Fresh Haircut

Wacky Weather:  While I got a delayed opening on Monday, we experienced high 60-degree weather Wednesday.  Today, we were back to breezy and cold.  At least spring is around the corner!

At the office: I heard from the reviewer about the article that I submitted back in August.  Most of the comments were easy to fix, but some are going to require a little more thinking.  The editors want some measurable results.  How do you measure "awareness" or "increased interest"?  Fortunately, I have until March 1 to think of something.  My boss, who's actually on vacation in Florida, called me up this morning to talk about the article and comments.  I guess she wanted to prevent any premature panic.  I thought it was thoughtful, but I really think I could have held off on the panic until Monday when she's back.

Fresh haircut: I zipped out after lunch to get a haircut.  I was very impressed by the hair stylist because I basically showed her a picture of a haircut I got in March 2012 and asked her to duplicate it.  Yep, she did and got a nice tip.  Thank you, Hair Cuttery.

Winter Weather and New Chicken Dish

Delayed Opening: To prevent slipping and sliding, OPM decided to give federal workers (and those that follow the federal government schedules) a delayed opening.  I didn't have to be at work until noon.  This came in really handy because I was able to stay up late working on a card order so that it'd be ready to ship this morning.

Recipe #1 of 2013: I tried this baked chicken/green beans/potato dish that I saw on Pinterest.  I used olive oil instead of butter and added some parmesean cheese on top.  The dish baked in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes so that the potatoes would be tender.  Yum yum.  I vacuumed my house and scrubbed the kitchen sink while I waited.  Hooray for multi-tasking.

New Nails and Alexandria Restaurant Week

New Nails: I'll use any excuse to a) use a coupon and b) get new nail polish.  It's a fantastic extra bonus if the two are combined.  CVS was having a sale on these new CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss polishes (2/$10 and then take $3 off with a manufacturer's coupon and then you get a $1 coupon when you check out so it's really like getting these for 2/$6).  I wandered over to CVS after spin class this morning and bought two colors that I didn't have in another brand at home (I know, how is that even possible??): Wine to Five and Constant Caribbean.  Constant Caribbean, a teal-ish color, is the one that I put on today (2 coats).  It's very similar to the Hotski for Tchotchke Shallac manicure that I got in November for Robyn's birthday.  Now I can get the same manicure, but for a fraction of the Shellac price.

Alexandria Restaurant Week: Robyn, Meg, Maria and I went to The Wharf for dinner tonight to take advantage of the Restaurant Week menu.  They had a fixed menu that had a few options for appetizers, entrees, and dessert for $35 (not including tax and tip).  I went with the lobster crabcake, Maine Lobster-Scallop Au Gratin with mashed potatoes, and Mixed Berry Créme Brulee.  OMG, the food was amazing as usual.  Good thing I went to spin class this morning!

Song of the day: "Mermaid"- Train

New Office Order

A few days ago, I got an email from Human Resources for another card order.  This is going to be a big project (~100 cards).  They wanted me to make thank you cards that would be given to staff during Employee Appreciation Week in March.  The usual rules apply: gender neutral colors and minimal materials/cutting. This is the design that I came up with.  I thought that shapes and squiggles were pretty gender neutral.  I made a few today to get started, but then I decided to stop there and check with HR to make sure that they are okay with this design.  I didn't want to get to card #90 and find out it's not what the client wanted. 

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal, Warm Red, Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre.  Stampin' Up- Elegant Eggplant
Stamp: Studio G (sentiment), K.I. Memories- Patterns (flower)
Punch:  EK Success Postage Stamp border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Other: Black Ultra Fine Point Sharpie

New Wall Decal

Weather: OMG, it's so freakin' cold today.  At least there was some snow to make the cold weather worth it.  It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to make traffic crazy on the way home, even though I left early.  My card skidded a little (nothing was hurt!) when I turned into my parking lot even though I must have been driving at 1 mph.  I was going to go to the library to return the Tangled DVD that I borrowed because it was due today, but I decided that I would just pay the fine.  The roads looked bad and I didn't want to risk anything.

