Well here we are! New #52. Wow. And today, Dec. 31, I am very happy to say I've completed my New Year's resolution, something I've never fully accomplished in the past. What a year it has been. Honestly, I didn't think I'd make it past March or April before losing steam or running out of ideas. But that never happened. In the last few months, I did have a few weeks that were like, what other new can I do?? But whether it was something bizarre I forced myself into (like Chatroulette) or other experiences that just kinda fell in my lap (Hopi food), it always worked out.
As I warned in the beginning of all this, not every new would be earth shattering or death defying. No, instead many would have been pretty dull for most. Baking a ham, for example, is something most families do each month or even week. But for me, it was a first - and hopefully one that will start a tradition in my own family. Completing a 1000-piece puzzle, learning to knit, watching the World Cup and listening to a book on tape were also some of my news that would be boring for others. But for me, they were all fresh experiences that added something interesting to my life.
Yet while some were simple, other news were definitely worth talking about. Completing the sprint triathlon is probably the new I take most pride in. I'm still impressed with myself I was able to go all the way. Others were a little bizarre, like Dumpster diving, but something I'm glad I jumped into and plan to do again soon. The Tarot card reading, finding the Wyoming pyramid and becoming a secret shopper were also some of the most notable news. Oh, and who can forget delivering a baby!
Today, 52 weeks and 52 news later, I can honestly see what a difference this resolution has made in my life. I'm not on the couch nearly as much. I have more hobbies than I can count. And I always have something interesting to talk about over dinner. Really, this adventure has just made me a more happy person all around.
I don't know if I will continue with the weekly updates in the future. But I do know this lifestyle is something I will carry for many years to come. Taking advantage of the little adventures and new experiences life offers is the flare of living, the stuff that takes you out of the daily routines and gives everyone plenty to write about in your obituary. Now, I really do know how to seize the day.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
New #51: Make Candy Canes
Really, how hard could this be? Candy canes are practically thrown at you all Christmas, and if you do want to actually buy one of the sweet sticks yourself, they cost like 10 cents. So in my mind they must be really easy to make too. But no. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Not at all. In fact, this was the hardest endeavor I've ever taken on in the kitchen. To summarize, my candy cane making feat ended with little more than burnt hands, messy pans and something I'm calling "snowman poo."
I used a seemingly easy recipe on About.com. It called for: 3 cups sugar, 1 cup corn syrup, 1/4 cup water and 1/2 tsp peppermint extract. I can handle that. First I had to melt the sugar and corn syrup together over the stove. This made a bubbling concoction that looked more like dangerous acid than melted sweetness.
Bubble bubble
Once it reached 285 degrees, I took the mix off the burner and stirred in the peppermint extract. That'll wake you up! My eyes were watering. Then I dripped in some food coloring. For batch one I stuck with white, then purple and finally red.
Then things got really tricky. And sticky. And hot. I was supposed to pour the goop on a board and "pull" the candy. Hmm. Well I had watched the little You Tube movie about how to do this, and have also ogled at enough taffy stands in my life to know the basics of how it works. Stretch out the candy, fold it over itself and repeat. The theory is simple enough, yet actually acting on it is anything but. First of all, this stuff is STICKY. It wouldn't really move around the pan. And when it was apparently time to pick it up and pull by hand, the goop was wayyyy too hot to handle. I tried to pull through the pain, but no matter how fast I moved, it would always eventually burn my hand and leave me screaming.
Danger: liquid candy cane is very hot and may cause burns
Without any other solution presenting itself, I started working little pieces of the syrup. The small bits would cool a little quicker, and I could actually roll them out and shape them into tiny canes. However, in doing this I neglected the rest of the batch, which soon cooled and hardened in the pan. This is how the snowman poo came about. With my candy canes a dying dream, I decided to just smash up what was left and create little white clusters. They may not look like much, but at least they still taste good.
Above: my sad looking canes and the snowman poo
Below: the monster of melted sugar mess I later had to scrub
I used a seemingly easy recipe on About.com. It called for: 3 cups sugar, 1 cup corn syrup, 1/4 cup water and 1/2 tsp peppermint extract. I can handle that. First I had to melt the sugar and corn syrup together over the stove. This made a bubbling concoction that looked more like dangerous acid than melted sweetness.
