2016 March Challenge

Hello, friends, strangers, and everyone in between!

This year's challenge was completing four NEW crafts. AND I DID IT!

I mod Podged something, painted a canvas, cross stitched something for Emily, and I used a hand loom.

Mod Podgeing was really fun mainly because I did it with my friends. So it was more social. Also, I'm not very good at abstract crafts. But that's okay, because I made something new!

Painting was actually really fun. I would totally paint something else. It was easy and looked pretty much like how I wanted it. So that was nice!

The cross-stitching was the thing that took the longest, but I think was probably the most rewarding. I loved stitching, especially because it was a gift for someone.

The looming thing was a pretty last minute effort. It was the last day of March and I only had about an hour or so left. BUT I did make something! Like a weird, misshapen coaster? I don't know. It was an impulse craft!

Anyway, I was really happy that I got to learn some new crafts. Especially the cross-stitching because I'm already working on something new for someone else.

2016 February Challenge

February - Four winter activities. This year I want to push myself to enjoy winter instead of simply endure it. My activities right now include: ice skating, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, and building a snow man. These are subject to change depending on availability of friends (Esther) who have the equipment necessary.

So. This month was rough. I only did two winter activities? I think? I don't even remember? I definitely went cross country skiing! Unfortunately I should have tapped out on this challenge because the snow was gone halfway through the month. Woopsies. I forgot about the alternate challenges.

Even though I didn't complete the challenge, I definitely enjoyed the winter! I focused on having a positive attitude and tried to stay enthusiastic about the snow. In January I went ice skating and in March I went snowshoeing in Colorado. I'd say I had a great winter this year. And even though I didn't complete the challenge, I'm going to say I did change my attitude about my least favorite season.

The cross country skiing clip is somewhere in here:

2016 January Challenge

Hey, guys! Time to update you... in May. Woops! Sorry, guys.

Anyway, I finished my scarf! CHALLENGE COMPLETED! Wahoo! First challenge done and gone!

Here's a vlog that includes the EPIC SCARF FINISHING (jump to 8:50 for the action):



Can't believe I finished it!

2016 Challenges

Hey, guys!

It has been a WHILE, huh? I could look up exactly how long, but let's just say a while. And then you can all internally sing "it's been a while." GUESS! WHAT? I'm going to be writing on here ONCE A MONTH! Potentially even MORE than that, but PROBABLY NOT! What a fun treat for you!

"But why has Abby spontaneously decided to write more on her blog, at least once a month?" you MIGHT be asking yourselves. Well, my dear reader. It's because I have chosen to challenge myself each month a la my friend, Esther. This morning after ringing in the New Year I talked with Esther about how much I would like to challenge myself in 2016. See, in 2015 she did a new challenge each month. And I've decided to follow in her footsteps because she's basically an inspiration.

"But what are Abby's challenges?" you're probably asking yourselves now. You certainly are a CURIOUS bunch, aren't you? Well. I will list them for you... in a moment. First I must explain that some of these challenges are meant to last the whole year through. But some of them are only for the month. I'm also going to list two extra challenges. These are meant to be swapped out if I don't think I'll be able to complete a challenge during a certain month. Or maybe if I want to UP THE ANTE and do a double challenge. I will (hopefully) label the different challenges clearly.

Yearlong Challenges:
1. Read 50 books in a year. This is a challenge that I've been trying to complete for about four years? I started it because I learned that if you read 50 books in a year you're a Bibliophile. I've been striving for that title ever since.
2. Have monthly board meetings. I'm hoping to start a non-profit organization this year. And part of that is having board meetings with the Board of Directors. The main hope for these meetings is to become an official 501(c)3 by the end of the year.
3. Vlog every day for a year. I just think it'll be really cool to have an entire year of my life documented. Esther said that she loved having done a picture a day for a year. She said it was cool too see so many different opportunities documented. And while I'm not the best photographer, I do know how to edit videos. I'm not guaranteeing that they will be top notch vlogs, but I hope to post something every day!

Monthly Challenges:
January - Finish a scarf. A few days ago Nancy and Emily actually challenged me to finish a scarf in January. It only made sense to make it part of the challenge. You might find this easy. But follow through has never been a strong suit of mine. So this is actually quite tricky for me. I'll be chuffed if I finish one scarf, but I might push myself to finish TWO! (I say finish because I've definitely STARTED a number of scarves. It's the pesky finishing bit that I can't complete)

February - Four winter activities. This year I want to push myself to enjoy winter instead of simply endure it. My activities right now include: ice skating, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, and building a snow man. These are subject to change depending on availability of friends (Esther) who have the equipment necessary.

March - Four new craft projects. I'm not the most craft-y person. I admit it and I'm okay with it. Which is why this month is the perfect opportunity to try some new ones. I only have two ideas right now, so feel free to suggest something new for me. My crafts to try right now are: painting and cross stitching.

