Bucket list: My painting adventure

My painting adventure

I am checking another item off my bucket list. I went to a painting class and attempted self expression on canvas. I think I am an artistic and creative person, but not as good with making master pieces with utensils in my hand. I've never been able to draw pretty pictures and my paintings often look like they're done with my fingers. I didn't have high expectations going into the class. I decided I would have fun and what ever happened on the canvas wouldn't be as important as the experience.

We completed a canned painting concept. By that I mean we were shown the piece of art we would be creating, we were taught the technique, and we were left to our creative devices to chose color and placement of the objects in the painting. Things turned out much better than I imagined, although at a time I thought the birch trees looked more like dalmatian trees. However, things worked out in the end and I was complemented on my color usage. I am most impressed with the color blending.

Modifying my list

I am cutting away at my bucket list and as I plan adventures to satisfy items on the list I realize I was far too specific when creating my list. I've learned that when making resolutions that they are more realistic and easier to accomplish if I am not bound by certain immovable factors like time.

For myself, when making goals that are not necessarily results based it is best to not be SMART. The SMART acronym is given when setting work or business goals, prompting people to make goals that are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time based. Those are great when working on a results based project like increasing sales, but life is not always a results based project. To be clear, I am talking about fun goals that I want to accomplish for my own entertainment.

In order to not set myself up for failure, I will interpret my bucket list goals loosely. When I made them I thought being specific added a touch of whimsy. I intend to maintain the whimsy but be more realistic in not attempting to seek out a lighthouse with an open flight of stairs.

Travel to Denmark

Ride in a hot air balloon

Take a cruise to Alaska

Black tie New Years Eve celebration

Take a dive from the stratosphere in Las Vegas

Get my hair braided in the Caribbean

Go on a relief mission for vacation

Take in breakfast at Tiffany’s

See the red wood trees

See Niagara Falls

Throw a New Years Day brunch

Visit all 50 states

Go on a bike tour through wine country

Go windsurfing

Learn to salsa dance

Climb to the top of a lighthouse

Send a message in a bottle

Write my memoirs

365-day photo project

Throw a dart at a map and go there

Drive route 66

Take a cooking class

Visit Stonehenge

Hike up volcano

Knit a hat

Make a gingerbread house

Learn to make dad’s peanut brittle

Go to a professional sports championship game/match

Visit a jazz club in New Orleans

Ride trolley in San Francisco

Cook a soufflé

Go gambling in Atlantic City

Invent a holiday and celebrate it

Grow my own vegetables

Ski New England

Go on a couples camping trip

Learn to dance the two-step and show it off

Take a sculpting class

Gourmet-grilled cheese! Yum!

I greatly enjoy gourmet-grilled cheese. I’m not sure if this is a growing trend or a fad, but I love the options that are on menus. I jump at the chance to customize the American favorite. 

Recently, I patronized The Melt in Cleveland, a restaurant devoted to massive, larger than life gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. The monstrous portions are scrumptious and the mind that created them is genius. I had a hard time deciding which option to order. There are so many good ones! On top of the inventive menu, there is a sandwich of the month, which in May is a tex-mex delight for a serious appetite. However, I ended up going with the Purple Parma. Think eggplant parmesan between two pieces of grilled bread. Delicious. And huge! I would recommend this restaurant to anyone!

Cheers to restaurants that put these specialty sandwiches on the menu. Cheers to those that let you customize more than just picking your cheese.  You make my belly happy!

My allergy bruises

Looks like my lifelong goal of having bruise free arms for the summer is in vain this year. I have always been plagued with deep, dark bruises that pop up every now and then. I have been getting better at minimizing the bruising incidents so I look less like a beaten child and my hopes continue that one day I won't have to worry about bruising like a banana. That day will not come soon.

