Abby's 101 List in 1001 days

Beginning: January 1, 2010

Ending: Friday September 28, 2012

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?
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 organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

WHY ME?
I love to be organized and I love to check things off lists but most importantly I'm motivated by accomplishing tasks. This list represents all of the things I've said I'll do at some point in time, and now I will make time to do them. All of them!

First, the "KEY": ORANGE TEXT: indicates a work in progress STRIKE-THROUGH TEXT: indicates a goal accomplished ITALICS TEXT: represents notes I have added after the fact, perhaps to document a date a goal was accomplished or other details I feel are important

Number in Progress: 20/101

Number Completed: 56/101
Number Partially Completed: 1/101

So here goes:

Home/Garden:

1. buy Dyson Animal Ball- Blake surprised me on Jan 9, 2010! I spent Saturday night happily vacuuming my house and realizing just how dirty it is! GROSS :)

2. finish decorating living room (tables, lamps, art, accessories)- July 31, 2010 completed the art for over the couches

3. laundry room project with sink- want front loaders, countertop above, closed storage and a new sink with cabinet, cheap of course!- We have finally purchased front loader machines and I LOVE them!- I'm going to say this one is as complete as possible as Blake and I have decided to not put any more money into our house that we can't take with us if/when we leave, except necessary maintenance. Therefore I will donate $15 into savings.

4. have light installed in closet under the stairs- (Thanksgiving weekend 2010) My dad and Blake installed a light in the closet under the stairs. It cost less than $15 and works perfectly!

5. research installing cable in our master bathroom- January 4, 2011- definitive decision to not pursue anymore. it's possible and affordable so it's officially on my "to-do" list; perhaps off the to-do list as our neighborhood is switching to all direct TV and I don't want a cable box hanging over my tub.. will have to get more details. Update- October 2010- neighborhood is switching to DirectTV so in order to have cable I will have to have a box.. Definitely don't want a cable box mounted above my bathtub so this project is on the back burner indefinitely.

6. outdoor fire pit area- see number 3 above

7. wash windows on back and side of house November 14, 2010. In preparation for outside Christmas decorations, Blake and I removed all the screens from the windows on the front of the house and decided to wash all of the outside windows in the house. It took about 2 hours but was well worth it!

8. have carpets cleaned April 23, 2011. We had all of the carpets in the house cleaned. It was about time! I'm happy with the results.

9. figure out something to do with dining room rug (cleaned or replaced)- January 4, 2011. rug is currently rolled up in the garage and we're trying out the dining room sans rug.. kinda like it so far. Update- September 2010-rug has been thrown away and we're liking the room the way it is. Will still think about it. October 2010- no plans to replace rug.January 2011- we love the room without a rug!

10. art project for stair wall July 31, 2010- This was a surprise purchase. We had been looking at this picture for awhile but stopped into Pier1 and realized it was on sale and we had enough money left in our July budget to swing it. We think it looks great!

11. lamps, dresser, & side tables for guest bedroom- found a dresser online.. ordered it! (August 1, 2010) 

12. scrub the extra (i.e. dripped) paint off the baseboards in my office- we ended up painting the room but I need to finish touching up. pics to follow- Labor Day weekend 2011 Completed May 2011!

13. stain fence- we have requested a quote, but somehow I feel like we're going to end up doing it ourselves :). update-August 2010- we have received the quote and we will certainly be doing this ourselves :) Readdressing the possible quote as of April 2011 because we've found out how much it will be for us to do it ourselves. We received a quote again in April 2012 and it was fantastic! We happily paid someone else to make our fence look amazing! Completed April 2012

14. seal garage floor- this will be a fall project as the summer is too hot- in progress as of September 5, 2010. We started with our 3rd car garage and the Russel's garage. Will finish theirs tomorrow night and our two car garage over the weekend. It's a lot of work but so worth it in the end! September 16, 2010 officially done!

