I've MOVED!!

You can now find me here: http://alsprinkle.blogspot.com/ I'll try to post more often now.

Deliriously Excited

1. 3 days left until I am done with school!!
2. Finally bought the cat tree
3. Got lucky with Craigslist and can now afford my new clutch
4. Moving in 6 days
5. Turned 30 and am liking it
6. Job interview this week
7.Life is good.

Music on the Mind

Current top love/romantic songs:

1. All I Want is You by U2 (this will never leave the list)
2. First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes
3. The Luckiest by Ben Folds
4. Love Song by The Cure
5. Say Yes by Elliott Smith
6. Passenger Seat by Death Cab for Cutie
7. Queen Bee by Taj Mahal
8. A Case of You by Joni Mitchell
9. She's a Jar by Wilco
10. Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez

Songs that I've recently been enjoying:

1. Is this love? by Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah
2. Silver Lining by Rilo Kiley
3. Set Out Running by Neko Case & her Boyfriends
4. Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash
5. O Valencia! by The Decemberists
6. Keys to the City by The Go! Team
7. Righteously by Lucinda Williams
8. From Blown Speakers by The New Pornographers
9. Here Comes Your Man by The Pixies
10. Judy is a Punk by The Ramones

Future

Five things I'd like to do in the next 5 years (in no particular order):

1. Look around and realize that I am lying on a beach in a warm and tropical place...relaxing...and looking hot in my bikini.
2. Learn how to meditate. Even if that means repeating in my head over and over the following: Think About Nothing. Sshhh.
3. Grow vegetables and eat them when then are still warm from the sun.
4. Hear some little person call me 'mommy' (and it isn't a lost child in the mall).
5. Try that whole marriage thing again. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Gratitude

I am working on being a more positive and grateful person. According to The Secret, gratitude can bring great happiness. I tried Prozac and that didn't really work...so we'll see about the Law of Attraction :)

Here goes... A preliminary list of things I am grateful for:

1. ...for feeling love for another and knowing in my deepest parts that I am loved back.
2. ...for my cats. Even the one who is acting crazy right now.
3. ...for the opportunity to be receiving a wonderful education in a city that I love.
4. ...for a car that starts when it is -30 degrees and gets me around.
5. ...for family that loves me and wishes me happiness.
6. ...for my new shoes and ipod and all of the creature comforts that I am able to provide for myself by selling tacos and Lonestar beers.
7. ...for friends that think of me and check in every so often
8. ...for the willingness to think about gratitude and consider living life in a different way.

There's more, but I am going to work on that graduate education of mine for a bit now so that I may continue to enjoy it until May (18th)!

If I gave myself the time and permission to read...

Books I'd Like to Read:

1. The Secret - by Rhonda Byrne (I know that it is self-help AND Oprah-endorsed. But if it can help...)
2. Beautiful Children - by Charles Bock
3. Lolita - by Vladimir Nabokov
4. Atonement - by Ian McEwan
5. The World Without Us - by Alan Weisman
6. Never Let Me Go - by Kazuo Ishiguro

My New Year's Day

Me and Nicholas Waddle
Nicholas Waddle

Carrie and Braycen

Heather

Breichen Dean

Smitten

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

This Christmas is the first in a LONG time when I find myself unable to buy gifts for my family. I am pretty saddened by this, but it has been helpful for me to think about the meaning of this season and to focus on the purpose of these annual celebrations. Here is a list of reasons why I love the holidays that has nothing to do with buying or receiving gifts:

1. Seeing my family, especially the little guys
2. The warmth of the light off of the Christmas tree late at night
3. Hanging around in pajamas all morning and not feeling the need to change
4. Eating something red and green on Christmas Eve
5. Talking, laughing and spending time with the people who know me best and accept me for all of my strengths and all of my limitations
6. Christmas music (I haven't heard nearly enough of this yet this year)
7. Taking time away from all extraneous obligations
8. Getting ready for a whole new year, full of potential for happiness and peace
9. Warm living rooms with frosted windows keeping the cold away
10. Feeling a little bit like a kid again

Thankful

Cheeto

Her due date was yesterday

Walking the Tracks and Found...

Waiting

Three years ago I stopped. I finally concluded that I would rather gouge my eyeballs out with a spoon. I would rather be poor and penniless than to continue working as a waitress.

Apparently, the prospect of being poor and penniless is a stronger motivator when you are single and don't have a partner paying the bills. I finally broke down and took a job at The Palace. If you know where I'm speaking of, you can come and see me -- but only if you are a tremendous tipper :) and not very demanding.

