Wednesday, August 20, 2008

SUCK UK - Who Tall Are You Mirror

SUCK UK - Who Tall Are You Mirror

I love this.... how much fun to look and see just how tall you are. Reminds me of one of my favorite songs by "What I Like About Jew."

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Books you can't live without: the top 100 | Books | guardian.co.uk

This MEME is often attributed to the Big Read but is
actually from The Guardian and is the Books you can't live without: the top 100 | Books | guardian.co.uk

Let me know how you are doing on this list. (Some of them overlap each other, but it is rather an interesting compendium. I've read 24).

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.

2) Italicize those you intend to read.

3) Underline the books you LOVE.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4. Harry Potter series

5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6. The Bible

7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14. Complete Works of Shakespeare

15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20. Middlemarch - George Eliot

21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34. Emma - Jane Austen

35. Persuasion - Jane Austen

36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41. Animal Farm - George Orwell

42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50. Atonement - Ian McEwan

51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52. Dune - Frank Herbert

53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddo

60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding

69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie

70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72. Dracula - Bram Stoker

73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75. Ulysses - James Joyce(started)

76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78. Germinal - Emile Zola

79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80. Possession - AS Byatt

81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87. Charlotte's Web - EB White

88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94. Watership Down - Richard Adams

95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Monday, March 31, 2008

ASL Browser

Several people have asked for this link, the best sign language site for quick reference, you need quick time to see the oh-so-helpful illustrations

ASL Browser

Hope this helps!

Saturday, March 29, 2008

MapOfStrange.com - Strange things in Google Maps

Way too much fun to see what people can find.

MapOfStrange.com - Strange things in Google Maps

Makes me wonder what sort of advertising will grow from this... seems like an obviously underused space for it that the companies already own... We shall see I'm sure.

The Stray Shopping Cart Project


I was quite enamored to find some-one who had already gone to greater lengths than I to document this phenomenon:

The Stray Shopping Cart Project

However, my photos can still be found here:
Christine's Local Shopping Carts

Friday, March 28, 2008

Sick but Surviving

So being ill with some head infection of goop and nastiness meant I’m actually getting “enough” sleep which is a good thing… it also meant I laughed out loud at the nurse practitioner when she told me to cut back on some things and relax. I told her I’m a grad student with six weeks left and my husband’s unemployed… there’s no where left to cut back. Add to that the stress of having my therapist seem pointless this afternoon and it just ends up being a sad sad story.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Super WiMax


In the harsh battle against depression, creativity is often the key... today that creativity was forcibly channeled towards.... da da da da SUPER WiMax

Results for 'Christine Penguino'

A fun sight for playing around with your name to tell you silly things like how well endowed you are based on vowels or what your name looks like in ASCII binary... here's mine

Results for 'Christine Penguino'

Oh, and here's a shocker, it turns out my name is pretty uncommon... I guess that's what happens when you make it up.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Blogger Down... BOOOOO!!!


I had to spam a bunch of stuff at once because blogger was down... I couldn't even see Junebug's Musings to which I am totally addicted! I took a clip so you could all share in my disappointment.

Crossword Research

So I’ve looked at several books of Monday (easy) crossword puzzles and have about decided to spend the $7 or so to get in the practice. I’ve also been checking out some how-to books but the $15 seems prohibitive since I really only have the prestige need of completing one. I also need to think about what is cheating. I know looking up the direct hint would be… but what if I know, for example, an actor’s first name but not last? Or if I know the word but am unsure of spelling? I guess it’s a slippery slope I’ll keep examining.

The Fancy Dinner

I know I just wrote about it under be a better wife, but I’m so proud of my cooking I just had to share a little more! Look at those yummy chopped up onions, peppers and mushrooms. They even got seasoned with things like cumin and if that’s not fancy I just don’t know what is!

Climb Up Kennesaw Mountain

Yesterday this also went on the list of “But I don’t WANNA do it.” It seems that friends at work have started this campaign to go everyday at 2:30 to run (or walk really intentionally) up the Mountain (which if you’ve ever seen a mountain you would call a hill). The point of this story is that I got there before my pals but thought I was after them so I went barreling up at top speeds…

only to have it occur to me a pretty good ways up that I was probably ahead. I took some time just sitting and staring at the view which was calming and quite lovely.

I caught them on my way down and had a friend join me for the return trip which was also nice. On a side note I figured out how to take video with my phone both with and without sound... ok so the first time I just didn't realize it had sound and then how to sync it to the Mac here at home so I can get all those pictures and videos onto the web for the world to see. Yay me!

