Life is too short.

Seems like I'm on a posting frenzy huh? I promise it's not that I'm a hot/cold type blogger. Once I get caught up, I'm sure you'll start seeing normal daily posts containing P365, crafts and thoughts. For reals...no joke. Until that time though, I leave you with this thought. I stole it ;) from Paula W at Big Picture Scrapbooking. She posted it on her blog, you should go visit, she's got some neat giveaways running.

11:365 Souper Sunday!

I think I fell in love with Safeway when they introduced the soup center a few years ago. Hot soup AND in serving sizes? I usually get a Medium, but with my new fitness and health kick, I decided all I really needed was a Small. Originally, DH and I were supposed to go ACROSS town to visit friends. But he was in a foul mood, tired and complaining of a toothache. He never complains about tooth issues. And frankly, until this came up? I thought that the times he did were more to evoke emotion during arguments. I didn't realize that he was conveying feelings over actual pain. Turns out one of his wisdom teeth was curling into itself. Not quite impacted, but treated the same way. He got pain pills (which reminded him what it was like to be free from his various bodily aches and pains), the tooth pulled and I'm happy to say that how to pay for it wasn't a moment of stress for us.

oh yeah, and the soup was italian wedding soup and other than being salty from sitting all day, it was DELISH!

10:365 On the Road Again...

I LOVE that phrase. Everytime I hear it, I see Willie Nelson in my head. But he's too old for me. In fact, I sometimes wonder if he isn't just too old for EVERYONE... But the song invokes such squishy happy feelings doncha think? I saw him on TV recently and smiled. But I think the real shocker was seeing Dick Clark on TV looking so feeble. Kinda puts things in perspective for ya, huh? I choose to shoot this photo, which in actuality was a series of photos so I could get one with my foot in the picture, because like many people I'm on a new venture. Get fit, get in shape, lose some weight. I weighed in the beginning of this year at 174.6lbs which was a shocker for me. I'm considered OBESE by BMI standards, and even when I buy new clothes, I quickly "outshape" them. I can't say outgrow, because grow wouldn't be appropriate. I'm happy to say that I've done pretty good so far. I'm exercising and enjoying it. I'm still not a sports nut, but I found a good reason to exercise and I find it relaxes me. I joined a Yoga class that gets me away from my desk at the J.O.B. that's sponsored by my employer and not only is it invigorating, it has helped a lot with my discipline. Here's hoping I last past the first quarter of this year!

9:365 What a Mess!

I'm sure we've all seen kitchens in this state before....It's borderline disgusting to look at, even in retrospect. How fitting that it is yet again Thursday when I write this! Mine tends to get like this either when I'm baking up a storm (sometimes, not always) or when dear hubby is left to his devices. The difference is that when I'm cooking something long and involved or when I'm baking I try and clean up as I go. Leaves less of a disaster when you're finally done. Plus, what else is a dishwasher for but to hide it all? At any rate, I left for work Thursday morning with only the items on the left. For the record, that's a level, 1 baking sheet, a gladware dish, a 2 cup measuring cup, 3 cooling racks and a roaster pan under it. I CAME HOME to everything else this morning.

yes I said came home this morning. I had pool league playoffs on thursday and didn't get home until almost 1am. Pool nights tend to run long. I literally leave as soon as I get home and our team plays 5 matches. If we're lucky, I'll be home before midnight. That's not always the case though. BTW, can I say that I'm not happy with the "watermark" in the image below? I did it using GIMP and I truly don't like it. GIMP's been good when I need quick edits at work, but that's about it. I'll stick to Photoshop thankyouverymuch.

8:365

Most people don't know I'm a pool player. Let's qualify that statement. ;) I am a pool player. I'm not a shark and I do not hustle. I enjoy playing, but don't play spectacularly well. I'm also not that dumb blonde you hear about it Gretchen Wilson's song....*I* can shoot combos just fine thankyouverymuch! I think this will stay one of my favorite shots EVAR! I play on a pool league competitively. For shot 8:365, I knew I wanted one of pool. We were in session playoffs and it's an important milestone IMO. While one of my team members was playing, I was learning my new camera. I zoomed in and caught this shot of the Opponent trying to decide how he was going to shoot his shot. We were playing APA 9-ball, so the leave wasn't the greatest. I'm also working to learn photoshop, so this will be the first watermarked image you'll see. I'm not sure I like it so much, but it's a start.

