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| 365 DaysWell, it's been a while since I've posted. Not because I have nothing to post, because I've actually been really busy/popular lately. Things are still going well here. The basement is coming along fairly well, although we may have hit a little snag today.
One of the things on my 101/1001 list was to complete the 365 day challenge on Flickr. So far, I've been failing miserably. So I started over today, and I think I'm going to try to make a point of posting my best pictures on here, in an attempt to get my blogging groove back. Plus, with that new camera that Peyton got me for Mother's Day, I should really be working on using it more.
This isn't one of my best pictures, but I like it anyway. I realized after I took it that I had my focus set up all wrong, so it's a bit blurry, but who really cares, right? :)
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| 101 Things in 1001 days***I'll be bumping the list up every few posts, to keep it on the top, and to show any updates.
The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.
My Start Date: January 1, 2009
My End Date: September 29, 2011
Key:
Not yet started
In progress
Completed
***My List***
1. Send a short note/postcard to someone by snail-mail once a week for a year (52 cards total). (0/52)
2. Visit 5 places outside of Minnesota. (0/5)
3. Sell 100 items in my Etsy shop. (4/100)
4. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or food shelf.
5. Join a group at church that meets regularly.
6. Participate in the 365 day challenge on Flickr. (36/365)
7. Finish reading the entire Bible (currently in Judges).
8. Participate in the KTIS Drive-thru Difference.
9. Read 20 books. (1/20)
10. Send Christmas cards for Christmas 2009 and 2010.
11. Plant and maintain a vegetable garden.
12. Eat vegetarian for one week.
13. Get a real, professional manicure. Completed! May 20, 2009
14. Go to the Renaissance Festival.
15. Take a community education class.
16. Go for an entire week without a single soda pop. (0/7)
17. Eat a fruit I've never eaten.
18. Write a thank-you note to one of my former teachers.
19. Finish every sewing and knitting project I currently have started.
20. Get pregnant.
21. Buy a high-quality camera and learn to use it well. (Camera bought 5/8/09, still learning to use it!)
22. Find my personal style and stick with it.
23. Take a yoga class.
24. Put that damn border up in the bathroom.
25. Learn to sew well enough to make myself a piece of clothing.
26. Get my parents' piano and successfully get it into my house.
27. Learn how to properly apply makeup to make myself look amazing.
28. Learn to bake a really great loaf of bread.
29. Donate all clothing in my closet that hasn't been worn for at least 12 months.
30. Meet 3 of my neighbors. (0/3)
31. Ride a horse.
32. Learn to crochet. (I'm well into the process on this one! I am learning from The Happy Hooker.)
33. See a movie in the theater. Completed! 3 times within a month!
34. Learn to play the guitar.
35. Eat a meal in a sit-down restaurant by myself.
36. Bring my lunch to work for a week. (0/5)
37. Try geocaching.
38. Spend a weekend in a nice hotel with my husband.
39. Ride on a motorcycle.
40. Get a queen size bed.
41. Play paintball.
42. Get one new piercing. Completed! 4/18/09
43. Whiten my teeth. (I have gone through one "round" of whitening with Aquafresh WhiteTrays. I intend to do it again soon, as my teeth are not as white as I would like.)
44. Talk Brian into letting me get one of my tattoos, and actually *get* the tat. Completed!! March 7, 2009
45. Finish the basement. (Started 1/13/09. Framing/electrical/heat finished 1/20/09. Drywall began 3/13/09, only one wall left to drywall! Drywall finished, sanding and mudding nearly finished!)
46. Figure out my natural hair color.
47. Obtain a library card and use it.
48. Get another subscription to Yoga Journal and utilize it. (Subscription submitted 1/10/09, I've received a couple issues so far!)
49. Invite someone over for dinner.
50. Go to a high school marching band competition.
51. Complete a NaBloPoMo month.
52. Learn to make my own chicken stock. Completed! 3/20/09
53. Get a famous person's autograph and/or picture with me.
54. Get a webcam. Completed! 01/31/09
55. Get a family portrait taken of myself, Brian, and Peyton.
56. Play hooky from work.
57. Visit the waterpark at Valleyfair.
58. Give a 100% tip to an amazing waiter/waitress.
59. Send a postcard to PostSecret.
60. Keep a prayer journal.
61. Sponsor a child.
62. Try 50 new recipes. (4/50)
63. Disassemble an old sweater for the yarn and make a scarf from it.
64. Ride my bike at least 50 times. (0/50)
65. Use one of those photo booths at the mall.
66. Go ice skating.
67. Find a signature fragrance that I love. Completed! (Giorgio Beverly Hills Blue)
68. Eat three vegetables I've never had before. (2/3 - We had leeks! And arugula!)
69. Mow the lawn.
70. Make a scrapbook.
71. Let Brian teach me about our finances.
72. Throw a party.
73. Put up my clothesline in the backyard.
74. Get rid of 101 unnecessary items around the house. (Not counting the clothing from #29) (11/101)
75. Visit the arboretum.
76. Order my wedding pictures.
77. Win a video game on the Wii.
78. Go to the Science Museum. Completed!! But I don't remember what day! But Brian and I had a nice little Sunday date. Church, Olive Garden, then the Science Museum! I'll try to figure out when it was!
