Sometimes I Watch Old Movies

And by sometimes I mean…a lot of the time?

I’m kind of a movie fanatic. Not a film buff. Film buffs are way more sophisticated in their tastes. I basically have the worst possible taste in movies. The sillier and more overwrought, the better.

In pursuit of #17 on my 31 Before ‘13 bucket list, I watched a little movie called The Birds.

Source: google.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

Here’s a clip.

 

If you're thinking, wow, that movie looks awesome, you are totally right. It is.

My only complaint…for the first third of the movie, I thought it was going to be about how Melanie Daniels is a crazy stalker who somehow manages to track down the vacation home address for a lawyer she has only met once and then proceeds to drive to Bodega Bay, rent a boat, and then sneak into his house to leave him…some birds? (Spoiler alert: It’s apparently not about that.)

Anyway, I loved it. It’s my third Hitchcock film (after Rebecca and Rope). Next on my list, Vertigo and North by Northwest.

Anyone else watch old movies? Anyone have a favorite?

love, elizabeth

Papers, papers everywhere and not a drop to…

I am so tired of piles of paper littering every surface of my apartment. Junk mail and bills and syllabi and magazines and pamphlets and greeting cards. It’s. never. ending.

But no more. NO. MORE. I just read a fantastic how-to in the January 2012 issue of Better Homes and Gardens (which, incidentally, is so sneaky, it lured me into subscribing with a sneaky $5.99/12 mos introduction offer…see what I mean? PAPER EVERYWHERE!).

Anyway, I’d like to share my new attempt at keeping papers filed.

So all paper that comes in goes into the ‘Action File.’ If I can sort it everyday, I should be able to keep the mess under control. ‘Do Now’ is for stuff that has to happen THIS WEEK. ‘Do Later’ is for stuff that has to happen in the next three months. ‘Pending’ is for stuff I have to wait on – textbook orders, invoices, a call back, whatever.

This little guy is a refuge from a 1940’s department store (he used to hold ladies’ stockings). I found him in an architectural salvage here in the city. Anything else goes either in the trash, the shredder, or in one of these slots. Once a week, this gets emptied and everything filed in the filing cabinet in the office or, as Better Homes and Gardens calls it, “my long-term storage solution.”

This could be really  hard to maintain. But I’m going to try. Which brings me to my new “one-hour system.” But that’s a post for tomorrow.

What kinds of new organizational tools are you trying this year? Happy January 2nd!

love, elizabeth

31 Before ‘13

I know I’m not the first person to think of this but when I just couldn’t bring myself to draw up a list of New Year’s resolutions, I decided to try something else. So here’s my 2012 Bucket List. 31 things to before 2013. Some things made my list because I have to do them, anyway. Some things are on there because they seem easy or fun. Some things made the list because they scare the poop out of me. A few things overlap from my list of winter. I am resolved to attempt ALL of them.

31 Before ‘13

1. Get my solo-performance on its feet.

2. Successfully prepare for my comprehensive graduate exams.

3. Perform at a poetry open-mic night.

4. Read the chronological Bible straight-through.

5. Finish my PhD coursework.

6. Cook a new vegetable.

7. Commit to my one-hour system (see post).

8. Visit a weird museum.

9. Find five new uses for five old/recycled things.

10. Complete (at least) ten weeks of Weight Watchers.

11. Go to an Ohio State football game.

12. Learn to make a pie crust.

13. Take a vacation with Kyle to somewhere new.

14. Read ten books UN-related to school.

15. Visit five breakfast spots featured in Breakfast with Nick: Columbus.

16. Hike in Hocking Hills.

17. Watch all of Alfred Hitchcock’s films.

18. Attend the young women’s small group regularly.

19. Save money every month.

20. Write 300 blog posts.

21. Throw a party.

22. Take a haunted tour of something, using this map.

23. Celebrate Valentine’s Day in an out-of-the-ordinary way.

24. Present a paper at a conference.

25. Go to a Blue Jackets game.

26. Spend a day at the beach.

27. See a new band live.

28. Go on a blate.

29. Learn how to play a new board game.

30. Volunteer for a new charity.

31. Find and use a homeopathic treatment.

 

 

Source: istockphoto.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

So what do you think? What made it onto YOUR list?

love, elizabeth