T Minus 17 and 16 Days

T minus 17 and 16 Days, Saturday and Sunday, July 28^th- 30^th, 2012: “Weekend of Fun”

You’re probably thinking “Weekend of Fun” wasn’t really an option for one of my challenges but hear me out. I’m doing this weekend as one post because I spent the weekend basically acting like a kid. After seven night shifts, with very little sleep in between, I really wanted a weekend of not doing much. The reality is, I also had a lot of work to catch up on that hadn’t gotten done while I was supporting the HTV mission. I didn’t do any of it. I pretty much disconnected myself all weekend and just had fun. Not exactly how a responsible adult might act...

I started the weekend off Friday night watching the Olympic Opening Ceremonies with some good friends. It was fun to just hang out with them, have a few drinks (Pimm’s Cup in honor of them being in London), order some pizza and talk about the ceremony. 

Mmmm, Pimm's Cup! Thanks to the Brits (Adam and Claire) for introducing us to this deliciousness!

Seriously, the cauldron was pretty amazing. I honestly think that was the coolest Olympic torch I've ever seen.

Amazing view of the Olympic torch from inside and below. 

Saturday morning, I slept until 10 a.m. Even when I’m exhausted, I don’t generally sleep in very late. So, sleeping that late felt so luxurious and wonderful. I had a delicious breakfast and then napped for a while after breakfast… yep, I was a serious a slacker! Then, I went stand up paddle boarding with a friend. If you’ve never been, it’s pretty fun. Although, at one point, we were just sitting on our boards imagining that we were in clear blue turquoise water with clear skies as far as the eye could see. 

Let's just pretend this is what it looked like in Clear Lake...and that's what I look like in a bikini.

Not exactly the scene in “Clear” Lake. It’s a little browner…the water, not my skin. And I freaked out when a gator gar surfaced not far from me. I screamed like a little girl and asked, “What the F--- WAS THAT!?!?” I explained what I saw and he said it was probably a gator gar…don’t worry, he said…it probably won’t bite. So, for the rest of the time my main focus was to not fall off the damn board.

A gator gar...because who DOESN'T want to jump in the water and cuddle with that??

After narrowly escaping the jaws of death from a gator gar, I went to St. Arnold’s Brewery with a friend to listen to some live music and drink some beer. The music was good and the beer was tasty. We both, however, realized we hadn't really eaten dinner…rookie mistake (see, I WAS acting like a kid). So, we bailed out and went to get dinner. We went to The Flying Saucer and had more beer and food. And, enjoyed watching the Olympics with a bar full of people. It’s so much fun when everyone is cheering together, and “Oh shit”-ing together. I really love Olympic season! Then we went to the Chocolate Bar. No, not for more beer. For some of the most delicious chocolate cake I've ever had. The slice we got was $10, which seems expensive. But I swear to you, it was probably about 5 lbs of cake! And lasted three days! We got the Uncle Darryl cake, behold the wonderfulness below:

Yes, that's one slice. Yes, that's why we have an obesity problem in our country. Yes, it was delicious.

Sunday, I once again slept until almost 10 a.m. Then a friend and I went to get brunch…which turned into lunch because he got caught up watching the Olympics. I ended up ordering a meatloaf sandwich. It was not the best decision I've ever made. It looked pretty nasty and I didn’t eat it… I still blame him for missing out on breakfast but at least I was still able to get a mimosa. Then, we went to see The Dark Knight Rises. I've heard some people didn't like it but I honestly have no idea why! I loved it and I also thought the ending was great. I won’t say anything specific about it because I really think you should go see it!

After that, my friend and I went to another friend’s house where we grilled dinner and hung out and drank and played cards all night. Well, maybe not ALL night, but until about 11 p.m. which is pretty late on a night when you have to go to work. And, my friend has to wake-up for work at 5:45 a.m….that’s freaking early!

