I haven't made a new years resolution in years. Mostly because I don't feel the need to. If i put my mind to something chances are I will accomplish it. (with the exception of weight loss, mostly because my love of food is a far greater influence)
There are only two things I actually want for the new year. They are in no particular order, a job and to be able to pay my mortgage in order to keep the roof over my head.
In the interm i keep my fingers crossed and keep praying for a miracle in regard to both of the above...
Christmas Gifts 2010
So I finally finished my Xmas shopping today. what a rat race. I really do try to do as much shopping online at the holidays as possible because i find the patrons in the stores in my area to be very very rude. And as on of my family members says, "God don't like ugly". But this year online shopping was not to be for me and to the stores i went (today and on black friday). I would like to share some of my bounty with you. Let me know what you think. {please note that I did not take any of these pictures}
For mother we got her a few things that she wanted this year and one or two thing she doesnt know she is getting.
She wanted this cast iron enamel coated 5 qt (in red of course) pot, so she is getting that. (let me tell you, this sucker is heavy as sh!t and what a burden to lug this all over the store on black friday. Let me tell you, thats love.... LOL!!!
Up next is something else she wanted for her trip to Europe next summer.... (this isnt the exact one I got her, but its more or less the same thing, just from a different company)
Oh and next is the item she doesnt know that she is getting. if you remember from last year's blog post, I bought mom two cookie jars. well this year, that will continue again with a double decker cookie jar (so technically two again) from pfelzcraft's winterberry collection...
Mom loves all things christmas, so i figured she would like this one. Next year I will have to consult her on the addition of more cookie jars, since a kitchen can only hold so many and these aren't exactly small pieces. haha.
Now for dad's gift.... I knew what I was getting him a long time ago, it just took me forever to find the right one. It came in tonight via UPS and I was so excited that I had to share what I was getting with mother and sister via text message. Mom called back to say that he is going to love it. I really do hope so. It appeals to his meticulous nature in knowing how things work etc....
Its a Stuhrling watch. Its amazing and I am honestly in love with it. I can''t wait for him to open it. Got him a couple of other things as well that I wont bother scavenging the internet for pictures of. He will also be getting a Mel Brooks movie (sure to drive mother insane) and a T-shirt. I spent most of the money on his watch, so his other gifts total a whopping $15 total!!! I just think you should have more than one thing to open on Christmas, so he gets little stuff on top. ;-)
Kris, is all about opening numerous things, so she gets a bunch of stuff as well, small stuff this year, last year she got a brand new Ipod. Might torture her with the box in a box in a box in a box etc to get her stuff. Cause that is always fun for torturing teenagers. especially when they are sisters ;-) Its all about love...
Now for the rest of the family, hmmm.... they have the potential of accessing this info, so we will leave their gifts out for now and will post them after they open them. I hope everyone likes what I got them, because as I said last year, I have this overwhelming compulsion to buy things for people at Christmas even though I can't afford them. Why, who knows. I suppose its just my nature to make the people in my life happy.
I will do my best to have it all wrapped up and under the tree tomorrow to take a picture of and show you all what a gift filled tree looks like :-)
For mother we got her a few things that she wanted this year and one or two thing she doesnt know she is getting.
She wanted this cast iron enamel coated 5 qt (in red of course) pot, so she is getting that. (let me tell you, this sucker is heavy as sh!t and what a burden to lug this all over the store on black friday. Let me tell you, thats love.... LOL!!!
Up next is something else she wanted for her trip to Europe next summer.... (this isnt the exact one I got her, but its more or less the same thing, just from a different company)
Oh and next is the item she doesnt know that she is getting. if you remember from last year's blog post, I bought mom two cookie jars. well this year, that will continue again with a double decker cookie jar (so technically two again) from pfelzcraft's winterberry collection...
Now for dad's gift.... I knew what I was getting him a long time ago, it just took me forever to find the right one. It came in tonight via UPS and I was so excited that I had to share what I was getting with mother and sister via text message. Mom called back to say that he is going to love it. I really do hope so. It appeals to his meticulous nature in knowing how things work etc....
Kris, is all about opening numerous things, so she gets a bunch of stuff as well, small stuff this year, last year she got a brand new Ipod. Might torture her with the box in a box in a box in a box etc to get her stuff. Cause that is always fun for torturing teenagers. especially when they are sisters ;-) Its all about love...
