I pledge....

* to finish recapping my "25 things to do before I turn 26" list

*to show you guys some of the awesome stuff we've done this year (a 2009 recap is an excellent way to finally catch up on everything I've meant to blog about!)

*to finish my "26 things to do before I turn 27" list and share it with you all

...the time for blog neglection is over!!!!!!

# 20

FANCY FRIDAYS!!!!

Fancy Fridays were born after I got tired of "Casual Friday." Casual Friday used to be awesome, because you could wear more comfortable clothes (khakis, polos, etc). But often, I found that "Casual Friday" would end up feeling like "Frumpy Friday," and it was easy to justify not trying as hard to look professional. So, to combat that, Fancy Fridays were born!!

My fabulous ladies Courtney and Melinda have joined me in our Fancy Friday festivities, and let me tell you, it makes a difference! :)

Yay for feeling fancy, not frumpy!!

#14

At work, we have a competition known as the Ei3 program (don't ask me what it means, I don't remember). You are ranked individually, and as a branch, based on your completion of your annual goals. Every month we get an update of where we stand, and then at the end of the year the winners get prizes and a big dinner, etc. Well, back in February we found out that my branch (woot N Delta!!) was one of two finalists for Branch of the Year, along with our Pioneer branch (way to go Lane County!!). What did that mean for us? It meant a party!!! We went on a swanky dinner cruise in Portland aboard the Crystal Dolphin, where there was food and dinner and music and an all around good time. And, fantastically enough, it was a chance for me to accomplish something on The List: #14, find an occasion to wear my little black dress. So here you have it, me looking about as fancy as I get :)

On the charter bus ride to Portland

Melinda and I are on a boat! :)

I'm hoping to get more pictures soon, and if so I will post them, but in the meantime, here's a little hint of a great evening, and one more thing I've checked off :)

#24 and #16

Our Anniversary Cruise
(fulfilling #24 and #16 on The List)

For our 1st anniversary, Sean and I took a week long cruise on board the Norwegian Majesty. We sailed from Charleston, SC to the Bahamas, Florida, and then back.

Welcome aboard "The Awkward Ship"

You know how Carnival is "The Fun Ship?" Well, they mean it! We took a cruise on a Carnival boat for our honeymoon, and had a blast. Norwegian?? They're The Awkward Ship.
Anything to do with this boat was awkward. To start with, the Embarkation was crazy. Typically you pull up to a terminal, like an airport, drop off your luggage, go through security, get your room keys, and head to the boat. But Charleston has apparently never heard of such a thing. You get in your car (if you're lucky it's a taxi, don't drive your own car) and drive to the port, where you will sit in a line that is AT LEAST 6 blocks long, through the run down industrial part of town. At least in taxi's you have an express line, if you have your car you wait in an even longer line to get into the parking lot. But really, the whole thing is a parking lot. A run down, dusty, abandoned "bodies are probably stashed here" type lot. They don't let you out of the car until they see your passport and luggage tags, then you toss your bags into some unmarked cart, walk across the dusty open lot to a bus, and they drive you the 100 yards to the warehouse where you will go through security. It was SO weird.
The awkwardness didn't stop there:
We had a room with a window, which was neat, but the furniture was set up in such a way that you had to climb across the bed to get in and out of the room... awkward. This is the view out of our window though, I think we're still in Charleston?? Maybe not...
Norwegian believes in "Freestyle Cruising" which means you can eat in any of the dining rooms whenever you want, and can have your own table, no eating with strangers
necessary! We decided to try it out our first night, and the dining room was really
formal, even though it was the "casual dining room." The waiter got upset when we
only wanted one appetizer and no dessert and kept bringing it up over and over. Awkward.
Most of our experiences on the boat fell under the "awkward" category. The staff was unfriendly, the food wasn't all that great, and (through no fault of the cruise line) we hit storms, which made me sea sick (yay!) and it was just all around weird. Needless to say, we won't be cruising on Norwegian again.

Off The Boat

Although the mode of transportation wasn't all that enjoyable, the travel part of the cruise was amazing. Anytime we weren't on the boat was a great time!! Now, what you've all been waiting for: PICTURES!!!

Great Stirrup Cay
This island is owned by Norwegian. We spent the day snorkeling, hanging out with a couple we met, getting sunburned, and mocking some over confident college kids.

Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau was amazing!! It is the capital city of the Bahamian Islands. We took a tour of the city, visited two old British forts, went to a Pirate Museum, and then wandered around the city.

Ft Charlotte

Nassau Harbor

Grand Bahama Island
On Grand Bahama, we spent the day at Lucayan National Park. We toured some underground caves and then went to the beach before heading to a local place for lunch, where Sean tried conch for lunch (yep, like a conch shell. It's the muscle inside).

Ben's Cave

Mangrove swamps between the caves and the beach

The most beautiful beach in the whole world!!

Cape Canaveral, Florida
Our last day in ports was spent in Florida, where we got the chance to visit Sean's grandparents. I had never met them, so it was great to be able to spend the day with them! They are wonderful people and we had a great time. We went down to the beach, went shopping, hung out on the Cocoa Beach pier, and pretty much just spent the day getting to know each other better. We had lunch on the beach, and dinner at this restaurant down by our cruise ship terminal (because this was a normal port, not Charleston! lol)

All in all, it was a good vacation, but we were happy to get home (even though we spent 18 hours in airports and planes on the way home, and we all know how I feel about THAT!).

