365 Photos Day 64

64/365

It's been a day of "breaking a lot of eggs to make an omelette". I had a bookcase here, which has been relocated to Steve's office. I bought 2 new bookcases, and he assembled them for me. Then, when it came time to put them into place...they didn't quite fit.

Dangit.

Until Steve came in with a hammer and some scrap wood and "persuaded" the bigger bookcase to move over just enough that he could force the new ones into place.

In the meantime, it looks like a bookstore threw up all over my office floor.

But, at least they look nice, right?

365 Photos Day 63

63/365

This is what was on our table tonight at the restaurant we had dinner at. Considering the three of us are fairly intelligent, and Steve & Amanda are rather more logical than I am, one would think that we'd have less than no problem solving this, right?

Well, no.

None of us could get it to work. I came closest, leaving only 2 pegs.

I know I've beaten this before, when I was a kid. I probably got lucky, because it sure wasn't skill. Which is pretty much how my life seems to go.

But that's cool. I'll figure it all out. It's on my to-do list.

365 Photos Day 62

62/365

Naptime for Callie & Iz. Oh, and Callie's mousie too.

This is Callie's chair, but Iz jumped right up and made herself comfortable too.

It's been that kind of day around here. I have a to-do list that is 3 pages long of projects I could be doing. But instead I sat in a chair and read a book while the cats all napped.

Lazy and nap-filled days are good sometimes.

365 Photos Day 61

61/365

These are my book notebooks. The big one is what I have read/listened to/watched (I keep track of movies I've watched too). The little one is my "I want to read these someday and if they're part of a series I want the exact order so I can read them in order and if I don't write them down I'll forget about them" notebook.

The big notebook was started because Steve said one day, "How many books do you read a year?" When I answered that I didn't have the faintest idea besides, "Not as many as I'd like to read," he said it'd be kind of cool to keep track for a year.

That year has turned into 6. I don't write down what I think (or don't think) of the books, just merely the dates I read them. I can usually remember if I liked them or not, as well as most of the important details. You know, like what color the cover was, and maybe even what the weather was like while I was reading the book. I can tell right when I was in the middle of a really bad semester because I might have only 3 books listed for the entire month. Conversely, I can also tell when I was between terms because there's a whole lot more books.

The little notebook is interesting to me because it kind of shows how my reading tastes have changed from the time I started back to school until now. There are also some random titles that I haven't a clue as to where I came across them, nor do I remember anything about the books themselves. Those are always a crapshoot as to whether I'll actually like the books now, but it's fun to get them and try and figure out what drew me to them to start with.

Since I just finished the book I was reading (Hell's Corner by David Baldacci), I am flipping through my little notebook to see what catches my interest.

365 Photos Day 60

60/365

Sometimes after I've tidied the house up at night I like to burn a candle. It's a nice way to end the day, and just adds to the overall quiet and peacefulness that this time of night brings.

Apparently Iz likes it too.

101 in 1001 February roundup

I'm kind of looking forward to March. Not only is it one step closer to Painting Season 2011 (!!!!), I have a good feeling about finishing a few more of these.

Kind of like #49, for instance. With gas prices going up up up, I have a feeling I'll be walking to work more often (unless it's raining. I have to draw the line somewhere). Lent's coming up too, so that might take care of ones like #80 (Lenten readings), #81 (the Rice Bowl project), & #84 (going to 2 Lenten dinners).

But for now, I am here:


In Progress: 16
Finished: 24


Finances/Giving (1/12)
1. Get Emergency Fund up to $1000
2. Pay off and close Chase Visa
3. Pay off and close Target Visa
4. Get Emergency Fund up to 3 months (~12,000)
5. Get a used truck
6. Put a $50 bill in the second collection basket
7. Put a $100 bill in the second collection basket
8. Donate to the Food Shelf 10 times ($25 or equivalent) (5/10)
9. Leave a 100% tip 5 times (2/5)
10. Choose 2 kids from the Jesse Tree during Christmas & get them presents
11. Give to a family in need during the holidays
12. Buy a scratch-off lottery ticket & donate 25% of the winnings to charity [Done 18 September 2010]

House Inside (6/12)
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
24. Repaint/redo master bathroom/closet [Done 5 October 2010]

House Outside (1/12)
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)

To Do/Watch/Read (1/12)
37. Watch 101 movies (26/101)
February 2011
• Salt
• The Matador

38. Read 101 books (83/101)
February 2011 (10)
• Something From the Nightside by Simon R Green
• The Haunting of Derek Stone: The Red House
• Let it Bleed by Ian Rankin
• The Haunting of Derek Stone: The Ghost Road
• Mistress of the Elgin Marbles: A Biography of Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin
• Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
• And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander
• 2 Bodies for the Price of 1 by Stephanie Bond
• Strategic Moves by Stuart Woods
• Audio: Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld


39. Go to a Cowboys-Vikings game
40. See 5 Minnesota Tourist Attractions (0/5)
41. Visit 5 art galleries in Minnesota (0/5)
42. Watch all seasons of “24” (0/8)
43. Watch all seasons of “MI-5” (0/9)
44. Complete a crossword puzzle book
45. Watch 5 documentaries (5/5) [done 10 February 2011]
46. Read 5 Non-fiction books (1/5)
47. Donate 100, 000 grains of rice on FreeRice.com (23,000/100,000)
48. Do 5 things from the “365 Things to do in the Twin Cities” (2/5)

Health (1/12)
49. Walk to work 30 times (28/30)
50. Bike around the lake
51. 175
52. 165
53. 155
54. 145
55. 135
56. Get eyes checked
57. Get new glasses or contacts
58. Get annual physical [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 (2/12)
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)
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 (2/12)
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
80. Do the Lenten readings one year
81. Do the Rice Bowl project one year
82. Light an intention candle 10 times (4/10)
83. Attend Mass in the Basilica
84. Attend 2 Lenten dinners

Food (7/12)
85. Make a cake & icing (or cupcakes) from scratch [Done 24 July 2010]
86. Try 3 new restaurants (0/3)
87. Do one week of meal planning [Done 31 December 2010]
88. Do one month of meal planning
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
95. Try 5 different kinds of apples (5/5) [Done July 2010]

Just Because (2/6)
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

365 Photos Day 59

59/365

This is Kit Kat's idea of being invisible, I think.

She runs to the stair landing, and dives behind a curtain, which only covers her top half. But of course we can't see her, because DUH, she's invisible. Then, when we walk by, she jumps out at us.

Yep. Smart cat, that one.