Goal Accomplished - Brazilian Wax

Another goal complete. Although I am not starting my Birkram Yoga goal yet, I went into NOLA today and got a Brazilian Wax. Thank you Bombshell Waxing for your professionalism.

Goal in the Works - Act of Kindness #10

On our way out today there was a bag of trash in the road. I had Derrick stop and I picked it up and took it to the dumpster. Keeping my neighborhood clean and pretty!

Goal in the Works - Homemade/Handmade Christmas Presents

For December I did 2 crafts. I like making homemade things for gifts, it's so much more personal. The first one I made was for Derrick. I made a personalized coffee mug with a couple of Sharpies, a plain white mug and the oven. I wrote on the mug with the Sharpies and then baked it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Update: Even though we don't dish-wash the mug and we are gentle when we wash it, the writing is coming off. I plan to get a ceramic pen and try again.

The other craft was for my mom, she asked for a vase for Christmas. I went out looking for the perfect vase. I found many that were too small or too big or too plain. I did find a few that I was drawn to and they all had etched designs on them but the price was out of our Christmas budget. Then I thought, 'I bet I can make one. Then it will be one-of-a-kind.' So that's what I did. I found a great shaped vase at Michaels and used my 50% coupon. I also got the etching materials from Michaels with another coupon on a separate trip. It took an entire day to complete but well worth it and it wasn't difficult. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the after, just the during.

Goal Accomplished - Bicycle Balance

Lucky for me, Derrick got me the perfect purple beach cruiser for Christmas. Well, thank you Dear for making my goal of riding a bicycle even easier to accomplish. It started by doing a skateboard scoot to get moving, which moved in to a bit of a drunk cycle. I did managed to bump into a garage door, thankfully I didn't crash as I feared I would. I look forward to getting more practice so that Derrick feels comfortable enough to let me get a child seat so Vivian and I can bike to our friend's house, the grocery store or even the library.

Goal Accomplished - Drive a Stick

My mom came in town yesterday which allowed Derrick and I a perfect opportunity to not have Vivian in Derrick's beater car while he teaches me how to drive a manual. It went pretty well. Of course, as anyone knows who has learned how to drive a manual, the trickiest part is getting out of first gear. Surprisingly I only stalled twice and I managed to get up to 3rd gear. We even practiced going backwards. Thankfully, there are no hills in Houma. The trick now is for me to take the car out by myself. I got the hang of the basics but now I have to put it into practice. Wish me luck!

 

 

Goal in the Works - Act of Kindness #9

At the grocery store this morning there was a man in front of me trying to get cash back. He was just going to buy a soda and ask for however much he wanted. I've done this plenty of times. Why pay an ATM fee when you can pay the same amount and get something. I usually get a candy bar. Anyhow, so the cashier rang up his soda and when he went to pay he was not given the option for cash back. Well, silly man, he was using a credit card not a debit card. So he got frustrated and just left without paying for or taking the soda. Well now the cashier had to void the silly $2 soda but there was nobody around so it was going to be a little wait for a manager. I didn't want the nice cashier worried about making me wait and I didn't want to wait so I paid for the soda. I don't drink soda so I told the bag-boy to go choose whatever kind of soda he wanted and keep it for himself. Here is the grateful friendly bag-boy.

Goal in the Works - Ruffle Tree Skirt

My Pinterest craft for Novemeber is a no-sew ruffle tree skirt. It took lots of hot glue, a few hours and 2.5 yards of fabric. It was very tedious and I burnt my self numerous times. It came out better than I was expecting. It cost about $20 so if it lasts only a few Holidays I will be satisfied. Maybe if I get good at using the sewing machine I'll make another one the 'right' way. I had to wait to get home to get it under the tree for a proper picture.

BEAUTIFUL!

Vivian and Dyno like looking out the window so they made viewing windows in the spray snow on the window.

