Summer Passing By

I'm still surprised that it's already August...somehow this summer has passed very quickly.  On that note, I wanted to share some of the things on my to-do-before-the-end-of-summer list.  That could mean early September, could be later in that month, depends on when the weather changes.  My schedule probably won't have any major differences, as I'm not currently planning on taking any courses this semester (just research and thesis prep work, as is the case this summer as well). I would love to...

Image via mattstafford on Flickr - Crane Beach, where I've been going this summer.  

-- Go to the beach several more times.  I can't believe I hadn't made it out to the beaches around MA until this summer...it's a really great, relaxing way to spend a weekend day. 

-- Make sure to wear as many of my summer dresses and sandals as I can... get a sense of what I'll actually wear, and what should be donated at the end of the summer because it's not comfortable or just not working well for me.

Image via calliope on Flickr.

-- Eat more summer fruit.  Berries and peaches and melon especially.  Though we did get some peaches in the farm share last week that were so sweet and juicy I'm now completely spoiled for supermarket peaches...I may have to find some farmer's market peaches.

Image via Kitchen Parade

-- Ditto summer vegetables.  Lots of corn and tomatoes, please.  Even zucchini...I have a list of recipes, and we've really only gotten zucchini in the farm share a couple of times this year so far. 

What's on your list for things to do while it's still summer?

Closet Cleanout

So you know how I mentioned yesterday that I was needing a push to get into the next stage of decluttering?  Well, perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned that out loud...that's what causes the world to decide how to push you.  So late last night, my main closet shelf/hanging rod completely broke and collapsed from the weight of everything hanging from it (my shirts and blazers and sweaters, along with all of K's shirts and pants...my dresses and skirts are in a different closet) and everything piled on top of it (suitcases and a few handbags and a plastic bin full of hangers and a few other odds and ends).  Hopefully the apartment maintenance folks will get that fixed within the next few days, but meanwhile I took that as a sign that I really needed to trim down how much I had in that closet!  (And not just blame how heavy K's pants are...)

Piles of clothing removed from the closet

After my decluttering roundup...still a lot! And that's just my tops/sweaters!

So I sorted through everything out of the closet and took a few bags of stuff to the Goodwill this afternoon.  Hopefully the remainder will have a nicer time fitting in the closet when it gets repaired.  And yet, it was really challenging for me to figure out what I wanted to donate on this pass through my stuffed closet.  I think I must be in some strange transitional style period, where I'm not entirely sure what sort of look I want to have now, so I want to hold on to everything...while simultaneously having a significant focus on decluttering and getting rid of unnecessary things in my space.  It's strange to be hovering back and forth between "I still have way too much stuff!" and "I just gave up so much stuff!"  Eesh.  Hopefully the decluttering can progress on a slightly slower pace for the next while, and I can figure out what kind of style I'm headed toward.

Strapless Saturday

This outfit is the result of my trying to take advantage of a hot weekend day to wear something I normally don't get much use out of.  I've had the dress since last fall when I got it at the Goodwill, but hadn't worn it out yet...I'm not sure how comfortable I am in strapless dresses, though that's partly because I've never found a really great, easy-to-wear-all-day strapless bra. 

Today was mostly filled with errands and such.  Laundry day, grocery shopping, going over to my mother's to help her with a few chores (mostly involving the computer).  Trying to do some more cleaning and a bit more decluttering.  It feels like I'm at an interesting point in my decluttering work where I've already gotten through a lot of the low-hanging fruit...I've done a pass through my closet, a lot of the drawers, my filing cabinet, the stuff on top of various tables and desks, even my craft cabinet.  In order to start getting to the next stage of decluttering, I think I'm going to have to start making some harder decisions.  I'm continuing on with getting rid of at least one thing every day, but over the last week or so it's gotten harder to figure out something to put in the donation pile.  I know I still have a tremendous amount of things, so mostly this means I need to start making some harder choices about what I'm really going to use and wear and make, about what actually deserves a spot in my life and my apartment.  This is especially hard for me with books and craft supplies...books because I almost NEVER get rid of books (and I have a lot of older books my grandfather gave me while he was decluttering, which I'm definitely going to keep), and craft supplies because they represent huge potential (both in terms of what they could become and in terms of the joy I could have working with them).  But there are also some crafts that I've just gotten less interested in, and I perhaps should recognize that and whittle down my stash slowly to reflect that...

