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45

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45

Yes.  I’ve been absent from my blog for a while.  Life has been busy – and good!

In September

  • I went to a few football games under the Friday night lights and in the steamy heat of a Saturday – ah, September in MN
  • I spent time with friends, sitting in the creek with margaritas on that steamy Saturday, celebrating milestone birthdays, and organizing Cosmo Girls for year 4
  • I’ve been spending time with this guy I have been dating, whenever our schedules (and the stars) align.
  • I was preparing for a trip to NYC, so I had to work a little extra on the front end.
  • I made it to two movies in the theatre:
    The Family (with Chris) – a mobster in witness protection.  Robert DeNiro still has it, at 70 years old!  Amazing.
    The Spectacular Now (with Marie) – I was excited to see this, and it didn’t live up to expectations.  It was just ok and mostly depressing.  
  • I finished Orange is the New Black on Netflix, and it is worth watching.
  • I spent a lot of time listening to Broadway Cast Recordings of Cinderella and Matilda and reading My City, My New York in preparation for my (annual) birthday trip to New York City.  

So, yes, now there has been a birthday.

birthday cake

birthday cake (Photo credit: freakgirl)

I flew out 9/30/13 and spent my 45th birthday (10/1/13) in NYC celebrating in style!  I’ll do a recap post of that trip later, but it was another amazing trip which makes me feel so blessed.

For my 44th year, I divided the year into quarters and made lists of 11 things to do or look forward to in each quarter.  I didn’t complete them all, but it was a fun way to organize the year.  You can read the summary posts from the first three quarters here:  Quarter 1, Quarter 2, Quarter 3.

Here is a wrap-up of the 4th quarter of my 44th year:,

my final 11 things: 

  1. Fourth of July!  Always a great time with family – relaxing time at the end of the dock, fireworks, great food and photo ops!
  2. Plan a Book Fest!First annual?  Bi-annual? Bookish food and treats?  Crafts?  Oh my!  It’s coming right up, but it’s in the planning stages!  It was SOOOO awesome!  You can read all about it here!  I am just starting to think about Book Fest 2.0!
  3. Ferragosto!  I can’t wait for my made up mid-August celebration!  More details to follow!  You can read all about it – here!  Buon Ferragosto!
  4. New York City! Looking forward to planning my annual trip to NYC!  It will make turning a year older more palatable! The trip is history – and it definitely was a great time… such a great way to spend a birthday!
  5. Books! Read and listen as much as possible! Tragic fail… keep on plugging away!  I actually did TWO book reviews and giveaways this quarter, so I guess that’s where my reading was focused – on The Promise of Provence and Freud’s Mistress – click to read more!
  6. Cosmo Girls! Start planning for 2013-2014!  Organized and rolling along!  We had a great organizational meeting and a terrific first meeting of the year! It’s going to be a great year!
  7. State Fair? Go if I can!  I guess I can – I went THREE times!
  8. Help Marissa move and get settled! Done!  It was a hot hot day we moved her in, but she is well-settled, the apartment is cute, and she is having a great time and great success in graduate school!  Woot!
  9. Ferragosto Ferragosto Ferragosto!  I have a feeling it’ll be the best ever!  Again – see above!  It was terrific!
  10. Sit down and … play piano or write poems or letters or play accordion… take time.  Well, also a fail.  Didn’t get much “time” for any of that but it’s all good!
  11. What do you think I should add to my list?

So as you can see, not even 11 things on the list, but still a fun way to remember the year.

45 years old

45 years old

And for this year, 45?  

Maybe I’ll do something creative with 45 records (remember them?) like “on the flip side” or “B Side”… have ideas?  

45 rpm, flip side? b-side?

45 rpm, flip side? b-side?

 

I learned that 45 is the sum of all the numbers (0+1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9 = 45), the dialing code for Denmark (+45), a gun or ammunition (.45), and the sapphire wedding anniversary.  

Elvis Costello wrote this song called 45 (http://youtu.be/KPZkldKk1WA), referring to record singles and his age when he wrote the song.  A catchy song… There are lots more songs and movies and other information you can read about online – thanks Wikipedia!  

So I haven’t fleshed out the plan or theme for being 45, but I’m enjoying every minute of it so far!

