The check engine light is on

For this week’s challenge I decided to get my hands a little dirty and learn how to change the oil in a car. Back again to help out was my buddy Steve. It’s not that I think I might take up changing my own oil on a regular basis it’s just something that I thought might be a good idea to know how to do if the occasion ever arose requiring me to know how to complete this particular task. But enough chit chat, away we go…

Once when I was about 17 or 18 my dad thought I should know how to change my own oil and proceeded to teach me on my car in the driveway at home. Now teenage me did not have the appreciation for how useful this might be and did not pay one bit of attention. Besides, I didn’t want to wreck my freshly painted nails so I just nodded and said “ok” at the appropriate times until the lesson was over. Little did I know this would end up on a list of things I wanted to accomplish years later. 

Steve has access to a garage that includes a pit especially for changing oil so I wasn’t going to have to roll around underneath the chosen automobile. While I’ve aged some years I still don’t really want to get dirty unless it’s absolutely necessary so the pit was a definite plus. So last week after work I met Steve up in San Antonio (Florida, not Texas!) and followed him to his parent’s house where the garage with the said pit was located. If I didn’t know Steve as well as I do I would have thought he was luring me out to an isolated area to make me into a skin suit. Luckily for me, Steve isn’t really the skin suit wearing kind of guy!

Once we got to his parent’s house Steve changed into a handy dandy jumpsuit which was just perfect for changing oil. I already had on clothes I didn’t mind getting dirty so there was no need for me to don a jumpsuit. But I did bring my gardening gloves so I could keep my mani intact. What can I say, some things never change. Now I just got the oil in my car changed last week when I had to make an unexpected trip to the mechanic’s shop after a dead battery incident so we were going to change the oil on Steve’s car. Which worked out perfectly because if I’d had to go to the auto parts store to pick up the supplies I would have been clueless.

Steve and his jumpsuit

After getting the car properly situated over the pit we climbed down in there so we could get started. Steve very thoroughly explained how oil works in the engine and what happens when you don’t change it when you ought to. Surprisingly enough I’ve let my car go a wee bit longer than I should before making it down to the shop and I was familiar with the rattling Steve described when you let it go too long. Oops.

Moving on, Steve showed me where the plug thingy was and we got started on unscrewing it and getting a pan underneath to catch all the oil. Once the oil had drained we put on the new filter. I have to say it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it was going to and there was a lot more oil in the pan that I thought there would be. I’m not exactly sure why I thought there wouldn’t be that much oil in the car but I just did. In my head oil changes were needed because all the old oil had disappeared somewhere which necessitated new oil being put in. Not at all how it works but that’s how I pictured it. Oh well.

draining the oil

 

Now for the final part. We found a funnel and I got started pouring all the oil into the car. And presto, we were all done! Now for the cleanup and a kind of funny story. Before you all think I’m a terrible person for laughing at what I’m about to tell you let me assure y’all I was given permission to include this in the blog. As we were cleaning up, Steve went to pick up the oil pan to drain it and his cell phone fell out of the pocket of his jumpsuit and landed right in the still full oil pan! After a split second of utter shock, Steve plunged his gloveless hand into the hot oil to retrieve the phone. After getting the majority of the oil off it we gave it a test to see if it was still alive and wouldn’t you know it, it was! So lesson of the day, submerging your Iphone in motor oil does not completely ruin it.

Adding the new oil

 

I don’t think my mechanic shop needs to worry about losing my business every 3,000-5,000 miles or so but I’m super glad that I know how to change my own oil should the need present itself. Thanks again Steve!  

 

 

Surf's Up aka Shark Week

Now that I’m back on track with crossing things off the list I thought I’d tackle one of the bigger challenges. Surfing. Funny that I should pick this task to complete on the very day Shark Week started but I’ll get to that later on. This past weekend I, along with a few friends including my friend James, who is a surfing instructor extraordinaire, caravanned out to Cocoa Beach. The whole week had been so dreary with rain that we were all worried the weather was going to ruin our day. Fortunately, Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous day for the beach and the conditions were great for catching some waves.

Cocoa Beach is about two hours away from Tampa and we left around 8:00 a.m. and arrived a little after 10:30a.m. Our first stop, after the mandatory breakfast at Chick fil A of course, was the surf shop down by the beach so we could rent some boards. The guys at the surf shop were super cool and let my friend Julie and I borrow rash guards so we wouldn’t get burned. We didn’t have our own to bring and probably would have completely fried without them so they were a total godsend. Out of the whole group of seven there were four of us who hadn’t surfed before so James got us set up with boards that were nine feet long. Apparently the longer the board the easier it is to learn on.