One side effect of my allergy shots is bruising at the injection site. The bruises range in size and color depending on the dosage I am given, but they are quite noticeable and there's not much I can do about it. Ice packs are available at the doctors office but I am saving those for the pain, burning, itching, and swelling that will no doubt grace me as I continue through my treatment. After all, I can tough it out for now. I am still early in the treatment. I'll just have to give up on the thought of having beautiful arms and stock up on my bruise minimizing arnica ointment.

Book review: The Art of Racing in the Rain

This is a book that I've seen on must read lists and one review even said it is perfect for lovers of Marley and Me. Well, I never read Marley and Me, but I did watch the movie. It was heart warming. I decided to read this book for different reasons. I thought the narration by the dog would be interesting. I have read one other book like this and it is definitely a different perspective.

The book did not disappoint. The situations were well developed and the relationship dynamics were displayed in only a way a dog (or an outsider who can't read, write, or speak) could do. A dog is able to tell a story with details of smell and feeling that a human would not logically be able to convey. Obviously a human can write from a dog's perspective, as Garth Stein is not a dog. The dog's owner is a race car driver and the dog spent his years watching videos of his owner race. He can apparently race better than most people in the rain due to his reading of conditions and calm behind the wheel. The book relates life's lessons to the lessons it takes to be adept at racing in the rain. The parts of the book that told of racing were not as boring as I feared they might be, although they were a bit dry at times, however I do not feel they would be dry to a racing enthusiast.

I do feel this book is memorable and I do recommend it.

Movie review: Fading Gigalo

Fading Gigalo

Written by: John Turturro

Starring: John Turturro, Woody Allen, Sharon Stone

This was a laugh out loud, humorous movie, although I would say it is highbrow comedy. Not all theatergoers got the jokes, but there were enough jokes to go around. The plot line is surprising because the movie does not focus on the story line one would think. I guess though, that all makes sense when considering the title, Fading Gigalo. SPOILER ALERT: The plot line follows a love story. The story is slowly wrapped up and not in the way the viewer would hope. Just as the plot line is surprising the ending is as well. SPOILER ALERT: The love story does not work out.

The director very tastefully handles the story of a hapless man who becomes a gigalo. There are many ways things could have been an obscene movie. There is very little nudity in the movie and there is a humorous approach to the exchange of money for sex. I appreciated the tasteful storytelling. 

Turturro’s style much resembled the style of Woody Allen, so it is interesting to note that Allen is in the movie as an actor and not a director.

Not a fan of Cinderella shoes

The Cinderella look is not happening. You know, losing a shoe as you race up the stairs, down the stairs, or just to the vending machine. It seems this season that sizing for pumps has changed. To be more exact, they’re now favoring a wide foot, or the foot of an ugly step sister if you will. I hope this is just a fluke and that shoemakers are not starting to accommodate obese feet. Afterall, that’s why they make shoes for wide widths.

Yes, I have narrow feet, but up until now this was not a problem with most shoes. All of a sudden, I find myself having to stuff the toe and put “no rub strips” along the opening of the shoe just to make it so my foot doesn’t slip out every time I take a step. That gets rather annoying. Losing a shoe with every stride slows a girl down, especially with having to readjust and put the shoe back on so frequently. I’ve developed tricks to ameliorate the problem. I’ve shortened my stride, I’ve cut down on trips away from my desk, and I wear other shoes when I’m outside (a rainy day is excellent because I have a reason to wear my wellies to work).

I know what you must be thinking. Why the heck didn’t she try the shoes on before she bought them. Well, I did and I do. I’ve been duped by a seemingly well fitting shoes that don’t stand the test of a long day or cold weather shrinkage. Also, I am forced to sometimes buy these shoes and search for a fix because I’m finding the same problem with so many styles. This isn’t something I want to get used to. Please, fix sizing standards. Sure, the American foot may have gotten wider, but there is no reason we need to make these people feel like they wear a size that they don’t or that they don’t actually need wide widths. Just make more styles in wide width alternatives!

