Michelynntires

Photo-a-day, 2-7

2012-01-08T19:19:00.001-07:00

Day 2: Breakfast

Day 3: Something You Adore

Day 4: ~~Letterbox~~ I MET GUINEVERE TODAY!

Day 5: Something You Wore

Day 6: Makes You Smile

Day 7: Favorite

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2012-01-01T16:09:00.001-07:00

Today has been one of the best New Years Day that I can remember. I've been fighting some sort of cold/upper respiratory thing since Tuesday and today was the first time since then that I've woken up and felt....good. This is likely in large part due to the fact the hubby and I stayed in last night, hung out on the couch, and went to bed before midnight.

I felt so good when I woke up that I started my day with about 30 minutes of yoga and a healthy breakfast (eggs and greek yogurt) just to maximize all that feeling-goodness (It totally worked; I finished feeling refreshed and energized. I love yoga). With the rest of the day I've worked on some knitting, did laundry, and began organizing all of my things to be packed. In a few minutes I'll be heading over to the in-laws for dinner. It's been a day I've managed to make both productive and relaxing, which can be difficult to balance. I hoping that having such a balanced day will bode well for the new year, in terms of having a year that is both productive (helloooo grad school) and relaxing (helloooo hopes of keeping a social life!).

Lastly, I've decided to do a photo-a-day challenge for January, because apparently I don't already have enough on my plate? I'm thinking I'll update the blog weekly with my photos, b/c updating daily is a little more challenge than I'm up for. Today's photo, though, is a photo of yours truly, so here's to Day 1!

(Yes, it's awkward. I've decided I'm okay with that)

Paint Chip Art Galore!

2011-12-26T16:06:00.001-07:00

Hey everybody! First order of business: I am blogging from my brand new Macbook! I asked friends and family to help chip in for Christmas so I could buy one before starting school at the end of January. I am so, so, so, in love with it.

Ok, now that that's out of the way, onto the crafty showcase!

So I mentioned I recently joined Pinterest, which is just amazing. I searched for some ideas of what to do with the immense amount of paint chip cards I received from my neighbor after she painted her house.

One of the first things I came across was this intersecting circles wall art from Two Girls Being Crafty, and it was amazing. So that was the first thing I tried:

(Sorry about the not great cell phone camera quality, but I actually gifted this without realizing I didn't have any better photos!)

I was pretty impressed with myself at this point, but the intersecting circles design was a little too exact, and so I was thinking about some other things.

Then I saw this awesome fabric leaves on canvas and I thought it would work well with the paint chips. Sooo I made one of those!

Totally loved it!!

By this time, I was getting tired of cutting all those ovals out by hand, and I thought there must be an easier way to do this. So I headed over to Michael's once more after getting a 25% off coupon to look at their paper punches. I was then struck with inspiration to do a mini series. The previous two canvases are 12x12in, so I bought a pack of four 6x6in canvases...

And did the four seasons! I love these soooo much I can't even tell you. All of the above have been given away, and I have some more ideas I'm working on for family I will be seeing in January, but couldn't wait to share the pics of ones I've completed already!

Dec. 5th

2011-12-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

So much has happened in the past 3 months, so I'm just going to jump right in.

1. Our friends Jess and Frank got married! We were able to go to the wedding, in gorgeous Santa Paula. The wedding was in a citrus grove and was overall amazing in every single way possible. As part of our trip out to CA...

2. I went to Disneyland for the first time!! We had two days to spend, which meant we got to see Captain EO a zillion times. Our other awesome friend Katy joined up with us for day 2, which was a blast.

3. I applied, and was accepted into graduate school! I almost can't believe it. I am starting San Jose State University's Masters in Library and Information Science this January!

4. Last, and probably the MOST exciting of all the news I am sharing.... MY SISTER HAD A BABY!!!! I am officially an auntie!! My lovely sister gave birth late Nov 6th to a healthy baby girl.

5. Ok, one more thing, actually, and probably the LEAST important, but I have recently discovered Pinterest and am officially addicted. I only have a short period of time until classes start, so I'm hoping to get as much crafting done before that happens b/c I know once it does, there will be very little time as I plan to continue to work full time and take classes part-time.

I'm cranky

2011-09-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

I am currently dealing with either the worst allergies in the world or a horrible summer cold. Either way, I'm congested, sore, and cranky, and as such I've decided to channel my irritability towards something that actually merits it.

