Baby, it's cold outside...

..Well, I guess it could be worse in the temperature department... or at least, it certainly has been at times over the past month. I'm more of a wimp each year it seems. But thankfully, I have someone else to prod me into enjoying the Maine outdoors this winter...

 so graceful ;)

 way off shore.. Dave's first time on a (frozen) lake!

I love...

...you!

We spent about 20 minutes out there sliding around and seeing who could throw rocks the farthest. The ice was about 5 inches thick or so.. and today I saw about 10 people down the lake a ways out ice fishing. Dave and I were heading into town to find some thrift store ice skates- mission accomplished, by the way. $7-a-pair. You do understand that this is going to be at LEAST moderately disastrous, don't you? I can't remember the last time I donned a pair of ice skates. We used to live near a pond and even though I would play on the ice all throughout the winter in those days, I more often than not preferred to stumble my way around in boots during our hockey games. But! If nothing else, these skates will provide another means for winter exercise. I see a family of 3 or 4 skating past the house every day, close in to shore, almost like they're doing laps around the lake (doubtful).
I was also hunting around the thrift stores we visited for an old or vintage-looking, unique wooden frame. I want to do something like this:

.. and I didn't find exactly what i was looking for. It's worth the wait to find the right one. I'll be making mine primarily for earrings, but I was also considering making a jewelry holder out of three smaller frames put together in a triangle-ish fashion (so that looking down on the contraption, the three frames would make a triangle). One side for earrings, one for rings, one for bracelets/necklaces. Maybe attach it to a lazy susan sort of rig. We'll see what I'm able to find going forward.

Tonight we had sloppy joes bundled in crescent roll dough (two tubes of the dough left over from Christmas... and it's the buttery kind, so I cant make any sort of pastry out of it; figured it would be worth a try in this capacity).

(pre-baking stage)

Pretty good. The sloppy joe mixture actually "melted" the dough as you may be able to see in the bottom righthand bundle (for instance). It held together through baking but was thin. And what would sloppy joes be like without...

..homemade sangria? :)

Actually, I think it would be delicious to lay out sangria-soaked orange slices at a party. That has been my favorite part of this current batch. Anyhow, we're having some fun in the kitchen these days.

One more thing for today, and then I'm heading to do my devotional for the day. Check this out:

I might just be in the dark here, but until very recently I was unaware that you can grow your own green onions "just like that"! Just over 24 hours ago, I chopped off the ends of a bundle of green onions and set it in a tall shot glass with a bit of water in it. The growth between then and now is already noticeable- you can see the shoots continuing to grow past where I made the chop (where the outside layer of the onion is at- everything inside/above those lines is new!!)... this is amazing and fascinating to me. So quick! I've since added a line in dry erase marker to show where they were at as of 24 hours after the initial cut. I'm very excited to watch these babies develop.

Goodnight friends!

Interviews and crafty crafting

Today was pretty low-key. Three people- a father, a young girl and a young boy- skated by on the lake this afternoon. It was the first that I'd seen of ice trekkers this year, so I suppose it's safe to go out there now. If only the temperature didn't bring out the coward in me.. this year I simply have no patience for anything that could be considered below "brisk" status.

I had an interview with Verizon Wireless for a customer rep job after lunch. It was a phone interview and it went very well- they make me so nervous, any sort of interview, but in the end I general come out unscathed and feeling (actually) confident about my ability to handle those QUESTIONS they always ask. I had a very negative-centric interview with the Atlanta Braves once (a lot of "tell me about your weaknesses/a time when you were in trouble/what you didnt like about your last boss/tell me about a major conflict that you had with a coworker" etc) and so, like an abused job seeker, I am forever waiting for a similar "barrage of  bad" to start streaming from the interviewer's mouth.
But again, this one went well. I am going in for a computer assessment on Tuesday. It's not smart to type about things having to do with employers (potential or otherwise) so I'll end it there. But no matter where I end up, I'm just about ready to get to work. It's not so much that I want to work- though I do enjoy working in a healthy and productive environment at challenging/stimulating tasks- but that I feel this weight starting to bear down on my shoulders, this implied responsibility to be productive and make money and find a "good job". It's tough up here, folks. The job market is much slower, and while there are jobs, the variety is a little less colorful than ... well, probably anywhere else. Someone with my experience and position in life will likely have to work for longer than a month to find a job in their specific field that pays as much or more as other jobs I have held (this has a 98% chance of not happening... I have worked for a salary of $42k before, and most similar jobs around here pay $8 - $12/hour). It's not discouraging, but I also know that it might not be earth-shattering, the way things turn out for me in the short run.

I also tried a rough run of making a Do It Yourself canvas:

Yes indeed. This is a terrible photo, mostly because it was taken in softer lighting with my iphone. Forgive me? I didn't follow the tutorial's rules, and while it came out ok, I'm going to try it their way next time. Very basically, I bought a plain 8"x10" canvas from Jo Ann Fabrics, along with some black fabric (nothing fancy- and just enough to cover the canvas, with an inch or two to spare on all sides), modge podge, and of course the print itself. As this was a trial run, I didn't splurge on the print, but when I do this "for real" (gifts, or to actually be displayed anywhere) I'll get my photos done at a photo shop or online by SmugMug or Snapfish.
I wrapped the canvas as tightly and neatly as I could- unavoidable were a few small folds visible on the sides of the canvas, but I don't really see a more agreeable way around this. On the back of the canvas, I securely duct taped the fabric down (no one is going to see this side of the canvas anyway... so tape away!); then, I modge podged the front of the canvas and stuck the photo on! It looks.. pretty sharp. I haven't gotten a good look yet, because where it's hanging right now is not a fitting spot for it anyway. But! It's fun to realize that I don't HAVE to dish out big bucks to have a canvas version of my favorite photos. A bit of tweaking and this will be a great tight and professional-looking money-saver! Like I said- I'm going to go with the foam board from the tutorial next time, and perhaps invest in a can of spray adhesive (while we were in Jo Ann's, Dave advised against it as it has a tendency to spray all over the place- which means everything gets sticky- but surely there is a way to proof against this sort of thing).


Nothing too new to report beyond that. After many months, we are caught up to this current season of The Office. What's next? Perhaps Arrested Development... maybe The Event, though I already know that that series leads nowhere (was cancelled right in the "heat of battle" so to speak). We visited my Grandma yesterday and brought her drunk gummi bears and a couple slices of rainbow cake. Both seemed to delight her, and I have to find out if anyone at her living community's happy hour dared to try out the gummi bears. Bucky wouldn't have any of that... but was in good spirits.


It seems like everyone is putting together reading lists for 2012, and the more I think about it, the more I am struck by the idea. Of COURSE I should have a "To Read" list as well... I'm up in Old Town in the dead of winter!
A few goals for this year, though:


-go swimming in Pushaw Lake
-garden, whether a small herb garden indoors or a revamp of the beds outside this spring
-read Scripture every day
-abstain from driving Dave insane :)