Austin Teen Book Fest 2013 #ATBF13

I have wanted to attend the Austin Teen Book Festival for 3 years and could never make it happen. When this year's line up was released, I nearly fell out of my chair in excitement - Rae Carson, Marissa Meyer, Holly Black, MAGGIE STIEFVATER! - and I was determined to be there.

Thankfully, I was able to make it happen and it was an almost perfect day.

via ATBF

Maggie opened the festival up with a poignant and hilarious speech. She made some really great points about how creative types typically have equal stores of fear and imagination, and how we need to be able to balance the two somehow. She said that, as a writer, a person plays the "what if" game - what if someone could physically manifest their dreams? What if shapeshifters were real? - and that that game says that all the dreadful possibilities are just as important as the magical ones.  She spoke briefly about her novels, including the beautiful, perfect creation that is Sam Roth and then The Raven Cycle books, and she ended it by saying that "we are all Dream Thieves because we can choose to manifest our dreams or our nightmares."

It was a really great way to open up the day, and once Maggie spoke, my friend and I headed up to our first panel of the day - Into Hearts of Darkness, which featured Jon Scovron, Mari Mancusi, Robin Wasserman, April Tucholke, Victoria Scott and the fantastic Holly Black.

There were several great questions posed to the authors here, but my favorite tidbits were uttered by Robin and Holly, both in response to the query: Where do your ideas come from?

Robin quoted the amazing Patrick Ness and said that, "One idea is never enough for a book." She talked about how he says he usually gets The Idea, and then other Ideas appear and they all sync and congeal and suddenly, this mass of ideas is a Living, Breathing, Thing, and then there's enough to be a book. I thought that was a really fantastic statement. Holly said the best advice regarding ideas she ever got was to "Honor your obsessions." That's a pretty cool idea, too - the thought that if you love something, you should probably write about it.

It was a great start to the day, and then we went back to the main hall to watch the Fierce Reads ladies face off against the Dark Days gals in a silly set of games. The best part of this, for me, was when David Tennant appeared on the screen and everybody went nuts. O DOCTOR, MY DOCTOR, I LOVE YOU SO!

(Obligatory side note: There were SO. MANY. WHOVIANS THERE. I was basically like, "Hello, you are my PEOPLE!") 

Then, we grabbed some lunch and bought a few books - I got ASYLUM by Madeleine Roux and THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE by Leila Sales - and headed upstairs to try to snag a good couple of seats in the Dark Days panel room. (We ended up on the 2nd row - SWEET.)

Madeleine Roux, via my OG iPhone

The Dark Days panel was, by far, my favorite of the entire day. It included Madeleine Roux, Sherry Thomas, Mindy McGinness, Michelle Gagnon, Amy Tintera, and Rae Carson.

These ladies are clearly all friends, and they all played off of one another so well - and they're all hilarious, so that definitely helped. A couple of observations here: Michelle Gagnon is so cool, I want to read all of her books, ever, now. DON'T TURN AROUND and DON'T LOOK NOW have been on my radar, but she's so fantastic, I kind of want them in my grabby little hands right now. She and Rae both had this really calm, approach and it was just super cool. Mindy is hilarious - and I mean, snarky and smart, and I never would have guessed that she spends her days as a high school librarian. Biggest surprise of the day? Sherry Thomas, who's glasses and general look do sort of speak quiet librarian but is smart and genuinely a riot who had a snarky remark to almost every question, including how, sometimes, ideas are on sale at Costco, and how hers was a free sample.

Favorite moment, though?

Madeleine Roux's answer to "Where do your ideas come from?" The answer involved blood sacrifice by the light of the full moon, a spirit named Dave, and naked dancing.

Like you do.

via my OG iPhone

After Dark Days was Fierce Reads, which was in the same room, so we were able to settle in and really enjoy it.  The authors here were Leila Sales, Marissa Meyer, S.A. Bodeen, and Alexandra Coutts. The tone of this panel was a lot less snark and a bit quieter, but the result was the same - these ladies love to write and they loved interacting with their readres. Having already read Meyer's works, the other three authors were virtually unknown to me, but now I can say that I need to pick up TUMBLE
& FALL by Alexandra, STAT. The idea of a novel that focuses on the time spent waiting for a natural disaster to strike is scary in the best, most real way, and I really have to find myself a copy of that book soon.

