What I learned from my bra fitting (or how I completed goal 36)

I had heard from two different co-workers about a store called Lady Grace where they do bra fittings. I've had a hard time finding bras that fit that I like, so I decided to go to this place and even made it priority enough to put on my to do list. I currently have a little bit of feeling better about myself to do, so I decided to start from the basics and go buy some bras.

I walked into the store and said I was interested in a fitting. A nice and professional woman took me into the dressing room to begin. Truth be told, I was nervous about being half-naked in front of some random lady who would measure me, but it turned out that this was a clothed operation. In order to do the measuring, she asked me to hoist myself up. She didn't use the word hoist, but that is what I did. I held onto my bra straps and hoisted while some measuring went on. She asked me if I put my bras into the dryer. Yes, I answered. She then told me that after the first time you put them in the dryer, you just have expensive slingshots with no lift. I presume that was why I was hoisting. That was lesson one. 

I am about to share the most amazing thing about this trip. I was basically buying the right size, part of the time. It turns out I am borderline on the cup size. Fascinating, I thought. No wonder I always feel like I can't find a good fit (and I'm sure the loss of support from the dryer made the rest of it). At one point, I thought perhaps I was not quite (I'll admit it!) a B and so would try on different sizes going smaller if I thought it wasn't right, never feeling quite right. Well, it turned out I was bigger than I thought and was borderline B/C. It is amazing to me that I could have read myself so wrong. What I find most interesting as well is that my shoe size is 9 1/2. Many shoemakers seem to stop half sizes at 9, meaning I am left with the choice of 9 or 10. Another sizing dilemma. This seems to be a running issue for me in other things as well.

So, this nice woman brought me a couple bras to try on and checked me out when I was done. It turned out I was a B in one and a C in another. I still couldn't believe it. She had me put my shirt back on and then mentioned that my breasts were now higher than in the bra I came in on. This makes me look slimmer due to looking less slouchy. That did help me feel better! Then, I went on my own and the next most interesting information came out. I found a style I liked, got both B and C and then headed back in. I didn't feel a whole lot of difference between the two, so I asked the lady to look me over. When I told her I wasn't totally sure, she let me know that my left breast was slightly bigger than the right. Don't worry, it is natural, she said. That's fine by me since I don't think it is noticeable, but I have learned I need to fit for the left. What a day of learning.

I then decided to ask about an athletic bra. You see, the athletic bras I have been using are about 18-20 years old in some cases. No joke! Of course, they are not holding up as well as they used to (yes- a pun!) and it is time to get rid of them. A different woman handed me two other bras with actual sizes (not the squish bras with a range of sizes) and it felt totally different. Boy did I learn about foundation garments. Luckily, it is sale time, so I stocked up some and headed on home after getting a full talk on proper care. 

Now, after I write this, I'll go clean out my drawer. This is a great first step to improvement. Over the last week, I lost about 3 pounds, putting me back to a weight I was before, but it was still inspirational. I am sure it is a side-effect of my new consciousness about my health and eating due to the cleanse project ( I say that and everyone thinks laxative, but that hasn't been the effect so far)- and maybe a little due to the fact it is getting warmer out. I realize, too, that I won't lose weight if I feel bad about the way I look and how I dress, so I decided to look a little further into my closet and found clothes that I hadn't been wearing. I remember when I moved about a year ago Tim noticed clothes in my closet he had never seen- part of the effect of feeling like I was fat and frumpy was that I wouldn't wear them, but I actually pulled some out today and felt pretty good about myself. So, although some other things in my life may be a bit chaotic- yes, you career!- I am actually feeling quite positive about my self-improvements. My next step will be buying new underwear after losing another 3 pounds. Since that isn't on my list, I'll keep that story to myself (although the physical therapist did tell me that my right hip is slightly lower than my left- if you didn't know me, you'd think I was a mismatched, uneven freak- but that is only true about me emotionally).

Anne's May Roundup

1) Make an afghan for afghans for Afghans

I haven't started this yet. I figured out the yarn, but haven't found a pattern to try. I may just do something simple and baby blanket sized. Instead, I've been crocheting something else in an attempt to use up some yarn I already have.
2) Consolidate 401k/IRA/503b plans hanging around from previous jobs

The switch in banks is almost complete. I am really happy about that. After that, I begin the retirement work.
3) Research before and one year after consolidation the performance of the funds

See 2.
4) Confirm at least once that all address in my address book are accurate

I've really stalled out on this one. I continue to be torn about certain names- people I haven't talked to in years- about whether or not I update or eliminate.
5) Call everyone who sent me a Christmas card within 6 months of January 1

Thank goodness I have one month left on this one.
6) Sell extra books

I'm beginning to think it is time to sell more than I thought. It is now a matter of just getting the books to the location.
7) Buy a good pair of winter boots

On hold until the season is right to buy boots.
8) Get a car

DONE- and I love it!
9) Watch all my Looney Tunes DVDs

Not only did I not finish this, but I bought another collection. Even more behind than before.
10) Lose at least 20 pounds

