If you’re sitting there reading this in the comfort of your own home, be thankful you are not at a public library like me, sitting next to stinky Pete (surely he’s heard of deodorant?) and trying to also ignore the sound the yowly mountain singer and her (I’m assuming—I saw red lipstick) banjo backup (Thur. night library special entertainment…so much for quiet).  I have nothing against banjos, mind you, except while I’m trying to concentrate.  But, PTL I have working senses, right?  On to my post…

Is there something you’ve decided to do just because the end result helps you realize some of the potential you had an inkling you possessed, but weren’t quite sure of until you have completed or are in the process of accomplishing your goal?  Maybe one day you thought, “The status quo me is acceptable, but who wants to be satisfied with a static existence?”  Maybe you’re always looking for a challenge that makes you feel more alive as you tackle it.  
            I have friends that have wowed me with their decisions to do what I think are really difficult things, but what eventually become to them no big deal.  For example, friends have given up sugar or processed foods.  If I think about it seriously and consult the research, I can come up with lots of good reasons for such a move, but my gut reaction is, “Why would any sane person do that?!”  This mentality doesn’t do me any favors when it comes to my cookie dough addiction, while they’re enjoying a healthier lifestyle, for sure.
             Other friends who were never really runners before have decided to do a “couch to 5k” or more, and keep up the running habit.  Phew.  I get tired just thinking about that one.  For the past year I’ve lived a pretty sedentary life, saying, “Oh, I just had a baby.”  (Well, I’ll give myself a little credit; there was the occasional lengthy walk or jog with the spiffy [second-hand— we’re true thrifters in my family] jogging stroller Grandma and Grandpa got Baby).    
            Partly because things have the tendency to become monotonous as a homemaker, with the constant doing and redoing of household tasks, I decided to start being more daring.  It’s not that I haven’t been daring in the past.  The Costa Rica trip was partly a trip to prove to myself that I can be independent and was sorta daring, in my book. Also, I decided to cloth diaper my kids to prove that I could survive without disposables and save money that way, too.  Some might call cloth diapering daring, I guess, because it’s departing from the general comfort zone of modern parenting (though lately coming back into popularity—at least you’ll hear about it more).  Believe it or not, if you’re not a cloth-diapering-momma who reads this and instantly feels a bond with me (*wink*), I am not a slave to my washer.  But aside from those things, a few days before my 20-something birthday I thought how I couldn’t really name too many “daring” things I’ve got on my resume´.  So: enter more-daring me!

The saga begins…
            A few months ago I decided to fully support my husband’s dream of a new job with college buddies in the Smoky Mountains.  So we (I—Hubs had other work to deal with) packed up our household and got our home ready to rent out all the while with a baby attached to a leg –or unpacking stuff I’d just packed–in a little over a month. (Ok, I admit it, we had lots of help from friends!  Thanks, guys!)  Several states apart from all of our family and my friends, we moved to a beautiful little town and found out our mountain home couldn’t get internet.  Well, sheesh—I wanted to be daring….but not live-without-internet daring! Please, don’t take facebook away from me!  Gah! Hahaa. A friend described where we live—up a long gravel mountain drive that looks more like a dried up river bed than a road—as long-term camping.  Complete with spiders the size of tarantulas!   
            The sedentary lifestyle was starting to bother me, in a new location, sort of suffering from cabin fever, with a toddler constantly demanding my attention and energy.  Even though naptimes are about the only time I get to rest, it usually seems like a waste to nap or veg too.  I finally have some uninterrupted time!  And while sweating and huffing and puffing with a side ache doesn’t sound fun to me, I decided to challenge myself and began to jog during naptime with the goal being to do this every other day.  I might actually be up to a mile jog now!  (It’s ok if you laugh. It’s big for me, though. The goal is every other day, but doesn’t always happen.  I blame the rain.  <_<      >_>)
            While rifling through my dresser looking for some p.j. pants and not finding any (did I mention I need to work on organization, too?), I decided it was high time I use that flannel material stashed away, which has been hiding for probably 5 years now.  It was actually a flannel sheet (with pretty blue sky and white clouds printed on it) with a little rip in it, but still usable yardage.  I have altered clothes before, but aside from aprons I have never made myself clothing to wear, that I can recall. Patterns scare me.  Especially pants patterns.  The crotch part looked too complicated to sew.  But I mustered up some courage and decided I would conquer a pattern for p.j. pants.  It was multi-size, and I must have gotten it used, because THANKFULLY it was already cut out.  I might be a little lazy at times, and when I spur-of-the-moment decide to do something creative, I don’t like delays.  Hubby says I could grow in patience, and he’s right. J  If the pattern wasn’t already cut out, I would have found the idea of sewing pants even more daunting.  I was actually able to finish the p.j. pants in one day, with no issues!  Woohoo!  My toddler was especially interested in “helping” so I had to work around the kiddo, but with him on my lap (definitely had to swat his hand away from creeping too close to the needle several times) happily making “sewing machine” noises (“brrrRRRrrrBrrrrRRrrr!) the work flew by. I put them on and they fit just right! I should ease up on the cookie dough, or they won’t for very long, though.  Tonight is surprisingly chilly, and can’t wait to slip on my p.j.s and snuggle up to a cooking magazine and some tea after the baby’s in bed! 
            Well, I’ll close this long post with the question, “What are you going to challenge yourself with in the near future?”