My 101 Things in 1,001 Days

On September 28th, my My 101 Things in 1,001 Days project ended

IN COMPLETE FAILURE

I was only able to complete 34 items. That only a completion rate of 33.6%. Not only was I only able to complete 34 items, I failed at writing about those accomplishments and posting them to the blog.

Therefore, I'm starting another one on January 1, 2012 with a revised list.  Here is what it looks like. Wish me luck!!

Personal

1. Get a massage- 5 times
2. Get a pedicure- 5 times
3. Get acupuncture
4. Win a photography contest with a cash prize
5. Take a Photoshop class
6. Buy and drink an expensive bottle of wine (> $100)
7. Get another tattoo (if #61 is completed)
8. Get a new job


Activities
9. Go to a concert
10. Have 2 no TV weekends
11. Try at least 10 new wines
12. Take a cooking class.
13. Attend a dinner theater
14. Make a Christmas tree ornament
15. Make Christmas cookies from scratch for Brian and Sam
16. Make Christmas cards
17. Plant a tree
18. Drive a convertible with the top down


Crafts
19. Sew blackout curtains for Sam’s room
20. Sew child blanket that I’ve had for years
21. Make Sam Christmas jammies one year
22. Complete at least 1 art project with Sam each month


Family
23. Fly a kite
24. Produce at least one scrapbook page of our family once a month
25. Update family blog once a month
26. Go on a picnic.
27. Go GeoCaching
28. Go to a theme park
29. Go horseback riding
30. Go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (Colorado Springs)
31. Go to a Broncos regular season game
32. Visit 6 different museums
33. Take Sam to the park at least twice a month during nice weather
34. Get a family portrait done each year


Friends
35. Make 5 new friends
36. Go out with friends 10 times
37. Entertain friends at our house five times

Financial
38. Pay off more debt
39. Get a safety deposit box
40. Make a will
41. Max out Roth IRA at least 1 year


Fitness
42. Get down to 170 pounds
43. Run a full marathon
44. Snowboard at least three times
45. Take a self-defense course

Healthy Mind & Body
46. Shop for fruits and veggies at our local farmer’s market once a month during the summers
47. Floss every day for a month
48. Volunteer once a week for three months
49. Donate blood twice

Organization/ House
50. Have Brian build basement shelves
51. Have Brian build a patio
52. Install double sink in upstairs bathroom
53. Clean out basement- Purge items & Build shelves
54. Have Brian build craft area for sewing and scrapbooking
55. Complete Command Center in Kitchen
56. Paint family room
57. Organize DVDs and put away those that are too old for Sam
58. Clean and organize pantry quarterly
59. Organize master bedroom closet
60. Organize coat closet
61. Organize garage and have Brian build shelves


Travel
62. Get back to OH for a visit
63. Visit my sister in Philadelphia
64. Visit my father outside of a holiday
65. Ride the Durango/Silverton train
66. Go rafting
67. Visit one state I’ve never been to (AK, AL, IA, MS, ND, VT, WI)
68. Renew my passport with my married name
69. Take Brian and Sam to NYC
70. Go away for one of our wedding anniversaries
71. Go camping 6 times
72. Road trip to just take pictures
73. Visit 8 State Parks or Forests


Watch American Film Institute Movies
74. Lawrence of Arabia- AFI Rank 5
75. The African Queen- AFI Rank 17
76. Chinatown- AFI Rank 19
77. High Noon- AFI Rank 33
78. Doctor Zhivago- AFI Rank 39
79. The Birth of a Nation- AFI Rank 44
80. A Clockwork Orange- AFI Rank 46
81. Amadeus- AFI Rank 53
82. All Quiet on the Western Front- AFI Rank 54
83. The Third Man- AFI Rank 57
84. Stagecoach- AFI Rank 63
85. An American in Paris- AFI Rank 68
86. Shane- AFI Rank 69
87. Wuthering Heights- AFI Rank 73
88. The Gold Rush- AFI Rank 74
89. City Lights- AFI Rank 76
90. The Wild Bunch- AFI Rank 80
91. Modern Times- AFI Rank 81
92. Watch Mutiny on the Bounty- AFI Rank 86
93. Frankenstein- AFI Rank 87
94. The Jazz Singer- AFI Rank 90
95. My Fair Lady- AFI Rank 91
96. The Searchers- AFI Rank 96


Wedding
97. Complete scrapbook of advice cards from wedding
98. Complete scrapbook of all wedding activities


Other
99. Donate $2.00 to charity for each task that isn’t completed (charity to be determined and updated at a later time)
100. As I complete each task, write about my accomplishments, set-backs, experiences, etc.
101. Make a new list of 101 Things to Do by the time my 1001 days are done.


