#91 - Go to Saturday's Market.

I went to Saturday's Market a few weeks ago with a few goals in mind. I specifically wanted to get some new Correlle pieces (we are constantly running out of bowls!) and also check out the food vendors to see if there was anything yummy.

One of the food vendors is actually a local butcher so I got some yummy german bologna and two different kinds of beef sticks. The prices were really good, too!


I also found 2 Corella vendors and the second one had just what I wanted. He even gave me a discount so he didn't have to break a twenty. haha. Four bowls and 2 small plates.

#21 - Write a "Christmas Letter" and send copies with my Christmas cards.

Mike and I sent out around 30 Christmas cards stuffed with our Christmas Letter! Neither of us had written a Christmas Letter before so it was nothing fancy, but it did give relatives that we don't see very often a glimpse into our lives. Maybe next year we'll do one with pictures. :-P

#99 - On every grocery trip, buy 1 thing to donate to a good cause (Not my stomach).

This item is going really well. I am couponing pretty significantly now and I end up with quite a few surplus items that go straight to the food pantry or another group that our church supports. I really wouldn't be able to do it without Money Saving Mom, though!

#79 - Start a 529 account or other education investment account.

I opened a Upromise account, and I'm going to call this one finished. Doesn't make too much fiscal sense for me to be contributing money into a 529 right now. I need to stop jumping the gun.

#64 - Create a DVD of Mike's "Harvey" performance(s).

I'm halfway there on this one! Last weekend my computer was finally ready to receive video transfer, so now I've got several GB of video that needs to be organized, edited a bit, and squished onto 2 DVDs. With several un-scheduled weekends coming up, I'm pretty confident that this will be finished by the end of 2009. Maybe I can finally give the originals back to Mike's parents. :-P

#39 - Test-drive a car I would never buy.

I'm going to call this one finished now that I have rented 2 cars in the past 4 months. I wouldn't by either of them (A Toyota Rav4 and a Hyundai Elantra), but both were good experiences in learning what I like about driving and what I don't!

#17 - Find all my rechargable batteries and replace the ones that keep dying

I don't know why I thought some of my batteries had issues, but they seem to be okay now. Also, all the batteries in the house are in one organized, central location and it seems to be working well. Another one bites the dust. :-)

#3 - Get a file cabinet and move my files from my parent's house.

I think I can finally call this one finished. I've had a filing cabinet for about 2 years, and it is now set up again in the townhouse. I've even got a system for keeping things filed without the paper getting out of control! Excellent.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

I was a bit leery about reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven since it seemed to be so over-hyped for a while. I picked up a copy of this a while back and finally got around to reading it. I read it in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down! The premise is fascinating and the characters are well-written. I found it to be rather emotional as well - at least 2 tissues were used! I think this is one book that should be required reading & I've already got a list of people waiting to borrow my copy. Now that it has been out for a while, you should have no problem finding a copy to read at your local library.

The Last Days of Haute Cuisine

The Last Days of Haute Cuisine by Patric Kuh has a subtitle of "The Coming of Age of American Restaurants". It is a non-fiction piece about just that. From the story behind the beginning of credit cards to the slow food movement starting long before it was called the slow food movement this book is chock full of small stories that amount to a lot when put together. The history of the US is bound by the restaurant industry in ways that I had never dreamed of. I'm not usually one for non-fiction books, but the vibrant characters in this story are brought to life on the page in a way that does not often happen!

"When one has felt the pull of two continents, such images become dear to one. They are not the rah-rah oath of allegiance stuff that, dear as citizenship is, so oversimplifies the process of belonging."

Life of Pi

Life of Pi by Yann Martel was a fascinating, thought-provoking story of survival. I feel like there isn't much to say that will do justice to this amazing story, especially without ruining the mystical quality that the book has.

The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing

The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank was a birthday gift from a good friend. It was the perfect book for reading on vacation and I devoured it while watching the glaciers go by our cabin's balcony.

The book centers on Jane throughout her life as she tries to figure out life, love, and how to balance the two. It is organized in a collection of short stories - each with a different perspective matching where Jane is in her life.

It was a great read and very enjoyable. I highly recommend it!

#56 - Go to see a stand-up comedian live.

We went to 2 different stand-up shows on the cruise ship, and both were the same guy. He was really funny and he did some seriously awesome impressions. Fun time.

#51 - Do karaoke

I competed in a karaoke competition on the cruise ship. My first time singing karaoke and the pressure was on! I thought I did pretty well, but I didn't win because this other guy WAS elton john. Seriously sounded just like him.

I really liked performing, but my least favorite part was listening to the half drunk people who thought they were hilarious. Not fun.

#42 - Ride in a limo

It really wasn't very comfortable, but it made us feel special.

"Give me my camera back!"

#40 - Visit at least one state I’ve never been to.

I think Alaska counts.


Denali was OUT in all it's splendor! Only about 30% of people get to see the mountain "out" because it creates it's own weather systems which usually result in lots of cloud cover. We were so lucky to see this amazing mountain!

#81 - Obtain a GOOD cash-back credit card and make it work for me.

I think I like the cards I have enough to "cancel" this item. I think canceled sounds much nicer than "failed".

#60 - Complete my bookshelf finishing project.

