31. Ebay/Craigslist 101 things. [7-12/101]

Realized i hadn't updated this one. Have sold a few things recently...

7. Shelf
8. Shelf
9. Wii Fit (i have a definite shopping problem with electronics - i was trying to find something in my closet one day and found it in a shopping bag. totally forgot i had it!)
10. Ikea wall art
11. VT vs. UNC tickets (counted this one cause technically i did sell it on craigslist!)
12. Pink Guitar

During the past weekend, i attempted to clean and purge my closet since we were snowed in. I found a lot more stuff i want to sell - so hopefully, i'll be able to add more to this list! I found at least 30 pairs of earrings alone that i want to sell. Yes, i know...i have too much s*!t! lol.

87. Send 20 emails to out of touch friends. [2/20]

#2: Lauren J.

Once again, Facebook has found another one of my long lost friends! I studied abroad in London in '99 for a semester - and i absolutely loved it! I loved the city, the culture, the fashion, the people, the accent - everything! i honestly didn't even want to come back. Anyhow, Lauren was one of my friends from London - who was also my flat neighbor - along with Ollie, Nancy, and Laura.  The girl was crazy - good crazy - and i loved it! She was absolutely hilarious and so fun. I kept in touch with just a few people from London after we all left - so it was such a great surprise when she found me on Facebook. London was such an awesome experience for all of us that did it - so it's great to reconnect with the people who were actually part of that experience with me! Can't believe it's already been 10 years since! Lauren lives in San Francisco now, so i'm hoping the next time i'm in the Bay area we'll be able to get together.

think this was one of our last nights together
before we all went our separate ways back to the US...

42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies.

I'm losing my mind as i age. I seriously am. Aside from arriving to work early this morning because my alarm clock had the wrong time (an hour advanced), i realized this morning that I had been following the wrong AFI Top 100 Movies Listing!  Instead, I was following the AFI Top 10 of 10 (which was more of the top 10 in each genre). I was wondering why some movies that I had thought were really great didn't make the list. It still doesn't explain why some movies even made the list at all though!! lol.  Anyhow, I wanna stick true to this one though so i'm not going to finagle with it. Luckily, some movies matched both lists - but unfortunately some didn't. From a quick glance, i think i watched 25 movies for - not for nothing - but to pass time?! i dunno. so i'll revise the status of this task later on tonight when i actually compare lists thoroughly!  


**Update: I was right earlier - apparently only 10 of the movies that i had seen so far were on the actual AFI Top 100 List. Oh well, no need to stress - just gonna move on. So i'm going to revise the # for this task. These movies were actually part of the official list:

Schindler's List, Vertigo, 2001: A Space Odyssey, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Maltese Falcon, Bonnie and Clyde, It Happened One Night, Rocky, Unforgiven, and A Clockwork Orange (how???!).

42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies. [29-34/100]

29. The Thief of Bagdad - i think Disney's Aladdin was based off of this - however:
- Aladdin was really King Ahmed - who became blind and then got his vision back later
- Abu was a boy who turned into a dog who turned back into a boy
- Jafar was still scary
- Genie only had a small part in the movie, he was mean, and he needed a pedicure
- oh! and the princess' name wasn't Jasmine - i forgot what it was.

30. Rocky
31. The Maltese Falcon
32. The Usual Suspects
33. It Happened One Night
34. Sleepless in Seattle

87. Send 20 emails to out of touch friends. [1/20]

#1: Brandi D.

As much as I hate to admit, Facebook is pretty amazing in the fact that you can find almost anybody on there. Bored one day, I did a search and looked up my childhood best friend, Brandi D. – and surprisingly I found her!

