Mission 101--July 2008

Remember my 101 goals??? Well, this all started for me on the 18th, so here is my in-progress update for the end of July.

Completed:

36. Watch the original Star Wars trilogy. Absolutely LOVED it! I am intrigued by the prequels, but have not heard good things...

38. Go to at least one festival (food, Renaissance, etc.) My parents and I attended Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming and had a blast! We did not see the rodeo though...

43. Do not commute to any job more than 30 minutes, unless our financial independence relies on it. School would be an exception. My new job's commute will be somewhere between 25 and 30 minutes... cutting it close!

72. Have at least a part time job by October, whether it be as a librarian or something else.

In progress:

2. Pick up some form of sewing or knitting and have one project completed. This will likely be "in progress" for a while, but I learned how to crochet! I have a pattern as well. It's a pound puppy, remember those??? But I need to get the basics down before I move on to a complicated pattern, so it's going to be a while.

10. Continue to pay bills in full and on time.

11. Continue to stay credit card debt free (neither Jon nor I have ever been in cc debt) and continue to only use cards for what we can afford.

17. Stay insured for health and dental even if unemployed. I may have a new job, but there will be a gap in my insurance, so I got some individual insurance to cover that period of time.

25. Get used to high altitude baking. NOT EASY!

56. Never leave dishes unwashed.

84. Read 100 classic novels that I have not previously read. I'm currently on number 1. I need to get to reading!


Thinking about it:

61. Dog-proof the house. This needs to happen, and soon!

66. Make a set and realistic house cleaning schedule and stick to it.

Tagged

I was tagged by Camille to do one of these what I would like to call, "Old Folks Quizzes" since it dates back 20 years...

Tag yourself if you want to do it as well!

The Twenty-Year Meme

20 years ago I:

1. Lived in Lilburn, GA

2. Was getting ready to go into first grade

3. Had my mom crimp my hair every day

4. Had a Chihuahua named Currie

5. Played wiffle ball with my brother and dad in the front yard

6. Was in love with my newly pierced ears


10 years ago I:

1. Still lived in Lilburn, GA

2. Was getting ready to enter my junior year in high school

3. Was likely at band camp for my second year on the color guard

4. Had a “country” boyfriend

5. Could drive by myself

6. Was pretty much attached to Adrian, Paige, and Ashley T.


5 years ago I:

1. Lived in Athens, GA, but wasn’t actually living there

2. Was entering my senior year at UGA

3. Was marching my age-out season with Carolina Crown

4. Was about 25 pounds heavier, mind that most of it was pure muscle

5. Was the most tan I’ve ever been

6. Only thought about color guard


3 years ago I:

1. Lived in Bloomington, IN

2. Was working an internship in Quincy, IL

3. Was probably the most miserable I’ve ever been (and I made myself that way)

4. Was getting ready to enter my second year of graduate school to become a super librarian

5. Had just completed Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

6. Had short hair


So far this year I:

1. Have read 39 books

2. Left my job at Brenau :(

3. Have been engaged for 9 months

4. Moved to Colorado

5. Secured two wonderful puppies and am eagerly anticipating them

6. Interviewed for jobs and received one offer


Yesterday I:

1. Met with Jon and a priest to discuss pre-cana

2. Made breakfast for dinner

3. Cleaned out the pantry and refrigerator

4. Asked our breeder 500 questions about the dogs

5. Kind of, not really, watched Magnolia with Jon

6. Forgot to make the bed


Today I:

1. Am in the process of making French bread (haven’t figured out this baking in high altitudes thing yet)

2. Hope to hear from my job about my background check

3. Hope to see pictures of puppies

4. Plan on having steak for dinner

5. Hope to talk to Adrian via email

6. Will pay my credit card bill


Tomorrow I will:

1. Clean something

2. Unpack something

3. Read more Wuthering Heights

4. Take a walk

5. Watch a netflix movie

6. Plan a meal


In the next year I will:

1. Still live in Fort Collins, CO

2. Become a mommy to twin doggies

3. Get married

4. Plan an overseas trip

5. Become more active in both the community and in general

6. Take up crocheting

Decisions, Decisions

Well, it's been quite a week for me. I'm not even remotely settled, mainly because I've been spending time with my parents. Time just seems to slip away from me as it usually does and tomorrow will mark one week in Colorado.

