30x30 a little over a month to go...

Dang. I'm not sure if I did anything since my last post on this! But my sister brought up my 30x30 and I realized that I better get going.

Here we go:

I'm not doing so hot on this 30 x 30 thing! But I have 6 months to finish...

Here's what's left:

1) Run a half marathon - DONE!

 
2) Watch the Star Wars Trilogy - DONE!

3) Learn a foreign language - So I have decided on Spanish. I've bought a few books and just found out last night that my brother in law has Rosetta Stone and said I can borrow it when he's done!! I really need to learn Spanish because in the last few weeks I've had a few Spanish only speaking patients. I know a lot of the basics now with medical words. I've learned pain and eat, drink, etc. but I have a LONG way to go. But I'm working on it. As long as I'm working on it before I'm 30 I'm going to count it.

4) Have 2 of my 4 children - DONE!

5) Take up golf - This is going to be hard now that it's freezing, but we'll continue to work on it.

6) Write a short story - In progress...

7) Complete an indoor triathlon - DONE!

8) Watch Gone with the Wind - DONE! 

9) Watch the Godfather - DONE!

10) Play in a poker tournament at a casino - I talked to my brother in law last night about this one. We might go to a casino soon so hopefully I can knock this off my list. :)

11) Decorate the kids rooms - This will be done around Christmas! We decided to get the kids bunk beds for Christmas so when we pull everything out to do that, I'm going to paint and get some stuff for the walls.

12) Shoot a gun - DONE! I went to a shooting course with my neighbor Jeff. I wasn't any good at it. At all honestly. But I shot a gun and can cross it off my list. And I don't need to do it again. :) 

13) Go back to school - DONE!

14) Learn to drive a stick shift - Must do...

15) Learn to french braid hair - DONE!

16) Get into cooking - We are sticking to our budget and cooking at home so this is happening. Not done yet because we aren't consistent enough but it's beginning to become consistent. We'll call this "in progress".

17) Finish entertainment center - DONE!

18) Register to vote in St. Louis City - DONE!

19) Consistently dedicate one night a month to a date night - Tonight we're going on a double date with my sister...we'll count this for November...

20) Start a savings account - DONE! I've had a savings account with little money in it but now Nick's name is on the account and we're going to start having a portion of Nick's paycheck go to this. So it's starting small, but hey, it's starting. And I'm counting it.

21) Make my own recipe - yeah, I've been slacking on this. Will work on it...

22) Go back to Signature Room in Chicago - Maybe for my 30th??

23) Go on a family vacation with my whole family - This is still the case: We have this one planned!!! Unfortunately it's planned for a few months after I turn 30, but it's before I'm thirty one so I'm counting it.

24) Start college funds for the kids - Ok, yeah must do...

25) Consistently have a clean house -Just got done scrubbing the kitchen and doing all the dishes after breakfast. I'm definitely better at this. Just have to keep it up.

26) Get into exercising 3x a week - Thinking of canceling weight watchers and joining a gym. I'm so used to being up at night now that it's hard for me to ever get out. I don't want to go running at midnight outside and I have Gretchen with me every day at home. If I joined a gym I could use their babysitting or go at night if I join a 24 hour gym. So that's my plan.

27) Reach my goal weight -Weight watchers isn't working for me this time. I'm addicting to food and wasting $42.95 a month. So I'm canceling weight watchers. And like 26 said, I'm thinking of joining a gym. That will help. So will eating at home. So I think this one is doable.

28) Finish my brewery quest - 1/3 of the way there. 5 down, 10 to go. I can do it!!!!

29) Read the Lord of the Rings trilogy - This one might not be done before I turn 30 but if I get one down or at least am getting into it before 30, I'll count it...

30) Become a nurse!! - DONE DONE DONE!!!

13 done, 8 in progress and 9 to get started/done. We're getting closer. :) As always I'll keep you posted. 47 days to go!

Brewery #3 - Ferguson Brewing Company

This week I tackled another brewery: Ferguson Brewing Company. I was lucky enough to get a sitter (my parents live near there) so Nick could come too. We got a small group of people to go and had a blast!

I hadn't eaten much that day so I made sure to eat a good meal while we were there too. I highly recommend their beer cheese soup. Their crawfish Po' Boy, not so much. Just being honest.

