1,3, & 5 on the Before 41 list

It's been awhile since I looked at my list of things to do before I turn 41 (or things to do in my 40th year, as the list became) and I can cross three things off:

1- go on a geocache
2- dye a streak of pink in my hair

and the third thing, which I'm the most excited about:

3- lose 10 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know I've blogged about the geocache and am giving a weekly update on the weight loss but I haven't written about the pink hair.

I found dye that is supposed to wash out in 1 shampoo. I colored my hair pink all over, with the help of Daddy-O, then I went out of dinner. I got some weird looks of course, but I did it! I have to say it made me look really young, too. (Side note: I did wear black lipstick and charcoaled my eyes but washed that off because I felt silly. And I didn't have the right punkslashsuicidegirlslashemo clothes to pull it off. Maybe when I see Green Day in concert?)

I love crossing stuff off my list!

Mags

My own version of being a treasure hunter

Today I went on my first every GEOCaching hunt and it was totally cool and fun!! I think everyone should do this at least once!

I'm certainly no expert at all but here's what GEOCaching is: people hide treasure and post the longitude and latitude online (and sometimes some clues) and other people can go find it. There are web sites dedicated to this. If you find the "treasure" you usually write your name down on the paper provided and if they left loot, you can take it. BUT if you take something, you should leave something! And don't destroy the cache site and return it to the exact spot so others can find it. And here's the official web site if you want to hear it from the experts!

There are a bunch of other suggestions, rules, and "how to's" to follow to go about this, but those are the basics. A sorta new guy in my life and I headed out this afternoon to see if we could find 1 or 2 treasures. Here it is in picture...


I first started out with sustenance- breakfast and coffee at a diner! (and the edge of the plate that you can't see is full of biscuits and gravy! No way did I eat all that!)


So we followed the coordinates and we arrived at a historic landmark, a cemetery! Oh cool. (Yes, I blanked the name because I don't want to ruin it for you if you happen to decide to find it yourself!)

We had to figure out how to make the longitude and latitude part of the GPS work so we walked around for a bit. We had used the driving directions aspect to get us there so now we had to get to the specific spot to find the cache. We started wondering around, back and forth.

It wasn't here, but this was a clue... or I thought it was because this same stone was on the web site. We found the same stone but no cache.

The cache wasn't here but I thought this was a unique headstone... sad and haunting.

We headed one way and down a fence line and I slipped in the mud.

I think I walked passed this view about 3 times. Hey, I said we were LEARNING how to do the longitude and latitude thing. We had a nice walk and a cool view. And still had treasure to find!

See the wind turbine? I really, really was hoping we figured out the readings before we walked all the way over there!!!

Nope, not here either!!!!

Where the heck is it????

But wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But wait yet again!!! The reading worked! We figured it out!!! And look! In that tree! Can it be?!?

WE FOUND IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This cache was placed by a group who only places at historical sites. And while there was no treasure for us to take, we did sign this list and date it.

Then we sealed it all up in the plastic and put it back; I made the guy do it because I already crawled all through that thorny stuff. And we left a treasure for the next finders- we put a spinning top in the bag that came with my McDonald's happy meal (that I ate the day before!!)! I hope the next hunters like it!

Here is the view of the cemetery from the from the cache site.

Well, we figured it out and had a good time. And since we had so much fun, we decided to do one more! The next one was in a historic downtown place! This was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again (Lilith, we are so doing this after your test!!!). I hate that we didn't get a cool treasure but I'm glad we tried it. And I can't wait until I do one with a treasure.

My friend Gulo loves to do these so I bet she'll be shocked I actually went out into the caching world. And now I know why she loves it!!!

Maggie the Huntress

21. Subscribe to a new magazine and read it before the next one arrives

This is also a boring post. Warning!

I've subscribed to a new magazine and have read it before the next one arrived. Back in Sept. I subscribed to Harper's Bazaar and I haven't had any problem reading the next issue before the new one gets here.

This used to be a problem for me so when I made this goal I thought it would be a big deal. But of late, meaning for the last several months, I've been rather scattered so it's been very easy to read magazines... even easier than reading a book, sad to say. I like to buy 50cent magazines when I go to Half price books and they have a tendency to pile up around here (Mac said when I finally move out and live in my own place and since I'm single I won't be the crazy cat lady, but I'll be the crazy magazine and he'll find my dead body buried under a stack of Elles, Vogues, In Styles, and Ws. He said they should have a special edition of Hoarders for people who are magazine freaks...like me). I get them in huge stacks and can't always get them read in a timely manner. This was another reason I thought I would set this goal.

As a matter of fact, I can take it one step further. I subscribed to a bunch of magazine for the school library and I've taken to reading these during my lunch hour. So, while I read my one I get at home, I also manage to read Entertainment Weekly each week as well as the monthly copy of In Style.

So I met this goal with my own magazine plus 2 extra! As Charlie Sheen would say, "I Win!"

Mags

19. Leave a couple books around with inscriptions that they're free to those who find them

I left a few books for strangers. What I didn't think through was that I might not see people take these books. That didn't really matter to me, but I thought other than writing "I left books" there would be nothing else I could say.

