I finally saw the Castle!

After years of talking about it, I finally made it to the Coral Castle. It was even one of the things that had been on my 50 by 50 list. I'm so glad my daughter agreed to go with me. It was fantastic.

When we first pulled into the parking lot, I was a little leery. We had driven an hour and a half to get there, and the place looked way too small and somewhat shabby to be worth a three hour round trip. Especially since there was a $15 entry fee. Per person. But I've been wanting to see it for so long, and we had driven so far to get there, we decided to go on in.

Wow. The first sign that you see, says it all. In my opinion, it also sums up the personality of Ed Leedskalnin. Ed designed and did all the work for the Coral Castle back in the 1940s. Ed was a tiny man, only about 5' tall and 100 lbs, and yet he managed to carve out and move literally thousands of pounds of rock with only the machinery he built himself.

Seeing Rock Gate Park (Ed's original name for his sculpture garden) would have been wonderful on it's own, just for the beauty. But we were lucky to be taken around by an amazing guide. She knew her history, both of the Coral Castle and the world in general, and she was able to pull references from mythology, ancient and current religions, history, literature, and even the Free Masons as she discussed the various elements. She presented a lot of theories on how and why Ed created the Castle, and while I don't go along with the majority I thought it was very interesting. (It reminded me of literature classes - I'm still convinced that most authors would be surprised by the symbolism and themes that they are attributed with.) We really weren't ready for her tour to end, and were amazed to find out that we had been there over two hours without realizing the passage of time. It was that good!

One happy surprise was learning that Florida residents get a free pass to come back as often as they want for two years. I can't wait to go back!

The original ten-cents admission is a far cry from the $15 it costs today. But that was a lot of money in the depression, so Ed would barter with families, taking food that he would then turn around and sell as concessions. Smart man!

 

 Ed lived in a tiny one-room house above his rock garden, without any electricity or running water.

A view of the Coral Castle grounds.

This is one of the reading chairs. Ed carved three, placing them where he could get the best light following the sun's path in the morning, mid-day, and afternoon .

Cari, looking through the rock telescope.

The telescope lines up perfectly to see the north star.

Cari and our guide move the back gate. This weighed something like 5,000 lbs (I forget the exact weight), but because Ed worked out a pivot system it can still be moved today by a couple of girls. Ed had no formal education, so how he was able to design and build this is still unexplained. Although there are a lot of fantastic theories.

A 50x50 update

Sadly, here's my update on the 50 by 50 list. I wish I had a bunch of items that I could cross off. But that would mean actually working on the list. Instead, I keep changing my goals and going off on other tangents.

9. Take a trip to NYC. Naturally, I haven't been able to do this yet. However, I did get an invitation. For my birthday, my three children have offered me a trip to NYC for a week in October. I've always wanted to go to Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival. (Okay, I haven't always wanted to go, but only because I didn't know about it when I was younger. Now that I'm an avid knitter/spinner/weaver, I really would love to go since this is one of the biggest fiber festivals in the country.) The birthday trip from the kids includes Rhinebeck. They really are amazingly wonderful children. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I can accept, since I literally just started my new job which means that I don't have any vacation time coming to me yet. But I'm going to talk to the powers-that-be, if I can figure out who that would be, and see if I can flex at least a few days off. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Even if I don't get enough time to make it to the festival, I might be able to still get up to spend a few days visiting with my daughter.

12. Write 50 thank you notes. I am a really bad person. Because a good person would have written several notes by now. I owe thank you's to so many people. And even though I sent emails thanking them, a handwritten note would be so much better. I really have to make this goal a priority.


13. Go to SAFF in October (or any of the big fiber events). If I can talk enough time off from work, I may be attending Rhinebeck. Which is way better than SAFF.

16. Finish or frog the 10 existing WIPs. I actually got to cross off one of my long-standing WIPs. The lemonade sweater was frogged and then knit into a shawl that I actually like.

23. Start recycling  at home (for at least 3 months). It's been over 3 months, and my recycling bin is still in use. I think I can call this goal a success.

