Achievement 1 of 7: Sample Seven Different Spirits That Start with S

March 26 (27), 2011....the S goal started.

On Saturday/Sunday, Steve S. (aka Stevada) served Sarah a Seagram's Seven and Seven. Sarah said the drink was probably popular for those over 70, but later learned that Seagram's Seven Crown became popular in the 70's, thus making is a popular spirit for those in their 60's.

This was Sarah's first Seagram 7 and 7.

Stevada served Sarah a Seagram's 7 and 7

Achievement 1 of 12: Worship at a church once per month

On March 20, 2011 I attended the 8:30am Mass at my home church- St. Theresa. 1 down 11 more to go. I have failed to update my blog as to why I chose this goal but I eventually will so this write-up is about the achievement.

On Saturday (March 19th) I had planned to go to the 10am or 11am mass since I work part-time at a bar and didn't know what time I would get home (usually between 2 and 3am). I ended up getting home at 4am so I googled the Mass schedule and found out there was an 8:30am, a 10:00am and an 11:30am Mass. 11:30am was just a tad too late for me and I knew the 10:00am Mass would be filled with (annoying) children. So at 4:12am I set my alarm for 7:24am to make the 8:30am Mass.

And I made it! I was proud of myself when I got to the parking lot a 8:17am only to see that the parking lot looked sparse. Then I started wondering if the Mass schedule was wrong that I had looked up, maybe they had cancelled for a funeral???  I soon saw 2 couples walk in so I felt relieved and walked in to the church. I'll spare you on why I am no long a fan of this church (remodeled it a while back and it's not the church that I once knew by any means)...that's not why we go to church, right?

Church soon filled up. Only spotted  3 children under 10, the rest were well over my parents' age. The music wasn't great (we all go to church for the music, right?) but the homily was wonderful. The pastor went on a little too long at one point but the key things that I remember are:

• the first and second  (March 20th) Sundays of Lent are the most important- they set the pace for the rest of Lent
• Theme: transcend
• Don't let the Devil make your life content
• The pastor used the analog of Thanksgiving dinner. We stuff ourselves selfishly with food on Thanksgiving and then we fall asleep to the world.
• If we let the Devil make ourselves content meaning we give ourselves everything we want all the time (all the food, all the material things, etc), then we get so full of this stuff and fall asleep to God. We don't think we need Him because we have everything we think we need. And we start to believe that our lives here are better than the life beyond.
• It's okay to be pensive
• and worry about not having everything we may think we need. If we have God, we do have everything.  The life beyond this one will fill us more than the Devil can on Earth. 

There was so much more but I that's what I remember the most. I hope my explanation made sense. And lastly, here's the photo of the church bulletin as proof that I attended church. But we all know that having the bulletin doesn't always mean you sat through Mass...;) (inside childhood joke/memory with my sisters- ask me via the comment section and I'll explain).

Achievement 1: Eat at an Indian Restaurant

On March 18, 2011 I achieved my first of thirty goals. I had the lunch buffet with my friend, Tina, at Gaylord's to celebrate our March birthdays. Gaylord's has been recommended to me several times throughout the past few years as a great Indian Restaurant. I was skeptical about going to a buffet for Indian as I wasn't sure the dishes I like from the my Swad meals (click here to read about my only Indian/Swad meal experiences) would be on the buffet. I was pleasantly surprised. My spinach paneer was the first thing I saw. Then came lentils, eggplant, and spicy chicken. The fried dough balls soaked through with a sugar sauce were not as good as they looked, but the strawberry ice cream and rice pudding were delicious. I will definitely be taking my friends there to introduce more people to Indian food.

F, G, H: How I Came Up with Them

F: Finish the 10-mile Soldier Field race on May 28th. The 10-mile Soldier Field Race is a HUGELY attended RUNNING race that falls on Memorial Weekend every year. My older sister did this 3 (?) years ago and loved it. She is not a runner, decided to train for this race, and completed it by crossing the 50 yard line IN Soldier Field. She was even on the GUMBOTRON. She stopped running after this race. She had 'been there done that'- why continue to run?

