Opportunities Await

What a day, what a day!  I woke up and began cleaning my house. I'm going to tell y'all right now - Never let your home go a long time without cleaning.  I cannot stress that enough.  It took me three days to clean!  Dusting should happen regularly - duly noted. hahaha  For 2012, I'm going to work on maintaining a clean/tidy home and committing to weekly cleaning. It takes me back to being a kid and cleaning every Saturday before I could leave the house.  I need to commit to that and make that a standing date with my home.

1. Speaking of dates - I had another great one tonight. Here's to more of the same. Oh, and I love the gift I got. Very thoughtful. You're such a smooth operator. :0)
2. I just saw the new Robin Thicke video for "Love After War" and the new Monica video for "Until it's Gone" - I love both songs and the videos. 
3. Now that I have a clean home again, I have to say that I really love it. I added new lighting to my bedroom and it looks so much better. You can do magical things with IKEA  lighting options. I'll be adding new lights to the living room, too. 
4. OOoh - I have hot water in the house again. Gotta love that!  That's one of those modern amenities that humans have taken for granted.  When you suddenly don't have hot water you quickly realize how much you depend on it being there.  Granted, I had options but I'm happy that I now get to exercise those options in my home again.
5. I love having this sense of feeling good about lots of things. Life. Creativity. Dating. Friendships. Work. Doing this blog allows me to stay positive about things and opens my life up to many opportunities.

Water Heater Heaven.

It's funny how things happen in life.  Today I needed a new water heater. I knew this day was coming - I had only hoped that it would hold out another month or two.  I guess it couldn't go on living this way and after 25 years of service it passed on to water heater heaven. Now I just have to lay it to rest as my wallet gives birth to a new one and birthin' water heaters is NOT cheap!

Here are some other funny (and not as financially draining) things that happened today.

1. A friend of mind decided that she would post pictures she had scanned onto Facebook.  Well, I didn't mind too much. It definitely gave me a lot of laughs. I loved strolling down memory lane.  She says there are more to come, too.  Scary - but it's like a train wreck. You just can't bare NOT to watch. Flashback with me to the late 90s, early 00s with the pictures below.
2. I laughed the hardest tonight I was thinking that VG would say he were most like "Samantha Jones" from Sex and the City.  I probably woke my roommate up because I was laughing so hard. I love a good belly laugh!
3. IKEA was packed today. I guess everyone is still off (like I am).  I got an amazing deal on a desk lamp. Only $5.99 AND it came with the light bulb.  You can't beat that with a stick!
4. When I was at Home Depot trying to buy a water heater, I asked the sales guy how much delivery and installation usually ran.  When he told me it was $350, I couldn't help but laugh.  Laughter helps me relax from shock. I was definitely shocked at that amount considering it was more than the water heater.  It's important that you find humor is challenging times.  I love that I am able to do that.
5. I love that I now have a date for not only tomorrow night but also Sunday. Great idea, VG. I wish I had thought of it.  I'll take care of that next time! hahahaha :0) Great way to kick off 2012!

I'm guessing this was from some formal dance. It's truly a shame that I don't remember. hahaha

What I remember about this photo is that I LOVED this shirt. I had gotten it at Walmart.
Oh, and I'm drinking beer from a shoe. That's just what we did. Don't ask why. hahahaha

Spring break 2000? We were all grad students and went to NYC. I remember it being
crazy cold some days.  We had a blast though. WV - VA - MD - NJ - NYC all in a week.

Whoa! Who is this girl? LOL I remember don't remember - but clearly I knew her.
Graduate School was some awesomely good times!

All I Got Rid of Were Some Lousy T-Shirts

Wow.  The day got away from me.  Between my workout, purging things from my house and phone conversations I went to bed without posting to the blog.  I haven't missed an entire day yet and I don't plan on it.. so here we go!

1. Working at a university (especially in the department I work in) you collect plenty of t-shirts. I bagged up 5 garbage bags of mostly t-shirts. RIDICULOUS!  I started thinking about how much cotton that was and what it could potentially be made into by recycling. I also donated lots of pants and a few coats that were all now too big for me to wear (yay me!) Hopefully some folks who shop at the Salvation Army will get some use out of my donated items.
2. Running every couple of days is showing its benefits.  As I was stretching before my run I noticed two things.  1 - I can touch my toes without too much effort now. 2 - My legs are looking so tone!  hahaha I love it.  I began adding weight training after my runs now, too. I can't wait for the results of this training to show itself. 
3. The cleaning process of my home continues.  I have all of this artwork and I haven't done a damn thing with it.  That's changing. I'm loving how it's all coming together.  After a trip to Ikea, it'll be near completion.
4. Hahahaha I LOVE this video.  MakeHomosexualsMarry. So clever.
5. I loved the response a couple of my posts on Facebook got.  It brought back a lot of memories.

Diamond YoYos

What a rainy day it was today.  It caused me to not want to leave the house - instead I chose to clean.  I was doing well there for a while.  The area most affected was my office.  It's still looking cluttered but tomorrow I will fix that. Then I'll have to clean out my car if it's not raining.  You see, this is the time of year where you start to make resolutions.  This year, my resolutions will focus on finances and clutter.  Both are pretty messy for me right now. hahahaha Time to get real! Where is Suze Orman?

