Project 365, Week 6, February 1-7

So here we are, week 6. This project is getting harder and harder for me. I hope I can hang in there. Because I know that being faithful to this this project is really important, like when that little Dutch boy Hans Brinkman stuck his finger in the dyke and saved Holland. That's how important it is every Sunday to get my pictures on here.

Sunday night, Super Bowl night. My daughter had her friend over to watch the commercials. They ate ice cream out of the carton. Ahh, youth.



Monday: Our parking lots are clear now, but the snow is piled high in the lots. Just beyond this hill of snow is the little postal station where I mail your contest prizes. Our streets expand and then go back when it freezes and thaws, so we have great big old pot holes now that we have to maneuver around like land mines. I'll have to get a pic or two of those next week to show you. Because why wouldn't you want to see beautiful pot holes.



Tuesday: We taped "We Go Together" at church for the staff video to be shown at our volunteer appreciation banquet on February 20. More to come on this extravaganza in a week or two. Maybe even a video?



Wednesday: Here is the ninja stealth sprayer. He disguises himself in dark clothing and then sneaks up on gingerbread houses and sprays them with lacquer.



Thursday: This cracks me up. When we come in the back door, if we put down any piece of clothing for even 5 seconds, Zoe gets on it like it's a plot of land she has claimed in the great land race of the Oklahoma Territory. She might as well put up a flag with a giant "Z" on it.



Friday: Every day, when I leave home for work, the last thing I do is turn around, look at Zoe and say, "You be a good girl today. You go potty on your paper. On your paper. On your paaaay-purrr." I'm trying to stress that last word so that it will stick in her head as the last thing she heard. Then she cocks her head at me and sadly watches me leave. When I come home, it's a ticker tape parade. But the problem is, soon I have to leave again to pick up Kristin from school. So sometimes I can't bear to do the whole "You be good" business again, and I let her come with me. And so here she is, having the best day of her life, which is any time she gets to go along.



Saturday: Rock Band!



OK, go check out Sara's place to see more Projects!

Project 365 Week 5, January 25-31

First of all, let me say I'm doing this at 11:30 pm Saturday night, and I just made it home in treacherous weather from a 16 year-old's birthday party held in the Oneighty building. So if this post is a little less coherent than the usual salmagundi, that's why.

Sunday, 1.25: Wore new jacket to church. Point of interest: $12:00, Kohls. And it makes me want to sing, "If you hear any noise, it ain't the boys; it's ladies' night."






Monday, 1.26: College daughter, Katie, on back of sled with roommate, Kelly. I stole this picture right off Facebook because what mother wouldn't.



Tuesday, 1.27: Planting the Alpha sign in our yard. No, "Alpha" does not mean we own/run the block, although Zoe certainly thinks she is the Alpha dog of the street and world.


Wednesday, 1.28: Girls Group birthday again! This time, it was my friend Madelyn's birthday. She received those ultra-cute reading glasses from another girl in the group. I don't need reading glasses yet, which is a miracle at 46, a miracle I like to point out to all of my friends who do need them. Oh come on. Let me have what little boasting I can gin up.

Thursday, 1.29: When I woke up, the thermometer outside our window said "1." Yes, one degree. I sit around with space heaters (heaven forbid "Amish Heaters") close enough to melt my skin to the furniture, but I still can't get warm. Those slippers are so sexy.

Friday, 1.30: Jorge brought me this from Dairy Queen so that my ankles could fatten up some more for those sexy slippers.




Saturday, 1.31: I went to my niece-to-be's bridal shower. I took her a surf board. jk! It's an ironing board. I'm sure every time she irons a piece of clothing for the next 50 years, she'll think of me fondly and bless the day I brought this homemaker's aid into her life.

Please go see others' pics at Sara's place

Project 365 Week 4, January 18-24

*Edit* I accidentally posted my Ugly Mug winner's post without the actual winner, of course, which basically means I gave away all of my prize secrets, which makes me want to shoot myself in the foot or something. Then I deleted it, but if you saw it in your reader, then you already know about "the goods." Maybe it will inspire you more!




