Vegetarian Snow Days

Goals in progress for today: #3 Have a meal/coffee/visit with a friend or family member twice a month, #5 Document my year by taking a picture (with me in it!) every week, #14 Be vegetarian for a month, #15 Watch the classic movies everyone has seen but me, and #22 Take some sort of artsy class like spinning yarn or painting.   

There's been a pretty good ice storm here in the Midwest and I've been off work for 3 days because of it.  I've had lots of time to knit and clean and watch movies.  Today I watched Desk Set, which was recommended to me by Jessica, and I really liked it.  She told me in no uncertain terms that I am NOT done with #15 Watch the classic movies everyone has seen but me.  I've added Pillow Talk to the list, and I sent back my copy of Sunset Boulevard that wouldn't play.  Hopefully those will come in the mail soon, because I'd like to mark this one off the list. 

On Saturday I went to the Trading Post for Fiber Arts in Pendleton and took a class on spinning yarn from a very talented woman named Kate.  I had never touched a spindle before and by the end of the 2 hour class I was actually making yarn.  It was like magic!  I forgot my camera so there's no photographic evidence that this actually happened, but I'll be going back on Saturday morning and will ask Jasmine if she'll take a picture for me.  Once I have a picture I'll mark #22 Take some sort of artsy class like spinning yarn or painting as complete.  Hooray!!

For this installment of #3 Have a meal/coffee/visit with a friend or family member twice a month the BF and I went out for dinner on Saturday for his birthday.  It was 2 weeks early but I wanted to eat a steak, and since February is my #14 Be vegetarian for a month month, we decided the end of January was just fine.  So far being a vegetarian hasn't been too hard.  True, it's only been 3 days, so my opinion still has plenty of time to change. 

You may have noticed that I didn't go to any museums in January.  I'm going to make up for that by going to 2 in February. 

Here's my #5 Document my year by taking a picture (with me in it!) every week for this week.  It's from my dinner with the BF.  I think we clean up pretty well!

More later peeps. 

Did ya miss me?

Goals in progress for today: #3 Have a meal/coffee/visit with a friend or family member twice a month, and #5 Document my year by taking a picture (with me in it!) every week.  

So remember in my last post I said I'd start blogging more frequently?  Well, obviously that didn't happen.  That was 3 weeks ago, which means I owe the blog 3 pictures of myself for #5 Document my year by taking a picture (with me in it!) every week.  I sadly do not have 3 pictures to share.  I do have 2, neither of which are flattering, but I suppose that's my punishment for neglecting the blog for so long. 

I have gone above and beyond my goal for #3 Have a meal/coffee/visit with a friend or family member twice a month this month.  I've gone to lunch with Brandi and with my sister (on separate occasions) and I went to my friend Jo's birthday celebration, among other visits/meals/etc.  Now ask me if I took any pictures at any point during these outings.  The answer would be no.  Slacker. 

My plan for a place to volunteer has fallen through since I never heard back from them, so I'm on the lookout for another place.  I think I've found my destination for my weekend away and the plans are starting to form.  I'm also going to start designing my knitting pattern soon.  I've started talking about it with a few people and I'm feeling pretty good about it. 

I'll try not to be such a stranger  from now on. 

Rosebud

Goals in progress for today: #6 Volunteer somewhere I wouldn't normally volunteer, #8 Send 10 handwritten letters, and #15 Watch the classic movies everyone has seen but me. 

I've had Citizen Kane sitting by the television for two or three weeks now and I finally got around to watching it tonight.  For years I've heard about how wonderful it is, and how it's stunning, and how it's considered the best movie ever made.  I had very high expectations of this movie, and frankly I was disappointed.  That's not to say it's not a good movie, but it was not what I thought it would be.  In the past few weeks I've watched Citizen Kane, A Streetcar Named Desire, Rocky, and Harold and Maude.  Surprisingly my favorite (by far, I might add) has been Rocky.  What do you all think?  Is #15 Watch the classic movies everyone has seen but me complete, or are there more I need to watch?

