36. Go to the movies 5 times (2/5).

I won tickets from the News & Observer to an advance screening of Eclipse on 6/28. I already crossed off #69. Win something - but now I've won twice from the N&O - awesome! I took my mom to the screening, since she was in town visiting, and we both had a great time even though she's never read a Twilight book. We were afraid it might be super crowded, and we got there about an hour early. We had great seats, and were entertained with all sorts of trivia and giveaways while we waited. People were there from Vitamin Water and G105. The screening was a lot of fun, and the movie was great also!

63. Try a new flavor at Coldstone.

This afternoon, to celebrate our return to the real world after a week of house confinement while Liam was sick, as well as because it was 96 degrees, Liam and I went for ice cream after his nap. We tried the Oreo cream filling flavor, with Oreos and fudge mixed in. It was good, although a little too sweet after a few spoonfuls. Liam also had a sample of the cotton candy flavor, because it was blue, and he's obsessed with anything blue :)

48. Play in the rain.

Liam and I had a really long week cooped up in the house while he recovered from yet another virus. We were even more bummed that we had to miss a pool party on Saturday that we had been looking forward to. He wasn't quite party-worthy on Saturday (not yet 24 hours without diarrhea) but was feeling well enough to go splash around in the sprinkler and baby pool in our backyard for a little bit in the afternoon. While we were out there, it started raining. Bill and Lacy immediately headed for the hills, but it was so hot, and Liam was soaked already anyway, so he and I decided to play in the rain instead. It was SO much fun - we are totally going to have to do it again! We ran around until it stopped raining. I did get Bill to poke his head out the door and take a quick picture of us:

May 2010 Progress

Completed in May: 2/101
Current Total: 22/101

5. Read 101 books (32/101).
I read 5 books this month, bringing my total to 37.

60. Start eating more sustainably.
We are working on this one, although I'm not ready to cross it off yet. Since watching Food Inc, Bill and I have been making much more of an effort to eat sustainably, and I feel like I understand much more what that means vs before when I just thought of organic and non-organic. We try to eat 1-2 meatless suppers a week, and rarely eat meat at breakfast or lunch. We now buy all of our milk, eggs and meat at Whole Foods and Earth Fare, although we are not doing well on our produce. My goal is to start eating more local produce, and I hope to join a CSA such at the Produce Box. I don't feel like I can cross this one off until we reach that goal.

41. Watch the sun set.

While I was in Florida this past weekend for Julie's wedding, I also got the chance to watch the sun set. Julie and Will were married in a sunset ceremony on the gulf coast overlooking the water. Living on the East coast, watching the sun set over the ocean is not something we usually get to see! :)

66. Accomplish something noteworthy that wasn't on the list.

So, I'm pretty sure that watching a shuttle launch - let alone the LAST shuttle launch before the space program gets shut down - qualifies in this category. This past weekend, Bill and I flew down to Florida for Julie's wedding. By a very cool coincidence, we arrived in Orlando just before Friday's shuttle launch. We hoped to get a glimpse, and ended up having a perfect view by pulling over to the side of the road on the way out of the airport (along with everyone else on the road).


It looked sort of like a missile from where we were, just a big fireball shooting up into the sky. The Orlando runway made a perfect open space for us to watch. We were told we'd be able to hear the sonic boom, but we weren't able to hear it over the roar of all the airplanes at the airport.


Super cool! My dad is an astronomer and used to work for NASA, so I grew up fascinated with space, space shuttles, etc. I'd still love to see a shuttle launch up close sometime, but this was pretty awesome for now. It was amazing how quickly it had moved completely out of sight, leaving behind just the smoke trail in the sky.

18. Eat at 10 local restaurants I've never eaten at before (5/10).

Last night I went on a mom's night out at 1750 Ordinary in Cary. Good food (hush puppies, yum!) and great company! :)

April 2010 Progress

Completed in April: 0/101
Current Total: 20/101

5. Read 101 books (32/101).
I read 6 books this month, bringing my total to 32.

Man, I really need to step it up - I'm falling way behind! Hopefully I can cross off a few things in May!

March 2010 Progress

Completed in March: 2/101
Current Total: 20/101

5. Read 101 books (26/101).
I read 3 books this month, bringing my total to 26.

9. Take 1001 photos in 1001 days (979/1001).
I took 89 photos this month, bringing my total to 1068 - mission complete!

75. Sort and put away mail the day it arrives for 30 days.

I've been doing this for a while, a few months probably. Liam and I go to get the mail together every day, and he opens all the envelopes for me. Then we sort it into piles of bills, coupons, cards, etc. and put it all away.

February 2010 Progress

Completed in February: 1/101
Current Total: 18/101

5. Read 101 books (23/101).
I read 3 books this month, bringing my total to 23.

9. Take 1001 photos in 1001 days (979/1001).
I took 115 photos this month, bringing my current total to 979 - looks like I will polish off this challenge next month!

14. Try 5 new foods (2/5).

While we were at Nana's, Bill and I shared a Maine lobster risotto appetizer. I had never had risotto before (neither had Bill, which shocks me given his background!) and it was delicious.

18. Eat at 10 local restaurants I've never eaten at before (4/10), and 50. Go on at least 10 real date nights, no kids allowed (3/10).

On Friday night, Bill and I went to dinner at Nana's in Durham. We loved the restaurant, and the food was soooo good. We were there for two hours, and as parents of the world's busiest toddler, I can't tell you how nice it is to sit in one place for two hours enjoying good food, good wine and whine-free conversation!

18. Eat at 10 local restaurants I've never eaten at before (3/10).

Last night, I had a mom's night out at the MacGregor Draft House in Cary - good food, great company, and fried pickles, yum! :)

15. Have breakfast in bed.

This morning, for Valentine's Day, Bill and Liam made me waffles and brought them up to me in bed. Liam had a great time helping Bill make the waffles, here are a few photos: