83. Buy myself a nice piece of jewelry

Sometimes a girl just needs a nice piece of jewelry. My trip to San Francisco was a momentous occasion for many reasons. It was my first time on the west coast, it was my first time venturing out on my own in a completely unknown area, and it was my first business trip. My boss and I decided to do a little shopping which included a trip to Tiffany & Co., during which I found this beautiful necklace. I thought of this "task" and how this would be a great way to commemorate my new career. But, I figured I should sleep on it. The next day I knew I had to have the necklace, but when I went back, they were closed. So sad, but it will take more than that to keep us down. My boss thought it was a wonderful idea to get the necklace to remember my first big trip, so as a consolation, on my second big trip (to Chicago, just last week), we emerged from our meeting and trekked straight down the Magnificent Mile to the nearest Tiffany's.

I am now the happy owner of this beautiful necklace. I love it. It is simple enough to wear often, but yet unique. I love that the symbol resembles a "infinity" sign (yes, I am that much of a nerd) and that I was able to buy it on one of my early business trips. Success!

76. Go to the zoo

There is just something about the zoo that makes me smile. I just can't walk through the zoo without feeling about 8 years old again. And with the National Zoo practically in my backyard I had no reason to go. So on my long Memorial Day weekend, I set out with a friend into one of the first sweltering hot days of the year and headed to the zoo.

The animals seemed to be taking the hot day as a cue to stretch out and nap. It was so fun to see all the animals being lazy. I wish I had gotten a picture of the elephant who was comically rolling around in the huge pool, cooling off. He seemed to be having so much fun.


It is so interesting and amazing to be able to walk around the zoo and see animals from all different areas of the world. We walked through the rain forest, almost literally, and birds flew around us, monkeys scattered about, and beautiful sting rays floated in the pool below. I am so glad that I took a few hours and walked around the zoo (and through the "misters" ahhhh), sort of escaping the reality of hustle and bustle city life to enjoy some time near the animals.