Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Hello?
Is it me you're looking for?
I'm fairly certain that nobody reads this anymore. Could be the lack of updates for years.
But, just in case I'm on anybody's radar still, I'm sort of back to blogging. In fact, I'm trying out a daily photo project that runs from July 1st, 2012 - June 30th, 2013. It's mostly pictures of my backyard and my dogs, but hey, it's something. Feel free to join me at the new blog. I'll post the previous week's photos every Sunday.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
101 Goals Revisited--How much did I accomplish?
I figure I'm good for one last post on this blog. I'm not going to lie, living my life away from the internet has done me more good than harm, so I'm going to keep things that way (excepting goodreads... I will not leave goodreads!)
Back in 2008 before I moved to Colorado, I signed up for the Mission 101 challenge. Well, the end date for the challenge was in April for this year, so I thought I'd follow up to see just how much was fully accomplished. Results are below.
Red=accomplished
Blue=partially accomplished
White=never happened
Creativity:
1. Experiment with food design and making food look pretty (and taste good too.) I took a cake decorating class in 2009.
2. Pick up some form of sewing or knitting and have one project completed. I took up knitting, crochet, and stitching and have projects finished for all three.
3. Draw and paint again .
4. Ask Jon to teach me basic photography techniques.
5. Ask Jon to teach me basic Photoshop techniques.
6. Make something with the bulk of dried lavender I accidentally bought last year. Jon made some lavender sachets, but we didn't use the entire lot I purchased.
Financial:
7. Establish a ROTH-IRA to supplement any retirement earned through an employer. We both contribute the maximum amounts possible to our retirement accounts, but I never followed up on this (nor can we afford to now).
8. Start contributing to a cause... likely something to help animals and people who help animals (Humane Society or some ASPCA.) We tithe at our church, contribute to dachshund rescue funds, as well as the endometriosis association of america annually.
9. Make an effort to tithe more.
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.
12. Pay off Wonda, my car.
13. Get Jon a new car/truck, and only after my car is paid in full to avoid two car payments. We purchased a Sub@ru Outback in February and love it (although everybody and their mom drives a Sub@ru in Colorado).
14. Prioritize major purchases for the house and only purchase another major item when the item of higher priority is paid in full. I honestly don't know if we've done this, but we're not paying off anything at the moment, so I'll say we partially accomplished this.
15. Only dip into high interest savings either in a dire emergency or to use towards school. Oops. We dipped into this to supply a down payment for the car, so not exactly an emergency.
16. Continue to contribute any small amount to the high interest travel fund.
17. Stay insured for health and dental even if unemployed.
18. Do not impulse buy books because they'll likely be donated within the year anyways.
Food:
19. Bake at least one confection per week, excepting vacations. I really can't verify this, but I was able to do something most weeks.
20. Grow an herb garden. It was kind of a favor, but we expanded beyond the herb garden and have done some really fun stuff, particularly over the last couple of years.
21. Bake bread more often and learn how to hand knead.
22. Better icing technique and piping skills.
23. Attempt a fancy pastry like a napoleon or an éclair, or reattempt the French macaroon.
24. Practice new cooking recipes to become a decent cook and not focus so much on baking.
25. Get used to high altitude baking.
26. Bake a soufflé (stole this one from Amanda.)
27. Start getting milk products from a dairy delivery service instead of the grocery store. We did this until I went part time at work. It was great, but a bit more expensive.
28. Learn how to cook an authentic foreign dish. I suck at Asian food!
Fun Times:
29. Get a dog and successfully train and socialize it. We got two!
30. Get a bike and use it. I definitely need to use it more. Who knew that you could lose bike riding skills? I'm so not confident on a bike anymore.
31. Host some form of a get-together once per quarter. We were doing this, but the house is so small, so it's hard to entertain for more than two people.
32. Have board/card game nights as much as possible.
33. Watch all Doctor Who DVDs available on Netflix. Yeah, didn't happen.
34. Go see a drum corps show if they come to Denver at any point, since I haven't been to one in a while.
35. Watch one watered down horror movie with Jon... during the day time... when it's sunny.
36. Watch the original Star Wars trilogy.
37. Attend some sort of theater event. I went to see South Pacific with some friends last year.
38. Go to at least one festival (food, Renaissance, etc.) Cheyenne Frontier Days in 2008
Health/Environment:
39. Pick up an activity/hobby that requires exercise and/or being outside. Running. I hate it, but it keeps my heart rate down.
40.Walk as much as possible.
41. Join a club of some sort in Fort Collins to meet new people.
42. Make an effort to get out more.
43. Do not commute to any job more than 30 minutes, unless our financial independence relies on it. School would be an exception.
