Friday, November 30

Planned

I got a new planner for next year and am already enamored. When I started getting dates for things that would happened past the end of this calendar year, I started panicking a little as I am apt to do. :P

I love my last planner, I do. It's thick with reference information and many of my notes. It even started back in the late summer of 2011, so it's last me a while. This year, I got my planner from a different store out of convenience, and while it it doesn't have a few of the printed bells and whistles, I have realized that it's bigger in size and cut out a bunch of sections and pages that I never used.

It will take some getting used to having a planner that actually sticks to the twelve calendar months, but I'll live. What I want to focus on was having a designated spot for my bigger tasks and then enough room for a "To-Do" list and a "To-Done" list. All about keeping myself motivated. Nearly every birthday I want has already been entered in to it. Another little bonus is each month has it's own plastic divider tab.

It just makes my organization heart happy.

Day 30: I am grateful for the everyday struggles and bigger challenges that make me a stronger and better person. I'm also thankful for this little project that helped me practice looking for the silver lining in each and every day.
 

Thursday, November 29

Mulling

Despite what I said during my last post about greenery about cutting back next year, I have spent some time this evening researching new plants to try or at the very least, new layouts. Namely companion planting or anything edible we could try to learn about and actually use.

Yes, a bunch of the herbs were really easy to grow but we only ended up using some Cilantro and some Parsley. That's out of about ten types. The rabbits enjoyed the lettuce more than we did and the quails have adored my three types of pepper plants.

The only things I have determined is that I should really upgrade each pot to one size bigger for my peppers and tomatoes. That's fine and dandy for the latter. Also, trying to add some lettuce or basil or cilantro to the bottoms of the tomatoes to help protect the exposed bottom halves of the plants.

Darn it, I'm getting excited about gardening again. This could be bad news for me, lol. The seedlings are trucking a long, I think. They may need to dry out for a bit. Some haven't sprouted yet (it has almost been a week) but others are almost dying for some light. Silly things.

Aside from that...

Day 29: I am grateful that I can "infect" nearly everyone around me with my obsessions. Or... erm... enthusiastically share them. To my ladies with Project Life- it really is simple! The creator, Becky Higgins, posted this today.
 

Wednesday, November 28

DFTBA

Day 28: I am grateful for Nerdfighteria and the creation of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a modern adaption of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. I loved the book as a kid and I love these vlogs now. It's great to find a community that embraces the quirky, bright, and kind.
I know I've written about the Vlogbrothers and Nerdfighteria before, but I've been rewatching the videos from this playlist today and it has brought such a smile to my face.


I woke up in the middle of the night because a quiche did not agree with me at all. I was miserable and the SO came to help me and found me on the floor trying to get to some crackers without making a mess of the kitchen. Needless to say, I'm very grateful to have someone who's willing to take care of me when I'm very pathetic and hurt. He knows I'd do the same and have.

I was determined not to call out sick today and all I wanted to do was do whatever was necessary so I could just go back to sleep. My supervising teacher was out today and I didn't quite realize that was going to happen until yesterday afternoon. I had no idea what the lesson plan was and neither of us knew who the substitute was going to be. I dreaded today so much and kept praying but it went really well, all things considered. We had the very best sub who has been a staple at our school for years and many of our wild kids did pretty well. It was also a short day being Wednesday.

I had half planned to stay a few extra hours to volunteer today but after my mini ordeal last night, I just wanted to rest at home. So, I walked home using my newer route. My mom actually ended up keeping me company via phone call this time but I had planned out a playlist to listen to so I wouldn't run the risk of my phone dying out on me again.

I'm actually getting a little excited about walking home. It takes me about an hour but time really flew by this time around. I felt that I was dragging my feet a bit and not taking huge strides but then I remembered that a few hours ago, I wanted to rip out my insides. Or they wanted to be ripped out of me. So, I figure that cuts me some slack. I might even walk home again tomorrow! It depends on how much energy I have.

I'm still lining up creative projects working with others and I'm super excited but am reigning in my enthusiasm just a bit because none of them have actually come to fruition yet. On the brighter side, the final pieces of my main Christmas gift shopping has been completed as of today! My brother's and FMIL's gifts came in the mail today and I'm excited. I have a lot of gifts to wrap and packages to assemble this weekend. Alright, got to go before this loses all semblance of cohesion.