Cooking Dinner (Even when I didn't feel like it)


So it turns out that I can do things I don’t feel like doing… I know it doesn’t sound that amazing but sometimes it is. Thursday night I actually chopped and baked and generally managed to put together a multi-dish super impressive and tasty meal.

I also managed to sing to my dogs in a silly fake French accent while doing it a la Little Mermaid. It did cheer me up, especially when Roger LOVED eating it! Hooray for food.

School is Cool

So I was totally excited to whip out my trombone this week and play for the various classrooms at school. They were really excited to get to hear the sound, see the shiny metal, and feel the vibrations with their hands. Needless to say, several also wanted to taste it but had to settle for practice buzzing their lips. The faces of the children are blurred out so you can’t see the tears streaming down their faces (and so you can’t tell who they are).

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Literally Painful


Today was a bad awful rough day any way you cut pretty much. To top off the pain grief and agony, I got an invitation I cannot accept:

Dr. Bill is organizing a community development program in Argentina this summer and extends her invitation. The trip is scheduled to take place on May 17, 2008, through May 27, 2008. The Community Development program will take place in the Andes Mountain in a village comprised of seventy (70) families in a compound. Students will help in the following areas: build corrals for their Llamas, assist in gardening projects for the little children, and participate in painting the school house among other projects.

The cost of this trip is $2500. Costs include the air flight to Argentina, 3 meals per day, lodging and 2 nights in Buenos Aires. We ask that interested students pay a deposit in the amount of $1700 during the first week of March. The remaining balance is required by the first week of April.

Something I'd love to do, a time I can actually go, a great deal on air-fare etc. I even have the passport. It's the week after graduation and would be a lovely and purposeful celebration. However, coming up with $2500 in basically two weeks with hubby still jobless is beyond impossible. Oh for the future days of real money coming in when I could say, why yes, I'd love to go... and actually go.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Got Home Early, Walked the Dogs and Husband

So, we’re off to a great start this week, spent time with puppies and my favorite guy. We walked for 45 minutes and did two miles. Not to shabby and not to sweaty, which is always good for lazy old me. Oh, and now we’re going to go eat Italian with our friends and re-consume all those calories he he he.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Finding cheap NY Times Puzzles

So, I’m obviously to cheap/poor to actually subscribe to the NY Times. So, now I’m in search of practice to figure it all out. I really don’t know where to start but figured I could pretty easily let myself commit to looking around so I can count some progress.

Graduation

Graduation is officially May 13th at 2pm. I’m gonna get there and then do the licensure thing. Hey, that’s another thing to add to my list I guess. Always nice to get letters added after my name and particularly nice to already be getting snail mail spam about doing my PhD!

Getting my LMSW

It requires a test after graduation to get my Licens which would make me ever-so-much more marketable. That also means more studying right as I’m finally done with school but I really feel that it is worth it in the professional realm of things as I then accumulate hours towards my LCSW, Licensed Clinical Social Worker which is another three years out with a ton of hours required. But, this goal will hopefully keep me motivated in the short term.

Productive Day to Be a Better Wife

So, today I really got cracking, I totally cleaned my two rooms for the week, did some tangible romance with candles, and if I walk the dogs a second time in a minute I’ll be totally hitting the mark since I cooked twice yesterda (and made brownies). Yay me!

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Internet Celebrity

So this is a hard to define goal… I’m going with thinking of some way to calculate it but for now I’ll count progress as adding myself to LinkedIn and to Facebook. I even hooked in 43things.com to facebook to keep up with myself with some simple reminders. Lets see if that leads to minor celebrity :)

Updating Progress: be a better wife

A. Domestic Improvement – Did neither more cooking or cleaning in any given week, guess I need to focus.

B. Partnership Improvement – I haven’t checked in with the budget formally, but have done better with less spending, I have walked the dogs twice a day for about a week so if I can hang on to that one I can drop it.

C. Romantic Improvement – I’ve got one week to go with this and I’ll call it done on both self-esteem and tangible love… yeah me!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Because I Can

Maybe it’s just weird but it occurred to me that I keep meaning to try and become a notary public. Seems like it would save time and be a handy thing when you need it. What’s sad is that the thirty dollar fee is what’s stopping me. I guess it’s just always time and money right now, time and money.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Freerice.com Delicious Vocabulary

I earned 500 grains of rice and am excited to try to expand my vocabulary while making the world a little bit better place. Besides that it doesn’t hurt to be a little more self aware in the sea of societal ills!

