Not The Update You Were Expecting

I hope everyone had a calorie filled Thanksgiving and that you ate and shopped to your heart’s content. I apologize for the lack of post on Friday. I had one started and planned to complete it but we didn’t have internet as expected. We spent Wednesday through Saturday in deep south Texas at a hunting camp. I have all sorts of stories to tell you about our few days 11 miles south of border patrol, but I’ll get to that tomorrow Wednesday Thursday. I don’t have pictures yet and it’s just not the same without pictures.

So today I’ll update you on my 101 in 1001 progress. I imagine I have a lot to check off the list but I have no idea. We’ll see!

6. Do something new with my hair.
I cut some side bang things. They aren’t much different but they add a little bit of interest to my hair. I haven’t colored my hair in months and months. I’m not sure why but my husband likes looking at my grays. I’ll keep it as is for now, but I’ll color it eventually… these grays are really getting out of control.

26. Host a Pampered Chef Party
Done! It was great. I got tons of great items. I’m specifically thrilled about my pizza stone. I’ve only made biscuits on it so far but I plan to make a pizza from scratch. It’ll come in handy.

37. Try a new shampoo.
Every now and then there is something that goes on in my life that I choose not to share with you. It’s part of that real life/ blog life balance. Starting a few months ago I started getting really itchy. Like out-of-control, stay-up-at-night, make-you-want-to-die itchy. It’s a long story but we think we narrowed it down and found out I was allergic to Gain laundry detergent. That eventually turned into dermagraphia and the itching got worse. However, in the process of figuring it out, I changed everything. New soap, deodorant, detergent, lotion, etc. etc. So with that, I tried a new shampoo and conditioner. I got Head and Shoulders because it’s for sensitive skin and helps itching, not just dandruff. Turns out, I really like it. I’m almost done with my first bottle of each. I’ve already clipped a coupon for my next set.

40. Host a dinner party for my in-laws.
I guess our trip to Galveston could count for this. I made some delicious food for dinner one night while we were there. Although I think I’ll do this again. Next time I’ll host it at our house. It may have to wait a while though because we need chairs first. Dinner parties aren’t very fun without dining room chairs. Unless we do a picnic theme.

47. Make 3 Pioneer Woman recipes.
I’ve gone above and beyond. I’ve now made the following (each item is a link):

Potato Bundles
Yellow Cupcakes with Sticky Chocolate Icing
Roasted Garlic and New Potatoes
Grilled Ribeye with Onion Blue Cheese Sauce
Cinnamon Rolls
Simple, Perfect Chili – I don’t think this one is online. I can’t find it. Here’s a picture. P Dub, feel free to use this for your blog, it’s top quality.

54. Sponsor a child during Christmas.
I have three Christmases during this 1001 challenge so I suppose this could be a task for any of the Christmases. This Christmas we are donating to an organization instead of adopting a family. Mostly because we missed the adopt a family deadline, but that’s okay because this organization is a great cause.

62. Finish the bathroom.
This is as done as it’s going to get. There is still no vent cover or hand towel hook. But who needs those anyways?? Right??

64. Buy a black belt.
I bought a cheap belt a month or so ago when Oprah did that 50% off Payless deal. I don’t love it but I like it enough for the price I paid.

87. Go to a Christian concert.
A few months ago we went to see The David Crowder Band. In a couple weeks we are going to see Chris Tomlin. I love them both!

88. Read 3 classic novels.
I’m in the process of reading Wuthering Heights. So far, I love it. I’m only halfway through though. I’m having a hard time finding time to read since I keep choosing to cook or read cookbooks or blog. I’ll get it done eventually!

99. Renew and add money to our CD when it matures.
It matured about a month ago so we added a bit more to it and renewed. That is such a great feeling! I love untouchable money.

I have now completed 19 items. I have quite a ways to go!

Ten on Tuesday questions are posted! Click the button on the right to see the list. Feel free to email me anytime with your 10 questions to be added to the queue. chelsea.hurst (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Not So Bad for a Lazy Girl

Well, Roots & Ringers (can I call you that?), it looks like I’m going to get through this week with writing only one actual, quality post. Monday was a happy birthday post to my sister, Tuesday was an actual post, Wednesday was a guest post, today is a 101 in 1001 update, and tomorrow will be my Seven Quick Takes.  So uh, sorry.

It’s been a while since I’ve taken a look at my 101 list and I was quite nervous to do this post. I didn’t really want to write some grand opening and then hear crickets when I actually addressed my progress. So let’s take a look at what I’ve accomplished since my last update. (For the full list, go up to the top and click that button that says “101 in 1001.”)

7. Paint our bedroom
I finished this daunting task. It took quite a while. You can click HERE to read a post from when I was in the middle of the process. I’m aware that I owe you pictures and I’d like you to know that it’s on my Labor Day weekend to-do list.

