As it’s been over 7 months since I posted any kind of update on how I’m doing on my 101 (Goals) in 1001 (Days) list, I figured it was high time I checked in.
Of course, as time goes on, most of the “easier” goals have been completed, and many of the goals left are, well, pretty daunting. And even though I changed over 10% of the goals back in January of this year, I’m actually already tempted to change several more, mostly just because I am now realistically seeing which ones will probably not be accomplished by next October, ha ha.
But, for now, I’m leaving the list as it is. Here’s how I’ve been doing!
(Note: Any goal that’s completed is crossed out, and any goal that was completed during the last 7 months will be crossed out and have extra commentary below it. Any goal that’s in red means measurable progress has been made, but the goal is not yet finished. Also, there are some affiliate links below, which means I get a small commission on any purchases made through those links at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting To Love and To Learn!)
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
3. Try out a new exercise class
4. Get back to my pre-pregnancy weight
I reached this one back in January of this year, which was 6 months postpartum. I even started this current pregnancy a little lighter than I was at the start of my previous one, which was a nice bonus.
I completed this one in January of this year as well (I’m sure the two were related!), and you can read more of my thoughts on it here. (Spoiler: I wasn’t as big of a fan as most people seem to be.)
6. Complete a 12-week BBG (Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide)
I’d gotten to Week 10 of this program by the end of last year, but sickness and then a back injury forced me to put a stop to basically ALL exercise for several months. Now, if I want to complete this one, I’ll have to start over from the beginning again, and it probably won’t happen until next year (after I’ve given birth to our third child). We shall see what happens with this one.
7. Try 3 new hikes (2/3)
8. No fast food for two months (including pizza)
9. Get 10,000 steps avg./day for a month
Financial
10. Complete emergency fund ($10,000)
We’ve technically actually moved BACKWARDS on this goal in the last 7 months, but since we’re sloooooowly building it back up again after the fund took a $2000 hit, I’m counting this as progress being made still.
11. Rollover Matt’s 401k to a Roth IRA
12. Buy a bigger vehicle
We now have a deadline for this one (aka, the birth of our next baby, so…December-ish), and we’ve started socking away funds just for this purpose.
13. Pay $3000 extra on the mortgage
We’ve currently paid $600 extra, so we’ll have to step it up a lot if we’re going to get this one completed on time.
14. Set up a sinking fund for car repairs
15. Open up savings accounts for the kids
We opened a couple of these up for the kids at our credit union, where they were able to get a much better interest rate than we get (2.521% vs. our piddly 0.1%). I realize we could get a better rate looking elsewhere, but I wanted an account at our local credit union for the kids to get them started.
16. Replace our laptop
Personal Development
17. Reach 100% fluency on Duolingo (French)
18. Set up Facebook page for produce co-op
Matt and I started designating Friday nights during the winter Pizza Night, and we officially were able to perfect two amazing homemade pizza recipes over a period of several months. You can get those recipes (as well as all our best tips) here.
20. Type up the rest of my mission journals
21. Learn 3 new songs on the guitar
22. Establish a personal morning routine + stick with it for a month
23. Cook through a whole cookbook
Still working my way through The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner. I’ve currently made 87 (out of 208 total), so this will be pretty hard to finish unless I really step up my game. However, I’ve learned a ton from doing this and have really enjoyed it (I’m already planning on doing it again!). If you want to read more of my thoughts on what I’ve learned from doing this, you can check out this post.
24. Try a dozen new cookie recipes
This one was SO much fun to do, and it’s inspired me to keep trying out new recipes, even after I’d completed my dozen. Mmm…
25. Go a week with no t.v. time (including movies)
26. Fill up a sketchbook
I bought a small sketchbook and will occasionally pull it out to work on sketches when Matt and I watch t.v. together at night. I’ve always been far too much of a perfectionist with my art (which is probably the main reason I basically quit doing it entirely in high school), so my goal with this sketchbook is just to ease back into it with no motive other than just to enjoy it. So far, so good.
Spiritual
27. Read the Book of Mormon in Spanish
I started this at the beginning of this year, and I’m currently set to finish by the end of the year for sure. It’s been fascinating to study this book of scripture in another language since sometimes the translation will totally illuminate things I never thought about/noticed before. (If you’re curious about my religious beliefs, specifically about this particular book of scripture, you can read more here.)
28. Visit 3 new temples + do ordinances (1/3)
29. Find 100 names for the temple
I stopped officially counting, but I’d put a conservative estimate as of now around 150-175 since last year.
30. Complete temple work for 15 people
This was helped along greatly when Matt and I started going to the temple weekly instead of monthly at the end of last year. This current pregnancy has forced me to take a break, but I’m hoping to resume my weekly visits to the temple again next week. (You can read more about the work we do in temples here.)
31. Make family history photo flash cards
I’ve currently done 234. (In case you’re unfamiliar with it, indexing is a service that anyone can do where you go through old documents, such as government censuses or birth records, and you “index “or type up the information in the document so it can be searchable by people doing their genealogy. If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer, you can find out more here.)
33. Study all General Conference talks of 2017
34. Study all GC talks of 2018
I finished this goal just before this April’s General Conference. (To read messages from this twice-annual churchwide conference, you can click here.)
35. Study all GC talks of 2019
I’m in the middle of studying the talks from the General Conference that was held in April of this year.
36. Study April GC talks of 2020
37. Re-read Jesus the Christ
Books
38. Read 5 books off of my 100 Classics list
I’ve read three–Lord of the Flies, Brave New World, and A Farewell to Arms. This one will become more difficult to accomplish now that I’ve quit my self-assigned reading for the time being.
39. Read five books recommended by five different people
I actually have gotten book suggestions from six different people (you can see what they all were in this post), and I’ve read recommendations from two–We Were the Lucky Ones and To the Bright Edge of the World.
40. Read 15 books off of the Newbery list
I’ve read six — Last Stop on Market Street (easiest one to check off ever), Doll Bones, Three Times Lucky, Out of the Dust, El Deafo, and The War That Saved My Life (which was particularly amazing).
41. Read 5 books off of the Pulitzer list
I’ve still read just one since last January–The Snow Child. P.S. If you want to check out reviews of all the books I read, you should add me as a friend on Goodreads!
42. Read 12 books off of the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list
I’m now using the updated version of the list (which includes over 1,300 titles), and I’ve read six since the challenge started: the same three I read off the 100 classics list (they double counted), as well as Rebecca (soooo good), Sense and Sensibility, and Ethan Frome.
43. Read 50 books I own
I’d read 19 at last count. I’d really have to step this up to complete it by next October. What can I say? I love my library!
44. Re-read 5 books
I’m almost finished with this one–I’ve reread Peony in Love, How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind, The Happiness Project, and Speak, and I’m currently rereading Deliberate Motherhood. It had been so many years since I’d re-read anything that I’d forgotten how much I loved revisiting old favorites. Now I’m hoping to make it a regular part of my reading life again.
Travel + Fun
45. Visit Capitol Reef
46. Visit Goblin Valley
47. Visit a new state
48. Celebrate a holiday I normally don’t
49. Visit the ocean
We’re currently saving up money to visit Matt’s parents, who are serving a mission in Hawaii. Fingers crossed we can make this happen!
50. Go horseback riding
51. Go to the condo in St. George
52. Go to a musical or play
53. Go fly a kite
54. Go on a picnic
Blogging + Writing
55. Break even with blog expenses/income
My blogging income is still negligible, but I *did* finally make enough in affiliate sales to break even with my hosting and other blog expenses. Progress!
56. Make $500 profit in a year from blogging
57. Reach 100 people on my email list
My email list is a new feature I introduced just a few months ago, where I send out exclusive content about once a month to subscribers only. If you haven’t joined that yet, you can click here!
58. Have a post get 1,000+ views
59. Have a post get 2,000+ views
The ever-popular post on which grocery store will save you the most money was my first to reach 2,000 views, though my secret family recipes for chocolate eclair pie and almond punch aren’t far behind.
60. Optimize 20 old posts for Pinterest
Hmmm…I need to be better about tracking this, but I’ve recorded that I’ve at least done 8. (BTW, the best way to be alerted to refreshed old content is by liking the blog’s Facebook page, which is often the only place I’ll post those updates. You can also follow me on Pinterest.)
61. Make 100 new entries in The Motherhood Diaries
I’ve written 23. I need to be better about this, especially because I love going back and reading the little everyday moments I’ve recorded that aren’t anywhere else.
Photography
62. Take another photography class
63. Go to an event with the Cache Valley Photographers’ Group
64. Complete a self-portrait photo project
65. Pare down photos from 2013-2017
I started to do this when I was going through photos for our first couple of family albums (Goal #73), but I still have a looooong way to go.
66. Buy a macro lens
67. Buy a tripod
68. Buy a full-frame camera
69. Give a free photo session to someone in need
70. Launch photography webpage
71. Back up all photos
Family + Relationships + Service
72. Complete 1,000 book challenge with Raven
I’ve recorded about 700, but I’ve been terrible at logging them lately. I would guess it’s probably at least around 750, but I need to write them all down to be sure.
73. Create a recent family photo album
Technically I completed this one, but I’ve expanded it in my head to include printing out multiple recent albums so that we’re basically caught up to the present. I at least have nearly all the pics for the second one selected, anyway, even if it will be awhile before I actually print them out.
74. Sign Raven up for preschool
75. Go on 20 dates with Matt
I’ve recorded that we’ve gone on 13, which means we’re WORLDS better than we used to be.
76. Sign Raven up for swimming lessons
77. Give/send 12 handwritten notes or letters
I’ve sent 11 (that I’ve recorded, anyway!).
78. Get family pics taken twice
79. Take an overnight trip with Matt
80. Leave a 100% tip at a restaurant
81. Buy someone a just-because gift
82. Give someone flowers
Home + Organization
83. Get bed for guest room
84. Fix plumbing out back
85. Update at least one light fixture
86. Install shelves in the upstairs bathroom
87. Install book racks in kids’ room
88. Complete built-in bookshelves
89. Plant at least two fruit trees
90. Build a sandbox out back
Matt finished this last month, and the kids have LOVED it. We’re out there several times a week, and other than the fact that I have to constantly watch the baby (who likes to eat the sand and/or dump it OUT of the sandbox), it’s been a real winner.
91. Put shiplap up in bathroom
92. Buy curtains for downstairs family room
I’ve never been a big curtains person, but maybe that’s just because I wasn’t thinking of them in the right way, because when we switched out curtains in the basement, it made a HUGE difference to the space. I seriously love it! I can’t wait until we complete a bit more of our basement so I can post an update, as well as a before/after. (The curtains we got are extremely similar to these ones, in case you’re curious–they just are a slightly different color palette.)
93. Grow pumpkins
94. Buy throw pillows for upstairs couch
95. Do a refresh project of 50 Weeks to Organized
For more info on what this one’s about, you can click here.
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
We haven’t started on the will-making process yet (I know, I know), but we have at least started looking at our food storage. I think I need to break this one down into several steps because it just seems so daunting right now.
Number of Completed Items: 36/101
Number of Items in Progress: 31/101
Any tips on tackling the rest of these unfinished goals before October of next year?
