Donate to a Good Cause

Two weeks ago, JJ and I went on the hunt for a new dresser. The one he had was falling apart... there were handles missing, a few of the drawers either wouldn't open or wouldn't close and because of that it was a pain for JJ to get anything out and more importantly, put anything away! So there are constantly mountains of clothes on the floor. Most of the time I can't tell what's dirty and what's clean but it's a system that has been working for him for awhile so for the most part he knows where things are. Well, a few weeks ago, JJ got up early, scouted out Craigslist for all the local garage sales and then off we went on the hunt! We came back empty handed that day. (Well, not totally! I did find a nice white board for one dollar for work!) But two weeks ago a patient of ours brought in a flier about a huge local garage sale so I thought we should go check it out. I got up early and scouted out the other garage sales in the area just in case and I'm glad I did. We ended up at a garage sale that was a benefit for the homeless shelter. All proceeds went to the homeless shelter for everything that they sold AND there was another organization that was going to match the amount of money that was made and donate that to the homeless shelter. We found a dresser! It's in great shape! Just needs a little sanding and staining and it'll be ready to go. We paid $40 for it which was a great price for us AND that means the homeless shelter will get $80! I also dropped $5 into there donation jar before we left. It was great to find a wonderful dresser and I was happy that we contributed to a good cause.

As a funny side note, after we bought the dresser we dropped it off and went around town looking at the other garage sales just for fun... Well we pulled off the road to turn around after visiting one garage sale and JJ's car got stuck! It was a little sandy and we were just spinning our wheels! Literally! So as we are standing there trying to figure out what to do these two little ladies came by (they were probably in there mid-60's) and one of them said, "Well how much effort do you think it would take to push it out?" We weren't sure but I hoped in the car to give it a little gas and guidance while these two ladies helped JJ push from the front. We were out in no time flat. Not 15 minutes earlier I had put that $5 bill in the donation jar at the homeless shelter fund raiser and here we were chasing in on some good karma. Haha. Have a great day everyone! I hope your progress is still coming along as well as mine is! =)

~Wendy

Visit 10 New Places I've Never Been

Well hello fellow 2010-ers! I'm still alive! Yes, it's true! I'm afraid the past few months of school and other activities kept me so busy I didn't have a chance to blog! But I'm very excited to report back that I have contributed to my list by going somewhere I've never been before!

Living on the central coast is amazing! There is so much to do and so much to see! Ever since I moved here I've been hearing about this area on a beach that's right off the 1 where all these elephant seals come every year. So a couple weeks ago, JJ and I got in his T-top Camero, took the glass tops off, and drove up the 1! It was a beautiful day! Sunny and warm, wind blowing in my hair as we drove... It was perfect! We drove up just passed Hearst Castle and off to the left is a parking lot that we pulled into. The way they have the whole thing set up, you can't actually get down onto the beach with the elephant seals. There's a fence and where people can stand is up above them and set back a little bit. So anyway, when we first got out there I saw A FEW elephant seals on the beach and I thought, 'Hey this is really neat!' (Because we were SO close to them!) And then JJ said, "Yeah but look over there..." And I turned to my left and looked down the beach... MILES of beach COVERED with elephant seals! And I know you're reading this thinking, 'Yeah okay lots of elephant seals.' No no! This is something you need to see to understand. Lucky for you, I took pictures! Hehe.

So this was neat and I was excited...



Then I saw this and my jaw hit the ground!



It was an amazing sight to see! They are on the beach all year round pretty much but there are different "seasons" depending on what you want to see. The ones that were there when we went were just the females and the juveniles. In a couple months the big males will be back and I guess they are just massive and they're load and they fight over the females and what not. Apparently very impressive so we are going to go again in a few months to see that. At other times you can go when they females are giving birth and stuff like that. There was a cute little volunteer there that gave us a flier that has all the season's on it. I put it on the fridge. As a side note, the volunteer was so cute! She was this little old lady out there with her oxygen tank! She was dedicated! Anyway, that's 1 place, 9 more to go!

I hope things are going well with both of you and your lists! I have more to tell you about but I thought I'd wait a few days and then move on to a new topic! See you sooner rather than later this time ladies!

-Wendy

Happy Birthday Melissa!!!

Happy Birthday Miss Melissa!

