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!