But the beer was pretty good! I think this whole brewery quest with me grading the breweries etc is a bad idea. I'm not gonna lie, I like beer. So automatically everyone basically gets at least a C+. Give me a decent beer and you're an automatic B. But this is part of a quest, so grade I will.

I did two beer flights while there. The first one had the following beers:

Oatmeal Stout: I'm a fan of stouts. I like coffee stout, oatmeal stout, whatever stout! This was a pretty good one. Not my favorite, but definitely good.

Pale Ale: Like I just said, these can be boring and I had to say it, but this one kind of was. I'd much rather have a Schlafly Pale Ale than this one.

Pecan Brown Ale: I like pecan ales. They are just different enough. Pale ales can be boring, so this adds a little something.

Belgian Wit: This was a good beer. I really liked this one. It had a slightly fruity flavor, like most wheats and I liked it. One of my favorites.

The second flight I did had the following:

Seasonal: Pumpkin Ale: ordinarily I love anything pumpkin. Not kidding. ANYTHING pumpkin. Lattes, candy, and especially beer. But this beer disappointed me. Not a fan of this. :(

Golden Blonde: A VERY light beer. Too light for me. I like a little more flavor to my beer. It was a hit at the table I think but not for me. 

Seasonal: Octoberfest: Now this was a hit. I like Sam Adams Octoberfest and I wasn't sure if this one would hold up but it did for me. I liked it. Another one of my favorites.

Hefeweisen: The last beer and the last of my favorites. I love Hefeweisen beers. From anywhere really and this one also didn't disappoint.

You can see on this one that there are two flights. Jim copied me (or I copied him, I really don't remember who ordered first) but it was completely unintentional. We just happened to order the exact same thing.

Overall I had a great time with the people and the location but it wasn't that fantastic for me. The beers were good but not great and while I loved my soup, the rest of my meal was sub par and took forever to come to the table.

Me and two of my favorite girls being goofy.

I give the Ferguson Brewing Company a B-. I'd go back but I'm not in any hurry.

Routines

It's taking us awhile but I think we're finally getting into our routines. All of us. Life is a little crazy around this house most of the time but in a good way.

Dominick is in his new school and doing very well. It will be one month tomorrow. I'm so happy for him and love that he's learning so many things every day. I don't even mind doing homework with him because it means he's learning. He has friends and it seems like he's adjusting extremely well. My big boy is SO big!!

Annabelle has been in her school for about a month and a half. She's doing great too. When I drop her off now, she gives me a hug, then a kiss, then another kiss, then she waves goodbye and she's off. Breaks my heart a little but she's happy and that's all that matters. Her speech has improved but definitely still has room to improve so we're keeping an eye on it. We'll probably go to a place and get another evaluation done but I'm happy for her and happy that I'm understanding more every day.

Gretchen is ONE now!?! Holy cow this past year has flown. She's doing so many things. She can take about 3-4 steps at a time and I'm so proud of that big girl too! She's babbling all the time and for the most part a happy baby. She is definitely a mama's girl. More so than any of the other kids. If she can see me, and I'm not holding her, she's screaming for me. If she can't see me, she's fine. But I better not be in the same room. She goes to a sitter 1-2 days a week and to my mom's maybe one day a week and the rest of the time she's home with me. We're learning how to get things accomplished and still have fun at home. It's a work in progress.

Nick is pretty settled in at his new job. I think he's doing well. He's putting in a lot of time and effort so I hope he's doing well! He's been pretty stressed trying to make sure everything is perfect but I think he's settling in.

I am done with orientation!! I am officially an RN on my own! Yay!!! I go to work tonight and get to do everything on my own and I'm thrilled! I love what I do and I especially love getting to do it without a shadow, no offense to my preceptors!!

Nick's mom is helping us in our routine. When I work at night, I don't get home until 8 am the next day. Nick leaves for work at 6:20 so we have an hour and forty minute gap with no child care. She's been coming over in the morning and helping out. It's been amazing. I hope she doesn't get too tired of it!! Because we need her and love her and appreciate it a TON.

All in all, we are getting there. Just in time for fall. My second favorite time of year (after March madness, of course!).

Oh fall. That's another post all by itself.

