The End.

Wow. SO that's it! Went out with a whimper indeed! Actually, the final day went out with quite a bang because we had our CK Halloween party and it was nonstop shenanigans all day...AND night! So many shenanigans that I completely forgot it was the last day of my list haha!! But interestingly enough, in regards to figuring out my end-date for the list, I wrote this on January 23, 2007: "SO instead I'm just starting this Feb 1st and then the end date will be something like Oct 29th, 2009. I'll celebrate with some Halloween festivities?"

Ok! Well, to begin, I just wanted to say that my mom was right. While I didn't necessarily accomplish everything on the list, I did accomplish a ton...and stuff I never would've tackled had it not been for the list. To quote one of my first posts:

"In other words, why am I doing this aside from my little plan to get organized? My 30th birthday is Jan 6, 2010. Over the last few years, well since I graduated college really, I've felt as though life is just zippin' on by and all I do is go to work, watch my fave tv shows, and sleep. I really want to change that before I turn 30. It would most definitely give me a better outlook once I get there....I mean instead of arriving at the big 3-0 and thinking to myself: what the hell have I even done with my life?"

Well, "what the hell have I even done with my life" is the LAST thing I'll say on Jan 6th 2010! And now I have the list to prove it.

I would also like to note that my darkest days were after my two "massive" breakups and this list made me feel like my own person. I started this ginormous undertaking two weeks before the first breakup. Much of the list was actually devoted to doing stuff with John and his daughter. After the proverbial ax hit, however, I decided to revamp the list and make it more about me. That helped tremendously. And it helped again after the second breakup because I was already trained to have someone to fall back on: me. Even in my current relationship, I have such a better grasp on standing on my own two feet and knowing that I'm important too...that I can't just drop everything, forget about myself, and devote all my energy to someone else. I know it sounds so unromantic that way ;) but trust me, it's a lesson learned and an important one at that. But I would like to say that I finally see a lot of positivity in that past relationship and the things I learned from it. Everything happens for a reason and it feels great to finally see that. Nothing is ever a waste.

Ok enough of all that pontificating! No ginormous undertaking is complete without:

My 101 Things in 1001 Days RECAP!

A lot happened over the last 1001 days. My best friends' wedding, several babies, those two pesky good-in-the-longrun breakups, several dudes (ha...ha?), a couple hairstyles and colors, only one job and one apartment, surprisingly enough! OH! And a new and super rad boyfriend with whom I'd like to love for as long as I can :)

In the last 1001 days, I revisited a lot of Milwaukee, including the Zoo, the Art Museum, a couple Farmers Markets, the State Fair, and ten new restaurants. I got my culture on at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Ballet, and the Skylight Opera. I saw a bunch of hot air balloons, went ice skating, played in the rain, flew kites, watched the moonrise, learned to play golf, and carved a couple pumpkins, including Brad!

I made over 130 new recipes and tried weird produce items like dragon fruit and endive. I learned how to make sushi, a roux, and béchamel sauce! I made apricot barbecue sauce from scratch.

I saw Vegas AND the Grand Canyon. I went on a surprise trip through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri.

I had a blast being a Salvation Army bellringer. I did not have a blast donating blood and platelets. Some kids in Africa have my McDonald's Teeny Beany Baby collection. Some random Milwaukeean had a parking ticket paid by me. All my friends got homemade cards for Christmas, birthday, wedding, anniversary, baby shower, Baptism, etc etc etc...I seriously haven't bought a greeting card in like three years!

I finished Atlas Shrugged.

I read over a dozen books.

Most fun artistic project: Well, I didn't DO many of those, but to this day, I still remember all the work that went into Monica and Tim's surprise "Memory Lane" wedding gift :) I also really loved learning how to decoupage and making my sister her Hitchcock cabinet!

Most unbelievable (I actually did it!) task: See all the greater Milwaukee area fireworks at the same time.

Most glutton-for-punishment task: giving something up every...single...month. "Looks like it's sweet bakery again!" The worst give-ups were: 1. no eating out 2. giving up all alcohol except red wine. Boy that was rough after awhile!

My proudest moments: Teaching myself web design and making my portfolio site, as well as running the Al's Run 8K, but generally, becoming a real runner.

***

So I won't be adding to this blog anymore. It's done. "But what about 101 Things in 1001 Days: The Denouement" you ask? Yeah that. The following are the artistic projects I never finished (or even started!):

-Write/design a cookbook
-Create my box purses
-Zeetles!® A quote photocard project!
-Make a photography book via Blurb
-Participate in 26 things Photograph Project at least a couple times
-Build up a collection of goods to sell at an art/craft show (and be willing to part with them!)
-Create INKYTNMO* Scrapbook
-Hipster Geocache

I really do want to be in an art/craft fair in the future, so perhaps this will be the subject of my next blog: My Road to the Fair. Most of the aforementioned projects could be featured at said fair: My cookbook created via Blurb (I already narrowed down 33 recipes-one for each month of the list), box purses, and greeting cards. Along with vinyl 45 record notebooks and handbags, Polaroid lamps, rad baby announcements, 26 Things: The Milwaukee Alphabet, and other random stuff I'll figure out. As for the scrapbook? Yikes. Maybe I'll be bored one day. And finally, Hipster Geocache? This is the best idea ever and I'm determined to implement it. Especially for next year when it gets warm again!

So that is literally all she wrote! Thank you to the three people who followed me on this journey haha! And hey, if you--yes, I'm talking to you--stumble upon this blog, and want to liven up your life a little, try tackling this intense project. You won't necessarily notice a drastic change, but drastic changes definitely happen. I'm sure there will come a time down the road when I'll hit some major midlife crisis and I'll need to whip up another one of these.

It'll be awhile though.

I'm too big of a fan of sweet bakery.

major update with one more month to go!

So I would have to say that the biggest project I had within Section One of my 101 List was creating a portfolio website. And it's officially finished. 2.75 years ago when I started this 101 Things extravaganza, I had very minimal web experience. All I really knew was basic HTML you'd need for blogs and such. Like how to make something bold? Haha! So when I finally cracked the whip and decided to buckle down and start this project, it was quite an ordeal. Please refresh your memory at my post "I hate web design." Well, now here I am today and not only is it a major part of my JOB, but I actually set out with a portfolio site design in my head, designed it on paper, and coded it from scratch for screen. If I really sit down and think about it, I can't believe it, especially considering how much trouble I had when I began. So without further ado:

www.katienelsondesign.com

It's simple yes, but it's clean and crisp too. And I'm pretty proud! Um, if you can't tell that from my gushing over here. But I gush in case someone with minimal web experience yearning for more stumbles upon this blog and gets the message: No you CAN do it!!!

In other task completion news, like I mentioned in the last post, I went to the opera Barber of Seville (#36), which was all kinds of entertaining! I threw together some Chicken Curry and Asian Fruit Salad for Chris and I and watched the outdoor double feature of Night of the Living Dead (#16). Very very cool. I switched the "get shoes" "get boots" "splurge on this" "splurge on that" tasks like a million times (#52/53). When all was said and done I bought a $70ish pair of black shoes awhile back, a $100 pair of running shoes last spring, and a $70ish pair of black boots this weekend (actually they were only like $20 on sale!)

There you go! Mostly I'm just buzzing on the whole website deal. I mean I read that old post of mine, and I was seriously ready to give up! I thought I'd never crack the code, pun intended. Between this and running, maybe things AREN'T so impossible :)

Surprise Surprise

Apparently I do NOT want to finish my 101 Things list. Apparently it just isn't in the cards. But in all honesty I did a pretty good job and focused on it pretty intensely for a solid 2 years. The other .75 of a year I backslid. Why? Because life happens. I will say that everything on the list that I have yet to accomplish are things I will eventually. The part I AM disappointed about, however, is that with all the tasks I let slide, the three I ALWAYS kept up were a. four recipes a month, b. an atypical produce item, and c. give-ups. In July I think I went over the four recipes, but never got the produce item and my negative thoughts give-up was a total cop out! August ends on Tuesday and I made two new recipes this week, ate a dragon fruit, but never bothered giving ANYTHING up. And when I go through the list of possible give-ups, I just don't even want to bother with it. What happened to my Glutton for Punishment attitude?!?! Where did it go? Anyway...clearly it's still possible to finish quite a few things on the list. But I feel like my body is almost rebelling against finishing.

