Posted at 10:52 PM in Pictures | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Pictures!
I love this image because it shows just what I'm looking for in flowers - not so much the type of flower or the size of the bouquet, but the ratio of green to white. It also shows all three colors working together nicely:
I'm very attached to using braids in my hairstyle, and I love the middle one in this pic:
I want my cake to be very simple, with only a few fresh flowers for decoration. This is a good example, minus the pears:
To Do: Call Benham's Grove and get the date finalized and the deposit down - THIS WEEK. While there, look more closely at space issues - we really, really need to be able to seat at least 55. Also start thinking about table arrangements and decor - the house already looks nice, so how much do we really need to bring in?
To Do: We really need to book an officiant. I don't want to find someone I love only to have them be busy that day. That should really be the next thing after the location.
To Do: Talk to Barb and Jerry about catering. Get contact info from them and call company, set up meeting time.
To Do: Set up some appointments with bakeries. Definitely want to try the Bonbonerie.
To Do: Find a florist. Maybe ask Linda to help look into that, since I'm paying for all the flowers myself. Decide exactly how many flowers are needed and what kinds. I'm thinking we definitely need: bridal bouquet, three maid's bouquets, groom's boutonniere, three groomsmen's boutonnieres, petals for the flower girl's basket and to go on tables, and a few small arrangements to go on the cake.
To Do: Register! Never too early, right? Need to decide where we want to do it...
To Do: Do rehearsal dinner research and get that info to Bob and Nancy. I don't really care too much about this - I'm just happy we get to have one at all - but it needs to be done.
To Do: Choose invitations, finalize wording, and get them ordered.
To Do: Have Sam and Amanda order their dresses.
To Do: Start thinking about menswear. Maybe go and check out some things with Matt sometime.
To Do: Start thinking about hairstyles. Maybe meet with Diane to try a few things. No hurry on this one. See if she can recommend a makeup artist.
To Do: Decide on honeymoon plans. We've discussed everything under the sun, it seems like. We just need to actually decide.
To Do: Talk to Dad about music. I'm not too worried about reception music - it shouldn't be too hard to get an iPod (plus a backup iPod) full of music for that. I'm more concerned about ceremony music. I'd love to have some live music for that...but I probably can't afford it.
To Do: Look at wedding bands and get pricing. Plain and simple totally works for me.
Thought: Possible receiving line order - Me, Matt, Mom and Dad, Bob and Nancy (wonder if that's ok or if I need to include steps too?), Abby, Curt, Sam, Chris, Amanda, Matt P.
Get this: The two gemstones that, according to theknot.com, represent marital happiness? Sapphire and aquamarine. How awesome is that?
Thought: I want my bouquet to be very green. I love the color green, I love greenery...it just feels right. Hopefully I can get something in the lovely dark shade that's my favorite. I think green and white for me and just white for the maids would be nice - white, blue, and green being the overall color scheme. I also LOVE the idea of herbs in my bouquet...I love herbs for some reason.
Thought: Picture times. I do actually like the idea of Matt not seeing me in my dress until after the ceremony, but I wonder if it'll work out to do the pictures after, considering that there's no travel involved between ceremony and reception. I love the idea of a cocktail hour, but as we're not having alcohol...well, it kind of makes that hour less fun. Guess we'll have to talk that out later.
Thought: I actually completely love the idea of doing a seating arrangement. In fact, it might even be necessary considering how little space we're going to have. I think this is one place
where I'm going to let my control-freak out of the box.
I have SO MUCH to do...*sigh*
Posted at 01:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
51 - Eat something I've never tried before.
Done! Tried smoked salmon today. It really does look raw, so I was surprised how eager to try it I was. It's pretty good, but very salty by itself. It's much better with bread to cut down on the saltiness. I'm not sure I'll buy more, though. Kind of expensive for such a small amount of food.
75. Get fresh flowers five times. (1/5)
I was in a terrible, terrible mood today, probably because Ohio is being how it normally is in January: snowy, dark, and ridiculously cold. So I bought some bright yellow daisies to try and cheer up. It worked beautifully.
83. Contribute something to fandom.
Done! I wrote a Supernatural deathfic a few days ago entitled "The End of All Things," which, though not widely read, did get praise from one of my favorite fic authors ever. This made me irrationally happy.
Posted at 09:24 PM in 101 in 1001 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In addition to the 101 in 1001 challenge, I'm doing the 50 Book Challenge again this year. It's moving here from my LJ because I think it's more relevant here than there, where it was kind of cluttering things up.
