#52, #19, #22, #36, #53, #77, #89, #95

As an update to #52, I've gotten to the point where on an average day, water is the only beverage available in my apartment. I'll grab a diet soda while I'm out or occasionally buy a 12-pack of something, but mostly it's water...or chocolate soymilk...or soon, as it gets colder, hot cocoa.

#19--watch 10 foreign films. I got Netflix a couple of months ago and have several foreign films in my queue. Currently the only one that's made it up to the top and to my door is Como Agua Para Chocolate.

#22--watch all the movies on Roger Ebert's list of 102 that I haven't seen---I watched Touch of Evil.

#36--emergency fund to $1000--my emergency fund is currently up to a little over $600.

#53--find exercise I like doing and do it 3 times a week for 3 months--since September 12, I've gone to the fitness center or gone on long walks every day but 2, and lifted weights every other day.

#77--go to a local community event--is done. I volunteered yesterday at Bugfest for the booth that my organization runs, and then spent a couple of hours wandering around the event.

#89--wash my car and rebumpersticker it--I'm calling this one done, because I ultimately traded in my car for a shiny new one, which has a new set of bumper stickers on it (and may one day be washed).

#95--donate blood 2 times--is done. I donated the first of these two times (second time over all) on July 17, and then donated again (my third time) on September 18. I have an appointment for my next donation in November.

#52, #60, #61, #74, #93, #95

Haven't updated for a while, but things are getting done!

#52 is done--drink water with one meal a day every day for a month. In fact, I've stopped buying my usual 2-or-more-12-packs-a-week of diet soda and instead have been drinking water from my Brita filter. True, I still buy a couple of 20-ouncers every week, but there have been entire days where I've had nothing to drink but water--and a few years ago (heck, a few months ago!) I would have thought that unthinkable!

#60 is still in process, but I'm calling it done--I have grown and successfully harvested two tomato plants. The ones I got free as seedlings from work all died, but I bought two Better Bush plants from the local K-Mart and they're now taller than hip-height and have produced probably a dozen tomatoes and are still flowering. Not bad for my first attempt at gardening.

I've done #61--visit the Farmer's Market--three or four times since the start of summer and I'd even go so far as to call it part of my weekly routine now. I get some cash from the ATM and head over to the State Farmer's Market after work and buy a week' s worth of veggies--usually tomatoes, onions, and potatoes, but sometimes others as well. It's cheaper than the grocery store and way tastier.

Progress towards #74--order 5 things from a restaurant menu that I haven't tried before. One of my coworkers has taken me twice now to a Mediterranean-style restaurant for lunch, and the first time I wussed out and got a turkey sandwich. The second time I tried some strange things I've never eaten before--like fava beans. Weird...

#93--wow, has it really been that long since I updated?--is done. I went back to Salem College for my first-year reunion during the last weekend of April. It was fun, but definitely a reminder of how different my life is now.

Progress towards #95--donate blood two times. I donated blood this past Thursday (7/17/2008), and I was petrified that they weren't going to let me do it because of my blood pressure or my pulse or temperature, but it went fine. I can donate again on September 11.

Mmmkay, I think that's all this time around...

#36, #64, #54, #52

The rules of #36--build my money market account up to $1000--have changed a little. I opened up that ING Direct savings account, then liked it so much that I opened up several other savings account and a checking account with them. The total of my general savings account, emergency fund, medical fund, new car fund, and new computer fund is currently $526.52, plus the ~$237 I have in my Capital One account (which I'm no longer using--I'm going to close out the account soon). I may end up changing this goal to something like "build my emergency fund to $1000", since the other funds (except the general savings fund) have a specific purpose and are meant to be depleted. Will have to figure that one out later.

#64--try a new recipe every month--I've probably forgotten some new dishes I've made since the last time I posted, because I've tried quite a few. I made that BLT pasta, and it was pretty good. The other night I made bacon wrapped chicken with chive and onion cream cheese filling, and it was awesome. I also made some thin mints for a party that were ridiculously simple to make and tasted like I'd put far more effort into them than I actually did. I made mini quiches and english muffin pizzas to freeze and eat later, and pancakes from scratch, and a strange little casserole from hamburger and beans and tortilla chips...

#54--get up before 8 AM every day for a month--I'm going to call this one done, since I've gotten up for work on the weekdays before 8 AM since my job started. In retrospect, I shouldn't have worded this goal the way I did--weekends and federal holidays were made for sleeping in a little past 8. The intent of this goal was more along the lines of "don't stay in bed all day/oversleep once you get a job," and I've achieved that goal consistently for close to three months now.

I'm working my way up to #52--drink water with one meal a day every day for a month. I don't like drinking water, which is why this is a challenge, but lately I've been bringing a bottle of water and a can of diet soda to work instead of two cans of diet soda, and have gone from drinking half the bottle of water over the course of the day to drinking most of it. After a few more weeks, I'm going to try to make a conscious effort to drink water with my lunch every day, included on weekends.