and so on...

so, it's that time of year again. when I check out what I did/didn't do that I said I would/wouldn't. I work very well with goals, so it helps me to make them...

last year's resolutions and results...
1. figure out my career/engineering path, and get a move on.-I think I get a gold star on this one. I have my new job that I love, I went back to school and I have found my real true interest. go, me!
2. make a point to take care of myself.-and this one too. more sleepy less stressy. or at least I try. I have also done MUCH better about not pushing my limits. and I wear that damn vulture mask to play sports. :)
3. learn how to play the guitar. or at least make a valid attempt. not so much...but I am okay with that. I would still love to learn, but it is not a priority.
4. read. a lot. I've never set a number before, but let's start tame--say, 20 books? I'm secretly hoping for more than 26, but I don't want to make it toooo hard. clearly, this did not happen. got stuck on two (word freak and strange/norell). I think I got to ~12, but I can't recall them all. when I made this resolution I wasn't buying a house, going to grad school, starting a new job or starting a photography business, I think I get a bye.
5. find three ways to be more environmentally friendly in my day-to-day life. um, check. composting. collecting my shower water. avoiding buying things with packaging. keeping my thermostat lower. etc.
6. do more photography--a)get at least seven more states this year, b)continue to branch out more (engagement photos, perhaps pregnancy/infant photos), c)save up for a super nice camera. done, done, done. alabama, florida, west virginia, illinois, kentucky, indiana, mississippi. done all of those plus MANY more, and my canon and I have a little love affair.
7. get. rid. of. clutter. still working on this. given away plenty BUT still have some giving away to do...and some organization to make. moving both helped and hindered this...
8. do what makes me happy. really, really happy. getting there on this too. I'm doing less of what DOESN'T make me happy, and that's good. I think i'm finding that the things I thought would make me happy kind of don't...well, not in the way I thought they would. anyway, working on it. :)

and for 2009
1. read more.
2. continue grad school. and apply to get a real actual graduate degree.
3. get to work earlier. just a little, but earlier.
4. get organized at home. for realz.
5. stop buying crap I don't need just 'cause I like it.
6. scrapbook our road trip to oklahoma and back.
7. get more states. I want to have less than 20 left by the end of next year.
8. in the summer, grow more food that I can eat. along with this, I want to specifically grow tomatoes and basil (yet again) and I have a goal of making my own mozzarella (http://www.cheesemaking.com/30-Minute-Mozzarella-Ricotta-Kit.html) at home, then making a pizza using tomatoes and basil I grew myself. I might get extra adventurous and make my own cheddar too (I use white cheddar on my pizza)
9. keep on keepin' on with my photography. things have gone CRAZY in the last year--getting published, selling many a print, working with lux...wow. I have to take a good hard look at what I want to be doing, but what an amazing, encouraging year. I already have one and possibly two weddings booked, and a session this weekend with a friend from VA. I must say, I need to toot my own horn, yes? :)

i think I'm forgetting books.

I have been looking at what my resolutions were last year and what I've accomplished in the last three hundred sixty-some odd days, and I think I'm forgetting what books I've read.

I know this year I've read:
-The Five People You Meet in Heaven
-Eragon
-Into the Wild
-Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
-Twilight
-(most of) Word Freak
-and I am absolutely sure I've read some other things. except I didn't blog about them (and I never finished Dr Strange and Mr Norrell) and yeah. boo.

resolution for next year: keep track of books I read, ha! most about resolutions soon!

"all in all draw nigh to gaze"

~come ye lofty, come ye lowly

so, christmas at my mom's house was missing an important part of family traditions--the christmas tree, and thereby, the singing o' the twelve days of christmas. I decided not to force it upon them since no one else brought it up, but I must admit that I missed it.

I already told you we had chili and the usual. I played the piano. We decorated the house. We had lots of cheese--both in our chili and in our words. Sterling came by for a bit and gave Matt and me a deliciously punny gift--ice cube trays in the shape of the titanic and icebergs, for "gin and titonics." I also took LOTS of pictures, but they were a bit challenging since my family likes to hang out in low light AND they weren't digging my flash. oh well. so excuse the grain, please.

here are christmas eve pics. the hats are ones my granny and granddad used to wear, but she gave them to matt and me. and that's the present sterling gave matt & me, with sterling in the background. and my sister and her boyfriend, my brothers and our cute little boston terrier gracie. there's a nativity ornament, the cheese for the chili, a picture with two of my favorite guys, adam requesting (annoyingly) that he have sterling's autograph, the centerpiece, the mint chews we all ate too many of, and more. anna gave us these neato arrow pens (I need to take a picture of them!) and I got some wonderfully fuzzy slippers. good stuff!

