Aunt Becky's Annual Meme

Thought I would add myself to the meme club...let's see how it goes...

1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before?
Drove to Lake Tahoe...what a fun adventure that turned out to be!

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I think it was to be more flexible and fitter...I am probably the same but I should get points for at least not being less flexible or less fit, right?

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
According to Facebook, several of my friends did...but no one close, close to me...LOL

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Fortunately, this was not a year for loss...whew!!

5. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
Floors would be cool...oh and a job!!

6. What countries did you visit?
Didn't leave the country this year, sadly...

7. What date from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why:
June 29. First time ever pulling a trailer...complete success!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Meeting my 40 books read goal and moving day...LOL

9. What was your biggest failure?
Still being unemployed???

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had a nasty chest cold that turned into bronchitus (my first time), that I would love to never repeat.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My Makita cordless drill....love that thing!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My cousin Mynde who is fighting breast cancer with the most strength, poise and grace of anyone I have ever seen.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Pretty much the entire political engine...I couldn't wait for it to be over.

14. Where did most of your money go?
HOME IMPROVEMENT!! LOL

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Bunco!

16. What song will always remind you of 2012?
PSY – Gangnam Style

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?  About the same...
ii. thinner or fatter? About the same
iii. richer or poorer?  Definitely poorer...haha

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Anything fitness related...I was a slacker for most of the second half of the year...

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Muttering under my breath at stupid former renters and property management

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
With lots of family

21. There was no #21. I don’t know why there was no 21.

22. Did you fall in love in 2012?
Nope, already there

23. How many one-night stands?
None

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Grimm

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope.

26. What was the best book you read?
Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
My Ipod broadcaster so I can listen to something other than the radio...

28. What did you want and get?
Didn't know I wanted them, but got a fantastic scarf from a friend, and a terrific golf club from Gpa.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
The Help

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Turned 43, and spent the day alone, watching movies, and playing games...nothing too exciting.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Hearing from a long lost friend.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
Stripey socks rule!!

34. What kept you sane?
Jocelyn and exercise!

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
None.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The War on Women

37. Who did you miss?
The boy

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Shirley

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012:
It is possible to eat too much chocolate.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Work is never done...if it isn't part of a song, it should be...LOL
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Last Year on In My Words...A Year In Review

Snowflake 2012

This is my snowflake for 2012!! You can make your own on this site if you want...pretty fun! This is in addition to the ones I cut out of paper for our windows in front.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Mum Lights

Teeth Whitening

Okay, I have been using this recipe I found on Pinterest a month or two ago and it seems to work really well. I thought I would share it.

Please note that you do NOT want to do this more than once a week. I think if you did it too frequently, you could damage your enamel, so just be patient and only do it once a week or use some other method of whitening. I do not want to be responsible for anyone stripping their enamel.

Use a small dish (I use a soy/wasabi dish) and put in:

1 tsp hydrogen peroxide
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp water
Dab of toothpaste (for flouride and flavor).

Mix with toothbrush and brush teeth for two minutes. You do not have to brush hard...just brush like you normally would. Rinse well after (to get rid of the grit).

I noticed a difference after the first time and a ton of difference the following week, and I drink one cup of coffee a day and one cup of tea a day.

Super easy, super cheap and it works.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...My Digital Snowflake...I need to do one of these for this year too!

Not The Best Labeling

I saw this carton of milk at the grocery store yesterday and I thought it was pretty funny. I am sure they did not intend for the message to imply 0% Organic but this is what it looks like.

What is funny is that the milk below it says 1% Organic and the next one down says 2% Organic but I am thinking that unless you purchased Whole Organic, you wouldn't be getting your organic money's worth.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...My Christmas

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Here is a little look at the baby tree at our house. I just love this little guy...need to make sure I keep him watered so he doesn't dry out...am excited to put him in the ground in the spring!!

Isn't he just cute???

Full view

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 Seven Years Ago on In My Words...The Trees and Snowflakes

Jingle Bell Hell 2012 Race Recap

Borrowed from Jess

Distance: 3.27 miles or 5.26K
Elevation Change: 200+ft
Weather: 37 degrees, 11 mph winds, hail
Time: 47.5 mins
Laughed: Yes
Hell: Yes!!

This year I have been really terrible about my running (even terrible about my walking for that matter), so when I heard about Jingle Bell Hell 2012 from XLMIC and RunWithJess, I just knew I had to commit and see if it would help me get back on track with my outdoor exercising.

Reading Blog Update

Finally got around to updating my reading blog with my reads from November! Check it out when you get a chance!

