Things I gave myself for 2016

I've spent a fair amount of money these past two weeks. Not on presents, but on preparations for 2016. I've been stocking up (hand lotion, saline solution), replacing the worn out (mascara) and the most expensive category: supplies for new activities. The following items are ways I’m trying to improve and grow in the coming year.

How do you plan on improving your life in 2016?


A drawing journal

I was in the bookstore, looking at the journals when memories of all my previous half-finished and abandoned diaries filled my head. So I thought I’d try something different. Maybe I'll even get better at sketching. So far, I've drawn a clock face and my own feet.

The Holy Qur’an

 

There is so much debate about Islam these days, that I thought it might not be a bad idea to see what the book itself says. It's also been awhile since I've tackled serious literature. This should be mind-expanding in many ways.

A mini-bonsai kit

I like plants. George, my cat, likes plants. The problem is that I see plants as decoration/air purifiers while George sees them as salad. This is small enough that I can protect it from marauding felines.

A clean house

Not that I live in squalor, but I rarely shampoo the carpets and wash every single window pane. So I borrowed a rug shampooer, got out my rubber gloves and went to work.  I also went through my linen closet and threw out/donated everything I could. As a bonus, I had the car detailed. This is, literally, a clean start.

A skin care system

 

I’ve always been a Cetaphil and water girl.  But given my age, I'm beginning to think I should get a little more serious. Here's hoping.

Tickets

I have strong reclusive tendencies, so I’m always trying to find ways to get myself out of the house. I've committed myself to going to two operas and three plays between now and June. And I just found out that the Alley Theater is performing one of my favorite comedies on my birthday. Score!

 

Review: The 2013 To-Do List

I had some plans for last year. I set out a list of 14 things I wanted to do. I overreached myself, but I expected to. I always figure it's better to plan big. I might not manage all of it, but I do get a lot accomplished that I wouldn't have otherwise.

So how did I do?

1. Go to the Blanco Lavender Festival. - I've been thinking about it for years. This year, I want to go.

I not only went, I wrote a blog post about it. I also took one of my favorite photos of the year.

It's the picture postcard of version of Texas, isn't it? 

2. Take a vacation out of the country. - I don't know where yet, but I feel the need to get some stamps on my passport.

I tried, but I had a brain spasm and booked the holiday for the wrong week. When I tried to correct the problem, the plane tickets tripled in price. So now I have a credit with the airline that I must use before November. A trip is definitely in my future.

3. Make a photo-book

About half done. The photos are the easy part. The hard part is figuring out what order to place them in. I will continue working on this one.

4. Read Don Quixote - I've started it about six times, but never finished it.

Make that seven attempts. It's just such a big book. I can't carry it with me and dip into it when I have a free moment. Maybe a use for an e-reader?

5. Buy a new sofa - mine is about to collapse

I get extra credit here: I bought two sofas. (I've got a big living room.) Best part? They're red.

6. Three blog entries a week

If you read this blog, you know that didn't happen. I ran out of ideas in June and didn't get around to starting the blog again until my friend Leslie (gently) kicked me in the butt in November. My apologies.

7. Take my lunch to work instead of buying it 

A complete success! It's become automatic. I haven't been keeping track, but this has probably had a salutary effect on both my health and my bank balance.

8. Refinish the living room shelves and my old bed

I claim partial credit on this one. The shelves have been done. The bed is in the garage. Maybe this year.

9. Lose 100 lbs -I gained 6 lbs over the holiday - ugh.

Total failure. But I didn't gain any weight either. I am at equilibrium. 

10. Write a letter to a friend every other week

This one didn't work either. I did write some, but nowhere close to this level.

11. Max out my Roth IRA

Partial credit. Sofas are expensive.

12. Read one novel by Charles Dickens

I had better luck with Don Quixote, which I at least started. I dusted the books, that was all. 

13. Improve my knowledge of MadCap Flare - I want to get beyond basic competence.

I did this. I wouldn't say I'm a master, but I'm better than I was. It's a complicated program.

14. Learn to use the Bamboo I've had in the closet for the last year

I unpacked it, tried it out, and came to the conclusion that I don't really have a use for it. I'm giving it to my Dad.

Next week, I'll go into my plans for 2014. Prepare to be amazed!

Hill Country Lavender

If you remember, the very first item on my list of Goals for 2013 was:

Go to the Blanco Lavender Festival

The festival was last weekend and I made the trip to Blanco to see all the purple flowers.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot in the way of flowers to see, actually. There is drought in the Hill Country, and the growers are trying very hard to just keep the plants alive. Still, there was lavender soap, essential oil, cookies, jams, lavendar spice rubs, sachets, and honey. I bought some soap and honey to support the growers and went exploring. After all, there is more to the Hill Country than lavender.

There's cattle



He let me take this picture, then sat down with his back facing the fence - he'd been photographed enough for one day

 And wildflowers

I don't know what it is, but the ants love it.

Courthouses

Blanco Courthouse - doesn't it look like the Munsters should live here?

Crafts

Clay flowers

Cowhides, for that genuine Western look

Octopus suncatcher - isn't he cute?

Horses

Horses grazing, Johnson City

 And don't forget this is the home of Presidents


The LBJ state park is right around the corner

I stopped in Brenham along the way and had an ice cream cone. Actually, if you stop in Brenham, you must purchase ice cream, it's the law.