A new era...

Welcome to the job, Mr. President.

7:365

I love my candles. I've gotten back in the habit of lighting some every night in the living room. Can I also say that I love PARTYLITE candles specifically? It's got nothing to do with the fact that I'm a consultant. Rather, the inverse is true. I'm a consultant BECAUSE I love their candles. They offer a great assortment of scents to please many palettes and burn a good amount of time while still throwing a good amount of fragrance through the room. Yes, I did say MANY and not all. People have scoffed when I said that. Not everyone enjoys the scents for some reason. If you're allergic or sensitive to it, I can understand. But to not enjoy scented candles JUST BECAUSE? I don't get that. But then again I don't have to either! I will qualify my statement further by saying that I don't enjoy all scents. Coconut Milk Chocolate? I know many fans of the scent, but I'm not one of them. It's just TOO strong for me. Jack also doesn't enjoy Cherry Orchard. The 2009 catalog released and I have to say that I'm much happier with it than I was with the 2008 release. It was blase all year for me. I'm not sure how much of that had to do with my emotional state, but I'm happy either way. Interested in seeing it? Visit www.partylite.biz/prettywahine and click on the link titled "Partylite Products". If you want a local consultant, just go to the main Partylite website at www.partylite.com and click on "Find a consultant"

6:365

I've always wondered why QUALITY needed extra focus. Since starting in the world of "work" way back when, quality was always a big thing for me... well let me clarify that. Quality in terms of how Customer Service is delivered was a priority. I've always believed that service should always be A+. Failing that, no one should ever give less than B- service. C+ is just not good enough. Yes I've had days that I felt C+ was all I could give, but I generally tried to avoid work altogether on those days.

5:365

I snapped this when I went out for my daily walk last Monday. I regret to say that I don't always get them in while at work, but I try. This year, one of the few resolutions I've made is to get moving fitness wise. I've become rather sedentary in my life. It's not a pretty thought (and neither is the image of my bootie!). It really came home when I was sitting on the couch one evening and had a tingling, almost numbing sensation in my arm. I have a history of heart problems in my family and the thought that at 32 I might have a heart attack or stroke? *shudder*. Thus the fitness plan. It had me thinking Robert Frost. I'm sure we all know the poem about the road divided. I truly feel sticking to my fitness plan totally fits. Choosing the path of more resistance and in the end reaping the rewards of improved health and weight loss.

4:365

I'm so behind! The good news though, is that it's not the picture TAKING that I'm behind in. It's the uploading to my flickr set and blogging that I am. It's been an adventurous year so far. I'm working out more and am down 2 lbs this month already (woohoo!). Jack finally admitted to the pain in his mouth and went to the dentist only to find out that he has to have 2 root canals and a LOT of other work done. Including having a wisdom tooth out on Saturday. BOO! The good thing about that is that the oral surgeon perscribed Percocets. Jack's loving that because now he's pain free like he's not been in many years.

At any rate, like the photo? I *really* thought neon was a thing of the past! Jimmy Mac's is a restaurant in downtown Renton. When we're in the area, I always glance over in interest. Since Jack and I were out on "date night" already I asked if we could stop in and grab food for dinner. (it was late so I didn't want to keep them any longer.) They make the BEST rolls!

3:365

Sister, Sister.... I got my own mind, I do my own style in my own time, And now that everybody sees, How different we have come to be. I grew up watching Tia and Tamera Mowry on tv and this ditty was the FIRST thing that came into my head when I downloaded this image.
There's nothing like sisters and it's crazy fun watching these two grow up together. Two COMPLETELY different personalities. I *Love* them! Meet Lani & Kalehua Ohelo. Not quite cousins of mine, but they've been part of my life for most of Lani's life. I think she was 3 when we met their family? Hanai is the word hawaiians use to talk about those people in your life that you "adopt" into your family. They meld so seamlessly that you even FORGET that they're not!

Lani is the quiet rebel of the family. The oldest of 5, she recently turned 18 and is about to set the world on fire! She's opinionated and full of energy and wants more out of this world. I can't wait to see what she does with her life.

