January 06, 2009
Tuesday in Portland
Ben is laughing hard. His face is red, he has a big grin, he laughs and then sighs.
"Oh, I love in-jokes with myself," he says.
"Mreiao," Mister says.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)
January 03, 2009
Don't ever do this
Drink a fruit smoothie before heading to the grocery store. It fills your belly and you buy bread and cheddar and broccoli and apples and cereal and milk. And then you pause to think about raisins, and while you're thinking the sugar high fades. Smoothies fill you up, but not for long. Suddenly you're buying five more cheeses, exotic things you've never heard of. You're buying pumpkin spice soy beverage, and almonds, and walnuts, and chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips. It's too, too, much, and it's terrible and within a few days you'll find yourself overwhelmed by the realization that You Must Bake Cookies. The humanity! And all because of a fruit smoothie, a drink that seems so safe, a drink with such disastrous consequences.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 11:26 AM | Comments (2)
January 01, 2009
Forgot one!
I neglected this resolution:
6. Learn fancy eye-makeup tricks, including the application of eye liner.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:27 PM | Comments (1)
Revisiting resolutions
Wow. I didn't quite succeed at most of my 2008 resolutions.
1. Build a six-month emergency savings buffer: Just barely.
2. Run or walk a marathon: Nope.
3. Do a pull up: Nope.
4. Call friends regularly, and return their calls: Better than '07, but not great.
5. Draft a novel that does not fill me with shame: Definitely not.
6. Learn Chinese and Asian history through the year 1 BCE: Not at all.
7. Make time to follow through on commitments: Did OK on this one.
2007 was much more successful.
Oh well. I like goals. This year I'm going to try to be more realistic. In 2009 I'd like to:
1. Do a pull up, or give up on this forever.
2. Build back up to running slightly longer distances (5 - 10 miles).
3. Maintain my six months of savings.
4. Read at least 26 novels and five nonfiction books.
5. Buy at least five new albums.
I've really slacked at the gym lately. Time to get over that. I don't think I'm built for a marathon. Long runs hurt my feet and knees too much. But I can still run. On the pull up thing: if I can't meet this resolution for the third straight year, I just need to give up the dream.
I'd like to save more money, but I need to be realistic about the car, house and travel expenses scheduled in 2009. If I can maintain my savings, that's a victory.
Magazines and the Internet make up a disproportionate share of my reading. Time to prioritize books.
And time to prioritize music, too. I haven't bought any new CDs for myself this year. I need to get back into the groove.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 05:27 PM | Comments (0)
2009; we made it.
Happy New Year.
More thoughts on '09 to come.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 12:03 AM | Comments (0)
December 30, 2008
Easily confused
All day long people have been wishing me a happy new year, warning me not to party too hard tonight, and asking me about my resolutions, and it's been kind of confusing. It's Dec. 30. There are 31 days in the month. Tomorrow's the eve. Thursday's the start of 2009. Why would I party hard two days before the big night? Why would I celebrate so early? OK, having a better handle on my resolutions would not be so bad. But I've got Wednesday off. I can pull something together by the end of the year. Until then, happy Tuesday in late December. It's not a special day yet. No time for celebration.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 11:08 PM | Comments (0)
December 29, 2008
Disturbing content is the raison d'être for craigslist, isn't it?
I'm not sure which is more depressing: the number of "egg donor wanted" ads on craigslist (that whole industry disturbs me), or the fact that I'm not eligible to donate to any of the programs (they can't HAVE my eggs, mind you, but these are some mighty desirable ovaries and anyone who says different is a fool).
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 11:06 PM | Comments (0)
December 28, 2008
Digitizing
I took some ribbing last night for my neanderthal approach to the iPod. I got the music player about three years ago, uploaded the 50 or 100 songs I owned in mp3 format, and haven't done much with the device since. So any time I have people over and want to play music through the fancy iPod speakers Ben and I own, I pull up the same familiar trusty playlist - the only playlist I've got - and count on it to suffice.
Well, today I started the rather time-consuming process of getting my 250 or so CDs digitized so I can put them on my iPod too. I'm on number 67. I'd have gotten further, except that the excitement of this project knocked me into a two-hour nap in the middle of the afternoon.
It's nice to get a reminder of all the music I have that I love and forget to listen too so often. Warren Zevon's final album is the soundtrack of the moment.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:20 PM | Comments (1)
Party people
We had a kind of impromptu little party at our house last night. It wasn't much of a party, in the grand sense. Amy and Paul and Rian and Ryan and Ben and me, sitting around with beer or juice and chips and dip talking and laughing at cats, some quiet music in the background. But the place was clean, the chips and beer were at the ready, and there were enough chairs for everyone to claim a seat. It was mellow, and it was nice.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 11:42 AM | Comments (1)
December 25, 2008
And to all a good night
Merry Christmas, all. Ours was normal, which means that it was very, very good.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)
December 23, 2008
How to make a bagel, in four steps
1. Make bagel dough and shape it like bagels:
2. Boil the bagels:
3. Bake them until they are exactly perfect:
4. Eat!
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:35 PM | Comments (1)
December 22, 2008
Web cams
Interstate 5 hadn't been plowed when I steered by chained tires through furrows of snow this morning. By the time I came home from work much of the snow had been worn away by passing cars, but still no hint of plows.
There are some great Web cams that really show what Portland looks like these days. Downtown is white and icy on normally bustling streets. The interstates are improving, but barely.
It's getting better though, a bit at a time. By Christmas Eve and Christmas it should be starting to really melt.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)
December 21, 2008
Bagels!
First I made the dough and let it rise, then I shaped the bagels and let them rise again. Then I boiled them and baked them. And pretty soon, thanks to Ben and me, a dozen bagels became eight. I wonder if they'll survive through tomorrow.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)
December 20, 2008
Saturday, part II
Portland has been below zero Fahrenheit only three times in recorded history. It's in the 20s during the day now, and snowing a lot. We've had 6 inches today, and another 6 to 8 inches of snow and sleet forecast overnight.
Now that I've accepted that we just need to have the heat on, and to keep it on all day even when we're not at home, I'm enjoying this cold snap. It's not really that cold out, honestly. I wore my long underwear to the grocery store, and I was too hot. So when I shoveled the driveway I wore blue jeans, a sweater under my jacket, a hat, a scarf and some gloves and I was perfectly warm. That's reasonable. That's not excessive.
And it's beautiful outside. I took lots of pictures of snowflakes, snow-coated trees, me and Ben outside with rosy cheeks. I threw the cats into snow and laughed as they freaked out. I saw people cross-country skiing in the neighborhood. A man in big red boots told me that I was an optimist to think that my shoveling would make a difference, and he was right. I cleaned. I walked to 7-Eleven to buy flour. I baked cookie-cutter sugar cookies. I ate a lot of snow, from the backyard and the front railing and the branches of an evergreen tree.
I feel kind of full of cookies right now, and I'm wearing my cool new pajamas.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:10 PM | Comments (0)
Dreaming of a white ...
I just spent the last hour and a half shoveling my driveway, front steps and sidewalk, then shoveling the driveway again. And Ben shoveled the driveway this morning. I love snow, and enjoyed the time outside moving it around. But I'll be loving it even more when Ben gets home safely from his jazz workshop. The roads are a mess out there. It looks like we've got at least two or three inches accumulated, and not a snow plow to be found.
(Later: Ben did make it home eventually.)
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)
December 19, 2008
Introducing substance-free Courtney
I'm one week into this whole no caffeine, no alcohol thing. So far it has been an interesting experiment.
I tried to go cold turkey on Coke and coffee when the doctor told me a week ago that I needed to break free. Saturday and Sunday were surprisingly easy. But by mid-afternoon Monday I was a queasy, distracted, headache-y wreck. I decided maybe I'd better wean myself more gradually. I'm having a slightly caffeinated beverage, a large green tea, every other day. Next week I'll cut back to every third day.
Accustomed to a glass of red wine or a bottle of dark beer every day after work, I went without alcohol of any kind from Dec. 12 through last night. The doctor told me to quit drinking except "on special occasions," and even then to avoid carbonation. For some reason Thursday felt special. I poured myself a half glass of wine, and that was a half glass too much. Drinking it was painful. The wine burned when I swallowed, and today I woke up with a sore throat. So I guess I really need to give up the booze, except on very, very, very rare and special occasions.
I've already devised a fabulous alcohol alternative. Next time I'm at a swank bar or out drinking with friends, I'm going to order cranberry juice in a martini glass, which will look like a cosmo. Or I'll get cran on the rocks with a slice of lemon, which will look cool and mysterious. Now that I'm a guaranteed designated driver, perhaps I'll start getting all kinds of invites for nights on the town.
On the other hand, I'm not sure I'll be able to accept those invitations. Life without caffeine has done strange things to my sleep patterns.
This week I've collapsed into a garbling sleep monster by around 10:30 p.m. each night, and I've been up chipper in the pre-dawn morning. I got hooked on Coke when I was 14, thanks to high school soda machines and unwise use of babysitting money. My concept of my "natural" sleep habits is warped, based on the night owl tendencies of my early adolescence. There's been nothing natural about my waking and sleeping ever since.
Perhaps substance-free Courtney is a morning person. A few more weeks of this and I should know for sure. Right now, though, I feel a more pressing urge than self exploration. The sleep monster is garbling my way.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:02 PM | Comments (1)
December 18, 2008
Sanguine
I took a "what word best describes" you quiz on Facebook, and Ben and I agree that the results are pretty accurate, though I think "sanguine" doesn't quite mean everything elaborated below:
This is the word that best describes you! The dictionary meaning of the adjective sanguine' is cheerfully optimistic! You are usually happy and manage to turn most negative situations into positive ones. Your happy-go-lucky, impulsive and adventurous personality makes you fun to be around although some people mistake your self-confidence for arrogance. Your sanguine disposition will help your life be a happy one; just be wary of dreaming about castles in the sky and forgetting to focus on reality.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2008
Money
I've gotten very close to saving up enough money to cover six months' worth of expenses, a goal I set to give myself the confidence that I could get through an unexpected expense or layoff. Today I read Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine that "given the current state of the economy, many have bumped up that amount." One to two years is the new standard for folks "in a field that's vulnerable to layoffs." Ahem.
