Graffiti

Last night for Young Women's, we went tagging. We grabbed our spray paint and gloves and went to work on the fences of Kent.Oh wait.

We were cleaning up graffiti, not making it.

We volunteered through the city of Kent to clean up some graffiti around town. They provided "graffiti wipes" and spray paint, and we provided man-power.

Or woman-power as the case may be.

We started at the post office with some stop signs, but we only got one clean--the other two will need replacing. Then we had two sections of fence that needed painting over.
While I can't speak for everyone, I had a great time.

If you or anyone you know need a good service project in the area, I can put you in contact with the right people.

No, probably not

I just registered for my very first official 5K this Saturday. All those of you who wish to cheer me on are more than welcome. As I checked my official registration details, I was a little taken aback.

And here's the copy/paste from the email I got:

Congratulations! You are now registered for Kent Cornucopia Days Fun Run/Walk. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://www.kentarts.com

View your complete registration details »

See you on July 11th!

Registration Details

Confirmation #:	41457227-070609145117
Date & Time:	07/11/09
Location:	Three Friends Fishing Hole (Map)
Purchased at:	07/06/09
Category:	Run without shirt
Name:	Janelle Dudley

Um, so now I apparently have to run shirtless...That would be embarrassing for more than just me, I assure you.

Then I remembered that I could buy a shirt with my registration and I felt much better about the whole thing.

Because it really wouldn't have been pretty.

Depression

Many people in the Pacific Northwest suffer from a weather-related depression known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. Basically, they get depressed all winter when we never see the sun, it seems to be constantly raining, and the skies are cloaked in perpetual gray.

I think I have it.

In reverse.

I love the clouds, I love the rain, and after too much sun, I get grumpy and irritable.

After more than a month of sun and highs in the upper seventies, eighties, and even nineties, I am ecstatic about the clouds and high of 62 today.

Ridiculously excited.

I'm not alone

I would like to point out that I'm not the only one in this family who devours books.

Sweet!

Or not so much.

When Kristy went without dessert for a month, I thought she was a little bit crazy.

But I also had the strange desire to join her. But not enough to make the jump.

However, as I was laying in bed Sunday night, not sleeping (as usual), I decided it was time. July will be dessertless. Why? I'm not sure. But it may have had something to do with the fact that on Sunday, I grabbed a cookie for breakfast as I was running out the door to church, had cookies between meetings after church, and more cookies after dinner. (Yes, after, not for dinner.) I was feeling a little cookied out.

And of course, I would choose a month with 31 days, but so be it.

This dessert-fast, or detox as Kristy so aptly named it, will prohibit all desserts of a sugary nature, but not necessarily all things sweet. A little brown sugar on my oatmeal is still allowed. As is jam on my peanut butter sandwiches. However, peanut butter-marshmellow sandwiches with milk chocolate chips are forbidden. As is toast smothered in Nutella. And candy, in all it's varieties.

As you may guess, I'll need a little support. I've already enlisted my wonderful husband, who all but promised not to make any tempting treats. While I'm not asking you to join me, or even to not eat treats in my presence, I am requesting that you not offer me desserts, or buy me chocolates, or anything of that nature. At least until August 1st.

And wish me luck.

Half a Year of Reading

So here's my plan: every so often (monthly, quarterly, semi-yearly, or something like that) I'll post the books I've read followed by a rating system.

The first number is my enjoyment level; 0 being I hated it, 5 being I loved it.

The next number is my cleanliness rating. I know that different people have different standards of what they like/are willing to read, so this is my attempt to communicate that. 0 would be safe for anyone: no swearing, sensuality, limited violence etc. 5 would be more along the lines of a PG13 rating. This is to the best of my memory, and sex and language would get a higher rating than violence for me, because of where my comfort level is.

The third number is my attempt at guessing what age level would be appropriate. 0 would be your basic picture book, enjoyable at all ages, 3 maybe middle school, 5 adult level. Some of this is subject matter, some reading level. Like the other numbers, it is completely subjective.