Wow, time flies when you've got nothing interesting to take pictures of. And I have no idea why my slideshow is repeating pictures. It doesn't do that when I edit it, of course. It only happens here on my blog. Nice.

Anyway, here is week four, in a nutshell:

Sunday: A picture of the latest scarf, which is to die for: purple, white, and black, three of my favorite colors. I now have enough scarves to do a nice Thursday Thirteen post about them. I thought of the TT post because I hate singling them out in pics like I have here. I mean, how can I show favoritism when they're all so sweet, like good children that don't talk back but only hug you around your neck. Scarves = biblical full-quiver blessing.

Monday: Back to work. Yes, Indiana is that flat. If we didn't have trees, we could see across the state line. This is the road I travel every day at least twice a day, usually more. Quite scenic, if you're not into scenery.

Tuesday: Yogurt. It's what's for breakfast. And lunch. I'm eating a lot of low-fat yogurt, people. That's two to three a day, seven days a week. Imagine what my grocery cart looks like. The cashier probably thinks I'm bathing in it. And I have finally succumbed to the guilt of not washing, saving and sending in the foil lids to feed the hungry somehow (I haven't read the fine print yet). When I was an occasional yogurt consumer, I just licked that foil and tossed it. Now every time I lick it, I see the writing on the lid, and the guilt has grown to the point where I am actually washing and saving the foil as if I'm actually going to follow through on this good deed.

Bonus pic: That corn on my chair at work? The "Corn Fairies" (the teenage interns) left it there for me when I stepped away from my area. Also this week they left a thawed Freezee popsicle thing in my chair. In years past, other interns have left me Neil Diamond albums and live goldfish in a bowl and "You Rock" spelled out in Styrofoam peanuts, all on my chair. Ah, youth ministry.

Wednesday: Wednesday night is Girls' Group night, where we have coffee and talk and laugh and celebrate milestones together. This week we celebrated our friend Diane's birthday. Diane is my friend whom I've told you in previous posts is battling cancer. As you can imagine, her birthday is pretty special. And she does NOT look 51, but she is. Here she is seen holding the pretty mug I gave her with chocolate in it and a pink scarf that I gave her. I bet you'd like to receive a pretty mug just like that one, wouldn't you? Gee, wonder how you could do that?

Thursday: Self-portrait entitled, "Nanook Leaves for Work in the Morning."

Friday: Attended a PJ birthday party for my beautiful co-worker and friend whom I shall call "Hope" because I have called her "Faith" in previous posts. I'm clever like that. There were three other "girls" there. We watched Wife Swap and talked and laughed and ate. I was the oldest woman there. So I decided to turn that lemon into lemonade by telling them that I had not had a period since October 4, my 46th birthday. They were all envious. Very envious. Making younger women envious of me in whatever way I can? Tres sweet, mes petite bon bons.

Saturday: Fooling around trying to take pics to post on my ugly mug contest Monday. This is called "mugging for the camera." Get it? "Mugging?" Yeah. Well, I gave my best attempt about 36 times and then gave up, as evidence by the exasperated look in that one pic.

Funny thing is, I've seen that same expression in many of Mama Belle's pictures of herself. You know how they say that people who are together a lot tend to take on each others' traits, habits and expressions to the point of looking alike? Do you think it's possible I'm doing that with Mama Belle from a zillion miles away?

*Bonus pic that is blurry: Zoe is kissing the camera lens. She's a diva.

Come on back tomorrow (Monday) to visit our Ugly Muggin' Friends around the 'Net as they sign in via Mr Linky. Then come on back and vote in my comments. Tuesday, the Queen of the Ugly Mug receives her scholarship, sash, and cash prizes worth millions of dollars.

Project 365, Week 3, January 11-17, 2009

Week 3! I'm not sure why it happens, but sometimes photos from these slide shows disappear, and that is frustrating. A couple of people last week said, "What happened to the picture of 'X'?" Which does not mean that I included a picture of my "Ex," as in boyfriend, but that random photos disappeared. Sorry. No idea.

Photos 1, 2, 3: All January 11, just before my son Jordan returned to college, where he is a sophomore majoring in Ultimate Frisbee. Kidding. I think it's Exercise Science. He's keeping the idea of physical therapy on the back burner. I keep moving it to the front burner, but he keeps moving it to the back burner. He is goofing around with his dad in the last picture. They do not normally act like that. Yes they do.

Photo 4: Zoe on the day after Jordan left. Scenario: Zoe has had at least one person home with her all day since December 18. This week she flew solo and nearly died of heartbreak or anger, I cannot tell which. I only know when I came home from work that first day, she had pooped in the kitchen in the center of the floor, which I'm pretty sure is a statement, like "Poop on all of you for leaving me." I did not take a picture of this. You're welcome.

Photo 5: Pot Roast with Chipotle-Fruit Sauce. I bought a crock pot cook book for $5 at Books-A-Million after Christmas, from which this recipe comes. It sounded simple:

1 3-lb roast
2 t. garlic-pepper seasoning
1 7-oz package of mixed dried fruit
1/2 c. water
1 T. finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 T. cold water and 2 t. cornstarch

Steps

1. Sprinkle meat with garlic seasoning. Place in cooker, add fruit, water and peppers.
2. Cover and cook on low 10-12 hours. Transfer meat to serving platter. Keep warm.
3. Transfer cooking liquid to a bowl. In a saucepan, add the cornstarch and water mixture. Add cooking liquid. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Spoon over meat.

Simple enough, right? I didn't know that "adobo sauce" is Mexican for "tonsil cauterizing heat paste." OH.MY.GOSH. We could hardly eat the roast. I considered pouring water all over it before I took the 3rd bite. Anyway, next time, I'd probably use milder peppers, or coat my throat with asbestos before eating.

Photo 6: This is my answer to the inspiring post I found at Chel's Leaving a Legacy. She's probably scratching her head trying to figure out what a "Paris" case has to do with keeping treasures, but I could not decide on a chest. I fell in love with this case and plan to use it in the same way; it's just not as appropriately poetic. Forgive me, Chel, but thanks for the wonderful idea!

Photo 7: Artist Dean K. Allison created a bronze sculpture called, "Born Again," which I have a photographic representation of in a poster. I have had some readers ask what is on my wall, and this is the poster. I first saw it in my former boss's office, and was very distracted by it because it looked at first glance like a ballerina shedding her tutu or something. (What youth minister doesn't have a photo of THAT on his wall?) Anyway, upon further study, I realized that this represents the shedding of the old man and creation of the new. I absolutely love this, and whenever I stop to really look at it again, I appreciate it anew.

Photo 8: Jorge is fascinated by the dexterity of the squirrels in our backyard, especially as they run around on icy fence tops. We have more pictures of squirrels than we do Zoe, and that is a lot. When Jorge grabs the camera and heads to the window, one of the kids always says, "Uh oh. The squirrels have mesmerized Dad again."

Photo 9: Still messing with the short, short hair. Remember in the 90s when people wore little clippy barrettes in their hair? I always liked that but didn't feel I could get away with it because it works on "cute" people, and I'm not the "cute" type. But now I have this "cutesy" hair bob, so I thought I'd try it. I still like these things, but I'm afraid it looks silly. Like a big giant claw clip bow from the 90s.

So that's week 3. Hey. Wake up!

Project 365 for January 5-10, 2009

This is the 2nd week of this project, and I have to tell you that I struggled to find something memory-worthy, and when I did, I didn't have my camera. But I still maintain that I just want a ho-hum snapshot moment of some point in each day, so I guess I accomplished that.

Sunday - I have a spoon in my mouth because Sara who is hosting this carnival told us that you can keep your eyes from watering when you chop onions if you will hold a spoon in your mouth like so. I've been doing this ever since, and it works. And in a double blind study, my daughter had her roommate try this because the roommate is highly susceptible to onion crying. They claim it works. Thanks, Sara! (Disclaimer: Neither girl is actually blind.)

Monday - Back to work. This is my building. I normally go in under the blue awning. If you're ever near Oneighty Muncie, drop in and I will give you a tour.

Tuesday - I took this photo right off my TV, so it counts! It was my first time to watch the season premiere of this show, which I then posted about. I also watched Lifetime's Dietribe this week. Guess what I'm interested in right now.

Wednesday - I love my Eiffel Tower lamp and moved it from the spare room to the kitchen so that I can actually turn it on and enjoy it. It's kind of my substitute Christmas tree. I miss Christmas.

Thursday - Self-portrait, black and white. Told you I was struggling.

Friday - My cute little sweetie playing the piano with her royal blue fingernails. I love this child so much.

Saturday - Column in the Muncie Star Press

**Extra, Extra! Please be sure to visit tomorrow for a contest announcement!**

Project 365 Vol. 1

January 1-4, 2009

Well, off we go!

How did you do at capturing your first week of January, 2009? I thought it was fun. I am determined to have fun with this and not care how mundane or goofy the photos are. Thus, January 2 is "breakfast" and yes, I'm wearing our Christmas tree skirt in the last one as I dismantle our tree. Who could resist? Doesn't it scream "Feliz Navidad?"

At the end of 2009, my goal is to see a snippet from each day, some little thing, like picking up my daughter from the high school, or a staff meeting at church, or a certain puppy doin' the cuteness that would have otherwise been lost forever. You and my children may be bored to tears with Sunday's offerings, but it will mean something to me at the end of the year, I know.

So here is my first foray into Project 365. Please click on the button above to go visit our host, Sara.

New Year's "Action Item": Project 365

Check it out. Here is my poor, beleaguered husband trying for all it's worth to enjoy some privacy. This is sad.

He has always dreamed of having a study/library/den, but so far, it just hasn't materialized. This spot is as close as he has gotten yet: one corner in our busy, noisy family room, with a TV tray of books stacked up, his laptop open and wearing big headphones that look like they came out of the foreign language lab from our high school, circa 1981.

I just realized that he's actually reading my blog and doesn't know that I know because I'm about 15 feet behind him. Why does sneaking up on him like this feel so satisying to me?! Tee. Hee.

But don't feel too sorry for him. He's one of those people who lets a little power and dominion go to his head. Case in point: You'll notice that there's a 2nd chair there, which implies more than one person might utilize "his" library.

Not so fast, interlopers. He's like a crusty old dog barking at me every time I try to plop down and slurp some coffee and put my feet up in the adjacent massage chair and turn on the vibrating massager. Geesh. Some people are so picky about the invasion of their "personal space!"

And lately, he has taken to excoriating us when we touch his rare and expensive TV tray collection: "Who's been messing with my books?! Didn't I tell you that you need a card to take books from my library!?" Of course, I just about die laughing.

OK, so the real reason I took this pic is that it's my official first pic of 2009: "Jorge in the Libarry." This will be the first of 365 photos that I'll be taking during 2009 in order to take part in Project 365, hosted by Sara of Make Music from Your Heart to the Lord. Each Sunday, participants will post that week's photos in whatever form they wish, single pics or slide shows, etc. and link back up with Sara so that we can share. Please go see Sara for a better explanation.

I'm not photographer, but I would like a photo journal of 2009. And I don't want 365 pics of Zoe, although that would be tempting. I'm going to try to capture the exhilarating mundane, such as what's for dinner and shoe choice of the day and odd neighbors that I have known.

Of course, I fear that I will not be faithful to this project daily, but I'm going to attempt it. Call it a resolution.

No, wait, don't call it that. Call it a "New Year's Action Item."