I am so close with this! I almost didn’t do this today. Last night was spent listing things in the Etsy shop, and then today I had dentist, an airport pick-up, and getting our niece to dance class. So, no post writing last night. I was pooped tonight and knew this would barely make it in time to count as a Wednesday post. But, I know it’s a slippery slope to putting off more than one post, and the next thing I know this blog is getting cobwebs. So, even if it winds up just being for my sanity…here’s another installation. Only two more to go!!!
71) Start a compost pile. DONE! Now, this one evolved. Originally, my plan was to start a compost pile outdoors, when we lived at the condo. There were some hoops to jump through, however. Being in a condo, we would have to make sure the association would be okay with it. Also, given our ‘hood, it would have to be an attractive set up. I looked into options, but any that would function the way I would like and be attractive at the same time were out of budget, even trying to get one used. After more research, I decided to bring the composting indoors. I even decided on this bad boy. However, we were again thwarted by budget constraints. I continued to pout every time I threw away something that I knew would make wonderful compost. When we moved to our apartment, I was even more determined to get our compost on. Finally, this Christmas, my parents hooked us up with our composter! It’s pretty awesome. We can throw just about anything in it, even things like meat and dairy that are normally a composting no-no. Not that there is much meat in our house, but it’s still nice to know that just about everything organic can be composted instead of trashed. The little machine can be adjusted to how much it needs to be tumbled, and it does everything! The smell stays contained, except when the machine is opened. We try to be quick when throwing in items, and that seems to be fine. I did make the mistake of wanting to examine the contents, and it wasn’t super pleasant. Like really bad foot oder. Ick! We don’t have a lot of use for the compost that comes out, so we’ll probably toss it in the park or pack it up for friends with gardens. Now that the composting is out of the equation, I am noodling on how to further cut down on our trash creation. Next up will be cutting down on paper towels and straws. I think we will be okay using cloth rags and napkins that we have on hand. For the straws, I am gonna get some stainless straws that can go in the dishwasher. I am more than willing to take other input for cutting down on the trash!
72) Visit my dear friend LaLa in Spokane. Not done. A recurring theme with this list is dollars. Travel adds the component of time. Much of our travel time is booked visiting family out-of-state. After that, places we can drive to easily are much higher on the list than places we have to fly. I’d really hoped that we could swing a Pacific Northwestern trip, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Now, Ms. LaLa is moving to California, and we are already working out plans to visit. Not that I didn’t want to visit Spokane, it just would have been a very specific trip. In Cali, we can lump a bunch of things we want to do together, and really maximize the trip. So, it all worked out, even though I miss my pal like crazy!
73) Tour the Glensheen Mansion. DONE! If you are reading this blog, you probably know that I have a fascination with creepy stories and the places where they happen. The Glensheen definitely qualifies! Super old, fabulous architecture, and MURDER! I read a book about the murder story, and of course I had to get to this place! It is a historic site that offers guided tours. The drag for someone like me was that the guides were not allowed to speak of the murders. Boo. It was said that sometimes you could get a guide to spill outside of the “official” tour. Luckily, the ban was lifted, and then the need to go was magnified. We drove up to Duluth, and despite a major car accident (not that we were in!) causing the expressway to be closed for a bit and for us to miss our initial tour time, we were able to get the tour. I felt slightly misled, in that the murders weren’t part of the tour. Really, the only thing that changed was that the guides were allowed to answer questions about the murders. So, that part was disappointing. However, the home was still gorgeous, and if I could have taken the large hat storage unit from one of the walk-in closets, I totally would have. However, those guides really keep their eyes on you. I want to go back, especially since we were there in November and that makes the gardens less exciting. Also, we took the shorter tour that doesn’t go to the upper floors. So, we’ll pony up next time and do the whole shebang. I will also study up better so I can make my own murder fun. Huh. That didn’t come out right. I can’t think of a way to make it sound less bad, so I will just move on.
74) Purchase prescription sunglasses. Not done. I really need them, too! I have freakishly large pupils that don’t shrink as much as most people’s do. Thus, they hate the sun. My eyes water, I get whiny, it’s not fun. I usually get transition lenses for my regular glasses, and that is okay for being outside. However, I have reached the stage in my life and vision where I need to wear my glasses to drive. Transitions don’t work when you are in a car. Thus, sunny day and I am all whiny. So, prescription sunglasses are a necessity. I did the more necessary thing and got everyday glasses. I knew that my insurance limited the number of glasses or contacts one could get for a certain amount of time, so I figured regular glasses first, then sunglasses. Until I saw that my plan doesn’t cover prescription sunglasses! Dumb, huh? So, I am prepared to shell out for them on my own, I just need to find a pair that I love. Hopefully soon…since the sun looks like it might make an appearance around here after all!
