Week: ?

New years eve is currently happening. I meant to post earlier and forgot, so here is my quick post.

I seasoned my cast iron skillet today that I got for Christmas in 2009. That's right. Anyway, I'm excited to do fun things with it.

Happy 2012!

Week 47: Nothing New Here

I'm so, so, so big on traditions and most of the traditions we have involve Christmastime. This week was spent finishing shopping, baking (trying to...remember when I said I became a baker? That didn't last...), and, in general, feeling the Christmas spirit. Today, Christmas Eve (day), I super-cleaned the house more than I ever do in preparation for Santa (my parents got me to clean my room without a fight one day a year during my childhood, and now I still feel like I need to have a clean room (house) for Santa to come to!). Then, we went to Scott's parents for their annual open house. I love that tradition- his parents are truly some of the most generous and warm people you could ever meet and this event makes them shine even brighter. :) After Scott and I got home, we unwrapped our one gift each from each other, which was pajamas, like always. My parents always got me a new pair of pajamas while I was growing up. When my Mom died, sweet friends made sure that this tradition continued until I started dating Scott and he carried the torch. I love that I've worn a new pair of pajamas every Christmas Eve of my life. We are finishing the evening watching Home Alone 2. Tomorrow, we'll wake up ridiculously early, make our rounds and then finish up with Chinese takeout.

So, nothing new happened this week, and that's totally ok with me. I hope this week is pretty much the same for the rest of my life.

Merry, merry Christmas.

Week 46: Metamora!

I've somehow never been to the cute little town of Metamora, IN (which I've affectionately dubbed Metamorie- just because) until today. I really don't know how that happened. I remember friends and family making trips to this little place filled with crafts, fudge, Christmas decor and general charm, but for some reason, it took me 29 years to make the trek. I loved this special place and am looking forward to many return trips in the future. I definitely need to eat at the restaurant we (my bestie Laura and I) ate at today- it was a very country kitchen and a scene from Rain Man was shot in that very restaurant. It was so tasty- my favorite bites involved chicken salad and homemade croutons. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but I'll be back. I found unique gifts for Christmas and loved supporting the independent retailers that we got to talk with as they worked in their cozy shops. Definitely looking forward to making this Christmas trip a tradition.

Week 45: The Year I Became a Baker

The title is probably a bit much.

But, I'm not going down without a fight this year. I've baked so many batches of cookies this holiday season and am trying to be patient with myself as I learn why I (historically) don't do so well with the baking times. My friend Katie grew up baking and, I'm convinced, has kitchen superpowers and she and I spent the day baking (me observing more than anything) yesterday so I could learn some of her tips and trips. And, learning, I am. I am confident that this year, with continued trial and error, I'll be able to produce a few batches of cookies that I'm proud of. And that feels like a holiday miracle.

Week 44: Less Holiday Stress

(If you notice by the date...I'm 38 minutes late on this. The crazy perfectionist part of me really hates that. But, life happens).

So, I didn't really know what my "thing" was going to be this week. Earlier today (err...yesterday), I realized that I've been doing something all week that is abnormal, but also a really good idea. There has been intention behind the action but I didn't really think about it being this week's focus.

Anyway, this holiday season, I've made a goal to buy Christmas presents while I'm out and about, with hopes of not needing to make one (or more) giant, miserable trips where I have no idea what to buy for who but have also reached the point where not being anything is no longer an option. I'm happy to say I have a great start on holiday shopping and am so pleased that I've found things for those people on my list that have historically been a little more difficult for which to shop. Christmas time causes me so much (unnecessary) stress because I so badly want to buy the perfect gift for everyone. Something they will love, pass on to future generations, put on the mantle for years to come...etc. I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way, but I kind of let it overtake me and, therefore, kill a lot of holiday spirit. Hopefully, with this different mode of shopping, that feeling won't get in the way too much. Here's hoping!

Week 43: Sweet Kicks

Another investment was made this week. This time, in the name of gym shoes.

How often do people, in general, buy gym shoes? I feel like it's nuts that I have not purchased a new pair of gym shoes since well before I moved to Cincinnati (which was 2006). That changed today when I bought a pair of black Nike gym shoes with very bright pink highlights. They are kind of intense-looking, but supercomfortable and... I love them.

People ask me how I've lost weight, and there are lots of ways that have come into play. One of them is, in a very general way, motivating myself for brief bits of times with whatever would work to lose the next say... five pounds. I've changed my routine lots with whatever got me to the point of achieving a goal several times. So, case in point, I'm hoping that the fact that I get to wear my new fancy gym shoes will push me to go to the gym and knock off five more pounds. Then, I'll switch something up and get inspired/motivated in some other way. Other things I've done include Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred, jogged, joined a gym, bought a new exercise outfit, and bought a new water bottle. So that's my basic motto...do whatever it takes to get myself in gear.

Week 42: A Not $7.99 Haircut

I invested in a quality haircut this week that I'm thrilled with! It really wasn't all that expensive in the grand scheme of things, but since my last five or six haircuts have been roughly $7.99 (plus tip!), it feels like a lot. I often have to remind myself that sometimes "investing" in things is a good idea. Without further ado...

Week 41: At Least I'll Be Warm

This week was lame. I have not been feeling up to far (though, as of yesterday, I'm feeling much better). Also, I was terribly busy with work. So, sadly, the highlight of this week thus far has been the purchase of a flannel shirt. I've wanted one all season and just never found one that fit the bill (or, fit me the way I wanted it to). I don't know how I missed it, but I ended up finding my winner at Target. I'm very excited to incorporate it into my fall & winter wardrobe.

Next week, there will only be 10 weeks left in this yearlong project. I better start thinking of how to go out with a bang...

And here's the shirt:

Week 40: Finally Quilting

I've been dreaming of making a quilt out of vintage sheets pretty much all year. This week, I started the daunting task of cutting the many squares I will need to complete this project. I got a rotary cutter and board recently and have found that I love cutting fabric this way. It is very therapeutic. I hope to show you a completed quilt before week 52!

Week 39: Make A ...Mistake.

I've been so inspired by Pinterest but rarely ever try any of the projects that inspire me. This week, I did just that. I pinned a supercute headband on an adorable little girl that I wanted to recreate for my adult-sized head. Turns out, some things should be reserved for little ones. I'm proud of myself for finishing the (ridiculous) project, nonetheless. :)

Week 38: Senior Pictures!

Today I'm heading to my hometown to take senior pictures of a family friend. I'm so excited- this is territory I've wanted to get into but I just don't know that many high schoolers other than the kids I work with. So, the time has finally come. I think this will be one of my stronger areas in photography and today will tell if I'm right!

Week 37: Back At It

I have a seriously love-hate relationship with scrapbooking. I love all of the things that go with it- the paper, the details and so much more. I love the idea of sitting down and creating something that will be treasured by myself and my loved ones for years to come. I love the idea of creating something beautiful.

Then I sit down, and the above part re: creating something beautiful fails to happen. I'm SO hard on myself-especially when it comes to creative endeavors. So it has to be extra-extra perfect before I even remotely like it, so I therefore just don't scrapbook all that much. But,
I keep coming back for more. This weekend I did just that, but I actually like the nearly-finished product, a lot. The page definitely needs more but I really like where it is going. I was inspired by http://www.shimelle.com/ . She offers what she refers to as "Scrapbook Starting Points" and they are hugely helpful. I'm going to do a few more because I enjoyed this so much- it takes some of the initial stress of sitting down to create something amazing away. So, here it is, the NOT-FINISHED-PROJECT-IN-THE-WORKS (which also happens to be the first layout I've worked on from our wedding- THREE YEARS AGO!).

Week 36: Football!

Every year, we have a "Turkey Bowl" football game at work. I've never had a chance to play before, but this year, it's on! We had our first practice last night and I am so excited for the game. I'm superduper competitive...probably overly so and have always loved sports but have had few sports outlets as an adult. I'm excited for the opportunity to play in the game in a few weeks! Better get back to the gym to get myself in the best shape possible before then.

Week 35: Banner!

I completed a banner this week for my dear friend's baby due in November. I've seen these everywhere and have wanted to complete one for a while and this was the perfect opportunity. As per my usual, I wasn't happy with the end product (because I'm never happy with the end product). But the expectant mother was, and that is what counts. Photo to come.

Week 34: Hello, Mickey!

This post is happening before week 34 actually does because I will not be blogging this week because I'll be on vacation with my friends Minnie & Mickey Mouse. Have a great week!

Week 33: Yuck.

This week (it's only Wednesday) has been filled with garbage. Just bad times. But, in short, what I'm proud of myself for is figuring things out, trying my best and standing up for what I know is right despite getting slack for it. I didn't plan for this week's achievement to be any of the above things, but when I did the whole "standing up for what I know is right despite getting slack for it," I knew I had done something big for me. My body seriously started shaking when I knew what I needed to say and do. I know that's silly, but confrontation and I are not friends. Typically, I would've let the subject drop and held my tongue but this time, I forced myself forward.

And, I'm really proud of me.

(But I'm still really thankful that vacation starts in less than 24 hours).

Week 32: Biggest Family Photo Session EVER

This week I was challenged to do a photo session with a family of 12! To be determined how they turned out, but I was excited to give this a shot as most of my sessions usually have 4 people very, very max, and often just 1. Twelve people, especially with nearly half of them being youngins, was definitely an experiment, and I hope the family is happy with the final product!

Week 31: Friendship Bracelets

I love the look of friendship bracelets and have recently wanted to learn how to make them myself- the fancier kind than I made when I was younger. So, today I embarked on that journey (after quickly giving up during a recent attempt after being completely overwhelmed for some reason).

Initial thoughts: SO CUTE BUT HOLY COW these things take forever.

But, I'm excited about how they look and excited that I've overcome my initial intimidation. I should post photos when I get lots done...we'll see.

Week 30: Donuts!

