50 States? 50 Blogs! Delaware

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Hodge Podge

Delaware -- one of my favorite states! If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that John and I have been to Rehoboth Beach, DE for the past three summers. (You can check out my posts under the "Travel" tag.) I really feel "at home" in Delaware. It's somewhat hard to explain, but it's truly one of the few places I've been to on vacation that I could realistically see myself living in. Anywho, I was excited to find a Delawarean's blog. I found this one a while ago, so I haven't got a clue what led me to it! Brittany is the woman behind the blog and I love her "about me" description: "Delaware born and bred beach girl looking to use this blog as a sort of diary so I don't have to subject my friends to pictures of my endless crafting projects and other adventures." She's got a sense of humor and she's a beach girl! Not only do we both love the beach, but we both like to read (in fact, we'd both love to be doing this instead of working!), we both have tried dieting and we've both posted our recipes. Wanna hear the weirdest "potential" coincidence? (I say "potential" because I could be misinterpreting.) As I said in my last post, I met an amazing group of women on the The Nest. Imagine my surprise when I read this post by Brittany and found photos of her and her "Nestie" friends. YIPES! Is she a Nestie, too? Have we potentially already crossed paths?

Things that caught my eye about this blog:

• Brittany ROCKS at gardening. Eh, maybe I should take note? In her first post, "Flea Market Gardening", she perfectly mimics a Pinterest gardening find. Check it out. I'm jealous. (I actually had the same thing pinned, but figured I'd never be able to accomplish it. Maybe now, I'll try...)
• Not only does she rock at gardening, she ROCKS at crafting. ::sigh:: Another area I could take a lesson in. I LOVE this window pane she repurposed.
• She's normal just like you and me, though. (She eats Rice-a-Roni!)

Things on this blog that I'd like for my blog:

• Brittany occasionally devotes a post to what she read over the past week. I'd like to do that, as the books would be fresh in my mind. (Granted, I generally don't read more than one book in one week...)
• She's got a pic of her puppies! Once the next doggly woggly comes to our house, he'll be starring on the blog.
• She has a GoodReads feed on her blog. This might be a neat way to display what I'm reading vs. just putting in the side column.

Check out Brittany's blog. I feel "at home" when I read it, just like I do when visiting Delaware!

Want to Win Ten AMAZING Items From Ten AMAZING Women?

Great! You've come to the right place, then!

I am lucky to call eight of these women my friends. (The ninth is me -- yes, I AM calling myself amazing and the tenth is a friend of one of the eight.) The unusual part? (Well, unusual to some.) I've not met any of them in person. I've known them for more than six years thanks to The Nest. (If you're not familiar, the Nest is an online portal for newlyweds.) I wasn't necessarily a newlywed, but John and I were just about to buy our first house, I joined the Decorating & Renovating chat board hoping to get some tips regarding decor.

Wow.

I got a LOT more than just tips about decor. I bonded with the members of the chat board, specifically these eight women over shamrock shakes, TV shows, and even life situations. We've since moved on from the Nest and have strengthened our bonds and friendship through other forms of social media.

To honor these friendships, we've come together for this AMAZING giveaway. Even if you're not usually one to enter these things, you'll want to think twice. These are some pretty awesome gifts.

To Crystal, Holly, Hope, Michelle, Michelle, Amanda, Rachel & Crystal (and LeeAnn, Vic, Courtney & Maria) -- You ladies ROCK. I'm lucky to have you in my life. :)

Because we feel so lucky to be a part of this group, we want to share with you! Please take the time to "meet" each of the 10 wonderful ladies that are participating in this giveaway! Each person shares what they are giving away and a little about themselves below. Once you are done reading about everyone and their blogs or businesses, simply use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter! There is definitely something for everyone! Remember, this giveaway is Winner Take All, so the winner would be receiving something from each person! 

Crystal from My Ramblings is giving away a $25 Tupperware Gift Certificate! Here's what she has to say about her blog and giveaway item:

Hey y'all! I'm Crystal.  I'm a single girl in my (now late) 20s, who is still waiting for something magical to happen.  My blog is a mish mash of all the crazy fun things that go on in my life, and the random thoughts that just pop in my head! I'm giving away a $25 Tupperware Gift Card.  I am a Tupperware Consultant, and being in this business has changed my life so much. I love sharing our products with other people! 