Oddly enough, my half-assed attempts at weight loss haven't really worked. I had a whole fantasy of getting it done in record time so when Tim got back from Germany, I'd be back to the old me. Since this whole week I've been thinking about ways to improve myself and my life, I decided to start a little more seriously on this. I'm trying out a detox and cleanse program- not detox as in drugs (no problems with that) but environmental stuff. I'm hoping to kick start the weight loss and attention to health with this.
11) Get green stripe belt

To do this test I need to spar. I just ordered my sparring equipment, which means I miss the June test, but will be in the next one.
12) Be able to do a high-section roundhouse kick

My stretch gets better and my confidence is increasing. Not yet, but I am sure it will happen.
13) Go to taekwondo class three times a week for at least one month

With the car commute, this feels harder to do, but I will do it.
14) Finish at least 5 books I haven't finished yet sitting on my shelves

Well, with two book clubs, I haven't been able to do this yet. I am slowly but surely working on it.
15) Visit Mom for a week

No plans yet.
16) Visit Tim's family

Not sure about this one.
17) Visit Uncle Matty

No plans yet.
18) Visit family graves

No plans yet. I have been going into the cemetery next to work. It is a bit morbid for a lunch break, but I like the idea that maybe someone walks by my dad's grave and thinks for a while, so I do it for others. I suppose it is a stand-in for the visits I'd actually give to my family if I were closer to them.
19) Create a spreadsheet for gift tracking (those I give)

I forgot about that one.
20) Look into loveseat/foldout bed

My mother is concerned about this in case she comes to visit, but I'm enjoying having less. It has motivated me to think about eliminating more things from my apartment if practical.
21) Get component cables for Wii
22) Get amber ring fixed
23) Finish a Wii game

I've been working hard on DDR, but don't think I have the ability to finish it anytime soon. 
24) Finish Pikmin 2
25) Finish a DS game

I want to buy a new DS game that looks cool. I had talked to Tim about how many games I need to finish before I buy it. He said one and I agreed. So, in addition to the one I used to complete this goal (that was pre-discussion), I've been trying to finish Ouendan 2 (a great rhythm game). For some of the harder songs, I need to lie on my stomach to play so then I don't need to hold the DS. Today, as I worked on the final song, my cat came over and began pawing at the wrist strap. Although not conducive to me finishing the game, it was darn cute.
26) Go through living room closet/organize/dispose
27) Try a new recipe every month (ongoing)

I've tried a few, including a fruity lamb stew that I ate this week that was really good. Today I tried a trick I do all the time- replacing raisins with chopped prunes. Yes, I like prunes better and usually it works, but just to let you know- cinnamon prune bread is pretty much just the same as cinnamon raisin.
28) Finish DK Junglebeat
29) Get through a Guitar Hero song on Expert

Still working through hard.
30) Get Wii Fit and use it

Man, do I want to do this! I've called around and everyone is sold out. I should have pre-ordered.
31) Go to eye doctor
32) Get new glasses
33) Get a Dr. Hauschka mask and use it
34) Find and buy jeans that fit well
35) Buy a good black turtleneck
36) Get a bra fitting
37) Make something with a piece of fabric I already own
38) Go through and organize jewelry
39) Sell/Try to sell something I've made
40) Finish at least 4 of the cross-stitch kits that I have
41) Make 1000 cranes

This is the new one I finished. I now need to string them all up (which is what I've seen online).  It is supposed to be good luck and grant a wish, but I'm not sure I believe that. No matter what, it was good to do it.
42) Make and post a product for my website

There will be big changes to the website. Perhaps even starting this weekend.
43) Buy beeswax candles
44) Go to a fair
45) Invite someone to my house every month

I did invite someone in May who didn't come. I think that has to count. 
46) Clean out front room closet
47) Clean out file cabinet
48) Try to print my own photos on printer
49) Organize/Store files sitting under desk
50) Clean out desk drawers
51) Integrate Tim's music into mine
52) Import DVDs into computer
53) Look into new harddrive/backup configuration

This gets very difficult as I now think I may need to get a Windows computer, perhaps a really cheap laptop, to run some software I'd like to get. I need to think this out fully. Nonetheless, it does affect the time, money and setup for the backup as I had imagined it.
54) Get Looney Tunes on my iPod
55) Catch up on podcasts

Now that I commute to work, I have had a lot more time to listen to podcasts. I'm still behind (of course), but I did catch up on Bill Moyers, the Battlestar Galactica podcast, 2 J-pop podcasts and now I am trying to catch up on Harry Shearer and a Naturopathic podcast I listen to. It is pretty great to finally get through these.
56) Set up folders for iPod in iTunes and organize updating/synching

There is only one iPod I don't have setup for this and I might never do it. This is almost complete- depending on whether the last one gets an update.
57) Post to website every month