Yesterday was huge. I received a job offer from a nearby public library system. I accepted it because this is my chance to do outreach to the community, even if it is not the county I live in, while I still have the flexibility in schedule to do so. I also liked the people who interviewed me. They were in a tight situation, yet still managed to crack jokes. The people I worked with were the key to my happiness at Brenau, so hopefully things will go well over the next few weeks, because I'm not a fan of starting new jobs (I hate the learning curve.)

I also visited puppies for the first time yesterday. Jon and I were unbelievably excited to pick the little boy, Tony, who I've been eying for weeks. He's spunky and sweet and was definitely the biggest show off in the crowd. We even got the first family photo. He will be named Quincey, a name for one of my favorite characters in literature, as well as the name of the town (spelled differently) where Jon and I will be married.

Quincey

It was a great experience, but we definitely fell in love with a little girl puppy as well. Her name is Meadow and she has the sweetest eyes and is super chill. I'm pretty sure had Jon not known that I wanted Tony so badly, he would have snatched her up. She definitely struck a chord with me as well, so today after a plea for advice from Ashley (Jon's best friend who got us interested in dachshunds) Jon called our breeder and it looks like we'll be taking her home as well come two weeks from now when they're ready to go.

Breeder's picture of Meadow, since we didn't snap many photos of her on our visit

I cried when I found out we were going to be taking her home because it felt like we made the right decision, despite knowing how overwhelming this situation is going to be. Jon and I were going to get two dogs eventually anyways, and I feel a lot better knowing that they have that brother/sister bond, so they should get along while Jon and I work, etc.

So, we'll be welcoming two, instead of one, lovely dachshunds into our lives come two weeks from now!

Getting Settled

Well, I made it to Colorado. My last day of work was on Thursday and leaving Brenau was the only time I teared up throughout the entire move. I will definitely miss the sarcastic outlet and the laughs. Friday my parents, my brother, and I loaded up the moving truck in record time and my parents and I left Snellville at 10am. We spent the night in Mount Vernon, IL. The next day was spent maneuvering Missouri, and a large chunk of Kansas, including a stop to see the world's largest prairie dog in Oakley, Kansas. Awesome.

We arrived Sunday and we've been going full speed since then. I don't think it has quite hit me that I'm really going to be living here now, instead of vacationing, mainly because my parents are here for the week doing just that. I really did enjoy my two years back in Georgia, but it's time to move on. I have to figure out how to live with a boy, meet new people, and drive in the snow (again.)

I miss everybody in Georgia, but being with the one you love is definitely worth it.

Oh and R.I.P. Estelle Getty. Thank you for being a friend!

Crazy

This personal update will be in list form.

-Moving to Colorado on Friday! We should be in town come Sunday afternoon. Wow, there is so much to do before then, including:

• Work 25 hours and make sure everything is in place for the next person who will arrive in August. Sadly, I was the only person doing this nature of work at the library, so I might be taking some phone calls or even coming back at some point in August.
• Try on altered wedding dress and pray that it fits.
  
• Pack. I'm still not finished. Granted, a lot is done at this point, but my wardrobe and other essentials are still around and I have many boxes to take down to the garage to await loading on the truck.
• Prepare for a job interview at 1pm Monday. I did this in Georgia too. I got back from Indiana one day and interviewed the next day.

