Day 16 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 16:
Monday, October 31, 2011

It's all about the beet.  Yep, the BEET!  No, not pickled gross beets!

My buddy Em convinced me to buy beets!  So I got them at the farmers market on Saturday and I tried them out tonight, following her exact instructions (as much as I follow recipes or instructions, which is generally not very well at all...).

These little suckers are intimidating!

And I couldn't take and post just one picture because beets might just be one of the strangest vegetables... I was concerned that my fingers would be purple for days and that my cutting board was going to forever be purple!

Ah, but it wasn't so exciting.  The vibrant color of beets does not permanently stain.

But they are an intriguing little vegetable.

So were the roasted beets delicious?  Ahh, jury is still out.  I think they were okay but as always my timing was off... by the time they finished cooking, I had eaten the rest of my meal so that it wouldn't get cold.  Go figure.

And so it goes, my style of cooking.  A little bit unpredictable.

Day 14 and Day 15 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 14:
Saturday, October 29, 2011

Ahhhh Saturdays.  I love them.  Who doesn't?  Today was pretty good really - a nice balance between a little laziness and productivity.  I'm always trying to find balance in everything.  That's one of my ambitions - balance in life.

Anyways... another visit to the wonderful farmers market today!  I got there late so a lot of the booths were already packing up.  Lesson learned I suppose - next week I'll have to get there earlier.  I still got some goodies though!  Look for them in a post when I cook them.  :)

Today is a double post day since yesterday I opted out of posting!  :)


Day 15:
Sunday, October 30, 2011

I'm sad to see the weekend come to an end.  I don't feel like I got everything done that I wanted.  I got a lot done, but still, I have a lot to get done.

Fall continues to be in the air...  I love the contrast of fall colored leaves against green grass.

Day 13 - My 365, how do you measure a year?

Day 13:
Friday, October 27, 2011

Game 7.

Not a good picture.  Not meant to be.

Representative of the moment... of my days as a St. Louis girl!  I do love that city.

Day 12 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 12:

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Exam day for my Bio120 students.  Enough said.  

Scantrons make it easier to grade but there are still short answer questions... so a lot of grading is in my future!  Here's hoping for a higher average than on the first one.  :)

Day 11 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 11:
Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Stand firmly and strongly in the space where you are.

If you push yourself to the edge, you will experience new things.  You will be changed.


Tonight was a great night in my hot yoga class (funk yeah - the funky buddha yoga hothouse!).  I felt strong.  And I sweated like a champ!

Not the best pic of my feet (they don't look very cute at all).... haha! But here it is anyways.  :)

Day 10 - My 365, How do you measure a year?

Day 10:
Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Today was a pretty typical cloudy, dreary fall day... I missed the sun.  We talked about it at work - how this is the beginning of it, the beginning of a cloudy season.

So Sarah drew me a sun!  :)  And I put it on the fridge so that I will remember to bring my own sunshine on these cloudy days.  It's all about attitude after all.

Bring it people!  ;)

In other news, I keep rearranging the title of the post... can't seem to decide which way I want it to be.

My 365, day 9 - How do you measure a year?

Day 9:

Monday, October 24, 2011

Nobody likes Mondays, right?  

So today I remind myself to be grateful.  

In 2005, I started writing five things a day that I'm grateful for... in an effort to cultivate an appreciative attitude, aware and happy about the little things in life.  I've done it relatively consistently, although not perfectly of course!  :)  

Most days are ordinary days and so you have to really pay attention to the details of life to list five things and really mean it.  Sometimes they are just little ordinary things and sometimes they are big.  

So here I am, turning the page and looking down on a blank page... grateful.

My 365, day 8 - How do you measure a year?

Day 8:

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Yesterday I bought some mums.  It's fall after all and mums are one beautiful thing about fall.  I used a Groupon that I had purchased awhile ago so it was a pretty fun little purchase.  

These mums, and their vivid colors, brightened up my day today...

My 365, day 7 - how do you measure a year

Day 7:
Saturday, October 22, 2011

Today I went to the Fulton Street Farmers Market.  I have lived in Grand Rapids for three years and have never gone.  It was amazing, I loved it! I have always loved farmers markets!  Maybe it will become a new Saturday thing for me.

So why haven't I ever gone before?  Laziness I guess.  I'm such a sucker for sitting on the couch on Saturday morning and drinking obnoxious amounts of coffee.  I love that.  I did that today too but forced myself to get out and enjoy some fresh air.

I made several great purchases - peppers (green and red), garlic, potatoes, cilantro, and apple cider.  And a super great pumpkin spice cupcake!  Yummmm...  I also got some great 'Michigan Holly' for decoration.

So here is to fresh locally grown produce!  And to new experiences and fresh fall air.

My 365, day 6 - How do you measure a year?

Day 6:

Friday, October 21, 2011

It's not the prettiest picture.  I don't even like it really.  But it is what it is... Fall is quickly passing by.  Some leaves have turned and some have completely fallen away already.  I can't believe that it is nearly the end of October.

Today was not a pretty day.  Kind of blah, cloudy and dreary.  Matches my mood, I suppose.  

There is the chance that tomorrow will bring sunshine... here's hoping.  

How do you measure a year? - My 365, day 5 -

Day 5:
Thursday, October 20, 2011

Day 5... it's getting cold.  I'm so not ready for this!  Kind of a blurry pic, kind of a problem with the camera and settings, kind of wasn't motivated to fix it, blah blah blah...

It says 43 degrees people!  Brrrrrrr!

How do you measure a year? - My 365, day 4 -

Day 4:

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Part of the challenge of a 365 project is to look at things differently... to see something extraordinary in the ordinary.  I think it takes practice and commitment and time.  How many of us actually make a conscious effort to look at things in a new way?  Maybe this practice will help me to do just that.  And maybe it will help me to find hidden inspiration, that was right in front of me all along.

Here's hoping.

To new perspectives...

  

How do you measure a year? - My 365, day 3 -

Day 3:

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Sure, I'm a day behind posting my pics...  Right now that is the best I can do.  And my best is always going to be good enough for me.  I will always be proud of myself if I just give things in life my best effort.  

It really feels like fall now.  As much as I go on about not liking cold weather, I love fall.  I love the colors and the texture of nature during this time of the year.  More about fall later... this is about the 365.

How do you measure a year? - My 365, day two -

Day Two:
Monday, October 17, 2011

I couldn't resist.  It's the Pacey cat making his 365 debut.

How do you measure a year? - My 365, day one -

I've been wanting to do a '365 project' for some time now.  You can find them all over the blog world... documenting a year in photos, one a day.

In thinking about starting this project, two things always come to mind. The first is the question of when to start.  That is always the hardest part it seems.  When do you start and how do you start?  The other is the 'Seasons of Love' song from Rent.  I love that song.  This project makes me think of that song.

-----
'Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear...
How do you measure a year?

in daylights, in sunsets
in midnights, in cups of coffee
in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife
in five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure a year in the life?

In truths that she learned
or in times that he cried
in bridges he burned
or the way that she died

It's time now, to sing out
though the story never ends
let's celebrate
remember a year in the life of friends'
-----

I want to do this project and think about the year of my life that I am documenting.  The good and the bad, the days as they turn into weeks, and the individual moments that you can get lost in.  

And so I'm starting my 365.  Day one has come and gone...

Day one was Sunday, October 16, 2011.

And while this may not be the most exciting picture to start with, this is my day one.  This is something that inspires me.  And we could all use a little inspiration in this life!