12. Send out 10 cards, just because.
I’ve sent out a total of 3. As of last update, I had only sent 2… and while I’m aware that I haven’t made much progress, I also know that I have until March 31, 2012 to send out 7 cards. Even I can do that. Anyways, one went out today. It’s a good one!!

26. Host a Pampered Chef party.
It’s planned but not complete yet. If you live in Houston and want to come but didn’t get an evite, let me know! You can come. I only sent it to people who I thought might find joy in a night of playing with kitchen gadgets. Or if you live in Houston and don’t want to come, but want to buy something, I can arrange that too. I full intend to get a pizza stone, a garlic press, and maybe one of those doobers that you pour your drippings into so it can separate the fat from the good juices.

33. Get 3 more Avon customers.
Another in progress. I’ve got 1 more. I’m really not good at this. I can tell you all the live long day that I think they make the absolute best eye liner and that Stephen thinks they make the absolute best fruity smelling shower gels because the bottles hang in the shower, but if you even blink when I’m talking about it, I’m going to assume you’re not interested and change the subject. Basically, I suck at sales. And that’s okay. I really am only a rep so that I can buy the products. But it doesn’t hurt to sell a bit so I can support my addiction.

34. Spend a Saturday cooking a freezing meals.
Done! Lauren and I spent a Saturday making a total of 27 meals. We plan to do it again in a few months, once were out of freezer food. Or maybe sooner, I’ve already eaten 4 meals.

62. Finish the bathroom.
This is done but not technically done. Stephen needs to hang one more towel hook and put the vent cover over the vent. That’ll be done this weekend, and I’m aware that I owe you pictures of this too.

67. Buy something from Etsy.
Oh how I love etsy.com! If you haven’t visited that site, you really should. I just bought a custom laptop case from GlamourDamaged for $20!! It’s not here yet but I’m so excited. Check it out!

75. Eat at 10 new restaurants.
Four down, six to go! I’ve added Rudy & Paco’s and Sunflower Bakery, both in Galveston. And Dolce Vita Pizzeria in Houston. Stephen and I ate at Dolce Vita on Sunday night. A friend of his from high school was in town and invited us to eat with him, his mom, sister, and a couple friends. This is no regular pizzeria, my friends! They had this pizza called Taleggio. Oh good Heavens. Taleggio, arugula, pears, and truffle oil… on a pizza. To be honest with you, I didn’t know what taleggio was until about two seconds ago when I googled it. Apparently it’s a type of cheese. A type of cheese that I very much want to try on it’s own because if this pizza is any indication of how to-die-for this cheese is, I’m all in. Yall, I’m still dreaming about this pizza. Drooling about this pizza. Considering kidnapping the chef at Dolce Vita and holding him hostage until he teaches me exactly how to make this.

97. Replace the lights above my vanity.
I’m considering this done. I decided against buying new lights because every light is at least $45 and I’d have to buy too. So instead I decided to GO GREEN! If it’s actually green to buy a can of spray paint and spray the ever-living-daylights out of these nasty gold fixtures. I sprayed and sprayed and lost some brain cells. But it was worth it. They look great. They have a brand new life. And since I only spent $10, I saved $80! Go me! Yeah, pictures of these will come next week too. LAY OFF!

So that’s it. That’s actually quite a bit more than I thought I’d have complete. I’m kicking butt at this challenge! I’ve still got a ways to go but feel like I’ve made a dent in it.

Hope you’re all having a good day. See you tomorrow with my randomness!

Does She Talk About Anything Besides Food?

Last night was a festival of calories. Stephen and I ate ourselves stupid. At the time it was painful and uncomfortable, but now in hindsight, it was glorious. But instead of grossing you out by listing out everything I shoved into my overeager mouth, I’ll tell you about some good things I’ve done. I have completed more of my 101 in 1001 list!

7. Paint our bedroom. (In progress)
This isn’t actually done. I had great plans to finish it this past weekend but apparently I’m awful at estimating the time it takes to do these tasks. I don’t want to talk about it.

12. Send out 10 cards, just because. (2/10)
If you got one, you already know. If you didn’t get one, you’re jealous. I know.

20. Make a cheesecake.
Anniversaries and Valentine’s Day are the same in the Hurst household. Stephen always makes a steak. He always marinates it in his favorite wine with a packet of Italian dressing mix. He’s always in charge of sides but I always end up making them because I like to and he hasn’t quite mastered the art of timing a meal to be completed at the same time. (That’s a skill people, it can be tough! That’s why it gives me nightmares to think about hosting Thanksgiving.) I always make a new, fancy dessert. Then we eat and drink all night. Last week I got a recipe in the mail for a Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake. The picture looked great. It looked like it was cooked in Heaven’s kitchen and shipped down here to the most talented food photographer. So I thought I’d attempt it. My very first cheesecake.