15. buy new kitchen table and chairs- on the quest for the "perfect" table..still

16. sell old kitchen table and chairs on craigslist or some other selling venue

17. clean the leather seats in the 4Runner- April 16, 2010. I used leather cleaner for cars that was terrible, but the Method leather cleaner wipes were awesome- officially beginning my quest to switch all of my household cleaning products to Method, with the exception of spot shot for carpet cleaning and Bona hard wood floor cleaner (which is still "green")

18. hire a cleaning company for cleaning every other week They start on Wed May 19, 2010 and we're both VERY excited!!

19. hire lawn company so Blake doesn't have to spend hours each weekend in the summer tending to our lawn- Blake has made contact with two companies for quotes! June 18, 2010. Victor starts Monday and we're looking forward to the extra free time!

20. upgrade imac and macbook for blake and I (1/2)- i got a new macbook on Sat May 22, 2010. Blake's waiting to see if they update the imac before he gets a new one! June 19, 2010 Blake got his imac after finding out there were no updates scheduled for the near future. We're both extremely happy!

Marriage/Family:

21. go camping for ONE night with blake in a tent outside- we now own a tent and sleeping bags!

22. Find a church we both like and attend at least 1x/month- decided on ones to try so far
       First Presbyterian in d'ville
       St. Paul's Presbyterian on Ponce
       First Presbyterian on Peachtree
       Trinity Presbyterian on Howell Mill Road
       Central Presbyterian
       Druid Hills Presbyterian
**Not only did we find a church we like, we joined Trinity Presbyterian Church on May 13, 2012 and are so excited. We truly feel like we've found a church home, I have a much more centered calm feeling after we go to church and our little guy LOVES going to church-- he's busy the whole time!

23. complete the 5 love languages with Blake- August 2012. This book had been sitting on my shelf for 6 years. A dear friend's mom gave it to us as a wedding present. Having a newborn shakes a marriage up so Blake and I spent one leg of the drive to Jacksonville reading about love languages. It was interesting to discover that I am "quality time" and slightly "physical touch" and Blake is "words of affirmation" and strongly "physical touch" too. His insight into how to communicate effectively utilizing your spouse's love languages has brought much more peace to our lives in the short time we've used it. Check out his website: http://www.5lovelanguages.com

24. make something, the two of us, to by displayed in our home July 31, 2010. We created art for our living room. We purchased ready-made frames and matting as well as a table runner that had some texture. We cut the runner into two vertical pieces and two horizontal pieces and mounted inside the frames to hang on the wall in our living room. 

25. start a family- June 26, 2012 Carter Binns Ivie entered the world and changed it forever- We couldn't love him any more!

Happy Birthday Carter

Our First Family Photo 6/28/2012

Kim Rahn Photography

Kim Rahn Photography

Kim Rahn Photography

26. surprise Blake on March 14th one year 2011.

27. write Blake a letter telling him about all of his wonderful qualities

28. have professional photos taken of our family Completed 5/19/2012

29. do something special for my 30th birthday- in light of all of the stress going on in our lives I opted not to celebrate my birthday this year the way I wanted to. We did see Blake's family in Blue Ridge and we did have some good conversation and yummy cake from Metrotainment Bakery, but it wasn't the birthday I was hoping to have. I'm hoping to celebrate 30.5 with a bang :)

30. do something special for Blake's 30th birthday- Blake claimed 9/7-9/11 as his "birthday week" Thursday had us trying Miller Union for dinner- AMAZING!!! feta and veggie appetizer, farm egg in celery cream and rustic bread app, bistro steak with succotash for Blake, triggerfish on spaghetti squash for me and dessert of blue cheese plate for blake and lemon custard dessert for me. GREAT DINNER! Friday night we celebrated with family style Maggianos with the Russels, Saturday Blake had a massage, we went to Farm Burger with friends (Russels, Davis, McCloskeys, Faircloths) and drank the night away at Brickstore Pub (REALLY COOL PLACE) with the Russels, Davis, McCloskeys, Suszynskis, Bilyeus. Thanks for all the fun guys! On Sunday we drove to the Chattanooga Farmers Market to look at furniture for our dining room and upstairs hallway. We got some great ideas and the market was neat!