-Rosie the chocolate and tan dachshund had her puppies! Okay, so she had them 4 weeks ago. There are two boys, two girls, all chocolate and tan, and 3 of them are long haired dachshunds! Jon and I have taken a particular liking to the long hairs, so this is good news for us. We will visit sometime next week and should actually get the dog come mid-August.

-I'm currently reading Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. I like it so far and for once, I have no clue what I'm going to read next. I might do one of Madeleine L'Engle's series, or I might dive in to Harry Potter again, which I will have to do sometime soon since the 6th movie comes out in a few months.

That's all I have at this point. The move is pretty much taking over my life!

Book Review: The Handmaid's Tale

Author: Margaret Atwood
Date Originally Published: 1985
Start Date: July 2nd
Completion Date: July 8th

After completing The Robber Bride last year upon recommendation from a bookish friend, I knew I had to read more Margaret Atwood. She deals with some pretty heavy issues, so I knew that reading The Handmaid's Tale wasn't going to be all fun and games.

I chose The Handmaid's Tale because it seems to be her most popular novel, at least here in America, and is also one that is typically read in high schools and colleges. I initially had no clue that the book deals with a dystopian America, so I was really surprised by her tone and the narrator's overall story at first.

Offred (Of Fred) is a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She was separated from her husband and daughter and placed in a camp of women who are young and fertile to learn the ways of being a concubine in order to boost the population's birth rate. Each member of society wears a different color so they can be distinguished in public. As a handmaid, Offred always wears red. Each handmaid is placed in a wealthy household run by a commander for the republic for a certain amount of time to attempt to produce a healthy baby for the family. If this does not occur, the handmaids are either transferred to another household, or sent to the colonies, which seem to be basically death traps. Commander Fred and his sterile wife, former evangelist, Serena Joy, along with other household members (the Marthas who keep house, etc.) run awkward and restricted lives with each person experiencing pain and sadness in different ways. As Offred continues with her story, she slips into different memories from the past, ranging from her childhood, to her marriage, to her handmaid schooling. She also begins to develop forbidden relationships with members of the household and find out that certain handmaids participate in a quiet resistance movement.

This book succeeds with it's message, like many other classic dystopian novels. There will always be a resistance and the black markets that come with it, there will always be sex, and innocent lives will always be taken for the "good" of the republic/country/land/cause. The Handmaid's Tale is interesting because it was written from a woman's point of view, which seems to give a little more emotion and heart to the story. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and plan to read even more Atwood in the future.

June Books

It's sad but true. I was only able to finish 2 books in June. Where did time go? Your guess is as good as mine. Between two wedding showers, a whole bunch of work, and beginning the slow packing process, I was struggling to find time to read. Plus, The Mists of Avalon isn't exactly the shortest book ever.

So here goes... my one review for the month (for the other, see one entry below.)

After adoring American Gods I decided to give Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere a try. The novel begins with Richard Mayhew's move from small village Scotland to large and imposing London. Here he meets a bossy, but beautiful woman and becomes engaged, and works a normal 9 to 5 job. His life changes forever when he decides to help an injured girl on the streets. After this, he is slowly unrecognizable to London Above, while quickly drawing closer and closer to the much different world of London Below, a world filled with moving markets, rat speakers, a bridge that will kill one with darkness, and creepy angels. Richard is by no means safe in this world, especially because of his connection with the injured girl named Door, who's family, that has a keen gift for unlocking things, was recently assassinated for unknown reasons. Aided by colorful characters, male and female, the pair try to solve the mystery of Door's family, while facing some pretty scary stuff. I am still not able to decide whether or not I like Neverwhere or American Gods more. Both are extremely imaginative and have really endearing protagonists. I loved and became attached to Richard much like I did Shadow. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

So what's on the list for July? I finished Anya Seton's Dragonwyck yesterday and began Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale to start the 2008 Classics Challenge. I'm also reading Your Own Sylvia, A Study in Scarlet (my first Doyle,) and Wuthering Heights. With the move coming up, I hope to be able to read them all!