A Full Rich Day

I love the M*A*S*H TV series, and watch the DVDs far more often than any sane person should/would. This post title is taken from one episode of the series.

But, it has indeed been a full, rich day for me. (Or rather yesterday was-- I can't sleep and am taking advantage of my insomnia to write this, but I can't keep my tenses straight, so bear with me.)

I got to church this morning, which was great. Moved to tears by the very first worship song-- a fast-paced old hymn. I can't even say why, but it really got to me (in a good way). First message from the new senior pastor too. I'm looking forward to having him; apparently he'll start officially at the beginning of June (after leaving the church where he presently ministers and moving his family up to Kentucky). Yay! The long search and wait is over.

A good friend shared some personal information with me privately on Facebook; I was glad she opened up and honored to have been trusted.

My brother and sister-in-law are moving to a new apartment. Their new duplex neighbors are people they go to church with, and they won't have to commute any more. So awesome.

I did lots of cooking and baking as well: granola, crustless pumpkin pie, and a pseudo-Thanksgiving meal of turkey meatloaf, scallion mashed potatoes, and green beans. I had so much fun playing in the kitchen. I was singing at the top of my lungs and doing my private "funky chicken" and booty-shaking dances between chopping and measuring and stirring. It was gray & raining outside, so it was the perfect way to spend a drippy day: celebrating life, life, life-- and that more abundant! The giving thanks of my pseudo-Thanksgiving was real. ;-)


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An Interesting Day

I woke up at 5:30am to the intermittent beep of smoke alarms. The sound has a certain quality/pitch that cannot be ignored (at least by me). So I got up to investigate, figuring they probably needed new batteries. I thought I'd just remove the drained batteries and then replace them at my leisure. However, even with batteries removed the alarms continued to beep. So in the pre-dawn hours I drove to Wal-Mart to buy fresh 9-volts (and to escape the nerve-grating noise). But after I returned and installed the new batteries, the smoke alarms continued to beep!

During all of these efforts, it hadn't occurred to my tired mind that the alarms must have another power source, but a friend responded to my Facebook help request (thank God someone was awake), giving advice that jogged my thinking. So I headed for the circuit panel in the laundry room and cut the power to the three bedrooms and the hallway (which is unfortunately on the same breaker as the dining room and part of the kitchen). At last, silence reigned!

An electrician that my mom recommended is due here first thing Monday morning. I'm glad he responded to my request so quickly!

So I've spent the day in partial blackout conditions in order to have peace & quiet. I made myself tea, boiling water in a pan on the stovetop instead of using the microwave. I always use the microwave timer to remind myself when the tea is finished steeping. I set the timer as usual and then it occurred to me that if I could set the timer, that meant the microwave had power. I bust up laughing at how silly I'd been. ;-)

But no Internet! The wireless router is on a jack in one of the bedrooms. A real loss-- no Facebook friends for company, no quick lookups of info (such as garden frost warnings or farmer's market times), no emails or job searching.

And only one kitchen light-- so I made dinner in the dark: salmon with a marmalade-chipotle-five spice glaze. The glaze was mild-tasting-- pleasant but nearly bland, but the salmon itself was delish. (I've eaten so much seafood lately-- can't seem to get enough!)

And no movies! I've about "musiced" myself out listening to all the songs on my iPod that I enjoy-- I'm "full" now! I seriously considered moving the TV and DVD player into the living room where there is power. But surely I can live one day without a movie??? ("My name is Angel, and I'm a movie addict...)

I've played a lot of solitaire on my iPod today too; I'm up to $51,000+ in winnings. (Lest my readers fear for my sanity, it has taken more than 3.5 months to reach that level.)

I did some chores: dishes & laundry. I quick-read a magazine and a cookbook (which is where the salmon recipe originated). I also napped for three hours, making up for the time the smoke alarms stole.

And naturally I keep flipping powerless light switches on. Can I just say that I'll be glad to get back to normal?

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Quick Account of the Day

I should be going to bed right now but wanted to post something.

I woke up a trifle late this morning because I couldn't get to sleep last night-- I was starving, having forgotten to eat an evening snack. Oops! too busy recording song snippets to notice hunger. Overfocusing again.

