#40 Learn something I have no prior interest in

Totally thought I was gonna force myself to learn sports or something. What I actually stumbled upon was much different.

We all have been on Youtube watching something, but then see something on the side bar that peaks your interest and then 2 hours later you find yourself in a Youtube rabbit hole and you are watching the most random videos. That is what happened to me and that is how I ended up learning something I never gave any thought too.

Let’s talk about: Philately.

Philately for those who don’t know (or don’t feel like googling it since you are currently focused on reading this post) is the Study and Collecting of Postage Stamps.

During my random venturing in Youtube I discovered this channel called Exploring Stamps:

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And stumbled my way onto this video:

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This guy right here is super passionate and dedicated to stamps in a way that makes it genuinely interesting and exciting to learn about stamps. It sounds absolutely ridiculous saying how cool stamps actually are, but there is such a rich history with postage and the wave of stamps as a trend that its the history aspect of stamps that really pulled me in and drew me into watching this channel. It has even inspired me to pick up a few stamp centric books.

Getting to learn more about stamps has made me realize how I never really gave them a thought and that I thought stamp collecting was a boring and dull thing to do. But after doing research and watching these videos I can see that philatelist enjoy everything about their hobby. Though I don’t think I will ever get serious about stamps or even pick up the hobby, it was cool to learn about why it was such a popular hobby and how it still is a relevant hobby today.

In addition my favorite fact about this is the Franklin D. Roosevelt was a known stamp collector and he would often organize his stamps in the oval office when stressed. Learned that from the very first video I watched and I still consider it my favorite fact.

Birthday Update

Actually my Birthday was 2 days ago, but whatever close enough.

In less than a month I will have had this blog for a year now. So far I have accomplished 9 out of 100 goals. Which in my brain feels like quite an accomplishment because some of these goals/challenges just take a lot of time and planning.

Though I keep forgetting how daunting of a number 100 is until I look at my list and realize that I am not that far into it. I have 7 years until my goal and with only 9 done within the first year I need to start getting my life together and really focus on my goals.

Even though I don’t have a lot checked off yet, I do have a lot in the works and eventually I will be checking things off left and right!

#3 Find a fitness activity to be passionate about

Y’all I have discovered Racquetball and I am in love!!!!!! It is honestly one of the most fun and stress relieving things I have ever done. Plus as a bonus I end up going for an hour to an hour and a half and don’t even notice. It’s nice to do something exercise focus that’s fun, I don’t know why it has always been a struggle for me to find activities to genuinely enjoy.

So since that was such a short declaration of my new found love of racquetball it’s time to tell how it came to be.

Story time!

A couple months back at pool league my captain mentioned how in the winter he plays racquetball for exercise and I immediately asked him to teach me. He being happy to find someone to play with gladly took on the task of teaching me the ropes. Day 1 of racquetball did not go well, but by day 2 Captain had told me I had improved by 110%. I was really uncomfortable the first time and I wasn’t really sure what I was doing, but by the next time I had already gotten some confidence and decided to fully throw myself into learning racquetball. Since then I’ve slowly gotten better.

Now with that said I actually am not good even with improving 110% since I started, but I found out after I started playing my Dad apparently is super good at racquetball. So I challenged him to a match today (also today is my bros bday!) and let’s just say I got absolutely destroyed multiple times. It was a stupid decision trying to play in the big leagues. My Dad hasn’t played since I was born (probably) and I swear he didn’t even release half of the beast that he probably is on that court. In fact he saw me scrambling around and gave me 2 pity points (and we played 3 or 4 games)!

Moral of that story is that I have a new goal in mind: Beat my Dad (or yeah know actually get well deserved points and not pity points). Actually I would suffice at just getting better at racquetball all around, but defeating an opponent is such a satisfying goal too.

Also on a completely random, but still relevant note racquetball has made me buy an actual gym bag and it’s got a special compartment for my shoes. It’s so nifty.