But we're getting there. On another note, now that we're getting into a routine, I only have 4 more months on my 30 x 30...better get to work! :)

Happy Wednesday!!

Third Weigh In

Not a great number but it's still going down.

Lost .6 lbs this week. Not a good week but like I said, anything going DOWN is good. So I'll jump back on the wagon and try to do better next week.

Yuck, this is a long process. But it's worth it! Just 20.8 lbs to go! :)

Second Weigh in

I was so bad this week. SO bad. I started at a new job and went through orientation where they give you food. I went out to Schlafly with my future sister in law and drank beer and ate pretzels and pizza. I ate ice cream. I was bad.

But even though I did all of those things, I still tried to eat better or eat less of the bad stuff. I only ate 1 pretzel and 2 pieces of pizza instead of 2 pretzels and 3 pieces. I ate a snack size McFlurry instead of a regular. And I made healthy dinners.

Somehow, I even managed to lose weight. I lost 2 lbs this week making my total 6.2 lbs lost. So I hit my first goal! And my second one is less than 3 lbs away. I'm going to be VERY good this week and hit that goal. I'm very proud of how this is going. I'm making it a lifestyle and not being too hard on myself and it's working. I'm even slowly getting back into exercising.

Yay for weight watchers and yay for my goals!! :) 5 1/2 months and counting!

Weight watchers...AGAIN

So I broke down and joined weight watchers again. I know there are a million losing weight apps out there but they weren't working for me. I'm too stubborn. I need the accountability that weighing in at a weight watchers facility gives me. Someone else is going to see my weight. And I'm going to have a little book with a record of it. I MUST lose weight for those reasons alone!

So I joined on the 7th. I did my first official weigh in on the 9th. One week ago today. I weighed 182.4. Yikes. The highest "healthy" weight for my height is 169.0. So here are my goals (because if you know me at all, you know I like lots of small goals so I feel accomplished):

1) Let's start easy, 5 lbs. It's doable and a good number and makes me feel better about myself.
2) 5% of my body weight lost - so 9 lbs. So that would have me weighing in at 173.4. That's a good goal because it's close to that healthy range and it's halfway to 10% which has a TON of health benefits.
3) Getting to that healthy range of 169.0
4) 10% of my body weight lost - so 18 lbs and weighing in at 164.4.
And my last goal is: 5) Weighing 155-160. That's my goal range. The technical healthy range for my height is 135-169 but I think 155-160 is much more realistic for me.

So here we go. Today is my first weigh in. I'm going in 20 minutes. Hopefully I at least lost a lb! I've been sticking to it for the most part (who doesn't have cheat days?).

Last night I made an AMAZING meal from the weight watchers website. I'm going to share it here so I always have it. It was SO good and SO easy and I loved it. Nick probably didn't, but he'll survive. :)

It's chicken, tomato and basil packets!

You take a piece of foil and spray it with cooking spray. Then place one 4 oz piece of chicken in the center. Spread 1/4 tsp of minced garlic on the chicken. Then top with 1/8 tsp of each salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1 tsp of olive oil over the chicken and add 1/2 cup of grape tomatoes and 1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves around the chicken (or on top if they will stay). Fold the short ends of the foil up and fold over twice to make a good seal. Then fold the sides with a double fold to create another seal. Just make sure there is enough space in the packet for steam. Bake in an oven set to 450 degrees for 30 minutes. Be careful when opening because there's a lot of steam in there and it will be hot!

The chicken is So juicy and tender and just plain fantastic! And each packet is only 5 points!! I made those and cut up a cantaloupe, make some mixed veggies and had a salad (dressing on the side). Delicious and low in points. Loved it.

I think this is my time to finally hit my goal weight. My 30th is looming and I know I want to hit that goal weight before then. I have just under 6 months. I KNOW I can do it.

Granite City Brewing Company

Well one brewery down, just 14 to go!!

Some wonderful friends joined me for my first brewery in my quest. Abbie, Jim, Michelle and Ashley joined me at Granite City Brewing Company in Creve Coeur. I thought it was great!

First things first, I did a beer sampler platter. Four of their signature beers AND four of their seasonal beers for $3.95. And they are 5 oz samples. Um, Yes please! Good price, good drinks. I liked it.

