Update.

8. Read 50 books (35/50) - in progress

I read "True Colors" by Kristin Hannah this week, or finished it anyhow. I wasn't really into it at first, but I pushed through and it turned out to be an incredibly heartbreaking story. Which, hey, probably wasn't the best book to read in my first week of living on my own, but what are you going to do. It was a good book, despite the slow start.

56. Exercise 2-3 times a week (30/143) - in progress

I made it this week, although only barely. I did treadmill intervals twice in the hotel's gym, and I should have done them again yesterday but I decided to be lazy as hell instead. I did discover, though, that I am motivated to exercise when I read my past blog posts about all the other times I exercised... or I am at least guilted into it, if nothing else.

Other than that, not much going on.

-- Till next time.

Now I live in Carlisle?

8. Read 50 books (34/50) - in progress

I picked up "Pittsburgh Steelers Glory Days" off my dad's bookshelf when I went to the laundromat on Wednesday, because I've recently been in the mood to read or watch things where I also learn something. It's a series of stories about the 20 most important Steelers' games in the club's history, told through the lives of fans. It was interesting, especially since one night this week I watched a few Steelers DVDs about the 1970s and I could connect the information I'd read with the narration in the DVD.

26. Move out of my parents' house - accomplished

Yikes! I packed up most of the things in my room on Tuesday and left them in a pile for my parents to bring down when I move into my apartment over Memorial Day weekend. For the next few weeks I'll be in a hotel, but I won't live at home again (knock on wood...) Here's a fun story about when I left today -- Adam had a friend over and they were opening packs of baseball cards, so when I was leaving, this was our conversation:

Me: I'm leaving!
Adam: [From up the stairs] OK. Bye.
Me: Oh no you don't, you get down here & give me a hug.
Adam: After this pile.
Me: [Climb the stairs to the room over the garage] What if I never come home again?
Adam: You will. [Pause] After you get fired.

Some 8-year-olds are just bundles of encouragement and joy.

38. Go to the White Elephant or similar flea market at least twice a summer (3/6) - in progress

I went up to the White Elephant this morning with my family, and there were a lot of tables set up -- more than I'd seen either time I went last summer. I found a set of great chairs that I wish I could have had for my kitchen table, but they were apparently designer chairs form the 1960s, so it was $400 for a set of five... passed on that one. I did however, get a fabulous coffee table!

51. Furnish my apartment solely through thrift stores and giveaways - in progress

So my coffee table means I have almost a complete living room set -- a couch, a chair, a coffee table and an end table. I'm not sure I mentioned the end table before, because I only saw it this week. My mom picked it up at a tag sale a few weekends ago. On a partially related note, I also got a knife block and a blender at a tag sale this weekend.

53. SERIOUSLY de-clutter my bedroom at home - accomplished

I have a trunk that I left alone, and some things in my closet, and I have a pile of things to donate to Goodwill. But aside from that, my dresser, vanity and desk are all empty of my things! I was surprised at how much I packed away from my room to move to Carlisle, but I feel good about the things I threw away or put in the donation pile.

57. Get the HPV vaccine - in progress

I went to the doctor on Thursday, and when she saw I hadn't started the three-shot Gardasil vaccine, she almost immediately got the nurse to do it. I've been meaning to do it for quite some time, but I apparently do not like to make appointments, and I also apparently believe rumors and hype about vaccinations causing death. So, perhaps it was good that I went ahead and got it without thinking much about it. I have two shots left, one in two months & one in six.

Didn't exercise this past week, although I hope to this week since I have a workout room in my hotel and nothing better to do when I get home from work. So we'll see!

-- Till next time.

Wait... I'm an adult?

56. Exercise 2-3 times a week (29/143) - in progress

I didn't do too bad this week, but I also didn't do too well. Somehow, despite only having one true final, my week was one of the busiest all year... too much socializing :) I walked to and from campus a few times, but not enough to truly count.

72. Attend at least 10 free community events (1/10) - in progress

I dragged Taylor to the SMAD Film Premiere on Wednesday, which I really honestly only suggested on a whim. But I am glad I went, because it was entertaining (and free!) and I was a SMAD student after all. Oh, that's right -- was. I GRADUATED. It's terrifying and exciting and actually really kind of sad.

79. Visit Reddish Knob - accomplished

I went up with the girls from my freshman/sophomore year Bible study on Monday night for a picnic of wine & fruit & cheese. It was beautiful -- the higher up in the mountains we got, the more excited I was -- and it was also a lot of fun to hang out with the girls together one last time before graduation. We brought our robes & took pictures. And then, for kicks, I took Becca up there on Friday morning. It's a lot scarier to go up the one-lane when you're the driver rather than the passenger!

-- Till next time.

FIVE days till graduation?

I'm going to summarize this week, because as it turns out, I didn't do much. I started a novel this week about a trio of sisters, called "True Colors," but I only got about 50 pages into it at the pool. I might read a bit more if I lay out again this week.