Nearly every day I have to drive past this horrible, horrible billboard. If you can't see the picture (or my crappy cell phone pic isn't clear enough) it reads: Nothing Beats a Pair, Don't Fold to Cancer. Charmingly, there is a picture of playing cards with cartoonish circle breasts w/hearts for nipples.

Yeah. Now, my brain is not on full function mode right now, so I'm going to break this down bullet-point style rather than try to continue to construct full sentences and paragraphs.

HEY LADIES! You may think you're intelligent, good at your job, witty, creative, a good friend, any number of things, but you know what's REALLY important? Breasts.None of those aforementioned qualities are as important as your physical appearance.
Equating losing your breasts as "folding" to cancer. That's right, did you have a life saving surgery that removed your breasts? That's like being defeated!
See points 1 and 2
So, when I started writing this I definitely know I had more to say, but antihistamines are kicking in and all my thoughts seem to have vanished. Feel free to leave more coherent thoughts in the comments!

Whirlwind

2011-08-16T21:32:00.002-07:00

This summer has been full of fun and adventure. Since June, we went to Flagstaff for a friend's wedding, celebrated another friend's birthday in Bisbee ( a small mining town southeast of Tucson), and spent a weekend in Keystone, Colorado. Additionally, I made the decision to apply to graduate school and have been working on my applications. (One down, one to go!) All of it has been completely wonderful, but I'm looking forward to having a super lazy and relaxing weekend.

I've been contemplating graduate school pretty much since I've finished college, but I am apparently the world's most indecisive person. It's even the number one item on my list (Yay for crossing out items!) I've considered a Master's in Counseling or pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology focusing on Neuropsychology. I considered going to a one year certification to be an EEG tech. I'm sure there are others. I finally settled on Masters in Information and Library Science. Random, yes, but I am really excited to get started. I'm in the process of applying at 2 schools for the Spring 2012 semester.

And since I don't know how to gracefully end this slightly rambly and random post, here is a photo of a statue in Bisbee:

Vacation, Day One

2011-06-09T15:37:00.003-07:00

Today is my first day of a long, overdue vacation. Tomorrow David and I are driving up to Flagstaff (woo item #41!) for a friend's wedding, and coming home Sunday. I then have the entire following week off. Go me! Since I love making lists, here is a compilation of how I've spent my day.

1. Slept in

2. Haircut, also long overdue.

3. Went to Target to pick up some things we need before the weekend.

4. Sushi lunch with David, Jess, and Casey.

5. Went to David's work, saw his desk, met co-workers.

6. Picked up dress from the tailors.

7. Finally back home, let doggies out, play for a few minutes

8. Try on dress, think it fits great, admire new haircut + fancy dress in mirror.

9. Realize zipper on dress is broken

10. Freak out

11. Call tailors. Ask me to come back in so they can look at it.

12. Herd doggies back to kitchen. Zelda gives me "But you just came home!!!" sad face.

13. Return to the tailors. Looks like it was just a crappy zipper that broke, not their doing (they fixed the straps for me, the dress fit like it was meant for someone with 2 more inches between their waist and shoulders, so the original neckline went below my bra line in front).

14. Agree to fix zipper by tomorrow morning, when I'm leaving. Except, they don't have any royal blue zippers.

15. Go to fabric store, buy a royal blue 22in invisible zipper.

16. Return to tailors yet again. Realize I should know the name of the front desk lady, but I don't. We joke about my last name, she originally spelled it "Holla" the first time I went to drop off my dress.

17. Return home. Let doggies out, play with doggies.

18. Think about cleaning, packing, or any of the other productive things I still need to do.

19. Decide to write blog instead.

Still to come....

David solo show tonight at Skrappy's! Woo!

Still here!

2011-05-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

There tend to be two major categories of excuses I have for when I'm not posting regularly, and it's usually that I'm either completely boring, not doing anything at all and don't want to write a lot of "today I worked and came home and watched TV" type posts; or I am so busy doing awesome and exciting things that I just forget about posting altogether. Fortunately for you guys, this was a case of the latter!

Since my last post

I had a birthday...

David had his 30th birthday (!!!)...

But he's still just as goofy as ever.

The doggies are still wonderful, as well.

Pretty soon I will be doing a massive checking off of list items, but for now just wanted to show everybody (all 3 of you!) that I am in fact still alive.

Filed Under Reasons I Love my Mom

2011-03-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

She laughs at my stupid jokes.