"hugs not drugs"

~jackie

our 4pm flight yesterday was going to strand us in St Louis yesterday, so we're taking one today instead. It was nice to get to stay in Tulsa another night, but I am worried about my cats and about getting to relax enough since I'm working half days tomorrow and monday. at least it works out that we'll see taylor and laura at dinner tonight (I'm crossing my fingers!)

It is annoying to pack everything up and unpack enough to get ready only to pack it up again. especially since we had just gone through that going to see the richardson side of the family!!! But, I got a nap, got to look through old and awesome cookbooks AND got to have zio's with jackie and see quantum of solace (for matt's sanity's sake) with my good friend david and (his either girl friend or girlfriend, I'm not sure, but I think the fact that she's in town from CA meeting his 'rents would suggest the latter not the former) cynthia. We both liked the movie and it was a nice mental break?

I have been remiss in taking pictures of people while we've been out. Partially 'cause my point and shoot is being finicky when it comes to the flash, but also because I've been taking lots of pics of other things! There's going to be a fun album of my granny's house, I'm looking forward to that!

okay, time to finish packing up again.

special thanks to:
my mom for taking us to the airport, picking us up again AND loaning us her car.
jackie for dinner entertainment.
david for meeting us and introducing us to cynthia!
adam for making that list.
and matt, for having waaaaay more patience than most people. :)

wish us luck on actually making it to Raleigh today!

good tidings we bring, to you and your kin

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

We got in Tuesday and it has been pleasantly busy, not squeeze-everything in busy. We went shopping. We ate Hideaway Pizza. We have slept. A LOT. And it is fabulous.

It has been so great to see my family all at once (it's rarely all of us!), have Sterling stop by, and eat my mom's chili (the only chili I like!) and I even found a church service to go to last night @ St Paul's UMC on Cherry Street. At the end of the service we stood on the front steps of the church, held our candles and sang Christmas carols to the world! Wow.

Today we drive to Dallas to see the Richardson side of my family. Matt has never met them and I haven't seen them for almost two years, and I haven't been there for Christmas since...well, since I was probably 15 or so. I hate to leave my family here but I am THRILLED to see them.

Funny pictures soon. :)

pie charts are almost as good as pie. almost.

can you believe that by this time next week CHRISTMAS WILL HAVE PASSED?!? Holy moly.

Olivia sent this to me a while ago. I LOVE it when people send me eco-factoids, and this one was everything I could have hoped for. :)

A fact: Of our municipal waste streams there's ~ 12.8% yard waste, 12.5% kitchen scraps, 32.7% paper or paperboard = 58%!!!

You can compost ALL of that! 58% of our waste can be composted. Can you IMAGINE? 58% fewer landfills? 58% fewer garbage bags, and therefore less petroleum and less transportation and manufacture of the petroleum and the bags and WOW.

if only.

yeah. that's about it. I have oodles of things to say but I need to leave like, um, now for a christmas party. if you have a sec, go check out the lux blog or the lux website. we've been doing LOTS of editing and more is on the way! and in just a little bit we might have a new logo, too! stay tuned!

the main ingredient is deliciousness--or--fascist cats

okay, I am sure someone is going to be offended or something by this. too bad. I am not making fun of any cultures or religions or schools of thought or anything, okay? I hate it that I feel like I have to preface this, but damn. I do. moving on.

so, tuesday was our division-wide luncheon. ham. turkey. sweet potatoes. corn. mac and cheese (only in the south is mac and cheese an art form, goodness gracious it was amazing. maybe that's why I've gained weight while living here. moving on.) mmmmm. and I brought my passed-through-generations, crust-rolled-with-my-great-grandma-mae's-rolling-pin pumpkin pie, and it was described as "phenomenal," "fantastic," and "wow." amongst other things. like how it's main ingredient is deliciousness. :) it sure is nice to have a known crowd-pleaser to bring. AND to get to have leftovers of that crowd-pleaser for breakfast. I made two pies and there were AT LEAST 17-20 desserts. for ~120 people. yowza.