We ran out of beer around 11 p.m. Thankfully, we were smart enough to call it a night because otherwise the liquor was about to come out. And this picture clearly shows no good can come of that. Who posts these pictures on the internet for anyone to find??

So, how does this weekend of fun meet the challenge? Well, I slept in a lot, I napped a lot, I ignored the work that I should’ve done (both for my job and around the house…my laundry is still piled high) in lieu of play time with my friends and I basically was completely disconnected from my phone all weekend. That may not be like kids these days but when I was a kid we weren't all walking around with a cell phone. So, it was pretty nice to not be tied to one. I didn't check my work email, I wasn't checking Facebook, I wasn’t checking for texts constantly. I just disconnected and enjoyed the weekend like a kid would (with the addition of alcohol J). And man, it was probably one of the most perfect weekends I've had in a long time! 

T Minus 18 Days

T minus 18 Days, Friday, July 27^th, 2012: “Slacker”

Well, it was bound to happen. I missed a day. The lack of sleep finally did me in and I didn’t do any challenge today… I was thinking I could maybe say that I acted like a kid because I was so damn tired and crabby that I could’ve thrown a temper tantrum at the drop of a hat… Or, maybe I acted like a kid because I was pretty awed by watching HTV be grappled by a robotic arm and attached to ISS. But, really, I didn’t do anything specific to try and meet the challenge. Don’t worry, the weekend will make up for it…

I understand a temper tantrum isn't worth anything if no one is around to see it. Unlike this kid, I didn't have anyone around to see one...so I held back.

T Minus 19 Days

T minus 19 Days, Thursday, July 26^th, 2012: “Be a Kid”

I’m also dubbing this day “only one more 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. shift” day. It’s very exciting. Tonight is my last night supporting the HTV mission. It’s exciting to be able to support the mission but the thought of actually being able to sleep more than 4 hours in a day is also pretty exciting. And, in honor of that excitement, I basically had myself a little dance party while I was getting ready for work.

If only Channing Tatum had joined my dance party...

Most people know I really like to dance, so it’s really not a stretch for me to start dancing at random times. I’ve been known to even start dancing when there’s no music on…at least that’s not just in my head J But, let me tell you, getting ready for another night shift was WAY more fun while dancing through my getting ready routine. Even brushing my teeth was more fun. I'll also admit, that I mixed in some freeze dance because when the song was changing, and there was a bit of silence, I'd totally freeze in place and wait for the next song to start. Although, I don’t much recommend dancing while blow drying your hair…especially if you use a brush. There was a moment of, “Oh, shit…that’s kind of tangled.” But, no worries, I made it to work without a brush stuck in my hair and a little happier because I danced like a kid who just doesn’t care who’s watching while getting ready.

T minus 20 Days

T minus 20 Days, Wednesday, July 25^th, 2012: “Be A Kid”

Like I’ve said the last few days, I’m on this crappy shift right now (11 p.m. to 8 a.m.) and I’m pretty tired during the day, in general. I’ll get up about four or five hours after getting home (I’m pretty excited when I hit the five hour mark!) and then I’ll get up, eat, bum around, doze, bum around, doze, eat, doze and get ready for work again. I’ve been pretty good about getting a workout into that mix most days but it’s been hard…the motivation is low! Today was a day in which I convinced myself to go for a run…it took a couple hours to convince myself. I started running around 8:15 p.m. And, I won’t lie, by then I’d almost resigned myself to failing to complete some challenge for today.