(to set the stage, we are talking about recipes, things we are making for dinner, etc over facebook chat)

Mom: Yum! You can also fry it with onions, broccoli and make a mustard rue

Me: What's a mustard rue? Similar to a white sauce rue?

Me: Rue? Rioux?

Me: I RUE THE DAY I MADE YOU, MUSTARD SAUCE!!!!

I think I did not get enough sleep last night, because I seriously laughed at my own joke for about ten minutes. Decided to share my awesome jokes with the world.

Projects in Progress

2011-03-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

I've been working on some general projects and list items recently that I've been wanting to blog about, but have found that I haven't had the time. It's not so much that I don't have the time for the actual blogging, but I seem to not have enough time to finish the projects I'm working on. I keep thinking, "I am sure I will finish this weekend! And then I can take photos and update my blog!" And yet...not so much.

The biggest of these projects is setting up a little "craft nook" in the new place. Our bedroom is much larger, and we have enough room for me to set up a sewing table and organize all my yarn and other crafty goodness. I bought a bookcase/cubby thing for yarn storage, and assembled it, two weekends ago. Then I realized in order to have enough space for the craft nook I would need to rearrange the current furniture set up. I measured the room and all the furniture and then broke out the graph paper, cutting out little miniature furniture squares to move around. I figured out an arrangement I was happy with and that wouldn't require a lot of moving.

Impressed with my cunning skill, I headed off to the bedroom to rearrange! I was then reminded that the bedroom had been a storage space for unpacked boxes. Unfazed, I figured I could move those boxes to the laundry room...which happened to be full of more unpacked boxes, and was completely unorganized so that nothing else could fit. I spent the rest of the weekend unpacking things that could be unpacked, reorganizing the laundry room, and finally moving the bedroom furniture.

This past weekend my goal was to finish setting up the craft nook: setting up the sewing table, organizing my yarn/needles/everything else, and overall neatening up the rest of the bedroom. While I was able to start this process, I was foiled by the nasty cold I've been fighting since mid-week. I took Wednesday off from work and spent the day on the couch watching the second half of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 5. By Saturday I was feeling much improved and went to yoga, followed by brunch with a few friends. Feeling awesome and productive, I returned home knowing that I would finish that craft nook. I got about halfway done before I felt exhausted. So, it remains not quite finished yet.

My new goal is to be able to do small bits here and there throughout the week, as this weekend is already pretty busy. Friday my husband's band is having their CD release party during Tucson's Brootal Sun Fest. Saturday, we will be driving up to Ikea for some bookcases and then going to an uncle's 50th birthday party in the Phoenix area. Sunday we are spending some more time with family who are in town from North Dakota for the 50th birthday celebration. After all that excitement, I'm sure I'll have more time to finish the nook if I need to (and spend more time updating here!)

Hey, I'm famous!

2011-02-24T19:14:00.001-07:00

Ok, not exactly famous...but Lee Meredith did link to my Betiko post on her blog! That's right, the designer of the pattern herself said my shawl was beautiful! Definitely feeling pretty cool right now. She also linked to a few other Betiko projects, so go check those out!

While basking in the glow of internet fame-dom, I remembered I had one other brief moment of awesome that I never mentioned here exactly. Last year I knit my husband a cozy for his bass guitar which ended up being featured on knithacker. Woo, 15 minutes of internet fame!

Chocolate Covered

2011-02-13T15:58:00.001-07:00

This past Christmas, one of David's aunts sent us a package from a specialty sweets shop in North Dakota (where she lives). Inside we discovered the wonder of chocolate covered potato chips. Sounds...strange, but sooo delicious. I definitely enjoy the sweet and salty combo (salted caramels are another favorite) so I decided to try my hand at making my own.

I chopped up some Hershey's nuggets we had on hand and combined that with some chocolate melting chips. I melted the chocolate in a (homemade) double boiler, dipped the chips (I chose ridged over plain), and laid them on some wax paper. I put them in the fridge for about an hour and then voila! Perfection!

Pin It

Stretch it Out

2011-02-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I went to my first ever yoga class. I remember doing some yoga in gym class my senior year of high school, and I've done some yoga dvds, but haven't ever really received proper instruction. As much as I love working out in the privacy and convenience of my living room, it did not seem effective to be craning my neck to see the TV while doing downward facing dog, and so I decided it was time to go to an actual yoga class.

