#99 Vacation in Greece 2-6 Sept 2010

Absolutely amazing holiday. The perfect get away with a great friend. Flying all night Thursday we arrived Friday morning in Chania, Crete. The weather was perfect the beach was gorgeous and we were ready to take it all in. I am pretty sure I took all the sun in. I got extremely sun burnt and most likely sun stroke as I spent the first night in the hotel room sick. But that didn't stop us from going out again the next day. (I just covered up so the sun couldn't get to me) The sound of the waves was so relaxing it was hard not to drift off into dream land every time I closed my eyes.                           

Saturday night we traveled into the city center of Chania. Such a beautiful town right on the water. We had an amazing dinner at a Greek restaurant that was owned by an Irish woman. The food was mouth watering.

Again with a night flight we took off for Athens. Landing in Athens around 2200 we navigated the metro and arrived at our hotel just in time to see the Acropolis lit up from the terrace on top of our hotel. Our first glimpse of Athens and already I was in awe.

Sunday Cora and I spent touring the city. We visited everywhere. The Acropolis, Temple of Olympic Zeus, Parthenon and many more sites that I can't even begin to start naming. Monday morning before we had to leave for the airport we went into the city center for coffee and breakfast. Meeting two men who in traditional Greek fashion were very friendly. They were actually from Albania but living in Athens, having just finished their studies at the University there in Athens. We ended up having a couple of drinks with them before heading off to the Airport.

Almost missed out flight, but made it on at last minute. Wheeeeew!!!! I would love to go back and further explore Greece. Someday hopefully I can come back and go island hopping. But for now, I am very happy with being able to see all the beauty that I was able to see.

#46 Have a Dinner Party 29 Aug 2010

Four days prior it dawned on me that I only had very few weekends left with furniture. If I wanted to have one last American dinner in Germany it needed to be soon. So, I put out the email suggesting two dates and Sunday 29 Aug was selected.

It was a fabulous evening of good food, great conversation, and a lot of laughs. For dinner I prepared the usual Orange glazed Turkey, Twice baked potatoes, Pumpkin pie, Stuffing, and Asparagus with Hollandais.

We went through a few bottles of wine and ended the evening on the couches watching the movie Holiday. There truly isn't anything like a night in with friends to make you realize how good life is.

#12 Kiss a random person 7 August 2010

The Brampton Mile. On my last day in Chesterfield England I was treated to the Brampton Mile. Basically 17 pubs on a long street. Not unlike the Monopoly Pub crawl that we did in London only this on is very easy in that there is no searching for the pubs.

All the pubs were very different and we had a great time at all of them. Then we came to about our 10th or 11th pub? Flirty and cute like I also am, I was ordering the drinks from the bar and talking up the bartender. Sometime during our stay at the bar I decided to go get the bartender because I wanted to take a picture with him.

He came around the bar and was very kind and cheerful to take a picture with me, but what I wasn't expecting was when the picture was over he reached around me and kissed me. A bit startled but always quick on my feet I said, "wait, can you do that again?" Then looked at Donna and said, "take a picture" This time he really kissed me. Whooooo.

Going back to high school, about 10 minutes later a guy came around to the table asking if the bartender could have my phone number. Then he came back with the bartenders phone number on a piece of paper for me. How cute is that? Seriously, felt like I was in high school again and having runners do the notes with the check the block if you like me. Hee hee.

So, he kissed me first. He was a total stranger and it was one really good kiss.

#55 Build a Sand Castle on the Beach 6 Aug 2010

      Visiting friends; John Goddard, and Tim & Donna McLeod, in the northern region of England, they decided to take me to Scarborough. Little did they know that they were getting themselves into one of my goals off the 101 list. It was a beautiful British day, which meant windy with a chance of rain (thankfully it did not rain till on our way home). We got to the beach just in time for me to say, "I want to build a Sand Castle!"

      We all agreed it would be fun so we went to the pound shop. Hee hee not the dollar store but the pound shop, and got some buckets and spades. Then we were off to the beach. They were expecting a quick lump in the sand, I was expecting a full on estate. Plans were in the works. It didn't take long till Tim was banned from the project and we found him a new job. He was to obtain water in the smallest bucket we had. It suited him well.

      John was constantly fighting with personal urges that kept springing up as Donna and I bent over to build the sand castle.

     It took us about 2 hours to complete our Sand Castle. All of us admitted it had been a great time. It is a wonder how as adults you forget how much fun you had as a kid doing simple things like playing in the sand. We all got to go back to our inner child that day. Tim maybe a little more than the rest of us.

