What a crazy month, right? Well, T-minus nine days or so until 2008 and I haven't been this excited for a year to end since the horrid 2002. The year I was unemployed since May, got into two accidents and totaled my car, my cat and father died, and I had panic attacks aplenty. Granted this year was WAY better than that year, but this year reminded me how annoying life can be sometimes. I do have a feeling, however, that it's all about attitude and when you get wrapped up in the gloom, it's hard to shake it. In other words: slipping into that "soothing" bath of negativity has been far too easy lately. I think the only way I can turn it around is the milestone that is the new year. Not that I expect life to suddenly become amazing once the clock strikes midnight, but sometimes it takes that trickery of the mind to turn over a new leaf. I mean why do you think we have New Year's resolutions?
My resolutions in the new year are as follows:
-To complete more of my creative projects
-To build my brand and create an online portfolio
-To maintain my attitude about good health in a number of ways: good food/less restaurants, and exercise via a combo of more shoveling (ha!), pilates, and using my new twist step machine John got me for Christmas (are you calling me fat?? haha j/k)
-To continue to work at being a kind, supportive, understanding girlfriend which, in essence, means: work on the communication, aka arguing ;)
Number two on that list is in direct relation to current happenings at work. Without going into details, I'll relay the analogy I explained to my sis this morning: Working at this agency is like being with a boyfriend who I know doesn't love me anymore...yet I cannot leave him for fear of being alone, so I simply have to wait for someone better to hopefully come along. And in this analogy, the boyfriend is more like a pimp who pays me. Because obviously the real Katie would immediately leave someone who didn't love her. But 'immediately' isn't an option in this monetary scenario. It's just very frustrating, disappointing, and sad to know that I am in an environment where appreciation and loyalty are totally bunk. Yet I have to stay with this pimp who, ironically, could throw me out on the street at any second. Until, of course, something better comes along! Hence the second resolution ;)
Wow...so I was pretty honest up there...playing devil's advocate here: I am grateful I have a job, I am grateful John is in a good place, I am grateful I have the talent and wherewithal to find happiness outside of my profession...something I wrote about awhile back. In the new year I will NOT dwell on the pimp-whore analogy, I promise! I'll do my job and do it right because I don't really expect any less from myself. Not even when I have little to gain.
So moving on to quick updates...
45. I did indeed make two of Z's recipes this month: lazy salmon rolls and the Z burrito :) Last night I made a quick squash risotto. My fourth recipe of the month will be the kale dish.
68. I've been eating chocolate and candy like it's going out of style...so I guess I'm hoping for some more snow in '08?
77. I handmade 40 Christmas cards this year! Surpassing my previous years' numbers by a long shot! I took a few pix, so maybe I'll post them sometime. But I received several fab comments; I think my favorite was "you should really sell these badboys!" Nice.
82. I have to postpone my 401K increase :( This is the year I'm supposed to save for my proximate future and recent unexpected events are putting my more distant future on hold a bit.
To conclude! MERRRRRRY CHRISTMAS!!! Sorry this post wasn't very Christmassy...pimps up, ho ho ho's down??? Above all else, as long as we all have a safe and happy holiday, the rest is just icing on the cake!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Monday, December 3, 2007
Do you remember...blah something blah December
Happy Advent Times! It's a new month and here are some new pieces of listual information...I totally made up a new word! In other news I tagged all my posts...I know that's excitingly awesome right?
45. I know at least two recipes I will make this month...thanks to Z's weekend of fab food!
50. Atypical food: KALE because I googled "Good winter vegetable" and found this inspirational blog. Tasty stuff!
51. Guilty pleasure: Per my mom's suggestion, I'm taking a holiday dispensation this month. However, I have something a little unorthodox (and personal) in mind, so I'm going to see if that pans out. In any case, my first eating out experience since I gave it up in Nov was a Sourdough Boy Combo at George Webb's on Sunday night while the Bears were losing on the tiny tv above John's and my booth. Loverly.
64. I've been thinking about it and I think I'll kinda tack on "ORRR the Grand Canyon" onto the attempt at a Vegas Trip. I'm not sure how likely either of them are, but it's a step closer to crossing #64 off my list! Besides, I REALLY want to do that Grand Canyon Skywalk!
77. 8 more Christmas cards were constructed this weekend!
81. As of this past Friday, one of my incoming checks that provide the cash for the $250 that goes into my savings will no longer be available, SO I have to reshuffle my budget and see if I can still throw that money in there. WILL I GET A RAISE THIS YEAR??? Guhhhhhhh.
85. And speaking of work, two groups of concepts needed work these past couple weeks...nothing too exciting though.
To conclude, here's a short To-Do list:
-Finish up Christmas cards
-Collect all of the addresses I can (thanks Monica!)
-Bell ringer this year??? (not enough time, oh well...)
-All online Christmas shopping
-All brick 'n mortar shopping
-Analyze the ish out of my Bust Out Your Pinking Sheers list because I have AH item crossed off and, being a so-called artist, that doesn't fly with almost one year down on this list.
45. I know at least two recipes I will make this month...thanks to Z's weekend of fab food!
50. Atypical food: KALE because I googled "Good winter vegetable" and found this inspirational blog. Tasty stuff!
51. Guilty pleasure: Per my mom's suggestion, I'm taking a holiday dispensation this month. However, I have something a little unorthodox (and personal) in mind, so I'm going to see if that pans out. In any case, my first eating out experience since I gave it up in Nov was a Sourdough Boy Combo at George Webb's on Sunday night while the Bears were losing on the tiny tv above John's and my booth. Loverly.
64. I've been thinking about it and I think I'll kinda tack on "ORRR the Grand Canyon" onto the attempt at a Vegas Trip. I'm not sure how likely either of them are, but it's a step closer to crossing #64 off my list! Besides, I REALLY want to do that Grand Canyon Skywalk!
77. 8 more Christmas cards were constructed this weekend!
81. As of this past Friday, one of my incoming checks that provide the cash for the $250 that goes into my savings will no longer be available, SO I have to reshuffle my budget and see if I can still throw that money in there. WILL I GET A RAISE THIS YEAR??? Guhhhhhhh.
85. And speaking of work, two groups of concepts needed work these past couple weeks...nothing too exciting though.
To conclude, here's a short To-Do list:
-Bell ringer this year??? (not enough time, oh well...)
-Analyze the ish out of my Bust Out Your Pinking Sheers list because I have AH item crossed off and, being a so-called artist, that doesn't fly with almost one year down on this list.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
big blog part one
I have lots to update/discuss, so I split it up. November has been ACTION PACKED!!
#6 - The TBA project finished with time to spare! TBA project = This "Memory Lane" drawing I did for Monica and Tim's wedding gift! I had to get it framed and even though I brought it into Michael's two weeks before the wedding, they gave me a ready date of 11/21...NOOO!!!! So I practically begged them to have it done by Friday the 16th. Well, turns out it was really a day earlier than that! I picked it up the Thursday night before the wedding. More about this gift in big blog part two!
#17 - John caught a cold last weekend, so on Monday night I went to the store and bought all the Katie's Chicken Stewp ingredients to make Johnny healthy again!
#45 - Some of these recipes are crazy easy, but with Nov being as insane as it was, I'm surprised I had time to cook anything new, let alone make 8 recipes...
to continue:
3. Roast a pumpkin (to use the pulp for a later recipe)...this was SO easy and I'll have to do it again next year!
4. Pumpkin and sweet tato casserole mmmmmm! (fulfilling #50: eating real pumpkin!)
5. Roast pumpkin seeds with spices (nutmeg, all spice, cumin, cayenne, etc)
6. Black bean and pumpkin soup (notice the theme here?)
7. Warm green bean salad with toasted pinenuts (for Thanksgiving and also task #46)
8. Ranch Potato Casserole (also for T'gives)
#54 - Alright so I'm not going to be able to get my hair cut for the fall season, but I'm using the fact that I got it professionally styled for the wedding take the place of a haircut. I've never had my hair done before and it turned out really nice! Plus the stylist I had was so adorable and I've decided to go back and have her cut AND color my hair in January.
#77 - I've already started making my Christmas cards this year!!! They are turning out SO awesome too...every year I get better at this :) I've made like nine so far and have about 30 more to go?? haha! But I think if I ever get #14 going (build up a collection of crafty goods), Christmas cards are going to be on that list.
#87 - I listened to a few new-to-me artists on itunes because of the So You Think You Can Dance concert earlier this month: BT , Joshua Radin, James Morrison, Craig David, Devotchka, and The Presets to name a few! But I also must mention that while Duran Duran is by no means a new band, their recently released album Red Carpet Massacre is definitely a new sound and by new, I mean brilliant. LOVIE!
#51 - EATING OUT!! Man this has been hard, and I've even slightly cheated five times! Ok with one more day to go, here are the cheats:
1. Aforementioned German restaurant after John's grandma's funeral
2. Rehearsal Dinner at Maggiano's (and I went to town, let me tell you!)
3. Wedding Dinner (I had salmon, but I also tried Monica's chicken, ate TONS of garlic mashed tatos, as well as all of my delicious wedding cheesecake)
4. Every year after Thanksgiving, my fam shops the Black Friday sales starting at 7am. We ALSO eat lunch at some mall restaurant. We went to California Pizza Kitchen this year, but I was good and most definitely ordered a salad (Thai) with dressing on the side (of which I only used half)
5. About a month or more ago I emailed this local soup place (that makes my fave soup ever: spinach artichoke!) and asked if they were going to make a pumpkin soup this season. They emailed back and said that that was a really great request and they’d see what they could do! Well on Monday I got an email from them personally telling ME that they were going to have pumpkin soup on Wednesday (yesterday)...SO NICE! So I went over there and they even had “By request!” up on the dry erase board where the menu is! Once I got my soup, I told them “thanks for the requested pumpkin soup!” And the chick said “oh that was you?! Fun!” Awww!!! So even though I’m not supposed to eat out, I gave myself a dispensation because they were nice enough to make a whole pot of soup just because I requested it!
In any case, I've also turned down MAAAANY offers or ideas to eat out over the last month...I mean no breakfast at Denny's the morning after the wedding, no going out to Elkhorn with John to eat with him and Grace on Wednesdays, no adorable Bee's and a Movie with John after seeing the Mist this past weekend. So even with the cheats, it's been hard! And I feel like I'm counting down the hours until December 1st. Who knew that I rely on restaurants so heavily? And this is coming from a person who actually loves to cook at home!
#6 - The TBA project finished with time to spare! TBA project = This "Memory Lane" drawing I did for Monica and Tim's wedding gift! I had to get it framed and even though I brought it into Michael's two weeks before the wedding, they gave me a ready date of 11/21...NOOO!!!! So I practically begged them to have it done by Friday the 16th. Well, turns out it was really a day earlier than that! I picked it up the Thursday night before the wedding. More about this gift in big blog part two!
#17 - John caught a cold last weekend, so on Monday night I went to the store and bought all the Katie's Chicken Stewp ingredients to make Johnny healthy again!
#45 - Some of these recipes are crazy easy, but with Nov being as insane as it was, I'm surprised I had time to cook anything new, let alone make 8 recipes...
to continue:
3. Roast a pumpkin (to use the pulp for a later recipe)...this was SO easy and I'll have to do it again next year!
4. Pumpkin and sweet tato casserole mmmmmm! (fulfilling #50: eating real pumpkin!)
5. Roast pumpkin seeds with spices (nutmeg, all spice, cumin, cayenne, etc)
6. Black bean and pumpkin soup (notice the theme here?)
7. Warm green bean salad with toasted pinenuts (for Thanksgiving and also task #46)
8. Ranch Potato Casserole (also for T'gives)
#54 - Alright so I'm not going to be able to get my hair cut for the fall season, but I'm using the fact that I got it professionally styled for the wedding take the place of a haircut. I've never had my hair done before and it turned out really nice! Plus the stylist I had was so adorable and I've decided to go back and have her cut AND color my hair in January.
#77 - I've already started making my Christmas cards this year!!! They are turning out SO awesome too...every year I get better at this :) I've made like nine so far and have about 30 more to go?? haha! But I think if I ever get #14 going (build up a collection of crafty goods), Christmas cards are going to be on that list.
#87 - I listened to a few new-to-me artists on itunes because of the So You Think You Can Dance concert earlier this month: BT , Joshua Radin, James Morrison, Craig David, Devotchka, and The Presets to name a few! But I also must mention that while Duran Duran is by no means a new band, their recently released album Red Carpet Massacre is definitely a new sound and by new, I mean brilliant. LOVIE!
#51 - EATING OUT!! Man this has been hard, and I've even slightly cheated five times! Ok with one more day to go, here are the cheats:
1. Aforementioned German restaurant after John's grandma's funeral
2. Rehearsal Dinner at Maggiano's (and I went to town, let me tell you!)
3. Wedding Dinner (I had salmon, but I also tried Monica's chicken, ate TONS of garlic mashed tatos, as well as all of my delicious wedding cheesecake)
4. Every year after Thanksgiving, my fam shops the Black Friday sales starting at 7am. We ALSO eat lunch at some mall restaurant. We went to California Pizza Kitchen this year, but I was good and most definitely ordered a salad (Thai) with dressing on the side (of which I only used half)
5. About a month or more ago I emailed this local soup place (that makes my fave soup ever: spinach artichoke!) and asked if they were going to make a pumpkin soup this season. They emailed back and said that that was a really great request and they’d see what they could do! Well on Monday I got an email from them personally telling ME that they were going to have pumpkin soup on Wednesday (yesterday)...SO NICE! So I went over there and they even had “By request!” up on the dry erase board where the menu is! Once I got my soup, I told them “thanks for the requested pumpkin soup!” And the chick said “oh that was you?! Fun!” Awww!!! So even though I’m not supposed to eat out, I gave myself a dispensation because they were nice enough to make a whole pot of soup just because I requested it!
In any case, I've also turned down MAAAANY offers or ideas to eat out over the last month...I mean no breakfast at Denny's the morning after the wedding, no going out to Elkhorn with John to eat with him and Grace on Wednesdays, no adorable Bee's and a Movie with John after seeing the Mist this past weekend. So even with the cheats, it's been hard! And I feel like I'm counting down the hours until December 1st. Who knew that I rely on restaurants so heavily? And this is coming from a person who actually loves to cook at home!
big blog part two
Ok part two will be devoted to artsty musings:
Today Nicole sent me this link to a guy, Nick Pitera, who I think (if it is the same guy) is this amazing artist...both audibly AND visually! Currently he seems to be gaining popularity on youtube for his VERY unique rendition of The Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World":
So strange, but so completely awesome if I do say so myself! In any case, if you check out this Nick Pitera's blogger page, you'll also find he can draw like a MF! Don't you love finding people who can do 23948392042 things really well?? Well, to be honest, it's more like a love-hate relationship because I'm tooooootally SUPER jealous ;) And you know what made me even MORE jealous? Looking at the work of all of his fellow blogger friends (who also attend Ringling College of Art & Design I believe). DIES!!! I wanna BE them! Why can't I be that talented?!! I reeeeally want to post some of their work below, but I should probably ask first. For now I'll just give a couple link0's to my faves:
Kelly Versaggi
Her "Patricia Portrait" "Kitties" are fab, but the "Monster Under a Lamp" (toward bottom) is unbelievable cool.
Kim Kuchenbecker
Her adorable "Small Tribute to Bill Watterson"...and the accompanying story made me a little teary!
Anyway, I want to be talented when I grows up!! I seriously need to work on some stuff. At least I finally got a chair from the rents so I can work on my mac at home jeez! For now I'll just post a sampling of item #6 on my 101 List...my Monica Tim Wedding Gift/TBA Project. It's sort of self-explanatory, but the street contains tons memories and inside jokes that Monica and Tim share. This thing is 3 feet by 1 foot in size...HUGE! Hopefully they find a place to put it? Yikes! Anyway, I really like how it turned out and I think they did too! :) So here is the badboy in its entirety with a smattering of closeups:
clickie here for larger version!
The manhole cover is a Dharma symbol!! LOST!
The kitty has an engagement ring around his collar: this is how Tim proposed to MoniCAT!