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October’s End

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October's Palette

October’s Palette (Photo credit: dibytes)

October.  Where did it go?

Just think, 30 days ago I was celebrating my birthday in NYC and there were so many other adventures this month!

rose colored glasses

Rose colored glasses – life is good!

I love October, so I’m sad to see it go, but autumn continues and my favorite holiday – Thanksgiving – will be here before I know it!

Here’s a mini-update of my 11 Things for Fall:

11 Things to Do or Look Forward to in the Fall (October November December)

  1. Celebrate my birthday in NYC – check! October 1
  2. Go to 4 Daughters Winery – October 13
  3. Go to Door County to celebrate birthdays and trivia wins! October 19-21
  4. Go to Bruce Springsteen concert – November 12!
  5. Choir gigs and holiday concerts – November 30-December 2
  6. Read … something classic or new?: just try to read!
  7. Write … poetry or themed blogs? Blogs!  This is #7 in October!
  8. Plan … a dinner party or ??: a neighborhood get-together?
  9. Shop early for Christmas gifts: Hmm… Hopefully!
  10. Play accordion weekly and give piano lessons as regularly as possible: FAIL!  Never home!
  11. and something else that I’ll think of eventually!: Thinking a “Pay it Forward” or volunteer thing…

Have a great Halloween and enjoy looking back on your Fall Fun!

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44

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Go 44

Go 44 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

One week ago today I had a birthday – my 44th!  It’s a great number and I’m certain it’s going to be a great year.  I’ll write about my birthday festivities later, but wanted to let you know what I’m thinking of doing to celebrate these 44 years.

 

Wikipedia

 

I researched the number 44 on Wikipedia and learned that  “Forty-four is a tribonacci number, a happy number, an octahedral number and a palindromic number.”  I LOVE that it’s a happy number! I’m not sure I fully understand what it means to be a happy number but it was fun to read about!

 

I also learned that it’s the retired number for Hank Aaron and Reggie Jackson, so it’s known as the “hitter’s number.”  44 is the international calling code for Great Britain, Wyoming is the 44th state and Obama is the 44th president.  Victor French played Agent 44 on Get Smart and +44 used to be a band.

 

I already did a “40 things to do before turning 40 list” and doing one for 50 sounds daunting (and it’s too early to be thinking about 50!), so I decided that I am going to make a list of 11 things to do or look forward to in the 4 seasons of my 44th year!  One year I had a party for each season of the year and that was a lot of fun, and celebrating smaller chunks of the year sounds like a great idea to me!  Here’s my start.  Maybe I’ll incorporate some of the above interesting facts into my lists!

 

Autumn trees

 

11 Things to Do or Look Forward to in the Fall (October November December)

 

  1. Celebrate my birthday in NYC – check!
  2. Go to 4 Daughters Winery
  3. Go to Door County to celebrate birthdays and trivia wins!
  4. Go to Bruce Springsteen concert
  5. Choir gigs and holiday concerts
  6. Read … something classic or new?
  7. Write … poetry or themed blogs?
  8. Plan … a dinner party or ??
  9. Shop early for Christmas gifts
  10. Play accordion weekly and give piano lessons as regularly as possible
  11. and something else that I’ll think of eventually!

 

Let me know if you have ideas that I can steal for my list or for the future lists!

 

Today I found this quote from L. M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables:

 

I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

 

In looking for the quote reference I found a TON of great quotes from the book.  I listened to it on audio years ago – probably the very first audiobook I listened to – and I should read it with my eyes sometime!  Great positive quotes!

 

Personification of Autumn (Currier & Ives lith...

 

Have a great week!

 

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Happy Monday!

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Ah.  A great break from work has almost come to an end, but I really like the shift that I am working this week (2:30pm – 11:00pm) so I still get to stay up a little later and sleep in a little bit, so it fits my natural cycle.  I have a suitcase out and started filling it with a few things, and have a list going of other things I need to think about and plan before next weekend!

