Thursday Roundup!

Wow. So, I have 501 days left; I'm officially halfway through this project. Dear lord, do I have so much to do. :P Luckily, some of these should be of the easy "just do it" variety; I might try to do them sometime in the next week.

In the roundup:

1. I'm currently working on the last afghan panel. With luck, I'll have it done in the next few days -- how exciting that would be! I've been working on this for so long that the idea of finishing it is kind of shocking.

3. I'm considering the "what looks good on me" as genuinely figured out. Like, I know that structure looks good on me; I have to be careful with soft silhouettes; I'm good in dark colors and jewel tones; I know the shapes of pants that look good on me; etc. I'm good for the most part.

24. I also finally made it to the dentist, after much procrastination on re-scheduling my appointment. My teeth are much, much happier now.

30. I've also been calling my parents more recently (so good! I feel so good about it!). It's so good to get to talk to them regularly.

34. As always, my music is always fluctuating; currently at 4301/6441 songs listened to.

43. To my reading list, I must add:

106. Rhiannon Held, Silver
107. Brian Vaughn, Saga: vol 1

Luckily, I have READ some books, so I can cross off:

• 32. Gorey, Amphigorey Also
• 35. Emily Dickinson, Favorite Poems
• 105. E.B. Hudspeth, The Resurrectionist
• 106. Rhiannon Held, Silver

So, I'm back down to 103 books! Go me. -_-

48. I've watched some new movies; there's Pacific Rim, The Wolverine, and Much Ado About Nothing for new letters, and I'm counting From Russia With Love too, though honestly we were treating it as background noise more than anything else.

75. I even managed to make it to a new restaurant in town (Stagnaro's).

80. A very exciting thing: I now officially have a furry pet. I've adopted one of my housemate's cats; it's a long story, but my housemate has three cats and will be moving soon, and can't take all of them. So, the one furry beastie is all mine. She's a wonderful (and evil) creature.

Oh lord, it has been a while. These last few months have been... hard, to say the least. My three-year relationship came grinding to a rather painful halt, and so let's just say that I've not been as, ah, good about doing things. Especially things that are not immediately necessary. It's simply not pleasant.

However, let me update what I can now; I've probably forgotten some things, and I need to generally re-settle my life, but---gonna do my best here and all.

1. The current goal is to finish the white afghan by the end of the summer. If I do a few rows on each panel a day, I should definitely be able to do it. Now, let's just hope that I remember to do that.

2. Added more yarn to the yarn bin. Whoops. Admittedly, this is supposed to be for some gifts I'm making---but I'm having difficulty getting the shop to order the rest of the yarn I need. I can only cross my fingers. >.<

3. I think that, at this point, I'm getting pretty good at figuring out the type of clothes that look good on me. (Pencil skirts and dresses with fitted bodices (either pencil or A skirts); pants that are fitted through the hips and either straight or bootcut below; shirts with boat and v-necks; fitted button-ups; blazers; and so on.)

4. The revamping of the wardrobe continues; I just recently got some semi-casual dresses that I can wear for summer and teaching.

12. Nail polish experimentation is, I think, something I can say I've done now. Recent polishes include an amazing silver metallic, Essie No Place Like Chrome, and Essie Lollipop (looove this color, just a beautiful bright true red). Essie is probably, at this point, my favorite of the polish companies.

13. I've done at least a bit of cooking recently. There was a parmesan chicken recipe in March---marinate the chicken, coat with parmesan and crumbs, eat very happily. April had a red lentil soup that I love and that is, huzzah, very cheap! And for May, a cocoa nib dacquoise, which is a cake I must make again and again, I love it.

22. I've been doing a bit better about exercising. I've not been great with doing it 3x a week, of course, but I'm getting better---I've been trying to get to 10,000 steps a day or more, which means that I've been going for walks more, and have also gone for a few runs here and there. It's not great, but it's better, and it's that upward trajectory that I most want to push on.

25. The skin is generally doing better---lots of lotion seems to help a lot, imagine that.

28. I had an appointment with a sports medicine doctor for my hands, but then had it cancelled by the doctor's office due to some scheduling difficulties. So, it's back to trying to figure that out.

29. Have been utter fail on the multi-vitamins. Ugh.

30. Less fail on calling the parentals recently.

34. Have been listening to a lot of music! 4192 out of 6406 songs. Of course, we'll see what happens when I inevitably go on another music acquisition spree (which is in the making; I've been wanting to get Lykke Li and Ellie Goulding for a while, among others).

48. I've also watched a fair number of movies recently: Captain America, Dark City, Iron Man 3, Up are all among them.

75. I realized that if I limit my new restaurants to just restaurants in town, that I actually might not be able to make 25 restaurants. I've eaten at a LOT of different places; so, I'm allowing myself to also add restaurants in the general area. So, Zeni's goes on (also, SO good).

Finally, I'm adding another goal: Writing a letter to my end-of-this-project self.

Saturday Roundup

I was definitely not perfectly in my Lenten goal to not spend too much---March is going to be very tight financially, as I was also frivolous in my troublesome categories this past month, too. I'm kind of hitting myself over the head about it; I need to be less of an eejit about this.

9. My music bit has progressed a tiny bit---I'm going to contact some profs in the music department at my uni, I think, for help in finding a violin and for some basic lessons. However, I might have to wait until my finances settle down a bit---they're a bit crazy at the moment.

12. The nail polish fun times continue! I've got an Essie deep blue that is fantastic, and goes on super easy and thick (and looks great with gold glitter over it). I've got gold fingernails right now, though, which is pretty much just happiness.

13. New recipes, oh yes: For February there was also salted caramel brownies off of Smitten Kitchen, which are so amazing that I'm making them again today; for March, there's a parmesan chicken recipe that is super simple and which will definitely be going in my repeat book.

22. I exercised quite a bit this last week! I went to the gym twice, and then also went to swing dance---which was absolutely fantastic, oh my god. I'm definitely going again. I'm also upping my daily step goal to 10,000; I can only hope that I'll be able to get continually more active!

25/26/29. Skin and teeth are doing well, and I've been taking my damn vitamins regularly. \o/

28. The hands are... okay. I've been writing too much, and they're aching. I think it may finally be time to bust out more money for ergonomically better computer equipment.

30. Have called Mum and Dad more! It's been fun. :D

48. I watched the Avengers yesterday with K. and C. Oh my, so very good.

75. In the realm of new restaurants---I forgot to mention the time I went to the Owl's Nest (which was fine for campus food, if not great otherwise).

77. The need for a new computer seems to get bigger and bigger---this computer is barely charging now. I'm crossing my fingers that nothing busts. :(

90. I'm working on edits for a journal submission. With luck, it will be submitted before the end of the month.

Roundup (Saturday)

Finally, a less-overdue roundup!

1. Afghan: Making slow and occassional progress. I've been writing enough recently that the hands are acting up a bit, alas.

4. Wardrobe revamping is in continuous progress; I'm in the process of getting rid of a few things now.

7. I've decided that the second thing I need to work on perfecting is candies. I'm decent at caramels and at tempering chocolate, but there's such a world of brittles and toffees and hard candies and. . . oh yes. Although I give myself leeway to not doing anything that tends to require corn syrup, because ew.

13. December is going to be quite full of new recipes, as I'm making a bunch of candies. However, I have already tried making gnocchi. They're definitely better fresh, and not frozen.

19. Emergency fund is probably going to get dipped into during January---goddamned not getting paid for a good month. -_-

22. I have been active this week! I have walked downtown a lot! This isn't really exercise, in the concerted raising-of-pulse and working-of-muscles type, but it's better than nothing.

24. Dentist: Completed for December.

25/25: Doing well so far on the skin and teeth.

29. Doing well on calling Mum and Dad, too!

37/45. I wrote on Lang-8?

38. I've been. . . sort of making the bed. I've been straightening the covers, at least.

So, it's not been particularly exciting here in the last week---but I've been keeping my head above water, at least.

A long overdue roundup (Thursday)

Again, I've not posted in ages, like a bad, bad person. In my defense, I've been travelling like a madwoman---a week and a half with my parents, a week and a half with N., four days in Spain, and now five days here in the UK. It's been quite busy.

A rundown of things (and hopefully a more detailed travelogue will follow):

1. Afghan: My hands are feeling better, but I'm so far from my yarn. ;_; I'm looking forward to getting back to it.

13. New dish: I made a squash soup with sage and thyme while at Nick's. It's not a really new thing for me---I've made squash soup before---but the exact recipe was new, off of Smitten Kitchen. It wasn't my favorite soup I've ever made, but I also forgot the cumin, so perhaps I'll try it again some time.

15. Key interest is still under $3000, at least. I should be getting a big chunk of money some time soon, which I will probably most put towards that, but I'm not counting on it yet.

21/22. Fruits and veggies: I've been kind of average recently---not a great job of keeping track of the noms, but not super horrible, either. I was exercising with C. quite a bit before leaving for this trip, but have been travelling and therefore my only exercise is from walking (which has been not bad at least). The most fun thing about this is that I started a walking challenge at Walker Tracker with a few folks, which has been really fun. I'm 4th out of 15 people, although I suspect several of those people have given up on updating. Still! I'm over the goal I'm trying to meet, which is 7k a day, and that pleases me. I'd love to be able to get it up to 10k, though. I'd feel very nice about that.

25/26. Skin and teeth are going pretty well, though I need to remember to set up an appointment to get my damn wisdom tooth out. :(

29. I've been better about contacting Mum and Dad, though still not perfect.

37/45. Utter fail on language practice and Lang-8. So sad.

40. I've completed my Goodreads for this year already! (Actually, I did this at the end of October. I've been reading like mad this year.)

61/62. I went on a lovely hike over the moors with W. the other day (to be recounted in more detail in a later entry). It was incredibly pleasant. I'd also been biking more, what with trying to bike to school. I'm really hoping to just be more active this year---I feel like utter shite whenever I'm just doing school stuff ALL the time.

84. I AM IN THE UK RIGHT NOW OMG. More later.

91. I've been to enough conferences this year---been to the (Mis)match workshop in Berlin, plus the workshop I just presented at in Spain. And now, for the Annual Meeting in January!

So, things are not looking too terribly desperate right now, although of course I'm freaking out over my dissertation and the job hunt. I'll ignore that now, though, and think of doing Other Things with life. :)

It has been forever!

Oh dear, I haven't posted in ages! This is very, very bad of me. I got very lazy in September---really, I just kind of spent a lot of time reading stories on the internet. I didn't do much work, or really much of anything. However, school has started, and I'm energized again. this is further helped by the fact that I'll be visiting family and N. starting next week, and that I'll be going to a conference in Spain (!) in November, after which I will spend a few days visiting a friend who just moved to Manchester, UK. Very very exciting!

So, I suppose I'll run through a bunch of goals, so that I can update what I have (and have not done). Mostly it's a lot of have-not, but ah well!

1. I've been trying to rest my hands, after the nasty RSI spat I had; I therefore haven't really crocheted in over a month. It's sad, but it's how it is.

3. I have figured out that things look less good on me when I gain five pounds. Sigh. ;.; One of the things I have decided to do is get on my exercise bandwagon again---I just need to move more!

4. Revamp wardrobe: Got a few skirts and a new pair of pants, which are sleek and have rich warm colors and which are just pleasant to wear. Huz-zah!

13. In September, I tried a cornmeal bread out of James Beard. It was pretty satisfying, and made a lot of bread! Really good toasted. For October, I've made both pumpkin cinnamon rolls and banana millet bread. The first was decent; the second was divine (I am now addicted to millet in bread, oh my!).

15. Key interest keeps going down, though still not under $2000.

19. My emergency fund is slightly expanded; I've decided that every time I deposit coins/get interest, it's just going into the emergency fund. This doesn't grow it very quickly, but an extra hundred a year from those sources is better than nothing!

21/22. I've been eating like shit lately, and so I'm trying to both eat better and get some more exercise. I've decided to try to bike up to campus as much as possible. I'm now down to almost 40 minutes from door to door, which is quite good, given that it's four miles with a nice little grade.

23. Just did a breast exam because oh yeah, I should do that!

24. Dentist: I went in September.

25. I'm doing better still with the skin on my face! It's responding to having moisturizer, which is good. :)

26. Doing better with teeth still too.

28. I'm okay with my hands. Not perfect. I went to the hand therapist again, and I'm trying to make sure I take breaks and just let them be a bit.

29. I've called Mum and Dad a lot more recently. I decided to work this into my decision to walk/exercise more. If I go for a half hour walk, of course I should call them!

30. Reading another CMV right now!

37. Total suck at language practice since August.

38. I've been neglecting the bed the last week, but I'm still doing this more than I was when I started this whole project.

39. Fixed/got rid of a few pieces in the to-fix pile, so it's at least smaller!

74. I went to Oswalds yesterday with several friends for the local restaurant week---$25 for a three-course prix fixe. The appetizers were fantastic; I got a little gem salad with (perfect) beets and pecans and grana padano, while my friends had a very good mushroom soup. The entrees were a little enh; strip steak that was cooked too rare (I asked for medium rare, and several of the pieces were just rare---not good for a fatty steak), and the fries were way too dry. I make better at home. The dessert, a vanilla creme brulee, was perfectly nommy and happy, although my friend's apple crisp was rather disappointing---mostly toppings, and a bit dry. I would go back, but not on such a busy night, and I would be very careful with my orders.

