2010

This is a year-end quiz that Linda over at All & Sundry does every year. It seems like a good tradition to start and a good way to end my 2010 blogging adventures. Also? Finishing up Reverb today.

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
Cooked a Christmas dinner for my family (in January). Turned 32. Ran a half-marathon. Took two yoga classes. Planted my first real garden. Traveled by myself (but not to anywhere new). Ran a faster 5K. Had a wedding anniversary. Became the bread-winner. Bought a bunch of home improvements (two exterior doors, a storm door, a hot water heater, a window).

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don’t remember what my resolutions were but yes, I will make more for next year. (Stay tuned, they'll become public tomorrow.)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Two people I work with gave birth. I know tons of people who’ve had babies or gotten pregnant this year.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No

5. What countries did you visit?
Does Texas count? It's like a whole other country, I've heard.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
I will have better health insurance, something I lacked for ten months of 2010. I would like to have a less cluttered home and to cultivate more peace in my life.

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I’m no good with dates. By 2012 I probably won't even remember what year I did these things. See why this is a good exercise for me? Late March’s half-marathon, Labor Day Weekend’s 5K, Mid-September wedding anniversary and celebrated my parents' 40th anniversary, husband's job loss first Friday in November, Christmas’s sledding.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

The half-marathon. It seems like such an unachievable task when you are back at the fitness level of trying to run for 13 minutes. It takes a lot of training to get from that point to running 13 miles.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I don't know if I'd call it a failure, since it is still a work in progress, but we've had a couple of arguments wherein we are still figuring out how to be better as husband-and-wife.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No. I had a situation wherein everything in my abdomen slightly malfunctioned all at the same time. It was painful and a bit scary playing the "what if" game, but it wasn't serious. As far as the medical community of my community could tell, it was probably the rupturing of a functional cyst on my ovaries, a bladder infection, and constipation all at the same time. (Just in case you wanted those details.)

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Yoga class and race registrations. A new basement door.

12. Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage, Taxes, Home Improvement, Grocery Store, Target

13. What did you get really excited about?
The Wilderness Run (always excited about that) and blogging and book club starting next year

14. What song will always remind you of 2010?
Live and Let Die by Guns and Roses because it was first on my running playlist. Bad Romance by Lady Gaga because it was near the end of my running playlist and I knew I would be close to done with long runs. Freedom by Wham! became my new favorite old song but I don’t know that it will specifically remind me of 2010 in any way. I will remember a particular discussion with my husband about Freedom 90 by George Michael and how things reveal different meanings as you age, learn new information and gain more understanding about the world. I would like to make the disclaimer that I’m not particularly a George Michael fan although the preceding sentences may seem to contradict that fact.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

– happier or sadder? Right now I’m probably happier but I’ve had some black moments.
– thinner or fatter? Same-ish?
– richer or poorer? Well, technically poorer but I don’t feel it.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Wandering, wondering, laughing until my abs were sore, running, gardening and yard work, enjoying life

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Wasting time online or with a computer game.

18. How did you spend Christmas?
At my parents' house. We got up, had breakfast casserole, opened some gifts, bundled up and went sledding, came inside and warmed up, lazed around and visited family. Great day.

19. What was your favorite TV program?
This year, I watched DVDs of Magnum P.I. and The Office. I caught a couple episodes of Parks and Rec. I also got involved with The Biggest Loser, The Sing-Off (Who doesn't love Ben Folds?), Project Runway, and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, all courtesy of the internet.

20. What were your favorite books of the year?
I can only remember a few books I read this year: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides was the first book I read and probably the best novel. Pretty in Plaid, Jen Lancaster, which I enjoyed much more than Bitter is the New Black.  The End of Overeating by David Kessler was interesting. The most memorable book I checked out from the library was Twinkie Deconstructed by Steve Ettlinger and the best audio book I listened to was A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. I really was into nonfiction this year.

21. What was your favorite music from this year?

I was never really in a music vibe this year. Lately it may be Donavan. His greatest hits were in the CD player while I was wrapping presents. Thankfully, I was too lazy to change it. How can you ignore a song that begins with a spoken word lesson about the myth of Atlantis or with the lyrics, "I'm just mad about saffron?" And "Sunshine Superman?" You gotta love it.

22. What were your favorite films of the year?
True Grit, Inception, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Shutter Island (Again, not particularly a Leo fan, these things just happen.)

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Awkward and Office Space joined me for a tour of a coffee plant and we enjoyed brunch. 

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
My attitude. In 2010, I really started to take charge of it. It's a work in progress.

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Black, grey, and shades of brown. I have my favorite turtleneck from the Gap in black, oatmeal, grey and white. I wear them all the time and I love it. I even wore one during the half-marathon. I've decided I'm bringing purple back.

26. What kept you sane?
I talk to my mom twice a day during my commute. Just a little something to break the monotony.


27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

Probably the most valuable life lesson is that I can choose how I want to feel.

Permission Granted: A Few Days Off

I may not be updating this blog much between now and Christmas. Mostly because I have a deadline for work and I'll be doing a lot of writing between now and the 24th. I expect that I'll have to work after-hours to finish the project. Why after-hours? Because, while I'm at work I'll be writing a grant for the grant writer we hired (who made it clear we'd both be sitting at my desk working on my computer, joy)--silly question. So I'll be writing everyday...just not the kind of writing I'd prefer to be doing.

In the meantime, I'll try to update my Reverb 10 page everyday. I caught up this evening with all my reflecting and manifesting: reflectifesting, maniflecting.

In saving news, I put up the insulated curtains this morning and my nose no longer instantly starts to run when I enter the cold room. Perhaps it was just full of phantoms chased away by the weird khaki-colored curtain that now graces the wall. Or maybe the ghosts were connected to the old, dusty, faded plaid valance that got taken down. One thing's for sure--it's not the light bulbs heating up the room...(see next paragraph...)

Stay tuned for a highly entertaining blog post Husband proposed: LED Light Bulbs! He's super excited about it. I'm super excited that Husband is now telling me what to write about. Maybe he's just trying to keep me from typing about his man-crush on Alexander Hamilton or his plastic man-doll (sorry, action figure) collection. Anyway, I hope you're excited about it, too.

What's It Worth to Ya?

I often repeat and sometimes reflect on thrifty colloquialisms I heard growing up. A couple of them came from my grandma via Mom--"He has more dollars than he has sense" and "It's good to want." But if you ever told my parents how much something was "worth," they would respond with something along the lines of, "Well, you gotta find someone who is willing to pay that much for it."

Like beauty, worth is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. Husband can't possibly understand why I am willing, eager even, to pay money to waste time at a sit-down restaurant. I can't comprehend how anyone could pay money to amass the amount of muscular, sculpted, articulated hunks of plastic painted in primary colors and populating multiple cardboard boxes that hog our limited living space. While he finds absolutely no pleasure in slowing down and savoring food, I get heart palpitations when I have to slow down on shopping errands to inspect the artfulness (albeit mass produced) found in the toy aisle.

This evening I engaged in another ritual he doesn't understand--but that's ok, because he's out looking at plastic man-dolls. A weekend evening + house to myself = Christmas come early. I was supposed to go home tonight. But because of scheduling conflicts, I wasn't ready to leave last night. And if I"m not ready to leave on a Thursday evening, I'm not going home until Saturday morning.

One of my favorite things to do on evenings like this is to stop by the grocery store and spend a lot of money on fancy food. I did keep it under control tonight though--less than $20--and incorporate some ingredients I already had at home. I had some of my favorite things for dinner: Smoked Salmon on Wasa with Laughing Cow, cucumber, red pepper, green onion and tapanade with some white wine my parents gave me. A three course dessert followed: dried figs and feta; Christmas cookies; and my Christmas bonus (three fancy chocolates--I accidentally squashed one on the way home.)

All this was accompanied by trashy tv on my computer (Thanks, Bravo, for the Real Housewives, but I don't think I can handle them anymore.) and a magazine.

There are a couple of magazines that I always am tempted to buy at the check-out line: Real Simple and In Style. Why do they appeal to me? I have no idea. They are both just ways to shill stuff--I'm not talking about the ads either. I mean, I have an adequate citrus juicer that I hardly ever use. I don't need a $67 stainless-steel one, no matter how artful you say it is. Besides, it's good to want.

