New Thing for January

In keeping with the New Year's resolution I "stole" from Miriam, to do something new every month and "say yes to adventure," we have the New Thing for January. I know you've all been anxious to hear about it.

It was tough to decide upon the New Thing, wanting it to be something great and amazing and so incredibly New and exciting that it would blow my mind and impress all my friends to no end.

As usual, the New Thing was an unplanned accident. But it happened just in time before the month was up. There were many New Things, actually. Ready? Here we go!

#1 Tried a New restaurant. David got food poisoning. That's an adventure, isn't it!? You *never* see that coming - a true surprise. Very cool. I emailed the restaurant to let them know we had a lovely time but the excruciating abdominal cramps that came later were kind-of a drag. They felt so bad they sent us gift certificates to come back and give them another chance. We'll just have the wine, thanks.

#2 Snowshoeing. Super Crafty and G Money came for a visit and we went snowshoeing. It was fun to be able to get into back country you just can't easily access without the snowshoes. A good workout, too, especially when running.

#3 Tried three other New restaurants. The Yaletown Brewing Company - great beer (as you might expect) - the best amber brew I've had since moving here; Granville Island Brewing Company - also good beer and fun snacks; and the Lamplighter - great atmosphere and tasty fish & chips.

#4 Visited the West Side and UBC, along with Wreck Beach - a clothing optional beach where one can also opt to purchase hash cookies from a nice lady with a cooler. We declined, but it's nice to know she's there. She was clothed, as were we. It was 35 degrees with a refreshing on-shore wind chill.

#5 Had the best cup of coffee since moving here at Cuppa Joe in Kitsilano. Great espresso AND drip coffee - twice as nice. I had way too much and was wide awake until the wee hours of the next morning.

#6 Made sauerkraut. Had to call my mom for tips, but it came out pretty good. I think I even like it now.

#7 Started watching The Dog Whisperer. I LOVE this show. If we didn't already have three cats and a parrot, I would be adopting dozens of dogs.

#8 Learned how to use a new CMS - that's Content Management System for the non geeks. It was fun to be all content managey again.

#9 Tried Take 5's coffee and was not at all impressed. Take 10, take 20, take however long you need to make it right.

#10 Tried Crest's Pro-Health toothpaste (thanks, Costco). Blech. Their Clean Night Mint product is "formulated with a unique nighttime flavour." ??? What is "nighttime flavor?" I don't know what that is, but I know it creates a terrific saliva film that could be the best non-hormonal birth control ever invented. Because I had to buy four tubes of it, I'll keep using it, but I won't like it.

I hope February ends up to be just as exciting as January! YES!