Do something new every month

I’m going to do my December entry while I’m here….

went to see Greg Mortenson speak at the Boston Public Library. I haven’t ever gone to see a famous author speak, nor had I ever been to the BPL (which is like a landmark because its the oldest US public library and architecturally beautiful)

tried out a new church. I’ve been really unhappy with our current church for quite a while, so I just haven’t been going. This past Sunday we tried somewhere new and it was good. May or not be where we “settle down”, but it was a good “rebound church” haha!

won a massive, old crock in an auction!! It has a couple of cracks along the ridge, but I got it for a steal and its just the right size to hold all the kids soccer cleats (out in the garage out of smelling range!!!)

Won a scrabble tournament! This was a total shock. We go to this scrabble party every November cause its hosted by my hubby’s old college roommate. I’m usually at the table that just laughs and talks and eats. This year I got placed at a serious table. I split the winnings with another woman and walked away with $75!! Not bad considering I can’t name one Q word without a U—haha!

Learned to take no flash indoor photos with my new camera. October I mastered action shots, November was indoor shots with no flash. I still have a long way to go, but I’m getting the hang of it and LOVE my new hobby!

Made delicious oatmeal bread in my bread maker!

Taught my sister how to make scones. The ladies in my family host an annual “high tea”, but my sister has always lived out of state and hasn’t attended. She honestly doesn’t know how to cook, so came over to my house the day before and helped, and we made the apple and cranberry-orange scones for the event. :)

Took a Zumba class!
Made a trifle (mmmm)
Went to the Institute of Contemporary Art
Tried three new restaurants
Improved my photography skills (working on action shots)
Set up a flickr account

Realized I hadn’t made an August entry….which right off the bat I couldn’t think of anything I’d done new. But once I flipped through my blackberry I came up with a few! Phew!

August
Went to the Bolton Fair
Made commercial batches of pesto for my friend’s non-profit
Switched pediatricians (not an easy decision after 16 years…)
Took my mom to the movies

Sept
Bought a digital SLR with a zoom lens. Was a splurge but I LOVE IT!
Took on more administrative work at the school where I work
Learned how to deal with my teenage daughter (fyi humor and patience works better than nagging and yelling….gee, duh!...)

Went deep-sea fishing and caught fish that we ate for dinner! I did get a little sea sick feeling at one point, but I didn’t “feed the fish” (thank goodness!) and it really was a whole lot of fun!

Climbed the ladder trails on Mount Desert Island. Especially fun was climbing up and over Dorr Mt then to the top of Cadillac! I’ve been to the top of Cadillac many times before but have always driven the access road to get there! Its quite a climb and was so much fun!

Spent hours and days at the hospital with my parents fully indoctrinating me into the “sandwich generation” of growing kids and aging parents…

Brushed the dust off my old clarinet and played with the summer community band with my girls. Its been over 20 years since I’ve played and its fun to be in a group with all ages! Our concert is this week and I’ll be sad when its done.

Finally got my blackberry to “play well with others”! After hours and hours with verizon, blackberry, then missing sync tech support, I finally have it receiving emails and syncing with my mac the way its supposed to! Yay!

Had a blast paddling my kayak as an extra in a documentary. Me and 50 other kayaks and canoes paddled along the Nashua River for the Work of 1000, a movie about a cleanup of the river and the woman who spearheaded it all. She’s a local hero and this movie tells her story. This was totally up my alley and SO MUCH FUN!!

Volunteered for Growing Places Garden Project building raised bed gardens for folks in need. Putting my passion for vegetable gardening to good use and learned alot in the process.

Rototilled, built, planted and fenced in a garden for my parents to putter in. We reused beams from an old building that we had to tear down, so it felt great to finish a project that’s foundation was rooted (no pun intended) in the past.

Set up & cleaned up for the all-night, post-prom party for the juniors and seniors. The decorations were so over the top, that it didn’t even look like it was in the school building. Total transformation with incredible community effort. I was glad to be a part of it.

Sailed. I’ve only been in a sailboat a few times in my life and ALWAYS as the passenger. Last week my brother gave me a sailing lesson and I did it myself. It was scary (I’m such a baby sometimes) and I made a bunch of mistakes, but I did it! Can’t wait to go again.

Got accepted to be an extra in a documentary!! They needed experienced kayakers for a final scene of a biography about this woman who took the initiative to clean up the local river. The kayaking is right up my alley, but being in a movie?? Pretty much WAY outside my comfort zone. We’ll see how it goes!

Took steps toward going back to school. Reached out to the local college for info regarding getting my degree to go along with my new “career” in ECE.

Borrowed snowshoes and went on two amazing hikes through the woods.
Did yoga outside on a beautiful hilltop.
Organized a Blue & Gold dinner for 180.
Moved my parents into my lake house.
Said YES to helping out with the Celebration (post-prom all-night substance-free party for the kids).

Can’t believe I forgot to enter last month….so September:

Earn a real, regular paycheck. This is a first since 1992 (!) when I said I was going to take time off with my baby. My baby now has his driver’s license….in the last few years, I’ve worked, but I never got paid. I always worked in lieu of tuition or got paid in organic vegetables or swapped it for other services. Or flat out volunteered my time. This is a wahoo moment for me!

I’ve been so busy with projects this month that I need to dig deep to find something new for August:

1. Hosted the rehearsal dinner for my sister’s wedding. It rained. But we had plenty of margaritas and food, so all was fine.

2. Finished the attic and moved my son up into his room on the 3rd floor.

3. Invited total strangers to my house for lunch….they’re people I know that we’ll know very well in the future due to their interests and their kids’ interests.

4. Made another new connection with a second family that we will also know very well in the future (we will be carpooling alot with this kid and my guess is that he will become a fixture around here

5. Tried a new recipe: twiced baked potato casserole. YUM! It had bacon, green onions, sour cream and cheese and boy was it good! And it fed an army!