A million projects

I'm always in the midst of a project.  Sometimes I have a dozen projects in my mind, but am only currently working on two or three.  Most of the time the projects are not visible to the outside world, only I know that I'm doing them.  Self improvement is the main thing. 
 
 One of my last projects, one that was officially completed was the 101 Things to Do in a 1001 Days.   The official end date of my 1001 Days was October 18th.  The Grand Finale was that I wanted to throw myself a birthday party and I did that. I didn't get nearly as many things done on the list that I had intended, but I felt really good about having the list.  If nothing else, ever since I wrote that list over 1000 days ago I made an effort to put my laundry away the day it was washed and dried.  Yes, that was on my list of my Things To Do. 

Sometimes it takes making something a life goal to get them solidified into your life.  Putting away the laundry had to made a life goal.  crazy!

Right now I'm working on the 29 Gifts, trying to make it a daily habit.  I have always been a giver, so it's not a huge stretch for me, but I've also been a complainer and a bit of a whiner.  I see it in me and I see it in my past and I want that to change.  I don't need to have that in my life. 

thinking positive
daily gratitude
believing in myself
conscious of what I'm putting out in the universe
seeing joy in the everyday

These are just some of the projects that I have going on.  They are a bit redundant, but to me each one is very specific and needed in my life.

I have physical projects going on as well.  Photography is high up on that list.  Going out several times a week and coming back with something interesting is the goal.  Learning how to use editing programs - that's on the list although I have to say, they scare the daylights out of me.  I'm afraid.  Afraid of what? I don't know.  Maybe I'm afraid that I might really screw up and get confused.  I hate being confused and not knowing what to do.  Well, that's on my list - confusion :)  Learn my editing program.  Use it.  Understand it.  Embrace it.

Eat nutritionally healthy, clean my house, work out - those are some of my physical projects, too.  I bet I'm not alone with those projects.

Do you have any projects you're working on? 


Hope you have a great day!
Kristin

**The photos are of the back windows of a dry cleaning business in East Lansing, MI.

100 Things that make me happy part I

I'm nearing the end of my 1001 Days. 

That would be my 101 Things to Do in a 1001 Days.  

Number 73 was "Make a list of 100 things that make me happy."   I've been working on this list in my head for months now, but never seem to remember to type any of it when I'm here at the computer. Well, now I've started!

Here is the first installment of 15.



I should mention -- I've made my own little rule in my list of things that makes me happy.  No food.  Food can make me feel happy, but that's just too easy.  I wanted a list of figure friendly happys.  


The list of Things that make me happy are in no particular order, but this kitten is a pretty good way to start off the list!

from Google images

1. seeing a cat with their tongue sticking out. Mine rarely does it, but when she does it just melts my heart.

2. finding a new security envelope pattern

3. stumbling upon a great new crafty idea, even if I don't want to make it

4. finding a new driving short cut

5. a giant happy that could fill up pages with individual names - seeing friends and family that I know and love.  Being with them, hanging out with them, etc.

from Google images

6. a new box of 64 crayons

7. getting a reply to an email when I never expected one - like when I wrote a thank you email to an author and she replied, thanking me!

8. recognizing an aha moment

9. a purring kitty


10. saying "my wees are kneek"

11. seeing an item in an antique store that I had as a child

12. finding out that someone I admire had read my blog

from Google images

13. my favorite movies or tv shows

14. watching a classic movie on a big screen - I've seen Gone with the Wind and the Wizard of Oz

15. listening to my sisters tell me stories.  They both can tell a tale that can have me rolling in laughter.



If you think of something that makes you happy, be sure and shout it out in the comment section.  I'd love to hear what makes you happy!

Have a great day!
Kristin

101 Things to do in 1001 days.

I've been wanting to recap/update this list for some time and today is that day. In some ways I have been burying my head in the sand not looking at the list because I knew some of the items on the list were goners or total failures. Now that I've gone through the list and crossed off those items that are the dead ones (or ones that no longer make sense for me to do) I find that I'm not doing too bad.

Below is the original post with the updates. My current commentary will be highlighted. Comment on my successes, my utter failures, my upcoming challenges or if you plan on doing something like this...or if I prompted you to get your laundry put away :) Enjoy!!

I may edit this a bit more tonight and tomorrow - but here it is so far.




101 Things to Do in 1001 Days

I found out about this from someones blog and traced it back to Day Zero - Home of the 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days.

There I found how to write my own list, what the criteria should be and also how to stay focused. Focus, boy do I need focus. You can add your own 101 things to do in 1001 days, if you have it posted on a blog and you can also use the handy dandy little calculator to figure out when your 1001 days are up. I have found that if I start my 1001 days on January 21st, 2008 that the end date is my birthday in 2010. What a great incentive to get my list completed. To see when my birthday is, go to Things to Do #101.

I may edit this to get things into categories, but for right now, I'm going to just list my 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days.

Green is "In Progress" - Like a traffic light - don't stop, just keep going.
Purple is completed! My favorite color.



1. Get MRJ online and visible
This is my www.medrestjax.com website that I use for my condo rentals.  It needs an overhaul, but it is up and available and it gets used, so that's great!

2. Get the rest of the websites up by the end of April 2008 -- StomperNet Seminar is in April, so get going on this... get going...get going) I need to reevaluate this one.

3. Watch one Video or Tutorial on SN every week (Bonus points for multiple days in a row!) (143 weeks)

2 & 3 - Utter failure.  That's all I'm going to say about that lol

4. Read MAC OSX Missing Manual guide
It's truly like reading an instruction manual.  I learned a lot in the first chapter and didn't read any more of it.  I should though because there is so much more I'd like to do with my MAC and it's all in that book. 


5. Do one business action a day - write it in notebook or in blog
This was originally to go with #2 & #3 - I could probably pull this out of the utter failure status and put it toward the photography part of my life.  I think I'll just leave it where it is and add in a whole new section to deal with the photography.


6. Read Dr. Oz books - I have 2 (I am in the process of reading the first one.)(11/08/08)I have read through most of both books, but not quite finished yet. Finished :)

7. Get to first goal weight - :) Written down in secret book, by December 2008
8. Get to second goal weight - :) Also written down in secret book, by February 2009
This is not utter failure, but I've had some struggles.  I have decided to take this off the block because my goal now is to keep my diabetes in control and weight loss is a part of that.

9. Walk once a day 5 times a week (143 weeks)(yep yep)

10. Stop drinking all carbonated beverages as of day one. (I've craved carbonation since the day I wrote this down. I used to go months, now it has been just days. Lets start again, Groundhog Day, 2008. 1st day - 5/3/08 nix that, I've had a ton of soda lately. Working on the flip house has me craving it. Two sodas a week is about my average. I'll keep it as an ongoing project.) (11/8/08) I haven't had any carbonation in weeks.

11. Stop drinking caffeine as of day one.(I keep buying something that has caffeine in it. I must stop, caffeine and my body hate each other - pay attention)(11/8/08) I haven't had any caffeine in two months at least.
I drink a soda every month or so.  I consider this to be a done deal and nothing I will be going back to drinking on a daily or even weekly basis.

12. Swim once a week - Summer 2009 May - Sept
I was having a lot of trouble with my skin (and still am) and the chlorine in the pool made the condition worse - so this is an out.  bummer

13. Plan 2 months of dinners
I've actually planned the dinners but a lot of them didn't get made.  I guess making the dinners wasn't part of the "to do" so technically this could be a win!  but I knew what I wanted and I also know that this isn't going to happen.

14. Try 2 new recipes in a 6 month period (6 - 6 month periods)

I did this last year.  Most of the recipes I took to the potluck dinners :)  and I've been trying new things much more often.  This was a good challenge.

15. Pay It Forward at least once a year - I gave some gals in the grocery store line several dollars to pay for their food since they were short on cash.


16. Write in Gratitude Journal for 365 (purchased New Years Day and am current) 05/03/08 I am not current. ugh (11/08/08) still not current. I will have to just start again in the same book.
This was just making me feel bad that I wasn't writing in this book.  I think writing my blog and writing in my journal is enough writing on daily basis. 

17. Create 2 Challenges for NBU in 2008 - done done done :)

18. PM at least one person a day during each NBU session.

#17 I finished - #18 I did real well for the first year, but this year I didn't do as much.  I will no longer be a part of NBU as of the end of the month, so this project is done and I'm pleased with the outcome.

19. Get dressed to shoes 5 days a week by 9am (30 days in a row - Bonus points for continuing the practice)
 I'm pretty good about this.  I did the 30 days in row.  That was a very productive month!  I should probably get back into the habit...I could also probably go to bed earlier, too and that would help get me up and dressed by 9:30!

20. Clean off coffeetable each Monday. ( I still haven't even started this one 2/2/08, I just have to keep remembering that this is a project lasting 1001 days and I am building a foundation)
I've been really working on this lately.  I had forgotten it was on my list.  I need to make this a daily event and not just once a week - my coffeetable can get totally out of hand in an hour.

21. Write to Zora twice a month (05/03/08 More like every three weeks - I need to get this into a habit.) I am pretty good at once a month. I need to step this up.

I did real well for about 6 months, but have failed miserably. I need to start back up again because Stella is going to be old enough soon to enjoy getting mail, too and I want to do this for her, too.

22. Send 5 care packages for absolutely no reason at all.
I've been overthinking this one. I can't quite figure out what makes a care package - who should get one - how much money should I spend on it - and on and on. I'm striking it out to take the pressure off, but I may reinstate it now that I don't have to worry about getting it finished :)  I'm doing reverse psychology on myself!

23. Send Thank You cards (handwritten) to people for unexpected things. I sent Thank You cards to all of the people that met us at the Cafe in Maywood, NE.


24. Empty Storage Unit (Done!!!!!) Saving $190 a month!!!

25. Empty one garage and sell it by the end of 2009

26. Photograph household inventory.

27. Photograph condo inventory (all three units) done!

28. Take a daily self-portrait for a year (join the Flicker group that does this?)(2009, 2010) I have been thinking of doing this starting in January 2010
I thought this might be fun, then I thought I'd hate it.  Then I thought that it was just a way to document my life and then I thought I was totally crazy for even thinking about doing this.  Now I want a tripod so I can set up in the same spot each day.    I think I want the tripod more than I want the self portrait every day, but this activity is still on table.


29. Learn to Meditate (begin in 2008)

30. Meditate every day for a month (start this in 2009)(Bonus points for continuing the practice after the month)
I still think I might like to do this...but I'm obviously moving the date to 2010.

31. Go to an art exhibit or gallery opening 5 different times

32. Put coins into an expired meter. I'm going to try to do this while we are in Denver this coming week. I'm just never around any place with parking meters (and I'm just assuming that Denver will have some!) I forgot when we were in Denver. I did this in Lansing when I was there in Oct 2009!

33. Have a dinner party (bonus points for having more than one!)

34. Do not purchase pens or sharpies for an entire year (this should start today :^)(1/21/08) 05/03/08 - I still have not purchased any sharpies. This is TOUGH! (9/14/08) I STILL have not purchased any sharpies. I've wanted to. A few of my sharpies have run out of ink, so my stash is getting low, but no Sharpies will be purchased this year.  (Dec 2009) I'm actually going on two years, since I got so many for Christmas last year! 

35. Frame one thing every four months (3 times in 2008, 2009 & 2010) - (9/14/08) I still have NOT done this. I even needed to get a picture framed for Tom's birthday (5 days ago) but never though of it. So I gave Tom an unframed print.  Another year later (2009) and the picture still isn't framed.  sigh.

36. Get a Safe Deposit Box - not sure what to keep there at this point, but I should have one.  Maybe keep copies of my digital files of photos.

37. Decorate patio
I'd like to just get the patio vacuumed now lol


38. Create a Paper Sack Journal and blog about it - do this for 30 days (30 sacks - 9 so far, need to blog about it  take a photo)  I like the idea, but haven't been doing anything right now. 


39. Send 20 Postcards using postcrossing.com (9/14/08) - Not sure if I want to do this.

40. Join 30 Day Challenge in August (or whenever it begins in 2009)

41. Write in my 10 year journal every day. http://www.journal10.com/ very very cool journal - Still on track. 05/03/08 I am still on track. I have one entry each day of this year. YES! (9/14/08) still writing in it every day. :) (11/08/08) Have not missed a day. 
I have not missed a day in two years :)

42. Put away laundry the same day it is dried (6 weeks) (Bonus points for continuing the habit!) First post about it, Second post 05/03/08 DONE!! This is a done project. I have it as a habit now.