This post, like the last several, was supposed to have something to do with Zumba. But, alas, I am a chicken and still haven't tried it. This week, I went a different route and we finally tried a donut shop that we've heard all about and have wanted to try for years. So, today, we finally got them. They were good, my bet is that they would be fantastic just out of the oven (skillet?), but that would involve us getting there earlier than we are willing to wake up. But, they were good.

This week I got a major itch to revamp my home. Our home currently works, but I need it to do more than that for me. I want it to feel cozy and not stressful. As is, everytime I turn my head I see something that, for whatever reason, just doesn't feel right. Hopefully this will mean upcoming blog posts about home projects. Stay tuned.

Week 29: Craft Mode

This week I rediscovered a love for making cards with pretty paper. My crafting certainly comes and goes in phases, but I got really excited when the passion resurges. I also majorly cleaned out by way-too-big stash of paper and paper scraps and donated to a worthy cause: my MIL. :) The newfound organization has taken away some of the overwhelmingness that I would feel when I sat down to create. I meant to take photos of the 2 cards I made this week but, alas, I stink at remembering. Anyway, I'm back, for now...

Week 28: Hair Extensions

I tried to show you a picture. I should probably include more pictures. Perhaps that should be a new goal. Anyway, I tried, and it didn't work. (That's the really short version).

Anyway, this week, my desire for crazy hair got the best of me. I've said before that I would have all kinds of colors in my hair (really red and really blonde pieces, for instance) if I worked in a different field. So this week, I purchased a clip-in bright red extension. And, I LOVED IT. It makes the desire for lots and lots of crazy hair even stronger.

(For the record, my husband hates it. ;)

Week 27: ...Join A Gym

This week was going to be titled "Zumba."

But, alas, I am a wuss and didn't make it happen. I WILL give Zumba a try, I just need to get a little more brave. Walking into a new class is scary stuff.

But we DID join a gym (actually last week) but this week has largely been made up of settling in to the new gym. I have been doing a whole lot of swimming and elliptical. I'm excited to get back in to an exercise routine as I tend to nix exercising once the temp isn't between 50-75 degrees (so, a lot of the year). I'm even more excited to share this experience with my husband as this is something we haven't done together before. I like saying that we are going to the gym together. It makes me feel a sense of adult responsibility. :)

Week 26: Cheaper Investments

This week, I rekindled my love of shopping at thrift stores. This love affair began many, many years ago, but several years ago I gained a lot of weight and kept it on for a while, so shopping for clothes at thrift stores became a much less exciting experience. And so, I basically gave up.

I've since lost that weight and am so excited about that for lots of reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is that clothes shopping is fun again. (*Bathing suits...still not fun). I found so much great stuff on my shopping excursion that I am excited to incorporate into my wardrobe. It was a perfect way to spend a day off and I look forward to making this a more-regularly scheduled event in my life.

Week 25: Investing

I like to spend money.

Like, a lot.

And my manner of shopping has always been to buy a lot of cheap stuff (and replace it with more cheap stuff in the future).

This year of my life, I've been much more conscious of my spending. And, I've been trying hard to not buy as much junk, but to instead think of purchases in terms of their investment value- how long will this last, will I LOVE it for a long time and how often will I use it? And, if I'm not buying lots of junk- I will (and have) save money to make bigger splurges on non-junk.

It's certainly been a learning experience as I think about spending more money on items than I historically have. Part of me definitely still cringes when I think about how much further (though, more than likely, not long-lasting) I could take that money. But, I'm trying to look at the big picture.

Case in point: This week I bought a Chi Flat Iron. I've wanted one of these for a long while, but got by with what I had as I have been letting my hair grow out. This weekend, I decided it was time to make this investment. My hair is getting long and weirdly kinky and it takes a while to do anything with each morning (and it is HARD to get my hair kink-free!). I've done lots of research on these irons and know just how much I can do with them (both straightening AND curling!) and believe that this will be a purchase I'm happy I made for a long time to come. (And it will speed up my morning routine!) Even though I scored a GREAT deal on my iron, part of me is still in disbelief that I spent that much money on a flat iron (or earlier this week, on nail polish). But, I know this is for my best just like the camelbak water bottle I bought last year and the North Face jacket I got over the winter. Both- really expensive. Both- used nearly every day (except in the summer for the jacket). Here's to being financially responsible and buying smart things!

Week 24: A New Way to Curl

I lovvvvve hair. I mean, I really love it. I love that I'm finally entering the territory of having long hair again in life. I went through a several year phase where my hair was short (and cute!) and then medium-length repeated not so cute haircuts because I was always teetering between the desire to have long hair and the frustration of letting it grow.

But, alas, here we are again. My 29th year thus far has been full of curls. While I love my hair getting longer, I feel like it needs either curled or straightened to look "finished" in the morning. I've gotten pretty quick at both, but this week I got pretty interested in ways to wake up with my hair curly. Pinterest was helpful in this endeavor!

I tried a weird "tuck your hair into an elastic headband" way that kinda worked. (My husband took a very unflattering photo, so I have photo evidence but think it's not in my best interest to have it in too many forms across the internet). When I woke up, the front looked cute but it ended up suuuuper frizzy and the back was kind of a nightmare. But, I tried. If I can figure out how to twist my hair for rag curls, that is next!

Week 23: Play Volleyball?

This one was 1000% completely unplanned and completely unexpected, which is something I wanted more of in my life in general this year. So, I'll take it.

Short story even shorter: a friend of mine plays on a league and randomly needed someone to fill in. I was available, so I did. I haven't played volleyball in a REALLY long time and even when I played a lot, that was only a brief part of my history. So I had no idea how it would go, but I knew it would be fun. And it was.

Our team lost by ...a lot. But I was impressed with myself to find I still have an ounce of athleticism in me and I sure have a lot of competitive spirit in me as well. I hope to play again soon- I had a blast.

Week 22: Homemade Pasta Salad

So pasta salad has to be one of the easiest things on the planet to make. However, I only recently became really fond of pasta salad and to date have only made it out of the box (shame, I know). So this morning I decided I was going to make homemade pasta salad for the cookouts we are attending this weekend. It was ridiculously easy but time-intensive. It's still marinating for a few more hours but is pretty tasty. Another recipe for my repertoire. :) And everything is made better with a photo!

Week 21: Girl's Weekend!

I'll be out of town starting Thursday afternoon for a girl's weekend with my co-workers (friends). We had a BLAST last year and I'm sure it'll only be better this year. Most of my week thus far has been spent preparing for the trip and the rest will be spent enjoying it!

I love that I've gotten to know my coworkers so well since our trip last year. We bonded so much during the trip and it makes my job, which I already loved, even more enjoyable. I'm really lucky to be surrounded by such fun, caring and funny women.

Here's to a fantastic weekend ahead!

Week 20: A New/Old Recipe

This week I made Fruit Cocktail Cake. While this is the first time I've ever made it, I grew up with this special dessert at my second home- my friend Katie's house. Katie has a great family that loves traditions and I've always appreciated that. Her mom gave me this recipe when I got married and I am really honored that she shared it with me- it's been in their family for years and years and years. She wrote on the back of the recipe card that she spent a lot of time at her grandmother's home and she liked to spoil her. This cake would do just that.

The cake itself is super easy. If I can make it successfully, it's really, really easy. I won't post it here but if any of you would like it, I'll provide it to you on a cute little recipe card. I think that's where recipes belong. Lemme know.

Week 19: Or Just, Connect

This week I went out of my way to be more social. I am very much a creature of habit, and my habit is usually coming home after work, exhausted and spending the night on the couch. My weekend habit is to do something fun with Scott and try to see friends or family maybe one of the weekend days. That's pretty much my life. I'm an introvert so much so that being with people makes me nervous and that nervousness sometimes overtakes me. But I kept it under control this week.

Anyway, I really like how my life is despite the boringness that it sounds like above. But, I do sometimes crave social-ness and know that making effort feels that void and is just really fun. So when I got invitations this week, I accepted. I had a lot of fun and it was good to connect with new people, people I don't know so well and people I've known for a while.

I have a lot of fun social times coming up in the next few weeks and am way looking forward to them. I should probably scale back and try to be at home a bit more than I was this week- our house is pretty much a nightmare and I haven't exercised all week. I probably shouldn't sacrifice those things during my social mission.

Week 18: Reconnecting

Before I moved to Cincinnati, I worked as a part-time dance instructor at a WONDERFUL studio in Richmond, IN - my hometown. Along with leaving my friends and family, leaving this studio was one of the hardest parts of my move.

This week, I went back for their recital. I hadn't been back since I stopped teaching in 2006. It was so fun to see how much the girls had grown up. One of the girls I taught individual tap lessons to was dancing at a level with girls 5 years older than her. Proud moment. All of the dancers had grown so much in their ability since I had them- so cool to watch.

It was so refreshing to see this group of people that I haven't seen in just about 5 years. Teaching at that studio has had a huge impact on me and will always be one of my favorite times in life. The patrons and studio staff welcomed me back wonderfully for the evening, and it felt like I had come to one of my "homes" in life.

Week 17: A 2011 PR

(of sorts).

I jogwalked 3 miles today! While I know that isn't mind-blowing or a huge accomplishment, it's the first time I've done so as a 29 year old. I got really into jogging last year (it definitely would feel like a stretch to call it running). During that stint of life, I often did 3 miles, and my PR was 4 miles (the time is irrelevant because it's very unimpressive). But I was really proud of getting up to 4 miles when I had, only months before that, been 99% inactive. Anyway, I did this work out frequently until it got hot (yep, I'm a wimp). I've tried to get myself going again when it got cooler in the fall, and then again after the snow left. I've managed to make the shorter (1 or 2 mile) version happen a couple of times, but am nowhere near where I was at this time last year. But, I'm making it a semi-mission to keep this going at least while it's spring-ish (and just in time for bathing suits!).

The last year of my life has been a huge journey for me. I've lost 35(ish) pounds over the course of the year and I'm amazed at how much my outlook on life has changed. I won't make this blog post about that, but suffice it to say, I'm really, really proud of myself. But during this last few months, I've very much struggled with the same 5 pounds- losing it and gaining it back pretty frequently. But today, I decided to push myself back up to the 3 mile mark when I've only been doing 1 or 2 miles (and have only infrequently done so). I recaptured that feeling of being able to do WHATEVER I put my mind to by just pushing myself a little harder today. It was extra helpful that I had ample time to do so after having an unexpected half day off work.

I realllllllllllly want to push myself to get into the next weight decade as I call them (if that doesn't make sense to anyone else in the world, it's when the middle number (the ten spot), goes down a notch. It's happened three times during my weight loss and it requires celebration.) by June 15. I have no doubt that if I can push myself like I did today, I'll get there.

As much as I say, and often think, that I hate jogging, it feels really good when it's over (and sometimes, even, during).

Week 16: Back in Business

This week I had a supercool opportunity (that will last 3 more weeks) to teach my co-workers DANCE! For those of you who don't know, I taught dance for 5 years, grew up taking dance lessons and it's just been a giant influence in my life.

For the past 5 yearsish, I haven't found a studio at which to teach. Granted, I haven't looked that hard, either. I really, REALLY loved the studio I used to teach at and just don't feel like anything else could compare to it. But this opportunity has been a great way to get back in to teaching without a ton of pressure. I'm teaching adults who just want a bit of a work out and to have fun. I can help them accomplish both of those!

The first week went very well and I have no doubt that next week will be lots of fun as well. I am a bit sore (hello, it's been five years since I've taught!), but other than that, felt like I could jump right back in to teaching.

The theme of the evening was "80's Dance Night" and I taught a lesson in jazz dancing. We ended the night by learning a routine to Prince's "Kiss." The ladies totally worked it. We decided to continue this theme and routine for next week's class as well. Wednesday evenings have become much more exciting!

Week 15: Best (Work) Week Ever

I posted last week about the major project one of my co-workers and I had been planning. This week, we executed said project. I'm so proud to say it was a raging success.

We had two group of incarcerated boys participate in a day-long rhythm and movement project. We had all sorts of activities for them throughout the day, culminating in a final performance for court staff.

To say each day went well would be a giant understatement. We were warned early on about several of the boys and their likely behavioral problems, fights, etc. The boys were so in to this project that we didn't experience anything unmanageable. Sure, they were teenage boys and needed a bit of redirection at times, but I couldn't have asked for this to go any better. Staff of the juvenile detention center reported to us that following this project, they had the lowest number of behavioral incidents maybe ever and at least in a long time. WOW.

One of the things that my co-worker and I discussed after the project's completion was that our jobs are about dealing with the crimes these kids commit. Interestingly, I didn't have a clue why most of the boys were incarcerated. It was so neat to me that those things just didn't come up throughout the day- they were totally focused on the project at hand and it was as if we could all see past the crimes in their history. I want to find a way to work this in to my every day job.

We are so thankful for the boys that participated to make this project successful and so many co-workers that helped out by helping us supervise, bringing in needed items, and coming to watch the final performance. Hopefully we can do something similar to this soon. It has been way to positive to be a one-time thing.

Week 14: Combining Passions

This week, we wrapped up planning on a major project for work that is a little different than what I usually spend my 40 (+) hours doing. Our life skills trainer and I have combined our years of experience, education and passion for performing arts and troubled teens to create a workshop that we will be putting on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week for juveniles in our detention center (a.k.a. "juvie"). Our workshop is called "Heart Beats" and we will be encouraging the youth to express themselves through rhythm and movement. For those of you who don't know, I taught dance classes for 5 years and studied for years before that. I miss it all terribly, so this has been a great opportunity for me. I'm so excited to put on this workshop and hope that the clients will benefit from it.

Week 13: The Week of the Many Mini (& incomplete) Projects

My get up and go hasn't been around much this week. I've started several things but just haven't had the energy to finish them. Instead of finishing what I started, I move on to something else which is pretty much a defining statement of my life.

BUT, I enjoyed what I started this week. Here's that lengthy list:

*Read The Poisonwood Bible - I'm LOVING this book. I've been listening to it while driving. I think I'm probably missing a lot because I'm much more a visual person than this listening allows, but I'm definitely enjoying it. I expect to finish it in the next week or so but ran out of drive time to make it possible to finish it up this week.

*Build a Sorta Pantry- We finally got a shelf to make our very oddly shapen kitchen a little more functional. It's not going to be super pretty, but it's going to provide a whole bunch more storage. I started putting the shelf together and put some pieces together the wrong way and then gave up for a bit. I might try to tackle that beast tomorrow...

*Get Paid to Shop- I kinnnnnda wussed out on this one. But, there was a coupon/sale deal this week that made floss negative twelve cents at Wal-Mart. I got three of these and two bottles of water (which, with a coupon, were totally free). Had I stopped there, because my coupon for $1 off the .88 floss, I actually would've been paid .36 to leave Wal-Mart. I feel weird about that so I added a pack of gum. I can't remember the exact check-out price, but it was under the cost of the gum, so I did get paid to shop a little bit.

*Make a Ruffled Skirt- I've been coveting these all over the internet. I've started one- cut and pinned all sorts of fabric and without sewing, it looks really cute. However, I'm 99% sure it's going to end up WAY TOO SMALL. I find sewing so stressful- I wish that weren't the case. I think an upcoming week is going to be "sew with a pattern." That would probably be a helpful step in my desire to really learn to sew.

The only thing I feel like I actually totally accomplished was trying a new Mexican restaurant. The food was pretty tasty but the experience was horrendous. I don't know if I would ever want to go back, and I'm pretty sure there is no way in the world that my husband would ever go back, so I probably won't need to think to much about that decision.

All in all, a good week...unfinished projects and all.

Week 12: Challenge myself.

This is a random one, but I'm proud of the accomplishment.

It's gross outside today, but I needed to exercise and didn't feel like doing a video so I decided to do something that sounded like a good workout: do laps on the stairs for 20 minutes. I knew it would be tough but HOLY MOLY.

It was both physically and kind of mentally exhausting. I was tired after ...err...the second lap. Going up stairs is hard work! I set the timer on the oven so I had no idea how much time I had left. I had my husband check for me and found myself very disappointed with whatever number he would respond with. I lost count, but I'm guessing I did at least 60 laps.

That's a lot of stairs.

I'm glad I did this because I seriously wanted to give up 4 minutes in. I thought, "you know, I could really just stop and take a quick jog outside instead." But, I finished. I didn't want to give up despite what felt like torture to myself.

I will likely not ever do this again, but if there was a badge for "walking stairs for 20 minutes," I could wear it proudly.

Week 11: New Obsession

Oh yes, I'm obsessed.

http://pinterest.com/angielivesay/

I've wanted a Pinterest account since I first heard about this website awhile ago but it's a little bit exclusive and so I had to wait and wait and wait until I finally got an invite. (Want an invitation? I've got some now!)

I've spent so many hours compiling photos from all over the internet to add to my style boards. Check it out at the link above. Fair warning: get ready to get lost in the wild world of the internet for ...a long time.

Enjoy!

Week 10: Say Thank You

This week's accomplishment is something I've meant to do for probably 5 years, and one of the main reasons I wanted to start this blog.

I just wrote a thank you note to my high school English teacher. When I was in her class, I struggled, a lot. She made me work really, really hard. I'll never ever EVER forget her note on one of my papers: "Angie, in any other class, this would be an A. Not in mine." That sentence aptly summarizes my Advanced Placement senior year English class. I wrote, rewrote, etc... that paper...probably 7 times. In the end, after all those rewrites, I managed to get an A on the paper. That's what she wanted all along.

All of the struggling paid off. She, along with my Spanish teacher, prepared me for what would lay ahead in college. During my first semester of my freshman year in college, my professor was so pleased with a paper I had written that he actually put it up on the projector (do schools still even use those?!) for all to see "how to write a paper."

That felt amazing.

And I have one lady to thank.

So, today I did just that. She should be receiving my thanks in 2-3 business days.

(Mrs. Thompson, if you are reading this, please forgive the grammatical errors. I know they are there. Sometimes I just think they add character. And, I'm a college graduate now, so I'm doing alright!)

Week 9: Make/Own/Wear a Locket

This week I assembled this locket. It was a quick project with a result with which I am pleased.

Inside, I adhered an I think, FUNNY, picture of my main squeeze and I'm happy to have him so close to my heart (AWW!). However, he hates the photo, so I told him I wouldn't show it to the world. I think it's fun to have such a funny photo inside. People would expect to see something sentimental, but it is much more US to have something silly.

In related news, sometimes I wear completely mismatched bright socks when I wear boots to work (most days in the winter), just because it makes me laugh on the inside when I'm talking to someone about something superserious and they have no idea that I have these socks on. Crazy? Maybe. But it gets me through the day. Now I can add this to my "you don't know what I'm wearing!" list.

I found this locket at Michael's and it was CHEAP! They have so many cute charms right now that I stocked up. Here is the photo in all it's sunny shadowy glory:

Week 8: Be a Clean Person

This is not a goal I could possibly achieve in one week of my life. But, it's been something I've wanted to be for a really, really long time. I think I made some major strides this week.

I am a historically very messy person. Over the years, I've realized that I just don't care enough to pay attention to putting things away. Am I 5? Seriously...why can't I just put things back? This is the week I decided to put more effort to this area of my life.

I can now proudly say that I put things in their places this week like a "clean" person would. It felt good. I did a major cleaning of the (downstairs part of the) house last Saturday and have maintained it since then. There's really quite a relief in the air- knowing that I don't need to majorly clean downstairs again anytime soon because I've kept up with it all week. I've maybe spent 15 minutes a night tidying up. That's much better than 6-7 hours on a Saturday.

I typically clean the house and keep it clean for 1.5 days, so this really did feel like success since our (downstairs part of the) house is still clean.

I'm hoping to attack the upstairs this weekend. Small steps, small steps. With each part of the house that I clean, I'm aiming to keep it that way for good. The upstairs is a nightmare so it's going to take some major cleaning out before it can be added to my keeping tidy plan.

When I was thinking about this post, it felt strange because big things are happening in the world. And ultimately, who cares if I change from a messy to clean person? Probably no one but me and maybe my husband. But, I think, for me, achieving goals like this makes me feel a little bit at peace, at least within me. Sometimes the world is so hectic/crazy/scary that it's nice to feel a small semblance of control. Since I've started this blog project, each week I've felt that small sense of peace at what I've accomplished. I believe that a big part of life is finding peace within yourself - however that can happen for you (assuming you don't hurt anyone in the process). I don't claim to know solutions to the world's problems, but it makes sense that if people, in general, were more at peace with themselves we wouldn't find so much.

My contribution to larger society is my day job. I work 40+ hours a week to help people and maybe it's selfish to say it's a contribution because I genuinely love my job. But it is focused on other people. So, I guess I need to remind myself that it's ok that I focus one weekly project on making myself feel peaceful, even if it may seem silly, even to me when I think about the world's big picture.

Week 7: Celebrate My Man Turning 30 (and Get Him a Great Gift!)

I hate buying gifts- solely because I think I'm really bad at it and I second guess everything and I always think I probably should've just handed over the money I spent on whatever I settled on.

But THIS year for Scott's birthday, I think I did a really good job. Scott, my husband, is a writer (part-time) and loves Kevin Smith. I found out that Kevin Smith was coming close to us (pretty rare!) to promote his latest movie, Red State. During the event, he would present the movie, watch the movie with the audience and then do a Q & A.

Little did I know that Red State is unlike ANY other Kevin Smith movie (Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, etc.). When I told Scott about the big surprise, he was excited but also asked me if I knew that this movie was drastically different than his other work. (I didn't). Those movies are comedies and Red State...is the furthest movie from a comedy...maybe ever. Smith took a different route this time and made a horror, and I do mean HORROR, movie. It was easily the scariest movie I've ever seen.

But...we had a great time. I am terrified of scary movies and don't watch them much but this movie was powerful. If it wasn't SO disturbing, I would insist that just about everyone I know watch it. I don't want to give anything away, but the very short synopsis is that people in a cult beyond lose their minds. Here's another synopsis- think of it as being said in the old Real World opener: "This is what happens when cults stop being crazy and start being terrifying."

Kevin Smith: if you're out there, feel free to use the above quote. It's pretty good, right?

So, after an hour and a half of terror, Smith opened up for Q & A. He is HILARIOUS. We really enjoyed both the movie (even if I didn't sleep that night), and this section as well.

I think Scott would agree that I did alright this time. Happy birthday, dearest!

Week 6: Figure Out a Go-To Comfort Recipe for Times of Yuckiness

This past week, my life has been defined as overall yuckiness.

I started feeling bad last Saturday (one week ago, today!). In true Angie Livesay fashion, I didn't take time to rest and make myself feel better but instead ran myself into the ground. Do we ever learn lessons like these? So, now a week later, I'm starting to improve after several days spent on the couch now. Somewhere mid-week, I crazily craved chicken with noodles like my Mom used to make. However, I didn't in the least bit feel like cooking. I needed something quick, easy and comforting. I did a bit of very quick research on the internet and came up with the following concoction. I am in no way claiming that this is an original recipe, I'm pretty sure it's probably the recipe that a lot of people use, but it is what I pulled together after my quick search combined with what I knew we had in the cabinets. It totally fit the bill and will now be likely what I serve my someday children.

Here it is:

1/2 bag of no-yolk egg noodles
1 cup (ish) of (diced) chicken ***
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Once I had boiling water, I dropped the noodles in for somewhere between 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, I microwaved frozen diced chicken we had for a couple of minutes. You could absolutely use any kind of chicken you have on hand- leftover, canned (ew, though), etc. When the noodles were cooked to my liking, I put a lid on the pan and drained water out the side (my laziness would not lead me to wash a strainer). I left a bit of water in the pan (again, probably out of laziness, but it worked). I then mixed in the cream of mushroom soup, the chicken, the milk and the butter. I let that cook on medium-low for probably ten minutes and stirred it a couple of times.

All in all, it took about 20 minutes for this and I could take several sitting breaks during the cook time (which were, sadly, necessary). The above recipe made approximately 4 servings.

I'm glad I discovered how to do this- it's one of those things I've wanted to perfect for a long time and especially before we have kids. I want my future children to come home from college begging me to make things like this. My heart just melted a bit.

No photo this week- I didn't think about it until after it was gone. I blame the steady stream of medication in my system.

Week 5: Make a box.

That sounded less lame in my head.

I've been spending LOTS of time crafting this week (which is more than fine with me!). One of the items I learned to make this week, which is ridiculously easy, is to make little paper boxes.They are, seriously, so sooooooo easy. But, it was fun to make and I think I may be hooked. Here is an example of the fun:

Easy breezy this week. Sometimes that's what life calls for.

Week 4: Craft for Charity

Today I spent the entire day crafting with my fun FUN coworkers. I started & almost finished a scrapbook that I'm going to be donating for an auction for http://www.ohiopugrescue.com/. This is a wonderful organization that helps lots of sweet pugs that would otherwise not lead such happy lives and I'm happy to be able to donate 2 little scrapbooks to their silent auction next Saturday. I'm so curious to see how much these books will auction for- that will give me some idea if it would be worth trying them in a craft show later this year! Here's the finished project :)

Week 3: Share the love

Nearly every year (yep, I'm a 29 year old woman) I think, "it would be really fun to pass out valentines." As a youngin' I LOVED picking out, filling out and passing out the perfect valentines. But then Valentine's Day passes and I think..."hmm...Easter cards?"

This year I decided to indeed make valentines for all my female coworker friends at work. They were happy to receive them and said lots of nice things to me about them. So, I, too, felt the love.

One of them thanked me and I told her it was important to me to acknowledge the people I love having in my life. To me, that's a really, really true fact that I think I too-often forget. I hope that these little cards accomplished that to these ladies that I cherish, and I hope that I continue to find ways to show it to the special people I'm lucky to have in my life.

(Photo is coming when my phone decides to play nice!)

Week 2: Learn Something From a Book

Ok, so I've done that before.

I've read lots of books. (Or, at least, the first bit of pages in lots of books).

But not this one, so this totally counts.

(And I finished just in time for it to work for my week 2 accomplishment!)

I really randomly found this book in the library and I learned a lot from it. The book is about one family's mission to live off the land for a year- and they do it in a super-inspring way. I have the blackest of thumbs but going into every spring, I get excited about the possibility of TRYING to grow my own food. I think it would be beyond cool to be able to feed my family food that I grew with my own physical labor. But, I always manage to give up and kill things before that ever becomes a reality. This book provided a lot of insight about the importance of being able to do what I've been trying to do for years. It's no secret that we rely off everyone else for every meal we eat. I really like the idea of being able to do it myself and finally being successful in that.

That being said, I'm going to give a garden a go again this year. This book also gave me the idea to look for a gardening guru that I can learn from. I didn't grow up in a family that gardened. While my Mom was superthrifty, she also worked 2 jobs. My dad worked 12 hour shifts 6 days a week. So, when I decided a few years ago to try gardening (and the several years that I've tried since), I end up disappointed. I want to work closely with someone who knows what they are doing so maybe, just maybe, gardening won't feel like such a foreign subject to me.

So, this book did good things for me. It challenged me in a lot of ways and made me think about things I would rather not (specifically, corporate farming and what that really looks like). While I believe that I'll never become 100% organic in the truest sense of the word, I feel inspired to give a few things a try. I'll try out farmer's markets and try, again, to grow tomatoes.

The book's website is:

http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/

You may recognize the author, Barbara Kingsolver- she also wrote The Poisonwood Bible (which will likely be next on my reading list).

Week 1: Part 2 (Grateful)

In addition to doing those random things I've never done and telling the story- I also want to attempt to track my feelings over the year and remember the small little things thrown my way that fill up my heart. So, here's a little mush & gush about just how special my husband, Scott of http://www.scottlivesay.com/, made me feel today:



I really, really love that Scott spent a lot of time creating something as weird, yet awesome, as this card. There is no back story, no inside joke, just strangeness for humor's sake. He had this waiting for me along with beautiful flowers when I woke up this morning.



There really, just really, aren't any words. But, we do weird things all the time to make each other laugh and this totally fits that bill. Thanks, sweets, for being weird.

And here are the flowers:

Tonight he took me to dinner at Carraba's (big, giant, sweet sacrifice on his part- he is not a big fan of italian food but he knows that I am) and to buy a jacket of wanted for...years.

Today was a great day. I really appreciate all the love I felt from so many people that went out of their way to wish me a happy birthday. I'm looking forward to the next 364 of my 29th year.

Week 1: Make Chicken Curry

For the first time in my life, I made chicken curry! I didn't even know I liked it until a few months ago. Since then, I've been craving it. I decided to make some for my birthday lunch. It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it might be (recipes can be kind of intimidating, right?). It turned out just like I thought it should, which made me a proud girl. Here's the photo evidence:

Unfortunately, even though I really really liked it...after about 4 bites in, I couldn't eat anymore. I was just 100% not feeling it. That was a sad time. I ate a bag of caramel corn for the rest of my lunch.

But, that's one down, folks.

...I was really good at being 28.

Today is the last day of my life that I'll ever be 28.

I kind of hate that.

28 was a good year for me, and well...I'm going to miss it.

(Enter: blog)

"Being29" is my attempt at the one thing I felt like was missing from year 28: doing & documenting. While I feel like I learned/grew/did a lot this past year, I kinda don't remember a lot of it. So, this year, I've set a weekly challenge for myself: do, make or read something I haven't done before AND post about it. A yearlong journal, if you will.

I have no rules or even plans about what those things might be, but as life happens, I'm going to make sure I make at least a quick note to remember the experience. Easy enough. Who knows what this might turn into for me, but I hope, if nothing else, I'll remember those little things over this year of my life a little better.