I wrote on the inside cover of the first one, something like, "This is a free book. I read it and thought it was great. Take it with you and I hope you enjoy it, too!" Then I signed it "Maggie the Bibliophile."

I left one in a Starbucks and no one touched it for the 2 hours I was there. I have no idea what finally happened to it. I hope someone finally took it. I left One Day, which was recently made into a movie but it didn't have the movie cover so I hope someone took it. I looked on the shared shelf when I last time I was getting coffee and it wasn't there.

Another book I left on a bench in the mall. I sat for 45 minutes and a few people looked at it when they walked by but no one took it, at least not while I was there. It was an Anita Shreve book. I, again, have no idea what finally happened. I hope the janitor didn't throw it in the trash.

On the Shreve book, I stuck a sticky note on the cover that said "FREE BOOK" but it still just laid there for 45 minutes or longer.

Well, I did it. Gee, this wasn't a very exciting "40 before 40" entry... I need to get better at these.

Maggie

40. Watch a classic Christmas movie I've never watched

I watched White Christmas and it's cute. I have no idea how I made it 40 years without seeing this wonderful, quaint and funny musical.

In summary:
Bob and Phil team up to become a song-and-dance act (think vaudeville) after they leave the Army, post WWII. They meet a team of beautiful sisters, Betty and Judy, who also have a song-and-dance act. Betty and Judy go to a Vermont lodge to perform a Christmas show, the guys follow. There they find their former Army General, Gen. Waverly to be the owner of the financially failing lodge. They all stay to help to try to rejuvenate the business and in the midst of all that romance and comedy ensue.

I love when the guys help the girls out of a situation and end up doing the girls' song and dance routine: "Sisters." It was hilarious! Of course, the costumes were lush and the music is to die for. The dancing is fantastic. And who doesn't love Irving Berlin's famous Bing Crosby crooning "White Christmas"?

This was worth watching and I might have to just watch it again, when it's actually part of the Christmas season. Who knows- I could start a new tradition and watch it each year, I liked it so much!

Mags

New out look on '40 before 40'

Some of you might have noticed that I've changed the title of the 40 things to do before I was 40. Yes, now they are things to do in my 40th year instead.

I didn't get them all done before I turned 40 but I'm just not ready to give up on all 40 items. So I'm giving myself until I turn 41 to do them.

And I've been editing the list as I go along. I discovered I've never driven a go-cart. I live in the frickin' Midwest where we have as many go-carts as cars and I've never been on one. So, I added that to the list. I've also never been to a drive-in movie on a date. I might add that next summer, if I'm feeling like it. Or if I'm dating. I don't want to add any MORE pressure to myself!

So. I'm sticking to it. I plan on working a bit harder at these things this winter. We shall see what I can do.

The cool thing: so far I've done some things more than once like take a scrapbook class and more yoga. See, I did something for the first time and enjoyed it enough and will keep doing it! Now how awesome, for me!

And if all goes according to plan, I'll be crossing off something else this week: seeing a live show of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

This list can only make me like age 40 better because I've been 40 years old for about 3 weeks and these have been some of the crappiest weeks of my life so I am unimpressed with my foray into the forties. Feh. It can only look up.

People say being Forty is: Fun! Fabulous! Fantastic! So, being Forty is supposed to be some big F-ing deal?

Maggie

38. Re-arrange/ re-decorate my bedroom, or Anti- Nesting? Cleaning?

Since Mac's left for college, I've become a freak about a cleaning project. The attic that Mac and I shared was full of our stuff, huge piles of my parent's stuff, piles of my Bro's stuff, and then stuff that no one would claim so I guess it was piles of strangers' stuff. When I moved in the attic didn't look to bad except the closet was a catch all for... everything. And Daddy-O canNOT say that he stuck things in the closet since I moved in. There was stuff in that closet that hadn't seen the light of day since 1996! And in one corner, behind some furniture, were boxes and piles of... other stuff.

Mac and I lived in between the stuff.

Until now.

A week ago Sunday, I decided to clean that room. I was sick of looking at the mess and with some of Mac's junk gone, I thought I could at least tackle it. And, in complete honesty here, Mac would never help when I asked so I was usually pissed when I thought about doing it before; I was pissed that he would turn around and make it messy again, and finally, because his 45" flat screen tv is now gone and I don't have to worry about bumping it.

So, I started, with the help of ITSam, last Sunday.

First, I had to clean out the closet because some of the piles of stuff behind Mac's bed were going in my closet. So I had to do that first. I found lots of Christmas things, an old set of barbells, some of my Bro's knives, half missing pieced puzzles, and numerous other items that went straight into the trash, or to Goodwill, depending. The closet took about 3 hours to clean. This is a huge closet- it's the width between a twin and full sized bed and is about 12 feet long. Yes, a closet around the size of a room, but it's totally a closet. ITSam and I lugged crap up and down stairs, to and from the garage, and to the trash and the car.