Holly from When Two Became Four is giving away a doTerra Essential Oils Introductory Kit. Meet Holly and learn about this prize: 

I wear a lot of hats in life. Being a mom of twins, working in educational research, owning my own Tastefully Simple business, being a good wife, daughter, friend, etc. are all parts of me (and the mom hat is by FAR the best!). Sometimes you need a boost. doTerra's essential oils give me that boost for sure!

Whenever the girls or myself feel a cruddy sinus infection coming on, the Breathe blend is fantastic. On Guard is a great immune system booster for us. Eucalyptus feels great sprinkled onto a rice bag for a headache. I'm a big believer that essential oils are so important to maintain our well-being, and doTerra is simply the best.

My contribution to the Lucky Girlfriends giveaway is a doTerra introductory starter kit (full size lemon, peppermint and lavender oils), doTerra unscented lotion to use with the oils, and the very delicious and therapeutic doTerra lip balm with wild orange and peppermint essential oils.

The seasonal change is the perfect time to start a doTerra regimen, and I want to pass these along to a new "girlfriend" of mine! Good luck :)

Hope from The Wino That I Know is giving away a $10 Gift Card to Total Wine.  Here's what she says: 

While I haven't been enjoying much wine as of late, there's no reason you shouldn't! Total Wine is one of my favorite stores for browsing, sampling and purchasing new wines. I'm thrilled to give one lucky reader a $10 Total Wine gift card to experiment with some new wines.

Michelle from Sweet Tea and Tacos is so talented, that she wrote a book! She's giving away a copy of "To Hymn We Sing." Check out what she has to say about her blog and her book:

I'm Michelle, a 30 something music teacher who loves to sew, cook, do crafty projects around the house, and decorate. My blog represents my ADHD self - it's random. Some days you get my pregnancy rants, as we are expecting our first baby in August, and some days you get my favorite recipes, stories about my adorable dog, or the projects I'm working on around the house! Grab a glass of sweet tea and a taco, and swing on over to Texas at Sweet Tea and Tacos!

"To Hymn We Sing" is a devotional book based on the stories behind the hymn texts we know and love. Growing up in a Southern Baptist church, we sang hymn after hymn every Sunday, and they always captivated me. This book digs deeper into the text: what the author was going through when writing and what was going on in the world. It was a joy to research these hymns and tie them together with the Word and a devotion.

Mandy from This Girl's Life is giving away a Vintage Inspired Key Charm Beaded Necklace from her Etsy Shop, Love Squirrels.  Here's what she has to say about her blog: 

This Girl's Life is my personal blog about my adventures as a 30-something working mom of twin boys. I love anything that involves crafts, interior design and fashion, and I'm a bit addicted to good coffee and dark chocolate. Enjoying the journey of marriage, motherhood and lots of crafty projects in between!

Michelle from Dirt Road Damsel is giving away a $25 Gift Card to Hobby Lobby! Meet Michelle: 

Hey all! This is Michelle from Dirt Road Damsel. I am a twenty-something year old mom to two crazy little girls, a blogger, a crafter and a veteran army wife from Northeast Oklahoma. When I’m not working, hanging out with my husband, or chasing after my kids you can probably catch me with a glue gun in my hand. I love all things crafty and I am constantly thinking of new fun DIY projects to try out. So, it only makes perfect sense that my contribution on our BIG giveaway is a $25 gift card to my favorite store... Hobby Lobby! On a regular basis, I visit my local Hobby Lobby at least twice a week. It is my go to place for everything crafty and fun! If I won a gift card from there, I can guarantee you I would make a beeline right to the scrapbooking department to load up on vinyl for my Cricut and cute scrapbooking embellishments! Good luck!

