Occasionally I like to make myself breakfast. When I do, I like to enjoy some eggs and some kind of complimentary breakfast food. Thanks to a new microwavable dish that I got for Christmas, I can now have eggs in two minutes!!! Of course, if I set everything up at night I can enjoy a hot cup of joe with that, too. I'm so excited about my new egg container that I've already used it and plan on using it again to enjoy food during my long drive to work.

Have some H.P. love!

So this is what a Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince DVD release party looks like with two people present. That's all that was invited. For the record, that's butter beer in those cups. I'll even give you the recipe for them. First, pour some butterscotch schnapps into a glass (whatever suits your fancy, but the more the better). Next, add some cream soda (get the best because it'll make a difference). Then, enjoy!



I did get to watch this several weeks ago when it was released, so that was definitely a high point amongst my holiday season. Hopefully, if you haven't even seen it yet you'll get your butt in gear and rent it, buy it, or Netflix it! Happy Holidays.

Deck the halls

I'm happy to report that I finally have some decorations up in my apartment. The boyfriend decorated our living room and it's rather cute. I'll be putting more decorations out tonight to congest the whole area with Holiday awesomeness (that's the official term for it, just in case you're wondering).

Also, if you don't follow me on Facebook (which I'm sure you do because you ALL think I'm fabulous. All two of my readers), I lost a friend to a drunk driver the other day. John Hipp was a my boss/friend in college. He graduated from my college with a degree in communications and he was exactly four years older than me as we shared a birthday. It's not like he and I were extremely close after I graduated college, but it still took me by surprise and I got choked up over his passing. Losing a someone in your life that has touched you in some way makes you thankful for the people you do have. Maybe this brings me back to my whining about not being able to enjoy the holidays with friends and family, but this is precisely why. Am I stopping myself from enjoying them? I want so desperately to make memories with everyone and I feel like I'm a far cry away from that. Regardless, I miss my friend and I can't believe that he's gone.

Aside from that. Black ice sucks. I feel down getting out of my car at work yesterday morning. Talk about a wake up call!! My shoulder is a bit sore today because I tried to catch myself by landing on the palm of my hand. I didn't even get up right away because I was a bit stunned and while I was still on the ground, I could see the whole parking lot was iced over. If I had a camera I would have taken a picture of that. If it hadn't been extremely dangerous, it was a site to behold.

My friend Kristine reminds me often that people just want to have pieces of me posted on here and I find that really encouraging. I mean, that's what I'm looking for when I read her blog or any of my friends blogs so I have to remember that for myself. I don't need a purpose to post, just a post. Maybe. Okay, I have to admit I like having a purpose. For me, not having a specific post in mind is like driving around in a car with no destination. I DO NOT enjoy it. But I suppose writing without a purpose isn't exactly the same. Moving onward! :D

Thanks for stopping by!

The Bright Side of the Dark Side

So, I often start posts without actually posting them. They start off as good ideas, but I either can't finish them or I don't feel that I'm conveying my posts the way that I imagine them. It's like I want to hone in and perfect it and if I can't devote a lot of time to it then I cannot finish it. But because this year has been all about me shedding my past and embracing my present, I will now post the beginnings of my posts for you to ponder. Maybe I'll still pick them up and finish them, but for now I'll just leave them as thoughts.

1. Blog title: The Bright Side of the Dark Side

"I was watching Edward Scissorhands the other day and I was reflecting on how Tim Burton is able to draw the bright side out of his stories."

*I wanted to talk more about how I love Tim Burton movies and his style of writing and cinema. They are so strange yet so relatable. I know they aren't for everybody but they tend to have a strong cult following. Love 'em.

2. Blog title: Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. ~P.J. O'Rourke

"I am obsessed with books right now. Well, I'm always a bit obsessed with them. I have three bookshelves full of them and another bookshelf in the wings to try to fill."

*I like to look at book covers, pictures, find things in them that inspire me or read romance novel trash. Who knows where this was going except that I had to get yet another bookshelf to fill with books.

3. Blog title: (no title for this one)



This one drives me nuts because I've been trying to find another image that I can't find as a comparison for Shannon Doherty. I'm pretty sure that she looks like a Gelfling from The Dark Crystal. Check out that movie and tell me you don't see the similarities.

