This, That, and whatever else comes to mind.

Well, I see its been a while since I have last blogged. In fact, it was before my vacation in September. We had a wonderful and relaxing time in Florida. I really think it was one of the first vacations I have ever been on that I can say I didn't need a vacation after vacation!

Here is an updated copy of my 101 list. I feel as though I haven't been working on it as much as I should be, but that's how life goes I guess. I don't have much time to actually look at my list and see what I can cross off or do. I am scheduled 48 1/2 hours a week, but never actually work all of the hours. Which is okay, but I am still very busy with work. When I am not working I am hoping my schedule and Jared's lines up for us to have some time together, which is rare since he is now going to school full time and working.

1. Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the alphabet. (11/26)
   
2. Shut off my cell phone for a whole day, at least 5 times. (1/5)
   
3. Try 10 different ice creams at Casey's. (I always get nerd heaven... need to try different ones). (4/10)
   
4. Try 5 new fruits/ vegetables. (1/5)
   
5. Go to Splash Lagoon or Kalahari.
6. Make homemade spaghetti sauce.
7. Get professional pictures taken. (not engagement/wedding)
8. Volunteer to babysit for 4 hours (not getting paid, hence volunteer!)
9. Go on a train ride.
10. Go ice skating at an outdoor rink.
11. Take pictures of the trees I like (there are certain ones) during all 4 seasons.
12. Ride a mechanical bull.
13. Cookout at the beach.
14. Buy essentials for a family in need. Make it an anonymous donation.
    
15. Pay for the next person in lines Starbucks.
16. Start "Massage Monday" with Jared, alternating weeks.
17. See the sunrise and sunset in the same day.
    
18. Learn which meals are best to freeze, and freeze them. Make it a habit!
19. Find an inspirational quote/verse and incorporate it into a piece of artwork or home decor.
20. Make time for date nights, once a week.
21. Try 10 new restaurants. (5/10)
    
22. 365 days of photo project. (trying to start that on my birthday so from my 24th b-day to my 25th b-day)
23. Get pregnant/have a baby.
24. Learn how to make pies from scratch.
25. Ride in a hot air balloon.
26. Taste a beer.
    
27. Read 50 books.
28. Go camping.
29. Learn how to sew a tote bag.
    
30. Start (and finish) Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred.
31. Make a wedding scrapbook (not on Shutterfly).
32. Buy a dSLR camera.
33. Walk at least 3 days a week for a month (hopefully it becomes a habit).
34. Visit a part of Canada that isn't Niagara Falls.
35. Write an inspirational note and leave it in a book for someone to find.
    
36. Find a fair-trade coffee I like, and stick to it!
    
37. Do the Love Dare with Jared.
    
38. Learn to drive stick shift.
    
39. Get a professional massage.
40. Move out of Jean's house.
41. Lose at least 20 pounds.
42. Send at least 10 different people an inspirational/encouraging note.
43. Create a list of 100 things that make me happy
44. Research and start Master level classes. (Masters in social work??)
    
45. Go on a bus trip.
46. Find a Zumba class and go to it for at least 2 months (again trying to form a habit)
47. Complete a 1000 piece puzzle.
48. Update my blog at least once a week for 6 months.
49. Participate in 5 "You're Doing it Right" Wednesdays. (Sean and Mandy on Air One came up with the Weds. part)
50. Make a monthly menu and stick to it!
51. Buy a Coach purse
52. Crochet a scarf.
53. Read through the entire Bible.
54. Watch all seasons of Gilmore Girls.
55. Learn 50 French words.
56. Plant a tree.
57. Learn how to say "I love you" in 5 languages, not including ones I already know.
    
58. Send someone flowers, again an anonymous act.
    
59. Learn how to quilt.
    
60. Go horseback riding.
    
61. Don't complain about anything for a whole week.
62. Cook dinner and deliver it to someone who is sick/ just had surgery/ just because.
    
63. Hike part of the Appalachian Trail.
64. Plant an herb/ vegetable garden.
65. Try 5 foods I've never tried before
    
66. Make a new recipe a week for 3 months.
67. Find 5 "Go Green" tips and implement them.
68. Take a cake decorating class.
69. Pay off our credit card.
70. Pay off Jared's car loan.
71. Begin the process of buying a house (if not buy a house).
72. Take a road trip to Colorado.
73. Go to a Steelers or Buckeyes game.
74. Participate in a walk for a cause I support.
    
