101 Things Update

I've been remiss about updating on my 101 Things in 1,001 Days Challenge. So here is my list, now with things marked off which I have completed since I started this challenge last July:

I completed #18-20 just this past weekend - once you commit to Disney, there's no going back.

1. Create this list (it’s not as easy as you might think!) (Completed
2. Use my Groupon deals before they expire. Deals left: 4/5
3. Ask friends for 5 book recommendations, and then read them. Books left: 4/5
4. Send a secret to Post Secret
5. Make a budget (Completed 7/11/11)
6. Complete the 100 push-up challenge
7. Go to the Civitan garage sale (first Saturday of the month)
8. Map test: see if I can draw and label all 50 states correctly on a blank US map (http://www.pibmug.com/files/map_test.swf )
9. Make a list of movies I’ve wanted to see, then rent/watch them all

1. The King’s Speech
2. Inception
3. Blade Runner
4. Rebel Without A Cause
5. Schindler’s List
6. To Kill a Mockingbird
7. The Usual Suspects
8. Toy Story 3
9. Due Date
10. True Grit (original or remake)
11. Paul
12. The Adjustment Bureau
13. The Conspirator
14. Remember Me
15. Henry’s Crime
16. The Namesake
17. Flags of Our Fathers
18. Midnight in Paris
19. Twelfth Night
20. Jane Eyre
21. The Ritchie Boys
22. Wild Target
23. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (the original)
24. Life Is Beautiful
25. After the Banquet
26. Snatch
9. Do a blog post for each of the 101 Things I have to do
10. Go see the Meridian Hill Park Drum Circle (every Sunday between 3 and 9 pm)
11. Go see live music at the National Gallery of Art (every Sunday at 6:30 in the West Building)
12. Attend a free lecture at the National Gallery of Art (Sundays at 2)
13. Clean out my Gmail Inbox
14. Pay off student loans (consider extra monthly payments to the principal)
15. Learn to use the fancy coffee machine Jasmine gave you (Completed 7/23/2011)
16. Visit the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria (Completed 7/23/2011)
17. Convince/inspire someone to start their own “101 Things” list
18. Go visit Andrea in L.A.
19. Get a picture with Mickey Mouse in Disneyland
20. Get pictures with as many characters as possible in Disneyland
21. Start to learn Korean/Japanese/Chinese or Hindi (BONUS: learn a little of each!)
22. Go to Italy

. Reenact a gladiator battle (and/or a scene from Gladiator!) at the Coliseum

1. Marvel at the Pantheon
2. Throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain and make a wish
3. Put your hand into La Bocca della Verita (the “Mouth of Truth”)
23. Attend the 150th Celebration/Reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg with Dad
24. Get a tan – the smart way - no burning.
25. Visit the Georgia Aquarium
26. Make a quotation book (from movies, life, history, and books, etc.) and add at least one quotation per week (Started July 2011)
27. Get clothes hemmed that need it
28. Find a dentist in Arlington/DC and make an appointment!
29. Take the Gargoyle Tour at the National Cathedral
30. Fly a kite (Bonus: do it at the Washington Monument)
31. Visit Grandpa Jack and Grandma Charlotte’s graves in Arlington National Cemetery
32. See (and test your knowledge!) the presidential portraits at the National Portrait Gallery (Completed 7/22/2011)
33. Visit the National Arboretum
34. Walk the entire grounds of Dumbarton Oaks
35. See the Russian Treasures collection at the Hillwood Museum (Bonus: go with family)
36. Discover Montrose Park (R St. NW, between 28th and 32nd Sts) and walk along Lovers’ Lane
37. Walk around the Tidal Basin during the Cherry Blossom Festival
38. Go to synagogue at least once a month
39. Pick a cookbook, and cook my way through it
40. Join the Lunch Club for a month (bring lunch, don’t pay to eat out)
41. Write a short story
42. Take a drawing class
43. Fix my bookshelves (glue backing)
44. Teach yourself Origami
45. Finish Alan Dershowitz’s book The Case for Israel (Completed 7/19/11)
46. Visit Joan and Jessica in Raleigh
47. Learn to play a song on the cello and/or guitar
48. Host a movie night at 2030 N Adams St.
49. Host a fireworks-watching party at 2030 N Adams (The Rooftop!)
50. Read Shakespeare’s plays (including, but not limited to, the following);

