Update

·         I am finally almost caught up with work.  I’ve been bogged down for 2 months.

·         My eleven year old daughter has informed me that she plans on moving out when she is 16.  Hmph… we’ll see about that.

·         I haven’t posted my net worth for this month, but I did calculate it.  I’m up $3,150, but that’s only because I saved an insurance check to fix my roof.  If it wasn’t for that I’d be back in the red.

·         January’s home improvement was to fix my fence.  I had the guy come out and he gave me a $700 estimate.  He seemed pretty reasonable and I’m planning on having it done this month.  I’m hoping to do a whole post about it pretty soon.

·         For February, I was  supposed to redo the wallpaper in my kitchen.  I need to start researching “how-to” sites for that job, but I have no idea where to start.  Any Suggestions?  I don’t even know what colors I want.  I’ll probably end up deciding to redo the entire dining room/kitchen.  Any theme I had for the kitchen died a few years ago.

Cloud Nine and the Snowpocalypse

The artist I wanted for the July issue of Broadsheets has agreed to let me use her art. Yeah! I am officially on cloud nine even though there is a major snowpocalypse headed towards Oklahoma right now, my bf has been in a funky mood for the past two weeks, and my five year old is sick. That's how much of a great awesome artist she is. Unfortunately, yall can't see who it is until July. Sorry.

Dude, I'm tired of the cold and the snow. I can't wait for July.

Frivolous Purchase of the Month-January 2010

So two Sundays ago I was following the “Novice” 10K running program that I got from Hal Higdon’s website, when I noticed how much more fun it is to run with no particular destination. That day I just ran where I pleased and I felt like an urban warrior (I think the correct term is street runner). It was pretty awesome. I thought to myself that it sure would be cool if I had some type of app that could tell me how far I just ran. Well I “Amazon-ed” it and there is a watch that does that. A GPS watch. Wow. Look below—No, that is not my wrist. The Garmin Forerunner 305 is the coolest watch in the world. It can tell you your distance, pace and the time. It can even be used on a bicycle. And it has a heart rate monitor and on and on and on. Well I’ve been using it for two weeks now and it is still the awesomest thing since sliced bread. I have named it Giovanni (As in Giovanni Ribisi—I love red heads). I’ve even started a fitness/photo blog just to detail my trips with Giovanni. I’ve also partnered with Alien Mind Girl to do OKC Daily Images (another blog).

Yes, I’ve finally out from under my new boy friend got off my lazy arse and started being productive.

I reluctantly went to see Sherlock Holmes with a buddy over the weekend. I was glad I went because the movie was original and unpredictable. At least twice, I was scared that one of the main characters would die.

Guy Ritchie, my new favorite director, kept to the usual Sherlocke Holmes type of mystery but gave us much in wierd character quirks and action scenes that kept had me emotionally invested in the characters and the movie.

What I loved most about the movie was the new (or new to me) little quirks that have been given to Sherlocke Holmes. Some of the little quirks made it seem as if Holmes' was mildly autisic or like he had Asperger's syndrome. For example, there is a scene where Holmes' is sitting in a crowded restaurant experiencing sensory overload.


I also get to add Rachel McAdam's character, Irene Adler, to my "Women Who Kick Ass" List. McAdams played the part of cut throat thief very well. I especially loved how she did her make up. I found a few tutorials on Youtube. Here's a link to one.

I am sexy look at me ---oh yeah I'm strong too

I am the new art editor for  Broad Universe’s Broadsheets.  My first submission was easy because my first artist was someone I knew (Hi, Kayjayoh).  Now I’m trying to find more art.  I spent three hours on Deviant Art last night with no luck.      

 

It’s difficult because it seems like most speculative art is geared towards the male gaze (even the female artists).  However I did find some art by Jill Bauman which I felt steered away from the “I am sexy look at me ---oh yeah I’m strong too.”  There is nothing wrong with that, but it’s everywhere.  I also had a hard time finding art, within the speculative fiction genre, that has any People of Color.  So after all that complaining and a few more hours of searching… I have found some pretty good art, but let’s see if they’ll let me publish it.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed

 

Haiti

It’s hard to post about anything but the tragic earthquake that hit Haiti.  So I won’t.  If you’re still on the fence about donating because you’re worried about how much of your donation will  actually get there, read this article, get off the fence, and donate.  It’s as easy as Texting “Haiti” to 90999 via the American Red Cross or texting “YELE” to 501501. 

Color Me a Copy Cat

The Singlutionary has started a Homeowner’s Series  where every Wednesday she’ll discuss “homeownership from a single woman's perspective.”  She has inspired me.  I’ve been in my house for five years and I’ve done virtually no maintenance except for the emergency stuff.  So here is a list of things I need to get done on my house.  I’m gonna try to do at least one of these things a month.  In the mean time here is my list:

1.      Fix my fence-I just called a fence guy.  He sounded really smart.  He’s supposed to come out this Saturday. 

2.      Wallpaper the kitchen-This actually sounds like fun

3.      Paint! -- My walls used to be white but now they’re grey and brown and blue from dirt, more dirt, and some weird Spiderman gun that I accidently sprayed on the walls.

4.      Get the carpets cleaned

5.      Get the electrical sockets that don’t work in my home fixed-There are a lot

6.      Replace the microwave- the handle has broken off and we have to open it with a knife.  It sounds more dangerous than it actually is.

7.      Look into a way to stop the grass from growing in my room-Don’t ask

8.      Get a new front door-I want a pretty one that makes me feel giddy inside when I see it.

9.      Get some easy, no maintenance landscaping- any recommendations???

10.  Get my patio redone—This sounds expensive

11.  Replace all of my bent vinyl blinds with pretty brown faux wood blinds

12.  Get fake firewood for my gas chimney

I secretly want to move to one of the beautiful, historical homes near downtown OKC.  So I want to get to the point where I can just pack up and move with little maintenance to my current home.  It’s a long shot but maybe I’ll win the lottery.