You know, for as much as I have avoided this situation, the job really isn't so bad. Sure, you never really know when you'll get off of work and how much money you'll make...but the people are ok and it is something that I can feel good at amidst an inner world of uncertainty. I'm trying to convince myself that I am not regressing into my former early-20-something self. So, if you see me bellied up to a bar after work and intermittently stepping outside for a smoke break--please remind me that I have already done this and that it wasn't that great the first time ;)

This must be a test of my character or something

After being carless since May, I decided a few weeks back to look for a cheap used car to get me around this winter and to use to visit the family in IL. I found what I thought was a great deal on a 1992 Toyota Camry. The car looked pretty good and seemed to drive fairly well, but there was something wrong with the brakes. The guy who sold it to me was the original owner--well passed down from his dad. It sounded good--regular oil changes, timing belt changed every 60,000 miles, new radiator, new tires, et cetera. He told me that he had taken it to a mechanic who said that the brake lines would probably need to be replaced due to rust and that it would cost $400-500. I bought the car for a VERY low price on a Sunday morning.

On Monday, I called a local shop with a good reputation and scheduled to bring it in for an estimate on that Friday. On Tuesday, I went to the DMV, transferred the title and paid my taxes. I was hoping to drive the car to see my sister and Braycen, as he had just been born the night before. As I came back out to the car, I noticed a large pool of something under the car on the drivers side between the front and back doors. I drove it into a full-service gas station on my way home and the mechanic told me that it was gas. Gas! He said it was VERY unsafe to drive. So, I rented my second car for the week and went to IL without the Camry.

On Friday, I brought the car into the shop and they didn't get an estimate to me until the following Monday. $1125. Yep. Apparently the brake lines and the fuel lines needed major repair and would take them an estimated 11 hours of labor (@ $85/hr, mind you). So, I freaked out a little and cried a lot and then went to my bank with the title and crossed fingers. I was able to get a loan to cover the cost of this expensive repair. So here we are on the following Thursday and these repairs have finally been completed for a total of $1224.13. At least I can say that the car is fixed, right? Wrong.

So, the shop calls me to tell me that the car is ready, but they also have more bad news. Apparently the clutch is going to go out at any moment. The lady on the phone feels compelled to dramatize this news further by telling me that the mechanic said, "I'd be surprised if it makes it home." WTF? So, she is so kind as to be prepared with an estimate of what it will cost to replace the clutch. Get this--$1076. Seriously. I refuse to cry and throw a fit but, should you see or talk to me, just know that I am inside.

Lessons learned:
1. Always have a car inspected before you buy it.
2. If you are hoping to buy a "cheap car", you may just get what you ask for.

Braycen Charles

Hello Little Man...

I am happy to announce that I have another nephew to love and post pictures of here on smallkneecaps. I wasn't there for his birth on October 22nd, but I visited him and my sister in the hospital the following day. He was in the NICU for a few days to monitor his breathing--but then he went home on Saturday the 27th. It sucks that I can't go visit, but I hear that Breichen really likes him and that he's a pretty mellow babe.

What's the hurry little man?

I find it absolutely fantastic and exciting that both my best friend AND my sister are having babies soon! They are due 6 days apart and live only a mile or so from each other--but 100 miles from me. For my best friend, this is Baby #1--due November 21. For my sister, this is Baby #2--scheduled to arrive a wee bit early on November 12th. The first baby was born 3 months early at 28 weeks and weighing a hefty 1lb-14oz. He spent the first 10 weeks of his little life in the neonatal intensive care unit. With this baby, she has been dilligenty monitoring her blood pressure and she has made it to 33 weeks! Unfortunately, it seems that she'll be having this one early too and she is officially on bedrest and maternity leave. :( Let's cross our fingers that this little guy can wait a few more weeks...after all, what's the big hurry little man?

Welcoming Fall

Reasons that I love fall:

1. Yellow!, Orange!, Red!
   
2. Crunching leaves under my feet
3. Picking apples and pumpkins
   
4. Sweaters and jeans
   
5. That lovely fall smell!

Flaming Lips in Madison

I went with Jen, Patsy and Brian to see The Flaming Lips last night. It was a free show put on by Southern Comfort...so the drinks were syrupy sweet and strongly reminded me of high school :) The show was great--they saved Do You Realize and She Don't Use Jelly for the very end. It was kind of weird though because the crowd seemed lame in a comatose sort of way and then Wayne was all Bush bashing and talking too much. Then he made a big deal about how the military makes bugles that only play Taps because of the overwhelming number of military funerals in comparison to military musicians. So, then he played Taps with one of these bugles--which was slightly awkward and a mood killer. Oh well, it was free and there were giant balloons, alien ladies and santa boys, and lots of streamers. Oh, and the mosquitoes avoided eating my flesh. That was nice.

He calls me "Aunt Annie"