84. I will go to the UK in November omg.

89. I'm working on some journal submissions! Yesss!

92. And I'm working on the dissertation, too.

95. I've added some fic writing into my rotation, too. Nothing like, but it's good to get some fandom into my life!

96. I've been donating $10 a month to Wuqu' Kawoq, which I mentioned before but which I think is a fantastic organization. As I mentioned, they provide medical care in Guatemala; one of the important things they do, however, is provide medical care in indigenous languages (currently I believe in Kaqchikel and Kich'ee, two of the highland Mayan languages). The majority of Guatemalans do not speak Spanish natively, and the poorest Guatemalans (the ones with the least infrastructure, most likely to be murdered by their government) often speak no Spanish at all. If you can imagine being in a foreign country and unable to tell the doctor how and why and where your stomach hurts, you can imagine why it's so important to provide medical care in the language of the people. They also do a lot of real improvements (especially in water quality and malnutrition work), and they help train midwives. So, awesome! Go support them!

Roundup AND Focus! (Wednesday)

Today is a bit of a combination post. I've not posted in so long---two whole weeks!---that it'll be good to get the head screwed back on, all around.

My focus, really, is very simple---get back to keeping track of what I'm eating (and eating healthier), spend some more time exercising, and otherwise just keep keeping on. I need to find an easy way of keeping track of this, and of reminding myself to do it---something portable, private, and non-silly.

Also, I need to write more.

As far as the roundup goes:

1. White afghan: This has been going slowly. My hands have been acting up (rather nastily), and so my crocheting has slowed to a standstill as I try to get them back into working condition. I think I'm going to focus on finishing up a couple other projects which are, at this stage, just needing some fine-tuning to be finished.

2. Yarn bin: I gave away some scrap yarn, as I said in the last post, but then I also thrifted some yarn the other day. Oh darn.

7. Perfecting the noms: So making hopjesvla again soon. I have all this coffee leftover that I can't drink because ow. I'm in need of a few other good puddings/custards, though. There's a nutmeg and maple custard I've been eyeing over at Smitten Kitchen, which I messed up horridly the last time I tried it. (This, I think, is my story with custards and puddings: Fuck up horribly the first time, make it great the second.)

12. Nail polish: Very excited to be doing a girls' night with one of my housemates and a friend. Toe-painting will be happening.

13. One new dish: I tried "Java Jacks" from The AntiCraft yesterday. I used double-strength coffee, but still barely got any coffee flavor(!), and the pancakes were pretty dry. Not making these ones again, I think, although I do love the idea of coffee + sweetened condensed milk in a pancake.

14. Capsule warddrobe: Having such problems here! You see, I like black. I also like grey, navy and brown as base colors. The last of these three are very easy to match with a wide variety of colors---those neutrals are pretty interchangeable. Black, on the other hand, I find to be a pretty stark color that, well, pretty much only goes with... black (and grey and white). So, I'm torn between being colorful and turning corporate goth.

15. Key interest: It remains below $3000, and I've had the luck to get it lower and lower each month. Barring disaster, I might even be able to pay it *fully* off if I do it right.

19. Emergency fund: I've expanded it to 4 months (relatively generous) living expenses. Ideally I'd like it to be at six months before I graduate, but we'll see how that works out. It's quite difficult to keep that much money aside when you make 16.5k a year.

Then again, the idea of graduating (without a job) and needing that money is also god-damned terrifying.

21. Fruits and veggies: Yeah, whoops.

22. Exercise: Ditto.

24/26. Dentist/brush/flossing: Doing fine, and again looking forward to clean teeth in early October.

28. Calling the 'rents: I've been calling them! And it's awesome! It makes me happy!

32. All music: 3509/6354.

36. Lang practice: I started out very strong this August, and then poof! None. I'm feeling the craving again, though, which is good.

37. Making the bed: Being going strong on this. It's nice to have a neat bed (especially when my books decide to escape their bookshelves, i.e. I don't have room for them on my bookshelves).

85. Japan: This is not happening, as it turns out. The paperwork got messed up and I would only be able to be there for about three weeks---and I can't quite justify the ticket for that right now. I'm sad, but I think I will just go visit my parents and N. instead.

91. Dissertation: I'm almost done with the first draft of the first chapter! We'll see how this goes....

95. Charity: Donated $100 the other day---a friend of a friend desperately needs a life-saving surgery, has no insurance, and is already broke from medical bills.

Roundup (Tuesday)

1. White afghan: I finished all but one of the required panels. I then started stitching together some of the panels, and realized that although the length was exactly what I wanted, the width was not. So, I'm now making four more panels, in order to make the afghan larger. Looks like I'll need to order more yarn. . . again.

2. Yarn bin: I gave away some scrap yarn to N.'s mother, as she knows some ladies who make scrap afghans. Now I've not got to deal with the stuff, and I still have plenty left for making hats and the like.

22. Exercise: Totally haven't been doing this. Totally should get back on that wagon.

23. Breast exam: Complete for August! And entirely because I was l

ooking down my list and went "oh, I should do that". Go this project. 25. Skin: Doing okay with this one. My skin really does feel better post-moisturizer.