But, while I was running, I kept thinking… I passed a little park and thought, “Oh, be a kid! That’d be fun!” But, there were no swings. And that’s my favorite part of a park. What a lame park. So, I kept running. Then, when I was about a mile from home, I remembered how much fun it was to skip when I was a kid. So, I started to skip. At first, I felt pretty silly because I’m an adult, out for a run on a Wednesday night, on a road that gets plenty of traffic and I was skipping. But, after a bit, that feeling went away as I started having fun skipping. I realized that I started skipping to the beat of my music. And my arms were swinging along in big arcs. And then, I started doing little dance steps in the middle of skips as I was running. And, before I knew it, I was REALLY enjoying my run! The sun was down, there was a nice breeze, the music was good, and I was skipping/dancing/running along for the last mile until I got home. And, I was kind of disappointed that I didn’t really have time to keep running! Some people may have to pick their jaws up at that statement coming from me…

Most people know I don’t really love running. I’ll do it but it’s not my first choice of exercises. I’ve enjoyed some runs here and there, mostly not here…in Houston. I find my lungs don’t much care for the air here. But, I’ve had some great runs out in the country when I’m visiting my family in MN. I can honestly say, however, that tonight was one of my very favorite runs I’ve ever had. And it’s all because of the skipping. So, if you were driving down South Shore Harbor Blvd. sometime between 8:15 and 9 p.m. Wednesday night, and saw some freak bopping along, spinning and waving her arms, that was me. Having fun skipping on my run.

T minus 21 Days

T minus 21 Days, Tuesday, July 24^th, 2012: “30 Letters to 30 People”

First, typing the title made me realize there’s only three weeks to go!! Holy crap! I’m getting old... As evidence to that, I’ve recently taken a liking to coffee. That’s a pretty big deal for me, I’ve only ever liked it with a ton of flavored creamer and a splash of coffee. The last couple of weeks I’ve been enjoying it with just a splash of milk…but the coffee is flavored at least.

Anyhow, like I said, I’m working weird hours right now and since I’m old, I’m getting more and more tired from my lack of really good sleep. So, the effort for this challenge tends to be a bit difficult. And sometimes I’m feeling annoyed by having to think of something to do. (But, to be fair, a lot will easily annoy me right now. I guess that’s fair warning to anyone who will see me in the next few days…) So, I thought for a few of the hours I was awake and not at work and realized I was being stupid because there was an obviously easy option for me to do. My grandma on my mom’s side recently fell and broke her hip. She had to have surgery and is doing well, from what I hear. To be honest, she’s probably being a pain in the ass because she’s always been pretty stubborn and independent and is a nurse. So, I’m sure she’s wanting to jump up and do everything herself and making those around her endlessly frustrated! I don’t talk to her that often but decided today that I’d send her a get well card because who doesn’t like getting fun stuff in the mail (especially when a lot of medical bills are about to come around!)? So, when my motivation was lacking the most I realized that I had an opportunity to reach out to a family member that I haven’t had much contact with in a long time. Mission accomplished.

T minus 22 Days

T minus 22 days (Monday, July 23^rd, 2012): “Random Act of Kindness”

Right now, I’m working overnight shifts in support of the HTV3 mission (it’s an unmanned, Japanese cargo vehicle that goes up to ISS). I’m not going to lie; working from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. doesn’t make me a very happy camper. I have a really hard time sleeping during the day. I love naps but a nap isn’t exactly going to get me through the day (or night rather). What does this have to do with anything? Well, it’s a really easy excuse to give up on this little challenge one week in…or at least use my exhaustion and general non-leaving the house except to drive to work activity as an excuse as to why I couldn’t do any of the challenges today. Partly, because I’m grumpy from several days of this shift and have several days to go…

BUT, I thought of this thing that I’d heard about a while ago and liked the idea but never actually went and looked it up. I truly believe in the idea of the platitude “give someone a hand-up not a hand-out”. There are a lot of organizations that try to go into areas, both domestically and internationally, that have really good intentions but don’t really take into account what the people there actually need. Trying to force this kind of “help” on people isn’t really helpful, in my opinion. I don’t remember where I’d heard about it the first time but www.kiva.org is basically a micro-loan organization that allows people to pick someone around the world to loan money to that will help them reach a goal that is generally to put into their personal businesses. The donations start at $25 and of course can go up from there. So, for the price of a manicure (which I really wanted to get today but the stupid place was closed L) I can help to give someone a hand-up instead of a hand-out (an un-manicured hand but whatever…I’m not bitter).

