Check and Check :)

I'm always so much more productive when I take the time to make a list! Check out all I've managed to get done already:

16. Charge the batteries for our camera so I can start taking pictures again! √

Isn't this tree gorgeous? It's right across the street from me, and I love walking by it every day on my way to and from work. It's always the first to bloom every spring - does anyone know what kind of tree it is?

1. Re-pot my houseplants that have outgrown their current homes. √

This was fun! The trickiest part was re-potting the samona (top right) without getting pricked by its thorns, but it was well worth the risk just to be able to play in the dirt :)

2. Pick up the clothes that have erupted all over the floor and wash them. √

Despite appearances, I'm not quite done this one yet - there's still one load to be folded. But when the second-last load came out of the dryer at 11:30 last night, I had to throw in the towel and go to bed. TC will (hopefully) get the last one done before he heads out this morning, though, so I'm counting it as done.

18. Randomly select winner of mystery gift from previous post and send the gift. √

Except I haven't sent the gift yet :) Austen, if you'll email your address to bloomingpatterns at gmail dot com, I'll get it in the mail asap. Thank you all for your wonderful book and author suggestions - I'm looking forward to some good reading in the next little while.

4. Order a shampoo bar. √

The wonderfully talented and generous Sherrie of Birch Bark Soap fame has offered to send me a shampoo bar to try. I can't wait - thank you so much Sherrie! Her soaps are amazing, so be sure to check out her etsy shop and order a few :)

12. Get milk. √

15. Book a massage at the spa. √

Done and done. Not bad for a little less than a day, eh?

To Do This Week:

1. Re-pot my houseplants that have outgrown their current homes.
2. Pick up the clothes that have erupted all over the floor and wash them.
3. Listen to old mix tapes and determine if they're worth keeping.
4. Order a shampoo bar - Sherrie, do you make those? Or know someone who does? I want to try one to see if they work.
5. Order some books from Chapters with my gift certificate (thanks for all the wonderful suggestions, folks!).
6. Plan crocheting lesson for a friend who wants to make a baby afghan.
7. Start making list of what to pack for our upcoming trip to France (17 days and counting...).
8. Arrange for someone to cover my shift in the nursery the Sunday we're away.
9. Buy a pile of non-electric pencil sharpeners. Did you know that many African children become infected with HIV because the only thing they have to sharpen their pencils with is their father's old razor? A friend is going to Africa next week and has asked everyone to bring in as many pencil sharpeners as we can.
10. Pick up one more skein of yarn to finally finish the latticework afghan.
11. Photocopy some sheet music and return the originals to their owner (I know, I know - I'm a criminal).
12. Get milk.
13. Look into sources of local, preferably organic produce this summer.
14. Come up with an idea for celebrating mother's day that doesn't require buying gifts (any suggestions?).
15. Book a massage at the spa.
16. Charge the batteries for our camera so I can start taking pictures again!
17. Call the folks.
18. Randomly select winner of mystery gift from previous post and send the gift.

That ought to keep me occupied! Have you all been out enjoying the glorious spring, even summer weather? TC and I went for a walk last night to pick up the soil for item #1, and it was lovely! The grass is green, the trees all have leaves, and some have started to blossom; daffodils and pansies and tulips are everywhere - it's a beautiful time of year.

Along the way to the hardware store, TC got ice cream while I got some sour gummie bears, which reminded me of all the summers I managed to beg a dollar from my mom to spend on penny candy at the local convenience store. Good times! We got home exhausted, TC from carrying 10 lbs of dirt for half an hour, and me from forgetting that it was 30 degrees out and over-dressing.

It's a warm, rainy day today - the kind that makes the earth smell delicious, and the worms come out to play on the sidewalks. A puddle-jumping kind of day. I'm going to have to find one on my way home :)

Book Contest

I'm back! It's been a while, hasn't it? Last week was...well, it was something I'd rather not have to repeat anytime soon. Let's leave it at that, shall we? Even thinking about it is starting to stress me out.

Maybe it's a result of that stress, but lately I've been in a reading mood. I've always loved reading - my parents had a hard time keeping me in books growing up - and for the past few days all I've really wanted to do is curl up with a cup of tea and a blanket and lose myself in the pages of a good book. At the rate I'm going, though, I'm going to run out of books before I run out of steam. Fortunately I can read and enjoy a book more than once, but I'm already past that point, so now I need your help.

I find it difficult to choose a new book or author without some kind of recommendation - here's where you come in. Leave a comment on this post with the name of your favourite author(s) and/or book(s) that you have enjoyed reading, and next Wednesday I'll randomly select one person to receive a lovely mystery gift from me.

Oh, and happy earth day!

Tuesday Recap

Only thing that made me smile = Having TC call me at work just to tell me he loves me.

Least stressful task accomplished = Going to the dentist to have 3 holes drilled into my teeth and then filled.

Most challenging task accomplished = Trying to eat supper with half of my mouth and all of my tongue completely frozen.

Lesson learned vicariously = Don't vent frustration by posting violent threats to co-workers on facebook, especially if some of those co-workers are your facebook friends and can read said post.

Discouraging realization = I misread the pattern for a crocheting project I'm currently working on while commuting. Had to frog half of it.

Amount of holy-crap-you-want-that-done-by-when? work done = Not nearly enough.

I can't wait for this week to be over.

(On an unrelated note, why is it that when I have lots of time I can't think of anything to post, but when I have no time, all kinds of ideas pop into my head and I feel the almost uncontrollable urge to blog?)

Playing hooky

The computer program I'm supposed to be working on is currently on the fritz, so I'm going to take full advantage of that and come talk with you folks - I'm so bad ;)

Things have been rather hellish at work lately. In fact, the highlight of the last few days was when I accidentally spilled a glass of water on my laptop, quite efficiently frying it. Why was that the highlight? Because while IT was trying (unsuccessfully) to salvage my hard drive, I got to take a lunch break that I wouldn't have had otherwise. Of course, that also put me behind in the holy-crap-you-want-that-done-by-when? amount of work I have to do, and I lost a few crucial files, but I'm all about focusing on the silver lining...or trying to.

Drat. The program is working again.

Pause...

I know things have been pretty quiet over here lately. It seems that I'm in the middle of a busy cycle, both professionally and personally. I'll be posting more hopefully after next week - see you then!

Caffiene Nation

I had an interesting conversation with the lady who is conducting a training session I've been in since yesterday. She's American, although that really has very little to do with it, and early in the session she mentioned that every night at around 11:00 pm she brews a pot of coffee (apparently strong enough to float a horseshoe) and drinks it before she goes to bed. Then later in the day, as part of a different conversation she mentioned that she suffered from insomnia for 2 years until she started taking medication to help her sleep.

Does anyone else see the connection? Apparently she doesn't.