feel like I needed to brush my teeth. Interesting. I actually didn't really notice any difference in how the sugar or caffeine made me feel afterward, but I can't say that I wanted to rush right out and drink another one. So I think was a good task, because it did definitely break my cycle of drinking waaaay too much pop. Hopefully I can keep it to a minimum for a while. But if not... well, I have to do this two more times!
I got the last of all my CDs onto my computer last week (#40). It turned out to be a good project for my day off, because I needed to keep my knee up and give it a rest. I actually really loved going through all my CDs, because I kept seeing things I had forgotten about, and now I am very excited about getting some of the "oldies but goodies" back into my listening rotation. It also made me realize that I need to make a more concerted effort to find my stereo and my cassette tapes, because I have a lot of really good music in there somewhere!! I was kind of late jumping on the CD bandwagon, so all the music from my college days and for quite a while after that are on tape. I need my music! I have also downloaded a few more CDs from Amazon (#45) from artists I haven't normally listened to before. In fact, I've spent the last hour or so previewing some new albums!
So that's it. Not too much else going on other than trying to make it through work and gearing up for my best friend's 40th birthday celebration in Vegas. (counting the days, hours, and minutes!)
I got the last of all my CDs onto my computer last week (#40). It turned out to be a good project for my day off, because I needed to keep my knee up and give it a rest. I actually really loved going through all my CDs, because I kept seeing things I had forgotten about, and now I am very excited about getting some of the "oldies but goodies" back into my listening rotation. It also made me realize that I need to make a more concerted effort to find my stereo and my cassette tapes, because I have a lot of really good music in there somewhere!! I was kind of late jumping on the CD bandwagon, so all the music from my college days and for quite a while after that are on tape. I need my music! I have also downloaded a few more CDs from Amazon (#45) from artists I haven't normally listened to before. In fact, I've spent the last hour or so previewing some new albums!
So that's it. Not too much else going on other than trying to make it through work and gearing up for my best friend's 40th birthday celebration in Vegas. (counting the days, hours, and minutes!)
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Eyes and Ears
After several trips to the eye doctor to get the prescription just right, my contact lenses are ready to be picked up (#28)! So what next? Get rid of the huge and horrible dark circles that my glasses had been masking. Sephora was having one of their give aways with purchase of a box of deluxe samples, so this seemed like a perfect time to go by and get a make-up lesson (#88). I was amazed at how well Sara was able to blend in the dark puffy areas. I already loved Benefit's eye products, and now I have two more to love... Boi-ing and Lemon Aid! The eye shadows were fun and geared toward more of a party look. She used Urban Decay's Deluxe Shadow Box and a Laura Mercier liner pencil. She was also able to recommend another Urban Decay product to help counteract the redness on the rest of my face, so it was a pretty productive trip!
Something else I've been focusing on lately has been music. I really have been wanting to find new things to listen to (#45), I suppose partially because I have felt a little bored with what's on the radio all the time. So my first plan has been to just be more conscious of what I'm hearing. Things like movies and TV shows (thank you So You Think You Can Dance for including the artist and title for all the songs used on the show!) really help, so I've been making sure to write down when I find things I like. Also, I discovered that Amazon.com has free daily song downloads and loads of $5 album downloads, so I've been keeping an eye on those and am slowly expanding my collection! Which leads into getting all that music organized (#40). I finally got all my CDs unpacked and organized, so now I'm working on getting them all downloaded to my computer. Once that's all done the next order or business will be making sure to back it up on a jump drive or something else, so I don't accidentally lose it all! I want to make some playlists... things I can take to work or put on my phone for travel. I'm about half-way through all the CDs, so good progress there.
But that does lead into the update on my phone. I really do like my cell phone (it's an HTC Touch Pro 2), and I have been looking forward to figuring out all the ins and outs and really using it to its full potential (#70). I've only had it for two years, after all. (ha-ha!) But starting at the beginning of July, it's been giving me fits, and I'm actually on my second replacement phone (the screen went out on the original, and the sound kept going out on the second one. hopefully, third time's the charm). But from everything the Sprint people keep telling me, these phones were only designed to last about two years, and I'm likely going to end up getting an entirely new phone sometime in the not too distant future. So, unfortunately, this item will not exactly fulfill its original intent, but I promise to apply it to whatever phone I end up with. I'm hoping to find one that uses a mini SD card, since that's what I bought to use with my current phone to hold all the music that I'm organizing!
One more week 'til I can drink pop! Next time I do this, I am definitely not doing it during the summertime!!
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| Dark and sparkly eye shadows. And wow do my lashes look great! |
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| Not sure that I would actually do this again, but it gives me ideas to play around with. And look... no dark circles! |
Something else I've been focusing on lately has been music. I really have been wanting to find new things to listen to (#45), I suppose partially because I have felt a little bored with what's on the radio all the time. So my first plan has been to just be more conscious of what I'm hearing. Things like movies and TV shows (thank you So You Think You Can Dance for including the artist and title for all the songs used on the show!) really help, so I've been making sure to write down when I find things I like. Also, I discovered that Amazon.com has free daily song downloads and loads of $5 album downloads, so I've been keeping an eye on those and am slowly expanding my collection! Which leads into getting all that music organized (#40). I finally got all my CDs unpacked and organized, so now I'm working on getting them all downloaded to my computer. Once that's all done the next order or business will be making sure to back it up on a jump drive or something else, so I don't accidentally lose it all! I want to make some playlists... things I can take to work or put on my phone for travel. I'm about half-way through all the CDs, so good progress there.
But that does lead into the update on my phone. I really do like my cell phone (it's an HTC Touch Pro 2), and I have been looking forward to figuring out all the ins and outs and really using it to its full potential (#70). I've only had it for two years, after all. (ha-ha!) But starting at the beginning of July, it's been giving me fits, and I'm actually on my second replacement phone (the screen went out on the original, and the sound kept going out on the second one. hopefully, third time's the charm). But from everything the Sprint people keep telling me, these phones were only designed to last about two years, and I'm likely going to end up getting an entirely new phone sometime in the not too distant future. So, unfortunately, this item will not exactly fulfill its original intent, but I promise to apply it to whatever phone I end up with. I'm hoping to find one that uses a mini SD card, since that's what I bought to use with my current phone to hold all the music that I'm organizing!
One more week 'til I can drink pop! Next time I do this, I am definitely not doing it during the summertime!!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Quick catch-up
I finished reading Anne of Green Gables, which was one of my designated books to read, a few days ago (#66). I found it a little tedious in the beginning because of all the fanciful language she uses, but once I got into it, I really enjoyed the stories. I always thought of this as a children's book, but with all of the big words, it's really not. The main character reminds me a lot of Pollyanna with her perpetually cheery attitude and implausible adventures. I expect that I'll probably pick up the sequels at the library at some point.
I've been doing well without drinking pop (#46). One of the hardest times was over the weekend when I was out running errands. I have realized that I often go out without regard for what time it is, so I usually end up running through a drive-through and picking up a snack and a drink. Bad on two counts. Plus, it has been sooo hot here that a Coke sounded like the most refreshing thing possible! But I resisted. Unfortunately, I did get some sort of stomach bug on Sunday, and I gave in and got a Pepsi on Monday when I was at work, because my stomach felt so bad and drinking water was actually making it worse. Thankfully, that did the trick, and I'm back on the wagon. I'm not going to count the one Pepsi as a failure, though, since I consider that an extenuating circumstance.
If you read my comment on the last post, you know that I failed miserably on the "no fast food" front (#9). I laugh every time I think about it! So that will be saved for some other time. *sigh* hee-hee!
That's about it for now. Otherwise, I'm just trying to keep cool in the ridiculous heat and getting ready for my friend's 40th birthday celebration in Las Vegas next month! Can't wait!!
I've been doing well without drinking pop (#46). One of the hardest times was over the weekend when I was out running errands. I have realized that I often go out without regard for what time it is, so I usually end up running through a drive-through and picking up a snack and a drink. Bad on two counts. Plus, it has been sooo hot here that a Coke sounded like the most refreshing thing possible! But I resisted. Unfortunately, I did get some sort of stomach bug on Sunday, and I gave in and got a Pepsi on Monday when I was at work, because my stomach felt so bad and drinking water was actually making it worse. Thankfully, that did the trick, and I'm back on the wagon. I'm not going to count the one Pepsi as a failure, though, since I consider that an extenuating circumstance.