Black and Gold

This was yesterday's attempt to dress for the heat wave that's coming back into Boston.  I've been wearing long sleeveless dresses (not entirely sure if this counts as a maxi dress?) much more frequently this summer, partially because they help in the summer-heat-to-frigid-air-conditioning transition that I have to do every day.  They're generally light enough that I can make it to work (which involves some walking and public transportation), and then long enough to keep my legs covered and attempt to hold in some heat. 

Other techniques or combinations of garments I've been using to try to deal with the transitional temperatures include:
- Sweaters and blazers to layer on when I get to work
- Tights and leggings, not to be worn until I cool down at the Lab and taken off for the trip home
- Close-toed shoes...I feel that sometimes my feet lose the most heat!

Things I should also experiment with:
- Light summer scarves and wraps
- The turtleneck sweater poncho thing that I currently have in my office for desperate scenarios

What else would you all recommend for dealing with outdoor temperatures that can be 20-30 degrees warmer than indoor temperatures?

Back on the NaBloPoMo Bandwagon

Hope the summer has been treating everyone well!   I know I've been off enjoying summer (though that makes it sound like I haven't been on the internet; I've been on the internet plenty), and thought that doing another NaBloPoMo month of blogging would be a good kickstart to get me back on the blogging wagon.  So what have I been up to while not spending much time round these parts?

• I took and passed all my Ph.D. General Exams (written and oral exams in three different fields...glad to be done with that!)  Basically, the general exams involved picking three areas of study, getting a committee of people who knew those areas, designing lengthy reading lists spanning those areas, and then several months later being tested in an oral exam, two written exams, and a journal-level paper about anything in those fields.   

• I spent a vacation with the boyfriend and his family by a lake in Northern Wisconsin.  Lots of water-skiing and other water sports ensued.  I appear to have gotten better than I was last year.

• I've been doing a fair amount of cooking to handle the various farm share vegetables (as we have a CSA again this year).  Fortunately, I've also found that I do enjoy roasted beets, especially with goat cheese, so I have something to do with the weekly influx of beets...

• I weathered several heatwaves through Boston.  Normally we get a few sporadic days in the high 90's, one or two days that will hit 100, but this year has had weeks when it didn't get any cooler than that.  Very hard to deal with, especially since the air conditioning in my lab would then be 30+ degrees colder than it was outside.  

• I've done a lot of housecleaning, decluttering, and reading back archives of the UFYH blog.  I think I'm slowly moving toward a cleaner and more organized apartment!  One of the things that has been helping a lot is the idea of getting rid of at least one thing every day...moving something to the Goodwill box, generally.  It shifts the focus from "should I get rid of this specific thing?" to "what do I own that I least want to keep owning?"

• I read a number of books, including random fiction books, which is really exciting.  It's been a long time since I was regularly reading things that had nothing to do with work (perhaps because my general exams required me to read a ton of things for work, so that took up the majority of my reading time).

Hope everyone has been enjoying the summer so far!  I can't believe it's August already...this month is going to go very, very fast, I suspect.

Edit: clearly, it's now August 2.  Wrote the post yesterday, waited to add the waterskiing picture later, and ended up helping a friend move and completely forgetting that this still wasn't up!

