Who is John Galt?

The good news, I now know the answer. :) After almost two months (64 plua hours) of listening to the book for my drive to and from work and the many drives I do in the middle during the day I am able to cross another one off the list.  Atlas Shrugged in text intimidated me, it is a HUGE book with very fine print.  I checked into the library and learned that I could "rent" the book as an MP3. I got the book, downloaded it to a flash drive, and began to listen.  I want you to know that The Hubby did tell me that he was impressed with how much of the book I was understanding and we have been able to have several conversations about it as well. Done.

There are a lot of things still on the list to accomplish and I only have two months and two days in which to complete the tasks.  I think it is time to get realistic and pick and choose what I am going to accomplish.  Maybe I should actually use the living social deals I purchased for The Lake Norman Range? Stay tuned.

New York, New York

I finally got to see New York City! I know that it has taken me a few weeks to write about it, but things have been busy and I finally have some time to sit down and write.

Day #1: This was predicted to be the worst weather, so we decided it would be best to stay inside.  We rode the bus into the city and decided to walk to the Museum of Modern Art.  I was pretty excited to see Starry Night (my favorite painting).  We walked through Times Square on the way to the museum and there was a whole lot going on there! While we spent a few hours wandering the museum, it began to snow outside.  I caught a glimpse through a window and got excited – if only I knew what I was in for later.  We left the museum and wandered the city to find Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall.  We went in and out of a few stores to include Toys R Us with a Ferris wheel on the inside.  We decided to call it an early day due to the snow storm (or BLIZZARD) that we had found ourselves in.

 

 

Day#2:  We rode into the city with a friend of his aunt and uncle.  He dropped us off right at the door of the American Museum of Natural History and watched us walk in – he apparently had a bad experience in the city and he is careful to ensure the safety of others. J We had a lot of fun wandering the floors of the museum and finding different “characters” from the movie Night at the Museum.  At one point, I thought we were almost done and then realized we had three more floors! It is a huge place. We had rented a hotel room for the night (by Macys) and we walked from the museum to the hotel.  There is so much to look at in the City that a walk can go by pretty fast.  We were not able to walk through Central Park due to the damage form the storms, but I took a good look from the outside.  On the walk, we decided that it would be fun to see a show that evening so we walked a little faster to check in at the hotel.  We had requested a specific room (king bed and city view) and when we went to check in they informed us that they were “all out.”  I very kindly asked what the purpose of a reservation was if they planned to give our specific room away.  All in all, we got free breakfast and I reminded myself that I was not there for the hotel room so we left in search of fancy cupcakes and a ticket for the night.  We ended up seeing A Christmas Story: The Musical and it was AMAZING! I was laughing so hard – I loved it! We had a few drinks with some local law enforcement after the show and talked with them about the Hurricane and the impact it has had.  It made me very appreciate to think about all the work they had done, especially when most of them had extensive damage to their own homes yet they still came in to work to help others.

 

I am going to cross another one off the list with these pictures- Shooting the Sunset. :)

#3: We ate our (free) breakfast and then went on a Circle Line Tour by boat to see the Statue of Liberty.  The Statue and Ellis Island were closed due to the damage form the storm, but we were able to get pretty close on the boat.  We walked to the Rockefeller Center from there and went to the Top of the Rock to check out the view.  It was a much nicer day that day and there were people skating at Rockefeller Center and they were working on putting out the Christmas decorations.  We walked to the Empire State Building next and again went to the top for another great view – and to meet King Kong.

 

#4: Today started off pretty somber as we decided to visit the 9/11 Memorial.  It is an amazing site to see.  My feelings were overpowering while there, especially since there was a Veteran’s Day ceremony taking place.  We walked to Battery Park after leaving the Memorial.  On the way there, we were able to see a lot of the damage form the storm including cars that were abandoned as they were very clearly completely under water at some point.  We walked through the Financial District in search of a restaurant – a lot of them were closed due to the damage.  We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, went to China Town, and Little Italy – where I had a great cannoli.  We walked along the High Line – a new walkway that opened up on an old train trestle.  It was very pretty and a unique experience.