4. Blog title: Etsy Favorites

"One thing that I do absolutely every day is check Etsy. I think that I have to look at it or I'll go blind...or deaf...or stupid. I don't know what will happen, but I have to see it. There are so many inspiring products and people on that website that I feel like it satisfies my daily does of "craft". I keep thinking how much some of these items on here inspire me and I want to share some of my favorites with you just so you get an idea what I enjoy viewing on a regular basis.

Keep in mind when you're viewing these that some of these listings may have expired, but you should still be able to view it.

Sterling silver leaf ring
Five Pointed Crown Bag ZTA's understand why this is so fabulous!
Green felt garland (I really want to make this for the holidays as a reusable garland and something that's a little kitschy.
Bangle bracelets (I don't wear much jewelry or accessorize very well, but I'd like to wear something original


*enough said for this one.

5. Blog title: Vermonter Weekend

"Thank goodness New England has finally had some great weather! I had the opportunity to have a weekend in Vermont and I am thankful for the fabulous weather. I enjoyed the new Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, my mother's 60th birthday, and a baby shower for a sort of cousin. "

*I had pictures ready and fun stuff for this one, but it was just too late to post it.

6. Blog title: Time

"It struck me tonight that I avoid books and movies with the word "time" in the title. I was reading an article on Etsy when I realized that I have avoided certain books because of the name of the series. I can't bring myself to read The Time Traveler's Wife, The Wheel of Time, A Wrinkle in Time, or The Time Machine. I can't watch the movie "Time Bandits" either. I'm sure these are all fabulous, but I have a time avoidance. Maybe it stems from always having to conform to some form of time adherence. What say you? Throw that clock out the window when you can. When I was in high school I was a member of Christ United Methodist Church. I attended this retreat that lasted for three days and you were not allowed to wear a watch for three days. In fact, nobody was allowed to wear one, nor were there any clocks any where. Because we focus on time so much, it was scary, but liberating as well to not have those restraint on our minds. Try it some time and see how well you do. You won't forget the experience."


So, you can start with all of these. I have more, but it will be more blog confetti if I keep going. Enjoy your day off. You lucky bastards.

Thanksgiving

So, I actually had a rather low-key Thanksgiving day so I am definitely thankful for that. I actually have a living room now and I've lived in this apartment for over a year now. Woohoo!



My wonderful boyfriend got us a futon since no regular piece of furniture fits through my apartment doors. There's nothing spectacular about the set up of the room, but it's now multi-purposed. I have to pull out the dining room table when I want to have a regular meal. At least now I don't have my television in my bedroom which I realllllllllly love. I hated that. It's not relaxing in any way.
Enjoy!

So blue...

Everything about these pictures reminds me of fall. Of course, it's already come and gone for Maine and Thanksgiving hasn't even happened yet. All the leaves have dropped off the trees and now we're left with the barren branches and the wind. Incidentally, all this cold weather reminds me that I can start enjoying my knitting again (not that I have to have the fall to enjoy it), but I now have a fabulous new sticker to show my knitting loyalties. Thanks to my friend I can now drive around and wow others with my knitting pride.
Incidentally, the name of my post has nothing to do with fall colors. It only reflects how I'm feeling with the upcoming holidays. With so much emphasis put on buying for the holidays and me working in retail, I miss the times I used to enjoy with my family and friends at this time of year. While I have been promoted at my job, I would still like to entertain the idea of trying something outside of retail to have my life back. I saw a posting for this job and I swear that everything about the description of this company and the job requirements are me to a "T"! I started reading the company website yesterday and it meets all my credentials for the ideal company to work for. This company has even won awards for being one of the best places to work for! Seriously, who doesn't want to work for a company that treats its employees so well that they want to come to work every day? I am working on tweaking my resume so they can see that I'm the ideal candidate for this position. The hardest thing for me is working on a cover letter because I want it professional, but not too personal. I do want to include some personal details as that's the part that I think makes me perfect for this job. I know I sound a little frantic, but I desperately want to be able to enjoy life. I want to let go of my job at the end of the day or enjoy it so much that it doesn't stress me out when I go home. Make sense?
Well, I was really enjoying being able to write on my blog on a regular basis and it seems that "Season" has left me exhausted. I usually don't sleep for long periods of time and yet I find myself doing that almost regularly on my days off since I got promoted.

