101 in 1001

I gave in and checked out The Day Zero Project because I have noticed some of my fellow bloggers making their lists. Day Zero, as my blogger friend/former classmate Adrian pointed out, is very public in terms of posting your list on their site (I did so, but don't think it will get much visibility there from people who may actually be interested in what I have chosen as goals). So, for added scrutiny, here's my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I will strike through a task when I have completed it and hopefully, because it is also on my list, document the accomplishments as they unfold.

Without further ado, here's the 101 things to be completed by May 2, 2013 :D

1. Watch 5 Best Picture winners I have not seen (0/5)

2. Go to a book signing

3. Make a pie from scratch

4. Complete a scrapbook

5. Send a handwritten letter

6. Host a fancy dress party

7. Attend a rally for a cause I really care about

8. Start a new family tradition

9. Take a cake decorating course

10. See a movie in IMAX

11. Go to a film festival

12. Send a secret to PostSecret

13. Travel to New York City

14. Read 10 non-fiction books (0/10)

15. Start planning for a family :)

16. Plan and cook a different meal for dinner each day for a week (0/7)

17. Have a working draft of a book completed

18. Audition for local theater

19. Lose weight

20. Travel outside the United States

21. Write a letter to my husband every month for one year, to be read on our next anniversary (0/12)

22. Blog at least once per week

23. Start a recipe book

24. Create a photographic journal for one week

25. Write on 20 creative writing prompts.

26. Do a sponsored run / walk for charity

27. Visit Europe

28. Write a list of 50 things that make me happy

29. Have professional photos taken

30. Take a picture every day for a month (0/30)

31. Do 10 random acts of kindness (0/10)

32. Buy a professional camera

33. Bake and decorate cupcakes

34. Drink 32 oz of water each day for one month (0/30)

35. Use the treadmill at work at least twice per week

36. Go on a picnic with my husband

37. Move into a larger house

38. Join a book club

39. Learn to use the SLR for yearbook

40. Go on a fancy dinner date with my husband

41. Save money for a Caribbean vacation

42. Go on a cruise with family/friends

43. Try a zumba class

44. Read and review 25 books on my blog (0/25)

45. Make a cheesecake from scratch

46. Take my mom on an overnight shopping trip

47. Buy a moleskine journal

48. Write regularly in said journal

49. Choose one entry from journal to post on blog each month

50. Give closet an IKEA makeover

51. Finish decorating the guest room

52. Organize the garage

53. Plan 5 surprises for Johnathan (0/5)

54. Complete school admin add-on program

55. Pass principal's exam

56. Ask 10 friends to suggest one book, and read them all (0/10)

57. No fast food for one month, use money saved for new house fund

58. Find a church we both like

59. Play free rice everyday for one month

60. Try one new recipe each month for one year (0/12)

61. Organize my classroom library

62. Finish my summer reading list

63. Make a consistent effort to use reusable shopping bags

64. Start an after school book club for students

65. Complete my paperback Harry Potter set (3/7)

66. Mail Christmas cards by December 7

67. Volunteer

68. Do not eat dinner out for one month; put saved money toward new house

69. Use all the groceries in the house before buying anything new

70. Get a couples' massage

71. Spend a day at a spa with my mom

72. Have a yard sale and actually sell things!

73. Make a wish at 11:11 on November 11, 2011.

74. Take pictures in a photo booth

75. Rent a convertible for my husband for a weekend

76. Complete 50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind

77. Do a "What's in your bag?" post.

78. Get Kissed in the Rain.

79. See 10 classic movies I've never seen (0/10)

80. Go radio silent (no phone, computer, etc.) for an entire weekend

81. Host scrabble night at our house

82. Play more board games

83. Document each 101 goal with blog post and/or photo (0/101)

84. Make a list of things I don't like about myself, burn this list

85. Write a list of 101 things I’ve already achieved in this lifetime

86. Stay at a bed & breakfast

87. Participate in operation beautiful

88. Organize itunes into more playlists

89. Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find

90. Watch 26 movies, each starting with a different letter of the alphabet (0/26)

91. Pay for someone else’s food behind me at the drive-thru

92. Travel somewhere by train

93. Finish Super Mario Galaxy on wii

94. Finish lego Harry Potter on wii

95. Host a boy's night for my husband's friends at our house

96. Surprise my husband with a spontaneous trip out of town

97. Find organic products to replace what we currently use

98. Finally send t-shirts off for our UNC quilt

99. Inspire someone to make a 101/1001 list

100. Bring back quill and scroll journalism honors society

101. Celebrate the end of the 1001 days on May 2, 2013 :D

Miss Macy

Aside from my husband, my little dog Macy is the center of the universe. At least, at our house she is :)

When we first brought her home she was (and still is to people who come to our house) WILD! But when it's just us, she's a sweet girl who just wants to snuggle. I caught her one day last week right before she took a nap. I can't believe how much she has grown!

