kapachino

Category: goals

  • #97. Buy Another Leash and Walk the Dogs Simultaneously

    I’ve let my dog Cleo get fat. There’s no getting around it; she’s gained a lot of weight since I got her a year and a half ago. This is what she looked like then:

    dscf1096

    And this is what she looks like now:

    dscf2094

    She’s a good couple inches rounder, and look at all that back fat! It’s embarrassing. Back then she could run 5 miles with me no problem, and now when I try to take her on a run she can barely make it around the neighborhood. (Full disclosure: I can’t run 5 miles anymore either.) I chalk this change up to two things: 1) I live with David now, and one of his favorite things is giving dogs treats. He does it frequently. 2) Eddie lives with us now, and somewhere along the way one of the leashes broke, so we can’t walk them at the same time and it’s too hard to walk them separately, and I know that’s a lame excuse but that’s what happened, OK?

    Honestly, it was the leash that was the main thing holding me back from walking them. So when I went to HEB the other day I picked one up, along with a couple of choke collars. Turns out I bought the wrong size collars, but I still walked them anyway!

    dogs-after-walk
    Tired girls after their walk.

    So this was an easy one to check off the list of goals, and now hopefully we can start taking lots more walks!

  • 101 in 1001: The List

    I long to accomplish a great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”
    ~Helen Keller

    Here is my list of 101 goals in 1001 days. To find out more about the project, read other people’s lists, and learn tips to starting your own, visit the Day Zero website.

    This specific post will not be updated, but I have added a link to a page above where I will update as I complete tasks. I’ll also be posting about them as I go, and that page will have links to those posts. Make sense? Great! Here we go!

    Start date: April 22, 2009
    End date: January 18, 2012

    If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” ~J.R.R. Tolkein

    FOOD
    1. Shop at a farmer’s market.
    2. Cook dinner once a week for a month. (0/4)
    3. Cook something with my Crockpot.
    4. Be a vegetarian for a month.
    5. Make David’s lunch three times a week for a month.
    6. Compile a recipe book of go-to meals.

    Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” ~Plato

    FITNESS
    7. Do a bike race.
    8. Run another 5k.
    9. Unlock all the exercises in Wii Fit.
    10. Do a Wii Fit body test once a week for twelve weeks. (0/12)
    11. Buy a nice pedometer and wear it at work.
    12. Buy ankle weights and start wearing them at work twice a week.

    “It sometimes happens that a woman is handsomer at twenty-nine than she was ten years before.” ~Jane Austen

    HEALTH & BEAUTY
    13. Spend an entire day at the spa.
    14. Buy three new pairs of heels. (0/3)
    15. Drink 64 oz. of water a day for a week.
    16. Find the perfect mascara.
    17. Get my teeth whitened.
    18. Learn how to style my hair.
    19. Try microdermabrasion.

    “Ah, nowadays we are all of us so hard up, that the only pleasant things to pay are compliments. They’re the only things we can pay.” ~Oscar Wilde

    FINANCIAL
    20. Pay off my credit card bill.
    21. Put at least $1000 in my IRA.
    22. Make a habit of paying extra principal on the mortgage each month.
    23. Transfer my old 401k.
    24. Implement a system for David and I to save our change.

    “The Internet? Is that thing still around?” ~Homer Simpson

    COMPUTER AND INTERNET
    25. Back up all of my computer files.
    26. Learn CSS/HTML/PHP well enough to design and run my website independently.
    27. Set up an eBay seller profile.
    28. Do a video blog post.
    29. Spend a week without internet, except email once a day.

    “The door that nobody else will go in at, seems always to swing open widely for me.” ~Clara Barton

    NURSING
    30. Become oncology certified.
    31. Take the charge nurse class.
    32. Take the preceptor class.
    33. Get promoted.
    34. Get ACLS certified.
    35. Thoroughly research nurse practitioner programs in the area and decide whether or not to enroll.

    “One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.” ~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

    CULTURE
    36. Watch all of the movies that have won Best Picture. (33/82 – List)
    37. Track down this classical piece by Mendelssohn that I used to own but lost, and only know the melody to.
    38. Read 5 Pulitzer Prize winning books that I haven’t read. (0/5)
    39. Read 5 books of David’s recommendation. (0/5)
    40. Read all the books I own but haven’t read.
    41. Attend a Messiah sing-a-long.
    42. Learn conversational Spanish.
    43. Learn the clarinet solo in “Desperate For Love” by Over the Rhine.
    44. See another live musical.

    “I have an affection for a great city. I feel safe in the neighborhood of man, and enjoy the sweet security of the streets.” ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

    HOUSTON
    45. Eat Sunday brunch at Birraporetti’s again.
    46. Walk the Kemah boardwalk.
    47. Go to another Dynamo game.
    48. Go to a Texans game.
    49. Drive through River Oaks at Christmas.
    50. Go to Dickens on the Strand.
    51. Visit Moody Gardens and do the penguin encounter.
    52. See the Beer Can House.
    53. Visit the Orange Show monument.