Summer Days

This outfit is back from a couple of weeks ago...it now seems unimaginable that we'd been having weather down in the 60's, given last week's Northeast heat wave.  Makes me warm just looking at this outfit.  Jeans and a blazer?  Granted, this would still be absolutely appropriately-warm clothing for inside my lab.  That's the challenge I have every summer...how to make it out of the house to the T to the Lab without overheating while still being able to be warm all day at the Lab.  Sweaters help some, but what do I do with my legs?  Bare legs and sandals are necessary during a week like last week, but not comfortable for long stretches of time in frigid air conditioning.  Maybe I need to bring a pair of leggings to put on once I get in.  Anybody have tips on how to handle major differences between outdoor heat and indoor cold?

So I've been fairly busy, mostly with my General Exams for my Ph.D. program...a combination of a 3-hour oral exam on my planned dissertation area and three fields relevant to it that I'd chosen and studied (which I took and passed two weeks ago), two 24-hour written exam papers (which I took last week), and one journal-level article (have most of a draft done, planning to finish over the next week).  Other than that, I've been trying to spend more time cleaning the apartment, definitely inspired by reading old entries in UFYH -- take a look, if you like being pushed to clean things and don't mind some bad language and sparkly GIFs.

I've also been crossing some things off the 101 in 1001 list, including a trip to a Cirque du Soleil show yesterday (amazing!) and trying a bunch of different variations on green smoothies (now that my community farm share has started for the summer).  Banana and apple and romaine lettuce is actually pretty good:

Not so good?  The one I tried with grapefruit, lime, kale, and cilantro.  I'll take my smoothies with less bitterness and my cilantro at times other than breakfast...

101 in 1001

Source: Uploaded by user via Karen on Pinterest

I've been seeing a lot of bloggers creating lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days, and finally started a list for myself after reading Katy's list. The original challenge was inspired by the Day Zero website.

One thing I hadn't anticipated was that the list was really hard for me to make! It's been sitting in a Google Doc for the last two months, gradually getting added to. I chose to have my start date as 4/05/2012, which takes me to an end date of 1/01/2015. I'm very excited about the idea of a list at this timescale. I'd made a 26 Before 26 list last year, but found the six-ish months I gave myself not really long enough for accomplishing a bunch of interesting things. On the other hand, it's thrilling to pick a few of my life-list goals (like visiting the Edinburgh theater festival) and saying, "Fine! I'll find a way to do that in the next two and a half years!"

Something else I really enjoyed about making this list was searching through other bloggers' lists for ideas (both on Day Zero and through Google)! It's always fun to see what sorts of things people are imagining to do and making a priority in their lives, especially people at various different stages in their lives...lots of amazing goals that people are setting!

Without further ado, my 101 in 1001. I'll try to blog about some of these things and keep the list somewhat up to date...maybe I'll make a static page on my blog with this.  Italics indicate completed items.

Work/Studies

1. Complete my General Exams
2. Write my dissertation proposal and pass my defense
3. Write my Ph.D. dissertation and pass my dissertation defense
4. Graduate with my Ph.D.!
5. Get my post-grad-school work started
6. Publish at least three conference or journal papers
7. Have a project featured on the MAKE blog
8. Redesign my professional website
9. Direct another show
10. Costume design another show
11. Work through The Artist’s Way
12. Spend a month choreographing something every day

Travel

13. Visit at least 4 countries
14. Attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
15. Visit Washington DC
16. Spend a day in Providence
17. Go to Cape Cod
18. Spend a day at the beach near Boston (Crane Beach, 5/26/12)
19. Go to my college reunion in 2013
20. Visit the Boston Harbor Islands
21. See the Northern Lights
22. Go on a road trip with K.

Experiences/Education

23. See the glass flowers exhibit at the Harvard Natural History Museum
24. Attend at least 75 theater/dance/music performances, which seems like a lot, but averages to only 2 or 3 per month...So far:Yesterday Happened, Sleep No More
25. See 5 movies in theaters
26. Finish watching all the episodes of Star Trek Voyager
27. Watch a Woody Allen movie
28. Eat at 20 new-to-me restaurants in Boston/Cambridge
29. Read at least 10 fiction books (So far: The Help, Call of the Go-Away Bird, Catching Fire, Mockingjay)
30. Read at least 10 non-fiction books (not for work...)
31. Read a book a week for a year (can be fiction, non-fiction, work-related, plays, random...)
32. Go to 5 different museums (So far: Harvard Natural History Museum)
33. Learn to ski again
34. Learn at least one new programming language
35. Take a class in something I’ve never done
36. Go to a contact improv jam
37. Learn a new song on the piano
38. Go whale watching again
39. Send a postcard to PostSecret
40. See a show on Broadway again
41. Go ice skating again
42. Go fruit picking again
43. Go to the ballet in Boston
44. See a Cirque du Soleil show
45. Do something big spontaneously
46. Go to a festival of some kind
47. Watch two TED talks every month
48. See another meteor shower

Creativity

49. Write pages at 750 Words everyday for a month
50. Do a NaBloPoMo again
51. Participate in the 48 Hour Film Festival again
52. Create something every day for a month
53. Sew a dress from a 1950’s pattern
54. Make at least 10 garments from scratch
55. Cut my refashioning pile down by at least half
56. Actually put some things in my Etsy shop
57. Sell my jewelry/sewing work at a craft fair
58. Redesign my blog

Fashion/Style

59. Complete at least one me-made challenge (So Zo blog) (May 2012)
60. Wear every item in my closet/drawers (or donate those that just won’t get worn).  Possible exception: formal dresses.  
61. Learn how to wear bright lipstick, and then do so at least once in public
62. Get a noticeable haircut (5/28/2012)
63. Cut down to <50 pairs of shoes (this number still seems quite high...)
64. Get and wear a nice bikini
65. Use up or get rid of all scented body lotions
66. Wear makeup every day for a week

Others

67. Have a weekly “date” with K. for a year
68. Donate at least 1001 items to charity (current total: 27, 79, 117)
69. Complement 10 strangers
70. Buy at least 5 things from Etsy vendors
71. Send letters/emails to 5 people I’ve fallen out of touch with
72. Donate to 3 Kickstarter campaigns
73. Buy something from kids selling things at a stand
74. Donate to my alma mater each year
75. Send birthday cards to 10 friends
76. Send 10 cards to people just for fun/thinking of them
77. Comment on blogs every day for a month

Life/Health

78. Get a car
79. Head towards a more minimal lifestyle- get rid of more things I don’t need!
80. Get rid of A Thing A Day for a month
81. Spend a full day without using the internet
82. Make the bed every day for a month
83. Have a clean kitchen sink at the end of every day for a month
84. Start taking vitamins again - at least one month taking vitamins every day
85. Go to at least 10 exercise classes (any type) (0/10)
86. Get back to regular workout schedule of at least 3 times/week.  Maintain for a year (0/52)
87. Return to (and maintain) my comfortable weight range
88. Go 10 days without spending any money
89. Research and start a retirement account

Food

90. Try green smoothies
91. Spend at least one week without eating sugar
92. Try 50 new recipes (So far: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/ 5/27/12, http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-thai-chicken-thighs-106499 5/27/12, http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tex-mex-burger-with-cajun-mayo/detail.aspx 6/01/12)
93. Make the Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls (5/27/12)
94. Learn to make cheesecake
95. Try Ethiopian food
96. Try Afghan food
97. Get bagels in Brookline
98. Take lunch into work for a month
99. Try 3 new fruits or vegetables
100. Learn to make gnocchi

Finally...

101. Finish another 101 in 1001 list

Things I'm aware I didn't focus on as much here as I'd like to, probably partly because I'm making this public - improving my relationships with family and K., and getting specific on more future-work-related goals. I also have attempted to avoid the feeling of a "stuff that has to be done" list in favor of "awesome/self-improving stuff I'd really like to do." Have you ever made a list like this? Would you? And what do you think about these sorts of timed goal lists? Motivating, or just a fad? I think I'm pretty pleased with the list, and looking forward to diving into more of these experiences! Will keep you all posted...