2013: Four Simple Goals

A blog I like to read called A Beautiful Mess blogged about the idea of Four Simple Goals.  Since 2013 will be nuts and the year of The Wedding, instead of writing a huge long list of things I want to accomplish I decided to keep it simple this year.  My goals are:

1.  Eat (at least) one vegetable a day.  I've been getting better about thinking about what I eat and trying to make better choices about what I eat.  I've lost a few pounds (hooray!) as a result, so something must be working.  I've been using an app where I can keep track of what I eat and what exercise I do, so it'll be easy to track this.

2.  Quit coffee.  I actually started this a few days ago, but the goal is to continue it into 2013.  I haven't had coffee since Wednesday.  So far so good!  I'm drinking black tea, which is better because it's less sugar and cream and less expensive since I can just get a tin of it instead of spending $10-15 a week on coffee.  The goal is to keep it going once work starts up again.  I'm allowing myself to cheat on weekends when there's a fun latte with crazy flavors involved (i.e., Starbucks, Gulu, Jaho)

3.  Finish my 5k goal and run the 5k outside in a race.  As I've noted, I've run several 5k's in the gym alone on a treadmill.  I'm also working on improving my time.  I'm at about 40-43 minutes right now, which is decent.  Once it's warmer and there's sunlight after work, I'm getting outside to keep it going and then I'll be signing up for a 5k in the spring or summer.  There's a breast cancer 5k I'm looking at or the Fiesta 5k in June.

4.  Finish the blue sweater and knit another fun sweater.  The blue sweater is about 60% done.  Maybe 70%.  But then all my friends made an unofficial pregnancy pact and had babies, and those babies needed hats.  So the blue sweater went into hiding in the closet.  Well now most people have had their babies, so it's time I finish it and wear it!  I also want to make another sweater for myself.  I might just do a plain thing, I'm not sure.  There are a few I'm eying and I have a ton of yarn asking to be used.


I'll keep this updated with how it's going.  I'm also still doing the 50/50 challenge, but that I'll keep separate from my goals.

It only took three years but...

A common hot pants theme every single year is me mentioning that I want to try and run a 5k.  In fact, you will notice that "running a 5k" and "getting rid of personal debt" are two of the most mentioned things on this blog.  Well, I haven't really been able to make any progress on the first of those two... until today!!

I've been really good lately about going to the YMCA to work out and have been doing a lot more running.  I noticed that I had been running too fast and losing steam and cramping up early, so I slowed down.  Still running, but not as fast running.  After all, I have small stubby legs.  This made a HUGE difference.  I was able to run comfortably for 30 minutes and get a good distance without feeling like death or legs falling off was imminent.  Today, since we had enough time and I was feeling good, I decided to go for it and try to get to 5k on the treadmill.

And 45 minutes later, I had done just that.  It felt great!  I am insanely sweaty, but it felt really good.  Now I just need to maintain that speed and have it feel good, and then try to either go longer or faster.  Then it's time to hit the open road and get used to running while actually moving and pacing myself.  This won't happen until it's warmer, though, because I am a pussy and don't like being cold.

So yeah, 3 years later... one (actually quite big) step closer to that 5k goal.

Day 27 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

I'm feeling rested after a long weekend in Vermont. Ricky and I went away for three days to beautiful, relaxing, invigorating Burlington, VT. I'll be posting updates and photos from our trip. Probably right after this.

Day 27: A song that you wish you could play

This is in line with the previous post, about me being able to play Fur Elise. I always wanted to be able to play a Joplin rag. Everyone learns The Entertainer, but my true dream is Maple Leaf Rag. This may be why it was the opening song when I directed The Wedding on the Eiffel Tower.



Side note, I love this version of it on Youtube. Find old timey Joplin clips, they're pretty great and have a warmth to them that lends itself nicely to rag.

Thursday Eve Lunch

Mmmm... a ton of different flavors thrown onto a bagel...

Tomorrow I will be out of commission for eating a variety of things for a few weeks, because I am getting horrible, sad times gum surgery. I had the first round of it in December, but had to wait until now due to the limits of dental insurance. I decided that, on the eve of this surgery, I'd have one of my favorite things in the whole world before I'm unable to eat solid foods for a while. This would be the Everything Bagel.

My favorite Everything Bagel exists in two places in Salem. One is at Bagel World (this comes as no surprise). Recently, I think they've changed their recipe so the bagels are less salty. It's a nice touch.

The other is at Gulu Gulu. I have a feeling they don't make their own bagels, and I sadly don't know the origin of this bagel. But it is glorious. It has caraway seeds on it, and just the right amounts of garlic and onion.

Today's Everything Bagel comes from Espresso Royale Cafe, which is a great little coffee shop/cafe around the corner. What I like about this bagel is that it's a whole wheat everything bagel. I also get the impression they don't make their bagels themselves. I think, if I can remember correctly, they're made in Somerville.

So here I sit, enjoying my crusty, tasty, too-many-calories bagel, knowing that in 24 hours I'll be reduced to eating yogurt and pureed sweet potatoes.

Resolutions for 2011

Okay, I've officially decided to stop declaring that each year is going to be the year of Getting Shit Done and then halfway through the year realizing that it's not. So I'm just going to declare it 2011 and officially name it in in a few months.

I do have a list of shit to get done, though. And they are:

Save More. This includes getting done debt and saving more for the future of 2011 and into the actual future.

Sew More. The sewing machine is acting a little weird, so I need to have it checked out and then I plan to sew up a storm.

Lose some weight. I'm now a Y member, which will help.

Go to a metric ton of weddings. Everyone's in love and getting hitched in 2011 it seems. Thank goodness I've spent the last few years investing in cocktail dresses.

Travel more. Ricky and I have decided to take some fun trips this year, which I'll disclose where once it's closer to the date of departure. But it should be very fun and exciting.

Get a cat. This should be happening soon. I had a dream a few months back of our cat's name, too.

Begin to put more money towards my student loans and car. This seems counter-intuitive to "save more", but that way I won't be paying interest on the loans for as long.

Not move apartments in 2011. Pleeeaaaasssseee let this happen.


Alright, bring it, 2011!

2010, a revue:

I'm preparing to be busy with the theatre peeps for NYE, so I'm doing my year in review now.

2010 was, I'd say for most people, about 40% good and 60% bad. I feel like I saw so many people having rough times. While a lot of good happened in 2010, so much bad happened, too. A recap:

The Good!
--Ricky and I moved in together, and had a great full calendar year together.
--Two of my good friends had babies! Awesome!
--My cousins got a great little puppy named Murray.
--Coco and Nicky.
--New job continuing to be good.
--Amanda got married!
--Countless friends got engaged.
--Rachel got married.
--I got Alva the fish.

The Bad!
--Midnight died.
--Maggie the dog died.
--Pat died. (too upsetting for me to write about)
--Ricky had some job woes and it was stressful.
--A rat moved into my apartment and wreaked havoc.
--Shitty neighbors.
--Three friends had issues with fertility (I won't mention who for their privacy).
--Buying my car was a dog and pony show.
--Leo switched to being in a wheelchair full time.
--Dramas with my grandparents.
--Too much family crap to write about in one blog between me and Ricky.
--Numerous friends have had job woes.
--Dramas with all dads.

But I know a lot of people have had issues in 2010. So I'm actually kind of glad to be putting this year to bed and move onto 2011. I have strong hopes for next year. A lot of weddings, some babies, two years with Ricky, probably more engagements, and other good things.

Peace out 2010, and bring on 2011!!

Curses, foiled again!

Loyal readers might be saying to themselves "isn't tonight the Thick As Thieves show you've been excited about since April?" and the answer is yes, kids. Yes it is.

But sadly... I will not be there.

Why, you may ask?

Because I have strep throat. I'm not contagious, but I'm on antibiotics, and I think standing around The Middle East Downstairs on meds and feeling lousy is probably the worst idea for me right now. So instead of seeing great shows and hanging out with some good people... I'll be spending a night by my television, catching up on movies, and cooking garam masala for myself.

BUT I do plan on being at the Oranjuly show at TT's on Wednesday, so I'll have a full report on that show.

Christopher's Table has breakfast now!

Oh hey, delicious food and pastry! Why don't we hang out some time... as in all the time... as in I'm going to eat you right about now.

Ever since they opened up in Ipswich, I've been a fan of Christopher's Kitchen, a specialty food shop that has great chicken salad and quiche on hand. Their baked mac and cheese also isn't too shabby. Nice waitstaff and a sunny location.

Well, I heard through the grapevine that they were now opened for breakfast. I found this ballsy, since Zumi's is down the street from CK and has won over the hearts of Ipswich on a whole. But no town should be a one-horse town, so I also applaud them for getting into it. This morning, thanks to a bad case of seasonal allergies which made me cranky and unable to breath or smell for a few days, I decided to stop in and grab a pastry.

At about 8am, the selection was limited, but I was notified that the bank stopped by just before me. They're trying to get the word out about their pastries to increase traffic at breakfast and lunch. I had a peach amaretto turnover. I must say, very sweet and refreshing. Their muffins looked like they could be good, but I'm the proud owner of a muffin bible now, so I've been holding off on ordering muffins lately. Why buy a muffin when you can make it from your bible?

So if you're in the North Shore, I'd recommend stopping by Christopher's Kitchen for a quick breakfast. All made on site and not a bad way to start your morning.

Blindness (film) is a mixed bag... but a blog about a man going blind is not

After a good run and some light gardening, I watched the movie Blindness. This is the one starring Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo, where there's this epidemic where everyone goes blind except Julianne Moore, and the breakdown in society this creates. Out of fear, all the blind people are quarantined in what looks like a ghetto or camp of some kind, and a new society is created within this state of panic, lack of supplies and food, and fear. Moore's character ends up becoming their angel and salvation, and in the end saves a select few from the hell of their ghetto. In the end, people start becoming unblind.

So I can see what they were trying to do with the movie, but I felt very mixed about it. It could have been edited down a few minutes (maybe 15-20?) and some of the symbolism was a little to heavy-handed. "Julianne Moore is our savior and an angel... she's all in white and pale and even her hair is blonde! Yay!"

Blindness also went on to symbolize that without sight, or society breaks down, and that we need to see the differences between us and our surroundings in order to function. Lack of sight makes us all animals, thieves, whores, and generally terrible people. I found this to be a bit insulting, or at least trying to invoke drama.

I guess I wouldn't recommend downloading it from Comcast for $5 like I did, but maybe if it was anywhere from free-$3, that'd be fine. An interesting view, but at the end I didn't feel like I had been moved or really brought to thought.

Photo courtesy of the blog Bye Sight! Please don't sue me or be mad at me.

But what DOES make me think and is an interesting read is the blog Bye Sight!, which is written by a TBTL reader named Gerald, which chronicles his loss of vision. I heard him interviewed on TBTL (I'm a Time Bandit, so I don't know when this interview actually happened. I think maybe April 24 or so?) about his experiences with going blind, and it was fascinating. I wish the whole show were just him talking about his life. I've listened to it twice already, because I felt like I wanted to soak in more of it. Even if you're not a fan of the show, go listen to it because it's that good.

After the interview, I went to his blog and read all of it. I kid you not. I sat there one Saturday and spent about half an hour or so reading his blog. The passages about ordering a cane and coming to grips with having a cane are fascinating. Articles and information about studies on blindness are also a good read. He also has a very dry and smart sense of humor about the whole thing, which I think is incredible. Parts are serious, but then there's a whole episode about debunking myths, which had me laughing very hard. I only wish that movie was as interesting as this blog was, then I wouldn't feel like I might have wasted $5 downloading it from Comcast.

Also, about the photo above, which I got from the blog. That little circle inside the square? That is what Gerald sees right now. That's it. Imagine over the last 15 years going from full sight to that little circle. But he seems to be handling it with grace. I truly don't think if I were going blind I would be, but perhaps over time, I'd get to the point where Gerald is.


So in review: Blindness (film) = eh, okay. Bye Sight! (blog) = really good.

I can't stress this enough... THERE IS A SONIC COMING TO MASSACHUSETTS

Yes, can I get everything pictured to go, along with a malt shake? K thanks bye.


This may surprise some readers, since I tend to promote healthy eating and exploring the unique restaurants in your community, but this makes me excited. I think because it's so foreign to my area, and yet so tasty and almost a guilty pleasure. Some fellow bloggers have also seen this news story and have blogged about it, and I'm finally getting around to it.

There is a Sonic coming to Massachusetts.

I was out with some friends Thursday night, and my friend Annette told me in passing that Sonic was coming to Peabody. I kind of flipped out, then texted Erin immediately. She responded "c'est une miracle!" and managed to spread the word via gchat, facebook, and now the blog.

I've been curious about Sonic for years, since TBS has been playing ads for this fast food chain on their station. This makes sense, since TBS is based out of Atlanta, but doesn't help me out, since I don't live in the South. As great as that Sweetheart Sundae looks... I can't run out to my car and get there.

Last year when visiting Michelle and Michnya in Nashville, we passed one and I begged her to take me to one, so I could say I've experienced it. It was pretty awesome. Sooo delicious. I think I just had a shake and fries, but it was enough.

I like how all-encompassing it is, and that it's a taste of something different. The idea of having to go to Rt. 1 for this is a bitch (North Shore people will understand where I'm coming from on this one) but will be worth it. I'm also sure that it will be packed for awhile, since there are plenty of people like me who have been waiting for this day since high school, but when I do get there, it'll be worth it.

All I need now is a White Castle, an In-and-Out Burger, and (most of all) a Tim Horton's in the area, and my guilty pleasure fast food life will be complete.

Here's a map I found online of the core markets and developing markets of Sonic. Add lil ol' Mass to the map and color it blue!

I'm glad I haven't had a sad montage about me yet...

I'm still plugging away in Canada project hell, after almost killing me last week, when I decided to stop by NPR and read some news. Apparently, I should be going to Boston.com to read news, since my best pal Erin was a finalist for the cartoon caption contest (that'll be a post tomorrow), so go her! But for today, this article had me laughing. If you've even watched one episode of ER or Grey's, you know exactly what they're talking about.

Also, as this is the last night of ER, I just want to give this program a shout out. Spent many a Thursday night in high school watching this and swooning over Carter and Greene. So while you guys jumped the shark when... oh I don't know, the helicopter and when Carter got a conscience and went to Africa... I think you were an important show that affected a lot of other programs. So thanks so much for entertaining my awkward lack of friends who go out on week nights years.


Ten Surprisingly Common Causes Of Death In TV Hospitals
by Linda Holmes

Tonight is the end of ER. The end of an era, the end of the machine that made George Clooney famous, and the end of a fifteen-season run that was good for at least seven seasons. The show is presumably dying of pure fatigue, but how do the patients die? Let's take a look at the ways TV-hospital patients die that other people usually don't.

Heroism. Countless television hospital patients die of heroism every year. One minute, they are valiantly trying to save a cat, dog, old person, flower bed, bicycle, or lottery ticket, and the next, they are lying in a hospital bed while the monitors sing their mournful "eeeeeeeep" in the background. Worse yet, heroism often results in a slow expiration one hospital bed over from someone who is unafflicted with heroism -- say, a terrible bigot or someone unattractive -- who is going to live. These deaths are referred to in the literature as deaths by heroism with ironic complications.

Falling helicopters. As far as we know, there has been one death by falling helicopter in the history of hospital shows, and it took place on ER. But it would seem that, relative to the total number of casualties in ER history, even this likely overrepresents the prevalence of being crushed by a falling helicopter as a cause of death. The greater statistical anomaly, however, is that this happened to Dr. "Rocket" Romano, who had lost an arm to a helicopter blade only a season before he died of having an entire helicopter fall directly on him. You know how some people are unlucky at cards? He was unlucky at helicopters.

A terrible secret. Particularly on House, it is common for patients to die of A Terrible Secret. In many cases, the Terrible Secret is not life-threatening in itself, but the efforts to conceal the Terrible Secret cause the patient to die of something innocuous. For instance, if you conceal your penicillin allergy in the course of concealing the details of the way your penicillin allergy was discovered, you risk dying of A Terrible Secret.

Redemption. ER was particularly fond of having patients die of acute redemption. If you are admitted to the hospital as a wretched misanthrope but, during your stay, you meet a perky, freckled moppet who is keeping a sunny outlook on life, and if the moppet convinces you to become a better person, and you finally thank the hospital staff profusely for all they have done for you, you are showing telltale signs that you will soon die of redemption.

Career aspirations/creative differences. If you are a featured performer on a drama taking place in a TV hospital, your health may be endangered by your impending departure from the cast. This is how Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards) died of brain cancer on ER, and it is also what has given Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) metastatic melanoma on Grey's Anatomy. Beware the termination of your contract.

A physician who does not love life. Selecting your physician is an important part of anyone's care, and a TV-hospital patient must be careful not to choose a physician who is unappreciative of some aspect of his or her life, particularly a romantic partner. There is a good chance that you will wind up teaching the TV doctor something about all that he or she has to be grateful for, and you will probably do so by dying. And you will probably die alone, because the lesson is more effective that way.

Announcing what time it is. Many times, a TV-hospital patient is on the operating table, and he's alive (which you can tell by the way everyone is pounding on his chest and/or shocking him with electricity, which they clearly wouldn't do if he were deceased), and then someone says, "Call it," and someone else says, "10:38," and before you know it, you're dead. What's that about? If necessary, have the clocks removed prior to any serious medical procedure.

Old age complicated by quirkiness. The old and colorful live short lives at the TV hospital. Senior citizens admitted thereto must beware of marching to the beats of their own drummers, extolling the virtues of drinking or cigars, or flirting with young doctors. This kind of upbeat attitude combined with years of experience out in the world most often leads to dying peacefully in your sleep.

Fame deficits. Suppose the medical drama begins. You are yourself, and you are not famous, but you are brought in as a result of a terrible accident in which the other person brought into the hospital is, let's say, James Woods. Here, I grab you by the lapels and tell you: You are going to die. There are two of you only so that one of you can die in order to underscore the seriousness of the situation, and it's not going to be James Woods. This is why many safety experts recommend against standing on outdoor scaffolding with celebrities.

Sad montages. TV-hospital patients must learn to advocate for themselves, and should protest if they discover that surgery is to be performed as part of a montage accompanied by a song where the string section is prominently featured or where the only instrument in evidence is the piano.


-----

Also, I realize many female actors were on this show and their careers were big there... but this is my blog, and today, it's all about the Eye Candy. Maybe you should get your own blog to post photos of Maura Tierney and Laura Innes.

the elixir of life if you had parents that grew up in the Nashoba Valley

I came home from work sick today. Nothing terrible, but I think a combination of allergies/stress/lack of sleep/breathing recycled air/hating Canada with every power of my being. You'd be amazed at how much energy that last one takes out of you. On my way home, I stopped at Henry's Market (a place I'll be returning to once I have an appetite so I can get lots of food and gorge on that place) to get soup and ginger ale.

I don't usually drink soda. In fact, I've pretty much given it up these days. Unless I'm sick. (or feeling like an old lady, which does happen from time to time) Then I get ginger ale. I don't know what it is, but there' s something about ginger ale that always makes me feel better. It's just so tasty.

My parents grew up in Nashoba Valley (near Lowell) and so the brand of choice has always been Chelmsford Golden Ginger Ale. Keep in mind, that first word is pronounced "chehms-fehd". It's hard to find around my parts, but I always keep my eyes peeled. Sadly, Henry's does not sell it.

I called my Mum to see if she knew where it might be, and after a "aww, I love that ginger ale session" between the two of us, she recommended trying Market Basket, so if I continue to feel like death warmed over, I'll try there next. It's not that this tastes better than Canada Dry or Schwepps... well, no. I take it back. It does taste better. No bones about it.


If you've seen this brand out and about, and know where I can find some of my own, please fill me in. I'd love to go enjoy a glass or four.

Falling out

Last week, while driving to work through Beverly, a certain sign happened to catch my eye. I was passing the Beverly YMCA when I noticed that it had a sign on it designating it as a fallout shelter. I found this both nostalgic and odd. While it is important to know that in case there is some kind of nuclear disaster I can drive quickly to the Beverly Y, and I guess even though the cold war ended almost 20 years ago these are still fallout shelters... but do we need to designate them? Is it part of the building's code to keep these signs on there no matter what? Or does no one even think about it any more and I'm just the girl driving to work and thinking about weird stuff like that? Who knows.

I then thought on my drive that maybe this is important in case we have a nuclear accident, like Chernobyl, so maybe we do need these shelters. So perhaps it's not an issue of war, but an issue of safety. So I continued driving to work, chuckling at the fall out shelter and wondering if people wonder about it as well, but then lost thought of it.

Until today, when I was taking my weekend walk in Salem. As part of being healthy/enjoying spring, I walk all over Salem every weekend. Anyways, I was walking back to my car when I passed this corner of a building:



...another Nuclear Fallout shelter in the bank? I got in closer and took another photo of it:



Yes, indeed, there is a fallout shelter down the street from me in downtown Salem. It's a small one, as it only fits 55 people, so I may need to fight people for access to it. I honestly had no idea that public buildings were designed with nuclear fallout in mind, and that there were two so close to one another on the North Shore. It was very bizarre.

I also wonder what it looks like inside. Are there cots and canned goods and water? Or is it just a very secure room? Or maybe it's storage for the banks' files?

Inquiring minds...

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike

Hey man, Jaws was never my scene, and I don't like Star Wars...


So all a part of GSD, though it seems counter-intuitive to my main goal of paying off my credit card completely, is to buy myself a bicycle. I had one when I was a kid, but I have no clue what happened to it and it was not very good. So I want my big purchase for 2009 (as I don't plan on flying as many places this year and the weddings seem manageable) to be a bike so I can bike around Salem/Beverly.

There are many reasons why I want a bike. First off, it's a pain in the ass to drive certain places in Salem, since there are weird one-way streets or parking, and sometimes I just want to bike around town instead of walking or driving to a walking place. This will also save me gas, since I could pretty much only use my car on weekends for trips to home, the various people I know in the Boston/Cambridge/Somerville area, and food shopping. It also helps my carbon footprint. And this will help me with my goal to be a healthier person.

I will not, however, be driving this to work. Because I work 14 miles away, and while it'd save me a lot of hassle with cars and buses... biking 28 miles a day right now seems a bit lofty. Maybe down the road when it's nice out I can bike to work, but right now, I think I'd die.

There are two bike shops in the area (Beverly and Salem) that I plan on shopping at for said bike. I don't want anything fancy. Just a few speeds, good for the roads, easy to take care of... oh, and in a neat color. But that last one is very low on the list, and bikes look so cool these days, I'm pretty sure anything would be neat to me.

So, any local bloggers who read this, what do you think? Is this a good goal? Am I forgetting any bike shops in the area? Are there good bike trails I could take?

2009: The Year of Getting Shit Done

I deemed 2008 "The Year of Traveling" and "The Year of Dating Around", but I decided that this year will be the one of getting shit done. There's too much stuff on my plate or hounding me. That's not to say I won't be traveling or dating (hopefully lots and lots of both are in my future), but I really want this year to be one where at the end of it I can re-read this blog post and say "hey, you got a lot of shit done!". Here they are:

--FINALLY run my charitable 5k. This will be tough. I need to get better at running, run outside, run really far, and so forth. Learn pacing, learn patience. But I think this is the year. This will also help accomplish a few of my other things on this list.

--Pay down my credit cards. I have two, technically, though they're the same bank. But I'm really talking about the big one, since Emergency 500 CC will be easy to pay off. But my credit card still has two flights, two weddings, gas from all the driving, and I know that once that's way down, if not completely, that's one less stress in my life. And I really think this is will be possible. Just a matter of being smart. I have it hidden in my dresser, so I can't use it, and it's worked wonders so far.

--Save more. This relates to the one before it. When I'm not throwing that much money to my credit card, I can re-build my savings that were wiped out from the EBSCO State Tax Fuck Up.

--Get in shape and be at a weight I'm happy with. I'm not fat, by no means, but I want to feel like I'm healthy and not see pudge. Running and working out more should help with this.

--Knit down my stash by a lot. My room is taken over by yarn. Two tupperware things, a shopping bag, and several other bags in my closet. I did a good job at this for the craft fair, but I can work further at this. When I have no real projects going on... keep making hats and stuff for the next craft fair or for gifts, and keep knitting it down. My goal is to get rid of the shopping bag and a lot of the little bags in my closet.

--Write more letters. Emails are convenient, but real letters or postcards are so nice! Send them to more than just Erin.

--Cook more, and cook more different things. I need to expand my food horizons and get better at making more than just rice-based dishes. And to eat more fresh veggies. This will help with the getting back in shape goal.

--Knit more of my queue and read more of my queue. I am part of Goodreads and Ravelry, and my queues are insane. Instead of adding, I need to subtract by actually making or reading. No excuses.

--Visit Grammy and Grampy more.

--Less whining at or about work. Yeah, there are days when I am convinced I work with morons and that my job is going nowhere. Suck it up, or do stuff to change it. No one cares. Get it done.

--Walk at lunch when it's nice out.

--Photograph more, paint more, and make more art for my apartment. Too many ideas floating around, and too many bare walls. I have the talents and resources. Get on that shit!

--Sew! This is iffy, since I'd need to buy a sewing machine and get patterns and start a new hobby. But I've always wanted to, and I think it'd be great. Make curtains and clothes. How awesome would that be??

--Yoga? Kirsten keeps talking about it. Now might be the time to do it.