26. Brush/flossing: Doing fine. Looking forward to my next cleaning.

28. Calling the 'rents: I haven't done this as much as I'd like to. I had a great hour-long call yesterday; I want to do that more.

32. Music: 3414/6367.

34. Fruits/veggies: I've decided I'm going to start some up over the winter---perhaps some herbs. I'm not quite sure what, though. I'll want something that can handle colder nights here on the coast.

36. Foreign language practice: I've been doing this! I've also added in some Old English, for the hell of it. I'd like to learn a bit more about the history of my language....

37. Bed-making: Starting this back up again, now that N. is gone (sad) and I won't have to kick him out of bed (not consolation).

44. Lang-8 has been going well: I've managed it so far for most of the summer.

70. E-mail inbox: Down to 44 unread out of 1498. This is actually a significant improvement over before....

74. Camera: I've been checking out cameras, and girding myself to throw down the $200 that it will cost.

85. Japan: Plans have gone awry. At this point, I'm not certain if I'll be going or not, as paperwork on the other end has gotten wonky; I wouldn't be able to go until mid-September, and would still need to be back fairly early for NELS/the Vigo conference. It would be maybe a three-week stay, at that point, and I'm not sure what to do (both for financial and other reasons). I'll need to make this choice soon, though, as in this next week. Ack.

Roundup (Monday)

It's been quite a while. I've been to a wedding and a birthday party the past two weekends, and have been spending as much time as possible with N. before he heads back to the other coast for school. So, I've not quite had the time for this. That being said, here's a brief roundup! 1. White afghan: Got new skeins, and am so close to getting this thing done! I'm almost done with my current panel, and have two more to go after this. We'll see if I can still get it done before Nihonland....

7. New cooking: The second go at hopjesvla was immensely tasty, and I will certainly be making it again. Nom!

12. Nail polish: Played with a new bright coral on my toes. Fantastic color.

15. Key interest remains below $3000. I'm feeling very good about this goal, pending any financial blowups.

19. The emergency fund, however, might get dipped into for tickets to Japan/the fact that we still haven't found a fifth housemate for September. I might be paying quite a bit of extra rent if we can't fill that last room. :(

21/22. Fruits, veggies, and exercise have unfortunately gone down the pipe these past few weeks. I'm trying to make this work better again soon.

26. Flossing/brushing remains okay, although I flaked a night a few times this past week---fell asleep reading and couldn't get my ass up to do it.

28. Calling the parentals has also been a total flake recently. Again, time to do better at this.

36/44. Regular foreign language practice has been going well, though, because I've been playing a lot with Lang-8---huzzah! It really helps just with remembering vocab and recognizing (if not really knowing) kanji.

46. N. and I watched Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands this past week. I'd never seen either movie (I know! I know!) and we figured I had better get educated. I definitely enjoyed both to no end, especially Beetlejuice---what a riot. I also watched Nana, which is a Japanese film based on a manga by Yazawa Ai. Very cute, very typically Japanese. As usual, I was able to understand about 1/2 of the movie with the help of subtitles; I need so many more vocabulary. But, that hits B, E and N.

85. Japan: I'm checking on plans, but if this works, I go very, very soon. I'm somewhat terrified.

95. This isn't directly related to the charity goal, but it's something I'm somewhat happy about---I've taken the initiative to start donating more to charities (in particular, to Wuqu Kawoq', a group which provides medical care in Guatemala, and to a local food bank). The goal here, of course, is entirely separate from this; all the same, I want to remind myself here to keep donating. I might not believe in religion, but if there's one good thing I learned from being raised Catholics, it's to try to do good works. I can at least start here.

Thursday Roundup

1. Afghan: I finished a panel and a skein, and have started on another of both! Flying high here, and perhaps on track to finish before the summer is over. On the other hand, I also have to go buy more yarn.

5. Cookbook: I've added a few of my recent recipe conquests. Very nice.

13. One new dish a month: The babka muffins mentioned last time were quite nice, and held well. Additionally, I also have my July dish in: Homemade buttermilk bread. Very good, keeps well and is excellent toasted.

15. Interest is still under $3000, although just. I need to be careful the next few months and oughtn't pay too much.

21. Doing middling-to-good still on the fruits and veggies. As usual, fruit is easy, veggies are not.

22. Exercise: Been doing poorly this last week, partially because I managed to make my metatarsals very, very sore for a good week---not pleasant. But, I'm still trying to get some sort of exercise in every day, if it's only biking down to the coffeeshop to get some work done.

25. Skin: I've been doing well in the mornings, though I've been neglecting night care again the past few weeks.

26. Teeth: Doing well.

28. Call Mom and Dad: Been doing middling-to-okay on this, not great.

36. Foreign language practice: Besides some Lang-8ing (which I've been good with), I'm making some plans to practice with a few people from my class this last week. This would be very very good.

