Last night I completed # 30 of my 101 in 1001 days challenge Attend the midnight premiere or pre-release viewing of a movie.

The movie just happened to be Twilight Eclipse, which is being released today to the general public.

Atlanta Occasions Magazine held a fab party to celebrate their latest issue and also the release of Twilight Eclipse. The party was held at Twelve Atlantic Station and then we all walked across Atlantic Station to the Regal Cinema where they had two theaters reserved especially for our group of wedding industry profession, friends, and family.

Everything at the party was Twilight-themed including blood-red roses, smoke, pizza laden with garlic, sweets from A Tasty Pastry filled with oozing red creams, “Twilitini” drinks of both the blue and red variety, and even a candy display with red candy-covered popcorn.

I had a stomach ache by the time the movie started from all the sweets, junk food, and popcorn. We managed to grab decent seats and I filled Kimberly in on what I could remember from the first two movies. I saw the first on on a long flight to NZ or Australia then the second one on DVD just recently.

Above, at the end we managed to pick up plenty of Twilight memorabilia which we’re reserving for my sister and Susan who are FANATICS and that’s using the word lightly for my sister. I think my sister and her friend went to the movies 20 times when the first one came out and nearly have the books and soundtracks memorized.

I, on the other hand, have never even picked up a Twilight book, so what happens in the movies is a surprise for me. This movie I believe was much better than the first too. There is much more action – and it’s pretty gory. If you don’t mind watching heads and body parts get ripped off, you’ll love the end fight scenes! They also dive a bit deeper into the characters than they do in the first two movies. We get a glimpse of a few of the stories from the Collins family, as well as the back-story to Jacob’s clan. Bella even says at the end why she wants to become a Vampire beyond just wanting to live forever with Edward.

Then there are some pretty humorous scenes with the wolfs. At one point we were trying not to bust out laughing while Bella stood “petting” Jacob (in wolf form) on the head. I think we even heard some snorts form the die-hard Twilight fans behind us.

I’ll refrain from revealing much more for those who are going to go see the movie soon (or eventually on DVD) who are also like me and don’t read the books.

In the end, it was a fun silly evening. A pretty good movie too. My little sister will be proud of me for taking advantage of the opportunity to go (and super excited about her Twilight poster and crown paper hat!) But we’re just silly like that….

After hour upon hour of helping Mikey come up with his list, it’s finished!  He even stayed up extra late on his birthday to finish it after we got home from celebrating with friends!  This allows me to mark off #62. Help husband make his own 101 list …that’s a big goal for my own 101 in 1001 list!

Mike’s 101 in 1001 Days Project

Starts: June 20, 2010
Ends: March 17, 2013

Love & Marriage
1. Have ‘Marriage Meetings’ no less than once a month for the 1001 days and beyond
2. Attend a cooking class with Liana
3. Stop scaring Liana for at least 1 week
4. Take my wife out on a date night at least once a month
5. Take wife on romantic anniversary trip
6. Have a child (Grandparents… please no harassing calls asking when!)

Reading, Writing, Drawing, Creating
7. Write my biography to record my life up till now for posterity
8. Read Proverbs every day for 1 month
9. Write a letter to myself to open at the end of 1001 days
10. Fill a moleskin notebook front to back with drawings
11. Write 5 blog posts about 5 people I admire
12. Create 5 Top Ten lists (movies, songs, etc…)
13. Read a book per month for at least a year
14. Write in a daily journal for at least 3 weeks
15. Blog at least once a week for three months
16. Write a short story
17. Identify 101 things that make me happy
18. Create one item to sell online (Quirky, Etsy, PhotoGarb, etc…)
19. Make up a new joke every week for a month and test them on Liana
20. Design a t-shirt

Photo & Video
21. Shoot & develop at least one full roll of film in both of my classic rangefinders
22. Learn to use the Steadicam Merlin
23. Go on a photo safari using only public transportation
24. Learn Adobe Premiere Pro
25. Begin & complete 365 photo project
26. Create full length wedding video Done! Finished Desmond & Keisha’s video
27. Take a videography class Done! Took a StillMotion class while in NYC
28. Submit video for a competition
29. Submit photos for a competition
30. Go to a National park and take pics & video
31. Save up and buy a new MacBook Pro Done! 17″ MBP i7
32. Scan all family photos to digital

