It’s apparently a new year

So, due to the lack of response I got for the giveaway, I’m going to extend it another week. To enter, comment here!

So far 2010 has not been off to a good start. Between work traveling and stresses in general, I’ve been pretty busy and stressed out. Fortunately, that’s all over now so I’m looking forward to pretending that none of that existed and instead 2010 is just beginning! I also realized I hadn’t made any goals or resolutions (or acknowledged the new year at all) so here we go.

Goals for 2010:

1. Move somewhere. It unfortunately will not be Chicago this year (in the future, hopefully soon!). It will be somewhere else.

2. Finally (FINALLY) get rid of things I don’t want, and buy things I DO want (and purge, purge, purge – there’s so much stuff that I have that I simply do not need/want/use).

3. Burn more candles, take more pictures, draw more pictures, and write more. In a letter from Stephanie that I just got, she mentioned how it’s funny that she had been wanting to take pictures downtown FOREVER, but hadn’t gotten around to it until just now. I think we all make plans like that, but never follow through, and I realized that I want to start doing stuff that I’ve been meaning to. So, for the sake of coziness and the fact that I Just Really Like Doing These Things But Damn It Is Easier To Be Lazy, this is going to be the year of DOING THINGS, documented on this blog every step of the way!

Things I accomplished in 2009:

1. I got another cat. I’ve had Augustus for a year and a half (!!!), but Sata has only been here for a year. I love that guy – I can’t imagine life without him. While he may be obnoxious when it comes to food, he’s also the sweetest, most affectionate, most wonderful cat ever.

2. I graduated university! It’s true. I obtained my BS in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin. I am quite proud.

3. I got a job! Gainful employment is nice, and I like my job a lot, actually. There have been rough patches, and also really good patches, and I’m grateful for everyone I’ve met at my job.

4. I met Stephanie in Real Life. I visited her in the summer and she came to visit here in the fall. Now we just need to decide when to see each other in spring!

How is your new year so far? Is it what you expected it would be? Are you doing your resolutions still or have you given up (assuming you made some in the first place)?

Giveaway!

At last! Lunsh is having its very first giveaway are YOU are invited. The giveaway item is sort of girly, so sorry, gentlemen (but you’re welcome to enter anyway if you’d like!). I’ve been wanting to do a giveaway for seriously months, because that’s how much I love you guys. I really want to give something back to you and giveaways are ALWAYS awesome.

So the giveaway is a Nancy Drew Secret at Shadow Ranch JOURNAL. It has the Nancy Drew book cover, and the pages are lined with smatterings of Nancy Drew illustrations inside from the book itself. The journal is paperback and lays flat, and is about the size of a paperback novel – perfect for taking with you to write all your thoughts in! I really love this journal, and so does Stephanie – and if you’re a big Nancy Drew fan like us, you’ll love it too.

Man, I sound like a salesperson.

Here is a lovely picture of it:

To enter the giveaway, simply comment on this post! The giveaway will end when I return from Boston, this Friday the 29th.

(Hurry, before Augustus eats it!)

Handling stress

Work this week has been stressful with deadlines approaching and I have yet another business trip next week to Boston (yes, I know, no giveaway today either but I realized I can do the giveaway while I’m in Boston! win for everyone!). In the meantime, I’ve been trying to keep my mind off stressful things by doing cozy things like snuggling with cats, crocheting, shopping (NO I DO NOT NEED TO BE SHOPPING AT ALL EVER but it is an addiction UGH), playing Pokemon Diamond, and just trying to keep my mind off the stress.

It’s funny. Sometimes it’s better to talk with someone when you’re stressed, but right now I really just want to not think about it. Because there is no good solution to work travel and the particular work stresses I’m experiencing aside from relaxing lots at home.

I also bought a betta fish for the office named Edgar. He’s awesome, and it feels good to be caring for something at the office as well as at home. And it’s great to just take my mind away from everything and focus on watching Edgar swim around or caring for him.