I helped this guy:

He’s a single father with an 8 year old son and they live in Nicaragua. He’s basically a cattle trader and his demand has gotten pretty high, so the loan will help him to meet his demand. Really, no one should be shocked that I picked someone in agriculture to help. But, the beauty is that there are so many options of who you could help. So, I recommend looking into it if you’re ever bored one day. And have money laying around from a manicure that you couldn’t get…but seriously, I’m not bitter about that…

http://www.kiva.org/invitedby/megan59225973/for/449005

T Minus 23 Days

T minus 23 days (Sunday, July 22^nd, 20122): “Be a Kid”

Today I ate with abandon like a kid would. I went out for breakfast and had some of the most indulgent pancakes ever. They were filled with blueberries and blackberries and had fresh raspberry syrup with them and were sprinkled with powdered sugar. I slathered on that syrup like nobody’s business. Usually, if I were to eat something like that, I’d think of how many calories are in it, probably only eat one pancake, how little actual nutritional value is in it and then maybe make sure to get a good workout in later in the day. I mean, seriously, there was a lot of butter on these pancakes! But, today, I just enjoyed every bite of those pancakes (almost three…)! It was delicious and oh so satisfying. The nap that happened afterwards because of the sugar crash was also oh so satisfying.

Also, as has become a Sunday tradition, I hung out at some friends’ house and we grilled dinner and hung out in their pool. On the way home, I went to Dairy Queen and got an ice cream cone. First, I remember being so excited to go to DQ when I was a kid. My parents didn’t take us out for ice cream all of the time. It really was just a once in awhile treat. But, man, when we went to DQ that was so exciting. And, what’s more satisfying as a kid than an ice cream cone on a hot summer night? That ice cream cone tonight was delicious! So far, I’m finding the “Be a Kid” challenges the ones with the most instant gratification!

T Minus 24 Days

T minus 24 days (Saturday, July 21^st, 2012): 30 Letters to 30 People

Today, I wrote a letter to a cousin of mine. Well, really, it was a card that I bought a while ago to send to her. It wasn’t her birthday or anything; I just liked the card and thought I’d send it to her. I got to catch up with her for a bit when I went to visit Minnesota for my dad’s surprise 60^th birthday. When I was younger, I used to sleepover at her place when I’d visit my dad in the summers. I remember really enjoying those sleepovers. We didn’t do anything special, really. We’d watch movies and make dinner or something like that. But, it was nice to be able to hang out with my cousin like that. Of course, as people get older that happens less. And, it doesn’t help that I live so far away. But, I decided that I’d send her a note letting her know how much I really enjoyed that time together. Now, if you know me, you also know I’m really bad about actually mailing something… So, here’s to hoping that the card will actually get in the mail this week!

T Minus 25 Days

T minus 25 days (Friday, July 20^th, 2012): “Be a Kid”

I remember as a kid, loving to watch movies with my friends. I don’t really know why it’s so enjoyable. You’re not really interacting with them… I guess, when you’re good enough friends, just hanging out in each other’s company is fun. And adding a movie to it is a bonus. Some friends and I got together to watch Pixar’s Up tonight. I don’t think they knew they were helping me fulfill this challenge but whatever! I’ve seen it before, so I knew I’d like it. But a couple of them hadn’t. They of course enjoyed it (who wouldn’t) and would like to get one of those collars for their dogs. It would probably be pretty funny to really hear what dogs are thinking and trying to say to us!

Unfortunately, I had to go to work at 11 p.m., so I didn’t get to hang out too long but hanging out and watching a fun movie was a good way to get me in a better mood prior to working an overnight shift.

