Busy with The List

We've crossed off three more from my 101 in 1001 list in the past couple of weeks! I've completed 30 goals so far and with a little under a year left, better get working on the rest!!!

#79: We bought a king sized bed a couple weeks ago after a few too many sleepless nights on our old crappy mattress. It was fun trying out all the beds and we were happy to both agree on our favorite. So I hit the interwebs and several brick and mortar stores to outfit our new bed. I got a duvet from overstock.com, the sheets from Home Goods, and a bed skirt from Target. I got two pillows from Etsy and then we were done! We have been LOVING our good night's rest for the past couple of weeks and I can honestly say getting a new mattress really has made a world of difference. I'm sleeping through the night and waking up feeling rested and refreshed. Here is what it looks like when everything gets made up, which is maybe twice a week. The headboard I made for the queen sized bed doesn't even look so out of place. I had made it a little big to begin with, so it's just a teensy bit short for the king size.

#56 We also completed our visits of 5 different states with our trip to Chicago. Like I said in our trip recap post, we have a blast exploring new places and this has been fun to see so many different parts of our country. I know we'll continue to make travel a priority and are already day dreaming about our next trip.

#94 I also blew the Open Table points out of the water. Our anniversary dinner would have been our 20th reservation and put my points at the 2,000 goal, however, that reservation was worth 1,000 points by itself!!! Getting to 10,000 to cash in for the $100 gift card doesn't seem so impossible if we book a couple more 1,000 point reservations!

Are you working on a list of goals? How are you doing on yours?

A very Dave Ramsey thing to do

So we spent a riviting night on Friday having a serious talk about our finances, about selling our house, about what we can realistically afford, and our hopes and dreams for the future. I had recorded Suzy Orman's "The Money Class" that aired on PBS last week. This opened up a lot of discussion about what we have, what we owe, and what we want to do with our money. I'm so glad that we watched this together. We were able to pause it and discuss what she was talking about and for once it was both of us learning together. In the past it went: I read, I try to explain, I don't get the point across, and Hubs doesn't want to get on board.

We decided that since we couldn't sell or rent our place out right now, moving in the next year or so just seemed unrealistic. We wanted to be able to put down more than a minimum down payment and wanted to not have to pay cash to get out of our current house. We've made enough updates in the past year that living there for the next couple years no longer seems like a prison sentence. With a Metro station within walking distance to our condo expected to begin operation in 2016, we have toyed with the idea of sticking around to be able to sell for a profit at that time. It is just 5 short years away and will open up so many more options if we don't have to lose money when we sell.

Dave Ramsey would be proud of this next part. Since we don't need a down payment fund right away, I took money from there and paid off our credit cards. Boom. Done. So now our plan is to spend with no credit cards and put all the money we monthly would have put towards those payments back into out down payment fund. We'll build that up and once we get to a more significant amount, we'll be able to start looking for a house again.

Now Dave would tell us to pay off our car next, but I just can't bring myself to pull another chunk of change out of our down payment/emergency fund. I like having a cushion to fall back on in case anything happened. We'll work to pay the car off early, but don't feel like I need to pay it off immediately.

So credit cards have been removed from wallets, budgets have been outlined, Husband is on board, and we are ready to start saving some cash! Another positive is no credit card debt means another item crossed of the 101 in 1001 list!!!

Have you had to sacrifice any dreams to make the more responsible financial decision?

Dinner of the Month - Salsa Pork Chops

Lately we've been on a pretty steady rotation of meals. Maybe lack of creativity, or just being lazy, we're stuck on the same 7 or 8 recipes. Our current favorite that is made at least every two weeks is Salsa Pork Chops.

I don't have a link to the recipe, it came from my mom! It was included in a book of recipes put together at my bridal shower of everyone's favorites. She included all of her go to dishes when we were growing up and menus for the holiday dinners that she always followed. (This also gets me points towards my 101 in 1001 goals!!!)

In an effort to move away from eating only chicken and beef, I tried this one with pork chops. It's super easy folks. SUPER easy. It cooks all day in the crockpot, so it's just about 5-10 mins in the morning to throw everything together.