All finished! In fact, the bookshelf - and the other half of the pair - now reside behind the couch with my DVDs and Mike's as well. I think it looks nice. It'll be even nicer when I can get to it. Right now there is a huge pile of empty boxes in the way.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I decided to re-read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince before going to see the movie. I realized how much I have jumbled the 5th, 6th, and 7th Harry Potter books together in my head. However, I now have a much clearer picture of the events of HBP and, of course, I will go into the movie theater tomorrow with high hopes which will probably be dashed within the first 10 minutes. Oh well. I'll strive to enjoy the movie despite the fact that I will always love the books more.

#90 - Buy a nice pair of binoculars/opera glasses

I bought a nice pair of binoculars at Bass Pro Shop with a gift card. As soon as I figure out how to work them, they will be great for my upcoming trip to Alaska.

I would still like to get a nice pair of opera glasses some day, but for now, this is completed.

#82 - Set up my futon/daybed.

I did this. Twice! I guess I was waiting to post until I uploaded a picture, but that never happened... and then I moved and set it up again! Basically, I've got the frame (dark blue), the mattress, a mattress cover (maroon), 2 pillows to act as "arms"(light blue) and a throw blanket(flag print) that looks very nice on it. Use your imagination.

#75 - Bake a cake in my cross pan.

This I did. Kind of. Apparently the directions I followed were wrong and didn't properly compensate for the cake rising... rising... rising out of the can pan, onto the cookie sheet it was on, and then over and to the bottom of the oven.

Well, to put it nicely, it was disastrous. I am debating trying again or just giving the pan away on freecycle. Leaning towards the latter at this point.

#98 - Pick up trash on my way to work.

Failed. I never did this officially, and now that I've moved, I can no longer walk. However, I did pick up trash a few times, but I just didn't do the whole thing.

Velvet Elvis

I recently finished reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell.
My sister lent me the book over a year ago and started asking what happened to it, so I thought I'd better read it before I returned it! I really enjoyed this book. I loved the way that Bell addressed faith through examples of everyday life. The first chapters did this really well and helped me to really get into the book.
My favorite part about the book is the way that Bell addresses how things were in Jesus' day. Why he used the phrases he did, why he spoke in parables, and why things were the way they were are all addressed. We need to be reminded that Jesus was a Jew and that really colored a lot of what he did and how he rose to fame.
Bell addressed a lot of questions that I have had about biblical passages. Why did they phrase it that way? Why didn't they just come out and say it? I came away from this book with a much greater understanding of what was going on at the time and what the Holy Book is really saying.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in understanding Christianity a little better.

Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown has been sitting on my bookshelf for almost 2 years. I bought it used at the local library sale after I really enjoyed reading and watching The Da Vinci Code. When I heard that Ron Howard was going to make a movie out of Angels & Demons as well, I knew I'd better read it before I went to see the movie.

I read this book in less than 4 days. It was such a page-turner I could barely put it down. I enjoyed "spending time" with Robert Langdon's character again, too. Dan Brown's writing really sucks you into the story and keeps you questioning right along with the characters. Who's on what side? Will the mystery be solved in time? Really amazing character development as well. I am ready to read the other Dan Brown novel on my bookshelf.

#37 - Get passport for myself.

We needed to get passports for our trip this summer, so this is done. It arrived at my parents last week and I still haven't gotten to see it yet. I'm very excited about this. I can travel the globe! Done!

#30 - Send all college-going relatives a "care package" (including Cathy).(4/4)

This one has been completed since October of last year, but I was trying to find the picture I took of the care packages before I posted. Obviously that is not happening. Done!

#100 - Do 2 walks for good causes.

Since my feet are still kinda out of commission for walking long distances, I decided to donate a large chunk of change to the local food pantry instead of doing the walks. Done.

#92 - Sell Mike's VHS/DVDs for him

Mike decided to donate his VHS tapes to a yard sale that my church is holding in the next few weeks. We dropped them off together over the weekend.

#88 - Buy a LCD HD TV.

I did it! I used my federal tax refund this year to buy this beauty:

She doesn't have a name, but she probably should! Definitely the new focal point of my living room. :-)

#58 - See a show at the Hershey Theatre

For Valentine's Day, Mike and I saw The Princes Bride at the Hershey Theatre. It was a great atmosphere to see our favorite movie on the big screen! I'd still like to get to the Theatre for an actual musical or play, but it probably won't happen for a while and this definitely counts.

#49 - Write a poem every week for a year

I've decided that this will never happen because you just can't force creativity like this. I may change my mind in the future, but for now, it is marked as failed.

#5 - Hang posters in the office/guest room.

This has been done for a really long time, and I just never took pictures because the room is a disaster. But, that was not part of the deal. Here are my posters!

Heidi

After a few months of no reading at all, I'm starting to feel frantically behind in my goals to read 100 books. However, after finishing Heidi (Puffin Classics) by Johanna Spyri last week, I am back into reading before bed every night.

Heidi is a classic tale and I can see why. It is a story about a little girl with lots of spunk and she knows what she wants. The tale incorporates the life style of two very different little girls and what they have been taught (or not taught!) about how to behave. Along the way, Heidi learns about God and about a lot of things that are important in life. The end of the book was slightly predictable, but moving nonetheless. If you didn't read this as a child, I highly suggest reading it now!