41. Change my job. Although it wasn't what I had in mind, I have totally changed my job. As of this week, I am the Administrator of a church. It's a little bit of a commute, so I'll be moving when my lease is up in October. I think I'm really going to like this job. I get to do a lot of different things, so it's not going to be boring. The people are great (although I do miss my students). Best of all, there are no angry rants or politic bullying.

44. Podcast twice a month for 9 months. I have tried twice in the past week to record the next episode of the Lilypad. The first time, I erased the entire thing because I went off on a tangent and never came back. The second time, everything went beautifully. It sounded great. But I wanted to tweak it just a little bit, so that the intro music and the conclusion music merged a little smoother with my words. Unfortunately, I was very tired and didn't remember to save as I went along. There was a system crash, and my files were lost. It took every bit of willpower to keep the computer from being lost. I'm having tech service done with the computer this weekend, so I might be able to record on Sunday.

It's a pretty short list, considering how long it's been since I updated it. But on the plus side, at least I was able to cross off several items. So that's a good thing.

When life hands you lemons...

A reincarnated Lemonade shawl

Tuesdays are supposed to be Tune-up days, where I update on my progress with either my health goals or the 50 by 50 goals. I don't have anything new to report on either one.

I probably should have something to report. It's not like I don't have time for myself. With my son moved out and my daughter's busy schedule (work, social life, college starting this week AND a new job), I get lots of "me" time. Which I've been busy spending either job hunting or cleaning/decluttering the house.

Maybe I'll get back on track for next week. Maybe.

Palm Beach State College

I feel like I'm such a slacker. It sounded like such a good idea to make a list of fifty things to accomplish by 2013. "It would be fun," I thought. Instead, it's turned out to be another long list of tasks that I can't quite get to. Sigh. At least I have a couple of items I can update.

16. Finish or frog the 10 existing WIPs.  This past weekend I finished Timothy's scarf. It just needed to be bound off, which I was able to do with the help of a youtube video. I also had to weave in all the ends where he had changed colors (I had him change colors each day he knit, so stripes showed us how many days he worked on the scarf and how long he was able to stay on task.) The idea of weaving in all those ends were what kept me from finishing the scarf sooner. But once I got started, it wasn't too bad.

23. Start recycling at home (and continue for at least 3 months). We're starting month three of the recycling. I would love to say that it's working out wonderfully. Unfortunately, the children aren't 100% into the idea, so I find myself pulling things out of the trash and moving it to the recycling box. Yeck. But there are two full bags (one of glass/plastic and one of paper) to be taken to the recycling area today, so I can feel good about that.

24. Write a letter every other week (at least 12). I wrote the first letter this past week.

41. Change my job.  I'm still looking for work. I had a promising interview last week, but I never heard back from them. I went to a job fair yesterday, but I came away with only one promising lead. It's really difficult, both financially and mentally, to be unemployed.

And that's all I have to add on the 50 x 50 list.

It's the same things again. Sigh.

I thought I would do a quick update on my 50 by 50 list, and I've realized that I'm stuck still working on the same things. I really need to pick a couple of the other items and get them done. Otherwise, I'm going to be scrambling to fit everything in at the last minute. (Which is my usual MO, but who really wants to admit that?)
Anyway, here are the items I can update:

2. Exercise regularly for 3 months


The truth is, I hate to exercise. Really. Obviously.

I keep thinking that as obsessive-compulsive as I can be (just look at my knitting or my organized work habits), I should be able to come up with some activity that I can obsess over in order to get fit. The problem is that it has to be free, since I don't have any money at all right now to spend on memberships or even supplies. (I found a water aerobics class nearby, but even the $5 per class is out of my range right now.) It also has to be Florida-friendly. Because face it, it's really hot outside so any activities (like biking, or hiking) are going to be uncomfortable, especially since I'm very overweight and actually sweat. (I didn't used to sweat, when I was younger and thinner. Strange, but true.) And it has to be something that I won't feel like a complete idiot in front of people. (My neighborhood offers free Zumba lessons, which are actually fun. But when you're the elephant clomping around in a room full of hip-swinging size 2 physically fit bodies - it's embarrassing.) My daughter suggested yoga, which has possibilities. And there are some yoga sessions available on Direct TV that I'm thinking of trying. But I really need to find something that makes me want to treat daily exercise sessions as if they're skeins of sock yarn.

