ugh, technology

ok, I seriously love my tiny little baby laptop but it’s currently over 3 years old and, honestly, it’s not what I ordered. 

When I ordered it back in the fall of ‘08, the idea was that I would order the computer, go on leave to get married and enjoy my honeymoon, and it would be waiting for me when I got back to the office.  Unfortunately for me, Dell was in the middle of a model change on Latitudes and the computer I ordered was no longer available.  And when did I find this out?  When I got back after being out for a month.  I had to reorder my computer and it took quite some time but I figured out that I didn’t end up with what I’d wanted.  The main errors being that the computer I ended up with has a solid state 128GB hard drive – not nearly enough space and the processor speed is wrong too.

At this point 3+ years later, I’m lucky if it will stay alive for an hour and half, the processor speed won’t support Photo Shop Elements 8.0 (it grinds the whole works to a screeching halt), and I’ve maxed out my hard drive space.

I need a new computer.  I need something to save for. 

I really want a MacBook Pro (the little 13” one) but I’m not keen on the price and I’m not really sure that I want to jump platforms.  Mostly, I want it for the battery life.  SEVEN hours!

So who wants to find me a computer to save for? 

This is what I want:

• little.  no bigger than a 13” screen.  Preferably under 3lbs but I’ll deal with under 5lbs.
• lots of RAM
• lots and lots of hard drive space.  At least 500GB.  Preferably more.  None of this solid state HD nonsense either.
• processing power that will handle some combination of Photoshop CS5, Photoshop/Premiere Elements 10, and Lightroom 4.  (and figure out how I can afford new versions of those too)
• a looooong battery life.  Something in the 7+ hr range.
• has to have an SD card reader built in.  But I don’t actually have to have a CD/DVD drive or writer.
• under the MacBook Pro’s $1199 price tag

Anyone got any ideas?

Update (3/29): no one had any Windows based ideas for me and a friend came up with a discount that I could use so I currently have a brand new 13” MacBook Pro making its way to me.  So excited!  So scared!

goals and projects – a one year review

I decided that since it’s been a year since I originally started this whole thing with the goals and projects, I would take a look at how I’m doing against the original lists.

Goals:

• Lose 10-15 lbs. – Ha.
• Be able to lift 25-30 lbs dead weight with one arm at a time. – again.  Ha!
• Be able to touch my toes. Just takes yoga.

Projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable
2. refinish kitchen table 
3. recaulk tub
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay
5. organize the basement, in particular label all the bins and boxes in progress
6. wedding album - professional and snapfish
7. clean refrigerator
8. clean wood floors
9. figure out our bedroom furniture
10. honeymoon pictures and scrapbook
11. clean snuffles
12. get my knees checked out
13. Christmas stockings - Leia, Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will. 
14. sort through stuff at parents' homes in progress
15. burn CD for Liz of geological pictures from NZ
16. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet in progress

That’s not too bad.  Out of 16 original projects, 6 of them are finished, 3 are in progress, 1 was done and has to be done again, and parts of 2 others are done.  Maybe I’ll get on some of the others soon.

g&p – 12 months

I would like to begin by saying – holy cow, it’s been a year.

Second, August was ridiculously busy so no projects got worked on, no blog posts were written, and a lot of other things fell by the wayside.

fitness goals:

• I want to run 2 days a week, swim 2 days a week and do something, be it softball, bike riding, yoga, more running and swimming etc, 2 of the remaining 3 days of the week. I’ve been pretty good at keeping up with the running though I’ve kind of stalled at about 3 miles 3-4 times a week.  We walked ~4.5 miles yesterday for something different.
• I’m going to start with doing bicep and triceps curls while I do my single leg stands –  I’m just getting flabby.
• I will continue to do my PT exercises. it’s hard to keep up with the exercises when it’s not really bothering me to run.
• Food goals.  I need to be better about what I eat.
  • Do not visit the vending machine once a day. I’ve been doing better.
  • Lay off the ice cream. I haven’t had much ice cream lately, opting instead for granola, plain yogurt and fruit.
  • Eat more fruit.  This is a new one and I’ve been getting about 2-3 portions (I won’t say servings since I have no concept of what a serving should be) of fruit most days of the week in the last 2-3 weeks.  A banana before work, fruit with lunch or as an afternoon snack and then an apple as I leave work.

projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable.
2. refinish kitchen table – This is going to be labor intensive so I remain lazy.
3. recaulk tub – I’m thinking that if we can swing it, the morning before we leave for vacation might be a good day.
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay – I still haven’t started.  I’m losing my window for some things to sell well.
5. organize the basement, in particular label all the bins and boxes – no further progress.  No Time!
6. honeymoon scrapbook
7. clean Snuffles
8. Christmas stockings - Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will – I’m planning to pull Sara’s out for the drive to NJ and to go to Ireland.  I was kicking myself for not taking it on our trip to Ohio a few weeks ago – that was dumb.
9. sort through stuff at parents' homes – We’re going to spend some time down in the basement in NJ this coming weekend hopefully.
10. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet – I have had several discussions with the landlord and his handyman about the repairs.  Ralph, the handyman, is supposed to come take a look at things next Wednesday.
11. organize recipes – I suck.

g&p – 11 months

I can’t believe that it’s been almost a year.

fitness goals:

• I want to run 2 days a week, swim 2 days a week and do something, be it softball, bike riding, yoga, more running and swimming etc, 2 of the remaining 3 days of the week. I’ve been kind of following the training plan that I talked about so I’ve been trying to run about 5 days a week.  I’m probably doing about 4 days and 12 or so miles a week right now.
• I’m going to start with doing bicep and triceps curls while I do my single leg stands – ok, this, of course, presumes that I’m keeping up with my PT exercises so maybe… totally didn’t do this.
• I will continue to do my PT exercises… um, twice a week… 3 times.  or this.
• Oh yeah – and food.  I need to be better about what I eat but I haven’t decided yet what those particular goals should be.
  • at least one should be to not visit the vending machine once a day. I haven’t been avoiding the vending machine as much as I could.
  • Lay off the ice cream.

projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable.
2. refinish kitchen table – Regained the table but only last week so I’m being lazy.
3. recaulk tub – we did it but we have to do it again because I’m an idiot.
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay – I still haven’t started.
5. organize the basement, in particular label all the bins and boxes – definitely got started but we’re not finished.
6. honeymoon scrapbook
7. clean Snuffles
8. Christmas stockings - Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will – I was making great progress on Sara’s.
9. sort through stuff at parents' homes – I got started on this a couple of weeks ago on a trip to NJ.  I started with 7 boxes of books and papers and 2 milk crates of books – there are now 2 Rubbermaid tubs of books and the 2 milk crates of books that I haven’t decided what to do with just yet.
10. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet – I called maintenance and they said it was still leaking from upstairs and now we’ve been in contact with the landlord from upstairs but now I have to see about contacting him about having our ceiling fixed.
11. organize recipes – My easy way to finish organizing hasn’t happened yet.

training…

Did I mention that we signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon 10k (6.2 miles for those English distance types out there)? 

I think I did.

We’ve done it before.

 
That’s 2007.  I can tell you that these days those shorts are not that loose and flowy and those sunglasses are on someone in Austria or the Balkans.

We even convinced Kate to join us again – though I do seem to recall that she instigated the first go around.

She suggested this training regimen:
 

I’m scared of it. 

You’re supposed to be able to run that first week of running as pre-training.  Please… I’ve only run 4 miles at one stretch once in my life.  Much less 4 times in one week.

But it is giving us motivation to up the running however.  I’m currently fairly comfortable with about 3 miles at a 10 min mile pace.

The schedule is from Cool Running and found here.  It’s the “beginner” training.  I think I need “pre-beginner.”

If you want to know what a “fartlek” is, go here and scroll about half way down the page.  I didn’t know either. 

race for the cure

For most of the years I’ve lived in DC, I’ve tried to be a part of the National Race for the Cure (now the Global Race for the Cure).  It was my very first 5k ever.

Tara, MH and I post-race in 2003.  It poured down rain and was pretty chilly but I did it.

Ever since then I’ve walked, run, volunteered or some combination thereof.  Ok, there was probably a year that I wasn’t in town and definitely one year (last year) that I sent Will by himself.

It’s an annoying race to run, really, because of all the hordes of people.

Michelle has put together the team, Babes for a Cure, for the last several years.  That’s us below – there’s usually more of the team but I think we got a little spread out and didn’t get a complete team picture.