43. Vote in the 2008 November election

44. Donate or sell one box of "stuff" each month (Box in guest room) (I haven't done it each month but I have gotten rid of most of my clothing that I didn't like or didn't wear often.)

I donate at least a box once a month. I have to admit though, that sometimes the box has just one item in it, but I do drop off items at the very least, once a month.

45. Write 12 new Kirby Mail posts in 2008 (3 completed)(9/14/08) I now have 6 completed.  All 12 done (April 09)


46. List the Plexiglas & the diamond tread on Craig’s list and get it gone by July 2008. (9/14/08)Oooh, we were flipping that house in July -- I forgot all about it. Lets move the date to March 2009.  

It has been listed a few times but hasn't sold.

47. Travel to...Hawaii

48. ...France I've changed this to Rome & I'm going in Feb 2010.

49. ...England, Ireland, Scotland (5/19/08 My father asked us last month if we'd like to all go to the Isle of Man next summer - so this trip is scheduled.) We went to Ireland and the Isle of Man -  May 2009.

50. ...Maywood, Nebraska (5/19/08 My mother asked me a few weeks ago if I'd like to go to her class reunion with her & visit Maywood! - My answer was YES!)(9/14/08) we leave in a few days!!!!!!!!!

51. ...Chicago

52. ...Memphis with Bob (scheduled for 2010 - right Bob?)

53. ...LasVegas

All of the travel destinations were just "way out there" type of entries.  I honestly didn't believe that I'd get to any of the places, with the exception of Las Vegas - Tom and I really like Vegas.  The funny thing is that we've traveled a bunch and haven't had the opportunity to go to Vegas and probably won't.  Last year for Christmas we went on a cruise to the Bahamas, so I can add in that and cross of another destination.


54. Sell the early editions of the MSL magazines by the end of 2008 (this doesn't look it'll happen. Maybe I can get them listed the first week in Dec.) I gave these away to someone.


55. Make a shadowbox or some kind of covered display for the BK items. (End of 2010)

 I haven't quite figured out what I want to do with the BK items.  I've since added to my collection so it's more than just a shadowbox, now.

56. Get China doll repaired - replace the string that held her together

57. Create a Home book - household inventory, floor plan, color chart, maintenance, etc. (end of 2009) I forgot I had this on my list -- I actually have all of this together in one place now.  It's a file in my filing cabinet.  Paint, Association meeting notes, phone numbers, inventory, etc.

58. Buy a new mattress for King bed (2009) This still hasn't happened. 

59. Buy a new mattress for Queen bed (2010)  I've decided now that I just want a new topper, not a whole new bed.

60. Memorize U. S. Presidents - Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Adams....just 38 more to go.

61. Learn how to change a tire on both cars. I learned on my car.  I 've decided not to learn how to change the truck tires or Tom's Mercedes.

62. Send flowers to someone.

63. Send a Get Well package to someone that includes crayons and a coloring book.

With everyone being sick this fall, I should have been able to get this accomplished.

64. Hold the door open for people (10 minimum but continue the practice)(done done done!)

65. Have a Chick Flick sleep-over party

I don't have a place to sleep over.  I'm hoping to just go to the movies with a few of my girl friends.

66. Replace all of my socks and chuck the old ones - all of them. 05/03/08 I did this the other day -- I totally forgot it was on my list. (Or maybe I didn't forget!)

67. Renew my passport - I HAVE to do this soon. we are going overseas next year. 

DONE!

68. Add additional $2000 to my emergency fund.

69. Get a Museum Membership

70. Put together an Emergency Kit (post what's in it in a blog post)

71. One Random Act of Kindness (this can be repeated often) 05/03/08 the other day I did all sorts of nice stuff for people and places. It was fun.

72. Purchase Photoshop (or other photo editing software) & blog about how I am using it each week for a month. (I'm mostly posting the photos that I've edited)

73. Make a list of 100 things that make me happy. (05/03/08 - I don't know why I haven't even thought of starting this...)

74. Go one month without using my Credit Card (Bonus points for Debit Card, too)

Hahahahahahaha

75. Go to grocery store only once a week for an entire month (Bonus points, big bonus points for continuing this habit)

Living next door to the grocery store makes this almost impossible. I'm not sure I'll ever get this one accomplished, but I should.

76. Go out to dinner once a month with a neighbor or friend. (12 months in a row)

77. Write a letter or card to someone other than family every week.

This is actually more difficult than it seems.  I've sent out a few letters, but not nearly one a week.  This is ongoing. 

78. Call Tom's parents at least twice a month.

Since Tom's brother's liver transplant in June, we've spoken to his parents quite a bit.  Twice a month these days is easy.


79. Flip a house in less than 4 months. This is absolutely being done right now. We are 3 weeks into it. (we did it in 4 months!!!!!)


80. Make a condo book listing the food, maps, suggestions, etc. Have my tenants write in it. Make it interactive if possible. (9/14/08) I just started working on this last week.  
This is ongoing and is working out well for my tenants.



81. Make a calendar for the family with all of our bdays and anniversaries in it. 

This may actually happen in the next few months. (Dec 2009)

82. Purchase a new rug for the bedroom and another for the computer room

I decided not to get new rugs - I don't like the ones we have, but they are just a few years old.

83. Go to a taping of the Oprah Show (could do it while I was visiting Chicago!) This doesn't seem to be as likely anymore.  I'm not as excited about this as I once was.

84. Acquire new bedding for the guest room (donate the current bedding)
The bedding has been donated, but no new bedding purchased.  I consider this done.  We'll reuse bedding that's around the house.

85. Wash all of the exterior parts of the windows. This is so much more difficult than anticipated.  I've decided not to risk my life doing this- The bottom part of the windows pulls out, but the top doesn't pull out or down.  So the top part of the windows are not getting cleaned.



86. Recover the yellow couch.
When I first wrote this we weren't sure we really wanted to have all three of our furniture pieces in the livingroom yellow.  I'm so used to it now, so this isn't urgent in any way.   I might change this to getting the couch just cleaned :)


87. Sell Grandma's Treadle machine.
I've photographed it.  I still can't bring myself to sell it.  I go back and forth.



88. Finish up the State Quarters book - it ends in 2008. 

I've tried a couple times to buy the remaining quarters and can't seem to get it accomplished.  I need to get this finished.