Now for the rest of the family, hmmm.... they have the potential of accessing this info, so we will leave their gifts out for now and will post them after they open them. I hope everyone likes what I got them, because as I said last year, I have this overwhelming compulsion to buy things for people at Christmas even though I can't afford them. Why, who knows. I suppose its just my nature to make the people in my life happy.
I will do my best to have it all wrapped up and under the tree tomorrow to take a picture of and show you all what a gift filled tree looks like :-)
Winding down the year
This year, the year 2010 will be gone and only a memory in 11 short days. Its amazing how quickly a year goes by. In the past year many things have happened, I lost my job, I went to 3 weddings, watched a friend who was married only a year before give birth to their first child, I went to "long term" for the first time with our scout troop, got to see a child have appendicitis up close and personal (not at the top of the thrill list), I watched my father get a new job that is actually worth his talents, I've gained and lost friendships, went to atlantic city for the first time, went to visit colleges with my sister (which made me feel really old), celebrated birthdays and who knows what else. In cyber space I always appear to be on the run. But for me Its a normal activity level.
Don't get me wrong, keeping busy is what keeps me from going insane. But I really do wish I could be far more active with things around my house, like cleaning and laundry. two things I loathe with pretty much every fiber of my being. Overall for me personally Its been a somewhat depressing year, all 100% faulted to the loss of my job. A few other things have contributed to the depression/funk that I am in, but the loss of the job takes 100% of the blame.
I thought I would have come farther in my life goals. I thought that at this point in my life I would be engaged and planning a wedding if not already married. I thought that I would be beginning a family of my own. thought that I would have a good and stable job. There are lots of things I wish were different in my life. However, how can I really complain? I have a roof over my head. the lights are still on, my cubbards are remarkable not bare, the water is still running, i still have a cell phone, directv, a gym membership (this is only cause I am under contract and its a mere $20 per month) and various other small luxuries that until recently I have taken for granted. Most importantly I have my health and my life and my kitties :-)
There are lots of many little things in my life that I want to change and lots of large things I need to change (like my weight and getting a job) but overall do I really have the right to complain? My life is not to the standard that I have set for myself and while I try to work to get it back closer to that self-set-standard I bitch, moan, groan, whine, complain, & carryon about how its not perfect. People piss me off, attitudes and lack there of also annoy the ever living hell out of me, rude uncarring self centered mofo's also erk me to no end. Ive made a previous promise to my readers that this blog would no longer be an outlet for my random frustrations and venting, however a girl has to annonymously vent sometimes doesnt she? to just let it out for all the world to see and seemingly pay no mind to....
I do my best to keep it together and to keep from spinning out of control in my head over stupid shit, but its getting harder each day to not lash out. Mostly i wait until whomever or whatever is frustrating me to leave or me leave the situation and then I do a lot of mumbling, swearing under my breath, putzing around the house somewhat uselessly looking for things that I don't need (i went on a rant looking for a particular pen, dont ask).
Yet I go back to beginning of this post, where has 2010 gone???? Its gone by far to fast and it needs to be rewound a bit for me to get some things in order and on track. But since thats not going to happen, i suppose i will press on and move onward and hopefully upward. I still have the same goals for last year as I did for this year, and i will sum it up in two words, job & family.
Don't get me wrong, keeping busy is what keeps me from going insane. But I really do wish I could be far more active with things around my house, like cleaning and laundry. two things I loathe with pretty much every fiber of my being. Overall for me personally Its been a somewhat depressing year, all 100% faulted to the loss of my job. A few other things have contributed to the depression/funk that I am in, but the loss of the job takes 100% of the blame.
I thought I would have come farther in my life goals. I thought that at this point in my life I would be engaged and planning a wedding if not already married. I thought that I would be beginning a family of my own. thought that I would have a good and stable job. There are lots of things I wish were different in my life. However, how can I really complain? I have a roof over my head. the lights are still on, my cubbards are remarkable not bare, the water is still running, i still have a cell phone, directv, a gym membership (this is only cause I am under contract and its a mere $20 per month) and various other small luxuries that until recently I have taken for granted. Most importantly I have my health and my life and my kitties :-)
There are lots of many little things in my life that I want to change and lots of large things I need to change (like my weight and getting a job) but overall do I really have the right to complain? My life is not to the standard that I have set for myself and while I try to work to get it back closer to that self-set-standard I bitch, moan, groan, whine, complain, & carryon about how its not perfect. People piss me off, attitudes and lack there of also annoy the ever living hell out of me, rude uncarring self centered mofo's also erk me to no end. Ive made a previous promise to my readers that this blog would no longer be an outlet for my random frustrations and venting, however a girl has to annonymously vent sometimes doesnt she? to just let it out for all the world to see and seemingly pay no mind to....
