Meanwhile...

Oh boy. Where to start?? In short, I realize my last post was much too long ago.

AND I am over a month past the date I was supposed to have accomplished all, if not some, of my Day Zero Project tasks.  I've looked back over the accomplished tasks and leftover tasks, and there are a few that were completed in the recent months (going to the ballet, organizing my bills, taking regular "art breaks" at work for my own sanity) that I can remove but that still leaves me with a staggering 60 tasks unaccomplished in this challenge. 

60....out of 101...
I suck.

So what now? Well I think it's only fitting I give myself a consequence so I'm going to do something with those 60 items. I am going to review them and put them on a new list. AND I'm going to donate a dollar for every unaccomplished task from this first attempt to a local charity. I've yet to decide on one but if you have any suggestions please feel free to share. I'll come up with a charity before the end of the month and write the cheque for March 1 2012. 

I suppose time flies when you're having fun definitely applies here. The last half of 2011 was a pretty busy one, though looking back now it's hard to recall all of it though I know it was spent in good company usually paired with good food and wine and fantastic stories.  

One of my treats to myself this fall was buying a 5-game ticket pack with Michelle and Ryan for the Sens. We saw our last one a couple of weeks ago. It was such an awesome treat that would come up every few weeks "what am i doing this week... OH YEAH! i have tickets to a game. Yay!" :) Definitely want to do that again next season, it was well worth it.

In December Jocelyne and I went to see The Nutcracker ballet as performed by the Pennsylvania Ballet Company. It was my first ballet and I chose it because since I was little I have been in love with the magic of this story. I also went to hear the NAC Orchestra for the first time, and though it wasn't on my list, it was a lovely evening. 

Had a second absolutely epic week in Tremblant. Getting better on the board. It definitely helps to have someone pushing you to not take the easy runs every run ; )

Back to the list....
My falling short of accomplishing the artistic goals I had set out is disappointing. They are still in the works, and I have signed up for two free Art House Co-op projects that will be completed in the next month. http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/themeal and http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/4x6exchange2.

That's the latest and once I have a new list I'll post it and take a second stab at this whole Day Zero thing.

NAC

Mont Tremblant

Mont Tremblant

Christmas dinner with 3 of my favourite ladies :)

Knocked off the list are two recipes from September = my first try at lasagna which I mentioned earlier and recently a Lemon Squares recipe which got a rave review :) With Thanksgiving around the corner, I've got some things planned so I have some new things to add to my repertoire.


I have been stuck at home sick the past week and half and this is the first day back to the real world. It feels good to be doing something productive again, but at the same time....haha, sleeping in and being lazy had its benefits. Being sick with asthma however, does not. It also reminds me how badly I need to get on with finding something that suits me better than my current situation. That is always in progress, but I've really stalled since this summer.Otherwise, things couldn't be better.


Things on the go now are thanksgiving plans, and Halloween plans. Family Thanksgiving plans are being made including our traditional venture up to the Gatineau Hills to see the pretty leaves and take a few snapshots. As well, Shawn and I have got our Halloween costumes figured out - this is the earliest I have done this in many years. I'm very excited for my costume, it's a theme I've been wanting to do for some time. Stay tuned for those pictures! Also on the list of things coming up is a wedding this Saturday for Shawn's cousin. I love a good excuse to get dressed up, and do some dancing.


Speaking of dancing, one of our next date nights will be dance lessons. I am very very very excited for this. Shawn has some dance training. I...not so much..as in none. We've talked about taking lessons together and finally it is going to happen. he;s up for whatever so I've chosen ballroom. Fingers crossed I don't end up having a case of two left feet.


What else is new - I have been bad with the 101 list lately...but I do have a lot of time still to finish it off, of course, but it's always a little victory when I get to cross something off. Come to think of it...dance lessons are on my list. So is a hike in the Gatineaus which is also coming up in a couple of weeks, we have a hike and picnic planned with some friends, hoping it will be a nice afternoon, not like all this rain we have been getting.


