100 Things

I am posting a 100 things over on my Bigmouth blog today. Hope this doesn't irritate, as I drone on. But, you know, I feel like, for year-end/year-beginning stuff, I need to be thorough. So, here are 100 things I want to accomplish in 2007, in no particular order. Anyone else?

1. Get my blue-typewriter tattoo.
2. Finish the last bits of my second novel.
3. Finish my third novel.
4. Write something for Ms. Magazine.
5. Sell/contribute a piece to NPR.
6. Write something for Utne magazine.
7. Buy a new desk. A great one.
8. Weight-train to the muscled point I got to in 2001.
9. Do yoga twice a week for the month of January.
10. Give myself spa time once a month in January.
11. Change the PR about my novel to be less about the readings and more about the writing.
12. Buy a tall bookcase.
13. Finish sewing my folding screen panels.
14. Finish the quilt I started and am almost finished with.
15. Give the pink kitchen painting to A. I think she'd like it.
16. Fix that one spot on my living room rug.
17. Walk around some European country (or three) alone.
18. Give myself another good piece of jewelry, this time with my birthstone. :)
19. Travel to the few states I've never been to.
20. Do a better job of observing Rosh Chodesh in February.
21. Be a bit more Shomer Shabbes in January. Just a bit. I already do okay.
22. Get the rest of the links up that I want to get up on my blog.
23. Re-vamp my website just a tiny bit every month.
24. Plot out a trip to Israel.
25. Buy a condo.
26. Attend two schmoozey events in January.
27. Clean out my address book. Update, delete, etc.
28. Add 10x more contacts into my address book in the next year. (98 contacts on 1/1/07)
29. Set my computer to auto-save onto the external hard drive regularly.
30. Patch K's raincoat.
31. Have a dress-up fancy night out with all my good girlfriends.
32. Take a belly dance class.
33. Take a tango class.
34. Take a scuba class.
35. Take an academic class just to enrich my brain.
36. Visit my gandparents.
37. Visit my parents.
38. Spend a good hedonistic weekend in Vegas with friends.
39. Raise money for my synagogue.
40. Plan a big charity fundraiser.
41. Go ice skating again.
42. Go canoeing again.
43. Go hiking again.
44. Attempt longer hair again.
45. Run another 5K.
46. Go to a police auction and buy treasures.
47. Go to estate sales and buy treasures.
48. Send an e-card every chance I get this year.
49. Take more pictures.
50. Bleach my teeth.
51. Publish my top secret memory project and promote the crap out of it.
52. Work on top secret retail project and publish it.
53. Brush up on speaking French somehow.
54. Watch every Simpsons episode in order.
55. Brush up on sign-language somehow.
56. Stick six months worth of living expenses in savings.
57. Learn to schmooze well enough that I actually look forward to cocktail-schmoozey settings.
58. Learn krav maga.
59. Finish 2007 with at least two belts earned in a martial art.
60. Use Ahava products all year.
61. Be better at keeping in touch with people.
62. Go visit my brother.
63. Earn a certificate in something-- just to say I did.
64. Win an award for something.
65. Gather all of the Dorrie books that I don't already have. (1/5: Added to Amazon wishlist)
66. Find that one children's book I loved so much but cannot remember. (1/5: Put ad on Craigslist)
67. In 2007 I will give this a fair shake: "I will trim my hair more often than I chop my hair off."
68. Get my brother to visit me.
69. Listen to live music in January.
70. Get manicures and pedicures when I need them, not when I can rationalize them.
71. Upgrade every situation.
72. Ring in the first day of the new year with a balanced checkbook, a stocked panty, money in the bank and a clean house.
73. Ring in the new year by completing 2007 stairs on my stairmaster within the first month of 2007.
74. Better organize the trunk of my car.
75. Read 24 21 more books by Rosh HaShanah (fall 2007).
76. Finish decorating bedroom.
77. Pass out 500 business cards in 2007. (1/5: Got them! All 500 are in my posession still, though.)
78. Buy a turntable and enjoy my good record collection.
79. Paint living room artwork.
80. Improve my Hebrew both modern and biblical.
81. Find out what my blood type is.
82. Get full health coverage.
83. Get a massage this month.
84. Make a perfect General Tso's tofu.
85. Read the Wall Street Journal once a week in January. (subscribed)
86. In January, read a magazine I'd otherwise never read.
87. In January, do something totally out of my comfort zone.
88. Help get B'nai Say lit mag up and running.
89. Subscribe to a word of the day again.
90. Get a loud pair of glasses just for fun.
91. Keep my good wine and good candle supply well-stocked.
92. Expect success throught January.
93. Do an act of outrageous random performance art.
94. Catch my other blogs up to current.
95. Just once, pay every bill I have ahead one month just to see what happens.
96. Go to a wine tasting.
97. Make every effort to not buy even one single generic item for the month of January to see what happens.
98. Take an impromptu daytrip.
99. Publish something on McSweeny's.
100. Write 10 consumer letters and letters to editors.

