#78 - TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA

Tonight my family and I attended the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the Frank Erwin Center. The evening started with the VIP Pre-Show Dinner in the Lone Star Room and then we enjoyed the sights and sounds of Trans-Siberian Orchestra! Dinner consisted of Caesar salad, a pasta station, pot roast, garlic potatoes, stuffed tomatoes, bread, creme brulee and drinks. To cap off the dinner we all had coffee, then headed to our seats. TSO was spectacular! The Trans-Siberian Orchestra consists of strings, a rock band, multiple vocalists, a narrator, pyrotechnics, lasers — and even some snow. ;-) TSO played for 3 hours straight and never slowed down. It was the perfect holiday show!

#8 - Unpack, #15 - home cooked meal(s), # 41 - clean out closets

#8 - The house is finally unpacked! I finished the last room done today (study) and all is well. Everything looks spectacular. My parents have really helped me out and sped up the process immensely. The only thing left to do is organize the garage (it's a mess). The garage currently holds all my Halloween boxes, Christmas boxes, and tons of other odds and ends of stuff. It's gonna take a good day I think to arrange it and put some stuff up in the attic. However, the inside of the house is done! So I'm marking this task off my list. :-D

#15- With my parents here we've had several home cooked meals. Since I helped make them I'm counting them. ;-) We've had manicotti, chicken and dumplings, apple dumplings and rahm schnitzel...well I helped with all but the rahm schnitzel. I love it when my parents come to visit.

#41 - I wish I had time to do this before the move but oh well. While unpacking I decided to get rid of old shoes and purses that I no longer wanted or used, I think I eliminated about half them! I also decided to get rid of my VHS tapes and my spare VHS player, my old boom box from when I was a child (yes I still had it...now I need a new one because I don't have a stereo system) and some old books. I'll be taking it all to Goodwill once the new year starts. I still have to go through my closet and get rid of all the clothes I no longer wear...that's gonna be a big one.

On a side note, I put up all my Christmas decorations! Even assembled my big Christmas tree and we all decorated it together. It was a great family moment. :-) My brother flies in tonight (Christmas eve) and he'll get to see my new place all decked out! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

#11 - Buy energy efficient light bulbs

As a new home owner I want to be energy efficient. So I've gone out and bought some energy efficient light bulbs! I've also bought a couple new light fixtures that came with them as well. I haven't switched everything over yet but I'm on my way!

#44 & 45 - Failure

Well I'm sad to say I'm not doing too well on this item.  I tweaked my knee so I haven't been able to run and do the cardio classes I started...and with all the holiday foods, cookies, and eating out it hasn't been good for my diet.  I can do low-impact stuff like the bike or elliptical, but now that I'm on vacation and no longer have my apt gym...not sure when I'll get to work out.  Plus there's family in town that I have to entertain.  :-)  Hopefully I can watch what I eat but I'm guessing I won't be able to really work on this task until the New Year.  Oh Joy!  Will Power where are you???

#2 - paint bedroom and bathroom, #14 - Meet my neighbors, #8 - Unpackmy stuff (IP)

Wow it's been a busy weekend/week.  Closed on my house on Friday, parents came into town on Saturday, went to Copperas Cove on Sunday to visit relatives, painted bed/bathroom in the new house on Monday, did the last of the packing Monday night and moved on Tuesday!

So yes, the painting is done!  My parents did most of it, but I did help!  They started on Monday while I was at work and as soon as I got home I jumped into the fray. I helped with the bathroom and the laundry room.  Wish I had taken pictures, I was covered in paint, it was quite amusing.  Not to mention I practically gave myself a concussion.  :-S

Tuesday was moving day!  Movers arrived at 8:30am and were done by 1:45pm.  Thankfully there was minimal damange in the move (lost a couple glasses).  Right after the movers left the cable guy showed up.  Perfect timing!  Everything is up and running after only a few hours of being unplugged.  I also met one of my next door neighbors during the move.  They seem like a really nice couple and hopefully I'll get to hang out with them once I'm settled in.  Now commences the unpacking of a plethora of boxes.  :-P

Tonight we'll clean up the apartment and continue with unpacking.  I also have to figure out if I really want to get out my Christmas tree and decorate it...with everything going on...I'm not sure we (my mom & dad & I) could handle yet another task.

Oh, btw, my knee is fine.  Just tweaked it.  Should be good to go in a couple weeks...I just have to stick with low-impact stuff.  Not the best time for this to happen with all the Holiday foods and cookies around.  :-(

 HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

#1 - Become a homeowner! What a glorious day!

OH WOW WHAT A DAY! At first it didn't start out too well. My knee has been bothering me all week. I must have slept on it funny last night because when I woke up I was in so much pain it was unreal! I couldn't bend it at all or stand on it. Finally after mustering up all my energy I made it to the freezer to get a cold pack and then take some ibuprofen. 30 mins later I was feeling a little better, enough to finally take a shower.

By 8:15am I was heading downtown to the Title company to close on my house! By 10am I was the proud owner of my very own home! I'm so excited! My Realtor even gave me a poinsettia and a gift bag which contained a bottle of wine, 2 boxes of Ghiradelli chocolates and a $50 gift card to Target! I love my Realtor. ;-)

From there I headed to my works offsite at The Oasis. I haven't been there since it burned down and boy does it look awesome! I arrived just in time to get my raffle tickets and find a table before the meeting started. Since this is our Holiday offsite, we had to bring a gift for the White Elephant exchange and if we wanted we could bring a toy for the Toys for Tots program and get another raffle ticket for the prizes our team was giving away (a monitor and Dell TV). The meeting went by fairly quickly and then they got to the awards. Next thing I know my manager is calling my name and bestows upon me an award for one of my projects. What a great surprise! I couldn't be happier! :-) After lunch we gathered in groups to do the gift exchange. It was crazy! My first gift I get a $20 gift card to home depot, which gets stolen. Then I get a $15 gift card to home depot, which gets stolen as well! Next I pick a small glass Christmas bowl...which to my surprise gets stolen! Where's the love people! My next gift are some crazy bear slippers (one pink pair and one black pair)...I figured they'd make great stocking stuffers. Too my astonishment someone stole them from me! So then I steal a co-workers $10 gift card to Starbucks and the game is finally over! I got to keep a pretty good gift after all that stealing. :-D

Then we do the final raffle drawing for the TV. Wouldn't this make for a great housewarming gift for my new home? We all anxiously await as the numbers are read...and they stop with one number to go. HOLY COW! So far I have a match! Tom asks who is left standing and 5 of us raise our hands. Then the final number is read. I look down at my raffle ticket and OMG....I WON! I WON!! Hands in the air, screaming at the top of my lungs I run, skip, hop to the front of the room and tackle Tom in a gianormous hug. I think he thought I was going to tackle him to the ground. Really?!?! Did you really call my number? I compare tickets and sure enough, I won the 37" TV! The perfect ending to a perfect day! The TV actually fit in the back of my car and Amanda and I take it to my new home. At the house yet another surprise awaited me! On my doorstep was a beautiful flower arrangement in a beautiful vase compliments of Nate. :mrgreen:

Since I seemed to be having a pretty good day, I decided to stop at the gas station on the way home and bought 10 lottery tickets. Hey, you never know. :-P

#15 - Cook weekly home meal(s) (3/143)

I love Super Suppers! They make cooking so easy. Tonight I made the Pecan-Mozzarella Chicken with Basil Pesto for dinner. It was awesome! 30 mins in the oven along with a salad and fresh bread makes a perfect meal! I was actually quite impressed with the flavor. Two thumbs up! Delicious!

One slight difference, I put the basil pesto on top of the chicken instead of underneath. 8O

#29 - Get back into a cardio step class (IP)

After two years of not going to a work out class, I finally attended one today!  Yay for me!  I used to be very dedicated about going to cardio step class in the morning 3x's a week for a good two years straight, but fell out of the habit back in 2006.  Now I still go to the gym mind you, usually to run 3 miles on the tred mill and lift weights a couple times a week.  However today, as I walked past the class room to hit up the stairmaster, I saw several of my co-workers sweating to a cardio step class.  One of them beckoned me in so I figured what the heck, I wanted to start back up anyways.  It was a good workout and I'm glad I did it.  I'm already starting to feel sore.  Now to keep it up!  I was going to try and start going in the mornings again, but perhaps lunch would be better (keeps me from eating out).  Only time will tell, I've gotten used to sleeping in later during the week!  :lol:

