An Adventurous Weekend

Tomorrow I'll be knocking out something on my 101 list... and a few things on my summer bucket list.

Summer Bucket List:

Do the adult ropes challenge course at Tuckahoe

Go kayaking

And this is on my 101 List:

Climb a rock wall

This is what I'll be doing tomorrow:

An Adults Only Adventure will be held at Tuckahoe State Park on Saturday, July 27 at 6 p.m. at Tuckahoe State Park. Don’t miss this chance for adults to enjoy Tuckahoe’s Challenge Course! Join park staff for an evening of fun on the course’s high elements: a 40-foot rock wall, 50-foot giant swing, 25-foot pamper pole and the zip line. 

Also possibly on the agenda for the weekend:

From the 101 list:

• Send Aunt Nancy thank you gift 
• Send Chris and Sally thank you gift
• Eat a rooster that wakes me up too early

From my seasonal bucket list:

Find frames for koala and lorikeet photos – then hang them

Clean up front garden and plant perennials

Make marshmallows from scratch

On the garden clean-up... I kind of cheated. It was such a nice and unseasonably cool day yesterday that Jay did a bunch of weeding while I was at work. So really all I need to do now is track down some perennials and plant them. 

In other news, we are beside ourselves about our puppy - we want it now now NOW!! 

We won't know for another month or two when we can expect to take our new friend home. Once Bilana or Leila have been bred, it will take a little over a month to confirm if there are puppies. 

Despite our impatience, Jay and I have come to the realization that we need to be fully prepared for this dog. We want to make sure that we have a solid plan for socialization and obedience training, as well as the shutzhund training that we're planning. I'm hoping to meet up with Bart and his owner in the next few months to see if he has any pointers. Apparently Bart gives hugs. That's the kind of dog I want. The kind that gives hugs on command and will also attack a threat on command. Maybe a dog who is a little too smart for his own good. Maybe we can even teach him to fetch a beer from the fridge. 

So we'll be keeping ourselves busy over the next few months puppy-proofing the house, fencing in the yard, and buying necessities. We're also going to have to take our cats in to get vaccinated. I'm hesitant to do it because they're indoor cats and they haven't been to the vet in years. The last time I took them to the vet was when I lived in Odenton. It required several return trips because they kept getting sick. They've been completely healthy for over 5 years now and I haven't had any problems. But since our dog might bring in some beasties from outside, we're going to have to start having them vaccinated each year. 

Oh, and Ideal Event Management was doing a special sale yesterday for their 2014 VIP passes. 2 for 1 plus a private investigation with Dustin Pari AND a private tour and lecture with John Zaffis at his Museum of the Paranormal? That's a no-brainer.

Jay doesn't want to do the Fort Mifflin event again next year, but I would love to meet Josh Gates and Erin Ryder. 

I hope to get out the camera this weekend and take some pictures. Since I've been back from vacation, I've been kind of slacking with the photography. I need to get back into it.

That's all for today. Hoping to get some things done this weekend!

Tag is my new favorite game

Ten Eleven years ago (now almost twelve – yikes) when I was a receptionist at the now out-of-business Harms & Associates, I loved getting these time wasters forwarded to me. Sitting at the front desk for eight hours a day was rather boring. I lived for get-to-know-you emails. Let’s face it, I can be a little self-absorbed, so being asked to tell people all about myself is appealing. YES! Someone wants to know about me!! So, I was thrilled when Kelly at Miss MP tagged me in a post. It made me feel like I was cool again, which I am SO not.

Thanks, Kelly.

Here’s to being twenty-one again!

The Rules:

1. Every tagged person must tell 11 things about themselves

2. Answer the 11 questions that the person who tagged you asked.

3. Ask 11 questions for the 11 blogs that you are going to tag. (I’m breaking this one, since I don’t know 11 bloggers who weren’t tagged already)

4. Mention the blog that tagged you but don't tag back.

11 Things About Me

1. I met my husband on eHarmony, but I don’t think that it necessarily works for everyone. We just got really, REALLY lucky. However, I do think that their formula works well, as long as both you and the person you’re matched with have been brutally honest in answering all of their questions. I think that their questionnaire draws strongly from the Meyers-Briggs model of personality typing. I’m an ENFP and my husband is an ENFJ.
2. One of my biggest fears is having children. Although I’m terrified of the pain of childbirth, I’m more worried that my kids will end up with mental illness or some kind of addiction. These problems run in both mine and my husband’s families and it has made me think twice about having kids.
3. I would rather spend money on vacation than anything else. I went through a phase in my twenties where I bought expensive clothes, make-up and purses (probably because I had a mall downstairs from where I worked), but fortunately realized the error of my ways. Now I’d rather geek out and visit Hobbiton in New Zealand. 
   
4. I grew up without watching TV and could probably survive without it again. My dad read to me every night until I was too cool for it. After he stopped reading to me, I would often stay up until 1 or 2 a.m. with a flashlight under the covers, trying to get in another chapter of Nancy Drew.
5. Although I grew up without TV, I love it now. Most of my favorite shows are on the SyFy Channel – I love Haven, Being Human, Alphas, Lost Girl, Total Blackout, Destination Truth, Ghost Hunters, and the Haunted Collector. However, I rarely know which night they’re on, since I DVR everything. Other shows that I watch are American Horror, Once Upon a Time, Modern Family, Raising Hope, and Person of Interest. I also love Chopped and Good Eats on the Food Network. Alton Brown has taught me more about cooking than pretty much anyone else.
6. I love to watch trauma shows on Discovery Health and have watched brain surgery during breakfast meetings. However, when it comes to my own body, I am a total wuss. I have an auto-injector for when I get migraines, but that is about the best I can do without being squeamish. I had an ingrown toenail removed last week and was a huge baby about it. After the procedure was over, I realized that it wasn’t such a big deal, but if I’d had to schedule it later in the week, I probably wouldn’t have been able to go through with it.
7. I hate talking on the phone. This probably stems from the few years I worked in call centers. I will hang out with you all day and talk your ear off if I’m in a social situation, but don’t call me on the phone. Text or email only, please!
8. If I could wear jeans or sweatpants every day, I would. Once in a while I like dressing up, but I am happiest when I’m in my pajamas.
9. One day I would like to write a memoir, but I feel like my writing skills have declined since college. This is one reason that I started this blog – to try to get back to where I was. I don’t want to be a best-selling author or anything, I want to write mainly for catharsis. The one time that I set pen to paper, I received a nasty letter from my mother demanding that I not do it, even if names and places were changed.
10. I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up and change my mind constantly. I think that this stems from my ENFP personality type: ENFPs have an unusually broad range of skills and talents. They are good at most things which interest them. Project-oriented, they may go through several different careers during their lifetime. To onlookers, the ENFP may seem directionless and without purpose, but ENFPs are actually quite consistent, in that they have a strong sense of values which they live with throughout their lives. Everything that they do must be in line with their values. An ENFP needs to feel that they are living their lives as their true Self, walking in step with what they believe is right. They see meaning in everything, and are on a continuous quest to adapt their lives and values to achieve inner peace. They're constantly aware and somewhat fearful of losing touch with themselves. Since emotional excitement is usually an important part of the ENFP's life, and because they are focused on keeping "centered", the ENFP is usually an intense individual, with highly evolved values. So if anyone has any bright ideas about what I should be when I grow up, let me know.
11. When I was younger, I couldn’t stand being alone for any amount of time. If I had nothing to do for an evening, I would go out and find something to do. Now, I love my nights or days alone. Although I love spending time with my husband and girlfriends, I need at least one night a week where I can veg out in front of the TV or curl up with a glass of wine and a good book. 

Questions Kelly Asked

         1. If you could only DVR one show, what would it be?

Ooh, this is a tough one. I think I would have to say Being Human. It has all of the things that a good show should have – humor, sex, drama, and violence.

2. What is your favorite movie and book?

Favorite movie – any movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I am SO excited for the Hobbit! Favorite book… I can’t pick just one. I loved The Hunger Games, The Glass Castle, A High Wind in Jamaica, and Me Talk Pretty One Day. I also love the Dresden Files (so excited that Cold Days is coming out next week!!) and the Game of Thrones Series. There are a lot more that I’ve enjoyed, but I suppose that I can’t list them all.

3. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Australia and New Zealand – which I am planning to visit in May, hurray! Although I would really love to travel just about anywhere except for countries where women don’t have any rights.

4. Christian Grey, Edward Cullen, or Mr. Darcy? Defend your answer ;-).

First of all, I refuse to read the Fifty Shades of Grey books. I've heard that they really aren't all that smutty and there is better literary porn out there. Secondly, vampires are not supposed to glitter and as a former goth who loved Anne Rice, I freaking HATE Twilight. Thirdly, I had to look up Mr. Darcy to find out who he even was.

 That said, nomnomnom Sam Witwer as Aidan in Being Human.

This is my defense:

Do I really need to say anything more? ;0)

5. Rice pudding or tapioca?

Mmmm tapioca wins hands down.

6. Congrats, you just won the lottery, big time. What are the first three things you do?

First, I would call my friend TK who is a CPA and certified financial planner. Secondly, I would take a week off of work to go on vacation with my hubby & friends so that we could make important decisions. Lastly, I would buy a large piece of land so that my friends and I can start the commune that we’ve talked about building for years.

7. What's your favorite holiday recipe? Bonus points for sharing.

Ooh this is a tough one. I love the French Meat Pie that I just made, but that isn’t necessarily a holiday thing – it should be enjoyed throughout the winter. I still haven’t posted my version of the recipe, but it’s pretty much the same as my aunt’s recipe. My favorite Thanksgiving & Christmas recipe is twice-baked sweet potatoes. Bake sweet potatoes & slice lengthwise after they’ve cooled a bit. Scoop them out leaving about a quarter inch of flesh left and put the guts into a bowl. Add butter, half & half, brown sugar, salt, pepper & pumpkin pie spices and blend or mash together. Scoop mixture back into sweet potatoes. Top with chopped pecans and mini marshmallows and bake until marshmallows are melted. Yummy!

8. If people knew you outside the blogosphere, whats one thing that might surprise them about you?

That I love to sing and belt out showtunes when I'm home alone. 

9. What's one of your guilty pleasures?

A pumpkin & vanilla latte from Rise Up Coffee with a cinnamon scone, while listening to catchy pop music.

10. If you could have any dream job, what would it be?

Being a professional actor or a crew or cast member on Ghost Hunters or Destination Truth.  I wouldn’t need to be a household name, but I’d like to be able to make a livable income. I would also be happy to travel the world and blog about my experiences.

11. What are you looking forward to the most in 2013?

My trip to Australia and New Zealand!! I’ve wanted to go for so many years, and I’ve also never taken such a long time off from work in my working life. I have been working since I was 14 and taking so many days off in a row has never been a reality for me. 

My Questions For Those I Tagged:

1. You’re being exiled to a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and can only bring 5 items with you. What do you bring?
2. What is the most important item in your kitchen?
3. What is your favorite adult beverage?
4. Congratulations, you’ve just been offered to star in your own reality TV series… what are you going to call it?
5. What is the most crazy/exciting/awesome thing you’ve ever done? (i.e. skydiving, swimming with sharks, playing poker)?
6. What kind of crazy/exciting/awesome thing would you like to do if you had the opportunity and had no fear of death?
7. Where is your favorite vacation spot and why do you love it?
8. What is your favorite genre of book & do you have a favorite series?
9. Do you have any geeky interests or activities? Please share them!
10. Who is the most surprising artist (or what song) that can be found in your music collection?
11. Do you or your friends/family indulge in any fun/weird/quirky holiday tradition or food?

I am tagging (no pressure to complete if you don’t feel like it!)

Laura at Laura Dye Photography

Jim Butcher at Jim’s Livejournal  (hey, can’t hurt to ask, right?)

Emily at Your Apples are My Oranges 

Kelle at Enjoying the Small Things