Way back in March of 2007, when I was a brand new blogger, I jumped on the 101 in 1001 bandwagon and made myself a list of things to do in approximately two years and nine months. And then I promptly forgot about it.
Recently, I saw a reference in a magazine to the 101 in 1001 challenge and took a look at my list. Below is the list, and my updates on my goals are listed in red.
1. Lose 20 pounds—The problem with this resolution is that I don’t remember how much I weighed when I made it! I have lost some weight since we joined the gym in April, nowhere near 20 pounds, but I did drop 2 pants sizes. So I say that’s pretty good.
2. Be able to run 5 miles without falling dead at the end.—Getting there. The 5K was a start.
3. Develop strong, flat abdominals and slim, sculpted arms.—The arms, yes. The abs are my goal for 2010.
4. Get a flattering and easy-to-manage hairstyle.—You know what I did? I went back to a version of the hairstyle I had in high school. And I’m happy with that.
5. Stop chewing my fingernails.—SOOOOOO not there. Still trying.
6. Cut out soda.—See above.
7. Cut our grocery bills.—Yes and no. I go in waves. Quitting the soda and spending less on food in general is my biggest goal for the new year.
8. Grow my own herbs.—Did it this past summer. Plan to do it again next summer. Was amused to see my children pluck spicy basil off the plant and eat it.
9. Complete scrapbooks for the kids.—Why did I want to do this? I don’t enjoy scrapbooking. Johnny’s first year book is done, but that’s as far as it goes.
10.Get our yard into awesome shape.—Work in progress. We mulched and planted some new stuff, and I discovered that homemade weed killer is not only environmentally friendly, but also amazingly effective.
11.Paint the front door with Sickens.—Done, but could probably use it again.
12.Either paint or replace the wood threshold.—It was painted, but it needs it again.
13.Put the fence back together (victim of the construction next door...long story...)—Done.
14.Get Johnny to eat vegetables.—He has gotten to be a much better eater. Veggies included.
15.Start getting up before the kids to shower.—Most days, this goes well. Other days, I’m too tired. But being up and showered and dressed before them starts my day out a lot better.
16.Exercise an average of 5 hours a week.--Done
17.Replace the upstairs carpet.—Not done, and my husband doesn’t want to. And I just read an article on MSN that said many home renovations aren’t adding much money to the value of a home. So we’ll probably skip it and leave it for the next owner.
18. Refinish downstairs floors.—See above.
19. Paint living room and dining room.—Not done.
20.Paint park bench out front.—It was done. But then my mother-in-law sat on it and broke one of the boards. And the bench is almost 8 years old anyway, so it’s time to just replace it.
21.Replace porch mat.—Done.
22. Get the kids outside to play every day that weather permits.—I’ve been doing well with this. Especially since Johnny is old enough to play in the backyard by himself.
23.Join or start a playgroup.—Playgroup? Who has time for that? But seriously, we do have Johnny’s friends over when we can.
24.Learn to knit.—Well…my mom gave me knitting needles and yarn for Christmas 2008, and promised to teach me how to knit. Some day we’ll actually get started.
25.Deep clean one room per month.—This is a good goal, but it’s harder than it sounds. Instead, I took two days over the summer and cleaned the house top to bottom.
26.Eat three healthy meals a day and stop snacking.—I still skip breakfast way too much, but the snacking has gotten better.
27.Cook more vegetarian meals.—My kids seem to eat meals a little better when they have meat in them. Meatless meals are almost always either a vegetable soup or pasta. The soup, they pass. But they’ll always eat pasta.
28.Buy as much organic and local produce as possible.—The problem with the farmer’s market is that the best stuff goes early, and I’m just not into getting up early on weekends. Having read some alarming information about pesticides and certain produce, I’m trying to make the switch when it’s possible.
29.Recycle every thing that can possibly be recycled.—After the city went to once a week recycling, this got a lot easier. I recycle stuff I never bothered with before, like empty toilet paper rolls and the lids to Jameson’s cat food cans.
