Task #33 - Pumpkin carving

Fairly straightforward really - pumpkin carving has always been my favourite thing about halloween, as I hate scary movies and we never get trick-or-treaters at our house! ;)

Last year's design was a bat, so this year I went for a grinning cat (as the Cheshire Cat would've been a little too much of a stretch) ... think I may have to fashion some sort of pumpkin animal every year from now on! :)



(Evil kitty, carved 31/10/2010)

Task #14 - Celeb snapping!

This task requires me to be photographed with a celebrity, and in a hugely fortunate turn of events, I actually managed to meet two celebs in the space of a long weekend this month ... the lovely Lee Mead following his gig in Aylesbury on November 7th, and the uber-talented Tim Minchin following the very first performance of 'Matilda - A Musical' at Stratford on November 9th.



What can I say? I'm a very lucky girl! :D

Task #38 - New dishes

This task requires me to try out a new recipe every month ... and last night was my first attempt. Will make a list so that I don't forget what I've been cooking ...

October 2010 - Stuffed chicken breast with rosti (yummy)

November 2010 - Mustard and lemon sausages with carrot mash (delicious, but very rich!)

December 2010 - Carrot and coriander soup (quick, easy and very tasty)

Task #101 - Inspire a friend

I just found out that a fellow PostCrosser has signed up to the Day Zero project thanks to my recommendation - so this completes task #101 for me, as it was to do just that. Yay! :D

Task #65 - A-Z of new songs

I thought this task sounded fun - to listen to 26 different songs, all new to me, starting with each letter of the alphabet. So I decided the best thing to do is just look on a few of those 'lyrics/song anthology' websites and tackle the alphabet in order a letter at a time. Here we go ...

A = 'Acapella' by Kelis (Fab!)
B = 'Bartender's Blues' by James Taylor (A bit slow, but I've always loved his voice)
C = 'Cold River' by A-ha (Not bad)
D = 'Dancer' by Queen (OK)
E = 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn' by Miley Cyrus (OK)
F = 'For You I Will' by Monica (Nice)
G = 'Garden' by Pearl Jam (Love the music, not so sure about the lyrics)
H = 'Half Of My Heart' by John Mayer (Nice)
I = 'If I Had You' by Adam Lambert (Awful!)
J = 'Just Because' by Jane's Addiction (Love the music, but not the guy singing!)
K = 'Kissing You' by Miranda Cosgrove (Not bad)
L = 'Life Is A Highway' by Tom Cochrane (Cool - love the chorus!)
M = 'Make It Shine' by Victoria Justice (Pretty good)
N = 'Now We Are Free' by Lisa Gerrard (Lovely)
O = 'One In A Million' by Guns 'n' Roses (Would be fab if it wasn't so racist!)
P = 'Peace Of Mind' by Bat For Lashes (Gorgeous)
Q = 'Quicksand' by La Roux (OK)

Task #2 - Sing!

Last week I joined a ladies choir based a few miles from my home, and on December 5th I'm due to sing in public for the first time in well over a decade! I must admit that I've been struggling a bit in finding my voice and hitting some of the high notes, so I guess I might need to move down from the dizzy heights of sopranoism, but for now that's where I am ... and I haven't been asked to leave yet, so I can't be that bad - can I??!

Task #97 - NaNoWriMo

This one really does scare the bejesus out of me, but at the same time it sounded kinda fun, so I've gone ahead and signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). All participants are required to attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, throughout the month of November. Am more than a bit apprehensive, but will give it a go anyway ... ;)

Here's the link, just in case you fancy having a stab at this yourself ...



08/10/10 - Update
I'm so pleased to be able to say that today, completely out of the blue, an idea for a story popped into my head, and I somehow managed to get it all written down in note form before it disappeared again. It's your typical chick-lit gubbins unfortunately, but this is the first time that I've ever had a clear idea for a complete novel in my head, and I really do feel that seeing it through it will be the best way for me to complete this task. It may turn out to be utter rubbbish, but my biggest fear was not having any idea of what to write come November 1st, and just sitting there in a blind panic - now at least I have something to work with and get my teeth into :)

01/11/10 - Update
Well, today's the day that I can finally begin my novel ... and yet I have no urge to write! That'll hopefully come as the day goes on though - can't bear the thought of having nothing written several days in. Wish me luck, cos I'm gonna need it! :(

12/11/10 - Update
I did make a start, I promise ... but I really haven't got much further than that, with a grand total of just 3664 words at the almost-halfway point. It's not really looking good, but I have excuses - namely having been away for a few days this week, and also feeling quite poorly with yet another bad cold just recently. I certainly haven't given up completely though, and aim to have at least made it to half a NaNo novel by the end of the month, if not the whole thing!

