Living Life By the Numbers

101 in 1001 The January I Sure Didn't Accomplish Much Edition

2012-02-01T01:20:00.002-06:00

Some months it's like that, though. Where some progress is being made, just not in really huge jumps.

Finished: 41
In Process: 11
Percent finished: 40.59%
Left to go: 59.41%

Finances/Giving (6/12) [in Process: 0]
1. Get Emergency Fund up to $1000 [Done 15 March 2011]
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 [Done 5 November 2011]
7. Put a $100 bill in the second collection basket
8. Donate to the Food Shelf 10 times ($25 or equivalent) (10/10) [Done 28 October 2011]
9. Leave a 100% tip 5 times (5/5) [Done 15 October 2011]
10. Choose 2 kids from the Jesse Tree during Christmas & get them presents [Done 29 November 2011]
11. Give to a family in need during the holidays
12. Buy a scratch-off lottery ticket & donate 25% of the winnings to charity [Done 18 September 2010]

House Inside (7/12) [In Process: 2]
13. Hang up 5 pictures (5/5) [Done 17 November 2010]
14. Frame Tree picture [Done 9 September 2010]
15. Paint back room and closet [Done 13 October 2010]
16. Paint hall storage closet & set up shelves [Done 17 August 2010]
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 [Done 18 October 2010]
22. Get dining room chairs
23. Repaint Laundry Room [Done 19 October 2011]
24. Repaint/redo master bathroom/closet [Done 5 October 2010]

House Outside (2/12) [In Process: 1]
25. Plant 5 trees in yard (4/5) [4 Blue Spruce planted 7 August 2010]
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 [Done 28 August 2010]
36. Get a flag for front porch (and install said flag) [Done 3 July 2011]

To Do/Watch/Read (4/12) [In Process: 5]
37. Watch 101 movies (46/101)
January 2011
• The Hurt Locker
• Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
• Miss Congeniality
• The Great Raid
• Red Tails

38. Read 101 books (160/101) [ The 101 was done 2 May 2011]
39. Go to a Cowboys-Vikings game
40. See 5 Minnesota Tourist Attractions (0/5)
41. Visit 5 art galleries in Minnesota (1/5)
42. Watch all seasons of “24” (0/8)
43. Watch all seasons of “MI-5” (5/9)
44. Complete a crossword puzzle book
45. Watch 5 documentaries (5/5) [done 10 February 2011]
46. Read 5 Non-fiction books (5/5) [Done 3 November 2011]
47. Donate 100, 000 grains of rice on FreeRice.com (76,000/100,000)
48. Do 5 things from the “365 Things to do in the Twin Cities” (5/5) [Done 17 December 2011]

Health (2/12) [In Process: 0]
49. Walk to work 30 times (30/30) [Done 14 March 2011]
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 [Done 16 September 2010]
59. Do the 200 sit-ups challenge
60. Track my progress with Wii Fit for 28 consecutive days.

Grown-up/Family stuff (3/12) [In Process: 1]
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 [Done 18 December 2010]
67. Have a family board/card game night 5 times (2/5)
68. Buy a new “grown-up” outfit (shirt/pants) [Done 23 July 2011]
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 [Done 28 December 2010]

Spiritual/Church (4/12) [In Process: 2]
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 [Done 1 October 2010]
77. Read the Tao te Ching [Done 18 September 2010]
78. Get a new St Christopher Medal
79. Do the Advent readings and wreath one year [Done 7 January 2011]
80. Do the Lenten readings one year
81. Do the Rice Bowl project one year [Done 17 April 2011]
82. Light an intention candle 10 times (6/10)
83. Attend Mass in the Basilica
84. Attend 2 Lenten dinners

Food (10/11) [In Process: 0]
85. Make a cake & icing (or cupcakes) from scratch [Done 24 July 2010]
86. Try 3 new restaurants (3/3) [Done 17 June 2011]
87. Do one week of meal planning [Done 31 December 2010]
88. Do one month of meal planning [Done 3 July 2011]
89. Eat 1 serving of fruit a day for a week (7/7) [Done 12 July 2010]
90. Try a new recipe [Done 1 October 2010]
91. Make cookies from scratch [Done 23 September 2010]
92. Try a different flavor ice cream (no vanilla/chocolate) [Done 12 August 2010]
93. Limit Diet Coke to 2 servings per day for 1 consecutive week (0/7 days)
94. No fast food for a month [Done 9 April 2011]
95. Try 5 different kinds of apples (5/5) [Done July 2010]

Just Because (6/6) [In Process: 1]
96. Donate hair to Locks of Love one more time (Almost done growing it out)
97. Take part in a pub quiz [Done 16 January 2011]
98. Complete a 500+ piece puzzle
99. Fly first class
100. Start a Tumblr [Done 8 July 2010]: http://daughteroftime.tumblr.com
101. Do a 365 day photo challenge [Done 31 December 2011]

In Which I Think a Time-Machine Would Be a Good Thing

2012-01-09T21:42:00.000-06:00

I don't know what it's been about this last week, but I'd sure like to have a time machine so I could go backwards a few years.

Maybe it's because we just had (some of) the Kid's Senior Pictures taken.

Maybe it's because she just started her 2nd semester of her senior year.

Maybe it's because a family friend (whom the Kid has really liked for years) just left for Army Basic training.

Maybe it's because they all grew up way too fast and are starting to leave home.

I don't know exactly what it is. I know that's part of a parent's job, to get them ready to fly on their own, and I think we've done a pretty good job.

But I'd sure like to be able to go back and tell my past self to capture and enjoy more of the everyday moments from when they were younger, instead of trying to just get going to the next thing.

101 in 1001 Ringing in the New Year Edition

2012-01-01T23:36:00.003-06:00

Oh, 2011, what a year it was. Fun, frustrating, fabulous...and lots of other adjectives besides.

Coming into 2011, I'd finished 14 things on this list, and had 21 more in progress. I kicked it into gear (although it was more a medium speed gear) and got to work.

One of the best things was the 365 Photos Challenge. I said I wasn't going for artistic, and I didn't. I was aiming more for a snapshot of my everyday life, and I think I did that pretty well. Some days I didn't get to use the shots I wanted because they were too blurry, but overall, it was a good daily exercise. It really helped me to think about my days and what pictures would (mostly) encapsulate them.

I have a year and a half to bust through the rest of this list, or at least make a valiant effort. For my first 101 in 1001 list, I completed 30 of the things I'd set for myself. I'm already ahead of the game right now, but I'd like to see how far I can go.

Finished: 41
In Process: 11
Percent finished: 40.59%
Left to go: 59.41%

Finances/Giving (6/12) [in Process: 0]
1. Get Emergency Fund up to $1000 [Done 15 March 2011]
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 [Done 5 November 2011]
7. Put a $100 bill in the second collection basket
8. Donate to the Food Shelf 10 times ($25 or equivalent) (10/10) [Done 28 October 2011]
9. Leave a 100% tip 5 times (5/5) [Done 15 October 2011]
10. Choose 2 kids from the Jesse Tree during Christmas & get them presents [Done 29 November 2011]
11. Give to a family in need during the holidays
12. Buy a scratch-off lottery ticket & donate 25% of the winnings to charity [Done 18 September 2010]

House Inside (7/12) [In Process: 2]
13. Hang up 5 pictures (5/5) [Done 17 November 2010]
14. Frame Tree picture [Done 9 September 2010]
15. Paint back room and closet [Done 13 October 2010]
16. Paint hall storage closet & set up shelves [Done 17 August 2010]
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 [Done 18 October 2010]
22. Get dining room chairs
23. Repaint Laundry Room [Done 19 October 2011]
24. Repaint/redo master bathroom/closet [Done 5 October 2010]

House Outside (2/12) [In Process: 1]
25. Plant 5 trees in yard (4/5) [4 Blue Spruce planted 7 August 2010]
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 [Done 28 August 2010]
36. Get a flag for front porch (and install said flag) [Done 3 July 2011]

To Do/Watch/Read (4/12) [In Process: 5]
37. Watch 101 movies (41/101)
November 2011
• Faster
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

38. Read 101 books (160/101) [ The 101 was done 2 May 2011]
December 2011 (6)
• 5 Bodies to Die For by Stephanie Bond
• Of Saints and Shadows by Christopher Golden
• Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts
• Definitely Not Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos
• The Charlemange Pursuit by Steve Berry
• Non-fiction: The Rhinestone Sisterhood: A Journey Through Small-Town America, One Tiara at a Time by David Valdes Greenwood

39. Go to a Cowboys-Vikings game
40. See 5 Minnesota Tourist Attractions (0/5)
41. Visit 5 art galleries in Minnesota (1/5)
42. Watch all seasons of “24” (0/8)
43. Watch all seasons of “MI-5” (5/9)
44. Complete a crossword puzzle book
45. Watch 5 documentaries (5/5) [done 10 February 2011]
46. Read 5 Non-fiction books (5/5) [Done 3 November 2011]
47. Donate 100, 000 grains of rice on FreeRice.com (68,000/100,000)
48. Do 5 things from the “365 Things to do in the Twin Cities” (5/5) [Done 17 December 2011]

Health (2/12) [In Process: 0]
49. Walk to work 30 times (30/30) [Done 14 March 2011]
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 [Done 16 September 2010]
59. Do the 200 sit-ups challenge
60. Track my progress with Wii Fit for 28 consecutive days.

Grown-up/Family stuff (3/12) [In Process: 1]
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 [Done 18 December 2010]
67. Have a family board/card game night 5 times (2/5)
68. Buy a new “grown-up” outfit (shirt/pants) [Done 23 July 2011]
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 [Done 28 December 2010]

Spiritual/Church (4/12) [In Process: 2]
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 [Done 1 October 2010]
77. Read the Tao te Ching [Done 18 September 2010]
78. Get a new St Christopher Medal
79. Do the Advent readings and wreath one year [Done 7 January 2011]
80. Do the Lenten readings one year
81. Do the Rice Bowl project one year [Done 17 April 2011]
82. Light an intention candle 10 times (6/10)
83. Attend Mass in the Basilica
84. Attend 2 Lenten dinners

Food (10/11) [In Process: 0]
85. Make a cake & icing (or cupcakes) from scratch [Done 24 July 2010]
86. Try 3 new restaurants (3/3) [Done 17 June 2011]
87. Do one week of meal planning [Done 31 December 2010]
88. Do one month of meal planning [Done 3 July 2011]
89. Eat 1 serving of fruit a day for a week (7/7) [Done 12 July 2010]
90. Try a new recipe [Done 1 October 2010]
91. Make cookies from scratch [Done 23 September 2010]
92. Try a different flavor ice cream (no vanilla/chocolate) [Done 12 August 2010]
93. Limit Diet Coke to 2 servings per day for 1 consecutive week (0/7 days)
94. No fast food for a month [Done 9 April 2011]
95. Try 5 different kinds of apples (5/5) [Done July 2010]

Just Because (6/6) [In Process: 1]
96. Donate hair to Locks of Love one more time (Almost done growing it out)
97. Take part in a pub quiz [Done 16 January 2011]
98. Complete a 500+ piece puzzle
99. Fly first class
100. Start a Tumblr [Done 8 July 2010]: http://daughteroftime.tumblr.com
101. Do a 365 day photo challenge [Done 31 December 2011]

365 Photos Day 365

2011-12-31T20:00:00.000-06:00

365/365

Since I woke up this morning with as bad (if not worse) of a headache as I did on 1 January this year, today has been fairly low-key.

