#20 - Go to the gym at least 3 days a week

I feel quite accomplished. :)

Last week, I worked out three times in as many days. This was working towards #20 in my 101 in 1001 list. I felt so good afterwards!

On the second day of my workout week, I decided to start on my Couch to 5K program. I bought the application for my iPhone and it really works! The basic idea is that it builds up your endurance by having you run for thirty seconds and then walk for ninety seconds. You do this for twenty minutes plus a warm up and cool down. The nine week program will get you into shape!

I’m determined to make this thing work! I think I’m going to get up early tomorrow morning in order to get my work out in before work.

One week down, 146 to go!

101 in 1001 days

Carly @ Being Carly has inspired me to take on this project. I’m always wanting to do lots of things so I hope this deadline will help me get my butt in gear!

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 organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Start Date: November 22, 2009
End Date: August 19, 2012

Here’s a list of the things that I will accomplish before my dear law school spouse starts his last semester of law school!

Crafting
1. Finish honeymoon scrapbook
2. Scrapbook at least one page per month

Blogging
3. Blog about each completed task
4. Blog every day for a month.
5. Clear out RSS feed and keep only those blogs that I truly enjoy reading.

People
6. Go out with friends at least once a month

7. Have a pizza delivered to a friend in another city as a surprise
8. Host a game night
9. Make cookies from scratch and mail them to five people
10. Send 10 cards to friends just because
11. Send a random care package to a friend
12. Put change in someone’s parking meter
13. Play five video games with Husband
14. Make Husband his favorite dinner and dessert by request

Self-Improvement
15. Make it all the way through 10 push ups
16. Refinish/redecorate one piece of furniture
17. Go down 2 clothing sizes
18. Take a photography class
19. Upgrade my point-and-shoot camera to an SLR
20. Go to the gym at least 3 days a week
21. Complete Couch to 5K program
22. Learn to drive a manual transmission
23. Spend at least one night in a really classy hotel
24. Write someone a thank-you letter, but not for a present (e.g., old teacher, author of a book I read)
25. At least BEGIN learning French
26. Drive the speed limit for five days
27. Take more photos!
28. Take at least one Continuing Education class
29. Drink only water & tea for one week
30. Organize a girl’s night/weekend with my closest friends
31. No fast food for one week
32. Write a business plan for my wedding planning business
33. Get laser eye surgery to fix my eyesight
34. Prepare monologue for a professional theatrical audition
35. Audition for a professional (i.e. paying) company

Experiences
36. Learn how to make my mother-in-law’s Italian pasta sauce
37. Try a kind of fruit I've never had before
38. Try a kind of vegetable I've never had before
39. Start a new Christmas tradition
40. Attend a New Year’s Eve celebration
41. Try 5 new recipes
42. Host a movie night at my home
43. Build a snowman and photograph it
44. Go to the movies… ALONE
45. Try 10 new restaurants

46. Go to a pub trivia night.
47. Buy and beautiful dress and have Husband take me somewhere nice
48. Attend a midnight movie premier
49. Make breakfast for dinner
50. Attend a St. Louis Symphony concert
51. Bake a pie from scratch
52. Go to a free summer concert
53. Attend a dance class

Travel
54. Visit friend and new baby in DC
55. Visit a National Park
56. Visit Universal Orlando when the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens
57. Take a week’s vacation to a place other than Disneyworld
58. Visit a country outside of North America
59. Take a hot air balloon ride
60. Go on a roadtrip with no predetermined destination

Money and Finances
61. Save at least $1000 for our joint account cushion
62. Have 3 months of income in the bank
63. Create and stick to a solid budget
64. Start, manage and then spend a Christmas fund

Reading
65. Read five Jane Austen books
66. Read 5 “classics” that I never read in high school or college
67. Join a book club
68. Ask 5 friends to recommend a book, read all 5

List Related
69. Write a list of tasks to do in 1001 days.
70. Post this on my blog so I can be accountable.
71. Put a counter on the blog to remind of the time remaining for these tasks.
72. Put $5 in savings for each completed task
73. Celebrate the completion of 101 things with a bottle of champagne!