I don't have any pictures because really, it doesn't look super appetizing. It's just a big hot mess, but MAN is it delicious. 

Salsa Pork Chops (4-6 servings)
4 boneless pork chops
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
1 small can of chopped green chilis
1 jar of red medium heat, vegetable salsa
1 chopped onion

Throw it all together in the crockpot and cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 6 hours. The pork will shred up really easily and will be perfect.

We either eat it with brown rice or pull out some whole wheat tortillas and cheese and make pork tacos.

There are enough leftovers for at least another dinner, often two. It is even better two days later as leftovers.

Just FYI, I entered everything into Weight Watchers and got a PointsPlus value of 10 per serving.

101 in 1001: Goals Completed So Far

I am 616 days into my 1001 days to get some goals completed. I thought I’d check in with what I’ve accomplished so far. I have completed 26 of the tasks thus far. I think I’ve knocked out most of the easy ones. With just over a year left, it looks like it will be a busy one! It should give me plenty to blog about along the way. I can’t wait to see how this all ends up.

There are 4 more that will be completed by the end of this month. I’ll share those once I’ve finished them. 

Here is what I've accomplished so far:

1. Start a blog  lifeafterthevows.blogspot.com

5. Get an iPhone Received on 7/20/09

18. Take a multi vitamin everyday for a month (30/30)

19. Go one week without soda  November 5-11, 2010

27. Read 10 books of my choosing (10/10)  January 2, 2010

29. Attend a comedy show October 2, 2010

34. Donate hair September 21, 2009

37. Visit THON February 2011

53. Go to a fancy Sunday brunch July 11, 2010

54. Create wedding books for parents December 2009

55. Get a new passport February 11, 2010

59. Read 5 Love Languages September 2, 2009

60. Approve Wedding Album  August 4, 2009

62. Write review for Chris Wells, wedding coordinator Wrote and mailed review on 12/29/09

64. Finish painting condo (entry, kitchen, living room) (3/3) Painted 12/12/09 - 12/13/09

66. Research and if feasible, new blinds for condo December 13, 2009, put up curtains to replace horrible blinds

67. Prepare fancy five course meal for Tony and I one weekend June 4, 2010

71. Bake cake or cupcakes for 5 birthdays (5/5) 12/15/2009

73. Hang up framed invite and wedding pictures in bedroom (1/18/2010)

77. Buy a new couch Bought a Pottery Barn couch after too many bloody marys!!! Ooops! 7/11/10

80. Drink red wine from fancy carafe Rad Red Wine, James River Cellars 7/27/09

82. See a Pens game outside of Washington November 14, 2009 Pens won!!!! 

86. Take Tony to a Nascar race September 12, 2009 (MET BRIAN!!!!)

87. Send Christmas cards to friends and family December 2010

91. Pick fruit from an orchard October 10, 2010, Apples at Marker-Miller Orchards

93.  Buy one thing from RueLaLa December 16, 2009, Kate Spade Glassware

Unfortunately I think there are about 6 items that I won’t be able to complete. I should go ahead and put the $10 for each of those into Savings sooner than later. 

Do you have a 101 in 1001 list? How far from being done are you?

For The Kids - Penn State THON 2011

Last weekend Tony and I made a trek up to Penn State for annual Dance MaraTHON. I wrote about it last year, but for those who are new friends, I'll give you a quick recap.

Dance Marathon, aka THON, is the largest student run philanthropy in the world. They raise money throughout the year for the Four Diamonds Fund for Pediatric Cancer. The money goes towards research as well as supplementing heath care costs for the families being treated at the Hershey Medical Center. The fund raising culminates in a 46 hour Dance Marathon.

This was Tony's first time seeing what THON is all about. (I had included it in my 101 in 1001 list as well to make sure he saw what all the hype was about) We got there Saturday afternoon when the dancers had already been going for 20 hours. Right as we showed up Velveeta was taking the stage. They were one of my favorite local bands in college. They play 80's cover songs and rock it out. It was amazing see all the dancers and spectators rocking out to Journey's Don't Stop Believing.

