Attitude: Faintly Irritated

This week I was totally into....

Getting goals accomplished. I had a list of goals, and I managed to do every one of them. Most of them involved household stuff (cleaning off the porch, cleaning the windows I hadn't gotten to yet with bleach, etc.) A few were other kinds of goals, like ordering a new pair of jeans online, and some shirts. Usually there are always one or two that I put off until later, but not this week! Unfortunately a few areas I'd hoped to concentrate on weren't the focus of my concentration. I didn't practice as much as I planned, I didn't get as much relaxation time as I'd hoped - but I have all summer to do THAT!

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This week I was avoiding....

Actually last week and this week I avoided blogging. It wasn't that I didn't want to; it was just a few of the sidelined things. The list of things I DIDN'T get to do (in order of importance, most to least) Writing in my journal, blogging, planning our vacation, playing computer games, watching our recorded TV shows, clothes shopping.

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What Else was On My Mind.....

Cocoa my cat's disappearance. I wish he was a stay-at-home cat that I could lock inside at night. But he's not; so every year about this time he vanishes for a week or two, and I worry.
Finding the car with a short in it's horn. It keeps going off. All the time. Day and Night! It's not close by, but close enough we can hear it.
The war in Iraq. I support the troops. Not the government.
Planning our vacation. Didn't get much done this month.

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The Week Ahead....

Health - exercise 35 minutes a day minimum. Drink 64 oz water a day. Keep eating well.
Work - find some projects to do over the summer.
Music - Practice guitar twice a day for a minimum of 15 minutes. Practice piano at least twice.
Other goals - Write every day. Play games at least once. Finish watching our recorded shows. Buy 2-6 more t-shirts (for trip and playing) Plan more vacation stuff.
Personal. Be nice to Ken. Buy 1 Christmas present.

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Accomplished....

I will just say I got a lot done the last two weeks, and leave it at that.

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Weekly Gift...

Last week; Stadium Arcadium, and A Day at the Races & A Night at the Opera by Queen.

This week; cute shirt I wanted but couldn't justify buying for myself.

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Quote of the week...

"Laughter is an instant vacation."

Milton Berle

Attitude: No Stinkin' Attitude!

This week I was totally into....

Music. I got a bunch of new CD's. Pearl Jam's newest self-titled. Tool's 10,000 Days, Blood Sugar, Sex, Magik by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and special thanks to T.S., Queen's Sheer Heart Attack & Jazz. (They are rumored to be going out of print, and I can't have THAT!) I am also listening to the Fleet Foxes, and A Chance Without, both bands have members who are sons of my co-workers. I like both bands; check them out and decide for yourself.

Other co-workers son's play with The President's of the United States of America and Brandi Carlile. How cool is that? Pretty cool.
Other bands I am currently listening to are Snow Patrol, Killers and I am hoping to get the new Red Hot Chili Pepper's CD this weekend.

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This week I avoided....

Confrontations. I kept my mouth shut most of the time, and made situations that I could have escalated into jokes. Because my horoscope said I needed to be careful. Do I really believe in horoscopes? I don't know. Sometimes I do, sometimes I am a scoffer. However, not escalating situations is often a good thing.

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What else was on my mind.....

T.S. building my new guitar; we are planning on a Fender Mustang body & neck, with alternative tuners, pick-ups and tailpiece. The body will have more routing on the forearm cut out, and a slightly smaller waist.
Guitar Practicing; I'm glad we had two weeks this time - it was on the difficult side!
The Weekend; We are visiting Guitar 6000 for more ideas for T.S.'s custom guitar, and Burgerville, and also the Warmoth factory in Puyallup, where they actually make the replacement Mustang bodies and necks.
Writing; I have been going over my stories and getting a few ideas.

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The week ahead....

Health - same old thing
Work - come up with a PROJECT so I am not dying of boredom.
Personal - practice guitar every day, clean the house and do the laundry and finish by Friday, (except for a few touch-ups if Mary & Dave come to visit) play Sims2, (I have given up on WoW for the time being) Write new book reviews for my blog, read a few more books, de-junk 1 thing per room (the quest continues), and drink/dispose of 2 bottles of wine. I am trying to drink my wine that needs to be drunk before it turns to vinegar.

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Accomplished....

Called my sister, practiced every day, transferred my old music to my iPod, played Sims2, got the house clean and the laundry done, received the Milepost, got most of my CD's (except the ones I must order from Amazon because no stores carry them, like Anggun) and wrote every day. Also exercised and drank lots of water and ate well (especially with a planned visit to Burgerville this weekend....)

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Weekly Gift
Sheer Heart Attack & Jazz by Queen

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Quote of the week
"Without music life would be a mistake."
Friedrich Nietzsche

Attitude:What? What!

This Week I Was Totally Into....

My guitar again. We got some interesting rhythm patterns to learn. And we're working on the start of finger picking, which isn't even called that yet; it's called string switching. Oh, in case you were wondering, our teacher is Pascal Louval. Go to his website and check it out. He's an excellent teacher. Both T.S. and I have gotten quite a bit out of our lessons, and we've only taken three so far. Also, we were talking about shaving the forearm contour down on my guitar, but I just can't quite bring myself to do it. If it wasn't my ONLY electric guitar, or if it wasn't BRAND NEW - maybe. So, T.S. is going to build me a guitar. He might build himself a guitar too. That way I can decide exactly how I want it shaped, and what neck I want (I am sticking with the Mustang short-scale neck) and what pick-ups and tuners and what-not.

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This Week I avoided....

Exercising as much as I planned. It wasn't on purpose - I just ran out of time; and when you ride the bus leaving a few minutes late is NOT an option. However, I will make up for it during the coming weekend. I was short about 45 minutes total, so I will add 15 minutes per day.

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What Else Was On My Mind...

Finding new bathtub art for my book blog; I have clip art, I just have to download it.
Changing some old MPEG files into Mp3 files that can go on my iPod; can't find a good program to do it.
Getting several books from the library; a good thing, because I was down to 1 (one) unread book! For me, that's panic time.
Getting ready for our trip to Alaska; we need to start planning.
The total gorgeousness of the last few days - 70 degrees and perfect.

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The Week Ahead....

Health - same old, same old.
Work - find something interesting to do for a project. Keep my mouth shut.
Personal - same old, same old.
Other stuff - Call my sister this weekend and find out when she wants to visit. Practice every day. Practice piano at least twice. Talk to Ken about Alaska trip. Get new CD's by Tool, Pearl Jam, and Anggun, and maybe Sheer Heart Attack by Queen. Buy Thunder Falls by C.J. Murphy (new release) and maybe the first Harry Potter in trade paperback.

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Accomplished....

I got a lot done this week! I cleaned the living room, dining room and small bedroom carpets. Practiced guitar every day. Ordered the 2006 edition of the Milepost for our trip. Called the dentist to re-schedule my cleaning since I maxed out my dental insurance by getting a 2nd crown. Finished cleaning the house. Read a couple of books.

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Weekly Gift....
Sims2 Family Fun Stuff Pack.

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Quote of the week.....
"Out of the strain of the Doing./Into the peace of the Done. "
Julie Louise Woodruff