Sadly I’m not talking about my weight. Today is December 2nd, which means we’ve somehow knocked out eleven of the twelve months in 2013. Wow, my head is spinning.
As of yesterday I’ve started some new routines involving carving out time for iOS development, reading (work and pleasure), and exercise. Let’s consider this getting the jump on those New Year’s Resolutions a month early. Speaking of which, don’t bother seeing how I’ve done on those 2013 resolutions — it ain’t pretty.
Today’s Daily Challenge
Mix it up: Do one thing differently today, such as walking a new route or eating in a new spot.
Routines are an important part of life, but sometimes things can get a bit … routine. Seeking out new experiences has been shown to increase happiness and well-being, and can even boost creativity. By starting small, you may find that it’s fun to fill your day with even more mini-adventures.
Huh, maybe I’ll try something different — like getting exercise, or taking a photo, or both! Hmmm, I didn’t expect this rain. 🙁 Somebody should learn to look at a weather forecast.
Happy Thanksgiving?
I’m back after taking an extended break (by my standards) from blogging. Truth be told, I’ve been having my doubts about this space lately, but have decided to carry on. As always I am thankful for those of you who read, and especially those who comment. I haven’t checked my stats in years but I can assume that blog readership is down since the advent of Facebook and Twitter,
The extended weekend with the Raleigh Royalty, as well as the extended-family to which I don’t belong, was quite the fun time. Thursday was feast day and I certainly did my best to see to it that few leftovers were available on Friday — turkey, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, crescent rolls, stuffing, wine, pumpkin pie, apple pie — you name it, I ate it.
On Saturday we all (seven adults, four children) went out to Dave & Buster’s to spend the afternoon playing games and collecting tickets. Secretly I went along only to practice so that I can school my coworkers next Monday during our annual Christmas Holiday party. You know, Dave & Buster’s is more than a little manic but I had fun, especially when I saw the look on one of the younger boy’s face when he realized that he just won 250 tickets (sadly, that really doesn’t amount to much in Dave & Buster’s trade).
My iPhone Photography Future Is Spotty
On Thursday I took a photo with my iPhone 5 and thought I saw a spot. Yesterday I confirmed my belief. It appears that some dust/crap has snuck its way into my iPhone’s case and lodged itself in front of the camera lens. Dangen!
I suppose that I could attempt to unscrew the band that hold the phone together and attempt to do some surgery, or more than likely I can live with this until I can justify purchasing a new iPhone in 2014.
ITP Flickr Pic
Nope, didn’t happen. Need to make new lens collage today so that I can mail the test frames back to Warby Parker.
Let The Wallet Emptying Continue!
Hopefully by the time you read this I will have had a company come out and make an assessment on painting all of the iron work, carport, and soffit, as well as one for repairing/replacing the damaged ceiling in my living room and foyer.
As I’ve mentioned previously, next on the list is complete-house sink repair, and then seeing about biting the bullet on the major plumbing repair. Who knows, by the time I am ready to sell this place I might actually like it again. Figures, huh.
I Think The Eyes Are Losing It
One of today’s tasks is to go to midtown and get my annual eye exam. I should learn to schedule this on a day that the High Museum of Art is open so that I could treat myself to a museum visit.
This year I’ve been finding myself grabbing my glasses to do more reading/typing (like now!) than I have previously. Old age? Probably.
Today’s Personal Project
It was going to be go out and get exercise, but in this rain…
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – bummed that it’s raining, anxious to hear how much this painting job will cost me.
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – I’ve always been fascinated by people who can/jar/preserve. Food In Jars is a blog dedicated to that.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – N/A
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – ??? pounds (December 2)
Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 0 (0 cardio)
Days Of Bed-Making – 0
Vegetarian Meals – 2
Carnivorous Meals – 1
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0
December Goals
– clean my basement to the point where I could have people over
– hire a plumber, as week as a painter to work on the ITP Estate
– dissolve Sharpened Stone, LLC
– follow up on some critical life details
– walk no fewer than 75 miles
2013 Goals: Measurable
– Get my weight down to 190 pounds so that I can wear a 36″ waist pants comfortably
– Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
– Dissolve Sharpened Stone
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Completely run at least one 10k
– Fix all (or at least most) of the things which are wrong with the ITP Estate
2013 Goals: Unmeasurable
– Simplify, simplify, simplify
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
– Eat smaller portions
– Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
– Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
– Take two real vacations, perhaps one abroad
– Take a more proactive approach to meeting women (read “stop being such a pussy”)
Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2013
- Pages 1.7 for iPad (Timestompers Guide) — by Sean Wells
- 60 Mountain Lion Tips — by David Sparks and Brett Terpstra
- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business — by Charles Duhigg
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy — by Douglas Adams
- Amazing Things Will Happen: A Real-World Guide on Achieving Success and Happiness — by CC Chapman
- So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love — by Cal Newport
- Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life — by Steve Martin
- Who Am I: A Memoir — by Pete Townshend
- Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? — by Billy Crystal
- Unstuff Your Life!: Kick the Clutter Habit and Completely Organize Your Life for Good — Andrew J. Mellen
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
Oh boy, painting is much more expensive than I expected! I can’t imagine how much the estimate would be if the ITP Estate wasn’t a brick house.