Brandi and her family were our next door neighbors when my family lived in Salem Village. We (meaning me, Brandi, my sister Ning, and cousin “LaLa” aka Sheila S.) were pretty much joined at the hip! Anyhow, long story short, my family moved to DC for a year and half, and I was soo bummed that I was leaving my best friend. When we moved back to the beach, we moved into the where my fam lives. We hung out once when we moved back but at that time, Brigadoon and Salem Village seemed like worlds apart (mind you, Lynnhaven Parkway was not connected at all from Princess Anne to Indian River Road!), and we were still young and couldn’t drive, so it was hard to see each other. Her family eventually moved and we lost touch after elementary school.

Anyhow, after doing a search and thinking I may have found her, I sent her one of those “is this brandi d. from blah blah blah…” emails. I wasn’t too sure if it was her – considering I hadn’t seen her since 4th grade…but it was! She lives in Kentucky now with her family – and now has a family of her own! It’s been over 20 years since we’ve talked to or seen each other – but it was so awesome that we were able to reconnect!

ning, brandi and me during a sleepover

i'm assuming this was my birthday party... from L to R:
me, maxine, brandi, sheila (aka lala), heather a. and ning

Time for a Change...

Okay, someone has seriously been slacking on this 101 list. Well, kinda but not really. I've been reading books and watching movies - which isn't really so exciting. Anyhow, I was going through my list the other night and realized that it was time for a change ... with some of my tasks. Not because I didn't think i could complete them but because i realized i wasn't too interested in doing them anymore - blame it on my self-diagnosed ADD. This list was created to motivate me to do things that i've wanted to do, but never did - so i've decided to re-evaluate the list. So moving forward, here are the changes i'm making - some with a little commentary on why i'm changing it.

Removing:
27. Go to the Newseum.
30. Clean and organize desk at work.
33. Organize kitchen. (i do this on an ongoing basis so figured no need for it)
43. Go one week without TV. (realized this already happens now - thank goodness for DVR)
64. Visit the National Geographic Museum.
69. Write a letter to a magazine. (have no idea why i even had this on here)
77. Be a vegetarian for a week. (really not hard to do - i've been doing this pretty frequently anyways lately)
92. Make homemade marshmallows. (okay, again, i have no idea why i had this on here)

Adding:
27. Go horseback riding.
30. Learn how to play one of my favorite songs on the piano.
33. Learn how to knit.
43. Get new eyeglasses.
64. Send a care package to a soldier at war through AnySoldier.com.
69. Get a spray tan.
77. Go to a climbing wall.
92. Go to a shooting range.

I'm sure there'll be more changes in the future - but for now these will do.

42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies. [21-28/100]

21. Bambi
22. Shrek
23. Red River
24. Stagecoach
25. Vertigo
26. Dial M for Murder
27. Harold and Maude
28. All Quiet on the Western Front

42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies. [15-20/100]

15. Finding Nemo (love this movie!)
16. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (not theAl Pacino one...this one was done in 1932)
17. 2001: A Space Odyssey
18. A Clockwork Orange (weirdest movie i have ever seen aside from freaks - how this movie made the list i'd like to understand)
19. Unforgiven
20. To Kill a Mockingbird

42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies. [11-14/100]

11. Jerry Maguire
12. National Velvet
13. The Third Man
14. A Cry in the Dark

15. Try a new recipe once a month for 6 months. [1/6]

Recipe #1: Pumpkin Chili

I love pumpkin (but not as much as my girl Kat..haha) and i love chili but i don't eat beef. Thought this recipe sounded interesting so i decided to give it a try. Here's the recipe that I got from allrecipes.com with some pics that i took while i was making it:

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds ground beef (I substituted ground turkey)
1 large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
1 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 cup white sugar


DIRECTIONS
1. In a large pot over medium heat, cook beef until brown; drain.



2. Stir in onion and bell pepper and cook 5 minutes.

3. Stir in beans, tomato juice, diced tomatoes and pumpkin puree. Season with pumpkin pie spice, chili powder and sugar. Simmer 1 hour.

forgot about the sugar and chili powder when i took this pic!

so colorful!

PUMPKIN CHILI!
(the whole condo smelled like pumpkin..mmm!)