 

#5: We rode with his aunt and uncle to the Walkway over the Hudson.  (For a girl that has a semi-fear of bridges, I have crossed quite a few recently.) We relaxed for the afternoon before flying home for the night and back to reality.

**More pictures on facebook.

TMI?

Infertility is a scary word.  The first time I saw it written on my paper when I left the doctor’s office I cried.  It’s not like I didn’t already know that, I was at the doctor for that reason, but seeing it written down made it so official.   It was a long journey to even get to that point and it was by far not the first time the situation has brought me to tears – and it won’t be the last either.

Fourteen months ago we made the very important decision that we were ready to become parents.  At that point, I thought to myself “six months tops” before we would be pregnant.  The first couple of months were not that bad emotionally.  Of course there was disappointment, but that I had expected.  What I did not expect were the feelings of sadness that overwhelmed me as I found out friend after friend… after friend… was pregnant.  I started to really question myself, wondering why I did not deserve to be happy. Did I do something wrong? Why am I not good enough? (Please for any pregnant friend that is reading this or for any friend that has a new little bundle of joy – don’t be offended or worse, feel sorry for me. I am very happy for you and I love getting to play with all the new babies of the group and I look forward to the ones to come.)  The “tearful episodes” became increasingly worse to the point that one time I felt as if I resembled a 3 year old that had just been told “no.”  Luckily, or not so lucky for him, the Hubby has been able to witness just about every episode.  He has also had the joy of dealing with the bouts of sadness where nothing seems to make me happy.  He gets the joy of looking at me and being able to ask what is wrong before I burst into tears. (Disclaimer: I have an amazing Hubby and during all of the above scenarios he held me, let me cry, and kept reminding me that I am not alone in this)

I am going to be brutally honest.  There is NOTHING you can say that is going to make me feel better.  I know that people mean well when they tell you that it is going to be “okay” or “if you just stop thinking about it, it will happen.”  The best answer I ever got when talking to someone about it, “That really sucks, I am not going to sugar coat it.”  It is okay for me to be sad.  It is okay for me to cry.  It is okay for me to be mad.  Anything I want to feel, I can (and will) feel.  You can be thankful for what you have and still feel sadness for what you don’t have- it is okay.  I know that some of my friends have felt as I do right now and there really is not one word that describes it.  You know when you are learning to run and you get a little better with each run and you are able to see the progress? There is no progress with this goal.  Each month is a pass or fail, a positive or a negative if you will.

The positive at this point is we are getting help medically – emotionally is another story.  We went through the standard rounds of tests and discovered that I don’t necessarily ovulate every month. Think back to your health class, that is kind of a vital part of the process.  For the past two months I have been on hormones, which are a real joy when you are already an emotional train wreck.  The good news is that the hormones appear to be working and maybe our dream will come true. 

Meeting Mildred

It has been almost a month since I wrote last, but don’t worry you did not miss out on anything… I will take you back on a short journey through time – with pictures so you won’t get bored! J

October 2, 2012: The Hubby turned 30! Our big celebration consisted of going out to Boardwalk Billy’s for dinner and a shopping trip to Michaels.  I know what you are thinking – exciting right?! Well, not a whole lot you can do with a birthday on a Tuesday so we stored up our energy for the big party to take place on Saturday the 6^th.  I did give him his gift on Tuesday and I believe it was already in use on Wednesday so I must have done a good job.  Let me tell you, I am a salesperson’s dream.  I went into the store planning to get a small device costing about $40 that would allow him to track his distance while riding his bike.  I walked out of the store with a Garmin GPS navigation system for his bike.  You can check out his blog for further details.

October 6, 2012: The big Shin-dig.  Many different friends and family came by to celebrate the big 3-0 and most of them brought his second favorite gift (I think I won favorite gift) – beer! In non-typical fashion I did not take any pictures that evening, but fun was had by all and even the babies seemed to be content. J

October 13, 2012: My second attempt at a “fancy” cake and I think this one was a definite improvement.  We were celebrating the upcoming arrival of Jack and Will Andrade.  Two babies deserved a two-tiered cake.  In total, this cake took me about 6-7 hours to make.  I did some of the prep work during the week before (making the letters and sea animal shapes), baked the cake Friday evening, and put it all together Saturday morning.  (Also Friday night, there was a break in the cake decorating for more cake decorating as I assisted the youth group with making 150 cupcakes for the Women’s Shelter – I felt like I had bathed in frosting by the end of this weekend.) 