May your day be filled with awesomeness!!!

Get a Tattoo

I can now officially cross something off my list!

#7. Get a tattoo.

And ta-da! Here it is:

So, I feel this deserves a little bit of an explanation, mainly because some people have expressed some shock that I would actually get a tattoo. No, this was not a drunken, spur-of-the-moment decision. It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for awhile now.

Here's the back story (Warning! There is a dash of nerdiness ahead).

Remember back in the early part of the last decade (that seem weird to say) when the Lord of the Rings movies were huge and Orlando Bloom was the newest heartthrob and Dominic Monaghan had yet to become a Heroin addicted island castaway? "One ring to rule them all"? Right? Okay. So, I remember reading that the nine members of the cast who had been a part of the Fellowship had all gone together to get elvish "nine" tattoos. Up until that point in my life I really had never had any sort of interest in body art but something about this story peaked my interest. I thought it was sort of awesome that these nine people shared an experience that meant so much to them that they wanted to chronicle that experience in the form of something so permanent.

I however, have never been part of an epic, billion-dollar movie franchise (I know this is shocking, calm yourselves) so when would I have a chance to do something like that?

Then a couple years later a friend’s tattoo gave me further inspiration. This is actually the little brother of a friend of mine who died when I was in college. The brother now has a tattoo on his back in honor of my friend. As soon as I saw it something clicked in my brain. If ever, God-forbid, something were to ever happen to one of my sisters, I would do the exact same thing.

Queue more thinking. ( I think A LOT. It’s just something I do. And in this case, in something pertaining to needles and permanent body ink, thinking is good). And I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to just sit around and wait for some horrible reason to do this. Hello? Morbid.

So here we are today (or two weeks ago) and in honor of my 27^th year on this earth, my little sister and I figured, why wait? Let’s do this.

Actually getting the tattoo wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t completely painless – that sucker hurt. But it was more irritating than anything else and it was over really fast. Much thanks of course to Todd at Nathan’s Tattoo for being so awesome with a couple of first-timers.

And so now I have a tattoo! I haven’t quite gotten used to it yet and I keep wanting to look at in the mirror. It’s still in the healing process though and right now it just sort of itches like crazy. But I’m happy.

This is something that will mean something for the rest of my life. So many people in life come and go – co-workers, acquaintances, friends, boyfriends, etc. but my sisters have been through it all with me and no matter what, no matter how much we annoy each other or piss each other off or tease or whatever, we will always be sisters. So to them I say, this is for you. - Shannon

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CUPCAKE!!!

Happy, happy birthday! May all your dreams come true! Happy, happy birthday from all of us to you! I'm pretty sure there's more to the beginning of that song but I can't remember it... ANYWAY! I hope your 27th is fantastic! You're an awesome friend and you deserve the very best in life! Cheers to your birthday, the 2010 project, and all the amazing things to come this year! - Roxie

The Great Gatsby

So the last time I checked in about my reading list was at the end of January when I had just started Anna Karenina. It has now been two months and I'm STILL reading the dang thing. Seriously, this book is a beast. Seven hundred and fifty-four pages of a whole heck-of-a-lot of words. ( FUN FACT! I just checked, the seventh Harry Potter book is seven hundred and fifty-nine pages. I'm pretty sure I read that one in about eight hours the night it came out... Maybe I should change "Fun Fact" to "Total Wizarding Nerd Alert).

Anywho, I began to get a little frustrated at my lack of progress on Anna Karenina (I am now on page 491) so this weekend I put it aside and read The Great Gatsby. I had read this one back in high school some time and while I remembered the basic story there was a lot I forgot. In particular, how gut-wrenchingly sad the whole story ends. Sorry if that's a huge spoiler for anyone.

I'm guessing, that as a sixteen year old, a lot of things didn't resonate for me back then. But this time I was struck by the loneliness of the book. Here are these characters who are caught up in the extravagant and frivolous world of the 1920's, drinking and smoking all day, throwing lavish parties and gossiping mercilessly - and yet they all just seem so lonely and secluded. Especially the title character of Jay Gatsby. He's at the center of this world, the center of gossip and rumors and he's the man everyone wants to know and yet at the time of his greatest need, everyone abandons him. It's just sad.