Tuesday, November 27

Twinkling

Day 27: I am grateful for Christmas light displays- one of my favorite things about the holidays with how they bring people together with their sparkles. This may or may not be the reason why I shouldn't own a home right now. Just you wait! :P Someday...
I can't remember what set me off on this tangent, but I hardly need a reason and it happens every few months anyways, lol. Very glad to find this house/channel though! It's brought a smile to my long and frustrating day. Hope you enjoy!



Monday, November 26

Waning

Lost track of time last night and went to bed way too late for a school night. Sigh. I can't believe I just said that, lol.

It was a very squirrelly day (understandably) and I have barely woken up. The garden seems to be faring well (well, except the strawberries but hopefully it's just recovering from the transfer).

Day 26: I am grateful for all of the prep work that's been done because now I have more than half of the Christmas cards written, packed, and addressed- ready to go!

Started feeling under the weather, so I took it easy and casually worked on writing, packing up, and addressing just about half of the Christmas cards. There are a few cards that I'm still waiting to confirm addresses on and the rest are either a part of a bigger package, some for the SO's extended family (so we're waiting for more inspiration for heartfelt messages), and the majority remaining are cards that will be handed out in person. I'm granting myself leeway with getting those done.

I had a fun break of enabling a friend's Cyber Monday shopping for a solid hour sharing links back and forth and hunting down something that she fell in love with. It just makes me happy and gives me a taste of something I really love to do. I need to get back to those things. That positivity. Gotta stop wasting my time drowning myself in junk. Lol, 19 more work days until break! I just want to sleep in my own bed again...

Sunday, November 25

Garden Refresh

Worked in the garden yesterday and a tiny bit today to let off some steam. It was mostly refreshing and maintenance of the plants that are about to go bare for winter (and when I start panicking about their survival).

 

I worked on a makeshift cover for the Hogwarts of Bird's Eye Chillies to try to keep the quails and other birds away from what little leaves it has left. I also moved the other chillies from the patio to the garden area in hopes that they get some strength before winter sets in fully. Each of the pots with plants that should last got a few layer of dirt from the pots that have been going unused.



As usual, in the back is Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. They have had some minor frost damage from about a week ago with some bird damage (still). In the front are the two Serranos, a Jalapeños, and the Strawberry plant. The smaller peppers are looking super pathetic, I trimmed off nearly all of their peppers and hoping they will grow some leaves, and found a gross invader in the original organic soil for the strawberries. *Creepy Crawler Alert*


 

From what I gather, it's most likely a Japanese Beetle grub worm that likes to feed on the roots of things. Couldn't get a good picture because it was squirming so much. It took me by surprised and I almost grabbed it. My poor strawberry barely had any roots and has gotten worse since the day I brought it home. It's replanted in a new pot for now while I wait for the old dirt to dry out.


I didn't add any dirt to the tomatoes since they are on their way out. The one in the middle is has a few Better Boys that are ripen and the first one has a solitary fruit that's about the size of a nickel. There are a handful of cherry tomatoes that are still growing at the end. In front of them are the two other Jalapeños with the Oregano (on its way out) and Chives (still hanging in there). The Basil plants that I had chopped down but left the stems in have started sprouting new leaves! Totally unexpected, especially since they've only gotten some over-sprayed water.

 
 No more than 2.5 inches in diameter but turning redder each day.

 
The meager harvest. The sweet cherry tomato, a measly Better Boy (dime-size), the Serranos, and still stubby Jalapeños. They may be used in some homemade salsas soon during the cold weather.

 My last little project was planting some various leftover seeds in some old dirt cookies to be placed in a plastic bin. Just like a mini-greenhouse where I can carry them in and out to get used to sunlight and the temperature. Hopefully something will grow. The seeds are pretty old.

Everything looked all nice and fresh with the new dirt added. I also relabeled plants and trimmed off the dead stuff. After the tomatoes are done, I'll chop up the plant pieces and mix that with some new and old dirt for next year's batch. I do not plan to add any new types of plants and most of my resources will go towards protecting Hogwarts. I will however, grow more tomatoes because they seem to be the most used of my plants. Also, they will be companion planted with Basil who seem to grow at the same rate and a perfect height to protect the bottom-halves.  

