My family is not religious as such, but since we have a six-year-old in the house we tend to indulge in the egg-hunting and chocolate-munching traditions of Easter Sunday. This year, though, my friend Anna has been staying with us for the weekend, and she brought some Easter fun with her. Today, we dyed and decorated eggs.

In Germany, where Anna is originally from, dyed and decorated eggs are used as Easter decorations (if they have been blown out) and also used as part of an Easter egg hunt and eaten (if they have been hard-boiled). The eggs are brightly coloured and provide a lively, springtime feel when dotted around the house and garden. It is also considerably more healthy than having lots of chocolate eggs!

Anyway, enough history, dyeing eggs is awesome fun, however old you are. Here’s how we did it.

First off, we hard-boiled ten eggs, since we felt a little too clumsy to blow them out. Then, we dyed the eggs a variety of colours using egg/food colouring and hot water:

Then came the fun bit. Myself, Anna and my little sister decorated the eggs as we saw fit – we used non-toxic pens for the eggs which were to be eaten, and a combination of the non-toxic pens and Sharpie markers for the eggs which nobody wanted to eat. We also had stickers:

I decorated two and Anna and my littlest sister decorated four eggs each:

When we’d finished, the eggs looked like this:

These were my efforts:

Then, it was time to eat! Since Gareth and Anna are the only people in the house at the moment who like hard-boiled eggs, they got to do the honours:

Best Easter ever!

Anyway, last year on March 28th, I started my list. That makes today 365, marking the end of year one. My end date is 24/12/2011.

Completed: 20/101
In progress: 9/101
Planned in the not-too-distant future: 2/101
Failed/cannot complete: 3/101

Goals completed:

(03) actually take back an item of clothing that i buy on impulse that either doesn’t fit or i don’t like.

I bought a skirt on eBay, it didn’t fit so I sent it back and got it exchanged

(12 & 13) apologise when i’m wrong. just once./apologise even if i know i was right. again, just once.

both of these are relationship things, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.

(19) purchase a plain, black hoodie.

h&m saves the day.

(24) dance at a wedding.

My uncle Sean got married in April last year. I danced.

(30) buy three skirts that i will actually wear. wear them. out. [3/3]

One leather pencil skirt, one teal suede skirt, one pink patterned skirt. All worn out on at least one occasion.

(31) find a white wine I actually like.

Technically, I found a white port, not a wine, but it will have to do.

(32) Visit Caroline in Leicester.

I have completed this one several times now.

(35) Take a self-defence class.

My first term at university, I started Taekwon-do training.

(45) send big-little sister some snail mail from uni.

I sent her a random Edward Monkton card in November.

(47) buy/steal/beg/borrow/somehow obtain a camera.

I received a digital compact camera from my father as a birthday gift last year.

(48) swim in the ocean without majorly freaking out about seaweed. minor freakouts permissible.

Benidorm, Spain, August 2009.

(53) get “passione” and “verita” tattooed on the inside of my arms.

May 14th, 2009, by Suzie @ North Star tattoo studio, Harrogate.

(54) learn how to make brownies from scratch.

I have the recipe written down somewhere…

(56) have a night out drinking without smoking.

I quit smoking last June.

(69) try sushi.

Sainsburys sushi, but sushi all the same.

(70) Try a fruit I’ve never eaten before.

Sharon fruit is a strange sort of food.

(78) do something truly impulsive.

Random visit to the boyfriend – was en route to Birmingham from Leeds, got off to change in Derby and got on a train to Nottingham instead.

(86) buy 10 DVDs [10/10].

The Faculty, The Edge of Love, The Virgin Suicides, Romeo + Juliet, (500) Days of Summer, The Hills Have Eyes, Audition, The Nightmare Before Christmas, A Muppets’ Christmas Carol, Silent Hill.

(90) buy some perfume that I actually like. wear it, often.

Diesel – Fuel for Life.