Halftime @ Mayo vs. Winona – Friday Night Lights

But this weekend was awesome…

  • Book club and Mexican food and catch-up time with the FC gals Thursday night
  • Pampering with free gifts at the Estee Lauder counter Friday morning
  • Mayo Football at Winona Friday night – their Homecoming game, but Mayo won the exciting game
  • Trajan’s football game Saturday morning – a perfect fall morning for football!
  • A singing “gig” in Winona Saturday afternoon
  • Pizza and a DVD (OT: Our Town) at Judy’s in Winona Saturday afternoon
  • Dancing to Hitchville at the Wicked Moose for Kristine’s birthday Saturday (until the wee hours of Sunday morning!)
  • A great sleep-in and matinee of “Trouble with the Curve” on Sunday afternoon
  • Girls’ Night In hair coloring party at Angie’s Sunday night
  • and now… muffin baking and blogging before heading to Rushford for choir and the How I Met Your Mother season premiere!

I just re-watched the double season finale of How I Met Your Mother this morning so I’m ready for this season – is it 8? The final musical selection got me searching the internet to see what it was and I’m delighted to say that I have it in my iTunes!  It ends with “The Wind” by Cat Stevens.  Such good music in that great show – and several Spotify playlists to prove it!

How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother (Photo credit: tchuntfr)

Back to work tomorrow, but I’m armed with a list of things to do and think about and plan for.  Maybe I’ll have time to blog my itinerary for the fun that begins on Saturday!  It’s all so self-indulgent!  I love it!

I also have a birthday coming up next week (hence the fun schedule to come!) and it’s kind of a cool number, I think.  I’m kicking around some inspiration for lists – nothing as grand as the 40 things to do before turning 40.  But maybe 4 lists of 11 things?  I will see.  I also read somewhere someone was putting together a list for 10/10 – like 10 things to say YES to and 10 things to say NO to.  That’s do-able, too.

Other stuff:

  • I subscribe to a Timehop email and daily I get a re-cap of my Twitter and Facebook posts from one year ago.  It’s been fun to look back at that time and see what goodness was going on.
  • I read a few old blog posts of mine.  I have blogged 225 posts since February 2010.  Crazy, eh?  225 isn’t a lot when you think that I’ve been blogging for almost 3 years (yikes!) but I guess that’s more than a blog a week.  I blogged a lot and was kind of clever when I was unemployed!  For example, I did 40 days of blogs with another blogger who was celebrating her 40th birthday.  I also blogged daily using the Satellite Sisters Uncommon Senses as a theme.  I liked that.  Maybe I’ll reprise it monthly or something.
  • I don’t get any (or many) comments on my blog.  I don’t know why that is.  Probably because the people who really read it get it via email and it’s not as easy as commenting when you’re on the website.  If you do read it via email, I hope that you clicked that dance video that I posted after I saw The Intouchables.  What fun it is!!!

Well, enough for today!  Must get ready and get myself to Rushford!  It’s a beautiful sunshiney Monday!  Enjoy!

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40 Things (38)

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Nick Hornby

Following along with Boof’s 40 Day Challenge leading up to her 40th birthday, day 38!

38) An author crush

This is a toughy, because although I can be an author-stalker, I don’t necessarily think about them as crushes.  But one author that I immediately looked for on Goodreads because I love to read anything by him, would be Nick Hornby.  His books are clever and witty and apt.  I would love to meet him and see if he’s anything like the characters he writes.

#38 on my list was: Drink before noon.  How silly is that?  It wasn’t a well-thought-out addition or something I had been dreaming about doing for years, but rather added as the opportunity came about.  🙂  We have a small cabin on a small lake about an hour from where I live.  It’s absolutely perfect.  This drink happened one morning at the end of the dock to celebrate my brother’s birthday and the nearing end of summer.  I always say that the end of the dock is my favorite room at the cabin… whether it be with coffee or wine, alone or with friends, with a book or purely sun worshiping.  It’s the best.

My Favorite Room at the Cabin

Off to read!

40 Things (32) – and my BiRtHdAy

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Cover of "What Is the What: The Autobiogr...

Cover via Amazon

Following along with Boof’s 40 Day Challenge leading up to her 40th birthday, day 32 (MY BIRTHDAY!)

32) A book that has been on my shelf unread for more than 5 years

Five years ago I lived in a different house and had different book shelves.  I lost a lot of books, although I did have some book shelves that were safe from the water and I still have those books.  I now have bookshelves from IKEA – the 25 squares kind – and only one square is devoted to unread books (although I do have a big pile by my bed, too).