Amanda from Pixel Perfect Invitations is giving away a Custom Invitation Design! Meet Amanda and learn about her business: 

My name is Amanda, and I'm the designer at Pixel Perfect Invitations.  I have a degree in Media, with an Art minor. I've been designing custom invitations for friends and family for about 7 years, but recently decided to open my business up to a wider audience. Check out my Facebook page, where you can see samples of my work.  The winner of this giveaway will receive a custom invitation design, where you will get a digital copy that you can print yourself. I look forward to designing your next invitations! Every Pixel will be Perfect! 

Rachel from Baby Makes Three...And Now Four is giving away a LeapFrog Discovery House! Meet Rachel and learn why she loves this toy: 

My blog started out as a baby blog to document my pregnancy and raising my son but it morphed. Although I still consider myself a “Mommy Blogger”, I have other interests! I love to knit, cook, read and talk about myself. Enjoy my ramblings about being a mom and about my life.

I recently posted about my boys’ favorite things so in honor of that post, I am giving away a LeapFrog My Discovery House. This is such a fun toy! Yes, even though it has buttons and makes noise, I promise it’s not annoying. Your kiddo will learn all kinds of things while working on their fine motor skills. Each side of the house has a different house related activity (a refrigerator, a doorbell) and there are plenty of knobs, buttons and sliders to keep your little one occupied. Both my 1 year old and 3 year old LOVE this toy.

Crystal is a Tastefully Simple Consultant. Learn about her business and her awesome prize: 

Studies show that 80% of American households have no idea what is for dinner by 4 pm each day. Does this sound familiar, even some of the time? Tastefully Simple is the original in-home tasting party company, and our specialty is offering easy, tasty mealtime solutions that everyone loves! Whether you need a quick dip to take to a picnic or potluck, or you want to make a gourmet tasting meal with time constraints, we can help. Like my Facebook Page, and post a quick hello to me and leave your name, city and state! 

My prize for the giveaway is our new Chillin' Out gift set. This set comes in a lemon yellow gift bag containing our excellent new Dill Pickle Dip Mix and a lovely lime green ceramic dip chiller. Perfect for those hot afternoons! Retail Value: $36.95.

If you would like to try our products, go to my website and place an order! Your order will come directly to your door by UPS and you will receive an additional entry in the giveaway.

Katie from Stumbled Onto The Blogwagon is giving away a $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card! Meet Katie and find out why: 

KT LOVES books! You can read about her adventures in reading 50 books in 52 weeks in 2011 or check out what she's read this year (and the grades she's given each book). Gift card is good for purchases at bn.com and in-store.

So...
If you've been keeping track, that's over $225 worth of awesome prizes! One lucky person will get them all! Use the Rafflecopter Widget below to enter. The only mandatory entry is that you leave a comment on this post. There are tons of optional entries available. We strongly encourage you to visit as many of the ladies as possible and show them some love for sponsoring this giveaway.  Winner will be announced after the giveaway closes on Friday, March 15 and the winner is verified. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Prizes are sponsored by the individuals unless otherwise stated. This giveaway is not in conjunction with any company and any information gathered during entry will only be used to verify winners.* 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What's On My Nightstand?

As promised a few posts ago, we're going to play, "what's on my nightstand?"

It's an opportunity for you the reader to see what I look at every night before I go to bed and every morning when I wake up.

This some riveting stuff, folks. (You may want to be seated so you can handle it.)

(And don't be too impressed by my mad use of the Paint application -- it only took me FIVE tries to get the picture oriented correctly.)


1.  Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme

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This stuff is GOOD. It's extremely thick and white so it feels like your putting child's paste all over your hands, but it works. I can't say that I LOVE the almond milk smell, but I've gotten used to it. I put it on my hands every night before bed and I've definitely noticed a difference. (NOTE: It is a tad greasy, so if you're like me and you read at night in bed [see #4 above], give it a few minutes to dry before you start turning pages.)

 

 

2. Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion

 

 

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Before I started using #1 above, I used this on my hands at night. Now I basically used it on my elbows and legs at night. It's a great fragrance free moisturizer. Not watery. Not heavy. Not greasy. Just right.

