Day 10: Positivity First Thing in the Morning #Adventurein2012

Today was a trying day for many reasons. When I came home and realized I still had not done my new adventure for the day, I became defeated and a little upset. It was too dark to walk anywhere and I do not have access to mass amounts of crafty things in this house.  Unwilling to give up on my mantra to live life and try something new everyday, I jumped in Cry Baby and headed out to A.C. and Moore. 

I walked those aisles mercilessly. Unwilling to really settle on anything and unable to find anything to bring a smile to my face I finally settled on an idea to remind myself of the positivity I have promised to live by. I purchased a white travel coffee mug and walked out those doors still grumpy.

When I came home, I poured myself a glass of red wine and pulled up Pintrest. I scrolled through the category "Quotes"coming across beautiful images and words that reminded me to not waste this life. Every time I found a quote that spoke to me, I took one of my sharpies and wrote it on my new white coffee mug. With each letter, my mood lifted slowly and when I was finished I took in my new travel cup. Every morning I will be able to read quotes to lift my spirits, realize I am enough and to keep the positivity going. Sometimes you need to see positivity first thing in the morning.

I  recommend this project to everyone. Put your individual spin on it. Put your thoughts, aspirations and passions down on this travel mug and you will be reminded every day why you do what you do.

One Day is Today

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Day 8 and 9: A Bear that serves burgers?

Day 8: Bareburger and A Beer the Size of My Head

Typically, when I go into the great city of Manhattan, I do not preconceive what restaurant I should eat at that evening. I walk around, taking in the smells, reading the menu's, seeing what year it was "Zagat rated"

However, on this trip, I was able to stroll along while my foodie guide for the night brought me towards this heavenly smell. After almost 5 blocks we came across this restaurant called Bareburger. I felt very Anthony Bourdain : No Reservations. There might have been some explicit words and conversations not to be overheard by anyone over 13 and a large mug of beer the size of my head but none the less, the company was exceptional and the food was to die for.

You pick your "style" of burger. I personally chose the Mediterranean which involved mint yogurt with cucumbers and glazed onions.

You then pick your "beast" as my wonderful guide put it. There were turkey, chicken, bison, lamb and many more "beasts". Did I mention it is all Organic! WHAT!

Lastly, You pick your "Bun". Do you feel like your bun of choice would be whole grain, rye, ...etc.

Delicious. DELICIOUS I SAY! You must check this out.

P.S.- Final recommendation- Get the 25 oz beer.

You must check this place out!






And now My friends, my DAY 9 of Adventure consisted of me sitting in my car Cry Baby and driving back to Auburn. Road trips that involve driving in or around Manhattan (with its traffic) are enough of an adventure for one day. TTFN from Bruce and I

One Day is Today

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Day 6 and 7:Spending time #Adventurein2012

Day 6:
Every human being out there is stressed, over worked and exhausted. Up until now, my solutions for those tough days is to take a minute and sip my coffee. However, My eyes have been opened!  I've had a religious awakening!

THE CHAIR MASSAGE!

A simple 30 minute chair massage at your local nail salon can help realign your spine, relieve any headache you have and release the knots in your back. And while you are at it, try getting a manicure. I swear, you will walk out feeling like a new woman. Men- to each his own!

It also is a wonderful time to catch up with friends or have a wonderful Mother/Daughter day.


Day 7:
Spending time in the most wonderful City while seeing phenomenal people and sights! My recommendation? Just get out there and do it! Where ever you want to see, what ever you would like to do, just do it. It is worth the energy!

One Day is Today!
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Day 5: Learning from the Great Chef Quigley #Adventurein2012

If you have never been to a Quigley Family Party or over for dinner then there is a small explanation needed.

 My father is, by trade, an English Professor who has an unnatural knack for technology. However, when he is off the clock, he comes home to his bat cave. Puts on his chef superhero cape and demolishes all raw enemies that come across his path.

You maybe thinking he is just a guy who messes around in his kitchen. You mean how Batman messed around in his cave? I am being honest, although he experiments with cooking off the clock, He and a team claimed the title of First Iron Chef at NYIT. There is even a fancy BLACK chef's jacket with gold embroidery to prove it. (Batman's colors? I see a pattern here)

Since I destroyed my back when I played pack mule across the Brooklyn Bridge, I thought today's adventure could be:

COOKING WITH CHEF QUIGLEY: Creating a Yellow Squash and Leak soup with Coriander

Is your mouth watering yet?