One book that I know I’ve had a LONG time (maybe not five years, but it was written in 2006) and haven’t read yet is Dave Egger’s “What is the What.”  I loved Dave’s first book, “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” and I know that I will love this too, but it seems a little heavy, and those are the books that it’s easy to put off reading.  I know I will read this because Sarah has it and we’re going to discuss it in the Walkie Talkie style.

Have you read it?  Why do you think people put off reading certain books?

#32 on my list of 40 things was: Go to the Museum of Russian Art in Minneapollis with Inna.  Inna was our foreign exchange student from the Ukraine in 2002/2003 and she came back as an adult in the summer of 2007 to work for a few weeks and she lived with us again.  We had intended to spend a few days in Minneapolis before she flew home at the end of August, but that durn flood changed a lot of plans, so I never got to go with her.  We did get the chance to spend one night in the Cities before she left and ate a fun dinner at Moscow on the Hill – a Russian restaurant – with good good friends.  So we partook in shots of vodka with dill pickles.  Crazy, fun.  And needed after that crazy week.  🙂

I did make it to the museum the following summer (6/27/08) with my cousin Emily, who lives very close to it.  It’s a great museum and I especially loved the photography exhibit.

Off to read!  And party!  Because, it’s my birthday, after all!

40 Things (29)

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Garrison Keillor and cast members of A Prairie...

Keillor and cast in Lanesboro, MN Image via Wikipedia

Following along with Boof’s 40 Day Challenge leading up to her 40th birthday, day 29 –

29) A favourite book with animals in

When I was young (5th grade? 6th grade?) I loved “Where the Red Fern Grows,” but I haven’t read it since then, so  it’s hard to say it’s a favorite, because when I think of books with animals in it, my mind goes immediately to “Life of Pi.”  I listened to that book on audio first and simply fell in love with the story.  I loved the cadence of the reader, the description of the animals in the life boat, the floating island, and the horror of the story.  A few years later I read the book for book club (at my insistence) and I enjoyed the story just as much and loved talking about it with everyone (although most didn’t share my love for the book).

#29 on my list of 40 things was: Go to Michael Feldman or Garrison Keillor.  Michael Feldman and Garrison Keillor have weekly entertainment radio shows on public radio.  I have listened to Garrison Keillor since I was introduced to the show when I was about 12 by my aunt and uncle.  I don’t listen religiously, but whenever I am in the car or at home and remember, I will turn on The Prairie Home Companion,which is taped in St. Paul, MN or NYC.  Michael Feldman’s show, “Whad’ya Know?” was introduced to me much later – in the late 90s – and it is less musical and more interview/comedy based with local color.  It is taped in Madison, Wisconsin.

On May 31, 2007 Garrison Keillor came to a small artsy town about 20 miles from where I lived, so I got tickets and went with a bunch of friends.  He recorded the show on a baseball field outside and the weather was perfect, the guests were colorful and fun, and his show was fantastic.  It would be fun to see him at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul sometime and I hear he’s going to retire soon, so I’ll have to get on that.

Off to read!

40 Things (22)

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A gift wrapped in yellow and green paper.

Image via Wikipedia

Following along with Boof’s 40 Day Challenge leading up to her 40th birthday, day 22’s topic is:

22) A book I hope I get for my birthday

Well, I know that Boof is doing this leading up to her 40th birthday, and one of the reasons I decided to participate was because I am going to have a birthday soon, too!  Mine is a few days before hers, and I was just putting items on my Amazon wish list for an out-of-the-country friend who wants to purchase me a gift.  I actually didn’t put many books on the list (the beauty of Amazon – they have earrings!), but when I was looking for books, I was looking for comedic books rather than novels.  I was looking at books by Amy Sedaris or thinking about Jon Stewart‘s book.  I own a lot of books already so I couldn’t think of one that I wanted.  I am planning to buy the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest if it ever comes out in paperback… I have the first two in paperback and want to complete the trilogy.  🙂

So any of those will work for me.  🙂

#22 on my list of 40 things was: Enter another contest.  Yesterday I wrote about entering a photo contest, which was a lot of fun, so I decided to enter other contests.  I have entered a few since that time – no-talent-needed contests, as well as writing contests and other photo contests.  I’ve won some books from Goodreads and even a book club set of books from Random House.  I never expect to win anything so getting a freebie is always a blessing!

Off to read!