Oh The Places I've Been

Ugh, it's the 8th of December and this will be my first post of the month. Things have been very busy the last couple of weeks even in the online realm. Besides having to respond to a flurry of blog posts by Mindy and Christy, I have also been busy making trades for my Fafarazzi team on the way to a victory and an all-time Mindy Does Minneapolis league record 85 points.

Back in the real world it's been one thing after another. A case study on Wednesday and a final exam next week, a full plate at work, a doctor's appointment, planning another trip home for Christmas, yadda, yadda. Mostly I've been working on projects, though. My first project is doing my holiday shopping. Not to boast but I am a very good gift giver, especially for Christmas and birthdays. Hmm, maybe I'll have to create a post about gift giving. Fortunately for my friends I'm usually single during the holiday season so they tend to reap the benefits of my largess. This year I started pretty early so I've got a lot done so far, but I am have not had much luck with my parents or grandad. And no Mindy I am not going to tell you what I got you and Otis so you two will just have to wait. Jeez. Oh before I forget Letterbox has their holiday collection out so you should go their and check it out.

The rest of my time has been spent on home improvements, mostly painting. The living room is done, and I'll be very glad when I finish with my bathroom this weekend. I abandoned the Audubon Russet since I thought it was too dark, and instead am going with a color called Indian Tile (Dutch Boy). One piece of advice if you get one of those plastic quart jugs from Menard's - do not take the "shaken not stirred" approach. The paint will probably not mix well, and you will find some red streaks near the bottom of the jug, which is not a good thing unless you are going for a "swirl" look. I also got a world map mounted and laminated, and once I decide whether to put it in my living room or bedroom I am going back to get it framed. The plan is to get some map pins and mark the places I've been. If anyone wants to go to Thailand or the Mirador Basin let me know. I also found a nice shadow box for some art I got a long time ago in Australia. So as you can see, I've been VERY busy. Definately not slacking off.

ALSO: My doctor wants me to start drinking red wine. If anyone has any good ones let me know. The only red wine I've ever really liked is called Menage à Trois (which is a problem unto itself) by Folie a Deux which is a blend of three wines - Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Surdyks.com has a "customers have also enjoyed" list so maybe I should check that out.

P.S.: The Bachelor: Rome finished a couple weeks ago, and Jen "won." You didn't miss anything. I was thinking of starting some posts on The Real World: Denver but after watching a half episode I decided it was too painful (plus it's on class night).