Extreme Book Nerd- 2021 Version!

 The 7th annual Extreme Book Nerd challenge held by our local library started this week and I am all signed up! The challenge consists of reading 50 books, in 50 categories in 50 weeks. It is a lot of fun and it gets me reading stuff I wouldn't otherwise read. I tend to only read fantasy and science fiction books. I have participated in this for seven years and have only failed to finish once.

Here are this year's categories-

1. Has North, South, East, or West in the title
2. Has a black cover
3. Has a building on the cover
4. A book from your to-be-read list
5. Has a celestial body in the title or on the cover
6. Published under a pseudonym
7. A wild card (pick up at 3rd-floor desk)
8. Has a conjunction in the title
9. A book you hadn’t planned on reading
10. By an author with a last name 5+ letters long
11. About someone you admire
12. About a mom/dad/grandparent
13. An alternative history
14. Has Life or Death in the title
15. Has a cover with realistic artwork
16. Has a crime in it
17. Title has double letters (e.g., tree, wood)
18. Author with the same name, first or last, as one of your loved ones
19. Set on a farm or in a rural location
20. A book from a library display
21. About a major world event
22. A book you own but haven’t read
23. Has a circus or carnival in it
24. A book of satire
25. Has Love in the title
26. A book from the 2020 NPR Book Concierge list
27. Has a one-word title
28. An adult nonfiction book
29. Set in the British Isles
30. A debut novel
31. Published in the 1900s
32. Has a verb in the title
33. (Title is like) The _____’s _______
34. Has multiple narrators
35. A graphic novel
36. Set in two time periods
37. Suggested by another Extreme Book Nerd
38. Published before you were born
39. A book you love (read it again)
40. Has a title from, or story inspired by, another literary work
41. A book you read in high school
42. An Andrew Carnegie award nominee
43. From the library’s “Read for Empathy” display
44. Has Book in the title
45. Set in a place conquered by the Roman Empire
46. A book recommended by an IFPL librarian
47. Listen to an audiobook
48. Has a cover with shoes
49. Adult Nonfiction 800s
50. A book published this year

Progress has been made on multiple challenges! 

1- Eat at a different place at least once a month. I actually ate at TWO different places this weekend. Both were excellent. First up was Burgers Grilled Better in Sugar House, Salt Lake City. Fantastic burger grilled as soon as you order AND grilled to order. Tater tots where perfect along with Isabelle's chicken tenders and fries and Tim's grilled tuna. Even had local beers on tap.

The second place we tried was for breakfast the morning we left. It was called Penny Ann's Cafe. It is a small chain in Salt Lake City. I had a basic egg and bacon breakfast with a side pancake. Food was great, tons of it and the prices were good. The pancake was especially tasty.

 Challenge #2 update- Meatless Meal twice a month

Last night was our first meatless meal for the month and it was delicious! It was a Quinoa Bake with Tomatoes, Spinach and Mozzarella cheese. It was excellent and better yet super easy to make! I got it off Delish. Love it when new recipes workout!

 I have started four of my longer term projects this weekend, learn something new, learn to speak Spanish, learn to play the piano and run a 1/2 marathon.

1- Learn something new! I couldn't wait to start this one. It is one of the reasons I am starting my challenges now instead of waiting until my birthday at the end of the month. I am going to learn how to embroider! I have cross stitched for many many years, crochet and have done a bit of knitting already. I thought embroidery would be a nice way to branch out with a new craft without having to really purchase any new supplies since it basically uses cross stitching supplies which I have PLENTY of 😂. And even better my daughter is learning with me! So just before Christmas we both picked out a starter embroidery kit. Each kit comes with everything you need to get started with three different designs that teach you most of the basic stitches needed to get started. I started with the patter below last night.

I started with the outline stitch and completed the dark green lines while finishing watching the Return of the King. The kits are from Santune and I got them off Amazon for $15 each. 

I am very excited to learn this new craft.

Here is my progress so far-

2-    Learn to speak Spanish- 

    Now I don't mean to become fluent but I would like to have the basics down. To get me started I purchased the lifetime/unlimited version of Rosetta Stone. I started in March when everything shut down but haven't practiced much since I went back to teaching in September. I am going to make a concerted effort to practice for 20-30 minutes most days of the week.

3-    Learn to play the piano-

    Again I don't plan on becoming a concert pianist or anything but to at least be able to play some intermediate pieces. I had started to learn two years ago when I got a keyboard for Christmas and haven't been as consistent with it as I would like so what better time to get back at it than now. I hope to finish the beginner book I am on now and finish the intermediate book in 13 months.

4-    Run a 1/2 marathon-

    OK, lets face it, this will be more of a run/walk endeavor but after reading several inspiring books about women starting to run at all stages of life I am ready to try this again. I ran one on a lark almost 16 years ago with my husband- The Phoenix  Rock and Roll 1/2. It is tentatively scheduled to Jan 16, 2022. Hopefully COVID won't screw it up. I have a year right?!? AND I calculated how fast I would have to run to finish in 3 1/2 hours. It's only 16 minute miles! I can do that now! So I am feeling confident that as long as we can travel and have large groups by then I will be able to comfortably complete this challeng.

First challenge is complete! Make playlist of the number 1 songs during my birthday week for the past 50 years.

    This was a surprisingly easy one to accomplish. I was expecting to have to do a bit of research to find each song each year but no, there is one website that allows you to type in your birthday week and year and it will list all of the number one songs for that week on a variety of lists. I chose the top 40 list. My list is quite eclectic. Music changed a lot over the last 50 years.  I start with the song Know Three Times by Tony Orlando. Definitely not my favorite. My favorite song on the list is from 1972- American Pie.  I am also happy to report that I have songs from Michael Jackson, Boynce, Ryhanna, Lady Gaga, Elton John and George Michael. I was family with all of them once I heard them but I now realize that I have stopped listening to pop radio for the past 10-15 years. 

    I also found it interesting that most of my favorites or at least the ones I had the most connection to were the songs from by late teens and early 20s while the songs my daughter, now 18, has the most connection to are the songs right now which are late teens.

 Welcome to 50 at 50!

    On January 28th I turn the big 50 and to commemorate this milestone I have decided that I will complete (or try to complete) 50 different challenges in my 50th year. I started yesterday and will finish on January 28th, 2022.

    Some of the challenges will be easy, some will be hard and some I just have to hope that COVID goes away long enough for us to travel by Christmas. 

    So, here are my challenges:

1	Read 50 books
2	Do a triathlon
3	Hike 50 miles total
4	Bike 50 miles
5	Multi-day back packing trip
6	Go to Europe
7	Climb a 5.8 outside
8	Run a 1/2 marathon
9	Take a cooking class
10	Learn a new skill
11	Visit a national park I haven't been to
12	Visit a state I haven't been to
13	See a concert
14	Learn the piano
15	Learn a Spanish
16	Try a new type of food
17	Finish all my unfinished xstitch pieces
18	Donate blood
19	Donate to a different charity every month
20	Do something that scares me
21	Eat a meatless meal at least twice a month
22	Float down a river
23	Learn to stand up paddle board
24	Cross country ski to Jenny Lake
25	Eat at a new restaurant every month
26	Do 5 pull ups in a row
27	Volunteer somewhere
28	Track down more of my Ancestry
29	Go fishing
30	Try a new meal each month
31	make a family cookbook
32	Have professional family photos take
33	Visit my childhood home
34	Fill out the gratitude journal
35	Learn to kayak
36	Learn to snowshoe
37	Climb 50 routes outside (at least attempt)
38	Go to the International Climbers Festival
39	Hike in the Sawtooths
40	Pick our own fruit
41	Get a massage
42	Write 50 notes/cards and mail them
43	Donate 50 items to the food bank.
44	Go on a hot air balloon ride
45	Donate 50 items/bags from my house
46	Create 50 things/craft items
47	Plant 50 items in my garden (plants, trees Ect)
48	Swim in the ocean
49	#1 songs for the past 50 years during my birthday week.
50	Take a nap in a hammock

I will post as I finish and start each challenge.