Sidenote:
Day 25: I am grateful for the replay button and headphones to help tune everything else out. 

Saturday, November 24

A Break

Day 24: I am grateful for downtime to spend with two of the beings I care about the most.

Spending some time with the SO today. Did some work in the garden and will finish that up tomorrow. Just doing what I can to take a step back and take a break. Will be working on some of the Christmas cards later too. Well, hopefully.

Friday, November 23

Gratitude Continues

Day 23: I am grateful to have access to technology to help make a cruddy day better by letting me reach out to/ bring me closer to my loved ones. #firstworldblessing

My increasing resentment and anger came to a bit of a head this morning (no, I did not participate in Black Friday madness) and I nearly lost self-control and sanity for a while there. I couldn't find anyone to vent to and cried hot tears.

While I choose not to become incredibly personal/ detailed here, this blog and those who read it have helped a lot during this time in my life. I just needed a bit more today. I started typing up a private journal again. I would write it but I have a tendency to leave notebooks out and about while my laptop is password protected. :) Like an updated diary, lol. Plus, if I'm that angry or tired, my thoughts would still be legible in the morning with typing.

Eventually, I was able to talk to the SO, a friend, and my brother to help me calm down considerably. Thank goodness for technology. If it weren't for that, I would have never met my love, I wouldn't have been able to Skype with one of my dearest friends, and my brother wouldn't have been able to call me while shopping for my Christmas present. Lol, aww. Sweet, right?

My family and I aren't huge into keeping our presents a secret. It's more of a: "What's the one big thing you really want this year?" I'm getting just what I wanted- actually, a better version of it! I can't wait. I finished my Christmas shopping last night. Again, thanks to technology. I have been researching ideas for a few weeks now and made the final decisions. They should arrive in the next week or so. Then I can wrap them and ship' em out!

Haven't worked on writing cards today, but will definitely get back to it to tomorrow. Want to send them out in within the next two weeks, for sure. It just didn't feel right- trying to think of meaningful and kind things to say when I just wanted to start grabbing bottles and jars from the kitchen and smash them into the ground. Sigh. I need to refocus my energy towards improving myself and my life. If only the conversion were that simple.

Thursday, November 22

Autumn Love

Happy Thanksgiving!
May you stay sane, have satisfied stomachs, and appreciate the multitude of blessings in life (both past and present).

Day 22: Happy Turkey-Touchdown Day / Happy Thanksgiving! I am grateful for loved ones who are safe, happy, and healthy all over the world. May you become Olympic athletes in the sport of Marathon Eating, remember the silver lining of our history, and have a restful weekend. ♥

I'll probably post pictures of the various goodies tomorrow, but I'd like to just unwind this evening and share little things that have reminded me of Autumn before we're flooded with everything Christmas and winter. Although that latter part is a bit silly because while I was born in the New England area, I grew up around Miami and live in the Southwestern desert now. This doesn't scream "Lover of White Christmases". 

Again, I digress.

Here are some everyday things that have really made me happy about this season so far.

 It's hard to tell here, but this was one of our decent Autumn rain storms that came with a cold front. So crisp! Inspired us to make some warm dinner so we'd fill the house with delicious smells and heat from the oven.

Sunsets like these. The desert has such rich colors already but a bit of humidity goes a long way.

 
These were taken at a grocery store parking lot and I loved how the sun was between some of the mountains.  
 
 Dressing up and accessorizing in rich and warm earth tones. This is OPI's "It's My Year". Cannot say enough how much I love bundling up in this cool weather.

 This little thing is in the hall bathroom. A warm, yet light and spicy "Warm Apple Pie" scent fills the living room and high traffic area.

 Even at night, the bright red screams coziness and holidays! Just love the little touches and can't wait to have them in my own home one day.

 This trooper of a pumpkin plant that the little ones planted at school. We brought it home in hopes that it'd strengthen up. Please make fruit-babies!

Sweet and themed treats like these bring such a smile to my face. Five different colored leaf sprinkles! So adorable and really launching a season of giving. 

 Little man has been napping heavily in his favorite cool-weather spots like on this chair underneath the dining table every morning. It's so cute that he has different favorites depending on the season.
  

