Out with the Old, In with the New

I carry a spoon with me all the time. Odd, I know, but it really comes in handy. I always use it at the dairy because I don't like eating with a plastic spoon (especially ice cream). This is my trusty spoon. I got it really cheap at an antique shop. The silver plating is about worn off. I decided it is time for a new spoon. Also, I wanted a fork too.

I bought this set on ebay. Well, it did not match the item description at all. The spoon and fork are too tiny for my big hands. Also, the set isn't in very good condition.So I tried again and this set arrived in the mail today. I shined them up and they are perfect! Now I have a new spoon and a matching fork. And the plating won't rub off because they are sterling baby!

Yeah, Single Stream!

This month our county finally went to single stream recycling. Now we can throw everything in one box and Ross can take it out to the container by the dumpster. We can now recycle 1-7 plastics, not just 1 and 2. Also, I was reading the rules for what they will take and they will take cartons! No more throwing away oj, milk, and soy milk cartons. You don't know how excited I was about that.

Sharpies!

I couldn't resist the 24 pack of sharpies on sale at Staples. I now have about 3 dozen regular sharpies. That doesn't include all my black sharpies. I don't know what it is that makes them so irresistible.

Koooo-Keeeee

I've been saying for a couple weeks now that I was going to make cookies. Yesterday I finally made some. I decided to make oatmeal cranberry cherry cookies. It made the regular 3 dozen, and then I had more dough, so I decided to make one giant cookie. That red plate is 11 inches across. By weight the giant cookie is equal to about 6 of the regular sized cookies. I'm planning on making some butter cookies tomorrow. Can you believe I've only eaten one cookie so far?

Morning Commute

Leaves starting to turn,

Four white vans full of soldiers,

I feel the music.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

Some of my favorite things were gifts, and they all show just how well the people who bought them know me.

Tiffany bought me this electric tea kettle. I love the shape and it works like a dream. I almost had a heart attack once when I thought it had broken. Nope, it is still going strong years later.
Ross's other wife, Tejal, gave me this little brown tea pot. There are so many things I love about it. It is my favorite color, it has an interesting texture, the strainer is metal, and it is the perfect 2 cup size. I know I'll be using this tea pot forever. Thanks Tejal, for not keeping this for your own collection!
I admired this tea cup at CM when I saw it and my mom offered to buy it for me. I protested at first, but eventually gave in. My mom likes to buy me things, and I really did like it. The dragon is like a relief sculpture on the cup and I love the way the tail extends onto the handle of the cup. I'm so glad I let her buy it for me.
I use all three of these things almost every day. I love the simplicity of each one and they each do their job perfectly.

Long Week

This past week has been really busy. On Monday I worked a really long day and had school. Tuesday I was busy in the morning and then attended a meeting all afternoon. Wednesday was another day of meetings. Thursday was busy in the morning and then the afternoon was all crazy with a shooting incident in the hospital. Friday I was pretty sick, but it was my own doing. Yesterday we fasted for Yom Kippur. Today I have a lot of cleaning to do. I also need to finish my reading and homework for class tomorrow. I have a lot of things that I want to blog about, I'm just a little bogged down right now.

Going Straight

I decided to try the Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Blow Dry Perfector today. It claims to tame frizz, and make for faster, easier blow dries. It also claims to work for up to seven shampoos (but you still have to blow dry your hair every time you shampoo it).

Here I am with two day old hair (last washed on Thursday). I still don't think I like the way this haircut looks when curly.
This is with step 1 of the product on. I put it into my hair and combed it through. It burned the back of my head a little. I let it sit for about 25 minutes. First of all, it smelled HORRIBLE. For that reason alone I will never buy this product again. I rinsed it out for a long time, just to make sure I got the smell out. My hair looked the same after I rinsed it. Then I towel dried and put on step 2 of the product. The packaging says that the product needs heat to activate it so I blow dried my hair.
I didn't take any special care to get my hair really straight. I was hungry and wanted to eat lunch. This is what it looked like after the blow dry. I think it is less frizzy than it normally is after a lazy blow dry, but there are other products out there (and that I have) that can do the same thing and they smell a hell of a lot better.
Here I am after I flat ironed my hair. I have no idea how long this took. I ate lunch and watched Veronica Mars in the middle of it all. Then I played with my new eyeliner. My hair doesn't seem as sleek or soft as it was when I first had it cut (and styled by a pro).

Over all I think this product is a bust. I'm glad I only paid 4.50 for it. I still have leftover product for each step, but I'm going to throw the step 1 stuff away. It just smelled awful.

How Could I Forget?

One of my recurrent nightmares involves driving. In the most common one I am driving from the passenger seat or back seat. Then, something happens (usually involving flashing lights) and I'm desperately trying to get into the front driver's seat. Sometimes I can't reach the brake pedal from the back seat. I haven't had this one in a while, so maybe that's why I forgot to list it. The funny thing is that I'm usually doing just fine until I see the lights in the rear view mirror.

Dragonfly

Ross found this on the front steps last week. It was pretty cool to be able to check one out up close.

New Cut Version 2.0

I finally washed my hair and wore it curly. The curls turned out kind of flat, and my hair looks really messy. I think it might be because I left the towel on may hair so long this morning. Tomorrow I'm going to try the Garnier Sleek and Shine Blow Dry Perfector. It says it'll give me easier, faster blow dries. We'll see.

My Very Own Orchid

I've really been tempted in the last few months to buy an orchid. First, a couple of the secretaries at work have them. Second, I went to a wedding where every table had a different kind of orchid as the centerpiece. The groom received the orchids as a wedding gift from the bride. Recently I saw the cutest mini orchids somewhere, but I just wasn't brave enough to buy one. Then Nicole got an orchid for her birthday. Now that just put me over the edge. I had to get one. After checking out a couple of stores I ended up buying one at Costco today. Yippeee! Now I have my very own orchid. Let's see if I can keep it alive.

This was one of the beautiful orchids at Michai's wedding.

This is my new orchid!

Wild China

Last night I finished watching the series Wild China on Netflix instant watch. This six part series by the BBC explores different areas of China and how the people relate to nature. The images are breathtaking. I'm not sure which episode was my favorite, but the last one, Tides of Change, showed the Tulou of Fujian Province (pictured). Many tulou were built hundreds of years ago and are still standing. Ross and I were really impressed. The series showed China's many sites of natural beauty. It makes me wish I had months (and the money) to explore all the remote areas of China.

Recurrent Nightmares

My recurring nightmares fall into one of a few categories:

1. The Math Dream: These are themes on a variation. School dreams. I can't remember my locker combination or I can't find my class or book. A lot of times I can't remember my class schedule. Sometimes I find out I've been enrolled in a class that I've never been to and I have a test coming up. If I don't pass the class I won't graduate.

2. The Naked Dream: The nightmares are where I am partially naked. Usually I find myself topless and I'm trying to cover up. When I'm totally naked I'm not bothered at all. I act like it is totally normal to walk around naked, and everyone else is bothered.

3. The Bus Dream: I'm lost, or late, and I'm tryingto find my way somewhere. I don't know the bus routes, or I get off the bus and end up walking forever. These dreams usually take place in an alternate dream-version of Austin. These are sometimes combined with the Math Dream.

4. The Screaming Dream: I'm not screaming because I'm frightened, I'm screaming cause I'm really pissed off. Usually I get into an argument with someone and then I just end up screaming at them at the top of my lungs. Sometimes I get violent. These dreams are the worst because I wake up feeling emotionally drained.

Modern Hurricane

I was listening to the weather reports about hurricane Earl and I was suddenly overcome with amazement. I've always been fascinated by meteorology, but it wasn't that. It was like it just suddenly dawned on me that I'm living in an age of technology and mass communication. One hundred years ago I would have just been going about my day (not driving a luxury car), with no idea what was brewing in the ocean, much less what route it is likely to take. For some reason today it really hit me. We are so fortunate to have all the technology and ways of communication that are available now.