100 Things
I found this list on another blog -- I can't remember which one, but it's floating around out there. It's a list of 100 things to do (sort of like the "bucket list"). I've bolded the ones I've already done and at the end I've put which 5 I REALLY want to do. Here goes:
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea -- does Lake Michigan count?
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Vacationed in Italy
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud With 3 boys? Yeah.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (Holly Hobbie)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating -- don't ever see this happening BLECH!
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee -- 63, in fact. All at one time.
100. Read an entire book in one day
5. Buy a stranger a meal at a restaurant
4. Play in a band
3. Go rock climbing -- in Southern Utah
2. Vacation in Italy -- preferably stay in a villa for a month or so, near Florence
1. Run a Marathon
OK blogger pals. It's your turn!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
When irony enlightens
With one kid attending a private college, another kid injury prone and growing like a week, two more kids growing like weeds and in child care five days a week, and the sour economy, there’s been a significant clog in my cash flow of late. I'm pretty crafty so I had this great idea of saving money by making gifts for my parents and Sis, which I did.
I found a quilt square that my Nana (Mom’s Mom) had pieced together a long time ago. This is the design but in red, white, and blue. I don't know the circumstances of, or plan for the project…..I wish I did. My mom gave it to me back in the day and even though I had a vague plan for doing something with it, it got lost in the many, many moves made over the years. When it turned up this fall while I was cleaning out a closet in the basement, I thought “Oh! This would be the perfect thing for Mom’s Christmas gift!”
The quilt square is old and fragile so I decided to frame it. That way it could be displayed but not damaged, unlike a pillow, which was my first choice. Unfortunately, the square is an odd size and it took me FOREVER to find a frame that would work, for a price I was willing to pay. But I did.
After lots of thinking and trial and error (translation, a LOT of time), it was done, it was perfect, and it was nicely wrapped. Now all I needed was a shipping box that it would fit into.
Of course I didn’t have anything like that at home so I spent a decent chunk of time running in and out of stores looking for a box. I found all the other stuff I needed, like packing tape and bubble wrap, but no box. I started to feel just a wee concerned, then thankfully a light bulb came on. I’m brilliant! I thought and I hurried over to a hobby store to the framing department. They’ll have a suitable box for Mom’s gift! I mean, they get frames shipped to them to sell surely they’d have a couple of those shipping boxes just lying around!
But no, they didn’t.
At about this point the blood pressure is on the rise because the deadline for shipping to arrive by Christmas is TODAY and I have to get this done NOW before I go see clients, because after that I get the mini-muffins from school and then there’s no getting anything done!! Aaaagggghhhh!!!
OK. Deep breath.
The lady at the framing desk suggested I go to UPS. Not only would they have a box to fit, they would wrap it up all safe and sound. I wouldn’t have to do a thing!
Spirits revived, I trot over to the UPS store and hand over the precious finished product to the perky ladies with Santa hats on. My shoulders start to relax down to their anatomically correct position while I fill out the shipping form. It’s all going to be ok.
Then the nice lady with the Santa hat on says to me “To get it there by Christmas, you’ll want to send this overnight, and with the size of this package, it will be $169.50.
“$169.50?!?! Are you serious? I could buy my Mom a cashmere sweater for that! What are my other options?”
Many choices were offered me but I kept refusing until the wrapping and shipping were under $50. I was told the package would probably be delivered on Christmas Eve, but there’s no guarantee, not with the storms and all, you just never know, this seems like a really important gift you want to get to your Mother for Christmas, are you SURE you want to send it this way? Ok, then please sign here indicating that you understand there’s no guarantee that it will be delivered before Christmas.
Ok then. It’s done.
wow.
Very disheartened, I called ONO and told him how my grand money-saving plan had been COMPLETELY thwarted, with a bucket-load of stress thrown in to boot. In his concise, matter-of-fact way he said “It’s a nice thing you did. Not many people make personalized gifts like that any more. I’m sure they’ll really appreciate it.”
Of course. It’s not about the money. Not how much you spend OR how much you save. How wonderful the Universe is to gently whap my head with a 2X4 of irony. I am sincerely grateful. Really!!
And Mom, even though you will anyway, I don't want you to have a moment of bad feelings. You were/are completely worth it.
I found a quilt square that my Nana (Mom’s Mom) had pieced together a long time ago. This is the design but in red, white, and blue. I don't know the circumstances of, or plan for the project…..I wish I did. My mom gave it to me back in the day and even though I had a vague plan for doing something with it, it got lost in the many, many moves made over the years. When it turned up this fall while I was cleaning out a closet in the basement, I thought “Oh! This would be the perfect thing for Mom’s Christmas gift!” The quilt square is old and fragile so I decided to frame it. That way it could be displayed but not damaged, unlike a pillow, which was my first choice. Unfortunately, the square is an odd size and it took me FOREVER to find a frame that would work, for a price I was willing to pay. But I did.
After lots of thinking and trial and error (translation, a LOT of time), it was done, it was perfect, and it was nicely wrapped. Now all I needed was a shipping box that it would fit into.
Of course I didn’t have anything like that at home so I spent a decent chunk of time running in and out of stores looking for a box. I found all the other stuff I needed, like packing tape and bubble wrap, but no box. I started to feel just a wee concerned, then thankfully a light bulb came on. I’m brilliant! I thought and I hurried over to a hobby store to the framing department. They’ll have a suitable box for Mom’s gift! I mean, they get frames shipped to them to sell surely they’d have a couple of those shipping boxes just lying around!
But no, they didn’t.
At about this point the blood pressure is on the rise because the deadline for shipping to arrive by Christmas is TODAY and I have to get this done NOW before I go see clients, because after that I get the mini-muffins from school and then there’s no getting anything done!! Aaaagggghhhh!!!
OK. Deep breath.
The lady at the framing desk suggested I go to UPS. Not only would they have a box to fit, they would wrap it up all safe and sound. I wouldn’t have to do a thing!
Spirits revived, I trot over to the UPS store and hand over the precious finished product to the perky ladies with Santa hats on. My shoulders start to relax down to their anatomically correct position while I fill out the shipping form. It’s all going to be ok.
Then the nice lady with the Santa hat on says to me “To get it there by Christmas, you’ll want to send this overnight, and with the size of this package, it will be $169.50.
“$169.50?!?! Are you serious? I could buy my Mom a cashmere sweater for that! What are my other options?”
Many choices were offered me but I kept refusing until the wrapping and shipping were under $50. I was told the package would probably be delivered on Christmas Eve, but there’s no guarantee, not with the storms and all, you just never know, this seems like a really important gift you want to get to your Mother for Christmas, are you SURE you want to send it this way? Ok, then please sign here indicating that you understand there’s no guarantee that it will be delivered before Christmas.
Ok then. It’s done.
wow.
Very disheartened, I called ONO and told him how my grand money-saving plan had been COMPLETELY thwarted, with a bucket-load of stress thrown in to boot. In his concise, matter-of-fact way he said “It’s a nice thing you did. Not many people make personalized gifts like that any more. I’m sure they’ll really appreciate it.”
Of course. It’s not about the money. Not how much you spend OR how much you save. How wonderful the Universe is to gently whap my head with a 2X4 of irony. I am sincerely grateful. Really!!
And Mom, even though you will anyway, I don't want you to have a moment of bad feelings. You were/are completely worth it.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Running Update
If you're a regular, you've notice that I haven't posted much about running, or anything for that matter. Recently I discovered there's a connection there, but more on that later.
After the Allerton Trail Run in late October I've been plagued with shin splits (again!) in my right leg and an obstinate heel pain. I'm sure the two are related. I can't quite figure out if the heel pain is Plantar Fascitis or a bone bruise, or maybe even a stress fracture. ONO says that's unlikely but I'm not ruling it out.
I took about a week off and then tried running. The run itself went great but the pain afterward was pretty bad. I took almost 3 more weeks off, waiting until there was absolutely no pain in my shins. There was just a scooch of pain in my foot but I decided to go ahead. Again, pretty good during the run....pretty bad after. And the next morning? OY!!
I'm trying not to get too bummed about it. It's hard. I'm clearly not going to meet the mileage goal I set for myself last January. Unless you count all the elliptical miles I've put in. But don't think those count. But more importantly, running is really the only thing I really like. It gets me outside and away -- from myself and all the other annoyances in my life. It makes me grateful to be alive and able to move.
I've decided to invest in The Stick, a weight training book for runners, some shoe inserts, and maybe a foot log. All of that is about $100. If it works, that's definitely well-spent cash.
After the Allerton Trail Run in late October I've been plagued with shin splits (again!) in my right leg and an obstinate heel pain. I'm sure the two are related. I can't quite figure out if the heel pain is Plantar Fascitis or a bone bruise, or maybe even a stress fracture. ONO says that's unlikely but I'm not ruling it out.
I took about a week off and then tried running. The run itself went great but the pain afterward was pretty bad. I took almost 3 more weeks off, waiting until there was absolutely no pain in my shins. There was just a scooch of pain in my foot but I decided to go ahead. Again, pretty good during the run....pretty bad after. And the next morning? OY!!
I'm trying not to get too bummed about it. It's hard. I'm clearly not going to meet the mileage goal I set for myself last January. Unless you count all the elliptical miles I've put in. But don't think those count. But more importantly, running is really the only thing I really like. It gets me outside and away -- from myself and all the other annoyances in my life. It makes me grateful to be alive and able to move.
I've decided to invest in The Stick, a weight training book for runners, some shoe inserts, and maybe a foot log. All of that is about $100. If it works, that's definitely well-spent cash.
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