Miserable failure, but the website will change, so the meaning of this will change, too.
58) Fix guestbook on website

Fixed through elimination. There was no way with what I had to have the guestbook posts show up automatically. Thank goodness, because the things that were coming in were horrible spammy links. Deletion was the best medicine. I should have known, but I was still naive. Once the re-design happens, I'll have to work out a different interactive aspect if possible.
59) Choose color scheme for website
60) Make booklists on website nicer looking
61) Decide on other domain name: parked domain or new site and set it up

About half-way to working this one out. I have a couple of domain names, only one of which I've used to this point. I think it may be time to bust up what I've got and use these things.
62) Get a full first draft of translation
63) Figure out camera settings for indoor group pictures
64) Find something red to wear for rat year

I was told that rat year for rats was going to be a bit chaotic and I didn't find my red. I better find it soon and hope it isn't too late!
65) Figure out what to do with earrings I don't wear
66) Read travel book by Achim von Arnim
67) Go to geek knitting meeting

I fully believe this doesn't exist anymore, but there are other knitting meetings, so I will just pick one and go to that.
68) Evaluate usefulness of Seashore program
69) Create calendar or something to share my pictures
70) Finish scanning old paper photos
71) Join a guild
72) Get a backup made of my digital/digitized photos
73) Start to learn a new language
74) Find a Spanish reader and read it

Wonderful coincidence- there is one going through Project Gutenberg's proofreading now. I've asked to be notified when it is done and available.
75) Learn at least 250 kanji
76) Read one of the Polish books at home
77) Read through/finish Vietnamese textbook
78) Compliment a total stranger
79) Try a new restaurant in downtown Boston
80) Go to NYC
81) See a musical
82) Buy a friend lunch when it isn't their birthday
83) Have a day where I fully live: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all."

This has been surprisingly hard. The negative atmosphere at work had totally skewed my sense of what is normal talk and what is negative and hostile. I have begun working hard to reset my balance by removing myself from the negativity as much as possible, even when invited into it. 
84) Translate my resume into German

A full resume re-write is underway. Then I'll need to work on the German version.
85) Take someone on my favorite downtown walk
86) Write letters to three people letting them know how special they are
87) Set up an ebay account to sell that sanrio item
88) Finish a first draft of a creative writing project

I began this and then realized I was focused on the wrong main character. I will begin again and hope to have it done soon.
89) Pay off Citibank card and cancel it
90) Spend no money for 4 days straight
91) Eat at No 9 Park
92) Eat at Aujord'hui
93) Figure out how I will convert to digital TV
94) Bind a book
95) Make/Attempt to make all the box patterns in that origami book
96) Make the cherry blossom origami that was the reason I got that other origami book
97) Save for/Plan/or Actually take a trip to the Pacific Northwest
98) Meet Wendy's children
99) Try to learn a song on the harmonica
100) Learn 5 chords on the guitar and be able to switch between them all well

A Goal to Finish Today

Today hasn't been the best day for me. Yesterday I reacted in an entirely unproductive and loud way to a situation with my boyfriend and we haven't had a chance to talk since. I am feeling bad about it, so of course today I am having trouble focusing on anything too long. I had a lot of ideas on what to do this weekend: from baking bread to going with him to a microbrewery outside of Boston, but instead I end up at home feeling anxious and trying to figure out what I can possibly do all day long.

Of course that means that I finished watching the Angel DVD from Netflix this morning and then decided to watch the Frontline episode on Everest online. I will admit, the entire time I watched the Everest episode (very good, by the way), all I kept thinking was, "I will never climb that mountain in my life." I'm OK with that. It isn't on my list anyway. When I watch Frontline, I usually work on my crane project. Sometimes when I watch TV I do it too, but it is almost always while watching Frontline. That means that I have had some very thoughtful times while crane folding, which is part of the meditative aspect of repetitious action, but having it fueled by the topics Frontline covers makes it a bit more international. Of course, with the mood I was in today, I found myself stopping the Everest episode periodically (it also was longer than the usual hour, which I didn't realize when I started) to investigate changes I could make in my life. 

I am not a Jung fan necessarily, but I do like the idea of sympatico. Along your life you get reassurances that things are going the way they should- through coincidence or whatever. Spending time thinking today, I realized that somehow my sympatico isn't sympathetic. My workplace has become a miserable tangle of politics and buggy tools. People are leaving and more outsourcing is happening. I find myself more frustrated more easily than I would like and it hasn't gotten any better unless I put on my iPod and just look at my computer. I began thinking about (can you believe it!?) going back to grad school, with dreams of language classes dancing in my head. After a practical talk with Tim, I realized that that was more escapist dreams than a real plan. So here I am, trying to work out a real plan. An honest to goodness plan to change my work life to put me back on the path to sympatico. (And, if I am using sympatico incorrectly- sorry Jung lovers.) It is hard work to think about this seriously and unfortunately, I don't have Tim to bounce stuff off right now, but for once I feel like pursuing an actual goal instead of just thinking about the next step. And working towards this is putting me back on the path to balance.

And so, since I don't already have about a billion things to do, I signed up to be a proofreader for Project Gutenberg and did a couple pages. I downloaded open source translation software and played with it. I began to rethink my website to make it more professional and less idiosyncratic in case people look me up. And now, lastly, after writing this post (since it has been quite a while since I wrote a post), I have decided that I will complete my crane project. I'm not sure how long it will take, but the energy of focusing on balance and repairing that which is out of synch will hopefully infuse me and the cranes with hope that all will be better in the end. I have less than 100 to do. There are a lot of Frontline episodes to catch up on, so I'm sure I'll have enough to get me through this. Please mark this one as tentatively completed.

April Round Up

After a series of busy (but good!) weeks, I am back for another progress report.

Items in progress: 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 20, 21, 22, 24*, 25*, 26*, 28*, 29, 30, 32 (planning in progress), 39*, 53, 59, 64, 66, 71, 97, 101

Items Completed: 6*, 15, 24*, 25*, 26*, 28*, 33, 34, 39*, 73, 86, 90, 101(* = ongoing)

1-Pay off my car
In progress, though not as close to over as I'd thought. Sigh.

2-Pay off the rest of my credit card debt
In progress and starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel

3-Create a budget
Apparently I am too free spirited for a budget, which I fear will one day translate into "too free spirited for food or shelter that is not a cardboard box". I had better get on the ball! Budget or sugar daddy in '08, that is my vow!

4-Lose weight
Lost eight pounds during the month of April! The whole vegetarian thing is helping a LOT on that front. Even if it isn't actually the reason I have decided to become one, it is a GREAT side effect!

5-Join a gym & set up an exercise program
I have not joined a gym. I received a really good offer for a deal on a Bally's membership last week and was going to join the one my friend Mexican Jenny goes to, then found out she had quit. It's not exactly a program, but I did go walking a couple times last week, which is better than nothing...I guess.

6-Collaborate with someone on a creative project
This has been such a great goal for me, because it has opened me up to the idea of working with others. I am collaborating with Anne on this blog, I spent last Tuesday making collages with Mexican Jenny's 12-year old daughter (very fun!). I've joined a spiritual (interfaith) online writing group that my friend Wendy (Anne, if this interests you, let me know), the poet started AND my friend Jen and I have started a once a month Wednesday writing duo. We actually meet every other Wednesday - now for "writing Wednesday" and "fun Wednesday". This month we are writing poetry for writing Wednesday that we will turn into a handmade zine project on fun Wednesday. I will definitely keep working on this as an ongoing project, but I think I can call it a goal acheived and then some!

7-Exercise at least 3x a week
As evidenced by #5, this one needs a bit of work (I am, btw a master of understatement, considering I have made almost no effort at this thusfar!).

8-Make an appointment with a personal trainer

9-Make a quilt

10-Complete January blogstravaganza
Not sure if I can legitimately call this one complete or not. I did try posting once a day for the month of January, howevever it did not quite pan out. I did, however, write just about every day, so from that standpoint it was a success. Maybe I will try really posting once a day during some other month this year. For now, I will leave this one incomplete.

11-Write 12 short stories, essays or poems in the next year (I.e. 1/month)
I think my two writing groups are going to help a lot in this. I did write a piece I rather like about family back in January and I have been tweaking three poems for my writing duo and also started to write a silly ballad (complete with music) for my friend's birthday in July. I think that's on track with the spirit of the goal. Sometimes creative things are difficult to quantify. Maybe the goal should have simply been to create something once a month.

12-Finish the first draft of my mystery novel
Working on this is actually one of the goals of my writing duo. We started with poetry to give ourselves time to get all our materials together. (I am trying to locate the hard copy of my novel outline, since the electronic version was lost when my laptop died around ths time last year.

13-Learn another language
No progress. I had found a Spanish class, but then ended up talking myself out of it because of the money and also fear of being a lone geezer in a sea of 18 year olds! So stupid, I know!

14-Take a class

15-Join/start a writing group or take a writing class
I did both!

16-Make something with my own hands once a month (craft project)
Jan - ?, Feb - ?, March - ?, April - collage

17-Join a choir or that music thingy from the "Keep PDX Weird" event

18-Learn 12 new songs on my violin in the next year (I.e. 1/month)
One of those things I think about, but haven't actually DONE. I did move my violin to a place where I would see it daily in the hopes that I would be shamed into picking it up. I am apparently shameless.

19-Get my bow rehaired

20-Clean out/organize my books
Finally, I have made a little bit of headway on this. I played hookie from work yesterday and spent a number of hours "roomening" (i.e. improving my living space via cleaning up, redecorating, moving furniture around - in this case, going through some old stuff) and now have a full box of containing mostly books to give to friends or Goodwill and another box of "maybe" give-a-ways, which I will probably donate, but need to baby step myself into releasing into the wild.

