A New Year and 52 Things

My sister was telling me about a friend of hers that did this very cool thing when she turned 50. My sister said she plans to do this in the new year, and I thought it was so cool, I'd do it myself.

With the new year upon us, take your age in the new year and then create a list of that many things you've never done that you can do in the new year. So, for myself, I will be turning (gasp!) 52 in the new year, so I will create a list of 52 things I haven't done and do them. I shall then check them off the list as I go.

What is cool about this is that there is no pressure. I really believe the pressure to accomplish goals or resolutions can lead to failure so I like the rule that there is no pressure. You can even change your "things" as go along. The ultimate goal is to complete however many things (based on your upcoming age) in the new year. Your "things" don't have to be monumental either, but rather things you can really do. For instance, cook quinoa or go to a cemetery and photograph headstones that someone requested on findagrave.com. You may even want to volunteer at a shelter one weekend, or start a journal. The possibilities are endless and open to change, just as long as you can do things you want to do that you haven't done yet! A kick back bucket list, I guess. I hope you'll give it a try!

I shall create a spreadsheet of things I shall do this year that I've never done and as I complete them, I will check them off. But even better (I know!), I will blog about them! These little gems will be tagged here as "52 Things" and the post titles will also contain "52 Things" so that you won't miss a single exciting moment!

I really hope others will join in and share their "however many things" with me. I really believe we can all inspire each other! Having said that, I'm getting an early start with some of my 52 things for the upcoming year.

1 - I will make a vegan German Chocolate Cake. As a kid, that was my absolute favorite cake in the world. It has been too long since I've had it, so, I'll come up with a recipe that meets my vegan diet.

2 - Request a coroner's report (my grandmother's). I learned that these are public record.

3 - Offer international shipping at my Etsy shop.

4 - Transcribe 1940 Census Records (I've never transcribed any census records and have already signed up as a volunteer)!

5 - Compile my mom's recipes into a cookbook (I have all those recipes of hers in my possession) and offer the vegan options. She really was a great cook, but now, it isn't something she does.

So, here's my start, and, maybe number five is a bit huge, but, I'll give it a shot. Remember, no pressure. That just really makes it more appealing IMO.

I hope others will join in and share their own accomplishments and goals here or share their links! I think my item 5 is huge and will take several months to complete, but I have others so far that will be easier. I look forward to seeing where this goes in the upcoming year. I also look forward to seeing what others do as I might find someone else's "thing" something I want to try.

Here's to 2012 and a prosperous, successful, healthy, safe and happy New Year! Do things! Make things happen and contribute something good to others while doing something good for yourself!

Smart Phone, Bracelets, Genealogy, and Family Recipe Friday

The past 24 hours have been rather interesting. Got up and got ready for work. Prepared my mom's lunch and chatted with her before heading to the office. Prior to heading to the office, I checked my Etsy and found that I'd been featured in four Etsy treasuries! That was sure nice to wake up to. In case you are not familiar with the treasury thing, basically, it is a way to showcase other shops and their items and share it with others. It is a great way to promote others, while promoting yourself. The thing is, you must get people to click on it and "favorite" it and view it, blah, blah, blah.

I belong to a really great and supportive Etsy team called Etsian Artists. My history with Etsy is that back in November of 2009 I opened my shop/account, added my avatar and banner and profile and that was it for an entire year! Lazy maybe. I had some items to list but not many, so I was a bit timid. Then a year later, I listed nine items, and have since added to that, but need to add more. I have tons of ideas and half finished items just waiting to be listed. The other thing that is "just waiting" to happen are more sales! That would be super nice. I had considered joining teams but never did until our fabulous team captain, Elizabeth invited me! That was after she featured me on her fab blog! I was honored and excited and jazzed and any other word you can think of!

I have finally "graduated" to a smart phone! Today I upgraded my mobile and now can spend the weekend getting to know it and figuring out how to stay connected when I'm running my mom to all of her appointments! Yeah!!!  And, yes, I no longer have an excuse for not opening that Twitter account. I still don't "get" Twitter, so this should surely be interesting.

The other cool thing that happened in the past 24 hours is that I was contacted by a genealogist today that I met back in April of 2010. We met at the LA County Records' Office (vital records) before I found my grandmother. She offered assistance and I gave her the details I had at the time, and then nothing. Turns out after our meeting, she encountered some family issues and after a sad death, was beginning to catch up. She did send me research info on my grandmother that I had already done, research that took me two years to do. I thought to myself that if she hadn't experienced her grief, I would have found Lola in 2010. However, all things considered, I am glad that I was the one that found Lola.

Here are some bracelets I've made but haven't yet added to my shop because I really do need to get better pictures of them.

And now for the Family Recipe Friday. When I was a teenager, I was famous for bringing by friends home just in time for dinner. My mom was never really ready for that but she never got mad at me either. One night in particular, my mom made the only "scary" recipe I ever remember her making. She was a fabulous cook, and would still be if her vision was still with her.

This night she made a funky gelatin dish. Oh man, even before I was a hard core vegan, this scared the hell out of me. From what I remember, she had chopped veggies like onion, celery and carrots and placed them in a Pyrex baking dish and then poured liquefied Knox gelatin over it and let it harden. I couldn't bring myself to touch it. She had NEVER made that before and said it was something that her mom used to make. My two friends did try it, and I could tell by the look on their faces that it was not easy to consume! A recipe gone bad or a bad recipe to begin with, but, thankfully, she never made that one again, and we did laugh about it years later!

Family Recipe Friday - Noodles and Ground Round

My dad was a major meat and potatoes guy. He was also a child during the depression and loved making this odd meal. He was the only one in the house that liked this, but when he had a chance to make it, he would.

He would boil and drain large egg noodles. While the noodles were cooking, he would brown and drain ground round. Mix these together and add one can of cream of mushroom soup; one can of corn, drained; and salt and pepper to taste. He may have added water with the soup but I just don't really remember. Sometimes, he would put this concoction on french bread.

I wonder if this recipe contributed to my becoming a vegetarian!