Day 31 - subway breakfast and gay club plus shot

This morning I (Taylor) struggled with being completely hungry at 7am because I had to go in to work earlier than normal. I brainstormed for something relatively healthy and filling. I opted to give subway's breakfast a try. I'll be honest, it was delicious! 

Lynn here. I did not get my first started until late. I was joined by sister Marian and friend Juli and at nine pm, we headed out to The Edge. My first time in a gay bar. Then I had my first shot. I know...it is crazy that I am almost 55 and just had my first shot. Be sure and check out Day 32 because day 31 continued with another first.

Day 30 New Office and donating to a sister

Today I began moving into my new office. Nothing new about that except this office has a window. I have not had an office with a window since 1988. It would be exciting but this particular office has the reputation of being colder than an iceberg. Since the previous occupant moved out, the door has been shut otherwise the rest of the office gets about fifteen degrees colder. Really looking forward to working in an igloo. We have ordered me a new heater and it will be nice to see outside.

View from my office window.

Today I (Taylor) chose to donate to a sorority sister who was taken too early in life. She was diagnosed with cancer earlier this week and passed away only a couple of days later. Although I had never met her, she seemed to have had a huge impact on the chapter I was a part of. 

Day 29 - YouTube dancing and unpublished book

With the bitter cold and snow, it has been challenging to come up with a first. Tonight I got Marian to agree to help me. We pulled up YouTube on the TV and learned to do some dance moves. We learned the hustle, the electric slide, the Cupid shuffle and finished it up with the cha cha shuffle. The dog joined in. A fun time was had by all and we learned we are not good at it but we can have fun looking like idiots. Now we are laughing at all the past Super Bowl commercials. My favorite will be the 2011 Volkswagen one with little Darth Vador starting the car with his mind. They just showed this years Volkswagen and I was crying it was so funny.

One of my favorite things about mom's post is when she said the cha cha shuffle. Isn't she adorable? (FYI mom it's the cha cha slide) 

Today I chose to read a book my therapist has written about marriages. It's not even published yet. It's pretty cool to say you've read a book that isn't even published!! 

Day 28 - Reviews on Amazon and molten lava cake

It is hard to come up with a first when you are stuck inside on a snowy January day. The south shuts down when it snows and today was no different. I buy a number of things on Amazon and I never review them. Today I reviewed some of the books I had purchased. Only the ones I like though. :)

I (Taylor) can attest to the south shutting down when it snows. It's a bit ridiculous. Today has been a lot better than the past few days for me. I haven't seen my best friend in a really long time. So she and I treated ourselves to a best friend date night. We heade to get manis and pedis and then went to dinner. My first comes from dinner. I first purposefully only ate half of my meal so I didn't indulge too many points (for weight watchers) but then we sat so long we decided to eat some dessert. If you've never tried their new Reese's molten lava cake.... You must! It's delicious!! We've never had it before and decided to split it. So I blew my diet on that alone but it was worth it for sure!

Day 27 - FaceTime

Taylor and I face timed today. I know it was my first time. We tried Skyping but it did not work. Marian and I tried it later and it worked but I think it did not work with Taylor because I had not put in my phone number. It would ring and we could hear each other but no video. Oh well who knows. FaceTime works just as well and it was a blast actually seeing her when we talked. We are going to have to do it more. I need to try it with Jonas. 

It was a challenging day. Jonas and Keri got some horrible news. I found out I have to move into a new office. That office is freezing. Not going to make for a fun work day. And I cannot find parts to fix my shower.  Enough bitching for now. 

It was my first timeFaceTime-ing as well. It definitely was a nice change to be able to see mom and even better to not have to keep saying huh because of the phone reception. 

It's definitely been a whirlwind of emotions the last few days to say the least. 

Day 26 - pineapple casserole and Siri

Taylor here. With 2 days of new restaurants failing, I accomplished my 1st for today by 8am. 

We had my grandmothers family reunion this morning in crossville. I decided to make pineapple casserole for the occasion since we all have to take food. 