21-Make curtains for my bedroom
I have fabric for this, which sounds like I must have made progress, but the truth is that I bought it a long time ago. I'm still going to call this "in progress", though, because fabric is closer than no fabric!

22-Go for a walk in a new park/trail at least once a month
April - went for a walk in Wilsonville where I work

23-Learn about wines
I bought a cheap bottle of sangria from CostPlus the other day, does that count? It will allow me to learn what cheap CostPlus sangria tastes like...

24-Try a new recipe once a month
Jan 08: Thai Pizza; Feb 08: West African Ground Nut Stew; Carribbean Black Beans with Orange Juice and Candied Ginger; March 08: Ziti with Sundried Tomato Cream, Plaintains with Apples and Sweet Potatoes, Tangy Orange Salad Dressing; April 08: Vegetarian Carne Guisada

25 - Invite friends over for dinner once a month
Jan 08: Jenny & Jesus; Feb 08: - ; March 08: Paula (kinda - we ended up eating out); Jen, Becky, Nancy, Jenny, Dejadira; Ruth, Jala, DeEtte; April 08: Jenny, DeJadira, Antonio

26-Try a new restaurant once a month
Jan 08: Jim Dandy; Feb 08: Van Hanh; Mexican Restaurant on 122nd...can't remember the name, but it was good; March 08: Mexican Restaurant by work - can't remember the name, but it's by the Thai restaurant (like that tells anyone but me anything!); April: 08 - nothing yet, but the month is not over either!

27-Make Stollen

28-Once a month, pick someone and buy them a gift/do something to make them happy for no reason at all: Jan 08 no one; Feb 08 - sent flowers to my mom; March 08 - Cadbury eggs for Mary (b/c they're her favorite and she was having a bad day); April 08 - bought my mom a lily, also have something for Jen that I can not yet reveal, because I have yet to send it

29-Moisturize every day
Have been better about this lately, but is kind of hit and miss.

30-Organize my recipes
In progress - Vegetarian recipe binder is now organized (but growing). Still need to buy some nicer binders and also go through magazines and pull out only the recipes I'm going to try and throw the rest away.

31-Study a new Tarot card each month

32-Go on a real vacation
I am planning a trip to Leavenworth with one friend at the end of May and a roadtrip to an as yet undisclosed location with another friend and her kids in mid-June. I'm still not sure what will happen with September - I'm thinking another retreat like I did last year has some possibilities or maybe I'll try something like the SW again, if I can afford it.

33-Resume Wednesday activity schedule with Jen
Check! We've been out for Chinese, hung out at her house, started a writing duo, planned a craft project and are going on vacation in May. I think we have resumed!

34-Spend a month as a vegetarian (in progress Feb08)
Successfully completed a month of meat free living and still going strong as of April. I think this may be a permanent lifestyle change. I feel really good about not killing animals or contributing to factory farming in order to eat.

35-Play my guitar more than once a year

36-Cut my diet coke consumption down to 1 a day (or better - none a day) and drink more water
I think I have cut down, but not to 1 a day and I have not gotten at all better about the water. I think I'll buy a case of Gerolsteiner from Trader Joe's. I seem to do better drinking that than tap water.

37-Sign up for organic grocery delivery or foodshare
Not yet, but am still thinking about it. We've also started planning a vegetable garden at home, which may be the replacement for this, which would be ok too!

38-Study a new artist/composer each month
So far not much progress, though I did forget that I read up a bit on Sofonisba Anguissola a bit back in January.

39-Go to a concert/play once a month
Jan 08: The Devil and Daniel Webster; Feb 08: Sweet Honey in the Rock; March 08: Corteo, Ladysmith Black Mambazo; April 08: Nothing yet. I think Marc Acito has some musical/book kick off event going on in town at the end of the month. Maybe I will see if I can still get tickets to that. I really like his writing style. Plus, he's local, very entertaining, and seems like a good egg.

40-Go to the Shakespeare festival in Ashland
So frustrating! My friend Psychology Anne (as opposed to Grad School Anne) wants to go and I want to go, but we can't seem to find a mutually good weekend before she moves away - AWAY! - to California. How is it that I can go 11 months of the year with no social life, then in the month of June everyone and their dog wants to take a trip with me? I'm telling you this whole not being independantlyl wealthy thing is really a drag!

41-Host a summer barbeque
It's not summer yet, but the nice weather we are having sure is making me think about this one - a LOT!

42-Plan a trip to Europe

43-Renew my passport

44-Go through and get rid of CD's that need to be released into the wild

45-Go on another retreat
September? If I could get some friends to join me, it might be fun to rent a house on the beach and have a writing/making stuff vacation - a Create-a-thon, if you will!

46-Visit the Oregon Trail museums I haven't yet visited
This might have some possibilities in June...

47-Read a poem each week
Joined a poem a day listserv in hope that I might at least one of the daily offerings a week. So far I have done a lot of deleting. I think maybe the internet is not (for me, anyway) condusive to poetry reading.

