2008

1) Be More Organized
I’ve always been terrible with this aspect of my life. No matter how hard I try, I get lazy with it and go back to my same old messy unorganized self. When I move into my own apartment I can’t be like that. I don’t want my apartment to look like it did when I lived at Greenbriar; especially with Ethan. If I see a mess, clean it up. Living on my own I will be the one responsible for that. Starting now will make it that much easier.

2) Relearn Patience
I used to be the most patient person I knew. I don’t know if it’s because I got older, or something just snapped, but it’s not really there anymore. Mostly I need to be patient with Ethan. Sometimes little things set me off and he needs me controlled in those situations as much as I do. I think if I don’t get so frustrated and impatient with him (and myself) I’d be a lot better at being a mom than I am now.

3) Manage Finances Better
More often than not the past year I found myself needing help with my finances. Every once in awhile I’d be okay, but then it would all go to shit when I got a handle on what I was doing. If I’m going to be independent at any time in my life, I’m going to have to learn this NOW so I don’t get myself in trouble. And with a child, I can’t really afford to play as much as I used to or would like.

4) Take Better Care of Myself
This one is last because I always resolve to lose weight. It’s still a resolution but it doesn’t seem to be as important as in years past. Mainly my eating habits and portion sizes need to change. I need to be more disciplined about it as well; and throw in some exercise for good measure.



These are my resolutions for 2008. I know they won’t happen overnight, nor do I expect them to happen overnight. I just need to be patient and work at them little by little throughout the year and reap the benefits a year from now.

My Favorite Things

Number one on my list is this; the Tide to Go pen. I bought one with some of my Christmas money. I'm ALWAYS spilling something on myself when I go out to eat. And having a toddler more often than not I wish I had one handy. I'm just glad I had the foresight to get one just for the simple fact that while I was walking into work this morning, I spilled coffee on my white shirt. Only me. I really can't take myself anywhere. I'm like a 3 year old trapped in a 27 year old's body. I've definitely gotten better the older I've gotten, but it's still there.

My other favorite thing is the bottled whipped cream. Not the RediWhip, but the REAL stuff. The Land O Lakes Heavy Whipped Cream. No, not so good for me, but it tastes oh so good. And one squirt usually does me for awhile. And don't act like you don't do it.

Triscuit crackers. They are God's gift to all things cracker. I could snack on these all day. I get almost giddy when I know someone has them and actually puts them out for sharing. Regular and Rosemary and Olive Oil are quite possibly the most divine things I could ever put in my mouth or pair with a delicious homemade cheeseball...Mmmmmm (someone's hungry, can you tell?)

And my oddball favorite thing; stationery. I don't care what it is. It could just a plain pad of paper and Bic pens. I'm happy with it. I've told a few people, "If you never know what to get me, get me stationery." I got a pad of paper from my grandma and aunt on my mom's side for Christmas (different ones of course) but I was REALLY excited about it. And yesterday as I was going through some stuff in my storage unit, I found about 7 different things of paper and it was the most exciting thing to me.

Pet Peeves

I have two major pet peeves. And it probably stems from growing up in a family of people that are English majors. Okay, no one in my family is an English major, but it sure seems like it. And it seems more so like that lately. I hate hate hate people that use bad grammar. I just want to yell and scream and jump up and down (no, not that bad) and correct them. I think it's most aggravating when it's someone I don't know. I have no problem correcting my friends on their grammar. One of the ladies I used to work with at my t-comm job always asked customers, "Do you have a number where I can call you back at?" Yeah, it's improper grammar. NEVER EVER end a sentence with a preposition. You either don't put the "at" at the end of the sentence, or find someplace else to put it. "I don't have no..." is another of those that drives me crazy. I mean, really really crazy. To the point of actually yelling. Even if it's someone I don't know. I just want to tell them to go back to school and learn the English language...which is not a very easy language to learn.
Bad spelling makes me insane, too. I guess it's because I've always been an excellent speller, and people that don't know how, well it just bugs me. I just read something on my work website talking about their insurance cards but "their" was spelled "there." It's a common mistake I know, and I've been known (just once) to make that mistake. But COME ON!!! Stop and think about it before you type or write the damn word! Or maybe it's a grammar mistake? Either way...
And no, I'm not some snobby smarty pants that'll call you out on your misspellings if I see them. I'm not that much of a Nazi about it all. It's just aggravating, that's all. It's just one of my little quirks I acquired while growing up with my family.

Eggs

I love eggs. I could eat them pretty much any way they're fixed...except over hard. I love eggs sunny side up, cooked medium so the yolk oozes out of them and I can sop up the "juice" with my toast. Apparently, it's a very rare occasion when I can make eggs like this. Which is probably why I just stick to making them scrambled.
I have 2 eggs left in my fridge and I was going to start making cookies today for the open house mom and dad are having on Sunday. I knew there was something I had to do in town beside mail my cards...guess I'll be making a run to Mom and Pop's Grocery down the road...and by down the road, I mean about 4.5 miles away. Better get on that so there won't be so much to do this weekend while mom's home and I'm at work, unable to help.

