101 List: Launched

For those of you who haven't yet made it over to the new Blog that is going to follow my 101 List, I'm going to post the list here too.

Started: September 30, 2010
Scheduled to finish: June 28, 2013

1. Eat egg rolls from the Golden Palace

2. Make a dinner from scratch for my friends

3. Learn to knit a dish cloth or scarf

4. Take a trip down South

5. Cook a turkey

6. Make a scrapbook for Danica

7. Write a song and play it on my guitar

8. Host a poker tournament party at my home

9. Lose 20 lbs.

10. Get another fish for my tank

11. Write a novel (at least a rough draft)

12. Have a girls night/sleepover

13. Dabble my toes in the ocean

14. Organize a Schock cousin dinner out

15. Go for a ride on a snowmobile

16. Make spider-dogs over a bonfire

17. Go one whole week without logging on to Facebook

18. Plan a “girls day” with my mom & sister

19. Read 10 books in one year

20. Complete a song on Hard on Guitar Hero

21. Try a food I’ve never tasted before

22. Pull an all-nighter

23. Sing a song on-stage at Gavan’s

24. Organize a Young cousin dinner out

25. Make a dinner from scratch for my family

26. Make an iTunes playlist of my 101 favourite songs

27. Go to a drive-in movie

28. Visit my relatives in TO

29. Have a sliding party

30. Watch 26 movies I’ve never seen starting with each letter of the alphabet

31. Take my first plane ride

32. Make a Gingerbread House with Caden and Danica

33. Attend at least 3 Senators games per season

34. Go for a minimum half-hour walk each day for a month

35. Go to a real Spa

36. Spend a day baking with my mom

37. Do something significant (to be determined) in memory of Jeff and Troy

38. Organize my photos

39. Attend a midnight movie premiere

40. Up my PAR (pre-authorized remittance) givings at church by $5/month

41. Wash my own car at least once

42. Spend a day at the beach

43. Take a road trip

44. Make something from every section of my Betty Crocker cookbook

45. Get a DVD player for my room

46. Take a train somewhere

47. Organize my closet in a way that it STAYS organized & doesn’t go back to mayhem a week later

48. Go one whole week at work without complaining

49. Paint a picture

50. Walk for a cause

51. Go to a museum

52. Buy myself a lottery ticket

53. Go for a boat ride

54. Don’t hit snooze for one whole week

55. Go a whole day of speaking (or attempting to speak) French

56. Plan my dream trip to Ireland

57. Go up the CN Tower

58. Buy my own (artificial) Christmas Tree

59. Go to the local trout farm and actually CATCH a fish

60. Bake a birthday cake for someone

61. Go Zip-lining

62. Get a tattoo

63. Go on a Haunted Walk

64. Give blood

65. Get back the 2 dresses that I loaned to someone a long time ago

66. Build a snowman

67. Complete a 1000-piece puzzle

68. Drink a Guiness

69. Donate to a food bank

70. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years

71. Go camping

72. Watch a classic movie I’ve never seen before

73. Read Wuthering Heights

74. Carve my name in a tree

75. Dye my hair a dark colour

76. Organize my recipe collection

77. Spend an entire dreary day watching movies

78. Pay off at least half of my line of credit

79. Get an updated photo taken with my family

80. Fall in love

81. Buy a new-to-me car

82. Go to an Imax movie

83. Acquire a taste for red wine

84. Go a whole week without swearing

85. Spend a day with my grandma touring her stomping grounds

86. Be on the Christmas House Tour

87. Go for a hike in the Gatineau Park

88. Buy a laptop

89. Write a blog entry for Jill’s World or Jill’s 101 Adventure every weekday for a whole month

90. Carve a pumpkin for Halloween

91. Go to High Falls

92. Order something wacky off the menu at The Works

93. Plant my yellow rose bush outside

94. Spend a day being a “tourist” in Ottawa – on the Market, Parliament Hill, etc.

95. Drive on the Queensway

96. Get a psychic reading

97. Rake leaves and put them in big pumpkin bags for Halloween

98. Wear a bathing suit in public without putting shorts on over it

99. Direct a Murder Mystery that someone tells me is “the best one ever”

100. Come in 2nd in the Car Rally

101. Donate $5 to charity for each task I don’t complete

From here on in, I'm keeping track of the list over at Jill's 101 Adventure so be sure to check it out!!