This year, I used the race as a training exercise for the Marine Corps Marathon 10k for which we’ve signed up to run in October.  It was the second race of the “season.”  We usually run the Ovarian Cancer Race for the Whisper first in May which this year I ran in 35:34.  I improved a little in RFTC even given the scrambling hordes, coming in at 34:21. 

My goal and reason for all the current running is to run the 10k in under 70:00.  I think I’m making progress.

g&p – 10 months

fitness goals:

• I want to run 2 days a week, swim 2 days a week and do something, be it softball, bike riding, yoga, more running and swimming etc, 2 of the remaining 3 days of the week. Still going ok.
• I’m going to start with doing bicep and triceps curls while I do my single leg stands – ok, this, of course, presumes that I’m keeping up with my PT exercises so maybe… totally didn’t do this.
• I will continue to do my PT exercises… um, twice a week… 3 times.  or this.
• Oh yeah – and food.  I need to be better about what I eat but I haven’t decided yet what those particular goals should be.
  • at least one should be to not visit the vending machine once a day. I’ve been avoiding the vending machine for the most part.

projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable.
2. refinish kitchen table – Lost the table again.  The old TV is sitting on it.
3. recaulk tub
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay – I have a few things that I’m going to start with – I just have to start.
5. organize the basement, in particular label all the bins and boxes – we need a rainy unscheduled weekend.
6. honeymoon scrapbook
7. clean Snuffles
8. Christmas stockings - Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will – I was making great progress on Sara’s.
9. sort through stuff at parents' homes
10. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet - We're continuing in denial about the worsening ceiling.
11. organize recipes – My easy way to finish organizing hasn’t happened yet.

1 mile +/- a little bit

In honor of the fact that I wore myself out this afternoon swimming just over or just under a mile depending on how you look at it – I did 1500m of laps with 100m warm-up and 100m cool-down so I’m either 100m over or 100m short - a brief insight into what I think about while I swim….

hmmmm… I get my own lane today.  Nice.  I hope it stays that way.

oh – I haven’t seen the whale and her mother lately.  thank god.

oops.  water in my goggles.

there’s the old guy who splashes a lot.  I’m glad I don’t have to share with him today.

what are the lifeguards doing when they stand up like that?

what does “every 5 min” mean?

what does “10/20” mean?

ohh – they got a new light up board thing-y. 

where’s the swim team?

oh please don’t try to share with me.  I’m enjoying my lane to myself.

what would make good baby names? (no, I’m not pregnant but this line of thought went on for quite a while several weeks ago and I did come up with a few possibilities but I don’t want to share)

ok, if I do 4 sets that’s 1200m.  I’ve already done one so 3 more to go.  If I do 5 that’s 1500m.  A mile is 1600m.  Maybe I should try that some day.

the weird new light thing-y is off.  odd.

man, my goggles are digging in.  they’re going to leave marks.  I should use more eye cream.

there’s a bird in the building.

was the first 50m or the second 50m? crap.

I should blog about the random thoughts I have while I swim.  I need to finish that commencement blog post.  What other blog posts do I need to finish?  Should I change my format?

please don’t let the bird poop on me.  especially not while I backstroke with my mouth open.

why does it feel so weird to breathe on the left side?

there’s the swim team.  they’re so young and so good and they swim forever.  I wish I could swim like that.

there’s going to be so much water in my right ear.

I’m hungry.  What should I make for dinner?  Is there any food?

I just did 100 breaststroke so now backstroke and then another set or two more sets?

crap.  now I have to pee.

why don’t I solve the world’s problems or even my own while I swim like that girl in that book?

why do I think about such random stuff?

I really need to finish that project for ---- when I get home.  (blanked to protect my recipient who is unaware of said project and, actually, is probably unaware of my blog too.)

was that thunder?  The pool’s inside.  Do I have to get out of the pool if there’s thunder if it’s inside? What are the lifeguards doing? (this was last week when there was a huge storm while I was swimming my laps.  Answer: nope, we don’t have to get out of the pool.)

I need to pack when I get home.

I’m tired.

for an idea of how tired I was after swimming all those laps and thinking all those random thoughts, I will mention that I walked all the way into the locker room with the kick board still in my hand and had to walk back out (with all the annoyingly skinny teens watching) to put it back and I totally forgot to shower before I left.

I also felt like a “real” swimmer this week because I bought a “grab bag” swimsuit online.  It’s where you just buy a style and size and they just send you a suit.  No clue what it looks like.

g&p – 9 months

I’m two days late – I know.  Sue me.

