Clam-digging, oyster-shucking, shellfish-cooking fun

Here's my DOUBLE Operation Fear Liberation (OFL) snapshot for the fourth week of February and first week of March. Once again, I've forced myself to do something new.  

 

Week 8: Digging for clams and oysters!

Week 9: Shucking oysters and steaming clams!

A posse of oysters

Why they're on my list: I'm big on eating local food, and when you live on the Puget Sound, local food includes clams and oysters.  I like clams!  I like oysters! I like cooking! It also seems un-Pacific NW of me to have lived here for over 10 years without ever digging clams or cooking clams or shucking an oyster, and going on a clam dig has always sounded like a super fun weekend adventure.

You say Bag-ull, I say Bay-gull

Here's my Operation Fear Liberation (OFL) snapshot for the second week of February. Once again, I've forced myself to do something new. 

Week #6: Make homemade bagels!

Why it’s on my list: About six months or so back, a friend of mine posted a link to a bagel recipe on Facebook. Now this friend is one half of a culinary-inclined duo, who often post about their edible masterpieces in the kitchen. I don’t even think about making most of the stuff they make, because I know that I am no Nigella Lawson. That said, I am often inspired by my culinary amigos, and I actually do cook and bake from time to time. And I also really like bagels; I went through a bit of an obsession with Eltana’s wood-fired bagels last spring. So I thought, “I should totally learn to make bagels!”

An Eltana bagel that I once loved. And ate.

I Survived Zumba: OFL Week 5

Here's my Operation Fear Liberation (OFL) snapshot for the first week of February. Once again, I've forced myself to do something new. 

 

Week 5: Go to a Zumba class 

Why it’s on my list: So Zumba is a Latin dance-inspired fitness program with a choreography that incorporates hip-hop, soca, samba, salsa, merengue, mambo, martial arts, and some Bollywood and belly dance moves. I’ve been hearing from everyone and their dog about how fun Zumba is for at least a year, maybe two now. When I’ve peeked through the window of my gym’s group fitness room and seen a Zumba class in progress, the participants really do look like they are having fun. And I hear it really is a great workout for your hips and core. I’ve been meaning to try it. 

Hang Ups: I’m terrified of looking stupid, of course; why else would a person hem and haw about going to a dance class when she wants to dance? This fear is exacerbated by the fact that I am severely dance challenged.  Maybe not to the degree of the Seinfeld character, Elaine Benes, but let’s consider the evidence through the years.

New Thing Done Numero One

Welcome to the first "snapshot" post for my new 2012 quest, Operation Fear Liberation (OFL).  Each week, as I force myself to do something new (and, for some stupid reason, intimidating to me), I will post one of these snapshots to look at: why I put this new activity on my list; my previously-held reservations and hang ups about said activity; the "when, where, and how?" I did the activity; a summary of my experience; and my final takeaway post-activity.  Here we go!

Week 1: Go to a Burlesque show.

Peakaboo Pinups by Michael Albov [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Why it’s on my list: Every time I open the Stranger or Seattle Weekly, I see advertisements for burlesque shows and think, “That looks fun.”  God, how many times have I seen someone brag or gush about attending a burlesque show on my Facebook feed?  Frequently.

Hang Ups: Requires advance planning and finding someone to come with me, cost of admission, getting over a tired internal debate left over from my time as a Gender Studies minor about whether or not burlesque performances objectify or empower the female performers, mental resistance from that tiny part of me that is a total prude.