Day Zero Updates

Self Improvement:
0


Financial:
2) Have my goal amount saved in my bank account before J & I marry.
I did this.  Yay!


Domestic/Home Projects1) Get Married!
As of March 26th, I've completed this one also!  You can see pictures here.


4) Decorate the house.

There's a couple shots of our progress.  We've gotten through the common areas where guests see :)

5) Host a holiday at our house.

We hosted Mother's Day with mine and John's parents and grandparents!  It was a success and everyone seemed to have a good time!

14) Change my last name.

Check!  Mrs. W now!!

15) Find a creative way to display a 'W' in the house.

I'm not sure how creative you'd think it is, but I painted a 'W' black and arranged it between some photos.  It looks good.

Professional

0

Travel
1) Take a cruise.

Yes, you can also read about that here.

2) Go to another country.

On our honeymoon, we went to Mexico and Belize.  You can read about that here too.

11) Go tent camping.

We actually did this last weekend.  I'll try and post pictures soon.  John used his new camera, so I haven't gotten my hands on the pictures yet.

For The Fun Of It

14) See a friend get married.

My friend, Melissa, got married two weeks before we did in Jacksonville.  Her wedding was beautiful and she was absolutely gorgeous! 

15) Take a pole dancing class.

Bachelorette Party!  And it was awesome.  I totally recommend getting a group of girlfriends together and going!

17) Do some spring cleaning on all the clothes I have.

Before I moved all my stuff to John's house, I got ride of TONS of clothes.  I still have TONS of clothes, but it's much better!

18) Give my old clothes to someone in need.

Any of the clothes I got rid of that were in good condition, I donated.

33) Write thank you cards within a month of our wedding to all of our guests.

Failed.  I suck.  I'm still working on them.

41) Join a team involving some type of athletic activity.

I'm playing softball this season.  Our team name=Scared of Balls.  Hahaha.

Miscellany Monday

1. A client of mine took John and I to the Magic/Heat game on Wednesday night, with fancy steak dinner on top :)  It was a fun night with R and his wife.  We had a great time and great seats!

2. Thanksgiving was awesome!  Started with the annual Turkey Trot, which I was pretty happy with my time since I had a late night the night before.  After the race, we started the preparation of all the food!  Lily was worn out at the thought of all that turkey!

Plus, my apple pie turned out looking pretty darn good if I do say so myself!

3.  I get to mark TWO more items off my 101 in 1001!!!  We put down new flooring this weekend...Friday, Saturday AND Sunday, but it was worth it.  We also painted the rest of the house!  We have a few minor touch ups to do, but the whole huge house can be marked off the list!  Yay!  So much for our relaxing holiday weekend we had planned!  Here's sneak peak at the new flooring.  It's plank porcelain tile, but looks like wood.  Pretty indestructible!  

It's now cleaner than pictured above and has furniture in the rooms.  I'll post more pictures when we have completed the trim, but we are very happy with the results.  All that hard work this weekend paid off!

The house was a complete mess all weekend because we had to shove all the furniture in the kitchen.  Lily was rather thrown off by this so I let her sit up with us during lunch on a stool.  She didn't know what to think!

4.  I'm taking advantage of Cyber Monday!  I have already purchased one rather large Christmas gift this morning and have gotten all of our client gifts ordered.  So far, I've saved almost $200!  Thank you discounts!  Is anyone else taking advantage of this shopping day?!  I hope to have most of my Christmas shopping done by the end of the day!

5.  My Insanity challenge starts today.  So far, I'm off to a pretty weak start.  I didn't get out of bed this morning...I blame it on the new floors and paint...and then, I forgot to bring my DVDs to work to do it during lunchtime.  I did however remember my clothes and shoes.  Pointless now.  So...after my little trip after work tonight...I'll be starting my workout after dinner time.  Boo.  Maybe they have a sneak peak online I could try?   Youtube...please help!

6.  Wedding Wednesday will return this week.  I haven't had much to say the past few weeks about it but a BIG item has arrived and that's what my little trip after work involves! So excited!

7. I have nothing to say about the Gators performance...or lack there of.  Thankfully, I was busy putting down tile during the game and was just listening mostly.  The coaches did not utilize the talent they had on the team all season and right now, we stink.  Let's get out of the Tebow era (although I adore him) and work with what we have NOW!  Every team has their good and bad years...this is our bad year.  Hopefully they can learn and at least look like they're trying next season, even if we don't win...let's not look SO pathetic. Urban, I admire you as a man, you're a great guy, but if you don't take the care of the coaching staff, things aren't going to look so hot for you...or the other coaches.  The end.

Happy Monday All!  Hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving!!

Insanity Workout Challenge

I'm sure most of you have heard of P90X and other workouts along those lines.  One morning, I turned on the TV and there was an infomercial on Insanity. 

The same company, Team Beachbody makes these two workout DVD packages, plus many  more.  It sounded like something I'd like to try, so I bought my first item ever off TV.  I started doing the workouts after marathon training last year, but decided to stop so I could focus on triathlon training this past spring and summer and then I once again was training for a 1/2 marathon, so I've decided next Monday, I am starting my 60 day Insanity Challenge.

These workouts are hard.  It seriously made marathon training feel like a break in some ways.  Crazy.  Each workout for the first month is 30-45 minutes and then the second month they are around 60 minutes.  So Monday, I begin the challenge from start to finish.  I am also going to be training for another 1/2 marathon I think John and I are going to do in February, so it should get interesting.  This program is all cardio and plyometrics.  It's hard, but effective.  I saw results in a couple weeks!  It should be exciting.  I will finish up at the end of January.  I'll be keeping tabs with you on my progress!  It's also one of my 101 in 1001, so I'm looking forward to checking something else off my list!

Happy Monday!  I'm happy it's a short week AND Thanksgiving!!

Weekend Pictures

My friend Melissa from high school

Getting ready for the game to start

My love & I

Cornhole...John & I had quite a winner streak going :)

Lots of people

Naptime?  Actually not...for once ;-)

The trash pile...

...be proud you lazy fans...

AND...

Another thing knocked off my 101 in 1001!  Make Gator Cupcakes!

Weekend Recap

Friday, I happily picked up our yummy cakes.  More on that Wednesday!  While eating dinner and cake, I watched

while John worked a little.  He thought it was a horrible movie, but I liked it.  It was the first time I'd seen it, but it had been on our Netflix list for a while, which kept getting pushed down.  I put it at the top last week after I had finalized our NYC plans...just because :)

Saturday morning, we got up and ran 5 miles + the Harvest Hustle 5K which took us to 8.13 miles.  It was a pretty early morning. We got done running, met one of my friends and her hubby for breakfast and then headed home.  I wanted to squeeze in a nap before my awards program that night, but it was a failed attempt.  I blame Lily.  Before I knew it, it was time to get ready for the awards ceremony.  I can now cross off two things from my 101 in 1001 after this evening!  

I found a pair of heels I LOVE to wear

And...

Practice curling my hair and actually did it myself for an event!  I ended up actually pulling it up in a ponytail and putting a flower in it one of the ladies had made for all the presenting ladies, and it turned out pretty cute.  No pictures though, it was a little busy!

After the awards ceremony, we were exhausted but had one more stop to make on our way home...our friend Marc's birthday party! which was a good time.  It's always fun with our group :-)

Sunday, we took the boat out.  It was a nice day.  We had bagels on the boat, cruised around looking for houses that might be for sale...that we can afford...canal lot at least...pleaseeeee!!  The boys did a little wake boarding/surfing, and pizza from Mama Mia's!  It was a great day!  Plus, my love is happy since he's been dying to go out on the lake lately.

Busy and fun weekend!  Back to the work week now!  Happy Monday my bloggy friends, hope it's a good one for you!

Day 10: Mission Complete!

Day Ten: One confession

I have not met an item on my 101 in 1001.  It's the no sweets for one week a month.  I deem this impossible while training for 1/2 marathons.  And after this one in November, John and I are signing up for another on in February.  It's not that I overindulge, sometimes that sweet tooth just gets the better of me.  If I'm not running as often, I can go literally months without eating junk, but my body just craves that sugar when I'm burning that extra energy.  Sometimes fruit can deter me from the sweets, but not for long.  I've decided it will be marked as a failed attempt.  One mini-sized candy bar during the day has become my undoing...boo.  But hey, there's no way that extra 50 calories is putting  a dent in my burn for the day...bright side?  Sure.


This is the end of my 10 day challenge!  Happy Hump Day!  

I want to wake up in a city that doesn't sleep...

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

I'm finally going to make it to New York City!  Yay!  Something I can mark off my bucket list and my 101 in 1001 list!  My mom decided we should take a trip before the wedding, just her and I.  She wanted New York City to be the final trip we took with me as a single lady-in the legal sense anyway!  So, in a month, we're off to see the sites!  I've never been, so I need tips from all of you!  We are going to hit the obvious sites: Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Central Park, 30 Rock (ah!) Ground Zero, Broadway, ect...but what else do I need to see??  Anywhere special we should eat?  Shop?  Steer clear of? Let me know! 

Disney Classics

I can officially cross off one thing from my 101 in 1001!  I have been searching for and bidding on Disney movies on amazon and ebay and have managed to collect five Disney Classics!

Drum-roll Please!

The Shack

Book #1 finished to check off of my 101 in 1001:

I'm honestly still not sure what to think about this book. It was a great story, but I am still trying to wrap my head around it. The story starts out with this guy (Mack) and he is fighting within himself after his daughter's disappearance and murder. They never had found a body, but all of the evidence leads to her death. This serial killer, who preyed on little girls and left his "calling card", had gotten away with 4 murders before Mack's daughter. He left her alone for a minute and she was gone and he had been dealing with this guilt for 3 years when he gets a note and that leads him into a weekend with God...in person.

I'm not one for reading religious stories really. I feel like many "Christian" books are all a man's thoughts, and not the actual truth, so I'm pretty careful when I read certain things so my own views do not get distorted by another man's view. This book is considered fiction, even though the man actually claims this happened in his life, and not that I'm questioning whether or not God could do this, it just isn't a normal thing. What I did like about the book was the way it painted God...loving, kind, forgiving, gracious, servant, and any other good thing we can normally think about, but more importantly, the relationship that was painted in the book: How God designed man and His to be. I guess that's what I took away from the book...it's not about the religion, it's about the relationship. It was worth reading though if you ever get the chance.

First book checked off my list :)

My 101 in 1001

Lately, I've been seeing The Day Zero Project pop up on other blogs I've been reading. I decided to start my own.

Starts: September 7, 2010

Ends: June 4, 2013

Self Improvement
1) Complete a half marathon in under 2 hours.
2) Finish the Insanity DVD package.
3) Get my measurements to my goals.
4) Make it 5 for 5 for one full month at the gym.
5) Run four 1/2 marathons before my 1001 days are up.
6) Get a physical next year.
7) Give blood at least once.

8) Get certified to teach some class or personal training at the gym.

9) Go one week a month without eating any sweets.

10) Go to church regularly.

11) Join a small group that J & I both like.

12) Find somewhere to volunteer.

13) Adopt a more positive attitude towards life and others.

Financial
1) Start my Roth IRA.
2) Have my goal amount saved in my bank account before J & I marry.
3) Make out a budget and stick to it firmly for one month.
4) Start contributing to a church.
5) Become even better at watching what I spend.

6) Create a detailed financial plan for J & I.

Domestic/Home Projects
1) Get Married!

2) Take a cake decorating class at Michaels.
3) Paint the house.
4) Decorate the house.
5) Host a holiday at our house.
6) Put down new flooring.
7) Make one dessert from scratch a month for a year.
8) Make some type of art from photography for the master bedroom.
9) Keep my car clean for a month straight.

10) Create my own piece of furniture.

11) Take another cooking class.

12) Put all my clean laundry away for a month.

13) Train Lily better.

14) Change my last name.

15) Find a creative way to display a 'W' in the house.

16) Make a cake for a friend's birthday using my new decorating skills.

17) Make Gator Cupcakes.

18) Find 2 fish recipes I enjoy enough to eat again.

19) Use the crock pot for dinner at least twice a month for a year.

Professional
1) Get my General Contractor's License.
2) Get LEED accredited.
3) Make two new contacts and build relationships.
4) Completely organize and decorate my office.
5) Figure out ways to keep the company a fun place to work for everyone in and out of the office.
6) Take 2 new courses a year through ABC to help myself learn something new.

7) Get more involved with ABC.

Travel
1) Take a cruise.
2) Go to another country.
3) Visit Matt & Kathy in Georgia.
4) Visit Delta, Ohio.
5) Go to Cedar Pointe.
6) Travel to Michigan to see my cousins.
7) Go somewhere in Texas, just for fun.
8) Go snowboarding with friends.
9) Plan a girls weekend in a historic city.

10) Go see New York City.

11) Go tent camping.

12) Go to California.
13) Visit a National Park.

14) Play in the mountains.

For The Fun Of It
1) Read the Bible cover-to-cover.
2) Read one new book a month.
3) Boudoir photo shoot.
4) Do something to encourage a soldier.
5) “Go to the movies” in a scandalous place.
6) Make a new friend.
7) Practice new looks with make up.
8) Find a new style for my hair I can manage daily (after the wedding).
9) Go to a concert.
10) Watch “Gone With The Wind”.
11) Participate in a project with the church.
12) Spend more time with my grandparents.
13) Go to an NFL game.
14) See a friend get married.

15) Take a pole dancing class.

16) Find heels I love to wear.

17) Do some spring cleaning on all the clothes I have.

18) Give my old clothes to someone in need.

19) Dance more with my love.

20) Take golf lessons.

21) Have 'wedding dress dinner' with the girls after J & I get married.

22) Try and see baby turtles hatching in the fall.

23) Take more pictures with those I love.

24) Look for coupons to save money.

25) Brew my own beer.
26) Make my own wine at home.

27) Take a bubble bath, at least once.

28) Practice using a curling iron and curl my hair for an event myself.

29) Walk Lily around the lake once a week.

30) Make a calendar for friends.

31) Collect five classic Disney DVD's.

32) Make a scrapbook for our wedding.

33) Write thank you cards within a month of our wedding to all of our guests.

34) Get a massage.

35) Go to a karaoke bar.

36) Take the MG to a car show.

37) Go to a winery.
38) Wax my car.

39) Take a motorcycle drivers class.

40) Go fishing.

41) Join a team involving some type of athletic activity.

42) Write a blog entry for each item crossed off my list.