Ada Lovelace Day

I wanted to sneak in my Ada Lovelace Day post before today is over, so here we go! If you don't already know about Ada Lovelace, find out more here.

There are so many amazing women in science and technology that I could go on and on about, but I ultimately decided to talk about Danica McKeller (widely known as Winnie from The Wonder Years). But Danica more than just an actress - she has a degree in mathematics, and is a published writer! Danica is incredibly intelligent, and she's making a point to let young girls know that it's cool to be smart. Her books to date are Math Doesn't Suck and Kiss My Math.

We live in a world where people, both young and old, often say, "Oh, I'm no good at math!" Why is that okay? Why is that acceptable? As Neil deGrasse Tyson said at a talk I recently attended, you don't often hear someone say, "Oh, I'm no good at English!" or "Oh, I'm no good at reading!" And that's because it's socially unacceptable to not be good at talking or reading, and it IS socially acceptable to not be good at math and science. If you haven't already noticed... this angers me.

Anyhow! Danica is my pick for Ada Lovelace Day because she is making it okay to like math. And she's gorgeous, and talented, and everything young girls want to be. She's the perfect person to be this kind of role model, and I'm so happy to see her writing books that kids can connect with.

I also feel I should mention that I used to own a shirt that said, "Algebra is for lovers." Erica = big geek. As if you didn't already know that.

Wyandotte Winery

Alright, so I didn't really do any of the things I said I was going to do yesterday. But I still feel pretty good about my day off - I relaxed (of course), did the dishes, and went out shopping with Miranda. After wandering around Target for a while, I had the great idea to go visit Wyandotte Winery. It's very close to where I live and every time I drive by, I tell Jared that I should go sometime to see what kinds of wine they have. Miranda was interested in visiting too, so we left Target and made our way over to the winery.

This place was really fun. One of the owners, Valerie, greeted us as soon as we walked in and invited us to have a wine tasting. We tasted six wines for $5 - I've never been to a wine tasting before, but this seemed very reasonable. The wines we tasted ranged from a semi-dry Riesling to a sweet apple wine (check out the whole list here), and all of them were really good! It was hard to pick a favorite. We walked out about an hour later just a little loopy and with two bottles of wine in our possession - the White Roses (a semi-sweet white wine, made from the Niagara grape) and the Sweet William (a sweet red wine, made from a mix of Niagara and Baco Noir). The wines were very reasonably priced at $9.99 to $14.99 per bottle.

For a first time wine taster, this was a very welcoming atmosphere! Both Valerie and her husband Robin were friendly and fun to talk to, and the other guests were just as laid back, talkative, and enjoyable to be around. I'll definitely go back here again to review it for Obscure Ohio, and to try some of their other wines as well!

Things left unfinished

Sometimes I think that I'm a completely different person at home than I am at work. Not my personality really, but the way I do things. At work, I'm totally organized - even to the point of being anal retentive. I can't stand to let clutter pile up at my desk. I keep to-do lists, and finish projects ahead of schedule. I am motivated and work fast. I'm... a better person overall.

At home - well, that's another story. My desk at home is a disaster. I'm a packrat, and it's hard for me to get rid of things that I don't need. I procrastinate, even on things I would enjoy doing. I have a million projects that I've started and never finished, or just never got around to starting. I'm completely unorganized in almost every way imaginable.

I want to rectify this, but I'm not sure how. I get home after work and I feel so lazy. There are so many fun things I'd like to do, but I'm overwhelmed by my options. And when I feel overwhelmed, I don't do anything. I feel good when I get something done, but I really have to force myself to be motivated.

I know I just need to pick something and go with it. Focus on that one thing, and when I get it done, pick something else. I also know that I don't need to be productive all of the time at home, but I need to get enough done so that I can enjoy the fun things, and not feel guilty about the other stuff I should be doing instead!

So today is my day off, and I'm going to try to tackle some stuff I've been meaning to do. Things like cleaning my room, donating some bags of clothes to Goodwill, getting my oil changed. I also want to start working on some crafts - March is (apparently) National Craft Month, and if I get some of my unfinished projects done I'll post pictures of them here. I haven't done any crafts since Christmas, and that's just sad!

Is there anything you're trying to work on this month?