The Future is Now

''I think we will look back in 10 years' time and say we should not have done this but we did because we forgot the lessons of the past, and that that which is true in the 1930's is true in 2010"

2009: Thing 2, Dove Softie

I had the idea for this little guy at the end of my yoga class tonight when I was supposed to be thinking of nothing...and I got all excited to get home and figure out the pattern.
It's not crochet, but it's adorable. I love it. It's tiny: about 2" by 1" and I made it for a friend because, really, how can this not make you smile?


(note: the pincushion comes from "the daily pincushion" on Etsy...she is so talented!)

2009: Thing 1, The Office

Spent most of the day Sunday on this project, and became intimate with the practice of "cutting" sans painters tape.* It's hard. I feel like I felt a little bit of Michelangelo's pain. Just a little. The end result is a stunning display of "Northern Pear Tree"** and all that's left to do is the white, glossy trim followed by a Rip Up The Carpet Party! The hardwood that's hidden under here appears to be in beautiful shape and our fingers are crossed that there are no major stains or warping waiting to be uncovered. Of course, that's what area rugs are for.

It feels really good to get this far on this room. It was tough to tackle, and next up is the hallway...

*to be fair: the room was painted with tape, and it was only the closet that I had to paint without tape. Really, I'm whining for no good reason.

**I tend to pick paint colors based on names, just like I've been known to pick wine based on the label. So far, I've yet to be truly disappointed.

Chef!

I'm feeling quite proud of myself tonight. I managed to accomplish everything on the list-in-my-head before crashing into bed:
I cooked not one, but TWO dinners -

1. Sauteed chicken with a roasted sweet potato salad for tonight and in about 15min I'll turn on my crock-pot for the...
2. Pulled Pork soft taco's we'll be eating tomorrow night before going to see The Reader.

In between all that, I caught up with Brie, watched LOST (wtf? spoiler alert...sort of: I'm not sure I even care about Charlotte) and even managed to work out with Comcast Exercise TV (I heart the Biggest Loser CardioMax). Dishes are clean, coffee is ready for tomorrow & I'm updating my blog. Check, Check and CHECK. Of course, next time I'll try to have something a little more interesting to blog about other than the fact that I've crossed a lot of things off Wednesday's To Do's :)

I'm getting psyched for Thing-A-Day 2009, and have started putting together a string of project ideas to keep me from procrastinating on a day when I think I can't possibly get something done. Yay Creativity! I'm hoping there's someone out there that can help me learn to crochet "softies". I think they're adorable, but I'm pretty sure they require a skill level above and beyond what I'm capable of. (Christa, your lesson was wonderful but I think I need a tutor! Help!) Right now, in my head, I want to crochet and owl and a pencil. Oh, and some newborn beanies for our friend's new baby twins!

iiiiiiit's BUDGET TIME

It's January 6th, and I'm going to be out of debt this year. Well, mostly anyway. I think it's absurd that I'm still IN debt anyway. I used to be crazy-scared of credit cards...took me YEARS to get my first one, which I only ever put my gas purchases on. It was 2 years after that before I got another one, the sole purpose of that one being the 0%APR for my first camera purchase. Unfortunately, the world of professional digital photography is not a cheap one...and that first camera purchase was 5 years ago. Now, it's 2009 and I'm staring all that equipment in the face every month as I make another payment to the credit card company.

Don't get me wrong...me and Suze Orman are besties. I know exactly what I need to do to get out of debt (stop buying coffees, eating out at work, eating out - period). It's the actual implementation of it that baffles me. Somehow I start off so good...only to be scraping pennies and pulling from my savings account every month. I have a hard time saying "no", but that's a whole other post.

This has to stop.

For a full week, I am going to keep track of absolutely everything I spend money on. Then, after that, I'm going to do it for the rest of January. I've already bought the swimsuit, and that goes in the "fitness" part of the budget. To me, it's akin to the race fees I pay every few months for the 5K's, 5milers and 10K's I run through the year. I have factored "fun" into the budget since I know that a budget can be like a diet and if I deprive myself of everything I'll end up spend-binging and then crying myself to sleep.

Step one: Paying myself first. I'm setting up an ING account tomorrow (mostly because Emmy nearly had a heart attack when I told her that none of my savings accounts were interest bearing).

Step two: Learning to "window shop". I hear that just gazing at the things you desire can leave you just as fulfilled as actually purchasing them! Who knew!

Step three: Eat more meals at home. This should not actually be a hard thing to do, but living alone means that I usually will opt for a sandwich at Panera with other humans before eating a similar sandwich at home with my cat and the TV. I have to overcome this.

Okay, starting there. See how it goes. All these "ambitions"...I'm going to need a daily checklist!

Swimming 101

I refuse to call them "resolutions" even though that's exactly what they are. Instead, they are ambitions. So, one of my "ambitions" for 2009 is to become a better swimmer! Possibly enter a sprint-tri in 2010?



So, tonight I wen to Dick's to purchase my gear. I hauled about 25 bathing suits into the fitting room only to realize that I have absolutely no idea how swimsuit sizing works. Attempt #2 yielded better (though still depressing) results. I love the blue/white combo and I'm excited to start! First swim-session will be next week. I have no idea how to build up swimming stamina, having only a background in running...so we'll see how it goes.

Made in the USA

Made in the USA
Originally uploaded by Becca Elizabeth

Sitting at my desk and surrounded by prototypes, samples, packaging and spec sheets for even more of the above (all manufactured in China), I realized I was out of scotch tape. When I grabbed the refill pack, I noticed the little American flag in the corner along with the "Made in USA" label. Suddenly, it struck me how much of what we buy and consume these days comes from overseas, and I took pride in the fact that here I was using scotch tape, Made in the USA.
It's a small thing, but it's better than nothing.