31. do something special for our 5 year anniversary- We went to dinner on our anniversary to Rathbun Steak. The meal started out with a bottle of very nice Cabernet that was on our table from Melanie & Rob. For appetizers we had pimento cheese and bacon puffs, Blake had a wedge salad, I had a mixed lettuce salad. For dinner we split the Dry Aged steak for two (a porterhouse). It was fantastic and served with truffle butter. We dined on succotash and mac n cheese as sides. For dessert we split a grasshopper baked Alaska and I had a 20 year port (AMAZING) and Blake had 100 year Grand Marnier (which he said was life changing). It was a fantastic dinner and just what we needed to help us relax for a couple of hours. The next day I bought Blake a watch he has been wanting for awhile and he bought me an anniversary band to wear between my engagement ring and wedding ring.
29, 30 & 31 go together. We decided to go big and have a 13 day trip to Peru and the Galapagos booked from February 8-21, 2011. We will both be 30 in 2011 and will celebrate our 5 year anniversary. We can't wait!!

We spent Feb 8-Feb 21 2011 in Peru & Ecuador. Here are a couple of photos

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu 

Wayna Picchu- We climed this Mountain.eek!                                           

Galapagos

I really miss sunsets over water

Outside of Quito, Ecuador at the Equator

Sea Lions

Sea Lion

Beautiful, colorful crabs

Crabs

Blue Footed Boobie                                         

 Blue Footed Boobie

32. walk my dog or take her to the dog park at least 1x/week

33. plan a date day with blake where we do activities all day long together

34. no facebook or other social media for 10 different entire days (7/10)- being on vacation doesn't count 
      1. February 3, 2010
      2. April 16, 2010
      3. July 11, 2010
      4. January 2, 2011
      5. August 31, 2011
      6. September 1, 2011
      7. September 2, 2011

Career:

35. get full time job with benefits  Job offer on April 13, 2010 I start my big-girl job at Pediatric ENT of Atlanta as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner on May 3, 2010. 

36. attend at least 1 professional conference/meeting- Hoping to attend the NAPNAP convention in Baltimore in March, 2011- have requested time off and been approved. Dec 2010- I've registered for the conference and am looking forward to it! March 23-26 in Baltimore. Attended with Molly K & Kim C. Saw Paul H. for the first time in too long. It was a great learning experience and I hope to attend another conference in the future.

Travel & Adventures:

37. Hike Amicalola Falls October 24, 2010. Enjoyed the hike up a cajillion steps to the top. The fall foliage was beautiful and the all-you-can-eat buffet at the top was good too!

38. Hike Kennestone Mountain

39. Attend the Yellow Daisy Festival

40. go to Charleston, SC for a long weekend

41. Go to Biltmore or Chateau Elan- we're going to go to Biltmore to celebrate our 4 year anniversary. Looking forward to it! June 25-27, 2010. We drove to Asheville, NC to spend the weekend hanging out. The Grand Bohemian Hotel was over booked the first night so we stayed at another place. On Saturday morning we toured the Biltmore Estate- awesome! We watched the US lose to Ghana in the world cup at 2 different bars in downtown Asheville. After the game we went back to Biltmore for a signature wine and cheese tasting. We found some amazing wines! Our anniversary dinner was at Honey Tupelo Cafe. We were both so tired we ordered grilled cheese and tomato soup. You know you're marriage is strong when your anniversary dinner costs $17!! Sunday morning we slept late (at the correct hotel- which was lovely), ate brunch in their restaurant (compliments of the hotel for f-ing up!) and then went back to the Biltmore for another tasting- this time red wine and chocolate, preceeded of course by a lunch of ice cream sundaes! YUM! We bought an amazing bottle of Cab Sav, some Malbec and a bottle of chardonnay. We scored some "bacon almonds" for blake and Mikki through the Bistro and then headed home. All in all, it was a great weekend get-a-way!

42. go apple picking and/or to the Ellijay apple festival (October 10, 2010). We drove up to Ellijay, Ga to visit the apple festival. We met friends in town and ate a lovely lunch at a local cafe. Afterwards, Blake and I walked around the downtown area and stopped in many antique stores looking at some neat stuff and some definite JUNK! We then made our way to the fairgrounds where we looked at all of the things for sale. We sampled fried apple pie, fried sweet potato pie, fried green tomatoes and home made cream soda out of an apothecary bottle. We purchased some Mutsu apples and headed home. It was a nice time!

43. visit 10 new-to-me restaurants in the Atlanta-area (10/10)
      1. 5 seasons (Jan 16, 2010)- Kari Kari appetizer, beer cheese soup & organic pork ribs- Blake had the antelope patty melt; then we met Anna & Joey at Chocolate Pink for dessert- red velvet, chocolate fudge and pink lemonade cupcakes YUM!
      2. Pie 950 Pizza Tavern (Jan 21, 2010)- Super yummy salad, slice with kalamata olives and avocado. Blake had 2 slices and a nutella milkshake which was AWESOME
      3. Orient Express in Vinings for Hibachi on Marc's 29th Birthday (Feb 3, 2010). Good food and fun times!
      4. Vineyard Cafe in Marietta- Super Yummy tea house!
      5. Flip Burger (February 10, 2010)- turkey burger with avocado, tomato, pomegranate ketchup, onion rings, "vintage" A&W root beer  and a nutella shake split with Blake. Super cool atmosphere and great food!
      6. West Egg- (March 27, 2010)- fried green tomato wrap with scrambled eggs, horsradish dill sauce and breakfast potatoes. Went with Debbie & Blake after riding 13 miles on the Silver Comet. SUPER FUN!
     7. La Fonda Latina (April 7, 2010)- grilled vegetable enchiladas, queso dip and frozen margaritas with Anna
     8. Olive Tree Restaurant (April 13, 2010)- Veal Picatta, very good and close to home
     9. Joe's on Juniper (April 18, 2010)- Chicken wrap- VERY good!
   10. Rice in Historic Roswell (April 28, 2010)- Pad Thai with chicken- went shopping and to lunch with my friend Anna. We also split a piece of chocolate peanut butter pie at the Pie Hole. Fun day! 
Completed April 28, 2010. I have enjoyed documenting these experiences, so click here to see additional restaurants I've visited since April 28, 2010.

44. try 5 new bars/pubs/drinking holes and try a local speciality from each (5/5)
      1. 5 seasons brewery (Jan 16, 2010)- Winter Warm brew- dark and creamy. Blake had Golden number IPA and Full Nelson
     2. Six Feet Under (May 20, 2010)- Bobby Jones & I heard their Bloody Mary's are "legendary" so I had one of those too!
     3. Ormsby's pub on Howell Mill (July 1, 2010)- Debbie's going away party and I had a glenmorangie manhattan! Superb!
     4. Holeman and Finch (July 25, 2010)- Pimms Cup was spectacular! Will go back for more. YUM!
    5. Atlanta Brewing Company (December 9, 2010)- Blonde Ale- Blake's company Holiday Party was here. It was a great beer and a cool location.
   6. Brickstore Pub (September 10, 2011)- Fun times for Blake's Birthday. Great Beer.. Awesome environment

45. go to Serenbe one day August 2011- went in the morning and had breakfast at Blue Eyed Daisy cafe and walked around the farmers market. 

46. go to Fernbank Museum

47. take Blake to the Atlanta Zoo March 2012- we went to the zoo with Blake's cousin Charlie and his family. It was neat to see the fun and joy through kid's eyes

48. go for a picnic, basket and all

49. visit three new places in the US (2/3)- looking forward to Rochester, NY in May of 2011 for a great friend's wedding & Sandestin in August 2011

Rochester, NY

Sandestin, FL

50. go to a drive-in movie

Organization/Streamlining:

51. computerize recipes in preparation for my mydemy- rethinking the demy but still inputting the recipes. Completed 1-17-2010. Will continue to maintain


52. compile a list of credit card companies, cc numbers, insurance info, tax people, etc.