My rules: Re-reading definitely counts. In fact, I'm going to be doing a lot of that this year. Books I started reading last year but finish this year count for this year. Every book counts as one, no matter how long or short it is. Every book is rated on a scale of one to five stars and is accompanied by a short review.
The rating scale:
1 star: Terrible. A waste of time and money. You couldn't pay me to read it again. (Heart of Darkness, Wuthering Heights)
2 stars: Below average. Poorly written or just boring. (White Teeth, A Cavern of Black Ice)
3 stars: Average. Worth one read, but probably won't merit a second. (Sing the Four Quarters, Atonement)
4 stars: Above average. Pretty well written, pretty good story, probably with scenes that will be read again even if the whole book is not. (Hearts in Atlantis, Kushiel's Mercy)
5 stars: Excellent. What I call "top-shelf," because that's where I keep these. Great writing, great story, probably sucked me in for days at a time. Definitely worth another read. (The Terror, Brethren: Raised by Wolves)
The List - 2009
1 - Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier 5/5
This book, fourth in the Sevenwaters series, was an absolutely lovely read. The author has a real talent for writing interesting romances that sweep you off your feet while remaining relatable. She also does a fantastic job bringing in Irish history, culture, and folklore. I honestly didn't want this book to end. I loved the characters, and the story was excellently paced and definitely gripping. The best part? She certainly made it sound like there are more Sevenwaters books to come, and I will dance with joy if that's the case.
Posted at 03:09 AM in Books | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
