101 challenges in 1001 days

COMPLETE!

2011-01-15T19:08:00.000-08:00

101 Challenges in 1001 days - end results!

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

When did we start? Thursday, April 10th, 2008

When did we end? January 6, 2011

What did we learn? An awful lot, really. I'll go through them, item by item, after sorting out the ones we completed from the ones we didn't.

Which items did we not complete?
3 Have a crab dinner: I don't even like crab. I begin to wonder why we put this on the list in the first place.

9 Go on a cruise: This may very well happen this year.

10 Visit Hershey, PA
11 Visit Yellowstone
13 visit Mary Lou & do some painting
65 Visit Wales
66 See Hadrian's Wall
We love to travel ... but we couldn't fit in all the trips that we'd hoped for. I think if we'd stopped to count them & to consider vacation time we would've put fewer on the list to begin with!

15 go to Starved Rock
38 Go to the Art Museum in Milwaukee
These 2 are about an hour and a half from our house. We just didn't seem to have as much interest in completing them as we thought we would. I'm still interested in going to Starved Rock ... H is on the fence. And it was his idea to do the Art Museum, because he's a bigger art buff than I am. But now he realizes a lot of it is modern art, which neither one of us really likes.

22 have house powerwashed: We really thought this would happen this past fall, but then suddenly time & weather made it impossible to do.

34 Read three books of the Bible.: Again, more of a priority for H than me. I've read the Bible in its entirety years ago, but I thought this item would feed H's soul. Apparently it's not a big item for him. This still puzzles me.

40 Donate 1,000,000 grains of rice through freerice.com (100,000/1,000,000, started 4/10/08): People ... 1 million grains of rice is a ridiculous amount of rice, when counted a few grains at a time. We'd've needed to do about 1,000 grains a day. For 1001 days. Ain't gonna happen.

48 See the Northern Lights: Not at the right place at the right time. I think I'd avoid putting something on a to-do list that we have no control over, in future.

68 Limit computer usage to 1 hour per weekday for 2 weeks: In the end, H shot this down. I thought I could pull it off, but he thought he'd go berserk.

77 Buy new bookshelves for living room: Finances got in the way of this one. And we also unexpectedly downsized a lot of our books, so there wasn't as much pressure to get new shelves. I'd really like some shelves sized to fit standard sized paperbacks, especially. This may be a dream to fulfill later in life.

87 Go 3 times to a place where DH will feel comfortable wearing his snazzy shoes (1/3): Apparently we are not fancy-schmancy people. I mean, we can be, but we don't trend that way. And these are some pretty snazzy shoes.

= $80 for the 16 items left uncompleted. We've got a couple of places we're considering donating this: Kiva or Family to Family. Right now, this month we don't have $80 to spare, so it won't get donated until February, anyway, so we have time to keep pondering.

Which items did we complete? 1 Eat a vegetable with every dinner for a month
2 Avoid deep fat fried foods for 1 month

4 Dine out, just the 2 of us, once every 2 weeks for 2 months

5 Get out some cookbooks and magazines and review recipes: We culled out many of the recipes we'd been hanging onto. And a bonus: turns out we like (and are pretty good at) making jam. This may well become an annual tradition of sorts. Heck, H just noticed strawberries are in season and mentioned making some strawberry jam today!

6 Create a meal together once a week for 3 weeks

7 Buy a DVD, come home, and make popcorn

8 Visit every public area in the Magic Kingdom - This one was tremendously fun & encouraged us to poke around in corners!

12 make caramel corn with Aunt Mary Ann

14 find a roadside fruit or vegetable seller & make a purchase

16 visit the Art Institute

17 spend 20 minutes a day, just playing with & petting our cats, for 2 weeks

18 extend a loan on kiva.org

19 sign up to play secret Santa for 4 kids with Chicago Sun Times' Season of Sharing: This has been tremendous fun & may become an annual tradition. We actually wound up doing it for 6 kids over 3 Christmases. This year, we even got thank you notes from the kids, written to Santa. And Santa wrote one of them back! FUN!!

20 Make a $50 donation to globalgiving.com

21 fix sword anchor in wall & fill holes

23 inflate exercise ball to proper size: Doing this resulted in me realizing that I wasn't really using it even when it was inflated properly. I sold it at the garage sale. Goodbye, good riddance!

24 clean gutters

25 Go an entire week without swearing or cursing: #$%^!* this one was hard. We failed it 4 times in a row. I think we succeeded only because we gave ourselves an out for once a day. Turns out I swear an awful lot in the name of exaggeration for storytelling. H just swears in reaction to things, especially pain. We did it, though. !@$& yeah!

26 Make a Chinese banquet for friends and family

27 Make homemade ice cream

28 Plan a treasure hunt

29 No fast food for one month: We hardly do fast food now. So this was a really good item to break us out of a not-so-healthy routine. Also, it resulted in some fascinating conversations about what constitutes fast food. I mean ... Steak & Shake? It's a sit-down place ... with a drive-through. I can't even remember how we wound up categorizing it. But I know we did say that Subway and Qdoba weren't fast food, because they had some pretty healthy options, plus they had no drive-through. We decided drive-throughs are the devil: they allow one to mindlessly pick up food without really stopping to consider options.

30 Find a new restaurant worthy of becoming a new favorite - combining this one with our item below on visiting new restaurants worked out well. We found new favorites ... and many closed!

31 Find one bread recipe to make regularly

32 Pay off a credit card

33 make cinnamon rolls from scratch

35 See a Cirque de Soleil show. We saw 2 actually: Zumba and La Nouba. Both were great!

36 Go to Adler Panetarium

37 Go to the Shedd Aqauarium

39 Stay at a B&B in Madison, Wisconsin

41 Reevaluate 10 foods/drinks we claim not to like This was quite a mind-opener. And I don't need to do it again anytime soon.

42 Don't say anything negative for 1 day This was a real challenge ... first we had to define what we meant by "negative"!

43 Support a charity walk/run: On 4/26/08, we sponsored a friend, Lauren, who walked in the March for Babies, then in September of 2010, we both walked 3 miles for the Heart Walk.

44 Grow basil and make pesto with it

45 Look for additional blades for Cuisinart

46 Take a class at Brookfield Zoo

47 Visit Yosemite Just an absolutely breathtaking beautiful spot on Earth. Go.

49 Go for a picnic in a secluded spot

50 Go to Kohler Waters new Spa We loved the spa up at Kohler, but didn't like the adjacent resort or the drive to get there. We had high hopes for the closer spot ... but after a couple of visits, they started going downhill.

51 Lose 15 pounds each We wound up losing 70 pounds total ... then we both gained back 20 pounds each, which we both blame on the stress of the adoption process & pouring so much of our lives into that, instead of into self-care. We're back on track, though, and expect to lose more.

52 Spend every Tuesday (changed to SATURDAY) night without computers or TV for 3 months Poor H, this was so hard for him. He's so much a game & TV geek in his free time. It encouraged us to go out, to bust out some boardgames, and to do other things. I loved it.

53 Spend a whole day in jammies, with no outside communication (phones, computers) This one was a toughie. We both learned how quickly we resort to a phone or the internet to look up information!

54 Take a dancing lesson we actually took 3!

55 Go one week without soda This went hand-in-hand with some of our other goals. I'd say we now have soda every 2-3 days, maybe.

56 Visit Field Museum

57 Eat only food we create from scratch for 2 weeks: This one is the most mind-blowing of them all. We discovered that when we don't have preservatives, we both lose weight. It's not an issue of counting calories, just preservatives. For some reason (as yet unexplained by any science we've discovered) when we eat fewer preservatives, our bodies let go of weight. Weird, but true. You'd think that would motivate us to avoid all preservatives, but it's just really damned hard. They're in so many things & we just haven't created a lifestyle where we can avoid them. Still, it dramatically altered the way we eat. We let ourselves get sloppy the past 9 months or so, but now we're back to having only 3 meals a week that have preservatives in them (or that we're not sure about). Hopefully the weight will start coming off again, too.

58 Walk for 1 hour a week, for 6 weeks We did this one in spring of 2008, under the guise of getting in better shape to withstand walking at Disney World. H hated it. For me, it was a breeze.

59 Pay for the person behind us in line We still do this occasionally. And it brings us great delight.

60 Donate $5 to charity for every item not completed on this list by the due date

61 Take a cooking class

62 Get 8 hours of sleep every night for 2 weeks This was another tough one for H. I'm a 9 hours at night kind of gal, so it wasn't hard for me!

63 Go to an adoption seminar We did this in the spring of 2008, and by the fall of 2008, we'd picked an agency. By the spring of 2009, we were "live" ... and we've been waiting ever since for a birthmother to pick us. Still hard to wait!

64 grow something: in the summer of 2007 we grew tomatoes, oregano, & zinnias

67 Visit Caneel Bay: We did this in 2009. Boy, we want to go back.

69 Sit on porch or in living room for 30 minutes every day for 1 month

70 fix driveway

71 install new mailbox (started 4/11/08, completed 4/14/08): Let me just say this: I hate snowplows. The mailbox that we paid to get installed in April of 2008 .... got knocked over the following winter. Again. This is the third time it's happened, so we've not replaced it. We're just using the cheapo city-installed one.

72 put $1,000 into savings We did. And then gave it away to the adoption agency.

73 add 1% more into 401k for 1 calendar year We set it up almost as soon as we created the list .. and just left it there!

74 use no credit cards for 6 months, barring travel expenses or bonafide emergencies This was another one that had lasting impact - we now use them only for travel purposes or an emergency!

