30 day challenges

Failure has escalated to a new level. I have not failed at my April 30 day challenge, but I did fail at PICKING a 30 day challenge. Here I am nearing the middle of the month and I haven't identified something that will make me a better person or the world a better place. I find this a little troublesome.

This challenge hiatus has, however, give me the opportunity to revisit previously successful 30 day challenges, specifically the January challenge.

The challenge was to not buy anything unnecessary (food and drink were considered necessary) or new (used items were allowed). This challenge led me to go shopping at Goodwill for the first time outside of Halloween costume season. I came home with an ice cream maker that I've been wanting for a few years. The original retail price was $50. The Goodwill gently used price? Only $4.99. Even though the price was low and it was a used item that clearly fit into the challenge agreements, I felt a little guilty about spending the cash.

Any feelings of guilt have since melted away. Since bringing the maker home I've made 3 batches of sorbet; mango, mixed berry and strawberry. Pictured here is the maker in the middle of the most recent batch...Strawberry. The sorbet is absolutely scrumptious. The ice cream maker (and it's icy products) have been the best result of the original 30 day challenge.

I'll start thinking about a challenge for May...I'm open for suggestions...

Welcome to the Bog-o-sphere

Last Friday Kirk and I went for a run over to Lebanon Hills, our favorite local park. To call it a park seems a little offensive. It would be like calling Mike N. a little wordy. The park is huge and full of what most people think of as hiking trails. Kirk and I consider them running trails.

Considering that there is still ice on the ground in some spots it was no surprise that the trails were a little muddy. It reminded me of stories my brother used to tell about participating in the "Bog Jog" at Boy Scout camp. I remember thinking how fun it sounded to run through all that mud and muck. Friday's run was probably as close as I'll get to that experience. Except for the time in the Boundary Waters where I went into the muck up to my waist, but that didn't include any jogging, so it doesn't count.

The day the appliances ran the house

I had a really nice weekend, punctuated by a Sunday where I didn't leave the house. I used the day making a concerted effort to clear as much from the pantry as I could by actually USING the food. What I didn't realize until nearly the end of the day was that I used almost every appliance in the house. The following is a list of appliances I used yesterday and what either Kirk or I created with said appliance.
1. Washer (clean clothes)
2. Dryer (dry clothes)
3. Coffee maker (coffee)
4. Dishwasher (clean dishes)
5. Oven/stove top (beans on the stove top, Cake in the oven)
6. Bread machine (bread)
7. Ice cream maker (mango sorbet)
8. Refrigerator (for freezing the mango sorbet and for cold water)
9. Food processor (for pureeing the mango sorbet and for pureeing chilies for the beans)
10. Mixer (cake)
11. Crock pot (shredded Carolina Pork)
12. Rice cooker (rice)
13. Coffee grinder (ground coffee)

BTW - the mango sorbet was really nice...

February 30 Day Challenge

Motivated by Ed and Carly's list of 30 day challenges Kirk and I decided to take on our own series of challenges. For February we've given up deep fried food. On February 2nd we both accidentally ate donuts. It doesn't sound believable, but I forgot about the challenge AND about the fact that donuts are fried. They come from a bakery...it seems like they should be BAKED.

I do like most forms of fried food. Potato chips, french fries, chicken wings, nachos. Yum. One form of fried food I'm not missing...Fritos Varitos. Kirk and I went to Spain a few years ago. We stopped for appetizers at a bar and ordered "Fritos Varitos", guessing the translation was "various fried things". I was seriously disappointed when a plate of deep fried sardines showed up.

Poor Paul

Is there any one of us who hasn't pulled a pair of socks out of the drawer, noticed a hole in them and thought, "I'll just wear them today, then I'll toss them"? Paul Wolfowitz probably didn't dream that his toes would end up on Yahoo.

What Once Was Lost Now Is Found

About a year ago I lost my car key. This really bothered me because I never used to lose anything. Not only did I never lose anything, I was the person who always knew where things were hiding.

"Anne, where's the checkbook?" Kirk would ask. "Um, it's under the sink behind the shampoo." Losing something as important as a car key sort of shook my confidence. I guess I have a thin skin.

Yesterday I was violently searching for something in the bathroom drawer. I got so into the search that I pulled the drawer out of the cabinet and set it on the floor so I could get a better look. I finally gave up on what I was looking for and started to reassemble the drawer. During the search I noticed how many Altoids boxes, both full and empty, I have in my drawer. I think the obsession goes back to my childhood...my grandpa used to give me boxes of Altoids as presents. I used to use them to store nearly everything. One time Grandpa sent my brother a rattle snake tail in an Altoid box. I think I looked at that rattle snake tail about 1000 times when I was a kid.

Anyhow, one of the mint free Altoids boxes fell out of the drawer. On a fluke I decided to open the box...guess what was inside...that's right...my car key. Why would I put my car key in an Altoids box in the bathroom drawer? Clearly it was an anti-theft act. I always hide my car keys when we leave town, just in case someone were to break in and decide to steal a car. I never thought I would do such a good job that even I wouldn't be able to find the key.

What other uses are there for Altoids boxes? At one point I thought about making the "Minty MP3" but my soldering skills aren't up to snuff.

How one thing leads to another

Last Saturday night Kirk and I went out to a little place in St. Paul called "The Nook" with our friends Mike and Emily. I've been wanting to go to the Nook ever since I heard someone brag up their Juicy Lucy. While my quest isn't as formalized as Ed's, I still make a point of searching out a good Juicy.

I knew I liked The Nook as soon as I caught sight of the taps...they had Hamm's Beer on tap! While Hamm's has been a St. Paul tradition forever, it isn't often you see it on tap these days. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen it on tap before...I just remember happy times from childhood singing "From the land of sky blue water..."

I was told that Hamm's on tap is a blog-worthy topic, so I started to do a little research. I came across a website written by a group called The Action Squad who finds old buildings to explore. As it turns out they explored the old Hamm's brewery in St. Paul. What a cool hobby...breaking into old buildings just to get a look around. I'm not brave enough to crawl through an asbestos tunnel in search of dead raccoons and old brew kettles, so for now I'll just have to live vicariously through the Action Squad! This website has tons of photos from their journeys. Go ahead...have a look around.