I could go on and on about what that all means and what Fitzgerald was trying to say about society but I don't particular feel like writing a paper on it all, and hey, I'm not in school anymore so I don't have to! Whoo! But there's my mini little book report.

Despite the sadness, I did find myself enjoying the book more than I did when I was in high school and I would recommend The Great Gatsby to anyone, especially for F. Scott Fitzgerald's brilliant way of saying so much with so few words.

. . . One autumn night, five years before, they had been walking down the street when the leaves were falling, and they came to a place where there were no trees and the sidewalk was white with moonlight. They stopped here and turned toward each other. Now it was a cool night with that mysterious excitement in it which comes at the two changes of the year. The quiet lights in the houses were humming out into the darkness and there was a stir and bustle among the stars. Out of the corner of his eye Gatsby saw that the blocks of the sidewalks really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place above the trees—he could climb to it, if he climbed alone, and once there he could suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder.

I seriously read things like this and wonder, what's the point in writing? How could the beauty of that one paragraph every be matched? Ah well.

And because I love crossing things off a list:

1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
2. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
4. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
7. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
9. The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
10. Middlemarch by George Eliot

Oooh boy. Nine left. I'm really rollin' now.

--Shannon

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WENDY!

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Wendy,
Happy Birthday to you!

Sending out a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of our very own 2010 Project participants, the fabulous Wendy! Have a completely awesome day girl. You deserve it.

My One True Love

I love pizza. It's a simple fact. I love it. I can eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner - or all three. I can eat it cold or hot. Thin crust, deep dish, New York style - whatever. I love pizza.

However, when you're dieting, pizza consumption is threatened. And this makes me sad.

But! Ta-da! I have discovered a REALLY tasty, low calorie pizza recipe. SCORE!

This recipe can be found at one of my favorite sites, Hungry Girl. Follow the link.

Ingredients

1 Low fat/Low Carb Tortilla
1/2 c. low fat mozzarella
1/3 c. low fat tomato sauce
2 tsp. parmesean cheese

* Note: the linked recipe is a little different but this is how I make it. In regards to the tomato sauce, I just use a can of regular low sodium tomato sauce and then flavor it myself with garlic salt, oregano and basil. It's really tomato-y but I think it works well with the thin crust. You can also add whatever toppings you'd like. I usually use olives and mushrooms.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Bake tortilla on a baking sheet, 2-5 minutes on each side, until slightly crispy. Remove tortilla from oven and spread on tomato sauce. Sprinkle on cheese and toppings. Top with Parmesan. Return pizza to the oven for approximately 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut into slices. Enjoy!

I ate this for dinner tonight ( I usually also eat some kind of veggie or salad) and my tummy is happy.

--Shannon

Sometimes It's Worth It

It's a constant struggle every morning with my alarm clock. AT 5:45 on the dot I'm torn away from my dreams into a cold dark morning (it irks me to wake up to a day the sun hasn't even greeted yet). My bed is always so warm and cozy and it's so, so tempting to just hit the snooze button, throw the pillow over my head and sleep for another hour and a half.

Sadly, I do have to admit that this temptation wins out a lot. My WON'T POWER (see Wendy's post below) is minimal at best that early in the morning.

But when I do get up, throw some cold water on my face and lace up my running shoes, it always feels good. It's feels like I'm doing something. Yes, it's cold and I find myself yawning a lot but there's something almost spiritual about being out in the world before it wakes up. It's just me and the sound of my shoes against the pavement. And every once in awhile I'm given a little gift, like the amazing sunrise I saw the other morning (the picture truly doesn't give it justice). It's almost like God's little way of saying, "Good job."

-- Shannon

Insight from the Lunch Room

I was eating my lunch yesterday in the break room at work and I was thinking about all the exercising I've been doing and how great that has been going in combination with how well I've been eating, etc. The whole time I was eating I kept looking at a bag of Valentine's Day cookies that were sitting on the table. And as I was polishing off a container of Whips Key Lime Yogurt, the bag of neon pink Valentine's Day cookies were staring back at me whispering, 'Eat me.... we're really delicious.... even more delicious than we look... c'mon, just have one of us.... just one isn't so bad.... yeah sure you'll be able to stop after just one.... unless you can't, but that's okay.' Yes, right there in the lunch room I had a show down with a bag of cookies... I was out numbered, this is true.... and even though they were beautiful shades of pink and red, with eye catching sprinkles that twinkled at me and would mesmerize many who dare pass by... I hung in like a champ and resisted the urge to try even one sweet, shiny delight. It was in those moments of greatest temptation that I realized this: Weight loss happens with a combination of your "Will Power" and your "Won't Power." For example, "I WILL go to the gym in the morning" and "I WON'T have a pretty cookie." How's your Will and Won't Power treating you guys on your journey?