I’m so behind on posts – it’s all The Pioneer Woman’s fault.  She started blogging in May/June of ‘06 and I’m feeling compelled to read every word.  I’m in May of ‘07 now.

Also I’ve been thinking that my goals aren’t really working for me because, well, in 9 months, I haven’t really achieved any of them.  So I’m revamping them.

fitness goals:

• I want to run 2 days a week, swim 2 days a week and do something, be it softball, bike riding, yoga, more running and swimming etc, 2 of the remaining 3 days of the week. I only got started on this plan about a week ago and so far it’s going ok.
• I’m going to start with doing bicep and triceps curls while I do my single leg stands – ok, this, of course, presumes that I’m keeping up with my PT exercises so maybe…
• I will continue to do my PT exercises… um, twice a week… 3 times. 
• Oh yeah – and food.  I need to be better about what I eat but I haven’t decided yet what those particular goals should be.
  • at least one should be to not visit the vending machine once a day.

projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable.
2. refinish kitchen table – I have a table top but now I’m just lazy.
3. recaulk tub
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay – stalled though I did think today that if I make some extra cash I can buy more camera lenses.
5. organize the basement, in particular label all the bins and boxes – we need a rainy unscheduled weekend.
6. clean wood floors – see post.
7. honeymoon scrapbook
8. clean Snuffles
9. Christmas stockings - Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will – I was making great progress on Sara’s.
10. sort through stuff at parents' homes
11. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet - We're continuing in denial about the worsening ceiling.
12. organize recipes – I know I said “good enough for now” last month but then I figured out an “easy” way to organize them further.
13. organize all of mom's pictures from the 80s and 90s – finished!.

g&p - 8 months (revisited)

I'm recreating a post here - see "lessons learned" as to why.

fitness goals:

• Lose 10-15 lbs.
• Be able to lift 25-30 lbs dead weight with one arm at a time. Still sucking.

projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable – We will probably get to this soon now that it’s warm.
2. refinish kitchen table - Still no table top
3. recaulk tub
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay – Stalled.
5. clean wood floors - My folks are visiting so maybe
6. figure out our bedroom furniture – I figured out that we figured it out so this is finished.
7. honeymoon scrapbook
8. clean Snuffles
9. Christmas stockings - Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will – I was making great progress on Sara’s.
10. sort through stuff at parents' homes
11. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet - We're continuing in denial about the worsening ceiling.
12. organize recipes - good enough for now.
13. organize all of mom's pictures from the 80s and 90s - I've stalled somewhere in 1994.
    

g&p – 7 months

fitness goals:

• Lose 10-15 lbs. I’ve rediscovered ice cream and got a cold so I’m looking at more like 15-20lbs.
• Be able to lift 25-30 lbs dead weight with one arm at a time. Still sucking.
• Be able to touch my toes. I know that I can do it with yoga so we’ll just say this is accomplished. Summer is going to make a regular commitment to a class very difficult so I didn't sign up.

projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable – We will probably get to this soon now that it’s warm.
2. refinish kitchen table - Still no table top
3. recaulk tub
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay – I tried to sell a few things but it didn’t go so well.
5. organize the basement, in particular label all the bins and boxes – not so much motivation for this particular task.
6. clean wood floors - We've got the stuff to do it now.
7. figure out our bedroom furniture – We are waiting patiently.
8. honeymoon scrapbook
9. clean Snuffles
10. Christmas stockings - Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will – I’m making great progress on Sara’s.
11. sort through stuff at parents' homes
12. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet - We're continuing in denial about the worsening ceiling.
13. organize recipes - they got back in their binders but I’m still debating whether I want to sort further.
14. organize all of mom's pictures from the 80s and 90s - I've stalled somewhere in 1993.
15. start PT – see post.

physical therapy

About 2 weeks ago, I started down the physical therapy road. Based upon the recommendation from Emily, I chose to go Sport and Spine Rehab in McLean.

In my first visit, I met with Dr. Tersigni (a chiropractor) and he diagnosed me with chondro malacia patella – an irritation of the cartilage of the knee cap.  I also had some x-rays taken (I wish I had them – digital x-rays are so cool!) and they basically show that the lower parts of my knee caps have much less cushion then the upper parts.