Black cherry, if you're interested. It was VERY good.

And what could be better than spending an afternoon with a book and a large iced tea, under the live oak?

I need this tree in my backyard. I would need to demolish the neighbor's house, but it would be worth it.

And now I'm back and rested and ready to start the week. Happy Monday y'all!



Which Dickens?

My late grandmother was an Anglophile. If it came from the UK, it was good. She had tea from Harrods and Wedgewood china, pins from Scotland painted with thistles, and a treasured picture of her cousin shaking hands with the queen. But mostly she had books, lots and lots of books. And I inherited from her the complete works of Charles Dickens.

 

Of these, I have read exactly one: Great Expectations, because it was required to pass my English literature class. I remember liking the book more than I expected, but I haven't picked up any more of them. I am going to change that this summer.

Which one should I read? Nicholas Nickleby? Barnaby Rudge? the Mystery of Edwin Drood? or maybe Little Dorrit, or The Old Curiosity Shop. I could skip fiction altogether and read the travelogue of his American tour - American Notes.

I am asking your advice, O wise denizens of the blogosphere. What should I read this summer?

Weekend Fun Video
The muppets take on Charles Dickens best known story.

Diet Update: Week 1

As promised, the diet update. This is my last week and a half:




Days on the diet: 10

Today's weight: 274.8

Total pounds lost: 8

And feeling pretty good. I have been diligent about cooking so I would have diet-appropriate food to bring for lunch. When I went out with friends last weekend I ordered vegetable heavy items and I limited my drinking to one glass of wine. (Not that big a sacrifice - the wine was not very good.)

I know eight pounds is a sizable loss for ten days, but

• you always lose more at the start, and
• the more you have to lose, the easier the first pounds come off

I have a long way to go. A woman of my height (5 ft 6) should weigh between 125-145 pounds. I've got at least 130 more pounds to lose. Sigh.

Still, I've started.

Updates and a Program Change

Hi everybody, sorry I'm late.

If you recall, I had some things I wanted to do in 2013.  This is where I currently stand:

Still to start

• Planning my international vacation - I'm thinking early Autumn, but not sure where.  
• Make a photo-book - I've taken pictures (I always take pictures) but I need to come up with a theme
• Read Don Quixote - haven't even picked it up
• Buy a new sofa - still just looking a catalogs
• Refinish the living room shelves and my old bed - they're in the garage, does that count?
• Read one novel by Charles Dickens - see Don Quixote
• Improve my knowledge of MadCap Flare - sigh

Steps forward

• I've contributed to my Roth IRA.
• I've posted three blog entries every week (not always long, but always three)
• I have been very good about taking my lunch to work. I've only missed three days so far, and am doing my best to keep myself organized so that it doesn't happen again.
• I took the Bamboo out of the closet and tried it out. Interesting, but not something I have a use for right now.
• A friend and I are seeing if we can go to the Blanco Lavender Festival together.

Steps back  

• Lose 100 lbs
• Write a letter to a friend every other week

I started well on the last two, and then things just sort of petered out. I regained all the weight I lost in January and while I did write some letters, I started procrastinating on those too.

No more. The last time I wrote a lot of letters I had a regular letter writing night. I even used to make notes for myself, so I'd remember things to put in the letters. So I am re-instituting letter night. Wednesday nights seem like a promising time for that.

Last, and definitely not least, my weight. I re-started the diet on Monday. I think I need more accountability on this diet, so instead of Wedneday recipes, I will be posting a "state-of-the-diet" report.  My apologies to those of you who really like the recipes. I may post recipes again later on, but right now, my focus has to be on removing the pounds.

2013: The To Do List

I have heard that there are people who don't make lists. People who go from one thing to the next, as the spirit moves them, and everything just miraculously falls into place. It sounds so dreamy and relaxing.

I am not one of those people. Not having a plan stresses me out. To follow my bliss, I need lists. Lots of lists. I make lists of of everything: groceries, books, places, events. My lists sprout sub-lists, (and sometimes sub, sub-lists). I may not do everything on them, but they organize my thinking and help me get myself moving.

New Year's is traditionally a time for resolutions, but 'resolution' is too grand a term for a lot of what I have in mind. The humble "To Do" List is more my style. These are all things I want to do in the next year. Some are ambitious, some are boring, and I think some of them will be fun. I may not do them all, but if I accomplish even half, my life will be better for it.

• Go to the Blanco Lavender Festival. - I've been thinking about it for years. This year, I want to go.
• Take a vacation out of the country. - I don't know where yet, but I feel the need to get some stamps on my passport.
• Make a photo-book
• Read Don Quixote - I've started it about six times, but never finished it.
• Buy a new sofa - mine is about to collapse
• Three blog entries a week
• Take my lunch to work instead of buying it
• Refinish the living room shelves and my old bed
• Lose 100 lbs -I gained 6 lbs over the holiday - ugh.
• Write a letter to a friend every other week
• Max out my Roth IRA
• Read one novel by Charles Dickens
• Improve my knowledge of MadCap Flare - I want to get beyond basic competence.
• Learn to use the Bamboo I've had in the closet for the last year

That's enough to start with, don't you think?