My big project for this afternoon was to work on our family's calendar for 2012. It's always amazing seeing how busy we were during the year; most days I'm just living day-to-day and don't always remember all the things we did. Good thing I have the big calendar.

So, here's to a (mostly) successful 2011, and hopes for a magnificent 2012.

365 Photos Day 364

2011-12-31T19:42:00.000-06:00

364/365

Today was Steve's extended extended mother's family Christmas. It's one of the must-do events every holiday season, and not out of obligation. The family members really do all like each other. It's kind of weird. And as his Mom is 1 of 10 (actually 1 of 12, but 2 died in infancy), and each of her siblings had more than 1 kid each, well, let us just say that it's rather overwhelming sometimes. It's gotten so big that it's sometimes easier to just have it in a public space instead of at someone's home, although that still happens too.

We were playing that Left Center Right dice game again, and although I was consistently winning (for real), I told my nephew, Nate, that he could be my picture of the day because he was so proud of himself for having 6 nickels (the next roll he lost 2 of them).

He wanted to make sure that I got a good angle on him and his Swag, but I was too busy laughing at his white-boy use of the word "Swag" to get a clear picture.

(This is mainly because when I hear the word "Swag" I think of Kingsley's YouTube Video about Overexposed things, like using #hashtags on Facebook instead of Twitter [Just don't do it])

Warning: ~~Some~~ Most of language is sooooo NSFW. Awesome, but NSFW.

365 Photos Day 363

2011-12-30T00:59:00.000-06:00

363/365

Today Steve took me to his work so I could see where he spends so much of his time.

I think I'm OK with the state of my own work desk now...

Sadly, his home office looks pretty much like this does.

365 Photos Day 362

2011-12-30T00:57:00.001-06:00

362/365

I was back at work for the first time since the Kid went on winter break from school (she works at the library also, and has been working most of the available hours to help pay for her spending money on her whirlwind Europe trip this upcoming spring term). Before I set everything down on my desk, it looked way cleaner.

I should obviously take more time off. You know, all to keep that desk cleaned off.

Or I could just work through everything that's normally piled on it, and actually have a clean desk all the time.

Ahahahahaha...I crack myself up.

365 Photos Day 361

2011-12-30T00:47:00.004-06:00

361/365

Well, I can now cross "attend Ladies' Night at the Knights of Columbus meeting" off my Bucket List.

If it had even been there to start with, which I highly doubt, especially seeing as how I don't even HAVE a Bucket List.

I went because my friend Kim was going, and she wanted to have safety in numbers. In her words, "Maybe we'll get to see the secret Water Buffalo Dance."

Well, no. That we didn't see.

However, I *did* hear, from other KC wives, older ones at that, among other things:

It's perfectly acceptable to have Southern Comfort for breakfast if you didn't finish it the night before. You know, when it's watered down with the ice cubes that've melted. (This begs the very pertinent questions of "Who the heck has any left over?" and "Who drinks that stuff straight?")
Everyone knows only the really bad wines give a person hangovers. (Well, sure, but then so does Southern Comfort...especially for breakfast)
When someone says, "Oh! I have a story just like that!"...they so don't. Not even close. Not even close like not even in the same stratosphere not kind of close.
Normally there aren't as many wives at these things. (I can't, for the life of me, understand why that would be...)

I was rather nonplussed by the whole thing. Good thing a couple of my friends were there too, and that we can all communicate with just a look. Looks that say, "Oh-my-freaking-goodness-do-you-owe-me-BIG-TIME-for-this" and "We-look-sooooooo-normal-compared-to-her" and "If-you-laugh-so-help-me-God-I-will-come-across-this-table-and-strangle-you". You know, the useful looks.

Anyway, we all got to throw our names into a basket and if a person's name was drawn, she got to pick a prize!!!!! I was the second person drawn, and since there wasn't any Southern Comfort in the prize pile, I went with hamburger. Can't lose with hamburger, and I don't believe I've ever gotten a hangover from it either.

So, like Charlie Sheen said, "Winning!"

365 Photos Day 360

2011-12-30T00:31:00.000-06:00

360/365

Sometimes Santa forgets she's already purchased something, and so buys it again. And then has to go brave the stores on the day after Christmas to return that something. Good thing I know enough to go later in the evening. That way I can do some grocery shopping too.

Yep. Santa had it all planned out.

Mostly.

365 Photos Day 359

2011-12-30T00:24:00.000-06:00

359/365

Iz, waiting for Santa. Probably in the hopes he'll bring Sunny the Fish back. (So not happening)

I like the nights after Christmas is done and over. The quiet and stillness that's there while reading by the Christmas tree lights. That all too fleeting moment of peace.

That's one of my favorite things about the holiday season.

365 Photos Day 358

2011-12-24T20:51:00.000-06:00

358/365

We did the extended family Christmas thing today. It was odd getting together on Christmas Eve. Usually we reserve that for our family; Steve & Amanda go shopping, then we have dinner, then we open presents at 7pm. After that, we play with our new toys, and eventually go to Midnight Mass.

Today, though, we did the extended family Christmas, came home, tried to recuperate from that, didn't have dinner, opened presents at 8pm, and are now all playing with our new toys. We may or may not end up going to Midnight Mass.

Just another odd day in the life.

365 Photos Day 357

2011-12-24T20:45:00.000-06:00

357/365

One of the least glamorous parts of being a librarian is replacing broken books with new books. Today I replaced lots of them, since it's the end of the year and I'm deciding whether to fish or cut bait on my fix-it pile.

Not pictured: the 2 disgustingly moldy books that I had to get the barcodes and labels off of without wanting to take too much of a bleach bath.

365 Photos Day 356

2011-12-24T20:41:00.000-06:00

356/365

Sometimes when I'm out and about I see things that I think, "Really? That's all there is to that? I could totally make that."

I probably won't, though. But I totally could.

365 Photos Day 355

2011-12-24T20:39:00.000-06:00

355/365

This game looks remarkably like an upscale version of Beer Pong. There was something about making trick shots too.

Start 'em early and then they'll win it all by the time they get to college?

Winter Solstice

2011-12-22T00:44:00.000-06:00

I'm not a big fan of winter. Never have been.

However, I am a big fan of Winter Solstice.

Why? Well, because it's the longest night of the year, right? Meaning, there'll be more and more daylight...which means we're on the way to summer.

My Mom celebrated Winter Solstice, and I do too, albeit not quite like she did. I may or may not light a bunch of candles (depends if I remember or not), but when I DO light the candles, I say this:

For half the year, day by day,
Slowly, the world had grown darker
For half the year, night by night,
Slowly the dark has grown longer.
Tonight that ends and the wheel
Turns us back to the light.
[Light Candle]
The Darkness was never complete.
A spark was always waiting to return
And burn again.
The wheel is turning and light’s returning.

-Winter Solstice Prayer

No, I haven't a clue as to where it came from, if it was something my Mom found, made up, or whatever. All I know is that it seems right to say, and so I do. And somehow, it eases my mind that yes indeed, there WILL be warmth again, and that there WILL be longer days.

Happy Winter Solstice.

365 Photos Day 354

2011-12-20T22:56:00.000-06:00

354/365

Stevie & his new toy.

The whole reason I socked away money all year to get this was so that he could play Angry Birds WITHOUT having to put his glasses on the top of his head while squinting at his iPod.

Glad to see it worked out like I'd planned.

365 Photos Day 353

2011-12-20T22:51:00.000-06:00

353/365

Getting Christmas cards in the mail makes me happy. It probably makes other people happy too, so I'd best get cracking on getting ours out before next Christmas.

We haven't always sent them out. Especially when I was in school. At that point my main concern was getting to the end of the term in one piece both mentally and physically.

However, it is fun to see the different photos year to year. And, getting ANY mail is kind of neat too.

365 Photos Day 352

2011-12-19T00:12:00.000-06:00

352/365

Maybe I was a little too hasty in packing away my shorts.

43 degrees in the middle of December. Wow.

Man, I sure hope this doesn't mean when the snow comes it'll be here until June or something. That wouldn't even be awesome at all.

AT ALL.

365 Photos Day 351

2011-12-19T00:09:00.000-06:00

351/365

Scene from Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis while waiting for the Holidazzle Parade to start. I was looking at the Foshay Tower.

It was a nice night to go. Not too cold, but chilly enough it sort of felt like winter.

I miss living in a city sometimes. I love the lights, the noise, the buildings, the concrete. I love how everything just seems MORE. Granted, when I lived in a city, I lived in Portland, Oregon (west side), so maybe I was just lucky.

It was nice to be down there, even if only for a little while.

365 Photos Day 350

2011-12-19T00:04:00.000-06:00

350/365

The Kid and I went to see 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' tonight. We ended up sitting 4 rows from the screen. It was a pretty good movie, but some of the spinning scenes as seen from 4 rows from the screen were kind of dizzying.

But, I'm glad we got to go anyway. Even if she was cranky that we didn't go to Punch Pizza for dinner.

365 Photos Day 349

2011-12-18T23:59:00.000-06:00

349/365

It's the middle of December.

This is Minnesota.

There's something wrong with this picture.

But, I'm OK with no snow. It's been foggy and overcast this week. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was in Western Oregon.

365 Photos Day 348

2011-12-18T23:57:00.000-06:00

348/365

Since Sunny the fish went to his new home, Iz has been lonely. Tonight she decided to jump up and "share" Callie's chair.

Maybe having a fish was an OK thing after all. I bet Callie thinks so, anyway.

365 Photos Day 347

2011-12-14T23:29:00.000-06:00

347/365

It's probably just as well Sunny is going to his new home tomorrow.

Sigh.

365 Photos Day 346

2011-12-14T23:24:00.000-06:00

346/365

Iz likes hanging out with Sunny.

I'm not sure Sunny likes hanging out with Iz.

At least she's not trying to act out the scene from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince where Dumbledore is drinking all the liquid out of the basin to get to the horcrux anymore, so that's an improvement.

365 Photos Day 345

2011-12-14T23:16:00.000-06:00

345/365

I don't know much about fish, but I do know they need something bigger than a super small bowl with rocks to swim around in.

So, figuring Sunny needed an upgrade in accomodations, I went to PetCo.

Dang, fish are expensive. All this was $75. ON SALE. I was looking at the salesclerk like she was nuts, and told her that our fish wasn't that big. "Well, they will grow to between 8"-12", you know."

Sonofagun. I also enjoyed her offhand comment, "Well, this is the most expensive part. The fish are like 15 cents each." Fifteen cents? Seriously?

Best part? I get all this stuff home only to have one of our friends say, "Oh, yeah. I forgot to text you. I found a home for Sunny."

Sigh.

365 Photos Day 344

2011-12-14T23:06:00.002-06:00

344/365

Wherein Our Family Unit is Expanded by One

Scene: Saturday night, Steve coming home from his work Christmas party.

Steve: Hey! I brought you something!
Me (being no dummy and thus skeptical it's a good thing): Really? What?
Steve: I left it on your desk.
Me: Uh, this is a fish.
Steve: I know! I rescued it.
Me: From what, exactly?
Steve: From the people at the party. His name is Sunny.
Me: You *do* know we have FOUR CATS, right? And that I've never had a fish, so I haven't a clue as to what to actually DO with him?
Steve: Well, I couldn't just leave him there. People were eating and drinking them.
Me: What is WRONG with you people?
Steve: And, at the end of the night the fish were all going to be flushed down the toilet. So I had to save Sunny.
Me: Sigh.