We stuck around for a couple hours cheering on the dancers and just taking in the scene. At one point a man got on stage and told his story of when and how THON helped him. In 1988 he was diagnosed with cancer and was given 24 hours to live. Thanks to THON, he was able to get the transplants he needed, the treatments he needed, and has been cancer free for almost 20 years. There was not a dry eye in the house. 

I wanted to make sure we got to see the line dance being done at least once. They have a new line dance each year that brings in some Penn State history, current events, and motivation for the dancers. Here is this year's line dance:

 

We went back Sunday morning for another couple hours. We got there at 8am when the dancers still had 8 more hours to go. By the time we left at 10, the place was at capacity. They were counting heads leaving to let folks in at another entrance.

All in all Tony was very impressed. Not only are there over 700 dancers, but there are thousands cheering them on the whole time. The Fraternities and Sororities, organizations and clubs with Dancers are out through the whole time keeping the place rocking. One of the best moments was when the Gary Glitter cheer started and instead of yelling P!!! S!!!!! U!!!! Let's Go P-S-U!!! it was F!!!! T!!!!!! K!!!!! THON ON! FOR THE KIDS!

By the time we got home, I logged online and watched the final hours live. Their total this year was over $9.5 MILLION, over $1.5 Million than last year!!!!

It really makes me proud to be a Penn State Alumni to see such love poured out each and every single year for these kids.

“When they say, ‘We Are Penn State,’ this is what they are talking about.” - Joe Paterno

Holiday cards? Already?

Yes! It's that time of year and it looks like thanks to Shutterfly I'll be able to cross off another item on my list! #87 was to send out Christmas cards to friends and family.

With so many amazing photo cards, I could spend hours browsing and choosing. I have had amazing success with Shutterfly in the past. I have made several calendars with pics of my adorable pups and I made a photo book for the in-laws of our wedding. The site is so easy to work with and the service is great! I have ordered all of the photos I have framed in our house from Shutterfly. So affordable and the prints usually arrive within a couple of days!

This year I'm looking to get Photo Cards to send for our holiday greetings. Some of my favorites include:

 Holiday Window

Warm Wishes

and 

Sweet and Retro

There are so many to pick from. You can get folded or flat cards and have no pictures, or several. Everyone should be able to find something to tickle their fancy! 

I can't wait to shock everyone when I actually send out holiday cards!!!!!

****Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010 ****

Sunday Funday

I had included Pick Fruit from an Orchard on my list of 101 in 1001. This weekend was BEAUTIFUL and somehow I convinced my dear husband that we needed to go apple picking. It turned out to be one of those perfect days that you hope you can repeat again and again. I think we have a new fall tradition!

I did a quick search online and found Marker Miller Orchards in Winchester, VA. It would be a bit of a drive, but on such a gorgeous day, it was nice to take a leisurely tour of RT 50. (On the way we also discovered some vineyards we have never been to, we'll be back to visit those next weekend!)

Once we got to the orchard we paid for our two bags, one big and one little. They handed us a map of what we could pick and we were off.

We picked Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Nittany, Granny Smith, and a couple other varieties. I had never heard of a Nittany apple, but I was sure it would be delish to share a namesake with my beloved Nittany Lion.

The fruit was plentiful and we has such a great time traipsing up and down the rows looking for the perfect pick. Once we returned to the Market we pleasantly discovered they were having a festival that day, complete with a blue grass band! We bought some BBQ and sat down to enjoy the music. After lunch we did some shopping in their market for some cider, a pie, and some jars of goodies.

Once we got home we started thinking of what we could make with all of these apples!

First up was apple sauce. This was a quick one to try:
Peel 4 apples, chop them up, throw them in a pot with 3/4 cup water, 1/4 sugar, and 2 tsp of cinnamon. Let cook on medium heat for about 20 mins. Once they cooled I ran them through the food processor to get them good and mushy.
The result was a little runny and a little sweet for me, the next batch may have less sugar and I might try substituting 1/2 cup cider for the water.

