Salvete's Memory Jar 2016



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Friday, January 1, 2016 - Last year’s resolutions

I happen to still have the piece of paper where I wrote down last year’s resolutions (and have subsequently written down this year’s resolutions underneath). So, I can give an accurate description of what I had hoped to accomplish last year.

My first resolution last year was to spend more time with family. Unfortunately, I definitely did not spend as much time with my family this past summer because I was almost always out hanging out with friends and making new ones. But after that, I definitely can say that I have tried my best to spend as much time with my family as possible. I now mostly live away from home, at a distance that is far enough that I can’t conveniently travel back and forth to visit. It is a sad but hopefully temporary situation. But I come home every weekend when I have time so that I can finally do things like have dinner with them and talk and go shopping and dance and sing and all the other random things I do with the people I love and grew up knowing. So I would say that at this moment, and probably in the future, I will be successful at maintaining this resolution.

My second resolution last year was to declutter. I am somewhat unfortunate in that I like to keep things but really don’t have the space to have all this stuff and still have the house look tidy. So I either need a bigger house or less stuff, haha! And the thing is, I don’t use most of this stuff I have. So I have been trying to get rid of things I don’t need. For example, I donated some toys around Christmastime. It makes me feel good that children will be able to enjoy these toys that I really have no use for anymore.

Saturday, January 2, 2016 - This year’s resolutions

So for this year’s resolutions, I wanted to continue my 2015 resolutions described above, as well as expand on my other two resolutions from last year.

So my third resolution from last year was to be happier. And I am accomplishing that by spending more time with family, decluttering, and other things.

And my fourth resolution from last year was health for self and loved ones. I am expanding on that resolution this year by exercising more and trying to have a more consistent life schedule. So far, it is somewhat getting there. I am dancing and swimming and definitely more active than I used to be, so I hope to continue being healthier and not as sedentary as before.

I am also hoping to be more productive this year. I have always been a pretty productive person, but it is now more important than ever that I stay on top of things, network with people, make connections, learn as much as I can, and get as much relevant experience as possible. All of these will be helpful to achieve what I would like to do in the future. I would say that so far, I am doing okay in this realm of things, but there is definitely a ton of room for improvement.

Sunday, January 3, 2016 - Ice sculptures

I have always wondered at the concept of an ice sculpture. I have never quite known how ice is sculpted into such a smooth and beautiful design. Or maybe they chip away at the ice, and it only becomes smooth once it has melted a little bit? I’m not sure. But I definitely know that every ice sculpture I have run my hands across has been smooth.

The thing about ice sculptures, much like chalk art on the sidewalk or those designs made in the sky by airplanes, is that the artistry is so beautiful and wondrous, yet so fleeting. Once the ice starts to melt, all the artist’s hard work disappears and is forgotten except in photographs and such.

And that makes me wonder how much ice sculptures actually cost. I imagine they cost a lot if they are made by hand.

I remember a friend who was thinking of having a special kind of ice sculpture at his rooftop barbecue party. It would have two slides made of ice so that you could pour some alcoholic beverage down the slide and have someone position their mouth at the bottom. That way, the liquid would be cooled by the time it was consumed at the bottom of the slide. Interesting concept. But he didn’t end up getting one of those for his party. Maybe at a future one.

EDIT: I just remembered! It's called a luge.

Monday, January 4, 2016 - In my kitchen

There are so many things in my kitchen. I guess I could just list everything. It would be interesting to see just how much stuff is in there.

There is a stove with an oven that has three pots and lids on it. one of the pots has salmon, tofu, and ham inside. The other two are empty. One of those pots is a little flatter than the others, but I’m not sure if it’s short enough to be considered a pan. This stove is white and has a digital clock in the middle. There is a range hood above the stove. There are also two towels hanging on the handle of the oven.

On the kitchen counter, there are so many things. The dish rack has a pair of kitchen scissors, spoons, chopsticks, and forks drying in the utensil compartment. Outside, there are jars and plates and cups drying. Next to the disk rack is a stack of pots and pans of various sizes as well as plastic tupperware stacked beside it. There are also things to be washed, including plates, spoons, a wooden cutting board, a metal bowl, and other kitchenware. There is also a toaster oven with some glass bowls and lids on top of it.

The sink has plates, bowls, and spoons in it that are waiting to be washed.