INGREDIENTS NEEDED:

• 1 Yellow Squash
• 2 Leaks
• Coriander (fresh is better)
• Saute Pan with Cover
• Blender (stick blender is easiest)

HOW TO DO:  

Follow Picture Guide counterclockwise from Top Left

1. Cut of top and bottom of leaks and toss them in the trash.
2. Take the steam of the leak and slice it down the middle. You will find grains in the leaks. To remove grains, place under water and fan the layers so that all grittiness is washed away. 
3. Slice the squash thin. 
4. Heat the saute pan and toss in leaks, squash and coriander.  When it reaches what looks like the bottom left picture you add vegetable stock until contents are just covered. 
5. Put the cover on pan and let simmer until veggies are tender (10 to 12 minutes so do not put on your favorite show on TV). 
6. Pour contents of saute pan into a large bowl. Place your stick blender into the bowl and press on. *CAUTION* if you do not place the stick blender low enough, prepare for a yellow squash and leak soup shower. 
7. This soup is meant to be chilled before serving. 
8. ENJOY! If you make this recipe please e-mail me photo's and tell me how it goes! I will post them! leafturned@gmail.com 

Remember, please share your adventures or idea's you would like me to try. Join me ! 

One Day is Today. 

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Day 4: Tourist in My Home City. #Adventurein2012 #IHeartNYC

One of the perks of this new life goal is the "excuse" to be a tourist in a city I grew up in. I have gone to:

• The Statue of Liberty
• Ellis Island
• Top the of Empire State Building (My thoughts and prayers with the victims of todays shooting)
• China Town
• Little Italy
• Canal St.
• Macy's at Christmas Time
• Rockafeller Center
• Times Square

What was left? What was I missing? Why it is the Brooklyn Bridge. I have never walked the Brooklyn Bridge.  But then again- How many New Yorkers have walked the Brooklyn Bridge?

Anyways...

FUN FACTS ABOUT THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE:

1. The Golden Gate Bridge was modeled after it because of how well it has lasted. 
2. After the 9/11 attacks people walked across it to leave Manhattan. 
3. The first person to jump of the bridge was a swimming team by the name of Robert E. Odlum. It was a drop of 135 feet. He did not survive. 
4. The Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883.

TIPS

1. Respect the difference in the Bike and Pedestrian Paths.
2. Do no follow traffic signs to get to the Brooklyn Bridge.
3. Bring Water
4. Do not carry heavy bags( Specifically with audition material weighing it down)
5. Do Not Take Any Second For Granted. When you stand looking at the NYC skyline from half way across the bridge you will notice you are surrounded by at least 3 different languages, 126 years of history, and can view so many different aspects of NYC right there. Appreciate it, take your time, love it.

Join in the Adventure! Share your Journey!

One Day is Today!

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Day 3: Duck Season?

Today, I decided to enlist the help of my really good friend Cory to help me find one of the "lost" treasures of Long Island. The GIANT DUCK ON LONG ISLAND!

I dare you to google "Giant Duck on Long Island". Go ahead. I did not believe it existed either. Did you find it? What do you notice? Oh, yes, THERE IS NO ADDRESS TO GET THERE. You are given a road that is around 6 miles long in which there is (apparently) a Giant Duck.

Well, Elmer Fudd. I took a page out of your book. Armed with my iPhone to document, coffee to help the drive, and a wonderful co-pilot to guide the way how could we miss? Right? Correct. We drove east on the LIE until we could go no farther. Taking a left on a vague back road and then another left onto a bigger but yet still vague back road. The excitement built as we now started to spot signs saying GIANT DUCK.

Sign after sign and no duck. Then suddenly, a clearing and right near the road is a GIGANTIC Duck building.
We pulled of the side of the road. Jumped out of the car to take the necessary pictures. We took the intense tour of the museum about the duck, which was a startling 12 square feet. And we were ready for our next adventure.

But, Where are my keys? Oh. No. They are locked in the car.

Well, I am home now. Some how the keys were retrieved. It may have involved Cory putting on her superhero cape. But the rest will be left to mystery. ENJOY THE PICTURES!

Join in the adventure and share your stories!

One Day is Today
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Day 2: Preserving the Memories #Adventurein2012

During my introduction of this blog I explained that I wanted to rediscover the joy one finds in the smallest daily activities as a child. Tonight, I was asked to hang out the coolest 2nd grade girl in the neighborhood.Although I went in with a plan of attack to teach her a new project, I found myself learning a few new things tonight that I would like to share. 

What I learned:  Not one, not two, BUT THREE new board games. 