53. unsubscribe to all the junk mail I receive via email

54. organize my photos in photo albums once and for all completed 4-15-2010. Photos are organized, albums are labeled and I even have one completely empty album for photos in the future!

55. organize and label all of my china containers  completed 01-03-2010

56. organize itunes and delete songs I don't like completed 5-15-2010

57. Transfer the VHS tapes to DVD- purchased the software on July 10, 2010 and started converting. So far it's fun. Mine are done (9/5/2010). Blake's are done but one is at Wolf Camera for repair (9/7/2010). We're almost there!! October 16, 2010- all tapes are converted!

58. roll up loose change and deposit in the bank completed 3-31-2010


59. get Ivie family bible repaired Completed Feb 2012. It turned out beautifully!

Relationships:

60. write handwritten notes to 10 people (thank you notes not included) (1/10)

61. host a dinner party  August 6, 2011- Had Matt & Mikki and Randy & Diana over for Big Green Egg pork tenderloin three ways, hashbrown casserole, roasted green beans, salad, rolls and nectarine & blueberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. It was a really nice night- good food, great conversation and the kids were awesome!

62. call my grandma at least once a month (16/33)
   I already dropped the ball for March 2010, but will still attempt to do the rest of the months., Dropped the ball again for June 2010. I did speak with her in July, August and September. Dropped the ball again in October 2010. Spoke with her in November and December 2010. Also January 2011. Spoke with her in February 2011 and visited in March 2011 (it was long overdue and I hope to visit more frequently). Spoke with her in April and May 2011 and June 2011. Talked to her in July and August 2011.

63. Host a fondue party

64. send my niece something fun to wear or play with "just because"- October 12, 2010.I need to go to Michaels to finish the care package but will post pics before I send it! Sure hope she likes it! 

Health & Fitness:

65. exercise 2-3 days per week when at home most weeks (i.e. not on vacay)

66. weigh daily when home

67. take a spinning class

68. participate in a 5K- started couch to 5K on Monday July 12, 2010. Completed first week with no problem. Looking forward to the rest! Update(8/11/10)- Registered for the Kaiser Permanente 5K on Thursday September 16, 2010 at 7pm! Completed the 5K in er... something in the 40s.. Was able to run the first mile with no problem but then I got bored and lazy! I do want to do the D'ville Halloween one this year on October 23 though!

69. try acupuncture for my hives- Completed Fall 2010-made contact with a Chinese Medicine Practitioner and I'm excited about what he has to offer. I will move more seriously ahead with this when full-time employed. Update- I have a consultation on August 18, 2010. Update- I've had two treatments. Nothing earth shattering to report yet but I'm giving it the 'old college try! I've only needed two Zyrtecs in the last 10 days (September 2010), so perhaps the accupuncture is working! Update- October 2010- I have been off of zyrtec for greater than two weeks. If I can make it through the rest of October without Zyrtec I will consider this victory! Have had a total of three accupuncture sessions. I have made it through October without Zyrtec. I will occasionally get hives but instead of daily it's only about once a month!! (january 2011) I'm back to acupuncture with a new provider. He specializes in women's health and reproduction. After one visit (June 19, 2011) I have MUCH more energy and less anxiety. I look forward to more sessions with him to help ease my anxiety and help my reproductive system in any way he can. I do still occasionally have hives but I've had no more headaches since acupuncture either.

