Obtain Level 30 in League of Legends

Today I obtained level 30 in League of Legends. I was supposed to head to Orlando and Melbourne for the weekend. But I have just not been feeling well so I decided it was in my best interest to stay home. After a long walk this morning I play some League of Legends with Robert. The last game was so crazy. They invaded our side and got 6 kills to our 1. It wasn't a good start. We were behind on kills and gold the whole game I think. But somehow we won. It was all very nerdy and exciting. GG

Phoenix

This weekend I went to Phoenix to visit my sister Erin and my brother-in-law Jake. My sister Teri came over from California for the weekend too.  It was a very nice visit and we all had a good time. We went to the Desert Botanical Gardens and spent a lot of time by the pool. Saturday night we went to this really cool place for dinner. There was live music and all the tables were outside each with it's own fire pit. We had super yummy steaks and got to make s'mores! 

I did something this weekend that I should have added to my 101 in 1001 list. I sang karaoke! Sunday night we went to a karaoke bar and I actually sang a song all by myself. Erin opened with Black Horse and a Cherry Tree. Jake sang some Nickleback and Teri sang two duets. I have never sang karaoke before. It was more fun then I thought it would be. 

Thanks Erin and Jake for a great weekend! Love you!

Pay Alysse Back

I finished another item on my list! I needed to pay Alysse back so I sent her a check and she deposited the money today. Now that I am square with her I can start working on building my emergency fund.

Food Meal Plan is Complete!

I have been talking about doing this for sooo long! But today I finally finished! 8 weeks of meal plans are made with a weekly shopping list for every week. Now I never have to plan meals or make a grocery list again unless I plan on doing something special or I get sick of the food. It should take a while though. I even organized my list by sections in the grocery store. It made my trip yesterday nice and quick!

Today I cooked my first meal from the list: shrimp tacos and a cabbage mango slaw. It was pretty yummy. Tomorrow rib eye steaks with a sun-dried tomato topping are on the menu. :)

Food

Today I decided I would start tracking what I eat again. I logged my breakfast but at lunch I totally forgot I promised to make better decisions and I ate six cookies! Oops! To compensate I only ate a small protein based dinner. Hopefully that helps me even out for the day.

One of the items on my list is to make a meal plan. I have been working on one for the last week and I am almost finished. I made an 8 week plan that has five dinners that have a main dish and a side. I will eat the left overs for lunch. The other two days I can a pick up a rotisserie chicken or just make something from my pantry or go out. Most weeks I am usually gone at least two nights anyway so I think this should work ok. I also made a grocery list for each week that I can just print out. I am excited for this and hopefully it will help a lot. I should finish tomorrow and then I can cross it off my list.

Enough is Enough

I say this every other day probably. I need to stop eating bad and start working on getting healthy. I measured my waist today. Not good - 42". I need to drop at least 7" to have a lesser risk of heart disease. I'm working on my grocery list and I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow. I'm also going to start working out  to move towards the fitness goals I outlined. We'll see if I actually stay strong tomorrow. I don't have much faith in myself.

Argo

I finished reading Argo today. It was a good book and it was something I knew nothing about. Thank you CIA and Canada for getting those Americas out safely.

Related to my blog though... The author gives a list of defining movies of the time. Most of them I have never seen so I think I will add them of my list of movies to watch. They are The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Badlands, A Clockwork Orange, Chinatown, The Exorcist, Apocalypse Now, Mean Street, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and American Graffiti.

Cousin Billy

I am at my parents house for the weekend to see my cousin Patrick that came to visit for the weekend. It was a beautiful today today do I took the opportunity to sneak outside and get some reading done. I am currently reading Argo which is quite interesting and it makes me feel kind of dumb that I had no idea that happened.

Cousin Billy came over for dinner too. He is really my dads cousin and he is 74 yeas old. He is probably in better health then I am. He talked to us for a long time about his career as a doctor, his own health struggles, and his faith in God. It is really an inspiration to see a older man do educated, current, and with so much ambition to do more and be the best he can be. I think if I could be half the person cousin billy is then I'd be doing pretty good.

The 365 Project

I have decided to go ahead and start the 365 project. The goal is to take a picture everyday for a year to have a snapshot of your year. I am terrible at taking pictures so I thought this will encourage me to take more. I have already taken more pictures today then in the last couple months. I downloaded an app called Photo365 to help me keep track. It seems like its going to work great.

I took my first picture yesterday at work and my second picture at my parents dinner table with my sister and cousin.

