46. Organize all of my school stuff (binders)

When I say I have a lot of school stuff... I mean I have A LOT of school stuff.  I have a bad habit of when one of my teacher bags gets too full, I just start using another one instead of cleaning the old one out.

When I got a new car, I had to clean out the trunk of my old one.  This was quite a chore because I use my trunk for storage.  All that school stuff ended up inside my apartment and has sat there ever since.  I also worked on a lot of projects this summer and never found a new home for the materials.  And like any teacher who does work at home on a daily basis, there are certain resources you need to keep around.  I just probably should organize these, hence goal #44.

So I got to work and pulled out everything.  I went through each and every single item.  Some things I kept and will take to school, some things I kept and will keep in my apartment (just in an organized location and not a pile), some things I donated, and lots of things I threw away.  In fact, I filled up 2 trash bags full!  

You can officially call me a hoarder.

Ta Dah!  So much better and closer to following Gretchen Rubin's advice.

I shudder to think what will happen if/when we move.  If this is a sampling of school stuff I keep at home, imagine how much (of my own) stuff I have in my classroom!  Blood, sweat, tears, and mucho moolah have gone into it all.  Do I just leave it all behind?  Do I take it with me?  Maybe I'll be somewhere where materials to do your job are actually provided for you?  Guess I'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Besides a dishwasher, maybe our next apartment should have an office :)

6. See a chiropractor

After months (or years) of eyeing a particular Doctor's signage I finally got around to scheduling an appointment with a Chiropractor.  I immediately was comforted by his easy-going demeanor because quite frankly, I loathe going to any type of Doctor.

BarteckWellness.Com

My nerves were dissipated here and during the first consultation he read my like a book.  From his initial "sizing up" he predicted what ailments I might be suffering from and he was right on the money.  Then he had me fill out the patient info and ask what treatments I might be interested in.  This reverse order is probably part of the gimmick to hook patients, but it worked.

What also drew me to this particular Chiropractor is that his office specializes in all types of holistic wellness.  Nutrition counseling, meditation, physical therapy, and even acupuncture are services they provide.  My insurance covers appointments with just a co-pay each time and although Bliss is my happy place, this is WAY more cost effective.

Is it weird I'm excited?  I'm really looking forward to working with the office and getting assistance with being healthy because let's face it, I need a little help.  

12. Donate to K-State Education & 13. Donate to K-State Leadership

When I received my annual Telefund notice in the mail this week, I figured it might be a sign to get after Goal #12 and #13 before my 101 List ended.

I had the most amazing experience at K-State.  I cannot say enough about everything I learned and the wonderful organizations and colleges I belonged to.  I use the lessons, values, and information every single day and get warm fuzzies reflecting on everything.  I've already spoken about how much my sorority meant to me, but I also LOVED being a part of Leadership Studies and the College of Education.

Pat J. Bosco Outstanding Leadership Studies Student Award

Leadership Studies is what prepared me to handle teaching in Newark.  I have conversations with people who are coming to big revelations about the world, society in general, social class, politics, etc. and a lot of what they say mimic conversations I was having about 10 years ago, in the cozy rooms of the Leadership House on 918 Manhattan Avenue.  I think I joined every sub-group within the program because I loved it that much.  I still am in touch with many of these professors who will forever be mentors to me!

College of Education Outstanding Undergraduate Student Awards

The College of Education is what helped me to actually know my pedagogy for the classroom.  I am still shocked when I go to Professional Development and they are teaching things that are new to other teachers when I learned about it as a freshman in college.  Go K-State!  Even now that I am a part of a few "cutting edge" Education organizations nothing can beat the basics I learned at the COE.

If I ever win the lottery, I am going to make sure these wonderful organizations are taken care of so they can help out other college kiddos in the same way they helped me :)  Until then, I can give a donation through the Telefund.

98. Take Pultz to Washington DC

Mark and I both had two overlapping days off in a row, so we seized the rare opportunity and finally escaped down to DC.  Together.  So fun.

Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, MLK Jr. Memorial

And if you weren't paying attention, DC was quite the place to be this past weekend.  About 900,000 of our closest friends were also in town and the city was all dressed up and ready to swear in the President.  We gladly joined in on all the fun.  The video below is the Inaugural Choir practicing for the festivities the day before.

Mark had never been to Washington DC and I knew how much he was going to love it.  I couldn't wait to show him everything and we were total tourists.  We lucked out and had amazing weather which allowed us to spend pretty much the entire time just walking around.

Top:  Mayor's tent, President's Parade Viewing Area, Executive Office Building
Bottom:  Air & Space Museum, World War II Memorial, White House

This weekend is also special for us because we met MLK weekend (8 years ago... whoa!).  Always love some quality time with my college sweetheart and if it's on a trip to a cool place, even better :)

Brunch in Georgetown

  

81. Swim in the Stevens pool

To say swimming has played a big role in my life would be an understatement.  It WAS my entire life for the majority of my childhood.  However once I left for college, this fell into that tragic "things I enjoy but quit doing" category.

Blonde and Skinny!  Probably from all that swimming :D

I need to work swimming back into my life.  It is a form of exercise I actually enjoy and don't dread.  But dang it, going to the pool just doesn't happen.  Thus goal #81 was created.

I finally got my butt to the pool in my 'hood to check it out.  One thing that's awesome about living in an urban area is that you can walk everywhere.  One thing that's not awesome about living in an urban area is that you have to walk everywhere.

An extra 6 blocks of walking in the cold (I am so ready for winter to be over) is just another excuse hurdle that gets in the way.

Stevens Institute of Technology

However, Stevens Institute of Technology (which is where the pool is located) is a beautiful campus.  Also, the views of the city from here are spectacular.

Skyline from Midtown Waterfront

The pool and set up was very normal!  Very therapeutic.  I would love to try and make it there once a week.  There is a Master's group that I would love to join...  but let's just take baby steps for now :)

88. Send 10 people flowers (10/10)

I've been on a flower bombing spree lately.  It has been a joy to finish this goal.

My own delivery last month, from the best friends ever

I was able to give some admiration via blooms to...

• A mentor and friend who has helped me tremendously since moving to the East Coast.
• A team of colleagues who took over a school this year and surely need some encouragement, especially after all the encouragement they have given me.
• Past teachers from grade school, high school, and college who I consider to be my "favorites".  I doubt they knew so I wanted to tell them.  They meant so much to me and touched my life.

It's a fun habit to get into, reaching out and letting awesome people know they are awesome.  I'd love to keep this up and think a simple hand-written note would suffice (and be a bit more budget-friendly).  Who would you reach out to?

77. Learn how to cook asparagus the way Pultz makes it

I will never be as good of a cook as my husband.  Afterall, he is a professional chef :)  So when it comes to copying his method for cooking asparagus, this is the closet I've come up with.

Mark's directions:

• Blanch
• Sautee with garlic and ginger

Now if you're like me and "blanch" conjures up more of the image below rather than vegetables, you can understand why it took me a bit to get it right.

Via Wikipedia

When blanching it's best to go by "feel" and "looks".  As Mark (the pro) points out, it all depends on the size of the asparagus, the type of stove, how big the pot is, etc... so I've given some rough estimations below.

My Directions:

• Cut off the bottom part of the asparagus so they're the right size to fit in your pot/pan.

• Blanch the asparagus.
• The link explains it better than me, but I say boil some water with a dash of salt in the pot.  Drop the asparagus into the boiling water and cook it until the spears turn bright green.  This is where you can cook them too long and then it flops.  I estimate 2-4 minutes.  Another test is to squeeze them and they should be soft on the outside but still feel like they have a core.  Don't let them go mushy!   
• Then, take the asparagus out of the pot and put into a bowl of ice water... or I just dump it into a strainer in the sink and pour cold, cold water over it.  Get the asparagus to room temperature or colder.  This is called "shocking" and basically you want to stop the cooking process.

• Heat a saute pan with some olive oil, and add the asparagus.  Add salt and pepper and toss the asparagus around to get all the 'gus covered in everything.  Throw in about a half teaspoon of chopped garlic and a half teaspoon of chopped ginger.  The stuff from the jar works just great.

• Mix around the asparagus, ginger, and garlic (I use tongs) over medium heat.  You don't want the pan too hot.  Keep it moving for about 2 minutes or until it looks done and that's it!

Now hopefully I will eat more vegetables when they taste this good, which is the main reason this goal came about in the first place.  What's your favorite way of cooking these little green stalks?