I'm going to break down the beers as I liked them in case anyone ever goes there or in case I go back and forget how great some of them were. :)

The beer sampler!

1) Northern Light Lager - a little too light for me. It was the closest thing to Bud Light and I didn't like that. I know a lot of my friends liked it but I'd rather have more craft beer flavor in my beer.

2) Duke of Wellington India Pale Ale - I'm not normally a fan of IPA's, but this one was pretty good. It was a little hoppy for me, but good flavor overall.

3) Brother Benedict's Bock - This was a pretty good beer! Again, not my absolute favorite, but better than I thought it was going to be. I got a little nervous of the color. (It's a little dark and I love wheats and white ales so I was nervous, but it was good).

4) A double IPA that I didn't get the name of... - I was expecting to hate this. I LOVED it. I thought it was really good. Not my favorite but top 3 for sure.

5) A blend between the Northern Light and the Brother Benedict's Bock - This was ok. More flavor than just the Northern Light but again, just ok in my opinion. Which was a shame, because I loved the Bock but the Northern Light just brought it down.

6) A seasonal unfiltered wheat - #1. I loved this. It had such great flavor. Almost citrus-y without any fruit added. I wish I knew the name, but they just told me it was a seasonal wheat. I see they have the Whag's American Wheat on their menu so maybe this isn't seasonal and they were confused?? Hopefully because I'd love to try it again!

7) A white ale - Again, I love a white ale. Blue Moon, Shock Top, White Rascal, love those beers. This was a good beer, but nothing compared to the Wheat.

8) A blend between the Duke of Wellington India Pale Ale and the Northern Light - This was decent. But since I didn't love the IPA and I didn't love the Northern Light, it was just ok in my book.

Overall, good beer sampler (can't beat that price!) and everyone else liked the food (I didn't eat since I started weight watchers and was using all my points on beer!). I give this brewery a B+.

Here are a few pics of the night:

 The menu at GC Brewery

 My sampler - what a deal right?!?!

Me enjoying a nice sample. :)

One down and 14 to go. Hopefully going to hit up Urban Chestnut in a few weeks. Can't wait!!

St. Louis Breweries - The NEW Quest!

Here's a list of breweries I found on google...

Urban Chestnut
Six Row
Morgan Street Brewery
Anheuser Busch
Buffalo Brewing C
Four Hands Brewing Co
Schlafly Bottleworks
Civil Life Brew
Kirkwood Station Brewing Co
Alpha Brewing Co
Perennial Artisan Ales
Granite City Food and Brewery
Ferguson Brewing Co
Trailhead Brewing Co
Square One Brewery


And here's the list of the TOP ST. LOUIS BREWERIES:

Anheuser Busch
Schlafly Bottleworks
Square One Brewery
Urban Chestnut Brewing
Morgan Street Brewery
Six Row Brewing
Buffalo Brewing


So that being said, I think this should definitely be my new list to conquer. 15 breweries on the first list and 7 of them listed as the top of St. Louis. Who's coming with me?!?! I bet each one offers a 'flight' and I can try a flight at each one. I'm game.

This above list, the list of 15, is my new quest. And I'm really excited about it actually!!

30 x 30 - 6 months to go...

I'm not doing so hot on this 30 x 30 thing! But I have 6 months to finish...

Here's what's left:

1) Run a half marathon - DONE!

 
2) Watch the Star Wars Trilogy - DONE!

3) Learn a foreign language - bought a book...working on it. ;)

4) Have 2 of my 4 children - DONE!

5) Take up golf - This has been a weird summer to try this! Rain, rain, rain, 100 degrees...rain, rain, rain. Plus with the three kids, this is harder, but I have 6 months. We'll see!

6) Write a short story - In progress...

7) Complete an indoor triathlon - DONE!

8) Watch Gone with the Wind - DONE! And I loved it!!

9) Watch the Godfather - DONE!

10) Play in a poker tournament at a casino - still need to do this. I can do this anytime really...just need to practice a bit and go do it!

11) Decorate the kids rooms - Need to do this still. Again, an easy one, just have to do it.

12) Shoot a gun - DONE! I went to a shooting course with my neighbor Jeff. I wasn't any good at it. At all honestly. But I shot a gun and can cross it off my list. And I don't need to do it again. :) 

13) Go back to school - DONE!