75) Go out dancing 12 times in one year (not including special events). Not done. So lame! There was a time, not so long ago, when we would go out every Saturday night, and some other nights, too! We were hip! We were the cool kids! Even when we had other plans, we would still sneak away to go dancing at our favorite spot at least once a week. Many factors contributed to our going out decline. One of the biggest was my getting a big girl job. Well, not a big girl job so much as a big girl schedule. I am soooo not a morning person, and this schedule requires a 7 am start Monday through Friday. So, going out on a weeknight was out for sure. However, instead of getting used to the schedule, my night owl tendencies won out and I would just wind up sleep deprived and on the weekends, I would try to play catch up. I thought that maybe once a month would be doable, I mean, going out one Saturday a month shouldn’t be so hard! Then, I had the whole neck injury situation to deal with. Dancing was out. I even tried some painkillers, but one song would make me cry. Then, on top of that, the narcolepsy thing hit. So, not only was I a night owl, but when I was sleeping I wasn’t sleeping, so when I should be awake I just wanted to sleep more. In a nutshell? All my attempts were thwarted. I still want to get some dancing fun every now and then. So, I am still gonna work on this one!
76) Build a mens suit. Not done. This falls into my love of creating and sewing. It also falls into the goal of wanting to be on Project Runway. Menswear looks simple, but construction is super crazy important. And complicated. While most folks might not know what goes into building a suit, they definitely know when one isn’t right. I’ve made plenty of ladies items, some mens costumes, but not a standard suit. Since it is pretty much guaranteed that there will be a menswear challenge on PR, I really need to nip this in the bud. This one kept going on the back burner for a whole bunch of reasons. However, depending on what happens with this whole PR situation now, I still wanna do this. I am thinking it needs to jump up on the priority list. So, I am starting research into what all I need for the construction, then I will take G fabric shopping and build him a suit! Just trying to decide if I want to do something modern, or with some old timey elements.
77) Try snowboarding. Not done. Yeah, I know. How have I never done this? First, snowboarding didn’t become a thing until I was a bona fide adult. Not like these kids that are in the Olympics when they are teenagers and have never known a world without it. Anyhow, it took until G took me until I tried skiing! So, I already had a late start with snow covered hills. Also, I have the problem of wanting to be perfect at something when I start. I hear that there is a learning curve with snowboarding, and the odds would not be in my favor for me to do a 360 on the half pipe on my first go. This was discouraging. However, I don’t want to be the last person on earth to ever step on a board. So, this goal was formed. There were a couple of struggles, though. Namely, last winter having NO SNOW. BOO. I thought for sure I would get out this last winter, but the narcolepsy caused me to sleep away every free weekend. So, this is on the docket for next winter. There better be snow, goshdarnit.
78) Get another session of tooth whitening. Not done. The first session was free from my dentist, because I was a new client. I got custom trays, and one series of solution. It helped some, but I had a really, really, really hard time with not drinking coffee or tea while I did this. Thus, not ideal results. So I hoped to do it again and be more committed. I had some sort of deterioration or something, though. I don’t know how it works, but something about the density of my teeth, preventing cavities, dentist talk. I had to focus on using prescription toothpaste and getting my teeth squared away. Whitening doesn’t work so well with that, though. However, today at the dentist, I got a clean bill of (tooth) health! Since G has been in need of very much dental work lately, I am gonna wait until my next appointment, and pick up a new set of solution to make some tooth magic happen!
79) Paint a painting. Not done. I used to paint, back in the day. Mostly, because I was taking art classes, and when you are making art anyway, it’s much easier to make more. You are already in practice, so bam! Painting! But, once the real world takes over, it’s much harder to art it up, unless it’s your career. I did get one commission for a project several years ago, and for another task I had to complete, I decided to do it in the form of a painting. I really enjoyed doing it, and recalling it made me want to do it again. I thought that making the goal would be helpful. It kind of had the opposite effect, though. I felt pressure to create a perfect, amazing painting, instead of energizing. So, I think I just need to let this one happen when the time is right.
80) Get a custom pair of raw denim jeans made for me. Not done. This one is in part because of dollars (raw denim is expensive, custom is expensive, and combining the two are very expensive), and in part because of gaining weight from getting my neck and narcolepsy sorted out. No sense in spending an insane amount of dollars on something that I hopefully won’t be able to wear for long because that weight is going to go away. So, phase one is to get back in shape. Phase two is buy jeans! They will be amazing, and last a long time, and did I mention the part about them being amazing??