75 Go to Morton Arboretum at least once per month for 1 year

76 Buy new car

78 Buy new glasses for DH We did this in 2008 ... and he wants new ones again.

79 Take treats to work for no reason at all 5 times

80 use up soapmaking supplies: Over the course of 8 months, I made 4 differnt batches of soap, resulting in 22 bars of soap!

81 use all body lotion, body wash, soap, shower gel, and body scrub before buying more Ready for the before & after? BEFORE: AFTER: (Note: All of what you see in the "after" photo is all the stuff we currently have on hand ... and none of it is stuff we bought since we started the 101 in 1001 project. It's all gifted to us or it found our way into a travel bag from a trip. I think it'll last us another 300 days!)

82 fix or replace paper shredder

83 Make a crock-pot meal once a week for one month

84 Make ravioli from scratch

85 Send 4 random care packages

86 Buy produce at farmers market 10 times

88 vacuum both cars & wipe down all other components with Armor-All

89 Search for a banjo class & sign up, if DH can find one

90 Locate a nearby Teavana store & patronize it at least once: We are lovin' Teavana. Since we've been avoiding preservatives, that means no soda, so we brew an awful lot of tea.

91 Replace all burnt out halogen bulbs in kitchen

92 put house numbers on house

93 get recycling bin for kitchen

94 fix master bedroom closet door

95 stay within holiday shopping budget for 2008, 2009, and 2010

96 Watch the sunset from the top a mountain

97 buy new winter coats

98 Have a candlelit dinner

99 Visit 30 new local restaurants:
Noodles & Company (4/22/08) - we still go there!
Champps (05/03/08) - I don't think we've been back since then!
Cebu (05/10/08) - Sadly, this place closed just a few months after we went there. We loved it!
Islamorada Fish Company (6/2/08) - Meh.
Carrabbas (6/10/08) - Again, meh.
Walter Payton's Roundhouse (08/07/08) - Meh.
Pappadeaux (08/21/08) - Meh.
Boudin SF (9/2/08) - We liked it .... and it closed.
Sarpino's (10/6/08) - They're still around, but I don't think we've had them since 2008!
Redstone (10/19/08) - YUM. Expensive, but ... YUM.
Go Roma (10/26/08) - The location closest to us closed up shop, but I still like their food.
The Yardhouse (11/7/08) - Too far for us to go often.
LaBriola (1/3/09) - Very good stuff. I'd say we still go there every few months.
Ra (1/17/09) - Sushi. Yuck. H loves it. I have to make do with a non-sushi item on their menu.
Dmitri's Pancake House (2/7/09) - Food okay. Other patrons appear to be members of Russian mafia. Not kidding.
Cosi (2/14/09) - Great spot, we go there every few months.
Amber Cafe (2/14/09) - Nice, elegant, intimate. Not sure why we haven't been back.
Glen Prairie (2/28/09) - Great food, most of it locally sourced & organic. We've been there half a dozen times now.
Honey Cafe (7/3/09) - Too far from home base to be practical to visit, but a homey spot!
Petterinos' 9/5/09 - Was nice to try when we were downtown ... but better food is a block away at 312 Chicago!
Elephant and Castle 9/6/09 - fun pub chain that H loved.
South Water Kitchen 9/7/09 - Meh. (Come on Kimpton ... you can do better!)
Five Guys 10/27/09 - Nice find after reading Chicago magazine. As close to In & Out Burger as we get, here.
Pompei 01/16/10 - Decent spot, but don't know that I rush to go back.
Wow Bao 2/13/10 - YUM. Accidental find in Water Tower Place. We've been back & will return.
Park Grill 2/13/10 - Good food, great view of the ice rink. I'd go back.
Cooper's Hawk Winery 2/15/10 - Like others above, beyond our usual radius, but it was enjoyable.
Flat Top Grill 03/5/10 - Fun, mostly healthy, close by. Been there a half a dozen times.
Weber Grill 03/13/10 - Meh in the extreme. Avoid.
The Patio 3/20/10 - H loves it for the BBQ pork. For me, it's just so-so.

100 get a new compact digital camera: We bought one. It sucked. I sold it at the garage sale. I'd like to get another one, but at this point, our money needs to be saved for the adoption process.

101 Clean out clothes closets. Sort into Keep, Sell, Throw Away, and Donate.

In all, it was a very educational experience, plus it gave us some amazing opportunities to do things we typically wouldn't have done. We're contemplating doing a 50 in 501 kind of thing -- we started dragging at about the halfway point of the 1001 days -- or maybe taking a break & focusing on a different kind of challenge, relating to photography. Thanks for joining us for the journey. If we do take on a similar challenge, we'll update the blog, otherwise, we'll leave it as-is!

January 6, 2011

2011-01-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

All righty folks ... in under the wire, here!

Item #81: DONE! Who would believe that it would take us almost 3 years to use up all of the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, & shower gel we had on hand? Sheesh! Ridiculous. We've since received more soaps & such ... but we've not purchased them ourselves, so I have to say we've successfully completed this one. I plan on corralling all the new stuff & taking a photo so you can see what we have to work with NOW!

Item #97: We just got back from Burlington Coat Factory. My friend, Kim, bought me a coat from there for Christmas & I realized, "Hey ... affordable coats!" So, even though money is kind of tight right now, I decided that it was worth it to get H a new coat. We got a really nice one for just over $60. We'll pinch some pennies for the remainder of the month and he'll be able to get some good use out of it for next 2 months at least. Sweet!

In the next couple of days, I'll repost our master list, along with some thoughts on what we've learned. It's been quite a ride!

January 4th, 2011

2011-01-04T20:10:00.001-08:00

We've got just about 48 hours & then we'll be done with this journey.

Item #32: The payment went through & the card is paid off. There was an automated payment that came through just now, for less than $40, but let's not quibble, shall we? DONE!! I'd like to start paying off another card, but considering that we need to keep current with car payments & also with the dentist, I think we'll have to postpone that plan until 2012.

Item #69: Tonight marked the last day that we agreed to sit in the living room for a half an hour. It's a trend I've quite liked, although there have been some days it's been damned hard to fit it in. I may suggest this as a weekly thing, and that we keep it going.

We're about 3T away from using up the last of the shower gel. And if I get paid tomorrow, we may MAY get a new coat for H on Thursday night. But I'd have to get paid rather handsomely, and I don't think that's too likely. We'll just have to wait and see. I'll report in when we wrap things up & tally our completed items & reflect on what we've learned in this process.

December 31st, 2010

2010-12-31T18:38:00.000-08:00

Well, we are closing in on the end of 2010 ... and we've got less than a week to go on our 101 list! So, here's a few updates:

Item #32: I've set everything in motion. We'll have a credit card paid off on Monday. We've not made as much progress as fast as I would've liked ... but then again, in the last 1001 days, we've had more than $20,000 in unexpected costs, between massive dental work & needing to add a national adoption agency into the mix. Did I mention the downpayment for a new car & a car payment every month for the first time in years? No wonder we're pinched tight! I want to take stock of where we are on our credit cards & choose another one to pay off & cut up!

Item #69: We've faithfully sat in the living room every day. Usually it's at night & accompanied by listening to music or to Black Jack Justice. If I'd been faster in the brainpan, I'd've been doing crocheting at the same time!

Item #81: We're ALMOST done with the last bottle of shower gel. Let me just say I will never EVER buy shower gel or body wash again. We just do NOT use the stuff. Soap works just fine, thank'ee. As often as we get the stuff in gift form, it's more than often enough!

Item #97: We'll see how much revenue comes in on Monday and Wednesday ... but given the fact I've drained the account dry to pull off Item #32, I don't think we'll be able to get H a new coat. Who knows? We'll see where things are at on Thursday!

We'll tally up the numbers when we wrap things up. And we're thinking about doing this again, but in a pared down version. Maybe 51 in 501. We kind of lost momentum at the half-way point, so we think if we halved it, we'd keep the energy moving. We'll also look over the things we didn't do, to determine if we still want to do them or if we're directing our lives elsewhere.

December 25th, 2010

2010-12-25T13:31:00.000-08:00

Not very long until we run out of time!

Item #69: We've been spending time in the living room every evening. It gives us a chance to have some tea & listen to Black Jack Justice. We're quite enjoying this ritual!
Item #95: Done! We stayed under budget!
Item #96: My friend Kim bought me a lovely winter coat for Christmas ... now, I'm thinking maybe we should use some of the pennies saved from the Christmas budget to buy one for H! Then we could cross this item off the list, too!

December 5th, 2010

2010-12-05T12:19:00.001-08:00

33 days remain in our 1001 days. Can you believe it? It's very hard for us to believe, that's for sure. So, it's down to the wire & we're taking stock of the items we have yet to do.

#3: Not gonna happen. This was kind of a stretch, anyway, 'cause I don't like crab.
#9, 10, 11, and 13: Won't be travelling to any of these spots in the next month.
#15: We might make it to Starved Rock. Totally depends on weather.
#22: Powerwashing in winter is generally not doable.
#32: We are so close to paying off a credit card. SO close. I just don't know if we can close that gap fast enough. We've had an awful lot of unanticipated expenses. And an extra $10,000 in adoption related fees. And $12,000 worth of dental work. Yeah.
#34: I think we can do this one, H doesn't.
#38, 39: Again, not traveling to these spots anytime soon. I am thinking I may cross off 39, though. We made several attempts & finally wound up in a different section of WI. Does that count?
#40: 1,000,000 grains of rice is a lot. We gave up on this when we saw how long it was taking to accumulate. I may round it out to 100,000 grains, just for good measure.
#45: Hey, we actually did this one ... just didn't find any new blades we wanted.
#46: We kept checking for classes, but Brookfield Zoo seems to have discontinued adult classes, unfortunately. I'll cross this one off. We tried, dammit.
#48: We might luck out & see Northern Lights here at home. But I doubt it.
#61: We did this one yesterday! We had a fabulous time, too, with Chef Luca Corrazzina!

