Boxes and Boxes of Memories

I'm a big fan of to-do lists--they help me visualize what needs to get done and then I feel so accomplished once I complete the tasks. This morning, I got up and made to-do list for the week:

1. Unpack all the boxes I brought home from the apartment
2. Send a card to a friend
3. Consolidate files into file cabinet/fewer containers
4. Finish Defensive Driving (yes, still on that)
5. Alphabetize and File all sheet music
6. Make Garlic Parmesan Baked Chicken Breasts

I didn't want to overload my week with too many things, so I stuck to those six.  Well, I unpacked all of the boxes today (it was my day off) and threw out a whole bunch of stuff. I like to hold on to things that have sentimental value. When I was going through things today, there were things I had no idea what the sentimental value must have been, so I tossed it. I got rid of a whole bunch of letters from those I don't talk to anymore and really got my things organized. I did find a lot of yearbooks, pictures and little things that made my day so much better. You realize how far you've come once you've been removed from certain situations. Good day. My mom gave me her filing cabinet to store all of my stuff. I didn't realize how many things I've collected over the years at UTSA but I have so many teacher resources that I just feel like I need to keep--they could be really helpful when I get a job teaching (fingers crossed). So, I put each binder full of stuff for each class into manila folders (I used to think they were called vanilla folders) and stored them in the cabinet. Then, I organized the school books I want to save and stored them in a container next to the cabinet. That may sound really fun and fast, but it took a good 3 or 4 hours. Everything is labeled and can be accessed easily. Go me. 

I also sent out a card to an old friend today. She and I haven't spoken in two years, so I sent her a "thinking of you" card. I have about 6 boxes of cards that I need to use, so, done. I did actually do some defensive driving today. I only have one module left and I will do that tomorrow after I get home from watching Kylie Poo. 

For the past 4 or 5 hours, I've been sorting all of my music into letter piles (A-Z) then alphabetizing each letter pile so that all my sheet music is in alphabetical order. I started inputting all the information for each piece into an excel file. I'm only on F. I have way too much music. I guess that's a good thing for my future teaching career but, for real, too much music. I don't remember how I got so much of it, but hey, music is music. So, I have a feeling it will take me a good 2 days to get the rest of it all done and then I can rest :)

I will probably try to make the new recipe on Saturday evening since I don't have to work. I don't work Thursday evening, but I have my three hour class (more on that BS later), so I wouldn't be able to start cooking until 9...too late for me. 

I feel pretty good about what I've set out to do this week, it's possible. To be honest, I haven't looked at War and Peace again since Friday. I'm kind of dreading it, but I'm going to get myself through this huge book. I feel like my IQ will go up an immense amount if I finish that book. I have to mentally prepare, make time to read. 

I've been thinking of other things to post about that are semi-interesting and for now, I'm not sure of what I'll be posting about. My friend Brooke is going to do something about politics and I'm just so irritated with all that stuff right now, that I won't be stealing her idea :) I'll figure something out! 

Why the BBC top 150?

Today, I started to read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. My mother was very curious as to why that was the book I had in my purse. I informed her that on my 101 in 1001 is a goal to read the BBC top 150 books. She laughed.  I just thought she was mocking my goal to read that many books.

Nope.

She asked why I cared about the BBC. Let me tell you, I had no idea what the BBC was...so I was nonchalant and said because it was cool. BBC isn't anything bad but it's the British Broadcasting Corporation. When I googled (yeah it's a verb) "top 150 books" the first link was BBC's top 150. So, no, there is not any specific tie to the BBC, I just wanted to read the "top 150" in 1001 days. Go me.

Now on to War and Peace...
Everyone who has read it and reviewed it speaks of it as if it's gold. I'm very curious. There are SO many characters in this book but they are ALL very developed and well written. The book is giant. My mother laughed at me because instead of downloading it to my Kindle, I brought the giant book with me in my purse. I love my Kindle, don't get me wrong, but I feel like with classic books, you should own them...and I had already purchased it 2 years ago when I was taking a Literature class and was being ambitious. Obviously, that didn't work.

Today was a pretty good day. I've been unpacking all of my crap and realizing I don't need everything. A lot of what I have accumulated is junk. The other half of it is all teaching related and I have to keep--a file cabinet will be my best friend shortly. I even bought a cute little stamp that says "This Music Belongs To:" to put on ALL of my music. I paid for it. One of my goals on my 101/1001 is to alphabetize my music by title and again by genre. Of course, I can't do them both physically, so I will be creating a GIANT Excel document to catalog it all. That's going to be fun...

I ordered the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the Hobbit a couple of days ago, so that after I finish this giant novel of Russian-y goodness, I can move on to another series with even more names to try to remember. :)
That's all I have to say about that.