Wish me luck. It will be over soon.

Chocolate Zucchini

Did I ever show you this chocolatey goodness? I made one of these during the summer and enjoyed it all for myself.


Everyone should enjoy the goodness of chocolate and zucchini joined together in perfect harmony. The joyous part is the icing is just water and powdered sugar. I think the next time I make it I'll have to remember to make more of the icing. In fact, it would behoove anybody to have extra icing on hand as it will not be the same without it.

If you want the recipe you'll have to ask me nicely. Oh, and if you don't believe that it's going to be fabulous, just trust me and make one. Okay?

"Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits." Henry David Thoreau, Wild Apples

"Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness." Jane Austen

I think I just fell in love with a new kitchen tool. Actually, it is officially defined as The Best kitchen tool ever!





I'm pretty sure that the apple tasted better because I used an apple corer/peeler thingy. Plus, it spiral cuts the whole apple which is even more exciting! I'm going to make tons of apple things now. Of course, my time is limited and the apple sales in the grocery store won't last for much longer.

I have just received my first indication that I am in for a very long winter. See the following.

This is what it looks like outside my window. I know it's a bit fuzzy, but the flakes are getting bigger.

Usually, the first snow is a great sense of joy for me, but not this year. I absolutely love fall so having Mother Nature work her wiles on the seasons like this is rather disappointing. Sigh...hopefully the winter won't be too terrible. Stay warm everyone!

It's been a little over a month since I posted. I suppose you should be updated on why it's been awhile since I posted. I got promoted at work! Woohoo! I then had two weeks of training at another store in New Hampshire. After that I started at my new store and it's now been two weeks since I've been there. I am officially busy now, but mostly because of the amount of time I spend driving to get there. I want to get back into a normal routine since not having one throws me into a loop for certain. I plan on going out today to take some pictures of the beautiful New England foliage before it disappears for another year.
If only it could be fall all the time. Right now all the fall colors are starting to blend and mesh and it's a beautiful burst of color. I absolutely love how the air feels outside as it is crisp and refreshing. Everything seems to be washed away to make way for the dark days of winter. For another month or so we New Englanders get to enjoy the last cookouts, fairs, beach visits, and trips to the park before we dawn our winter gear. While the first snow is always anticipated, the "first snow" happens so frequently that it tends to lose it's luster after a couple of feet of white fluff that seems to make it's trip to our part of the U.S. a more extended stay that we care to enjoy. However, back to autumn. I like passing large maple trees where the entire tree is turning orange and yellow while still being able to drop some of it's beautiful leaves in a heap on the sidewalks. There are piles of leaves that you can shuffle through while making the crinkling noise that is so familiar during this time of year. I remember how raking leaves was always a game. It was so much fun to rake every last leaf in a half mile radius to make a pile big enough for four kids to dive into. Moms and dads everywhere love this outdoor chore because they never have to follow through with it themselves. They can sit back while their children make mess after mess and continue to gather all the leaves again. When all "piles" have been exhausted you must then turn to making the scare crow that will sit on your porch or front stoop through Halloween. I miss these times and I love them. It was simple and it was beautiful. Thank you, Autumn. You remind me why I love you.

Lightning Bugs

Fireflies

I cannot stop listening to this song. I love the the meaning behind it. Or rather what I interpret the meaning behind it is.
"I'd get a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs as they try to teach me how to dacnce". That's my favorite line in the whole song. It just makes me smile. I hope you enjoy it. I can't believe that I'm just discovering Owl City in general. They could become my new favorite group.

Promotion

So, three weeks ago I went through a round table interview for the company I work with to become an Assistant Store Manager. It was myself along with 8 other people in my district, two of which are Department Supervisors with myself at the store I work in . I've been waiting for three weeks to hear some news and received it yesterday in the form of a job offer! So in about a week I'll be leaving my store to train in Massachusetts for two weeks and then be placed in my store in New Hampshire. I am very excited and nervous at the prospect of doing this. I feel like this is a big move for me and I feel like I have some clear definition of where I'm going. But I also feel really young. I know that my energy level and my drive are some factors for why I was chosen, so I hope that I will live up to those standards. I don't have any pictures for you guys recently.

I'm going to do another post later about my cleaning stuff. Seriously, that book has changed my life! I know it seems silly. I haven't even read all the way through it. I just know that everything I read inspires me to do a little more. It's a slow process, but right now I'm still on track with my kitchen being clean. However, I have realized that good cleaning tools make all the difference in the world, so I definitely need to invest in a better dust mop for in between vacuumings. Thanks you guys for reading in general. Of course, COMMENT! It makes it more exciting when I write. ;)

"...due to delayed recall, if they were recalled at all. More often dreams are, of course, forgotten entirely, perhaps due to their (according to Freud) prohibited character." Quote from here


What do you think it means when you have recurring dreams? The weird thing about my dreams is that only a portion of my dream and some large element of it has been changed or altered in some way. In fact, this morning I was having a stressful dream in which I was asked to retake a test which was actually a puzzle that I had to solve again even though I had already done it correctly once. The professor wanted me to do it again although he saw me do it and state that he believed I cheated. For some reason, in my dream, I knew that he had a crush on me and he just wanted to see me a bit longer. I was completely aggravated and angry with him for doing this to me as the puzzle was rather difficult and I had a partner the first time. However, the recurring part of my dream was actually a location of a store in which I had been in in my dreams before. The outside of the building and what the store was selling had changed dramatically. The other stores surrounding it weren't exactly the same and the town in which it was residing was more run down than it had been in a previous dream. It seems weird to say that because the entire location is completely fictional to begin with, but I know it was the same location.


The length of my dreams has always been of particular interest to myself as I have had them described before as "epics". This seems fitting only because I recall my dreams with a lot of clarity and detail when I wake up. Many times if I just think about it when I wake up I will not forget the dream during the day.

Dreams referenced here
"REM sleep episodes and the dreams that accompany them lengthen progressively across the night, with the first episode being shortest, of approximately 10–12 minutes duration, and the second and third episodes increasing to 15–20 minutes."

A lot of the research I have done on dreams leads me to believe that it's impossible to determine any one thing about them. You can't determine if they are real, prophecies, manifestations of our waking lives, gods talking to us, fantasies, or even the subconscious trying to tell us something. Since most people don't remember their dreams to begin with, it seems unlikely that it could be most of the above factors.

I have taken to recording some of my stranger dreams in a journal to look back at some day and ponder. The thing is that I remember a lot of my dreams to begin with and I can recall them to mind pretty quickly. It's just that I tend to remember the longer dreams. I also generally have 3 repeating elements in my dreams.
1. Running. Most of the time I'm running away from something. If I'm not running away from something I'm running to catch up to some thing or some event. I generally wake up very exhausted after these dreams and I'm usually in bed early when I have these dreams so it's a bit counter productive.
2. Water. Floods, rain, swimming, fish tanks, sinks, oceans, rivers, waterfalls, you name it I've dreamt about it. Something dangerous is happening when there is water around. I don't always realize it right away (unless of course it's a flood) either.
3. Fighting with women. This one doesn't always happen in my dreams but it is common enough that I have to mention it. I feel like I'm almost hostile with the women in my dreams. Not always mind you, but generally. We just have huge arguments and they're the kind where the other person won't listen to a word you're saying. I feel frustrated in my dreams and wake up frustrated. Which can be frustrating. I haven't had one of those in awhile which I think is a GREAT thing, but I do wonder what that means in real life.

I have a real system of belief for my dreams and feel that they hold some deeper meaning that I'm not seeing. I don't often have happy dreams so I feel like they are my subconscious mind telling me that I'm stressed and that there is an element of my life that I need to let go of or work on. My mind is telling me to relax but I'm definitely not listening. I could be way off base, but this is what I've come up with for now.

Does anybody else dream as vividly as I do? Seriously, I dream constantly and consistently. Let me know what you guys think about my latest dream.

