78. Go through and clean out all my hair and makeup products

Thank you, "Blizzard of 2010", for finally giving me no excuse but to finish these projects. This project was actually started back in the beginning of the 101, which for those of you who know me, was over two years and three houses ago.

Before:

I had makeup that had gone out of style with stirrup pants. My hair accessories were so jumbled, finding a bobby pin was literal "needle in a haystack" search. Something had to change. In house one, I came up with a pretty decent system in my bathroom due to built in shelving and not one, but two medicine cabinets. At house number two, I did yet another necessary purge. I have about two products that I use, so keeping all the excess that I had most likely inherited from cousins at Christmas time was just silly. I also took a little trip to the Container Store and purchased a nifty little holder for my make up.

And this weekend, at house number three I have finally gotten things in enough order that I feel I can declare this task complete. Yay!

After:

79. Organize my jewelry

It was so bad I don't even have a before picture. In fact, I'm not even sure what I would have taken pictures of to be honest. My jewelry was in such a state of disarray. I had no real place to keep any of it, so it was just everywhere. There was some on my dresser, some in the drawers, some in the bathroom. It was a disaster.

When the "Blizzard of 2010" hit last night, and dumped roughly two feet of snow on the area, I decided it would be a great time to not only clean my apartment but to tackle some of these project that had been alluding me. And so, ladies and gentlemen, I bring you, the new and improved jewelry stash. Not only can I actually find things when I want them, but it is pretty pleasing to look at as well.


I will need to get something else to hang some excess earring on, but for the most part I am quite pleased with the outcome. Now, on to the hair and makeup products!

9. Finish the quilt I started for T.

My next to youngest cousin recently turned 18. So when my aunt had a new baby boy we were all thrilled, and have spent the past two years spoiling him rotten. Right after he was born, I decided I would set out to make him a quilt. I mean, really, how hard could it be? I jotted down a simple pattern, found cute fabric, and so it began. And, I decided, if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right, all the quilting and finishing would be done by hand.

There were many frustrating moments, where the quilt got stashed away, and I wasn't completely sure it would be coming back out, ever. But, when mother nature decided to dump two feet of snow on us this weekend, leaving me stranded in the apartment alone, I knew the time had come. I was going to finish this thing, just in time for Christmas, too!

And that I did. My first (and last) quilt is now complete! Hooray!

39. Go to a professional football game

It is amazing how random opportunities have arisen that fall right into my 101 goals. I was having a conversation with a guy I had recently met and the 101 project came up. Of course he was intrigued, who wouldn't be?? So I started spouting off a couple of the items. When I got to "go to a professional football game" he was completely taken a back. How is it, that I have never been to a pro game?

Apparently, I was talking to a HUGE Washington Redskins fan. So huge in fact, that his family has had season tickets since, well, since the Redskin were actually good. He offered to take me to an upcoming game, and I couldn't say no!

We ended up tailgating and even running into some of friends of mine from work. The seats were amazing. We were in the first row directly behind the goal posts. We got to see all the action and man, was it a different experience than the one I get from my couch watching it all on my 18" television.

While this was sort of a random task that I added just for the fun of it, I am glad that I did, for that exact reason, it was just plain fun.

90. Take a mental health day with absolutely no agenda

Whew! Who knew how difficult this would be! When I realized that I had some hours that I needed to use or lose at work, I picked a random Friday to take off. So taking the mental health day, check! However, as soon as I knew I had the day off I started mental list making. To Do lists, both fun and practical were racing through my head. I knew I had to stop, so I enlisted the help of a friend who also had the day off. He kept me on track, by keeping me off track so to speak.

Several times I felt myself getting aggravated because I was "wasting" a day off. But, the more I thought about it the more I realized this was exactly what I needed. A day to just be. To let whatever happened happen. A day to not give in to the lists and the obligations and the million other things that pull me in all directions.

In the end, it was a great day. We started it out by braving the cold wind and going on a tour of the George Washington Masonic Temple which is almost literally in my back yard. At the top we got some great views of the city.
The majority of the rest of the day was spent Christmas shopping and napping though I did sneak in a trip to the grocery store which was productive (but not planned!).

We rounded out the day with my first ever visit to the National Christmas Tree. All in all, a great way to enjoy the most wonderful time of the year!

37. Be at a job one full year (AGAIN!)

Part of the purpose of this list was to make good habits and figure out new things. And so while the major goal is to check off as many tasks as possible, its pretty neat to note that I am also, re-checking off certain items.

As noted previously, I left the library last November to head back to the "big city". I got a job as an Office Assistant in a small, intellectual property firm. About two months into my assignment I was asked to take on a new role, working as the assistant to the managing partner. My primary focus would be trademark prosecution and there was a lot to learn. It has been a year since I started the job in the city and I am still here, chugging away. My, how time flies!

61. Ride a Horse

Like 95% of girls, I grew up wishing to own my very own pony. I would get up and ride every single day and take care of their every need. As I grew up, I quickly realized the expenses associated with owning a horse, but my yearning to ride did not subside. I have been horseback riding a couple times growing up, including one fairly traumatic incident, but I added this task to the list in hopes that I would get back on and get to live the dream again. And that I did!

My horse, Pegasus

I signed up to go horseback riding with a social group on Halloween out in Maryland. It was a small ranch and they decorated the horses very festively for our hour long trail ride. The ride was leisurely and very enjoyable. Afterward, we were treated to a nice rancher meal before heading home.

All in all, it was pretty great, and definitely something I would like to do again.