Exactly one year ago today I started a new adventure with the "101 things to do in 1001 days" project. I had already spent several weeks (months?) creating my list at the encouragement of one of my very best friends and set up this blog to record my progress. I was excited and a little nervous going into it... after all, I had put some pretty big tasks on that list.
So, 365 days later, what have I accomplished? Well, fourteen items have been crossed off, and nineteen others have been started. I have done things to improve my health, things to improve my relationships with the important people in my lives, and things to just have fun!
What have I learned so far? Having a list really does help me get things done. Things that seem scary in my mind are rarely as scary in real life. I am much more a creature of habit than I ever would have guessed. It's just as important to schedule and make a point of doing fun new things as it is to schedule and make time for chores. I cook even less than I thought I did. And I really am good at procrastinating! (although I already knew that, but had maybe forgotten exactly how good!)
I do know that I need to make a better effort to review the list regularly, because I could have crossed off a lot more items if I had just remembered that I was supposed to be doing them! But over a third of the way through, I can definitely say that I am still excited and still a little nervous... there are quite a few major things that still need be crossed off! 636 days and counting...
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Food!
I have been failing miserably on the count of trying one new recipe every month (#73). As a matter of fact, I am realizing exactly how little I cook at all. It really is appalling! But a few months ago, I did get a strange craving for a dessert called "peach stuff" we used to eat when I was growing up. I never knew what the proper name for it was, but in searching the internet for baking instructions, I found out that it is essentially a dump cake. It could not be easier to make... canned peaches, a yellow cake mix, a little cinnamon, and butter!
It's not particularly attractive, but it is sooo yummy! The cake mix makes almost a crust on top, so it comes out a little like a cobbler. Perfect with a glass of cold milk!
For the holiday season, I decided to make "mix" according to my grandmother's recipe. It's a chex mix, but so much better than any other I've ever had. It's fairly easy to make, though, except that you have stir it every 15 minutes for the 1 1/2 hours that it bakes. And it makes two huge roasting pans. I've never had an oven large enough to fit both pans in at the same time, so I have to bake them separately which doubles the time committment. The end product is always worth it, though!
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| It's hard to tell the scale here, but these are the largest foil roasting pans you can buy! |
It is the perfect salty, savory snack, and it always makes me think of my grandmother. She used to give it to everyone for the holidays, usually in Pringles cans that she had covered with foil wrapping paper and topped with a doily. A very good memory!
Even though I don't cook very often, I am constantly looking at recipes and cutting them out of magazines. I have a huge stack of them, all organized into categories(!), just waiting to be tried. Because of that, I had become intrigued with the idea of brussels sprouts. My initial reaction is still "eww, gross!", but that is mostly based on the mushy bitter sprouts that probably came out of a can or freezer bag back when it seemed like all vegetables were cooked by being boiled to death. And I have discovered over the years that there are many foods that I thought I hated, but it turned out I just didn't like the particular variety or method of preparation that I had been brought up on. So when they had cases of brussels sprouts at Trader Joe's last week, I bought a stalk...
Nothing intimidating about that bad boy! Nope! So it sat there on the counter for a few days. When I finally checked the recipes I had pulled out, and I was mostly interested in pan roasting or oven roasting them, I found that I didn't have any of the other ingredients that I needed. So the next day I talked it over with one of my co-workers who cooks a lot, and she said she had recently gotten into cooking brussels sprouts, and that she usually just tosses them with some olive oil, salt, and rosemary. Now that I have! Or so I thought. I threw out a lot of my spices and herbs when I moved last summer, because many of them were old and I figured this was a good way to refresh my stock. Unfortunately, it has mostly resulted in my searching for something that I know I have only to find out that I actually don't. So, I ended up using some garlic-infused olive oil, salt, and thyme, and then they roasted in a 400-degree oven for about 15 minutes. It could not have been any easier.
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| The finished product along with some Trader Joe's turkey and dressing |
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Getting organized and Keeping clean
Okay, so this isn't on my list, but I do have to brag on myself a little bit. As you know, I am slowly but surely getting things unpacked, sorted, and decorated around the house. The only things on the actual list that have to do with this are getting all the boxes unpacked (#80) and decorating my bedroom (#16), but it really does carry over to all the other rooms too.
