YOU GUYS. There are only 45 days left until my 99 list expires! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by...there's still so much left to do that I'm going to have to roll over to my next list. Since I've been so bad at cataloging events as a I check them off (I'll be better at that next time, I swear!), I decided I'd better do an overview of everything I haven't already blogged about. And yes, I could do that when my list is over, but that's near the end of the semester when I have about a billion papers to grade, so...we're going to do this a bit early.
#8 - read the New Testament cover-to-cover (August 2012)
This was something I had already done in high school, but I felt it was important to read it again. I have my own opinions on the way many people interpret the Bible, but I think the best part--hands down--is the Gospels. Even if you have a different interpretation of who Christ is, those parables about the widow's mite and the good Samaritan and the vineyard laborers are just so good. As in, they make me want to be a better, humbler person. I'm glad I live in an age and place where religious texts are readily accessible and understood.
#17 - go back to Busch Gardens (October 2011)
One of the top three days of my life was the first time Ricky and I went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. There were no lines, it wasn't too hot or too cold, neither of us felt ill or tired or got blisters, and it was basically the most perfect day ever. We left before we could go again, but luckily, Tampa is home to the second Busch Gardens, and Ricky got me tickets for my birthday in 2011.
#19 - donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths (August 2011)
This originally was Locks of Love, but after some research (you guys know I love my research), I felt that Pantone Beautiful Lengths would make better use of my hair. (Apparently Locks of Love gets a ton more hair than they can use, so they wind up selling it. Not necessarily bad, but not where I wanted my hair to go. If I wanted to sell it, I could do that myself.) I made the cut in summer of 2011.
#44 - memorize the order of American Presidents (January 2013)
Basically, this is my new party trick.
#47 - read a biography of Walt Disney (December 2012)
I didn't think it would be that difficult to find an authoritative biography of Walt Disney, but apparently there's a boatload of controversy over biographers who either whitewash or demonize him. The only I settled on was Neal Gabler's Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination.
Neal Gabler apparently had unprecedented access to the Disney Vault, which obviously is going to give him more authentic information on the goings-on of early Disney Studios. He's a journalist, and it shows in the slant he tries to put on the whole story, but it's easy to ignore his efforts to fit Disney into his thesis and to just enjoy the facts and anecdotes instead. It was a good read.
#54 - go to an MLB spring training game (March 2012)
Since we live 20 minutes from the Red Sox spring training stadium, we knew we HAD to go, despite the fact that Ricky is a die-hard Yankees fan. To surprise Ricky, I bought tickets for the Red Sox/Yankees spring training game, which sold out in the first 15 minutes of them being put on sale. We won't talk about how much I paid for them.
The teams were tied at the end of the last inning (so intense!), and instead of going into extra innings, both teams decided to call it a draw and go home. There was united booing from both Red Sox and Yankees fans. SUCH a fun game, though.
#66 - pay for someone behind me in a drive-thru line (2011?)
This one's been hanging out FOREVER, because I kept meaning to send the picture from my phone, but the lady at Sprint wiped my SIM card before I got the chance. Sigh. Anyway, we were driving back from Orlando after one Disney trip, and we stopped at our usual Wendy's for trip-home-food. Remembering my list, I asked the window cashier how much the total was for the guy in the work truck behind us (it looked like a painting/repair truck, with ladders and such). It came out to about $10, so I stuck it on our bill. I'm SO glad I put this on my list, because honestly I don't think I ever would've done this otherwise. The feeling of just randomly doing something nice for someone is pretty great.
#67 - get a credit card (June 2012)
A lot of people were surprised when I told them I was 23 and didn't have a credit card, but it seriously was the best thing I could've done. I'm glad I have one now, because my credit is amazing, but I'm not sure if I would've handled it well as a college student. What finally prompted me to get one was a birthday gift I wanted to get for Ricky without him seeing the back account--now we have joint checking and our separate credit cards. So perfect for surprises!