     The hardest decision was whether or not to destroy the castle when we were finished and all the pictures were taken. We decided to take a walk and get some ice cream to mull it all over. When we were walking past a young boy had started to play with the castle. Tim and I yelled at him and told him to jump on the castle. He said no and that he couldn't.

     We told him that he could and that he should because we built it and we were telling him to. After a few minutes of coaxing he finally gave into temptation and jumped onto the castle smashing it. Tim then gave all of our pales and building utensils to a young boy who looked like the other and asked, "are you his brother?" the boy said yes. "Go tell him that he cannot come home until he rebuilds it exactly like it was" Isn't Tim lovely.

     Absolutely brilliant day and wonderful achievement. I had more fun building a sand castle with my friends, acting like a 10 year old then I could ever dictate in words.

#45 Attend the Moulin Rouge Performance in Paris 21 August 2010

Absolutely amazing! I feel as though I could leave this blog entry just with those two words and be describing the whole performance. Major and I decided we needed to take a trip together before we PCS and we only had a short weekend so this was the perfect knock off the list vacation.

Leaving early Saturday morning we drove to Paris in the Volvo, top down of course (it was a beautiful sunny day). At the show we sat next to two lovely girls from Melbourne, Australia. The dinner was lovely and then the performance.

I was truly surprised. It was more than I expected it to be. They had a few intermission performances that were outstanding in of themselves. A juggler who was spinning glow sticks he made it to 7 but was most successful at 6. These two men who were acrobats and could lift and balance each other in ways the body should just not move. And the last performance was a venquilitrist, he was quite funny.

But the girls, the costumes and yes the all very Aston Kutcher looking men were fabulous. The whole evening was magical. I left the hall full of life and spirit.

# 40 Clean out the Closet and donate clothes 2 Aug 2010

         It took a lot to do, but I finally did it. I buckled down one day and said THIS IS IT!!!! I had so many clothes that I haven't worn in years, clothes that are really cute but if I tried to wear them someone would say "She is way too old to be wearing THAT!", and then there are the clothes and are too small/torn/faded/worn out/just need to go.
         So, I started by taking everything out of my drawers, closets, and out from under my bed and piled it into a big heap on the livingroom floor. I put a movie on and grabbed a bier. I knew this was going to be a long event. Every item was held up to pass the "do I liked can I still get away with wearing this" test. If it passed this round it then went on to the "does it fit" round. If it passed again it went into the keep pile. If not it went into the donate bin.
         After two movies and I think 3-4 biers I finally finished. I put all the keepers back in the closets and drawers, and ended up with 3 very large overstuffed donation bags. I am not talking your average grocery bags. I am talking you just went to Macy's and bought bedding bags. On the bright side, I no longer have to wonder if the outfit I chose will fit and I always have a hanger when I open my closet.
         Like I said, it was painful. Getting rid of clothes always is, you never know if you will lose the weight to fit into those really cute jeans I use to wear in high school that will never be in fashion again. lol. It is done!!!! Now I don't have to ship so much back to the states. Hooray !!!

# 79 Playing the Lotto 21 May 2010

         During my vacation to see my sister and nephews I took a quick stop to play the lotto and some scratch-its. Matthew thought it was very funny that I hadn't done either of these before. He actually had to help me fill out my Mega-Millions Power Ball slip.

        Just before stopping at the gas station to pick up my scratch-its and lotto ticket the whole family went out for Chinese food, which was very very good. So, naturally I had to use the numbers on the back of my fortune for my lotto numbers. I also played two more times on the slip with my own made up numbers. But wouldn't you know? The fortune numbers are the ones that actually won something! Well it was only 10$ but still better than nothing. I had fun playing the scratch-its. Those were more like playing a game then gambling.    

        All together, it was a fun experience and my whole family got a laugh out of the fact that of all the things I could chose to do in life I chose to play the lotto because I hadn't ever done this before. Just another thing I wanted to experience.

         The man behind the counter was kind enough to take a picture with me. I think he thought I was crazy and was just being a good sport to get me out of his store.

#14 The Monopoly Pub Crawl 19 June 2010

The Mission: To visit 26 pubs in London in the course of one day successfully drinking one alcoholic beverage at each pub.

Timeline: 1030am-1130pm

The Crew: Tim and Donna McLeod, John Goddard, Mike Hill, Lisa Anderson, Will Arden and ME!!!!

Last ones Standing: Tim and Donna McLeod, John Goddard and ME!!!!!

With a combination of tube rides, train rides, cabs, rickshaw and a WHOLE lot of walking 26 pubs were visited with the 26th pub coming with great relief. Many blisters appeared on the feet of the group. Everyone attributed my fairing so well to being in the Army, I say it is because I prepared and wore the proper shoes.

