Hockey Fan

Third-year Rangers fan...

It's a New Year

Which means Resolution time again.

Sadly, I don't think I did very well on last year's resolutions. Frankly, I don't want to even go back and read them -- I'm afraid that they will sadden me beyond redemption.


Despite last year's failures, I endeavor to try again.

I'm going to start a little slower this year.  (I have come to realize that I tend to dream big but have a harder time to finish out those dreams.)

I am going to start with two and go from there . . .

1. Blogging:  I have been a little sparse lately on updating my blog. I am resolved to update my blog at least three times and include at least one photo per week.

2. Cleaning:  I want to set up a good working cleaning schedule and do some deep cleaning this year.

That all. Nothing more.  For now anyway.

The big 5-0-0

This post is number 500 since I started this blog in June of 2007. It really doesn't seem as if it has been that long. I have been blogging every weekday excluding some holidays and the occasional "oopsie."

So how this blog affected my life (and let's make it 5 things!):

1. I am getting better at putting my thoughts into words. I think this is something I will always have to work on. I'm an introvert so I think about a lot of things. It is hard for me to convert those thoughts into something that is understood by the greater population -- if only your brain worked like mine . . . :-) heehee
   
   
2. I am taking time to stop and smell the roses. Blogging forces me to stop and think about the things that are going on in my life instead of simply living and leaving them.
   
   
3. I am learning more about myself. Again with the thinking! This blog has created a different way for me to view myself -- and internet mirror, if you will. Okay -- bad metaphor.
   
   
4. I started a new habit, yes I do have that ability -- creating a new habit. I can think of a couple more habits I should start. And I wouldn't mind the ability to fly either.
   
   
5. I have photos of my life. (I think my digital camera also helped me with this one.) From about freshman year of college to about three years ago I have very little documentation that I was living on this planet other that my yearly tax returns. I don't take photos just to add them to my blog but I have to admit that I think about which photos I could/should post while I take pictures.

I'm sure there are more ways that blogging has impacted my life. However, I am just about ready to fall into that oblivion of sleep and I really don't think I can keep my brain functioning much longer. So . . .

Happy 500 "A Mess of Blessings"!

Haves and have nots

I have used almost every kleenex in my house.
I have not had to reach for a kleenex before hitting the snooze button for the past two mornings.

I have finished making up the racing roster for the Awana Grand Prix tomorrow night.
I have not finished making my 2 dozen cookies for said race.

I have made up a to-do list for this week.
I have not completed any but two items off that list.

I have made up my second batch of laundry detergent.
I have not purchased laundry detergent since (at least) April 2008.

I have flipped my calendar to April.
I have not spent a single moment today not wondering where the time went.

5 of my all-time favorite movies . . .

1. Princess Bride -- "Inconceivable!"
   
   
2. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom -- I really don't care for the other Indiana Jones movies although I haven't seen the most recent one . . .
   
   
3. Lord of the Rings trilogy -- the books are better (but isn't that always the way)
   
   
4. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof -- a classic
   
   
5. The Goonies -- I've mentioned it before and I just have to again
   

Balance

well-balanced (adj) 

1. nicely or evenly balanced, arranged, or regulated 

2. emotionally or psychologically untroubled

Last year about this time I made some resolutions -- listed some changes I wanted to make in my life in the upcoming year.  Some of them I accomplished, some of them I attempted to accomplish but the result have little to be desired.

This year I am going to focus one (maybe two) changes in four areas of my life: intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual.

Resolutions for my Intellectual Life:

• Increase my vocabulary -- I have subscribed to a couple word-of-the-day websites.  I want to be able not only to learn at least one new word per week but also to be able to use it competently
  
  
  
• Read at least 5 of the classic books I have been meaning to read (the ones that are "on my list") 

Classics to read (partial list):

1. 1984 by George Orwell
   
   
   
2. For whom the bell tolls by Ernest Hemingway
   
   
   
3. The wind in the willows by Kenneth Graham
   
   
   
4. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
   
   
   
5. The catcher in the rye by J.D. Salinger (actually a re-read)
   
   
   
6. The grapes of wrath by John Steinbeck
   
   
   
7. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
   
   
   
8. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
   
   
   
9. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
   
   
   
10. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
    
    
    
11. Silas Marner by George Eliot
    
    
    
12. Red badge of courage by Stephen Crane
    
    
    
13. The sound and the fury by William Faulkner
    
    
    
14. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
    
    
    
15. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
    
    
    
16. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (re-read)
    
    
    
17. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
    
    
    
18. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
    
    
    
19. Gone with the wind by Margaret Mitchell (yeah, I know -- what have I been reading?)
    
    
    
20. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

5 jobs I have had

1. Babysitter -- my very first job!
   
   
2. Barista -- although at the time my job title was a little too swanky for small-town Iowa, so I worked at a coffee shop
   
   
3. Museum intern -- this was a fun job, I basically could work on whatever I wanted and I learned so much about local history
   
   
4. Periodicals aide -- this was my college job. I worked with the periodicals at the library. Lots and lots of journals. :-) It was fun though -- and led to my current job.
   
   
5. Front desk clerk -- I learned a lot of my interpersonal skills from this job.
   

5 things

5 of my favorite snack foods:

(In no particular order)

• Cheetoes (the crunchy kind)

• Oreos (sometimes with milk, sometimes without)

• Sour Cream & Onion flavored chips

• Dried cherries or cranberries (cherries are better though -- if you can find them!)

• Dark Chocolate (M & M's, Hershey minis, bars, and if I'm desparate chocolate chips)
  

The right fight

One of the reasons I love reading and stories is they help me to visualize what my own responses might be in a similar circumstance.

This past weekend I watched my favorite western -- High Noon with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.

The plot: As retired marshall Will Kane leaves town with his new wife he receives the news that Frank Miller, a man he sent to prison, is on his way back to town on the noon train. Before he went to prison Miller had vowed to get his revenge.

The marshall has to choose whether to stay and do the right thing. Or leave.

The movie paces quickly even with all the dialogue. It has good guys, bad guys, and everything in between. A little romance and a lot of conviction.



One of the major themes throughout this film is following your convictions -- doing what is right because it's right.

It reminded me of Daniel. A man who defied a law enacted by a group of advisors jealous of the power the king had given him and who wanted Daniel severely punished. A man who did right because it was right despite the consequences. A man who did the hard thing.

Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. Daniel 6:10

I think sometimes it is just easier for me to do the easy thing. Whether it is the right thing or not. I like things to be easy . . . unfortunately they are not.

My goal is to strive to do what is right because it is right and not because it is easy or hard. Not because everyone or no one is doing it.

Because it is right.

5 random things about me . . .

1. Favorite Muppet: the loveable Grover
   
   
2. Favorite spectator sport: Football, don't ask me why--I really have no idea
   
   
3. Historical figure I wouldn't have minded meeting: Abraham Lincoln
   
   
4. Language I've always wanted to learn: Russian -- it would be fun to speak this language I think
   
   
5. Dream car: Dodge Charger