#20 - Set up a recycling system in my home

I can finally do recycling again!  My apt complex didn't offer this so I haven't done it in almost two years!  Last week I set up all my utilities for the new house and I made sure to enroll in recycling!  Starting Dec 14th I will once again be doing my part to GO GREEN and help out the Earth!  8)

 Recycling Facts & Figures

• In 1999, recycling and composting activities prevented about 64 million tons of material from ending up in landfills and incinerators. Today, this country recycles 32 percent of its waste, a rate that has almost doubled during the past 15 years.

• While recycling has grown in general, recycling of specific materials has grown even more drastically: 50 percent of all paper, 34 percent of all plastic soft drink bottles, 45 percent of all aluminum beer and soft drink cans, 63 percent of all steel packaging, and 67 percent of all major appliances are now recycled.

• Twenty years ago, only one curbside recycling program existed in the United States, which collected several materials at the curb. By 2005, almost 9,000 curbside programs had sprouted up across the nation. As of 2005, about 500 materials recovery facilities had been established to process the collected materials.

#7 - Pack up all my stuff in the apt for the move

I finally started packing this weekend!  Saturday morning was the kick off and went really well with some help from Nate.  We got about 2 hrs of packing done before needing a lunch break.  Then the girls (Monica, Brandy & Amanda) came over Sunday for the packing party.  I ordered pizza for everyone and we packed from noon-3:00pm.  Wow!  What would have taken me a week to pack was accomplished in 3 hrs!  The entire kitchen is done (plates, pots & pans, appliances, glasses, china, etc).  We even took down all the curtains, packed pillows and all my books in the study!  What a relief to have the major stuff done.  All that's left is the pantry and fridge, bathrooms, TV and a few odds and ends.  The rest shouldn't take too much time and some of it I can't pack anyways until moving day.  A big THANK YOU to everyone that helped! 

Even though the packing is still in progress (80% complete), I consider this task pretty much finished...since all the major stuff is done.  I'll do a little more packing tonight and tomorrow to wrap it all up!

#81 - Donate blood at least 3x’s a year (0/9)

So today I tried to donate blood. This is something I've always done since High School.  Well, everything was going smoothly until we get to Travel.  I went to Costa Rica in May and apparently this is a malaria zone (I didn't research it before signing up to donate).  Travel to a malaria zone is a 12 month deferral from date of departure from the endemic area.  So I can't donate until May 4th 2008!  :-( This might screw up my 3x's a year goal.  I think you have to wait 8 weeks between donations...so if I can get 3 donations in before Nov 2008 I'll still be on schedule.  At least I've added a few more items to my list that can replace this one if I fail.  Once the 12 month deferral is past, I'll start back up!

#60 & #15 - Volunteer for a good cause and Cook at least one home meal(s) a week

#60 - Today I volunteered for Coats for Kids. Coats for Kids is a non profit foundation serving at risk kids by distributing new coats. From 11-2pm I worked with other volunteers sorting through "gently used" coats, new coats and placing them on hangers/racks. It was actually hard tiring work! My whole body is sore from bending over boxes and tables all day. Not to mention my hands are all scratched up from the hangers. But it's all worth it for the kids!

#15 - Tonight I made the Firecracker Flank Steak that I put together at Super Suppers for Amanda's birthday last weekend. Super Suppers definitely made it easy! At Super Suppers, they handle the shopping, chopping and mopping for you! That’s right, no stress or kitchen mess! All you have to do is prepare the delicious, chef-designed entrées and then take it home and freeze for later. It turned out pretty darn good! The meat was a little chewy but over all it had pretty good flavor and only took 10 mins to get it all ready. I also had bread and a salad with cherries and great company to go with it. Yea for me!

#97 - Take dogs to the dog park

What a beautiful day! You couldn't have asked for nicer weather during winter. ;-) A gorgeous blue sky, white fluffy clouds and an inviting 80 degrees! It was the perfect day to take the dogs to Emma Long Park for a 2 hr hike. Sarah and Guinness love this place because there are several spots that they can take a dip in the creek and they get to play with other fellow 4 legged creatures. It's so funny watching Guinness swim, he won't use his back legs, he just dog paddles. :-D They both get so excited and I don't have to put them on their leashes. What's great about it is that I get exercise, they get exercise, and then the dogs pass out when we get home!