There it is. Let's see how I do. Happy New Year, everyone.

This dress.

I never even look at bridal magazines, but last night I spent $8 just for one image for a collage. Below is the Caroline Herrera dress I fell in love with last night. I would want less train and more coverage up top, but the embroidery. I love it. (I had to take a screenshot, b/c her site is all flash animation and this dress is like the 15th dress and takes too long to find.) I don't know how much is costs, but I'm gonna budget $20K?

Check It

Ms. Sizzle has a great blog post today about 2007 "intentions." :)

$4,000

All teeth today. I have good teeth. They're straight without every having any orthodonture, but they could use a little oomph. Bleach, a tiny bit of bonding, gum reshaping, etc. It'll hurt like shit, but I will grin like crazy forever.

Whatever is leftover I think should go for a nice facial. Might as well start the new year with perfect teeth and clean pores.

The Notebook

I love how when I am on a deadline for a project I really don't want to do, I find such an array of other things to do. Like, oh, say two $1000 entries in one day...
ANYHOOT--
I got a lovely little leather notebook from my friend Heather for Christmas. I said I wanted to save it for something special, something NOT my daily work/personal to-do lists, which is what I do with most of my notebooks now.
And I don't hand-write much, so...*ahem*... I declare that the notebook will hold all of my ideas for writing pieces (including the revision of "Diane Vs. The Electronics Department, Episodes I, II, and III") and be checked off as I complete them.
Lovely!
(and now, back to annoying editing project)

$3,000

Today, I'm taking my three grand and going to Argentina. I was hearing a story about Argentina last night, so there it is. Argentina. I'll take the most authentic tango lessons possible, buy great shoes, spend hours and hours finding vegetarian food (sigh) and generally enjoying myself to bits.

This Desk Is Killing Me

Focus on my desk.
It needs to be sanded, stained, then painted.
It needs to be organized in a BIG WAY.
I've got my laptop, my pc, my new little hot plate to keep my tea warm, gobs of stationary (I love and love to send notecards). I've got a new monitor that needs to be hooked up, and an old one that needs to go up on Craig's List. I've got pens and desk supplies and work stuff and wires everywhere.
I need a trip to the Container Store to figure out what to do with all this nonsense. (some pull out drawers would be just lovely on the top right shelf...)

Things I welcome into my life.

1. A new laptop, preferably a mac.
2. Serious, romantic, explosive (in the good way) relationship.
3. A beautiful ring.
4. A raise or a bonus.
5. Being published in a book.
6. Writing my next book and allowing it into the world (and out of my bottom drawer).
7. Feeling strong in my body.
8. Feeling sexy in my body.
9. Eating a full meal with him.
10. A fantastic income tax return.

$2,000 AGAIN.

Today, I'm taking my $2,000 and my first stop is IKEA, where I will buy three, no four, sets of this track lighting, for a total of about $250.

I'm not going to price this stuff out, I'm just going to put it out there. Artist canvasses. Cappuccino maker. Vegan shoes. Replacing all my bulbs with CFLs.

Then, I'm taking the rest and hitting garage and estate sales this weekend, just tooling around and enjoying one of my favorite pasttimes-- sniffing out treasures for a steal.

Reminder to Self

I must get back into art classes starting in January. Amy's post reminded me, and I have a credit at Lill Street left from when I had to drop the last class due to my schedule. I'm remembering how much art class lifted my spirits (and not JUST because of my hottie art teacher) and thinking I need to recommit to it in the new year. :) Plus who knows? I may receive that portable sketch easel I had on my Christmas list...

$1,000 AGAIN

I want this book, Codex Seraphinianus for $400.

Then, I want three of each size of this shelf for $375.

The next $100 goes to canvasses, handmade paper and other little art stuff. I haven't painted in years and I'm interested in it again. I paint acrylic and mixed media, have the paint, just need some scraps of fancy paper and such.

I'm taking the rest to the massage therapist.

Shhh...Quiet...

