New Challenge - Turn 41!

My 40th year officially ended and so too must this blog. My goal was to find new challenges, recruit my family & friends to complete them with me & then blog about the journey. As I reflect on the past 14 months I am mostly proud of what I was able to accomplish, but there are a few challenges I really wish I could have found a way to complete.

What I learned & appreciated from this process was:

1. Having many goals throughout the year gave me a purpose
2. Completing these goals gave me reason to celebrate!
3. It became very easy for me (& maybe you) to identify my strengths and weaknesses
4. Putting myself out there & hearing feedback from people 

Thank you to those who followed along provided challenges & gave me encouragement.  

Next up the Marine Corps Marathon October 2012. 

Challenge Complete - Eat Exotic Fruits!

This one was my daughter's recommendation.  We had a great time exploring the grocery store & picking out some new fruits for us to try together.

1.  Have you tried a Champagne Mango? They are smooth, velvety and sweet.  I had to do research re when we could eat it.  How do you know when its ripe?  It changes color from green to deep gold  when its gold -- eat it!

2. What about a Star Fruit? This one did not get rave reviews. Ours was very tart.  I learned non-ripe fruit should be turned often and are ready to eat when they are yellow with light brown ribs.

3.  How bout an Asain Pear?  We really enjoyed this apple-like pear.  To select a good pear you need to rely on smell vs firmness.  Unlike other pears Asian Pears are ripe even when they are extremely firm.

I enjoyed this challenge because it involved time with my kids.  They are very interested in my blog and challenges.  I appreciated that they wanted to support me and get involved! I know that as they grow I will be able to spend less and less time with them, so I truly value every second I can get now!  They are growing into great people.