so, I also won this little guy. I tend to win things in drawings, did you know that? far more than statistics and probability would suggest. not that previous winnings actually affect or change your likelihood of winning in that contest, but you know what I mean. I didn't win a computer after my freshman year like Sterling did (when we were named top freshman) but I do win--a case of pepsi, two books of tickets to the WAC tourney from the tri-delts, this poinsettia, if there's a raffle I feel like I have a good shot.

well, of course this brought up the question--are poinsettias poisonous to cats? apparently this is a myth-well sort of. it's the same kind of thing as how daddy long legs are the world's most poisionous spider...(which is a myth, but for the sake of my point) if the thing is that it is sooooooo venomous but it can't bite you, what's the big deal? likewise, a cat would have to eat, like, an entire plant in one sitting for it to really to damage. and though hazel might try (she LOVES to eat anything with leaves, like my jade plant or our poor bamboo), there's no way she could do that. but, just in case it's hanging out at my office, maybe it will come home for the weekend.

and it somehow got into cat traits, and how my cat Gobi is a Jewish Pacifist, amongst some other things, and blah blah. We decided that Hazel and my office-neighbor's cat are both Fascists since they're both aggressive and prone to confrontation. :) Hey, it's the little things that get you through the day, hmm?

oh and, one more little fun thing for y'all--monday night you might have made fun of me for my phone call to my friendly neighborhood lowe's foods. I bought a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup--my 2 cup plastic one had cracked and I wanted a big one, and target doesn't sell a lot of pyrex and I didn't want to go to walmart. So when I checked out I told them I had my own bags (and even an extra this time!) and went to find my card to pay. I got home to find that my pyrex was holding my containers of yoplait, and that it was wrapped up in a plastic bad.

I.Was.Not.A.Happy.Camper.

I called and explained to the manager--I know they were trying to make sure I didn't break it on the way home, I know this is what they are trained to do, but you need to explain to them that if someone is bringing their own bags there's a damn good chance they don't want ANY plastic bags. At.All.Under.And.Circumstances. I wasn't rude or mean or angry, just a little like "you've GOT to be kidding, seriously?" I explained to him that I haven't gotten a plastic bag since february (though admittedly matt has taken the fall for me ~6 times) and that it was very important to me that those not come home with me.

He said he understood, and tried to make me feel better by telling me I could recycle it, and poor guy, I explained to him that reducing is the first step in being green, and that most bags left for recycling don't even make it into another finished product, blah blah blah. He seemed to appreciate the knowledge, but I still felt bad, so I commended Lowe's policy of giving you points for bringing bags, their green cleaners and local produce offerings, etc.

But yeah. A plastic bag snuck into my house on monday. boo.

Okay, bedtime. I haven't blogged at night in a looooooong time. Have sweet dreams!

sometimes when I'm photographing

I look like this. That's me with Nicole's camera, and it might have to be my new profile pic. I have yet to have a profile picture that has MY camera in it, ha! Nicole and I have been BUSY. Like, crazy busy. Like, oh-my-goodness, how-did-THIS-happen?!? Busy.

Weekend was kind of nuts. Four parties (yes, FOUR), a flock of chicks, three photo sessions, a brunch, cleaning and wow. Oh, and not feeling well, icks. It was SUPER fun though. More info when I have time.

"you're just good at LIFE!"

~janice, last night at brixx after saying but...you go to grad school? and have a full time job? and a photography business? and you have friends and rock climb and do other things? I have no idea how you do it--you're just good at LIFE!" It made me smile.

runner up quote "I HOPE you didn't see a dead cat walking around!"~lisa

AAAAAAh, the blissful days of not having to study. I have ooooooodles and oooooooodles of photos to edit, but nary a class for which to study. thank the Good Lord in Heaven.

right.

okay, so let's cut to the chase. I have not been sharing my greenness with you recently, but I have a couple of things
a) if everyone were to clean out their lint traps very thoroughly, and also clean out the piping that runs from the dryer to outside? we could all increase the efficiency of our dryers by up to 30%!
b) I might have to move to Toronto. Like, now. They have given a big "Hell-to-the-no!," as my friend Sydney C would say, to water bottles. by 2011 they won't be sold on any municipal property. Holy friggin crap this is AMAZING! Now, one qualifier: people NEED water. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to carry around a water bottle at all times. I realize this. Men in business suits and women in formal gowns just don't have a place to put it. But this is still really positive news. and charging people for plastic bags?!? FABOO! (thanks greg for passing this along!)