Ms. Clean if you please

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted last. That's ridiculous in and of itself. I have decided, however, to dub myself Ms. Clean because Mr. Clean needs a babe and clearly that will be me. I have come so far with my cleaning endeavors in only a week and a half. Seriously, you would be amazed. I forgot to take before pictures so you could truly be in awe, but I'll take some tomorrow before I get all deep into it. I plan on cleaning up the last portions of my apartment and then adding finishing touches on it. I have a whole box of pictures that need to be put on my walls.

All of this cleaning is so I can make a life time change. I want to be organized enough to lessen my stress. There is absolutely no need for me to come home and feel more stress. The funny thing is that majority of my apartment is clean and I did get this overwhelming sense to want to mess it up. Just like the book said, I am creating this order and I'm afraid I won't have anything to do. The good part is that I didn't mess it up. I kept reminding myself how I wanted to create some free time by keeping things tidy. By me keeping my apartment in top shape I can actually start sewing regularly. I know when I have my craft space completely set up that will be another challenge for me, but I'm willing to face that head on. Wait until tomorrow when I post some good pictures for you.

Women don't sweat, they glisten

I definitely glistened today in Maine's 90 degree weather. Mostly especially because I accomplished THIS:





I can't believe I have finally finished cleaning my kitchen. I know it seems like a small feat, but I am genuinely excited about it. The book that I've been reading has really turned my thinking around. I know that in about 30 days I'll have some better cleaning habits and while I wish it were sooner I'm making a commitment to this change. I never knew how difficult it could be to be so messy all the time. For all you clean people out there you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, but for the rest of us, it's a bitch! More to follow as I progress in my new endeavors!

Messies are Creative

I am going to take control of my life. What that means is that I'm going to control the mess in my home and not let it control me. A few days ago I was reading one of my favorite blogs and she had a whole post about cleaning and what she does to control it. I'm a fan of natural cleaning and I try to only use natural products when I do get around to cleaning. It's nice to have so many alternatives to traditional chemicals. They smell fresher and I'm not worried about ingesting or inhaling the smells while I'm in such close contact to dirty surfaces. I read some of the comments that people left on this particular post and was pleased to discover some books about being messy. I know that books about organization are out there as I've worked for a bookstore before, but I never paid any attention to them. I remember the Home section being one of my favorites while everyone I knew despised it. A part from that though I find the allure of being able to make something messy clean again very appealing. The book that I discovered and purchased is called The Messies Manual: A Complete Guide to Bringing Order to Your Home.

This is a very eye opening book for me. This book identifies my problems with messiness so that I can change my way of thinking to keep a better home. It might sound a bit fubar, but this book is all about me! For some people cleaning and house keeping is a natural part of who they are and for some of us, like myself, it is ALWAYS a struggle. It's not that I enjoy being messy or that I don't know how to clean, but the way that I go about doing it inhibits my progress of maintaining it. I'm going to identify a few things for you so you know where I'm coming from.

I'm considered a "Perfectionis Messie" and a "Clean Messie". I find it difficult to start a task because I want it to be perfect, but in deciding how I want to approach it, I never start the cleaning to begin with. So in that sense it just sits there the way it has always been looking grimy. The second part is that when I actually do clean, I only half complete things. If I do laundry I feel good about it because at least I have clean laundry, but it may not be folded and put away. Just like dishes, they may be washed and out on the counter and that's what counts in my head. So I've identified what stops me from achieving my goal of a clean home, but moving forward is difficult. The bottom line is that after starting to read this book I feel like I can finally understand how to control the mess!
I finally started some more dishes yesterday. Feels good, too.

I discovered two other books that I would like to buy some other day that will help in controlling this horrendousness I live in.
*Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House
*Better Basics for the Home

---

As I was browsing in Borders yesterday, I came across some magazines that I found appealing. I am, as you know attracted to all things earth friendly and these titles caught my eye. I have no idea how long they've been around, but I like the idea of them.

*Simply Handmade (apparently hasn't been published in awhile)
* Green Craft Magazine (I can't find this one online. This was the most appealing as the ink, paper, and look of the magazine was recycled. No glossy pictures and all matte.)
*Altered Couture
* Ready Made (Okay, not new to me, but I love it anyway)

Thanks for stopping by!

The Best Part of Waking Up...

