Spent last night at ’s house taking care of my dress and veil. Both are 80-95% done. I have some minor adjustments to make on the veil and it’s finished, and the dress only needs to be hemmed and a few little details completed. Yay! There are pictures, but for obvious reasons, I’m not sharing them.

I didn’t get home until 10, which of course meant that the important phone calls I was supposed to make last night didn’t happen. Less significantly, I also didn’t get any laundry done.

We had a nice talk about many things, including sex. We talked about amazing/impressive/pick-another-word it is that we’re waiting, and how hard that is but worth it. In an email this morning, she said:

“Thanks for the good conversation last night: I’m so proud of you and who you are!”

Always nice to hear that.

Also, I think I have a hair stylist set up for the girls in the wedding. Yay!

Anyone wanna go for a Photowalk?

I have not talked to or in a very long time, it seems (unless leaving comments on each other’s blogs counts). I should probably do something about that. Unfortunately, we’re out of town this Saturday for a wedding in Madison. Very long day, but important.

popularity: 22%

1. Traditional :: Contemporary
2. Popeye :: the Sailor Man
3. Gin :: and Tonic
4. Harsh :: That’s…
5. Topless :: Sunbathing
6. The thing :: is…
7. Defiant :: angst
8. Huge :: idea
9. Food :: for thought
10. Lenny :: Kravitz

popularity: 34%

I just love it when my co-worker has something for lunch that doesn’t agree with him so he’s belching all afternoon.  And when he gets snarky about my papers left in the printer.  And when he gets attitude about the attitude I’m giving him in response to his snarkiness.

Oh, did I say love?  I think I was looking for a different word.

popularity: 25%

So I was reading up on WebMD about numerous things related to me (by the way, I think my back/neck pain is increasing, even after taking Advil - this is troubling), and ran across this article: “10 Tips to Get You Sleeping Again.” I’m including the tips here so that I can talk about them.

1. Wake up at the same time each day. Yes, I am terrible at this. I love sleeping in on weekends.
2. Eliminate nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, and other stimulants. Caffeine has never seemed to affect me much, though it does more as I get older. I generally avoid caffeine after dinner. Wine makes me sleepy. I don’t smoke or take other stimulants.
3. Limit naps. While I love napping, I rarely get to take them. I have the last couple of weekends, briefly, because I haven’t been sleeping as well. My lifestyle in general doesn’t really allow for naps, so… I could stop altogether.
4. Exercise regularly. I’m working on this one. I know this would be beneficial for my health in a multitude of ways. It’s just a hard habit to pick up.
5. Limit activities in bed. Once I’m living with , this will not be a problem. Until then, my bed still is the main place to do anything in my room, and that’s not going to change. It’s only 5 weeks. [Editor's note: looking back over this, I realize that some of your minds may have gone into the gutter. I simply meant that the bedroom is upstairs and far away from the living room where time is generally spent, unlike my current situation where everything I do is in one room.]
6. Do not eat or drink right before going to bed. OK, this I am guilty of. When was dieting to fit into her wedding dress (something I am glad I do not feel compelled to do), she stopped eating 3 hours before bedtime, and she said that was one of the things that was most effective. This is problematic. I like snacking.
7. Make your sleeping environment comfortable. My sleeping environment is as comfortable as possible, given the circumstances. Again, once I’m living with , the whole cat-in-the-bed thing will stop ( will not be allowed in the bedroom at all - we’ll see how that goes over). But my blankets are comfortable, the fan has been running, a nice dull bubbling of the fish tank…. [Editor's note: yes, I realize that I baby my cat too much and she will actually be fine. I also realize that she's a whiny brat and that's my fault.]
8. Get all your worrying over with before you go to bed. I understand this one, but it’s sometimes hard. I try, though. I don’t enjoy worrying. It doesn’t usually keep me up though.
9. Reduce stress. Let’s see… I’m planning a wedding (with a lot of help) and moving (also with a lot of help). And once that’s over, I’ll be going to school. And I work at a job I don’t particularly enjoy. So… stress levels are moderate. They could definitely be worse. But I’d rather deal with the stresses I have than live the alternate life of boredom.
10. Consider participating in cognitive therapy. Isn’t this a last-step kind of measure? I’m definitely not disordered enough to do this yet.
    

