So I was reminded by Karen’s post that I haven’t updated my 101 in 1001 in a while. Honestly, it’s because working 2 jobs and being in grad school is VERY time consuming, so I haven’t had a whole lot of time to work on it. I’m also a little sad, because there are several things on my list that I don’t think I’ll be able to do by September. I console myself with the fact that I made this in college with no idea of where I would be in two years, so I had no way of knowing that I would only see my parents for a weekend here or there every four months or so (so how can I possibly #8 “go to concerts with Daddy?”) or that once I left Wake I would lose a lot of my ties to the school (I need the library to #25 “make the Parables DVDs,” but I have to have a current student with me to do that, and most of the people I know have graduated).

All things to keep in mind when I make my new 101 in September (yes, even if I don’t finish this one, I still intend to make a new one, and you may see me revamp some of the current items for the next time). Just because I don’t get finished by the deadline doesn’t mean that a lot of these things aren’t still important to me. And honestly, many of these goals were stretch goals to begin with (see me rationalizing?).

Anyways, back the (very) few that I have completed now!

#34 (Get a pet)- I have two of the most adorable little kittens ever sitting on my bed snuggling with each other. This one is done

(Photo take 5 minutes ago.)

#62 (Switch all lightbulbs to CFLs)- I actually did this when I moved into my new apartment in July
#66 (No more plastic grocery bags - only canvas) - I started doing this last year and actually made a habit of it around New Year’s. Every once and a while I forget to bring my bags in, but not usually.
#91 (Organize recipes) - My recipes are very much more organized now, though I can tell this will be an ongoing effort for me . . .
#95 (Attend 5 year high school reunion) - I wanted to go to my 5 year high school reunion, but I couldn’t go back to FL because of school and work. This made me sad, cause I haven’t even spoken with a lot of my high school friends in YEARS. So . . . I guess I’ll try for the 10 year?

So now I’m more than halfway finished - woo hoo!!! I’ll be honest, I’ve done a lot more than I thought I would! Here’s hoping that I can achieve the rest!

Wow, it really has been a while since I did a WFMW! I thought I’d jump back in with this week’s theme - the “Brand Loyal Edition.” We’re supposed to post about what brands/products we can’t live without. So, here are a few of my favorites!

Starbucks - there’s a reason I love my job. Not only do they make quality products, but they are becoming more socially responsible and they are an AWESOME company to work for (that is not marketing hype - all the rumors you hear about them being a great employer are true).

E. Webscapes - there’s a reason I love my other job too, LOL! I was a very loyal customer for E. Webscapes before I joined them this past spring, and now that I get to work for them every day I see just how much hard work and personal care goes into each design project. Most definitely worth the money!!!

WordPress - it is so freakin’ versatile! If you haven’t experimented with WordPress as a blogging platform (or just a site management too) I SERIOUSLY recommend that you do so. I’ve tried many different platforms, and WP by far outshines them all. You can do so many things with it, and it is super crazy user-friendly. I have 2 blogs run on it, plus I’ve set up blogs for 4 or 5 friends on WP as well. And they are people who don’t know HTML from PHP from voodoo . . . and they love using WP.

Bookcrossing - this site has revolutionized the way that I think about books. I was always taught to hold on to your books since they are such a precious item. I still have great respect from books, and if a book holds special meaning for me or if I REALLY enjoyed it, I will still hold onto it. However, I’ve also learned the joy of sharing books. It’s so awesome to read journal entries as your books travel around and are enjoyed by countless others. And, if that’s not enough incentive, think about how many trees you could save by not printing new books!

Amazon.com - speaking of books, LOL! Amazon is almost ALWAYS my first stop when I’m buying something new. The prices are almost always the cheapest (plus, within 30 days if the price changes you can get back the money you would have saved by using Price Protectr), the reviews are EXTREMELY helpful, and if you join Amazon Prime you get EVERYTHING with free 2 day shipping (yes, there is an upfront fee, but I’ve found that I save way more than that by not paying for shipping or having to bump my order up to $25 for free shipping, and there is the benefit of not waiting a week). I even applied for the Amazon.com credit card, and I use that as my primary card. I get 1 point for every dollar I spend, and once I get to 2,500 points, I get a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com! Since I keep track of my spending like a debit card, it’s not rare for me to see one of these almost every month. AWESOME. Books? Check! DVDs? Check! Canvas grocery bags? Check! New external hard drive? Check! All things I’ve bought (for less) on Amazon.com!

Finding awesome brands that I trust and have proven themselves to me time and again? Works for me!

OK, so there have been rumors going around that Netflix was going to launch a way to watch movies online for its members, and this week it finally launched! Click here to read on Lifehacker how to activate this feature in your Netflix account.

I gave this service a try this weekend and all I’ve got to say is AMAZING! The movies are available 24/7, you can pause, fast forward, all that . . . and since Netflix is doing it, you get the amazing Netflix recommendations as well as a list of what movies are available to “Watch Now” from your Queue.

The only thing that isn’t perfect is the fact that the selection isn’t massive, but with my past experiences with Netflix, I know this won’t be the case for long. Yet one more reason why Netflix rocks my socks!

Movies available IMMEDIATELY, no wait time necessary! Already included in your membership! No wasted paper, gasoline, or money for mailing DVDs back and forth! Right on Netflix, this sooooooooo works for me!

By the way, in case there was any suspicion, I am NOT getting paid to say this - I just really like Netflix!

I’ve been working hard on cleaning my closet - and since I’m going to Florida on Monday, I have to get done before the deadline! If you don’t see much of me, just imagine me covered in dust, knee deep in accumulated STUFF.

Also, cross off #54 on my 101 in 1001. Using a neat program called Collectorz and an el cheapo barcode scanner I got on eBay, I finished entering all my DVDs into a database. Now I actually know what I have!

Don’t forget to ASK ME QUESTIONS! I’ve gotten some really good ones in the past few days, so I’m going to answer these at the end of the week. So hurry and get yours in!