Friday, April 20, 2012

I've done stuff. Seriously.

How about an update on the ol' 101 List?  It's only been eleventy-billion days since I last updated.  Seems like the right time.

So.  I haven't been overly active in completing tasks.  But trust me when I say, I think about it a lot.  And I have plans in the months ahead to knock many more items off the list.  But for now, here's what I've been up to since last...

November?!

Really?!  That's when I last posted?! 

Terrible.  And even more lame that I have so little cross off since then...*sigh*

Ah well.  Here it is, for what it's worth:

1. Eat egg rolls from the Golden Palace - According to fans of The Golden Palace Chinese restaurant in Ottawa, I've been missing out.  BIG time.  I've never been there, and honestly, even though I'm crossing this off my list, I still have never been there.  But this year, they started serving Golden Palace egg rolls at Scotiabank Place, so when I was at the Sens game on Monday night, I ordered some.  They were sooooo good.  And I've been told they're even better when you get them straight from the restaurant.  (Cheaper, too, I would suspect, as these babies cost me $6.50.)


33. Attend at least 3 Sens games per season - I barely managed to complete this task for this year - just by the skin of my teeth.  I attended my second game on December 7th, 2011, when my brother-in-law Chris offered me one of his season tickets, so I joined him, his dad, and his uncle that night to see the Sens take on the Washington Capitals.  Unfortunately, we lost 5-3. Boooooo.  Chris then offered me another ticket in early January, which I turned down due to "just not feeling like it".  I know.  What kind of fan am I??  And I was realllllly regretting it as the season wound down and I still needed to get to my third game of the year!

Fortunately, the Sens made the playoffs, and tickets went on sale right around the time Lent was over, so I was able to order tickets on my credit card.  (I gave up my credit card for Lent.  How silly of me.)  I was able to convince my brother to come with me, since I owed him money, figuring out to be right around the same amount as a playoff ticket in the nosebleeds.  Done deal.  And of course, we lost 1-0.  I have never been at SBP for a victory in the playoffs.  It was an amazing game, just a bad end result. We also lost my car...if you haven't already read about it, you can find that story here.

44.  Make a recipe from every section in my Betty Crocker cookbook -  On a Saturday back in March, I was craving pancakes.  I didn't have the recipe that we used to always make as kids handy, nor could I remember it.  (I honestly used to have it memorized...we ate a lot of pancakes.)  So I decided to flip open the ol' cookbook and find Betty's recipe.  They were really good, but not as good as the ones we used to make at home.  Mmmm...pancakes.


67. Complete a 1000-piece puzzle - You know why I haven't completed much off my list for the past few months?  That's because I spent most of those months trying to complete this task!! 

When my mom & her siblings cleaned out my grandmother's house last Spring, I laid claim to a 1000-piece puzzle of hers.  I meant to work on it over the Christmas holidays, but didn't get started until early January.  I worked on it for weeks, only to reach the end and discover I was missing not one, not two...but FIVE pieces.  I couldn't consider this task complete when I was missing FIVE PIECES!!!  Darned ol' Grandma and her rummage sale puzzles...

So I bought a new one at the store.  A nice, 1000-piece horse scene.  I didn't take into account, though, that it was all in whites, greys, and browns.  Talk about a challenge!  It took me forever, but I finally completed it on March 15, 2012.  I even took a picture, but don't have it uploaded on this computer.  This is what it looks like, though.



I really enjoyed my puzzle-making days.  They kept me pre-occupied during some very stressful, anxiety-filled days when my dad was sick and in the hospital, and after he passed away.  I thought about starting another one up again right away, but I've decided to keep my puzzles as a "Winter" activity.  I'm looking forward to the next one.

95. Drive on the Queensway -  I'm going to be honest.  I didn't really think this was something I'd ever accomplish.  I figured it was a guaranteed $5 towards charity (that's my promise - for every task I don't complete).  My friend Sharon, though, was determined I was going to do it.  Several times, she has suggested it, when on our adventures to the movies in Kanata, and I always declined, coming up with some excuse.  But on March 16th, we ventured over to Kanata for an early movie that started around noon.  We grabbed a bite to eat afterwards, and were heading home around 3 PM.  I was feeling brave, so I finally agreed to drive on the Queensway.  I was so nervous, but under Sharon's careful guidance, it was easy-peasy.  Not sure I'm ready to tackle it on my own, but if I had someone directing me again, I don't think I'd hesitate.  CHECK!!  (Thanks to Sharon for helping me, and for risking her own life for my 101 List! haha!)


Well.  That's it.  That's all I have to show for the past 6 months.

How sad.

But at least it's something, right?  I have just a little over a year to work away at this, and I'm excited to get at it!  Hopefully more updates coming soon!! :)