At any rate, I recently got my office/library room all organized, and I am sooo pleased with how it turned out! I can't say that it's 100% finished, because I haven't hung any pictures and I have two bags of random papers to sort through, but on the whole, it's done. There are two bedrooms on the main floor; one is the guest room, and then this one has my computer, papers, and the majority of my books. I wasn't happy with the original furniture arrangement, so I did my best Winnie the Pooh imitation and sat and thought and thought and thought, and came up with this:
This bookshelf is a particular triumph, because it was a complete disaster previously. I really should have taken a "before" picture, because it was completely (and I do mean completely) crammed full of papers and notebooks and computer stuff and every other imaginable bit of random stuff that never really seems to have a home. So, when our Container Store opened here in October, I went a little bit crazy and found these gorgeous boxes to help control the madness. Okay, maybe it was a lot crazy, because I spent $285 (although one $25 box did get returned). I am justifying it, though, by saying that the boxes are very sturdy (which they are) and so beautiful (which they are) that I will have them around for a long time, and every time I look at them, they make me smile. I spent several hours looking at different combinations of different types of boxes and trays, but I liked these the best. Then I looked at all the different colors they had, but I finally realized that what was catching my eye in the display was the combination of all the different colors rather than using only one or two colors. It really keeps them looking bright and fresh.
As for the rest of the house, I have been making an effort to keep it tidy since my mother and her husband were here before Thanksgiving. With all of the holiday stress and craziness, I decided it would help my brain feel more restful if the house weren't a wreck. So November 27th was the official start date of my six weeks with no dirty dishes laying around (#41), and so far so good! Like I commented on the list, it is truly pitiful that I had to even make this a project, but there it is. And with the exception of all my shopping bags that accumulated over the last week or so (which all got put away last night, thank you very much!), the rest of the house has stayed nice, too. Really, my ultimate goal in life is to have my house always looking presentable enough that if someone showed up at the front door I wouldn't be mortified to have them come inside. It's really not in my nature to be clean and tidy all of the time, so this requires a lot of effort on my part. I have found that often the clutter just doesn't even register to me... meaning I can leave the same glass sitting on the table for a week and not really "see" it. Or I don't even think to empty the dishwasher after it's been run. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it's true. I guess that's my abstract-random nature showing through!
So the other piece that goes along with this is getting my house professionally cleaned (#64). I haven't actually done this yet, but I did buy a deal from Angie's List that's good for four hours of cleaning. This particular company is supposed to specialize in detailed cleaning, which I find very exciting. The one time I had someone come in and clean my house (when I was selling my house in Memphis), I was very disappointed at the quality of the work. I guess I was expecting meticulous work since I was paying for it, but that is not what I got! So maybe if this company works out, then I could have them come clean occasionally. Ultimately, that's another one of my life goals... to have my house cleaned professionally on a regular basis. It's one of those things I never have seem to have the time to keep up as well as I would like. It seems like such a luxury, but really, isn't that why I've worked so hard to have a job that makes good money? So once I actually have them out to the house, then that's one more that I'll be able to cross off!
At any rate, I recently got my office/library room all organized, and I am sooo pleased with how it turned out! I can't say that it's 100% finished, because I haven't hung any pictures and I have two bags of random papers to sort through, but on the whole, it's done. There are two bedrooms on the main floor; one is the guest room, and then this one has my computer, papers, and the majority of my books. I wasn't happy with the original furniture arrangement, so I did my best Winnie the Pooh imitation and sat and thought and thought and thought, and came up with this:
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| View in from the hall -- I am really liking having the desk face out into the room rather than at a wall |
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| View back to the hallway... and books! |
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| Nice view out the window and lamp found on One King's Lane... and more books! |
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| Huge (3' x 4') cork board from Pottery Barn Outlet... note the 101 in 1001 list down in the corner! |
This bookshelf is a particular triumph, because it was a complete disaster previously. I really should have taken a "before" picture, because it was completely (and I do mean completely) crammed full of papers and notebooks and computer stuff and every other imaginable bit of random stuff that never really seems to have a home. So, when our Container Store opened here in October, I went a little bit crazy and found these gorgeous boxes to help control the madness. Okay, maybe it was a lot crazy, because I spent $285 (although one $25 box did get returned). I am justifying it, though, by saying that the boxes are very sturdy (which they are) and so beautiful (which they are) that I will have them around for a long time, and every time I look at them, they make me smile. I spent several hours looking at different combinations of different types of boxes and trays, but I liked these the best. Then I looked at all the different colors they had, but I finally realized that what was catching my eye in the display was the combination of all the different colors rather than using only one or two colors. It really keeps them looking bright and fresh.