I know that I will miss her sweet face when I go back to work in August. I mean really, who wouldn't?!

A New Project

My friend Erin blogs about the books she reads. She is attempting to read and blog 100 books this year. You can see her site on my blogroll.

I really want to spend more time on this blog, and part of the problem is that I feel it has lost some direction. At first, the blog was a place for us to update about our home's renovations because so many of our friends and family don't live close enough to us to come and see it as it develops. But a combination of completing lots of our projects and a time crunch seemed to make this topic fade away.

Then I tried writing about our lives in general. Lots of things happened to us in 2009, and I was glad to see it go.

I found myself pretty excited to write about my summer reading list (so far) and here's what I'm throwing out for a new exploration: book reviews.

I just purchased the Barnes and Noble nook, and I'm super excited about reading so many books so quickly. Over our weekend adventure with Matt and Erin, we went to Ed McKay, which is the best used book store I've ever laid eyes on. It's my one must-see every time we are in Greensboro. I picked up some new books (to me) there, too. I'm consuming them so fast!!

So now I want to tell you, faithful blog follower, what I'm reading and what I think of it when I finish. I'm thinking I'll write about books on Wednesdays each week. What do you think?

An (Un)Eventful 4th of July

I've heard it said that we make plans and God laughs.

True story.

Johnathan and I had plans to spend the July 4th holiday in Atlanta, Ga. My friend David was going to be there for AP training all week, so we thought we would join him there for a few days and have a sort of mini-vacation. We had some financial setbacks that prevented that trip, and I was sad to tell David we wouldn't make it to ATL after all.

Instead, we decided late Thursday night that we were going to spend the holiday weekend in Greensboro with other friends. Let me stop here and say a little bit about this, because I know you're thinking who cares about what you did this weekend or when you decided it?!

I am a planner. I live by calendars and deadlines and plans. I like to know well in advance what's going on as much as possible, and I don't like unexpected events that could have been planned. Disorganization drives me crazy in my classroom and in my life. The chaos that sometimes surrounds my husband's family due to the sheer number of them can put me into a panic attack in no time.

I would have planned our trip to Greensboro for days. Worked on a plan for meals and spending and such. Instead, we packed the car, we left Macy with my mom and we left Friday afternoon.

I cannot even begin to say how enjoyable and relaxing the trip was. No traffic on the way or on the way back (interesting by itself since I-85 was a disaster area all weekend...guess no one used I-40 but us). We stayed up late geeking out playing Beatles Rock Band and catching up at a pub downtown. Saturday we slept late, shopped a little, took in a movie and grilled out back at the house where we stayed. It wasn't hectic, there were no plans.

It was just lovely.

In the world where we live today, there is so much uncertainty and conflict. I'm beyond thankful that when it comes to the precious friendships I have, there is neither.

My Summer Reading List (so far)

I love to read.

This is not news for anyone who knows me, works with me or has been in my class at WLHS. Summer is the part of the year when I catch up on all the reading I have missed out on during the school year and my grad classes.

I scoured the Books a Million close to our house and found some books I can't wait to start reading. In no particular order, here they are:

1. The Meaning of Matthew: My Son's Murder in Laramie and a World Transformed, Judy Shepard: Sometimes I feel like I preach tolerance into a room so full of outside noise that no one hears. The Matthew Shepard legislation on hate crimes is incredibly important to me, so I'm excited I found this book.

2. South of Broad, Pat Conroy: I've never read anything by Pat Conroy, but people who are "book people" like me have raved about him, so here goes nothing! I love that this book is set in Charleston, one of my favorite places and a vacation destination this summer!

3. God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question: Why We Suffer, Bart D. Ehrman: Dr. Ehrman is one of my all-time favorite professors. His class at UNC is always full and draws lots of attention because of his controversial content. I have picked up each of his books as I've encountered them, and this one was in a clearance section :)

4. The Water is Wide, Pat Conroy: Again, I've never read anything by Conroy, but this is the book that seems to be the most popular. It's his first person account of teaching, so you know that's in my interest range. I was drawn to this one because of its subject and its genre. I can read lots of fiction, but sometimes a girl needs to broaden her horizons.

5. Eats, Shoots and Leaves: Illustrated Edition, Lynne Truss: Another book I've been after that I found on clearance. My inner nerd did a little dance when I picked this gem off the shelf. I'm hoping it will have some teachable content, too. No point in not getting as much out of it as possible!

On a side note, and I don't intend to use this blog for political purposes (though it's mine and I can!), the look I was given by the guy at the register was...interesting? quizzical? I don't know. Here's the scene that ensued:

Cashier:"isn't that Matthew book about a guy who got killed because he was supposedly gay?"

What?

"Um," I stammer, trying to police myself so I don't make a scene, "The Matthew Shepard legislation is about hate crimes." Good, PC answer.

"Oh..." he gives me that weird look again. "God's Problem, huh?"

"Yes," why am I defending myself at the book store?! It's my money!

"Dr. Ehrman was my professor at UNC. I have all his books."

"Hmph," he says. Can I just pay now?!

Note: no comments on Conroy, nothing on Eats Shoots and Leaves...just judge my politics and your perception of my religion.

Ahhh, life in the South.

Summer Playlist

You know, there is just some music that must be played in the summertime. I am one of those people who needs her music to match her mood. So, here's my summer playlist for 2010 (thus far)

• Alejandro, Lady GaGa: I really like the almost 80s/90s vibe a la Ace of Base this one has. Oh, and the line "just light my cigarette and hush" is pretty awesome :)

• California Girls, Katy Perry: What's not to love about this song? Except for the fact that I would NEVER rock the Daisy Dukes and Bikinis on Top. Favorite line: "Sun kissed skin so hot it'll melt your popsicle"

• Whataya Want From Me, Adam Lambert: I have loved him since American Idol. He's fierce!

• When We Were Beautiful, Bon Jovi: From the album "The Circle". Has a really nice vibe for driving.

• Fast Cars and Freedom, Rascal Flatts: one of my all time favorite songs by this band. SCREAMS summer!!

• Piece of Me, Britney Spears: Come on, is any summer playlist complete without something from everyone's favorite pop star train wreck?

• Fearless, Colbie Calliat: This song really helped me get through Johnathan's initial diagnosis and treatment. I've included it here as a reminder of how far we have come as a family and how strong my husband is and will continue to be.

• Like a Prayer, Glee Cast Version: 2 things I love combined: this classic Madonna tune and my favorite show on television. And, the mix itself is actually amazing!!

• Battlefield, Jordin Sparks: Another American Idol alum I love. This girl has some serious pipes! This song has an awesome bass and was made to be turned up LOUD!

• Gasoline, Rob Thomas: Rob Thomas is good in Matchbox 20, and just as good as a solo artist. This song has some great lyrics and shows off his vocals nicely :)

What are YOUR summer hits? Leave them in the comments!

Sweet Summer

I did it.

I finished another school year!! *cue applause*
WOOHOO!!

I have to admit, I'm a little pleased with myself. A lot of change has happened this year both personally and professionally and I think I've grown because of all of it, good bad and ugly. I'm really grateful to have a fabulous teacher and friend on each side of me on the hall :) I am slowly defining who I am as part of the faculty and even though it's been slow going, I think it's finally developing.

Graduation is tomorrow (Saturday) and I will get to see some of my honors students as Junior Marshals and the group of Seniors I taught this year will be doing the walk. I'm incredibly proud of them for coming this far. It wasn't easy for some, but thank goodness they made it!

I have a lot of plans for the summer travel-wise. I hope to get back to a few hobbies (ha! who ever knew I had any?) that have fallen by the wayside in the last couple of years. Sad, I know :( Hopefully I will be reconnecting with writing, scrapbooking and of course I'll be reading books! Maybe I will even get around to writing about some of the hobbies I undertake. We'll see ;)

I think this is the beginning of a fantastic summer.