Two more down - and summer is here

2. Sleep in a hammock 5/?/10
10. ride on a rollercoaster with no hands 6/7/10

So I know it's silly that I don't know the date... it was probably the 22nd or 23rd.... the weekends have been packed. Between playing soccer, then getting injured, then birthdays, condo meetings... it's been nuts. One day in May (towards the end), the kids went down for a nap as did Pete. I had just gone for a long run so I was tired. I layed outside on the hammock and PASSED OUT! It was before the mosquitos came out, it was breezy, but I was so comfortable in my sweat pants and t-shirt. I put on my slacker radio on my phone and was out - it felt great! Hopefully I can get another nap like that soon. I woke up feeling GREAT!

And on to the rollercoaster. I LOVE rollercoasters. I'm the kind of person who loves them and will basically ride any of them, but always have a little mini freak out on the big ones where I scrunch my eyes tight shut, white-knuckle the bars and breathe like I'm in labor. I realized about 9 years ago that it is just stupid to do the whole "get me out of here, I can't do this, OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" style freakout.... #1 no one is going to stop you when you're almost at the top #2 it just makes you look silly and #3 it actually makes for a less enjoyable experience....I chaperone the six-flags senior class trip every year and have a great time. We always bee-line it for the Superman to avoid the lines and ride it first. Go big or go home - I do it up. I always love it, but never make it without holding on - usually it's the first drag and drop that does it to me - it's REALLY REALLY high. This year it was a bit more scary - no lie. The Superman is now Bizaro.... it used to be that you were shoulder/chest strapped in - you weren't going anywhere.... these geniuses got it in there heads somehow to make it crazier and then take away those straps and just have a lap bar.... oh dear. I put my hands up when they sent us off and ALMOST lost it going over the first hill, but kept my hands up the whole way - there were more up-and-over loops than I remember, but it was awesome and felt great. What a dare-devil I am right? haha!


This is what the restraints USED to look like



This is what the restraints look like now


The first peak


View from the top
Stats
Height: 208 feet
Drop: 221 feet
Angle Of Descent: 70 degrees
Top Speed: 77 mph
Length: 5,400 feet
Trains: 2 - 32 passenger
Train Mfg: Intmain AG Ride
Time: 2 minutes, 35 seconds

Love it! (by the way - I didn't take any of those pictures - google rocks)

Customer service is a tough job, but some people do it so well

I get to check off number 50 from my list! (Praise a good customer service experience to the person's boss or corporate.) I think I will do that more often - it made me so happy. Last weekend my mom, Pete, Rob, BA and the kids went to On the Border in Woburn and had a fantastic waitress who made sure to make my 5 and 3 year old feel extra special. She would stop and talk to them every pass to the kitchen or back out, she brought them books, coloring materials and dough to play with. I called the corporate office today and raved and raved about her. The woman was very happy for my call and told me that she would be sure to contact her area manager and let them know about her superior service so that they can recognize her for it. On top of it all, it was a busy Friday night - she really didn't have to do what she did. Having worked in customer service, I know how hard it is, especially when the dining room is packed, but she made us feel like we were her main priority. It was great. I hope that call really gets made and that she really gets some sort of recognition for it. :) There should be more people like Kaitie!

Unintentional completion counts right?

I totally hit number 55 this past weekend. (be the designated driver for a group of people). One of my cousins got married on Saturday and it was an absolutely beautiful day! My brother and sister-in-law flew up for the wedding which made the weekend awesome as it was. Saturday night, one of my cousins had us all back to his apartment. It was great to hang out with my family! I don't think I have ever laughed as hard as I did that night. So fun. Pete was going to come, but decided to stay home and get the kids settled, so my brother looked at me and asked who was driving, so I volunteered. Needless to say we didn't get home until one thirty in the morning or so, and it got pretty crazy - it was awesome. I should volunteer more often!

Feeling girly!

I used to be a complete tomboy, and at times still regress, however in working on #95 (which is to wear a dress or skirt everyday for a week), I am loving dresses! I have gotten so many compliments on the dresses that I have been wearing and, in general, how springy I am, that I may just wear dresses every day from now on! I must say it was very helpful to start wearing my dresses on the first day back from an awesome April Vacation. I heard a lot of gloomyness about having to come back to work, but I put on a cheery face and dressed myself up and it made my day that much better. It's been an awesome week and the weather for this weekend (and I have a wedding) looks AMAZING!

Vacation has been awesome!

So April vacation has been amazing! I had a great anniversary and birthday weekend and then got to go on a road trip to somewhere new (4/20/10). Pete had a business trip to Nantucket and I got to tag along. Nantucket was amazing. So much to see and so much relaxing to do. Wednesday, I spent 3 hours photographing the island, running and spent the day at the beach (4/21/10). I can't say enough about how amazing, relaxing, rejuvenating and genuinely fun it was! I got some great shots and it's really getting me excited to do a photo excursion in Boston!!! I also tried 2 (of 5) new restaurants! Pete and I went to Cy's (a seafoody-pub-like restaurant in "downtown" Nantucket) and then tried out the Fareground Restaurant the next night where we got to watch the Sox and the Bruins both win in overtime/extra innings on multiple flat screen TVs scattered throughout the dining area. I dub this my honeymoon and a half.... it was that good. : )

Ready..... set..... go.....

So as some of you know, I have started a "bucket list" type deal with the intentions of making a list of tasks that I desire to complete before the end of time....... As I was making the list, I realized that most of the things are more of a do-in-the-near-future things. A friend of mine posted about the Day Zero Project and I thought sounded pretty cool so that's what I'm doing!

I am making a list of 101 tasks to complete in 1001 days!!! Today is my 31st birthday, so it's a perfect day to begin my challenge! January 13, 2013 is a long way away (31....13...13.... crazy numbers). I hope I can complete all of my tasks, but if not - it's going to be fun trying!!!

The idea behind this whole thing is to make a list of 101 things you want to do in the next 1001 days. It is a little different than a "Bucket" or "Life" to do list because it allows you to create specific goals to be obtained in a more reasonable timeline. Read more about the challenge at http://www.dayzeroproject.com/ and start your own!!!!

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.