Tonight is apple butter, I'll let you know how that one turns out after we try it.

We'll also be snacking on apple and brie quesadillas tonight.

Do you have any suggestions of what else we should try with our apples? I'll try out a pie, but I'd also love a muffin or bread recipe as well. Let me know if you have any good ideas for me to try!!!!

#67 - aka What? I can cook?

When creating my 101 in 1001 I threw on Prepare a fancy five course meal. Why? I don't know. I was hoping I would become a culinary genius. I just started obsessively watching The Food Network a month or so ago. When watching a Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, Steak Edition I was determined that even I could cook a steak. With a few extra moments this week I started contemplating what 5 courses I could plan around trying out cooking a filet. I started putting together a menu and a shopping list.

I had Friday afternoon off, so I started prepping food right away. First item of business, dessert of course! I would be baking Caramel-Apple Bread Pudding.

Up next was prep for the salad course. I made a Waldorf Salad, so I had lots of fruits and veggies to chop up. The dressing was super easy, so I just saved that until we got to the salad course to whip that up and add in.

and Wilbur figured out where to stand to catch the falling fruit from the counter...

Once Tony got home it was time to get him cleaned up and start putting out some food!!!

First course: Appetizers - Made a quick Spinach and Herb dip from Tastefully Simple and served on toasted french bread. Also put out some shrimp cocktail cause I love it so much!!!

Second course: Soup - Tomato and Basil. Used Progresso Chunky Tomato and added fresh basil on top. Definitely my easy out, but I love that soup and the basil was delish!(Sorry no pic)

Third course: Salad - Waldorf Salad. This could have been an awesome salad, if I had read the instructions for the dressing correctly. In my haste to whip it up mid meal I put in an entire teaspoon of Ginger instead of a 1/4 teaspoon. HUGE mistake and after a couple bites we threw the whole thing out. Sad, but I will try again next time!

Fourth course - Entree` - Filet Mignon with Sweet Potato Fries. Let me say, this was amazing! I managed to mess this one up too though, but will try to redeem myself tonight. I used EVOO instead of vegetable oil and when using a cast iron skillet, it gets WAY too hot for the EVOO. Vegetable oil can take much higher temps and will probably set off the smoke alarm fewer times. Despite the smoke filled house, the steaks were AMAZING, better than some I've had in restaurants. The sweet potato fries were amazing despite not quite being as crisp as I had wanted, but I rushed those out of the oven to make room for filets. I could have REALLY used a double oven for this meal and will certainly value that feature in our future home!

Fifth course - Dessert!!! Caramel-Apple Bread Pudding. YUM YUM YUM. It smelled like apple pie and was amazing. We had to let our big dinner settle for a while, but once we got to dessert it was well worth the wait!!!

Overall, it was really fun planning the menu and making everything. It was a fun stay in date night for hubs and I. I definitely would feel comfortable cooking for more people in the future and having a fancy dinner party at our house. Now if only we had a big enough house....

Crossing off #73

Hang up framed wedding invitation and wedding pictures in the bedroom

I finally got around to buying frames for our wedding pictures and the Wordle that I had created using our vows. We created a little corner of our room devoted to our wedding and I love it.I had received the framed invitation as a wedding shower gift and it had been leaning against the wall where it would go up ever since, one year ago....

 

  

  

I created the wordle at http://www.wordle.net/. I just put in our vows and out came the Word Cloud! You can play around with the shape, font, and colors until you get one you like. I love looking at it and remembering the words we shared and the promises made on that day. Go play around and create your own word cloud.

the one where the library helped me cross #26 off

I recently rediscovered the library. I dragged Hubs there to get Library cards in mid-November. I started out with cookbooks. I loved being able to browse through them for three weeks and only make the recipes that grabbed my attention. I wrote down the ones we liked and returned the bulky book. Good food, no clutter. Can't beat it. 