Anna Ekaterina Arkadyich Shcherbatskaya Whatsername...????

Number 10 on my list: Read Time Magazine's Ten Greatest Books of All Time

Here's the list:

1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
2. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
4. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
7. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
9. The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
10. Middlemarch by George Eliot

Happily, I have already read three of the above novels so I've already got a head start. But the titles that are still waiting in the wings are weighty and daunting and LONG.

So let's go.

Up first is Anna Karenina. So far it's not too bad but here's my issue... the names. Holy crap with the names. I need Spark Notes and a journal and a family tree just to keep everything straight. I though MY last name in all it's German glory was long. No, these Russian names are insane and incomprehensible and almost completely void of vowels.

Here are some examples:

Anna Arkadyevna Karenina
Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin
Konstantin Dmitrich Levin ( referred to as Konstantin Lenin or Lenin or Konstantin)
Ekaterina Alexandrovna Shcherbatskaya (referred to as Kitty)
Stepan Arkadyich Oblonsky (referred to as Stiva or Oblansky or Stephan Arkadyich)
Prince Alexander Dmitrievich Shcherbatsky (sometimes Prince, sometimes Scherbatsky)

And those are just a few of the main characters, never mind the whole slew of minor characters that pop up along the way.

My mind is swimming. This is going to be slow going...

ETA: ACK! And I just found out that "In Search of Lost Time" is 7 Volumes totaling almost 4,000 pages. Haha! I'm going to be so proud of myself if I accomplish this.

--Shannon

Some Inspiration for Working Out

One of my goals for this year is to lose 15 pounds. It is something that I have been trying to do for a while now, but I always get unmotivated. I find reasons to not work out or to not eat healthy. This year I have decided that it is time to stop all of the excuses and just do it.

I found a link to a blog that has been really helpful this month. Badass Fitness was started by a woman in Florida just a few months ago and I have been hooked since I found it. This post got me started, so inspiring!

The blog is filled with workouts, food ideas and stories about real people getting fit and healthy! I was working out last week and really wanting to quit, but I told myself "no, you are a badass, you can keep going!"

I am no where near where I want to be weight wise, or fitness wise right now, but this blog is helping to keep me motivated, even if I slip up or don't work out for a few days.

What keeps you motivated to work out and eat right?

Donate to a Good Cause

Well, it's day 21 on 2010 and I'm still enthused about The 2010 Project and my list! This is great! Today I made one, of what I hope to be many, contributions to fulfill the "Donate to a good cause" item on my list. We've all heard by now what's happened in Haiti and I recently got an e-mail from a scrapbooking website I occassionally order from and they are helping to raise money for the Red Cross to donate to Haiti. The website is donating 10% of their sales to Haiti as well as offering an "item" that you can stick in your cart... The item is a $10 donation. So it just tacks on $10 to your total and you can donate it through them. But it gets better! For every one of those items that people "purchase" the website is going to match that $10. So I'm sending $10 but Haiti will get $20! Plus 10% of my other purchases. I thought it was great that the company was willing to do that so I placed my order this morning! This fund raiser is only running from the 20-22 so if you're interested in donating as well, do it today or tomorrow! Here's the website: www.scrapyourtrip.com. ~Wendy

Bathing Suits??? Already???

I was casually strolling into Target the other day, ready to spend an exorbitant amount of money, when I stopped happened to glance towards the Juniors clothing section. I stopped short. My jaw dropped. I did a mental calculation of the date. It was January 10. The thermostat in my car had read a crisp 55 degrees. And yet...

Bathing suits.

Rows and rows of strings and tiny triangles and polka-dots and stripes and leopard print.

Oh help me.

Suddenly the summer months didn't see so far away.

***

Number 3 on the list. Wear a bikini on the beach. Now is the time to make that happen.

