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101 in 1001

The Mission:

Complete 101 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?

Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, 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.

Start Date: April 24th, 2011

End Date: January 19, 2014

Goals Completed: 30/101

For Fun/ Trying new things

  1. Learn more about wine
  2. Read 75 new books (63/75) (see the list below)
  3. Send at least 1 paper card or letter each month (15/33)
  4. Eat at the poutine truck in DC— 7/15/11
  5. Become a regular at a restaurant
  6. Join a CSA for a season  Joined Shallow Brooke Farms CSA for summer/fall 2012
  7. Host a dinner party at least once every 2 months 12/16)
  8. Buy an awesome hat and wear it
  9. Buy a high quality rain coat
  10. Put away $3 for every completed task to be used to go shopping at the end of my 1001 days (0/101)
  11. Try Indian food
  12. Go to a new museum-– The National Geographic Museum 7/29/11
  13. VisitMount Vernon — Went on 8/18/12 and LOVED it!
  14. Attend 3 concerts (3/3)- Matt Nathanson 5/23/11; Blink-182 8/12/11; Matt Nathanson 9/27/11
  15. Buy at least 1 new song each month (7/33)— Joined Spotify Premium and now have access to lots of new music, so this doesn’t really apply anomore
  16. Try 10 totally new foods (3/10) –see list below
  17. Finish watching Battle Star Galactica
  18. Keep the tradition of our annual Luau alive (2/3)
  19. Throw a themed party (other than our luau) Mardi Gras party March, 2012
  20. Buy a suit that I actually like
  21. Go to see a new ballet
  22. Go Horseback Riding
  23. Go skiing
  24. Go ice skating in the DC sculpture garden
  25. Attend the national Christmas Tree lighting– Got to attend the 75th Anniversary of the lighting on 12/6/12
  26. Attend an event of some kind that involves wearing a very fancy formal dress
  27. Participate in a dance marathon/flash mob
  28. Get/Give myself a pedicure once a month (13/33)
  29. Buy a bike
  30. Sell my wedding dress
  31. Find grown-up everyday summer shoe replacement for Old Navy Flip flops

Learning New Skills

  1. Learn to bone a chicken
  2. Try out 30 new recipes (30/30) The America’s Test Kitchen cookbook is amazing!
  3. Learn to make 3 really good cocktails (2/3) My mother-in-law’s frozen Margaritas!, Bloody Mary’s
  4. Learn how to make a good pie
  5. Take a dance class
  6. Go contra dancing
  7. Learn to play at least 10 songs on the ukulele (1/10)
  8. Learn more advanced knitting (knit something that is not just a square or rectangle in 1 stitch)
  9. Learn to build at least 2 pieces of furniture — Dining table and 2 benches on 4/29/11
  10. Learn to make Mother-in-Law’s Oatmeal Raisin cookies
  11. Learn to bake bread
  12. Learn how to sew more than just buttons (hemming, more advanced repairs, basic alterations)
  13. Learn to make my own jewelry and make at least 4 pieces (6/4)
  14. Learn how to actually use our DSLR camera and/or Photoshop CS5

Develop Good Habits/ Break Bad Habits

  1. Drink 8 glasses of water per day every day for a month — Gave up soda on 7/7/12 and have been drinking WAY more water
  2. Go 2 weeks without watching TV (0/14)
  3. Don’t eat out at all (including meals, snacks, and coffee) for 3 weeks (0/21)
  4. Read the Washington Post in depth every day for a month (0/30)
  5. Make the bed every day for a month (0/30)
  6. Floss every day for 3 weeks (0/21)
  7. Write at least 3 blog posts every week (7/143)
  8. Take a vitamin every day for a month (0/30)
  9. Give up drinking soda for 30 days (0/30)–  Gave up Soda on 7/7/12 and have been going strong!

Things for the Home

  1. Set up a window garden 6/18/11
  2. Paint at least 1 room
  3. Buy a new bed-– 5/26/11
  4. Buy a new sofa
  5. Purge the house of clutter/unneeded items once per year (2/3)
  6. Find a way to better organize jewelry
  7. Get a new computer
  8. Find a way to use/display family mementos currently in boxes

Growing up/ Milestones

  1. Finally move off campus-– Moving on June 4, 2011!
  2. Get a pet— Angus joined the fam on 7/25/11!
  3. Have a baby
  4. Finish the name change process (all bank accounts, credit cards, passport, etc)

Relationships and Personal Development

  1. Find a charity/non-profit to volunteer with regularly
  2. Help/support my husband to complete at least 1 of his major goals
  3. Re-connect with someone I’ve lost touch with (more than just being facebook friends)
  4. Get back in touch with my side of the family- attend at least 3 family events and make D come too (0/3)
  5. Develop relationships with mother-in-law and father-in-law that are independent of D
  6. Finish at least 1 Grad School paper or project at least 2 days before it is due– well, technically not completed, but Grad school is over and all papers are done, so calling it a win!
  7. Join a club of some kind with people I don’t know (book club, running club, etc)

Education and Professional Development

  1. Finish my Masters Degree 5/12/12
  2. Get a new job— 6/6/11
  3. Take on at least 3 challenging long-term projects at work (3/3)
  4. Get certified to train in a personal inventory test- Strengthsquest Educator Certified! 6/12/11
  5. Learn some HTML and/or Java
  6. JoinMaryland’s Alumni Association

Health and Fitness

  1. Run at least 10 miles per week (2/143)
  2. Run another marathon
  3. Complete all 90 days of P90X
  4. Go to the dentist for 6 month cleanings (1/5)
  5. Give blood every 8 weeks (6/17)
  6. Get to healthy goal weight of X
  7. Stay within 5 lbs of healthy goal weight
  8. Run a race in a city outside of  MD/DC/VA
  9. Go to the dermatologist once a year to track freckles/moles (0/3)
  10. Do a triathlon
  11. Try a new sport or fitness class

Financial

  1. Pay off all credit card debt
  2. Accrue a savings account that we could live on for at least 3 months
  3. Open up a joint checking account- 5/23/11
  4. Create a comprehensive budget, monitor and stick to it
  5. Clip coupons and use for groceries on every trip for 2 months 4/10/12

Travel

  1. Go on an anniversary trip for our second anniversary 6/22/12
  2. Go to England, Ireland, andScotland
  3. Visit New York Cityagain
  4. Go to New Orleans
  5. Go on a vacation with friends
  6. Go Camping

List of new foods I’ve tried:

  1. Pork Cheek– Little Dom’s on 4/25/11
  2. Marrow– 6/20/12

List of Books Read:

  1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett 5/1/11
  2. The Passage by Justin Cronin 5/9/11
  3. The Magicians by Lev Grossman 5/20/11
  4. A Secret Kept by Tatiyana de Rosenay 5/28/11
  5. The Favorites by Mary Yukari waters 6/3/11
  6. Alice I have Been by Melanie Benjamin 6/7/11
  7. Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran 6/9/11
  8. The Last Dragon Slayer by Jasper Fforde 6/12/11
  9. Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi 6/15/11
  10. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris 6/17/11
  11. The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir 6/25/11
  12. Are you there Vodka? It’s me, Chelsea. by Chelsea Handler 6/28/11
  13. Under the Dome by Stephen King 7/5/11
  14. My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler 7/7/11
  15. Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford 7/10/11
  16. Lit by Mary Karr 7/21/11
  17. Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang 7/28/11
  18. Speaks the Night bird by Robert McCammon 8/8/11
  19. One Day by David Nicholls 8/15/11
  20. Queen of Bedlam by Robert McCammon 8/19/11
  21. Mr. Slaughter by Robert McCammon 8/26/11
  22. The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue 9/14/11
  23. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris 10/3/11
  24. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris 10/5/11
  25. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin 10/9/11
  26. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin 10/13/11
  27. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin  10/19/11
  28. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin 10/26/11
  29. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris 10/27/11
  30. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris 10/28/11
  31. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris 10/28/11
  32. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris 10/29/11
  33. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris 10/30/11
  34. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris 10/31/11
  35. Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris 11/1/11
  36. The Hedge Knight  by George R.R. Martin 11/2/11
  37. The Sworn Sword  by George R.R. Martin 11/3/11
  38. The Mystery Knight  by George R.R. Martin 11/4/11
  39. The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan 11/16/11
  40. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin 11/22/11
  41. The Facebook Effect by David Kirkpatrick
  42. The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
  43. Son of a witch by Gregory Maguire
  44. A lion among men by Gregory Maguire
  45. Look at Me by Jennifer Egan
  46. The Night Circus
  47. The Poisoner’s Handbook
  48. Interpreter of Maladies
  49. The Invisible Circus be Jennifer Egan
  50. A Widow for One Year 7/18/12
  51. The Remains of the Day 7/14/12
  52. Never Let me Go 7/24/12
  53. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Eagan 7/29/12
  54. The Paris Wife 8/3/12
  55. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami 8/16/12
  56. The mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley 8/31/12
  57. Elizabeth the Queen by Sally Bedell Smith 9/10/12
  58. In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson 11/16/12
  59. The Winter Palace 11/10/12
  60. The Queen’s Vow by CW Gortner 11/18/12
  61. The Last Queen by CW Gortner 11/20/12
  62. The Second Empress by Michelle Moran 11/26/12
  63. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 12/26/12

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