hi. i have been bummed/maxxed out lately but i am feeling better. i just had to get my head right. i think i tried to put too much on and realized that it is too much a bit too late, but better than never i guess. i am not sure if my xmas gift projects are going to turn out and i think my holiday baking spree has been cut back a whole lot (largely due to how much time i will be home to just eat it all!).

i got the best flavorpill ever today, announcing a wu-tang show this weekend. it really helped pull me out of the rut i was in. it is nerdy but when i am stressed if i can go and rock out i feel so much better because i put all that energy into something positive instead of being pissed off (hot snakes used to come through for this, r.i.p.). within minutes, i got my tickets and booked my room so it's on. i wanted to invite my friend from work because he always let me borrrow his cd's and stuff, but he has a family emergency and can't go. i couldn't think of anyone else (local) to go with so i am going by myself, which i don't mind at all. it will be better than dragging someone else along and worrying about whether or not they are having a good time. i know i am having a good time and that's what matters.

p.s.

i went to the thrift store after work and two rad things happened.
1. this really nice lady told me how becoming my haircut is and we chatted
until it was time to part ways

2. i found and bought a few books for my readymade project and a "mexican"
cookbook, haha. i also saw a bunch of other stuff i have to wait until
payday to get (better be there still!)


i think it is time to crushcancel stakeholder greg because:
a. he still wore the fleece vest
b. he is married (it was in the nyt, not sure how big deal that is, but seemed
like one to me)

it makes it easier to bear

today was a not so good day at work. i just had a lot to do and ended up not getting even half of it done, because so many "issues" popped up from the past to get in the way. i had about three or four "clean up" missions-- things no one ever did, things they did wrong, or things they didn't even try to figure out on their own before asking me to figure it out for them. it wouldn't have been so bad if these instances weren't all within about five minutes of each other and if the money people weren't down the hall, reducing my palette of colorful words to a few muted mumbles.

luckily, a very wonderful man named otis redding, was the rhythmic remedy for all of this. i cannot listen to him without getting the chills and without easily forgetting whatever is bothering me at the moment since his own troubles blow mine out of the water.

in the words of phillip f. dale, "don't stop, give more".

quarter crush

i totally have the silliest crush on one of our investors since maybe five quarters ago. he is tall, thin, and preppy with great glasses. after seeing him around from time to time, today we finally met, sort of.

my neighbor and i had been taking pictures with our executives and managers all day long so we could post them by our desk, nerds! during lunch she joked that we should also take one with the stakeholders. my non-crush is a good sport with a great sense of humor, let's call him steve, who would have no problem with it. my crush, let's call him greg, wouldn't really mind it either but he's a bit quieter, kind of like someone we know.

they were supposed to show up some time after noon, but we had not caught sight of them yet and it was almost time for me to leave. i was changing from my dress shoes to my chucks, mister rogers style, when i heard a knock from the lobby door. i don't normally answer it because there is a phone there to call your party, but sometimes people don't know the extension, or their party does not answer. we have been operating on the "secret knock" (shave and a hair cut, two bits) for a few weeks now, which is the few times i hear the knock over my headphones.

i had one shoe on and one shoe off so i really did not want to get it. so i walk over hoping it is no one important and of course it is super important stakeholder greg. ack! so he says, hi i'm greg and i say i'm k and ask how he is doing and somewhere in there we shake hands and i also relay my one-shoed oops story. i don't even remember if i made eye contact before i high tailed it out of there. hopefully the shoe thing didn't gross him out and my honesty is endearing, but somehow i doubt he even really cared.

maybe we will get our picture tomorrow. hopefully sans fleece vest since he should be used to the warmer weather by then.

15 days left

and i just started shopping today. i haven't really had shopping monies, still do not. everything just timed out really badly. i paid my bill that was due this week, two weeks ago so i would hopefully have money by now, but i don't. due to the holidays, i have to pay my loans about a week earlier than i normally would, so that leaves me with no "real" money until the 28th most likely, bah.

fortunately the last year or so has really taught me to find the bargains and not in a bad way. i am the queen of some ross and marshall's sprees. i haven't done any of my own shopping since i have to get gifts for the children whose names i drew first. i picked two kids and i had money from my boss, the cfo and shop manager for six more kids. i was able to take care of four of them today, woo!

the boys wanted skate/basketball clothes which i knew i might luck out on at marshall's. i got each of them two shirts, one wanted nike and the other dc. the girl i chose wanted tons of make up but also some canvases and acrylics and thank jebus, aaron brothers had a sale. i got her stuff and some color pencils and a sketch pad for one of the other boys. i think i spent just under a hundred dollars and i have 100 more for the other four kids. i took care of "my" kids so i am playing with someone else's money for the duration, phew! my mom offered up some credit she had at kohl's so that will be a help too.

we are turning in their gifts on friday so i think i have done a pretty good job of last minute shopping for them, probably because it is not the real last minute. i want to get the rest done tomorrow and might grab a few things for my family if i have anything left, otherwise wait until friday.

my mom made a comment that during halloween we watched a scary movie each week but were not doing anything for christmas. i wanted to get
these anyway, so that was just a nudge. there was another collection i also wanted to get, but this one seemed better. we shall see.

happy hollowdays

as much as i hate to admit it, a lack of green is making me blue.

bottoms up!

 

 

here is my ornament, woo hoo! inside is a picture of me and the tofu mascot from the tofu festival. too bad the photo of the photo didn't come out so great. we were asked to make something that represents us. i think tofu, tea, recycling, d.i.y. and cute = me x 365, yeah!

hang 'em high

i am so glad we got a tree for the office. even though it is fake, it is bringing out tons of real cheer so we'll take it. we are getting so many cute handmade ornaments that are impressing the heck out of me, even more so considering who made them. a lot of the quieter people are really busting out some top notch ornaments, which will show the people who don't know them, how rad they are if you will just take a look or give a listen. i am almost an ex-quiet person, but i still like being undercover sometimes.

today i made my ornament for the tree, a small mug with a picture of me inside it, a mug within a mug if you will. it turned out so much better than i had hoped. i haven't made anything in a long time so i was having some confidence issues, even with a template. other materials: whole foods 365 brand tissue box, wrapping paper scraps from the "presents" i wrapped this earlier, reused sheet of paper (to print photo), paperclip (for hanging) and of course, scissors, tape, glue. i used a small knife to cut the side slits and a teeny screwdriver to poke a hole for the hook, both of which from my business card tool kit, so awesome. it's not the best quality tools, but surprising for the size/price.

after work i went to the library to see if the "friends" store had any good choices for the project i saw in readymade. unfortunately i didn't find any that seemed right for it. the few also-ran's i did come across, had way too much tape or other markings that would take away from the goodness. i still feel weird to buy a book knowing i am going to cut it all out and cut it up. i know it's not quite defacing or destroying because i am going to make something from it. i guess i could re-bind the pages if i wanted to keep the book badly enough, though most likely i would recycle it. i did get another old wilton cake decorating book and a woman's day "best ideas for christmas" magazine, so it wasn't a total loss.

i am gonna nap now. bye.

any time of the day is a good time for pie *

 

here is my shepherd's pie. you probably can't see it very well but i tried to make a heart in the mashed potatoes. for as badly as i managed my time, i think it still turned out decent. i only had the "regular" version a few times but i remember my mom putting green chiles in it and i think that would have helped it a lot. i have ideas for variations for round two, but it was still good eating, hot and hearty, like i like my men.

i used the small corningware dishes again and since my sister was on the phone i put her portion back in the oven to keep it warm old school style. at first my niece said she didn't like it but then she changed her mind and i packed some for her lunch tomorrow. it sort of grows on you because i was packing up her lunch and started to put the rest away and decided to eat more of it, oops. at least i know it won't go to waste. by the way i think i only spent 20 odd dollars on groceries this week, rad!

*one of my fave lines from one of my fave movies

get right

i took a few days off from this because i have been "off" for a few days. i should be over it by today i think. you didn't miss anything, trust me.

i looked through the readymade book last night and saw one or two projects that are in my approximate skill level so i might try them. i like building/making stuff but i haven't really ever done anything involving so many tools (ikea furniture does not count). i know of all the required implements i am more likely to slash open my finger with an x-acto knife than anything else. if i can do the easy ones, the others will come along in due time.

for dinner tonight i am making shepherd's pie vegan style. i know it is not a very demanding recipe, but would you believe it's my first time making mashed potatoes? my sister or dad always takes care of that. however, i can mash potato thanks to angie pontani. it shouldn't take much to make or eat, but it's warm and hearty and that's what we need right now. more challenging menus are on the way though, probably after first of the year. this month is all about quick and hearty (is that a ragu sauce?) and of course, the baking.

my mom is really nagging us to give christmas lists. i can think of stuff i would buy right now if i had money to do so but it's nothing i want so badly that i would ask someone to buy it for me because i can't wait. i just don't feel right to ask for much of anything since i live in her house, that's so much already. i know she went along with my "don't buy me anything--donate to something i care about" for my birthday but i don't know if she would do that twice. i can try for that and ask for a few small things and she can make the call.

i forgot to get my mug this morning so i am using a styrofoam cup. there goes my eco-cred, dang!