30.Start buying more products made of recycled material. For example, paper towels.—New goal: stop using disposable products and switch to reusable. After the Ditch The Disposables Challenge in the fall, our changes have stuck. We use paper towels and paper napkins infrequently.
31.Switch all light sources to compact fluorescent bulbs.—The plan was to make this switch as the regular bulbs burned out and got used up. And we still haven’t done it because the regular bulbs are lasting a long time and we still have plenty of new ones in the closet.
32.Go out once a month for "mom's night out," or have John take the kids somewhere and have "mom's night in."—On a fairly regular basis, I get out by myself. Usually to the gym, but sometimes to shop. And John takes the kids places and leaves me to home to clean to my heart’s content.
33.Read the entire Bible.—Haven’t even started.
34.Go to church every week.—This is a big goal for 2010. I miss church a lot in the summer because our parish is not air conditioned and I can’t handle the heat. But, weather permitting, I think I need to go more often.
35.Floss everyday.—Pretty much.
36. Potty train Johnny.—Done. And Maureen is 90% trained too. See ya, diapers!
37. Take up yoga.—SO done! I love yoga.
38. Nurse Maureen for at least one year, maybe longer.—I made it to around 9 months and had to stop then, not by choice.
39. Figure out what to do with all the outgrown baby clothes in the basement.—All the boy stuff went to my brother and SIL. The pink stuff is still down there, waiting for someone to hurry up and have a baby girl.
40. Get the bird nest out of the downspout by the kitchen.—Turns out it wasn’t a bird nest, it was construction debris from the project next door. But it’s out.
41. Never have another mouse in the house again.—FAIL. We had two in the past year. And my awesome cat, Jameson The Mighty Hunter, caught them both in record time.
42. Paint upstairs bathroom.—We have a big project planned for the bathroom, as soon as the plumber gets back to us with a start date. After that, the painting will be done, because I thought it was pointless to do it before the renovation.
43. Recaulk shower.—After fighting a recurring mildew problem and water leakage issue in the shower for ages, we had a plumber come out and look at it. Sometime soon, we’re having the shower ripped out and retiled, which will eliminate any need for caulk.
44. Paint (or replace?) storage tower over toilet.—I got rid of the tower, and when the shower in complete, we’ll install a cabinet on the wall.
45. Get rid of ugly wood cabinet and put up a towel bar instead.—Still trying to convince my husband.
46. Figure out how to never have ants in the kitchen again.—An open bottle of tea tree oil inside a cabinet worked all spring and summer as ant repellent. Best 6 bucks I ever spent.
47. Invest in a wardrobe of good quality, classic clothing that will last for years. Which, of course, means getting to one size and staying there.—Still working on the getting to one size. But most of my clothing purchases over the past year have been classic styles that can also be worn in more than one season.
48. Train Jameson to use the toilet.—I think Jameson is probably too old to learn new tricks. And even if I could toilet train him, I’d also have to teach him to flush, because the alternative is too gross to contemplate.
49. Regrout tile in bathroom.—I’m hoping I can get the shower guys to also do the floor while they are here.
50. Replace bathroom rugs. New towels?—The rugs have been replaced. We might do the towels after the work is finished, I’m watching for linen sales.
51. Stain window frames in bedroom.—Not done. We’ve talked about it, but the strong smell of the stain means the kids and I will need to go someplace else for at least 24 hours. Otherwise I’ll get a migraine.
52. Restore marble counters in kitchen.—I’ve tried various treatments on the counter to make them pretty again, with no luck. If anyone has a solution, I’m all ears.
53. Paint upstairs hallway.—Not done. The painting will probably get done all at once.
54. Redecorate kids room and come up with ingenuous storage ideas.--Forget redecorating. We'll wait until we move and they each have their own rooms and then decorate according to their personalities. And the best storage idea? Take the outgrown clothes and toys to my brother's house. Problem solved.
