Category: 40 Things

New Version of me

1 Comment
#14 is in the bag
(Let my hair lady do whatever she wants)

When I was explaining this particular goal to my father, he was confused. “I don’t understand, why would you want to be someone’s guinea pig?” 

But that’s not what this is about. See. . . .Mary has some minor (heh-heh) issues with control and trust. This hair exercise is a way to let go and completely trust someone with something as important as hair. That being said, it is just hair (although my fab hair lady hates when I say that!), and mine grows really fast, plus, I’m still young enough that I can rock any hair style. 
Ergo, I entered that saloon last night rather fearlessly (pushing those panicky, nervous feelings of wanting to puke deeeeep down). Then I sat back and enjoyed the experience of making a new Mary–one snip of the scissors at a time.
Hair Lady: “Have you decided what we’re going to do?”
Me: “Have YOU decided what we’re going to do…?”
Hair Lady: “Ready for a change?”
Me: “Yes!”
Hair Lady: “Okay. You’re going to walk out the complete opposite of how you walked in.”
Then the scissors (and razor) came out….

I probably lost about 6 inches in the back, less in the front. The brown dye was on for about 15 minutes, but only the top of my head. We were going for the “Ombre” look…..which I’d never heard of, but of course I recognized once it was explained. (and yes, I believe Jen Aniston had it at one time.)
long, loooong strands of Mary going bye-bye
the sneak preview I posted on FaceBook last night (note the “ombre”)
the “bathroom mirror” shot right when I got home
at work this morning
I love the fun, fresh new look. It was time. True, I feel a bit like I’m wearing a disguise, sleuthing around, and I should probably change my name to something like Sasha for a while. Nonetheless, I rate the experience a perfect 10.

New Version of me

1 Comment
#14 is in the bag
(Let my hair lady do whatever she wants)

When I was explaining this particular goal to my father, he was confused. “I don’t understand, why would you want to be someone’s guinea pig?” 

But that’s not what this is about. See. . . .Mary has some minor (heh-heh) issues with control and trust. This hair exercise is a way to let go and completely trust someone with something as important as hair. That being said, it is just hair (although my fab hair lady hates when I say that!), and mine grows really fast, plus, I’m still young enough that I can rock any hair style. 
Ergo, I entered that saloon last night rather fearlessly (pushing those panicky, nervous feelings of wanting to puke deeeeep down). Then I sat back and enjoyed the experience of making a new Mary–one snip of the scissors at a time.
Hair Lady: “Have you decided what we’re going to do?”
Me: “Have YOU decided what we’re going to do…?”
Hair Lady: “Ready for a change?”
Me: “Yes!”
Hair Lady: “Okay. You’re going to walk out the complete opposite of how you walked in.”
Then the scissors (and razor) came out….

I probably lost about 6 inches in the back, less in the front. The brown dye was on for about 15 minutes, but only the top of my head. We were going for the “Ombre” look…..which I’d never heard of, but of course I recognized once it was explained. (and yes, I believe Jen Aniston had it at one time.)
long, loooong strands of Mary going bye-bye
the sneak preview I posted on FaceBook last night (note the “ombre”)
the “bathroom mirror” shot right when I got home
at work this morning
I love the fun, fresh new look. It was time. True, I feel a bit like I’m wearing a disguise, sleuthing around, and I should probably change my name to something like Sasha for a while. Nonetheless, I rate the experience a perfect 10.

in the bag

Leave a comment
Playing a little “40 Things” catch-up…..

#2 – Read two books that have always intimidated me  
(or in this case, bugged me.) 
“A Christmas Carol” (this is one of the two)
 
#6 – Teach a class
As part of COMPANY’s “Natural Gas 101,” I’ve taught two mini (very mini) refresher courses to three different groups. Two more to come.
#12 – Take a step toward my true passion
National Novel Writing Month.
done & done.
#18 – Embrace the White
If anyone has seen me lately, you know this one is oh-so-true. (Paula’s Choice is my first ever daily sunscreen of choice. Excellent product.)
 
#26 – “Unplug”
This started during my NaNo month, and I’m so used to the quiet now, that I seldom turn on TV, radio, cd like I use to. Digging the quiet.
#27 – “Unsubscribe”
I’ve been doing this pretty religiously since September. I get so much junk mail, junk email and worthless Facebook news feeds. Now, when something comes up that I don’t read and know I will NEVER read, I don’t just delete, but I go to the site and unsubscribe. It’s amazing how much cleaner all my inboxes are these days. I highly recommend this. I was keeping track of my email unsubscribes for a while, but stopped counting after 50.
#28 – Take a class
In October, I sat in on one of those free classes at Home Depot. It was on home fire safety. And I loved it. They offer three every Saturday. This will definitely not be my last.