70. reach 65 hours of exercise on the wii fit/ea active (2/65)
       EA active (85 minutes)
       Wii Fit (44 minutes)

71. learn to do 1 complete boy pushup

Service to Others or the Environment:

72. donate to heifer.org

73. donate blood two times (1/2)- July 10, 2010 

74. clean closets and donate stuff to charities (i.e. extra towels to the vet, dresses to a high school prom fundraiser; still working on the rest of the closets)
     1. donated dresses to the social worker at Mikki's high school
     2. donated all extra towels to Stoli's vet (2-10-10)
     3. cleaned garage and donated stuff (7-11-2010)
     4. cleaned my closed (8-8-2010)
     5. Blake surprised me and cleaned his closet!! (8-8-2010)
     6. Coat closet downstairs (8-17-2010)
     Next stop- Goodwill!- completed on August 7, 2010
75. save all glass recyclables for 1 month and take to recycling plant in d'ville. If not too terrible, make a regular habit. Completed February 3, 2010. Not too bad of a drive so I will go when the recycling container is filled

76. change all lightbulbs in the house to the CFL energy efficient bulbs as the regular ones die

77. calculate my carbon footprint and assess what changes can be made

Creative Outlets/Reading:

78. needlepoint four more items (4/4)- I have finalized all of the selections. Now I have some fun things to work on because my friends are all getting married!!!
    1. gator ornament
    2. initial ornament
    3. engagement ring door hanger
    4. cake topper door hanger
will post pictures when I have them all finished and have given the gifts! (Don't want to ruin surprises!)

79. start a christmas scrapbook of our yearly christmas card and letter; update yearly Completed February 3, 2010. Looking forward to maintaining this in the years to come!

80. Complete an Open Yale course- decided to take the "Introduction to the Old Testament" will start on 1-20-2010 (3/24 lectures)

81. Try 2 recipes from each published cookbook (I own 22 cookbooks, so 7/44 recipes)
      1. Spinach Quiche from Better Homes and Garden Cookbook- Jan 7, 2010
      2. Shepherd's Pie with Cheddar Spiked Mashed Potatoes from Robin Miller Fix Quick Meals- January 18, 2010- not my fav.. won't make again but edible!
      3. Carbonara from Cooking 'Round the Clock by Rachael Ray 30-minute meals. SUPER GOOD, and we switched the rigatoni noodles with gnocci and it made it even yummier!
      4. Super Sloppy Joes, Deviled Potato Salad and Root Beer Floats- Rachael Ray 30-minute meals 2- March 22, 2010- pretty good! Will make again!
      5. Grilled Filet Mignon & Chipotle Butter- from WW New Complete Cookbook- June 10, 2010. Served with grilled zucchini, squash and asparagas
     6. Spinach & Artichoke Dip- Home Town Get-Togethers- December 12, 2010- for Randy & Diana's baby shower
     7. Nectarine & Blackberry Cobbler with Almond Crunch Topping- Rustic Desserts- August 7, 2011 (substituted blueberries for blackberries)

82. make Norwegian Christmas meal and serve to at least one other couple (lefse, meatballs, steik, potatoes, carrots). My mom and I have made lefse and meatballs. Will make the rest and serve for Christmas, except steik. I still think it should count though because I'm serving it to 8 people, right? It definitely counts! Lefse, meatballs, potatoes, carrots (roasted with garlic and thyme), homemade mac-n-cheese for Christmas dinner. YUM!

83. make French Onion Soup and Croque Monseuirs from scratch for dinner one night  Decided to add an apple tart to the mix too! September 11, 2010

84. read all of the unread books in my library and donate when done (35/53) Additional books I've read not from the original 53 will be catalogued Here 

      1. Nanny Returns- Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus
      2. Seven Up- Janet Evanovich
      3. The Bolter- Frances Osborne
      4. Olive Kitteridge- Elizabeth Strout
      5. Being Perfect- Anna Quindlen
      6. The God of Animals- Aryn Kyle
      7. Nights in Rodanthe- Nicholas Sparks
      8. The Last Lecture- Randy Pausch
      9. The Red Tent- Anita Diamant
     10. Say You're one of them- Uwem Akpan
     11. The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho
     12. Strength in What Remains- Tracy Kidder
     13. Handle with Care- Jodi Picoult
     14. Loud & Clear- Anna Quindlen
     15. Hard Eights- Jane Evanovich
     16. The Monsters of Templeton-Lauren Groff
     17. Friday Nights- Joanna Trollope
     18. The Year of Magical Thinking- Joan Didion
     19. To the Nines- Janet Evanovich
     20. Rise and Shine- Anna Quindlen
     21. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith- Jon Krakauer
     22. Both Ways is the Only Way I Want it- Maile Meloy
     23. Ten Big Ones- Janet Evanovich
     24. Eleven on Top- Janet Evanovich
     25. The Space Between Us- Thrity Umrigar
     26. Twelve Sharp- Janet Evanovich
     27. The Last Jew- Noah Gordon
     28. Abide with Me- Elizabeth Strout
     29. Home Safe- Elizabeth Berg
     30. March- Geraldine Brooks- Feb 2011
     31. Belong to Me- Maria de los Santos- Feb 2011
     32. Eventide- Kent Haruf- May 2011
     33. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society- Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows June 2011
     34. Amy & Isabelle- Elizabeth Strout- August 2011
     35. Gardens of Water- Adam Drew- September 2011


85. read 10 of the "1001 books you must read before you die"- I decided which ones to read

     1. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defor- received for Christmas 2010
     2. Sense & Sensibility- Received for Christmas 2010
     3. Gone with the Wind- borrowing from Mom
     4. If this is a Man by Primo Levi
     5. 1984- received for Christmas 2010
     6. Song of Solomon
     7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
     8. Hideous Kinky- Esther Freud
     9. The Reader- Bernhard Schlink
    10. Fingersmith- Sarah Waters

86. get a library membership and check out books instead of buying them: completed 1-29-2010

Just for me:

87. submit something to post secret

88. Take a photography class or at minimum learn how to use my Canon Rebel camera better

89. do something with the beautiful diamond Blake's grandmother gave him (for little 'ole me!!!)- October 30, 2010 the diamond needed to be recut as there were some chips in it but we learned that it's a "very old" diamond as it's cut in an old mine cut that was popular in 18th and 19th century Georgian and Victoria jewelry. I'm super curious about this diamond's history. We're looking forward to having it set into a necklace in the near-future, and also to ask Blake's grandma what she knows about the history of this stone! Update- Asked Blake's grandmother who said it belonged to her mother who wore it every day until very late in her life when she passed it onto Blake grandmother who then wore it every day for awhile. We're even more excited to now move ahead with making it into something that can then again be worn every day. We're even thinking of adding some diamonds we might be able to find from my grandmother to make it a piece from both families! October 2010- We've decided on a design. It will be with Blake's grandmother's stone only and I will post pictures when I pick it up. Should be ready by October 22!

90. spend the afternoon reading in a library or bookstore on four separate occasions (0/4)

91. find and wear an amazing pair of high heels

92. buy myself flowers for no reason five times (1/5)
              #1: Hydrangeas from Trader Joes on Jan 12, 2010

   

93. write a letter to myself to open on my 35th birthday (June 5, 2010) I wrote myself a letter on my 29th birthday. I thought it would be appropriate to start the second half of my thirties with a flashback to the first day of my last year of my twenties. Here's to hoping I remember where I put that darn letter

94. go through all of my makeup and throw away the old stuff & replace with good quality new stuff  May 15, 2010. This one took me awhile as I seem to like expensive makeup, but I'm all set now with the works :) lets see how long until I'm back to my old self of never wearing makeup!

95. go 5 days without spending any money (not including direct debits for bill payments) or prepaid all-inclusive vacations

Accountability:

96. review/update list weekly (52/143)

97. take and post at least 20 photos of different activities I've completed (17/20)

98. Inspire at least one other person to start a list  My friend, Anna, started her list on 4-8-2010. Check out her list and blog at: http://acaj57.blogspot.com/2010/04/101-things-in-1001-days.html. inspired another list: http://www.devanjordan.blogspot.com/

99. donate $10 into our savings account for everything I do accomplish on this list (56/101)

100. donate $20 into our savings account for everything I don't accomplish

101. make another list of 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days at the end of this one


Additional fun things that are worth mentioning are located in my other randomness post


Hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading!