{Not} Living Vicariously

This weekend brought to you by the letter B

As I was creating my to-do list for this weekend (I adore making lists . . . especially as I get to cross things off) I noticed a theme.

• work on Budget
• Blog
• seal Birdbath
• fill Bird feeders
• clean Bathrooms
• watch Bones (thanks Mom for a new time suck)
• make Brownies
• buy Bathing suit (for water aerobics class)
• Barfield Crescent hike
• assemble Bat house
• BB&B for gift card
• pack Backpacks

Granted, there are a few additional things on the list that don't fit my theme (laundry, garage) and not everything on here will be accomplished (I'm always overly ambitious) however we did decide that this weekend definitely has shades of Sesame Street. Luckily, some of these are already done.

Happy 40th Birthday to me - 40 by 40 update

Well, I definitely didn't accomplish all I set out to do this past year. However I made a much bigger dent in my list than I expected and look forward to continued momentum in learning and growing and doing. Bold indicates "not yet accomplished" and Italics indicates "considered done." The ones that don't have either? Those need more work before I can consider them complete. And some of these are going to turn into practices . . .

1. Find geocaches in the eight states that border TN. Completed 09.24.11.
2. Eat meatless 1+ times a week (preferably 2+ times regularly).
3. Take a ride in a hot air balloon. We’ve started investigating places and prices. This starts my next list of things to accomplish the year I am 40.
4. Learn to make Granny's divinity. Does it count if I tried on my own and failed miserably, but played “sous chef” to my sister-in-law and it worked perfectly? We won’t talk about the fact that she had never made it before but has no fear in the kitchen so candy making is “just done” and not fussed over. I say I still have some work on this goal.
5. Take a train trip somewhere. Ditto the hot air balloon ride.
6. Make my own cheese.
7. Hike one hundred miles. I have no clue how many miles I hiked in the past year, but it sure wasn’t 100. My knee acting up for so long really put a limit on how much hiking we could do so now that I’m back treating it properly I have high hopes for reaching this goal this year.
8. Eat from my garden.
9. Camp out at least overnight. I have now camped out in a tent twice.
10. Find a church home.
11. Organize garage.
12. Refresh the blog(s). Both of them have a new design and now that I’ve played around some, I foresee more updates in the future. For now though, I’m happy.
13. Find a cooking software I like. (I think. I have found the software and am playing around with the trial period. This one may show back up but hoping it won’t.)
14. Build a bigger back deck. This one is hard. I want a bigger back deck, yet I also want to screen it in. And I’m not ready to make some of the firm decisions that will need to be made before we start. So I continue to research what I want before jumping in with both feet.
15. Find a place to swim again. Joined the Y and I am loving the deep water aerobics. Used to take water aerobics years ago and even became a certified instructor – but never taught. Deep water aerobics is even more fun! I have not started doing laps again though.
16. Go berry picking. Waited too long, next year.
17. Add flex and strength to my cardio. I have no excuse, none at all.
18. Get a new camera.
19. Plant wildflowers. Um, yeah. I have all the seed ready to be planted. Just didn’t get to it so will be doing that as soon as appropriate based on our zone.
20. Put up a bat house. Bought the bat house, have not put it up. Will get to that soon. Still, the hard part is done so counting this one.
21. Take Aaron to Clingman’s Dome.
22. Visit Fall Creek Falls.
23. Take Lindy to the ocean. Hah! I haven’t even taken ME to the ocean. I still want to do this though. So it is staying around for the new 40 things to do while 40 list.
24. Take a class in something. Took my cheese making class.
25. Try five new foods. I have: quinoa, bisque, ceviche, risotto, and veal. Quinoa and risotto are definitely sticking around. While the others are good, they will probably remain restaurant food for me.
26. Take a random road trip with no destination in mind. I have (RE)discovered that I’m not so good with the spontaneous. This one has been next to impossible. However, I’m determined. Even if the trip is planned (so I can take some comfort in knowing it is coming), surely I can be spontaneous in where we go?
27. Discover a new restaurant (Capitol Grille).
28. Make a margherita pizza from homemade dough, with homemade cheese and homemade sauce, and use fresh basil from our garden. I've made the cheese now, however I waited too late to use fresh basil and tomatoes from our garden so next summer definitely!
29. Climb a tree. Where are all the good climbing trees now?
30. Visit the Nashville Zoo.
31. Go canoeing. We own a canoe. It just needs new seats installed before we can actually use it.
32. Plant a tree. This will not be a weeping willow after much research on how they can affect water lines - it is now a smoke tree and planted.
33. Make gelato. While recipe claimed to be gelato - I found it to be more sorbet tasting - still looking for one to try at home.
34. Get a hot stone massage.
35. De-clutter the office. We have de-cluttered and re-cluttered more times than I care to count. What does this say about me?
36. Get a craft corner set up.
37. Learn to use my miter saw. At one point I thought I'd be proficient with my jigsaw by now and was going to "swap" out my goal. Didn't get to that one either.
38. Weed my book boxes.
39. Start a joint travel map. We’ve bought the map, haven't actually hung it yet though and definitely haven’t started marking any travels on it. However, I’m considering this one accomplished.
40. See Rock City.