If you want to follow my progress, please visit http://my101things2012.wordpress.com/.

Atlanta Vacation- Good. Flight Home- Not So Good

On Wednesday night, my husband, son and I flew to Atlanta to visit my parents. (Just to let you know, I'm not from Atlanta. They moved there after I moved to Colorado.)

The flight out was great. No big meltdown from Sam. The long weekend was hot, humid and fabulous. We went to a Braves game, went out on Lake Lanier on their boat, went to the Georgia Aquarium, and had a great time playing on their Wii.

Now, here comes the bad part, the flight home.

Before heading off on another adventure into the Georgia sun, I went online and checked the status of our return flight. At that time, everything looked good and the flight was showing "On Time." I knew that we couldn't do the online check-in because they wanted to make sure that our son was really under 2 years old. If he was, we would have had to purchase a seat for him. The airlines definitely want their money.

My dad drove us to the airport 2 hours before our 7pm flight (I'm a stickler for getting there early) and everything still looked good. We got in line at the ticket counter and there were rumors flying around (no pun intended) that the flight was going to be delayed until after midnight.

It took us over an hour to get to the front of the line where we were confronted with the realization that we would have to hang out in the Atlanta airport until after midnight. As of today, I still have not received a decent explanation as to why. There were some rumors flying around that it was (1) because of an emergency landing, (2) the crew never showed up, (3) plane trouble, or (4) it was because of a medical emergency landing. If I have time this week I will try to find out.



So, we were given the option of staying overnight in Atlanta and fly out at 4pm today or hang out in the airport for a replacement plane that would get in at 11:45pm and probably wouldn't take off for Denver until after midnight. Either way, we would be given $14 each for food (not including Sam) and $200 flight voucher good for 1 year.

I was all for staying over in Atlanta, but my husband couldn't do it.

I just knew that we wouldn't be home until after 2am, so I called and left a message for my boss saying that I wouldn't be into the office until noon (at the earliest). I suggested that Brian do the same, but he insisted that he would be okay with such little sleep.

We decided to eat dinner (on Frontier's dime), so we headed to Houlihans and found a small table in their lounge. Because we didn't check anything, we had a ton of stuff surrounding our table. I requested a highchair from our server and she said that there were some upstairs, but didn't make any effort to retrieve on for us. Of course I was pissed.

I headed upstairs to realize that they had a nice big dining room with a ton of room, so I went back to our table and told my husband about the room. He agreed, and I packed up all of our stuff and headed upstairs.

Dinner went smoothly. Everything tasted great and we were very happy for the extra room.

Our next destination was through security. That went very smoothly, too. They didn't even blink about the milk that we had packed for Sam. They didn't even do any tests on it.

Sam was wide awake for the first few hours, but I knew that he was going to be getting tired (aka- cranky) so I put his head on my shoulder and started to lull him to sleep. He fought so hard to stay awake, but eventually nodded off.

Getting on board went very smoothly, too. There wasn't anyone in the aisle seat so the 3 of us had the entire row to ourselves. After takeoff, we laid our son between us and he slept for about an hour. He overflowed his diaper, so I changed him and the outfit in the restroom and he went right back to sleep between us for the rest of the flight (even touchdown- not a peep).

We arrived in Denver after 1:45am. Our carseat that we had gate checked was accidently put through to baggage claim, which was a pain. The shuttle that we had reserved for our ride home wouldn't be available to take us home until between 3-4 am. There was no way that I was going to wait for that.

The cab ride cost $53 (as opposed to the $32 that we would have paid for the shuttle), but getting home earlier was a priority.

We walk in our front door just after 2:30am. Our son was awake on the ride home, so getting him to go back to sleep took a little time, but he eventually crashed just before 3am.

I got our Sam's food ready for the next day and we went to bed, too.

I don't know how my husband is doing after going to work on only 4 hours sleep, but Sam took a 1.5 hour nap (along with the 4 hours that he slept in his crib) before I had to start getting to work, so I feel pretty good.

I don't know how long I'm going to be able to stay awake tonight, but I'm going to do my best to get Sam back on our normal schedule and get his food ready for this week and go to bed.

English Lesson- For All Intensive Purposes???

How many times have you used the phrase "for all intensive purposes?" Me, probably 25,876 times.

While I was on vacation in DC, my cousin, a Gastroenterologist heard me use this phrase and let out a small laugh. During one of her years in college, her English professor pulled her aside and explained to her the real phrase when she used it in a paper.

The phrase is a corruption of "for all intents and purposes" by persons who have heard the phrase, but have not read it in it's proper form. It means "for all intents, and for all purposes."

This phrase dates back to the 1500s and originated in English law, where it was "to all intents, constructions, and purposes." In modern usage, "for all intents and purposes" is also acceptable. The phrase means "for all practical purposes" and is generally used to compare two nonidentical acts or deeds, i.e., "She went to his room and drank with him, which she viewed to all intents and purposes as consent to sex." (In reality, only a sober 'yes' is consent to sex so to all intents and purposes she is a rapist). A shorter equivalent phrase is "in effect."

I guess that I didn't pay as much attention in English class as I had thought.

Top Ten for 2010: Guidelines for Graduates

The Ohio State University President, E Gordon Gee's "Top 10 Guidelines for Graduates."

The graduation season has begun. During the months of May and June, tens of thousands of young people – and some not quite so young – leave colleges and universities across the country with diploma in hand. The great joy of that tassel-and-gown moment is tempered for many people, of course, who walk away from their Commencement ceremonies not only with a degree, but also with uncertain job prospects. It is no secret: These are challenging times.

Having been called a serial optimist, however, I believe utterly and completely in the power of these new graduates to create their own destinies and to guide us all to a brighter future. After leading universities for a full three decades now, I say with all certainty that today's graduates are among the most entrepreneurial, compassionate, determined, and hard-working I have ever known. With great affection and admiration, I offer up a few bits of advice for them.

Top Ten for 2010: Guidelines for Graduates

1. Update your status in person.
2. Make sure your global experience encompasses more than Shakira and sushi.
3. Put away your Guitar Hero and be a hero in someone's life.
4. Disagree without being disagreeable.
5. Take chances: The biggest failure is not to try.
6. Always be just as curious as you are at this moment.
7. Know that you are never too old to play on a swing set.
8. When opportunity knocks, knock it out of the park.
9. Start working in your field before you are hired.
10. Dance when you can, laugh every day, and say thank you.

Don't break the elastic!

In April 2008, Maya Angelou was interviewed by Oprah on her 70+ birthday. Oprah asked her what she thought of growing older.

And, there on television, she said it was 'exciting...'

Regarding body changes, she said there were many, occurring every day......like her breasts. They seem to be in a race to see which will reach her waist, first.

The audience laughed so hard they cried. She is such a simple and honest woman, with so much wisdom in her words!

Maya Angelou said this:

I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.

I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a life.

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back...

I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.

I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back...

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Take these life lessons to heart. I know that I will.

Sale: Medela Pump & Save Storage Bags 50-pk

As many of you know, I'm a big proponent of breastfeeding, but sometimes that can't be done while you are away from your baby.

The next best thing to breastfeeding is expressing milk. Amazon has 50-pk Medela Pump & Save Storage Bags on sale for $16.19. I have been using these bags for a year and they are

That's $3 off with free shipping (with order over $25).


Medela Pump & Save Storage Bags 50-pk

* Compatible with all Medela breastpumps for pumping directly into the bag
* Exclusive self-stick strap attaches directly to breastshield for fast & easy setup. Leak-proof, easy-to-close zipper top
* Special plastic retains breastmilk's beneficial properties

Premades for a Purpose

I was made aware of Premades for a Purpose by another mom's blog that I follow, This Mom Rocks.

I'm looking into getting a new design for my blog and it would be great if I could help someone, not just financially, but someone with a real purpose.

In reading about Lena's story, I am leaning towards purchasing one of her designs. If you use a Blogger platform for your blog and want a new design, please visit Premades for a Purpose and help a struggling "Mommy-To-Be."