Wednesday, November 21

Turkey Season

Day 21: I am grateful for today being Wednesday-Payday Friday/Day before Turkey-Touchdown Day. Also, all the free food samples that come with working at a school and helping with parties. Gotta be thankful for the superficial & instantly gratifying stuff too!

Was a bit exhausted (more than I thought I was) last night after a long day of the usual then heading over to my SIL's (sister-"in-law") house to help her decorate a bit for her Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, "sign-off" on the vegetarian menu as a big ole carnivore, and have many discussions about spirituality and girly things. Lots of fun and we lost track of time, lol.

I'm relieved to be home, as you can see from my daily gratitude status. I'm a fan of keeping it simple when life is simple.

In the meantime, FMIL has been determined to have the majority of her traditional-favorite Thanksgiving dishes for the intimate gathering tomorrow afternoon. Then, we'll head over to SIL's house to join in on her shindig. Plenty of leftovers will be had. 


While I should be cleaning the dining area right now, I've been getting a (late) start on writing my Christmas cards. With a new box of envelopes, checking to make sure I had the majority of the necessary stamps, and finding a pack of writing utensils that were acid-free (so I can use it with scrapbooking too- hooray!), there was no more excuses. Just feeling under the weather today, so I really appreciated the "quiet" time sitting and cranking out about twenty cards.

Trying to do the ones that will be mailed out first, hopefully a batch will go out sometime in the next few days with a package or two. Wish me luck. I'm doing better with trying to be more positive, maybe even cheerful at times, but when my temper flares- the heat is intense. Also, deep. If that makes any sense for temperature.

I want to say that if we were in a better situation, I wouldn't feel as strong as I have been these past few months, but now I'm not so sure. There's a better chance of me being able to have more tolerance once I know have my own space to retreat to, but these feelings are never going away. I think they can only get worse. It'll be nice to truly have the option to tune out everything and everyone else and just be in my own world when I so choose. 

Lol, yeah. I am not ready to be a parent any time soon at this rate! I'm digressing at a rate that suggest I'm more tired that initially determined. :P

Tuesday, November 20

Beauty Review, Part II

Here it is! The next part to reviewing the beauty products that I've been so excited about collecting this year. That's a dangerous word to use around me, right? "Collecting." Lol. Let's get to reviewing the products from this blog post.

Herbal Essences' flexible hairspray
I haven't used this very often because I am a disaster with my hair. The experiments that I have done were user with a straightener-error, but it was flexible and didn't feel crusty. The hold so far has been decent. This big bottle is going to last me a while.
Covergirl + Olay's Simply Ageless Sculpting Blush in Royal Plum
I have loved this despite being very worried that putting cream on my oily skin would be bad news. It wasn't the best summer color and I do have a tendency to put it on too heavily but I think I shall start blending it out with my fingers in the future and see if that helps. 

 
Revlon ColorStay's 16 Hour Quad in Precocious
 Haven't found the best way to use these colors together, so I often use them to accent other combinations I make with my Urban Decay palettes. Nice creamy quality and I already talked about the various color pay-offs are they are with my skin tone. The color does stick around!
Revlon ColorStay's Liquid Liner in Blackest Black
Like the color, but it takes a while to dry and I keep blink-smuding it or making too thick of a line trying to even it out. The color is great and it does last a while if I use an eye primer. Otherwise, I think my oily lids don't let it set well and it ends up smudging and fading.
Covergirl's Brow & EyeMakers Pencil in Midnight Brown
Not the right color for me (too reddish of a tint) and it's scratchy and hurtful. Definitely would not get again, I don't even know what to do with this because I can't see cleaning it off and giving it to anyone else. I've found something else that has worked quite nicely for me in the meantime.
That's it from me so far in terms of reviewing products that I've bought throughout the year, minus nail polishes. Give or take two or three things I've added recently but haven't mentioned. So, those will come in the relative near future.

Day 20: I am grateful for the times when the universe provides me with an abundance of meaningful missions and projects that help me take a chill pill. Getting back to what's important and good.

Monday, November 19

Lost The Game

Quick one today.

Today wasn't so bad. Had enough energy to clean the microwave in the teachers' lounge today, if that's any indicator of me trying to be a more positive person. It's a short week and while that means smaller paycheck down the road... I'm pretty close to completely accepting that. I cannot wait to sleep in again.

