Do a Groupon

I've done a few groupons in the last month or so.  Who knows what the next year will bring?!?!?!

Hang upside down on an inversion table

 I've had so many opportunities to try this over the last few months.  When I visit friends who have one I always say I'm going to try it, but then get distracted by other things.

 When I went to visit my friend E, her dad has one in the basement (that I have been meaning to try every other time I've visited).  I finally remembered to do it!

It felt good and stretched my back, but I could only hang for 20-30 second at a time cause it was difficult for my feet to stay supported in the straps.  Next time I'll try it with my shoes on!

Try adult coloring

I've been interested in trying this new craze.  This is my first...many more to go!

Host a ladies spa night and try a homemade belly wrap

Two of my favorite ladies drove in from out of town to hang with me for a ladies spa night.  We did pedis and manis, facials, and even tried homemade belly wraps (trust me, you dont want to see a pic of that!).  We drank sangria and ate snacks and talked the night away.  Good times!

PS Belly wraps did nothing but make a mess!  We measured before and after...no change.

Go horseback riding with Sonya

 We drove out to Ohio and spent the weekend with my friend Sonya.

 Sonya has been inviting me to come riding with her for years, but I've never made the time.

 Now that I live hours a few hours drive away, we made a weekend trip of it!

 The kids got to ride for the first time ever and only E's second time ever!

 It was a beautiful day and even though it was mid-April, it was 75 and sunny all day!  I even got a sunburn!

 Sonya's daughters were very good at teaching the kids to ride!

 We all had a marvelous time!  

Host a murder mystery party

 We hosted this party as our house warming party after moving into the new house.

 Surprisingly enough, everyone dressed up!

 We all had a good time!

The theme was little Italy so we ate lots of pasta and all dressed up like italian mobsters :)  Well, all except the priest, cop, and fortune teller!

Move into a house

We finally got out of the apartment building and into a house.  We are just renting, because we hope to only live in this area for a couple years.  It's good to have our own space with a bedroom for everyone and a basement for all our hobby stuff including a workout area!

Make Tapas with Kas

After opening my Spain box from Try the World, I thought it would be fun to make tapas with K.  K and I met in Spain back in 2002 and have been friends ever since.  She is the reason that I now live in Hammond, Indiana.  We had talked awhile back about how it would be fun to look through the photos from Spain and do some reminiscing.  We ate alot of food, relived alot of memories, and had alot of laughs!  Good times!

36 things to do before I turn 37

New State, New City, New Friends, New Adventures, New List.
Here's to year 36!

Last year, I changed my list up a bit with putting double the number of items on it that actually needed accomplished and it was the first year that I actually met my goal!  So, I'm following that pattern again and making a long list.  This year my goal is to accomplish 36 items off this list!  I better get started...I'm a month behind already!

Volunteer for Librivox
Complete 12 sections in my Bible study workbook
Publish my book
Yoga class/yoga in the park
Read When Kids Cant Read
Sew myself a wearable garment
Read 5 more book off this list or this list
Play Zelda
Make butter or cheese
Quilt
Host a multiple course dinner party
Advent calendar Christmas boxes
Make colored ice balls for winter
Take a class
Run a 5K
Get under 175 pounds
Go roller skating
Find a new church home
Join a bible study group
Read Mitchner's Poland
Segway tour
Adler Planetarium
Alphabet pictures
Make a time capsule
Write thank you notes just because
Get past 20 push ups
River tour in Chicago
Go to a horse race
Tour a brewery
Make a 2014 and 2015 photo album
Update blog on all items from last years list
Read Harry Potter with William
Play 3 new board games with the kids
Beach time with Alyssa
Visit Planet fitness at least 4 times per month
Catch and eat fish
Spend a weekend in the city with the kids
Harvest wild food
Can and pressure cook something
Host a game night
Discover a new favorite musical artist
Host a ladies spa night
Make Tapas with Kas
Go skiing somewhere local
Finish the Game of Thrones books
Watch the Game of Thrones series
Go on an Indiana wine tour
Make pottery
Plant, harvest, and eat food from my own garden
Make spaghetti sauce from scratch
Move into a house
Host a murder mystery party
Host a backyard BBQ party
Find out about my grandmothers grave
Visit 3 new local beaches
Go camping
Refinish my grandmothers desk
Build a birdfeeder or birdhouse
Vacation in Myrtle Beach
Visit Christy or BOK
Lose 15 pounds
Make a new friend
Own a sewing machine
Get a job
Play paintball or lasertag
Ride a hot air balloon
Make a prayer board
Snorkel somewhere new
Learn to Scuba
Attend a cherry blossom festival
Do a groupon
Try 3 new teas
Go horseback riding with Sonya
Try 3 new local restaurants
Find out what Purdue has to offer
Check out a local trail
Take a dance class
Midieval Times
Try a homemade belly wrap
Try adult coloring
Attend a local festival or concert
Learn to play an instrument
Volunteer for a local organization
Attend a church event
Send a Spain postcard to everyone I have an address for
Attend a wine and canvas event
Hang upside down on an inversion table