/fin

365 Photos Day 343

2011-12-10T02:01:00.000-06:00

343/365
My big winnings from a game we played tonight at the annual Brother/Sister Christmas party. With all the good luck going on in this family, we should probably spend Christmas in Las Vegas or something.

Or put all this in our change jar.

Either or.

365 Photos Day 342

2011-12-10T01:45:00.001-06:00

342/365

Steve won $100 Winsted Bucks from the Winter Festival last weekend. It's the second time he's won during Winter Festival (Winsted Bucks are able to be used like real money at many areas businesses).

I don't know how he does it, but he's one of the luckiest people I know.
Or maybe I am, seeing as how I'm married to him.

365 Photos Day 341

2011-12-08T01:14:00.000-06:00

341/365

These guys were at the library to take out that big behemoth of a display case and bring it to another library in our system. After a bit of, "I'm not sure how we're going to fit it through the door" moments, they figured it out and within 20 minutes, it was gone.

GONE.

Yay! Now I won't run into it every time I walk by it.

And they even put the chairs back the right way. Excellent.

365 Photos Day 340

2011-12-08T01:05:00.000-06:00

340/365

Ah, the odd things I find when I'm out and about.

I'm all for giving people choices, but I'm a bit perplexed as to when the best marshmellow for the job would be either a Piña Colada or a German Chocolate Cake one.

Or maybe it's just me.

365 Photos Day 339

2011-12-08T00:57:00.000-06:00

339/365

Ah, the beauty of the dusting of snow and the Christmas lights. And the early sunset. And the cold.

Yep, it's pretty much winter here.

365 Photos Day 338

2011-12-04T20:05:00.000-06:00

338/365

Not sure how the genetics worked on this one...pretty sure it's taught that dark hair/eyes override every other color. Obviously the Kid didn't get the memo. She's no Mini-Me, that's for sure.

However, she IS getting better at giving The Look, so that's good. When she can make people quail at even the THOUGHT of getting The Look thrown in their direction, well, I'll know my job here is done.

365 Photos Day 337

2011-12-04T01:20:00.000-06:00

337/365

And it's SHOWTIME!

This is the middle part of the library with some of the Silent Auction items. There's a whole lot more to the right that isn't visible in the picture, and a whole lot more toward the left back in the far corner.

I think we had almost 150 items, which is down from last year, but like I've said, any is better than nothing.

And we've come a long way from the first Silent Auction. We made about $180 that year, and had maybe 20 items.

Ah, but we're done now.

For another year.

365 Photos Day 336

2011-12-04T01:09:00.000-06:00

336/365

Today was the Silent Auction set up day. It's a loooooooong day by any stretch of the imagination. A 12 hour day is not unusual.

I got to work on the gift certificate wall and get it all figured out. We didn't have as many this year, for whatever reason, but any is better than nothing. The rest of the library was overtaken by tables and other items.

This is our 13th year of doing this, so we are fairly efficient in our methods, but every year we have a few moments of, "How do we do this again?" That's OK, though. Maybe there's a better way of setting up or organizing it all that will come up. Or not.

Either way, it's one of our biggest fundraisers throughout the year, and it's fun (after the set up and before the take down, anyway). It's always interesting to see what items are the hot items of the year, and which ones hardly get a bid.

365 Photos Day 335

2011-12-04T01:01:00.001-06:00

335/365

One of my patrons asked if I'd read this yet. Nope, I'd been avoiding it because it looked like one of THOSE books. (THOSE books=something that is rather like an Oprah book, most of which make me want to run away screaming)

"I think you'd like it. Give it a try," she said.

"Lalalalala," I said.

Then I got to thinking about it. I recommend books to my patrons, but it really should be a two-way street I think. If I don't value their "hey, you should read this" moments, then they might stop valuing mine. Sure, getting people hooked up with the right book is part of being a librarian, but in a way, it's more a shared love of reading that's the bond.

So, I did what I usually do when faced with a book I just do NOT want to read.

I get the audio. Somehow when I outsource the actual reading it's a whole lot easier for me.

And within the first 2 tracks, I was entranced.

Part of it is the different readers doing a wonderful job (bad readers=forget it, life's too short) and really bringing the characters to life. Part of it is the way it's written--in epistolary format, through letters back and forth.

Or maybe it's the right book at the right time.

In any case, I'll be telling her how much I like it. And definitely thanking her for her recommendation.

365 Photos Day 334

2011-12-04T00:48:00.000-06:00

334/365

Tonight Steve made some more caramels for the Silent Auction. He's got his system down pretty well, but asked if I'd help him wrap the cut caramels. "Sure," I said. "I can do that."

Well, no, no I can't.

I'm fairly intelligent (I'd like to think), but I'm pretty sure I didn't look it. I couldn't figure out how to cut the wax paper to the right size square, and then I couldn't figure out how to wrap the caramels like he did. I tried to take a picture of him doing it, but his hands were moving so fast they were blurry.

I am so thankful for all the help and support he gives the Library Board for the auction. It's fairly stressful enough, but add in cranky husbands and kids, and all of a sudden we gots ourself a ball game. Or something.

This year he made his extremely excellent peanut brittle and the caramels to auction off. Before he's only made peanut brittle, so he's a little worried that the caramels might not go. I'm pretty sure they will, especially since he made extra for sampling purposes--and once someone tastes it, they'll probably go bid on it.

101 in 1001 November Here Come the Holidays Edition

2011-12-01T22:28:00.000-06:00

Forward progress...that's all I'm going for right now. I'm more than halfway there, but I only have 488 days to power through roughly 62 more things. I'd best get cracking.

Finished: 39
In Process: 12
Percent finished: 38.61%
Left to go: 61.39%

Finances/Giving (6/12) [in Process: 0]
1. Get Emergency Fund up to $1000 [Done 15 March 2011]
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 [Done 5 November 2011]
7. Put a $100 bill in the second collection basket
8. Donate to the Food Shelf 10 times ($25 or equivalent) (10/10) [Done 28 October 2011]
9. Leave a 100% tip 5 times (5/5) [Done 15 October 2011]
10. Choose 2 kids from the Jesse Tree during Christmas & get them presents [Done 29 November 2011]
11. Give to a family in need during the holidays
12. Buy a scratch-off lottery ticket & donate 25% of the winnings to charity [Done 18 September 2010]

House Inside (7/12) [In Process: 2]
13. Hang up 5 pictures (5/5) [Done 17 November 2010]
14. Frame Tree picture [Done 9 September 2010]
15. Paint back room and closet [Done 13 October 2010]
16. Paint hall storage closet & set up shelves [Done 17 August 2010]
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 [Done 18 October 2010]
22. Get dining room chairs
23. Repaint Laundry Room [Done 19 October 2011]
24. Repaint/redo master bathroom/closet [Done 5 October 2010]

House Outside (2/12) [In Process: 1]
25. Plant 5 trees in yard (4/5) [4 Blue Spruce planted 7 August 2010]
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 [Done 28 August 2010]
36. Get a flag for front porch (and install said flag) [Done 3 July 2011]

To Do/Watch/Read (2/12) [In Process: 7]
37. Watch 101 movies (39/101)
November 2011
• Crazy Stupid Love
• The Princess and the Frog
• Sherlock Holmes

38. Read 101 books (154/101) [ The 101 was done 2 May 2011]
November 2011 (5)
• Set in Darkness by Ian Rankin
• The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• His Last Bow by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes
• Non-Fiction: Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian by John Elder Robison
• Audio: Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

39. Go to a Cowboys-Vikings game
40. See 5 Minnesota Tourist Attractions (0/5)
41. Visit 5 art galleries in Minnesota (1/5)
42. Watch all seasons of “24” (0/8)
43. Watch all seasons of “MI-5” (4/9)
44. Complete a crossword puzzle book
45. Watch 5 documentaries (5/5) [done 10 February 2011]
46. Read 5 Non-fiction books (4/5)
47. Donate 100, 000 grains of rice on FreeRice.com (61,000/100,000)
48. Do 5 things from the “365 Things to do in the Twin Cities” (4/5)

Health (2/12) [In Process: 0]
49. Walk to work 30 times (30/30) [Done 14 March 2011]
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 [Done 16 September 2010]
59. Do the 200 sit-ups challenge
60. Track my progress with Wii Fit for 28 consecutive days.

Grown-up/Family stuff (3/12) [In Process: 1]
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 [Done 18 December 2010]
67. Have a family board/card game night 5 times (2/5)
68. Buy a new “grown-up” outfit (shirt/pants) [Done 23 July 2011]
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 [Done 28 December 2010]

Spiritual/Church (4/12) [In Process: 2]
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 [Done 1 October 2010]
77. Read the Tao te Ching [Done 18 September 2010]
78. Get a new St Christopher Medal
79. Do the Advent readings and wreath one year [Done 7 January 2011]
80. Do the Lenten readings one year
81. Do the Rice Bowl project one year [Done 17 April 2011]
82. Light an intention candle 10 times (5/10)
83. Attend Mass in the Basilica
84. Attend 2 Lenten dinners

Food (10/11) [In Process: 0]
85. Make a cake & icing (or cupcakes) from scratch [Done 24 July 2010]
86. Try 3 new restaurants (3/3) [Done 17 June 2011]
87. Do one week of meal planning [Done 31 December 2010]
88. Do one month of meal planning [Done 3 July 2011]
89. Eat 1 serving of fruit a day for a week (7/7) [Done 12 July 2010]
90. Try a new recipe [Done 1 October 2010]
91. Make cookies from scratch [Done 23 September 2010]
92. Try a different flavor ice cream (no vanilla/chocolate) [Done 12 August 2010]
93. Limit Diet Coke to 2 servings per day for 1 consecutive week (0/7 days)
94. No fast food for a month [Done 9 April 2011]
95. Try 5 different kinds of apples (5/5) [Done July 2010]

Just Because (2/6) [In Process: 1]
96. Donate hair to Locks of Love one more time
97. Take part in a pub quiz [Done 16 January 2011]
98. Complete a 500+ piece puzzle
99. Fly first class
100. Start a Tumblr [Done 8 July 2010]: http://daughteroftime.tumblr.com
101. Do a 365 day photo challenge

NaBloWriMo Day 30

2011-12-01T22:05:00.001-06:00

Wednesday, November 30, 2011
What did you learn from doing NaBloPoMo?

What did I learn...what did I learn?

I learned that I still have the gift of being able to write about (most) anything when given a prompt. This skill was honed in 10th grade World History when Mr Hoffman would say at the beginning of class, while raising the map covering the chalkboard, "This is your topic, you have 50 minutes, GO!"
Depending on the day, week, moment, I am capable of forgetting to write a post until the next day. Such as today.
This was kind of an extension of my 365 Photos project. Which I also forget to upload every day.
That I don't write for anyone else but myself. I don't know who all reads these musings, and that's OK. The people who do probably wonder how I function at all if my brain jumps around like the way I write sounds.
I really need to redesign my blog. It's on my to-do list.
Most of all, I learned that it can be fun to be part of something way larger than my own little corner of the world. People all over the world were participating in this, and it was fun to discover some new blogs to follow and read. Also, I learned that I probably should comment more on what I do read, even if it's uncomfortable for me.

All in all, I think NaBloWriMo was fun. Will I remember to do it next year? Maybe. No promises. Most of the time I can't remember what I'm supposed to be doing next week without looking at my calendar.