I should note that insomnia runs in my family. Just another one of the wonderful things I got from ’s family, along with big feet, flat chest, red hair, and hormonal imbalances. Of course, I also got my long piano fingers and a hearty overall constitution (we’re generally a healthy bunch, all things considered, not falling ill to colds and the flu and the like often), so that’s something.

popularity: 69%

• This morning, since I missed the bus, I walked down the street to the coffee shop where I’m meeting some girls tomorrow who are doing decorations for our reception. I don’t particularly like their coffee, but I have $14 left on the gift certificate gave me at Christmas, and it seems a good a time as any to use it.
• What I started out trying to say was that I actually remembered to get the drink I recently discovered for consumption at places like this (where the coffee just isn’t desirable): Chai. No, I didn’t just discover chai tea, but on a recent shopping trip with , I discovered that it’s pretty much good wherever you go, and a good backup in case one is forced to go to Caribou.  This is an even better plan when I remember it.
• I actually slept through the night last night, for the first time since Saturday. Unfortunately, this victory was mitigated by my inability to fall asleep until after 3 am. I laid in bed, lights off, cat curled up, attempting to sleep for several hours before sleep, the elusive nymph that she is, finally came to me. But at least then I got four straight hours of sleep, so that’s something.
• In case you were wondering, no, I don’t know why I’ve been having problems sleeping. I can tell you that it’s not because I’m stressed out (due to wedding plans or moving timetables). Part of it this week was because it was frickin’ hot in my room due to the lack of air conditioning. But that was only a tiny bit of it.
• In bullet #3, my other choice for words was “mollified” instead of “mitigated.” Anyone have preferences?
• emailed yesterday to say she’s almost done with my dress, as in “final fitting needed.” How exciting is that? Now I just have to get myself over to ’s to use her sewing machine and do the veil, and then I can take the whole ensemble up to ’s and get the party started.
• Last night after left my house (car packed with my stuff), I hopped online and spent some gift certificates. Fun stuff.
• Also, I worked on the music playlist for the reception. I’ve got it narrowed down to 20 hours of music. You might scoff, but that’s not all that bad. I started with… my entire music collection, which was somewhere in the vicinity of 2500 songs (which is approximately 160 hours). I figured that would be an easier way than searching through the songs and individually putting them in a playlist, which was bound to result in duplicates and nearly not enough songs (I need 6-ish hours worth, or is it hours’ worth?). This way, I could easily delete the multitude that were inappropriate, undesirable, about breaking up, etc.
• There’s a chocolate-frosted donut here waiting for me to consume it, and I can’t really think of anything else to say, so… I’m gonna go enjoy the donut.

popularity: 38%

Alright, according to MyBlogLog (whose validity I am unsure of, but I like the stats reports I’ve gotten so far), I have 5-6 readers. I can account for 3 of them (, , ), and probably I count as one as well. So… who else is reading this on a regular basis? I’m curious. Obviously, it’s totally cool to me that someone besides those closest to me would find anything I have to say here interesting enough to come back. And when I moved the blog, I took steps to ensure that it would be 1) more user friendly, 2) wouldn’t attract people from my past when they Googled themselves, and 3) if anyone in my life happened to find it, it wouldn’t be a horrible thing.

So… who are you, Lurking Reader?  I lurk on many blogs myself, so I won’t throw stones, but I have been trying to comment lately to change that.

popularity: 32%

Yes, I realize the blog has been boring lately. Mostly memes and not much content. But, you see, that’s because life is kinda boring. Busy in many regards, but boring. Oh, you’d like me to prove it?