My start date: January 7, 2009
My end date: October 5, 2011
Health
1. Reach my target weight of 160.
2. Run a mile.
3. Take better care of myself.
4. Join a gym.
5. Find a good doctor.
6. Find a pill that works with my body and stick with it.
7. Take an aerobics class.
8. Get a massage.
Spirituality and Nature
9. Learn about eastern religions.
10. Go hiking at least once every month.
11. Watch the sun go down or come up over a body of water.
12. Meditate.
13. Donate something.
14. Learn yoga.
15. Go camping.
Reading
16. Read at least 3 books that have won the Pulitzer prize. (0/3)
17. Read at least 3 books that have won the Booker prize. (0/3)
18. Read at least 3 books that have won the Hugo award. (0/3)
19. Read at least 1 book that has won the Nobel Prize for literature.
20. Read a book that I’ve always wanted to read but thought was too difficult (Ulysses, Les Mis, Great Expectations).
21. Read at least 3 of Shakespeare’s plays that I haven’t already read. (0/3)
22. Read the entire series of Death Note, beginning to end.
23. Re-read The Lord of the Rings.
24. Re-read The Dark Tower.
25. Re-read The Chronicles of Narnia.
26. Re-read the Sevenwaters trilogy.
27. Re-read the Kushiel’s Legacy trilogy.
28. Re-read the A Song of Ice and Fire series.
Culture and Events
29. Go to the theatre.
30. Attend at least five different fall festivals. (0/5)
31. Memorize a poem.
32. Listen to a jazz CD.
33. Go to a book signing.
34. Go to an art museum.
35. Explore a secondhand bookstore.
36. Go to a classical music performance.
37. Attend an opera.
Crafting
38. Knit a sweater.
39. Spin my first skein of yarn.
40. Try dyeing my own yarn.
41. Try writing my own knitting pattern.
42. Learn how to sew and make at least one item of clothing.
Travel
43. Go somewhere outside Ohio.
44. Go on a road trip with just me and Abby.
45. Visit Hocking Hills.
46. Visit Mom and Dad.
47. Spend the Fourth of July in DC with Poole.
48. Go into a cave.
49. Stay in a bed and breakfast with Matt.
50. Hike part of the Appalachian Trail.
Food
51. Eat something I’ve never tried before.
52. Host a dinner party.
53. Make salsa.
54. The next time I’m on an emergency comfort-food Doritos run, grab something healthy and come right back home instead.
55. Make bread from scratch.
56. Go to a restaurant I’ve never been to before.
57. Try sushi.
58. Drink two cups of green tea every day for one week. (0/7)
59. Go to a farmer’s market.
Writing
60. Finish a novel.
61. Keep up with a journal.
62. Submit at least 10 short stories to publishers or contests. (0/10)
63. Build a world without a story attached to it.
64. Do - and win - NaNo every November.
Big Stuff
65. Get married!
66. Get a “big girl” job.
67. Graduate college.
Movies/TV
68. Watch at least 10 movies that are considered classics that I’ve never seen. (0/10)
69. Watch the rest of Angel and Stargate: Atlantis.
Things to Get
70. Get a pet. (Note: “pet” may be defined as “house plant” depending on living situation and spousal agreement)
71. Get a camcorder and use it.
72. Get a new car.
73. Get a corset.
74. Get a tattoo.
75. Get fresh flowers five times. (0/5)
76. Get an outfit I would usually never wear and go out in it.
Money and Legalities
77. Keep my savings account growing each month.
78. Pay off my current credit card balance and pay it off every month following.
79. Make a will.
80. Vote yearly.
Fandom
81. Revisit an old fandom.
82. Find a new fandom.
83. Contribute something to fandom.
84. Go to a convention.
85. Finish my current podfic project and start a new one.
Household
86. Deep-clean the apartment.
87. Take better care of my house.
88. Reorganize my bookshelves and movie shelves.
89. Get rid of 50 things I don’t need anymore. (0/50)
Just for Fun
90. Play in the snow.
91. Do a puzzle.
92. Go bowling.
93. Paint a picture.
94. Play tennis.
95. Swing on a swingset.
Other
96. Use a planner.
97. Learn how to play the piano.
98. Get over my phone fear.
99. Send a package.
100. Write a letter.
101. Become an expert in something.
102. Set up and learn to use my web cam.
103. Take at least one picture a week.
104. Make a post to this blog about every goal accomplished.
Hmm...somehow I gained three goals when I went back to do the numbering. Oh, well...we'll say any 101 out of the 104 counts as a win.
Posted at 02:53 AM in 101 in 1001 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
12:10 AM - I open my mailbox and see that my “Learn to Spin” kit has arrived. I do a little happy dance. 12:15 AM - I sit down in a chair, glance at the one page of instructions that came with the spindle and roving, and attempt to jump right in. 12:16 AM - I throw the spindle down in frustration. A second later, I decided to blame the instructions and go to dig out the handspinning book I bought and read cover-to-cover two days ago. 12:18 AM - I’m ready to try again, sure that this time, with more detailed instructions and helpful pictures, I’ll have it down. 12:20 AM - I throw the spindle halfway across the room, angry at wool and yarn and the whole crazy idea of making something you can just buy. 12:21 AM - I, very calmly, pick up my materials and make my way to the computer, Holy Oracle of Truth and Enlightenment. It hasn’t failed me yet; surely it won’t fail me now. 12:25 AM - I click on a link that seems promising. The instructions make more sense this time, and I somewhat understand what my hands are supposed to be doing. 12:27 AM - I take a deep breath and decide to try one more time. I work as slowly as humanly possible, glancing up at the instructions every other second. 12:30 AM - I stare at the ugly, uneven bit of yarn I’ve managed to create, sure that it is absolutely the worst yarn ever spun in the history of the world. I hate it and I hate myself for making it. I nearly consider the idea of torching the whole thing in the kitchen sink. 12:32 AM - I browse through the “First Yarn” thread in the Beginning Spinners group on Ravelry. Lots of it looks like mine: uneven, weird, and not much like yarn at all. I begin to feel better. 12:35 AM - I remind myself that knitting was super hard when I first started, too. I didn’t think I’d ever get it down, and my garter stitch was uneven, weird, and not much like knitting at all. I decide to record the whole experience in my blog, in the hopes that next time, I’ll manage to avoid the frustration and anger. I do not have high hopes for this plan. 12:40 AM - I consider trying to continue to spin. Instead, I decide to count the six inches of sort-of yarn as enough of a victory for tonight and pick up my knitting needles instead.
Posted at 09:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Christmas shopping is finally done! I finished this morning, which was a big relief. The wrapping is almost done - I'm just waiting for a few more things to be delivered.
I taught myself how to crochet while I was at work tonight. A friend left a book about how to crochet at my house a while ago, and a few days ago I had to buy a crochet hook so I could pick up some dropped stitches on a hat I'm knitting, and I had some spare yarn lying around...so I figured that the fates just wanted me to learn. It's obscenely easy, ridiculously fast, and nowhere near as pretty as knitting. But that's just my opinion. I'm glad I learned the basics, because sometimes patterns will combine knitting and crochet, and it will be nice to know I can do it.
Next up is handspinning. I found a really cheap "How to Spin" kit on eBay that included a spindle and some wool, so we'll see how it goes. This may be a sign that I'm getting way, way too into fiber arts (using the term "fiber arts" may also be a sign). Before you know it I'll be buying raw wool, dyeing, spinning, and knitting it. Someone stop me if I express a desire to start raising sheep in my living room.