365 Photos Day 333

2011-11-29T22:43:00.000-06:00

333/365

Today was the last Storytime of the year. For whatever reason, the number 10 was not something the kids were getting their heads around. "What was last week's number?" "NINE!!!" "Good! So, what's this week's number?" "...NINE!!!!" "..."

Afterward it was time to pack away all the craft supplies until next April. We're going to try and avoid the snowstorms...even though it'll probably snow through May or something. I have 2 big totes that I use, but not everything fits very well. So it was a process of "Does this fit here? No. Dang. Try again."

Eventually, I got everything back in. Hopefully the lids won't fly off anytime soon. I'd hate to have the Back Room of Doom look like Ke$ha was back there throwing glitter and making it rain or anything.

365 Photos Day 332

2011-11-29T22:32:00.000-06:00

332/365

My printer is taking a beating this week printing out all the Silent Auction things we need. Bid sheets (seen here), signs, bidding information...it's all stored on my computer. The printer started acting all weird and wasn't letting me print, but I showed it. I had Steve come in and glare at it (he did some computer-y stuff too, but I was doing other things, so I don't know what he did). And then it was working again, just in time to print off more bid sheets.

Yay!

365 Photos Day 331

2011-11-29T22:27:00.000-06:00

331/365

Starting the long process of getting ready for this year's Silent Auction. Kim & I worked on the gift certificate wall today. It was sure more fun than I know what to do with.

We used to put out the gift certificates on a table. Now, though, we make copies of them and hang them on a wall with a description so that people can see them, and we don't have to worry about them being taken or knocked off the table, or whatever may befall them.

The good thing is that this is our 13th year of doing the Auction, so we all know what we're doing, and we all work (fairly) well together, which is always a good thing.

365 Photos Day 330

2011-11-29T22:20:00.001-06:00

330/365

Oh, glorious day! Iz's little green ball has been found!

This is her favorite ball. It's been missing for almost a month. She looked for it everywhere. WE looked for it everywhere. No luck.
We finally just gave up and found a purple ball that looked like the green one & took out the bell (the green one had lost its bell somewhere along the way), and she was happy.

Saturday I heard her playing in the hall, so I went to see what she was batting around. And lo and behold...it was the green ball.

So now she has TWO cool balls. She likes to play fetch with them. We throw them, she brings them back in her mouth. Like I've said, sometimes we think that she thinks she's part dog.

NaBloWriMo Day 29

2011-11-29T02:13:00.000-06:00

Tuesday, November 29, 2011
What is the last thing you do before bed?

Depends. Mostly I read, but it depends on what I've been doing that day. If the house needs a quick pick-up, I do that. If I need to finish up something for work, I do that. It's not very exciting.

The last thing I do before I head upstairs is drink a glass of milk and take Advil. I make sure the doors are locked, then I say goodnight to the cat people and go get ready for bed.

It's a routine, and there've been times where I'm laying in bed trying to remember, "Did I do such-and-so?" and if I honestly can NOT remember, I've been known to get up and go check. (At which point I realize that, yes, I actually did do such-and-so and have just gotten out of a nice warm bed to go check.)

NaBloWriMo Day 28

2011-11-29T02:07:00.000-06:00

Monday, 28 November 2011
Describe an heirloom that has been passed down through generations of your family. What is its significance to you personally?

I have a couple that've been passed down only through the women of the family. All are special in their own way.

1. The 'Elizabeth' Bible: I am the 3rd Elizabeth to have this bible. It's very very old and very fragile. I received it from my Great-Grandmother, who received it from her Grandmother. As the name implies, it gets passed from Elizabeth to Elizabeth. The other 2 had Elizabeth as her middle name; it is my given first name. If my daughter so chooses to name her daughter Elizabeth, it will be passed on. If it doesn't happen until a couple of generations down, it will be passed on then.

2. The Double Wedding Ring Quilt: This is a beautiful handmade quilt that has been passed down for 4 generations on the daughter's wedding day (or kept in trust until said daughter has a place for it). I put it on our bed only in the spring, and keep it in the cedar chest the rest of the year.

3. The Chest of Drawers: This piece was made in the late 1800's and went west on a wagon. It gets passed down when the daughter is settled enough to be in one place for awhile. It's really a lovely carved piece that is still very functional. It currently resides in our foyer.

These are 3 things that get passed down, mother to eldest (or only) daughter. Even as I don't like to have a lot of cluttery stuff, I love the thought that these things have seen a few generations come and go, yet still survive to serve and be loved by the next ones. They are beautiful in their own right, but the added bonus of having family meaning makes them irreplaceable treasures.

NaBloWriMo Day 27

2011-11-29T01:55:00.001-06:00

Sunday, 27 November 2011
Topic of the Day: My Random Thoughts

This will be very random. You've been warned.

I don't much like the holiday season. Never really have, probably never really will. No particular reason, but as much as I don't like the cold in January, at least the holidays are done.
This was not the week to start cutting back on my consumption of Diet Coke. Perhaps a better time to do so would be the 12th of never.
Mass on Saturday night was, um, interesting. Since the changes to the Missal took effect this weekend, it was amusing (to me) how many people were still on what I call "AutoCatholic". You know, like they've said the responses, etc so many times before that it's just by rote, not because they're thinking about what they're saying. Me, well, I never bothered to memorize any of that. I have more important things to remember, like all the lyrics to '80's songs that I haven't heard in 20 years.
I really need to finish the storage closet in our room. But since I messed up cutting the 1st two boards and had to go get replacements, I'm apprehensive about doing it wrong again. So by not doing anything, I'm at least not doing it wrong. It makes more sense in my head.
I keep thinking that I need to make a list of everything I need to do this week. Sadly, when I start to make said list, I forget what it was I wanted to put on it.

There you go. You just got to experience 5 minutes in my busy brain.

NaBloWriMo Day 26

2011-11-27T02:38:00.000-06:00

Saturday, 26 November 2011
Topic of the Day: Enough

This week I've really been thinking about who/what I'm thankful for.

Yesterday was Black Friday, and I didn't go shopping until much later in the day. I know that perhaps I didn't get the best deals, but I maintained my sanity, so I'll call it a win.

However, I gave some thought to the whole Black Friday hoopla, and how that fit in with my evolving belief system.

I used to gladly go shopping at the crack of dawn to get things for the kids and not have to spend lots and lots of money. It was even kind of fun. Except the year the woman in front of me in Target got mad and pushed my cart into me because someone else (NOT ME) had hit her. That year...not so fun. Anyway, I get the whole thrill of the hunt thing, and I'm not here to condemn it or anyone who participates in the day.

Every year on the news, there's stories about how people get run over, in fights, whatever. I've come to realize that for me, there's nothing in a store worth that. It's not a mentality that I can get behind for my own self, not in this season of Advent.

This has been years in the making. Maybe it's because I really dislike having to come up with a Christmas list that has things that sure, I like them, but I don't NEED them. Maybe it's because we've come so far financially that I don't have to balance the wants vs. needs anymore, and can usually just buy whatever it is that catches my fancy. Maybe it's because I'm less tolerant of STUFF than I used to be. Maybe it's a combination of all of the above.

Every year my husband asks me what I want for Christmas. Every year I tell him that I'm pretty sure that I've already told him. Every year he tells me that if I did, I only did in my head, which we've established DOES NOT COUNT (maybe). Or that I pointed out something in a store, but changed my mind 2 aisles over (true).

One of the best presents I got was a couple of years ago when I got him to agree to take most of the money he'dve spent on me, and let me buy food and other supplies to give to a family in need. We asked our priest if there was anyone who needed a hand-up (not a hand-out), and actually since we had so much to give, it ended up being split up between 2 families. One was to a guy who'd pretty much lost everything when the economy went haywire, and was struggling to hold on to a house that he shared with other family members--he'd almost lost his faith in life, but our gift helped give him enough hope to keep going (I love that); the other was to a single mom with 2 little girls who had been in an abusive situation & had managed to get out, but was thinking there was no possible way to have any sort of Christmas for her girls. Thinking about how we could share even just a little of what we take for granted, and at least for that moment make life a little easier for someone was awesome.

It's not about doing it so I feel better about what we have. It's not about doing it because I should (if there's one thing that will make me NOT do something, it's because someone tells me I "should"). It's not about doing it because it's the Christmas season and I'm buying into the whole "Christmas Spirit" thing, because I'm usually low on Christmas Spirit in the best of years. It's not about doing it because as a "good Christian" that's what's expected.

No, it goes back to my Mom telling me that we give because we can. We give because it is a way to acknowledge and be thankful for what we ourselves have. And as I look around our house, and what we have, both tangible and intangible, we have enough. That's one of my mantras when I'm panicking about money, "For today, for right this moment, I have enough."

We have more than enough to share. We have more than enough that we can freely give some away and not worry if that would be the make-it-or-break-it between this payday and next. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all the help that is needed, and I feel so inadequate. But then I realize that may be the lesson that's being taught. To do what I can, where I can, with what I have. And to do it from love and compassion, not because it's expected.

And that's a wonderful feeling. That feeling of Enough. That's what I want to hold onto during not only this Advent season, but the rest of the year as well.

NaBloWriMo Day 25

2011-11-26T02:46:00.000-06:00

Friday, November 25, 2011
Do you like to buy presents ahead of time or right when you need to give them?

Well, I'd love to say that I always get things ahead of time...but I don't. If I did, I'd probably either forget that I'd already gotten them or forget where I'd put them. Or both.

I tend to buy them within a week or so of when I'll be giving them, unless it's something that I'll need to have shipped. Then I might look at getting it earlier. Or not.

Yep. File this one under "Chronic Procrastinator".

365 Photos Day 329

2011-11-26T02:19:00.000-06:00

329/365

Today I'm grateful for the job that allows me to go out and shop on Black Friday.

Ahahahaha. No. No marathon shopping on Black Friday for me. No thanks. When the kids were little, sure. Now, not so much.

I am, however, still grateful for the work I do. It's not a job, not most days. I love what I do, and am thankful for the opportunity to keep doing it. I'm also grateful that we don't depend on my paycheck to help cover anything but fun stuff, because I tell you what, I may love what I do, but I sure am not in it for the money.

365 Photos Day 328

2011-11-26T02:06:00.000-06:00

328/365

Today I'm grateful for our extended family. I'm an only child and didn't grow up near my extended family, so the craziness that is Steve's immediate family sometimes makes me want to run away screaming (his extended family is HUGE, and kind of overwhelming sometimes). Holidays are never boring, that's for sure. There's also something to be said for having a good support system if we need it.

These are only 2 of our nephews--I have 2 more, but one was off doing something and the other was texting his girlfriend. Our niece was downstairs, I think.

365 Photos Day 327

2011-11-26T01:53:00.000-06:00

327/365

Today I'm grateful for our house. We are incredibly lucky to have gotten to build this house pretty much how we wanted it. We wanted it to look like a house that had been there for 100 years (like our old one was), and like we'd inherited it from one of our grandmas and updated it. I think we succeeded.

Mostly, though, I'm just grateful that we have a house that we can afford and that we can raise our family in (although the Kid will be leaving for college next fall), and maybe pass it down to the Kid.

365 Photos Day 326

2011-11-26T01:32:00.001-06:00

Dart

Kit Kat

Callie

Isabelle (Iz)

326/365

Today I'm most grateful for all our assorted cat people. Dart has been here the longest, the 3 girls have been here for just over a year.

We started off with no cats. Then we bought a house.

Then we got one cat (Sammy). Steve got her from a lady he worked with as a surprise for me. When he brought her home, he said, "That's it, though. Only ONE CAT."