Home Decor: One of my New Year's Resolutions was to finally decorate my bedroom.  My friend Steph gave me an Etsy gift card so I used it to buy a wall quote decal.  After shopping around, I settled on this Audrey Hepburn quote ("Happy girls are the prettiest.") from ALastingExpression.  The seller is in Alaska so it took a little while to get here, but the package arrived safely and unharmed today.  I was so happy to see it on my doorstep when I got home today.  Armed with some washi tape and a chair, I put it up tonight.

Heart Flag Card

Brrr!: I finally broke out my heavy winter coat today with a scarf today.  I don't think it got above the 20s today.  I wish it was snowing to make all the cold weather worth it.


Card: My goal for today's card was to a) use some of the items that I bought last week and b) some of my Stampin' Up ink pads that have been neglected lately.  I learned on some crafty YouTube video (it's been a while since I've seen it, so I can't remember which one specifically) to use a hole punch to punch a notch where floss will be wrapped around cardstock to ensure that it stays in place.  I wish I had learned that trick a while ago!

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan. Stampin' Up in Pool Party, Elegant Eggplant, Regal Rose
Stamp: Martha Stewart- Patterns (dots), Hero Arts- Year Round Sentiments (hearts), Studio G (heart flag)
White Gel Pen: Uni-Ball Signo Broad White Gel Pen
Baker's Twine: We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy Fancy Floss in Candy Stripe

Fall-To Layout #224

Lazy day: Today was definitely a relaxing day.  I went to spin class in the morning, stopped by to visit my parents, came home home to shower and work on Valentine's Day cards for an upcoming craft fair in February and then took a nice afternoon nap just because I could. 

Etsy shop: I love this time of year because my sales usually pick up as people start to buy Valentine's Day cards. I got 2 orders today and then I'm waiting for the custom order customer to purchase her order.  With the extra money in my pocket, I have my eye on some Lifestyle Crafts dies.

Card: Here's my take on Fall-To Layout #224.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Paper: Chatterbox
Stamp: Studio G
Embossing Folder: Sizzix/Basic Grey- Fleur Tile
Chipboard Pieces: American Crafts Sweethouse I Heart You
Punch: Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Other: Black Ultra Fine Point Sharpie

Goodies from Michaels

While I didn't have luck at Michaels last week, I made up for it today.  I took advantage of the $5 clear stamp sale as well as the Christmas clearance (mwah ha ha).  Using up the gift card that Julie gave me for Christmas also helped.  I got the following items from Michaels and the total came out to a little over $7.  My goal was to get the Hero Arts clear stamp sets "Year Round Sentiments" and "You and Me" because I had seen people talking about them on YouTube.  I was disappointed when I didn't see them in the stamp aisle.  Good thing I checked out the Valentine's Day section because that's where I ended up finding them.  I walked around some more and found the Christmas clearance section and did more damage there.  It's tough to pass up Hero Arts Christmas clear stamp sets for $1.59 when they can be easily $15 regular price.  Too bad I have to wait until this Christmas season to use them.  The wood block stamp was $0.39!  This was another item that I saw on YouTube hauls that I had to have.  I must have taken the last one! I'm not sure about this glimmer spray that I got, but I figured it'd be worth a try for $2 (hah, that's the same excuse that I used for the gelatos that I bought last week).

I also tried some new candy too.  Both packs are yummy, and I would buy them again.

I worked on an Etsy order this afternoon and then later invited my friend Beth over to watch Tangled with me.  I had seen it before and really liked it.  I'll have to find a copy for my DVD collection at some point.

Organizing Craft Fair Items

Ever since I started doing craft fairs, I put all my cards in several cardboard boxes.  While this method has worked, I'm not liking it so much anymore because the boxes are getting kinda beat up and they take up a lot of room in my bedroom closet.  I saw that A.C. Moore was having a sale on under-the-bed storage boxes (3/$10), so I went there tonight to get some and I was able to consolidate a lot.  I even picked up some cute $1 Valentine's Day stamps.

Deer Valentine's Day Card

At the office:  My boss is in the office this week. In the middle of our weekly 1-on-1 conversation, someone told us there was pizza in the kitchen.  There was a pregnant pause.  She finally asked me if I wanted to get some.  At the same time, I was thinking "How quickly can this conversation be over so I can get some pizza?"  I enthusiastically said YES!  She laughed, "I know you too well..."

