I’m headed to Las Vegas for the first time ever!
{I know, I know. How is that even possible?!}
Even thought that means I have to get on an airplane during the first major snow storm of the season, I’m so excited! – and yay for anxiety meds!
But I’ll have a lot going on on this little blog while I’m gone. So stay tuned!
And if you have any tips for anything that is “must-see” in Vegas, let me know! We’re open to suggestions and don’t have a whole lot planned out!
Sadly, my last posted update was January 5th, 2010 — almost an entire year ago! Well, I’ve scratched some things off my list since then, luckily!
About the project: On Monday, July 13th, 2009, I created a list of 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days. The idea came from DayZeroProject.com. I have until April 19th, 2012 to complete my list!
The full list can be found here, but to sum it up, here’s what I’ve been busy getting accomplished these last 11 months:
Travel:
3. Go whitewater rafting. – Done. Our River Expeditions trip on 8/20-8/22 2010
Personal/Social:
30. Get a mani/pedi. – Done. April 2010 before our Maine trip. And July 3, 2010
34. Go an entire year without swearing. – Began 12/15/10
36. Send at least one hand-written note/card each month. – Been going strong with this one from the start!
40. Paint a new piece of pottery. – Done. 11/12/10
Financial:
64. Pay off half of my debts. – Will be a work in progress for some time.
65. Buy a new car. – Done. November 2010 I bought my first ever brand new car! see picture!
66. Pay off my credit cards. – This will be one of those ongoing things.
67. Re-evaluate and re-do my current budget. Then, sixty days after, reevaluate to determine if it works for me. – My budget has been reevaluated and still isn’t working. So, I’ll try again this month!
68. Sell unused electronics on Craigslist or Ebay. – Done. April 2010
71. Donate $150 to a non-profit. – I was donating to WCPN, our Cleveland NPR station, monthly.
90. Go on a 30-day caffeine detox. – Done. October-November 2010.
93. Get my eyebrows waxed at least 3 times (this may seem really lame to some, but really I never NEED to have it done. I just thought it would be a nice thing to do for myself). – 1 of 3 times completed thus far!
94. Drink nothing but water for 30 days. – Done. October-November 2010.
97. Take a spinning class. – Done. 1/8/10.
100. Go without alcohol for 30 days. – Done. October-November 2010.
Items completed: 16.5
Items in progress: 10
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I spent the afternoon in a food coma and sleeping.
It was just what my body needed!
After I recovered, I threw together some gluten-free cupcakes and put myself together for a Halloween party at the neighbors house.
{cupcakes}
For the party, I dressed up as a flapper
{great excuse to wear a dress I bought from Express}
and BF dressed up as a Biggest Loser contestant, post weight loss!
{all dolled up!}
I ended up taking my wig off shortly after some young kid
asked me if I was Lady Gaga…
He had no clue what a flapper was. Oh well.
Sunday I caught up on all many of the things on my to-do list!
Unfortunately not everything got crossed off my list,
but such is life!
What fun did you get yourself into this weekend?
I cannot believe it’s taken me an entire week to talk about our whitewater rafting trip last weekend! But it has been a crazy week of recovering… You’ll understand in a minute.
When we arrived at the campground for River Expeditions we found out that we and 700 of our closest friends were camping that same weekend. That’s right. Seven.hundred.people. We found what appeared to be a quiet camping area. After all, it was 10PM, I’d been up since 5AM, we had just driven for 5 hours and we had a 9AM rafting time the next morning.
We set up camp, walked to the only wash house {700 people, half of which I’m assuming were female, and about 8 bathroom stalls and ten showers? Gross.}, and decided to get some sleep to prepare for a physically tough next day.
Sleep never happened. The whole campground was loud, but we had a group of hillbillies next to us who were screaming all night. Screaming instead of talking. When they were only feet from each other. Screaming about Natty Light.
Not even our Tylenol PM we had taken could keep us asleep. And I’m pretty sure in a drugged-up haze, I told BF I wanted to throw a brick at the hillbillies heads. He asked me where I’d get the brick. I ignored him.
At around 2AM we made an executive decision to sleep in our car. Our itty-bitty, two-door, Honda Civic. So we did.
The next morning we checked in for rafting and went directly to the 20-minute breakfast line. Surely they must have something delicious if all of those people were waiting for a continental breakfast, right?
Wrong. Oh so wrong. But I’m not even going to complain about the food. I had fruit that we brought instead. What I’m going to complain about is mine, and quite a few others, request for water.
There were two options: from-concentrate OJ or coffee. Here’s the deal. Recent stomach issues and coffee or juice before going out on a 6 or 7 hour long trip in the great outdoors? Not gonna happen. So hence my question about why the water from the soda machine wasn’t working. Her response: We are putting more water in the juice. Um, ok, but what about just water? Didn’t happen.
The rafting trip itself was incredible. We were in a boat with a great group of people. There’s something about being put in a situation where you really have to rely on people around you to instantly make a group of strangers close. I loved it.
Post-rafting we ran into one of my favorite bloggers, Analiese from Tulips and Tea, and her husband Jason! This was by far, my favorite part of the trip. We hung out, fireside, for a few hours and had a lot of laughs! I hope to meet up with her again and hope our paths cross in the future!
So all-in-all, the trip was a success. But we are now recovering. BF has bronchitis and I am just trying to stay healthy.
However, we will never, ever go back to River Expeditions. The outfitter we used last year, ACE Resort, was awesome and the only place I would truly recommend to anyone. You can see my old post here to see the differences in trips.
I realize it’s been a while since I’ve updated my 101 in 1001 list {to see first posting on July 13th, go here}. So I thought I’d make sure you’re holding me accountable update you on my progress!
{Note: to shorten this post, I haven’t posted the whole list.}
Start date: Monday, July 13th, 2009
End date: April 19th, 2012
Completed
In Progress
Not Yet Completed.
Travel:
16. Go to a Buffalo bills game. {Went to the October 11th 2009 game}
Personal/Social:
32. Watch the sunset. {BF and I watched the sunset at the wedding on 8/15/09}
34. Go an entire year without swearing. {Began again today. Obviously this is a struggle}
36. Send at least one hand-written note/card each month. {6/33}
43. Waste less by using only canvas bags for shopping during this entire 1001 days. {This isn’t working out how I expcted…}
45. Register a domain name. {itsahero.com Yay!}
46. Donate blood. {donated blood in December 2009}
48. Purchase an apron. {See my pretty little apron here.}
52. Become an official resident of NY state. {Completed as of 9/30/09!!}
53. Meet a blog friend in real life. {I met Sara from Stumbling in Stilettos!}
54. Reorganize my photos (both digital and prints). {This seems to be a very long process}
63. Join a book club. {I joined my book club in December of 2009 & our first meeting is January 2010, thanks to cancellation due to snow in December}
Financial:
65. Buy a new car. {New to me! Purchased 8/4/09}
66. Pay off my credit cards. {well on my way! & I’m so proud/excited about this!}
68. Sell unused electronics on Craigslist or Ebay. {I sold two items! I think this will remain in progress for a while.}
Work/Education:
73. Find a new job. {I started at my new job on 8/10/2009! Yay!}
80. Read at least 25 new books. {2/25: Sloane Crosley, “I Was Told There’d Be Cake”; & Audrey Niffenegger, “Her Fearful Symmetry”}
Health/Wellness:
97. Take a spinning class. {signed up for a class this Friday, January 8, 2010}
So that’s 18 of 101. I suppose I need to step it up a bit!
I guess my New Years Resolution will be to chip away at the list!
Some crucial updates to my list!! BIG updates! Oh… and PS… I go home to Ohio after work tomorrow to see BF for my birthday weekend!
101 in 1001 List.
Completed
In Progress
Not Yet Completed.
34. Go an entire year without swearing. {Began 8/19/09. Still going strong!}
36. Send at least one hand-written note/card each month. {3/33}
52. Become an official resident of NY state. {Completed as of today, 9/30/09!!}
53. Meet a blog friend in real life. {I met Sara from Stumbling in Stilettos!}
Start date: Monday, July 13th, 2009
End date: April 19th, 2012
Travel:
1. Visit Niagara Falls.
2. Go on a wine tour at a vineyard.
3. Go whitewater rafting.
4. Visit a foreign country.
5. Get a passport.
6. Visit the beach.
7. Go on a cruise.
8. Travel to Las Vegas (and take a lot of pictures).
9. Visit New Orleans again.
10. Go camping.
11. Rent a cabin in the woods for a weekend (at least).
12. Visit New York City.
13. Visit Denver.
14. Go to Ben & Jerry’s in Vermont.
15. Go to Cedar Point.
16. Go to a Buffalo bills game. {Tickets are purchased for October 11th 2009 game}
17. Go skiing.
18. Rent a house on the beach for a weekend.
19. Visit Toronto.
20. Go sky diving.
21. Go to Dinosaur BBQ with BF.
22. Visit Portland, Oregon.
23. Go to the New York State fair.
24. Go to Boston.
25. Go horseback riding.
26. Go to Walt Disney World.
Personal/Social:
27. Get married.
28. Buy a house.
29. Buy nothing but food for 30 days.
30. Get a mani/pedi.
31. See Ani Difranco live in concert.
32. Watch the sunset. {BF and I watched the sunset at the wedding on 8/15/09}
33. Volunteer a whole weekend to a charity.
34. Go an entire year without swearing. {Began 8/19/09. Still going strong!}
35. Attend a music festival.
36. Send at least one hand-written note/card each month. {3/33}
37. Host a dinner party.
38. Host a board game night.
39. Donate to Locks For Love.
40. Paint a new piece of pottery.
41. Drop a dress size.
42. Go skinny dipping.
43. Waste less by using only canvas bags for shopping during this entire 1001 days. {This isn’t working out how I expcted…}
44. Get at least 2 new tattoos.
45. Register a domain name. {itsahero.com Yay!}
46. Donate blood.
47. Buy (and drink) a $50 bottle of wine.
48. Purchase an apron.
49. Record a song.
50. Swim under a waterfall.
51. Join a sports league.
52. Become an official resident of NY state. {Completed as of today, 9/30/09!!}
53. Meet a blog friend in real life. {I met Sara from Stumbling in Stilettos!}
54. Reorganize my photos (both digital and prints). {This seems to be a very long process}
55. Reorganize my music.
56. Plant a tree.
57. Say ‘yes’ to every social event I’m asked to attend for 4 weeks.
58. Update emergency information (and emergency contacts) post-move.
59. Attend an art festival.
60. Attend an NHL game.
61. Try an exotic food.
62. Go on a picnic.
63. Join a book club.
Financial:
64. Pay off half of my debts.
65. Buy a new car. {New to me! Purchased 8/4/09}
66. Pay off my credit cards.
67. Re-evaluate and re-do my current budget. Then, sixty days after, reevaluate to determine if it works for me.
68. Sell unused electronics on Craigslist or Ebay. {I sold two items! I think this will remain in progress for a while.}
69. Increase my percentage contribution to my 401k.
70. Write a will.
71. Donate $150 to a non-profit.
Work/Education:
72. Start an online Etsy business.
73. Find a new job. {I start at my new job on 8/10/2009! Yay!}
74. Take a cooking class.
75. Take a foreign language class.
76. Begin grad school.
77. Get a promotion at work.
78. Take a dance class.
79. Become certified in CPR.
80. Read at least 25 new books. {1/25: Sloane Crosley, “I Was Told There’d Be Cake”}
81. Learn (um, re-learn) French.
82. Learn to sew.
83. Begin yoga teacher training.
84. Get a second job that I like (this is both work and financial).
Health/Wellness:
85. Go on a 30 day detox.
86. Run a 10k.
87. Get a massage.
88. Go on a weekend yoga retreat.
89. Perfect my forearm stand (yoga pose).
90. Go on a 30-day caffeine detox.
91. Eat nothing but raw foods for 30 days.
92. Workout 5 times a week for 6 weeks straight.
93. Get my eyebrows waxed at least 3 times.
94. Drink nothing but water for 30 days.
95. Take vitamins every day for 30 days.
96. Visit the dentist two times a year.
97. Take a spinning class.
98. Go kayaking.
99. Learn to rock climb.
100. Go without alcohol for 30 days.
101. Run a 1/2 marathon – and finish!