Discipline, Habits, Health & Fitness
33. Give direct answers for 1 week (don’t answer first with sarcastic reply)
34. Go to bed by 11:30pm for 3 weeks
35. Get out of bed at 7:00am for 3 weeks
36. Maintain a healthy weight (190lb cap & trigger to get busy)
37. Complete 100 push-ups in one attempt
38. Go one month without buying anything on iTunes
39. Pay a compliment to someone once a day for 3 weeks
40. Go to a Farmers Market
41. Drink at least 36oz of water a day for 1 month
42. Go running 3 days a week for at least 3 weeks
43. Log into bank accounts once per week for a month
44. For one month, ensure that laundry is folded within 24 hrs after coming out of dryer
45. Go three months without buying anything new (except food/necessities/biz items)
46. Go without watching TV for a minimum of one month
47. Take some “me time” once a week for a month
48. Create some sort of passive income

Be Social
49. Take my brother and sister to lunch or dinner
50. Meet at least 3 new neighbors
51. Organize a Guys Night Out once a quarter for a year
52. Encourage five others to write their own ’101 in 1001′ lists
53. Take a full one hour lunch break away from the computer twice a week for 3 months
54. Have lunch with a friend once a month for 6 months

Just for the Fun of It
55. Save up $10 per each completed item from this list to spend upon completion
56. Try NY pizza Done! Not terribly impressed; must try again! =)
57. Learn to play the guitar (yea, cliche… I know)
58. Drive a Porsche and/or Ferrari
59. Teach Liana to shoot a handgun
60. Teach Liana to drive a manual transmission car
61. Travel by train, not to include metro system
62. Go ice skating
63. Go jet skiing
64. Take long bike ride on Silver Comet Trail
65. Go skeet shooting
66. Beat RyanMcAwesome and/or Pookles at ‘Words with Friends’ Done! Finally beat Pookles, but I think she was just having an off day!
67. Buy a tent, go camping
68. Fly a kite
69. Go on a hay ride
70. Rent and/or buy a scooter/motorcycle Done! We now have two Vespas
71. Learn how to use my roller blades
72. Hang the hammock and use it

Culture, Music & Movies
73. Visit a museum
74. Go to the symphony
75. Go to a Broadway show Done! Saw two shows while in NYC
76. Go to Eddie’s Attic for live music performance
77. Go to a drive-in movie
78. Learn to play chess
79. Learn a new language
80. Visit The World of Coca-Cola

Do For Others
81. Perform a random act of kindness
82. Buy a meal for a stranger
83. Donate blood
84. Go on a mission trip
85. Donate my skills to a good cause
86. Do community volunteer work

Get Organized
87. Get concealed carry permit
88. Finally shred all the papers in my massive collection Done!
89. Write a will
90. Find or make a home maintenance calendar/list

Travel
91. Rent a cabin in the mountains
92. Travel to NYC for first time Done!
93. Go on guys trip
94. Travel to Spain
95. Travel to France
96. Go to Boston, MA
97. Share beach house with friends Done!
98. Take a spontaneous road trip

Big Goals
99. Finish basement
100. Complete Emergency Fund as defined by Dave Ramsey
101. Secret (Sorry, can’t publish this one!)

#45 of the 101 in 1001 challenge is to Go camping, make s’mores.  Until last month, it has probably been 5-7 years since I went camping last.  Before that it was when I was a Brownie & Girl Scout up in Ohio!

Mike, on the other hand, had only been camping ONCE in his lifetime!  He’s also known for not being too happy in extreme heat, so I was a bit concerned if it would be his cup of tea or not.

Our friends invited us up twice in the past two months and so far, we’re turning out to love it!  It’s a beautiful campsite right by Lake Lanier and we spend the day out on the lake and lounging around the campsite in the shade.  We cook up a feast at night on the grills and over the fire, and have made it a habit to watch the sun set over the lake.  Last weekend we went for the second time and it was SOOOO hot out at night!  It was like trying to fall asleep in a sauna! We figure we’ll wait until it cools down some to go again, and that will give us time to find our own tent (been borrowing this one) and slowly build up our camping “gear.”