If you read my comment on the last post, you know that I failed miserably on the "no fast food" front (#9). I laugh every time I think about it! So that will be saved for some other time. *sigh* hee-hee!
That's about it for now. Otherwise, I'm just trying to keep cool in the ridiculous heat and getting ready for my friend's 40th birthday celebration in Las Vegas next month! Can't wait!!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Fizzling out
So I decided last Sunday that I would give up pop for a month (#46). I always seem to make these snap decisions and then start regretting them immediately! Although maybe it's for the best, because then I can't overthink it and wonder if this is a good time or should I wait for a better time or why am I even doing this at all? Normally I don't drink much pop at home, although I have gotten in a bad habit of drinking Pepsi whenever I get my lunch in the cafeteria. It's the good fountain kind, and it's soo crisp and sweet and tasty! I almost drink at least two 22 ounce cups of water when I'm at work, and I usually drink milk or water when I'm at home, so it's not as if I'm not getting plenty of other liquids. But lately... first I had stocked up on 12-packs when all the grocery stores had them on sale back before Memorial Day, and then CVS kept putting 2-liter Cokes on sale for 69 cents. 69 cents! That's less than half of what they usually cost!! And with all my recent couponing, I was in CVS at least once a week and picking up two or three 2-liters each time. Gads! Hi, my name is Kristina and I'm a Coke-aholic. (Hello, Kristina) So, on Sunday, as I drained the last syrupy, fizzy goodness out of yet another bottle, I decided this would be a really good time to stop. I've always said that I'm not addicted to the caffeine (because, believe me, I love them all equally... Coke, 7-Up, root beer); I'm addicted to the fizz!! Pop just quenches the thirst like water can't sometimes. But it's on the list. And not just once. I said I would do this three times!! I seriously question my own sanity sometimes. And while I'm at it? Giving up fast food, too (#9). You might want to give me a wide berth for the next 24 days.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
End of an Era
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| Image via WB |
Thursday night I went to the midnight premiere of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" (#10). Now I'm not a crazy Harry Potter fan, but I have read all the books and seen all the movies in the theatre as well as multiple times at home. I don't have any idea what other movies might come out in the next three years with midnight premieres, but the more I thought about it, the more this seemed like a good choice. The first book was published in the US in 1998 followed by the movie in 2001, so this franchise has ruled for more than a decade now!
The crazy part of all of this was not that I went to a midnight premiere or the movie I chose. The crazy part was that I worked all this week, meaning that I got off work Thursday at 6pm, went to the movie at midnight, got home around 2:30ish am, and was at work at 7am on Friday! Miraculously I stayed awake for all of it, although I do admit to taking a 3-hour nap when I got home from work Friday afternoon. And the movie? The movie was good! A fitting end to an era.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Ahhh, relaxation!
One thing I absolutely wanted to finish this summer was getting my porch finished (#63). The screened porch was one of my favorite features when I bought this house, but it needed to be repainted and some of the screens needed to be replaced. I had all the intentions of having this done last summer, but, as my mother always says, life is what happens when you're making other plans! When my mother and her husband first visited me last year after I bought this house, they brought a porch swing which my step-father had bought and painted for me and a glider chair which my mother had refinished and recovered the cushions for (aren't they so nice!). We originally hung the swing on the hooks where the previous owners had their swing, and a month later on the day the movers moved all my furniture in, I was sitting on the swing and one end fell down. Apparently they didn't have it in a stud, and the fact that I was swinging in circles loosened the screw just enough. And that was the end of the swing for last year, because I didn't see any point in trying to rehang it before the ceiling was redone. So here's what all got done... ugly paper ceiling tiles removed and replaced with beadboard, new beadboard ceiling painted, screen door replaced, all trim and brick wall repainted, light replaced with ceiling fan, and swing rehung.
I love sitting out on this porch, especially in the evenings. One of the things I really wanted when I was looking for a house was a neighborhood where people got out and about, and that is definitely the case here, so I enjoy seeing everyone going by and waving to my neighbors. Now that I have the ceiling fan, it's pleasant out here, even when it's hot outside. It is so relaxing to come out here with a book and listen to all the birds (and we seem to have lots of very loud ones!) and enjoy all the greenery. And my favorite time of day is dusk, when the fireflies are out and it has started to cool down some. This ended up costing much, much more than I had originally budgeted, but it has already been well worth it.
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| View from the outside Amazing how the fresh coat of white paint really makes the trim pop agains the brick! |
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| It's a good size... about 8 x 16 |
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| One of these days I'll repaint the front door, too, but I think it's going to have to be stripped and painted from scratch. Plus, I'll have to pick a color, and that could take forever! (note the comfy striped chair that my mother refinished) |
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| This gives a nice shot of the ceiling fan and my pretty, pretty blue beadboard ceiling! I like the industrial look of the light on the fan; initially, I didn't like the color of the blades (still can't figure out why they're such a light color compared to the dark metal finish), but it bothers me much less now that it's actually up. I agonized for literally weeks last summer trying to find just the right shade of blue for the ceiling (Behr's Niagra Falls), and I have to say that I think it turned out just perfectly! |
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| This is my view toward the street from my favorite place to sit -- the striped chair. I like being able to watch people going by walking their dogs and riding bicycles. |
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| This is my K-Mart Martha Stewart table and chair set that I've had since Denver... much as she annoys me, I have to say that the quality of her stuff is always good. I usually like to prop my feet up on one of the chairs when I'm lounging. Beyond that is my neighbor's tulip tree, which I love for the shade it provides, but hate for all the twigs, blossoms, and leaves that it drops. |
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| My neigbor's house on this side sits on a double lot, so we have their whole yard between us. It really makes it feel open and green, which is nice for sitting outside. |
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| This is the swing that my step-father painted for me, along with my Target clearance cushions and a cute little metal Ikea table in the foreground. |
Thursday, July 7, 2011
3-2-1- Contact!
I love being able to do things online instead of over the phone. While I was working the long holiday weekend, I decided to look up a local optometry chain and was surprised to find that you schedule appointments online, even if you are a new patient! Well, that was all it took, and I had my appointment this morning. I liked my doctor very much, but the greatest thing was the new technology that uses a laser to scan your eyes and check for retinal defects... no more dilations!!! Here's the website... http://www.optos.com/en/Patients/ It was very cool. And the appointment was all good. My prescription hadn't even changed in the last two years, which was nice to hear. He was a little concerned that my eyes seem a little dry, but I told him this is unusual, and I think it's mostly related to having worked that last six days and having been pretty stressed and tired.
Anyway, since I had had contacts before (albeit almost 20 years ago), he just gave me the contact lenses to take home and try out. I have a slight astigmatism in my right eye, but since I only want to wear the contacts occasionally and not all the time, he didn't feel it was necessary to use lenses that would correct that. My take-home bag contained ten pairs of lenses, contact solution, and some drops for dry eyes that can be used with or without the contacts being in. I have to admit that I was a little nervous about putting the lenses in. Never mind that I did it every day for four years, but that was a long time ago! So I didn't exactly rush right home and stick them in, but eventually curiousity got the better of me. These are disposables, compared to the durable soft lenses that I used to wear, so my first surprise was how much thinner and flexible they are. Nice in theory, but every time I got them on my eyeball, there would be little air bubbles that caused them to stick up and then they would immediately pop back out as soon as I blinked! It took several minutes on each eye, but eventually they went in and stayed.
Wow! I had forgotten how nice it is not to have the "blind spots" that you get outside the lens of your glasses. I am horribly nearsighted, so if you wear glasses, you have to get used to having very blurry peripheral vision. No more! I can feel them floating around in there, but it's not too bad. And the vision in my right eye is definitely blurrier, so I'm not sure about this whole not correcting the astigmatism thing. Maybe it will be less noticeable as I get on with normal activities. I was planning on taking my "new eyes" out and running some errands this afternoon, but since it is bright and sunny, my first stop will have to be for a pair of sunglasses! Didn't think about needing to have them before I got the contacts. My prescription sunglasses aren't exactly going to work with the contacts in. But shopping will be fun... I'll actually be able to see what they look like while I'm trying them on!! I have a follow-up appointment in two weeks, but I feel pretty safe in going ahead and crossing this off the list (#28)!!