Still a long way to go on my list, but I’d like to rest for a while now. Thanks. Bye.

in the bag

Leave a comment
Playing a little “40 Things” catch-up…..

#2 – Read two books that have always intimidated me  
(or in this case, bugged me.) 
“A Christmas Carol” (this is one of the two)
 
#6 – Teach a class
As part of COMPANY’s “Natural Gas 101,” I’ve taught two mini (very mini) refresher courses to three different groups. Two more to come.
#12 – Take a step toward my true passion
National Novel Writing Month.
done & done.
#18 – Embrace the White
If anyone has seen me lately, you know this one is oh-so-true. (Paula’s Choice is my first ever daily sunscreen of choice. Excellent product.)
 
#26 – “Unplug”
This started during my NaNo month, and I’m so used to the quiet now, that I seldom turn on TV, radio, cd like I use to. Digging the quiet.
#27 – “Unsubscribe”
I’ve been doing this pretty religiously since September. I get so much junk mail, junk email and worthless Facebook news feeds. Now, when something comes up that I don’t read and know I will NEVER read, I don’t just delete, but I go to the site and unsubscribe. It’s amazing how much cleaner all my inboxes are these days. I highly recommend this. I was keeping track of my email unsubscribes for a while, but stopped counting after 50.
#28 – Take a class
In October, I sat in on one of those free classes at Home Depot. It was on home fire safety. And I loved it. They offer three every Saturday. This will definitely not be my last.

Still a long way to go on my list, but I’d like to rest for a while now. Thanks. Bye.

3/10’s of #11 is in the can

Leave a comment
Kel’s Kitchen: chicken-fried steak

This meal isn’t something that would make me want to barf, per se (see mushrooms), but it’s definitely something I simply never order. The cheesy carbs: yes. The vegs: yes. The thickly-breaded then deep fried cube steak smothered in white gravy? 
Not so much. 
For some reason…
Which is weird, because I like breading, I like deep fried, I even like a chewy, thready cube steak every now and then. But the combo–along with the rather anemic-looking gray–just isn’t my cup of tea.
Maybe it’s a regional thing.
Growing up in my California home, we didn’t see a lot of this kind of southern comfort food. And that’s probably a shame. Luckily, 11 years in Texas has help broaden my southern cuisine palette.

On the upside, I went here to use my nearly-expired Groupon, redeeming it for chicken spaghetti and four pieces of pie. (Shut-up, don’t judge me.) So as it turned out, I had a great day after all.

3/10’s of #11 is in the can

Leave a comment
Kel’s Kitchen: chicken-fried steak

This meal isn’t something that would make me want to barf, per se (see mushrooms), but it’s definitely something I simply never order. The cheesy carbs: yes. The vegs: yes. The thickly-breaded then deep fried cube steak smothered in white gravy? 
Not so much. 
For some reason…
Which is weird, because I like breading, I like deep fried, I even like a chewy, thready cube steak every now and then. But the combo–along with the rather anemic-looking gray–just isn’t my cup of tea.
Maybe it’s a regional thing.
Growing up in my California home, we didn’t see a lot of this kind of southern comfort food. And that’s probably a shame. Luckily, 11 years in Texas has help broaden my southern cuisine palette.

On the upside, I went here to use my nearly-expired Groupon, redeeming it for chicken spaghetti and four pieces of pie. (Shut-up, don’t judge me.) So as it turned out, I had a great day after all.

domestic goddess

Leave a comment
#3, #4, #12, #19 & #35 are all but in the can. 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a busy Saturday. And it’s only 4:00.

After sleeping in for a miraculous one hour, I had a little workout–cutting  it short because I had to mess with my persnickety iPod shuffle, which kept freezing on me. And WHO can be expected to exercise without Selena Gomez and McFly?

Then it was off to Lowes. For the ladder. The one I had in mind, they didn’t have. But I think I got something even better. See this little beauty below? That’ll be me one day, hanging wallpaper in tapered khakis with some random, smiling dude. Squee! Can’t wait!!

Today, however, I made my new, special ladder all nice and tall….just perfect to get little me up and through the tiny ceiling hole to the attic. Score!

