My Best Dudie Friend sent me the best email yesterday. He went to visit my Sketchbook Project in Brooklyn last month despite all the inconveniences. I’m sharing his email and attachments with his permission. I love the murky feel of the disposable camera but in case you’re curious about what my sketchbook really looks like, you can check out the pages here.
from: Best Dudie Friend BDF@BDF.com to: Linda linda@curious-notions.net date: Tue, May 15, 2012 at 12:02 PM subject: I LOVE YOU
So I traveled all the way to Brooklyn to see the sketchbook exhibit (fyi
Brooklyn is the most ANNOYING place to get to). By the time I got
there my phone died. I had to buy a DISPOSABLE CAMERA and take these
pictures. And yes, they still make them.
The girl you see there is Bernadette Moke, she’s a blogger/writer too.
She took one of your tab thingys at the end of the book. Anyway, I
got the film developed this week and the pictures didn’t come out so
great. I’m sorry :( I loved your sketchbook and I showed it to anyone
who would look. “THIS IS MY FRIEND LINDA. SHE IS A BLOGGER. LOOK!!!” I
can’t wait to see your 2013 Sketchbook!
Attached is a copy of Bernadette’s card, I told her you would let her
know if you blogged about the sketchbook project.
P.S. I have more pictures but they came out crappy too :( (Pictures
dated 4/21/12)
All photo credits go to BDF and his disposable camera.
I’ve moved eleven times since 2001 which makes me a bit of packing expert. In fact, I’m gearing up for another move in just three more months. Here’s a list of eight packing tips that have made my life easier when it comes to moving.
Eight Packing Tips to Make Your Move Easier
Start collecting boxes a couple of months before your move-out date. The last 5 years, I worked in places where we get many shipments and I started to hoard the boxes a couple of months prior to my move-out date. Prior to that, I would check with friends who recently moved or grocery stores.
Right before a move is a good time to declutter, sell, and make donations. The more you get rid of, the less you have to pack. Go through your closet and start taking out what you’ll never wear again. Sell what you can and gift or donate the rest. If you make some cash, maybe you can save it towards your moving expenses!
If you keep your shoes in shoe boxes like I do, you can use the dead space in your shoe boxes to store knick knacks. Just remember to open each box to check for stowaways when you begin the unpacking process.
Find extra padding. I keep a lookout for free bubble wraps as I collect my boxes but they are a bit harder to find for free. I make up for the lack of bubble wrap by being creative. Dirty laundry make great padding for fragile items. T-shirts, kitchen and bathroom rugs, and towels can serve as cushion. Just be sure to launder and clean as you pack and unpack! I have used newspapers, toilet paper and paper towel rolls, rugs, purses, sheets, stuffed animals, pillows as cushions for my breakables.
Label everything. I know this is an obvious one but I’ve witnessed friends not labeling what are in each box they packed and I wondered why they did that to themselves. I even label the box of randoms. I’ll bullet list what random objects I have in the miscellaneous boxes.
Start packing at least a month before moving out. Everyone has more stuff than he or she realizes.
Use your storage. I pack jewelry into zippered compartments in my handbags. (I also leave a note on the moving box in which these bags are stored with a reminder to check the handbag compartments.) I use the compartments in backpacks. I even use tupperware to hold the smaller bits. For example, I packed kitchen magnets in tupperware containers. I also packed silverware in clean tupperware containers. That way, I could just unload the silverware and not worry about washing them.
Flatten and store as many moving boxes as you can after you’ve unpacked. This will give you a head start for your next move.
I know moving is a pain but I hope these suggestions make it easier for you. Good luck and enjoy your new home!
Thank you UMoveFree for sponsoring this post.
Moving soon? UMoveFree complaints are few and
far between for this Texas-based relocation
service.
I divulge a bit more about my obsession with food and talk a bit about marathon shopping.
2.
Just a month ago, I was hanging out near a waterhole on the Green Belt with my dude, dog, and friends. I learned how to skip rocks and watched the other humans swing from the rope into the water. (Bob and I can’t swim so we just watched.) That was just a month ago.
Last weekend, the same waterhole was bone dry. Even after a night of heavy rain. In just a month it has completely dried up!
Beginning of April:
Beginning of May:
3.
Today is Day 14 of my Prosperity Game. That means today I spent $14,000 hypothetically. It’s actually pretty difficult spending money every day. Today I “bought” two laptops. One for me and one for my dad. My dad has never used a personal computer so it’ll be a learning experience for him. I also bought a fancy computer bag; five pairs of Toms, two for me, two for mom, and one for Alan; a round trip plane ticket from Boston to Austin so my best friend can visit me in July; a plane ticket to Midland, Texas for a trip to Marfa with Kim; a rental car for Marfa; lodging in a teepee and trailer for Marfa; 500 dollar clothing shopping spree; an iPad; wireless contract for iPad for 2 years, and the remaining $7,000 went to my parents’ retirement.
Oi. That was just today. Other big ticket items from the last week included, airfare to North Carolina, a romantic hotel stay at the Biltmore, Super Bowl tickets for Alan, student loan debt, thousands to my parents’ retirement, a shopping spree at Saks, wedding gift for a close friend, airfare to Hawaii, hotel in Hawaii, fancy DSLR camera, and fancy meals.
Spending hypothetical money every day is hard work.
4.
I’m out of town the next two weekends. Going to Houston for Mother’s Day this weekend and then partying it up in Vegas next weekend! Time is flying by in 2012!
5.
Last week, I mentioned that I had the pleasure of attending a launch party for Michael Natkin’s new cookbook, Herbivoracious (affiliate link).
It’s a gorgeous cookbook with drool worthy recipes and I am giving away a copy! To try your luck, hop on over to my food blog.
You have til Sunday night to enter. Good luck!
6.
I was going to wait to reveal this but it’s already been tweeted about so I thought I’ll just say it. I’m very close to entering training to be an Ambassador of Dishcrawl. Dishcrawl does what I call progressive meals (going to multiple venues for one meal). I remember hearing about them a year or so ago with envy. Here’s a company who is doing something I already do with my friends, except they turned it into an innovative business! I forgot about them but then Suki told me about their Ambassador program and put me in touch with the founder. After a couple of conversations, I am soon training to be an Ambassador in Austin! Which basically means I’ll help launch Dishcrawl in Austin. I am equal parts nervous and excited! It’s going to be a part time gig and I’m eager to learn, grow my professional skill set (marketing, PR, event planning!), and do it while eating!
Could it really be possible that I can make money eating?
7.
This week’s moments of bliss: ♥ Cinco de Mayo date with AshleyD ♥ morning pages ♥ hiking date with Alan, Bob, and another pup ♥ girl date with Naz at Madam Mams on a weekday ♥ good news and exciting times for my close friends ♥ Avengers date with Alan ♥ finishing my first paper journal in 2012 and starting one I bought last year in Vermont ♥ voter’s registration card in the mail ♥ letter from Danielle ♥ Obama endorsing gay marriage ♥ scheming about 2013 travels ♥ not cooking most of the week ♥ awesome deals on shoes
I haven’t posted a picture of Bob in a while. Here he is salivating over a squirrel.
4.
Last week I posted a TEDtalk about American eating habits and how I’m finally convinced that Alan and I eat way too much meat. I’ve been upping our vegetables when I cook and lowering our meat intake. For instance the enchiladas I made, I lowered the beef content and filled it up with more black beans. Meat loving Alan did not notice the difference and it was just as filling! Wednesday’s dinner was a definite score on the less meat and more veggie mission. Broiled shrimp, spinach side salad (not pictured), steamed corn on the cob, and stir fried bok choy with oyster garlic ginger sauce.
The shrimp took less than 15 minutes to make! The recipe was passed on to me by Best Dudie Friend’s friend, Natalie. See next take!
5.
Garlic Shrimp
Ingredients
1 pound of shrimp peeled and uncooked
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon of oregano (dried)
1/4 teaspoon of basil (dried)
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
red pepper flakes to taste
Steps
Combine oil, breadcrumbs, minced garlic, oregano, basil, and garlic powder in ziplock bag.
Add the shrimp in the bag and marinate for at least 10 minutes.
Broil the shrimp for 5 minutes or until they turn pink. No need to turn them!
How easy is that? I’m adding this to rotations and saving it for weeknight meals. Alan loved it.
6.
Last night I went to the launch party of Michael Natkin’s cookbook,Herbivoracious. He hosted a lovely happy hour and gifted us his new cookbook. It’s just in time too for my eat less meat lifestyle change! I cannot wait to dig in and experiment with his recipes.
7.
This week’s moments of bliss: ♥ exciting phone calls about prospective ventures ♥ morning pages ♥ short and sweet compliment from a restaurant in Arkansas ♥ Prosperity Game ♥ random Facebook message from an old friend from another lifetime ♥ banana nutella cupcake date with Anita ♥ dark chocolate ♥ light planning of Suki‘s visit to Texas ♥ reading ♥ croissants ♥ dark chocolate stash in desk drawer at work ♥ everyone counting down to Vegas on Twitter, blogs, and Facebook ♥ Austin food bloggers and their comradery
Question: What was something delicious you’ve eaten this week?
I was clicking around Twitter when I stumbled on a few dozen blog posts from various people about Prosperity Game. They were listing out how they would spend the hypothetical money. In this game you work with visualizing money in your life and spending it thoughtfully. On Day 1, you have $1,000 to spend in a day. You’re not really supposed to save it. On Day 2, you get $2,000; On Day 3, you get $3,000. Every day the amount given increases by $1,000. This is only my 5th day playing and I plan on just playing for three weeks as part of my morning journaling sessions but so far it’s really fun. Here’s how I’ve spent the last 5 days worth of money.
DEPOSIT
WITHDRAWAL
MEMO
$1,000
Day 1 Deposit
$1,000
Student loan principal payment.
Student loan's new balance = $23,700
$2,000
Day 2 Deposit
$1,000
Round trip airfare to Paris in February 2013
$1,000
Student loan principal payment.
Student loan's new balance = $22,700
$3,000
Day 3 Deposit
$462
Seattle lodging in September
$120
Two City Passes in Seattle
$1,000
Birthday gift to my brother
$1,000
Student loan principal payment.
Student loan's new balance = $21,700
$418
Gift to parents
$4,000
Day 4 Deposit
$3,800
Student loan principal payment.
Student loan's new balance = $17,900
$200
Clothing shopping spree for Vegas! (shorts, dresses, flats, purse.)
$5,000
Day 5 Deposit
$1,000
Gift to parents
$4,000
Student loan principal payment.
Student loan's new balance = $13,900
Reasons why I like this game? It’s so fun to play with money that you have to spend. It gave me a bit of a morning pep when I started off my day planning how I would spend money. Also, it called into light that I really would like my education debt paid down but yet I only pay minimum payment each month! My actions aren’t really aligning with my desires. Lastly, 5 days in and I finally got off my lazy butt to look up what airline tickets to Paris in February 2013 cost currently. It’s going to happen!
Save $1,204 in the Gift Fund for my parents.
I finished this today! Here’s the break down:
Date
Amount
From Where
1/4
200
savings
1/19
200
Christmas money
2/2
50
left over after January expenses
2/27
150
half of payout for clinical study
2/29
250
half of tax refund
3/6
75
left over after February expenses
3/15
50
left over after credit card bill
3/27
25
half of credit card rewards
4/1
100
left over after March expenses
4/15
22
left over after credit card bill
4/30
82
left over after April expenses
I now have enough in the account for roughly two international airline tickets. My parents don’t seem to be retiring soon so I’ll resolve to add another 1,000 in 2013.
Contribute $2,000 in a Roth IRA for 2012. No progress.
Make $3,000 outside from full-time job income. $704.89, 23.50% completed.
Leisure
Try 10 more Vietnamese recipes. 2/10. I made tofu egg drop soup and a fish simmered in caramel sauce.
Complete 10 sewing learning projects. 2/10. I repaired two pieces of clothing.
Read one Neil Gaiman book.American Gods was a really fun experience. I’m slowly warming up to fantasy.
Build a fort. Check!
Blog at least three times a week per blog. This is one of those resolutions I make knowing I will definitely fail. I make it because in striving for three a week, I may hit one or two and that’s better than zero.
Finish Sketchbook Project 2012 in time. Finished product here. I just signed up for the same project in 2013. That’ll make it three consecutive years.
Visit two new states. 1/2. Arkansas down! Washington in September!
Go to Marfa, Texas with Kim. We decided on November.
Relationships and Well-Being
Visit my sister in Pennsylvania. My sister was super sweet and paid for my airline ticket. 2 more months!