Anyway, since I had had contacts before (albeit almost 20 years ago), he just gave me the contact lenses to take home and try out. I have a slight astigmatism in my right eye, but since I only want to wear the contacts occasionally and not all the time, he didn't feel it was necessary to use lenses that would correct that. My take-home bag contained ten pairs of lenses, contact solution, and some drops for dry eyes that can be used with or without the contacts being in. I have to admit that I was a little nervous about putting the lenses in. Never mind that I did it every day for four years, but that was a long time ago! So I didn't exactly rush right home and stick them in, but eventually curiousity got the better of me. These are disposables, compared to the durable soft lenses that I used to wear, so my first surprise was how much thinner and flexible they are. Nice in theory, but every time I got them on my eyeball, there would be little air bubbles that caused them to stick up and then they would immediately pop back out as soon as I blinked! It took several minutes on each eye, but eventually they went in and stayed.
Wow! I had forgotten how nice it is not to have the "blind spots" that you get outside the lens of your glasses. I am horribly nearsighted, so if you wear glasses, you have to get used to having very blurry peripheral vision. No more! I can feel them floating around in there, but it's not too bad. And the vision in my right eye is definitely blurrier, so I'm not sure about this whole not correcting the astigmatism thing. Maybe it will be less noticeable as I get on with normal activities. I was planning on taking my "new eyes" out and running some errands this afternoon, but since it is bright and sunny, my first stop will have to be for a pair of sunglasses! Didn't think about needing to have them before I got the contacts. My prescription sunglasses aren't exactly going to work with the contacts in. But shopping will be fun... I'll actually be able to see what they look like while I'm trying them on!! I have a follow-up appointment in two weeks, but I feel pretty safe in going ahead and crossing this off the list (#28)!!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Bride and Prejudice
I watched this yesterday. Bollywood movies always put a smile on my face and make me want to get up and dance!! (and yes, that is the guy from "Lost"!)
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Catching up
I cannot believe that it has been almost six months since this little project started! So I thought this would be a good time to go through my list and see what's what. Here goes...
I really need to make another appointment for donating blood (#1), especially since I was planning on doing this six times! I think I may try to find a different location, not because there was anything at all wrong with the one I went to last time, but maybe I'll have better luck with a different phlebotomist. Not looking forward to more bruising or pain, though, so I'm definitely a little gun shy. It was looking like I might get my first massage and/or facial in Las Vegas when I'm there for my friend's 40th birthday celebration in September, but after some discussion, she thinks it would be best to go to a place where she goes at home (#7, 18). So this one is on hold until I go visit her again. That's probably better anyway, because it will definitely be cheaper, and in case my face has a bad reaction, I won't have to worry about being seen by a bunch of people!
Speaking of 40th birthday celebrations, mine is just over a year away now (#69)! That may seem early to start planning, but I want to make sure we can all budget for it and that we'll be able to make travel plans. A few things have floated through my mind, but so far the only one that has really caught my attention would be renting a beach house for a few days or even a week. I guess I have visions of sitting on the beach or a deck overlooking the beach with a drink, listening to the waves roll in, and just relaxing! It would be nice to be near somewhere with shops and restaurants and maybe a little sight-seeing. We'll have to see. I have been scoping out a couple of rental sites online, and while it could be a little pricey, it's not any worse than a fancy hotel, and there would be room for everyone! I'm open to suggestions, though...
I keep thinking I should be able to combine my road trip (#8) with visting the three new states (#52), but I've been to all the surrounding states, so that would require flying somewhere and renting a car. Keeping this one in the back of my mind, but I don't think it's going to happen right away. I probably should better define in my mind how long of a trip constitutes a road trip! I might be going the midnight premiere of the new Harry Potter movie, so that would take care of #10. Not that I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, but I can't imagine too many other movies that I would really be that interested in seeing at midnight.
I got an e-mail in April about volunteer opportunities for a Habitat House, but I was scheduled to work all the days they needed people (#11)! Rats. The couple of times there have been meteor showers, it has been completely overcast (#20). I have a feeling this task may end up being a lot harder to cross off than it seems like it should be. One day when I was looking through the Food Network site (one of my favorite activities!), I found a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa for making cheese that you then mix with dill to make a spread (#21)... yum! It actually sounds really easy, so I'm thinking it would be a good weekend project sometime. Even better, if turns out to actually taste like something decent, maybe I could take it to work for one of our many pitch-ins! Wouldn't that impress everyone?!?
I haven't made any of my doctor/dentist appointments yet. I need to put it on my weekly to-do list, because I never think about calling during the week. It's one of those things I only think about when I can do nothing about it... weekends, in the shower, right before I fall asleep, or driving in the car. Since I regularly have days off during the week, it shouldn't be that difficult to schedule things, so it's just a matter of picking up the phone. I haven't been eating out much lately, but I definitely haven't had any servers that warranted a 100% tip (#25)! But I'm keeping it in the back of my mind for when that just right person comes along... it will be fun!
I'm essentially postponing all my classes for now, because I set up my budget to accumulate some money for all the things on my list that will require a larger amount of money (i.e. classes, lawyer for the will, bicycle, fixing my grandfather's headstone, Butler donation, etc.). One of my coworkers recently took a cake decorating class and has brought in several cakes for some of our parties, which has really whet my appetite for that one (#97)! I also signed for the Top Chef University after purchasing a discount certificate on http://www.gilt.com/. http://www.topchefuniversity.com/site/ I'm not planning on counting it as my cooking class (#34), but maybe it will give me some good basic information and allow me to sign up for a more advanced class than I would feel comfortable taking right now.
I am so mad at myself, because, although I never made it a definite intention, I was actually on track for sending out all birthday/cards gifts on time (#36)! At least I was until my step-father's birthday last week. The worst part was that I had all but one of his gifts that I could have given him when he was here last month, but they weren't wrapped and I was just too lazy to go down to the basement and wrap them. Aaagh! And here it is now, over a week past his birthday, and I still haven't sent his presents! And on top of that, I didn't get my father's day cards mailed either. It's a slippery slope...
I keep thinking about when I might start the 365-day photo challenge, and I have to say... I'm scared (#37)! I'm watching other people's blogs who are doing photo challenges, and it just seems so overwhelming! I did finally buy a replacement for the camera that went missing in Sedona, so at least I am capable of taking pictures now. And I don't think it's the actual taking of the pictures that worries me, but figuring how to post them, how often to post them, and how much I want to talk about them. My instinct would be to talk all about the picture, but that could be a whole blog in itself! Especially the way I can go on about things! I probably am overthinking this way too much, but I probably should at least work out some of the logistics before I start on this one.
I have been writing to grandparents regularly with the exception of last month when I was actually there visiting (#43). It was nice to see my last letter tucked away on the kitchen counter with some other papers, because I know they really enjoy hearing from me. I have noticed, though, that I have been calling less since I started writing more often. Seems like there needs to be a better balance there somewhere. I have also been keeping in regular touch with my dad (#61), and that has been great. I feel much more connected to him than I have for a while, and it feels like he has been more open toward me, too. When I was there visiting, it seemed like things were looser and more comfortable, which is the way it should be and the reason why I put this on the list. I hate that we ever drifted apart as much as we did.
I have been making a point of finding more music (#45). It was surprising to find how the local newspaper and many of the magazines I subscribe to list music suggestions. I've also been listening to Pandora a lot through the computer (I'm listening to a Jimmy Buffett-inspired channgel even now as I am typing!), and some new things have been popping up there, too. Overall, I've been making a point of watching less TV and listening to more music, particularly when I'm at home. It does help keep me from being such a couch potato, because I'm not tied to staying in one room if the radio is on or there are CDs playing, so it's a good thing. I've been thinking about #47 quite a bit lately... not spending any money outside of groceries & bills. After watching Extreme Couponing, I've been doing a lot of couponing myself lately, so the idea of potentially missing out on some great deal is currently causing some anxiety. It's only because this is something new, and I always tend to get a little addicted to things like this in the beginning phases, so I'm thinking that this one may have to wait a little while. On the flip side, I have been accumulating some groceries and other items, so it should be easier not to spend once I get around to doing it, and I have been saving a LOT of money!