A few days ago I decided to do a little research regarding opportunities for #6 Volunteer somewhere I wouldn't normally volunteer.  I found something I think I'd really enjoy doing so I emailed the lady to ask what I needed to do.  As of yet I have not heard from her, but I'm trying not to lose hope.  If it doesn't work out with this particular place I'll just have to find something else.  Such is life.

I haven't written a letter in quite a while so I decided today would be the day.  The fact that I forgot to bring my knitting and had nothing to do over my lunch hour may have also played into this decision, but the end result was a written letter.  This brings my total for #8 Send 10 handwritten letters to two.  My last letter was very well received, and I got a nice voicemail from the recipient.  This letter will be heading to my grandmother, who I don't call or see enough.  My friend Jessica got me a really cute gift to help me with this goal and this was the first time I got to use it.  Here's a picture of the adorable stationery she got me! 

It's a New Year, People!

Goals in progress for today: #5 Document my year by taking a picture (with me in it!) every week.  Two goals added! 

It's been 2 weeks since my last post which makes me feel like a major slacker.  I'd claim that I've been really busy, but truthfully I haven't been any busier than anyone else, and plenty of you have been posting.  Perhaps one of my resolutions will be to blog more frequently.  I think I'll shoot for twice a week.  That seems doable and it also doesn't seem like so much that people would get bored.  I didn't get to mark anything off the list, and I really didn't do a whole lot toward being able to mark things off, but I did take a bunch of pictures of myself!! 

Christmas was great this year.  The BF got me a strand of pearls and a Remington 870 Express 12 gauge.  A bit incongruous but I was a very happy girl. 

On Christmas Eve my family had our annual Christmas Eve party with the extended family.  I asked my aunt to take a picture of me with the BF, and I asked him to check to see if I had anything in my teeth.  And she took the picture.  Of him looking at my teeth.  Here are my #5 Document my year by taking a picture (with me in it!) every week for week 11.

Every year the NHL has a game on January 1st in an outdoor stadium.  They call it the Winter Classic and this year it was in Pittsburgh between the Penguins and the Capitals.  The BF is a die hard Penguins fan so we made the 6 hour pilgrimage from Indiana to Pennsylvania for the game.  It was cold and rainy and the Penguins lost but we still had a lot of fun.  Here's my #5 Document my year by taking a picture (with me in it!) every week for week 12.  Please note the guy behind us who also posed for the photo.  :)

I have been trying to come up with the last 2 things to round out my list of 30 things, and with some help I finally have.  #29 will be complete the 500 Fesitval Mini Marathon.  My sister will be doing this with me.  It's going to be a huge training commitment, especially considering that neither of us is particularly athletic, but it will be a great time.  My friend Amy suggested the last one to me, and I'm really excited about it.  #30 will be Dine at a Michelin Guide Starred Restaurant.  It will not be cheap, but it will be amazing.  I haven't decided which restaurant I'll be going to, but I know it will be in Chicago.  I'll be sure to update when I've picked it out. 

That's all for now everyone.  I promise that next time I post I'll either mark something off the list or have made progress toward marking one off. 

Ugly Sweaters and Zumba

Goals in progress for today: #3 Have a meal/coffee/visit with a friend or family member twice a month, and #5 Document my year by taking a picture (with me in it!) every week.

I love my knitting group.  I've met fantastic people and have made great friends.  I've mentioned before that my friend Jessica is working on losing weight and has created a blog dedicated to that goal.  She and I went to Zumba together last Tuesday and we'll be going on Tuesdays for a while.  It was the first time I'd ever been to a Zumba class and I'd heard from tons of people how fun it was.  Let me tell you my thoughts on it: It.  Was.  Awful.  I have absolutely no rhythm or coordination, and I had no idea what was going on or how to do the steps the instructor was doing.  I'll be going back because I'm supporting Jessica (and because I need to exercise more) and also because I've been told it gets easier the more you go.  I guess we shall see. 

On Friday our friends Eric and Jolene hosted an Ugly Christmas Sweater party.  I'd never been to one before and let me just say, it was awesome!! There were a bunch of people there so I'm counting it as my final #3 Have a meal/coffee/visit with a friend or family member twice a month for December. Eric and Jo are great hosts and know how to make everyone have a good time, and they didn't disappoint.  There was a white elephant gift exchange and the absolute best gift ever was given: a Shake Weight.  Have you seen these things?!  They're hilarious!!!  It was a huge hit, so whoever brought it did a great job.  The BF won the prize for the best ugly sweater.  It was the wife beater underneath that pushed it over the top.  Here are a few pictures from the night:

For this week's #5 Document my year by taking a picture (with me in it!) every week I'm going to put up a picture of me holding the BF's prize for winning best ugly sweater.  It's a flamingo ornament. 

That's all for now.  Happy holidays everyone!

Winter has Arrived.

Goals in progress for today: #3 Have a meal/coffee/visit with a friend or family member twice a month, #11 Turn up the music and clean for an hour every Sunday, #12 Visit one kitschy/specific/small museum or attraction every month, and #5 Document my year by taking a picture (with me in it!) every week.

I assume I am not the only person who feels like they lose days when the holiday season comes around.  Ever since Thanksgiving the days seem to be passing as if they're training for a marathon.  In the insanity that is holiday planning I have managed to get a little bit of stuff done.  I'm still taking guitar lessons for #2 Learn to play a song on the guitar and while we haven't met in a few weeks, the French lessons are still on the calendar for #23 Learn French.  The BF and I are going to Chicago in March for a concert and we'll be taking the train from here which will allow me to cross #27 Take a train trip off the list.  I've been taking the stairs at work to help prepare for #16 Take the stairs to the top of the Soldiers and Sailors monument, although I think the 45 stairs I've been walking up don't compare to the 335 in the monument. 

Since we last met I've gone out with my friends a couple of times, but since I probably don't go out of my way to spend enough quality time with the BF (even though we live together) I'm going to count this past weekend as one of December's #3 Have a meal/coffee/visit with a friend or family member twice a month.  We went to Ohio for a Columbus Blue Jacket's game and stayed the night in a fancy hotel.  I got to see some great hockey, and during one of the intermissions there were little kids who played. 

On our way to Columbus we stopped at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton.  It was free, which is my favorite price, and it was HUGE.  We didn't have enough time to see everything so we'll be going back, but what we did see was really cool.  We focused our time in the Cold War gallery and the Space and Missile gallery.  I feel a little silly in saying this, but I had absolutely no idea missiles are as large as they are.  I thought the big ones were maybe 7 feet tall.  Wrong.  I'm excited to go back to see everything we missed! 

Saturdays have been working much better for me than Sundays for #11 Turn up the music and clean for an hour every Sunday.  This week was no exception, and I cleaned before we left for Ohio.  It was nice to come home to a clean house, especially after such an exhausting drive home through the snow.  I met with my awesome knitting group and was given an challenge from Jessica on #24 Publish a knitting pattern.  She has a slight obsession with Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and has asked me to consider a capelet from the show as my pattern of choice.  I've never watched a single episode of the show, so I have no idea what the capelet looks like, but I'm going to check it out and if it's within my very limited abilities I'll try it. I had originally planned on a hat or pair of socks, but perhaps this is just the ticket. 

I seem to have failed to post a picture for last week, so along with this week's here are my #5 Document my year by taking a picture (with me in it!) every week pictures.  Last week's was taken in a dark car on my phone, so I apologize for the poor quality.  This week's is me in front of a F-94C Starfire at the Air Force Museum.

Have a great week everyone! 

Goodbye, November

Goals in progress for today: #10 Participate in NaNoWriMo and hopefully finish.

The month is over, which means I am finished with #10 Participate in NaNoWriMo and hopefully finish.  Sadly, I did not finish all 50,000 words, however I did write a lot.  I won't disclose how many words I ended with, and I will never be letting another living soul read the crap I wrote, but I made an effort!  I'll probably try again next year.