In terms of the food items on the counter, there are four boxes of various jello flavored mixes, a jar of white sugar, two different flavors of folgers coffee, a container of lipton iced tea powder, and tea packets. There are also bottles of oil.

We then of course have our huge plastic bag collection.

On the kitchen table, there is a microwave, some fruit, a rice cooker, some flyers, and other random things. Ohhh and I spy some granola bars, a bottle of wine, a box of Betty Crocker brownie mix, some onions, and some cookies.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016 - My yard

My yard…I don’t know much about my yard at the moment because I have not been out there since it is super cold where I am now. But I can say that there are lots of plants, including vegetables, growing in the soil portion of the yard. We have had everything from string beans to zucchini to tomatoes to corn to figs to nectarines. There are shovels, gardening gloves, rope, and a bag of manure. There are two trees…I don’t know what they are called. Fir trees? All I know is that they do not have leaves per se, but they do have these tiny reddish pink berries that the squirrels and birds eat. There are also clotheslines for when we hang out things to dry in the sunlight and outdoor wind so that they dry faster. But, we have clotheslines inside too and have been using those instead. It is good to have clotheslines inside too in case it starts raining or if there are too many mosquitoes outside during the summer.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016 - to my left?

Now that I am back in my living room (before, I was in the kitchen trying to list the things I saw there), I can now describe what things are to my left.

I am sitting on my black leather sofa, and I see two blue, brown, and beige pillows on the sofa to my left next to me. They have a moose on them. I really love those pillows.

There is also an upright piano to the left. It has a floral sheet over it, plus a cute puppy and kitty blanket (I believe from the ASPCA) in front. We put those there to prevent dust from collecting on the piano. On top of the piano, we have two large picture frames and some pictures. That is our temporary storage area as we figure out what pictures we want to put in those frames and later, decide where we want to hang those frames.

The piano bench is under the piano and is covered by a yellow sheet to prevent dust collection there too. And there is a blue pillow that I sewed that has some cute designs on it as well.

Beyond the piano, there is the radiator, covered by a metal radiator cover for safety reasons, and the beautiful curtains that are red, gold, and tan in color and striped.

Thursday, January 7, 2016 - to my right?

To my right, oh! so many things. That is because to my right is my desk, and basically everything is on top, next to, or under my desk!

On top of my desk are a cup that used to have water in it before I drank it all, a pin that has a cute candy cane on it, a lipstick, a mascara, a liquid eyeliner, a pair of false eyelashes, a flash drive, a topical spray, some feminine pads, a pencil sharpener, various pencil cups with pencils, pens, erasers, markers, highlighters, sharpies, scissors, rulers, and gel pens in them, a stack of printer paper, some books and textbooks, a lamp, some lotions, a few toys and balls, some perfumes, a pair of sunglasses, some papers with things written on them, some toothpaste, a frisbee, an empty mini jar, a bottle of nail polish, a sunscreen sample, two of those clip-on hand sanitizer tubes, another mascara, google cardboard, some bracelets, a bookmark, an origami dragon, some stickers, some lead in a lead case, a laser printer, and a hole puncher…just to name a fraction of what is on top of this messy desk.

Underneath the desk are stacks of books and textbooks that I haven’t been able to sell yet. Also, a box of things I want to either sell or donate. And the box my headphones came in. There really is a long list of things to my right…

And there is also a rolling chair for the desk, over which is draped a leather jacket.

Friday, January 8, 2016 - chores

I have never been assigned chores. My parents never gave me chores. But interestingly, I thus voluntarily take on responsibilities within the household despite not being asked to do so. If I see that the sink or counter is filled with dirty dishes and things, I will take it upon myself to wash them. If I see that there is not enough food, I will go and cook some rice or think about what dishes can be made with the ingredients in the fridge. If there is too much snow in the driveway, I will go shovel it. If things are dusty or if the floors need sweeping, you can count on me to grab the broom or a rag to get things cleaner. I do like to clean. It is just made difficult by the fact that I have so much stuff. More stuff equals more surface area for dust. And more stuff also equals less ease of dusting and sweeping the surfaces. Now that I mostly live away from home, my room is relatively tidy. I clean the toilet and sink a few times a week, for example (i.e. when I am there and using them). I sweep when necessary and dust my surfaces. I throw out the garbage. I wash the dishes.