T Minus 26 Days

T minus 26 days (Thursday, July 19^th, 2012): Random Act of Kindness

I enjoy cooking. But, sometimes, it’s too much work. On those days, I try to pick a fairly healthy option even though there are definitely days when I feel like I could wolf down a whole pizza! Today was a day where I didn’t feel like cooking, at all. So, after meeting some friends to work out, I went to Chick-fil-a. They honestly have some of the best milkshakes! I didn’t get one but I just thought I’d point that out in case you’ve never tried one there….you should. No, I got a salad with chicken. And, I went through the drive-thru because I’m too lazy to walk in. But, it gave me the opportunity to meet my challenge for the day. When I was paying, I said I wanted to pay for the car behind me. You’d think that wouldn’t be such an issue but the way they do their drive-thru line is they take orders at two different boxes and then funnel the cars down to one line to pay and pick-up the food. So, saying I wanted to pay for the car behind me apparently caused quite the challenge. First, the lady asked if she should just give my credit card to the car behind me. “Uh…no, I want my credit card back,” I responded. I understand her confusion…kind of. I suppose not many people are offering to pay for the people behind them if they don’t know them. But, I didn’t offer to let her (or anyone) keep my card. So, it was strange that she thought that’s what I wanted her to do. They finally figured it out, I think. So, either the car behind me or the car behind that car got a free dinner tonight. I hope when that car got up there, it made their day a little better. And, maybe, they’ll pay it forward somehow.

T Minus 27 Days

T minus 27 days (Wednesday, July 18^th, 2012): Random Act of Kindness and “Be a Kid”

Ok, I know last time I doubled these two up, it was a bit of a cheat. But, this time it’s legitimate, I swear! I was up early (rather unusual for me) and decided to go for a run (really unusual for me but a better option than going to work super early…that’s just crazy talk!). I did a pretty simple three mile out and back run. It may not sound like it’s that far but remember that I don’t like running and it’s Texas in the summertime…meaning it’s balls hot. We’re at the time of year when walking from your car to your house makes you sweaty. If it drops to 95 degrees and 80% humidity, it’s a relief! So, while coming back, I picked up some trash on the side of the road to throw away. I honestly don’t understand how hard it is for people to throw away their own trash but whatever. I also picked up an almost empty Gatorade bottle. I won’t lie, it was so freaking hot that a part of me briefly considered how bad it would be to take a sip of that Gatorade. I didn’t…thankfully the crazy streak that made me go for a run didn’t also convince me to drink the Gatorade!

I also met some friends this evening at a place called The Paint Pub. You drink and they teach you how to paint a picture. It was awesome. I’m pretty sure I never painted a picture of beer bottles when I was a kid but I enjoyed the painting. And, of course the beer and socializing that went with it. But, it was a lot of fun to be mixing paints and playing around with the painting and making it my own. Honestly, how long has it been since you’ve just painted a fun picture? It doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s just fun. Although, mine is perfect…if this engineer thing doesn’t work out, I’m pretty sure I have a back-up career in place J

You know that's talent. I will now be adding artist to my resume.

T Minus 28 Days

T minus 28 days (Tuesday, July 17^th 2012): 30 Letters to 30 People

I’m not sure if anyone else feels this way but it seems like there are a lot of birthdays in the summer! I was looking through some cards to find several birthday cards to send to some family and friends when I came across a card that reminded me of a good friend. It wasn’t a birthday card, just a regular card, which is fine because it wasn’t her birthday. But, when I read it, I laughed and thought of her. She moved away almost a year ago but we’ve maintained a strong friendship still. I think it’s always telling how good a friendship is when you lose the convenience of living close but still feel like you can lean on them if you ever need something. And, you can still have random, mundane conversations about the stupidest topics. She’s that kind of friend. So, I added the card to the stack of birthday cards and sent it out today. I’m pretty excited about it J

T minus 29 Days

T minus 29 days (Monday, July 16^th, 2012):