How?

Exercising, eating right, blah-de-blah. Same old, same old.

I'm convinced that half the time these kinds of resolutions fail because we just get bored.

I will run eighteen miles every single day and live off oatmeal and celery sticks!

Boring.

So, variety will be the keyword to my plan. I'll workout (Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred kicks my ass!) and run on the beach and hike the trails near my house and jump rope and maybe take a yoga class. I'll have fun with it.

As for food - I'm on the search for fun and healthy recipes. One of my favorite resources is Hungry-Girl.com a website that gives fun tips for dieting and healthy alternatives to some of our favorite foods. These are two of my favorites:

Chicken Cordon Bleu














Exploding Chicken Taquitos












Seriously, try these. They are so good.

So, anyone have any other recipes to share???

--Shannon

A Quote

I saw this quote today and I though it summed up everything on our lists and all that we hope this year will be. Enjoy!

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." ~Neil Gaiman

Melissa

Nightly Journal

Hey All, I've been working on my journal in the evenings and I thought I'd share a recent entry with you. January 9, 2010 I'm thankful for: 1. My great friends 2. Fun board games 3. Christina letting me use her discount to get running shoes so I can start training for my 5k! 4. Making myself make time for scrapbooking today 5. Homemade french fries My Favorite Moment of the Day: JJ and I were at Nicole and Vic's tonight with Michelle, Mike, and Melissa and we played the Wii for awhile and then Apples to Apples. After Michelle, Mike, and Melissa left Nicole and I were talking about Mike and Melissa and how Melissa is such a good fit for Mike. Apparently the girlfriend he dated for like 9 years before Melissa wasn't very nice. Then I said that Mike told me several months ago that Melissa fit in with his family like right away where as his last girlfriend I guess never really fit. And Nicole said, "Aww, is that how he knew Melissa was The One?" I told her I didn't know and then JJ said, "That's how I knew Wendy was The One." That right there was my favorite moment of today. My list of things that I'm thankful for on this entry wasn't particularly insightful (sometimes they are) but my favorite moment of the day was a bit more special than the usual favorite moments.

Starting Off on My List

I have a lot of plans for this year. Some of them are small things and other are big things. Most of them are things that I have been wanting to do for a few years but just needed a push to get done. So the first thing I have been working on off of my list is starting my own online store on Etsy.com

Etsy is a place where people can sell handmade items, which makes it a fun place to buy gifts for people. I have been thinking about selling cards and some other items for about a year now but just didn't have the guts to get it done until now. This week I have been hard at work at making items to sell and I am hoping to have the store up and running by the end of the month!

Here is a peek at what I have been working on:

I can't wait to share the store with you all once I am finished!

~Melissa

It's Not on the List But...

In honor of what I hope will be a good year, I decided to make a big change right off the bat. Wendy's numberology post says that my year will be spent being reflective and inward focused, which makes me laugh a little bit because this first change I've made has been purely for appearance's sake. But okay...

So I've been blonde my entire life.




<--- Proof


When my hair started coming in darker in high school I just started lightening it every month or so because I LIKED being a blonde and I didn't want that to change... I've always been a little curious though about how I would look as a brunette.

Well, this year, as I've decided to embrace change for the first time in my life, I finally took the leap. And I am now, officially, no longer a blonde. EEK! So here you go. The before and after:

BEFORE

AFTER

I like it. I do. Even if I don't look like "me" in the mirror right now. So... we'll see. :)

Yay change!