75. Build a sand castle at the beach.
76. Invite someone to go out or come over for dinner. (someone I have never asked.)
77. Go to a dinner theater
78. See a Broadway show in NYC.
79. Go to a TSO concert.
80. Go to a professional basketball game with Jared.
81. Go to Chicago.
82. Find 10 Vegetarian meals to try.
83. Use my crock pot at least once a week for 3 months.
84. Make a notebook of all the funny things I hear people say.
    
85. Leave 25 inspirational post-it notes around for people to find.
    
86. Learn how to make strawberry jelly/jam.
87. Visit Cook's Forest- go canoeing.
88. Learn a new word a day for a month. Blog the word for others to learn.
89. Go to D.C. with Jared. Do as much of the 100 free (or nearly free) things as possible.
90. Go to Las Vegas.
91. Make a T-shirt quilt.
92. Go snow-tubing.
93. Complete 20 Creative Writing Prompts (1/20)
    
94. Go to a double feature at the drive-in with Jared.
    
95. Finish all of my paperwork BEFORE Sunday night once a month for at least 3 months.
    
96. Don't buy coffee drink for a week. Only drink what is made at home.
    
97. See the Grand Canyon
98. Leave 20 Sappy notes for Jared to find. (5/20)
    
99. Go to a spa.
100. Buy and complete and entire Sudoku book.
     
101. Go to bed by 10 pm and get up at 7 am every day for a week (including weekends)

Project 365: Well, that goal was a failure, but I am glad I started it early enough that I still have time to restart and hopefully finish it. I think that I will try again starting January 1st. Hopefully, I will be able to succeed this time around!

THANKSGIVING- I made my first ever turkey this year! I must admit it came out really well too! Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the process or the final project. Which, my dad told me is REALLY odd. He probably has a collection of pictures on his phone that I have sent him of new and interesting recipes I have tried. So, I am a little bummed that I didn't even get to get a picture of the table spread, but oh well I guess. We all know how it looked and turned out. =)

Can you believe Christmas is almost here?? I can't. I have been thinking of things to get Jared for Christmas (sorry just needed some green too) but can't think of anything. I have a hard time getting out of him things he wants. It seems like whenever I ask him he says, and I quote, "I don't know, what do you want?" UGH!! I have a list written out and often mention things I want, why can't he just tell me what he wants! I do at least have over half of my Christmas presents bought. Also, the people we still need to buy for I at least know what I want to get them. It is just a matter of finding it or going out and buying it.

Wow a whole year!

It is hard to believe that one year ago today, I married my best friend and the love of my life! Unfortunately, Jared had to work today, but we had a nice weekend and have vacation coming up soon!! Friday we went to the Rascal Flatts concert. That was a great show and a good time. Saturday morning, as I slept in darling hubby was up to surprises! He went to the store to buy bacon and made my breakfast in bed. I had no clue he was doing any of this as I was super tired from getting home late. Not only did he make me breakfast, but he also got me sunflowers! I love sunflowers, plus it is extra special because that is what my wedding bouquet was made of!! After breakfast, I'm pretty sure I took another nap and we just laid around for a while. Then, we got ready for the day and headed up to Erie. We got there earlier than we planned so we stopped at Old navy and the mall. After that we went to Olive Garden for dinner. It was okay, I didn't care for the pasta choice I made in the never ending pasta choices and of course they gave me so much I couldn't get a different kind. After Olive Garden, which we finished a lot sooner than imagined, we had to figure what else to do. Erie has a dollar theatre, so we decided to check that out. Eh no such luck. The only movie we would have wanted to see ended too close to Hairspray's showtime. So, we decided to go to the pier. That was a nice trip. We just looked at the water and took some pictures. Of course, that didn't eat up as much time as we hoped. So, we found a parking garage (which we paid for when it was free... no signs were posted that said it was free!! grrr... but it was only $3). We tried to get our show tickets, but we were a little too early. So, we took a walk down to starbucks. That was perfectly timed, by the time we walked down to starbucks, got out drinks, and walked back. It was time to get our tickets and see the show. Hairspray was wonderful! Jared got me the tickets as our paper anniversary gift. Our first official "date" was to see the movie! This morning we just slept in. I made the rest of the bacon and then Jared had to leave for work. As much as I hate that he had to work today, he did have the rest of the weekend off. Plus, if he didn't work today he would have not gotten enough hours at work due to school orientation and vacation.

Speaking of vacation, I can't wait to be soaking up the sun in Florida. We also are going to make a stop in Alabama on our way home to see a college friend of ours. I am looking forward to some time off before my crazy work schedule gets into affect!

My Boring Life

Well, I am sure Annette is going crazy not getting an update from me for a while. Am I right? Though I really don't have much to update about. I am still trying hard to work on my Project 365. Casey's will be closing soon for the season so I should probably go and try at least one more flavor before I have to wait until next year.

Work has been keeping me busy as usual. Its rather exhausting working with 4 different kids/families, but it keeps me on my toes. Trust me, there is never a dull moment in the houses I work in! Also, its reassuring in my field when the kids tell you they don't like you. As funny as that sounds, but it usually means I am doing my job and they don't like that very much.

As September rolls in, we have a lot to look forward too. The 19th is our first anniversary. Its crazy to think that a whole year has gone by since the wedding. Also, September means I start working 46 1/2 hours, that doesn't include drive time. I will still only be working Mon-Fri. Have to have my weekends off or I may go insane. Though, I may go insane working that many hours anyways. Also, Jared will be starting school when we come back from vacation. He actually misses his first week of classes, but they said that was fine. It was miss the first week or start in February. So, technically it will be October when he starts, but he has orientation and stuff before vacation.

Well, I guess that is all I have to update for now. I really should try to update more, but I have no motivation towards my goals, well except for my sudoku puzzles.

A month has Gone By

Wow, I knew I was behind on blogging but a whole month!? Thanks Annette for telling me to get on here and blog. lol.

I don't really know what I have updated on, and don't feel like looking at old posts now. So I will just look through my nice and organized folder that I made for my 101 Things Project. I am glad that I made the folder too. I have all of my goals in sheet protectors and then some papers that will help me accomplish my goals!!

I have watched 7 out of 26 movies. Since my last post I have watched Happily N'Ever After, Precious, and She's Out of Your League. All were okay, but not anything that I would LOVE to see again. Once summer is over, hopefully we will begin watching more movies again. Though, my fall work schedule is looking to be INSANE!!!

I tried my third ice cream flavor. Raspberry Cheesecake. It was delicious! I also tried my 4th of 10 restaurants. Jared and I went up to visit my BF and her husband. Her parents (ma and pa as I call them) were also there. So we all got dinner together at El Canelo. It was a delicious Mexican meal!!

Speaking of trying new things, I tried Gouda Cheese for the first time too. Jared got a sandwich and Panera that had Gouda cheese on it so I tried it!

I hid and J found 5 of the 20 sappy notes I am writing and hiding for him. I hid most of them the same day, but it took him about a week to find them all! I can't wait to do some more!!

As far as the buy and complete a sudoku book goes, I had one that I had never even started. So, I have been diligently working in that. It has 360 puzzles in it! I am currently on puzzle 207. I work on it daily as it is a nice relaxing thing for me to do after my hectic days of work. Gotta love working in the mental/behavioral health field!!

Oh, I have also been working on my Project 365. I haven't uploaded pictures for everyday, but I have taken pictures every day! When I take a picture with my phone, it gets uploaded that day. However, because I got a new digital camera I have taken many of my pictures on there!

Okay, this is getting pretty long. Are you happy now Annette?? Just teasing!

What a weekend!

So, it was a very busy weekend! I enjoyed myself and got to see some old friends I hadn't seen in a while.

Saturday- I worked for 2 hours in the morning. We went to Heritage Days in Greenville. That was pretty nice and I wish I would have had more time to explore what was going on. However, I only had those 2 hours. After work, I came home and changer real quick then headed off to a wedding. Wow is about all I can say. It was nice, just not planned very well. It started an HOUR late. It was beautiful, I just don't think anyone had set up a time schedule at all for the day. After the reception, well I left early, but I headed home, picked up J and we were off to a bonfire. We don't even know what time we left but it was close if not after 12:30. Then, we woke up at early for a pointless church service. I really hate to say that, but it was! I won't go into detail about that.

Sunday: After church, we came home changed and went to my uncle's for swimming and lunch. That was definitely a nice time! After that we drove an hour and a half to J's aunt's for a cookout. Again that was nice. We tried to go see some fireworks, but that didn't work out too well.


Now about my goals. I am still working on the Project 365. That is a fun and sometimes challenging goal. I am very excited though because I am getting a new camera!! woohoo! We ordered it yesterday. Sometime this week/weekend I should have it! Its not a dSLR, but its a lot nicer than what I have already!