And of course doing things I love to do and taking care of myself lots.

What do you do when you encounter a problem you can’t solve? Do you prefer to talk or to not think about it?

Bread

Sorry everyone! No giveaway today, because I wanted to post and I don’t have it ready yet. Actually, I’ve been in Boston, Massachusetts all week on business! Boston is beautiful but I’m glad to be home with my kitties and Chris and much warmer weather! We had a cold snap and it’s been in the 20s (and it was in the 20s and 30s in Boston), but in the past few days the weather has warmed and it’s been in the 40s and even the 50s! Much better.

I’ve been fighting a cold as well so I haven’t done much in the way of anything. Aside from Boston, Chris and I have been baking a lot of bread, cakes, and pizzas, which is just perfect. I’ve never really appreciated baking before now, but I can’t seem to stop. Today’s recipe is Peppery Cheese Bread.

Recipes that make two loaves instead of one are my favorite, because of two things.

1. Thing the first: If you’re going to spend 2-3 hours baking bread (don’t be scared! while it does take that long technically, it’s only about half an hour to an hour of work total for most breads – mostly you’ll just be sitting around), you may as well churn out two loaves.
2. Thing the second: I love bread. Chris uses it for sandwiches and I use it for toast in the morning, lightly buttered. We go through roughly two small loaves a week anyway.

One thing to note is that I don’t have a breadmaker. Too expensive, takes up too much room, and there’s something very nice about mixing everything together by hand. I do often use a breadhook on a mixer, so I am cheating a bit on the kneading part, but it’s still a fun, soothing, almost meditative experience. Combine that with some wine and family and you have just about the perfect combination.

Do you bake? What sorts of things do you bake?

As an added bonus, here is a picture of me makin’ some bread before a party.

Cosy

Happy New Year! It always takes me about a week into the new year to realize it is, in fact, a new year, and that something must be done about it (aside from getting used to writing another number in my dates, that is). Greeting “Happy New Year” and all that—I think it’s just to keep me confused.

I disappeared somewhat suddenly at the end of November, overcome with school and feeling. Writing just didn’t seem pleasant then; knitting and going out with friends and finishing the semester Right did. I was still online and chatting almost daily, but my heart certainly wasn’t in my writing.

I suppose Nanowrimo had something to do with that.

Anyway, it’s the new year, there are endless possibilities, good and bad. It’s my birthday month, and my mom said we’ll probably have to celebrate two weekends early, which is this coming weekend. So I’ve been working on my birthday wishlist, and purchasing those things I’d like. My Christmas was great because I got a lot of clothes, which I absolutely needed, but for my birthday I’d like a few more fun things.

After reading Getting through Winter from Hygge House I asked for soy candles to burn in the evenings in my room in Minnesota. Now that I’m in the German house, technically I’m still not allowed to have candles, but no one really cares. I’ve always felt that the heat of candles gives off a cosy glow, and if there’s one thing I really need in Minnesota, it’s cosy.

It is nice to get a break from there, I admit.

In December I made myself a new rule: If I’m feeling cold, I’ll make myself a cup of tea. In reality I didn’t feel that cold that often, but it’s a good way to warm up, drinking a cup of something hot, and something I should remember here, where I don’t need a jacket because if I’m comfortably dressed inside the house it’s enough to go out in.

Anyway, as more and more of my life exists in colder climates I’m trying to catch up by figuring out how to stay cosy… especially on top of mounds and mountains of schoolwork. I’ve been mulling over Becky’s list of things to do to stay cosy. The cat idea is one I employ, willingly or not, while at home with my furball Pepper who doesn’t seem to think of me as a person, just as a lap. I also have a nice blanket I throw over myself when I’m not working on the computer.

See, the problem with staying cosy is that it’s very hard to do while working on your laptop and stressing over schoolwork. But I’ll keep trying.

Writing is a craft that needs to be practiced, and I’m trying to start to get back into it. Hopefully I’ll see more of you in the coming weeks!

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