44. Continue using reusable bags at grocery stores.
45. Eliminate coffee to very special occasions and drink only tea for caffeine needs.
46. Drink only one soda per week.
47. Replace all lamp bulbs with energy efficient ones.
48. Get a physical once every 3 years.
49. Go to the dermatologist every other year.
50. Wear sunscreen when exposed to the sun for long periods of time.
51. Learn to ski (I've never tried.) I went cross-country skiing last year. It was okay, but I'm way too uncoordinated to ski.
52. Eat red meat at the most twice per week, preferably less.
53. Eat at least 3 servings of fruit/vegetables per day.
54. Start stretching and become limber again.
55. Learn how to shoot a gun.
Home/Organizing:
56. Never leave dishes unwashed.
57. Plant flowers and bushes around the house and maintain them to become a better gardener. We've discovered a love for gardening, and may have gone a bit overboard on this.
58. Decorate tastefully for Halloween, Christmas, and Easter.
59. Do not decorate for Christmas before the day after Thanksgiving (yeah, I might fail at this one.)
60. Devise a storage system for kitchen items. Jon built basement storage. It works great.
61. Dog-proof the house.
62. Put up dry wall in the garage and devise an organized system for Jon's stuff. It's organized, but we didn't put up dry wall.
63. At least make plans to have the basement refinished so Jon can have his office/man cave.
64. Get a bedroom set. We didn't buy a bedroom set, but we did purchase a nice dresser and bedside tables.
65. Establish the guest room. It's still combined with Jon's office, but the basement renovation isn't happening, so it will have to do.
66. Make a set and realistic house cleaning schedule and stick to it.
Learning/Career:
67. Consider schooling for possible new paths and try to avoid student loans to finance education.
68. Pick up French and Italian again, or learn Spanish, as it is more practical.
69. Read at least 3 history texts, mainly in European history (one on England, one on France, and one on Eastern Europe.) I read 3 texts, but they all focused on England.
70. Take a business or entrepreneur course if switching careers.
71. Re-read The Elements of Style by Strunk and White since I'm awful at grammar and writing, as well as other grammar books.
72. Have at least a part time job by October, whether it be as a librarian or something else.
73. Vote in 2008 election.
Personal:
74. Get married and change my last name.
75. Make an effort to start my marriage off on the right foot by establishing alone time, us time, and keeping communication open.
76. Establish a living will.
77. Consider pregnancy or adoption by the age of 29 (having a child by 30.) I'm glad I said "consider" and added in the adoption piece on this one.
78. Be less private about my relationship with God, but do not overstep boundaries and do not rub religion in people's faces.
79. Attend church more often.
80. Get to know the in-laws better, as well as my own family.
81. Learn how to drive a stick shift.
82. Have my hair cut at least 5 inches sometime after the wedding.
83. Make an effort to be more social and pursue quality friendships. Making friends is a lot more difficult when you're older. There are so many possible alienating factors, that it just isn't easy to establish something new. I've found that my closest acquaintances are at work.
Reading:
84. Read 100 classic novels that I have not previously read.
85. Read one book outside of my comfort zone. We started a readers' advisory book club at work so I've been reading a lot of genres that I wouldn't normally read (western, romance, inspirational)
86. Read and complete a Tolstoy novel (Anna Karenina was a failure for me.)
87. Read all current and past Printz, Newbery, and Caldecott Medal Winners.
88. Attempt the Lord of the Rings trilogy again.
Travel:
89. Visit at least 10 national parks that neither Jon nor I have previously visited. Close, but no cigar.
90. See New Zealand.
91. Visit at least 2 of the 4 states I have left to see in the U.S. (Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota, Idaho.) I only made it to Idaho.
92. Get back to Europe, preferably England again, but I wouldn't complain if I visited Prague, Greece, or Italy either.
93. Camp at least once per year.
94. Go to Dinosaur monument.
95. Take the Colorado Train
96. Drive through Independence Pass. Uggh, I JUST did this, but it was after the deadline.
97. Take Jon to Devil's Tower and Little Bighorn.
98. Renew passport (can't travel internationally without it!)
99. Find a good and safe place to board the dog(s) when traveling.
100. Go home at least once a year.
101. Visit the Northeast again during summer. We went, but during springtime, which was just as lovely.
1. Experiment with food design and making food look pretty (and taste good too.) I took a cake decorating class in 2009.
2. Pick up some form of sewing or knitting and have one project completed. I took up knitting, crochet, and stitching and have projects finished for all three.