Despite the sad circumstances, I'm ridiculously excited to see Mom and Dad soon. Being together again will help balance out all the negative stuff that's been happening with us lately.
Did you know that you're no longer supposed to put two spaces in between sentences? It's officially one space now, and evidently has been for a while. I don't think I'll ever be able to break that habit.
Matt and I decided tonight that Heath Ledger's Joker is the best movie villain of all time. The Dark Knight came out on DVD today, and Matt watched it twice in a row. It is that good. And, for anyone who hasn't heard yet, it's being rereleased in theatres in January. If you haven't seen it, get thyself to a cinema!
We played Scrabble with Curt and Sam last night, which was awesome because I haven't played in forever. I won the first game, and Curt won the second. Does anyone know if "ibid" counts as a word or just an abbreviation?
I...have nothing else to say. Hope all is well out there in the misty land of Blog Readership.
Posted at 12:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Matt and I watched a show on the History Channel last night about parallel universes. I usually don't like that channel because they dumb stuff down so much, but the topic was interesting enough to pull me in anyway. I love that point where real-life science meets science fiction, when physics becomes so strange that it no longer seems like reality. The most interesting part of the show was about an ongoing experiment that's trying to prove the existence of extra dimensions, which would in turn prove the existence of parallel universes. They said it might take billions of tries before the particle reaction they want to see happens. That's persistence, right there.
The other interesting thing about this kind of science is the way it intersects with philosophy. For example, in the multiverse, there are infinite copies of me and they have done every possible thing there is for me to do. There's a me that's a rock star and there's a me that's begging on the street. Everything. This is a problem when it comes to free will. If every choice is made in some universe, is
there choice at all? Does such a thing exist? And what about morality? I know that it's morally wrong to shoplift, but after all, there's a me that decided not to do it, and there's a me that did it and got away with it, and there's a me that did it and got caught. So doesn't it all balance out in the end no matter what I do?
This kind of thinking makes me unreasonably excited. Matt doesn't understand. I don't think many people would. But today at work, a guy came through my line with some physics books, one of which was about parallel universes. And he totally got it.
I love that about working at the bookstore. When someone brings up something I love, and I tell them I love it too, it's a bit like finding a kindred spirit - especially if the item in question is something pretty obscure. It's a really good feeling, sharing that little smile with them, as if we have some shared secret from the rest of the world.
Posted at 05:06 PM in Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Today (well, yesterday now, I suppose) I knit.
Let me explain. During the holidays, the bookstore I work at runs two calendar kiosks in the nearby mall. Being a new hire, three out of my four shifts a week are worked at one of these kiosks. They are...how shall I put this...less than busy. I spent perhaps 95% of my day sitting in a chair occupying myself quietly, 3% answering stupid questions, and 2% actually selling calendars. Most days, I take a book with me and read for seven hours. This is awesome. I love getting paid to sit and read. However, even a bookworm like myself needs a break once in a while. And a few days ago, I realized that I could take my knitting to the kiosk with me. Today was my first day doing so.
There is something about knitting that turns what should be an excruciatingly boring task into something calm, peaceful, meditative...even healing. Usually when I'm working, my thoughts are heavily tinged with anger, cynicism, and disgust. But today, sitting in my chair, letting the yarn run over my palm and through my fingers, carefully watching each stitch take its place in the larger pattern, I was happier than I've been at work in a very long time. When people asked me moronic questions, my smile was a bit more genuine than normal. When my back began to ache from the uncomfortable stool I sit on, I ran my hands over the fabric spilling out from my needles and felt a warm satisfaction at my accomplishment. When it was time to go, I was shocked at how fast the day had gone by - and even more shocked that I hadn't been checking the clock every two minutes.
I am a relatively new knitter. I picked up my first set of needles in February of this year, knit obsessively for a few months, stopped completely for a few more months, and then recently picked it up again. I can knit and purl. I can make scarves, hats, dishcloths, and socks. I love to knit cables and hate long patterns that I can't memorize but still have to repeat a million times. I'm still just beginning to learn the difference between acrylic, wool, and other fibers - how they feel in the skein, against your fingers, your face, your hand, how they change when knitted, how they smell, the emotions they invoke. What continues to astound me is how much more there is to learn and discover. I have barely scratched the surface. I'm so happy to have something in my life that is so very positive, that can keep me from becoming completely and irreversibly cynical.
Proof? I've started knitting blanket squares for charity. That sounds less like the me I know and more like the me I want to be.
Posted at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)