My 101 goals for 1001 days

In Progress

2010-12-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

I have crossed a few more things off of the list and I have a few more in progress.
In progress are:

37.Paint the main floor of the house...only the stairway needs to be done.
45.Get caught up on each child's scrapbook....I am caught up on Evan's but not Abby's.
66.Get a massage....I have minutes in my account at the gym but need to find time to use them.
39.Go through our books and get rid of any that I don't like...1/2 way done.
19.Paint our bedroom....2 walls are done.

May Update

2010-05-20T14:58:00.001-07:00

I'm still working on the list. I just updated and was able to cross off quite a few things. There are still some things I am in progress with. I like checking in every now and again so that I don't lose sight of my goals.

January update

2010-01-18T18:36:00.000-08:00

Saturday night, we tried a Tapas restaurant in town. I'd love to give them a great review because the food was excellent but unfortunately I can't because I feel a little bent out of shape that they would not accept our coupon. Anyways....onto the photographic evidence.

Yummy sangria!

Onto the food:

December update

2009-12-16T21:12:00.000-08:00

These are in progress:

9.Graduate from NIU.
Applied for May graduation.

37.Paint the main floor of the house.
In progress. Most of the living/dining area is painted. Still have to do the bathroom and hallway leading down to Evan's room/garage.

45.Get caught up on each child's scrapbook.
Evan's is caught up. Currently working on catching up on Abby's.

I also was able to cross a few more things off the list that I've done.

I haven't forgotten

2009-06-13T17:52:00.001-07:00

Although I sometimes I go a long time in between updates, I am still working on the list. I hesitate sometimes to update because I want my entry to be something more interesting and possibly include photos.

So I have accomplished:

1.Grow hair out past my shoulders.

4.Finish painting the master bathroom

16.Attend a church service at the Universalist Unitarian church.

35.Watch all the movies on our Blockbuster list

92.Wear a funny hat. Take a picture.

Progress

2009-05-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

~~97.Get all A's one semester.~~

Spring 2009 > Undergraduate > Northern Illinois University

Class Grades - Spring 2009

Class	Description	Units	Grade	Grade Points
ANTH 444	Primate Ecol & Cons	3.00	A	12.000
FLFR 102	Elementary French II	3.00	A	12.000
POLS 301	Political Psychology	3.00	A	12.000

Term Statistics - Spring 2009

	From Enrollment	Combined Term Total	Cumulative Total

Total Grade Points	36.000	36.000	132.000

Graded units towards GPA	9.000	9.000	45.000
Graded units not for GPA			80.200
In progress units

GPA**	4.000	4.000	2.933

Pink highlights

2009-03-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

~~76.Put pink highlights in my hair.~~ DONE!

Got some pink back in my hair today. It really makes me smile.

Crossing things off my list!

2009-03-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

I haven't been doing the best on my list because I still haven't had a whole lot of time to devote to "me time", but it's getting better. :-)

~~5.Buy a new car.~~ DONE! We bought a car from Josh's Dad. It's a lot of fun to drive and it's nice not to worry about Josh's old car breaking down.

Here's Josh and his Dad checking out the new ride.

I read one more book: The Little Prince which I read in high school, although it was the french version then. I've always wanted to read the english version and get familiar with the story again. It's a children's book, but I definitely recommend it for adults.

~~18.Cook dinner at least 3 nights per week.~~ DONE, I actually cook dinner 4-5 nights per week currently. This started out of necessity because Josh was working later hours so that we could take Abby into school together in the mornings. Once he goes back to his regular hours, I will probably still cook dinner 3 nights out of the week. I have been using my crock pot a lot. One of our favorites is salsa chicken. It's super easy and tasty. Just put as much chicken breast as you need in the crock pot, dump a jar of medium salsa on it and cook on low for 8 hours. We eat the chicken in tacos.

Here it is in the crock pot:

~~38.Get outlet covers resolved in the kitchen.~~DONE

Review: My Sister's Keeper

2009-01-18T15:42:00.000-08:00

Just finished reading:
My Sister's Keeper: A Novel
By: Jodi Picoult

Yesterday I read a whole book! And it felt so good. I couldn't put it down, so I found a way to finish it.

This book is about two sisters: 13 year old Anna and her 16 year old sister Kate. Kate was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia when she was 2. After Kate's Brother Jesse fails to be a match for Kate's donor needs, their parents set about to conceive the perfect donor...and thus Anna is born. Anna begins being Kate's donor at birth with her cord blood and it continues from there is Kate cycles through remission and relapse. Anna feels invisible as Kate is the beloved daughter who all the attention is lavished upon and Anna is the spare parts warehouse. As Kate's kidney's are failing it is assumed that Anna will donate a kidney to her sister. This time however, Kate puts her foot down and files for medical emancipation from her parents. This is a decision that will force everyone in the family to be honest about how Kate's health crises have affected them all.

As a mother, sister and cancer survivor this book touched a lot of emotions for me. It was really interesting and has given me a lot of things to think about. Although I felt sorry for Anna that she had basically been brought into the world to make her sister well, I initially had a hard time understanding why she wouldn't give her sister her kidney. If my sister needed a kidney, I wouldn't think twice. I would be at the hospital ready for surgery. I also had a hard time liking the mother Sara in this book. Although I can understand how fearful and desperate she felt for her daughter Kate, she neglected the other two children for Kate. But as with all of Jodi Picoult's books that I've read, things are not always what they seem...there are always twists and turns. As I said, I couldn't put this book down and I'd also say it's one of my favorites by her so far. By the end of this book I was sobbing....also not new to me after reading one of this author's books. I would give this book a solid A.

Currently reading:
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons: A Novel
By: Lorna Landvik
Release date: 2005-03-29

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming review

2009-01-16T07:05:00.000-08:00

As part of my goal to read one non-school book per month, I just finished reading The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson. This is the second book that I've read by this author and I liked them both so much, that I am looking forward to reading another of her books.

This book is about Laurel and her family, mostly her sister Thalia. Laurel lives in a safe and prestigious neighborhood in Florida with her nerdy husband and her daughter Shelby who is the center of Laurel's life. When one of Shelby's friends tragically drowns in Laurel's pool, it sets in motion a mission for Laurel to find the truth. Laurel has always needed her older eccentric sister Thalia to step in and save her. This time is no different so Laurel brings Thalia to her home to help her. Laurel and Thalia don't always see eye to eye, but the one thing they have in common is their love of Laurel's daughter Shelby. This is a story about families and the secrets that lie beneath their facades.

I liked this book a lot. Thalia was a very interesting character and I'd love to see another story about her. As diverse a character as she was, I'm sure there could be something else to write about her. I would give this book a B.

Just finished reading:
The Girl Who Stopped Swimming
By Joshilyn Jackson

1/7/2008 Progress report

2009-01-07T14:44:00.000-08:00

As a result of eating better, logging it and a couple of workouts I have lost 3 pounds. I'll have to be honest and admit that I'm sure that the stress and business involved with my daughter breaking her leg has kept me from overeating.

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Diet Journal

I also got a bank that I lovingly refer to as my cuss cup. The deal is that I have to put in a quarter if a nasty word slips out. I am proud to say that it only has a quarter in it. Guess what? I don't miss the potty language one bit.

In progress...

2009-01-02T12:10:00.000-08:00

I am really excited about starting on my list and getting some goals accomplished. Here's where I am with working on some of them:

2.Lose 100 pounds. (0lbs): Started counting calories and logging them on myfitnesspal.

15.Stop cursing completely.: started a cuss cup and putting a quarter in each time one slips out. So far I've had to put in $.50 but am more mindful of what I say. *update: Started over on this after purchasing a cute little bank from Moxie in DeKalb.

34.Work out 5 times per week.: Got back on the exercise bike for 15 minutes today. Plan on working my way up to 30 minutes per day.

The list

2009-01-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

1.Grow hair out past my shoulders.
2.Lose 100 pounds. (0lbs)
3.Read 1 book per month. School assigned books don't count. (0)
4.Finish painting the master bathroom.
5.Buy a new car.
6.Obtain and maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
7.Choose and apply for grad school.
8.Take the GRE exam for grad school.
9.Graduate from NIU.
10.Keep a handwritten journal and write in it at least once a week.
11.Go one month without eating out.
12.Learn to bake a yummy fruitcake.
13.Swim in the ocean.
14.Fly somewhere on an airplane without any fears.
15.Stop cursing completely.
16.Attend a church service at the Universalist Unitarian church.
17.Walk the dog every day that weather and health permit.
18.Cook dinner at least 3 nights per week.
19.Paint our bedroom.
20.Organize Abby's room really well.
21.Limit leisure computer time to 1 hour per day on school days.
22.Go out dancing.
23.Volunteer for an organization that I care about.
24.Adopt another dog.
25.Paint or stain our bedroom furniture.
26.Leave the country.
27.Visit Jeri in Arizona.
28.Visit my cousins.
29.Paint Abby's bedroom.
30.Spend the day in Chinatown.
31.Read Barack Obama's books.
32.Paint Evan's bedroom.
33.Go one month without eating meat.
34.Work out 5 times per week.
35.Watch all the movies on our Blockbuster list.
36.Pay cash for everything (except for online purchases).
37.Paint the main floor of the house.
38.Get outlet covers resolved in the kitchen.
39.Go through our books and get rid of any that I don't like.
40.Listen more than I talk.
41.For every negative thing that I say, follow it with something positive.
42.Make a new friend.
43.Learn a new word each week and use it.
44.Start belly dancing again.
45.Get caught up on each child's scrapbook.
46.Overcome fear of pontoon boats and ride one.
47.Take a wine tour of Door County.
48.Paint a picture worthy of hanging up in our house.
49.Write a poem.
50.Start a family game night.
51.Send in a secret to Postsecret
52.Have 2 dates per month with my husband.
53.Learn some Spanish.
54.Go to a Huskies football game.
55.Have a professional family photo taken.
56.Make a good sangria.
57.Grow banana peppers.
58.Try a new wine every month (0)
59.Take the train.
60.Ride a bike.
61.Keep on top of birthdays & anniversaries. Send cards on time.
62.Learn how to make crepes.
63.Spend a whole night at Relay for Life.
64.Camp on the beach.
65.Make a carrot cake.
66.Get a massage.
67.Go see a psychic and get a reading.
68.Visit the Field Museum.
69.Dress up for Halloween.
70.Go on a sleigh ride.
71.Build a snowman.
72.Have a bonfire at least once a month from May-October.
73.Eat at a tapas restaurant.
74.Take a boat ride on Lake Michigan.
75.Get an MP3 player and load it with music that makes me happy.
76.Put pink highlights in my hair.
77.Try 10 new restaurants (0/10)
78.Wish on a star.
79.Buy myself flowers at least once a month.
80.Pet a llama.
81.Teach Gracie to shake her paw.
82.Organize our walk in closet.
83.Drink one of each kind of margarita at Eduardo's.
84.Take an art class just for fun.
85.Make my own body butter.
86.Take a family photo every month.
87.Buy a raincoat and wear it.
88.Have a water balloon fight.
89.Have clear thyroid and lymph node scans every time.
90.Learn to love my scars.
91.Create something with saved cards and letters.
92.Wear a funny hat. Take a picture.
93.Eat at Sonic.
94.Make more entries in our love story journal.
95.Go to the symphony.
96.Go to a concert at Ravinia.
97.Get all A's one semester.
98.Ride on a scooter.
99.Visit both the east and west coast.
100.Visit a Buddhist temple.
101.Pick fruit from an orchard.