#65, 66: More travel ones we can't meet. Since we went full bore on the adoption process, our traveling has been dramatically reduced.
#68: H just informed me he can't tolerate to scale his computer use back this much. I was prepared to try, but he doesn't want to give it an effort.
#69: We're going to tackle this one right now, and we'll get in just under the wire!! We'll enjoy spending more time in the living room with visitors & the Christmas tree! And maybe I can try to secretly get him to read the Bible. And we'll cross off that item, too.
#77: No funds to buy bookcases, sadly.
#81: We are almost done with this one ... just have to make up a conscious effort to use up the rest of the shower gel/body wash. I am still amazed we're working on this one almost 3 years later! We apparently just do NOT use up this stuff very fast!
#87: We went to only one location where he wore his snazzy shoes. He really needs to wear them more often. For as much as he spent on them, they need to get some more wear, that's for sure. Dang.
#89: H informs me that he is unwilling to learn banjo if he has to drive very far, so although we've located a place that teaches, it's too far for him to trek. This one is checked off!
#95: We are very close to having our holiday shopping completed & it looks like for 3 years in a row, we'll be coming in at/under budget.
#97: Like the bookcases, I don't think this is in our future. Too many other places for our money to go. And taking a $5 hit for the incomplete item is way cheaper than a coat.

#60: I guess we can cross this off once we know how much we're donating for the incomplete items, right? Right now, it looks like 17 of our 101 items will be undone. So, we'll be donating $85 somewhere.

September 13, 2010

2010-09-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

It's a long overdue update!! We've been quite preoccupied with the process of shifting our adoption plans to work with a new agency. More expensive, but also hopefully a higher degree of success. If you're so inclined, help us fund the adoption through purchasing an item in one of our online auctions or sales:

my eBay store (stamps, some gaming items, a silk scarf)
My half.com store (books, movies, music, games) -- I've now got over 500 items for sale! YAY!
My amazon.com storefront (books) -- I've got over 30 items for sale, now.

Okay, back to our 101 list!

#32 - we've stalled out on paying off a credit card, as all of our money is being funneled into the new adoption process. Hopefully we can still get this item done!

#38 - H is now saying he really doesn't have any interest in this item. His mom was talking it up big time when we put it on the list, but now it doesn't hold as much appeal to us. We still might see it in October if we're already in Milwaukee, though.

#39 - We canceled our plans for a weekend getaway ... saving those pennies ... so this one may not work out after all.

#61 - We've signed up for a class at a fabulous restaurant, in December!

#81 - we have 1.5 bottles of body wash/shower gel left, but all of the lotion is gone!

#94 - we're calling this one done. I finally got someone who had some closet know-how to look at it & install the rollers. It's still not fixed to my satisfaction, but we're now learning that the way the thing was hung in the first place may be the problem!!

#97 - new winter coats may loom on the horizon ... but if I lose another 20 pounds, I may fit into the gorgeous long brown, hooded coat gifted to me by a friend! I'll count that as "new" to me, IF I can wear it with a sweater underneath & button it closed comfortably!!

July 25, 2010

2010-07-25T08:17:00.001-07:00

We're looking at the remainder of our list & are contemplating
#9 - we didn't specify the type of cruise. Maybe a dinner cruise counts?
#32 - we are doggedly pursuing this one & hopefully will have it paid off in the fall
#38 - we may visit the museum on our way through Milwaukee in either August or October
#39 - turns out the B&B we were so fond of in Madison is full up during the time we wanted to book it, so we're thinking one in southern WI should count towards this item instead
#46 - the classes we thought were so cool aren't being offered anymore, so this may be a dead end!
#61 - we've found 5 places to take various cooking classes!
#81 - we have 1.5 bottles of body wash/shower gel left & 1.5 tubes of lotion left!!!
#87 - we tried to book an experience at the Ritz Carlton, but they were full up
#95 - we're making a LOT of jams, sauces, and pickles this summer, so we should be able to stick within our holiday budget!

May 8, 2010

2010-05-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

Item #47: Visit Yosemite. Done.

April 14, 2010

2010-04-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

Item #28: We planned an Easter Egg Hunt & decided it definitely counts for this item. FUN!!

Item #52: Yes, we officially completed three months' of having one night a week where we didn't use computers or TV. H just about went insane & declared this was the worst idea ever. I thought it was a real challenge, but cool!

Item #76: We have a new car!!! We bought a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. This'll make completing #32 a bit of a challenge, but we'll do what we can do accomplish that as well! It'll just be a reminder to eat in ... and maybe we'll start joining Meatless Mondays.

We now have 28 items remaining on our list. And I am confident 18 of those will be done by our deadline!

March 28, 2010

2010-03-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

Item #28: We are hosting our 11 year old nephew and 7 year old niece for Easter & are thinking of planning out an Easter Egg Hunt, which is just as good as a treasure hunt, in our considered options. If we can pull it off, we'll be done with this item!

Item #52: H is doing cartwheels to be done with this item. It was much harder for him than it was for me, to spend 1 evening a week without TV or computer. I tried to get him to agree to do #68 or#69 & he said, "No way! I'll pay the $5!" LOL!

Item #76: H's car is just about ready to give up the ghost. We're doing some test driving & research & will probably have this item checked off in the next couple of months.

March 22, 2010

2010-03-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

Item #52: One Saturday night remaining, with no TV and no computers, and we have plans to take our good friend out for her birthday, so this'll be super easy. We've learned that barring ourselves from TV & computer does, indeed, encourage us to foster other skill sets & interests (making granola bars, looking through scrapbook albums, curling up together to read, etc.) ... but when we want to look up something, like weather or a movie time & use the TV or computer as a TOOL, that's when it really hurts!!

Item #85: I sent a 4th care package out today, this one to my cousin, Ava. She's keen to try her hand at scrapbooking, so I sent her a funky journal & a bunch of stuff to play with! This item is now DONE.

Item #99: We tried out The Patio. Which is our 30th and final new restaurant to try! It's been an interesting journey. About 1/4th of the restaurants we would actively seek out again ... but 2 of those have already closed, permanently! Just encourages us to CARPE DIEM!

March 13th 2010

2010-03-13T12:30:00.000-08:00

We tried Webber Grill today for lunch which is item #99 on our list. That makes 29 out of 30 new restaurants! Only 1 left!

The meal itself was so-so, the service was...well we weren't even acknowledged for the first 10 minutes of being seated, and then even though we were no longer looking at our menus, and they were placed at the farthest end of the table from us, the waitress still came over and said, "can I start you off with a drink, or give you more time to choose?" *sigh*.

Needless to say, we're not going to go back any time soon :P

ALSO tonight we we will be almost completed with item #52, as there will only be two weeks left!

March 3, 2010

2010-03-05T17:50:00.000-08:00

Item #99: We tried Flat Top Grill. Food was great. Service was great. Rowdy noisy groups of tween and teen kids was not. Not the restaurant's fault. We'll go back when it's not peak hours, though, so we can actually hear ourselves converse. 2 more restaurants to go.

March 1, 2010

2010-03-01T09:04:00.000-08:00

Item #52: We're making good progress with the no TV, no computer thing. We need to finish out the rest of the month, and we'll have this one checked off. It's interesting, seeing what kinds of things we do when we are forbidden from watching TV or doing stuff on the computer. It really does result in some new adventures and some quality time together!

Item #81: We are about 1 bottle away from using up all of our lotion. We still have a fair amount of body wash and shower gel. We now know just how much stuff we use in the course of an average year. It really isn't that much!!!

Item #97: Just waiting for cash flow hiccups to be resolved & then I think we're heading to Lands End to buy new winter coats!

February 15, 2010

2010-02-15T17:34:00.000-08:00

Item #16: We visited the Art Institute, which has been on our list since it's inception. We enjoyed the impressionists & the sculpture gallery ... but were sorely disappointed to learn that the entire arms & armor exhibit has been replaced with Indian art!!! Only 2 pieces of the entire collection remain on display. There went my best chance to get my nephew to go to the museum! I have always loved that exhibit & will miss it sorely.

Item #52: Spent another Saturday night with no TV & no computers ... but it was a near thing,
because we forgot all about it, as we were in The City for an overnight stay in a hotel. Good thing we didn't watch the Olympics ... we would've had to have started all over again!!!

Item #99: Three new restaurants for us to report trying: Wow Bao, Park Grill, & Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant. I think we'd happily go back to all three!!

February 6, 2010

2010-02-06T12:45:00.000-08:00

Item #2: We successfully completed this item! H says it has been the hardest on thus far, but I recall how many times we attempted our "no swearing" item & failed!!! We celebrated by going out to Five Guys on Thursday. It was heavenly.

Item #52: Last Saturday night we spent a lot of the time reading ... tonight we have plans to be doing a lot of cooking and baking. We're getting creative for our upcoming week's menus. In addition to wanting to use up things from the freezer, H had dental implant surgery this morning, so for a week, he can't have anything crunchy or hard. It rules out all kinds of foods he truly enjoys, so we're making a lot of things he likes -- pasta & sauce, salsa to go with some quesadillas, fresh cut pineapple, brownies ... chicken barley soup. I expect the time to fly by!