 

#80 Join a Club

Guess who stupidly didn’t realize she accomplished this goal a long time ago and while looking over her list had the revelation that she was already in a type of club!?

If you guessed me you are 100% correct. If you did not guess me, I have no idea what state your mind is in, but based off that one question I can assume you need coffee.

Honestly, I had actually fulfilled this goal while the original list was in the making and it didn’t occur to me until today. Ya see I am on a pool league. Meaning I meet this group of people weekly and I pursue this hobby of mine. Sounds like a club to me.

I have been a part of my pool league for a year now and it’s one of those things that I am slowly getting better and is a place to hang out with people. When I joined it was cause my brother signed me up and got me a spot on the team he was joining. At the time I thought I would just do it for a session and then find out it wasn’t my thing and quit. Which is around the same time I started this blog, so it never really hit me that I was in a club already because I didn’t think I was going to initially stick with it.

The thing is after that first session I realized I really liked playing at pool halls. I mean I am not the best pool player, but the people on my team are pretty good and I learn so much just by watching them. I liked pool before joining, but I have learned so much more than I would have on my own just by talking to them and watching them. Which I mean that’s what happens in a club you learn more about your hobby and just enjoy it.

I’m really happy to know that this just sort of happened to me naturally and I didn’t have to force my goals to be a reality. It just kind of aligned to what I already value and just worked which is exactly what I want out of these goals. I didn’t want to be just doing things for the sake of doing them, I wanted these goals to be meaningful to me and fit who I am.

 

#1 Know over 25 go to healthy recipes

Y’all I am getting behind on my goals I gotta buckle down on some of these. Luckily I have just went through my kitchen and have discovered that I am quite healthy. Meaning: I have completed a goal!

What I have learned about me and my healthy recipes is that I buy the same groceries and just mix it up differently. Which means a lot of this crosses over, but it allows me to consistently eat the same things and have them be different. Keeps my kitchen stocked with the basics and still have a variety of choices.

Also, a lot of these things can easily become unhealthy if you over do them. So when I am focusing on cooking healthy meals I make sure not to go ham on any thing and try to keep portions low for heavy carb things. Cause not all carbs are bad.

  1. Avocado Quesadilla with Fried Eggs
  2. Avocado Toast with Scrambled Eggs
  3. Blueberry Bread with Oatmeal topping
  4. Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal with Banana
  5. Veggie Scrambler
  6. Fried Eggs with red peppers, onion, potatoes
  7. Spinach Omelette
  8. Spaghetti Squash Hashbrowns
  9. Fried Eggs and Wheat Toast
  10. Hard Boiled Eggs
  11. Fruit with Cool Whip
  12. Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts
  13. Chicken and Rice
  14. Bibimbap
  15. Stuffed Peppers
  16. Baked Halibut with Asparagus
  17. Parmesan Chicken with Zucchini
  18. Grilled or Baked Salmon
  19. Spaghetti Pasta
  20. Rice Noodle Stir Fry
  21. Rice and Beans
  22. Cucumber and Avocado salad
  23. Chicken Paprika
  24. Irish Stew
  25. Lettuce Wraps

#98 See a shop that is doing some type of class and go sign up for one

While out to brunch last week Sammi, Ashley, and I passed a candle shop with a sign in the window that said candle making class.

We decided to go in and found out that it had a variety of scents and was absolutely adorable. Instantly we knew we had to make candles there, but that day we didn’t have enough time. So, us being so well planned signed up for a class for the next week and got it set up.

Fast forward to today and not only have I accomplished a goal on the list, but I got myself an awesome candle!

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All of our candles fit our personalities surprisingly perfect and it’s because this place offered so much variety and the girl who works (potentially owns?) there just knew the perfect blend for any combination of scents. Ashley mentioned how therapeutic it was just being there working with scents and I completely agree. It was such a relaxing, but really fun experience and it just made so much sense.