Am I serious? Am I really creating a 40 to do while 40 list?? Or am I just going to try to finish off the rest that have yet to be done??? I don’t know yet.

Word 2012

So my word and I didn't do too well last year. We had some stuff happen in the Spring that caused me to forget about celebrating. Disappointments happen though and I finally recognized that what was holding me back was me. I don't know why I've chosen this year's word - at least not yet. However when I started thinking about how I was going to approach 2012, the word that came immediately to mind was abundance.

From dictionary.com it means:

1. an extremely plentiful or oversufficient quantity or supply
2. overflowing fullness
3. affluence; wealth
4. the number of atoms of one isotope of an element divided by the total number of atoms in a mixture of the isotopes

I plan to focus on meaning number 2. While I haven't posted any Words of Wisdom in a while, this one is how I want to think, act, and feel this year. "Even if you do nothing else God, you have done enough."

If you choose a word to live by, what is your word this year? And if you choose resolutions, what do you resolve to accomplish? Let me know.

New Year's Eve 2011

So it is only 9 pm here in the Central Time Zone, however fireworks are being shot off regularly. The dog is quivering and trying to find a safe place, but failing miserably.

We've had our homemade pizza with salad dinner (I forgot to take pictures though) and Star Wars is playing in the background. We definitely won't make it through all three tonight - we started too late.

As for the food prep, tomorrow's menu is Greek and Aaron has made a garlic sauce so far. He also has vegetables roasting in the oven for our favorite orzo pasta dish from Barefoot Contessa and black-eyed peas cooking for a new dish we found in our Greek cookbook for a Warm Black-Eyed Pea Salad. After all, this is the South and we must have our black-eyed peas on NYD. He has visions of making homemade pita bread as well. My job in all of this? Stay entertained and entertaining!

All in all, another typical New Year's Eve in the Gallagher household. Be safe and happy!

40 by 40 . . . 3rd quarter update

9 months have gone by . . . and it is time for another update. Here are some results (blue is done, green is changed):

1. Find geocaches in the eight states that border TN. Completed 09.24.11.
2. Eat meatless 1+ times a week (preferably 2+ times regularly).
3. Take a ride in a hot air balloon.
4. Learn to make Granny's divinity.
5. Take a train trip somewhere.
6. Make my own cheese.
7. Hike one hundred miles.
8. Eat from my garden.
9. Camp out at least overnight. I have now camped out in a tent twice.
10. Find a church home.
11. Organize garage.
12. Refresh the blog(s).
13. Find a cooking software I like.
14. Build a bigger back deck.
15. Find a place to swim again.
16. Go berry picking. Waited too long, next year.
17. Add flex and strength to my cardio.
18. Get a new camera.
19. Plant wildflowers.
20. Put up a bat house.
21. Take Aaron to Clingman’s Dome.
22. Visit Fall Creek Falls.
23. Take Lindy to the ocean.
24. Take a class in something. Took a cheese making class earlier this month.
25. Try five new foods. So far I have: quinoa, bisque, and ceviche.
26. Take a random road trip with no destination in mind.
27. Discover a new restaurant (Capitol Grille).
28. Make a margherita pizza from homemade dough, with homemade cheese and homemade sauce, and use fresh basil from our garden. I've made the cheese now, however I waited too late to use fresh basil and tomatoes from our garden so next summer definitely!
29. Climb a tree.
30. Visit the Nashville Zoo.
31. Go canoeing.
32. Plant a weeping willow. This will not be a weeping willow after much research on how they can affect water lines - it is now a smoke tree and planted.
33. Make gelato. While recipe claimed to be gelato - I found it to be more sorbet tasting - still looking for one to try at home.
34. Get a hot stone massage.
35. De-clutter the office.
36. Get a craft corner set up.
37. Learn to use my miter saw.
38. Weed my book boxes.
39. Start a joint travel map.
40. See Rock City.

end of August thoughts

Just a couple of (wordy) bullet points this morning . . .