I then moved onto pleasure reading books. I always walk out with a smile and never spend more than 2 minutes actually IN the library. I keep a running list of books I have heard good things about from friends, blogs, magazines, anywhere. I log on whenever I think about it and put those books on my Hold Queue. I get an email when my books are ready and waiting and breeze on in, grab them from the Hold Shelf and Self Checkout in minutes. I can even renew my books online when I am too optimistic on how many books I can read in 3 weeks. I love it. I have inadvertently turned myself back into a reader. I blew my 101 in 1001 reading goal out of the water and now aiming to read at least 40 books this year. Today I picked up the new Nicolas Sparks book. Usually I drop the cash to get these as soon as they come out. Today I walked out with the Hardback, FREE. 

Quick, convenient, and did I mention FREE. Doesn't get any better. Get yourself a library card STAT!!!!

The One Where He Gave Me a New House (#s 64 & 66)

I basically got a new house this weekend. We painted the entire place except for the bedroom (which we repainted this summer). I finally like the house I live in. Finally, after living there for almost 4 years, I like it.

When I moved in I painted the living room orange. Like Home Depot orange. I was trying to be bold. It was fun to have a bold room like that for a little while, but somewhere in the past two years it started grating on me. Everytime I walked into the house, I was disappointed. The original bedroom was a bluish grey, it was supposed to be relaxing, it reminded me of a cave. The original bathroom? PINK, bubble gum pink. Painful for Husband to even exist in. The kitchen and foyer were unpainted with the thought I would get to them one day. One day, four years later.

The painting projects began last Thanksgiving. The bathroom was challenging Husband's manhood. So we went from pink to blue. BLUE BLUE. We couldn't tell where the painter's tape ended and the walls began. It was BRIGHT. After painting that room I was so sick of the blue paint it took me FIVE months to finally pull it out again to do touchups. It was a mess for FIVE months and I still was not happy.

The bedroom was next to go. The bluish grey was depressing. I needed something more classic. We (I) chose to have a chocolate brown accent wall and ivory on the other three. I love love love it. I was finally happy with one room in the house. I created a little corner where I had pulled together a couple of online finds and was happy with the decor. There was hope that I could exist in this one bedroom condo for a bit longer.

I started daydreaming about painting the rest of the house. I knew we would have to bring in backup. We could not accomplish this alone and make it look good. With Husband's cousin being a contractor and professional painter, we offered him some money to oversee the project. We recruited some friends, picked a weekend with no football, and picked out colors. I had painted samples all over the house. I tried about a dozen colors until I settled on the palate.

We started with a DARK olive in the kitchen (Cosmopolitan Olive to be exact), went two shades lighter for the entry way, and then tried a couple of more neutrals for the living room. We ended up picking a greenish khaki color that complimented the olive tones nicely.

We prepped Friday night by moving EVERYTHING out of the rooms to be painted into our bedroom and decided all of our stuff could be smashed into 250 sq feet. Saturday everyone showed up ready to work! We took direction from the pro and jumped right in. By lunch time on Sunday we were cleaning up, amazed that we finished before the Redskin's kickoff at four. We were so excited about the new look that we went out to buy curtains to replace the awful blinds that were (accidentally) a casualty of the project. We hung the curtains, shampooed the carpets and were ready to "move" back in!

I took Monday off to help put everything back together. With all of the furniture back in and most everything rehung on the walls, it really feels like a new place. Everything is in it's place and I'm determined to keep it that way, for a little while at least. I love my new house and am so excited to go home now!!! This also crossed two things off of my 101 in 1001 list!!!!

It's been so long!

Gosh! I'm so sorry I've been such a slacker. Work has been busy and nights and weekends are even busier. Recent news, my sister popped out a bouncing baby boy last week. The events leading up to the birth were action packed. I was in the room when he was born and one of the nurses asked "do you have any kids?" I responded, no, then she asked "do you want any kids?" and I said "nope, that's why I'm here, birth control". Besides the fact that I nearly passed out, I would NOT want to be on the other side of this birthing experience.

On another note, my 101 in 1001 list is still ticking away, just not as fast as before. A few notable accomplishments:
#34 - I donated about 12 inches of hair to Locks of Love. I nearly had to threaten my stylist to cut it, she wasn't as ready for the change as I was.

