July 31, 2008

Item #6: We decided to make blazing noodles for dinner tonight, together! Want the recipe? Go here!

Item #26: And then, we realized, "Hey, this is Chinese food. One of our items is to have a Chinese banquet for friends and family..." and before you knew it, we'd added a noodle salad, chicken fried rice, egg rolls, pots of tea to our menu planning ... and shot off some emails to friends, after talking to some family members to be sure we had enough critical mass to pull this off. I expanded my tai chi playlist on my iPod to create the right ambiance & started pulling out teapots & chinese-themed bowls, and we were off and running, making dinner for 8!

Here's our menu:
Chicken & Pork Potstickers
Mini Pork Egg Rolls

Noodle Salad with Snow Peas, Carrots, and Radishes

Chinese Green Salad
Black Rice & Jasmine Rice

Chicken Fried Rice

Blazing Noodles

Homemade Fortune Cookies

Jasmine & Black Teas

Coconut-Banana Bread with Lime Glaze (okay, not very Chinese ... but tasty!)

I have to say we are both incredibly pleased with how the meal turned out!!

Item 64: Remember our tomato plant? Well, the tomato has stopped growing, and it is not yet turning red.

But the exciting news is that we have a second tomato! I pollinated a flower with one that had dropped off the plant ... and now it's becoming a tomato!!

July 29, 2008

We just received a newsletter from Global Giving about a project that I think is just fascinating. Click here to read more about it. The premise is simple -- use kids' merry-go-rounds to power water pumps!!! Just think about all the times you've said, "That kid could power a small city with his/her energy." Now they really do provide valuable energy in areas that need all the power they can get! I think it's just fascinating & so very brilliant. If you're so inclined to donate, then do so ... but regardless, just read about the project. Very smart idea!

July 28, 2008

Item #72: I put more money into savings on Saturday, thinking I might need to transfer it out again today, but it turns out I don't need to. So, that means we've met our goal of putting $1,000 into savings!

July 25, 2008

Item #40: 1,000 more grains of rice for freerice.com!

July 23, 2008

Item #6: Tonight, we made Chicken Marsala, together, so now we just need to cook together once next week & once the week after that. We actually do a fair amount of cooking, but usually it's one or the other of us, taking turns, not cooking together!

Item #40: I played for another 1,000 grains of rice on freerice.com. I figure if we just keep at it, eventually we'll top the million grain mark. Eventually.

July 22, 2008

Item #40: I played for 1,000 more grains of rice. Every little bit helps, right? *grin*

July 20, 2008

Item #75: We usually avoid the arboretum in July, with it being so hot, muggy, and buggy ... but today there was a small window where it wasn't too hot ... wasn't too muggy ... and wasn't too buggy, so we went, thus fulfilling our 4th monthly trip !

July 17, 2008

We've completed 25 of our 101 items!

So, today we did some strategizing about which items we want to tackle next. There are some biggies on there: losing weight, traveling far away, paying off a credit card. Those are just simply going to take time. But there are some we can tackle over the next 2 months that we think will be good stretches for us!

Item #20: We discussed where we wanted to spend our $50 at Global Giving and we decided upon this project, which helps halt the progress of desert in Kenya through reforestation & alternative fuel sources. If you'd like to help us fund this project, please click on the link ... or click on the button in the sidebar! A mere $10 gives resources to plant 140 trees!!!

July 15, 2008

Item #40: As H updated below ... we're now up to 55,000 grains of rice. We have a long way to go! LOL!

Item #64: See? The tomato plant, with its lone tomato, is thriving! Compare this to the post from June 29th. The tomato's huge! (Remember, we bought the plant on June 14th ... so it's actually been thriving under my care for more than a month!)

Item #72: I put $100 in our savings account! It's not a lot ... but it all adds up, right?

Item #74: I kept receipts from our recent trip & just got around to totaling them & paying off the amount on the credit card, so we're not carrying a balance on that card! I look forward to the day we complete Item #32!

Will this ever be finished?

...I'm not too sure, but I've added another 2500 grains of rice. Slowly but surely.

