99 Things You Should Definitely Know About Me But Really Should Never Ask

I “borrowed” this from Crystal’s blog. How many of these 99 things have you done? My amazing feats are in bold. Read on and be ah-mazed.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars – when I went camping that one time
3. Played in a band – I played the flute! Holla!
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo – 6th grade Christmas play, Bitches!
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a thunder and lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (or in my case… chunky dunking)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (yes, the Wii counts)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (I once was nice but now am jaded)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class (I can turn you into a flamingo)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (Hells yeah!)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason (those were the good ol’ days)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (this is one I’m not proud of)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

49/99 equals a hearty 49.4%! Not as good as I wanted but I’ve still got lotsa life to live. Keep your fingers crossed that one day soon I’ll play myself in a movie based on the book I wrote about that time I went into labor while saving a fellow juror’s life.

Happy Sunday Ya’ll!!

Resolutions

Last year was all about my finances. Making more money while pinching pennies to pay down your college indiscretions is hard work. It will also stress you out to the brink of no return and cause you to make some (sometimes very) bad decisions. Although I didn't reach my goal of being completely debt free I did manage to get extremely close and will be debt free by April 2010. My credit? Well, that still needs some time to recover.

This year, I have decided that I am going to work on Physical Me. Or at least the Me on paper. You know? Dating Profile Me? That needs some work. Because men can't see that you have paid off all your student loans. They don't notice that there's only one credit card in your wallet and it has no account balance. It's not obvious to them that you learned to knit and became disarmingly familiar with $1 movie rentals so that you could one day wake up and owe nothing to everyone. Instead, men have a tendency to look at your ass as you walk by, and mine has been widening steadily.

So, here are my resolutions in order of importance to me.

1. Lose 50 pounds ~ roughly 1 lb a week. Which is more than reasonable and can be done with sufficient strength training.

2. Save $300+ a month (starting April 2010). I'm already living without it as I'm pouring all of my income into debt reduction. And really $300 is less than half of what I'm putting into my debts, so really... this is no thing.

3. Find a new, better bank. This will involve research on my part. But it's necessary because I'm getting the shaft by my current bank. I enrolled through work and I'm getting no perks. None. Not to mention they were bought out in last years fiscal crisis, so basically, I'm getting it royally with no vaseline.

4. Budget wisely (and follow) in an effort to live better and prepare for the future. The biggest mistake I made this year was not thinking and planning before I leapt into my debt reduction program. I did not save or leave any room for error. Thankfully, I haven't had any 911s (yet).

5. Become more crafty. Yes, I'm already a young June Cleaver. Go ahead. Mock me. I find peace in crafts. Not to mention that people love hand-made gifts. One of the girls at work had her miracle baby and I made her a birth announcement. For me, it was solace. For her, it was... More. I can't even explain the light in her eyes but it made me feel good. So, I want to do more of that this year.

6. Join a church and begin giving again. This is another selfish one. A) It will get Grammy off my back. B) It will allow me to meet more people and network. C) I will feel like I belong somewhere again. D) Mr. Right may actually be there (I've already looked everywhere else).

7. Open myself up to receive love. Let's just say that I was "cautiously optimistic" in 2009.

8. Look for a more fulfilling career. I feel like I am at a stand still at my current place of employment and I can't stop wondering if there is more out there.

9. Buy new furniture. I still have my 13" tv from college and a hand-me-down bed that even the dogs can't get a good night's sleep on. It's time.

10. Go on at least one real vacation out of this state.

11. Get my car working properly. (Maybe I should move this one up?)

12. Work my MLM business.

There you have it! My goals for 2010. I'll keep you posted on how this all works out.