Betty Crocker on Ryan's ass

I have the need to get all "Betty Crocker" on Ryan's ass.

I asked him to order me Martha Stewart's cupcake book. Will I make any recipes? Probably not or I'll make one and it will be an absolute disaster and never open it back up. But I have a strong desire to bake something. I am OBSESSED with bakeries right now. I just want to go out an buy one. Why? I have NO clue. I can't bake. I can't cook. But I really would love to do it.

Yes, I might be bat sh!t crazy.....the docs are looking into that.

Birth of the Internet - Uttered It's First Word Today

It was 1969 and a busy year for making history: Woodstock, the Miracle Mets, men on the moon -- and something less celebrated but arguably more significant, the birth of the Internet.

On October 29 of that year, for perhaps the first time, a message was sent over the network that would eventually become the Web. Leonard Kleinrock, a professor of computer science at the University of California-Los Angeles, connected the school's host computer to one at Stanford Research Institute, a former arm of Stanford University.

Forty years ago today, the Internet uttered its first word.

To read the entire interview with Leonard Kleinrock: Click Here

This is pretty cool because we read about him in school and studied it. The nerd in me thinks this is a really important day in our history.

Items #56 and #57 Checked Off! Cake Pops!

# 56. Bring in donuts for no reason to share at work
# 57. Bake and decorate a cake

#57 - So I decided that I am going to make cake pops!!! They look so easy to make. Found out how to make wedding cake pops and cupcake pops. Well, as all my baking stuff goes.....disaster! I found out what I did wrong at least. Hopefully next batch goes better.


#56 - I decided to give my co-workers the disasters of #57 for halloween. They are editable at least.

I will try to improve this technique. After all, I still have to complete #44 - Become self efficient as a stay at home mom and make my same salary (build a freelance business). Cake pops are the new cupcakes!

Happy 100th Post!

Happy 100th post!!!!!

100th post - 101 thins in 1001 days. Coincidence? I think not!

#28. Take three spontaneous day/weekend trips

# 28. Take three spontaneous day/weekend trips. Yay.....I completed a third of a task! Ok, I know I can't mark it off, but it is a biggie.....especially for me. I plan vacations.

Ryan and I along with his parents, Dave and June went to southeastern Arizona to Kartchner Caverns.

History:
In 1974 two cavers Tenen and Tufts were exploring the limestone hills at the base of the Whetstone Mountains. In a sinkhole they found a crack where warm air flowed out signaling the existence of a cave. They explored and found themselves in a pristine cavern. Over a period of four years they secretly explored the cave. In 1978 they told the property owners James and Lois Kartchner about their amazing discovery.

These caves only became publicly known in 1988 when the property was purchased by the Arizona States Parks in order that they were preserved and open to the public in a controlled way.

My Review:
LOVED IT! I have been wanting to go for YEARS now. We decieded to go to the Big Room tour. I would like to do the other tour sometime as well.

We started our tour at the informative Discovery Center which told us about the history of the cave and how the formations were formed. We then joined our guide for the tour. Passing through various airlock doors we entered the cave. The cave average temperature is 75+º F with 99% humidity so it felt like walking into a sauna.

The cave is home to several very unusual cave formations. One feature is a soda straw stalactite 21 feet 2 inches long which is one of the world’s longest. Also the cave has the most extensive deposit of brushite moonmilk which is a reaction of bats guano (poop) with the cave minerals to produce a white crystal. The cave is also the area for the first reported occurrence of “turnip” shields formations that look like small turnips and the occurrence of “birdnest” needle quartz formations.

Our guide was excellent in explaining how each of the different formations were occurring and also explaining the work the Arizona state was doing to preserve the caverns in as pristine state as possible. We now understood why there was no cameras, videos, bags, water etc allowed to be taken into the cave.

In two weeks, they are celebrating their 10th year anniversary. I would have liked to go to their celebration.

http://azstateparks.com/Parks/KACA/

My favorite formation: Bacon or Sheets

We also when to Tombstone, Arizona. We walked around the shops and toured the courthouse museum. I was bored out of my mind. I would like to go back when I had a better attitude and wasn't so exhausted. I just wanted to go home.

The Day Zero Project - 101 in 1001 days

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

My Day zero Project starts October 23rd, 2009 and ends on August 5, 2012.

MY LIST

Family
1. Finish our wedding album
2. Finish scrapbook of wedding
3. Get pregnant (Way after my 30th Birthday)
4. Send out Christmas cards (0/2)
5. Visit a church
6. Get a family professional portrait
7. Try 10 new restaurants with Ryan (0/10)
8. No takeout for an entire week (0/5)
9. Learn to make 4 different sauces (0/4)
10. Host Christmas or Thanksgiving
11. Slow dance with Ryan
12. Cook 15 new dishes (0/15)
13. Attend a concert
14. Remodel / Redecorate Living room
15. Remodel / Redecorate 2nd guest room (Baby’s room)
16. Remodel / Redecorate Powered room
17. Go hiking with TiVO
18. Bake a treat for TiVO
19. Surprise Ryan
20. Teach TiVO a new trick or behavior


Travel
21. Take a vacation outside of the U.S.
22. Visit New York City
23. Visit Los Angeles
24. Go to 4 new cities (0/4)
25. Go somewhere tropical to swim in the ocean
26. Take a cruise
27. Have a girl’s weekend
28. Take three spontaneous day/weekend trips (0/3)
29. Attend and participate in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas
30. Go to a theme park
31. Visit an aquarium
32. Go to at least one of the Seven NATURAL World Wonders (Mt. Everest, The Great Barrier Reef, The Grand Canyon, Victoria Falls, The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, Paricutin Volcano, The Northern Lights)
33. Learn to say “thank you” in ten languages (3/10)
34. Hot Air Balloon Ride
35. Go to a comedy club
36. See a play / show live
37. Ride Phoenix’s light rail


Just for me / because
38. Throw myself a 30th birthday party
39. Get a website design degree
40. Get A’s for 2 semesters (0/2)
41. Take a non-course class
42. Build a website portfolio with eight sites (0/8)
43. Build a promotion site
44. Become self efficient as a stay at home mom and make my same salary (build a freelance business)
45. Renew my passport
46. Read three non-fiction books (0/3)
47. Read 25 fiction books (0/25)
48. Learn to knit
49. Knit something
50. Go to a day spa and get the works
51. Get Scuba Certified
52. Paint 4 new paintings (0/4)
53. Give out five “just because” gifts to friends/family (0/5)
54. Host a dinner party for friends
55. Host a game night for friends
56. Bring in donuts for no reason to share at work
57. Bake and decorate a cake
58. Say yes when I rather say no 10 times (0/10)
59. Do something with my wedding dress
60. Buy a nice camera
61. Fix Chinese iPod
62. Get a reading from a psychic
63. Do something by myself (i.e. dinner or movies – NOT lunches)
64. Accessorize my outfits for work (0/30)
65. Buy an “as-seen-on-TV” product
66. Carve a pumpkin
67. Make and send cards to my friends/family at least 15 times (0/15)
68. Make a new friend
69. Stop cussing for seven days straight (0/7)
70. Learn a new board game or card game


Money
71. Win a poker tournament
72. Make a will
73. Make Ryan make a will
74. Make a financial will list
75. Once pg, start a baby savings account
76. Buy lottery tickets twice a week for a month (0/8)
77. Pay off auto LOC
78. Open a special account for a new car and contribute monthly (0/17)
79. Pay down half of student loan


Blog
80. Blog at least once a week for 52 weeks (0/52)
81. Re-design blog
82. Inspire someone to do a 101 in 1001
83. Blog about each task completed (0/101)


Health
84. Take a multivitamin for 30 days (0/30)
85. Go to the gym twice a week for 10 weeks (0/10)
86. Take a class at the gym once a month (0/12)
87. Lose eight pounds


Random acts of kindness
88. Donate blood (if doctor allows it)
89. Volunteer for an organization (0/3)
90. Bring food to a homeless person
91. Send a care package to a soldier
92. Buy items to donate to shelter (i.e. blankets, formula)
93. Donate food to local food bank (0/3)
94. Purchase Christmas presents for a needy family
95. Pay for the car behind me in the drive-thru
96. Give money to a random street musician


Going Greener
97. Use my cloth bags for shopping (0/25)
98. Blog about our solar panel bills to inspire some to get solar panels
99. Start a garden


100. Celebrate day 1001
101. Make a new 101/1001 list

For more information, visit Day Zero Project.


If I have inspired you, please let me know (after all, it is one of my list items).

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.
2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.
3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.
4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.
5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.