. Othello

1. Twelfth Night
2. The Taming of the Shrew
3. Love’s Labours Lost
4. King Lear
51. Write a fan letter to an author you admire
52. Leave an inspirational note in a library book for someone to find (or incidentally, a receipt for checked-out books )
53. Buy a book of poetry. Read it outside in the sunshine. (Completed 7/9/11; 100 Best Loved Poems)
54. Answer the “50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind”
55. Go on a roadtrip
56. See 10 classic movies you’ve never seen

. Guys and Dolls

1. Citizen Kane
2. Soylent Green
3. The Way We Were
4. A Star Is Born
5. 42nd Street
6. The English Patient
7. Funny Girl
8. To Sir With Love
9. It Happened One Night
57. Make a birthday cake for someone
58. Make a custom recipe book
59. Sing Karaoke at a bar
60. Go to an indie concert for a band I’ve never heard about
61. Spend a night/weekend at a B&B
62. Write a letter to someone, entirely in cursive
63. Have dinner on the rooftop of my building
64. Send someone a postcard, even if I’m not on vacation
65. Complete a NYTimes crossword puzzle
66. Visit Alison Deary in Williamsburg w/ Marianne Brennan (Aug. 19-21, 2011)
67. Take a walk down the C & O Canal in Georgetown
68. See a show at Ford’s Theatre
69. Paint a picture
70. Donate clothes that do not fit
71. Carve a pumpkin for Halloween
72. Read 10 Classics:

a) The Aeneid – Virgil

b) 1984 – George Orwell

c) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

d) Faust – Goethe

e) The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

f) To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

g) Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë

h) Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury

i) The Blind Assassin – Margaret Atwood

j) Catch-22 – Joseph Heller

74. Go on 3 Sunday drives, in which the direction to turn next is determined by the flip of a coin
75. Climb a tree
76. Swim in the ocean
77. Send REAL birthday cards to my friends
78. Learn to crochet. Make Alice a baby blanket.
79. Stop drinking soda for a month
80. Email pictures of my apartment to Jasmine. Brag.
81. Send 10 postcards through postcrossing.com (Sent: 10/10)
82. Take a drive along Sky Line Drive in the Shenandoah Valley (BONUS: go with someone, or do it to coincide it with #2)
83. Believe in 6 impossible things before breakfast
84. Go to the gym twice a week for a month
85. See a movie at the Arlington Drafthouse
86. See a musical (Complete: July 12, 2011 – “Rock of Ages” at the National Theatre)
87. Go camping/ spend a night under the stars
88. Make a wish on a shooting star
89. Go on a picnic
90. Read through 1000 Awesome Things; blog about the ones you agree with, or come up with your own!
91. Floss daily for a month
92. Water the Christmas cactus once every other week; fertilize every 3 weeks
93. Look for a job in YOUR FIELD!! (i.e. history, Jewish, writing, etc.)
94. Go to an outdoor film festival
95. Go berry picking
96. Visit Annapolis
97. Take a trip to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to see the famous water lilies and lotus flowers
98. Grab some gelato at Dolcezza, a DC Gelato institution (Completed: July 4)
99. Attend a Twilight Polo match in The Plains, VA
100. Frame your college diploma already!
101. Get a puppy

It's Official!!

Four years to earn, two years to (finally!) frame:

#100 - Frame Diploma. Check.

Arlington Cemetery and Russian Treasures

When my family came to visit last summer, we visited Arlington National Cemetery and the Hillwood Museum (both on my list of 101 Things to Do).

First, we visited my grandfather and grandmother's graves in Arlington Cemetery. Grandpa Jack also served in WWII, although he decided not to list it on his tombstone. If you have family buried here, you are allowed to drive onto the property to visit w/ a special visitor's pass - after a little searching we managed to find the spot. Even if you don't have family buried there,

I highly recommend visiting; there are some very interesting tombstones, especially those near the old Lee House. The entire cemetery used to be the homestead for Robert E. Lee, but when he became the general for the Confederate army in the Civil War, the Union confiscated his lands and decided to turn them into a National Cemetery for the armed forces.

Thus, even after the war, the land could not be reclaimed by the family.