1. I found a cool "De-Clutter Your Home" calendar online.  It gives you one thing to do each day of the week. I'm going to give it a shot. Download it!
2. Today I learned that dusting is imperative.  There's nothing like having friends coming over that you clean your home really well. Gotta love having friends. hahaha This also goes for dates and your vehicle. Last time I wasn't prepared for someone to be in my car but you better believe I'll be prepared this time. hahahahahahahaha
3. Watching YouTube videos (that are gross and silly yet hilarious) was a good time tonight.
4. Speaking of watching something - I also watched the Kennedy Center Honors. I love watching this program each year. I always discover someone new.  Tonight I learned about Sonny Rollins.  I had heard his music before (jazz) but hadn't recognized that it was him until they played his music to honor him. He played with some of the greats of jazz - Coltrane, Dizzy and Miles to name a few. I didn't even know who Barbara Cook was until tonight - although I have heard a lot of her songs.  Thank you Kennedy Center Honors for raising this guys knowledge of the performing arts another level. Yo Yo Ma  and Neil Diamond haven't been presented yet and I'm excited about those!
5. Today I went through my closets and pulled out everything that was too big to wear so that I can give them to charity. It's awesome that things are too big to wear but dammit, now I need to replace some of these things.  :0) 

Let's Get Physical, Physical.. I Wanna Get Physical...

It ain't the type of physical you might be thinkin'!  I was doing some work around the house.  I bought the parts to stack my washer and dryer and my roommate helped me with the install. Man that was a heavy piece of machinery!  It's up there now. WHEW! My right shoulder is now sore and it's 12:04 AM.. I hope it's not worse tomorrow.  My next challenge is to install this new power cord to the dryer - the current one is now not long enough to reach the outlet.  The physical work is never done because I'm also supposed to go to the gym tomorrow.  Oh well - I'm thankful for being able to be physical. Things could always be worse - but this blog is all about positivity, right? LOLOLOL Let's get to it!

1. I ventured out to the stores - well, Old Navy that is.  I got a great deal on a couple of sweaters and a pair of jeans.  I finally have a sweater that's not navy or black. It's green!!
2. My neighborly neighbor, Don came by to invite me over to drinks. That was really nice of him.
3. While at my neighbor's, Don's partner's parents were over visiting as well. I love talking to them. They are so laid back and open to topics of conversation.  I have always gravitated to talking to the parents of friends of mine. It was a very enjoyable conversation. 
4. That chicken I made in the crock pot yesterday - um, yes, it is STILL delicious.  I love a crock potted chicken.  
5. Tonight Big Mac (my dog) moseyed on outside the front door as I was talking with my neighbor on the porch. He went a few houses down until I called his name and he came running back into the house with no complications to get him inside.  This dog is TRAINED!  I love that and I love that he is such a good boy.  When we both got in the house I praised him and gave him two treats. 

Do They Know It's Christmas Time At All?

Had you come to my house you wouldn't have really known it was Christmas.  I mean, there are decorations up but there were no excited kids running around - just an anxious dog. I'm sure he has no clue that it's Christmas. He just knows that he got this humongous bone to gnaw on for the next couple of days and he's perfectly content to lie on his bed trying to devour it. 

1. Today I woke up on a mission.  To bake a red velvet cake.  Mission Accomplished. It's really tasty. I also cooked a whole chicken in my crock pot.  Did you know that crock pots make an extremely tender chicken??  Mmm
2. The second mission of my day was to clear out the laundry area and prep it for stacking the dryer on top of the washer.  I should have done this a LONG time ago. I don't know what I was waiting for. Tomorrow it will be stacked and I will gain a ton more space!
3. If you know me well enough, you know I love popcorn.  More specifically - Movie Popcorn with the butter flavoring put on in layers. YUM!  Tonight I had that snack as I watched Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. 
4. One of the gifts that I got today was a gray plaid shirt with a bit of purple in it. I love this shirt and can't wait to wear it. 
5. Is it weird that I spent part of my Christmas weather stripping the doors?  LOL  They were a bit drafty. I'm happy that I've resolved those drafty issues.  Next, I'll tackle my car.

T'was the Night Before Christmas

It's Christmas Eve and I've been doing things all day.  Staying busy and finally slowing down this evening caused me to think about how, in the last five years I have kept myself occupied with a laundry list of tasks.  I remember the time when the weekend would roll around and I would be bored - just waiting on the night to arrive so that I could have a night out on the town. The only problem with that is that I would sometimes "do the most" and be out until dawn and recuperating the rest of the day.

Staying busy also helps to pass the time.  With it being Christmastime I find myself missing some of the traditional things that used to happen when I was younger that hadn't really happened in over 10 years.  Wrapping gifts. Giving gifts. Being around family.  Seeing friends.  It all sounds a bit sad in some regard - and it is on some level. LOL However, I'm not going to be a Debbie Downer any longer. :0)

1. Tonight I'm visiting one of my friends who is having a get together. There's nothing like food, fun, and friends - oh and a little wine and other libations!
2. Wow, someone made a purchase from my Etsy Shop on Christmas Eve.  That's awesome!  I hope customers do the same thing when the clearance sale starts on Monday. hahahaha
3. I went to the gym. I was determined.  Determination got me to run for 28 minutes continuously. I should also add that I did some weight training, too! Boo-Yaaaaah!
4. Pinot Grigio - I heart you.
5. I met three new friends tonight. Gotta love that.  I talked to them about what their passion is.  One girl bakes for fun and taught me a new type of frosting - ROYAL FROSTING!  I encouraged her to look into selling them.  Her cookies and brownies looked and were amazing.  She has a knack for it.