So here's the 64 books I read during the first half of 2009. (This does not include duplicates for the obvious reason--if you count them, I read 68.) If you have any questions, or want details on a rating, feel free to comment or email me.

January:
Skipping Christmas, by John Grisham: 4.1.3
Antigone, par Jean Anouilh: 4.2.4 (you must be able to read in French...)
The Paradox of Choice, by Barry Schwartz: 4.0.4
Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow: 4.5.4

February:
The Little Lady Agency, by Hester Brown: 5.3.4
Little Lady, Big Apple, by Hester Browne: 5.3.4

March:
Cranford, by Elizabeth Gaskell: 3.0.4
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins: 5.2.4
How to Take the Ex out of Ex-boyfriend, by Janette Rallison: 5.0.3
Hate That Cat, by Sharon Creech: 4.0.2
Wives and Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskell: 5.0.4
Fame, Glory, and Other Things on My To-Do List, by Janette Rallison: 5.0.3
Playing the Field, by Janette Rallison: 4.0.2
Just One Wish, by Janette Rallison: 5.0.3
It's a Mall World After All, by Janette Rallison: 5.0.3

April:
Keeping the Moon, by Sarah Dessen: 3.3.4
Bloom, by Elizabeth Scott: 3.5.4
Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella: 4.4.4
Dreamland, by Sarah Dessen: 4.4.4
Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1-9), by Louise Rennison: 4.4.3
All's Fair in Love, War and High School, by Janette Rallison: 5.0.3
The Truth about Forever, by Sarah Dessen: 5.3.3
Perfect You, by Elizabeth Scott: 2.5.4
Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen: 5.4.4
Stealing Heaven, by Elizabeth Scott: 4.4.4
What the Doctor Ordered, by Sierra St. James (aka Janette Rallison): 5.0.4
Life, Love and the Pursuit of Free Throws, by Janette Rallison: 5.0.3
Lock and Key, by Sarah Dessen: 4.4.4
Time Riders by Sierra St. James: 4.0.4
This Lullaby, by Sarah Dessen: 3.5.4
That Summer, by Sarah Dessen: 3.3.3
Someone Like You, by Sarah Dessen: 3.4.4
Revenge of the Cheerleaders, by Janette Rallison: 5.0.3

May:
Graceling, by Kristin Cashore: 5.3.4
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart: 5.3.3
The City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau: 5.0.2
Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta: 5.4.4
Ten Cents a Dance, by Christine Fletcher: 5.4.4
Taken By Storm, by Angela Morrison: 4.4.4
The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown: 4.4.5
The People of Sparks, by Jeanne DuPrau: 4.0.2
Masquerade, by Sierra St. James: 5.0.4
Trial of the Heart, by Sierra St. James: 5.0.4
The Spiderwick Chronicles (1-5), by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black: 5.0.2
The Prophet of Yonwood, by Jeanne DuPrau: 3.0.2

June:
The Diamond of Darkhold, by Jeanne DuPrau: 4.0.2
Impossible, by Nancy Werlin: 5.4.4
City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare: 5.3.3
Wings, by Aprilynne Pike: 5.1.3
Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Larson: 4.0.3
Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown: 4.5.5
The Princess and the Hound: 4.0.3

Odd habit

I have a confession.

I am a closet photoshopper.

{Actually, I use iphoto and/or Photo Studio, but that's not the point.}

The point is that I see pictures on blogs, facebook, myfamily, etc., and have an irresistable urge to mess with them. This is not to say that the pictures are bad, or even NEED fixing, but I like to play with them and make them brighter, more vivid, or just remove that haze that seems to permate much of digital photgraphy.

Sometimes I share my edits with the original owner, but much of the time I do it solely for my own benefit, just to see if I can.

I know, I'm a nerd.

I do it to my own pictures as well, but that doesn't seem as bizarre.

The thing is, I'm not really that skilled using either program, and I'm sure most of you could do a much better job editing pictures. But, somehow, I can't help myself.

Here's a couple of before and afters of my obsession:

{Oops, that one's backwards... it's an after and before picture.}