I *wanted* to blog $1000 a day until January 3rd. January 3rd is the new, extended deadline for the writing contest I entered.
But I'm not feeling joyful, and I think welcoming prosperity un-joyfully is going to bring me bad energy.
Instead I just wanted to pop in and say I am excited about the year ahead. I have some new things up on 43 Things, and a lot of new items of focus.
Most importantly:
I am totally going to manage this IBS business. I am going to stay on the healthy eating track, and find yummy treats I can make for myself in the absence of some of my old favorites. I am going to make a habit of going to bed earlier. I AM taking a yoga class, or two or three.
Also, I don't have it up there, but I am going to really focus more on my writing in the coming year, as Erin Pavlina directed. Oh, and, um, my own soul directed. :)
Finally, I will retain this wonderful mix of friends I have, let others' junk be exactly that (a constant battle for me!!) and last but not least, include some more guy friends in my mix. Not to date, just to balance the yin. Or yang. Whichever the female one is.

$133,000 and some real life unexpected checks

I haven't been spending any of my money for a while because I was waiting for the money to accumulate to pay for an MBA at Northwestern. I didn't realize the money accumulated so quickly! So I now have $133,000 to spend. I will spend a good chunk on the MBA and the rest I would like to pay down the mortgage on our old condo. It would be so great to know the rent we are bringing in covers all costs associated with it.

In other news, we received two unexpected things yesterday that I have to attribute to prosperity thinking. First, we overpaid our escrow account last year on our old place so we got a refund check that will cover our next month's payment (before our rental income starts to pay for it). We also received word that my husband qualified for some extra money to go straight toward a retirement account from his old employer. Since we bought a new place this year, a little ahead of schedule, we didn't have as much to put into retirement as I would have liked. So what a nice surprise!

Wow! January's mortgage covered and unplanned money toward retirement!

Each Day Is Easier Than The One Before...

Stumbled right away on this bracelet, which used most of $1000!
I've been wanting to try Philosophy's The Supernatural makeup since I've been reading about how good it is...when you have an extra $1000, $35 doesn't seem like too much to pay for foundation...
And on the subject of makeup, I would like to get the Big Magic lip gloss from Benefit with the remainder of my dough. Plus, proceeds from Big Magic go to Big Brothers/Big Sisters--how cool is that?

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty!

This necklace.
And this necklace, too.
This bracelet because it's just rullllly pretty.
And...I will take the remaining $50 to (once again) order flowers for myself! Well, actually, a plant. Sweetness!

Hm, lots of red going on here. Perhaps my power color for the week??

Thou'

One look at today's selections, and I think you'll know exactly where my mind is at the moment!

Back to SpaSpace today, for the "Winter Vacation", plus tip...

Two pairs of these pajamas--one in magenta and one in lavendar...

And the remainder of today's spendings will go toward a shopping spree at the lovely and wonderful Sunflower Market, including much spendage on some Kiss My Face products!

blogging thanks

B"H that the Chanukah Blog Tour went as well as it did. I met a lot of people, made some good new friends, good. I want to do it again next year. I know of a few things I'd do differently, but I'll surely do it again next year.

Let's Keep This Simple

I've still got $1000 on the brain.
Pretty!
Cute!
Done. :)

$1,000 AGAIN

There is good prosperity flow afoot! I've been really busy but busy I will take! I'm glad to have so many writing and editing jobs coming in and I'm glad to do the work. So, to ensure the good times keep rolling...


Hmm.. welll, I bought and assumbled my gorgeous kitchen table this week, and I already have a great set of dishes that I adore, but I could use some day-to-day placemats to protect my table and dishes from one another.

I like these and would like to get four green adn four teal, so, there's $50. Might as well get the napkins to match since I like using cloth napkins so much, so add another $25 for the two sets of four.

Now, as per usual, I'm heading to Anthropologie. $200 gets this gorgeous sweater. This jacket is cute, too, for $150.

And, with the rest of my $1,000 today, I was this gorgeous rug. Wouldn't that look cute in my living room?!?!?!

Haha, I wish i invented these.

I wish I could take credit for inventing these genius boots.