Volunteer 10 hours outside my commitment to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America. 4/10. Food bank, planting trees at Wildflower Center.
Work out at least once per week. I’ve been averaging 3-4 times a week. I enjoy drawing a smiley face on the calendar for each day I’ve clocked at least 30 minutes of exercise.
Write my morning page at least 120 times this year. 43/120.
I talk about reaching 16 states and how I decided to step it up in 2013 and see 4 new states instead of 2. I also have my eyes set on Paris for Kim’s 30th birthday in 2013. (How am I’m going to finance all of this?) Also, less than three weeks til I see the other ladies in Vegas!
2.
I had Monday off because of the road trip with Treavor. You’d think a four day work week would be easy peasy but I had a very tough week. Probably made worse with hardly any sleep. I’m so glad it’s the weekend and I can use the time to get my bearings.
3.
I watched Mark Bittman’s “Whats Wrong with What We Eat” last week.
One thing that struck me in this talk was how the recommended weekly intake of meat is half a pound. Um, Alan and I can easily put away half a pound a day! Each! Alan is really attached his meat but I’m going to start researching recipes where I can fool us into thinking we’re eating a lot of meat when we’re not. For instance meat sauces with more vegetables and less meat.) Also, I’m going to try to double our vegetables. I usually just have at least one vegetable side but I’m going to attempt to include a side salad on top of that.
4.
I read a lot and I watch a lot of movies. A lot. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with the reading and the watching movies because seriously within 6 months of reading something, I forget a lot of what I’ve read or seen. Sometimes I only remember irrelevant scenes. There’s this movie I cannot remember the name of that I saw as a child. I think Jean-claude Van Damme is in it. The scene takes places in a club and this huge Russian bouncer comes out and summons girls at the night club with his hand and says in his accent, “Bitches, come!” That’s ALL I remember of this movie.
What. The. Hell.
5.
So this happens all the time.
I’ll be simultaneously having a silly conversation offline and a serious conversation online. And then before I know it, I’m typing out “lol” inappropriately because I’m literally laughing out loud.
Does this happen to you?
6.
Coming up with 7 Quick Takes every week is hard.
7.
This week’s moments of bliss: ♥ food trailer date with Brittany ♥ puppy cuddles ♥ emails with the original TAC girls ♥ road trip / crossing off a new state ♥ learning about Bill Clinton at his presidential library ♥ catch up phone calls ♥ checking out a new taco joint aptly dubbed Taco Joint with coworkers ♥ climbed a mountain! ♥ fancy bagel with fancy smear ♥ people watching at a cute coffee shop with Treavor in Arkansas ♥ Nutella ♥ Korean hard candy that taste like Honey Nut Cheerios ♥ salt and pepper squid with Nam
Last weekend, Treavor and I drove to Arkansas where we climbed Mount Pinnacle on Earth Day. I hardly ever challenge myself physically. Even when I work out and clock my thirty minutes on the elliptical, I go at such a leisurely pace that I wonder if I can even call it working out! So when I saw Mount Pinnacle for the first time, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. And when things aren’t easy and you do them anyway, you learn things! Here are 7 Life Lessons Learned While Climbing a Mountain.
Recruit a guide. Treavor was the Beatrice to my Dante. He lead me up and then back down that mountain so gracefully. He would float up about 20 different rocks and then stay perched and wait patiently as I huffed and puffed my way up to him. After I closed the gap, he would float up a couple dozen rocks again. Having him as my guide was a comfort and a motivation; His coaching made reaching the top easier than had I gone to do this on my own.
Take breaks. I’m terribly out of shape so the climb felt torturous. On the way up, I saw pretty rocks that doubled as stone benches and I took a couple of sitting breaks when my body begged for reprieve. The pursuit of big life goals can feel long and exhaustive too. Take breaks when you need them because they rejuvenate you.
Take it one step or one rock at a time. There’s only one way from Point A to Point B. You start moving and then you keep moving!
Scoot on your butt if you have to. On the way down, I kept ungracefully slipping on the rocks. I remembered a kind stranger advising me to not be afraid to use my hands on my way down. I adapted her approach and crab-walked my way down most of that mountain. If the conventional way of doing things isn’t efficient to you because you’re challenged in a way most others are not, find another way of doing it!
Offer and receive encouragement to those climbing the same mountain. There was a sense of community amongst all the climbers that day. People on the way down told the people on the way up that the top was within reach. I really appreciated these words of encouragements from the strangers, so I made sure to pay it forward on my way down. I think the world would be a happier place if we cheered each other on more often!
Reward yourself. There were three rewards to accomplishing this feat. The breathtaking view from the top, the sense of accomplishment, and the Krispy Kreme donuts we crammed into our mouths on our way to the post-climb lunch. Accomplishing goals are inherently rewarding, but there’s also nothing wrong with rewarding yourself. Say with donuts or a nice bubble bath.
It’s never as hard as it looks. Yeah, so this was really hard to me. I took breaks. I sweated. I panted. I wondered if the top even existed or if it was just a never-ending incline. My thighs and butt are still sore! Even with all that, it still looked harder than it actually was. That’s often the case with challenges. They look a lot harder than they actually are.
Tell me about your last big accomplishment and what it taught you.
I started vlogging in August 2010 when I stumbled on Ashley hosting a vlog every day in August project. That’s actually how I met the ladies on this channel and a bunch of other cool people. I’m going on a weekend road trip with Treavor, whom I met through vlogging tomorrow! So the most important thing I have to say about vlogging is that I’m thankful for the people it brought into my life.
2.
It’s road trip weekend! I get to visit my first new state of 2012. Good old, Arkansas! Treavor wants to climb a mountain and since I try to be that supportive friend, I will drag myself up the mountain to keep him company. I hope I don’t die of exhaustion since I can barely handle the 2 flights of stairs I take at work.
3.
Last week I told you I was going to volunteer at the Wildflower Center and plant trees. It went well. In 2 hours, I personally planted 4,000 seeds. 4,000! If you’re in Austin and would like to spend some time and help out a beautiful garden, email me at linda@curious-notions.net. They do it every Saturday morning til late May.
4.
I finally blogged about the amazing bone marrow meal I had a couple of weeks ago. It was such a delight to revisit. One of the many joys of food blogging is reliving great meals.
Ashley tagged me to help distract Nicole this morning. I think I enjoyed the distraction more than Nicole! I basically inundated her with cheesy jokes. Here’s a sample:
Q. What do you call a fish with no eyes?
A. A fsh!
Q. What do you call a fly with no wings?
A. A walk!
Q. What do you call a walk with no legs?
A. A sit!
Yeah. I know. Poor, Nicole.
6.
Once in a while, I get really antsy and energetic all at once. It usually happens because I’m wired on Red Bull or caffeine and I drive myself and those around me nuts. I cannot stop twitching or fixating or talking really fast. Yesterday I was having one of those manic days and it was food centric. I could not stop the constant mind chatter and stalking of food and restaurants and recipes. Anyway, a friend of mine shot a note at me that Swift’s Attic is open and the food is good. Some stalking told me that they had an appetizer that involved salty Pop Rocks!
I impulsively made the reservations for two without even checking to see if anyone could go with me. The lady taking my reservations asked me for my last name first, and I was too lazy to spell it out so I gave Alan’s last name. After the fact, I found that Alan was busy and couldn’t make it so I started cold calling and tweeting for a date. (I’m telling you, I was manic.) It wasn’t a surprise that 7 people rejected me as I was only giving a few hours’ notice. But lucky number 8 was my friend Will!
I forgot I made the reservations under Alan’s name until I had to tell them, “We have reservations for Alan at 7:45.”
Will gave me an unamused look.
All was forgiven after we dined on Pop Rocks, pork belly, and foie gras.
Happy ending!
7.
This week’s moments of bliss: ♥ crossing things off my resolutions list ♥ reading ♥ spontaneously trying out fun restaurants that just opened ♥ edamame with salty Pop Rocks ♥ ladies’ night at the gun range ♥ road trip tomorrow ♥ laughing at jokes ♥ sweet compliment from BDF ♥ catching up with Will ♥ date night ♥ puppy cuddles ♥ fun mail ♥ killing Nicole slowly with jokes (probably brought me more joy than it did her)
Texas native. Living and working in Austin, TX. Twenty something. In hot pursuit of good food, adventure, and laughter. Dreams of owning her own place with a big giant library.
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