Fun snail mail: Meg, Robyn and I sent Julie a care package, which included several types of gummies, chocolate, homemade brownies, fun soap, and mustache erasers.

Card: Here's the last Valentine related embellishment from the opened package (I've used the bee and raccoon recently).

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal 
Paper: Chatterbox
Stamp: The Paper Company Studio- My Funny Valentine (sentiment)
Stickers: TPC Studio- My Funny Valentine (deer)
Punch: Fiskars Threading Waters border punch, Recollections (heart)
Other: Black Ultra Fine Point Sharpie

Fall-To Layout #223

Spinning: I finally got called out for being at lots of classes lately.  Usually, it's "Tina, where have you been, girl?" and then guilt ensues.  Nope, I've been good!  I also lipsynced to Justin Bieber, but who's really watching, right?

Card: Here's my take on Fall-To Layout #223. This bee is the second embellishment from the My Funny Valentine set that the raccoon came from.  I'll have to find a good use for the deer that's left.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal 
Paper: American Crafts- Letterbox
Stamp: The Paper Company Studio- My Funny Valentine (sentiment)
Stickers: TPC Studio- My Funny Valentine (Bee)
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Floral Doily Motifs
Punch: Martha Stewart Garden Gate border punch
White Gel Pen: Uni-Ball Signo Broad White Gel Pen

Culture and Case of the Mondays

Culture: I went with Meg and Robyn to Cosi and the Roy Lichtenstein exhibit yesterday at the National Gallery.  It was nice to catch up in person because we didn't get to so much when we went to see Les Mis at the beginning of the year.  

Case of the Mondays: I got all the way to the office today only to realize the I forgot my work computer at home!  Ugh.  Fortunately, I don't live that far away.  Sheesh.

Case of the Mondays, Pt 2...Homeowner win/fail: The toilet flap cover that my mom gave me didn't work out as well as I originally thought.  I woke up several times during the night to the sound of the toilet running.  I went to the hardware store to pick another one up.  Please let this work again.  So far, so good.

Raccoon Love Card

Nails: The cashier at Staples complimented me on my nails.  Hee hee.  

Crafty Shopping: After watching a few Michaels hauls on YouTube yesterday, I ventured out to 2 of them today to see if I could find goodies for myself.  Being super picky about what I was going to spend money on, I only came out with a 2-pack of metallic Faber-Castell Gelatos.  I don't know what the original price of these are, but I got them on clearance and then I was able to use my 40% off coupon.  The final price was $1.27.  I didn't even use my own money because Julie gave me a Michaels gift card for Christmas.  Truth be told, I had no idea how to use these, but for $1.27, it was worth the risk.

Happy Mail: My friend Suzie sent me this stuffed kitty that she made.  How cute, right?  I think I'm going to name it Pokey...as in Garfield's teddy.  He'll hang out with Ginger on one of my bedroom shelves.  For Christmas, I sent her a bunch of my homemade cards because I know that she, too, likes to send snail mail.  One of the cards that I made came back to me.  I always find that amusing.

Homeowner win: My toilet upstairs has been giving me trouble recently, specifically the flapper.  I replaced it this afternoon (Mom actually had an extra one at home...she is prepared for everything!) and it seems to be doing much better.  Fingers crossed.

Movie fail: I borrowed several DVDs from the library yesterday.  One of them being Drive.  I have to say that Ryan Gosling was a motivating factor, as well as it's 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  I started watching it tonight and got about 2/3 the way through and decided it was too awful to continue.  Gosling appeared wooden.  It was violent (too much for my tastes anyway).  Just plain not interesting.  YAWN.  I think the last time I had this feeling was when I watched Prince of Persia.  Again, the movie was so bad that a) I couldn't finish it and b) a hot actor wasn't enough to save it.

Card: I found some cute TPC Studio chipboard embellishments at Tuesday Morning today.  Each package has a raccoon, bee, and deer, and Tuesday Morning sold them as a bundle of 6 for $4.49!  I decided to use some scraps that were already near my paper trimmer, specifically the metallic red and the negative of a die-cut.