We began our journey with 7 members in our Dash Tour group but by mid-way dwindled down to the remaining 4 that completed the game. I have to admit the first half of the day wasn’t the most fun as it seemed like we were just rushing from bar to bar. But as the day turned more into a competition and we had to get creative in order to find the next pub the day became full of laughs. Tim, Will and John decided that I was the Community Chest.

By the time we got to the last pub Tim couldn’t walk anymore but we didn’t care. We had made it. Finally we could sit back and enjoy a drink. I personally took over 100 pictures. We have a picture of all of us outside every pub as a group as well as a few others along the way. For now the pictures can be seen on my Kodak Gallery Page.

This tour I definitely saw a different side of London. As a tourist you see Tower Bridge, Big Ben, The Tower of London etc. But by walking from pub to pub I saw the slums of London all the way to Park Ave. When walking past the Ritz Hotel, Donna and I overheard the doorman ask a couple who was trying to enter the hotel say, “Are you guests of the hotel?” When they replied no and that they just wanted to go in for a drink at the bar, the doorman replied, “I’m sorry we have a very strict dress code, you cannot come in.” This couple wasn’t even badly dressed. Donna and I had to snicker a bit.

The last picture is of our British Monopoly Board that is signed by a bartender from every pub that we went to. Dash is sitting on the board to represent that this was a Dash Tours event. The day was a lot of fun. A lot of work but all good things come at a price. If it was easy everyone would do it.

#8 Improving my geography knowledge with 500k on Traveler IQ

This has taken FOREVER but I finally made the cut today. If you ever want to make yourself feel stupid this is the game to play. You really think you know your geography and then you just can't seem to get it. At one time I had everyone in my office playing this. Some of us where like, "we are college graduates! How can we not get this!" I will still play from time to time and see if I can better my score, but I doubt it.

Give it a whirl and see how you do: http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq

#38 Donating Blood

Finally after searching and trying everywhere I could I have successfully given blood. 21 May 2010. I thought it was going to be a no go when I got to Washington and found that there aren't any Red Cross blood donation sites in all of western Washington. But then I got to Idaho and found a Red Cross in Boise and then a blood drive happening at the Church of Laterday Saints in Nampa while I was on vacation. My nephew was bummed that he couldn't come donate with me, but he just donated 3 weeks prior and wasn't eligible.

Complete at last! This will be the last time that I am able to give blood since by the time I get back to the states next time I will have lived in Germany for 5 years. Darn Mad Cow! Always ruining everything. lol.

#43 Go Bowling

Marked this goal off by spending the work day at the new bowling alley with my Soldiers for a team building day. I completely forgot my camera so I wasn't able to take pictures. Way bummed on that one, but I will have to go bowling again to make up for it. This was a great way to mark off one of my goals though. We had a great time, I found out that I still suck at bowling, and the shop got out of the office for a few hours.
   We bowled three games. I totally sucked the first game, did pretty good for me on the second I bowled a 99 and then split the difference of my first and second game for the third game. But at least I didn't come in last, I came in second to last.
    What totally sucked was everytime I did really well, I would spin around and my foot would hit the foul line and my score wouldn't count. How unfair is that? I even got a strike once, but ofcourse I fouled it. Overall, it was a great day. We ate greasy bowling alley food, wore funny shoes and had some great S6 competition time. We are going to try to go again in a couple of months. Hopefully then I remember my camera. For this goal I have to thank, WO1 Brown, SSG Woods, SGT Varns, SPC Gerardo, SPC Finch and SPC Hall. Thanks for the great day at the bowling alley.

This is an add on to the previous acomplishment. Before we deployed out WO1 Brown andd SPC Finch we went bowling on last time as a shot. This time taking a group picture.

IMDB # 41 Saving Private Ryan

I know, I am so behind the times. I just watched this for the first time today. What an amazing film. Why I haven't seen this before I do not know but I haven't ever seen this or had the oppertunity to see this. Lets see it came out in 1998 which was when I graduated from high school and I really wasn't into military then so that probably has a lot to do with why I haven't ever seen it before. But I will admitt I did let maybe, 3 or 4 tears fall down my cheeks as he saluted the grave site at the end.

I must say though, in my current mind set; Military Intelligence (MI) never ceases to disappoint me. In this film it is the linguist who lets his fellow Soldier die and stands aside scared while he holds all the ammo. Freakin cowards. This is one of many reasons I can not wait to get out of my current unit. I am so glad that I am not deploying with these people. O'well, just one persons opinion. But this was truly a great film.

I don't like military men just because I have dated so many and never has a relationship turned out fruitful, but watching films like this and seeing brave men out there with their weapons fighting for what they believe in, it kind of turns me on. I am probably screwed into falling for Military men for the rest of my life. I just like that Alpha personality. Okay, I need to be more specific. I need a real Military man, not a poge. A real man, a fighter, someone who knows how to use the weapons that are given to him. Someone who isn't afriad to die for what they are fighting for. I don't want one of those pansies that cry for mamma once they are shot. I want one of those men that are so head strong that they wont get shot because they are that arrogant. 

When I was a waitress I was told by a customer that I was born in the wrong era. That I should have been born in the late 40's early 50's. I would have been the perfect pin up girl back then. Maybe I would have looked the part back then but I think I would have fit the part as well, back when men were men and the women would do anything for the REAL men that they were married to.

#37 Club Pulse with Will and Nina

I can always count on Will to help me check off goals on my list. Last weekend 3 April 2010 Will, Nina and I went to two gay bars. The first was very low key. It was called Friends. We warmed ourselves up here with a couple glasses of wine. Then moved onto Pulse. This bar had great music and wonderful atmosphere. We met all kinds of wonderful new people there. Had a blast. I knew the evening was going to be a good night even before I left the house when I fit into a pair of pants that I haven't been able to fit in over 5 years. That is always a good start.

The evening slipped away into an early morning. Nina and burned up the dance floor and all of us drank way too much. We ended the night by hitting the local 24 hour store and getting some booze and took them back to the apartment and sat around drinking a bit more. Only in Europe can you stay out at the bar until the sun starts to come up and then go buy more so the party can keep going at home. It is too easy to see why people come to Europe and never leave. It is like Never Never land here. You never have to grow up!!!

Getting the hang of becoming a minimalist.

     Last weekend was only the beginning. I feel like something has been set free inside of me. All of this stuff!!! and I mean STUFF!!!! that I have been hanging onto for no reason. I spent most of this weekend laying low but this morning decided to get back into the spare bedroom and start going through boxes and getting things put back in the trunk.
    I had ordered these bags that you hook up to your vaccum and they shrink everything down to a small size. I wanted to give them a try with all the large blankets and pillows I washed last weekend. After that I just couldn't stop. I found this box that was all taped up and I had no clue what was inside of it. Once the tape was off, I had to roll my eyes and say, "What was I thinking putting all this stuff in a box and not sorting out way back when?".
     I have to say this whole minimalization process hasn't been the easiest on the emotions. A couple of weeks ago when I first started the throwing out of boxed I came across a box with all the letters that my ex-husband had ever written me. I will admit I still haven't done anything with these. I shuved them away in a trunk and will deal with them later. I guess I just wasn't strong enough on that day to get rid of them. Over the last couple of years whenever I find something of his I have been destroying/throwing out/donating it/ just plain getting rid of it. This is what I have had to do to remain saine. He was lucky in the fact that he got to walk away and start fresh without any memories, he left everything with me.
     Today, in that box all taped up, I found his old tin box. The one he use to keep anything and everything that meant anything to him since he was a boy. In there was every note I had written him while we were in highschool. I stared down at it and wondered what do I do with this? Stupidly I called him and left a message on his machine. He actually called me back. I told him and he remembered the tin I was talking about and said he was sorry that I was dealing with all this and finding all these memories during my spring cleaning but that he had to go because he can't walk in uniform while talking on the phone. He is very good at making sure there isn't much time for us to talk when he calls.
     After taking down the two bags of garbage I compiled (one from everyday use and one from the spare room of crap I have collected over the years), the recycle-able plastics and the again boxes/ paper recycle-ables I have collected over the years, I text messaged him and asked, " What do I do with them now?"

I continued to clean for a little while and after about 30 minutes of no response I realized, he really doesn't care, I really don't care and shouldn't care. Neither of us have seen those notes since before we were in the Army. I went for the healthiest answer I could come up with.....

      I shredded them!!! And the tin, it goes into the donation bin that gets dropped off tomorrow. I have another Ikea bag plus some random items in my trunk that wouldn't fit in the bag that need to be dropped off tomorrow. I tell you I am getting really good at this.

      I know that I am not finished yet, but here is just a glimpse of the progress. This is just one of the closets. It use to be crammed packed full of stuff. Now I don't have near enough stuff to ever dream of filling it. Oh and I haven't even touched the other two cabnets yet. If you look at the bottem of the picture you can see the schrinking bag thing. Believe it or not, that thing has a king size comforter, a queen size comforter, three normal blankets, 2 pillows and couple of randoms in there. I KNOW!!!! And it is shrunk down to ittty bitty.

      As I have said before, I still have a ways to go. But that spare room is getting more and more empty and the cabnets are not getting full, so that is a good sign. I think this is going to be a very good new beginning for me.

The beginning of #29 Getting rid of old things in boxes that I don't use/need/want anymore

    This weekend I had four days off from work. I figured it was the perfect oppertunity to get started on going through and cleaning the blankets I want to keep and getting rid of things I am holding onto for who knows why.
    When I first had the problem with the mold in the entry way I had housing get in contact with my landlord. He requested that I take everything out of the trunk so he could move it away from the wall a couple of inches in order to create ventilation room. This also gave me reason to start this project.
     For some reason I have been keeping every box that I get anything in. So for starts I collapsed and recycled two blue recycling bins of boxes. There were boxes from old cell phones, from hard drives, amazon.com, you name it, if it came to me in a box I still had the box.
     Then I found an entire foot locker of an ex's old clothes. Why am I still storing this stuff? I folded all the clothes, sorted out the socks and underwear and took them to the donation center. The socks and underwear got thrown away.
     In the fashion of spring cleaning, I rounded up my down douvet, the pillow top for my bed, all the pillows in my house, and the king size comforter I have decided to keep, and took them to the laundry mat for cleaning.
     While sorting through my linens I decided I don't need my deployment twin size sheets anymore. Therefore the sheets and their matching pillowcases were folded up and taken to the donation center along with the ex's clothes.
      This was one days work. I still have a lot more to do. I have another load that needs to go to the donation center. I have found an old toaster that works but I won't use again. A couple of camera cases for cameras I don't have anymore, a laptop bag for a laptop that I don't have anymore, and a few other odds and ends. I am quite sure that there will be more as I go through the rest of the trunks as well. What I really need to do is the painful part. Start on my closet. There are so many articles in there that I haven't worn in forever and I know I will never wear them again, but you know how hard it is to get rid of clothes. I just need to buckle down and do it.
    What really sucks to think is just when I am done doing all of this here in Germany and getting down to a minimized state here, I will move back to the states and pick up all of my stuff that my parents have been storing for me. That will be another monster to go through and tackle since I haven't seemed to throw anything away ever in my life.
     I will get there though. I make this promise to myself. I will be clutter free!

Top 100 of the Internet Movie Data Base

So, it isn't like I thought that this was set in stone. I knew that the list would change, I just didn't think it would change on a daily basis. I am torn as to how to go about completing this task. Should I make a set list on one date and stick to that list or be flexible and watch the flims until Ifinish my 1001 days. If I go all the way out to 1001 I may end up watching 2001 films.I have only had 1 that I have watched so far fall off, but then again, I have had 2 that I have already watched been added. So, I am not totally sure how to go about this. Maybe I should make a claus like a, I can change up to 10 of the films on the list as they change over the time it takes me to complete the goal. That way if there are films that I am having a difficult time finding I can switch them out with other films that come onto the the list. That is what I willl do. I will publish my list today, here. And then from now, I am allowed 10 changes from the list as they change in the future.