#77 - Go see a band in town (again)

Last night I went to Sherlocks to meet up with Monica, Kara and Emily. I wasn't going to go out (feeling lazy) but decided what the heck! We sat outside for about an hour before heading inside for the band and I introduced the girls to an Australian Snakebite (my fav!). mmm, mmm good! The band that was playing was LC Rocks! This is one of the best 80's bands in Austin. I had a great time singing along and dancing up a storm. We also got pretty lucky with the free drinks, compliments of the guys at another table. Woohoo! Brandy showed up a bit later as well as a couple girls from the 22 Penny Crew. It was so much fun I didn't want to leave, but alas I had class the next day. ;-)

Oh!  We also saw a group of people there from the Austin Sports and Social club.  Kinda funny since I have that on my list as well!

#15 - Cook at least one home meal(s) a week

Last night I finally cooked a home made meal!  It's been forever since I've done that.  Now I don't order out food every night or anything like that...but the majority of the time I make a frozen meal or pasta or grilled cheese or something really easy (which I don't tend to count as "cooking").  So after work I decided to hit up HEB and gather ingredients to make my chicken & wine dish!  I love this dish, it's a childhood favorite.  I procured fresh bread, salad, rice pilaf and fresh chicken breasts.  This dish is actually very easy to make which is one of the reasons I like it. ;-)  What a wonderful smell as the chicken and wine aroma wafted through my living quarters.  I topped it all off with a glass of wine, company, and a brownie for dessert.   Plus now I have leftovers for the rest of the week.

#77 - Go see a band in town

Last night Monica, Brandy, Thura, Sarah and I went downtown to watch this band BoomBox at Lucky Lounge. We started off the night at Jeff's house and played some new Band video game he had just gotten that day. It was pretty cool, you have a guitar, drums and microphone and you sing at concerts. I sucked at the singing so I just sat back and became a fan. Then we headed down to Lavaca Street Bar and had a few $1 Tecates and a buttery nipple shot! Around 11:30pm we finally made our way over to Lucky Lounge, apparently the band never starts on time. ;-) BoomBox started playing around 11:45pm and they were actually pretty good! They even had a pretty good horn line. We hung out there for about an hour then visited Red Fez...but it was lame so we left. About 1am Brandy, Monica and I realized we were hungry and decided to head for Wendy's. Ahhh, a burger after all those drinks really hit the spot. I was home and in bed by 2:30am! It was a great night with the girls (and Thura)! :-)

#37 & 47 - Join Dictionary.com Word of the Day Mailing List and Finish this list!

#37 -  This morning I joined Dictionary.com's Word of the Day Mailing List.  I'm so excited!  I will get my first word tomorrow.  I can't wait!  Now I have to make sure to actually use the new word in a conversation that day...and be able to pronounce it correctly!

Here's a great word game to play to improve your vocabulary (thanks Jenn!)  Freerice.com

#47 -  Hurrah!  I have finished the 101 list!  Wish me luck.  :-D

#3 Play Paintball

Today I had an offsite with my co-workers. We went to Xtreme Paintball in Manor, TX and battled it out. It was so much fun! I have always wanted to try Paintball but had never gotten around to it. Well today I did it! I came out fairly unscathed. I managed to get away with only 2 bruises/welts....the worst one landing on my left cheek. :-P I would definitely do it again! It was great team work, exercise and stress relief!

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com.

 

lol, everyone gets the same Hello World posting from wordpress.

A couple of my friends starting doing this and I thought it would be a great idea as well! Finally something to motivate me to do all those things I've always talked about doing. So today I start the 101 in 1001 challenge! The challenge is based on Day Zero! Hopefully I stick to this and can think of enough things to do! Any suggestions? ;-)

I’m still working on my list as you can see - hopefully I’ll be up and running soon! And I need to figure out how to use this thing!

Maybe I'll also make a list of all the things I've already done (such as skydiving, wake boarding, rock climbing, rappelling, etc...)!