Is it just me? I can't believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone, and the gift-giving season is upon us. It doesn't feel like it to me... Maybe it's because I've been so busy... Maybe it's because Aaron's been gone... Maybe it's because we don't have the tree up yet... Maybe it's because I'll be traveling a lot this December... Maybe it's because Christmas will be lonely this year...
I'm not entirely looking forward to this Christmas season...
I don't want to feel all "Bah-Humbug", so I think I'll force myself to listen to Christmas music at work tomorrow. I'll be putting up the decorations at work tomorrow, so maybe that'll help me get in the spirit.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Happy Day After Thanksgiving
I was invited to a friend's house for Thanksgiving dinner last night, and was asked to bring the dessert. Of course, I had to bring the family favorite, Pumple Pie. I also brought the rolls. All in all, it was a good dinner, and wasn't devoid of drama... When you have the first "married" Thanksgiving for a couple, parents in attendance, a house-guest who totaled your car the week before Thanksgiving and an uninvited guest, you have the makings for a very memorable Thanksgiving (unless you are one of the people who got completely blitzed, much to the entertainment of the others... you might not remember so much). Throw in a couple of dogs, and you have a party!
I did not participate in any Black Friday rituals... The only store worth going to here has the best deal... 50% off all socks! Woo-hoo! Lets head on down there!!! I so wish to stand in line at 4 AM just to get some socks! I wish we had a Target or a Kohls, but we don't. Walmart is a complete joke in this town. It's a Supercenter, but the same size as a regular "old" Walmart, so they stock a lot of stuff, but not as much as you would think... I tried to get some winter clothes here when I first moved back several years ago (because I was coming from Hawaii, and I left all my cold weather clothes in Utah) and couldn't find ANYTHING... It was extremely frustrating...
I did eat some left overs from dinner last night. I did not escape my friend's house without some turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy... I had some pie already (I ended up making 2) so I let them keep the other one. I had a lot of pumpkin pie filling left over from yesterday, so I googled some recipes for it... The easiest one I found was to bake it as is without a crust and eat it like a pudding... So that's what I did (it's my favorite part of the pie anyway). I just took it out of the oven, so I haven't tasted it yet. When I do, I'll tell you all about it.
Aaron comes home on Tuesday. We'll have a short Thanksgiving dinner as a couple then. We'll also put up Christmas then. I'm going to have to look up Rachael Ray's 1-Hour Thanksgiving Dinner recipe. I watched it several times this week, and now that Aaron wants me to cook him some turkey, I'll give it a try.
Bring on Christmas!
I did not participate in any Black Friday rituals... The only store worth going to here has the best deal... 50% off all socks! Woo-hoo! Lets head on down there!!! I so wish to stand in line at 4 AM just to get some socks! I wish we had a Target or a Kohls, but we don't. Walmart is a complete joke in this town. It's a Supercenter, but the same size as a regular "old" Walmart, so they stock a lot of stuff, but not as much as you would think... I tried to get some winter clothes here when I first moved back several years ago (because I was coming from Hawaii, and I left all my cold weather clothes in Utah) and couldn't find ANYTHING... It was extremely frustrating...
I did eat some left overs from dinner last night. I did not escape my friend's house without some turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy... I had some pie already (I ended up making 2) so I let them keep the other one. I had a lot of pumpkin pie filling left over from yesterday, so I googled some recipes for it... The easiest one I found was to bake it as is without a crust and eat it like a pudding... So that's what I did (it's my favorite part of the pie anyway). I just took it out of the oven, so I haven't tasted it yet. When I do, I'll tell you all about it.
Aaron comes home on Tuesday. We'll have a short Thanksgiving dinner as a couple then. We'll also put up Christmas then. I'm going to have to look up Rachael Ray's 1-Hour Thanksgiving Dinner recipe. I watched it several times this week, and now that Aaron wants me to cook him some turkey, I'll give it a try.
Bring on Christmas!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
My life consists of...
My busy life has consisted of work, home, school, PWC, Facebook, Nora Roberts, Gilmore Girls, Noni, Aaron and, for the last 8 weeks, Dancing with the Stars. This is the first season that I have watched from beginning to end. I only missed one results show (the one where Louis Vitto was eliminated) because I had a big project due that night. Every other night, I've been there with the dancers.