Next, I tackled the piles behind Mac's bed- stuff went into the closet and then to all the other aforementioned locations. I even found some of my mom's old paperwork from when she was a social worker, which was about 6 years old, according the the dates on the papers (we shredded these and then tossed 'em.). I gave my SisIL in a box of my Bro's knives. Things you think you'll never say: "hey, thanks for the loaning me the book. By the way, take home this huge box of Bro's knives, would ya please?"

Then last week, we work a few evenings: vacuuming and taking bags of trash downstairs.

Then last night and tonight, we kicked the room's butt. We took down my Christmas trees (I love my pink trees and they make me happy so I leave them up all the time but I needed to take them down for this project!), we vacuumed, we dusted, we moved all the furniture around, we dusted some more, I cleaned off the dresser tops and clean out my jewelry armoire, we vacuumed and dusted SOME MORE, we moved a bookcase upstairs and filled it with all my books and magazines, we put away laundry, sorted the piles I found under Mac's bed, and did I mention we dusted and vacuumed all over the place?

Now there are no piles of anything. There's space for Greco-Roman Wrestling in the middle of the floor, according to ITSam's sense of humor, or for a couch, according to Daddy-O! I think neither because I just want to revel in the open space of it all. I don't have to climb over piles of laundry or weave in and out of a path of boxes, dirty clothes, Rock Band instruments, barbels, or a globe. Everything has a place.

This would've been the best post for before and after pictures. I have none of each. I didn't think to take pictures of before and without 'before' the after doesn't seem like such a huge deal.

And to think, Mac and I lived in this huge space that was made tiny because we looked like an episode of Hoarders and now I feel like I'm living in a ballroom. All after he left. Weird.

I don't think I was ever so obsessed with a cleaning and organizing project as I was with this one. I can't even explain it. I just HAD to clean it. I do think, however, several things:

• My mom always said to leave a place in better shape than I found it. I'm not planning on leaving the attic anytime soon (sorry Daddy-O)!) but it will be easy to follow her advise if I were.
• Mac is sharing a 12x12 room with another teenage boy at college. Now when he comes home on the weekends and sees his part of the attic- his part is 15x15- it will be really clean and he'll be able to spread out, even though he's still sharing it with me (the whole thing is about 15x33 so each of us have about 15x15. the other 3 can be the stairs!) so he might feel more at ease
• I needed to declutter and control something.

Ah, yes.... use your best Freud voice here: "You need to be in control of something?"

Yeah, well.... like I said, do we call it de-nesting with the kid leaves home and mom goes on a cleaning frenzy? Or do we just call it cleaning?

I'm counting this as a 40 before 40 item because it was a LOT of work!

Mags

32. Take a jewelry making class

I really wanted to go and take an actual workshop to make jewelry but I think this is going to suffice, and I will cross this task off the list!

A few months ago a local artist came to Alcatraz and did a jewelry making workshop. She's published several books about the art of jewelry making and she... well, she makes a living as an artist and this is one of her skills. I will lucky enough to go to high school with her and begged her to come do this, and she did! Because this was one of my ideas and library activities, I got to participate, too!

Above are some of the supplies. The blue handled gadgets are tools to punch holes in metal. In the wooden leaf bowl is foreign money and then the middle container is all beads.

We all had a chance to make "pirate necklaces", since we did this the week before Pirates of the Caribbean 4 came out. The kids all thought I put the workshop instructor up to it since they know of my obsession with Johnny Depp! Too funny!

Anyway, each of us was allowed to select a coin, a few beads and some cord. We also had to have clasps and hasps to put it all together.

Below is a picture of one of the workshop attender's punching a hole in a coin.

Above is a picture of one of the attendees flattening the hasp and taking the shine off it, so it looks more pirate-y!

Here is a picture of all the necklaces we made that day!

And finally, here's the necklace I made. I gave it to ITSam because I thought it looked manly. And because I'd never given him jewelry.

It was a good time and I liked doing it. This artist does workshops all over the country and she does some that are fancy and expensive and other times she does small ones that are affordable. I want to take one where I can do something extensive with beads, maybe a beaded necklace or a bracelet?

But it was fun to make our pirate necklaces and it was clever to use her left over foreign money and the kids had a good time, and do did I!

Love,
Maggie

Maybe I will and maybe I won't...

I have a feeling my 40 Before 40 List is a bust. Not because I'm choosing to give up, but because time and money are influencing some of these things. I don't think I'll accomplish all these things.

I didn't dye a streak of pink in my hair while I was on break for two reasons: 1) Mac kept busting my ass about it, saying something about me being too old to do it and I'll look stupid; and, 2) I'm afraid it wouldn't wash out before I had to go back to school.

I'm not going to get any Russian novels read, no matter the translation and I won't get 7 classics read before then either, mostly because I don't feel like reading any classics right now. I have a good list of books to read, none of them to do with classics or Russia.

I'm going back on Weight Watchers on Monday so I think the Backed Alaska and the homemade bread are both bad ideas.

I have about 2 months left so learning to play an instrument in that short time isn't going to happen. Same with subscribing to a magazine...

Due to $$$$, a mini- road trip to somewhere I've never been is out, and unless a blogging buddy comes to me, that's probably out for the same reasons.