48-Read something in another language each week

49-Visit the East Coast

50-Write a handwritten letter to someone once a month

51-Meet a friend for coffee/drinks/whatever once a month
This one is sort of negated by the Wednesday scheme with Jen. Really, the point of making this a goal was that I found myself feeling kind of hermit-like at the beginning of the year and turning down a lot of invitations I should have accepted. This does not seem to be a problem anymore. Maybe I'll think of a more necessary goal to replace #51.

52-Regularly deposit money into savings
I thought about this yesterday when I was home from work. I need to update my direct deposit paperwork to have some of my direct deposit diverted from my checking to my savings account.

53-Take control of my 401k investments by taking a class/reading a book on investing
Despite my general (and completely unfair, because I have literally seen her talk for all of 10 minutes) Oprah-like misgivings about her, I have purchased a book on women and money by Suze Orman. It's colorful dust jacket looks really on nice on the shelf, where the book has now sat uncracked for weeks.

54-Call or e-mail friends at least once a week
Haven't really been keeping track, but I think this works out. Setting this goal was a companion to #51.

55-Finish the photo wall

56-Take (or procure) a flattering picture of each of my friends for the wall

57-Attend a pow-wow

58-Make a dress
Have fabric, have multiple patterns. Needed? Motivation. Sometimes I think I like the concept of learning how to sew more than I do the actual sewing itself.

59-Clean out my closet (clothes AND shoes)
In progress - Added some shoes to the donation box yesterday.

60-Buy new underthings and get rid of the old
Whenever I read that I think of "Make new friends, but keep the old...", except for that old bras with bent underwire are neither silver nor gold - not even in the figurative sense.

61-Clean out the garage

62-Attend a pagan festival (Beltaine and/or some other)

63-Update my birthday list
Do I even HAVE a birthday list? I mean really, all in one place? I don't think so. Maybe I need to CREATE a birthday list.

64-Take pictures at events, gatherings, etc.
Such a tough one to quantify because of my insistence on not following basic goal setting rules in making my list. I did buy a new camera and have been taking a lot of pictures, so I guess that counts as in progress, but how do I know when I'm done???

65-Go to the beach once a month in the sunny months

66-Visit Leavenworth
A trip is in the works!

67-Paint my bedroom

68-Pull up the carpet in my bedroom

69-Paint the deck

70-Paint the front porch

71-Go on a road trip during the summer
Already have two planned!

72-Use my Entertainment book regularly, keep track of the savings & put them in a fun money jar

73-Buy and TAKE a daily vitamin
Purchased in Feb and have been taking about as often as I moisturize.

74-Learn to knit

75-Go camping
May be part of the June roadtrip and has potential for all sorts of incompetent hijinx, since neither I nor my companions are big campers. I've been a couple times, but that was with people who were actually adept at building fires and putting tents up. Still, how bad can it be? I got through grad school, surely I can put up a tent!

76-Get and update a new address book

77-Learn enough about photography to make my good pictures more than happy accidents

78-Go to a reading or lecture at least once a month

79-Participate in NaNoWriMo for real and following their rules

80-Join Amnesty International
Not an official member yet, but I have still volunteered a lot with them/signed a lot of petitions/written a lot of letters!

81-Join The Humane Society (or some other animal organization)

82-Learn to make an origami crane

83-Run the whole way around the track

84-Go on December pilgrimage with Jenny R. and her family

85-Write something (journal, blog, whatever) every day
In progress - If I've not written EVERY day, I've definitely done so ALMOST that often.

86-Buy a new ring as a reminder
Bought butterfly ring in Jan 08

87-Get a manicure

88-Treat myself to a spa day

89-Create an enticing reward system for every 10 pounds I lose
I had better get on the ball! I am close to a reward!

90-Get tickets for my mom to be able to see Cirque du Soleil
Saw Corteo with my mom on March 1

191-Read the Bible, Koran, Baghavad Gita

92-Buy a pair of comfortable athletic shoes

93-Visit a Buddhist temple

94-Learn yoga/take an exercise class

95-Plant a vegetable/herb garden

96-Make preserves

97-Research and make a list of fun summer festival outings
In progress - I am using the lovely Gustav Klimt datebook my friend Lorin got me for Christmas to record them. That way, when I am bored, I can open it on any given day and know it is time for the Winlock Egg Day Festival.

98-Make stepping stones for the garden
I have this scheme wherein I invite my friends over for a crafty stone making extravaganza and then use their completed stones to pave the garden path. That way, whenever I am strolling along I will look down and think of them!

99-Go berry picking on Sauvie Island

100-Buy fresh cherries from the fruit loop when they are in season
Still too early, but it is SO on my mind! Is there anything better than fresh, sweet cherries on a summer day?

