Mt. Lemmon Adventures

92. Visit Mt. Lemmon during the winter.

I have lived in Tucson for over 20 years and I can't remember the last time I visited Mt. Lemmon.

 My friend Rachel and I drove up the mountain early Saturday morning.  There was some snow left, but most of it had turned to ice.  We attempted to make a snowman.  This was the best we could do.

It looks more like a bird, doesn't it?

After having some fun in the snow, we visited The Cookie Cabin for a quick bite to eat.  The peanut butter cookie I got was amazing!   I think I will be enjoying it for another couple of days.

Before we left Mt. Lemmon, we decided to see if we could ride the ski lift.  Neither one of us had ever been on a ski lift before, so we were excited to see that the ski lift was running.

There was no line, so once we bought our tickets we were able to get on the lift immediately.  Since we were new to this, we both didn't realize how high we would be until we were already on the lift.

Our nervous faces.

After hearing Luke Bryan music from another rider's phone, I decided to steal their idea.  Luke Bryan's music helped us relax and enjoy the ride.  Unfortunately, most of his songs are about summer, which didn't fit well with the winter weather.  

As we were returning to the bottom of the lift, clouds and fog started to roll in and the temperature dropped a few degrees.  It was 38 degrees out!  I am not used to being outside in that weather.

Once we exited the ski lift we decided to return to Tucson.  Thanks so much for driving, Rachel!  You're the best.  :) 

Items completed: 33

Makeup Makeover

70. Have my makeup professionally done.

I received $100 in gift certificates to Sephora for my birthday and Christmas this year.  I took advantage of this and decided to have my makeup done by a beauty expert at Sephora before I purchased anything.

I usually don't wear too much makeup on a daily basis.  I have never mastered the art of applying eyeliner and I couldn't tell you how to use a brow pencil.  The woman who did my makeup gave me a smoky eye, penciled in my brows, and applied other things to my face that I can't even remember or recognize.

My makeup looked great, but there's no way that I would feel comfortable wearing that much makeup on a daily basis.  I enjoyed getting it done though.  It was a fun experience.

 Please don't judge my Snapchat photo.  It's the only one that turned out well.

With the money I had to spend, I purchased new foundation, concealer, primer, and mascara.  Since I signed up for Sephora's Beauty Insider, I received free lip pencils.  Score!

It was nice ringing in the new year with new makeup.  

Items completed: 32

365 Days Down...

My New Year's Resolution last year was to complete 30 items from my list within the first 365 days.  I accomplished 31.  I am very proud of that.

I think I need to complete another 25 to 30 items off of my list this year in order to stay on track.  This year, however, will be a little more difficult for me.  I crossed off some of the smaller items off this year, which means that the larger and more expensive items still have to be completed.

I also bailed on a couple of my financial items last year.  That can't happen again because I can't complete several items without saving money and budgeting a bit.  I might need to start watching Suze Orman to help with the whole budgeting thing.  It's not one of my strengths.

As always, if you are willing to help me complete an item, please let me know.  Thank you to my wonderful friends and family who helped me in 2014.  You guys rock!

31 items down. 71 to go.

Here's to a fantastic 2015.  Thanks for reading.  :)

Thoughtful Family Gifts

18. Buy something thoughtful for each of my immediate family members (not necessarily a birthday or Christmas gift).

Mom: Framed photographs

I saw the idea of re-creating childhood photos on Facebook in March and knew that it was the perfect Mother's Day gift for my mom.  Luckily, my younger brother was willing to help me out with this.  It took about a month for me to gather the correct clothing and accessories that we would need.  Once we had everything we needed, we distracted my mom and my dad, brother, and I spent the better part of two hours re-creating a few photos in the home I grew up in.  

When my mom opened the framed photos on Mother's Day, she was speechless.  She had never heard of the idea before and absolutely loved what we had done.

Steven: First flight 

My brother made it 24 years without flying on an airplane.  For his 25th birthday, I surprised him with his first plane ticket.  We took a trip to Denver in September, which is described in an earlier blog post.  I think his first flight will be something that he remembers for a long time.

Dad: Antiques

My dad is always the most difficult person for me to shop for.  He hates spending money on himself and doesn't particularly enjoy others buying him expensive things.  I usually get him a gift card to Home Depot or Best Buy, but I wanted to do something different this year for his Christmas gift.  

My dad has a small collection of antique tricycles that he displays on a shelf in my parents' home.  I found a small tricycle that I thought would be a nice addition to his collection on eBay.  

I wound up buying one that blended right in with the ones he already owned, which worked out perfectly.

The second item I found for my dad was an advertisement for a 1927 Studebaker.  My dad has a 1927 Studebaker in his garage, so I was very excited when I found this.  Thank goodness for eBay.  

Although the advertisement is for a slightly different model than the car my dad owns, he was still surprised and excited to receive the advertisement.


Note: Learning how to take better pictures is still an item I need to cross off of my list.  I didn't notice how crooked most of the pictures were.  Oops!

Items completed: 31