The Games: Cooties, Sorry!, Tumblin' Monkeys

Descriptions:

1. Cooties- A surprisingly difficult game based completely on luck. *No Skill Required* The goal of the game is build a "cootie" (A hybrid of an Ant and a Beetle) by rolling a certain number on the die. Each number on the die represents a different body part to add to the cootie. 
2. Sorry!- Apparently, I am the only one who has never played this game. Ha! Glad I learned from a ridiculously savvy 2nd grader.
3. Tumblin' Monkeys- The child-version of JENGA. A hollow plastic tree in which you stick chopstick's through and hang monkey's on. Each side of the die has a color that corresponds with a color of a chopstick. Whatever color you roll, you must remove one chopstick of the same color. Monkey's who were hanging on that chopstick will now fall. The player with the least amount of monkey's on their side wins. 

My Adventure

I have tried many different way's to press flowers, resulting in rank smelling pages of a notebook that then needs to be thrown out. SO, not only am I not preserving the beauty of these flowers but I am wasting paper and killing tree's. In my quest to be more eco-friendly, I searched tirelessly to find the solution. 

How can I keep these flowers from rotting in the pages of my journals? Who will come to my rescue?

Cue: (Superhero music) 

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's PINTREST!

The solution: Press the petals between two sheets of wax paper and press a warm iron on it. I used my flat iron to decrease the danger for the smaller person participating in this Adventure. This will cause the paper to become sticky and entrap the petals of the flower. The coolest girl in the world now has a new journal to write her adventures in and pressed flower petals to bookmark her pages. This was not perfect but it was fun to try! Plus, the cookie helped!

Join in the ADVENTURE! Please share your stories!

One Day is Today!

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Princess Diaries. #Adventurein2012

Day 1:

Since my inspiration for this blog came from my childhood needs to recreate fun movie moments, I decided that the best one to start with was the Princess Diaries. Did I get a makeover? Did I find out I was a princess? Did my dreams come true and  I am, in fact, related to Julie Andrews? Unfortunately, No. 

The "bit" that happened in the movie, was no more then a 2 min scene. However, when I was younger I remember wanting to do this in my own home. Since my house is now redecorated and I know I would be shot for attempting this in the house. I settled for outside. 

THE MOMENT: Balloon + Darts+ Paint= Art 

SUPPLIES: Water Paint(You will see why in pictures), Canvas, Metal Darts, Simple Party Balloons, Tarp. 

STEPS: 

PART 1:

1. Take balloons and fill them with Paint. 

2. Fill the balloons with a tiny bit of water and shake. The tough part about using water colors is that the paint and colors run more. However, when having to clean up this mess, it is nice to only have to deal with water colors. Simple clorox clean up and paper towels will do the job!

PART 2:

1. Pin balloons, CAREFULLY, to the canvas. 
2. Place each canvas with the understanding if you stack them, the colors will reach more then one.
3. Ready, Set, Aim! Let them have it. Scream, giggle, say silly quotes, dance around to music, but most importantly Have A BALL! 

END RESULT: 

Accept the Challenge. Get out there and DO IT! #Adventurein2012

"One Day is Today"

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One Day is Today #Adventurein2012

Hey All! 

Watching movies as a child, did you ever sit there and think "I wish I could do that!" For example:

1. Mulan: I want to ride a horse

2. Pocohantas: I want to climb through a forest and reach the top of a cliff. (Not necessarily jump off the cliff)

3. Mary Poppins: I want to slide down a banister, Dance with penguins, Make my toys clean up themselves, Draw a sidewalk master piece and... Basically anything she does in that movie. 

Now, granted, I am female, so these three examples are heavily(and by heavily, I mean completely) influenced by my early obsession with Disney. My point is that even though these are movies and some of these goals seem out of reach, why can you not try and live each day with this carefree, adventurous quality we all strived for as children. 

What set off these once biddable feelings? Social networking sites. 

I am guilty in the "living through others via Twitter or Facebook" I have spent hours watching everyone else go on adventures or complain about politics or fight with friends. My wake up call came recently thanks to another social website, Pintrest.  I started to see how people shared tips that never had negative connotations but rather were suggestions to help people get up and do it. To each there own, but this site has increased my need of adventure and to get off the couch and try new things.  

And this is where the blog comes in. 

• GOAL: EACH day for the rest of 2012 I will do ONE thing that I have never done before.

• REASON: I want to recapture that carefree, adventurous spirit that I envied in movies as a child.

• SOCIAL CHALLENGE: I challenge everyone to join me for a more carefree, enjoyable life experiencing things you never have before. **PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORIES!**

I know, the irony that I have started a blog, online, with a goal to not use a computer more. However, I want share my stories whether they are childish or something you can relate to. 

Follow me on twitter at KQuigzzz if you want to follow my adventures more closely. #Adventurein2012  

"One Day is Today" 

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