...is not Folgers in my cup. It's flavored coffee. This morning I was making my coffee and I am using my absolute favorite coffee mug. The ironic thing is that it got me thinking about church.


Yeah, now it's completely obvious why, right? This beautiful, hand-crafted coffee mug was made by one of my middle school art teachers, Mr. Rick Taylor. This was given to me and several other 18-year-olds, from our church congregation upon graduating our respective high schools. I didn't drink coffee at the time so I could never have imagined out valuable this would be to me until years later, but it was definitely use for some nice teas. Back to my main point however. Church.

I used to be extremely involved in church. Not even my own necessarily, but church in general. My best friend attended the largest church in our town and it also happened to be right across from our high school. I was there frequently involved in Bible groups, devotions, youth groups, mission trips, Activators, vacation Bible schools, church services, and every other church related activity. The irony is that my church was right down the road from hers, but I never felt completely comfortable or welcome in my youth group. I know it had a lot to do with the fact that my best friend was part of another church and I also had no idea why I was going. I went to college completely confused about how I felt about religion in general. I was a member of United Methodist Church, attended Baptist functions, and enrolled in a Lutheran based college. Talk about confusion! Now, I am of the mind set that religiousness and God and things associated with heavenly beings are up to the individuals' interpretation. Honestly, I don't know where I fall. I understand the background of the Lutheran religion the best, but I don't know if that puts me any closer to wanting to be a part of it. I have always wanted to be a part of a church that I could call my home, but I don't know for what purpose. I am thankful for the time and experiences from being involved in a church atmosphere as there are so many things you can get out of it. Isn't it amazing that one cup of coffee can remind me of all of this? So there's your coffee for thought this morning. Drink up and add some sugar to that cup 'o' java.

Ambidextrous-ness

Ever wondered what shapes your decisions in life? Is it environment? Is it your parents? Is it natural? This article explores a different theory on how we base our decisions that has nothing to do with any of those factors. Thisarticle explore a theory, little known to myself, that might be a bit of an eye opener for you. See what you think.

The House In The Woods

I have a very lovely friend who graciously sent me some of her vintage notions. I was delighted to receive this box and saved my day off to really relish in the loveliness.

Here's the cute kitty vintage card that came inside the envelope.


So I pretty much fell in love with all the buttons in that box. So here's a shot of just them. Plus one of them has a likeness to a particular to a nipple and it makes me giggle. I know, it's childish, but it's still funny. See if you can figure out which one that is.

These are my favorites so far. I'll probably look at them again and decide that another set of buttons are prettier.




These are probably my favorite things in the box. I've been wanting to purchase some to try with some purses, but just haven't gotten around to it. They do give me some ideas though.


So what about this last picture reminds you of Harry Potter?

Also, this fun box gives me so many ideas for sewing projects. I definitely need to expand my crafty horizons and try something new with the detailing in my work. You know, when I am at my job paying attention to detail isn't a problem for me. When I'm at home and doing something for myself I some times let the details slide. I think it has to do with just getting it done. But anyway, I'm glad to have received this box to spark my interest again.

Fashion Sense

I really am not good with fashion. Whenever I watched the show "What Not To Wear" I think what it would be like if my friends and family picked me to be on there. I'm not a horrible dresser per se, but I dress rather boring. I also don't dress like an adult. Well, actually because of my frame size wearing t-shirts tends to make me look more like a kid instead of an adult that is trying to have fun with their wardrobe. I'm awful at pairing items together, but I love the layered look of things. I've always wanted to look polished, but have a hard time figuring out how to make it look effortless. But there are items that I see that I love that I'm not sure if they're "hip" or "in" that I want to know your stance. I seriously would love to talk to Stacy and Clinton and have their help with my wardrobe.

But anyway, I live in New England and for most of the year my particular region is all about cold and winter days so I am often drawn to fashionable warm weather wear. I like this sweater and I think it's fashionable in a warm way. I just want to snuggle in it. So, what do you think? Is this fashionable or fashion faux pas?

Alphabet Soup

A friend of mine wrote this post and I had to take a page from her book and see what I could come up with. I have literally been filling in the blanks since she posted this. I didn't want it to be meaningless so I took my time finishing this.