 

October 20-21, 2012: I managed to have a very busy weekend without even leaving the house.  I spent Saturday painting our guest bedroom and then cleaning the carpet.  I also re-organized several closets in the house and created a big pile of items to take to Goodwill.  I have accumulated enough baking supplies that it necessitated an entire shelf in the basement closet.  I will post some pictures of the room once it is completed (meaning stuff hung back on the wall).  I plan to paint the other room this Sunday and clean that carpet as well – and maybe I should paint the rest of the baseboards as I only got about halfway around the house that weekend.

October 27, 2012: I ran a 5k for Fetal Hope.  This race was important to a friend of mine as it was her first ever running experience and then it became even more important to me.  One of the many fetal syndromes for the fundraiser is TTTS – Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome.  Our good friend Amy (and future friends Jack and Will) began to show signs of that syndrome just the week before.  She was ordered to bed rest and then one of the little guys got a little anxious and they tried to come out early.  The amazing doctors at CMC were able to put a stop to it, but the newly forming little family will have to remain at the hospital until the little guys arrive – but no rush guys, make sure you finish “cooking” before you try and come out the next time.  That night we took the youth group kiddos to a corn maze – my first experience.  It was a little crowded for my taste, but despite the crowd we did manage to get “lost” a few times. 

October 28, 2012: I was anxious to cross something else off the list and we decided that it would be a good weekend to visit the mountains.  The Hubby and I hopped in the car and headed for Grandfather Mountain.  The weather was beautiful on the way there and we were able to stop and get some pretty pictures of the trees and the changing leaves.  As we neared the mountain, the trees got a little sparser and the fog got a little denser.  When we parked at the bridge you could not even see the visitor’s center building in front of us.  In fact as we parked the car it felt like we were driving off the mountain into the abyss and I was a little uncomfortable with that.  Needless to say we did not do any hiking, as not being able to see your hand in front of you face is not recommended while hiking.  I did cross the bridge and was helped by the fact that I could not see the ground below me. J There was a two minute space of time where the winds died down and the fog cleared and I was able to see the world below.  The Hubby and I will have to go back in the Spring or Summer and actually complete a hike as it seems like a very pretty place to visit. 

 

Mildred - don't worry she is friendly! :)

Done and Done

I actually feel pretty accomplished this weekend. Friday night I baked a 10 inch round and a 6 inch round cake - at midnight due to our attendance at "Honey Boo Boo Live" otherwise known as the Cleveland County Fair. (Special thanks to the Hubby for staying up after I went to bed in order to take the cakes out of the oven.)  Saturday morning I got up early in order to make the frosting and frost the cakes before class... and discovered that my hand mixer had bit the dust.  After a quick trip to Walmart I was able to successfully frost the cakes and run out the door five minutes before my tall cake class.  (Again, a special thanks to the Hubby that helped me to make the frosting and then cleaned up the kitchen while I was at class!).  I signed up for the class to learn how to stack cakes and to get some decorating ideas for the baby shower cake I am making in two weeks.  It is a nautical theme and I think I have a good plan for the cake! I am excited to work on it!  Today I cleaned the house and gave the dogs a bath.  I also did about 7 loads of laundry - no thanks to Jasper's early morning vomit routine on the bed. :/  I also put out all of my Halloween decorations today.  I love this time of year and being able to put decorations out in the house...

AND - most importantly - I am going to cross a few things off the list! I finally finished our name by printing out a few pictures - hopefully you are able to tell the letter.  I like that we were able to do this on our own and now we can make changes to the frames with our future travels - or even spell out other words. 

My other major accomplishment of late is that I have stopped drinking soda.  I honestly have had a few sodas here and there, but not nearly as many as I used to drink.  I think I have had about 5 total in the last 8 weeks.  Most of those came at the same time as a headache as caffiene has always been my go to when I had a headache.  I find that now I even opt for water when presented with soda. 