14) Learn to drive a stick shift - Tonight was another reason why I need to do this. SOON

15) Learn to french braid hair - DONE-ish...needs a little work but does look like a french braid!

16) Get into cooking - With some extra time off now, this is in progress.

17) Finish entertainment center - DONE!

18) Register to vote in St. Louis City - DONE!

19) Consistently dedicated one night a month to a date night - Haven't done this yet but think July is a great month to start.

20) Start a savings account - Starting this as soon as I get my first paycheck as a nurse. :)

21) Make my own recipe - Still must do this...

22) Go back to Signature Room in Chicago - This is looking more and more like it won't happen, but maybe!!

23) Go on a family vacation with my whole family - We have this one planned!!! Unfortunately it's planned for a few months after I turn 30, but it's before I'm thirty one so I'm counting it.

24) Start college funds for the kids - Again, starting with the first big girl paycheck.

25) Consistently have a clean house - Getting MUCH better about this!! I'll call this in progress.

26) Get into exercising 3x a week - Am exercising, just not 3 times a week. Working on it.

27) Reach my goal weight -Been trying on my own but I just can't do it. I succumb to temptation too easily. Re-joining weight watchers and I KNOW that will help.

28) Try every beer on the list at Growlers - Growler's closed...so now I'm not sure what to do. I like the idea of drinking being on my list though. :) So I think I'm going to do a brewery list. I'll make that another post, but try to have a drink at each of the breweries in St. Louis. There are a LOT so this will be fun I think. Or make a "golf" pub crawl. Try to go to 9 bars in a day. Drink 1-2 drinks at each one. Make those the "holes". Maybe? No? I'm crazy? We'll figure something out.

29) Read the Lord of the Rings trilogy - Dang, still working on this.

30) Become a nurse!! - DONE DONE DONE!!!

Obviously this is going to be some work still, but I'm definitely working on it. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. 

 

12 done and just 18 to go. 

 

Maybe I can change it to 30 things I do before my 31st birthday and I'm still 30? Maybe that will count?!? Something to think about...

New Approach to food

I was talking to my sister on Saturday night and she was telling me about something she is trying for her and her family. Well, maybe her kids are doing it?? At least she and her husband are doing it. It's a new approach to eating and food in general. It's supposed to make you feel better and make the most of your meals, while lowering cholesterol, etc.

So I'm trying it.

You eat vegan for 2 meals a day (usually breakfast and lunch) and you can eat whatever you want for dinner. Also, you eliminate all processed foods.

It's tough! But I did it yesterday and I really did feel better and I liked it. So I'm back trying it today. I had some oatmeal that I made (not instant, but rolled oats) and some raisins for breakfast. Right now I'm enjoying a soy latte too. Then for lunch I'll do some salad I believe. Then I'll get to do whatever I want for dinner.

This is the kind of "diet" I like. No counting, no looking up calories, carbs, etc. Not too restrictive either because you can eat whatever you want for dinner. Or one meal a day, whichever you choose I guess.

So here we go. My sister has already lost 10 lbs doing this and I would like to lose about 25 so let's see how this goes!!

This idea is from Mark Bittman, a food author that my sister loves. I have one of his cookbooks "How to Cook Everything" and I love it. Here's the article describing this approach to eating.

I can totally do this for 2 meals a day... :) 

Next up!

Since I've finished the last EASY thing on my list, I'm moving to a few harder ones. The next two things I want to accomplish on my list are read the Lord of the Rings trilogy and learn to drive a stick shift. I think those are both doable in the next few weeks. Or months. But things I can do before I graduate. And of course I'm going to start going to Growlers and work on that list. Supposedly they don't have all 131 beers anymore but they have like 75 and you can get a card for those. We shall see.

I can do it. It will be nice to be able to knock a few more off the list. I created this list when Dom was a baby and haven't been able to knock too much off the list yet. I can also probably work on my short story, exercising and starting a savings account/college funds for the kids, although I think maybe I should wait until I actually make some money. We'll see. :)

Bring it on!

Star Wars Trilogy Complete!

I probably should have done something productive today...but instead I finished one of my goals and finished the Star Wars Trilogy!

