Project Brick Ditch

So, my February goal is to remove the bricks from around my house and clean up the overgrowth. Unfortunately, it's been pretty rainy and nasty all day, so my project is on hold for the moment. However, here are some pics of what it looks like and what I have done so far:

In front of the porch

Right side of the house

The loose bricks I removed

More bricks in the ground

As you can see, it is a mess. I dug the ditch all the way around so I could get to the bricks better. They seem like they will come out relatively easily. I am going to reuse the bricks as a base and surround for some raised beds. It's going to be a lot of work all together, but it needs to be done. I will update as the project progresses.

In other news, I found two local jobs to apply for this week. One of them required two letters of recommendation. I had to ask my bosses if they would write one for me, which was a little awkward. I told them I was looking around, so it isn't a big shocker. Still a little weird though. They outdid themselves with their letters though, and I feel a little sad that I will one day leave the office. They are great bosses to work for.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Week Four, wrap up

Today is the last day of week 4. I have been doing pretty well staying on task, though not 100%. I have applied to a different job each week for 4 weeks. Though I only heard back from one so far (they had already hired someone), I am still hopeful that something will come up. It has to, right? In the meantime, I have to remember to be thankful for the job I do have.

I tried my first recipe from my new cookbook. I tried the spinach lasagna with roasted cauliflower-tofu "ricotta" and homemade marinara. Here is a pic from before it went in the oven:

It looks pretty tasty, huh? Well, I have to say it was kind of...bland. I tried another recipe to go along it as a side - shaved brussel sprouts! I decided to add sweet potatoes to the brussel sprouts and I have to say I like the idea of thinly sliced brussel sprouts. They cook soooo much faster, which means I can eat them sooner. Not sure if I would make the lasagna again (at least not without adding, um, flavor).

Veggie overkill?

I was working on February's to-do list, and while it looks mostly the same as January, I have added some more sit-ups, so I am going from 25 a night to 50. I've managed to do all my cardio and weight tasks, and I am beginning to grow little arm muscles!!!

Another thing I added was a February project. If anyone has been to my house they may have noticed that surrounding my house there is a 4 brick-high retaining wall about three feet wide all around the front of my house. I have no idea when they were put in, but the wall has seen better days. The top layer of bricks have come away from the mortar, and weeds are growing all over them. So, I have decided to take down the retaining wall, reuse the bricks, and pull out a lot of the crap that is planted around the house. It's going to be a big project, but it needs to be done.

I have made progress with the fiddle. I now can play the first 8 notes from Joy to the World! I find this to be a huge milestone, that I can play something that sounds like music instead of just the normal screeching of drowning rats. Maybe one day when I get a little better, I will post a video.

Oh, one more goal for February: go to bed by 10:30. It's going to take me some time to get used to that, so each week I am going to cut 15 minutes off my bedtime until I get to 10:30. For whatever reason, I am dreading this goal....and on that note, good night, dear reader!

Drink, little bird, drink...

So, right before Christmas our bosses announced that we were going to switch over to a team system...meaning, instead of each of us getting all types of cases within our levels of experience, we were going to get specific types of cases based on which team we were on. I think there are six: minor felony, major felony, violent crime, criminal sexual conduct(CSC)/domestic violence, DUI, and drugs. They asked if we had a preference, and the only thing I said was that I would prefer to not be on the CSC team. Before this, I was handling everything from murder to CSC to lesser felonies, and the occasional misdemeanor case. Now I am on the drug team. There are three of us on that team. My caseload increased by about 100 clients, but the severity (measured by possible prison time folks are facing) of the charges on the whole has decreased, and I have a handful fewer clients in jail. All in all I like it pretty well. I have a feeling drug clients won't keep me up at night quite as much, though I did wake up at 5:30 the other morning because I realized I needed to call one of my clients about something. That was the first time in a month, which is a huge improvement.

The to-do list is getting tweaked this week. I am going to add 3 days of cardio/week and 5 sessions of fiddle practice. I feel like 3 days of cardio is on the light side, but I don't think I can regularly fit in 4 days at the gym. Once it warms up I will be out and about and it won't matter, but while I am going to a gym for my cardio I don't want to push it. I will adjust as needed. I've been counting fiddle practice even if it is just for 10-15 minutes, but I play pretty much every night so I figure I should get some credit for it.

Depeche Mode every day when I come home. It hasn't left the record player. I am soooo in love with that album. Best $10 I have ever spent.

I don't have much as far as updating goes. I haven't heard anything about the other two jobs I applied for. I need to find another one to apply for this weekend. Finding jobs to apply for is difficult in the NC/SC  region. I don't have a problem branching out. I'd go anywhere. Except Florida. Or Oklahoma. I'd like to get to Asheville though, or NC generally. I will settle for SC if I can find something awesome. Chances are I won't....

I just emailed my mom a picture of my new tattoo. I figure this way she can deal with her disapproval in the comfort and privacy of her own home.

You know what I have been totally obsessed with? Brussel sprouts with sweet potatoes:

Everything Counts....

Thanks for the day off from work, Martin...

So, I have been researching the glass bottles I found in the woods. In the picture just below, it seems the very left bottle, with the lines running across the top and bottom, is an old opium bottle.The two taller, flask-like bottles that say "Federal law forbids sale or re-use of this bottle" are post-prohibition liquor bottles. I am guessing the smaller bottles are medicine bottles, though I suspect the more angular bottle (front right just below) may be a food bottle, since there are no measurements embossed in the side.

I am sure there is so much more out there in the woods. I am definitely going to go back and dig around some more, with better shoes, gloves, and a trowel of some sort. I cut myself twice, because there is broken glass and pieces of metal everywhere on the hill, which is quite steep and slippery.

And here are a few pics from the Congaree Swamp.

So, I am officially on Week 3 of the Tackle 2011 Project (or whatever the hell it should be called). I had house guests this past weekend, so some of my daily goals didn't get accomplished. I am going to try to catch back up. I have caught up on my Spanish Lessons. I applied to two jobs last week, so I am going to use one of those to count for Week 3. All in all not too bad.

I am listening to Depeche Mode's 101 record, the one that was recorded live at the Rose Bowl. I found it yesterday at Papa Jazz. I have the film on VHS, and I have watched it sooooo many times. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked to find it in the "new" bin at Papa Jazz (clearly, it's new in a relative sense). This album is making me pretty happy. It was a brilliant performance, the quality of the recording is amazing, and I think this album is in my top 5 for sure. I know some folks don't get my love of Depeche Mode. It is fairly limited to this time period of their existence, certainly doesn't extend to all Depeche Mode.

Ok, and last but not least, here is my new art:

Isn't he lovely? It's still a little irritated and red, but I think you get the idea.

OK kids. I am off to have a productive day. You do the same. Make it count.

Back in South Carolina

Yup. Back in SC after a lovely trip to Carrboro to visit H and B. I must say, it was quite a productive little trip. Remember that battery of mine that wanted to die? The talented B used his manly expertise and knowledge base to hook me up with a new battery for a lot less than the mechanic's quote, and he was able to install it himself. What a guy! We also bought a few bookshelves for the spare bedroom/office and put them together. However, my favorite part of productive New Year 2011 was cleaning out the overgrown and many years neglected garden space. We put in a  compost corner and laid sheet mulching on the existing raised beds. Let that cook for a few months and those beds are going to be awesome for growing. Makes me realize I have a few more things to add to my own to-do list, such as:

- Sheet mulch the raised beds
- Add cold-weather raised bed to back yard
- plant 1 or 2 more blueberry bushes
- design wildflower garden

Now that I am back I have to really buckle down with my goals for the year. I am serious about making this year the most productive year ever. I will be back at work tomorrow, so many of these goals are going to be evening and weekend activities....It can be done, one thing at a time. I also want to get a fiddle. Let's hope my bid on Ebay wins!!!

Super fast so you can't tell I don't know what I am doing.

This is a test....

Hi there. Remember me? It's been, oh, say....three years or so. I recently came to the conclusion that I am going to blog.  I am going to try to be intentional with it...as in, use it as I contemplated in my post of many years ago...as a measuring stick. A reference point. Each post on the continuum of before and after. I know I have only one reader (hi S.S.).  Sorry if this is boring. :)

Initially my plan was to restart this on January 1st. However I will probably be out and about on that day, hopefully hiking in the mountains somewhere, so I figured I would start now. Today. Christmas Eve.

One of my goals with this is to use it as an ongoing checklist of things I need/want/hope to do. I found 2010 to be somewhat of a dud, though I am blaming no one but myself. I took the year off, so to speak. I floated through it without much thought. Because of that, there is little I feel I have done to improve myself, and that is a constant I don't want to be without.

So, let's start off at the beginning. These are some of my goals for the new year, in no particular order or degree of importance.

2011. I am going to tackle you.

- Start a blog
- Try something new every week
- Send in one job application a week
- learn Spanish (with the aid of an, ahem, gifted copy of Rosetta Stone)
- Volunteer as a conversation partner at the library downtown (will help with the Spanish as well)
- Rejoin the Columbia art center so I can make pottery again
- Paint bedroom #2 and hallway

There will be plenty more as time goes by. And I will devote certain posts to expand on the theme. I just wanted to get something down on paper. This is just a start. Baby steps, ya know?