Day Zero

Today, after reading some Lists of 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days that my friends have created (and have blogs to follow them), I was inspired to create my own.

Strangely enough, up until today, I've never been interested in creating my own list. I figured that I couldn't afford to do the extravagant stuff, and the little stuff...well, I'd get around to doing it without a list.

But today, something changed. I don't know why. Like I said, the urge just hit me. I visited the Day Zero website for ideas and within a few hours, I had created my own account and list of 101 Things. Basically, for those of you who are wondering, it's just a list of goals and and tasks that I've often thought, "Hey, I'd like to try that..." but never have. This list is my motivation. It will be interesting to see how many of them I can accomplish in the next 1001 days!

To keep up with my list, I've made the decision to create another blog, seperate from this one, on which I will publish my list and as I check things off the list, I'll blog about them, and hopefully post some pictures too.

Today is my Day Zero. Tomorrow the list will go up and the adventure will begin.

Feel free to check out the new blog at : http://jills-101-adventure.blogspot.com/ ...come along for the ride! :)

The Mighty Fall...

On September 24th, Wade Redden and his wife Danica welcomed their first child, a healthy baby girl, into the world.

How did his NHL employer congratulate him?

The NY Rangers put him on waivers. He cleared them and has now been assigned to their farm team in Hartford. He has also been given permission to seek other options, for instance playing in Europe.

After discussing this sad news with my mom & dad at breakfast this morning, I sighed dramatically and said, "Thank God I didn't end up with that guy..."

They laughed at me, which was the whole point of saying it - just a joke. But seriously. I keep thinking of Danica Redden and wondering how the wife of a fallen NHL star deals with this sort of thing. I suppose you sign up for an uncertain future when you choose to marry someone like him. And I suppose there are enough positives to outweight the negatives.

Everyone knows Wade's been making big bucks the past few years while his on-ice production has slipped miserably, turning him into one of the biggest laughs in the NHL.

It hurts my heart just to think of how his star has fallen.

So that's why my thoughts turned this morning, not necessarily to Wade, but to the woman at his side. The woman who just gave birth to his daughter, on the same day he lost his job in the NHL and was told he might be able to find work across the pond.

The dream career, over. The applause & cheers, long faded. The spotlights & high-life, done.

But maybe, this is when real life for the Reddens begins. Maybe, just maybe, Mrs. Redden is glad to watch the door close on her husband's high-profile roller-coaster career as a hockey player so that can be a normal little family now.

Just speculation. But it makes me wonder.

On a much happier note:

...Huge Blog congrats to my friends Sara & Graham, who welcomed their own adorable baby girl on September 21. Charlotte Elizabeth weighed in a 9 lbs 2 ozs, and she's as cute & cuddly as can be! Best wishes to the new family :)

AWESOME!

Awesome.

It's one of my favourite words. I probably use it way too much.

How did your lasagna turn out last night? Awesome.

How are the Flyers doing in the playoffs? Awesome.

Did you hear that new Eminem song? Yeah, it's awesome.

How are your fish doing? Awesome.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the word and how awesome it is. Just say it. Makes you feel good, right?

After the two tragic deaths in my family this past summer, my friend Sarah got me a "cheer up" present - The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha. On the way to Midland, Amanda and I passed the book back and forth and read some of the chapters out loud to help pass the time (and oh, how long the time was on that trip...) It was amazing how many times one of us would exclaim, "Oh I've done that!" or "I know exactly what he means!"

Basically, it's things like wearing underwear straight out of the dryer, finding money you didn't even know you'd lost, the fantastic assortment of drinks left in your fridge after hosting a party, getting high fives from a baby, hitting a bunch of green lights in a row, or my personal favourite (and the entry Sarah had marked for me)- hearing a stranger fart in public.

You know. The little things that happen during your day that aren't all that major, but just make you smile and say...AWESOME!

The Book of Awesome actually has stemmed from Pasricha's very popular Blog, 1000 Awesome Things, which I now check every day. And you know what's really awesome? When you hit an entry that you completely relate to.