Lots of miscellaneous project bits done today. Tried to start writing my Christmas cards because I hope to send them and the majority of my gifts out within the first week of December. Yeah, that was a fail. I don't have a nice quality pen that doesn't leak, smell, or shine oddly/ look terrible. Hope to borrow a nice one from someone tomorrow.

Being booked for help with creative projects already and I am so excited! My fingertips are currently stained with ink right now. Yup. I hope all of my prior and early freaking out will pay off and I have enough room in the social calendar to go and have fun, spend time with great people, and help others! Free food and chocolate candies is a massive plus. Part of it is like vicariously shopping through others, but I'm such an enabler that they're excited to buy stuff too.

I'm near rambling with enthusiasm for things to come. Here we go.

Day 19: I am grateful for cute animal videos which are already good for a laugh. ♥ This red panda lost the game. It lost it so hard.


Sunday, November 18

Beauty Review, Part I

I have been meaning to do a beauty review of the products that I was so excited to try. No time like today since the rest of my posts are probably going to be holiday-centric and me generally freaking out as usual. I won't be personally purchasing any more beauty products until I've "hit pan" or used up what is there now because this is a lot for me. Many of these new things were splurges from time to time.

Anyways, there were mixed results.

 
Olay Regenerist: Deep Hydration Regeneration Cream (original post)
 Still love it. This and nail polish scream good nostalgic times with watching my mother get ready when I was growing up. I love the scent, will most definitely repurchase, and it still makes my skin feel so silky smooth every time I put it on. My skin soaks it up because I still don't moisturize enough.

Olay's Dual-Action Cleanser + Pore Scrub but now is their Pore Minimizing Cleanser + Scrub
(original post)
Mouthful, lol. Love it, was obsessed in the beginning, overused it (according to the directions) at the beginning because I loved that super clean feeling. Once I slowed down not using it regularly, it's lingered so the exfoliating bubbles aren't as prominent, which is understandable. Will definitely get again!
 
Revlon's Super Lustrous Lipsticks (original post) 
I don't really use the frosty finishes for the reasons I've said before although I have played with a few looks to figure out something that work balance out the sheen on my face. I do love my Creme finish in Rose Violet but found it to be a better fall-winter color, so I've only recently used it on special occasions. Problem is, I often love eating during this events and it comes off one way or another. I love the moisturizing feel without my lips feeling greasy. In the meantime, using MAC's tinted lipglass in Cultured for going out.

 
Maybelline's Full'n'Soft Waterproof Mascara (original post)
I'm not great about using this one. Still having a hard time curling my lashes well, they just want to go from being straight and down-facing to straight out. Sigh. I don't have a good cleanser to remove it at the end of the night and do get some clumping in the inner eye area. I do notice a difference when I put it on, nothing revolutionary. I guess I would agree that this is a nice beginner's choice and will keep trying.

The various lip liners my mom sent me (original post)
I really only use one that goes well with the one lipstick I use very rarely. The writing has rubbed off, so I don't know what it is really. It still really tough to get used to such a strong dark color on my lips when I'm used to trying to lighten up my already dark lips.

That's all from me about this today. I realized that this could easily turn into an epically long post. Part II coming soon! I should get back to cleaning and start writing Christmas cards, running a little behind now.

Day 18: I am grateful to have the energy to get the house all nice and cozy for get-togethers.

Saturday, November 17

Reality

Day 17: I am grateful towards those who are not afraid to spread awareness and the truth. Something to aspire to each and every day.

The SO and I have been discussing and debating lots of cold hard truths about our modern society and our actions (or lack thereof) that contribute to its dark complexities. Plus, what we can do at home together and individually to improve our lives and for the world/planet. 

Heavy stuff and emotionally charged few nights, indeed.

Still not making what I deem as decent progress towards my grand plans, but I have made some tiny steps over the past few days and that's something. I have to remember that it still counts as a success. What I've been trying to do is to change my Negative Nelly attitude into something that doesn't aggravate me more. That's sort of a full-time job at the moment.

The narratives and commentaries going on in my head have gotten so cold and mean. Those who know be can see the the fury in my body language and eyes while understanding my choice and timing of words indicates of my temper that's about to boil over.

I don't want to be that sort of person.

