Teacup display!

Tonight I finally achieved a long held goal. When we helped clean out my Grandmother's house two years ago, I was able to take her teacup collection. I packed up the selected teacups carefully in a box and promptly stored them away, not knowing what to do with them. Then, a few months ago I was helping a friend clean (a pregnant friend in need - don't think this is something I do regularly...), and we cleaned her teacup collection. That inspired me to do a little research. I found some teacup racks and figured out exactly the right place to put them, and tonight I finally did it! I'm so excited to have my grandmother's teacups on display, as well as have some additional beauty in my breakfast room. :)

7 quick takes

1. I'm napping a lot these days. The skylights have a patch of sunlight that travels right along the sofa in the living room - perfect place for an afternoon nap!
2. Napping is important today, because Dale and I are going to the Imax version of Star Trek tonight, at 11:15 pm!
3. I'm working on offloading a bunch of my digital pictures to CD, but first I'm trying to make a DVD of them. If only I could do that and take a nap at the same time, all would be well...
4. I have to write a 5 page paper on my cultural background. I'm finding it a challenge, being as I'm white, American, middle class, etc. Hard to see your cultural heritage when it's all around you.
5. I noticed a freshly dug hole next to my mondo grass planting this morning. I'll be "fertilizing" it with some cat poop later today. I swear, my squirrels are out to get me.
6. The squirrels are eating our house - did we mention that? We've actually sat and watched them eat our siding. Yummy cedar...
7. I ordered teacup display stands yesterday! I can't wait for them to arrive so I can finally display my inherited tea cup collection.
BONUS: I'm digging up a friend's excess violets this weekend and planting them in my fully shaded backyard. The ones I already have are doing well, and the squirrels don't eat them!

squirrels!!!!

Last fall I planted 5 Hosta plants. This spring I was disappointed to notice that only 1 of them sprouted and grew. But at least I had one. Then, today, I was out in the yard tending to the compost heap and I noticed that my beautiful hosta plant was gone! GONE! Nothing left but a small hole. I know what happened. A squirrel dug it out! Bastard squirrels! But I have had my revenge. I went to the litter box and there was a perfect little cat turd, unburied. So I scooped it out and dumped it straight in the hole. Hopefully the scent of predator spoor will scare those buggers away from my plants!

$45 store credit!!

So Dale and I finally purged the VHS tape collection last weekend. I took them to our church garage sale and sold 15 of them for $3. Then I decided to take the rest to Edward McKay used books. I had pretty low expectations, especially when they said they had a lot of humor and action, but it turned out that they took all but 4 of the tapes! And at 75 cents per tape, we got $45 store credit! woo-hoo!! I find this very exciting. Dale and I bought 4 books and 2 DVD's and still have store credit left over. I immediately came home and purged my book shelf and will go back again soon - they pay cash for books. :)

7 quick takes

1. Now that all the finales are over, what ever will we do with our evenings? Thank goodness for Netflix!
2. I can't wait to see Star Trek on the Imax screen, hopefully next weekend!
3. I planted several plants today. Hopefully some will start to aggressively take over the shade weeds proliferating in our tree-tented back yard.
4. I also planted marigolds to keep bugs away from my butterfly bush and basil plants. Any other organic bug solutions besides soapy water?
5. I've already screwed up one assignment in one of my classes this week. Oh well, all I have to do is pass!
6. Biking around the hilly neighborhood is a WHOLE different ballgame from 25 minutes on the stationary gym bike.
7. I'm selling stuff at a church yard sale tomorrow. The biggest challenge will be to not buy anyone else's stuff!

I graduated!

Yep, I've graduated. I sat in the beautiful, gorgeous sun, without a drop of rain or cloud in the sky (thanks to all who prayed!) and walked across the stage and received a lovely scroll informing me that my diploma would arrive in the mail later. It was a great day. I got to celebrate with family and friends and I got my sunny graduation, hurrah!
Now if only I didn't have to finish up these 2 last classes! Which are proving to be quite a lot of work already. And then, in typical Elaine fashion, I will take 1 week off when class is over and begin my job on July 6th. I'm very good at filling in blanks in my schedule. :)

Scaring the Sand People?