After getting the boards loaded up into the car which was a lot more difficult that one would think we finally got out to the beach. If you think surfing might be hard let me tell you it wasn’t nearly as tricky as getting all your beach stuff and the board out onto the beach! I’m about 5’3 on a good day so trying to balance the nine feet long surfboard on my head along with carrying my beach bag, cooler, and chair was slightly problematic. Thank goodness for boys because after seeing the trouble I was having my friend Tommy swapped boards with me since his was a lot smaller and less awkward to carry. Eventually my sweaty self made it out to the beach and unloaded all my baggage. Being a total girl I had to take a few pictures before getting in the water and taking on the look of a drowned rat. Check us out…..

Julie, Loren, and Me

The crew

catching a wave

 

Onto the exciting part. James gives us a few tips while on dry land before we hit the waves and then we were off to the ocean. I’ve been a Florida girl my whole life but most of my beach trips are to the Gulf of Mexico. I don’t think I’ve ever actually swam in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a lot colder than the Gulf that’s for sure but by the time we sting ray shuffled into the water it felt fantastic. Once we got out far enough we jumped on our boards so that we were lying down and started paddling out further into the water. Once we got out past where the waves were breaking we were able to sit up on our boards and get used to the feeling. I could have stayed that way forever. It was so peaceful just sitting there on our boards in the water watching the waves roll in but that’s not why we came out there. We came out to surf and that’s what we were going to do! Well, we were at least going to try. Haha! We had to paddle up closer to the beach in order to “catch a wave” so that’s what we did. Once we saw a wave coming in we had to paddle as fast as we could in order to “catch” it and ride it into shore. After a few failed attempts to catch a wave I finally got one and was able to ride it in while lying on the board. I could believe how fast I was going! It probably wasn’t all that fast but it sure felt like it. I tried it a couple of more times while lying down and then finally got up the courage to try making it to my knees. I was able to ride a couple of waves in on my knees and it was the coolest thing!

By this time we had been out in the water for a couple of hours so we decided it was time for a little break and we headed up to the beach. I don’t know what exactly is in the sand over in Cocoa Beach but holy guacamole it was hot. I’ve scampered over some pretty hot sand but this was ridiculous. The skin was melting off my feet it was so hot. I think I screamed and threw down my board to make a run for my towel. After a short break it was time to head out again but by the time we got in the water we heard the lifeguards aka Baywatch whistling for everyone to come to shore. Now I’ll explain the Shark Week reference. Apparently there had been a shark attack pretty close to where we had been surfing. The beach was closed down for about 30 minutes while everything got back under control. As crazy as it sounds we could not wait to get back in the water even with the shark sighting. I guess it’s the out of sight out of mind mentality because you know they’re out there swimming all around you but if you don’t see them it’s like they aren’t there. Later we found out that a little girl had been attacked while wading in the water with her parents. The shark got her on her leg and she was taken to the hospital. While we were waiting to get the green light to go back in the water we did get to scope out the Baywatch guys strutting their stuff along the beach! Ha!

Once we got the ok to head back out it was later in the afternoon so the waves were picking up a lot more than they were in the morning. Altogether James says we were in about two to four foot waves that day. It doesn’t sound like a lot but think of something that high over your head coming straight at you and it seems like more of a big deal. Since I’m so short I kept having a problem getting back out past where the waves were breaking and kept getting swept back to shore. That was the most frustrating part of the day though. James took pity on me and helped me get further out in the water so I could keep trying to surf. At the end of the day though I managed to stand up on my board once. Only for a second or two but for me that was a huge accomplishment!

I’m so glad I was able to cross surfing off my list and even more glad that I had such a great teacher to help me out! James was awesome and so patient with all of us newbies. It definitely wasn’t my athletic ability that kept me out there all day more likely it was my stubbornness and determination not to quit and be the only one who didn’t make it her feet. I would totally go again and actually can’t wait for another weekend to head out to catch some waves!  

 

Wok N Roll

I’m back! Finally after a long hiatus I’m ticking things off my fear list left and right. I’m combining two tasks this week to make up for my long summer absence and the first up is tackling my fear of uncooked fish or raw sushi. Without further adieu…

Wok (Raw Sushi)

Usually Fourth of July is spent with fireworks and bbq but this year I decided to spend it with two friends, Heather and Russ, taking in a comedy show in Ybor City at the The Improv. Good decision too because it ended up raining all day. Before the show we needed to grab dinner and Russ decided we should go to Samurai Blue, a sushi restaurant, and cross this food challenge off my list.