55. Get laser eye surgery.—My husband is so against this. He thinks glasses are sexy. I think being blind is so not sexy. Maybe some day.
56. Charter a sailboat for the weekend.—Not done. And Maureen is afraid, so we might not do this until she is older and also big enough to help haul sheets.
57. Have couch steam cleaned.—Did it. But now the couch looks gross again. I give up.
58. Brush Jameson daily.—He bites me when I brush him. So I brush him when he needs it the most and leave him alone the other days.
59. Seal brick in kitchen and bedroom.—Not done. Needs to be done ASAP. I’m tired of cleaning up brick dust.
60. Seal stucco on back wall.—Not done. Not sure if it needs to be, actually.
61. Paint baseboards and window sills in kitchen.—Done, but now they need it again.
62. Invest in good quality bakeware.—My SIL gave me a set of nice bakeware for Christmas a couple of years ago and I got rid of the old stuff.
63. Start doing Tastefully Simple parties more often.—I stopped selling all together. Too much work and not enough time.
64. Learn to craft something that I can sell for a profit.—Something knitted, maybe? See #24.
65. Find a good preschool for Johnny that isn't too expensive.—He is in his second year and Maureen started in the 2 year old program too. And I’m the treasurer for the program.
66. Get an iPod and download all the cheesy music from my childhood to listen to while working out.—Done. I love my iPod. How did I ever live without it?
67. Learn to like oatmeal.—Blargh…oatmeal gags me. However, John has been eating Irish steel cut oatmeal and says it is better. So maybe I’ll try it. But I’m not hopeful.
68. Do more arts and crafts stuff with the kids.—Not only do I do more projects, we have an entire cabinet filled with supplies. Sometimes I surprise myself.
69. Buy more shoes.—I’ve mostly bought running shoes, because you can only put so many miles on them before they need to be replaced. But I did get a super cute pair of suede boots!
70. Iron all of John's work clothes.—I’ve been doing well with this, but it’s partly because he changed positions at work and the shirts he wears most often don’t need to be ironed.
71. Stop obsessing about dirt in my house.—If people would stop walking inside my house with their shoes on, this would be easier. But seriously, I’m sticking to my cleaning schedule and sorting out excess so the house is easier to keep clean. And that’ll have to be good enough.
72. At the same time, streamline my life so that everything gets done.—That’s where the dayplanner and the obsessive list making comes in. And while I usually have something to do, most of my lists get done. Eventually.
73. Play my flute more.—I haven’t touched it in so long, I wonder if I still know how to play.
74. Learn a new instrument.—Such as? I don’t know where I got the idea I’d have time for music lessons.
75. Start volunteer work.—Does writing the EAH blog on my own time count as volunteer work?
76. Try new foods.—This is going pretty well. I’m learning to like stuff I didn’t like before.
77. Read more nonfiction.—I’ve developed a serious addiction to books about wreck diving. Which is funny because I’m terrified of the ocean.
78. Stop turning the radio up so loud when I'm alone in the car.—You know what? Listening to loud music in the car is my guilty pleasure. And my hearing is fine.
79. Tame the stuffed animal explosion in our house.—I give them to my brother. And tell him that I don’t care what he does with them, as long as he doesn’t give them back to me.
80. Go camping again.—Stupidest goal ever! I’ve sent John camping with one or both kids three times. And I stayed home in my nice comfortable bed.
81. Finally learn and understand what "offsides" means in soccer.—I think I get it now. Maybe.
82. Learn the rules of rugby.—Sort of. I’m still learning. But one thing I’m sure of is that real men play rugby.
83. Join a women's basketball rec league.—I’m actually looking into this, I totally miss playing on a team. But I don’t know that I actually have the time for it.
84. Give more money to charity.—Instead of money, we’ve been giving stuff. Outgrown clothes and unused kid gear to a refugee resettlement center, frozen pumpkin pies to our church for the Thanksgiving dinner, etc.