50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind

From http://www.marcandangel.com/2009/07/13/50-questions-that-will-free-your-mind/

1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
Honestly probably 27. I think I’ve been a young adult for a long time.
I think my peers are finally catching up to me.

2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?
Never trying.

3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and
like so many things we don’t do?
Because a lot of things we like cost money and we have to have a way
to support ourselves and then have money left over to buy what we
like.

4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you have done?
Done more than I said.

5. What is the one thing you’d like most to change about the world?
More empathy and willingness to help your own family members.

6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would
make you rich?
Problem solving or manipulating data by writing programs or macros.

7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you
are doing?
I am not settling. I have a good job that I like. I truly believe the
people I work with are trying to do good things for the community.

8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live
your life differently?
I probably would have married my college boyfriend, had several kids
by now, and there would be less money in my 401k.

9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
I think control over my life is 50/50. Half of it is what’s thrown at
me and the other half is what I’ve done with those opportunities and
setbacks.

10. Are you more worried about doing things right or doing the right things?
Doing the right things.

11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They
all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your
friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?
I would not reveal she was my friend. I’d offer a different view point
on the situation if I could to get the people to try to rethink their
opinion. I might not have lunch with them again.

12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what
would it be?
Live in the moment. Play while you can play. Nap while you can nap.
Learn while you can learn. Don’t be in a rush to grow up, have
responsibility, get debt and a job. You have the rest of your life for
that. But when it is time to grow up – then please grow up!

13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?
Yes.

14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
I often think that about a construction site. It’s a complete dumb but
in the end it is usually amazing that people made it.

15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
Ha. I think I’ve seen fewer movies then most people have…

16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
Different strengths and weaknesses. Most people will enjoy the things
that come easy to them.

17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?
What’s holding you back?
Stay thin and fit. My love of relaxing and eating.

18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
I still have a lot of pent up anger and frustration over my last
boyfriend. It was the most frustration relationship I have ever had. I
think it’s hard for me to let go because he needed help and I won’t
ever know if he got the help he needed.

19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you
currently live in, where would you move and why?
I would move to New York to be with my family that I enjoy and miss so
much. Plus, I think it’s beautiful and I sleep much better when it’s
cold.

20. Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really
believe it makes the elevator go faster?
I do not push the elevator multiple times. I know it won’t make it go
faster and I’m never in a rush anyway.

21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
Joyful simpleton – definitely.

22. Why are you, you?
Because of my awesome family and friends!

23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
I think I am the kind of friend I want to have. Not everyone would
want to be friends with me though, and I do not want to be friends
with everyone. So it works out.

24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch
with a good friend who lives right near you?
If they are truly your good friend a large amount of time should be
able to go by without seeing them and it shouldn’t make a difference.

25. What are you most grateful for?
My family. They are the best.

26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories or never be able to
make new ones?
I guess I’d rather be keep my old memories. Not making new ones is
basically the concept of death. I am ok with the idea of death. It’s
part of life. Not having past memories would be completely weird
though. I think it’s in peoples nature to want to know where they came
from.

27. Is it possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
I think so. I think I accept the truth quite often without challenging
it at all. If you are willing to trust the source of your information
is correct then you don’t have to challenge and it will also remain
the truth to you because if you don’t challenge it you’ll never be any
wiser.

28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?
No and I hope it never does.

29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely
upset? Does it really matter now?
It was more like 10 years ago and I do think it still matters now.
Although the people are not really in my life anymore, they are
poisonous people. They think they are these holy Christians but I
don’t think God would treat people the way they do. I don’t understand
why they think it’s their job to be in everyone’s business and judge
them like they are God.

30. What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
I don’t think this is a fair question. I was fortunate to have tons of
happy memories. My family made them so special. We were just together
a lot and we just had fun.

31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
When I was training for my marathons, particularly when I did the 8 x
1 mile repeats with Stephanie and the 22 mile run I did with Amiee. I
was fit, felt great, it was a beautiful day, and I definitely had a
runners high. I loved it.

32. If not now, then when?
This questions and the next one both make me think of the same things.
I think the goals that have continued to elude me or come and go
sporadically are those related to fitness. I know what I need to do to
be fit and healthy. The problem for me is doing it. If not now, then
when? It really should be now. I need to convince myself of that.

33. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
The only thing I have to lose in this scenario is weight. Being fit is
something I love… but I also love cookies and cake and soda. 