Sigh. Anyways, I delved into the garden a little today. Not much progress except for maybe Better Boy tomato #1 may be getting too cold on some nights and we brought home the mini pumpkin plants from the classroom to see if any of the flowers would be pollinated to become fruits. I'm also putting away some of my craft things and some for FMIL as well. 

We may have some big ole re-arranging projects in the next few weeks and I'll be excited if it works out. Will keep you posted.

Friday, November 16

Snuggles

My brain is turned off. With volunteers from a business partner taking over our school today, we were able to prepare next week's Thanksgiving lesson plans and worksheets. Good game. It went... well. Enough.

I was pretty much giddy by the end of the day. Probably delirium. I can feel it in my bones even now.

I had plans to get to work on my Project Life project but um... after I snuggled up in bed in sweats and thick socks with my belly full of oven pizza and hot chocolate- I'm ready to just melt into sleep world.

Day 16: I am grateful for warm ovens that fill a house with delicious smells. Feeds our bellies and our hearts.
I have so many creative consultant jobs lined up this holiday season, I cannot wait. Hope there's a way to juggle them all while stream-lining this process that I have never done before and getting it done in a satisfactory manner. For all parties involved. So excited.
I'm going to do my best not to freak out about the impending end of the year (it's only okay if my productivity is in high/ super gear) and try to cuddle with a comfy kitty instead.

Thursday, November 15

Better

Day 15: I am grateful when plans come together despite the odds. This is especially helpful with the holiday season kicking off in full swing!
The surprise birthday dinner went quite well, all things considered. I'm glad we took that project on and it got done. I think turning on my hostess-mode that has been ingrained into me since before birth helped keep me... even.
Let's backtrack to the start of the day. The first dozen words out of my mouth (which are usually not uttered until nearly an hour later once I've woken up some more and we're already starting work at school, were all very angry and frustrated complaints and commands. It's really not what I want to deal with every waking moment and yet I find myself in that position more often than not. 
So, after that business was taken care of, at least for the time being, I kept chanting to myself "Have a better attitude & Have a better day." It goes along with my disatisfaction with my life and myself. I'm borderline bullying nowadays and I don't like it. So, I was trying to pray for some extra patience today to make up for the amount that I've been sorely lacking the past few weeks/months.
If I really want to make this holiday as stress-free as possible, I need to cut the crap that I've been doing out. It's seeping into the few people I do care about and that's incredibly unfair for them to feel cranky because I'm so overly cranky that I poured it all over them. No good reason for all of us to drown because I've been exuding negativity.
The chanting helped and today was a little better. I was even a little giddy by the end of the work day. Then we rushed home to buy and prepare everything for the party and start hashing out details for the upcoming crazy holiday season, while anxiously awaiting the flag to go. Lots of stumbling, but it happened, there was happiness, and that's all that matters in the end. Plus, there were people involved who were quite green about the art of hosting & planning and I think they may have learned something today. ... I pray that they have learned a few things...
Just let it go, me. Let it go.
Tomorrow is an all-day event in all of the classes tomorrow. We had to cram our usual Friday business of test-taking in today. That was a joy... It should be interesting

Wednesday, November 14

DONE! Nearly.

Day 14: I am grateful for mail! Love getting packages, cards, and notes in the mail. It's like a mini-Christmas that can happen at anytime. It warms my heart with the impersonal feeling deeply personal.

Before I go any further, I want to express how ding-dang dumb of me not to hit the publish button on yesterday's post. It was sitting all nice and finished on time and in draft. That didn't process in my head until halfway through my work day. Had to deal with that thought nagging at me for the remainder of the day until I got home from errands. Joyous.

Impromptu surprise birthday dinner tomorrow night, so we had to plan that. The holiday season is in full swing. Already had two party invites for approximately the same time for Thursday, still have no idea what decision is going to be made for Thanksgiving which is NEXT !@#*!#$^-ing WEEK, and I'm personally setting up at least two major scrapbooking dates afterwards while finishing up our holiday cards before the staff party and out of town parties before Christmas.

BAH! How on Earth did 2012 go so quickly?! I have so much that I had wanted to accomplish this year. What a flop. Trying desperately to channel that massive disappointment in myself into productive and peaceful energy. 