I had cut the recipe in half and it was still a sh*tload of chili. Also, i'm the type that never truly sticks to the recipe so i used dark red kidney beans and light red kidney beans and i added corn and a little more pumpkin than what they asked for. The chili turned out to be good, but i think i need to tweek the recipe a bit to my liking.

95. Develop 5 habits to make my life more "green". [1/5]

1. PAPER OR PLASTIC?

So..this one can actually can towards my #19 - but i'm going to let this count as one of my new 5 habits. #19 is to grocery shop with recyclable bags for 6 months. I have the bags - but my problem is that whenever i use them, i end up leaving them in the condo and forget to bring them back down to my car. That or i just end up going to the grocery store last minute and don't have the bags with me. Even if i've forgotten my bags, i still want to make sure i'm doing my part to avoid using plastic bags - so i've gotten into the cycle of using paper bags for my groceries since they're recyclable!

Harris Teeter is great in the fact that they always have paper bags AND the paper bags have handles! They're pretty strong too so i don't really have to worry about them breaking on me and i can carry all my groceries in one trip. I cringe when I end up going to Safeway or Giant without my recyclable bags, because their paper bags are old-school style - like the ones we had when we didn't have the choice of paper or plastic, and we always had to carry them...2 at a time, 1 in each arm, each of them sliding down your arms and your hips with every step you take and you had to make multiple trips. I live on the 7th floor so of course, i'm not a big fan. Brought back old school memories of trying to help my mom bring in the groceries from the commisary! Anyhow, next time you go grocery shopping and don't have your recyclable bags - ASK FOR PAPER!

today's quick shopping trip!

18. Read the entire Harry Potter series. [2/7]

okay - just finished reading this one. not hooked yet like i was with the twilight series, but at least i'm not falling asleep. i just looked at the 3rd book though and getting a little discouraged - its thicker and the font is smaller. lol. what was i thinking when i created this list? i swear if i'm not reading books, i'm watching movies!

Photo from Amazon.com

42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies. [8-10/100]

8. Caddyshack
9. A Few Good Men
10. Bonnie and Clyde

10 down...90 more to go! lordamercy....

81. Read a book classic.

Done! So I decided to read "Wuthering Heights” and I’m not going to front … most of it had to do with it being referenced in the Twilight saga books…haha. I decided to move this up in my book queu before trying to finish reading the Harry Potter books cause I was able to find a free app for my iPhone that allowed me to read it on there – kinda like the Kindle - so i didn't have to buy the book! Surprisingly, I think I really liked reading the book that way– I wasn’t always panning to see how many pages I had left and I’d finish a chapter and be surprised I was finished reading it so soon! Anyhow, Wuthering Heights – great love story. I’m surprised I liked it. I was always unmotivated to read a book classic cause I kept thinking they would be hard reads with “thou art” kinda stuff – but it was such an easy read! Now I gotta re-read the Twilight books to see how they referenced Wuthering Heights so I can understand it better! :)

Note: Apparently i wasn't the only one who was interested in reading Wuthering Heights because of Twilight. I had read on a few websites online that the uptake in this book has become more popular because of Twilight, that they even redesigned book covers to relate more to the Twilight series - like this one below:

Photo from Amazon.com

32. Get a new cell phone.

I just realized i never scratched this one off of my list! oops! well, long story short - my T-Mobile contract FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY ended in July. i loved my gold Dolce & Gabbana Razor phone but it was just time to let go! When i went back to the beach the first weekend of August for a few baby showers - i decided it was time to upgrade and make the switch...and i got my iPhone 3GS! can we say LOVE? i'm so obsessed with the phone. why didn't i make the change sooner? oh yeah, my T-Mobile contract was still in place.

i've gone app crazy - but i love it. there's an app for everything - if anyone knows of any good apps out there - lemme know!

