Trying New Things: The Last 3 Days

So...it has come to this...

...The last 3 days of my month of new things.  Is it just me, or did this month fly by?  The other day Mindy said "How is it November already?!"  And I said "Because we just skipped right from August to November.  October really didn't happen."

Except it did.  In a major kind of way.  I did LOTS of things in October.  Here are the last 3 days.

Trying New Things: Days 23-28

Tuesday, October 23rd

Honestly, guys... I can't remember what my new thing was today.  I really have no idea at all.  I worked late, so I came home late, and we had leftover pizza for dinner...I pinned minky to a quilt top, but did no sewing.  

Wow... I can't remember at all.  It seems so long ago...

Update:  I remembered what it was!  I tried that tip that says you should only check your email 3 times a day, and close out of it so the notifications don't pop up.  Totally successful!  I love it.  I am going to work on trying that on days when I can (sometimes I am waiting on emails to finish what I need to do).  I HIGHLY  recommend this one.

Trying New Things: Yesterday & Today

Yesterday was sunny and the house was clean, so my "new thing" was going to be a house tour blog post.  I went all over my semi-clean house snapping pictures... or at least I thought I did.  When I went to upload them, they were not on the memory card.  Still not sure what happened.  Bummer.

Trying New Things: Days 17-20

Wednesday, October 17th

This new thing was inspired by Beth & Mindy.  I was sitting in a meeting with Beth on Monday, noticing the color of her (always impeccable) nails.  As is typical for this time of year, they were Raiders' colors.  (Don't ask me why she roots for the Raiders...I have no idea.  But she is a super-fan).  So, like I said... Raiders' colors.  With an "s."  8 of her 10 fingers were painted black (not a dark, goth-type black, but more of a slightly-sparkly charcoal-ish black.  It looked good... trust me) and the other two fingers (her ring fingers) were silver.  Interesting.

Trying New Things: Days 11-16

I thought I was all smart 'n stuff since I chose a busy month with lots of new activities as my Month of New Things.  And--I'm not gonna lie--it was a pretty good move.  I don't have to dream up as many new things when I already have a sister visit, two trips, and two new clubs scheduled for this month.

But that doesn't leave a whole lotta time for writing about all of these new things.  So I'm going to play catch-up... again.  Here are my new things for the past 6 days...

trying new things: pushing the limit

Last night after an interwebz conference call with my siblings (minus Kelly), Mandy and I stayed on the line while I helped her explore Pinterest. 

It wasn't long before we got lost in my board where I pin quotes and stuff, giggling and giggling and giggling.  While there are lots of funny things, there was one more serious quote I had pinned awhile ago that really seemed to go with my month of trying new things.

I want to think again of dangerous and noble things.I want to be light and frolicsome.I want to be improbable, beautiful, and afraid of nothingas though I had wings.

~Mary Oliver

I was feeling very inspired by this, so I really went out there and took a risk today.

trying new things... or should I say STYLING new things

Today, for something new, I decided I would try dressing with style.  

The main thing I wanted to try was wearing a belt around my middle.  This doesn't usually work well, because I don't have the right kind of belts so they are loose and weird.  But a few pins on pinterest inspired me to try the belt over a cardigan.  So I did.

Trying New Things: Days 5-8

So apparently, trying new things all weekend (and hanging out with your lil' sis who lives way too far away), can keep you kinda busy.  I tried lots of new things this weekend.  I will do my best to summarize.

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?  Well, at least let's rewind to Thursday night.  Not long after I finished my new workout, Mandy and Kevan arrived.

Trying New Things: Stability Ball Workout

This is a picture of me.  Just kidding...I don't wear pants like that.
(Image from fitnessmagazine.com)

I have had a stability ball for years, and have sort of messed around with it, using it for crunches and whatnot.  But when I got my October issue of Fitness, it had this workout in it.

So I decided to give it a try.

Trying New Things: Small Town Gas Station

Last night I put Vick's on my feet and wore socks to bed, intending to share that as my new thing for today.

Instead, I will share a little story about my drive to work.  First, a little background.

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As I may have mentioned before, I drive 30 miles to The Middle Of Nowhere for work.  I drive through quite a bit of countryside, and only past two gas stations (excluding co-ops, since we're not members).  In one Small Town is a little convenience store/hardware/gas station called "The Singergap."  Locals refer to it as "The Gap" so I will do the same for the sake of typing efficiencies.

Trying New Things Day 2: Book Club

This one has been a long time in coming.  For a couple of years, Sapphire has been saying "We should start a book club,"  and I say "Yes!  We should.  Jenn knows people... we should talk to Jenn about it."

So what happens?  A couple of weeks before Sapphire moves away, Jenn and I spend 6 hours in the car together on our way to and from the Land End Warehouse Clearance Event and we decide to start a book club.  Here's how that conversation went.

Jenn:  We need to start a book club.
Steph:  Yes!  I have been thinking the same thing.
Jenn: Great!  Let's do it.
Steph: Wait until Sapphire hears... she's going to kill me.

Trying New Things Day 1: Making Bagels

I've been wanting to make bagels for quite awhile, so I thought Try New Things Month was a great time to give it a whirl.

Egg bagels have always been my favorite, so I asked The Google for a recipe.  This one sounded the simplest, so that's the one I went with.