3. Draw and paint again .
4. Ask Jon to teach me basic photography techniques.
5. Ask Jon to teach me basic Photoshop techniques.
6. Make something with the bulk of dried lavender I accidentally bought last year. Jon made some lavender sachets, but we didn't use the entire lot I purchased.
Financial:
7. Establish a ROTH-IRA to supplement any retirement earned through an employer. We both contribute the maximum amounts possible to our retirement accounts, but I never followed up on this (nor can we afford to now).
8. Start contributing to a cause... likely something to help animals and people who help animals (Humane Society or some ASPCA.) We tithe at our church, contribute to dachshund rescue funds, as well as the endometriosis association of america annually.
9. Make an effort to tithe more.
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.
12. Pay off Wonda, my car.
13. Get Jon a new car/truck, and only after my car is paid in full to avoid two car payments. We purchased a Sub@ru Outback in February and love it (although everybody and their mom drives a Sub@ru in Colorado).
14. Prioritize major purchases for the house and only purchase another major item when the item of higher priority is paid in full. I honestly don't know if we've done this, but we're not paying off anything at the moment, so I'll say we partially accomplished this.
15. Only dip into high interest savings either in a dire emergency or to use towards school. Oops. We dipped into this to supply a down payment for the car, so not exactly an emergency.
16. Continue to contribute any small amount to the high interest travel fund.
17. Stay insured for health and dental even if unemployed.
18. Do not impulse buy books because they'll likely be donated within the year anyways.
Food:
19. Bake at least one confection per week, excepting vacations. I really can't verify this, but I was able to do something most weeks.
20. Grow an herb garden. It was kind of a favor, but we expanded beyond the herb garden and have done some really fun stuff, particularly over the last couple of years.
21. Bake bread more often and learn how to hand knead.
22. Better icing technique and piping skills.
23. Attempt a fancy pastry like a napoleon or an éclair, or reattempt the French macaroon.
24. Practice new cooking recipes to become a decent cook and not focus so much on baking.
25. Get used to high altitude baking.
26. Bake a soufflé (stole this one from Amanda.)
27. Start getting milk products from a dairy delivery service instead of the grocery store. We did this until I went part time at work. It was great, but a bit more expensive.
28. Learn how to cook an authentic foreign dish. I suck at Asian food!
Fun Times:
29. Get a dog and successfully train and socialize it. We got two!
30. Get a bike and use it. I definitely need to use it more. Who knew that you could lose bike riding skills? I'm so not confident on a bike anymore.
31. Host some form of a get-together once per quarter. We were doing this, but the house is so small, so it's hard to entertain for more than two people.
32. Have board/card game nights as much as possible.
33. Watch all Doctor Who DVDs available on Netflix. Yeah, didn't happen.
34. Go see a drum corps show if they come to Denver at any point, since I haven't been to one in a while.
35. Watch one watered down horror movie with Jon... during the day time... when it's sunny.
36. Watch the original Star Wars trilogy.
37. Attend some sort of theater event. I went to see South Pacific with some friends last year.
38. Go to at least one festival (food, Renaissance, etc.) Cheyenne Frontier Days in 2008
Health/Environment:
39. Pick up an activity/hobby that requires exercise and/or being outside. Running. I hate it, but it keeps my heart rate down.
40.Walk as much as possible.
41. Join a club of some sort in Fort Collins to meet new people.
42. Make an effort to get out more.
43. Do not commute to any job more than 30 minutes, unless our financial independence relies on it. School would be an exception.
44. Continue using reusable bags at grocery stores.
45. Eliminate coffee to very special occasions and drink only tea for caffeine needs.
46. Drink only one soda per week.
47. Replace all lamp bulbs with energy efficient ones.
48. Get a physical once every 3 years.
49. Go to the dermatologist every other year.
50. Wear sunscreen when exposed to the sun for long periods of time.
51. Learn to ski (I've never tried.) I went cross-country skiing last year. It was okay, but I'm way too uncoordinated to ski.
52. Eat red meat at the most twice per week, preferably less.
53. Eat at least 3 servings of fruit/vegetables per day.
54. Start stretching and become limber again.
55. Learn how to shoot a gun.
Home/Organizing:
56. Never leave dishes unwashed.
57. Plant flowers and bushes around the house and maintain them to become a better gardener. We've discovered a love for gardening, and may have gone a bit overboard on this.
58. Decorate tastefully for Halloween, Christmas, and Easter.
59. Do not decorate for Christmas before the day after Thanksgiving (yeah, I might fail at this one.)
60. Devise a storage system for kitchen items. Jon built basement storage. It works great.
61. Dog-proof the house.
62. Put up dry wall in the garage and devise an organized system for Jon's stuff. It's organized, but we didn't put up dry wall.
