101 in 1001

I am sure many of you have heard of this project. I checked it out a couple of months ago, but didn't think that it would fit in my life at that time. Now, I think I could benefit from the overall goal setting that this requires.

The website, www.dayzeroproject.com, is now accepting more listmakers. I have included that information on the project below, along with my list. Hopefully it will be inspirational to someone.

About The Project
Welcome to Day Zero, the home of the 1001 Day Project. A unique challenge that inspires you to set and achieve your personal goals in life.

The Challenge:
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 your part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple challenges such as New Year's resolutions or a 'Bucket List'. 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, study semesters, or outdoor activities.

Travel & Adventure
1.Skydive.
2.Visit Europe.
3.Visit Australia.
4.Visit Tennessee or Colorado for a music festival.
5.Get a passport.
6.See the turning of the leaves in Connecticut or Vermont – somewhere with fall foliage.
7.Go skiing at least once.
8.Spend a weekend in NYC.
9.Spend a weekend in Las Vegas.
10.Take a train ride.
11.Go to the East Coast.
12.Take a North East city tour; Boston, Philly, DC etc.
13.Go ice skating at least once.
14.Visit an amusement park (0/3).
15.Go to the zoo at least once.
16.Visit 5 museums (0/5).
17.Do a Plantation Tour and stay at one of the (hopefully haunted) plantations.
18.Go to Branson, MO.
19.Go to the Renaissance Festival in costume.

For Me
20.Buy a new camera.
21.Move into my own place.
22.Find at least one personal moment of happiness every day for 1001 days (0/1001).
23.Go on a picnic.
24.Have a spa day.
25.Spend 2 entire (non-consecutive) rainy days in bed (0/2).
26.Spend 2 entire (non-consecutive) sunny days outside (0/2).
27.Create a recipe book.
28.Organize and update my address book.
29.Get a pedicure once a month (0/33).
30.Save all my change during the 1001 days and buy myself something special after the list is complete.
31.Pick flowers.
32.Watch 26 movies you’ve never seen starting with each letter of the alphabet. Keep track of all of them.
33.Go to an IMAX movie.
34.Watch AFI’s 100 Years 100 Movies (0/100).
35.Buy an SUV.
36.Get a facial.
37.Completely color a coloring book.
38.Don’t bite my nails for 60 days (0/60).
39.Buy a teapot and master the art of making tea.

For the Better Good
40.Plant a garden.
41.Volunteer at an animal shelter.
42.Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.
43.Donate 250,000 grains of rice through freerice.com (2220/250,000).
44.Help 10 strangers (0/10).
45.Adopt a soldier with Soldiers’ Angels.
46.Tip 100% to an exceptional server.
47.Donate clothes every 6 months (0/5).
48.Reduce my energy consumption by replacing bulbs and using shut off powerstrips.
49.Plan meals for a week (0/10).

Health & Fitness
50.Buy a bicycle.
51.Take a vitamin every day for 30 days (0/30).
52.No fast food for 30 days (0/30).
53.Exercise 3 times a week for 8 weeks (0/24).
54.Stop eating past 8:30pm for 3 weeks (0/21).
55.Try yoga.
56.Get a massage once a month (0/33).
57.Try a body cleanse.

Personal Growth
58.Organize my digital photo albums and back up my external hard drive.
59.Complete a 1,000 piece puzzle.
60.Say “yes” when I’d rather say “no” 10 times (0/10).
61.Pray daily for a month.
62.Say “no” when I want to say “no” 5 times (0/5).
63.Take a cooking & baking class.
64.Go to a shooting range.
65.Learn how to say “thank you” in 10 different languages (0/10).
66.Go to sleep no later than 10:30pm for one straight work week (0/5).
67.Go to bed no later than 9:30 to read once a week for 10 weeks. (0/10).
68.Get in touch with someone that I have lost touch with.
69.Participate in a 26 Things Challenge.
70.Complete a half marathon.
71.Complete a full marathon.
72.Try a new recipe every month (0/33).
73.Complete the “100 novels everyone should read list” (15/100).
74.Read 30 books that are not on the “should read” list (0/30).
75.Complete 5 sh1ft.org projects (0/5).
76.Eat food from home for a month, with one cheat meal per week.
77.Complete the 5,000 question survey on livejournal.com
78.Make a map to document all the places I travel.
79.Go without TV for a week.
80.Learn to crochet.
81.Laugh daily (0/1001).

Friends & Family
82.Spend more time with my family in general (stress-free time that is).
83.Take more family photos, and organize them all.
84.Book a girl-only vacation.

Finances/Business
85.Pay off all of my credit card debt.
86.Pay off all of my student loan.
87.Start an “under the mattress” savings account.
88.Build up six months of savings.
89.Have a garage sale to clear out the clutter.

Seasonal
90.Each fall go pumpkin picking (0/2).
91.Visit a haunted house for Halloween (0/2).
92.Every summer go tubing.
93.Each winter have the Christmas tree up before December 1.
94.Each spring spend an entire afternoon at the beach (0/3).
95.Each spring plant flowers (0/3).
96.Each summer go swimming at least twice (0/3).

For the List
97.Create a blog about list progress and life.
98.Write in the blog weekly (0/136).
99.Have a drink to celebrate day 1001!
100.Donate $5 to the Caring Bridge for every goal not met.
101.Donate $5 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for every goal met.

Starting Over

In less than a month, I was supposed to walk down the aisle. In a crazy turn of events, I re-evauluated and realized that I couldn't do it. The head-over-heels can't-live-without-you feeling just wasn't there. I decided I couldn't put off the inevitable, even if it meant crushing the other person, a person who loved me beyond words. I just didn't feel the same way, and I couldn't start a marriage with these feelings, or lack of.

So last night I called it all off. He was devastated, of course, and really had no idea that I was having such serious doubts. I explained how I was feeling, he tried to change my mind, and in the end he got the ring back and I get to cancel vendors. I typed up a little notecard for our guests and put them in the mail this morning. Gifts will be packed up and sent back tomorrow.

Suprisingly, I am not as upset as I thought I would be. Don't get me wrong. I can't talk about it without crying, but I know I made the right choice for me. I am actually more concerned about the small town gossip that is going to travel like wildfire.

The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Welcome all who happen across my blog. I'm glad you made it here. I hope you like it so much that you check back in on me from time to time. I wasn't sure about starting one of these, but I created my 101 in 1001 list today, and starting a blog was on it, so here I am. I will blog about my full list once I have organized it.

There are many changes happing in my life right now. I'm sure they will come up in a later post. I feel like I am at the bottom of a hill at this point, and the only thing for me to do is start climbing. My biggest problem is that I want to climb straight up, and I am not sure that is possible. It may be a long winding road, with some hard lessons along the way, but what is life worth if there aren't any challenges along the way.