Day One Hundred Seventy-Four: Super Blue Blood Eclipse

We all got up early to take in the Super Blue Blood Eclipse, which hasn't happened in 150 years. It was pretty awesome! I didn't get any pictures, but I love the poetic beauty of having both a total solar eclipse and a total lunar eclipse in my Year of Firsts, and I'm thankful I got to share both special events with my people.

Day One Hundred Seventy-Three: Second Fermentation

I have been making kombucha for several months, but today was the first time I attempted a "second fermentation." All that really means is that I removed the SCOBY, added some fruit, popped a lid on the bottles, and set them aside to ferment for a few more days. The second fermentation is supposed to be more flavorful and more carbonated. I can't wait to try it!

Day One Hundred Seventy-Two: edX Course

Ruth has used edX--a hub of free online university classes--for several of her high school courses, and she recently sent me a link to one of the courses she thought I might be interested in for myself. That led me to search through the course catalog to see all the offerings, and that led me to sign up for my first class (and to bookmark a few others for future reference). For my first experience, I decided to start with something that was self-paced and had a short time commitment. But now that I've seen how it works, I'll be ready to jump into something more involved next time. I'm so thankful that learning is something a person never gets too old for and that there are so many resources available to facilitate it!

Day One Hundred Seventy-One: Ft. Worth Firsts

Today was the first day in months that we that we had a completely blank day on the calendar with no activities of any kind scheduled. We jumped at the opportunity to check out a couple of the things on our local bucket list. We started with brunch at Blue Mesa Grill in Ft. Worth, which is a place we've never tried before. We are definitely suckers for an all-you-can-eat buffet brunch, and everything was delicious! Afterwards, we headed out to the Ft. Worth Nature Center and Refuge for some hiking around Lake Worth. It was a beautiful place, and the weather was perfect! What a wonderful way to fill the blank spot on our calendar and work in a couple of Firsts as well!

Blue Mesa Grill in Ft. Worth

Ft. Worth Nature Center Trail map

One of the lovely views from our hike

Day One Hundred Seventy: CAP PT Test and Uniform

Ruth recently became a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol, and to advance through the ranks, she has to take and pass certain physical, academic, and drill tests at particular intervals. Today was her first PT test and the first PT test I have ever been witness to. It was interesting to watch, and I enjoyed learning about the process. Ruth did wonderfully and easily passed. She was the only female participant, and she definitely held her own.

Afterwards, she stopped by the organization's supply closet to rifle through the donated uniforms they had on hand to see if there were any in her size. It was the first time I have seen her in a military uniform. It was a mixed bag of emotions for me, but mostly I felt so proud.

The Sit-and-Reach portion of the PT test

Day One Hundred Sixty-Nine: Stepping out of my Introvert Shell

I have heavy leanings toward introvertedness. I do not easily or comfortably make connections with new people. I see this as a flaw in myself, and it's something I have to consciously work on. Therefore, I was proud of myself today for initiating interactions with two different people--one in person and one via Facebook. The face-to-face interaction occurred at Weston's basketball game with the mother of one of his teammates, and we ended up chatting during the whole game. This seems completely normal and not at all edgy, I know, but for me it's a bit out there, so bear with me. Because of our divide-and-conquer system of delivering our four kids to their different activities, I have only ever taken Weston to one basketball practice (where I actually sat in the car in order to get some writing done) and have only gotten to attend one other game. So, I haven't met most of the parents and had the opportunity to engage in bleacher small talk with them (which I honestly don't really love, but which seems to be the way most conversations get off the ground). But before the game started tonight, I overheard this mom say something interesting to one of the coaches and decided to strike up a conversation on that topic. It was delightful to visit with her and reminded that social interactions don't have to be (that) hard.

The Facebook interaction was even more bizarre for me. I follow a group of "worldschoolers" with something like 40,000 members from all over the world. They are a great source of travel information, and following the group is a way for me to travel vicariously when I'm not traveling in real life. Someone posted something recently that resonated with me. I responded. We had a brief virtual conversation and realized we both live in Flower Mound of all the crazy things. The connection seemed so serendipitous that I immediately sent her a PM and invited her to lunch, which is way outside my normal MO. These were two pretty big Firsts for me, and I'm proud of myself for operating outside my comfort zone.

Day One Hundred Sixty-Eight: Homemade Bone Broth

A year ago, we purchased a quarter of a grass-fed, pastured-raised cow from one of our friends. Once it was processed, one of the things we ended up with was a couple of bags of beef bones. My friend told me they would make excellent bone broth, which was something I had been reading about and wanting to try, so it seemed perfect. Obviously, making homemade bone broth didn't immediately make it to the top of my to-do list, and here I am, a year later, just getting around to it. One of the things that kept me from doing it earlier was that it seemed to be quite a lengthy and, by many accounts, smelly process. Motivated by my knee injury to increase my collagen intake and knowing that bone broth was a good source of collagen, I started looking more seriously at recipes. It turns out, you can make bone broth in the Instant Pot, cutting down on cooking time as well as odor. Win-win. It actually smells fantastic, and we are so excited to give it a try! (We're thinking maybe French onion soup! Ooh, my mouth's watering already!)

Bone broth and all it's goodies still in the Instant Pot

Finished product

Day One Hundred Sixty-Seven: Turmeric Supreme

I am recovering quite well from my knee injury and have recently started running again. It's been (and continues to be, in many ways) a slow process, but I'm so thankful for the progress I've made. Since the injury, I've been trying to do everything I can to strengthen my knee and ensure that it keeps performing well for me into the future. I have tried incorporating collagen and turmeric powders into my diet, but frankly, they are inconvenient to use, and the turmeric powder can really stain clothing and skin, so I find myself passing on them more than using them. A couple of months ago, I switched over to collagen supplements, which are much more convenient. I don't know why I didn't think of also switching to turmeric supplements at the same time, but I didn't. However, this afternoon, while perusing the supplement section of my favorite natural-leaning grocery store, I came across the Gaia Turmeric Supreme line, which included a formulation specifically for joints. I decided to give them a try. It's obviously too early to tell if they will make any impact, but they are definitely more convenient and less messy than the powder.

Day One Hundred Sixty-Six: Homemade Body Wash

I love playing around with homemade beauty products. They usually work well, smell great, and have only ingredients I can pronounce. Plus, there is a bit of a mad scientist in me that just likes to see what will happen when I mix this with that (but a safe one, because I do generally follow recipes-- at least the first time I make something). I've tried making lots of different things, but this was my first attempt at body wash. It smells amazing, and I can't wait to try it out in my morning shower.

Day One Hundred Sixty-Five: Juan Canary Melon

While shopping at the Grapevine Farmer's Market yesterday, I came across a melon I had never heard of before and decided to add it to my basket. This morning, we cut up our Juan Canary melon, which has a hard rind, like a squash, and flesh resembling a pear. It's a sweet melon and doesn't really taste like anything else I've tried. We put some in a smoothie and some in a fruit salad. We love discovering new-to-us foods!

Juan Canary Melons on display

Day One Hundred Sixty-Four: Cotillion

Weston has been taking Cotillion classes for the past several months, and parents were invited to join the last class today, so we could learn to waltz with our kiddos before the Grand Ball next month. I had never been to a Cotillion class, and I had never danced a formal dance with Weston. It was so much fun! Additionally, Jeff was away when it was time to get ready for class, so I had a crash course in necktie tying, following the steps in the Boy Scout handbook. 😁

So proud to be this guy's dance partner!

Day One Hundred Sixty-Three: Korean Dessert

After dinner, I announced I wanted to take everyone on an outing. I didn't tell them where we were going, but I insisted it would be fun, so they all dutifully loaded up and off we went. I took them to Snow Village Cafe, a Korean dessert place we had never visited. In fact, we had never visited any place where Korean desserts were available, so it was a completely new experience. Once inside, the Firsts kept coming as we ordered three versions of bingsu (Korean shaved ice made with sweetened condensed milk and topped with all kinds of goodness) and an avocado smoothie with boba (tapioca pearls). We enjoyed all the treats and were thrilled to have so many Firsts included in one evening. 

Avocado smoothie with boba

Cake Bingsu

Day One Hundred Sixty-Two: Coffee on Tap

Jeff and I were able to get away for a date tonight. And, while we did eat at a hibachi/sushi restaurant we haven't eaten at before, the experience wasn't exactly new for us, so I didn't want to count it as a First. After dinner, though, we visited a the nearby Paradise Bistro, which serves light meals, wine and beer, desserts, and specialty coffees. It was a coffee night for us, and we were intrigued by one of the offerings on the board that we had never heard of, which sounded like an incantation: Avocos Mythos Nitro. We asked about it and were further intrigued to find out it was a non-alcoholic, carbonated, cold coffee drink. We knew we needed to try it as it clearly made a better First than a new-to-us hibachi restaurant. It was interesting and somewhat reminiscent of coffee-flavored beers we've tried in the past. Or maybe it just seemed that way since they had it on tap, right alongside several draft beers.

Avocos Mythos Nitro on tap

Day One Hundred Sixty-One: Adult Coloring Book

I admit, "adult" coloring books have never appealed to me. I have always suspected that I have too many perfectionist tendencies and not enough artistic ones to find it truly relaxing, like the covers always claim. But today, I borrowed the adult coloring book that I bought for my little artist, and with him by my side saying things like, "Art is slow, but it's fun," I gave it a whirl. I can't exactly say it was relaxing for me, but I was happy with the finished product, and I was thrilled to spend some time connecting with my art lover. 

Day One Hundred Sixty: Goodies from Trader Joe's

Last night, Jeff made a stop at Trader Joe's and brought me back a bag of surprises. There were several things in the bag I had never tried, so I was super excited to pack my lunch today and include some of the goodies. (By the way, my new routine on "Writing Day" is to pack my lunch and eat at the Kroger near the library, which I just think is hilarious because who packs a lunch and then eats inside a grocery store?! There is a Starbucks in the store, so I can grab a coffee and use their tables, so it's really not as weird as it seems on the surface.)

Quinoa and black bean chips, jalepeno hummus, lemon ginger water, and roasted coconut chips:
It's what's for lunch!

Day One Hundred Fifty-Nine: Kitchen Gadget

I use my immersion blender fairly often. Often enough that I burned up a motor on one a few months ago. I bought a replacement, which happened to come with a package of accessories that I wasn't really sure I would use. But today I pulled out the food processor attachment and went crazy chopping nuts for my homemade granola. We have another food processor, but it is big and bulky and just didn't seem like the right tool for this particular job. But the little food pro was the perfect size and worked like a charm.

Day One Hundred Fifty-Eight: ZOOB

The boys got several ZOOB building sets for Christmas, and they have been a huge hit! Clay commandeered the lot of them today and was busy literally all afternoon building one gadget after another. He kept coming into the room where I was and showing me every project. Every time, I would remark how cool I thought his creation was. Finally, he sweetly offered, "I can show you how to make them, if you want." I closed my laptop and gave him my full attention. With patience and authority, he spent the next while teaching me how to build all his cool creations and showing me considerable grace when I didn't get it just right. Then he built phones for each of us, and I spent many happy minutes calling him up at various restaurants to order food, which he would then make out of ZOOBs and deliver to me. So often I see the kids' toys as a babysitter or an annoyance, but I had fun today seeing them the way the kids see them and letting myself just get caught up in the diversion.