January 24, 2010

2010-01-24T19:52:00.001-08:00

Item #2: We are really missing some foods, now. Tortilla chips. Potato chips. French fries. Those are the big three. Not that we eat them a ton, but every week or two, it's nice to have 'em. We've discovered we aren't hankering for other fried foods, like fried chicken, fried fish, flautas or chimichangas. We'd rather have grilled chicken & fish, and our own homemade burritos or tacos!

Item #52: Last night we spent a chunk of time reading. We also made the mistake of going to Baker's Square on National Pie Day. The place was jammed ... and understaffed. Plus, the food was just tolerable. I think that as we consume fewer preservatives, we become less interested in food that's obviously been sitting around for quite some time. Either that or their quality has gone downhill seriously in the last 6-8 months!

January 17, 2010

2010-01-17T07:08:00.000-08:00

Item #2: We neatly avoided Lay's BBQ potato chips yesterday. I think we were kept in check only the realization that we're halfway through this item & didn't want to have to do a restart.

Item #52: 3rd Saturday with an evening of no computers & no TV. We had a great time. We chatted, listened to music, read books, worked on creative projects (scrapbooking & crocheting for me ... painting & drawing for H), ran some errands (we're now the proud owners of an electric tea kettle of sorts, in the wake of H's destruction of our stovetop model Friday night), and we tried out a new restaurant ...

Item #99: Our 24th new restaurant (of 30) ... Pompei! It wasn't what we were expecting, but it was good. It was arranged kind of like a Corner Bakery, with various stations of pre-made food. I was really hoping for a slice of pepperoni & sausage pizza, but there was none to be had, so I went with a chicken parmesan roll-up type thing. H had Chicken Vesuvius, which he declared delicious!

January 10, 2010

2010-01-10T20:06:00.001-08:00

Item #2: We made a special trip to the store so H would have BAKED tortilla chips to go with my sister-in-law's fabulous guacamole. We're almost a third of the way done with this item!

Item #52: Last night was an easy no-computer, no-TV kind of thing, as we were at my parents' house, where we rarely engage in such things. My mom was a sport, knowing all about our "101 List," and waited to get an iTunes tutorial until Sunday morning. It was quite nice to sit in the living room, with the lights off & the fireplace blazing, especially when it was -4 degrees outside. My clothes smelled like woodsmoke the next morning. Very homey. Makes me wish we had a fireplace of our own!

January 3, 2010

2010-01-03T07:23:00.000-08:00

Item #52: At the two hour mark, H was getting pretty twitchy, but at the end of the night, he proclaimed it had been quite nice to just do things that didn't require computers or TV. From 5 pm, until we went to sleep, we made soup, planned next week's menu, played Monopoly Deal, did dishes, made cookies, played with the cats, had hot cocoa & cookies, lounged in our robes & read. It was quite nice, indeed! Next Saturday, we'll be at my parents during most of that time period, and we typically just chat with them, listen to music, and read, anyway!

January 2, 2010

2010-01-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

First time I've typed out the date as 2010, there.

Item #2: We've agreed to make January the month that we have no deep fried fatty foods. No potato chips. No fries. No tortilla chips. Those are the usual culprits, but we'll be avoiding anything that's been immersed in fat.

Item #52: We talked about this item & decided to change it from Tuesday nights to Saturday nights, as the point of the item was for us to have time to do things with each other & very shortly, I may be working on Tuesday evening, which would kind of cause us to miss the whole point. As I am typing this, it is just now registering for H that it's BOTH no TV and no computer time, after 5 pm, until we go to sleep. This is going to be very interesting. We'll see how tonight goes.

December 30th, 2009

2009-12-30T07:28:00.000-08:00

Item #5: We're counting this one as done. We never formally set out to go through various recipes, but between cooking from scratch (Item #57) and hosting Cookie Day, we certainly went through a LOT of recipes!!

Item #31: The same kind of situation as above. I don't think we formally decided, but we did make the 5 Minutes to Artisan Bread Boule recipe many times, and I can see us doing this a lot in the future, too!

Item #45: This may be redundant, as H received another Cuisinart kitchen tool for Christmas. I am delegating responsibility to him to do an online search for Cuisinart blades & see if any of them would actually do anything unique, compared to what we've got access to, now!

Item #81: We are very close to using up our remaining lotion! We did get some more for Christmas, but I am bound and determined to use up what we already had in our possession, first!

When we do our annual review for New Year's, I think we'll probably sit down with our list & see what we want to tackle next. Maybe the item about no deep fried foods for a month, since we're already on a pretty healthy eating track! Winter might also be a good time to read the Bible or take a cooking class. We'll keep you all posted. I'm going to go update our master list online, now.

December 24th, 2009

2009-12-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

Item #95: For the 2nd year in a row, we've stayed within our holiday budget! One more holiday season to go & we'll complete this item!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

This little video just makes us laugh!

2009-12-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

Surprised Kitty @ Yahoo! Video

Note, this video was, sadly removed ... but a friend linked us up here. Enjoy!

November 24, 2009

2009-11-24T06:50:00.000-08:00

Item #19: Yesterday, I mailed off 2 gifts for the Season of Sharing through the Chicago Sun-Times. They're still looking for people to purchase gifts for needy kids or to make a monetary donation, so if you can spare $25, think about it! For most of the kids, this will be the only gift they receive this Christmas! This item is now complete, since we sent 2 gifts last year as well!

Item #47: We are doing some travel planning & may very well be able to check this one off our list next year. Very exciting!

Item #81: We are using up our last 2 containers of lotion! Sweet!

Item #95: So far, we are staying within our holiday budget for this year. I need to acquire a gift for my brother & buy something for one friend, but I think we're going to be okay!

Item #97: H is pushing for us to buy new winter coats this year, but I'd rather see if we can't lose a little more weight & then buy coats in February when they go on sale!

October 27, 2009

2009-10-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

Item #99: We splurged and went to a new restaurant, Five Guys, and I do admit, they had damned tasty burgers & fries!!! We need to visit 7 new restaurants & we'll meet this goal. We're eating out a LOT less, now that we're making most of our food from scratch, but there are already a couple of new restaurants on our list to try, so I'm confident we'll finish this one before our time is up!

October 20, 2009

2009-10-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

Item #40: No way we're going to make a million, but it can't hurt to play for more. Did 350 grains of rice. I'll be happy if we get to 100,000.

Item #81: Now that dry fall weather is setting in, we're going through the rest of our lotion & body butter pretty fast. I anticipate we'll be through what remains by the time spring rolls around. Then we'll just have body wash, shower gel, and soap to use up.

Item #85: Sent a care package through Soldiers' Angels to a soldier in the Army. Warm fuzzy moment.

September 27, 2009

2009-09-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

Item #31: Considering we've made the same recipe six times ... I think we may be done with this one ... but I have several other bread recipes I want to try, so I am not going to cross this one off the list just yet!

Item #51: Although we already made our target goals of a 15 pound weight loss each, we are continuing to work on losing more. H has lost 30 ... and I have lost 20! We're going to keep it up, too! Feeling fabulous, looking good!

Item #86: Forgot to mention going to the farmers' market on the way down to my parents house. This goal is now done. But as above, we'll keep on going, until they close for the season! Lovin' it!

Item #95: We are establishing a holiday shopping budget, so we can stick within it. I think we'll do well with this one!

September 8, 2009

2009-09-08T12:24:00.001-07:00

We spent a weekend in downtown Chicago, were we checked a few items off our 101 list & made a dent in another.

Item#36: Visited the Adler Planetarium on Saturday. Got to see a really cool exhibit, narrated by Jim Lovell & got to see a space capsule on loan from the Smithsonian. Those things are super tiny!!

Item #37: Visited the Shedd Aquarium on Sunday, along with a bazillion other people. We went to the things we specifically wanted to see -- the beluga whales & the sea otters -- then we escaped the throng of humanity!

Item #57: Forgot to mention this, but we officially completed our 2 weeks of eating only food made from scratch! We both lost some significant weight & will be trying to be more careful about where we're getting our food from. We'll be slowly using up the food we already have that has preservatives & will not buy more to replace it.

Item #99: We've now visited 22 new local restaurants. We had dinner at Petterino's on Saturday & enjoyed it thoroughly.

We went to Elephant & Castle on Sunday (a bit of a "cheat," since I tried it for the first time a little over a month ago, but we decided it counted) for a comfort-food dinner.

And on Monday, we tried South Water Kitchen for brunch. It was just okay.

We have 40 items remaining on our list to complete ... so we are almost 2/3rds of the way done!

September 1, 2009

2009-09-01T06:12:00.000-07:00

Item #51: Stepped on the scale this morning. I've lost exactly 15 pounds. Yesterday, H weighed in & has lost 20! YAY!!!

August 30, 2009

2009-08-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

Item #51: We're well on our way to meeting our goal of losing 15 pounds each. H has now met this goal ... I think he's lost a total of 18 pounds, and I've lost 12.4 pounds & plan to just keep on trucking. I can attribute most of my weight loss to ...

Item #57: wherein we make all of our food from scratch for 2 weeks. After struggling to lose more than 8 pounds, despite restricting my caloric intake & increasing my exercise to an hour a day 5 days a week, I've dropped 4 pounds in the last week! So, needless to say we're probably going to stick with making a LOT of our own food from here on out. We are thinking about planning on 3 or 4 meals a week that are made outside our home, whether it's dining out at a restaurant or just throwing a frozen pizza in the oven.

Item #85: Forgot to mention I sent a surprise care package to a ... get this, friend's son's friend. Guy's in the Navy & feeling a bit blue, so I packed up some goodies & sent them his way. Just got an email from him this morning about how much it meant to know he was supported. If that isn't the purpose of a care package, I don't know what is!

