Spring Cleaning!

WOW! I haven't checked out this blog in FOREVER.  In my defense, Day Zero's website contributed greatly to my procrastination.  Their website was down for what felt like ages and that gave me the perfect excuse to ignore the blog. Then, the site was back up and running and I just avoided checking it out to see how craptastic I've been doing at updating.

HOWEVER! It's SPRING TIME! The weather is finally getting nicer...and with Spring time comes cleaning. So, I decided to clean up my Day Zero list. Part of my cleaning means altering. There are things that have changed since I originally wrote my list. So, I'm updating some of the items to make them slightly more obtainable.

Here's what's changed:

24. Write 3 more chapters of the book I started to write high school. (0/3) 

     Spend at least 3 hours a week writing Every Picture Tells a Story

 

I've had an idea in my head since for a memoir since my senior year of college. After a couple of really good friends shared links to their blogs where they've talked about a lot of private things that can't be easy to write about, I was encouraged to start focusing on this memoir idea. If you're interested, I started another blog, titled Every Picture Tells a Story, it's a really rough, raw, writing that I will be constantly reviewing, editing and updating.  Some things will be happy, some sad, some ridiculous, some pointless. Where this blog is focused on completely tasks and somewhat entertaining and fun to write. Every Picture focuses more on relationships I have with people, memories (the good and the bad), and it's where I plan to really try and focus on my writing.  I've avoided writing since I graduated from college - it's time to get back into it.

 

Have Trash the Dress Photo Shoot Done

Run a 5k

 

Crap. I forgot to update the blog with the number of the task that Have Trash the Dress Photo Shoot Done was.  Anyway, I have a new task number 2 and that's to Run a 5k.  I've started the Couch to 5k program multiple times and I have reached the third week and then for some reason or another, I find an excuse to stop going to the gym.  I'd really like to work on completing the program this summer and then hopefully running a 5k this fall. 

 

I eliminated the Trash the Dress Photo Shoot...as much as I want to have one done, I no longer fit in my wedding dress. Unfortunately, I'm thinking realistically when I say I don't think I'll fit into it again anytime in the near future. My wedding was over 18 months ago, I think it's time to move on.  HOWEVER, this means, I CAN now follow through with #8. Get wedding dress cleaned since I was waiting for a Trash the Dress shoot before I have my dress cleaned!

 

26. Lose 30 pounds by June 1, 2010

     Replace at least one meal a week with a salad.

 

I did not manage to lose 30 pounds by June 2010. In fact, I've gained a lot more since I made this list. I'd like to fix that, but I get discouraged by not meeting weight loss goals. So, this is my motivation to try and lose weight by making small changes in my diet. I'd like to try and eat a salad at least once a day. But, that's just not realistic for me. At least once a week is do-able. I'll try and boost my salad in take as much as possible, though.

 

66. Become a Girl Scout Leader

     Donate to 5 different charities.

 

Last year, I looked into becoming a Girl Scout leader but what I realized was that the local organization seemed far from organized. I was promised phone calls and information and I never received it. It became more of a chore to me to follow up on them to receive information so, I don't think I'll be doing this. So, I'd like to donate to 5 different charities instead. These donations can come in the forms of time, cash, items, etc.

 

99. Become a lia sophia unit manager.

     Win at Stump It! Trivia

 

lia sophia was fun while it lasted - but I think I'd dried up all my resources and people who would book shows for me.  So, becoming a manager isn't in the cards, especially if being an advisor is no longer working out for me.

 

My friend and I have a mini-Day Zero list, a list of 10 things we'd like to do in 2011. Most of the things on our list are things I have on my Day Zero list, however, Win a Stump It! Trivia is not. So, now it is!  Hopefully, this will be checked off by the end of the year.

 

 

Bon Jovi - It's My Life

You asked, well, not really - Michelle tagged me in a post and it was asked, "What song defines your life?" It took me a while, but as I'm sitting here watching the AMAs watching Bon Jovi's performance, I realized, It's My Life, defines my life. I have always done things my way and lived my life the way I want to live it because it IS my life. Granted, I wish I didn't procrastinate on doing a lot of things in my life - but at least I can say I've always lived it the way I'VE wanted to. Even if I have regrets about things I've done, I did them because at one point I wanted to.