In life news, I have no complaints! Going into therapy was such an excellent decision and I've found that I've worked through so much in such a short amount of time. Meanwhile the foundation of my relationship is solidifying more and more each day. We've both changed so much in these nearly four months and I now see that we both genuinely care about the other and truly do look to the future and see our place in it. Chris always says we make a good team and the more I think about it, the more I agree. I always thought John and I made a good team when we were together. The problem was that someone wasn't contributing to our team's success while the other worked exhaustively to keep it afloat. So essentially, not a team at all. Chris might have a bad day or two due to circumstances that are out of his control, but it really impresses me how he'll turn it around and truly want to work it out. Meanwhile, the same goes for me: I'll see something I'm doing wrong and try to rectify it as soon as I can. I definitely see how much he cares about me and about us...and it's drastically different than when we first started. No couple is without their issues and we ALL can have some real doozies of a day, but if you look to the future and really want that person standing beside you no matter what, and thus you're willing to work your ass off to keep them there...well, that's all that matters, isn't it?

Well enough pontificating for the day! I have two months left here.......yep.

99 Days and Counting...

I'm mos def in the home stretch here. MOS DEF. So with that said, I need to focus. I need to hone and hunker down and the best way to do that is to get rid of the clutter. So I'm officially crossing off a heck load of the "on-going" tasks.

To touch on each of the following:

#5 - www.focusnapop.blogspot.com: Obviously this took a bit of a backseat, well, photography in general took a bit of a backseat, but it isn't forgotten. I'm sure there are plenty of photographic adventures I can document in the future, and this is where they'll eventually go.
#8 - Study photography: Yeah yeah, I have yet to finish my photography book, but no worries, you can never STOP learning about photography, so there you go!
#10 - Seasons photography: I've taken many winter and fall shots, my fave seasons to photography...it's summer and spring with which I have issues. I do plan to put together a little something though. I should make a photo book called Dying to Death featuring only fall and winter shots...yeaaahhh.
#17 - Be selfish: Ok when am I NOT selfish? No, but really this task was created right at the tail end of my ex-relationship when I was giving and giving and giving until I literally could give no more. I've been single-ish for the last year and a half, however, and continue to have plenty of precious Me Time. Me Time is very important, so my therapist tells me :)
#55 - Aspirin mask: While I go weeks without using this, when I do mix up a batch, I use it almost every day. Probably better that way too, in terms of skin sensitivity. Anyone who has NOT tried the Aspirin mask...you don't know what you're missing!
#56 - Grocery list: When I'm not dirt poor I love to gather a handful of recipes and go to town. This has been more sporadic than not as of late, but again, I blame the economy. I think when I live with a mate one day, this will be easier to stick to.
#68 - Eat whatever: Again, when do I NOT eat whatever?? Most recently, I'll balance bad eats followed by some healthy running, but there have definitely been plenty of bad eats followed by some sitting on the couch. I created this task many moons ago as an excuse to get Coldstone Creamery ice cream...the task has since spiraled out of control.
#76 - Home-made greeting cards: This is one task I've seriously stuck to like no one's business and I'm actually pretty surprised. I've made everything from Christmas and birthdays, to weddings and anniversaries, to sympathy and congrats...even bachelorette, wedding, baby, and baptism invitations! Of course I'd love to make greeting cards, especially invitations, my business one day, and these last 2.5 years have been excellent practice!
#80 - Budget: oy, maybe if I stuck to a budget I wouldn't be in this financial mess. I jest...sort of? I barely find time to balance my checkbook (an old habit that dies hard in this modern online banking, ignorance-is-bliss day and age). I think it's time to bring back the budget love, I really do.
#85 - Concepts: Never missed a concept opportunity at work, even if it meant coming in on the weekend. I got some really good portfolio stuff out of it too!
#92 - Gratitude: This is another task I totally half-ass. Basically I'll wait a week and a half, look at my planner, and then write down something I thought I was probably grateful for. This totally defeats the purpose of Gratitudes, which are supposed to allow you reflect on your day and, in turn, look for more positives in the following day. Sigh. Something else I need to bring back.

So even with ALL of these crossed out, I still have a whopping 30+ tasks to accomplish (this includes the on-going tasks like atypical produce item and recipes and such). #99 made me laugh because I really SHOULD get up at 6am in order to gain a better chance at accomplishing these bad boys. And speaking of 99, I'm going to do what I can in these next 99 days.

I did it!

#31 hooray!!! This was definitely one of the list items I never thought I'd actually accomplish. So to recap: Back in '04 or '05, I was driving home from my parents' Fourth of July cookout just after 9:00 trying to make the fireworks right by Dousman House. As I was driving over the high rise bridge I noticed various fireworks displays all around me. All the 'burbs 'works go off at the same time, so in just a few select spots downtown, the high rise bridge being one of them, you can see them all! When I came up with the 101 List in '07, something reminded me of that moment and I really wanted to find a different, less-hassle spot to repeat the experience. Well, over the last 2.5 years, I never gained access to any downtown rooftops or what have you. So I basically decided to repeat what inspired this list item in the first place. At 9:10pm, I hopped on the freeway and started the adventure of simultaneously focusing on traffic around me and the dozenish fireworks displays dotting the horizon. It was just too awesome! I looped on and off the freeway like nine times or so, playing "All Over the World" by Pet Shop Boys on repeat! Excellent times.

So it's early yet and I don't have any other list items to report. I did just get into Dirty Projectors though...very different but very good!!

Meanwhile, since I'm always so candid in this blog, I will admit that I've come up on yet another crossroads and my July is shaping up to be a little too similar to last year's...doing some kinda loop, starting from scratch, all that fun stuff. What's with me and my paths that I am so hell-bent on taking, knowing full well that they probably aren't supposed to be on my little Map O' Life? I ask myself: HOW many lessons do I really need to learn in order to go the right way?? I give life a lot of chances...maybe too many chances. I also like shoving round pegs into square holes until they fit, but they never do.

Ok that's enough of that crap. I just wish life wasn't so exhaustively frustrating. I guess if it weren't though, it'd be no fun. But always remember kids: feeling like shit to find happiness isn't necessarily the way it works!

Poor 101 List...

No no, I've been at least doing the regular stuff, recipes/giveups and such. So without further ado, to recap June:

#31 - So this will be my final opportunity to see all the 'worx and I don't think it's actually going to happen. This is a list of all the places, all at 9:15, and seriously, I swear if my car doesn't "stall out" as I'm driving across the highrise bridge. Starting at like 9:12 I could drive up the Jackson freeway entrance, get off on National, loop back on, get off on the Van Buren exit, and re-do until I see fireworks from a bunch of places........sigh, Katie just do it.

#45 - Recipes
Well I had seven total recipes this past month due to my laziness and low bank account in May. I only did 6 though...hmm, I could try to whip something up tonight with my serious lack of time?

1. Seafood Chowder
2. Shrimp Tacos with Adobe Cream Sauce
3. Watermelon Gazpacho
4. "Tailgater" Pizza
5. Caprese Pizza
6. Asian Salad (Bok Choy and other veggies with Ramen/sunflower seed/pine nut topping)

#50 - Atypical produce...so I definitely got my fill of Watermelon and Boy Choy this month. For July I'm going to hop into Metro Market and find some weird produce item that I've never really heard of and go from there...fun stuff!

#51 - I gave up brunches this month which was way easier than I thought! I'm sure I saved some major calories (which I made up for in other areas...) I think for July, I'll take a break from the food guilty pleasure, and dive back into the mental guilty pleasure of NEGATIVE THOUGHTS! I'll rekindle my 28 Detox from July '08. Never a bad time of month to start over and soak up all the things I've learned over this past decade, heading into the final six months of my 20s. Whoa, that was deep.

#54 - Hairs cut! Got some slight bangs which are already too long haha!

#68 - Eh, when do I not indulge...that task is pretty ridiculous

#69 - Hopeless

#85 - Just did another new batch of concepts, this one is never difficult!

#87 - Three new-to-me bands I got into this past month: The Airborne Toxic Event, Flickerstick, and Grandaddy. Good stuff!!!

#95 - Still not really fulfilling the book list in that I need to read one more non-fiction (the Meditation book I'm STILL not finished with!)...I've read two other books in the meantime: Julie and Julia and Looking On Darkness...and now I'm in the middle of The Alchemist which is PERFECT for my new July mentality.

#97 - The training is going SO well, as you can see over at Must-Run. I've got my first 5K next Thursday and I'm hovering pretty well at the 3.5-4 mile spot. Gotta bump it up to 5 miles by October!

As for the rest of my list...the "projects"...well, I see I'm at an impasse here. Or at least it feels like I am. Perhaps during my "lets get some focus, Katie" July, I'll come to some realizations as to how I can go about everything. This just doesn't feel like a good time to let my life fall by the wayside. And it really isn't...I'm definitely into this running thing. I like that I've developed this reading habit. I'm doing all sorts of productive things with friends and family. I'm still cooking new things. I'm getting into all kinds of new music. And I'm sucking the marrow out of what Milwaukee offers in the summertime. Well I have four months left and I just HAVE to come up with a game plan...

sighhhhhhhhh....

Oh my dear 101 List, how I've neglected you :(
Seriously here's what happened:

On April 29th I gathered up allllll the tasks I needed to finish in the following six months. I created multiple schedules, and put together a huge yellow binder full of info telling me what, when, and how I needed to get it all done on time. Well you know what else happened on April 29th? Story goes as follows...

On April 29th my wonderful, precious, spectacular friend Katie (real friend, not me in the third person ha!) secretly purchased a one month subscription to match.com for me. See, a few weeks prior I had decided to go ahead and try it out as A. my sister had such huge success (still dating the first guy she contacted nearly nine months later). And B. match seemed MUCH more interesting than dating some skank douchebag from a bar where you have NO idea what his intentions are...usually just the hookup and nothing beyond. ANYWAY, while I was able to put up my entire profile for free, I didn't have the money to get the six months "full access" subscription, so I was going to wait until May 15th when I got paid. I relayed this info to my dear friend Katie and she just went right ahead and hooked me up, the sweetheart!

Well it was an all too classic scene. Instead of an old stuffed rabbit buddy in my grubby little hand, there was my yellow binder full of organization and dreams. And instead of older school friends who shunned little girls with stuffed rabbit buddies, there was a shiny new match.com subscription full of dozens of winks and emails to sort through. And as if in slow motion, my yellow binder got tossed aside and the match sorting began. And in the chaotic pile, one guy stood out...he hadn't even emailed or winked at me, just looked at my profile. I clicked on his. 39 years of age. Hmm, well you know what they say about older guys? I don't exactly know, but I DO know that they are oft times commitment-phobic for sure and I wasn't about to go down that slippery path again. So I moved along. Despite his beautiful eyes, intriguing disposition, personal and professional interest in photography, and the part where I wanted to resurrect my beard fetish, I moved along.

Like I said, April 29th.

On April 30th, after returning from the Killers show, I had a match email waiting for me.... yes, a match email from my bearded, handsome photographer guy. He made a Seinfeld joke and talked about how much he loved road trips and how he is a huge Blackhawks fan. He said "I'd love to grab a drink with you."

And--because life's too short to get bent out of shape about age--that we did two nights later when, interestingly enough, the Blackhawks were smack dab in the middle of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Now it sounds like The Cliche amongst cliches, but seriously, and in all honesty, within the very first minute, I was totally hooked. It was just so easy to laugh and touch and just be in that two feet or so of space together. Yada yada yada, we hung out until 4am and there may or may not have been a women's bathroom involved, 23 floors up no less. We got together again a couple days later with similar results. And then he left for a week-long road trip along Route 66, throughout which we exchanged txts and such, and even talked on the phone one night. Hours after he returned the following week, we got together again and, truly, the rest is history. And by history, I mean a month full of swirly, gooey, frightening, wonderful, cozy, life changing times. Late nights and late mornings. Silly shenanigans and serious chats. Hockey and Spotted Cow. Cats and sweatshirts. High fives and sushi. A train and a ferriswheel. Delicious kisses and electric stares.

Alright I could go on indeed. My point here, is that I'm clearly incredibly distracted and my yellow binder of organization and dreams is sitting on my bedroom chair underneath a pile of laundry. Really really great things in life only happen once though, and I can always adjust The List. That's why extensions were invented. I'll figure it out. In the meantime, I just have to learn to not worry so much and drill the following into my brain until it's good and nestled in there: When there's an opportunity to be happy and thankful and relish in the good life is giving to you right there on a silver platter, you better fucking accept it! It's totally right there!

Will do, my friends, will do.

nothing much to report...

I have NO new recipes...and I need FOUR by next weekend?? I haven't done anything with the list in weeks. My organizational skills are falling apart!!! I blame the on-coming summer. I will tell you, I cannot wait for this list to be over!! Maybe I'll feel differently come end of October. Such an undertaking. But I should've known with me being such a procrastinator and everything. Saving it all till the last minute. I did take a look at the list, however, and I truly have accomplished a lot. So I can't be too disappointed in myself.

That's all I got!

With 233 Days Left......

Omg that SO isn't a lot of days at ALL!!! So I really need to re-org here, don't I? Well here's a snapshot of what's happening at this very moment:

16 on-going tasks
6 tasks near completion
17 tasks I still need to start
8 complete re-vamps

Minus the on-going ones, that's 31 tasks I need to complete in the next 7+ months!! And they're all pretty hefty ones at that. I put together a table and a rough schedule, however, and all I need to do is stick with it. And as I mentioned, I found 8 tasks that need revamping...a couple I have to change altogether! Why? Not necessarily because of time, but rather, because of money. I'm not sure if anyone has heard, but the economy is a ginormous dumpster of broken spirits and tattered dreams. So I will have to adjust the list accordingly...

#12 - Participate in 26 things Photograph Project five times
Ok, so I can't blame this one on the economy as photography is relatively free. I have to blame time. Coming up with 26 really great photos to put into a theme is so much harder than it sounds! I'm determined to do something though. I started one, which I could try to finish. In the meantime, however, I'm going to try and come up with an ABCs of Milwaukee by late April.


#46 - Make a total of 50 recipes from cookbooks
Hmmm, ok once again, a time issue (man! I really was hoping the economy would be an easy target!) More of a preference issue?? See, obviously I make four new recipes every month. But I've noticed that I find recipes better suited to me via online sources. I'll try to crack open a book, but in the end I always turn to the internet. One big reason is on sites like allrecipes.com, people comment and make great suggestions on ways to tweak the recipe. I love that! Anyway, I've decided to cut the number from 50 to 25. Right now I'm at 22, and while I could definitely squeeze 28 more recipes into the next 8 months, ALL via book will be annoying. So on that note, to makes things more difficult, the last three recipes will HAVE to be gourmet, with a high level of difficulty. I've been cooking seriously for a couple years now and should be able to attempt them!

#52 - Splurge on an expensive pair of heels/sandals
I have officially decided to take up running. I was super inspired by Mandsi's 5K back in October, and the only thing preventing me since then was the god-awful Wisconsin Winter...which is now coming to an end! I found a really great Beginners schedule which involves a lot of walking interspersed with the running. 10 Week Stage 1 takes you to 44 minutes of near-consistent running, while 10 Week Stage 2 takes you to a consistent full 60 minutes. With determination and various forms of motivation, I could seriously do this! One form of motivation is a nice expensive pair of running shoes! I'm going to stop into PRO this week...they personally help you find a shoe based on all sorts of customized criteria, which will be extremely helpful to a beginner! I may ALSO start, oh yes, YET another blog (my third?) devoted to the running as that'll be great motivation.

