Oh, the Suspense!

Ah, Monday. What fun. Today is the first day of classes here and all the students are back. On one hand I'm excited, there's more energy in the air, I'm looking forward to seeing more students on a regular basis...on the other hand, I'm nervous, there are people everywhere (goodbye quiet, peaceful campus), and I'll be very busy soon...very busy. In and of itself, that's not a problem, but after the slow summer, it's gonna be a change.

Anywho, the weekend went by super-fast with all the home improvement work going on! I took lots and lots of pictures, and can't wait to show you. But... you're going to have to wait! I need to get the pics off the camera AND we have finishing work to do on the room next weekend. Plus, it will be more dramatic to see the actual "After" pictures.

Happy Monday!

Stay Tuned...

It's been a crazy week, I've had a headache for days, and all I want to do is sleep.

Instead, my mom, dad, and brother are coming for the weekend to work on my office/craft room! I'm looking forward to finishing it. I just hope we can get things accomplished and my headache goes away and stays away! Grr.

Stay tuned for pictures...

I'm About to Get Serious

I feel like I'm about to begin training for a marathon. In a sense, I suppose it is a marathon... I'm talking about my licensing exam preparation. I "attended" a webinar-type workshop this evening on starting your preparation for the exam and while I knew a lot of the tips and strategies covered, I did walk away with some good ideas for outlining my individualized "Two-Phase Study Plan". Yes, they recommend planning a concrete schedule, with spelled out objectives, planned days off, etc. The workshop gave me a shot of motivation (i.e., a swift kick to the arse), so I pulled out my trusted Sharpies, a lame calendar from my insurance agent, and I marked off my study schedule for "Phase 1" of the plan. ("Phase 2" will come later, based on areas for improvement identified during "Phase 1".)

So, for the next 4 months I am in training, people! Operation EPPP is about to commence! I think I need one of these guys to help: A part of my preparation, which is included on the CDs and in the materials, is learning to manage anxiety and combat negative thoughts and poor attitudes. I'm not kidding when I say there is a visualization exercise and progressive muscle relaxation specific to taking this test!! Yikes! (By the way, not a good idea to listen to a relaxation exercise like that while driving...oops.) Anyway, the part on attitude and negative thoughts makes me think of this guy:

Ah, Stuart Smalley. You always turn my frown upside down. Stuart, you make me realize that "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me." And doggone it, I will pass the EPPP! No "stinkin' thinkin'" for me!

By the way, if you're not familiar with this classic Saturday Night Live character, you're missing out. I have a well-loved and tattered copy of his book, which cracks me up every time!

Call Me When It's Friday

Obsessions

1. Sharpies - I love pulling out my trusty, multi-colored Sharpies for so many things- writing reminders, labeling, making flashcards, making lists... In my ongoing efforts to save money, I had to stop myself last night from buying another big pack of Sharpies ( bold colors vs. the pastels that I have). Sigh.

2. www.fmylife.com - I just discovered this website, thanks to K-Dog. It's freakin' hilarious. People submit these stories that basically make them say, "F*&^ my life!" I was in a bit of a funk this morning and after reading a few of those, my funk lifted. Parental discretion is advised.

3. Pandora Radio - I know I'm a bit behind, but I just discovered it this summer and I love it! It takes your preferences and finds other artists that you might like... how great is that? I've spent many hours listening to music while working on projects, presentations, and paperwork and it's kept me quite content.

4. Home decor/home improvement blogs - I've been obsessed with being thrifty and finding ways to "nest" or decorate on a tight budget. Plus, the whole DIY thing is more appealing to me now that I have my own home.

5. Money- being broke sucks.

6. Vanilla yogurt and fresh fruit- Mmmm.

7. Studying for licensure- a necessary obsession.

Those are some of my recent obsessions. What are yours?

2009 Busy Bookworm Challenge

So, Themis0307 at Girl v. The World decided to throw down the gauntlet and challenge us to watch less TV, embrace our inner nerds, and read those books that have been sitting on our "To Read" lists. Since I don't have cable (or functional TV channels), I'm definitely nerdy, and I'm already working on a "To Read" list, I thought I would join the challenge! Besides, who doesn't love a good challenge? Here's how she's set things up... be sure to check out her original post here:

"Enter the 2009 Busy Bookworm Challenge! It goes like this: make a list of all the books you want to read before the end of the year. Go ahead. Make the list. I'll wait...

You back? Okay, so there is your goal. You are to read those books by the end of the year. Once you've finished one of the books on your list, write a blog post about it telling everyone that you've (a) read it, (b) how you liked it (or didn't as the case may be), and (c) if you'd recommend it. As you read others' blog posts/discussions about the books they've read and you want to read their book just add it to your ongoing list of books that you will use for the 2010 Busy Bookworm Challenge. After the new year, we'll start the new challenge."

Easy enough, right? Come on, visit her blog and join up!!