About Lena
The main purpose of this blog is to fundraise for our adoption- through the sales of my premade blog templates. I really appreciate your support. However you can give- either prayerfully or financially it is greatly appreciated and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

If you know of anyone in need of a blog makeover, Please spread the word!

I Wish for Sam List

I am calling this the I Wish section of my blog.

This is the diaper bag that I Wish that I could afford, but my husband would kill me for spending that much since we already have 2 diaper bags.

OiOi Diaper Bags Giraffe Tote by OiOi Diaper Bags at Shoebuy.com

The following is the school that I Wish that I could afford when Sam is old enough to attend. I would want Sam to take Chinese.
Denver Montclair International School

This is the jogging stroller that I Wish that we could buy for Sam.
BOB Revolution Stroller

This is the bike trailer that I Wish we could afford.
CTS BICYCLE TRAILER SERIES

There are 1,472,890,473 other things that I Wish that my family could have. Everyone wants the best for themselves and their children, but I'm not going to waste my time worrying about what we don't have and concentrate on the things that we do have. Everyone is healthy, happy and thriving.

What else more could I Wish for?

Attempted Suicide

The brother of one of my friends tried to commit suicide last week. This is the second time that he has attempted it in the past couple of years.

Right now, I don’t know all of the details, but the previous time, he took a bunch of pills and parked his car in a Target parking lot in the middle of the night. Thank goodness someone found him before they fully kicked in. It sounds like the same thing happened this time.

Since his previous attempt, he enrolled in cooking school and seemed to be doing so well. Of course, the last time that I saw him was at Halloween.

I have never known anyone else that has tried to commit suicide.

I feel so helpless. I don’t know what to do to help the family.
Is there anything that can be done?



What Are The Warning Signs For Suicide?
Seek help as soon as possible by contacting a mental health professional or by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK if you or someone you know exhibits any of the following signs:
• Threatening to hurt or kill oneself or talking about wanting to hurt or kill oneself
• Looking for ways to kill oneself by seeking access to firearms, available pills, or other means
• Talking or writing about death, dying, or suicide when these actions are out of the ordinary for the person
• Feeling hopeless
• Feeling rage or uncontrolled anger or seeking revenge
• Acting reckless or engaging in risky activities - seemingly without thinking
• Feeling trapped - like there's no way out
• Increasing alcohol or drug use
• Withdrawing from friends, family, and society
• Feeling anxious, agitated, or unable to sleep or sleeping all the time
• Experiencing dramatic mood changes
• Seeing no reason for living or having no sense of purpose in life
It should be noted that some people who die by suicide do not show any suicide warning signs.

But about 75 percent of those who die by suicide do exhibit some suicide warning signs, so we need to be aware of what the suicide warning signs are and try to spot them in people. If we do see someone exhibiting suicide warning signs, we need to do everything that we can to help them.

Hasbro Rocks!!

My son received the Playskool Busy Ball Choo Choo Train for Christmas from his Great Aunt and Great Uncle Burstein and recently we have noticed that the balls do not circulate and the train does not move the way that it is supposed to. Unfortunately, it never did.

I went online and found that Playskool is owned by Hasbro so I took down their customer service number and gave them a call this morning. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I was told that since the Train has been discontinued, a replacement toy (of equal value and age appropriate to Sam) would be sent to me within 7-10 business days. I was told that I do not need to ship back the Train to them. We get to keep it.

Taking a few minutes to report a difficulty has been rewarded by a free replacement toy. Hasbro is definitely a company that I am willing to purchase from again because of their excellent customer service. Thank you.

A Powerful, Personal Story and a Great Quote to Live By

I am a Blog-a-Mama. While on their site I linked to a very powerful, personal story from a woman who survived years of physical abuse and came out stronger on the other side.

the AWWWBUTmum story brought tears to my eyes, but made me remember that we are all stronger than we could have ever imagined.

Here is a quote that is listed on the same blog that I hope to live by.

"All your life you are told things you cannot do. All your life they will say you are not good enough or strong enough or talented enough. They will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or achieve that. They will tell you no, a thousand times no. Until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no quite firmly and very quickly. And you will tell them - YES!"
NIKE - Just Do It

Rudeness in the Workplace

What has happened to common courtesy in offices??