#63 - Return to NYC or go to Boston
This will be impossible. Originally I had just NYC on the list, but when I found out my friend got into Harvard, I decided to add Boston as that would be more reasonable and likely. Well she's coming home for the summer, so this task is completely out (and better this way because I'll save so much money!) I hate to readjust the entire numbering of this list after all this time, so I'm moving #63 into the Let’s Get Organizized! section and completely changing it to....

#63 - Clean/Re-Org the Entire Apartment
Yowzahs! I've noticed lately, however, that after three plus years of just your basic dusting, vacuuming, and wiping down only obvious surfaces...there is a LOT of gross gross stuff happening in various crevices in that place. And while I'm not planning on moving anytime soon, I think it'd be good to knock off a few hours, or rather weeks, of cleaning...AND packing for that matter...once that happens.

#69 - Donate blood once a season
I've only donated 4 out of 12 times...again, not expensive, mostly a time issue. As in WASTING my time. Wasting my time donating blood that they have to throw away because I can't make it in under 15 minutes. So I'm going to devote 8 hours (one hour for each donation I would've made) of volunteer work. I sort of shudder to think about it though because I have had nothing but bad experiences dealing with the Wisconsin Blood Center personnel. They seem to be incredibly unorganized and their bedside manner is totally less than stellar. So this will be a real challenge I'm guessing. But that's the point of this list, isn't it?

#82 - Increase 401k in ‘09
Some people are saying it would be wise for a young person to add to their 401k now because stocks will be so low and we can afford to be risky. I, however, working in the even RISKIER world of advertising, feel as though I need to plan for the proximate future. So I'm changing this task. I'm putting 1% of my salary into my savings instead. This comes to roughly $25 extra per month. Yes I've missed months Jan and Feb, so I'm going to take a look at my current checking status to see if I can afford the whole $75 (to include March). I should be able to.

#91 - Buy/Learn how to take care of a Bonsai
Alright, so this would be an expensive hobby to get into, and I've already got an expensive hobby happening, particularly when I go into full throttle with this potential Art/Craft show. While I'd love to partake in this hobby one day, something's gotta give. I have absolutely no idea what to replace this one with, however. Particularly something of equal difficulty. I've always wanted to try rock climbing at Turner Hall. Another expensive hobby, but perhaps I could just doing the "Learn-to-Climb" class? I'd be learning something new, like with the Bonsai task.

#97 - Geocache!!!
This was a throw-away as soon as John and I broke up, seeing as he kept the GPS (which is undoubtedly sitting at the bottom of some drawer of his...$100 of mine well spent I say!) In any case, Geocaching requires some level of athletic skill if you really get into the hiking ones, so to couple the new Running Shoes task, I'm going out on a HUGE limb and will use the spring/summer to train for the 8K Al's Run on Oct 10th. Now this is a VERY tall order for someone who has never ran for more than five minutes straight in their lives (no, seriously)...but it's seven months away. That's almost 30 weeks. And if I stick to the aforementioned schedule, I should be able to be very close to running a straight 60 minutes in 20 weeks. I don't know, I have high goals, but you know something? The other day I was asked the question: what's the hardest thing you've accomplished or have yet to accomplish on your list? There are many difficult tasks, ones that have taken time and energy, but nothing next to impossible (says the girl who just replaced a bunch of 'next to impossible' tasks). I mean nothing that truly challenges who I am and could potentially change who I could be! For now, I'm going to try and stick to it. All I can do is try!


I just read that the real marathon starts in the last six miles. I'm in the final quarter of my list now, and I feel that pressure most definitely. It's very much a mental game now of forcing myself to keep at it. This entire list was based on my desire to not only experience life more fully, but more specifically, to become a more organized person. The true test will be these final ~8 months.

time flies when you're swamped!

It's practically mid Feb and I haven't updated at all!

#14 - I joined my work's Culture Kommittee (CK) and mentioned my idea about an art/craft gallery night auction type thing! It won't be til like September or so, so we'll see...hopefully I can really make it happen!!

#17 - I treated myself to some expensive new hair color and a massage! $100 later...sheesh, see my Give Up for Feb!

#45 & 50 (cranberries and Brussels sprouts) - The following is my parade of new recipes!


Baked Cranberry Squash
Combined chopped pear, fresh cranberries, a little apple cider vinegar (but a couple TB of OJ would be better!), TB or so of honey, cinnamon and allspice. Cut a butternut squash lengthwise, carved out the seeds and stuff, and spooned the pear cranberry mixture into squash cavities. (Used extra liquid to brush over cut edges) Put squash, cut side up, on a baking sheet and baked for about 45 mins.
--made two meals out of it, the cranberry mixture was fab, I loved how it soaked into the squash when it baked!!


Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Pistachios
Sauteed chopped onions in butter and added some white wine vinegar. Added separately steamed Brussels sprouts, some sugar, and a little more vinegar until the sprouts were caramelized. Seasoned with S&P and topped with the pistachios.
--I've never really had pistachios before (I know right?) and now I'll never NOT have them again...where have you been all my life?!? Likewise for the Brussels sprouts! I don't know why they get such a bad rap!

Crispy Salmon Burgers
Combined drained salmon (the can kind), crumbled whole wheat crackers, garlic, mayo, lemon juice, green onions and formed into patties which I browned and served with a lemon garlic mayo.
--Salmon in a can is interesting...it's seemingly convenient and cheap, but really hard to pick out all the bones and skin and stuff. Plus I can't make any kind of seafood cake without it totally falling apart on me!


Lime Biryani
Quinoa, mixed with curry, shredded carrots, chickpeas, green onions, sliced almonds, and golden raisins...dressed with a lime/lime zest/olive oil combo.
--Keeping with the "new foods" theme, I've never had Quinoa either and what was I thinking?! It's delicious and SO versatile! This little salad was something I could eat every day. It would be perfect for a light dinner or side for something like Jazz in the Park!

In any case, I liked Quinoa SO much that I made an extra new recipe for January...

Quinoa with Butternut Squash and Red Bell Pepper
Sauteed the cubed butternut squash, chopped red bell pepper, sweet onion, garlic, and jalapeno pepper. Then stirred in chicken broth, quinoa, and salt; brought that to a boil. Then simmered 20 minutes, covered. Topped with green onions.

Did I mention I like Quinoa? Because I also made another new recipe to start February!

Curried Quinoa Mango and Coconut Salad
I made a dressing with curry, olive oil, lime juice and zest, white wine vinegar, coconut milk, and diced mango. Then mixed it in with cooked quinoa, the rest of the chopped mango, and green onions. The best was the combo of cold and hot ingredients! I topped the salad with Z's Coconut Lime Tilapia recipe!

MEANWHILE my atypical produce item for Feb will be broccoli rabe. I'm running out of options!

#51 - virtually a success (if he was mentioned it was because someone else mentioned him first haha!) My Give Up for Feb is NO BUYING THINGS FOR MYSELF! I gotta seriously save me some monies. But alas I already kinda cheated and bought tickets to the Ray LaMontagne concert that's in April. But the tickets were gonna go fast and I wanted good seats!! Fifth row balcony, little left of center here we come!!!

#68 - I don't seem to ever have a problem with splurging anymore. But let's see, let's just count the part where I ate out a LOT between Z's and my birthdays! And I don't think I worked out at all.

#85 - I've had SO much to do at work it isn't even funny any more!! I like it though :) Recently I've done new web landing pages for one of our clients, and just this week did new print concepts and a new landing page concept for a pitch the General Agency side is working on! Exciting stuff!! OH and for more work news, read on below!

#95 - I finished Lolita which was amazing. I wish people still wrote novels like Nabokov. His style is an art form unto itself! In any case, this takes care of my final "classic"...now while I'm done with the 10 books, I mistakingly forgot to read another non fiction?? I mean I read Floyd Collins' bio and Mere Christianity, but I think I counted the latter as a Philosophy book instead of non fiction. Whoops! But I have a book on Meditation that I'm going to start after Alan Moore's The Watchman...it'll be perfect for the Lenten season!