#37 Art History

I wasn’t sure how to go about learning Art History, so I started by just going to art museums. Which I will say art is nice to look at (obviously) and I saw lots of interesting pieces (such as a Picasso exhibit when I was in Budapest and when I was in NY I visited the Met), but without actually having someone there they kind of fell flat on the history aspect of it. I saw a lot, but I felt like I didn’t learn any proper Art History. Though, as a side note I do make sure to visit art museums every time I travel to different countries as I find it helps me learn the culture.

To expand upon my knowledge I looked up Art History classes on Coursera. There I found a Modern Art and Ideas course by the Museum of Modern Art and enrolled in it. Sadly it was only a 5 week course and it only took less than a day to cover all the material in it.

Though, from there I discovered that the Museum of Modern Art website has a learning section. I went and scrolled through the material and did research there for a little while.

But I still didn’t learn enough.

So with my still slim knowledge of Art History I moved onto Khan Academy. I used Khan Academy back in high school and at that time it was just a place with math and science courses. Now it has expanded to all sorts of subjects; including an entire art history section spanning from prehistoric art to neoclassical art to modern art. Needless to say Khan Academy was exactly what I needed.

Except that once I finally got into the Art History sections and lessons I realized how utterly dull I found it. I made it through 3 sections of Khan lessons and through each of those lessons I kept asking myself why do I keep forcing myself to keep going when I clearly find it boring and am not enjoying myself.

To change-up my perspectives a bit I looked up art history documentaries on Netflix and see if a different style would help me find focus. It didn’t. I couldn’t get into anything I watched and nothing seemed to click with me.

With that I came to a revelation that I didn’t want to come to. I’m not going to be an awesome Art History buff. That isn’t where my skills or talents lie and I will say I started this challenge bull-headed and convinced that I would be able to learn and master art history, but at the end of the day I don’t actually have that much interest in it.

I will say that this challenge is complete on the account that I have learned way more about Art History than previously. I just did not get to the level at which I first imagined when I came up with this goal. I would like to believe I will continue learning art history, but not seriously.

 

 

#46 Southeast Asia

Ladies and Gentlemen I have been to Southeast Asia and it was absolutely incredible!

My best friend Ashley is currently doing a semester abroad there and when she initially told me she was going to Singapore for school I knew immediately that I would find time to schedule a trip out there to see her and have an excuse to go to Singapore. Thus a few months back I got Sammi (who does all the things with me, so I can’t not have her be my travel companion) to agree to come along with me and we booked flights out there for October 2nd, 2018 to October 23rd, 2018. We also booked a side trip to Vietnam from October 10th to the 15th once we had landed in Singapore.

Boom! Cue photo collage:

 

I have so many more pictures, but I didn’t want to bombard you all, so I just picked a variety of random pics. I’m so grateful I had the time to go spend 3 weeks with my best friends and that we got to spend it in 2 incredible places.

#15 Paint a Picture

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Sammi’s on the Left. Lauren’s on the Right

As I mentioned in my previous post I accomplished this goal while finishing up that goal. I did a Sip and Paint for this goal which is exactly what I wanted to do to complete this goal!

This will not be my last time going to a Sip and Paint and it will not be my only visit to where I went. Sammi and I had an absolute blast and I don’t even drink. Everyone there had a great time and it’s such an enjoyably simple experience that I think everyone should do more often (I am talking only about the painting, but I guess drinking wine more often could apply to some people). As a bonus my painting actually turned out decent (which is always a shock for me whenever paints involved) and Sammi’s looks awesome (ever the perfectionist)!

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#73 Go out every night for 1 week

I did it y’all! Before I get on with describing my week I just want to ask how do people go out every single night?! Too much sleep has been lost for my liking if I’m being completely honest. Don’t get me wrong I definitely had fun and thinking of different things every day was a challenge. It was difficult to do this around my work schedule and my regular schedule, but I’m glad I pulled it off.