I did sign up for the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award. The deal is that you are active for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week for at least 6 out of 8 weeks in order to get the award. It can be any activity you would like to do. I've signed up as an individual, which will hopefully give some motivation to getting out there and doing something. If anyone would like to get involved, let me know. We can set up a group and cheer each other on.

14. Organize my papers and receipts


In my last 50 by 50 update, I misspoke. This item was reported as having been done. Actually, most of it was done. But "most" is not "all," so I lied. I did organize the papers that were on my desk in in my box of "file these someday, maybe-please." But when I went to reconcile my July bank statement, I found out that I had only reconciled through April 2011. Oops. This is not a good thing. And it's probably not something a person studying to become a CPA should admit to. There are also a couple of boxes of files in my closet that I wanted to go through and try to consolidate. So I'm putting this back on the list of items, and it's back on my task list. Drats.

15. Give up soda for 1 month.

I actually did this back in March. I managed to stay away from sodas for almost 3 months. But the past couple of weeks I've been backsliding. I had one soda because it was cold and I was thirsty, and the next thing I know I'm drinking an entire case in just a couple of days. I think the only reason I'm not completely hooked back on colas is that I just don't have the money to be buying cases of it every week. So I'm going to do the responsible, mature thing and give it up now before it gets a chance to become a problem.

19. Birthday Cards


After sending out cards in May, I managed to miss all the June and July birthdays. I'm making a list, and my goal is to start this again in August. With apologizes to all my friends and family who were bone in June and July. I'll remember you next year!

25. Fix 5 new recipes for dinner.


I haven't done as much baking and cooking as I would like. Even though I have the time, I don't really have the money to go out and buy "exotic" ingredients. And by exotic, I mean anything that isn't either on sale or normally in my cupboard. But I have become addicted to several food blogs. It started with the cupcake blogs, and progressed to cookie bloggers. Now I'm starting to be attracted to other food blogs. The result is that I have a long list of recipes I want to try, once I can go shopping again. I did try one new recipe, Egyptian Pea Stew, and it was wonderful. Very easy to make, although I think I need to do a little more research to learn how to properly "caramelize" the tomatoes. This is definitely going to be on my "make again" list.

41. Change my job.


Just in case you didn't catch it, what with all the whining I've been doing about finances, I'm still looking for a job. It's getting very discouraging. It's so bad, I've been applying at fast food places and practicing saying, "Do you want fries with that?" (I know a lot of people who have good jobs in the fast food industry. But they've been in it since they were much younger than I am, and they're mostly management by now. I'm only whining about having to resort to this because I'm way too old to have to start way back at the very beginning. Not to mention that I'm losing the competition for the jobs against high school kids!)

And that's about all I have managed to get done on my 50 by 50.

I'm falling by the wayside

 I haven't been making a lot of progress on my 50x50 list. Here's a quick update, just to keep me honest.

1. Lose 100 lbs (lose 5 lbs per month). - I don't think I want to talk about this one. Not only have I failed to lose 5 pounds a month, I've actually gained a couple of pounds this past month. I'm blaming it on the depression. I've heard people say, "When I'm upset, I can't eat a thing." Not me. Sigh. I seriously need to do something about this goal. Soon. 

2. Exercise regularly for 3 months.- If I were working on this goal, I probably would be doing better with the first goal. I had a good excuse for not exercising in May/June (medical problems), but it's time I got serious and started to do something.

5. Declutter  my bedroom - This has been done! Yeah for me! Is it perfect? No. But it is definitely better than it's been in a long time. I'm happy.

