(Re) Chic

I know I missed last week but I promise I'm working on this blogging once/week thing.  I am working on some new stuff for a craft show this coming weekend so stay tuned for my second craft show experience and some new things to show off.  In other news my car is going into the shop tomorrow, so send good juju my way so that Ethel gets to feeling better soon!

So my poor blog was completely neglected so I'm sure you noticed that I did NOT post every week like I wanted. I also didn't do the reading that I had wanted.  But I DID pick up my knitting. My huge dream goal would be to finish my knitting project by Christmas to give it as a gift...but I've been having a little difficulty with that since my cat thinks its fun to attack it...so we'll have to work on that.  I also got a new job-sort of-I have been working at another call center for Christmas money, but I really want to find something where I can focus on my marketing skills, so we'll see how that pans out.   I also finished a really cute craft project, but not my t-shirt quilt.  I promise to write a blog about the ADORABLE gift that I made for Lily for her birthday.   But let's not focus on last month...let's look forward!  Here's what I'm hoping to do in December.  1. Dream goal: to finish my scarf that I'm knitting to give it as...

Let's get to work...we need to do a little better this month!   1. Get a new job  I have been really missing working a job where I can make a difference. I really want to light a fire under myself to focus on applying and interviewing for a job where I can really affect change.  2. Read 2 books Ideally I want to read one self-help style book and one more fun book.  So we'll see what is calling my name.   3. Work on my knitting I would love to give my mom a scarf for Christmas!  4. Put a dent in my current craft project I'm working on a t-shirt quilt! 5. Keep up the once/week blogging I want to get myself in a habit of keeping this up! I think we'll settle with 5 this month, since I didn't do so hot last month.  

I am once again not please with the results of my monthly goals.  It looks like I'm at less than 30%!  That's not good!  1. Work out at the gym...it WILL happen someday. -Not only did it not happen it looks like I will have to find another way to work out because I will not be getting access to the DSW gym any longer.  2. Get 500 followers on  Twitter ...I'm SOOO close   SUCCESS!!! 3. Complete my latest craft project -Also complete, but I'm not sure I'm happy with it.   4. Clear out my garden plot -Done, the only thing left is a cabbage plant since they don't mind the cold.   5. Set-up an online photography portfolio (I have a Flickr; does anyone have any recommendations they like better?) -I didn't work on this...did anyone have any feedback on whether they would pick something over Flickr? 6. Continue blogging at least once/week -I missed the 3rd week of October, but other than that I did pretty good.   7. Pick my kni...

Happy 200th blog post to me!  That is all. :)

I was pretty disappointed in myself with the state of my September goals. So let's see if we can't work a little harder this month. 1. Work out at the gym...it WILL happen someday.  2. Get 500 followers on Twitter ...I'm SOOO close 3. Complete my latest craft project 4. Clear out my garden plot  5. Set-up an online photography portfolio (I have a Flickr; does anyone have any recommendations they like better?) 6. Continue blogging at least once/week 7. Pick my knitting back up 8. Finish 2 books 9. Work on my translations 10. Watch at least one movie from my AFI list.   Wish me luck.  Looks like I'm going to be keeping busy!  

Wow! April really snuck up on me! I had almost forgotten that it happened today...I probably would have had it not been for going to work.  So of course its time to take a look at March and see what was/was not accomplished.  1. Go to the gym (I really am going to get there eventually) -I went once... 2. Finish unpacking and/or at least make my floor walkable if I can't empty EVERY box. -the floor is definitely walkable...so I think that's a win! 3. Plan my garden and start my seeds (I put down my deposit on my community garden plot!) -I have a tentative garden plan AND all my seeds are started!  On top of that I went one day and cleared my plot out of all the old dead stuff and got it ready to plant as soon as my seedlings are strong enough! 4. Complete my desk corner in the spare bedroom -I would say we're 75% there.  The desk is all set-up but I think I'm going to need some shelves or something for additional space (although the seedlings are living there...

I have not forgotten you! Here I am, posting once/week...as promised. I did finally get some seeds started although there are no photos because right now they look like wet dirt. I promise we'll get some once my little babies start sprouting! My lenten observance is not going so hot but I am determined to make it better! And my goal is to start next week off right with a trip to the gym! Other than that things have looked pretty grim, I've had 2 funerals in a week's time so I'm just trying to get back in the swing of things at this point. Wish me luck!

Unfortunately, I'm welcoming March and feeling a little bit like a failure.  I'm skimming through my February goals and they're not looking so great:  I didn't go to the gym (not once) There are still boxes all over the floor of my bedroom You can still hardly see my desk in the spare bedroom So I didn't do so hot there.  But there is internet in my apartment and its 7:30am and I've already cleaned up a mess in my kitchen, make lunch to take to work, drop Josh off at the law school so he can leave for Milwaukee, pack clothes to go home for the weekend, check Facebook, my email, and read a few articles so hopefully that's a sign that this month is going to be more productive!   So let's write some goals for this month that are actually do-able.   1. Go to the gym (I really am going to get there eventually) 2. Finish unpacking and/or at least make my floor walkable if I can't empty EVERY box. 3. Plan my garden and start my seeds (I put down m...

