Adventure is out there!

I have to admit something. I was not all that excited to see the movie "Up" when it first came out. It is Disney-Pixar so I knew it would be cute, but I didn't go into it thinking that it was going to be the best thing ever. I was very very wrong. I started bawling in the first ten minutes, and it instantly became one of my all time favorite movies. A few weeks later when I joined a new bank in Florida I got a plastic jar with a"Paradise Falls" sticker on it. I started saving up my change for my next big adventure just like Carl and Ellie did. At the time I had nothing in mind to save for, but every day I would empty my change into it. That all changed pretty quickly though. Soon my "Paradise Falls" fund became my moving to New York fund, and I slowly continued to add to it. When I knew what my grand adventure was going to be I decided that I was going to need an adventure book to document the little adventures in life. I wanted it to be just like Ellie's

Unfortunately at the time no one made anything like this, and when they did they were very expensive and not exactly what I wanted. That didn't stop me from begging for it as a present for my birthday, and our anniversary, and Christmas. But after over a year of dropping hints, and some not so subtle asking, did I own an adventure book? No.

So I decided to take matters into my own hands. I looked at all the adventure books that were offered online, and figured out what I liked about each, and what I could go without. In the end I realized that maybe I never really liked any of them because they weren't really mine. They were just replicas of Ellie's, and I am not Ellie. I a

m Deirdre. So I decided to buy/make my own.I knew that I wanted it to be 8 1/2X

11 because I am not a big fan of squares, but no one sells landscape scrapbooks anymore. I settled for a portrait scrapbook from Michaels that I got on sale for 40% off, which made it 4.99. I was a big fan of that price. And after a little bit of work, and a lot of help from my moms magical cutting machine I made a title that fit me.

I wanted to fit an "Up" reference in there somewhere though so I filled the title page with balloons. I think it turned out pretty well. Maybe

I have the craft gene after all. I also finished a map page so we can track where we have been and where we want to go, and two pages for the inside. I haven't decided if I am going to write anything on them yet, but I can always do that later.

My new love affair with to-do lists.

So, I really suck at blogging. When I moved to Florida last summer I had every intention of writing a post at least once a week. I even started a post with pictures of my new apartment, but I never ever finished it. That was almost 7 months ago. Did I mention I suck at blogging?

Now I am back in Portland and living a more leisurely life. I recently go my tonsils out, which was not a very pleasant experience. It was a very good diet though :) I am now almost done recovering an looking for work. That still gives me a lot of free time though, and I am determined to make the most of it. Thus I have started making to-do lists. Lots and lots of to do lists. There's one for the for the next year, one for the next week, and one for each and every day. My favorite one though is the one titled "to-do with free time" It's what I pull my weekly, and daily lists from. All the things on this list are things that will take time though. They aren't things that can be accomplished in a month, and some of them will take a few years, but I am resolved to achieve them all. And now for your viewing pleasure here is that list. I'm sure that as time goes on even more will be added.

To-do With My Infinite Free time

• Become a yoga master
• Go on hikes and become one with nature
• Take a ballroom dance class
• Take my dog on walks so he doesn't get any fatter.
• Learn to cook and try new recipes
• Catch up with old friends, and keep in touch with current ones
• Become fluent in Russian!!
• Find an adventure book and fill it completely with memories
• Keep up on writing in my journal
• And last but not certainly least, BLOG! At least once a week.