Backstory- when I first started at CFA almost a year ago (cray) I was invited to

My boss's house for dinner. His wonderful wife made this delicious pineapple casserole and I've been craving it like crazy recently for some reason. I think it turned out amazingly in my opinion and I'm excited for leftovers. 

Here is the recipe if you're interested:

http://www.cooks.com/recipe/n10qs4nn/pineapple-casserole.html

Lynn here. I am surprised Taylor did not write about my first today since she had such a good laugh over mine. I got a new IPhone this time with Siri. While driving to Crossville for the reunion, I played with Siri. I had her call Taylor and then send her a text. I find I enjoy talking to my phone and having it do all the work. (Taylor sidenote: I had tons of laughs at how much fun she was having with Siri. My mother is a nut!)

And about the casserole, I dislike pineapple so I did not care for it, but everyone else raved about it. I would recommend it highly.

Day 25 - Strip Poker and new bad movies

Today my guild had a get together and we played strip poker. No, not that kind. We all brought two and a half inch strips of fabric to bet with. We went around the table rolling a die and either put a strip in the center, passed to the left or right, missed a turn or won all the strips in the center of the table. We had so much fun! After a random amount of time, one person at each table would move to a new table. We had so much fun. BTW - this is Lynn

Well, another evening of expecting to try a new restaurant and it not happening. This afternoon after getting my (Taylor) hair trimmed (getting it prepared to donate sometime this year), I headed back home and decided to partake in 2 lifetime movies I've never seen before. Couldn't tell you the names without having to look them up. One was about a girl who is a legacy to a sorority and her going through rush. The other had Jessie from Saved by the Bell and was about a teacher (played by Jessie) that was assaulted by a student but was framed for being the one that came on to the student. Am I the only one who gets completely sucked into Lifetime movies and can't stop watching no matter what?? 

Day 24 - happy birthday!! Watching some firsts and zappos for fat calves

First I have to wish my son a Happy 30th birthday. I cannot believe it has been 30 years. He grew up to become a wonderful man that I am so proud of. 

My first today had to be something easy cause I am still fighting this stomach virus. I decided to watch some things for the first time:

   Classic movie "The Miracle Worker" with Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft

    Reality TV - "Monster In-Laws" - I had never even heard of this show but I watched all of season one. 

    Broadway show - "Million Dollar Quartet"

That is all for me today.

Taylor here! Happiest of birthday wishes to my big brother as well!

Today has a special story. Going back to this weekend when we sent a stranger a gift from their registry: I got a message on Facebook from the girl I sent my gift to. She was so appreciative and said she couldn't wait to tell her daughter how she got her first stuffed animal :) she plans to do the same thing for someone else! It was such a sweet and touching moment reading the message. 

On to today's first. Josh and I had planned to try a new restaurant. We bought either the Bell Buckle Cafe for somewhere in Nashville. But thanks to his work being so unpredictable he decided we would go tomorrow instead. So that left me at close to 8pm with no first having been done again. I've been on the hunt for some mid-calf boots that fit my fat calves. I discovered a few days ago that zappos.com lets you pick the circumference of the boots you need. So I bought a pair of boots for the first time using zappos. Here's to hoping they got when they get here! Oh and they have free next day shipping!! 

Here is a shot of the boots. Cute huh?

Day 23 - Instagram and handwritten letter fail

I don't see a Day 23 so I guess Taylor did not blog yesterday. I was coming down with a stomach virus (thank you very much Marian). Since I was feeling so bad I decided to go for something easy - I joined Instagram. It is amazing to me how much social media there is out there. So far, Facebook is still my favorite.

Mom would be correct. After I did my first last night I promptly caught up on my shows and went to bed. 

My first yesterday was to write a handwritten letter and send it snail mail to someone. I chose one of my best friends who now lives in Washington. I came across a few pictures from our freshman year we had taken so I mailed those too. But now as I write this I realize I had done that in the past 10 years. So does that mean I epically failed at the task??? When josh was overseas I mailed him letters and care packages all the time. Well crap! Oh well. Can't go back and redo yesterday :-( 

I think writing a friend is different from writing your man.