6. Declutter the living room, including the book shelves. - Clearing up the bookcase was the hardest part about decluttering the living room. I decided to limit the books to what actually fit on the bookcase shelves, which meant getting rid of a lot of books. While Cari was down we took the cast-offs to the used bookstore, where we used the credit to get more books. But everything still fits on the bookcase, and the living room is looking "company ready."

12. Write 50 thank you notes. (Works out to 3 per month) - I haven't done any of these. I should have, since it might have made me feel better about life.

14. Organize my papers and receipts. - Done!

16. Finish or frog the 10 existing WIPs.- I'm trying to stick to the plan and knit the existing projects first. Honest. But did you see that new pattern...

17. Take a wine class. - I did this!

18. Win the lottery - or at least buy a ticket every paycheck for a year. - I'm trying to win. It would be a lot easier if I had a paycheck and the money to actually buy tickets. (I'm really going to hate it if the numbers I pick out "just for practice" each week actually win.)

19. Send out birthday cards for a year. - I sent out birthday cards in May, and then missed getting the June cards out. Sigh. I'm going to try to get July greetings mailed in the next couple of days.

21. Save all my change until the 50th - Does it count if I put the change in the jar each evening, then raid it every couple of days in desperation? I really, really need to find a job soon.

23. Start recycling at home (for at least 3 months). - I set up a rubbermaid box in June for the recycling. I keep two trash bags in the box; one for plastics and metals, and one for paper. I like the rubbermaid box because (1) I already had an empty one that I could use, instead of having to buy new trash cans and (2) it has a lid that the dog can't get off. The kids aren't really on board yet. We have valet trash, which means that we can set out the garbage just outside our door and they take it away each day. But we have to take the recycling bags to the dumpster area ourselves. I'm lobbying to get the complex to include recycling with the valet trash, but so far there isn't a lot of interest.

24. Implement a plan to keep the house clean. (Keep up with it for at least 3 months.) - Since I'm out of work, I felt like I had no excuse not to be working on this goal. The house has been clean enough for drop-in company for 6 weeks now. Too bad company never drops in to see it.

25. Fix 5 new recipes for dinner. (Cupcakes don't count.) - The other night, out of desperation, I made Pasta with Garlic and Oil. I thought it was pretty good, but then I love garlic. PJ liked it, but Becca refused to eat it after the first taste. Although the reviews were split, my vote wins it and this stays on as a permanent choice for dinner.

38. Don't complain for 1 full week - I hope nobody's counting on me actually accomplishing this one.

41. Change my job. - Still working on this one. I thought the economy was getting better and that there were jobs out there. Apparently I'm both over-qualified and under-qualified.  I'm tired of being out of work and out of money.

45. Take a class. - I think going back to school (full-time, online) for a degree in Accounting counts for this. I received an A in my first class (Intro to computers) and I'm in the middle of my second class (English Comp). It's a lot harder than I thought it would be. But I'm enjoying it.

I like to drink wine more than I used to. (Vito Corleone in The Godfather )

With my friend Mary's help, I was able to mark off one of my 50 by 50 goals this evening. The two of us attended a Wine 101 class at Total Wine & More. We had a really good time, and I learned a lot.

The class started with a "bonus" taste of a German Riesling (Dr. Heidemanns). It was a great start, and I ended up bringing home a bottle. (So did Mary.)

We went over the basics of wine tasting, starting with how to open a bottle of wine. Once the wine is opened, there is a lot more than just swigging it down. But they walked us through the process slowly, and soon I was swirling my glass and admiring the aroma and bouquet with the best of them. I had a little more trouble identifying the different flavors and tastes. After a while I figured out that if I nodded wisely and murmured "hmm, oaky with complex layers" the others in the class would agree with me. Either I understood more than I thought I did, or everyone else was as confused as I was.

We had the opportunity to try four different white wines (a pinot grigio, a viognier, a chardonnay, and a chenin blanc) and four different red wines (Kitchen Sink Red, a pinot noir, a shiraz, and a cabernet sauvignon). I normally buy a bottle of wine based on what the bottle looks like (don't laugh, it's true!), so it was very exciting to be able to taste and compare the different types of wine. The fact that they selected some of the better examples for us to try helped, I'm sure. (Surprisingly, the prices weren't as high as I expected for good wines. All except the Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon (my favorite, naturally) were within my price range.