(gotta give credit to the Krazy Coupon Ladies here... they are fabulous, and make it all so easy!)
<a href="http://thekrazycouponlady.com/%22%3E%3Cimg src="http://krazycouponlady.net/KCLBlinkie.gif" alt=" "/></a>
Okay, starting a garden and composting (#49, 50). I so have not wanted to do anything outside at all this summer. My family all gave me gift cards to Lowe's this Christmas so I would be able to buy flowers, but I haven't used even a single one of them. I really wanted to get some knockout roses this year (#55), but my flower beds look like some sort of rainforest experiment right now. In fact, the one in back has pretty much blended in to the rest of the yard. I am embarassed. Now I will say that getting up and down off the ground or floor is still a horrible proposition, because of my knees, and this has definitely made the idea of weeding or planting or anything else along that line sound like the last thing I would want to do most days. But still. *sigh*
I do mean to start flossing (#57), but I think I am going to have to put a post-it up on my mirror to remind me, like I did with the vitamins. Otherwise it just doesn't even cross my mind! But speaking of vitamins, I haven't been taking them every day, but I did actually finish off the original bottle of 100 that I opened back in January, and I am on to bottle #2. woo-hoo!! I have been keeping my list of books (#60), and I have to say... I don't read as many as I ever would have guessed that I did. I mean I am really surprised that this list is not longer than it is. Especially since I've been including the audio books that I listen to in the car. Granted, I also have a healthy addiction to magazines, so a good chunk of reading time goes to those, too, but still! I do like having the list, though, to look back over and remember what exactly I've read. And there have been a couple of books that I want to talk about, specifically, but I think I'll save that for another post. I'm pretty happy with my progress on the list of specific books I wanted to read (#66). I've been making a point of buying them, so I'll have them whenever I'm in the mood to start one, and I think I have all but three or four now. That feels like a bit of an accomplishment in itself, because I've been buying them as I find them at the Half-Price bookstore or if I get a really good coupon from Barnes & Noble. Half-Price books is having their annual huge clearance sale out at the fairgrounds next weekend, so maybe I'll find a couple more! I'm so excited about that sale! Imagine a whole huge empty building filled with boxes and flats of books, books, and more books... and nothing over $3!! I'm smiling and getting giddy just thinking about it!
Ugh. I have done nothing with my PSAP chapters lately, and I'm probably due to get another one soon (#63). Ugh. It just feels like doing homework, and I don't wanna!!! I do plan on starting my knee exercises soon (#72), because I want to be able to walk easier during the Las Vegas trip in September, and I would also like to be able to wear high heels which I haven't been able to do since all the knee problems started last April. I'm not sure which is worse... the inherent knee pain or the pain from doing the exercises. There's a good philosophical question for you. I guess the pain from the exercises is theoretically better, because at least the exercises are supposed to prevent further damage. Another one of those things I need to suck up and just do!
I had thought trying a new recipe every month would not be nearly so difficult as it has turned out to be (#73). I have come to the realization that I cook even less than I was giving myself credit for. A lot less. Like, wow, I eat a lot of fast food and sandwiches. Talk about eye-opening. I haven't done much with my goals for movies or the Wii, because the television I was using in the basement died (it is probably almost 20 years old and did spend the last four years in storage, so it lived a good long life). And I have bought a new giant flatscreen to go in the built-in media area down there, but so far it hasn't made it out of the box. So even though I have two other functioning televisions in the house, neither is hooked up to a DVD player or the Wii. Meh. One of these days it will come together.
Okay, I just did something between a snort and a laugh when I read #94 - organize basement storage area. The last time I was in the basement for any significant period of time was back when I was wrapping Christmas presents. Otherwise it's just in and out as quickly as possible while doing laundry. There are a couple of reasons this has happened... mostly that the TV down there died and because, apparently, all the bug spray that the guy sprayed down there last summer has completely worn off. Nearly every time I go downstairs I see a spider or a millipede. It's starting to freak me out. And because I started dumping stuff down there (shelves, boxes, loose random items), it's a semi-disaster area, so I don't think it's worth calling in the bug guys again until I get it tidied up some. As it stands right now, there's a whole room that they wouldn't be able to maneuver in enough to spray. And I noticed that several of the bags and boxes have a lot of spider webs in/on them. I seem to have the kind of tiny little spiders that spin a lot of webs. Joy. Yet another thing I just need to suck it up and wade into. Ewww!
Oh, I did try another new (to me) restaurant a couple of weeks ago when my step-father was here to go to the race (#98). After the race on Sunday, we came home and got cleaned up, stopped by the Half-Price Bookstore for their 20% of everything sale, and went to Rock Bottom Brewery up on 86th Street for dinner. http://www.rockbottom.com/ Now I'm not a beer drinker, but usually pub places like this tend to have a pretty good selection of food, and my step-father does like trying new ales, so I figured this was a good choice. Okay, granted it was a Sunday evening on a holiday weekend, but they only had two servers for the entire dining room! The decor was nice, and they had a huge chalkboard showing all their beers with a listing of alcohol contents and when they had been brewed and other stuff that probably would have meant something if I knew anything about beer. The menu was good and had quite a variety, but this was one of those times that everything went badly, at least for me. I decided on the Prime and Cheddar sandwich, but the manager came by a few minutes later and told me they were out of prime rib. I was really craving a big cheeseburgers, but most of their burgers came with odd toppings that I didn't want, so I finally settled on the Patty Melt minus the Russian dressing and the housemade rootbeer. I love rootbeer, and I have found that a lot of these brewpubs make their own, so I was excited to try theirs. It was awful! Flat and syrupy, I didn't even finish it. The waitress came by several times without ever refilling my empty water glass (I was still thirsty from being outside at the race earlier in the day), and it took two requests to get more. The sandwich was okay, but the meat wasn't seasoned at all and it ended up tasting pretty bland. The best part of my meal was the french fries, which were thin and well-seasoned. Ted had the chicken and avocado sandwich and two glasses of Kolsch, all of which he said were very good. It was like he got all the good mojo at our table and I got all the bad, so our opionions were very different at the end of the night. Even though I'm sure the service is normally better than what we had, prices were higher than I expected, and I don't feel the need to go back again on my own. The whole thing was a disappointment and was a less than fantastic way to end what was otherwise a really fun day.
So, time to wrap this all up... six months into the project, I have completed seven tasks on the list, made good starts on sixteen, and laid down groundwork for quite a few others. I need to get moving on a few, because there are some that I could easily complete at any time, but overall I'm pretty happy with my progress. Most of all, I'm still enjoying the process and I'm glad I'm doing it. Thanks, Mashelda, for getting me involved!
I really need to make another appointment for donating blood (#1), especially since I was planning on doing this six times! I think I may try to find a different location, not because there was anything at all wrong with the one I went to last time, but maybe I'll have better luck with a different phlebotomist. Not looking forward to more bruising or pain, though, so I'm definitely a little gun shy. It was looking like I might get my first massage and/or facial in Las Vegas when I'm there for my friend's 40th birthday celebration in September, but after some discussion, she thinks it would be best to go to a place where she goes at home (#7, 18). So this one is on hold until I go visit her again. That's probably better anyway, because it will definitely be cheaper, and in case my face has a bad reaction, I won't have to worry about being seen by a bunch of people!
Speaking of 40th birthday celebrations, mine is just over a year away now (#69)! That may seem early to start planning, but I want to make sure we can all budget for it and that we'll be able to make travel plans. A few things have floated through my mind, but so far the only one that has really caught my attention would be renting a beach house for a few days or even a week. I guess I have visions of sitting on the beach or a deck overlooking the beach with a drink, listening to the waves roll in, and just relaxing! It would be nice to be near somewhere with shops and restaurants and maybe a little sight-seeing. We'll have to see. I have been scoping out a couple of rental sites online, and while it could be a little pricey, it's not any worse than a fancy hotel, and there would be room for everyone! I'm open to suggestions, though...
I keep thinking I should be able to combine my road trip (#8) with visting the three new states (#52), but I've been to all the surrounding states, so that would require flying somewhere and renting a car. Keeping this one in the back of my mind, but I don't think it's going to happen right away. I probably should better define in my mind how long of a trip constitutes a road trip! I might be going the midnight premiere of the new Harry Potter movie, so that would take care of #10. Not that I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, but I can't imagine too many other movies that I would really be that interested in seeing at midnight.
I got an e-mail in April about volunteer opportunities for a Habitat House, but I was scheduled to work all the days they needed people (#11)! Rats. The couple of times there have been meteor showers, it has been completely overcast (#20). I have a feeling this task may end up being a lot harder to cross off than it seems like it should be. One day when I was looking through the Food Network site (one of my favorite activities!), I found a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa for making cheese that you then mix with dill to make a spread (#21)... yum! It actually sounds really easy, so I'm thinking it would be a good weekend project sometime. Even better, if turns out to actually taste like something decent, maybe I could take it to work for one of our many pitch-ins! Wouldn't that impress everyone?!?
I haven't made any of my doctor/dentist appointments yet. I need to put it on my weekly to-do list, because I never think about calling during the week. It's one of those things I only think about when I can do nothing about it... weekends, in the shower, right before I fall asleep, or driving in the car. Since I regularly have days off during the week, it shouldn't be that difficult to schedule things, so it's just a matter of picking up the phone. I haven't been eating out much lately, but I definitely haven't had any servers that warranted a 100% tip (#25)! But I'm keeping it in the back of my mind for when that just right person comes along... it will be fun!
I'm essentially postponing all my classes for now, because I set up my budget to accumulate some money for all the things on my list that will require a larger amount of money (i.e. classes, lawyer for the will, bicycle, fixing my grandfather's headstone, Butler donation, etc.). One of my coworkers recently took a cake decorating class and has brought in several cakes for some of our parties, which has really whet my appetite for that one (#97)! I also signed for the Top Chef University after purchasing a discount certificate on http://www.gilt.com/. http://www.topchefuniversity.com/site/ I'm not planning on counting it as my cooking class (#34), but maybe it will give me some good basic information and allow me to sign up for a more advanced class than I would feel comfortable taking right now.
I am so mad at myself, because, although I never made it a definite intention, I was actually on track for sending out all birthday/cards gifts on time (#36)! At least I was until my step-father's birthday last week. The worst part was that I had all but one of his gifts that I could have given him when he was here last month, but they weren't wrapped and I was just too lazy to go down to the basement and wrap them. Aaagh! And here it is now, over a week past his birthday, and I still haven't sent his presents! And on top of that, I didn't get my father's day cards mailed either. It's a slippery slope...
I keep thinking about when I might start the 365-day photo challenge, and I have to say... I'm scared (#37)! I'm watching other people's blogs who are doing photo challenges, and it just seems so overwhelming! I did finally buy a replacement for the camera that went missing in Sedona, so at least I am capable of taking pictures now. And I don't think it's the actual taking of the pictures that worries me, but figuring how to post them, how often to post them, and how much I want to talk about them. My instinct would be to talk all about the picture, but that could be a whole blog in itself! Especially the way I can go on about things! I probably am overthinking this way too much, but I probably should at least work out some of the logistics before I start on this one.
I have been writing to grandparents regularly with the exception of last month when I was actually there visiting (#43). It was nice to see my last letter tucked away on the kitchen counter with some other papers, because I know they really enjoy hearing from me. I have noticed, though, that I have been calling less since I started writing more often. Seems like there needs to be a better balance there somewhere. I have also been keeping in regular touch with my dad (#61), and that has been great. I feel much more connected to him than I have for a while, and it feels like he has been more open toward me, too. When I was there visiting, it seemed like things were looser and more comfortable, which is the way it should be and the reason why I put this on the list. I hate that we ever drifted apart as much as we did.
I have been making a point of finding more music (#45). It was surprising to find how the local newspaper and many of the magazines I subscribe to list music suggestions. I've also been listening to Pandora a lot through the computer (I'm listening to a Jimmy Buffett-inspired channgel even now as I am typing!), and some new things have been popping up there, too. Overall, I've been making a point of watching less TV and listening to more music, particularly when I'm at home. It does help keep me from being such a couch potato, because I'm not tied to staying in one room if the radio is on or there are CDs playing, so it's a good thing. I've been thinking about #47 quite a bit lately... not spending any money outside of groceries & bills. After watching Extreme Couponing, I've been doing a lot of couponing myself lately, so the idea of potentially missing out on some great deal is currently causing some anxiety. It's only because this is something new, and I always tend to get a little addicted to things like this in the beginning phases, so I'm thinking that this one may have to wait a little while. On the flip side, I have been accumulating some groceries and other items, so it should be easier not to spend once I get around to doing it, and I have been saving a LOT of money!
(gotta give credit to the Krazy Coupon Ladies here... they are fabulous, and make it all so easy!)
<a href="http://thekrazycouponlady.com/%22%3E%3Cimg src="http://krazycouponlady.net/KCLBlinkie.gif" alt=" "/></a>
Okay, starting a garden and composting (#49, 50). I so have not wanted to do anything outside at all this summer. My family all gave me gift cards to Lowe's this Christmas so I would be able to buy flowers, but I haven't used even a single one of them. I really wanted to get some knockout roses this year (#55), but my flower beds look like some sort of rainforest experiment right now. In fact, the one in back has pretty much blended in to the rest of the yard. I am embarassed. Now I will say that getting up and down off the ground or floor is still a horrible proposition, because of my knees, and this has definitely made the idea of weeding or planting or anything else along that line sound like the last thing I would want to do most days. But still. *sigh*
I do mean to start flossing (#57), but I think I am going to have to put a post-it up on my mirror to remind me, like I did with the vitamins. Otherwise it just doesn't even cross my mind! But speaking of vitamins, I haven't been taking them every day, but I did actually finish off the original bottle of 100 that I opened back in January, and I am on to bottle #2. woo-hoo!! I have been keeping my list of books (#60), and I have to say... I don't read as many as I ever would have guessed that I did. I mean I am really surprised that this list is not longer than it is. Especially since I've been including the audio books that I listen to in the car. Granted, I also have a healthy addiction to magazines, so a good chunk of reading time goes to those, too, but still! I do like having the list, though, to look back over and remember what exactly I've read. And there have been a couple of books that I want to talk about, specifically, but I think I'll save that for another post. I'm pretty happy with my progress on the list of specific books I wanted to read (#66). I've been making a point of buying them, so I'll have them whenever I'm in the mood to start one, and I think I have all but three or four now. That feels like a bit of an accomplishment in itself, because I've been buying them as I find them at the Half-Price bookstore or if I get a really good coupon from Barnes & Noble. Half-Price books is having their annual huge clearance sale out at the fairgrounds next weekend, so maybe I'll find a couple more! I'm so excited about that sale! Imagine a whole huge empty building filled with boxes and flats of books, books, and more books... and nothing over $3!! I'm smiling and getting giddy just thinking about it!
Ugh. I have done nothing with my PSAP chapters lately, and I'm probably due to get another one soon (#63). Ugh. It just feels like doing homework, and I don't wanna!!! I do plan on starting my knee exercises soon (#72), because I want to be able to walk easier during the Las Vegas trip in September, and I would also like to be able to wear high heels which I haven't been able to do since all the knee problems started last April. I'm not sure which is worse... the inherent knee pain or the pain from doing the exercises. There's a good philosophical question for you. I guess the pain from the exercises is theoretically better, because at least the exercises are supposed to prevent further damage. Another one of those things I need to suck up and just do!
I had thought trying a new recipe every month would not be nearly so difficult as it has turned out to be (#73). I have come to the realization that I cook even less than I was giving myself credit for. A lot less. Like, wow, I eat a lot of fast food and sandwiches. Talk about eye-opening. I haven't done much with my goals for movies or the Wii, because the television I was using in the basement died (it is probably almost 20 years old and did spend the last four years in storage, so it lived a good long life). And I have bought a new giant flatscreen to go in the built-in media area down there, but so far it hasn't made it out of the box. So even though I have two other functioning televisions in the house, neither is hooked up to a DVD player or the Wii. Meh. One of these days it will come together.
Okay, I just did something between a snort and a laugh when I read #94 - organize basement storage area. The last time I was in the basement for any significant period of time was back when I was wrapping Christmas presents. Otherwise it's just in and out as quickly as possible while doing laundry. There are a couple of reasons this has happened... mostly that the TV down there died and because, apparently, all the bug spray that the guy sprayed down there last summer has completely worn off. Nearly every time I go downstairs I see a spider or a millipede. It's starting to freak me out. And because I started dumping stuff down there (shelves, boxes, loose random items), it's a semi-disaster area, so I don't think it's worth calling in the bug guys again until I get it tidied up some. As it stands right now, there's a whole room that they wouldn't be able to maneuver in enough to spray. And I noticed that several of the bags and boxes have a lot of spider webs in/on them. I seem to have the kind of tiny little spiders that spin a lot of webs. Joy. Yet another thing I just need to suck it up and wade into. Ewww!
Oh, I did try another new (to me) restaurant a couple of weeks ago when my step-father was here to go to the race (#98). After the race on Sunday, we came home and got cleaned up, stopped by the Half-Price Bookstore for their 20% of everything sale, and went to Rock Bottom Brewery up on 86th Street for dinner. http://www.rockbottom.com/ Now I'm not a beer drinker, but usually pub places like this tend to have a pretty good selection of food, and my step-father does like trying new ales, so I figured this was a good choice. Okay, granted it was a Sunday evening on a holiday weekend, but they only had two servers for the entire dining room! The decor was nice, and they had a huge chalkboard showing all their beers with a listing of alcohol contents and when they had been brewed and other stuff that probably would have meant something if I knew anything about beer. The menu was good and had quite a variety, but this was one of those times that everything went badly, at least for me. I decided on the Prime and Cheddar sandwich, but the manager came by a few minutes later and told me they were out of prime rib. I was really craving a big cheeseburgers, but most of their burgers came with odd toppings that I didn't want, so I finally settled on the Patty Melt minus the Russian dressing and the housemade rootbeer. I love rootbeer, and I have found that a lot of these brewpubs make their own, so I was excited to try theirs. It was awful! Flat and syrupy, I didn't even finish it. The waitress came by several times without ever refilling my empty water glass (I was still thirsty from being outside at the race earlier in the day), and it took two requests to get more. The sandwich was okay, but the meat wasn't seasoned at all and it ended up tasting pretty bland. The best part of my meal was the french fries, which were thin and well-seasoned. Ted had the chicken and avocado sandwich and two glasses of Kolsch, all of which he said were very good. It was like he got all the good mojo at our table and I got all the bad, so our opionions were very different at the end of the night. Even though I'm sure the service is normally better than what we had, prices were higher than I expected, and I don't feel the need to go back again on my own. The whole thing was a disappointment and was a less than fantastic way to end what was otherwise a really fun day.
So, time to wrap this all up... six months into the project, I have completed seven tasks on the list, made good starts on sixteen, and laid down groundwork for quite a few others. I need to get moving on a few, because there are some that I could easily complete at any time, but overall I'm pretty happy with my progress. Most of all, I'm still enjoying the process and I'm glad I'm doing it. Thanks, Mashelda, for getting me involved!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Parade, Playground, and Pandas
On May 28, I took the kids out for a whole day of fun by myself (#93)! That was not the original intent for the day... it started because I thought it would be fun to take the kids (with or without Trinity and Kevin) to the 500 Festival Parade (that's the Indy 500 car race, for all you non-Hoosiers!), mostly because I've always thought it looked like fun, and I was actually off that weekend. When I asked Trinity about it, she reminded me that day was their anniversary, so they were fine with me taking Tessa and Tanis to the parade. I told her depending on how things went, I might take them out for lunch and keep them out for a while, so they could celebrate their anniversary kid-free for once!
So I picked up the kids about 10:30, and we headed downtown. I had been warned that parking would be crowded, but I actually found a lot only a block away from where our seats were. There was definitely some time to kill before the parade started, especially since we were sitting near the end of the parade route, but I was a good auntie and had made sure to bring snacks and drinks. I also bought them checkered flags to wave, and there was lots to look at.
Tanis really wanted some cotton candy, but I was not buying him any. Every single time the sellers walked by, his hand shot up, the guys stopped, and I had to yank his hand down and say no. After the fifth time, I looked at him and said I am not buying any cotton candy! I hated doing it, but this was going to be a neverending cycle, and we hadn't even been there an hour yet. The parade finally started, and it was so much fun!
Lots of things to see and enjoy, althought by the end, things were getting a little strung out and the kids were starting to get bored. Considering we got there a good hour early and the parade lasted two hours, I thought they did really well. Even I was glad when it was all over.
I let them pick a place for lunch, and after much discussion they finally settled on Chik-Fil-A. I have a feeling that decision stemmed as much or more from their play area as the food, but I love Chik-Fil-A so no complaints from me! After we'd been there a while I gave them a choice: stay there and play, or go see a movie. The movie won, hands down! So we were off to see Kung Fu Panda 2. They were clamoring for blue icees at the theatre, and I bought popcorn for us all to share. About three handfuls in, Tessa remembered she can't eat popcorn because of her braces! I'm just glad she remembered, because that never even occurred to me. So, I ran back out to the lobby for a box of Junior Mints... catstrophe averted! The movie was hilarious, and I'm sure I enjoyed it at least as much as they did.
On the way back home, Tessa said she was tired, and although he wouldn't admit it, Tanis was yawning all the way! I was really very pleasantly surprised and amazed at how well-behaved they were all day. I had been dreading taking them out on my own, because they can get pretty rambunctious and hyper, but these were like two totally different kids! This day made me realize that I can absolutely spend time with them by myself and have a great time. Success!
So I picked up the kids about 10:30, and we headed downtown. I had been warned that parking would be crowded, but I actually found a lot only a block away from where our seats were. There was definitely some time to kill before the parade started, especially since we were sitting near the end of the parade route, but I was a good auntie and had made sure to bring snacks and drinks. I also bought them checkered flags to wave, and there was lots to look at.
Tanis really wanted some cotton candy, but I was not buying him any. Every single time the sellers walked by, his hand shot up, the guys stopped, and I had to yank his hand down and say no. After the fifth time, I looked at him and said I am not buying any cotton candy! I hated doing it, but this was going to be a neverending cycle, and we hadn't even been there an hour yet. The parade finally started, and it was so much fun!
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| Centennial celebration of the race! |
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| float from the Indy Asian organization |
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| Anderson Cooper, grand marshal |
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| 1911 Marmon Wasp - winner of the first Indy 500! |
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| Mario Andretti, racing legend |
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| 500 Festival Princesses |
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| Rodeo Girls |
I let them pick a place for lunch, and after much discussion they finally settled on Chik-Fil-A. I have a feeling that decision stemmed as much or more from their play area as the food, but I love Chik-Fil-A so no complaints from me! After we'd been there a while I gave them a choice: stay there and play, or go see a movie. The movie won, hands down! So we were off to see Kung Fu Panda 2. They were clamoring for blue icees at the theatre, and I bought popcorn for us all to share. About three handfuls in, Tessa remembered she can't eat popcorn because of her braces! I'm just glad she remembered, because that never even occurred to me. So, I ran back out to the lobby for a box of Junior Mints... catstrophe averted! The movie was hilarious, and I'm sure I enjoyed it at least as much as they did.
On the way back home, Tessa said she was tired, and although he wouldn't admit it, Tanis was yawning all the way! I was really very pleasantly surprised and amazed at how well-behaved they were all day. I had been dreading taking them out on my own, because they can get pretty rambunctious and hyper, but these were like two totally different kids! This day made me realize that I can absolutely spend time with them by myself and have a great time. Success!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Still Here
Just wanted to let you know that I'm still here. I actually did write a new post last weekend, but it somehow disappeared into the internet never-never land and I got so irritated that I couldn't bring myself to rewrite it. I've actually crossed a couple of things off the list, so it's been a good month! But you'll have to wait to see...
