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Tag: 101 in 1001

  • 101 Goals in 1001 Days: Wrap-Up

    I started this project on April 22, 2009 and it ends today. I did not complete all of my goals, in fact some of them I intentionally did not complete, but I enjoyed the experience tremendously. Many things I wouldn’t have accomplished or experienced otherwise.

    All in all, I completed 65 out of 101 goals, which I think is pretty good. Several more goals are in process, many don’t really apply to my life right now, and some of them just aren’t a priority at this time.

    I don’t plan to make a new list right now. Goals really work for me though, so I’m thinking about what to do next. I might make a list for the first year of my 30’s, or maybe I’ll start monthly goals. Not sure, but I’m looking forward to figuring it out.

    Here’s my final list. Items in bold are completed, items in italics are still in process.

    FOOD

    1. Shop at a farmer’s market.
    2. Cook dinner once a week for a month. (4/4)
    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. (4/4)
    6. Compile a recipe book of go-to meals.

    FITNESS

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

    HEALTH & BEAUTY

    13. Spend an entire day at the spa.
    14. Buy three new pairs of heels. (3/3)
    15. Drink 64 oz. of water a day for a week.
    16. Find the perfect mascara.
    17. Get my teeth whitened.
    18. Transition to all-natural personal care products.
    19. Try microdermabrasion.

    FINANCIAL

    20. Pay off my credit card bill.
    21. Put at least $1000 in my IRA.
    22. Refinance the house.
    23. Transfer my old 401k.
    24. Implement a system for David and I to save our change.

    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.     Intentionally not completed.
    27. Sell something on eBay.
    28. Do a video blog post.
    29. Spend a week without internet, except email once a day.

    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.

    CULTURE

    36. Watch all of the movies that have won Best Picture. (43/83 – 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. (3/5) – Olive Kitteridge, Middlesex, Gilead
    39. Read 5 books of David’s recommendation. (3/5) – And the Sea Will Tell, Columbine, Losing Our Religion
    40. Participate in a blog reading challenge and post reviews for every book read.
    41. Attend a Messiah sing-a-long.
    42. Take another class from Leisure Learning Unlimited.
    43. Obtain or transcribe the clarinet sheet music for “Desperate For Love” by Over the Rhine.
    44. See another live musical. – Wonderland (also saw many others!)

    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 SeaWorld and do the penguin encounter.
    52. See the Beer Can House.
    53. Visit the Orange Show monument.

    TRAVEL

    54. Go camping again.
    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.

    HOME

    60. Paint the entire front half of the house.
    61. Set up a writing desk in the front room.
    62. Sell/give away/donate all the books I don’t need or want.
    63. Plant something.
    64. Get the carpet replaced.
    65. Have the locks changed so they all open with a single key.
    66. Get all the electrical outlets working again.
    67. Set up a fully-functional and decorated dining room.
    68. Obtain a vacuum cleaner.
    69. Refinish my old desk chair.
    70. Get the drywall in the bathroom ceiling replaced if needed. – Turns out the drywall wasn’t affected by the leak in our attic! Hurrah, one less project to spend time and money on.
    71. Buy 5 original/handmade art/craft pieces from local creators to display in our home. (0/5)

    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. (7/10) – Lauren P., Jennifer W., Lauren A., Stephany R., Tabaitha K., Erin S., Grandma
    76. Hand write a letter to my Australian pen pal.
    77. Host a game night.
    78. Give David 5 random love cards. (1/5)
    79. Send out timely Christmas cards.
    80. Attend my 10-year high school reunion.

    GIVE BACK

    81. Donate blood once a quarter. (9/9)
    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.

    BE CREATIVE

    86. Finish a cross-stitch project. – See it in Meredith’s nursery.
    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.

    SPIRITUAL

    92. Memorize Philippians 3.
    93. Complete the Biblica New Testament challenge.
    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). – The Beloved Disciple

    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 following every game and discussing with David.
    100. Complete a New York Times crossword puzzle without help.
    101. Compile a list of favorite quotes.

  • Inexpensive, Natural Beauty Products

    Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://www.discoverbeautywithin.com/.

    ***

    I’m not super into makeup and beauty products, but I’m also not uncaring of my appearance and skin health either. Actually, over the past year I began the process of transitioning all my personal care products to natural versions, and I’m not talking high-end stuff. I’m on a budget, and I want to do this the healthy way AND the cheap way. I’ve tried a lot of things, and this is what I’ve come up with.

    >Facial care: I’ve started using the natural oil cleansing method, mixing extra virgin olive oil and castor oil, then wiping off with a warm towel. I can get away without using any  moisturizer, but I find that if I do that the fine lines on my face are much more visible. Burt’s Bees Radiance Night Creme takes care of that (or, honestly, whatever lotion I have lying around – my skin isn’t sensitive).

    >Body: Alba Botanica lotion is wonderful. Smells good, goes on clean, all natural, and lasts a really long time. Oh, and this isn’t all-natural, but I refuse to part with my anti-perspirant and am dedicated to Dove deodorant.

    >Makeup: I haven’t yet tried a cheaper version of mineral foundation (my favorite kind), but I hear good things about L’Oreal True Match Naturale, so that’s what I’ll go with next. I’ve tried all-natural mascaras, but they just don’t work as well and mascara is really important to me. My current go-to version is Covergirl Lash Blast Mega Volume. With a couple of coats my lashes look awesome, and it applies so easily. And…that’s all the makeup I wear on a regular basis.

    >Teeth: Tom’s of Maine toothpaste works well and tastes fresh.

    >Hair: I tried the no shampoo thing, but I guess I didn’t try hard enough because my hair felt gross (even though I knew it was clean). So for awhile I’ve been using Nature’s Gate shampoo and conditioner every other day or so. I only need a little bit each time, so they last.

    ***

    Really, that’s about it. I try to keep things as low-maintenance as possible and I find that I’m much happier.  What’s your beauty philosophy?

  • 101 Goals Update

    It’s been awhile since I’ve updated you on my progress toward my 101 goals. Actually, it’s been awhile since I’ve intentionally worked on these goals, but since I only have about 8 months left until my 1001 days are up I figured it was time to check in!

    Completed so far: 59

    4. Be a vegetarian for a month: I did this for over a month before I got pregnant after reading the book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. With all the pregnancy changes I couldn’t keep it up, but I do intend to merge back toward a more vegetarian diet once I have the baby.

    30. Become oncology certified: Passed my exam in November 2010!

    59: Take David to visit my aunt and uncle in South Carolina: We went last week and had a great time!

    60: Paint the entire front half of the house: Other than the tiny bathroom off of the laundry room that needs to be completely redone, it’s all painted! We’ve actually done most of the back half of the house too.

    62: Sell/give away/donate all the books I don’t need or want: We took several huge bags to the used bookstore recently and donated. This will be a constant battle as we acquire more books, but we’ve got a good start.

    93. Complete the Biblica New Testament challenge: I did this with my church and wrote about it on my book blog.

    In progress: 9

    18. Transition to all-natural personal care products: This has been a long process of finding out what I like, but I’m almost there! I’m using up what I have before trying new things, so I still need to find a natural conditioner, bar soap, and deodorant.

    20. Pay off my credit card bill: We’re slowly chipping away at all of our debt. The medical bills came first, and this is the next one to work on.

    24. Implement a system for David and I to save our change: We have a designated spot to place our loose change, but I haven’t yet gone through the process of taking it to get rolled and cashed or deposited.

    36. Watch all of the movies that have won Best Picture: I’ve seen 42 out of 83, and I haven’t made much progress in awhile. This is going to be a tough one to complete because I don’t have a whole lot of spare time.

    38. Read 5 Pulitzer Prize winning books that I haven’t read: I’ve read three new ones, and I have one on my shelf.

    39: Read 5 books of David’s recommendation: I’ve read two so far. I need to get him to recommend a few more.

    75: Send 10 ‘just because’ cards: I’ve sent seven! This will be an easy one to finish.

    81. Donate blood once a quarter: Until I got pregnant I donated blood even more often than this, about every two months if I wasn’t too anemic. Obviously I can’t donate now, and with my anemia problem I don’t know if I’ll be able to continue, but if my counts go back to normal once I deliver I want to get back into the habit.

    92. Memorize Philippians 3: This is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, and it’s not too long. I know a decent chunk of it, but I just need to focus to finish up.

    Some of my goals are going to be hard to complete, and they might get relegated to a future list. I’m going to try though!

  • Houston’s Orange Show

    I love Houston, and from time to time I like to do research on it like a tourist to see what new places I can find to explore. One thing that kept coming up was an institution called The Orange Show (<–check out the website, my brother’s company designed it). They call themselves a center for visionary art, and they’re most famous for holding the annual art car parade. But there are a couple other attractions they have stewardship of, the Beer Can House and the Orange Show Monument, that I have always wanted to see.

    I decided that this past weekend was the perfect time for a visit, so I dragged my youngest brother along and we made our mini pilgrimage to pay homage to folk art of Houston.

    This house is covered with 50,000 beer cans, all of which were consumed. There are also 20,000 marbles embedded in the concrete surrounding it. This whole thing was done by the man who owned the house, just for fun. I don’t know how his wife let him get away with it.

    Apparently it did lower their energy bills, so there’s that.

    ***

    And then there’s the monument from which the Orange Show gets its name. This was also built by a man on a whim, simply because he loved oranges and wanted to share his love with others.

    It looks like a small amusement park, but really it’s just in a regular residential neighborhood taking up one plot of land.

    I’m telling you, the guy just really loved oranges. There were sayings like this all over the place.

    His plan for the show was to have an organ playing while a tap dancer sang about health and nutrition. But sadly, his dream was never realized since he died 8 months after the monument was completed.

    I feel like a better Houstonian now that I’ve visited these landmarks! If you live in the area, they’re worth a quick visit. :)

  • 101 in 1001: Editing the List

    I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about the state of my life, and how I’m going to become the person I want to be. That’s one of the reason I created my list of 101 goals, to help me achieve that. I’m 397 days into it, and although the list has been a huge motivator I have also realized that some of the goals I originally set down either don’t fit with me anymore or don’t fit in to the next couple of years. They had actually been hanging over my head until I had the epiphany that this is MY list, and I can change it if I want to. It’s not there to make me feel guilty.

    After these 1001 days are up, I’m going to work on my life list, and I’ll probably take on smaller challenges in the future too. In the meantime, here are the changes I’m making to my current list.

    #18. Learn how to style my hair –> Transition to all-natural personal care products. Honestly, I’m not that into hair. I’m so awkward when I try to blow-dry using a round brush that it actually angers me. I decided I don’t care if I never know how to fix my hair in any special way; it’ll look nice enough straightened and left down. But staying in the category of beauty, I am very interested in transitioning to organic products whenever possible.

    #22. Make a habit of paying extra principle on the mortgage each month –> Refinance the house. Paying extra principle on our mortgage was an idea we got from David’s uncle, and is probably a good idea if we were positive we’d be staying in our house until we pay it off. Since we can’t be sure of that, it’s not really the best idea. Instead we need to refinance to get a lower interest rate, which will really help out with our cash flow.

    #42. Learn conversational Spanish –> Take another class from Leisure Learning Unlimited. Learning Spanish is definitely a life list thing. It’s important to me, but I don’t know how long it’ll take. Instead I just want to take another random class (hiking? photography? cooking?), and who knows what’ll turn out to be my next favorite hobby.

    #54. Drive down the California coast –> Take a vacation with only my husband for at least a week. The California coast trip will be going on my life list. It’s just too expensive to try and pull off during this time of our lives when we’re still starting out.

    #60. Get the house painted –> Paint the entire front half of the house. Our house basically has a front half and a back half, and when we bought it the entire thing needed to be repainted: trim, doors, ceilings, everything. Since we’re doing it ourselves, it’s quite a chore and going very slowly. If I can finish the front half for now, I’ll be happy.

    #63. Plant flowers in the backyard –> Plant something. Our backyard is a constant source of shame for me, as our dogs have really messed it up. I try to keep it tidy, but for the foreseeable future my focus is going to be on the inside of the house, and not the outside. Once I get the inside fixed up and can focus some attention on learning how to garden (and deal with the dogs) I’ll plant some flowers or vegetables. Right now I’d like to start slow, maybe an indoor herb garden.

    #67. Build a pretty and well-organized home office –> Set up a fully-functional and decorated dining room. The office project sounds fun, and will need to be done eventually, but what I really need first is a place to have people over for meals. Our tiny breakfast table isn’t cutting it.

    #101. Beat Mario Galaxy on Wii –> Expand my vocabulary by 100 words. When we got a new Wii I lost all the progress I had made on this video game, and I was pretty far. I don’t have it in me to start from scratch, though I will play occasionally because it’s fun. But when it comes down to it, I won’t ever care all that much if I beat the game or not. Learning new words, on the other hand, is fun AND something to be proud of.

    ***

    I’m really happy about my updated list. It’s more reflective of my life right now, much more achievable, and I’m looking forward to completing every single item!