• Last night, I packed up 3/4 of my kitchen. Only the bare essentials remain.
• I also went through a stack of recipes I’d saved and threw out the ones I knew I wouldn’t make.
• Before that, I sorted through a pile of earrings and got rid of a bunch, and set a bunch aside because they need to be cleaned.
• I also did two loads of laundry (sheets and towels).
• And I made a yummy dinner (that’s two nights in a row this week!).
• At 11 pm I had a bowl of cereal.
• I’ve been getting crappy sleep for the last week, so I’m mildly grumpy. And my back hurts, presumably because of the lack of sleep.
• Oh, I also shredded a ton of paper last night.
• Tuesday night I made my necklace for the wedding. Well, mostly. I need a length consultation with the actual dress.
• Monday night I made my hair clips and tried to make my veil. But my sewing machine died, and I had lost all patience with it, so it went in the Goodwill pile.
• Then came over and gave me a very thoughtful (and not at all creepy) gift, and I persuaded her to let me use her sewing machine.
• I have had very little to do at work, so I’ve spent a lot of time making to-do lists and trying out various online collaboration tools for a work project. (Anyone have any suggestions? I’m looking for word processing and html exporting.)
• Today I am spending a chunk of my time grading tests.
• I managed to wake up early today, make my lunch, and have breakfast. But then I somehow ended up leaving for work late. I think when I have too much extra time, I get slow and lazy in my getting ready. I need to fix this.
• I have spent a minor amount of time (relatively speaking) being very aware of the fact that the wedding is quite close and the things I have to do aren’t done. But I have yet to freak out and go Bridezilla on people. So, we’re still spot-on for that goal. [Editor's note: I have had two occasions of minor freaking out. The first was over the invitations, and it was fixed with wine. The second was last week when I was overwhelmed with all the things to do, and it was fixed with emails and offers of help. At no time, however, did I make unfair demands on people, require all attention be given to me, assume that the world revolved around me and my wedding, or raise my voice. So I think that counts as being successful. Getting stressed out over a wedding is normal. It's basically organizing a huge party for all your family and friends, and not many people do that very often. I certainly don't. Plus there's the added tasks of moving and all the time spent thinking about what it might be like to be married and all that that entails. I believe Bridezilla is a long ways away from "being stressed out."]
• I have had several difficulties with Amazon.com this week. One is being solved, and I fear the other is a lost cause. And even the “solved” one didn’t turn out all that great. I got my refund, but what I really wanted was the product I ordered, which has apparently been discontinued. The other one involves the whole FedEx shipping fiasco, and both the seller and Amazon are telling me that the other one is responsible. I hope I’m not just out the $25, but I fear that may be the end result. Plus, I won’t have the cute lunch tote, which makes it very hard to bring food to work.

See? Told you things have been boring.

popularity: 21%

1. You witness a nonfatal car wreck, do you help (stop and/or call 911) or continue on? Witness? I’m not sure. I have a cell phone. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be much help outside of calling and/or trying to keep someone calm if necessary. I think there’s some sort of obligation to stop if you actually witness it so the police have someone to talk to other than those involved. But, if I was really busy or late or something, it’s possible I could skip out on that. I don’t think I’d want to.
2. You witness a robbery, do you help (stop and/or call 911) or continue on? Can I discreetly call 911? I don’t want to get involved, because I have a self-preservation instinct.
3. You see a child who appears to be lost or hurt, do you help (stop and/or call 911) or continue on? Help. It’s a kid, for Pete’s sake.
4. You hear a person yelling for help, do you help (stop and/or call 911) or continue on? Um… not sure. I’m not terribly brave or strong, so I guess it depends what kind of help was needed.
5. You see a fire in your neighborhood, do you help (stop and/or call 911) or continue on? Call 911, yes. Stop and stare, yes. Help? I’m not really a firefighter, and not very strong, and not too fond of being on fire. But I could make lemonade, were it near my residence. People like lemonade.

popularity: 27%

• Cone, waffle cone, or dish?  Yes, please.  I usually get dish these days, but would prefer waffle.  But I’m cheap, so I never get it.
• What flavors (you get three scoops)?  Three whole scoops?  I’ll never fit into my clothes again!  OK, um… chocolate, vanilla bean, and… did I say chocolate?
• What toppings?  Whipped cream, something crunchy (not peanuts - maybe sprinkles), fudge or caramel sauce.
• Who are you going to share it with?  Do I have to?  Seriously, I’m not really into sharing my food, and especially not my ice cream.  The former because I’m weird about germs, and the latter because I’m selfish and don’t wanna.

This meme didn’t actually address my favorite kind of ice cream: cake.  From Coldstone, that is.  My favorite is the Breathless Boston Cream Pie, because it has vanilla ice cream, yellow cake, whipped topping, and chocolate syrup (I think I’d prefer fudge sauce, but I’ll take chocolate syrup over nothing).

