Slacker...

Okay, so who has seriously been slacking with updating her blog? Oh yeah, that’s right…ME! I’ve got some serious updating to do and to be honest, I’ve just been lazy! While I do have some updates to put on here – things to scratch off the list – i know that I haven’t really attacked my 101 list at all this summer. Hopefully, I can change that going forward. We’ve only got a little over a year left, so it’s time to step it up into high gear.

I’m going to make time this week to update – cause the things I have done but haven’t written about are pretty exciting!

This is my constant boring update... (I think this is the only thing I’ve been updating on – just cause I can’t wait to get it over with!!!)

42. Watch all of AFI’s Top 100 Movies [66-78/100]
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel – just realized I’m getting close to finishing this one – thank ya Jesus!

66.  The Godfather
67.  Bringing Up Baby
68.  Platoon
69.  Easy Rider
70.  The Apartment
71.  In the Heat of the Night
72.  M*A*S*H
73.  Raiders of the Lost Ark
74.  The Godfather, Part II
75.  High Noon
76.  Star Wars
77.  Lawrence of Arabia
78.  E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (btw, I haven’t seen this movies since I was literally in elementary school. It had me crackin’ up when E.T. was drinking the Coors beer and Elliot was getting drunk! Seriously – how could I not remember that part of the movie?! Hilarious!)

Boring Update Again: 42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies. [47-65/100]

Again - just another update on this task - almost finished!  i SERIOUSLY need to update my blog cause there's lots to write about.  Hopefully i can find the time to do it this week... so stay tuned!

47.  Casablanca
48.  Sunset Boulevard
49.  The Bridge on the River Kwai
50.  The Best Years of Our Lives
51.  Dr. Strangelove
52.  King Kong
53.  Shane
54.  Lord of the Ring:  The Fellowship of the Ring
55.  Jaws
56.  The Gold Rush
57.  Network
58.  The African Queen
59.  Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
60.  Titanic
61.  A Night at the Opera
62.  Sixth Sense
63.  The French Connection
64.  Pulp Fiction
65.  Toy Story

Can't believe i'm almost done - thank god!  lol. 

92. Go to a shooting range.

So this is a late entry. I FINALLY got the chance to hit the shooting range when I went home to the beach for my birthday (yes, I know that was in March and it is now May – I told ya this was a late entry!). We went to Bob’s Shooting Range in Norfolk off of Granby Street. FYI – girls get free entry fees! Anyhow, I went with my lovely friend Jea and my soon-to-be bro-in-law Lee. Luckily Jea had a friend Wes who was a shooting guru and he met up with us – which made me and Jea feel a whole lot safer about going! Jea and Lee had both gone shooting before but this was a first for me!

Anyhow, we got to shooting – I first was really scared and nervous since I had never shot a gun. We ended up shooting a 9mm and a 22mm. Was definitely an adrenaline rush when you pulled that trigger and shot the gun! We all took turns shooting the guns… and lemme say I was pretty damn good! HA! Well, except for one special “joy” moment. Note to all: ALWAYS put the gun down after shooting it. and be sure to ask how many bullets are in the gun before you shoot it and don’t hand the gun back to someone else! I thought there was only one bullet and tried giving the gun back to Wes…. Oops! Didn’t know there were more! You’ll see in the video below!

my target...

this time up close...pretty good right?!

me shooting...

jea shooting...the sound is a little off

43. Get new eyeglasses.

they were desperately needed.  the last time i had new glasses was at least 5 years ago.  and unless, my head was going to automatically tilt or get larger, i needed to get new ones.  my old ones were tilted for some reason (like i had uneven ears or something) and the arms were stretched out (from numerous nights of falling asleep in them).  don't get me wrong, they weren't ugly BCGs like i had back back in the day (BCG = birth control glasses - cause they were so hideous), but it was definitely time for new ones.

so in january i got my new eyeglasses. probably better since my eye doctor told me i should start wearing glasses more...ugh! can we say sign of old age or what?! anyhow, so these are the new additions - i'll have them around for a while ... or at least until i get lasik!!!!