89. Create a small prop closet - this has been started and it is just going to be a basket in the closet. I will blog about it when I have more items, but it is started.

90. Get out of town with Tom 2 weekends a year.
We've taken more vacations than usual, so this wasn't as necessary.  

91. Buy a black velvet dress or one that seems just as cool and wear it to an event.

I have always wanted a black velvet dress.

92. Paint a picture and frame it. It doesn't have to be great - just do it!

Change this to Photograph something and frame it --- I've done that :)

93. Transfer Nebraska tape to DVD and give it to myself and family.

This is on my radar.  I have now found a place that can do this for a good price.  The trick is to take the tape to the place and drop it off :)

94. Toss out or give away all video tapes.

95. Make a Paper Crown - photograph it. (Bonus points for doing this again, if it was fun lol) 

I was going to do this with Zora in October, but I totally spaced it when we were together. Typical lol

96. Start writing down the family funnies -- Big Gulp, W/D on the curb, Kitten on his shoulder, elusive noodles, etc.  I do this with blogging, but I haven't been able to write about these funnies yet.  I can't seem to write them to sound as funny as they were lol

97. Clean out a dresser drawer once a month.
I'm in drawer maintenance now.  They are all quite clean.

98. Write down the crafty ideas so you don't have to try to remember them all. Create a book or gasp, a blog post, to put them in.  
I do this - I post everything on my blog.  Done.

99. Get rid of, recycle, gift, donate or otherwise move out of my possession every piece of electronic equipment or computer that hasn't been used in 2 years.  Big strides came when we had our garage sale this summer (2009). Actually I was a part of two garage sales this summer.

100. Get a professional family portrait taken frame at least one of the photos with in a month. Tom and I had our picture taken on a cruise last year.  It was professional looking and was nice.  I don't want it framed though.  I didn't like it well enough. 



101. Plan my own birthday party for the 18th of October, 2010 - the very last day of the 1001 days and celebrate the successes in the 101 goals!!
This is now less than a year away!

WFMW - personalized Sharpies

Welcome to another edition of Works for Me Wednesday. If you've been here before you know - this is a blog carnival where hundreds of bloggers participate by posting one of their helpful hints to make all of our lives easier or a bit more fun. Shannon (Rocks in my Dryer), the host of this carnival, is giving tips for Moms whos kids are in sports. So please go to Rocks in my Dryer and see what tips you might find helpful - and please leave a comment for me as well!


One of my very favorite things to write with is a Sharpie. I write cards with Sharpies, envelopes, packages, lists on Post-It notes, nearly everything that requires writing, I write it out with a Sharpie.

My love of Sharpies has caused me to purchase more Sharpies than I needed and consequently, I put on my list of 101 Things to do in 1001 days, that I was not to purchase any Sharpies for a whole year! It was so hard to do - I was surprised. My year was up the middle of January 2009 and I'm happy to report that I did not purchase a single Sharpie. I still have not purchased any because I got so many for Christmas!! I got clickable fat ones, and clickable thin lined ones (that I had never seen before!) and I got personalized ones.

My sister purchased these personalized Sharpies for me from the Sharpie Store online --Click Here for your own Personalized Sharpies. Why does this work for me? ...because it is such a great, unique gift that even those that aren't all Sharpie crazy like me, would be thrilled to receive. They are $12 for 6.

What also works for me -- tell people what you want and chances are real good you will receive it. I blogged of my love for Sharpies and I received 4 packages of multicolored ones and then a dozen personalized ones on top of that from all sorts of people. I've decided to extend that no Sharpie purchases for another year because I've received so many.

Thanks everyone!! I've loved my gift more than you will ever know. I show off my personalized sharpies all the time and this weekend I was able to stop someone from taking my Sharpie when I pointed out that it had my name on it.

Hope you enjoyed this tip - it would make a fun Easter gift, wedding, baby shower or bridal shower gift. Now check out the other tips at Rocks in my Dryer.

Have a Great Day!
Kristin

Journaling

I did it.

I purchased a journal at the end of last year. I think I mentioned it here once or twice (here) - this journal is just so cool because it only has 4 lines per day to fill in. If you need more space there are extras available you just go to the Extras section and write to your hearts content & then write down the page number at the end of your 4 lines. (There's a special little spot just for that page number, too

This journal was a big committment. It wasn't just a year, it is an 11 year journal. 2008 - 2018, which looks like ten years, but it's actually 11 written years. This is one of the things that used to screw me up when it came to math. How can it be both 10 and 11??? but I digress.

I have to be honest and tell you that I didn't always write in the journal each day - sometimes I saved up a few days and filled them in all at once. When I went on vacations I didn't take the journal with me, but I always kept a little post-it with some fun facts to put in the journal for when I returned. However, I have something written in every single day of 2008. It was one of my 101 Things To Do in 1001 Days projects.

I do say so myself, I am so proud of me. I have such a short attention span sometimes that when I wrote down #41 - write in my journal every day - I just assumed that I was not going to finish that task. Then again, I wasn't sure I'd still be blogging daily, either! But I did have hope that writing down the task would create some sort of desire to finish the task.

So this last day in December 2008 I have two successes for sure and that makes me smile so big...I wrote in my journal all year and I continue to write and enjoy blogging. As a matter of fact, I've now successfully completed 2 months of NaBloPoMo, which is a group dedicated to blogging every day. I've joined for January as well.

So have a Very Very Happy New Year! and may you have the best year yet.

I'd like to also at this time wish my dear friend Bob (AKA Jennifer, J.B. and Mrs. Parsont) a very Happy Birthday. I sent her off a little gift...shhhh don't tell her. She never reads my blog anyway lol But still. I hope it arrived today.

Happy New Year!
Kristin

See you in 2009!

Blogging and Journaling

I started this blog on my 40th Birthday (October 18th) 2006. I wrote exactly two posts that year. I wrote one post in 2007, but I see I've edited it so now it just says "What a year, what a year." LOL I guess I wasn't thrilled with what I wrote.

However, in the beginning of 2008 I started looking for goal sheets, planners, something that could help me focus. I seemed to be all over the place and not doing anything particularly well. I was always in the middle of 90 things and nothing was what I wanted to do. During my travels on the Internet, I came across this blog that listed 101 Things To Do in 1001 Days. This gal had all sorts of big plans and little plans in this list & it looked very interesting and something I might like to do as well. I found the original site, Day Zero, and read through other peoples lists. I spent the next week or two working on my own list of 101 things. In order to be listed on the original blog over at Day Zero, I needed to have a blog. So, I posted my list here and have been keeping up with my blog ever since.

Some of the things I wanted to do were changes in how I do things, like putting away my laundry. A few of the items were vacations I wanted to take. I accomplished one of those vacations this summer when I went to Nebraska with my Mother, Sister and baby niece, Stella. Some of my Things To Do are projects that I want to complete both at home and in business. Others are books I want to read or personal fitness goals.

I am going to have to rewrite a few of them as the time table has passed and I haven't accomplished the goals. A few of the items are not as exciting to me now that I am a diagnosed diabetic - so making a month of menus isn't going to be as fun and I'd rather have something else in its place. I never saw the list as being concrete, you can't change it, type of list. I'm so glad otherwise it would be a huge disappointment if I missed a deadline & wouldn't be as motivating to continue. So those items where the deadline has passed, I'm going to just move the date and actually put the item on a post-it note so it will be in the forefront rather than background noise.

I used to have this list on my desk, but ever since I got my laptop table and put it in the livingroom, I haven't seen my desk in ages! lol

The other thing I started at the beginning of the year is my journal, #41 on my 101 Things to Do list. My 1st Journaling post talks about the journal I bought. It is a journal that lasts 11 years. It is just a few lines to write each day and I have been real consistent with it. I have gone a few days without journaling, but with just 4 lines it was real easy to catch up whenever I got behind. I love the Journal 10+ and am so glad that I finally started it.


This month I joined in with the NaBloPoMo group that asks all members to post every day for thirty days. I've been real consistent with my blog posting, so I thought joining the group would be something fun and not too stressful!


I also thought that maybe I could write up some extra posts talking about my 101 Things To Do list this month and next while I'm in the NaBloPoMo group. Added incentive.

I'm so happy to have visitors that come by and read and comment. I'm also happy to have lurkers who just read. Hi Lurkers!! Thanks for your participation in this fun world of blogging.

Have a great weekend!
Kristin

Sharpies

On my list of 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days, #34 is no new purchases of Sharpies for a year. I also included pens into this goal as well. I'm a writing utensil gal. The pen isle in an office supply store makes my heart beat faster, but the Sharpies...oh the Sharpies. The click top pens are my absolute favorite - no cap to lose and it only takes one hand. Grab, click and write.

I wrote on my list that I couldn't buy any Sharpies for a year, but as I recall I purchased a pack just a few days before I wrote that list. It was probably that purchase that made me realize that I had a problem that needed to be addressed. (I write addresses with Sharpies! hahaha)

Now one thing I've noticed the past 9 months is that I do indeed use my Sharpies and I've actually worn them out! I've used up almost every single of them that I've had in the house. The favorite colors ran out first of course, so I haven't had a purple Sharpie in a really long time. Black is gone and so is dark blue. The light blue one just gave up all ink last week as I was addressing envelopes for the Birthday Giveaway gifts. I think I'm down to brown and silver in the regular Sharpies and I may have a few in the ultra thin (non clicker) variety. I think I'm going to make it with just enough ink until my January 21st, 2009 date.

My Christmas Card envelopes will have to be written with something else though - no way the Sharpies would make it. I'd run out of ink half way through.

I really like to send out Christmas cards, but I'll leave that for another day.

I haven't updated my 101 Things list in awhile I see. I'll start talking about that list a little more in the next few weeks. If you'd like to see my list, click here. My updates are all labeled 101 Things To Do.

Have a great week!
Kristin

Travel plans

In my list of 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days, I wrote down some vacation destinations that I have been wanting to see. I only picked a few places because this is afterall just 1001 days. I wanted the list to be very realistic in the goals. Here are the places I put down.

47. Travel to...Hawaii

48. ...France

49. ...England, Ireland, Scotland

50. ...Maywood, Nebraska

51. ...Chicago

52. ...Memphis with Bob

53. ...LasVegas

I thought the European destinations were going to be a real stretch, but I put them down because I want to go. I put my belief in the "Write it Down, Make it Happen" theory of the world (I love this book, by the way). It is also a part of the Law of Attraction, too - Ask, Believe, Receive.

About 6 weeks ago my Mother called to tell me that she was going to go to a reunion in Nebraska and would I like to come. Yes! I said jumping up and down, Yes! Her reunion is probably in Curtis, NE or North Platte, NE - both just a stones throw from Maywood. My Dad grew up in Maywood and I visited my grandplarents there for years and years. I still have cousins that live there and I just adore the countryside. I like to see what the houses look like now, from when I was a kid, too. Last time i was in Maywood was for my grandmothers funeral in 1995, so I am anxious to go back with a different attitude. So the Maywood, NE trip - entry #50 will be fulfilled this year... Write it down, make it happen.

About a month ago my Dad called us all and asked if we'd like to take a trip together - the whole family. Our name hails from the Isle of Man and has been a place all of us has wanted to go for many many years. This is the location my Dad wants us to go - The Isle of Man. That sounds an awful lot like Entry #49 - because chances are we will see more than just The Isle of Man. Write it down, make it happen.

Tom has been talking non-stop about going to Vegas. We like Vegas and haven't been in a few years, so this is pretty much a no brainer...but still, it is funny that all of a sudden he has got it into his head that he wants to go.

I keep working on my 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days and I don't even realize it - how cool is that?!!

Have a Great Day!
Kristin

Journaling

I purchased this journal called Journal 10+ back in January and I have been faithfully writing in it each night. The journal is dated 2008 - 2018, so it is a big commitment! There is space for just three or four lines a day, so it really is easy to just write a blurb and go to bed. (Journaling is one of my 101 things to do in 1001 days.)

The funny thing is that I am trying so hard not to complain in that journal - I don't want 10 years of whining! I also don't want it to be a gratitude journal (I have one of those.) I want it to be about my life, what I'm thinking, what's going on and what's bothering me, too. I want successes and I want reflection, too. That's a lot to put into just 4 lines and some days I can't seem to fill up one line lol Especially when all I want to do is whine about how tough my life is...

That's me - tough life Kristin. ha! :0)


Have a great day,
Kristin

#42 - Laundry part 2

I wanted to update my Laundry dilemma - which is number 42 on my 101 Things to Do list. The goal was to put away my laundry on laundry day, not just let it hang out in the laundry baskets all folded and pretty for a week. These laundry baskets, you see, would stay in the middle of my living room and each day my husband would call out for socks, or his pants or whatever he wanted but couldn't find in the closet - and I would say, gees honey, look in the laundry basket, duh??

It was beginning to really frustrate me that I allowed our laundry to be stored in baskets in the main part of the house. It needed to be put away.

Putting that item on my list of 101 Things to Do really drove it home to follow through on the task and complete it. Since the first of February when I accomplished the first "putting the laundry away victory," I have put away all the laundry by the end of the day. The other night it was seconds before I went to bed because I was "forgetting" I had to do it...but because I folded my sleeping T-Shirt and put it in the laundry basket, I instantly remembered that I still had 5 minutes of putting away to do.

One of the side benefits? I've asked my husband to help me put away the clothes. He grumbles and mumbles and pretends to not know where the socks go, but he finishes his basket in the same amount of time I finish my basket. The side benefit you ask? The side benefit is that I don't have to grumble anymore about having to do it all myself. I also don't have time to grumble, he does that for me. Hearing him actually makes me laugh. So the side benefit is Laughing while putting away the laundry!

I'm going to keep this in the active status for a few months longer, but I think this is a habit by now.

Have A Great Day!
Kristin

#42 - Laundry

101 Things to Do in 1001 Days

I've been working on several of my 101 Things but tonight something interesting happened. I did several loads of laundry today and as usual I folded everything as soon as they were out of the dryer & the freshly folded laundry was placed into the now empty laundry baskets. So there they were, my laundry baskets. All lined up, just sitting in the family room. I was finishing up the dishes after dinner tonight and I started thinking about my list & it flashed that putting away the laundry was on my list.

It seems so odd that putting away the laundry is a task that has to be placed on a list that lasts 1001 days! Shouldn't putting away the laundry just be part of the routine? Why is it that my routine for laundry includes gathering it, washing and drying it and folding it, but doesn't include putting away. What happened that my routine ended with folding it.

So tonight, I put away the laundry. All of it. I had three baskets of it. I even had about 6 shirts that needed to be hung up & I had 4 or 5 shirts that were from last week, that never got hung up (But did today.)

Three baskets of clothing took me 5 minutes to put away. I set my timer for 15 minutes, sure I would still be putting away clothes when the timer went off, but I still had 10 minutes left.

I don't think I can get away with not putting away the laundry any longer. It is absolutely ridiculous that I normally allow several baskets of laundry to live in the living room when it only took me 5 minutes to put away three baskets today.

So, this will still be left on my list until I get a few months of this GOOD behavior down without a relapse.

I can't possibly be the only one with this issue.


Have a Great Day!

Kristin

Paper Sack Journal

I can't remember where I got this idea, but I really started thinking about it when I was organizing (Ha! Stash and Dash is more like it) and I kept finding these little pictures or fun things that I tore out of magazines. I never felt like these things were scrapbook worthy because I don't really have photos of people, it is just interesting things to me.

So, I decided that it would be "safe" to glue them onto a lunch sack. Each sack can then be put with the others to form a journal, someday. But for right now, it is safe. I don't have to dedicate an entire book to the process, if I don't like a page I just don't have to include it (unlike in a journal, where I'd have to rip the page out or try to live with the fact that I didn't like it) and I like that I can tuck photos or stuff I don't want glued, into the sack and just fold the end over to keep it in place.

I've made 9 sacks so far. Here are a few pictures.

Here are a few of them, displayed for the moment, while I take the picture on a really cool bench that we bought at Hold Everything before they went out of business. I loved that store.

This is a great looking graphic from the magazine Skirt. I folded the paper so that I didn't have to crop it any smaller - I like being able to just fold a piece to fit - it makes it more casual, just like the paper lunch sacks. Casual, we like casual lol

One bag has two fun things also from Skirt Magazine and the other, you can probably read, is a cut out from the last pottery barn catalog. I just love those dishes. I also LOVE yellow walls. My bedroom has been painted yellow in the last three places we have lived. Not sure if plates belong in a bedroom though lol

This is just chock full of numbers, letters, artwork and an organizing system (it also folds out) all from the pottery barn catalog.

Right now I have the paper sack journal clipped together with a binder clip. I really like it. I seem to be able to get "crafty" for just a few minutes - get out the paper, the scissors, a sharpie and the glue stick and I'm set -- 10 minutes later I've satisfied my crafting urge and I've hardly messed up the desk or the coffee table - Bonus!

Have a Great Day!

Kristin

Day ONE of 1001 & Ned's Birthday

Chances are real good that I won't document each and every day of my 101 Things to Do (in a 1001 days) list, but it really would be great if I did post on my blog each day about something!



Today is my Father-in Law's birthday. He turns 80 today. I will be 80 in 38 years lol I wonder what my life will be like when I'm 80. When I think of him the first thing that pops into my head is...He is a lovely man who swims everyday and loves his wife & boys and adores his grandchildren. I know he is a well known person in the community but I always seem to come back to -- He swims everyday and loves his wife LOL Isn't that funny. I hope I'm remembered for the simple things like this - the loving simple things. The other thing about him that is so striking is that he is quite tall and he has thick white hair and he is the nicest man. I wish my husband and I could have gone to the birthday party on Friday, but it is a long trip from Florida to Michigan. At least we remembered to get a card out to him. whew.

Let's see, if I were to list the things that I'd like to remembered for... just the fun stuff...

hmmmm

Kristin loved to laugh, caress pottery bowls, do dishes in the sink just so she could use her dishtowels, kiss babies*, play with the pink pads of her kitty's paws (my cat of course hates this!), dance like a dork to various commercials and other songs that just lead themselves to dancing like a dork, drive around town or across the country, and she loved to be inspired.


*I'm not sure anyone would actually put this on their list, if they were indeed writing a list of things they loved about me lol but I have to admit that I love to kiss babies.

I'm sure there are at least 101 other things that I do that people may see or do or hear that reminds them of me (hopefully in a good way) but for now that is a pretty short and sweet list. Good thing my sister is having a baby again and I'll get to induge in the "Kissing Babies" part real soon. This saves strangers from me wanting to kiss theirs LOL It also saves me from actually having children. I'm afraid my love of babies could have gotten me into a lot of trouble if I had actually started down that road -- I might have been in the running with the Duggars.

Oh, I should add to that list above --- I love the Duggar movies...or documentaries. I've watched everyone of them several times, but I don't think I'd ever win the "Name that Duggar" game. I love the new house they built and I'm so happy to see that they finally have space indoors to spread out, if only a little bit. I guess it really doesn't matter if they had a big house or a little house, they are a great family.

Happy Birthday Ned! Grandma's birthday is tomorrow.

Have a Great Day!
Kristin

I'm excited

I am so excited about the 101 Things to Do list -- When I first started coming up with the list a few weeks ago, I was amazed at how many things equal one hundred. It sounds funny to say it out loud, but a hundred things is a lot. I thought I had exhausted all of my brain power on coming up with this giant list and when I counted it, I was at 35! Obviously I figured out 101 Things to Do.

One of the things that I put on my original 35 was "Clean out the Storage Unit" number 25 on the list. I was just so excited to have it on my list, that I actually made a plan to get it accomplished. I found out that my next payment was due on the 13th, so in order to save an additional $190 for that month (which turns out there was a $13 rent increase, so it would have been $203) we hired a kid off of Craigs List to help us get it all out once and for all.

What a glorious day it was to have that space empty.

It all started in 2006, February I think... we moved from a large house, with a garage and an airplane hangar (not kidding!) to a smallish condo with no real long term storage. When we finally got everything moved from the old place to this place, we completely ran out of room. I had boxes and boxes piled high. Since my husband was just getting well again I had no time to sort - I had to just pack it up and move it off site. Having it all moved away was a blessing and a curse - It wasn't an urgent matter anymore and the credit card it was being charged to had lots of room on it, so I just ignored it. Dave Ramsey would call that a Stupid Tax, boy oh boy, I agree. Well, It is DONE! done done done skip skip done done done!!

I am truly excited about this.

Have a great day!

Kristin

101 Things to Do in 1001 Days

101 Things to Do in 1001 Days
I found out about this from someones blog and traced it back to Day Zero - Home of the 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days.

There I found how to write my own list, what the criteria should be and also how to stay focused. Focus, boy do I need focus. You can add your own 101 things to do in 1001 days, if you have it posted on a blog and you can also use the handy dandy little calculator to figure out when your 1001 days are up. I have found that if I start my 1001 days on January 21st, 2008 that the end date is my Birthday in 2010. What a great incentive to get my list completed. To see when my birthday is, go to Things to Do #101.

I may edit this to get things into categories, but for right now, I'm going to just list my 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days. Green is "In Progress" - Like a traffic light - don't stop, just keep going. Purple is completed! My favorite color.



1. Get MRJ online and visible

2. Get the rest of the websites up by the end of April 2008 -- StomperNet Seminar is in April, so get going on this... get going...get going) I need to reevaluate this one.
3. Watch one Video or Tutorial on SN every week (Bonus points for multiple days in a row!) (143 weeks)
4. Read MAC OSX Missing Manual guide
5. Do one business action a day - write it in notebook or in blog

6. Read Dr. Oz books - I have 2 (I am in the process of reading the first one.)(11/08/08)I have read through most of both books, but not quite finished yet.

7. Get to first goal weight - :) Written down in secret book, by December 2008
8. Get to second goal weight - :) Also written down in secret book, by February 2009
9. Walk once a day 5 times a week (143 weeks)(yep yep)

10. Stop drinking all carbonated beverages as of day one. (I've craved carbonation since the day I wrote this down. I used to go months, now it has been just days. Lets start again, Groundhog Day, 2008. 1st day - 5/3/08 nix that, I've had a ton of soda lately. Working on the flip house has me craving it. Two sodas a week is about my average. I'll keep it as an ongoing project.) (11/8/08) I haven't had any carbonation in weeks.

11. Stop drinking caffeine as of day one.(I keep buying something that has caffeine in it. I must stop, caffeine and my body hate each other - pay attention)(11/8/08) I haven't had any caffeine in two months at least.

12. Swim once a week - Summer 2009 May - Sept
13. Plan 2 months of dinners
14. Try 2 new recipes in a 6 month period (6 - 6 month periods)

15. Pay It Forward at least once a year - I gave some gals in the grocery store line several dollars to pay for their food since they were short on cash.

16. Write in Gratitude Journal for 365 (purchased New Years Day and am current) 05/03/08 I am not current. ugh (11/08/08) still not current. I will have to just start again in the same book.

17. Create 2 Challenges for NBU in 2008 - done done done :)

18. PM at least one person a day during each NBU session.

19. Get dressed to shoes 5 days a week by 9am (30 days in a row - Bonus points for continuing the practice)
20. Clean off coffeetable each Monday. ( I still haven't even started this one 2/2/08, I just have to keep remembering that this is a project lasting 1001 days and I am building a foundation)

21. Write to Zora twice a month (05/03/08 More like every three weeks - I need to get this into a habit.) I am pretty good at once a month. I need to step this up.

22. Send 5 care packages for absolutely no reason at all

23. Send Thank You cards (handwritten) to people for unexpected things. I sent Thank You cards to all of the people that met us at the Cafe in Maywood, NE.

24. Empty Storage Unit (Done!!!!!) Saving $190 a month!!!

25. Empty one garage and sell it by the end of 2009

26. Photograph household inventory.

27. Photograph condo inventory (all three units) done!

28. Take a daily self-portrait for a year (join the Flicker group that does this?)(2009, 2010)
29. Learn to Meditate (begin in 2008)
30. Meditate every day for a month (start this in 2009)(Bonus points for continuing the practice after the month)
31. Go to an art exhibit or gallery opening 5 different times
32. Put coins into an expired meter. I'm going to try to do this while we are in Denver this coming week. I'm just never around any place with parking meters (and I'm just assuming that Denver will have some!) I forgot when we were in Denver.
33. Have a dinner party (bonus points for having more than one!)

34. Do not purchase pens or sharpies for an entire year (this should start today :^)(1/21/08) 05/03/08 - I still have not purchased any sharpies. This is TOUGH! (9/14/08) I STILL have not purchased any sharpies. I've wanted to. A few of my sharpies have run out of ink, so my stash is getting low, but no Sharpies will be purchased this year.

35. Frame one thing every four months (3 times in 2008, 2009 & 2010) - (9/14/08) I still have NOT done this. I even needed to get a picture framed for Tom's birthday (5 days ago) but never though of it. So I gave Tom an unframed print.
36. Get a Safe Deposit Box
37. Decorate patio

38. Create a Paper Sack Journal and blog about it - do this for 30 days (30 sacks - 9 so far, need to blog about it & take a photo)

39. Send 20 Postcards using postcrossing.com (9/14/08) - Not sure if I want to do this.
40. Join 30 Day Challenge in August (or whenever it begins in 2009)

41. Write in my 10 year journal every day. http://www.journal10.com/ very very cool journal - Still on track. 05/03/08 I am still on track. I have one entry each day of this year. YES! (9/14/08) still writing in it every day. :) (11/08/08) Have not missed a day.

42. Put away laundry the same day it is dried (6 weeks) (Bonus points for continuing the habit!) First post about it, Second post 05/03/08 DONE!! This is a done project. I have it as a habit now.

43. Vote in the 2008 November election

44. Donate or sell one box of "stuff" each month (Box in guest room) (I haven't done it each month but I have gotten rid of most of my clothing that I didn't like or didn't wear often.)

45. Write 12 new Kirby Mail posts in 2008 (3 completed)(9/14/08) I now have 6 completed

46. List the Plexiglas & the diamond tread on Craig’s list and get it gone by July 2008. (9/14/08)Oooh, we were flipping that house in July -- I forgot all about it. Lets move the date to March 2009.

47. Travel to...Hawaii
48. ...France

49. ...England, Ireland, Scotland (5/19/08 My father asked us last month if we'd like to all go to the Isle of Man next summer - so this trip is scheduled.)

50. ...Maywood, Nebraska (5/19/08 My mother asked me a few weeks ago if I'd like to go to her class reunion with her & visit Maywood! - My answer was YES!)(9/14/08) we leave in a few days!!!!!!!!!

51. ...Chicago
52. ...Memphis with Bob
53. ...LasVegas
54. Sell the early editions of the MSL magazines by the end of 2008 (this doesn't look it'll happen. Maybe I can get them listed the first week in Dec.)
55. Make a shadowbox or some kind of covered display for the BK items. (End of 2010)
56. Get China doll repaired - replace the string that held her together
57. Create a Home book - household inventory, floor plan, color chart, maintenance, etc. (end of 2009)
58. Buy a new mattress for King bed (2009)
59. Buy a new mattress for Queen bed (2010)
60. Memorize U. S. Presidents
61. Learn how to change a tire on both cars.
62. Send flowers to someone.
63. Send a Get Well package to someone that includes crayons and a coloring book.

64. Hold the door open for people (10 minimum but continue the practice)(done done done!)

65. Have a Chick Flick sleep-over party

66. Replace all of my socks & chuck the old ones - all of them. 05/03/08 I did this the other day -- I totally forgot it was on my list. (Or maybe I didn't forget!)

67. Renew my passport - I HAVE to do this soon. we are going overseas next year.
68. Add additional $2000 to my emergency fund
69. Get a Museum Membership
70. Put together an Emergency Kit (post what's in it in a blog post)
71. One Random Act of Kindness (this can be repeated often) 05/03/08 the other day I did all sorts of nice stuff for people and places. It was fun - I'll post something about it.
72. Purchase Photoshop (or other photo editing software) & blog about how I am using it each week for a month.
73. Make a list of 100 things that make me happy. (05/03/08 - I don't know why I haven't even thought of starting this...)
74. Go one month without using my Credit Card (Bonus points for Debit Card, too)
75. Go to grocery store only once a week for an entire month (Bonus points, big bonus points for continuing this habit)

76. Go out to dinner once a month with a neighbor or friend. (12 months in a row)

77. Write a letter or card to someone other than family every week.

78. Call Tom's parents at least twice a month.

79. Flip a house in less than 4 months. This is absolutely being done right now. We are 3 weeks into it. (we did it in 4 months!!!!!)

80. Make a condo book listing the food, maps, suggestions, etc. Have the patients write in it. Make it interactive if possible. (9/14/08) I just started working on this last week.

81. Make a calendar for the family with all of our bdays and anniversaries in it. (Ask Marg for help on this)
82. Purchase a new rug for the bedroom & another for the computer room
83. Go to a taping of the Oprah Show (could do it while I was visiting Chicago!)
84. Acquire new bedding for the guest room (donate the current bedding
85. Wash all of the exterior parts of the windows.
86. Recover the yellow couch.
87. Sell Grandma's Treadle machine
88. Finish up the State Quarters book - it ends in 2008.
89. Create a small prop closet - this has been started and it is just going to be a basket in the closet. I will blog about it when I have more items, but it is started.
90. Get out of town with Tom 2 weekends a year.
91. Buy a black velvet dress or one that seems just as cool and wear it to an event.
92. Paint a picture and frame it. It doesn't have to be great - just do it!
93. Transfer Nebraska tape to DVD and give it to myself and family.
94. Toss out or give away all video tapes.
95. Make a Paper Crown - photograph it. (Bonus points for doing this again, if it was fun lol)
96. Start writing down the family funnies -- Big Gulp, W/D on the curb, Kitten on his shoulder, elusive noodles, etc.
97. Clean out a dresser drawer once a month.
98. Write down the crafty ideas so you don't have to try to remember them all. Create a book or gasp, a blog post, to put them in.
99. Get rid of, recycle, gift, donate or otherwise move out of my possession every piece of electronic equipment or computer that hasn't been used in 2 years.
100. Get a professional family portrait taken & frame at least one of the photos with in a month.
101. Plan my own birthday party for the 18th of October, 2010 - the very last day of the 1001 days and celebrate the successes in the 101 goals!!