Showing posts with label 29 before 29. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 29 before 29. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

29 before I'm 29 recap.

It's about that time. Time to see the progress I've made on the old ball and chain. 29 before I'm 29. Sigh.

For those just now tuning in, I've made ZERO progress on the list as noted here. Double sigh.

So last month, I made it my goal to try and knock out at least three things on the list each month.


 
This month:

  • Continue to regularly blog (Sundays are the only optional day).
  • Make (and successfully not kill) an indoor herb garden.
  • Teach Ruby how to roll over.
How'd I do?

Continue to regularly blog (Sundays are the only optional day).
This one I'm not doing too bad in. Granted, it's more of a year long goal but so far so good. This month, I have successfully posted 22 times, skipping only 8 days. The folks on FaceBook that aren't interested have to have hid or unsubscribed to my statuses by now. Factoring in the holiday and I'm right on target! Go me.

Make (and successfully not kill) an indoor herb garden.
For the record, I tried to accomplish this. I found five $1 mason jars at a Cleveland Pat Catan's (Cincinnati is really missing out for not having one of these). The plan was to fill with pretty functional gravel, dirt and then the plant. However, as I headed out in search of plants, they ended up being $5.99. EACH. Being the cheapo that I am, I've decided to postpone the herb garden to the summertime when the price per plant is lower. For now, this is what I've got so far.

Teach Ruby to roll over.
This is also a work in progress. Truth be told, I only started on this last night. Pup is half way there but, after half a bag of Pupperoni later, she still refuses to fully roll over and instead, hopes I settle for a sideways lean. Silly dog. So for now, here is Miss Ruby doing her famous trick, "Bang". She really, really, really hates doing it which is why she circles around at least 5 times before caving in to my fake gun.


BONUS: Buy a proper camera to take really good photos with.
Have I ever mentioned that my friends are the absolute best? Well, they are. And one of them, Michelle, happens to be a photographer-turned-accountant. Don't ask questions, just listen.

Over the last couple of months, our GChat conversations have looked like this:
M: Hey Kate.
K: Hey Michelle.
M: How are you feeling today?
K: How are you feeling about [this camera]?
M: Seems nice. But don't you want [this function]?
K: I don't know, do I?

And round and round we went. Finally, I'm sure out of sheer desperation to talk about something else, Michelle offered to sell me her old Nikon D100 (she upgraded to the D200) for a price I could afford as soon as I received my tax return. She walked through the basic functions and also guaranteed availability for on-the-spot "how do I work this thing" phone calls. What. A. Gal. I bought a cheap flash to start out with and have been on my merry photo-snapping way ever since. At first I was scared but now I'm starting to get the hang of it. See, he's not so bad...


Yes, he. I've decided to name him Murphy for the Clifton bar Michelle and I used to frequent and because if my camera were a person, he would look like a Murphy. Actually, he'd probably look like Rob Ryan but I think Rob also looks like a Murphy. Or King Triton from The Little Mermaid. Can't you see the resemblance?





Anyway, she even gave me a dorky, protective bag to keep it in. Something you should know: unlike me, Michelle is all about function and purpose. And funtional this camera bag is - fully lined, padded, durable, legit.

I'm going to continue thinking Michelle passed along this heavy duty bag because she wanted me to look pro vs. wanted me to not break the camera immediately after taking it home. True to form, I'm hoping to find a different camera bag that has a little more, you know, pizazz, but for now, the bag will prevent me from breaking my camera work.

So, as it stands, I've actually completed only 1 of my goals and have 3 currently in progress. Which I would say is pretty typical of what goes on around here. Next up for December?
  • Teach Ruby to roll over. (carry over from Nov)
  • Continue to regularly blog (Sundays are the only optional day). (ongoing)
  • Visit a museum I've never seen before.
  • Learn how to take really good photos.
  • Minimize road rage. And improve my driving skills.
Fingers crossed I make some more progress!

Monday, October 31, 2011

another holiday, another whirlwind performance.

Per usual, I had a little too much fun with the Halloween festivities and am now feverishly adding to the infamous list of what not to do ever again. Like over-serving myself. And going to sleep before my BFF Jen could meet up with me. And dancing on coolers. I mean, who does this stuff anymore? This idiot, right over here that's who.
For those that weren't able to witness the mess show, here's a quick pic of me (AKA Big Bird) on Friday night. Which is the same outfit I wore Friday at work. And during my mere 3 hour Saturday night. Seriously, is there anyone else out there that does this? PLEASEDEARGOD.


But now, since you can't change the past and I'm almost done feeling bad for myself, I thought I'd pick myself up, dust myself off and begin picking up the pieces from yet another fuzzy weekend. No Mom, I still haven't learned.

Slowly getting the productive bug back today, I flashed back to my birthday (September 22nd) when I wrote this post, listing all of the goals and milestones I plan to accomplish before my next birthday.

My progress? None. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

So, with 1.5 months down the toilet and only 10.5 more months left before the deadline, I will need to cross off at least 3 items on the list each upcoming month. Which means I need to stop the shenanigans and get this little booty in gear. STAT.

Wanting to set the bar a little low for November - you know, get the old self esteem ready and raring - I chose the following items to complete:
  1. Continue to regularly blog (Sundays are the only optional day).
  2. Make (and successfully not kill) an indoor herb garden.
  3. Teach Ruby how to roll over.
Seems pretty doable right? I'm already doing the regular blog thing so I just need to keep that up. The indoor herb garden is something I've been planning to do in my kitchen forever now. And I think I've successfully roped my entire family into helping me teach pup to roll over Thanksgiving break.

The goal will be to provide an update on my progress along with picking three new goals to check off the list at the end of every month. I think that will keep me pretty accountable, motivated and (hopefully) out of trouble.

For now, here are some pretty herb garden treatments I'm thinking about. I have one little window sill available for this project so the arrangement will need to be smart and compact.







Thursday, September 22, 2011

29 Before I'm 29.

Today is my birthday. I'm 28. But instead of showing pictures of pretty cakes or party decor or a DIY craft for party games I've decided to hold myself accountable to a list of goals. Sounds fun, right? Inspired by similar lists on Making it Lovely and My Little Apartment, I'm wanted to come up with 29 things (big and small) I want to accomplish by this time next year.


Ok, ok, pretty pictures at the bottom. Only they're of ATLANTA. Because that's where I'll be THIS WEEKEND. At MUSIC MIDTOWN. BOOM. (thank you, Jim)


Anyway...

1. Get out of debt. Period. 
2. Put another stamp in my passport.
3. Visit Austin to checkout the food trucks.
4. Teach Ruby how to roll over.
5. Bake and decorate a birthday cake (I’ve never done it!).
6. Finally lose the 10 lbs. I’ve been lugging around since college.
7. Learn how to legit upholster.
8. Deposit something into my savings account every month.
9. Relocate out of Cincinnati.
10. Learn how to cook Indian food.
11. Make (and successfully not kill) an indoor herb garden.
12. Learn how to sew a dress. Actually, I'd even settle for a skirt.
13. Go on the Portland/Seattle/Vancouver trip Jen and I have talked about since 1992.
14. Figure out a continued(ing?) education plan.
15. Figure out if I want to get that tattoo or not.
16. Continue to regularly blog.
17. Start recycling.
18. Regularly exercise. Like, 2-3x a week regular.
19. Start biking or walking to places more.
20. Invest in my undergarments.
21. Upgrade both my TVs to flat screens.
22. Learn how to take really good photos.
23. Buy a proper camera to take really good photos with.
24. Quit biting my nails. (enough already!)
25. Minimize my road rage. And improve my driving skills.
26. Get a facial.
27. Visit a museum I've never been to before.
28. Face something I'm scared of. 
29. Meet someone famous. 

Fingers crossed I cross at least some of these off the list by next year. And maybe see a Desperate Housewife or two! Until next week... xoxo

Atlanta Fulton Central Library

Piedmont Park

Fox Theatre