OK,  no one panic, but the Breathless Boston Cream Pie is no longer an option on their “Original Creations” page.  However, I have found two more possibilities for me to love (having never tried anything at Coldstone but the BBCP because it’s that good): Coffee Lovers Only, and Mud Pie Mojo.  It is important to note that:

1. It must be yellow cake in the ice cream (mashed in, that is), not cake batter ice cream.  There’s a huge difference.
2. I could always do a “Custom Creation” and therefore get my BBCP, and probably with fudge instead of chocolate sauce.  It’s a thought.

I was kinda craving a hot dog for lunch (I know, how gross), but now I want ice cream.  But I already had ice cream for lunch on Monday, and… I don’t really recommend it.  I mean, it was yummy and all, but not exactly filling.  I should go find a hot dog though.

popularity: 29%

• Last night on the bus ride home, there was a blind woman and her guide dog sitting near the front. The driver proceeded to describe, in detail, the entire trip. It included descriptions like “the city is laid out around the capital with the roads coming out of it like spikes” (I didn’t know that), “I don’t really know where I am,” and “this is a really cute neighborhood with lots of coffee shops and restaurants and so forth” (referring to my neighborhood). It was kinda fun, though that middle part was a bit frightening. (I’m guessing she just meant she’s a Minneapolis gal and not a St Paul gal, as most bus drivers seem to associate themselves with one or the other, and then when they’re in the opposite one, claim ignorance about local buses and sights.)
• called three times last night, and I missed all three attempts. He’s in North Carolina (has been since sometime last week) and won’t be returning until Sunday night. This puts a slight crimp in a few wedding details that are in the works. Oh well.
• Miracle of miracles, cleaned the house yesterday. A potential roommate came over, so he got the place all nice-looking. Swept the floors and cleaned the kitchen and bathroom.
• So, I cooked in my kitchen. Salmon with beans and carrots (from the farmer’s market) and a French baguette with olive oil. Then I had Twizzlers for desert.
• This morning while out for coffee, a bird crapped on my shoulder. No joke. That hasn’t happened to me since 4th grade when I was on a Girl Scout camping trip.
• I tried to finish watching “One True Thing” that I’d recorded and watched most of last week. It was on the Indie channel, and was really good, but kinda depressing so I couldn’t finish it (Renee Zellweger’s mom is terminally ill, for a brief plot synopsis). I had half an hour left. But the last 10 minutes were blank. And… I think it’s actually more than that that I’m missing. So I’ll have to Netflix it I guess. Do I remember how to login?
• Today’s wedding topic of discussion is: reception decorations. At least, it’s what has decided to email (multiple times) about. Nevermind that I’ve already laid it all out, in detail, including lovely Flash diagrams. I sent them to her and she’s been quiet ever since.
• Yesterday’s wedding topic of discussion was hair. called to talk about it after emailed about it.

popularity: 58%

Excellent post over at “It’s All About ME” today.  It resonates with me.  I think with some of you as well.

popularity: 36%

1. Are there any weird “food rules” you have? Feel free to list as many as you like. Are there any? There are many. Let’s see. Nothing slimy (examples: tomatoes, cooked onions). I don’t like it when my individual items touch (like the pile of peas and the pile of mac n cheese), though foods where they’re all in there together are OK (like chicken pot pie). I prefer to eat the food I least desire first, because there were way too many times in my childhood that I was sitting at the kitchen table trying to force down cold zucchini, or something else equally disgusting, long after the meal was over. When cooking, I try to remove the visible fat from chicken, cut off all questionable spots from fruits, and keep everything as clean as possible. I clean up as I’m cooking so that I don’t have a huge mess when I’m done (I’d prefer to eat the meal and not have to do anything afterwards other than veg on the couch).
2. When you were growing up, what ONE thing did your parents always remind you of, when it came to meal time (or cooking)? That we had to try everything (even if we’d tried it before and didn’t like it).
   