I have more to tell you...one involves the US Senate, the other a pie chart...but you aren't getting those today.

Other things
-today is Matt's birthday. He's the big 29. Which is NOT. OLD. If you are older than that? You get to say it's old. Or if you are under the age of 21. But all you 22-28 year olds who have said in response "wow, he's old!"--not to be rude, but grow up a little! If you have been there? You can say it's old. Maybe when I go to target today I will buy a pacifier and give it to the next person who says that to him. Ha! I think this bothers me more than I realize!! Maybe it's only because like, oh, seventeen people said that to me in October when I turned 28, and now they're all saying it to Matt. So. Helpful. Seriously...anyway. ending that little rant, where did THAT come from?
-my neck reallyreallyreally hurts. like, a lot. like, I think I might need to see a professional. perhaps it is to blame for the rant!
-I am sore from climbing yesterday, and that makes me happy.
-Additionally, a girl I know (and probably many of you know) from Tulsa came climbing yesterday! She was there randomly a few weeks ago, and I invited her to join us again yesterday. Her name is Kat. Her last name is Ma-(the slits fishies use to breathe). Or gills. Get it? right. Just trying to avoid the googlebot.

Ummmmm...yeah. That's it. Time to finish up here and go to choir. And then CELEBRATE! yay for Matt!

tomorrow, I post

today, I finish trying to be productive, climb and have beer.

I took my final today. It was okay. There were parts I TOTALLY didn't review and TOTALLY made up, but that's alright. It took me 3 hours and then I said "no mas!" and left. I think people were there much longer than that. And my prof was in a bad mood, and totally unaware that I had emailed him TWICE to see if my paper had made it into his hot little hands. icks.

so...it's been a bit of a photography extravaganza recently. five mini-sessions and three full sessions this weekend, what?!? TOO FUN! we are editing them as fast as we can, it's a tad nuts!

tomorrow is matt's birthday (thankfully I already have his present!) and choir and then things begin to slow down ever so slightly, thank goodness!

oh, and, so I left the house at 710 to get to the test today. and lookie what I saw. I call it "pollution sunrise." in honor of the aforementioned thermodynamic sunset. and yes, I will be painting it.

mmmmmkay...more reading and commenting and thinking about how I'm leaving in forty some odd minutes. :)

this is what I wrote for my kd blog

I thought y'all might enjoy it!

you can also find it here.

It's the Best Time of the Year!

To be green, that is. Whatever you do or don't celebrate this holiday season, there's a good chance you'll get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the largest spending time of the year. With the fantastic sales and new items to buy, gifts and decorations on the mind and maybe even cards to send, it's easy to find your pocketbook a bit emptier than you expected.

But something many don't consider is the bigger impact of all that spending—the toys shipped from farther away than most of us have ever traveled, the trees cut down so you could mail someone a little bit of holiday cheer and the harmful dyes used in wrapping paper—not to mention all of the plastic packaging! All those holly jollies can quickly become a detriment to the environment!

As you shop this year, I encourage you to look for items produced in the USA, or to go one step farther, and shop local. Keep an eye on how much packaging is around that gift you're considering, and look for organic, eco-friendly or "green" alternatives whenever possible. Check out handmade items, or make your own presents. Go for cards, paper and gift tags that are made from recycled materials and printed with soy-based ink, or take it up a notch and use what you already have! You can save the cards you receive this year to make into gift tags next year, wrap your present in a reusable bag, or save on the carbon footprint and give the gift of money. There are so many options! And even if you can't "green" every step of your holiday season, know that even the smallest changes add up to make our days merrier and brighter!

it went a little something like this.

I am taking a veryverybrief hiatus from paper writing. because I can. and because I am tired of thinking about alternative fuel sources and different propulsion technologies, okay?

okay.

so, quick story:
tuesday night I was telling the Pres of the chapter (I'm the Sec) how this dude who was running the show had NO IDEA who I was. First he thought I was our speaker, who ended up being on the other side of him. To be fair, she and I appeared to be about the same height, relatively similar builds, same age-ish and both females. okay, fair enough.

So when I told him I wasn't the speaker, he asked me who I was, and I told him my name, where I worked, who my boss was, what my office was and described the multiple emails I had sent him. Nada. No understanding. No recollection. And then it dawned on him. Well, sort of, in the "ooooooh, you" when you either vaguely recall or know you *should* vaguely recall. I shook his hand and went on my merry way back to join the Pres and help sign people in and collect mulah.

I finish recounting up to the minute I walked up to our Pres, and he said "well, I mean, y'all kind of look like. Especially 'cause you're both wearing your Sarah Palin glasses."

I. Could. Have. Died. Right. There. and. Then.

I would have taken Tina Fey and run with it. Or "teacher" or "nerd" or "librarian." but wow. Sarah Palin. Gag me with a spoon. I mean, McCain was actually a decent candidate, but that woman, I just...man. Could rant. I politely informed him I'd had the glasses far longer than we'd known about the Alaskan, and said I prefer to think of them as Tina Fey.

yowza.

"most of africa..."

~sterling

it went a little like this
c: I have approximately 8 minutes and thought I'd talk to you!
s: (!) I only have like one. I'm going to see the smashing pumpkin!
c: I'm jealous! I want a button if they have it.
(talk ensues about howI haven't given him his stephen kellogg poster, how he still has my bday present, and holding each others concert gifts and my birthday present ransom for amusement, but then we realize that's not so amusing)
s: so, how's matt doing? I CAN'T BELIEVE he has e. coli.
c: I know, right? Who even gets e. coli?!?
s: most of africa...

and why that was funny, I do not know, but it made me laugh for a good bit. (NOT that I am actually amused by the fact that people in africa get e. coli frequently, mind you!).

last night I played hooky for a bit. I left my work dinner early to go meet Mary Alise. except she got stuck at the vet MUCH longer than we expected. It was kind of awkward cutting out of the work dinner thing early, but also worth the awkward--this poor dude next to me had some sort of disorder or disability or limitation or something. He made me think of a toned-down Rainman. Matt said he might also have high functioning aspergers. I tried to be patient, but the man asked me thinks like what food I fed my cats and why, why do cats have to have rabies shots, why why why. I think I managed to be pretty polite, but I did keep bringing other people into our convo because I was kind of uncomfy!

and then while I waited for M.A., I sat in my car and read my book. Which might sound sad or something, but I was SO happy to get to do it!

and then! there was garlic bread. and wine. and chit chat! (and quite a bit of time looking at the menu and thinking "I wonder if that's local. Hey, those are out of season! Oh crap, I've sworn off out-of-season asparagus." but anyway, to the chit-chat.

I neeeeeeeded that.

Mary Alise and I have been good friends for, yikes, I think almost 3 years? she's absolutely on my list of "why it's good I came to north carolina." and it was GREAT to just talk with her! we have decided that we need to talk more and we're arranging some have-some-wine and talk-on-the-phone dates. I am excited!!

okay, time to do paper work. ugh. I will be GLAD when this is over!

I want, I want!

um, hi. I think I have found my stockings. here. anyone who doesn't think these scream "CARRIE!" please raise your hands. it is fortunate I can't see you through the monitor because I like 'em and I want 'em. (thank you, misha, for your suggestions, which actually were what ultimately made me think of etsy!)

eco-friendly? check.
cute as a button? check.
goes with what I already have? check.
inexpensive enough? check.

I really like that green and red pair in the upper right hand corner, though maybe have them both be the same? She sells little stockings, but I have some of those already.

which do you think suits me best? other than the ones with the gingerbread man or the tree, I'm game for whatever! but I have to decide by tomorrow!

so...I got my test back today. It was not pretty. like, even a little. but that's okay, um, I think, 'cause it seems no one else really did too hot either. eh. I can still eek out that B, maybe? I wouldn't be so worried but they use that dang plus minus system which I think is dumb as bricks.

it is annoying that no matter how much I study I still seem to end up not getting what I want. boo hiss.

other things I've thought of that have nothing to do with how busy I am (since I've been complaining about that a lot recently!)