A is for "Austen" because Jane knows how to write a romance.
B is for "belly". I'm working on my abs because they need to be flatter. This woman has some great instructional videos for workouts.
C is for "Craftster". My absolute favorite website full of crafty inspiration.
D is for "diet". I'm trying to work more on eating nutritiously so I've been thinking about a well-balanced diet.
E is for "effervescent" which is how I've been described. I happen to agree. ;)
F is for "friendship". This past year has definitely tested some friendships and I love all of you who have stood by me.
G is for "Green". My favorite color and my way of life.
H is for "Harry Potter" Yeah, I'm a fan. Some day I want to have a Harry Potter room in my future house.
L is for "learn". I never realized how much I love to learn new things until I graduated college. Hmm...a little late, right?
M is for "movies". I have too many favorites to name. Yay for Netflix and local libraries.
N is for "naive". Sad, but true. I tend to be naive about life.
P is for "photography". I love my new camera and I've always loved photography.
Q is for "Questions". The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. ~Albert Einstein
R is for "recycle". Did you expect anything else?
S is for "sibling". I've got mad love for my brother. Enough said.
T is for "Tollipop". My new favorite blog. Well, not new since I've been reading it for a long time, but I appreciate her writing style and photography skills more and more.
U is for "USPS" Oldest mail delivery service in America is closing many branches to cut costs and the declining use of our national service.
V is for "Vermont". I will always be a Vermonter at heart. Give me maple syrup, moose, and the great outdoors any day! Oh, yeah, and definitely some Cold Hollow Cider and donuts.
W is for "writing". This is one of my early efforts below. Clearly, it wasn't that good because I only got a B.




X is for "Xylophone". Okay, it's not really, but it reminds me of the book Animalia by Graeme Base. Every letter of the alphabet has a page and every single thing on that page starts with that particular letter of the alphabet. Plus, the illustrations are amazing!
Y is for "yarn." I'm a yarn whore (Thanks to KK I have a sign that says that I am).
Z is for "zest". As in "zest for life". I do have zest, but my zest for life can be lacking at times. I'm trying to experience all those fun things that I got to do growing up that I haven't been able to enjoy in my adult life.


If you read all the way through this, you rock. Hopefully, you learned some fun things about me. Or maybe you already knew them, but too bad, because I got you to read them again. HA!

Instructables

Instructables is one of the coolest websites I have ever bisited. I've known about it for years now, but i forget to share it with people. This is THE website to go to for how-tos on just about everything. Want to make some stairs? Choose from an array of styles, materials, and follow the color pictures. Feel like growing your own veggies, but don't know where to start? This will show simple ways and give you advanced tips too. All you have to do is read the instructions, material lists, and click on the pictures. It's amazing! But there are also some fun articles that link to some pretty amazing projects. Try this out first. Here's the full NY Times slideshow for you to check out.

Glass Explosion

So, I must admit that I am not always, how shall I put it, the tidiest person to live with. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy cleaning. When I had roommates in college they dorm room was always very clean. But if there is one thing that I hate it's doing the dishes. I mean, I despise doing the dishes. Growing up I was always happier washing the bathtub, scrubbing the toilet, and cleaning the sink in the bathroom before I'd ever do the dishes. It's not like I had to hand wash them or anything like that, but the thought of touching dishes grosses me out.

Now, I live in an apartment without a dishwasher and it about kills me. Besides the fact that hand washing uses more water than dishwashers, I don't have the motivation to wash my dishes regularly. Of course, I have dish washing gloves to make it less painful, but I think I need to embarrass myself to actually motivate me to do my dishes. Without further ado. I give you...my kitchen.



So go ahead and make comments. It's true that this is disgusting. I literally have no dishes in my cupboards to speak of. However, the following picture will be even more embarrassing .




Yep, when you don't wash your dishes and you leave glass on the stove and then turn on the wrong burner, it EXPLODES. There's a huge popping noise and then glass shards all over. It's not that fun to clean either. So, in the next few days you will see pictures of a very clean kitchen and you'll see it revamped a little too. Yup, comment away on how dirty I am because it'll make me feel gross and then I'll clean. :(