Card Specs:
Paper: American Crafts- Letterbox, American Crafts- Hello Sunshine
Stickers: TPC Studio- My Funny Valentine (raccoon), Basic Grey Micro Mono Stickers
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Punch: Martha Stewart Garden Gate border punch
Other: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

New Nails

My dark purple nails (I forgot to take a picture if it last week) were in bad shape last night, so it was time to switch it up today. Instead of doing the Konad stamping on all my nails, I used two kitty nail decals (one for each thumb) from a set that Julie gave me for Christmas.  TheFogShoppe is the Etsy shop she got them from, in case you wanted to get a set for yourself. It'll be interesting to see how they hold up when I wash my hair. Cute, huh? :)

Base coat: OPI Black Onyx. (2 coats). Silver: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Silver Sweep. Bundle Monster plate #206.

Office Order, Part 2

At the office: Today and tomorrow are meeting heavy days, which means...oh yes, food at the office.  After I parked in the garage, I checked my phone for office emails and there was one saying that there was breakfast food in the kitchen.  Perfect timing.  One of my friends was at the front desk to let guests in.  I offered to make him a plate as I was getting my food.  It paid off nicely because he set aside some lunch leftovers (pad thai) for me because I had an afternoon of conference calls.  I also got some colleague good-bye cake on my way out.

I know of 2 meetings that are going on tomorrow.  Mwah ha haaaa.

Card: So this is Part 2 of the office order that I received on Monday.  Here's the card from Part 1.  I was asked to make 11 gender-neutral anniversary cards.  I'm starting to get the hang of these gender-neutral themed cards lately.  Basically: no glitter, no flowers, no pink.  Teal and orange are good go-to colors.

Card Specs: 
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Deep Lagoon, Charcoal.  Stampin' Up in Riding Hood Red.
Stamps: Hero Arts- Everyday Sayings, Hero Arts- Envelope Pattern, Stampin' Up- Definitely Decorative Ferns
Paper: Chatterbox, American Crafts- Classics

Office Order, Part 1

I decided to work from home today because I had a longer-than-usual list of things that I needed to get done.  When I telework, I feel obligated to get as much stuff done because I never want my boss to feel like I'm not working hard at home.  I love having the flexibility, and I wouldn't want that privilege to be taken away.

I went to spin class tonight after a 5 minute debate with myself.  As usual, "spin" always beats "no spin."

The Human Resources department ordered some birthday and anniversary cards today, so that's what I worked on tonight: 9 birthday cards.  I definitely borrowed the idea from this card that I found on Pinterest.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal
Stamps: Studio G
Paper: American Crafts - Abode, Pebbles- Cats and Dogs, Chatterbox
Embossing folder: Basic Grey- Dots Set #2

Songs of the day: "Anything Can Happen" - Ellie Goulding and "Working Man" - Imagine Dragons.

Fall-To Layout #222

Thankfully today went by so much better than yesterday.  I went to an hour spin class this morning, stopped by my parents' house to say hi (and ate some leftover veal parmesean that was in the fridge), and ended today with making a big pot of chicken vegetable soup for the week.

Card: Here's my take on Fall-To Layout #222.  Purple's not my usual go-to color, so I decided to switch it up a little bit by featuring it in today's card.  It also gave me an excuse to use one of my Basic Grey fabric flower stickers.
Card Specs:
Card Base: Recollections
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Whisteria, Charcoal
Stamps: Me & My Big Ideas- Sassy Icons (flourish), Fiskars- Just Between Friends
Punch: Fiskars Apron Lace border punch
Paper: American Crafts Specialty Paper in Pearl
Floral sticker: Basic Grey Bloomers- Sweet Threads collection
White Gel Pen: Uni-Ball Signo Broad White Gel Pen

Patience is a virtue.

I feel like I need a reset button to my day.

