Conclusion of Hobbies

So, while trying to think of what blog to write next i was scrolling through my past few blogs and it hit me..... All of my hobbies are solitary hobbies, things i do alone. My friend at work argued that he reads together with his family; i do not think passing around a book so that everyone reads it classifies as a social activity. What do i know.

I have a lot of interests. I used to play softball, tennis, i want to learn to ski...join a bowling league or a pool league just for shits and grins. Im sure there are many more thoughts of things i wish i did more often, or even knew how to do. But the problem with group activities is getting a group or a partner that you can depend on, that will follow through. Im sure a psychologist would tell me that i have trust issues, no big news there.
How do you meet people who want to try new things? My current friends are all coupled up, and never do anything outside of their norm; hell, just trying to get one of them to join me for 50 cent well drinks last night was a pain in my ass.

So im asking for suggestions on group hobbies i can pick up, and suggestions on how to meet people who are doing those hobbies so i have someone to do them with.

Hobbies Part 3

So, another activity that i like to do in my spare time is read. I dont know if its technically classified as a hobby but whatever; this is my blog and ill do what i want!

What kind of books do i like? Honestly, anything that gets me out of reality. I have a very bad habit of getting so entranced into a book that i literally dont see the world go by. Lately, due to school, i leave my book that im reading at work so that i only read it during lunch and will actually get my school work done. I am one of the terrible "judge a book by the cover" type of people; i walk around the walmart/target book isle and find a book cover that looks appealing. Thats how i found my latest series. Sometimes ill ask the sales person at borders for some direction but typically thats how i find them.

Mostly, my favorite type of books are the scifi/fantasy. Of course the stereotypical Harry Potter series, and Twilight series have been good reads.  currently i am reading the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Another favorite is Dresden files by Jim Butcher. Its about a 30 something wizard living in Chicago. Hes a smart ass who cant stand authority. Its a great read.

The books that first got me started into the science fiction/fantasy world of literature was the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. While they were a series, they did not have to be read in order, though i felt it helped a little bit. Piers Anthony was the first sarcastic, smart ass writer i ever encountered. If you ever get a chance to read even just one of these books i do suggest The Color Of Her Panties. I know it sounds dirty but its really not.
The most hilarious thing about this series is it takes place in Xanth which is shaped like Florida.

Im constantly looking for new series' to read so feel free to offer up suggestions. Just none of the boring political shit :)

Hobbies Part 2

So, on to the second part of this series. How many entries classify a series anyway?

This next hobby i have been dabbling, and i do mean dabbling, in for the past 3-4 years. I love taking photos.  I want to be better at photography, but the problem is that i learn better with a one on one teacher, and also finding the time. Turns out Photography is an expensive hobby, especially if you want to do the things i want to do. I have so much equipment that i need to buy but no money to do so.
I do belong to a couple forum/groups that help beginners out,and i pick up some different tip and tricks here and there, but i still dont learn things well just by reading (which is why i dont do well with my online classes).

Part of my problem, i think, is that i am too scatter brained when it comes to creativity. I do not have a focused area of expertise. I love taking photos of children, and i love nature shots, and i love pinup/budoir photos and and and..... i could go on and on about my favorite photos ideas.

My friends think that im better than i give myself credit for, who knows. But i will share some of my favorite photos with you anyway.

This photos is of the Seattle Skyline from the Ferry (i cant remember which ferry at the moment there were alot). I like this mostly bc of the clouds. I had some much better photos, but when my laptop was stolen a few months ago so i lost most of the photos.

This photo is a one of a few i did at an event that a friend of mine sponsored. It was at a night club and called "nightie night" party. It was alot of fun, but i feel i could have done better with more equipment like an off camera flash and some reflectors.
But overall i know the girls had alot of fun and we did get some awesome shots, which was the whole point of this.

I take ALOT of pictures of my 6 nieces and nephews, but as they arent really posed photos i dont classify them as part of my portfolio.
Anyway, if you would like to see more of my photos feel free to check out my Flickr website, if you have a yahoo account you can sign in and see more i think than what originally shows.

Hobbies Part 1

So, in the spirit of sharing more of myself with you i thought what better place to start than my current hobbies. I have at least two hobbies if not more but i am only going to share one with you today as i am supposed to be reading 3 chapters for my Intro to Human Resource Management class right now.... yes i am a procrastinator dont judge me!!!!