More news....ohh a favourite - Jocelyne and I have started back on with our pole fitness classes. It really is a great workout and its something fun and not something I dread doing. I've recently fell out of love with my gym membership. I keep it for group classes, but otherwise we have not gotten along since early this summer. Jocey and I took up pole fitness classes around this time last year and progressed through 2 of the levels. Well then came other expenses and then my fractured wrist and signing up for new classes got put off for a while. Recently the instructor opened up her own studio and Joce and I are now back to it. And after a week off due to illness, going back to class this week will feel great. Plus I have a lot of catching up to do. Jocey's got a lot of things down that I don't quite have the hang of yet, so tomorrow night will be catch up night! We laugh cause people think it's got to be really sexy...but often we just end up laughing at ourselves cause its not at all sexy when you are learning...there's a lot of bruising, and a lot of hesitation. It's all very awkward looking at first...falling, pole "burn"...but its also so much fun and I always leave exhausted after a class.


One last thought - things I need to get back on are reading! I need time to read, and I'm going to make a point of it. We have what I think of as a big-small library at home, a collection of books includes Steph’s collection, my collection, and a load of books donated from friends. Gotta start somewhere! I'm also keen on getting my finances in order, as I've talked about it in length with some close friends and gotten their sage advice on some steps that so far has things finally settling now and getting into a good spot. Getting by with a little help from my friends :)


Meant to post this yesterday (Monday), I saved it and just got back to it now. See you next week!

I just finished spending a fabulous week with one of my favourite people. Shawn and I spent the past week and a bit house/cat sitting for my friend Gen and her husband Steve while they jetted off to Italy. A well deserved vacation and much needed break from life for someone who has been busting her behind all summer on her ever growing new gig as a photographer. Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography has been booked solid for this summer wedding season, along with some maternity shots and family portraits. Italy came at the perfect time I think.

Now she's back (YAY!) and her stories have made me ache even more to just get the heck outa dodge and see more of the world that is waiting for me to see it.

Anyhow, back to the wonderful man I got to spend my down time with for a week. It was a great experience. It's probably the most time we have spent together since we began dating almost 4 months ago. Things with Shawn have seemed to just easily, so easily, fall into place. We clicked practically from day one. His open and warm smile, and his (lame) jokes are the first thing that brought me in. It took him 2 weeks to pop the date question. On one hand, it came outa no where, but yet, at the same time, I thought "took you long enough!".

Now almost 4 months later, it feels like I've known him for longer than I've known most of my closest friends. He's also fit in quite well with the closest of them, which has been very important to me. My girls are the pillars in my life. There's family and then there are those who are like family, just as close as family, and I have some pretty amazing people in my life whom I count in that group. I love them and I don't know what I would do if they were to disappear.

Shawn - well he's made life interesting since he came into my life. For a couple of 4 months we have actually had a couple of ups and downs that we've both weathered through mostly unscathed, and I have little fear of what is to come for us next. We have talked really openly about where we are at right now and at time where, in the past, is often when I get cold feet and jump ship, I feel glued to this spot and I don't want to move. And "playing house" for a week in a beautiful home, pet included, things were pretty...nice :) Making dinner together, taking walks, doing chores together, just spending down time with each other... and...oh especially BBQing - my favourite as I live in an apartment where we can't have BBQs or grills on the balconies - things just felt right. I know 4 months is early, but I already know that Shawn is someone special and someone who I know will stay in my future.

Thank you Gen and Steve for allowing us to watch over your beautiful home while you were gone. If it wasn't for not wanting to live on Reactine any longer, poor Tugger would have been kidnapped home with me!! You have a lovely home. And p.s. I love my little piece of Italy, Gen. You can never go wrong with jewellery with this girl. ;)

Ohhhh and before I go, a few updates...

A new book is on the go thanks to Kate (I may have mentioned this in a past post)...I've been slowly going through it as August has been a crazy month, but with fall I feel curling up with a book will be done much more easily, especially will the fresh weather we've been having since last week.

I also hit my two recipes a month goal this time around. An Oreo-Cheesecake for dessert the night Shawn and I were at Gen and Steve's prior to their departure. I also tried my hand for the first time at cabbage rolls. Verdict = good but I did not season the meat enough. Should have used a bit more salt. They cooked well, but it just needed more...taste. But overal, I'm pleased. I was worried they would turn out uncooked or just....a mess. Next...I've got my eyes set on making Moussaka and maybe...Lasagna...? Or another dessert... Baking has always been my favourite. My dad mentioned they were "low" on oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Just a hint I guess!