Personal
74. Purge wardrobe of anything I haven't worn in the past two years
75. Join a parish closer to my new townhouse
76. Attend church every Sunday for 15 weeks consecutively to develop a habit
77. Participate in a walk/run for a good cause
78. Put my business card into at least 10 free lunch contests
79. Finalize wedding album from two and a half years ago!
80. Buy fresh flowers once a month
81. Buy a "new" outfit from the thrift store
82. Take a very girly bubble bath
83. Spend a day, or a morning, going to garage sales
84. Get a massage
85. Buy something from 5 different Etsy stores

86. Make a headboard for the guest bedroom
87. Find out my blood type!
88. Catalog or record all the books I read/have read. [Bookpedia]
89. Go for one week without buying anything from or of Starbucks
90. Buy and keep at least one houseplant alive or decide to decorate with fake plants.
91. Get a new laptop
92. Put away the last lingering box from the move to the new townhouse
93. Research my ancestors to create a family tree with anecdotes from family members
94. Scan my printed photos
95. Scan Husband’s family photos
96. Hang artwork in the new townhouse
97. Organize the storage room
98. Organize crafting room
99. Watch 26 movies, each one starting with a different letter

100. Get a pet. Any kind will do!
101. Buy a new washer and dryer

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (well, 12 hours…)

 

Last night in the rain, I had an accident on the way home from work. A mini van was making a turn and the sedan between us slammed on their breaks to avoid an accident – which made me slam my breaks. I avoided hitting the sedan, but another mini van behind me wasn’t so lucky. But there wasn’t damage to my back bumper, which is good!

The next morning, it was still raining but I was able to get to the car and make my way to the office. This was after pulling myself out of bed and just hoping the hair would look ok without styling it – I wasn’t feeling very good.

When I got into the parking lot at the office, I stepped out of the car and opened my umbrella. Well, sort of, because it doesn’t really want to work – the fabric part doesn’t falls off the skeleton of the umbrella. Kind of makes it hard to keep the rain off your head when the fabric doesn’t stay stretched out, if you know what I mean.

I put my coffee on the top of the car when I tried to gather up my bags and head into the office. Then that stupid umbrella knocked off my travel mug and it splashed all over me – on my new red peacoat, black pants and turtleneck. UGH.

I brushed off the coffee from my coat and was trying to shrug things off (I can live with a cup of coffee from the office pot, rather than my yummy Dunkin Donuts blend from home), when the door to my car shut itself. No biggie, right?

Then the car alarm started to go off. Don’t ask me why. Usually my Saturn Coupe has an alarm that gets triggered when you try to unlock the door with the key fob when you locked it a different way – I guess that’s for security in case your car gets stolen.

I reached into my bag to get the keys to silence the stupid alarm so the other offices don’t notice that it’s mine that’s going off, when it hits me – the keys aren’t in my purse. I look over at the closed car door and see my pink fake carabiners with the Saturn key fob. They’re sitting on my front seat.

Imagine me in the rain with a broken umbrella with a bunch of bags on my shoulder, the car alarm going off, and my keys sitting inches away, but with a locked door between me and them. FML!

Then to boot, after dropping everything off at my desk and in the bathroom to fix myself again, I realized that the coffee, complete with sugar and creamer, managed to get itself splashed into my hair.

What a rotten day!

(But did I mention that Husband got a scholarship and a graduate assistantship for the MBA program this afternoon? YIPPEE!)

In the home stretch…

Husband is officially in the final weeks of law school. Well, the first semester anyway!

Unfortunately, we had to make a tough decision last week. Husband and I won’t be spending Thanksgiving together. I know. IT SUCKS! [And not just because we won’t be doing our Black Friday shopping together!]

Because his exams start the Tuesday after the holiday, a trip to Kansas City just wouldn’t allow him enough time to prepare for the exams. And after all this money and time spent on his education [and it’s only the beginning!], I want him to do as well as he can, so I’m removing any distractions to that end!

As so begins the not-seeing-husband for the next few weeks. I’m going to be single again for the time being! :)

A Place Where Everyone Knows Your Name

I see a lot of theatre. St. Louis has a great big theatre scene, both professional, semi-professional and community – and it’s still growing. I know lots of the theatre people and therefore, see a lot of shows to keep up with all of them!

Sometimes when you see a bunch of shows, you think you know the actors but of course, they have no idea who you are! You see them from your place in the audience and all they see onstage is a big blur from behind the lights.

It took me by surprise tonight at a theatre party when a local Equity [that’s the professional acting union] actor called me by my maiden name. He had played a part in the first show I was involved with at this theatre, four years ago when I was an intern. I’m not sure if we had said anything to each other since that show closed!

So I explained that I have a new name, he congratulated on me on my two-year old marriage, and the conversation moved on.

He even said he remembered me from the first row of the show he performed in on Friday night. I called him out on it, but he insisted that he saw me!

It seems silly to get so excited about something trivial, but it really made my day. :)

A Day in the Theatre

A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to stage manage a show at the same theatre that gave me the chance to play a beaver onstage. I was so excited – Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of my absolute favorite Shakespearean pieces!

But after a long month at work, it turns out that due to conflicts, I can’t do it. I’m so BUMMED!

So I offered to help run auditions and do other things with the show as my time allowed. Really, anything to be in the theatre!