Watching the sunset over the lake

Not bad!

How cute are these guys?

Okay, time to admit… I had not one, two, three…. but FOUR smores!! Mmmmm

I can’t remember the last time I played Truth or Dare…

…which is why it’s on my 101 in 1001 challenge list (#99. Complete two truths and two dares, proposed by those of you who comment on this post.)

This means I need YOU to challenge me to a Truth or Dare here! We will allow ONE week to take suggestions (put your Truth or Dare in the comments below).  Then I’ll have Mike print all the Truths and Dares out on slips of paper.  We will draw the Truths or Dares next Thursday at random from a hat and Mike will supervise to make sure I don’t peak!  We will post the results here.

Disclaimer:  While I know Dares can generally be outrageous, we have to keep this blog somewhat PG-13 rated.  I’m just sayin’….

Reporting today on #33: Get the mystery roll of film developed (from Grandpa’s old camera) from my 101 in 1001 days challenge.

Both of my grandfathers gifted me a number of their now-vintage cameras, before they passed away. More recently, my mom’s brother found a few more of grandpa’s cameras in an old plastic bag, and entrusted me with them.

To our surprise, treasured within the confines of the rusted metal torso of the twins-reflex Rolleicord was a partially-exposed roll of medium format 120 film. I promptly shut myself into a dark closet, blocked the light from under the door with a towel, and removed the film in the pitch black as to not expose anything further. I sealed the paper around it tightly with a rubber band, and set it aside to get developed. That was over two years ago and the 120 film remained in our foyer consul, waiting to be developed.

There are not many film labs around here anymore, so I sent it away mail order with instructions to develop the film and make high resolution scans of the negatives.

Here is what was delivered in the mail a few short days later…

No one/nothing is recognizable except for what’s in the last frame – my grandfather taking a picture of himself! My best guess is that he picked this camera up used in a garage sale and was testing it out for the first time here. He loved photography and was very frugal and thrifty. The last time I saw him before he passed away in 2002 was in their home in Florida. I was on my way to photograph a graduation in Sarasota and stopped on my way their to see him and my grandmother. It was during this very same visit that he loaded me up with a bunch of books he had on photography, including a whole series book set by Kodak. This film does prove that this camera is in working order though! I think I’ll order myself some 120 film and start where grandpa left off…

# 80 – Sell $300 worth of stuff on craigslist and/or eBay. Totally boring but necessary goal for my 101 in 1001 days challenge, accomplished!!

It’s nice to be able to sell some things (that no longer get good use) and use the extra cash for upgrading our computer systems and software. Our work editing is now even more efficient with these upgrades!

Here’s what we sold in the past two weeks:

“Hackbook” – it’s a Dell mini that Mike made to run Mac OSX!

One of our Powerbooks was sold via Craigslist

And sadly, my Canon 5D Original was sold as well since we now have the Canon 5D Mark IIs and Canon 7D as well

We DO have a Adobe Creative Suite 3: Production Premium for sale still if anyone wants $1600+ worth of software (for Mac) for less than $450 let me know before it goes on eBay!!

Number 23 of my 101 in 1001 days challenge is to Write 10 reviews on Trip Advisor. I know – not the most exciting task but something I’ve been meaning to do for a LONG time to be able to contribute back.

I originally found out about the glorious goodness that is Trip Advisor by my mom, who also happens to do a LOT of research about travel and is quite the food and travel connoisseur. I’ve been turning to this site for the past few years to check out hotels and things to do for trips to Europe, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, and all over the US. I ended up writing most of the reviews for hotels we stayed at in Australia and SE Asia on our last two trips over that way in the past year.

You can also track the places you have been on your own travel map.

I think it’s really helpful to look at not just the pictures provided by the hotels, but by the travelers that stay there too, so I took the time to submit some of the pictures we’d taken too. Here are two of the pictures I submitted of the pool at Le Meridien Angkor in Cambodia.

