On Lists

You may (or may not) have noticed that I've taken my 30 While 30 list down.

The idea behind the list was to follow up my much more successful 30 Before 30 list. I was inspired by a TED video claiming that telling people your goals made them less likely to happen. I have found the opposite to be true. Without a posted list to refer to and people (friends and randoms) asking, reminding, or offering to do things with me, I ignored that fact that I had made a list. So I thought it better to quit while I'm ahead.

Now, don't think that I've given up on making lists/goals. I've thought about creating a 101 Things in 1001 Days list but I know how that would turn out. I would procrastinate until day 990 and end up only completing 10 things from the list.

Back when this blog was Zero Ducks in a Row (remember that?) I made monthly goals. To some extent I still make goals or list expectations for the upcoming month. I don't think that will go away. But I would like to have something a bit more long term to work on. So instead of choosing 101 things or even 30 things I'm sticking with a short but important 13 Things.

List to come on New Year's Day!

Books

What books have you read recently that you loved?

What books have you read recently that made you think?

What books have you read recently that changed your perspective about something?

I am in need of book recommendations.

I like to read lots of different types of books...except classics. I've gone through phases of reading chick-lit, non fiction, and young adult books...and I enjoyed them all for different reasons.

So what are you reading?

   

Cooking with Amy: Pretzel, Hershey Kiss, M&M Things

Because of the impending hurricane, I am cooking everything I own in case I lose power for like 3 weeks. (I love how everyone runs to the grocery store before a big storm not realizing if they are without power for several days all their food will A) spoil and B) have to be eaten uncooked.)

First up, were these pretzel, Hershey Kiss, M&M things that don't have a proper name.

I had seen them floating around Pintrest but when K brought them to her own goodbye party, I was hooked. I figured pretzels and chocolate might as well be hurricane staples so I whipped some up today.

What it is about grid shaped pretzels that make them so much more delicious than regular heart shaped ones?

Make sure to keep your mouth full of M&M's so you don't eat any of the Hershey Kisses because you will run out of them before the pretzels or M&M's.

Line them all up like tiny witch's hats and pop them into a preheated oven (somewhere between 150-300 degrees. I went for 250 degrees.) After just 3ish minutes they come out all shiny and soft.

Based on the holiday or season in which you are baking, choose the correct color palate of M&Ms. Carefully press them into the melted Hershey Kiss until the M&M looks all snuggly. Cool and nom.

  

Local Field Trip: Ben and Jerry's

On the way home from S & E's wedding, I stopped at a sunflower field and at the Ben and Jerry's factory store in Waterbury, VT. I was planning on stopping on the way up but it was hurricaining out and there was no way I was getting out of the car.

I wandered the grounds...

And found the GIANT vats of ingredients. That is A LOT of sugar and cream!

I've been to Ben and Jerry's before but had never visited the Flavor Graveyard before so I took advantage of the beautiful afternoon and ventured up the hill.

I looked for my favorite flavor, oatmeal cookie chunk but it was nowhere to be found. WTF Ben and Jerry's? You killed off my favorite flavor and didn't give it a proper burial? #Get on that.

White Russian lasted for a long time...those crazy Russians.

Chocolate Comfort had a short, short life.

Finally...it was time for ice cream! And there was no mistaking what direction I would find it in.

I went for a double scoop of mint chunk and chocolate brownie. I incorrectly assumed that I didn't need a dish. But the weather proved me wrong.

Yes I eat ice cream like a five year old. Get over it.

Local Field Trip: Salem, MA

After traipsing around Boston for two days, we needed a lazier day. We had planned to head back to Boston to take a ferry to Salem, but it was a dreary day and the ferry times didn't work with our lack of schedule. M and I ended up driving to Salem as the skies got darker and darker. It rained elephants and rhinos for five minutes but turned sunny by the time we parked!

Our first stop was the Salem Witch Museum and M was beside herself.

M had a hat for all occasions.

We took an historical tour of old Salem. It was neat to hear all about the crazy happenings of the town but all the real landmarks are gone so it was like, "over there in that parking lot is where Giles Corey was pressed to death."

Our tour guide in his fancy pants!

The coolest part of Salem is the old graveyard. There are graves from forever ago. Outside the cemetery walls is a memorial for the victims of the Salem Witch Trials. M had to put her hat back on!

I just can't believe that the Salem Witch Trials really happened. People are so crazy!

After the tour, M made me dress up and channel my inner witch. Our witchy selves now live on my refrigerator.

We drove in circles around Salem to find the house from Hocus Pocus. We weren't sure which house was which (and as we live in the dark ages and don't have iPhones to look up random things) we took pictures of every white house with black shudders we saw (and in Salem there were a lot).

Before the light left, we moseyed down to the waterfront to explore.

The Friendship...quite apropos.

We trespassed visited the House of Seven Gables after hours.

As it got dark, we grabbed our umbrellas from the car and walked the pier towards the lighthouse. It didn't matter that it was raining...I will walk any pier any time...especially if there is a lighthouse at the end. 

Before we headed home, we ate homemade gelato at a coffee shop across the street from:

Read about A & M's other adventures here:

Freedom Trail

Boston

Maine

Concord, MA

Local Field Trip: Freedom Trail

Back in 2010, the England crew was reunited in Seattle for M & J's wedding. It had been six years since we had all seen one another. In 2011, the crew reunited again in Chicago for R & S's wedding. This summer, none of us were getting married. Well R & S were getting married again in Romania. And M & J were growing/having a baby. So the three single ladies decided to peruse the East Coast. As it turned out, only 2 of us made it to Boston. But a wonderful time was had regardless. 

On our first day in Boston, we hit up the Freedom Trail and walked until it got dark. We dipped our toes into Frog Pond (where we later learned was the location they used to dunk the witches).

And we were off. There is literally a starting line to follow the red brick road/red painted line.

K was looking for things to mount and quickly found this donkey, which by the looks of it had been ridden many a time.

We ate cupcakes at the SWEET which were delicious. Lemon for me. Boston Cream Pie for the Midwesterners.

We stopped at the Old State House to admire the gold unicorn on the top and reenact the Boston Massacre. Luckily, we all survived.

As the sun was setting, we walked around Quincy Market, took in a street show, and tried to figure out what to do for dinner.

We voted on an Irish pub that served seafood. We enjoyed fish and chips, chowdah...

and K was feeling brave and had lobster. M was so creeped out by the 'ocean spider' that she had to cover it's head with a napkin in order to enjoy her dinner.

At dusk we finally made it to Paul Revere and the North Church.

We did some dancing...

Then headed to a street festival in the North End. 

It was the festival of Sant' Agrippina who is the patron saint against thunderstorms, evil spirits, and leprosy. 

I felt like I was back in Italy because almost everyone was speaking Italian. Welcome to the North End!

Read about A&M's other adventures here:

Boston

Salem, MA

Maine

Concord, MA

  

Soundtrack Update

Find my soundtrack here.

In June: I picked up John Mayer's new album Born and Raised. It is so different from his older stuff but so good. Immediately, I popped it in the car stereo and set off for Maine. (I love listening to a new album on repeat on the drive to Maine.) I love so many of the songs but Born and Raised and (what I call) The Submarine Song were by far my favorite. The Submarine song is about this guy who is kind of over his day to day life so he teaches himself to build a submarine.

In July: I listened to Fun's Some Nights over and over again. And I watched the strange Civil War video because the lead singer's facial expressions made me laugh. Case in point:

In August: I listened to a lot of old mix cd's but I also turned up the radio every time Everybody Talks by the Neon Trees came on. It started with a whisper...

In September: I am currently OBSESSED (like listen to it 25 times in a row everyday) with The Head and the Heart's Down in the Valley. All I want to do is drive around back roads with the window down. I can't wait for the new Mumford and Sons album to come out as I have already listened to I Will Wait a billion times. Sadly, buying new records doesn't fit in with my buy only essentials during September budget so it will have to wait for October...unless anyone wants to buy me presents??

 

Summer Fun List 2012

Number 6 on my 30 While 30 List is "Compile and complete a Summer Fun List". Around the blog-o-sphere the Summer Manifesto is quite a popular phenomenon. I went with the good old fashioned list because manifesto is such a fancy pants word...and frankly when have you ever know me to pass up a list?

So here is my Summer Fun List. Come do things with me!

Local Field Trip: Concord, MA

One thing I want to do during my 30th year is explore my surroundings. Recently added to the 30 While 30 list is "Take 10 local field trips." Now, local may mean the town next door or somewhere in New England. My first local field trip was to a place I've visited several times before: Concord, MA. (FYI: it's pronounced Concerd NOT Con-cord.)

On a beautiful May day, I headed to Walden Pond. I walked the loop around the pond twice stopping during my second loop to dip my feet in. There were so many kids swimming and I REALLY wanted to go in, but I real people clothes on and I knew there were going to be other stops on my field trip so I only went in to my knees.

After Walden Pond, I headed to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery to visit some of the greatest authors of our time. Henry David Thoreau and Louisa May Alcott have quite simple headstones. Ralph Waldo Emerson's is a tad bit fancier.*

On my way out, a black Porsche sped through the cemetery. (Side note: every time I see a black Porsche...especially old ones, I think it is Dylan McKay.) When I drove to the North Bridge I had to circle the small parking lot several times because it was FULL of Porsches. There must have been 15 of them. Is there a secret Porsche scavenger hunt that I don't know about?

I finally found a spot to park and headed across the road to the bridge. One of the awesome things about growing up in Massachusetts (aside from the fact that it is fabulous) is that you can easily visit some of the most important historical sights of our country's history. It's crazy that however many years ago, British and American soldiers fought for their respective countries right at that spot.

My trip to Concord was perfect and it is one that I intend to repeat frequently but I do want to visit new-to-me places around Massachusetts and New England. If you have any ideas or want to take a field trip with me let me know!

* If I ever publish a book I will most definitely publish it under my first, middle, and last name because it obviously will ensure success.

 

Soundtrack Update

Finally updated my soundtrack page for March and April.

In March:

March was a tricky month for me. Despite the beautiful weather, I had the blahs for quite some time. I listened to two songs over and over and over again.

Only if for the Night by Florence and the Machine
Best line: "And the only solution was to stand and fight."

What Doesn't Kill You by Kelly Clarkson
Best line: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

In April:

I did lots of driving and soaked up my vitamin D through these songs:

We Are Young by Fun
Best line: "Tonight, we are young so let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter than the sun."

Brighter than the Sun by Colbie Callat
Best line: "We go together like peanuts and Paydays."

May Goals

It's been a LONG time since I set some goals on this silly little blog.

I looked back at my May goals from last year and I only accomplished 2 out of 3 of them. (If you're too lazy or too cool to click the link: I bought new sneakers, crossed something of The List, but only walked 26 of 31 miles.)

So this May I thought I would revisit some of those goals.

1. Walk/run 31 miles.
2. Add something to the 30 While 30 list.
3. Donate/trash/recycle 100 things in an effort to declutter.

And...go.

 

#3

Bike a marathon.

First off...26.2 miles is a LONG way! I have so much respect for anyone who has ever run a marathon. I follow several bloggers who were running the Rock and Roll NOLA marathon today so I decided that if they could RUN a marathon, I could certainly bike that distance.

In terms of training, I did none. Previously, the longest distance I had biked was 12 miles back before February vacation. I knew that I could make it 13.1 miles but I really wanted to accomplish the full distance.

Thoughts:
Mile 1: I got this.
Mile 8: I can’t feel my toes.
Mile 10: My lady bits hurt.
Mile 13: Made a half marathon…keep going.
Mile 17: I’m never going to make it.
Mile 18: My whole world hurts.
Mile 19: I’m never going to make it but I’ve gone too far to give up.
Mile 20: Okay, I can finish this.
Mile 21: I’m STARVING. Is it possible that I did something athletic enough to require fuel beyond water?
Mile 24: Why isn’t this over yet?
Mile 25: Oh my god I’m going to be sore tomorrow.
Mile 26: I can’t feel my toes, feet, legs, or lady parts.
Mile 26.2: Wow.

The first step off the bike was a doozy but I'm proud of myself for sticking to my goal and pushing through the pain, boredom, and exhaustion.

I definitely want to complete this goal AGAIN on a real bike outside. Bruce Freeman Trail anyone?

   

#2

Create a soundtrack of my 30th year...month by month style.

It's no secret that I love music. And one of the best things is hearing an old song that brings you back to a certain time and place, experience, or person. I will forever remember laying in a farm house in Tuscany listening to Maroon 5's Songs About Jane on my discman. (I carted that discman and CD cases across all of Western Europe!)

I often pop in old camp mixes on mini road trips and am transported back to a time when the only things that mattered were sewing felt banners, putting up tents while blindfolded, and one-match fires on the beach.

So to commemorate my 30th year, I will collect songs throughout the year. 

Songs that are popular. 

Songs that cheesy. 

Songs that speak to my soul. 

Songs that I love...however fleeting.

See my soundtrack here and do not judge me for my awesome taste in music.

    

30 While 30: The New List

The time has come! I've stretched my birthday month as long as possible but it is time to officially retire my 30 Before 30 list. I didn't accomplish as many things as I anticipated but it was fun to try some new things and document them. I have created a new list of things that I want to work towards/do while I am the big 30. But I am going to do things a bit differently.  Watch this:




The video is interesting but if you can't part with 3 minutes of your life, here are the cliff notes:

Telling people your goals makes them LESS LIKELY to happen because the good feeling you get when others acknowledge your goals tricks you into thinking you've already accomplished your goal.

So what does this mean for your desire to see my list? Well...it means you will need to exercise a lot of patience. I will reveal the goal only when it is completed (or in progress for long term goals). <---I told you you would be disappointed.

For now, my new list looks like this:

30 While 30

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Very exciting isn't it?