Halfway Point--Rachel's 30 Day Challenge

Hey y'all!  It's Rachel, and I'm here to tell you that it's Day 15 of my 30 Day Chopstick Challenge!  Here are some updates:

I've been doing so much better with this challenge than I originally thought I'd possibly be able to!  There were only 3 meals so far that I forgot, and that was very early in the challenge.  For one of them, I had gone to Fazoli's twice because I had a coupon for $0.99 spaghetti, and went with my friend Kerri and my boyfriend Jim.  Each time I forgot chopsticks, and when you're eating in a restaurant, what can you do, right?  The other time I had made Jim and I a wonderful dinner of roasted herb chicken breasts, and forgot to bring my chopsticks to his house.  I've remedied that by leaving a pair at his place!

Other than that, it's been very interesting to use just a knife and chopsticks to eat my meals.  I can eat lots of things I never knew possible...  Mashed potatoes can indeed be eaten with chopsticks for example!  However, the hardest thing to eat with chopsticks?  It's a tossup between corn and Spaghettios.  "But Rach, you can put the chopsticks through the Spaghettios, can't you?"  Yes, but that's hard, and tedious, and will take years if you do it with chopsticks.  End of story!  Haha!

I'm starting to think of what my next 30 Day Challenge should be.  Any suggestions?  I'm thinking perhaps writing a new song every week for 30 days?  (So 4-5 songs total...)  Is that a good one?  Let me know!  Also, let me know what your 30 Day Challenge is!  Comment on our blog to let us know!

Happy Trails!
Rachel

Free Craigslist Item #4: The Omega Virus

Hello y'all!  This is Rachel.  I just wanted to let you know that I got an item for the project today!  Huzzah!

I clicked on a Craigslist free item link, rather warily I may add, that was simply entitled "The Omega Virus."  I was a tad nervous I may get a computer virus, or go pick up an item that was simply a virus!  Well, I was wrong.  The description was for a board game called "The Omega Virus."  It's a talking electronic board game by Milton Bradley, copyright 1992 for that matter.

I emailed the person who put up the listing, and got an email back!  It more or less explained that it was the same person we got the awesome, fantastic clipboard from, and that since we were first to respond, it was ours.  This is awesome.  A great board game that I know the location (more or less, it was daytime when I'd get it this time, not nighttime) of.  And I know the location is safe--I won't be mugged or worse as a single female going to this house alone.

Upon getting this (rather large and heavy!) board game, I noticed it was an electronic board game where you are an astronaut trying to save the earth from a virus in 30 minutes.   It looks like total geek-fest fun...  I've never played it, nor has Kellen.  We'll have to play it soon--still planning our play-date. 

So other than that, there isn't much to report.  Same place, same person (thanks, Andrew!)...  Just a different item.  Until Kellen and I play the game, though, we can't say truly how amazing it is.  So until we play the game (looks like it'll be tomorrow night!)...

Happy Trails!
Rachel

Rachel's 30 Day Chopstick Challenge

Hey everyone!  It's Rachel.  I don't have an item to share at the time of this post, but I wanted to let you know about a 30 day challenge I've decided to start today.  I figure it's a fun thing to share with everyone, and it may even inspire you to do something new for 30 days.

I just got done eating an amazing breakfast of Great Value brand generic Cheerios with skim milk, Splenda, and fresh strawberries all in one amazing bowl.  How delicious!  Oh, did I mention I ate it all with CHOPSTICKS?  Yup, that's my challenge.  I will only eat with chopsticks for the next 30 days.

"Okay, Rachel," you may be thinking, "How are you really going to do this for 30 days?  Have you thought this out?  Eating only Chinese food may be hard for 30 days."

Well, I've thought that all through.  I will not be eating only Chinese food.  I'll eat the same foods I usually eat.  Foods like cereal, popcorn, fruit, etc, will be eaten with chopsticks.  Pizza will be hard unless I slice it into tiny bite-size pieces, so that'll likely be what I do.  I'm allowing myself to use a knife during this challenge in order to cut large foods up into smaller pieces.  But as for foods that don't make much sense to cut up (crunchy tacos and similar foods would be not tasty at all if I broke them up and used chopsticks), I will eat with my hands.  So I'm eating with my hands, chopsticks, and a knife.  My only utensils.

"But Rachel," you may say, "You could totally cheat and only eat finger foods!"  Nope.  Not happening.  I get sick of the same foods if I eat them more than once or twice a month.  I'd get so sick of finger foods I'd stop eating altogether if I was refusing to use chopsticks.  So there.