Only read 4 books in November but they were really great reads and highly recommended.
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Last Year on In My Words...Last Year's Tree

Productive

Yesterday was a pretty productive day, even if I didn't find everything I was looking for. I had putting off the errand running I needed to do, but the lack of food in the fridge forced my hand and I figured if I was going to do it, I would try to hit as many other things I could.

I started out by treating myself to breakfast at a local restaurant (making sure to stick to the diet), and then I was off. I managed to hit two home improvement stores, three groceries stores, and one birthday gift stop. I got the truck oil changed, vacuumed and washed. I made an appt for January that I have been putting off. Stopped to check the mail and discovered my first a little surprise from a friend before heading home for the night.

Obviously, there are still things that need to be done errand-wise, but at least I made a dent. I am going to head out after lunch and see if I can find a small potted tree so I can finish our Christmas tree decor, and make a visit or two to folks I haven't seen in a while.

It was a nice feeling of accomplishment knocking out some small things that have been hovering.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Countertops

At Least One Thing

So I posted on one of my other blogs yesterday about how I am trying to focus on getting one thing off the "to do" list a day rather than procrastinating my life away because I can't get it all done today. Yesterday's thing was to replace a outlet in one of the bathrooms with a GFCI outlet, which I did. I managed to accomplish other things yesterday but that one thing was the "absolute have to".

Today, the "absolute have to" was to finish Christmas cards, and work on a scarf that I want to get in the mail. I knocked out the Christmas cards this morning, however not in time to get them sent since the mailman had already come. I also managed to watch a movie that I have had from Netflix for ages while doing it, which was great since keeping two movies for months at at time is not efficient use of my Netflix dollars.

I plan to catch up on The Walking Dead tonight while working on the scarf if I can. I know I have more than an hour's work left on it but it will at least be something. I will probably check in with the help forums for Blogger that I volunteer for as well just to see if any of the users I am currently helping have updated the thread. How is that for an exciting plan?

I don't know for sure yet what the "absolute have to" is going to be, but I am thinking it will entail a larger electrical project (6 switches and 3 sockets), mostly because I think they are all on the same circuit so if I am going to turn the power off, I might as well knock them out all at once. We'll see. If not, there is tons more on the list that can be the "absolute" for tomorrow.
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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Bathroom Kitty (another great Chase story)

Is It Just Me

or does this gel shape light have a bulb that looks like a p3n1s? The middle part comes out completely and that is even worse. I left it in so that from afar the bulbs just look like bulbs.

I put a "string" of these faux lights along the top of our sliding glass door since putting lights up from the inside would limit the use of the door and there are no outlets on the front deck to use for powering lights on the outside of the door. If you want to see some of the other outdoor decor (except the lights), you can check out my post on The Bamboo Lagoon where I blog only about our house and the adventure it creates in itself.

Still have to get a small tree and carve some pumpkins (yes, that is what I said) to be finally done but it is coming along.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...My Christmas

Bug Identification: Milionia basalis Kiobi-eda-shaku

This amazing looking moth lives in Japan...and we would see it every year that we lived there and I never knew the name of it...that is, until today.

I submitted the underbelly shot of it to a great website called What's That Bug? that tries, on a very small budget and staff to identify "bugs" that are sent to them via their form. I didn't have a lot of hope that they would get a chance to do this one (and I am actually waiting to hear on the inchworm I sent them too (see update below)), and was super excited to see a message from them in my inbox today.

Not only were they able to identify the moth, they wanted me to send them the dorsal image I have of it as well and I guess that means that there will be a post on their site about it too!! I'll post a link to it as an update to this post as soon as I see it.

So anyhow, the full name of this moth is Milionia basalis (Latin) Kiobi-eda-shaku (Japanese common name)　キオビエダシャク

Here is the link to the post about the moth on the What's That Bug's website!!
Here is the link to the post about the inchworm on The What's That Bug's website!!

Update: Turns out the inchworm image I have is actually the caterpillar for this moth!! How cool is that?!
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...How Often

Waiting On Christmas

Along with lots of other people, I can't stand it when people jump from Halloween to Christmas. I was irritated by the idiot companies that decided to start their sales on Thanksgiving and also by all the stores and people that put up decorations for Christmas before Thanksgiving had passed. For me, Thanksgiving is an important American holiday and it shouldn't be "jumped over" just because it is not as commercial as some other holidays.

One of our neighbors had all their gaudy Christmas decorations lighting up the end of the block days before Thanksgiving, and every time I drove by, I just wanted to roll down the window and scream "It isn't even Thanksgiving yet!" You don't even need a flashlight if you walk by that house in the evening because it is so bright, I am sure you can see it from outerspace. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not a bah humbug, but I don't think that decorations need to be a competition.