Today Nicole sent me this link to a guy, Nick Pitera, who I think (if it is the same guy) is this amazing artist...both audibly AND visually! Currently he seems to be gaining popularity on youtube for his VERY unique rendition of The Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World":
So strange, but so completely awesome if I do say so myself! In any case, if you check out this Nick Pitera's blogger page, you'll also find he can draw like a MF! Don't you love finding people who can do 23948392042 things really well?? Well, to be honest, it's more like a love-hate relationship because I'm tooooootally SUPER jealous ;) And you know what made me even MORE jealous? Looking at the work of all of his fellow blogger friends (who also attend Ringling College of Art & Design I believe). DIES!!! I wanna BE them! Why can't I be that talented?!! I reeeeally want to post some of their work below, but I should probably ask first. For now I'll just give a couple link0's to my faves:
Kelly Versaggi
Her "Patricia Portrait" "Kitties" are fab, but the "Monster Under a Lamp" (toward bottom) is unbelievable cool.
Kim Kuchenbecker
Her adorable "Small Tribute to Bill Watterson"...and the accompanying story made me a little teary!
Anyway, I want to be talented when I grows up!! I seriously need to work on some stuff. At least I finally got a chair from the rents so I can work on my mac at home jeez! For now I'll just post a sampling of item #6 on my 101 List...my Monica Tim Wedding Gift/TBA Project. It's sort of self-explanatory, but the street contains tons memories and inside jokes that Monica and Tim share. This thing is 3 feet by 1 foot in size...HUGE! Hopefully they find a place to put it? Yikes! Anyway, I really like how it turned out and I think they did too! :) So here is the badboy in its entirety with a smattering of closeups:
clickie here for larger version!
The manhole cover is a Dharma symbol!! LOST!
The kitty has an engagement ring around his collar: this is how Tim proposed to MoniCAT!
big blog part three...sheesh!
#101 - Ahhhhhh the wedding!! It's officially over :'( BUT SO MUCH FUN! I can't even tell you how nervous I was about my toast. I couldn't start eating until AFTER it was over because I honestly thought I was going to throw up.
Anyway, for my last maid of honor duty, Monica asked me to come up with a top ten list (our most favorite thing to do!), so I'll try to whip one up right here:
1. Day before the wedding (Rehearsal Day)...driving around the greater Milwaukee area running last minute wedding related errands and either listening to Seal or Duran Duran OR turning off the music and practicing my toast 39482930429 times. People driving next to me must have thought I was a nut with all my hand gesturing!
2. John playing with my friends Josh and Tina's son Ethan at the Rehearsal Dinner...totally adorable!!
3. Opening the door to the bridal room in the church and seeing Monica for the first time in her dress...I...freaking...died. She seriously looked like the most beautiful lady I had ever seen in my whole life.
4. Bawling like a baby for the first 20 minutes of the wedding ceremony. Monica walking down the aisle and bawling herself...Tim crying as he took her hand and walked her up to the steps, etc etc etc. I honestly had to tell myself to 'STOP IT!' three dozen times so I wouldn't look like a blubbering mess for the cameras. Ha!
5. "YOU'RE an Octopus Balloon!" and all the crazy shenanigans at the Domes, especially Guido and his Chuck Norris action figure posing for pix.
6. The limobus ride from the Domes to Whitnall high school to The Forum restaurant to the Radisson Hotel. We watched Anchorman and Old School, drank Miller Lites and took swigs from Happy Face Vodka, and drew naughty pictures on the steamed windows...my ultimate fave part of this experience was seeing Monica eat Wheat Thins in her wedding dress and tiara...hilarious.
7. Sitting up at the head table, next to my bestest friend and the most important lady of the day...and looking out to the sea of people who were all so excited this day was finally here! And then, of course, getting through my toast in one peice...whew!
8. Getting crazy choked up at the reception during "Bittersweet Symphony" part of the video montage and then later when Monica and Tim had their first dance to Chicago's "Will You Still Love Me".
9. Dancing related fun and adorableness: Tim doing his patented arm wave dance, Monica doing her patented arm pumping dance (in her wedding dress hilarious!!), Marne dragging John onto the dance floor at least three times, dancing with John to Climax Blues Band "I Love You," and seeing John ask Monica to dance at the very end of the reception :)
10. Getting Monica's txt message the morning after the wedding. I don't have my phone with me right now, but it said something along the lines of: "I got up this morning and saw the sunrise...I thought about everything, the toasts, and started to cry." Aaaaand of course that made ME start to cry!!
Man...and to think the planning only took seven months. It simultaneously feels like forever in the making and yet such a blur! But absolutely one of the best experiences of my short life. Not only did it make Monica and I even closer friends, but to be a part of something so beautiful and happy...I try not to be too big of a sap, but it truly was hard not to be emotional about the whole thing. Love.
Anyway, for my last maid of honor duty, Monica asked me to come up with a top ten list (our most favorite thing to do!), so I'll try to whip one up right here:
1. Day before the wedding (Rehearsal Day)...driving around the greater Milwaukee area running last minute wedding related errands and either listening to Seal or Duran Duran OR turning off the music and practicing my toast 39482930429 times. People driving next to me must have thought I was a nut with all my hand gesturing!
2. John playing with my friends Josh and Tina's son Ethan at the Rehearsal Dinner...totally adorable!!
3. Opening the door to the bridal room in the church and seeing Monica for the first time in her dress...I...freaking...died. She seriously looked like the most beautiful lady I had ever seen in my whole life.
4. Bawling like a baby for the first 20 minutes of the wedding ceremony. Monica walking down the aisle and bawling herself...Tim crying as he took her hand and walked her up to the steps, etc etc etc. I honestly had to tell myself to 'STOP IT!' three dozen times so I wouldn't look like a blubbering mess for the cameras. Ha!
5. "YOU'RE an Octopus Balloon!" and all the crazy shenanigans at the Domes, especially Guido and his Chuck Norris action figure posing for pix.
6. The limobus ride from the Domes to Whitnall high school to The Forum restaurant to the Radisson Hotel. We watched Anchorman and Old School, drank Miller Lites and took swigs from Happy Face Vodka, and drew naughty pictures on the steamed windows...my ultimate fave part of this experience was seeing Monica eat Wheat Thins in her wedding dress and tiara...hilarious.
7. Sitting up at the head table, next to my bestest friend and the most important lady of the day...and looking out to the sea of people who were all so excited this day was finally here! And then, of course, getting through my toast in one peice...whew!
8. Getting crazy choked up at the reception during "Bittersweet Symphony" part of the video montage and then later when Monica and Tim had their first dance to Chicago's "Will You Still Love Me".
9. Dancing related fun and adorableness: Tim doing his patented arm wave dance, Monica doing her patented arm pumping dance (in her wedding dress hilarious!!), Marne dragging John onto the dance floor at least three times, dancing with John to Climax Blues Band "I Love You," and seeing John ask Monica to dance at the very end of the reception :)
10. Getting Monica's txt message the morning after the wedding. I don't have my phone with me right now, but it said something along the lines of: "I got up this morning and saw the sunrise...I thought about everything, the toasts, and started to cry." Aaaaand of course that made ME start to cry!!
Man...and to think the planning only took seven months. It simultaneously feels like forever in the making and yet such a blur! But absolutely one of the best experiences of my short life. Not only did it make Monica and I even closer friends, but to be a part of something so beautiful and happy...I try not to be too big of a sap, but it truly was hard not to be emotional about the whole thing. Love.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
and this too shall pass
It sure is amazing how things happen...I mean crazy explosions of things...out of nowhere. Today at work, we're all mourning the loss...of our department? The scary thing is how close it was to being the entire department or rather the entire company! My little Zettlebug didn't escape the hatchet :( And my loyal commenter and dear friend Nicole is patiently (well, to the best of her ability) teetering on this odd concept of an edge...with no idea how she'll fall. So that's great. Things are awkward at best here at work, with employees who were fired sitting within feet, INCHES really, of employees that were not. I'm sure you can imagine how lovely that feels. It also feels pretty lovely to assume that I'm hated by a couple people here. For really no reason whatsoever. I had nothing to do with this...I'm a peon like everyone else. And actually, a few of the people in my dept are in the same boat I'm in...still here, but feeling massive guilt for being here. For some reason though, and it could just be the narcissist in me, but I feel like some people here think I'M the Big Bad. Well, if those people feel like making me, or anyone else that's innocent, the scapegoat...I guess that's their prerogative.
Well, like all insane turns of events, with time it'll all feel so insignificant. Hopefully people will move on and find better things (like I always say: sometimes you have to take a step back to go forward). But speaking of backs, hopefully I won't get SHOT in the back in some dark alley :( If I am, you may know whom to prosecute?? In the meantime, while we wait for wounds to heal...or wounds to get another job and get out of here...its going to be a loooong few months. 2007 wasn't such a good year afterall. People getting their hearts broken, grandparents dying, debts deepening, and this...while it doesn't hold a candle to 2002, it certainly is a shady cousin. 2008 couldn't come soon enough...
Well, like all insane turns of events, with time it'll all feel so insignificant. Hopefully people will move on and find better things (like I always say: sometimes you have to take a step back to go forward). But speaking of backs, hopefully I won't get SHOT in the back in some dark alley :( If I am, you may know whom to prosecute?? In the meantime, while we wait for wounds to heal...or wounds to get another job and get out of here...its going to be a loooong few months. 2007 wasn't such a good year afterall. People getting their hearts broken, grandparents dying, debts deepening, and this...while it doesn't hold a candle to 2002, it certainly is a shady cousin. 2008 couldn't come soon enough...
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
eating and stuff
A few food related updates:
#45 - I made a Turkey Pumpkin Chili recipe in late October, but was still eating it in November so whatever, I'm counting it! Then on Monday I actually made macaroni and cheese (RR recipe - #46) from scratch! Well I didn't hand make the noodles or anything, but I fulfilled my #48 task of doing the roux/béchamel sauce, adding cheese, etc. I used gruyère and smoked gouda...and the recipe is even better when you add the following: bacon, green onions, and Baby Ray's BBQ! It wasn't half bad for my first stab at macncheese! I'd love to try again sometime...maybe some different cheese combinations!
Meanwhile, I've been able to avoid eating out except for this past weekend. John's family reconvened at this German restaurant in Kenosha after his grandma's funeral service. It was sort of like a wedding or shower meal situation because they offered you the choice of pot roast or stuffed chicken...so no baked fish or salad with dressing on the side for me!! What was funny was that, prior to finding this out, everyone was ordering alcoholic beverages and eating these delicious-looking pumpkin mini muffins...but I refrained thinking that I was going to stick to my salad/fish rule and eat that ONLY! Well as soon as I discovered that I was going to have to go balls to the wall, I gave up! I ordered my stuffed chicken (with AMAZING red cabbage), bowl of chicken and spätzle soup, a glass of wine, had 2-3 muffins, AND a slice of Mindy Segal cake: chocolate/vanilla frosting with fresh strawberries! Yeah I went a little overboard :) But I'll count it towards my "guilty pleasure" meal! (#68) I'm going at it again when Monica has her rehearsal dinner at Maggiano's next Friday...and then of course the actual wedding meal on Saturday at the reception! But in that case, I'm actually having salmon :)
Anyway, speaking of eating, I've got six more recipes to go for November, but hopefully I'll be able to fulfill several of them at Thanksgiving...only two weeks away!!! Which means the wedding is only TEN days away, count 'em TEN! I'm totally crazy nervous already and I'm not even the bride!!!
And speaking of, um, projects...my TBA project is making me SUPER nervous. PLEEEEEEEASE be on time!!!!!!!!
#45 - I made a Turkey Pumpkin Chili recipe in late October, but was still eating it in November so whatever, I'm counting it! Then on Monday I actually made macaroni and cheese (RR recipe - #46) from scratch! Well I didn't hand make the noodles or anything, but I fulfilled my #48 task of doing the roux/béchamel sauce, adding cheese, etc. I used gruyère and smoked gouda...and the recipe is even better when you add the following: bacon, green onions, and Baby Ray's BBQ! It wasn't half bad for my first stab at macncheese! I'd love to try again sometime...maybe some different cheese combinations!
Meanwhile, I've been able to avoid eating out except for this past weekend. John's family reconvened at this German restaurant in Kenosha after his grandma's funeral service. It was sort of like a wedding or shower meal situation because they offered you the choice of pot roast or stuffed chicken...so no baked fish or salad with dressing on the side for me!! What was funny was that, prior to finding this out, everyone was ordering alcoholic beverages and eating these delicious-looking pumpkin mini muffins...but I refrained thinking that I was going to stick to my salad/fish rule and eat that ONLY! Well as soon as I discovered that I was going to have to go balls to the wall, I gave up! I ordered my stuffed chicken (with AMAZING red cabbage), bowl of chicken and spätzle soup, a glass of wine, had 2-3 muffins, AND a slice of Mindy Segal cake: chocolate/vanilla frosting with fresh strawberries! Yeah I went a little overboard :) But I'll count it towards my "guilty pleasure" meal! (#68) I'm going at it again when Monica has her rehearsal dinner at Maggiano's next Friday...and then of course the actual wedding meal on Saturday at the reception! But in that case, I'm actually having salmon :)
Anyway, speaking of eating, I've got six more recipes to go for November, but hopefully I'll be able to fulfill several of them at Thanksgiving...only two weeks away!!! Which means the wedding is only TEN days away, count 'em TEN! I'm totally crazy nervous already and I'm not even the bride!!!
And speaking of, um, projects...my TBA project is making me SUPER nervous. PLEEEEEEEASE be on time!!!!!!!!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
slipping into a warm bath of pumpkin spice latte
Over the last couple days, I've compared "having a negative attitude" to slipping into a bath. In the respect that it's really easy to slip into a bad attitude, and for some strange reason, it comforts you, it feels familiar and oh so inviting. But it only comforts you in a superficial way that wears off almost immediately and then leaves you a chattering, disheartened, miserable, shriveled mess. What kind of comforting bath is that?! Well the wide-eyed four year old in me coos: In heaven I think warm baths never get cold! They stay that nearly-too-hot temperature, the bubbles never pop, and your skin never wrinkles!
Lately work has thrown a few of us some frustrating curve balls and shakes our patience to its very core. The worst part is that it isn't even work-related! I mean in a way it is because our place of business is involved, but mostly it's just plain personal...which is the worst kind of work frustration. It's the kind that leaves the office with you and goo's all over your psyche, only to fester and rot all over your deepest inner workings until you seriously feel like even your mitochondria are screaming for relief. ......Sigh.
In any case, today I got back from a double dose of pilates at lunch and after reading a link from my sis re: Starbucks' delicious Gingerbread Lattes, I literally Googled Starbucks 'Pumpkin Spice Latte' Blog and continued to be dazzled...DAZZLED...by the amount of PSL fans out there. No, 'fans' is putting far too lightly. More like absolute grounds for idolatry pumpkin spice worshipers. And I loved every second of it!!! For the whole concept of being head over heels excited over a coffee drink...and a Corporate coffee drink at that...is just so frivolous it makes the complicated, emotional overload of life so much easier to take. Mandsi and my Serenity Now Mantra lately has been "....simpler times". Ahhhh simpler times, my dear pumpkin spice latte.
Now with it being November 1st, I'm a little sad that dear PSL will only be around another week or less...perhaps it's already gone! But yes, PSL's comforting cousin Gingerbread Latte will be a sufficient replacement, even if it does mean that autumn is quickly winding down and winter is right around the corner. But for now, I'm going to try desperately to focus on the more frivolous, almost child-like stuff that life has to offer (reconsider collecting scratch-n-sniff stickers perhaps?). I gotta quit taking everything so seriously (uhh, didn't I just write a blog about that?). Because while there will always be frustrating coworkers in the world, there will also always be warm, sugary, coffee drinks at my disposal. And no, I'm not going to bathe in said sugary beverage...but maybe on some level, my bruised psyche can?
Lately work has thrown a few of us some frustrating curve balls and shakes our patience to its very core. The worst part is that it isn't even work-related! I mean in a way it is because our place of business is involved, but mostly it's just plain personal...which is the worst kind of work frustration. It's the kind that leaves the office with you and goo's all over your psyche, only to fester and rot all over your deepest inner workings until you seriously feel like even your mitochondria are screaming for relief. ......Sigh.
