#72 Be a Secret Santa

I know it’s a little early for the holiday season, but heck! 95.5 is definitely already playing the classics and all the major stores have already released their holiday commercials! I don’t know about you all, but I’ve already broken out all of my winter clothes and am just anxiously awaiting the “cold!” And by cold in Texas, I mean the 50s and low 60s.  I also bought a glade plug  in with the apple cinnamon scent, and all of my roommates’ stockings are hanging on our entertainment center!

My cute festive mom making pumpkin bread for one of the nights!

Anyways, this is something that was done to my mom a few years back and she has made a tradition every year since. Basically, you choose a recipient to place anonymous gifts on their doorstep every night before Christmas. Mom likes to do it the 12 days before Christmas, so she can sing the song EVERY night, semi- torturing my sister and me. Then, she will make up a riddle that has 12 parts to coincide with each gift. She will cut each part so she can attach them to the gift of the night.

The gifts don’t have to be anything lavish at all! They can be funny holiday socks, or 7 snickers for the seventh night, 8 candy canes, cookies, homemade ornaments etc. It’s a rush when you have to go to the house at night and place something on the door, and basically do a ring-and-run. Mom gets a kick out of this! It’s just really fun when you are expecting something and knowing that someone is thinking of you every day, it really gets those holiday spirits going!

And if you don’t take part in the whole Christmas thing, that’s okay! It can be for Hannukah, Kwanzaa, or  just a nice gesture around the time, or any other time for that manner.

So, go ahead and start thinking of your “victim” and just be as anonymous as possible! This is just a fun way to celebrate the giving part of the season! I’ve added a video from youtube that my roommates showed me the other night and it really got me excited, especially since it’s from Robert Earl Keen! Hope you enjoy!

Happy Holidays y’all!

#64: Try something Extreme

This kind of relates to Kristin’s awesome post about learning to skateboard, but I’m going to take another angle and go with BMX biking! I have to admit that I am still a little nervous to try this one out, but again, it’s on THE 144 LIST so I have to do it!

Pete doing his thing in Dallas Courtesy: Peter Rosendahl

I’m bringing back my friend Pete again, the pilot from the 23rd post, because this is definitely his favorite hobby, (and he’s really good at it!) Anyway, I asked him a few questions and he’s just a pretty simple guy, but he thinks that everyone should try it out at some point in their lives, definitely before they die.

We went to the bike trails off of 9th street and Lamar and here is a little look at what the jumps look like with Pete giving me a little run:

I talked with him afterwards and asked him a few questions, keep in mind that Pete is a simple man with simple answers. I interviewed him on my small digital camera so you can’t really hear him, but here’s a better look at some of the jumps and of Pete basically talking about riding.

Pete says he rides “because it’s fun” and because he can “meet some interesting folk out here”, meaning on the 9th street trails. He’s been riding since he was about 13 and he and his buddies find any ramp or tunnel they can to see what kinds of tricks they can come up with. I asked if he’s been hurt and that was a definite yes. Pete has separated his shoulder, fallen on his face, scraped up more parts of his body than he can remember, but he says it’s “totally worth it”.

So if you ever get the chance, or the guts to practice your bike tricks, Pete recommends that you make a stop at Empire BMX on 5th street first to make sure you have the right gear and get some tips from more experienced riders before you head over to the 9th street trails. If you go on a Friday afternoon, you will probably see Pete there!

Be careful!