April - File taxes, get a Roth IRA, and make a comprehensive budget. Seeing as April is tax month it felt fitting to focus this month on financial goals.

May - Walk every day. I hope to walk at least 20-60 minutes a day. I think it'll be good to push myself to get outside every day, even if I'm going solo. Ideally I could find friends to join me.

June - Eat no sweets. I was supposed to try this for the month of January, or even all year long. But I unintentionally broke this when I had a mini donut with my toast for breakfast at Esther's house this morning. Hopefully I'll still be walking from May and will want to embrace a healthier lifestyle. Probably not.

July - Drink 3 Nalgenes every day. I do not drink as much water as I should. 1 Nalgene is 32 oz. of water. Esther drank 4 of them every day for a month, which is a GALLON a day. I originally said 64 oz., but compromised with her on 3 Nalgenes a day. I'm going to have to pee so much.

August - No TV or YouTube. I called this "no screen time" and Esther assumed I meant literally no looking at a screen. But I will still have to edit my videos and I'll still use social media. I just won't watch TV or YouTube videos. I gave myself a break and said I could watch one movie a week. However, watching movies in August must be a social activity and not something I do by myself.

September - Try a new cocktail each week. I enjoy an adult beverage. So I thought I should try to expand my horizons and become the cocktail connoisseur I've always wanted to be. The catch for this challenge is that each drink must include more than two ingredients.

October - Make a costume by hand. I've never made my own Halloween costume. In fact, I've hardly ever put thought into a costume. I don't need to sew something together. But I would love to at least put effort into it. More often than not I just scramble at the last minute until I've found something that might work. This past October I was 1. A cat out of the bag (I had cat ears and carried a small paper bag around all night) and 2. a Basic white girl (I wore jeans with boots, a long sleeve t-shirt, and a vest that I already owned. My mom had also just bought be Starbucks a few hours before. The cup and my iPhone were props to complete my costume).

November - NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. Look it up at nanowrimo.org. I've tried multiple years in the past. This year I hope I can make it happen. I might not vlog every day this month, but instead I might film a little bit each day.  I'll be focused on writing at least 1,6667 words a day so I can make my goal of 50,000 words for the month. So you can see how vlogging, editing, and uploading a vlog every day this month might get a bit exhausting.

December - Commit to an advent calendar. I'm not sure if you can tell, but I have a bit of an issue with follow through and commitment. I've always wanted to buy an advent calendar, whether it be chocolate or something else, and actually open each day on time. This might seem like a light challenge for this month, but I think it might be appropriate considering how hard I've worked all year. And I will remind you again of my inability to follow through and commit.

Extra Challenges JIC:
1. Donate 2 articles of clothing and one thing each week. Esther spent a month or two doing similar challenges and I think it's very admirable. While I don't think minimalism is the key to happiness, I do think it can help in focusing yourself on the important things in life. Life is not about what you have, but about what or Whom you serve (you knew I had to bring this to God at some point, right?)
2. Read one book a week. One of my favorite YouTubers (italktosnakes) has done quite a few readathons. Whether the list is her own creation or one that's circulating online, she will select a certain number of books and decide to read them within a certain time limit. I'll probably come up with the books the month of, but I've only got that month to read them.

January Challenge: Tonight I knitted a few lines of a scarf I started two years ago.
50 Book Challenge: Not even reading a book right now.
Monthly Board meetings: Still haven't put together all of my board of directors. Working on it!
VEDFAY: I've already filmed the day. I just need to get the ball rolling. WAHOO!

TV Shows (October 2015)

Lately I've been watching TV shows I normally wouldn't. Here are some of those shows:

1. Homeland While I haven't actually watched this in October, this was the first of the intense TV shows I ever really enjoyed. I really started watching it to further bond with my coworkers. One night I stayed in and binge watched almost half of the first season. I was hooked. Claire Danes is brilliant. The plot is full of so many twists I was always surprised. Granted, I am incredibly gullible and hardly ever see any surprises coming. But still. So well done!

The show is about a dedicated CIA agent who is trying to track down a soldier POW who she thinks has been turned into a terrorist. There's action. There's betrayal. There's some insanity. And all of it is done so well.

2. Quantico This show is so good. I love plots about someone going through training to better themselves. Since Homeland, I've started loving TV shows about espionage and tracking down terrorists. I am super into shows with different timelines.  This show has it all! And despite the bad CGI, I think it's got a lot of potential.

The first scene has a newly trained FBI agent waking up in a blast zone from a bomb that went off in the middle of New York City. She finds herself framed as the terrorist who set off the bomb. The show alternates between the "current" storyline, where she has to piece together what happened and flashbacks to her time at Quantico where FBI applicants learn to become agents.

3. How to Get Away with Murder I just finished the first season this Monday. And I also started it this weekend. This is maybe one of the best crime shows I've seen? It reminds me of a grown up, darker Veronica Mars. But without the sassy main character. Sounds awful, but it's done so well you don't miss Veronica. This show has some excellent actors that really carry the plot along.

