Your beagle wants in. It's my 2011 mantra.

Also, READ a sentence-a-day

I've been trying to read something real before sleeping. I think that this will help my sentence recall. It seems like I think and maybe talk in fragments, but writing puts it together into a nice shiny package. That previously said, "you think...." but I realize that just as I have no idea what the cat is feeling, I have no idea how anyone else thinks.

Cool things I saw on the first run of 2011

I ran my lame "medium" loop today, thought of all the reasons it's funny to run in a circle. In the long run (HA!), I guess it's all good as long as you get home.

1. Big hole on Park Street, sadly right next to a mature tree. I'm pretty sure the tree will die. It was probably 5 or 6 feet deep, nice and square, with a wooden ladder inside and broken PVC pipe visible. Surrounded by snow fence. I stopped running to look in, because how often do you find an abandoned fresh hole on a snowy Sunday?

2. Dancing plastic flower in a pot in the bay window of the house in the corner. I wonder if it was one of those sound-activated ones, and what sounds it was dancing to?

3. My ipod died 2/3 of the way into the run, right at the beginning of an epic Radiohead song that would have been fun to run to. Since I wasn't listening to music, I just ran with my ear buds in because it was too much hassle to put them away. I think this made the young dude in a driving cap feel free to yell "Fuck you!" at his car as he ran out the front door of a rental house and climbed in. The car started, so he was must have been a lucky man.

I love New Years.

No, really, I do. It's like the biggest sheet of paper. I can scribble in the corner. I can practice the alphabet. I could draw a kitty cat or a tree.

I'm thinking this year I'm going to write a sentence every day. It might be here. It might be in a notebook. Text messages don't count, though. I'm thinking the dreaded social network sentences don't count either, although I'm not sure why. It just seems like it would be very limiting there.

I like to have three resolutions, so there will probably be a health related one and a career-y one. I have at least learned that resolutions work best when they are tiny and ridiculously achievable. Even the bigger ones turn out not to be that tricky when you look back at them. 2010 I wanted to perform with the belly dance class. I did so four times. It seemed undo-able on 1/1/10.

WAR IS OVER -- John Lennon Holiday Widget

WAR IS OVER -- John Lennon Holiday Widget

Sincerity vs. Sarcasm

I have two books on the table in front of me. One is sincere, the other sarcastic. They both have the same intent, hysterical or happy living. I think I can play them off each other for real development.

Lindsey got me the sarcastic book for my birthday, then bought herself a copy. This Book Will Change Your Life (Amazon link here) will probably not change my life, because I've already rejected three of the topics out of pure spite. And I'm not even talking about my own spite, but the authors'. For example, I refused to put a "Out of Order" sign on public infrastructure on Day 5.

And when I tried to set up a link to their blog as suggested  on Day 10, my application was rejected by sending my browser to Playgirl's website. HA HA. Very funny. Dumbasses.

It's not all bad. Day 4, World Coloring Day was quite informative. I was instructed to color code the world map with places I have been (green), would like to go (yellow), and happy never to set foot there my whole life (red). There was much more red than I would have expected, mostly places I'm warned Americans aren't really welcome.

So I plan to supplement that book with Field Guide to Happiness by Barbara Ann Kipfer (here). I've had this book for a while and quite enjoyed it. It is a positive approach, with list-making, mind maps, and journal ideas. I LOVE making lists. I love my notebook and my little mind maps.

LINDSEY! What's been your experience with the Book? Who wants a happiness assignment?

Hats in action! 1

Hats in action! 1, originally uploaded by wizzybit.

Worst craft blogger ever! I tend to give my creations away before I can even photograph them. However, since I love to mash sardines into my ice cream (and bad analogies), I have now created the craft / street fashion blog, where I give people crafts and then try to catch them wearing them in public while I have a camera. It's like shooting fish in a barrel of ice cream!

Anyway, Kelly on the far left with the double-shooters is wearing on my favorite hats, a light blue alpaca yarn helmet crocheted from a vintage pattern, topped with giant pom pom. I figured if anyone could pull it off, it would be Kelly.

Now, stop looking at the kitty cat in the leopard bra. Look at my hat! I made that hat.