sit down…
I have an announcement. We went to church this morning.
That’s right. Church. All four of us. It’s crazy talk, I know. But one of my 101 Things goals was to find a church for us to attend by Advent. Now, I don’t know that we’ll continue to attend this church forever, but it’s the one we’ve selected for Advent. We owe our commitment to finding and participating in a church entirely to our Eliza, who has been begging to go learn more about God (which I think both compliments us as parents in that we’ve taught her something so far and makes us look like really lousy parents in that we haven’t found a church prior to this).
Mike selected this church solely because of the Advent schedule. We’ve both always loved Advent. And it was nice to sit together through the service this morning… all four of us. Maybe this is the beginning of something good.
Filed under 101 Things in 1001 Days, Faith | Permalink | Comments (2)Tagged with: 101 Things in 1001 Days • Advent • church
very blue
Number 27 on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list was to take Mike to see the Blue Man Group in Orlando. He’s said since we moved here that he wanted to see them, but tickets are just outrageous. Last week, my sister-in-law sent me an email with discounted tickets for the BMG, and I bought tickets without telling Mike. I managed to keep the secret from him for three days (somewhat of a miracle for me). 
We had a lovely dinner with Chuck and Stacy at my favorite Orlando restaurant. As we were leaving, I asked Chuck how to get where we were going & he told Mike. One of the things I love most about Mike is that he listened to the directions not knowing where we were going. There’s something quite lovely about the trust that builds up over time. He was very surprised.
More than that, he had a really good time. It was obvious. For those of you who don’t know my Mike in real life, he rarely shows that he’s having a good time or is excited about anything. He’s the picture of a lack of emotion. So it was really groovy to see him having such fun.
If you get a chance to go, go. The drumming was wonderful, this deep pulsing that you could feel in your seats. There were strobe lights and general lighting changes and lots of multi-media interactions. All of which triggered my vertigo, and I ended up spending the last 30 minutes of the show in the lobby with a very sweet attendant. (I haven’t been that sick since I went to see an IMAX movie.)
But even with all of that, it was really groovy to surprise Mike. Maybe I’ll try again in another decade or so.
Filed under 101 Things in 1001 Days | Permalink | Comment (1)Tagged with: 101 Things in 1001 Days • Blue Man Group • Mike
101 book list update…
In my 101 Things in 1001 Days list, my goal was to read 100 books in the 1001 days. I was going to keep the list on Library Thing like I did with my last list, but I just can’t remember to add them there. So I’m going to keep the list here.
Another of my goals was to review half of those 50 books, so if you see one you’d like me to review, let me know.
- “From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil Frankweiler” by E.L Konigsburg
- “Murder Boogies With Elvis” by Anne George
- “Mummy Dearest” by Joan Hess
- “Twilight” by Stephanie Meyer
- “New Moon” by Stephanie Meyer
- “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” by J.K. Rowling
- “Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist” by Michael J Fox
- “Eclipse” by Stephanie Meyer
- “Freakin Fabulous” by Clinton Kelly
- “Breaking Dawn” by Stephanie Meyer
- “Sex in the South” by Suzy Parker (I went to college with the author. It’s at times funny, shocking and … well, more shocking.)
- “Some Day You’ll Thank Me For This: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Being a ‘Perfect Mother’” by Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays
- “The Sloppy Copy Slipup” by Dyanne Disalvo
- “Among the Hidden” by Margaret Peterson Haddix
- “Tin Roof Blowdown” by James Lee Burke (This one was such a good read, though painful at times. I read it last weekend - the fourth anniversary of Katrina’s march through New Orleans.)
Tagged with: 101 Things in 1001 Days • Books
checking items off the list…
I’ve felt very accomplished with my 101 Things list lately. I crossed another item off the list last night and wondered why I haven’t done it sooner.
There’s this lovely historic theater in town (much like the one I remember from my childhood), and they show an interesting mix of vintage and indie films. Last night, they were showing “Casablanca,” which is one of my very favorite movies ever. When I saw the ad in the paper a month ago, I immediately called our newest favorite sitter and booked the evening.
The theater is downtown near our favorite restaurant, so we had Voodoo Shrimp, crawfish etouffee, and jambalaya before walking over to see the movie. It was a lovely night.
I’m already looking at their schedule to find another movie to go see.
Filed under 101 Things in 1001 Days | Permalink | Comment (0)Tagged with: 101 Things in 1001 Days
updates abound…
It was a busy week for us. I crossed off several items on my 101 Things list … in just one week. I’m telling you, it was a happening week. 
First, last Sunday, we took the kids to the St Petersburg Museum of Art to see the traveling Andy Warhol exhibit. Last year, Griff did a project in school on Warhol, and so he was very excited about the exhibit. He really enjoyed seeing in person the artwork he studied. It was a neat experience. Eliza didn’t enjoy it on the same level, but she did really wonderfully, and we talked with her about the paintings she enjoyed and why she was drawn to them. Hopefully, it’s a step on a path to them both appreciating great art (and even fair-to-middlin art if it feeds their souls and makes them happy). (#21 crossed off)
Then, we traded both of our vehicles for new ones. Mike has driven a 1992 Chevy truck since 1993. When we got married, all of his worldly possessions that I let him bring to my townhouse fit in the bed of that truck. He taught me to drive a standard in that truck. I cannot count the number of times we’ve hauled furniture in that truck and had to pull over on the side of the road and cover it with tarps and bungee cords.
I once drove the truck over a big red toolbox. Twice.
Mike did the math and discovered that, through the years, he paid approximately $300 a year for the truck. In the last few years, he’s done most of the work on it himself. In some odd way, the truck represented our married life. There were all of these memories wrapped up in it.
But it wasn’t worth anything any longer, and Cash for Clunkers gave us $4500 for it. Mike’s now driving an SUV (and easily getting 10 MPG more than in the truck). We also traded in the mama van for a little sedan for me to drive back and forth to work. It’s not a hybrid, but the gas mileage is much better than in the van. (#96 crossed off)
Eliza’s begun taking swimming lessons and is doing really well. We’re not crossing #33 off the list just yet, but we’re really close.
Number 60 had me sending flowers to someone random every July. July was a little nutty for us, so I didn’t get the flowers mailed. I decided at some point that #60 wasn’t necessarily about sending real flowers. Instead, I let Eliza pick a flowered top for her little cousin, London. They’re packed and ready to be mailed Monday. (1/3 complete)
Numbers 79-81 aren’t my favorites. Thankfully, Mike’s taken those on. He has an 18 month plan & I’m doing what I can to comply. Frugal isn’t exactly my nature, but I’m doing my best.
And, in two weeks, Griff and I are beginning to work on #91. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.
Thanks to everyone who’s going through these 101 Things with me!
Filed under 101 Things in 1001 Days | Permalink | Comments (2)Tagged with: 101 Things in 1001 Days