Our last panel of the day was Powers Strange and Perilous, which included Robin LaFevers, Lisa McMann, Cinda Williams Chima, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Melissa de la Cruz and her husband Michael Johnston, and the awesome Maggie Stiefvater. (FLAILY FLAIL FLAIL.) I've read something by everyone on this panel with the exception of Lisa and Cinda, so this was a fun one for me. It was interesting to hear how everyone thinks of the supernatural abilities that they've given their characters, and I especially liked how Robin spoke about the extraneous abilities she gave the ladies in her His Fair Assassins series - I love that she correlates them to the ways the infants struggled at birth (which sounds morbid, I know... because it is). Maggie was, as usual, hilarious and awesome but still made a lot of interesting points, and then it was off to the closing speech with the wonderful Holly Black.

Holly spoke of fear, too, and how one of her lifelong obsessions (vampires) manifested from her childhood fears. We really enjoyed her speech, but I'm not going to lie - the lines for autographs were becoming a bit intimidating, so we hopped in line a few minutes before she finished up so we could be sure to have a couple minutes with each author for whom we had a book to be signed.

All in all, I got Leila to sign my copy of THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE, Marissa to sign my copy of CINDER (I already have a signed copy of SCARLET), and Maggie signed my copies of both THE RAVEN BOYS and THE DREAM THIEVES. My little exchange which her while she was signing my books is also one of my favorite things of the whole day.

via my OG iPhone

Actual conversation:

Me: Hi! Thanks so much for coming today!
Maggie: No problem; I love it. <begins signing>
Me: Also, thanks for creating Sam Roth. He remains my favorite YA Boy ever.
Maggie: Well, he's a good book boyfriend to have.
Me: Right? I figure he'll sing me a song and then turn into a wolf with gorgeous amber eyes. What could be bad about that?
Maggie, as she finishes signing, with a grin: Shedding.

HA. And now you know why I say she's 100% awesome. ;)

Anyway, the ATBF was really great. I am thoroughly impressed with how smoothly it ran, how easy the schedule seemed to flow, and how genuinely kind all of the authors seemed. Will definitely try to attend next year's event! 

Thanks to Book People and all the volunteers for making it so great! And a huge thanks to the authors for being generous with their time.

The #SWEATTour's Austin Stop - 4 YA Authors at Book People!

This evening, I had the absolute pleasure of attending the Austin stop of the SWEAT Tour. SWEAT: SoCal Writers' Excellent Adventure in Texas. Cute, no? Also, it was (of course) over 100 degrees today, so it's probable that that other meaning of sweat was a possibility.

In preparing for this event, I was looking into a couple of the authors' information and when I pulled up Amy Tintera's bio and picture, I realized she looked super familiar. When her novel, REBOOT, was released, I thought the name was familiar too, but I never looked into it, assumed that it rang a bell because I'm pretty involved in the YA community as a whole, and let it go.

Yeeeeah.

She and I graduated from High School together. So, that's pretty cool.

Anyway, a quick conversation with her via Twitter later, and I said I'd say hello this evening at the event (I did, and she's very sweet, and she even signed my book with a "Go [school mascot]!" which I thought was pretty darn cute).

The panel, as a whole, was really fantastic, partially because all the ladies were so very different and partially because the books they represented were all so different. Authors were:

Amy Tintera - author of REBOOT and its forthcoming sequel
Shannon Messenger - author of The Keeper of the Lost Cities and Let The Sky Fall series'
Debra Driza - author of MILA 2.0 and its forthcoming sequel
Kasie West - author of PIVOT POINT and THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US

photo taken with my crappy iPhone

The moderator - Jen, I believe - led the ladies through some really great questions. At this point in my YA Reading Career, I've been to quite a few author events, and I feel that her questions were the best I've experienced. I took a few notes on the questions and their responses. Here are my favorite highlights:

If you could summarize your book by using only the names of TV shows or movies, what would you choose? 
Amy: The Walking Dead meets La Femme Nikita
Shannon: (re: LET THE SKY FALL) The Last Airbender meets Twister
Debra: The Bourne Identity meets AI
Kasie: Pride and Prejudice meets Pretty in Pink

Then, they ladies played 2 Truths and a Lie. Mrs. West has a pretty hilarious truth about choking on her own hair. That's all I've got to say about that. ;)

What's the worst (and best) writing advice you've ever been given? 
Amy:
Worst: Always know the end before beginning to write.
Best: Finish the writing.