34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away
feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
Yes :D

35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
Because love fosters passion which can make people go a little crazy
for what they believe.

36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
No, evil is sneaky. Even those that think they have good intensions
could really be doing things only for themselves at the expense of
others and not realize it. Also all decisions have a ripple effect
that is impossible to predict and can have both good and bad impacts.

37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
No. At least not right away. Unfortunately, a million dollars can be
burned pretty quickly. I might quit if and when I have children. In
the mean time I would keep working. I am fortunate to work with great
people. Most of the time the work is pretty interesting and I often
experience fulfillment from my assignments. I don’t think I would make
a very good housewife. I would also consider volunteering somewhere
instead if I was confident the million was enough.

38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually
enjoy doing?
More work I enjoy doing. I like being busy and working hard. It makes
the day go fast and it helps me appreciate and enjoy the time I have
at home more.

39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
No. But if I think about it, essentially I have. A work day is very
similar to all other work days but I have never thought I’m doing the
same thing 100 times.

40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the
soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
Probably never. There is not a lot I strongly believe in.

41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who
would you go visit today?
I’d take Robert and go to Melbourne to see our families.

42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to
become extremely attractive or famous?
Absolutely not. I’m neither and I think my life is much happier and
more stable than the extremely beautiful and famous people that I see.

43. What’s the difference between being alive and truly living?
Being alive is going through the motions every day. Truly living is
actually feeling what you touch, seeing what is in front of you,
listening to what is being said, tasting what you eat, and smelling
the air you breathe.

44. When is it time to stop calculating the risk and rewards, and just
go ahead and do what you know is right?
Um… Always? If you are not hurting others by your actions then go ahead.

45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make
a mistake?
I think we are afraid to make mistakes because of the consequences of
our mistakes. If you make a mistake a work you could lose your job –
that’s never fun. If we make a mistake in a social situation we might
be ridiculed and laughed at. Mistakes might cost of large amounts of
money. Mistakes are embarrassing. I think the only mistakes we
wouldn’t be afraid to make are mistakes others don’t know we made.

46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
I would dress much more casually all of the time. It is cheaper and
more comfortable to dress casual. I also love that you could be ready
at any moment to run around the office or climb over the cubical if
you wanted. I think our nice clothes are part of the recent people are
so sedentary. Even if we had the urge to run or jump we don’t because
we aren’t dressed for it.

47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
I have noticed it a lot recently. Mostly because I’m sick and
congested so my breathing is somewhat labored and louder than usual.
Also, I recently saw my sister who has had a series of health problems
recently. She has gained a lot of weight and it seems to have made
breathing difficult for her. Even when she is just sitting there she
seems to be struggling for air. She has to flare her nostrils wide and
get a good loud slurp of air. It made me stop and listen to my
breathing. Mine is much quieter and slower frequency then hers.

48. What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed
this love?
I love my family and I love Robert who will hopefully be my family
soon. I think everyone who knows me knows I love my family. I also
think my family and Robert know I love them. I like to think I do a
good job of showing that I love them.

49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday?
What about the day before that? Or the day before that?
I probably will remember what I did yesterday – because I made this
101 in 1001 list. Even if I end up not finishing the list, I’ll
probably always remember that I made one. Several of these things I’ve
had on the To Do List in my brain for a while now so I won’t forget
those plans either. The day before and the day before were New Years
Day and New Years Eve. I’ll definitely remember these days because it
was my first new years with Robert. We spent it with his family
playing games and eating. We had a nice glass of champagne after we
watched the ball drop. In the morning we had breakfast with his family
before we headed to my parents. We played games there too (I destroyed
the family in 5 Second Rule) and we ate some gooey brownies. We
listened to the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in the car and Bella was
happy to be home.

50. Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you
making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?
At work, I like it when other people make the decisions. In most cases
they should because they are the project managers. I don’t really want
to make the decisions so I don’t really want to be a project manager.
My group leader says too bad though… so I guess it’s good. Someday at
work I’ll be forced to make the call. In my personal life though, I
think I make my own decisions all the time. I think I am were I am
today because of the decisions I have made over the years. There is
definitely some room for improvement. I make decisions but I often
make care for myself a lower priority. I’m hoping to work on that this
year.