Item #86: We went to a different farmers' market today, since we were at the Renaissance Faire yesterday & couldn't go to our local one. This one was tiny, but we still picked up some items -- apples, tomatoes, onion, scallions, shallots. Wish I'd gotten garlic, now!

August 22, 2009

2009-08-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

Item #57: We're embarking upon a 2 week challenge ... to eat food only that we've made from scratch. Our concessions include using pre-made condiments & to buy whole grain bread from bakeries where it's been made with no preservatives (i.e. they have made it from scratch). 2 meals in & we are doing good!

Item #86: Made another trip to the farmers' market ... and will probably make 2 more in the next 2 weeks, to help with our item above, but we may not do it together, so it won't count, if it's not a shared activity. We have a whole 'nother season next year to get to, if we can't tackle this by the middle of October.

August 18, 2009

2009-08-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

Item #31: I don't know if we'll make it super regularly, but we have found an excellent bread recipe. It makes 4 small loaves ... and the dough can hang out in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. We baked 3 loaves in less than 24 hours. We'll make the 4th in another few days, I suspect.

Item #40: I doubt we'll make our goal of 1,000,000 grains of rice ... but I added another 500 to our total, bringing it to 99,000! If anyone wants to play on our behalf and donate, let me know. *wink*

August 9, 2009

2009-08-09T04:58:00.000-07:00

Item #52: We've both been working hard. I've lost 9 pounds so far. H has lost about 11, I think. It'd be awesome to reach our goal of each losing 15 pounds by the end of the summer!

Item #57: We are gearing up for this & are using up lots of the processed food in the house. We are now having discussions, just like we had about "what exactly do we mean by "fast food" for Item #29, about what we mean by "from scratch." I mean we could make pasta from scratch ... using egg, flour and water ... but is it enough to do it from a box? And we could probably make our own peanut butter ... but is it worth it, considering how much we actually would use? My rule of thumb is that if it's a condiment, we don't have to make it from scratch. I am not repopulating our fridge door with homemade ketchup, mustard, mayo, pickle relish or salad dressing, unless I think we'll use it all up in that 2 week time span. But I do think we should make salsa from scratch, primarily because H rarely uses it as a condiment, but as a main course. It is a fascinating discussion!

Item #81: We used up the last of the body scrub! Now we just need to use up the last of the body lotions/creams/butters, the body wash, and the shower gels. The stockpile IS getting smaller!

Item #86: We went to the farmers' market again. And SCORED. A 10 lb box of blueberries for $25. That berry seller is awesome. We also have a "bucket" of peaches -- I don't know how many, maybe about 4 pounds/10 peaches. And 2 ears of corn. And celery. And 2 bell peppers. And kettle corn. And 4 tomatoes. And 4 potatoes. Yeah, there'll be some fine eating today. H made ribs last night, too. Oooooh. Mmmmm.

July 27, 2009

2009-07-27T04:53:00.000-07:00

Item #67: complete.

July 12, 2009

2009-07-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

Item #27: With the blueberries from yesterday, I made blueberry cobbler, which we topped with .... HOMEMADE ICE CREAM!!!

July 11, 2009

2009-07-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

Item #86: This makes trip number six of 10, to the farmer's market to buy produce. And other things. This morning, we spent $60 ($35 of which was H's birthday money from a month ago!). $32 went to a ten pound box of blueberries *drool* (that was H's big splurge). $3 for a package of pita. $4 for a small Greek oregano plant. $3.50 for caramel corn. $2 for a red bell pepper. $2 for miniature white potatoes. $2.50 for green beans. $3 for snap peas. $5 for berry scones. $2 for a giant tomato. 50 cents for green onions. 25 cents to feed our parking meter. 25 cents to feed a stranger's parking meter as a random act of kindness. Money well spent all around.

Item #87: We went to a friend's wedding last night ... so it was a perfect excuse to break out H's super nice dress shoes! We need to find 2 more reasons for him to wear them! They're really quite lovely & classic ... and he's got to wear a suit with them, and it's rare that he wears a suit! He cleans up awfully nice, though.

July 6, 2009

2009-07-05T17:02:00.000-07:00

Item #44: It's done! We grew our own basil & made pesto! We used this recipe from Karen, over at Crazier In Real Life!

Here's the proof, in photos:

Inspired by Chef Anne Burrell, we finished it off with a hit of grated Parmesan cheese, and some salt. Perfection! AND we have more basil leaves, so we can do it all over again in another couple of weeks, if we want. Those 3 plants really have grown a lot since we bought them.

July 3, 2009

2009-07-03T18:14:00.000-07:00

We had a delightful day. Part of it was trying a new restaurant (Item #99). We went to Honey Cafe. It was a bit of a drive, but totally cool & very worth it. H loved their lemon bars & cappuccino:

and I enjoyed playing the role of Mad Scientist in making my Science Fair Sundae!!!:

The food was delicious & inspired, and lots of it was thoughtfully grown, harvested, etc. Bonus!

July 2, 2009

2009-07-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

Item #70: Isn't it beautiful?

Gone is the old, tired, 1/2" thick asphalt. It used to be the concrete section looked schnazzy ... now it's the part that looks old and tired! Just beautiful work. We are happy.

June 27, 2009

2009-06-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

I wish I'd put an item on the list about having a garage sale. Those things are huge undertakings & today netted us $98. We'll mark everything half off & have it tomorrow for a few hours. More money for the adoption fund!

Item #40: We will probably not meet our goal, but I plug away anyway. 1,000 more grains of rice donated.

Item #57: We've actually put this on the calendar: to eat only food we've made from scratch for 2 weeks. We had a discussion about what our intent was and what we meant by our goal. So, we'll be doing our own cooking -- but it can be as simple as slicing up fruit or cooking some veggies. We'll also be trying to buy food as locally as possible. And we've decided that a single step of "from scratch" is okay -- if someone else has made it by scratch and it'd be pretty hard for us to do it, that's fine. Also, we're not making condiments from scratch. So, this'll happen during the second half of August. Stay tuned!

Item #99: I've got my eye on a new restaurant I want to try. But for the next several weeks, we are saving our pennies until our next vacation, which will allow us to check off another item off our list!

June 20, 2009

2009-06-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

Item #31: I forgot to mention it, but my parents gave me an awesome book on baking bread for my birthday about a month ago. I hope to start trying bread recipes in it & find one we love. Just not when it's 90 degrees outside. Using oven is bad when 90 degrees outside.

Item #44: Despite some bugs trying to eat holes in it ... and 70 mph winds that knocked down
many tree branches around town, our basil is thriving. Yay!

Item #86: Guess what you can get for $40 at our farmers' market? A beaded bracelet for a friend's birthday (I want one, now!!!!), 10 cookies, 2 mini-flatbread-pizza type things, a package of pita bread, a pound of bacon, a quart of strawberries (YUM!), a bag of caramel corn, and 2 tomatoes. Not bad, eh? This makes visit #5 of 10.

June 14, 2009

2009-06-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

See, we've not disappeared!!!

First of all, for all you 101 in 1001 folks, if you have not yet seen Up, a film by Disney-Pixar, you should. Check it out here.

Now, onto the list.

Today we are planning on accomplishing Item #21 (fix hole in wall and put in sword anchors) today, and trying Item #92 (put numbers on house). Our basil plants are coming along nicely for Item #44 (grow basil & make pesto out of it). Our driveway should be redone (Item #70) by the end of the summer. And we're making great headway on Item #81 ... we've still got lots of bar soap & body wash left, but we are on our last bottle of lotion, and have used up all of the shampoo & conditioner. We're also on our last bottles of hand-soap.

Life is good.

May 18, 2009

2009-05-18T07:58:00.000-07:00

After a brief hiatus where we weren't focusing much on our 101 list, now we're back in gear! *grin* We figure we do have almost 2 more years to work on this stuff, right? *wink*

Item #44: We purchased basil at the farmers' market on Saturday. I've replanted it in a tub on the front step where it will get lots of sun. Cross your fingers it keeps growing & we can make pesto out of it! I may have to purchase more than the 3 plants. We'll see.

Item #86: We went to the aforementioned farmers' market. That makes trip 4/10! We are trying out some new merchants this year. Bought some bacon, farm fresh eggs, the basil, some sunflower seeds, and some olives.

March 24, 2009

2009-03-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

Item #93: We now have a very cool recycling bin for our kitchen. We'd been using our dish drainer in the sink ... for the last, oh, 5 1/2 years or so ... so we'd put this item on our 101 list, hoping we'd find a more suitable solution. Well, we did, and it's very cool ... has a can/bottle sized opening, so even our guests should be able to puzzle out that it is not garbage, but recycling!

We're still working on a couple of items, but for the most part, we're focusing on other things for a bit. After the OneWorld, OneHeart event from mid-January to mid-February, and taking on the 29 Day Giving Challenge from mid-February to mid-March, we're spent! Don't worry ... we'll pick back up again!

March 5, 2009

2009-03-05T17:17:00.000-08:00

Item #75: We made our monthly visit to the arboretum today, which completes this item! We've gone every single month for a year! I'm looking forward to making an album that shows how the place changes over the span of an entire year!

Item #4 Complete...and boy was it yummy!!!

2009-03-01T20:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday February 28th, L and I went out a new restaurant called Glen Prarie. I believe after our time there, that L and I can also cross off #30 from our list as we both agree that it is better than any of the other places we've been too.

L had cherval encrusted pike with a side of 4 cheese mac-n-cheese, I had prime rib of bison in a redwine sauce with whipped potatoes and roasted root vegetables (herloom beats). For desert, L had a piece of Grandma's 3 Layer Chocolate Cake, and I had the Creme-Brulee.