Back to the 'real' world

Working in Marketing and Communications for the better half of my time, as well as on the web team here at the Gallery, I recently decided that it was important for me to brush up on my social marketing skills. I started a Twitter account a while ago but let it fall by the wayside (much like my little blog here). I will be updating regularly again, so please ch-ch-check it out if you tweet, too :) @jamiemcglashan

I'm also going to try and be really really good with my blog posts from now on. Fall will mean (a little) less time outside and more time for sitting down and letting my words flow out freely :) My 101 Things in 1001 days project will not work on itself.

Aloha!

13 hours....and I will be packing myself into Brad's already packed-to-the-hilt Vibe and setting off on a 15-hour (potentially longer) drive to North Carolina. That's right....my surfing trip has finally arrived :) Steph, Brad and myself are heading down to catch some waves for a few days next week.

I am:
hoping I don't drown;
hoping I don't get eaten by a shark;
hoping I don't break something;
getting nervous butterflies;
sooooo freakin' excited I can't sit still.

I know:
that this is going to be THE best trip ever, with two of my best friends;
that surfing will be a fun and - something tells me - a humbling experience;
that I can't wait to sit on the beach and soak up some rays;
that I am looking forward to the campfire dinners and toasting marshmallows;
that I really should have started packing last night....

This is the first full-on long distance road trip I am taking with friends and not my family, so I think this ads to the bubbles of excitement in my stomach right now. A little backstory: While I wasn't in on the conversation initially, what I remember is that it occured at the Honest Lawyer here in Ottawa in November over one of our happy hour get togethers. Brad and Steph must have been talking about Australia and surfing (as my flatmate had lived there for a year and had taken it upon herself to learn how to surf, smart girl) and both agreed they wanted to do a surfing trip in the near future. Why not? Locations were discussed and a few options were singled out but nothing concrete was made, other than a promise that they would indeed follow through.

Some of us throw these suggestions out with no follow through but this, this is not characteristic of either of them. I know both of them are the types when if they've set their mind to something, then its going to be done, somehow, someway, eventually. Indeed, this idea would turn out to be more than just happy hour talk, more than just a pipe dream (ba-dum-bum!) :) Surely enough, a few weeks later Steph suggested I should join them as well in planning the trip. That was all I needed :) Planning began - magazines were bought, websites consulted (a favourite being this fun jem: www.riptionary.com), stories with friends who share a passion for surfing were heard (special thanks on my end to Krysia for her lovely words of encouragement and reminder that surfing is about the journey, and about respect, for the people and the ocean) - and Steph came up with a beautiful plan to hit up the east coast, close to home, not gonna break the bank per se. And so we were NC bound as a few months ago.

Which is why I can't believe we are leaving tonight. Its finally here. The email from the surf camp this morning requesting my age, height and weight to ensure they prepare the right equipment for me added just that extra jolt of excitment to my morning. Honey, Zimzala and Brosef (that's right..I picked out our surf names...) are south bound as of midnight tonight. Thanks to everyone who have left me friendly send-of messages for a safe and happy trip. Trust: there will be many many many photos. I will do my best to not disappoint on that front.

Aloha!

By Monday, January 16, 2012...

...I will have succesfully {hopefully} tackled the following..

I have always toyed with the idea of starting my own blog, but as often as I thought about it I would quite quickly come back with the thought of...well what could I possibly have to say? Ask many of my closest friends and even they will tell you I'm more often than not the quiet one. And I often play things safe. I think this among other reasons is why the idea of the Day Zero Project is so attractive to me.

My friends could also probably you that I have a knack for being long winded...so I digress and will get to the point of why I, and you, are here.

My list. Number one as you see is to start a blog. To keep track of my progress for myself and for those who wish to share in my journey over the next 1001 days. The blog will accomplish not only to ensure I stay accountable for the goals I have set out, but it will also give me an outlet to talk about the significance, big or small as they may be, in my life.

