I’m now less than a year away from my end date for my 101 in 1001 list (Day #1,001 is Wednesday October 7, 2020), and I’m quickly starting to realize which goals still have a solid chance of getting completed and which ones will probably only happen by a miracle. But through it all, we press on!
For those just tuning in, a 101 in 1001 list is when you set 101 things you want to do/accomplish/experience over the next 1,001 days. It’s kind of like a cross between New Year’s resolutions and a bucket list, except that they’re all goal-based rather than habit-based (unlike many resolutions) and that you give yourself a solid deadline (unlike a usual bucket list). I’ve loved this new format of setting goals, and I’m already planning on repeating this challenge once this first set is up!
Here’s how I’m currently doing on my goals:
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Health + Fitness
- 1. Run a half marathon in under two hours
- This technically wouldn’t be *impossible* to do, but I would have to seriously change some habits to get this done (like, start waking up early and running multiple times a week again like I used to).
2. Go six months without drinking any Diet Dr. Pepper3. Try out a new exercise class- 4
. Get back to my pre-pregnancy weight 5. Have a sugar-free month- 6. Complete a 12-week BBG (Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide)
- I got to Week 10 in November 2018, and then I injured my back doing one of the workouts…really, really badly. It’s now over a year later, and I’m *just* now getting to the point when I can exercise at all again, thanks to regular visits to a chiropractor. I am hoping to still complete this one, but now I will have to start all the way back at the beginning. Boo…
- 7. Try 3 new hikes (2/3)
- 8. No fast food for two months (including pizza)
- There’s really no reason I shouldn’t be able to complete this, other than the fact that I love having the convenience of fast food available to me for when life feels crazy, ha ha. We don’t get it a ton–maybe a couple times a month is all–but it’s still not the best habit.
- 9. Get 10,000 steps avg./day for a month
Financial
- 10. Complete emergency fund ($10,000)
- For up-to-date progress reports on our financial goals, check out the series I started a few months ago, which details (with real numbers!) exactly how we’re doing on all our current financial goals.
11. Rollover Matt’s 401k to a Roth IRA12. Buy a bigger vehicle- We just did this back in September–we got a used 2010 Honda Odyssey minivan that we love. Now our big goal is to pay it off early!
- 13. Pay $3000 extra on the mortgage
- Once again, see the new series!
14. Set up a sinking fund for car repairs15. Open up savings accounts for the kids- I need to set up one for the new baby, but that should hopefully be done by the end of this month!
- 16. Replace our laptop
Personal Development
- 17. Reach 100% fluency on Duolingo (French)
- I was making regular progress on this, and then I just kind of stopped when life got crazy trying to juggle two (and now three) kids. Don’t know if I’ll get back into this one or not, and while I left at supposedly 69% proficient, I’m not even sure I could pass at 25% right now. I don’t know if I’ll be pursuing this much this year, but we’ll see.
18. Set up Facebook page for produce co-op19. Perfect my homemade pizza20. 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
- I’m currently *just* over halfway there, having cooked 107/208 recipes out of The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner
24. Try a dozen new cookie recipes25. Go a week with no t.v. time (including movies)- 26. Fill up a sketchbook
Spiritual
- 27.
Read theBook of Mormon in Spanish- Just finished this one! I’ve been intending to do this since I got home from my mission (over 10 years ago now), and I finally completed it. P. S. If you’re not a member of my faith, I’ve linked most of the goals in this section to short blurbs explaining a bit more. You can also feel free to email me or comment with any questions you have!
- 28. Visit 3 new temples + do ordinances (1/3)
29.Find 100 names for the temple30.Complete temple work for 15 people- 31. Make family history photo flash cards
- 32. Index 1,000 names
- Currently just over 50% of the way there, at 516 names. (Click on the link above to find out more about this genealogical service that anyone can do.)
33. Study allGeneral Conferencetalks of201734. Study all GC talks of 2018- 35. Study all GC talks of 2019
- I’ve studied all the talks from the April Conference and am now about a third of the way through October’s.
- 36. Study April GC talks of 2020
- 37. Re-read Jesus the Christ
Books
- 38. Read 5 books off of my 100 Classics list
- Almost there! I’ve currently read four:
- 39. Read five books recommended by five different people
- I’ve read books from three (see the whole list of recommended books here):
- 40. Read 15 books off of the Newbery list
- 41. Read 5 books off of the Pulitzer list
- I’ve read two: The Stone Diaries and The Snow Child
- 42. Read 12 books off of the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list
- I’ve read eight. Five of those double counted from the lists above, then Sense and Sensibility, Rebecca, and Ethan Frome.
- 43. Read 50 books I own (26/50)
- Sure, I *could* still do this…but with how much I love my library and new releases? Chances are looking slim…but I’ll still try and see how many I can knock out.
44. Re-read 5 books- Recently completed this one! Here are the five I reread:
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 have plans to go to Hawaii in April!
- 50. Go horseback riding
51. Go to the condo in St. George- 52. Go to a musical or play
53. Go fly a kite54. Go on a picnic
Blogging + Writing
55. Break even with blog expenses/income- 56. Make $500 profit in a year from blogging
- 57. Reach 100 people on my email list
- Have you signed up for my email list yet? About once a month, I send out an email just to subscribers that’s more personal, and I try to include things I’m working on, some good books I’m reading lately, quotes that have made a difference to me, etc. I promise not to spam you or flood your inbox (because I hate it when people do that to me!).
58. Have a post get 1,000+ views59. Have a post get 2,000+ views- 60. Optimize 20 old posts for Pinterest
- I think I’ve done 14? I’ve been pretty bad at keeping track on this one.
- 61. Make 100 new entries in The Motherhood Diaries
- I’ve written 25. I seriously love going back and reading all the past entries, but I’ve been so bad at taking the time to write. I think I would need to make this a daily habit during the week or something for me to be able to reach the goal I’ve envisioned here.
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
- Seeing as how I’ve taken between 10K – 19K pictures a year since then (yes, really), this is SO DAUNTING! But I’ve at least started, mostly because I’ve started weeding stuff out when I’ve been putting together the photo albums mentioned in the next section.
66. Buy a macro lens67. Buy a tripod- 68. Buy a full-frame camera
69. Give a free photo session to someone in need- I recently completed this one, and it made me think that maybe I just need to do mostly service-related photography rather than taking on clients, since I get so much more satisfaction out of it.
70. Launch photography webpage- 71. Back up all photos
Family + Relationships + Service
- 72. Complete 1,000 book challenge with Raven
- I kind of fell out of the habit of recording everything we were reading, so I’m now trying to play catch-up. I’ve currently recorded that we’ve read 777, and I’m determined to finish before she starts kindergarten, so we’ve got to start going to the library for new books again!
- 73. Create a recent family photo album
- I’ve expanded this in my head to catch up on printing out multiple photo albums until we’re basically current. I probably should have split this goal up, as it seems huge as it is. This will likely carry over to my next 101 in 1001 list, but I’m hoping to at least finish up the second (maybe the third) albums this year, as I’ve already finished one.
74. Sign Raven up for preschool- 75. Go on 20 dates with Matt
- We’ve gone on 16.
76. Sign Raven up for swimming lessons- Done! And she loooooved her first session–she’s already eager to take it up again in the spring.
77. Give/send 12 handwritten notes or letters- Finished this one up, too!
78. Get family pics taken twice- We had a friend who’s into photography do a quick mini shoot with us, and then he gave me permission to edit them myself. So nice not having to deal with just using the old tripod-and-remote-control setup!
- 79. Take an overnight trip with Matt
- 80. Leave a 100% tip at a restaurant
81. Buy someone a just-because gift- A neighbor was having a rough day, and I got her something from the store that would help solve the problem.
- 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
- This is the only one on this house project list that I REALLY want to prioritize this year. It will be nice if we get the others done too, but this is priority numero uno at this point. Gotta get my books out of their boxes!
89. Plant at least two fruit trees90. Build a sandbox out back- 91. Put shiplap up in bathroom
92. Buy curtains for downstairs family room93. Grow pumpkins94. Buy throw pillows for upstairs couch- 95. Do a refresh project of 50 Weeks to Organized
- Here’s another goal that should have been put as more than just one line item—this is just too broad as is, especially because I’ve actually made quite a lot of progress getting rid of more stuff and organizing spaces, but I still feel like I can’t cross this off because the whole house isn’t done yet. All lessons learned for when I write my next list!
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- I knew I would love doing this, and it’s something I hope to continue, just because it’s a really easy way to bring cheer to our home for not a lot of money (since I only spend about $5 on my little bouquets).
100. Buy/get a grill- 101. Review emergency preparedness + Make a will
- We’ve started building up our food storage, which is a nice little safety net, but we really need to make a will already. It just seems so daunting, though! Anyone made one? Any tips on how to get started (and not spend a fortune)?
Number Completed: 45/101
Number in Progress: 27/101
Number Left to Complete: 56/101
If I can get the list 70% completed by the end, I’ll be pretty darn proud of myself! (Of course, I *should* go for 100%, but I’m trying to be at least somewhat realistic, here!)