Apparently, part of the functionality of my new robes is being able to scare away Sand People, a la Obi Wan Kenobe.

Watch me graduate from the comfort of your living room!

http://www.regent.edu/events/commencement/2009/commence_online.cfm

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100 things I can do

1. Make delicious bread of all kinds
2. Work out on a regular basis
3. Laugh at myself
4. Balance my checkbook
5. Drive stick shift
6. Sing
7. Play the piano and pipe organ
8. Write fiction
9. Teach people stuff
10. Take medication willingly in order to keep my precious kitties with me
11. Grow really long hair really fast
12. Wrap my ankles around my neck
13. Wiggle my ears
14. Roll my tongue
15. Dress to conceal my belly pooch
16. Floss my teeth really well
17. Counted cross-stitch
18. Read really fast (as in, read entire 7th Harry Potter book in 1 night)
19. Ask a lot of questions
20. Be around people and enjoy it a lot
21. Manage my life using the iPhone
22. Make my pastor laugh
23. Make my husband laugh
24. Make my cat Duchess very very angry
25. Make my cats Shadow and Pipsqueak very very happy
26. Do all our laundry in 1 day every other week
27. Grow flowers
28. Throw parties
29. Plan meals
30. Win money in Vegas and walk away with the winnings
31. Smoke a cigar
32. Do really challenging Sudoku puzzles
33. Remember things I read for years
34. Remember clothes I had 15 years ago
35. Shop for myself or for others, for any item
36. Take people to get bras fitted at Nordstrom's
37. Make slipcovers for furniture
38. Stain wood
39. Replace light fixtures
40. Draw floor plans to scale
41. Paint furniture
42. Purge items (even though it hurts)
43. Let go of the past
44. Wear my hair straight or curly
45. believe in miracles
46. Make delicious limeade
47. Write a novel (I'm in process, but thinking positively here)
48. Appreciate what an awesome husband I have!
49. Love my body the way it is and the way it isn't
50. Refrain from eating when I'm hungry
51. Refrain from eating when I'm bored
52. Use rewards liberally to motivate myself
53. Forgive myself
54. Forgive others (but only with a lot of God's grace)
55. Cover my desk with heaps of books and papers in just a week
56. Clean off my desk at least twice a year
57. Keep organized financial files
58. Keep track of oil changes
59. Check my tire air pressure
60. Check my car oil level
61. Keep people's secrets (as long as they tell me it's a secret)
62. Listen to people sympathetically
63. Earn people's trust
64. Apologize when necessary
65. Admit my excessive pride
66. Beat Dale at chess (slightly more than half the time)
67. Beat Dale at Tetris
68. Dance while cooking
69. Sit in the hot tub regardless of the outdoor temperature
70. Make dirt (ok, I just make compost, but it results in dirt, how cool!)
71. Care about people I've never met
72. Make good grades
73. Fall asleep in my hammock
74. Parallel park my car
75. Back into a parking space
76. Ride a bike
77. Use a nail gun
78. Meditate
79. Watch all 4 Alien movies over and over again
80. Show movies on the equipment at church
81. Pray for people
82. Talk too much
83. Tell funny stories
84. Clean up really disgusting things without being grossed out
85. Hold and handle snakes (non-poisonous)
86. Give honest opinions and advice in dressing rooms
87. Shop for 2 or 3 days straight
88. Make my own mango guacamole
89. Buy local produce at my local farmer's market
90. Turn off my phone and be unavailable if necessary
91. Say no to people when necessary
92. Say yes to people when necessary
93. Relate to teenagers
94. Play Twister and win
95. Hide my thoughts and opinions
96. Usually find a good balance of personal and "work" life
97. Make nice centerpieces for my table
98. Appreciate a good brainless action movie every now and then
99. Go for weeks without looking at Facebook
100. Find spiritual themes in ordinary movies and TV shows and books