I do my best to keep it together and to keep from spinning out of control in my head over stupid shit, but its getting harder each day to not lash out. Mostly i wait until whomever or whatever is frustrating me to leave or me leave the situation and then I do a lot of mumbling, swearing under my breath, putzing around the house somewhat uselessly looking for things that I don't need (i went on a rant looking for a particular pen, dont ask).
Yet I go back to beginning of this post, where has 2010 gone???? Its gone by far to fast and it needs to be rewound a bit for me to get some things in order and on track. But since thats not going to happen, i suppose i will press on and move onward and hopefully upward. I still have the same goals for last year as I did for this year, and i will sum it up in two words, job & family.
Holiday Greetings from our home to yours!!
For the first time ever we sent out Christmas photo cards. We didnt order many as we dont send out to many. our family is not very big, and not all of our friends wants pic's of pat's little sister in their home.
So from our home to yours (this is a picture in my home, that I took and lightly edited) Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, & Happy New Year!!!
So from our home to yours (this is a picture in my home, that I took and lightly edited) Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, & Happy New Year!!!
Weebit wednesday christmasy edition
So I'm still working on figuring out how to use photoshop. My favorite thing is working with the selective coloring effect. This is by far the funnest thing for me to work on. I didn't have a whole lot of time today to work on improving my skills, as I was working on other things around the house. But I did remember that today is wee-bit Wednesday, so we will start there
{one} did you buy a christmas tree this year?
no, not this year. I bought my fake tree 2 years ago.
{two} what is your favorite holiday tradition?
baking christmas cookies. By far my favorite thing ever to do at the holidays.
{three} do you open your gifts on christmas eve or christmas day?
christmas day. only once did we open our gifts on christmas eve, because we were traveling by plane the day after for a wedding.
{four} at what age did you stop believing in santa claus?
I cant recall exactly but I would say I was about 10 or so.
{five} do you fill stockings?
sure do :-)
{six} handmade presents or store bought presents?
mostly store bought, but handmade is always appreciated
{seven} do you have a favorite christmas meal?
can't say I do. but I will default to dessert and my moms most famous pink cookies.
{eight} is your christmas tree real or artificial?
artificial. I would love a real one some day, but my kitties like to climb the one I have (and one likes to eat it) so i think a real one is out of the question until the kitties outgrow the christmas crazies
{nine} what is your favorite christmas song?
I have a few actually. O Holy night, Silent Night, Silver Bells, and basically all the olden melodic type songs.
{ten} did you send out christmas cards this year?
no not yet. I have to do that tomorrow. its getting late....
Finally photoshop!!!
So I finally sat down and experimented with some basic stuff in photshop CS3. I did a selective color edit and added my signature in the bottom right hand corner. Its very basic. but hey, I tried. Let me know what you think...
I still have a ton to learn but I'm going to try one new thing a day. I don't have a full handle on all of the controls yet but I'm going to work on that too. :-)
Returning to Macro Friday
Its been a long time since I have posted a Macro Friday Entry. I haven't had any good macro shots lately but I hope you all like this one :-) I took it yesterday. its actually the new background for the blog layout, so now you get to see the whole photo. the color ornament is actually one of my favorite ornaments on my tree. :-)
wednesdays are awesome....
I love wednesdays. Wednesdays make me think. what do they make me think about you ask? 10 new things each week. some involve some serious thinking, and some are short thoughts or recollections. Its all about WeeBit Wednesdays.... Weeeeeeeeeeeee......
{one} if you were granted three wishes, what would they be?
ouch, thats tough for me. so many things in the world that I want in my life and for my life. if i had to choose only three i guess i would go with these..
1. i wish to always have enough money in my bank account that i never have to worry about paying my bills and buying the things i want
2. I wish for good health for all of the people in my life
3. I wish to have a job...
{two} who is your favorite author?
can't say I have a favorite author, but there are several that I read such as Dan Brown, Nelson DeMille, and James Patterson to name a few.
{three} what crowd were you involved in during high school?
lets see, thats a strange answer. lol. I was in the chior, the art club, the science club, the speech team, the recruitment squad, student government and the unrecognized group called the idiots society (hey dont knock it because of the name, we had elections, dues, a newsletter and regular meetings)
{four} what is your favorite thing to do when you have time to yourself?
thats easy, spend time on the sofa with my kitties while I watch a movie or something on my DVR.