Bubble bubbleThen things got really tricky. And sticky. And hot. I was supposed to pour the goop on a board and "pull" the candy. Hmm. Well I had watched the little You Tube movie about how to do this, and have also ogled at enough taffy stands in my life to know the basics of how it works. Stretch out the candy, fold it over itself and repeat. The theory is simple enough, yet actually acting on it is anything but. First of all, this stuff is STICKY. It wouldn't really move around the pan. And when it was apparently time to pick it up and pull by hand, the goop was wayyyy too hot to handle. I tried to pull through the pain, but no matter how fast I moved, it would always eventually burn my hand and leave me screaming.
Danger: liquid candy cane is very hot and may cause burnsWithout any other solution presenting itself, I started working little pieces of the syrup. The small bits would cool a little quicker, and I could actually roll them out and shape them into tiny canes. However, in doing this I neglected the rest of the batch, which soon cooled and hardened in the pan. This is how the snowman poo came about. With my candy canes a dying dream, I decided to just smash up what was left and create little white clusters. They may not look like much, but at least they still taste good.
Above: my sad looking canes and the snowman pooBelow: the monster of melted sugar mess I later had to scrub
Friday, December 17, 2010
New #50: Bell Ringer
Forget the wreaths hung in department stores before Halloween. The real way to know Christmas has arrived is to hear the jingle jingle of volunteers collecting money for the Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign. I've always donated money to the cause -- and this year decided to go one step further by offering my time as a bell ringer.
My friend Pamela offered to ring by my side, so one Friday after work we put on our best Santa hat and reindeer antlers and headed out for a night of jingles. We were stationed outside Sam's Club, where we had been directed to pick up the kettle and set up outside the exit. Aprons and bells were provided, and we decided to bring along candy canes, too.
"Ring a ling a ling!"
Then we just started ringing. It was little awkward at first, and I felt kinda bad making all that noise. But we had the hang of it in no time, and soon found ourselves ringing and singing along -- quite appropriately -- to "Jingle Bells." Our talents eventually evolved into a coordinated can-can dance. It was pretty amazing. We even tried to take it one step further by adding a spin, but soon realized we weren't quite coordinated enough for that.
Not only did our dancing and singing keep us warm in 25-degree weather, but it jazzed up the crowd, too. Employees at the store were constantly cheering us on. Some customers complimented our moves, too, or at least our enthusiasm. While some people did make fun of us or look past without a smile, I think our efforts definitely revved up donations. I'd say about one in 10 people would stop by our bucket and dig through their purse or wallet for money.
The donors were all ages, although the older people and children seemed to especially like it. Kids would smile and smile at us and beg their moms for money. Most of these mothers would give them a dollar or change, and they would eagerly slide it into the slot. Even after donating, many waved goodbye all the way to the car. One or two kids must have donated their own money, picking out the coins from a little cartoon coin purses before plopping them in the kettle. Adults were just as generous. In fact, they hardly ever put in change, but instead slipped in folded dollar bills. Most people gave a few bucks, but some even put in $5 or $20.
Not everyone could give, with many explaining to us they didn't have any cash or just gave a donation last time they were out. Yet almost every person, whether giving change or not, thanked us for what we were doing. We also got more "Merry Christmas" wishes than I've ever received in one year. It was so nice to connect with others over something selfless, as we were all just trying to help others in need.
By the end of our two hour shift, Pamela and I estimated we'd raised more than $100. We felt pretty good about that, too, considering it's $100 the Salvation Army wouldn't have if we hadn't stood out there ringing our bells. We both agreed this will be a new holiday tradition for us -- except next year we'll accompany our ringing bells and dance moves with a boom box.
My friend Pamela offered to ring by my side, so one Friday after work we put on our best Santa hat and reindeer antlers and headed out for a night of jingles. We were stationed outside Sam's Club, where we had been directed to pick up the kettle and set up outside the exit. Aprons and bells were provided, and we decided to bring along candy canes, too.
"Ring a ling a ling!"Not only did our dancing and singing keep us warm in 25-degree weather, but it jazzed up the crowd, too. Employees at the store were constantly cheering us on. Some customers complimented our moves, too, or at least our enthusiasm. While some people did make fun of us or look past without a smile, I think our efforts definitely revved up donations. I'd say about one in 10 people would stop by our bucket and dig through their purse or wallet for money.
The donors were all ages, although the older people and children seemed to especially like it. Kids would smile and smile at us and beg their moms for money. Most of these mothers would give them a dollar or change, and they would eagerly slide it into the slot. Even after donating, many waved goodbye all the way to the car. One or two kids must have donated their own money, picking out the coins from a little cartoon coin purses before plopping them in the kettle. Adults were just as generous. In fact, they hardly ever put in change, but instead slipped in folded dollar bills. Most people gave a few bucks, but some even put in $5 or $20.
Not everyone could give, with many explaining to us they didn't have any cash or just gave a donation last time they were out. Yet almost every person, whether giving change or not, thanked us for what we were doing. We also got more "Merry Christmas" wishes than I've ever received in one year. It was so nice to connect with others over something selfless, as we were all just trying to help others in need.
By the end of our two hour shift, Pamela and I estimated we'd raised more than $100. We felt pretty good about that, too, considering it's $100 the Salvation Army wouldn't have if we hadn't stood out there ringing our bells. We both agreed this will be a new holiday tradition for us -- except next year we'll accompany our ringing bells and dance moves with a boom box.
Friday, December 10, 2010
New #49: Bunco
Bunco seems to be synonous with mothers -- or at least that's what my friends would have me believe. Because anytime I would say I was planning to attend my first Bunco party, the most common reaction was "My mom plays Bunco!". This indeed seems to be true for most families, including my own growing up. Once a month, women eagerly leave their children at home for a night of drinking, gossip and gambling, all cloaked under the innocents of the simple dice game. Really, when you put it like that, Bucno seems pretty cool. So what if I don't have kids to ditch? I'll never turn down an opportunity to have some drinks with the girls.
Kim -- who was of course inspired to play by her mom -- coordinated the night, signing up myself and 10 other people from her work. We met at a friend's house, each of us bringing a $5 buy-in along with an appetizer. With a room full of bakers from Whole Food, you can imagine how yummy these treats were. So with all that good food and good people, we spent the first hour or two drinking, without evening eying the game.
Finally someone pointed out we should probably get started, and we slowly picked a seat at one of the three tables. Kim went over the rules, which are really simple. In round one, each person rolls the three dice and counts how many times they can roll a 1. The same is repeated for round two, only that time you're trying to roll 2's. It doesn't count if you roll two 1's that add up to 2. No, no. No math involved here. You just read the dice and go on from there. My kind of game. Depending on who gets the most points each round, some people move on to the next table or other people join where you are. Whatever happens, the crowd is always changing, which makes for some interesting table talk.
By the time we got the hang of the game -- which actually took much longer than it should thanks to the vodka and wine -- we rolled through it all pretty quickly. Soon, however, we once again lost interest in it all and moved back to the bar to chat. But really, I think that's what Bunco is all about.
Kim -- who was of course inspired to play by her mom -- coordinated the night, signing up myself and 10 other people from her work. We met at a friend's house, each of us bringing a $5 buy-in along with an appetizer. With a room full of bakers from Whole Food, you can imagine how yummy these treats were. So with all that good food and good people, we spent the first hour or two drinking, without evening eying the game.
Finally someone pointed out we should probably get started, and we slowly picked a seat at one of the three tables. Kim went over the rules, which are really simple. In round one, each person rolls the three dice and counts how many times they can roll a 1. The same is repeated for round two, only that time you're trying to roll 2's. It doesn't count if you roll two 1's that add up to 2. No, no. No math involved here. You just read the dice and go on from there. My kind of game. Depending on who gets the most points each round, some people move on to the next table or other people join where you are. Whatever happens, the crowd is always changing, which makes for some interesting table talk.
By the time we got the hang of the game -- which actually took much longer than it should thanks to the vodka and wine -- we rolled through it all pretty quickly. Soon, however, we once again lost interest in it all and moved back to the bar to chat. But really, I think that's what Bunco is all about.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
New #48: Record a Video Diary
My job as a reporter is about recording today's news before it's tomorrow's history. I wanted to do the same thing at home, and thought a video diary would be a fun, easy and entertaining way to do it -- as well as a simple tradition to continue annually into the future.
