February 27, 2006
Beautiful. Just Beautiful.
Our good friend Marc sent me this link a long time ago and I keep forgetting to post about it but now I remembered! His mom April made some absolutely gorgeous quilts and they're featured on the web. I thought I would include them here so you can see her talent and beautiful creations. (click on the images to get a larger version)
First: Batik Beauty--and what a beauty this is! I love the bright colors!
Batik Beauty--whole quilt
Batik Beauty--closeup
Batik Beauty--Back
Next we have: MEOW! What a darling cat-themed quilt.
MEOW!--whole quilt
MEOW!--closeup
MEOW!--BackAnd finally: Convergence. This one's my favorite because it's just. so. cool.
Convergence--whole quilt
Convergence--closeup 1
Convergence--closeup 2Congratulations to April for making such beautiful quilts!
February 25, 2006
Fishie Fishie
So I'm overcoming my art phobia! I have now completed my first drawing of our next project: a fish. We're supposed to draw some kind of sea creature and we had some prints to use as inspiration, so I created my fish. Now he needs a name! Any suggestions? (click on him for a bigger image)
February 23, 2006
I'm a Winner!
Tonight was a Toastmaster's meeting and also happened to be a club contest (a club is a chapter). There was the "International Competition" which is a speech competition but I wasn't eligible for it because I didn't have 6 speeches yet. However, the other contest was a "Table Topics" contest and anyone was free to enter that. Table Topics are impromptu speeches. You are given a subject and have to give an impromptu 1-2 minute speech. This requires lots of thinking on your feet and it's easy to stumble. There were 3 of us competing in the Table Topics competition tonight. Our subject was, "So you're a student in culinary school to become a chef. Tell us why you got there and what you've learned." (so obviously this requires creativity because I am not actually studying to become a chef). Anyway, so I kind of went on weaving this story about how Kevin was a terrible cook so I had to take over but I'm a terrible cook too so I had to go to chef school, and now I'm so successful I have my own tv show and you may have heard of me--I own a French Restaurant in New York. And I'll be available to sign my cookbook after the speech.
I was a hit. People thought I was funny and that my speech was well-delivered. So I won! Next step is the Area Competition on March 11. At that competition, the clubs in our area (I believe there are 7) compete in the same categories. I'm going to start practicing my Table Topics. If I win the Area Competition I go on to the district, then up and up and up to the International Competition. Wish me luck!
February 22, 2006
Well, Mostly
| the Adventurer Test finished! |
| you chose AX - your Enneagram type is SEVEN.
"I am happy and open to new things"
Adventurers are energetic, lively, and optimistic. They want to contribute How to Get Along with Me
What I Like About Being a Seven
What's Hard About Being a Seven
Sevens as Children Often
Sevens as Parents
Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele The Enneagram Made Easy
|
 |
My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
| Link: The Quick and Painless ENNEAGRAM Test written by felk on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test |
Fifty-One, Fifty-Two, Fifty-Three...
I went to the post office today to mail a package and the lady in front of me paid $6.79 entirely in change. Including 100 pennies NOT in a roll. She dug in her purse and pulled out fistfuls of change (I think she had only like 2 quarters). The poor postal worker was very apologetic to the rest of us in line but really, she was stuck. I mean the post office has to account for every penny and this lady had a right to pay in change. Seriously, when she brought out the pennies I almost stepped in and paid for it myself. Mercifully I got called over to the other counter but I couldn't believe it. By the time I left, she was still counting out the pennies and there were at least 4 or 5 disgruntled people in line behind her.