-H

July 14, 2008

These images show you what we were up to yesterday, to successfully complete Item #53! It was quite an interesting exercise, being out of contact with the rest of the world & not having access to our computers. It gave us lots of time to enjoy each other's time! I also noticed that time seemed to flow differently -- we had
nowhere to be, no one to connect with! It was strange, but enjoyable. Just a few hours into the day, H asked if we'd said anything negative, and I realized we hadn't, so we went
ahead and tackled Item #42 as well! It was odd, being inside on such a gorgeous day, but we had a fun time washing & freezing blueberries, making a lavish breakfast, reading in bed, watching History Detectives & Hogans Heroes, going through H's veneering stuff to see what else we need to try it out, making blueberry cobbler, making a lavish dinner, playing with our cats, making handmade envelopes ... the day just rolled on with one activity spilling into another! We both missed our computers, and we almost called out for pizza delivery, which would've blown it! I think it was a very worthwhile exercise & we might want to do it again in a few months, just to recalibrate!

July 12, 2008

Item #53: Tomorrow, we are planning on completing this item, hanging out in our jammies all day long, and not having any contact by phone or email. For that matter, we've agreed not to even turn on our computers or the xBox! So, when you see no post for the 13th, you'll know why!

Item #74: We went to the farmers' market today!and we bought 10 pounds of blueberries!!

sniffed the yummy cantaloupes...

and bought a couple ears of corn!

July 10, 2008

Well, here you can see some of the progress we've made on Item #81. We had a closet shelf & 2 medicine cabinets with bath/body stuff ... now the closet shelf is noticeably less (left is "before" and right is "after"), and we've pared down to just a single medicine cabinet of stuff. I'm making a serious effort to use some body lotion every day! It's all nice stuff, so it's quite luxurious, a fun treat, but we just forget about it if it's not in plain sight!

July 9, 2008

Item #40: H informs me he has played for 2,500 grains!

July 8, 2008

Item #25: We did it! We did it! H took a mulligan tonight at the grocery store & I told him to be silent for the rest of the night, so as not to ruin our chances! LOL! I suggested we tackle Item #42, and he says he wants to hold off until Sunday, when we'll tackle Item #53, as well, which he thinks improves our chances for #42!

Item #40: I played for more rice today, bringing our total to 50,000 grains! Only 950,000 to go!!!

Item #81: We've been using up lotions, soaps, body gels, etc., and I'd swear we're not making a dent! I am planning on taking a photo in a month or so, just to compare it to the one from the post on May 10th!

edit: Okay, I feel better about Item #81. We'd been pulling things out from shelves kind of randomly & actually we're using things up at a decent rate! Of the 2 "medicine" cabinets, only the larger stash remains ... and the shelf in the closet is down by about 1/5th!

July 7, 2008

Item #25: Day 6 of 7 with no swearing. Oh, I really hope we can do this!!!!! I am thinking if we make it through tomorrow, Wednesday might be a good day to try Item #42.

Item #41: I forgot to mention, but H tried a bing cherry while we were in Minnesota. He said it is much better than pie cherries or maraschino cherries. He said he could probably even eat 2-3 of them without too much misery. Good to know!

Item #64: The tomato plant is still alive. My criteria for success have been met! Even the Shasta Daisy, Coreopsis & Zinnias are doing well. Still, I will keep all of you (I'm sure you're following the progress of my plants with bated breath!) posted as the plants grow & mature further!

July 6, 2008

We're back from visiting my aunt & uncle, who live near Minneapolis. Through concentrated effort, we've now made it FIVE days without swearing (well, we've taken a couple of mulligans, but we're pretty happy with our rules & regs). If we can make it through tomorrow & Tuesday, we'll have successfully accomplished Item #25.

While with my aunt & uncle, we also got to make caramel corn, which is Item #12.



We even brought most of the batch home with us to enjoy over the next day or so. YUMMY!!

July 2, 2008

Item #25: Exciting news ... so far, today, as of 9:54 pm, no swearing. None. Not even a mulligan. Keep your fingers crossed, folks! *grin*

July 1, 2008

Item #25: We've decided that we can each take ONE (1) mulligan a day, and still count it as successful. Today, we made it to about 6:45 pm, when H was recounting a tale, and said "What is this sh*t?" And he immediately tossed out the idea of a mulligan, one per person per day. I think this is within the spirit of the item, so we're good. As long as neither one of us exceeds more than 1. We still need all the luck we can get!

edit: a little before 10 pm, H got frustrated with WoW and said, "Well, sh*t!" and I yelled recriminations at him. Then we both rolled our eyes and said we'd start again, fresh, tomorrow!