The food was !!outstanding!! The bison was cooked to the exact coloration I desired, and it was so tender and juicy that my mouth is watering even now! The flavors blended incredbily with a decent Syrah red wine. The whipped potatoes melted in my mouth, and the roasted vegetables were cooked with great flavor and yet still slightly crisp enough to provide a great texture when eating. With L's dish, the soux-chef out did himself, for you see Pike has a lot of tiny bones all through out the fillet, and it's usually very difficult to remove all of them. Well with the soux-chef's technique, not one bone was in any of the 3 fillets!

Even with the great food, the service was just as good. Our waiter and the rest of the restaurant staff were quick, efficient, and always happy to answer any question or explain anything on the menu we wanted to know.

In all, it was a great experience!

One other bit of a bonus, this place also counted towards our #99, and so far we've completed 18 out of 30!! Yay us!

February 27, 2009

2009-02-27T20:28:00.000-08:00

Item #40: Again, it's not much ... but I played for 1,000 grains of rice today.

February 25, 2009

2009-02-25T19:26:00.000-08:00

Item #40: It's not much ... but I played for 1,000 grains of rice today.

We've been busy, playing with the 29-Day Giving Challenge, but we'll complete Item #4 on Saturday. And then we'll probably pick another one to tackle!

February 14, 2009

2009-02-14T22:31:00.000-08:00

Item #4: We're sticking to our plan to dine out with each other once every 2 weeks! And we've already got reservations for 2 weeks from today, which will complete this task!

Item #30: Earlier today, we were trying to decide which one of the following is our favorite: Cosi, Boudin SF, Go Roma, or LaBriola. We like each one of them for different reasons! Then, well, we went out to dinner ... see below ... and it is simply no contest. We've got a new favorite restaurant! We decided it must be our new favorite when we rapidly came up with about a dozen people we want to share it with!! The food was exquisite!

Item #99: Today, we tried TWO new restaurants! For lunch, we were at Cosi ... and for our Valentine's Day dinner, we went to Amber Cafe! Here's the review I gave Amber Cafe on OpenTable.com: We selected Amber Cafe for our Valentine's Day dinner celebration & were not disappointed in the least. Their 4 course prix-fixe menu was very reasonable and the food was absolutely outstanding. We did not feel rushed in the slightest, and the wait staff attended to our every need. We will return here soon. This restaurant isn't too far from our home (amusingly, it is about 10 blocks from where we used to reside, 6 years ago, shortly before they opened ... why, oh, why haven't we made the trek sooner???!) and for the quality of food, it is very reasonably priced. We dropped a lot on dinner tonight (special occasion, special menu, great wine for H), but we could enjoy a meal here for a lot less most evenings!

February 12, 2009

2009-02-12T08:50:00.001-08:00

Item #18: We just extended a $25 loan through kiva.org to a Mr. Kwame Acquah! Feel free to help fund other small businesses around the world by checking out this cool process!\

Item #32: We had a nice conversation last night & I've rearranged some funds & paid a large chunk of change to a credit card. If everything goes great, we'll have TWO credit cards paid off by the end of our 1001 days!

Item #81: I swear, we are trying to use up our body lotion, body butter, body cream, soaps, shower gel, and bubble bath ... I just don't know if we can pull it off in 1001 days. Credit card getting paid off ... yes ... using up this mountain of stuff ... I just don't know. Anyone need a bar of soap? LOL. The funny part is that all that remains is stuff that we really like, so we are reluctant to part with it, but I think that if it gets around to December 2010 and intact bars of soap still remain, we know what people are getting as stocking stuffers. *grin*

February 8, 2009

2009-02-08T19:18:00.000-08:00

Item #75: One more visit to the Arboretum & we'll be done with this item! We're having fun seeing the Arboretum in all of its seasons. I think when we are done, I will make a scrapbook showing how everything changes every month!

February 7, 2009

2009-02-07T08:29:00.000-08:00

Item #99: Chalk up one more new local restaurant tried ... Dmitri's Pancake House! Their pancakes were yummy! It was kind of like a diner version of Cheers. And H felt like it was a mafia hangout, where everybody knew everybody else & a lot of middle-aged men were hanging out & greeting one another. Either way, it was nice, it's close to home & we may very well go back.

January 31, 2009

2009-01-31T19:39:00.000-08:00

Item #4: We are still sticking to our routine of going out to eat with each other once every 2 weeks. We went to Boudin today -- quite delightful! We are pondering where we'll go in 2 weeks, which just happens to also be Valentine's Day!

January 29, 2009

2009-01-29T17:39:00.001-08:00

Item #84: Behold! We made ravioli from scratch! It is a long process, making the sauce, filling, and pasta from scratch ... but it was also a delicious dinner!

January 22, 2009

2009-01-22T18:35:00.000-08:00

Item #18: I did some looking on kiva.org & want to discuss with H which project to which we might want to extend a loan. Now that the holidays and the "season of giving" is past, it seems like an ideal time for us to kick up our charitable giving.

Item #32: I did some math & have targeted a card for pay off. I think we may be able to do it by the time our 1001 days are up. Although if our adoption process is successful by then, well, those funds will probably have to be diverted elsewhere! Still, why not try now?

Item #40: I slipped up in my daily practice of playing for free rice ... things just got a bit busy & I was also dealing with a virus (computer, not human-related), so my computer was often whirring away, scanning & healing. Anyway, I played for 1,500 more grains today, bringing us to a total of 95,000. Uh, yeah. It's going to take us a lot to get to 1,000,000 grains.

January 19, 2009

2009-01-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

Item #62: COMPLETE! I don't know if we'll keep up with the 8 hours of sleep every night ... but it sure has been nice! :D

January 17, 2009

2009-01-17T13:14:00.001-08:00

Item #4: We dined out, just the 2 of us, at a restaurant H really wanted to try: Ra. They specialize in sushi (which I abhor), but they also had a number of cooked items on the menu. H's eyes are still alight. I told him that many of the expressions on his face while eating the sushi really should be reserved for the bedroom.

Item #62: One more night of 8 hours of sleep. Or close enough. Once again, H stayed up to an obscene hour, jeopardizing our completion of this item. He did that last Friday night, too. I think he got 7 hours of sleep, but he claims he's taking a nap this afternoon to add up to a total of 8 hours. I'm willing to count that. Only 2 more nights remaining!

Item #81: We are using up some more lotion, with this dry & bitterly cold weather!

Item #99: The new restaurant we tried, Ra, brings our total of new places tried to 14, so we are almost halfway there!

January 16, 2009

2009-01-16T18:53:00.001-08:00

Item #40: 2,000 more grains for today, for a new total of 93,500!

Item #62: Once again, I slept fitfully, but feel okay. We've tackled this for 11 days ... 3 to go!

Tomorrow we are planning on trying out a new restaurant: Ra!

January 15, 2009

2009-01-15T14:43:00.001-08:00

Item #40: I didn't play for any rice yesterday, so I played for extra today, for 4,500 grains, a new total of 91,500!

Item #62: Again, I'm sleeping fitfully, but feel pretty rested by the morning. Not altogether satisfying sleep, but rested. We've done this for 10 days ... just need 4 more!

January 12, 2009

2009-01-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

Item #40: niveous = snowy ... that was my last word of the day, for 2000 more grains of rice!

Item #62: We both slept fitfully ... probably ate too late, plus lots of plowing going on last night ... but we did do our best to be in bed for 8 hours & get as much rest as possible. Hopefully we'll sleep better tonight!

January 12, 2009

2009-01-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

Item #29: Time to reset our timer on fast food. We got McDonalds. And they'd just made the fries. Damn, they were tasty. Totally worth the splurge!!

Item #62: Last night was another 8 hours of restful sleep!!! We're halfway to our goal!

January 11, 2009

2009-01-11T09:52:00.001-08:00

Item #62: Another successful night of 8 hours of sleep. H's eyes are losing their red streaks!

Item #75: We went to the Arboretum ... and it was so sunny, we were squinting against the glare most of the time we were there. My eyes were watering a lot, and it was hard to capture great photos, just because of the quality of light, but it was quite beautiful and serene. People were out in droves, with their snowshoes & cross-country skis!

edit: Item #40: 2,000 more grains done tonight!

January 10, 2009

2009-01-10T19:47:00.000-08:00

Item #40: I'm on a roll! 2,000 more grains ... and I got to level 52 tonight!!! Go, me!

Item #62: We barely squeaked by, with H going to bed sometime around 2:30 am. BAD H!!!!

Item #75: Tomorrow we are planning on going to the Arborteum. It should be gorgeous after this most recent snowfall. And we should be able to enjoy getting out of the car a bit ... our last visit, it was -35F with windchill!

January 9th, 2009

2009-01-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

Item #40: Got in 2,000 more grains! :)

Item #62: We got in 2 more nights of 8 hour sleep. Tonight'll be the real challenge ... H loves staying up super late to play computer games (he's playing Fallout 3 right now). I'm going to read & go to bed close to our new "usual" bedtime!

January 7th, 2009

2009-01-07T18:33:00.001-08:00

Item #40: Today, I played for 2,000 grains more! That brings our total to 79,000!

Item #62: Two nights down, 12 to go.

Bit of a broken record, but there you have it! We're working on Item #51, by going to the gym & being more careful with our food intake, but it'll be a while before we can truly check that one off!

January 6, 2009

2009-01-06T19:41:00.001-08:00

Item #40: 2,000 grains more! Little by little, it adds up!

Item #62: One night down, 13 to go.