100 things I can't do

Idea borrowed from 10 Minute Writer, to be followed by a list of 100 things I can do!
1. A pull up
2. Run for any length of time or distance
3. Fly a plane
4. Watch violent TV shows like CSI
5. Knit
6. Crochet
7. Get Duchess to willingly sit in my lap
8. Keep Shadow from constantly trying to sit in my lap
9. Grow long fingernails
10. Watch bankruptcy commercials without becoming annoyed
11. Listen to politic talk shows
12. Watch TV news without becoming annoyed
13. Stand to think about mountaintop removal mining - destroying mountains to get a non-renewable energy resource, are you kidding me?
14. Open the sunroof of my car (gotta get that button fixed before summer!)
15. Not wear my watch
16. Eat M&M, Skittles, or Reese's Pieces in odd amounts (must always have an even number in my mouth)
17. Stand Mexican food
18. Watch golf without falling asleep
19. Enjoy watching UNC win basketball games
20. Stand spiders
21. Believe that I got an awesome job post-graduation without using resumes or interviews, yay God!
22. Believe that God really does forgive me instantly and for every sin, even the ones I don't know about (wow, God is good).
23. Contemplate life without Dale
24. Wait to go to Italy next year!
25. Text and drive at the same time (and no one else can either!)
26. Keep my bathroom clean
27. Stand the smell of cat litterboxes
28. Believe I'm graduating in 5 days!
29. Understand God (but then, who can?)
30. Play the violin
31. Speak any foreign language
32. Invent recipes
33. Crossword puzzles
34. Those physical puzzles, like the wood and nail ones
35. Stay warm in the winter
36. Stand super air conditioning in the summer
37. Stand cold rain
38. Open twist-off bottle caps (it hurts my delicate skin!)
39. Unclog a toilet
40. Clean without losing something
41. Lift more than 7.5 pounds without hurting something (when weight-lifting)
42. Believe that no one notices the 20 pounds I put on since college
43. Understand why I still get zits
44. Understand why I no longer tan well
45. Listen to reggae music
46. Play Guitar Hero
47. Play any video game with the handheld controllers
48. Beat Dale at Frogger
49. Beat Dale at Super Breakout
50. Beat Dale at Donkey Kong
51. Understand why the Losties left the caves in Season 1 and 2
52. Understand any poetry except poems by Margaret Atwood and Emily Dickinson
53. Read super-depressing books
54. Find good tablecloths
55. Enjoy drinking water unless I'm working out
56. Work out more than twice a week without an accountability partner
57. Remember to avoid rubbing my face when I'm wearing makeup
58. Stay awake on Sunday afternoons
59. Stay asleep for more than 6 hours
60. Watch Dr. Phil
61. Believe how difficult making this list is! (Tomorrow's list should be easier)
62. Believe how much I used to worry about everything.
63. Avoid talking to my plants when I tend to them
64. Find a way to keep squirrels from digging up my garden
65. Find a way to keep squirrels from chewing up our house
66. Find it in my heart to be mad at the squirrels
67. Do illegal drugs
68. Steal
69. Lie very well
70. Keep my temper when computers malfunction
71. Stand shopping at WalMart
72. Believe the amount of car and WalMart commercials currently running
73. Stop watching those "judge" shows when I'm working out (it's a guilty secret)
74. Decide when I should next cut my hair short
75. Be anything but grateful to God for the awesome life He's blessed me with
76. Only use the masculine pronoun for God - I think She likes both
77. Eat spicy food
78. Eat food with too much pepper (this counts as spicy food)
79. Think of words without thinking of colors too
80. Wear high heels
81. Wear pantyhose (that's really more a "won't" than a "can't")
82. Stand the thought of getting laser eye surgery
83. Enjoy iced tea, sweetened or unsweetened
84. Eat McDonald's
85. Eat fast food breakfast food
86. get as good quality pictures from my digital camera as I did from my regular camera
87. Trust hotel alarm clocks
88. Pick a quick line in the grocery store (or anywhere else)
89. Create new and tasty salads
90. Eat enough vegetables
91. Not each chocolate every day
92. Wear thongs (People who say high heels and thongs are comfortable have ISSUES)
93. Kiss my elbow
94. Carry a big over-the-shoulder purse
95. Keep my hands and feet warm
96. Sleep well in a strange place
97. Believe how totally awesome CoverGirl Outlast lipstick is
98. Wait for the Star Trek movie to come out (just 4 more days!)
99. Believe that I'm already 34
100. Get through the day without prayer.

Pride goeth before a fall?

So today I had 3 tasks. Bake chocolate bread, bake sandwich bread, and attend wedding shower. The shower is at 1:00, so my plan was to make the chocolate bread this morning, attend the shower, then make the sandwich bread. Fine. But this morning, I got up at 6:00 am, bright and awake. It helps that I went to bed last night at 8:30...
So I got the chocolate bread in the oven by 8:00 and started thinking, oooh, I could make the sandwich bread now! But I decided not to. Then I would be juggling breads, probably make a mistake, etc. So I went back to bed for some cuddling with Dale. Dale, however, was fast asleep, so after a few minutes, I boldly returned to the kitchen to make sandwich bread. I was confident I could handle it. (and maybe my breakfast of brownie and caffeinated tea had something to do with that!)
So I got going. This bread is complicated. You have to heat up 2.25 cups of water, then divide the water between the yeast and a raisin mixture of oil, honey, sugar, and raisins. Then you have to premix 3 types of flour. Next, you blend the raisin mixture, and finally, you add the yeast, raisin mixture, and remaining water to the flour. I did all this. No problems. Then I started adding flour. That's when I noticed the dough was really watery. REALLY watery. And I looked at my liquid measuring cup. It was a 4 cup measure, not a 2 cup measure! But I wanted to make that bread, and I didn't want to throw out my dough, so I boldly decided to double the recipe. I frantically re heated water, remixed raisins & yeast, added more flour, and combined. Next I had to knead it, but the bowl of my mixer was overflowing, so I did it by hand. It was massive. Naturally, the chocolate bread was done precisely when the kneading was, which meant my hands were coated with a thick layer (at least 1/2 inch) of raw dough. Fun! Also, my rising bowl is a little too small, so I had to watch it like a hawk - letting it rise exactly to the highest point before overflow. Now my bread is in its bread pans, waiting cooking. I will have the afternoon off. But will my bread be good?

Why pay for TV?

Dale and I cancelled our TV almost 2 years ago. We bought a pair of bunny ears and watched whatever channels we could pick up. Then we used a coupon to go digital, and the quality drastically improved – in fact, unless it's really windy, our picture is just as good as cable. Not to mention, most TV shows are available online now.
So here's the thing – I know people like speciality channels so they can watch TopChef or Design on a Dime or Mythbusters. But there just isn't enough programming to really make those channels worthwhile. Last spring, Dale and I were in Amherst for his graduation and we flipped on the TV, fully intending to enjoy our cable selections. Of our 3 favorite cable channels, all three shows were reruns. Yes, after a year of no cable, our first opportunity to watch cable was old programming. Oh, and at our gym, we have a selection of cable channels. I've been really enjoying catching up on Frasier, Will & Grace, and the Cosby show. Are you kidding me? People are paying money to companies which are basically putting out miniscule quantities of new material! It's like the cable company's fantasy!
Now, I know sports fans like to watch their games, and for that you need cable. But sadly, you have to get all the channels. Another racket. The cable companies don't want you to be able to select just the channels you want – that free market system might make crappy channels that depend on reruns die!
Sure, it's a little inconvenient when wind makes the reception choppy. And yeah, occasionally we miss watching our favorite cable channels. But on the other hand, I no longer have the desire to make my house look like a showroom, cook fantastic meals in 30 minutes, or constantly buy the latest fashions. Sounds like a good trade-off for me...
Oh, and this is by no means a slam on people who have cable. Just my rambling thoughts about it...