This month, however, Real Simple's cover promised to help me "be happier" in 2011. I gave into temptation. And I must say, $25 for a nice, low-key evening alone, with leftover food and leftover articles to read? While it may prove that I have more dollars than I have sense, I'll claim temporary insanity. I'm the person who, on occasion, will pay that much for a quiet, solitary floor picnic. To me, it's worth it.

Bits and Pieces

I got a little Reverb writing done during my lunch break Plan to get all caught up on the weekend. I keep Reverb responses in a separate page. The link is over there ----------->

No recipe today. We had a whirlwind evening. It included leaving work early, using a BOGO Sonic coupon, attending a junior high basketball game ($3 for 4 games. If you can stomach watching other people's children playing sports and most importantly if you can stomach the parents, that's a lot of entertainment for just $3.), buying a new hot water heater and insulated curtains (an endcap sale at Target--they were cheaper than I could make them.), and installing a new headlight on my car (Husband did this. I shivered and held the flashlight and made silent prayers that nothing went wrong.. Because 9:30 PM is as good a time as any to change a headlight.). Also, I collected shoes to take home and give to Barber Larry to give to his friend to take to Haiti. No time for cooking and not a lot of time for blogging.

I got a nice, unexpected Christmas bonus--a referral for a friend that turned into some good work for him which turned into a few extra bucks in my pocket. Hello savings account. How long can I keep raking in unexpected money? I swear it's not from pole-work. AND some delicious Christmas cookies from Office Space. She should be the one posting recipes today.

Trash

Being wasteful is not something I aspire to. In this neighborhood, it also costs money. We live in a community that doesn't provide trash service. If you want someone to take your trash, you have to pay a collection service to come pick it up.

I like those towns that offer free curbside recycling and composting and charge you by the bag for trash disposal. That seems like a good way to keep trash down. So much of what we put in the garbage is mindless. We don't have to think about where it goes after we put it in the dumpster or at the curb. But our trash has a life after the garbage truck picks it up. It's not a pretty life either. Way back when I was little, I was in a speech contest and I wrote a speech about recycling. That was over 20 years ago and here is one thing I still remember: landfills aren't designed to allow stuff to break down. Landfill excavations have unearthed 40-year-old newspapers that are still legible. If you've ever left a newspaper in your back window or outside for even a small amount of time, you'd know how ridiculous that is.

So, for starters, we try not to create trash. I use reusable Tupperware-type containers to take my lunch. We use cloth napkins. I'm a fan of the old man handkerchief. I've been known to reuse zipper bags and aluminum foil. We have reusable plastic stuff for picnics. I try to remember my shopping bags. Like most of you, I'm sure, we do what we can and what we can think of to stop trash before it starts.

We try to compost as much as we can, too. Any uncooked, unprocessed food waste goes into the compost bin I made last year, along with "brown material" like shredded paper, leaves, egg cartons, etc. Next spring I won't have to buy soil amendments at the box store because I'll have my own.

We also take everything to the recycling place that we can. It's a hassle but I cart recycling around in my car trunk for weeks until we can make it to the place to sort all our treasures. But it is worth it, to me, to keep stuff out of the trash.

I also research what to do with typically non-recyclable stuff--stuff our recycling place won't take. You can take number 5 plastics and Brita filters to most Whole Foods stores. My running shoe store will take old shoes and wash them up and give them to needy people. If something has value (even if it's only a nickle), we try to put it in a garage sale.

Only at a last resort do we take stuff to the Goodwill or other thrift stores. Here's why: sometimes those stores have too much stuff. If they can't process things, they might end up throwing it in the dumpster. No joke. And that's ok--they're limited by how much storage they have and how much stuff they can sell. But don't think that just because you take something to a thrift store that it is going to find another home. You may have just dropped stuff off for someone else to do your dirty work. (I've heard the same about recycling, too. I have possibly optimistic and limited faith in our recycling place, though.)

And lastly, we don't pay for the trash truck to drive down our street. We have an arrangement with in-laws, who live down the road and also have to pay for trash service. Because we try to keep our trash production low, the four of us can get by with one can a week, saving a lot of money.
________________________________
Breakfast: I ran out of time this morning and ate a gas station sandwich $1.84
Lunch: Non-awkward work lunch
Dinner: Free food Mother-In-Law left at our house on Monday.

Total: $1.84