Had a great laugh while drinking my morning tea and facebooking-- all about wascally wabbits in the garden and the Elmer Fudd solution. Sentimental memories of childhood's Saturday mornings to boot. And amazement at the quality of those old cartoons-- great facial expressions and vocal intonations. True art!

Once I was able to get going, I headed out to the garden and put up the second grid. A robin and a male cardinal oversaw the process. I planted 2 squares-- romaine in one and Brussels sprouts in the other. I suspect the weather is going to get too warm too soon to get good results from either plant, but I wanted to try.



I still need to plant some mesclun (but I want a free-standing container for that so I can keep it right by the back door) and some pansies. Also, I should trim the excess weed fabric from the beds and PLANT that blueberry bush-- no time today, but it needs to be outdoors ASAP.

Afterward, I showered off the garden and dressed to do errands. I had to get groceries TODAY since I was out of ALL the staples-- milk, eggs, bread, cheese, fruits & veggies. (I ate some odd meals today, making do.) So happy to have cooking ingredients on hand again. My pantry is usually stocked thanks to my parents, but I can't live on canned foods and dry goods alone!

I also picked up a device that allows me to transfer digital photos directly from the camera's memory card through the USB slot of my laptop. I've been using my printer as a "router", but this device eliminates the printer from the process. For $8, it seemed worth it!

I came home, unpacked groceries, ate, and caught up with my Facebook account, then took a short walk-- I saw at least 3 plant subjects I want to photograph, but I forgot to bring the camera along. Bummer. Hopefully tomorrow.

I'm amazed at how quickly the evening flew by. I had a DVD on, but simultaneously played on my iPod doing who knows what. Solitaire, Facebook, prioritizing for tomorrow, changing my wallpaper, etc. Day is done.

A good day. Not a lot of projects accomplished, but some significant ones. Got to turn in-- my brain is falling asleep. ;-)

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App Play in the Wee Hours

It's around 5 in the morning, but I've been awake since 4:15. I'm
playing with a new app I've installed that lets you type by sliding
your finger along a keyboard instead of pecking at it. I think it may
be a faster way to type on an iPod though it's hardly necessary if a
full-sized keyboard is available. It allows you to enter personal
names into its dictionary and suggests words you may have meant to
type in a box above the keyboard which can be selected with a touch of
the finger. I think the most limiting feature is punctuation, because
most options are on a second page. Personally, I have a thing for
semicolons and dashes; I get tired of simple sentences and want to
link them for a little variety in looks.

Sent from my iPod

Art Exhibit Video

Someone at my brother's church made a video that scrapbooks their art exhibit from start to finish with a few credits at the end. My brother is the first "angel". The band you hear toward the end is The Welcome Wagon and the song is "But for you who fear my name"-- love it!

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Family Stories

After this morning's resolution, I did try to get some things done. I was able to check off all but 1.5 of the important things on my list before the evening meal (including the task of sprucing up the bathroom). I'll roll the unfinished items over to tomorrow's list.

With the aid of another Martha Stewart recipe, I improvised dinner to use up one remaining pork chop-- at least three adaptations were needed since this was an impromptu meal that I hadn't shopped for. The result was quite edible though-- braised red cabbage and slices of yellow-fleshed red potatoes with a seared then braised pork chop. A one-pot meal but the cooking did take some time. Luckily, I started early-ish.

But today's best activity has been reading three family stories that Ree Drummond shared about her brother Mike on her blog, The Pioneer Woman. She posted them one at a time which built up the anticipation. The first is probably my favorite and is called The Oyster Incident. I do love her writing! ;-)

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Priorities and Persistence

I do plan my days out-- at least a general outline-- usually with the help of my iPod. And it's a reality that plans have to change to accomodate situations that arise unexpectedly. I'm fine with that.

But at home, I tend to let myself get sidetracked from my goals and objectives by more pleasant diversions. Clean the bathroom? Gee, all of a sudden a game of solitaire sounds like a great idea. Do my taxes? That will take all day-- maybe I'll just ___________ instead. And so time goes by and my plans go unrealized. But really, I am sacrificing something greater for something of secondary importance. I wish it weren't so tough to stay motivated and to do the best thing.

What's funny is that I'm not like this at work. I put all my tasks on Outlook, and I do even the unpleasant tasks-- with a sigh or a frown perhaps, but I do them. Maybe it's having others depend on me or judge my performance. I don't know for sure, but I do know that I want to be diligent in the way I spend my life; sometimes that means resisting the temptation to procrastinate. Being a stay-at-home person tends to magnify these habits of thought and behavior.

