I can tell that days are getting longer - I've noticed that it's not *quite* so dark out when I've been getting out of work the past couple of days. Yay!
I've just learned about The Mayfly Project. I think it's a pretty neat idea. At the end of the year, you're supposed to look back and sum up the last year of your life in 24 words. Keeping the number of words small is supposed to help zero in on the things that really mattered.
Here is my 2008 in 24 words:
New job.
Back feeling better.
Dad sick.
Baby chickens!
Progress on house.
Single again.
Got Travelbug from faraway.
Chickens gone.
High hopes for 2009.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Space
I like the area where I live. It's rural enough with farms around and lots of privacy, yet within a twenty-minute drive I can visit any of three malls.
I totally understand that it's harder and harder for farmers to keep farming. It's hard work and I'm sure not very profitable - especially being in New York State. I still find it sad to see more and more farmland being sold off and it's happening with increasing frequency.
A 50+ acre piece of farmland near me just went on the market. I know that it's going to turn into another housing development. More construction traffic will be in my way going to and from work while the buildings go up and then the extra traffic will still be there from the people who move in. The best I can hope for in that situation is that stupid-driver people won't be moving in.
I like the ruralness of my area and I wish it could stay this way forever... well, at least for as long as I'm here :) I like driving roads free of stop lights and stop signs. I like watching the farms along those roads change every season over the years... What are they planting there this year? So *that's* what soy beans look like! The farmers planted their corn already? That's my cue to get mine into the ground. Watching the wheat fields rolling and waving in the wind as I go by is so calming. Seeing the farmer harvest the corn is such a cool thing to see - I count myself lucky when I catch them doing it. The big rolls of hay in the fields are like postcard pictures. Even when the fields are just plowed and still empty, they are nice to drive by - especially when they are full of geese or wild turkey looking for corn that got missed.
If I wanted to live in the middle of housing developments and people with perfect lawns, I would have chosen to live in Amherst or Cheektowaga - not that there is anything wrong with Amherst or Cheektowaga. I grew up in Cheektowaga. But I choose to live away from that. I hate the idea that I don't have the control to keep my area the way I like it. I wish I had the money to buy up all that property to keep it from becoming wall-to-wall housing. Or worse.
As it is, let me have my open spaces.
I totally understand that it's harder and harder for farmers to keep farming. It's hard work and I'm sure not very profitable - especially being in New York State. I still find it sad to see more and more farmland being sold off and it's happening with increasing frequency.
A 50+ acre piece of farmland near me just went on the market. I know that it's going to turn into another housing development. More construction traffic will be in my way going to and from work while the buildings go up and then the extra traffic will still be there from the people who move in. The best I can hope for in that situation is that stupid-driver people won't be moving in.
I like the ruralness of my area and I wish it could stay this way forever... well, at least for as long as I'm here :) I like driving roads free of stop lights and stop signs. I like watching the farms along those roads change every season over the years... What are they planting there this year? So *that's* what soy beans look like! The farmers planted their corn already? That's my cue to get mine into the ground. Watching the wheat fields rolling and waving in the wind as I go by is so calming. Seeing the farmer harvest the corn is such a cool thing to see - I count myself lucky when I catch them doing it. The big rolls of hay in the fields are like postcard pictures. Even when the fields are just plowed and still empty, they are nice to drive by - especially when they are full of geese or wild turkey looking for corn that got missed.
If I wanted to live in the middle of housing developments and people with perfect lawns, I would have chosen to live in Amherst or Cheektowaga - not that there is anything wrong with Amherst or Cheektowaga. I grew up in Cheektowaga. But I choose to live away from that. I hate the idea that I don't have the control to keep my area the way I like it. I wish I had the money to buy up all that property to keep it from becoming wall-to-wall housing. Or worse.
As it is, let me have my open spaces.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Review
This was sent to me by my friend Ginger - I thought it was brilliant!
Uncle Jay Explains: Year End!
Uncle Jay Explains: Year End!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Count
Wow - what a difference a job makes when it comes to finding change. Last year I did an experiment by saving all the pennies and other change I found and tallying them all up at the end of the year. I did the same thing this year. Most of 2007, my job entailed a lot of travel between a lot of retail locations. All of 2008, I worked in one building every day.
2008 total: $1.86
The breakdown:
.25 - 2
.10 - 9
.05 - 1
.01 - 41
I found a penny yesterday at Tops, so I'm going to save any found change again this year :)
I'm sure that my total would have been higher if I liked shopping and visited retail locations more often. As it is, I hate shopping and I avoid malls and the like as much as possible.
That being said, I had a very successful shopping trip today. I needed to pick up a birthday gift, and I needed a couple of turtlenecks and I had $50 gift card for JCPenney so I thought I would combine the trip to the mall. It turned out the JCPenney was having a fantastic sale. Thanks to the gift card and a $10 off coupon, I got for myself $182.27 worth of new clothes for only $1.04 out my pocket - how cool is that???? Maybe if all shopping was like that, I wouldn't hate it so much.
2008 total: $1.86
The breakdown:
.25 - 2
.10 - 9
.05 - 1
.01 - 41
I found a penny yesterday at Tops, so I'm going to save any found change again this year :)
I'm sure that my total would have been higher if I liked shopping and visited retail locations more often. As it is, I hate shopping and I avoid malls and the like as much as possible.
That being said, I had a very successful shopping trip today. I needed to pick up a birthday gift, and I needed a couple of turtlenecks and I had $50 gift card for JCPenney so I thought I would combine the trip to the mall. It turned out the JCPenney was having a fantastic sale. Thanks to the gift card and a $10 off coupon, I got for myself $182.27 worth of new clothes for only $1.04 out my pocket - how cool is that???? Maybe if all shopping was like that, I wouldn't hate it so much.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
New Year
2009 is here.
I think it's interesting and funny that they had to add an extra second to the end of 2008 to keep the time right.
I don't know what to think about the new year. I'm optimistic in that I have a lot of plans and ideas that I can't wait to do/implement. On the other hand, my Dad isn't doing good. I am really worried about him. I don't want 2009 to be the year I lose him. I'll be doing a lot of praying this year, I think.
Changing the subject to TV, one show I really enjoy is Project Runway. I loved season 4 where Christian Siriano won. I just came across this SNL sketch of the show - I thought it washysterical fierce :)
And going in another completely different direction: I don't want to live where these things do. The little ones creep me out - I can't imagine finding one like this!
Happy New Year to everyone :)
I think it's interesting and funny that they had to add an extra second to the end of 2008 to keep the time right.
I don't know what to think about the new year. I'm optimistic in that I have a lot of plans and ideas that I can't wait to do/implement. On the other hand, my Dad isn't doing good. I am really worried about him. I don't want 2009 to be the year I lose him. I'll be doing a lot of praying this year, I think.
Changing the subject to TV, one show I really enjoy is Project Runway. I loved season 4 where Christian Siriano won. I just came across this SNL sketch of the show - I thought it was
And going in another completely different direction: I don't want to live where these things do. The little ones creep me out - I can't imagine finding one like this!
Happy New Year to everyone :)
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