 

 

3. Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme

 

 

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I really have no business even having this on my nightstand. I got it for Christmas and I keep saying I'm going to use it, but no dice. That seems to be a pattern with me and foot cremes. I'd like to get those moisturizing socks and put this creme on, then put the socks on, and then let my feet moisturize overnight undisturbed. We'll see. I'll keep it on the nightstand so it's not "out of sight, out of mind."

 

 

4. Big ole' pile of books & magazines

 

This could take a while. From the top down:

 

 

 

I started this book last year when it first came out, but was only able to get about half way through it before I had to return it to the library. (I couldn't renew it as others had requested it.) I got it back and I'm almost done with it. Eh...it probably wasn't even worth me getting again. I've been skimming a lot. I love Barbara Kingsolver, but I've found this book to be disappointing.

 

 

 

 



This is next in line to be read. You can read about it here.

And after that, this will be next in line. More about this debut novel here.

I think I already blogged about this, but since I'm getting old, cut me some slack. Buddhism and their philosophy on acceptance has been of interest to me of late. I've had it out of the library for a while, but since I got the three books above, it's kind of taken a back seat. I'm hoping to at least read a chapter or two within the next few weeks before I have to renew again.

This is a cutesy journal that I got at Marshall for a few bucks. Still in pristine condition, haven't yet written in it (and haven't yet peeled entire tag off the front.) I'm not a big journal-er, but like to have one should I get some brilliant thought that I think I might forget before I execute it.

This eBay purchase was part of my "40 Before 41" list. To be exact, it's #11 -- Buy a houseplant and nurture it so that it will live for at least one month. (I’m setting my sights low.) I had originally gotten it out of the library, but renewing it three times just wasn't enough for this brown thumb. I figured I'd purchase it and have it at the ready should I ever actually purchase a houseplant and need to perform emergency surgery. OK, not really, but better to have the book nearby in case I have a houseplant question at 4AM, when my local library is closed. I've yet to purchase that plant. All in due time.

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My sorority's magazine. I'm interested to read this issue, having lost a friend and sister not long ago. What you can't see is the tiny print below "This is Sisterhood." It says, "Two stories of Delta Gammas who, in their most difficult times, relied on sisters- some of whom they had never met- to survive." That entire statement except for the last part is true of my friend and sister Megan that passed away. She had DGs holding pancake breakfasts and flash mobbing for her.

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This is a new one. If you've been reading the blog or know me, you know that I joined Weight Watchers last June. I'm not a big magazine subscriber (probably because I usually up to my eyeballs in library books), but this was a good price, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I've yet to crack it open. Review to follow.

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I.love.this.magazine. I have my friend at Baby Makes Three to thank for this magazine. When I was dabbling with "eating better" and thinking about dieting, Rachel gave me this suggestion. I've been a subscriber for a few years now and made MANY things from it. And it's not just recipes! They have great exercise information and product reviews. I've got two issues to read, which actually isn't bad, since I've been as much as four behind.

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Not sure how well you can see these pictures, but this the American Libraries magazine for members of the American Libraries Association. Somewhat nerdy, but there are often interesting articles about trends in libraries. I also bring to work as my co-workers like to read it in the kitchen. :)

5. Kleenex. ESSENTIAL lately. My nose has been very stuffy. TMI?

6. Telephone. Some of you younger folks might not recognize that. It's for our land line. Yes, land line. That's when a phone rings in your house vs. your hand.

7. Alarm clock. Unless you're like my husband who can just tell himself what time to wake up and then automatically do it (annoying, isn't it?), you'll need one of these. Are you a radio or buzzer kind of person? I'm radio all the way. I wake up to a buzzer and it's all downhill from there.

8. Book light. It's the Itty Bitty Book Light to be exact. Another must if you're a voracious reader like myself. I tend to read long after the lights have been shut off in the bedroom, so to not disturb my dear husband, I employ the book light. (Courtesy of Barnes & Noble.)

9. Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

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Smells so good I want to eat it. Probably wouldn't taste as good as it smells, though, so I'll pass. After using #1 above, I put this on my ragged cuticles. Tough to tell if it works, as I think my cuticles might be beyond help, but I love the smell so much I'll keep using it.