Erm. Going back pre-rant... I got the album for my family's mini-reunion vacation scrapbook! Now it's going on 16 months. But all of my precious printed pages are in sleeves with a front and back cover in my hands! I just want to get a special decoration for the front window, enjoy the complete project for a little while, and then ship it off to my folks for Christmas. We're so close anyways, that might as well be their gift from me. I put enough blood, sweat, and tears into it, lol. 

Tried to figure out video narration or somehow digital version to share with my cousins that were featured. Half of which live in Europe and have a vague grasp of the English language. I swallowed my tech pride and made a private photo album on FB for them to see it in "high-res". Merry Christmas to you guys too, lol. 

I'm getting another package on Friday and even though I knew when to expect both because I paid for them and received tracking numbers, it's still very exciting for them to arrive. Still feels like a surprise present. Haven't had a package lost in the mail in quite some time. *Knocks on wood.*

Super in need of a handful of chill pills. Need to refocus on making myself a better person versus projecting my angst onto others. If I can just let the majority of my anger go and be productive in my own eyes, then next year is going to be just fine no matter what happens. *Again, knocks on wood.*

Tuesday, November 13

Be Prepared For Disney

Day 13: I am grateful for a cartoon & Disney-filled childhood (stereotypes taken with a grain of salt). Happy 15th anniversary to The Lion King on Broadway! Check this guy's other videos out if you like his voice.


He also made this a while back that I love:

Monday, November 12

Monday Questionnaire

 From Ladies' Happy Hour the other night. Drooling all over again.

Day 12: I am grateful for being around people who are willing to try whatever substance I manage to crank out while I learn to cook. Can safely say that the burgers I made were delicious despite not being grilled.

1.) Mood:
Busy. Cleaning and messing around with Evernote. I know that's not a great word to describe a mood. I felt accomplished as of recently when I made burgers.

2.) What is the last song/album you purchased?
This was a while ago. I'd go with Josh Groban's Noel.

3.) The best video game system ever is __________.
Ever? Sigh. um... N64. I'm sure SNES was better but I didn't have much personal experience with it.

4.) Current nail polish:
Just a base coat for now. I can't decide which color to do next! Something that screams Autumn to me, for sure. I just had a bright yellow on in honor of the baby shower I went to last weekend.

5.) How many times did you hit the snooze button this morning?
None. I don't trust myself to hit the snooze button and not the off instead. I do roll around for an average of 20 minutes after my alarm goes off, but I take that into account and set it earlier than when I really need to get up.

6.) Current outfit:
Cropped dark gray sweats and a light gray short-sleeve tee with cutouts along the collar. Oh, and my polka-dotted pink fluffy robe thrown on top because it's getting chilly inside.

7.) What is the furthest distance you've ever driven?
Personally, not very far since I don't drive. I did ride with my dad in the moving truck when I was 6 years old and we moved from Boston down to the Miami area.

8.) You can only use one mascara for the rest of your life-- which one is it?!
Haven't found my holy grail mascara yet since I'm a fairly new user. Wasn't able to use much if any when I wore glasses- it'd just be blinked onto the lenses.

9.) If you could have a $1000 gift card to anywhere right now, where would you choose?
If we were set in the basics and had a place of our own- Target for entertainment and seasonal decor. Hands down. A close second would either be Amazon or... somewhere for electronics because the SO and I love our tech.

10.) Weekly Goals:
Kinda don't feel like doing this one partly because it reminds me how worried I am about upcoming events and reminds me how poorly I did last week. Sigh. Let's be super easy- doing the floors in my room, laundry, putting away my craft stuff completely (none of this- well, I'm going to work on this really soon so I'll just leave it in reach- ugh), and compiling more notes and memorabilia for my big Project Life album.

Sunday, November 11

Memorabilia

Day 11: I am grateful for all the sacrifices made by the soldiers and their families for the sake of our freedoms and progress. May we all stay peaceful and safe this Veteran's Day and beyond.

Tried to keep it a fairly quiet and low-key day. I've spent a lot of time comforting kitty after he suddenly got sick this morning. He and I have bonded quite a bit this weekend. The weather is cold outside and we've had to cover our plants because temperatures threaten to get down to freezing tonight.

Knee-deep in working through some memorabilia I've found. Now, I have four pockets folders that I also uncovered to organize the stuff by year. Also including my month-by-month summaries for each year by gathering my notes from my blog, FB, and planners. Maybe I can piece the major parts together without trying to rely on my lame memory.

Saturday, November 10

Cozy

Day 10: I am grateful for "dreary" weather because I interpret it to mean staying in pajamas or a robe to force myself to relax or at least stay warm. Loving the non-summer weather.

Yup. It rained a bit overnight and we slept quite deeply all warm and bundled up. Made myself sleep in to catch up and kitty's been cuddly again today.

Biggest accomplishments today include tackling yummy leftovers and working on a prototype of a crochet project for a friend. Will be working on some cleaning and more assessments of what I have for scrapbooking the past four years tomorrow.

I'm trying to keep positive and hopeful about making notes of what personality quirks and childhood stories I want to document somehow. This is opposed to regretting not having better evidence of it already. Can't keep letting myself wallow in the mistakes of the past. Need to learn from them and move on.

Friday, November 9

Trailing

TGIF!

Today was downright blissful, all things considered. I heard how much my efforts have been appreciated, helped a friend get out of the building so she could head off on a surprise trip to NYC this weekend, and rushed home to run errands before heading out to the monthly ladies' happy hour.

Let's skim over the fact that I yet again had everything but my debit card when we got to the bank for the third time in the past six weeks. I had been doing so well for a few months too. :( But, grocery shopping got done and then FMIL and I ran out to finish her errands before making it to the restaurant.

Another fun intimate gathering that was slightly dampened when we realized we wouldn't get the happy hour discount because we did not sit down in the bar area. Sigh. Either way, we bit the bullet and I have so many leftovers to last me this long weekend.

Day 9: I'm grateful for appetizers. Not every day has to be philosophically-based, right? They're delicious, used to be cheaper, I can eat them with my hands, and there's hardly any shame in being surrounded by 8 different plates because of the portion-sizes. My inner fat child has ruled me today. It was another wonderful Ladies' Happy Hour.
Back to my walk yesterday. It was impromptu. I had planned to do another walk soon and I knew I would be inspired to try again yesterday I would've done something like... I don't know... make sure my phone was completely charged since my battery meter is a lying jerk? Yup. It's not like me at all to ever let my phone die too, let alone during a time when I could really need it.
So, I started walking right after finishing my lunch and that led me to feeling a little green under the gills. Wanted to try a new route that the SO showed me on Google Maps Street View that had more sidewalks/ built paths and less interaction with head-on traffic, even if it was physically longer. It was a warm day, but there was a cold front coming in today with 25mph wind gusts and the promise of rain.
 
I was so excited to walk on this part-gravel, part-paved path! Was catching up with my baby brother and my mom on the phone and this was just before I realized that I took a wrong turn and was lost. It wasn't because of being distracted, I would have made this mistake without them too.

*CREEPY CRAWLY WARNING*

This was the snake I almost ran face-first into while looking downward to avoid walking on broken glass. I have a feeling it was a dead one that was dropped in the tree by a predatory bird. 

My brother was trying to look up directions to confirm the mistake I thought I had made and in the middle of verbally correcting it, my phone died. Sigh. I made many wrong turns that day.

Happy feeling is gone.
Actually, this wasn't so bad since the dirt path was worn.

At the end of that path was this steep miniature cliff that I had to slide down from to get onto a bike path to walk on. That odd blue-ish thing near the bottom left of the picture was a chunk of wing. Hope that wasn't from a coyote/ bobcat nearby.

I got lost at least twice more- kept making the mistake of turning to walk down any street name that I recognized. Eventually made it to an intersection I knew and realized how off course I was. It was pretty much near my original route where there were little to no more paths for me to walk on- just desert or road.

Borrowed the phone of a corner store and called the SO for a ride after my defeat. So disappointed with myself for failing so hard. I bought one of my favorite smoothie drinks while I waited for him in the shade with my jello-legs.

Got some more fluids in me, cried a little, and tried to curl up under my covers for a nap. Kitty took great pity on me and cuddled with me whether I wanted to or not. Then, he confiscated my jacket. Between him and his dad (the SO), I don't know if I would have smiled that evening.
I know I should give myself some credit, like an B+/ A- for effort, and I'm alive... but all I can really think about is how disappointed I am in myself for my fears and shortcomings yesterday. Today going so relatively well did cheer me up quite a bit. 
 

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