Updated 101 Things in 1001 Days List

The Hubs has pointed out a few times that I don't update this much. I've made an executive decision to remove it from the side bar and just do occasional update posts. It keep the page from being way too long too. Oh and due to existing circumstances (specifically the figurative bun in the oven), I've had to modify some of these.

As far as blogging about each, I've got to go back and do a massive post about some that I've completed since I seem to have gotten behind on that one.

Start Date: June 4, 2009
End Date: March 1, 2012

Completed: 16, Still to Do: 85

To Do
In Progress


Spreading the Love

1. Send a “just because” package to a friend.
2. Send a handwritten letter to my Gramma.
3. Watch someone's child for free so the parents can have a break.
4. Have at least 6 Mama & me dates a year. (1/12)
5. Make a master friends’ and family members’ birthday list.

My Lobster
6. Have a date night with Brady at least once a month.
7. Use up our dance lessons we have left from the wedding.
8. Give Brady a massage (even just a footrub) at least once a month.
9. Finish a website for Brady’s photography.
10. Complete “The Love Dare” from Fireproof.

Heath/Wellness
11. Do a non-modified push up.
12. Complete 30 full days of the 30 Day Shred.
13. Hike Piestewa Peak at least 3 times a year. (1/3)
14. Walk the dogs for at least 30 minutes every day for a week.
15. Take a CPR class.We're taking an infant/child CPR class early next year.
16. Lose 20 lbs.
17. Get LASIK.
18. Complete a full Whitestrips program.
19. Have a full day at the spa.

First comes love, then comes marriage, then...

21. Take belly pictures every month starting w/ 2nd trimester.
22. Write letters to our unborn child.23. Write a monthly letter to our child for their entire first year. (0/12)

Travels
Went for my b-day!
25. Visit Sherry and Jason at least once a year. Went for my b-day. (1/3)
26. Go to Denver to see a home Avs game or two.
27. Get a new passport with my married name.
28. Travel somewhere that requires me to use my passport.
29. Go on a family vacation.
30. Go camping.
31. Go on a cruise.

Local
We have twice for Suns games so far.
33. Visit the Phoenix Art Museum.6/5/09
34. Do the major Scottsdale art walks.
35. Visit the Phoenix Zoo.
36. Visit the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.
37. See a play or live performance.
38. Go to a local farmer’s market.
39. Go to a comedy show.Gabriel 7/31/09!

Church
40. Find a local church we love.
41. Finish reading my women’s study Bible.

Writing/Creative Endeavors
42. Finish writing A Perfectly Good Heart.
43. Submit APGH for publication.
44. Get something published.
Kaelyn's wall art counts I suppose, even though it's more "crafty" than anything.
46. Paint a mural.

Continuing Education
47. Learn a new word every day for 30 days. (0/30)
48. Learn at least 30 ASL signs. (0/30)
49. Take a hobby class.

Blogging
50. Document a “day in my life” with photos.
51. Blog every day for a month. (0/30)
52. Blog about each of the 101 as I complete them. (16/101)

My Inner Iron Chef
53. Cook at least 1 dish I’ve never made before, at least once a week for 4 consecutive weeks.
54. Make at least 2 weeks worth of freezer meals.
55. Learn to make chocolate soufflé.
56. Create a notebook of all my favorite recipes.

Around the house
58. Have a garage sale.Had one in November.
59. Replace master bedroom ceiling fan.
60. Replace chandelier in stairway.
61. Get new dresser for master bedroom.Found an awesome deal and it's currently being stained for us!
62. Buy a cushy rug for in front of the couch.63. Get a new couch.Thank you, Mr. Budaj.
64. Plant flowers.
65. Get crown molding in at least the bonus rooms.
66. Get a firepit.
67. Paint our front door a bold color.
68. Buy another piece of fine art.
69. Frame a bunch of Alexandra Nechita images.

Paying it Forward
70. Complete a charity walk.
71. Participate in Relay for Life in San Diego.
72. Participate in Christmas Angels.

Procrastinating Bride
73. Finish wedding albums.
74. Complete wedding slideshow, burn DVDs complete with wedding video and image files for family.
75. Get enlargements of favorite wedding photos and frame around the house. Working on this one. Just need to order prints.
76. Get wedding dress cleaned and preserved.

Must-Dos
Done in November, still waiting on new cards though.
78. Create a master grocery shopping checklist.
79. Create living wills.
80. Get supplemental life insurance. Working on adding to what my work offers and getting separate life insurance.

Work
81. Take a day off to organize.
82. Take a day off to do absolutely nothing productive.

84. Prepare extensively for and pitch a 4-day work week concept to my boss.

General
85. Do not use a computer for an entire week.
86. Dress up for Halloween.
Started 6/6/09, completed 7/8/09
88. Read 5 classic novels, including re-reading Wuthering Heights.
89. Send out Christmas cards every year once Kaelyn is born (1/3)
90. Learn to ice skate. Really.
91. Avoid saying anything negative for 24 hours.
92. Make a list of 101 things that make me happy.
93. Buy a reusable stainless steel water bottle.
94. Make the complete switch to using only reusable grocery bags.
95. Learn to change a tire.
96. Sit down and watch a sunset.
97. Be up early enough to sit and watch the sun rise.
98. Spend an entire weekend morning on our outdoor furniture reading and relaxing.
99. Grow my hair out again.
100. Write a bucket list.
101. Make a new list of 101 things to do in 1001 days before first 1001 days are up.
87. Read the Twilight saga.
83. Put in proposal for telecommuting every other week.
77. Finish requesting name changes for all bills, etc.
57. Buy a grill.
45. Complete an art piece.
32. Ride on the light rail.
24. Go to Disneyland again.
20. Get pregnant!
Completed

#39 Go to a comedy show & #20 Get pregnant

Well I haven't been too great about keeping the blog up-to-date with the 101 things in 1001 days list so I'm playing catch-up.

#39--On July 31st, Brady and I headed to Improv to see Gabriel Iglesias. We saw him last year too, but the guy is hilarious so we jumped at the opportunity to see him again. 1st trimester basically kicked my butt and I was not feeling particularly wonderful that night, but I had a great time in spite of that and there was no shortage of laughs. We even got Gabriel to sign an 8x10 of the picture we had taken with him last year. What a difference a year makes! Gabriel even got shorter. Just kidding. When we walked up, he said: "Wow, you guys are tall!" and proceeded to scrunch down so that "Everyone will say--wow, that guy's reeeeeally short." So here we have it: Gabriel show 2008 (left) and 2009 (right)

#20--Well, our announcement about Peanut is on the main blog, but I'll expand on it here.
We found out that I'm pregnant really early (3 weeks, 6 days on June 23rd). I just had a feeling and even then, I didn't believe I saw the line on the test the night before. Then again, doubting oneself is to be expected when it dawns on you that you're perched up on a window seat holding a pregnancy test out in natural sunlight to see if the line is actually there. That night I made a Target run and picked up some digitals. Somehow I managed to sleep that night, but I did wake up much earlier than usual. I padded to the bathroom sans curious dogs to test.
The hour glass animation seemed to go on forever and when the screen flipped over to "Pregnant," I just stared at the test. On previous occasions, I'd start obsessing when it was clearly negative because obviously the line was just so faint it wasn't visible to the human eye. Even the night before, I doubted I was seeing a very faint, but definite line. What can I say? HPTs have a profound effect on the psyche. Well, with such a bold answer from the pee stick, I didn't know what to do with myself. After a minute or two, I picked up the test, switched off the bathroom light and headed back to bed. Brady was more than a little surprised to have me wake him up, seeing as I outsleep him every day of the week. He came out of his sleepy daze pretty quickly when I told him and handed him the test. He seemed to get over the shock a lot faster than me and got all excited, talking to my non-existent baby belly and this is when our baby acquired the nickname "Peanut", only the size of a poppy seed at that point :)
It definitely felt surreal for awhile. I didn't want to get too excited until we actually had an ultrasound or some other confirmation. 5 weeks later, we finally got to see our tiny little Peanut and most importantly, that beautiful little heartbeat. It sounds strange, but even after the ultrasound, it didn't feel real and I was trying to be cautious. There's a great online community of ladies I talk to and several have experienced tragedies and that knowledge made me both hyper aware that things do happen and very thankful at the same time. I think over the past couple of weeks, I've finally let myself relax a little and not worry as much because there's nothing I can really do to prevent something from happening, Peanut deserves a happy momma so s/he can continue to grow stronger, and right now Peanut's doing great.

