Today I rode a skateboard. This is something I always wanted to do as a kid but never owned one or really knew anyone who owned one that I could borrow. I was a little freaked out. It didn’t help that because of the timing of the day I ended up trying it in the dark and on a slight hill. Yikes! At the beginning I was a little overzealous and I decided to ride it down the slanted driveway. After almost loosing my balance and wiping out, I decided that uphill was a good way to start – not downhill! It was fun, but I had a hard time enjoying it because I felt like at any given moment I would fall and break my head. Oh well, at least I can say I’ve done it now.
Like Jason, I had to think for a while about today’s challenge because of the “never” stipulation. There are lots of things I’ve tried for about 30 seconds, but that’s not never. So, after much thought, I decided to try bird watching. I have two speculations on why I didn’t see too many birds today. 1. Time of year - lots of birds have flown someplace warmer, right? 2. The neighbor dogs barking just before birds flew away. I was amazed though at all the birds I could HEAR despite being able to see them. I guess my challenge for today was “bird listening with a little watching.” 
Comment by Jaimie on 1/16/2006 @ 2:46 pm
Well, today we sang while standing outside on our balcony. It was quite fun! My song of choice was “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” - I couldn’t resist really. Doug choose to sing “Me and Julio Down By The School Yard.”
Comment by Doug and Katie on 1/16/2006 @ 7:43 pm
I love shooting free-throws so tonite at about 8:00 pm I decided to shoot free-throws like I have never done before. I put on my PJ bottoms, slippers, heavy winter coat, stocking hat, and heavy leather mittens. I then headed out to the ball box in the garage to get a basketball. I have a favorite Michael Jordan black basketball that is so worn that you can see the threads and the black is really gray. However, on closer inspection of the ball box I decided to use a full size football instead and see how many free-throws out of 50 I could make. As I was shooting I was wondering if my final score would be FT % or quarterback rating. At first it was fun as I worked on my technique. Hold the ball with both mittened hands and at the point of push/shoot let the left hand pull away and shoot. However, then adultitis showed it’s ugly head as I tried to see how good I could do at this and getting ticked when I missed. I made 22 out of 50. I thought that was pretty good and I think with practice I could sink 30 out of 50. I did manage to swish a few, some clanged off the iron, and 2 rolled around the rim and out. Dribbling was tough. Too bad I don’t live on a busy street.
Comment by Walt Kotecki on 1/16/2006 @ 8:51 pm
Well, I wasn’t able to complete this outdoor challenge “today”, but I’m going to write it down, as my desired activity is weather-permitting….and the current weather did not cooperate. I belong to a local arboretum in the Chicago suburbs, and in the winter time they offer the opportunity to snow shoe on the trails on weekends - when there is at least 4 inches of snow. I’ve never been on snow shoes, so I think this outdoor adventure would be AWESOME!!! And seeing as I recall, a few years back, building snowmen with K&J the night before we left for a college spring break Habitat trip (in MARCH) - I think I’ll get the chance to strap on those snow shoes yet!!
Comment by Marci on 1/16/2006 @ 9:20 pm
I was interested in taking advantage of the time of year. January in Wisconsin usually means snow and ice and there are a lot of winter activities I have never tried. Alas, the weather has been unseasonably warm and there’s lots of brown muddy grass instead of drifts of snow. However as I was pulling into my driveway I saw a small pile of snow most likely leftover from the driveway being plowed. As it was only about one foot by 3 feet I knew there would be no skiing or sledding or even snowshoeing. So instead of putting on something extra to try out the snow, I took off my shoes and socks and stood on the snow barefoot. I can honestly say I’ve never done that before and I was curious about something I’d read once about how your skin reacts the same to extreme hot and extreme cold. So in a throw-back to our earlier “experiment challenge” I hypothesized that standing barefoot on the snow would feel similar to standing barefoot on hot sand at the beach. Either it’s been too long since I stood on hot sand at the beach or the snow wasn’t cold enough or some other variable, but I did not feel like I was standing on hot sand. It was an interesting sensation and I amused myself with the experience.
Comment by Jenna on 1/17/2006 @ 12:30 am
[...] Dreary-ness, that begins with ‘D’. The thirteenth task: Spend ten minutes doing something outside that you have never done before. [...]
Pingback by The Rodeo » Blog Archive » Rain in Me (T.G.E. - Part 13 of 40) on 1/18/2006 @ 6:37 pm
I went for a walk in the rain. That was not my original intent, but hey, it was great :).
Comment by Ian Tyrrell on 1/18/2006 @ 6:39 pm
Today, I went out to the gazebo behind the office building I was at - haven’t done that yet. And I proceeded to walk around on the benches on the inside - just like the 16 year old teenage daughter in Sound of Music. I haven’t seen that movie in forever, but that’s the first image that came to mind. I started singing the song (in my head) from that movie in that scene: ‘You are 16, going on 17.’
Comment by Sue on 2/3/2006 @ 3:37 pm
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