February 17, 2006
It Makes Driving in Traffic Fun...Almost
Yesterday I had the joy of taking the Prius to Santa Monica. It was so fun to drive! I loved the voice navigation system except at the end where it led me astray. I later realized that I'd entered the wrong destination, so I can't fault the navigation system for that. It did take me where I said I wanted to go. Maybe one day it will just read our minds. I did shut it off on my way home. I wanted to take an alternative route that I've figured out on my own. Instead of taking the 10 to the 5 all the way down, I prefer the 10 to a brief stint on the 5 to the 710 South to the 105 East to the 605 South to the 91 East--it's actually much easier than it sounds. It's really like stair stepping down from freeway to freeway. Anyway, I wondered if I insisted on taking those freeways if the navigation system would eventually catch up with me and figure out my new route, but no matter how many times I hit the detour button, it never figured out what I wanted it to. Again with the mind reading. So I shut if off in favor of this screen:
This screen tells you where the energy is coming from. While sitting in traffic it was like a game to see how far I could go solely on electric power. And I felt triumphant every time I knew I wasn't burning any gas. It's addicting, I tell you!
February 15, 2006
Pictures!
Be sure to check out Kevin's blog for pictures of our new wheels!
February 14, 2006
Look What I Made!
Make your own motivational poster! Here's one I made just for Valentine's Day:
Make your own here: http://www.flagrantdisregard.com/flickr/motivator.php
February 12, 2006
We Got It!
The Toyta Prius, that is. It's seriously awesome. I mean beyond awesome. It's awesome-awesome. It's so awesome it makes awesome look, um, not as awesome. Right.
Anyway, it's "Seaside Pearl" which is a bizarre way of saying "Medium Blue." The colors on the Toyota site (hover over the blue one) is a bit darker than the actual car but it's a great color.
It's a hybrid, which means it has a gasoline and electric engine. It's got all kinds of cool gee gaws. We got Option Package #7 which has mind-blowing features, most notably the GPS navigation system (it talks to you!) and a backup camera. I also really like the automatic dimming rearview mirror and the auxiliary audio jack that allows us to hook the iPod directly into the car's stereo system.
It's also got a Smart Key system which you have to see to believe (play the demo). Basically the key fob is a transponder that allows you to open the door, start the car, and drive away without ever having to take the key out of your pocket (you push a Power button to start the car). We're still working out the details of that system (we haven't quite figured out how exactly to best utilize this technology) but it's very cool.
And it's completely as quiet as a mouse. You can totally sneak up on a dog without their knowing you pulled up in front of the house. Kevin took it out last night and came back and Scout and Digory were flabbergasted when he walked in the door.
February 10, 2006
Hey, Do Me a Favor
Go to this site: http://kevan.org/johari?name=Shelby and pick the 5 or 6 adjectives that best describe me. It will only take you a minute or two, and it's fun!
It's called a Johari Window and the way it works is this: I pick 6 adjectives that I feel best describe me. You pick some too, and we see which ones overlap. The results will show how aware I am of how people see me and how I see myself in relation to others. Okay, I don't really believe in all of this, but I think it's an interesting experiment. So be sure to click the link and let me know what you think!
The Olympics
The Olympics started today. I had no idea! Seriously. That's what you get when you don't watch television and just listen to NPR. Personally I hope Michelle Kwan wins the gold this year. I think she's a great skater and I hope she doesn't make mistakes like she did last time (I thought she was absolutely robbed the year that odious Tara Lipinski won). Plus she's from Torrance and so am I!
February 09, 2006
Best Speaker!
My Toastmasters speech was a hit! I did very well and I won the night's award for Best Speaker. I was surprised because the guy who spoke after me did a really good speech. There were 3 speakers from which to choose, and I didn't even vote for myself :D. Go me!
Art Phobia
My art phobia is beginning to dissipate a tiny bit. I had to miss 3 classes, 2 due to vacation and 1 due to the dead battery, so I was completely freaked out about going to class today, but it turned out just fine. I didn't miss much. I'm allowed to do some work on the computer so it looks like it's time to install and use those fantastic Adobe tools. These projects are, of course, a lot harder than they look. We're supposed to artistically design our names. I've decided on my method and roughly sketched out some ideas. The "e" is particularly hard, but I had a great sketch of it the first time around. Too bad I wasn't careful with it, because I then spent an hour and fifteen minutes trying to recreate what it was I did the first time that made it look so cool. And I still haven't figured it out. I just sat there making "c"s over and over again and never even made it to the cross part of the "e." Ugh.
Tonight I'm giving a speech at Toastmasters. Wish me luck!
February 08, 2006
Happy Birthday Kevin!
Today is Kevin's birthday! Happy Birthday Kevin!
Starting My Car
Which is actually more complex than it sounds. Monday night I went to go to grocery store but when I walked into the garage and saw the driver's side door only barely, slightly ajar, I knew immediately I was going to have a dead battery. Sure enough, I did. Dead, dead, dead. No clicking, no interior lights--nothing.
Cindy (Kevin's mom) was bringing the dogs over Tuesday afternoon after Zach got out of school, so I called and asked her to bring some jumper cables. She confirmed that they did have them, but did I know how to use them? Having owned a crappy car with a battery problem, I did indeed. However, she called Ken (Kevin's dad) and he said that the cables they had were not very good, so she called Grandpa Lee to come over and give me a jump.
Grandpa Lee arrived first, being a very short distance away, and we discussed the problem of that once the car was jumped, I'd have to drive it around for a while (no idea how long that might take) to charge up the battery again. Given that Cindy and the dogs were on her way over, Grandpa went home to get his charger.
Cindy arrives with the dogs and they both seemed pretty nonchalant about seeing me. I expected massive barking but aside from a few woofs, there really wasn't any. Grandpa arrives again and we set about to hooking up the battery. We pop the hood and...no battery. Grandpa gets the flashlight...no battery. We push the car out of the garage into the sunlight...no battery. What the hell? Finally Grandpa says, "Do you have the manual?" and yes, of course I do! *flip flip flip* "The battery is in the trunk." Never heard of THAT before!
So we jump it and it starts, and we pull it back into the garage and hook it up to the charger. Grandpa says it should only take all night. All night! Ack! So Cindy drove me to the grocery store to stock up for a few days of dinner.
Complicating the situation is the fact that the battery is 6 years old. Time for a new one? Possibly. Will it hold the charge after being 100% drained? Maybe. So anyway, this morning I went out and started it up and it was just as fine as could be. I drove it around for 1/2 an hour, then hooked the charger back up just to be safe. I've got an appointment this afternoon that I don't want to miss, so I'm hoping it will work again. I think it should be just fine, but we may be looking into batteries once Kevin gets home.
February 06, 2006
Back from Napa
I'm baaaaaaaaack! Had a great last 11 days or so. First (Jan. 26) I went to San Jose and stayed with my friend Dorothy for the night. Friday the 27th I headed up to the Sonoma area to Westminster Woods, a Presbyterian camp where my friend Wendy works. I spent the weekend there at their Women's Retreat, which was a lot of fun and very spiritually refreshing. Following that, I spent Monday and Tuesday hanging out with Marc, Wendy, and Akima. Kevin came up Wednesday and we spent the night in Berkeley, having a wonderful dinner with our friends Anita and Derek. Thursday we headed up to Santa Rosa and met up with my parents for a "little" wine tasting. As if any wine tasting with my parents is little. We stayed the night in Santa Rosa and then headed over to Napa while Mom and Dad went down to Oakland to pick up Brad and Katrina. We spent Friday tasting, the 6 of us, and then headed up to the cutest little B&B in Calistoga, the Brennan Cottage Inn. Saturday Katrina hit the spa while the 5 of us made our livers quiver at the wineries. Sunday we all hit them again, and then split off as Mom and Dad dropped Brad and Katrina off at the airport while Kevin and I headed down to San Jose. Today I drove home with M & D leaving the car with Kevin. He's at Adobe's Tech Summit, a conference for employees, for the rest of the week. Scout and Digory are still with Kevin's folks so I won't see them until tomorrow. Should be a lonely night here at Chez Hogan, but I'm looking forward to seeing the pups tomorrow.