A Book and a Letter

#10: Read 30 non-academic books.
Well, it's becoming pretty clear that I won't finish this goal in time, unless I can finish 11 books in the next 8 days...not likely. But I'll write about the book I finished most recently anyway.

A few months ago, I was in the mood to read some fiction, and Tom suggested Summer of the Monkeys. It was one of his favorite books as a kid. So I thought "OK, why not?"

Well...I don't think I was quite prepared for how much I would enjoy it. I won't give away any details, but it really is such a great story. I actually found myself tearing up for at least the last two or three chapters, but not sad tears (no, sad tears are apparently for Where the Red Fern Grows by the same author, Wilson Rawls). It's nice to know that there are books like this that can be enjoyed by both kids and adults. I highly recommend it!

#36: Take photos to spell out our last name and frame them.
I was looking at the list the other day and realized I still needed the letters L and E. Then yesterday evening I noticed that the bookcase in our dining area kinda looks like an E, so just one letter to go!

Um...you can see it, right?

Progress on Two, Starting on One

#1: 100 new recipes.

This week I went beyond just ordering fish at restaurants and actually cooked it at home! I found an easy recipe for salmon chowder, and it required a lot of ingredients we already had at home, so I thought "why not?" And it was so, so good.

#36: Spell out our last name in photos.

Can you tell what this is? It's the line between two parallel parking spaces! I took this last weekend, while walking around Clemson (hence the orange) with Tom and Phil. Just two more letters to go!

#84: Read Systematic Theology.
I'm pretty sure most (if not all) people who graduate from Southern Seminary (my husband included) are required to take a systematic theology class, and this is the textbook. I recently decided that I was going to try harder to get a handle on what Tom is learning, and so this has become my new nighttime reading material. And you know, it's not as dry and boring as I thought it would be. I figured it would be full of good stuff, but I wasn't expecting it to be presented in such a non-textbooky way. :)

Workin' On It!

#28: Watch every Best Picture Oscar winner from 1961-2013.
Last week, we watched In the Heat of the Night. I think this is one of my new favorites on the list. I'd never seen a Sidney Poitier movie before, and he was great in this one...especially the famous "They call me Mister Tibbs!" scene. That was one of the AFI's Top 100 film quotes, and if you've seen the movie, you know why. Fantastic.

#13: Use new kitchen gadget at least 10 times.
We had roasted zucchini with dinner the other night, and I got to use my mandolin to slice them up. Then yesterday, I got to use it again, to slice cucumbers and tomatoes for a salad!

#1: 100 new recipes.
When people find out how much I love to cook, one of the questions I get asked most often is: "Do you make Indian food?" Well, now I can finally say "Yes, I do!" Behold: chicken tikka masala!

Ugh...I wish my phone had a better camera. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike this camera? I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture at home the day I made it; this was taken a couple days later, when I took it to work for lunch. Just trust me, the chicken tikka masala tasted a lot better than this picture makes it look.

Well, Labor Day was earlier this week! To celebrate, Tom and I went on a brunch picnic, and I made overnight blueberry french toast. Now, I know, I made overnight apple french toast awhile back, but I think this recipe was different enough for me to count it as a new one.

If you try this recipe, please do me (and yourself) a favor and make the blueberry sauce to pour on top instead of regular syrup. Oh my goodness. So good.

#60: Start a new family tradition.
Actually, we decided to go on a picnic because we did one for Labor Day last year, and it was so much fun, we saw no reason not to keep doing it every year, even after we have kids. *dun dun dun* Hopefully this is the first of many Duttweiler family traditions!

#36: Take photos to spell out our last name and frame them.

While I was out running the other morning, I noticed the end of a rail in our neighborhood and was pleasantly surprised at how much it looked like the letter R. On our way home from our Labor Day "bricnic" (term for a brunch picnic, coined by my mother-in-law), I finally remembered to take a picture of it. I might crop this picture or something before printing it out, but I thought it was a pretty good one, especially since I don't know how many other places I'm going to find this particular letter. R is a tricky one!

Time Off

I've been off work today and yesterday, which is bad in some obvious ways (like...no money?). But I'm making the most of it! I was able to make some more progress on my list!

#27: Put all wedding photos/bridal portraits in frames or albums.
#36: Take photos to spell our last name.
#51: Choose walking over driving at least five times.
The only thing left to do with our wedding photos was the collage for that big frame I got Tom last year. Here it is, in its new home on the wall!

Weird...it looks bigger in person...and more centered.

I wanted to use double-sided tape for the photo collage, and I figured Walgreens would have some. Well, the weather was nice, I had plenty of time, and gas prices just went over $4 a gallon...all the conditions were right for walking, so that's what I did. On my way back, I noticed a possible W for our last name, from this huge tree just outside the entrance to Village Manor.

I say "possible" because I'm still trying to decide if it looks good or just kinda scary. Plus that first big branch is a lot shorter than the others. Oh well...we'll see.

#8: Try Pilates.
I found a Pilates routine on-demand, which was great because it meant I could try it at home...and totally skip the part where I look silly in front of other people who are in much better shape than I am. And I'm so glad I did; that workout kicked my butt. I had to stop about halfway through because I felt like I was going to throw up. Well, my goal was to try it, and I did. It was a really good workout, but I don't know if it's for me...at least not right now. Maybe by the time I work up to being able to do that Tae-Bo workout (#62), I'll be in good enough shape to give Pilates another try.

#28: Watch every Best Picture winner from 1960-2013.
Kramer vs. Kramer was one Oscar winner that Tom didn't feel strongly about seeing, so I watched it while he was at work. I thought it was really good, but boy, did it jerk the ol' heartstrings...I guess that's what happens anytime you have a little kid as one of the main characters.

Terminal Initial

#36: Spell out our last name in photos.

OK, it's probably obvious that this picture was rotated after I took it, but I think it works. And we now have the first letter of our last name! That makes five letters down, and five to go!

Letter Photos!

#36: Take photos to spell out our last name. (4/10)

OK, I don't plan on updating every day for 999 days, but I wanted to write today because Tom found my digital camera, so I can post the pictures I already have for spelling out "Duttweiler." So far I have U, T, E, and I.