Category: To Occupy my Time

Resolution 2008 Update. Letters written March 21-31.

I finished another group of LEX letters. I like to send them off in batches of five. Sara also did a good job of keeping my mailbox from being empty, sending me letters and postcards.

(I’m having trouble with formatting, so sorry I can’t do the bullet points this time.)

March 21. None. Exhausting last day of work before Spring Break. Ironically the most exhausting thing was dealing with the Postal Service, who had me on hold for an hour and made me call back two times to get the information I needed.
2 Letters back! Both from Sara.
March 22. LEX Letter. What’s your favorite food to fix for yourself when you’re home alone?
March 23. LEX Letter. Tired of kids and grandkids? Ready to discuss serious subjects? Paint drying. Grass growing.
March 24. LEX Letter. Prefer movies on the big screen? Enjoy the previews as much as the movie? What makes a good movie good?
Letter back! Sara.
March 25. LEX Letter. Favorite cities, travels, rivers, campgrounds?
March 26. No one.
March 27. Sara.
March 28. People who own my favorite undeveloped property in my neighborhood.
March 29. None. Dealing with end of spring break and the fiasco.
Postcard back! Sara.
March 30. Sara
March 31. Art & Sole. Business letter.

Do you want to respond to one of the LEX listings? You can, without becoming a member. Write a comment and I’ll tell you how. If you like to write, you should become a member, it’s easy and not expensive and fun.

A carrot.

I know you are out there reading, some of you. I know that some of you read regularly. I know that not all of you are Sara and my mother. But you never comment. You may not have a blog, so you might not know that comments are kind of like crack. Once you get one, you want so many more. So don’t be shy. Comment away.

Maybe you don’t have anything to say, and that’s totally fine. But I’m guessing when you read a post, you think to yourself, “Interesting,” or “I never knew that.” or “What?” or “She spelled “reclaimed” wrong and wrote “of” when she meant “all” and she incorrectly uses quotes within quotes.” Just take a second and throw that thought into the comment page.

Before I had a blog, I never commented. I was a bit shy and it felt weird putting my thought up there. I was worried I wouldn’t spell something right or didn’t have anything profound to say. Now I just comment as a matter of course, on almost every single post I read, especially if I am personally acquainted with the person who is blogging. You may not want to comment on every post, but once in awhile would be nice. I would love it so much.

I would love it so much that I’m starting an incentive program. The first five people who comment on this post and say something–anything–about any of the previous posts on this blog will get a little something homemade by me in their mailbox. If this is successful in the future I will embed prizes in blog posts. Or, random posts with more than just a Sara comment will get prizes. Don’t be shy. Comment today.

p.s. Matt Johnston is exempt from this program. I know he doesn’t read this blog (which I find a small failing in the boyfriend department) but I have a feeling if I tell him I am doing this he will wander over and comment. Nice try, Matt. You might want to read regularly.

Good advice.

Charles Veley is some rich dot-com guy that travels all the time. He is featured on www.mosttraveledpeople.com. I read an interview with him in the Oregonian and was struck by the genus of the answer to this question.

Q: Do you plan ahead or wing it?

A: Plan as if you need to schedule every waking minute, and then, once you get there, set aside the plan. By doing all the planning as if you had control over all aspects of your trip (which you do not) you’ll have enough knowledge to make good decisions when things start going haywire (which they will.)

I’ve never minutely planned everything, or even very much, for a trip because I didn’t want to turn into the anal, planned-every-minute girl. But because I don’t plan every minute, I often have no idea of what I could be doing while on the trip. This seems a great combination. Go Charles Veley. I guess dot-com millionaires are good for something after all.

Lint Wrap Up.

Well, the season of Lent is over and I think it is time to call and end to my season of Lint. I was going to extend the Lint project through orthodox lent, but I’ve decided not to as I am busy with the garden and other projects and a soon-to-start class.

