47. Participate in a charity run/walk.

I ran in my first 5k with my friend Marie, only we didn't pick just any 5k, we ran the Color Me Rad 5k! Basically, you run through different color stations, where they blast you with a certain color, and at the finish line it's a big color blast! It was SO much fun, and proceeds benefited the Special Olympics of NC.

Marie and me decked out and ready to run

Our official pre-race photo

Me coming out of the blue station

We found Bill and Liam during the race, and Liam joined us to cross the finish line

Liam and me crossing the finish line

The rad finish line

Having some color fun

Our official post-race photo. Liam was SO not into it, as you can tell. He really wanted to be doing the color blast!

Color blast! Marie, Liam and I are in there somewhere

Yay! So fun.

Liam modeling my rad headband and glasses on the way to the car. I can't decide if this one is hilarious or scary!

More updates

37. Read 101 books (5/101)
Since the challenge started, I've read 5 books.

89. Eat at 10 local restaurants I've never eaten at before (2/10)
For our anniversary, Bill and I went to dinner at Mandolin in Raleigh. It was really good, a little fancier than my usual taste, but really, really good!

71. Go to at least 5 concerts (2/5)

On Saturday, I flew up to NJ to visit my friend Hope and to see Madonna! We saw her at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, which was a super cool venue. She was awesome (as usual), even if she didn't come out until almost 10:30. She played until 12:30am, my latest concert ever, I think!

This is a lousy cell phone picture, but if you want to see how it would look close up, click here.

Oh, and when did Rocco get to be like 12, and dance on stage with his mom? The kid's got moves!

73. Win something

I won an Amazon gift card - woot!

http://wildelori.blogspot.com/2012/09/gift-card-winner.html

87. Try 5 new foods (1/5)

We got some muscadine grapes in our produce box last week. I was curious to try them, since I've had muscadine wine but not the grapes. They were good, and HUGE!

Look at the size of that grape!

78. Visit Great Wolf Lodge

Last weekend, we went to Great Wolf Lodge for the first time. It's an indoor water park near Charlotte that's only open to guests of the lodge, so it cuts down on crowds in the water park. Liam had an AWESOME time. I didn't bring our camera, so I only have a few cell phone pictures and videos, but suffice it to say our little boy was fearless on the big water slides and had a total blast. He was tall enough to ride on all but one slide. There was a big awesome slide that we all went down in a raft together, one that took 2 people, one where we all raced side by side through tunnels on mats, and some that we went down just by ourselves. There were also pools, a wave pool, a splash area, pretty much anything fun and water-related.

Here's Liam in front of the huge wolf statue in front of the lodge.

Liam in his awesome bunk bed in our suite. He looooved the bunk beds!

Liam with Wiley Wolf, the Great Wolf mascot. He's wearing his skeptical face because mister smarty pants has figured out all characters are people in suits, and now they're not as exciting to meet (this is sad because he used to loooove meeting characters, but he's too darn smart for his own good!)


Bill and Liam coming down one of the water slides. Sorry for the sideways video, I held up my phone normally, not realizing this would make the video sideways lol. Anyway, it's not great quality, but you can hear Liam yelling on the way down. He was having sooooo much fun! I'm sure the instant I clicked stop on this video, he said "let's go again!"

I'm sure we will be back to Great Wolf again soon!

A new restaurant, and a new recipe

83. Try 20 new recipes (1/20).

We tried this recipe for Sweet, Sticky and Spicy chicken the other night, and it was really good. Next time, I think we'd add something extra, like some veggies, but the flavor was yummy, and the recipe was super easy!

89. Eat at 10 local restaurants I've never eaten at before (1/10).

Last weekend, Bill and I ate at a new restaurant in downtown Raleigh, Draft. It's owned by Rocky Top Hospitality, which owns several other local restaurants we like, but we were disappointed with Draft. The burgers were just okay, not nearly as good as the ones at Tribeca Tavern. Bonus, they were having a drink special where all wine and beer was just $4. It wasn't terrible, but I don't think we'll be back. Next time we want a delicious, local grass fed burger, we will head to Tribeca!

71. Go to at least 5 concerts (1/5).

On Tuesday night, Chrissy and I saw Aerosmith in Boston. Awesome show, and we had awesome seats right off the end of the catwalk (which is the only place to be at an Aerosmith show, Steven spends more time there than at any spot on the stage!) This was something like my 35th Aero show. Love them, and love seeing them with my partner in crime! :)

Steven and Joe at the end of the catwalk

Seeing Steven sing Dream On at the piano was a dream come true, especially right there at the end of the catwalk in front of us. I hadn't been following the tour and had no idea this was coming...amazing.

I only made it to 3 concerts during my last 101 challenge. Hoping to complete all 5 this time (or more!) I'm a concert junkie, so this is a major change of pace for me (motherhood will do that to you lol). Next up, Madonna in September...can't wait! :)

101 Challenges in 1001 Days

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days (and more specifically, do complete more tasks than I did with my first 101 list!)

The Criteria: 
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Start Date: July 15, 2012

End Date: April 12, 2015