14. Learn how to swim.

So let’s just put it out there. I can’t swim. I know I know – I’m Filipino –I should be able to since I’m from an island right? Heeeeelllll noooo!  LOL.  Never learned how to swim – well, let me take that back somewhat. I was always one of those people who stayed in the shallow end of the pool and just bounced up and down in the water and moved my arms like I was treading water. But really I was just standing there… doing nothing – just trying to hydrate my body I guess while I watched everyone else jump off the diving board and swim in the deep parts while i was hanging back with the kiddies. So when i was 24, I had a gym membership to the local YMCA and decided I would take swimming classes there with Sheila (actually, I think I paid for her lessons so I wouldn’t take it alone…haha!) Anyhow, would have been fine – but we only learned the front and back stroke and started to learn to tread water. Sounds normal right? well, only problem was that it was in 4 feet, so we’d tread, and then stand up and be like, “okay, what’s next?”. After that class ended, I still had no more confidence than the first day I started the class. My fear of not feeling the floor was never dealt with, my fear of drowning wasn’t minimized in the least bit – because to me, I still didn’t really know how to swim. Sheila – would you agree???

That was like over 7 years ago! So fast forward to last year – I went to Hawaii and wanted to do many things while I was there, like swim with the sharks and the dolphins, paddle board, and surf but couldn’t really cause I didn’t know how to swim. I did get to go snorkeling, but again, I stayed in the very shallow ends. So I feel like I missed out on so much stuff I could have done there!

Anyhow, my sister and my soon-to-be BIL are getting married this year – in Hawaii! I’ve decided enough is enough – I don’t want to be the one just standing there in the water again – looking like I’m just a lifeguard to the little kids in the shallow end of the pool. I signed up for swimming lessons at the local rec center. I’m taking the Adult Learn to Swim Class - Level 1 one right now, which lasts for a month – 2x a week…but I plan on going up to Level 4. So far so good - i'm like the star student of the class – but then again, it only started last Monday so I’ve only had 2 classes. LOL

not an exciting pic but here's my membership pass to the Rec for my classes... 

btw...you don't have to be a Rec member to take classes... so the $ wasn't that expensive! 

84. Visit 10 places on the 1001 Places You Must Visit Before You Die list. [2/10]

#1 - Legal Seafoods in Boston, MA

I'll be honest - i was kinda kinda shocked that this spot actually made the list of the "Top 1,000 Places You Must Visit Before You Die" and wondered how this place was even included to begin with - mainly because i've been to Legal Seafoods before and didn't expect this particular restaurant to make the list. 

In January, i traveled for work once again... this time to Boston!  Despite not having time to do anything leisurely the entire time i was there (one of the downfalls of traveling for work), i did find myself free for an hour and a half after the conference ended and before i had to head to the airport.  So i thought i would go ahead and have a late lunch at Legal Seafoods.  Heading to the restaurant, I still couldn't comprehend how it made the list.  The restaurant is literally in the middle of a shopping mall.  Anyhow, found a spot at the bar and grabbed a seat.

After ordering oysters for an appetizer, i realized why this spot made the list.  HOLY YUM!  the food was spectacularly delicious.  I started off with oysters which were so fresh and yummy.  With Boston being so close to the water, the seafood is incredibly fresh.  for my main entree, i got the scallop and mushroom ravioli - oh my!  i had the same meal a few weeks ago when i went to the local Legal Seafood, and it definitely wasn't as fresh (or as cheap!).  check out the yummies below:

Boring Update Again: 42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies. [46/100]

Once again, just updating...don't mind me...

35.  The General
36.  All About Eve
37.  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
38.  Streetcar Named Desire
39.  Intolerance (one of THE most boring movies i have ever seen - well, let me elaborate why - silent movie.  3 hours.  nuff said.  took me over 30 days to watch, cause i would literally fall asleep after 5-10 minutes everytime)
40.  Sullivan's Travels
41.  Tootsie
42.  Silence of the Lambs
43.  Sophie's Choice
44.  Do the Right Thing
45.  Yankee Doodle Dandy
46.  Ben-Hur

22. Pay off one credit card in 6 months.

So going to keep this one short and sweet....i didn't realize i never wrote this one off.  But yes, I did complete this last summer - my ever-so-unloved BOA credit card... i will not miss you! And actually, i did even better than expected cause i also paid off one of my store credit cards.  Hallelujah!  to these cards i say...goodbye, and good riddance!

