Happy 2008!

Other than the fact that I've been too busy to blog lately, Blogger.com has decided to force me to use a different log in just about every time I access my account here. Wordpress is looking pretty good, folks!

But, it is a good thing that I gave up my other little blogging gigs because I've been cranking away on the books and now on school stuff to get ready for the big day soon.

Other than writing my fingers to the bones, I've been busy getting organized, and this happens to be my general goal for 2008 (other than continue to inch this weight off...15 lbs down...20 to go). It's not that I'm that unorganized, but when it comes to stuff around the house, I tend to work in organized chaos.

I received a purse organizer from my sis for xmas and that sort of got it going in my closet. That followed with me buying a shoe rack, and wow, it is amazing how much room I have in my closet now. I also tossed out a lot of old clothes. I was brutal. I tossed out anything I hadn't worn for the past year at least once, and I now have two boxes of stuff for the Am Vet's next visit. Of course, that teamed with the new job and the fact that I'm down one size required that I do some clothes shopping on the web. So, I probably replaced everything I chucked out.

The next big house organization is going to be our family room, or as we call it the dog room. It's an 18x24 ft room that opens out to a large porch, and our dogs pretty much hang out there during the day. It's got our one and only working TV, one of my bead work areas in the corner, and furniture that came over on the Mayflower. My husband has resigned himself to the fact that the beads will probably stay, though I'm not sure of this myself and may move them all into my office since I usually am writing as I make jewelry for my site and for my books. Therea are just about beads and jewelry making stuff in almost every room of the house now, and that includes our guest bath, which I've turned into my temporary metal clay studio.

Whether my beads stay in the dog room or not, I'm looking into some craft organizers like the one pictured here from Best Craft Organizer.com. These babies aren't cheap, but boy, they sure look nice and organized! Of course, I've got way more stuff than would fit in something like this, but it's a possible place to start.




Well, I've got to get back to the school stuff. I'm this far from finishing up my last syllabus. Shew! Have a wonderful New Year, and if you are looking for an easy black eyed pea recipe, check out the one I posted last year here at fatand40. I will be throwing mine together tonight so they are ready in the morning for us to nibble on throughout the day.

So Not a Tyra

Today I spent hours and hours shooting for my new DVD that will go with my book Picture Yourself Making Metal Clay Jewelry. I have never enjoyed getting my picture taken, and I have to say video cameras are even worse! We spent at least 3 solid hours working, probably got at least an hour of film, and I would guess that maybe five minutes of that is usable. Luckily, I have a very talented video editor, so hopefully, this poor guy will make me look like I know what I'm doing and not like a babbling idiot.

Granted, I didn't have a specific word-for-word script written, but you'd think I could say two sentences in a row without screwing it up! For all those empty-headed models and actresses out there who I know now aren't as empty-headed as I thought, I have new found respect, and I salute you!

[image link]

Hair Today Gone Today

About a year ago, right before the my defense, I had the brainy idea of getting my hair cut, like in a "real" salon, not just my husband giving it a trim in the bathroom. As I had feared, I ended getting a major hatchet job on my hair. It was still pretty long, but the woman layered it rather than give me the simple cut and bangs that I had asked. So, it was a mess.


A year later now, most of it had finally grown out, but it was the point that it needed some cleaning up. Not only do I start my new job in less than a month, but I will be filming my new metal clay DVD next week, so eek! Something had to be done about the mane.


As I was driving to work the other day, I passed by a place called Tease. Hmmm...it's close to where I live. I have to do something, right? The trims from DH just aren't cutting it. So, I braved it and went it. And believe it or not, I managed to find a sweet young woman who actually did what I asked her to do when cutting my hair. In fact, she was leery about whacking off five inches like I asked, but after I assured her a few times that I really wanted it cut, she went for it. She even got the bangs right.


While on the phone, I told my husband what I had done, and he threatened to get a mow-hawk, but when he saw it he was fine. It is still below my shoulders, so it's not like it's really that short, but it looks so much better. I even bought a few things to help with my tangles. I told her how I have a hard time combing my hair after I wash it, and she suggested a few things they had there. They call them "products." I felt so fashionable as I left, my hair finally in control, my little bag of beauty products in hand.

[image link]

Reading and Cat Pee

Because my friends know I write and teach English and all that, very often they want to give me some book to read. "Oh, you like to read? Then you'll like this." The problem is, though, I don't really have time to read for pleasure. Yes, I read, but I read because I'm prepping for class or I'm researching something I'm writing about or I'm reviewing a jewelry book. Who has the time to sit around and read any more? :(

Plus, of course, there's the selection of what I read. I'm pretty particular. After graduating years ago with my MA and being forced to read lots of hard-*ss literature, I remember thinking I'd love to sit down and read some trashy novels for a change, but you know what? When I actually tried to do it, I couldn't. They were just so awful to me, that I couldn't suspend myself in the stories any more. So, it was back to the classics.

Any way, recently a friend of mine insisted that I read Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian by Weiss. And, I will admit the book does sound interesting. However, I protested to her that I just don't have time to read for fun right now, especially now with the holidays and the end of the semester and book deadlines out the wazoo. But, she insisted, pressed the book in my hands, and would not let me give it back to her until I was done. And, she did want it back. She even showed me the book sticker with her name on the inside cover.

So, I thought, okay, I spend a lot of time in the vet's office bringing in my cats on a weekly basis, sometimes twice a week, so I slipped it into the pocket of my cat carrier with the idea that I could read a few pages here and there every week while I wait. The other day, I was siting there waiting to bring in one of my cats for her weekly fluids and I pulled out the book and started to read. I glanced down and noticed a small wet spot on a few of the pages. Eek! My cat was so freaked about going (again!) to the vet, she had peed, and it had leaked onto the book. Crap!

See, I told you not to give me books, people! Dang it! So, I went to my often visited www.amazon.com and ordered a new one for my friend. It's going directly to her house too because I'm so busy now I can't imagine how I'll manage to see her before the first of the year. At least now, I have the book and can read it at my leiser, which probably means not until this summer.

Burn Calories Grading Research Papers!

My pound of turkey is already history! I honestly felt like I wasn't as good about the diet thing last week as I could have been. Getting off the wagon for a few days made it very difficult for me to find my way back to my normal eating routine, and that especially included writing down my food, which I totally hate with a passion. However, it really makes a difference for me, so I know I have to do it.

My hope was that I just hadn't gained anything that week, so I was thrilled to find out the pound I had gained the week before was gone the following week. Actually, I was more amazed because along with struggling with my routine, I hadn't been able to exercise as much as usual due to the huge load of grading that hits just about every writing teacher around the end of the semester. As I was lugging home moutains of research papers to grade, I was asking myself, "Is there a better way? Why oh why did I have all my classes do this to me now?" But, of course, that's part of the problem with writing classes; students have to build up to writing the "big" research paper. It's not like I could make it their first assignment. Okay, I could, but that would not be a nice thing to do.

Maybe it was the stress of grading while trying to make headway on my two books that burned off some of the calories, but either way, it was a relief and renewed my faith in the whole system.

[image link]