We also visited the Hillwood Museum, which is located north of Georgetown. The home was owned by the Post family (yes, the cereal company). Marjorie Merriweather Post was married to an ambassador to Russia when they were selling off old Russian treasures. She managed to preserve the largest collection of Russian treasures in North America, most of which is on display at the Hillwood Museum. I was truly impressed. There are even gardens to walk through and a cafe that serves high tea, should you find yourself with nothing to day on a lovely day :)

#72 - A Very Oogie Boogie Halloween

Long overdue, but I finally managed to carve a pumpkin for Halloween, and post the pictures. I think it came out rather well.

"I am the shadow on the moon at night / filling your dreams to the brim with fright."

Williamsburg, the Drafthouse & a New Job!

#93 - Look for a Job in YOUR FIELD!

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a friend of a friend at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington – and now I have a new job! Isn’t it fabulous how the world works?

#85 - See a movie at the Arlington Drafthouse

The Arlington Drafthouse Theater is a combination movie theater and restaurant. While you enjoy your movie, you can also order drinks and dinner. There’s a similar place in Raleigh, but the price is right at the Arlington Drafthouse – Monday night movies are only $1! My friend SL and I saw Pirates of the Caribbean 4 at the Drafthouse. I’ll be honest – I love Johnny Depp, and I’m not such a big fan of Penelope Cruz. So the combination of the two might have equalized things…but perhaps I was being too optimistic. I love the character of Captain Jack Sparrow, and the storyline between the missionary and the mermaid was interesting, but the role of Blackbeard’s daughter played by Penelope Cruz was just pathetic. It is hard to believe her in the role of a woman corrupted by Jack Sparrow as she prepared to take her vows in a convent, and then desires a father figure so badly that she overlooks the atrocities perpetrated by the villainous Blackbeard. But for $1, it wasn’t such a bad trade – the special effects were superb, the music exciting, even if the story could not always hold my attention.

#67 - Visit AD in Williamsburg w/ MB (Aug. 19-21, 2011)

I may have been sick, but there was no way I was going to miss a mini-vacation weekend with two of my best friends! And I’m glad I went – MB and I toured Williamsburg with our old college roomie AD, went shopping at the outlet mall nearby, ate dinner by the river, and even spent Saturday night at a country bar in Newport News. And when I say country, I mean a loud country music hall complete with line dancing and a mechanical bull. And you know what? I stayed on that bull for 43 seconds. Not too bad for a girl with a serious cold.

A Not-So-Secret Gem

My friend MB recommended a book to me this past Wednesday night, and while I'm still finishing up Connie Willis' Blackout, I decided to take her up on the offer to borrow her book. And I was entranced. I can honestly say that I have a new favorite novel: Erin McKean's The Secret Life of Dresses.

Now, MB is sewing-and-all-things-vintage obsessed, so it came as no surprise that the grandmother of our heroine (Dora) owns a vintage clothing boutique. And I was enchanted because it is set in western North Carolina. Early in the story, an exchange between Dora and a coworker puts my home state into perfect perspective:

"Is it pretty? The whole time I was thinking about North Carolina, everyone said, 'Oh, it's so pretty,' like they didn't have anything else to say about it. It was the state version of 'She has a nice personality.' "

"It is pretty; they weren't lying."

As one reviewer put it:

College junior Dora drops everything, including her iPod, to rush home after hearing that the grandmother who raised her, her beloved Mimi, has had a stroke. Once there, she runs Mimi’s, a vintage clothing store, to honor her love for the hospitalized owner. Romance abounds in this fun novel set in western North Carolina. The story gets its suspense from Dora’s crushes, the dippy Gary she left back at college and the newly met Con. Whom will she choose? And, of course, there are the greedy relatives who try to take over the store. But she has wonderful friends to support her as well as a considerable amount of pluckiness of her own.

#33 Posing with Presidential Portraits

Last weekend when my brother came to visit me here in D.C., we accomplished #33 - See (and test your knowledge of) the presidential portraits at the National Portrait Gallery. One caveat - we arrived in time to take a docent-led tour, during which he talked about a few of the famous portraits, but they were the easily recognizable ones so I think our visit still counts. Besides, I still had to explain to my brother the difference between Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's portraits.

Also, I got some classy pictures with some very classy gentlemen