Professional Socialite

So, long story very short... in case we weren't all already trying way to hard to connect, I've joined a "professional" social networking site. You can find me here: Christine on LinkedIn

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

One word at a time... a novel

So, the plan is for this goal to be specific and measurable; I’ll start out by putting in one hour a week of nonschool/nonwork writing. I’ll work on outlining for now, count poetry work, and let it all lead up to the glory that is Nanowrimo! We’ll see how it goes from there. I think I’ll theme on the myths of my childhood i.e. how I misremember growing up… my version of my little life.

Finish the Crossword

So, seems silly but I’ve always wanted to say I did it. Not that it proves anything, but I do consider myself to be pretty up to date. I mean, my addiction to Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me has to be doing something for me. Besides that I love word games. On the downside, sometimes I totally blank on things I don’t care about or find the easy way out. This will be an interesting little challenge. It may take several puzzles, but I’m well on my way.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Postcarding Around the World

Finally got to the point where mine’s received so I’ve officially sent 20 Postcards with Postcrossing. It really is the little things but I’m super happy to have done this and feel like I got something done today.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Manamana



Totally my smile moment of the day. I know, I'm a political junky, but I couldn't bare to watch the State of the Union, this was much more fun and probably more relevant to daily life right?

Sunday, January 27, 2008

91-100 Things That Make Me Happy (Besides Money)

91. Thoughtful complements from out of the blue
92. VW Bugs
93. Roger singing nothing in particular
94. Shopping for really good looking fruit and veggies
95. Massages (from Roger or a masseuse)
96. Graduation
97. Being honestly asked for advise and listened too
98. Clean laundry smell
99. Candles, lots and lots of flickering candles
100. Money j/k not worrying so much

Cooking More (Different Goal... But Addressing it)

So, really this is getting better under the be a better wife, to summarize, the goal is cook a meal twice a week for one month. Today was a great start by actually going to an international farmers market and getting things I’d like to eat; like water cress for Roger. I am really hoping that by having foods that are super yummy but way healthier it will be easier to kick start this area of personal progress.

Is being angry better?

In looking over my list, I can genuinely say that indeed, I feel like I have stopped worrying. Not entirely, but I definitely let a lot more things go. Ironically, a big help in this has been working being ok with letting myself be angry about things. I’ve never been very comfortable with the idea of being angry, but it is a good thing when done in a healthy way. As in, I feel angry that things didn’t turn out. This is much better than an hour of worrying about how I should/could/would’ve done something different. I just acknowledge that this is how I feel, and that that is an ok thing, and move on with life. Weird how healthy and easy that sounds. You have no idea how tricky it is not to feel guilt for the anger that is replacing the worry. Maybe being a therapist is going to be way trickier than I thought.

Be a Better Wife?

Hmmm, good goal, poor definition. I’m going to break it down into a couple areas and see if I can tackle it from there. I know, I know, it’s secretly a case plan. At least I can check in with myself to track progress. Plus, I can always edit depending on Roger’s reactions ;)

A. Domestic improvement
1. Cook two meal at home each week for one month
2. Clean two rooms each week for one month.

B. Partnership Improvement
1. Budget better by checking in with Roger sit down style once a week for a month.
2. Walk the dogs twice a day for two weeks.

C. Romantic Improvement
1. Improve my own self esteem by doing something that makes me feel pretty daily for two weeks.
2. Demonstrate my love in a tangible form three times a week for one month.

Getting There with Exercise

So, to update my progress, I’ve managed to go to yoga twice this week 45 minutes each, and on Friday I did 30 minutes of Cardio before my afternoon appointment. So… looking good. This week’s already off to a bang with 40 minutes of walking with husband and dogs while the laundry dried. So far, so simple and oh-so-good!

Out On the Town


So, after waiting several long months, it was finally time to go see the Capitol Steps. I was absolutely thrilled. My friend's sister was celebrating her birthday and so an amazing white bean chili was prepared before the adventure. After laughing so hard I almost cried and nearly every song and enjoying the ad libbing the actors threw at each other, it was time to go home. Or, actually, back to our Ikeaite friends' house for ice cream and brownies. Talk about a lovely evening. I, of course, being the early bird I've had to be lately to get to Yoga (yes, I'm going twice a week at O'Dark Thirty) fell asleep on the couch. At any rate, I highly recommend the show to anyone who can go.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

81-90 Things that Make Me Happy

81. Re-Inventing Myself
82. Having the cosmetologist wash my hair
83. A new haircut
84. Being back to red
85. Fitting a 14 when it’s usually 18
86. My nose
87. Being thankful for the parts that don’t fit the shirt right
88. Being able to say “I’m Angry”
89. Reading a waste of time magazine
90. Surprising someone with a special act

Mini Make-Over



So, long story short a combination of lack of funds, stress, lack of time, self loathing and general malaise had led to a pretty pitiful state of self. Thus, the mini-make-over in a desperate attempt to feel pretty. Lucky me it worked pretty well so far. Did the hair, the nails, new outfit, feeling pretty good about it. Hopefully there will be a trickle down effect to other areas of life as well. Maybe I'll even write a poem.