{five} do you have any hidden talents?
not anymore. some people thinking i do, if you think i have a hidden talent let me know. LOL
{six} can you fake any accents?
nope. Im terrible at it. I start laughing at myself.
{seven} have you ever been mentioned in the newspaper?
yeah, but its a joke really. the local newspaper around here publishes the names of all the graduates of the local high schools and grade schools.
{eight} have you ever been arrested?
nope.
{nine} what is your favorite job you’ve had?
favorite so far has been working as a teller in a bank. the people I worked with were great and the job was fun and easy. I miss that job. Wish I could go back in time and never leave it.
{ten} do you have any scars?
i have a couple of small ones. one is right next to my right eye. i fell and cut my face open 3 days before x-mas when i was 5 years old. thats what happens when its 65 degrees out in NYC 3 days before x-mas. haha. my mom was so happy (insert dripping sarcasm here) with those x-mas photos that year.
Well beyond weebit wednesdays, its been a busy week. Weekly cub scout meeting last week, Committee Meeting tonight followed by the first meeting of the Blue & Gold Committee for the year. We've got some lofty ideas this year for the blue & gold. We also have a lot of work to do and need to recruit more people. Its a lot of work in general, but the blue & gold is really the highlight of the scouting year. Its the month of the year in which scouting was founded, that being february. so we as a scouting community take february and celebrate a Blue & gold Banquet/dinner & awards night. If its not in february its not a blue & gold. Blue & Gold are the cub scout colors, hence the name. There is a history of how the dinner came to be, but thats for another time and place. This year we are adding something new to our program for the evening...... a photo.
How do they look? I think they look adorable!!! Granted we were missing a couple of the kids, but its a good representation. I touched up the photo a little bit, but nothing special. more or less just evened out the photo as a whole color wise.
as a side note, the new commercials for blockbuster and on demand movies, hysterical. blockbusters is showing horrible things for people to wait 28 days for, like emergency medical attention and ondemand is saying waiting four weeks for a table at a resturaunt etc. too funny.
Post-Giving 2010 Group Photo.
So Post-giving was a wonderful gathering of friends once again. Here is our first ever group photo. Its not the greatest, but I've been working at it most of the morning to try and make it look nice. I wanted it to have that warm & fuzzy yet a little old look. Hope I succeeded. Let me know what you think.
WeeBit Wednesday on a Thursday!
So its thursday, I'm still feeling under the weather. Thankfully the fever is gone, but the sinus pressure, sore throat and overall blech feeling are still here, unwelcome guests that they are.
I am going to try and get my camera connected to the puter tomorrow to do some photo editing on whatever photos I have taken. (geez I hope there there something there to work with). Oh and I will try to take some photos tonight at the Eagle Court of Honor. Perhaps you will even see me in uniform (gag). Lets see how photogenic I am feeling later tonight.
In the interm I sit here and continue to search for a job. I apply to countless positions and never get a responce other than the occasional form rejection email which is good for sending my self esteem through the floor at light speed. We've had a few of those bad days back to back lately.... le sigh....
but instead of the hum drum averageness of my depression we are going to do something a bit more fun, WeeBit Wednesday!!! I love these little questioniere things, they make me think and I look forward to humpday every week. The questions are fun and they make me think and I always read them even though I dont always have time to make a post of my own. So without further adeiu here it is....
ps. if you have questions that you’d like to see on wee bit wednesday, email (Leigh Ashley) {here}!
I am going to try and get my camera connected to the puter tomorrow to do some photo editing on whatever photos I have taken. (geez I hope there there something there to work with). Oh and I will try to take some photos tonight at the Eagle Court of Honor. Perhaps you will even see me in uniform (gag). Lets see how photogenic I am feeling later tonight.
In the interm I sit here and continue to search for a job. I apply to countless positions and never get a responce other than the occasional form rejection email which is good for sending my self esteem through the floor at light speed. We've had a few of those bad days back to back lately.... le sigh....
but instead of the hum drum averageness of my depression we are going to do something a bit more fun, WeeBit Wednesday!!! I love these little questioniere things, they make me think and I look forward to humpday every week. The questions are fun and they make me think and I always read them even though I dont always have time to make a post of my own. So without further adeiu here it is....
{one} if you were going to a remote place and could only bring one CD, what would it be?
that’s tough, i am very eclectic in my musical tastes. But I suppose I would bring the soundtrack to Across the universe with me. Its got a lot of different tempos and feelings and instrumentation through out the soundtrack and its got great (what I like to call) "sing-a-long-ability"
{two} are you generally more of an optimist, pessimist, or realist?
i dunno. I guess it depends on the mood I am in. I can't say I subscribe to one point of view or another.