Day 22 - bucket lists

Twenty-two days into our challenge and still loving it. It is exciting and challenging every day to find a first. I decided yesterday what I would do today - finally write down my Bucket List. I have had an idea of things I wanted to do but had never written it down. It was actually harder than I thought. You are staring at a blank sheet of paper and suddenly you cannot think of a single thing. I started with travel. That was easy because I have not traveled much. Too busy raising my wonderful children. Now they are grown with families of their own so it's my turn. I have started. I got my passport and went on a cruise, and then finally made it to Washington D. C. I have taken some drawing classes. I surfed the internet and looked at other people's list to clear up my writer's block. A lot of what I found I was not interested in or have already done. I found some things though and there is space for more. Hopefully this year I will be able to mark through some.

I decided to copy Mom's idea today. It's always good to have your bucket list written down. So I wrote mine on my phone and will transfer it to paper soon. Here ya go :-) 

Day 21 - registry fail, will writing, and keek post

I (Lynn) decided my first today would be to sign up on the bone marrow donor register. I meant to do it before and never got around to it. Doesn't that sound familiar? Why do we never get around to things? Well it was not to be. First you cannot be older than 55 and I turn 55 this year but I was going to go ahead and sign up. I might be able to help someone for the seventeen months I would be eligible. I continued reading and I did not qualify due to having rheumatoid arthritis. I was crushed. What to do now? There was something else I had been putting off...rewriting my will and my living will. So that was today's first. I wrote my first will when Jonas was a baby and I was still married to his Dad. Jonas turns 30 on Friday so it was time, don't you think? I now officially have a will and a living will. 

I (Taylor) again struggled with today's first. I resorted back to social media. I stumbled across an app called Keek that seems to be all the rage with some celebs. I had downloaded the app a while back but never posted on it. Basically the app is like Instagram but video based instead of pictures. So I decided to post my first Keek. It was horrible but i did it! 

Day 20 - library book note and Kickstarter

I have really enjoyed my MLK day off from work. My Stitch and Bitch group came over for a day of good food and fellowship. There are six of us that have formed a tight group and the creativity is out of this world. We had someone beading, one teaching another English paper piecing, one hand quilting, a needle felter and I was embroidering on a quilt top. 

This was what Gina needle felted. Isn't she cute? She is Gina and Nancy's dog Morgan and she even has some Morgan hair in her. My first today was a small one. I put a note in my library book before I dropped it off at the library.

I have not talked to Taylor so she will have to let you know what she did today.

Taylor here - my MLK day wasn't as exciting as mom's. I had to work and with everyone else off, of course we were slammed. I also had an event at work where we granted some Christmas wishes of our Facebook followers. (Yes, we realize it's almost a month after the holiday). 

I struggled today to come up with what to do because I didn't have much time to think about it. So late at night laying in bed I decided I would explore some social media apps. I have heard of Kickstarter but I haven't ever pledged to a cause. Kickstarter is a site where musicians and artists of all kinds can go to get pledges of money from others. They'll agree to give back something to you if they're project gets enough money to "kickstart." Usually they'll break down their giveback in different levels of pledges. A little confusing, I know. But it makes sense when you discover the site. So I downloaded the app to my phone to explore who I want to pledge money to in the near future (maybe a first for that day?) 

Day 19 - strangers registry gifts

Since Taylor and I are together, we decided to do the same first today. We tossed a few ideas around but nothing was inspiring us. Taylor suggested buying a stranger a gift from their wish list. We weren't sure if this was possible but we were willing to try it. We went to the Toys 'R Us website and started looking. Marian gave us a random three letters, we pick Tennessee. I found someone almost immediately. The couple were expecting in February. They were from Lenoir City. The first thing I saw on their list was a baseball security blanket. Since my first baby was a boy who loves baseball, it was fate. I bought it and sent her a note explaining she did not know me and the baseball connection. Taylor had a harder time making up her mind. My sweet girl has always had trouble making up her mind. We finally found someone in Murfreesboro and she purchased a cute giraffe stuffed animal. This was so much fun. It is fun to imagine them opening the box and wondering who sent it. What a great first. Everyone should try it!