The idea was to capture a snapshot of life as we know it. "We" as in me and Ben, and "life" as in our basic day-to-day happenings. I know from experience (but don't always remember) that given 5 years or even just 6 months, these ordinary aspects of life will inevitably change. So this video diary is about me bottling up a little taste of today so I can always remember what it was like.
This week seemed like a perfect time to start, too. My birthday is just a few days away (27 big ones!), so I figured I might as well wrap up the year before the numbers start changing. Plus, this time frame between Thanksgiving and my b-day will be easy to remember in years to come.
Before recording the video diary, I was torn between technologies of the past and future. Do I record it through my tape and camcorder? Or do I use my digital camera? Decisions are hard, so I just set up both side-by-side on a TV tray overlooking the couch. With Ben and myself propped in front of the lenses, we began answering questions I had written ahead of time -- the same ones I hope to use every year.
To start, we said the day, month, year and our address. Easy enough. Then we had to describe a basic day. Again, this may seem obvious or boring now, but the little details that are such a big part of our life now are the ones we'll be most likely to forget in the future. So I was very detailed, mapping out my day from the time my alarm goes off (7:30 a.m.) to the time I wake up (8:30 a.m.) to how soon I put on my pajamas again (5:30 p.m. So what if I like to be comfy?) And of course I filled in all the labors I do at work each day. I'm not totally lazy!
Next Ben and I talked about our favorite clothes. This may seem uninspired, but actually fashion is not only a big part of a person's personality, but also a huge sign of the times. Who knows how outdated skinny jeans will be in 10 years -- not to mention what we'll be wearing then.
Listing our favorite bands and songs of the year were also recorded (Neon Trees for me), as well as the best movies we've seen (We both agreed "The Other Guys" was fabulous). We talked about what we do for fun on the weekend, and described all the vacations we've had this year. Our health and highlights of the year were also included.
Finally, we turned our eyes toward the future and answered where we see ourselves in one year, then in five years. I know this part will be fun to look back on, especially in 2011 and 2015, to see if we stuck to the plan or went a totally new direction. We ended the video by waving goodbye to our future selves and giving well-wishes for the future that we'll be looking back on next year.
The idea was to capture a snapshot of life as we know it. "We" as in me and Ben, and "life" as in our basic day-to-day happenings. I know from experience (but don't always remember) that given 5 years or even just 6 months, these ordinary aspects of life will inevitably change. So this video diary is about me bottling up a little taste of today so I can always remember what it was like.
This week seemed like a perfect time to start, too. My birthday is just a few days away (27 big ones!), so I figured I might as well wrap up the year before the numbers start changing. Plus, this time frame between Thanksgiving and my b-day will be easy to remember in years to come.
Before recording the video diary, I was torn between technologies of the past and future. Do I record it through my tape and camcorder? Or do I use my digital camera? Decisions are hard, so I just set up both side-by-side on a TV tray overlooking the couch. With Ben and myself propped in front of the lenses, we began answering questions I had written ahead of time -- the same ones I hope to use every year.
To start, we said the day, month, year and our address. Easy enough. Then we had to describe a basic day. Again, this may seem obvious or boring now, but the little details that are such a big part of our life now are the ones we'll be most likely to forget in the future. So I was very detailed, mapping out my day from the time my alarm goes off (7:30 a.m.) to the time I wake up (8:30 a.m.) to how soon I put on my pajamas again (5:30 p.m. So what if I like to be comfy?) And of course I filled in all the labors I do at work each day. I'm not totally lazy!
Next Ben and I talked about our favorite clothes. This may seem uninspired, but actually fashion is not only a big part of a person's personality, but also a huge sign of the times. Who knows how outdated skinny jeans will be in 10 years -- not to mention what we'll be wearing then.
Listing our favorite bands and songs of the year were also recorded (Neon Trees for me), as well as the best movies we've seen (We both agreed "The Other Guys" was fabulous). We talked about what we do for fun on the weekend, and described all the vacations we've had this year. Our health and highlights of the year were also included.
Finally, we turned our eyes toward the future and answered where we see ourselves in one year, then in five years. I know this part will be fun to look back on, especially in 2011 and 2015, to see if we stuck to the plan or went a totally new direction. We ended the video by waving goodbye to our future selves and giving well-wishes for the future that we'll be looking back on next year.
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