A friend had mentioned being interested in checking out a specific studio a while ago (Yoga Oasis), so we and another friend made plans to check out their intro class. It was fantastic, and I'm planning on returning this weekend as well. I'm hoping to start going to a class consistently once or twice a week, and then hopefully learn (and remember) enough to practice at home as well (#7, here I come!).

About 3 years ago I was introduced to the Health at Every Size philosophy via random internet wanderings. HAES, in summary, is the idea that weight does not equate with health, that I as a 200lb woman am not inherently unhealthy, and that exercise and eating well are things that certainly can improve our health without weight loss being a direct result. The idea that exercise was something to do because it actually feels good and NOT purely as method of losing was weight was something I never thought would happen for myself. Sure, I can see that some people enjoy torturing themselves through things like long distance running, but that wasn't me! I was more of a diet/exercise are really only good for changing the way my body looks, and since that's not something that seems to work real well, to hell with it all!

The more I read about HAES (and the fat acceptance movement in general) the more intrigued I became, and slowly began shifting my ideas around weight and health. I genuinely enjoy eating healthful foods, and cooking, so that piece was a little easier. I took ballet a few years ago and completely fell in love (another future list item is taking another class) but haven't really done a lot of other exercise that I really enjoy. Although I've only taken one class so far, I love that yoga is very much about listening to your body, doing what's right for your body, and that the intro class is very much about just figuring that out.

Finished Betiko Shawl (#21 completed)

2011-02-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

I had a little photo shoot with David this past weekend to capture some good shawl photos. The pattern I used was Betiko by Lee Meredith of do stuff!. The pattern is well written and easy to follow, and I loved to unique construction of the shawl. I have other projects in the works now that this one is finished, but I'm definitely considering making a customizable version of this down the road.

As you can see, the shawl I made is pretty sizeable! I was actually a little worried that it would be too warm for Tucson, but it has turned out to be just right! I used Knit Picks Merino Style for the main color, which is DK weight and light enough that the shawl isn't too heavy. The stripes are knit with Noro Silk Garden Sock.

The second photo is how I've been wearing it. Since the shawl blocks out into a u-shape, it's been very easy to wear and stays on without much fuss.

When I wrote my list, I had already knit myself a Swallowtail Shawl, which is triangular; when I wrote task #21 I was mainly thinking that I wanted to knit a non-triangular shawl, but forgot about the fact that there are indeed other shawl shapes besides triangular and rectangular. I'm considering that this might satisfy the spirit of the task, so to speak, if not the letter of the task exactly. I haven't officially crossed it off my list yet, but I'm definitely considering doing so. Opinions?

Rambly Life Update

2011-01-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

Well, another month is nearly over and what a month it has been! My parents came to visit us here in Tucson, which was great! They got to see our new home, meet Zelda, and do some things they didn't have the opportunity to do while they lived here. My mom and I went to the Tucson Botanical Gardens and saw their butterfly exhibit. All of us went to the San Xavier Mission and the De Grazia Gallery in the Sun. I was also able to get my sewing machine set up and we fit in a quick sewing lesson! I didn't get a ton of photos, but the ones I did are here.

The rest of the month we've been slowly putting the rest of the house together. We're still not entirely done, but it's at least continuing to move forward. While my parents were here we got a new dining table and some more cacti and succulents, so hopefully I'll be more successful at keeping plants alive here.

I've also finished a new shawl! I tried taking some photos earlier tonight, but the lighting was crap and the dogs kept trying to take over the photo shoot. Got some cute dog pics out of that, so I'm not complaining! Once I get some good photos I'll be sure to upload.

I'm still working on the list items, and my awesome sister gifted 2 books for the list (The Brothers K and a Margaret Atwood for my 5 other random books) as well as the cutest address book. Can't wait to start using it-maybe for 2011's Christmas cards I won't have to randomly text my mom 80 times double checking people's addresses...

Resolution

2010-12-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

Last year I posted about not having the need for New Year's resolutions due to my 101/1001 list. As this year was coming to a close, I was reflecting on what I had accomplished on my list and what still had to happen and realized I haven't been quite as dedicated over the past six months or so as I would've liked. This year I've decided I'm not so much making a resolution as simply renewing my dedication of blogging regularly and really working on (and tracking) my list. My halfway point will be coming up in February 2011, and I still have a long way to go on this list. And ultimately, I know that regardless of the number of tasks I end up completing, the process of working on a list like this is a challenge I'm enjoying. And despite my suspicion that only my immediate family members read this, I still enjoy the process of blogging. So, here's to the New Year and my return to blogging!