Having fun with ZOOB

Day One Hundred Fifty-Seven: A Wrinkle in Time

Last week we went to the library to look for a book that Max had started but had left behind at one of our stops during the holidays. The library didn't have it, so I jumped on Amazon then and there to see if I could find it. It happened to be a Newberry Medal winner, and my search turned up a boxed set of Newberry books which was only a couple of dollars more expensive than the single book. Thinking these would be great books to have in our personal library, I immediately purchased the set. A Wrinkle in Time was one of the books in the set (though not the one Max had been looking for), and though I had vague memories of reading it as a child, I couldn't come up with any of the plot. My older kids have read the book in the last few years and were so excited to see it among the new books. Since we want to see the movie based on the book when it comes out this spring, and since we have a general household rule that you have to read the book before you can see the movie, I plucked the book out of the set and brought it with me to pass the time at Ruth's horse show today. I had remembered nothing, except for the names of some of the main characters, so I think it definitely counts as a First. And, I haven't read a children's book for my own enjoyment in quite a while, so there's that. It's such a great story about good versus evil and using both your perceived strengths and weaknesses to lead you through trials to the place you're meant to be.

Day One Hundred Fifty-Six: Acorn Squash

I have cooked and eaten many kinds of squash, but today was my first time to prepare acorn squash, which Clay saw in the store a few days ago and begged for exactly because we had never had them before.

We rubbed them with coconut oil and
sprinkled some cinnamon and nutmeg on top.

Day One Hundred Fifty-Five: Legoland Discovery Center

We have been talking about taking the kids to Legoland Discovery Center since we moved here, but it never has worked out. This morning, for his birthday, we surprised Max with tickets and a day off from school to go hang out there. We all had a blast!

Lego Dallas

Kingdom Quest ride with my crazy guys

 

4D Movie Time

Day One Hundred Fifty-Four: Gigantic Ice Cream Sandwich

I always love to hear what the kids come up with for their perfect birthday cake each year, and I try my best to make their birthday cake dreams into realities. A few days ago I asked Max, whose birthday is tomorrow, what kind of cake he wanted. He thought for a minute and then declared, "I think I want an ice cream cake." A minute later, he changed his mind, "No. I think I want a cookie cake." And, then a light bulb came on and his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "What about an ice cream cookie cake?!" The best of everything. So today, I made my first ever ice cream cookie cake, aka a gigantic ice cream sandwich. I think Max will be pleased.

The biggest ice cream sandwich I've ever seen

When it comes to birthday cakes, size definitely matters!

Day One Hundred Fifty-Three: Writing Day

In my heart, I'm a writer. But, in my head, I'm a hot mess! I seem to get distracted by every single thing, and I seem to require more than 5-10 minute chunks of time to put together coherent thoughts or sentences. And you might as well forget about whole ideas because there is no space in there for them to even get off the ground. And after the distractions kids go to bed, there are always other things waiting to be done and begging for my attention. I don't really communicate all that well through spoken words, and Jeff and I both agree I'm a better person when I'm writing, even if I'm just writing things that I don't ever intend for anyone else to read. It's really the best way for me to clear the gunk out of my head and make things make sense. And, frankly, it's been a long time since I've done much writing of any kind. So, this year, we made a joint resolution to put an away-from-the-house writing day for me on our calendar. Our household absolutely runs in accordance with our overpacked calendar, so putting a writing day on the calendar makes it totally legit. It's a real thing that has to be done. Because there it is on the calendar. So, today after my Meals on Wheels deliveries were finished, a reminder popped up that insisted my next activity was Writing Day. And you can't argue with the calendar. I took myself over to the library for several hours and put pen to paper. It's a First, but when I entered it into my calendar, I clicked the button that said, "Repeat weekly," so I know and am thankful it won't be a one-time thing.

Day One Hundred Fifty-Two: New Tool

Because not all Firsts are glamorous:

Day One Hundred Fifty-One: Do What You Are

A couple of months ago, I took an online personality test. Since then, I have been curious about exploring this topic further. So when I was in the library the other day, I picked up Do What You Are, a guide for matching career choices with personality traits. I finished it this evening, and it has definitely given me some things to think about. The personality type I got in the book was slightly different from what I got online, which isn't unusual given that the traits appear on a sliding scale and a person can sometimes be right on the border between traits. The personality type from the book (ISFJ) was pretty accurate, and the careers recommended would probably be reasonable for me to consider, and indeed, align with many of the things that I have already done or thought about doing.

