Sing and dance in the rain

I was originally attempting my silence challenge today, but my mom calling me several times made that not happen. So instead, when it started raining, I took that opportunity to attempt this challenge instead!

Sing and dance in the rain
It is raining hard outside, so I put on some comfy clothes and went out and sang and danced to hits such as "I'm a little teapot" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". My dancing wasn't great, nor was my singing, but this was still a fun little exercise.

I do enjoy the rain a lot, the way it feels and sounds, but I didn't make it outside for long today because its actually very cold rain. Despite that, it was still some silly fun and you should give it a try if you have a change of clothes and some hot chocolate ready for when you get in!

Pick up a new book I've never heard of

Took a trip to the bookstore today and bought a few things! Not just for today's challenge but for a future challenge as well! I have some extra money and another book store related challenge and seeing all the great books might send me back there soon to do the next one!

Pick up a new book I've never heard of
I wasn't sure what type of book I was going to go for. I looked at humour, young adult, fantasy and sci-fi.  I ended up going with two books, one I had heard of, which is a fantasy/humour book, but the book I bought for this challenge is called All About Us and is a cute little book for couples to do together to learn more about each other. Like 'What was your first word' and 'If you were to open a restaurant, what would you serve?' I think it'll be a fun opportunity to get to know each other a little bit better!

I also bought a sock puppet making kit for another challenge, that I am very much looking forward to! We've already done a few questions in the book, and it's been pretty fun so far!

There were so many great books, I'm wondering which other one I should pick up when I go back!

Try a new fruit

We went grocery shopping today, which is always a great opportunity to do one of my food/drink challenges. Which is exactly what I did!

Try a new fruit
I like fruit a lot so I figured there was no harm in trying a new one. I am very picky about trying new foods, so this was a great opportunity to push myself to trying something new. My boyfriend convinced me to try 2 instead of just one, and I'm glad he did!

The two fruit were papaya and honey mango. I've had papaya flavoured things, but not one on its own, and I'd never had a honey mango!

Verdict: The papaya I did not like at all. My boyfriend told me it wasn't as good as most he'd tried, but I didn't like that one. The honey mango, on the other hand, I thought was really good! It looks slimy and icky, but it was the right amount of sweet and juicy. Would definitely eat again!

Drink only water and no other beverage all day

This is one I've actually completed many times but didn't remember it was a challenge! I had a different one planned for today, but that fell through, so this made a good backup.

 Drink only water and no other beverage all day
I do enjoy water, especially flavoured water, so this one was easy peasy. Like I said, I've done it many times without remembering it was a challenge, so it was a pretty easy day as far as this goes.

I had 2 bottles of regular water, a bottle of orange flavoured water, and a couple of glasses as well! I am super hydrated!

Lift weights for 20 minutes straight

This was a challenge that went well with me booting up my exercise challenges to get fit again. It was a difficult one, though!

Lift weights for 20 minutes straight
10 minutes was hard enough and I haven't lifted weights in a while, so this was indeed a challenge. Luckily, my boyfriend agreed to do it with me, which made it more fun! We did all different types to isolate different muscles. I used 2 eight lb weights and he used 10 lb weights. There were a few that I had to downgrade to a 4lb weight, but it wasn't too many!

My arms are sore now!

Message an old friend I haven't talked to in a long time

So I was pretty tired today. I had a full day of meetings and furniture moving and I was pretty tired. So I chose one of the more laid back challenges for today!

Message an old friend I haven't talked to in a long time
I have a person on my Facebook who I was great fiends with in High School, so I messaged them to see how they're doing. Because we are on different schedules, it hasn't been a straight conversation, but rather just messaging each other back when we get a chance. It's been nice to reconnect with an old friend!

Look up an inspirational quote and keep it in mind all day (and in the future)

I was struggling with some motivation this morning, so what better time then to pull up this easy, yet motivational challenge?

 Look up an inspirational quote and keep it in mind all day (and in the future)
There were many great quotes when I went looking and I encourage everyone to look some up when they need a little boost. You might just find the one that resonates with you!

