Monday, I went to Moe's Southwest Grill and split a burrito with a friend. The stuff put on the burrito would have not been my first choice since I've never tried it but I went for it anyway. Consider this my food for the month that I didn't think I'd like. Additionally, I tried a V8 Fusion (mix of vegetable and fruit juices), also something I was nervous to try but glad I did. Now people won't bop my on the head!

Sent a birthday package for July!

And I think that's it since last time. Still working on the green items.

learn about food: items 53, 54, general update

53. Learn to cook/bake at least 5 things every two months
this is one that i'm still slacking on, more due to the fact i don't allow myself enough time for a real meals or make a list before going to the grocery store for food i might need. i am going to try to learn to make five things before this month ends, but if i don't, well then poo.

54. Learn 5 foods or habits every two months that put me at greater risk for diabetes.
i chose to put this on my list since both my grandmothers have/had diabetes, diagnosed within the last five years. with it running on both sides of my family, it only seems common sense to take precautions. so here are my five for the months of June and July 2008.

1. Eat lots of vegetables and fruits. Try picking from the rainbow of colors available to maximize variety.
2. Choose water and calorie-free "diet" drinks instead of regular soda, fruit punch, sweet tea and other sugar-sweetened drinks.
3. Choose non-fat dairy such as skim milk, non-fat yogurt and non-fat cheese.
4. Cut back on high calorie snack foods and desserts like chips, cookies, cakes, and full-fat ice cream.
5. Eat non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, carrots, broccoli or green beans with meals.

still working on the list of things that make me happy. what's been hard is finding the words and trying to think of different things. some things i've thought of are too similar in my opinion. also, a bad habit of mine, i think of stuff when i don't have the ability to write them down (thinking of stuff behind the driver's seat is one of the worst times!) the problems i'm having with this i can also foresee myself having with the list of things about friends. i'm debating on if i'll cut back the numbers or not for this reason.

finally, an update on the caffeine addiction. i had a friend suggest i do my actions in reverse. i only drink sodas with caffeine because i get a headache if i don't. i drink the soda(s) as soon as i can after waking up. the suggestion was i don't drink the soda until i feel the headaches coming on. i'm still debating if i should try this. headaches suck and knowing my luck, they will probably happen at the worst time possible. right now, i'm failing at this one on my list. summer has been laid back and i'm not as closely monitoring my food/drink intakes as i should. ^^;

last week, i saw The Incredible Hulk in theaters with Sharda, then two days ago, I watched Across the Universe on my laptop. two movies down!

101 things make me happy, sort through websites, bdaypackages, ongoing items

I'm starting to work on this item. I intend on keeping the list to myself until I am finished. When I get there, I will post it on here.

The past week, I've been sorting through websites and canceled some accounts. of the accounts, some won't completely clear the databases for another three months (to prevent fraud, they tell me). I will check back on those in three months. Google is my friend and helps me remember.

Also, two weeks ago, I sent a bday package and a week later, received a confirmation it was delivered successfully. yay!

There are a few items on my list that I have changed the font color. Those three items are things that are on going and being done. The three items are improve dental health, keep a steady handwritten journal and recycle.

Eat a food I don't think I'll like at least once a month: June

I went to a friend's house tonight and her boyfriend works at his family's Thai restaurant. he had out on the table of snacks some asparagus wrapped in prosciutto (tastes/looks like uncooked bacon). and remembering this item from the post the other day, decided that would be the item. and so i ate it. i bit of asparagus first and didn't like it but then i ate the rest of it in a single bite and it did taste better with the prosciutto, that taste powered the bitterness of the asparagus. i actually liked it once i had the two together.

once a month slip ups

I check my list every few days, see what I perhaps can tackle while at work. Well, I realized there's a few things that I should be doing every month that I kinda forgot about for June. Didn't go to the Freeman Center at all this month, nor have I tried any new food. I still have time to get the new food thing knocked off but I doubt I'll be making it to the Freeman Center before Monday.

I admit, some of the things I put on my list weren't so much that I want to do them as much as I know I should do them and this is just another way to remind myself of that. Freeman Center is amongst those.

The plan for the next couple of days are to eat a new food and start sorting through the email accounts.