Thursday September 20th: Murder by Death concert at Ogden Theater (which I had never been to before!) with my sister-in-law Lynne. She invited me out that week and I instantly said yes even though I had never heard of the band. I find that I really enjoy going to concerts and I really enjoy going to concerts of bands I’ve never heard of. There is something really cool about the first time I hear a band is live and Lynne is pretty into them and have been to their other concerts, so I trusted her judgement for me to go in blind. Which by the way they are really good and the bass guitarist looks like a werewolf.

Friday September 21st: Went to see the movie A Simple Favor with Sammi (She will be present for almost the rest of these as she was my prime motivator to keep going out). This was a last-minute commit at the end of the day and there was only seats in the front section available. We really wanted to see it, so we just got those seats and found that they weren’t as terrible as they seem. Which was super shocking to me, definitely noted for future reference. Also, that movie is just ratchet and I don’t know if I liked it, but I had a lot of fun watching it.

Saturday September 22nd: Hadn’t been to the symphony in a while and looked up what was up at Boettcher Hall that weekend and ended up seeing that they had a Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra Symphony for that night. Which I immediately bought tickets for Sammi and I as she had never been to the symphony before and I thought that symphony would be a great introduction. It was absolute perfection and the Ella and Frank impersonators were stellar and got me in a jazzy mood. After the symphony we ended up looking for a piano bar and found this place called the Crimson Room. This place is underground and super classy and the customer range isn’t really 22 year olds (meaning the drinks there are over $100), but we didn’t care because we wanted Jazz and that was where we could find it. Needless to say we absolutely loved that place, the aesthetics of it were exactly what we wanted and needed to finish up our night.

Sunday September 23rd: After Saturday night Sammi and I were definitely exhausted and we couldn’t rest up in the morning as we had to go to a 2 year olds birthday and we were already 3 days into the streak and we were like we just gotta commit and do something. Luckily Sunday nights I am a part of a pool league so that evening we headed to the pool hall and played some practice games before my match. That night I played against a 4 (which is 2 ranks higher than me) and I have no idea what happened, but I played really well. I was just having a lot of fun and before I had played the girl I played we were having fun and laughing but during our game I could tell I definitely got on her nerves. She (and me too) didn’t expect me to play that well and I felt bad that I was causing her to have a rough night, but also I won, so at the time I didn’t care that much because I haven’t won in weeks.

Monday September 24th: Was gonna go do a cycle bar class with Lynne (that I also talked Sammi into going with me), but I didn’t make it in time to sign up. After missing that I realized that Sammi and I were still dressed to work out so we ended up going to a gym close by the cycle bar place. Maybe not the conventional going out that I was thinking about, but it’s hard to come up with ideas on a Monday night. Plus a gym is a social place and it was at night, so it counts. There was also this arm machine that just was absolute hell and I am still in pain from it.

Tuesday September 25th: This was the hardest day to figure out what to do. Sammi was gone and literally everyone I knew was working and I really wanted to hang out with my brother, but he also had work. Which left me to do something that I don’t normally do: go out alone. I am not a social creature and when I go out I always go out with friends. I hardly ever do things alone because I like sharing experiences with people. But I was on a 5 day streak and I couldn’t risk blowing it on day 6. I dressed up slightly smart casual and made my way to Denver. Didn’t have a full plan except drive to Denver and figure it out from there. Everything that I normally do downtown is on the weekends though, so I had absolutely no idea what I should do. Thus I ended up where I normally end up when I’m not thinking and wandering around Denver; the Denver Center of Performing Arts.  Fun fact that night was Dear Evan Hansen premier night in Denver and even more of a fun fact I got a ticket. I’ve been wanting to see this musical since I stumbled upon its soundtrack a year and a half ago. It was everything that I imagined and more and was fantastic. I am so grateful that I snagged a ticket and found something to do that night. If you have the chance to see it, go now. Don’t think, just go.

Wednesday September 26th: Sammi came back and we ended the 7 days strong! We went to a Sip and Paint and for those who know my list know that paint a picture is one of the creative challenges (#15 on Master List) and because of that this day will be posted in a separate blog post.