101 Things Update

So, it's been awhile since I updated my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days and there a few more things to add to the list.

26.) Try 5 restaurants I've never been to before: A new place opened in town called Bar Louie's. Apparently it is a chain with a branch up in Cincy, but I had never eaten there before. Jenny and I went there the other night, and it was quite good. In fact, it was so good that Jenny, AJ, and I went there again last night. They have the best french fries ever! Anyway, so that makes 2. (2/5)

30.) Read The Greatest Generation. This one was easy since I've always been fascinated by the WWII era. It probably has something to do with the fact that my Grandmother Russell gave me the Molly American Girl doll when I was a kid and she lived during WWII. Still, it was fascinating to get to see all these different people and all their different stories. My only regret was that some of them weren't long enough.

47.) Go Deer Hunting with Dad. This one I did this year. In fact, not only did I go hunting, I killed a deer. A nine point buck to be exact. It was getting dark when I shot him, and we couldn't find him that night or the next morning, but we did find him. I have a picture of the antlers just to prove it. I'm still not sure about the whole getting up at the crack of dawn bit, but it was nice to spend some time with Dad, and he was so excited to take his daughter hunting that it was fun for me too.

56.) Get a pedicure 4 times. Not that I need an excuse to do this, but it is nice to treat myself once in awhile. So I used the annual SCoBIRC Christmas party as my excuse and had my toes done. It was the perfect way to take a moment and unwind from all the holiday stress. If only I had the money to have it done all the time. (1/4)

100.) Make 1 new friend. There is a new guy at work (Christ) who I am befriending. He works for my old boss (crazy boss) so that complicates things a bit, but still, you can never have too many friend. Right?

And a couple of things that are in progress:

54.) See a musical. Jenny, AJ, and I have tickets to see Wicked in Louisville in January. True, I've already seen it on Broadway, but it was wonderful, and I can't wait to see it again. So, baring a major illness, this should get checked off soon.

72.) Put $250 a month into savings for 1 year. This has been on going for awhile now. In fact, I figured out how to have the bank do it automatically for me, so I don't even have to think about it. Now I just have to keep my job for a year so that I still have the money to put in there.

73.) Give Blood as often as I can. I am giving every time I am eligible (or when they want me to). Right now they like to schedule things so that I come in around the holidays so they have plenty of blood on hand then.

I do think that I will be changing a few things on my list. Mostly because I've thought of a few things that I'd rather have on there. But also because a few of them seem a little silly now. Still, stay tuned.

Completed tasks are in blue (because I like blue). Tasks in progress are in red.

The List:

1. Take a daily multivitamin for 1 month
2. Take a daily calcium supplement for 1 month
3. Get my weight down to 140lbs
4. Run 3 times a week for 1 month
5. Lift weights 3 times a week for 1 month
6. Go 1 month without fast food
7. Run a 5K in under 29.00min (Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 28.39 on 9/26/08)
8. Run a 10K
9. Be able to run 6 miles without stopping
10. Run the Run Like Hell 5K in Cincinnati
11. Finish a Half Marathon
12. Go hiking (10/4/08 Mammoth Cave)
13. Swim in the Bluegrass State Games
14. Visit Europe
15. Visit the Newport Aquarium
16. Visit a Haunted House
17. Visit Waverly Sanatorium
18. Visit a State I’ve never been to before
19. Take Ballroom Dance Lessons
20. Go to the Drive in Movies
21. Go to King’s Island for Fearfest
22. Go to Needles and Angles
23. Go ice skating
24. Go to a midnight Hockey game
25. Take a cooking class
26. Try 5 restaurants I’ve never been to before (2/5) (Bonefish Grill 9/16/08) (Bar Louie's 12/5/08)
27. Learn to Quilt
28. Learn to make Grandmother Russell’s Special Occasion Rolls
29. Take a Personal/Family Finance Class
30. Read The Greatest Generation
31. Read Jane Eyre
32. Buy the 7th Harry Potter Book
33. Reread the entire Harry Potter series start to finish (0/7)
34. Read 5 books from the Booker Prize Winners List (0/5)
35. Read 5 books from the 50 Essential Reads List (0/5)
36. Read 4 nonfiction books (0/4)
37. Read the entire New Testament
38. Read 1984
39. Watch Casablanca
40. Watch Gone with the Wind
41. Watch 10 Best Picture Oscar Winners (0/10)
42. Watch the Godfather Trilogy
43. Watch Schindler’s List
44. Watch all 3 Lord of the Rings Movies (extended editions) in one weekend
45. Put together a family tree (as far back as I can go)
46. Take Dad to see the Eagles in Concert
47. Go deer hunting with Dad (11/8/08 9 point buck)
48. Visit Granddad Russell in Oak Ridge 3 times (0/3)
49. Go sailing with Granddad Russell
50. Do something special with just my sister
51. Go on 3 dates (0/3)
52. See Kenney Chesney in Concert (again)
53. See a play
54. See a musical
55. Knit a sweater for me
56. Get a pedicure 4 times (1/4) (12/1/08)
57. Write in my journal at least once a week for 3 months
58. Blog at least once a week for the 1001 days
59. Sew something for myself
60. Go camping
61. Get into UK’s Ovarian Cancer Screening Program
62. Get a massage
63. Go to a UK swim meet
64. Write a short story
65. Be 1st Author on a Manuscript
66. Take the GRE
67. Make a decision about going back to school
68. Learn to do Western Blot
69. Learn to do Slot Blots
70. Create a budget
71. Stick to my budget for 6 months (0/6)
72. Put $250 a month in savings for 1 year
73. Give blood as often as I can (every 56 days)
74. Clean out my old clothes and donate them to Goodwill
75. Volunteer for the Thursday night meal at church
76. Become an organ donor
77. Bake Cookies for someone just because
78. Knit something for charity
79. Renew my CPR certification
80. Get on the Bone Marrow Donor Registry
81. Knit a sweater for someone else
82. Cook a special dinner for some of my friends
83. Organize and Sort my Photos
84. Organize/Update/Sort the Music Collection on my Computer
85. Clean out my craft supplies
86. Clean out the closet on my balcony
87. Sort and Catalog my book collection
88. Clean Dean’s tank at once a month for 6 months (0/6)
89. Buy a new couch (9/18/08)
90. Buy reusable grocery bags
91. Use reusable grocery bags
92. Kiss Under the Mistletoe
93. Get a new coffee table
94. Replace my recliner
95. Bake a cake from scratch
96. Finish my Dragon Cross Stitch
97. Eat out for lunch only once a week for 1 month
98. Send a secret to Post Secret
99. Reconnect with 1 person I’ve lost touch with
100.Make 1 new friend
101. Update my blog with the list and progress