In Progress:

(16) hug fifty different people. with reason. random, meaningless hugs do not count. [14/50]

thus far: big-little sis, little-little sis, brother, grandad, nan, mum, stepdad, richard, gareth, caroline, amy, anna, kash, lizzie

(20) watch five foreign films. [3/5]

Los amantes del círculo polar (lovers of the arctic circle: Spanish), mar adentro (the sea inside: Spanish), final fantasy VII: advent children (Japanese).

(37) watch all the seasons of buffy the vampire slayer. in order. [4/7]

I have yet to obtain Season 5.

(44) go to the cinema fifteen times. [4/15]

Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, Avatar (3D), Sherlock Holmes, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.

(49) eat out at a restaurant on ten different occasions. i don’t do this nearly often enough. [2/10]

My sister’s 16th birthday (Saffron, Leeds) and Gareth’s Aunt’s 50th birthday (The Druid Inn, Birchover).

(51) keep some kind of record of interesting/important things that happen in my life for at least six months.

my livejournal.

(84) learn some basic first aid.

I recently joined the LINKS society at university, which is the student branch of St. John’s Ambulance. Once my CRB check goes through, I will be trained in First Aid and sent out on duties.

(97) cook five recipes out of any of my various cookbooks. [0/5]

I still have this marked as 0/5 as I can’t remember which recipes I’ve used and from which books, but I will amend it when I have them to hand.

Planned in the not-too-distant-future

(33) visit Lottie in Swansea.

I hope to stay with Lottie for a week over summer at the beginning of July.

(99) assuming i have a camera, take one picture per day for five months. [0/150]

I aim to start this goal when I finish university for summer and will have more time and hopefully more energy.

Failed:

(34) pass my driving test.

It turns out, I hate driving. I don’t ever want to take lessons again, and certainly not in the next couple of years. Ergo, no driving test.

(93) make a mix cd (a playlist will do if making a physical cd is impossible) every week. label it with the date and keep a track listing for it. review periodically.

This proved impossible, not fun and pointless.

(95) watch seven of these films. [1/7]

Unfortunately the link no longer works and I can’t find the article anymore.

Overall, I think I’m doing alright. I haven’t decided yet whether I should substitute the failed/impossible tasks or just abandon them and work on what’s left.

The formatting/layout and my links section aren’t finished yet and will probably be continually updated, so please shout if you find something I might like

In the meantime, here’s a picture of my new un-business cards from moo!