#52: Move into a place with a yard

2010-12-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! David and I are still getting settled after our move this month, but I thought I would check-in, cross one more item off from my list, and share this photo.

#11: Go to the dentist

2010-09-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

I have successfully completed #11: go to the dentist. While I've had dental insurance for the past 3 years, I have avoided the dentist since I was about 18 or 19. I'm fortunate and haven't had any major problems or pain in the past 8 years, but I knew it was time to face my fears and go. The initial appointment was much easier than anticipated, although I still had some bad news: I have some cavities and all 4 of my wisdom teeth are impacted. The good news, however, is that my gums are fantastic! I need to look on the bright side of things with all the upcoming dental work I'm facing. At least it's one more thing crossed of my list!

#67: Find a same species friend for Frida

2010-09-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

When I originally wrote this item on my list, I was generally thinking this would entail a friend or acquaintance who had a dog that Frida got along with, who we could meet up with at the park for doggy play dates. A few months ago, my sister and brother in law began fostering Zelda, a french bulldog, and one day we introduced her to Frida.

From the first time they met, they were thick as thieves. To be honest, I'm not sure there's a dog out there that Zelda doesn't get along with; Frida, however, has a harder time making doggy friends so we were very excited they got along. It was a little sad, though, knowing she was just being fostered and would eventually be adopted into a permanent home. Well, we solved that problem....

...by adopting her ourselves!

Oh, hello there!

2010-07-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been over 3 months since my last post, but I am back! Since I've been away from blogging for awhile, I kept thinking that my first returning post should be super exciting and full of awesome, and then I'd think I didn't have the mental energy for a super post and basically just kept putting it off. So today, I am here to tell you, I am back. And hopefully, I will be having more energy to blog after work, and can check off another item from my list because...

I started a new job! (Task #3.) I'm still with the same company, but I am no longer in case management! I am starting as a group facilitator and will pretty much be observing for a little while, but am very excited. I'm hoping this will be a less stressful position, in which case I'll not only be more willing to keep up with my blog in my spare time, it'll also be easier to take some classes since I've also been working on task #1 (but more on that one later...).

Updates (#26 in progress, #56, #58, #61 completed)

2010-03-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

While I haven't had a whole lot of time recently to sit down and blog, here are some additional tasks I've been working on:

#26 Try 5 New Restaurants: I have 3 more to add, bringing my total to 4 new restaurants, and I'm not sure I mentioned the first one on here yet. The restaurants are Bai Thong, Tino's Pizza, Fronimo's Greek Cafe, and El Geuro Canelo.

#56 Devise a better shoe organization system: Honestly not the hardest one on here since my last "shoe organizing system" wasn't so much organizing as taking-off-my-shoes-as-soon-as-I-get-home-and-leaving-them-in-a-haphazard-manner-by-the-door. I now have a hanging organizer in my closet which I am now (mostly) using.

#58 Roll loose change and depost: done, not too much to say there, except the total was seriously close to $100, which was pleasantly surprising.

#61 Find a Labyrinth and walk it: There is a labyrinth at the Desert Museum, which I hadn't even realized until I went there with my sister while she was visiting.

#39: Go to the Beach completed, #99: See 3 live music shows in progress (picture heavy)

2010-03-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

Things have been pretty busy here for the past month or so, and I realized that I've completed a few list items that I haven't had the chance to blog about, so I'm hoping to catch up over the next week or so.

The first weekend in February David and I visited our friends Jess and Frank in L.A. The trip was great, and pretty packed. We drove in on Friday, and went to an art show at one of their friend's comic book shop in Silverlake. We also got to peek in to Home Ec, a craft store Jess' friends owns and where Jess works on the weekends.

On Saturday, we saw the Pee-wee Herman stage show...

...which was amazing. We originally bought tickets when the show was supposed to be in November, however it sold out so quickly they changed to a larger venue with new dates. Everyone who bought tickets for the original show was able to stay after the show for a Q & A with Pee-wee! So much fun.

Sunday we hung out in Santa Monica for a little while for a superbowl party. David and I left the party early so we could head to a They Might Be Giants show. However, before we left Santa Monica we went to...

the beach!

They Might Be Giants played at the Largo at the Coronet. I've seen them twice before, but David never had. It was, however, my first Flood Show. They were fantastic. The venue was small and intimate; we had great seats but it would have been nearly impossible to not have good seats. They played a bit before starting Flood, which they played in reverse chronological order, and they played 2 encores! Highlights include Fingertips, Alphabet of Nations, The Guitar, and James K. Polk.

