Today I Tried

Today I Tried

An ongoing effort to try something new, different or challenging each day.

  • The Stache on Etsy
  • Patriotic & Romantic
  • The So So Sewist
  • Creating new spaces

    • 10 Feb 2011
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    Dsc00340

    UPDATE:  Here's a picture of the living room completely painted and rearranged.  We're loving the new color and arrangement.

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    creating-new-spaces-zCfquCAcutBqtwDwfues.zip (768 KB)

    Since Zach and I returned from the midwest after the holidays, I've been working to incorporate the family items we got from our grandmothers and other goodies into our living space.  We both agree what's the use of having them if we're not going to have them out to enjoy, use and look at.  So that and the addition of a full size kitchen table (notice that Darby has taken up residence under the table), has set me on rearranging space creating bender.  I started with the kitchen, moved the sideboard hutch thingy to a corner to create a little dining nook, which has been really good.  Now we have table items close at hand to the table, such as extra linens, steak knifes and cheese boards, but it still holds some nice things we like to look at.  

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    Next where the hutch thingy was we added a metal rolling shelf.  It's nice in that it's portable and adjustable.  I think the best thing is that it gives us room to pull our cookbooks out of the closet and see what we have on hand.  I repurposed a picture holder I had from our previous apartment into a mini clothes line to display some embroidered tea towels my great aunt gave us for our wedding.  I was feeling so bad that they were put away, but I don't want to have them "in use" and end up stained.

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  • Making an ordinary dinner not so ordinary

    • 8 Feb 2011
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    • for or with the hubby making ordinary extraordinary quality of life
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    Dsc09216

    Dinner at our house is either a production and much involved endeavor or something that has to be done before moving on to other things.  I decided to take a middling approach and make an ordinary dinner of Portuguese sausage and kale into something a little more special by setting the mood and having us eat at the table instead of at the counter area we usually eat at on bar stools.  It was nice to be at the table which I have done up for valentine's day and just take more time for dinner.  Sorry the picture quality's not great, but the mood lighting and candles make for less than perfect pics.

  • The Recap

    • 19 Jul 2010
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    • food gardening keeping my butt off the couch quality of life
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    It's been busy since my last post.  I've travelled back to Iowa for a short visit with family, up to Fairbanks for work and then lots of projects around the house.  New and challenging activities have consisted of planting three new trees in our front yard on Saturday by myself.  I planted a white spruce and two State Fair apple trees (in the background of the second picture you can see a landscaping project I did earlier this summer.  Landscaping is WAY different than gardening, but that's an entirely different post).  

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    the-recap-JhelyanAsmvDsuulpssa.zip (4.13 MB)
    I've also been smoking salmon.  Zach went dipnetting on Thursday and Friday while I stayed home and played dog whisperer to Honey (she's not been herself lately, but I'm not sure who she's trying to be).  Unfortunately, he had to head to Fairbanks on Sunday which left him just enough time to clean and fillet the fish, so that left the smoking part to me.  Last night I smoked two batches using alder chips and the charcoal grill.  Tonight I have two more batches to do.  

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  • Interrupting the regularly scheduled program

    • 25 Jun 2010
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    • biking quality of life
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    Usually, during my lunch hour I sit at my desk and eat my lunch while continuing to work.  Today I just couldn't.  All of the problems we try to solve at work just got to feeling insurmountable, so I stepped away.  Instead, I indulged in two of my most recent addictions, berries and biking.

    Photo

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  • Fire bowl s'mores

    • 25 Apr 2010
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    • dessert food quality of life quality time
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    We took advantage of the nice weather and lit the fire bowl and had a couple of friends over.  When there's fire (and beer), might as well make s'mores.  We used bars of sea salt chocolate and ginger chocolate.  We also figured out a way to melt the chocolate using the tool used to lift the bowl lid.  They were delicious and messy!    

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    Fire_bowl_smores.zip (11.27 MB)

  • Indulging

    • 4 Feb 2010
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    For my last night on Maui, I enjoyed beachside mai tais, a beautiful sunset & pineapple upside down cake. Today a message & then back to reality. Maybe I'll try to extend the experience a little longer with a tropical drink at the airport bar.
  • Scraping the plan

    • 6 Jan 2010
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    Well, and coming up with a new one.  As the date drew near for classes to begin, I started to examine why I was going back to school.  After considering the reasons, I've decided that while yes, I do one day want a Masters in Public Administration degree, the career goals in which I want to accomplish with that degree or at least with that knowledge are not realistically in the next 5 years.  In the meantime, professionally, I plan to hone my skills and seek out new experiences that allow me to expand my skills without necessarily requiring a whole new degree.  

    As for my life (that thing that happens outside of work) I plan to use this year to explore, whether its new foods, new places, new adventures.  As long as its done in the spirit of exploration and learning, I think it will be time well spent.  Those are my words for this year, explore, learn and evaluate.  As I try to figure out where I want my life to go in the next 5-10 years and beyond, I think evaluation will be very important.

    I believe I may have avoided the existential crisis for now.  
  • Becoming a student

    • 17 Dec 2009
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    I'm all signed up for two classes toward a Masters in Public Administration Degree at the University of Alaska Southeast.  The great thing about this program is that I can do it all via the internet.  This is a big step toward realizing my future plans and having more flexibility with career options in the future.  Based on the burnout rate for most attorneys, I figure its a good idea to have a back up plan.  Also, it won't hurt to know more about how this nonprofit world works since I'm most likely always going to be working for one. 

  • Planning for next year

    • 15 Dec 2009
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    I haven't been blogging much lately as my focus has been what the plan for next year will be and trying to wrap up other outstanding projects before the year ends.  I'm using the template from this website.  I like how it's not making resolutions, but making goals with concrete steps toward achievement. 

    So far, I've got some career goals, including starting a Masters in Public Administration degree, some travel goals, two new countries this year, and fitness goals, running a leg of the Klondike Relay Race.  I've added some personal financial goals as well, as succeeding on those will likely help me attain some of my other goals.

    What I've found most interesting about this process is figuring out what I want to do in the next year and actually the next 5-10 years.  These are big decisions, that of course can be changed, but I feel like I definitely need a long term plan so that I can work on putting the foundation pieces in place now. 

    For fun, I may add a goal about doing 100 pushups and giving this program a go.

    While I finish up planning for next year, the blog maybe slow, but once the new year comes around, I'll be busy with lots of new and challenging activities to report on, so keep reading.
  • Planning some down time

    • 19 Nov 2009
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    Work has been extremely busy lately.  No shortage of people in need.   Plus, this week has been a lot of extra long days, in by 7:30 or so and not done until 5pm (ok, that may not seem long, but my office is open 8:00 to 4:30, and I haven't been taking breaks for lunch). 
     
    So, today I put my nose to the grind stone and wrapped up all the urgent matters and put the other matters needing my attention to bed and the pay off is a three day weekend.  It's a break I can definitely use.  Zach's off tomorrow as well, so it's like Friday for both of us.  He's suggested we go bowling tonight; not one of my favorite activities, but perhaps we'll give it a go, especially at a bowling alley with decent beer.
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