Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Weird Things Meme

I have been tagged by A Daily Dose of Zen to do a meme on six weird things about me. So here it is.

1. I don't really like chocolate. It is okay, but I get sick of it fast. I prefer dark chocolate to milk.

2. I think that sugar has a strong aftertaste and I don't like sweet desserts.

3. I can fall asleep mid-sentence, something which annoys my husband a lot. Especially since I start to make less sense as I drift off.

4. When under stress, I will talk in my sleep. One time I woke up my husband with "2X plus 2". I am such a nerd at heart.

5. Despite my lack of interest in sugary desserts, I could live on cookies, especially crunchy ones. And in keeping with my perve.rsity I often loose a pound or two if I go on a cookie binge. (You may curse me now, I understand.)

6. I have dog karma. Stray dogs will come to me and I have rescued many, including a wild dog.

If you are reading this, comment and then consider yourself tagged.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Cleaning Day and no coffee needed

Like so many others out there today I was vacuuming away and then I screamed. I mean, I knew that there were signs that we had a mouse. I put up the ultrasonic mouse repulsers. I also laid a few traps. I moved the bird seed to the garage. I didn't think about it again. But today I was vacuuming the laundry room and I thought, "I really should empty that garbage." I moved the can and then I screamed. There he was, quite dead, in a trap. In my defense it was not really a scream of fear, it was more of surprise. I am confident in my ability to defeat a mouse in a fair fight, and the dead kind are not much of a challenge. But please feel free to snicker. My husband did when I called to tell him about it. He offered to remove it from the house when he gets home tonight, but no that mouse (and trap) were leaving my home as soon as I caught my breath. I took deep cleansing breaths, got a large plastic bag and very carefully put it into the bag without touching it. I hope that my house it now rodent free. I did put down a new trap at the same spot.

I think that it was definitely true that I was not "friends with the present moment" at that moment. Hopefully there was no permanent scarring, for me if not for the mouse.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Spectacular White Dove Release

This might strike you as tacky. Skip this one if you have lost your mother recently.

I was driving past a local cemetery and they had a sign:

Celebrate Mother's Day
Sunday May 11th at 2 pm
Spectacular White Dove Release
Light Refreshments


I was, well, gob smacked would be the right word. I could not imagine attending this event. Am I alone here or is this odd? What are the appropriate "light refreshments" for a celebrations of this type?

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Blogging Options

I love Google Reader. It makes it so much easier to keep up on blogs. If you use Google Reader or another reader you will know that bloggers have the option of showing the full post or just a trailer which requires a reader to click through to reader the whole post.

I have discovered that I am not reading some bloggers as much because I cannot be bothered clicking through. After all I then have a new tab opening that I will have to close later. I must be the laziest person on the planet. Am I alone on this one?

Update on 101 things.

I have to say that this is a really interesting process. I am enjoying it for the most part. I think that some of my items are difficult to quantify. I am happy with how it is going.

I removed items "1. Create this list" and "2. Do monthly updates" from the list accidentally.

Car


03. Clean the inside of my car (3/30) In Progress

04. Drive 5 km/h slower to reduce emissions. Started this. Sorry for those of you who are behind me. I have also started Hypermiling as suggested by DoctorMama In Progress
Charity


07. Write to my foster child in SA In Progress

06. Write to my foster child in Africa In Progress

05. Do work for a charity In Progress
Family / Personal


14. Have my mother over once a month (3/34) In Progress

12. Have a family outing once a month (3/34) We are doing better than that so far. In Progress

13. Have more contact with my oldest sister. I have been working on this one. In Progress

18. Update my medical alert bracelet Completed on 05/04/2008

15. Make birthday dr appointments for boys Completed on 03/27/2008

19. Wear makeup everyday for 2 weeks. I have been doing well on this and wear makeup more often. Completed on 05/04/2008

08. Ask directly for what I want In Progress

09. Believe In Progress

10. Decide what to do with my frozen embryos In Progress

17. Say “Please” more In Progress

11. Get closure on evil Uncle K In Progress

16. Plan fun things to do in the summer In Progress
Food / House


36. Clean out 3 kitchen cupboards - 1 so far In Progress

40. Follow cleaning schedule I have been doing well on this one. It is nice having a cleaner house. In Progress

32. Bake once a week (6x so far) In Progress

45. Learn how to bake the hearty bread that I like to eat. I have tried several recipes. I am still working on it. In Progress