Successes, Chi, and Wielding the Force

First, the good news. While no one has explicitly stated anything regarding how much longer my contract will go, the whole team of recruiters is being kept on board through late February/mid March, which means that applies to me as well, with no finite end date in sight. Whoot! Flexible job that pays well and allows me to write and do writerly things! Awesome!
Second--I've lost 10 lbs since Thanksgiving, which is not totally healthy, but is in part attributed to the fact my whole diet has been overhauled. Green tea and no sweets/fatty foods are the key, methinks. To keep this going and also start doing what I really need to do, exercise, I bought a mini stair stepper from Amazon. I can use it right in my home, and sneak in a flight of stairs or two during the workday!
Last but not least, I need some more dude friends to bring balance to my friendship chi. So that's a less important but still worth some thought goal.
I am getting reallly excited about New Year's Goals! (I hate to use the term resolutions, too restrictive and threatening)

And Speaking of $1000

I hadn't had much time lately to put my selections down here. So I'll break them up into a $1000 a day for now, since $1000 (in prize form) is exactly what I want!
Balance board to get my tummy nice and tight.
Denim skirt, cute sweater, belt, and sassy shoes to wear when I go to New York to give my reading. :-)

I Am Thinking About...

It looks like my job is most assuredly NOT winding up January 1st. There is still no finite date, but I'm okay with that. Better no date than a definite "you're outta here!" date.
This week I have been dreaming about:
1) Winning a prize for a piece I wrote
2) Going to Portland, OR
3) Getting published in a plethora of venues
And I'm also pondering how #3 could finally lead to an MFA or Ph.D and consequent teaching position. I think that's what I really want.
I also dreamt about shagging Leonardo DiCaprio, for what that's worth...

From $9000 to $95000

Gee whiz! This cash accumulates fast. I'm behind, but it's Christmas, and I've got a list:-D

$9500 - Tithe. Minister called me in to find out what I'm doing to get all this cash. Business is booming I say. Life is just fantastic!
$9500 - Savings

$6000 - Braces. It's going to cost $2500 for the actual braces, but I'm putting aside $3500 for all the incidental stuff that they come up with like jaw cutting and retainers after the fact.
$10,000 - I'm taking a month off and going to Europe. I want to spend a week in Italy (Venice, Rome, Tuscany), a week in Greece, a week in France, and a week in Spain. Before I start the circuit though, I'm spending New Year's Eve in Zweibruecken, Germany at the Fassanrie Romantik.
$5000 - Interior decorator. I was trying to do my house one room at a time, but since I've accumulated this much cash, I'm hiring an interior decorator to come in and paint a picture for me.
$25,000 - I'm giving him a generous budget. I want him to have real fun on this project. When I get back from Europe my home will feel warm and inviting. I am so looking forward to this treat at the end of my trip.
$30,000 - Scholarship for 3 girls from my high school to do a month in Europe over the summer. One of my dreams is to fund an annual class trip. This is a start.

Happy Shopping!

$2000 for my new windows!

Strangely it has taken some getting used to to have windows on more than one side of our condo again. Especially the window on the door leading to the back deck.

Enclosed blinds for the back door-- $100
2" white wooden blinds for the kitchen and Ted's office-- $400
9 sheer panels for the sunroom-- $300
Colorful panels for the livingroom-- $100
Curtain rods and hardware--$300
And with the remaining $800 I will buy a new rug for the dining room and a KitchenAid mixer.

Yeah!!!

Feeling much better--$ 1000 again

Sorry to add bad energy to the site the other day. I am feeling much better about things. I think that being able to get out the bad thoughts opened me to receiving a renter for our old condo. The day after I posted last we had someone look at the place and submit an application. So now I just need to relax and keep thinking positive thoughts!

Since I haven’t been consistent about continuing my thousand-dollar experiment, I am starting over at $1000. I know that I have already bought some things in the past, but that was before we moved in and I knew what would really work. The room I want to work on right away is the bathroom.

Shower doors--$300
Storage cabinet--$700

We are slowly quickly getting unpacked and I will soon be more excited about really looking into what I want to buy! I am feeling better already...

Priceless

Instead of trying to find a fast way to spend $4,000, I'm using the time it would take to do so and going to bed early. :-) The extra rest is priceless!

$9000 to Spend

I've got $9000 in my pocket. Let's see.

$900 - Tithe
$900 - Savings
$7200 - Living room furniture to go with my hardwood floors and my newly painted room.

Another $15,000

Tithe - $1500
Savings - $1500
$12,000 - Christmas present for parents, brother, niece, nephew, and myself - Tickets to Trinidad for Carnival and costumes for all!