Food is our common ground, our universal experience.

So today is the Holiday Potluck at work which basically means that the entire floor has smelled like food all day long so I'm starving. Needless to say, this is one of the best days of the year.

But before you get all excited and starting picturing tables full of casseroles and cookies, let me just say that you have never been to a potluck quite like the ones we have at work. Our potlucks tend to resemble nothing so much as an explosion of the food court at the mall. You are equally as likely to have egg rolls and fried rices as macaroni and cheese and cookies. Chicken vindaloo might be next to a dish of green bean casserole. And the desserts sometimes run the gambit from familiar (sugar cookies and brownies) to just plain odd (a sour cream/chickpea combination that was tasty, but strange).

This, my friends is what happens when you introduce the concept of a potluck to a multicultural group of people from all over the world. You never know what you are going to get, but you can bet that most of it (not all, but most) will be delicious.

So, here in about 30 min, I'll be off to see what wonderful concoctions the potluck will bring me this year.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas....

So it's that time of year again. The time when you get to go absolutely nutty trying to buy gifts for people that you don't even see in the course of the year but still must send presents for. The time of year when you have to fight the hordes of people at the mall who aren't any happier to be there than you are. The time of year when your stress level has reached critical capacity.

This lovely time of year (also known as Christmas time) happens to coincide quite nicely with one of the busiest times of the year for me at work (known as I must get all this crap done before the holiday break). And this year, on top of everything else, it also happens to be the tail end of my Cell Biology class.

Now, I have really enjoyed the class up so far. It has been interesting and stimulating and, in a weird sort of way, fun. This week happens to be the final week of lectures. I was looking forward to this week not only because it means I'm almost done with the class, but because we were going to be discussing Cancer which is a subject that is quite personal to me and which I find interesting.

In Monday's lecture, however, I found out that maybe this week wasn't going to be as great as I thought it would be. The teacher was fine. The subject was interesting. But for some reason (and I'm still not sure why) sitting through a lecture on cancer really really bothered me.

Now, let me say that after almost 6 years, I am pretty good a guessing when something is going to get to me. I know, for example, that I need to ignore Mother's Day and I try to stay away from movies like Stepmom (which makes me cry every single time). But this one I didn't see coming. And that was almost worse than anything.

If I know it's coming, I can prepare myself for it. I can get ready. But this just kind of blindsided me. I've sat through many lectures before, on all sorts of topics related to cancer, and it has never bothered me. I've read books and looked at websites that deal with cancer, and it was fine. Maybe it was because it's so close to the holidays and I always miss her more this time of year. Maybe it's because I was already having a bit of a bad day. But whatever the reason, I know that I'm not looking forward to tomorrow's lecture now. Now, I just want it all done and over with.