21. Paint a picture that I will display in my house.

As part of The Best Friend and my 101 Weekend we visited a craft store and got the supplies to paint the pictures we would display in our homes (this was a task we had both added to our lists). I am no painter, but I decided this could be fun and if it turned out somewhat decently I would have an inexpensive, homemade decoration in my home.

The day I left for the Best Friend's apartment, I received an art catalog and decided to flip through it for some ideas (as I had no idea what I wanted to paint). I found a painting somewhat similar to the one I ended up with, but really just used the idea as a springboard. I ended up with my little autumn tree with red and pink leaves that will match my living room decor. The swirls were The Best Friend's idea as I was slightly hesitant in leaving the entire background blank.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with my painting (which ended up costing less than $10 and took under an hour). Who knows, maybe there will be more to come!

99. Buy a more gas efficient vehicle.

Even before I was able to drive I wanted a Jeep Wrangler. I have no idea why, though the big tires, and the ability to take half the vehicle off and drive around was certainly appealing. And so, a little over a year ago, while on my way to work I drove past the Jeep dealership and so the vehicle of my dreams (or so I thought). By the next day I had my very own Jeep.

The Jeep certainly came in handy, pulling trailers and floats, enjoying nice days with the top off, and the four-wheel drive in bad weather. But, I soon found, as with all things, my Jeep and I did not have a blissful relationship as it seemed. For one, the top was much more difficult to take off than I had hoped. There was absolutely no storage area either, so unless I was hauling it behind, it wasn't coming with me. And then there was the gas issue, which ultimately, was the deal breaker.

With the economy at a low and gas prices getting high, I knew it was time to say good bye to the Jeep. And so last week, I finally took the plunge and found myself a new, more gas efficient vehicle. I had been looking online and after much debate I settled on the Honda Civic because really who can argue with a Honda? The end result of my search was 2006 Honda Civic and I must say I love it! I had a few things that I had put on my mental list of things I wanted in a new car and have gotten them all including a sunroof, radio controls on the steering wheel, a large trunk, and comfy adjustable seats. All good stuff. I must say that I am very pleased and am even more pleased each time I go to the fuel pump (not an easy emotion these days!). I hope to have this car for a very long time.

101 Weekend

Jack Johnson said it best (and most simply), "It's always better when we're together." Throw in a cookie dough straight from the tube, a few movies, and a plethora of craft supplies and you really can't get beat it. And that is how The Best Friend and I spent a day this past weekend.

I jumped on the 101 bandwagon at The Best Friend's urging and we've never looked back. So when we found that we had a free weekend and a few tasks that needed a little jump starting, we decided there was no better reason than to make a day of it. And so the 101 Weekend came into being.

While many of our serious high hopes for the weekend went unrealized, we did come out on the other side with some grand project completions and some ideas for further 101 greatness. This is only the first of many 101 Weekends to come. And so, without further ado, some of my newly 101 conquests.

In progress...

Just a little sneak peek at what's going on behind the scenes of this 101 adventure.

2. Flatten my tummy. So this has been an on going process. But I have become much better about going to the gym and watching what I eat. I have noticed a VERY slight difference, but hey, girl's gotta start somewhere! Hopefully there will be a pic of my abs of steel so very soon.
7. Pay off my credit cards. Slowly but surely, this one is coming along. It has been really difficult not to get overly frustrated with this one, but sometimes you just never know what will come up (you gotta love family like that). And I am chipping away at this. I have no definite idea of when I will be able to check this off, but to help me not get angry and to keep me on track I have the following posted in my office now, with a running tally of the balance as it goes down.

29. Learn how to drive a stick shift. I have been debating about checking this off the list. I have had two "lessons" (one of the guys in the fire department pretty much put me behind the wheel and said drive home... yikes, real roads!). Both of them went quite well except for a couple minor lurches and a stalling out situation at the bottom of a hilly driveway (luckily no one was coming). So while I have a working knowledge of what I'm doing, I'm not quite comfortable enough where I feel this is something I could do on my own (without someone saying ok, clutch, brake, shift into 3rd, now let off it). Soon, though, very soon...
78. Go through and clean out all my hair and make up products. Last weekend in a fit of "MY HOUSE IS A MESS HELP!" I decided to tackle the hair and makeup products. It was not pretty. However, I am in the home stretch and I believe after this weekend (if I can find something to do with all my hair ties... any suggestions?) I will be able to check this off.
79. Organize jewelry. I hate jewelry boxes. They always look like something in my great grandmother's closet and they just don't do it for me. I also have found that keeping my jewelry in my non-ventilated bathroom (it's an old house) is leading to do some deterioration... not good. So I am on a quest to figure out just what to do with all this jewelry (there isn't a great amount of it, but I have some pretty big items such as bangles and big bauble necklaces). Again suggestions are welcome.

Not to mention the date has been written in (with pen) for a fabulous 101 weekend with the Best Friend. Stay tuned for a plethora of posts in mid October. It will be a fun time for all!

91. Print out all my digital pictures

I really do enjoy taking pictures. I like knowing that I can look back on all the fun times or sit down with someone and show them all the fabulous life experiences I've had. Unfortunately, with the dawn of digital photography I have no motivation to print these pictures out. They sit in the camera, occasionally get downloaded on to my myspace page or emailed to friends and family. But there are no hard copies. And really, there is something to be said about being able to flip through a photo album and reminisce. And so, this weekend, I bit the bullet and took my memory card into the local Walmart. Among some of the treats...

A little pig racing in Houston...

Sunset over the mountains

The Little Sis pimpin' it out on graduation day.

Now I can move on to some other 101 tasks such as scrapbooking and organizing all these great new photographs I have on hand!

48. See my sister off to college

The day has come and gone. My baby sister is all grown up and has left the nest. On Thursday we packed up the car and drove down to Charlottesville where she will spend the next four years gettin' all educated. She's on her way to be an Army nurse and I could not be more proud.

I sort of missed out on the freshman move in experience as I moved in early and my dorm wasn't ready so they put us up in a place across campus. Going to a new, smallish liberal arts university the dorms were large and well air conditioned. Good thing UVA has the prestige thing going for them because the dorms suck. Of course the little sis is residing on the third floor of a building without elevators (I'm pretty sure elevators weren't even a notion when this building was erected). We got her all moved in and settled. We took a spin around Charlottesville and picked up a few last minute things. After an almost tearful good bye on my part we left her sitting in her new dorm room amidst all the things every college girl must have.

I'm pretty sure we weren't even an hour away when I text messaged her. I know that she is more than ready for this new era of her life and I hope that I have imparted enough wisdom and sarcasm to get her through the times when she is lacking.

8. Throw a party

And a successful party it was! The men grilled, the women gossiped, and the various groups of my friends were brought together in one place. I was really pleased. The weather was beautiful and the food was tasty. Fun times were had by all!