Here's the one I like best but you can't see the whole outfit:

Monday, January 21, 2008

71-80 Things That Make Me Happy

71. Crossing stuff off lists
72. My friends’ crazy schemes
73. My crazy schemes
74. My new light therapy light bulb for cheap from Home Depot
75. American Gladiator… I’m inspired
76. Not hating how I look in my reading glasses
77. Paying someone else to clip dog toenails
78. Silly old pictures
79. Getting to try some assessments on myself
80. Hot dates

Postcrossing 20 Cards done and done

So, after slacking forever, I requested the silly addresses. I’ve had the goal of sending 20 postcrossing.com for a while and lack only two cards. As mundane as it may be, when I actually get the new cards in the mail I know I’ll be uber stoked. It really is like a magical surprise package in the mail, and I could use some happy surprises in the never ending fight for emotional well being. I’m trying the whole Dark Night of the Soul idea but lately I can’t even bring myself to write mediocre poetry. Maybe I’ll spend some more time editing the older stuff. Who knows, maybe I’ll start writing it on postcards to random people from Postcrossing.com

Saturday, January 19, 2008

8 Hours, no more, no less

OK, for emotional health and to fight depression, the plan is 8 hours a night. That means I’ll have to be in bed at a certain time, and then roll out when the alarm goes off. No more sleep all weekend or just get two hours in one night. I’m hoping this really helps. I’ll give it two weeks as the time cap.

61-70 Split for the Blog

61. Faked expertise that even convinces myself
62. Roger with a new tech toy
63. Sharing political frustration
64. Political activism
65. Greeting cards
66. Finally catching up
67. Feeling productive
68. Getting the bargain
69. Win win compromises
70. My business cards

41-60 Finally More Recent

41. Our trip to Brazil
42. Being family just because I love their family
43. Not being trapped in perpetual heat exhaustion
44. Izzie
45. Stafford Loans
46. Finding therapy
47. Providing therapy
48. Old romantic files
49. Fresh mangos
50. Peca Pal

51. Trying new things
52. Tradition
53. Siblings only laughter
54. Cooking
55. Not having to cook
56. Diet Dr. Pepper
57. Being Ok with not knowing
58. Positive peer pressure
59. Having someone tell my I’m driven like it’s a good thing
60. Ms. Tene Tene

31-40

31. People finding me on MySpace
32. My group
33. Photo montages by me.
34. WiMax (My dachshund). *old entry, no jealousy*
35. Ceiling fans at night.
36. My mom's laugh.
37. The way my sister describes a favorite author.
38. Having someone pet my hair.
39. Finding Roger's foot under the covers.
40. Funky looking toys.

21-30

21. Hugs, really strong ones
22. 100% juice
23. Ice cream
24. Old pictures
25. The “Stupid John Dance”
26. Showers for babies
27. Showers for brides
28. Showers for smelly dudes
29. Opportunity
30. Doodles

11-20

11. My lucky number 11
12. Funny stamps
13. Croissants with cheese
14. House episodes
15. Ikea lamps
16. Stationary
17. laughing at myself
18. Pictures of toddlers
19. Unexpected cheering
20. Forgiveness of myself and others

ten at a time 100 things that make me happy

I’ve decided this would be good for me and I think I’ll enter them ten at a time to keep it a reasonable goal. These were the first ten I wrote a year ago

1. My husband’s smile
2. Penguins
3. Our new Mac
4. Living in a home with central heating
5. Julie being so excited about getting married
6. My little brother was so worried about me being ill he would risk getting fired to take care of me.
7. My co-workers caring about me as a person.
8. Sending Postcrossing postcards
9. Recieving Postcrossing postcards
10. Playing on 43things

Friday, January 18, 2008

Measurable and Time Limited

When creating client case plans, they have have to be measurable and time limited. I’m going to define this as exercising at least one half hour two times a week for four weeks. Hopefully Yoga will be the jump-start I need this week.