Thursday, December 30, 2010

Twenty Ten in Review

So I was pretty sure my last post would be the last one for this year but then I came across  a post on Can You Pixel This? that reviewed 2010 via blog topics and posts. What a cleaver idea I thought!

So here is my past year in review via my two blogs...

January









Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Saying Goodbye to 2010

Sorry for my lack of posting this month. It has been crazy busy and I will have so much to catch up on posting about here. But for now I wanted to take a quick moment to reflect on this past year and all that was accomplished.

YEAR-END SURVEY 2010

1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
Got married.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't do resolutions but I do plan to accomplish most of my 22 before 22 list in 2011.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes a couple friends from the valley did and another is pregnant with twins :)
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My great-grandma dies two days before 2010 and Luke's grandma died early in January.
5. What countries did you visit?
Mexico 
6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
A skinny waistline :)
7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 29th - The day I vowed to spend the rest of my life with my best friend :)
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Being a fairly decent wife.
9. What was your biggest failure?
NaNoWriMo
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just the generic cold/flu
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Our Honeymoon in Veracruz!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Luke's - for snagging a great job and graduating college. Lani's - for organizing her affairs to spend next summer in Greece. 
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I'm not passive-aggressive enough to answer that question :P 
14. Where did most of your money go?
The Wedding and Rent.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The Wedding, my new job, and Polaroid's PoGo Instant Mobile Printer
16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga's and the On The Rocks University of Oregon version.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
- happier or sadder? happier since this time last year was really emotional because my great-grandma passed away on the 28th.
- richer or poorer? richer
- thinner or fatter? fatter :( I hate the newlywed 15!
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Exercise and healthy eating
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Time Wasting
20. How did you spend the holidays?
Don't celebrate but spent the time off with my family.
21. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Already was in love by the start of the year.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
Psych and Big Bang Theory.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No.
24. What was the best book you read?
Shug by Jenny Han, The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott, and Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
25. What was your favorite film of this year?
Despicable Me! and Megamind was pretty good too :) 
26. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Comfy Eclectic
27 Whom did you miss?
My family and friends in the valley and Lani. 
28. Who was the best new person you met?
Too many to mention individually but there's some great new Dallas/Terrell peeps in my life :)
29. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.
That I need to constantly combat negative feeling so that I can stay positive an upbeat in my life :)

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

A Whirlwind Boston Weekend Getaway Itinerary

So I got to thinking this morning that instead of waiting to take a week long New England trip next fall when Luke get's his time off. Why not take a weekend trip in the summer. This is just an idea and probably won't happen but I decided to come up with an itinerary of what all we could do if Luke took the Friday and Monday off from work...



In advance we would buy 2 1-Day Go Boston Cards for $50 a person. This will save a ton of money on various tours and give us the option to do other stuff to. We'd also need to download and print a copy of the Freedom Trail Map.

So here is the schedule of events:

Fly in Thursday night after work

Friday:
Wake up early and drive down to Boston and park under the Boston Common
Spend day walking the Freedom Trail while listening to MP3 Tour ($15) and riding the Beantown Trolly (free with Go Card - $29 savings per person) 
The Trail includes the following historical stops:
USS Constitution (free with Go Card - $4 savings per person) 
Detour for a stop at Mike's Pastry 
The Paul Revere House (free with Go Card - $3.50 savings per person) 
Faneuil Hall - Eat Lunch (historic talks ever 30 mins)
Old State House (free with Go Card - $7.50 savings per person) 
Old South Meeting House (free with Go Card - $6 savings per person) 
The State House (call in advance for scheduled free tour) 
The Boston Common (15 min Swan Boat ride - free with Go Card - $2.75 savings per person)
After completing the trail, return to the North End for an early dinner.
After dinner head over to the Museum of Fine Arts for a quick tour before it closes at 9:45 (free with Go Card - $20+ savings per person) 
After museum head back to Beacon St for a drink and snack at Cheers 

Saturday:
Wake up and have breakfast at Parker's Maple Barn  
Have a casual morning in Nashua/Hudson
Grab lunch at Wally's 
Have a free evening with friends

Sunday:
Go to Hudson's meeting
Have lunch with friends
Head down to Rockport/ Glouchester to spend the afternoon and evening

Monday:
Wake up and head back down to Boston to tour Fenway Park ($12/per person) 
Tour Samuel Adams Brewery ($2/per person) 
Catch afternoon flight home


I love this schedule because it includes most of the main things I either loved doing or always wanted to do when I lived in New England. The only thing I might consider adding is heading down to Cambridge to stroll around Harvard a little. And with the Go Boston Cards we will end up saving at least $45 on all our tours not counting the restaurant discounts that come with it.


What summer vacations do you have planned?

Monday, December 6, 2010

Chronicle Books Friends & Family Sale

Chronicle Books has decided to reach out to bloggers to offer them a special friends and family discount. That's right, all my readers can get 35% off plus free shipping on any order from Chronicle Books until December 12th. Pretty exciting, right?

Simply enter the promo code FRIENDS at checkout to receive you discount.

Happy shopping!

And don't forget to comment on my Book Haul post for a chance to win my entire book wish list valued at $500.