#31: Go on 5 different hikes (1/5)

100_5179, originally uploaded by Michelle's Blog photos.

This is one of the photos from Saguaro National Park that I took while hiking with David and Brandon a few weeks ago. (I think I'm going to have to ration out my current photos, as our camera died last week and thus I have limited new photos to share.) David and I really haven't done that much hiking since moving here, which is one of the reasons I added it to my list. This is one of my favorite photos from the hike, and I think that sometimes living in Tucson I forget how gorgeous the natural scenery is.

In other news, David and I had a wonderful holiday, and got to spend time with both of our families for Christmas. I worked on Christmas Eve, but did take tomorrow off, so I still get a nice long 4 day weekend.

Oh, hello there!

Wow, has it really been nearly 3 weeks since I've updated? Sorry guys, things have been pretty busy around here lately. Our friend Brandon came and stayed in Tucson for a little over a week, which was awesome. He's a friend of ours from Boston (he went to Berklee with David), and we haven't seen him since stopping in Detroit en route to Tucson.  We had a really wonderful time, did some hiking at Sahuaro National Park, went to the 4th Ave Street Fair, hit up some of our favorite bars. I'll be putting up some pictures soon, along with some of the other stuff that's been keeping us busy.

#47 complete, #24 and #32 in progress

Been making progress towards my list, but really haven't a lot of time to blog so this is going to be a multi-tasking entry. Last weekend I was able to complete #47: Get a Library Card, now I just need to start using it. I haven't had a town library card since high school, which is actually kind of embarassing.

I also started going through and organizing my yarn stash over the past week for #24: Reduce Yarn Stash by 1/2. I knew I needed to have a starting point in order to know when I've reached half, so I organized everything and figured out both in yards and ounces how much yarn I actually have. I have 12,946 yards and 144.09 ounces. That's 7.35 miles of yarn, or around 9 pounds. Since I'm mostly concerned with keeping my yarn stash in a reasonable amount of space, I've decided that for determining "half" I will be mainly focusing on the actual weight rather than yardage. Having super bulky yarn will take up much more space than my laceweight, even with the same yardage, so I think that weight will be a more accurate way of figuring this out. I'm also hoping to keep it at around half of what I currently have for the remainder of my 101 days.

Lastly, I was able to try another new recipe. I made this recipe for a sweet potato casserole to bring with us for Thanksgiving, and it was delicious! The orange/ginger gave it a bit of a twist from the usual sweet potato pie w/marshmallows (which I've never really been a huge fan of, even though I do like sweet potatoes). For my dish, I also decided to add chopped carmelized onions to the top, which was really tasty. I didn't get to take any photos, but it's a dish I hope to make again so perhaps next time!

#97: Knit sweater for Frida

And another item crossed off my list! I finished this almost a week ago, but just haven't had any time to blog about it. This is actually my second attempt at knitting a sweater for Frida, but the first attempt just did not fit well enough. This one isn't 100% perfect either, but it does fit a lot better and is perfect for our evening walks. It's just starting to be consistently cold enough at night here in Tucson where I think she needs that extra layer.

I swear, she doesn't usually look this grumpy in real life, and it definitely is not caused by the sweater wearing. I just woke her up so I could get a picture is semi-decent light. More pictures are up on my flickr page!

#32: Try 10 New Recipes (1/10)

Tonight I made Green Chile Quiche. I've never made any kind of quiche before, and several weeks ago David and I were at a brunch where the hostess made the following recipe. Delicious! We asked for the recipe, and tonight I finally had the opportunity to give a try.  During this time of year we often get green chilies and roasted chilies from our CSA, and to be honest I usually trade them out because I don't often know the best ways to use them. After making this quiche, however, I think I found a new staple. Another plus was that I was also able to use some of our CSA goat cheese instead of the Monterey Jack it called for.  Since we do subscribe to a CSA, I really enjoy finding recipes that use multiple CSA ingredients so that I have less to pick up from the grocery store. I took some step by step by step photos and included the recipe after the jump.

#65: Go to a Football Game to Watch the Marching Band

Woo, I've completed my first task! Today I went to the University of Arizona's homecoming football game. I hadn't been to a football game since probably the first Thanksgiving I was in college, and I forgot that I actually enjoy watching football. Well, I at least enjoy watching football live, I've never been much for watching any sports on TV. We had the nosebleed seats (because we are cheap), but it meant we got a pretty nice view of the band and the surrounding city. It was an afternoon game, which was a little brutal in the sun and I even ended up getting a little suburned. Sometimes I forget I live in the desert, where it possible to get a suburn in November. Here are some of my favorite pics from the game, and more are up on my new flickr page for blog related photos!

Post Halloween Update!

Happy late Halloween everybody! David and I had a pretty full weekend including a birthday dinner for David's mom, trick-or-treating with our 4 year old nephew, and a Halloween party complete with "blood-tinis". Our friend Amelia, who hosted the Halloween party, went as Jessica from True Blood, complete with tears of blood. David and I didn't actually have real costumes, but instead used face paint for Day of the Dead makeup.

The day after Halloween, David and I were at Target and all of the Halloween items were 50% off, and I could not resist buying the following little get-up for Frida. She really wasn't very into the headband, but she actually didn't mind wearing the main portion of the costume.

Ah, Autumn

This weekend I joined some family at Agua Linda Farm, located about an hour outside of Tucson. We went for pumpkin picking and fall festivities, although as a native New Englander who is now living in southern Arizona, I don't usually associate "fall festivities" with "highs in the upper 90s". Despite the heat, we managed to have a great time, especially since we left early enough to get there before high noon. As you can see when we arrived, the weather was gorgeous. In addition to pumpkin picking, the farm also boasts a petting zoo and a small market selling their produce and other local goods, along with potato sack races and a large play area for kids. David and I came home with some pumpkin bread and raspberry syrup in addition to our pumpkin, and Julie (my sister in law) bought some pomegranates which she shared on the way home (they were very delicious and I was a little jealous I didn't pick any up for myself). All in all our trip was a lot of fun, and I definitely will want to return in the future.

Official Start Day!

Today is my official start day for my 101 tasks in 1001 days! Apparently while editing my list to add to the blog I somehow deleted tasks 92-97, but thankfully my mom caught the mistake and I was able to add those back in. My official end date will be Sunday July 15, 2012.

Introduction

Now that I spent many hours customizing my blog instead of sleeping, I may as well stay up another few minutes and write a first blog post. I have previously blogged sporadically on livejournal, but decided to make a fresh start as I undertake a new challege: Day Zero! In a nutshell, one comes up with 101 tasks to complete within 1001 days (2.75 years) and then tracks their progress. I'm really looking forward to this challenge, and am excited about some of the tasks I've set for myself. One of the interesting things about creating my list is I realized that I am actually pretty satisfied with my life right now. Granted, I certainly don't want to be in the exact same place in nearly 3 years as I am right now, but I enjoyed reflecting on all of the things I've accomplished. I've graduated college. I moved (and drove!) across the country with my husband. I have the cutest one eyed Boston Terrier we rescued from the shelter. I am employed full time, in a job that I think I do well (although not something I want to be doing forever). So, here's looking to the next 1001 days and all the future things I hope to accomplish.