Project 365.... Thoughts, Day 13, and Day 14

I'm absolutely loving Project 365.  I've found that I'm much more aware of my surroundings.  Knowing I have to find something to take a picture of, I pay closer attention to my kiddos, my dogs, my surroundings, and nature, hoping I can catch something worthwhile.  I know it's titled "Project 365," but mine may become "Project Forever."

Day 13: Never thought I would miss tripping over his shoes...But I do

Day 14: My hammock is not a bad place to be this afternoon

**If you have Instagram, you can follow my Project365 (and the photos that don't make the cut) on there.  My username is ahthom85.

Project 365... Days 11 and 12

Day 11: On a hike with these two pups

Day 12: Milo wishes I would stop looking at cute animal videos on my computer and instead look at the cute animal in front of me

My goal was to not do too many pictures of the dogs, but they're just so cute (and they pretty much are all I have going on in my life right now)!

Time for an Update

Judging from my blog, you would think the only one of the 50 new things I've been working on would be my Project 365, but that's completely not the case. The only reason I haven't posted about any of the other adventures is that most of them are a work in progress.  That being said, it's time for an update!

My Puzzle
I really hope you didn't expect me to finish my 1,000 piece!! puzzle yet.  After three times through all 1,000 pieces I found most of the edge pieces.

The missing edge :(

 I got all of the edge pieces I had found put together, only to find out that I am missing one (ONE!) edge piece.  I'm dreading going through all of the pieces again to find the missing edge, so I'm taking a bit of a break until I go back to it.  I'm search again tonight.

Running
Several of my goals involve running (run two 5Ks in one day, run a half-marathon, and participate in a triathlon).  Considering I don't think I have gone running since the Peachtree Roadrace last 4th of July, I figured it was time to get started on this one.  I downloaded an app on my iPhone called "Run 10K," which is essentially a couch-to-10K program.  This is nice because it's meant for couch potatos, which sadly is what I have become (although I prefer to sit at my kitchen table, not my couch).  It's a 14 week plan, with three runs each week.  It's interval training, so the program has you alternate running and walking, which is definitely what I need at this point.  I did my first run yesterday, and weather and the scenery was really pretty. I survived my first day, and day two of running will come tomorrow.

View on my run

My legs look SUPER long in this shadow

 My dad and I both signed up for the Peachtree Roadrace for this year, and we should find out by tomorrow whether we got numbers or not.  That would be a great step towards any of my athletic goals.  There's a half-marathon in Athens in October, so I'm hoping that I can keep up my running after July and be able to do the half in the fall.

No sodas for a year

This one is for James.  He grew up not drinking sodas, and he hates how much I love Coke (not even diet, the real thing).  I know they're not good for me, and I know they're not helping me lose any weight, so I figured if I could go an entire year without drinking any soda, then that would hopefully break my addiction and my taste for them. I've been successful so far, and I'm on day 8.  My only real temptation was on Wednesday when my principal had the Varsity catered for us.  I can't tell you how much of a letdown it was to drink a Gatorade with my hot dog and cheeseburger, but I made it.   

If I can eat the Varsity without a Coke, the rest of the year shouldn't be a problem!

Upcoming Events

James has been encouraging me to go ahead and get some of these things scheduled, so it's not a year from now and I still have 48 things left to do.  So here's the plan...

*My dad and I will be hiking part of the Appalachian Trail in North Georgia over my spring break in April

*A friend at work participates in rodeos, so she's going to let me know when there's one close by

*I've looked up SCUBA courses at UGA, and my generous step-sister is going to loan me her SCUBA equipment

I think that's it for now.  It's been a little over a week since James left.  He left Sacramento this morning and is now at Ft. Bliss, Texas, where he'll be for a few weeks.  I'd say I'm off to a pretty good start for one week in!

Project 365...Days 8, 9, and 10

Day 8: May the odds be ever in your favor

Day 9: Awesome climbing tree on my run

Day 10: This baby is about to sneeze!

Project 365.. Day 6 and 7

Day 6: Finally got my bike back out.  Boy am I sore today!

Day 7: The grass really brings out Gigi's eyes

Project 365 and Project 1,000 (aka My Puzzle)

Day 5: My students experiment with the slime they purchased at the book Fair

 I'm pretty sure when I was a kid, we actually bought books at the book fair, but maybe that was just me.  Now, all any of the kids buy is slime and light-up fuzzy chicks (yes, they sell those at the book fair). According to one of my students, he wanted to buy a book, but it cost too much, so he bought the chick instead.

On another note, I started another one of my projects last night.  I bought a 1,000 piece puzzle off Amazon a month back, and it has been sitting on my kitchen table just waiting for me to put it together.  I finally got to start my puzzle last night.

My puzzle of Yosemite (no James in this one)

 I chose a puzzle of Yosemite Valley because James and I visited Yosemite on our honeymoon, and it's one of our favorite places

James in Yosemite

I found all four corners and what I thought were all the edges, but after I got started, I clearly have more edge-hunting to do.

 I'll post a picture of my progress once there's some actual progress to show!

Project 365... Day 4

Day 4: My welcome back message at school

Project 365...Days 1, 2, and 3

Day 1: Phoenix Airport.  My layover from Sacramento to Atlanta

Day 2: Milo sure was happy to have me home.

Day 3: Jeep ride with the doors off

The List

Below is the list of 65 new things I can choose from to complete my 50 adventures.  If you're interested in participating in any of them with me, leave me a comment!  I'm trying to recruit as many people as possible to join in on the fun.


1. Build a piece of furniture
2. Get SCUBA certified
3. Pick apples in North Georgia
4. Go see wildflower blooms in North Georgia
5. Run a half marathon
6. Run 2 5Ks in one day
7. Take a spin class
8. Bike 20 miles
9. Go on an overnight train ride
10. Get a tattoo
11. Donate platelets
12. Paint a piece of art to hang in my house
13. Go to a wine tasting
14. Go to a show/concert/play by myself
15. Hike part of the Appalachian Trail
16. Take Jenny (my Jeep) off-roading
17. Compete with Milo in a Rally Obedience competition
18. Learn to knit
19. Cook 10 Julia Child’s recipes
20. Participate in a progressive dinner
21. Take an art course
22. Help coach a little league team
23. Keep a vegetarian (or vegan?) diet for a week
24. Take a sailing course
25. Go to a poetry slam
26. Write a children’s book
27. Make my wedding album
28. Plant a tree
29. Send a secret to Post Secret
30. See a drive-in movie
31. Pay for the meal of the person behind me in a drive-thru
32. Cook a turkey
33. Attend a roller derby match
34. Join a sports team
35. Sell items at a craft fair
36. Read the entire Bible
37. Learn to make candles
38. Eat no fast food for a calendar month
39. Go to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field
40. Leave a note to the next reader in 5 library books
41. Get added to the Bone Marrow Donor Registry
42. Go skinny dipping
43. Go on a ghost tour
44. Go whitewater rafting on a new river
45. Buy nothing for an entire week
46. Compete in a triathlon
47. Attend a rodeo
48. Ask 10 people to recommend a book and read their suggestions
49. Participate in a 365 Photo Challenge (take a picture a day for a year)
50. Get a psychic reading
51. Buy and wear a vintage dress
52. Go to an artsy movie at Cine
53. Complete a 1,000 piece jigsaw
54. Ride in a helicopter
55. Get a penpal
56. Go 24 hours with no Internet
57. Participate in Paddle Georgia (or just go kayaking on a river)
58. Ride a day of RAGBRAI or BRAG (major bike rides across Iowa and Georgia, respectively)
59. Indoor trampoline facility
60. Buy something at an auction
61. Give up sodas
62. Visit a new country
63. Write a letter to someone every day for a month
64. Start a compost pile
65. Visit a new state
66. Find a church home

The Adventures Begin

The time for the 50 new adventures has begun.  I dropped James off in Sacrament, CA on Friday.  We had a very romantic goodbye in the Hertz rental car parking lot, and then I was off to catch my flight back home to Atlanta.

Now that James is gone, the adventures can officially begin.  Let me give you a little background about this whole experience.  James is deploying to Kuwait with a reserve unit out of California.  He will be gone somewhere between 9 months and 400 days (we can start counting on March 22).  To keep myself busy while he's gone and to help the time go by more quickly, I decided that during his absence I would try to do 50 things that I have never done before. With the help of friends, my own brain, and a cool website I found that suggests new activities, I came up with a list of 65 things.  Why 65 you ask?  Well, because that's how many I could come up with.  I put more than 50 on the list so that I have some flexibility throughout the year.  In an attempt to hold myself more accountable, and also to keep my family and friends (and strangers?) up to date on how I'm staying busy, I'm going to be keeping a blog of all of these adventures.

Our last picture together until James comes back

I hope you'll stop by periodically to check in on the adventures!