Mostly this is me waving to you saying Hi from the blog world.  :)

I so love being able to burn CDs now.  I just burned a couple for my mom...one of a playlist I made back in December, and one I made today.  I hope she likes them, or at least finds a song or two that she likes on them.

Also, yes, I am procrastinating.  I need to do the dishes.  I also need to vacuum, but can't do that until Daisy wakes up.  It would be rude to wake up a sleeping cat.

Travel coming up: leaving tomorrow for the last (!) Murfreesboro/Franklin teaching run.  Heading to Winston-Salem on May 15, and then riding with Kate to Richmond for the weekend of May 16-17.  Busch Gardens!!!  Babysitting Alex at my grandparents' house from May 27-June 2, and then leaving on June 13 for LA.  Will be spending time in LA, San Diego, and Las Vegas.  Sooooo looking forward to that vacation!

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I'm writing this blog entry from my shiny new iMac.  :)  I bought it on Thursday and I absolutely love it.  Hooray!

Now I have to make sure I get off this thing every once in awhile to get to my knitting.  I'm dreadfully behind on my projects, and friends keep popping out babies.  Sigh.  One day, maybe when I'm in my 40s, I'll be caught up on baby projects.  I want to make the scarf that my friend Carrie is making.

I've got something else, too, that my facebook friends already know.  But I want to wait until I have a chance to send something to my mom before announcing it here.  Oooh, the suspense.  ;)

I wish there was a way to go to "sugar rehab" as I've determined that it is definitely my problem right now.  I'm working on it though.  It's just very very very hard.

I'll leave you with a picture taken earlier this month of me and my friends Librarian Amy and Food/Crafts/Books Girl (and her baby, Charlotte).

100_0997

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

It's been a crazy winter.  Lots going on, and I found myself lost in deep thought more than I care to remember.  Trust me, there have been good things, but also things for me to reflect on.

Enough about that.  It's Spring!!  Trees are blooming, the tulips and daffodils are coming out, and except for the frigid (40-something) weather today, Spring has been glorious.

Today was my first ever 5K!  I finished, I didn't die (or even hurt too terribly bad), and I wasn't last place.  ;)  My time was 49:46.4 doing a walk/jog combo.  I was hoping for under 45 minutes, but I'll take under 50.  Next time I'm going to work on beating my time, and eventually I want to jog an entire 5K.  Heck, maybe I'll do the half-marathon one day.  Time will tell...

Update on TV stuffs: I've started watching Life, and absolutely love it.  LOVE it.  Still watching Lost, as I figure I need to stick it out at this point.  I've pretty much given up on Heroes.  Gossip Girl is crazy fun as always.  I'm curious to see how Biggest Loser turns out.  And I've also been watching Dollhouse.  I didn't like it much at first, but it's finally starting to come together better.  I'll stick it out until Fox cancels it (which given how Fox treats Joss Whedon shows on Friday nights, it won't be long...).  Oh, and 24 has been amazingly awesome again this season.

I've got some more travel coming up.  Visiting my brother and some friends next weekend, then conferencing and visiting family in Nashville the next week.  I love spending Easter with my sister, as it means coloring eggs and watching her hunt them. 

Sadly, I won't get to go to the upcoming MLA conference in Honolulu.  But I've got a SoCal/Vegas vacation planned for June, so I will get some beach time before too long.  :) 

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

It's really snowing here.  Big fluffy flakes that look super-soft.  It's sticking to the rooftops, grassy areas, and tops of cars.  I actually don't mind the snow right now because I don't have to leave the apartment until tomorrow morning.  I'm just watching it from my bedroom window while goofing off online, listening to music, and drinking my second cup of tea.  I'll be exercising soon, but for now, I like chilling out and watching the snow.

Sadly, I didn't document this past weekend with photographs.  My dad and Alex came to visit me yesterday.  We went to the Lady Vols game (yay, we won!) and had a great night.  They left early this morning, and I'm glad I'll be seeing them again soon for Alex's birthday (she'll be *6*!!).  Daisy is taking a long morning nap to recover.  Actually, she did great...Alex was calmer with her, and Daisy rewarded her by not spending all of the time under the bed.

I know there is more to update on, but for now, I'm just going to watch the snow...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I now have a shiny new *pink* iPod nano!  I love it.

What are y'all listening to these days?  What do I need to check out?

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Happy New Year, everyone!  2008 was a terrific year for me, and 2009 promises to be better.  This is the year that my weight will finally get to good.  I'm going to do at least one 5K.  I'll be graduating from EfM in May.  And I'll likely start ballet lessons in the fall.

Of course I have travel plans already.  I'm hoping to have my trip to Hawaii approved (for the MLA conference).  I'll also be making a trip west in June to visit friends in SoCal (LA and San Diego) and will be making a side trip to Vegas for a friend's birthday party.  Yay!

I do have some resolutions.  They're pretty boring, so I'm not going to list them all here.  Overall, today I'm in a better place than I was this time last year on so many fronts.  It's going to be a fantastic year!

Finally, a quote from the awesome Neil Gaiman:

...I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Taken from uncagedbird.  I don't normally do these, but thought this one was interesting...

****

THE 99 THINGS MEME

Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to - leave in plain font

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

No, this is not a post about bread (though I will be finishing it up tomorrow!).

After making some sort-of plans for New Year's Eve last night, I couldn't help but be reminded on NYE last year.  I wrote this on the 30th.  My grandmother died the next day.  After work, I went home to pack, then stopped at the liquor store for wine and champagne on my way out of town.  I spend NYE with my mom in a hotel room in Cookeville.  It was a really hard night.

While I will take time this year to remember my grandmother (she was such a lovely woman), I'm also planning on ringing in the new year on a happier note.  Just as long as no one dies...

I'm on Christmas break now...no more work until December 29!  I look forward to this break every year, and am looking forward to having time to relax.  And clean out my closets.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I'm all done with baking banana and zucchini bread.  I haven't made as much of those as pumpkin (more tomorrow) or friendship (more next weekend), which is fine, because my freezer probably couldn't handle more.  However, the freezer is almost empty of bread now...I mailed off several loaves this morning.  Hooray!

I think that next year instead of getting myself in a baking frenzy, I'm going to knit as many prayer shawls as possible.  There is a shawl ministry at my church, and I know they'd love to receive some.  I figure if I start in November next year, I can get 2-3 done by the first of the year.

I really should get away from the computer now and start tackling the TiVo.  I think it's about to pop!  I know I've got about 3 episodes of Pushing Daisies to watch...I'm so sad that it got canceled!

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I'm currently in Christmas baking mode.  I've been baking mini-loaves of banana, zucchini, friendship, and pumpkin breads.  Whew.  My freezer is full of carbs to be given away!  They're being given out locally & through the mail.  Some regular readers of this blog will be getting some, whether they know it or not!

I chose quickbreads this year because while I like them, they aren't tempting to me the way yeast breads are.  I still salivate when thinking of yeast breads.  Best to stay away for now.  I'm considering making some fudge, too, but that might have to be put off until another year as well.  As it is, it really feels like the Christmas season to have so many wonderful aromas in my apartment.  I'm currently immersed in pumpkin.  :)

Quick poll:  Which iPod nano color should I choose when I buy myself one for Christmas?

Read and post comments | Send to a friend