Photo from apple.com

44. Take a cake decorating class.

Finally time to scratch off another task on my list! I finally was motivated to sign up for a cake decorating class at my local Michael's store. It's only once a week for 4 weeks, so i thought - what the hey, that isn't too bad! The first class was actually dreadful - it was just the instructor talking the entire 2 hours! Felt like i was back in school trying not to fall asleep during a lecture. Needless to say, i'm surprised i came back (my friend, no names mentioned, didn't...haha). But i came back for the second class and this time it was hands on. Cake decorating is actually pretty fun and i was pretty damn good at it! haha. We learned the basics - icing, stars,dots, spirals, shells, ribbons, basic flowers, roses, and writing. We just finished the class this past week and i've already decided to take the next course next month. my ultimate goal is to try to work with fondant but that's in course 3.

anyhow, here are pictures from the course - weeks 2, 3 and 4!

97. Watch 5 new documentaries. [4-5/5]

This one is done!

#4 - Toxic: Garbage Island (3-parts)
Got interested in this one because of the Oprah episode - I believe it's the one where they were talking about going green on Earth Day! They were discussing the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - which is the largest garbage dump - twice the size of Texas that floats in the Pacific Ocean. 90% of the trash is plastic - a great majority of it being plastic bottles and caps! Definitely an eye opener! While i was expecting the footage to be much more shocking where i would actually see physical bottles and everything floating - it was much more different because the plastics had already been broken down but were floating around in mini pieces! Here were some images that show how bad this problem is (and how it's affecting the animals that get their food from the ocean!):

#5 - Prom Night in Mississippi

This one was pretty interesting. 2007/2008 - Charleston, Mississippi. Integrated schools. Integrated buses. Integrated classes. SEGREGATED PROMS! Can you believe it? Almost 50 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, this school was STILL having a segregated prom! Morgan Freeman helped to initiate the first integrated prom at this high school by funding it - he's a local resident in the town and was just appalled that this was still going on! Definitely a must see!

18. Read the entire Harry Potter series. [1/7]

I have finally caved in! After years and years of hearing about the Harry Potter phenomenon (especially from Sheila! haha), i have finally succumbed to the pressure to read the series so i added it to my list. I finished reading The Sorcerer's Stone this past Sunday while i was stuck in non-moving traffic at the tunnel coming back up from Virginia Beach (good to know something good actually came out of that traffic!). Anyhow, the book was good - i'm assuming it gets better as the series goes on! started reading The Time Traveler's Wife afterwards so i can watch the movie, but after i finish that one - it's back to the Harry Potter series! Thanks Rox for letting me borrow #3-#6! I just got a 40% Borders coupon yesterday, so i'll use that one to buy #2.

42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies. [6-7/100]

Once again, I don't know how some of these movies make the list - but oh well! here's the update:

#6 - Cat Ballou
#7 - Moonstruck

31. Ebay/Craigslist 101 things. [6/101]

#6 - iPod FM Transmitter

Anyone interested?

in getting a fish pedicure??? lol.. it's illegal in most states but there's a place in Alexandria that does it. Let me know if you want to go! =)

21. Read all the books I have in my collection and have not read or get rid of them.

Again, just an update - this one is NOT complete. I attend many conferences for work - 2 of which are part of the American Library Association. (For those who don't know - i work for a research database company!). Anyhow, these conferences are huge and librarians are the conference attendees - so many book publishers are at these shows too! It's pretty cool because some of my favorite authors attend this conference and sometimes do book signings and meet & greets on the exhibit floor. (i go to their annual conference next week and Gregory Maguire who wrote Wicked will be the opening keynote speaker!) Anyhow, i had a point - i get to come home with FREE books - many pre-published or just released to the market. Not just one or two - i pretty much come home with an entire collection - anywhere from 15-45 books.

The condo community i live in has a makeshift library in the community center where residents can donate books for other residents to read, so i brought 15 books (that i got from last year's conference) there this morning! But i ended up taking 1 book from there (The Other Boleyn Girl) and bringing it back with me! Oh well!

