Wednesday's Word

Doff / DOF / transitive verb
1. To take off, as an article of clothing
2. To tip or remove (one's hat).
3. To put aside; to rid oneself of.

After I finished sweeping, I grabbed my check, went to the locker room, and doffed the monkey suit, slipped into my jeans, sneakers and T-shirt and broke camp.
-- Reginald McKnight, White Boys: Stories

Any moment now and Max Linder would ride out from around the corner on a pair of white horses, fire blanks at a passing beauty, and doff his top hat to hide his face from the policeman.
-- Nina Berberova, The Book of Happiness

Benny doffed his cap grandly.
-- Thomas Maier, Dr. Spock: An American Life

And he became as a pillar of fire to superannuated peoples who had but to doff the lethargy of custom to find themselves young.
-- J. F. A. Pyre, "Byron in Our Day", The Atlantic, April 1907

Thanksgiving 2009

I am finally getting around to doing a recap of our trip to Georgia for Thanksgiving. We left on Tuesday around 12:30 PM once we had both skipped out of work. We drove like little bats out of hell and made the 788 mile trip in 11 hours. I have never been so happy to see an end destination in my life! We visited with Eric, Jess, and Drew (Jen had already gone to bed) for a little bit before heading to bed.

We both slept in kinda late on Wednesday. My Drew spent the day helping the other Drew do some stuff to his car. That evening, us girls went to see New Moon at the movie theater. This was a HUGE deal for me! I hadn't been to a movie theater in over 3 years. And Drew and I have never been to the movie theater together. Amazing, I know. Anyway, I broke my streak and we went to see a movie.

Thanksgiving morning is when we do the Gobble Job. It's a 5k/10k that is sponsored by Must Ministries (I think).

Lots o' people!

Drew and I are sadly out of shape. And not to mention, that walk was the first time I had done anything sorta strenuous since the surgery. And they had us trudging up some sorta steep hills! I'm proud.

Friday was some more bumming around the house. The Drew's worked on the car some more. Then, us girls went shopping. I couldn't complain.

On Saturday, Drew, Jen, and Emma went to go visit some of her family in Alabama, so Eric and Jess took us around Atlanta.

We went to Centennial Park and spent a whole bunch of time there. Of course, I wanted a picture in the fountain.

We start to try and get out and it's really nerve-wracking! You never know when those fountains are going to squirt up. So, Eric, who took the picture, walks over and points to a fountain and says, "This one didn't squirt the whole time I was taking pictures. I think it's broken." Can you guess what happened the minute that Drew went to step over it?

The CNN building is located right by the park, so we went inside for a little bit. They offer tours, but we didn't really want to do that.

On Sunday, Drew and I left bright and early to begin our trek home. I was excited to be able to go through the mountains in the day light. Well... early morning light!

It was so wonderful to be able to see friends and family for the holidays. And now, it's not too much longer until we see them again for Christmas and New Years. Yay!!!

We're Cool Homeowners!

We got our first snowfall recently, so, of course, we had to shovel the driveway for the first time as homeowners.
Aren't we so cool?

And you can even use this picture as a before picture. We're painting the kitchen and dining room! We're hosting the Christmas Eve party for my side of the family and we figured that we needed to at least paint the kitchen and dining room before everybody comes over. As of right now, the kitchen is finished and work has begun on the dining room. Here's a before of the dining room.

Wednesday's Word

Ratiocination / rash-ee-ah-suh-NAY-shun; rash-ee-oh- / noun
The process of logical reasoning.

For all their vaunted powers of rationcination, grand masters of chess tend to be a skittery lot.
-- "People", Time, October 26, 1987

The adventures of Sherlock Holmes proved so popular that it became a given that mystery tales should include a sleuth who investigates a murder or other crime, and by virtue of intelligence, ratiocination and perseverance solves a case that initially seemed unsolvable.
-- Maxim Jakubowski, "A beginner's guide to crime fiction", The Guardian, October 29, 1999

Anticipation Sir Arthur Conan Doyle by more than 20 years, an American physician named John Babbington Williams was scribbling stories extolling the fictional exploits of James Brampton, a New York detective with uncanny gifts of observation and ratiocination.
-- Marilyn Stasio, "Guilt's Companion", New York Times, December 26, 2008

I Have An Excuse This Time

Have you wondered where I've been? I've been a little more MIA than usual. The last time I was here I told you that Drew and I were going to Georgia for Thanksgiving. While we were in Georgia, the guys decided that they would try and fix the computer.

