week 7: Dressing up

Hi everyone (or just me, whatever)

This week I wanted to share my dress up session with you guys. It was so much fun! I never really like Halloween having grown up during a time where getting your candy bag snatched and having eggs thrown at you or balloons with Neet in them was popular in New York City, but I did love the dress up part. I always wanted to have one of those big masquerade parties just to dress up and party. One day I fully intend to be in Vegas attending their Halloween party. I hear its awesome!

Anyway, I want to tell you about when John and I played dress up. We took a trip to one of those small towns in Indiana where the city for them is Main Street with all the little shops on them, everyone knows everyone by first name or “you’re Johnny’s boy, aren’t you?” and there’s hardly no crime. On this little street was a shop where you could dress up and take vintage pictures.

When went in and the woman behind the counter gave us a book to look at different people in their photo shoots to see what we’d like to wear for ours. Another woman came from the back and said, “Oh, no. I have the perfect outfit for you.”

John and I look at her, then to each and back to her. She smiled and pointed right him! “You,” she confirmed and offered her hand to him.

He looked a nervous wreck at first, but he went off with her anyway. He returned 5 minutes later with the largest grin I had ever seen on him. The woman had dressed him in a black God Father hat and a black pinstriped suit. I burst into laughter.

“He looks great doesn’t he? I saw his inner godfather,” she said to me.

I couldn’t help but agree. The woman then held her finger up, turned and dug in a large toy chest near the counter. She handed John a big plastic tommy gun. He looked at it and miraculously his smile widened.

“Yes, it’s very you,” the woman added then turned to me. “Well, if he’s a gangster, you must be his maul.”

 Maul?

She had showcased John’s inner gangster so I followed the lady without question. I was about to see my inner maul and so are you.

                                             
                                                                 

Ta Da!

It was so much fun! We played dress up and took several more pics but ended up buying this one because it was our favorite. It was the first time we went but it won’t be the last. I will be doing this again when we return to Brown County to try the zipline. And, yes, I will show you guys that little adventure, too. *wink*

Dana
http://www.danalittlejohn.net/

week 6: Symphony magic

Hello everyone!
Here we are at week 6! My something new this week was a no brainer. I saw a commercial that said, "The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is celebrating 50 years of James Bond! You won't want to miss this!" and I said, nope! I sure don't!" What better way to enjoy my first symphony.

I love James Bond! My first James Bond flick was The Spy who Loved Me with Roger Moore. That was it for me. I was going to marry James Bond and grow up to be a Bond Girl! LOL Years later, after seeing For Your Eyes Only I declared Roger Moore the best spy ever, my mother promptly informed me that Roger Moore wasn't the first James Bond. She said--with a huff!--that the first James Bond movie was Dr. No back in 1962. So Sean Connery was the real James Bond.

Now how was I supposed to know that? I wasn't even born yet!

Anyway, since then I have seen every single James Bond movie. It broke my heart when Roger stepped down. I was all for Pierce Bronson coming on board to fill his shoes, but the powers that be didn't choose him despite the outcry of the public. They chose Timothy Dalton. He wasn't a bad Bond I guess.. He did two movies: The Living Day Light and License to Kill and they were okay. When "they" finally got it together and picked up Pierce, he did the next 4 Bond installments. They messed all the way up when they chose Daniel Craig as Bond. He doesn't even fit the physical profile of James Bond! I mean, seriously, who the hell thoug— I'm sorry. I'm ranting. Let me get back to the symphony.
So anyway...
                                        

My friend Myles accompanied me to this event. My husband informed me early on in this adventure that he would not be coming to all of my planned or spontaneous events, but he didn’t mind doing drop off and pick ups, so I was cool with that.

We walked passed one of the bars inside the Hilbert Circle Theatre on the way to the doors we would enter to the theater and the bartender greeted us politely. She waved us over and asked if we’d like to try a Symphony Happy Meal. My friend and I looked at each other and smiled. We sure do! was our quick reply. No, we had no idea what it was, but the woman said it was a symphony tradition. So, who are we to break tradition?
                                      
                                                                
                          Champagne and trufflesà a Symphony Happy Meal

So we took our drinks and truffles into the theater. We had balcony seats near the orchestra. The theater is really set up very nice. There really aren’t any bad seats.
The music was awesome! They played the James Bond theme, the music from Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Casino Royale, The World is Never Enough and had a vocalist to sing the themes to Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, For Your Eyes Only and Live and Let Die.

After a brief intermission the orchestra played other music from James Bond inspired songs like Secret Agent Man and movies like The Pink Panther and Austin Powers. Soul Bossa Nova is the theme song to Austin Powers. Did you know that Quincy Jones did that? I knew Q had done a CD witht he same title, but i never made the connection until then. The CD version sounds way cooler with Naturally 7 singing it with Ludacris.

Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1dx7C0OHj4  

The show was great! I wish I could have taped some of the music for you, but they frown on that you know. They wrapped it up with the James Bond theme and took their bow.

Would I do it again? Absolutely!

Dana
www.danalittlejohn.net

week 5: Pottery day

Taking a page from Carson's book I decided to try pottery too. This was an event I could get my husband to go to. We showed up at the class and were 2 of 7. Michael, our instructor, was very easy to understand and he walked us through each step. We found the class very easy.
This is how our project started. A blank canvas.

           

Then we panted the inside and outside brown.









Next we had to trace the flower pattern we wanted on our project so we can paint each section. Now I know it all looks brown, but he swore to me that once it was fired the real colors would come out. I was skeptical too, but I did what he said.


See? No color, right?
Well, after a long, nail biting week went by I picked up my creation and voila! This is what I have.



He was right! I was stunned out how good it came out! I'm thinking of taking Micheal's glass works class next! If he can teach me to do this, anything is possible! LOL I will definitely do this again!

Dana
http://www.danalittlejohn.net/

week 4: I took a step back in time!

Dana Littlejohn back to share how I took a step back in time with my visit to Medieval Times. It is a dinner (or lunch) and show that takes you back into the days of the kings, knights of the realm and chivalry. They have castle in many cities. And when I say castles, I mean castle.

                                           

Since I live in Indianapolis, the closest castle to me was in Schaumberg, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. The place was beautiful. Lots of tapestries on the walls, suits of armor in every corner and the workers were dressed in time period clothing. They encouraged us to call them serfs and wenches.

We were escorted into the arena where the show would take place. John, our serf, brought our dish wear. When he returned with our drinks I mentioned we didn't have forks. He simply smiled and said to my husband,

“I see that your maiden is new to this realm. She is unaware that we do not use such things here.” Then he turned to me and said, “Today we are serving a tradition meal for the kingdom, dragon blood soup with flat bread, roasted baby dragon, dragon fingers and potatoes.”

Soon as he left I was like, huh? So my husband laughed then translated. “We have to eat with our fingers, honey.”

Oh. Then I stared at the dishes wondering how that would happen. LOL

                                             

Luckily it wasn’t as bad as I thought. John returned with the meal It looked and tasted surprisingly like tomato bisque soup, ½ a roasted chicken and barbeque ribs. LOL All very good, by the way.  

 

John also told us that we were sitting in the Blue Knight's section. So he was our hero and we would be cheering for him.

The show started as we ate with the Black Knight coming into town basically telling the King he was going to run over everyone, marry the Princess and rule the kingdom out from under him. The king wasn’t having it so he gathered his knights and told them one of them was going to have to handle the Black Knight.

So the tournament was on. Our Blue Knight fought well.  

                                                             
It was so cool. Anyway, the Black and White Knight went on to kick everyone’s butt and the King sent him to defeat the evil Black Knight. Which he did and all was well in the kingdom once more.

It was a 3 hour event show and meal. It was great! When we exited the arena the picture wench (snicker) asked if we wanted to dress up and take a photo to remember the day. We looked at each other and smiled. YES!

                                                             

What did I think of my experience?
I must admit, of all the new things I have tried so far this was the best. We are only at week 4 and I have so many fun things planned, but a day at Medieval Times is going to be hard to top.

I will definitely do this again. We are already making plans to bring our son when he comes home for the summer. The show will have changed by then but even if it doesn’t we will do it again!


Dana
http://www.danalittlejohn.net/

week 4: Do you know your manners?

HI everyone!

Dana Littlejohn back with you to ask if you know your manners? I found out that if I took an a communication class I could add a whole .15 to my pay at work. Since there is soooo much I can do with .15 I decided what the hey! I might learn something I didn't know. LOL

The 3hr class I found promised to teach poise, communication skills, consideration and table manners. I figured it had the communication skills in there so I was good! The rest was just a gimme. LOL

Anyway, The woman giving the class went on about the history of etiquette and how it wasn't just for upper-class families or preparing for a debutant ball. It was intended to prepare young folk how to treat others with with respect, value integrity and teach the expectations of society. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that stuff your Mama and Daddy are supposed to teach you? It would seem rich folk paid someone else to do that!

Since there were a few guys in the class, we were separated for the next two sections so they could be specific to male and female. My next section was poise. 

