Saturday, March 8, 2014

Number 57: Up near the atmosphere, up where the air is clear!


If there's one thing my life has been sorely lacking lately, it is a good old fashioned FESTIVAL.
 
So when my church decided to have a booth at the Soaring for Social Justice Kite Festival, I jumped to attend!  In addition to all the incredible kites, there were vendors selling jewelry and beautiful ethnic clothing, hoola hooping and lots of other kids' activities, and a huge building filled with information booths about local community organizations.  

I had the BEST time!

My 2nd favorite thing was visiting the booths and learning about new organizations to get involved with.  I found a vegan group, got my name written in Arabic, picked up a bunch of fliers about emergency preparedness, and got directions to the Hindu temple!  And every table was very, very generous with candy.  It was like trick-or-treating for grownups!

My 1st favorite thing was running into BFF Jessica and her family!  It was the perfect day for kite flying and catching up with each other. 

All in all, it was a day of WIN.

If there are any kite festivals in your area, I highly recommend checking them out!  Or any kind of festival, really.  Are any of you festival-goers on the reg?  What have been some of your favorites?   

Number 27: This beautiful art took less than five minutes


Indian culture fascinates me.  I want to participate in Holi, have a closet full of saris, shake it like a Bollywood star, and learn everything I can about the wild and wonderful world of Hindu gods. My comfort food is curry and papadum.  I am an aspirational Desi girl.

So of course, getting a henna design was a non-negotiable part of The List.

At the Soaring for Social Justice kite festival this weekend, my church had fortuitously set up our booth right beside a henna station!  The gorgeous and talented ladies of the Huntsville Islamic Center painted this amazing design on my hand in less than five minutes.  About an hour later, the dark brown ink sloughed off and what's left is a light brown stain that should be good for up to a week.

Next time?  I want henna sleeves!

Have you ever gotten henna or other temporary body art?

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Number 61: Buying it was the easy part

  

Introducing Madame Bovary, my brand new orchid, purchased this very afternoon at the fancy hippie grocery market.  Isn't she lovely???  But as the title of this post suggests, buying was the easy part.  

Now it's up to me to keep this baby alive for two years!  Anybody got any orchid growing tips?  I need all the help I can get!
 

Monday, March 3, 2014

The Obligatory Explanation Post: Who I Am and What I'm Doing Here




Yeah.  Hi!  I'm Laura.

If you've been on the Internet for any amount of time in the last, oh, four years, I'll wager you've probably seen that 101 things in 1001 days meme making its way 'round the blogs.

This is not one of those lists.

It is similar, however, in that I'm endeavoring to accomplish SEVENTY FIVE new things in SEVEN HUNDRED THIRTY days.  That's two years, yo.  I'm choosing these numbers instead of the "traditional" version because really, how many people have actually completed everything on their lists?  Not many, it seems.  101 is nigh impossible; 75 makes a nice challenge. 

And while I do love being social and Out and About in the world, lately it's become far too easy to come home from work and crash in front of my laptop, watching Mad Men and eating peanut butter straight from the jar...

...not that there's anything wrong with that!  OCCASIONALLY. 

I want to do more with my evenings, my time, my LIFE.

Hence, The List.  The Super 75, if you will.

I'll be posting pictures and anecdotes about my (mis)adventures here. 

The Master List





Start date: 3/4/2014
End date: 3/4/2016



1.       Go to a drive-in movie
2.       Do a one day juice/smoothie detox
3.       Host a dinner party
4.       Take a vacation with a friend
5.       Have my own apartment
6.       Create a custom fragrance
7.       Learn to use a sewing machine
8.       Sew a skirt
9.       Watch every movie up for Academy Award Best Picture one year
10.   Attend some kind of medical technologist career event
11.   Join an MT professional organization
12.   Take a dance class
13.   Go on a ghost tour in Hollywood
14.   Save $XXXXX
15.   Contribute to my retirement funds
16.   Do yoga at least once a week (0/52)
17.   Join a book club
18.   Get a spray tan
19.   Don’t complain about anything for one week
20.   Have a mother/daughter photoshoot
21.   Take a self-defense class
22.   Grow fresh herbs
23.   Attend a Dita Von Teese performance
24.   Travel somewhere by train
25.   Go to the opera
26.   Cook something with truffle oil
27.   Get mehndi/henna
28.   Go geocaching
29.   Finish reading all the books I’ve started
30.   Speak in public
31.   Learn five friends’ phone numbers by heart (0/5)
32.   Have a photoshoot at the Alabama Theatre
33.   Volunteer at the Humane Society at least once a month
34.   Watch Giant
35.   See a show at the Princess Theatre in Decatur
36.   Attend a writing workshop
37.   Have my fortune told
38.   Take a martial arts class
39.   Visit a Buddhist or Hindu temple
40.   Watch a meteor shower
41.   Make a dessert with edible gold
42.   Stay at the Stanley Hotel
43.   Perfect a raw cheesecake
44.   Walk a labyrinth
45.   Go horseback riding
46.   Attend the I Can Do It! Conference in Austin
47.   Have an overnight camping adventure
48.   Write a thank you note to a former teacher
49.   Go kayaking
50.   Find a mentor
51.   Be a mentor
52.   Try ziplining
53.   Get a facial
54.   See the Dismalites at Dismals Canyon
55.   Participate in a “wild encounter” at a zoo
56.   Visit Tigers of Tomorrow
57.   Attend a kite festival
58.   Have an Internet-free weekend
59.   Cook tempeh
60.   Clean out the spare bedroom
61.   Get an orchid and keep it alive!
62.   Send a care package to a female soldier overseas
63.   Make vegan marshmallows
64.   Hike in Colorado, summer 2015
65.   Go to a shooting range
66.   Keep up with tax deductions
67.   Attend a cultural celebration
68.   Try jackfruit or kumquats
69.   Visit the Scott and Zelda museum in Montgomery
70.   Go on a retreat at Unity Village
71.   Watch every Marilyn Monroe movie
72.   Go on a day hike with Southeastern Outings
73.   Attend a satsang
74.   Grind my own spices and cook authentic Indian food
75.   Try zorbing