Like today's. "Trying on your new clothes as soon as you get home from the store." I totally do that!! And it is absolutely AWESOME! Nothing more fun that coming home from a day at the mall, totally exhausted and jittery from the buyer's remorse, then going into my room, putting on everything I just bought and relaxing because, yes, it does look as good as I thought it did in the store. Yes, it still fits. Yes, my mom's going to freak when she finds out I bought jeans that came with holes in them, but I don't care. Because they're awesome.

Both the blog and book have given me reasons to smile at times when I didn't think it was possible. So if you ever need a pick-me-up or just a great way to start the day, check it out!

It's ...AWESOME!

From Fish to Puppies...

Don't worry, guys - I'm alive and well. And so are my fish.

Jackson and Marley seem to have adapted well together and happily share the tank now. Bringing Jacksie home was little nerve-wracking, as my partner-in-crime Brittany discovered shortly after leaving the pet store (and shortly after they locked the doors behind us) that there was a leak in the bag that he had to live in for the next few hours while we did groceries.

He was a trooper though. Not only did he survive and make it safely home, but he & Marley both survived my over-dosing the tank water with a purifying treatment last week. I put in 10x the amount of treatment that should have gone in, but aside from swimming fast for awhile and acting kind of crazy (maybe they were high?), they're still kickin'. In their extra-clear water.

Now maybe it's because I've successfully kept fish alive for the past few months, or maybe it's because so many people I know are having or have had babies lately, but now I've got this new itch to get a puppy.

I have no idea why. My parents had my pet dog Jake put down when I was about 10 years old, while I was away at camp - (and people wonder why I think I'm the scarred middle child) - and since then, I've never had a desire to have another dog. And I think my friends with pets would tell you that I'm not much of a dog person.

But after I stumbled across the picture of a puggle, I fell in love.

Puggles are a cross between a pug and a beagle. According to my Google research, they are a smaller dog (usually never get to be bigger than 25 lbs) and they are very friendly and playful. They have lots of energy and love to go for walks.

I think the puggle is made for me. And I really, really want one.

I keep reminding myself that I don't really like dogs. They are needy and whiny and make messes. When you want to go somewhere for any length in time, you have to find someone to watch them. They bark and jump and annoy me.

Still, I find myself searching Kijiji and other websites for puggle pups for sale in the Ottawa area.

I must be losing it...

My Fish Babies

As many of you already know, I became a mommy this summer.

A mommy to two beautiful little goldfish.

The day I met my new fish was the day of our annual Mountainview Golf Tournament. I wasn't having the best day, and I couldn't wait to leave the golf course and get to the ball field in Carp, where the Flyers were playing in a tournament. But first, I had to stop in at home and pick up Sue, Sarah & Brenda.

Little did I know they had a surprise waiting for me - my birthday gift was a tank, already decked out, with my little Presley and Marley swimming happily away in it!

I was so happy I almost cried.

Finally, I had my fish that I'd been wanting for months. And they were so pretty!

Unfortunately, Presley didn't seem to be doing so well. Each day, he got more and more strange. He stopped swimming around quickly (and he'd been pretty zippy that first day, so I knew something was wrong). He kind of just floated in a corner behind one of the little fake plant thingys. When I put food in, he didn't seem interested. And he just looked bad - he always seemed to be gasping or something.

But I've never had fish babies before, so I wasn't sure. After a few days of watching the fish hide in the corner, I thought, "Maybe I need to shake him up." So I stuck the net in the water, scooped him up, shook him a little, and dropped him back in.

Worked like a charm! He swam around like a maniac!

The next day? Not so much. He was kind of dead.

Apparently, signs of fish distress are hiding, not eating, and gasping for air. Ways to avoid distressing your fish? Don't net them.

Ooops.

So that left just Marley, the bigger, heartier looking goldfish. I worried about him quite a bit those first few days after Presley's death, but he actually seemed to start doing better. He swam around more and got really excited when I put food in the tank. Marley was thriving.

But still, I worry about him being all alone in there. Okay, I know - fish only have 3-second memory spans. He doesn't even notice that he's alone in there. He doesn't care.

Even so, I've been wanting to get him a new friend. And that's exactly what I'm going to do tonight. Tonight, I'm going to pick up Marley's brother, and I'm going to name him Jackson. He's going to be a black goldfish with big bulgy eyes. Ugly little mofo. But that's kind of how I've been feeling lately, and I think Jackson will make a lovely addition to my fish family.

Hopefully he lasts more than a week.