Day 181

All is not lost. I disappeared from this blog for a minute, but I haven't given it up!

What I have done is re-evaluated my list and changed a couple of things. A few were just not very realistic (I really will probably not be scheduling a pin-up girl style photo shoot any time in the foreseeable future) and I realized there were some other things that were more important to me that I make a firm commitment to (exclusive breastfeeding for Max's first 6 months).

I am often very critical of myself and, while I can be extremely flexible with everything else in the world, I don't often cut myself any slack. Done with the self-harshness! I need to give myself permission to change my mind and goals, starting with this list. (I even changed item #101 to reflect this.)

Along the way, I have managed to cross a few more things off my list. I have sent 25 postcards to postcrossing.com (#18). I have enjoyed this so much that I have no plans to stop. I'll be interested in seeing how many postcards I have by the end of Day 1001! I told my friend, Lily, about that goal. She is nine years old and signed up right away. Not only has she received 4 postcards aleady, but she has become a letter writer because of this. How fabulous! Although she lives less than 2 miles a day, I can count on at least 1 or 2 delightful letters tucked among the bills every week. I love writing her back. When I met my Sweetheart so many years ago, we wrote countless letters to each other; I have missed having a pen pal.

#14 (Attempt a drug-free, completely natural childbirth) has also been crossed off. I did not succeed at this - a Cesaerean section was neccessary to get Max here safely - but I did my best to try. I even went in for a (somewhat forced) induction that lasted two excruciating days, hoping that if the process was kickstarted I could deliver him without further interventions. Alas! it was not to be, but not through any lack of effort on my part, so I count this as worth being crossed off.

I love #30. I use my Moby easily with Max and he (usually) likes it. I have obtained a Maya ring sling but haven't had a chance to learn to use it yet. I am confident I will, though, and I still harbor dreams of getting a woven wrap and learning the intricacies of Babywearing.

In all, I think I have 14 items crossed off. There's a long way to go still, but I think I can do it. There are also a few more items I am considering taking off the list, but I'll wait a while and be sure I have worthy replacements for those things before striking them.

Day 83

I am not doing as well as I had hoped - thank God I have 918 days left!

I *have* sent 5 more postcards as part of postcrossing.com. I also purchased all the postcards I will need to send the total of 25 I want to send, so that's something.

I have done a horrible job of reading a poem every single day - or of recording it on the days I do. I think I need to just read a crapload of poems to catch up and then get the hell back on track!

I have also not done the best job of reading out loud to our unborn child. SHAME on me, Librarian Mama who knows better! SIGH. I know I will read to Tex once he/she is really here, but I haven't done so well lately. I *do* talk and sing to the Baby, though.

What else? Have brushed Mugz. Have called or visited my Grammy. DO tell my Sweetheart at least once a day that I love him (usually more than that). Tonight I wrote 7 more book reviews for my other blog, bringing me up to 14 total since I started this project.

This week I will catch up on my poetry and start on a play list for the hospital. Only 6 weeks until the Baby's due, so it seems like that's the task that needs to be tackled next!

Day 52

Got a bit more done this week. Visited Gram (#73) and brought her some really pretty white and red roses for no particular reason (#96). Went to tea with Barbara and Lily (though I am not going to count that as high tea (#39) and toured the McCormick Mansion at Cantigny (definitely counts as a museum for #40). I have also started (but not come near finishing) weeding my cds and dvds (#101). My Sweetheart and I have been talking a little about churches we might want to visit, though no decisions have been made (#41).

Cantigny was really lovely, despite the cold weather. It's clear that the grounds will be gorgeous once the weather is good and the gardens are in bloom. My Sweetheart and I are hoping to go back when the Spring is here for real. I think if I lived nea Wheaton I would go there often, especially once the Baby gets here.

I also had the opportunity to tell a few more people about this project. I did not include inspiring others to make their own lists on my list of goals, but it's cool to know that others are thinking about it.

Update: Day 45

Okay, so I am 45 days in and doing okay, I think. I've done my poem a day. Make a point to tell Johnny I love him (at least) once a day. Baby, too. I have read out loud to the Baby most days (have honestly missed a few days here and there, though that will NOT happen once the Kid is actually here).

I have also done okay with posting book reviews on book-kitten.blogspot.com (#2). I have done 7 since the beginning of this project and am thinking through how I want to write an eighth. #16 is to read a different novel from each of ten countries; Reading Maeve Binchey's Minding Frankie (Ireland) means I am 10% done with that one.

I have visited Gram every week but one, though I did call her that week (#73). Also been keeping up with brushing Mugzy (#91) (even though I swear that cat does not like me even a little bit). And I have thus far posted 3 notes for operationbeautiful.com (#71), which means I have technically completed that task, though I plan to continue posting those notes from time to time.

Need to get some Chicago postcards so I can send some more postcrossing.com cards; plan to pick some up next time I am in The City.

So, I need to move past just keeping up with the on-going tasks and work on something new. I have started on #101 - weeding my cd and dvd collections. Perhaps I can try to finish that within this next week. Oh! And I am going to tea with Barbara and LilyBelle (#39) this coming Monday, so I can cross that one off.