I got to cross off not buying coffee/coffee drinks for a week. I started off not doing it on purpose, but when I realized I had gone a few days, I knew I could finish the week. Last Saturday (6-26) we went to a coffee shop with my friend Annette. That was the last time I bought a coffee beverage. I did drink coffee this week, but it was what was made at home!! I didn't buy any today either, so maybe I should keep this up. Maybe the less of it I drink out and about I will lose some weight.... hmmmm... its worth a shot! lol.

I have also hidden 2 out of 20 Sappy notes for Jare. He found one and will probably find the other in the morning. I have written 5, just need to think of good places to hide them. =)

30 days through

So, it has been a while since I have updated. Well, considering how often I had been. As far as my list goes I have filled in all of the spots (instead of leaving some reserved). So here is an update on my progress. I am looking at my printed out version of my list and will update on the goals in that order (rather than date started/completed) since I haven't been dating EVERYTHING I've done. In fact, I think that I will just make this an overall update since I have been working on my goals for 1 month now. It might be neat to do that at the end of every month. To see which months I seem to make more progress in and such.

Goal 1: Watch 26 movies (A-Z): So far I have watched 3 movies. Alice in Wonderland, Dear John, and Remember Me. When I get off of here Jare and I are going to watch When in Rome. So that will be 4 movies this month.

Goal 3: Try 10 different flavors of ice cream at Casey's: This month, I have tried 2 different flavors. Both were pretty tasty. I tried Toffee and Cinnamon Bun. YUM!

Goal 21: Try 10 new restaurants: So far, I have tried 3 new restaurants. Two were good and 1 I won't go back to. I tried Swenson's on 6/5, Two Tomato on 6/13, and Thelma's Sports Nook on 6/17. At Thelma's, we had LOUSY service and bad food. Therefore, the chances of me going back there are slim to none!

Goal 22: Project 365: I have begun taking daily pictures. While, I haven't posted them on FB every day I have taken a picture every day! I need to take the ones off my camera and put them on there, but I haven't had time to. Click Here to see Project 365.

Goal 27: Read 50 books: Still working on that first book.... must... get... motivated... to... READ!

Goal 36: Find a Fair Trade coffee: Well, surprisingly Wal-Mart has a fair trade coffee. So far, that is the only one I have tried, but we have bought it a couple times now. A step in the right direction!!

Goal 43: 100 Things that make me happy: So far, I have 50. I am half way there! I started the list, now I just need to find time to sit down again and work on it some more!!!

Goal 47: Complete a 1000 piece puzzle: I have begun working my way up to a 1000 pieces! Last night, J and I did a 100 piece puzzle. Today I started working on a 550 piece puzzle. Both are beautiful Thomas Kinkade puzzles.

Goal 51: Buy a Coach purse: COMPLETE! I bought a VERY cute Coach wristlet =) See older post for picture!!

Goal 65: Try 5 new foods: While Jare and I were at the Chinese Buffet one day I decided to try Almond Tofu. Not a bad taste, but the texture was NOT for me!

Well, I think that is all I have worked on this month. Which is quite a bit. I need to stay motivated. So all my Nestie friends, that's where you come in. Keep me motivated and I will return the favor. I hope that all of your goals are beginning to be accomplished!



Mrs. G

Life, Love, and the pusuit of COACH!!

Since my last post, I decided to change one of my goals. Instead of only trying 5 new restaurants, I will up it to 10. Seeing as I have just started my goals and I have already tried 2 new restaurants! That being said, I went to lunch with a friend of mine at a delicious Italian Restaurant. It's called Two Tomato. We had an amazing dish called Penne Aurora. It was penne pasta, Alfredo sauce, spinach, and sun-dried (well what was supposed to be sun-dried) tomatoes. Delicious!!!

That was Sunday, but Saturday I purchased my first real coach bag!!! Its just a small wrist-let, but that's all I really carry right now anyways. I LOVE it!! The receipt says I saved $78 on it =) I love saving money, accomplishing goals, and carrying cute bags!!! I have also begun making my list of 100 things that make me happy. I really have to sit down and think about it. I mean a lot of things make me happy, but to actually sit down and make a list of 100 things, I never thought it would be this difficult.

Also, at the Chinese restaurant the other day I tried almond tofu. I wasn't too keen on the texture, but I still tried it. The flavor wasn't that bad.

I am also adding to my goals: Buy a Sudoku book and finish EVERY puzzle!