Check it out!

Please ignore the wood paneling in the background. It didn’t change the taste of the dessert so it shouldn’t be factored into your judgement. Oh good gravy, this was delicious. It was about as rich as Ryan Seacrest but, much like him, it was excellent in small doses.

47. Make 3 Pioneer Woman recipes. (1/3)
I think God wanted me to make this recipe. Yesterday P Dub posted this recipe for Potato Bundles. Potatoes happened to be on the Anniversary Menu so I thought I might try them this way. Potatoes, onions, butter, salt, CREAM, parsley… HELLO! The onions… there really are no words. They tasted like candy. I guess if you put enough butter and cream on anything it will taste like candy. But the beauty is that you still get credit for eating a vegetable. Right? …. Right? …. Anybody??

56. Fry something.
Really, I’m not obese. I’m not typing this from my laptop in bed, waiting for my sponge bath and my second helping of french toast. I just like food. Fattening food. I can’t help it, okay?! Leave me alone! Last week I fried some chicken breasts in oil and butter. I’ve never done this before. It was delicious and made me want to sop up the drippings with a crusty roll. I didn’t, stop judging me. I think I’m going to fry something else. I feel like this was an easy way out. I’m thinking about something more along the lines of onion rings or donuts. My mom makes a mean donut and I think she’ll teach me if I ask her nicely. Maybe if I give her a piece of my cheesecake…

Mom? Puh-lease? Pretty please, with ganache on top?

69. Encourage one person to do the 101 in 1001.
Sarah at Life on Dayton has already started this. The link to her list is posted on my 101 in 1001 page. A few of you told me you were going to make lists of your own. If you’ve posted yours, send me the link so I can add it to the list.

81. Grill something (instead of having Stephen do it.)
I did this. I made bacon wrapped venison back strap last week. It was pretty easy but it was gross. Stephen loved it, you might too. I just really don’t like venison. I’m trying. Really, I am. I make it often and always eat it. But I don’t enjoy it. I figured the marinades and the bacon would help. It did, but not enough. But that wasn’t the point of the exercise. I now know how to grill and will probably do more of it.

So there you go! A pretty impressive accomplishment. I’m really enjoying this 101 thing. Maybe because half of the goals revolve around food. I probably wouldn’t like it much if it was all work-out related. Oh well, it’s my list. And it will be my fault if I have two extra chins on day 1001.

(Not a) 101 Progress Update

I would love to have 101 progress updates two weeks in a row. That would mean that I’m really kicking butt on this challenge. But sadly, I have no updates.

I would have been able to cross off #81 “Grill something- instead of having Stephen do it.” Last night I tried to make kabobs all by myself. But apparently Stephen sticks to the grill like frozen Double Stuf Oreos stick to my thighs. He couldn’t help it. I could have thrown hot coals at him but I took a silent oath at the beginning at this process that I wouldn’t harm anyone in the making of this blog feature. So to respect my journalistic integrity, I just whined at him.

In my defense, I did about 90% of the work. We’ll just call it practice.

I’ve decided to edit one of the items on my list. I feel like “blog about my progress” is sort of a stupid goal to have. I’m obviously going to blog about my progress. I blog about everything. I mean… everything. So I’ve decided to change it to:

81. Post at least one picture each week on my blog.

I was blog surfing last night and stumbled upon a few blogs that didn’t have a single picture on the main page. I was annoyed. Then I looked in the mirror and decided to pull the plank from my eye.

I can’t promise you anything artistic, or even anything that resembles anything having to do with quality photography. If you want that, go check out MckMama. She’s awesome. I’m not. I will probably take a lot of pictures with my phone. But at least I will post pictures.

Deal?

So last night when I got home I was searching through the glove compartment to find something with a car dealership’s phone number. Recently our Murano has been hesitating when we try to start it. I wanted to call them and arrange a time for Stephen to bring the car in today for them to fix it. (Later last night when we tried to start it, it wouldn’t start at all. Dead battery. Awesome. Just swell.) So anyways, I was looking through the glove compartment and found something from the dealer with all of the information about our vehicle.

To the people who constantly tell me that I’m a liar when I say that our newest addition is a beautiful MERLOT Murano because you think it’s maroon…. Check it:

For those of you who don’t have the pleasure of living in The Lone Star State, let me enlighten you. You are either Burnt Orange (The University) or maroon (that other school)– My blood is burnt orange. So it would be completely ridiculous for me to drive a maroon car. It just wouldn’t work. So that, my friends, is why I specify that I drive a merlot car.