Kalehua is the 2nd oldest child. She's about 14 now and it's crazy to even think that! Wow...I suddenly feel really really old. We share our birthdays together and she's been the steady one of the pair. Still got the spunk of her older sister mixed with a little bit of caution. I wonder if puberty and those ever so famous teen years will have her throwing caution to the wind like her older sister. Either way, no matter how many arguements they have, they still have one another.

2:365

This is my Aunt Joyce. She's a nice lady that has worked hard all her life. Definitely not an Extrovert, but not fully Introverted either. Last year, one of my resolutions was to build better relationships with my relatives. We had moved to Renton the summer before to reduce the commute time to work. We were travelling 52 miles ONE way per day!. That had to stop, so we moved away from our families, not far really but it made a difference in how we spent our days. No longer were we working/commuting for 70+% of our day. It was the farthest I had ever been from my parents and not having them 5 minutes away made a difference in my life. Aunt Joyce, though, had been that far away for years. Her presence made it easier and we began making it a habit to meet at least once a month for sushi at Sushiland. Nice and healthy and YUMMO!

During that time, we were able to reconnect, renew ourselves and just have fun over good food. It's been a while since we did this. We both had quite a few things go on last year that prevented us from getting together, but it was nice to reconnect.

1:365

I'm behind on my blogging. This is photo 1:365 for Project 365. Not very well framed or lit, but there you go. My camera skills to date. (aren't they AWESOME??) My plan, really, is to learn how to compose photos more since I have this nifty new camera and still plan on buying a dSLR. It's been years since I've been the camera hound and want to get back to it. At any rate, I spend quite a bit of time in this position. To my left is the oh so warm heater vent and what you see on the screen is a message board I am a Moderator for. BestofBoards.com is a Direct Sales consultant resources. Built by a consultant, for consultants! We have a large group of men and women that span various aspects of Direct Sales companies from Partylite (the first) to Longerberger and even Homemade Gourmet and others. With the way the economy has been lately, we're seeing more and more companies close their doors, but we exist for the sole reason of helping each other.

I started Project 365 hesitantly, but liked the idea of documenting my life. I love to scrapbook, but don't have much content as I don't have children of my own yet. 2009 seems to be my year of revelations, so it will be interesting to see where life will take me during this project.

This is how WE roll...

The Salmon Skin hand roll...
Originally uploaded by Hawyneyes

So my new camera came in today and this past summer I promised my aunt, who is still using film cameras, that I'd gift my old camera to her when I finally did the deed. I did truly plan on purchasing said camera this past summer, but kept feeling that bills were more important. It's STILL really hard for me to plop $300 down on something so small.... but I did it and the little playing I have done with it has been AWESOME! I can shoot up to 100 frames in burst mode, compare pictures side by side on the view finder, it has sooo many other features I can't wait to learn!

This however is my aunt. When I called, she asked if I wanted to meetup for Sushi. When I first moved to the Renton area, we did this often. AT LEAST once a month. but somehow that's fallen on the way side the past year and I don't know why. We got caught up and both agreed we need to get back on that train and get back here more often....

Start the new year with a bang.

Late last year (read, earlier this week), I began having problems with the creating keepsakes website. I didn't notice it at first, but I was trying to make a concerted effort to read, learn and participate more often. That's when I noticed that everytime I tried to post a reply to a fellow board member the website was having me re-log back in. That's not supposed to happen, I thought. But then I thought more... there were always CHMOD errors in the gallery....

I decided to give it a rest and try it again later. Like from home, since I *WAS* at work goofing off! But I went home to find the same issue. I went to work the next day and sent an email off. then a PM to the MB admin. then I gave up in frustration. THIS IS WHY!!! This is why I'm not frequening the board that often...they can't keep it properly maintained! A new website design and I've had problems ever since! How do they expect me to order products exclusive to them, if they can't keep the general pages from crashing? What type of web security does that assure me of?


Sure enough, I got home on New Years Day from the in-laws home to find this...



apparently all those scrapbookers eager to begin Project 365 added to the normal website load crashed the website. The ordering system went awry and customers in a panic headed over to the MB. (bc there's ALWAYS someone there with a witty or knowledgeable answer....)