#51 of my 101 in 1001 days challenge is to “Make sugar cookies that my husband likes (the soft kind)”

We had the perfect opportunity – “Christmas in May” dinner we had Memorial Day weekend here with friends. Grilled turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole. What better than sugar cookies for dessert?

Mikey likes them so this one gets checked off!!

(for the record we grew up making the thin crispy kind of sugar cookies so this was an experiment trying to make the thick kind Mikey likes!)

Back in 2008 I started a very ambitious 101 in 1001 project.  I had a blast chasing after some of these goals, accomplishing a lot of fun ones (and challenging ones), and then realizing goals change as quickly as your life situations change.

In the summer of 2008 Mike and I got engaged, and were married in April of 2009.  When you go from the mindset of two-to-one, your goals change.  I’m proud that I was able to accomplish 39 of 101 in my 2008 list – things I may never have tried otherwise – and things that I didn’t really even think about because I’ve always wanted to do but just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

I’ve decided to cut the 2008 challenge short by a few months and start a NEW list.  Much of my goals are similar, however now they include my husband!! Out with the old goals, in with the new!!  I’ve transferred over some of the old goals that were not accomplished, some that I did accomplish that I think will be good to try again, and plenty of new ones.

For those who can get through this long post, there’s some INTERACTIVE items that could involve YOU! Let’s see if you can find them!

Liana’s 101 in 1001 Days Project

Starts: May 26, 2010
Ends: February 21, 2013

Volunteer, Donate, Give Back
1. Volunteer our photography for charitable cause
2. Give away 5 books to those who can benefit from them
3. Go on another mission trip
4. Give a 100% tip – Summer 2010
5. Do an anonymous favor or “pay it forward”
6. Donate 30 clothing items
7. Donate portrait shoot to a charity fund raising auction – Devon’s charity in Summer 2010 completed shoot too
8. Participate in get-your-hands-dirty volunteer work

Travel, Culture, Entertainment
9.  Take Mike to NYC since he’s never been - Completed July 2010
10. Take a random road trip
11. Go see a Broadway or off-Broadway show – Completed July 2010 two shows on Broadway
12. Stay in a swanky hotel in NYC, Miami, or LA – Completed July 2010 in NYC (Bryant Park Hotel)
13. Go to Spain with Mike
14. Visit Napa and/or San Diego
15. Photograph a castle and/or chateau, preferably one in France – Carcassone France castle town in late March 2011, Versailles in France April 5, 2011
16. Go to see an Opera or Symphony performance – Completed late March 2011, at La Scala Opera in Milan, Italy
17. Try ethnic food that I haven’t had before – Laos food at Heather & Stephen’s summer 2010 &
18. Rent a beach house and stay with friends and/or family – Complete September 2010
19. Visit 3 museums – Complete April 2011 – Louvre, High Museum, Versailles in France
20. Eat at 10 restaurants I’ve never tried before (10/10) – Done, and exceeded goal by dinning while out of town!
21. Visit a country or state I’ve never been to before – Cruise to Eastern Caribbean in early 2011
22. See a live improve comedy show
23. Write 10 reviews on Trip Advisor- May 27, 2010

Reading, Writing, Learning
24. Re-read a book from childhood
25. Memorize a verse from the bible every week for ten weeks
26. Journal every day for a month
27. Answer the “50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind”
28. Listen to 10 books of the bible on CD

Movie Lover’s Dream
29. Watch a classic movie in a park – July 2010 in Bryant Park NYC
30. Attend the midnight premiere or pre-release viewing of a movie – Twilight Eclipse pre-screening on Tuesday 6/29/10
31. Go on a movie-marathon: three in one day at the theater!
32. Watch 10 movies that I should have seen already (according to Mike)

Art and Photography
33. Get the mystery roll of film developed (from Grandpa’s old camera) – June 2010
34. Enter a photography contest – Completed Aug 2010 entered national cover competition
35. Study for and pass PPA certification exam and portfolio review – Completed August 2010!!
36. Help create a Fusion Video – June 2010, Kelli & Brian’s engagement video
37. Make a coffee table book out of our travel photography
38. Shoot a session in the rain
39. Teach a basic photography class
40. Create a new wall frame display