So I have refrained from putting up our Christmas decorations yet. I am determined to wait until at least December 1st, which means I have a day or more left to enjoy my fall. We still have beautiful pumpkins on the porches that I don't want to throw away...I might even decide to carve them with Christmas or winter themes so we can leave them out a bit longer. I have gotten most of my decorations organized (minus the little potted tree I still need to buy) and ready to go but I am using my will power to refrain...LOL.

We have a fresh swag for the front door and 15 ft of cedar garland to put on the balcony rail when the time is right along with lights for some of the windows...nothing too crazy but enough to bring a smile to my face when I see it.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Steve Terrill

Most Fun On The Internet In A Long Time

I discovered this cool ass site because Jenny, The Bloggess posted about it after much consideration over racism and my sister saw it before I did and shared it with me. This was after she ran my blog (yes, this blog here) through it. So I did the same thing and had a great laugh about it.

Today, I went to Jenny's blog to read her post and the comments there before commenting myself and ran across this awesome comment by David Cutler (commentor number 175) and I thought he said it so well that I needed to repost his words here. He didn't provide a link to a site so I hope that giving him credit for these words by name is enough. This comment was in response to Jenny's inquiry on whether the site linked above or a post about that site would be considered racist.

I find neither the website nor linking to it racist. Calvin Broadus (Snoop Dogg) is a singer, lyricist, writer, actor, and general entertainer. He has also invented his own rather unique brand of slang. Many people are highly entertained by Mr. Broadus. Others are slightly entertained. Still other people find him somewhat annoying, and others find him highly offensive. The EXACT same can be said of Jenny Lawson. The linked website is, I think, a loving homage to Mr. Broadus’s slang, exactly as it claims to be. As a result some will be highly entertained, others less so, and others annoyed or offended by it. As would be true of any homage work to Mr. Broadus or Ms. Lawson.

The only aspect of this that could be considered racially offensive is an assertion that Mr. Broadus represents ANYONE other than himself or those who actively claim him to be their representative. Mr. Broadus does not represent African Americans, any more than Jenny Lawson represents white people. Many people reading this website (myself included) would say Jenny Lawson represents us. Not because of her race, but because of her writing and humor. We identify with her and are entertained by her, and it has nothing to do with the color of her skin. Similarly Mr. Broadus entertains many people and I am certain many identify with him, and presumably they do so for the same reasons I identify with Ms. Lawson. It IS racist to argue that African Americans identify with Mr. Broadus because of the color of their skin, just as it would be racist to argue that I identify with Ms. Lawson because of her skin color. It is not racist to be amused by either of them. It is also not racist to think either one of them are offensive or unfunny. That is a matter of taste.

Personally, I think the site is akin to a humorous translator such as the Pirate Speak on Facebook is....it is meant for humor and not to be cruel and/or degrading. Note too that if you read the page that explains why the creators made the site, you will see that they did so out of fanship of Snoop Dog and nothing else.

I had a ton of fun using the site last night to view other sites....serious sites like Wikipedia and excerpts from serious works of literature, to see how funny they would sound translated. It was hilarious. If you have time, run my site here, http://mishkaop.blogspot.com through the http://gizoogle.net site and see how it translates...and then check out some of your other favorite sites.

NOTE TO THOSE FAINT OF HEART: The translations contain swear words so if you can't handle or don't like to be exposed to swear words even in a humorous setting, it is best that you avoid using Gizoogle at all.
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One Year Ago on In My Words...Brand New Place

Jingle Bell Hell 2012

Image borrowed from Jess

So I have been terrible about exercising lately. Part of it has been due to busy-ness and part of it due to sickness and then of course part of it is just plain laziness.

In the course of reading a few blogs, I discovered a couple of running blogs. One of them is organizing a virtual 5K in December called Jingle Bell Hell 2012 and I have committed myself to doing it. I have to run at least a 5K locally, between December 8th and 16th. I have to post why it is "hell" for me and I have to laugh at some point during the race (that might be hard to pull off). Then I need to recap the race, post a link to it and call it good.

There aren't many local races, so this virtual option gives me the opportunity to race (myself) and have the motivation to get out there get running again. I mapped out a route on MapMyRun the other day, and I plan to try to walk it tomorrow if I can, so I am sure of it before I do it "officially". I will probably do it more than once during that time, and hopefully will get a better time each time.

I hope this will ultimately get my butt moving and get me started back on my fitness routines.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Mission For Fitness

My Birthday

So my birthday is today...Black Friday...lovely, huh? It is almost always during the week of Thanksgiving, in fact sometimes on Thanksgiving. This year just happens to be Black Friday. Since I don't do Black Friday, going anywhere seemed out of the cards so I spent the day at home chilling out.

I actually had the HVAC guy come out to do the fall service on the furnace in our house, and I called one of my cousins to get some painting advice for somewhere down the line and I am ready to start on painting projects around here.

My MIL came over in the afternoon to drop off a present from my grandpa that he sent to her house as a surprise. When I was in Nebraska last month, we played golf a couple of times. I used a driver he made for one of our cousins, and I was able to hit it pretty well. So Grandpa decided to make one for me...without me knowing. It was such a treat to get a completely unexpected gift on my birthday.

While mom was here, she hung out for a while and we worked on a puzzle I have spread across the table in the dining area. She really helped me make a good dent in it.

Tomorrow, one of my cousins is having a birthday party for her son who is turning one so I will get to see a lot of family then and it should be a ton of fun to watch the traditional chocolate cake mess!
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...A Fix I Could Live With

Knee High Socks!

Finally got around to ordering some fun knee high socks from one of my favorite sock stores...thankfully they are online since they only have one brick and mortar store and I am not near it.



I am wearing my first pair today and I am loving them...yeah!
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Beautiful Moon

Losing It

Yesterday, I left the house without a bra on....that NEVER happens. I was uncomfortable with it, so since we were at the mall, I found a bra at the first store we stopped in and tried it on, wore it out of the fitting room, and paid for it. I felt much better after that.

Do you know how hard it is to find a bra in my size these days....I am one of those oddball girls that has a decent size across my back because I exercise regularly and have good upper body strength which makes me a 36, but I am small breasted and wear an A cup...finding a 36A is almost impossible for some reason. I am not sure if it is because women are just bigger breasted these days or if it is just that smaller breasted women don't lift weights anymore...but whatever it is, it makes finding a bra in my size very difficult.

I have no idea how I even left the house without a bra...hence the title. I must just be losing it....LOL
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...A Fix I Could Live With

Observations

Just some tidbits that are too small for a post, but just have to be noted:

-why does finding a old dried piece of renter spaghetti on the ceiling of the kitchen piss me off so much?

-does everything taste better with blue cheese dressing on it? I just ate left over chicken veggie soup (with no broth) with blue cheese dressing on it and it was glorious!

-how, if the toilet is being flushed repeatedly during the day, is there even time for a mildew ring to grow?

-why did my favorite used/new book store on the net stop supporting all types of ebooks except Kobo? Who even owns a Kobo reader?

-why does a head cold always end for me with a big nasty tasting chunk of snot finally falling from the back of my sinuses?

-how is it that my cable company (who will remain un-named) doesn't have On Demand for the Fox Network? This has pretty much guaranteed my dropping several programs from my list.

-how is it that gaining two pounds is so much easier than losing it?

-isn't going e-everything supposed to create more time in the day? Seems like I spend more time doing backups and updates than I ever did filing and shredding.

-how come the list of movies I want to see means having to read the books first?

-am I really getting my money's worth if I keep DVDs from Netflix for more than a few days?

-is is possible that I am so out of shape right now that I pulled a muscle playing the Wii?

Guess that is it for now...heading to the kitchen to get a salad put together with more blue cheese dressing on it.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Me, Myself, and I

Maru, Fat And Happy

I just had to have a Maru fix after this week of intense political BS. Even just watching this fat and happy kitty chase a toy makes me smile. His look on his face says he had to work for it...LOL


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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...What Happened To The Classics?

Catching Up And Cold

So the last two weeks have been pretty busy...left last Tuesday for a family visit in Nebraska. Weather was decent and the visit was awesome. Gpa and J are doing well and I throughly enjoyed my time there. Was able to get in two rounds of golf with Gpa at his favorite golf club. Flew back on Monday afternoon.

On the way home from the airport (and enroute grocery shopping trip), I got a call that my mom had hurt herself at Gma's. Turns out she broke both of her ankles, from tripping on the wrinkled carpet at Gma's. She had surgery on the left ankle (which was broken in three places) the next day and is now home recooperating. She can put weight on the right leg if she has the boot on so she is not stuck in a wheelchair, which is good. She has a two week appt with the doctor to have the surgery leg checked, and might have more mobility at that time (we hope).

I started feeling icky right after the flight back and over the course of the next few days, I developed a full blown head cold that I am still fighting today. I have been taking it easy for the last 3 days and might add on tomorrow too just to be sure that I am on the mend. Would hate to have anything like I did this spring happen again, if I can avoid it.

I have a ton of stuff hanging over my head that needs to get done around here, but I am trying to focus on getting better and not getting stressed out. One day at a time...LOL
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Thievery