10. Eucerin Aquaphor Healing Ointment

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This is EXCELLENT for dry peeling cracked skin. I have it behind my ears. (Again, TMI?) It's similar to Vaseline although a little more substantive. Recommended!

There was one other item I didn't number, but I figured all my readers were familiar with lamps.

Again, this was riveting, wasn't it? Some Pulitzer Prize winning stuff. Just a glimpse into my world. Bookworm/Burt's Bees-a-holic!

So, what's on YOUR nightstand?

30 Before 42: The Next Frontier

As promised, here's my newly formed yearly bucket list (is that what we're calling it? I guess so!)

A month has already passed, so I better get moving to get these 30 things accomplished by February 3rd, 2014!!

42? YIKES!

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1.      Watch five Oscar nominated films. (These can be old, new, nominated but didn’t win, nominated buy did win.)

2.      Have one room in our basement finished.

3.      Buy a houseplant and nurture it so that it will live for at least one month. (I’m setting my sights low.)

4.      Try five new restaurants (I like this one so much, I’m doing it again!).

5.      Have a gathering of friends at our house.

6.      Go on a vacation with my mom.

7.      Run a 5K (another one that I’m repeating.)

8.      Play tennis with my husband at least twice.

9.      Go parasailing.

10.  Get together with college friends.

11.  Go through the plastic tubs of photos from my grandparents’ house and scan the ones I want to have copies of.

12.  Create a photo wall of family pics in the front entryway.

13.  Get a hot stone massage.

14.  Take a cooking class.

15.  Finish an entire game of Monopoly.

16.  Get a dog!

17.  Follow through with my cleaning schedule for an entire month.

18.  Exercise enough so that I do not have to take pills for high cholesterol anymore.

19.  Get a Kate Spade bag. (Totally shallow, but at age 41, I deserve a mulligan.)

20.  Go to a professional development event, i.e., ALA.

21.  Try downhill skiing.

22.  Volunteer at my public library.

23.  Go out for tapas.

24.  Put money into savings each month.

25.  Create something either “frameable” or “giftable” using my calligraphic talent.

26.  Get the entire “Mad Men” series from Netflix and watch them all!

27.  Join a book club.

28.  Do SOMETHING with my wedding dress.

29.  Revisit crocheting.

30.  Item of my choice – wild card. (Got ideas? Submit away!)



Only Two Posts in February? L-A-M-E!

I'm going to try to do MUCH better this month!

Topics to blog about:

• The "## Before 42" list. Since I've completed the "40 Before 41" list, it's time to move onwards and upwards! I will keep the things I didn't actually get to do from the" 40 Before 41" list (with perhaps a few minor adjustments) and add a few new things to take me out of my comfort zone and challenge me. I'm thinking up some good ones!

• What's on my nightstand? I've seen some people blog about "what's in my fridge" but if I did that, I'd probably lose the few readers that I DO have. I have lots of stuff on my nightstand that I can talk about (and all I have to do is Swiffer dust before taking the photo vs. putting on my HazMat suit to clean out my fridge. OK -- it's not THAT bad.)

• The next installment in the "50 States? 50 Blogs!" thing I've got going on. Delaware is up next and I've already got the blog picked out, so that one should pretty much write itself.

• March is Frozen Food Month! (I only know that because I saw it when I was cutting coupons today.) I'll take you through a tour of my fave frozen foods...and there are lots. In case you don't know me all that well, I subsisted pretty much completely on frozen foods before I met John. (Thank GOD he likes to cook.)

• My journey back to Weight Watchers & running. I've been a slacker for the last few months, but things are starting to take shape again. Makes me feel good!

Before I sign off from this brief post, I must leave you with an even BIGGER teaser than the ones above!

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Stay tuned because something BIG is coming to Stumbled onto the Blogwagon this month! (Even if you don't feel lucky, stay tuned.)

40 Before 41 Final Recap

I turned 41 three weeks ago. I'm a little slow to do a final tally, but let's see how this all turned out, shall we?


1. Read 50 books in one calendar year.DONE! See here.

2. Finish my master’s degree. DONE!

3. Lose 25 lbs. DONE! (Although I may have gained a few back...)

4. Take an advanced calligraphy class. DONE (ish)! I'm taking a beginner's class at the end of this month and that studio is just started to offer intermediate classes, so my hope is that once I get my feet wet at the studio with the beginner's class, I'll take the intermediate one!

5. Post at least eight times per month on my blog. DONE!

6. Complete the Couch to 5K program. DONE! See here.

7. Hang out with my friends more often (or talk more often to those I can’t hang out with more due to geography.) I'm only half crossing this one out. I did a lot more with my friends in 2012 and I'm really happy about that. I still need to work on calling those I can't see that often.

8. Have one room in our basement finished. We have moved things from the basement to the attic (while sorting out at the same time.) We've gotten some recommendations for electricians. We're moving...s..l..o..w..l..y (still...)

9. Revisit horseback riding (which I haven’t done some since summer camp in elementary school). DONE! I took four lessons.

10. Go on vacation again to Rehoboth Beach, DE. DONE- twice!

11. Buy a houseplant and nurture it so that it will live for at least one month. (I’m setting my sights low.) Newest plan -- I ordered "Houseplants for Dummies" from eBay. Once I have that in my hot little hands, I'll take the plunge.

12. Watch Netflix movies within two weeks. DONE! See here.

13. Have a gathering of friends at our house. Um, no. This summer. I promise.

14. Drink only one soda per day. DONE! I have maybe 4-5 per week, and it's diet/caffeine-free.

15. Go on a vacation with my mom. We've decided on Savannah, GA, so we just need to make the plans!

16. Play tennis with my husband at least twice. I asked...he didn't take me up. This summer.

17. Go parasailing. Hopefully this fall (yes, which will be after I turn 41) in Aruba.

18. Join the technology revolution and get an iPhone. Check!

19. Go through the plastic tubs of photos from my grandparents’ house and scan the ones I want to have copies of. Sort of did this when my Granddad passed away, but didn't do a thorough job.

20. Create a photo wall of family pics in the front entryway. I'm still collecting ideas for this on Pinterest.

21. Take a cooking class. Still checking community colleges and adult ed.

22. Finish an entire game of Monopoly. Should've done it over Christmas when my stepson was here.

23. Get up early on Black Friday and go shopping. DONE (ish)! I made the day after Christmas MY Black Friday. See here.

24. Go to a Bon Jovi concert. Tickets have been PURCHASED!!!!!!! (So, yeah, I really shouldn't cross out until I've actually attended the concert, but I'm 41, I can do what I want.) I'm so excited! Going with John, a high school friend and her husband, and another high school friend and her sister. I just found out through the miracle that is Facebook that four other classmates are going as well. Whoo hoo!!!

25. Follow through with my cleaning schedule for an entire month. Cleaning is the bane of my existence. I'm *really* going to try to follow through for at least a week.

26. If #3 is not accomplished, at least go down one pant size. DONE!

27. Exercise enough so that I do not have to take pills for high cholesterol anymore. Had it checked last month. It was up a tad, but Dr. agreed to re-check in three months and if it's down or steady I can reduce my meds!!!

28. Go to a professional development event, i.e., ALA. Hmmm...Seattle or Anaheim? Probably not. However, in 2016, ALA will be back in Boston.

29. Turn in a school assignment a whole day before it’s due. DONE!

30. Try downhill skiing. Still thinking about it.

31. Go out for tapas. Still need to find a local Tapas restaurant.

32. Put money into savings each month. Working on.

33. Get the entire “Bones” series from Netflix and watch them all! Have watched the first two episodes of Season 1. Just not feeling it...

34. Join a book club. Help me out peeps! Anyone know of one near me???

35. Do SOMETHING with my wedding dress. Help me out again peeps! Anyone know of a talented seamstress near me??? I have an idea in mind.