Just to give y’all a little background on my issues with sushi I’ll take you back to where it all began. I’ve always been a little picky. A couple of posts ago I told you that a friend has said that I have a “conservative palette” and that is absolutely true but I’d like to think that in my later years I’ve become somewhat more adventurous with cuisine choices. The first time I tried sushi I was on a law school trip to Washington DC. We were exploring Union Station and lunchtime rolled around and the group decided they wanted sushi. “Try the California Roll” they told me. “It’ll be good, you’ll like it” they said. WRONG. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever put in my mouth. I guess that’s what I get for trying sushi from a to-go place in a train station. That experience led to a long time sushi ban until I let myself get peer pressured into trying a Tampa Roll at SoHo Sushi in South Tampa. The Tampa Roll was made with tempura shrimp so it wasn’t raw. Turns out it was delicious so that quickly became a favorite. I still wouldn’t try the raw stuff though.

Fast forward to Samurai Blue. Here’s what we ordered….

Spicy Tuna Roll- which is just tuna, sriracha sauce, and scallions

Volcano Roll- crab, scallop, cucumber and spicy mayo on top of a California Roll

Tuna Summer of Love Roll- tuna, scallions, and mixed greens

Mexican Roll- tempura shrimp and cream cheese

I threw in the Mexican Roll because I knew I’d like that one so it doesn’t count towards the task at hand. I tried all of them and actually loved them all. I think the Volcano Roll was probably my favorite though. Who wouldn’t love anything that has spicy mayo on it? So in the end I discovered I actually like raw sushi, well at least the tuna rolls. Maybe next time I’ll branch out even more and try something with eel!

Volcano, Mexican, and Spicy Tuna Rolls

 

Roll (Public Transportation)

Last week I was able to cross using public transportation off my list with the help of my friend Lindsey. She’s ridden the bus before so I thought it would be a good idea to go with her rather than try it out on my own. Who knows where I’d end up if I went by myself! Riding the bus isn’t something I’d really consider to be a fear but is definitely something I’m not super comfortable doing just because I’ve never experienced it. I’ve grown up and continued to live in an area in Tampa that isn’t very conducive to using public transportation or even walking so it’s never really been a consideration.

We met down at Britton Plaza off of South Dale Mabry down in South Tampa. This was a good idea on Lindsey’s part because it’s a shopping plaza and we could park our cars there while we rode around on the bus. I met Lindsey at 10:15am to catch the Number 19 bus arriving at 10:30am going downtown and to the surrounding areas. We took a pretty laid back approach to our travels and decided we would get off whenever the mood struck us. We decided that since we weren’t sure how long we’d be on the bus or where exactly we were headed we would just get the all day pass which was only $4. As someone who isn’t familiar with bus riding I took a little longer to get on and pay for my ticket which I’m sure didn’t endear me to the people waiting to get on behind me since it was stifling hot even at 10:30am. At least the lady bus driver was patient enough with me while I was sorting out my change and trying figure out where to put it. Apparently you don’t pay the driver, which is what I tried to do. You actually put your money in a machine and it spits out your ticket. How I didn’t see that I’m not sure because it pretty much blocks your way onto the bus. Rookie mistake.

Our bus was pretty empty so we had our choice of seats. I guess not too many people were headed downtown at that time of day. It was also absolutely freezing on the bus which was great because like I said before it was hotter than you know where. Now time to figure out where to get off the bus. Lindsey and I referred to our map and checked out where the bus was taking us and before we knew it we were cruising down South Howard Avenue. Being the old souls that we are we made a last minute decision to hop off at Howard and Azeele because we saw an antique store that caught our eyes. After a little shopping and lunch at Ribbet’s BBQ we decided it was time to catch the bus once more. We located a stop a couple of blocks away at Armenia and Azeele next to the Greenwise Publix that would take us back to Britton Plaza and was due to arrive within the next few minutes.

I have to say I’m so grateful that I don’t have to use the bus my primary means of transportation because it was so hot outside and we had to stand there for several minutes without much shade. It sounds like a silly thing to complain about but just try it some time and see how long you last in the unforgiving Florida summer. I was also super glad I had Lindsey with me because I could not get a grip on the bus schedule.  I mean I passed the bar exam for heaven’s sake so you’d think I could figure out a bus schedule, but sadly no. I can’t even imagine trying to deal with that on a daily basis or if I was traveling with children or in the rain or other bad weather. Needless to say we were so glad when we caught sight of the bus rolling down the street with its much anticipated air conditioning.

While I don’t think I’ll be jumping at the chance to trade in my car in favor of the bus I’m glad I now know (at least somewhat) how to navigate the public transportation system. Task completed!   

   

Number 19

Britton Plaza Stop

Who needs Triple A?

Hey Y’all! This week in the mail I received a letter from Triple A letting me know my membership was about to expire and that I needed to renew it. That’s one of those things you never really think about until you’re stranded on the side of the road, in the rain, with a flat tire and have no one to help. It was with that in mind that I chose my task for this week. Changing a tire. I originally planned on knocking out the tire and learning to change my oil all in one sitting but as you’ll soon see my plans went slightly awry.