We learned how to carry ourselves with poise. We also learned the benefits of good posture, how to sit and stand correctly and walk with grace. Next we tackled table manners. At this time she went kind of fast because we would go into more detail when we practiced at the dining table. ( I was like, huh? but okay, whatever)

We met back up with the men to go over communication skills. They went over tips to feel more confident when meeting new people, during job interviews and public speaking as well as how to introduce yourself, shake hands properly, the importance of eye contact and how to respond to invitations. They even went over phone etiquette since everyone has a cell phone and whoever is calling will get you directly.

Now, I don't know about you,but Mom and Dad didn't sit me down for this one. LOL There was some stuff in there that I simply didn't know.

The next section was showing consideration, the art of putting others first. You should have seen the stunned looks on the men's faces when they were learning to pull chairs out and open doors for the ladies. They even looked a little stunned when the instructor reminded them it was courteous to let others pass when going through a door in a public place and someone was coming at the same time. O-O

Again, it might just be me, these are things that should have been taught at the table or just idle chit-chatting around the house. But, okay, whatever. 

Once all the sit down and learn something stuff as done, we went into the dining etiquette. First she asked us to set the table like we know how. I was like, okay I can do that. So this is my table.

Not bad right? Okay so then she taught us what a proper table should look like and why. And this is what my table looked like when I did it again.

Better huh? All that stuff was there the first time, I just didn't know to use them. LOL

At the end of the three hours I felt enriched. I will accept the little .15 they give me, but I think what I learned will be worth so much more down the road. )

Dana 

www.danalittlejohn.net 

Week 3: I can paint? who knew!

So here we are at week 3!

I gotta say finding new stuff to try is hard work! LOL I really is, but I have incorporated a few friends to help. I haven't figured out if that's good or not yet, but I will keep you posted. They have lots of good ideas, but some of that stuff I'm like...hmmm.

This time I dragged my husband out to a place called Wine and Canvas. Their website says it has locations in a few cities around the country. They even have a kid friendly version called Cookies and Canvas. 

A calendar is posted monthly on the 20th of the month. It shows you what picture you will be panting, where you will be (Indy has 2 locations) and what times they start. It even shows if the class is already filled so you can plan ahead.

You choose the date, time and picture by scanning the calendar. Once you have the one you want you schedule online, pay online and your ready to go when you get there.The cost per person was under $40! Cheap by today's standards.

Basically you're paying for a painting class and and all your supplies, however, they do offer--how did the hostess put it? Oh yeah!-- liquid motivation, in case you need some. :) Of course for the non-drinkers and DD's in the crowd they had waters and sodas to buy as well.

The class was so much fun. The teacher was very knowledgeable at her craft and extremely patient even when the 'motivation' started to really flow. We took a Friday night class that ran from 7-10pm.  The instructor used simple, easy language with a step by step method.

 

I was amazed at how the picture came together as we added to each section.

And viola! The finished product is hanging in my living room :)

 

What did I think of the new thing I tried?

I loved it! And for the record, so did my husband. Under the right circumstances I had painting skill I knew nothing about! The wine was really good too. I mean...I was highly motivated to keep painting. :) (pssst! they carry a really good Moscoto) 

I will definitely be adding this into my rotation of things to do.

Until next week! TA!

Dana 

http://www.danalittlejohn.net/  

Week 2: Fondue? Huh?

Hey everyone!
 Dana Littlejohn here to continue week 2 with a question for you: Do you fondue?

Had someone asked me that a month ago I would have said: what's fondue? A few times a year restaurants in our city get together and lower the prices of meals. The proceeds from those meals go to specific charities. Usually the restaurants in question are very expensive and my husband and I don't usually get the chance to go, so when these things come up we try to take advantage.

We went to the Melting Pot. It is a fondue based restaurant just outside Indianapolis in Carmel Indiana. I had never had fondue, but I had heard it was like a melted cheese thing. My brain went straight to queso. I like queso I kept an open mind, although I had no idea how you could build a whole menu around melted cheese. Our server Bonnie walked us through the whole experience. She was very patient and extremely knowledgeable with all of my never ending questions.

The appetizer was absolutely fantastic. The server made the cheese fondue at the table. When it was done she brought the bowl of veggies, the chips and apples for us to dip in.

The main meal was delicious! Bonnie took away the cheese fondue and brought back a pot of already heated broth. Our food came raw. I had surf and turf; lobster, sirloin pieces and shrimp. John had carnivore delights; filet Mignon chunks, pork slices, seasoned lamb and chicken pieces. We were to add the sides first, pieces of potatoes, broccoli, mushrooms and asparagus and let them boil for at least ten minutes before adding our entrees.

 I ordered the specialty drink, a Romance martini. Those are strawberry slices floating on top. I had a few of these so I don't really remember what was in it. I just know it was delicious. :)

Our dessert came moments after dinner was complete. In the fondue pot this time was white chocolate and bananas flambé. Bonnie added a few shakes of cinnamon and sparkles jumped off the blue fire. It was amazing. To dip in the melted chocolate we had a variety of delights! Strawberries, rice krispy treats, bananas, brownie and red velvet cake chunks.


What did I think of my new experience?
Well...there were two minor things that poked at me. I thought it was a lot of work and a little expensive for me to be cooking my own meal, and then there was the snafoo with the carrots. As we ordered our meals, I asked our sever not to garnish any of the main dishes with carrots because I am allergic. We wanted to taste each others food and having an epi-pen situation would kill the mood. Alas, my husband's meal still arrived sitting on top of a very pretty julienne carrot garnish. Thus I could not taste anything he had.

Now, having said that, my visit to The Melting Pot was a unique and pleasurable experience. The music, the ambiance and design of this place was wonderful. Perfect for date nights. No wonder they had so many awards for best romantic restaurant on the wall as you entered!

The meal was a crescendo of deliciousness! Each part was better than the next. I absolutely loved everything that was served...well except the asparagus. Having never had it I didn't know if I liked it. Now I know: HATED IT! :) but everything else was absolutely amazing.

I will definitely repeat this experience and if you have a Melting Pot (http://www.themeltingpot.com/) in your city you should check it out too! Hey! I liked it so much I'm thinking of putting it into one of my books! :)

TA!
Dana
http://www.danalittlejohn.net/

week 1: Midget wrestling? Who knew!

You read that ticket right!

There I was packing up to leave work on Friday night looking forward to a few drinks and watching my Indiana Jones four pack, when I got this text: Midget wrestling, tonight, 8 seconds, wanna go?

I wasn't one that got into wrestling. I mean yeah, I used to make it a point to watch when The Rock was in the ring. Seriously, I wasn’t about to miss an opportunity to see The Rock in a pair of ting black panties and nothing else. :) So, with no Rock in the ring I was a bit leery about the whole thing, but for the sake of doing something new I answered the text with one word: YUP!

I'm so glad I did! It was so much fun! I wish I could have gotten my phone to work so show you the actual fighting. It was full of the hype, fanfare and drama that regular wrestling has. They had the crowd pump, screaming and hollering for the favorite fighters. These guys were tossing each other around the ring jumping off the ropes and everything!

 Here I am with the winner, "Sampson" and two other wrestlers-- "Huggie Cub" on the far left (he tags himself as Huggy Bear's illegimate son) and "Meatball"  in the center.

Although I had a difference event in mind to share with you for my opening post, I knew this had to change it to this. It was a great experience and I had a blast! If they come back to Indianapolis I will definitely go back. If Hulk Hogan's Micro Wrestling stops in your city be sure to check them out. They put on a good show and you will have a great time!

Ta!
Dana
http://www.danalittlejohn.net/

Try Something New coming soon!

Hey everyone!
I am Carson Douglas, doer of new things and man of action (HA!) here to welcome you to our 52 week challenge. Along with Dana Littlejohn and Tonya Blowe we welcome you to follow us as we take the journey into the unknown.

We all know how easy it is to become complacent in the things we do. We get comfortable. We know what to expect and we like it that's why we keep doing it. There's nothing wrong with sticking to what you know. That’s not a bad thing, but it does leave the door open for us to fall into a rut. When that happens stagnation is not far behind.

Dana, Tonya and I have decided that we‘re going to actively fight that situation. We have come together to say in one voice, “Back up off me rut! I’m walking in the light of finding new and exciting things to do!”

A little about us:

Carson Douglas lives in Atlanta, Ga. He works at a magazine and his dog, Rico is his best non-human friend.  He also loves trying new stuff and considers himself a bit of a daredevil.

Dana Littlejohn lives in Indianapolis, In. She is an author of sensual romance, living in an empty nest with her husband. She also enjoys exotic foods, Salsa dancing and Disney movies.

Tonya Blowe lives in Raleigh, NC. She is a lifestyle photographer who specializes in everything from baby bumps photos to boudoir and will take all family growing shot in between. You choose the the memory and she'll create the moment and lock it in time.

As you can see, we come from 3 different backgrounds and live in 3 different cities so our experiences have the potential to be all over the place with newness!! Come back and see what new stuff we get ourselves into. Maybe you’ll find something new for you to try.

Launch day: April 2, 2012