There was a package left for one of my coworkers at the front desk that I brought to her office. Upon dropping it off at her desk, she did not even acknowledge my presence or that I took the time to drop off this item to her office. She just took a quick look at me and then proceeded to look at the package.

This woman does not like me. That’s fine, but a quick “thank you” is not something out of the ordinary. Upon walking out of her office I said “you’re welcome.” I didn’t say it in a nasty tone or anything, I just said the words.

That’s probably the last time that I will do anything for her.

Way too Funny for Words

Norwegian Ski Team dances to Michael Jackson’s Beat It

Post-Its

If you are interested in making your own Post-It Notes, please click HERE.

What an Inspiration

An ad was hanging out on the right side of my Facebook page and it was very intriguing- "Sean's 40 in 40 Teams." I’m not one to click on the ads, but this one mentioned Teams in Training and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, so I had to click.

As some of you know, in 2007, I trained with Teams in Training to run the Denver Half Marathon. I was initially inspired to do this to help me not start smoking again. (Back Story—I smoked for 16 years and quit in February 2007.) I met several wonderful people who had battled and were winning the fight against Leukemia and Lymphoma and it endeared me to the organization. Whenever I have the ability, I try to give to individuals who are training with this wonderful group.

“Sean’s 40 in 40” ended up being about a man who, starting in May 2009, began a series of 40 races, culminating with the 40th race being on or around his 40th Birthday in 2010. During the course of this endeavor he plans to complete the following:

Running
5K - 10
10K - 10
Half Marathon - 2 (or 3)
Full Marathon - 2

Cycling
Metric Century - 3 (or 4)
Century - 2
Multi-day Ride - 1

Triathlons
Sprint - 5
Olympic - 4
Half Iron - 1

Sean is also looking to raise at least $40,000, introduce 400 new members to the Team In Training Team with LLS - and more importantly - raise awareness of the LLS Mission and honor 40 honor patients.

As of this past weekend (01/23/10), he has completed 31 of the events and has raised over half of his goal, $20,940.11.

You can read his blog, which includes information about the reasons, the races, his training and more by clicking HERE.

You can contribute to his goal by going to his fundraising website HERE .

I am planning on donating to this man’s fundraising effort, not only because this is a wonderful charity that needs all of the donations that they can get. I am doing so because he has chosen to take on such an ambitious goal and I am jealous of his resolve to help his fellow man in need. I try to do my part, but I know that I could do more to help the world.

Pantry Challenge- March or April

I told my husband about how there are a lot of bloggers that are in the process of doing a "Pantry Challenge." He was very intrigued with one person that was only planning on spending money on dairy and produce and spending a maximum of $75 during January (I’m sorry that I can’t remember the exact blogger doing this).

If we tried this, we would have to take an accurate stock of our pantry and freezer before we started. I know that we have a ton of pasta and could eat pasta for every meal, every day of a month, but who would want to.

I would also need to research recipes that would allow us to have to buy the minimal amount of items for the month.

I would need at least a month to get ready for an undertaking such as this. A very interesting idea that I might have to look into for March or April.

Taxes-- Yuck!!!

Since this is going to be our first year worrying about taxes associated with Sam’s birth, I need to find out if taking the Dependent Care Account option is better than the Government Dependent Care Tax Credit or vice versa.

If THIS worksheet is correct, it looks like the Government Dependent Care Tax Credit is going to be the best option for us in our specific tax situation.

But looking at THIS, it looks like the Dependent Care Account option would net us over $600 since it reduces our taxable income.

I need to find someone to talk to about which is really the best for us. I only have until Friday (my work's deadline) to figure this out.

Like normal taxes aren't bad enough, but I have a small window of time to determine which is going to be best for us.

Our Photographer- Pricing Increase

As many of you know, I love the woman that has been taking quarterly pictures of DS and did our maternity photos.

If you book your session by December 31, 2009, you will still receive the 2 hour photo shoot and disk of photos. When the clock strikes midnight on the new year, the rules change.

Please let her know that I referred you. She has a great referral program.

Kelsey Bigelow

Best Websites for Holiday Deals

Here are some deals that I found for Black Friday.

Black Friday Info
Amazon
Black Friday
The Black Friday
Walmart

All is Right with the World

This is because Ohio State kicked the crap out of Michigan. Yea!!!

21-10

I am going to put a special page in Sam's scrapbook for the Buckeye win.