- Wouldn’t it be easy to take a nap right now? Yes, yes it would.
- I really need a haircut so that I can look better than ever!
- I love the taste of full-fat, full-sugar creamer. This morning I ran out of mine and had to sub 1% milk in for the rest. It is not good.
- Sometimes I do my homework in the living room.
- The first thing we’re going to do is get red of the red paint. At least, that’s what I said when we moved into our house 9 months ago. The bedroom is still red. Blech.
- We don’t have any faucets that go drip, drip, drip; other than the occasional cold shower, the plumbing in our 55 year old house is in great shape.
- And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to the last glass of wine left in the bottle (that I opened yesterday, *ahem*), tomorrow my plans include going to Sam’s Club and maybe a quick search for a LBD and Sunday, I want to spend time playing the piano and not feel guilty about it (because I should be doing homework or cleaning)!
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I’m working at finding silver linings today, and trying to think positive. So, I’m not even going to share with you the complaints that inspire these thoughts. How about that? Today, I’m thankful… … for long underwear, scarves, space heaters, and hot drinks. … for a full head of hair. … I don’t itch everywhere. … that the more classes I take at once, the sooner I graduate, and the less it costs. … I get to sleep in on weekends. … that I don’t have class on Wednesday and Thursday nights. … for no yardwork. … for 9 1/2 hours of daylight! (Compared to 8.75 at our darkest point, 12/22.) By this time next month, it will be over 11 hours! … a wine cellar full of Riesling. … it’s Thursday! … dreams. No posts today. Why? Because I was busy with another blog, one I had to create for class. And I had to make it look pretty and stuff. And I’m still figuring out the e-folio site, because though I have used a few different blogging softwares, an HTML editor or two, and a CMS, every one has to be just that wee bit different that makes you bang your head on the wall for a few minutes until you have that aha! moment. Maybe tomorrow…. My weekend was supposed to be filled with homework, visiting with I remained very level headed about the whole thing (you can ask
In the end, my presence was barely needed, but had anything gone differently, I’m glad I went. I did a quick mental inventory during the moment of almost panic, and knew that she knew how much I love her and there were no regrets. If there’s anything I learned in the past two years, it’s that you should make the time to be with the ones you love and make sure they know what’s in your heart, because life is always shorter than we wish it was. Sunday I did more homework and then watched the Vikings almost win the game. At least we didn’t embarrass ourselves like we did in Arizona. Ahem. This week is a bit stressful at work, since the feds are in town. I’m trying to figure out how to discuss the laptop issue with my Tuesday night professor in a non-offensive way. So far, all I’ve come up with is, “help me understand why you don’t want students to use laptops,” followed by “because it seems so contrary to the goals of this program and such an antiquated point of view.” I don’t think the antiquated part would go over well. And really, I’m trying to be respectful, but it’s hard when she doesn’t respect me enough to allow me this one small freedom. I certainly don’t want to call her out on that, but it’s on the tip of my tongue. I really don’t do confrontation well, but this is kind of a big deal, and we’re only three weeks into the semester. I’d rather clear it up sooner than later. Any advice?
(In no particular order) … Time to use pretty craft supplies (and not just browse them on the internet). … Weather warm enough so I can to spray-paint in my garage. … The perfect color scheme (including exact paint colors) for the master bedroom. … To be able to use my laptop in my Tuesday night class (I am remarkably level-headed about that at the moment, but don’t get me started). … To never again be asked if/when we’re having kids. It’s really not anyone’s business. … Ice cream. I always want ice cream. What would you like? I [perhaps foolishly] spent most of yesterday afternoon baking. I made four batches of muffins, a batch of icebox cookie dough, and a double batch of chocolate chip cookies. (OK, I only baked up part of the chocolate chip cookies, and then spoon-dropped the rest onto a cookie sheet and stuck them in the freezer, so that Beforehand, I measured out how much All-Bran we had (I’d been saving half a box for just such a moment, because who cares if All-Bran is stale? could you even tell?), and it was just over 4 cups. Since each recipe took approximately one cup, it was all good. I emptied the flour jar (refilled with flour that was in the pantry – sorry, inside joke for This morning, I grabbed a muffin from the freezer and threw it in my lunch bag, and let it thaw until lunch. It was a Chocolate Nut one, and it was fabulous! Just a bit dry, as bran muffins tend to be, and not overly chocolatey (they are muffins, not cupcakes or brownies). Made my lunch seem slightly less depressing (yogurt, carrots, water, string cheese – no dip or peanut butter or Nutella or anything like that). Of course, after dinner when I sat down with the syllabus from Friday’s class, I discovered that I had several chapters and random bits of homework I should have done. I was not happy about this. I was even less happy when I started reading the textbook, which, if I describe it as “asinine,” I will be doing it a favor. I decided, for the first time in this time around in college, that I would only be skimming this book, and there would be absolutely no marking of the text so I could sell it back (did I mention I have two of this book because I’m stupid, and it’s a really expensive book?). Before I switched to skimming, I learned that some acronym-organization (there are so many acronyms in education, and I really don’t care enough to keep them all straight right now) thinks its important that teachers be able to use computers (and peripherals!) and be able to complete a web search. There was also a rather lengthy description of the internet. And that’s when my head imploded. For my afternoon snack, I have some chocolate chip cookies sitting here. But, the muffin might tide me over until it’s time to go home. We’ll see. In the continuing experiment of a trying to get to class on time, I’ll remind you that last Monday I left at 5:30 and was 15 minutes late. Tuesday I left at 5:05, grabbing dinner on the way, and I was 15 minutes late. I actually sat on the ramp, less than a mile from class, for 25 solid minutes. So, tonight I’ll be taking local roads instead of the highway, and I’ll be leaving at 5:05 (grabbing dinner on the way), and hopefully I will arrive early. Or at least on time. This weekend, I finally got around to taking pictures of a pillowcase I embroidered. I worked on it down in Chicago, and it started a lot of conversations. While technically completed in December, I didn’t throw it in the wash until January, so I’m considering it my first finished embroidery project of 2010.  I think it's a vintage Vogart pattern that I bought on ebay.