79. Participate in a fund-raiser walk.
80. Eat dinner at the kitchen table once a month with no T.V. on. (0/33)
81. Shop at a farmer's market.
82. Witness my faith to a stranger.
83. Visit Becky 3 times. (0/3)
84. Bake a pie.
85. Play Wii Fit 3 times a week for 3 months. (0/36)
86. See a show at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre.
87. Watch every episode of "Hannah Montana". (1/62)
88. Sit down and watch an entire Vikings game on T.V. with Brian. Completed! 1/4/09
89. Remember to take my Flintstones vitamins every day for a month. (0/31)
90. Memorize three songs on the keyboard/piano. (0/3)
91. Lose enough weight to be able to wear the dresses I bought last summer. (About 10 pounds, I think, but less if I can just tone up a few problem areas. ;)) (Getting there! :))
92. Do the Sunday crossword with Brian for 4 weeks in a row. (0/4)
93. Redesign my Xanga blog.
94. Wear a skirt or dress every day for a week. (0/7)
95. Put together a puzzle of at least 1000 pieces.
96. Buy no new clothes for 3 months. (Used clothes are ok. I need to get my fix somehow.)
97. Organize my desk and maintain it.
98. Solve a Rubik's Cube. (Started 1/5/09)
99. Do something with my wedding dress that doesn't involve it hanging on the closet door.
100. Blog about every achieved goal. (4/101)
101. Put $1 aside for each goal completed. At the end of the 1001 days, spend that money on something special, just for me. (9/$101)
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| #42 - Get one new piercing - COMPLETED!!#42 on my 101/1001 list was to get one new piercing. I managed to get away with TWO new piercings, with only one piece of jewelry! (And for those of you that are wondering, I DID discuss this with Brian before I went, and I had his complete permission.) This is a piercing that I've wanted for a long time, and I'm SO glad that I got it, even though it HURT like you wouldn't believe!
Anyways, this piercing is called an industrial piercing. That's the general term for any two piercings that are connected with one single barbell. The most common form of this piercing is two piercings across the top of the ear, which is what I got. It was quick, easy, and definitely NOT painless, although I had myself so psyched up for much more pain. The lady that did it was super nice and talked me through the whole process. She gave me lots of information as to how to take care of it (which, I find it quite funny, is pretty much the opposite of the information you get when you get regular ear piercings done at a place like Claire's or Walmart) and made sure I wasn't going to pass out before I left.
Now that you've heard all about it, here it is!
Obviously, I'm no stranger to ear piercings (I've got 6 more on the other side), but I will say that this one was very much a new experience! It hurt a lot more than I remember my tragus hurting. (The tragus is the one in this picture toward the inside of my ear, right next to my face.) I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will heal quickly, but I have a feeling I'm in for a rough road! :)
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| Chicken Pot Pie The first recipe request for this week is chicken pot pie! This is a super easy and really yummy recipe. If you want to cheat and ignore the step-by-step instructions, you can just scroll to the bottom and see the recipe. But really, who doesn't want the play-by-play of me cooking?
So here we go. First you want to gather up your ingredients: frozen mixed veggies of your choice, chicken, cream of chicken soup, dried thyme, Bisquick, milk, and an egg.
Now, you can obtain your chicken any way you choose. This would be a great way to use up leftover chicken. However, as I don't usually make chicken that has leftovers, I use frozen chicken breast tenderloins. So I've gotta stick mine in the microwave to thaw them a bit.
Ta-da! Ding, chicken's done! Well, not exactly. I cut it all up and throw it in the frying pan with some oil and get it good and cooked up and yummy.
While the chicken is cooking, we'll make our crust. First you want to take a cup of Bisquick or other baking mix of your choice and dump it in a bowl.
And add your milk
And your egg....
And mix it all together.
Now go ahead and set that aside and get your filling ready. Throw your mixed veggies in a bowl, and feel good knowing that I use frozen veggies that have obviously been in the freezer for quite some time.
Add your cream of chicken soup. Yum!
And your thyme.
And when your chicken is cooked through, add that too!
And mix that all together.
Pour the filling into a 9-inch pie pan.
And pour the crust mix over the top of that.
Now, at this point, I probably should have spread the crust mix out a little better, but really, it cooks just fine like this.
Now pop that bad boy into a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, and BAM, you've got yourself a pie! Mmmm....chickeny goodness.
I love this stuff. The cream of chicken soup makes it amazing, and the thyme gives it a really good flavor. The recipe gives specific measurements for the veggies and chicken, but I always kind of wing it, and I've never had a problem with it.
Chicken Pot Pie
1 2/3 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 1/2 cups chicken or turkey, cooked and cubed
1 10.75 ounce can of cream of chicken soup
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
In a bowl, combine vegetables, chicken, soup, and thyme. Pour into an ungreased 9 inch pie plate. Combine Bisquick, milk and egg. Pour over chicken mixture. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Serves 4-6.
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