My companion for today’s task was my buddy back from week two, Steve R. Not only is he handy with a shotgun but he is also a mechanic extraordinaire. So naturally he was my first choice to help me cross these two tasks off the list. We decided on a Monday afternoon since Steve was lucky enough to be off of work that day. Since he lives way up around Dade City/San Antonio I took advantage of being in that area to have lunch with my favorite pregnant attorney and law school bestie, Stephanie, since she happens to work close by. Well my day did not start out the way I planned it which really threw me off. Remember week one where I conquered my fear of snakes. That apparently only related to docile, non poisonous pet snakes. I found this out because after heading back to my condo from getting my tan on at the pool I stumbled upon a HUGE snake stretched out across my garage door. The same garage door I needed to open in order to get into my house. As I walked up the driveway to go inside I spotted the deviant snake chilling in the shade by my garage door. I simultaneously dropped by beach bag and uttered a few colorful phrases and retreated to the mailbox pavilion across the street to conduct my snake surveillance. I thought to myself I could just go around to the front door to get inside and it was just about that time that I realized my house keys were sitting on my kitchen counter. So scratch that idea. Now what, I thought to myself. BTW the snake has still not moved. In fact he lifted his snaky little head and looked directly at me. Taunting me, I know! So I call my mom to bring over her set of house keys so I can get on with my day because now I’m running late to meet Stephanie which means I’ll be late to meet Steve. Of course after I call her the darn thing starts slithering away around the corner. I waited until I was sure it wasn’t coming back and darted across the street and into the garage safe and sound but running late. Story of my life. Ha!

Earlier in the week when I talked with Steve about what would constitute proper tire changing/oil changing attire I decided I would bring a change of clothes with me. So I packed a bag with old clothes that I wouldn’t care if they got sweaty and gross. After lunch I start the drive south towards Steve’s place and I start doubting whether or not I remembered to put the bag into the car on my rush to get out the door after being accosted by the snake that morning. I looked into the backseat (don’t worry, I looked while stopped at a traffic light) and sure enough, no extra clothes. This also meant no elastic band to pull my hair back with either. Just peachy. This day just kept getting better. And little did I know it wasn’t through yet because what inevitably happens every afternoon during the Summer in Florida? If you guessed thunderstorms you’d be right.

I roll up to Steve’s in the middle of a rainstorm strong enough for me to get my umbrella out of the car when I get out. This does not phase Steve. For one he has a hat on but he is also a boy so he’s not too concerned with getting his hair wet. After surveying me in my less than tire changing appropriate outfit (a black maxi dress and sandals) Steve decides that this is actually going to work to my benefit. How so? Well, if I were to actually have to change a flat tire on the side of the road I would most assuredly be wearing nice clothes. With my luck it would also be raining. There would probably be snakes too.

It’s still raining when we decide to commence the tire changing lesson but save the oil changing for another day.  I began by pulling stuff out of my trunk while holding an umbrella and trying to not let my dress drag on ground. If I thought I looked ridiculous at that point I was wrong because it was only going to get worse! After emptying the truck and pulling up the mat covering my spare tire it finally stopped raining. Yay! Wrong. What happens in the Summer in Florida after thunderstorms? The most insane, intense humidity you’ve ever felt. Lovely. I would have preferred if it kept raining. At least that would have disguised the gross sweat that was now dripping down my face. Oh well, these were realistic conditions so I tried to embrace it.

Once we had the spare out of the trunk and had laid out the jack and lug nut wrench thing it was time for the real work to begin. We laid the removable cover down on the ground so I could use that to kneel on while changing my back driver’s side tire and limit the damage to my dress. Step one- loosen the lug nuts. Lug nuts are the things that keep the tire latched securely onto the car if you weren’t already aware. What a terrible name. Surely some man came up with that. Who else would give something a name with the word “nuts” in it?! Anyway Steve tells me we do this part first before jacking the car up so that you don’t look like an idiot when the car is off the ground and you try unscrewing the lug nuts only to have the tire spin round and round. Good to know. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of other opportunities to look stupid soon enough so I’m glad I dodged that one. So now I’ve got the lug nuts partially unscrewed and I get to move onto step two and learn how to jack the car up off the ground. Turns out my car, a Ford Taurus, comes equipped with a special notch underneath the car by the tire that is made especially for the jack so we don’t have to blindly search for a good spot to put it. After lots and lots and lots of turning I finally get the jack up high enough that the tire is off the ground. By this time my hair is plastered to my neck and sweat is rolling right off me in an oh not so attractive manner. But wait! I remembered I had a baseball cap in the car. I piled my hair up and underneath the hat to get a little relief from the sauna like atmosphere. Hallelujah! I’m certain this new look I’ve got going on, maxi dress and Atlanta Braves bedazzled ball cap, is not going to inspire a new fashion trend. Steve is wise and does not comment on my new look.

