Home Improving

We did some home improving this week, helping me accomplish the following:
48. Mulch front yard
50. Plant flowers and plants in front yard
51. Plant flowers and plants in back yard
52. Paint hallway (we aren't quite done yet, and I'm counting the study and front entry in this one!)

All Pictures: Located on Facebook


So this week Corey and I took vacation in order to do a little home improving. Monday, we went over to Home Depot and purchased some white stones to line the flower beds in front of our house with. Since these beds are next to the driveway, we've had issues with the mulch washing out.



Tuesday, we cleared out our study and then painted the walls 'Creme Brulee'. This is the same color that we painted the dining room last year. I also managed to get the wall with the front door painted, but I still need to do the archways in that front section and finish the hallway.



Today, we mulched the entire front bed around the garage and planted a ton of flowers. We also fixed up one of the beds in the back and planted some flowers there too. We were going to put our remaining older mulch out on the beds by the front door and found that we had ants take up residence in the bags that were in our garage! We put some ant killer on them and hopefully the mulch will be usable in a few days.

Scrapbook Pages

Pictures of the Pages I've recently done. Some of them are sideways... and I didn't feel like fixing that.

Enjoy!

From Jenn's 101

From Jenn's 101

From Jenn's 101

From Jenn's 101

From Jenn's 101

From Jenn's 101

New Authors [6/10]

So I have been doing really well on reading up on new authors. Here are a couple of my reviews. I am pretty sick, so I didn't have the energy to finish. I also counted the duo of good omens as one author. Besides the two reviewed below, I also read "Wizard's First Rule" by Terry Goodkind (2 stars) and "The Wayfarer Redemption" by Sara Douglass (4 stars).

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I found that I enjoyed the angel and demon characters in this book and that's about all. I just couldn't seem to care about the other characters. The plot really dragged in the middle of the book (coincidentally when the angel and demon are mostly absent). The ending was enjoyable, and I found that I got into the last few pages of the book. I think there are plenty of people who would really enjoy this book, I just wasn't one of them.


View all my reviews.


Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I gave the book four stars, probably because I loved the first half. I found myself caught up in watching the relationship between Bella and Edward develop, particularly watching Edward struggle with who he was and how he would reconcile with that part of himself



The second part of the book seemed thrown in so that the author had 'plot' and while I didn't NOT like it, it seemed to be in a different direction than the rest of the book. I did enjoy the ending, and I loved the conversation between the two main characters.



I'll probably read the rest of the series down the line.


View all my reviews.

So Behind

So I think I'm really behind on my 101. 2008 was a terrible year... well particularly the fall, which was right after I started my 101 list. However, I do have some updates:

28. Mail pictures of Kids to family/friends throughout 1001 days - I mailed a whole bunch of pictures off to my Aunt and Uncle earlier this month, and previously in the fall I mailed some to Jenbunny. Not a 'ton' of family and friends, but it's a start, especially for me!

29. Teach the twins to ride tricycles I'm not really sure how much this should count, since they really learned at school, but they can both ride tricycles. When we started riding at home, I did some couching, especially for Taylor, in the pedaling department, so I think that's enough to say that I helped and this one is done.

40. Learn the BA Process I'm marking this one as in progress. I'm pretty comfortable with the Reactor Tower and Heat Treater systems, which just leaves three more towers to go in this process. I'm also learning about how to start-up and shutdown the reactor tower. I think by the end of 2009 I'll definitely have this one completed.

55. Achieve and maintain 145 pound weight I probably should have given myself a little wiggle room on this one. I'm actually hovering between 146-147 right now. I'll probably make a push to get back to 144 soon. Although, since I just bought size 6 pants, I'm not really sure I care all that much about the number.

59. Try 10 new weight machines [6/10] Ok, I think the last time I had updated we'd done the biceps curl, the triceps dip, and the leg extensions. Since then I've added the calf machine (where you push the bar with your feet), a lats pulldown (which is neat, because the machine moves and rocks as you pull the weights. This one is where you grab the bar in the air and pull it down - see picture.) We have also done 2/3 times on the leg press, also a Roc-It type machine.