End: 24/12/2011

1. take a train mostly, if not only, for the journey itself as opposed to the destination.
2. drink only water for five days. [0/5]
3. actually take back an item of clothing that i buy on impulse that either doesn’t fit or i don’t like.
4. learn to play a piece on the piano, or rather on my sister’s keyboard. this would preferably be moonlight sonata or similar, but let’s not get carried away.
5. actually read a novel by chuck palahnuik.
6. read 5 shakespeare plays. re-reads are okay. [0/5]
7. take my multi-vitamins every day for thirty consecutive days. [0/30]
8. watch a sunrise. actually watch it, not just be awake whilst it happens.
9. read a newspaper every day for a month. the metro doesn’t count. [0/30]
10. bake carrot cake from richard’s mum’s recipe.
11. complete the clockword in the metro ten times without cheating. collaborative efforts are okay. [0/10]
12. apologise when i’m wrong. just once.
13. apologise even if i know i was right. again, just once.
14. visit two countries i’ve never been to before. [0/2]
15. write a paper i’m really, truly proud of.
16. hug fifty different people. with reason. random, meaningless hugs do not count. [14/50]
17. read ten ‘classic’ novels. [0/10]
18. sleep under the stars. a balcony/patio/garden is fine.
19. purchase a plain, black hoodie.
20. watch five foreign films. [3/5]
21. be able to recite two poems by heart. [0/2]
22. build a snowman.
23. donate blood, should i ever weigh enough to do so. failing this, encourage someone else to and go with them to do it.
24. dance at a wedding.
25. sit/stand out in heavy rain in my underwear. (er, again..)
26. be okay with the fact that i’m short.
27. ditto the above for the fact that i have little boobs.
28. go camping. pitching a tent and sleeping in the garden doesn’t count.
29. monitor and record my weight every two weeks for six months. [0/12]
30. buy three skirts that i will actually wear. wear them. out. [3/3]
31. find a white wine i actually like.
32. visit caroline in leicester.
33. visit lottie in swansea.
34. pass my driving test.
35. take a self-defense class.
36. finish reading ‘the stand‘ by stephen king. the full, original, uncut edition that i’ve started at least three times. yes, that one.
37. watch all the seasons of buffy the vampire slayer. in order. [4/7]
38. watch at least season one of angel all the way through, to give it a fair chance.
39. go to the theatre.
40. take big-little sister to a gig.
41. take little-little sister to the zoo.
42. get re-fitted and buy three decent, well-fitting bras.
43. visit a capital city outside the uk.
44. go to the cinema fifteen times. [4/15]
45. send big-little sister some snail mail from uni.
46. send my ma a surprise present.
47. buy/beg/steal/borrow/somehow obtain a camera.
48. swim in the ocean without majorly freaking out about seaweed. minor freakouts permissible.
49. eat out at a restaurant on ten different occasions. i don’t do this nearly often enough. [2/10]
50. buy two pairs of jeans that are good and fit well. yes, two. hopefully this is not impossible. [0/2]
51. keep some kind of record of interesting/important things that happen in my life for at least six months.
52. do some kind of public speaking.
53. get “passione” and “verità” tattooed on the inside of my arms.
54. learn how to make brownies from scratch.
55. do something fun for my birthday at least once.
56. have a night out drinking without smoking.
57. sew something useful with my sewing machine.
58. have a picnic.
59. get my legs waxed.
60. paint a picture on canvas even though i fail at art.
61. have a water fight.
62. learn to crochet.
63. go caffeine-free for two weeks. [0/14]
64. dance by myself if no one will dance with me.
65. actually get my 5-a-day for one week. [0/7]
66. visit two castles. [0/2]
67. visit two abbeys. [0/2]
68. visit two cathedrals. [0/2]
69. try sushi.
70. try a fruit i’ve never eaten before.
71. try a vegetable i’ve never eaten before.
72. don’t watch any tv/dvds for two weeks. [0/14]
73. buy myself flowers. because i’m cool.
74. learn to eat with chopsticks.
75. say “yes” to ten things i’d usually say “no” to. [0/10]
76. take a walk, feed some ducks.
77. take some kind of dance class.
78. do something truly impulsive.
79. blame a creative mishap on my external genius.
80. thank my external genius for something that goes well.
81. get a professional manicure.
82. leave a note in thirty library books. [0/30]
83. use my sandwich toaster. to make a toasted sandwich. (obvious, perhaps, but i thought i should clarify.)
84. learn some basic first aid.
85. buy ten cds. [0/10]
86. buy ten dvds. [10/10]
87. stand up for myself.
88. get something pierced, if only my ears again.
89. obtain five new peacock-related objects. [3/5]
90. buy some perfume that i actually like. wear it often.
91. learn lorenzo’s speech about music from the merchant of venice. or at least the part of it i love.
92. use lorenzo’s speech in conversation.
93. make a mix cd (a playlist will do if making a physical cd is impossible) every week. label it with the date and keep a track listing for it. review periodically.
94. buy a really good eyeliner and mascara, since this is the only make-up i ever wear.
95. watch seven of these films.
96. read the bloody iliad since it’s been sat on my shelf forever.
97. cook five recipes out of any of my various cookbooks. [0/5]
98. compliment ten strangers. [0/10]
99. assuming i have a camera, take one picture per day for five months. [0/150]
100. cut out red meat for at least three weeks. [0/21]
101. do something to raise funds/awareness for the cystic fibrosis trust.

Completed : 20/101

In progress/planned: 11/101

Failed: 3/101