long time, no blog

american idol auditions

it's that time again...

1. lose 50 pounds by july first. i've already lost 30, so i can do this.
    HAHAHA...this was my year of medical mysteries and maladies.  i lost 10 pounds but i gained 7 back.  grrrrrr.
2. i've started putting together my recipes in a printed out cookbook with calorie info: i want to get all my recipes compiled then start adding a new recipe every week. (i have fallen in love with the food network)
    I didn't add a new recipe every week, but i have put together a cook book and i am adding recipes to it.  i say resolution:successful!
3. buy a journal (check). write in it once a week. i'm soo freaking bad about buying journals and then only filling up the first 10 or so pages. NOT THIS YEAR.
   FAIL.  as hard as i tried to write in my journal, i just couldn't do it.  so yeah.  it's there when i feel like writing.
4. since i read so much, i'd like to know how many books i read in a year..so keep a list.
   SUCCESSFUL!  By my count I read 191 books in 2008.  I personally think it was more like 200, but when we went to tennessee in june i forgot to write stuff down.  but still, 191..pretty awesome!
5. pay off my credit card and my eye surgery (preferably no later than september)
    PASS/FAIL.  I paid off both my credit card and my eye surgery by september, but i also had surgery in august, which caused me to have to get a new credit card. 
6. promote my business and actually learn how to use all the functions on the camera, so i don't sound like an idiot when my business grows an people start asking me questions.
     FAIL.  just, fail.
7. build a graphic design website OR take a class to refresh my web building knowledge. i'm stuck. but i will conquer this thing by the end of the year.
      Again, fail.
8. take one weekend a month and sit in books a million or barnes and noble and just drink coffee and read books..i've not let myself actually relax and do that in SUCH a long time!
     I think this was successful.  I didn't take one weekend every month.  Some months I skipped but others I was at books a million every week. 
9. in college, we had to write and illustrate a childrens book. we were only required to do 10 panels, so that's all i did, but i REALLY want to finish the story of Jorge, the pink plastic flamingo, and maybe get it published.
    FAIL.  didn't even pull the stuff out....
10. actually for real come out of my little hidey hole and make an effort to keep in touch with people on a CONSISTENT basis.
    I think I did better with this.  Didn't keep in touch as much as I"d like but I made a definite effort!


2009 RESOLUTIONS!

1.  give this whole weight loss thing six months from 1-1-09 until 6-30-09.   If I give it 150% and i'm still not losing by then, then i'm going to work on maintaining.  Weight loss has taken up SO MUCH time, and although it's worth it when it's working, I don't get anything else done (ie, my art/photography/etc)

2.  pay off my final credit card by march 15th.

3.  build up my savings account so if i have to have last minute surgery, i can pay for it out of pocket.

4.  get back to my art.  i don't care if it's taking more pictures, finishing the jorge book, or getting some paintings in gallery walk, i need to get back to what makes me me!

5.  keep the book list again this year.  i like being able to go back and see what i've read. 

i think that's it. 

long time no post.

i'm finding i have either less to say as i get older..or i'm just to lazy to type it. 

right now i'm in seattle for my mom's side of the family, family reunion.  it's been wonderful so far.  seattle is SO beautiful and i really like my family.  all of us cousins (the kids, as we are still referred to) are sleeping in one room together - it's a throwback to 8 and 16 years ago when we all had our sleeping bags piled up together in the basement.  now, it's a bit strange with husbands and girlfriends joining the fray, but all in all 7-8 adults on that many air mattresses in one room is becoming a little less strange as the days go on.

i decided i was going off diet for the duration of my vacation.  i didn't want to worry about calories while i was visiting, and that's a good thing.  my aunt has SO MUCH food here.  i'm trying to eat small portions of everything so i don't do too much damage.  knowing my stupid body i'll lose weight on the m&m/cookie/chip diet. haha.  we'll see.  in the interest of bettering our health, we've taken walks everyday.  when i say walks, i mean hikes, because seattle is slightly hilly (that was a joke) but  it's been fun.  it was rather embarassing yesterday when we hiked this never ending hill and all the 50 year old parents/aunts/uncles were kicking my ass.  mom "slowed down" to walk with me up.  ME...the girl whose been kicking butt zumbaing in the gym for the last year...being beat by dad.  it was awesome.  i decided that when i get back, i'm going to focus on my endurance. big time.

today we plant a tree in memory of my aunt who died two years ago.  these family reunions were all her idea - she wanted the family to get closer, and this is our way of remembering her.  i'm so thankful for that wish.  i feel cut off from friends and family in arkansas and it's nice to be reminded that there are people out there who have known me since i was a baby and still love me and accept me anyways.

and on that note, those people that love me would probably enjoy me taking a shower so i'm off to do that. 

~jess

don't drug and dial...