63. At least make plans to have the basement refinished so Jon can have his office/man cave.
64. Get a bedroom set. We didn't buy a bedroom set, but we did purchase a nice dresser and bedside tables.
65. Establish the guest room. It's still combined with Jon's office, but the basement renovation isn't happening, so it will have to do.
66. Make a set and realistic house cleaning schedule and stick to it.
Learning/Career:
67. Consider schooling for possible new paths and try to avoid student loans to finance education.
68. Pick up French and Italian again, or learn Spanish, as it is more practical.
69. Read at least 3 history texts, mainly in European history (one on England, one on France, and one on Eastern Europe.) I read 3 texts, but they all focused on England.
70. Take a business or entrepreneur course if switching careers.
71. Re-read The Elements of Style by Strunk and White since I'm awful at grammar and writing, as well as other grammar books.
72. Have at least a part time job by October, whether it be as a librarian or something else.
73. Vote in 2008 election.
Personal:
74. Get married and change my last name.
75. Make an effort to start my marriage off on the right foot by establishing alone time, us time, and keeping communication open.
76. Establish a living will.
77. Consider pregnancy or adoption by the age of 29 (having a child by 30.) I'm glad I said "consider" and added in the adoption piece on this one.
78. Be less private about my relationship with God, but do not overstep boundaries and do not rub religion in people's faces.
79. Attend church more often.
80. Get to know the in-laws better, as well as my own family.
81. Learn how to drive a stick shift.
82. Have my hair cut at least 5 inches sometime after the wedding.
83. Make an effort to be more social and pursue quality friendships. Making friends is a lot more difficult when you're older. There are so many possible alienating factors, that it just isn't easy to establish something new. I've found that my closest acquaintances are at work.
Reading:
84. Read 100 classic novels that I have not previously read.
85. Read one book outside of my comfort zone. We started a readers' advisory book club at work so I've been reading a lot of genres that I wouldn't normally read (western, romance, inspirational)
86. Read and complete a Tolstoy novel (Anna Karenina was a failure for me.)
87. Read all current and past Printz, Newbery, and Caldecott Medal Winners.
88. Attempt the Lord of the Rings trilogy again.
Travel:
89. Visit at least 10 national parks that neither Jon nor I have previously visited. Close, but no cigar.
90. See New Zealand.
91. Visit at least 2 of the 4 states I have left to see in the U.S. (Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota, Idaho.) I only made it to Idaho.
92. Get back to Europe, preferably England again, but I wouldn't complain if I visited Prague, Greece, or Italy either.
93. Camp at least once per year.
94. Go to Dinosaur monument.
95. Take the Colorado Train
96. Drive through Independence Pass. Uggh, I JUST did this, but it was after the deadline.
97. Take Jon to Devil's Tower and Little Bighorn.
98. Renew passport (can't travel internationally without it!)
99. Find a good and safe place to board the dog(s) when traveling.
100. Go home at least once a year.
101. Visit the Northeast again during summer. We went, but during springtime, which was just as lovely.
Overall, I think I did pretty well. I'm interested to see what the next three years holds.
Bye for now. It's been fun blogging. When/if I get the new blog running, I'll be sure to post the link here.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Offline
Some people have been asking me why I'm not writing blogs at the moment. Okay, my mom and my best friend have asked me, but to be fair, they make up the majority of my readership.
2010 has been rough. Not rough as in "the world is coming to an end and I'm having real problems" but more rough as in my physical and emotional health have been all over the place. I'm not very happy right now and my busy schedule doesn't help. The internet only makes things worse, particularly a lot of social networking, so if I'm not updating my status everyday or responding to messages, you might know why (but then, you'd have to read the blog to know this) because it sucks to enter those sites.
I may be back, and I may not. I have 5 years of great memories on this blog and I'm not really willing to erase those. But for now, I need to focus on what is positive in my day-to-day life (husband, family, etc.) and work on coming to terms with possibilities that I didn't think would ever occur in my life.
