1. Last day of vacation is quiet and very nice- had a good lunch out, and am now back home watching the snow start to fall. Fire in fireplace, tea brewing, cats asleep. A good day.

2. We both kinda hate Valentine's day, so we're going out for dumplings on Sunday to celebrate Chinese new year. :)

3. Took camera to shop yesterday to get an estimate on repairs. Bumped it on the door of my car Tuesday, and it won't turn on. ARGH ARGH ARGH butterfingers.

1. Sewer work is done, except for pouring a very small bit of concrete across a walk. It's pouring here today so don't expect to see them till next week. It was not as bad as it could have been and there will never be another root prob ever.

2. Just got Dan Hicks tickets for April! He reconstituted the Hot Licks.

3. I keep fantasizing Leonard Cohen doing "Closing Time" for the olympic closing ceremonies. He's got a band together, he's a Canadian treasure, and the song fits. It's a crime if they don't do it.

1. Alternately cranking out jewelry and spending looooong stretches of time writing, trying to get back into good work habits. I also have to re-arrange some furniture, which is tricky with my back trouble.... but I am determined!

2. Tonight, I'm making either chocolate-covered pretzels or fudge, then making Valentine pillow packs to package them in. (My sister was widowed a few months ago, and I want to be sure she gets some loving if modest Valentine gifts this weekend. She's coming for lunch on Sunday, as is my mom.)

3. Also tonight, I will make pizza fixin's (dough, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed spinach, whatever else) for our traditional Valentine's evening: homemade pizza and scary movies in the dark! Very cozy!

1. Really enjoying Wolf Hall. However, it's due back at the library tomorrow, and I won't be finished unless I ignore everything (including work this afternoon) and read hard. I guess I'll just stay up really late tonight.

2. I neither hate nor like Valentine's day. It is a non-event in my world. Have fun with it, those of you who like it! Me, I'll be sleeping late and hanging with the in-laws.

3. Work this week (Wed-Wed) is a nightmare what with me having to get a week's worth of work done in 3 days because of snow and President's Day. Hanging with the kid makes up for it a lot, but doesn't take away the stress. (at least mr. gaspode has PD off work, so can do a lot of kidling-time. problem is, I work in our living room, so it's not as if I can shut myself in an office and let them roam over the rest of the apartment).

1. I put new batteries in my atomic clock. For a week now, it's been exactly three hours behind. Hmmm.

2. Going to a friend's house tonight to snark at the Olympics' opening ceremonies. If anyone in Boston is going to be doing any Olympic snarking at bars or something during the fortnight, let me know!

3. Got my annual city census form, with the usual "please make any corrections below." For the first time in 4 years, they've decided that I'm an M and not an F. Don't they use computers over there?!

4. Fucking hate Valentine's Day. (Except that it's my mom's birthday, so that's all right.)

1. Snow. So very much snow. The boy can't even walk in it because it's up to his chest. At one point yesterday, the girl got stuck in a drift. "Momma! I'm stuck!" she yelled. I thought she was kidding. Told her she'd have to wait til spring to get free. Some time went by, so I went looking for her. Found her stuck up to her chest with a mouth full of snow. Why didn't you call again? What were you doing? Just eating snow and checking out the scenery? "Well, you said you weren't coming...so I tried to eat my way out."

2. Going out to dinner tonight! Yay! Grown-up time!

3. This time, two weeks from now, I will be in fabulous Las Vegas with my sisters. My funny, funny fabulous sisters. I'm so excited, I may explode.

You're a great sister, Elsa.

1. Looking forward to the Olympics opening ceremony. Will not be snarking, but then I'll be all alone so it wouldn't be fun to snark even if I wanted to.

2. 4-day weekend coming, although Tuesday is an unpaid day off.

3. Nothing, really.

1. I went through my entire closet and have about half of it in boxes now. (Some to sell, some to give to my homie, and some that I'm just ambivalent about keeping, but they still fit, so they get to stick around for a little while longer). I'm out of boxes, so my dresser, jewelry cabinet, and makeup case will have to wait.

2. My brother is determined to remodel my bathroom. And the rest of my house. Even though I've told him that I have absolutely no money for those things and every time I tell him something that I like or would want done (should I ever get said cash)--he hates it.

3. I need to finish doing my cleaning chores for today. And then do some schoolwork. And not spend money on stupid shit. (It may be stupid shit that actually has a purpose, but still--I don't have the money right now, especially if I want to ever get out on my own, damnit.)

jrossi, that is hilarious.

elsa, do you sell your jewelry online anywhere?

amro, I don't sell it anywhere at the moment. I seem to be hampered by the typical craftworker's modesty: it's hard to see the stuff I produce as sellable goods. It's nothing ambitious, just simple beadwork. I do love to do it, though! I'm making Valentine's gifts for my sister and mother so they'll have some trinkets to open.

Friends have been suggesting I start an Etsy store, and this Christmas my family ganged up in the nicest way and asked why I wasn't selling the stuff. If I do, I'll put a link to it on my blog.