I have to say, that this season was one of my favorites. There were a lot of creepy moments in there (Derek and Joanna got a little too comfortable, if you know what I mean) and some really beautiful moments. I was not surprised with the results at all. I predicted that, even though Kelly was really popular, she would take third. If it was left up to the judges, Mya would win (based on her technical prowess). If it was left up to the audience, Donny would take it all. Of course, Donny does have the largest fan base out of the three, so there you go. My favorite, though, was Kelly. She pleasently surprised me. She wasn't the most technical, and I thought that she did not do "Crazy Train" justice, but she grew the most. Had she gotten the Paso Doble later in the season, she probably would have done much better to "Crazy Train". These last few weeks, she has blossomed into a wonderful dancer. One that looks like she has a healthy outlook on life. She brought tears to my eyes tonight with her beautiful Viennese Waltz, and her humility at the end. I did not expect that of her. I am excited to see where she goes from here.
So, now that DWTS is over, my life will be lacking an activity on Monday and Tuesday nights. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Heroes, but I've gotten used to watching it on the weekends on Hulu. I guesst that means I'll have to focus more on my school work.
On the school front, one of my recent assignments reviewed persuasive speeches. I had to pick an historical or contemporary person known for their persuasive speeches, and was given a small list to choose from, but it wasn't restricted to that list... I have always wanted to do something someone else wasn't doing, and was hesitant to choose from the list that they gave me. The first thought was President Obama... Not gonna go there (too easy)... My second thought was Hitler... I probably would have picked him if I could speak German. Not because I idolize him or anything, just that he was a very persuasive speaker. I wonder what kind of reaction I would have gotten if I chose him. I ended up choosing President Ronald Reagan. The speech I analyzed was his address at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in 1987 ("Tear down this wall"). I found the entire speech on YouTube and watched all 20+ minutes of it. My life started in a time where the European map was seperated by the wall, but I remember very little of it. My most vivid memory involves our text books at school, just a year after the wall came down. Our school books had not been updated yet, so our teacher had us review geography compared between a year ago and today (I think it was 5th grade). It was very interesting to revisit the time when the world was seperated, not only by a physical wall, but by fear. How easily we forget things like that, and get complacent in our own lives. It was refreshing to listen to and watch a president who spoke plainly and strongly to the people of the world. One who didn't need grand gestures to make his point. When I watch a speech by President Obama, I get the feeling that I'm watching David Copperfield. He's way more animated than President Reagan ever was, but I feel like he's distracting you with his right hand so you don't know what the left hand is doing... Is it just me?
(Oh, and in case you are wondering, this mindless rambling is what happens late at night after a heavy workload, school assignments due, and rampant emotions and you aren't tired enough to sleep...)
I have to say, that this season was one of my favorites. There were a lot of creepy moments in there (Derek and Joanna got a little too comfortable, if you know what I mean) and some really beautiful moments. I was not surprised with the results at all. I predicted that, even though Kelly was really popular, she would take third. If it was left up to the judges, Mya would win (based on her technical prowess). If it was left up to the audience, Donny would take it all. Of course, Donny does have the largest fan base out of the three, so there you go. My favorite, though, was Kelly. She pleasently surprised me. She wasn't the most technical, and I thought that she did not do "Crazy Train" justice, but she grew the most. Had she gotten the Paso Doble later in the season, she probably would have done much better to "Crazy Train". These last few weeks, she has blossomed into a wonderful dancer. One that looks like she has a healthy outlook on life. She brought tears to my eyes tonight with her beautiful Viennese Waltz, and her humility at the end. I did not expect that of her. I am excited to see where she goes from here.
So, now that DWTS is over, my life will be lacking an activity on Monday and Tuesday nights. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Heroes, but I've gotten used to watching it on the weekends on Hulu. I guesst that means I'll have to focus more on my school work.
On the school front, one of my recent assignments reviewed persuasive speeches. I had to pick an historical or contemporary person known for their persuasive speeches, and was given a small list to choose from, but it wasn't restricted to that list... I have always wanted to do something someone else wasn't doing, and was hesitant to choose from the list that they gave me. The first thought was President Obama... Not gonna go there (too easy)... My second thought was Hitler... I probably would have picked him if I could speak German. Not because I idolize him or anything, just that he was a very persuasive speaker. I wonder what kind of reaction I would have gotten if I chose him. I ended up choosing President Ronald Reagan. The speech I analyzed was his address at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in 1987 ("Tear down this wall"). I found the entire speech on YouTube and watched all 20+ minutes of it. My life started in a time where the European map was seperated by the wall, but I remember very little of it. My most vivid memory involves our text books at school, just a year after the wall came down. Our school books had not been updated yet, so our teacher had us review geography compared between a year ago and today (I think it was 5th grade). It was very interesting to revisit the time when the world was seperated, not only by a physical wall, but by fear. How easily we forget things like that, and get complacent in our own lives. It was refreshing to listen to and watch a president who spoke plainly and strongly to the people of the world. One who didn't need grand gestures to make his point. When I watch a speech by President Obama, I get the feeling that I'm watching David Copperfield. He's way more animated than President Reagan ever was, but I feel like he's distracting you with his right hand so you don't know what the left hand is doing... Is it just me?
(Oh, and in case you are wondering, this mindless rambling is what happens late at night after a heavy workload, school assignments due, and rampant emotions and you aren't tired enough to sleep...)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
My Chrismas Wish List...
I want some iTunes gift cards... So I can create a collection of music that I can listen to at work that does not include the works of Taylor Swift! For crying out loud, every station I've listened to today has played one of her songs... ARGHHH!!! I can't get away from it... Even the "alternative" station is playing her... I am sitting here in silence because if I have to listen to any of her songs one more time, I may just have to do something drastic...
**I'm also adding Miley Cyrus to the list of artists to boycott... Party in the USA is one of the stupidest songs I have ever heard... It's just as annoying as anything by Taylor Swift... I can live with The Climb but not anything else...
**I'm also adding Miley Cyrus to the list of artists to boycott... Party in the USA is one of the stupidest songs I have ever heard... It's just as annoying as anything by Taylor Swift... I can live with The Climb but not anything else...
Monday, November 16, 2009
Staying focused...
I have a lot of balls in the air right now. With school and work and Aaron and Noni and family and upcoming travel, I'm starting to feel a little stressed... But jazzed too! I feel like I have something to work towards, a path to follow, if you will. I did obtain an "analog" schedule, which is helping immensely. I've been able to keep track of all the little road signs during the day, to help me down my path. Today, despite it being a Monday, was actually pretty good. I was able to get a lot done today and I feel awesome!
The only way I can tell that I'm stressed is through my body... Boy, is it telling me to slow down a little... or get an adjustment... I can't quite tell at the moment. I tend to keep all my stress in my neck and shoulders... I've been doing the stretching exercises to alleviate the tension in my neck all day today, but it's not working that well... Which is what leads me to think I need an adjustment... But, if I go to the chiro, my insurance won't pay (I've reached my max limit for the year on chiro visits), so it won't be cheap... It will also require multiple visits to correct all my issues (pelvis is out, which stresses my knees, which knocks me out of whack in my upper back...) I think it will have to wait until after the first of the year... Ibuprofen will have to do me for a while...
Maybe it would help if I got a therapeutic massage... Does anyone know someone in Juneau who would do it for cookies? I can bake a real mean cookie!
The only way I can tell that I'm stressed is through my body... Boy, is it telling me to slow down a little... or get an adjustment... I can't quite tell at the moment. I tend to keep all my stress in my neck and shoulders... I've been doing the stretching exercises to alleviate the tension in my neck all day today, but it's not working that well... Which is what leads me to think I need an adjustment... But, if I go to the chiro, my insurance won't pay (I've reached my max limit for the year on chiro visits), so it won't be cheap... It will also require multiple visits to correct all my issues (pelvis is out, which stresses my knees, which knocks me out of whack in my upper back...) I think it will have to wait until after the first of the year... Ibuprofen will have to do me for a while...
Maybe it would help if I got a therapeutic massage... Does anyone know someone in Juneau who would do it for cookies? I can bake a real mean cookie!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Tales of recycling...
Anyway, here in Juneau, I just go to the dump. They have a couple of buildings to house the recylables, one of the buildings is for household items. I load up the car and spend 10-20 minutes there splitting it all up. There is a bin outside for glass, one for tin (soup cans and such). Then, inside, there are the areas for aluminum, plastic (2 kinds) and paper and cardboard.
It's centrally located in Lemon Creek, which means it's a short drive for me... If I'm heading that direction during the day, I'll usually take recycling with me and make a brief stop.
Tomorrow is recycling day... I gathered up the recyclables between my office and my home and the car is loaded (mostly with cardboard)... They also take shopping bags, which I still seem to accumulate even though I have many of those other kinds of bags that you can re-use... You know the ones... Not quite cloth, but not quite plastic... I'm not quite sure what they are... I use the regular plastic shopping bags in my wastebaskets that are all over the house (also for poo baggies when I'm out of the biodegradable kind), but I don't think I need a drawer, a shelf, and several of those bags full of other bags... I have a dispenser for the plastic bags, so I think that'll hold me for a while.
Does anyone know what the colors are supposed to be for? I figure that blue is for aluminium (as seen in the picture), but we are using that one for glass... Any thoughts?
Monday, November 9, 2009
So...
How is everything going for everyone else? I'm thinking about keeping an "analog" schedule to MAYBE try to help me plan my day... I don't know what else to do. I have Google Calendar, and use that for work (when I remember to bring it up)... I also have Google Calendar sync'd to my outlook at work (but it doesn't sync ALL my calendars... ugh...) and to my iPhone... It is a great interface for reminding me of stuff, when I remember to use it... It's hard to see my entire day on my phone, so I very rarely check it... I spent the entire time during DWTS tonight plugging the due dates to my school assignments into it... It might just be easier to go back to my written schedule book... That way, I can see EVERYTHING I need to do for the day, and not just my work stuff...
So I have a Franklin Covey binder, that I haven't used since 2006... So it definitely needs new inserts, IF I decide to use it again... I'm not really sure that it will fit into my life right now... It's kind of cumbersome, for me... Maybe I'll see if I can find my old (personalized) Day Planner... Hmmm...
I have a little pocketbook one that was given to me by a vendor, but I think it's too small...
Either way, I'm going to have to spend some money figuring out how to mesh my work, school, condo association and personal lives together...
I get a headache just thinking about it...
Ugh...
So I have a Franklin Covey binder, that I haven't used since 2006... So it definitely needs new inserts, IF I decide to use it again... I'm not really sure that it will fit into my life right now... It's kind of cumbersome, for me... Maybe I'll see if I can find my old (personalized) Day Planner... Hmmm...
I have a little pocketbook one that was given to me by a vendor, but I think it's too small...
Either way, I'm going to have to spend some money figuring out how to mesh my work, school, condo association and personal lives together...
I get a headache just thinking about it...
Ugh...
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The dreaded flu...
I went home early on Wednesday, because I didn't feel well... Very lethargic, headach, joint/muscle pain... Absolutely NO energy...
Which led to Thursday in bed in the same state. Friday, energy-wise was a little better, but I woke up with a fever, so I stayed home again.
(and before you ask, no, it wasn't H1N1... I had nothing respiratory with this flu... Just overwhelming fatigue and body aches and slight fever... Not even bad enough for the doctor to squeeze me in... They just said rest and fluids and if it gets worse, go to the ER...)
Today, I was feeling quite a bit better, so I decided to - *gasp* - take a shower and venture outside to get some fresh air... Aaron took this to mean that I was better, so he talked me into going to the hanger for a good part of the day... Don't worry, I bundled up, and stayed bundled up the whole time I was there...
The fatigue came back about an hour into the Girl's Night In chat on PWC. Aaron wanted to go to a movie (we mis-communicated on that one... I thought he meant the goat movie with George Clooney...He meant "Amelia", which isn't showing here yet...). So one temper tantrum later, we are back home. I'm glad we didn't go out. Now I can go lay down and get some more rest.
I have an assignment due tomorrow, so I have to get up at some point and finish it (I started it earlier in the week, thank goodness). Hopefully, I have enough energy to get a jump start on next week's assignments too!
Which led to Thursday in bed in the same state. Friday, energy-wise was a little better, but I woke up with a fever, so I stayed home again.
(and before you ask, no, it wasn't H1N1... I had nothing respiratory with this flu... Just overwhelming fatigue and body aches and slight fever... Not even bad enough for the doctor to squeeze me in... They just said rest and fluids and if it gets worse, go to the ER...)
Today, I was feeling quite a bit better, so I decided to - *gasp* - take a shower and venture outside to get some fresh air... Aaron took this to mean that I was better, so he talked me into going to the hanger for a good part of the day... Don't worry, I bundled up, and stayed bundled up the whole time I was there...
The fatigue came back about an hour into the Girl's Night In chat on PWC. Aaron wanted to go to a movie (we mis-communicated on that one... I thought he meant the goat movie with George Clooney...He meant "Amelia", which isn't showing here yet...). So one temper tantrum later, we are back home. I'm glad we didn't go out. Now I can go lay down and get some more rest.
I have an assignment due tomorrow, so I have to get up at some point and finish it (I started it earlier in the week, thank goodness). Hopefully, I have enough energy to get a jump start on next week's assignments too!
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