January Pointless Lists

FYI, this was a delicious cup o' joe.

After much consideration, I'm bring back the monthly Pointless Lists that I gave up writing last year. I don't know, I just kind of miss them is all. I'm sure no one else is as fascinated by my life's random stats as I am, but all I can say about that is there's plenty of room on the internets for you to start your own blog. ;)

Colleges that have sent Abby letters so far since she rocked her PSAT in December:
University of Oregon
Montana State (Eric always wanted to go to college in Montana...)
Seattle Pacific
University of Portland (she's excited about this one)
Northern Arizona
Carroll College (also excited)
Marquette University (excited 'cause it's big and legit)
Texas Christian University
Azusa Pacific University (huh?)
Washington and Lee University (what?)
Tulane University
Regis University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Hamline University
Case Western Reserve University (so many of these I've never heard of...)
Simmons
Lewis and Clark College (heard of that one!)
Washington State University (I kind of wanted to go there for awhile once)
Santa Clara University
Northwest Nazarene University
University of Miami

...And one invitation to some medical conference meant only for high school seniors. Well, details are boring.

And yes, to be clear, I AM bragging. How many college recruitment letters do you think I got as a sophomore? As a senior? The answer is none. I think it's flippin' fantastic that my girl is so smart! YAY ABBY!

Ahem. Where was I?

Abby and Johanna update:
Last month, the girls entered a contest put on by the Sons and Daughters of the Oregon Pioneers (of which they are card carrying members, thanks to my favorite mother-in-law's diligent research and gumption), and about mid-month we got two email messages saying that both had won in their respective categories (Johanna had to draw a picture; Abby had to write an essay). Lots of jumping around ensued. It was awesome.

Project 333 update:
At the beginning of the month, I was at 29 items. After shopping at the coast, I'm now up to 33--but that's just because I decided to add my beige jacket and orange scarf back into the mix. Why not?

Oh, and actually I was down to 28 items by that first week because Abby snagged my cute purple zip-up sweater. I found I wasn't wearing it as much as I thought I would, and when she expressed interest, I was like, go for it, kid. I hate it when I buy something that I know I'll just love, and then have to acknowledge I made a big ol' mistake. It hurts less that Abby likes it.

Light grocery shopping update:
I've been doing okay on the light shopping front, all things considered. My freezers are still a mess--I'm slowly whittling the contents down--but I feel the real victory stems from my pantry, just because that's the most visible "lightening," if you will, at this point. I'm not overbuying basics, I'm trying very hard to use what's in the cupboard, and at the store I'm trying to get more fresh fruits and veggies rather than rely on their packaged counterparts.

It's a work in progress. This week I tried to match freezer contents together for quick meals (why do I have a container of cooked pasta up there again? I have no idea, but I figured paired with some pesto, what could go wrong? DON'T ANSWER THAT)... but the truth of the matter is that even that takes time and sometimes when I get home from work I'm tired and I just want to sit down and that means it's Random Crap in a Tortilla Night. Again.

Books read:
I can't quite remember when Abby introduced me to the Throne of Glass series, but that's been keeping me busy as of late: Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight and Heir of Fire, and THEN I found The Assassin's Blade, a compilation of novellas that take place before Throne of Glass begins. That's where I'm at now, although I stopped reading kind of on purpose after the third story because I know how it's going to end and I'm not quite ready for that yet.

And yes, it's PERFECTLY NORMAL to be so involved in the lives of fictional characters that you want to spare them pain a while longer.

Anyway, I'm enjoying the story arcs, the characters and the writing very much. I love that the main character is an assassin, and yet she's one of the good guys. I also love that she's complicated--she's not always good, and she's not always bad. She reads a lot of books, adores pretty dresses, and can kick some serious ass.

I don't know, they're kind of fun.

What I'm embarrassed to even admit but I'm totally admitting:
Abby has me hooked on Once Upon a Time and, even though I've only seen a few episodes, I'm more than happy to binge watch with her on Netflix. We're in season 3 and Hook is so freaking awesome with his pirate swagger and his shirt that shows his manly hairy chest, and he's so tortured and if he and Emma don't get together soon, I am going to be pissed.

Abby says I need to calm down. No, YOU CALM DOWN, ABBY. Jeez. Just one more episode!

Links to my favorite minimalism/simplicity reads this month:
The real cost of your shopping habits
V is for Values
The Possibility of Blank Spaces