Yeah, that didn't exactly go as planned.

They did some defraging and then suddenly we needed a password to sign onto the computer. We've never had a password. And we couldn't guess what the computer decided to magically make it either. We have a friend who is quite the computer genius and said that she would fix it as soon as we got home.

The minute we got home last Sunday I made Drew take the computer over there. She couldn't hack into it, and after having the computer for a week, realized that the hard drive was completely dead. And she couldn't get anything off of it. We lost everything on there! All of our documents and most importantly, our pictures. Words cannot express how upset I am about this.

Needless to say, we have a lot of work to get our computer back to where it was. And, we've started to paint our kitchen and dining room to get it ready for my family to come over on Christmas Eve. I'm overwhelmed!

I promise to recap our trip to Georgia, it just may take a little while. Bear with me!

Wednesday's Word

Myrmidon / MUR-muh-don; -duhn / noun
1. (Capitalized) A member of a warlike Thessalian people who followed Achilles on the expedition against Troy.
2. A loyal follower, especially one who executes orders without question.

He risked assassination, torture or . . . retaliation, the defining signatures of Mr. Milosevic and his ultranationalist myrmidons.
-- Bruce Fein, "Follow U.S. war crimes advice?", Washington Times, May 10, 2001

I felt quie sure that the myrmidon on duty in Gadsby Row would tell you all about my visit.
-- Georgette Heyer, Behold, Here's Poison

The best hotel, and all its culinary myrmidons, were set to work to prepare the feast.
-- Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit

Wednesday's Word

Provender / PROV-uhn-duhr / noun
1. Dry food for domestic animals, such as hay, straw, corn, oats, or a mixture of ground grain; feed.
2. Food or provisions.

It turns out that he and thousands of other German immigrants have been acting as pre-invasion intelligence-gatherers, ensuring that "the German Army knew almost to a bale of hay what provender lay between London and the coast."
-- Niall Ferguson, The Pity of War

Frances Trollope, Captain Marryat, Colonel Basil Hall and Charles Dickens in 1842 all commented on the way Americans wolfed down their provender as fast as possible, cramming the cornbread in their sloppy maws and, worse, doing so in grim silence, punctuated only by noise of slurps, grunts; scraping knives and hacking coughs.
-- Simon Schama, "Them and US", The Guardian, March 29, 2003

No More Secrets

If you remember here, I told you that I had a lot going on, but I couldn't reveal anything just yet. Well, the time has come. I can spill the beans.

As you probably know, I've worked at a bank since July 2007. I have never really enjoyed my job there. I enjoyed the work, but I, in no way, enjoyed the sales aspect of it. Hated it actually! Guess what? I got a new job. I was offered the position in September and have just been working both jobs since they are both part time.

Drew and I have decided that we want to go to Georgia for Thanksgiving again this year. We went in 2007, but we weren't able to go last year because of the wedding. Once I found out that the new job gave us the day after Thanksgiving off, we decided that we simply couldn't miss it again this year.

I worked my last day at the bank yesterday. It's sad to leave, but good to move on. I was promised to go full time in December at the new job. But have recently found out that it may not happen until January now. But we knew that, right? Companies always make promises and very rarely follow through. Oh, what I wouldn't give to work for a company that actually said what they meant and meant what they said.

Wednesday's Word

Exegesis / ek-suh-JEE-sis / noun
plural exegeses / -seez /
Exposition; explanation; especially, a critical explanation of a text.

It is a fiercely argued exegesis of Shakespeare's plays in the tradition of Samuel Johnson, Hazlitt and A. C. Bradley, a study that is as passionate as it is erudite.
-- Michiko Kakutani, "Vast Shakespearean Drama With All People as Players", New York Times, October 27, 1998

These are tightly argued, crisp exercises in literary and cultural exegesis which make perfectly clear the brilliant patterns of language and oftentimes strained analogic thinking of the poets.
-- review of Made in America, by Lisa M. Steinman, in the Journal of Modern Literature

No variety of love is too trivial for exegesis. No aspect of love is so ridiculous that it hasn't been exhaustively reviewed by the great thinkers, the great artists, and the great hosts of daytime talk shows.
-- P. J. O'Rourke, Eat the Rich

Their works are the subject of innumerable analyses, exegeses, seminars, and doctoral theses.
-- Alan Sokal and Jean Bricmont, Fashionable Nonsense

Could It Really Be Over?

Last Thursday, November 5, Drew and I went back to the doctor for a follow up appointment after my surgery. I don't think that I had ever been so excited to go to the doctor. I never got the opportunity to talk to her after the surgery, so I was anxious to hear things from her and to be able to ask some of the questions that I had been having.

Dr. H showed me the pictures that she took during the surgery. Boy, were those interesting! I honestly had no idea what I was looking at, but she went through them and pointed out things to Drew and me. I basically just took her word for it. She showed me the spots where I have endometriosis. She said that I have Stage 4, which is the worse there is. She discussed with me everything that she told Drew and my mom after the surgery. We basically decided that doing continuous birth control to stop my periods would be the best decision for right now. She told me that I had to wait until the Sunday after my next period to start. Dr. H then said that I would probably have one more bad period then.

I am extremely happy to report that I am finishing up my cycle and I was not sick at all. Not even a little bit!!! This is such good news to me. That also means that I'll be taking my first birth control pill tonight.

I'm really nervous about it. The pharmacy tech said that I would probably be nauseous with it, so it would be best to take it at night so that I could sleep through it. I'm just praying that God lays his hand over and protects me. I don't want to feel sick anymore from all this stuff. I just want to feel better, normal.

I want to say a huge thank you to all of my family and friends who have called or written to see how I've been feeling. I can't express to you how much it has meant to me!

Wednesday's Word

Forfend / for-FEND / transitive verb
also forefend
1. a. (Archaic) To prohibit; to forbid.
b. To ward off; to prevent; to avert.
2. To defend; to protect; to preserve.

The Tory leader sort of wanted to say that the government should deploy the army more rapidly, but -- heaven forfend -- he didn't want to imply that it was anybody's fault that the soldiers hadn't been deployed!
-- Simon Hoggart, "A greasy whiff dispels the stench of worthiness", Guardian, March 22, 2001

If one of us is missing, heaven forfend, then the king's forces are diminished.
-- Leon Wieseltier, Kaddish

The river of discovery will continue to flow without cessation, deepening our understanding of the world and enhancing our capacity to forfend calamity and live congenial lives.
-- John Maddox, What Remains To Be Discovered

Wednesday's Word

Skulduggery / skul-DUG-uh-ree / noun
also skullduggery
Devious, dishonest, or unscrupulous behavior or activity; also: an instance thereof.

And then the inquests, and the coroner's reports, and the hints of diplomatic cover-ups, and skulduggery in high places.
-- Hilary Mantel, Eight Months on Ghazzah Street

Laptop theft was the third most common electonic skulduggery, behind viruses (84 percent) and unauthorized employee use of computers and software (78 percent), according to the survery by the Computer Security Institute in San Francisco.
-- Michael Cooper, "Low Tech Joins the Fights Against High-Tech Theft", New York Times, April 23, 1998

For instance, the Federal Trade Commission already goes after some kindsof Internet skulduggery, like selling products that promise more than they deliver.
-- David Stout, "New Internet Anti-Fraud Center Announced by Attorney General", New York Times, May 9, 2000

I'm Still Whole

I thought that I should probably recap surgery and let everyone know what happened.

We arrived at the hospital bright and early at 7 AM. We checked in and were given a pager. Drew and I sat and waited for about 10 minutes and then a nurse came and brought us back to hospital "cubicle". It was a 3 walled room with a curtain, a bed, and a bunch of machines. The nurse had me change into one of the stylish operating gowns and then we played the waiting game.
After about an hour, another nurse came in and hooked up my IV. It was my first time ever having an IV. Obviously, it was Drew's first time too!