Looks as if Christmas gifts to myself are out of the question this year. 🙁
well – the parts you need painted are the hardest parts, so it might not be that much more if you needed the whole house. So, look at it that way.
I’m finally on the mend, whatever weird cold, sickness I had was very annoying, I was just so tired & it was all in my head, throat & chest. Luckily, no stomach bug part. I’m still tired, but my head doesn’t feel quite so fuzzy today. Good part of all this, I’ve had no appetite, so I’m hoping I lost a pound or two.
I wanted to call Lisa & hang out some this weekend, but didn’t want my germs getting out.
Can’t you take your phone over tot he Apple Store & have them get the dust or whatever out?
I’ve had my house painted twice, I don’t remember it being too over the top…however, it is all relevant I suppose. Hopefully, the installation of hardiplank will cut down on the need to paint every few years (the old wood siding just wouldn’t hold the paint for long).
I was hoping they would be breaking ground on the addition today, I haven’t heard from the contractor yet but I’m guessing the rain may delay things. 🙁
It was a pretty relaxing weekend for me…it started early, I ‘worked’ from home on Wednesday. I met with a personal trainer at the gym, going to give it a shot (getting my resolutions started earlier as well). I was planning on only working half a day on Friday at the office but I was told I didn’t need to come in, yippee!!
We cooked both a turkey and leg of lamb (small) on Thursday (and went to the gym twice), Saturday we took the dogs for a walk at Sope Creek then went to Atlanta Motor Speedway to check out the lights. An added bonus, I got to drive the Escape on the track (FYI, the Escape was *not* designed for those high banked curves, it was a little scary). I topped off the weekend with a solo hike/run at Stone Mountain, I ended up with 8 miles under my belt including a trip to the summit.
Agreed Barb, and the estimate also includes repairing the two spots on the living room ceiling that have become damaged. The cost is about twice what I was hoping, but I plan on keeping a running total of what I spent and pad that into the selling price when the day arrives.
Glad to hear that you are getting better. There was a whole lot of craziness (typical Thanksgiving craziness) going on with everyone in town. I’m pretty sure the Royalty will be making a New Year’s visit so maybe all can get together for breakfast or something.
When I am back in the office tomorrow I will see about swinging by the Apple Store (actually, I probably need to make an appointment) to see what they say.
Oh, and I’m now using my oven for the first time in a long time and remembering the many reasons that I don’t do much baking in this house. (I could spend a lot more money on a kitchen renovation…)
One good thing about baking with an inefficient oven is that it helps heat the house in the Fall and Winter. And for the curious, I’m finally baking one of the loaves of bread possible with the Average Joe Bread Kit I bought ages ago.
Using up the pantry FTW!
Okay, my patience waned and I had to try a slice of the bread. It’s quite good actually, but must admit that it requires a much higher time investment than making a loaf in the bread machine; of course the two methods produce vastly different loaves as well.
“Kit”
– mix ingredients
– cover and put aside for 18-24 hours
– remove loaf, shape on board dusted with flour
– put in pot and allow to rise again while oven pre-heats to 425°F (which takes a long time for my old oven)
– bake covered for 35 minutes
– bake uncovered for 15-25 minutes (depending on oven and desired darkness)
– remove from oven, allow to cool
“Machine”
– mix ingredients
– put in machine and press start, process takes about 3 hours
– remove from machine, allow to cool
yum, fresh bread!
so, we moved into our new office, and the boss got these ridiculous desks with a cutoff & a tray for the keyboard. Everyone hates them. So, I had my handy husband cut a piece of plywood & make a shelf for me. Now everyone is jealous & wants Allan to make them one. Trying to figure out how much it should cost them……
Lunchtime project for today is to get stamps for my Christmas cards……
and – we got all the outside Christmas lights are up, so you can find our house much easier this month. I wish it wasn’t so redneck, I’d love to keep them up year round for when we have people over.
Let’s see… T-day with the inlaws and multiple families. We delivered a 20′ tall tree without incident, which we then stood up (mostly) in their garage/party space. I think the net was about 17′ tall after a bit of trimming.
I worked Friday until the boss called me from his cell about 12:30 saying if I hadn’t already left, to vamoose.
Saturday evening we went to a party of Games folks in Monroe- 86 miles away!! From the boonies to the boonies. Sadly, these folks are Scottish (at least the wife) and didn’t see fit to have on any college football. While I support Alabama, I can’t fault Auburn for the win and congratulate them- one for the history books.
Sunday, neither Debbie or I felt very good, but I managed a little manual labor (taking out the stump) and a nice hour of Sufferfest.
As long as your practice was not of the bowling variety, it can be allowed. We might need to have a practice before Cheddarhead.
-FP
we’d probably be game for some bowling practice, though not sure when….
This weekend we are going to Green Bay to freeze to death at the Falcons/Packers game.
Friday night 12/13 or Sunday 12/15 might work…
12/13 is out for me because I’m committed to a going-away happy hour, dinner, karaoke night. I’m planning on doing Black Sheep on 12/15 but could be convinced to bowl instead.
there’s always bowling after Black Sheep…….. LOL
Or – the weekend after Christmas, before New Years.