Dr. T specializes in the Graston Technique which I like to equate to medieval torture.  The technique involves rubbing (I know terribly technical term) potential scar tissue and/or adhesions that are preventing the fluid motion of muscles and joints.  So Dr. T has used the bottom 2 tools all around my knees.  It’s really not so bad – I would never say that it feels good but it doesn’t really hurt either.  It just really feels weird and my skin gets very red.  I’ve even had it produce some bruising after the fact.

There’s also the electrical stimulation to reduce inflammation.  It also feels weird but mostly feels fine.  Some times it feels like the leads are working their way off my knees.

And, of course, the exercises.  I haven’t done too much having only been about 3 times.  Just some stretches – hamstring, quads, calves, and IT band.  Calf raises. Lots of standing on one foot.  Front-and-back and left-and-right on a one-directional wobble board.  Monster walks.

I’ll be going for about 12 weeks.  I’m hoping to get stronger so that I can get back to running regularly so that I don’t get fat.  Dr. T said that the “crunching and grinding” will never get better but we can prevent it from getting worse.

g&p - 6 months

We got a few things done during the snow though nothing quite finished.

fitness goals:

• Lose 10-15 lbs. I'd lost the 5lbs holiday weight but I'm pretty sure that I gained it back during snowmaggedon.
• Be able to lift 25-30 lbs dead weight with one arm at a time. Still sucking.
• Be able to touch my toes. I've missed yoga for about 3 weeks due to snow, forgetfulness (we went to NJ early because I forgot I had yoga), and work travel. :(

projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable - We had the bright thought that maybe we should wait on this until the weather is such that we don't need heat or A/C just in case we screw something up.
2. refinish kitchen table - Still no table top
3. recaulk tub
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay - I still need to take "inventory" before I start selling on eBay. I was going to during the storm but I figured out that it's really cold in the basement with that much snow around and then someone opened the windows down there.
5. organize the basement, in particular label all the bins and boxes - see comments above about the basement being freezing though I did decide to use Goodreads to keep track of our book collection.
6. wedding albums - professional - We have it! It's beautiful!
7. clean wood floors - We've got the stuff to do it now.
8. figure out our bedroom furniture - We ordered and made a deposit on a dresser. It should be ready in about April.
9. honeymoon scrapbook
10. clean Snuffles
11. Christmas stockings - Leia, Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will - It was a miracle. I finished Leia's and have begun Sara's.
12. sort through stuff at parents' homes
13. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet - We're in denial about the ceiling.
14. organize recipes - they have been rough sorted.
15. organize all of mom's pictures from the 80s and 90s - I've gotten through 1992.
16. start PT

g&p - 5 months

I've got a whole bunch of things to talk about here soon. I'm a bit lagging in blogging in general because I've been so absorbed in making year-by-year collages to lead up to my 30th birthday. Each one took like 2 hrs but I may blog about that too. But since it's the first of the month....

fitness goals:

• Lose 10-15 lbs. I lost the 5lbs holiday weight but that's about it.
• Be able to lift 25-30 lbs dead weight with one arm at a time. I will continue to suck for quite some time probably.
• Be able to touch my toes. The new yoga class is a little less in intense but more focused on form at the same time. It's good.

projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable in order to save more energy
2. refinish kitchen table - I can't even see the top of the table right now.
3. recaulk tub - We've discussed the scheduling because we need a 3 day weekend that we don't have anything planned because with only one bathroom, we'll have to be dirty for at least a day and a half while we do the work and then let it cure for 24 hours.
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay - I still need to take "inventory" before I start selling on eBay.
5. organize the basement, in particular label all the bins and boxes - maybe in February or if we get snowed in again.
6. wedding albums - professional - Our photographer was away when I sent the check and he had a few final questions so it was officially ordered maybe 2 weeks ago. I can't wait to get it!
7. clean wood floors
8. figure out our bedroom furniture - Actually, we made great strides on this one but I'm going to write a post about it soon.
9. honeymoon scrapbook
10. clean Snuffles
11. get my knees checked out - I had my physical last week. They (my primary care and her resident) think it's just the usual female slippage of the patella and gave me a prescription for PT. A recommendation/RX for preventative PT was exactly what I was looking for so I'm happy. Now I just have to call PT places and get started.
12. Christmas stockings - Leia, Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will.
13. sort through stuff at parents' homes - We bought some plastic tubs to sort into that we dropped off in NJ a few weeks ago. I'm headed to NJ tomorrow for a meeting on Wednesday so I might try to do some sorting while I'm there.
14. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet - I called maintenance about the ceiling and they said that there's still a leak from upstairs and that they would send a letter. I'm a bit annoyed because it's coming off all passive-aggressive but I was really just hoping that they would say it was something that they had to fix. I haven't heard from the lady upstairs so I'm not sure what's going on.
15. organize recipes - still requires further organization
16. organize all of mom's pictures from the 80s and 90s - I've gotten through 1987 - I'm planning to post about this too.