Goal in the Works - Act of Kindness #8

On one of our visits to Grandma Elaine's she had mentioned that every year she gets poinsettias for her front lawn. She used to get them for $3 each at KMart but the KMart had recently closed and the cheapest she could find them was $6 each, double. It would be one thing if she only got a couple each year but she doesn't. She gets around 14. She seemed really disappointed so I decided that on our last visit before we left Miami, we would surprise Grandma with a few poinsettias. Vivian helped me pick them out at the tree lot and then we made our delivery. Grandma loved them!

Goal Accomplished - Learn to Crochet

Derrick left Miami to go back to work on Sunday and Vivian and I stuck around for another few days. I took this opportunity to accomplish one of my goals, learn to knit and/or crochet. I had my Grandma Dot teach me this morning. She chose to teach me how to crochet as it is a building block for knitting.

You can tell how I was doing by the look on my face here. I found the way you're supposed to hold the yarn in your hand very awkward. And Grandma seems to have lost her patience but she didn't.

 

After several attempts and just continuing to do it, I finally got it. This is what I made...not much I know but it's the beginning of something bigger.

I now know the basic stitch and should be able to make a blanket. Right?

Goal in the Works - Turkey Trot 5k

As I mentioned earlier, I made an attempt at my first run since hurting my leg and it did not go so well, but I finished. 24 miles to go before I complete my 30 miles before I'm 30.

Goal in the Works - Act of Kindness #7

We moved...again. So the story goes like this:

One of Derrick's co-worker's contract was terminated, which meant he would have to move to take over another contract in Houma, LA (about an hour west of NOLA). Derrick told me the story over the phone on his way home. I felt bad, the co-worker and his family had just moved into a new place and their son just started school. They have been in NOLA for a few years so they were well established and comfortable. I kept thinking to myself, maybe Derrick can volunteer to take his place. But I wasn't sure if Derrick would go for that because I wasn't really sure how it would effect his job and our lifestyle (not that it's lavish or anything but I do love the ability to stay home with Vivian).
After dinner Derrick asked me what I thought about moving...again. I was game, there was really no question. Although there is a great deal of things to do in NOLA, we had no ties to the city. The only issue was logistics. Would the company even let us? When? How? Where?
Well the company saw no problem with the switch so we began planning and negotiating terms. And here we are, in Houma, LA, a small town supported by the oil industry. I wonder what we've gotten ourselves into?

P.S. Houma is home of Swamp People. Apparently a popular show on cable.

Goal in the Works - Trick or Treat Smell My Feet

The Pinterest craft I did for October is Vivian's footprints turned into witches. I got inspiration from a few different ideas. 

Here's wishing everyone a safe and fun Halloween! 

Goal in the Works - Act of Kindness #6

Today we had to stop by Apple to see what is screwy with my phone. That store is always a mad house! While I was waiting to be helped I saw a young boy, probably 9 years old, walk by crying and looking around. He walked to the front of the store. I could see other people watching him but no one was doing anything. All I could think of is how I would feel if I were a kid and couldn't find my parents. I think I would have a panic attack. So I approached the boy to find out that his dad left him in the store while he took the sister to the bathroom. I guess they had been gone longer than what the boy expected. He was very scared. I asked him if he knew his parents phone number and he didn't. I reassured him that his dad would come back and that he needs to stay in the store. Then an employee came over to see what was happening and he went to get a manager to take over. The manager sat him down at an iPad and got a game for him to play. I kept my eyes on him to make sure he was ok. His dad finally came back after about 20 minutes. I felt like I was on the show "What Would You Do" but the host, John, didn't come out to thank me.

A couple of things from this experience stuck with me. First, the look on the boys face. I wanted to cry with him. He was so scared. Second, he didn't know his phone number. I feel like he was old enough to know it. Maybe he did know it but was too distracted with panic to recall it. So here's a solution, a phone number ID bracelet. Make your own from beads at a craft store or order one.