Shannon:
Worst: You can't move on to the next chapter until this one is perfect.
Best: from Ellen Hopkins: "It's never to early to begin treating writing like a job."

Debra:
Worst: It's OK to query before the writing is done.
Best: From Cindy Pon: "Let yourself write utter poo."

Kasie:
Worst: You have to outline to be a serious writer.
Best: Don't compare yourself or your experience to others'; No two stories or writers are the same.

Which "current" books do you wish you'd had as a teenager? 
Debra: SAVING FRANCESCA by Melina Marchetta (and several members of the audience, me included, gasped. Because YES. ALL KINDS OF YES. Marchetta FTW.)

Amy: IF I STAY by Gayle Forman

Kasie said she didn't have a specific favorite, but that she wished Sarah Dessen had been a writer when she was a teenager. Shannon said she simply wished YA had existed; it would have stopped her from becoming a non-reader in her teens.

When was the "moment" you realized that this was real, that you were a 'real' writer?
Debra: The day before her book released, and she promptly had a panic attack as she considered all of the possibilities ahead of her.

Kasie: When she received her first review from a stranger.

Shannon: At her launch party, when a class-full of Middle Grade aged students were actually in attendance; also, the first time she received a letter from a parent saying that her book was what made their child a reader.

Amy: There was a moment in her kitchen in which she just determined that she was going to write, and after that, she began to work toward publication.

photo taken on my crappy iPhone

I found it really interesting to hear so much of my writing style in various comments the authors made. Amy advised that her main character arrived first, and the world was built around her. This is often how things work with me -  more often than not, actually. Kasie said she can't outline; it takes all the creative juices out of her. I am a terrible outliner. It's impressively bad. Shannon said she *can* write for hours and hours on end, but the outcome isn't pretty and she'd rather not. It was kind of cool to hear others express the same traits that I see in myself.

Anyway, at the end, I bought a copy of Amy's book and she signed it; I also picked up a few signed bookmarks and a tattoo for REBOOT. It was a pretty great event... and it's one more thing to check off #59 on my 101/1001 list.

:)

15. Throw Bella a crazy awesome 5th birthday bash - DONE!

Bella's fifth birthday was the biggest party we've ever had for her, and it was Alice in Wonderland themed. It was really simple to put together, though, and she was so excited all day. All of our People were there, and there were tons of kids. We had cupcakes, Eat Me cookies, sandwiches, unexpected barbecue, perfect weather, and an amazing array of gifts, when all was said and done.


I was also able to take off work for her actual birthday, and we spent the day together, just relaxing and wandering around town. It was an all-around great day.

(all photos are mine. do not take them without permission, please.)

Big Top Candy Shop! :)

We so rarely allow her to eat candy, this was a big thrill for her.

DIY goodie bags at the party.

I put up quotes around the space the party was held in.

NOMZ.

My little archery fiend. ;) 

I'm so glad I was able to put this together, and that it went off (mostly) without a hitch. Thanks to everyone who came out, and to Erin for allowing us to take over her house for the afternoon.

Til next time,
Ang

101/1001: #34 - Attend my Graduation Ceremony

Well, it's done. After a lot of back and forth on my part about whether to attend or not, I did it, at the behest of a handful of the most important people in my life. And in the end, it didn't matter than I've been done with this part of my life for a year, because the people I love most were there, and they are the reason I was even able to finish this damn thing anyway.

Also, sometimes, your family gives you things that are perfect:

taken with my OG iPhone.

And sometimes, they write things that make you cry:

taken with my OG iPhone.

And now, to get moving on completing my application for Graduate school - all they need from me is transcripts.

Cheers, y'all.

via

101/1001: #90. Wear false eyelashes

Donezo! I wore false eyelashes while I stood for one of my dearest friends in her wedding. Maid of Honor, baby!

Wheee!

Courtesy of my Instagram Feed.

Can't I wear them every day, forever? Sigh. 

101/1001 - #93: Watch all of the James Bond movies

Self-explanatory, yes? #93 on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days is to watch all the Bond movies, in sequential order. My husband loves James Bond (most men do, I've found), and I really enjoy the films since Daniel Craig has taken on the role.

Here's the list. I'll update with the date I watch each film.