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
I have died and gone to comfort food heaven! I was squeaking in under the wire with this month's new recipe (#73). This stems from a recipe that my dad's wife makes. She is a great cook, and her version of this casserole is a favorite of her kids, too. I have never quite been able to get the whole recipe out of her, but I think that's more because she doesn't follow an actual recipe than her trying to keep it a secret or anything like that. So I ended up doing a Google search (seriously, what did we do before the internet???) and found, literally, thousands of recipes with an inifinite number of variations. I've actually had the ingredients for this for a while now and had originally intended to include ham in it to make it more of a main course, but I had a ham that needed to be cooked anyway, so I ended up doing that separately (more on that in a minute). I have to admit that I definitely went cheese-heavy on this, but basically it's a mix of sharp cheddar, greek yogurt, cream of potato soup, frozen hash browns, salt, pepper, and cajun seasoning, topped with parmesan and asiago. Healthy, this is not. It baked for over an hour, and merged into a perfect blend of cheesy potato goodness! You can't really taste the cajun seasoning, but it gives it a slight kick and keeps it from being too one-note flavor-wise. I just finished off a bowlful and it was beyond tasty, but I do have to admit a craving for some sort of green vegetable now. *LOL*
Now for the ham. It was cooked on the stove in a pot with an onion and a two-liter of Coke, a la Nigella Lawson. I have fixed this once before, but I wanted to mention it anyway because it is so easy and so tasty! Last time I took it to work for a carry-in, and everyone raved over it. I love that by cooking it on the stove, it frees up the oven for whatever else you are fixing to go along with it. And the Coke/onion can be reduced down to make a glaze if you like to do that.
So now, between the casserole and the ham and some frozen veggies, I have meals for the week. Yummy!
(this picture is for you, Mashelda!)
Now for the ham. It was cooked on the stove in a pot with an onion and a two-liter of Coke, a la Nigella Lawson. I have fixed this once before, but I wanted to mention it anyway because it is so easy and so tasty! Last time I took it to work for a carry-in, and everyone raved over it. I love that by cooking it on the stove, it frees up the oven for whatever else you are fixing to go along with it. And the Coke/onion can be reduced down to make a glaze if you like to do that.
So now, between the casserole and the ham and some frozen veggies, I have meals for the week. Yummy!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Bedroom, Books, and Blood
I know. It's been a long time since my last post. For a while, there just wasn't much to write about, and then, for some reason, I just wasn't in the mood. But I have finally decided that I need to suck it up and write... something!
I am to the point with decorating my bedroom (#16) that I'm thinking about paint colors, so I decided I really needed to find out about air conditioning for the upstairs. My house was built in 1941, and one of the previous owners finished out the attic into a master bedroom and bathroom, plus there's an extra room where I have a TV, chair, and my rowing machine. I found out after I moved in last summer that there are no air conditioning vents in the bedroom, and the ones in the other room are totally insufficient for that whole area. It was completely unliveable last summer, and I spent those months sleeping in the first floor guest room. I had a handyman come through and give me some estimates for different things last year, and he guessed that putting in a separate air conditioner for the upstairs would be around $4000. It's a lot of money, but this is my forever house, so for me it is completely worth it. I have to be cool in the summertime! So a few weeks ago, I had three different companies come give me estimates. First, it turns out I can't get a conventional air system put in because there's no room for the blower in the remaining attic space and no real room for duct work. I will have to get a "mini split" system that involves having a 1x2 foot unit installed in the wall... doesn't exactly fit in with my decorating scheme. I will also have to upgrade the electrical system, so it can handle the extra load. That alone will be $1500-2000. Then the estimates for the air unit were $3500-$8800 on top of that (the higher one also involved putting an additional blower in the extra room). Wow. Not at all what I was expecting. I have been building my savings back up, but I still owe my dad money that he loaned me last year to buy the house and I don't expect to get my tax return back (with the first time homebuyers credit) for a couple of months. That whole situation really depressed me for a while. I still can't think about it too much, and I've basically decided to postpone doing anything until I get my tax money back. Which means it will be back to the guest room before too long.
I have set The Fountainhead aside for the moment (#66). I like it, but it's a long book, and I haven't had enough time to get very far. I did have a Groupon for Barnes & Noble and bought two more of the books from my list of fifteen. Consequently, on one of my days off, I ended up reading Night completely through one morning when I was off. It's only about 140 pages, so it only took a few hours to read. Here is the synopsis from the Barnes and Noble website...
Elie Wiesel has written a lot of books, which I didn't realize. I happened across one at the library the last time I was there, so I checked it out and I'm interested to see what it is about. I would definitely recommend Night to others, but they need to know what they're getting into.
Finally, last Friday I got off work early because I had come in early another day, and in anticipation of that I scheduled an appointment at the local blood bank (#1). I had been putting it off, but I knew that in order to be able to donate six times, I really need to get started! I've been turned away from donating in the past a few times because of being slightly anemic, so that always makes me a little nervous going into the appointment. So I got to there, filled out all the preliminary paperwork, had my blood pressure checked (122/66 -- yea!), and had my hemoglobin checked... 14! (the cutoff is 12.5 -- up from 12, which really made me nervous) They took me back, and the first nurse checked both my arms and decided she didn't feel comfortable sticking me. I had warned her that I am sometimes a hard stick, but I bleed really well once they get the line in. So she got another nurse who found a vein in my left arm that she felt good about. Unfortunately, once she got in there with the needle, the vein rolled and she couldn't get it. I told her if she wanted to try the other side, I was fine with that. She found a vein that was a little superficial, but she thought it would work. Boy, when she stuck me, blood went everywhere! But then it didn't want to flow. Previously I thought I remembered the blood just went by gravity, but this time it was going through a small pump into the bag, and even though she kept adjusting the needle, it just wasn't maintaining enough pressure to keep the pump going. She finally decided to stop, because it was taking too long and she knew it was hurting me. I was so disappointed that I was nearly crying. I think this meant a lot more to me than I actually realized. I was definitely in a funk for the rest of the day, and I ended up with a small bruise on my left arm and a pretty substantial bruise on my right arm as well as an area of phlebitis above the stick site in my right arm. It's been painful the last few days, but it's finally looking and feeling much better (almost a week later). I had mentioned to my mom that I was going to donate, and she said to think of her while I was there. She used to donate regularly, too, and they always called her to make appointments because she's O negative. After having cancer twice and chemo twice, she can no longer donate, and it was hard for her, because they kept calling her to make appointments for a long time, even after she repeatedly told them to take her name off the list. It was hard for her, because it was a reminder of what she'd been through. So I think between the significance for blood donations for both of my parents and wanting to do it for myself, having this failed experience was very frustrating and depressing. On the bright side, I did get a cute t-shirt!
So that's where things stand right now. Not a whole lot accomplished, and a lot of frustration. But, in a strange way, I still feel like I'm making progress, so I do feel good about that.
I am to the point with decorating my bedroom (#16) that I'm thinking about paint colors, so I decided I really needed to find out about air conditioning for the upstairs. My house was built in 1941, and one of the previous owners finished out the attic into a master bedroom and bathroom, plus there's an extra room where I have a TV, chair, and my rowing machine. I found out after I moved in last summer that there are no air conditioning vents in the bedroom, and the ones in the other room are totally insufficient for that whole area. It was completely unliveable last summer, and I spent those months sleeping in the first floor guest room. I had a handyman come through and give me some estimates for different things last year, and he guessed that putting in a separate air conditioner for the upstairs would be around $4000. It's a lot of money, but this is my forever house, so for me it is completely worth it. I have to be cool in the summertime! So a few weeks ago, I had three different companies come give me estimates. First, it turns out I can't get a conventional air system put in because there's no room for the blower in the remaining attic space and no real room for duct work. I will have to get a "mini split" system that involves having a 1x2 foot unit installed in the wall... doesn't exactly fit in with my decorating scheme. I will also have to upgrade the electrical system, so it can handle the extra load. That alone will be $1500-2000. Then the estimates for the air unit were $3500-$8800 on top of that (the higher one also involved putting an additional blower in the extra room). Wow. Not at all what I was expecting. I have been building my savings back up, but I still owe my dad money that he loaned me last year to buy the house and I don't expect to get my tax return back (with the first time homebuyers credit) for a couple of months. That whole situation really depressed me for a while. I still can't think about it too much, and I've basically decided to postpone doing anything until I get my tax money back. Which means it will be back to the guest room before too long.