Day One Hundred Fifty: Positivity Packet

In this new year, we are trying to be intentional about infusing our home with positivity. Ruth came up with an idea for Positivity Packets, which is a sort of mailbox system that allows us to leave encouraging notes and little gifts for each other whenever inspiration strikes. We all decorated our own and hung them on our bedroom doors, which has had the bonus effect of giving a visual boost to an otherwise uninteresting hallway. We are all so excited about sharing the love!

My Positivity Packet

Day One Hundred Forty-Nine: Pinewood Derby Car

Joining Cub Scouts with Clay in the fall has given me many opportunities I might not have otherwise had. For instance, today I got to assist Clay and Jeff with the building of the Pinewood Derby car. Since we don't own any power tools (except for a drill), I spent quite a bit of time sawing on a block of wood with a tiny handsaw. And, I did that in my high-heeled booties, my sparkly sweater, and my tiara. Because I'm awesome. 

Day One Hundred Forty-Eight: Schindler's List

I never have been able to bring myself to watch Schindler's List because I knew many of the scenes would be difficult to endure. But after taking the older kids to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. Jeff and I thought it would be good to watch the movie with them, and we finally had our chance tonight while the younger boys were occupied with a different movie in another part of the house. There are scenes that are difficult to watch, but I think it is worth seeing anyway.

Day One Hundred Forty-Seven: Tiara

This video showed up in my Facebook feed this week:

And, after I left a snarky comment, this tiara showed up in my mail today:

I have never owned a tiara before, but I can already tell it is life-changing. I'm thinking about making it a permanent fixture. Thanks, Sis! You have no idea how much I needed this!

Day One Hundred Forty-Six: Lunch in Jarrell

When most of your day is spent in the car, it's hard to work in a First, but we managed to get it done with a lunch stop in Jarrell. We have passed through the little town known for its tornadoes many times, and we have even visited a friend who lives there, but today was the first time we ever stopped for lunch at a restaurant there. It's not terribly glamorous or exciting, but it's all I've got for today. Although, if your a fan of Tex-Mex, you might be excited to know that Mexicano Grille serves up a delicious lunch.

Day One Hundred Forty-Five: Anchovy

I have always been turned off by anchovies and have never even eaten one. But today I finally decided to try one while we were having lunch at a new-to us Argentinian place in San Antonio. It wasn't as bad as I imagined it might be, which is how many seemingly unpleasant things turn out to be, I guess. It actually seems a little silly that I've invested so much effort in avoiding them in the past.

My first anchovy

Day One Hundred Forty-Four: Polar Bear Dip

At noon, with the outside temperature hovering around 42 and a "feels like" temperature of 32 and almost-sleet falling from the sky, the six of us and my mother-in-law took to the sea for the 20th annual South Padre Polar Bear Dip. The water, at 60 something degrees, was definitely the warmest part of the whole encounter.

If you know anything about me at all, you know I consider any temperature below 70 to be freezing, and I always try to avoid being in cold places when I can. You may also know that I NEVER put my head under water unless I'm standing in a hot shower. So, today's First was very much a stretch for me. But I'm really glad I did it, and this one may be the one with the most life lessons packed into it (aside from lessons I'm still learning from the Ripstik incident).

Here are the top five life lessons I took from today's First:

1. You can't overthink a difficult situation. Sometimes you just have to jump head first into the next wave and go with it.

2. Pain is temporary. Even though you feel like you might die or never be able to feel your toes again in the moment, you eventually get over it.

3. It is easier to work up your courage when you are surrounded by an awesome support network that you can share both the bad and good with.

4. It feels really great to do something you didn't think you could do.

5. The best memories, stories, and lessons are just on the other side of your comfort zone.

Baby, it's cold outside!

Before

After