Allergies: Blood type diets

I’m not big into researching diets or fads of the sort, but I do remember one interesting diet theory having to do with blood types. The theory hypothesizes that there are certain foods that you should eat more of and shy away from depending on your blood type. My particular blood type does not do well with raw foods. Actually, I am to stay away from raw veggies because they are irritants to my system. It just so happens that I have allergic reactions to many raw fruits and veggies. This is due to severe pollen allergies, but I’ve always felt that nature has a way of making things less desirable that are bad for you, at least in my case with my health. I’ve never liked the taste of steak and I am intolerant of meat. I have never enjoyed avocadoes including guacamole, and it just so happens that I have reactions to the fruit. Apples are the anomaly here. I like eating apples and for a long time I ignored this allergy, which made my symptoms increasingly severe.

Creating a passion statement

I recently attended a workshop that dealt with discovering and clarifying values and then writing passion statements. While I was at this workshop in a work capacity, I decided I should revisit the thought of a passion statement. Having a passion statement helps individuals make decisions that are in line with their values, ultimately resulting in a greater fulfillment and happiness in life. I have focused efforts on living a more fulfilled life and growing as a person. My efforts have worked as I am a very cheerful. While this is true, I feel analyzing my values and creating a passion statement will be very insightful.

This process started in the workshop as we were given a list of 90 some values and were asked to select as many as applied to our lives. I did this and came up with about 40 values that were important to me. This is when things got difficult. We were now asked to group these values and eliminate any attributes that have the same or very similar meanings. After that, we started narrowing things down more dramatically. In the end, we could only select four values. This was very hard for some people in the workshop. They felt they were making decisions to rate something of higher priority than their friends and family. However, I felt that by defining values you come to understand that if you have one thing you have the other. For instance, if I value intelligence I also value cleverness because in my mind being clever signifies intelligence. Another example that may hit home with people is in the choice between family and faith. One can place faith higher than family without feeling too bad if they believe that having faith means their loved ones will be taken care of. Basically, you believe the important values are encompassing enough to take care of your other values.

I did not go through with completing my passion statement yet. However, this statement stems from these values and the roles we play in our lives, whether as spouses or employees. As stated, this portion of the process will be insightful because it will clearly define my goal and purpose in life. I have passions that I can easily define, but this is different from the passion statement. I’ve never taken the time to craft one of these.

CrossFit, Zumba and other exercise crazes

I generally pride myself for not falling for exercise crazes. It seems there is a new one every few years or so. Many of my out of shape peers decide they’re going to take the plunge and get fit, and the latest class, gym, or method will help them do it. Easy! Not so much.

Zumba was the trend a few years ago. I held out for quite a while, not taking any classes. When I did take one it was for a charity fundraiser, and I loved it. It would be about another year before I took another class (the funds just weren’t in the right place to pay for classes). I greatly enjoyed this class too. It has been several months since then and I just now signed on for a month membership at a local studio. I like Zumba because it is an action packed, heart thumping workout that incorporates up tempo dance moves into my workout. Since I have a dance background (cough, cough, clear my throat) I love the movements.

However, most of the nation has moved on to the next fad, Crossfit. I do not at all like the idea of Crossfit. Olympic style weightlifting. Are you kidding me? Because regular people think they should check this out and then they wind up getting hurt. They’re out to prove that they’re hard cor and then they parade their injuries as if they are proof of how tough they really are.  This is not the type of activity that should go mainstream!  Someone recently told me he felt like his head was going to explode after one of his sessions. He told me he has to start eating more calories. Um no, buddy. I don’t think that is it (I actually have many theories as to why he believed this story). Try hydrating, breathing, and not engaging in such strenuous workouts when you’re body is clearly out of shape. This same guy just returned to the gym after straining his rotator cuff at a session. Yeah, this sounds like a great activity to practice.

Now, when I call these workouts fads I am not at all suggesting that they are new. I know they are not new and many things that I consider to be fads have been around for many years. What makes them fads is their rise to prominence and their inevitable fall below popularity or even to obscurity. So many have come and gone.