Anyone who knows me has heard this from me various times, "I cycle. I do not run." Well...I must have temporarily went insane when I decided to sign up for the 10-mile race with the same sister who had 'been there done that'. I started training in early December when I had conveniently started a "12 Days of Running" program at my work (we roughly followed Couch to 5k training). At the beginning, I sucked. I could hardly complete week 4. But through the training program at work, I befriended a young man who joined the program to lose a few pounds. We started to run together. He would tell me I was his motivation, but soon he became the motivation I needed to get my ass on the treadmill when I didn't feel like it.

Since December, I have become extremely preoccupied with work and work and play so my training has lessened. My best training days have been running 2.5 miles without stopping (note: running for 90 seconds used to be hard for me). 2nd best training day was running 1 mile, then walking 1 minute. I did this 4 times. I felt ggggggggggggreat!

You may ask, "Sarah, you ROCK on the bike and ALL fitness training you do. How do you suck so much at running?" My answer: "I suck at running because I refuse to love it." A more scientific answer: All people are built differently. Not everyone is built (muscularly) to run, swim, cycle, weight train, etc. Some people will inevitably excel in certain sports due to their muscle build. I am built for power (cycle and weight training)- not so much endurance running. So this is a (good) challenge for me. And as for 'loving' what you do or train for, I am slowly starting to enjoy running....love running? I'm working on it.

I am back on the treadmill but keep getting sick. So I'll try to update when I am back up to running roughly 4 miles without stopping....

G: Go on a blind date. I have never been on a real blind date where a friend sets you up with someone who swears is perfect for you. I have never had a huge desire to go on a blind date, but my friend, Megan, came up with this idea and I wanted to make her happy :). She said she'd volunteer to find the guy for me too! 

But you may be asking, "Sarah, what if you're in a relationship the entire 365 days? How will you go on a blind date?" Sarah answers: It will be fantastic if I am in a relationship during my last days in my 20s. If I do find myself in this situation, I have a few ideas on how I can still achieve this goal....

H: Host a dinner at my place. I have lived in my condo for 2 years and have never invited anyone over for dinner. I have also never used my brand new dishwasher until this weekend. I have used my oven MAYBE twice and the stove about 10 times.

My condo is spacious enough and nice enough to host a dinner. I have just never invited people over for a 'house-warming party". I hope it's okay that it's 2 years later!!?!?!?

D, D, E: How I Came Up Them

D: Decorate the main wall in the living room. I have lived in my condo for almost 2 years with a completely bare living room wall. I am told that I have "the perfect wall for a huge flat screen tv". Yippee skippy. Too bad I don't watch tv, have cable, or have the patience to sit still long enough to enjoy a television program or movie.

So I have been searching high and low for ideas on what to do with this 8 foot wide wall (see photo). Do I put up an Alcasien photo from my travels in Europe, get a trendy piece of metal artwork, or opt for a massive self-portrait ;) hmm...not a bad idea....

Yes, those are my birthday cards and books that I received for my birthday which will be added onto the book list :)


D: Develop an understanding for tasting and identifying wine and beer through blind tastings. I'm kicking myself for not listening to my father who tired to teach me all the different types of beers and wines that are available to all of us at local bars, restaurants, and stores when I was younger. My father has a large interest in beverages and would often try to pass on his interests to me or my siblings. At the time, I found it abnormal to care about the "banana-ey, citrus essence that lingered on the palate". Now, I am embarrassed to say that I am 29 and have no idea if something has a good "finish", what the difference is between an ale, a pilsner, and a lager, and I cannot decipher nor distinguish (note the D's) the flavor profile of any wine or beer.

With the help of my father, the fine folks at Bauer's Brauhaus, and my own tasting adventures, this is sure to be an educational and enlightening experience.

Note: The 2nd "D" goal is the 1st of 4 randoms.



E: Eat at an Indian Restaurant. I can't pinpoint how I stumbled upon "Ready to Eat" Swad Indian Food by Raja Foods. I was probably shopping on an empty stomach at a local Caputo's or Eurofresh when I found myself in the Indian aisle. I was also probably trying to find something that was new to my tongue, low in calories, and easy on the wallet (not uncommon). The pictures of the food on the box of these "ready to eat" items looked fantastic and the ingredients where items I had had before, so what could be so horrible? As I was trying to figure out if I should try these Swad products, an Indian woman approached me and told me that the Paneer Jalfrezi was delicious. With the sale price of $.99, I couldn't pass up this opportunity to try some processed food. For those who know me, I don't 'do' processed/pre-packaged foods. (Nor should any of us make this a habit).

The Indian woman was so right. The Paneer Jalfrezi was spicy and delicious. After realizing that the 'ready to eat' food would never look like the photo on the box (think baby food/pureed food consistency), I still got hooked on the fine cuisine.

After many processed envelopes of the Swad product (the food comes in microwaveable plastic envelopes), I asked a friend to go with me to an Indian restaurant so I could get my Paneer Jalfrezi 'fix' to find out how it was really supposed to taste and look like. We made it to a highly recommended restaurant only to find out it was now a buffet only Indian restaurant. I also don't 'do' buffets especially when the food items are foreign to me. So that trip to the Indian restaurant failed as we left and ended up eating boatloads of popcorn at the movie theater for dinner, but I hope my next venture to another Indian restaurant will be a success....

As of right now, I am slated to go to an Indian Restaurant for lunch with a friend to celebrate our March birthdays on March 18th. I'll keep you posted....

A, B, C: How I came up with them

Before March 7th hits, I'm going to make sure to explain how/why I chose the goals that I would like to achieve in 365 days. Some of the explanations will be short while others might have a lengthy story that leads up to the reason...I'll try to spare you as many details as possible.

A: Attend a Cubs and White Sox game. I have been to a couple of Cubs games and 1 White Sox game. I only remember going to 3 Cubs games- 1 with my sisters and cousin (and I believe my grandmother and mom), 1 with my parents in the bleachers (possibly with my sisters) (P.S. if any family members are reading, please comment on who else was there to refresh my memory), and 1with the Foreign Exchange Club in high school when I hosted a French student. I went to a White Sox game at the new Cellular Park when I was around 21 and had a fun time. Don't remember watching the game though.
My only memory of the Cubs game as a child with my two older sisters and my cousin, Zandra, are only this "Juan, Juan he's our muan. If he can't do it, no one cuan!" So as much as I love that one memory of the Cubs game, I would like to go to a Cubs and White Sox game as an adult. Then maybe I can truthfully answer which team I prefer....


B: Brave the wild and go camping. Prior to me make the 30 goals alphabetical, this goal was just "Go camping". How boring. So I made it sound a little more adventurous by having to 'brave the wild'. I have gone camping many times with my parents and sisters as a youth. I loved camping, but my sisters hated it.
I have many memories of camping with my family:
1. 5 of us in a 5 person dome tent- we all know that a 5 person tent really means 2-3. I always sleeping at the 'top of the tent' with a rock in my back or leg every time we camped. And we did not use blow up mattresses- that's not camping folks!
2. Making crawdad traps,putting them out late at night, eating s'mores, falling asleep, and then checking on the traps in the middle of the night.  Then ripping their heads off and watching them crawl around on the table headless.
3. Red sand and Moab
4. Sleeping on a boat that was docked on a beach while our parents slept on the beach..what if we sailed away?
5. Tons more too!

I plan to go camping somewhere in the 'wild', but if time runs out or if none of my friends or family members are up for a camping adventure than I will count that I achieved this goal, brave the wild and go camping, if I set up my pink tent (sleeps 3) in my backyard or at my parents' yard. :) There are wild animals out there! And it's not like I have never camped in the backyard either....


C: Complete my first triathlon: I rock at cycling. Anyone who knows how hard I train on my bike knows I would kill in any competition. One hold up though: Sport Performance Anxiety. I choke up. So I'm going to try to over come that anxiety by signing up and completing a triathlon. I've signed up for one before but never ended up doing it because I psyched myself out. Anyone want to do one with me???