I have set The Fountainhead aside for the moment (#66). I like it, but it's a long book, and I haven't had enough time to get very far. I did have a Groupon for Barnes & Noble and bought two more of the books from my list of fifteen. Consequently, on one of my days off, I ended up reading Night completely through one morning when I was off. It's only about 140 pages, so it only took a few hours to read. Here is the synopsis from the Barnes and Noble website...
I've read and seen a lot of stories about the Holocaust, but this was, by far, the most personalized account. Most of the other authors seem to have separated themselves somewhat from what they went through, but reading this made me truly feel what he went through in a very base and physical way. It was horrible, and I honestly don't know how any of the survivors managed to put together any sort of life afterward.Night is Elie Wiesel s masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps. This new translation by Marion Wiesel, Elie s wife and frequent translator, presents this seminal memoir in the language and spirit truest to the author s original intent. And in a substantive new preface, Elie reflects on the enduring importance of Night and his lifelong, passionate dedication to ensuring that the world never forgets man s capacity for inhumanity to man.Night offers much more than a litany of the daily terrors, everyday perversions, and rampant sadism at Auschwitz and Buchenwald; it also eloquently addresses many of the philosophical as well as personal questions implicit in any serious consideration of what the Holocaust was, what it meant, and what its legacy is and will be.
Elie Wiesel has written a lot of books, which I didn't realize. I happened across one at the library the last time I was there, so I checked it out and I'm interested to see what it is about. I would definitely recommend Night to others, but they need to know what they're getting into.
Finally, last Friday I got off work early because I had come in early another day, and in anticipation of that I scheduled an appointment at the local blood bank (#1). I had been putting it off, but I knew that in order to be able to donate six times, I really need to get started! I've been turned away from donating in the past a few times because of being slightly anemic, so that always makes me a little nervous going into the appointment. So I got to there, filled out all the preliminary paperwork, had my blood pressure checked (122/66 -- yea!), and had my hemoglobin checked... 14! (the cutoff is 12.5 -- up from 12, which really made me nervous) They took me back, and the first nurse checked both my arms and decided she didn't feel comfortable sticking me. I had warned her that I am sometimes a hard stick, but I bleed really well once they get the line in. So she got another nurse who found a vein in my left arm that she felt good about. Unfortunately, once she got in there with the needle, the vein rolled and she couldn't get it. I told her if she wanted to try the other side, I was fine with that. She found a vein that was a little superficial, but she thought it would work. Boy, when she stuck me, blood went everywhere! But then it didn't want to flow. Previously I thought I remembered the blood just went by gravity, but this time it was going through a small pump into the bag, and even though she kept adjusting the needle, it just wasn't maintaining enough pressure to keep the pump going. She finally decided to stop, because it was taking too long and she knew it was hurting me. I was so disappointed that I was nearly crying. I think this meant a lot more to me than I actually realized. I was definitely in a funk for the rest of the day, and I ended up with a small bruise on my left arm and a pretty substantial bruise on my right arm as well as an area of phlebitis above the stick site in my right arm. It's been painful the last few days, but it's finally looking and feeling much better (almost a week later). I had mentioned to my mom that I was going to donate, and she said to think of her while I was there. She used to donate regularly, too, and they always called her to make appointments because she's O negative. After having cancer twice and chemo twice, she can no longer donate, and it was hard for her, because they kept calling her to make appointments for a long time, even after she repeatedly told them to take her name off the list. It was hard for her, because it was a reminder of what she'd been through. So I think between the significance for blood donations for both of my parents and wanting to do it for myself, having this failed experience was very frustrating and depressing. On the bright side, I did get a cute t-shirt!
So that's where things stand right now. Not a whole lot accomplished, and a lot of frustration. But, in a strange way, I still feel like I'm making progress, so I do feel good about that.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Appetizers
Okay, so I haven't technically tried a new recipe so far this month (#73). However, I have been playing around with some appetizer-type foods and calling them dinner. When I was at Trader Joe's the other day (definitely one of my top five favorite stores of all time! one of my friends accused me of being obsessed with them), I decided that I should try prosciutto. I may have had it in something at some point, but I have never specifically eaten it on its own. I also had an odd craving for bruschetta. So, I picked up some ciabatta bread, goat cheese (I love, love, love their goat cheese!), two different types of prosciutto (because why not do a little taste test while I'm at it?), and a jar of bruschetta (because while I wanted to eat it, I did not want to have to make it). Also, the other day at The Fresh Market, I had bought some triple milk cheese (a mixture of cow's, goat's, and sheep's milk) after overhearing the employees talking about it. The woman working the cheese counter gave me a sample of one brand that was very mild and creamy -- the cow's milk was definitely the predominant flavor. But I decided to bring home a different variety that she said was a little sharper tasting, leaning more toward the goat and sheep's milk flavors, because I was in the mood for something a little tangier. Can you tell that I love cheese?
Last night I used a panini bread round as a base. I cut into two pieces and spread goat cheese on one half and the triple milk cheese on the other. The two prosciuttos turned out to be very different. One was German and a little drier with a very heavy smoked flavor. I put a slice of this on top of the goat cheese, since the Trader Joe's brand is quite mild as goat cheeses go. The other prosciutto was Italian, moister, and much milder in flavor. I put this over the triple milk cheese. Both were nice, but something was missing. I think next time I would get some field greens or arugula to add in to the mix. I think it would add good texture and a little bitterness. A little fig jam might be nice, too. I would probably not get the German prosciutto again, because it was too smoky tasting for me. Things that are heavily smoked tend to make me a little nauseous. Don't ask me why... I have no idea. The Italian prosciutto was very nice, though, and I have already looked at some other recipes to see what else I can do with it. You often see it wrapped around melon (which I hate) or asparagus (which I don't love, but would be willing to try in this case), so I might look for other things that it could go with.
Tonight I cut and toasted slices of the ciabatta bread. Two got spread with goat cheese, two got the bruschetta, and one got goat cheese and bruschetta! I should have brushed a little olive oil over the bread slices when I toasted them, and some garlic rubbed over them would definitely have been nice with the bruschetta slices. But beyond that... yum! Well, I have already gone on about the goat cheese, so I won't drool over it any further. The bruschetta was good, but obviously not as good as fresh. It was room temperature, so my instince says it might be a little better chilled. Will likely be testing that theory in a couple of days! I think the bruschetta would be nice with some fresh mozzarella on a pizza. Might have to check that out, too.
The best thing about both these "meals" is that neither took long to prepare and require no actual cooking! It was fun playing around with some ingredients that I don't typically use, and it was different from anything I normally ever have for dinner. A nice change. And yummy, too!!
Last night I used a panini bread round as a base. I cut into two pieces and spread goat cheese on one half and the triple milk cheese on the other. The two prosciuttos turned out to be very different. One was German and a little drier with a very heavy smoked flavor. I put a slice of this on top of the goat cheese, since the Trader Joe's brand is quite mild as goat cheeses go. The other prosciutto was Italian, moister, and much milder in flavor. I put this over the triple milk cheese. Both were nice, but something was missing. I think next time I would get some field greens or arugula to add in to the mix. I think it would add good texture and a little bitterness. A little fig jam might be nice, too. I would probably not get the German prosciutto again, because it was too smoky tasting for me. Things that are heavily smoked tend to make me a little nauseous. Don't ask me why... I have no idea. The Italian prosciutto was very nice, though, and I have already looked at some other recipes to see what else I can do with it. You often see it wrapped around melon (which I hate) or asparagus (which I don't love, but would be willing to try in this case), so I might look for other things that it could go with.
Tonight I cut and toasted slices of the ciabatta bread. Two got spread with goat cheese, two got the bruschetta, and one got goat cheese and bruschetta! I should have brushed a little olive oil over the bread slices when I toasted them, and some garlic rubbed over them would definitely have been nice with the bruschetta slices. But beyond that... yum! Well, I have already gone on about the goat cheese, so I won't drool over it any further. The bruschetta was good, but obviously not as good as fresh. It was room temperature, so my instince says it might be a little better chilled. Will likely be testing that theory in a couple of days! I think the bruschetta would be nice with some fresh mozzarella on a pizza. Might have to check that out, too.
The best thing about both these "meals" is that neither took long to prepare and require no actual cooking! It was fun playing around with some ingredients that I don't typically use, and it was different from anything I normally ever have for dinner. A nice change. And yummy, too!!
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