Monday we headed back to Tucson. We stopped in Cabazon, California to eat at the Wheel Inn and visit the giant dinosaurs that are featured in Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

On I-10 just past the dinosaurs are hundreds and hundreds of windmills. It is just an amazing view.

Progress (or lack thereof)

2010-03-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

So, I didn't finish my Knitting Olympics project in time, but I'm actually really okay with that. I didn't exactly plan ahead, like picking out a pattern in advance and swatching, so I didn't realize the lace pattern I picked didn't have any rest rows. This is the first time I've knit lace w/o rest rows, and I didn't realize what a difference that can make. Also, I didn't really think ahead to the fact that the last week of the Knitting Olympics was also going to be the last week my parents were going to be in Tucson before moving back to New England, so...I was much more interested in spending time w/family who I might not see for a year or so than hole up knitting in my apartment.

However, I am very excited for the project once it's done. The Malabrigo Lace yarn is amazing....soft, squishy, gorgeous. The whole scarf just looks like it's the knitted embodiment of Spring, with the bramble leaf stitch pattern and gorgeous bright yellow with it's slight varigation....Now that I no longer have a time limit, I've decided I'm going to do about 20 repeats of the center pattern instead of the recommended 16 (I've completed 16 repeats already, and it is way too short as is) plus knit the wide borders.

Citius, Altius, Fortius

2010-02-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

Last night was the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics, and also marked the beginning of the Knitting Olympics hosted by the Yarn Harlot. For the Knitting Olympics, one casts on a new project during the opening ceremonies and must finish that project by the end of the Winter Olympics. I consider myself to be an intermediate to advanced knitter, but I do not happen to be a very fast knitter. So, I wanted to chose a project that was technically interesting but not too long. Looking through my queue on Ravelry, I quickly chose to knit the Raha Scarf by Nancy Bush from the book Estonian Lace Today. The book was a gift from my sister and I haven't knit any of the patterns yet, and was really looking forward to finally getting a chance to knit one of them.

So Friday rolls around and I select the Malabrigo Lace yarn in a gorgeous, bright yellow from my stash, get out the gorgeous wooden size 5 needles I received along with the book (it only seemd appropriate) and go to my mini knitting library so I can make several photocopies of the pattern and...it's completely missing. Every other knitting book I own is in the same spot, except for this one book. I quickly look through all other bookshelves, check the living room, bedroom, but to no avail. Running out of time, I quickly review the other patterns in my queue, looking for a comparable pattern that would be challenging enough to complete in 17 days but not impossible. I finally settled on Scarf with French Trellis Border from Weldon's 1890 and Bramble Leaf Center by Jane Sowerby. However, for the Olympics I am eliminating the wide borders and just knitting the Bramble Leaf Center as that seemed a little more comparable to what I was intending on knitting originally.

#79: Dye my hair a color I've never tried (Strawberry blonde!)

2010-01-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

Growing up, one of the areas my siblings and I were given lots of freedom in was out hair. In middle school I dyed my hair using boiling kool-aid, only to continue using regular hair dye consistently until graduation (and beyond). My sister had flourescent pink at one point, and shaved her head completely our senior year. My brother rocked a mohawk. The only major rule regarding our hair was that we were required to have it look "normal" for our senior pictures, as our parents were paying for those to be taken and thus could dictate no unnatural hair colors and whatnot.

Throughout the years, I've gone from my natural medium brown hair to many shades of red and auburn, to black, to purple highlights. Pretty much the only color in the spectrum I have never tried is blonde. I've bleached or lightened my hair as the means to the end of adding purple or stop-sign red, but never as the end itself. There was always something about "blonde" that I just decided didn't suit my personality. I liked going darker, brighter, redder, but never lighter.

Aside from putting this on my list, I was emboldened to try a blonde hue as my hair is shorter than it has ever been, and I'm totally loving it. I figured, if I don't like this color it will grow out very, very quickly. I can also just dye back over it if I *really* hated it without fear of completely ruining my hair, as most of it will get chopped off next time I get a trim. I decided to go with a strawberry blonde to keep the comfort of familiar red hues and picked L'Oreal Preference "Light Reddish Blonde". I have to admit: I totally love it! Here are the results:

New Years Resolutions

2010-01-04T23:21:00.000-07:00

Perhaps one of the greatest things about creating a 101 in 1001 list is that it completely absolves me from not making New Years Resolutions. I am not really into the whole New Years Resolution thing as it is, and the 101 list is clearly way better. I didn't have to wait for a new year to make my list, and I get to add some longer term goals that couldn't be completed in just a year. Therefore, I am officially not making a single resolution for the new year since it seems, at best, redundant.