And that's that! What a month! So on that note, let's check out my progress for this new and improved 2009:

Real good stuff so far! Things are a LOT better at work! I fiiiiinally officially got the new position! I mean basically I've been doing all the work...just without the title. Now, my title is, well, it's really no different. "Production Artist, Interactive" instead of just a Production Artist. Small steps though! At least I HAVE a job! But I certainly SHOULD have a job because I've been bustin' my ass over there lately, as I mentioned earlier! I do hope that one day my title could reflect the part where I design websites, write code, etc, because I don't know too many people who know what "Interactive" actually means. HOWEVER beggars can't be choosers and I pretty much begged, or at least appropriately hassled, my bosses for the new title ;)

Working with John has been better too! I swear, life is hilarious because I don't know any two people who have to work closer together, aside from maybe my mom and her boss? But it's just funny to me that it ended up this way! We didn't really work together all too much when we were dating, but now I kind of consider myself his assistant! I read/proof his emails before they go out to groups/important people. I advise and make suggestions on certain actions. I kind of act like a liaison between other PA's and himself. I feel like I'm his voice of reason and organization. Yet he's technically my boss now (he got promoted to our supervisor), which is on the verge of inappropriate, but what are ya gonna do? It's pretty crazy. Now if ONLY he'd stop with the OVER abundance of personal calls all freaking day. They drive me NUTS!!!!

MEANWHILE, and I don't know why I'm even writing this because ya'll know all about it, but for posterity's sake: Thanks to my mom, I entered this Single in Milwaukee contest. I answered like six questions from a group of twenty...no photo or anything...and a few weeks later I got a call and they chose myself and like 31 others...out of like 350 people!! So I sent in my photo and they put up this voting feature this week, open for a couple days. I placed third! (just like the Safety Drawing contest in elementary school and Science Fair in middle school!) So the woman who wrote the feature called to congratulate me and then said I have to come in for a photo shoot! Apparently they're creating a whole 'Single in Milwaukee' blog. She even mentioned that they might ask us to contribute! In any case, my photo, etc will appear in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Cue Friday/Weekend section next week (for Valentine's Day). Such a riot!! I do hope they ask me to contribute though...I like writing! And maybe they'll have like a restaurant review thing or something. That'd be fun!

So YES. I've got myself a good start to the year, mos def! And it appears as though everyone else around me is pretty happy and satisfied TOO which makes me happy!!

It's been a long time coming, but I think we've arrived :)

And Happy New Year!

Ohhhhh and what a happy year it will be. Even the old Ex wrote "this is going to be your year" in my Birthday card...so it HAS to be ;) In semi-disgusting news, I contracted some awful stomach flu virus a few days before New Year's...so basically I LITERALLY purged myself of 2008! So very very poetic!

So onwards and upwards!

#45 - totally F'd this one up...I only did two recipes in December. This tomato onion thing and this artichoke hearts and lemon vinaigrette deal. SO! Six recipes in January it will be and two of them I already made!
1. Lemon Cake Balls (for my birthday treat)
2. Banana Muffins

#50 - Giving up alcohol except wine was a semi success, I think I went above and beyond, however, by not drinking (save a little bit of champagne) on New Year's Eve! January I'm giving up talking about sorry saps.

#54 - Just had my winter cut (AND color)

#87 - "discovered" Ladytron last month and asked for the latest album for Christmas. SO glorious!! Love the music! I also discovered Blitzen Trapper and they are AMAZING!! I already have a discovery for January too: Fleet Foxes....soooooo good! If you dig My Morning Jacket...listen to them immediately!

#95 - I'm currently over halfway through Lolita, and that'll be my last classic for the list!

OK! So I didn't really delve into my whole New Year's resolution...blah blah, but I think I'm just going to try not to think about it too much. So far I've been happy with January. I've got a better attitude and I'm thinking about taking part in LIFE a little more. Maybe join the Culture Committee at work...as well as CK's bowling league :) Who knows where the year will take me?! I'm excited about it though!

how quickly things go south

I was just thinking yesterday how I never have anything interesting to put in these blog posts anymore, except for stupid list updates. I made a comment about how perhaps no news is good news. But in reality, no news is like the most boring thing of all time. I went to one of those Pampered Chef parties this weekend and I literally had jack to tell my friend whom I haven't seen or even talked to in months. Oddly enough, I'm not even bored. I always have 3948203 projects and social events going on and barely find enough time to myself. But meanwhile, I find that many of my friends have really fun things to tell people: kids in school, how it feels to be pregnant, book sales, grad school, new job, new boyfriend, new pet, new home, and various other life successes. My life is at a shocking standstill. And what's worse is that I feel like I'm moving, but just going absolutely nowhere. I'm totally one of those wind-up toys that hit a wall and continue to march in place. So much energy and drive to put into something, but that 'something' doesn't exist.

Problem number one is definitely my job. I keep doing and doing and I feel like I'll never get anywhere. I will always keep trying and have hope, but each day, I'm not going to lie, that hope dies a little. And the big question looms: how much longer do I keep trying?

Problem number two is definitely relationships. Despite the fact that I've told myself and various others countless numbers of times: being single is so much better than being in a shitty relationship...sometimes I catch myself remembering that, even in a shitty relationship, I could at least deceive myself into thinking that I was loved. Being loved by someone [romantically of course] is officially the one thing you really need to feel complete. I think I've learned that now. And worse yet, even feeling fake loved seems to be a better alternative to knowing you've got no one. It's all in the validation. Why do so many people stick with someone who is wrong for them? Because loneliness really blows, that's why. Well, I guess I'm just a strong person. Had I been any weaker, and knowing the lonely alternative, I'm sure I would've just stuck with the whole John situation, even knowing that he didn't really care about me at all. I could always trick myself into thinking he did. I don't know, perhaps it's knowing that he was able to jump right into a "successful" relationship so easily and never got to feel an ounce of loneliness. Then having that comparison up in my face five days a week...wow, it does wonders for my ego and sense of fairness in the world.

In any case, someone needs to throw me a bone here. I'm so sick of the limbo period. I'm sick of not having anything fun and new to enjoy, and yes, I admit it, to tell people about. I'm sick of feeling like my life is a total waste of space. And I'm also sick of feeling sick about all of this. I hate whiny, woe-is-me, pathetic Katie...she's the worst! But at least it's more interesting than lame list updates.

Fall is officially upon us!

This morning I wore my glovens for the first time this season! It was a crisp 44 degrees this morning and yesterday I noticed leaves falling, as well as a significant change in color on the tops of the trees outside my living room window. We can't fight it anymore, summer is over. When I got home after work, the heat was on...also the first time this season. And last night I had to finally shut all of the windows.

And with that said, I don't do this too often, but I'm going to whip up a Favorite (and not so favorite?) Things Tally from this past summer, the summer to end all summers. Well, ok, hopefully my "best summer ever" doesn't end here in 2008, but it definitely was one for the books!

APRIL
April isn't so much summer at ALL, but I'd say with the breakup at the very end of March, April 1st was the first day of the rest of my life, summer, whatever.

-Teenage hijinx at Gameworks (aka "Steve & Barry's") with Monica, Tim, and Steve
-Mandsi getting the KOHL'S JOB just as we're leaving in Floyd to go check out, er PURCHASE, Bloodball my new car!!
-The Fateful Night I met up with Bekky at Houlihan's to have dinner and began the 2.5 month whirlwind that was my Something'Ship with Jeremy the Beautiful Disaster
-Grand Music for a Grand Space at St. John's Cathedral with Z during a thunderstorm followed by a night at Blu
-The discovery my ex was dating someone five years my junior and 12 years his...not to mention he was crushin' on her whilst we dated!

