Day 14 - Laced Up

I'm finding that one post, leads to another idea, and then another...well, you get the idea. With already committing myself to the Kohl's Step Up event in January, and the Run for the Cheetah event in April, I figured, what's 10 more events? Putting fears aside, I've decided to lace up the sneakers and take on the task of participating in (at least) one physical event each month of 2011. Although 12 events over 365 days seems pretty easy, 1 event every 28-31 days doesn't! While subject to change, I'm hoping to participate in the following events:

January - Kohl's Step Up for Kids

February - North Shore Cupids Dash 7K

March - St. Paddy's Day 5K Run/Walk

April - Run for the Cheetah 5K

May - Bike the Drive/15 miles

June - United Run for the Zoo 5K

July - L.A.T.E. Ride/25 miles

August - Elvis is Alive 5K

September - Lung Run/Walk 5K

October - JDRF/Walk to Cure Diabetes

November - Hot Chocolate 5K

December - Santa Hustle 5K

If all goes well, I plan on having a t-shirt quilt made from all of my event t-shirts! I've always wanted a t-shirt quilt and what better way to remember 2011! Check out:

http://kristalawhon.etsy.com/

Day 13 - Meet a Cheetah

Robert Schuller once asked, "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" and my reply would be, raise $1,000 so I can meet a cheetah. Yep, I wanna meet a cheetah, the world's largest purring cat! How can I accomplish this? Well, so glad you asked! I will be signing up for the Chicago event, "Run For the Cheetah" which takes place this April. I am taking on the bold task of raising $1,000 which, if achieved, would allow me to meet a cheetah! All donations benefit the Cheetah Conservatory, and while I will purr-ticipate in the event no matter the amount of money I raise, I must admit it's a very scary undertaking to fund-raise $1,000! I had a hard time committing myself to this goal, but this is a once in a life time opportunity that I will not let pass me by because I am afraid of failing. Cheetahs in the wild face much scarier things then I will in my fund-raising attempts, so let the fund-raising begin!

http://www.cheetah.org/

http://www.runforthecheetah.org/index.php?city=ch

Day 12 - Bagged

I am afraid of bugs. Spare me the logic that "they're more afraid of you, then you are of them" because I just don't believe it. They scare me with their multiple legs, antennae and crunchy exoskeletons. No matter their size, I can admit I'm afraid of them. While we do our best to avoid each other, the one place I cannot avoid bugs is at work. I work part time in a pet retail store and we not only sell reptiles, frogs and lizards, but things to feed them. One of those "things" are live crickets. Because of my fear of bugs, I avoid the cricket bagging center where employees must accommodate customer requests by sticking their hands in a large bin of crickets and bag the number of bugs requested. I prefer to limit my interaction with the noisy boogers to random store floor sightings of those that managed to escape from the bin of doom.

Choosing to exterminate my fears, I decided today was the day I will bag crickets. I recruited an awesome co-worker to talk me through the bug gathering process and the best advice she offered was, "just think of them as raisins". That worked, I'm not afraid of raisins! It wasn't long until I had my first customer, "10 large crickets please"! I told him I was new at bagging and requested that he be patient, and he jokingly replied, "Don't let them bite you!". Just what I needed to hear in my panic given state, but then I remembered, raisins don't bite! As I sealed the bag that was now full of something's dinner, I realized I bagged a lot more then crickets - another fear conquered.

Day 11 - Tanks

- Le Handle -
(colors inverted)

I'm realizing the more I blog, the more odd I sound. Some of the things that I fear probably sound pretty silly to anyone reading this and well, today's post won't be any exception! I am totally creeped out by and fear toilet tanks! I think they're absolutely gross, and did I mention, creepy?

The childhood lore of alligators in the sewer and the possibility of them climbing up and out of the toilet to eat me have scarred me for life where toilets are concerned. To this day, I do not like toilets that don't allow for me to see the bottom of the bowl. That means any colored water, or dark colored bowl is avoided if at all possible because I just never know what might be lurking at the bottom waiting to attack my naked rear end as I take seat on the thrown.

In addition to being a "bowl snob", I really don't like toilet tanks. They scare me. They're ugly, and dirty, and the float ball just freaks me out. I never know what's going in the tank. I mean, the float ball could invite a family of alligators to live in there with it and I wouldn't know until I have to remove the tank lid to fix a lazy flush. And then well, who knows what chaos could ensue! Sure I'm exaggerating, a little, but the point is toilet tanks and dark bowls scare me.

As I believe education is power, I decided to educate myself about the toilet tank and everything in it. In addition, I removed the lid of my tank to compare my newly found "book smarts" against real world experience. I took a long hard look at the flapper valve, ballcock, float ball, chain and smelly water and while I can't say I enjoy the toilet tank any more then I did before, I think maybe the next time I have to remove the tank lid I won't be so afraid. Toilet tank anxiety successfully reduced, but not gone.

Toilet diagram from:
http://www/plumberforhire.ca/toilet-information.html

Day 10 - Tiramisu

Tiramisu seems to be a menu staple at almost any restaurant I've frequented, but yet, I've never tried it. Almost everyone I know loves it and highly recommends it, but yet, I resist. Why? Because I'm actually afraid I'll like it! My fear is that if I like the "pick me up" dessert it will become one more sinful item I'll have to resist when counting calories and more so, I don't want to become an espresso soaked Lady Fingers addict! I figure that if I never know what the Italian creation tastes like, I can't miss or crave it. Admittedly, the logic above seems silly and doesn't even take into consideration that I may not like tirmasu! Today's mission: tackle tiramisu.

Angelina Ristorante, a neighborhood favorite trattoria, supplied me with an order of tiramisu for my taste test. It was a whipped chocolate delight with hints of coffee throughout, but to no failure of the restaurant itself, I must admit their creme brulee is better! My waist line will have nothing to worry about with this dessert. Scale 1, dessert 0. Fear conquered!

If you're in Chicago, check out Angelina Ristorante, it's worth every penny! My favorites are the garganelli pasta and creme brulee!

http://www.angelinaristorante.com/

Day 9 - Baked

- Yummy! -

Seriously, there's nothing like a holiday invite to a cookie exchange to strike fear into my heart almost instantly. Am I afraid of the calories I may consume with all the yummy cookies abounding? Nope, not at all. I'm afraid to RSVP because I can't bake a cookie to save my life! I have never successfully baked a cookie. That's right, not ONE good cookie has ever come out of this girl's oven. And now, I'm at a point in my life where I am literally afraid to try to bake a cookie as the results are sure to be charcoal disasters. Well...that was until I took on the task of "doing one thing every day that scares me."

The oven was warmed, the cookie sheet non-greased. The dough was divided up and spread out over the 15 x 12" pan. This was it, there was no turning back. It was bake time! Bake time turned out to be 8 minutes and 47 seconds for finally, a successful, non charred batch of chocolate chip perfection. I am so happy to have finally conquered the fear of baking cookies. Watch out Betty Crocker, there's a new girl in town!

Day 8 - Uplifting

http://myintimacy.com/

Boobies. Ta-tas. The girls. Whatever it is that you call them, breasts need the right support via a properly fitted undergarment. It's a sad statistc that 85% of women walk the planet with a bra that doesn't fit, doesn't offer the right amount of support or comfort, and is actually being worn incorrectly. Because I'm sure I'm included in that percentage of women, I've made a bra fitting appointment with the "Bra Whisperer". The Bra Whisperer, Susan Nethero, trained under the bra-fitter of the Queen of England and has reached national acclaim. She was most recently featured on the Oprah show and that is how I heard about her and the miracles she works!

While you wouldn't think making a bra fitting appointment would be a scary thing, it is for me. My first and only attempt at a bra fitting took place at a well known lingerie store and it went horribly wrong. While I'll spare you most of the details, I will say it ended with me in tears. The highlight of the fitting was having to endure two store associates in the fitting room with me, both tugging on the bra in different directions and pointing out the reason that the bra didn't fit wasn't due to perhaps the bra being the wrong style for me, but rather due to my "body issues". Thanks ladies.

Wanting to put that traumatic experience behind me, I've set my nerves aside and have made an appointment for a free fitting at "Intimacy" in Chicago. I'm looking forward to spending time with a professional bra fitter that can help make me look and feel my best. Finding the right bra will definitely uplift more then just my "girls". I can't wait!