I've been tagged!

I was tagged!

I was tagged by Michelle with some "get to know you" questions. Here are my answers and I'll be tagging a few of my followers at the end of the post!

{1}: If you could be in any tv show when you were a kid what would it be?

Full House - I never missed an episode of this show growing up.  I wanted to be Stephanie, had the biggest crush on Uncle Jesse, wanted to get a piggy back ride from Uncle Joey, and go shopping with Aunt Becky.

{2}: What has been your favorite Christmas gift as a child?

My Sesame Street Telephone...I begged for that thing for MONTHS...I watched the home video from the year I received it - I tackled my sister when she tried to play with it.  It was pre-cell phones and cordless phones, so this isn't the exact phone, but it's the best I can do for a photo:

{3}: What actress would you want to play you if your life was a movie?

Katie Holmes a la Joey Potter or Danielle Fisher

{4}: What decade fad do you wish would come back?

Pogs. Hellz yes (ditto Michelle) or GigaPets

{5}:What song describes your life?

This one is going to take a while...I'll figure it out. Stay tuned....

{6}: What was your favorite subject in school?

English/Reading/Writing.

{7}: If you could have a dream job for a day what would it be?

Detective

{8}: If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

I'm going to steal my Gramps' answer for this one...A seagull, so I can eat, shit and squack all day.

Now to tag some of you! Feel free to answer these questions in your blog.

Amanda from An Exclamatory Life,
Amelia from Notes to Ellie, and
Rachael from Mille Motivi

BEFORE - Home Renovations

#74. Buy Our Home

Back story...ever since I was a little girl, I always asked my Gramps if I could "have his house, someday".  He'd laugh at me, pat me on the head and say "I don't know kid, it won't be up to me, you're going to have to talk to your dad about that one."

Obviously, as I grew up I learned that he meant "I'm not going to be around forever, neither will your grandmother.  So, everything we own will be turned over to your father and his siblings, if you want the house, you're going to have to work something out with them." So, I did.

Now, here I am, probably 20 years after the first time I asked Gramps if I could have his house...and it's mine. My husband and I passed papers with Big M and my aunt on September 29th. It's been the most amzingly, stressful and emotional thing I've ever had to do in my entire life. For real, I'd plan my wedding a million times over again if it meant I never had to go through the home buying process ever again.  WHICH, I never, ever intend to do anyway. This is MY house...and someday, I hope my kids or grandkids ask me if they have it and I can say "You're going to have to talk to your father about that one." hah

Anywhooo...let's see if I can explain some renovation plans without confusing everyone...

For starters, here is a picture of our kitchen:

Since this picture was taken, we've purchased and installed a new (double) oven...which is amazing, by the way.  The kitchen is the most updated room in the house (renovated about 23 years ago), therefore, it's going to be the last thing we renovate.

The house use to be a two family home, therefore, it is a decent size and one side of the house is a mirror image of the other side (ie, we have two bathrooms, right next to each other).  The main renovation we are doing is building a bathroom in our current laundry room and turning one of our bathrooms into closest space (3 closets, 1 for the washing machine and dryer, another to house dishes, etc, and a third for jackets) and the second bathroom and an additional side room will be eliminated and our dining room will be extended.

Laundry room (future bathroom)

Current bathroom #1 (future 3 closets - one door facing kitchen, 2 doors facing into renovated dining room)

Current Bathroom #2 (being eliminated - closet doors will be on right hand wall).

Dining room (door on right leads into a spare room door on left is a closet storing china, pans, etc)

Dining room (table set up for lia sophia event, haha)

Spare room off of the dining room (being eliminated for dining room extension)



Oh hai, there! I'm still alive!

Wow. I haven't updated in forever. I've determined I really, truly suck at this blog thing. But seriously, does anyone read this crap anyway? Who really gives a damn if I'm checking things off my Day Zero list? Right?? Ahh well, I'll update anyway because I have some big news to blog about.

