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What: #56 Do a paint-n-pour outing

When: May 21, 2016
Where: The local Paint and Pour studio

Why: For special lady night!! The idea started when my friend Susie suggested a girlie weekend in Ann Arbor, doing the things we miss doing now that she lives on the east side of the state. As we were planning our list of fun outings, getting to check off this item seemed like a good idea and so we invited a few of our other friends to join us.

Our painting instruction started with wetting the canvas, then painting it white. I was feeling pretty competent at that start, so handled those two steps with ease. Then, we had to create the sky for our background by blending blue into our white canvas, and I feel like I had a pretty good handle on that, too. In fact, that was probably the part I was the best at doing, so if you ever need a sky painted on a ceiling or a mural, let me know!

Next, we had to put on the tree trunk and main branches, and here is where my intense rule-following tendencies really went to battle with the artistic flow of the instructions. I tried to copy the exact pattern of the example painting, altho I did try to break the mold by doing it in brown instead of black.

It turns out, however, that making brown is REALLY difficult! I started with orange, and tried to add blue to make it brown, but it kept looking green-ish. I finally got it right, but hadn't made enough in that batch, so I didn't feel like I could add much to my tree without the colors being very different. I know in real life, tree trunks are many colors, but this tree needed just one similar tone, and I couldn't get it.

Then, we were told to add leaves. A woman behind me asked "How many?" and as I strained to hear the answer, I caught the instructor saying that it did not matter. Obviously, the woman behind me was of the same rule-following mindset as me, and we needed parameters! Alas, we had to just go for it.

Then, we added flowers. Most people chose pink or white, but I went for orange! See, I'm already breaking rules!

Our finished products all have similar features, but I loved seeing how we each interpreted the assignment just a little bit differently based on our skills and personalities!

I know that many people have already done similar events - in fact, 4 of the 6 of us had done one before - but it was still a lot of fun to spend a night out, letting our creative minds take over, drinking to the word "moist", and generally having a great time out together!
 

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What: #42 Host a game night for friends

When: December 3rd
Where: The living room
Why: A part of my personality is that I tend to be content hanging out on my own, and gravitate towards quiet evenings to decompress from hectic days at work. When invitations to go out for social engagements come up, I do accept because I truly enjoy being around friends and meeting new people, but I just don't usually create those opportunities in my own home (my sanctuary!). Recently, I wanted to get together with two groups of my girlfriends, and a game night seemed like a fun way to chat, laugh, and spend a nice evening on my couch with friends.

After buying some snacks and popping some popcorn, I got out the evening's entertainment. This particular group of friends is perfectly suited for a raucous card game, so that's what we played. I had a fun music mix playing, too, so we had background tunes to enjoy. If you haven't played the game before, I highly recommend it with a group of your girlfriends; but be warned that you may need to look up a definition or two on your smartphone for an educational experience you weren't expecting to get!

My next game night might include any friends willing to play dorky board games, so let me know if you are interested!

Forty-one down...11 to go...

What: #50 Bake a loaf of homemade bread

Where: My friend's gorgeous kitchen
When: November 24

Why: One of my favorite magnets on my refrigerator states "Domestically Disabled" and that really applies to my kitchen skills. I can boil water. Make toast. And instant oatmeal. Beyond that, I don't have much interest in other cooking skills, which I think stem from my dislike of the grocery store, so there isn't really much to cook with in my cupboards or fridge. So, when soliciting ideas for this list last fall, many suggestions from friends included learning to cook or bake. I do love really good bread, so this seemed like the benefit of the end result would outweigh any misery I'd face in having to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Luckily, my friend knows how much I dislike the grocery store, so she procured all of the necessary ingredients before we started.

 The whole process took a lot longer than I realized (another reason I don't enjoy cooking), but it was more like a science experiment with all the yeast magic and rising that went on during the 5 hours that the bread took from dough to loaf. And we got to punch the dough, which was nice for getting out some frustration. Plus, it was really cool to have a finished product I had actually created, and my friend's recipe for bread is delicious, so this was a great item to cross off the list!

Thirty-seven down...15 to go...

What: #68  Host a party at my house

When: Oct 27th
Where: My place
Why: Other than a catered housewarming party when I moved in years ago, I have not been the hostess of any other gathering. I'm just not the hostess type. My skills are not those of a domestic individual. I keep a nice home, I feed myself, I decorate in my own way, but party planning does not appeal to me. Lately, however, I've felt that I wanted a chance to get some of my friends from different circles together to mingle and used the idea I found in a magazine to construct a party idea to do it. It was a clothes swap, something some of my friends and I do very informally on lots of occasions, but nothing ever formal. Today changed that! Everyone was encouraged to bring up to 10 items they were tired of wearing, but that were still perfectly good pieces and would be a fresh addition to our closets.
So, we shared some good stories, watched some big sports games (not very girlie, but important during football/world series season), and I think everyone left with something new they are excited to wear!