101-Plan something fabulous for my birthday this year
Done. Invited a bunch of girlfriends over for a vegetarian feast with not one, but two cakes. How did I get two cakes? Well, you see I went to this bake sale to benefit the women detained in last summer's Del Monte raids. One of the women there was a baker, and we bought one of her cakes. As we were talking to another friend, I thought "Why not order a cake from her for my birthday instead of giving money to Lamb's bakery?" So, I immediately went back and asked her if she would do it. She was happy to.

The thing is that when I got home with the original non-birthday cake, I found that the frosting tasted oddly lardy. I didn't want lard cake for my party. Who does? Getting old is bad enough, getting old with only a lard cake for succor does not help ANYTHING! So, I called Lamb's and ordered a mocha cake filled with raspberry and decorated with lovely spring flowers. But, of course, I would have felt too guilty cancelling my original order, so I didn't. It's not like you can call a sweet Mexican lady who is worried about deportation and whether she'll be able to afford plane tickets to take her American citizen children with her and tell her that her cake is lardy and strange, so I decided to just suck it up. The whole point from the beginning was to help her out in a way that wouldn't make her feel like it was charity. The cake was just a side benefit, but not really the point, anyway. So, that's how I ended up with a cake from her AND my Lamb's cake. But that's not where the story ends. The story ends beautifully (and with the birthday miracle of a surplus of cake, which is again beautiful!), because her birthday cake was not lardy at all but light and airy with strawberries and creamy, delicious frosting. Apparently all that stuff about karma is true!

One more down

Last week I finished 25- finish a DS game. 

In the past I was not a huge video game player- probably because my parents didn't buy me any. There was one exception. We had Pong. I do remember playing that. The intermediate bar was so small and the ball went so fast, I had no chance but I loved playing the lower level. Because of the short bar in intermediate, we began calling the smaller buses the intermediate buses. I may be the only who still calls them that since I was so young when I started using that term. I don't really remember how long we had Pong out. It wasn't all that long, though.

Growing up I had one friend who had an Atari system. I liked playing that. She had Asteroids, which was really great. There was also some kind of haunted house game that I remember playing. And my final Atari memory is that she would not let me play Pit Fall. I had to watch her. Why? I don't know. It was frustrating. Maybe once or twice I got to play, but once a crocodile got me, she wouldn't let me play anymore. The injustice!

Then Nintendo comes to my nephew's house. Thanks to him, I am undefeated champion of Blades of Steel (only because I stopped playing the game altogether on the day my nephew finally caught up to me). The Karate Kid was also a popular one to play for us and I can probably sing along to the music from the game since we did when we played it back then.

Off to college and it turns out that my parents have now bought Nintendo for their house for when the (now 2) nephews come to visit. One Christmas my father got Dragon Warrior. He played it and my nephew and I watched- for hours. At that point, my Dad must have been in his early 60's. I remember him coming home from work and letting me know he had had a strategy talk with some guy and he had missed a bridge or something that was going to keep him from fully completing the game. The hours of RPG were done. I myself didn't play that game and I still don't get into role playing games, but since you know who is controlling the main character (and you can chime in with advice), it can be a lot of fun to watch.

A year later or so, I am home for break and have had my wisdom teeth taken out. At some point, my parents got Tetris. I recovered by playing this game and drinking juice. I don't really drink juice anymore, but I still like Tetris.

And then we enter a long world of no game playing. My nephews went to Sega, my parents gave up the old Nintendo system after it was found out that someone (I won't name names- but it wasn't me, my dad, or my nephews) was chewing the controller wires while they played. 

I went to grad school where I would go to the arcade and play driving games for fun and House of the Dead for stress relief. Air hockey and pinball featured pretty highly as well. After grad school, I didn't play. That is, I didn't play until I had a roommate who got the PS2. I got sucked in by Burnout. I loved that game. And then there was Gran Turismo. Loved it. And then they got Grand Theft Auto IV (I think it was IV), which I thought would be another racing game, but chased by cops. I was pretty wrong. After watching the random violence and the storyline, I decided I didn't really need to participate. I just wanted to drive. I withdrew from gaming until I found Nintendo again.

I gave Tim a GameCube for Christmas and said I wouldn't play it, because it was really his toy, not mine. I held onto that for a year. Then I found out about Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix. It was over. With Tim's encouragement, I began playing and finding out how good the good games can be. Now, I am fully involved. I play by myself as much as I play with others, in particular if they are rhythm games, like DDR and Guitar Hero. I have a DS Lite and Tim and I have the Wii. I've bought too many games to play all at once, so I'm slowing down on the purchasing and trying to play through and finish what I've got. Hence, the couple of video game goals I made up.

Last week, I completed Brain Age. I finally completed all the Sudoku puzzles and tested just a couple years away from the absolute best score (best possible score is 20- my last test was 23- although I'm sure I tested at 21 once). Now, of course, I have moved on to Brain Age 2. How brilliant can I get?! I guess it will take a couple months and then we'll see. With Brain Age to sharpen my mind and Dance Dance Revolution to give me an hour of cardio workout everyday, I can only get better.