After the IV got hooked up, I had to just lay around and wait. Before that, I was pacing and couldn't sit still. There must have been something in there to calm me down!

Surgery was scheduled to begin at 9 AM, but wouldn't you know it, they were running late. Dr. H came in to talk to us about what she was planning on doing. It was nothing new. Then, the anesthesiologist came and talked to me about what he would be doing. His name was Dr. Bone. I told Drew that I hoped he was hot with a name like that. He was older, which was ok by me. I'd much rather have a seasoned veteran knocking me out than some young buck fresh out of diapers.

A new nurse came to get me and wheel me back to the operating room. I was actually pretty calm. Again, there must have been something in that IV! She wheeled me into the room and introduced the other two nurses that were in there. I didn't have my contacts in or my glasses on at this point, so I was blind. I saw people, but I wouldn't be able to pick them out now. The nurse wheeled my bed up right next to the operating table and had me scoot over onto it. She untied my gown and it was absolutely freezing in there!!! She starting sticking heart monitors on me that didn't help my goosebumps. The anesthesiologist put a blood pressure cuff on and I remember telling them that I was sorry that I was shaking so bad and that I was cold and nervous. Dr. Bone said that it was ok because they weren't nervous at all. Good thing Doc! Dr. H came into the room then and I felt a poking in my IV. Dr. Bone then stated that I would be going to sleep. I looked up at the lights and remember thinking that I needed to be sure to keep my eyes open because I didn't want them to think that I was asleep but not really be asleep.

The next thing I remember was waking up and asking how long I had been asleep for. I told them that I felt like I had been dreaming. Then, I started coughing. I had a breathing tube during surgery and it made me feel like I had a frog in my throat. I kept coughing and clearing my throat. So annoying! I woke up in the recovery room and immediately asked for something to drink. The nurse that was attending me brought me ice chips and kept asking every two seconds if I was nauseous. I said no and open my mouth for more ice. I could not stop coughing. I asked for a drink, but that wasn't happening apparently. After being asked about 20 times if I was nauseous and proving that I was awake and coherent, I was wheeled to the post surgery "cubicle".

A new nurse was in there and asked if I was in pain. I actually wasn't too bad, but I knew better than to wait. I said yes, and she told me that she would be bringing me an oral pain med and asked what I wanted to drink. Um..... just wheel the entire pop machine in my room please! I asked for Sierra Mist and was told that I needed to eat some crackers with the pain meds. Graham crackers were my choice. Honestly... best graham crackers ever! (Keep in mind that it was the first solid food I had had since Saturday.) Once the new nurse had me checked in, she called for my mom and Drew to come back.

Drew and my mom waited in the waiting room during surgery. They have a screen in there that told me where I was the entire time during surgery. They could see what time surgery prep started, what time surgery started, what time surgery ended, and when I left recovery.

They came back, and then we just waited for me to get discharged. We probably spent an hour and a half to two hours waiting for me to get discharged. I actually felt pretty good. Until I sat up to get dressed. The doctor had to use air to puff up my abdomen during surgery. The air has no where to go after surgery, but rise. The minute I sat up, the air rose straight to my shoulder and almost brought me to tears. It hurt.so.bad. On the drive home, the air was in my ribs and I could hardly breathe. It was not fun.

Once home, I basically just laid around. I mean, what else was I going to do. And I laid around on Wednesday and Thursday too. Friday, I finally felt like I could stand up for an extended period of time without falling over, so I decided to take a shower. Best.shower.ever!! I felt like a whole new woman. I felt good yesterday too and had a good time handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. We even went to Adam and Nicole's for their Halloween Party.

I have two incisions, one right under my belly button and one right on my pubic bone. Neither one are very pretty right now. I do still have all of my organs!

Dr. H talked to Drew and my mom after surgery and she said that my right ovary was stuck to some tissue and other organs, so she unstuck that. She said that that was probably contributing to my pain during my period. My left tube was filled with fluid, so she drained that. She said that she doesn't think that it will ever work. I do have a large amount of endometriosis and she cleaned up some of it. Dr. H said that I'm at high risk of a tubal pregnancy, so I will have to be monitored very closely if and when I become pregnant. That is still a little ways off for Drew and I.