A couple of months later, another cat showed up and adopted us. Steve said, "OK, fine. BUT THAT'S IT. ONLY TWO CATS."

When the second cat died, I was in college. After Christmas break, one of the girls I worked with at the school library came in and asked if anyone wanted two cats (one of whom is Dart). She had to give them up because she was too allergic to them. I called Steve, who sighed and said, "OK. BUT THAT'S IT. THREE CATS IS THE LIMIT."

One of the cats had to be put down. I'm still not certain what happened to her, but I suspect something like a stroke. So we lived with two cats, until we had to put Sammy down. Then Steve said, "You know, I think I'd like a kitten. Or a younger cat." So we went to the shelter...

And ended up bringing the 3 girls pictured above home. All Steve said was,
"THAT'S IT. NO MORE CATS. FOUR IS THE LIMIT."

They can be the biggest pains in the asses ever, but they also can be so damn sweet that all is forgiven. I feel so lucky that they have deigned to have us as their people.

365 Photos Day 325

2011-11-26T01:07:00.000-06:00

325/365

Today I'm grateful for my friends. These two ladies are probably my closest friends at this point in my life. They both accept me, quirks and all, and I can count on them to be there if I need them.

I'd love to say I make (and keep) friends fairly easily. I don't, not really. Mostly that's because I'm not as social as I used to be, some of it is because being an adult and doing adult things tends to pull our lives in too many different directions sometimes.

But, I'm happy that these ladies count me as one of their friends too. Life with them in it is certainly more interesting.

365 Photos Day 324

2011-11-26T00:55:00.001-06:00

324/365

Apparently when the camera gets used a whole bunch more than normal, the battery will die. When the battery dies, it's kind of hard to take pictures when it's not recharged.

Live and learn.

Anyway...

This week is all about what I'm thankful for.

I'm truly thankful for these two. As much as I think they're from another planet sometimes (most of the time), I'm ever thankful that they're my family. I always say, "All I wanted was a normal family. Instead I got you two." But I'd rather have them than anyone else.

NaBloWriMo Day 24

2011-11-24T22:24:00.000-06:00

Thursday, November 24, 2011
Do you enjoy being alone? Would you rather be around other people?

I'm fine with being alone. Really. Sometimes I'd much rather be alone than have the stress of interacting with other people.

Maybe it's because I'm an only child. I could, and was certainly expected to, entertain myself for hours on end. My husband prefers to be around people, and I do wonder if that's because he was the 2nd of 5 kids, and his extended family was (still is) HUGE, so there was never really any alone time.

Actually, this was why I loved loved loved living in a city. There were lots of people around, sure, but mostly I was by myself, if that makes sense. It's kind of like that line in Glenn Frey's song, 'You Belong to the City': "Nobody cares where you're going, nobody cares where you've been."

It's not that I don't like people. I do. Just not ALL. THE. TIME. I need times to recharge where I don't have to talk to anyone. Or interact with anyone. I'd probably be OK if on a desert island all alone.

NaBloWriMo Day 23

2011-11-24T22:03:00.001-06:00

Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Write about a piece of music that changed your life forever. What do you feel when you hear it now?

Criminy. I can't really say a piece of music has changed my life forever...mainly because I can't remember any.

Music is just one of those things that I like without analyzing the heck out of it. When I hear a song I liked, I can usually remember what was going on in my life when it was popular, along with most of the lyrics even if I haven't heard the song for a looooong time. It's one of the most useless skills I have, what can I say?

I still remember saving my allowance to buy 45's at the record store of songs I liked, which I would play over and over and over and over and over and over and over. And then some more.

Later it was trying to capture ALL of the song without any DJs talking over it from the radio onto a cassette tape. Sometimes it went well. Othertimes, not so much.

Music has always just been part of my life. Some of my earliest memories of cleaning the house was to the soundtracks from 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and 'Camelot', or to the sounds of Three Dog Night, The Smothers Brothers or Bill Cosby. I had my own record player fairly early on, and had quite the variety of music, from K-TEL records with funny songs to classical to Shaun Cassidy. I was exposed to lots of different kinds of music and even today don't just limit myself to one genre.

And maybe that's how it's changed my life. I'm open to new things (just not a lot of new things all at once), and I can usually find something I like in pretty much everything.

NaBloWriMo Day 22

2011-11-22T22:53:00.001-06:00

Tuesday, 22 November 2011
What is the luckiest thing that has ever happened to you, and why?

The luckiest thing that ever happened to me is an ongoing thing. It's my superpower, really. And probably my Kryptonite too, but it all works.

It's my ability to not get too attached to things or places.

Probably that's not generally looked at as a really super good thing, and more of a "where on the autism spectrum did you say you were?" kind of thing (I suspect I may be a borderline Asperger awesome person), but it really is a good thing.

It's a blessing and a curse. Part of it ties into my not-so-good memory I'm sure. If I can't see something, I tend to forget I have it, be it person, place, or thing. I also have the tendency to really focus in on some things to the exclusion of other things. My dear sweet husband likens it to a laser, with all the energy focused in on one thing (I am really lucky that he gets that, even if he's not always happy about it).

It worked out well when I was a kid. When my parents (usually my Mom) would take something away from me as a punishment, I was mad at first, but then I was more like, "So? Take it away. I don't care." Thing was, I really meant it. It wasn't bravado. By the time I got it back, I'd usually forgotten about it and moved on. It drove my Mom nuts, which was just a side benefit. :)

It worked out well when I moved so much between the ages of 18 & 23--if it didn't fit into my car, it didn't go. Therefore, I really didn't have a lot of STUFF, and I rather liked that.

Somewhere along the way I had to figure out where "Home" was to me. It ended up being where ever I am. It's not a physical place, it's not contained in physical things. The ability to not be attached to places and things really helped me fine-tune that definition long before I could clearly articulate it in a way that others can understand. Don't get me wrong, I like my things, and I like most of the places I've been, but if they were all taken from me, I'd still be OK.

Like I said...blessing and curse; superpower and Kryptonite.

NaBloWriMo Day 21

2011-11-22T21:53:00.000-06:00

Monday, 20 November 2011
Is It All Just In My Head?

I'm a summer person. No doubt about it. I was born on 5 July during a hot summer. I missed being an Independence Day kid by 4 hours. Story of my life, right there, just missing something because I'm late.

I love summer with every fiber of my being. I'd rather be too hot than too cold, and I think I should be able to (comfortably) wear shorts every day of the year.

So this time of year messes with my inner rhythms something fierce, and I don't like it one bit. The lack of lots of sunshine and warmth makes for a loooooooong winter. Today was grey and damp, and I just wanted to stay in bed forever and ever. Or at least until spring.

I haven't been formally diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but I'm fairly sure the older I get, the more it affects me. I find I have more anxiety attacks during this time of year, and I just feel like I'm running at a negative speed.

For Christmas I may ask for a tanning package so I can just go sit in a brightly lit warm space for a little bit a day. I'd like to ask to relocate to a warmer climate, but that's not going to happen.

Too bad it's not socially acceptable to hibernate this time of year, because I'm pretty sure I could manage to do that quite well, thanks.

NaBloWriMo Day 20

2011-11-21T01:00:00.002-06:00

Sunday, 20 November 2011
Free Choice Topic

Today I spent some time cleaning out and organizing my favorites on my computer. It's times like these that I really wish I'd remember to take the time to re-name the links to something I have a shot at remembering why I saved them in the first place.

Alas, I probably never will.

It's kind of like a treasure hunt. Oooo! Lookit! I'd forgotten I'd saved this! My Pinterest boards are the same way, which makes it fun.

However, sometimes I re-discover really cool things. Like this guy, whom I love love love:

I'll go ahead and call tonight a success.

NaBloWriMo Day 19

2011-11-20T00:09:00.000-06:00

Saturday, 19 November 2011
Free Choice Saturday: Peanut Brittle

Today was the opening day of the holiday season in our house. How do I know? Because Steve & the Kid made their first batch of peanut brittle. Over the course of the next two months, they will make close to 30 pounds of the stuff for friends, family, the library's annual Silent Auction, and maybe if we're lucky, for us too.

For the past few years, those 2 have perfected their intricate dance entitled "The Making of the Peanut Brittle." It's a complex dance, with timing so precise that a 2 second delay can spell disaster for that particular batch.

It was also kind of bittersweet watching them. In too short a time, she'll be off in the big wide world, and not home to help make the peanut brittle. I asked Steve what he thought and he said he'd been thinking about that too, and would just have to find a new helper (I don't go out into the kitchen while they're making it...the dance is usually accompanied by loud voices and sometimes swearing).

But for this year, anyway, the peanut brittle dance will go on as planned, which is always a good thing.

365 Photos Day 323

2011-11-19T18:23:00.000-06:00

323/365

And snow it begins...

This is only Iz's second winter. She's not impressed with this stuff. AT. ALL.

It's OK, Iz. Either am I. But we're stuck with it for awhile.

This isn't supposed to stay long, but the real stuff is coming. Sooner rather than later.

Sigh.

365 Photos Day 322

2011-11-19T18:15:00.000-06:00

322/365

*This was taken by the Kid. That's why it's art-ier than my normal photos.

Ah, Diet Coke and crackers. What this week has been primarily fueled by. Well, these and a bunch of Tums and Prilosec (neither of which I've missed taking).

What a week. Sampling week only comes twice a year, apparently. I think that's plenty.

However, it was interesting (in a bang my head against the desk repeatedly kind of way) to see about how many people come in. If I'dve had to estimate, I would have been way low. But it's also good to do this to see when we really need the double coverage there (Mondays & Fridays for sure) during a normal (not summer) week.

In any case, I'm just glad we're done. For now.

365 Photos Day 321

2011-11-19T17:59:00.000-06:00

321/365

Ah, standing order list time. How I (don't) love thee.

It's always a tricky balance between what the patrons want and what we can afford. This year I've been instructed to really hack our list back based on how much each book costs on Baker & Taylor and our book budget.

I usually play the odds that most of the authors won't publish more than one book a year (unless said author has taken to publishing 6 or 7 a year...I'm looking at YOU, Mr Patterson), but can't this year due to the new management.

At least I get to pick our authors, so I'm OK with giving a little to get a little.

365 Photos Day 320

2011-11-19T17:49:00.000-06:00

320/365

Today was all about labeling the metric ton* of library books that we've gotten back from processing.

A couple of years ago, we decided that in order to help us look brilliant, we'd label the order of series with sticker dots on the spines of the adult fiction books. This has been a big hit with our patrons, and it makes seeing if the next one in the series is on the shelf super easy.

Of course, this means every time that new books come in, we have to check if they're part of a series, and if so, which one, and what number. A little extra work for us sure helps our patrons, though, and that's who it's all about.

We've started doing the same to the teen/junior section with the addition of a "Teen" label on the appropriate books. Parents can then see at a glance if that book is OK for their kid to read...well, at least as far as we've gotten (roughly to the J's).

*estimated weight based solely on eyeballing the amount of books and how many carts they took up when unloaded from the delivery boxes. Not a scientifically approved measurement.

365 Photos Day 319

2011-11-19T17:38:00.000-06:00

319/365

This week's Storytime number was 8. So, we read stories about spiders and octopuses.

One of the little guys really doesn't like bugs. REALLY DOESN'T LIKE. And tells me so whenever we have a book with any kinds of creepy crawlies. Our first book was "I Love Bugs", but after I said the title, he said, "NO! I don't like bugs. AT ALL." On every page, as the bugs were being described, all he had to say was, "EWWWWWWW."

Mental note to self: no more bug books for awhile...

NaBloWriMo Day 18

2011-11-18T02:16:00.000-06:00

Friday, 18 November 2011
What has been the happiest moment of your life thus far?

I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to say "My wedding day" or "the day I had the Kid", but no. Neither of those were my best days ever. Our wedding day was the hottest summer day EVER (pretty much), and I almost passed out; the day I had the Kid I'd had labor induced at some God-forsaken time in the single digit A.M. portion of the day, yet didn't have her until almost 15 hours later. Although, I *did* get some heavy-duty drugs when I had the Kid... Nah, still not the best moment ever.

I've had lots of "happiest moments" throughout my life.

Flashes of glorious perfection, fleeting at best. Sometimes Time really does hold still long enough for me to realize that *this moment* is one of those special moments, that although I'll likely forget it, it's magical for just right then.

Sometimes it feels like something goes "click!" into place. Sometimes it is a shift in my thinking that allows me to see things in a whole new way, thus leading to me figuring it out. Sometimes it's mundane.

For instance, one of my happiest moments while studying abroad in Scotland came when I was tired, thirsty, and really wishing I could find somewhere that served Diet Coke ON ICE. I got on a bus going the wrong way from the direction I actually needed to be going; decided it was no big deal, I'd just hop off at the next stop, cross the street, reboot, and try again. We went around a corner, and I would swear I heard angels singing, for there at the next stop was a Burger King. Yes, indeed. I can't begin to describe how great that pop tasted. And it turns out it wasn't angels singing, it was actually a Mayan musical band playing on a corner during the Festival.

Another happy moment came when I realized that yes, I really had managed to graduate with a 4.0 GPA for my 2 year degree. The immense pressure I'd put on myself was lifted in an instant. I was only 1 of 2 people to do that in our graduating class.

Day to day life is where I find my happiest moments. It's easy to be negative sometimes, and I know I have my days where my happiest moment is when I finally just get to go to bed and leave the day behind. I'll never be nicknamed "Suzy Sunshine", which is fine, but it's a good reminder to me to find the happy moments where I am and in what I am doing, not where I think they should be.

NaBloWriMo Day 17

2011-11-18T01:57:00.001-06:00

Thursday, 17 November 2011

Today's topic (about listing all my crushes & describing one) is not my thing, so I'll go with something different.

Like the weather. Can't go wrong with talking about the weather.

Apparently this weekend we're going to get a lovely storm. It will feature, among other things, snow.

I really don't like snow much.

Yes, I realize I live in Minnesota, which is the frozen tundra and all, and that yes, for part of the year there will be snow.

But I don't have to love it.

Where I spent the first part of my childhood, we were in a valley. Yes, there was snow during the winter, and lots of it, but there wasn't cold like there is here. I don't remember anyone plugging their car in at night to make sure the engine started in the morning. Where I spent my teenaged years (in Western Oregon), well, snow was a cause for celebration, because school would be closed. That was so awesome. "There's no school because there's a couple of inches of snow?" My Mom would ask. "Yep, and I'm going back to bed," I'd reply.

Here, though, it snows. And snows. And snows. And is really freaking cold. Last winter was kind of long. Who am I kidding? It was unreal. It was cold until the middle of May. Farmers couldn't get their crops planted until way late. I was bundled up watching the Kid play softball. It was long enough I was thinking maybe there'd never be summer again.

So, I tried to spend as much time as I could outside this summer, no matter how hot or humid. I was trying to store up the sunshine to last me through the coming months.

We'll see if it works.

NaBloWriMo Day 16

2011-11-17T01:29:00.003-06:00

Wednesday, 16 November 2011
What is the moment that you leave childhood and enter adulthood?

Is there just one moment? I don't know.

So, is it an age thing? Even though I'm 842 (says so on my birth certificate), I don't think of myself as an adult much. Legally we're considered adults at 18 years old. Thing is, there's no way I was an adult at 18; even at the time I didn't consider myself an adult. Could it be at 21 when we can legally drink alcohol? Nah, because I wasn't adult then, either. I got married when I was 24, and I suppose that was closer to being an adult, and even more so because I had the Kid 2 weeks before I turned 25.

Is it a mentality thing? Like, I think and act like an adult, therefore I am? That might be it. The Kid is only 17, but she's an old soul, always has been. She is probably more adult than I am, even now. Being responsible is considered an adult trait, but does that make a person an adult, just because s/he is responsible and trustworthy?

I don't know that there's ONE moment where ta-da! we become adults. I think it's more of an ongoing process in which we keep evolving, hopefully for the better.

In the end, I just don't know.

365 Photos Day 318

2011-11-16T00:49:00.000-06:00

318/365

Oh, yes. It's sampling week at the library this week. I can't remember when I've had less fun at work.

Since I can't find the numbers from the last sampling week, mainly because I think that the old head librarian (my old boss) probably just made them up, what we count this week is what will stand for this whole year.

Whoo-hoo. So, no pressure, then, to make sure I count every person who walks through the door; every reference transaction; and every electronic usage that happens this week.

Nope. No pressure.

It's going to be a loooooong week, I think.

365 Photos Day 317

2011-11-16T00:37:00.000-06:00

317/365

This is the second time I've listened to this book. And it's the second time that I'm still mad that Lee Scoresby & Hester were killed.

So not cool to kill off the good guys. Not cool at all.

NaBloWriMo Day 15

2011-11-15T01:48:00.002-06:00

Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Describe a favorite place. Focus on how that place affects your sense of taste, touch, sight, sound, or smell.

I have lots of favorite places, but I'll pick what's (probably) my most favorite-ist of them all.

The name of the place is Flagstaff Hill, and it's just outside the town I grew up in. It's a part of the Oregon Trail, and before the Interpretive Center was built, was something that unless a person knew where (or even what) it was, s/he could drive right on past and never know it; if one knew where it was, one could jump the fence and walk on the trail, provided one knew enough to be able to identify any and all snakes and didn't mind breaking the rules that said "don't jump the fence." I've only been to the Interpretive Center once, but I like to remember the place as it was, because that's what sticks in my memory, which is what I'll describe.

But first, a little background. So, the Oregon Trail is something that is taught in grade school as part of the whole Western Migration process. But there's just something about actually LIVING in a place that was part of that, and being able to take it for granted. It wasn't until much later in my life, after I'd moved away from it, that I really understood what that trail meant.

For some, it was a new beginning. For others, a chance for a better life.
I don't know if I'dve had the fortitude to endure that journey. I do know it was not easy terrain to endure, especially not the stretch I lived in. The travelers would have just gotten through Hells Canyon (aptly named) on the Idaho/Oregon border, to come up to Flagstaff Hill, just to see ONE. MORE. FREAKING. MOUNTAIN. RANGE. I've wondered how many wives looked at their husbands and said, "We came ALL THIS WAY FOR THIS!??!?!?!?" Although Oregon was known as the land of Milk & Honey, it must have been so disheartening to see all that sagebrush and more mountains. Once they got across that last mountain range (the Blue Mountains) though, the landscape changes from the harshness of the high desert to a more temperate place.

For me, though, that stark, unforgiving harshness is beautiful.

It's a barren place, yet not. There is beauty in the sagebrush that covers the ground, and it's so quiet that I can hear the wind blowing and my heart beating. The view is beyond incredible. Down the hill are the well-worn wagon wheel ruts, and in the distance is the valley proper, protected on the other side by the Blue Mountains. I feel peaceful here, and can appreciate the way my thoughts slow down. The tangy smell of the sagebrush fills the air, and I wish that I didn't ever have to leave, because this place, this magical place, is more home to me than anywhere else I've ever been. The absolute stillness of the place is both mesmerizing and unsettling, but yet inviting and a perfect foil to the busy life that awaits just down the hill.

Picture from: City Data

NaBloWriMo Day 14

2011-11-15T00:02:00.001-06:00

Monday, 14 November 2011
I was terrified to go on DWTS, but facing my fear and overcoming it has been an incredible experience. Have you faced fears and overcome them?

Well, of course. Anyone who hates public speaking but gets up in front of a class and does it anyway has fears. Or hopes that even though s/he knows the answer, that the teacher calls on someone else so s/he doesn't have to speak out loud in class has fears. And both of those scenarios would describe ME.

I would turn about 70 shades of red, my mouth would get dry, I felt like I was talking too fast, the (Eastern Oregon but think a faster version of a Southern) accent that I worked so hard to get rid of would come back, and I would've sworn I was going to die.

Luckily for me, I had a really really really good public speaking professor in college, and learned to manage all that and make it through a few speeches without mishap.

This is actually a skill which has helped me immensely in my life, both in and out of school. In school for doing all the class presentations, and out of school as an advocate for my library.

I've mastered the art of doing either a prepared speech, or an impromptu one. I'm not sure which I prefer, but I can do either without getting too nervous beforehand.

So, although I probably won't be leaving my day job anytime soon to go on a public speaking binge, yes, I faced that fear and overcame it quite well.

365 Photos Day 316

2011-11-14T01:29:00.000-06:00

316/365

Hey! My Mom had fake grapes like these that she used for decorating!

Ah, the joys of shopping at Goodwill. Sometimes I'm left shaking my head.

365 Photos Day 315

2011-11-14T01:25:00.000-06:00

315/365

This was parked outside the library earlier this week. Some of my patrons asked if it was mine.

I'm not sure whether to take that as a good thing, though. Am I quirky enough to have a SMART car? (Probably) Would I drive one? (Yes, just not in heavy traffic)

When I studied abroad in Scotland, I remember thinking it was odd that there were so many SMART cars and Mini-Coopers, but no really BIG cars. But I was so used to it, that by the time I came home, it seemed really overwhelming to see all the HUGEMONGUS cars that are driven here.

Of course, every time I see a SMART car, I think of the scene in the movie 'Pink Panther' with Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau trying to park his car.

365 Photos Day 314

2011-11-14T01:02:00.000-06:00

314/365

The fireplace has been turned on at the Eden Prairie Mall. This is both good and bad. Good, because I like to sit by it when I'm there. Bad, because it means winter and very cold weather are imminent.

NaBloWriMo Day 13

2011-11-13T23:52:00.000-06:00

Sunday, 13 November 2011
Today's Free Choice Topic: Sundays

Ah, Sundays. How I love thee. Not just for the low-keyness (outside of softball tournament season, anyway), but for the relaxed rhythm of the day.

On Sundays, I change all our sheets and do laundry (not all, just some). There's just something about cleaning up the house on Sundays to get it (and us) ready for the upcoming week.

That's one of the strongest sensory memories I have from my childhood, about the clean sheets and laundry. We store our sheets in the same cedar chest my Mom stored our family's sheets, so pulling back the sheets to go to bed on Sunday nights always releases that whiff of cedar. Also, when I was growing up, Sundays were laundry day, and oftentimes I fell asleep to the sounds of the washer and dryer, which were both located just below my bedroom.

It all adds up to a nice relaxing start to the week, and one that I tend to take for granted more often than I'd like to think.

Something to think about this week, perhaps.

NaBloWriMo Day 12

2011-11-13T01:36:00.000-06:00

Saturday, 12 November 2011
Free Choice Saturday

I just finished reading "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I need to pick out a book to read before I go to bed tonight (well, actually this morning, because it's already Sunday), but I already know it's going to be at least a half-hour process.