My Bookworm Challenge list will include a handful of books from my Influential Books list that I'm already working on, but will also include a couple of others that I've been wanting to read. Without further ado, I present my 2009 Busy Bookworm Challenge reading list (in no particular order):

The Bonfire of the Vanities- Tom Wolfe
Beloved- Toni Morrison
The Satanic Verses- Salman Rushdie
Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone- Jenni Ferrari-Adler (Ed.)
The Art of Racing in the Rain- Garth Stein
The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini

That's it. Gosh, when I look at it, that list doesn't seem very long, but I know that the first 3 are hefty tomes. Game on!

Happy Reading!

XOXO,
heidi

Up Close & Personal

My sister, her husband, and my nieces and nephew came to visit today and we took a trip to the zoo! I haven't been to a zoo in a long time, so it was kind of fun...though it was very sunny, hot, and humid and I felt like I was melting...and I got some random bug bite on the top of my foot and it itched and itched and then got all red and kind of swollen when I scratched it.

Anyhoo, the zoo isn't a huge zoo or anything, but there are some cool attractions, like Lucky the albino alligator, and the playful otters, and the giraffes. The beautiful, leggy, awkward-and-graceful-all-at-once giraffes. For just $1 you can buy a couple of crackers and feed the giraffes... so the kids and I did! Their tongues are super-long and they just kind of grab those crackers before you know it! Eventually, the taller giraffe came over and he'll allow you to pet him (the other giraffe has a bit of attitude and won't let you pet him), so we also got to pet a giraffe. He wasn't as soft as I thought he would be, and he was kinda dirty, but it was still awesome.

All in all it was a fun day and good to see my family. At the moment I don't appear to be sunburned, but we'll see if I'm a bit red tomorrow!

Today, I Feel...

...slightly productive. I've gotten some odds and ends taken care of at work, though I still have some other things to knock off my list.

...excited to shop! I'm going to check out Pier 1 and Joann Fabrics after work today. Hopefully I find a deal or two.

...happy about the AWESOME deal I got on licensing exam study materials! Thank you very much, ebay.

...a little nervous about students returning to campus. Is the summer really gone already?? Where did that time go?

...a little sleepy. I'd better take a break and maybe I should change my online radio station from relaxing spa-like music to something more upbeat or I can forget about being more productive!!

How do you feel today?

(By the way, I based today's format off of a post I read on a cool blog, Girl v. The World. Check it out!)

Truly Inspiring

So y'all know I'm trying to plow through that List of Influential Books and that my first try, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, was a giant disappointment and my second book, Freakonomics, while interesting, wasn't really earth-shattering. I felt like the next book I picked needed to be really good, or it was going to be more difficult to motivate myself to keep plugging away at the list. Last week I went to the library and checked out 3 books: The Bonfire of the Vanities, Beloved, and What is the What. Eventually, I chose to start with What is the What after reading this:

"What is the What is the epic novel based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng who, along with thousands of other children- the so-called Lost Boys- was forced to leave his village in Sudan at the age of seven and trek hundreds of miles by foot, pursued by militias, government bombers, and wild animals,crossing the deserts of three countries to find freedom."

I was intrigued, even though I knew very little nothing about Sudan's struggles or the Lost Boys, though honestly I wasn't sure what to expect.

The story is Valentino's, but the author of the story is Dave Eggers. In the book's preface, Valentino, who goes by many names throughout the book, but most often Achak, states that the book is considered a novel because the story began when he was so young and not every word, person, or place could be recalled exactly (thank goodness, who wants another James Frey incident?); however, the major events "are true and the book is historically accurate."

The book is a hefty 535 pages and I was hooked from page 1. I read it in less than a week! It was touching, horrifying, funny, and unbelievable all at once. How did this little boy have the strength to keep going through such completely awful things?

"I dropped my bag, everything I owned, and jumped in. I paddled with my hands cupped like paws, only my head above water... As I moved through the water, I could feel the current carrying me downstream. I watched the crocodiles, keeping my eyes fixed upon them. There was no movement from them. I kept paddling. There was a great blast behind me. I turned around and could see the soldiers, kneeling in the grass of the riverbank, shooting at us as we crossed...I paddled and kicked. I looked again for the spot on the riverbank where I had last seen the crocodiles. They were gone... A scream came from very close. I turned to see a boy in the jaws of a crocodile. The river bloomed red and the boy's face disappeared. 'Keep going. Now he's too busy to eat you.'"

Reading this book made me cringe, made me feel sick. I felt angry. I felt ignorant. I felt tired. Seriously, sometimes I would be reading for a while, so engrossed in what was happening, so tense, that I had to finally put the book down and walk away. Over the weekend I took a few naps while reading the book- it is emotionally draining, to say the very least. And yet I also felt hopeful. I felt hopeful that there is a man out there that has been knocked around (literally and proverbially) so many times and has continued to get up and has continued to try to do good for the world, for his village in Sudan, and for himself. There are days, very recently even, that I have felt as though I have bad luck, that weird things happen to me, blah blah, but I really have nothing to complain about. Nothing. I am ashamed. And humbled. And once again, truly amazed at the tenacity of human beings.

I can see why this book was put on Mental Floss's list of most influential books. This one belongs on the list. It touched me, it opened my eyes to something new, it made me want to learn more. (Oddly enough, one of the documentaries I put on my Netflix queue months ago is about the Lost Boys. What a coincidence!) This is the first book I've read that has made me want to write and say, "Thank you for sharing your story. I can't believe what you've been through." Hmm... maybe I will do just that.

I leave you with one more quote from the book:

"I speak to these people, and I speak to you because I cannot help it. It gives me strength, almost unbelievable strength, to know that you are there. I covet your eyes, your ears, the collapsible space between us. How blessed are we to have each other? I am alive and you are alive so we must fill the air with our words."

***By the way, if you want to learn more, check out cool video clips and pictures, or get involved, visit The Valentino Achak Deng Foundation. *** Also, check out President Obama's reaction to the book here.

The Itch

I've been itching to do something crafty/artsy/creative lately (besides cooking)... probably inspired by some fun blogs I've been checking out (www.inthefunlane.com also the blogs that are listed there). I think it would be so fun! And I'm still not feeling very settled in my home, nor do I really feel like it's mine. So maybe a project would help a little.

Yet, I hesitate because: a) the in-progress house projects aren't nearly finished, b) I really need to make sure I'm studying for licensure (which I've resumed full force), c) I need to be very careful about my budget, d) I have no idea where to start... or what to start with!

Any ideas?

List Update

I just finished the final book of The Chronicles of Narnia! Which means I get to cross something else off my list! Hooray! After reading all the books, I must say that my favorite is still The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe since it's so original and can stand alone.

I didn't know all of the Christian symbolism that goes along with the books, so I did do a little online searching to learn more. It was interesting, though not everything was meant to be a symbol when Lewis wrote the books. In some of the stories, the parallels to scripture were obvious (almost painfully so), while in other parts of the stories I think that it was more of a stretch. But that's just my opinion. I do think that the end (of the final book) was a little weird, which is why I really didn't enjoy it very much.

I did enjoy learning more about the debate surrounding the order of the books. Lewis wrote them in a different order than organized and sold by the publisher today. I agree with some people debating about it- The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe should really be listed as the first book, just because it does set things up and has a line at the end of the story that the adventures in Narnia were just beginning. Anyway, I'm glad I read the books and may continue to read more about the Christian symbolism. I will also probably read more of Lewis' books- I've wanted to for a while and just haven't gotten to them!

Also, I did watch my July documentary, but didn't have a chance to write about it until now. I watched one of the discs in the Planet Earth series. If you haven't seen the series, or even part of it, do check it out. The lengths these camera-people and crew went to for the video are amazing. The images are awesome. I sometimes can't believe all the diversity out there and how these plants and animals survive in some truly harsh climates!

New Kid on the Block

I didn't know that when I bought my house I was buying my piece of the neighborhood. Not just any neighborhood, but a real, old-fashioned, piece of Americana. The neighbors here have been welcoming and friendly - G and K gave me a homemade loaf of bread, the guy across the street has told me many times that he will lend a hand whenever needed, and, true to his word, helped my move the dirty carpet out to the curb for garbage day.

But the frosting on the cake was when F stopped by and told me they were planning an "Out with the Old, In with the New Party" to say goodbye to the previous owner, and hello to me! She wanted to be sure I could be there and ran the date by me first, then told me about a flyer that would be distributed. Wow, I didn't expect all this.

The party was last night and I was not really looking forward to it, to be honest. I had mixed feelings about meeting the previous owner, especially because of my gross carpet and weird paneling and, most recently, an overdue water bill! Anyway, I made my dish to pass, bought a 6-pack of beer (it was BYO) and walked across the street with my head high (after a few hours of nerves and thoughts about making up a story to get out of it). F, who seems to be the neighborhood matriarch, chided me a little for bringing a dish since I was "one of the guests of honor after all." Meeting the previous owner was a little odd, but it was OK after the first few minutes. We chatted about what she used to clean the hardwood floors, talked about flowers in the yard, and she told me that her next project was the carpet (it was still sitting on the curb because of needing to call a "bulk items truck"). By the end of the night (and a number of drinks) A, the previous owner, was telling me that she was so happy I was living in her house and she had really wanted it to go to the "right person". She told me we would have to get together to talk about the flowers and any other questions I had. She also told me she loved me and hugged me and kissed my cheek, but I'm pretty sure that was just the alcohol talking. :-)

So, I spent a lovely...long... evening with my neighbors who are quickly becoming an extended family of sorts. I was told more than once that people look out for each other and this particular group of people (near the end of our block) are particularly tight-knit. Apparently, Christmas in the 'hood is also a very big deal involving a Round Robin party, lots of food, lots of alcohol, and lots of fun. Something to look forward to, for sure.