I have two options at this point. First is to be put on a medicine that will basically put me into menopause. Dr. H does not recommend this option because I could only be on it for a short amount of time and it wears away at bone density. I'm already small, so that's not a good choice. The second is birth control that will stop my period. It always seems to come back to the birth control doesn't it? I don't want to choose that route, but if it's going to keep me healthy and painfree until Drew and I decided to try for a baby, then so be it. We have an appointment on Thursday with Dr. H where I'm sure we will be discussing things.

Happy Halloween 2009

Drew and I went to Adam and Nicole's tonight for their Halloween Party. I actually felt pretty good and made it through the party. Here are pictures of some of the people who dressed up.

Amanda was a left over and Josh was a Smurf.
Stephanie and Nicole were 80's workout chicks. Steph's leotard cracked me up. It was a thong in the front and in the back. Awesome!

Dawn was Big Bird. Such a neat costume!!

Her husband, Dan, was Michael Jackson.

Jono, a guy that Drew and Adam know, was some singer guy from Judas Priest. You can't see in the picture, but he had stuffed his pants so it looked like he had a rather large member. Hilarious!!

And last, but not least, my husband. He ran to K-Mart at 4:30 and bought whatever he could find. He paired that with his FrigiWear and instant costume!

We had trick-or-treaters at the house, so we don't have to put it up for sale. I had joked that if we didn't get any, I would be putting it on the market the next day.

Wednesday's Word

Conflate / Kuhn-FLAYT / transitive verb
1. To bring together; to fuse together; to join or meld.
2. To combine (as two readings of a text) into one whole.

Scott Reynolds's creepy debut feature [film] conflates the present and the past with ingenious use of flashbacks.
-- Anne Billson, "Bent beneath the weight of its own righteousness", Sunday Telegraph, March 1, 1998

Painting America as a drug-ridden society leads to bad policy -- as does the tendency in some quarters to conflate the various drug abuses into a single dreadful statistic.
-- William Raspberry, "Not a Drug-Ridden Society", Washington Post, April 21, 2000

. . .lean and mobile military units that conflate the traditional categories of police officers, commandos, emergency-relief specialists, diplomats, and, of course, intelligence officers.
-- Robert D. Kaplan, "The roles of the CIA and the military may merge", The Atlantic, February 1998

One Year Anniversary

Since Drew and I can't go to dinner tomorrow night, we decided to move our celebration up one night. We ran some errands this afternoon, picked up all of my clear liquids, and went to Red Lobster for dinner.

Drew introduced me to seafood while we were on the cruise in 2007. I feel in love with so many new items that I would never have tried if it wasn't for that cruise. One of my particular favorites is crab cakes. I absolutely love them!! When Drew and I decided that we weren't going to be going to JMK, we decided to go to Red Lobster, and that made me just as happy. Drew indulged in endless shrimp and I, of course, had crab cakes. Don't worry though, I helped him eat some shrimp! I needed to be sure to stuff myself good and full because it will be the last good meal I eat until at least Tuesday afternoon. (And as long as my stomach will let me, McDonald's chicken nuggets will be the first thing that I request.)

After dinner, we came home and popped open some champagne so that we could toast our first year of marriage.

It is so amazing to me how quickly this year has flown by. It's unreal. We've definitely had some challenges, and lots of ups and downs. But we've also had so many joys too! I am so blessed to be Drew's wife. I love him more and more everyday and I look forward to what our next years will bring us.

Happy Anniversary Drew!

Liquified

Surgery on Tuesday is barreling towards me. The doctor's office called me yesterday and told me that they want me to start a clear liquid diet starting tomorrow morning until surgery.
I am allowed to have:

• Coffee with no cream or sugar. I don't drink coffee. At all. Next option
• Soda, but it can't be diet or red.
• Jello
• Juice, not red and no pulp
• Soup broth

Sounds scrumptious, doesn't it? I was an emotional wreck yesterday after the doctor's office called. As you know, it's our anniversary tomorrow, and we had plans to go to JMK for dinner. Well, now dinner can't be done because I'm stuck on this stupid clear liquid diet. That, compiling with everything else that has been going on, and I was a mess of tears all morning.

