Best Wrapping Job EVER

So, I know that it has been quite some time since my last update, but I must assure you that i have not been resting! First, there were finals. Final papers, final exams, school stress. But, I think all that went pretty well in the end. Then all of a sudden, it's the day before Christmas and I hadn't really gone "shopping" per se, so i stayed up late yesterday (xmas eve) wrapping presents.

But, I did make a fantastic find -- i found this awesome, giant old steering wheel from a ship. It's huge, mahogany and brass, pretty heavy. It's in good condition, and my dad likes nautical stuff and so i got it. And i ended up having fun trying to wrap it up last night, running out of wrapping paper and tape, watching my fatcat playing with ribbons and freaking out . . .



Anyway, I have some FREE TIME now (JACKPOT!) so, i hope to be able to read some good books and listen to some good music, and hopefully get some apartment-work done. Yay, i'm actually looking forward to this!

'Til the next update... ;)

it's actually way past my bedtime, why am i awake and posting?

Ok, I have a totally awesome Jackpot! for you, i’m really excited about this one.

I'm not sure what started this, but for the past 3 or so weeks, i have been in the habit of staying up waaaay past my bedtime (as of right now, I am announcing my intent to no longer stay up past 11:30pm). But i justify the late nights because of their serious productivity! In these few weeks, by devoting a few hours late in the night about 5 nights a week, I have:

1. Completely reorganized my "bills" and "important papers and stuff" system. I separated, chronologically ordered, and created a home for all of my bills, credit card statements, bank statements, etc. Everything paperlike has a home, a place where it belongs.
2. Heroically braved the dangerous jungle of my closet, emptied it out, and reorganized.
3. Rearranged the furniture in my living room, including the necessary vacuuming and dusting involved.
4. Reorganized and de-cluttered the little endtable/bookstand things in my living room.
5. Taken all of the pictures and things off my walls and started over, taking into consideration things like color, energy, balance, etc.
6. Cleaned off and de-cluttered the crap on my table/desk, coffee table, and shelf.
7. Put up some cute little holiday decorations, like a wreath and a Noel door hanging thing, and i also hung a cool ornament over my sink, which made it more pleasant to wash the dishes tonight! :)

And tonight, i did it again! Way past my bedtime, i cleaned and re-organized the cabinets above my sink, where i keep all of my plates, bowls, glasses, mugs, plastic containers, etc. And when i was done, i opened all three cabinet doors, and i thought it actually looked kinda pretty. In fact, the colors really did look good in my otherwise drab off-white kitchen. So . . . . so, i unscrewed the cabinet doors from their hinges.




Ok, yeah, it was a little . . . radical, maybe. Maybe I took it a step too far, breaking out the hardware and tools. But to be honest, i like it much better this way. I wish I had a before picture, because those doors were ugly. The front was completely blank - no texture, no design, not even wood grain. They didn't even have handles - you had to pull it from the wall, and in my ancient kitchen everything is coated in 40 layers of old paint and so the doors would always stick shut. They were the same ugly off-white-but-maybe-closer-to-beige color as my walls, and it was just . . . drab and gross. Especially with that awful, ancient, uncovered, florescent light. But now, sans ugly doors, my red mugs and pretty glasses give my kitchen some much-needed color!




And the best part about this particular little project, the part that makes this a true Jackpot!, is that this was completely FREE. What? What was that? Did i actually aesthetically improve my kitchen without spending a dime on it? Oh, JACKPOT!

Reflection [Another Kinda Sappy Post, Sorry, I'll Have a Good One Soon]

So, i was bored, and started perusing some of my old blog posts. Found one from December 30th of last year. I know it's technically not yet a year, but I think this is an good time to look at that particular post, and reflect.



In this post, I laid out some "goals" for 2007. I wanted to focus on my health, keeping my weight down and my eating under control. I definitely was doing well with that, until this summer and fall which i kinda "took off" from actively doing weight watchers. But i kept some really good food habits, and only gained about 5 lbs, which I am currently working on losing again. I am also trying to get back into the jiu jitsu routine, which will be much easier after this semester is over.

I also wanted to "re-evaluate how i spend my time." This might very well be one of the biggest changes in my life this past year - getting a new job. My schedule was free FREE FREE for once. I actually started having a social life, since I wasn't driving two and from freakin new haven five nights a week. I think I am struggling with balancing friends and time now, but in the opposite direction - i am spending more time with humans, which was my third goal. I made a lot of new connections this year. Some relationships have changed, and there is still a long list of people very dear to me with whom i simply haven't been in touch with as often as I should. But i really did make a good effort at being with humans.

All in all, I would consider this year to be a pretty good year. In particular, the past few years of my life have, on the whole, been going pretty well. That's a pretty big deal, for any of you who have witnessed or heard of some earlier years. A little while ago, Adrian made a very intriguing (and totally true) comment; he said something along the lines of "You know, meg, for a girl who was so screwed up and crazy a few years ago, you're pretty normal. In fact, it's amazing how normal you are." That's so dead on.

My mom's sister, Joyce, is back in connecticut. This is my really ill Aunt Joyce, with the cancer all over. She came home, with her husband and two little kids (and two awesome dogs) and they are here for an indetermined amount of time. It's good to have her home, I haven't seen her or my cousins in . . . years. But it's also, though i really hate to say it, a little stressful. Last night, joyce was rushed to the er, and my mom was on her way to the hospital and called me, for prayer back-up. It's sad to think that she isn't on any treatment for the cancer, and her prognosis . . . Well, at least she is home, here, where we can be with her. I hope i can kind of revive our relationship. I know it sounds so stupidly cliche, but it's true. My aunt is a wonderful, interesting woman; i can learn a lot from her. I really hope we can reconnect.