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| Still have the slidey things under the feet... oops! |
As for the rest of the house, I have been making an effort to keep it tidy since my mother and her husband were here before Thanksgiving. With all of the holiday stress and craziness, I decided it would help my brain feel more restful if the house weren't a wreck. So November 27th was the official start date of my six weeks with no dirty dishes laying around (#41), and so far so good! Like I commented on the list, it is truly pitiful that I had to even make this a project, but there it is. And with the exception of all my shopping bags that accumulated over the last week or so (which all got put away last night, thank you very much!), the rest of the house has stayed nice, too. Really, my ultimate goal in life is to have my house always looking presentable enough that if someone showed up at the front door I wouldn't be mortified to have them come inside. It's really not in my nature to be clean and tidy all of the time, so this requires a lot of effort on my part. I have found that often the clutter just doesn't even register to me... meaning I can leave the same glass sitting on the table for a week and not really "see" it. Or I don't even think to empty the dishwasher after it's been run. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it's true. I guess that's my abstract-random nature showing through!
So the other piece that goes along with this is getting my house professionally cleaned (#64). I haven't actually done this yet, but I did buy a deal from Angie's List that's good for four hours of cleaning. This particular company is supposed to specialize in detailed cleaning, which I find very exciting. The one time I had someone come in and clean my house (when I was selling my house in Memphis), I was very disappointed at the quality of the work. I guess I was expecting meticulous work since I was paying for it, but that is not what I got! So maybe if this company works out, then I could have them come clean occasionally. Ultimately, that's another one of my life goals... to have my house cleaned professionally on a regular basis. It's one of those things I never have seem to have the time to keep up as well as I would like. It seems like such a luxury, but really, isn't that why I've worked so hard to have a job that makes good money? So once I actually have them out to the house, then that's one more that I'll be able to cross off!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Wahoo!!!
After realizing that I was woefully short on CE (i.e. I only had 14 hours, and I need 30 by the end of the year!) and, oh yes, finishing the PSAP chapters is part of my list anyway (#68), I decided to pull out one of the books and try to slog through some of it this past weekend. For those who may not know, PSAP stands for Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program. It consists of eleven books that are published over the course of 2 1/2 years, each book focusing on a different topic such as cardiology, geriatrics, infectious diseases, etc. Each book is broken down into three sections which are then further broken down into three more subsections, each targeting some particular aspect of the book's topic. Each subsection is followed by around twenty questions that you are supposed to be able to answer after having read the material. The point is to help keep you updated on new drugs, studies, and guidelines. The PSAP chapters are usually used by people who are board certified as a way to keep their certification current without having to retake the exam, so you can guess that the material is a little more in depth than your average CE program. I stupidly decided to give myself the challenge of keeping up with these even though I am not currently board certified. I suppose I thought this would be a good way to keep up with what's new out there, but at a cost of $435 on top of the ACCP membership fee ($260), I probably could have come up with a better way of doing things.
Now, these books randomly show up on my doorstep (via FedEx, no less!) every few months. The idea being that you should have already finished the previous book by the time the new book arrives. I think in order to get credit for BCPS, you get three months to complete each book. These books started coming out in January 2010, and I have completed exactly zero of them. I have started quite a few, though, so I realized I needed to get to a point where I had enough done to get some CE credit. Each section is worth 5-8 hours, depending on how involved it is, so you can get anywhere from 15-22 hours per book. Well, I finally finished the first section from book 3 (Women's and Men's Health - subsections included such juicy topics as emergency contraception, HPV, postmenopausal hormone therapy, sexually transmitted infections, and special considerations for women with HIV infection... fun!), went to the website, and submitted my answers. I literally had a knot in my stomach, because you need a score of 75% to pass. Otherwise, it's all a waste of time. So after waiting a few excruciating seconds, the scoring page appeared... and I passed!!! With a score of 86.67%! (average score = 84.01%) Wahoo!!! There is a nice statistics page that shows your answers, the correct answers, and then what percentage of people gave which answer for each question. I was very happy to notice that most of my incorrect answers came from one section, and most of those answers had a very high percentage that chose the same answer I did. In fact, on one of them, more people chose the same wrong answer than did the correct answer. I think the people who wrote that chapter need to go back to remedial test question writing.
*sigh of relief* I have to say that this is quite a confidence booster, and it does help give me a boost toward getting through some more of these books. I may actually have to open a bottle of champagne if I get a whole book completed! For now, I think I'll go have one (or two... or maybe three) of the chocolate chip cookies I baked yesterday and then head off to bed for some well-deserved sleep!
Now, these books randomly show up on my doorstep (via FedEx, no less!) every few months. The idea being that you should have already finished the previous book by the time the new book arrives. I think in order to get credit for BCPS, you get three months to complete each book. These books started coming out in January 2010, and I have completed exactly zero of them. I have started quite a few, though, so I realized I needed to get to a point where I had enough done to get some CE credit. Each section is worth 5-8 hours, depending on how involved it is, so you can get anywhere from 15-22 hours per book. Well, I finally finished the first section from book 3 (Women's and Men's Health - subsections included such juicy topics as emergency contraception, HPV, postmenopausal hormone therapy, sexually transmitted infections, and special considerations for women with HIV infection... fun!), went to the website, and submitted my answers. I literally had a knot in my stomach, because you need a score of 75% to pass. Otherwise, it's all a waste of time. So after waiting a few excruciating seconds, the scoring page appeared... and I passed!!! With a score of 86.67%! (average score = 84.01%) Wahoo!!! There is a nice statistics page that shows your answers, the correct answers, and then what percentage of people gave which answer for each question. I was very happy to notice that most of my incorrect answers came from one section, and most of those answers had a very high percentage that chose the same answer I did. In fact, on one of them, more people chose the same wrong answer than did the correct answer. I think the people who wrote that chapter need to go back to remedial test question writing.
*sigh of relief* I have to say that this is quite a confidence booster, and it does help give me a boost toward getting through some more of these books. I may actually have to open a bottle of champagne if I get a whole book completed! For now, I think I'll go have one (or two... or maybe three) of the chocolate chip cookies I baked yesterday and then head off to bed for some well-deserved sleep!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
and a Movie
I watched Gandhi a few months ago, which is one of the ten on my list to watch (#67). It was interesting, especially because I realized as I was watching it that I knew very little about this man. I think he did a lot of very good things, but I wonder what it was like to be one of his inner circle. He seemed to act according to an unswerving inner moral compass which I think would make it very difficult to get close to him. I have to admit that when I finished the movie I felt very small and unimportant, and it made me question some of my actions. It also made me think about why I am here and what my purpose might be in life. Obviously, not everyone can change and entire country and create shock waves that will be felt around the world and through history, but am I meant to be doing something more?
Friday, December 2, 2011
Back to Books
I promised myself that I would write one blog post this weekend. It's been so long that I've written anything, that I have now blown it completely out of proportion in my head and the thought of writing anything has become totally overwhelming. And it's not even like I haven't had anything to write about, because even though there have been no posts, I have been crossing things off my lists and keeping my book and movie lists current. So I thought I would start with something fairly easy. I have finished two of the books that are on my list to read (#66)... Peyton Place and A Month of Sundays.