$3000 and The Daves

I think I should explain that second part first. Over the weekend I had a striking revelation. After a couple attempts at writing some fiction, I realized fiction is just not my bag. Never has been--when I took the fiction classes in college my teachers all said my fiction read like poetry. But not in a good way, rather, in a "this has no plot it's just a bunch of images" way. I excelled in writing papers and a memoir-focused class I took in grad school.
I exclaimed this weekend, "I need to write like David Sedaris. Or Dave Barry. I want to be a girl Dave." Yes, I want to be a girl Dave. Or, I want to publish a collection of humorous observations on a topic. And then a series of collections of humorous observations on a topic. Yeah.
In other news, let's pretend I can drink coffee like I used to and drop a big chunk of today's spending on this coffee maker/cappuccino machine/espresso dohickey. You are cordially invited over for one of Diane's fantastic lattes and shortbread cookies. Oh wait, better yet--partake in my 3 months of croissants!
What's that? You say you're not a coffee drinker? Well, no problem there--I can fix you some tea in this very nice teakettle (in cobalt blue, please). Let's throw some loose change toward nice teas and fine espresso.
Once everyone leaves, I can be found watching tv from the courtesy of my massaging lounger. Ahhhhh. And perhaps I'll give myself a facial with this yummy-sounding and very natural micropeel system.
Unrelated to any of the above, but painfully cute, two little Swarovski kittens that don't want to load--so I'll post the images later. ;)

Prosperity Quickie

I am up wayyyy too late for as tired as I am, considering I have to go to the office tomorrow (though I am not leaving my house until 1:30, so pooey).
Thus, I'm going to spend a quick thou' tonight:
Pretty, yes?

Coat, in black (fear not friends, that's faux fur on the collar.

Finally, I love knee socks this time of year, so I'll round it out with four pairs from Urban Outfitters.

And now, goodnight.

Go me.

I shelled out today for two nice new suits-- one dressy skirt suit, one any-occasion pants suit-- two skirts, and a new bra. And, I am so excited to wear them! And accessorize them!

15K, I'm Off To Get Shoes

I've got $15K to spend. Woohoo! I love accumulating money.

Thursday evening I came home after my Mastermind group and found $4000 in cash in the mailbox. I was totally caught off guard. I'm looking around for the good fairy.

Friday I got a $5000 deposit on an all day workshop I did today at a women's conference. Today I got the remainder of my fee. $11K all together.

And I'm off to spend and take care of some obligations.

$1500 - Tithe
$1500 - Savings
$5000 - The last of the credit card debt
$5000 - Landscaping and power wash for the house
$2000 - Shoe and accessory shopping

Let's Do the Time Warp

Hello everyone. I have been a small player in this game and am back to have more fun! Yea. For the first $1,000, I think I'll put it towards a new dance card (for real actually at Joel Hall Dance Center) approximately $380.00; then a new pair of jazz shoes (estimated at $65.00), plus few new leotards and tights (spluring at $300) and much much water (SmartWater, of course). I'll take approximately 19 cases please. (I did the math) :-) Thank you all for being here. Enjoy your expansion! xoxo Ashqi

Focus - $2,000

First, I must buy the darling Sleepypod WITH warmer, so that my little princess can sleep somewhere other than the middle of my winter jacket to stay cozy. I'd also like to add to our household by purchasing this self-contained aquarium, plus 1 year's worth of replacement filters, and of course, fish and fish accessories. With all the critters around here, I'd like to have a couple of these germ killers, one especially to put near the litterbox.
My favorite purchase of the day is easily this gorgeous $600 dress:

I have no idea where I'm going to wear it, but I'll worry about that later. And just for kicks, let's throw in this "simple" dress, too.
I had to have this $200 Artemis necklace--
my name is derived from the Roman name (Diana) for the same goddess, the goddess of the moon. Plus, it's real purrty.






Finally, flowers all around. Two bouquets of these holiday tulips + vases for me, and the rest will be spent showering my friends with flowers as well.

Dragging my feet

The weekend of the big move is finally here! We closed on out new place yesterday and are scheduled to move in this Sunday. But for some reason I am not feeling as excited as I expected. I feel like I am dragging my feet. I have been avoiding packing boxes for the last week. It has been a busy week and coming back from a three hour time change made it difficult to get back into a routine, but I think I have been inventing excuses not to pack.
The other night I had a vivid dream where a public transportation card machine was malfunctioning and giving out quarters instead of taking them. I was so excited at first and couldn't get the quarters in my pockets fast enough. Then I realized that it was wrong to take the money and started feeling guilty. I decided to drop the quarters one at a time so that someone else could have it without the guilt of knowing it was "stolen" money. Leah suggested that the dream is saying that I am not allowing prosperity into my life and I think she is right. We are looking for a renter for our old condo, but the whole time I am feeling guilty for the price we are asking. I know that it is a fair price, I am just not allowing myself to accept the income. I am not sure if the $1000 experiment would help with that but I am definitely going to get started again on Monday, maybe before if I need a break from moving.