Official James Bond films

    Dr. No (1962-Sean Connery) - watched 4/3/2013

    From Russia With Love (1963-Sean Connery)

    Goldfinger (1964-Sean Connery)

    Thunderball (1965-Sean Connery)

    You Only Live Twice (1967-Sean Connery)

    On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969-George Lazenby)

    Diamonds Are Forever (1971-Sean Connery)

    Live and Let Die (1973-Roger Moore)

    The Man with the Golden Gun (1974-Roger Moore)

    The Spy Who Loved Me (1977-Roger Moore)

    Moonraker (1979-Roger Moore)

    For Your Eyes Only (1981-Roger Moore)

    Octopussy (1983-Roger Moore)

    A View to a Kill (1985-Roger Moore)

    The Living Daylights (1987-Timothy Dalton)

    Licence to Kill (1989-Timothy Dalton)

    GoldenEye (1995-Pierce Brosnan)

    Tomorrow Never Dies (1997-Pierce Brosnan)

    The World is Not Enough (1999-Pierce Brosnan)

    Die Another Day (2002-Pierce Brosnan)

    Casino Royale (2006-Daniel Craig)

    Quantum of Solace (2008-Daniel Craig)

    Skyfall (2012-Daniel Craig)

    "Bond 24" (2014?)

In Which There is an Apple

Hey guys.

This is going to be a sort of "update" blog. I guess they all sort of are, aren't they? But I wanted to give anyone who's interested an update on all the goings on in my life at present.

First up: I've made a good dent in my 101/1001 list, but not as much as I'd like at this point. That said, I've made progress on a few of the items that will take the longest to complete, which is nothing to shake a stick at.

Some notable accomlishments (in my opinion, anyway): 

1. I've read six of the twenty recommendations I requested.
2. I've kept record of one of six months in "My Day in Six Words" journal.
3. I've written a short story to begin my Short Story Project.
4. We have plans with regard to savings/paying off various debts in mind.

For my comprehensive 101/1001 list, you can click here.

Second, I have read 31 of my intended 85 books this year. Thus far, this equates to 11688 pages.  Cray cray!

Third, I started at what is essentially my Favorite Day Job Ever on Monday. Working at this company was always the game changer for me, and I'm hoping to be able to move from contract to permanent employee in a hot second. Good thoughts appreciated. :)

And lastly, I've decided to be more comment-y in my blog reading. I very rarely get comments on this thing, and I know how much it means to me when I actually do get one, so I want to be sure to pay that forward a bit. :)

I'll leave off with this, just for some TRUFAX:

via

How are you? What's new? Are you working steadily toward any of your own goals?

PS HOMG THE WALKING DEAD AUGH.

Marissa Meyer at Book People

#59 on my 101/1001 list is to attend 5 author events. I'm really excited to say that I've gotten to check one off this list this evening!

Book People, Austin's indie bookstore, held an event this evening for Marissa Meyer's SCARLET tour. for those of you who may not know, Meyer is the author of The Lunar Chronicles, which is her reworking/revamping a set of four classic fairytales. The first in the series is CINDER, a cyborg, futuristic retelling of Cinderella. The newest installment is centered on a reworked Little Red Riding Hood, and it's called SCARLET.

(Sidenote: Amazing cover art, no? Some of my favorites, if I'm honest, and I'm hoping the publisher doesn't decide to change them mid-series. I'd be super bummed.)




What I really love about this series is that, really, Meyer has just kept to the bones of the original material, so Cinder's stepmother is evil, and Scarlet's grandmother is missing, but she generally deviates from the rest of the story. Basically, she leaves enough there to allow the reader to make some educated assumptions about the characters, and those assumptions generally play out as you'd expect them to.

And yes, there is a big, bad Wolf in Scarlet. And he's about 100 kinds of delicious, but that is probably beside the point.

Book People is really one of my favorite places in town, so I was really excited to head down there this evening, and they definitely did not disappoint. There were a good number of chairs set up, and they had the cutest snack set up, which really surprised me. Every author event I've ever been to was just Q&A and the author reading a bit of their book. Here's a pic that I posted on Instagram from the event:

 Seriously? Cutest thing ever.

Anyway, Marissa is super adorable. She shared her story - how she started writing, how she began writing CINDER, in particular, and what the inspiration for her writing at all was. It turns out that she started writing Sailor Moon fan fiction, which is probably the best thing I've heard in a long time.

She read two pieces of her novel, and then told a few classic fairytales - Cinderella and Red Riding Hood, of course - in their original formats - no Disney here! Then, she opened the floor up for questions, and there were some really great ones (and one real clunker, but that's besides the point). I asked what we could expect from her - will she be writing more fairytale retellings, or is she interested in expanding into other genres? As it turns out, she's got ideas for two other series, a paranormal thriller and a contemporary one (both YA), and she's just sold a stand alone novel, but it's so new that she couldn't release any real details about it, aside from saying it's a fantasy sort of story.

