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!!

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!!!!!!!

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.

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!

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!!!

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.

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!

more here!

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!

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 :\

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! :)

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!

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 ;)

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.

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.

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?