{three} have you ever picked up a hitchhiker? if not, would you?
nope. dont think I ever would unless its someone I actually know.
{four} what spice or seasoning is your favorite?
garlic. I pretty much put it on/in everything. Now if you want to talk marinades, my favorite is a sesame ginger or sesame teriyaki.
{five} what’s your birthstone? do you like it?
Diamonds :-) and Of course I like diamonds, but to be honest I prefer vibrant blue sapphires
{six} do you know what your name means?
Sarah is of herbrew origin and it means "princess" hehehe, I'm a princess. lol
{seven} what is your favorite breakfast cereal?
hands down cocoa pebbles. unhealthy yet delicious at any time of day
{eight} if there was an extra hour in each day, what would you spend it doing?
right now I would spend it job hunting. If I were employed, perhaps with some sort of hobby or maybe sleeping. Who knows.
{nine} if you could turn any book into a movie, which would it be?
ouch, thats a tough one, been thinking on this one for a while now as I answered other questions and set up my blog post etc. I suppose since most of my favorite books have already been made into movies (some successfully and some not so much) I would have to go with something from the John Corey Series written by Nelson Demille. He is one of my favorite writers.
{ten} if you could go back and play out one day of your life to watch (like scrooge), what day would it be?
hmmmm, this thought brings back a flood of emotions, some good and some bad. But I suppose it would be any day in which I spent with my paternal grandmother where she told me she was proud of me and loved me and held me close. I miss that woman more than anything in the world. It will be 10 years since she passed this coming June. sadly it still feels like yesterday...
30 days and (not) counting (anymore)
Yeah, so um hi blogiverse. its been a while since we have gotten together to do anything productive, or at all really. its been over 30 days! i cant believe it. where has the past month gone? apparently down the drain or up in a whirlwind.
lets see what have i done in the past 30 days.....
planned and executed a cub scout halloween party
hung out at home on halloween
made birthday cupcakes for Crystal's 10th b-day
went on a boy scout camping trip
went college shopping with my mother and sister we went from bronx, ny to binghamton to SUNY cotrland to batavia to SUNY fredonia back to binghamton and then back to bronx, ny in the span of 4 days. oh and antiquing along the way
watched my father get sworn into the USMS :-D
watched pat get his APO of the year award at 1 police plaza
went to a baby "debut" party in Staten island
went to weekly cub scout and boy scout meetings
planned and executed the annual post-giving party at our house
cleaned and scrubbed the hosue from tippy top to bottom
put up my xmas tree
visited my family for thanksgiving
okay so i guess i have been pretty busy. there were some other things in there as well that i cant quite recall right now, but i know there was other stuff.
on a slightly sour note, my camera has not been out much in the past 30 days. i have taken a lot of pictures of my kitties with the camera on my phone, but thats just a guilty pleasure. nothign really to share there. going to see if i can rustle up anything for macro friday or scavenger hunt sunday this week. i know i wont be home on friday and saturday nights so we will see how it goes. im not expecting to have much or any pictures, as i am currently sick (blech).
so lets keep our fingers crossed and see what happens...
lets see what have i done in the past 30 days.....
planned and executed a cub scout halloween party
hung out at home on halloween
made birthday cupcakes for Crystal's 10th b-day
went on a boy scout camping trip
went college shopping with my mother and sister we went from bronx, ny to binghamton to SUNY cotrland to batavia to SUNY fredonia back to binghamton and then back to bronx, ny in the span of 4 days. oh and antiquing along the way
watched my father get sworn into the USMS :-D
watched pat get his APO of the year award at 1 police plaza
went to a baby "debut" party in Staten island
went to weekly cub scout and boy scout meetings
planned and executed the annual post-giving party at our house
cleaned and scrubbed the hosue from tippy top to bottom
put up my xmas tree
visited my family for thanksgiving
okay so i guess i have been pretty busy. there were some other things in there as well that i cant quite recall right now, but i know there was other stuff.
on a slightly sour note, my camera has not been out much in the past 30 days. i have taken a lot of pictures of my kitties with the camera on my phone, but thats just a guilty pleasure. nothign really to share there. going to see if i can rustle up anything for macro friday or scavenger hunt sunday this week. i know i wont be home on friday and saturday nights so we will see how it goes. im not expecting to have much or any pictures, as i am currently sick (blech).
so lets keep our fingers crossed and see what happens...
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