Our last wine of the evening was Macchia Zifendal Port ("Dangerous"). All I can say is YUM! A bottle of this came home with me. And I will not be sharing it.

I have to say that Total Wine (at the Wellington store) puts on a fantastic wine class. In addition to the ten types of wine we tasted, they provided platters of cheese and crackers (huge selection) and pizza for us to snack on in between the glasses of wine. We were frequently reminded to be responsible as we tasted the wine (don't drink and drive!), but they were generous with the wines that we liked.

I plan on taking more classes as they are offered.

Goals are dreams with deadlines. (Diana Scarf Hunt)

I thought I'd do a quick review of my 50 by 50 list. I'm not quite as far along as I would like to be, but at least I'm working on it.

Lose 100 lbs (lose 5 lbs per month).
Exercise regularly for 3 months.

Health-wise, I'm making an attempt. It's probably just a half-hearted attempt, since I'm horribly depressed between the lack of a job and the resulting stress flaring the fibromyalgia. I had to stop the Weight Watcher's plan (all "extra" expenses have been cut until I have a regular income again), so I'm open to any ideas of what diet to follow and how to do it. I'm debating about ordering a nutrition bracelet and just trying to eat my daily allotment of "good foods" before allowing any "junk" treats. I could also use a (FREE) personal trainer since the fibro is such a handy excuse to skip a session at the gym. Sigh. It's so hard to figure out what to do, especially when you don't feel like doing anything at all.

Declutter my closet.
Declutter my bedroom.
Declutter the living room, including the book shelves.

I haven't actually started the decluttering process yet. But I've put my children on notice that they will have to help me with this in the next couple of weeks. I'm using my oldest's visit home at the end of May as the excuse to get the decluttering done.

Organize my papers and receipts.

I've actually managed to get most of my papers and receipts in order. I have a working filing system in place, and I have one last folder to go through before I can mark this item done.

Give up soda for 1 month.

I have been soda-free since March 21st, and I think I will probably stay away from soda from now on. I had a glass earlier today as a treat, and was disappointed that it didn't taste as good as I remembered. I guess I've lost my taste for colas, which is actually a good thing.

Finish or frog the 10 existing WIPs.

Officially, I'm working on the Lady Sweater from my list of existing WIPs. Unofficially, I've set it aside in favor of a baby gift. But I will not, will not, will not (if I keep saying it, maybe somebody will believe me) cast on anything else until I get a couple of the existing projects finished. My current plan is that I have to finish two existing projects before I can cast on something new. I even made myself a cute little chart that reminds me of a tournament playoff to keep track of this goal.

Take a wine class.

I found a Wine Tasting 101 class that is scheduled this month in Wellington. Hopefully I'm not too late signing up for it.

Send out birthday cards for a year.

I have officially started this goal by sending out ten birthday cards and four Mother's Day cards for May. (Leave a comment if you would like me to include you on my mailing list and I will send you a card on your birthday!)

List 100 Things That Make Me Happy.

I've started my list, and I'll post it as a separate page on the blog. (You'll be able to see it up at the top of the blog.) I think I'd been able to come up with more things if I wasn't so depressed. But I'm working on it.

Don't complain for 1 full week.

Obviously, I haven't even attempted this one! But I will. Someday when I'm feeling better. Or perhaps the last week in October 2012.

Change my job.

I'm working on this one. Not that I wanted to be working on it.

Have a totally silly and/or unexpected adventure.

My sister tried to talk me into doing this goal today. I probably should have taken her up on it, but I just wasn't feeling good enough. But she's promised me a raincheck. I promise to give a full report on whatever silliness we get ourselves into!