 I'm not sure my color choices for the deer were perfect, but they turned out OK.
 I do so love the flowers!
And, I’m happy to announce that our cats have finally figured out the art of snuggling together.  Dirty laundry makes the best cushy nap spot, don't you think?
That’s all for me. The weekend was spent doing homework and cleaning and… other boring activities. Last night, I threw out a container of cornmeal that expired in 2008, some vinegar that expired in 2006, and a partial bag of shredded coconut that had been opened probably two years ago. I also moved some things around in the kitchen, part of the eternal quest to 1) fit everything into the kitchen, and 2) be able to easily access it when I need it. Now, I really shouldn’t complain, because the cabinet space in our kitchen is beyond generous.  The previous owner actually removed a set of lower cabinets and the kitchen doesn't suffer at all. I counted up how many hinges and handles we'd have to buy when we re-finish the cabinets, and it's a disgustingly high number. 38 hinges, and 34 drawer pulls, give or take a few. Oh, and that cabinet above the refrigerator? Completely empty. It was always going to be blocked off by stuff sitting on top of the fridge, and it seemed smarter to just leave it empty.
 Pardon the mess. This was taken the second or third week after moving. See all those cabinets against the far wall, and the countertop? And next to it on the right, the closet? Further on the right there's a pantry. That's a ridiculous quantity of storage space.
(I should note that the sacrifice is that there is absolutely no wall space anywhere. The quantity of paint required to re-paint this room would be so minimal. That means that the only way to decorate the kitchen, aside from paint, is with towels. Or we’d have to replace the tile and the countertops. Ouch, that’d be pricey.) But, I can honestly tell you that all of the cabinets you see here, with the exception of the lower one under the TV in the second picture and the one above the refrigerator in the first picture, are full. Maxed out. I’m debating moving some things into storage in the basement, or giving some things away to Goodwill. We never use the Panini press. I think the rule is that if you don’t care about it, and you can’t remember who gave it to you (wedding present from Great Aunt So-and-So? have to keep it), then it’s fair to give away. Last night, in an effort to find more room for coffee mugs (tea mugs? hot cocoa mugs? are they still coffee mugs if they haven’t held coffee in years? discuss), all sorts of things got moved around, which thankfully included remembering to look at the dates on some things. I was going to continue the madness after dinner, and sort the spices (I know that we have 3 Cream of Tartar containers and it’s driving me crazy!), but we went to the MOA instead, and were exhausted when we returned. House-related questions: anyone have a good solution to the pile of papers that inevitably shows up on the kitchen counter? thoughts on paint color (a project that is quite a ways off, but I don’t care for the blue – it’s very high gloss and was done very poorly)? curtain ideas? ways to keep a black stovetop clean? kitchen item that I absolutely shouldn’t throw/give away? I’m feeling indifferent today. It started with missing the 7:00 bus (by about 30 seconds), followed by a dentist appointment at 8:00. He removed a very large filling in the very back left and replaced it with an even larger one. I am still sore, and was instructed not to eat with that side of my mouth. On the plus side, I didn’t actually experience any pain this time (except for the inevitable chapped lips and neck cramp). Last night, I was 15 minutes late to class; it was a first for me, and I hated every moment until I arrived in the classroom. I was the 6th student to arrive, out of 8 total. The professor decided that even though the university says class goes until 8:30 pm, it will actually go until 9:00. Not happy about that, but I will try to get over it before our next class, which is in two weeks (thanks, MLK Jr!). One can only hope that tonight’s professor won’t try the same thing. I will revolt. FYI, driving downtown Minneapolis at 5:30 is not very much fun, especially if there’s something going on at the Convention Center. Boo. While getting ready for bed last night, I finally figured out why I hadn’t been able to sleep the night before. It might have had something to do with the 1/2 bar of Ghirardelli that was part of the desert I still have not scheduled the haircut I desperately need, the massage I want, or the meeting with my advisor that I was told needed to happen (though I think it is ridiculous to meet again to discuss the plan that we created together in September). I am not feeling phone-friendly today, so those things will probably remain undone until tomorrow.