I had a GREAT week with my plant -- it bloomed! That's right, I mothered a plant to bloom. I terrified my roommate one morning this past week because I shrieked in glee when I noticed it had two buds growing. Apparently, my "water whenever you remember" philosophy has been working out better for me & the plant recently.

I've also been around to a few tag sales the past few weekends, and I found the most wonderful chair on Saturday. So I'm upping my furniture count, although my mother is becoming somewhat exasperated that I keep buying seating and not other important things, like lamps or a dining room table.

I did exercise this week too. We had distribution Monday through Wednesday, so I lifted the fun, 70-pound boxes for five or six hours each day. It's amazing what you can push your body to do, actually. Then Thursday I walked home. It's also amazing how OK I can be about not exercising for the latter half of this past week and justify it by saying I "exercised" a lot early in the week.

-- Till next time.

Twelve days till graduation?

8. Read 50 books (33/50) - in progress

I just finished "Wild Trees" by Richard Preston. It was the book recommended to me by a ranger we worked with in the Redwoods in March. Some of it was very interesting, but I don't think it was terribly well-written or well-organized. It followed a handful of people, and it got confusing sometimes to remember who was who and what I'd previously learned about them. I also think, though, that I was expecting something different from the start. I'm still looking for a book that tells me about the Redwoods, how the National Park was created, and a bit about the local opinion.

51. Furnish my apartment solely through thrift stores and giveaways - in progress

My friend Andrea has decided she won't need her dresser once she moves home, and has graciously offered to me for the low low price of free :) So I'm up to a couch, my chair from my Grandma, a folding bookcase, a dresser and two lamps. Probably not enough to live on, per se, but I'm hoping I can somehow get my desk and my big bookcase (and maybe my small bookcase too) from home sometime soon after I move.

56. Exercise 2-3 times a week (28/143) - in progress

I had coffee with a friend Tuesday at Greenberry's, and I walked from Sunchase. I also walked home Tuesday. Then Wednesday I did yoga for the first time in a couple months, and I was sore-city the next day.

-- Till next time.

Employed :)

24. Get a job - accomplished (!)

So I had an interview with a daily newspaper in Carlisle, Pa., last Thursday. And then they offered me the job this past Wednesday :) So, pending a drug test, I am hired! It's a copy editing and page layout position. I work funny hours because the paper publishes in the morning, but it's exactly what I wanted to do and I am pumped.

51. Furnish my apartment solely through thrift stores and giveaways - in progress

I bought a couch yesterday, at a yard sale in Broadway. It's a baller couch -- very comfortable, a good price. So in the case I don't get my mattress right away, I can just sleep on my wonderful new couch. Right now it's being stored in my friend's garage, but I can go visit it whenever I'd like, which is nice.

56. Exercise 2-3 times a week (27/143) - in progress

Success for the week. I ran / walked intervals on Monday and Saturday, and I think I may have walked home twice? Maybe only once. My far-away, eventually-I'll-get-there goal is to be able to run a 5K, so I've been trying to run a few minutes, walk a few minutes, etc. We'll see how long it takes before I injure myself.

97. Add a new thing April 19, 2010:

My second "fill in the blank" is tomorrow, the 19th, so here's what I've decided for #97: the journaling prompt Web site I use has a prompt for 365 days, and they're split into Sunday, Monday, etc. So I'd like to do one a day, in order, for a year. Just make it a part of my morning, and not skip ones that don't strike me immediately. I think it would be really interesting to begin during my first year of work, and then to have to all in one place to look at later. I think I'd like to do it by hand too, rather than on the computer. So I'm looking at a June 1st start date, and we'll see.

-- Till next time.

Thesis complete. Best week ever.

But I'll go in order...

25. Learn to cook 52 recipes and organize them in one place (26/52) - in progress

Woo, halfway point on this one! I made burritos last weekend with sweet potatoes and black beans, and they were pretty good. The recipe made eight, I think -- and that was after I halved it. It was semi-complicated in terms of steps and time and pots to clean, but I was able to freeze five or so, which means I have an easy dinner for the next few weeks whenever I want it. I've been trying to find more meatless recipes that are still healthy & get me the protein I need.

31. Complete an senior honors project I am proud of - accomplished

Honestly wasn't sure I'd make it through this one. Actually, that's a lie -- I always knew I would finish it, because I would have seriously regretted devoting so much energy to something that I then quit. But the last month was draining, to say the least, and then the night it was due, I went to bed at 4 a.m. and woke up again at 6:15 a.m. But it's submitted, it was approved, and maybe in a few weeks I will look back and say, "That was a good decision." :) For now, I'm just glad to have it done & have a break before my adviser and I start working together again to make it publishable. Publishable? I wonder if that's a word.

I guess that's it for this past week, because I only exercised once. I had my first job interview last Thursday, so hopefully that means employment is in my near future... but we'll see.

-- Till next time.