Fail.

It's Sunday and there's 32 days until Spring Break Vacation.

That being said . . . this whole not going out to eat and saving money this is not working. I thought Terence would be the first to falter but I was. Friends join around good food and drinks and I have been subject to that in the past two weeks. I have, needless to say, used up my four times to go out to eat and I think three of my happy hour nights. Now I'm throwing on the emergency break and starting to show some self-control. This week is a plethora of coffee dates so hopefully that'll replace my money spending trend of the past two weeks.

I'm sitting on my big red futon watching the Grammy's. Lady Gaga and Elton John performed together which was pretty awesome. I was hoping she would start showing some more of her musical talents (outside of singing) in her performances. Now I find out that they're making a show about Green Day and their music. They just performed with the cast and it wasn't half bad.

I figured the Grammy's wasn't a bad way to end my weekend when I expected to be doing this:

of flowers at a free botanical garden I found in Montgomery County. But instead, I was doing this:

That's okay though. 32 days until warmth and sunshine!! I have also discovered my secret obsession: My Google Reader

While reading up on my favorite blogs (mostly journalism blogs and design blogs. I came across a list of "A Who's Who of Design Bloggers" on the Apartment Therapy blog I read. Great stuff. 

I hope everyone has a good week!

You Know it's the Beginning of the Semester When . . .

. . . you're stressed.

Everyone's saying it's the beginning of the end and I'm starting to think I'm the only person who is insanely depressed by the sound of that statement. I'm part-time this semester and I'm enjoying it so far. If I could, I'd go to school forever. But then there's that whole student loans thing and I'd just keep getting my B.A. over and over and over again in different departments. My yoga class is a new experience, my LIT class is forcing me to read more, and my Feature Article Writing class is forcing me to be more aware of the news.

Feature Article Writing is the only thing standing between me and finishing my major requirements. The class is just a constant reminder of how I love to read articles, but I have lost my love for writing them. Mandatory four interviews, people who don't return your calls or emails, quick deadlines, I don't think it's for me. When I once thought it wasn't for me, now I know it isn't. In retrospect, it is all about choosing which article to write. By choosing an exceptionally difficult topic you're shooting yourself in the foot. Our first assignment is to write a News Feature, a feature story based off of a news event. I chose to grab the student view of the Google vs. China conflict. I'm planning on interviewing students who have been abroad in China about their experiences with the Internet censorship over there, hopefully a student studying here from China, and then an expert, most likely an AU professor who specializes in China. Here's hoping it all works out in a week. I might alienate Gill in the process.

I find joy in things that can't make me employed. Like thinking of Christmas gifts for my family that I can make myself. I like tooling around design and interior decorating blogs all day and coming up with new ideas on how to completely change a product. If it was nice outside you'd find me on a blanket in a park reading ALL DAY LONG.

Only 37 days until Florida :) I'll get some nice weather then.

I added some links to my other blogs on the right hand toolbar. One is my one photo a day blog which I just passed the one year anniversary of! I enjoyed it so much that I started another year of the Photo 365 Project. I figured I couldn't stop when I just got a new camera. Now that's just mean.

Here's my photo from today one year ago:

Tonight is another episode of American Idol and I'm not going to lie and say I'm not excited.

More soon!
NLK

Operation Save Money

Terence and I have been trying our best to make the trip to Florida for Spring Break a reality. After looking at prices to rent a car and for flights, and then after recovering from heart attacks, we realized something has to happen financially for our trip to happen. One way we are trying to lessen the blow is to knock out one of our major money suckers . . . eating out.

As of this moment (10:40 PM on Monday) we agreed that from now until when we wish to leave on our trip (Wednesday, March 10th) we will only go out to eat 4 times in the 50 days from now until then. Terence is going to have a hard time with this. This involves resisting the urge to eat out for lunch, splurge on food while enjoying an after work happy hour, and eating our weight in wings (or vegetarian friendly substitute) while watching the Jets game. We also have a clause that involves only 5 trips out to drink or purchase alcohol between now and then. This will also be difficult.

Another clause.
We have to run 3 times a week. We'll call this clause Operation Get Fit. Terence says, "If we don't run 3 times each week we both owe $25 to the jar." The jar is where our money is being saved for this trip. It's about to pay for our rental car so, so far so good. This also means if I run 3 times a week but Terence doesn't we both still have to donate to the jar. More incentive for me to get on him about it, a method that hasn't worked in the past. Distance needs to be at least one mile. A good start for my 5k training!

Wish us luck on our endeavors!
More frequent blogging to come!

The Lull

January 4th and I think I'm on top of things. I have done my grocery shopping, run all of the errands I accumulated and made an attempt to clean my room (a greater attempt will follow) and classes begin a week from today. My schedule is going to be awesome so I have no excuse to be super productive this semester.

I thought I'd attempt some new years resolutions. I found this site featured on Swiss-Miss, a design blog I read, and thought it was inspiring.

1. Dress up
2. Minimize my material possessions
3. Stay in touch
4. Grow my own herbs at home
5. Learn how to be a good cook
6. Be more green!
7. Dedicate myself to my Project 365!

Speaking of which, I thought I would offer an update on my progress. Italicized items are in progress and red ones are completed!


The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).


Why 1001 Days? 
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

1. Learn Conversational French

2. Learn Sign Language

3. Swim with a dolphin

4. Host a board game night

5. Visit all 50 states

Alabama                                              Alaska
Arizona                                              Arkansas
California                                           Colorado
Connecticut                                      Delaware
Florida                                               Georgia
Hawaii                                                  Idaho
Illinois                                                 Indiana
Iowa                                                    Kansas
Kentucky                                           Louisiana
Maine                                                Maryland
Massachusetts                                    Michigan
Minnesota                                         Mississippi
Missouri                                             Montana
Nebraska                                             Nevada
New Hampshire                              New Jersey
New Mexico                                     New York
North Carolina                             North Dakota
Ohio                                                  Oklahoma
Oregon                                           Pennsylvania
Rhode Island                                South Carolina
South Dakota                                    Tennessee
Texas                                                     Utah
Vermont                                            Virginia
Washington                                    West Virginia
Wisconsin                                          Wyoming

6. Put my feet in the Pacific Ocean (I put my feet in the Gulf of Mexico!)

7. Don’t text message for an entire month

8. Build something

9. Visit the Ben and Jerry’s Factory (In Waterbury, VT)

10. Go to Ireland

11. Watch Star Wars for the first time (just the first movie) Watched Episodes 4, 5, & 6 on 02/14/09, finish the whole series on 09/19/09.

12. Take daily vitamin every day straight for a month (Finished May 2009!)

13. Set and FOLLOW a month long workout routine.

14. Learn how to drive a manual.

15. Make a photography portfolio

16. Buy a bicycle

17. Go two weeks without cursing

18. Keep a piggy bank and put ALL excess change in said bank

19. Read the entire Harry Potter Series… again

20. Read at least 4 books off of a greatest books ever written list

            a. Gone With the Wind

            b. Pride and Prejudice

            c. Schindler's List

            d. The Thorn Birds

21. See Dave Matthews in Concert... no matter how old he is and no matter how old I am. (http://www.davematthewsband.com/).

22. Decorate an entire room of my own by myself.

23. Go to the New Jersey Botanical Gardens

24. Straddle 5 state lines… Photographed.  (1/5)

25. Finally organize all of the postcards I have collected.

26. Create and mail in a Post Secret postcard.

27. Don’t watch any television for a week.

28. Don’t use any plastic bags for a month.

29. Don’t buy bottled water for a month.

30. Paint a room a crazy color

31. Run in a mini marathon (a 5k in April of 2010!!)

32. Dress up for Halloween (seriously, even though you hate Halloween)

33. Watch the end of the West Wing series

34. Watch the end of the O.C. series

35. Learn how to surf

36. Learn how to play guitar

37. Go to a wine tasting

38. Go to a drive in movie

39. Go to a planetarium

40. Listen to all of the music on my iPod (5535 items, 49.7 days worth of music)

41. Skip dessert for a month

42. Stop biting my nails for an entire month

43. Make something from blown glass

44. Learn how to make pottery

45. Color an entire coloring book

46. Send 101 cards (51/101)

47. Read Gone With the Wind

48. Don’t use Facebook for two weeks

49. Pay Dad back for the accident ($500)

50. See 50 of IMDB’s top 250 movies (http://www.imdb.com/chart/top)

51. Do Photo Project 365 (http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/)

52. Go to a Salsa Club

53. Buy nothing for a week.

54. See the sunrise (01/20/09, Inauguration morning, the day I started 1001!)

55. See the sunset.

56. Do the 26 Things project (http://sh1ft.org/26things/)

57. Reread Childhood books

58. Attend a film festival

59. Go to Atlantic City (Post 05/05/09) and gamble with only $40. Whatever happens, happens, no continuing with winnings.

60. Keep a journal everyday.

61. Go to church every Sunday for three months straight.

62. Organize iTunes

63. Organize all of my crap/memorabilia

64. Don’t eat out for an entire month

65. Ride in a hot air balloon

66. Graduate (Early?)

67. Make my own website (buy the web space... don’t cop out)

68. Keep a dream glass

69. Get over it.

70. Sing in front of people

71. Read five banned books

72. Dress up for an entire week for no reason.

73. Go crabbing

74. Donate to Locks of Love (0/1-2)

75. Buy fruit from local farmers for an entire month

76. See Penguins in their natural habitat (Saw penguins LIVE at the Florida Aquarium 03/14/09).

77. Travel to a Spanish speaking country and use as much Spanish as possible

78. Seriously consider backpacking across Europe in 07/2010. Do everything humanly possible to go.

79. Read more books per year than the previous year (32 in 06, 33 in 07…)

80. Donate to a charity every year (0/3)

81. Go to the beach without getting sun burned (Achieved in Tampa!)

82. Finish and frame a puzzle with over 5,000 pieces in it.

83. Attempt (legitimately) a NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/)

84. Write a message in a bottle and let it go at my favorite spot by the beach.

85. Go through an entire semester without missing class.

86. Go sky diving.

87. Conquer my fear of horses and ride one.

88. Send someone I love flowers anonymously.

89. Keep five plants/flowers/trees, and keep them alive. (I have 4 and they are doing well!)

90. Fill someone’s expired meter.

91. Go to high school reunion.

92. Give up all caffeine (including chocolate) for two months.

93. Go to ten new restaurants on the list of Washingtonians Cheap Eats 2009 list.

(http://www.washingtonian.com/packages/cheapeats)

a. A & J in Rockville

b. Four Sisters in Vienna

94. Shadow a journalist, designer for a day.

95. Write your life story in a day.

96. Edit it later, make a memoir?

97. Identify 100 things that make you happy.

98. Start a blog and keep up with it. (And I started a Photo Blog!)

99. Finish all shopping for the year by Halloween (Birthdays, Christmas, Etc.)

100. Donate $10 to charity for every item I do not achieve by XX/XX/XXXX

101. Create another list.

What are your resolutions?