CRISTINA'S LAW

I work for an amazing company! Every year they divide the company into 3 groups (we only have 21 people in the company) and each group gets $5000 to donate to a charity or organization of their choice. This year my group and I decided to donate to the Second Harvest Foodbank. Not only did we get to donate our money to these wonderful people who are VERY short on food, donations, and supplies this year, but we also got to donate our time!

Our group of 6 spent 2 hours bagging apples from these ginormous crates! I think we completely bagged 4 or 5 crates in that time. While it may not seem like hard work, the constant bending over and the occasional bad apple made it a fun challenge. There was actually a group of old folks from an assisted living facility there and we were trying to bag more apples than them. This may not seem like it would've been a hard task but they come every week to help and were very experienced baggers! I still think we managed to bag more than them. Either way, it was a great experience and always feels good to help those in need. Happy Holidays!

It has been awhile since I've updated my 101 list. I have actually put a lot of my items in progress and have just been a very bad blogger and not actually recorded what I've completed. I absolutely LOVE to read, that's why I wanted to read 101 books during the course of my to-do list.

My favorite books to read are series, I feel like I get to know the characters better and that I'm actually part of the story (yes I'm a total nerd and I know it, I just like to get lost in a good book). Since I'm a huge fan of the Twilight series, my friend suggested I read the Sookie Stackhouse series. So I bought the box set of them from Borders and sat down to read. I think I finished the 8 books in a week and a half. I guess there is a 9th book that didn't come in my box set that I still need to buy and read but I won't have time for awhile now that it's the holidays.

I have to say, I loved the series!! I didn't fall in love with the first book but the more I read the more I couldn't put the book down! Sookie is a strong willed young woman who slowly becomes more entwined in the supernatural world. The books follow along with her, uh, adventures with the supes. She falls in love, falls out of love, falls in lust, gets in trouble, picks up a second job, meets new friends, and enters into a world she hardly knew existed. If you haven't already read these books, please borrow them from the library or buy them at a bookstore. Totally worth the purchase and a great and easy read. Since the books are also the very popular True Blood HBO series, I can't wait to get my hands on the first 2 seasons to watch on a cold winter weekend!

On Monday 9/28 at 5:15am, my husband got out of the shower, turned to me and asked if I wanted to call in and just lay in bed all day. My immediate, and groggy, response was - YES!! 

It was the day after my golden birthday and I wanted nothing more than to....do nothing! And so it was. We both called in to work and went back to sleep. The day consisted of waking up around 10am, and moving to the couch where we watched tv and took a nap. At lunch time I did leave the house to pick up some Noodles & Co (my favorite, as previous post states). We continued to watch tv and sleep all afternoon, all while cuddled up on the couch under a warm blanket. It was a perfect day. No makeup....no work....no clothes!....nothing! It was a great thing to put on the list and I might have to make this an annual event.

Whoo hoo!! We have another one in progress!! Tonight I made a new dish. It was not complex and it didn't require a million dishes and a lot of clean up time. Tonight I made beef stroganoff from a recipe I found on Kraftfoods.com. It was yummy and delicious. I also blogged about it under my recipes blog. If you are too lazy to check it out, here's a little something to wet your palette....

Wow! Two posts in one day!! Aren't you all lucky?! Well, it just so happened I went to lunch with one of my friends from my old place of employment. We do lunch usually about once a month and we almost always go to Noodles & Company. Now, if you know me at all you know my favorite food is pasta and Noodles is easily one of my favorite places to eat! On the menu today, Penne Rosa topped with Feta cheese and grilled chicken. I decided that I'd also pay for my friends lunch. It was a great surprise for her and made me feel good to do something nice for someone else! I'm already drooling again for more Noodles....

I have started two longer term goals on my list. #46 is to read 101 books. I finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger. I want to see the movie when it comes out on DVD but I always like to read the book first so I have a better understanding of the characters. On a scale of 1-5, 5 being AMAZING, I'd rate this book a 3.

It's about a girl who meets a man as a little girl. She grows up seeing him from time to time as he randomly time travels back. Then she meets him in the present and they fall in love and get married, all the while he is still time traveling. It was a good book but not very exciting. I like books with a little more action and more stuff going on. I found it could be a little difficult to keep track of what year the characters were in and how old they were. Other than that, a decent read and a good filler of time.

Since I've also finished a 2 of my 101 goals I have put $10 into a savings account. I've started 2 others (these ones) so I'm just going to put my $5 for each started project in savings. This way, if I don't finish them then I'll still have to donate money as well. But, worse comes to worse, I have some extra cash money in the bank account to spend (or save) for later!! Gotta love the dolla dolla bills y'all!!

I just started working as a bartender every other Friday. This has now started me on my way to learning 3 new cocktails. I learned how to make a pink taco shot (ok, it's not a cocktail but could be with a little modification). It is half X-Rated and half Tequila. I'd make it into a drink by adding ice and Sprite (Sierra Mist or 7-Up). I do not really like X-Rated or Tequila and I really loved this!! I'd suggest making it for a party as it has a great pink color!

This is my best friend in the world, Sara. She is also my sister-in-law. I told her bout the 101 in 1001 and she jumped on the bandwagon. So, Sara, thanks for helping me complete another task on my list! I'm also trying to get her to start a blog so she can keep track of it but....we'll see if she really does it (yes Sara, this is a challenge for you b/c I know starting a blog is on your list!).

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

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

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Yep, so I'm jumping on this bandwagon too. I have some things that I'd like to accomplish, mostly before I have children. This is in no particular order yet but I will make sure I organize it somehow and repost it. So, here it goes:

Start Date: September 3, 2009
End Date: May 31, 2012

1. Read 101 books (0/101)
2. Print professional wedding photos and put in an album
3. Make a small album for each parent of wedding photos
4. Print digital photos and put them in albums
5. Do 50 crunches a day for 30 days straight (0/30)
6. Work out at least 3 times a week for a month straight
7. Purchase 1 workout DVD and do it for the set time frame
8. Cook a complex meal from scratch
9. Cook one new dish a month for a year (0/12)
10. Visit New York City
11. Visit California
12. Tour a vineyard
13. Call in sick to work and do absolutely nothing
14. For every item not completed, donate $5
15. Learn how to meditate
16. Complete 5 5K races (0/5)
17. Pay off my credit card
18. Pay off my consolidation loan
19. Have at least $2000 in a savings account (0/2000)
20. Do something nice for my husband just because
21. Bake cupcakes from scratch (both cake and frosting)
22. Re-learn spanish
23. Get another tattoo
24. Go snowboarding at least twice
25. Take a dancing class
26. Take a cooking class
27. Take a photography class
28. Go to church once per week for a month 
29. Start a vegetable garden
30. Plant flowers in my yard
31. Put up a fence in the backyard
32. Bake bread from scratch
33. Try 3 new foods or foods I didn't think I'd like
34. Get a library card and use it
35. Go to a museum
36. Go camping
37. Send out cards to everyone in my family on their birthdays
38. Write letter to my in-laws
39. Organize my filing system and my mail
40. Do not complain about anything for one full week
41. Volunteer at least 10 hours (0/10)
42. Go one full week without eating any sweets
43. Start an herb garden
44. Organize my many recipes into a nice cookbook
45. Bake a cheesecake from scratch
46. Take a romantic vacation, just me and Kurt
47. Visit my dad in KY
48. Only drink water or tea for one month (no soda!)
49. Go wine tasting
50. Be an extra in a movie
51. Make a final decision when asked at lease 3 times (0/3)
52. Visit the Chicago Aquarium
53. Plan a day of things that I want to do - and do them all
54. For every item completed, put $5 in savings (0/101)
55. Complete a 10K
56. Try 10 new restaurants (0/10)
57. Make a home video
58. Learn how to make a good sushi roll
59. Go to a great restaurant/bar and just drink champaign
60. Go to the ballet
61. Don't drink alcohol for one month
62. Buy an expensive piece of clothing or shoes, guilt free
63. Complete wedding scrapbook
64. Buy a friend lunch
65. Make homemade pasta
66. Make homemade pasta sauce
67. Take a pole dancing class
68. Take a trip to Europe
69. Have sex every day for 2 weeks with my husband
70. See at least 50 movies on the IMDB Top 250 list (0/50)
71. Take a cake decorating class
72. Get up early and go to the farmer's market 3 times (0/3)
73. Re-evaluate t his list twice per year (0/6)
74. Host a dinner party
75. Take Thor for a walk 2x/week for a month (0/8)
76. Do something really nice for my mom
77. Do something really nice for my in-laws
78. Do something really nice for my dad
79. Save $500 to buy clothes for myself
80. Host a theme party
81. Ride a mechanical bull
82. Get one person to start a 101 in 1001 list
83. Step out of my comfort zone and do something new
84. Take a spinning class
85. Visit Colorado
86. Take a road trip
87. Spend some "me" time figuring out who I am and what I want
88. Blog about this project as I complete the tasks
89. Take an acting class
90. Learn how to mix 3 cocktails
91. Throw a surprise birthday party
92. Hang stuff on my walls
93. Don't bite cutitles for one month
94. Go greener
95. Eat a piece of fruit and a vegetable a day for 1 week
96. Don't eat fast food for 1 month
97. Learn how to do something I can't do now
98. Become more computer savvy
99. Add a new post to personal and recipe blog at least once per week for 3 months
100. Send thank you cards for every gift I get for the next year
101. Complete first 101 in 1001 list