I am going to leave you with a few pictures from our Pigeon Forge trip with the family...

How could you not love this face?

Criss Cross Applesauce

I had a moment of panic recently when I discovered that apple season is very limited.  A local orchard stated that they only had apple picking for one more weekend and then another stated that you could not pick your own apples due to an early frost.  I was in a bit of a panic when I did a little research and found out about Hendersonville, NC - aka Apple Valley.  I picked a destination and we passed about 6 farms on the way to the farm I had inputed in the GPS - Coston.  Upon arriving I walked up to the counter and told them my plan.  They directed me to the wagons, gave me two large baskets, and some sort of contraption to get the apples from the top of the tree. When asked how many I planned to pick I stared blankly and was told that two baskets equaled a bushel - way too many apples for just the two of us!

 

 

In order to completely knock this one off my list I had to actually make something with the apples.  Tonight the house smelled amazing as I cooked up some apples and cinnamon for applesauce.  Homemade applesauce and ice cream as a snack - so good.  I was told I had picked a "peck" of apples meaning that I have many left.  I plan to make an apple crisp and possibly some apple butter. 

 

We spent the end of last week with my family in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge,TN.  I love being able to spend time with my family and wish that I could seem them more often, but distance and travelexpenses make it difficult so I make the most of the time I do get to spend with them.  We visited WonderWorks, the Titanic Museum, Dollywood, and did some shopping in downtown Gatlinburg.  I took a ton of pictures - I really need to do some work to catch up on my scrapbook! I will leave you with a few pictures from the trip out of the 200ish I took. :)

Less than thrilled for his photo shoot. :)

 

 

Miss me?

I would think not as I hardly have anything exciting to say even when I am writing consistently.  I have not accomplished anything on the list since the last time I wrote - meaning not much to write about. The Hubby and I have been talking about what to do for his 30th in about a month and mine in February.  More than likely I am going to be driving a convertible, listening to Atlas Shrugged, singing Karaoke at the top of my lungs on my way to the Gun Range on my 30th birthday. :) Well, it might not be that bad as I did buy the latest Living Social Deal and I have two tickets to the local range that will be used in the near future.

Yesterday The Hubby participated in a grueling 55 mile mountain bike race.  I tagged along as someone has to fill the water bottles, pass out the goo packs, and check to ensure that he is fully conscious when he comes to visit me about every hour and 15 minutes.  I brought the camera along as well and used it is an opportunity to practice my skills.  Not sure how he manages to crack a smile, but I think he actually enjoys himself - why else would you put yourself through that! My reward for a job well done was a trip to THREE vineyards on the way home.  I purchased 4 bottles of wine and added two glasses to my collection.  I do not own a matching set of wine glasses - I instead have about 12 glasses from the local vineyards that I have visited since living here.  I have never taken an official "Wine Tasting Class," but I have developed an education from talking to the owners.  I would like to take a class - that is why it is on the list - but that is not a cheap thing to do, so I may just make a trip into the country and hit up a few more vineyards and absorb as much knowledge... and wine... as I can.



Tomorrow night is my last cake decorating class of session 2 - flowers.  Over the last few weeks and I have been making tons of flowers and tomorrow night I will be putting them into an eccentric arrangement on the top of a cake. I am sure it will look weird, but I made all the flowers - what else am I going to do with them?

6 months...

Today is my half birthday, so I guess technically I should be done with half of the list - right? Wrong. There are still a ton of things left on the list to accomplish and I have only six months to do so.  It seems that what I thought was the "easy" stuff has been put off to the end.  I mean, how hard is it to drive a convertible? Well, it is really hard if you don't know anyone that owns one! I have also been staring at my scrapbook "stuff" set up on a table for about a month now and I have not made one step towards the table and progress.  The Hubby and I have discussed many times about how we "need" to plan and schedule the trip to New York, but have not done anything for that yet other than looking up the price of tickets.  I feel like such a slacker.

I did buy the living social deal of the day today and now have an all day pass at a local gun range - progress in the right direction. I still have to go before I can cross it off the list though.  That is about all the progress that has been made since last I wrote.  I am taking the second course in cake decorating - gum paste flowers.  One class so far and a couple of cute little flowers made. 

