flowing in 2011

Ah, the requisite New Years post.

How did I do on last year's resolutions? I kind of exercised, I kind of cooked, my self-confidence pretty much stayed the same, and I've started to spend more time with friends now that I'm not in school and I have slightly more energy. This working weekends thing is killing me. I need my day to sleep in and laze around! Fortunately tomorrow is the last weekend I'll have to work in a while. Yes, I'll be ringing in 2011 while I'm sleeping.

I figured I'd also see how I did on my list:

I've since realized that I will probably never become a runner. I'm okay with that. Mountain biking never quite happened either. I still think that'd be fun. I didn't visit 5 new places, but I made it to three. I'm also okay with that. Overall, I had some fun completing those tasks.

I even accomplished one thing on my list of things to do before I die. (I now floss very regularly, haha)

I'm making the same resolutions I make every year, but they're less like resolutions and more like life aspirations.

I also feel like it's time to shift gears in what's important to me. For the first time ever, my focus is not on grades.

I'm in a whole different age bracket and a whole different agenda. First of all, I need to be organized financially and set a budget instead of pissing money away on whatever I want. I admit, it's been fun, but I can't do it forever. I need to pay off as much debt as I can now while my bills are still minimal. Is it ironic that on my new list of stuff I want to do in 2011, the first thing is gamble in a casino? Maybe.

But anyway, after I get stable financially, I don't know what else I'll feel like I need to do. Just going with the flow...

Happy New Year!!

old

Added to the list of things that are freaking me out because it means I'm getting old:

Old-lady chest.

Suzy took a close-up picture of my necklace while it was on the other night, and it was then that I noticed freckles and wrinkles. Oh my gosh, I have old lady sun-damaged cleavage! It's not noticeable unless you're up close, but it's there and it's only going to get worse.

WHY didn't I wear more sunscreen when I was younger?

Do you think they make wrinkle cream for cleavage? Ashley- this is a job for you. Find me a product!

In other awesome news, my diploma finally arrived. No pictures yet because I want to get a badass frame for it.

Also, in more old-people news, I checked out my statement the other day and I've paid $500 in credit card INTEREST last year. I've stopped using the card since last year. It's pure interest. I was horrified and put paying that damn thing off on the top of my disposable income list. Credit cards are EVIL.

Of course it was handy when I had no money as a student, but then it comes back to bite you in the ass. Evil.

Like the dishes waiting to be washed in my sink. I wonder where Suzy is...

*update a few hours later*

I'm having the best time drinking wine and baking cookies for a fun work lunch tomorrow while Suzy pops in every so often. About the fun work lunch: my boss likes to throw "just because" lunch parties. Like nacho Friday. I'm SO EXCITED.

hmph.

There is no light in my kitchen and it's raining in my bathroom. It was -supposed- to be fixed and I JUST paid a bunch of money to get it re-painted! NO!

This is what I get for living in my parents' garage.

I have to wash my sheets again, and my mom is making me go work out.

Crab. Sauce.

oOooOo sparkles

Opened my Christmas gift from Chris this afternoon. It was a little awkward because I opened it in front of his mom and because there was a shmoopy note that I was scared to read in case it was really good and I got teary-eyed and that would be just really awkward.

Who needs a shmoopy note to get teary-eyed?

I was not expecting diamonds this year.
It's absolutely beautiful and sparkly and it couldn't be more perfect even if I'd picked it out myself.

It just ups the missing-ness like 5000-fold.

antics

I was making cookies in my new toaster oven (what a great invention btw) when Pumpkin came running in with something in her mouth. Another lizard! The one from last week is currently living underneath my bathroom sink and sometimes when I pee I catch it peeking its little head out. Pervert.

This one she brought in, chased under my desk, and came tearing out from under it in a crazy cat frenzy. Now she keeps looking at me in that crazy cat way and tearing around the place.

I just hope it doesn't crawl up my leg or anything weird.

Trying to convince my mom to go shopping because I'm stir crazy. I would use my fun new cooking appliances some more but we had a fiasco on Christmas Eve and the light switch for the porch light (and a few of the Christmas lights) and my kitchen light is out.

So it's very dim in my kitchen and very annoying to cook. It's actually annoying to do anything in my room because I like a very bright room and the light on the fan is just not cutting it. I keep thinking to myself, "Man it's dark in here" and I'll flip the switch out of habit before I remember that it's out.

Any bets on how long it takes my dad's friends to fix it? I swear I'd rather pay someone to come and fix it in a day than wait 3 weeks to get it fixed for free.

dear 6lb 8oz baby jesus...

Happy Birthday.

If the majority of the family wasn't hung over this morning, you'd think we were all still under the age of 10.

Out of bed before 7am in a joyful unwrapping frenzy. Much laughing, many thank yous, some spiked coffee, A Christmas Story marathon on tv, and by 830 the living room was destroyed.

The rest of the day we lay around in gluttony, sloth, boredom, or a mixture of the three.

We all got some exciting gifts. Luke got a new alien-something-or-other brand laptop. Sue got the new camera she's been wanting. Frank got the bowl tickets. Ash and I didn't get anything super big or expensive, just thoughtful and fun gifts. In my pile:

• socks (I needed some!)
• a long beaded necklace from Suzy that I can't wait to wear
• Xpress Redi-Set-Go (YAY!!! I'm so excited) and a Twin Draft Guard- needed for my bathroom since it's not very well insulated.
• Frankish got me a toaster oven that seems like such an adult appliance and I've always wanted one, especially because heating up the oven in July sucks balls. I can even make cookies in it!
• a label maker! Everything's going to be labeled...
• new robe and slippers which I'm currently rocking.
• a foot spa. This is a running family joke because one year we got one for my mom. When she opened it, she looked less than thrilled and said, "Is this really what it is??" Apparently she'd had one before and hated it, and needless to say it was returned. Usually we're pretty spot-on with her gifts (Fiestaware is always a winner), and usually she's pretty grateful, but for some reason that foot spa struck a nerve. Anyway, I've been wanting one to soak my poor tootsies after being on my feet all day, so I was pretty happy.

I'm very lucky to have such a loving awesome family, even if we manage to cancel Christmas every year. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

it's the...

night before the night before Christmas!

I don't know why I'm so not into food lately. It's very un-me. My cupboard and fridge are stocked full of ingredients and I just open the door and look... and don't want to do anything with them. Then I pop some popcorn or grab a carrot.

Been a brutal week at work. Not even worth going into all the crappy things that happened this week, at work or not at work. I come home just drained. It's almost over, then it will be Christmas.

And I have a fresh clean bed again, down to the insanely-hard-to-get-on zippered mattress cover. Because of something shitty (cat pukey?) that happened last night. But I'm glad I have it because it soaked all the way down but didn't get on my brand new mattress. That would have really sucked.

It's also getting cooler again. Which improves one of the crappy things at work- the AC is out and it gets really warm and uncomfortable in there, which only makes smaller crappy things much worse.

Here's to Friday/Christmas eve! Let's hope it's a mellow day.