My List ~ 101 in 1001

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Here is my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I am starting today so that I end the day before my 40th birthday. See the previous post for details of 101 in 1001. My list is in no particular order. Well, they are in numerical order, but not in order of importance. I mean, I couldn't even take the time to organize them by category. Anyway...

To Do
Started
Finished

1. Exercise 3 times a week for 10 weeks. (0/10)
2. Watch 10 movies (that I haven't already seen) from AFI list of 101 Greatest American Movies Of All Time. (0/10)
3. Read 10 classic books. I like to think of them as "books I should have read in high school. (0/10)
4. Win NaNoWriMo
5. Lose 100 pounds (0/100)
6. Get Lasik eye surgery.
7. Avoid soda pop for 30 days.
8. Avoid eating out for lunch and dinner for 30 days.
9. Re-learn French, at least enough to carry on a conversation.
10. Take our Route 66 trip.
11. Get to bed by 10:30 every night for two weeks. (0/2)
12. Get rubber stamping tools organized.
13. Stamp 3 cards per month for 3 months. (0/3)
14. Get all of our pictures into scrapbooks.
15. Get a tattoo.
16. Unpack all the boxes from our move 2 years ago.
17. Once a month for 6 months, frame and hang one picture. (0/6)
18. Get rid of all the decorative items I am no longer using.
19. Turn in all library and rental items by the due date to avoid paying late fees for 3 months. (0/3)
20. Finish a cross stitch project from beginning to end and frame it and give it to someone.
21. Visit 5 museums. (0/5)
22. See 5 plays or musicals. (0/5)
23. Read the Twilight series.
24. Read the Harry Potter series out loud to Kenna.
25. Clean the apartment thoroughly and keep it maintained for one whole month.
26. Take 5 roadtrips.
27. Learn to make 5 alcoholic drinks. (0/5)
28. Start college funds for the girls.
29. Make Kaemie's old t-shirts into pillows or a quilt.
30. Ask a guy out.
31. Wear false eyelashes.
32. Have a spa day.
33. Skydive.
34. Plan my 40th Birthday to be more than just a girls' night out. My guests and I will dress up in cocktail dresses, ride in a limo, and just be fabulous for an evening.
35. Save $10.00 in a reward envelope for every goal accomplished on this list to pay for that birthday party.
36. Get a passport.
37. Take a cruise.
38. Eat at the dining room table as a family with the TV off one night a week for 4 weeks. (0/4)
39. Re-decorate the bathroom with rubber ducks instead of frogs.
40. Get up when the alarm goes off and do not hit the snooze button every day for one week.
41. Go horseback riding.
42. Watch the entire Gilmore Girls series on DVD.
43. Get my car detailed.
44. Go to the Farmer's Market once a month when it is open May - October. (0/6)
45. Be a team parent.
46. Have a family game night once a week for 4 weeks. (0/4)
47. Bake a cake from scratch.
48. Attend Final Friday 5 times. (0/5)
49. Save $20 a month in a reward envelope for 6 months to use at the Haysville Garage Sales. (0/6)
50. Save $20 a month in a reward envelope for 6 months to use at the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival. (0/6)
51. Frame some of the kids' best artwork.
52. Take a dance class.
53. Make my bedroom a retreat with fluffy pillows, cozy blankets, and beautiful things.
54. No TV for one week.
55. Take a family portrait.
56. Make a will.
57. Attend 20th High School Reunion. At least part of it.
58. Get renter's insurance.
59. Catalog our movies and music.
60. At work, make one phone call per day for 20 business days. (0/20)
61. At the next 5 conferences I attend for work, I will introduce myself to one person I don't know. I need to start networking and not just hanging out with my co-workers. (0/5)
62. Ride a motorcycle.
63. Take motorcycle driving lessons.
64. Get my legs professionally waxed.
65. Keep track of every cent I spend in a month.
66. Wash my face every night for one week. I get tired and lazy and don't always do this.
67. Throw a Halloween party.
68. Don't allow the dinner dishes to pile up by doing them every night for 30 days.
69. Get all paperwork filed, shredded, or thrown away.
70. Watch a meteor shower.
71. Camp 1 other time besides at the Walnut Valley Festival.
72. Learn to use my new cappacino/espresso machine.
73. Identify 101 things that make me happy. (0/101)
74. Visit 3 wineries. (0/3)
75. Donate blood 3 times. (0/3)
76. Drink 6 cups of water everyday for 14 days.
77. Hug Kenna 3 times a day everyday for 30 days.
78. Hug Kaemie 3 times a day everyday for 30 days.
79. Visit 3 casinos. (0/3)
80. Go skiing.
81. Take the Atchinson Haunted Trolley Tour.
82. Complete 5 puzzles. (0/5)
83. Make a family tree that goes back at least 3 generations.
84. Get my fortune read 3 times. (0/3)
85. Fly a kite 3 times.
86. Frame the girls school pictures from every year and hang on the wall.
87. Chase a tornado.
88. Kiss a girl.
89. Go roller skating.
90. Go ice skating.
91. Sing Karaoke in a bar. I'm not sure there is enough alcohol in the world to get me to do this, but I will put it on the list.
92. Go to a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
93. Organize my jewelry so I stop losing things.
94. Avoid cussing for 30 days.
95. Get old pictures from dad and scan them to my computer.
96. Have a girls poker night, and actually play poker.
97. Watch the Sex and the City series on DVD.
98. Find a job that actually pays enough to pay back my college loans.
99. Blog about the progress on this list.
100. Take and post pictures about the progress.
101. Make a new list!

101 in 1001

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.

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focussed. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

Dateless in Doo-dah

Ok, so I've been single for a while. A long while. For some time I was raising two kids, going to school full time, working full time, and volunteering. I didn't have time to date. Now that I have time, several factors are working against me. I work in a female dominated field so I don't meet men. I am overweight so the men I meet aren't interested. And when I do meet someone who is interested, I still don't have much time because of kids, work, and volunteering. Oh, and I don't really care. Sure I'd like to meet someone to spend some time with, but I'm not interested in committment at this time.



So I joined this dating website. Its free, so that tells me my level of interest. I'm not lonely or bored enough to pay to meet someone. Anyone who does pay, please don't be offended - I'm really just not that interested in dating. But I thought I would give this a try.

Let me tell you about the last couple of guys I met through this site. We'll call the first one "Buddy." Just disregard the fact that that is his real name. Tip off right away, huh? How mature can he be when he has been called "Buddy" all his life? So we talk on the phone and arrange to meet at a local bar. We talk for about an hour. He is funny, smart, and not bad looking. He doesn't care that I'm overweight. Perfect. Then when I leave, he tries to kiss me! Now I am not a prude, but even in my wilder, younger days I didn't kiss on the first date (well, mostly).

We decide to go out again a couple of nights later to a Chinese Buffet. Dinner was fun, except for everytime I got up he would put his hand on my butt. Again, not a prude, but ewww! When we are saying good-bye and he tries to kiss me again, I backed away and got in my car. The next day I get an email about how I hurt his feelings. I tried to explain that I would like to get to know him better before we start sharing spit, and I used the dreaded phrase "take it slow." At the time I didn't know it was dreaded, but now I do. He proceeded to inform me by email that when a woman says "take it slow" she means she wants the guy to buy her dinner and take care of her but "no sex." He ended this long rant by informing me that (his words) "no guy will ever be able to make you happy unless they realize that it is all about you." Well... duh? Of course it is all about me. (That was sarcasm).

I did not reply. I really wanted to have the last word. I'm like that. I have to have the last word. It was painful (and still is, six months later). What he said wasn't painful, I know myself well and I was just being me, but not sending a scathing email back was painful. I wanted to tell him that of course it was all about me. I wanted to type that catch all word "whatever." But I didn't reply. I just let it go. That email exchange could still be going on now if I had not just let it go.

Fast forward a couple of months. New guy, can't remember his name. He doesn't like to talk on the phone and neither do I so we communicated with text messages. This "relationship" lasted two weeks. And I do feel like it was an entire relationship. We got to know each other. We had a heated discussion/argument. We agreed to disagree and made up. Then he broke up with me. Oh, yeah - did I mention this was all by text message? That's right, we never talked or met. There is really no more to say about that - it speaks for itself.

Now join me in present day. Remember Buddy? He's back. I guess changing my profile picture confused him. That's right, he messaged me. I checked out his profile and I made it on his profile! Check out what he wrote:

RED FLAG PHRASES: (Things women say to ensure losing a man before she dates him)

1. "I like to take it slow".
Although this sounds like something you want to make sure you say up front, dont! What a man hears when you say that is, "I want you to buy me dinners and entertain me until you finally get bored and dump me, then I can mooch off the next guy", or some men may take this as a challenge, forgetting about a relationship and just wanting to bed ya then leave, adding another notch to the ole lovestick.


I AM THE NUMBER ONE RED FLAG PHRASE! How great is that? I am honored - I mean shamed.

So I couldn't resist. I replied with:

Thanks for contacting me, but I can tell you are the kind of guy who could never make me happy because you would never understand that it is truly all about me. Good Luck.

Do you see? Do you get it? I used his words! How clever was I? Do you think I got the last word? Of course I didn't. Try to remember how mature this guy must be. He wrote back:

then you're a typical woman, and you're fat

ouch.

Dang it, I let my sarcasm show again... Stay tuned!