The Final Day

I got all my shopping done today...with the exception of the gifts I need to get for the Manifold Family gift exchange in January. But those can be gotten later so no big deal. It only took me three days of shopping to get everyone done. Thursday, Friday, and today. I'm so glad I'm done. At least I didn't wait until the last minute like I did last year. Last year I went the Saturday before Christmas. That's right, Christmas on Monday, I went out and did everyone the Saturday. Nothing like procrastination to make a Christmas almost not happen. So now I need to get the presents wrapped and keep them hidden from my son so he doesn't think he can open them NOW. AND I need to get my Christmas cards addressed and sent out this week so that people can get them before next Tuesday. Guess it's another late night for me tonight...but it happens sometimes so that's okay. And I love making presents for my family. My sister told me to make her something this year so I'm gonna see what I can do and hope she likes it. I have an idea, so I'll just have to make sure it works for her. I'm sure it will and I bet if she's reading this, she's wondering what it is and I can't WAIT to give it to her. ;)

Two Weeks

It's been over 2 weeks since I've taken any type of picture. Weeeell, I've taken pictures with my phone, but the clarity isn't as great as it would have been with a real camera. My SLR camera has been with my brother probably since the end of summer. I was taking pictures of a corn field while it was still green and the film wouldn't advance. I had my dad take it to him to see if he could revive it, but no such luck. And two weeks ago, November 3oth actually, I had my digital camera in my hand, I got up, packed for the next day so I could go to the Nutcracker after work, and I have NO idea where in hell my camera is right now. I keep looking in places I think it should be, but it's not there. I'm very much missing it right now. I've even dreamt, twice, that I've found it. I just wish I knew where it is and it's completely bumming me out that it's MIA. Since I got back into photography, I don't think I've EVER gone this long without taking a picture. Hope I can find it before Christmas...

Football

I believe football to be one of the greatest sports in the world...and I'm sure many people would agree with me. I figured out a while ago that there were pros and cons to the game...mostly the way it's watched. There are those that can afford tickets and those that wish they could afford them, such as myself. Anyway, the one big pro to watching the game live, in person, is the excitement that's there with all those fans, there for the same purpose; to cheer on their team. The cons, the long lines to the bathrooms, the expensive snacks, the parking, the waiting to get out of the parking...but I guess it's all worth it if your team wins. The pros to watching the game at home are the instant replays. You miss something, they play it again, nothing missed. You don't have to pay out the butt for snacks, there are no long lines for the bathrooms, you don't have to worry about parking, and since you're in the privacy of your own home, you can be as loud, rowdy, and rambunctious as you want and no one behind you telling you to chill out or not be so loud. The cons, the excitement is there,but nowhere near as intense as it is in person. Either way, it's still a great game; to play, to watch, whatever. I LOVE MY COLTS!

Pop Princesses

I like their music...some of it. Others just drive me crazy. In particular, the Simpson sisters. They're just so nasally and breathy when they sing it makes me want to punch them. And Miss Spears is one of those that I can't stand either. Yes, I will admit I have 2, count them 2, of her songs on my computer, but all her others make me want to throw my radio when she comes on. Does she have to sound so much like a baby when she sings??? Grrrr. I've been listening to singers like this all day...not by choice (well partially by choice since I chose the station to which I was listening (that's right, grammatical correctness in a blog; my parents would be so proud)). I just think if a singer is going to be produced or whatever it is, she needs to have a strong consistent sounding voice. For examples; the ladies of Celtic Woman, Nelly Furtado, Bette Midler, KT Tunstall, Alicia Keys...just to name a few that pop into my head.

It's a Start

I have another blog over on MySpace but I'm gonna try it here and see how I like it. I'm sure I'll like it better because now everyone can see it, not just the people I have on MySpace.
Right now I'm sitting at my "desk" at work and wishing I was elsewhere. It's a regular occurence when I work. I work every weekend, 7a-7p. It's rather frustrating. More so this weekend because I can't go home. Well, I can but it's inadvisable at this point in time simply because it's snowing outside and coming down quite steadily. I love snow, but not when I have to drive in it.
I remember when I was a kid going sledding with my family. It was nothing fancy, but obviously impacted me in some way since I still remember doing it 20 years later. We lived in a tiny little town in southern Indiana, my dad was a pastor at two churches and one of them was in the town where we lived. One snowy day we got all dressed in our winter gear, walked over by the church, past the cemetery, and up the hill at the end of the road. I don't know how long we stayed but it was fun. I don't remember much about the entire time we were there, but I do remember thinking I was going to go in the creek and jumping off my sled while I was on a downhill run. I wouldn't have gone in since my dad was behind me, but still, that's what I thought so I hightailed it outta there. We went home and had hot chocolate and that's what I remember about that day. It's those family times of doing simple things that I remember most about my childhood.