Thursday, September 29, 2011

Frenzy...

I really do have a lot to write about, but there's just no time. Maybe this weekend I can get caught up on posting. In the mean time...


Monday, September 19, 2011

Purse dump

Big hand bags rock, but can get loaded down so easily. Especially since mine is my "personal item" when I fly and my school bag during the week. All kinds of stuff ends up in there. My purse seemed crazy heavy lately, so I dumped everything out to see what was going on and this is what I found...






The following items don't need to be there:

3 koozies (2 were free last night at Central Market)
snacks from my flight 2 weeks ago
random jewelry
vegetable erasers
tickets from the Red's game we went to about 2 months ago
blister block
giant thing of Blink eye drops
Purdue window decals
3 dimes that can go in the change jar
stitch markers for my knitting
random post-it notes and receipts that can go in the trash

That should lighten the load! Big purses are great, but geesh...way too much stuff piles up in there. I should probably purse dump a little more often!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Oh perspective.

I don't know what's going on, but everyone is kind of feeling meh around these parts. Not sure if it's the crazy weather, allergies, or what. I don't feel like blogging. I don't feel like doing much of anything. I think my instincts are telling me it's time to prepare for hibernation. Alas no. I have a to do list a mile long! Signing up for the Addison Oktoberfest 5K to support Wipe Out Kids' Cancer makes me want to quit complaining.


Here are some alarming stats from the WOKC website
  • About 46 kids are diagnosed with cancer every day.
  • 1/330 kids will develop cancer by age 20. 


Should be an interesting experience. Right in line with my tradition of signing up for 5Ks when I'm not in good shape! Haven't been in good shape for a 5K yet. No point starting now. If I could break 30 minutes, that would be awesome. Let's not get too agressive though, right?

Little Lucy is one of many kids dealing with cancer. She's not in Dallas, she's at St. Jude's right now. You might want to check out the blog her mom keeps. Lucy is just about done with chemo and has been doing great considering all she's going through! I've been following her blog for a while now and it's always a good reminder to keep life in perspective, and say "I love you" one more time. Go Lucy Go!






Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Bucket List


I have a post about me and Marilyn Monroe, but I can't find the perfect words for what I want to say. That left me in the learch today. Thank goodness for a $500 Bucket List Giveaway hosted by J. Money over at Budgets are Sexy! He's giving away $500 to one lucky reader/contest entery to put towards your bucket through a contest sponsored by Life Insurance Finder. You get 5 entries for blogging about it, so it was perfect timing!

My bucket list for the near future includes the following:

1. Vacation in Hawaii. Not exactly a fair thing to put on the list, because it's actually happening very soon! So if I win the contest, the money will go towards this trip!

2. Spend a long weekend in New York City in the winter. Scarves, hot chocolate, ice skating...perfect!

3. Go to a monster truck show or demolition derby. Pretty sure this needs to be in summer so I can wear ripped up jeans, a wife beater, and cowboy boots.

4. I really want to go to India.

5. I also really want to go to China with my friend, Maggie.

6. I want to visit my friends in Thailand, and take naps on the beach.

7. Celebrate St. Paddy's day in all Top 10 Cities. Chicago and Boston...check!

I could probably think of more things, but those tare the big ones that came to mind. Maybe I should start a more formal bucket list. Not right now though...too many other things to get done!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Planning for Christmas





Whoa! Seems like lots of bloggers are posting about Christmas already. I agree that it is a good idea to plan ahead. Christmas is on my mind because a) September is the month I start putting money aside for presents, and b) I got matched for the Christmas knitting swap I signed up for!

I am hoping that my trip to Hawaii will make Christmas shopping easier than usual. I have a few ideas already for a few people. It's all very exciting when you have something you really want to give. Our family really enjoys the present part of things. I could be wrong, but I think everyone in my family loves giving and getting presents.

From what I can tell, people have great Christmas spending plans. Here are a few I've seen.

1. Simply put aside a little money each month so that when it gets close to Christmas you don't break the bank all at once. This tends to be my method.

2. Save all your credit card cash back bonuses to buy gift cards to shop with. Great idea! I know a few people who do this. I don't spend enough to earn enough to really do this. My cash back bonus trends to supplement my Starbucks, Gap, and Banana Republic habits.

3. Use Swagbucks to earn Amazon.com gift cards to shop with. Good idea, but again...I don't earn enough swag bucks to make this happen. I have used Amazon gift cards that I've earned from Swagbucks to buy birthday presents on occasion.

4. Handmade gifts. Now please don't fool yourself. Most handmade gifts cost some money. Especially if it's knit! Some handmade gifts are pretty inexpensive and completely awesome! I wouldn't shy away from giving stuff like scrubs (hint hint to my sister! Could be a tradition!), soaps, etc.

So what are your gifting traditions? Do you have some great homemade gift ideas to share? If you do, I will try to post a list with links!


ETA:
The most I’ve spent this last week was on more plane tickets.
2. Today I am thankful a great morning! I went for a run, then a walk with my dog, spent the morning working in my favorite coffee shop, then had lunch with friends!
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was go to Germanfest. Way fun!
4. I will consider this week a success if I turn in my seminar outline.
5. My favorite game to play is  catch phrase or canasta. Haven't played either in a long time though.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Friday, September 09, 2011

September objectives

I actually made some goals/ objectives for this month. Not sure how many will get done, but a girl can dream!

1. Knitting: the main goal is to start mom's sweater. She keeps buying yarn to make herself a sweater, but never actually knits it. I offered to knit one for her. All I need is for her to give me the yarn and the pattern. I'm trying to finish all my unfinished objects (UFOs), but that will take time. Last night we did a little pattern searching and I think we agreed on brown yarn for the sweater pictured below.




2. School: I'm giving a 45 minute seminar in October. By the end of September, I have to turn in an outline. My outline is already done. My actual objective is to have a draft of all the slides by the end of the month.

3. Exercise: I'm going to run a 10k when I'm in Hawaii, so this workout thing needs to happen. My objective is to workout for 30 minutes 4 days a week. Hopefully it will be closer to 5 days a week!

4. Fashion: Silly, I know. I really want to start wearing my cowboy boots more often. I really love them, but it always seems bold to wear them around here. I will wear them once a week for the month of September. Fun! Already wore them yesterday. They're great for fall!




5. Baxter: Poor Baxter. Sometimes he gets jipped, because my schedule is nuts. I will walk him 4 days a week (hopefully more), give him a bath 2 weeks before going to the groomer. Last night I finished getting all his tangles out. So far he's gotten a walk 3 days this week, plus a trip to the river!

6. Organization: This may be wishful thinking, but I'm hoping to figure out a way to organize my yarn stash. Last night I started making a list of yarn and the project it's meant for. A lot of the yarn doesn't have a project assigned yet. Some of it just needs to turn into pretty gifts for friends and family.

That's pretty good. Not sure I can manage much more than that this month.

Thursday, September 08, 2011

Americana


It's finally starting to feel like fall! I don't want to wish away summer and sunshine, but I'm happy with temperatures in the 70's and 80's. I love how Labor Day welcomes in fall. This past weekend was full of Americana. We went to the University of Texas vs. Rice football came. That was quite the experience! Got my picture taken with a giant longhorn named Oreo while giving my best "hook 'em!" hand signal thing. I felt like such a poser, but it was fun! The rest of the weekend was spent cooking for friends and then a minor league baseball game. So fun! Doesn't get much better! The only problem with the carnitas recipe we tried was all the chili powder. During the browning process, the chili got in the air and burned my nose and throat. I'm still coughing. It's bad. Flavor was amazing in the end though. Bummer that I forgot to take pictures. 

Tomorrow I'll post about my September goals. I'm already working on one which is to wear my cowboy boots more often! Wearing them today!

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Firefox Personality Quiz

I took the Firefox personality quiz this morning so that I could webify myself. You can use this link to see all the explanations for the random stuff, but here are the highlights...

Knitting Needles

Ancient symbol of self-reliance, the Knitting Needle stands for your expressive individuality in the face of commercialism. With your own hands you create that which you desire, and make it purely your own.

Do they know I'm a knitter?!? And are knitting needles really an ancient symbol of self-reliance? I'll take it!

Puppet

Everything's better with a monkey in it. Monkeys are fun, smart, and optimistic. You got this crafty monkey because it reflects your own delightful optimism and playfulness. Or maybe you like bananas?

I'll give them the optimism and playful part, and I do like monkeys. In fact, I was born in the year of the monkey.

Energy Bar

Energy, nutrition, health — those are the things you value. It's good that you also like chocolate, otherwise you'd be too boring to be anointed with the EnergyBar — a sophisticated melange of sporting intentions wrapped in a candy-like execution.
 Another creepy one. Do they know I'm into nutrition?

Action Figure

A significant cultural heroic icon looms large in your inner nerd psyche. Embrace it. (We really don't want to get into the whole trademark thing, OK?)

They called me a nerd!

 

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Birkenstocks need repair

My beloved Birks are shot. I bought them at the Birkenstock store in Dublin before this style was even popular. That was back in 2006, I think. Maybe 2007. The sole is wearing off and they don't look quite as nice anymore. For about $70 I could get a new pair. For $60 I can get them resoled at Resole America. I'm not trying to be cheap by saving $10. I just can't part with these shoes! They've been so many places with me. Here are a handful of pictures that brought back happy memories of my Euro days. In each picture, I either know I was wearing my Birks or you can see me wearing them. These pictures are in no particular order because Blogger isn't cooperating.
It was really warm for Oktobefest that year, so I was in my Birks the whole weekend. That was before I had a dirndl!
Wore them to Neuschwanstein Castle.
Wore them to the Paris Opera House when Mom and I went to the ballet.
Also wore them when Mom and I went to see Money's Garden in Giverny.
I bought my Birks right before my 2nd trip to Paris. We spent a lot of time wandering through little neighborhoods. Brand new Birks are not so comfortable, but the scenery was just lovely!

Obviously had them on while I was spacing out in Portugal. I think I got my hair cut that day too. Always risky getting your hair cut by someone who you can't communicate with very well! It turned out fine if I remember correctly!
So those are a few happy travel memories that don't even include all the more recent travels with these shoes. Hard to believe I've had them for at least 4 years. I can't possible through them away! So they are off to the Birkenstock hospital for a little face lift. In a 8-10 business days we'll be reunited and making more happy memories together.