General update

nothing really big has been crossed off the list recently, though a few small items have been works in progress. I've been reading, a lot. I'm currently reading three different books, and was reading a fourth up until yesterday (finished it!). I have gotten myself trained to recycle, though am waiting until the trash bag is filled to take it to the recycling place. I primarily have plastic and cans, though I have a single glass bottle near the others so I remember to take it along. I am also getting better about my dental health, and am brushing my teeth every day (have bad habit of skipping a day...) and even brush twice a day half the week! you know those chore charts for little kids? yeah, I made myself one for various things, including brushing teeth. the reminder on the wall has been working.

Last night, I did a sweep of my closet and pulled all the clothing I haven't worn in too long to justify taking the space. I stopped by a goodwill donation spot today and dropped the bag off. Here's a picture of my receipt (just so I can put some picture on this post)

that's all for now. i'll try to cross some more major things off in the next couple weeks. emphasis on try.

Reddish Knob (29) and Road Trip with Friends (59)

On June 8th, items 29 and 59 were completed. With Lauren and Andrew, the trip to Reddish Knob was made. I had an amazing time, we made a detour instead of taking route 81 straight to Harrisonburg and took Skyline Drive instead. we pulled off many times to at little pull off spots and took the views in. because of the detour as well as hitting some traffic outside of Richmond, we did not spend as much time in Harrisonburg as originally intended. we did drive around the James Madison University campus a little, found some nice garden (Edith Johnson Carrier Arboretum) and found some kids fishing for turtles. we fed ducks and then got back onto the road up to Reddish Knob. we bickered a little about the directions and lack of signs indicating what road we were on but made it in the end. the view was amazingly gorgeous, just like i had remembered.

for the ride back, Andrew and Lauren alternated who drove. Andrew drove to Richmond from Harrisonburg, we made a pit stop at his house, met his mother and then Lauren drove the rest of the way back. the adventure took 14 hours total but was totally worth it.



because of all today's driving, my car now needs to go into the shop for routine inspection. it gets that at 60,000 miles and i added enough with the adventure that it's still roughly 100 miles shy but i'm not waiting. that and from the point we got on Skyline Drive, my light was letting me know to service the engine soon.

i've got a couple photos up, i will add a couple more once I see what Lauren has on her camera.

clarification, i think

it was brought to my attention that items 71 and 81 are pretty much the same thing. (see a meteor shower and seeing a shooting star) while i do agree, i was also thinking, it's possible to see a shooting star outside of a meteor shower. am i correct in thinking that?

Starred items

These are my starred (*) items that I feel the need to explain a little further
Change my computer habits for the better
This entails several things for now and will probably change at a later date. I am going to try for one hour of leisure computer time while school is in session. Due to my current job, listing that for the summer session is not a wise idea.

Cut down on my procrastination
Procrastination is a really bad habit of mine. Here's what I am going to attempt to do: make a priority list each week of school assignments in terms of how long they will take. Less than 2hours is easy. Between 2 and 5 hours is medium and more than 5 is hard. There will also be a list for each month going on the same basis. I have a vague idea what I will do with these lists but I'm still working out the details and will put them up as I nail them down.

Drink only two 20oz caffeinated beverages a day
I have a caffeine addiction of the worst kind. Caffeine does not affect me in any way, shape or form with one exception: if I don't get a certain amount, I get killer headaches. While I am working to cut down on my body's addiction, it's not easy since it's a soda or an aspirin. To make myself feel not as guilty, since this is something I want really bad, for the first three months, I am going to allow myself twelve slip ups (that's an average of four per month).

First Post of another go round!

I originally started this back on January 1st but after feeling like too many of my items were meeting failure, I took another look at my list, made some revisions and a new target date. My list is on the sidebar for long term reference but I'm putting it on this entry as well. The list needs to be sorted and I will try to do that as soon as possible. There are also a few items with a * next to them. those items require a brief explanation, as they are ones I ran into major problems with but still feel they are worthwhile and need to attempt them. I've put in place a few rules for myself
-I am allowed five removals. If I wish to remove an item from my list, I am allowed to do so, given I explain why and I am allowed to do this a total of five times.
-I am allowed three slip ups before I must do the donation bit (see final item on list). I need to document the slip ups.

Well, here's my list

Learn
1. Learn to drive stick shift
2. Learn 10 Chinese characters and put at least one into some form of art
3. Learn about 5 religions I am unfamiliar with
4. Learn to make a dream catcher
5. Learn and win a game of Guitar Hero
6. Learn and win a game of Dance Dance Revolution
7. Learn to draw a comic or manga
8. Learn to draw
9. Learn how to do makeup
10. Learn basic American Sign Language class
11. Learn simple car maintenance
12. Learn how to meditate and do so everyday for two weeks
13. Learn to do a split
14. Learn 3-5 martial art moves
15. Learn to do a cartwheel
16. Learn to do a handstand
17. Learn to break dance
18. Learn to swing dance
19. Learn to do a back-handspring
20. Learn to do a flip
21. Learn 4 yoga moves. Two easy, one medium and one hard
22. Learn 5 self defense moves
23. Learn to walk in high heels

Environment/Nature
24. Find 20 ways to be more environmental friendly and practice them
25. Recycle cans, plastics and glass
26. See the sunrise on the ocean

Places
27. Go to the zoo
28. Visit Disney World again
29. Visit Reddish Knob again
30. Go to Bunnyman Bridge

Creativity
31. Attempt Project 365
32. Create some form of abstract art or collage
33. Make a documentary or other film, even if it's just for fun
34. Chronicle a day in my life through Polaroid Pictures
35. Finish writing a novel story
36. Keep a steady hand written journal - steady means write at least three times a week

School
37. Go to the Captains Ball
38. Go to one of my school's football games (working it doesn't count!)
39. Attend all classes (sickness/legitimate excuses aside)
40. Get my undergraduate degree
41. Determine at least three serious possibilities for post CNU
42. Cut down on my procrastination ***

Organizational
43. Create and maintain a catalog of my book collection
44. Keep my room clean/organize for 30 days straight
45. Sort through websites I belong to and delete any accounts I have not touched in at least three months. Do this every three months
46. Organize photos (both digitally and physically) and attempt scrap booking
47. Sort through email accounts and assign the websites that go with them
48. Organize my music library and sort music into play lists

Computer
49. Change my computer habits for the better ***
50. Go one week (seven days) without Facebook or Myspace at least twice a semester

Health/Fitness/Food
51. Get my hearing checked
52. Eat something I think I will hate at least once a month
53. Learn to cook/bake at least 10 things every two months
54. Learn 5 foods or habits every two months that put me at greater risk for diabetes
55. Drink only two 20oz caffeinated beverages a day *
56. Avoid dessert foods for a whole month, at least twice a year
57. Go to the Freeman Center at least three times a month during the school year
58. Improve dental health

Friends
59. Go on a road trip with some friends
60. Dance in the pouring rain with some friends
61. Go camping with some friends
62. List 100 things that make me happy about my closest loved ones
63. Use a public photo booth to take silly pictures with a least five different friends
64. Send at least one package through bday_packages a month

Goodwill
65. Leave 50 anonymous feel good messages a year
66. Smile at every person I see for a day
67. Go through my clothing at the end of each season and donate anything that has not been worn to charity

Fun/Experiences
68. Go to a live Rocky Horror Picture Show
69. Have a slumber party
70. Bungee jump
71. Watch a meteor shower
72. See a production at the Ferguson Center
73. See a Broadway production in New York
74. Sit on a rooftop
75. Go to a concert of a band I like (lose my concert virginity)
76. See at least 5 new movies every four months
77. Read at least 50 books a year besides textbooks

Wishes/Desires
78. See and get a photo of the legendary three legged deer at Camp Crowell
79. Have a boyfriend for at least a month
80. Save up $500 for a DSLR by graduation
81. See a shooting star

Personal
82. Write a list of 101 things that make me happy
83. Write a list of 50 non-physical things I like about myself

Miscellaneous
84. Send a card to PostSecret at least every 6 months
85. Try on a decent corset (and perhaps buy it if it looks good)

Items 86-99 TBD

100. Make a new list to start up March 1, 2011
101. Donate $2 to charity for every item not completed, with the exception of wishes/desires