In other news, I got a new camera for Christmas! David actually let me pick the camera out myself, after the holiday, which was amazing. Here is me and my new camera:

#31: Go on 5 different hikes (1/5)

2009-12-27T22:33:00.001-07:00

100_5179, originally uploaded by Michelle's Blog photos.

This is one of the photos from Saguaro National Park that I took while hiking with David and Brandon a few weeks ago. (I think I'm going to have to ration out my current photos, as our camera died last week and thus I have limited new photos to share.) David and I really haven't done that much hiking since moving here, which is one of the reasons I added it to my list. This is one of my favorite photos from the hike, and I think that sometimes living in Tucson I forget how gorgeous the natural scenery is.

In other news, David and I had a wonderful holiday, and got to spend time with both of our families for Christmas. I worked on Christmas Eve, but did take tomorrow off, so I still get a nice long 4 day weekend.

Oh, hello there!

2009-12-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it really been nearly 3 weeks since I've updated? Sorry guys, things have been pretty busy around here lately. Our friend Brandon came and stayed in Tucson for a little over a week, which was awesome. He's a friend of ours from Boston (he went to Berklee with David), and we haven't seen him since stopping in Detroit en route to Tucson. We had a really wonderful time, did some hiking at Sahuaro National Park, went to the 4th Ave Street Fair, hit up some of our favorite bars. I'll be putting up some pictures soon, along with some of the other stuff that's been keeping us busy.

#47 complete, #24 and #32 in progress

2009-11-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

Been making progress towards my list, but really haven't a lot of time to blog so this is going to be a multi-tasking entry. Last weekend I was able to complete #47: Get a Library Card, now I just need to start using it. I haven't had a town library card since high school, which is actually kind of embarassing.

I also started going through and organizing my yarn stash over the past week for #24: Reduce Yarn Stash by 1/2. I knew I needed to have a starting point in order to know when I've reached half, so I organized everything and figured out both in yards and ounces how much yarn I actually have. I have 12,946 yards and 144.09 ounces. That's 7.35 miles of yarn, or around 9 pounds. Since I'm mostly concerned with keeping my yarn stash in a reasonable amount of space, I've decided that for determining "half" I will be mainly focusing on the actual weight rather than yardage. Having super bulky yarn will take up much more space than my laceweight, even with the same yardage, so I think that weight will be a more accurate way of figuring this out. I'm also hoping to keep it at around half of what I currently have for the remainder of my 101 days.

Lastly, I was able to try another new recipe. I made this recipe for a sweet potato casserole to bring with us for Thanksgiving, and it was delicious! The orange/ginger gave it a bit of a twist from the usual sweet potato pie w/marshmallows (which I've never really been a huge fan of, even though I do like sweet potatoes). For my dish, I also decided to add chopped carmelized onions to the top, which was really tasty. I didn't get to take any photos, but it's a dish I hope to make again so perhaps next time!

#97: Knit sweater for Frida

2009-11-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

And another item crossed off my list! I finished this almost a week ago, but just haven't had any time to blog about it. This is actually my second attempt at knitting a sweater for Frida, but the first attempt just did not fit well enough. This one isn't 100% perfect either, but it does fit a lot better and is perfect for our evening walks. It's just starting to be consistently cold enough at night here in Tucson where I think she needs that extra layer.

I swear, she doesn't usually look this grumpy in real life, and it definitely is not caused by the sweater wearing. I just woke her up so I could get a picture is semi-decent light. More pictures are up on my flickr page!

#32: Try 10 New Recipes (1/10)

2009-11-12T22:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made Green Chile Quiche. I've never made any kind of quiche before, and several weeks ago David and I were at a brunch where the hostess made the following recipe. Delicious! We asked for the recipe, and tonight I finally had the opportunity to give a try. During this time of year we often get green chilies and roasted chilies from our CSA, and to be honest I usually trade them out because I don't often know the best ways to use them. After making this quiche, however, I think I found a new staple. Another plus was that I was also able to use some of our CSA goat cheese instead of the Monterey Jack it called for. Since we do subscribe to a CSA, I really enjoy finding recipes that use multiple CSA ingredients so that I have less to pick up from the grocery store. I took some step by step by step photos and included the recipe after the jump.