Hopefully in the next few months I can scratch a few more things off the list.  I am a realist and I know that I am not going to get it all done - I just want to accomplish as much as I can. :)

Giraffe.

I am officially crossing something else off the list – yeah! Yesterday I officially made my “fancy cake” (#2).  It was a chocolate cake and it was apparently very good.  I had a little sliver of it myself, but after making all of the icing and taste testing it I did not want any more sweets! I did learn a valuable lesson: Don’t use cake labeled “Super Moist.”  The cake was so soft I thought I was doomed as it fell apart.  Luckily The Hubby was around and he was able to help me with flipping it over and leveling it out.  Overall, I think it took me about 2.5 hours.  Sounds like a lot of time, but it was fun.  Another cake has already been requested for October and I have already been thinking of ideas. J

It is starting to look like Wilton has exploded in my kitchen at times.  I may be getting carried away with purchasing cake decorating items.  I ended up getting a “tool box” to hold all of the spatulas, icing colors, icing tips, etc.  I also have a turntable and most recently I purchased a stand that can hold the different icing bags while I am decorating.  I ended up having to clean out a cabinet in the kitchen – the liquor cabinet- in order to store all of the items.  No, I did not drink everything; I just moved it all down to the cabinet downstairs. The good news is that I have been getting tons of coupons so I have not paid full price for anything.  I did sign up to take the second class and that starts on Monday August 6^th, 2012.  I decided not to take a break in between the classes.  I find cake decorating to be fun and relaxing – a nice little “stress reliever.”  I am excited to learn how to make some different kinds of flowers and starting working with fondant. 

I decided to cross something else off the list as I feel as if I have “become a hugger.”  (#25) Last night I had to hug everyone in the group before I left for the night.  That would not have been something I did in the past.  I would accept the hug, but I did not initiate the hug.  I know that seems like an odd goal to have, but you don’t know the group I hang out with! Everyone hugs! J  I am glad that I have become more comfortable with accepting and receiving hugs.  I love that the group is so supportive of both The Hubby and I.  I feel like I have developed an amazing family here in the “Dirty South” and am grateful to have them as I am so far away from the rest of my family. 

Dollywood

I decorated a cake – a little 6 inch cake with a fish on it. Technically I could cross this off the list right now, but I am going to wait until next weekend when I decorate another cake for a baby shower.  A giraffe cake has been requested and yesterday I practiced making a giraffe.  Rocky seemed to really enjoy the first one as he stood up on the table and licked it clean as I was making another batch of frosting.  I also bought a couple of new cake pans, the icing tip, some new colors, and a frosting bag.  I might be slightly addicted. 

We made some cupcakes this past Thursday.  They were pretty good and I had fun making them - I got pretty good reviews on the frosting as well.

The last Intro class is this week and I may take the next group of classes as well, but not next month.  I think I need a little break.  I feel like I have been out “late” every night for the last few weeks with work, teaching, and the cake class.  I have tried to make up for that by not doing much of anything on the weekends.  This past weekend I cleaned the house all day on Saturday and went to see The Dark Knight Rises on Sunday – that was about it. 

We finally planned our trip to Pigeon Forge as well.  We booked a cabin – my rule was I wanted a Jacuzzi and The Hubby wanted a pool table.  I also wanted it to look like a cabin, inside and out.  Some of them looked more like a “house” on the inside and I wanted the wooden floors and walls – the whole nine yards.  My family is going to come and stay with us in September and I am excited to see them.  I especially want to see Payton who will probably be walking by then at the rate he is growing! We watched the travel channel last night and they were showing roller coasters and two came up from Dollywood.  The Hubby is excited for that.  I will be keeping my feet firmly planted on the ground holding on to everyone’s purse.  J

Lasagna

Last night I cooked lasagna for dinner.  The lasagna itself did not have 10 ingredients (#19), but I added a side of garlic bread and also a dessert and was able to knock something else off the list! I accomplished making a meal.  I realized yesterday why I don’t cook that often though. 1) We are going to have leftover lasagna for the rest of the week. 2) It was expensive to buy all the separate ingredients. 3) I am just too busy and don’t get home early enough during the week.  It was really good though – so good that we had it for lunch again today. J

I also decided to cross off (#28) as I have been attending church on a regular basis.  I don’t think that starting to attend church again has made me a better person.  I just needed a place to go, an “assigned place” where I felt a connection.  I have been struggling with some things emotionally over the last few months and having a comforting place to go has helped.  I plan to continue to stay involved in the church through volunteering and any other opportunities that come up. 

I bought some more items yesterday for my “fancy cake.”  I actually purchased a box for storing all of the decorating supplies.  I went in to get a smaller box for holding all of the decorating tips and ended up with a larger investment. I have a feeling that this might turn into an obsession.

Star Light, Star Bright

I am in love – with the idea of decorating cakes.  I had my first class last night and I watched her make icing, level a cake, and decorate.  I learned how to fill the icing bag and then proceeded to make about 100 stars on my cookies, the practice board, and the table since I was having so much fun.  I know that it sounds simple enough and probably boring to some, but I enjoyed myself and am very excited about all the ideas I have in my head.  As soon as class was out I purchased some 6 inch cake pans, icing colors, and some other ingredients to make my own icing at home – which by the way was WAY better than the store bought kind I purchased for class.  My wonderful friend Allison has “commissioned” me to make a cake for her baby shower at the end of the month.  A giraffe cake has been requested and I have been doing research – I am excited as this will knock something off my list as well when I decorate a fancy cake! 

In other exciting news, I finally own a pair of pink running shoes! Again, this may be trivial to the average reader but when you wear a size 11 or 12 it is hard to run across a cute pair of shoes when out shopping.  I have always had to plan way ahead when purchasing shoes for dances at school and I have always bought men’s running shoes – meaning blue.  Nothing is more embarrassing than having to wear the same tennis shoes as the boy at the next locker.  I also bought some cute blue/green shoes as they were both half off so I was able to justify it as a BOGO purchase.  Extra bonus is The Hubby bought some orange tennis shoes and as I can wear the same size as he I can now “borrow” his shoes as well. 

I have been slack at keeping up with this blog, but at the same time I have not had anything very important to say.  I have had a few moments of feeling overwhelmed by all of the things left to accomplish on my list.  I don’t know if I will be able to get it all done, but I do know that I have tried things and done things that I would not have done without the list in mind. I would not have attended the cake decorating class without the extra “push.”  I would not have volunteered for the High School Youth Group at church and would have missed out on meeting all of the amazing youth.  I am grateful for the progress I have made and I look forward to what I am able to accomplish from the rest of the list. 

So, it appears that despite my best efforts I am failing at one of the things on my list. I am not doing a very good job at keeping up with this blog (#29) and what I am writing is boring. In my self defense I do lead a fairly boring life though. I get up and go to work, come home and often continue to complete paperwork, go to sleep and the cycle repeats the next day – does not leave much time for excitement or anything good to write about. I do manage to socialize some on the weekends. Last weekend we had everyone over for a “Basement Reveal” party. It was a lot of fun and nice to have everyone at our place. We had a few drinks, ate a ton of food, and had a few dance offs with the Kinect. Overall, I think the basement looks great and I love that we worked on it together. It will be a nice place to hang out in the future – a cooler place to hang out during the summer months as well. We went to my first lacrosse game last night. Still not sure if I understand the rules, but I did like the view.

 The Hubby and I have been working on planning our trip to New York (#1) in the Fall. We are planning on going the second weekend in October and just need to get the rest of the details worked out. I have also made some progress on Decorating a Fancy Cake (#2) as I have signed up for a Basics in Cake Decorating class at Michael’s. The lady at the check out was very encouraging as she told me that there have been people to attend the classes having never decorated a cake and they know own businesses doing just that. I don’t have high hopes for my own skills, but I know that I will have fun and that is what is important to me. With all of these babies being born around here, maybe I will get a chance to make a cake for a shower to show off my mad skills. I don't forsee myself making anything like this, but wouldn't it be nice?!?!
 I plan to set up my scrapbook stuff and just leave it out so that I can get that caught up. I did make it to the gym once this week for a short run so I can get back on track with those fitness goals and hopefully losing a little weight along the way as well. I know that I owe a few pictures from our trip, so here goes...
 
Owen, the cutest godson ever. 

 
Two of my favorite men, The Hubby and Payton

 
 My sister and her little man.

Back on Track

Basically I have been terrible at writing lately. I wish I had a good excuse, but I got nothin’ other than I have been busy and I have not had the time/ambition to write. I have made some (minimal) progress on the list during my hiatus from writing. We recently traveled back to Illinois for a baptism, a graduation, and everything in between. We got to play with many babies and visit friends – check out the Hubby’s blog here http://spacecowboy11.blogspot.com/ for much better details and pictures of the trip. He is much better than I at adding pictures to his writing. We spent roughly 30 hours (if not more) in the car together over 11 days and for those of you that don’t know the Hubby he is not much of a talker. I spent much of my time reading (50 Shades of Grey – wow!) and also did some crochet (#18). I attempted to teach myself using the book on the way to Illinois. It was not pretty and I could not get the hang of going back on the row and ended up with a giant chain. My wonderful and beautiful grandmother was able to teach me better in 10 minutes than I managed to accomplish on my own in the car. The trip back to North Carolina was much more productive with crochet but I still do not have anything to show for it – except maybe an eighth of a potholder. Technically, I have learned to crochet I am just not very good at it nor have I actually made anything of substance. Overall I did find the act of crochet to be somewhat relaxing and plan to continue. Also in the car I managed to play a few games of Chess (#16) against the Nook. Surprise, Surprise – I did not win. I do now have a much better grasp of the game and the other night I played again and the game took about 20 minutes compared to the 3 minute games in the car so I am sensing some improvement. I plan to knock that one off the list this week after the Hubby and I sit down and play a game together. We are also very close to accomplishing #22 after taking some pictures in my hometown and are now only short an R and an L to complete our name. We also finally got the pictures printed before we left and they look fabulous hanging on the wall. As the Hubby pointed out tonight, we have been able to accomplish something for basically free that people pay big money for - a bonus as everything else on the list is costing money.

10,000 Easy Steps

I purchased a book tonight, “How to Crochet it 10,000 easy steps.” Well, I am exaggerating the title a little but that is what it feels like at this point. It appears that one of the first things you can learn to make is a koozie so that is my plan. I have a 12 hour car ride next week to accomplish this task and then I will be able to cross another item off my list (#18)! Yeah!

I have really been slacking in the list department. Things have been tremendously busy and overwhelming at work and it has pretty much consumed all of my time. I won’t bore you with the details, nor would you understand anyway. Just the usual feelings of being overworked and underappreciated – so a perfect time to find an outlet to release my frustrations and find something that makes me happy. I know for sure that I need to get back to the running. I have not ran for any length of time (other than twice) since the race at the end of March. It has been difficult to find the time as well as to muster up the motivation. In the meantime, I have started to feel like a giant blob and I am in need of the activity. I want more than anything to catch up at work so I feel like I can “spare” the time to run. I still need to work on the 10 minute mile (#7) and the push up goal (#11), so I have to get back to the gym!

The Hubby and I continue to play the world’s longest game of Chess in an effort for me to learn (#16). I think that we will need to play this game in one sitting so I can remember how each piece moves – ha ha. As of right now, I think it is my move and I think it has been my move for the last two weeks. I have been working on “becoming a hugger” (#25) and my friend attempted to help me with this one last week. They were teaching me how to hug and their preferred style of hug – you know what I mean, the two armed full body vs. the side ways one armed hug. I think I will be able to successfully complete this goal – especially if you give me a few more drinks.  At that point, I might also be willing to partake in the karaoke. I was excited to find out tonight that I can take cake decorating classes at my local Michaels store (#2). For a mere $45 for a four week course I can get the basics of cake decorating and then there are three other classes after that to help me to expand on my knowledge. They also have crochet classes, knitting, painting – it may have become my new favorite store! **Side note for those that are curious. The Hubby ended up getting me a Dyson vacuum for our anniversary and I love it! We ate our year old cake on Monday night after dinner and going to see The Avengers. My hope is that we always manage to maintain this level of comfort with each other.