Because I'm the epitome of lazy, I really don't think I'll attend a synagogue because I have to find one and then drive an 1 and then go. I hate doing some stuff alone. I also don't feel like volunteering at a charity. I feel like I do so much stuff for the kids at Alcatraz on my own time, I just don't have what it takes to go somewhere else and volunteer right now. I'm selfish, I realize.

I've given some thought to changing some things on the list to fit what I can do but that doesn't seem right.

I'm debating whether or not I want to finish the list since so many things aren't going to happen at all. I have two things I've done that I need to blog about, and I have pictures to go with one of them, and I'll still do it but I'm not sure about the rest. The jury is out.

Mags

10- Take a scrapbook class

I took a scrapbook class, quite by accident. And for free. Yes, free.

This last weekend, Archiver's, a scrapbook chain store, was hosting a free 'make & take' project day. I happened to stumble in the store that day and had forgotten that was going on. Forgotten, I say because I get their online newsletters and knew it was scheduled but it had slipped my mind.

I was looking for a Mother's Day gift for Daddy-O (hey, he's the only parent I have left and often has to take on the role of mom AND dad to me, even though I'm almost 40 yrs old.) and the clerk asked if I wanted to do the 'make & take' of the day. Well, heck yeah I did.

Only ITSam with was with me. And it was to take an hour. And he had just spent 40 minutes waiting for me at Lane Bryant while I tried on pants. Which was not pretty.

But he said for me to go ahead and he would watch.

And he ended up helping!!!

It was cool. I got to use all their papers and supplies. I punched stuff out and got to play with some of the scrapbook/ card making toys. I used ribbon and buttons to make a flower, which I had never done before. It was pretty cool.

Everything we did was standard. What I mean is that every single person who came in was given the same materials and showed how to use the same tools and shown the template and then we could arrange it any way we wanted. It was actually 2 scrapbook pages- two completely different styles of scrapbooking. And one came with a sleeve protector.

It was pretty easy and fun to do.

I apologize in advance for my crappy pictures. I'm having camera issues (gee, how nice, just in time for graduation, damn it.) so I can't do lighting for crap (with or without the flash or plastic cover. It really seems to be a camera issue rather than a user one this time). But here's an attempt to show what I did.

Here is one page. This is a clear plastic sleeve with 6 slots. I filled 2 of them with scrapped projects. You can see one is black and the other is the green one. In the remaining 4 slots, I'll slide in pictures. In the one slot you can see little flowers and butterflies- those are to be adhered to the 4 pictures I use to tie it all together. I'm also supposed to put a picture in the yellow circle (the yellow circle on the green)

Here's a close up of the decoration panel. I have no idea what this is called. I was probably told but I don't remember.

Here's a close up of the black panel.

Here's the ribbon and button flower Sam made for me. I was having no luck with sticky stuff and ribbon. I was sticking everywhere but to the ribbon and it was nothing like a flower shape, either.

Here's a picture of a 3D butterfly that I "distressed" the edges to give it 'depth.'

Another 3D butterfly, that's dimensional (how is it 3D and dimensional, I want to know...?), without being distressed.

And finally, here's the other page, in finished form! It's the more traditional scrapbook style page think of when they think of scrapbooking. I'll drop in either 2 small picture on the green or one large one. And in the thing that looks like a piece of film across the bottom? I can add either small pictures or embellishments in those spots.

Pretty cool, eh? Don't I look talented?

And it was all free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Almost 40 and fabulous,
Maggie

On my day off, or 22. Take a day to do nothing but lay around in my jammies, reading, be lazy, and eating junk food

Daddy-O's in the Lone Star State and Mac is on the senior trip and won't be back until midnight. I had the day off from school- an unused snow day. I had the house all to myself. Alone. In the house. By myself. I think for the first time in years................

Here's what I did:

• woke up late
• texted Sam
• made coffee
• danced around the living room, and sang in my hairbrush to Lady Gaga
• made cinnamon rolls
• laid upsidedown on the couch and floor and read a book
• finished the book
• finished the coffee
• finished the cinnamon rolls
• blogged about the book I finished
  
• enjoyed the quiet by just staring at the ceiling in silence
• played Genetic Alchemy on my cell phone
• played Worddrop on my cell phone
• talked to Sam
• took a shower around 7pm
• ate dinner with Sam
• started reading another book, back in my jammies, sprawled across the couch, drinking a large bottle of wine, out of glass
  
• thinking about eating a Dove Ice Cream Bar- not on the couch, though...
• thinking if I have enough cash to pay off Mac to go away for the day so I can do this again

Love your Lazybones,
Maggie

35. Perform a random act of kindness

You know what? I have no idea exactly what defines a random act of kindness. Oh, I know what all the words mean and I certainly understand the meaning behind it but I wasn't sure, once I actually wrote it down, how to record it. Because it I do something that i think is just a random act of kindness and then i go an record it, does that mean it wasn't REALLY random because my subconscious was driving me to do something so I would be able to cross if off my list? So therefore, is it no longer random?

Ah the philosophical ramblings...

So, I think this could be a random act of kindness. And, this one might appear several times between now and the day of the big 4-OH.