g&p - 4 months

Time to start the new year!

fitness goals:

1. Lose 10-15 lbs. yeeeah.... I gained 5lbs for the holidays. oops.
2. Be able to lift 25-30 lbs dead weight with one arm at a time. I suck.
3. Be able to touch my toes. I've discovered that it's doable with yoga. I signed up for the next session which starts on the 7th.

projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable in order to save more energy
2. refinish kitchen table - I still have paint stripper and still haven't started
3. recaulk tub
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay and craigslist - I gave up on selling the chair, 3 lamps, and hockey skates and donated them to Goodwill on Monday. If they didn't sell after 3 postings, they aren't going to sell. I still need to take "inventory" before I start selling on eBay.
5. organize the basement, in particular label all the bins and boxes - maybe in January or February or if we get snowed in again.
6. wedding albums - professional - I sent our photographer a check on the 28th so I think we should have it in about 4-6 weeks!
7. clean wood floors
8. figure out our bedroom furniture
9. honeymoon scrapbook
10. clean Snuffles
11. get my knees checked out - my physical got pushed back to the end of January so no progress here until after then.
12. Christmas stockings - Leia, Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will.
13. sort through stuff at parents' homes - no further progress
14. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet - I have to call maintenance about the ceiling
15. organize recipes - They made it into a binder but still need to actually get organized into some comprehensible fashion
16. organize all of mom's pictures from the 80s and 90s.

g&p - 3 months

The holidays are here!
Here's 3 months.

goals:

• Lose 10-15 lbs. I have a problem. It's called motivation, or lackthereof.
• Be able to lift 25-30 lbs dead weight with one arm at a time. I haven't done anything towards this one STILL.
• Be able to touch my toes. It still takes quite a bit of yoga which ended yesterday (and I skipped the last 2 classes). I'll have to sign up for the next session which starts in January. I think I'll sign up for the 7pm class if I can because then I'll be able to eat and get a few things done at home first.

projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable in order to save more energy
2. refinish kitchen table - I have paint stripper but I've decided to wait until at least after our Christmas party to even think about starting this project.
3. recaulk tub
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay and craigslist - selling on craigslist is ongoing. So far we've gotten rid of the table, the Nintendo NES and the stereo. I need to repost a chair, 3 lamps, and hockey skates for sale. I decided that I needed to take "inventory" before I start selling on eBay.
5. organize the basement, in particular label all the bins and boxes - maybe in January
6. wedding albums - professional and snapfish - Prof: I've been e-mailing my photographer about details. I'm waiting for the answers to a few questions but we should have it in January I would guess. Snapfish: I ordered it with a 35% off coupon, got it and then a week later got a 50% off coupon. It looks great though.
7. clean wood floors
8. figure out our bedroom furniture
9. honeymoon scrapbook
10. clean Snuffles
11. get my knees checked out - my physical got pushed back to the end of January so no progress here until after then.
12. Christmas stockings - Leia, Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will.
13. sort through stuff at parents' homes - no further progress
14. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet - We got the ceiling fixed but we may need to have them come back because it's already happening again. We are going to hold off on the drains and faucets until the Spring.
15. Organize recipes - I pulled them all out of the magazines and trimmed them. They need to make it into a binder and then actually get organized in some comprehensible fashion
16. Christmas shopping and most of the wrapping and tagging too!

g&p - 2 months

Still plugging away. Here's 2 months.

goals:

1. Lose 10-15 lbs. I have a problem. It's called chocolate.
2. Be able to lift 25-30 lbs dead weight with one arm at a time. I haven't done anything towards this one STILL.
3. Be able to touch my toes. As of the 19th, I can touch my toes after about a half hour of yoga. Not saying it feels good yet but it's possible.

projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable in order to save more energy
2. refinish kitchen table - I have paint stripper.
3. recaulk tub
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay and craigslist - selling on craigslist has begun. So far we've gotten rid of the table, the Nintendo NES and we might sell the stereo in the next day or two. We still have a chair, 3 lamps, and hockey skates up for sale. I decided that I needed to take "inventory" before I start selling on eBay.
5. organize the basement, in particular label all the bins and boxes - I looked into book cataloging software to help with this process but nothing else.
6. wedding albums - professional and snapfish - Prof: I've been e-mailing my photographer about details. My mom and I laid out the pictures and layouts which I also e-mailed him. Snapfish: I just need to order it - here's hoping for a coupon.
7. clean wood floors
8. figure out our bedroom furniture
9. honeymoon scrapbook
10. clean Snuffles
11. get my knees checked out
12. Christmas stockings - Leia, Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will.
13. sort through stuff at parents' homes - no further progress
14. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet - We got the ceiling fixed. We may hold off on the drains and faucets.
15. refinance my conventional mortgage so that Will will actually own the condo with me. - Turns out that my mortgage isn't owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae and therefore ineligible for a no closing cost refinance. At least we weren't out any money like a friend of ours.
16. Organize recipes.

g&p - 1 month

So it's been about a month so let's see if I've made any progress on my goals and projects.

goals:

1. Lose 10-15 lbs. I've lost maybe about 3 or 4 lbs. I've been going to the pool at least twice a week and trying to get back to running (I've gone about 3 or 4 times). I'm still working on this whole healthy eating thing, in particular snacks and eating enough during the day that I'm not so famished by the end of my workouts that I feel a bit faint.
   
2. Be able to lift 25-30 lbs dead weight with one arm at a time. I haven't done anything towards this one
   
3. Be able to touch my toes. Yoga is proving interesting and harder than I expected so we'll see where I am in a few more months.

projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable in order to save more energy
2. refinish kitchen table (if it goes well, it could get expanded to other furniture items)
3. recaulk tub
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay and craigslist - I'm actually buying things instead of selling - BAD.
5. organize the basement, in particular label all the bins and boxes
6. wedding album - professional and snapfish - Prof: I e-mailed my photographer for information and am waiting to hear back about the cost. Snapfish: I picked the book.
7. clean wood floors
8. figure out our bedroom furniture
9. honeymoon pictures and scrapbook - We have all the pictures from both our honeymoon and our recent vacation in albums.
10. clean snuffles
11. get my knees checked out
12. Christmas stockings - Leia, Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will. whew, that's a lot of stitching.
13. sort through stuff at parents' homes - Will did one box at his parents'
14. burn CD for Liz of geological pictures from NZ - I just have to give it to her now.
15. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet - We've got the names of plasterers to fix the ceiling.
16. One thing we decided to do this month not on this list is refinance my conventional mortgage now that the second mortgage is paid off. As an added bonus, Will will actually own the condo with me.

goals and projects

Back when the end of grad school was approaching but still seemed like a distant dream, I made 2 lists, one of fitness goals for myself and the other various projects that I wanted to tackle. Don't all of those women's magazines tell you to be public with such things to hold yourself accountable? well, here it goes.

Goals:

• Lose 10-15 lbs.
• Be able to lift 25-30 lbs dead weight with one arm at a time. T-Rex begone!
• Be able to touch my toes. I've never been able to do this in my life.

I've already taken some baby steps towards these goals. I renewed my membership at the rec center so that I could get back to swimming but that was last week and I'm finally going to get there today. I also signed up for yoga at the rec center once a week on Mondays that starts next week.

Projects: (in no particular order)

1. change thermostat to programmable in order to save more energy
2. refinish kitchen table (if it goes well, it could get expanded to other furniture items)
3. recaulk tub
4. sell extraneous stuff on eBay
5. organize the basement, in particular label all the bins and boxes
6. wedding album - professional and snapfish
7. clean refrigerator
8. clean wood floors
9. figure out our bedroom furniture
10. honeymoon pictures and scrapbook
11. clean snuffles
12. get my knees checked out
13. Christmas stockings - Leia, Sara, Autumn, Austin and Will. whew, that's a lot of stitching.
14. sort through stuff at parents' homes
15. burn CD for Liz of geological pictures from NZ
16. get the bathroom fixed - ceiling, drains, and tub faucet
    

Clearly, I have some lofty ideas of what kind of time I'll have on my hands. We'll see what happens.