Off to a good start

1. Lose 100 lbs (lose 5 lbs per month).

This goal is probably getting a little tedious by now. Every so often I announce how I've gone on another diet. And then there are updates on how much I've lost for the first month or two. Then I'm mysteriously silent, quieted by the shame of abandoning the latest diet. But I really do want to lose 100 lbs by the time I reach 50. This time the doctor has gotten involved. I'll try to keep any comments on this topic to a short update on the loss-to-date (which is 8 pounds, by the way).

2. Exercise regularly for 3 months.


I started going to the gym two weeks ago to walk on the treadmill. I started out doing 20 minutes a session, five days a week. I've just increased my time to 25 minutes, which is almost half a washcloth. I plan on getting up to 30 minutes a day, then adding something else (maybe water aerobics) three times a week.

14. Organize my papers and receipts.

I decided that since I don't have to go in to work, I have the time this week to do my own filing. This task should have been a lot easier than it is turning out to be. How in the world did I ever let it pile up the way I did? I finally separated everything into 7 boxes, and my plan is to only worry about one box a day. By the end of the week, I should be organized.

15. Give up soda for 1 month.

I haven't had a soda since March 21, 2010. That's 16 days without a Cherry Pepsi. Not that I'm counting.

19. Send out birthday cards for a year.

I like birthday cards. It's a wonderful feeling to get a bunch of cards in the mail, acknowledging your special day. So I've up a list with all the birthdays that I know for my family and friends. (If you would like to make sure you made the list, send me an email or call me with your snail mail address.) My first birthday card goes out next week!

41. Change my job.

Over the past year or so, my job had gotten increasingly focused on the paperwork. Since I started as the clinical person, we more than doubled the number of program participants. On top of that, the required reports have increased. It used to be that I only had to do a simple calculation for the monthly report; now we need a full written report that includes not only the goal but everything else the participant has been involved in. The quarterly reports used to be a two or three sentence paragraph; now it's a full encompassing report.

I missed being able to spend time working directly with the participants. It wasn't just that I liked working with them. By not having the opportunity to observe the goals directly, it was very difficult to write goals and adaptations for each participant.

When I set this goal, "change my job," I had hoped for the opportunity to talk with my bosses about my growing frustration. Even though they didn't give me the chance to make changes when the program supervisor retired (which would have been the perfect time for it), I really hoped that they would be open to re-distributing the responsibilities between my position as clinical supervisor and the program supervisor's.

Obviously that is not going to happen now.

On the other hand, I am definitely changing my job.

Age is just a number

I realized this weekend that I am going to be 50 years old in a little over a year and a half. I don't feel like I'm almost 50. Well, most days I don't feel like I'm almost 50.

Turning 50 doesn't bother me. Honest. I had my big breakdown over turning 46. A strange number to be upset about, I know. But it was because when I turned 46, I knew my baby (okay, my oldest baby) was turning 21. I was really upset over being old enough to have an adult child.

Turning 50 is a traditional milestone. There were so many things I thought I would do with my life. And so many things that I've done that I never imagined I would.

Turning 50 is also a chance to challenge myself. A few years ago I had decided that I was going to run the NYC marathon for my 50th birthday. That's not going to happen. I could, possibly, get serious about training for the next year and make it to the race. But other circumstances make that really improbable.

So I've been working on a different type of challenge. I'm calling it my "50 by 50" list. I completely stole the idea from "101 Goals in 1001 Days." I'm working on coming up with a list of 50 things I'd like to accomplish by my 50th birthday. Each item on the list has to be realistic. I can't put down "Win the lottery," although I can add "Buy one lottery ticket every pay period for a year." Some of the items are long-term, like "Lose 100 lbs." (It doesn't sound realistic, I agree. But this one was dictated by my doctor, and it translates to losing 5 lbs a month which sounds a lot easier to do.) And most of them are just for fun, like "Take a wine class" or "Ride a bike in the park."

I'm still fine-tuning the list. I'll post it as a page, so feel free to offer suggestions while it's in the tentative stage. The official start date will be April 1st, unless I decide I'm ready before that.

Naturally, I'll be providing regular updates as I accomplish my 50 by 50.