Why it takes me so long to pick out a new book I haven't a clue. There's plenty to choose from all within 5 feet of where I am sitting. Reading is supposed to be fun, not stressful.

It depends on what I'm in the mood for. It depends on if it's a library book and when it's due. It depends on what time of year it is. It depends on how the book feels in my hands when I open it.

When I was in college not-so-long ago, I had to come to terms with the fact that while I was knee-deep in homework and reading assigned stuff, the publishing world was NOT going to stop, and thus, I'd never be able to read everything I wanted to read.

This makes me rather unhappy. No matter how fast I read, and I can read fairly quickly, I'll never be able to plow through as many books as I would like.

First world problems, indeed.

NaBloWriMo Day 11

2011-11-11T22:37:00.001-06:00

Friday, 11 November 2011
It's 11/11/11, make three wishes

Three wishes? Normally I'd be able to reel off a few right off the top of my head, but now that I have to come up with just three? Ugh. THIS IS SO HARD.

Why is this so difficult for me? They're theoretical wishes, right? They won't count against my total wish balance the universe might be keeping...at least I hope not.

This reminds me of my thought process when I have gift cards that someone has given me. In my mind, I'm all, "Oh, yeah! Free money!!!!" In practice, though, it goes more like, "Ok, so I can get $___ of things for free. Would I rather have *this* or *that* as my free thing? If I had to pay for this, would I pay this price? I wonder if I can get it somewhere else for less?" And then I spend a couple of hours in the store paralyzed at all my choices.

And then there's the whole choice of "Do I do the noble thing and wish for others? Or do I do the self-centered thing and wish for myself?" dynamic going on in my head too. I mean, sure, on the one hand, there's a few things I'd love to do/have/be right now, but pretty much, I am so very blessed with what I already have that it seems rather selfish to just wish for myself. On the other hand, it makes sense to wish for my own self instead of trying to arrange someone else's fate.

UGH. See what I mean?

OK. I'm just going to go with three wishes...with a contingency clause of "these may change as needed/wanted".

Three Wishes for 11.11.11.:

I wish for all of our troops who are currently serving or have served, that no matter which branch, which rank, which time, that all veterans and soldiers are respected for their decisions to serve, and are taken good care of on their return.
I wish for peace for all those who have lost someone this year, especially those who were unable to say one last "I love you" or "goodbye".
I wish nothing but light, love, and happiness for all who are in my life, be they people or animals.

There. Two hours later, it's done. Sigh.

365 Photos Day 313

2011-11-10T01:20:00.000-06:00

313/365
(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday:

This is what the second half of my day at work looked like since I spent it in the Back Room of Doom:

NaBloWriMo Day 10

2011-11-10T00:35:00.001-06:00

Thursday, November 10, 2011
What is your secret (or not-so-secret) passion?

My not-so-secret passion is books.

Disclaimer: I'm a librarian, which doesn't necessarily coincide with loving books, but it helps.

I love to read. I'd rather read than watch TV, which is good since my family tends to monopolize the TV anyway. I have 3 bookcases, all of which are double- or triple-stacked with books I have yet to read, and yet I still buy more.

My Mom taught me how to read when I was 18 months old. She'd found some kit (I think it was called 'Teach Your Baby to Read') at a garage sale and modified it. It was something where the parent was supposed to hold up something like 5 flashcards and say, "This says _______." This was supposed to happen a couple of times a day, I think, but she just did 1 flash card at a time and then taped it on the wall. When my Dad got home (if he wasn't out on a fire), he'd take me over to the wall and ask what the word was. Mom said sometimes words would come up that she hadn't taught me what they were for real, like 'elbow', in which case she would say, "This says 'elbow', and this IS your elbow."

This worked pretty well, I think. I can't remember a time when I wasn't able to read. I used the same method with my Kid, starting around when she turned 2, and she's an avid reader too. Well, except when she's in school--since she's taking a full college load this year, she only has time to read her textbooks, lucky her.

My husband says (half-joking, mostly seriously) that he could drop me in any town any where, and within an hour I'dve found the library. This is probably true. When I studied abroad in Scotland between my junior and senior year of undergrad school (the summer of 2006), I found the library in St Andrews in 45 minutes (and got a library card in another 5), and the Central branch of the Edinburgh library the first day (but I didn't get a library card there).

I can do (and have done) without lots of things in this life. Except books. That's where I draw my line in the sand.

NaBloWriMo Day 9

2011-11-10T00:07:00.003-06:00

Wednesday, November 9, 2011
When was the first time that you realized that your home was not like other people’s homes?

Hmmm. House-wise? I don't have a clear recollection of noticing differences, because really, I just didn't.

I spent the first part of my childhood in a mill town in Eastern Oregon. Most of the houses in our neighborhood were about the same price range (I think, anyway). There were a couple of nicer neighborhoods (read: wealthier) in town, but their houses looked very similar to ours.

When I am thinking about it all, I don't know that I ever made that judgment call until much later in my life. Things were what they were. Not necessarily bad or good, just what they were.

For instance, one of my best friends in high school lived in a house with a full-sized pool, a sauna, a intercom system throughout the house, and a big circular drive. Her family was defintely well-off, but her house was her house. Our house could have probably fit in the part of her house with the swimming pool and sauna and some bedrooms with some room left over.
Another of my best friends lived in a big old farmhouse out in the middle of the country. Her family's house was bigger than ours, but again, it was her family's home.

If we're talking "people who lived in said home", my answer would be different. Sort of. Everyone else's parents seemed waaaay more normal than mine would ever be, and I realized that sometime in grade school.

My Dad worked for the US Forest Service, and transferred every couple of years to a new place while we stayed in that small mill town. Other kids with parents who worked for the USFS usually moved with their parents every couple of years (that's how promotions worked). My parents decided that wasn't fair to me to be uprooted every couple of years again and again, so Dad went, we stayed put. I liken it to a 'reverse divorce' situation: instead of me going to my Dad's every weekend, he'd come home from wherever he was at the time. It was very odd.

He was also severely crippled by Rheumatoid Arthritis, so he looked different from everyone else's dad. When I say "severely crippled", I'm not joking. He was a strapping, strong young man who spent his summers jumping out of perfectly good airplanes to go fight forest fires--he was a smokejumper from the time he was 18 until he was almost 30. But by the time he died, Mom said he looked like a survivor from Auschwitz (seriously).

Then there was my Mom, who God love that woman, was the epitome of weird. And yes, I frequently told her so when she was still alive. All my friends thought she was the neatest person EVAR, but I think a (so-called) normal Mom would've been nice sometimes as well. She was interested in things like hypnotism, past-life regressions, reading Tarot cards, palm-reading, wearing and working with crystals, and alternative healing and energy work (like Jin Shin, and clearing chakras). It was not unusual for me to come home from school and being shushed as I walked through the door because she had someone doing a past-life regression in the living room. I can safely say that NONE of my friends had Moms like her. It wasn't until I was much older that I really appreciated who she was, and admired her for her interests (which I also made sure to tell her plenty of times).

So, I don't know in which manner this question was to be answered...but there it is.

NaBloWriMo Day 8

2011-11-08T21:15:00.001-06:00

Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Has anything traumatic ever happened to you? Describe the scenes surrounding a particular event.

Well, sure. I'm pretty sure that something traumatic has happened to everyone somewhere along the way. Why would I be any different?

Of course, my definition of "traumatic" has probably changed over the years, from the superficial to the truly "holy crap that just rocked my world and not in a good way".

There are a couple of moments that make the highlight reel, though.

Age: 20
Location: On ramp of Sunset Highway, Portland, Oregon.
Specific Location: In the passenger seat of my Ford Ranger.
Scene: Arguing with my boyfriend after a really bad fight at our apartment wherein the police were called because the neighbors were afraid for my safety.
Traumatic Moment: He aims the truck at an electrical pole and speeds up. (No, my life didn't flash before my eyes. I was too angry to think.) At the last second (literally), he swerves and says, "You're not worth it."
Note: The knowledge that I was almost killed by stupidity is the traumatic moment, not the fact that he didn't think I was worth dying for.

Age: 37
Location: Minnesota
Specific Location: In our kitchen, at 2am, walking by the phone on my way to bed after fighting the good fight with a Powerpoint presentation and losing.
Scene: The phone rings, but I almost didn't answer it. I was still ticked at the PPT malfunction, and didn't want to talk to anybody. Then I realized, hello, it's 2am, and not a normal time for the phone to ring.
Traumatic Moment: Answering the phone and having a doctor in Oregon tell me that my Mom has died, and that he's sorry, they worked on her for 90 minutes, but couldn't revive her.
Note: The traumatic moment came when I realized that now *I* was the oldest generation in my direct family (if that makes sense). My dad had died when I was 26, and I'm an only child, so yep, I was it. It's an odd thing, that. Before, there was like this definite, I don't know...hierarchy? (not the word I'm looking for, but it'll work), and I wasn't at the top. I wasn't responsible for the family memories or anything. But then, all of a sudden, I was. And now I wish I would've asked more questions about things. Because now, I can't.

And that's about all the trauma I'm going to think about for one night. Now it's back to our normally scheduled blog.

365 Photos Day 312

2011-11-08T20:29:00.000-06:00

312/365

Yay! I voted! Now I can complain all I want about the results of the election!

That was always my Mom's thing about voting, or the lack thereof. "If you don't vote, you can't bitch." Makes perfect sense to me.

I remember on my 18th birthday, Mom asked, "Did you register to vote?" When I replied, "Not yet..." She said, "GO REGISTER." "Um, it's SUNDAY, so I CAN'T." First thing Monday morning, though, I registered to vote.

And I have voted ever since.

Why?

Because if there's one thing that I feel I excel at, it's complaining.

(Amanda is wearing both our 'I Voted!' stickers because we've always given them to her since she was little. And because I really hate wearing stickers that say 'I Voted!')

365 Photos Day 311

2011-11-08T20:14:00.000-06:00

311/365

Too bad I didn't just take a video of this poor unhappy cat. He wasn't very happy and was letting the world know it.

It's a hard job being Dart in this house sometimes. And if you ask him, I'm sure he'd tell you ALL ABOUT IT.

365 Photos Day 310

2011-11-08T20:09:00.000-06:00

310/365

There's just something about lazy Sundays that makes life worthwhile...

365 Photos Day 309

2011-11-08T20:05:00.000-06:00

309/365

A good friend of mine asked me for help in rearranging and decorating her apartment. She looks at my house and wishes she was "as creative as [me]." Funny thing is, I don't think I'm very creative at all. I look at LOTS of interior design books and blogs and Pinterest for inspiration because I can copy things fairly OK even when I'm putting my own spin on things.

It actually took the process of buying a home to help me look beyond what I can see on the surface. I remember when we started looking for a house, there were things I just could NOT get past...like the "Wow, that's sure an interesting choice of carpet/wall color/whatever." You know, things that can be CHANGED. Now, though, I can see possibilities in things, which in turn has really helped me look at spaces differently, which has helped me feel like there's a chance that someday I'll be as creative as I'd like to be.

NaBloWriMo Day 7

2011-11-07T23:42:00.001-06:00

Monday, 7 November 2011
Making family time is important to me. How do you balance your children, relationship, and work life?

How do I balance everything? Um, not very successfully. When I was in college from 2003-2010, it was even worse.

Mostly I tend to operate under a "what's on fire now?" way of doing things, which then leads to some stressful times. My ever-patient husband has said that I have a laser-like focus, which does come in handy sometimes, but other times, well, not so much.