#86 - Tony and I went to the September Richmond NASCAR race. I made my own shirt for the race that said "Brian Vickers Revs My Engine" and then met him. Who would have thought?!?! It was Tony's first race and he had a great time. I was glad to get to share this experience with him.

Some upcoming activities include a weekend trip to Pittsburgh with one of my besties and her new hubbie. We will be going to a Penguins game (Cross off #82) on Saturday night and Steelers on Sunday. If anyone has any extra tickets to the Steelers game let me know!!! Also taking suggestions for fun bars/restaurants/things to do in the Burgh.

One Month Down

So the first month of the challenge is done. I've completed three tasks and started 9 others. By creating the list it gave me the motivation to get to some of those things I've been putting off.

The three things I completed are:
1. Starting a blog, as seen here
2. Get an iPhone, got that 2 weeks ago and love every single minute of it. I even bought a case off of etsy.com from SeaSide Sew that I love.
3. Drink red wine from our fancy decantor. We accomplished that last Monday while we were also starting the list of Top 100 movies.

Items I've started:
I've run 36 of my 1001 miles. I bought a new pair of sneakers and running is completely different when I'm not getting shin splints after one mile.
We started the list of Top 100 movies, Citizen Kane was very good, The Godfather is waiting to be watched this week.
Tony and I went out to a fancy pants dinner while in vacation in Barbados.
I took my mom out to lunch today (cutting it close on the once a month deadline)
Read four books while on vacation.
Put in a hefty chunk of change into our downpayment fund.
Visited the dentist and scheduled my next 6 month cleaning.
Did all of the laundry (even folding and putting away) in one month.
and finally took the dogs out for 2 long walks during my lunch break.

Having items on the list that I want to accomplish several times really motivated me to get out an get started. Like taking my mom out, I love spending time with her and having girl time, but as a newlywed, I tend to pack my weekends with couple activities. It was nice to get out for a bit this afternoon to see her. The dogs benefitted when I got off my butt and take them out instead of watching Bonnie Hunt.

I think this month I'll try to get my closet cleaned up and donate some clothes. I'd like to knock out at least another 40 miles. Our weekend schedules are slowing down, so I can pick out a recipe to try for Tony. I definitely need to get our wedding album approved, I want that beauty at my house already!!!

I'll leave you with some pics of Tony and I at The Cliff in Barbados, amazing dinner.

101 in 1001

So on one of my favorite blogs I saw a post about setting 101 goals to accomplish in 1001 days. So I took a couple of weeks and began to make my list. It was hard to come up with 101 things but as soon as I set the official list and began the challenge, I kept thinking of more! So here it is:

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Start Date: July 2, 2009
End Date: March 28, 2012 (Our 3rd wedding anniversary)

Be Techy:

1. Start a blog
2. Track progress of this list on the blog with at least 25 entries about the list (0/25)
   
3. Have a following of 50 people on blog (0/50)
4. Meet one online friend in person
5. Get an iPhone
6. Upload all photos on computer to online albums
7. Put pictures from camera into online albums as events happen

Be Healthy:

1. Get to 20% body fat
2. Run ½ marathon
3. Lose 15 lbs (0/15)
   
4. Shred It for 30 days (0/30)
5. Run 1001 miles (0/1001)
6. Use Weight Watchers for 3 weeks straight, no cheating
   
7. Work out three times a week for a month
8. Drink 8 glasses of water everyday for 3 weeks
9. Floss everyday for a month
10. Eat recommended fruits and vegetables for a week
11. Take a multi vitamin everyday for a month (0/30)
12. Go one week without soda
13. No drinking for 30 consecutive days
14. No TV Mon-Fri for one week
15. Take the dogs for 25 extended lunch time walks days on nice days (0/25)
16. Go to dentist every six months for check up and cleaning (0/6)
17. Get pups to healthy weight and maintain with them. Sid <>

Be Artsy:

1. Watch 10 movies pre-1970 (0/10)
2. Read 5 non fiction books (0/5)
3. Read 10 books of my choosing (0/10)
4. Watch Top 100 Movies (0/100)
5. Attend a comedy show
6. Attend a play in the city
7. Enjoy a show at Wolf Trap on the lawn

Be Philanthropic:

1. Purge and donate clothes 3 times (0/3)
2. Donate blood
3. Donate hair
4. But a Christmas gift for a child in need
5. Donate to THON twice (0/2)
6. Visit THON
   
7. Volunteer for a Presidential Campaign

Be Frugal:

1. Eat in for 2 straight weeks, 3 meals a day
2. No credit card debt
3. Sell something on E-Bay
4. Put money each month into Down payment fund prior to house purchase (0/33)
   
5. Buy a house
6. Find a renter for our condo
   
7. Create and follow a budget for one month
8. Follow cash only plan for 2 months
   
9. Put $5 into Savings for each completed task and $10 for each uncompleted (0/101)
10. Buy a bike
11. Win money at a Craps table and walk away
12. Increase 401k contributions by 1% each year on birthday, up to 10%
    

Be a Wife:

1. Go to Virginia restaurants on Top 100, http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/restaurants/11525.html
2. Dress up and go out with husband once a month (0/33)
3. Go to a fancy Sunday brunch
4. Create wedding books for parents
5. Get a new passport
6. Visit 5 states (0/5)
7. Travel to Canada
8. Go to King's Dominion
9. Read 5 Love Languages
10. Approve Wedding Album
11. Be wedding sized or smaller on each anniversary
12. Write review for Chris Wells, wedding coordinator
13. Spend a long weekend at a B&B

Be Domestic:

1. Finish painting condo (entry, kitchen, living room) (0/3)
   
2. New carpets for condo
3. Research and if feasible, new blinds for condo
4. Prepare fancy five course meal for Tony and I one weekend
5. Try 3 recipes from Mom's cookbook (0/3)
6. Try 5 new recipes from gifted cook books (0/5)
7. Have one signature dish besides Mac & Cheese
   
8. Bake cake or cupcakes for 5 birthdays (0/5)
9. Have fresh flowers in house for 4 weeks (0/4)
10. Hang up framed invite and wedding pictures in bedroom
11. Rotate pictures in frames throughout the house
12. Completely clean and purge bathroom and kitchen cabinets three times (0/3)
13. Keep the kitchen counters clean for 5 straight days
14. Buy a new couch
15. Do my part to keep the bedroom clean for a week
16. Buy a king sized bed
17. Drink red wine from fancy carafe
18. Wash, dry, fold and put away clothes in one day fifteen times (0/15)
    

Be A Fan:

1. See a Pens game outside of Washington
2. Go to a home Cardinals game
3. Go to a Braves game
4. Go to three Penn State football games
5. Take Tony to a Nascar race
   

Just Be Better:

1. Send Christmas cards to friends and family
2. Send out 25 snail mail correspondence (0/25)
   
3. Do makeup for work for two weeks (0/10)
4. Take mom out to lunch once a month (0/33)
5. Pick fruit from an orchard
6. Go on a vacation with friends
7. Buy one thing from RueLaLa
8. Earn 2,000 diner points on OpenTable (400/2,000)
   
9. Submit a secret to Post Secret
10. Wear a dress to work each day for a week (0/5)
11. Visit Happy Valley for the Annual Beer Festival
12. Complete a Power Hour
    
13. Eat at restaurant of two ethnicities I have never tried before (0/2)
14. Less cursing, especially watch my language at work
15. Ask more about others than they ask about me in conversations

So I'm 12 days in and I have a blog up and running!!! I hope to buy my iPhone by the end of the month, checking things off! As you can see from the different categories, I'm trying to get to be pretty well rounded (and I'm not talking about my figure). My dream is that by the time this is over I'll be settled and a little bit more grown up and a little bit more mature. A lot of these things, especially in the Be Healthy category, are only for a month, but I'm hoping that they month will lead to a new healthy habit. Wish me luck and I'll post updates as to what has gotten accomplished!!!