3. Is there anyone you know whose food you won’t eat (for one reason or another)? Um… I won’t use the microwaves at work because they’re disgusting. And I think I’d have to be pretty hungry to eat anything made.
4. Is there anything you “specialize” in cooking, that people actually ask for? I make an excellent coffee cake, and caramel-pecan apple pie, and a halfway decent lasagna.
5. When you were growing up, what one meal do you remember as being your favorite? Chili cheese dogs. They were what I asked for on my birthday, since didn’t like them and we didn’t eat them often, but we got to eat our favorite meal on our birthdays.
6. Today, what is your IDEAL meal? Pizza. Or really anything that is a generally accepted food I like but I didn’t have to pick it out or prepare it.

popularity: 25%

I took this little test (linked to on LifeHacker) and it told me… what I already knew. But nice to have it confirmed. [Emphases mine in the description below.] Go take it, and put your results in the comments!

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The results of Kelly Johnson’s learning inventory are:Visual/Nonverbal 32 Visual/Verbal 26 Auditory 12 Kinesthetic 20 Your primary learning style is:

The Visual/ Nonverbal Learning Style

You learn best when information is presented visually and in a picture or design format. In a classroom setting, you benefit from instructors who use visual aids such as film, video, maps and charts. You benefit from information obtained from the pictures and diagrams in textbooks. You tend to like to work in a quiet room and may not like to work in study groups. When trying to remember something, you can often visualize a picture of it in your mind. You may have an artistic side that enjoys activities having to do with visual art and design.

Learning Strategies for the Visual/ Nonverbal Learner:

Make flashcards of key information that needs to be memorized. Draw symbols and pictures on the cards to facilitate recall. Use highlighter pens to highlight key words and pictures on the flashcards. Limit the amount of information per card, so your mind can take a mental “picture’ of the information.

Mark up the margins of your textbook with key words, symbols, and diagrams that help you remember the text. Use highlighter pens of contrasting colors to “color code” the information.

When learning mathematical or technical information, make charts to organize the information. When a mathematical problem involves a sequence of steps, draw a series of boxes, each containing the appropriate bit of information in sequence.

Use large square graph paper to assist in creating charts and diagrams that illustrate key concepts.

Use the computer to assist in organizing material that needs to be memorized. Using word processing, create tables and charts with graphics that help you to understand and retain course material. Use spreadsheet and database software to further organize material that needs to be learned.

As much as possible, translate words and ideas into symbols, pictures, and diagrams.

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I totally do some of that stuff, so that’s kinda cool. I don’t make flashcards per se (though I’ve been trying to find a good set of the US Presidents and can’t), but I do make study guides that are kinda like flashcards, and totally do the highlighter / writing in the margins thing for books. Even non-educational books. Because then later when I’m trying to recall something, I “see it” in my mind. I also do this for trying to find lost items. Unfortunately, I often remember the color of the object wrong, so I never find what I’m looking for. ’s can opener has a red handle, but I’m always looking for a white handle (which is what mine is) or a dark blue handle (which is what I think his is), so I can never find it.

popularity: 26%

1. Deputy :: Sheriff
2. Name :: Tag
3. Arrested :: Development (I never did get that show)
4. Trade :: Show
5. Old :: Navy
6. Fingerprint :: Evidence
7. Dwarf :: and Elf
8. Newspaper :: Boy
9. Gabriel :: Angel
10. Certificate :: of Residency

popularity: 28%

If you had to choose between a pirate, ninja, or viking for a roommate, who would you choose?

I’m doing this one for , and also because I’m a Minnesotan.

Let’s see. A pirate would probably steal all my stuff, not bathe, and I’d constantly have to invoke “pirate codes” to make that relationship work. A Viking would probably also not bathe (this is really important when thinking about roommates), and I think they’re known (however erroneously) for pillaging and raping, and that doesn’t sound like good roommate material. A ninja would… take up very little space in the closet (needing only a few items of black clothing) and do everything stealthily, and would probably be gone a lot. That sounds like good roommate material - quiet, takes up little space, almost never home….

And, from Saturday: Do you make your bed everyday?

Most days. Lately I’ve been busy and/or late for the bus, so it hasn’t happened, but as a general rule I like to make my bed. I didn’t for… about ten years, but I’ve had reason to in recent years since my bedroom has been my main entertaining area, which helps me keep it clean and looking nice.

popularity: 24%