The one I picked today is "You can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone."

I think this is a great quote, because it reminds us that if everyone helped someone out, the world would be a good place. So if you know anyone who needs help, whether it be a shoulder to cry on, help painting, or maybe just giving them some advice, if you can help them, why not! It'll make their day and it might pass things around for when you need help someday!

Besides, it always feels nice making others happy!

Have a barbecue

This one didn't work out as planned and it never has in all of the times I've tried to attempt it, so this could be considered a failure or a success, depending how you want to look at it.

Have a barbecue
Today brought some sad news with it and also some rain, so our barbecue was cancelled and even if it hadn't been, the rain made sure it was.

So instead we tried a steakhouse restaurant. They had delicious mozzarella sticks and good chili, but their burger was not very good at all and I only ate a few bites of it. The restaurant also had peanut shells all over the floor because apparently they just allow you to do that and it was messy and uncomfortable.

So not the type of barbecue I was wanting or expecting, but not every challenge can be a great success!

Visit a new state

Watch out for a lot of pictures coming your way, because this was a big one! I had a really great weekend and I'm grateful I had the opportunity to accomplish this!

Visit a new state
I've driven through some states but haven't seen much of them, but I wanted this to be a visit to a state I had never set foot in before. The closest one to us is Tennessee!

Not a great picture, but oh well! So after weeks of planning, we decided on Knoxville as our destination!

 We left Saturday morning and got there in the afternoon. Our first destination was the museum of art!

There were a lot of really neat things in there, paintings, glass workings, sculptures, even little miniature rooms! These were some of my favourites:

Afterwards, I was feeling a bit sick, so we headed to the hotel! (See my previous blog post on the hotel!) We picked a really good location and we had a nice little shopping center right across the street!

Afterwards, we headed to a restaurant that was only a 5 minute walk away called Dowtown Grill & Brewery, where I ordered the best potato skins I've ever had, a chicken quesadilla, and even tried a new kind of beer! My boyfriend got the steak. It was a very good restaurant and if I lived closer, I would definitely eat there again!

For desert we tried some chilled ice and frozen gelatto at a little restaurant in that area in the picture above the quesadilla and we also went to a gift shop and got a toy tool set for Michael, a tacky mug for my tacky mug collection, and a stuffed cute owl!

We watched a movie and some shows that night and went to bed. In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then headed for the Ijams Nature Center!

Which didn't have much going on since it was a Sunday morning, but we saw some birds, some bugs, and a pond, as well as having a nice walk around the park on a quiet morning.

After that we headed home!

It was a great weekend and I'm so happy it was something I got to enjoy. I would go back and I think it was a really fun little weekend getaway!

Spend a night in a hotel

So this was the weekend of the big trip to Knoxville, Tennessee! This accomplished two different challenges and I had so much fun and it was a great weekend!

Spend a night in a hotel
Since it was about 4 hours away, we made reservations to spend a night in a hotel! We picked a hotel called the Crowne Plaza, and we had a King sized bed room. It was on the 11th floor, which scares me a little bit because I'm afraid of heights, but it was actually a lot of fun!

When we weren't touring the town, which we didn't too much because I'm still feeling a bit under the weather, we got to snuggle in our huge bed and watch some TV. We only have Netflix at home, so we got to watch some cable again. There are so many commercials!

The hotel was in a very convenient place as there were some things right across the road for us to do and keep us occupied. I love staying in hotels, so this was a lot of fun.

Something I got to do that I've never before is order room service!

The chicken tortilla soup was mine and it was delicious! My boyfriend ordered the grilled cheese and chips. The mini ketchup, salt, and pepper is adorable!

I had a lot of fun and we definitely picked a good hotel!

Set off fireworks

Well I didn't get any good pictures for this one, but it was still fun nonetheless! It was a good start to the weekend, which reminds me, I won't be updating tomorrow, but I will be updating for Saturday and Sunday when I get back on Sunday. That's right, we're going out of town for the weekend! Look forward to those challenges!

Set off fireworks
So we only set off 2 as to not annoy the poop out of the neighbours, but it was really fun and I'm glad we got to do it!

So that picture looks more like an invading space ship than a firework, but what can I say, I guess I was too busy living this moment to get a good picture of it! Had a lot of fun!

Have a taco night

I had a rough evening, so this challenge, which we'd already had planned, was the perfect thing to cheer me up!

Have a taco night
Tacos are one of my favorite foods! I especially like homemade tacos because you can personalize them to your own tastes!

I was recovering from my stressful evening, so I forgot to put cheese on my first 2 tacos, which is the best part! I ended up having 5 tacos though, so there was plenty of cheese to be eaten. I was full by the end. We sadly didn't have any lettuce either, but regardless, it was a delicious dinner!

Smile at every stranger who looks at me

Since I started my internship today, this was a good day for this one. Luckily it was also low energy because I am pretty tired.

Smile at every stranger who looks at me
Today was a good day, and I met lots of new people and there were of course some strangers coming in and out. So I pulled out a smile for every one of them!

Some smiled back, some smiled back awkwardly, some didn't smile at all. But maybe it made someone's day just a little bit more positive!

Have breakfast in bed

This challenge came from somewhere other than I wanted it to, but I did it nonetheless and its the only thing I had energy for!

Have breakfast in bed
I am sick. Very sick at a very bad time. So this was as good a day as any to have breakfast in bed, since I couldn't really drag myself out of it.

It wasn't breakfast even breakfast food. I had spicy noodles to help clear up my sinuses. It was tasty though, so at least there's that!

Come up with a romantic gesture for my boyfriend

I have a big week ahead of me, so I took the time today to organize something special for my boyfriend! He has been very supportive and stressed during this time when we have a lot going on, so its nice to do something special.

Come up with a romantic gesture for my boyfriend
I made him his favorite dinner, extra cheesy mac & cheese, I gave him foot rubs and a back massage, and I gave him a whole night of his silly TV shows without us taking turns and sharing the TV.

These were simple little things, and I've done a few others over the past little while like love coupons, and a foot bath. It feels nice to make someone else happy!

If you know someone who has been putting on a brave face while going through a stressful time, do something nice for them! It just might make their day, or even their week, a little bit better!

Try a few new chocolate bars and rate them

Since we were making a trip to the grocery store today anyway, we decided this would be a good time to pick up the necessary things for this challenge!

Try a few new chocolate bars and rate them
Alrighty so we decided on three chocolate bars that we found in the grocery store:

I didn't eat all of the chocolate bars, but I tried some of each. Here is my rating of each:

Dove Cookies and Cream
I have had cookies and cream before, but not the Dove brand. It was more expensive than the cheap Hershey's kind, but considering, it actually wasn't any better.
5/10 - Average

Lindt Intense Orange
I actually am not a fan of dark chocolate, but with that being said, this was pretty good. The orange I guess helped it taste less bitter, and it had a really good texture to it.
7/10 - Above Average

Ghiradelli Milk & Caramel
I don't buy many caramel chocolate bars because they're usually too rich, but this one was excellent. Just the right amount of creamy and a very tasty chocolate. Would definitely buy again.
8/10 - Very good!

This was a fun little challenge, and now I have some leftover chocolate too!

Go to a bake sale/fundraiser

This is one I'm glad I wrote a bake sale OR fundraiser for. It has been incredibly difficult finding a bake sale, but I did manage for the second part!

Go to a bake sale/fundraiser
The place I volunteer/intern at had a pancake breakfast this morning! I like pancakes and it fit in to my fundraiser challenge, so off we went this morning to get some pancakes!

We got 4 pancakes, 2 sausage links, and some fruit. I'd say it was a good deal, and the sausage were delicious!

A benefit for my boyfriend is that they were also having a car show right outside, so he got to look at some cars, which I know he enjoyed.

It was a good morning!

Play a new Scribblenauts game

Last night I went to the GameStop and bought a new game, without even thinking about this challenge! Luckily, it lined up pretty well!

Play a new Scribblenauts game
The game I picked up was Scribblenauts Unmasked. This is a Scribblenauts game merged with DC comics.

Scribblenauts is a game where the hero, Maxwell, can use his pencil and notebook to create almost anything. So if you write "car", a car will appear. If you write "duck" a duck will appear.

This game also has the added element of being able to summon super heroes and villains from the DC Comics universe.

This game is a bit challenging for me because I'm not a huge comic book person, so I don't know a lot of the things I can do or should be doing. But its still been fun to play!

Do 200 squats

I haven't done too many from my active list, but I did do my 100 squats, so I decided to upgrade that one!

Do 200 squats
I was feeling pretty active today, so I put on my headphones, got some music on, and did this challenge! I did them in sets of 50 each, with about 30 seconds break in between so that I didn't kill my legs.

It was pretty fun and I'm glad I did it! It sure was a workout though. The 300 is going to be quite the challenge!

Have someone else order me a surprise dish at a restaurant

So in order to celebrate good things in life, we decided to go out to dinner. This was a good time for this challenge!

Have someone else order me a surprise dish at a restaurant
So this didn't work out exactly as planned. We planned on about three restaurants that were packed full before we found Applebee's. I've eaten there more in the past few months than I have in my whole life!

So my boyfriend ordered me the chicken broccoli pasta dish because I normally enjoy those dishes. I also got a chicken tortilla soup for an appetizer, which I normally love. Sadly, Applebee's wasn't really on their game tonight and the dishes were okay, but nothing I would order again. The best part was the chocolate mousse dessert afterward!

I also wasn't on my game as I forgot to bring my phone for pictures. So the meal wasn't great, but I still had a really fun night!

Volunteer on an abuse counseling line

Over the past few weeks, I have been doing this challenge, training to go out there in the volunteer world. Today, I also turned this volunteering opportunity in to an internship! I would love to be able to turn this in to a career someday.

Volunteer on an abuse counseling line
I am volunteering with a sexual abuse counseling line at a non-profit organization called Foothills alliance. For the next week, and for the past few weeks, I am training how to answer calls for support, as well as offer support to victims of sexual abuse when they go to the ER to be tested.

This isn't going to be easy seeing the things these people are going through, but I am glad I can help, even if its just in a small way.

Once my training is complete, not only will I be a volunteer, but I will also be interning around the office!It would be great if that opened the doors to some career options, but even if it doesn't, I would still rather be doing something meaningful. So I'm happy I have this opportunity!

Work on a car

Today I went to work with my boyfriend, which gave me some time to do this special challenge with him!

Work on a car
We did this one early before it got too hot, and he basically guided me every step of the way because I am car illiterate. I didn't get many pics, because my hands were busy, but I got a few!

This is the car I worked on. It is a Mazda Miata, unsurprising because my boyfriend specializes in those.

What he had me do is change something called the oxygen sensor. He did most of the work, but I helped out!

And after a lot of goofing off, I finally got a decent picture of him!

I had a lot of fun and I'm glad I got some special quality time with him. I wish I could do it more often. Maybe when it cools down!

Make my own hot chocolate

I had the motivation and the ingredients to do this today, so I jumped on the opportunity! I found the recipe here: https://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?id=5265 if anyone wants to check it out.

Make my own hot chocolate
So as the recipe stated, I mixed 1/4 cup cocoa powder (which coincidentally was Hershey's) and 1/2 cup sugar, as well as 1/3 cup hot water hot water. I mixed it all up.

 

After that, I waited for it to boil and I stirred it for 2 minutes. Then I added 4 cups of milk, and stirred it in, heated it up, and made sure it didn't boil.

Once that was done and it was heated appropriately, I added in 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/2 of mint. Or, I tried anyways. I think I added a bit too much.

In the end, it was pretty yummy, regardless. It also made a generous amount if you have company. I would definitely make it again!