I’m Not A Sporty Girl, but…
41. Participate in a sport that’s new or unusual for me
42. Go to the range and learn to shoot a gun
43. Go on a long bike ride on the silver comet trail

Fun and Adventure
44. Create a scavenger hunt
45. Go camping, make s’mores - June 12-13, 2010
46. Go on a photo safari using public transportation to get around

Suzy Home-Maker
47. Cook 3 new recipes in 3 days
48. Plant a small veggie garden
49. House-sit and/or baby-sit
50. Organize recipes into new binder/book – Completed June 2010
51. Make sugar cookies that my husband likes (the soft kind) – May 29, 2010
52. Bake and decorate a cake for a party or shower - June 2010 – New yummy white chocolate cake recipe!
53. Host a wine & cheese tasting
54. Learn to knit
55. Organize a fancy dress party
56. Cook a fresh summer meal that we can drink our Australian white wine with
57. Successfully make crème brulee
58. Go to a neighborhood meeting or event

Big Hairy Audacious Goals
59. Write a book
60. Finish Basement (which involves saving about $20-30k first) – In Progress – Dec 2010 to current
61. Get motorcycle license – completed August 2010
62. Help husband make his own 101 list – June 20, 2010
63. Create an inspirational board of BHAGs

Simple Pleasures
64. Buy a hammock, hang it, and use it! – bought it, need to do the rest
65. Participate in trivia night
66. Spend a day poolside sipping on tropical drinks - May 2010 at Brice & Leigh’s
67. Learn a genre of dance I don’t already know
68. Spend an afternoon in an Irish/English pub with friends
69. Watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day
70. Bring someone flowers

Discipline in Health & Finance
71. Go to bed by 11 PM on the weekdays for two weeks straight
72. Get up by 7 AM for 7 days straight
73. Refrain from buying any new clothing item for 3 months
74. Create a will / living will
75. Use the Boflex 3x per week for 3 weeks
76. Go jogging 3x per week for 3 weeks
77. Set up a ROTH IRA
78. Complete emergency fund of 6 months living expenses
79. Go a full day with no email, text, or phone – Completed multiple days while in Europe March 2011
80. Sell $300 worth of stuff on craigslist and/or eBay – June 2010
81. Complete the Financial Peace University At-Home study
82. Finish 2 months of vitamin-therapy

Good for Business & Industry
83. Select, edit, categorize and post portrait portfolio on new website
84. Finish info section on new website
85. Join NACE or Chamber and attend an event - Joined NACE in fall 2010, attended Holiday party
86. New curriculum developed
87. Transfer EDU forum to different server and make updates – Completed summer 2010
88. Blog every day for 3 months straight
89. Go to a local entrepreneurs meeting
90. Throw a party/event for my business
91. Complete 3 interviews with wedding pros
92. Get 3 weddings published on online style blog or magazine

Embracing Randomness
93. Drink beer (or cider) at noon on Tuesday in a bar that faces a giant car wash
94. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
95. Go to an event, festival, or convention that I think is weird
96. Produce a silly music-video and post online
97. Belly dance wearing shawl from Bahrain
98. Tie a note to a balloon and let it go, and put a note in a book for a stranger to find
99. Complete two truths and two dares, proposed by those of you who comment on this post.
100. Document what happened on 10/10/10, 11/11/11, and 12/12/12 – In progress
101. Send a care package to one of the individuals (drawn at random) who comments on this blog.

Thank you so much for any suggestions, leads, ideas, and help accomplishing these!!  Wish me luck

While I was in Vegas for WPPI I had the honor of photographing owner of Foliomojo, Wade Holloway, for part of my 100 Portraits Project.

We were both between running from one meeting to the next so these were taken right outside the tradeshow up against a security parking hut!

Last fall I had the opportunity to know his wife fabulous photographer Alina Prax while teaching in Austin, TX and taking some bio pics of her. We decided to do some updated bio pics of Wade too.

Here are my three for three: