Tidbits of Randomness!

I want to clean up the list a bit and close out some close-able goals that have been hanging on for a while!

Memorize all the world capitals. Goal Date: 12/8. Completed 12/7. This includes placing all countries on a map as well. I’ve got 96% but have trouble holding it all in head at one time. Daily review!

Watch Ken Burns’ The War. Goal Date: 12/20. I’ve watched 2 of 6 discs.

Visit the Galapagos. Goal Date: 1/12. This will be completed when, naturally, I return from my trip to the Galapagos :)

Read ten books I feel I “should” have read. Goal date: 1/31. Would be sooner, but I am trying to get to Darwin books before my trip to the Galapagos.

Collect all the state quarters. Goal date: 1/31. This, of course, requires the universe’s cooperation.

Learn The Devil Went Down to Georgia on the violin. Goal date: 1/31. I just have to sit down and do it. 1-2 hours max.

So my fiance’s mother is so very sweet, and at Thanksgiving she gave each of us a few Christmas presents since we’ll be at my family’s at Christmas.
Well, I was delighted to recieve the very same lovely wool scarf I had gotten in Ireland and given to her a few years ago. With the package still intact. She was sure I would like it. Yeah, since I liked it enough to give to her in the first place!
If you choose to regift, don’t give it back to the person who gave it to you!!!

This annoyed me and have to get it off my chest. Overall I have a very nice group of neighbors…in my court there are about 8 houses: a few older people, young couples with kids, and me (a single woman).
Yesterday we all got an email from one woman who is about 65 and retired:
Hi Neighbors,
I usually do my best to take care of my property. However, I was unable to remove the leaves this week. I will be removing them this weekend to keep our Court looking nice.
Thanks,
Regina

Um, hello, passive aggressive?! Only one person has even raked yet! We’re all busy with lives, jobs, health constraints, all of the above…I thought maybe I was just being sensitive until I saw a couple of other neighbors out raking (!) and we were all commiserating.

Took this test of 240 questions and here are my top 5 strengths:

Your Top Strength
Love of learning
You love learning new things, whether in a class or on your own. You have always loved school, reading, and museums-anywhere and everywhere there is an opportunity to learn.

Your Second Strength
Appreciation of beauty and excellence
You notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.

Your Third Strength
Gratitude
You are aware of the good things that happen to you, and you never take them for granted. Your friends and family members know that you are a grateful person because you always take the time to express your thanks.

Your Fourth Strength
Curiosity and interest in the world
You are curious about everything. You are always asking questions, and you find all subjects and topics fascinating. You like exploration and discovery.

Your Fifth Strength
Industry, diligence, and perseverance
You work hard to finish what you start. No matter the project, you “get it out the door” in timely fashion. You do not get distracted when you work, and you take satisfaction in completing tasks.

Ha: when I look at all 24, the lowest was “modesty and humility” and then “self-control” (hello 30 extra pounds!)

Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn
If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus
The Cure for Modern Life by Lisa Tucker
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg
The Beach House by Jane Green
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

November books:
The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho
College Girl by Patricia Weitz
The Sunday Philosophers’ Club by Alexander McCall
Friends, Lovers, and Chocolate by Alexander McCall
The Art of Keeping Secrets by Patti Callahan Henry

December books: (as I go…)
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
About a Boy by Nick Hornby

So my boyfriend’s mother gives me gifts ALL THE TIME! Which is really very sweet. Except NONE of them are my taste/style. I love clean modern and she gives me country! No big deal: I display things when she comes to visit.
So she’s given me two Coach bags but both are emblazoned with logos. Hrm. Not returnable either. So after staring at them for a while, I decide to sell them. I posted them on Craigslist for about 1/3 retail, so someone writes to ask about authenticity. Hmm. I can’t IMAGINE her giving me a fake bag and passing it off as real!!? But I read up online, and it turns out that the bigger bag, the one that made me feel guilty because she must have spent a couple hundred bucks on it, is FAKE!!! It has 4 of the warning signs. HAHAHA! SO I told my boyfriend and he says, “Oh! That must have been what she was buying that time my Dad said they went in a back alley in NYC and had to pay cash and they weren’t allowed to take pictures.”
Gotta love it.

The kittens went to the shelter today because they are ready to be adopted (don’t worry: it’s a no-kill shelter!) They just like for the kittens to be raised in a home….I miss them already! Having to leave them in a cage and walk away while they whined for me was more than a little heartbreaking. I am going to go and visit tomorrow…probably some will be adopted soon: they are particularly cute! (Or maybe I just think that because I’m their mother…) Mom cat Ginger is moping around the house. Sigh.

• I have never EVER been this hungry in my life.
• Being 30 pounds overweight is not “the tragedy of my life” like it seems to me sometimes. It’s not the end of the world. At least I have food to eat and the means to buy it.
• Food tastes really good when you are this hungry. Even vegetables.
• Normally, I keep having to eat more and worse-for-me foods like an addiction to get my “fix”. If I could find some balance, I’d be able to still enjoy small amounts of yummy things without needing MORE SOONER the next time.
• This reset my brain like when you’re sick and you lose your appetite and you realize that having no appetite is way worse than having to watch what you eat or being hungry.
• I need fuel to make my brain work and to move around.
• I spend WAY too much time thinking about food: when I’m going to eat next, what I’m going to eat…no wonder I’m addicted!
• A lot of what I love about dining out or my daily Subway fix is the structure it gives. At lunch it’s a chance to get away from work and read a book and get out of my own head. Perhaps there’s a way to retain that sense of an “event” that I like so much without the negative consequences (i.e. Cheetos, or 3 drinks out at my favorite pub.)
• I have an amazing amount of willpower when I choose to use it.
• I didn’t have any withdrawl from caffiene (Diet Coke).
• I couldn’t give a frak about alcohol right now. That’s a relief. All I want is some food!

July:
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (3rd time?!)
Love the One You’re With by Emily Giffin
The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes
Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy
Summer Reading by Hilma Wolitzer
T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton
As Good As It Got by Isabel Sharpe

August:
Sundays at Tiffany’s by James Patterson
Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty
Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons
Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos
Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center

September:
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Spilling Clarence by Anne Ursu
Thanks for the Memories by Cecilia Ahern
Knit Two by Kate Jacobs
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
This Charming Man by Marian Keyes

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen
The End of Overeating by Dr. David Kessler
Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch
The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center
Second Chance by Jane Green