#68 - apply for a graduate assistantship (May 2011)
Graduate school was a tricky thing, because in order to start in time to finish when Ricky did, I had to forego any sort of graduate funding. (I applied really late in the game.) That was a blow to the bank account (I'm still shaking my head over that one--make better choices, past self!), so I made sure to get a graduate assistantship the following years of grad school. Now my school pays me to go! Funny how that works out, and by "funny" I mean "academia is a hot mess." I've enjoyed teaching composition classes for the past three semesters, but I'm more than ready to be done.
#72 - get Ricky new glasses (February 2011)
Ricky--bless his heart--wore a pair of crooked glasses for who knows how long before I insisted we get him a new pair. It's not that Ricky isn't aware of these things--it's just that he can't justify spending money on something he doesn't really need. (Which, let's be honest, makes him a way better person than me.) So finally I had to step in and basically demand that he let me pick out new glasses for him.
#75 - find a job in Florida (October 2010)
We moved to Florida in August, which means it took me two months of pretty constant job searching to FINALLY land a job at Borders (RIP...), and that was because a friend of my mom's was a regional manager and put in a call to our local store down here. Working at Borders was great because I got to "check out" brand new books like a library, I had a 40% discount, and I got to take my pick of the advance reader copies of new novels each month (that's how I read one of Orson Scott Card's novels before it was released). Working at Borders was TERRIBLE because of everything else. I had to deal with the entitled, retired elite of Southwest Florida, who live in mansions on the beach and are used to upscale boutiques and restaurants and the service that comes with them. Unfortunately, there are no upscale bookstores, so I had the privilege of being on the receiving end of their nonsense. (I once had an elderly customer drop-kick a shopping basket at me because I wouldn't sell him a Kindle. AT BORDERS.) I'm pretty sure that job is what made me hate people forever. But now I have a great job that I love! So retail can go suck an egg.
#78 - get my wedding ring (finally) resized (?)
Nothing exciting here. Lost about 10 pounds after we got married (yeah, mono!) and never gained it back, so my wedding ring was too big. I put this on my list because I kept forgetting to do it! Now it fits me. The end.
#79 - get health insurance (March 2012)
One of the greatest things that came along with my fancy salaried grown-up job was great benefits. I've had to go to the doctor a lot recently for some weird heart palpitation issues, and I seriously don't know what I would do if I wasn't covered under my company's plan. (Those tests are expensive!) I hope that one day no one in this country will have to worry about whether or not to go to the doctor when they're sick.
#82 - attend the weddings of at least three couples/friends (3/3) (July 2012)
Two years ago, my friend Kayla came down to Florida for a funeral for one of her friends. When I came over to Ft. Lauderdale to see her, we had lunch with one of the other families that had been at the funeral, and it was a great time. Afterwards, Kayla asked me for my opinion about the guy she was sitting next to at lunch, because she thought she might be interested in him. Now they've been married almost a year! And I still haven't written about their wedding. I was one of Kayla's bridesmaids in her lovely park wedding at Key Biscayne (right off the beach!), complete with peacocks and a really obnoxious honking bird. It was SO good to see my college roommates that came down for the event! We had a blast staying with Felipe's family and stuffing our faces with paella. Ricky walked into a sliding glass door completely sober, and everyone thought he was super drunk. (Not sure if he ever corrected them, because how embarrassing is it to walk into a door for no reason?)
#83 - buy "Virginia Is for Lovers" t-shirts for Ricky and myself
One of Virginia's tourism campaigns revolves around the phrase "Virginia Is for Lovers": hiking lovers, beach lovers, etc. You can find "Virginia Is for Lovers" t-shirts everywhere around the state, but since I didn't get around to buying one before we left, I had to order two online for Ricky and me. I haven't taken pictures of us in our t-shirts, so you're just going to have to take my word for it.
#90 - start a collection (2010-present)
George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate puts out a beautiful, signature ornament every Christmas, and since Ricky and I had our wedding reception there during the winter, we decided it would be a fun tradition to buy each ornament to show how long we've been married. Now we have three!
#8 - read the New Testament cover-to-cover (August 2012)
This was something I had already done in high school, but I felt it was important to read it again. I have my own opinions on the way many people interpret the Bible, but I think the best part--hands down--is the Gospels. Even if you have a different interpretation of who Christ is, those parables about the widow's mite and the good Samaritan and the vineyard laborers are just so good. As in, they make me want to be a better, humbler person. I'm glad I live in an age and place where religious texts are readily accessible and understood.
#17 - go back to Busch Gardens (October 2011)
One of the top three days of my life was the first time Ricky and I went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. There were no lines, it wasn't too hot or too cold, neither of us felt ill or tired or got blisters, and it was basically the most perfect day ever. We left before we could go again, but luckily, Tampa is home to the second Busch Gardens, and Ricky got me tickets for my birthday in 2011.
 |
| I'm wearing my zombies shirt because it was right before Halloween. This was after the giraffe tried to eat my whole hand. |
#19 - donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths (August 2011)
This originally was Locks of Love, but after some research (you guys know I love my research), I felt that Pantone Beautiful Lengths would make better use of my hair. (Apparently Locks of Love gets a ton more hair than they can use, so they wind up selling it. Not necessarily bad, but not where I wanted my hair to go. If I wanted to sell it, I could do that myself.) I made the cut in summer of 2011.
 |
| Is it possible to have hair envy of your past self? Because seriously. |
 |
| I dyed it for the HP7:P2 premiere, and then cut it like two weeks after. This is right before I had my husband chop away at it. |
 |
| This is my "WHAT HAVE I DONE" moment. I got over it, but it's kind of terrifying holding that much of your own hair. Pulled straight, it was about 13 inches at the longest point. |
#43 - learn to hit a golf ball the "real" way (April 2012)
Look, you can't just live in South Florida and not know how to do certain things. One of those "certain things" is hitting a golf ball in a way that doesn't embarrass yourself or others. Seeing as the extent of my golfing knowledge basically only made it as far as mini-golf...I decided to ask my dad and grandparents (golfing pros!) for assistance.
 |
| "Did I hit it? I hit it, right?" (I did.) |
I'm not going to show you my golfing stance because it looks ridiculous, but I was definitely getting some good hits in by the end. Even Ricky, who purportedly HATED golf, joined in the action...and picked it up immediately. Now he says he doesn't mind it all that much. (Go figure, right?)
 |
| We were hitting the balls over the pool so that they would be easy to retrieve. Dad was so excited that Ricky was good at golf. I think he has visions of future Florida golf escapades. |
When I was doing my travel study in England back in 2008, I picked up a ruler with all the Kings and Queens of England since 1066 listed on the back (the ruler of rulers!). I carried it with my all over, and every time we were on a long train or bus ride, I would memorize it. I can still name all of them in order, but I thought it was pretty shameful that I couldn't do the same for the US Presidents! So I put it on my list. I tried songs, I tried acronyms, I tried straight memorization...and I just couldn't do it! My brain just hates America, apparently. Finally, I found this awesome YouTube video of a teacher who folded the Presidents' names into a totally ridiculous story. Here's the video, and here's my retelling of the story from memory:
In outer space, there's a little alien named Waj (Washington, Adams, Jefferson). Waj LOVES M&M's (Madison and Monroe--"a" comes before "o") and always wears a baseball cap with a big "A" (Adams) on the front. One day, Waj decides to visit Earth, and the first person he meets is Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson is driving a huge van (Van Buren) with even bigger tires (Tyler), and his hairy son (Harrison) is in the front seat. On the day Waj comes to visit, someone pokes (Polk) the tires, and they have to get a tailor (Taylor) to sew them back together and then fill more (Filmore) air into them. They have the tailor sew it with a special material Jthat can never be pierced (Pierce). Everyone's so excited that the tires are fixed that they set off cannons (Buchanan). Then they have a parade, led by Abraham Lincoln. (At this point you have to remember that each of the two Johnsons come after the most famous assassinations.) Lincoln signs a Grant for more hay (Hayes), and then he goes with Garfield the Cat to get it from King Arthur and send it back to Cleveland, OH. Lincoln sends his hairy son (Harrison) to Cleveland (fun fact: Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms) to get the hay, but his son bungles it up and Lincoln banishes him to Mt. McKinley in Alaska. On the way up the mountain, he sees teddy bears in some rose bushes (Teddy Roosevelt). When he gets near the top, the draft (Taft) in the air gives him the willies (Wilson) and causes him to harden (Harding) because it's so cool (Coolidge), and he has to use a Hoover vacuum to thaw himself out. On the way back down the mountain, he sees the rose bushes again, but the teddy bears are gone (F.D.R.). When he gets back to the parade, a very manly, true man (Truman) has joined, and he has very large eyes (Eisenhower). Also at the parade are Barbie and Ken (Kennedy)(and another Johnson), and Ken has shaving nicks (Nixon) all over his face. They're tired of walking in the parade, so they get in a Ford pulling a big cart (Carter) filled with Raggedy Ann dolls (Reagan--bit of a stretch there) in the shape of a Bush. Someone lights a cigar (Clinton--word association only) and lights the Bush of dolls on fire, and the whole thing goes up with a bang (Obama, which apparently is being used an onomatopoeia).
#47 - read a biography of Walt Disney (December 2012)
I didn't think it would be that difficult to find an authoritative biography of Walt Disney, but apparently there's a boatload of controversy over biographers who either whitewash or demonize him. The only I settled on was Neal Gabler's Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination.
Neal Gabler apparently had unprecedented access to the Disney Vault, which obviously is going to give him more authentic information on the goings-on of early Disney Studios. He's a journalist, and it shows in the slant he tries to put on the whole story, but it's easy to ignore his efforts to fit Disney into his thesis and to just enjoy the facts and anecdotes instead. It was a good read.
#54 - go to an MLB spring training game (March 2012)
Since we live 20 minutes from the Red Sox spring training stadium, we knew we HAD to go, despite the fact that Ricky is a die-hard Yankees fan. To surprise Ricky, I bought tickets for the Red Sox/Yankees spring training game, which sold out in the first 15 minutes of them being put on sale. We won't talk about how much I paid for them.
 |
| We were afraid those threatening storm clouds were going to rain us out, but it blew right past us. |
#66 - pay for someone behind me in a drive-thru line (2011?)
This one's been hanging out FOREVER, because I kept meaning to send the picture from my phone, but the lady at Sprint wiped my SIM card before I got the chance. Sigh. Anyway, we were driving back from Orlando after one Disney trip, and we stopped at our usual Wendy's for trip-home-food. Remembering my list, I asked the window cashier how much the total was for the guy in the work truck behind us (it looked like a painting/repair truck, with ladders and such). It came out to about $10, so I stuck it on our bill. I'm SO glad I put this on my list, because honestly I don't think I ever would've done this otherwise. The feeling of just randomly doing something nice for someone is pretty great.
#67 - get a credit card (June 2012)
A lot of people were surprised when I told them I was 23 and didn't have a credit card, but it seriously was the best thing I could've done. I'm glad I have one now, because my credit is amazing, but I'm not sure if I would've handled it well as a college student. What finally prompted me to get one was a birthday gift I wanted to get for Ricky without him seeing the back account--now we have joint checking and our separate credit cards. So perfect for surprises!
#68 - apply for a graduate assistantship (May 2011)
Graduate school was a tricky thing, because in order to start in time to finish when Ricky did, I had to forego any sort of graduate funding. (I applied really late in the game.) That was a blow to the bank account (I'm still shaking my head over that one--make better choices, past self!), so I made sure to get a graduate assistantship the following years of grad school. Now my school pays me to go! Funny how that works out, and by "funny" I mean "academia is a hot mess." I've enjoyed teaching composition classes for the past three semesters, but I'm more than ready to be done.
#72 - get Ricky new glasses (February 2011)
Ricky--bless his heart--wore a pair of crooked glasses for who knows how long before I insisted we get him a new pair. It's not that Ricky isn't aware of these things--it's just that he can't justify spending money on something he doesn't really need. (Which, let's be honest, makes him a way better person than me.) So finally I had to step in and basically demand that he let me pick out new glasses for him.
 |
| Old (also, really glad I have a better camera now) |
 |
| New! |
#75 - find a job in Florida (October 2010)
We moved to Florida in August, which means it took me two months of pretty constant job searching to FINALLY land a job at Borders (RIP...), and that was because a friend of my mom's was a regional manager and put in a call to our local store down here. Working at Borders was great because I got to "check out" brand new books like a library, I had a 40% discount, and I got to take my pick of the advance reader copies of new novels each month (that's how I read one of Orson Scott Card's novels before it was released). Working at Borders was TERRIBLE because of everything else. I had to deal with the entitled, retired elite of Southwest Florida, who live in mansions on the beach and are used to upscale boutiques and restaurants and the service that comes with them. Unfortunately, there are no upscale bookstores, so I had the privilege of being on the receiving end of their nonsense. (I once had an elderly customer drop-kick a shopping basket at me because I wouldn't sell him a Kindle. AT BORDERS.) I'm pretty sure that job is what made me hate people forever. But now I have a great job that I love! So retail can go suck an egg.
#78 - get my wedding ring (finally) resized (?)
Nothing exciting here. Lost about 10 pounds after we got married (yeah, mono!) and never gained it back, so my wedding ring was too big. I put this on my list because I kept forgetting to do it! Now it fits me. The end.
#79 - get health insurance (March 2012)
One of the greatest things that came along with my fancy salaried grown-up job was great benefits. I've had to go to the doctor a lot recently for some weird heart palpitation issues, and I seriously don't know what I would do if I wasn't covered under my company's plan. (Those tests are expensive!) I hope that one day no one in this country will have to worry about whether or not to go to the doctor when they're sick.
#82 - attend the weddings of at least three couples/friends (3/3) (July 2012)
Two years ago, my friend Kayla came down to Florida for a funeral for one of her friends. When I came over to Ft. Lauderdale to see her, we had lunch with one of the other families that had been at the funeral, and it was a great time. Afterwards, Kayla asked me for my opinion about the guy she was sitting next to at lunch, because she thought she might be interested in him. Now they've been married almost a year! And I still haven't written about their wedding. I was one of Kayla's bridesmaids in her lovely park wedding at Key Biscayne (right off the beach!), complete with peacocks and a really obnoxious honking bird. It was SO good to see my college roommates that came down for the event! We had a blast staying with Felipe's family and stuffing our faces with paella. Ricky walked into a sliding glass door completely sober, and everyone thought he was super drunk. (Not sure if he ever corrected them, because how embarrassing is it to walk into a door for no reason?)
 |
| On the balcony at the hotel. (Shamelessly ripped from Kayla's Facebook, because I'm inept and don't know how to share it here.) |
#83 - buy "Virginia Is for Lovers" t-shirts for Ricky and myself
One of Virginia's tourism campaigns revolves around the phrase "Virginia Is for Lovers": hiking lovers, beach lovers, etc. You can find "Virginia Is for Lovers" t-shirts everywhere around the state, but since I didn't get around to buying one before we left, I had to order two online for Ricky and me. I haven't taken pictures of us in our t-shirts, so you're just going to have to take my word for it.
 |
| You can just pretend this one is mine... |
 |
| ...and that this one is Ricky's. :) |
#90 - start a collection (2010-present)
George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate puts out a beautiful, signature ornament every Christmas, and since Ricky and I had our wedding reception there during the winter, we decided it would be a fun tradition to buy each ornament to show how long we've been married. Now we have three!
 |
| 2010 - Anniversary of the Estate renovation |
 |
| 2011 - Prayer at Valley Forge |
 |
| 2012 - Commemorating the hospitality of the Washingtons (nice camera progression there--yikes) |
#91 - put valuable documents in a safe/deposit box (September 2012)
Finally did this! Bought a fireproof/water-resistant safe online for our passports and such. Great investment.
#94 - give a Christmas Jar/Secret Santa gift to a family in need (December 2012)
Last year, we "adopted" a family at the local Women's Shelter for Christmas. We played Santa for a little boy, a little girl, and their mom. We didn't think to take any pictures, but it was absolutely the best experience in the whole world. I was more excited to shop for them than I was for my own family! If you have the means, and a Women's Shelter nearby (and you probably do), this is such a great way to give back. Truly.
---
Stay tuned for more at the end of the remaining 45 days! I've got a bunch in progression that I'm hoping to finish up by then.
---
Stay tuned for more at the end of the remaining 45 days! I've got a bunch in progression that I'm hoping to finish up by then.
Comments
Post a Comment