85. Start a herb garden

Growing up in southeastern Massachusetts, we were surrounded with farms and vegetable stands. I really never appreciated the wealth of fruits and vegetables in my community until I moved to Boston where our local "grocery store" was a glorified market and the produce was something to be desired. Now that I'm back in the "country", I thought that I would get in the mood to buy the freshest stuff and really embrace the local environment.

When I was home three weekends ago, my Mom suggested we go to Four Farms to check out the herbs and start my herb garden (Sidebar: I love that she reads my blog and wants to help me complete my items - thanks Mom!) Four Farms is a family owned farm located right outside of Providence, Rhode Island. They have everything between produce, flowers and herbs. All items are super fresh and their staff is so kind and friendly.

Yes, I took this picture when the car was moving - impressive eh? :)

Anyway I decided that I was going to start an herb garden of stuff that I was actually going to use - unlike the lemongrass that I grew last summer because it added some color to the garden.

Behold!

Disregard the nighttime picture - it's been a tough couple of weeks where I've gotten home after sundown on the regular. We selected some basil (my favorite), parsley and mint with the hopes that it'll inspire me to use one of these little gems regularly. Don't worry, I'm not going to keep them in those ghetto little pots - eventually I'll transfer the three plants into one large pot. Now who wants some herbs?!

Making strides

So I realize my blogging may have been lacking but, dear cherubs, I am making strides in completing all my goals. One particular goal is probably the most laughable to anyone who does not know me personally...

3. Remind yourself that you can do it and hold a baby

Now, where should I start - I grew up in a non-baby household. Sure, I'm the oldest child in said household but obviously I was way too cool at age 3.5 to be bother to hold my little but big headed (sorry but you know it's true!) sister. Even at family events, all the adults were complete baby hogs so there was never a reason for me to get off the tire swing to hold one.

Years began passing quickly and I slipped under the radar, escaping babies left and right. The only time I babysat solo was during my college senior year spring break where I told a pal I would look after two kids who I assumed were potty trained because they were walking around. Boy, was I wrong and yes, those felt like the longest days of my life.

Please allow me to take a moment to clear up a rumor - I don't dislike babies or children rather I am cautious of the unpredictable and think unruly children should be euthanized. I kid, I kid. Seriously though, as I become more refined (note: I didn't state older) and my friends all begin to pop, I thought it was a perfect time to get more acquainted with the little darlings.

The mom of one of my dearest friends, Shelby, held a girls brunch to celebrate the soon-to-be arrival of baby #2 and the "end" of the world revolving about Emma, baby #1. Now, as the oldest child, I totally understand the anguish of having to "share" the spotlight with a sibling. After brunch, Emma was obviously over everything and just wanted to take a nap. She was getting passed around to each "auntie" to say goodnight and then it was my turn.

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It's like she knew. Thank you Amy for documentation and the coaching throughout the process. I'm not counting this as my task number three whereas I don't consider Emma a baby (did you see that sassy outfit? she's a big girl, all the way) and plan on actually holding a little baby.. in my arms.. without passing out. Baby steps are strides right?!

47. Enter the 21st century and get a phone with internet

Sometimes, I'm a bit late to the party. Sure, I still can't swim - I'll wait while you pick your mouths up from the floor - Ok, ready to keep reading? Excellent. I didn't even attempt mascara until I was in college and I may have been the last person in my circle to get unlimited texting. Does it make me a bad person? Nope. Lame pants? Most likely.

And sometimes the universal has a delightful way of pushing us to do things that we put off doing over and over again. A couple of weeks ago, my phone started acting fickle. It was starting to drop calls and not charge correctly. Then, it wasn't allowing me to even place calls. Obviously I panicked and nearly burst into tears because that's the rational thing to do.

I'll save you all the gory details of my multiple trips to the Verizon store but I decided there was no time like the present and since I needed to get a brand new phone anyway.. why not one with internet?!

Behold my newest wittle baby:

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Not too shabby eh? Originally, I was going to go with the Droid Incredible or the original Droid but frankly, I thought they were too big and had too many unnecessary features for my needs . However the Droid Eris is totally up my alley; it's fast, thin and easy to use. And I'm totally getting used to the whole "having internet on my phone thing" - I can't tell you how exciting it is to just be able to check email in bed on the weekends. Maybe I'll even get twitter at some point but I don't want to get too ahead of myself. Totally lame but hey, that's totally my style.

8. Try 25 new wines (2/25)

Saturday of Patriots Day weekend, we headed up to the historic Old Bryan Inn in Saratoga for a relaxing dinner. Established in 1773, this place is an absolute institution. We decided to do an earlier dinner so we got to the Inn a little before 5pm and boy, am I glad we did. When we arrived, they told us the wait would be about ten minutes and we could wait at the bar until the table was ready.

The bar..

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So looking beyond the painting of the topless woman with the swan above the fireplace, the bar area is that rich mahogany, warm cozy old school look that I adore. S and I pulled up a pair of adjacent bar stools and I was immediately drawn to the wine menu while he instinctively ordered a Coors Light as soon as the bartender came over. I , however, definitely wanted to take my time and embrace the experience.

I decided to order something light and from a local winery so I selected a glass of the 2007 Glenora Riesling from Finger Lakes, NY. Little did I know, Glenora Wine Cellars were named the 2009 Winery of the Year by Tasters Guild International.

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Rating system:

**** Nectar of the gods
*** Liked it
** Just so-so...
* Never again

I liked this wine and gave it a three star rating. It was relatively sweet (which I'm not a huge fan of my rieslings being especially if it's my first drink), light and finished clean. About two sips into my glass, I realized that the bar was completely butt-to-gutt and overheard the wait for a table was now at over an hour. We got there just in time!

We were approached by the hostess not even a minute later and we were lead to our cozy but adorable table. I mean this place was just so charming.

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My dining companion decided that it was appropriate and necessary to order a bottle of wine for our meal and who was I to argue! He really only likes white wine that's not bitter or overly sweet so my selection was limited. I pushed through like a champ and opted for a bottle of the 2008 Bollini Pinot Grigio.

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Again, the rating system:

**** Nectar of the gods
*** Liked it
** Just so-so...
* Never again

I also really enjoyed this wine and gave it three stars. It was brought out in a chilled marble carafe so it didn't sweat all over the table (genius idea, btw). I would definitely recommend that the colder, the better - it was dry but refreshing and S was quoted as saying it was "super yummy". Needless to say, it was finished without issue.

Do YOU have a wine that you think I should try? Just let me know! :)

46. Wear heels for an entire day

I have a confession to make.. I almost didn't put #46 on my list. I find heels absolutely retched and merely the idea of wearing them for an entire day completely daunting.

Maybe I'm a bit spoiled. I have the luxury of wearing any type of footwear every day, even to work.. so obviously I choose flip flops nine times out of ten (and yes, that tenth time it's usually raining and I wear my rain boots or sneakers). My preferred footwear (and yes, you can actually see the indentation of where my feet sit on the flip flop):

I'm always that girl at wedding receptions that has the super cute dress with god awful flat (but matching) flip flops. Sorry to all brides (and grooms) for pictures that I've been in with inappropriate footwear - it's not you, it's me.

However, this whole thing is all about challenging oneself and I plan on doing just that . So, I selected the day - Thursday, May 6, 2010 - and man that day was filled to the brim with circumstances to make this task trickier than most. And before you harass me about height of heel or how they're just a dressy flip flop, I assure you that they are indeed a heel.

First off, those black beauties are brand stinkin' new shoes.. like I took them out of the box that morning. So, right off the bat, I'm breaking the cardinal rule of shoes by not "breaking them in" before wearing them. What can I say, I guess I'm a rule breaker.

Thursday is also my "bottom half" focus day at the gym. Meaning, after cardio, I focus on legs, hips and my gadunkadunk. So clearly my legs were already worked to the max before eight am! Apparently I'm not only a rule breaker but a glutton for punishment as well.

Additionally, Thursday is historically my "long day" at work.. casual 10 hours in those glorious marble hallways where I'm employed.. but alas, this particular Thursday, I was departing early for an alumni event which would involve networking, schmoozing and my least favorite activity, standing.

Sidebar: I have no idea why I hate standing so much. I'm not out of shape or considerably lazy but nothing grinds my gears more than having to stand at a bar or at an event. Furthermore, I'm blessed with the inability to eat while standing so I think this is my internal voice's way of saying, E1 take a load off, have some cheese and just relax. What's so bad about that?

ANYWAY, my day was chocked full of stuff.. and if you can believe it, from 8 am until 11pm when I finally got home from my event, my shoes stayed on the entire time. That's right, I didn't even cheat and switch out my shoes to drive (btw, I was driving for 4.5 of those hours and no, when you're driving, that's not a rest for feet).

Needless to say, it wasn't as horrible as I imagined it being. Sure, my feet were killing me and I longed for my trusty flip flops but before I knew it, the day was over. Who knows, I may even eventually keep my "real" shoes on long enough to be photographed at an upcoming wedding reception and not completely ruin a vertical shot.. but let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

78. Find 101 quotes that inspire me (1/101)

Not to stereotype or anything, but like most twenty-something females, I love a good quote. It's so interesting how we can find something said from someone that we've never met to be so appropriate and totally perfect in whatever we're facing at the moment.

When I was compiling my list, I thought that I should continue my collection of quotes that stated what I was feeling and couldn't be as eloquent to put into words. Similarly, I think it's important to inspire one another and ourselves regularly to keep fighting the good fight - in whatever daily battle we're dealing with.

With that being said, here is my first of one hundred and one quotes:

"Quotations help us remember the simple yet profound truths that give our life perspective and meaning. When it comes to some of life's most important lessons, we can all use gentle reminders."
- Criswell Freeman

Party on, Mr. Freeman!

8. Try 25 new wines (0/25)

Bad jobs, crappy relationships, boring routines, horrible living situations.. we all get in ruts. Well my dear comrades, I've fallen into quite the rut throughout the last few years and with bffl wine no less. Wine, some would classify it as the nectar of gods (those individuals are probably not that religious but what can I say, they have great taste) and I cannot even believe I allowed this to happen. I know, forgive me dear wine gods for I have neglected you and allowed myself to get into a monotonous theme of ordering and drinking the same wine over and over again.

I got inspired to get out of this rut immediately after receiving a "food & fun" journal from my mom (hi mom!) for Christmas. Behold, my journal:

In the journal, there are three sections labeled "wine", "restaurants" and "bars". How perfect right? Here's what the inside of the wine section looks like:

So, this will serve as my guide to making sure that I a) try new wines and b) document it appropriately. I'll detail and "label" (blog lingo, look at me) each wine in a different blog entry but you'll be able to read all about the 25 wines together just by selecting the Task 8 label.

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Cheers!

27. Take Murphy to a dog park

Well, May 1st was little Murphy's first birthday! I cannot believe how quickly the last year has gone. Now obviously if we're pals on another networking site, you know that I love posting pictures and updates of the little guy.

Here's some pictures of Murphy from the week that we got him last July.

Look at that little face! Anyway, as a treat for his birthday, Murphy and I got to spend some quality time together - and quality it was! We got up nice and early to tackle the day. Obviously the list is always on my mind and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to celebrate Murphy's birthday while completing task #27.

As an extra special treat, I put all the seats down in the Rav 4 so the birthday boy had plenty of room to sprawl out if he wanted to. And yes, he's grown a whisker or two over the past 12 months.

Off we went to Coolidge Park in Fitchburg - I know, I know.. but I googled area dog parks and let's just say they're not as abundant as Boston (I'm sure you're all shocked).

Anyway, we had a great time walking around and meeting other dogs. Murphy even got a marriage proposal by a guy who was walking two little dogs. He was obviously flattered but wants to keep his options open (we didn't have the heart to tell the guy that the two ankle biters were simply not his type).

We definitely plan on going back together and with this little face, how could I say no?

Atrocious

The word is atrocious.

Could you please use the word in a sentence?

E1’s blogging has been absolutely atrocious.

Hello all. I’ve been completely slacking with updates – like no excuse. I struggled a bit with my work computer and was unable to even access my website but have no fear, I went around the administrator settings and here I am! Resourceful? Yes. Best use of my time during my work day? Probably not. But, I digress. I have been a busy little bee since I last blogged and fully intend on sharing all my completed challenges.

First, I wanted to thank fellow blogger Amy (seriously check out her blog – she’s amazing) for showing me how to label all my posts. Initially, I was going to set up tabs up at the top for items that are either on-going or in-process but found this labeling business was the easiest approach for all. Woo for simplicity!
Moving on to the list… I am in the middle of reading one of my favorite books, Animal Farm. It’s a classic by George Orwell and I’ve read it easily a dozen times.

You’re probably wondering why I’ve read the same book (which I’m sure some associate with daunting school reading) so many times.

Honestly, it’s one of the only books where every single time I read it, I gain some new perspective and appreciation for its timeliness and poignancy. I’ll wait until I finish it to give my “book report blog” on it but I’m definitely enjoying it and glad I put it on my list.