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iPod apps are great!

I tried out a new one today-- Martha's Everyday Food. For the past several years, I've subscribed to the Everyday Food magazine, and this app indexes and includes most of the recipes. With the push of a button, I can now save copies of the recipes I've tried and approved or ones that I'd like to try but didn't get to yet. The app will also make grocery shopping lists for me based on recipes I select-- for 99 cents, I can carry a whole set of magazines in my purse. That means the next time I'm at Whole Foods, it will be easier to remember to buy fennel or a bunch of watercress and to know what I want to do with the ingredients once I get them home! ;-)

The recipe pictured below is one I've tried and liked-- in addition to the scrumptious visible components, the dish also contains roasted garlic, toasted walnuts, and a squeeze of lemon juice. It tastes like summer, but fortunately the ingredients are readily available even through winter. Plus, folks who do not have an iPod can access the recipe at Martha Stewart's website by clicking on the recipe title.

Pasta Salad with Roasted Broccoli

 

Sent from my iPod

Converted Music

I had an mp3 player which I earned as an incentive prize from the library by completing a technology course designed for library staff. It worked just dandy for a good while but finally "died."

For that mp3 player, I had purchased music from Wal-Mart's online store. The music was "protected" because Wal-Mart was involved with DRM (digital rights management). Those restrictions ended, but I didn't make the adjustments to my music in time. (Wal-Mart sent an email reminder, but I misunderstood and disregarded it.)

The upshot is that I ended up with at least 60 songs I had paid for, but that I could only listen to on Windows Media Player when using my laptop-- which I rarely do these days; it's not convenient.

iTunes could neither play nor convert the songs from the wma format to mp3 files so no transfer to my iPod. Bummer. 60 songs = $60!

But it's been months, and I really got to missing those songs. They were by some of my favorite artists-- Third Day and Newsboys for example. I'd get one of the songs stuck in my head but then couldn't remember all of the lyrics without the prompting of actually listening. And the radio just doesn't play these songs often enough to suit me-- they concentrate on the current top 20.

There is free software that can convert wma files to mp3 files, but if the songs are protected, that software doesn't work.

After a little Googling, I discovered Tunebite. They let you download and try it free, but I did have to purchase the basic version. However, it was less than half the price of replacing the music. Additionally, the software will serve me well in converting voice memos, blogging, and maybe even podcasting in the future.

The idea behind Tunebite is that while you play the music using Windows Media, it's being recorded from your computer's sound card, so the recording is free of DRM restrictions and can be played by iTunes. And the sound quality is decent.

Yipee! Now I get to hear those songs and integrate them with my newer music. I've got a few more to convert today, then I'll be all set!

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Building a Night Stash

I'm gathering things I will need if I can't fall asleep or if I wake in the middle of the night-- the goal is to have whatever is required close at hand so I can overcome sleep disrupters, relieve discomforts, and occupy myself quietly, getting some rest even if I am unable to sleep. The idea comes from the book Restful Insomnia which I wrote about in a previous post.

So far my kit consists of a bottle of water, antihistamines, prescription migraine reliever, an eye mask and earplugs (both freebies which may be irritating rather than soothing-- haven't tried them yet) stored in an excessively large Pyrex bowl (that I seldom use) under my bed.

My iPod will be by the rocker-recliner in the living room, plugged in and charging. I will set the brightness level at the lowest setting before bedtime. The iPod has reading material (Kindle samples I've downloaded, free e-book classics, the Bible), pictures to look at (Flickr, Picasa), offers opportunity to jot notes, and has soothing white noise programs (ocean waves, falling rain). My robe, socks, and slippers are stored right by my bed so I can easily put them on before grabbing my bowl and heading to my chair.

Other items I need to add to my stash:

• OTC pain relievers
• Pen and paper
• Dim nightlight

I'm sure I'll think of more things to include in time.

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Winter Olympics Soon!!!

I LOVE watching the Olympics-- winter or summer, just about any event. My favorites are the figure skating, snowboarding, slalom, and in the summer, gymnastics. All of this is really funny, because I am NOT a sports fan. But the Olympics are special-- the suspense, the patriotism, the heartbreaking and triumphant stories!!! LOVE IT.