Curly made me a couple of adorable little hats. They're crocheted beanie caps with a flower on them. I love 'em and wear them around when not in schools (can't wear even decorative hats in school...).

Anyway, I was wearing one into Starbucks one day and the barista, Beth, really liked it. I went in another time and she was working and went on and on about how much she liked that one, too. She looked at them and the flower and wondered how hard it would be to make one.

So the next time I went to that Starbucks, I just brought one of mine along, one that Daddy-O made. I left it at the front counter. Beth wasn't working but the manager on duty said she would give it to her when she came in next. I didn't leave my name or a card or anything, just the hat.

The one I left for her looks very similar to this:


She has long, thick curly black hair and she's very bohemian- you can tell from the way she dresses and I've seen her about town so it's befitting of her, I think, from what I've seen her in before (yeah, I know- how bohemian can you be in a Starbucks uniform?). And I think with all her dark hair and olive complexion, the red would be stunning.

I hope she likes it!

Maggie

25. Buy a CD by an artist I've never heard before and listen to the entire thing

The Fame by Lady Gaga

To be honest, y' all probably think I'm crazy but I didn't really ever know who Lady Gaga was until Princess introduced us. I think I heard of her in passing but I didn't know anything about her, and I would've been guessing that she was a singer (I was thinking actress at first but I wasn't sure). Then one day, I was in the car with Princess for 6 hours and she brought this CD along. Then she fell asleep and I was afraid to turn it off, that the sudden silence would wake her and the other 4 girls who were all also asleep. Trust me, you take 5 teens girls on a six hour road trip and they fall asleep, you don't want to do ANYTHING to disrupt their sleep.

So, I let this just play over and over again. It played through about 3 times total, and I was pretty impressed and pleased with this CD.

It is sure something I would never have picked up myself but after listening to it, I did go buy a copy a few weeks later and it still held appeal for me, so much so that I downloaded a song called "Boys Boys Boys" as my default ringtone, for fun, because it's a zippy little tune!

This album is certainly a dance club mix. It's highly synthesized-pop and electric-pop, with songs that have quirky little chorus, that hook in the listener. It's similar to lots of club music that came out of the 80s and heavily influenced by glam-rock. The album was released in 2008 (I really can't believe I never have heard of her or any of this music until a few months ago!!) to popular, positive reviews and critical acclaim. There have been four songs of the 12 on the album that have released as singles here in the US, which reached Top Ten spots on Billboard: "Just Dance", "Poker Face", "Love Game" and "Paparazzi." The album itself reached the top 10 (topping out at #4) and hit the #1 spot for Dance/ Electronic albums. It's also the number 1 best selling digital album of all times, and its gone platinum four times. (Thank you Billboard for this info!)



The overall theme for all the songs is fame. Lady Gaga is a lover of attention and is certainly a fame seeker so all these songs focus on that as the theme.

I think the four singles are awesome. They are sure great tunes to head bop and dance to. I can see why they are huge club songs. The content, along with fame, are also heavily focused on sex, drinking, and money (I'm not super thrilled about this since most of Gaga's fans are young girls!). "Love Game" is all about sex and money, and "Just Dance" is about being drunk at a party. "Poker Face" is all about sexual innuendo, and "Paparazzi" is about a stalker following her biggest fan.



Songs other than "the hits" that I really like are "Paper Gangsta", "Boys Boys Boys", and "Summerboy." These little ditties biggest appeal to me are the easy to sing along lyrics and the beat. Sometimes her lyrics are raging and powerful and other times they're drivel but overall, just about every song on this album is something to sing along to. That, my friends, is usually what is "make or break" about an album for me. The songs "Money Honey", "Beautiful Dirty Rich" and "Eh, Eh" are also good songs but not my favorites and I find myself passing through those when they pop up. "Boys Boys Boys" is my favorite song of all!



So like everyone else in the world, I've now heard of Lady Gaga and she's found a secure spot in my CD player rotation for awhile. I find I pop her on and dance around when no one is watching. I also can't wait until I can roll down the windows and crank up the radio and go so a summer drive, with lady Gaga blaring away! While the content may not be your cup of tea, she's addicting and her catchy riffs are worth listening to over and over again. Makes me wish I was young enough to go clubbing!

Maggie

#7- Cooking something I never made before

One of my 40 things to do before I turn 40 is expand my cooking horizons. I said I wanted to cook something exotic or something I've never fixed before. I have no idea what I meant when I wrote exotic. Did that mean some weird ingredient or what? Nothing I fixed was exotic. I wasn't sure what I was thinking and other than being expensive or strange, I couldn't think of exotic food. I went with stuff I knew everyone would probably like with ingredients I could afford, a twist on normal foods, I guess!

Also, I thought, once I got on a roll, I'd do more than one dish. So here are my efforts and the recipes! Enjoy!

__________________________

Ever since my mom died, my family and I have been trying to re-create some of her dishes, often to no avail. I don't think I'll ever get her potato soup right. Ever. However, I've never, in my life made chili, so I think I was channeling my mom, because I nailed her soup. Daddy-O and I brainstormed about what was in it and we got the ingredients. We had no idea of how much of anything so it was a guess, and a good one at that. And for the first time making chili, I was pretty happy- it was a nice memory, a good taste, and a warm yummy dish for a cold, winter day! So, here's the recipe for my mom's chili. (I also want to say, I don't really like chili very much, but this really appeals to me!!!)