Moving on, now that I’ve got the car up and off the ground I have to take the lug nuts all the way off and put them somewhere safe so they don’t go rolling away. Luckily for me we’re doing this on a concrete driveway instead off the side of the road so there’s really no place for them to roll off to. Step three- take off the tire. Even I can’t mess that part up. Now that we’ve got the “flat” tire off the car it’s time to put the spare on. Matching up the screws on the car to the holes on the spare sounds easy enough but let me just tell you it’s not if you’re not used to it. It takes me a couple of tries with Steve giggling in the background before I manage to stick it on there. So now I grab those pesky lug nuts and screw them on with my fingers so the tire will stay in place. Steve tells me I want to make sure there isn’t a “wiggle room” in between the tire and the car because that’s bad. Since we’re changing a tire on my actual car that I have to drive home in we don’t plan on leaving the spare on and so we take the lug nuts and then tire off so it can go back to it’s home in my trunk. Now I get to try and put the original tire back on the car so I’m able to drive it after our lesson. Honestly I thought I could manage to put the tire back on since I just did it with the spare. WRONG. My original tire is huge, and as it turns out, pretty flippin heavy. After watching me struggle with it for a few minutes Steve gratefully cuts in and puts it back on for me. We get the lug nuts back in place and I get to use the wrench again to screw them back on. Since they need to be on pretty darn tight Steve tells me to step on the wrench handle to get them tighter after I’ve used my hands. Steve, being the insightful man he is, tells me this maneuver will alert any passing male that I have absolutely no clue what I’m doing and should get someone to take pity on me and stop to help. Once I thought I had them on there as tight as they could go, Steve went back behind me and tighten them some more. Guess I’m not as strong as I thought I was! Ha!

It turns out that changing a tire isn’t quite as difficult as I thought it might be. Although that may be because I had an expert telling me what to do instead of having to figure it out myself! I’ll have to save changing the oil for another day but at least I know that if I ever get stranded with a flat tire, I’ll survive!    

Y'all Come Eat...

Hey Y’all! So after last week’s adventure I thought it was time to cross one of my food challenges off the list. When my friend Jake invited me to lunch this week I knew exactly which one I could do. Ethnic food. Jake is probably as adventurous with food as I am conservative. I’ve heard him say more than once that the best restaurants are the ones the health inspector hasn’t found yet! My tastes tend to lean more towards the vanilla side of things. My friend, Abby could not have described it more perfectly when she said that I have a “conservative palette.”

After telling Jake what I wanted to accomplish for this week’s entry he knew just the place to test my cuisine boundaries. So Monday afternoon I pulled up at Jai Ho, an Indian restaurant with a lunch buffet tucked into a little shopping center off of Fowler Avenue in Tampa. I’ve heard good things about this place from my pal, Scott, who absolutely adores Indian food. In fact, he said that if he had to pick his top restaurants to eat a last meal at Jai Ho would be on his list. And that’s saying a lot.

So we went inside the restaurant and were greeted by the most precious little man who happened to be the owner. After getting settled into our booth and ordering some waters we headed up to the buffet. Apparently I was going to need some water as a few of the dishes were going to be a little spicy as Jakes tells me. I’ve already mentioned how vanilla my taste buds tend to be so this makes me a little nervous. Spicy food and I don’t always get along if you know what I’m saying. ;-)

Here’s what Jake loaded up onto my plate…

Nan- light Indian bread

Steamed White Rice- self explanatory

Butter Chicken- chicken marinated in a yogurt and spice mixture

Chicken Biryani- chicken cooked in a copper pot with basmati rice, herbs and spices

Vegetable Pakora- basically fried vegetables

Murgh Tikka- chicken with Indian herbs cooked in a clay oven

Goat Curry- goat mixed with a curry sauce  

Baingan Bhartha- eggplant mashed with tomatoes and onions with herbs and spices

Dal Makhani- black lentils steamed with Indian herbs and spices

            Jake explained to me that I was to use the nan (bread) as a utensil and eat with my hands! What???? I half expected that to go about as well as when I forget that I have no coordination whatsoever and try chopsticks and end up with rice all over me. But it wasn’t too bad at all. I just tore up some pieces of nan and scooped up my food with it. Although that only lasted about two or three tries before my inner etiquette queen started freaking out about eating with my hands. So I switched to the fork and knife that must have been provided just for silly white girls like me. Jake tells me that it’s a good thing we’re in ‘Mercia and not India because there wouldn’t be a fork to be found!

            I surprised myself with how brave I was because I tried everything on my plate without hesitation. Didn’t even blink! I probably just didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of Jake. To my astonishment everything was really, really good. I couldn’t believe it. Here I was, someone who absolutely refused to try this kind of cuisine because of my “conservative palette” just eating it all up like it was no big deal. Th goat curry was actually quite delicious but I do have to say the butter chicken and vegetable pakora were probably my favorites. Shocking, I know. I would like anything fried or that had "butter" in the name. Must be the Southern girl in me.