***if you're looking for day 18, it's written after day 14.***

Day 17 - library app and pay it forward

Lynn - Downloaded a book onto my Kindle App from the Knox County Library. Now I just need to find time to read.

Taylor - She bought the meal for the person behind her at the Chick-fil-a in Lebanon. You would think she would get enough chicken since she works at the one in Murfreesboro.

Day 16 - amazon prime and dinner date

Lynn- I learned to get our Amazon Prime to show on our TV. I have always watched it on my IPad and I got to watch my obsession "Justified" on the big screen.

Taylor- Had dinner by herself. She ate at Camino's which is a favorite of hers. She did not like eating by herself. If she was a reader, she could read. Makes eating alone easier.

Day 15 - ribbon acceptance and almond milk

Lynn - I found out my ribbon was accepted for the Smoky Mountain Quilters 2014 quilt show. I was asked to make the special ribbon for the winner of the novice category. The show is May 23-25 on the campus of Maryville College. I will post a picture with the winning quilt.

Taylor - Tried Almond milk. It was sweeter than "normal" milk. She is going to try making a smoothie with it, if she can ever find a time her husband is not asleep.

Day 18 - blogging and crocheting

Today's first for me (Lynn) - I am blogging! Taylor set up a joint blog for us to share since we are both doing the First challenge. My favorite first was driving through Sonic and buying the car behind me their order. I helped Taylor get her first today. I am teaching her to crochet. It is very hard for her. She has no patience and she wants everything to be perfect the first time. She is doing a great job though. It is so fun to share something you love with someone you love.

Day 14 - Be the Match and pay it forward

Day 14 was rather exhausting for me (Taylor). It started off with a meeting at 8:30 and an event at work that lasted until after 8. Working non stop that long is exhausting! But man do I love my job! So after getting home around 9 I still hadn't done a first for the day. I decided to do some google searching and see what I could find. Well this is what I ended up doing. 

I registered online for an organ and marrow transplant list! I'm pretty excited. Once you register, they send you a test kit to get samples. 

Mom did something that I absolutely love when it takes place and I've always wanted to do it but never have started a chain of it. Mom stopped by sonic on her way to work to get one of our favorite drinks... That's right.. A diet cherry limeade. She graciously paid for the car behind her. 

Happy Tuesday! 

Day 13 - walking and tv watching, and bokwa

Mom got a bit adventurous and daring today. She decided to take a walk around upstairs at her work while watching a tv show on her ipad! Had I ever attempted that I would have tripped and fallen about every 5 steps. Major props mom!

Today I decided to try a new dance class at the gym. It's called bokwa. Apparently the class wasn't very popular the first week so the teacher made it a Zumba and hip hop class. So I'm not sure I can classify it as a first, but I tried! 

Day 12 - movie date and embroidery machine

Today I chose to step out of my box. I've never understood why people went to movies alone. I was a bit anxious about it, but that's what I did. I went to see August with Julia Roberts. To put it politely it was a very screwed up movie but it was exceptionally written, was funny and sad all wrapped in one. I would definitely recommend it. It wasn't awful going alone but I still enjoy going with someone else.

Mom tried out Aunt Mary's new embroidery machine. I didn't know she got one, and I must say this has potential to make me very exited and make my closet full of adorable monogram items.

Happy Sunday and have a wonderful week! See you tomorrow. 

Day 11 - speaking to a stranger and manicure

Those of you who know my mom know just how amazing she is. If I had one wish it would be that more people had the opportunity to know her and experience just how wonderful she is. I get some qualities from her. Being introverted and somewhat shy around strangers is one of those. Mom doesn't tend to talk to strangers (and frankly neither do I). So she decided day 11 she would. On her shopping trip to Hobby Lobby, she did just that. As she says, it wasn't as bad as se thought it would be. As someone who takes after her in that aspect, I must say I'm proud of her! 

I didn't do anything as cool as that. I wanted to feel a little girly and pretty and took the opportunity of the day to go get a manicure. Not just a typical one. I gt a gel polish manicure. Which I've never had before. It's supposed to last 2 weeks, keep the shine and not chip. So we'll see how it goes. 