    “Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” ~Jack Kerouac

    TRAVEL
    54. Drive down the California coast.
    55. Change passport to married name.
    56. Go saltwater fishing with David.
    57. Take David to Tabor’s homecoming.
    58. Stay in a bed & breakfast.
    59. Take David to visit my aunt and uncle in South Carolina in springtime to see their dogwoods and azaleas.

    “No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.” ~L. Frank Baum

    HOME
    60. Get the house painted.
    61. List all unwanted books, CDs, and DVDs on eBay and/or Amazon.
    62. Sell/give away/donate all the books I don’t need or want.
    63. Plant flowers in the backyard.
    64. Get patio furniture.
    65. Have the locks changed so they all open with a single key.
    66. Get all the electrical outlets working again.
    67. Build a pretty and well-organized home office.
    68. Obtain a vacuum cleaner.
    69. Refinish my old desk chair.
    70. Get the drywall in the bathroom ceiling replaced.
    71. Buy 5 original/handmade art/craft pieces from local creators to display in our home. (0/5)

    “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ~Marcel Proust

    RELATIONSHIPS
    72. Write David a list of 100 things I love about him.
    73. Babysit my new nephew.
    74. Get pregnant.
    75. Send 10 ‘just because’ cards. (0/10)
    76. Hand write a letter to my Australian pen pal.
    77. Host a game night.
    78. Host a book club meeting.
    79. Send out timely Christmas cards.
    80. Attend my 10-year high school reunion.

    “A boy doesn’t have to go to war to be a hero; he can say he doesn’t like pie when he sees there isn’t enough to go around.” ~Edward H. Howe

    GIVE BACK
    81. Donate blood once a quarter.
    82. Register to be a bone marrow donor.
    83. Start using reusable shopping bags.
    84. Send Mary, the child we sponsor in Uganda, a picture of us.
    85. Make an achievable plan of steps to take to have a more environmentally friendly life.

    “Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality.” ~Beatrix Potter

    BE CREATIVE
    86. Write a “This I Believe” essay and submit it to NPR.
    87. Complete NaBloPoMo.
    88. Make and send birthday cards to everyone on my birthday list for three months.
    89. Make an inspiration board.
    90. Have a custom stamp made.
    91. Take a sewing class.

    “Christ says, ‘Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You.’” ~C.S. Lewis

    SPIRITUAL
    92. Memorize Philippians 3.
    93. Memorize Romans 8.
    94. Fast for 24 hours and evaluate.
    95. Be a regular at a women’s Bible study.
    96. Complete a Beth Moore Bible study with homework (on my own with downloaded sessions or live).

    “Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera!” ~The King and I

    ET CETERA
    97. Buy another leash and walk the dogs simultaneously.
    98. Get new windshield wipers for my truck.
    99. Become a true fan of the Texans by watching every game and discussing with David.
    100. Complete a New York Times crossword puzzle without help.
    101. Beat Mario Galaxy on Wii.

    For everything I don’t complete on this list, I will add $50 to my IRA.

  • 101 Goals In 1001 Days

    Because of the aforementioned employee evaluations coming up, I’ve been thinking about my professional goals a lot lately. That easily transitioned into thinking about my personal goals as well. I had already started to write some of them down when I came across this website.

    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.

    After giving it some thought, I’ve decided to undertake this project. I’m currently in the midst of creating my list of 101 goals. It’s kind of tough because I want to choose things that mean something to me, and I want them to be realistic.

    One thing that I have discovered through scouring the Internet for inspiration is that I have already done, or am currently in the habit of doing, a lot of good things. So that has boosted my confidence, and I think that in 2.75 years I can absolutely complete my list. I will post it, along with my starting date, as soon as it’s ready.

    Is there anyone out there who is already doing this, or would be interested in doing it with me? I’d love to hear from you!

  • 2008 In Review

    This was a pretty big year for me, so I decided to reflect a little. For the new year I like to make resolutions that are important, but obtainable. Last year, my resolution was to stop texting and reading while driving. I have almost completely cut this out. I admit that I have made some mistakes, but overall they are rare. I do still read at stoplights sometimes, but that’s it. So I’m going to call that one a success.

    2008 was also the year of Huge Life Events. See for yourself:

    Also, I gave up sugar for Lent this year. Makes me realize that I really need to cut back on my current intake. This was the year that we lost our dog Molly, and David’s Aunt Sue. Singing at her funeral was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. My brother-in-law and his wife announced that they are pregnant. Today we found out they’re having a boy. We saw Coldplay live – and I found out that I’m too old for arena concerts. Besides my own, I was in two dear friends’ weddings. I survived a hurricane at the hospital, and worked 30 hours straight. I became obsessed with the Twilight series, and then quickly got over it once everyone started getting annoying about it.

    This year, I resolve to use the expensive road bike I bought a few years ago. I will ride it, and at least once this year I will enter a bike race. I’ve already started by taking it in for repairs, where I got completely chewed out for not taking care of it. But I’m turning over a new leaf.

    This year I also hope to furnish and decorate my house. I hope to become a mentor to a new nurse at work. I hope to be a really great aunt to my future nephew. I hope to complete a Bible study. And I hope to love better all the time.

    Happy new year, everyone!