101 things update

I've knocked off some good ones recently in my 101-things quest:

5. Learn how to apply eye makeup. I guess what I had in mind when I wrote this was to get lessons at the Clinique counter or something, but instead I've just been paying attention to the blurbs in Real Simple where they give you eye makeup tips. I've collected a few eye shadows and eye liners when I've been shopping and spotted a sale, and I've been practicing wearing them when I'm in the mood.

Last week Amanda complimented my eye makeup and told me I should check it off my list, so I am. I doubt I'll ever wear much more than mascara on a daily basis, but it's nice to know I can kick it up a notch if I want to.

10. Establish a grocery-shopping, coupon-clipping system that works for me. My accomplishing this is all thanks to Amanda, who really knows how to save money and freely shares her knowledge. In a nutshell, my "system" consists of: a) alphabetizing coupons in a three-ring binder and b) every week shopping at two or three grocery stores and one or two drug stores (after perusing their sales papers) for the best store sale/coupon/rebate matchups.

When I find a fantastic deal I stock up, and I keep a close eye on our food/toiletries/household inventory to avoid paying full price for anything. I now save more than I spend on virtually every shopping trip, I'm learning the "market" for the products we buy most frequently, and we have tons of excess to donate.

22. Write an opinion letter to our local newspaper. I actually did this in June 2008 and just realized I never checked it off my list.

43. Figure out a way to get paid for blogging that doesn't involve ads. I just signed on to be a Thomas Nelson book review blogger. Basically, they send me a book "of my choosing" (the selection can be VERY limited -- which is the only reason in this world that I'm reading about Diamond Rio right now), I read it and write a 200-word review on this blog and Amazon. The book is my payment. I'm hoping to enjoy most of the books enough to keep them, and the others (like the Diamond Rio one) I'll sell.

87. Become more intentional about observing Advent. Our church is emphasizing Advent more this year than it has in the past, which has been helpful and good. We had a churchwide Advent dinner a couple of weeks ago, and everyone got a handout with scriptures to read every day of Advent. Lighting Advent candles, making Advent wreaths, etc., is fine, but for me, these daily readings have been the biggest help in observing Advent.