I was on my way to my friend Cristina's house for a potluck with some other friends from graduate school, and I got a little lost.  The street that I was on was a dead end to someone's driveway/house.  If that wasn't scary enough, as I was approaching the house, I noticed two big dogs in the yard, unleashed.  I backed up slowly so that I could turn around, and the back of my car tapped the lamp post, causing it to lean a little.  A big older guy came out of the house, "I can't believe you knocked into my lamp!"  Ugh, great.  I got out of the car and he proceeded to get very stern with me.  I profusely apologized and automatically offered to pay for the damage, but he proceeded to rant.  Ok, do you think I did that on purpose?  I'm already lost and late.  What else do you want me to do?  I was trying to be careful so that I didn't hit your dogs with my car.  Whatever I said (which is a blur to me at the moment)  seemed to calm him down enough to help me guide my car so that I could be on my way.

This whole situation didn't really upset me until I got home.  I don't really deal well when I get the sense that I'm backed into a corner.  Anyway, I feel like I learned a valuable lesson today.  If I should ever be in that situation again and the roles were reversed, I would know how NOT to act.  Everybody makes mistakes!

It also didn't help that a cab driver got fresh with me at the gas station for taking longer than normal to pull out of the gas station pump when I was finished filling up.  I was getting my GPS ready for my trip to Cristina's place.  It's not like there weren't other gas pumps that were free!  RAWR.

It's situations like these that really test my faith in people.  However, tomorrow's another day to get it right.  I'll try to make it to spin class in the morning.  Maybe the endorphins will perk me up.

On a brighter note, the potluck was fun.  My contribution was Banana-Black Bean Empañadas.  Cristina was gave us a tour of her house, which was beautiful.  She also let us know that she's expecting in June...identical twin boys!!

Les Misérables

Movie night: I haven't even made it through one week in the new year, and I've already been to the movies.  Tonight, Meg, Robyn and I went to see Les Misérables in Chinatown.  I haven't seen the musical, so what I know about the story came from Wikipedia.  I wasn't sure what to expect since I've heard mixed reviews, but it was pretty good.  I wouldn't say that it's something that I would buy on DVD just because I spent so much time crying through it, tears just streaming down my face when Anne Hathaway sang "I Dreamed a Dream" and at the end of the movie.  It was really different to see Hugh Jackman so sickly looking, since in my head, he will always be Wolverine from the X-Men.  But I guess that goes to show that he is a versatile actor.

Presents: Meg got me a fun tumbler for Christmas.  If you look carefully, it says CRAFT: Creating Really Awesome Fun Things. I also got some cookies and Hershey's Kisses, which I'm eating for "dinner" since there wasn't time to get a bite to eat before the movie.  If we waited any longer, we would have had to sit in the very front row.

Small victory: As I was walking to the house, the Neighborhood Cat was sitting outside my place.  It ran to me and let me pet...him (I think it's a him).  It's cold night like tonight that makes me feel sad for the stray animals out there.  When the cat and I parted ways, I unlocked my door to a warm house and RJ on his back, showing off his belly.  Anyway, this was a small victory because it's always been very shy and always runs away.  It's never come towards me before!

Call me the Cat Whisperer.

Sweets at the Office

At the office: After having a few days off for the holidays, it was a little tough to get out of bed this morning to trudge to the office.  Fortunately, traffic was very light and I whizzed past many green lights.  I was pleasantly surprised by a little baggie of chocolate that my office mate left for me.  I wonder how long they've been sitting here since it's been quite a while since I've sat in this seat.  I've been setting up camp in the main office the past few weeks just because there was more life in that building lately.  I was hoping that she would come in, but she took a sick day today.  Anyway, the chocolate was exactly what I needed to get through the first day at the office.  This is funny because I got her two packs of Junior Mints before a big meeting that she was running.  Candy solves many of our problems.

Good thing this is a short work week.  I don't think I would have been able to handle a full work week.

I realized this past Monday that there are 2 reports that are due on FRI. (panic ensues)  UGH, if I wasn't on vacation mode last week, I would have drafted it last week when I was at the office!  Fortunately, my boss and I were able to work on it today, and it's now gone out for review.  Whew, that was close.

Family: Julie is going back to school tomorrow, so Dad got some take-out and I went over to my parents' house for our last dinner together until probably March.  After dinner, Julie and I were looking at Pinterest and laughing a photos of Grumpy Cat.

Card: For today's card, I wanted to make a card for my friend Page.  She's on school break for now, but if it's anything like going back to work today, going back to pharmacy school will be just as tough.  I wanted to send her a card around the time that the new semester starts so it'll perk her up as she starts to hit the books again.  I broke out a new punch that I bought a while back, a new ink pad (Sahara Sand), and a new stamp set (Good Neighbors).

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan, Warm Red, Deep Lagoon. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Vintage Photo. Stampin' Up in Sahara Sand.
Stamp: Stampin' Up- Good Neighbors (houses), Hero Arts- Envelope Pattern
Paper: American Crafts- The Classics
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 8
Rub-On: Karen Foster Design- Thinking of You
Punch: EK Success Acanthus Leaf border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Other: Stampin' Up Marker in Crumb Cake

Happy New Year!

The year is already off to a good start with going to a 1-hour spin class this morning!  Whoo hoo! 

In the afternoon, I went around to Michaels, AC Moore, TJMaxx, Ross and Bed Bath and Beyond, thinking that I could score on some after Christmas sales.  I guess I was late to the party because there wasn't a lot of inventory left and the stores have started transitioning to Valentine's Day.  Meh, no biggie.  More money in my pocket.

Ok, time to revisit my 2012 Resolutions to complete by January 1, 2013. 

Overall, it was kinda an "eh" year in terms of meeting my New Year's Resolutions.  However, I embarked on things that weren't on the list, so I feel like that kinda balances things out.

• Read 20 books that I've never read before. I wasn't into reading as much this year as I should have been.  There was too much time spent on Pinterest and YouTube.
• Complete all the races that I did in 2011 and beat my times.
  - St. Patrick's Day 8K: 52:43. Meg and I already registered, so that's a good first step. Now it's just a matter of finding my running legs. Time= 54.20.
  - Capitol Hill Classic 10K: 66:14 Didn't do this race.
  - Kensington 8K: 51:35 Didn't do this race.
  
• Use 25 brand new recipes that do not use a crock pot and is not a casserole. 5 of those dishes have to include some sort of seafood. Hmm, I made it to #14, none of them were seafood related and some of them I cheated and used a crock pot. Seafood's still a little too intimidating for me.  Plus, I'm not a fan of fish.  On a better note, I've perfected my chicken marsala and dal nirvana.
• Reach 785 sales on Etsy. This was a very lofty goal.  I'm currently at 714.  I did make some very good sales at the office and offline though.
• Lose at least 10 pounds by April 30 and spend the rest of the year maintaining that weight. HAH, yeah right.  Well, at least I maintained my weight all year, despite all the baking that I did!

Things that I accomplished but were not on the list:

• I taught my first origami class! I hope there will be opportunities to do this or something similar in 2013.
• I dipped my toe in the online dating pool and while I'm not seeing anyone at the moment, it was a good learning experience and exercise in putting myself out there.  As an introvert, I felt like this was a huge step for me.

2013 Resolutions to complete by January 1, 2014

• Decorate my bedroom and living room.  Right now, the majority of the bedroom walls are still void of any artwork, so it's time to fix that.  I have some pieces that I have saved for my bedroom, but it's not enough to fill an entire wall.  I hope to find some good pieces in the spring during yard sale season.  As for my living room, I have one wall left.  The thought of putting up a vinyl quote in both rooms crossed my mind.  I'll have to look to Etsy for something inspiring.
• Save enough money to buy a new car.  My youngest cousin will be graduating from college in the Spring, and the plan is to give him my car (2002 Civic) as a graduation present.  Which means that I'll have to figure out what I'm going to drive after I hand over my car.
• A modified version of one of last year's resolutions: use 15 brand new recipes that do not use a crock pot and is not a casserole or baked good. 2 of those dishes have to include some sort of seafood. 
• Continue to have an open mind about online dating.  I don't think I fully utilized my 6 month membership last year because I only dated 2 guys (1 only lasted one date and the other guy 4 months).
• Get to at least 800 Etsy sales.

Next stop: 30th birthday in February (gah!) and a Bahamas cruise in March!  There's a lot to look forward to in 2013 already!