At the beginning of 2018, I decided to vastly change how I approached goal-setting, and instead of setting my usual New Year’s resolutions, I decided to hop on the bandwagon of doing 101 goals in 1001 days (which is just under 3 years).

After completing over 60% of my first list (you can see the final results HERE) and loving the challenge, I decided to continue on with a second 101 in 1001 list. I now only have about a year left with this particular list, so I wanted to do an update to show you how things are going, as well as give my best guesstimate as to which of these might actually still get completed over the next 12 months. (Spoiler: Not as many as I would like.)

Here’s how things are going as of now, a little less than one year away from the final deadline:

Note: There are affiliate links to products and books mentioned below.

My (Second) 101 in 1001 List

• Start Date: October 20th, 2020
• End Date: July 18th, 2023

Financial (7/8)

The last couple years have been banner financial years for us, with us being able to knock out almost all of our goals (most of which I had considered pretty “lofty” when I set them). However, 2022 has been a much tighter year financially for us (as I’m sure it has been for many of you), so our current financial goals that we set after these were completed will probably not get done anytime soon.

Of course, with a tighter financial year, our only remaining goal on this 101 in 1001 list — completing a no-spend month — should fit right in 🙂 I’m hoping to knock that one out in the next few months.

• Open up a brokerage account (completed December 2020)
• Buy and pay off a new vehicle to replace the Buick (completed January 2021)
• Get each kids’ savings account to $500 (1/3) (completed December 2021)
• Make an extra mortgage payment (not necessarily all at once) (completed June 2021)
• Start contributing to my IRA again (completed August 2021)
• Max out Matt’s Roth one year (completed October 2021)
• Complete a no-spend month
• Ditch our financial advisor and set up my own investments (to save on fees) (completed September 2021)

Homestead Life (3/5)

• Preserve three types of food (aka, tomato sauce, applesauce) all by myself
  • We definitely might have the PRODUCE for me to actually do this, but the tricky thing is that peak harvest time for veggies and fruits happens at the exact same time as peak harvest for flowers, which is, ya know, kind of our job. So I’m usually intensely worn out by that point. However, it is really important to me that I learn how to preserve more of our own food, so I’m hoping I can carve out a weekend and make it happen.
• Plant an apricot tree (completed February 2021)
  • We did this, but…the tree died. So now we need to re-do this.
• Plant strawberries + blackberries (completed March 2021)
• Purchase part of a cow
  • I think this one could still happen. There are a lot of people down here who raise their own meat cows, but I’ve heard that the tricky part is finding a place that will do all the processing and packaging for you. I’ll keep asking around.
• Buy a better food dehydrator (completed Dec 2020)

Emergency Preparedness (1/4)

• Create a will
  • I have no excuse for never having done this, except that it’s the exact kind of thing that I’m all too good at procrastinating for years. What I probably need to just do is find a website where you pay a small fee and they walk you through the whole process and make it super easy for you. Otherwise, I feel like we’ll never do it.
• Have at least a 6-month long-term food supply on hand for our family (completed October 2021)
  • Although we completed this officially last year, we continue to add to it a little bit every month, so that we’re probably up to 7 or 8 months at this point, if we had to make it stretch. You can read more about our process for doing that HERE.
• Buy an emergency water drum + spigot and make sure we have an adequate emergency water supply
  • We finally got a 55-gallon water drum with a spigot as a Christmas gift, but we have yet to fill it. Once that’s filled, we just need to pick up a few more cases of water bottles, and this one will be done. This one should for sure get completed by the end of the challenge.
• Make 72-hour kits for each member of the family
  • I made a ton of progress on this several months back, but I still haven’t rounded it out with things like up-to-date clothes and shoes, a 72-hour food supply, etc. This one should also get done before the end if I make sure I prioritize it.

Health + Beauty (1/4)

Ever since I severely injured my lower back in 2018, I have completely fallen off the exercise wagon. Now, after intensive chiropractic work and specialized massage/rehab therapy, I no longer have the excuse of the injury holding me back. Honestly, now it’s just a matter of me being so busy with flower farming and being entirely out of the habit. I’m hoping to start up a simple exercise routine once the flower farming season starts winding down in late September.

We shall see.

• Whiten teeth (completed Nov 2020)
• Get back to pre-pregnancy weight
• Run in a race again (any length)
• Complete BBG (on my own terms)

Spiritual (1/3)

• Visit 3 new temples (2/3)
  • Matt and I went to the Laie Hawaii temple while we were there for our family vacation. (If you want to know more about what temples are and why they are important in my faith, you can click here.) We have several temples within about a 90-minute drive that we’ve never been to, so this is mostly just a matter of putting it on the calendar and making it happen. I think we should be able to cross this one off in the next year.
• Read President Nelson’s biography (completed July 2022)
  • I just finished this at the end of July. So uplifting, and so inspirational.
• Index 1,000 names (159/1000)
  • I’m clearly not on track to complete this unless I drastically increase the amount of time I spend volunteering for this. Although I’m sure the final total will be higher than this, I doubt I’ll actually hit the 1,000 I wanted to. (For more info on this free genealogical service that anyone can do, you can click here.)

Flower Farming (8/12)

• Expand farm to lilac bushes + expand front garden bed (completed October 2021)
  • We did these expansions last year, and we’ve been discussing the possibility of actually expanding yet again. Time shall tell.
• Try selling at the local farmer’s market (completed August 2021)
  • We plan to sell again at our local farmer’s market this year, too.
• Try a low tunnel or hoophouse (completed March 2022)
  • We’re so proud of how good our DIY high tunnel turned out! It’s already been put to a lot of use and will be a game changer at extending our growing season.
• Try landscape fabric (completed June 2022)
  • We put down landscape fabric in part of the large front bed and in a few of the back in-ground beds, and they’ve definitely helped curb the chaos quite a bit! (And I know just about how much they’ve helped curb it too because everywhere that we HAVEN’T put down landscape fabric has basically turned into a never-ending jungle battle.)
• Install drip irrigation in the raised beds
  • Slowly, slowly chipping away at this one…it’s a much bigger job than you might realize, especially since it involves fixing our back sprinkler system first.
• Expand to both a spring and summer CSA (completed February 2022)
  • Our CSA bouquet subscription is our most popular offering, and it’s definitely what makes us the most money. Expanding it this year made me really excited to see the future possibilities it gives us.
• Do a bouquet bar 
  • I’m not sure a bouquet bar would be worth my time — I worry that it would lead to a lot of wasted flowers, just because we’re not in a super populated area, and I don’t know how much traffic we’d get. If I do decide to do something similar, I would just do a build-your-own-bouquet night and take reservations beforehand so I would know exactly how much to cut.
• Donate flowers to the local nursing home
  • We may not end up doing this particular goal, but we HAVE done a large-scale pay-it-forward bouquet program that has definitely helped fulfill our dream of using the flower farm to really give back to the community.
• Host an event at the farm (like a u-pick day) (completed August 2021)
• Try a seedling sale (completed May 2021)
• Turn a profit
  • Unless I sell a truly insane amount over the next month and a half (which is the rest of my season), this won’t happen this year. However, next year should definitely start to show some profits if we continue on like we are.
• Try selling to florists to see how I like it (completed August 2022)
  • I’ve had florists interested in buying from us from the beginning, but the problem always has been (and still is) that I struggle to have quantities large enough of the same thing to really push this mode of sale. There are definite things to like about it though (like the fact that I save time by not needing to do the arranging myself and especially save myself the stress of having to find a buyer for the arrangement), and it’s something I’d like to do more of in the future. I don’t think it will ever be one of my favorite things about flower farming, but it’s a good option to keep in our back pocket.

Personal Development + Skills (2/8)

This category has been sorely neglected. I basically have little to no time or energy to focus on much other than the essentials right now, and I pat myself on the back every time I get ANY hot dinner on the table at night, so I haven’t been exactly trying out new recipes right and left. While it’s too late in the list to change goals now (I feel), I think I would cut most of these off the list just because they aren’t a huge priority at the moment.

• Take a floral arranging/design class
• Mend at least one piece of clothing (completed July 2021)
• Alter at least one piece of clothing
• Learn to French braid
• Find a go-to gluten-free pie recipe
  • I guess this one could still happen, maybe around Thanksgiving of this year?
• Find a go-to gluten-free cake recipe (completed July 2022)
  • I found the most excellent chocolate cake recipe in my favorite gluten free cookbook, and I’ve been craving it ever since!
• Try 12 different gluten-free cookie recipes (5/12)
  • This is one that could *maybe* still happen.
• Make 5 new recipes out of each of my cookbooks + donate the ones I don’t get to
  • I’d almost have to donate ALL of my cookbooks if I stick to this, but what I probably will do is if I didn’t make ANY recipe out of the cookbook during the length of this challenge, then I’ll donate it for sure.

Family/Service (4/10)

• Sign Mathias up for preschool (completed March 2021)
• Sign both Raven and Mathias up for swimming lessons (completed June 2022)
  • Both kids took lessons before our Hawaii trip, and Raven actually completed a second round of lessons just the other week.
• Start teaching piano to Raven (completed December 2021)
• Get family pics taken three times (1/3)
  • I could see this one still happening if we’re able to coordinate with some friends or a family member to take pictures for us.
• Donate at least $100 to the local library
• Donate at least $100 to a local charity (completed December 2021)
• Donate to five different Go Fund Me accounts (2/5)
• Make birthday boxes to donate to the local food pantry
• Move Raven to her own room and move the boys in together
  • While I think it would be a good idea bedtime-wise to move the boys in together (since Raven is now at the point where I’m fine with her staying up later than her brothers), I don’t think she wants to be in a room by herself right now, and I don’t think the boys would mesh well in the same room yet. This could definitely change over the next year though, so I’m not writing this off as a possibility yet.
• Create family photo albums through 2020
  • I finally started working on this again, and I’ve now printed out the photos for two more books, which takes me up to the beginning of 2016. Slowly but surely…

Local Love (9/11)

We’ve now lived in our new area for a year and a half, and I’ve gotta say, I’m proud of how much of an effort we’ve put into getting to know this new county and this new part of the state. I’ll admit I still don’t *love* it here, but all the energy we’ve put in to trying to get to know the area better and fit in is starting to pay off a bit.

• Take the kids to 5 different parks/playgrounds (4/5)
  • Surely I’ll be able to knock this one out before the deadline? The only tricky thing is how few parks there are in our county, much less any that are actually close to us…
• Go on 3 local hikes
  • We have plenty of good hiking trails around us…we just lack the motivation or time 🙂 If we prioritize this goal, it could still happen. Whether or not we WILL prioritize it is a different story.
• Find a pediatrician (completed January 2021)
• Find a dentist (completed January 2021)
• Find an OB/GYN (completed June 2021)
• Find a general family doctor (completed January 2021)
• Try out 5 local restaurants (completed June 2022)
  • We finally tried out a fifth new restaurant at the beginning of the summer, and unfortunately…it was kind of awful. Subpar food, and terrible service. But at least we know now, right?
• Go to a community event (completed October 2021)
• Go to storytime at the library + get a library card (completed August 2021)
• Find or start a book club (completed August 2021)
• Make purchases from 5 local (non-chain) businesses (completed August 2021)

Fun/Travel (3/6)

When I made this list, I set the bar super low with my expectations as to how much traveling we’d actually be able to do with three kids in tow. However, we’ve actually gone on quite a few trips, including our big trip to Hawaii that we just got back from. All that’s to say is that even though I’ve technically only completed half of these, it sure feels like we’ve checked them all off and then some 🙂

• Visit the Children’s Museum in Salt Lake
• Go on a family vacation (completed April 2021)
• Go on an overnight trip with just Matt and me (completed July 2021)
• Do something memorable for our 10-year anniversary (completed July 2021)
• Attend a musical
• Go camping

Yard (3/3)

• Grow dahlias (both from seed and from tubers) (completed August 2022)
  • I attempted to grow dahlias last year, but everything just got started too late to have a chance to bloom. This year I was a lot smarter about it, and I finally have my first blooms!
• Build more garden beds (completed March 2021)
• Build sandbox (completed August 2021)

Home (12/23)

• Update flooring in kitchen (completed August 2021)
• Paint kitchen cabinets (completed January 2021)
• Paint main floor walls (completed Nov 2020)
• Update curtains in front room
  • Money, money, money…the majority of these house goals will probably remain unfinished just because we need to devote any cash flow we do have to finishing up the projects we’ve already started in our house, like finishing up the last pieces of the new flooring and putting up new baseboards.
• Update at least one light fixture (completed Nov 2020)
• Add recessed lighting in the kitchen (completed Nov 2020)
• Update flooring in playroom (completed January 2021)
• Paint upstairs kids’ bedroom (completed Nov 2020)
• Put up backsplash in kitchen
• Make a gallery wall in our house of my photography
• Clear out junk room in basement
  • We go off and on working on this, but I can confidently say we WILL complete this one, and probably soon-ish, since I’ve been devoting a ton of time to it lately.
• Figure out an organizational system for master closet + paint upper half of walls (completed December 2021)
• Buy rug for master bedroom (completed February 2021)
• Get plumbing quotes for adding bathroom downstairs and adding sink to workshop in outbuilding
• Buy/make decor for each season and major holiday
  • I started off strong and have a lot of stuff for the fall and winter seasons and a little bit for the spring, but then I lost interest. If I picked up a few things that I could count as my “summer” decor, I would feel good about crossing this off.
• Replace and update the kitchen sink and faucet
• Fix leak in master bathroom (completed February 2022)
• Update master bedroom (completed Dec 2020)
• Start making updates to main bathroom
• Replace cracked window in front room (completed May 2022)
• Come up with organizational scheme for playroom
  • I needed to be a lot more specific with this. I have TRIED multiple times to come up with various organizational schemes in there, but nothing that has had any real sticking power. Basically I’ve decided the only way forward is just to get rid of 50% of the toys, and then we’ll probably about be there 🙂
• Buy outdoor furniture for the deck
• Declutter 1,001 items (completed July 2021)

Reading (0/4)

• Read 50 books I own (31/50)
  • My reading pace has slowed waaaaay down since I started flower farming, but I’m still probably finishing around 30-35 books a year. If I prioritize reading mostly books I own, this one could still happen.
• Participate in (and complete!) a reading challenge
  • This one’s a maybe. It would have to be a pretty easy challenge though (aka, one that only involved reading a few books rather than, say, a dozen).
• Start my Assigned Reading again
  • While a part of me misses the challenge of my assigned reading, I don’t think this is the right season to pick it up again. This goal will likely remain unfinished.
• Do ten read-alouds with Raven + eventually include Mathias (6/10)
  • Doing family read-alouds most nights has become a favorite tradition, so this one should get completed for sure.

Current Total of Completed Goals: 54/101

All in all, I’m not doing too bad, and I am really proud of how much we’ve accomplished over the past couple years. If I had to guess, I’d say that I’ll probably complete around 65% of the list, which is about how much I completed of my last one. Nevertheless, it’s still way more than I would have completed without making a list at all, so I’m happy with where things stand!