-when you heat a kettle of water, keep a thermos near your stove to put any extra hot water in. it'll be ready for you when you need it next time, or you can add it to the kettle with cool water and it'll all heat faster!
-we found holiday cards made of recycled paper and printed with soy ink. this pleases me, though I feel slightly guilty about sending them in the first place.
-I am REALLY excited about doing as little actual wrapping as possible this year. My goal is to just use little things like ribbon or things I already have.
-we got LED lights for that $10 tree I got last year, and we've decided that amongst other things we're going to make some of our own ornaments--out of beer bottle caps! yes, beer caps on a tree. I will paint some, I am sure, but some will be in all their straight-off-the-bottle glory. :)
-I want to make a tree topper. Of an angel holding a star. Made of recycled materials. Suggestions?
-and there was another one I read in the Green Guide, but I forgot...I'll let you know when I remember.

time for the dinner thing I have, wine with Mary Alise (who is in town because of her sick kitty, Bono), and then working on my paper. yeesh.

a little seuss always helps

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."
- Dr. Seuss

I like. :)

i. am. out.

of sympathy.
and warm fuzzies.
and energy.
and time.

I am kind of having the sensation that my feet are moving faster than my body and head possibly can, and they are running away from me before I can really accomplish anything that I need to accomplish. I am VERY tired and terribly grumpy and I want my paper to magically write itself. My home is a disaster and my schedule is pretty damn scary. Yikes.

but, at least I have leftover pumpkin pie to munch on, and I have lots of yummy tea to drink, and I know it will all be over soon. I have something to do every single day through...um...the 15th. not counting work of course. I am looking forward to the holidays, let me tell you what. Even if they are full, they won't involve deadlines. :)

"crap! you know what this means? now I'm gonna be a statistic."

~matt

uh...yeah. at 330 am they decided that they think he has e. coli. they aren't *sure* about it, but it seems the most likely. it's a bit of a hail mary pass, but they gave him an antibiotic that typically does not cause more of the symptoms he's been having. so, he gave them another sample, they took out the IV and gave us discharge papers. yeehaw.

also--random. saw the guy, brandon, who used to live across the street from me at my old apartment. he works there. he "sped things up" for us, which I appreciated. :)

so, now we wait. antibiotics, lots of fluids, tylenol/ibuprofen as needed and some other medicines matt probably doesn't want me to mention on his blog. :)

we've also been over it in our heads a hundred times--there's not anything that Matt ate that no one else ate, except for a frozen egg breakfast thing. e. coli can survive freezing, but that sucker was properly microwaved, and it just seems like a very unlikely source (I mean, it had been frozen for a LONG time). yuck. we may never know what caused it.

so, I am SUPER tired (~6.5 hours of sleep!) and now it's time to get up and get ready for work. boo. perhaps I shall participate in a wee bit of cyber monday shopping today. and it will be nice to take a shower--I didn't take one yesterday AT ALL (by the time I got back from the pharmacy we went to urgent care, then I worked on my paper and then we went to the emergency room) yikes.

ps: do you like this layout better? I think I do. for today, anyway!

urine.

yes, I just titled a post urine. I'm in the hospital, I'm sleepy and annoyed. sue me.

so: little valuable lesson for, like, the rest of your potentially-visiting-the-hospital life--go pee as soon as you can. we'd been waiting for some other instructions (since ~1145 or midnight, it's now 110) and I finally saw our nurse in the hall and asked "did you want him to do such-and-such?. um yeah, she did, just like both doctors had said--and she got our stuff.

I asked how long blood work takes--usually an hour. which means it should be coming up very soon.
I asked how long the other thing takes--it's brief.
And I asked how long the urine analysis takes--and that, my friends, is another hour. If she had just given us everything we needed when we needed it we would be good to go. But noooooope. Instead we are going to get to wait for ANOTHER HOUR. god, we're going to be here until three. and it's totally unnecessary.

I am definitely not going to work in the morning. in less than eight hours. yuck.

lessons I've learned so far: get a visitor pass when you come in, pee in a cup as soon as possible and if you go to duke's cafeteria you're going to have to pass through a metal detector to get back to the exam rooms.