MAY
-Walking around the city with Jeremy while he shows me Third Ward buildings he's worked on
-Getting the InterMet!!!
-At Random followed by a swirly and cheap time at the Bottle
-Volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House, cooking up some awesome Mexican food, and chatting with coworkers about my breakup
-Frigid Cubbies Game at Wrigley! (and using Steve's parking spot!)
-Nights at Trinity and Scooter's with Jeremy and Z
-The Art Museum followed by Marne's graduation party
-IRONMAN followed by Bee's and the unfortunate meeting of Ken (aka Jaxon/Jakom/Douchebag)
-David Cook winning American Idol ;)
-Random Red Robin beers?
-Jeremy's private guitar concert ;)
-Painting at the rents, listening to The Brew!
-The Saloon with Z and Nicole (learning about how John couldn't tell me he went with Nicole to the strip club while he and I were dating??)
-Scampering around in a rainstorm with Jeremy and Z
-"Katie Day" (aka Memorial Day) spent with Jeremy (Mykonos, walk around lakefront, people watch on the grass, parade, etc...lovely)
-RIVERSPLASH!! LOTS of Miller Lite, Falafel, King Solomon, and Footloose?
-Edgar's Calypso, crazy cold front, and Clovie at the rents

JUNE
-Bill's rendition of "Build Me Up Buttercup" on my voicemail at 4am?
-The Sex & the City Movie party at the Palladium in the Majestic...cosmos and apps a plenty!
-The Annual Bead & Button Show with mom :)
-Watching Once with Z
-Managing to make it out to Brookfield Fridays alive in the t'storm of all t'storms...one of the best nights with Jeremy though: relaxing and cozy :)
-Getting my new sleek phone!
-Jeremy and I swinging in Cathedral Square park followed by chilling on the couch at Mocha
-Lunches at Borders with Jeremy
-Making dinner for Jeremy in the tiniest of tiny kitchens
-Tumbleweed and The Happening with Jeremy: the last good night
-Chelsea's wedding shower followed by my hosting of her Bachelorette party because the boat was CANCELED due to the NON storm followed by interesting fellows at Trinity
-Bekky and Todd's second son Josh is born!! Visit them in the hospital :)
-The Jazz Estate and Vitucci's with Jeremy, Marrlo, and Z
-Marrlo's apartment to play Wii
-Monica's birthday at Finn McCool's where we got SWINDLED!!!
-Show of Shows in Rockford, IL (the beer tent!!! Alpine Inn?? Machine Shed!)
-Blue flowers and the end of Jeremy
-Shannon's birthday drinks at Bad Genie
-CKYP Summerfest is actually really fun??!
-The ginormous rainbow outside the window of Qdoba
-Looooong walk with Mandsi around lakefront (rugby!!)
-Night of Tomfoolery: dinner at Osteria, drinks at the Knick, Trinity, and Cuddy's questionmark??? RUBY DEE!!!!
-McGinn's with Drew discussing our pathetic love lives ;)

JULY
-Best BUTTERWORKS ever! Also known as "The Year of John Thompson"
-HC Fireworks! Also known as "I Can't Believe It's Not Butterworks"
-The loooong talk with Z at Bucks regarding Jeremy and The Lost Email which tumbled into what will forever be known as....
-TOUR DE CHANCE: A poor time at Summerfest (aside from the awesomeness that was the Zombies) leads to boredom, which leads to the mutual decision to drive to Houlihan's (BIG MISTAKE), Bee's (regroup), T'Bell (great idea), and Genie (WORST idea). The cherry on top of the Tour de Chance Evening of Shame was the txt: "have your cake and choke on it too". Fun!

*Tour De Chance ushered in the second half of the summer, however, and it was all uphill from there!

-28 Day Detox: good stuff!
-Teaching myself Dreamweaver
-AT&T road side assistance and "Roadrunner" to the rescue!
-Annual Point Beach Camping Trip with just the Nelson/Lau ladies this time! (gourmet meals over a campfire, pix to try and win the photo contest...whoops, never sent those in...crazy t'storm and the tortured baby, bags on the beach, most PERFECT sand turtle ever, bourbon & decaf, and a Neil Gaiman bedtime story)
-BASTILLE DAYS! Chill outside Taylor's and walk around fest with Z, capped off with a tour of Steve's apartment ;)
-A surprisingly fun CK Picnic? Won $5 Alterra card as well as many grass stains as I "slid into last place" in the footrace. (also a stab at 'closure' with John in the car that didn't work out so well)
-ALL THINGS DARK KNIGHT!!!!!!! (went 4x!...The first time being particularly awesome as Z and I arrived four hours early and had fun waiting over martinis in the bar and over nachos in line...Jim and Joe?!!)
-Not having meningitis!
-Hanging at Nicole's new apartment: Saw II, George Lopez, King of Queen's, Sex & the City, and CHEATERS!!! ExtenZe Sodas!!!
-Church and Mykonos with Drew
-CUBE•B•GONE!!!!
-Fun at the laundromat?
-Txts from Bob :)
-IOWA ROADTRIP with Z!!!!! (YeCoCo "which is YELLOW now!!" at the I-80 truckstop, the gloriousness that is Sugar Shack malts, ducks and rabblerousers, pool thugs, filet and crab stuffed shrimp and wine that tastes like Heath Ledger at the Big Steer, Jay and Steve in the Lounge, Prairie Meadows Casino and "when in Rome" Bud Lights and Point Beach??, court jester dog, tour de SKYWALK and the cozy Marriott, BALLOOOOONS "The Big Idea", the nightmarish Liars Club and 515 Live ecstasy fest, road trip snick snacks and a BIG SODA from the I-80 truckstop, and "What's He Gonna Do?" and Dark Knight quotes galore!!
-The Miller Park Massacre :)

AUGUST
-ROOFTOP CUBS GAME!!!!...chilling outside Ellen's drinking beer, playing bags, and eating Chicago's most ginormous pizza
-Z consoling me after The Metro Market Umbrella Fiasco, which ushered me into another new, and better, stage of The Breakup
-I'views :)
-STATEFAIR...mmmmHeathBaby at the Saz's tent
-Joshua wins SYTYCD!!!
-My Jamo shot (purchased by my boss) induced toast at Kristen's Last Day party at Kenadee's followed by dinner at Bayou with Nicole and Z and fun music, but weird peeps at Mark's bar...T'BELL!
-Surf's Up and I'm Not There Night :)
-Josh and Tina's son Zachary's baptism and the BEST FOOD EVER (hushpuppies!!) at the following party
-All things Flickr and photography
-Meeting up with Katie at Metro Market before she leaves for Hahhvahd.
-Free drinks at Karma...Joey from Iowa at Buckley's
-dinner at the Sheridan House for mom's bday
-DOCO WEDDING DEBAUCHERY!!!! (breakfast at the Pancake House, Girl Talk, coziest retro hotel EVER, Kalin/Karlin/Baby Heath bartender at the Rehearsal dinner, Room 114: Party Headquarters, vomming from 75% of the room, Cabin #3 spa time, The Wedding, Trolley shenanigans!!!, CUSTER JUMP ON IT, Mikey vs Jake, THE LIFT, a blanket...some wood chips...and the stars: crossing off #18 because everyone and their mom discovered us, and last but certainly not least: ALL THINGS HUMAN GIANT.
-HARLEY FEST!!!
-Random last minute tooling around Jazz in the Park, followed by the Genie...F/Phish sigh
-Margarita Paradise for Josh's birthday followed by Human Giant and CHECKBOOK fun at J&T's house, FOLLOWED by more Genie after close!
-Annual Drive In Party
-Trinity with Nicole and Z: Steve the drummer, and the unfortunate meeting of Wayne and Derrick (tastes like Smarties, smells like Romance, and acts like a total D'bag)

SEPTEMBER
-Mandsi got KOHLS PROMOTION!!!...Firefly to celebrate!
-First PSL of the season!
-Office Space!
-Shannon's Wedding and everything that was the entire summer leading up to this moment going better than I could've ever expected :)
-following Shannon's wedding: JUMP ON IT dancing in our apartment, shots of Vodka, two seconds in Genie, back to apartment to get into our PJs, late night deliciousness at Mykonos
-Pure hilarity at my Tazinos photo shoot!!! (and dinner with Kim at The Perk)
-Sake Tumi, Blu, and Genie
-LESTIVITIES FINALLY HAPPENS!
-Zim's where the Bears lose, the Packers won, but the Brewers lose hooray!!
-The Cubbies and Astros at Miller Park that we did NOT go to...Big Z's No Hitter!!!
-Going to the lakefront to watch the moonrise :)
-Angela's bday at Hotel Metro where we saw Cindy Crawford and found out about divorce, followed by Taylor's with Joe and Josh and shots all around!
-Walking to the new CK building only takes 23 minutes!
-Ale House with the fam, CUBBIES CLINCH!!
-Bella Cafe with Drew :)
-Nate and Mandsi's first date at Blu!! :D
-Walking six miles around the lakefront and messing up my foot, cuz that happens.
-Zim's to watch the Cubs lose, SEE Cubs outside the Pfister, D'Lee and Jim Edmonds "following us" to Taylors...BRONX BOYS!
-Shopping Spree at Bayshore ;) ($280 worth of clothes for $126!)
-Buying Aussie Pink Floyd tix at the Mac Store

And what better way to cap off the fabulous Summer of 2008????
-KOHLS DAY AT SIX FLAGS and the gloriousness that is Raging Bull! "Cuz that happens."

Plus, smattered throughout:
-Various drinks, often time free, at Buckley's after a night out
-Many many coffees at Metro Market on the weekends
-Monday nights at Bucks!!! (the $2 Bucks card mmm Vivannos)
-Too much Facebook?
-Lots of Cup and Bread Duty
-The Ninja Report
-Inappropriate txts with Bill
-All things Steve the apt manager
-Summer shows like AI, Top Chef, Flipping Out, SYTYCD, The Paper, the Hills, P'Run, and MadMen
-Kiss FM and so much new music: Portishead, MMJ, Girl Talk, Coldplay, all things THE FAINT, "Knowitall" "Rest My Chemistry" "Outta Heart" "Fearless" "Oh Well" & "Dear Valentine" on repeat. And Ray :)
-Great books like Mere Christianity, Of Human Bondage, and The Art of Happiness
-and finally "Where does that end..." because honestly? where does it?!

WOW I did it! And I'm impressed if anyone aside from Z is still reading ;) I look forward to rereading this post at the beginning of next summer and imagining how different it will be, well different and similar I'm sure!

it's getting better every day

Tonight I will finally indulge in a pumpkin spice latte as I heard through the proverbial grapevine that they are definitely officially available! Currently it is 62 degrees outside and I am loving the part where I wore a jacket to work this morning. Unfortunately a small part of my brain is screaming about how winter feels like it just ended, so that's too bad :\ Shut up brain!

Speaking of PSLs, Z just pointed out to me THIS FUN FACT:



In other words, when you google image "pumpkin spice latte", my blog banner is the sixth photo to come up?! That's devotion my friends.

Meanwhile, I made two of seven recipes for the month of Sept:

1. Enchilada Pizza (I made tomatillo salsa again to use for the sauce, and topped a wheat Boboli with black beans, a four cheese Mexican blend, guac, and green onions. If I wasn't poor I would've made some tasty shredded chicken to put on it as well.)

2. Squash and Sweet Potato Tortellini, which I will partake once again in about 20 minutes!

sweeeeet action!

Do you remember?!

I cannot believe it's already September. Thank all that is holy, because the summer should really be over soon. The weather has been ideal, especially after the winter we had, but the shenanigans have been plentiful and I need a break! I will say that this summer will go down as one of my favorite summers since Summer '98: post high school graduation, not a care in the world, also lots of shenanigans. It will also go down as one of the most tumultuous summers...full of soaring highs and devastating lows. I don't think I've ever in my life felt such an intense roller coaster of emotions over this length of time (five months straight). I look forward to what I can only hope is a much more calm autumn because at this rate, highs are great and all, but the higher you are, the harder you fall. And speaking of falling hard, I still have one more emotionally exhausting event to get through before the summer ends: my coworker's wedding, which my ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend will be attending. While I'm super excited for my coworker/friend, I cannot even describe how much I'm dreading this evening. It'll be one of the hardest things that I've ever endured. I can only hope that it'll be like running a marathon: takes a lot out of you, but makes you stronger and, um, more interesting? So on that note, wish me luck? ;)

In any case, I have a few updates, so here they are:

#5 - I'm picking away at the Q&A photo interview I mentioned awhile back. Who knew it'd be so difficult?!

#17 - I indulged in a pretty selfish decision the night of my friends Chelsea and Nick's wedding?

#18 - And on that note, I'm cheating a bit crossing this one off, but I don't think I'll get any closer to this task than I did that evening! That's all I'll say ;)

#34 - Nutcracker tickets have been purchased for Sat, Dec 13th!

#45 - I failed miserably at recipes in August. One...that's it. Pathetic. So September's going to be seven total. I wish food didn't cost so much :\

#50 - My atypical item this month will be polenta which isn't produce really, but I've always wanted to cook with it.

#51 - Guilty pleasure will be an oldie but goodie: No fried food.

#54 - I finally got my haircut last week after almost five months!

#68 - I ate like a crazy person the weekend of Chelsea and Nick's wedding: Like five helpings of taco salad at my parents Thursday night; ginormous greasy breakfast at the Pancake House Friday morning; way too much fried fish, fatty chowder soup, and piles of french fries at the rehearsal dinner; another huge greasy breakfast the wedding morning; and MORE fries and gooey Reuben the day after. I felt like I had been starving myself for weeks and I totally just let loose!

#87 - Band/artist of the month happened right at the end when a coworker recommended Love As Laughter...good stuff!

That's all I got! In really awesome news, it's about that time of year when Bucks rolls out the Pumpkin Spice Latte!!! You better believe I'll blog about it too ;)

"I hate web design"

This is what I just googled to make myself feel better after scrolling through pages and pages of forums related to the web design problems I'm having. This has been going on since 7:45 this morning, as well as like 2.5 hours last night, and several hours on Sunday night. I've spent 99.9% of my time troubleshooting and .1% on the actual design part.

In my current breakdown, I found this guy's blurb to be the most comforting:

I hate web design. I really, truly, sincerely do....For those not in the know, this is a basic breakdown of what is involved in web design:

1. Put a single object/word/picture on the page.
2. Waste an hour trying to figure out why Browser ‘X’ doesn’t like that.
3. Try to fix it.
4. Have something else stuff up
5. Fix that
6. Repeat the whole process with the next element you’re trying to put on the page.

Ain't it the truth. Last night I figured out how to place the navigation bar I made like a month and a half ago over the background, and then how to change the length of this dotted line I wanted underneath the nav bar. And yeah that took me two hours. Oh but wait. I'm an idiot, and CSS backgrounds stay fixed, while the stuff you put over them are "fluid". So basically if I change the size of my browser the nav bar will move around while the background stays still. I mean duh, right? But apparently I'm an idiot. I have to figure out how to fix the nav bar now. But even if I do that? It's like, I'm literally like one millimeter off the ground and have all of Mt. Everest above me. I don't even LIKE web design!! Using the aforementioned percentages, it's 99.9% technical and .1% design. I didn't go to school to become some coding programming geek (absolutely NO offense to the coding programming geeks out there...without you, this bitch fest you are currently reading wouldn't exist!).

In any case, I can't tell you how many times I've given up, and then got back on the bike, only to give up, back on bike, give up, you get the picture. I think about just grabbing one of the 934803412908 free CSS templates out there. But then what's the point of having someone else's design showcase my own? Then I want someone to make MY design FOR me. But then I think about the Big Scary Future that is my career and how print design will cease to exist and how I better know how to do this because only web design jobs will remain. The horror. Not to mention this LIST. Number Freaking ONE on this list is to learn how to build a website, jeez.

So I guess I'll keep scratching and stabbing at this behemoth. Guh. Worse comes to worst, I could try just doing the whole thing in Flash as I think that'd be easier. My design is seriously SO simplistic...nothing complicated at all. Although, simplistic isn't always easy. Like check out the smashing Mr. Nate Smith's portfolio site I found today! VERY similar to how I want mine, right down to the rounded-tablet-with-dropshadow. Simple, clean, beautiful...and I bet it is crazy complicated Flash. Ok maybe not CRAZY complicated, but I don't know. Maybe I'll give 'er a whirl. Try some things out in Flash and see if I can replicate it. Too bad Nate and I can't stumble into one another in a dark bar where I whisper dirty promises into his ear in exchange for his web design skills. But no...Milwaukee can contain only so many talented people in one week or the world will implode.

just because I'm losing, doesn't mean I've lost

ed. note: added #95

August. It's a new month. You know that old saying: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all? That's what this post is going to be.

Updates because I have to:

#22 - State Fair is happening Thursday, so I'll get to cross off that bad boy.

#45 - Recipes (two more):
1. While I didn't come up with them or cook them entirely on my own, I'll combine the following delicious meals we made at camp this year:
-Bourbon Chicken, Blue Cheese Burgers, and Pear Gorgonzola and Prosciutto on French Bread drizzled with a Balsamic Syrup
2. Fried Plantains (#50)

#50 - My atypical produce this month can be arugula, why not?

#95 - I finished Of Human Bondage, which most definitely made my top five books. I honestly didn't want it to end, it's such a great story! I told Mandsi that it was like an old friend who I'll really miss...

#66 - Iowa!
Mandsi and I reunited with the cornfields and rolling hills (there are hills!) and it was a blast. Road trip hilarity, best patty melt and corned beef hash ever, YeCoCo, not crashing into a plane, "leave them ducks alone boys", Sugar Shack malts, pool and hot tub sans thugs, steak and crab stuffed shrimp with wine that tasted like Heath Ledger, Steve and Jay shenanigans, Prairie Meadows Casino and "when in Rome" Bud Light, hangovers at the Farmer's Market, tooling around the Skywalk for hours and chillin in the Marriott, "what's he gonna do", $4 big beers and an abundance of hot air balloons including The Big Idea, an ecstasy rave in the streets of downtown, scuzziness of Des Moines night life, waiting an hour for food at Drake Diner, and a big soda and snick snacks at the I-80 truckstop....as well as many many more amusing memories and moments.

Ah, well reliving that trip cheered me up a touch. Good times. Well the summer is nearing an end and I'm relieved. I look forward to brighter times ahead...despite the fact that daylight is waning? Hm.

This is absolutely amazing....

Quoted from Astronomy Picture of the Day:

"What are these humans doing? Dancing. Many humans on Earth exhibit periods of happiness, and one method of displaying happiness is dancing. Happiness and dancing transcend political boundaries and occur in practically every human society. Above, Matt Harding traveled through many nations on Earth, started dancing, and filmed the result. The video is perhaps a dramatic example that humans from all over planet Earth feel a common bond as part of a single species. Happiness is frequently contagious -- few people are able to watch the above video without smiling."

I love the music...

looking sideways?

Things aren't necessarily looking up or down, so I'll just say they're looking sideways for now. The beginning of 28 Day Detox was like the first few days after a breakup when you feel, not quite right, but like you're on a high for all the emotion and adrenaline...or like the hangover in the morning when you're running on fumes and something about it makes you giddy. Well in both scenarios, time catches up with you and you end up feeling exhausted and shitty.

I'm totally coming to terms with the fact that I need some healing time. I put a lot of stuff on the backburner and it's all coming out now in forms of weeping and depression and anger and frustration. In the first 10 days, I tried to deal with healing on my own without really opening up about it too much. Mostly because everyone has heard quite enough about the Trials and Tribs of Katie. But yesterday I discovered that I really do need a support system in order to truly hash everything out. Only this time, I'm trying to use that support system as a way to bounce around ideas and emotions, rather than purely venting my anguish. I think it worked well because I did feel better today.

It's hard not to let the unfairnesses of life drag you down. It's hard not to dwell on that sort of thing and let it consume you until you can't breathe and you wonder if you'll ever feel normal again. But as cliche as it sounds, time heals all wounds and while I'm waiting, I've got lots of stuff to preoccupy my mind...in a HEALTHY way, as opposed to a way to postpone the inevitable explosion of ugly wrath that's bubbling under the surface! As I've said to many a person this week, my only hope is that I'll get to look back one day, with someone new and so much better for me, and say: "why the hell did I spend so much emotional energy on that OTHER situation??!" Until then!

Well, enough of that wah wah blabber, let's get our update on, sheesh!

#12 - While I continue to miss the 26 Things photography project, a different sort of photo project entitled "Q&A" is up and has no end due date, so I think I'll take a stab at that!

#45 - The two recipes I've made this month are a. apple caramel pound cake ice cream deliciousness for the 4th of July, and b. "Miss Leslie's Divine Ham Salad" or whatever it's called, from a Rachael Ray cookbook (#46).

#68 - I ate a heck of a lot at camp this past weekend and that was glorious!! But I think I worked it all off setting up/taking down camp, building camp fires, making a sand turtle and baby, and playing bags on the beach...

#80 - I am NOT rocking the budget...I don't think I have since last fall or something insane. Gotta get back there...

#83 - I've been slacking on savings too. Now that I no longer get money back from $$ I loaned out, and I have a new car payment every month, the savings train has come to a stop...except for the dollar a day, of course...but $30/mo is NOT really saving.

#87 - A coworker suggested I listen to Albert Hammond, Jr., from the Strokes, now solo. I really love! I listened to the album like six times over the last week!

#95 - I picked up Of Human Bondage to fulfill the second of the three classics.

And that's all I got! I honestly have a ton to look forward to in the coming months, so I'm hoping for my sideways glance to start heading upward way soon. Please please!

Starting Over......

This past weekend, I officially wandered waaaaay too far off the beaten path (#17 and then some...), but last night I decided many things:

1. to start a 28 day detox from the treachery that has been my mental state recently
2. to be more positive, less self indulgent, and healthier in body, mind, and spirit
3. to get going on some freaking tasks already!

And in the last 24 hours I've already accomplished two things!

#95 - I finished Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis: LOVE! If you aren't hardcore Christian, but are open to hearing about it from a more logical standpoint, this book is for you. It was very inspirational and honest about the human condition: where we come from, who we are, where we're going...that sort of thing. I wouldn't mind reading it a second time just to more fully absorb everything Jack had to say!

#1 - Ohhhh Dreamweaver. So today I decided to follow this ginormous epic tutorial on how to build a website with cascading style sheets (CSS), as opposed to your 'old school' tables. It was CRAZY complicated, but after a few hours, I really got the hang of it! Below is the ungodly ugly site they made me build using the worst design elements imaginable, but hey, I don't care! I'm super proud I was actually able to do it all!



YAY! Super stoked!! Again, not something I'd put in a portfolio if you paid me a million dollars, but hopefully one day I can figure out how to combine my swank design skills with my new CSS knowledge. In the meantime, apparently I'll be able to practice as we'll be rockin' the CSS here at work as soon as John comes back from training in Florida. And who's the first to be trained? Yours truly. Wish me luck!

And going back to my opening sentiments, I will say the following: Sometimes wandering off the beaten path actually brings you closer to the right one. See, occasionally you take the wrong path...a selfish path full of jagged rocks and deep potholes (vampires?) that hurt you, as well as the other people walking with you. Suddenly you find yourself making some INSANE decision to completely walk off the path altogether! AND you drag those people in with you! So then you're in this dark thicket of God knows what...there are thorns and Rodents of Unusual Size, cesspools, and maybe even quicksand that could trap you there indefinitely. But look here, what's this? You might see a clearing up ahead, or hear voices (real ones, not ghosts). Turns out, it's the path you were supposed to be on the whole time! The "good path"! So basically you took a short cut. It might not have been the best decision because you probably didn't make it out of the deep woods unscathed: scraps and gashes galore. But you made it, and with a much clearer head on your shoulders.

That was me this weekend for sure! So I'm rebooting, debugging, defragging, running scan disk, all that stuff to try and be a better person for myself, as well as for those around me, whether I know them now, or know them in the future.

"Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around."
[Vanilla Sky]