Happy 150th post to my blog! Its just amazing if you think about how far I've come in my blogging career.  From personal thoughts, to drama, to more drama, to a personal/professional something that I've been working on lately.    And its also interesting how far I've come personally since I started blogging 10 years ago.  I'm 24, have a big-girl job in my own place in a city I really hadn't heard of until I was in college.   Its just amazing how far you can go!

I just got back to my apartment after being home for a wedding this weekend and I've already found a casuality from yet ANOTHER rainstorm. I apologize there are no photos, but nothing would take in the dark and my porch light wasn't QUITE bright enough. A few weeks ago I had planted a few cabbage, begonias, and brussel sprouts in half an old trash can my boyfriend had sawed in half for me.  Since it then created a container that was short one side I used an old recycling bin as a rain barrel and container side.  Today's rainstorm must have produced several inches of rain because my recycling bin overflowed, into my "container," it got so heavy it bent the side, so water, soil, and several plants overflowed out of my trashcan flower bed and onto my steps for me to find when I arrived today.  I scraped a little bit of soil off the sidewalk and tried to replant the plants a little but I'm worried the waterlogged soil from the sidewalk and the shock is not g...

I promise I'm not wussing out on you guys yet!  But I have to say that after a meeting this morning which brought me to tears and the stress of trying to figure out how I can afford to get my car fixed (anyone know where I can find an alternator that's not $150+?) I just can't write today because my blog would just be a fit of curses and no one wants that.   So...Happy Cinco De Mayo!  Let's go drink margaritas and be happy that the sun is shining and forget about the stress of everyday! See you tomorrow!  Hopefully I'll have something happier to share!

1. Talk about Money. I know that a majority of bloggers are in it for the bottom line and for getting paid.  But honestly, I'm here because I love to write, I love to watch the evolution of social media, I love to work with an organization that does great work (an an AmeriCorps*VISTA I work with a non-profit), and to use social media and blogging to share that information with the rest of the web.   You'll notice that my site has no ads.  This is for 2 main reasons: because I know I don't have enough followers for those ads to make any money and because as a VISTA member I'm not allowed to have a second income.  The other reason is honestly, I hate going to a website and feeling like the entire thing is a ploy to get me to add to the consumer/wasteful culture that we've cultivated here.   I'm here to do what I love...and I wish others would do more of the same.   2. Worry about traffic All bloggers want to be read...I mean...why would you bother writi...

Trying out blogger's mobile blogging offerings. What do we think? I had to come back and get rid of all the Verizon Wireless excess...but other than that...it's kinda fun for instant gratification.  

I just finished reading this article  by Rebecca Thorman about how Bloggers are not writers.  And while I see her point that to some extent many Bloggers are not writers they are simply people jumping on the social media train I think you'll find that there are quite a few blogs out there whose authors are truly writers.   If a writer is simply someone who commits his or her thoughts and feelings to words I think that there is an entire blogosphere full of writers.  I read a number of blogs who do not write to receive comments from hundreds of people or who are trying to self-promote with their blogs.  They write simply to send their thoughts into the void.  Maybe they get a comment, maybe they don't.  But they write simply to write for the therapy of it.  And I think that is a true writer.  Someone who puts their thoughts or feelings into words for their own sake, not necessarily for someone else's.   "We posit ourselves into be...

I have recently read two different blogs that have both touched on the same topic. How your blog affects your resume and/or job search. The first was an interview with Sasha Halima, one of my favorite bloggers, at PR Breakfast Club. You can read it here. The second is on Brand Yourself, Your Blog is Your Extended Resume . Brand Yourself argues just what the title says that a blog is an extended resume and that when a potential employer searches for you and finds a blog full of fabulous content, they'll hire you. And while I couldn't agree more that I AGONIZED over the fact that potential employers were most likely Googling me and getting results for some person in Seattle or a Blues Singer in New York the interview with Sasha Halima said something that also struck a chord with me. Your blog can be a "liability." That is the scariest word that any potential employer could ever say because, if you're a liability to them, odds are other potential employers...

Blogging has begun to come under the legal spotlight and it could affect the blogosphere as we know it. Upon reading this article from David Spinks I have begun to wonder whether this is a good thing. I mean it could obviously be great for the improvement of blog quality with more truthful and responsible blogging but at the same time...what about the honesty of blogging. Blogs originally started as personal online journals where people could write their thoughts and ideas about the world around them. Does the policing and reading of every blog by "Big Brother" really ensure that we will get honesty from every writer out there? Spinks also mentions that higher restrictions could also lead to what he calls "less noise" as in less content and therefore less repetition and useless content. But really, what is useless content? To a Blogger your blog is NOT useless content. Everyone writes for some purpose, whether it be for informing other people, venting ...