1. Hungry

2. Sleepy

3. Hesitant

2. I don't know why I am so hungry. I am re-fattening.

1. Getting lifted up and spun around is fun. Even with the quiet grunting of the lifter and spinner in my ear, see 2. above.

3. Finished Wolf Hall. Some of the writing was stunningly lyrical, but it's not a genre I usually read, so I had some trouble following it. It even commented that everyone was named Thomas, still, everyone was named Thomas, you know?

1. It's snowing! In ALABAMA. Very pretty, but glad I don't hafta get out and drive in it.

2. Our new printer/scanner/copier/fax/coffemaker/toaster/ tablesaw/beltsander/rocketsled arrived today. Got it cheeeeep on Amazon. Hope it works.

3. I could not possibly give less of a damn about the Olympics, and fully expect them to be a total fiasco for the city of Vancouver, the province of British Columbia, and whatever network got suckered into paying bazillions to broadcast ice dancing. Might watch some of the hockey, though.

Friday was yesterday, but:
1. Spent Friday afternoon at a friend's funeral.
2. Today is boot camp, take son to tennis match, mow lawns/spray weeds day.
3. Depressed.

1. Had a great lunch today with a friend that I've been really close with for half my life. It's the first time we've gotten to sit down and chat since his (second) wedding this past summer, and it was just like old times. We both had rather chaotic ends to our 20s (in very different ways) and kind of lost touch as we kind of gathered up the ends and put our respective lives back together, but today's lunch demonstrated that we're both on really good paths at the moment. It was very uplifting.

2. Knocked my first Chem test out of the park, getting just one of three A's in the class. It's just community college, and as a 30 year old with a bachelor's degree, it probably is to be expected, but I've never been that confident with science, and I feel like I'm in the process of setting a solid foundation with it, not just grade-wise, but with a fundamental understanding of "why" all of this shit matters/happens/etc. Which is nice, given that I have a fuckton more classes to take before I can even apply to Vet school. But the boost in my attitude has been noticeable, and probably had a great effect on #1.

3. Sun's out! The Sun is out! Gotta peel myself off of the office chair and take my dog for a walk.

1. Going to to see a production of Midsummer Night's Dream at the Pittsburgh Public Theater tonight. It's our Valentines date a few days early.

2. Applied for a job at a startup where some ex-co-workers work. It would be a lot more interesting than the work that I'm doing now.

3. Sick of snow.

Elsa - I had the exact same reluctance to sell my stuff. I will tell you this: even the people who don't buy it will say lovely things, and in my case, someone actually bought what may be the ugliest thing I have ever created ... and were happy to do so. I say go for it.

If you want to make a trial run without setting up on Etsy or making a big investment, look for farmer's or local community markets to sign up and set up a table for a Satuday morning. Unlike Art Fairs and Craft Shows, the entry fee is affordable (I pay 10-20 bucks typically for a slot, and then 3-10% of my proceeds to the market). Some are even free.

My 3:

1. I went to an auction this morning where everyone had deeper pockets than me. This is increasingly common. Where are these people getting this money?

2. My elderly heat-seeking cat has not warmed up at all to the formerly feral kitten who moved into the house this winter and who really wants to be friends with her.

3. People who just moved to this area need to quit saying stupid things about this snowstravaganza we're having, or at least saying it in my presence. It's not unprecendented, it's not a disaster, and their choice to move here en masse has not civilized this area.

@julen's 1: I feel that way at work a lot at work. Manhattan real estate FTW!

1. I have the innards of 3 board packages strewn out across three desks and all of it needs to be completed and nicely put away before I leave the office today.

2. Still don't know if I'm going to a distant relative's 4-hour baby shower on Sunday because they speak Tagalog and I don't. I really wish I could borrow someone to translate for me and keep me from being bored.

3. Hooray for DVR, because I have mine set to record the Olympics tonight and will watch them all day tomorrow!

1. The medicos finally got hold of the situation and I woke up this morning feeling better than I have for years.

2. I bought my new (for me) computer today. iMac G5 20" display. $260 from an electronics recycler.

3. I started my vacation planning. Look out Portland! In two weeks.

1. Got everything I needed to get done this week, DONE. Feel very kickass under pressure and very productive.

2. Did not get anything I WANTED to get done this week, done. Feel kind of guilty.

3. Dealing with some bullshit my-other-half's-family drama. Feel momentarily pissed, but grateful that my other half is pretty awesome and is being pretty awesome about it all.

Friday was yesterday for me too.
1. Taught English to 3 different groups of kids: the usual mixes of bright/motivated types and could-give-a-flying-fuck-about-learning-English types
2. Wrote the major part of a new song on the train back home.
3. Bicycling back home from the station, finally thought up the name of my new band. Not gonna post it here, though, not yet. I know it's a slim chance, but still it might get stolen before we can get a MyFaceSpaceBook page together...

1. Today was just one of those days were everything hurt my head. The day could not end fast enough.
2. I love V-Day, and usually like to buy little cards and candy for my friends, but I have been too exhausted to properly prepare.
3. too tired for 3.