35. Watch a sunrise

I recently got back from a wonderful vacation with the Little Sister. We spent five days at a friend's condo in Cocoa Beach, Florida. It was relaxing, rejuvenating, and absolutely breathtaking. The view from the living room was so awesome, so the first morning I woke up ready to catch the sunrise. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas. On the second morning, I was in luck. I got a few great pictures though nothing can really capture what it's like to be sitting there watching the sun come up over the ocean. The colors change and the water sparkles and you can't help but thank God is so amazing to do such great things.

30. Be a bridesmaid

Photo Courtesy of Kate Triano

I know what you are thinking, such a cop out. Yes, I sort of knew I was going to be a bridesmaid when I made this list, but come on, every girl needs to be a bridesmaid at least once in her life right? So check, this is done.

My Best Friend in the whole world got married in July, and there I was standing up with her. We have been planning this wedding since we were about ten years old, complete with three ring binder, price lists, and pictures. Tastes have changed (thank goodness) but the fabulousness that surrounded it all was still there. Best Friend's wedding was amazing. Everything was beautiful and came together perfectly. I am so happy for her and am glad that I was able to be a part of her day as well as by her side for years to come.

89. Go to the gym every day for a week (except Sunday)

Ok, so it's been awhile since I've posted, I know, slightly slacking. But things are picking back up now that the summer is in full swing.

I started off the summer by quitting my old gym that had horrendous hours and a strict regimen, and joined the new club in town.



True to its name, Anytime Fitness allows me to go, well, anytime! They have a great discount for volunteer firefighters so I took advantage of that and am now paying less than I would to get cable television to my little farm shack. I can now go in and watch television anytime of day and burn calories at the same time! It's great. While I am trying to get into something resembling a routine, the flexible hours have allowed to me to reach my goal of going to the gym every day of the week. I can go in the morning, the afternoon, right after work, or even late at night if I can't sleep. And the equipment is fabulous. Did I mention they have television? Haha.

Anyway, I'm hoping that this becomes a habit and will help me to accomplish other goals such as #2...

93. Complete a full bottle of vitamins instead of buying them and forgetting about them

It is official... I am a Flintstone's kid. 10 million strong... and growing :)

In all seriousness I have come to recognize the importance of a multivitamin and have through the years tried to take them on a regular basis. However, some of them make me feel icky, others find a way to the back of the medicine cabinet where they are long forgotten until after their expiration date.

So you can imagine my joy when my doctor told me that Flinstones chewable vitamins contained all a girl could ask for, and came in yummy flavors! Turns out that children really need a lot of vitamins so even though I'm a big kid now kid vitamins are chock full of enough goodness that they are good for me.

And there was step one, I knew what vitamins I needed, I went to the store and made the purchase, but this task was not about buying vitamins. I had to make the effort to remember each and every day to get with the program and get my dose of all those essential vitamins. I wish I could say I have since turned into superwoman... but hey... I'm on the right track at least!

70. Plan a fire and rescue event at the library

When I'm not reading books to children and singing an upbeat rendition of the Itsy Bitsy Spider, I spend a good deal of time as a volunteer firefighter and E.M.T. So, it only made sense to combine my two loves and have a fire and rescue event at the library. My boss latched on to the idea immediately and we decided to use this a kick-off to our Summer Reading Program.

I began asking around in late fall and a volunteer from the County Fire and Rescue offered to help get the event rolling. We sat down a few times and came up a list with possible activities and participants and before we knew it we had a list of ten organizations and summer was just around the corner.

How could anyone resist? We had food, we had prizes, we had firefighters and police officers and Smokey the Bear. Unfortunately, we also had high humidity and a 80% chance of thunderstorms.

In the end we had 80 people attend the event. Kids came and had a good time. They learned a thing or two, as did their parents. It was a great success. It is definitely something we plan to do again next year.

51. Go to a wine tasting

In my quest to become the posh and well-rounded person that I aspire to, I added the task of going to a wine tasting. On the rare occasion that I go out to some place nice for dinner and am looking at the wine list or hoping to buy a bottle of wine and instead find myself staring down the rows of bottles I am always completely clueless about what I'm looking at or even looking for.

I have always been a smidge jealous of people who seem so at home in the world of wine. They know exactly what should be paired together, they swish the wine around in their glass, sniffing (for what I don't know) and then sip it delightfully during their meal or gathering. What the heck is all this about? I had no idea, but I was determined to find out.

Here I must admit that though I have indeed crossed this off my list, I am still far from a wine connoisseur.

Last weekend as a jump start to the Best Friend's bachelorette party, we decided to head outside Richmond to James River Cellars. It was a quaint little place where we sampled some wines and then went on a tour where the whole wine making process was explained to us. Learning how wine is actually made was really interesting and our guide was great. I ended up purchasing a bottle of wine which is now at home in my wine rack.

I'm hoping that I can go to some other vineyards in the new future. With so many practically in my backyard it is a shame not to experience all they have to offer while moving along in my quest to be a connoisseur!

60. Plan a big fundraiser with the high school youth group.

Anyone who has ever worked with teenagers knows just how rewarding/frustrating/ it can be. Try working around graduation events, sports schedules, work schedules, and of course the "eh I just don't feel like its" to put together a great program. Not always the easiest task. But as youth leader at my church I was bound and determined to have a successful fundraiser. And that we did.

This weekend the senior high youth rocked in rocking chairs for 10 consecutive hours (taking turns of course). We had live music, ate pizza, watched movies, and played games, and above all we raised over $800 that will go towards our summer mission project.

Rock on!