Here is a shot of the very light pink I chose (and a shot of my beautiful Christmas present from josh). 

 

Day 10 - willies and o'possums

Mom and I had pretty much the same idea when it came to our firsts on day 10. We both tried new restaurants!

I'll let mom update you on her experience at Willie's. I'm not even sure where it is or what kind of food they have. 

Josh and I headed to what we thought was a German restaurant here in the boro. We know there is one in Nashville (which I'm sure we'll hit up for one of my firsts), but I was told there was one on the other side of town from us. So we headed out for dinner. What we got was a hole in the wall Irish pub inspired place. Really cool decorations and the staff even wore kilts. I'll have to recommend this place to anyone who likes placed like that. Exceptionally wonderful food. Josh had a beer, we split an app with fried pickles, fried mushrooms, and fried cheese. I tried it all but only enjoyed the cheese haha! We each had a meat and 2 sides. We got out of there for about $50 including tip. So not bad. Here are some shots of dinner. Didn't want to look like a fool an take pictures of the place. So it's just food. 

Day 9 - pandora, jumbotron and pregnant bellies

Well day 9 has come and gone (as I'm writing this close to midnight on the 11th). 

Mom took it easy and created a new Pandora station. (I'll let her fill in the artist it was based around when she starts writing). 

I on the other hand set out to be on the jumbotron at the Preds hockey game. Now, in a situation like that, you aren't guaranteed it'll happen. So I had to come up with a back up plan just in case. In steps my SIL (Andrea). She's pregnant an due in early/mid March. Well my memory is telling me I've never touched a pregnant belly and actually felt the baby. So that's what I did. I felt little baby Tylen and his booty! Crazy! Then not long after a smidgen of my face was on the jumbotron at the game! Good night overall. Would have been even better had the Preds actually won! 

Day 8 - groupon purchase and ninja review

Day 8 was pretty exciting for mom (at least I would be excited if I were her). Mom has shopped online before, but never purchased anything like a groupon or living social deal. So... That's what she did! And to make it even better, it's for another firstwe'll do together later this year. She bought passes for 4 to go whitewater rafting! I'll admit. I'm not overly excited but hear me out on why... The last time we went (and yes, it was at least 10 yrs ago) I was the only one in our entire group that got thrown out of the boat while going through a rapid. Being a little kid I feared I was going to go under and never come back up! Thankfully that didn't happen and here I am today. But I'm still a bit nervous. 

My day 8 consisted of writing a review of my beautiful Ninja on amazon. I've never written a product review before so it was pretty cool getting to do so. 

Until next time readers! 

Day 7 - twitter world and green smoothies

Well day 7 brought on a new social media world to Mom.

Mom joined the Twitter world! (Go follow her @lynn_sykes). As of today (Jan 11) she's got 6 followers, and is following 61 people. She's only tweeted once, so lets all encourage her to do it some more!

Day 7 for me brought on a new kitchen appliance! Josh (the husband) bought me a Ninja for Christmas. I finally broke it out of the box and decided to make/try my first green smoothie! I mixed up frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, water and spinach. I must say, it was rather tasty! I didn't drink all of it because I wanted to save it for breakfast the next morning. Most filling and delicious smoothie I've ever had.

Here are a few pictures of the smoothie process.

Mixing water and spinach.

Mixing everything together 

Day 6 - bubble blowing and sports bets

Day 6 is here and it's another cold one. 

The chilly weather inspired Mom's first today. It's been a long while (since my brother and myself were little ones) since mom has blown bubbles. She heard if you blow bubbles in below freezing temperatures the bubbles will become frozen/solid. Well a big let down with day 6. The bubbles didn't do anything! 😁

Here are Mom's bubbles

My day 6 was inspired by my husband. He's a betting man. So I decided I would make my first bet on a sport. Now don't get all crazy on me. It was just a bet between him and myself. 

We made a bet a few weeks ago that he ended up loosing so he currently owes me $50. He decided our bet would be double or nothing on who won the BCS championship. I even let him pick. His pick - FSU. My pick - Auburn.We'll see what the outcome is in a quarter and a half!

