Happy New Year!

It has been quite a bit since I've posted on this blog or even updated my 1001 list. So since it is a new year, I figured I should start out on the right foot with an update from 2009. So here are the items that were completed in 2009.

1. Visit New England (Boston)

Kevin and I flew up to Boston for an amazing wedding over Memorial Day- yes I realize that was a loooong time ago. Our good friends Scott (who went to high school with Kevin) and Lisa (who we've known since college when her and Scott started dating) tied the knot. We had a great time exploring Boston, or just really Faneuil Hall since that is where we spent most of our time. The highlights (besides the wedding) definitely were eating dim sum in China town and touring the Sam Adams brewery.

7. Go in the ocean and actually enjoy myself
19. Go to a museum and look at it at Kevin's pace
21. Go to the NC beach for a weekend

This summer Kevin and I randomly decided to spend a week down on the Outer Banks. Both of us would have never considered ourselves "beach people", but we figured we must be missing something so we gave it a shot... and LOVED it! We rented a great beach house at Kill Devil Hills which we shared with Rudy, my parents and friends. We all had a great time! And I actually not only got into the water, but really did have a good time. We also toured Roanoke Island with my parents. And I actually went through the Roanoke Adventure Museum at Kevin's pace only because there wasn't so much to see, but it still counts! I have a feeling a week at the Outer Banks will be a summer tradition!

9. Go to Westminster Choir College Readings and Carols

Due to the project that I've been working on in 2009, I wasn't able to take any significant vacation around Christmas. Therefore, we decided to invite Kevin's parents to Princeton so we could go see Readings and Carols. It is nice being back in Princeton again- that is where Kevin and I got married for those of you who don't know. We went to dinner at the Chinese restaurant where we had our rehearsal dinner- yum! And then headed over to the concert, which was amazing as usual. I'm not really sure the next time we'll be able to get up to Princeton during December for the concert, so it was nice to be able to check this one off the list!

14. Go to the ballet
18. Attend a Hurricanes hockey game

These next items can be checked off due to the perks of working for a large company. Frequently we are offered tickets to various shows and games since we have boxes at both DPAC and the RBC Center. Kevin and I did go to a ballet, which was disappointing since we didn't realize it was the children's matinee. Therefore it only consisted of about 20 minutes of dancing and the rest of the hour was made up of stretching and questions from the kids. We also won tickets to see the Hurricanes. Surprisingly, I love going to hockey games. It is just so much fun to watch! Hopefully, we'll be able to make it back to a few more games this year!

16. Go to a drive-in movie theater

This summer we (including Rudy) ventured to the Raleigh Road Drive-In theater in Henderson. For $5 a piece (Rudy was free), we got to see Up! and A Night at the Museum 2. Both movies were great although they ran late since they couldn't start until it was dark. Rudy had a great time except for those scary lawn chairs the people next to us brought! He is such a goof!

22. Go to Angus Barn to celebrate something

Our realtor Becky invited us out to dinner at Angus Barn to celebrate Klemm (Kevin's best friend) buying his first place and to thank us for our referrals. We absolutely love our realtor because she is so much fun to hang out with and because she knows her stuff when it comes to homes. She is just great! The dinner was quite delicious, so I'm sure we'll be going back there in the future for more celebrations!

28. Try 10 new foods (10/10)

I was worried how I would be able to complete this one, but luckily Kevin and I were in an Ethnic Supper Club this fall. Our supper club ate at Lebanese- we weren't able to go :-(, Indian, Korean and Caribbean. Between the dim sum in Boston and the various side dishes at the Korean place, I have definitely tried my 10 new foods, despite not completely knowing what they are!

36. Get a physical
38. Get my eyes dilated

I am quite proud that I was very proactive with my health in 2009 (and hopefully future years). I got a yearly physical, where I was labelled "healthy". For those who know my odd medical past, this was quite an accomplishment! And I got over my phobia of getting my eyes dilated. Everything looked good and it wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought!

58. Read a book for personal enjoyment

While I had a break from my classes this summer, I read Lipstick Jungle. It was a pretty good book and surprisingly I did enjoy myself while reading it. I think once I get through my MBA, I could definitely see doing some more reading for pleasure. But it is just too much with all of my textbook reading.

78. Buy and use reusable grocery bags

My first reusable bag was purchased from Eddie Bauer. It is a super cute print that folds into a little pouch. I kept this in my purse for quite a while before remembering to actually use it. Now we have expanded our collection with reusable grocery bags from Trader Joes. Random side note: Trader Joe's is one of the most heavenly places on earth. Hooray for ethnic food and cheap wine!!

95. Make 10 local friends (10/10)
99. Have an awesome dinner party
100. Invite entire court to a party

Kevin and I have really expanded our local network of friends this year. We have thrown a ton of parties and hosted quite a few dinner parties (between supper club and just having over various friends). We have technically invited the entire court to a few parties since they were open to everyone in our neighborhood. However, we won't ever personally invite the entire court since we have realized there are a few "crazies". Ha! There are always a few in every neighborhood and unfortunately they have to be on our court!