I don't have cable TV so in previous years a friend at the library kindly videotaped events for me. But this time, I don't have a VCR to watch recordings-- just a DVD player. Well, it finally occured to me that with YouTube and all those "modern" developments, some company would probably have the rights to show Olympic footage over the Internet. I was even prepared to pay something despite my unemployed status-- after all, the Olympics only happens every two years.

As it turns out, there's a free Olympics app, and it's SO cool!!! Right now as athletes are making their way to Vancouver and settling in, they are posting messages to a Twitter-like function within the app. There's lots of info on the events, the teams, etc.-- and all beautifully organized and presented. I can hardly wait for it to begin!!!

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakeinvan/106045758/ - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Audio Update-- Two Options for Listening

Embedded player and mp3 (requires Flash which my iPod lacks):



The mp3 below plays when you click it. (I hope.) I know my iPod can play the file using Safari and Quicktime, but I don't know about other browsers. I'll have to experiment.

             Audio Update

Getting on Track

I woke up pretty close to on time (first occurrence in about a week), experimented with the Evernote iPhone app, finished up my live online pop culture class, did a load of dishes, and took out the trash. I'm taking a snack break right now, but I have some more chores on the agenda. I want to clear the board so that tomorrow I can get to job searching; I've been remiss in attending that while feeling poorly, but it's time to get back on track.

Image source:

www.picturesof.net/ _images/Vintage_Style_Woma...

Facebook

I resisted joining Facebook for a long time, not wanting to let it absorb what little free time I had. But all of a sudden it seemed to have reached a critical mass. I went into Kroger to do some grocery shopping, and their ads told me to follow them on Twitter and Facebook. I went to see my mom at her house, and she wanted to set up her laptop to show me pictures all of our California friends had posted of their children and grandchildren on Facebook.

I did finally sign up for Twitter because it seemed as though there might be a need for it at work. (Dear Reader had just incorporated some elements of it.)

Well, being temporarily out of a job, I decided the time had come; besides, the iPod apps for Facebook were enticing me too-- they're free.

On my first day of use, a friend assured me there would be days I'd regret my decision. He's probably right.

But today I just had a long direct message in my inbox on Facebook from someone I'd mostly lost contact with. I can't begin to say how glad it made me to hear from her. It's odd that I could miss someone so deeply without even realizing it, but I feel restored now. So, maybe Facebook is worth it.


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Written Note

The attached note was written using Dan Bricklin's Note Taker App on
my iPod touch.

Where did today go???

I cleared clutter from a couple of kitchen counters (there's a tongue twister!), spruced up the appearance of the dining room china cabinet, and finally put a picture in a frame I've had for ages.

Then I got distracted from today's agenda-- I transferred photos from my laptop to my iPod and played with a couple of photo programs for a long timeless time.

I came back to my senses only when I was starving. I cooked an emergency dinner (microwaved cheesy grits followed by roasted bell peppers).

Image source:

www.cookthink.com/ images/Article/171/171_.jpg

What I need to do now is get back to my plan to make a "hole" among the boxes piled in the living room so that my mother and brother can deliver a recliner to my house tomorrow while I'm at work. (My mom is giving the chair to me since she's remodeling the room it was in. Lucky me!)

The bad part is that now I'm pooped, but I've left the important work undone. :-[

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I'm a recording artist (or not)!!!

I used my iPod's included Voice Memos app to record about 8 seconds of myself singing. I emailed the resulting m4a as an attachment and downloaded it to my laptop. Next up: converting the m4a into an mp3 file; I downloaded and installed suitable free software. I uploaded that result to a free PBwiki so that it would be publicly stored and accessible as a link. Then I scoured the Internet to find a player I could embed on this blog with an accompanying link to the audio I made. Voila! Now anyone in the world who actually gives a darn can hear me sing my little snippet of recorded music. Aren't I clever (or at least a creative procrastinator)? ;-) I do have some more important things to do today.

Blog Rationale

I intend to use this blog as a public journal, mostly so I can explore the iPhone app and other technology. I do not expect this to be of interest to other people.

I'm feeling a bit behind when it comes to technology so this is an opportunity for me to play and learn.

I'm watching the last disc of The Return of the King and trying to wrap my head around what I need to do today-- it's nearing noon, and I've not accomplished anything of significance.

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