For starters...where the hell am I in the Day Zero List?

14. Go to Disneyworld! Checkity, Check, Check, CHEEEECKKK! Done and done! Seriously, check this out, I have the picture to prove it!  There's me and the hubs in front of the Magic Kingdom!

The trip was amazing! Doug has now popped his Disney cherry! It was great to experience his first trip to the Happiest Place on Earth with him. He was so stinking excited about being there!  Maybe some day soon, if I don't want to ignore my blog, I will actually give a recap of our trip....including the drive down during Hurricane Earl all the way to to drive home and why I hate the New York Giants.

#40 Attend a Broadway Play.

Soo, I didn't exactly go to NYC to attend a Broadway play, but sometimes, Broadway plays go on tour and come to Boston! So, I went to see Wicked at the Boston Opera House. It was some amazingly hysterically funny. I hadn't been to a play in such a long time and to see the prequel to the Wizard of Oz was pretty damn cool.  That witch that we all love to hate, yeaah...makes me mad that you can't really hate her once you learn her backstory. Also, the Wizard of Oz never leads you to believe that Glinda is an obnoxiously funny PITA type of chick that I've always despised. However, she was the absolute bees-knees in the play. Seriously, she made the play.

Can we just talk about one scene, the one where Elphaba and her lovebug run away together and their in the forest? That was without a doubt the most awkward sitch I've ever been in. I felt awkward for them they way they were rubbing each other. It was not sexy at all. It was kind of like "um...I find you repulsive, however, if I don't do what the director told me to do, then I won't get paid - so, please don't mind me as I run my hands up and down you while we sit center stage. Just ignore these people checking out the awkward moment we're having."

But other than that awkwardness - for real, if you haven't seen Wicked you need to go see it. It was WICKED awesome! HAH

74. Buy Our Home!

DONE!!  It's been a long, emotional, roller coaster ride for the last 2 years, but we have finally purchased my Grandparents house. I really, really, REALLY couldn't be happier right now.  Honestly, this is the ONE single dream I've had my ENTIRE life that I've never given up on. I've dreamt of becoming a lawyer - who knows if I'll ever do that. I've dreamt of traveling the world - there's no money for that.  I've dreamt up tons of crazy goals and dreams...but this is the only one I've ever had that I truly felt like I needed to fight for and accomplish.  I still can't believe it's "our house". 

I'm going to make a completely separate post about the renovations we're planning. So, stay tuned.

Holy Updates!!!

I avoided this blog the entire month of May. I really need to get better at this thing. There were multiple mornings that I thought "I need to update my blog today." And then nada - I avoided it like the plague.  It's not that I haven't been checking things off my list - its just the lack of motivation to start writing something.  But now, here I am and I'm actually writing! Let's see what I've been able to check off my list over the last month:

2. Keep my car clean for a whole month

Last Saturday (May 22th) I cleaned out my car.  Here's hoping I can keep it clean until June 22nd. It's been a week and so far, so good. I can do this!

11. Watch all the Star Wars movies.

I mentioned to my father-in-law last weekend that I had watching all the Star Wars movies on my list of things to do before I die - I have all the newer Star Wars movies checked off and luckily, he has a box set of the originals. He brought them over the other day (Old school VHS, hah!). So, that will help me to check that one off. I'm hoping to bust at least one of them off my list next weekend.

14. Go to DisneyWorld.

So excited about this one! Doug and I booked a trip to Disney for our 1 year wedding anniversary! We're driving down since Mr. Doug is afraid of flying. We're going to leave Boston wee early morning of September 4th - drive the 14 hours to South Carolina and crash with friends for the night. Then we'll have an additional 9 hours to drive on the 5th before we reach Disney. I'm super excited!!! And, other friends booked a trip as well. They'll over lap our trip for a couple of days, so we've made reservations together to have breakfast with the characters.

24. Write 3 more chapters of the book I started to write high school.

I haven't started this yet - but I've been itching to get writing again, so I'm determined to start working on it soon.  My newest guilty pleasure has been reading Twilight Fan Fictions (thanks, Michelle! :-P) and reading some of them just reminded me of how much I love writing and how I haven't done it in so long.  It's always been very theraputic to me.  I think tonight I'm going to pull out my portfolio from my college writing class to get my brain started.  I'm hoping to be able to block off at least 30 minutes a night to be able to write. 

Hopefully this will help me check off number 108, Free write daily for one week, too. 

47. Clean out and redecorate the office.

A couple weeks ago, Doug and I tackled some of the office.  It still has a lot of work that needs to be done to clean it out completely, but I started to sort through some of my wedding stuff and we assembled the bookcase we purchased, so that eliminated a lot of the clutter. The geek in me is so excited to see a 5 shelf bookcase filled with books.

68. Make plans with a new friend.

This may be a cop out but I'm using RachMezz for this one! hah...my friend Rachael, AKA my sanity at work and her boyfriend, Pat, AKA Peanut Butter stopped by a cookout Doug and I had over the weekend. Would I call Rachael a new friend? No, not so much since we've been co-workers for over a year, but this was the first time we hung out outside of the TLB. So - it works - and, if I can't use RachMezz for the check mark, then I can certainly use Pat since I just met him at the cookout. So, HAH!

80.  Go Whale Watching.

I have been super antsy to check this one off my list! I researched and researched to find a place to go and most Whale Watching things were ridiculously over priced.  However, the fabulous Groupon had a 50% off promo going for Whale Watching in Gloucester, so I ordered 2 tickets. Now, Doug and I just need to find a weekend we can take advantage of it. I'm so excited!

Where was I?

I really suck at this blog thing - which, I was completing expecting so suck at it and I wanted to prove to myself I didn't suck at it - but I'm not proving myself wrong so well. BUT - here are some updates:

#3 Listen to 10 classic albums all the way through

Done! This was one of the easiest and funnest tasks!  Thanks to Chris telling me about Grooveshark, I was able to listen to these albums while at work.  I will say that Miles Davis was such a snoozefest! And obviously, I love The Beatles, Elvis and Rolling Stones so those were fun to listen to.

#7 Find a personally inspirational quote and work it into a piece of art or home decor

This is a work in progress. My all time favorite quote is by Eleanor Roosevelt and it is "The Future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." So, finding the inspirational quote was the easy part - now, how to work that into a piece of art or home decor for someone that doesn't have a creative bone in her body? That's the tough part. BUT, my boss does needlepoint crafts - and after the wedding I told her I'd need a new hobby - so, I approached her to see if she thought a needlepoint newbie could do needle point letters and work it into a piece of art. We talked about it, she knows an artist that can create a needle point pattern and I think it's going to look a little like this:

Much less detail - because I'm a newbie, but that's pretty much the idea, a landscape background with flowers to symbolize flowers and clouds to symbolize dreams.  Now the question is, do I make it a pillow or a framed piece of art?

#69 Send 12 cards or letters for no reason at all. (3/12)

So, I mentioned the fact that I mailed a letter to my "Dawson"...I guess he shipped out to Afghanistan before the letter reached him - because it came back to me.  I know I should forward it to his Afghanistan address, but I'm sort of slacking on it - I don't know why....I really need to get it done.

However, I did mail out 2 just because letters today! Big M's aunt died a few weeks ago...at the wake, her brother (Big M's uncle) and sister-in-law (Big M's aunt by marriage) mentioned to him that they wanted a copy of the big group family shot taken at my wedding. So, I made a copy of those pictures, bought cute thinking of you cards and mailed them out today! I gave Uncle Russell some special treatment and framed his picture.  It really felt kind of good inside to send a little package to him, just because.

Since I was heading to the Post Office, I made sure I completed everything that needed to be completed to get my name changed on my passport. There are still a few things that have my maiden name on them....but, I changed my name with all of my banks, credit cards, social security office, RMV and now passport, so I think I can finally check #59 Change my name with several places I haven't changed with, off the list!

I have 14% of my list checked off - and I still have 885 days left!!! Woot!