1. 9.1 The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
2. 9.1 The Godfather (1972) 
3. 9.0 The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. 8.9 Pulp Fiction (1994)
5. 8.8 Schindler's List (1993)
6. 8.8 12 Angry Men (1957)
7. 8.8 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
8. 8.8 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
9. 8.8 The Dark Knight (2008)
10. 8.8 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 
11. 8.8 Star Wars (1977)
12. 8.7 Casablanca (1942) 
13. 8.7 Goodfellas (1990)
14. 8.7 Fight Club (1999)
15. 8.7 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
16. 8.7 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
17. 8.7 Rear Window (1954)
18. 8.7 The Usual Suspects (1995)
19. 8.7 Psycho (1960)
20. 8.6 The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 
21. 8.6 The Matrix (1999)
22. 8.6 Se7en (1995)
23. 8.6 Memento (2000) 
24. 8.6 It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
25. 8.6 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 
26. 8.6 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
27. 8.6 Sunset Blvd. (1950)
28. 8.6 North by Northwest (1959)
29. 8.6 Citizen Kane (1941)
30. 8.6 Léon (1994)
31. 8.6 Apocalypse Now (1979)
32. 8.5 American Beauty (1999)
33. 8.5 Forrest Gump (1994)
34. 8.5 American History X (1998)
35. 8.5 Taxi Driver (1976) 
36. 8.5 Vertigo (1958)
37. 8.5 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
38. 8.5 Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
39. 8.5 Alien (1979)
40. 8.5 WALL·E (2008)
41. 8.5 Saving Private Ryan (1998)
42. 8.5 A Clockwork Orange (1971)
43. 8.5 The Shining (1980)
44. 8.4 Paths of Glory (1957) 
45. 8.4 The Departed (2006)
46. 8.4 The Pianist (2002)
47. 8.4 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
48. 8.4 Aliens (1986)
49. 8.4 Double Indemnity (1944)
50. 8.4 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
51. 8.4 Chinatown (1974)
52. 8.4 Requiem for a Dream (2000) 
53. 8.4 The Third Man (1949)
54. 8.4 L.A. Confidential (1997)
55. 8.4 Reservoir Dogs (1992)
56. 8.4 Das Boot (1981)
57. 8.4 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
58. 8.4 Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
59. 8.4 City Lights (1931)
60. 8.4 Avatar (2009) 
61. 8.4 El laberinto del fauno (2006)
62. 8.4 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
63. 8.4 Inglourious Basterds (2009)
64. 8.3 Raging Bull (1980)
65. 8.3 The Prestige (2006) 
66. 8.3 Up (2009)
67. 8.3 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
68. 8.3 Singin' in the Rain (1952)
69. 8.3 Back to the Future (1985)
70. 8.3 Modern Times (1936)
71. 8.3 Some Like It Hot (1959)
72. 8.3 Amadeus (1984)
73. 8.3 Full Metal Jacket (1987)
74. 8.3 The Maltese Falcon (1941)
75. 8.3 Braveheart (1995)
76. 8.3 Gran Torino (2008)
77. 8.3 Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988)
78. 8.3 Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
79. 8.3 All About Eve (1950)
80. 8.3 Metropolis (1927)
81. 8.3 The Green Mile (1999)
82. 8.3 Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
83. 8.3 The Elephant Man (1980)
84. 8.3 Sin City (2005)
85. 8.3 The Great Dictator (1940)
86. 8.3 Rebecca (1940)
87. 8.3 The Apartment (1960)
88. 8.3 The Sting (1973)
89. 8.3 Gladiator (2000)
90. 8.3 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
91. 8.3 The Great Escape (1963)
92. 8.3 Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
93 8.3 Ladri di biciclette (1948)
94. 8.3 Unforgiven (1992)
95. 8.3 Batman Begins (2005)
96. 8.3 Jaws (1975)
97. 8.2 Blade Runner (1982)
98. 8.2 Hotel Rwanda (2004)
99. 8.2 Die Hard (1988)
100. 8.2 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) \

So this is my list. I have watched 31 as of now and so far I can tell why some of these have made the list. I am not sure as to why some of the more recent films are on the list but they are okay I guess. I have to admitt I am not a fan of the lord of the rings trilogy but I guess they are not for everyone. I have already edited the original imbd to illiminate the films that are not translated into English. There were about 10 films on the top 100 that were only offered in German, Italian or Japanese. They didn't even offer English subtitles. These films I removed from my list and added the next films that were on the list in their place. I have kept the foreign films that are offered with subtitles or are translated into English. I have had the oppertunity to watch two such films so far and both have been very well produced. So cheers and onto another film!

Julia Child's Coq au Vin

Learning to cook better has been a goal of mine for a while now. I started off learning Italian recipes. But since I have started the 101 list I am switiching to French recipes from Julia Child's cook book. My first meal to conquer was Coq au Vin. It was a great deal of fun to make. Required a LOT of alcohol.1/4 cup of Cognac and 3 cups Chianti. I had half a bottle of Chianti myself while preparing the meal. I haven't ever lit a dish on fire before so that was definately an adventure. I had a picture of water standing closely by to ensure that I didn't burn the kitchen down. If you look closely in the picture you can see the flames.

It took a lot longer to prepare than the book said it would but the next day I took it to work and had a couple of people try it with me. Everyone agreed. It was very good. Not sure when I will try the next recipe it might be a couple of weeks. I am sure the next recipe will be just as exciting to make. Most of her recipes look like there seems to be a twist to them.   

Frustration with #38

   I thought I had everything all clear and ready to go. I am use to getting some push back when I want to do things and then people telling me, no I'm sorry because you have MS you can't do this or that. But, I had my paperwork in hand and I was ready to go. I printed off the policy from the Red Cross saying that they had lifted the ban on donors with MS back in May of 2007 and off I went to the local blood drive.
   Silly me, I forgot. This is the Military. We have our own rules that don't follow any guidelines that the rest of the world follow. So after about an hour of screening and asking questions the big one finally was asked. And I was ready. I said, I am being seen for MS. Then when she went to look in her big book of referals I pulled out the policy letter and she said, "Well good for the Red Cross, but the Military still has a ban on MS donors."
   Isn't that just peachy! I will still make this goal, I will just have to wait until I can get back stateside and go to an official Red Cross to donate.

#89 and #98

# 89  Learning to Ski and # 98 Visiting Switzerland I knocked out together.

  Some dear friends; Tim, Donna and John, came over from England and we all met up with Will down at his place in Switzerland. They made the long drive while I decided to be lazy and take the train.
  It was a wonderful weekend of Wills outstanding cooking, alcoholic beverages, good friends, too many laughs and a few strange stories. There was a rather bad bathroom incident but it ended with meeting a very talented artist who works as a plumber for a day job.
   On the slopes I had a few falls. My one major fall I blame on a child that came barrelling down the mountain and rather than take him out I cut too sharply and landed with my legs spread wide and toes pointed away from eachother. Not the most comfortable of positions. Head first into the snow.
  But in true fashion we made up for the cold by warming up with spirits that evening. I can't wait to make my next trip down to visit.

Disgusting Cleaning day

Lately I have noticed a funny, well gross smell coming from the corner closet in my entry way. This is where I store everything. This trunk covers two walls in the front room both walls are about 10 feet long. So today I decided to take the middle back walls out to see what was back there that was smelling. What did I find?
BLACK MOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is so gross. Smells horrible not to mention is really bad for your health. This isn't the first time I have had a problem with blak mold in this apartment. My landlord is a total flake and doesn't keep up the building. Not to mention I don't even have a phone number where I can reach him in a situation like this.
   So I spent the greater part of this morning scrubbing the mold off the back of the cabnets and then bleaching then before re-asembling them. Uggghhh it is was very gross. I think there may still be some behind the panels to the right that I didn't take the time to take down. These have shelves and a lot more involved in taking it apart. I am hoping that I got the most of it. I took pictures and plan on turning them into post housing and into legal.
    On to my next topic. I finished the Lord of the Rings Trilogy tonight. I had wondered why this was on so many peoples list of 101 things to do. I now know why. Every single one of them was a stretch to stay awake during. I do not get the fascination with this series. Give me Harry Potter or Star Wars any day. But I stuck to myy guns and finally made it through.
    Update on the pups. They are doing very well. Eating like little hogs. Specially one of the boys, everytime I check on them he is eating so I expect him to be big and fat. They are all very sweet and are finally letting Lexi get some rest. Fritz is definitely jealous of all the attention that Lexi and the puppies get. Everytime I go into their room to check on them he starts whining. I think he misses Lexi. I tried letting him near the puppies but Lexi wouldn't have it. Maybe in a week she will be more leniant.

Puppies are here!

   Last night at 1900 Lexi gave birth to the first puppy. It is a boy. She instantly took to the mothering. She is doing so much better than she did with her first pregnancy. Then about 40 minutes later came another Boy. He was a bit bigger and gave her some troubles but turned out to be a healthy bith as well. And finally our little girl just couldn't wait any longer. She just pushed her way through not giving Lexi much of a break at all.

   All three came out crying like little mice. No they don't bark when they are first born. They squeal like mice.   

    I called everyone who needed to be updated on the arrival of the pups. First of course was Kris as she we wish she could have been with us for the birth. She helped with the birth of Princess the Lexi's first puppy and now the owner of Princess. After I called the family that will be adopting one of the pups so the children could hear the pups sqealing. The children were very excited and can't wait for next weekend to come so they can come visit the pups. And the final call is to my mother to let her know that yet again she is a grandmother to more dogs. She keeps her hopes up that one of these days I will grow up settle down find a nice man and start a family of my own with human children. But for now she is happy with her four legged grand children.   Lexi is doing so well with the puppies that

    I only had to get up twice last evening to assist with the nursing. By the time I left for work this morning all three were sucking like champs and hopefully will let Lexi get some sleep today. I know she has to be tired.

   For me, I am very glad that it is the weekend so I can keep 24 hour watch on Lexi and the pups. Making sure that everything goes alright. These first few days are the most crucial. But Lexi is doing such an amazing job with the puppies I know that they are in much better paws with her than in my hands.

    As for any plans for the weekend. I have rented movies. So my couch and I are going to have some bonding time. :D

A long Week

I almost can remember Monday....hmmmm hold on, let me think for a minute. Nope, totally forgot it. Was completely exhausted I know that had to work late and the rest is history. So, lets get into the stuff that might interest someone.

Tuesday, I had made plans to go visit a friend but they were put on hold when Lexi's (my female Maltese) temperature dropped. A little background knowledge. Lexi is pregnant. And the pups are due in the next week. Tuesday would have been 3 days early, NOT good. But her temp dropped so I canceled plans and prepped for doggie delivery. We were up all night long in false labor. About every hour she would wake up start panting and then go back to sleep. Come Wednesday morning her temperature was back up to normal. Woo Hoo for me. I got no sleep that night.

Work wasn't too horrendous. I was able to cut out most of the afternoon. My hooptie (Dodge) had been in the shop but needed to be re-registerd so I went to pick that up and got that all taken care of. Then because I noticed I was having difficulties turning left in my new car (Volvo C70) I decided to drop by the dealership. Turns out one of the hoses had a leak. Making my power steering go out. So, now the Volvo is in the shop and I am driving the Dodge.

Made another round of the White wine Salmon last night. Only this time I used Eiswein. Which is really a dessert wine that is made from frozen grapes. It turned out very well.

And finally onto this morning. Lexi!!!! Her temperature has dropped AGAIN! So, we will see. She is closer to her due date this time so I may be up all night delivering puppies tonight. If so, tomorrows blog (if I am awake enough to write) should have an interesting twist.

A day of cleaning and Feng Shui

Today started off normal. I don't know what came over me. All I wanted to do was mop the floors in the living room since I had mopped all the others yesterday. Then something came over me. First it was the Pole in the middle of the room. I decided I don't really practice on it anymore and it just gets in the way so I took it down. Then I thought, Hey one of my 101 goals is to get caught up on my scrapbooks. So, I re-arranged the furnature in the living room and brought my work desk in from the spare room.

Now, since all my scrapbook suppplies are staring me in the face daily it is harder to brush it aside. I have everything organized and ready to go. I printed off the contact sheets and am now selecting the pictures for the pages.

So, here's hoping that I can knock off another goal.

Simple pleasures of Childhood

The sun came out today. So very welcome after the last 3 months of cold snow. I took Fritz and Lexi(my maltese dogs) down to the local walking path dog park whatever you like to call it. Fritz loves to run large circles for no reason other than to run and bark and ack a fool.

As we walk to the end of the path there was a small childrens park, equiped with a swing set. So, I sat down and began to sway. Pumping my legs back and forth I began to gain height. Then I leaned back and stared at the clouds. white puffy clouds in a bright blue sky. With that weightless flight feeling as I continue to sway back and forth.

And all I can think is, remember when you were a kid and everything was so easy and all you had to do was just swing and stare at the clouds.

I definately will be taking time to have more moments like today. Taking my dogs to the park and playing on the swing set staring at the clouds.

End of the week

The end is near and I couldn't be more ready. I haven't decided yet what I want to do with the end of my week, but I am glad it is here. Yesterday was treatment day so I spent all day in the hospital. But I got some pretty great news, I get to spend another three months in a job that I hate but in a country that I love. Sometimes you got to give a little to get what you want.

Last evening wasn't anything too special. Just the usual nausia and headache from treatment. But Tolga came over and chatted with me for awhile to make sure I was alright. That is always nice.

Still trying to figure out how to customize my blog. I managed to change it a bit today, but it isn't near what I would like it to be. Guess I have been out of the web design game longer than I thought.

Well, here's to trying! Chin Chin

Having fun with Destruction!!!!!

One of the items on my 101 things to do is to get rid of all my old electronic equipment. Yesterday I took an old dell printer and a link system router to the Thrift Store for donation. Last evening I threw away a DVD/VHS player that no longer worked. And today...... Well, today I got to have fun.

I work in the IT field. Usually my job is to make computers and systems work. I never get to tear them apart. But I had this laptop that was 7 years old and I had blue screened it to death. I have spent a great deal of time trying to recover this laptop. Mostly practicing my computer skills, but everything failed. So, now for the fun part....removal of the screws.

Now that is what I call fun. Can you believe that all those parts where in a laptop? This is my exciting thing for the day.

I started publishing my 101 goals in 1001 days on here today. I am only at 50 things, but it is a start. Guess I just need to keep on going. Day by day.

Day One

Everyone has a blog these days so why not me. I have always written my thoughts down in journals in the past but now with technology upon us the thing to do is put our thoughts out there for the world to judge.

I have started a new set of goals. 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days. I have to admitt I am struggling to put together the list of 101 things that I would like to do but I am getting there. And as soon as I get the list put together you can bet it will be published on this blog. Now one thing I have been working on is my cooking skills. Tonight I finally, after 3 nights of not so perfect tries made mouth watering baked salmon. It was sooo very good. Along with this cooking masterpiece I discovered a nice white wine. I wanted to try marinating the Salmon in white wine so I openned a bottle of German Deinhard Beeren Auslese from the Johannisberg Schloss. The wine was so very sweet and fruity. Absolutely lovely. I will definetely be finding this bottle again. Just have to remember where I picked it up at.

The Salmon was done in a white wine, garlic, rosemary marinade, slow baked. These are two things that are on my list of things to accomplish. Learning to cook and tasting/ appreciating different types of wines.

My goal with this blog is to have something to write about and not let my life slip by me uneventful. Whether it is something small like mastering a recipe or something large like last weekend when I vacationed in Switzerland and learned to Ski. Just as long as I am doing something.

Till then-