Happy Anniversary to us!!

#25

Meet our Lemon Tree!! I've named her about a million times, but nothing's stuck, so if you have a suggestion, let me know :) Right now she lives on the kitchen counter, but once we've passed "the first full moon in April" (ominous, right???) she can live outside and start producing fruit! I'm really excited, if everything goes well I'll probably get a lime tree too :)

#7

While in Portland this weekend, Sean and I saw Movin Out at the Keller Auditorium. Not only did we enjoy a fantastic performance, but we crossed #7 off The List. Rock on Broadway Across America, rock on.

For those who are unfamiliar, Movin Out is a musical set in the 60s and based on the music of Billy Joel, whom we love! I was surprised to find that it was in fact a ballet. There was no dialogue between the performers at all, each scene was a song and it moved quickly from one to the next. The songs were performed by a "Piano Man" sitting in the catwalks above the stage, and his lively band. It was really well choreographed, and the dancers were wonderful, I was really impressed! Highly recommended to any Billy Joel fan!

Opinions needed....

ok, so here's the deal...

we all know (and if you don't you should check this out) that I'm attempting to read our entire first bookcase by the end of August. This is difficult for multiple reasons:

a. we own a trillion books, at least 100 of which live in this bookcase
b. we keep buying more books, which I want to read RIGHT NOW, which makes me want to file them on the 1st bookcase, where there is no more room
c. some (many) of these books are Sean's, and while I salute my husband's taste in literature, I have absolutely NO desire to read large, fat, presumably technical, books about the military

so now I have a dilemma. It seems to me that the only way to get through this is to read every book, starting at the top of the case, and going down. That way I am forced to read every book, and when I can see a book I want a few books away, I'll have incentive to keep reading a more boring book.

sean thinks I should read the books that I want, in any order I want, so long as they come from that bookcase. That way I'll enjoy it, and he doesn't think I'll finish anyway (thanks for the support babe!) so at least I'll get to read what I want first. But I think if I do that I will put off reading all of his books that I don't want to, and will create a miserable end to that project for myself.

so bloggy friends, I need some help! I know many of you are avid readers, which do you think will work best? I just finished one of my new Christmas books, so I want to get started on the project soon. I may read the rest of my Christmas books (there are two more) before I start, so I have time to devise a plan.

anxiously awaiting your words of wisdom,

steph :)

#4

Ok, so they weren't out by the 15th, but I did get Christmas cards out! Not everyone I intended to receive one did, but putting the picture up on the blog counts for something, right? Christmas wishes to the masses? I promise, next year I'll start earlier :)

#8

Saturday night, Sean and I went to Zoo Lights! I love Christmas lights, they are one of my top 5 favorite things (1.husband (and Loki) 2.mashed potatoes 3.shoes 4.Christmas lights 5.lightning storms)!

The Zoo had most of the exhibits closed, so we didn't see a ton of animals, but we did get to see the baby elephant and some dirty sheep and goats.



The lights were amazing, especially the ones on the train and in "Africa"! We ended up not getting ride the train, it was at least an hour wait! If you're gonna be heading up, I recommend getting there at 5, when they open, and heading to the train right away!

For your viewing pleasure:

25 Things To Do Before I Turn 26

Ladies and Gentlemen, The List:
Items in red have been accomplished, click on the number to see a recap!

1. Plant tulips along the front of our house
2. Make my running schedule habit
3. Spend an evening out with my brother
4. Get Christmas cards out before Dec 15th!
5. Plant strawberries in our planter boxes
6. Read Jane Austin
7. See a Broadway Across America show in Portland
8. Go to Zoo Lights
9. Get our recipe book organized
10. Run the Eugene Marathon
11. Read our entire 1st bookcase
12. Become one of the top 10 loan officers in the CU
13. Organize the photos on our computer
14. Find an occasion to wear my little black dress
15. Get a new stamp in my passport
16. Go to the beach
17. Attend Yoga 3 times in one week
18. Take a day off, all for me
19. Start working on my bachelors
20. Establish Fancy Fridays
21. Learn one new recipe a month
22. Go to the airport and watch planes
23. Do my wedding memory book
24. Take a vacation with Sean
25. Buy a lemon tree

Theft for the sake of advancing one's self....

Thanks to my habit of stalking blogs of people I have not talked to in forever (and people I've never met), I have found some lovely direction in my life. Thanks to Amanda Hornibrook, whom I have met and love tons, even if we haven't talked in 7 years, for "shamelessly copying" the List Idea from Andrea, whom I have never met, so that it may also inspire me.

Andrea is a super fantastic photographer/mother/person who lives in Portland, and every year on her birthday she writes a list of things she hopes to accomplish before her next birthday. Big things, little things, fun things, all of those little things you always mean to do and never get around to because life gets in the way. I've decided I don't want life to get away anymore. CJ and I always talk about how hectic things are, how we never have time for the fun little things in life, and I don't want to look back in a year and think "Wow, I wish I had made it to the beach once this year." How can I be so busy that I can't make that happen ONCE in 365 days??? It doesn't make sense to me, and I don't want my life to be that hectic.

So I am composing my own list. I love the list, it makes me happy, it gives me purpose, and it's somewhere to be accountable to myself for the things I want to do. I've never been one for goals, and I've realized that's because I have always been too busy to try and achieve them! But I'm not going to be too busy for myself anymore! Stay tuned for THE LIST, it's sure to be exciting!