Summer

Whoops. I haven't posted in almost two months. I keep Tweeting and Facebooking everything I would normally blog.

The summer is flying by. Steph and I are taking a knitting class, which has been lots of fun. I've always wanted to learn to knit, and it's as much fun as I expected. In class, we're making sweaters, and outside of class, I'm trying to finish a bloblike thing that I've decided is a blanket for Spike. I'm hoping that he will like it despite its odd appearance. After that, I want to try my first sock, and I have a pattern for a kitchen rug that looks easy and interesting.

In other news, we got a scooter yesterday. It's a Buddy 125 and it's made by Genuine Scooter Company. It should get 90-100 miles per gallon, which I'm excited about. Steph and I both got motorcycle permits, and we'll take a safety course and get our licenses within a year. I'm currently afraid of turning corners on the scooter, but I'm reasonably good at traveling in a straight line so far. We also got high-quality retro-looking helmets. (I want my head to remain in one piece.)

Our garden has begun to produce vegetables. We've had several radishes, some small carrots, a few cucumbers, and some zucchini, including one that is larger than the dog. (The dog weighs more, but the zucchini is longer.) I blanched and froze some zucchini, and I'm going to make zucchini bread this afternoon. Really. I am.

New Year's resolutions

It's the last day of 2006 -- time to post my New Year's resolutions.

1. Floss every night. I used to be really good at this one, but I started forgetting sometime this summer, and I need to get back to it.

2. Go out for lunch at work only once per week, cumulative (not counting weekends or when I'm on vacation). I've made this resolution since 2005, and I've varied in my success. In 2005, I ended up two ahead, but in 2006 I was 16 behind, so I have 14 weeks to make up. Guess I better get started on that ham and bean soup.

3. Be on time to work. Despite six months of my best efforts to leave earlier, I keep leaving the house at the time I used to need to leave when I lived on the east side. Old habits die hard.

4. Land my flip again. I've landed it twice from a standstill, both in 2005, and I want to transform that into a real flip jump. Unfortunately, it seems like most of my jumps arrive during times of great personal hardship. I'd like this one to come more easily.

5. Save money. We have a long list of things we want to do to the house and items we would like to purchase. I'd like to save more money toward those things. The next few items include a chest freezer, a new computer for Steph, and getting Phoebe's check engine light (yes, it's back on again) checked out.

6. Try more new recipes. I bought a new cookbook yesterday called A Slob in the Kitchen, which has some interesting easy recipes. My adventures in cooking have mostly turned out well, and I'm interested in exploring several other cookbooks we have. I've started dating recipes when I try them, too.

7. Less trans fat! I've been trying to cut down on my trans fat consumption recently. Guess I'll be getting my fries from Chick-Fil-A or Wendy's when the craving hits. I admit that the Shedd's Spread Country Crock limited-edition cinnamon spread that I love so much has half a gram per serving, but I should be allowed one indulgence, right? Besides, I don't use much of it.

8. Use up at least three of my perfumes. I have a lot of perfume, and as much as I've tried, I'm not a one-scent kind of girl, although Flower Moon could almost make me into one. I'm running out of space on top of my dresser for perfumes, and about three-quarters of the ones I have are scents I like but don't feel the need to purchase again when I run out.

9. The Compact. The Compact is a movement in which people don't buy new stuff. They do, however, buy used stuff. Exemptions are made for such things as food and health and safety items. We're going to try it and see how it goes. New stuff resold on eBay seems to count as used, too.