Category: Blogging

January 17th: Watch a Documentary

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Some of you might not believe this but I had, until today, not seen the documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

I do not know how I went this long. It was a great watch but now I guess I have to watch the sequel to see how far we have come or what we have further caused or hindered.

I am still sick today so this was a perfect way to check something off without having to leave my house or really get off the couch. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel better and can do something more interesting!

My inspiration on social media today was:

“And still, after all this time,

The sun never says to the earth,

“You owe Me.”

Look what happens with

A love like that,

It lights the Whole Sky.”

Hafez

January 16th: Have Dinner with a Group of Friends

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I wish I could say this was a great experience. It definitely started out as a fun night. And was not even the thing I planned on marking off my list today but a group of friends I used to work with got together for dinner tonight. Only I got sick… I do not know if it is the flu or what but not enjoyable and I probably was not the best company. It was good to see the friends though. Might have to do this one again when I feel better!

January 15th: Post positive affirmations or quotes everyday for a month on social media.

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Social media has absolutely changed the way the world works. It is where people get information, share their opinions and thoughts and where so much of culture is formed.

I am on social media all day everyday because I am a Marketing Manager. Over the last year I feel there is so much negativity, bickering and arguments. It is so overwhelming some days.

I thought it would be nice to post affirmations or positive quotes everyday for a month and see how it can change me or change someone else’s day.

Since today is MLK JR Day I thought it would be great to start off with a quote from him. I plan on continuing with different quotes every day until February 15th.

You can find me on facebook at Megan Tutin. Hopefully maybe one of those days can help you feel a little better and less overwhelmed by all the negativity.

January 14th: Buy a New Record

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It is exciting to mark some of these things off my list that are possible because of things I did last year on my list.

So I bought a record player last year and it has been great to listen to music on it. It feels archaic but that feels great.

So I am obsessed with The Revivalists and have been meaning to buy the most recent record they put out in 2015 but I just always put it off.

That is the great thing about this list! Some of the things are just things that I always mean to do but always put off. So today I did it! Purchased the record on amazon.com!

I am so excited to get it. But the great thing about Amazon is it tells you other things you might be interested in. And yes Amazon, yes I was interested in this record too.

I discovered this band when listening to The Revivalists on Spotify. It was “similar”. And I do love them. So I got that one too, because I needed 5 more dollars to qualify for free shipping and it only cost 10… so I got free shipping and another record for 5 more dollars. Good thinking, right?!?

I hate that I have to wait a few days to get it. But when both records come in the mail it will be quite the exciting day!

January 13th: Read Conspiracy Theories

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Holy goodness!

Who knew there were so many conspiracy theories out there?!?

I found SOO MANY SITES.

And it just keeps going deeper and deeper.

Some are creepy. Some are intriguing. Some are just downright ridiculous.

If you want to dive in a little. I suggest just start with Wikipedia: Conspiracy Theories but Time Magazine has a great list of the Top 10 Conspiracy Theories.

Do you have a favorite theory? Something you believe in?

January 11th: Discover a New Game App

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I know this seems a little silly. But I have actual good reason for this simple task.

There have actually been studies and articles published (like this one Playing Mario Bros) that say playing video games, cognitive games or just keeping your mind active more often then say, mindlessly watching tv can help prevent dementia.

Because I have a history of dementia in my family I think early in life it is important to do anything I can to help prevent or at least put off longer getting the disease.

So I downloaded this “Trivia Crack” game and will start playing. Besides the good side affects it might have on my brain, maybe I’ll actually learn something every once in a while.

January 10th: Donate to a Charity

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So this is something I try to do once a year. I added it to my list to make sure I remembered to do it. In the past I have donated to Dumb Friends League and probably will again at a different time of this year.

However, I really wanted to donate to something else for this task. Make it something that I would not normally do.

So I found this website: Charity Navigator thinking it would make it easier to find a charity that was worthy and really needed this money. This was not the case. It actually made the choice much, much harder.

I cannot even decide between the categories:

Let alone decide once in those categories. But I set a standard for myself and just had to push through and do something.

So I looked through the “popular topics” that need money and found a popular charity called Direct Relief:

Direct Relief is a humanitarian aid organization, active in all 50 states and more than 80 countries, with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies.

They have multiple programs but I found it interesting you could donate to a specific cause. I chose to support people dealing with the wildfires in California.

It is tragic. What is overwhelming is there are so many tragic things going on in the world it was difficult to not give to everyone. I did not donate much. I do not have that much disposable income. But I hope anything can help. And I know if other people join in the help can be more widespread.

January 9th: Read History of My Birthday

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This is one of those things that is simple but can end up meaning a lot or at least having some sort of simple effect.

I found a website called On This Day.

I think I thing I lived the most was Famous People Born on August 26th. I have the same birthday as Mother Teresa! What an honor.

Then there is specific events that happened on the day. How cool is it that I was on born on Women’s Equality Day!

So cool! I encourage everyone to check out the site. Learn a little about your day of birth. Please share some interesting points you find.

January 8th: Make a Shopping List and ONLY Buy What is on It

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This may not sound difficult to most people. Or maybe it sounds really hard. But making a plan and sticking to it can sometimes be had. I can attest to that with the failure of my 365 Things List in 2017. But let’s not talk about that right now, since today is day EIGHT and I am attempting to keep going strong!

So today, I researched some recipes I like, wrote down all the ingredients, thought about some other snacks I enjoy or typically eat, and made a grocery list! Then off to the store I went and wouldn’t you know… I just got what was on the list. Of course, I came across stuff every so often and thought, “well, I would like to have that”. But I stayed the course and made myself just get what was on the list.

Often with these tasks, I research the benefits and there are usually long lists or lengthy articles, like this one from the HuffPost: Grocery List, Supermarket discussing all aspects of the act. Pinterest even has a whole section of “Supermarket Lists” that you can download. So there are plenty of resources to help you long the way. All I have to say about this simple task is:

The benefits of making a grocery list and sticking to it:

  1. Saves you time.

  2. Saves you money.

  3. Keeps you on track for dietary goals.

It is that simple. And simple it was. What an easy, but beneficial thing to do!

P.S. I found the featured image on Google and that was by far my favorite… all the essentials, FRUIT-BREAD-MILK-WINE-SUGAR-BUTTER!

January 7th: Ask Friends for Book Suggestions and Read Throughout the Year

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So I did this last year and got a lot of responses, so I cut it at 10. I still have not gotten through all those books, and hope to at some point. But I might as well stack some new titles on top of those!

So here are the book suggestions I have gotten and where you can find them on Amazon! Maybe some of them will be good books for others of you too!

  1. Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
  2. The Beaten Territory by Randi Samuelson
  3. The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
  4. The Big Lie by Dinesh D’Souza
  5. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
  6. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
  7. Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein
  8. Earth Children Series by Jean M. Auel (This one counts as the last three because it is a six book series!)

Hope if you can find some time to read something this year, you will give a glance over this list and give some a try. If you have already read some of these I would love opinions on them… which ones I should dive into first, which ones I might want to wait till later and any other comments you might want to share!

January 6th: Create a Family Birthday Calendar

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I know as a 33 year old woman I should probably already have my stuff together enough to have a complete list of my family’s birthdays but with one of my sisters, seemingly, having a baby every year it is hard to keep up.

So I have reached out to all my siblings and asked for birthdays so I can keep a running calendar… this will also make a task later in the year easier: Send Birthday Cards to Family Members.