18. Read the entire Harry Potter series. [3/7]

Just a quick update - totally forgot that i didn't update this one.  Finished the 3rd book of the Harry Potter series - The Prisoner of Azkaban - back in November.  Have attempted to get started on the 4th one - but got caught up with the holidays and have just failed to get back into it since I had picked up some other new reads.  Figured i needed a break from good ol' Harry anyhow. 

  Photo from Amazon.com

75. Cross-stitch our family portrait.

This one has actually been in-process for a bit.  I wanted to cross-stitch our family portrait so that I can turn into something to become a family heirloom to pass through the generations.  I'm doing it based off of the family portrait we had done when we were kids... 

This will probably be finished by the time the 1001 days are up - it takes forever to complete!  Anyhow, here's what it looks like so far...say hello to my Dad.  LOL.

53. Have lunch/dinner/coffee with an old friend(s).

So a few weeks ago, i got to have dinner with some old college friends from the greatest place on earth - Virginia Tech!  (can you tell i'm a hokie?!)  One of them i still hang out with - Mikee aka "Homeboy"... and the other was CNaca!  (Okay, that's not her real name.  TTang started something back in college during the "Soul Food Dinner" days by calling people by their email aliases.  Some stuck like CNaca and TTang and KGee and TCao, but some didn't sound right or shall we say just didn't sound cool - and mine was one of them.  lol....but i digress....)

Anyhow, we decided to meet up for dinner at La Tasca in Clarendon.  Actually, they had the dinner plans and i crashed since i LOVE La Tasca - plus i hadn't seen CNaca in forever...basically since we left Tech.  La Tasca is a Tapas restaurant that has the best sangria ever!  I was so excited to eat there, and to our surprise, when we were looking at the menu - realized that they now have an All-You-Can-Eat Tapas menu!  OMG!  Needless to say, we went with that and stuffed our faces.  Had the patatas bravas and everything else pretty much...on top of dessert!  yummy!  it was a great dinner - so glad we were able to catch up!  Will definitely have to do it again soon since we're all in the same area! 

So my camera died as the waiter was trying to take a picture, and as much as i love my iPhone, the lighting sucks at night.  so the pictures are sorta blurry and grainy..

me, naca, and homeboy stuffed from yummy tapas!

me and naca...
(my forehead looks big here...)

15. Try a new recipe once a month for 6 months. [2/6]

So...i have a lot of updating to do.  Might as well since i'm once again snowed in and am trying to avoid cleaning my room.  lol.  So let's begin!  What better way to start than with something food related!  :)

Here's November's new recipe.  I made this one for my annual Thanksgiving dinner that I usually throw at the condo.  Had a lot to be thankful for this year, and having great friends around was definitely one of them!  Got this recipe when i was actually grocery shopping and it looked yummy - so those ingredients ended up in my cart too!  Sooo easy to make!  Here's the recipe - i was so busy cooking that day i didn't have time to take pictures of each step..sorry!   

Recipe #2:  Andes Grasshopper Cake(Recipe can also be found on andesrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS
1 devils food cake mix
water
vegetable oil
eggs
16 oz., non-dairy whipped topping
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese (softened)
1 pkg. (4.67 oz) Andes Creme de Menthe Thins

DIRECTIONS FOR CAKE
1.  Follow mixing instructions on the package of your favorite devils food cake mix.  Bake as directed for two 8 or 9-inch layers.  Cool cakes thoroughly before frosting (about 40 minutes).
2.  Meanwhile, with a vegetable peeler shave along side of each Andes mint lengthwise to equal about 1/2 cup of curls.  (It's common to shave only half the mint before it breaks.)  Set aside curls for sprinkling on top of assembled cake.  Chop broken pieces and reserve for use in frosting (about 1/3 cup).

DIRECTIONS FOR FROSTING
1.  In a large mixing bowl with mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth then lower the speed and slowly mix in the non-dairy whipped topping with the cream cheese.  Fold the Andes Creme de Menthe pieces into the cream.
2.  Place one cake layer on a serving plate, top with half the frosting and spread evenly.  Place second layer on top and use remaining frosting to top the cake.  Sprinkle top with Andes Mint curls.  Cover and refrigerate cake if not serving right away.

picture taken by:  Rowena C.

33. Learn how to knit.

The forecast called for snow this past Saturday - and i was silly to believe it was just going to be a wintry mix and i'd still be able to leave the condo and run errands.  However, I woke up Saturday morning and looked out the window to see Winter Wonderland - so that meant i was once again, snowed in.  Last time that happened, i attempted to clean my closets.  That was somewhat of a fail.  So i avoided that.  Looking for things to do, i remembered that my sister got me a knitting kit as part of my Christmas present to help achieve this task.  This is the kit she got me:

I've been trying to learn how to knit for years - but it just never worked. I could never get past the first freaking row and i always got frustrated that i couldn't pick it up. The kit Ning (that's my sister) got me was pretty good at explaining the steps. I was able to do it, but when i looked at my stitches, it looked a little funky to me. So i used the kit book, and i decided to reinforce that with YouTube vidoes. (it really amazes me how you can find ANYTHING on YouTube). Anyhow, after using both sources to teach me, I FINALLY GOT IT! i knew after getting that second row i was pretty much good to go. The kit came with this pretty yarn that had all these hues of purples in it. I've started to make a scarf - and guess who's going to be the recipient? That's right...NING! hopefully she gets it before summer comes...lol. it's a pretty tedious job - but at least i've been able to knit while i watch tv or a movie. anyhow, here's a little sneak preview of my knitting job so far. i'll post a picture of the scarf once i complete it...

Boring Update: 42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies. [23-34/100]

This post is a boring one.  Just updating my list.  However, i'll be updating my blog with a few things in the next few days - have quite a few updates i need to post - was able to knock a few things off my list!  yay!

Anyhow, here's my update for this one:

23.  The Searchers
24.  Psycho
25.  The Graduate
26.  Some Like it Hot
27.  Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
28.  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
29.  Annie Hall
30.  The Philadelphia Story
31.  West Side Story
32.  12 Angry Men
33.  Blade Runner
34.  All the President's Men

Done with 1/3 of this list!

85. Get a fish pedicure.

Got Patis?  just joking. 

Finally got this one completed!  Thanks to Pamoola being the only sane (or maybe insane?) person to come with me. 

me and pam before putting our feet in!

So i forgot where i had seen or heard about fish pedicures from - but regardless where, the idea of it definitely stuck with me.  After doing some research online, i found out that there was one place in Virginia that did fish pedicures (since it's banned in many states) and it happened to be in Nova!  Like i mentioned earlier, Pam was the only one to brave this task along with me!  Waited for a weekend when she would be up visiting her boo Chris.

So we went to the salon that did the fish pedicures - which was Yvonne's Salon in Alexandria.  We did the 15-minute fish with pedicure package.  It was quite intimidating seeing the fish at first in the tank.  One tank had small fish and the other one had bigger fish.  It was freaking me out so I asked why - and it made sense - the bigger fish were the ones who had been there for a while.  Since it was my idea to do this in the first place, i went ahead and got in the tank with the big fish - who literally were bigger than my big toe!  When we finally placed our feet in the tank - it seriously tickled!  The fish went to town and had lunch - all you can eat style.  Kept grabbing Pam's thigh or squeezing her arm whenever the fishees hit a ticklish spot - lol (sorry Pam!)  Even had to kick the fish off a few times too when it tickled too much.  We were only supposed to be in there for 15-minutes but i think the guy helping us thought Pam was cute...haha... and gave us more time.

The result?  Feet were definitely smoother than normal afterwards after we got our pedicures as well.  But would i do it again?  Perhaps....if it were a little cheaper.

80. Start a holiday tradition.

This past Christmas, I decided to start 2 holiday traditions:  

#1. Yearly Christmas Ornament
I realized that my family never got ornaments to commemorate each Christmas. Now that our family is growing, I thought it’d be nice to keep an ornamental scrapbook of our family through the years. I know other families already do this, but it was something new for us. Didn’t want to get an ornament that would totally clash with my mom’s Christmas décor – so I tried to pick something very simple and classy. It was a nice silver one that had crystals hanging from it and said 2009 on it.  It was pretty.  But my bad, I forgot to take a picture of it. haha.

#2. Red Underwear
One of my closest friends, Katerina, had told me before that she and her family had a tradition where they would give someone else red underwear during the holidays, which he/she was to wear was to wear on New Year’s Eve. Those who wore the red underwear on NYE would have good luck in the new year. I thought this might have just been a Greek tradition or something (since Katerina is Greek), however, I found out that many people in different countries and around the world practice the same superstition. Some countries say yellow underwear will bring you luck and/or money in the new year too. Anyhow, I decided that I thought this would be something fun to do. Normally, somebody else is supposed to give you the underwear. Since this is the first year for it, I bought everyone in my family red underwear. And by the way, finding red underwear during Christmas time – difficult! Go figure! I guess lots of people practice this tradition as well! Anyhow, Christmas morning when we were handing out gifts, I gave each person in the family a small gift bag with a tag on it explaining the tradition of wearing red underwear on NYE - and in each bag, was a red underwear for them to wear.  To make sure I was going to have good luck in the new year as well, I made my sister buy me a pair after Christmas.  lol. The entire family wore them NYE – I made sure – I did my underwear checks. hahaha. Anyhow, next year, we’ll keep the tradition going, but each person will have to draw someone else in the family to buy one for!

the red underwears i gave out and the tag i put on each bag!

42. Watch all of AFI's Top 100 Movies. [11-22/100]

An update to this task - now that i'm following the correct list! =P

11.  Singin' in the Rain
12.  Wizard of Oz
13.  On the Waterfront
14.  The Sound of Music
15.  Taxi Driver
16.  Duck Soup
17.  Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
18.  Saving Private Ryan
19.  The Shawshank Redemption
20.  Forrest Gump
21.  Goodfellas
22.  The Last Picture Show

37. Get my DVR down to 0%.

Technically, this one is completed. Not because I finished watching everything I had on my DVR (believe me, there was tons of stuff on my queue!)... but because this week, when I went to turn the TV on, i realized the DVR wasn't working. After finagling with it and trying to figure out what was going on, i waved the white flag and called the COX Cable Tech Support Line, who told me that the DVR box probably needed to be replaced. Why was i dumb enough to think all my stuff would have just been transferred to the new DVR machine?! The technician corrected me really quickly on that one, and i'll admit, i got a little choked up. He probably thought I was a nut cause i had the look of such sorrow on my face...lol. So unfortunately, i had to mourn the loss of my Oprahs that I still hadn't caught up on, my Glee episodes that i couldn't let go, AND my damn Making the Band Finale (which was like more than 2 years old - it was the finale when Diddy was putting together the new guy band and they sang the slow ballad version of "Exclusive") and some movies i had DVR'd since i hadn't seen them. Let's just hope they come back on HBO so i don't have to rent it on Netflix! 

10. Watch Oprah live.

There's some type of cosmic force that is standing in between me and Oprah.  Like seriously.  I've been trying to get tickets to her show for the past 2 years i think - and now with the announcement of her ending her show in 2011, the pressure is REALLY on to get tickets.  Gone are the days when you would try calling into the Oprah show to try to get tickets (thank god - because if i wasn't on the unlimited plan with T-Mobile at the time, I would have been putting a serious dent on my minute plan).  It was to the point where i was at work, i'd put my handsfree ear piece in, and i would just keep hitting "redial" on my phone underneath my desk - and this would go on between the hours of 10-5 (9-4 CST).  Now you have to register online (per show taping i might add), and wait to find out if you've been "randomly" selected. 

The registration page was open this past Monday and Tuesday for January tapings.  This morning I received this email from Oprah:

"Thank you for your interest in attending a taping of The Oprah Show.  Unfortunately, we were unable to accommodate your request(s) for this reservation window."

Just wonderful.  I'm going to keep trying at this one, but with the forewarning that this one is going to be a difficult one to complete.  I think i'm going to have to figure out ways to be ON the show now, being that it may be my only chance in fulfilling this task.  Hmmm....what kind of "problem" can i say i have for dr. oz to help me with??  haha...

20. Make my bed every morning for 2 weeks.

This one was a boring one, i know.  However, the main reason for its inclusion in my 101 list was just so i could get back on the ball with this - and turn it into a habit.  I actually completed it in October - started it when my cousin Kay from Florida and my brother and his girlfriend Jordan came to visit in September when i was forced to clean up the chaotic mess i call my bedroom.  I normally left my bed as it was every morning - a complete mass of destruction.  However, now that i make the bed in the morning, 2 things have resulted:

1.  my room looks somewhat more organized with the bed made
2.  getting into a freshly made bed at night makes it more calming and relaxing!

anyhow, i'm only including pictures to add color to my blog since lately it's just been copy-heavy...lol.  here's the before and after pics...