I really enjoyed the discussion this evening, and Marissa is an inspiration for a writer like me - in listening to the story of her beginnings, I feel we have a lot of similarities, which was a really cool thing to realize. Normally, I'd have purchased a book and had it signed by her, but initially, I didn't think I'd be able to attend this event, so I ordered a signed copy from my favorite book store in Nashville, and it's on the way, via mail to me. (Regardless, though, I've already read an ARC of SCARLET, and it's pretty damn fabulous.)

This was a great event, and I hope Book People has more like it, and soon...

And now begins the incomprehensible wait for book 3, CRESS.

101/1001 - #23 - Random Acts of Kindness

#23 on my list is to do 5 random acts of kindness. there are a few qualifiers, for me, for this one. i can't know the people well and, whenever possible, i need to remain "out of sight, out of mind," for lack of a better phrase. basically, i really don't want them to be able to come say thanks. it just needs to me a kind thing i did that will, hopefully, put a smile on their face. monetary or not, it doesn't matter. just something, for someone else, that i wasn't asked to do.

1. took neighbor's trash downstairs for them (it was waiting outside their door). 3 flights of stairs, single dad, two daughters and one son. and though we don't know him, he's a police officer. least i can do, really. 2/2/2013

101/1001 - #56: Paint a canvas - Done!

i went to a great painting class tonight with a dear friend. it was one of those classes where everyone paints the same prompted image, and it was held at GeeBerry Art Studio here in austin, texas. it was so fun, and the instructors were really wonderful. we're already planning to go back.

so, here are a few photos. pardon the probably questionable quality; they're from my really old 3G iPhone.

me, painting the initial blue background.

near the beginning of the process - just the background colors.

outline for my eiffel tower

 

 

finished product

so, i'm definitely *not* a painter. i'm also really heavy handed with the paint, but i found that i really like the texture the canvas has as a result. 

our table was most definitely the coolest of the four, and all the ladies we were with were really kind and funny. i definitely recommend taking one of geeberry's classes to anyone, because everyone is really supportive, so it's a really low stress environment where you can just sort of create what you create. 

they offer kinds courses from age kindergarten up, so i'll definitely be looking to take my munchkin when she's of age. 

regardless of my personal talent, though, this was a really good time. you should try it yourself. :)

p.s. when i arrived home, my husband's first response, aside from telling me he liked it a lot, was to say, "hmm, the eiffel tower or narcissism at its best?" hardy har har, sir. hardy har har. ;)

 

101/1001 - #78 - Complete a Photo Challenge - WIP!

in order to cross this one off the list, i'm participating in fat mum slim's photo a day challenge. i've even managed to get all but one of this month's prompted pics posted (say that 5 times fast) on their assigned days.

i'm still debating on whether i'll post all my photos here, particularly because one of them from this month includes two of my friends' kids, and i don't want to put their adorable faces on the internet without parental consent.

however, for posterity's sake, i'm going to make a list here, and cross off each month as i complete it. :)

january 2013

february 2013

march 2013

april 2013

may 2013

june 2013

july 2013

august 2013

september 2013

october 2013

november 2013

december 2013

My 101 in 1001 List

My 101 in 1001 List:  

(to be completed by September 27th, 2015)

I'll update this post as progress is made on each goal. :) It will remain in the right column over there if you're ever feeling nosy. :)

(I originally blogged about this here, but since I will no longer be using the actual Day Zero site to keep track, here we are again.)

1. Have a $1000 in a "just for fun" fund - WIP

2. Get to my goal weight and maintain - WIP.

3. Query a novel - Began January 31, 2013.

4. Write a letter to myself to be opened when the 1001 days is over - done - 1/2/2013

5. Go on a spontaneous road trip

6. Have professional photos taken

7. Run a 5K race - The Color Run, Austin; May 4th, 2013

8. Go on a cruise - possible: Fall 2013

9. Get a nose piercing - priced with True Blue

10. Get a tattoo - Researching

11. Go vegetarian for a month

12. Buy a house

13. Pay off my credit cards - WIP

14. Pay off my car - WIP

15. Throw Bella a crazy awesome 5th birthday bash - Done! Alice in Wonderland extravaganza!

16. Record a song in a professional studio

17. Write a collection of short stories - started writing.

18. Enter a writing contest

19. Find a job that I love - Done. 

20. Get laser hair removal

21. Watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day

22. Have a romantic weekend away

23. Do 5 random acts of kindness - WIP, February 2013

24. Get a Brazilian Blow Out done on my hair.

25. Wear my goal pants size. - DONE! October 2013. Working on stretch goal size now.

26. Find a yoga class to attend regularly - Done. At work of all places!

27. Take an internet sabbatical (1 month)

28. Get purple highlights

29. Stop biting my nails - done, January 2013

30. Reread the Harry Potter series - WIP, beginning March 2013

31. Be an extra in a film

32. Attend a music festival

33. Attend the midnight premiere of a movie

34. Actually attend my graduation ceremony - registered to attend/walk DONE!

35. Throw Ken an amazeballs 40th birthday party - PLANNING! Done. :)

36. Make Valentines Day Wedding Anniversary 2013 into an event - This had to be adjusted. WIP, still. Included in Ken's birthday bash. DONE!

37. Donate hair to Locks of Love - growing my hair out.

38. Do ACL as a VIP

39. Get to know my dad

40. Learn Spanish - WIP

41. Learn Italian

42. Get a passport

43. Give flowers to someone

44. Give a 100% tip

45. Cook a three course meal - researching course options - April 2013

46. Ask 20 friends to suggest one book, and read them all - WIP 1/4/2013

47. Visit Miami.

48. Go back to NYC

49. Have a spa day

50. Dress up for Halloween - planning

51. Make Christmas cards for my friends and family

52. Rewatch Dawson's Creek - WIP

53. Have a '90s theme party

54. Have a slumber party

55. Do some volunteer work

56. Buy a canvas and paint a piece of artwork - Done 2/1/2013
57. Buy a Keurig

58. Attend a wine tasting

59. Attend five author events - Marissa Meyer (2.13.13) - The SWEAT Tour (8.12.13) - ATBF 2013 (9.28.13) - Marissa Meyer (2.17.14) - Ransom Riggs (1.21.14)

60. Get a pedicure

61. Have $10000 in savings - WIP

62. Donate $5 to charity for each task I don’t complete

63. Be pescatarian for a month

64. Have an impromptu overnight trip.

65. Try out Indian food

66. Spring clean and donate or chuck out - Done, Spring 2013

67. Start meditating - Begun 3/3/2014

68. Enroll Bella in a dance class - possibly this summer (2014)

69. Make baked brie

70. Surprise someone with an unexpected gift - Kimber's care package, August 2013

71. Surprise someone with a picnic lunch

72. Go to a movie by myself

73. Make the move to organic produce/foods - WIP

74. Get a puppy

75. Have a kick ass 31st 32nd birthday party 

76. Visit Nashville again - planning

77. Spend an afternoon reading at the park - January 2, 2014 (Arboretum w/Erin & Bella)

78. Complete a 365 day photo challenge - WIP (#fmsphotoaday) Instagram
79. Complete a 1000 piece puzzle - Purchased Van Gogh's "Starry Night"

80. Begin the writing of one of the entries on my Writer's Bucket List

81. Whiten my teeth

82. Learn how to knit or crochet - Done! Loom Knitting, November 2013.

83. Spend a day in silence

84. Spend a day exploring my city

85. Make homemade baskets of goodies for Christmas - planning

86. Try 15 new restaurants-- Tomo sushi, Thai Cuisine, Frank, Kohnami, Gloria's, North, Full English, Homeslice Pizza, HopDoddy Burger Bar, Banger's Sausage House and Beer Garden, Golden Wok, The Brass House, Peche, Tortuga Flats (14/15)

87. Spend a weekend away with Bella

88. Have a weekend away with my girls

89. See a musical - Wicked, March 1, 2014!

90. Wear false eyelashes - Done! (Vicki's wedding, 4/13)

91. Be able to do 100 sit ups - WIP

92. Keep a “My Day in Six Words” journal for 6 months - WIP (January 2013)

93. Watch all of the James Bond movies - started!

94. Send a secret to PostSecret

95. Go to a symphony

96. Bake something with Bella (from scratch) - Beignets, June 1, 2014!

97. Buy a throwback bathing suit

98. Wear a dress or skirt every day for a week

99. Go see the bats

100. Write a handwritten letter to someone

101. See Mumford & Sons in concert (again)