36. Revisit crocheting. This might change to knitting. I've had an offer to teach me!

37. Try 5 new restaurants. DONE! #1: Agave Mexican Bistro. See review here. #2: Wang's Table: Local yocal Chinese restaurant that's actually pretty good. #3: FINS Fish House & amp; Raw Bar: A to-die-for Pear Pomegranate Martini and delectable Swordfish. #4: Birches Bar & Grill at Mohegan Sun. Had a lovely Pomegranate Martini there. #5: Margaritas: OK chain Mexican.

38. Try yoga. DONE! Tried a "flow yoga" class at work. Not sure I'm digging it. May try another.

39. Pay off at least one credit card. DONE!

40. A wild card item—my choice. DONE! OK, so this is going to be weird for most of you. Let me try to explain. You know when you're a teenager and you want NOTHING to do with your parents or what they do, what they like, what they want you to do, etc... OK, so my Dad is kind of a mathematical formula guy. Loves to figure stuff out. Started with an affinity for horse racing and developing a formula to figure out winning horses. Morphed into greyhound racing love. Yeah, so he'd go to the track in his spare time and occasionally ask me to go. Um, hello?!? How uncool. Well, it's carried on for years now. He jokes and says I'm going with him. I vehemently say no. He laughs. I sneer. Until a few weeks ago. I really don't know what came over me or what changed, but I said I *wanted* to go. Yes, *wanted* to go. So, we did. I must say it was rather anti-climactic. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. We watched a few races. My Dad made his bets. My Mother and I read the program and chose dogs based on their names. (I especially liked the one named after the NCIS character, Tony DiNozzo.) It was what it was.

I still have 20 items outstanding on this list. Those will roll over to the "## before 42" list. I may add a few others that have popped into my head recently. Not bad. I'm fairly impressed with myself.

February...Where'd You Come From?

I can't believe it's already February 18th -- the month is more than half over!

My 41st birthday came and went pretty quietly, as I spent most of it with the stomach bug. It was highly unpleasant! John was very sweet, however, and took care of me.

I've been to Florida and back to visit my parents and had a lovely time. The weather was perfect -- high 60's/low 70's. Some might think that a bit cool, but if Florida was like that everyday, I might consider living there!

I've been in kind of a "blogging funk" of late. I just haven't had anything that's compelled me to write. A friend actually emailed me to say, "Waiting for a new blog post!"

So, here it is, although it's not very exciting and just a mish-mash of various thoughts.

I started reading Terry Francona (former manager of the Boston Red Sox)'s new book, "Francona." (Aptly named, eh?) I'm only a few pages in, but I can tell that this is going to be a "no holds barred" kind of thing.

I also got this book out of the library.

 

 

Buddhism and its tenets have come up in various conversations in my life of late and I'm interested in learning more. I haven't cracked it open yet, but stay tuned.

 

I also brought home a book from my Mom's (see to the right).

 

Three books at once (oh, plus the "Houseplants for Dummies" which I peruse on occasion.) This must be some kind of record for me. More than one book at a time for me is uncharted territory.

 

I watched the season finale of "Downton Abbey" last night. Unreal. That's pretty much all I can say. Not only was I saddened by the ending, but I was also slightly annoyed. I wanted to shake my fist at the TV and yell, "Don't make me stop watching!"

 

While in Florida, my Mom & I discussed a driving trip to Savannah, GA. I'd fly to Jacksonville, pick up my Mom in St. Augustine, and then I'd drive us to Savannah for probably a long weekend. A Mother/Daughter trip is on my 40 Before 41 list (which will soon become my x before 42 list). Looking forward to planning/fleshing it out.

 

While in Florida, we ran into another greyhound (my parents have one) and his name is Ferris. In the brilliant words of his owner, "His name is Ferris, as in Ferris Bueller, because EVERYDAY is his day off!" I thought that was so clever.

 

I usually run the Oscar's pool at work, but as the name of the blog post goes, where'd February come from??? I'm too late. I'll probably just print out ballots for John & I and we can watch and score.

 

As mentioned, this season of "Downton Abbey" is over (boo hoo), but the new season of "Amazing Race" just started (woo hoo). Who am I cheering for? The NHL players, of course! (Because, you know, they don't make enough money.)

 

I'll leave you with this cartoon from the New Yorker:

 

 

photo credit

 

 

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