With the chili we had crackers, cheese and corn bread muffins, from scratch!

Mom's Chili:
1 large can of tomato soup
1 can of dark kidney beans with the juice
1 can of light kidney beans drained
24 ounces of tomato juice
1 can of black beans, drained
1 pound of hamburger, browned and drained. I cooked a small very well diced onion with the hamburger.
2 teaspoons of mild chili pepper
2 tablespoons of salt
3 dashes of pepper

Put everything into a stock pot and cook on very low heat, covered, for 60 minutes. Cook another 2 hours uncovered, stirring occasionally.
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Fried Green Beans
2 cans of cut green beans, drained
milk
Italian Bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
olive oil

Heat olive oil in pan until hot. Combine bread crumbs and cheese together in a shallow pan. Dip green beans in milk. Roll beans in bread crumb/ cheese mixture. Brush off excess. Put in hot oil for 4 minutes. Scoop out of pan with slotted spoon and lay on paper towel. Salt while still hot. Serve while very warm.

Everyone really liked these and requested I make them again. They were pretty good. So good they were gone before I got a picture! (tonight I also made lemon pepper cod and salmon, and roasted new red garlic potatoes to go with the beans!)
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Oven Ranch Chicken

It's really saying something about how much I love this recipe because it's a school cafeteria recipe. Yes, you read this right: this chicken is SCHOOL FOOD!!!! I asked the woman in the cafeteria and she shared. I gave it a whirl at home and while mine was good, I think the school's is better. I think this is so because I used dark and white meat chicken, with bone in. At school, they always make it with boneless, skinless chicken breasts on 'Wellness Wednesdays'. I think that had something to do with making it crispier. Not the wellness part but being white meat and boneless part.

Again, this was a popular dish and everyone voted I fix it again! (We had Julianne cheese potatoes and mixed veggies with the chicken.)

Oven Ranch Chicken

6-8 chicken breasts (though I made it with bone in chicken, it is best with boneless!)

16 oz sour cream

1 pkg dry ranch dressing ( mix with crumbs)

cracker crumbs or Italian bread crumbs (which ever you prefer)

butter

Take thawed chicken and rub/coat with sour cream and then dip them into the cracker mix. Drizzle melted butter over the top and bake covered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done. Bake uncovered the last 10-15 minutes to crisp up the chicken.

Happy cooking!

Maggie

So I did learn a new craft after all!

In my list of 40 things to do before I turn 40 I said I wanted to learn a new craft. I tried a knitting class, and albeit I went one time, I was REALLY not successful! However, yesterday I organized a program in our school library on card making.

When I planned this event it never dawned on me that I could use it as a 40 Before 40 item!

I had a woman from the community who is a card maker and does some beautiful work be my guest speaker. She volunteered to come in during our 90 minute lunch period and give a brief presentation about card making and then she would let the audience members each make a card.

She and I met in advance and planned that we would have 8-10 kids with about 3-4 chaperons. I got a list of supplies, which I bought and/or got donated. I provided lunch. The kids had to sign up ahead of time and write a paragraph about why they should be picked to participate.

In the end we had a group of 6 people in attendance. The presenter gave her little Power Point about card making, the history and her own interest. Then we all got to make cards.

One thing she did that was really cool was that she made several templates. She cut all the paper in advance (due to time constraints) and bagged it up into mini kits. Each person was able to choose a kit and then she went through the creative process. It was pretty awesome! Though the kids didn't have a chance to actually use the Cricut she brought, she did a small demonstration with it. (And we have an arts & crafts & hobby room here on campus and if the kids have good behavior, they're allowed to go there after school and weekends. There's a Cricut in that space so the kids got see what it could do during the program AND will have access to one, too!)

It was a fun experience. While I will never become a 'card maker' (that's Daddy-O's specialty) it was fun to do. I can see why it's awesomely fun to do as a group, too. I will occasionally make a card or two, in the future, I'm sure.

Here are some samples of the work the kids made:

We even made our own envelops!

This 'Aloha' one is the card I made!

Maggie

34. Try to learn a craft I've never done before

I couldn't cast on. I spent about 40 minutes of the class trying to cast on. Thus began my knitting class.

Yes, I took only one class and I'm not saying I won't try it again, but my list says "try" something. I did try it, at least once.

I'm not sure I even like it.

There's an awesome young woman who works at my local coffeeshop who hosts a free knitting class at said coffeeshop every Wednesday night. A couple weeks ago, Princess and I went.

We had some needles (big ones since everyone I know says those are easiest to learn on) and some practice yarn.

I also want to say this woman is a great teacher. She was patient and gave good explanations. She used analogies which I need. She showed me several times from different angles how to cast on. (For those of you who don't knit, this means gets some stitches on the needles to actually begin the project.) I want to make it clear this was not a "teacher" issue. It was really the student.