Task #62 - 30 Day Song Challenge

As far as I can tell, I'm pretty sure that I just need to go through the list one day at a time for 30 consecutive days and state my answer ... so I guess I'll start this one today too! :)

The 30 Day Song Challenge

Day 01 - Your favorite song - 'Moving On Up' by Primal Scream
Day 02 - Your least favorite song - 'The Ketchup Song' by Las Ketchup
Day 03 - A song that makes you happy - 'Don't Stop Believing' by the cast of Glee
Day 04 - A song that makes you sad - 'Keep Holding On' by the cast of Glee
Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone - 'White Flag' by Dido
Day 06 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere - 'Love Shack' by the B52s
Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event - 'Everybody Hurts' by REM
Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to - 'Crazy' by Patsy Cline
Day 09 - A song that you can dance to - 'Mercy' by Duffy
Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep - 'Come Away With Me' by Norah Jones
Day 11 - A song from your favorite band - 'Let It Be' by the Beatles
Day 12 - A song from a band you hate - 'Gravel Pit' by the Wu Tang Clan
Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure - 'Bachelor Boy' by Cliff Richard
Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love - 'Firestarter' by Prodigy
Day 15 - A song that describes you - 'Just A Girl' by No Doubt
Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate - 'Pray' by Take That
Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio - 'Poker Face' by Lady Gaga
Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio - 'Collide' by Lee Mead
Day 19 - A song from your favorite album - 'Mr Bojangles' by Robbie Williams
Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you’re angry - 'Queer' by Garbage
Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy - 'Body Rock' by Moby
Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad - 'Emotions' by Destinys Child
Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding - 'Fix You' by Coldplay
Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral - 'One' by U2
Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh - 'Tribute' by Tenacious D
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument - 'Walking On Broken Glass' by Annie Lennox
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play - 'Wonderwall' by Oasis
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty - 'Take Another Piece Of My Heart' by Erma Franklin
Day 29 - A song from your childhood - 'I Think We're Alone Now' by Tiffany
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year - 'Nothing Else Matters' by Lee Mead

Yay - challenge completed! That was quite fun, actually ... :)

Task #82 - 20 PostCrossing Countries

For this task, I need to have received an 'official' postcard from 20 different countries around the world via PostCrossing.com. I've been a member of the site for a few months now, and it's been such a cool project to be a part of - I'd recommend it to anyone (unless you hate postcards!) :)

As luck would have it, I'm receiving cards already, so can begin my list straight away ...

Country #1 - UKRAINE (rec. 28/09/10)
Country #2 - FINLAND (rec. 29/09/10)
Country #3 - USA (rec 01/10/10)
Country #4 - RUSSIA (rec 06/10/10)
Country #5 - JAPAN (rec 07/10/10)
Country #6 - TAIWAN (rec 15/10/10)
Country #7 - THE NETHERLANDS (rec 21/10/10)
Country #8 - UNITED KINGDOM (rec 22/10/10)
Country #9 - GERMANY (rec 23/10/10)
Country #10 - BELARUS (rec 06/12/10)
Country #11 - POLAND (rec 06/12/10)
Country #12 - CANADA (rec 09/12/10)
Country #13 - CZECH REPUBLIC (rec 05/01/11)
Country #14 - CHINA (rec 05/01/11)

Task #17 - 100 Snapshot Challenge

Another slightly mammoth task this one - to photograph my interpretation of 100 words, in any order, and post my completed portfolio on the LiveJournal website. So here's the list ... am already baffled at the thought of 'Kool-Aid' ... :D

1. Safety
2. Stale
3. Feathered
4. Hot
5. Open
6. Forever
7. Love
8. Touch
9. Colorless
10. Blue
11. Smell
12. Growth
13. Irony
14. Wrong
15. More
16. Feel
17. Muse
18. Child
19. Within
20. Pale
21. Earth
22. Torn
23. Scars
24. Stray
25. Drops
26. Against
27. Dry
28. Fresh
29. Covered
30. Bold
31. High
32. Shadow
33. Concrete
34. Vein
35. Rush
36. Yellow
37. Empty
38. Cliché
39. Central
40. Loss
41. Wonder
42. Sweet
43. Poetry
44. Heavy
45. Fall
46. Chair
47. Statue
48. Kool-Aid
49. Dark
50. Breath
51. Garbage
52. Silk
53. Teacher
54. Cream
55. Wash
56. Corner
57. Rose
58. Field
59. Two
60. Red
61. Music
62. Rope
63. Decrepit
64. Chase
65. Dream
66. Dance
67. Smile
68. Smirk
69. Reflection
70. Soul
71. Lock
72. Key
73. Rust
74. Find
75. Lose
76. Drag
77. Wind
78. Rest
79. Swing
80. Meeting
81. Vacant
82. Hazy
83. Release
84. Gather
85. Swarm
86. Road
87. Wait
88. Stand
89. Distance
90. Trapped
91. Desk
92. Detach
93. Shatter
94. Home
95. Shy
96. Tackle
97. Begin
98. End
99. Time
100. Life

(correction on the Kool-Aid dilemma - have just ordered a sachet of it on Ebay!)

The List ...

OK, so here's the dreaded list that I have to complete by June 25th 2013 ... eek! :)

Lotti's Day Zero Project

Here we go, then!

Hi everyone!

I've started this blog today as I just signed up for the Day Zero project, and I wanted to record my results somewhere as I go along (in an effort to actually complete the list in 1001 days!). I'm usually useless at keeping up with things like this, so I just hope that I can get my butt in gear and make a decent job of this one ;)

Here's a link to the Day Zero Project, just in case you feel inspired to have a go at it yourself (and that'll mean that I'll have completed task #101 too!)

Wish me luck!!

Lotti x