60. Paint My nails myself and keep them looking nice I painted my nails last night for the first in forever. I wanted them to look good for Corey's surprise birthday party. They are, however, already chipping, which means I'll have to do something soon to keep up with the 'keep them looking nice' part.

63. Scrapbook 36 pages [7/36] - went scrapping a few weeks ago and made 5 new pages plus finished off one I'd started previously (but during the 1001 days). I need to take pictures and post. I will do that... next time!

75. Visit one CLHS Friend (Outside Houston) I did this already, but since I did it again, I thought I'd post about it. Jess and I took the twins to see Adrienne and her family for Weston and Avery's birthday party. I had a wonderful time, especially once the kids were in bed Saturday night and Age, Jess, and I sat around and talked until midnight about everything that girls talk about. The parties were fun as well, but the drive was the suckiest. And the worst was getting there at 11 pm and the kids deciding they were going to go back to sleep until 2am. But of course, they were still up at 6.

88. Read 10 new authors [2/10]
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the first book in the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. The book had me hooked early. I loved the characters, who are each unique, real, and insightful. The book is told from the perspective of eight characters only - all action, all thoughts, and all perspective is through their eyes. The setting is vast and beautiful, and the book is filled with action, plots, more plots, battle, romance, a few more plots, and finally, some plots. It's a wonderful book. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy, long long stories, and plottwists :P


View all my reviews.

96. Keep CLHS blog active through the 1001 days We took a swing here with a really slow January, but I finally got around to making a post and things picked up! Within a week, four other people had put down a post. I know that I have to make a point to keep updating, and everyone else will too. So I'm giving myself a little credit on this since I helped out the activity this month.

4, 5, 27, 42, 57, 59, 68

4. Get five people to switch from plastic bags to canvas bags
So awhile back I posted that I had converted my sister to the reusable bags. (Really, I should have said reusable and not canvas, but the intent is the same). I talked to her this weekend, and she told me she has been using them and LOVES them! I feel happy that the first person I switched has been keeping up with using them.

5. Make three new friends
We have a new guy at work named Nate, who has been at CLO for a couple of months. We get along pretty well, and we're already facebook buddies! I really hope he stays with us (as we are being sold and everyone's got their resume out except lazy me), because we have a lot of the same beliefs and have a lot in common (College football baby!!!!). So I am going to check him off as a new friend. Woot for me!

27. Take kids to the zoo twice per year
While in San Antonio, we went to the zoo. The kids had a great time and I was really impressed with the quality of the San Antonio zoo. I recommend it. Africa Live was a really good exhibit and we really enjoyed feeding the Lorikeets:


42. Finish my Six Sigma Certification
And this one is complete!!!! While I was pretty close to doing this before I started my 101... ok actually I was officially done by the time I started the 101, but I hadn't done it when I was making the list. And I haven't counted it until now, because this week I had my official celebration lunch. I also obtained a 'fake' copy of my certification, because the real one is still being routed for signatures. I was waiting for that to claim credit for this, but I'm tired of waiting. So be it. It's done. I AM A GREEN BELT PROJECT LEADER! HEAR ME ROAR!!

57. Participate in a 3k
Another one complete! This weekend I participated in the Susan B Komen Race for the Cure with my CLHS group! We had a great time. I ran the race in 36 minutes and 15 seconds, which is a great time for me! Under a 12 minute mile. I also ran the entire way except for about a minute and a half at the two mile mark.





59. Try 10 new weight machines
Jess and I have completed our three time try of the "leg extension" machine. It's thrilling. That's all I have to say about that.

68. Take a family vacation
We took our family vacation on October 3rd-10th. Header over to the family blog to read all about it: Canyon Lake Vacation

88 and 92 [+54]

88. Read 10 new authors

Today I finished reading Brain Rules by John Medena. I really enjoyed this book. I purchased it a few months ago with some gift cards I got from work and finally got around to finishing it. I toggle back and forth between fiction mode and non-fiction mode, but I've been encouraging myself to read more non-fiction for the learning aspect. I feel like I learned a lot from this book. The book was twelve chapters long, each focusing on a different 'rule' associated with what scientists know about the brain and how to apply that rule to daily life (school, work, and home) in order to improve the brain's potential to learn. Of particular interest were things like "Multitasking is a joke" and "Exercise Improves Brain Function." Some of the things in the book were obvious "sleep improves brain function" but the chapter was still fascinating as the author discussed studies done that showed just how detrimental not getting enough sleep was, and how benefitial a nap could be. Plus, the author describes what happens to your brain when you sleep, so you learn the science behind this in a not-too-super technical way.

My favorite chapters were "Exercise boost brain power", "The human brain evolved too", "We don't pay attention to boring things", "Sleep weel, think well", "Stessed brains don't learn the same way," and "Male and female brains are different." I really enjoyed that last chapter.

I give the book an A. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in knowing more about the brain. The book also came with a DVD, but I haven't watched it yet.


92. Finish Watching AMG

Last Friday I was sick and I stayed home from work. After sleeping in until 12:30, I was still lacking-in-energy and decided to spend that time finishing off another of my 101 goals. I popped in the last few DVDs from Ah My Goddess Season One and finished to the end. The last seven episodes were all really good. Urd was petitioned by the Lord of Terror to awaken her demon side. She did and became evil!Urd. Following that, she was able to release the ultimate destruction program which was meant to destroy the world of humans and recreate it as a world for demons. The program awakened as the wolf Fenrir. Belldandy was able to save the day, although the program transferred itself into her boyfriend. Love conquered all and the series ended with a few cute episodes of Urd spending time as a child and Skuld spending time as an adult while Heaven's computers fixed themselves.

I saw that season two will be coming out in November, so I will be asking for that for Christmas.

54. Get a new door
And I've been meaning to post the picture, so here it is:

(75), (74), (4), (83), (59)

75. Visit one CLHS Friend (Outside Houston)
Unplanned, but this weekend due to evacuating from the hurricane, my family and I are in Austin. Since Sharon has Friday's off from work, I decided to give her a call and she if she was free. Friday afternoon the family piled into the car and we drove up to Sharon's north Austin home. This was the first time I had seen Sharon's house. We had a nice time chatting and visiting while the kids played on the floor. I don't get up to Austin very much, so I'm glad I was able to use this trip to get out and visit with Sharon! I took a couple pictures of the kids playing together, but since I am stuck in Austin, I don't have a way to get the pictures off my camera.

74. Go to Austin to visit my sister at least once a year
Unplanned (again), but here we are visiting with my sister. We arrived on Thursday after evacuating Houston and as of Monday, we are still here. We don't plan to return home until we have access to a house with power (ours or families). With the kids here, we don't do too much, plus Jess and Eric still have to work. We've taken the kids to the park, and once they go to sleep, Jess, Eric, Corey and I have been enjoying some wine and video games. All day Thursday, Friday and Saturday we also clung to the TV with the weather channel coverage. For us, it's difficult but addicting to watch what was happening to our home.

59. Try 10 new weight machines[2/10]
To clarify my intent of this one, by 'new' I don't mean 'never ever done before'. New is in reference to outside my normal workout routine. Jess and I have always done the same couple of things - run, thigh machine, butt machine. Plus, I sometimes do crunches. This 101 goal is to help us expand to other machines.

So far I have done two new machines: the biceps curl and the triceps...something or other. The first I've done three times, the second twice. Tonight would be my gym night, but alas, that's not going to happen this week most likely.

I also tried the roman chair (lifting my legs so that they were perpendicular to my body). Not a weight machine, but still something new. My god I thought my ribs were going to come off a couple days later. I hurt so bad across my sternum and lower diaphragm. I think I'll need to start a little slower on that exercise Even though it's not a weight machine and doesn't count, I thought I'd mention it.

83. Try 10 new wines [2/10]
This weekend I tried Sutter Home Moscato at my sister's house. I'd never had this wine before, but it was excellent! I don't care of wine is cheap or expensive as long as it tastes good, and this one was definitely good. It was on the sweeter side, but not as sweet as a zinfindel.

4. Get five people to switch from plastic bags to canvas bags [1/5]
I went grocery shopping with my sister on Friday. Since we are crashing her house I decided to pay for the groceries (after all, my family is bigger than hers so we would be eating more anyway). While there, I purchased the canvas bags for her to use. She was really impressed with how well they held all the groceries and easy they were to bring inside. Canvas Bags Rock!