While Princess practically had half a blanket done I had about 6 stitches on my needles. I couldn't get my fingers and the yarn and the needles all coordinated together. I would loop in the wrong spot or drop something and end up with a knot-- somehow. None of us were sure how. I started over about 86 times. For some reason I just couldn't get it. We even tried different sized needles. It just wasn't working for me.

I couldn't even cast on let alone pearl or knit anything. (you know, "knit one, pearl two")

This is the most I managed to get done. Then the next three stitches I did were all wrong and we had to take it all off.

I tried to learn a craft I've never done before. I like the teacher so I'll probably go back at least once, maybe twice. I have hope. I have no knitting project but I have hope.

Thought I may never get a scarf or a blanket out of this craft, there were three positives: I did like drinking coffee, spending time with Princess, and getting to know K, the teacher.

Maggie

29. Take a zumba class

Haven't I just turned into a little exercise queen? Swam 10 laps last week, as well as a yoga class. Took zumba last night... my body is probably wondering what's going on with me doing 3 cardos within 10 days. Heck, I wonder, too! I can't believe all the exercise/ healthy things I put on my "40 before 40" list so my subconscious must be wanting to be thinner and healtier too!

I took zumba last night. Again, I brought reinforcements with me: SisIL, XRay Girl, and a co-worker from Alcatraz. We all showed up on time and found spots together in the back row.

I like that the woman who taught/ led the class wasn't some tiny Barbie type. She was about my age and she was a little overweight but not a lot. She was friendly but not in that overly chirpy way that would make me want to smack her. I liked her. She also said zumba was about having fun and she didn't care if we went the wrong direction or needed a break, as long as we had fun. I liked that idea, too.

And she meant it. The four of us were going in all directions and were all twisted around at times and she didn't care. She was really positive and energetic.

Man, did I get the work out to end all work outs, though. Seriously. I shook body parts I forgot I had or didn't know I had. And I sweated a lot. I won't go into the amount of sweating details but if I were jogging in a rain forest in July wearing all wool, I don't think I would've sweated that much. I can say I got my cardo work-out down pat, without a doubt.

I have to say at about 10 minutes into class I was ready to die. I thought we probably only had 15 minutes left and then I looked at the clock: 45 minutes left. At once point, I told the girls to just zumba around my dead body or roll me out of the way. And that I wanted to be cremated.

About 40 minutes into the class I was ready to be finished but I didn't stop. Do the words Bataan Death March mean anything to you?

When the class ended at 7:10pm, (oh yes, it ran OVER- that was the meanest thing anyone had ever done to me, by the way!!!!) I was tired and hot and sweaty and tingly but yes, I did have fun. Yes, I want to do it again. Yes, this was a good thing. Oh, I wasn't as coordinated that I thought I was and no, I didn't always know all the steps or couldn't get the footwork combinations as quickly (let's be honest, or at all) as I wanted, but I got an amazing work out and had fun at the same time. None of us died. As a matter of fact, though XRay Girl and I were ready to pass out at the end, my SisIL who gave birth 9 months ago and spends her days chasing around a baby and a toddler (Fab Finn was having milk shake for dinner last night!!!) was still bopping around at the end of the class with as much, or more, energy as she had at the beginning!

I was really worried that I would be sore today. I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to move but I was wrong. My shoulders ache a little bit between my shoulder blades and spine. My neck is a bit sore from head poppin' but otherwise, I feel really good!

I'm proud of myself because I never stopped moving. Even when I didn't know the steps/ moves I just sort of danced in place and copied the arm motions. I "zum"-ed when I should've "ba"-ed but it was all good. But when I did get the moves, I was excited and danced along. And since it's so much Latin dance, I have the booty to shake, I was certainly a shakin' it! XRayGirl and the co-worker were teasin' me about "gettin' into it", but they were teasing in a good way.

We all had a good time and are planning on going back again. As a matter of fact I had such a great time that I signed up for a discounted Y membership so I could take the class on a regular basis, as well as use the rest of the facility. I know, I know...

So zumba was a rousing success! This is once of the most fun "40 before40" items so far!

Maggie

(and yes, I do know "sweated" isn't really a word, but I sweat so much I added an ED to it...)

Oh, and in case you're not sure what zumba is, here's a youtube video. This is not my class and I don't know these people, but it's close to what it was like:

33. Take a Yoga class

I finally did it; I probably won't do it again, but I finally did do it once.

I went with four friends. I felt moral support was important. And I also thought having a number of friends along was a good idea so I had people who would carry me to the ambulance waiting in the parking lot if I couldn't get un-pretzel.

I don;t think I my mind works in the right way for yoga. I appreciate the stretching and relaxing. I appreciate the mind set people should have about yoga but... well, I just couldn't get centered. I was very self conscious and found it hard to focus on relaxing. I was worried about my big butt in the air, even though I had a friend behind me. I couldn't lay there in a room full of people with my eyes closed; that was weird to me. And the lingo, the name of the positions, and new age music made me want to giggle. I wanted to be serious but I couldn't find my focus or find my center.

I could do all the positions and the instructor gave some interesting information about yoga. I liked the bending and the stretching parts. But the quiet and the dim lights, the funky music, and the over all 'granola' mindset (that's Mac's terminology) wasn't my thing.

It was so much fun that all my friends- two people from Alcatraz, my SisIL, and XRayGirl- went with me, though. It was good camaraderie.

I think part of my problem, other than being self conscious, was we had all made so many jokes I was having trouble being serious when I needed to be. We made jokes about "Downward Facing Dog". We wondered what would happen if someone farted. We wondered if we could get tangled and never get un-tangled.

I saw a zumba class in progress and I think I'm more of a zumba girl than a sitting -in -the -dark- with- candles- on- a -mat- trying- to- get- my- leg- behind -my -head- in- a- weeping- tree- position -yoga girl.

Maggie

9. Eat at a restaurant I've never been to before

On Saturday night, in honor of Valentine's Day, ITSam took me to a Japanese steak house to celebrate. I've never been to this place before but I had always heard good things about the food there. I had no idea what all it encompassed, either, so I was a little nervous but excited about it.

Not only did we have a great meal and lots of fun, I also have a chance to cross something off my list- eat somewhere I've never been!

And I had a chance to learn how to use chopsticks... that should've been on that list, too!

Four couples (that we didn't know) were seated family style around a HUGE grill. A woman (in a kimono) took our drink and dinner orders. Drinks first. I just had soda because Sam was going to drink Saki and I was going to drive. Then he changed his mind so I was going to have a mai tai but Sam mentioned something about dessert and I decided I didn't want to "spoil" my dessert.

Meal choices were steak, chicken, shrimp or combos of this. All dinners came with a house soup, a house salad, and a shrimp appetizer. I decided to have the steak and chicken combo.

The waitress brought our soup. I wasn't a big fan; it was very gingery and peppery, neither flavors am I a fan of. The soup was lettuce with shredded carrots on the top and some sort of weird orange dressing. I wasn't a fan of that either. Sam was worried. I didn't complain or make a fuss and I tried everything.

Then we had a shrimp appetizer and I swear I could've eaten about 174 of those. They were grilled and spiced with... good spices. I LOVED the shrimp. Then the main dish was steak and chicken which was grilled to perfection and seasoned impeccably. I was in food heaven. This came with fried rice and seasoned, grilled veggies (mushrooms, onions, bean sprouts, zucchini). It was all marvelous! My mouth is still watering over it all and I really do want more- now! While I loved it all, I think next time I go I'm getting the steak and shrimp! Yummers!

What was extra cool was the fact that we had our own personal chef who performed our food preparation! It was so cool. He chopped, sliced, diced, and cut all the meat and veggies in front of us. He tossed the food around. He tossed his knives around. He threw shrimp tails in the air and caught them in his pocket. He tossed a lemon in the air and caught it behind his back on the prong of a fork. He was just fun and creative. He told funny jokes. It was just a neat "cutting" performance, food preparation as performance art.

Next on our food agenda, was dessert. After dinner at the Japanese steak house, we went to a local chocolatier. They had three collections of chocolates they're featuring this winter. It's all gourmet chocolates and just divine. I had never been here either! I looked at the dessert menu and they had tons of elegant desserts with chocolate of all kinds and sorts, along with their homemade vanilla gelato. It's an amazing dessert list. One thing that's on the list is sipping chocolate; this is only on the list during winter while all the others are year around, so I chose something a little different!
I've never had sipping chocolate. It's 3 ounces of liquid. It's 80% melted chocolate with a shot of steamed milk. It's like drinking a melted chocolate bar. It's completely decadent and RICH! I had to finally have a glass of water with it. It was scrumptious. And did I mention Sam bought a box of chocolates and let me pick out a pick out a pounds worth of whatever I wanted to fill it?

It was a lovely, fun night filled with good food, fun entertainment, and a wonderful evening with a great guy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Three down and 37 more to go,
Maggie

What doesn't kill you makes you...

So, you know how I have take a spinning class and take a yoga class on my 40 before 40 list? And lose 10 pounds? Well, I now have no excuse to not do the first two which are the steps to either the third one, or steps to death. Could go either way.

A friend of mine from work gave me 2 free passes to our YMCA. Our Y gives members passes to give to friends who are non-members. Cool idea and cool for me.

I said I wished I could afford a Y membership and we were all talking about how prohibitive it is. It was funny that everyone at the table thought it was spendy yet everyone but me belonged. Everyone there either had a discount membership or a free one because of where their spouse worked. So later in the afternoon this colleague friend gave me 2 of her free passes. AWESOME!

So I hopped on the Y website and you will never believe what I found. In the month of February they are holding their very first "Beginners Yoga" class. One hour a week for 4 weeks. On Tuesdays. AND they are also trying out, for the second time to see if it's as successful as the first time, a "Beginning Spin" Class. One hour a week for 4 weeks. On Wednesdays.

Since I have these passes I can go to the first class for free to try it out. If I like it I can pay for the rest of the classes or if I don't, then forget it and move one, thank you very much.

It just seems like fate, doesn't it?

Guess what I'll be doing on Tuesday night, and God help me if yoga doesn't kill me, then a spin class on Wednesday. And I'll blog about both--- unless I'm dead from all the exercise.

Maggie