Goal in the Works - Act of Kindness #4 and 5

Vivian and I made some pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies yesterday. The texture of these cookies are amazing; soft, light, fluffy, and perfect. The taste however I wasn't as impressed with. Don't get me wrong, they taste delicious but I was expecting more of a pumpkin flavor, after all, it is a pumpkin cookie. Nonetheless, they were good enough to give to others so we did.

Yesterday, while the cookies were still warm, Vivian and I took a stroll to the front office and delivered a dozen to the property manager. Boy was she excited.

 

Then this morning we took a very early drive to Derrick's work and delivered a dozen to the pilots and their customers. They were very grateful! One pilot asked what they were for and I happily replied that it was just a selfless act of kindness, just enjoy.

Goal in the Works - 5k

While we are here in Florida, I went ahead and signed up for a 5k. My first competitive run on my way to accomplish 30 competitive miles by the time I'm 30 as well as preparation for the half marathon in February. My mom has also started running so we signed up to do the run together. The run was part of a surfing competition going on at Jacksonville Beach so it was appropriately named the Surf and Sun Run. What a gorgeous morning for a run!

So overall I did decent although I wasn't very happy with my performance. Derrick keeps telling me not to be so hard on myself. I hadn't run in a week and it was a very busy weekend with a bit of wine. But I have to be hard on myself to keep myself in check.
I have never run on a beach before. I enjoyed the fresh salty air however, the beach is at a slight angle so going the first half I had a lot of pressure on my left leg and coming back it was on my right leg. Something I had not considered. I managed to run the first 12 minutes and then took a minute walking break. Then ran another 12 minutes and took a 30 second walking break. Ran 8 minutes and another 30 second walking break. Then ran the rest of the way in. My final time was 39 minutes 23 seconds. Like I said, decent. That's about a 13 minute mile.

 

When I finished I continued running. I circled around and went back to Mom to run the rest of what she had left with her. After all, we were doing the run together. :-)

Goal in the Works - Act of Kindness #3

Tonight at An Evening on the Pink Carpet in Jacksonville, I gave 2 extra VIP tickets to strangers. They lived downtown and were walking by wondering what was going on. They were dressed appropriately so I offered them the tickets and they happily accepted. It was a high energy event so I'm sure they had a great time!

Goal in the Works - Act of Kindness #2

I have a relative who is working on overcoming some hardships in his life so I decided to send him some happy mail. I traced Vivian out on a large sheet of paper with her arms stretched wide. I cut it out and decorated it. I wrote on the cutout, "This is my biggest hug for you. Love, Vivian". I mailed it with a card to let him know that I am thinking of him and his journey and that I am proud of him.



Update: A couple of weeks after sending the card, while talking to him on the phone, he said he received the hug and that it made him laugh. He let me know that he has it hanging up on the wall.

Goal Accomplished - Grad School

AAAH! I just submitted my application to University of Pennsylvania for their Master of Applied Positive Psychology degree. I am so excited and so nervous. I have never applied to a University that I actually had to wait to be accepted to. The University I got my Bachelor's in I was able to just transfer in. I don't find out that I am accepted until April, so until then I am going to try not to think about it and just wait for a happy surprise email then. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Goal in the Works - Pinterest Craft

We started Fall on a great note today! I made a fall wreath inspired by Pinterest. This is step one of twelve for completing my one Pinterest craft a month goal. Derrick came home and thought it was store bought. I'd say I did a pretty good job.

Goal in the Works - Act of Kindness #1

I was reviewing my goals list this evening and started to jot down some ideas of random acts of kindness. I got to the 6th one and then realized, random is the key word. I'm a decent enough person to see an opportunity and act on it. Then it donned on me, that is exactly the kind of person I am. Today at Michaels, I had a handful of coupons. Unfortunately Michaels only allows you to use one coupon per transaction. I had quite a few items and I didn't want to hold up the line so I just used one. Well I had all these extra coupons in hand so I started handing them to the people in line. They were so grateful. There were smiles all around!