            Dessert is always my favorite part of a meal so I was super excited when Jake went to get  it from the buffet. He returned with these little donut hole looking things that had been soaked in honey (gulab jamun) and a bowl of carrot pudding (gajar ka halwa). Both were just scrumptious. I mean, how could anything soaked in honey not be good, seriously!      

            I can’t believe I was so afraid to try this out! Lunch was completely delightful and I will definitely go again. Maybe I’ll even be able to eat my whole meal with just the nan?? On second thought, that might be pushing it. J

 

 

 

                                                                                                

What do Attorneys and Bloodmobiles have in common?

Hey Y’all! Since I started this blog I’ve done some pretty interesting things and while holding that python was pretty scary it doesn’t even come close to what I did this week. I gave blood, voluntarily, at a bloodmobile. No big deal to some, absolutely terrifying to me. And by the way if you haven’t already guessed the answer to my little joke above it’s that they both suck you dry! Haha!

A couple of Sundays ago I noticed in the church bulletin that the Bloodmobile would be at the church on Wednesday and people were encouraged to donate before the evening service. So last Wednesday I, along with my favorite brother from another mother, Matt, went down to donate blood. Matt happens to be a nurse so I figured he was a good one to bring along with me to cross this task off the list. I wouldn’t say that I’m necessarily known for excellent decision making but that turned out to be a pretty good one as you’ll soon find out.

I’ve had a lifelong fear of giving blood, either voluntarily or not. In fact I made it to my 26^th birthday without ever having to have blood drawn and since then I’ve only had it done one other time. I have to say I think that’s pretty impressive. I just hate needles. Needles of any shape or size, it doesn’t matter. As a child my mother had to bribe me with Barbie dolls just to get me to let the doctor give me a shot without kicking him! 

So Wednesday rolls around and Matt and I decided to meet at the Bloodmobile right when it opened at 4:30pm. I was the first one to arrive (that never happens by the way) and just the sight of the big white bus sends me into a panic. If Matt hadn’t pulled up right after me I would have turned around and headed home. But alas, he did so I had to go through with it.

We go inside and meet with an adorable little nurse who looks like she could be Hayden Panettiere’s doppelganger and get to filling out the paperwork. They take you into a very tiny little room in the back of the bus to fill everything out. I’m not kidding when I say it was a tiny room. I’m 5’3 on a good day and I could barely even turn around in there. It was kind of like taking a standardized test in an airplane bathroom.  Holy guacamole are there a ton of questions they want you to fill out! 54 in total. Have you been out of the country recently? Are you on any medication? Have you ever worked as a prostitute? Not even kidding about the last one.

By this time I’ve told them that I’m a first timer and that I’m doing a blog about facing my fears. So they all know that I’m a nervous wreck about what’s about to go down. By the time I’ve finished up my questions and had my finger pricked to test for an iron deficiency they already have Matt hooked up and ready to go. He was a total trooper to do it with me especially since I really asked him along to play photographer and to take care of me if I got sick. Now it’s do or die time. Nurse Panettiere (her name is actually Britney but I like her new nickname better) gets me all situated into a chaise lounge type thing and brings me a coke. On a side note I have a crazy addiction to Coke a Cola but I’ve taken myself off it for the past three weeks. I’m not kidding when I say that I’ve actually wondered if I could just get an IV of coke into my veins. I guess I could have asked for juice but if having your blood sucked out of your body isn’t a good enough reason to cheat on a diet then I don’t know what is!

“You’ll just feel a little pinch” she tells me right before sticking me with the needle. I somehow doubt this but at this point it’s entirely too late to back out. Surprisingly enough she was right! I can’t tell you how big the needle was or anything else about it because thankfully Nurse Panettiere has covered my arm with a towel so I don’t have to see what’s going on. That was definitely for the best because I can see everything that’s happening over on Matt’s side of the bus and it was sending me into the panic zone. As you can see in the pictures I tried to put on a brave face but on the inside I was a hot mess. I’ve also been given a squishy ball inside of a rubber glove to squeeze until the whole thing is over so I try to focus on that and making the fingers of the glove pop up every time I squeeze it.

The last time I had blood drawn I got really lightheaded after it was done so I’m completely expecting something similar to happen this time. At this point we’re getting pretty close to being done and I’m thinking, “Wow, I can’t believe I haven’t gotten sick yet.” Well, I must have jinxed myself because no sooner did that thought pop into my brain did I start feeling super nauseous. I looked over at Matt and said “I’m going to be sick” and Nurse Panettiere heard me and came dashing over with a small trashcan. Thank goodness I did not actually throw up because that would have been absolutely humiliating. As you can tell in the pictures I got super duper pale (even more than usual) and my hands became really clammy. They had to put ice packs on my forehead and neck and push the lounge chair back so my feet were above my head. They also had to feed me Rice Krispie treats to get my blood sugar up. I wish eating sweet, marshmellowy goodness did the trick every time I wasn’t feeling well! Of course I’d probably weigh 800 pounds if that were the case!    

 At the end of the day my visit to the Bloodmobile lasted an hour and a half due to my little episode. After checking my blood pressure three different times I was finally back to normal and thank goodness because I was apparently one more low pressure reading away from having the paramedics called out. I’m sure you’re thinking there’s no way I’d do it again but you’d be wrong. I most likely won’t be going for a while but I would definitely try it again.  Other than my freak out at the end everything was significantly better than I had imagined it would be. I hear that a lot of people have reactions the first time they donate because your body has no clue what’s happening. So maybe that’s just what happened to me. At least I know what would happen should I ever encounter a thristy vampire!  

 

Sun's Out Guns Out

             Hey y’all! Since I posted the list last week I’ve gotten a lot of really good suggestions from people such as hunting, belly dancing, using public transportation and even going on a ride along with the police. So all of those are now officially added to the list. I’m sure you’re on the edge of your seat wondering what I’m going to do next so here it goes….. Shooting a shotgun or "shotgunning" as I like to call it.

            How is she going to accomplish this you’re asking? Well, I happen to attend church with a couple of guys who, given the amount of firearms they possess, would be handy to have around should there ever be a zombie apocalypse. And wouldn’t you know it they both have the same name, Steve. So for clarity's sake I’m going to call them Steve S. and Steve R.

              After church this week I, along with the Steves and my fabulous friend Hannah, all headed out to Steve R.’s house up in San Antonio. San Antonio, Florida that is. J Steve R. is lucky enough to live out in the sticks on a pretty big piece of property, or "a swamp behind St. Leo University" as he calls it. So we can take our target practice out in his backyard without worrying that the police are going to respond to a shots fired call and ruin our fun. While a trip down to lock up is definitely something that terrifies me, going to jail is not on my list. I look terrible in orange! Anyway, the weather was gorgeous and absolutely perfect for shotgunning. At least it was in my estimation. I’m not exactly sure what premium shotgunning weather would be but 85 and sunny with a slight breeze can’t be far off.

            At this point I think I should take a minute to explain why shotguns made the cut. It isn’t that using a shotgun is especially frightening to me, I mean I have a concealed weapons permit and own a handgun that I like to take down to the range on occasion. I’ve also shot various types of handguns and rifles but never a shotgun. The reason is that they are a little intimidating. There’s the kickback that leaves a nice bruise on your arm/shoulder and they’re also really heavy and loud! That’s why shotgunning made the list.

            You already know we’re exercising our Second Amendment rights right in Steve R.’s backyard but I just realized I haven’t told you what we’re using as targets or what model of gun we're shooting. We're targeting the clay discs that they use in clay shooting. They're about 4-5 inches across and painted a bright, neon orange color. Which sounds easy enough to spot, right? Wrong. Too bad for us you can’t teach accuracy as quickly as the Steves showed us how to hold and shoot the guns! Speaking of the guns Steve R.'s shotgun is a model Baikal MP 153 Auto and Steve S.'s is a pump action Mossburg 500. 
           
            It turns out Hannah and I are terrible shots. At least we are with moving targets. I feel like I can say that without hurting her feelings as niether one of us got anywhere near the targets. The important thing is that we got out there and tried something new. As for the kickback, I was really expecting a lot worse. Don’t get me wrong, it hurt like the dickens the first time I fired the trigger and the butt slammed into my arm but afterwards it wasn’t too bad. Just think of being repeatedly punched in the same spot. After a few hits the spot goes little numb. But I didn’t even get a bruise! Just a little bit of soreness around the impact zone. I kind of wanted a bruise though. They make good stories J

            I think the sound of gunfire must act as a magnet for men because within a few minutes of commencing our shooting lesson one of Steve R.’s roommates meandered out to the backyard/gun range toting his very own AR-15. It got me to thinking maybe that’s what us single gals are doing wrong? Maybe we should hang out at the local gun ranges since the sound of rapid gunfire draws the guys in like moths to a flame? Just a thought…

Ok, back on track…For you gun novices, AR is short for assault rifle. Don’t freak out, while it sounds scary, it’s totally legal. Since we’re having such poor luck at shooting moving targets (when I say we I mean Hannah and myself. The Steves hit way more than they missed) we decide to set stationary targets up a few yards away so we can practice with the AR-15. This is about the time I asked a pretty dumb question. I promised I would include it in the blog since the reaction I got from the Steves was pretty funny. I asked if we could use my little girly handgun to shoot the clay discs while in flight. Now, if you don’t know very much about guns and/or bullets you might not see why this would cause any sort of reaction. However, if you do know your way around firearms you’re probably laughing right now because you know that bullets from a handgun go way farther (we’re talking miles people) than those shot from a shotgun. Lesson learned!

            At the end of the day we had a total blast (haha) and Hannah and I did MUCH better with the AR than with the shotguns. We hit almost all our targets and looked pretty cute doing it! Maybe I should think about asking Santa for an AR -15 for Christmas?! Only if they make them in pink!       



 

 

 

Hey y’all! Since I started this blog last week I’ve had a lot of requests to see my list. So before I tell you all the details of my very first task I’ll give you a little peek. The list is by no means complete and the tasks are not in any particular order. Actually, I’m going to need some suggestions in order to make it through all 52 weeks so feel free to throw some my way! Without further adieu…..

1.      Small airplanes

2.      Scary fair rides

3.      Mowing the lawn (I’ve never done this before in my 30 years on this planet)

4.      Playing poker at a casino

5.      Paddle boarding

6.      Hot air balloons

7.      Motorcycles

8.      Ethnic food

9.      The ropes course at MOSI

10.  Running a half marathon

11.  Giving blood

12.  Solo karaoke

13.  Snakes

14.  Kayaking/Canoeing

15.  Raw sushi

16.  Airboats

17.  Gators (the animals not alumni from UF….. although now that I bring it up…..)

18.  Haunted houses

19.  Energy drinks

20.  Batting cages

21.  Infants (NOT having one. Just watching one alone for an extended period of time)

22.  Acupuncture

23.  Changing a tire

24.  Changing the oil

25.  Kale smoothies

26.  Dancing with a partner (not like the middle school swaying we all did but a real dance)

27.  Camping

28.  Ziplining

29.  Obstacle courses

30.  Learning to drive a stick shift

31.  Shotguns

32.  Grits

33.  Riding a mechanical bull

34.  Surfing

35.  Hunting

Now before you get all judgmental here I want to do something each week for one year so all the tasks can’t be as exciting as snakes and gators. I had to throw in some things that either I don’t like or that I’ve always wanted to do but just haven’t gotten around to doing. That’s why I put things like mowing the lawn and kale smoothies on the list. On a side note, I personally don’t understand why putting leafy green substances into something meant to be delicious is all the rage these days. But that’s why it made the list. It’s something I would not necessarily try otherwise.

PS: If you fancy yourself any expert in any one of the above mentioned areas and would like to offer said expertise to my cause then please don’t hesitate to contact me!

 

WEEK ONE

Now on to week one. I took the “go big or go home” approach in choosing my first task and went with overcoming my fear of snakes. Snakes, ugh. If, heaven forbid, one ever made its way into my house rather than search for it I would just light a match and burn the place down. Needless to say, I can’t stand them.

To help me check this one off I enlisted the assistance of my friends Mary Anne and Cheryl. Mary Anne is Cheryl’s daughter in law and her boys happen to have a pet snake. This week Cheryl took me over to Mary Anne’s house to meet Darce. He’s a three foot long Ball Python. He is also about one year old and was beginning to shed his skin on the day I met him. His name comes from a Jiu-Jitsu word for chokehold which is what he does to his prey.

We go into Mary Anne’s son’s room, where Darce lives, and I can just feel my heart start beating faster. To my surprise though Darce looks very non-threatening. In fact, I think we might have interrupted his afternoon nap from the looks of it. He’s not nearly the giant anaconda creature I had pictured in my head. In my head I saw the snake from the movie Anaconda. You know the one I’m talking about, the one with J.Lo and Ice Cube. The one where the mutant anaconda swallowed Jon Voight’s character whole!! Don’t pretend like you didn’t see it back in the 90’s.

Back to the story at hand. So Mary Anne just scoops him right up and we go out into the kitchen. I spend a few minutes staring at Darce before working my way up to lightly petting him with one finger while he just silently stares at me. It turns out he’s very soft. Not at all slimy like I expected. His complete lack of response to this makes me think it might be the time to try holding him. Mary Anne places him into my hands and the staring contest continues. Cheryl agreed to take pictures of the occasion and so she starts snapping away. I think Darce might have a little diva in him because I’m 99.9% sure he posed and smiled for the camera. Check out the picture below because I think you’ll agree that is a definite pose. Anyway, after a few minutes of holding Darce I decide I’ve tempted fate enough and hand him back over to Mary Anne.  

That’s it! Cross task numero uno off the list! Final conclusion… snakes (at least this one) are not as scary as I once believed and I made it through holding one without needing a new pair of pants. While I don’t see myself heading down to the exotic pet store to pick my own pet snake any time soon I can gladly say I’ve overcome at least one fear and definitely stepped outside my comfort zone!