He's right, I think. I tend to focus in on something to the exclusion of other things which may be just as important. It's something that I've struggled with for years. I'd like to be able to compartmentalize my life better, but at the same time, I know that's not exactly healthy either.

This has actually been on my mind quite a bit recently, as our daughter keeps receiving acceptance letter after acceptance letter from various colleges. It's becoming ever more real to me that next year at this time, she most likely won't be living here--she'll be in college living in a dorm. By going back to school when I did, I ended up sacrificing much of the time I could have spent with her as she was growing up.

I know there's a magic balancing point for all of this. I just don't know either what it is or how to achieve it.

naBloWriMo Day 6

2011-11-07T01:02:00.000-06:00

Sunday, 6 November 2011
Today's Prompt: My Free Choice

This seems to be a good topic during the month of November: Thankfulness and Gratitude.

"We do it because we can." "We give because we can."

I heard these many times while growing up, usually from my Mom, and always in conjunction with an appeal for donations for some charity, whether it be for our time or material goods.

When I got old enough to think it through, I asked why. Why did we give? Why was that so important to her?

Mom's answer was simple: By giving some away, that's how we say 'Thank you' to the Universe for blessing us with what we have.

I still do that, but I prefer to give anonymously if I can. I also tend to choose to give to things that have meaning to me, like the county food shelf, or other various organizations. I definitely like to keep it local if at all possible, though.

I'm so very grateful for all the good things I have in my life. I'm so very lucky to have enough that I can share joyously, even if sometimes it doesn't seem like much. Even on the worst days I know that things could be oh so much worse, and that what I consider to be my biggest problem of the day would be a dream situation for someone else. Sure, there are days where I have a bad case of the "I wish we could have ______", but I take a moment to remember that at least for that day, that moment, I have enough.

Powerful thought, that.

For that moment in time, I have enough.

And then I remember to tell the Universe, "Thank You."

NaBloWriMo Day 5

2011-11-06T17:03:00.000-06:00

Saturday, 5 November 2011 (written on Sunday, 6 November 2011 because I didn't pay enough attention to the directions to notice that weekends are for free writing...d'oh!)

Today's Prompt: My Free Choice

The fact that I'm actually writing this on Sunday afternoon is a good jump-off point for a topic, I think.

This is pretty much the story of my life sometimes. The whole read-or-listen-enough-to-get-started-on-a-project-or-whatever-and-not-actually-listen-to-ALL-of-the-instructions-which-would-help-in-the-long-run-so-I-don't-have-to-reinvent-the-wheel-or-totally-mess-stuff-up thing part anyway. It goes along with my "eh, I'll just eyeball it instead of actually measuring it" way of doing things.

Unfortuately, the two are not compatible with my sort-of perfectionsm.
That dichotomy of thinking/doing/being is what makes me, well, ME, though.

One of my friends tried to get me to buy into the whole "B and Done" way of being when we were in graduate school together. For our program, anything less than a B was failing, so obviously a B was good enough to get through. I tried, but I couldn't do it. I just couldn't stand it when I'd get docked points for (what I considered to be) stupid mistakes. Especially when those points could be the difference between me failing the class or not (Yes, I graduated with high honors, but not with a 4.0 GPA).

It may seem I set myself up for failure because of those disparate ways of thinking, but it actually works for me. No, really. I'm learning to let go of the little(r) things that just so long as they get done, I don't care how or by whom. Even if they aren't done the way that I would have done them. Sure, sometimes I have to walk away so I don't have to see the process, but at least I'm getting there.

365 Photos Day 308

2011-11-05T00:44:00.000-05:00

308/365

Guess who's beyond excited to have (FINALLY!!!!!) received her acceptance letter from the University of Minnesota?

She's wanted to go there since she was about 6 years old. Her reasons over the years have changed (ranging from: "That way I can get my aunt tickets for the football and basketball games" to "It's down in the Cities" to "It has a really good engineering school"), her desire to be a Gopher has not.

Yay on the Kid. :)

NaBloWriMo Day 4

2011-11-04T23:28:00.000-05:00

Friday, November 4, 2011
When you are writing, do you prefer to use a pen or a computer?

It depends on what I'm writing as to what I prefer to use.

I used to exclusively use a pen and write everything out longhand and THEN go use a computer to type it up. When I started back to college in the Fall of 2003, I quickly discovered that writing everything out longhand first was not very efficient use of my time, especially when I'd be revising on the fly and/or moving large blocks of text around.

However, I tend to write lists, reminders to myself, and brainstorming ideas down using a pen (or pencil) and paper. Sometimes these get lost, sure, but it's an easy way to download my brain at 1 in the morning when I don't want to turn on the computer and wait for it to be ready to go. In fact, I tend to keep a small notebook with me to write things like that down. It's always interesting to go back and see what has caught my fancy in the previous months.

365 Photos Day 307

2011-11-03T23:29:00.000-05:00

307/365

And then there's Iz, who seems to think she's a ninja cat or something. You know, if she holds still long enough, the crow mocking her from across the street might figure out she's actually a harmless golden leaf or something, and then she'll make her move.

365 Photos Day 306

2011-11-03T23:25:00.000-05:00

306/365

Apparently Kit Kat isn't as impressed with the Great Outdoors now that the weather is changing and there isn't so much yummy grass to be had. She's pretty smart, though. I think if she had thumbs she'dve been able to open the door herself.

NaBloPoMo Day 3

2011-11-03T21:36:00.000-05:00

Thursday, November 3, 2011
Can you listen to music and write? What song did you hear today?

Yes, I can write and listen to music at the same time. What music I listen to depends on what it is I'm writing. If I have to be constantly thinking about what I'm writing, or how to phrase it, I tend toward instrumental music, which can range from classical to popular songs and lots of things inbetween.

I heard lots of songs today...I was in the car with my daughter, and she has mastered the 'let's see how fast I can flip through the radio stations and drive at the same time' maneuver quite well.

It tends to depend on what kind of day I'm having as to whether I actually listen to anything in the car. I had a car a few years ago whose radio was rather sporadic, and it annoyed me so much I ended up turning it off. Once it wasn't an option, I found I didn't mind the silence as much as I thought I'd might, which is always a good thing.

365 Photos Day 305

2011-11-03T00:27:00.000-05:00

305/365

This week's number for Storytime was the number 6. For a craft, we made rainbow chains. These are Amanda's and my chains. The kids? Well, some of them went with this color scheme...some went with a couple of red, some blue, and whatever other color caught their fancy.

I kind of like that about the kids. Just because a rainbow is "supposed to look like _______" doesn't mean that for them it will. I like the way they think and I hope (probably in vain) that they will retain some of that independent thinking throughout their lives.

365 Photos Day 304

2011-11-03T00:22:00.001-05:00

304/365

Well, we didn't get around to carving our pumpkins before Halloween this year...but at least I remembered to NOT put them in the urns flanking the porch this time. (Last year we got snow a little earlier than expected, and our pumpkins ended up freezing into the urns, where they stayed until early this year.)

Live and learn. Live. And. Learn.

NaBloPoMo Day 2

2011-11-02T18:32:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, 2 November 2011
If you knew that whatever you ate next would be your last meal, what would you want it to be?

One word:

I'd want it to be a bowl of Cheerios and 1% milk. And can I have a refill, too?

Cheerios has been my go-to food since I was a baby. My Mom said she started feeding me them when I could pick them up by myself. She also said that if she knew that Cheerios would then become my major food group (followed by chocolate, Diet Coke, and bread) that she might have reconsidered that choice.

Cheerios is not just for breakfast, oh no. It's for lunch when I'm in a hurry, and dinner when I can't think of/be bothered to make anything.

However, I am a Cheerios purist. I only really like the original kind. I dabbled in eating the Honey Nut kind, but my true love is in the big bright yellow box.

Sure, I've tried (and liked) other cereals. Raisin Bran (Kellogs, not Post) is good so long as there's raisins; Rice Chex is pretty OK; Crispix is alright; and Life is good, but I can't have it very much.

And yes, Cheerios is supposed to be super good for lowering cholesterol, blah blah blah. I don't care about that. I just like them.

NaBloPoMo Day 1

2011-11-01T22:39:00.001-05:00

Tuesday, 1 November 2011
What is your favourite part about writing?

My favorite part about writing is that I can write what I want to write now. After being in college & grad school for 7 years, I'd sort of lost that in the shuffle. When I write, I envision someone sitting across from me having a conversation. I write like I speak, mostly.

I can write in a very formal manner if needed. I can write detailed prose if needed. But normally, I just write to write. I write for myself, to remind myself about things I'd probably forget otherwise.

Sometimes that is one of the harder things, the whole writing deal. "I don't have anything to say" or "Eh, it's not interesting enough to write about on my blog" used to be roadblocks to me posting regularly. Then I realized that this blog is just a good snapshot of what is/was going on in my life at the time, and even if it isn't The Best Thing Ever, it's still important in the grand scheme of things.

That's why I write. Because I can.

NaBloPoMo November 2011

2011-11-01T21:56:00.002-05:00

What the what? I know. I didn't know about it either until I was reading Floating Lush's blog post on it.

I mean, I'd heard of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), but not NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). I got in the habit of writing a blog post almost everyday as part of my 365 Photo Project & my 31 Days of Pinterest project, so hopefully that will help me, even though I've been a little sporadic in actually posting EVERY day.

I think it'll be fun. Yep. So, come join me and over 1500 other bloggers this month. Here's to NaBloPoMo 2011.

31 Days of Pinterest Recap

2011-11-01T02:31:00.000-05:00

Wow! It's been a fun 31 days (actually 29, since I started a couple days late). I completed 29 projects, with 2 that are in the process of being re-done (Day 30 and Day 31).

I'm still nowhere NEAR through all my pins, the amount of which has increased throughout the month as I find new cool things that I want to try.

One of the best things about this 31 Day Challenge is that I feel like I'm actually on the way to becoming creative again.

One thing I would do differently if I did it all over again would be to actually plan my projects a bit better. Many times I was finishing one, starting another, and in the middle of yet a third. This worked OK, but sometimes I felt like I was scrambling to have a project actually done everyday. I'd also like to have taken on bigger projects, like building a headboard, or a table or doing something outdoors. But, this is a start, which is always good.

Whew! 29 projects done. Yay!

31 Days of Pinterest: Framed Bathroom Mirror

2011-11-01T02:22:00.001-05:00

This is the other project that went a bit off the tracks, but is in the process of being re-done...correctly this time.

When we built this house, we had decided to spend most of our money downstairs. Upstairs is the private area of the house, and therefore didn't need much wow factor. Now (a couple of years later), we're starting to do some of the little projects to give the upstairs some WOW.

One of the things I wanted to do was to frame out the bathroom mirrors.

I think I first saw this project on The House of Smiths. I had it in my project folder (pre-Pinterest), and thought it was easy enough to do this month.

Well, yes. It would've been...had I been paying closer attention.

Here's my crown molding being measured.

The top and bottom are 48" each; the 2 sides are 30" each. Eight 45° cuts and we're in business. Yay!

Except we were not.

Need a closer look?

Augh!!!

I had mistakenly flipped one of the longer pieces while I was cutting the angles, so the cuts were going the wrong way. I hadn't bought extra crown molding because, really? How hard could this be? :) (Um, lesson learned. Things can always be returned if not used.)

I have since purchased some more crown molding, so I will definitely finish this project and have an update on it.

To see my other 31 Days of Pinterest projects, click on the image below, and it will take you to my original post.