Pajama Weekend

Things completed: 27 (ongoing), 33, 45 (ongoing)

Things worked on: 12, 14, 20, 25, 41, 43, 58

This weekend was pajama weekend. I don't get many of these, so it is particularly sweet. This may not be the ideal weekend for the very social, though. In short, I wear pajamas all weekend. Sure, I showered and I changed into normal clothes to go to the grocery store so that I could cook, but the goal is to be in pajamas for as much time as possible. That means I had a lot of time in my house. I always think that I will get more done, but somehow, I don't.

One of my pajama weekend plans was to update this blog as I worked on my 100 things. I was going to (once everything else was completed) begin work specifically on my goals. Now it is almost the end of pajama weekend; tomorrow is back to clothes workweek; and I won't have time to do much more than this update for now.

Three things done- 

27 is make a new recipe every month. This one has been easy to do since I've begun working through cookbooks. I have a few, let's say there are about 50 of them in my house. I haven't cooked out of all of them yet, so I feel it is time to begin. In my substructure of cookbook organizing there are three categories: general, ethnic, and special topic. At any given time, I have determined, I will be working through one of each of these. In addition, I've begun using the bread machine I have pretty regularly, so that means once I start cooking, there are potentially four new recipes going on. This weekend was egg bread (pretty nice, but I think I need to really start buying bread flour to see how differently these recipes turn out), chicken soup (the general cookbook is now in the soups chapter, which is nice with this variable weather), lamb stew (the ethnic cookbook is a multitude of ethnicities and I am currently in the Armenian chapter), and later tonight, pork and apples (Special topic: Low-Fat). The extra bonus to this is all the leftovers I can take to work for lunch.

While shopping for these recipes, I found myself in front of the butcher asking for three different kinds of meat. "Holy cow!" I thought (ironic, because I wan't buying beef), "that is a lot of meat." I don't feel that I need meat for a meal. Sometimes after taekwondo class, I will have only rice and kimchee because I don't feel all that hungry (and I pretend eating Korean food might up my abilities). Martina's been trying out vegetarianism, so this would seem to be the total antithesis of her move. There have been stretches in my life where I was vegetarian at home, but willing to eat meat when I went out. I am almost beginning to think that I should have done that backwards all along. Eating it at home means that I personally selected it- which is even nicer when I can go to the butcher and not just pick something up that is pre-wrapped in plastic. When you eat out, you have no idea of the source, unless they tell you. Some places are obviously better than others, but still. I've even considered looking into buying grass-fed beef just to see what the difference is (and after reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, I thought it an even better idea), although I haven't really eaten beef with much regularity since the weekend I woke up vomitting from a migraine and became reacquainted with the rich beef and red wine dinner from that evening. In the end, though, pajama weekend is not about making life-changing decisions, so I will table these thoughts until I have a less pajama-y weekend.

I completed the second half of 33- use the Hauschka mask. It wasn't all that difficult. I don't think it has changed my life, but it was nice to do. I think I have consistently used their products for a year now. I like them, but they can be expensive, so I was very happy on my one out-of-pajama outing this weekend that I found a sale and was able to get my next round of cleanser and moisturizer slightly cheaper.

Lastly, inviting people over (45) was surprisingly busy last month. My book club came over, I had people over for mahjong and my sister and nephew visited. It was quite a month. This coming month so far, I only have the book club again (co-hosting with someone whose place is a bit too far for convenience for the majority), so I am on track, but scaling it down a little. May's invitation may involve some MarioKart, but we'll see. I also talked to a friend in New York, who was asking if I'd visit this month. I've already got some plans for the rest of this month, so I might be completing my New York goal in May or June, before it gets too hot. 

Time to move on to my next activity. If I achieve anything else in my pajamas, I'll be sure to write. 

The card

I have paid off and canceled that Citibank card. Now I am reduced to cash and a credit card not widely accepted. I'm pretty happy about it. Unlike some other people my age, I haven't really accumulated credit card debt, so this wasn't a big necessity. If I could, I'd live on cash and never use credit. It may be the result of my parents who never used credit cards. They told me credit cards would ruin me if I let them, so I didn't.

I'm not a fan of Citibank. I called to cancel the card and told them I was giving up credit cards. 

They then connected me to some senior credit guy (salesman) who then tried to sell me on a new credit card. 

No thank you, I am getting off of credit cards. 

How much other debt do you have? I can get you a lower rate if you transfer it to us. 

No thank you, I don't really have any other debt. 

What is most important to you in a credit card? I can make it better for you.

No thank you.

Well, thank you for your business for these past years. And if you want to re-open your account in the next 6 months, please call.

Ok, thanks, bye.

I know they have to do this as part of their job, but when I said I was giving up credit cards and pretty much stuck by that story, I was surprised at the tenacity of the man on the phone. My brief summary does not do justice to this man's sales technique. I think this is why I am not in sales.

Another goal achieved! I can't wait to list another.