28 To Go!

I have 22 states down and 28 more to go! 

Wow - I'm Behind #7, #10, #28

I cannot believe how far behind I am on my posts!!!! 

Well, I finished my going vegetarian for a month. I can't believe I way able to do it! (#10 on list). It honestly gives me hope that I can accomplish this list! I set my mind to something and I did it! 

The most challenging thing on the list is #28 - talking to my mom everyday. I love my mom so much, but it's been interesting to realize at 10/11 at night I haven't spoken to her. It was really difficult this past week at CoSIDA, a work conference. 

I had such a blast getting to meet new people and getting to rekindle relationships with other people. I can spend a whole season emailing someone results and rosters, but it's awesome to finally meet them in person. 

I also got to have my first cigar. Yes, I had a cigar. I will never have another one. It was a fun experience sitting with my office and trying something new, but my mouth felt so dirty! 

Once I left Orlando, I flew straight to Boston to visit my family and that is where I am now. 

Another thing on my list has been #7 - reading 30 books. I read Silent Honor by Danielle Steele which was about a Chinese family in America during WWII. It was very interesting because its not something that I think of when I think of that war. I think of Jews in concentration camps and Pearl Harbor. The other book I read was Look Again by Lisa Scottoline. It's about a mom who sees a missing child card with a picture of someone who looks just like her adopted son. Read it!!!! So good. I'm currently halfway through World War Z so I can be ready for the movie when it comes out. 

Well, once I get back from Boston I'm gonna look at my list to see what is next. 

Peace, love and hockey! 

Time to watch the Bruins!

#10, #14, #29, #30

One more week!!!! One more week!!!! What am I talking about? Eating meat! For the past day, all I have wanted to eat is Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets. I can't explain the craving, but I want it so bad! I have continued to be successful with my month long vegetarian adventure (#10) and I'm thinking of modifying my meat eating habits after the month. After reading articles about red meat, I'm thinking of just adding chicken into my diet. It will be a way not to shock my body after a month of no meat and it will be healthier. I have continued to experiment a little bit and tried a black bean burger, it wasn't too bad but I think I may stay away from it. 

Since this has taken a all of my attention this month, I think I'm going to continue that idea and spend next month on #29, reading the entire Bible. One of the reasons this is on my list is not necessarily for religious or spiritual reasons, but because it's one of the most influential books of all time. This book has been criticized and scrutinized, torn apart line by line, word from word. Conservatives and Liberals talk about things being wrong and right citing the book, and I feel like it's time I delve in. I attempted to do this a while ago, but it's time to start over, beginning at Genesis. 

So #14 on my list is to write a letter or card to someone who has influenced me in my life. I'm very proud at myself for not waiting until the last day to do this. I wrote this month's card to my hairstylist, I know what you are thinking... your hairstylists??? Well, she's much more than that. She's an awesome listener and a great mother. So if you want your hair done, see Tarah at Haute Headz in Tallahassee.

So I'm making a change to my list.... That's right, I'm making a change. I feel like I can do this because it's my life and I need to do what's best for me. So, I'm changing #30. Getting a kiss from Adam McQuaid is super unlikely and won't really help myself grow or help anyone else. So at the suggestion of Tarah (see above paragraph) I'm not going to cut my hair until I'm 30. I'll get it trimmed, but I'm not going to cut it. So you're probably asking yourself, what does that have to do with helping someone else. Well, I'm gonna donate my hair to Locks of Love after my 30th birthday. Time for me to embrace my long hair. 

This is the shortest my hair will be for the next two years! (Don't know why photo wouldn't turn)

Tomorrow I head to Atlanta for men's golf NCAA Championship. Should be a great week! Well, intermission is ending and it's time to watch the Boston Bruins! 

#10, #17, #30 (Outback, Bonefish and Deli's Oh My!)

So traveling Wednesday through Sunday prevented me from posting sooner, but here is an update on my #30before30. 

Doing more of  these things have made me be on my computer far less than usual. But that is good! 

As I write this blog, it's currently intermission in Game 7 between Boston and Toronto. Adam McQuaid is playing stellar tonight (see #30).  I love my Bruins so I really hope they win tonight. It's been such an intense game so far! Hits and checks all over the place. So here is a confession, the last time I didn't want a game, I hung out with friends and acted stupidly, plus the Bruins lost. So here I am, ditching my friends for dinner. I can't help it! I just believe in superstitions I guess.