• Last weekend was spent turning 10 lbs of ground beef (among other things) into freezer food. I love having a stocked freezer! We tried something new in that we made our "spicy black beans" with pinto beans. Definitely yum. I do still have a few more things to make and stock, but they'll be easily done this weekend.
• Last week was also Sales Conference at work. Even though I'm not in Sales, I do work closely with many of our sales team so it was nice to see them. I had to do two presentations - one live, one via webinar. In both cases my peers were very complimentary. It is funny how I can do storytimes at the drop of a hat to 150 five year olds without blinking an eye. But ask me to talk to adults and I get all tongue-tied. Sigh.
• We have a tenant! The house that did not sell . . . rented in a matter of weeks. We have met her and she is such a sweetie. However, we are using a property management company for the day to day quirks of being a landlord. Something we did not want to do, yet these economic times made it necessary. September's rent has been received and the mortgage payment has been made. Yay!
• So today . . . today we plan on playing. There is a series of geocaches we have been wanting to attempt for some time now. After some morning chores are taken care of (drink coffee, eat breakfast, walk dog, go to farmer's market for peaches to make ice cream), we plan on a day trip of fun.
• Last of my thoughts this morning goes out to everyone along the Eastern Coast who are under threats of Irene. My brother recently took a job working up in Providence, RI. Not only that, but I am actively working with customers in New Jersey and publishers in Connecticut, Maryland, and New York. My heart goes out to all of them as well as the others I don't know. Waiting for whatever ends up coming is always the hardest part for me. You are in my prayers.

40 by 40 Update

I have this list I created about 6 months ago . . . and I decided it was time to take a good look at it. Here are some results (blue is done, green is changed):

1. Find geocaches in the eight states that border TN. We've already accomplished Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina and Kentucky. That just leaves Virginia . . .
2. Eat meatless 1+ times a week (preferably 2+ times regularly).
3. Take a ride in a hot air balloon.
4. Learn to make Granny's divinity.
5. Take a train trip somewhere.
6. Make my own cheese.
7. Hike one hundred miles.
8. Eat from my garden.
9. Camp out at least overnight. (Camping out was done in an RV - still would like to try tent camping before my deadline.)
10. Find a church home.
11. Organize garage.
12. Refresh the blog(s).
13. Find a cooking software I like.
14. Build a bigger back deck.
15. Find a place to swim again.
16. Go berry picking.
17. Add flex and strength to my cardio.
18. Get a new camera.
19. Plant wildflowers.
20. Put up a bat house.
21. Take Aaron to Clingman’s Dome.
22. Visit Fall Creek Falls.
23. Take Lindy to the ocean.
24. Take a class in something. (Class was work related - would still like to find something fun to take.)
25. Try five new foods.
26. Take a random road trip with no destination in mind.
27. Discover a new restaurant.
28. Make a margherita pizza from homemade dough, with homemade cheese and homemade sauce, and use fresh basil from our garden.
29. Climb a tree.
30. Visit the Nashville Zoo.
31. Go canoeing.
32. Plant a weeping willow. This will not be a weeping willow after much research on how they can affect water lines - it is now a smoke tree.
33. Make gelato. (While recipe claimed to be gelato - I found it to be more sorbet tasting - still looking for one to try at home.)
34. Get a hot stone massage.
35. De-clutter the office.
36. Get a craft corner set up.
37. Learn to use my miter saw.
38. Weed my book boxes.
39. Start a joint travel map.
40. See Rock City.

In some ways, it seems like I haven't accomplished much on the list. However, several of the remaining are in progress (hiking the 100 miles, de-cluttering the office) so my fingers are crossed that I'll have good reports going forward.

For rent - unofficial

Officially . . . the house has not sold. So . . . we have just finished a refinance on the loan in order to legally turn it into a rental. Not what we wanted, not what we hoped for, however, maybe what we needed to do. We shall see what happens next.

The Cross at Sewanee

While my parents were here, we spent some time sight-seeing throughout TN. Last Saturday we loaded up in their conversion van rv (I'll blog more about that later) and headed East on 24. I can't even count all the towns we went through: Altamont, Coalmont, Tracy City, Jasper, Dunlap, Kimball, Decherd, Winchester, and the list goes on. However, one stop we did make was at Sewanee: The University of the South. I have heard many times how beautiful the campus is and that I need to visit the Cross. So we tracked it down.

 
Dedicated to those locals who have served in various wars, this stunning work sits atop a hill. Turning around 180 degrees, you have a view of quite some distance which is amazing. I can only imagine how inspiring it must be to spend some time up here. However, on the day we visited, it was a bit hot so we quickly continued on our journey.

I'd like to go back and do some of the perimeter walks one day.

Words of Wisdom - Albert Einstein

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." -- Albert Einstein

So, if this is true, I must be trying new things every day. Because it sure feels like I make mistakes every day. And scary as it is, I'm actually having some fun and learning new skills. Somehow I got elected to learn SharePoint, QuickBase, and PowerPoint all in the past several weeks. And in the case of QuickBase and PowerPoint, there are no teachers - this is fumble around in the dark sorts of things. With the case of SharePoint, I am being taught - however this will probably be like my SQL lessons in that the instructor teaches me how to fly a jet and my employer insists I only get to taxi down the runway. In any case, I do see a difference in my attitude as a result of saying "yes" when being asked to try new things.

So my advice here? Go out and try something new. If you scared of making a mistake, start with something small. And know that I'm over here . . . rooting for you!