--Shannon

Numerology

To kick off The 2010 Project I thought it would be fun to calculate each of our "Personal Year Numbers" to see what the numbers say 2010 will be like for each of us. So here it is: Melissa, your Personal Year Number this year is an 8. 8 Personal Year A year of respect, achievement, recognition; business matters dominate, especially financial management; an active, busy year where you must administrate This is a year to learn about your own power, to deal with authority issues, and to become the boss, because people will look to you this year for your executive ability or to act as an authority in some respect. This is the year where you'll be challenged to take the lead, to stand up as an authority, and in that way to begin to empower yourself with your full sense of power. The 8 year means it's time for you to be thrust into the role of the leader, boss, or authority and to tend to business. Use this year to administrate something - the family estate, the school auction, or the company's overseas spring tour. More than any other year, this is the time to deal with the energy of power, money, and success, and to achieve something. You'll want to make the most of your opportunity this year because it will be another 9 years before you have an 8 year again. However, each year you will have a chance to work on missed opportunities when you are in your 8 Personal Month. Shannon, your Personal Year Number this year is a 7. 7 Personal Year A year of turning inward, rest and rejuvenation, contemplation and pursuit of spiritual quest; will spend time alone, can study and read this year This is a time to move inside yourself. You'll need alone time and rest as you reexamine your goals, relationships, and the very direction of your life. Often, during a 7 year, you're drawn to the study of spiritual, mystical, or metaphysical subjects, and it's not unusual to find you need spiritual direction, and so look to a counselor or healer who can help further your quest. This year is also a time of body purification, so diets, cleansing, and detoxifying programs may become of interest now. The 7 rules legal affairs, so it may also be the year you get that insurance settlement finished, or any matter where legal papers are involved. But no matter what, you'll need and seek solitude, because this is the time to be alone and quiet. The 7 year means the time is favorable for you to take a sabbatical, or do a vision quest. More than any other year, this is the time to be quiet and listen to your inner guidance. It's time for seeking counsel from both yourself and others, as well as learning about what will help you find your own particular peace. Don't miss your chance for this introspective time, because you don't get another 7 year for 9 more years! However, each year will have a chance to work on missed opportunities when you are in your 7 Personal Month. Wendy, my Personal Year Number this year is a 6. 6 Personal Year A year of tending to domestic affairs, family obligations, nurturing others; constant effort required If you have elderly parents, this is the year for them. In an uncanny way, you'll become needed by your family this year more than any other years. It's also a year that demands that you balance your domestic life with your work life, and you'll be shown many opportunities to get your work life in balance - even if it means getting another job. The 6 year means it's time for you to pay attention to your family duties and responsibilities. Use this year to nurture and serve those you care about. More than any other year, this is the time to balance the needs of others with your own needs. It's time for generosity and sympathy, and if you don't take time to give to your family, or to nurture your own needs, it will be another 9 years before you have a full year to devote to this energy. However, each year you will have a chance to work on missed opportunities when you are in your 6 Personal Month. (The above descriptions were taken from "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Numerology, 2nd Edition" by Kay Lagerquist, Ph.D. and Lisa Lenard.)

Classic Novel

I've chosen Moby Dick as my "Classic Novel." I started reading it a few nights ago and I fell asleep on page 3. But I don't think it was the book, I think I was just really tired. I'll give it another go one of these days. -Wendy

Happy New Year!

We will open the book. Its pages are blank.
We are going to put words on them ourselves.
The book is called Opportunity and
its first chapter is New Year's Day.
~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Welcome to The 2010 Project!

It's a new year and a new decade and such an occasion calls for a little something more than just your average, ordinary New Years Resolution. Last year may have been a little tough or obnoxious or just plain boring for some people and the typical "I want to get in shape" goal just wasn't going to cut it for us this year. Let's face it: the average resolution is just doomed for failure and a crazed binge on an entire carton of Moose Tracks Ice Cream sometime in the middle of the month (not that I've EVER done that... ahem).

No, 2010 needs to be epic. It needs to be special. It needs to be FUN.

So we have christened The 2010 Project. We briefly considered doing two-thousand and ten things throughout the year... Actually, I lie. We never seriously considered that. We are NOT that ambitious. The much more reasonable number was always ten. Ten things. Ten things that we each wanted to do, participate in or accomplish. Yes, you'll see that we may have variations of "I want to get in shape" on our lists but now we have each other and we have this blog and we have a way to make it a little more exciting.

In the coming weeks and months the three of us will be posting about our year of adventure. We can't wait to see what this year has in store for us, where our lists will take us and how the back end of twelve months will find us changed. Here's to living determined, risky, creative, unexpected and full lives in 2010.

-- Melissa, Shannon and Wendy

* The word cloud in the header of this blog can be attributed to Wordle.net. The cloud contains words from all our lists. Interestingly enough, our most used word is Learn.

P.S. You might notice that we have more than 10 things on our lists. We've added a mystery category or a secret category because we can't plan for everything. Life is full of surprises. So at the end of the year we can look back and choose something that we feel is worthy for that category. Come what may.