60 Day Check-In

Yesterday marks 60 days since I started this adventure called "MY 101," which is how I refer to it. I actually feel quite proud of myself because I was able to get several things done during this month. (If you're not sure what I did, please refer to my previous blogs)

But then I had to take a look at my "ongoing" items, things that I need to do (or not do) on a routine basis, and I was not very happy with myself. Frustrated is the exact term. While I have been going to Starbucks every week, a lot of my daily items I have been leaving on the side of the road. Why is that? Am I just lazy? Unmotivated? I'm not sure, but it is making me take a look at myself. For example, eating breakfast every day. It seems so simple, especially when I keep toaster streudels in the house. Hey, it counts. It's better than nothing. But I find myself on Facebook right up until I have to run around to get ready for work or I get so caught up in other things I seem to forget that I didn't eat breakfast. Taking my vitamins is another one. I look at them and say "Oh, I'll take those with lunch later." Instead, I'm going to bed that night saying "Damnit I forgot to take my vitamins!" I know it's supposed to take something like 21 days to start a habit. And I know that with anything you try to do consistently, there will be setbacks. Maybe I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I need to do it every day, and do it right, or it can't count for anything. I will say I was using the bout of pertussis I suffered in March as a great excuse for why I slacked off on things. But it's now the end of April. Enough. I want to get to the point where I can eat breakfast every day and if I skip a day for whatever reason I don't feel guilty about it. But right now I can't. If I skip I feel guilty and get mad at myself and it gets easier and easier to skip on the next days because I figure if the system is already thrown off it doesn't matter. But I will try to get better. I've taken my vitamins for two days now and eaten breakfast for two days and I started writing in my journal again last night. So I hope at my next check-in I can feel much better about myself.

But on a GREAT note, I have gone almost 60 days without pop!!!!!  I may have become a bit of that annoying person. You know the one, the one who doesn't eat or drink something and gets a bit snooty about it? In trying to plan my sister's wedding shower I may have told her I didn't want pop at it because I don't drink and I would rather not have it kicking around the house afterwards. She was cool with it, but even as the words were coming out of my mouth a part of me was standing back and saying, "Really Summer? Oh dear God get over yourself!" But I still feel very proud of myself. I may not have been a regular pop consumer (I drink coffee WAY more) but it was something I was determined to cut out of my life and I did.

Looking toward the future, I have planned a vacation and will be going on it next week. While there I plan on going to an aquarium, so be looking for those blogs. Also, I have bought a pair of wedge sandals and will hopefully get a chance to wear them soon, if the weather ever cooperates. And I get my e-mails from The Cinema every week so maybe I'll be lucky enough to go to a double feature this summer and get that done as well. Thank you for reading my blog and being excited about my 101. I love the support!!! Until next time, or as Jason and Grant would say, "On to the next..."

Number 79

Drink a Guinness


Over the weekend I went to The Cinema with my mom and her fiance to go see The King's Speech (which is an excellent movie and confirmed for me that Colin Firth is one of the dreamiest men ever).  When the movie was over we decided to go get something to eat and to keep on our British theme of the evening, Mom and Mike decided to go to The Old Toad since it was a place they had always wanted to go but had never been to. See, I guess this list is inspiring other people around me!!

Me drinking my first Guinness at The Old Toad.

We picked a good time to go because there was hardly anyone there. We were perusing the beer list and my mom pointed out that they had Guinness available  and I would be able to check another thing off my list. I deliberated in my head and then decided what the heck, just go for it. So I ordered a Guinness. There it sat before me, looking nice and dark with that layer of foam on top. Now, I had sipped a Guinness a couple years ago so I wasn't a complete stranger to the taste. But I took a much bigger sip this time, and I found it quite tasty. A nice mix of dark bitterness and a hint of sweetness. I did finish the whole thing and I think this is a beer I will be ordering in the future.

Number 16

Take a shot of whiskey


I first came to put this on my list because it seemed like half the country songs out there talk about whiskey. I felt left out since I had never tried whiskey before. Then when I told my little sister I was adding this to my list I swear her eyes lit up and she got as excited as her kids on Christmas. She is a whiskey drinker and the first thing she told me was that she had to be the one to take me out. So I stuck to my word and when we were both working until 5 I thought it was the perfect time for us to go out and take my shot.

It's a little dark, but there's my fancy shot glass!

She took me to this "dive"bar in Pittsford called Thirsty's. She took me there because she knew they had a 12 Year Jameson that she thought I would like. Seeing as how she's the expert I just went along for the ride. She set it down and grinned. "This is really more like a couple shots. Whatever you don't finish I will!" I kind of sniffed it a few times, took a breath, and drank most of it down. After the burning and coughing subsided I realized it actually wasn't that bad. I finished it and enjoyed the nice oaky aftertaste.

While I'm not likely to run out and start doing shots of Jameson on a nightly, or even weekly, basis. But the next time I'm out and in the mood for a shot, I think I might ask for a Jameson.

Number 64

Last Amerks game of the season

Go to an Amerks game

If you can't tell from the picture, the Amerks are Rochester's AHL Hockey Team. I've been to their games many times before, but every year I tell myself I'm going to go to a game of every sports team we have and I never do. So I kind of cheated and put down an Amerks game since I figured I had a pretty good shot of going to a game seeing as how everyone in my family is a hockey fan and my nephew Luch plays for the Amerks Midget team and has been known to play between periods. So today after church when my mom told me it was the last game of the season and her and her fiance were going I mentioned that going to a game was one of the items on my list. She invited me along and I was very excited to check one item off my list.
The game was, to be honest, pretty boring for most of it. The team is not that great this year and despite a strong start and ending the first period with a 1-1 tie, the Lake Erie Monsters managed to pull ahead and for almost the entire rest of the game they were winning. Then the Amerks rallied to tie it 4-4 and go in to overtime. One overtime period and seven shooters from each team later, Erie won. But I had fun, it was nice spending time with my mom, and I got to check another item off my list. I'm on a roll!!

Number 56

  Go out at least one month either by myself or with friends

Me and my handsome dates for breakfast.

 As I've probably mentioned, if I don't make myself go out of the house at least once a month I would probably never leave except to go to work or church or events related to those places. Since I'm off this weekend I decided to take advantage of the free time and the decent weather and treat the boys to bagels at Bruegger's. I got us all dressed and put them in the stroller and we took a nice walk up to Bruegger's. It was a bit nippy, but the sun was shining so it didn't matter too much. It was such a nice morning! The boys were well behaved and it was nice to eat breakfast somewhere besides home.

The boys had chocolate milk, plain bagels and plain cream cheese while I had a plain bagel with onion & chive cream cheese. I admit I brought my coffee from home which is not a statement against Bruegger's coffee just a statement that I made a pot of coffee at home and did not want to waste it. I'm hoping that the next time I have a Saturday off I can treat them to breakfast again. And, it got me out of the house for April!!

    

Number 49 Part 1

Participate in at least 3 volunteer events with Target


Yesterday I went with four of my fellow Target employees to a nearby school to spend a few hours with them. We went to School 36 in Irondequoit and visited four different classrooms. We read a couple stories to them, played a Memory game with Easter pictures, and left them with a picture and crayons to color and a gift bag. This is something Target does every month and it's something I've thought about signing up for. I tried to do it last month but my sister's car died and when I found out at 11:30 at night it was too late for me to try to figure out transportation for the next day.

It was a lot of fun. The kids were rambunctious but amusing and I even got a couple hugs. As a bonus, we got free ice cream!!!  It was also funny that any time any kids, whether it was the ones we visited or other students in the school, walked by us we heard a chorus of "Hi Target!" I already can't wait to go back. I've included a picture of me in my red and khaki, which for those of you that know, I don't wear to work. That was another fun thing because it kept throwing people off who are used to seeing me in black or white and khaki. Target does other volunteer events beside the school visit and I look forward to participating in more.

One Of 10 Books Read

Pick 10 Books Off The List of 100 Books To Read Before You Die

Last week while I was at my weekly trip to Starbucks, I pulled out my Kindle and decided it was time to get started on my list of books to read. I had a few downloaded to my Kindle and decided to randomly pick one. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde won.
I found the book to be a quick read, helped by the fact that it was much shorter than I anticipated. Of course I know the basic story, although some of the details were gleaned from the musical Jekyll & Hyde that came out while I was in college. No, sadly, no musical numbers in Stevenson's book. But I continued on. The story really kicked in for me towards the end when a letter from Dr. Jekyll detailing his transformation, how it started, etc. was included. I thought it was really interesting to think about how we are all Dr. Jekyll in a way in our every day lives. Maybe not quite as "good" as the character in the book, but we trudge on every day, doing the best we can, squelching our more basic id-like urges. We don't let our inner Mr. Hyde's out to play, despite those instances when we really really want to. At first Hyde is just a way for Jekyll to be someone he's not, someone who can do all the things Jekyll suppresses. But we're told that the more and more we let Hyde out the more he will take over until we can't find ourselves anymore and we will eventually be lost.
While I don't give the book raving reviews, it was an enjoyable read. I won't be deleting it any time soon we'll just say. If you're looking for a quick break from what you usually read this might be a good book to pick up.
One down, 9 to go.

Number 93

Buy a White Sundress


For the past several years every time summer comes around I get it in my head that I want to buy a white sundress. It just seems so....summery. (Pun only slightly intended). So every year as the summer clothes start appearing in the stores I take a look around and can usually find one white sundress that catches my eye. But since summer clothes start popping up in oh, say, JANUARY, I put it off. How depressing to buy a sundress just to have it hang in your closet for another 5 or 6 months before it gets warm enough to wear it! So then by May when the weather seems to be cooperating and consistently warm enough to justify wearing my spring and summer clothes, I run in to a problem: I can't find a white sundress. Either the style I've already picked out is gone or the style I like no longer has my size.

So this year I decided to do it differently. It was pointed out to me that Old Navy had dresses but without a car it's hard to get to one. So as I was mulling over the idea of trying to find someone who wanted to go on a shopping trip with me, I was looking through my Sunday circulars and pulled out the Target ad as I always do. I flipped through and there it was! Dresses on sale, including.....wait for it.... A WHITE SUNDRESS!!!!! So I got to work a little early on Sunday and headed over to the women's clothing section. There were two styles to pick from, but I think you'll like the one I chose.  I know it's not the best picture but hopefully you'll get the idea. And I do promise that when I wear it I will get a picture and post an update. Another one complete!

Number 75

Earlier this week I decided to ask my Facebook friends a question. Since I was off today (Friday) I wanted to check something off of my list. I was looking for suggestions, but unfortunately everyone seemed to want me to do something involving alcohol and since I had to watch the boys while my sister was working, I figured alcohol would not be the best way to go. Instead I decided to go with a little thing that was actually a big thing for me: Buy an eyeshadow that was not brown.

I know, I know, right about now you're shaking your head and rolling eyes and wishing I wasn't quite so dramatic. But here's the thing: I keep my makeup very low key. Most days I don't even wear eyeshadow and when I "dress up" or try to make more of an effort, I go with the one eyeshadow trio I own which is browns. Yes, it is supposed to bring out my blue eyes. But it gets a little bit boring after a while. So with about ten minutes to kill on my lunch yesterday I decided it was time. I braved the Target makeup section and dived right in. I knew being somewhat limited on time would be good for me because otherwise I would wander up and down the aisles, picking eyeshadows up and putting them down, standing there for 15 minutes with two different shades debating the merits of both and where and when I would wear it, etc. There, on the bottom shelf, a trio of blue and gray caught my eye. It was a brand I hadn't heard of but the shades were pretty and not too far out there. I mean, I'm not really the type of woman to start wearing bright pinks or anything like that. The palette is called "Seattle" and even as I type this I want you to know I am wearing one of the colors. Who knows, I may go crazy and wear one tomorrow to work!!! So number 75 is checked off, and maybe this will even make me brave enough to branch out and buy even more colors. Watch out!!

I'm wearing the middle shade, a pretty blue-silver.

Continuing One, Starting Another

I have been keeping up with my goal to spend time at Starbucks as a customer, not an employee, and it has been delightful. Especially since the store I work in is licensed and the one near where I live is corporate, or freestanding. Much more inviting!!! I was even able to try one of the new petite pastries that we don't carry at my store. Despite the chill in the air and the light drizzle, I walked up to Starbucks, ordered my drink and pastry, and sat in the window with my new Kindle.

My Kindle, Strange Case..., my tiramisu cake pop, and my double tall caramel macchiato.

Speaking of Kindle, I decided to take a break from the book I was in the middle of (Naked Heat by Richard Castle for all you "Castle" fans) and start on one of my books to complete my goal of reading 10 books off the 100 books to read before you die list. I decided on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. I was surprised to find it was a quick read and after only about an hour I am about 80% done with it.  So fairly soon you should be seeing a blog detailing a finished book!