The first one that i have just recently taken back up is Crocheting. Now, im not all that fantastic at it, but i have made a few things as of late that i am quite proud of.
I started my reentry into crocheting by making a scarf, i figured it would be easy to get back into the swing and routine of the stitch. However, it ended up being alot harder than i thought. About 10-15 rows into this pattern i would find myself upset with the results and unravel everything i had done... to start all over. I did this about 5 times before i just said screw it and decided to finish no matter what. I started this maybe a week or less before Christmas and finished it on New years day. Not to bad for as many times as i restarted it.
Below is a picture, and you can see the pattern. I loved the scarf, it didnt turn out at all like the pattern but it was nice in its own right.

Then when i got down to Springfield Mo, i decided to start a hat for my niece. I didnt use a pattern, just kinda went with my gut, and surprisingly it went ok. My cousin did pull out one of her pattern books for the flowers but the hat itself i think looks fabulous!!!!!

Thoughts and comments are most appreciated.
Also some ideas for something other than the standard.. gloves, hat, scarf, doilies would be awesome.
A girlfriend of mine has been doing animated characters such as supermario and bender from futurama... i dont think im that good yet.

Hello world, have you missed me?

Alas, im sure the answer is no but i will tell you where i have been regardless.

This weekend I went down home to Springfield, Mo to visit my family. Saturday was my oldest nieces birthday, she turned 6!!!  She is the oldest of my six nieces and nephews. The thing with family is that if you arent around them on a consistent basis when you are thrown into the mix and get a heavy dose of them all at once, you will become burned out on "family time" really fast.

I left Kansas City around 9 am on Thursday morning and despite the snow that dropped the night before and the threat of terrible roads i made record time down there with no mishaps. My mother rode down with me, and we managed to keep it peaceful on the way down also. Once we got to Springfield, we headed to my sisters to pick up one of my nieces. It was her birthday in December and since i could not make it down for her birthday i told her she could come spend some one on one time with me. While she is no longer the middle child, the second of four, she still has the typical middle child syndrome and was THRILLED that it was just her going and not the other kids. We then took her to my cousins house where we painted nails and had typical girly fun. Then.... my baby sister came over with her two kids. This ended up having 4 kids in a small two bedroom house; it was at that time i remembered how quiet and peaceful my apartment was sounding

The next day i went to my baby sisters house to hang out with her and her kids, and much to my surprise my middle sister had brought her four over while she went to work. I was so not prepared for 6 kids all at once but i stuck it out for a few hours till i tucked my tail and ran back to my cousins house for some nice quiet time.

Saturday was of course my nieces birthday and her party. I picked her up before the party, of course her mother didnt have her ready so we were 20 mins late for her party. Things like this stress me out, i hate being late but i got her ready and took her to the bowling alley. She had a great time, and got some awesome presents. As typical with my family, there was a little drama which i will not go into. So many kids at the bowling alley, not just with my group but apparently it was the day for bowling birthday parties.
As soon as the party was over, i ran out of there to safety!!! I went over to a girlfriends house, read a book and gossiped. I couldnt wait to get back to my life.

This weekend taught me a few things: 1-if i saw my family in smaller doses, more frequently i probably would not be as overwhelmed; 2-i miss having some of my old friends close by to visit with; 3-where i used to want two-three kids i think 1 is going to be enough; 4-i need to do something more with my life or i will never have the family life i want so bad.

What I want

With everyone posting their new goals for the new year, i decided to share more of mine.
What i want for the new year, is a closer friend; someone i can call my best friend.
My gf Sharon came over tonight; i love her to death. We have so much fun when we are together and i just enjoy gossiping and typical girl stuff that goes on. But she isnt my best friend, and she has her own best friend.
We dont see each other much, in face the last time i saw her was when she helped me move. Though she is definitely an awesome friend for helping me move!!!!! I want more friends like her, single girls that i can hang out with, go scope hot guys at the bar with, or just girls that are willing to try new things with me.

Theres this new show on mtv called the buried life which is guys doing this list of things they want to do before they die, and they arent doing them alone.... they have friends.

Dont get me wrong, i have friends, im not this social outcast. I just dont have a best friend that does everything with me, that calls me first when something interesting happens... and vice versa. And it makes me sad, it also makes me think that this is why i am looking so hard for a relationship, bc i dont have a close personal relationship with anyone in particular. Definitely a bad reason to want a boyfriend.

I started really noticing my lack of someone the other day when i had some awesome news, and i called 5 people to share this news... none of them answered.

So the question is; what am i going to do about it?
The simple answer is make new friends and develop some closer relationships.
Life isnt simple.
How am i going to meet new females..................................


