On January 11th (just a few weeks away–so weird!), I’ll hit the year mark of when I started working on my 101 in 1001 list. All in all, I have completely fallen in love with this new way of doing resolutions/goals/bucket list items/what-have-you, and I might not ever go back to the traditional practice of simply setting new year’s resolutions.
I’ve found that the timeline of a 101 in 1001 list (of almost 3 years) is perfect to put on some really “big” goals–but still give them a deadline–and to also give plenty of flexibility for when certain goals will be tackled, which is important since our ever-shifting season in life usually dictates what we can/want to focus our extra time and money on. My only complaint about the 101 in 1001 list is that sometimes certain priorities shift over time, so some of the goals I originally put on will likely be changed at some point in the project. In fact, if you read over my post about the goals I have for December, you would have noticed that I’ve set a specific goal to look over my original 101 in 1001 list and see what I want to change (I think I’ll be changing at least five or six). I’ll make sure to do an update when those changes have been decided on!
Because of this list and the roadmap it gives me, 2018 has been one of my most productive and goal-oriented years ever–it has made it so that all of the stuff I’d wanted to do “someday” is starting to become part of my “here and now,” and as we come up on the year mark, I’m happy to say that I’m just about right on track for completing all 101 goals in time (if I keep up this pace). Check out my progress below!
Note: Anything that’s crossed out (but that doesn’t have an explanation below it) was discussed in my first checkpoint post. Items that are crossed out are goals that I view as finished, and any items in red are goals that I’ve made measurable progress on, but that I haven’t finished yet.
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My 101 in 1001 List
Start Date: Thursday Jan. 11, 2018
End Date: Wednesday Oct. 7, 2020
Health + Fitness
1. Run a half marathon in under two hours
2. Go six months without drinking any Diet Dr. Pepper
I officially completed this goal at the end of June, but I’ve currently only had DDP twice since then (and found I no longer really have a taste for it). A major win!
3. Try out a new exercise class
4. Do 50 push-ups in a row
Pregnancy always does a number on my ability to do push-ups, but I’m now back up to being able to do 15-20.
5. Get back to my pre-pregnancy weight
I’m getting quite close on this one! I’ve only got 4 pounds to go.
6. Have a sugar-free month
7. Complete a 12-week BBG (Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide)
While I might not be completing the BBG in a twelve-week period (due to sickness, time constraints, and other factors), I do plan to finish out the whole program. As the holidays are super busy, I’m trying to fit in modified versions of the workouts where I can this month and then picking back up officially where I left off (Week 10) in January. If you want to read some of my thoughts about the program and the progress I’ve seen, you can check those out in this post I wrote at the halfway point.
8. Try 3 new hikes
We’ve currently done two–the Blacksmith Fork River Trail and the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (both up Blacksmith Fork Canyon in Northern Utah).
9. No fast food for two months (including pizza)
10. Get 10,000 steps avg./day for a month
Financial
11. Complete emergency fund ($10,000)
We finally made some measurable progress on this one, largely thanks to the challenge we did to save $1000 in 100 days. We’re currently about halfway there!
12. Rollover Matt’s 401k to a Roth IRA
13. Pay $3000 extra on the mortgage
We’re still paying a bit extra on our mortgage every month (about $35 or so, to make it a nice even number). We have plans to get our house re-appraised at the beginning of next year to hopefully be able to get rid of our PMI, at which point we’d keep making the payment we’re making now but with almost $100 extra going towards the mortgage.
14. Set up a sinking fund for car repairs
Personal Development
15. Reach 100% fluency on Duolingo (French)
Although my daily French practice has gone by the wayside since having my son, I still have made some progress since the last time I posted, albeit very little.
16. Set up Facebook page for produce co-op
I finally did this back in September, and I’m only sorry I didn’t do it sooner! It’s already been very rewarding to see less produce going to waste in our city and to see neighbors stepping up to share what they have. Plus, we’ve benefited from the group a few times ourselves, as people have been sharing some of the produce WE’D been wanting!
17. Take a cooking class
18. Type up the rest of my mission journals
This ended up being SUCH a special experience for me–it was almost like getting the chance to relive the whole experience again, which I loved. I even teared up at the end as I finished! (I also love that these are all now in digital format so that I have a backup AND so I can actually do something with these one day, if I choose.)