101 Things to Do in 1001 Days

1. Start the blog! - April 20, 2009
2. Read 2 books a month ~ in progress, keep your eyes on the book list for updates ~
3. Visit at least 3 of the 5 Great Lakes
4. Learn to surf :: June 1-3 I took surf lessons with Steph and Brad down in North Carolina. What an amazing experience!!!! ::
5. Pick up a new sport. :: I am learning how to play tennis with Jocelyne and Dan :)
6. Go to Maine.
7. Re-Read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. (why? because we had to read it for our first year intro to comms' research methods and i never finished it)
8. Visit Laura in Edmonton.
9. Go on a road trip with no predetermined destination.
10. Go a month without junk food.
11. Plan a sisters holiday.
12. Buy my first car.
13. Improve my french. :: in progress
14. Purge my excesses. Do an inventory and cut what I don't need/no longer use/wear; donate the casualties.
15. Put my credit on ice for an extended period until my balance is back at zero.
16. Set a monthly budget, decide on a strategy and stick to it.
17. Document "a day in the life" in pictures (Inspired by Tor)
18. See a favourite band in concert. :: June 17th 2009 - Went to see No Doubt in Montreal with my sister!! Amazing show!!
19. Go camping. :: Camped for the week in North Carolina. Will also be camping for my birthday weekend coming up.
20. Try rollerblading again.
21. Organize my music finally.
22. Host a "family dinner" night with friends.
23. Watch the sunrise.
24. Skinny dip.
25. Read 7 novels in french.
26. Get a membership to the Bytowne theatre.
27. Begin painting again, create a series.
28. Take a writing workshop or class.
29. Go to an outdoor concert.
30. Make a scrapbook of my trips to Bermuda.
31. Send postcards on my travels.
33. Have a girls night in.
34. Stay up all night.
35. Give up Facebook for 2 weeks.
36. Give up my bus pass for a month and bike to work every day.
37. Host a craft night.
38. No more being lazy. I have a gym membership and I hardly use it. I will work out for an hour 3 times a week in addition to me weekly hour sessions with my trainer. Get my money's worth out of this.
39. Start an RRSP.
40. Go canoeing.
41. Go to the Biodome.
42. Ride a rollercoaster.
43. Ride a rollercoaster I have been to scared to ride. TBD.
44. Go to La Ronde for the first time!
45. Renew my passport (this will be coming in the 1001 days)
46. Pick a random topic p/month and learn everything there is to know about it. Started April 21.
- May: it will be Italy.
47. Learn to knit a scarf.
48. Make a list of 100 things that make me happy (also inspired by Tor!) - April 29th - in progress
49. See a ballet.
50. Go to an opera.
51. See a broadway show.
52. Drive a boat.
53. Try Zip-Lining.
54. Go on a hike.
55. Do something once a month that challenges my normally shy nature. (this is going to be tough)
56. Go to the east coast and visit Sam, and my cousin Alli while she's at St F.X.
57. Learn how to drive a manual tranmission.
58. Learn 5 new constellations.
59. Plant a tree.
60. Take a cooking class.
61. Walk for a cause.
62. Leave a book (bookcrossing.com)
63. Sew myself something.
64. Make a time capsule.
65. Win something.
66. Keep a journal.
67. Have a work friends night out.
68. See 5 foreign films.
69. Take an "art break" at least once a month - Take advantage of where I work and see the art I love so much!
70. Have a spa day with someone.
71. Play golf (i.e. find someone patient to take me and teach me how to golf)
72. Do yoga.
73. See a shooting star. :: June 2009 - laying out on Pam's backyard with the gang, caught a glimpse of 2 shooting stars that night :)
74. Buy a lottery ticket.
75. Go on a picnic.
76. Go sailing.
77. Go fishing.
78. Learn how to *actually* throw a football (yes i'm serious)
79. Create a photo-story series.
80. Make artwork from 10 of my favourite photos.
81. Go surfing again!
82. Send christmas cards.
83. Update my resume.
84. Fly somewhere.
85. Donate to a food drive.
86. Use an audioguide and tour the Gallery's collections.
87. Back up my files and photos.
88. Update my design portfolio.
89. Visit a lighthouse.
90. Ride a horse. ::Photoshoot with Gen June 20th 2009 I got to get on a horse. So beautiful!
91. Plan my dream trip to Italy.
92. Learn a new style of dance.
93. Try 2 new recipes a month.
- May: 1) Rolled oats apple cake - and it was a big hit! yay!
94. Organize my bills.
95. Read through the entire Bible.
96. Plan and embark on a random weekend getaway.
97. Go snorkeling.
98. Cook dinner for my parents. - May 10 - My sister and I cooked my parents an amazing 4 course meal for Mother's Day :)
99. Take an art class.
100. Make something to put in the silent auction for our United Way Workplace Charitable Campaign.
101. Make another list at the end of 1001 days! :)