In any case, today I got back from a double dose of pilates at lunch and after reading a link from my sis re: Starbucks' delicious Gingerbread Lattes, I literally Googled Starbucks 'Pumpkin Spice Latte' Blog and continued to be dazzled...DAZZLED...by the amount of PSL fans out there. No, 'fans' is putting far too lightly. More like absolute grounds for idolatry pumpkin spice worshipers. And I loved every second of it!!! For the whole concept of being head over heels excited over a coffee drink...and a Corporate coffee drink at that...is just so frivolous it makes the complicated, emotional overload of life so much easier to take. Mandsi and my Serenity Now Mantra lately has been "....simpler times". Ahhhh simpler times, my dear pumpkin spice latte.
Now with it being November 1st, I'm a little sad that dear PSL will only be around another week or less...perhaps it's already gone! But yes, PSL's comforting cousin Gingerbread Latte will be a sufficient replacement, even if it does mean that autumn is quickly winding down and winter is right around the corner. But for now, I'm going to try desperately to focus on the more frivolous, almost child-like stuff that life has to offer (reconsider collecting scratch-n-sniff stickers perhaps?). I gotta quit taking everything so seriously (uhh, didn't I just write a blog about that?). Because while there will always be frustrating coworkers in the world, there will also always be warm, sugary, coffee drinks at my disposal. And no, I'm not going to bathe in said sugary beverage...but maybe on some level, my bruised psyche can?
Friday, October 26, 2007
blah blah updates
Alright, so I haven't updated in ages here, so I better sum up October...
#17 Another surprise house cleaning! In this case, I knew John's mom was coming into town and I thought it'd be nice particularly so she wouldn't feel like doing it herself!! ;)
#30 Milwaukee restaurant number nine is mi•key's...we were all going to do Cubanita's for Monica's pre-bachelorette dinner Friday night, but the wait was an hour and a half! So mi•key's it was and what a pleasant surprise! They never look like they're all that busy and I kinda wonder why because the food is actually way above par. I saw they had Mushroom Risotto as a side, so I just ordered that plus the House Salad which totally blew me away! A HUGE helping of greens plus craisins, Fontina cheese and a cran-rasp vinaigrette for your basic $4.50 House? Yes please! The rest of the group split a bunch of starters which I sampled as well: fancy Sliders (the one I tried was veal...mmm), to-die-for Steak Quesadillas, and Sausage/Mozz/GOUDA pizza that couldn't have been more perfect. I can't wait to go back to try one of their entrees...well, when I have an extra $30 lying around :\
#35 A couple symphony outings are in the works: in addition to the MSO Does Zeppelin in two weeks, my sis, mom and I are going to MSO does Hitchcock on Halloween next week. Good stuff!
#45 Recipes aplenty! Although I'm kinda going to combine a couple of "half" recipes together...it's like I make new stuff but it's my own recipe, so I'll only semi-count them...bah.
1/2 - Blackbean Soup: mashed up some blackbeans, sauteed some onions and garlic, simmered up some chicken broth, and whipped up a roux...it was quite delicious!
1/2 - Steak with Sauteed Baby Bella Mushrooms in Wine: I'm half-counting this because I've never pan fried steaks before and they turned out nearly PERFECT. One could say the cow was still mooing, but they're unbelievably tasty that way ;)
2 - Porkchops and Homemade Apricot (#50) Barbecue Sauce: my pride recipe of the month of October! It took me about three hours to make the BBQ sauce (well two of those hours was simmering)...but it turned out fingerlickin fab!! And I was just so amazed that the chunkiness of apricots and tomatoes actually turned into sauce without the use of any kind of ketchup or anything! I'm such a nerd. Also I've never baked porkchops before and they turned out really nice too! Of course anything tastes great with BBQ sauce!
3 - Drunken Apples: I coupled the chops with your basic sauteed apples in a thick brown sugar sauce...simply scrumptious
4 - Barbecue Chicken Casserole: I used the remaining sauce (wish I had had more though!) and combined it with pulled rotisserie chicken, corn, and sauteed onions and red peppers...spread that mixture into a baking dish and topped it with corn bread mix. Bake for about 20-25 minutes and you've got yourself a delicious sweet and savory casserole!
#69 - Two punctured and bruised arms later, I failed miserably at donating blood Oct 10th...we reconvened on Oct 16 and it was literally a race against time: I almost failed once again, but they got all the blood they needed under 15 minutes with literally only three seconds to spare or something ridiculous. I donate again on Dec 12 which means two donations in fall...now that week I also have off on Monday to Christmas shop, and have my lady doc appt on Thursday. That means I'm driving to the burbs three times in one week? Not so much. So I think I'm going to postpone my next donation to post Christmas (and post first day of winter), like the 27th. We have that entire week off of work, so that'll be nice. Man why am I thinking in words right now? I DIGRESS!
#87 - Technically I didn't do this, but I'm going to cheat slightly and describe how post the unbelievably ridiculous wonder that was the Aussie Floyd concert on Wednesday, I looked up contemporary bands that have the Floyd (or Floydian?) sound: aside from the obvious Radiohead/Muse/Flaming Lips type progressive rock bands, I checked out The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, and Comets on Fire...but the progrock band that definitely fit the bill the best is RPWL. I like the "vast landscapes of sound" they've got going on. So they'll be my Pick 'o the Month!
***
That's what I got! In the month to come, you will see me eating pasta again in one of the eight, count 'em EIGHT, recipes I have to create to make up for the summer. But I will be giving up the obsession that is Eating Out (#51). Sort of. I know it won't be completely impossible, but if I do HAVE to eat out, I can only get a baked fish or HEALTHY salad (none of that Bee's crap right?!). Dressing must be on the side and I have to use it sparingly!! Anyway, this will force me to make all eight recipes and really go above and beyond there. I mean hey, Fall is theeeee most perfect time to cook! Eating out is one of my big vices, so this will be a tough one... But speaking of, my atypical veggie for November will appropriately be pumpkin! And I'm actually going to buy a pie pumpkin and make the puree myself! Could be quite an endeavor!
Also, as of November 18th, I will finish up my duties as Maid of Honor (#101)...what a ride! But there's no feeling like being the Ultimate Friend to someone. I absolutely love it!! Being indispensable and truly making their experience that much better! Lovely :)
And finally....Holiday duties: I purchased almost all the supplies for Christmas cards (#77). I'm going to try and work the "20 Soundtracks" task into Christmas somehow (#79). But I'm not sure if THIS will be Bell Ringer year (#71)? I might already have too much going on...we'll see!
Ok I gotta stop writing...this post has gotten completely out of control. Until November!
#17 Another surprise house cleaning! In this case, I knew John's mom was coming into town and I thought it'd be nice particularly so she wouldn't feel like doing it herself!! ;)
#30 Milwaukee restaurant number nine is mi•key's...we were all going to do Cubanita's for Monica's pre-bachelorette dinner Friday night, but the wait was an hour and a half! So mi•key's it was and what a pleasant surprise! They never look like they're all that busy and I kinda wonder why because the food is actually way above par. I saw they had Mushroom Risotto as a side, so I just ordered that plus the House Salad which totally blew me away! A HUGE helping of greens plus craisins, Fontina cheese and a cran-rasp vinaigrette for your basic $4.50 House? Yes please! The rest of the group split a bunch of starters which I sampled as well: fancy Sliders (the one I tried was veal...mmm), to-die-for Steak Quesadillas, and Sausage/Mozz/GOUDA pizza that couldn't have been more perfect. I can't wait to go back to try one of their entrees...well, when I have an extra $30 lying around :\
#35 A couple symphony outings are in the works: in addition to the MSO Does Zeppelin in two weeks, my sis, mom and I are going to MSO does Hitchcock on Halloween next week. Good stuff!
#45 Recipes aplenty! Although I'm kinda going to combine a couple of "half" recipes together...it's like I make new stuff but it's my own recipe, so I'll only semi-count them...bah.
1/2 - Blackbean Soup: mashed up some blackbeans, sauteed some onions and garlic, simmered up some chicken broth, and whipped up a roux...it was quite delicious!
1/2 - Steak with Sauteed Baby Bella Mushrooms in Wine: I'm half-counting this because I've never pan fried steaks before and they turned out nearly PERFECT. One could say the cow was still mooing, but they're unbelievably tasty that way ;)
2 - Porkchops and Homemade Apricot (#50) Barbecue Sauce: my pride recipe of the month of October! It took me about three hours to make the BBQ sauce (well two of those hours was simmering)...but it turned out fingerlickin fab!! And I was just so amazed that the chunkiness of apricots and tomatoes actually turned into sauce without the use of any kind of ketchup or anything! I'm such a nerd. Also I've never baked porkchops before and they turned out really nice too! Of course anything tastes great with BBQ sauce!
3 - Drunken Apples: I coupled the chops with your basic sauteed apples in a thick brown sugar sauce...simply scrumptious
4 - Barbecue Chicken Casserole: I used the remaining sauce (wish I had had more though!) and combined it with pulled rotisserie chicken, corn, and sauteed onions and red peppers...spread that mixture into a baking dish and topped it with corn bread mix. Bake for about 20-25 minutes and you've got yourself a delicious sweet and savory casserole!
#69 - Two punctured and bruised arms later, I failed miserably at donating blood Oct 10th...we reconvened on Oct 16 and it was literally a race against time: I almost failed once again, but they got all the blood they needed under 15 minutes with literally only three seconds to spare or something ridiculous. I donate again on Dec 12 which means two donations in fall...now that week I also have off on Monday to Christmas shop, and have my lady doc appt on Thursday. That means I'm driving to the burbs three times in one week? Not so much. So I think I'm going to postpone my next donation to post Christmas (and post first day of winter), like the 27th. We have that entire week off of work, so that'll be nice. Man why am I thinking in words right now? I DIGRESS!
#87 - Technically I didn't do this, but I'm going to cheat slightly and describe how post the unbelievably ridiculous wonder that was the Aussie Floyd concert on Wednesday, I looked up contemporary bands that have the Floyd (or Floydian?) sound: aside from the obvious Radiohead/Muse/Flaming Lips type progressive rock bands, I checked out The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, and Comets on Fire...but the progrock band that definitely fit the bill the best is RPWL. I like the "vast landscapes of sound" they've got going on. So they'll be my Pick 'o the Month!
***
That's what I got! In the month to come, you will see me eating pasta again in one of the eight, count 'em EIGHT, recipes I have to create to make up for the summer. But I will be giving up the obsession that is Eating Out (#51). Sort of. I know it won't be completely impossible, but if I do HAVE to eat out, I can only get a baked fish or HEALTHY salad (none of that Bee's crap right?!). Dressing must be on the side and I have to use it sparingly!! Anyway, this will force me to make all eight recipes and really go above and beyond there. I mean hey, Fall is theeeee most perfect time to cook! Eating out is one of my big vices, so this will be a tough one... But speaking of, my atypical veggie for November will appropriately be pumpkin! And I'm actually going to buy a pie pumpkin and make the puree myself! Could be quite an endeavor!
Also, as of November 18th, I will finish up my duties as Maid of Honor (#101)...what a ride! But there's no feeling like being the Ultimate Friend to someone. I absolutely love it!! Being indispensable and truly making their experience that much better! Lovely :)
And finally....Holiday duties: I purchased almost all the supplies for Christmas cards (#77). I'm going to try and work the "20 Soundtracks" task into Christmas somehow (#79). But I'm not sure if THIS will be Bell Ringer year (#71)? I might already have too much going on...we'll see!
Ok I gotta stop writing...this post has gotten completely out of control. Until November!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
looking in the liquor cabinet...
I think I once referred to that blessed recipe to whip up when life hands you lemons? Well, life hit me with a sack full of pennies, is there an alcoholic solution to that?
No no, I'm too dramatic. It's just that I can't even count how many times being nice to people backfires so easily. I recall a time when I put together a bunch of little baskets of treats/homemade ornaments for Christmas and passed them out to my fellow Roundys employees anonymously. I think there were 35 of them or so? In any case, that morning I felt so good and Christmassy about it. Well a few minutes later, strange comments went around our room...people saying they were "weirded out" by the gift and such. It was heartbreaking. I don't think I even ever admitted I was the one who created the gifts except to a few select friends who asked why I was so sad that day.
Well, something very similar happened today in regards to my 'going all out' for Monica's bachelorette party. I won't go into the idiotic details, but it hurt my feelings like nobody's business. And maybe this particular person's feelings were hurt as well...but they decided to spread the love and make sure I knew it. Whether or not this person's qualms are valid doesn't matter...it's just the way it was handled and the nonacceptance of the fact that I really tried hard with this party (..."and this is the thanks I get" comes to mind).
In any case, when this happens it's easy to lose sight of one's purpose regarding altruism and general unabashed kindness. Honestly we really aren't supposed to expect good in return...it should be kindness for the sake of kindness, MAYBE hoping that at the very least it will be contagious. We are human, however, and it's hard not to be hurt when a bad apple spoils the bunch. In this case, 99 percent of the ladies who attended this soiree were incredibly helpful, sweet, and most importantly, appreciative. So why let the one who wasn't spoil it for me? I can lift up my head, rise above it, and move right along with my mantra that kindness is always the best answer. (And when you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?? Or rather cut what you are saying short and stop before your hands get any dirtier! haha!)
And like clockwork, just now I got the sweetest email from one of the moms who attended the event... "Monica is sure lucky to have you by her side" pretty much makes everything all sunny and fuzzy bunnies again :)
No no, I'm too dramatic. It's just that I can't even count how many times being nice to people backfires so easily. I recall a time when I put together a bunch of little baskets of treats/homemade ornaments for Christmas and passed them out to my fellow Roundys employees anonymously. I think there were 35 of them or so? In any case, that morning I felt so good and Christmassy about it. Well a few minutes later, strange comments went around our room...people saying they were "weirded out" by the gift and such. It was heartbreaking. I don't think I even ever admitted I was the one who created the gifts except to a few select friends who asked why I was so sad that day.
Well, something very similar happened today in regards to my 'going all out' for Monica's bachelorette party. I won't go into the idiotic details, but it hurt my feelings like nobody's business. And maybe this particular person's feelings were hurt as well...but they decided to spread the love and make sure I knew it. Whether or not this person's qualms are valid doesn't matter...it's just the way it was handled and the nonacceptance of the fact that I really tried hard with this party (..."and this is the thanks I get" comes to mind).
In any case, when this happens it's easy to lose sight of one's purpose regarding altruism and general unabashed kindness. Honestly we really aren't supposed to expect good in return...it should be kindness for the sake of kindness, MAYBE hoping that at the very least it will be contagious. We are human, however, and it's hard not to be hurt when a bad apple spoils the bunch. In this case, 99 percent of the ladies who attended this soiree were incredibly helpful, sweet, and most importantly, appreciative. So why let the one who wasn't spoil it for me? I can lift up my head, rise above it, and move right along with my mantra that kindness is always the best answer. (And when you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?? Or rather cut what you are saying short and stop before your hands get any dirtier! haha!)
And like clockwork, just now I got the sweetest email from one of the moms who attended the event... "Monica is sure lucky to have you by her side" pretty much makes everything all sunny and fuzzy bunnies again :)
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Let's get serious
First up, I made it through September tasks. I have yet to wrap my lips (uh?) around a fancy coffee drink, but soon, soon. This month I gave up pasta which I know will be hard now that it's all cozy fall everywhere. Or wait, is it? Near 80 in October? Not a fan. My atypical food of the month is apricots...not all that atypical right?...well they are when you make a barbecue sauce with them!! Thanks Emeril?
I made a few last minute recipes last week: a chili chicken and pesto pasta dish that worked out alright, jicama slaw that was to die for, and a creamy chicken and rice bake with baby bella mushrooms and artichoke hearts...now THIS was good!!! I even f'ed up the roux and it turned out fab!
This past Monday night I installed Creative Suite 2 and Studio 8 with MUCH success!!! I now have Illustrator, Photoshop, Go Live, Acrobat, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, etc etc etc at my PERSONAL disposal! Now all I need is a project? HA! Never thought I'd say that! I'm actually almost finished with my secret TBA creative project...just a few tiny details, and then I'm set!
In any case, moving on from the updates...I'm trying to determine if I take life too seriously. I mean I know fun and good times, but I can be pretty judgmental about which "good times" are and are not a waste of life. Ouch! What does THAT mean? What is a waste and what isn't? My other question is: Is there a point to living if you're just going to go about it all careless and haphazard? I don't want to ask people to live the same way I do...what kind of boring world would THAT be?! It's just hard to let go of my stubborn principles sometimes.
Then again...what's with all the shrinks and self help books and advice columnists? Surely people need others to tell them what they are doing wrong. I don't have a degree in psych...is that why I shouldn't? And you know what? No one even listens to advice anyhow! I think everyone secretly hopes the adviser feels the same way they do in order to get that reassurance. Then there is the role of the adviser: an addicting, yet simultaneously frustrating position. Telling people what to do and not do is like crack. With the sobering withdrawal symptoms echoing the frustration that is said person ignoring everything you advised. Yet the same people who sober you up, DEAL the drug, so how are you supposed to break the cycle?? It can be infuriating. I suppose if you're honest, and more importantly, vocal about your frustration, they'll stop coming to you altogether!
Am I referencing myself in all of this? Well, I think I'm speaking for anyone who has ever been on this side of the fence. I've also NEEDED plenty of advice in my day. But I've tried desperately not to ignore it either, as I know the frustration involved. My John issues several months ago required more advice than I've ever received in my life! Self help books included! And I want to say I handled it ok? Perhaps at times I felt a bit sloppy, but then I'd catch my balance and try to look at things objectively. And it seems to have worked out for the best in the end! I did NOT get stuck in a dead-end relationship like so many of the couples in the help books. Then again, I think I also swallowed the bitter pill of responsibility in venturing down a road I knew had the CHANCE of going nowhere. If things hadn't worked out, I knew my friends and family would be there for me, but I also knew that THIS time around I wouldn't be blindsided. I knew what I was getting myself into and had to be prepared for the consequences. Did I luck out? Or did my passion for personal responsibility, and taking life so seriously, work to my advantage?
Life is serious business. Whether or not you believe in an afterlife or not, the seriousness is still very important. Either we get one life, and we have to make the most of it. OR we must intensely prepare for whatever is next for us: a heaven, a next level supported by our karma, whatever! Either way I take pride in trying to build something here that's important. It doesn't matter if it's important to anyone else either. However, I can't help but take offense to those who don't hold a similar point of view. You know, that feeling like you want to shake someone by the shoulders a bit? But his or her life isn't mine. I'm here to walk along side everyone, not lead the way. I'm obviously not a messiah, nor should I act like one. The best I can do is be an example I suppose. Examples aren't the rules; they are merely illustrations providing a possibility.
So I shall continue to work on all that stuff up there. I'm trying to be honest with myself. I mean whenever you point your finger, you've got three pointing back at you, right? Like I said, I know how to have fun. I know that life is full of mistakes and that they are our teachers. With that said, I also know how precious life is and how fast it can get taken away. Perhaps someone's gravely ill family member and my deceased father's 'would-be' 52nd birthday today got me on the existential thinking track this morning, I don't know. I'm not wallowing...just thinky.
Anyway, this weekend I've got some mad fun to be had in Chicago...I leave Thinky Katie at home and let loose a tad.
I made a few last minute recipes last week: a chili chicken and pesto pasta dish that worked out alright, jicama slaw that was to die for, and a creamy chicken and rice bake with baby bella mushrooms and artichoke hearts...now THIS was good!!! I even f'ed up the roux and it turned out fab!
This past Monday night I installed Creative Suite 2 and Studio 8 with MUCH success!!! I now have Illustrator, Photoshop, Go Live, Acrobat, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, etc etc etc at my PERSONAL disposal! Now all I need is a project? HA! Never thought I'd say that! I'm actually almost finished with my secret TBA creative project...just a few tiny details, and then I'm set!
In any case, moving on from the updates...I'm trying to determine if I take life too seriously. I mean I know fun and good times, but I can be pretty judgmental about which "good times" are and are not a waste of life. Ouch! What does THAT mean? What is a waste and what isn't? My other question is: Is there a point to living if you're just going to go about it all careless and haphazard? I don't want to ask people to live the same way I do...what kind of boring world would THAT be?! It's just hard to let go of my stubborn principles sometimes.
Then again...what's with all the shrinks and self help books and advice columnists? Surely people need others to tell them what they are doing wrong. I don't have a degree in psych...is that why I shouldn't? And you know what? No one even listens to advice anyhow! I think everyone secretly hopes the adviser feels the same way they do in order to get that reassurance. Then there is the role of the adviser: an addicting, yet simultaneously frustrating position. Telling people what to do and not do is like crack. With the sobering withdrawal symptoms echoing the frustration that is said person ignoring everything you advised. Yet the same people who sober you up, DEAL the drug, so how are you supposed to break the cycle?? It can be infuriating. I suppose if you're honest, and more importantly, vocal about your frustration, they'll stop coming to you altogether!
Am I referencing myself in all of this? Well, I think I'm speaking for anyone who has ever been on this side of the fence. I've also NEEDED plenty of advice in my day. But I've tried desperately not to ignore it either, as I know the frustration involved. My John issues several months ago required more advice than I've ever received in my life! Self help books included! And I want to say I handled it ok? Perhaps at times I felt a bit sloppy, but then I'd catch my balance and try to look at things objectively. And it seems to have worked out for the best in the end! I did NOT get stuck in a dead-end relationship like so many of the couples in the help books. Then again, I think I also swallowed the bitter pill of responsibility in venturing down a road I knew had the CHANCE of going nowhere. If things hadn't worked out, I knew my friends and family would be there for me, but I also knew that THIS time around I wouldn't be blindsided. I knew what I was getting myself into and had to be prepared for the consequences. Did I luck out? Or did my passion for personal responsibility, and taking life so seriously, work to my advantage?
Life is serious business. Whether or not you believe in an afterlife or not, the seriousness is still very important. Either we get one life, and we have to make the most of it. OR we must intensely prepare for whatever is next for us: a heaven, a next level supported by our karma, whatever! Either way I take pride in trying to build something here that's important. It doesn't matter if it's important to anyone else either. However, I can't help but take offense to those who don't hold a similar point of view. You know, that feeling like you want to shake someone by the shoulders a bit? But his or her life isn't mine. I'm here to walk along side everyone, not lead the way. I'm obviously not a messiah, nor should I act like one. The best I can do is be an example I suppose. Examples aren't the rules; they are merely illustrations providing a possibility.
So I shall continue to work on all that stuff up there. I'm trying to be honest with myself. I mean whenever you point your finger, you've got three pointing back at you, right? Like I said, I know how to have fun. I know that life is full of mistakes and that they are our teachers. With that said, I also know how precious life is and how fast it can get taken away. Perhaps someone's gravely ill family member and my deceased father's 'would-be' 52nd birthday today got me on the existential thinking track this morning, I don't know. I'm not wallowing...just thinky.
Anyway, this weekend I've got some mad fun to be had in Chicago...I leave Thinky Katie at home and let loose a tad.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
wishing I had several brains and more time
Currently I'm dealing with an explosion of creativity and no time (and money??) to work with it! It's like the opposite of writer's block. Which is fun and exciting, but definitely frustrating when you can't do anything about it. Kinda like artistic sexual tension....wha??? Anyway, I'm too busy with the bachelorette party to really work on my own projects. But once Christmas arrives, not only will I have tons more time (the dead of winter is perfect for craft projects!) and more money via JoAnn gift card(s!) and such. Excellent. Meanwhile I fear that because I have this craving to go nuts with creativity, I'm going to get all crazy with the bachelorette party creative crafty shenanigans. And 'getting all crazy' is just another word for spending all my moneys. STOP ME OH-HO-HO STOP ME!!!!
The other day I suggested to a couple coworkers who are on the Culture Committee that our company should do some sort of art/craft fair. Even to raise money for charity or something. So my brain's been in that mode this past week and I've thought of so many cool ideas. Even if we don't have a fair, I do have to gather up a selection of items in case I were to be in one anyway (#14).
In the meantime I'll try and be as conservative as I possibly can for this batch party. And keeping writing down all my little ideas. PS My fave ideas always come to me when I'm falling asleep. It reminds me of college days :) There's nothing like creative brainstorming to lift the spirits, I think!
The other day I suggested to a couple coworkers who are on the Culture Committee that our company should do some sort of art/craft fair. Even to raise money for charity or something. So my brain's been in that mode this past week and I've thought of so many cool ideas. Even if we don't have a fair, I do have to gather up a selection of items in case I were to be in one anyway (#14).
In the meantime I'll try and be as conservative as I possibly can for this batch party. And keeping writing down all my little ideas. PS My fave ideas always come to me when I'm falling asleep. It reminds me of college days :) There's nothing like creative brainstorming to lift the spirits, I think!
Monday, September 24, 2007
It's bloggin time
...while our servers are down. As if Monday's aren't hard enough...now we're just sitting around waiting to work. Ugh, that's the worst.
You know what else is the worst? Wasting talent. Today's topic of conversation is how I'm living in this naive world with my fingers in my ears going lalalalalalalalala in regards to the fact that I am undoubtedly wasting my talents at my current place of employment. And who isn't? We've got a lot of talented people here and all we do is type addresses and phone numbers into white and black boxes full of mundane text. The worst part is that we do this in Adobe Illustrator of all programs. Suddenly the irony is suffocating.
And why are my fingers in my ears in this scenario? Because every once in a while, I'll hear about former colleagues of mine who are doing MUCH bigger and better things. The worst part is that I was the first to get out of the hellhole that was my prior job. I thought I was the cats pj's because I was moving on to the agency world while they were stuck in a world of grocery circulars that everyone throws away. Well, now they've all moved on too and I'M the one who's stuck in the receptacle.
So with all this said, I'm going to play devil's advocate a tad. First of all, I don't ONLY type addresses and phone numbers into white and black boxes full of mundane text. I've had several creative opportunities here of which I've taken advantage in their fullest capacity. I wish there were MORE opportunities, but at least there have been a few. Secondly, my mom is my hero. Like me, she works for a fantastic company that treats its employees very well. I too have tons of perks, benefits, and stability here. With that said, however, like me, it isn't as if my mom gets to express her most wondrous talents at work. No, let me restate that...she expresses her wondrous managerial and organizational talents at work ;) but the creative opportunities are few and far between. So how has she solved this problem? By becoming a published author in her spare time! While authors all over the world are struggling to get noticed and simultaneously trying to earn a living by doing so, my mom writes and publishes her own novels (AND does most of her own PR/marketing!) MEANWHILE earning her regular paycheck! My mom is someone to which I aspire.
Now I know there are the rare people out there who do both: creative, fulfilling career WITH creative, fulfilling hobby/moneymaker on the side. What? Yeah I don't know. It seems impossible, but I'm sure these people exist. But I don't think I'm one of those people. I mean just sanity-wise. With all that creativity 24/7, my brain would most assuredly melt into my spinal cord. And at this point in life, I don't see myself getting, or even WANTING, the crazy 60-70 hour agency art director position. Therefore, it only makes sense to put all of my creative energy into a spare time freelance hobby of some kind. And, like my mom, the added bonus would be making a tad of extra money :)
So while my peers and colleagues move along the advertising and graphic design career path, I'm going to keep my fingers in my ears, lalala-ing MY way down a path where I watch my humble paycheck automatically deposit into my checking account, and yet I am satisfied with the logos, business cards, brochures, greeting cards, and invitations I design for friends and family. Besides, the world needs lowly production artists just like cities need garbagemen right?
[ed. note: Halfway through this blog, my mom emailed me to let me know my beloved CS2 from eBay arrived. SAVE ME HOME COMPUTER COMPLETE WITH GRAPHICS SOFTWARE! SAVE ME!]
You know what else is the worst? Wasting talent. Today's topic of conversation is how I'm living in this naive world with my fingers in my ears going lalalalalalalalala in regards to the fact that I am undoubtedly wasting my talents at my current place of employment. And who isn't? We've got a lot of talented people here and all we do is type addresses and phone numbers into white and black boxes full of mundane text. The worst part is that we do this in Adobe Illustrator of all programs. Suddenly the irony is suffocating.
And why are my fingers in my ears in this scenario? Because every once in a while, I'll hear about former colleagues of mine who are doing MUCH bigger and better things. The worst part is that I was the first to get out of the hellhole that was my prior job. I thought I was the cats pj's because I was moving on to the agency world while they were stuck in a world of grocery circulars that everyone throws away. Well, now they've all moved on too and I'M the one who's stuck in the receptacle.
So with all this said, I'm going to play devil's advocate a tad. First of all, I don't ONLY type addresses and phone numbers into white and black boxes full of mundane text. I've had several creative opportunities here of which I've taken advantage in their fullest capacity. I wish there were MORE opportunities, but at least there have been a few. Secondly, my mom is my hero. Like me, she works for a fantastic company that treats its employees very well. I too have tons of perks, benefits, and stability here. With that said, however, like me, it isn't as if my mom gets to express her most wondrous talents at work. No, let me restate that...she expresses her wondrous managerial and organizational talents at work ;) but the creative opportunities are few and far between. So how has she solved this problem? By becoming a published author in her spare time! While authors all over the world are struggling to get noticed and simultaneously trying to earn a living by doing so, my mom writes and publishes her own novels (AND does most of her own PR/marketing!) MEANWHILE earning her regular paycheck! My mom is someone to which I aspire.
Now I know there are the rare people out there who do both: creative, fulfilling career WITH creative, fulfilling hobby/moneymaker on the side. What? Yeah I don't know. It seems impossible, but I'm sure these people exist. But I don't think I'm one of those people. I mean just sanity-wise. With all that creativity 24/7, my brain would most assuredly melt into my spinal cord. And at this point in life, I don't see myself getting, or even WANTING, the crazy 60-70 hour agency art director position. Therefore, it only makes sense to put all of my creative energy into a spare time freelance hobby of some kind. And, like my mom, the added bonus would be making a tad of extra money :)
So while my peers and colleagues move along the advertising and graphic design career path, I'm going to keep my fingers in my ears, lalala-ing MY way down a path where I watch my humble paycheck automatically deposit into my checking account, and yet I am satisfied with the logos, business cards, brochures, greeting cards, and invitations I design for friends and family. Besides, the world needs lowly production artists just like cities need garbagemen right?
[ed. note: Halfway through this blog, my mom emailed me to let me know my beloved CS2 from eBay arrived. SAVE ME HOME COMPUTER COMPLETE WITH GRAPHICS SOFTWARE! SAVE ME!]
Friday, September 21, 2007
it's really happening....
Yesterday I tried looking up the link my mom sent to a company that sells Adobe CS2 and I was saddened to see that the software was no longer available. So I quick hop on over to eBay, and sure enough, some fabulous fellow is selling it for $300 cheaper. HOLY HOTDOGS BUY IT NOW! That's what my brain AND mother exclaimed anyway. And so I did. Oh man. It better install. It better work. I better not lose $1100? But the joy and wonder to finally have it...I can just imagine :)
In other news, we all know how often I use quotes right? I even sheepishly mentioned it in a past blog. Well, speaking of talking about quotes in a blog, check this out: everyone hates quotes. Siiiggggh. It's like the word random. Did I go off on that once too? I don't remember. But ya know? Sometimes people have ticks. Why not talk about how bad it is that people shoot other people in the face instead? Because it isn't funny. And the chick's site is pretty hilarious actually. People are pretty dumb sometimes. But who cares? I'm going to continue to use the word random superfluously, say awesome constantly, and use QUOTES, as well as Quotes' dirty annoying cousin Air Quotes, as much as I damn well please! Until next time............. "
Thursday, September 20, 2007
major project completed!!!
Omgomgomg the invitations I made for Monica's bachelorette party are in the mail!!! Let's see, I started this project July 28? It's funny because I created the design in a couple hours. Seriously. But all the planning in order to write out all the details inside the thing, and then all the paper buying (and more paper buying), and then the printing (and more printing, and more printing), it's crazy how much time I put in. But total, the project wasn't even that expensive! I'm impressed and proud! Especially once they were all coming together...totally stoked. Hopefully everyone likes them...especially the bride-to-be! ;)
I've still got a lot to do bachelorette planning wise, however. I mean the core plans are made, but all the little details have yet to be worked out. It should be fun planning though :)
weeee!
I've still got a lot to do bachelorette planning wise, however. I mean the core plans are made, but all the little details have yet to be worked out. It should be fun planning though :)
weeee!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
when life takes a turn toward the meh
Ugh, what a day yesterday...not fun at all. I don't like arguing and yelling, but I don't like not being able to stand up for my principles either. At the end of the day, however, not everyone is going to be a grownup and follow the rules. And I have to learn to accept that. I'm not sporting my rose tinted shades by any means, but with so much crap going on in the world that is beyond our control, I feel that much stronger about injustices that we CAN control. But that's what happens sometimes and hopefully things will carry on for the better the rest of the week. N-N-Now th-th-that don't kill me can only make me stronger??
On a more productive positive note, here are some updates!
#17 - I was proud of John for his hard work lately and so surprised him with some eggrolls and homemade Orange/Kung Pao Chicken. Yum!
#28 - John and I took Grace to the zoo a couple weekends ago so fun!! We did indeed pet some sharks (rough skin) and sting rays (soft skin!)...and collected five Mold•A•Ramas. Gotta love the zoo! It was probably the most perfect day too...clear blue skies, about 70 degrees...gorge. I love the zoo!
#30 - One more new restaurant to add to the bunch: Cafe Lulu! Now what a fantastic place THIS is...the decor is all funky and hipster (as is the clientèle!) and the food is absolutely delicious at the most perfect price. Ok "free" would be a perfect price, but a huge avocado/bacon/cheddar melt and ginormous helping of the best Asian slaw I've ever had for $7.50? You can't go wrong. Plus downtown you'll get a Jack and Coke and fancy drink for $6 and $9 respectively. At Cafe Lulu (in Bayview just outside downtown) you'll get a Jack and Coke and, in my case, an Oranjito (don't get me started) for $4.50 and $7 respectively. Amazing!!! Haha! We also got a side order of "Bleu Lulu" chips: those really thick, good quality, homemade chips with blue cheese dip! Mmmmmmm. Now I just need to go to their breakfast: toasted sourdough bread topped with boursin, garlicky spinach, roma'matoes, two poached eggs and hollandaise??? You gotta be kidding me.
#87 - New-to-me band/artist of THIS month is Mark Ronson: kickass producer/dj/musician of the year. Obsessed. So much talent.
The only other thing I've got in the works right now is the bachelorette party. I cannot WAIT to be done planning!!! Not that it's a pain in the ass or anything, but just a lot of little things to keep tabs on, cancellations, making sure everything is fair, splitting up costs, etc. Not to mention the invites which are almost finished thank the powers that be!!!
To conclude, when life hands you lemons, make a vodka tonic...with lemon...but when life hands you lemons and you're at work and can't find the key to the booze drawer, listen to some good music....
On a more productive positive note, here are some updates!
#17 - I was proud of John for his hard work lately and so surprised him with some eggrolls and homemade Orange/Kung Pao Chicken. Yum!
#28 - John and I took Grace to the zoo a couple weekends ago so fun!! We did indeed pet some sharks (rough skin) and sting rays (soft skin!)...and collected five Mold•A•Ramas. Gotta love the zoo! It was probably the most perfect day too...clear blue skies, about 70 degrees...gorge. I love the zoo!
#30 - One more new restaurant to add to the bunch: Cafe Lulu! Now what a fantastic place THIS is...the decor is all funky and hipster (as is the clientèle!) and the food is absolutely delicious at the most perfect price. Ok "free" would be a perfect price, but a huge avocado/bacon/cheddar melt and ginormous helping of the best Asian slaw I've ever had for $7.50? You can't go wrong. Plus downtown you'll get a Jack and Coke and fancy drink for $6 and $9 respectively. At Cafe Lulu (in Bayview just outside downtown) you'll get a Jack and Coke and, in my case, an Oranjito (don't get me started) for $4.50 and $7 respectively. Amazing!!! Haha! We also got a side order of "Bleu Lulu" chips: those really thick, good quality, homemade chips with blue cheese dip! Mmmmmmm. Now I just need to go to their breakfast: toasted sourdough bread topped with boursin, garlicky spinach, roma'matoes, two poached eggs and hollandaise??? You gotta be kidding me.
#87 - New-to-me band/artist of THIS month is Mark Ronson: kickass producer/dj/musician of the year. Obsessed. So much talent.
The only other thing I've got in the works right now is the bachelorette party. I cannot WAIT to be done planning!!! Not that it's a pain in the ass or anything, but just a lot of little things to keep tabs on, cancellations, making sure everything is fair, splitting up costs, etc. Not to mention the invites which are almost finished thank the powers that be!!!
To conclude, when life hands you lemons, make a vodka tonic...with lemon...but when life hands you lemons and you're at work and can't find the key to the booze drawer, listen to some good music....
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Quarter of the way there...
At the end of this month I will have officially closed in on the quarter marker of 1001 days. Do I have a quarter of my tasks completed?? Let's do a quick recap for those playing at home:
•Tasks officially crossed off: 17
•Tasks in progress, but will be completed in the near future: 4
•Tasks continuously in progress until the end of the 1001 days: 21
Total tasks completed/in progress: 42!
And we all know that 42/101 is almost half, so I think I'm making some good progress here. But that might be because most of the remaining items are all complex and difficult or require dropping a chunk of change.
There are a small handful of tasks I may have to adjust due to time restraints or financial status (here's lookin' at you trips to Vegas and NYC)...but for the most part everything else seems do-able. Once Monica's wedding is over, I'll be able to focus back on my own creative projects; bust out my pinking shears at least a couple times this coming winter. A Jo-Ann gift card is certainly in order this Christmas as that will alleviate the financial burden of creating a scrapbook so intricate and involved as the INKYTNMO book will be!
In other news, the monitor for my prize mac has been purchased, the site from where I will buy the memory has been marked, and I think, with my mom's help, I have located a place to buy Adobe CS2. What a pain in the ass that was. Adobe swallowed up all the remaining CS2s to pave the way for CS3 (which we're actually getting at work in the next couple weeks!). But I don't want to pay $1800 for a creative suite. I want to pay the original $120o price. Well the one my mom found is $1400, BUT comes with Flash which would be pretty awesome to have since I already know the basics of the program. Now it's simply a matter of taking that money out of my savings :( Why suddenly is it so hard??? Well, obviously I have a huge problem with parting with huge sums of money: a character trait that has haunted me since my poor college days and even poorer post-college days. But also, right now I just don't have enough Quality Time to spend with my dear Adobe and Apple products (See: Monica's Wedding). So buying it now feels like a waste. HOWEVER my opportunity to purchase CS2 is quickly waning and who cares if I don't use it right this very second? Right? Right? Right.
In still other updates, I made it through the entire month of August without sipping any alcohol other than Miller Lite (oh and the occasional sip of church wine...blood of Christ, come on). The funny thing is that I had three Miller Lites the night of August 31st...something I've done many a time...and for whatever reason, paid dearly the following morning. Undoubtedly because of the 6.5 hrs sleep I got, but I almost like to think it was Miller Lite bidding me a not-so-fond farewell. Well F you too ML! Anyway, what was my first alcoholic beverage of choice on Sept 1st? Point Beer. Ouch. Haha! But that's all they had at this drive in party I attended. Come Sept 2, my SECOND alcoholic beverage of choice? Some random sparkly berry wine cooler that was chilling out in John's sister's fridge. I never even drink wine coolers! But my THIRD alcoholic beverage of choice: A sweet, refreshing, ice-clamoring glass of Jack and Coke. Ahhhhhhhh. My first in over two months! Yum. In any case, this months "give up" is fancy coffee drinks (a la Starbucks)...much easier than August, and it'll also get me revved up for delicious pumpkin spice lattes at Barnes & Noble come October. I do so love to deprive myself of things in order to truly appreciate them. And I'm a masochist, what can I say?
•Tasks officially crossed off: 17
•Tasks in progress, but will be completed in the near future: 4
•Tasks continuously in progress until the end of the 1001 days: 21
Total tasks completed/in progress: 42!
And we all know that 42/101 is almost half, so I think I'm making some good progress here. But that might be because most of the remaining items are all complex and difficult or require dropping a chunk of change.
There are a small handful of tasks I may have to adjust due to time restraints or financial status (here's lookin' at you trips to Vegas and NYC)...but for the most part everything else seems do-able. Once Monica's wedding is over, I'll be able to focus back on my own creative projects; bust out my pinking shears at least a couple times this coming winter. A Jo-Ann gift card is certainly in order this Christmas as that will alleviate the financial burden of creating a scrapbook so intricate and involved as the INKYTNMO book will be!
In other news, the monitor for my prize mac has been purchased, the site from where I will buy the memory has been marked, and I think, with my mom's help, I have located a place to buy Adobe CS2. What a pain in the ass that was. Adobe swallowed up all the remaining CS2s to pave the way for CS3 (which we're actually getting at work in the next couple weeks!). But I don't want to pay $1800 for a creative suite. I want to pay the original $120o price. Well the one my mom found is $1400, BUT comes with Flash which would be pretty awesome to have since I already know the basics of the program. Now it's simply a matter of taking that money out of my savings :( Why suddenly is it so hard??? Well, obviously I have a huge problem with parting with huge sums of money: a character trait that has haunted me since my poor college days and even poorer post-college days. But also, right now I just don't have enough Quality Time to spend with my dear Adobe and Apple products (See: Monica's Wedding). So buying it now feels like a waste. HOWEVER my opportunity to purchase CS2 is quickly waning and who cares if I don't use it right this very second? Right? Right? Right.
In still other updates, I made it through the entire month of August without sipping any alcohol other than Miller Lite (oh and the occasional sip of church wine...blood of Christ, come on). The funny thing is that I had three Miller Lites the night of August 31st...something I've done many a time...and for whatever reason, paid dearly the following morning. Undoubtedly because of the 6.5 hrs sleep I got, but I almost like to think it was Miller Lite bidding me a not-so-fond farewell. Well F you too ML! Anyway, what was my first alcoholic beverage of choice on Sept 1st? Point Beer. Ouch. Haha! But that's all they had at this drive in party I attended. Come Sept 2, my SECOND alcoholic beverage of choice? Some random sparkly berry wine cooler that was chilling out in John's sister's fridge. I never even drink wine coolers! But my THIRD alcoholic beverage of choice: A sweet, refreshing, ice-clamoring glass of Jack and Coke. Ahhhhhhhh. My first in over two months! Yum. In any case, this months "give up" is fancy coffee drinks (a la Starbucks)...much easier than August, and it'll also get me revved up for delicious pumpkin spice lattes at Barnes & Noble come October. I do so love to deprive myself of things in order to truly appreciate them. And I'm a masochist, what can I say?
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
whaaaa???
I DID change things up around here! With late summer/early fall, I thought some nice warm colors would do the trick. Plus I needed something to go with my new header? In any case, hope ya likes. Meanwhile I should be working on the back of my mom's bookcover right now instead of putzing around on blogger, am I right? Yiko's!!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Nothing all that new to update, but I'm in a MUCH better mood and excited about life because I HEART THE GRADIENT MESH TOOL!!! One of the artists here at work sent us a bunch of graphic design related links, one of which contained a link to various gradient mesh MASTERS! Oh man these people are crazy. Here's an example:
um, what? This is an ILLUSTRATION people. Not a photo...not even photoshop'ed. I know it's hard to understand the significance of this without actually working in Adobe Illustrator, but trust me, it's intense. For more of Yukio Miyamoto's work, please visit his site!
Anyway, I was so inspired (in addition to the fact that I've always wanted to be SO much better at shading in Illustrator), that I found a tutorial on how to do a pepper. The artist provides you with the pepper photo that you use as a base for the colors, as well as the step by step process to create the realistic looking pepper just in Illustrator. Well, HERE is my very first attempt at the gradient mesh tool!
SO! I mean it's no Yukio by any means, but I was pretty proud! Yay pepper!!!
And speaking of peppers, the other night I made my last recipe of the month, Orange Kung Pao Chicken! I followed Z's recipe and then added orange juice and zest to the sauce. SO GRAND! I loved it! Plus I satisfied my atypical produce item by adding some sugah snap peas. Yum!
Sooooooo this weekend will consist of more maid of honor duties, more Miller Lite, and possibly Coldstone Creamery???? ahhhh I can't resist!!!!!!!
um, what? This is an ILLUSTRATION people. Not a photo...not even photoshop'ed. I know it's hard to understand the significance of this without actually working in Adobe Illustrator, but trust me, it's intense. For more of Yukio Miyamoto's work, please visit his site!
Anyway, I was so inspired (in addition to the fact that I've always wanted to be SO much better at shading in Illustrator), that I found a tutorial on how to do a pepper. The artist provides you with the pepper photo that you use as a base for the colors, as well as the step by step process to create the realistic looking pepper just in Illustrator. Well, HERE is my very first attempt at the gradient mesh tool!
SO! I mean it's no Yukio by any means, but I was pretty proud! Yay pepper!!!
And speaking of peppers, the other night I made my last recipe of the month, Orange Kung Pao Chicken! I followed Z's recipe and then added orange juice and zest to the sauce. SO GRAND! I loved it! Plus I satisfied my atypical produce item by adding some sugah snap peas. Yum!
Sooooooo this weekend will consist of more maid of honor duties, more Miller Lite, and possibly Coldstone Creamery???? ahhhh I can't resist!!!!!!!
Friday, August 17, 2007
karma?
Alright so #100 on The List totally exploded into my life. Last week we had a raffle for the old Macs and PCs here at the office. I put my name in for a Mac OOOOOOF COURSE...and in my mind I begged and pleaded that I would be so lucky to be one of the few chosen. That afternoon, I heard a rumbling amongst my fellow coworkers and my name was mentioned. Sure enough, I checked my email and there was my name under "Macs": one of six! I think my heart jumped out of my throat and slapped me across the face by the time I realized that I had actually won?? In any case, it isn't a laptop, but it's a start! It cuts out half of what I would've spent on the whole thing!! Now I just need a monitor (flatscreen: ~$200), some memory, and the Creative Suite. Turns out Creative Suite 3 just came out, so would that make CS2 cheaper?? Not yet really :\ It's still ~$1200. But maybe I'll luck out somehow. And speaking of luck...for the most part, I chalk this up to luck...but isn't it strange considering my last post here? About all the volunteering and good deeds?? I'm not saying every good deed should go rewarded, but it is quite a coincidence that this happened the same week! In any case, I'm stoked. Now I won't have to come into work on the weekends or stay late any more to do freelance/design projects for my peeps!
Speaking of, I finished my mom's book this weekend!!! I gotta add it to my book list (#95). So so so fabulous and I can't wait to REread it after it's published on paperback. And I'm totally buying copies for a ton of my friends! Currently I'm designing the cover...I really like it so far, so hopefully my moms will too ;)
Can I just tell you how hard it is to do the 26Things photo project? Not only is it so sporadic (they only have one 'hunt' every three months or so), but you only have a month to do it. Now that seems like a lot of time, but when you're trying to be creative with 26 objects, places, and concepts, man almighty! In any case, I think I'm going to have to accept the fact that 26Things will either have to wait until next year (if it still exists), or get replaced. Sigh.
#45 - One more recipe to add to the repertoire! Creamy chicken and rice soup! It was my first home made (ok semi home made) soup ever and I'm really proud with how it turned out!! Especially today when it had a chance to sit overnight. I sautéed garlic/onions/mushrooms/carrots and added them to 4 cups hot broth and a few cups of shredded chicken [from those rotisseries you get in the deli]. I also added a pkg of Rice A Roni wild rice (which I had to simmer by itself for 15 minutes because it wasn't the quick cooking kind). For the roux, I took a suggestion from a recipe online and added the little 'flavor packet' from the Rice A Roni to the 2 TBs of butter and whisked that around...THEN added the 1/4 c flour, and then a cup of half/half. It's a little tricky because there are a lot of clumps, but you just keep stirring at it...when it's all combined, I added that to the broth and stirred it all up...simmered for another 10-15 minutes. Voila as they say! Later this week, I'll use more of the rotisserie chicken to make some Kung Pao chicken a la Z (with some orange zest added...we'll see how that turns out?)
#68 has been outrageous to figure out. So I go out to eat Sunday night at this diner...I have almost a whole cheeseburger (had to have been almost a half lb), half of my BATTERED fries, almost all of a crock of creamy soup loaded with fat I'm sure, and a small cup of coleslaw...ALSO fatty I don't doubt. How can't I NOT count that as a guilty pleasure meal??! Plus the fact that I haven't done pilates in over two weeks? Done! Consider it counted!!
Alright, well to conclude, I'm freaking snarky lately. I'm not even going to get into it, but it's like certain people in my life are redonkulous right now. People say things and the complete immaturity of it will seriously make me want to throw up. I feel like I'm fifty and surrounded by a bunch of fucking teenagers. And yet I'm 27. GROW UP PEOPLE. Ugh...so annoying. Anyway, hopefully the feeling will pass. Haha! I like this post...it's like one second I'm volunteering for good causes and Martha Stewart making a soup, and then the next second I'm psychotic and wanting to throw bottles of diseases at people? Ahhhhh me.
Speaking of, I finished my mom's book this weekend!!! I gotta add it to my book list (#95). So so so fabulous and I can't wait to REread it after it's published on paperback. And I'm totally buying copies for a ton of my friends! Currently I'm designing the cover...I really like it so far, so hopefully my moms will too ;)
Can I just tell you how hard it is to do the 26Things photo project? Not only is it so sporadic (they only have one 'hunt' every three months or so), but you only have a month to do it. Now that seems like a lot of time, but when you're trying to be creative with 26 objects, places, and concepts, man almighty! In any case, I think I'm going to have to accept the fact that 26Things will either have to wait until next year (if it still exists), or get replaced. Sigh.
#45 - One more recipe to add to the repertoire! Creamy chicken and rice soup! It was my first home made (ok semi home made) soup ever and I'm really proud with how it turned out!! Especially today when it had a chance to sit overnight. I sautéed garlic/onions/mushrooms/carrots and added them to 4 cups hot broth and a few cups of shredded chicken [from those rotisseries you get in the deli]. I also added a pkg of Rice A Roni wild rice (which I had to simmer by itself for 15 minutes because it wasn't the quick cooking kind). For the roux, I took a suggestion from a recipe online and added the little 'flavor packet' from the Rice A Roni to the 2 TBs of butter and whisked that around...THEN added the 1/4 c flour, and then a cup of half/half. It's a little tricky because there are a lot of clumps, but you just keep stirring at it...when it's all combined, I added that to the broth and stirred it all up...simmered for another 10-15 minutes. Voila as they say! Later this week, I'll use more of the rotisserie chicken to make some Kung Pao chicken a la Z (with some orange zest added...we'll see how that turns out?)
#68 has been outrageous to figure out. So I go out to eat Sunday night at this diner...I have almost a whole cheeseburger (had to have been almost a half lb), half of my BATTERED fries, almost all of a crock of creamy soup loaded with fat I'm sure, and a small cup of coleslaw...ALSO fatty I don't doubt. How can't I NOT count that as a guilty pleasure meal??! Plus the fact that I haven't done pilates in over two weeks? Done! Consider it counted!!
Alright, well to conclude, I'm freaking snarky lately. I'm not even going to get into it, but it's like certain people in my life are redonkulous right now. People say things and the complete immaturity of it will seriously make me want to throw up. I feel like I'm fifty and surrounded by a bunch of fucking teenagers. And yet I'm 27. GROW UP PEOPLE. Ugh...so annoying. Anyway, hopefully the feeling will pass. Haha! I like this post...it's like one second I'm volunteering for good causes and Martha Stewart making a soup, and then the next second I'm psychotic and wanting to throw bottles of diseases at people? Ahhhhh me.
Monday, August 13, 2007
volunteer this
It's been volunteering central in these parts. Today I actually finished my 'pledge' of volunteering at Open Door Cafe (#78) four times...and I must have 'earned my stripes' because I actually got to serve food! wow!! ;) Actually, so much calmer back there...and you get a chance to actually stop and smile and say hello to people as opposed to running around with your head cut off making sure everyone gets something to drink in a non-orderly fashion. And today was extra crazy. People really want their damn milk. Ok, so then this weekend I had my first "Cup Duty" as a Eucharistic Minister!!! Oh man I was CRAZY nervous. Well, actually at first I wasn't. I had all this time knowing that the day was coming because I got my schedule like three weeks ago, and I was 'chosen' as a E.M. about two months ago. So I was plenty prepared for the event. Only maybe five minutes before the Agnus Dei, my stomach went all flippyflop! I just seriously thought I was going to either drop the cup (as it was all kindsa condensating), or say "Body of Christ" instead of "Blood"???? Haha! Too funny! But then I got up there and it was just amazing. It's always really nice to be able to do something very 'community-centric' I guess. Or at least that's what I'm learning. Lately the volunteering has been less about the 'feel good' quality and more connecting to the community...if that makes sense? Anyway, now this Wednesday, I'm giving blood again to take care of the summer 'once a season' donation. Yahoo! In any case, I gotta think about anything I have going on in the burbs to make the trip 'worth while'. Ok I'm seriously not trying to put everything in quotes, but it's totally working out that way. I'm Air Quotes Queen I'm sorry!!!!
Other updates:
#45 - I made two recipes last week. 1. My sister's FAMOUS eggplant dish...its temporary moniker is "Naked Eggplant a la Z" because it doesn't contain meat or noodles, so carb free and very healthy. Um except for the part where the eggplant slices are fried and it contains an entire package of shredded cheese??? oh well. It's the best Italian dish I have ever consumed though. Even better than any restaurant! I'm serious! 2. was a Rachael Ray recipe: Honey Lime Glazed Salmon with Warm Black Bean and Corn Salad. Pretty good although I'm sort of getting tired of Rachael Ray recipes. I gotta dress then up a little more. Anyway, that took care of #46 as well.
#50 - I don't think I ever came up with an atypical produce item this month! Well I choose sugar snap peas. Next week (or maybe later this week), I'll come up with some kind of Asian dish. Perhaps Mandsi's famous Kung Pao chicken recipe!
#51 - The Miller Lite is getting old. Poor Miller Lite. He was always my favorite go-to cheap and light beer. Now I just cannot wait for August to end so I can have a Jack and Coke or glass of wine. And it's only the 13th :( Oh well. At least I'm drinking a LOT less. It's crazy to think about the days where I would go to my annual gyno appointment and have to remember how many drinks I consumed every week...and I'd "round down" to five or something when it was obviously more like ten?? And even that isn't a lot...well not compared to SOME people around here. Anyway, this past week I bought a six pack and drank four of them. I have one left...maybe for tonight. The other one I used forrrrrrrr........
#75 - Beer Bread! I made some beer bread and DELICIOUS garlic dip for work on Friday. No real reason although it was a silent thank you to everyone for keeping the fridge semi clean the past couple weeks.
#54 - I got my hair cut last week as well. Not my ultimate fave cut off all time, but it's 'growing' ??? on me. I just can't get it to flip right with my hairdryer. Annoying.
#87 - I haven't really mentioned the 'new band a month' thing lately. Well I'm sort of taking a liberty with that task because I can't buy music right now. I'm seriously trying to stick to my New Sparkly Budget. So I basically find a band or artist I like and then listen to the clips on itunes or myspace. I know...sorta cheating, but I'm making mental notes so when I DO spend some money, I will check into them a little further. Artist for last month was Mika and this month is Junior Boys. Both featured on the best reality television series to hit the tube: So You Think You Can Dance. And speaking of, THAT is what I shall do in burbs on Wednesday! Go to my parents to watch the second to last episode of the season. Boooooooo :'{
Ok! Well before I bore you to death any more than I already have, I will leave you with this:
you can never have enough Hugh Laurie in your life, I'm tellin' ya. AND I think he'd be proud that, after mentioning it, I totally toned down the quoting. Whew!
Other updates:
#45 - I made two recipes last week. 1. My sister's FAMOUS eggplant dish...its temporary moniker is "Naked Eggplant a la Z" because it doesn't contain meat or noodles, so carb free and very healthy. Um except for the part where the eggplant slices are fried and it contains an entire package of shredded cheese??? oh well. It's the best Italian dish I have ever consumed though. Even better than any restaurant! I'm serious! 2. was a Rachael Ray recipe: Honey Lime Glazed Salmon with Warm Black Bean and Corn Salad. Pretty good although I'm sort of getting tired of Rachael Ray recipes. I gotta dress then up a little more. Anyway, that took care of #46 as well.
#50 - I don't think I ever came up with an atypical produce item this month! Well I choose sugar snap peas. Next week (or maybe later this week), I'll come up with some kind of Asian dish. Perhaps Mandsi's famous Kung Pao chicken recipe!
#51 - The Miller Lite is getting old. Poor Miller Lite. He was always my favorite go-to cheap and light beer. Now I just cannot wait for August to end so I can have a Jack and Coke or glass of wine. And it's only the 13th :( Oh well. At least I'm drinking a LOT less. It's crazy to think about the days where I would go to my annual gyno appointment and have to remember how many drinks I consumed every week...and I'd "round down" to five or something when it was obviously more like ten?? And even that isn't a lot...well not compared to SOME people around here. Anyway, this past week I bought a six pack and drank four of them. I have one left...maybe for tonight. The other one I used forrrrrrrr........
#75 - Beer Bread! I made some beer bread and DELICIOUS garlic dip for work on Friday. No real reason although it was a silent thank you to everyone for keeping the fridge semi clean the past couple weeks.
#54 - I got my hair cut last week as well. Not my ultimate fave cut off all time, but it's 'growing' ??? on me. I just can't get it to flip right with my hairdryer. Annoying.
#87 - I haven't really mentioned the 'new band a month' thing lately. Well I'm sort of taking a liberty with that task because I can't buy music right now. I'm seriously trying to stick to my New Sparkly Budget. So I basically find a band or artist I like and then listen to the clips on itunes or myspace. I know...sorta cheating, but I'm making mental notes so when I DO spend some money, I will check into them a little further. Artist for last month was Mika and this month is Junior Boys. Both featured on the best reality television series to hit the tube: So You Think You Can Dance. And speaking of, THAT is what I shall do in burbs on Wednesday! Go to my parents to watch the second to last episode of the season. Boooooooo :'{
Ok! Well before I bore you to death any more than I already have, I will leave you with this:
you can never have enough Hugh Laurie in your life, I'm tellin' ya. AND I think he'd be proud that, after mentioning it, I totally toned down the quoting. Whew!
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
August 1
Nothing too crazy here, but a few things: I was *blessed with an unexpected $400 check from the state of Wisconsin the other day...turns out it's my tax return and I had completely forgotten about it! I know roll your eyes ;) In any case, I put it DI-rectly into my savings...no spendy spendy for Katesi! After paying my car bill and rent, I have roughly $180 left from my paycheck today. Meh right? No, I'm still going as planned with my budget for the month...the car bill will just be that extra sidebar. August is going to be an expensive month and I'm prepared :) But thus begins my first month of trying to stick to my budget (minus these extra expenses that are atypical).
In other news, I'm tossing an idea around about changing the "take a week vacay from this list once a season" (#68) TO "once a month splurge on something food related" haha! Because I don't exactly know HOW to take a vacay from the list...it's always on my mind! And b. I seriously want to be able to treat myself BIG time just once a month and not worry about it. This also means I have to tone down the times when I do go "a little crazy" and shove those cravings into one day. Ok this is hard to explain. I mean I'm sure I'll "go out to eat" more than once a month, but I'll try to dial it down when I go, except that one time. THEN I can get ANYTHING on a menu: like the fattiest thing. And not worry about starving myself all day or exercise way more in order to get rid of the calories. What inspired me to do this was craving the cake batter ice cream at Coldstone which is sooooooo bad for you. And I don't just want to get that tiny "like it" size either. Or sometimes I just want to pig out on the Big Mac extra value meal at McDonald's...big fries, non diet soda, the works! Or I want to eat 5-6 pieces of pizza AND have Doritos instead of just three pieces sans Doritos ;) Ok that last one would make my stummy s'plode, but you get the gist. So yeah, I like it! Oh and if I'm on vacation? This sort of goes out of effect. Because when you're on vacation, you're just going to eat like crap the whole time...so that time is exempt. THUS when I'm on my mini vacation camping this weekend at Point Beach, and want a fatty ice cream cone, it doesn't count ;)
Rock on! Let the feasting begin!!!
In other news, I'm tossing an idea around about changing the "take a week vacay from this list once a season" (#68) TO "once a month splurge on something food related" haha! Because I don't exactly know HOW to take a vacay from the list...it's always on my mind! And b. I seriously want to be able to treat myself BIG time just once a month and not worry about it. This also means I have to tone down the times when I do go "a little crazy" and shove those cravings into one day. Ok this is hard to explain. I mean I'm sure I'll "go out to eat" more than once a month, but I'll try to dial it down when I go, except that one time. THEN I can get ANYTHING on a menu: like the fattiest thing. And not worry about starving myself all day or exercise way more in order to get rid of the calories. What inspired me to do this was craving the cake batter ice cream at Coldstone which is sooooooo bad for you. And I don't just want to get that tiny "like it" size either. Or sometimes I just want to pig out on the Big Mac extra value meal at McDonald's...big fries, non diet soda, the works! Or I want to eat 5-6 pieces of pizza AND have Doritos instead of just three pieces sans Doritos ;) Ok that last one would make my stummy s'plode, but you get the gist. So yeah, I like it! Oh and if I'm on vacation? This sort of goes out of effect. Because when you're on vacation, you're just going to eat like crap the whole time...so that time is exempt. THUS when I'm on my mini vacation camping this weekend at Point Beach, and want a fatty ice cream cone, it doesn't count ;)
Rock on! Let the feasting begin!!!
Monday, July 30, 2007
so productive!!
Saturday I came into work for seven hours and fulfilled several "Maid of Honor" duties: drew out the maps for Monica's wedding invites, made the hotel reservations for the bachelorette party, as WELL as designed a prototype for the invitations (which got rave reviews so far yay!!! I've never seen a reaction from John like I got last night...it really made me feel good at what I do!). Then on Sunday I completed two 101 Things tasks: #57 & #61: Finished cleaning/organizing the apartment including the dreaded linen closet :) Technically it isn't complete if I include the coat closet though, but eh, that thing is alright....and b. Finished cleaning/organizing my room including making it look like I live there!! I put up framed pictures and even moved everything around so I could fit a chair in the corner for reading! It looks pretty cozy! Maybe I'll try 'er out tonight and finish up the first 60 pages of my mom's book.
So yay! I'm seriously plugging away at this list! I've gotta come up with another batch of goals to make in the next few months.
So yay! I'm seriously plugging away at this list! I've gotta come up with another batch of goals to make in the next few months.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
End of July is Nigh
...up...
...up...
...and away!
#24 Kite flying was had! I mentioned it earlier maybe, but finally got the photos up. It was such a gorgeous day, but yeah, the wind wasn't havin' it. John had the kite up for like 45 seconds after I took that last one, and then I took a turn and had the kite up for maybe 5-10 minutes UNTIL I tried taking a picture WHILST holding said kite, and it fell. Classic.
OTHER updates!! Aside from the recipe sitch, I think I accomplished pretty much everything I wanted to.
#17 My surprise was very small...just baked some oatmeal raisin cookies and dropped them off at John's while he was with Grace. But it was partly an anniversary gift too. John surprised ME with a really hilarious card and GOOOOORGEOUS pink/yellow/orange roses. Our two [ish] year anniversary was simple, sweet and fun. We went to Harry's Bar & Grill for dinner...and then after we got home we shared the mini bottle of champagne I got from Monica and Tim's engagement party. Give or take a couple months in there, I can't believe it's been two years. And honestly things are so much better nowadays. Since the reunion, and a couple hiccups in there, I've never felt more "mature" and dare I say calm??? I just feel more trusting, confident, and genuinely happy. The work that we've both put into the relationship the last few months has been hard, but at the same time really fun! We're in a good place and hopefully it stays that way.
#39 Monday I played nine holes of golf!! Ok so I kinda blew. Not awful, but not great either. John and I played Best Ball (each player plays from the spot of the closest ball)...together we got a 47 which is like a 5 stroke average...not great for a par 3 course?? haha! But we used my ball's spot quite a few times! In any case, even though I wasn't all that good, I had a blast. It was nice to be out in the perfect weather, getting exercise, and having fun amongst the rolling hills of the course...it just made me want to go again soon to get the practice in! Yay golf!!
#75 I brought breakfast treats into work the other day, but I sort of feel bad counting it...it was thanks to everyone who contributed to the "Let's Thank Katie for Washing Our Dishes Every Day" Fund. They all got me a gift card to a spa!! It was crazy...I was totally taken a back. But in classic Katie style, I felt the need to thank THEM for such a sweet gesture. Hence the breakfast treats.
#95 I am currently reading my mom's draft of her latest novel Bloodchained which is ALL kinds of good. So in addition to the "classic" A Tale of Two Cities, I'll be able to add "erotica/romance" to my literary repertoire ;)
And finally...
#38 BALLOOOOONS!!!
John, Grace and I went to the Waukesha Co Fair as planned...the whole evening was so much fun. And the hot air balloons were the best. Not too many...only eight or nine total, but it was really cool watching them launch and then the whole "Balloon Glow" at night. Grace was especially a fan. Maybe she'll have a special place in her heart for hot air balloons like I do because of the Iowa Altoona Balloona fest I watched when I was her age?? In any case, here are some pix!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
more...
Last night I used kiwi (#50) in this hot curried fruit concoction I created...I cut up strawberries, mango, a peach, and a couple kiwi, sauteed some onions in a little butter, brought the fruit up to a simmer, and added some curry powder and brown sugar. I sliced up some French bread, added a smear of brie cheese and topped with the hot fruit. So scrumptious and unique!
Today I had plenty of time to kill, so I buckled down and worked on my budget (#80). These sites helped me tremendously:
http://cgi.money.cnn.com/
printable budget worksheet
I looked at my budget from June, what I had for July so far (with some projections), and came up with what I should be spending each month. For June it was ridiculous...I spent my entire paycheck minus like $5 and that did NOT include leftover INKYTNMO expenses and the $550 check I wrote my mom. Luckily July has been much better and it looks like I COULD come up $500 on top. This is good as August is a big spending month with my mom's bday, camping, and my $300 car repair bill. So from now on, at the end of each month, I'm going to divvy up all my spending into that worksheet to keep track. Hopefully I'll get a better sense of pattern and take those good months where I saved a chunk and use that for the bad months where my car decides to breakdown, it's everyone and their mother's birthday, I get three parking tickets, and I have to make 8 new recipes that involve salmon, wine, pricey cheeses, and olive oil (my typical expensive grocery items). Voila!
Today I had plenty of time to kill, so I buckled down and worked on my budget (#80). These sites helped me tremendously:
http://cgi.money.cnn.com/
printable budget worksheet
I looked at my budget from June, what I had for July so far (with some projections), and came up with what I should be spending each month. For June it was ridiculous...I spent my entire paycheck minus like $5 and that did NOT include leftover INKYTNMO expenses and the $550 check I wrote my mom. Luckily July has been much better and it looks like I COULD come up $500 on top. This is good as August is a big spending month with my mom's bday, camping, and my $300 car repair bill. So from now on, at the end of each month, I'm going to divvy up all my spending into that worksheet to keep track. Hopefully I'll get a better sense of pattern and take those good months where I saved a chunk and use that for the bad months where my car decides to breakdown, it's everyone and their mother's birthday, I get three parking tickets, and I have to make 8 new recipes that involve salmon, wine, pricey cheeses, and olive oil (my typical expensive grocery items). Voila!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
darnitsauce!
So I completely slipped up BY ACCIDENT and had diet coke on Sunday. I just completely forgot! I went to Old Country Buffet, so obviously, a buffet set up and therefore they don't ask you what you want to drink. Normally I would just say "Water's fine" but since we got our own drinks, I automatically thought "Diet Coke". Blah. And not just ONE glass, but two. Sigh. So as a punishment, I might just have to do something extra hard in August: no alcohol EXCEPT Miller Lite. That's all I can allow...which will suck on Aug 18th for my mom's bday. Cubanitas = the best mojitos ever :\
Friday, July 13, 2007
Stretched Thin
I conquered my 30 Day Pilates Challenge (#40) and on time! This week I did two double workouts and pass on a beer at Bastille Days in order to finish by today. I'm going to continue to try and rock the Pilates at lunch, but it's supposed to be 90 degrees Monday so I'll probably take a little break there.
And as I mentioned, it's mid-July (already?!) and I have yet to make one new recipe (#45). I've been trying desperately to save money this month because of the abundance of expenses that have either come and gone or are right around the corner. So I do believe I'm taking a break from the recipes during July. I will make up for it by making eight new recipes this fall (when you want to eat more anyway!) However, I still have to eat kiwi in some form...I have to keep this in mind.
Not having soda is working out great! I'm getting SO sick of beer ;) No, but seriously, I think the soda thing has been one of the easier 'give-ups' which is nice after the tragedy that was not eating after 7pm. In any case, I'd give up beer in August if I wasn't going camping on the 4th ;)
Other than that, I'm still pluggin away here. I've had a few bridesmaid duties to attend to (#101), namely the impending bachelorette extravaganza (note: one of the many expenses in my future). I'm also halfway through organizing my cube (#86). All that's left is the drawers and the abundance of crap under my desk. I obviously finished my Floyd Collins biography (#95) which was FANTASTIC. So awfully sad at the end...I mean I knew he died, but the way the story is told, you seriously think he might make it! Very strange. Anyway, tonight I'm going to try and get through a significant (well, significant for my reading speed, or lack thereof) portion of A Tale of Two Cities.
I think it's going to be a good weekend! :)
And as I mentioned, it's mid-July (already?!) and I have yet to make one new recipe (#45). I've been trying desperately to save money this month because of the abundance of expenses that have either come and gone or are right around the corner. So I do believe I'm taking a break from the recipes during July. I will make up for it by making eight new recipes this fall (when you want to eat more anyway!) However, I still have to eat kiwi in some form...I have to keep this in mind.
Not having soda is working out great! I'm getting SO sick of beer ;) No, but seriously, I think the soda thing has been one of the easier 'give-ups' which is nice after the tragedy that was not eating after 7pm. In any case, I'd give up beer in August if I wasn't going camping on the 4th ;)
Other than that, I'm still pluggin away here. I've had a few bridesmaid duties to attend to (#101), namely the impending bachelorette extravaganza (note: one of the many expenses in my future). I'm also halfway through organizing my cube (#86). All that's left is the drawers and the abundance of crap under my desk. I obviously finished my Floyd Collins biography (#95) which was FANTASTIC. So awfully sad at the end...I mean I knew he died, but the way the story is told, you seriously think he might make it! Very strange. Anyway, tonight I'm going to try and get through a significant (well, significant for my reading speed, or lack thereof) portion of A Tale of Two Cities.
I think it's going to be a good weekend! :)
Thursday, July 5, 2007
month 6
So to update, I have 847 days left out of 1001! That's quite a bit, but I have barely anything accomplished. Bah.
To wrap things up for June/update on July:
#50 - July atypical food: kiwi! That'll be a refreshing summer recipe for sure!
#51 - My June guilty pleasure food was semi accomplished...like I said, I think I cheated a bit. Seriously hard not to eat after 7:00!! For July I decided to cut out soda. Now this is going to be another hard one...especially in regards to mixed drinks. I've had a ton of beer lately, and I'm actually starting to get tired of it!! haha! But I think I'll allow tonic...it's carbonated, but not technically soda.
#78 - I volunteered on Monday at St. John's...thankfully it was only like 73 degrees that day so very comfy in the dining area! If I volunteer for August, I just know it's going to be smoldering in there.
#87 - My "new band" was neither new nor a band...but I indulged in some Timbaland and loved every second of it!!! ;)
Projected July tasks!!
#24 - I think perhaps John, Grace and I could fly a kite very soon...perhaps Air Expo weekend?
#38 - And speaking of air expos, there is a "Skyfest" at the Waukesha County Fair complete with hot air balloon launches...hopefully I can enjoy that as well July 21st weekend!!
#39 - It's only 154 days into my list and I'm already halfway through my "nixables" :\ But I replaced "walk 20mins when it's over 60 degrees" as that is obviously not happening. Unless you count Pilates Days, when I walk the ten minutes to work and back four times total (40 minutes!), but that isn't all at once like it should be. Anyway, like I was saying, I replaced it with: Play nine holes of golf. Now is this of lesser or equal value? Not really...but I hope to get into the sport now that I have CLUBS! Clubs I got for free and yes I do realize how lucky I am :) They aren't anything special...some crazy custom made clubs by this random guy in Minnesota, Marty Irving, who now works in real estate?? In any case, I went to the driving range yesterday and I'm ok! Not great, but not awful either...just need practice :) I don't know when I'll be able to play a round, but hopefully at least before the year is up. But anyway, I thought I'd make this replacement a little more reasonable since I realized that a lot of my list exudes a level of difficulty...particularly in the creative section!
#40 - Like I said in a previous post, I hope to finish up the Pilates 30 Day Challenge by mid July, but looks like I better just finish by END July. Only seven more sessions to go though!
#54 - I want to get my herr did by the end of July as well. It's crazy long these days.
#73 - I have to throw this in here: If I wasn't busy paying my OWN flipping tickets and $300 car repair bills, I'd get on this. Blah I hate Milwaukee parking.
#81/#83 - And on that note, it's going to be WAY rough putting $280 into my savings next weekend...it makes me want to cry. But I have to do it...I'll thank myself later. If I didn't do it, I would just SPEND it now which I need to stop doing. I seriously feel like my checking account is bleeding to death. It's awful! This might be the perfect time to reevaluate my budget.
#95 - Hopefully I'll finish my Floyd Collins book tonight at Barnes!! Then start on A Tale of Two Cities. [PS I hate that, in my head, I think "A Tale of Two Kitties"...gross] I think my book after that will be a camera book. My current camera is seriously sick...I never know whether or not it will turn on. Ugh. So better get on learning about the lovely manual-ness of a camera (#8) before it's too late!!
Alright, quite an update, but work is boring today and I had some time to kill. Now I'm seriously going to force myself to go home and do Pilates in the 80 degree apartment. Man I'm building some character these days!
To wrap things up for June/update on July:
#50 - July atypical food: kiwi! That'll be a refreshing summer recipe for sure!
#51 - My June guilty pleasure food was semi accomplished...like I said, I think I cheated a bit. Seriously hard not to eat after 7:00!! For July I decided to cut out soda. Now this is going to be another hard one...especially in regards to mixed drinks. I've had a ton of beer lately, and I'm actually starting to get tired of it!! haha! But I think I'll allow tonic...it's carbonated, but not technically soda.
#78 - I volunteered on Monday at St. John's...thankfully it was only like 73 degrees that day so very comfy in the dining area! If I volunteer for August, I just know it's going to be smoldering in there.
#87 - My "new band" was neither new nor a band...but I indulged in some Timbaland and loved every second of it!!! ;)
Projected July tasks!!
#24 - I think perhaps John, Grace and I could fly a kite very soon...perhaps Air Expo weekend?
#38 - And speaking of air expos, there is a "Skyfest" at the Waukesha County Fair complete with hot air balloon launches...hopefully I can enjoy that as well July 21st weekend!!
#39 - It's only 154 days into my list and I'm already halfway through my "nixables" :\ But I replaced "walk 20mins when it's over 60 degrees" as that is obviously not happening. Unless you count Pilates Days, when I walk the ten minutes to work and back four times total (40 minutes!), but that isn't all at once like it should be. Anyway, like I was saying, I replaced it with: Play nine holes of golf. Now is this of lesser or equal value? Not really...but I hope to get into the sport now that I have CLUBS! Clubs I got for free and yes I do realize how lucky I am :) They aren't anything special...some crazy custom made clubs by this random guy in Minnesota, Marty Irving, who now works in real estate?? In any case, I went to the driving range yesterday and I'm ok! Not great, but not awful either...just need practice :) I don't know when I'll be able to play a round, but hopefully at least before the year is up. But anyway, I thought I'd make this replacement a little more reasonable since I realized that a lot of my list exudes a level of difficulty...particularly in the creative section!
#40 - Like I said in a previous post, I hope to finish up the Pilates 30 Day Challenge by mid July, but looks like I better just finish by END July. Only seven more sessions to go though!
#54 - I want to get my herr did by the end of July as well. It's crazy long these days.
#73 - I have to throw this in here: If I wasn't busy paying my OWN flipping tickets and $300 car repair bills, I'd get on this. Blah I hate Milwaukee parking.
#81/#83 - And on that note, it's going to be WAY rough putting $280 into my savings next weekend...it makes me want to cry. But I have to do it...I'll thank myself later. If I didn't do it, I would just SPEND it now which I need to stop doing. I seriously feel like my checking account is bleeding to death. It's awful! This might be the perfect time to reevaluate my budget.
#95 - Hopefully I'll finish my Floyd Collins book tonight at Barnes!! Then start on A Tale of Two Cities. [PS I hate that, in my head, I think "A Tale of Two Kitties"...gross] I think my book after that will be a camera book. My current camera is seriously sick...I never know whether or not it will turn on. Ugh. So better get on learning about the lovely manual-ness of a camera (#8) before it's too late!!
Alright, quite an update, but work is boring today and I had some time to kill. Now I'm seriously going to force myself to go home and do Pilates in the 80 degree apartment. Man I'm building some character these days!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
scrapbooking nazis
Holy cats!!! So my weekend attempt to find a scrapbook for the road trip was unsuccessful due to the modern day page protector obsession. I went to an actual scrapbook store with a gabillion albums available and they only had one option sans protectors that came in blasé forest green and burgundy and navy blue...with white pages inside of course. So I researched a bit on the internet this morning, and everyone and their mother lectures newbies in these forums about how they ALWAYS use page protectors and that you'd be an idiot not to for x, y, z, a, b, c, d, e, f, g reasons. I completely understand that most people WOULD use page protectors because they have children, or they want to show 349235232 people their book and that's a lot of fingerprints, or they literally have OCD about archiving and posterity. I just wish there was an easier way to find albums that don't have page protectors. However...I think perhaps I'd be able to buy a strap-hinge type album and manually remove the protectors if they are included??? The only companies I've found without the protectors are Westrim and Creative Memories (from whom I bought my first album). The thing is, I would definitely like to purchase a book with black or cream or tan pages...not white. I want to save on paper by not "wallpapering" the entire page with a full 12 x 12 sheet of scrapbook paper/cardstock. I guess those two companies might be my only option. I just wish someone made a more funky cover and kept those damn protectors out of the equation. I'm going to start a revolution.
In any case, I don't have anything else really to update. The end of the month is rollin up real fast, so I have to come up with a new atypical and no-no food. I gotta admit, this month's no-no food idea didn't work out the best (not eating after 7:00pm/or after dinner)...I cheated a couple times either because I forgot or because my meal schedule was way screwed up. I'll try harder this next time around ;)
In any case, I don't have anything else really to update. The end of the month is rollin up real fast, so I have to come up with a new atypical and no-no food. I gotta admit, this month's no-no food idea didn't work out the best (not eating after 7:00pm/or after dinner)...I cheated a couple times either because I forgot or because my meal schedule was way screwed up. I'll try harder this next time around ;)
Thursday, June 21, 2007
untitled?
I'm so proud of myself! Lots to update!
#40. Pilates: I'm up to 20 so I should officially "SEE the difference" now...however Joseph Pilates said it. But I definitely do! My legs are the best part...very strong and shapely! Gotta work on the 'dumps' region though...theeee worst part for my fellow ladies, right? Ugh. I want to say that by the time I'm done with this 30 Day Challenge, it'll just be too hot in my apartment...so I think perhaps I should switch over to working out at least twice a week at John's gym for a month. Nice and cool there. We'll see!
#45. Recipes: (4/4!) The third recipe this month was Poached Tilapia with Papaya Slaw on top of Avocado Mash. WOW! A taste explosion! Tonight I'm using the rest of my abundant papaya to make Papaya Bruschetta...interesting hey? I'm going to change it into more of an Italian salsa though I think. But anyway, this also takes care of...
#50. Papaya! I've never had it before (without knowing??) and way delish! It takes awhile to cut up because of the size, but honestly easier than a mango (hate that pit). And the taste is sort of a cross between a mango and cantaloupe. Highly refreshing!
#49. I finally perused the East Town Farmer's Market (1/4)...very cool. They have a lot more "stuff" than food though which is fine because most people want to go shopping-shopping rather than grocery shopping, but I hope once fall nears, there will be more fun food to purchase! While I was there some local celebs were judging this Battle of the Chefs contest, so that was amusing.
#69. Donate Blood: I ALSO gave blood (1/12) with like five hours to spare until the first day of summer! They had to do a lot of digging around in there to get the blood going, but that's pretty typical for my lame ass arm. I made my next appt right away (August 15th), so again, sort of right under the wire. I'll be caught up then though. Haha! The radio dj just said that summer officially kicked off at 1:06pm today (about 30 minutes ago), so I guess I had a little more time afterall ;)
#95. 10 Books: Rock ON!! I'm really rollin with these books now that I've finished Atlas Shrugged! I finished He's Scared She's Scared (to fulfill a non-fiction requirement), and now I'm onto my Floyd Collins biography, which is fab so far!! I should finish that one by next week or so, as it's a quick read. My next choice will be A Tale of Two Cities...a classic I never read in all my days of school surprisingly! But it's one of my sister's faves, so I really look forward to it. In any case, I wrote down a bunch of excerpts from He's Scared that I might type up here for posterity (is that the word I'm looking for?)...when I'm in the mood.
Yep yep! Moving right along here! This weekend I should be able to get some scrapbook items...the actual BOOK (or two?) is my main concern.
#40. Pilates: I'm up to 20 so I should officially "SEE the difference" now...however Joseph Pilates said it. But I definitely do! My legs are the best part...very strong and shapely! Gotta work on the 'dumps' region though...theeee worst part for my fellow ladies, right? Ugh. I want to say that by the time I'm done with this 30 Day Challenge, it'll just be too hot in my apartment...so I think perhaps I should switch over to working out at least twice a week at John's gym for a month. Nice and cool there. We'll see!
#45. Recipes: (4/4!) The third recipe this month was Poached Tilapia with Papaya Slaw on top of Avocado Mash. WOW! A taste explosion! Tonight I'm using the rest of my abundant papaya to make Papaya Bruschetta...interesting hey? I'm going to change it into more of an Italian salsa though I think. But anyway, this also takes care of...
#50. Papaya! I've never had it before (without knowing??) and way delish! It takes awhile to cut up because of the size, but honestly easier than a mango (hate that pit). And the taste is sort of a cross between a mango and cantaloupe. Highly refreshing!
#49. I finally perused the East Town Farmer's Market (1/4)...very cool. They have a lot more "stuff" than food though which is fine because most people want to go shopping-shopping rather than grocery shopping, but I hope once fall nears, there will be more fun food to purchase! While I was there some local celebs were judging this Battle of the Chefs contest, so that was amusing.
#69. Donate Blood: I ALSO gave blood (1/12) with like five hours to spare until the first day of summer! They had to do a lot of digging around in there to get the blood going, but that's pretty typical for my lame ass arm. I made my next appt right away (August 15th), so again, sort of right under the wire. I'll be caught up then though. Haha! The radio dj just said that summer officially kicked off at 1:06pm today (about 30 minutes ago), so I guess I had a little more time afterall ;)
#95. 10 Books: Rock ON!! I'm really rollin with these books now that I've finished Atlas Shrugged! I finished He's Scared She's Scared (to fulfill a non-fiction requirement), and now I'm onto my Floyd Collins biography, which is fab so far!! I should finish that one by next week or so, as it's a quick read. My next choice will be A Tale of Two Cities...a classic I never read in all my days of school surprisingly! But it's one of my sister's faves, so I really look forward to it. In any case, I wrote down a bunch of excerpts from He's Scared that I might type up here for posterity (is that the word I'm looking for?)...when I'm in the mood.
Yep yep! Moving right along here! This weekend I should be able to get some scrapbook items...the actual BOOK (or two?) is my main concern.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
updates and thoughts a plenty
To begin, a few 101 Things List updates:
#6 - I thought of the TBA project! But it's a secret, so it will remain TBA for awhile. I really hope it turns out because it could be way rad. I'm excited!
#17 - last night I surprised John by cleaning his entire condo while he was off cleaning/painting his sister's garage!
#40 - I'm up to 16/30 days for the Pilates challange! It's all downhill from here? My Finish Date projection is mid July??? But obviously I will continue after that :)
#45 - two new recipes: 1. Salmon topped with Mango Pineapple Chutney (from recipe book #46) and 2. Grilled Steak on a Bed of Greens with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing and Grilled Garlic Bread! I love summer...
#76 - I've been kickin some greeting card ass lately...not just birthdays either! But I purchased a "scrapbook kit" for $50 or so...I gotta make it worth my while!
#84 - I'm kind of on the spec book organizational train. I had to print off 12 copies of the spec revisions (at about 500 pages a pop...ouch trees), and I started organizing our incolumn ads. I'm not sure where to go from here, but at least it's something.
I can't even begin to describe how busy I've been lately. Not so much at work, but my personal life has exploded!! I guess that's what summer is all about. I want to make a schedule of things I could seriously accomplish in the remaining month.
• INKYTNMO scrapbook: will start to purchase items next Saturday or Sunday
At least I looked?? And I have a vague idea of what I need now!
• East Town Market THIS WEEKEND!!! I'll go before or after my orientation at St. John's
• Maybe tomorrow I'll have time to burn some soundtracks...have a "It's Summer...go on a road trip" theme?? If I had been ON IT I would have dumped a few treasures on my own road trip, but the thought didn't occur to me until now. I have nothing too spectacular going on tonight, so I could brainstorm a map of somekind for that hipster Geocache flair
• I will also make time to GIVE BLOOD before the 21st which is next Thursday. Because even though I've said "it's summer" like 39280352 times in this post, it technically isn't yet and I can still get in my "donate blood once a season" for Spring!
*Scheduled!! For Wednesday, the 20th. Whew!
Ok done...I will do these four things in the next week and a half. I promise!!!
Other thoughts? Not much...I want to be happier and just the other day I was wondering how I possibly couldn't be with so many nice things going on. I have an odd sense of impending doom going on behind the scenes. But why??? I'm exercising a lot (I can tell! I have muscles in places I didn't know had muscles?). I'm eating very well...produce a plenty. I'm dealing with a decent mix of social and homebody for the MOST part. I mean there are days, but I still have time to chill out and watch So You Think You Can Dance! ;) I don't know, maybe I do have too much going on. I feel stretched thin sometimes and yet feel guilty when I don't get everything done. Oh well...I mean there are people out there that do a hella lot more than I do on a daily basis, so I really should complain. But I definitely feel a level of anxiety. Hopefully it's just a hormonal thing...maybe Jupiter is aligned with Mars or something.
#6 - I thought of the TBA project! But it's a secret, so it will remain TBA for awhile. I really hope it turns out because it could be way rad. I'm excited!
#17 - last night I surprised John by cleaning his entire condo while he was off cleaning/painting his sister's garage!
#40 - I'm up to 16/30 days for the Pilates challange! It's all downhill from here? My Finish Date projection is mid July??? But obviously I will continue after that :)
#45 - two new recipes: 1. Salmon topped with Mango Pineapple Chutney (from recipe book #46) and 2. Grilled Steak on a Bed of Greens with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing and Grilled Garlic Bread! I love summer...
#76 - I've been kickin some greeting card ass lately...not just birthdays either! But I purchased a "scrapbook kit" for $50 or so...I gotta make it worth my while!
#84 - I'm kind of on the spec book organizational train. I had to print off 12 copies of the spec revisions (at about 500 pages a pop...ouch trees), and I started organizing our incolumn ads. I'm not sure where to go from here, but at least it's something.
I can't even begin to describe how busy I've been lately. Not so much at work, but my personal life has exploded!! I guess that's what summer is all about. I want to make a schedule of things I could seriously accomplish in the remaining month.
At least I looked?? And I have a vague idea of what I need now!
• Maybe tomorrow I'll have time to burn some soundtracks...have a "It's Summer...go on a road trip" theme?? If I had been ON IT I would have dumped a few treasures on my own road trip, but the thought didn't occur to me until now. I have nothing too spectacular going on tonight, so I could brainstorm a map of somekind for that hipster Geocache flair
*Scheduled!! For Wednesday, the 20th. Whew!
Ok done...I will do these four things in the next week and a half. I promise!!!
Other thoughts? Not much...I want to be happier and just the other day I was wondering how I possibly couldn't be with so many nice things going on. I have an odd sense of impending doom going on behind the scenes. But why??? I'm exercising a lot (I can tell! I have muscles in places I didn't know had muscles?). I'm eating very well...produce a plenty. I'm dealing with a decent mix of social and homebody for the MOST part. I mean there are days, but I still have time to chill out and watch So You Think You Can Dance! ;) I don't know, maybe I do have too much going on. I feel stretched thin sometimes and yet feel guilty when I don't get everything done. Oh well...I mean there are people out there that do a hella lot more than I do on a daily basis, so I really should complain. But I definitely feel a level of anxiety. Hopefully it's just a hormonal thing...maybe Jupiter is aligned with Mars or something.
Monday, June 4, 2007
sunshine on my shoulders
It isn't shining today, but it's semi-officially summertime (post Memorial Day), and time to get crackin on some 101 list items. To begin: This month's atypical food of choice is papaya. As for the give-up food, I'm really struggling with this one...I was still on vacay for two days of June and, aside from candy, ate every kind of food I possibly could...so do I give up candy for a second month in a row? And if so, does Watermelon Bubblicious count as candy? Cuz I just had some of that. I could do 'no eating after 7:00pm'...unless it's my actual dinner. See last night I ate some wheat thins and had a bowl of cereal around 9:00pm, but that was my dinner...so we'll just go that route. I like it!
Now, things to cross off: not much. But I DID take trip! First off, I know I said a "surprise" trip, but this was along the lines of a surprise as I didn't know I'd be tagging along until John and I broke up and I was no longer going to Arizona. THUS, we'll call it a surprise. Here is a quick list of everything I did because I know you wanna know:
Indiana:
-Lunch and shopping in Broad Ripple area of Indianapolis
Kentucky:
Louisville-
-4th St. Live and dinner Makers Mark Lounge in Louisville, KY
-Louisville Slugger factory tour (free mini bat included!)
-Tour of the Ohio River on the Belle of Louisville steamboat (classic country lunch of fried chicken and all the fixins included!)
-Stop at the Jim Beam distillery
Horse Cave/Cave City-
-Kentucky Down Under (Australian zoo where you get to pet kangaroos, emu, and sheep of various kinds!)
-Tour of Mammoth Cave with dinner at the most excellent Mammoth Cave Hotel restaurant: the Travertine...HIGHLY recommend)
Tennessee:
Nashville-
-Tour of the Belle Meade Plantation
-Very short tour of the Cheekwood Gardens
-Dinner at Sunset Grill with drinks at Dan McGuinness's
-The Parthenon! Or rather a replica of the Parthenon to scale and everything!
-Breakfast at the famous Loveless Cafe
Memphis-
-Lunch at the Commissary: real Tennessee BBQ!
-Drinks at Flying Saucer (where you drink 200 different beers in order to get your name engraved on a plate and put up on the wall)
-Dinner at Blues City Cafe on Beale St. complete with free show: Gary Hardy and the Memphis Two
-Tour of both Stax and Sun Studios
-Shopping on Beale St. with lunch at Rum Boogie Cafe, the best restaurant in Memphis in my opinion. Two words: Gator Gumbo.
-Mud Island: a mini replica of the southern half of the Mississippi River (I believe from about the Ohio River area down to the Gulf of Mexico)
Missouri:
St. Louis-
-Custard at Ted Drewes
-The fact that our hotel room was on the 9th floor and we had a balcony facing the Mississippi, and more importantly the GIANT ARCH
-Dinner at Charlie Gitto's
-Arch tour
-Courthouse tour: Dred Scott trial
-St. Louis Zoo (free!!!)
-Dinner at Chuy Arzola's: the best fajitas and margaritas in the world
-Drinks at Laclede's Landing (Morgan Street Brewery)
Voila! It was a truly amazing road trip...I haven't packed that much into a trip ever...not even on my road trip out east back in 2001! Plus it was nice to spend some quality time with the fam ;) We all cracked each other up like you wouldn't believe. I probably haven't laughed that hard and often in quite some time :D
Alright, so one giant item is now crossed off the list.....with still many more to go.
Things in the works:
-INKYTNMO scrapbook
-Pilates 30 Day Challenge: 19 more sessions to go!
-Organize linen closet
-Jazz in the Park and the East Town Market open this week!
-along with the old 'to-do' items like soundtracks/hipster geocache, box purse sitch, donating blood and finishing up He's Scared...(and starting my Floyd Collins bio). So I've got quite a bit on my plate! Hopefully now that I'm back, I can stop wasting all my time. Ok not wasting, just spend it more efficiently?
Now, things to cross off: not much. But I DID take trip! First off, I know I said a "surprise" trip, but this was along the lines of a surprise as I didn't know I'd be tagging along until John and I broke up and I was no longer going to Arizona. THUS, we'll call it a surprise. Here is a quick list of everything I did because I know you wanna know:
Indiana:
-Lunch and shopping in Broad Ripple area of Indianapolis
Kentucky:
Louisville-
-4th St. Live and dinner Makers Mark Lounge in Louisville, KY
-Louisville Slugger factory tour (free mini bat included!)
-Tour of the Ohio River on the Belle of Louisville steamboat (classic country lunch of fried chicken and all the fixins included!)
-Stop at the Jim Beam distillery
Horse Cave/Cave City-
-Kentucky Down Under (Australian zoo where you get to pet kangaroos, emu, and sheep of various kinds!)
-Tour of Mammoth Cave with dinner at the most excellent Mammoth Cave Hotel restaurant: the Travertine...HIGHLY recommend)
Tennessee:
Nashville-
-Tour of the Belle Meade Plantation
-Very short tour of the Cheekwood Gardens
-Dinner at Sunset Grill with drinks at Dan McGuinness's
-The Parthenon! Or rather a replica of the Parthenon to scale and everything!
-Breakfast at the famous Loveless Cafe
Memphis-
-Lunch at the Commissary: real Tennessee BBQ!
-Drinks at Flying Saucer (where you drink 200 different beers in order to get your name engraved on a plate and put up on the wall)
-Dinner at Blues City Cafe on Beale St. complete with free show: Gary Hardy and the Memphis Two
-Tour of both Stax and Sun Studios
-Shopping on Beale St. with lunch at Rum Boogie Cafe, the best restaurant in Memphis in my opinion. Two words: Gator Gumbo.
-Mud Island: a mini replica of the southern half of the Mississippi River (I believe from about the Ohio River area down to the Gulf of Mexico)
Missouri:
St. Louis-
-Custard at Ted Drewes
-The fact that our hotel room was on the 9th floor and we had a balcony facing the Mississippi, and more importantly the GIANT ARCH
-Dinner at Charlie Gitto's
-Arch tour
-Courthouse tour: Dred Scott trial
-St. Louis Zoo (free!!!)
-Dinner at Chuy Arzola's: the best fajitas and margaritas in the world
-Drinks at Laclede's Landing (Morgan Street Brewery)
Voila! It was a truly amazing road trip...I haven't packed that much into a trip ever...not even on my road trip out east back in 2001! Plus it was nice to spend some quality time with the fam ;) We all cracked each other up like you wouldn't believe. I probably haven't laughed that hard and often in quite some time :D
Alright, so one giant item is now crossed off the list.....with still many more to go.
Things in the works:
-INKYTNMO scrapbook
-Pilates 30 Day Challenge: 19 more sessions to go!
-Organize linen closet
-Jazz in the Park and the East Town Market open this week!
-along with the old 'to-do' items like soundtracks/hipster geocache, box purse sitch, donating blood and finishing up He's Scared...(and starting my Floyd Collins bio). So I've got quite a bit on my plate! Hopefully now that I'm back, I can stop wasting all my time. Ok not wasting, just spend it more efficiently?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