Also, class last night kind of terrified me, in the “I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing here, and it seems like everyone else knows what’s going on” sort of way. I was trying to remember if I felt that way about youth ministry when I was doing my undergrad, and I don’t think I did. I had spent enough time volunteering that I knew what was going on (in my 19 year old arrogance) and was just “biding my time” until I was “old enough to be taken seriously” (I actually said that more than once – ah, youth, you are so funny). So is it the experience, the innocence/arrogance of youth, or something else? Is the “what the h*ll is going on?” feeling good? Should I embrace the clueless feeling? Will it go away quickly? All of my classes up to this point have been either content area (history, geography, economics, etc) or very introductory courses to urban education. Last semester was a freshman-level course at a community college, which is about as easy as they get (about the equivalent of junior year of high school, in my experience). Last night’s class was a 400/600 level, meaning senior/graduate level. Tonight’s class is also 400/600 level. Friday’s is thankfully “just” a 300 level course. What was my advisor thinking when he made this schedule for me? It feels a bit like my freshman year at Judson when, because of some college credit I transferred in, I ended up taking classes with seniors instead of other freshmen because it’s what “worked.” It was a bit more fun then, though every bit as intimidating. Lastly, I would really love it if someone would figure out a solution to involuntary blushing. It makes me feel like an idiot (which inconveniently makes me blush more). I’m not nervous or embarrassed. I have no conscious control over the blood rushing to my face. Maybe a pill or a cream or something? Anyone?  ---
(Yes, that’s how many Christmas celebrations we had. This was the last.) Last night,
 pajamas! The pants aren't actually finished, because they need to be cust0m-fit to L, but they're 30 minutes away from being done. The sleep shirt was done by tracing a photo of the fabric in Flash and enlarging it, and freezer paper stenciling it using soft fabric paint. I was super pleased with how it turned out.
And, because in December not only did  "The Next Step"
 Back
She loved it, and reacted as anyone should to a homemade gift. I was pleased. And then we played dice and chatted and then I pushed them out the door so I could take down the Christmas decorations and clean the house before classes start (T minus three hours now). I read at least 44 books in 2009. 13 were for school, 10 were craft books, and one was a cookbook, which leaves 20 fiction books (two were large anthologies). Of course, this doesn’t include all the books I forgot to add into LivingSocial, but I think it’s a fairly accurate representation. There are 17 books on my 2008 list, 6 of which are not textbooks. It’s easy to say on the 8th day of January that I’m going to do a much better job of recording which books I read. It is likely that in actuality, I will again miss a bunch of stuff. But, I’ll try. Maybe just the act of having a list will help me (I like lists). Of course, the whole list of books thing makes me want to install Delicious Library onto my iMac and catalog every single book we own. Let’s not take on more than we can handle, dear. Maybe I should just note on the inside cover of the book the month/year that I finish reading that book. Maybe I should sort through our large book collection and see what can be sold/given away. Maybe… I’ll just dwell on the fact that I read 20 fiction books last year.
Some things I’ve bookmarked recently:
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, and watching the Vikings win (OK, so I don’t really care about that last bit, but I had to throw it in). Oh, and a lovely massage on Friday night. Boy, am I glad I got that massage. Saturday just as 
called to give me an update on the Big Thing That Changed The Weekend, and I had to rush off. See, Friday night 
started having stomach pains, and by Saturday morning they were so bad that she went to the emergency room. 
had a wedding to officiate (can’t really get out of that) later in the day, and it looked like she might need surgery. As it turned out, she had appendicitis and they scheduled a laparoscopic surgery in the afternoon to remove it.
if you doubt me), but there was a point while driving up to the hospital where I freaked out just a little bit, until I remembered that God is BIG and I didn’t need to worry. That calmed me down quite a bit. In the end, I did a lot of sitting in various waiting rooms. One of the nurses took great care of me though (gave me her number and told me to call her at certain times), and the doctor came out and explained everything to me (along with giving me a nice glossy photograph of the appendix). For all but 5 minutes of my 2 1/2 hours of waiting, I was the only person in the waiting room. Apparently weekends are slow days for surgery.
came over for our annual Christmas in January gift exchange and yummy food. We learned how to make shrimp scampi, had delicious roasted Brussels sprouts that 