37. Making the bed: We managed to do it a few times! Go us! It really does make everything look better.

44. Lang-8: Making goals.

46. 26 movies: I recently watched The Pink Panther: A Shot in the Dark, which I had never before seen and which I'm counting as my S movie. It was entertaining, although at times somewhat painful (it's that kind of comedy).

85. Go to Japan: I'm making plans! It looks like August--October is actually going to happen. I'm kind of terrified, although also excited.

Wednesday Roundup

Here's a mildly belated roundup post. I've been doing okay about getting work done, although I've not been sticking perfectly to the schedule I wanted. However, since I'm still getting a significant Pile of Things done---and even starting to make my own crazy goals for the week---I feel okay about it.

With respect to non-work-related things:

1. Afghan: I have now moved on to another skein, and should (I hope) be done with this afghan panel sometime this week. I need to give my hands a bit of a break, though, I suspect.

4. Revamp wardrobe: I have acquired two vaguely-khaki-esque pairs of pants that are infinitely more grown up than my jeans. I consider this an immense achievement, although I admittedly probably can't wear either pair with black shirts and not feel funny.

13. Cook one new dish: My June repertoire has been excellent, what with having more time after school let out. There were, of course, the previously mentioned cheesecake and failed puddings; however, I've also added a strawberry cake and a raspberry buttermilk cake, both of which are delicious recipes found on Smitten Kitchen. Highly recommended. I also have on my list what I can only call `babka-muffins', also from Smitten.

21. I'm still doing okay-but-not-perfect on fruit and veggie servings. As usual, the problem remains getting the veggies, not the fruits. Fruits are delicious and easy; vegetables involve cooking, and cannot typically be consumed as part of a cake.

22. I'm also doing okay on exercising! I've gone out a couple times each week, either with biking or running. I'm also doing a lot more walking, as N. and I have been going downtown a lot and he hasn't got his bike here; I've therefore been walking a good three miles a day on average, which cannot be anything but good for me. It's definitely helping me feel more energized, which is fantastic.

25/26. Skin and teeth: Holding strong and doing well.

28. Failing at calling Mom and Dad regularly enough. Need to do this tonight.

29. CMV reading: Reading Fairyland right now, and enjoying it immensely.

36. F-lang practice: Not often enough.

37. Bed-making: Managing to get it done if I can N. out of bed before 11.

44. Lang-8: Managing it so far.

57. Tea: I did it! I went to afternoon tea! More on this later, as it's worthy of having its own entry.

And that's about all she wrote, as it's said. I've had a full week, and I'm feeling happily energized right now---it's an excellent feeling, and I have this project and the onset of summer to thank for it.

Tuesday (Wednesday) Roundup

I've managed to get some work done in the last day and a half. I finished both a work book and a pleasure book yesterday, and the plan is to get a bit of reading done today, too. This is better than it had been, at least, if not as good as I would like it to be.

Roundup:

1. Added about a foot and a half to one of the afghan panels.

21. Fruits and veggies: Okay this week, though not great. I need to make more effort still.

22. Exercise: I've started again! I've run four times and biked once. The first three runs, I was very good---I didn't run too far, and was careful to take care of my knee, which has a few problems. However, on the last run yesterday, I went with two friends to run on some coastal trails. This was lovely---it was a great run. However, we went for 5 miles, and that was just too far. I now have sore metatarsals. I am currently the picture of "don't overextend yourself when you're starting an exercise program".

24. I went to the dentist. Apparently I am to now go once every three months, not once every six---I guess active saliva glands=insane amounts of tartar buildup, no matter how often you brush your teeth?

25. For skin care, I've been doing good with lotions and pumicing, but also got myself a sunburn, so I guess that's some fail.

26. Still doing better with tooth care. Go me.

28. I've managed to do okay with calling the parents---I've made my goals. ;)

36/44. I've been writing on Lang-8 some this week, which certainly helps both with the Lang-8 goal and the language practice goal. I'm also considering adding a second language to my set, just for the hell of it. I'm just trying to figure out what language to do. I took Spanish in high school, and can still read fairly well, but it doesn't interest me very much. I'm trying to figure out if I want to do Azerbaijani (which I've studied a wee bit), or if I should play with Dutch, French, or Korean.

37. Utter fail at making the bed. Admittedly, it's quite difficult to make the bed when your partner is still in it when you get up.

73. I forgot to mention this in my last spout of talking about new restaurants, but my housemates and I went to Upper Crust Pizza to celebrate one of my housemates' advancing to candidacy. It was excellent to see him level up, and the pizza was quite good (certainly some of the best in town).

Just a bit of a roundup.