So an update on #17, listening to 1000 songs. It's been going well. I have found more and more songs that I really like 'Unchained Melody' by The Righteous Brothers, 'Wannabe' by the Spice Girls and 'Never Ever' by All Saints.... I mean, yea, I was totally just kidding on those last songs. Actually no, I loved them! Got to listen to a song I really liked that I never heard of before, 'Is She Really Going Out With Him?' by Joe Jackson. It was so good. I could listen to it all day. 

I had some hard vegetarian tests (#10), but I passed them! Traveling with sports teams can be a lot of fun, but you can have soooooo much good food. We went to Subway (not good but lots of meat), Outback Steakhouse (had one pasta choice which I ate), Bonefish (hello mix and matching sides), Jason's Deli (yummy Plain Jane potato for me), B.J.'s (cheese pizza!). And then I went home on Saturday night for mother's day and my mom made steak! 

I have gotten a lot stronger since I stopped eating meat. I feel like my body is getting cleaner and I feel more refresh. Definitely learned what I needed to add to my diet. I have been eating WAY less fast food which is obviously really good. 

Well intermission is over, time to watch the BRUINS! 

#26 Crossed Off, Update on #10

So the last five days have been very interesting for me. I am five days into my vegetarian goal (#10) and it is going okay. I started off a little skeptic but I have been doing surprisingly well. I have discovered that places like Chipolte and Moe's charge less money when you don't have meat. I have discovered that black beans are super awesome and have added tomatoes into my menu. I never liked tomatoes but am starting to like them a lot. I have discovered that my body is reacting differently now. (Perhaps it was my May the fourth be with you/Cince do Mayo party last night). The last couple days I have been sluggish. I think I need to increase my fruit intake. I'm actually becoming more and more used to the idea of being vegetarian and eating out has not been an issue for me yet. 

While I was at the party (mentioned above) someone brought a bottle of wine to the party. I never thought that I would finally find the one wine I like (#26) where it was all margaritas and Coronas. But I did it, I finally like a wine!!!! SWEET RED! It's perfect for me. I love sweet drinks and it's just what I want. 

On a personal note, May 10th is coming, it marks one year since my dad passed away . Obviously I miss my dad very much. It still hurts me knowing I can't give him a call telling him about new things in my life. It still hurts that I can't get a hug from him when a boy is mean to me. It still hurts that I can't hear him say he loves me, or he's proud of me, or that I'm beautiful. I'm sad that my sister won't have her dad at her confirmation. I'm sad my brother can't go out on the golf course with my dad. And mostly I'm sad that my mom can't lay in bed next to the man who she loves. 

However, I'm glad that I call my mom everyday. I'm glad my sister is my best friend. I'm glad my brother and I don't fight anymore. I'm glad that my family leans on one another. I'm glad we hug each other and love each other just a little bit more than we used to. 

#2, #10, #14

The number two thing on my list is to road trip through all 48 continental states. I can say that North Carolina has been checked off of my list! Wednesday I flew to Raleigh Durham Airport with the FSU Men's Tennis team. 

(tennis team after we beat Georgia Tech)

I have been to Cary, NC many times for the ACC Championships so I was able to travel around the town well enough when needed (pick up drinks, lunch, racquets  etc.). When the team lost on Friday, I went to meet up with the FSU Men's Golf team's tournament. 

(golfing at the ACCs)

Since it was in the middle of nowhere, my hotel was 30 minutes away from the course and a two hour drive from Cary in Albemarle, NC. The drive took me through many different back roads that I had never even head of, it seemed like the setting of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Houses were broken down and I'm so glad my minivan didn't break down because I don't know whose door I would have been knocking on. I did happen to drive a very nice court house. It stuck out from everything around it. 

(the very cool court house)

After I got to my hotel on Friday night, I fell asleep very quickly! I couldn't believe how tired and exhausted I had been from traveling with tennis, and I was only halfway through my trip. The next morning, I took off for the Old North State Club in New London, NC, 30 minutes from my hotel. During the drive to the golf course, my eyes were wide open as I had no clue where to go! My GPS got confused and I had to go down the windy road that seemed like a roller coaster! I started traveling down dirt roads and started to get scared, but eventually I found the golf course. The neighborhood is gorgeous, but it is literally in the middle of no where! Where do they shop? Where do they work? Go to school? Go out to eat? Saturday was a great day at the course and then I took my trip back to my hotel and enjoy some amazing Bojangles! 

(the best part of North Carolina)

And then my traveling woes took place on Sunday. It was a rainy and cold day in which I spent shivering in a  light jacket and khakis. Eventually I went to my beloved minivan and through on a fleece pullover and sweatpants but I was still wet! And cold! 

(our golf coach showing just how wet it was)

So when the tournament was over I had to take off to Charlotte, about an 90 minutes away. I jumped in the van and pulled out my duffle bag. I threw on a dirty pair of jeans and polo. I spent most of the way drying my socks and shoes in the vents. It was horrible. Then, my flight was delayed by 35 minutes. I got on the plan and traveled to Atlanta. My flight to Tallahassee was delayed until 10:20 p.m., which was perfect because my flight got in at 10 p.m. Since I was in the front, I knew I could run to my flight and make it home, however the airport had a different opinion. Our plane sat waiting for a plane to get out of our way for 40 minutes! I missed my flight! Needless to say I stayed the night in a hotel, got on a flight at 12: 45 p.m. (which of course was delayed) and finally got home to my own bed! Therefore, North Carolina is off my list! 

(map of my trip)

#10 on my list is to go vegetarian for a month. Just about two hours ago I ate a juicy bacon cheeseburger! And now it's going to be the last piece of meat I eat until June 1st! I'm very nervous about it! I love chicken and beef and bacon and steak and bacon and chicken!!!! I don't really have a plan of what I'm going to do or eat yet, but I think I can figure it out one day at a time. I'm very excited to see how my body and mind reacts to this change. 

#14 on my list is about giving back to someone who has influenced me. It's April 30th, the last day of the month and somehow I forgot about doing this. Well, as soon as I finish this post, I'm writing to my former boss Tina Dechausay. She taught me so much about my career. She is also one of my closest confidants and someone who I trust immensely.  

I'll check in two days from now and let you know what I'm craving! Time for black beans and rice! 

PS - A lot of friends tell me they read my blog and they like it. I really appreciate it a lot, but PLEASE leave a comment, it would make me feel good!

#1, #21, #30

I really wanted to write this yesterday, but I was traveling and ran out of time. So here is my update! 

Number one on my list is to run a 10k. Now for those of you that know me, I'm not exactly about to go walk a 5k tomorrow. So what I want to do is build up my strength and stamina while burning the weight. I started this today with my good buddy Clay but doing 20 minutes on the bike. As tired as I was this morning, it felt great to go to the gym and get it done. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but that means I'm gonna keep working harder.

So I realized that in order to watch 100 movies (number 21 on my list), I would have to watch about two movies a week. I'm a little short on that number right now but I did watch two movies. I started with a movie I haven't seen before, 'The Grapes of Wrath'. I guess what struck me about this movie was how simple it was made yet how touching it actually was. There was no special effects. No one turned into a robot and flew about to save the world. It was just a story of a family. After the conclusion, it made me realize how much I wish movies were more simple.

And with that, the second movie I watched was 'Lord of the Rings' - FULL of special effects. Having seen the movie many times, I paid more attention to little details. Like have you realized that Frodo gets stabbed a LOT! Poor like hobbit. A lot of people love this story and I am one of them. What I really like most about it is it's about friendship. Frodo and Samwise. No matter what Frodo does, Samwise is right there watching over him. I think that shows a lot of dedication and true fellowship.

Finally, number 30. No, I didn't get a kiss from Adam McQuaid. But for the people who don't know who he is, he's a hockey player from the Bruins - take a look here. 

#7, #17, #28

For those of you who don't know much about my past, I was born 13 miles outside of Boston, Massachusetts in a city called Lynn. When I was seven, my parents and the entire dad's side of my family decided to move to Milton, Florida, 1377 miles from Boston. When I was 18, I moved to Tallahassee to attend Florida State and have stayed in town since then. Although 1307 miles have separated me from Boston this week, my heart, prayers and attention has been on Boston. With all of my mom's family still residing in that area, this because more personal for me. I had cousins at the race, I have a friend who works at a hospital up there and I have family members who couldn't go to work during the manhunt. My family is very fortunate that we are safe. I could not be more proud to be from Boston.

The last couple days have been very busy with work, but I have been able to work on more of my goals. I love reading very much and was happy to read one of my first of 30 books (#7). I have always been a fan of Danielle Steel so I picked her book "Five Days In Paris."

It basically followed the life of two people in Paris for two days showing the connection they made during that time. It remainder of the book shows how they reacted to that battling with their commitments and integrity. The book is written from the male perspective which I did not suspect beforehand, but I am glad it was.It was very eye opening to read it from his view and I recommend the book to anyone (no graphic sex scenes for those who don't want to read that). I have now moved on to my second book, "The Host" by Stephanie Meyer. I have only read the introduction but it looks to be very engaging. If you have a book you think I should read, send it my way!

I have continued to listen to the 1000 songs (#17), but it's getting too time consuming for me. I think I may have to just create the list on Spotify instead of going back and forth to click on the song from the list when the song is over. Just a little inconvenient at work.    

My mom is the most inspirational person I know and that's why I made a point to talk to her everyday (#28). Especially after losing my dad, I feel like it's so easy for someone to be in your life for one moment and out the next. I am happy to say I have spoke to her the last four days.

Thinking about watching my first AFI Top 100 movie tonight so I will update you all about that one later. 

Day Two Update - #17, #10, #22

Got started on my list the day of my 28th birthday and found my friends and family are very supportive of this, for the most part. They don't think I'm going to be able to get all the traveling in, but I think I can do it. 

One of the funniest and easiest things I want to accomplish is No. 21 - listening to all 1000 songs from here - at first I was a little scared that it would be all older songs, but that was proven wrong as soon as Beyonce came on. I listened to the first 45 songs at work yesterday. The list starts with love songs, and it's a little hard for me right now trying to come to terms I may not be married by the time I'm 30. 

As I started listening to the songs, a few really stuck out to me, first, Beach Boys is amazing and I'm so sad I haven't listened to them in like 5 years. After listening to I Want To Hold Your Hand and She Loves You by the Beatles, I really wished their songs were longer. So good and so classic. I was introducedd to Blueberry Hill by Fats Domino - it's such a great song and he's such a great artist. Thanks to Spotify I got to keep playing his songs and I love them! Do You Love Me by The Contours was also on the list and I couldn't stop smiling as I kept bobbing my head to it singing. But, I had to listen to so bad songs including The Man With The Child In His Eyes by Kate Bush.... just so bad. And I got to listen to a very unique song in Mehbooba, Mehbooba by R.D. Burman.... so weird. Listen to it yourself! 

I plan on doing No. 10, eating vegetarian for a month, during May. I'll be traveling some with work but I think it will be doable. I plan on making sure I eat enough protein, hello red beans and rice! I plan on eating as a lacto-ovo-vegetarian which means I will not eat beef, poultry, fish, pork, shellfish or animal flesh of any kind, but I will eat eggs and dairy products. This is going to take a lot of planning and learning, but I'm looking forward to it very much.

As for No. 22, getting my second tattoo, I've started planning it out, it will be an addition to my current on. I currently have the socks of the Boston Red Sox on my foot. I kind of looks like an 'L' I'm going to put the spooked B from the Boston Bruins in the corner coming out. I think it's going to look cool.

Can't wait to get started on these things and to continue listening to my music tomorrow!  

My List of 30 Before 30

I've been wanting to make this list for a while, and figured the night before I turn 28 was the way to go. 27 was a very hard year for me, especially losing my dad. With today's attack in Boston, it just made me realize just how important it is to make sure you live life to the fullest. So, here is my 30 things to do before I am 30. Apparently I'm traveling a lot, so gas gift cards are a great birthday gift. :)

If anyone has done any of those and has any tips for me, please send them my way!

30 Things To Do Before I Am 30

1)     Run a 10k then a marathon

2)     Road trip through all 48 states

3)     Visit every baseball park

4)     Finally go to a NFL game

5)     Drive down to Mexico  

6)     Get involved with a local charity in Tallahassee

7)     Read 30 books

8)     Go white water rafting

9)     Ride a train!

10)  Go vegetarian for one month accomplished May 31, 2013

11)  Take boxing lessons

12)  Visit Hawaii and Alaska

13)  Visit 6 continents (Antarctica will be hard toget to)

14)  Hand write a letter to someone who has inspiredme or helped me in my life once a month

15)  Apply for Big Brother accomplished March 2014

16)  Learn how to speak French

17)  Listen to this whole list of 1000 songs: https://opendata.socrata.com/Fun/Top-1-000-Songs-To-Hear-Before-You-Die/ed74-c6ni

18)  Visit Ireland and meet my relatives

19)  Learn to fly a plane

20)  Pay off my student loans

21)   Watchevery AFI top 100 movie: http://www.afi.com/100years/movies10.aspx

22)  Visit one of the Great Pyramids

23)  Get one more tattoo

24)  Work on buying my first house

25)  Get rid of anyone negative in my life

26)  Find a wine I like  accomplished on May 4, 2013

27)  Learn to drive a manual car

28)  Talk to my mom every single day

29)  Read the entire Bible

30) Not cut my hair until age 30 and then donate to Locks of Love (changed on 5/25/13)(accomplished!!!)