Show me the paper...

My diploma finally came in the mail today. I was starting to wonder if UW-M was playing a really mean trick on me. "Hahaha...you THOUGHT you graduated. PSYCH!! You're coming back for more fun this fall." But it's for real.





GPOY with the diploma it took 7 years to get, and countless: hours of homework, boxes of Prilosec, cartridges of ink, reams of paper, cases of Diet Coke, gallons of gas, hours of commuting, and truckloads of love and support from family and friends.


It was worth it all.

On painting...

So, I'm just finishing the painting of the hallway closet (except for touchups) when Steve comes by and says, "So basically, after all that, you're back to the color you started with, except in a semi-gloss."

Me: "Um, no. It was white, and now it's an off-white. Kind of a tan, the Kid says. I don't know, it's in that color family I can't always tell the difference between."


Steve: "So, basically white that's not white."

Me: "..."

*sigh*

Well, this explains so much...

This would've been really handy to have BEFORE I tried 5 kinds of apples. But, it's reassuring that I wasn't too far off on the tartness of some of them.

101 in 1001 progess

I don't know whether it's because I'm not in school or that I picked attainable goals this time around, but so far it's going well.

So far, these are done:

#89 Eat 1 serving of fruit a day for a week: This was finished because of that Live Fit thing (or whatever it's called) from Steve's work. The goal was to eat between 5-9 servings of fruit/vegetables a day. I only hit that goal 1 day, but I'm finding that I don't mind eating some every day. I may have to expand my repertoire beyond bananas & apples sometime, but for now I'm good.

#95 Try 5 different kinds of apples: Speaking of apples, I tried 5 different ones. Some I liked more than others, but at least I tried them.

Here's what I tried & my initial reactions:

• Fuji (sweet, then BAM! tangy-made my eyes water there for a second)


• Royal Gala (reminded me of a cross between Golden & Red Delicious)


• Jazz (like a Red Delicious, but tart-er)


• Braeburn (That 1st bite was hooo-boy tart, but I think they're pretty good otherwise.)


• Pink Lady (Tangy, but sweet. The aroma reminded me of something, but I can’t think of what. Some kind of flower, I think. My friend Christie recommended this one, so I put it on the list)

#100 Start a Tumblr: I look at a few Tumblrs when I have time, and thought they were pretty neat. I have a "Random Things that Catch My Eye" photo album on Facebook, but sometimes I come across things in the Tumblr world that I want to save too. My tumblr is: http://daughteroftime.tumblr.com.

The title is "Somewhere Between Here and There" because that's pretty much how I'm feeling right now. I'm done with school (still waiting for my diploma to show up) but haven't really readjusted to normal/civilian life yet. I frequently feel like I'm caught in the inbetween, which isn't such a bad place sometimes. It's fairly normal for me. For much of my life I've felt like that's where I belong, if that makes sense. Even as I appear immersed in something, there's always a part of me that's separate, dispassionately watching, observing, and analyzing. It's all good.


What's In Progress:

#16 Paint hall storage closet & set up shelves: When the house was painted when it was being built, the painter used flat paint. EVERYWHERE. Now, I'm not a painter, but you know, even I know that flat paint =/= everywhere paint. Especially not white flat paint in closets, because every scuff, ding, and mark is shown. So, the solution was to repaint.
Well, I mixed a quart of satin into a quart of some of what we had left over from the Kid's room, but the color was OMG BLUUUUEEEEEE!!!! still, so no. I mixed in more white. No. (Although it closely resembled a Martha Stewart paint color that I like)

Yesterday the Kid & I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a gallon of semi-gloss in a light tan color (she assures me that's what it is. It does not look tan to me, but it's in the color family that I can't differentiate between very well, so I have to trust her). Said trip to Wal-Mart was, er, um...yeah. Let's just say I won't be a frequent shopper there.
Last night I put the first coat on...and we have a WINNAR!!!! I just have to go back over the corners and hit the high spots & the closet will be ready for shelves.

Good thing I like to paint.

#37 Watch 101 Movies: I made it to 50 movies on my last go-round, and I already know I'm not big on watching TV or movies at home. So, yeah. So far, though, I've watched "The A-Team" (the Kid thinks Bradley Cooper is "HOTTTT" so we went & used my passes I got at St Kate's) and "I Love You, Beth Cooper" (glad I got it for free from the library...just sayin').

#38 Read 101 Books: My reading tastes have apparently changed. This is not bad, just vaguely annoying. I've patiently waited for the better part of 7 (SEVEN!!!!!) years to be able to read what *I* want to read, and not what my professors think I should be reading. I've stocked books on my shelves in the knowledge that SOMEDAY I'd be able to read them. *Sigh* (edited to add: yes, I know that I can just take a bunch to Half Price Books & trade them in...and I did for a bunch already. I'm just finding my way again...one book at a time)

Also, I run a Summer Reading Bingo program for Teens & Adults at my library. I participate too, and really stretch myself to read books that I might not normally pick up. So far so good. I really like "discovering" new authors/series/books/genres that before, yeah, I'dve walked right by. So there's that. All in all, I've read 6 books since 4 July, so I'd say I was doing OK. Better yet, I've enjoyed all of them immensely.

Next up? Dunno. More house stuff while I'm on a roll. I definitely need to light a candle at Mass this week. When the Kid & I got caught in edge of that tornado that went through by the Monticello/Anoka area on Saturday night, I remember thinking that a candle was definitely in order (it was not a good few half-eternities in time).

Here's a link to my Day Zero site, which I will probably update on a task-by-task basis.

Funny How Things Work Out Sometimes...

So I have my new list of '101 Things in 1001 Days' that I'm doing. Obviously the universe took notice...

True confession time: I'm not a big fruit/vegetable eater. In fact, I could (and have) happily subsisted on Cheerios & milk and Diet Coke for weeks on end. That's why I included goal #89, which is "Eat 1 serving of fruit a day for a week". Now, it's not that I don't like fruit or anything, because I do. It's just that somedays it's too much work (yeah, yeah, like peeling a banana takes any longer than getting a bowl, a spoon, the cereal, and the milk...I know) to actually eat the fruit.

However, Steve's work is running this "Live Fit" (or whatever it's called) program this month, where I am to keep track of how many steps I take a day, and then do the weekly challenges. Last week's was to drink 6-8 servings of water daily, which I did. The challenge for this week is to "aim for 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day". Yeah, about that "aiming" thing...that's more fruits/vegetables than I sometimes eat in a month. I don't even know what a serving size IS of many fruits/vegetables--but I'm learning. I even bought some various kinds of apples, so maybe I'll be able to knock off goal #95 "Try 5 different kinds of apples" too. That one's there because I'm pretty much a Red Delicious kind of girl. I was born in Washington State, home of some of the best dang Red Delicious apples anywhere, so yeah (Well, it's that and I'm not really adventurous with food. I like what I like, and that's OK. I don't like it when my foods are touching on my plate, but that's a whole 'nother story).

But that's two goals I'll be able to mark as complete by the end of the week. Then it's on to the next 99.

101 Things in 1001 Days, Round 2

Yep, gonna do it again. This time, though, I've put things into categories instead of using the buckshot method. I might actually pull it off.

The New & Improved List for Round 2:

Start Date: 4 July 2010~*~*~ End Date: 1 April 2013

Finances/Giving
1. Get Emergency Fund up to $1000
2. Pay off and close Chase Visa
3. Pay off and close Target Visa
4. Get Emergency Fund up to 3 months (~12,000)
5. Get a used truck
6. Put a $50 bill in the second collection basket
7. Put a $100 bill in the second collection basket
8. Donate to the Food Shelf 10 times ($25 or equivalent) (0/10)
9. Leave a 100% tip 5 times (0/5)
10. Choose 2 kids from the Jesse Tree during Christmas & get them presents
11. Give to a family in need during the holidays
12. Buy a scratch-off lottery ticket & donate 25% of the winnings to charity
House Inside
13. Hang up 5 pictures
14. Frame Tree picture
15. Paint back room and closet
16. Paint hall storage closet & set up shelves
17. Spruce up front door area ( outside: welcome mat, flower pots/ inside: bench, mirror, lamp)
18. Finish basement
19. Back door/entryway re-do
20. Repaint & redo my office
21. Hang curtains or blinds in master bedroom & the Kid’s room
22. Get dining room chairs
23. Repaint Laundry Room
24. Repaint/redo master bathroom/closet
House Outside
25. Plant 5 trees in yard (0/5)
26. Put in back flower bed
27. Paint Storage Shed same color as house
28. Back entryway outside re-do (transition between steps and red rock)
29. Build garage
30. Put in front flower bed
31. Put in front tower flower bed
32. Put in side flower bed
33. Level out north side of house & put down the decorative rock
34. Get covers for grill & fireplace
35. Get rid of stumps in back yard
36. Get a flag for front porch (and install said flag)
To Do/Watch/Read
37. Watch 101 movies (0/101)
38. Read 101 books (0/101)
39. Go to a Cowboys-Vikings game
40. See 5 Minnesota Tourist Attractions (0/5)
41. Visit 5 art galleries in Minnesota (0/5)
42. Watch all seasons of “24” (0/8)
43. Watch all seasons of “MI-5” (0/9)
44. Complete a crossword puzzle book
45. Watch 5 documentaries (0/5)
46. Read 5 Non-fiction books (0/5)
47. Donate 100, 000 grains of rice on FreeRice.com
48. Do 5 things from the “365 Things to do in the Twin Cities” (0/5)
Health
49. Walk to work 30 times (0/30)
50. Bike around the lake
51. 175
52. 165
53. 155
54. 145
55. 135
56. Get eyes checked
57. Get new glasses or contacts
58. Get annual physical
59. Do the 200 sit-ups challenge
60. Track my progress with Wii Fit for 28 consecutive days.
Grown-up/Family stuff
61. Change life insurance beneficiaries
62. Write wills
63. Write living wills
64. Get family picture taken
65. Send out Christmas cards with aforementioned family picture on it
66. Host Brother/Sister Christmas party
67. Have a family board/card game night 5 times (0/5)
68. Buy a new “grown-up” outfit (shirt/pants)
69. Take a family vacation
70. Make a picture family tree
71. Get first aid certified
72. Get the Kid a car safety kit for her car
Spiritual/Church
73. Learn the Rosary Prayers
74. Go to a Latin Mass
75. Go to daily Mass for a week
76. Donate time, talent, or treasure for the CCW Bazaar
77. Read the Tao te Ching
78. Get a new St Christopher Medal
79. Do the Advent readings and wreath one year
80. Do the Lenten readings one year
81. Do the Rice Bowl project one year
82. Light an intention candle 10 times (0/10)
83. Attend Mass in the Basilica
84. Attend 2 Lenten dinners
Food
85. Make a cake & icing (or cupcakes) from scratch
86. Try 3 new restaurants (0/3)
87. Do one week of meal planning
88. Do one month of meal planning
89. Eat 1 serving of fruit a day for a week (0/7)
90. Try a new recipe
91. Make cookies from scratch
92. Try a different flavor ice cream (no vanilla/chocolate)
93. Limit Diet Coke to 2 servings per day for 1 consecutive week (0/7 days)
94. No fast food for a month
95. Try 5 different kinds of apples
Just Because
96. Donate hair to Locks of Love one more time
97. Take part in a pub quiz
98. Complete a 500+ piece puzzle
99. Fly first class
100. Start a Tumblr
101. Do a 365 day photo challenge

101 in 1001 Final Roundup

I didn't finish... but I made good headway (all the way up until I didn't) and learned a bunch about the process.

Final breakdown goes something like this:

• Completely finished: 36


• Partially finished: 22


• Didn't even start: 37


• Left blank: 6

I learned that if I want a shot at finishing the list, I can't keep making each item a 20-part thing. Some, yes, like the "Watch 101 Movies", but not "Read an entire series which is made up of 10+ books". Uh, no. Especially not since for the better part of this whole time I've been in grad school (which I am happy to say, is not the case anymore).

In some respects this was a big to-do list for myself. Reminders that I needed to do things, like get new glasses or contacts (no on both), or replant that plant (done, and it's now taking over the living room). Or I viewed it as a "Hey, remember that you wanted to read/do these things." In other respects, it had things that I know I should do, but just never seem to get around to doing, like hanging up pictures (uh, yeah. Still none up, even after 1.5 years in the new house) or reading non-fiction (not my favorite for fun reading) or grown-up stuff like that.

My next list (already being worked on) will reflect what I've learned from this one, with the mix of the practical and the not-so-practical. I'm actually kind of looking forward to giving this another try without having to be in school at the same time. That homework thing tended to get in the way of a whole lot sometimes.

So, here's where I ended up:

1. Take boxes of books to Half Price (Done 10/19/07)
2. Donate hair to Locks of Love (Done 1/3/08)
3. Summer Break 2008- see 5 first run movies in theater (5/5)(Done 9/1/2008)
4. Build new house (Done 10/11/2008)
5. Get mutual funds transferred (Done 4/1/08)
6. Donate $1000 to Higher Ground (Done 12/8/07)
7. Watch Season 2 of 'Digging for the Truth' (Done 7/19/2008)
8. Choose 2 kids from church's Jesse Tree @ Christmas and buy them presents (Done 12/6/08)
9. Replant plant on towel shelf (Done 6/6/08)
10. Listen to Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
(Completely Done 3/20/08)
11. Edit a Wikipedia article (Done 9/4/2008: did the Winsted, Minnesota article)
12. Type out Goodwill donation tax slip (Done 3/4/08)
13. Get eyes checked (done 8/26/2008)
14. Make a 20 item anti-procrastination list (done 7/15/08)
15. Do all 20 anti-procrastination list items within the month (done 8/15/2008)
16. Do Advent readings and wreath (Completed: 1/7/09; Advent lasts through Epiphany)
17. Over Christmas Break 2007 see 5 first run movies in theater (5/5, done 1/7/08)
18. Clean up computer document files (Done: 12/30/08)
19. Read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (done 8/19/2008)
20. Catalog 25 books on LibraryThing (done 7/14/08)
21. Walk to work 30 times (30/30: Done 9/12/2008)
22. Send my mother in law flowers just because (done 8/5/2008)
23. Read all the Josephine Tey books (Done 12/23/08)
24. Read entire Inspector Rebus series (3/18)
25. Graduate with MLIS degree (Done 16 May 2010)
26. Watch 101 movies in theater or at home (50/101)
27. Complete 23 More Things
28. Read 20 of 100 All Time Classics (Modern Library) that I haven't read already (4/20)
29. Visit 5 art galleries in Minnesota (3/5)
30. Watch 10 documentaries (7/10)
31. Upload all my CD's to my iTunes
32. Update FLYControl Journal (waiting for life insurance information)
33. Write 3 letters complimenting good service (2/3)
34. Write 3 letters pointing out bad service (3/3) (Done March 2010)
35. Complete a crossword puzzle book
36. Visit 10 other libraries in my system I haven't been to yet
37. Write wills
38. Have new family picture taken
39. Send Christmas Cards with family photograph
40. Design library webpage & link to system and city
41. Beat PSX2 game Galaga
42. Watch all the seasons of '24'
43. Go to a Latin Mass
44. Plant 5 trees in yard (2/5)
45. Clothing 1
46. Learn how to play Cribbage
47. Bike around the lake
48. Get important documents in fire proof box
49. Fly first class as a family
50. Go see 5 Minnesota Tourist attractions
51. Get new glasses (or contacts)
52. Host big family Christmas (Done 26 December 2010)
53. Frame tree picture
54. Watch a Cowboys/Vikings game in Dallas
55. Watch Cowboys/Vikings game in Minnesota
56. Read 5 Biographies
57. Frame black & white pictures of the ocean and hang up
58. Learn the Rosary prayers
59. Walk everyday for 30 minutes for 1 week.
60. Host a Summer Croquet tournament
61. Link library webpage to librarysites
62. Health 1
63. Health 2
64. Health 3
65. Health 4
66. Watch all Seasons of MI-5
67. Read Twilight Series (3/4)
68. Read 5 Non-fiction books (3/5)
69. Read Inspector Lynley Series
70. Pay off and close Chase Visa. (APR adjustment, indeed)
71. Draw a master landscaping plan for yard (Done 7 March 2010)
72. Get a chair for my library
73. Donate 1,000,000 grains of rice on FreeRice (13,700/1,000,000)
74. Donate 5 trees from answer4earth (5/5) (Done 16 July 2009)
75. Up Emergency Fund to 3 months salary
76. Get rockers/outdoor furniture for front porch (Done April 2010)
77. Make a 10 item anti-procrastination list (Done 5/23/09)
78. Do all 10 anti-procrastination list items within the month
79. Read all books on saved page a day calendar pages for 2004 (0/5)
80. Read all books on saved page a day calendar pages for 2005 (1/4)
81. Read all books on saved page a day calendar pages for 2006 (4/15)
82. Read all books on saved page a day calendar pages for 2007 (1/13)
83. Read all books on saved page a day calendar pages for 2008 (1/14)
84. Read all books on saved page a day calendar pages for 2009 (3/22)
85. Get curtains hung in last 2 bedrooms
86. Get a new desk/shelving unit for home library
87. Finish Kid’s room
88. Hang up 5 pictures
89. Donate to the Food Shelf 7 times ($25 or equivalent) (3/7)
90. Do the Locks of Love one more time (Done 17 June 2010)
91. Leave a 100% tip 3 times (3/3) (Done 17 June 2010)
92. Donate 50 of my books to the library (without reading them 1st) (50/50) (done 15 August 2009)
93. Put a $50 bill in the second collection basket (Done 14 November 2009)
94. Read the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” series by Lemony Snicket (9/13)
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.
101. Finish writing this list--Again