Monday, December 28, 2009

101 in 1001

This year I turned 30. The big 3-0. Yeah, that's not really THAT big of a deal. But I think it's the first birthday in my lifetime that I have wished would NOT come sooner. It was also a big reason that I started thinking about what I've done with my life for the past 30 years (more like the last 10... I don't think anyone really thinks that hard about what they did the first 20-ish years of their life... you're still figuring out who you are) and where I would like to take my life in the future. I was happy with most of the choices I've made, and I also found a number of areas in my life where I would like to make some improvements. But there are a lot of things I want to do next, and it would be hard to start a new blog about the variety of hobbies and interests that I have in my life.

Thus.... the reason for starting this blog and for the first post, titled "101 in 1001." If you read lots of blogs frequently, you very likely may have come across this idea before - lots of people are jumping on this bandwagon. But if this is the first time you have heard of "101 in 1001," then here's the scoop. You pick 101 things that you want to do with/for yourself in the next 1001 days. These items are supposed to be measurable and should hopefully challenge yourself to a degree. So for example "Compete in a 10 mile bike race" is a good goal = measurable and hopefully challenging you in some ways. "Watch fun TV" is not so good. How do you really define fun? And for most people, is watching TV really that much of a stretch? I think not....

So, after much thought and a little difficulty, here is my list of 101 in 1001. There is only one item on the list that has been changed for personal reasons. If the goal is met, I might reveal it, but we'll see. But anyways, here are my goals for the next 2.75 years, and as I cross things off the list, I will post about all the things I've accomplished!

Start date: January 1, 2010
End date: September 27, 2010

Marriage & Family
1 Visit my grandparents in Iowa
2 "Date night" with Mark once a month (3/33)
3 Take dance lessons with Mark
4 Visit my parents once a month (3/33)
5 Take a trip to Maine with my parents
6 Have my extended family over to our house
7 Send birthday cards to all friends/family for a year
8 Take my parents to the Magic Bar in Baltimore
9 Get a dog

Home Matters
10 Buy furniture for the formal living room in our house
11 Make curtains for the formal living room
12 Clean out and organize the garage
13 Organize the office closet COMPLETED Jan 2010
14 Successfully grow an herb garden
15 Clean out my closet 2 times a year and give unwanted clothes to charity (1/5)
16 Complete photo collages and hang them upstairs
17 Buy a headboard for our bed
18 Make curtains for the office
19 Re-do the lighting in our kitchen
20 Organize and consolidate all office files IN PROGRESS
21 Plant new flowers behind our back fence
22 Reupholster the cedar guest chest
23 Install hardwood flooring in living/dining room
24 Upholster/cover kitchen stools
25 Organize the attic
26 Switch all our lightbulbs over to "green" ones

Mind, Body & Soul
27 Get some form of exercise 3 days a week (1/143)
28 Volunteer for a charity organization once a year (0/3)
29 Participate in my first 5K run
30 Hike or bike part of the Appalachian Trail
31 Complete a crossword puzzle without any help/cheating COMPLETED Feb 2010
32 Drink at least 32oz water every day
33 Pray every day
34 Go an entire week without watching TV
35 Get a massage once a year (0/3)
36 Learn 5 new hairstyles and use them

Hobbies
37 Join a camera/photography club COMPLETED Jan 2010
38 Sew a skirt for myself
39 Sew a dress for myself
40 Wear at least one item I sewed for myself in public
41 Learn how to alter pants to fit me
42 Take an intermediate sewing class
43 Take an intermediate cake decorating class COMPLETED Feb 2010
44 Finish my Italy/Greece scrapbook
45 Join a book club COMPLETED Jan 2010
46 Participate in project 365 IN PROGRESS
47 Organize all my print photos into albums
48 Backup all my digital photos onto DVDs
49 Send a DVD of Hawaii photos to Fritzs
50 Create a hobby workspace for myself IN PROGRESS
51 Fix my kitchen shelves COMPLETED Jan 2010
52 Finish and frame my cross stitch project

Food & Entertaining
53 Try 2 new recipes every month (3/33)
54 Host a cookie decorating party
55 Make homemade pasta COMPLETED Jan 2010
56 Host a formal dinner party
57 Try 5 new restaurants in our neighborhood (1/5)
58 Roast a chicken
59 Host a holiday party every Christmas (0/2)
60 Make a loaf of bread.... by hand
61 Learn (and perfect) how to make pizza dough... from scratch
62 Cook my entire way through a magazine or cookbook
63 Make a personalized cookbook/tastebook
64 Organize my recipes

Out & About
65 Got to an opera performance
66 Organize an afternoon tea outing with friends
67 Visit a new city in the US
68 Visit Germany Planning phase
69 Visit Austria Planning phase
70 Bring only a small suitcase to Europe
71 Visit Sabrina in CA
72 Visit New York City at Christmas time
73 Go camping at a new site/location each year (0/3)
74 Do a Viginia wine tour
75 Visit a museum once a season (0/11)
76 Visit a planetarium
77 Visit a new town in my home state each year (0/3)
78 Get together with one of my girl friends once a month (2/33)
79 Go tubing at Harpers Ferry
80 Visit Falling Waters (Frank Lloyd Wright's home in PA)
81 See a professional soccer game
82 See a performance at Ford's Theater
83 See a orchestra performance
84 Go to a Penn State football game
85 Go ice skating outdoors at National Gallery of Art

Fresh Starts
86 Start a new blog COMPLETED Jan 2010
87 Sell my first photograph
88 Make my own "coffee table" book of my photos
89 Start a side business in photography
90 Get a new job COMPLETED Feb 2010

Other
91 Watch 10 new "classic" movies (0/10)
92 See an outdoor movie
93 Watch the sunrise
94 Re-read 5 books I own
95 Learn 2 new card games
96 Learn to play a song on the guitar
97 Read 5 non-fiction books (0/5)
98 Go one month without buying clothes/accessories for myself COMPLETED Jan 2010
99 Buy myself one nice piece of jewelry
100 Donate $5 to charity for every item not completed
101 Start a new 101 in 1001 list