It's been a busy week---almost two weeks---indeed. My partner arrived back in town for the summer, and I am finally almost released from school for the year.

In my roundup:

4. Revamp wardrobe: I did, at the very least, manage to take some things to a resale shop. I still have a few more to go, and I probably ought to be a bit rougher in getting rid of some other thing.

7. Pick three baking/cooking things and perfect them: I tried two rice puddings in the past week. Both failed. The first was a profound problem with the recipe---it asks one to add eggs to hot milk. Skeptical, I did it anyways, and oddly enough ended up with a horrid stringy egg concoction. The second failure was not a failure, per se, but a rice pudding recipe that produces a rather flat and cakey pudding. As I like my puddings to be soft and gloopy, it was not particularly satisfying.

13. Cook one new dish a month: Well, there were the two failed puddings. I also came up with a cheesecake: Vanilla cheesecake with an almond meal crust, topped with lemon zest whipped cream and raspberries. I was very pleased with this latter enterprise.

15. Pay down Key interest: It is currently just below $3000. I feel good.

21. 5 servings of fruits & veggies: Ahahaha.

22. Exercise 3x a week: I've got a new pair of running shoes! I've got a bad knee, as well, so I also need to exercise caution, but I'm excited. I took them out this morning, and it was good.

26. Floss/brush: Doing good.

28. Call Mom/Dad: Doing good.

32. Listen to all the music I have: Unfortunately, this goal has been vastly improved upon because my external harddrive has gone kaput. I'm trying to rescue it, but I may have lost a significant pile of music.

37. Bed made: Fail.

41. Read all the books I own: Made this worse by buying three new books this past week.

73. Go to 25 restaurants in town that I've never been to before: I went to Porter Cafe this week. I got a cheeseburger, which was large and certainly edible (if not special). I also went to Pono Hawaiian Grill today with the boy. I got Korean short ribs, which were fattier and messier than I might have liked; however, I think there will be some hits there.

81. CMV's books: I finally got a copy of Fairyland.

Sunday Roundup

As usual, it's a "let's establish those healthy habits" week.

However, here's a roundup---why not!

3. Figure out what looks good on me: I've actually made a bit of progress on this one. One particularly important thing was realizing that the bras I've been wearing have been a cupsize too small. Moving up the cup size has made my life much, much more comfortable (and has made my shirts fit more smoothly).

I've also had the realizations that I need to just completely cut crewnecks out of my life, as well as shirts with lots of embellishment over the bust. I'm making a pile to take to my local consignment/resale shop---very exciting.

4. Revamp wardrobe: Got some colorful shirts and bras recently, as well as a few new pairs of shoes to replace some that I had destroyed. I'm also taking a bunch of clothes that either don't fit/don't look well to my local consignment/resale shop today.

7. Pick three baking/cooking things and perfect them: The first one is going to be custards and puddings. I'm going for perfect texture.

13. Cook one new dish a month: This month I've made donut muffins (enh; might make them again, though I think I'd rather just have donuts). I've also made at least two muffin-bread puddings, which have been far more successful than the muffins they were made from.

15. Pay down Key interest: Now at approximately 3250.

21. Get 5 servings of fruit and veggies a day: I've been mildly better at this, especially in the fruit department. There's at least a tiny bit of improvement.

23. Monthly breast exam: Had one done at my gyn appointment.

25. Take better care of skin: I'm getting better at this one---making sure to put SPF on in the morning, especially.

26. Floss/brush: Back and forth. It could be better, it could be worse.

28. Call parentals: This, I have been succeeding on!

30. Visit Aunt June: This has been done. Hopefully it can just happen again.

32. Music listening: 3268/6369

36. Foreign lang practice: Fail.

38. Bed made: Fail.

It's not been horrible---not as much progress as I might want, but there's at least been a bit!

A quick update.

So, the redoubled effort is not exactly doubled. Perhaps I should call it more of a mild push against further backsliding.

I'm still trying to get in more fruits and veggies, and even succeeding some days (today, for example, I definitely made my five servings quota). This is one of the things that I think has been a more positive change since I started about a month ago. Although I'm certainly not eating all the veggies all the time, I'm getting better. And I'm managing to contact my parents more often and definitely have been taking better care of my skin---especially in making sure I put sunscreen on in the morning.

One very exciting thing that happened is that I got to visit my great aunt this last week. My aunt is about 90, still living on her own with relatively minimal help---she can't do her own shopping, as she can no longer drive, but she still takes care of her house and her yard (two of her great joys). She lives far from the rest of the family, and so we don't get to see her very often. She now has a terminal illness, which we suspect will take her from us in the next year or so. It was therefore immensely good to see her; in many ways, I am much closer to her than I was to any of my grandparents. My mother and uncle also visited. A very beautiful few days to spend with family. I cross my fingers that I get to see her again. I only regret that I haven't put aside the time and money to be with her more often.

I often wonder if people ever regret spending time and money to be with loved ones---or only not having done so. I love the idea of a career (and I usually love my work), but at the same time... what we give up.

Redoubling

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

Inspiration to keep moving forward. Thanks, Dumbly-dorr.

Given the lack of interaction with this blog in the last week and a half, one might surmise that I've done approximately nothing when it comes to this project. This would be correct. The last week and a half have been rough---I've had a lot to do and have felt like I've not gotten much done. This tends to make me rather apathetic, and less likely to do things that I want to do but need to get up the energy for. It's an unfortunate spiral: I get stressed, therefore cannot finish all the things, which stresses me more, which means I finish even fewer things, which... etc.

So, well, I guess it's time to get back on track: Get that routine down, dammit. Because the world really is so much better when your bed is made. Here's to redoubling the effort to make those little (i.e. huge) everyday changes.

Tuesday Roundup

So, here is my first roundup. I'm going to do periodic roundups (typically on Tuesdays, I think) which will let me know what I've made progress with recently---and, in high likelihood, setbacks.

I'm putting all my `regular commitments' on here, as a way to keep myself doing these things. I'm also going to update `someday' goals as they happen. So, to wit:

1. White afghan: Two panels in, first zig done on the third panel.

5. Green cookbook: 50 pages left

7. Three new baking/cooking: Have decided that one will be sourdough.

13. One new dish: April 2012 was Thai slaw, quite tasty.

15. Key interest: Is currently at 3465.

19. Emergency fund: Currently covers three months.

21. Fruits and veggies: week of 22/4/2012, 4/7

22. Exercise: week of 22/4/2012, 2/7 (and not very intense) :(

25. Skin: week of 22/4/2012, 5/7

26. Teeth: week of 22/4/2012, 7/7

28. Parentals: week of 22/4/2012, 4/7!! Go me.

29. CMV: Fairyland, Deathless, The Folded World, Under in the Mere, Inanna, Apocrypha, Music of a Proto-Suicide, the individual poems, the individual stories.

32. Music listening: 3146/6369

36. Foreign language practice: week of 22/4/2012, 4/7

37. Bed made: week of 22/4/2012, 7/7

39. Goodreads: 20/50

41. Books own but not read: Counting this right now is just far too intimidating.

44. Lang-8: week of 22/4/2012, utter fail

Unsurprisingly, I'm doing a lot better with the things that take 2--10 minutes (making the bed, etc.) than I am with the things that take serious time (like cooking and exercising). Baby steps, self, baby steps.

Sunday Focus

I'm focusing on the same daily/weekly goals again---because, you know, habits, and forming them and all that jazz. It's been pretty easy to do things like make the bed and call my parents with some frequency. Exercising and eating vegetables, on the other hand. You know how it is. I didn't get to write all my words, either, because fellowship applications reared their heads and ate all my time.

Especially difficult is the part where I typically only cook for one. Vegetables inevitably come in larger packages than I can use in one week without getting sick of said veggie; so either I come to loathe the veggie for a few weeks after, or I end up with nasty dead veggies by the end of the week. Rather disheartening, but I guess I should really just be working on ways to fight this problem.

In addition to the above, I'm also hoping to make some minor bits of progress towards other long-term goals (things like the afghan, etc.). Part of this is going to involve a post later this week with a mini-roundup of what I've been doing and where I am with goals.

So, for this week:

1. Fruits and veggies, exercise, skin, floss/brush, call Mom and Dad, Lang-8, post here, make the bed, 500-word habit.

2. Play with nail polish, clean out a bit of e-mail inbox, work on afghan, listen to new musics.

What are you focusing on?

Sunday Focus

On Sundays here, I'll be posting what I'll be focusing on for the week (and why). To wit:

1. Write 5,000 words for dissertation/paper.

2. Daily/weekly goals, in particular: Making sure I get my fruits and veggies, taking care of my skin, flossing/brushing LIKE AN ADULT, exercising, and calling the parentals.

The reason behind focus #1 should be relatively obvious: I am dissertating! And want to get published this year! It will also be good to try to get into a truly regular writing habit (although I'm not starting that one in earnest for a while yet).

The reason behind focus #2 is perhaps less obvious, and it's also the reason why I'm not starting the X-amount-of-words-per-day type thing yet. I'm putting particular emphasis on these goals this week because it is damn hard to form habits. I've got a goodly pile of habits listed, and these are the ones that are most important to me. Out of everything on that list, it's these things that make the biggest difference in my everyday life. So, time to start out on these.

What are day-to-day habits are most beneficial/harmful to you?