Can i get back to you on this?

My Adventure creating my first blog

As i stated in my first blog post, i decided to start this blog as part of my new years resolution. I will have to admit, the creation process was not as simple as i thought it would be. 


First, you have to decide where to start your blog. There are tons of websites!!!! So of course i googled "most popular blogging websites" and i got a few lists which included LiveJournal and our beloved Blogger. I chose Blogger bc i didnt have to fill out a new user application (thank you gmail!). 


Second, creating a blog name. Sounds soooo much easier than it was. I spent 3 hours going through every url name i could think of that might relate to me or my hobbies. The problem was i originally wanted this blog to be slightly anonymous as i used to google myself and i was the first 10 entries on there. Since then i have been demoted and im ok with that.
But alas, none of the cute, anonymous url names were available so i settled for something that encompassed more of my name. I chose USofMikki mostly as a random choice, i just happened to be catching up on one of my semi-favorite shows The US of Tara. Its a cute and funny show based out of my current town so i get a kick out of it.


As for actually writing a blog, that part is easy so far. I have so many ideas running around in my head about things i am interested in and things i wish to be interested in. From artys crafty stuff to sports and even adventures in the snow. Now finding the time to put everything down on the computer will be more tricky. My plan is to write at least one a day so im trying to remember to do that, even as it makes me late for work as i type this morning.


Many of the webpages i looked up about creating a blog said that the key to getting readers is to follow other blogs, so i have been trying to do that also. I do wish searching for blogs on Blogger was easier, but maybe i am doing it wrong. This whole "next blog" button is too random. I want to find people who blog in my area, single people who are interested in things im interested in. Perhaps have the ability to meet them and make new friends. 
Perhaps weird, but im ok with that thought right now. None the less i have followed about 8 or 9 blogs so far but i noticed this morning that some of those bloggers arent really updating so i might have to weed them out.


Time for work, one must not be late to sell those phones. The world will go crazy if their cell phone doesnt work properly....but thats a whole new blog.

Hello Father Winter, did i piss you off?

So i woke up at 3 am to find myself with nasty sinus/sneezing issues. YAY me..... But what do i expect for a bitter January morning when its 3 degrees outside. 3!!! i feel like i should be in Michigan, not kansas. It makes me long for the days of high school, especially as i watch the news and the school closings flash across the bottom of the screen.
I usually love the snow, but this year is different than the past years. It has snowed almost every day since Christmas Eve. Had 15 inches total for the entire month of December. This is too much!!!!! Take it back, im done.

Oh well, complain as much as id like it is not as if they will close work and i mistakenly bought an AWD vehicle two years ago so i do not have an excuse for not making it in.

New Year, New Resolution

So ill start by introducing myself. My name is Mikki, i am a 27 year old single girl living alone in the Kansas City Metro area. I decided to start a blog as part of my new years resolution in order to routinely put thoughts down somewhere rather than keeping them bottled up.

Its taken me a few days to start this blog, mostly as i wasnt sure what website i wanted to use to host said blog. But here i am at Blogger, for no reason in particular other than the convenience of it being with Google as so much of my life seems to revolve around Google.

This entire blog will be very random and possibly make no sense, but ive always wished that i had kept a journal as a young girl and i feel what better time to start than now. I will also shamelessly admit that part of my desire to have a decent blog came from watching Julia & Julie, while the movie wasnt that fantastic the thought of having a blog interested me.

Other than starting a blog, i did come up with a few non-traditional resolutions for 2010.

-I want to be more thoughtful and remember my loved ones birthdays. In order to do this i created a calendar on google with my friends' and families' birthdays. My plan is to at least send a birthday card to tell them i am thinking of them. I have a few girlfriends who always seem to remember birthdays and always send cards for christmas. I want to be that kind of person, so it starts this year. Ive already bought a birthday card for my oldest niece, she turns 6 next week.

-become more organized with my school work. At this point in my life i work full time and also attend undergrad classes taking both online classes and classes at campus. With my work schedule being so sparatic, it often makes it hard for me to remember what class work must be done at which times. So far, i have downloaded an App for my android phone that i can manage tasks which need to be done and i am going to utilize the calendar on my phone more often.

while i would like to make the traditional "lose weight" resolution, i have a very hard time knowing that i will fail at this goal if done alone. So my final resolution is to find someone to work out with on a regular basis.

Not bad goals for 2010 in my opinion.

Tomorrow is Monday and i already have a case of the Monday's...