19 done ... 33 to go...

What: #73 Run a 10K

When: July 25th
Where: Chicago
Why: For many years, I've run a maximum of a 5K and not a step beyond it. At 3.1 miles, my body knew it was done and it shut off accordingly. For a few years, I did sprint triathlons and did the run after a swim and a bike race, but still, at 3.1 miles, my legs and lungs proceeded to call it quits. This has been fine, until I got it in my head to run the Detroit Half-Marathon in October. It was a decision made entirely without proof that I could run that far, and so I've spent the past few weeks on a training program to push myself to go beyond a 5K distance.

Luckily, an opportunity came up for me to try a 10K in a city that I know is flat enough to not add any additional pressure to increasing my distance. Plus, I had friends that were running the 5K at the same event, so it would be a fun way to see them and to support my university at the Big Ten 10K in Chicago.

Around 6am on the morning of the run, the temperatures were already in the high 70's with high humidity, so there were concerns about how that would impact my run. I wasn't trying to get a personal best, just to reach as many of my 10 goals for my 10K as possible. Those goals were:

1) Finish it
2) Don't be last
3) Drink at every station
4) Be nice to Ohio State people
5) Don't take any selfies during the run
6) Go on the slip-n-slide
7) Keep at least a 14 min/mile pace
8) Don't get hurt
9) Don't pass out
10) Have fun

I accomplished 7 of my 10 goals. I failed at #4 when I saw an Ohio State girl totally cut a corner (oh, it was obvious!) and everyone around me that saw it started trash-talking her and that school and I joined right in on it. I failed at #5 because I have an awesome app that takes cool front/back pictures and I had to use it. I failed at #6 because the line was sooooo long that I couldn't imagine standing around for 10-15 minutes while the rest of the runners left me behind. I almost failed at #9, but luckily I had stashed an emergency granola bar in my pocket to eat when I felt faint. Oh, and I totally accomplished #7 by over a minute per mile!

Feeling pretty good for my first try!

16 done ... 36 to go...

What: #64 Drink a glass of whiskey

When: June 6th
Where: Journeyman Distillery
Why: I blame country music for this one. So many of my favorite songs have lyrics pertaining to shootin' whiskey, pourin' whiskey, sippin' on whiskey...and I started to feel left out of that part of my redneck side. I did once attend a bourbon tasting, but that was really just a tasting...I could barely swallow it. I figured I needed to toughen up and get ready to really enjoy the right kind of whiskey. Luckily, my friend in Chicago knew of a place halfway between us that seemed the perfect place to learn about good whiskey, so we - two of my college roomies, two kiddos (including my videographer), and one awesome husband - met up at Journeyman Distillery in Three Oaks.

To begin, we ordered a flight...five quarter-ounce glasses of whiskey to sample what they offered. The first one was rough; the initial burn caught me off guard.

The second one sounded great - it had hints of fruit and berries - but it tasted the worst. My favorite had a hint of vanilla and felt smoother going down. I'll admit, I used to think people that talked about drinks as "smooth" were rather pretentious, but after drinking whiskey, that adjective makes sense!

I paired my whiskey with a nice grilled cheese to clean my palate between each sip. I think that's the best way to go!

Thirty-nine done ... 13 to go...

What: #55 Make my own ice cream

When: November 8th
Where: Sonia's kitchen
Why: This past New Year's Eve, I was with friends discussing the results of my 2013 list, and doing so over homemade ice cream that my friend Amanda's husband had made from scratch. He said it was pretty do-able (altho, he is a very skilled dessert maker at a much higher level than I'll ever be), and he suggested that I add it to my new list, so I included it and finally got around to checking it off.

Sonia's kitchen has also been the location of a previous cooking venture and so I was familiar with the basic lay-out and materials I'd be using. This time, I had done all of the grocery shopping myself based on an amazing recipe she found for an ice cream flavor that she wanted to make for her husband, Mighel. I was honored - and quite nervous - to be the "chef" (or would it be more like dairymaid?) preparing this dessert for him, and others who were visiting for the evening of watching Michigan football.

The custard part of the ice cream took about 30 minutes to make, then it had to chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours, and then Mighel got out their KitchenAid mixer (in an awesome bright orange color!) and the ice cream maker bowl and attachment, and after about 30 more minutes, it was ready to serve. Allison, another Michigan fan/friend, was visiting and brought Nutella-filled cupcakes (as incredibly delicious as they sound!), and those paired extremely well with the ice cream for a wonderful post-game dessert!