small things...

Get your streak on

Have you seen this video?

 

 

I love every second of it.  Sometimes I’m in the middle of loving it so much it makes me tear up a little. 

If you’ve looked at my 2015 Life list you’ll see that 5 of the tasks to complete are various “streaks”

23. Exercise streak

24. Meditation streak

25. Writing streak

26. Running streak

27. Some kind of ‘no Facebook’ streak

The goal here, peas and carrots, is to go for as many days in a row as possible in each.  If I stop for a day I restart the count the next time I begin.   The idea is not to set a number or a specific goal ahead of time, but to see how it all turns out in the end.  Maybe I’ll never get above 5 days in a row of exercise or writing – but maybe I’ll try again every week.  Maybe the fact that I’ve meditated every day for the last 14 days will encourage me to make sure I meditate today because I want to keep the streak alive!

I am developing the habit of streak.

The “Girls” and the girls!

#36 – Bra fitting – take care of the girls  COMPLETE!

I was beginning to think that this year was getting off to a slow start, but then Saturday I had a two-fer and I started to feel like I’M-ALREADY-KILLING-IT!   So it’s all good.

It began with a trip north-ish (Highland Park) to get my “girls” evaluated by the nice ladies at Schwartz

I knew I was part of the 64% of women who were wearing the wrong bra size.   And mostly it didn’t really bother me, but you know age and gravity and weight gain were all things to consider so this year I decided to find out just how ‘off-sized’ I was.

The first thing your bra-specialist will do is ask you to take your top off (leaving the bra on).  You’ll first be measured for your band size.  A tape measure is wrapped around your chest just below your breasts.  Depending on the measurement you’ll round up if between inches and again round up if it’s an odd size.   Next to measure for cup size the tape measure is wrapped around the fullest part of your breast.  Now the lady measuring me did not explain to me how she came up with the cup size – and I didn’t ask.  I was so stupefied by the letter(s) I was rendered speechless (let’s just say I was wearing at least 2 cup sizes smaller).  She had me try on a number of bras and after I got over the volume I realize that I could really tell the difference.  The cup did seem a little loose on me, but I was used to a bit of spill over in the bras I’d been wearing – so it seemed like it could be relatively normal.  They let me wear home my new lacy number and I marveled all day at the height of my breasts. 

As the day wore on, however, discomfort set in.  I told myself that maybe I just wasn’t used to wearing the correct size.  By the end of the night I could barely concentrate I was so uncomfortable.  It could have been that dang lace or the wire.  Or… it wasn’t actually the right size…I’ve done a bunch of research on determining bra sizing since and measured myself several times based on what I’ve found…and every time my figure comes out differently from what I was told….So while I went for a bra fitting I get to cross the task off my list, but my quest for a good bra remains on-going.

  #42 – Help someone else fulfill a goal    COMPLETE!

I have a few friends who have made their own life lists for 2015 (yay!) and Saturday night I got to get together with a couple of them to go to another one of those booze and paint nights because it fulfilled a goal for each.  We drank Prosecco and Italian Soda and got our art on.

(that’s our booze in the foreground!  and my water bottle because I’m a hydrating fool)

The “Before” shot

And the “After”.  (Corgi photobomb!)

Everybody paints a replica of the same painting yet we sign it ourselves…which now that I think about it is a little plagiarize-y.  What if I had an art show where I only showed paintings I’d made through these classes? Would the original artists bust me or have they signed away the right by letting their artwork be copied by groups of boozy ladies?  I mean I have 3 of these already…how many do I need for a show?

 

xo

erin

The 2015 Life list

It’s hard to believe this will be my third year with one of these lists!  I returned to the original format of a long, long list of fun, fun things.  I followed the same rules as I did before:

1. The thing cannot require an act of God to be accomplished.  (For example, I would like to see the Aurora Borealis, but maybe the Aurora Borealis isn’t feeling it that night. I still hope this happens, but it doesn’t go on this list.)
2. The thing cannot require the participation of another person.  (maybe I’d like to fall in love or get married or ride a tandem bike.  These item would go unchecked unless I can convince someone else that they want this same thing too)  However, I’m fully hoping people will participate in many of these 42 things.
3. I have to really want to do this thing.  Nothing goes on the list that is a ‘throw away’

This year, like last year, I got together with a group of friends to share our lists and hopes and plans for the year.  Good food and morning booze makes for an excellent start to any year.   And like last year I narrowed down on a few themes for the year to focus on:

2015

· Pushing boundaries (physical, mental, emotional)

· Getting healthy (improving fitness, ritual self-care – massage, meditation)

· Getting off-line and In-life

· Making home more and more mine

 

And then I made a list:

2015 Life list

1. Travel somewhere I’ve never been

2. Read 42 books (new book list)

3. Go to a hippy music festival

4. Really try paddleboarding

5. 12 new restaurants in 12 different towns

6. Repurpose tv room closet

7. Attend plays – specifically Book of Mormon

8. Take a trip with friends

9. Go to a spa weekend retreat

10. Take a boxing class

11. Get a massage bi-monthly

12. Take a multi-session art class

13. Try to get a community garden again. If so, grow veggies

14. Shoot a roll of film with uncle bob’s old camera

15. Go to and get in a hot spring

16. Photos in a photobooth

17. Take a train trip with a window seat and something to see

18. Gather friends to blow bubbles on the beach at the summer solstice

19. Visit a national park

20. See a water fall

21. See an art exhibit once a month

22. Do a 52 week photo project

23. Gym streak

24. Meditation streak

25. Writing streak

26. Running streak

27. Some kind of ‘no facebook’ streak

28. Hike 5 different Illinois trails

29. Attend a minor league baseball game – the Boomers!

30. Go visit some of the places I’ve found on ancestory.com where family have lived

31. Stargaze in a place where you can see all the stars and know what I’m looking at/for

32. Go to a drive-in or see a movie outside somehow

33. Submit a story to phone=in The Moth

34. Have an over-the-top garden box

35. Do part of the 127 Corridor – worlds largest yard sale!

36. Bra fitting – take care of the girls!

37. Have a ‘Mortified’ themed party

38. Have 4 parties altogether

39. Change out rug in tv room

40. Train for Apple Cider ride – at least 25 mile distance

41.  Go for the million steps in 100 days again

42. Help someone else fulfill a goal

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I’ve got a couple other goals this year that I think I don’t want to quantify b/c I think my being open to how each plays out is key.  The first has to do with weight/fitness/health – the real goal here is about how I want to feel and what my body can do – what it weighs matters the least of all, but it’s easy for me to get caught up there.  The second has to do with love – a love life specifically, but love in general.  I want more of it so I’m holding my attention on increasing love in all it’s forms.  I don’t know if I’ll write any more about these two goals at all, but in an act of sending it out into the universe or the ether,  I chose to write a small bit here.

Wish me luck this year – with all of this!  If there is anything listed above you can help out with or want to  join in on – let me know, that’s the best part. 

xoxo

erin