Bucket List Series

I've been wanting to start a small series on this blog that would get me motivated to write more and would give me something entertaining and interesting to write about.  I was going through my Pinterest boards and cleaning them up a bit a few weeks ago when I came up with the idea to start a bucket list series based on my Pinterest board.  I will be taking things that I've already done and writing a post about that experience. 

I wanted to wait until I had 10 post ready to go, and I now have that so starting tomorrow I will be posting about things I've done from my bucket list at least 2 times per week.  Some of the things on there just wont make up an entire post so some of the post will have 3-4 items on it.

So today I'll start with a few easy ones.

As much as I love movies, I have only ever been to one midnight premiere.  My sister and I went to see Les Miserables on Christmas night in 2012.  Les Mis is one of my all time favorite musicals and my sister had never seen it in any form and really wanted to.  We figured this would be the perfect midnight premiere to go to.  Was it worth it?? Absolutely!

This was actually a bet.  An ex's friend bet me that I couldn't eat an entire large pizza by myself.  Never make a bet with me when it comes to how much I can eat.  I may be small but I'm basically a bottomless pit, especially when I'm working out.  So, I definitely at the entire thing by myself in the amount of time it took us to watch a movie. Boom.

I got my belly button pierced on my 18th birthday, the same day that I got my first tattoo.  It's really not that bad to get done, just a quick pinch and it's over (if you get the right person doing it).  Unfortunately, mine got really badly infected a few years later and now I can't wear the rings anymore :(

A Random Beach Trip

My best friend randomly came to the east coast last week so, of course, I had to make a trip down to Bethany Beach where her parents live.   We had a pretty chill two days.  We spent the afternoon at the beach and then headed into Ocean City, MD to a restaurant Watermans where we got all you can eat crabs.
If you know anything about Maryland, you know we do crabs right!  I think we went through about 4 dozen that night plus they gave us shrimp, fried chicken and hushpuppies.  Pretty good deal if you ask me!

Our next day was spent shopping at the Tanger Outlets, yay for tax free shopping!!  We spent most of our time at Forever 21 and ended up getting some pretty awesome deals.  Before I left to come home we had dinner in Rehobeth at a place called Big Fish.  The food was great!  The lobster bisque soup was to die for!  Overall, it was a nice relaxing few days with my best friend and family, just hanging out and reminiscing about our summers down there when we were kids. 

April Goals

How I Did in March

Book Everything Cruise Related: Check!  The only thing not booked is the hotel but we're waiting til closer to do that.  We want to make sure we get a good price.  All of our excursions are booked and paid for, along with our flights.  We are: Scuba diving in Grand Cayman, seeing the Mayan ruins of Tulum in Mexico, and doing a Tranopy Tour in Jamaica.

Cook Something New:  Win!!  I recently read Mastering Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels and it kind of freaked me out.  So, starting April 1st me and him will be strictly following that "diet" for at least one month, just to see how we feel.  Anyway, the point is I've started using her cookbook now and made the Almond Crusted Chicken.  This is the first meal I've actually been proud of!  It turned out great!  Also, for our monthly friends dinner our theme was Mexican, so I made Sopaipillas. 

Read Library Books:  Check!  and then some.  I've been reading a lot lately.  That is the one advantage to having a super boring job and working overnights.

Goodwill: Half done.  I did add more stuff to my boxes but I haven't taken them yet.  Hopefully I'll remember to do it on my next day off ... we'll see.

April Goals

+ Cook 5 new Recipes from the Mastering Your Metabolism Cookbook: Josh and I are going to be eating based on Jillian Michaels book and Cookbook.  Basically if it didn't have a mother or didn't grow from the ground, we wont be eating it.  Josh has agreed to do this with me for two weeks but I plan to do it strictly for a month but then do it about 80/20 for good.  I hope for this to be the start of a lifestyle change.

+  Get My Bike Out 3 Times Per Week:  I bought a bike when we were living at the old place but there's not many places to bike in the middle of nowhere.  So, now that we live in a neighborhood with plenty of biking areas (I would know, I grew up here), I really want to put that bike to use.  Plus, I hate running and doing cardio at the gym, so this is perfect. 

+ Set a Workout Goal Each Week: There are a lot of new things I want to do with my workouts but trying to pile it all on at once is a good way to fail.  So, I want to try one new thing per week and add it to my workout. 

+ Get Back into Blogging: I really haven't felt like blogging lately, and I didn't have much to blog about but with Spring here and warmer weather is (hopefully) right around the corner I'll be doing more.  Also, I really need to catch up on book reviews.  I have also been revamping some old post which I'll republish.  I have also been working on revamping my travel pages. 

Monthly Life Update: March

+ My friend Laurie and I bought tickets to see Shania Twain in DC this July!!  I have always been a huge Shania fan and have been saying for years that if she ever went back on tour that I would be first in line for tickets.  Laurie and I were able to score pre-sale tickets in the first row of stands (I didn't want floor seats because I'm usually too short to see over people). I could not be more excited!!!

+ I am so over not having money so Josh and I have been looking at places to cut down.  We ended up switching insurance providers and now are paying total what Josh was paying just for himself!! That is insane to me!!  Yay to State Farm and BOO to Geico!  Also, we're thinking of switching from Verizon to TMobile because my Verizon phone bill is just stupid.

+ I am in the middle of deciding whether or not to go back to school. I recently got accepted to Towson University which is about halfway between my work and home.  I was debating between going for Mass Communication or Environmental Biology but I think Mass Comm would be the smarter idea.  My only hesitation is that I would probably have to take out loans since my EFC on FAFSA was more than I make in a year.  I guess that's what I get for marrying a hard working man ... shame on me.

+ We have the most adorable cuddly little house guest staying with us!  She came on the 26th and will be staying at least through Easter Sunday.  The whole thing is a long story and if she ends up staying with us longer than a week, I will tell that story, but for now we're just enjoying having her here.  (and yes in the pictures you do see blankets all over my furniture.  It's brand new and I'm not all about having hair all over it!)

+ The Monthly Friends Dinner which I hosted/started last month is going strong :) My friend Heather took it this month and we have volunteers through July!  I'm so glad we do this and get to see everyone since everyone is always so busy.  We have such a strong group of friends, we definitely don't want to start drifting apart.  Also, Heather lives behind a horse farm and me and my sister spent half the time at the fence with the horses.  (photos on Instagram)!

+ I finally emailed our tattoo artist so hopefully this time next month I'll be sharing a photo of mine and my sisters matching tattoos!! 

Books Read:
 Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (3/4/15)
If I Stay by Gayle Forman (3/5/15)
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen (3/9/15)
My Boyfriends' Dogs by Dandi Daley Mackall (3/9/15)
 My Boyfriends' Dogs by Dandi Daley Mackall (3/9/15)
The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans (3/13/15)
My Life With the Walter Boys by Ali Novak (3/16/15)
What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen (3/19/15)
Before I Die by Jenny Downham (3/23/15) 
What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick (3/27/15)
Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson (Current)

Book Review: Thanks for the Memories

Thanks for the Memories

By: Cecelia Ahern

Read: 12/31/14
Pages: 373

"How is it possible to know someone you've never met?

With her marriage already in pieces, Joyce Conway nearly lost everything else. But she survived the terrible accident that left her hospitalized--and now, inexplicably, she can remember faces she has never seen, cobblestone Parisian streets she's never visited. A sudden, overwhelming sense of deja vu has Joyce feeling as if her life is not her own.

Justin Hitchcock's decision to donate blood was the first thing to come straight from his heart in a long time. He chased his ex-wife and daughter from Chicago to London--and now, restless and lonely, he lectures to bored college students in Dublin. But everything is about to change with the arrival of a basket of muffins with a thank-you note enclosed--the first in a series of anonymous presents that will launch Justin into the heart of a mystery . . . and alter two lives forever."

{GoodReads} 

I had mixed feelings about this book.  While I did really like the story and the whole idea behind it, I did find that there were a lot of slow spots.  I also loved the characters, especially Joyce's father, but I wish that the two main characters would have spent more actual time together.  My favorite thing about Ahern's novels is that she always adds a small dose of magic, and this one was no different and it definitely makes for an entertaining read.  Overall, it was a good story; humorous, and fairly entertaining and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a fairly light read. 

I gave this book a 3/5 on my GoodReads.

March Goals

How I did in February

Lets just call February an epic fail.  The only thing I got done from my goals for the month was finishing the spare bedroom.  It needs finishing touches such as pictures but everything has a place and I can finally put it to use.   I got a lot done over the month but none from my list of goals.  I also know that I've been epically failing at blogging, but to tell the truth, I'm just not feeling it right now.  I don't even read as much as I used to because I feel like I'm reading the same thing over and over.

March Goals

Book Everything Cruise Related: We've booked our flight, the cruise, and one excursion.  I want to have all of our excursions booked and paid for by the end of the month.  The only thing I don't plan to book until we get closer is the Hotel.  We decided to fly down a day early and have a day to explore Miami. 

Cook Something New:  We started a monthly friends dinner where the host makes the main meal and the others bring desserts and appetizers.  I was the host for February but I made a familiar dish.  I would like to try to make a dessert that I've never made before or a themed appetizer for the next one.  Heather says she might do a Mexican Theme.

Read Library Books:  I recently checked out 7 books from the library and I hope to read all of them by the end of the month.  The way I've been going, that will be no problem.

Goodwill:  I have two boxes of stuff that needs to go to Goodwill and I keep forgetting to take it.  I want to add a few more items this month and then finally get those boxes out of my house.

Monthly Life Update: February

+ I watched the Super Bowl at my friend Heathers house.  I was only able to stay til the beginning of the fourth quarter then listened to it on the radio.  I was not a happy camper, I really dislike the Patriots so I was hoping the Seahawks would pull out a win.

+ Me and my friends Heather and Vicky (and Vicky's son Jaxon) had a girl's day one Saturday.  It was great just eating junk food, drinking wine and catching up with two of my closest friends.  I am really upset that we didn't get photos of this!

+ Work almost killed me, literally and figuratively.  We had a snowstorm one Monday night and it started about two hours before I left for work so I didn't think the roads would be that bad.  Boy was I wrong!  I took me an hour and fifteen minutes to drive 20 miles.  I almost turned around at one point after a near miss but it wouldn't have been worth it.  Then I stayed later in the morning because someone called out.  So, since I worked my second job Monday during the day and really didn't sleep much after I got off on Sunday morning, I went almost 36 hours without sleep.  Not Fun!

+ I got Josh the most epically awesome anniversary gift this month!!  Comic Con is coming to Philly (2 hours from us) in May just 3 weeks before our anniversary.  Josh and I are big fans of Arrow so imagine my excitement when I saw that Stephen Amell and Katie Cassidy would be there!!  Needless to say, I bought tickets to get a photo with them as well as the tickets to get in.  I will also be getting tickets for him to get a photo with Jason David Frank who played the Green Power Ranger (his favorite), but the other tickets put quite a dent in my pocket so that I'll have to buy later.

Books Read: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (2/2/15)
When Calls the Heart by Janette Oke (2/4/15)
The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson (2/7/15)
  First Love by James Patterson (2/10/15)
  The List by Siobhan Vivian (2/11/15)
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick (2/18/15)
To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (2/19/15)
The Duff by Kody Keplinger (2/21/15)
Love and Other Theories by Alexis Bass (2/23/15)
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen (2/24/15)
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell(2/27/15)

New Shows/Movies:  
NCIS Los Angeles: Season 1