Go to an open house

Not really sure if it qualifies as an open house, but we did go see a house because we are moving soon. I am absolutely in love with this house so it would be great if this became our new home!

Go to an open house
I got a lot of pictures but some of them were really dark, so here are the decent ones.

This is the front:

It has a two car garage port with a shed area as well. Back porch area:

It also has a decent sized fenced in back yard. The dining room has a fireplace:

Kitchen area:

Bathroom attached to the master bedroom:

Master bedroom:

It has two bathrooms, one with a tub, 3 bedrooms. The two smaller bedrooms even have built in shelves. And it has a huge laundry room.

I love the house. The unfortunate thing is it is at the very top of our price range and it needs some work, which will add cost. So we need to see if they will accept a lower than asking price. Excited to see what happens!

Order a pizza and eat it somewhere while watching the sun go down

This one was really a lot of fun and I'm glad we got to do it! It was pretty much the perfect day for this challenge!

Order a pizza and eat it somewhere while watching the sun go down
We ordered some deep dish pizza from Little Caesar's and went to the park to watch the sun go down.

We had this nice little gazebo area

We had yummy pizza

And we got to watch the sunset disappear behind the trees

On top of that, we got a nice little view of the pond as well

We got to watch the ducks and there's a kids park right there and we got to watch the kids play. We got to see couples walking by as well. We had a great time and it was a very nice evening!

Do 100 squats

Going through my list, I noticed I hadn't done much from the exercise group, so I picked one of those. It was a hot, busy day, so I picked one that wouldn't take long and that I could also do inside.

Do 100 squats
This one wasn't super challenging, but it still wasn't easy. Around 80 I really started to feel it. I'm going to have to work up to the 200 and 300 squats challenges on my list.

Still, felt good to do some exercise. I also walked a good bit more than usual today but it was very hot and very unpleasant. Can't wait for things to cool down!

Try a new ice cream flavor

Another one of those days where plans didn't work out, but after a stressful day for everyone, we moved on to this one for a frozen treat!

Try a new ice cream flavor
I wasn't sure what flavor I should try, but this was one I was sure I had never tried because I had never heard of it. I got a cone of amaretto with some chocolate chips mixed in.

It took forever to eat because even the small was big and it hurt my teeth. Overall it was good. It was nothing great as it just kind of tasted like a stronger vanilla, but it certainly wasn't bad! Not sure I would have it again, though.

Give boyfriend a home massage for 30 minutes

Today was a long stressful day. I was happy to get home and just unwind and relax and watch some silly TV shows. I had actually almost forgotten about my challenges due to the day being so hectic, but I pulled one out anyway!

Give boyfriend a home massage for 30 minutes
My boyfriend has also been under a lot of stress and very busy lately. So this was a nice challenge to help us bond and relax, without having a hundred other things going on. We made a frozen pizza, relaxed on the couch, and I gave him 30 minute foot massage. I'm sure sometime soon he will return the favor, haha. It was a nice relaxing evening, which is just what I needed.

Buy interior decorating magazines, cut out and make a scrapbook of my favorite designs and ideas

Okay so this is one that works well with the upcoming move. We won't be able to afford new furniture for a while, but this still helps get in the spirit of things and maybe get some inspiration for one day.

Buy interior decorating magazines, cut out and make a scrapbook of my favorite designs and ideas
First, I bought some magazines:

Then I dug out my scrapbook paper:

Next, I cut out a bunch of stuff and taped them to some pages!

I don't have a bunch of stuff yet, but I do plan to continue this in the future! It was a lot of fun and I got some pretty neat ideas!

Go to a restaurant at midnight

Since I was already up late, we decided to go get a late night meal! I actually completed another one of my challenges today, but only one challenge a day to complete!

Go to a restaurant at midnight
This left us with limited choices, because most places are not open at midnight unless it's just a drive through. But my challenge was to eat there, not get food for pickup to bring home. So we went with Waffle House! And no, I did not get a waffle! I got an sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich. It was pretty good, and a yummy midnight snack.