58. Stop using plastic grocery bags. I have a good collection of bags, and I am about 85% successful in remembering them. In Progress

42. Get pda connected to new laptop. I have spent untold hours on this one and it is still failing. In Progress

39. Finish configuring new laptop . Done! Completed on 03/27/2008

41. Get dataloc for my laptop Completed on 03/27/2008

37. Do a clothing purge. A lot of clothes are done. Yes! Completed on 05/04/2008

57. Replace weatherstripping on front and side door In Progress

52. Replace downstairs bathroom fan In Progress

51. Rearrange laundry room In Progress

47. Patch holes in family room wall. Started. Need to be sanded In Progress

54. Replace Master bathroom fan In Progress

59. Touch up paint in hallway In Progress

44. Go back on cash only for a month In Progress

43. Get rid of old VCR tapes In Progress

35. Clean kitchen before bed 5x a week Hmm In Progress

53. Replace downstairs toilet In Progress

55. Replace Master toilet In Progress

56. Replace toilets In Progress

46. Paint deck In Progress

49. Purge furnace room In Progress

34. Eat more organic foods In Progress

33. Create my own cookbook of things we like to eat. In Progress

50. Put up whiteboard In Progress

48. Purge desk In Progress

38. Do more gardening In Progress
General


02. Do a monthly list evaluation (2/34) In Progress

01. Make this list ? Completed on 03/25/2008
Health and Fitness


27. Go to bed before 11 at least 4x a week. I am definitely better on this one. In Progress

21. Do months breast exam (0/34) In Progress

28. ? In Progress

20. Buy a new weight scale I have decided against this. The one that we have is consistent Completed on 03/27/2008

29. Reorganize my weekly schedule Completed on 05/04/2008

23. Drink more water I am trying! In Progress

22. Do more yoga (2x week) In Progress

30. Try pilates In Progress

26. Go a week without sugar In Progress

24. Get a massage once a month (2/34) YES! In Progress

25. Get my eyebrows done 3x (1/3) In Progress

31. Work on posture (stretch for 5 min every day) Not doing great on this one. In Progress
Kids


63. Read book on parenting boys In Progress

65. Sign up kids for swimming In Progress

64. Read book on praising boys In Progress

62. Potty train LB In Progress

60. Become a foster parent In Progress

61. Open bank accounts for boys In Progress

66. Start teaching my youngest french In Progress
Leisure


67. Blog once a week (average) Hmm, I am falling behind. In Progress

76. Get a dog. This will be happening in May or June. Yeah! In Progress

69. Create scrapbook for BB. I am working on this one too. In Progress

68. Buy a new winter coat (one my size). Done Completed on 03/27/2008

80. Go to the Opera In Progress

93. Visit Portland on vacation In Progress

74. Fix kids journal db In Progress

81. Have an outdoor family vacation In Progress

78. Get my Irish passport In Progress

75. Fly both of my new kites In Progress

70. Date my husband once a month In Progress

77. Get a singing prayer bowl (in C/ root chakra) In Progress

85. Pick up french again In Progress

95. Write an email to a friend once a week In Progress

87. Read a nonfiction book every month In Progress

71. Donate excess yarn In Progress

94. Work on family tree In Progress

89. Register the birth of my sons in Ireland In Progress

91. Start knitting again In Progress

82. Learn 2 new Harold Arlen songs In Progress

88. Read Reggio Emilia book In Progress

92. Take a pottery class In Progress

83. Mediate 3 times a week In Progress

79. Go to 5 hockey games In Progress

90. Start having something to do while watching tv In Progress

72. Finish kids journal In Progress

86. Post 10 books on BookMooch In Progress

73. Finish scrapbook for LB In Progress

84. Piano lessons In Progress
Work


96. Do certification exam 1 (If I am ever going back to work then I need to keep up.) Taken and Passed! Completed on 03/25/2008

98. Do certification exam 3 In Progress

99. Do certification exam 4 In Progress

97. Do certification exam 2 In Progress

101. Write Java exam In Progress

100. Learn Java In Progress