30 x 30 Wrap-Up

Work Things
1. Find a Time Management System that Works
This is a constant struggle but the Pomodoro Technique, paired with a weekly priorities list, and a dry erase board listing the current status (urgent, backburner, waiting on a collaborator) and next step for each project are currently working for me pretty well.  I still constantly underestimate how much time everything will take me, but I'm getting better.

2. Five Publications 
I have only had two papers actually come out, one on paraoxonase in the Journal of Lipids  my dissertation work in Human Genetics but I have three more in press which will be out sometime in the next few months (hopefully) depending on the publishers' timelines.

3. Three Grant Applications
I've applied for more three applications and most importantly had one funded by Wenner-Gren.  I'll be ramping that research project up soon and I can't wait!  

4. Keep up with New Statistical Applications
This is a sisyphean task as there are always new methods coming out.  I did attend a great course taught at Cold Spring Harbor Lab in August which gave me all sorts of new references to work from.

5. Improve my R and Linux Programming

A friend of mine started an R programming group in San Antonio which has been great for learning new applications and meeting other nerds.

Fun Things
6. Go on a picnic
Not yet.  This whole fun things sectionis going to be ugly.  Evidently, I need to have more fun.

7. Go camping
Nope.

8. Go to a local festival
Turns out I don't like crowds.

9. Go to the beach
Yes!  In Malibu and Venice.

10. Go to a professional sporting event
Uh-uh. But I'm hoping for a San Antonio Silver Stars game this summer.

11. Participate in alumni association events
I cheered on the Jayhawks at a March Madness watch party.  Turns out the motivation I needed to finally get out of the house was getting rid of cable.

12. Use the library
I haven't actually checked out any books yet, but I've started looking forward to my commute thanks to their audiobooks.

13. Visit the zoo and botanical garden
Neither.

14. Watch classic movies

This one I've done a lot and, in agreement with every list ever, Casablanca was my favorite.

Crafty Things
15. Crochet a throw
Decided to be a bit less ambitious and crochet a pillow instead.  I'm really starting to get why people enjoy crocheting, though and may try a throw eventually.

16. Sew 6 garments for myself 
I did make two new items from scratch - my Easter dress and a mod pink pencil skirt I haven't posted yet - but I am even more excited to be upcycling new outfits from old clothes - teal pants and black cardigan with crepe ruffle, navy skirt and grey striped button down, and summer t-shirt dress (I'll be posting soon).  It's better for the environment AND my wallet.

17. Knit a sweater (Vignette Cardigan)
I knit one and I've cast on three others, because starting is the most fun part of a project!  

18. Knit a pair of socks
This was my first pair of socks with sock yarn and they are so decadent.  There is something really luxurious about hand knit socks.

19. Own no yarn that moved from PA
I'm counting those three cast-ons as using the yarn, so this is pretty much true.  All of my yarn now fits in the four wire baskets I have allocated for it, and I'm determined to keep it that way!

20. Put all photos in scrapbooks
Done, done, done!   

21. Learn to take better photographs
I really regret that I didn't put more time into this and I think I'll carry it over into the new year.  I do wish I took better photos, but I know it will take work.

22. Learn to draw
I started working on this and then realized that it really isn't that important to me right now.  

Yummy Things

23. Bake through Bread Baker’s Apprentice
I've learned to vary hydration levels (stiff dough for bagels and wet, sticky dough for focaccia), make lean pain de campagne and extremely rich casatiello, and leavened bread with direct fermentation (cranberry-walnut bread), instant yeast (stollen), and sourdough (pumpernickel).  My favorite development, though, is the sourdough pizza dough that has replaced my normal Friday dough.

24. Make brunch once a month
I love breakfast food.  This year we had apple-sour cream pancakes, Dutch baby, Southwestern omelet with extra crispy hash browns, waffles, spicy chicken biscuit sandwiches, peach and sausage kolaches, Moroccan merguez ragout with poached eggs, and migas.  

25. Try out six new canning recipes
Before summer rolls around, I'm using up my last stores of ginger pear butter, tomato jam, serrano jelly, ice-brined garlic dill pickles, peach butter, and - my favorite and already gone - chocolate balsamic strawberry jam.

26. Cook with a new ingredient each month
I tried out kala jeera, forbidden rice, pork belly, cocoa nibs, crab, caperberries, chia, and harissa, but I spotted three new fruits I'd never seen at the store today.

Strong Things
27. Run a half-marathon
I did it! I'm I ready to train for next year.

28. Compete in a 1 mile swim race
I missed the actual race (I was at my statistics course), but I've been swimming a mile most Sunday mornings.  

29. Complete two triathlons 
This year I completed the Spa Girl triathlon and Wurst Tri Ever.  Both had particularly fun swimming elements.  The Spa Girl was held at a resort and we swam the quarter-mile in the lazy river and the Wurst Tri Ever we road a water slide that dropped us into a spring-fed pond.

Last Thing
30. Purge things we don’t need from each room of the house
This has been so satisfying!  It is an ongoing project, and I think I may double back and purge more.

Passion to Refashion

As part of my goal to purge every room in my house by next month, I recently took on my closet which was stuffed full of stuff that I wasn't wearing because it was too big or I just wasn't that into it.  I filled two huge Rubbermaid containers with clothes that are fine except for one or two tweaks.  For example, this navy pencil skirt was a pair of wide-leg shorts until I cut them open.  Straight seams down the front and pack and I have a skirt with pockets!

I bought two of these very light-weight cotton shirts in January 2010.  The other got a basic redo - taken in, sleeves shortened - but this was a little more in depth.  I wanted a shirt that was more casual, so I picked the stitches out of the collar to remove it. Then I took in the sides by a few inches and the arms by about an inch and cut the bottom hem straight across to give a more finished edge without having to tuck it in (bonus!).

I still wanted a shorter sleeve but I decided to add a little bit of interest by cutting off the shirt cuffs and rolling up the sleeves.  I went ahead and tacked them in place to make sure everything was secure and used the cuffs to create tabs.  They are just decorative, but I still really like this detail.

In addition to gaining tons of closet space, I organized my jewelry with this simple frame and chickenwire jewelry hanger.  My mom and I found these two frames at the Habitat Restore (look for one in your town - great prices on all sorts of construction and home goods and the proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity!).  I painted them this bright blue and had a custom mirror cut for just $7 (please ignore the smudges).  I love the splash of color on my beige walls in my dark bedroom and I am wearing necklaces I had forgotten I even had.  I love getting organized.

Kitchen Organization

I decided to begin my deep-cleaning efforts in the kitchen because we've hit the point of precariously balanced glassware and that can only end badly.  Not to mention the wastefulness of having purchased three canisters of Ghirardelli natural cocoa powder in the past year.  I reorganized the dishes, pots, and pans first before turning to the pantry.  The shelves were covered in seven types of flour and sticky with sugar spilling out of open bags.

On top of the mess, the bags were not ideal for scooping out flour or keeping anything fresh.  I had a few old canisters that were not big enough to much flour so I was storing both the canister and a half-full bag - useless.  So the small canisters were reassigned to new duty.  Befitting their new roles, I decided they needed labels.  But, knowing that I would change their contents frequently, I decided to paint a strip of chalkboard paint around each.

For the flour, I bought four of these IKEA canisters.  The paint stuck easily to the frosted surface and I found that three layers of paint created a perfect, erasable surface.  Just be sure to cover the whole area with chalk and then wipe it off once before you start writing on it to be sure everything thereafter wipes cleanly.  I love my new canisters and I was on an organizational role, so I finished up with this 5-minute planner

I took a large, old frame that had nothing in it and covered the backing board with contact paper.  Then I printed out a blank calendar page, a list of our daily chores (I'm trying to do 20 minutes of cleaning a day so I don't have to spend two grumpy hours cleaning on Sunday), a to-do list, and two empty squares for notes, menus, or whatever else.  I taped them over the contact paper and then slid the whole thing into the frame.  You can use dry erase - or even better wet erase - markers to write on the glass and then just wipe it off at the end of each week or month.  I used neodymium magnets to mount it on the side of the refrigerator for easy access.  And now I'm a little too excited about our kitchen organization - on to the living room!

IKEA Hack: Fjellse Trundle Bed

This is probably the thing I made recently that I am most proud of (thus the many photos).  I had been searching for a trundle for a while.  Our second bedroom was an office and music studio already so there wasn't much room for a guest bed.  Unfortunately, it was $500 for anything that didn't look like it was going to fall apart the first time that someone slept on it.  So what's a girl on a budget to do?  Make one yourself, obviously.

IKEA run!!!!!!!!!!!!  You will need two Fjellse twin beds and two sets of Sultan Lade twin bed slats (plus whatever else you convince yourself you "need" at IKEA).

Get your mom to help you assemble both headboards.  Get my mom if you can - she's awesome at this stuff.  The Fjellse beds are low to the ground so to make room for the trundle underneath the main bed, the crosspieces need to attach higher on the headboards.

My very clever mom suggested that we use the available holes to make a template in a piece of paper (the instructions).  Align the template for the bottom hole with top hole on the hadboard and drill two new holes (for a total of 5 holes).  Then attach the bed rails to the two headboards using the top three holes.  The fit of my trundle is really tight so you may want to attach the bed rails a bit higher if your mattress is plush.

Put the slats in and take a break - the hard part is over........................................................okay, back to work.

Cut two inches off of each of the remaining long bed rails.  Flip them over and screw in the cross pieces that belong to the foot boards.  Position then about a third of the way in from either end.  Rather than adding wheels, we found four of these felt sliders.  They are self-adhesive and also cover the screws so they don't gauge the floor.

Flip the trundle right-side up and attach two handles to the trundle then go ahead and add the slats. We screwed in the two end slats as well for extra support. Put the mattresses on and slide the trundle underneath the daybed.

Your trundle is complete.  You can leave it like this if you want, all clean lines and simplicity.  But I was hoping to make this into a comfortable spot to curl up with a book on a lazy weekend afternoon (which never seems to materialize).

Getting that comfy upholstered look starts with - duh - upholstery foam.  This piece was about 1" thick.  We wrapped it around each end and secured it with heavy-duty thread in several places.  Then we made slipcovers for each end out of royal blue duck cloth.

This is my intense sewing face (except I'm mostly laughing).  The exact dimensions are going to depend on how thick your foam is.  We put in a gusset but you could go even simpler and just run a seam up each side. The slip cover should be snug and compress the foam slightly.

Upholstering made a huge difference.  Geoff does all his class reading there, when the cat hasn't already claimed it.  And the best part is that when we move in a few years, it will all come back apart into small, easy to pack pieces.  I was a bit concerned at first because the spartan frame looked a little flimsy, but this thing is so sturdy.  I LOVE IT!!!

Cost:

• 2 Fjellse twin beds: 2 x $40 = $80
• 2 Sultan Lade slatted bed base: 2 x $10 = $20
• 2 matresses (with Groupon): $110
• 1 yard 60" wide duck cloth: $10
• 1" x 60" x 36" piece of foam: $25
• Super Sliders: $5

• Total: $250