 

Days 4 & 5 - hot tea, Miller's Grocery, Sunday paper & WW magazine

Well, it's starting to get cold here in Tennessee. Lets hope it's not too bad in the morning when we head off to work!

Day 4 consisted of Mom making hot tea from loose tea leaves. Pretty cool huh? I didn't even know something like that existed! Mom said it was very enjoyable. I foresee that happening again! Here is a picture.

Day 4 for myself included a trip to a little cafe type eatery about 20 minutes up the road. It's called Miller's Grocery. I've always heard it was good, but never knew where it was and never really thought about it when deciding on a dinner location. Let me tell you, if you're in the area looking for some country cooking - hit up Miller's! Soooo Good! A must try for the family. They even have live music normally on Friday and Saturday nights. Here's my meal. 

Day 5 (today) included the following: 

Mom read the entire Sunday paper from front to back. She said it took her about 2+ hours. She read every single ad, article, picture, etc. I'll say this .. She is a very disciplined and dedicated woman! I don't know that I could make that happen! 

I took a page from Mom's book, and read a Weight Watchers magazine front to back. Thankfully it didn't take me more than 2 hours! 

Side note - I saw Saving Mr. Banks today with one of my best friends. Wonderful movie! BUT if you have a sick child under the age of 7, don't take them to a crowded movie and talk to them the entire time. It ruins the movie for those around you! 

We hope you've enjoyed the weekend and stay warm! 

Days 2 & 3 - shelfies, WW meetings, lottery tickets, and jury duty oh my!

Day 2 & 3 have come and gone, and we're sitting in the late morning hours of day 4.

Day 2 brought the following for Mom and myself:
Mom: Mom decided that she would take her first (and she says last, but I'll work on her doing more) selfie at the Lady Vols vs LSU basketball game.
Taylor: I decided to take on a new journey into a healthy lifestyle. I've done Weight Watchers online before, but I partook in my first actual meeting!

Day 3 brought the following:
Mom: Mom bought her first lottery ticket! Unfortunately no money was won. I (Taylor) woke up on day 4 and saw someone in Tennessee had finally won mega millions for the first time and I got excited thinking it was Mom. I guess you have to actually play mega millions to win mega millions. Mom played power ball. But congratulations to the winner!
Taylor: My day consisted of getting out of jury duty. I'm 26 and have never been summoned for jury duty before, and I will say, I think it would be kind of cool to be on a jury. But I got summoned in Knox County and haven't been registered to vote there since the last presidential election. It was a lot easier to get out of than I had expected and heard. All it took was a phone call and I was done.

Here are some pictures from our adventures so far.

Mom's First Selfie (Day 2)

Taylor's First Weight Watcher's Meeting (Day 2)

 Mom's First Lottery Ticket (Day 3)

Day 1 - Welcoming in 2014

Happy New Year!

Taylor here - the daughter.

2013 brought lots of adventure to our lives (both good and bad), and we wanted to start a new adventure in 2014 together.

Mom and I have decided to try something brand new (or something that we haven't done in the last 10 years) every day for the next year. Mom heard about and read a book by Lu Ann Cahn that inspired our adventure. The book is titled I Dare Me. Our firsts can include anything from hot air balloon rides to zip lining to eating chocolate for every meal. The sky is the limit!

So today is January 1, 2014, which marks day 1 of our "firsts."

My first was partaking in the traditional (well part of it) New Years good luck meal. I've never had black eyed peas. So that's what I did. I stopped by the store last night after work and picked up what I'm assuming was the last can. No way I was spending hours soaking beans that I might not like!

My experience - They weren't awful, but they sure won't be on my list of favorite foods any time soon, if ever.

Mom's first was journaling. Josh (my husband) and I bought Mom a leather bound journal for Christmas. She's been a big fan of wanting to journal and I can remember her writing down significant things that happened throughout the day there for a while (not sure if that still happens or not). So she started journaling today.

I must say, I'm very excited to see where this year leads us and what kind of adventures we can get into together.

Here's to 2014!