I'm going to keep saving money in 2009, but I'm not going to set any goals that would make me miserable.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:48 PM | Comments (2)
December 15, 2008
Cold
It's very cold in Portland, has been since Sunday, should continue to be cold until at least Dec. 22. We're expecting another three to six inches of snow in the next few days, and highs consistently below 30.
This is a city built for lows around 30, a city of single-pane windows, low-powered electric heaters, thin walls, light weight jackets, half a million people depending in three snowplows, and a ban on the use of salt on roads. It's not pleasant right now.
Ben and I are leaving the heat on inside even when we go out. Usually we turn it off. We're also letting a faucet drip all day, because we're not sure how well insulated our pipes are and we don't want to find out the hard way. I'm thinking about buying a new pair of flannel pajamas. And I'm dreading my next electric bill.
A colleague tells me that the last time it got this cold for this long, maybe 15 or 20 years ago, the Columbia River started to freeze over. Wonder if that will happen again.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:57 PM | Comments (2)
December 14, 2008
Snow! Fame!
It's snowing! The first big snow in about four years! And I might be on TV!
I've got a bowl on the back patio collecting flakes so I can make some snow ice cream in a bit, and for most of the past hour I've been bundled up shoveling the driveway and sidewalk out front.
While I was shoveling, a TV news van screeched to a halt in front of the house and a reporter and camera man hopped out. They asked if they could film me for a bit and ask me a few questions. I've been offered the opportunity to be a man-on-the-street in the past, and I've always said no, but today I felt rosie-cheeked and exuberant, so I agreed.
They probably won't use any of it, and if they do they're not sure which of the several evening broadcasts it would appear on. I'll be watching KATU at 5 p.m., 6 p.m, and 11 p.m., just in case.
Update at 6:38 p.m.
I was on the 6 o'clock news!!!! For about 2 seconds!!!! I'm famous!!!!
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 01:48 PM | Comments (2)
December 12, 2008
Heartburn
"Now that I've ruined your weekend, I hope you have a nice, pleasant Saturday and Sunday," my doctor said as I left her office this afternoon.
The orders: no more carbonated beverages, ever; no more caffeine or alcohol, except on rare and special occasions; a six-week course of over-the-counter anti-heartburn pills. She also gave me a few other guidelines that I pretty much already follow (pizza week excepted): small frequent meals instead of rare big ones, not too much fat, don't eat before bed.
The pills are temporary, but the rest of this is lifetime stuff.
If things aren't better in six weeks, I need to go back and see if there's a more serious problem. Most likely, though, it's years of excess Coke consumption that ravaged my esophagus. I used to drink six or eight cans a day. I'm down to five or six a week now, but the damage is done. Apparently carbonation can be hard on a person.
I bought apple juice on the way home so I could drink something authorized and flavorful. I'm a bit bummed about the restrictions, but they're relatively mild. I can do this.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 05:58 PM | Comments (3)
December 11, 2008
Money, hair, choices, and an article I read in The New York Times
Oh my *bleep*, I envy the simultaneous decadence and budget-consciousness of New York City hair-cutting parties. I pretty much love my hair, which I cut myself about 11 months out of every 12. I get a Cheap Cuts trim about once a year, and I may go get it styled every four or six years. My few, rare encounters with really talented hair cutting professionals have been enlightening, and leave my hair transcendent for a long time after.
I already feel quite comfortable* in my life. But I'll know I have arrived when I start getting fancy, expensive haircuts from talented and creative people on a regular basis.
That, and when I get a housekeeper, and go skiing every winter, and take occasional trips to other continents. Until then, I will content myself with my townhouse, my cats, my flatscreen TV, and my fabulous - though poorly groomed - hair.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:41 PM | Comments (2)
December 10, 2008
Car stuff
Today I got a tune-up on my car, and replaced the battery - which I was warned was near death's door back in August 2007. Today the mechanic indicated the battery had failed. I guess it's surprising my car has been starting and going in the morning. I swear it had only been a few months since I'd been told that needed to be replaced.
So I went through all my service records. Apparently, until today I hadn't had a full professional tune-up since September 2003, with 49,615 miles on the clock. Now I'm at 138,855 miles. Oops.
I broke out my "Total Car Care for the Clueless" manual, and realized I've missed a lot of important maintenance. Haven't gotten my transmission serviced since October 2002, and that's an every-two-years type of job. And my four-year old brake pads are starting to get worn. Meanwhile, I've gotten a new fuel filter and a new air filter every few months, even though those only need to be replaced once a year.
Time to start paying attention.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:26 PM | Comments (1)
December 09, 2008
Boring fire in my body
Still here. Nothing exciting much to report. My latest challenge is heartburn, which has been gradually getting worse for about a month. Early on I thought I just had a new found sensitivity to coffee, which I linked to aging. Last night the fire in my throat kept me awake until nearly morning. Calling the doctor today.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:30 AM | Comments (4)