Slow but steady...

Way Behind...

I have been keeping up with my ongoing goals, but NOT keeping up on updating the blog, partly because tumblr was giving me such headaches. (And partly because I was lazy about it.)

Inspired by my friend, Joi, I spent the past few hours rebuilding the blog over here on blogger, a site I am much more comfortable with. It's gonna have to wait for another day for me to actually update this new blog with my progress on the list. I work at 5:30am tomorrow and still have to make the frosting for my father-in-law's birthday cake.

Soon, though. I have hope that this will be an easier site to maintain.

Week Three

Finished up 3 weeks. Woo-hoo! I have pretty much stayed on track with the daily/weekly tasks. I hate that I did not have a chance to visit Gram last week, but I did call her. Also, I have been reading my poem a day out loud so the Baby can hear it. Maybe that is cheating, but I can't really decide yet which book I want to read aloud next.

Got word that my first two postcrossing.com cards were receveid and received one today myself. (It took me a minute to figure out that’s why I was getting it. I was like, who the hell is Alex and why is he sending me a postcard from Germany?!?)

I also started posting notes for operationbeautiful.com. I have posted two so far, but I have a pad of flower shaped post-its in my purse so I can do more as I remember.

Week Two

This is Day 14; the end of the second week of my attempt to complete 101 Tasks in 1001 Days. I haven’t really gotten much done beyond keeping up with the ongoing (i.e., daily or weekly) goals.

I wrote a couple more book reviews (and got a Tweet from one of the authors - cool!) and have been careful to write down what I’m reading. Enjoying having some poetry in my life again. Oh! And finished reading The Phantom Tollbooth aloud to the Baby.

One thing that I am pleased with is hearing from a few friends that they are considering starting their own list now, too. That’s kinda cool. It feels a little like paying it forward to pass on this idea that has really made me think and inspired me.

I also thought about my own list and have decided that I am reserving the right to make a few changes here and there. I won’t do it willy-nilly or often and will think through any changes, but life is organic and ever-changing, so…

Week One

This is Day 7, which means it’s offically the end of my first week of this project. So far, I’ve stayed on track. I have completed each of my daily goals every day, both my weekly goals, and started chipping away at some of the other goals. Not a bad start. Hope I can sustain!

Day 5

I realized there are some goals I need to stay on top of every day (numbers 12, 22, 32) and others that will require weekly, monthly, yearly, or other multiple occurrences to be truly completed (numbers 2, 3, 11, 16, 20, 33, 40, 42, 72, 73, 75, 91). To help me remember the ones I need to do more than once, I have created a separate page (link at the right) to help me keep track.

I also decided to record the poems I read every day; again, there’s a link to the page listing these. As far as poems go, I decided that if I really want to read a poem I have already read as part of this project, that’s okay. The goal is to bring regular poetry back into my life and sometimes nothing but Worsworth (or Poe or cummings or Frost, et al. will do).

As of Day 5, I think I am doing okay. Am about to write my good thing in my journal, but otherwise have completed the daily goals. Yesterday I mailed the first two postcrossing.com cards (#20). Today I took Axl to visit Gram (#73). May write another book review tonight or tomorrow (#2).

Even better, I have had a few friends and family members say they’re thinking about doing this, too. Very cool. Whether they decide to share their lists or not, I feel like this Day Zero Project is a worthwhile one that causes one to reflect on what matters (and yes, pie at Hoosier Mama is crucial).

Day 3

Doin’ pretty good. Posted a book review at book-kitten.blogspot.com (#2) yesterday. Today I read “Infant Joy” by William Blake (#12) and read a little more of The Phantom Tollbooth to the Baby (#32). Told my Sweetheart and the Baby that I love them (#22). Also joined postcrossing.com and wrote my first two postcards (#20). Tomorrow I will visit Gram (#73).


I’m not sure if I will post here every single day, but I will update from time to time. We’ll see how it goes.

Just starting out

Today is Day 2. Not off to the best start ever. I was completely exhausted by the time I got home last night and fell asleep on the couch after supper, so no poem out loud (#12). I am going to do two today and call it done. I think I am also going to write a book review (maybe 2) for my other blog today (#2). AND, I did tell my Sweetheart and our unborn child that I love them, so all good there (#22). Oh, and I read a chapter of The Phantom Tollbooth out loud to the Baby yesterday (#32) before I headed downtown. Hey, maybe it wasn’t such a slow-starting day after all!

And So It Begins...

So, I dunno, maybe a week ago, my husband texts me from work asking if I’ve heard about this 101 Things in 1001 Days Project. I had not, but I was somewhat intrigued. When he got home, he did a little more research and started getting excited about it. He started creating a list, which led me to start thinking about my own list.

Wow. *way* harder to come up with 101 Things than I would have thought. Part of the trickiness, for me, is that we are expecting our first child in June (huzzah!). So, everything I started to write down was colored with, “Well, is that realistic if you’ve got a young ‘un hanging around?” Hmm…

In the end, this is what I came up with. If I count tomorrow as my starting date, that means I have until 5 November 2013. No idea if I’ll complete it, but I’ll give it my best shot. As I complete each task, I’ll write a blog entry about it.

1. Come up with 101 items for this list – be sure to make a least a few of them “easy.”
2. Write a minimum of 2 book reviews per month for book-kitten.blogspot.com. 
3. Write at least one letter every other month to someone who has touched my life in some way.
4. Make a donation to Bundle of Joy diaper bank.
5. Get a sitter and see The Hunger Games on opening day (23 March 2012).
6. Start a book club.
7. Read The Portable Thoreau in its entirety.
8. Read Selected Poems of John Keats.
9. Read Don Quixote.
10. Re-read Jane Eyre.
11. Keep a list of every book I read – picture books, adult novels… Everything.
12. Read one poem every day.
13. Write a sonnet.
14. Read the entire user’s manual for my Nikon Digital Camera.
15. Re-read the Bible.
16. Choose 10 countries and read one book by an author from each of those countries.
17. Research the life of Harold Washington.
18. Write text for a picture book biography of Harold Washington.
19. Submit picture book manuscript to at least 5 publishers.
20. Join postcrossing.com and send at least 25 postcards.
21. Bake something with Payton & Brooke-Lynn.
22. Tell my husband and child every single day that I love them.
23. Visit Fair Oaks Farm with my Sweetheart.
24. Create a playlist to bring to the hospital when the baby is on the way.
25. Attempt a drug-free, completely natural childbirth.
26. Get my wedding dress cleaned.
27. Get back to pre-baby weight.
28. Once the baby weight is gone and my wedding dress fits again, have it altered.
29. Get the Baby a passport.
30. Take our child to Rainbow Cone in summer 2012.
31. Find a library with infant storytime and attend with our child.
32. Read out loud to our child every day.
33. Keep a book journal for our child.
34. Take some nice pictures of Gram with Baby.
35. Research homeschooling; discuss it with my Sweetheart; try to come to a decision.
36. Reach a decision on when to try for Baby #2.
37. Take CPR class.
38. Schedule a pin-up girl style photo shoot.
39. Go out for high tea.
40. Go to 5 different museums.
41. Find a church – or at least explore options.
42. Donate blood at least 4 times a year.
43. Visit a labyrinth (labyrinthlocator.com/)
44. Go to the dentist.
45. Go to the eye doctor.
46. Find a yoga class to attend.
47. Participate in Girls on the Run 5K.
48. Participate in Run for Congo Women 5K.
49. Make a ginger custard pie.
50. Learn to sew with a sewing machine.
51. Make a skirt.
52. Make an apron.
53. Make a t-shirt quilt using all my library t-shirts and old jeans.
54. Plant some flowers.
55. Have a pajama day – no phone, no computer, just books and movies and ordered in pizza for dinner and laziness.
56. Sponsor a Kiva loan.
57. Learn how to darn socks.
58. Learn to make jam.
59. Learn to make bread and butter pickles.
60. Bake cinnamon raisin bread.
61. Make scones.
62. Make toffee.
63. Make spaetzle.
64. Obtain a Pullman bread pan and learn to make sandwich bread.
65. Paint the upstairs bathroom.
66. Paint mirror for front foyer.
67. See a performance of a Shakespeare play.
68. See Les Miserables.
69. See an opera at Lyric.
70. Visit Anne & Frank in Canada.
71. Participate in operationbeautiful.com.
72. Seriously sort through clothing and donate what I do not wear at least once a year.
73. Visit or call my Gram at least once a week.
74. Take one continuing education class, possibly at PSC or GSU.
75. Attend free yoga in Millennium Park at least once a summer.
76. Maintain a blog chronicling my 101 Things in 1001 Days project. (book-kittens101things.blogspot.com)
77. Host a brunch for my girlfriends to thank them for being so awesome.
78. Sort through unpacked boxes in the basement and discard anything I do not need or use.
79. Host a cookie swap.
80. Invite my parents over for dinner.
81. Invite Gram to have lunch with us at the house.
82. Attend a free concert in Butler Field or Pritzker Pavillion.
83. Take a picnic to the Japanese Garden in Chicago.
84. Go to 63^rd Street Beach.
85. Go to the Garfield Park Conservatory.
86. Create a database of every book we own.
87. Go to a shooting range.
88. Create a list of 100 things that make me happy.
89. Learn to fold an origami “peace crane.”
90. Thoroughly clean upholstered chair and move into our bedroom for my Sweetheart.
91. Brush Mugzy at least once a week.
92. Organize and back up files from desktop computer.
93. Recycle desktop computer.
94. Send a kind, anonymous letter or card to someone who irritates me.
95. Give something away on freecycle.org.
96. Bring Gram flowers, just because I love her.
97. Eat pizza at The Grumpy Troll.
98. Splurge on baked brie at Flossmoor Station.
99. Watch Amelie.
100. Get pie from Hoosier Mama.
101. Weed my cd and dvd collections.