101 Progress Update

Is it just me or did this work week have a few extra days in it? I can’t believe that it is just now Friday. I have a fun weekend ahead of me, which I will tell you all about next week. For now, it’s accountability time.

I probably won’t do this every Friday, I really can’t see myself being that productive. But every now and then, I will take a break from my ridiculous blog stories and review my progress of my 101 in 1001. At any time, you can click on the little tab at the top to see my progress, but this is a time for me to discuss it.

1. Start a new blog feature. That would be this. Okay, so maybe this was a cop out. But I wasn’t quite sure how quickly I’d get going on this list, and I have this unexplainable urge to cross things off to-do lists. So really, this item was mostly for my mental health.

19. Save $10 for each completed item. I have opened an ING account and titled it “101 in 1001” so that I can quickly transfer $10 each time I cross something off. Does anyone else use ING? I love it. We use it for a lot of things. We have a CD with them and since we have an account set up, we can open new accounts any time. So we have one called “Car Fund”… we have one for untouchable savings… we have this one… etc. They are great. You can name them so it keeps all of your mental accounting straight. The best part? They are all interest bearing. I considered keeping an envelope of tens hidden some place but that’s just dumb. Why do that if I could earn a bit of interested? Granted our economy is in the crapper so I’ll just get a few cents each month… but that’s a few cents I didn’t have before!

24. Blog about my progress. This isn’t actually completed. This will be on-going. I’m aware that some of you may skip these posts because you really aren’t interested in this endeavour but I’m writing them anyways. To make it up to you, I’ll always end with a story, joke, picture, or something else non-101-related. Deal?

35. Start a prayer journal. Started this yesterday. I got a nice journal as a wedding gift but have yet to use it. I usually just use spirals for my Bible Study notes. Journals are too pretty to write in. But I felt that this was a good cause. So I wrote out the 101 goals in the front of the book. I’m now going to use this journal for prayer, to jot down Scripture that is jumping out at me, and to record a few thoughts throughout this process. I spent my lunchbreak in the parking lot at Sonic yesterday and wrote my first entry. This may be the most rewarding goal.

62. Finish the bathroom. No, it’s not done, but it is in process. The shower, walls, floors, and ceiling are done. Tonight or tomorrow Stephen will install the toilet. I’m hoping to go to Lowes tonight and buy the sink. They were sold out last week. If there are no toilet issues, he may be able to get the sink installed tomorrow as well. We are on the lookout for a storage tower. It’s so much harder than you’d think. I don’t think it can be any wider than 2 feet. We want it to be tall, like 6+ feet because we are tall. I’m thinking something brown, maybe with either drawers or pull out baskets. Any leads? Let me know! I also want something cute to hang on the wall in there. I’m thinking about hitting up Etsy for that. Anyone you really love or want to promote? Give me their info! We also need hooks for the towels. I may just get those at Lowes unless you have a better ideqa. We’ll post pics of the bathroom when it’s done.

So that’s where I am. Off to a good start, I think. If you start your own, let me know so I can mark that one off the list. I will also post a link to your blog so people can follow your progress as well.

Here’s your totally unrelated picture for today. This is me riding on the front of the truck at the deer lease. This was on Christmas. I’m wearing short sleeves. This is how we do it in Texas.

More R&R Updates

Brace yourselves, ladies and three gentlemen… Roots & Rings has a couple new features. I think I’ve got this site up to my standards! Hopefully it’s up to your standards too. (If it’s not, please complain to me via email, not blog comments. I embarass easily!) Take a look at the top. I’ve added two new tabs.

1. “Props!” – This should be pretty self-explanitory. Every so often I post a review and title it “Props!” See yesterday’s post for an example. Anyways I’ve posted links to all of my past Props! in one area in case you want to revisit them. Or in case, hypothetically speaking, you didn’t read my blog that day. But I know that could never be true, so really they are just there for you to revisit.

2. “101 in 1001” – This is a fun one. I saw this on another blog and thought it looked like a rewarding activity. After a bit of research, I realized that there are tons of bloggers who do this. I’m so behind the times! (Seriously, who gave me a website?!) It’s a list of 101 goals I want to accomplish in the next 1001 days. I worked on this list for a couple of weeks and think it’s pretty good. It’s pretty exhaustive*. Some of them excite me, some of them seem like awful tasks. All of them will be completed (hopefully). I’ll blog about my progress throughout the 1001 days and hope that you will all hold me accountable.

*I’ll answer the question that is probably floating around your head the same way I answered it to Stephen. No, I didn’t mention anything about babies on the list. Obviously having a baby is a goal of mine in the next 1001 days, but if I do not complete it I don’t want a list reminding me that I have failed. I’m pretty sure I’ll be emotional enough and feel like a failure on my own.

Hope you like the two new features! Have a safe and wonderful 4th!