Saturday, January 9, 2016 - my last vacation

My last vacation was a cruise to Alaska with family and extended family. It was so great. The weather was perfect, not rainy at all. The temperature was so nice except for like half a day when it was very cold. I got to visit a national park and check that one off my checklist. I got to see beautiful glaciers. I went ziplining for the first time. I collected a lot of free jewelry and some coins thanks to the sponsored "treasure hunts" associated with the cruise. My brother won a raffle for a free brick of fudge that we still have in our freezer.

Sunday, January 10, 2016 - travel

I love traveling. I have traveled all over the united states as well as to other countries in Asia and Europe. I hope to continue traveling every year and see new places, be exposed to other cultures, meet new people, and experience fun things.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - My new jam

I actually have several new jams. Two of them are old Taylor Swift songs that I heard on the radio but never discovered in full until recently. I found them only through Youtube's autoplay. That is, I was listening to other Taylor Swift songs, and once those were done, Youtube automatically loaded these two songs, which I recognized and immediately added to my playlist. And another jam is a more recent song by Demi Lovato that I only discovered recently thanks to a friend.

Monday, January 11, 2016 - The future of

I'm not sure what this one is asking. The future of Menewsha? I really hope Menewsha lasts for a really long time. Not only did I invest a lot of time into this site -- in fact, Menewsha is the only avatar site, and website, really, on which I am active -- but I love the avatars here, and I love the forums. I love the Menewsha members that I have met, interacting with them online even though I have never met them in real life. I want Menewsha to stay alive. I do hope that we can get more members onto this site to keep it more active, especially between events. I am glad that at least a lot of people come back for the events.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016 - Mmm jam

I love jam! I grew up eating lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I assume jelly and jam are the same thing. I ate grape jelly from welcher's, strawberry jelly from smucker's (those squeezey bottles), and orange marmalade with the orange peels from a jar. Those orange peels always confused me when I was younger.

Thursday, January 14, 2016 - Movie time

The last movie I watched in theaters was the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie!! I loved it a lot. I grew up watching the Star Wars movies with my family, so it was so cool to finally have a new Star Wars movie to watch, ten years after the last one came out! I also loved seeing Harrison Ford in another movie as well as Princess, turned General Leia portrayed by Carrie Fisher who played the original Leia! Very cool.

I am hoping to watch the other six Star Wars movies again in order to refresh my memory of the series, characters, and storyline.

I fortunately have a lot of DVDs of the movies I like, so I usually watch on the television. But if there is a movie I want to watch, for which I don't have the DVD or blue-ray, I will try to find it on Netflix or elsewhere on the Internet. I don't have my own Netflix account, but my friend let me borrow his because he is super nice.

Friday, January 15, 2016 - Happy thoughts

Most of my thoughts are happy. I am a generally happy person, and I acknowledge that I am very lucky to be that way. So it's hard to single out some happy thoughts to share here. I guess a happy thought could be anything from cute puppies and kittens to thinking of jokes your friends told you, or maybe thinking about your loved ones and family, or while you are enjoying the flavor of your favorite food. Maybe you discovered something new that delighted you. Perhaps you saw an awe-inspiring view of the landscape that made you happy. Or you heard a song you like. A lot of things make me happy.

Saturday, January 16, 2016 - Bears

My favorite kind of bear is the teddy bear.

I only like real bears from afar. Polar bears are awesome. Koala bears are not real bears, apparently, but I like those too. And panda bears, which are apparently more closely related to raccoons than they are to bears, are awesome and rather derpy.

Sunday, January 17, 2016 - Dat Merchandise

I wasn't sure what to write for this one, so I googled merchandise and tried to find a cool picture to share.

And oh my goodness look what I found



I LOVE THOSE MICROBES!!! Look how cute the common cold is in that Santa hat! And there is even a Christmas tree shaped box filled with various microbe plushies! And wow, even a soap dispenser shaped like the common cold. And what are those, ties? And cute mugs and hats with the microbes printed on them! How cute is that?!

Monday, January 18, 2016 - “B” is for



beautiful, bliss, blessings, beliefs, beings, babies, bottles, brilliance, bravo, bubbles, bananas, beef, blooming blossoms, breeze, benevolence, beneficial, balance, beyond, black, blue, bins, boxes, bows, bowties, balloons, buttercups, Barney, Barnabas, bringing, beauty, bunches, bed, bedroom, Bach, Beethoven, Baroque, birdies, birds,