Forty-eight done ... 4 to go...

What: #54 Wear fake eyelashes to work

When: December 19th
Where: My workplace
Why: It seems that everyone is wearing fake eyelashes these days. Whether it's for a dinner out with friends, or something fancier, it isn't just for Hollywood starlets anymore. I blame Zooey Deschanel. Her amazing eyelashes on "New Girl" and the covers of her albums are so luscious (I really just said that) and the envy of those of us without A) our own natural luscious lashes or B) the ability to put on fake lashes. The only time I wore fake eyelashes before was for my high school dance recital. The effect was a disaster. It was a phase in life where all of us girls were trying to wear too much make up, and I think I could barely open my eyelids, which is quite a hindrance when you're trying to hit your marks on a stage. After that, I just found the perfect combo of eyeliner and mascara to help me achieve a slightly more realistic look, but one that still serves to create enough of a difference in my eye appearance that I look quite haggard in any no-eye-makeup pics of myself. 

So, the last day of work before the holidays arrived, and I still hadn't checked this one off the list. And, to be fair, I still don't think I technically stuck to the intent of this one...it's the preposition "to" that got in my way. I tried to get up in the morning to put them on myself, but it wasn't happening. At all. So, I took all of my supplies to work with me and around lunch time, sent my co-worker a text saying, "Weirdest question of the day...can you help me put on fake eyelashes today?" She called to make sure she had correctly understood my text - pretty safe to do with auto-correct running rampant these days - and then told me she could try to help. I honestly thought she had done this before because I've seen her looking extremely glamorous at different events leading up to her wedding and on the day itself, so I assumed she had worn eyelashes. 

Well, she couldn't do it, and I couldn't do it, so we enlisted the help of another co-worker...and added to the list of people experiencing my humiliation. This time, we were able to get them both on, but they had been pulled off and re-glued so many times that they were still pretty hard to get to line up with my own lash line. I ended up wearing them only through my lunch and for a walk down the hallway, but couldn't keep them on much longer because it did look pretty silly. I'll have to try next year, maybe to make myself wear them for a WHOLE DAY at work.


 

Forty-seven done ... 5 to go...

What: #23 Buy a bobblehead

When: December 18th
Where: Amazon, of course
Why: I'm not really a knick-knack collector, but I've seen more and more bobbleheads at stores and on people's desks and shelves and it seemed like such a fun item. A lot of bobbleheads these days can be made to look like someone in particular, but the most fun bobbleheads are the ones that are cultural icons - whether old Presidents or even Yoda - who are made to look so silly. The bobblehead that I bought is a gift for a friend, so I don't want to give too much away in case she reads this post. I will say that it was much bigger and more detailed than I was expecting, so that's a fantastic bonus!

Forty-six done ... 6 to go...

What: #97 Enroll in a class at a community college

When: December 16th
Where: WCC

Think I can do it?

Why: I'm so fortunate to live in a community with amazing educational resources, including two incredible universities and a highly regarded community college. Having taken classes at both of the universities (one full time, one as a summer student), I thought I should complete the trifecta by attending a class at the community college. My initial plan was to take a motorcycle licensing class, but the one weekend it was offered is the same weekend as my friend's wedding, so that didn't work out. Instead, I thought it would be a great idea for me to gain some real DIY skills. I'm pretty nervous around electricity, so I think plumbing is the best place for me to start gaining some home repair skills. I know that the one room in my home I'd like to remodel is the bathroom, so this might help me to achieve a much better look...maybe even a sink-toilet combo!

It's official!

Forty-five done ... 7 to go...

What: #74 Buy a plant for my home or workplace

When: December 12th
Where: English Gardens
Why: I have a spider plant that has grown into two separate large plants, both from a cutting that I took about 15 years ago from my mom's spider plant. I smuggled this plant into California with me when I moved there years ago, and have tended to it ever since then. Lucky for me, it is extremely adaptable, very forgiving, and so easy to take care of that even I can keep it alive, and at times, even thriving! The idea of bringing another plant to care for into the house seemed cruel; surely I'd kill it off with neglect within weeks. Yet, as I thought ahead to that day in January that I'd put away my holiday greenery and be faced with the post-holiday blahs, I thought it might be nice to have additional greenery around the house to make the transition less abrupt. This idea took even greater root (haha!) when my friends wanted to have a crafting party and terrariums were mentioned as a possible project to make together. 

I headed to the local gardening store - English Gardens - and found succulents and cacti and fancy gravel and glass containers to use, and with my friend's charcoal and soil mixture, and the added bonus of my other friend's forethought to purchase little sculptures to put in our terrariums, we were able to put them together without too much trouble. The layering of heights and type of plant to put in may take some finesse that I don't have yet, but for the cost of one fancy terrarium, we made four, so I was very pleased with our finished products!

Fancy terrariums at Nest in Detroit

Forty-four done ... 8 to go...

What: #28 Play at the batting cages

When: December 7th
Where: Macomb Batting Cages
Why: Growing up, I played soccer, but never little league. I remember watching my brother play tee-ball, and definitely had baseball mitts and balls that we tossed around playing catch in the yard, but I don't recall many times, if ever, that I actually hit a baseball with a bat. In fact, the most memories I have of my time on a baseball diamond involve playing kickball as a kid at recess, watching olde timey baseball as an adult, or wandering the field as a fan at Comerica Park.

So, my friend also has this on her list of things to do this year, which made me feel better about it being a legitimately cool thing to do! Sometimes, it seems that I'm the only person doing these new things and dragging everyone along with me, but this one was helping us both! After a fun morning at the Urban Craft Fair, we switched it up to do something more physical and headed north of Detroit to a batting cage that we found was indoor, thus still open during the winter time. 

It wasn't what I expected at all...just a big open warehouse with nets dividing the batting lanes (are they called lanes?). We were escorted into the equipment room to choose bats, batting gloves, and helmets...none of which I had any idea of how to do. After choosing based on fashion more than function (not a great plan), I strutted out to the plate. The two pitching machines we had were for slow pitch softball and fast pitch baseball. I started off with slow pitch and could barely hit anything. Luckily, my friends were all giving me good pointers for my form (elbows up, feet aligned to the bag, and follow through the swing), and by the next round, I was improved enough to hit the fast balls.
 
 The fast balls seemed terrifying to me, whizzing at me and ready to send painful vibrations down my hands and into my arms anytime I made contact with the ball. How to professionals do this day after day? I guess the millions they make allows them to afford fancy ice packs for their sore hands. Still, I am in awe of batters staring down a 100-mile-per-hour fast ball when I was skittish around a 60 mph pitch!

Often, I determine if I'll do something again from the list, and this is one that I think I'd do a few more times. It was fun with friends, and fun to improve, so I'd like to keep it up and maybe play for fun one of these summers!