#87 Read the entire Twilight saga

Well I did it. I finished the Twilight saga. I started Twilight on June 6th, finished the last book, Breaking Dawn, tonight July 8th. Not too bad considering the first three were upwards from 500 pages and the last one was about 750. I really enjoyed the series, surprising considering I've never really had an interest in vampire stories before. It was a quick read and I found it easy to get into the story. How Stephenie Meyer comes up with 4 books and around 3,000 pages from one story idea is pretty incredible to me as a writer.

I'll definitely be reading these again someday, but now what am I going to do on those shuttle rides to and from work?

#57 Buy a grill & #62 Buy a cushy rug for in front of the couch

Done and done!

Brady's had his eye on one particular grill for the past few months and last week, that grill found a home with us :) For Father's Day, Lowe's was having a 20% off sale on Char-broil grills. We also had a coupon for an additional 10% off. Thanks also to Brady's dad for his generous contribution to our grill-fund, we were able to get a truly smokin' deal.

So far Brady's made steaks and burgers on it and loves it!

I'm also happy to report that we got a wonderful rug for in front of the couch that is nice and soft for our feet. We got it for 10% off at Home Depot...it's a Mohawk Frise shag rug in Starch. The dogs LOVE it. Gracie's actually staying by us instead of heading out to the bonus room to lay on her chaisse lounge and Budaj has taken to laying under the coffee table.

#93: Buy a reusable stainless steel water bottle.

This one was pretty easy to complete. The effort on my part was actually remembering to buy it. Fortunately TJ Maxx has conveniently placed "impulse" purchases along the line to the registers. We picked up a few things we wouldn't have otherwise that actually would make good gifts and then I saw the shelf of reusable water bottles. They were a much better deal that I've seen other places. Starbucks is marketing them for upwards from $15. I got mine for $5 I think.

It's the same one off to the left, complete with the clip, which will really come in handy.

In other 101 things news, I'm whipping through the Twilight saga books. You could say I'm hooked. I read New Moon in just about 2 days. 

#33: Visit the Phoenix Art Museum

Last night, Brady and I decided to head downtown to the art museum. They offer free admission on the first Friday nights of the month (as well as Wednesday nights). We weren't the only ones who had this same idea, but luckily the museum is pretty big so it wasn't bad at all.

It's been several years since my last visit, which was during junior high or high school when they had an Egyptian exhibit. 

We spent about an hour and a half wandering around. In each room, we played the game where we'd pick a piece of art that we'd like to have. 

Each gallery had a completely different feel to it. The Asian exhibit and the intricate detail was pretty incredible. One piece was a deed of land ownership carved into some sort of iron material. It included a threat that anyone who tried to take the land from its rightful owner would be cursed to live as a roach or something in feces for 60,000 years. In case you were wondering, that wasn't one of our picks. I chose a huge vertical banner with a landscape sketched onto it with bonsai trees and traditional Asian architecture. Brady couldn't decide between a few things, including a Quaran. 

The special exhibit right now is Fashion from the Middle Ages. Brady picked out a very interesting gold gown for me, which included shoulder armor only on the right side and a crown featuring a circle of sea horses. I'd look pretty fierce, that's for sure.

There was a room upstairs that housed art called "Firefly." It had thousands of LED lights and walls of mirrors. It was hard to find our way through it. It kind of had the feel of a fun house. (I found this photo online, but it doesn't do justice to it)

Some of the exhibits were still there from when we've visited in the past. The museum has a lot of southwestern art, but a good mix of art from other eras. It's pretty amazing to see all of the art techniques and styles and how one can make you feel one way and another can make you feel a completely different emotion.

It was a fun night--Brady and I love art and would love to visit some of the famous art museums here in the U.S. and in Europe someday. 

One down, 100 to go!

101 Things in 1001 Days

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

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? The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days is a decent period of time, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.
I'm going to keep an updated list of these on the sidebar if you'd like to check my progress. You can view all the posts relating to this topic by clicking "101 Things in 1001 Days" under Labels.

Start Date: June 4, 2009
End Date: March 1, 2012

To Do
In Progress


Spreading the Love

1. Send a “just because” package to a friend.
2. Send a handwritten letter to my Gramma.
3. Watch someone's child for free so the parents can have a break.
4. Have Mama & Me dates at least once a month. (0/31)
5. Make a master friends’ and family members’ birthday list.

My Lobster
6. Have a date night with Brady at least once a month. (0/31)
7. Use up our dance lessons we have left from the wedding.
8. Give Brady a massage at least once a month…oh he’s going to LOVE this one. (0/31)
9. Finish a website for Brady’s photography.
10. Complete “The Love Dare” from Fireproof.

Heath/Wellness
11. Do a non-modified push up.
12. Complete 30 full days of the 30 Day Shred.
13. Go on at least a hike a month Oct-April. (0/7)
14. Walk the dogs for at least 30 minutes every day for a week.
15. Take a CPR class.
16. Lose 20 lbs.
17. Get LASIK.
18. Complete a full Whitestrips program.
19. Have a full day at the spa.

First comes love, then comes marriage, then...
20. Get pregnant!
21. Take belly pictures every week, even if I don’t feel like it.
22. Write weekly letters to our unborn child.
23. Write a monthly letter to our child for their entire first year.

Travels
24. Go to Disneyland again.
25. Visit Sherry and Jason at least once a year. (0/3)
26. Go to Denver to see a home Avs game or two during the 09-10 season.
27. Get a new passport with my married name.
28. Travel somewhere that requires me to use my passport.
29. Go on a family vacation.
30. Go camping.
31. Go on a cruise.

Local
32. Ride on the light rail.
33. Visit the Phoenix Art Museum.
34. Do the major Scottsdale art walks twice per year. (0/5)
35. Visit the Phoenix Zoo.
36. Visit the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.
37. See a play or live performance.
38. Go to a local farmer’s market.
39. Go to a comedy show.

Church
40. Find a local church we love.
41. Finish reading my women’s study Bible.

Writing/Creative Endeavors
42. Finish writing A Perfectly Good Heart.
43. Submit APGH for publication.
44. Get something published.
45. Complete an art piece.
46. Paint a mural.

Continuing Education
47. Learn a new word every day for 30 days. (0/30)
48. Learn at least 30 ASL signs. (0/30)
49. Take a hobby class.

Blogging
50. Document a “day in my life” with photos.
51. Blog every day for a month. (0/30)
52. Blog about each of the 101 as I complete them.

My Inner Iron Chef
53. Cook at least 1 dish I’ve never made before, at least once a week for 4 consecutive weeks.
54. Make at least 2 weeks worth of freezer meals.
55. Learn to make chocolate soufflé.
56. Create a binder of all my favorite recipes.

Around the house
57. Buy a grill.
58. Have a garage sale.
59. Replace master bedroom ceiling fan.
60. Replace chandelier in stairway.
61. Get new dresser for master bedroom.
62. Buy a cushy rug for in front of the couch.
63. Get a new couch.
64. Plant flowers.
65. Hang the globe lights I love so much outside.
66. Get a firepit.
67. Paint our front door a bold color.
68. Buy another piece of fine art.
69. Frame a bunch of Alexandra Nechita images.

Paying it Forward
70. Complete a charity walk.
71. Participate in Relay for Life in San Diego.
72. Participate in Christmas Angels.

Procrastinating Bride
73. Finish wedding albums.
74. Complete wedding slideshow, burn DVDs complete with wedding video and image files for family.
75. Get enlargements of favorite wedding photos and frame around the house.
76. Get wedding dress cleaned and preserved.

Must-Dos
77. Finish requesting name changes for all bills, etc.
78. Create a master grocery shopping checklist.
79. Create living wills.
80. Get supplemental life insurance.

Work
81. Take a day off to organize.
82. Take a day off to do absolutely nothing productive.
83. Put in proposal for telecommuting every other week.
84. Finish and publish websites for side businesses.

General
85. Do not use a computer for an entire week.
86. Dress up for Halloween.
87. Read the Twilight saga.
88. Read 5 classic novels, including re-reading Wuthering Heights.
89. Send out Christmas cards every year during the 1001 days (0/3)
90. Learn to ice skate. Really.
91. Avoid saying anything negative for 24 hours.
92. Make a list of 101 things that make me happy.
93. Buy a reusable stainless steel water bottle.
94. Make the complete switch to using only reusable grocery bags.
95. Learn to change a tire.
96. Sit down and watch a sunset.
97. Be up early enough to sit and watch the sun rise.
98. Spend an entire weekend morning on our outdoor furniture reading and relaxing.
99. Grow my hair out again and then donate it.
100. Write a bucket list.
101. Make a new list of 101 things to do in 1001 days before first 1001 days are up.
Completed