19. Type up all of my personal journals
20. Establish a personal morning routine + stick with it for a month
21. Cook through a whole cookbook
I decided to cook my way through The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner, which has 208 recipes in it. I’ve currently made 61.
22. Try a dozen new cookie recipes
This one continues to be such a joy to work on, and I’ve made six more since I last posted (bringing the total new recipes made to 9).
23. Go a week with no t.v. time (including movies)
Spiritual
24. Read the Book of Mormon in Spanish
25. Visit 3 new temples + do ordinances
Matt and I did a session at the Jordan River Temple (in Utah) in November.
26. Find 100 names for the temple
I actually haven’t been keeping track of the exact number, but if we go by what I said in April (that I had 50), then I’ve probably found about 70 so far. Note: You’ll notice that on several of these goals under the Spiritual section, I’ve included links (just in case you’re curious to learn more about my beliefs as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints).
27. Complete temple work for 15 people
Since Matt and I recently made the decision to start trying to go to the temple weekly rather than monthly, this one is going to be completed much sooner than planned. I’ve currently completed six, but I should be completing four more before the year is out.
28. Make family history photo flash cards
I’ve currently done 37 (not much, but it’s a start!).
30. Study all General Conference talks of 2017
31. Study all GC talks of 2018
I have completely finished studying all the talks from April’s General Conference and am now currently studying the messages from October’s.
32. Study all GC talks of 2019
33. Study April GC talks of 2020
Books
34. Read 5 books off of my 100 Classics list
I’ve read two (Lord of the Flies and A Farewell to Arms) and am in the middle of a third (Brave New World). I’ve mostly made so much progress on this because of the Assigned Reading I’ve given myself this school year (for the second year in a row).
35. Read 2 plays
36. Read 15 books off of the Newbery list
I’ve read four so far–Three Times Lucky, Out of the Dust, El Deafo, and The War That Saved My Life.
37. Read 5 books off of the Pulitzer list
I’ve currently read just one–The Snow Child.
38. Read 12 books off of the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list
I’ve read four–Lord of the Flies and A Farewell to Arms counted on this list too, and then I also read Sense and Sensibility and Rebecca.
39. Read 50 books I own
I’ve currently read 15, not including any that I re-read. (In other words, I set the goal with the intention of starting to read through the enormous number of books I own that I’ve never read–which is in the hundreds). I’m also in the middle of three others.
40. Re-read 5 books
I thought it would be a lot harder to get back into the habit of re-reading (since I’d gone so many years without doing it), but I’ve already knocked out 3 and am in the middle of another.The ones I’ve already re-read are Speak, Peony in Love, and The Happiness Project. (The only one that wasn’t as good as I remembered it being was Peony in Love, which resulted in me knocking it from five stars down to three and a half, and it almost didn’t even make that, but I particularly liked the ending.)
Travel + Fun
41. Visit Capitol Reef
42. Visit Goblin Valley
43. Visit a new state
44. Celebrate a holiday I normally don’t
45. Visit the ocean
46. Go horseback riding
47. Go to the condo in St. George
48. Go to a musical or play
49. Go fly a kite
50. Complete my Sudoku book
I’ve started semi-regularly working out the puzzles when I’m waiting for stuff to cook in the kitchen, which has been fun for me. Sure, I’ve only completed about a dozen or so (and the book contains over 400). But I’m still counting it all as progress!
51. Go on a picnic
Blogging + Writing
52. Reach 50 people on my email list
I haven’t been too proactive about working on this, but I have gained some new email followers. Once I actually start offering something other than just an update every time I post (like a monthly newsletter or bonus content), I’ll start putting more energy into this.
53. Reach 100 people on my email list
54. Break even with blog expenses/income
I’m not great at making money with blogging (which I’m okay with), but I was thisclose to meeting this goal this year (and the only reason I didn’t is because I won’t receive some of the payments until the beginning of 2019).
55. Make $500 in a year from blogging
56. Reach 200 followers on Bloglovin’
I’ve gained 13 new followers since my last checkpoint, for a total of 163 right now. Considering that I haven’t actively been working on this, I’m pretty pleased about it, actually! (If you’re not following yet but would like to, click here.)
57. Reach 300 followers on Bloglovin’
58. Have a post get 1,000+ views
Mostly thanks to the fact that it’s a top-ranked post in certain Google searches, this post analyzing which grocery store will save you the most money is well on its way to getting 2,000 views soon. Plus, thanks to Pinterest, there are a few other posts coming up on the 1,000+ views mark soon, like this popular recipe for Almond Punch and this post all about what your photographer REALLY wishes you knew about getting your family pics taken.
59. Have a post get 2,000+ views
60. Optimize 20 old posts for Pinterest
I haven’t had too much time to work on repurposing old content lately, but I have worked on some, like this post on 10 books recommended by an English major and this recipe for cinnamon love knots (which desperately needed a better picture). I’m now up to five total, I think?
61. Finish first draft of my novel
62. Make 100 new entries in The Motherhood Diaries
I’ve written 21, including one I shared on the blog here.
Photography
63. Take another photography class
64. Go to an event with the Cache Valley Photographers’ Group
65. Reach 500 Instagram followers
I’ve grown about 60 followers since my last checkpoint post and am currently at around 460, which I’m pleased with. (If you’re not following me already, click here!)
66. Reach 1,000 Instagram followers
67. Complete a self-portrait photo project
68. Pare down photos from 2013-2017
69. Buy a macro lens
Thanks to a couple jobs early in the year, I was able to buy this one right before the arrival of our son, which was perfect timing! (I ended up getting this one.)
70. Buy a tripod
Thanks to a great Black Friday deal and some extra photography jobs, I was able to pick up this one just barely.
71. Give a free photo session to someone in need
72. Launch photography webpage
It’s still a work in progress, but I at least have posted galleries of my recent work, a pricing section, and an About Me section. (If you’re curious to see what I have so far, click here.)
73. Back up all photos
Family + Relationships + Service
74. Finish reading over Matt’s book and making suggestions
75. Complete 1,000 book challenge with Raven
Currently we’ve read around 700 (different) titles together, at least as far as I’ve recorded.
76. Create a recent family photo album
Technically I’ve completed this one, but I’ve expanded on it in my head, so I’m not counting it as complete yet. Since I hadn’t made ANY photo albums since we got married over 7 years ago, I decided to make 4-5 albums so that we’re all caught up. I’ve currently made just the first one, which covers more or less the first two years we were married.
77. Sign Raven up for preschool
Raven started going to preschool two mornings a week back in August and LOVES it.
78. Go on 20 dates with Matt
We’ve been a TON better this year about going on regular date nights together, which has been such a blessing. So far, we’ve been on 10.
79. Sign Raven up for swimming lessons
80. Give/send 12 handwritten notes or letters
I’ve sent 8.
81. Get family pics taken twice
Boy, does it help that one of our closest friends recently got really into photography! He did this little mini family session for us right at the end of my pregnancy, which we loved. (And you can check out more of his work here.)
82. Take an overnight trip with Matt
83. Leave a 100% tip at a restaurant
84. Buy someone a just-because gift
85. Give someone flowers
Home + Organization
86. Get bed for guest room
87. Fix plumbing out back
88. Complete built-in bookshelves in office
89. Plant at least two fruit trees
90. Build a sandbox out back
We’ve obtained the wood for this and Matt has been prepping it. Come spring, we should be good to put this together in a weekend.
91. Put shiplap up in bathroom
92. Buy curtains for downstairs family room
93. Grow pumpkins
We were able to successfully get two pumpkins for Halloween. (We originally had others, including a really big one, but they went bad on the vine thanks to a massive infestation of squash bugs.)
94. Buy throw pillows for upstairs couch
95. Do a refresh project of 50 Weeks to Organized
Progress on this has been slooooow, but I have been gradually going through my checklist of different areas in the house I still need to go through.
96. Plant an herb garden
97. Make a canvas print to hang in our bedroom
98. Hang pics up in downstairs family room
99. Buy fresh flowers every month for six months
100. Buy/get a grill
101. Review emergency preparedness + make a will