I spent the day in the theatre with auditions and then call backs. The turn-out was better than expected, around thirty actors or so. I think the director can get a cast with the group that came out. 

Oh but you have no idea how much it KILLED me to not to be able to audition! Sitting there and watching everyone go up and read, it was all I could do not to debate in my mind back and forth the merits of asking the director if I could read a monologue. My friends at the audition tried to convince me to read, too.

But I knew that my schedule would not work out if I got the part. And even if I did, I would be so stressed about it that it just kill me – literally! With the work fundraiser and Husband’s Barrister Ball in January, it would be too much.

I’m impressed with myself – and proud too - that I was able to stick to my guns and not audition even though I REALLY wanted to. I think I just might be growing up.

My First Blogging Award

I was recently given my first award! For a few years now, I’ve been reading about bloggers give each other awards and wondered how one goes about it.

I finally started this blog earlier this year to chronicle my life, but more importantly, to meet other people out there in the blogosphere! I’ve met a few bloggers that are young newlyweds without children – just like me! It’s a small niche, but it’s nice to meet people in a similar situation. So I wanted to thank Marissa of Married to a Medical Student for this award! Thank you!!!

Here are the rules :

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
3. Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.
4. Nominate 7 Kreative Bloggers, post links to the 7 blogs you nominate and leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they've been nominated.

So here goes:

1. Sometimes I can eat an entire package of chocolate chip cookie dough instead of dinner.
2. It might be sick, but I actually like filing, hole punching and organizing.  Even more, labeling! I would label EVERYTHING in this house if Husband would let me.
3. I hated Madame Bovary. While trying to re-educate myself in the classics, I picked it up and couldn’t get past page 50. Is there something wrong with me?
4. I’m addicted to TV. My DVR is absolutely bursting at the seams during this fall premiere season! It’s how I relax… I sit in front of my television with a glass of unwind and just stop thinking about everything for just a little bit.
5. I adore sleeping in – but even more, hitting the snooze button AT LEAST ten times. Something about that in-between sleeping and being awake, but knowing that you can sneak in just a few more minutes before that alarm clangs again. I just love it. :)
6. I’m an actor but I hate being the center of attention. It goes back to number four above, but I really enjoy being by myself.
7. I can’t cook breakfast. I can follow directions on recipes for ANY other meal or dish, but for some reason, eggs, waffles and anything else breakfast-related seem to elude me. Friends have tried to help me but to no avail. It’s hopeless!

My nominations are:

1. Mrs. D @ Life of a Doctors Wife
2. Meredith @ Tales Out of School
3. Bobbie @ 40 Shades of Pink
4. Jen @ After the Alter
5. Katie @ Loves of Life
6. The Nifty Newlywed
7. Meghan @ Unintended Housewife

Adventures in Moving

Note to self: pack ahead of time. SERIOUSLY.

This was a crazy move. Let’s go back to September 30… come on… not that long ago… are we there yet? Good!

We got the keys for the new townhouse a full month before we had to be out of the old place in order to give us PLENTY of time to pack and move out. I mean, c’mon, we have a lot of crap! I knew it was going to take a while.

But remember that work life has been pretty crazy? And that, um, my husband is in his first semester of law school? Both of those things played a part in this adventure.

I took the day off before the move, to pack and get ready. Husband and I headed to my in-laws to get the brand new mattress and take it to the new townhouse. Yay for new mattresses!

But when we lifted the box springs up to slide it into the back of the minivan, no amount of shoving or contortion was going to get that thing to fit. I could NOT believe it. Husband insisted to me over and over that a queen size mattress would fit in the van, no problem! Hmph.

That wasn’t the last time something wouldn’t fit where it was going. After a long day of errands and then another long morning of packing on Saturday, we finally had two car loads ready to unload at the new place. My FIL and Husband took the oversized couch around the back of the townhouse complex in order to get it in the walkout basement rec room. I knew it was never going to make the tight turn in the first floor to go down the stairs to the rec room, so we decided to make it easier on ourselves by going thru the walkout first. 

I about hit the roof when Husband came back up and told me that no matter what they did, that couch was not going to fit thru the glass doors. His solution? Leave the huge couch and loveseat upstairs in my sitting room with a slipcover and let him buy new furniture for downstairs. Um, how about no? A phone call to the property manager and a few minutes later, I had an appointment with maintenance the next day to remove the glass doors and help get the couch inside the house.

Things are slowly getting put away and I’m struggling to clean any article of clothing that may have touched the floor or the inside of  box at some point during the move. I’m loving the wall colors in the new house, my beautiful new master bedroom comforter and wonderful grey curtains with a pretty curtain rod in the dining room. There are high points to living in my new townhouse! As soon as everything is set up, I may just show pictures!