I have to say that I liked it! I've heard awful things about the actual first 3, so I'm not 100% I'll watch them. It took me 28 years to watch 4, 5, and 6, so maybe I'll attempt this before I'm 56!

Anyway, I'm just excited to be able to knock another goal off my list. 10 down, just 20 to go! And I have about 14 months to do them! Yikes! Better get crackin!

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Just finished this one! 2 down and just 1 to go! Unless you count the newer ones but I'm not that concerned with those. I'm sure I'll watch them but I'm not worried about watching those before I'm 30.

Woohoo! Knocking stuff off my list (even fun stuff like this) feels so rewarding!!

Go me! :)

Dare I watch the 3rd one today? Or will Nick kill me for doing absolutely nothing today but laying on the couch, eating and watching movies?? We'll see....

Star Wars: A New Hope

It was good! I think I'm more excited to see the next two now that I know what's going on!

Bring on this 30x30! I'm down to a little over 1 year to get this stuff done. I can't believe I'll be 29 in almost two months! Scary!!

Working on that 30x30

I have laundry to fold and a baby to feed. I'm going to do this while watching Star Wars, Episode 4...the beginning of one of my goals to watch the Star Wars trilogy.

Let's start knocking these off my list!

Myfitnesspal.com

Now that I'm not pregnant anymore, I have no excuses. I have to get back into shape and work towards my goal of reaching my goal weight! I don't plan on getting pregnant again for AWHILE so now is the perfect time to get my booty into gear and start eating better and working out again. My doctor said I can start walking but no running yet. But I can work my way up to running. So I'm going to do just that. I'm going to start off by walking just a bit each day. And I'll walk while carrying Gretchen in the Baby Bjourn so I'll be carrying a little extra weight. :)

I'm also using myfitnesspal.com to record everything I eat and everything I do. I was using it before I realized I was pregnant and I like the site. I really love weight watchers but I can't afford that right now so I'll try this for a bit and if I can't get it to work, then I might need to cut something else out of my life so I can rejoin!

I'm at a decent weight right now for me so I just need to keep going with it.

So many goals to reach before I'm 30! I WILL reach this one. :)

30x30 for real this time

FINALIZED 30 x 30

After going back to school and then discovering I was pregnant with baby #3, my 30 x 30 had to change. We had a lot of vacations we wanted to do and I really wanted to be debt free besides the house but there's no way that's going to happen now! And probably won't happen for awhile and I'm 100% ok with that. My new career and our PERFECT family of FIVE are totally worth it. But I still have to have a 30 x 30. I just have to! ;-) So here's an updated version. The only changes I made were getting rid of the vacations and being debt free. But this is it. No more changes. Just have to get to work!

Here we go:

1) Run a half marathon - DONE!

2) Watch the Star Wars Trilogy - This is another one of those that everyone talks about and I don't know what is going on. Nick says it's kind of like a futuristic Lord of the Rings. I hope he's right because I liked that. So maybe I'll like this too!

3) Learn a foreign language - ok this will be hard and I may be pushing it with this one, but I really want to do this!!

4) Have 2 of my 4 children - DONE!

5) Take up golf - still need to do this. No time. Between school, work and apparently always being pregnant, golf takes a back seat. Maybe next summer...

6) Write a short story - I don't know why I want to do this but I do...I love writing. I'm not great at it, but I think it would be fun and I want to give it a try. Nothing big, obviously, but a nice SHORT story. Maybe...

7) Complete an indoor triathlon - DONE!

8) Watch Gone with the Wind - DONE! And I loved it!!

9) Watch the Godfather - DONE!

10) Play in a poker tournament at a casino - still need to do this. I can do this anytime really...just need to practice a bit and go do it!

11) Decorate the kids rooms - This is a new one. The kids rooms in this house are so plain! I'd love to let them pick out something fun and do it for them! Whether it be paint, posters, stickers, whatever. Maybe by the time I'm 30!

12) Shoot a gun - DONE! I went to a shooting course with my neighbor Jeff. I wasn't any good at it. At all honestly. But I shot a gun and can cross it off my list. And I don't need to do it again. :) 

13) Go back to school - DONE!

14) Learn to drive a stick shift - really need to do this...it would be so helpful if I knew how!

15) Learn to french braid hair - DONE-ish...needs a little work but does look like a french braid!

16) Get into cooking - I love to cook but don't do it consistently. Need to do it regularly...

17) Finish entertainment center - DONE!

18) Register to vote in St. Louis City - DONE!

19) Consistently dedicated one night a month to a date night - We NEED this...between school and work and kids and life we never see each other. We need this and I'm looking forward to it!

20) Start a savings account - Don't get me wrong, we have investments and a 401K and life insurance and a Roth IRA but no savings account. I'd like to have a savings account, even if it's small.

21) Make my own recipe - maybe I'll do this over maternity leave...

22) Go back to Signature Room in Chicago - I left this trip on there because I think this one is doable. and I REALLY want to go!

23) Go on a family vacation with my whole family - I left this one too because I think this one is important and I really want to do this one too!

24) Start college funds for the kids - totally need to start this as soon as I graduate (which is before I'm 30!!)

25) Consistently have a clean house - ok, I'm horrible at this. Downright horrible. My house isn't DIRTY, it's just cluttered. All the time. But with Dom getting older and being able to help a bit more, we should be able to make this work. We need to since we're about to expand our family!

26) Get into exercising 3x a week - can't wait to start exercising again...

27) Reach my goal weight - can't wait to join Weight Watchers again!!

28) Try every beer on the list at Growlers - But I hear Growlers is under new management and that it kind of sucks  these days...I hope I heard wrong...Either way, I've got 49 down and just 82 to go! :)

29) Read the Lord of the Rings trilogy - still at the same spot in the Fellowship!! Have a long way to go!

30) Become a nurse!! - April 20, 2013 I hope!!!!!

(Blue is done and Green is in progress....I have to count all that I can at this point!! I'm down to a year and some change!)

So there's my list. Not too many changes, but more doable I think. And more realistic. And more beneficial! So here's to my 30x30. I hope I can get to work and finish. I have 16 months. I can do, right??

The Quest...

As you know, I've been working on my quest to drink all 131 beers at Growler's Pub. It's a work in progress, but I'm doing fairly well in my opinion. I went to Growler's on Monday for lunch with a friend (Jimbo) and knocked a few more off my list. I was happy to get a few more beers crossed off but I was saddened to find out that they are getting ready to change the beers!

I guess I should've seen this coming. It's fall now and they'll change up some of the beer to more "in season" beers. But to me this was a shock and kind of a downer.

What if they get rid of some of my favorites?? What if they replace some that I haven't tried yet with something gross and horrible?? I will never have tried every single beer on the list and I'm not sure I'm ok with that. It kind of feels like cheating...

But I have no say in it so I guess I just have to get over it and look at the bright side. Even when my quest is over, there will always be a new beer to try at Growlers...

But before they change, so I have a record of it, I'm going to list the numbers and beers that I've tried so far. I won't have to re-drink any numbers, but they will be different beers, so if I've already drank a #10 and the new #10 sounds amazing, I'll be drinking it without it counting towards my quest. And let's be real, I won't do that. No point in buying it if it won't count towards the quest!

So here are the beers I've drank already on my quest:

# (number as listed at Growlers) - Name of beer, Point of Origin (type of beer)

1 - Churchills Draught Treat (I think it was a Summer Ale at the time I drank it - this one changes pretty frequently - Pale Ale)
2 - Hardcore Crisp Cider, MA (Cider)
6 - Avery White Rascal, CO (Wheat)
8 - Sam Adams Seasonal, MA (Another Summer Ale I believe - Pale Ale)
9 - Magic Hat #9, VT (Pale Ale)
14 - Grand Teton Howling Wolf, ID (Wheat)
19 - Schlafly Hefeweisen, St. Louis, MO (Wheat)
23 - Left Hand 400 lb Monkey, CO (India Pale Ale or IPA)
26 - Hofbrau Hefe-Weiss, Germany (Wheat)
29 - Affligen Blonde, Belguim (Blond or Golden Ale)
35 - Pabst Blue Ribbon, WI (Lager)
41 - Flying Dog "Doggie Style" Pale Ale, CO (Pale Ale)
50 - Abita Purple Haze, LA (Wheat)
52 - Pyramid Apricot Ale, CA (Wheat)
57 - Breckenridge Vanilla, CO (Porter)
59 - Founders Dirty Bastard, MI (Scotch Ale)
66 - Dundee Original Honey Brown Lager, NY (Lager)
75 - Sierra Nevada Kellervweis, CA (Wheat)
79 - Big Sky Trout Slayer, MT (Wheat)
82 - O'Dell's Easy Street Wheat, CO (Wheat)
84 - Samuel Adams Boston Lager, MA (Vienna)
85 - Samuel Adams Cheery Wheat, MA (Wheat)
90 - Point Cascade Pale Ale, WI (Pale Ale)
93 - Arcadia Sky High Rye, MI (Pale Ale)
100 - Woodpecker English Cider, England (Cider)
101 - Boddington Pub Ale 16 oz. Can, England (Bitter Ale)
102 - Young's Double Chocolate Stout, 16.9 oz, England (Sweet Stout)
103 - Spaten Optimator, Germany (Dopplebock)
106 - Warsteiner Dunkel, Germany (Dark)
110 - Fischer Biere Blonde, France (Blond)
111 - Estrella Damm Daura, Spain (Lager)
112 - Tona Cerveza, Nicaragua (Lager)
116 - Lindeman's Framboise, Belguim (Lambic)
117 - Hoegaarden 11.2 oz, Belguim (Wheat)
122 - O'Hara's Irish Red 11.2 oz, Ireland (Irish Red Ale)
124 - Pilsner Urquell, Czech Republic (Pilsner)
125 - Peroni, Italy (Lager)
126 - Red Stripe, Jamaica (Lager)
127 - Corona, Mexico (Lager)
128 - Chakra, India (Lager)

Breakdown of types of beer is:
Pale Ale - 6
India Pale Ale - 1
Irish Red Ale - 1
Scotch Ale - 1
Blond - 2
Bitter Ale - 1
Wheat - 11
Lager - 8
Cider - 2
Dopplebeck - 1
Dark - 1
Porter - 1
Pilsner - 1
Vienna - 1
Sweet Stout - 1
Lambic - 1

Breakdown of Countries:
US - 22
Germany - 3
Belguim - 3
France - 1
Czech Republic - 1
Nicaragua - 1
Mexico - 1
India - 1
England - 3
Jamaica - 1
Italy - 1
Spain - 1
Ireland - 1

That's 40 if I've added correctly, out of 131. So I'm making my way there. When you hit 50 you get a "beer tasters" t-shirt, so I'm close to that! :)

If you happen to go to Growler's, I have my name on a name plate there. It's on the right side when you walk in and on the overhead soffet on the left side of that part of the room. My name plate says "KONES" (which is a play off of my last name for those who don't really know me) and Jimbo picked it out for me. :)

One day I'd love to write about each beer and how good each one is and what I rank each one, but for now, here are the names and types of beer each on is. Happy reading! I hope I don't make you too thirsty (like I am!).

Gone With the Wind

So there totally has to be a Gone with the Wind part II. Seriously.

It ends with Scarlett finally realizing she loves Rett and him leaving?!?! And not "giving a damn"??

I still don't really like Scarlett, but I do feel bad for her to a certain extent. She had her moments of being decent. She did get her home in Tara back on it's feet and she did lose a baby while pregnant and lose her young daughter. She lost two husbands, one to the measles and the other while he was trying to avenge her attacker. She was hopelessly in love with a man who not only didn't love her back, but was married (to his cousin, no less) and had a child with her. So Scarlett had some pain in her life, but she brought a lot of it on herself. And the one man who loved her for exactly who she was, she treated like crap until the very last minute.

The movie ended with her looking to the sky and being determined to go back to Tara and finding a way to win back Rett...but I want to know if it happened. Do you think he came back to her? Or did she find a new (and fourth) husband? Does she go to Ashley Wilkes like Rett thinks she will?

What else happens?!?!!? I guess we'll never know...

But still a GREAT film and I'm so glad I decided to watch it!

Gone With the Wind

So I've watched ALMOST the entire thing. I have about 1 hour left. It's a crazy long movie (2 DVD's!). But I have to admit...

I LOVE IT!!!!

It's a GREAT movie! Why did I wait so long to watch this? If you haven't seen it yet, GO WATCH IT!

I'll let you know when I finish it.

PS - NOT a fan of Scarlett....just sayin'.