January 5th 2009

2009-01-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

Item #40: Another 2000 grains of rice today, bringing our total to 75,000! YAY! Only 925,000 to go! LOL!

Item #62: Tonight we are re-attempting the 8 hours of sleep every night for 2 weeks. I have no problem hitting this quota (I am really more of an 9 hours of sleep kind of gal), but H is often short on sleep, so we're going to try to hit this mark & see if it helps with his feelings of being tired.

January 4th, 2009

2009-01-04T18:19:00.000-08:00

Item #40: Another 2,000 grains of rice!

Item #98:

(need the recipes for our meal? Go to Latharia's blog for links)

January 3, 2009

2009-01-03T19:23:00.000-08:00

Item #4: We went out for our first of several every-other-week-dining-out experiences. See Item #99 below!

Item #40: I just logged another 1,300 grains of rice. And made it to level 51!!! I'm not sure how ... just suddenly realized it read "Best Level: 51", and then my performance started tanking! LOL! We're now at an even 71,000!

Item #99: We tried LaBriola tonight. It was fantastic. We think it's a strong contender for our new favorite restaurant (Item #30), beating out Go Roma! The amusing part is that the two restaurants are in the same complex, about 4 doors down from each other! And there's another Italian themed place (although more upscale) with a block. It'll be interesting to see if there's enough interest to sustain them all ... or if one (or 2) will fold! Knowing our luck, whichever we determine to be our fave will fold!

January 2, 2009

2009-01-02T21:26:00.000-08:00

Item #40: I just logged another 1,720 grains of rice. My best level thus far is 47. I don't know if I can beat it, though. Our total is now 70,700. I figured out if we do about 1400 grains a day, at the end of our 1001 days we will have done a million grains of rice. So I'm just going to keep at it for a while. :D

January 1, 2009

2009-01-01T15:45:00.000-08:00

Item #4: We are going to start this one, on Saturday & continue it through the end of February. We're planning on combining it with Item #99!

Item #21: We may head to the hardware store this Sunday, to get enough spackle to do this job. Wish us luck.

Item #40: I just logged another 2,500 grains of rice. And made it to level 47 -- BEAT THAT! *grin* We are now at 68,980 grains. I have to come up with an average we need to make per day to reach our goal. I think it's still going to be an awful lot!!

Item #79: H took in a tin of caramels enrobed in dark chocolate and dusted with sea salt -- a corporate type gift I received at work that we'll never be able to (nor should we!) finish! So, that makes 5/5, and this item is done. Although we may continue it, just for fun!

December 21, 2008

2008-12-21T09:43:00.000-08:00

Item #75: Today, it is -3 ... and -31 with windchill. And we'd planned on going to the Arboretum, so we simply bundled up ... and headed out!!

As you can see, the snow is blowing across the road. And it's exceeding the speed limit, gusting up to 40 mph. I wonder if it'll get arrested.

It was fairly sunny, the light sparkling off the snow. Our camera couldn't do it justice!

And the running water of the rivers and streams was more like running slush!

We are happy to be home & back in a warm environment!

Item #95: We are currently within our holiday shopping budget! And all of our shopping has been done for a while, so I'm going to count this a success for 2008!

December 11, 2008

2008-12-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

Item #74: I was very tempted to use a credit card this afternoon ... just needed about 8 things from the grocery store -- 2 things to make dinner tonight, 1 thing to add to what I already have for dinner tomorrow, a salad mix (always good to have on hand), and 4 things that would round out supplies we have on hand to make more stuff for Cookie Day ... but I did not. I scraped together all the change I had, plus a few crumpled singles I'd tucked away, and managed to get all of it with the cash I had on hand. I am ridiculous proud of me. We'll get more cash into our accounts tomorrow & Monday, respectively, but I needed the stuff NOW.

Item #80: I thought of a couple people for whom I wanted to make soap as little Christmas gifts, and suddenly, *poof!* I've used up all of our soapmaking supplies! Cross one more off our list! Now, does anyone want some soap molds, dyes, and scents? All you have to do is add your own soap. *grin*

December 10, 2008

2008-12-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

Item #19: We shopped for our gift last night & made out like bandits! We loved being able to spoil this little girl. I got it all wrapped up last night & packed the box this morning & it went out this afternoon. We are happy campers.

December 8, 2008

2008-12-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

Item #19: We just received our 2nd letter for the Season of Sharing program. Man, I almost want to cry. The little girl is in 2nd grade ... want to know what she asked for? A jump rope and some hair accessories. What a gem! I am sure Santa can make sure she gets what she wants! It makes me want to request another letter, just because I get such a warm fuzzy to do this kind of thing! We will probably wait until next year, though, just because the schools need the gifts by this coming Monday, and I don't know if I'd have time to wait for another letter, shop for the gift, wrap it & get it there on time! Next year, though, we're totally doing this again!

December 7th, 2008

2008-12-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

Item #91: You wouldn't think it's all that complicated, but at $6 a pop & requiring unscrewing & climbing, it sure is a pain to replace those halogen bulbs, but we've replaced all 5 of them that needed replacing. Hallelujah!

December 5, 2008

2008-12-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

Item #29: We went another month without fast food (okay, 3 hours shy of being a whole month...close enough), and man, did that pizza taste good!!! Now we are resetting the clock & planning on not having fast food again until a month from now. It wasn't part of our original 101 list, but I'm liking this plan for us!

Tomorrow, we may be tackling Item #91 ... just have to see if we can afford to outfit the house with all those bulbs. They're not cheap!

December 3, 2008

2008-12-03T19:45:00.000-08:00

Item #19: I wrapped up our gift for the Season of Sharing ... and then we got an email about how 19, 688 letters were received from children who need to be matched with donors ... and as of today, there are still 7,471 left to be matched. Well, we made it 7,470 & decided to tighten the belt a teeny bit & buy a gift for another child. If you're moved to do so, click the image below.

or click here.

Item #74: We did it! We went for 6 months without using credit cards for anything other than travel expenses & emergencies (1 emergency only). I am just going to keep 'em tucked away ... we like this trend!

We've completed 40 of our 101 items thus far!

November 29, 2008

2008-11-29T11:26:00.000-08:00

Item #19: We have figured out what we want to purchase on behalf of Santa. I'll head to our local Toys R Us on Tuesday to acquire it, wrap it, and send it out!

Item #75: We went for our monthly visit to the Arboretum. All the leaves are off the trees, the sky was quite blue, and the air wasn't too chilled. We are hoping (okay, I am hoping, H is dreading) snow tomorrow!Item #99: We invested in an entertainment coupon book, and we found a number of restaurants that are near us that we've never tried before, so we'll be able to try out some new spots AND eat cheaply!

November 22, 2008

2008-11-22T17:10:00.000-08:00

Item #19: We are so excited! We got our "Dear Santa" letter in today's mail! I am now going to research & use all my skills to see if I can find a dollhouse for less than $30! I doubt it ... but I'll try. Her other requests are a doll & a book bag (easy enough to accomplish for less than 30 bucks, so I'll start with the grandest request first) ... but we also have clothing & shoe sizes if we wanted to get her clothes. It's such a tough call with kids who are below the poverty line. I want them to be warm for winter ... but I also know the innate desire of a child to have something to play with!

Item #90: We went to the local Teavana store we'd located & sniffed about 8 different teas, and chose 4 to bring home. We've tried the Ceylon one so far (I found it a bit too smoky for my tastes, but H admits he may have used too much tea ... and now we learn, possibly too hot water and too much steeping). Yes, tea brewing is becoming an art! We'll try the other 3 flavors over the rest of the winter.

Item #95: We purchased 3 more holiday gifts today ... and we've been reminded why we do not shop at Woodfield Mall: parking insanity, too many shoppers, and now a 10% sales tax! HOLY COW! We will not be returning there anytime soon. Except, maybe to visit Teavana in January, since there is only a 2% tax on the tea -- must be because it's a food item? I need to purchase one more gift, on Tuesday, then most of the rest are handmade to some degree!

November 20, 2008

2008-11-20T11:20:00.000-08:00

Item #51: Depending on which scale I use (gym vs. home) I have lost somewhere between 8 and 9 pounds ... WOOT! H hasn't weighed himself in a while, so I don't know how much progress he's made. I am confident we can, over the course of the next year or so, accomplish this task, though!

Item #74: We are doing great with our credit card usage ... or more accurately, lack thereof! We've got a few more weeks to go ... and I am hoping that, like with Item #29 (no fast food for a month) we will decide to continue it, because it's working out very well for us!

Item #81: I should take a new picture of the "potions & lotions" closet shelf, because we are really making a significant dent in the stuff. We are now totally out of stockpiled shampoo & conditioner (except for one set that is for guest use), and we are making our way through hand lotion pretty fast, now that the air is drier! We do seem to have an excess of bath gel and body wash, so I'm making an effort to use it on a more regular basis, too.

Item #84: I now have on the calendar to attempt making homemade ravioli the weekend after Thanksgiving. Just have to buy the ingredients & set aside a few hours. I may even invite some friends, because I think it will be fun!

Item #90: This weekend, we are planning on going to Woodfield Mall & hopefully we can scope out the Teavana store there.

Item #94: I asked our friends' handyman to look at our closet door ... it turns out that one of the disks has deteriorated rather badly, so that is why it keeps getting stuck. I'll have to call the manufacturer to see if we can get a replacement part. But, hey -- progress!

Item #95: So far, so good with the holiday budget. I am doing my best to keep us on track. We are making several holiday gifts this year, which we often do anyway, to supplement our funds. I'm finding new & fun ways of stretching out a buck!

November 17, 2008

2008-11-17T19:20:00.000-08:00

Item #19: I'm so geeked ... we received our solicitation letter from the Chicago Sun Times' Season of Sharing, which gives us the chance to play Santa to a needy child! We want to sponsor 4 kids over the next couple of years, but for right now, we've just asked for 1 letter. If our finances improve, we may sponsor another one, or we'll just do a couple next year!

Item #95: I'm also keeping a careful eye on our holiday budget. We're making several gifts this year ... but even so, I want to be sure we stay under our limit!

November 11, 2008

2008-11-11T20:06:00.001-08:00

Item #83: Complete! We made our 4th crockpot meal during our 4th week! Tonight's dinner was Mama's Chicken Stew -- easy and yummy!

What to tackle next??!

November 7, 2008

2008-11-07T19:32:00.001-08:00

Item #99: Today we dined at The Yardhouse, which is the 12th new local restaurant we've tried! Only 18 more to try! We had dinner/supper with two online WoW buddies & had a blast. We'll see them again tomorrow (they're visiting from Montreal) and may wind up at another new spot!

November 6, 2008

2008-11-06T16:11:00.000-08:00

Item #29: We extended our "no fast food for a month" item to be that we wouldn't have fast food more often than once a month ... and so we've patiently waited until today, one month later. I chose to splurge at Portillos ... and H picked Taco Bell. We're resetting the clock, now, and will wait at least one more month before indulging again!

In the spirit of making changes, both big and small ...

2008-11-05T10:44:00.000-08:00

I sent out an email to my friends & family this morning. And then I thought it couldn't hurt to make it public, and see if any of my online buddies might want to get in on the action as well. So, here it is:

Okay, here's the thought that germinated in my head while biking at the gym this morning (a wonderful spot for pondering the universe, let me tell you): I would like to begin an email discussion with you about positive changes that each and every one of us can make, above and beyond what we're doing now. I am inspired by the wave of enthusiasm and excitement from the election, and regardless of politics, I think each one of you will agree with me that the nation, indeed the world, will be a better place if we each step up and do just a little bit more than we are doing now. Whether we invest in our communities, our families, our government, our places of spiritual value, our environment, or some area I haven't considered, we have the potential to create a massive positive effect.

I know that many of you are excited about last night's election results ... and just about as many of you are sorely disappointed. I would like to step beyond the question of who has been elected and move on to the question of what will each one of us do in our own lives? Some of you I know are already actively involved in church activities, in deepening your spiritual self, in helping your community, and in other forms of activism. I think this is awesome, because you can inspire the rest of us to consider activities that we might not ever have thought of.

Here's my vision: I am sending out this email, asking if you'd like to participate in this discussion/brainstorming session. If you agree, I'll send out an email with some of my thoughts & ask people to reply with more ideas, to everyone on the list. It will not be an arena for political discussion, merely an opportunity to exchange ideas & to come up with plans of action. If you don't want to participate, that's fine, too -- I don't expect everyone to jump on this as it's got the potential to generate quite a few emails & to start up a larger process than some of you may want to undertake at this time!

If you want to participate, please email me back (hit reply, not reply-to-all, please) by this Friday, November 7th. If you do not reply, then I will make the assumption you prefer not to participate. If you have friends who you think might be interested in this little undertaking, please feel free to forward the email to them, and then have them email me directly to ask to be added. On Saturday, November 8th, I'll send out the first email to get the ball rolling & start the process of identifying different ideas ... it is my expectation that from there on out, it'll be a fairly organic process, but I'll try to step in and keep people on topic if they're straying a bit.

If, at any point, someone sends a flaming email or makes a nasty comment, I will contact that person for clarification. If, in my best judgment, I feel the person's having a negative effect on the process, I retain the right to rein them in and possibly exclude them from discussions.

So, are you up for it? Let me know! :D

If you are interested in joining, please contact me through my profile & I will add you to the distribution list!

November 4, 2008

2008-11-04T17:21:00.000-08:00

Well, we are quite thrilled to have done our civic duty & voted today! We are eager to see the results of the presidential election & have our hopes pinned on Barack Obama. 'Nuff said. On to the 101 list progress for today:

Item #83: We made Enchilada Casserole in the crockpot, so the 3rd week in a row for a crockpot meal ... next week will be #4 & will mean we've reached our goal, but we may make it a trend for the remainder of the winter season, 'cause, gosh ... it's so super simple to cook like this! And it tends to make some pretty tasty leftovers for the next day or two! I'd share tonight's tasty recipe with you, by way of a link, but sadly, Cooking Light's partner, MyRecipes.Com is doing some kind of wacky overhaul & I can't access my saved recipes anymore ... and I can't find it on the site via search ... and I can't seem to get anyone to respond to my emailed requests for help. Ah, well. One more useful tool gone the way of the dodo. Maybe they'll sort it out sooner or later.

October 31, 2008

2008-10-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

Item #40: H played for 3,480 grains today, and I played for 2,000, bringing our total to 66,480. We have a long way to go to reach a million grains of rice!!

We managed to accomplish a couple of things in October ... and now November is right around the corner, so we'll have to give our list another look-over and see what we want to tackle next. I'm all for doing #90 & patronizing a Teavana store, but we're slim on funds at the moment, so it may have to wait until later in the month. Tires & contact lenses come first!

October 30, 2008

2008-10-30T12:58:00.001-07:00

Item #24: Yay! Our gutters are cleaned! About 2/3rds of the leaves have fallen for the season, and I wanted to get it done before the old soggy leaves could get frozen into gutters ... and our recent overnight temperatures have been just below the freezing level, so the timing is perfect!

October 28, 2008

2008-10-28T17:22:00.001-07:00

Item #83: For the 2nd week (out of 4 weeks total), we're doing crockpot cooking tonight. Tonight's meal is Slow-Cooker Meat Loaf with Shiitake Mushrooms. We've made it before & it turned out great, so I'm making it again, with a side of red potatoes & some greens (salad for me, asparagus for H). Mmm....off we go to dinner!

October 26, 2008

2008-10-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

Item #79: I forgot to mention that on Friday I sent H into work with cupcakes. With fall sprinkles on them. I made a bunch of cupcakes for (1) a meeting on Friday morning (2) to share with my friend's kids and (3) to take to yesterday's get-together, so I figured I'd send the remainder to work. They were a big hit!

Item #99: We tried Go Roma today (gosh, I love having coupons that let us try new restaurants at reduced rates!), and declared it very good! It's not a very posh spot, but the food was quite tasty (I had pizza on a whole wheat crust, so it was even moderately healthy!) and reasonably priced (even without a coupon!), and the decor quite appealing. Two thumbs up. And we now have another 19 new local restaurants to try!

October 23, 2008

2008-10-23T19:35:00.000-07:00

Item #20: If you look at the sidebar, you'll see that we were promoting one of GlobalGiving's projects ... and we just got notification today that it's fully funded, which geeks us out tremendously! Read the report!

October 20, 2008

2008-10-20T11:16:00.001-07:00

Item #83: Tomorrow night, I'm making Beef Daube Provençal, our first of 4 weekly crockpot meals.

Item #99: My brother & his wife were in town, so we went out to lunch at Redstone, which was quite nice! We will most likely go back. 20 more new local restaurants to go!

October 12, 2008

2008-10-12T15:28:00.000-07:00

Item #75: We made our 7th monthly visit to the Arboretum today ... 5 more visits to go. Every month is so different from the previous one!

October 6, 2008

2008-10-06T19:08:00.001-07:00

Item #29: Although this item is complete, we are planning on continuing with a fast-food-no-more-often-than-once-a-month kind of thing. And we are resetting the clock tonight to day zero, because....

Item #100: We are trying Sarpino's Pizza tonight. It should be arriving soon. I hope.

Item #81: I didn't take all the little travel sized shampoos, conditioners, soaps & body lotions from our recent trip. We took ONE set, because we anticipated that subsequent overnight locations wouldn't have 'em. And we were mostly right. And we already used up the shampoo & conditioner ... so just brought home the half-used soap. 'Cause I hate wasting it. Maybe this is how I wound up in this predicament. *grin*

October 5, 2008

2008-10-05T15:09:00.000-07:00

We are back from our vacation in Washington State!

Just for good measure, we visited a 2nd roadside stand (Item #14) and it made me wish I had an empty suitcase ... I purchased 4 huge gingergold apples & 2 bartlett pears for only $2.00!!And we WERE able to complete Item #96, viewing a sunset from the top of a mountain -- not as dramatic as over an ocean or lake ... but still, very cool!
To answer Bethany's questions from the previous post ... H did NOT like mint at ALL!!!! ... and YES, it is THAT Cascadian Farms! I hadn't made the connection until we went inside the little stand & saw the cereal & thought I'd recognized the label!! Their ice cream was out of this world!!!!!!

On to more adventures!

September 29, 2008

2008-09-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

Item #41: On Saturday, H tried mint,rounding out our item on trying foods we think we don't like.

Item #14: And yesterday, we stopped at roadside vendor & bought stuff ... yummy yummy stuff!

Soon, we hope to see a sunset from a mountain top (Item #96) ...and if SUPER lucky (not likely), see the Northern Lights (Item #48)!

September 23, 2008

2008-09-23T06:24:00.001-07:00

Item #40: We've got to get more rice! I just played for 980 more, to round out our current total to 61000. We have a long way to go!

Item #89: I forgot to mention in the previous post that H talked to the music trio he enjoyed at the farmers' market & got some leads on some places that might teach banjo!

In October, we are setting our sights on #24 (clean our gutters) and #83 (make a crockpot meal once a week for a month).