101 Things I Have Already Accomplished

1. Accepted into National Honor Society
2. Accepted into Mu Alpha Theta
3. Swam 4 years varsity in highschool
4. Received Coach’s award for the swim team my freshman year of highschool
5. Received Coach’s award for the swim team my junior year of highschool
6. Held the highschool record for the 100 butterfly
7. Held the highschool record for the 200 free
8. Was a team member of several highschool record relay teams
9. Was on the A freestyle relay with Natalie, Jen, and Jeanne that
made it to district finals my freshman year of highschool
10. Was female MVP my senior year of highschool swimming
11. Played JV soccer three years of highschool
12. Got straight A’s my sophomore, junior, and senior year of highschool
13. Received award for top physical science student in my graduating
highschool class
14. Helped raise two babies (my littlest brother and sister)
15. Was a girl scout member for 10 years
16. Rode an elephant
17. Been on a pirate ship
18. Swam with manatees
19. Swam with sea turtles
20. Swam with Sting Rays
21. Went Kayaking
22. Went Canoeing
23. Went rock climbing
24. Went white water rafting
25. Went zip lining
26. Completed a ropes course
27. Received the gold award in girl scouts (equivalent to a boy scout
eagle award)
28. Got a scholarship to attend my freshman year of highschool
29. Got a partial scholarship to attend college
30. Got a 4.0 the first semester of my freshman year of college
31. Got accepted to Tau Beta Pi
32. Got accepted into Chi Epsilon and held a leadership position
33. Got accepted into the student alumni organization Red and White
and held a leadership position
34. Saw the Matrix Trilogy
35. Read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Ring Trilogy
36. Saw the Lord of the Ring Movies
37. Read Pride and Prejudice
38. Sang in a fake a cappella group in front of a large audiance
39. Sang in a church choir
40. Hiked several mountains (Grandfather, Stone, Diamond Head, and others)
41. Been in a cavern (Lorey and Hal’s)
42. Saw the last ever space shuttle launch (and a bunch others)
43. Complete 4 years of varsity swimming in college
44. Made it to state finals in an individual event (100 butterfly) my
junior year
45. Completed 3 years of varsity outdoor track in college
46. Made the 4x800m state relay team my senior year
47. Complete 2 years of varsity cross country in college
48. Ran a 22:26 5k at Hamilton College
49. Learned how to ski
50. Completed a sprint triathlon in May 2004
51. Completed an Olympic distance triathlon in September 2004
52. Completed two sprint triathlons in May and July 2005
53. Traveled to Key West
54. Went on a charter fishing trip
55. Went parasailing
56. Traveled to St. Croix
57. Traveled to Toronto and Montreal
58. I have been to the Statue of Liberty and to the top of the Empire
State Building
59. Traveled to Hawaii
60. Got a position as a member of the residence life staff my
sophomore and junior year of college
61. Got a job at Harris in highschool
62. Got a job at the Fun Attic after my freshman year of college
63. Got a raise at the Fun Attic after only two weeks of work
64. Got a job in Boston as an engineering intern for the summer after
my sophomore year of college
65. Taught myself how to knit
66. Taught myself how to crochet
67. Learned to play Texas Hold’em
68. Got a job in Albany as an engineering intern for the summer after
my junior year of college
69. Passed my FE exam
70. Continued to work part time for the engineering firm through my
senior year of college
71. Graduated College with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering
in May 2007
72. Got offered a job by the engineering firm I was interning with
73. Got offered a job in Jacksonville with an engineering firm and accepted it
74. Started a 401k
75. Bought a condo
76. Have never had credit card debt
77. Went to LA
78. Went to San Francesco
79. Went skiing outside Salt Lake City
80. Gambled $1 in a slot machine
81. Went on a cruise to Alaska
82. Received a Master of Science in Civil Engineering in December 2009
83. Ran the Gate River Run 3 times
84. Completed an off road triathlon with Megan and Jeremy
85. Completed a sprint triathlon with Megan, Valery, and Lindsey
86. Completed the Albany Mohawk Hudson River Valley Marathon in October 2010
87. Completed the Nashville Country Music Marathon in April 2011
88. Joined a book club
89. Paid off my student loans
90. Passed the PE exam
91. Completed the Donna Half Marathon in February 2012
92. Drove from Seattle to Phoenix
93. Saw my cousin in Boise
94. Stayed a night in Las Vegas
95. Got Scuba Certified
96. Went scuba diving in Grand Cayman
97. Went on a sail boat
98. Went scuba diving in Boyton Beach
99. Completed the Subaru Thanksgiving Half Marathon November 2012
100. Received my 5 year service award from work
101. I’ve been to 28 of the 50 states: Florida, Georgia, South
Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania,
Tennessee, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Vermont,
New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Texas,
Arizona, California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Alaska,
and Hawaii.

Task #1 Complete!

My friend Natalie has inspired me to create a list of 101 Things to complete in 1001 days. She is starting her own list today as a tribute to a dear friend she recently lost. I don't know her friend but I think it is a great idea and I would like to join her on her journey.

This is the kind of thing I love. I love the idea of self improvement. I love thinking about self improvement. But mostly I just think about self improvement and fall through on the implementation. Hopefully this will be an exception. Maybe being accountable to cyberspace will help. That is why the first task on my 101 list is to make a blog. I have always wanted to but chances are this will be the only time I write in it. I guess we will find out together.

So here we go. From today January 2, 2013 until September 30, 2015 I will attempt to complete the following tasks:

Creativity
1. Start a blog
2. Blog everyday for 30 days
3. Watch ten classic movies I’ve never seen before
4. Watch ten movies of Robert's choice that I have never seen
5. Learn to play four chords on guitar
6. Write a novel in 30 days
7. Take a cooking class
8. Take a knives skill class
9. Use all the yarn I currently have
10. Make my music collection 100% digital
11. Make a 365 day project (http://365project.org/)
12. Publish the 365 photos into a coffee table book
13. Paint the Christmas ornaments I was given
14. Send a postcard to post secret
15. Listen to Rolling Stones 500 greatest songs of all time
16. Watch every academy awards best picture since I was born (1985)
17. Answer the 50 questions that will free your mind
18. Read the entire chronicle of Narnia series

Family
19. Scan in family photos
20. Create family tree
21. Collect contact information of friends and relatives
22. Digitize family home videos
23. Backup photos on external hard drive
24. Get married :)

Fitness
25. Run a 5k in under 24 minutes
26. Do three pull ups in a row
27. Complete a triathlon
28. 45 sit ups in two minutes
29. 17 push ups in two minutes
30. Run 2 miles under 20:30
31. Complete a 30 day bikram yoga challenge
32. Complete the 100 push up challenge

Finance
33. Get emergency fund up to 10k
34. Save 20k for a new car
35. Put 10k in my wedding fund
36. Work through entire finance book
37. Update budget based on these goals
38. Make a list of accounts for safe box
39. Meet with a financial advisor
40. Make a will
41. Pay back Alysse

Fun
42. Obtain Level 30 in League of Legends
43. Get 1350 ELO in League of Legends
44. Learn to drive standard
45. Watch One Tree Hill
46. Go scuba diving
47. Go fishing
48. Swim with Robert because I still don't believe he knows how
49. Go to ikea in Orlando
50. See what I can by from Walmart with exact change from my jar
51. Build a sand castle
52. Dye my hair
53. Do something nice for a stranger
54. See three movies in one day
55. Carve a pumpkin
56. Go to a restaurant just for dessert
57. Leave a 100% tip
58. Go to a Miami Heat game with Robert
59. Go to a Jags game

Health
60. Make a monthly meal plan
61. Don’t eat out for one month
62. No fast food for one month
63. Eat paleo only for one month
64. Achieve waist size under 35 inches
65. Try the 5/2 eating plan for one month
66. No soda for six months
67. No chocolate for six months
68. Reach my goal weight
69. Make 101 operation beautiful notes
70. Make a list of 101 things I have already accomplished

Home
71. Sell items on ebay
72. Install weather stripping on door
73. Repaint my doors and door frames
74 Put up blinds in windows
75. Hang up pictures
76. Paint dresser black
77. Customize bedroom lamps
78. Finish decorating my place
79. Go paperless in the house
80. Clean out gmail account

Sacrifice
81. Go without talking for a day
82. Go a weekend without computer tv or phone
83. No tv for a month
84. Donate $1000 to charity
85. No snooze button for one month

Travel
86. Visit Uncle Joe and Aunt Meg in Albany
87. Visit Alysse in Texas
88. Visit Candice in Atlanta
89. Get a stamp in my passport
90. Take a road trip
91. Visit a state I have never been to
92. Take a trip with my mom only
93. Watch the sun rise on the east and set on the west coast

Work
94. Hem my work pants
95. Clean up work hard drive
96. Give work desk a thorough cleaning
97. Become a project manager
98. Clean up work C: drive
99. Bring the beverages one time
100. Get a leadership position in a professional organization
101. Attend a conference