Chopped green and red chilies on top of the crust. I used about 3 roasted chilies in lieu of canned green chilies.

I topped the chilies with crumbled goat cheese and topped with the egg mixture. I skipped the salt, parsley, and hot pepper sauce and instead used my default seasoning of choice, a garlic and herb mix.

You bake until the edges are golden brown. Mmmm, so delicious!

And here is the original recipe:

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls

cans (4 oz each) diced green chiles
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, cubed
3 large eggs, beaten
3 tblsp milk
1/2 tsp salt
Dash bottled hot pepper sauce
2 tbls. parsley

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Separate the crescent roll dough into 8 triangles. Place in an ungreased 8 or 9 inch pie pan, pressing pieces together to form a crust. Seal well.
Cover the bottom of the crust with the green chiles. Place the cheese on top of the chiles.
Mix the eggs, milk, seasonings and parsley together and pour over the top.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

#65: Go to a Football Game to Watch the Marching Band

2009-11-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

Woo, I've completed my first task! Today I went to the University of Arizona's homecoming football game. I hadn't been to a football game since probably the first Thanksgiving I was in college, and I forgot that I actually enjoy watching football. Well, I at least enjoy watching football live, I've never been much for watching any sports on TV. We had the nosebleed seats (because we are cheap), but it meant we got a pretty nice view of the band and the surrounding city. It was an afternoon game, which was a little brutal in the sun and I even ended up getting a little suburned. Sometimes I forget I live in the desert, where it possible to get a suburn in November. Here are some of my favorite pics from the game, and more are up on my new flickr page for blog related photos!

Post Halloween Update!

2009-11-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

Happy late Halloween everybody! David and I had a pretty full weekend including a birthday dinner for David's mom, trick-or-treating with our 4 year old nephew, and a Halloween party complete with "blood-tinis". Our friend Amelia, who hosted the Halloween party, went as Jessica from True Blood, complete with tears of blood. David and I didn't actually have real costumes, but instead used face paint for Day of the Dead makeup.

The day after Halloween, David and I were at Target and all of the Halloween items were 50% off, and I could not resist buying the following little get-up for Frida. She really wasn't very into the headband, but she actually didn't mind wearing the main portion of the costume.

Ah, Autumn

2009-10-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend I joined some family at Agua Linda Farm, located about an hour outside of Tucson. We went for pumpkin picking and fall festivities, although as a native New Englander who is now living in southern Arizona, I don't usually associate "fall festivities" with "highs in the upper 90s". Despite the heat, we managed to have a great time, especially since we left early enough to get there before high noon. As you can see when we arrived, the weather was gorgeous. In addition to pumpkin picking, the farm also boasts a petting zoo and a small market selling their produce and other local goods, along with potato sack races and a large play area for kids. David and I came home with some pumpkin bread and raspberry syrup in addition to our pumpkin, and Julie (my sister in law) bought some pomegranates which she shared on the way home (they were very delicious and I was a little jealous I didn't pick any up for myself). All in all our trip was a lot of fun, and I definitely will want to return in the future.

Official Start Day!

2009-10-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

Today is my official start day for my 101 tasks in 1001 days! Apparently while editing my list to add to the blog I somehow deleted tasks 92-97, but thankfully my mom caught the mistake and I was able to add those back in. My official end date will be Sunday July 15, 2012.

Introduction

2009-10-14T23:01:00.000-07:00

Now that I spent many hours customizing my blog instead of sleeping, I may as well stay up another few minutes and write a first blog post. I have previously blogged sporadically on livejournal, but decided to make a fresh start as I undertake a new challege: Day Zero! In a nutshell, one comes up with 101 tasks to complete within 1001 days (2.75 years) and then tracks their progress. I'm really looking forward to this challenge, and am excited about some of the tasks I've set for myself. One of the interesting things about creating my list is I realized that I am actually pretty satisfied with my life right now. Granted, I certainly don't want to be in the exact same place in nearly 3 years as I am right now, but I enjoyed reflecting on all of the things I've accomplished. I've graduated college. I moved (and drove!) across the country with my husband. I have the cutest one eyed Boston Terrier we rescued from the shelter. I am employed full time, in a job that I think I do well (although not something I want to be doing forever). So, here's looking to the next 1001 days and all the future things I hope to accomplish.