Week #4-"Do something meaningful for someone every day."

This mysterious challenge came from my former neighbor, Andy Vigue (www.facebook.com/andy.vigue).

Sunday night, when I pulled this challenge out of the proverbial hat, I had a little debate about the definition of meaningful and how would I know if I had accomplished the challenge.

After all, doing something meaningful for someone is a bit subjective. What I might think of as important or purposeful, may be insignificant and meaningless to the receiver. And it's not like I could ask, "Do you think I just did something meaningful for you? I have to know so I can blog about it." If I did that, then certainly what ever I did would loose it's value.

So, after getting a little perspective and insight from a few of my favorite people, I decided whatever I did would count if I considered it meaningful. Chances are, it would be to the receiver.

I think I was successful...except on Wednesday, which was a bad day, a very bad day!

But the rest of the week I did meaningful things like...listen to a friend...take in dinner to a neighbor...run an errand for my brother...make sure someone was warm...put salt on the walk for a neighbor...compliment a stranger...offer to help a friend in need...express my appreciation to someone who helped me.

I discovered it's not hard and doesn't take a lot of effort to do something meaningful. It may take a little time, but I think that adds value to the meaningful action. After all, isn't time truly something significant to give in our busy, busy lives?

Week #3-"Get a manicure!"

Don't mind if I do.  And while I'm at it, I'll get a pedicure too.

So, here are a couple of random things you might not know about me as it relates to mani/pedi activities:

1. Yes, I will pay to have someone else do my nails. I don't like doing my own nails. It's too messy and frustrating when I smudge them.
2. I'll pay extra for hot wax and a good foot massage. 
3. I'm not a fan of chipped paint. Really...how hard can it be to remove finger nail polish?
4. I'm a fan of men getting a mani/pedi...there is nothing wrong with clean, neat nails (especially toe nails) on a man. Don't knock it until you've tried it!
5. I'm not really into getting a design, flower, heart, or jewel on my nails. I like my nails with just the polish. (I made an exception this time.)
6. One of my favorite people to get a pedicure with is my cousin Rachel. It’s a bit of a tradition when she’s visiting from Italy.
7. I love the names of nail polish. I'll not only pick the color based on the color, but also the name. The color I picked this time is called "Midnight in Russia".
8. I'm a little obsessive about matchy, matchy...unless no one will see my toes (i.e. winter time) or I get clear polish on my finger nails (then my toes can be any color).
9. I'm still not sure I understand the trend of painting the tips of your nail a different color.
10. I like my nails short. I get a little anxious when they're too long. Especially my toe nails. So weird, I know.

Here's a photo of my Midnight in Russia finger and toes! The question mark design on my toe is to celebrate...2013 Year of Mystery.  Let me just say, it raised a few questions at the salon!

As I post these pictures, I'm reminded how weird feet and toes look.

P.S. This was an easy one. Week #4 is a bit of a challenge because it's a little subjective. But I'm looking forward to it!

Week #2--"Visit a town more than 50 miles away and explore Main Street."

So, my friend Annette joined me on this adventure and we headed for Spring City, UT, which is the geographical center of Utah (or close to it). It's also a fun artist community where many of the homes have been restored to their pioneer architectural charm.

Spring City is named after the natural spring which bubbles up in the middle of town. The water was crisp, but surprisingly not ice cold.

In addition to some very charming and beautiful homes and buildings along Main Street and the surrounding streets, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Das Cafe. Had my first Kraut Burger with bacon and brie--DELICIOUS!!!

The adventure almost surpassed the requirement of costing less than $50 when I was pulled over for speeding on the drive home.  Luckily, just a warning!

What a fun way to start the Year of Mystery!

Drinking from the Spring

Das Cafe...Delicious!!

The Kraut Burger...oh my!

Main Street

Love it!

The Theater

Main Street

LDS Chapel

The school being restored.

Bishop's Store House

The Firehouse

Fresh Eggs

The stove

Inside Das Cafe

Daughters of the Utah Pioneers

And So It Begins...

Week #1--Starting a Year of Mystery

It started with my sister asking what my theme was for 2013 and my brother-in-law suggesting a year of mystery.

So then, I did a little crowd sourcing with my friends on Facebook with the following post...

And thus we commence 2013 "the year of mystery". Time for some crowd sourcing on FB. I need 100+ fun things to do this year. Here's the rules...can't cost more than $50. Can't take longer than 1 week to accomplish. Can't be illegal or outside my standards. I'm going to throw all the ideas into a hat and pull one out each week. That's where the mystery comes in! And if I pull your idea out of the hat I'll take a picture, post it to FB, and give you the credit!

And The Year Of Mystery begins. And this blog is where I'll be journaling the mysterious things I do each week.  At the end of the year, I'll make it into a book.

Oh, and if you want to add an idea to the hat, feel free to post it in the comments here or on my Facebook page.