I went great guns at the beginning, but the last few weeks tapered off into nothing. I started Parkour classes and those take up five hours of my Saturday with which I would otherwise have been doing Lint things. I accomplished some good things in that time:

  • Divided my closet into summer and winter wardrobes.
  • Donated all clothing that I didn’t like
  • Realized how few clothing items I love
  • Explored some new consignment stores and reacquainted myself with some old favorites.
  • Bought eight items of clothing and accessories.
  • Tried on 30 pairs of pants. Found one that fit.
  • Read a lot about style and wardrobe assembly
  • Learned a handy trick for checking pants to try on.
  • Realized I need to shop constantly, not just twice a year.

And so, with that last realization, the lint project lives on. I’m going to try to go shopping at least every other week until I get to a point in my wardrobe that I feel like I have enough. I’ll most likely go to the Goodwill store on the way home from church, but I could also regularly visit two clothing resale places that are near my job. I’m still on the lookout for pants that fit and still really need new tops. When I find new items I’ll post them here.

Resolution 2008 Update. Letters written March 11-20.

Mid-month saw the arrival of my Letter Exchange magazine and provided relief from poor Sara who would probably get a letter every other day if I hadn’t found discovered this great source. She would like the letter getting, but then feel guilty when she didn’t respond promptly, which I’ve told her isn’t a huge deal as she certainly hasn’t resolved to write a letter a day, but you know how she is. When I wrote a letter to a LEX member, I’ve included what they wrote in their listing.

  • March 11. Sara. Letter.
  • March 12. Sara. Letter.
  • Letter back! Nestor Ramos.
  • March 13. LEX Letter. Do you blog? Where? What about?
  • March 14. LEX Letter. Charm bracelets. Tell me the story behind your favorite charm. If you don’t have one pretend you do and tell me the fictional version of your favorite charm.
  • March 15. LEX Letter. 1.5 miles from an empty mailbox.
  • March 16. Jenna. Letter.
  • March 17. LEX Letter. Let’s write topic letters. Simple start: five favorite T.V. shoes and why. Initially, no politics or religion. Your topic next.
  • March 18. LEX Letter. College student living in Savannah, Ga. Send me your tips on surviving college life.
  • March 19. None. Bad mood.
  • March 20. LEX Letter. Thirtysomething writer looking for a penpal who can be supportive like the perfect bra in a world where gravity wins.

Nestor Ramos is my movie review boyfriend, as I think I’ve mentioned before. I enjoy him because he is very funny, as his letter back proved. An excerpt:

Thanks for writing! Always nice to hear from someone who enjoys my work. Actually, you’re the first. But I imagine the second will be pretty nice too. Mostly I just get mail from people who are upset because I’ve mocked some movie in which they were an extra. The time I said Cher was built from wax and car parts, some lady offered to spit on my grave.

I sent off a big packet of five letters to the letter exchange on March 19. It will be interesting to see if I get any letters back. It’s a little weird writing letters to people you don’t know. But I excel at blathering on both on and off topic, so it isn’t too bad. I really need to work on my handwriting. I hope people can read my blathering. Perhaps I should have had a year of resolving to write neatly before my year of letter writing.

Do you want to write to any of the LEX Letter people? Tell me by posting a comment and I’ll tell you how you can, even without being a member of LEX. Though you should be a member of LEX. It’s very fun.

Recycled Fashion.

Today was a teacher planning day so there was no school. On these days, Art4Life, the before and after school care program at our school has “all days.” They usually do something fun, like today when they made clothing out of recycled materials:

B’s stunning hat:
I’s sassy shirt:
M’s spotted skirt and hat ensemble.
B’s fabulous purse. That would be a four-square ball she has repurposed.
P’s lovely headband/hat.
M had a fabulous dress made for her. The front:
The excellent sleeves in the back.

The Letter Exchange Arrived Today!

I’m so excited! It’s a little magazine, with articles about writing and letters but I’m most excited about the listings. I won’t run out of correspondents for many weeks, and maybe even some will write me back. I wrote my first letter tonight to someone who wrote:

Do you blog? Where? What about?

Others that sound interesting to me:

  • Charm bracelets. Tell me the story behind your favorite charm. If you don’t have one pretend you do and tell me the fictional version of your favorite charm.
  • Define the good life.
  • How does understanding your family history contribute to your sense of self?

I can’t wait for the summer issue to come out to see if anyone writes to my listings.