So…I think I did something but I don’t remember… Can I just take one of my doubled up days and have it count for today?? I bought myself two pairs of shoes today...Nine West had a bunch on sale for $30 :)

T Minus 30 Days

T minus 30 days (Sunday, July 15^th 2012): Random Act of Kindness and “Be a Kid”

So, this one is maybe a bit of a cheat but whatever, I’m still counting it. Since the challenge idea just occurred to me on this day, I feel like it should be ok. I’ve been matched with a Little Sister through Big Brothers/Big Sisters for three years now. She’s hilarious. I think I get more out of it than her but I hope she gets something out of it as well. We don’t usually do stuff that costs a lot of money but as a celebration for our 3 year anniversary, I bought tickets for us to see Broadway’s The Lion King while it was here in Houston. It was AMAZING!! We both really enjoyed it.

So, was the act completely random, not really. I’ve known her for three years. But, it was pretty random that we were matched and it’s probably pretty random that we’ve stayed matched for so long. And, I like to think that the positive impact I’m having on her will generate random acts of kindness in the future. But, I think this activity also falls under the “Be a Kid” category. It’s a musical based on a Disney movie. How is that not childlike? Plus, I was seriously leaning forward in my seat throughout most of it because I was so enthralled.

Like I said, it’s a bit of a cheat but I’m counting it because it was the first day and the challenge just started.

Let the Dirty 30 Challenge Begin

One day, I was talking to someone and he asked when my birthday was because he knew it was coming up. I paused, asked and asked what the date was. It was July 15^th…exactly 30 days to the Dirty 30! I’ve had a lot of friends turn 30 before me and some met the milestone as if it were just another birthday and some had a little bit of the, “Oh, shit, I’m 30!!” freak-out. My favorite was a friend who actually had a harder time turning 31 because he was “no longer even touching the twenties”, he was now firmly in his thirties. I realize that I’m not yet 30 but I have yet to have any sense of foreboding come over me at the thought. Probably, that’s because I have such awesome friends that have been there before me and shown me that it’s really not a big deal. And, as I see it, things are only getting better. I’m more confident in myself, I care less about living up to other people’s expectations of me (although I am  getting tired of my older brother telling me I should probably be married with kids by now because I can’t have kids forever!) I’m making more money, I feel more confident at work, I have more clout at work and I get to do whatever I want.

But, let’s be honest, turning 30 is a milestone. So, when I realized I was 30 days away from turning 30, I thought I should do something over my last 30 days in my twenties as a good sendoff and a positive way to ring in my thirties. I got some great ideas from friends on what to do over the next 30 days.

• 30 pairs of new shoes (awesome idea…if I can find someone to finance the challenge)
• Visit 30 of the 60 National Parks (Unfortunately, I do still have to maintain my job…and this would be more expensive than the shoes)
•   Visit 30 states (see above)
•   30 different beers in 30 days (this was suggested twice…I guess my friends know what I like J)
•   30 days of movies (that’s a lot of couch sitting and if combined with the beer and cheese challenge, I’m pretty sure I’d be buying a new wardrobe in 30 days!)
•   30 days of “Be a Kid” activities (color, go to a park, swing…)
•  30 Random Acts of Kindness
• 30 letters to 30 people you haven’t connected with in a long time

I can be a little fickle and indecisive, so it was hard to pick just one thing to do for 30 days. So, I decided I’d pick a few and challenge myself to pick out one of the options every day until I turned 30. That means I won’t necessarily do 30 days of each activity but that’s ok. I like variety!

The three I settled on are:

•  30 days of “Be a kid” activities (color, go to a park, swing, paint…)
• 30 days of random acts of kindness
•  30 letters to 30 people (modified from the haven’t connected with in a long time because sometimes, even if you email, chat, etc. with someone fairly regularly, it’s still nice to let them know you appreciate them)

 p.s. To be honest, I’ll probably be buying new shoes at some point in the next 30 days anyhow… I mean, my birthday IS coming up!