42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies. [3-5/100]

Yes, I've been slacking on working towards my 101! This post isn't anything too exciting...just an update on my progress towards achieving one of them. Here's the latest that i've seen off of AFI's Top 100 Movies List:

#3 - Roman Holiday
#4 - Kramer vs. Kramer
#5 - In Cold Blood

I had read "In Cold Blood" a few years back - so it took a little bit of time to jog through my memory to remember what the story was about. Just a note - this task is more difficult that i had imagined! It probably doesn't help that i watch these movies at night before going to bed - but let's just say i've had a hard time staying up while watching them! I think i made 4 attempts at watching Roman Holiday before i actually finished it! 95 more to go!

31. Ebay/Craigslist 101 things. [4&5/101]

#4 - Throw Rug
#5 - iHome Radio/Alarm Clock/iPod player

slowly but surely getting there!!!

84. Visit 10 places on the 1001 Places You Must Visit Before You Die list. [1/10]

#1 - OAHU

I tend to travel quite a bit for work - but i have never been so excited to go on a business trip as I was this time. Reason: the conference was in Hawaii which meant this trip was expensed by my company - woo hoo! I've never been to Hawaii and it's always been on my "To Go" list. I decided to go a few days early and take vacation days. I'm so thankful that I did because as soon as I started to actually work - my time was very limited!

HAWAII IS GORGEOUS! "Shut it down" and "Are you F'ing kidding me?!" are all that kept coming out of my mouth. I was so speechless at how absolutely gorgeous the island was! Seriously, who wouldn't want to live here? Waking up to the beach in front of you and then you turn around and you see the mountains. i was absolutely blown away...and everyone is sooo nice there!

I got to go around the island of Oahu (thanks to my co-worker who had a car rental because he was actually working doing site visits to the universities on the island). Got to go to the North Shore, ate at Giovanni's shrimp truck (yum!), stopped off at some points with breathtaking views, got to see some Lost filming sites (yes, i'm a LOST fanatic!), went snorkeling, shopped at the International Trade Market, had McDonald's Spam, Eggs, & Rice meal for breakfast, laid out and got burnt, AND got to hang out with some friends! Oddly, a few people i knew were there at the same time as me... Bert A. greeted me at the airport when i arrived - too bad he was about to get on his plane going back to VA...had dinner with Rio C. at yummy Todai...and got to go shopping with Linda and Ronnie and MacKenzie A. at the International Trade Market! i wanted to go swimming with the sharks - but time didn't permit since i didn't book that in advance! oh well - i'll save that for my next trip there....

I was seriously sad to leave the island - i was trying to figure out ways to "accidentally" miss my flight. i'm usually sooo thrilled to be going back home after a business trip, but this time it was different. i fell in love with the island! anyone down to just move there with me????!

To see pics of my trip, go to: http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=65704e3706d1954b6cbbd47cbb382743&sid=0AaOWjlk0aM2LjA. Warning: i have like 300 pics of scenery and plants (lol...sorry - but the plants were just too beautiful and colorful i had to take pictures)..and probably 5 with me in them. I stayed at the Hawaiian Village Resort & Spa and they had animals all over the property so i have pictures of those too! Below are just a few of my favorite. ALOHA!

Linda, me, and MacKenzie at the International Trade Market -
it was wayyy past Kenzie's bedtime!

For you LOST fans - the convention center where my conference was held,
is actually where they film the Sydney airport scenes!!! i was so excited!

On the lawn outside the hotel

Somewhere along the coast of Oahu

Seriously, who wouldn't love Hawaii?

View from the beach outside my hotel

Haunama Bay - where I went snorkeling

86. Go to Costco since I have never been!

I've been highly criticized by friends because i have never ever stepped inside one of those big warehouse/wholesale stores like sam's club, bj's wholesale, or costco! i must be one of the last people on earth who's never been. I've heard from many that Costco is probably the best one and I've been meaning to tag along with friends to finally check it out but schedules never matched! Tricia even tried to work a trip to Costco into my itinerary when i visited her in LA - but it was closed when we actually tried to go!

Anyhow, i FINALLY got to go when i was on my trip in Hawaii. My coworker that i was hanging out with had to go and i started freakin' out - jumping up and down telling him that i HAD to go with him cause it was on my 101 list! Bottom line - he thought i was a loony! So my first Costco experience was at the Honolulu store. i was totally overwhelmed! there was just soooo much stuff! Didn't end up buying anything - i didn't really need anything while i was in Hawaii - but next time i'll be prepared!

Sorry for the dorky picture below - i was dancing inside the store...lol. i was a little tipsy when we went!

31. Ebay/Craigslist 101 things. [3/101]

#3 - Window Valances. The lady who purchased them misread my ad and thought i was selling 2 valances for $15 each - so she gave me $30. I could have taken it - i should have taken it! But i couldn't! Bad karma would have followed me - so i told her i was selling the pair for $15 and gave her back $15. One down and 98 items to go! haha...

83. Complete my Kirigami calendar from 2007! (yikes!)

Kirigami: a variation of origami where the artist is allowed to make small cuts in the paper (from Japanese "kiru" = to cut, "kami" = paper). If you just read that, and are still confused what it is - it's like cutting snowflakes! some of the cuts were as simple as that - but some were very intricate and some even became 3D!

I've had this calendar thingee for a while now - since 2007! So it was probably good that i added it to my 101 list, otherwise i would have had it in 2010! anyhow, here are some pics of my favorites ones...

97. Watch 5 new documentaries. [3/5]

Why did i choose to make this one of my goals? Because I absolutely love documentaries - i can sit on the couch all day and watch them because it's a glimpse at the brutal honest truth that society usually isn't tapped into. So, okay - not really going to get into this one...but here's what i've watched so far:

1. Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq
Even though i'm not sure i agree with the war going on, this one definitely makes you realize how much soldiers sacrifice to fight for our country. Each soldier on this documentary came back different from how they were prior to leaving for the war - heavily scarred mentally and physically. So to all the soldiers fighting in this war - thank you.

2. China's Stolen Children
So totally didn't realize this was going on - but approx. 70,000 children are kidnapped and sold on the black market in China due to the strict "One Child" policy - either because families can't have children and would like a boy to raise to later take care of them in the old age. Or because couples were having children in secrecy due to a violation of the "One Child" policy and needed to sell the child before authorities found out and fined them.

3. The Alzheimers Project
I just realized that this was actually a series - and i happened to just watch one of the shows which was about caregivers. Make sure you have tissues if you watch this... this one absolutely broke my heart!

1. Get a new camera.

A great big thank you my greatest (and only!) brother - Jeff! I was traveling to Hawaii for work and since i broke my camera earlier this year - i asked him to borrow his camera. and he said no! haha. i thought he was joking at first, but nope - he was serious! lol. apparently, i can't take care of electronics as well as other people - and i'm sure he was worried i'd return the camera to him with scratches all over it! so instead, he surprised me by buying me a new camera as my very belated birthday present....woo hoo! unfortunately, i totally forgot it on the couch when i left for the airport but luckily i had my big chunky camera with me so i was able to take pics on my trip. anyhow, i totally love the new camera - it's a nikon (which i wanted!) and it's plum! thanks jeff! love ya!

my bad!

Okay okay okay...so i haven't updated my blog or my list in quite a while! MY BAD! but traveling has been the story of my life for the past few weeks so i haven't had the chance to. but here we go!!! let's get this list updated!

72. Buy recycling bins to keep in the house.

Pretty simple. I think it's absolutely necessary to recycle as much as we can - not just for us - but for the next generation of kids that are growing up now. I have nieces and nephews and friends with kids, that when they grow up, I want to make sure that they don't suffer because of our mistakes and our generation's inability to preserve the environment. So, i went on a search for recycling bins to have at home, instead of using my current ghetto "recycling bin" which was just a plastic grocery bag hanging from a door handle. After searching, I realized I didn't like any of them, or they were just ridiculously expensive. So, I just made my own bins (one for paper, one for plastic/glass/aluminum) to keep under the sink - plain and simple, but they serve its purpose!

49. Go on a picnic.

So this weekend was the perfect weather to have a picnic - or so we thought! A few friends and I had a picnic at Lake Fairfax Park in Reston. I guess since it was finally warm again, everyone else had the same idea of doing so! Didn't realize it was going to be soooo hot over the weekend, and we attempted to find a table with shade, but the sun constantly chased us - i think we (the guys) ended up moving the table at least 2 or 3 times to lie in the shadow of the tree trunk. Small little thing but it made a world of difference!

Like I said, everyone else had the same idea of having a picnic that day. Apparently, we're rookies at it. People were out there with hammocks, music, AND a mariachi band was out there too! It was a hoot. There's a creek out in the park - with not the cleanest water in the world...but surprisingly, there were actually people in the water playing, like it was a pool or the ocean - kids in their swimsuits or underwear looking like they were bathing! Needless to say, it was pretty gross! haha...

But we had a good time - it was good company and good food, Jules and Ava (who are tooo cute together!) had so much fun looking for rocks and I think Reese had fun playing with her stick, paper plates, and potato chips! hahaha.... We didn't last too long out there though since it was hot - so what better way to end it, than to pack up all the food we had, and trek over to Iceberry in Reston! No better way to end the day with Frozen Yogurt with mango and mochi!!! YUM!

Here's some pics of our picnic...thanks Ant for sharing your pics too!

Getting our grub on...

Chef Ferd grillin' up the burgers, hot dogs, and my 1 piece of chicken!

Rachel and Ant attempting to get the kids to eat.

Reese and her toys of choice... =)

The Yankees vs. Red Sox fan - too cute together!

42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies.

Just a quick note - was able to knock another one out on this list - watched one of my favorites again...Schindler's List! For those who haven't seen it, what's taking you so long? If you're gonna watch it though, just make sure you have tissues on hand!

42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies.

Okay...so i decided to watch a movie last night off this list - basically, whatever i could play directly on my laptop with my Netflix Account... so i watched Laura... an old B&W mystery movie. Not really going to get into it - but let's just say it was only 1.5 hours and i almost fell asleep 20 minutes into it! How did this movie make this list? I have no clue...

This weekend is supposed to be really nice so i'm hoping to get out and try to tackle more on this list...so check back! BTW, any one wanna go zip lining in June? i checked the schedule for this place in Virginia and it opens up the zip lining in May but i'm out for most of the month. Let me know if you're down to do it too!

31. Ebay/Craigslist 101 things.

Cerise came...and then Cerise was gone! So, in my short 2 week stint as a dog owner (to Cerise, my goddog), i purchased a baby gate to keep her in the kitchen. Little did I know that Cerise had magic climbing powers and was able to climb over the gate! Haha... I'd leave for work in the morning and Cerise was in the kitchen and then i get home from work, began to unlock the door, and I would hear some scratching noises...and lo and behold - guess who was was in the living room? Cerise!!! So anyhow, long story short - Cerise was a Nova doggy for only 2 weeks before she went back home to Virginia Beach to be reunited with Mama Rachel and the rest of the Clemente fam! And I no longer had any use for the baby gate! But another dog owner did. So #2 item on my list of 101 items to sell... DONE!

73. Watch a movie by myself.

I love holiday weekends - especially when the office lets you leave early! So yesterday HR closed the office 3 hours early for the Easter weekend - and i was trying to figure out what to do with the extra time. I had been planning to watch "I Love You, Man" sometime cause I heard it was funny. So I was checking out movie times earlier this week and I came up with a theory... It's freakin' expensive to watch movies in the NOVA/DC area! Maybe I was spoiled with how much cheaper it was to watch movies at the Beach... especially since they had $5 movies during the weekdays and for matinee. I remember when matinee used to be $3.50 and evening shows were $5 (and i know this for sure cause i used to work at the movie theatres - Regal Cinemas Chesapake represent! haha). How do people do family night at the movies?! it would seriously put a dent in the pocket!

Anyhow, I tried looking up movie prices for the AMC theatre in Tysons by my place and tickets were $12! They didn't have a weekday special and their cheapest tickets were if you watched a movie on Friday mornings at like 8:30 am or something. I ended up deciding to watch the movie at the newer theatres in Fairfax Corner. They had matinee tickets for $8.50 - so i thought that was a steal for this area.

It was soooo relaxing watching a movie by myself! Normally when i do watch movies, which isn't too often, i have to go on the weekends when there's a lot of people and i swear i always end up sitting next to or near the obnoxious teenagers or the aunties who take off their shoes and crop their nasty feet beside me! But there was only probably about 10 people in the theater with me, and it was very chill! Didn't hurt that the seats were comfy and reclined...AND they had Sbarros in the theater so i was able to order lunch there too! Plus, the movie was absolutely hilarious - if you loved "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" you'd love this movie too! I couldn't stop laughing through it!

3. Finish a 1000-piece puzzle. AND 41. See the cherry blossoms.

Actually making some progress here on my 101 list! And this time, i'm able to cross off two things!

3. Finish a 1,000-piece puzzle.
I started Thursday night while i watched Grey's Anatomy and actually finished it Saturday night. Yes, that's how i spent my Saturday night - not going to the clubs or bars (not like i really do anyways) but by putting a puzzle together! Haha! But i continued to put it together Saturday evening when i got back home and got sick of looking at the mess on the coffee table - so i was determined to finish it last night...and i did! Word of advice - pick a puzzle that has more distinguishable features like pieces of a picture or something - rather than a whole bunch of solid colors!

41. See the cherry blossoms.
So i've been here in the DC area for 3 years now - but have never gone to see the cherry blossoms! i wanted to last year - but i remember it was forever raining so i never got to go. But today, the weather was GORGEOUS - it was warm and the sun was out! Perfect day to head into the city - so that's what we did! Rowena, Reese, and I took the metro into DC. We had planned to go sometime this weekend but it was still a little chilly on Saturday - plus it was really windy! I was hoping the wind didn't mess up the cherry blossoms - and they didn't! The cherry blossoms were gorgeous. We walked along the river and took some pictures - and after looking at our pictures that we took, Row and I agreed that we could become professional photographers...haha....

31. Ebay/Craigslist 101 things.

Basically, it's simple. I have ALOT of stuff. I tend to buy a lot of the stuff for the home because i always have a "redecorating" thought in mind. I'm always trying to figure out what i can change in the condo. I redecorate, get bored with the design, and then decide i need to change something - which then sends me on a scavenger hunt to find that perfect piece for my place. So i'm sure you can imagine how much i have collected over the years!

i decided to purge/declutter my closets - and lordamercy, i've found a lot of stuff i don't need...which is why i've come up with this task of Ebaying/Craigslisting 101 of my belongings. Kat says i could probably even change the task to selling 1,000 of my things! lol...but i'm taking baby steps here! However, I'm happy to say i sold my first item today - a pair of brown sheer window panels! i think i only had it up for a month before deciding i wanted different curtains..and it's been in my closet for the past 2 years. Only sold it for $15, but still it's a start!

So if you anyone is looking for anything in particular for the home, lemme know what it is. Chances are, i have one, it's in my closet or in storage, and it's about to be added to my selling pile! =)

"The only joy in the world is to begin." ~ Cesare Pavese

Okay, so i got inspired by reading Sheila's blog to start my own 101 in 1001 project! I had a book that i normally had these things to check off, but in all honestly, there's like trillions of stuff in that book, half of which are probably even impossible to get done - and plus, i haven't picked up that book in years. So doing "101 in 1001" seems more realistic to me! This should be fun! Can't wait to get started...

For those of you who aren't familiar with this project, here's a little more 411 on it:

101 in 1001

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 (i.e. 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.

Some common goal setting tips:

1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.