The show is about law students, their intense professor, and her employees. Each year the law professor chooses first year students to work with her on her cases. This year's students, we quickly find out, happen to kill someone. So her class, "How to get away with murder" and the cases she takes on have prepare them to try to get away with their crime. Each episode has clips from the night of the murder as the four students try to figure out what to do, flashbacks starting from their first day of class, and another storyline arc about a student from the university that's gone missing. Over halfway into the season the timelines meet up and it is so good! All the while, the show has new mysteries as the formidable law professor/defense attorney works on defending a new client each episode.

So those are some intense dramas I've really gotten into. Watch at your own risk because these are all great shows to binge watch. I'm talking cliffhangers everywhere.

E and A Adventures Day 7

The last and final day of our trip together!

We got up early and went to visit the Stroud's local business, Magic Morning Bakery.

Esther had never been!

We then hit the road for approximately 12 hours of driving.

Indiana "steam."

Esther's shoe life for day 7.

I requested we stop at the Half Price Books outlet shop in Rockford, IL because it was about halfway and because I really like Half Price Books.

We both found some things we liked enough to purchase!

The water tower had a heart on it and I thought it was beautiful!

Esther being a boss and driving the last four hours.

We finished AnnE of Green Gables and got about an hour into the second book in the series. I really liked the first one and I'm probably going to read the second one really soon! Finally, after hours and hours we made it to MN!

Got just the right shot, despite Esther considerately slowing down for me.

We pulled into the Mach household and said our goodbyes. I truly enjoy traveling with Esther. She's someone who can keep me laughing in the middle of the night or at 7 am. She's incredibly flexible with her plans and is able to shake off the things that annoy her. I'm so thankful she was willing to drive around the South with me!

I wasn't quite ready to go home just yet. First I needed to say a different goodbye to another good friend.

My friend Brynn left for Madagascar for a year this morning (well, technically Chicago for a week, then Madagascar) and I knew I needed to see her off if possible.

Brynnertons! Off to go serve the Lord.

Her mom and I were pretty obnoxious. We stood in line watching her go through security.

Super obnoxious picture. Not Brynn, the fact I took it.

Anyway, Brynn had a 7:00 flight so we were there very early in the morning. I slept a few hours at Brynn's house after the airport. Then it was time to finally go home.

E and A Adventures Day 6

We started the morning early, of course, I was the last to get up, including the three children. It was nice to have breakfast with so many friendly faces. Not that I'm really good friends with everyone (save Esther), but because they are all such friendly people.

The night before Esther and Rick discussed stacking their hammocks and decided the next morning everyone was to bring their hammocks to a local park. Once the two Bubar girls were off to school we headed out to The Cove, as the locals call it.

I just used Kara's that she graciously offered because I don't usually run with the ritzy crowd that uses hammocks. 

After we said goodbye to Tim at the park we drove to the Bubar's for goodbyes with Kara. Then Esther and unintentionally (but intentionally) beat the Borners to REI. My main concern was getting a free TN sticker because I FORGOT TO GET ONE IN CHARLOTTE AND I'M SO SAD. But I got a state sticker, so mission accomplished. We then followed the Borners to the downtown Knoxville Mast General store because I'm slightly obsessed. I got some candy for a friend back in MN, and we parted ways with the Borners, knowing we'd see them soon back home.

We soon stopped at the furthest north Bojangles for lunch, but also so Esther  could have a Bo Berry Biscuit. I think she found it worth the stop! I didn't mind getting my last cup of sweet tea for a while.

Once we passed into Kentucky Esther requested a visit to Daniel Boone Forest. We would be driving through it so it seemed doable. We really wanted to try a short trail, but unfortunately we were behind our estimated schedule. Somehow we got it in our heads that Bedford, IN was four hours from Knoxville (I told Esther the wrong time). So we took a small scenic drive on the Kentucky Scenic Byway and just made a short stop in Berea, KY. A small town that appreciates art. Obviously, we both agreed on visiting the local bookstore. It had a surprising collection.

Bookstore haul.

After the bookstore Esther ran into their cute little coffee shop for a nice hot cup of tea! We hit the road for Bedford, IN and made it by 9:15, despite the traffic and road work! The Strouds were incredibly understanding with each text message announcing an hour delay. They also made scrumptious sloppy joes which we both devoured after our day of traveling. Of course, I gave Laura some stained laundry I had amassed over the summer and she willingly cleaned them in her lab.

She also willingly lent me some of her late mother's camera equipment from the 60s! I'm so excited to learn how to take awesome pictures with it!

The Polaroids are for HanMak's wedding. The other stuff is for me play with!

We watched a few episodes of Tiny House Hunters with the Stroud parental units and then headed for bed.

Today will be all day driving with the plan to get to Minnesota tonight!