I consulted several lists in addition to my own internal wish list when I created this group of fifteen books to read, and I think I added Peyton Place because it was said to be so controversial when it came out (in 1956) and it became such a part of pop culture that it is still a common phrase. I know I've used it to refer to my high school marching band and to places I've worked (probably better if I not name those!), so I thought it might be good to make sure I was using the reference appropriately. Well let me tell you, I was! The book itself was a little slow at times, and there were points when I thought to myself, "this is supposed to be controversial?". But once it gets going, it was a slippery slope and not a single character was safe. The story was actually set in the late 30's and early 40's, which I didn't realize at first, and follows the interconnected lives of the residents of a small New England town. I think the one thought that kept coming up for me over and over while reading this book was how little society has really changed. People like to paint the picture of how much more refined things were in the "olden days". That certain things just didn't happen and that life was much more pure. But's that's just not true. The same things happened then that happen today; they were just overlooked or glossed over or accepted or swept under the rug. I don't know that I would say that this book was good or that I got an entertainment value from reading it, but it was very interesting, and for that I'm glad that I read it.
A Month of Sundays was an entirely different kind of book. I think I found this on a list of "new classics", and the full title, A Month of Sundays: Searching for the Spirit and My Sister, caught my attention. Here's the blurb from Barnes and Noble...
So, of the fifteen books on my list, I have now completed five with another two in progress (but on a current hiatus). And I am very excited to announce that I am now in possession of all fifteen books on the list! (A shoutout to Half-Price books and their Indiana authors section for providing the last one, A Girl of the Limberlost!)
Well, that wasn't so bad. I might even write another one this weekend... maybe.
I consulted several lists in addition to my own internal wish list when I created this group of fifteen books to read, and I think I added Peyton Place because it was said to be so controversial when it came out (in 1956) and it became such a part of pop culture that it is still a common phrase. I know I've used it to refer to my high school marching band and to places I've worked (probably better if I not name those!), so I thought it might be good to make sure I was using the reference appropriately. Well let me tell you, I was! The book itself was a little slow at times, and there were points when I thought to myself, "this is supposed to be controversial?". But once it gets going, it was a slippery slope and not a single character was safe. The story was actually set in the late 30's and early 40's, which I didn't realize at first, and follows the interconnected lives of the residents of a small New England town. I think the one thought that kept coming up for me over and over while reading this book was how little society has really changed. People like to paint the picture of how much more refined things were in the "olden days". That certain things just didn't happen and that life was much more pure. But's that's just not true. The same things happened then that happen today; they were just overlooked or glossed over or accepted or swept under the rug. I don't know that I would say that this book was good or that I got an entertainment value from reading it, but it was very interesting, and for that I'm glad that I read it.
A Month of Sundays was an entirely different kind of book. I think I found this on a list of "new classics", and the full title, A Month of Sundays: Searching for the Spirit and My Sister, caught my attention. Here's the blurb from Barnes and Noble...
After witnessing her older sister's losing battle with pancreatic cancer, "her journey though the dark landscape of religious doubt toward her God," Mars was overtaken with a compulsion: she wanted to go to church. So, she dedicated herself to visiting 31 houses of worship over a period of as many weeks. A Month of Sundays is the story of her enlightening spiritual pilgrimage.Since I am so unsure of my own opinions about spirituality much of the time, I was interested in hearing about this woman's journey. And this was an emotional journey. I laughed and cried and made notes and looked stuff up. This book was satisfying and yet made me want more. I was a little surprised and disappointed by some of her choices for churches, but that really was secondary to the things that came out of her visits. And I liked the sense that this book really was like a segment of a lifelong journey... things are not cleanly wrapped up with a neat and tidy message at the end. But that's how life really is. And I think that's something that bothers me in some books about people's lives... do they really go through something and then come out with all the answers? Are their lives magically perfect or suddenly have massive clarity at the end of this piece? I see how you might reach some epiphany that changes your life, but that doesn't mean that there isn't more to learn (unless you are Buddhist and have somehow reached Nirvana!). I think I'm getting off track here, but the point is that for whatever reason, this book resonated for me and I think I would recommend it for anyone who is on a journey for meaning and spirituality.
So, of the fifteen books on my list, I have now completed five with another two in progress (but on a current hiatus). And I am very excited to announce that I am now in possession of all fifteen books on the list! (A shoutout to Half-Price books and their Indiana authors section for providing the last one, A Girl of the Limberlost!)
Well, that wasn't so bad. I might even write another one this weekend... maybe.
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