#38. Get the printer set up. Tuesday, June 5, 2012

It is a week and a half after I wrote I would accomplish this, but the printer is now set up!  The driver was already installed, and I battled the underground obstacle course (a.k.a the playroom) to find the printer, then cleared a space on the t.v. stand for it.  The printer now proudly sits next to all the other electronic toys we have down there.  Amusingly, the setup was ridiculously simple since the printer is not set up for wireless printing like I thought.  The printer gods must have been smiling on me that both the power cord, and a usb cord were both plugged into the printer.  Plug into wall, into Macbook, and viola!

An update on other various "40 Before 40" goals...
I am now on day 12 of Flylady, and the house is looking better already.  I can't take full credit for the appearance, Mr. Badger worked very hard over the weekend to get the house ready for his sister's arrival later this week.   However, I am sticking with my morning and evening routines. Long may it last!
I am on chapter three of A Brief History Of Time.  My knowledge of physics is scant, so I am learning a lot as I read, and it's a welcome change change from the usual historical fiction that fills my Kindle.

Next up... Book tickets for Mary Poppins (Broadway show!), the plan is to go in October when my Mum is visiting.  I'll need to put in some more overtime at work over the next few weeks!

#29. Shoot a gun. Friday, May 25, 2012.

I'm starting off with a bang! It was date night last night, and we went to the local shooting range.    I signed the forms, handed over my driving license and watched the 8 minute safety video. There was a great discussion between Mr. Badger and a few of the staff as to which gun I should try, and everyone agreed on the smallest, a .22.  Mr. Badger told me it was used to for shooting squirrels, and was like shooting a bb gun.  Mr. Badger and I agreed that while he was trained with guns by the RAF, it still wouldn't end well if he was teaching me. He wisely paid the extra money for me to have 15 minutes with the safety officer, showing me step-by-step how to load and unload a gun.

Mr. Badger is an avid hunter, and loves his guns.  I hate them.  I was hoping that when he first started talking about hunting that it would be a passing phase.  It wasn't, and the best I could do was insist on a large gun safe for the unloaded guns, and a different safe for the ammunition.  Mr. Badger has wanted me to go hunting with him for a long time, and while I still haven't, I did wonder what it would feel like to shoot a gun. Just once.

We had to put the eye and ear protection on before entering the double doors through to the range, but I really wasn't expecting to feel the vibration from other people's shots in my chest, and even with the ear muffs on, some of those shots were LOUD.  I'm not sure what gun someone was shooting (rifles?) that was so loud but I jumped every time they shot, and prayed that the range wasn't going to get any busier (the lanes either side of me were empty).  I watched the safety officer go through all the steps, how to load, how to unload, how to stand, how to hold the gun, and then it was my turn.

I loaded my five bullets (no more, so I could keep count easily), magazine into the gun, and finger off the trigger.  Feet shoulder width apart, knees bent, elbows bent, leant forward a bit, line up the white dots with each other and the centre of the target, there was a lot to remember!  I remembered Mr. Badger saying something about squeezing the trigger, like a handshake, rather than just pulling it back. BANG!  BB gun my foot! It had a bigger recoil than I was expecting (due to the BB gun comment) but I'd shot a gun, and survived.  As there were four more bullets in the gun, and you can't put a loaded gun down on the table I didn't have much choice other than to shoot four more times.  One of those times it jammed, and thank goodness that safety officer was there to sort that out.  After that the safety officer stepped back, and I was on my own.

(One of my targets, we'll save the zombie target for another day)

The target was nice and close, but Mr. Badger was still impressed with my Annie Oakley type accuracy.  My big fear of shooting someone else's target (or a wall!) never happened, and each time I moved the target farther away.

47 shots later, and I can say I'm really glad I overcame my fear of guns to try shooting one, and I will probably go back and try a different type of gun.

On a different note, I started Flylady yesterday.  Today was "Get dressed to your shoes" day.  Given that it was Saturday with no dancing or baseball to rush out to I wasn't as motivated as I could have been. Still I did it.  7 a.m. on a Saturday, and I'm sat on the couch putting my sneaker and boot on. Billy Roys asks me where I'm going, and I say "You never know when I might need to jump up and save the day".

"Mama, you're so silly.  Dozie (Rosie the dog) thinks you're silly too".  Nice to know my family is right behind me. They'll love it when I start sticking post-it notes on bathroom mirrors and kitchen walls.

So close to 40!

I was browsing on FB the other day, and a friend's post caught my eye. "I'm creating a list of 40 before 40. What should I add to it?" Wait, what? That sounds interesting!  Then I moved on to my BFF Google, and saw that there were a lot of 40 Before 40 blogs, lists, articles, etc.  I figure that even with my procrastination issues I have a few years to get my list done, so this *could* be possible.  My list is now done, and I have to be honest... I did this for ME.  I'm sure if I'd asked them my husband and my children would have had some helpful suggestions for what I should aspire to do. "Home-made pack lunches, less lunchables" and "Take a tick off the dog instead of texting the husband at work" would probably be on their lists somewhere.  There are some "good for me" experiences on my list, but they are on my terms.  I still have the new year resolutions like lose 20 pounds, write more thank-you notes, and keep my house clean.  I haven't kept to any of those for the past 10 years, so I can't imagine that adding them to this list would help. It's a fine line to come up with a list that is aspirational, but also realistic, and I hope I'm on the right side of that fine line.  At least at this point, I read my list and think that everything on there is possible. So here it is....

1. Make quilts for the kids. Billy Roy's is actually pieced together for the front.  That was done when he was two.  He is now five.  Did I mention I have procrastination issues?!  I also have the material and pattern for the Betty's quilt, so I'm not starting from scratch.
2. Read "A Brief History Of Time".
3. Learn another language.
4. Take a painting class.
5. Run The Warrior Dash. Given that I'm on the couch with my broken ankle propped up, this one is going to have to wait a while.
6. Own a house.  We have a whole sorry saga about house-owning (Moved to a different country, 2 years on the market, sold at a loss).  So yes, I'm approaching 40, and we're saving up for a house.
7. Get painted portrait of the kids.
8. See something on Etsy.  It will count if Mr. Badger buys it, right?
9. Take the kids volunteering.  Betty has done some volunteering with her Daisy troop, but I want to do it as a family.
10. Go camping for a week.  We've done overnight in the back yard, and a weekend, but a week would be great!
11. One week away with Mr. Badger.  My plan is to ship the kids to Granny's house at some point.  We had five days last year, but it was for Mr. Badger's work, so I didn't really see him, it doesn't count!
12. Go to a concert.  I have been to a couple in the last few years (Duran Duran with Mr. Badger, Taylor Swift with the girl), but I want to go to one for *me* (James Taylor, Adele, anyone else who takes my fancy).
13. See a broadway show.  We've lived in N.J. for a couple of years now, and still haven't been, even though we've been into NYC plenty of times.  Mary Poppins is my tentative plan.
14. Hike a mountain.  Haven't done this for years.
15. See one of the seven wonders of the world.  This started off as "Go to Machu Picchu". That is still my top choice.
16. Try Sushi.  Ewwww.  I'm not exactly adventurous when it comes to food.
17. Take a photography class. High school photography was the last class I took, eons ago.
18. Go zip lining. This will be crossed off in July when we go and visit my sister in Northern CA.  I'm dragging Mr. Badger with me.  Poor Mr. Badger (who has a fear of heights).
19. Take the kids to London.  I've been waiting until they are old enough to appreciate it, this is on my to-do list for Summer 2013, or 2014.
20. Do Flylady for 6 months.  I've lost track of how many times I've started.  Sticking with it for 6 months is on my "never done" list.  (Tomorrow will be day one).
21. Create a bedroom I love.  This will have to wait until #6 is ticked off the list.
22. 40 random acts of kindness.
23. Take Billy Roy to a comic book or Lego convention.  Love this boy, he allows me to act like a 12 year old nerdy boy, and it's perfectly acceptable.
24. Raise money, or donate, to an Alzheimer's charity.  
25. Learn all the dance moves to Thriller.  I stole this from someone else's list during my Google search.  I literally LOL'd, so it's made my list.
26. Watch all the Star Wars movies in 1 weekend.  Related to #23.  We may have to wait until Mr. Badger is on a hunting trip.  He is not a fan of a) Star Wars or b) lazing around in pajamas all day.
27. Submit a photo to a photography contest or art show.  I did this as a teenager (I won a ribbon!) Once I've taken that photography class all my photos will be award winning, right?!
28. Get a hammock.  On my to-do list for just about my entire adult life.  We had one in the garden when I was a little girl. I loved that hammock.
29. Shoot a gun.
30. Frame and hang some family photos.  I have thousands of family photos on the computer, and have a psychological block when it comes to decorating a rental house. Given that we have rented a house for five years now, I really need to get over this.
31. Make a three course meal from scratch.  I thought about writing "create a 7 course meal" or "host a dinner party", but I wanted to keep my list somewhat within the realm of possibility.
32. Complete P90X.  A bit like Flylady, I've started P90X twice now, and have yet to finish it (even though I love it).  I can't even remember why I fell off the wagon each time.
33. Go puddle jumping with the kids.  Normally they jump, I stand and watch. 
34. Surprise kids at school for lunch on their own.  This will involve a couple of not-so-white lies (Betty has an orthodontist apt, Billy Roy has a doctor's apt), and an afternoon off work.  It will be worth it (In my head that sounds like when parents say "we WILL have fun today" to whining kids at WDW).
35. Teach each dog one new trick.  Two dogs, but they are both still quite young, so I think I've got a good chance. 
36. Give up soda.  I'll leave this one for a while, it will be embarrassingly hard.
37. Dress up at Halloween.
38. Get the printer set up.  One of the things about moving so much is all the PITA stuff that never actually gets done by the 5th move.  I actually stopped typing this to search for a new dry-cleaners for Mr. Badger.  He just took a photo of the coupon on the website with his blackberry.  So sad, maybe that printer will get set up this weekend.
39. Re-read Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Most favourite book ever.
40. Go to a political rally.  I can't vote, but I still can make a difference!