100!

Welcome to post #100! I think I've been stressing out a little bit too much about this, because maybe it's not a big deal to you, but it is kind of a big deal to me. I thought I'd use this as a reflective opportunity, so I went through all 99 posts prior to this one and picked out a "top 10" of my favorites to share with you, and why they are my favorites. It was harder than I thought, though - my initial list was 24, which is just way too much. Then I got it down to 16, which was hard. And finally, I got down to which 10 I wanted to share.

But first, let's start with a celebratory drink, ok? And if you stick around to the end, I have a surprise for you. Earlier this week, a friend of Keith's shared this "recipe" with me and it was actually pretty tasty, although I'm sure many of you won't believe me.

Cheers!

Tequila with a Cinnamon Orange
1 shot Patrón Reposado tequila
1 orange wedge
cinnamon

Sprinkle cinnamon onto orange wedge. Drink shot of tequila, bite into cinnamon orange. 

That's it and it was surprisingly good. My advice, though, is to just have one. It is tequila, after all.

Top 10

Now on to my top 10 - if you visit any of these older pages, you can feel free to comment. So, here goes (in no particular order):

1. big day & the Kruse's
I'm combining these two posts because they are so related and they are the first two posts on this blog. This was after we lost Grandma K. and Grandma D. in 2009, and we were going through lots of old family pictures, which I absolutely love. When the family was going through things at the house / apartment, I remember telling mom & dad that I didn't want much - the most important thing to me was that I just a chance to look at and scan the pictures... and I did. I took some of my favorites and put them into these videos to share.

2. mmm... food!
This was the first post I did about food, which, if you've been following along, tends to be a big theme here. And that trend had to start somewhere - and it did, with a modification of one of mom's good recipes and taking it to make my own. If you're looking for a good apple panakuchen recipe, check it out. :)

3. guest post from mom - home comfort foods
Speaking of mom, I love this post because it's hers, and if you've been following along recently, you know that this is currently the most popular post on my blog. I think it's great that she did a guest post because it's nice to switch things up occasionally and it's nice to hear someone else's story.  The invitation is still open to you - let me know if you'd like to guest post, and I'll give you the options for how we can make that work!

4. responsibility
This was about everything we tried at the Minnesota State Fair last year - and it's kind of embarrassing, but I really liked this post. I had a lot of fun, and the State Fair is an experience we only get once a year. At least I do, because my stomach can't handle going more than once! That would not be responsible. :)

5. vacation & family
This seems a bit obvious because it's two awesome things: vacation and family. This one was special, though, because this visit was one that we had been wanting to do for a long time - it was the first time that we visited my awesome aunt & uncle in Florida AND it was the first time that that all three of my brothers and my cousin, Julie, went on vacation together -- without parents. And it's nice to look back at on days like today when it's cold and (really) windy here.

6. things that make me go hmm... #1
This was a shorty but this is how I think most of the time. Random thoughts -- and this was me sharing one with you without going into great detail or taking any photos. If I wrote down all of the random thoughts or conversations I had in a day, it would be a bunch of stuff that looks like this.


7. who needs sleep?
Not sleeping the night before I fly is a consistent problem every time I do it, and this is the result that can come from those sleepless nights - a 3 a.m. random post that may or may not make sense. I also liked this one because it made me think about where I've been and brought up a lot of good memories from my travels. And helped me map out the places I need to get to, yet!

 

8. bad fish mom

I like this post because it's a story that former roommate Abby and I laugh about to this day - it falls into the category of bonehead moves that I've made, and you have to laugh at yourself when you do stupid stuff.

9. weirdo
This was about the weird food combinations we like and I like this post because we all have them - eggs and crackers, grilled cheese and hot chocolate, spaghetti and peanut butter sandwiches. And there were some interesting responses here in the comments!

10. me angry?
I think this one is my favorite because people say that when I get angry, it's funny... and I guess it's true. I think it's a pretty good representation of my personality when I am angry (and sassy). And more importantly, it's about being able to laugh about it later - and this one still makes me smile. And based on the comments, it made some of you laugh, too!

So, there you have it!  My top 10.

Surprise

And now for the surprise - I'm going to try doing a giveaway in celebration of 100 posts to thank you for visiting me and following along!

When I was in Chicago, I went to the Ghiradelli Chocolate store and picked up these two cool, old-fashioned looking tins with chocolates in them.There will be two winners.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment here, on my post on FB, or email me answering one or all of the following questions:

• Now that I've given you my top 10, do you have a favorite post from my first 99? If so, which one?
• What you like to hear more or less of going forward?
• If you were to do a guest post, what would it be about?

I'll put everyone's name into a drawing - to be drawn at the end of the day on Wednesday, April 20 and I'll make an announcement here. Depending on who wins, I'll figure out the best way to get it to you. :)

Thanks for joining for me for some or all of the first 100 - and I'm looking forward to many more!