"What about liquids, like soup and yogurt, Rachel?" you may be thinking.  Well, I thought about that too.  It's nearly summertime, which means I won't be eating much for soup.  And I've never been a big fan of yogurt, but I can always put it in an ice cream cone with fresh fruit and honey and eat it that way.  The same goes for ice cream, since I won't have a spoon.  Liquids can be drank, too, for all you Negative Nancies out there!

Yes, it'll be tough, and I'll need to probably always carry a knife and a pair of chopsticks with me wherever I go, but I'm going to do this.  I invested $9.95 in 5 pairs of high-quality finished wood chopsticks, so I'll be able to cycle through.  I also have 2 pairs of cheap unfinished bamboo chopsticks that I can also use if I don't have time to wash my nice ones. 

These next 30 days will be interesting!  I'll let you know how I'm doing now and then with it.  In the meantime, comment on this post and let me know what you think about my challenge, any ideas you may have for my next 30 day challenge, and what you'd like to do for a 30 day challenge (if anything). 

Happy Trails!

Rachel



Craigslister #3: We gave up a Paino for a Clipboard instead

Greetings from both of the Craigslisters today!  Boy, do we have quite the story for you!

We've been trying to get a free piano.  No doubt about it, we really really want one.  However--we have no means to haul it to Kellen's house.  We cannot afford a piano mover, nor can we afford just a moving truck, nor can we afford a truck we'd drive ourselves, nor can we afford friends that are strong males who would be willing to lift the piano for us (Anyone interested?  We'll buy you pizza...). 

But there was one piano we were working our bums off trying to get home.  It was listed as a paino, so in all the correspondences with the woman who owned it, we called it a paino.  Then all of a sudden she quit responding to our emails.  When she did respond (on Friday), she said she was out of town on vacation.  That's understandable, we just wish we were able to galavant everywhere ourselves.  We're just too busy being awesome to do so. 

So we were unable to move it.  Rachel wanted to walk it down the street the three miles to get it to Kellen's, but Kellen objected.  The sidewalks aren't very level anyway, and since there was a porch we'd have to take it down, we'd kill ourselves in removing it from the house.  It was best left there.  Maybe the woman could get her children paino lessons someday.

Today we were just hanging out, eating Coldstone Creamery, getting our $10 bills rejected by old Asian men at garage sales (Damn you in your fancy blazer, old man!  It just had a nibble in the corner!), and getting laughed at by some stupid sixteen year old girl working a pathetic part-time job at Sir Bounce-A-Lot's when we asked if we could bounce.  She wouldn't even let us eat pizza there without children between the ages of 3 and 14.  Screw you.  We're writing a letter to your boss and the company about your behavior.  We were in the height limit, and your sign said nothing about ages.

However, after our adventures out on the town, we went to Kellen's to be attacked by his now healthy and totally psychotic cat while looking to see if there were any promising items on Craigslist.  We found a few cool things, but immediately got a response from a man named Andrew.  He seemed polite from his email, and told us that the clipboard he listed was ours and on his porch waiting to be brought home.  We had also inquired about lampshades, but those were already claimed.  He did mention, though, that if no one took them by tomorrow, that we could come back for them.  Huzzah!

So we immediately went out on a walk around 9PM to find our clipboard.  It was dark, creepy, and the item would be in an enclosed porch.  We found the porch, but there were no lights on.  Kellen got scared and made Rachel go first inside to investigate.  "I hope they have no guns," he said.  But we safely found the clipboard, as well as a lampshade (which we did not take, because we're good American citizens), and made it back to Kellen's house in one piece.

While blogging about our clipboard, however, we were interupted by Roger, Kellen's roommate, who was downstairs watching the news.  Osama bin Laden got dead.  Huzzah!  Now hopefully the hard-working men and women overseas can come home and be safely reunited with their babies and partners once again.  Hah, if only it were really that easy.  But we do want them to come home. 

Prediction:  With Osama bin Laden's death, President Obama will be re-elected next term.  (Comment with your thoughts on this!  And the video and blog too!)

Craigslister #2: Creepy Coin Wrappers

This is Kellen. I got an email. "coin wrappers are still here. pick up on my porch between 10pm and 8am. here is my address-"

I drove across town to a street with no lights on. driving up and down the street trying to find the address off of google maps. I parked. Walked from one place to the next until I found the address and searched the porch. There was a plastic bag sitting on the front door mat. I grabbed it and ran back to my car. I sped off.

The street was so creepy and these people obviously didn't want to meet the ones that were taking their things. Little did they know their coin wrappers were to become a part of our project for the internet to see.