 

After comfortably scaling my new friend, I started in on the organizing. My goal was three-fold:
1) Well, just…get up there. (#35)
2) Pull down my massive bag’o logo’d t-shirts. (oy, there’s lots.) (#3, but I’ve decided not to just toss them out. I’ve got a plan for them now. Stay tuned…)
3) With all that freed-up space (and with the help of my lil ladder friend), a bunch more stuff went up the hole.
Oh, and while I was up there, I duct taped the air conduit that’s been mighty torn up since I moved in three years ago. It’s wrapped all nice and tight like a mummy now. (#4)
While I was in such an industrious mood, I kept going.
The painful closet purge. (#19)
1 skirt
2 jackets
7 pairs of jeans
4 pairs of pants
1 poncho/shawl thing
8 tops
2 bags
3 pairs of boots
2 pairs of shoes
(And that was BEFORE I’ve dragged out the winter wardrobe. Therefore, more to come…)
With my bundle of charitable tax deductions in tow, I headed to Good Will, first popping by Plato’s Closet to see if they wanted any of my “tweenier” pieces. Which they did. I got seven smackers for one H&M top and one pair of distressed jeans. Hollah!

Now I’m home for the rest of the night. Working on Abby. (#12) And maaaaybe watching a bit of the Rangers game. 
Sidebar: Before publishing this, which officially commences my self-inflicted house arrest, I quickly dashed over to Little Caesars for a carb-fest. You know, to keep myself going all evening. Ugh. Too many bread stick. I’m sure I’ll regret that in the morning.

domestic goddess

Leave a comment
#3, #4, #12, #19 & #35 are all but in the can. 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a busy Saturday. And it’s only 4:00.

After sleeping in for a miraculous one hour, I had a little workout–cutting  it short because I had to mess with my persnickety iPod shuffle, which kept freezing on me. And WHO can be expected to exercise without Selena Gomez and McFly?

Then it was off to Lowes. For the ladder. The one I had in mind, they didn’t have. But I think I got something even better. See this little beauty below? That’ll be me one day, hanging wallpaper in tapered khakis with some random, smiling dude. Squee! Can’t wait!!

Today, however, I made my new, special ladder all nice and tall….just perfect to get little me up and through the tiny ceiling hole to the attic. Score!

 

After comfortably scaling my new friend, I started in on the organizing. My goal was three-fold:
1) Well, just…get up there. (#35)
2) Pull down my massive bag’o logo’d t-shirts. (oy, there’s lots.) (#3, but I’ve decided not to just toss them out. I’ve got a plan for them now. Stay tuned…)
3) With all that freed-up space (and with the help of my lil ladder friend), a bunch more stuff went up the hole.
Oh, and while I was up there, I duct taped the air conduit that’s been mighty torn up since I moved in three years ago. It’s wrapped all nice and tight like a mummy now. (#4)
While I was in such an industrious mood, I kept going.
The painful closet purge. (#19)
1 skirt
2 jackets
7 pairs of jeans
4 pairs of pants
1 poncho/shawl thing
8 tops
2 bags
3 pairs of boots
2 pairs of shoes
(And that was BEFORE I’ve dragged out the winter wardrobe. Therefore, more to come…)
With my bundle of charitable tax deductions in tow, I headed to Good Will, first popping by Plato’s Closet to see if they wanted any of my “tweenier” pieces. Which they did. I got seven smackers for one H&M top and one pair of distressed jeans. Hollah!

Now I’m home for the rest of the night. Working on Abby. (#12) And maaaaybe watching a bit of the Rangers game. 
Sidebar: Before publishing this, which officially commences my self-inflicted house arrest, I quickly dashed over to Little Caesars for a carb-fest. You know, to keep myself going all evening. Ugh. Too many bread stick. I’m sure I’ll regret that in the morning.

1/5th of #11 is in the can

Leave a comment
4(ish) down 36 to go.
9.30.11: Jaxx Steakhouse. Blackened chicken salad with crab-stuffed mushrooms
(see that wee guy in the front? he’s the first one I ate)
The first bite was ok. 
For the sake of the experiment (aka: “The List”), I didn’t swallow it down all quick-like (like when I was a kid trying to clean my plate before Dad tied me to the chair. But that’s another story.) I chewed slowly, allowing my tongue and taste buds to experience (and possible savor?) this new taste in my mouth. 
As I said, the first bite was ok; non-whelming at best. So I immediately speared a second ‘shroom. It, too, was ok. And, I must say, I was feeling mighty cocky. Halfway through the third bite, however, the novelty suddenly wore off, and knew if I didn’t fully ingest soon, the entire restaurant would be seeing bites 1-3 again. In living color. (Or in shades of mushroomy gray, in this case.)
All of which leads me to determine–once and for all…
I don’t like mushrooms.
Now, I can see how some people might consider this first attempt a FAIL. But the exercise wasn’t to necessarily prove that–because of my finicky ways–I’ve been missing out on this major deliciousness my whole life. The exercise was to try something new. And be brave about it. 
Therefore: Huge success. HUGE. 
So I’ll say it again….
I don’t like mushrooms!!
The End.

10.1.11: Braums. banana split 
(see those little yellow devils poking out the end?)

Those of you who know me, know that–although I LOVE bananas with a grand passion–I have an even grander passion about how I eat them. Or rather how I WILL NOT eat them. 
The wills: peel the banana myself and eat immediately.
The will nots: basically every other way. No banana bread, no bananas foster, no banana pudding, no banana cream pie, no fried peanut butter & banana sandwich, no bananarama… 
You get the point.
But this is war.
Braums dessert is my krytonite, so I figured it was a safe place to conduct tonight’s experiment. And if there were any potential mishaps, like yesterday’s mushroom near-debacle, I would at least have three scoops of ice cream to cheer me up. 
Allow me to set the scene:
The night was warm, the hour was late. My partner-in-crime and I were sitting outside in her Chevy Malibu–because the inside of beloved Braums is always too cold and smells like rotten bacon. Said banana split was balancing on my knees. I started at the vanilla side, bravely loading up my white plastic fork with a little something from every layer.
I was a bit worried about the slime-factor/mushiness, of the banana but–perhaps because of its near-frozen state–the texture was rather……perfect. 
I loved it. 
And, although I didn’t finish the entire thing (it was huge, mind you, and I’d just eaten a plate of fish n’ chips from a neighborhood Irish Pub we just found), I pretty much kicked the crap out of that sundae. 
Another success.

1/5th of #11 is in the can

Leave a comment
4(ish) down 36 to go.
9.30.11: Jaxx Steakhouse. Blackened chicken salad with crab-stuffed mushrooms
(see that wee guy in the front? he’s the first one I ate)
The first bite was ok. 
For the sake of the experiment (aka: “The List”), I didn’t swallow it down all quick-like (like when I was a kid trying to clean my plate before Dad tied me to the chair. But that’s another story.) I chewed slowly, allowing my tongue and taste buds to experience (and possible savor?) this new taste in my mouth. 
As I said, the first bite was ok; non-whelming at best. So I immediately speared a second ‘shroom. It, too, was ok. And, I must say, I was feeling mighty cocky. Halfway through the third bite, however, the novelty suddenly wore off, and knew if I didn’t fully ingest soon, the entire restaurant would be seeing bites 1-3 again. In living color. (Or in shades of mushroomy gray, in this case.)
All of which leads me to determine–once and for all…
I don’t like mushrooms.
Now, I can see how some people might consider this first attempt a FAIL. But the exercise wasn’t to necessarily prove that–because of my finicky ways–I’ve been missing out on this major deliciousness my whole life. The exercise was to try something new. And be brave about it. 
Therefore: Huge success. HUGE. 
So I’ll say it again….
I don’t like mushrooms!!
The End.

10.1.11: Braums. banana split 
(see those little yellow devils poking out the end?)

Those of you who know me, know that–although I LOVE bananas with a grand passion–I have an even grander passion about how I eat them. Or rather how I WILL NOT eat them. 
The wills: peel the banana myself and eat immediately.
The will nots: basically every other way. No banana bread, no bananas foster, no banana pudding, no banana cream pie, no fried peanut butter & banana sandwich, no bananarama… 
You get the point.
But this is war.
Braums dessert is my krytonite, so I figured it was a safe place to conduct tonight’s experiment. And if there were any potential mishaps, like yesterday’s mushroom near-debacle, I would at least have three scoops of ice cream to cheer me up. 
Allow me to set the scene:
The night was warm, the hour was late. My partner-in-crime and I were sitting outside in her Chevy Malibu–because the inside of beloved Braums is always too cold and smells like rotten bacon. Said banana split was balancing on my knees. I started at the vanilla side, bravely loading up my white plastic fork with a little something from every layer.
I was a bit worried about the slime-factor/mushiness, of the banana but–perhaps because of its near-frozen state–the texture was rather……perfect. 
I loved it. 
And, although I didn’t finish the entire thing (it was huge, mind you, and I’d just eaten a plate of fish n’ chips from a neighborhood Irish Pub we just found), I pretty much kicked the crap out of that sundae. 
Another success.