5 Goals, 1 Post

Eye Exam
While I was visiting Indiana in the spring visiting, I went to get an eye exam.  First time I've had one in years.  All is good.

Check my credit report
I did this in the spring right before leaving Bethel.  I wanted to see what my credit looked like for filling out a rental application for an apartment in my new town.  A few weeks ago, we found a house for rent and the owner told me, "You have a better credit score than me!"

Fast for three days
I did this in the spring while I was still in Bethel.  It wasnt as hard as I expected it to be.  After the first day, you pretty much get over being hungry. I mostly wanted to eat at the end because I missed food!

Make a Bethel appreciation list
I did this before leaving Bethel.  I sent it to Eric and told him to keep me accountable for all of the things I valued about living there.  I dont want city life to change me or get me caught up in drama.  Every once and awhile he busts it out and we looked over it.

Recycle
Recycling from an apartment complex is not the easiest thing to do.  We had talked to the neighbor in the house across the street about putting out our recycling with theirs.  Originally they said yes, but then they got a little weird about it.  So, we put a rubbermaid bin outside the front door and started sneaking our recycling into other peoples bins by driving down alleys in our neighborhood.  This just made me feel like I was committing a crime instead of doing a good deed though so I stopped.  Then a friend told me about some local drop off points for recycling.  We've been taking it there.

Move out of my storage unit

Well, I moved my stuff out of my storage unit in Ohio, just to move into a storage unit in Indiana.

Such is life!

I did take quite a bit of the stuff out and put it to good use though so the new storage unit has much less stuff in it.

We will soon move into a house and empty this storage unit as well.  NO MORE STORAGE UNITS!!!

Harvest, preserve, and eat wild mushrooms

In the Fall of 2014, Erin and I took a mushroom identification class.

In the fall of 2015, I went back to Bethel and we did a little collecting of some mushrooms we found next to the trail by the river.

I'm certain enough about the identification of these mushrooms that I dried and packaged them.  I still havent gotten around to eating them yet, however, I did get to enjoy a HUGE piece of chicken of the woods mushroom that was collected and given to us by a friend.  We enjoyed that and will get around to eating these mushrooms when we are certain we wont be consuming any alcohol.  Apparently, although edible and delicious, these mushrooms will react badly with alcohol!!!

Read Game of Thrones

I had read book 1 several years ago, but never got around to the others.  So I read it again before starting book 2 and I'm so glad I did.  There is so much that happened in the first book that I had forgotten.  

Skiing/Sledding/Play in the snow

I had the opportunity to do all three...

Skiing while still in Bethel with Erin, 

sledding with Eric and William in Hammond, 

and 

building a snowman and snowball fight with everybody!

Have my truck waxed and detailed

I took it to the car wash on Ridge Rd in Munster.  They did a decent job for the price, but it's already looking banged up again.  I'm going to need to get it waxed come summer.  Bethel beat up my paint with the sand and wind and harsh conditions.  Now Indiana is beating it up with careless neighbors who hit it with their car doors.

Set up a real live Christmas tre

Well, the pictures are reverse again, but this is it...our Christmas tree.  It was small and perfect!

And I had never actually cut one down before, just usually bought it from the store so this added a whole other level to it.  Then at the end of the season, they city had a burning party!!!

Start a new tradition

Last year, Eric and I spent our first days together as a couple in Chicago enjoying the city lights and holiday festivities.  We went to a holiday market where we got a christmas ornament to commemorate our first holiday together.  This year we again went into the city on a weekend during the holiday season, enjoyed the city light, holiday festivities, and a 2015 ornament to add to the tree.  This, I think, will be our new holiday tradition...both the ornament and the time spent together.