Best.Husband.Ever!!!

As I'm sure you lovely readers know, our anniversary is coming up. I had to work at the bank until 6 tonight. I came home, walked in the living room, and greeted my husband. I then started to head back to the bedroom to do what I do every night when I get home from the bank. Put my pajamas on! I started calling for Simon because I saw him when I walked in, but then he ran away. I didn't see him in the hallway and figured he was in the bedroom. As I approached the bedroom, I heard a squeaking and wondered what Simon was doing. I flipped the light on in the bedroom and was greeted by the cutest little kitten in a cage! Drew got me a kitten for my anniversary present!!!!!

Drew got him from one of his co-workers. He is 8 weeks old today.

And he is crazy!! Watch the video that we took of him. He does more playing in the kitty litter than anything else.

I am totally in love with him. We haven't decided on a name yet. We're leaning towards George because it kinda sounds like orange. We're fans of naming our pets "normal" names. That way I don't feel like a loser shouting Fluffy or Nugget (Mom!) to our pet. Any suggestions?

Wednesday's Word

Aesthete / ES-theet / noun
One having or affecting great sensitivity to beauty, as in art or nature.

Beijing, with its stolid, square buildings and wide, straight roads, feels like the plan of a first-year engineering student, while Shanghai's decorative architecture and snaking, narrow roads feel like the plan of an aesthete.
-- "Sky's the Limit in Shanghai", Los Angeles Times, April 25, 1999

But he was also an aesthete with a connoisseur's eye for the wild modernist innovations with letterforms and layout of the 1920s.
--Rick Poynor, "Herbert Spencer", The Guardian, March 15, 2002

Where the standard Oxford aesthete of the 1920s had been slowily dissipated, full of wild talk about decadence and beauty, Auden was preaching a new gospel of icy austerity and self-control.
-- Ian Hamilton, Against Oblivion

Looking Back

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

MIA Blogger

I know that I have been very neglectful of this poor blog lately.  There is a lot going on right now.  Unfortunately, I just can't talk about everything right now.  I will be able to reveal what's been going on in a couple weeks, so be on the lookout for that news.  It's good too!

Our one year anniversary is in 8 days.  It's surreal.  I can't believe it's here already.  It's hard to believe that a year ago we were a week away from the wedding.  I remember being so anxious and excited.  I remember begging for time to speed up.  Now, I wish that I had wished for it to slow down so that I could have savored the time more. 

Surgery is in 10 days. I'm scared to death. 

Wednesday's Word

Pukka / PUHK-uh / adjective
1.  Authentic; genuine
2.  Superior; first-class

He talks like the quintessential pukka Englishman and quotes Chesterton and Kipling by the yard and yet he has chosen to live most of his adult life abroad.
-- Lynn Barber, "Bell book . . . and then what?" The Observer, August 27, 2000

If he does not have a house, the government gives him a pukka residence, not a . . . shack on the pavement but a solid construction.
-- Salman Rushdie, The Ground Beneath Her Feet

Wednesday's Word

Foofaraw / FOO-fuh-raw / noun
1. Excessive or flashy ornamentation or decoration.
2. A fuss over a matter of little importance.

A somber, muted descending motif opens and closes the work, which is brief but effective. It provided much needed relief from the fanfares and foofaraw in which brass-going composers so often indulge.
-- Philip Kennicott, "Brass Spectacular is a Spectacle of Special Sound", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 17, 1997

As usual, with all cooperation with Tom Lea, Art becomes a "taking away" process rather than the adding of ornaments, rules, and other foofaraw.
-- David R. Farmer, Calgary Sun

Making the Times best-seller list, or a movie, or all that other foofaraw is not necessarily proof of [a novel's] lasting significance.
-- Roger K. Miller, "Peyton Place' was remarkably good bad novel", Minneapolis Star Tribune, December 29, 1996.

Surgery Date

It's finally confirmed that my surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, October 27.


Tensions are already running quite high here in our house. I never would have imagined that our first year of marriage would have been filled with so many challenges and obstacles. We're praying for the best and I ask that you do too. I will keep everyone posted with updates as we get closer and as the surgery actually happens.

101 in 1001 October Update

1. Take Drew to Arizona
2. Read the Bible
3. Visit the Daughtry’s in North Carolina
4. Visit the Landgren’s in Colorado
5. Make dinner every night for a week
6. Go to church at least one Sunday a month
7. Take a dance class
8. Move out of our apartment
9. Buy a house
10. Start our family
11. Pay off all credit cards (0/4)
12. Go to a Cubs game with Drew
13. Watch at least 5 Cubs games each season with Drew (and not complain about it) 5/15
14. Learn sign language
15. Learn to play the piano
16. Go on a spontaneous overnight trip
17. Go snowboarding or skiing
18. Don’t drink pop for an entire week
19. Go to Florida
20. Read 5 books that have turned into movies (2/5)(Twilight, My Sister's Keeper)
21. Watch the movies too (1/5)(Twilight)
22. Do a drastically different hairstyle
23. Get braces
24. Read the Twilight series (4/4)
25. Organize the closets
26. Host Christmas Eve for my side of the family
27. Go to bed before 10PM at least 60 times (8/60)
28. Go on a second honeymoon
29. Organize address book
30. Find 4 new recipes to cook for dinner (1/4)
31. Start a family tradition with Drew and me
32. Find a family doctor
33. Have 8 girls’ night (0/8)
34. Take a yoga class
35. Get a massage
36. Go to Starlight Theatre three times (0/3)
37. Clean out Drew’s clothes
38. Pick and print out wedding pictures for frame
39. Go to the movie theatre with Drew
40. Try 5 new restaurants (2/5)(Granite City, Land's End Tavern)
41. Stay off the computer after work for one week
42. Get a job in my field
43. Take a cooking class
44. Put my feet in the Atlantic Ocean
45. Put my feet in the Pacific Ocean
46. Go golfing
47. Make a new friend
48. Teach someone something
49. Play hookie with Drew one day
50. Play a video game with Drew
51. Pick apples from the apple orchard
52. Plan a big surprise for Drew
53. Make dinner for my family
54. Make dinner for Drew’s family
55. Spend a day with my brother
56. Let Drew teach me something new
57. Learn one new word a week and blog about it (39/143)
58. Put at least $20 into my savings account every two weeks (19/71)
59. Eat dinner at the Signature Room again
60. Volunteer anywhere
61. Be a Chicago “tourist” – Go to the Museum of Science and Industry
62. Be a Chicago “tourist” – Go to the Shedd Aquarium
63. Be a Chicago “tourist” – Go to the Field Museum
64. Be a Chicago “tourist” – Go to the Hancock Observatory
65. Be a Chicago “tourist” – Go to Adler Planetarium
66. Go to Navy Pier
67. Stay at a Bed and Breakfast
68. Go to Brookfield Zoo
69. Go on a picnic
70. Go camping
71. Read “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” when I become pregnant
72. Take a photography class
73. Cross stitch a picture
74. Set up a 401k
75. Get a physical once a year (1/3)
76. Pay off bills as soon as they come in rather than waiting until they’re due
77. Host Thanksgiving
78. Throw a surprise party for someone
79. Send out birthday cards every month for a year (0/12)
80. Completely clean bathrooms every week for a month (0/4)
81. Recycle
82. Completely clean the tables off every night for a month (0/30)
83. Vacuum and dust every week for a month (0/4)
84. Don’t swear for a week
85. Go skydiving
86. Become known for making or doing something
87. Take a ballroom dancing class
88. Take an acting class
89. Research getting an MBA
90. Drink only water for a week
91. Splurge on a spa day for me
92. Splurge on a spa day for me and a friend
93. Encourage at least one other person to make a list like this one
94. Purchase a china cabinet
95. Purchase 5 new pieces of clothing and DON’T feel guilty about it (5/5)
96. Host a game night with our friends
97. Clean and organize garage
98. Do something I don’t want to that will make someone else happy
99. Preserve my wedding gown
100. Donate $5 to a charity for any uncompleted items on this list101. Make a new list at the end of 1001 days and include any items I didn’t complete on this list