So farewell for now! I hope to be back as soon as possible.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Day 23: A Picture that Describes Your Life
photo credit: Futurama
I started to write a pretty serious and spiteful post about stress and all the emotional and physical pain it has caused me, particularly over the last year and a half. I think I'll refrain though because I have no clue who even reads this blog, and honestly, it's not worth airing my grievances in a public forum, although I think I'm doing it anyways in a more vague manner. I shall return shortly with my normal light-hearted blog entries.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Day 21: A Picture That Makes You Think of Your Loved One
I guess this was technically our first date a good 13 years ago. I was 15 and he was 16. We didn't hit it off to say the least, but I guess we will always have this memento. I should add that I'm not creative enough to locate a picture that *reminds* me of my husband, and had to settle for the explicit. And our wedding anniversary is vastly approaching, so I guess I'm feeling a bit nostalgic.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Day 20: A Picture of Your Honeymoon Location
J and I were very fortunate to go to New Zealand for our honeymoon. Granted, it didn't take place until after over a year of marriage, but neither of us were really up for a Caribbean/Mexico honeymoon, which is where most couples our age go. So we had to sacrifice leaving right after our wedding (which would have been impossible anyways since I started a job a couple of months before the wedding) to save for something that meant more to us.
I am blessed to be married to somebody who shares my passion to see other places. I think traveling is something we will always strive to make time/money for, and if we ever have children, we will try to instill in them a love for seeing the world as well (hey, great educational opportunity as well!). Whether it's driving across the country to visit where we grew up or flying across the International Date Line, my husband and I have a lot of fun stories and experiences from our travels.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Day 18: A Picture of Your Room
These two pictures are of the small study nook in our master bedroom. We have a big comfy chair for reading/crafting/watching DVDs. There is enough room on the floor to complete a minor workout, which is essential in Colorado winters.
J built the shelves and arranged the books by color, excepting my Madeleine L'Engle and "Harry Potter" books (why yes, it is acceptable to have three versions of Deathly Hallows.)
The area is complete with a lot of artwork made my J. After three years of this area being unfinished, we finally have an area that we can relax in and unwind after a rough work day. If only I was a better photographer to get decent pictures of the room!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Day 16: A picture of your latest yarn project
Alas, I can not reveal my current yarn doings because it is TOP SECRET! The only hint I can give the audience is that it is made by crocheting using an "i" hook.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Recovery Reads
I'm having a little procedure done tomorrow that is going to put me out of work for a week or so. I'm in the process of preparing the couch area for recovery with medications, remotes, heating pads, and of course, books. I think I definitely over-prepared the last category, but at least I will have a variety to read!
1. The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan-- This is a popular kids series and I'm interested in it because it incorporates the internet as well.
2. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery-- I somehow escaped childhood without reading this, so it's about time, I suppose!
3. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton-- I was recommended this book by multiple people, so I'm looking forward to this read!
4. Salt by Maurice Gee-- This is a teen novel by a New Zealander. I saw it reviewed on a webinar, and it sounded interesting.
5. The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens-- My current classic read in preparation for Dan Simmons' Drood
6. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers-- Non-literary Christian fiction is not my bag, but my fellow librarians and I are doing a genre study book club to better serve our patrons. This month's genre is "inspirational." Thus far, I am shocked by the content, but it's shocking enough to keep me far more interested than last month's "thriller" study.
7. Chicks Dig Time Lords-- This is a fun book of essays on my favorite science fiction series. A co-worker (and fellow fan) lent it to me for recovery.
8. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot-- A co-worker of mine loves these nonfiction books about a small village vet in England. I am enjoying watching the series via streaming, so I'm looking forward to this book/
9. The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir-- Great nonfiction about an interesting period in British history
10. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel-- Also about the Tudors (specifically Thomas Cromwell), this book won the 2009 Booker prize.
I'm curious to see how much I get through... should be interesting!
Friday, August 06, 2010
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Day 14: A Picture of Your Favorite Flowers
I actually have four...
Hybrid Tea Roses
Poppies
Peonies
Dahlias
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Day 13: A Picture of Your Friends
My friends are scattered all over the country, from grad school to drum corps, to Georgia and Colorado, so there is no way I could get them all in one picture. However, I do feel that these lovely ladies would have made excellent friends, so why not post a picture of them?
Friday, July 30, 2010
Day 12: A Picture of Your Favorite Food to Make
Pie! Pictured is homemade pumpkin chiffon pie (we picked the white pumpkin that day and I went to town) with cinnamon whipped cream.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Day 10: A Picture of What You Like to Do
There are a lot of things I enjoy doing, so it was difficult to pick just one picture. Ever since our trip to New Zealand, J and I discovered that we love visiting gardens. By far our favorite thus far was the Hamilton Gardens on the north island. They were very expansive and included an amazing rose garden (I love hybrid tea roses). The most impressive parts of this garden though were the international mini gardens. The one pictured above was an Indian garden, but they also had Italian Renaissance, traditional English, contemporary American, Japanese, and Chinese gardens. Beautiful!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Day 09: A Picture of Your Lunch
Chicken salad made from leftover rotisserie chicken and homemade yogurt
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)