85. Sleep more.—Yoga helps me sleep more soundly, which I think is more important than hours.
86. Take time to stop and smell the roses.—Grocery store roses never smell. And real roses make me sneeze if I sniff too hard. But I have been more appreciative of the beauty surrounding us everyday. So count this as done. And ongoing.
87. Grow some roses to smell.—I don’t think our yard gets enough sun for roses. But I smell my mom’s when I’m at her house.
88. Take family members up on offers to babysit and spend more time one-on-one with John.—Although we haven’t been to the movies together since Johnny was a baby, we have been out together without the kids. Mostly to dinner.
89.Put together the Adirondack chairs. –They are still in our basement. Probably will stay down there until we move.
90.Go to a Terps basketball game.—Not done. And they have been stinking. Maybe this year I’ll take in a local game with my dad.
91. Get more culture.—Define culture. But yeah, I’ve been reading more non-fiction and have been to a few museums.
92.Read "Moby Dick" and try to understand why John likes it so much.—Most boring book. Ever. I watched the movie instead.
93.Choose guardians for the kids just in case.—I have someone in mind. But nothing in writing.
94. Always drive the speed limit.—Hah! On Baltimore roads? That’s the best way to get run over.
95. Take more time to daydream.—You know what I do on the elliptical at the gym? Half the time I’m zoned out. I think that counts.
96.Find a cause and get involved.—I joined the Baltimore Humane Society Running Team. Which benefits the homeless animals.
97.Rent 'Grey's Anatomy' DVDs and see what I'm missing.—Eh. Not interested. I don’t think I’m missing anything.
98.Use the good silverware and dishes for regular occasions.—Done.
99.Learn how to make pasta.—I tried to make gnocchi once. And it didn’t work because I overcooked the potatoes. And I made homemade pierogies. Actual pasta, like spaghetti, I have not tried.
100.Teach Johnny how to read.—He’s getting there. This is not a priority, that is what kindergarten is for.
101.Learn to let go of things out of my hands.—It’s a process. But I feel more peaceful and content than I did when I first made this list.
Recently, I saw a reference in a magazine to the 101 in 1001 challenge and took a look at my list. Below is the list, and my updates on my goals are listed in red.
1. Lose 20 pounds—The problem with this resolution is that I don’t remember how much I weighed when I made it! I have lost some weight since we joined the gym in April, nowhere near 20 pounds, but I did drop 2 pants sizes. So I say that’s pretty good.
2. Be able to run 5 miles without falling dead at the end.—Getting there. The 5K was a start.
3. Develop strong, flat abdominals and slim, sculpted arms.—The arms, yes. The abs are my goal for 2010.
4. Get a flattering and easy-to-manage hairstyle.—You know what I did? I went back to a version of the hairstyle I had in high school. And I’m happy with that.
5. Stop chewing my fingernails.—SOOOOOO not there. Still trying.
6. Cut out soda.—See above.
7. Cut our grocery bills.—Yes and no. I go in waves. Quitting the soda and spending less on food in general is my biggest goal for the new year.
8. Grow my own herbs.—Did it this past summer. Plan to do it again next summer. Was amused to see my children pluck spicy basil off the plant and eat it.
9. Complete scrapbooks for the kids.—Why did I want to do this? I don’t enjoy scrapbooking. Johnny’s first year book is done, but that’s as far as it goes.
10.Get our yard into awesome shape.—Work in progress. We mulched and planted some new stuff, and I discovered that homemade weed killer is not only environmentally friendly, but also amazingly effective.
11.Paint the front door with Sickens.—Done, but could probably use it again.
12.Either paint or replace the wood threshold.—It was painted, but it needs it again.
13.Put the fence back together (victim of the construction next door...long story...)—Done.
14.Get Johnny to eat vegetables.—He has gotten to be a much better eater. Veggies included.
15.Start getting up before the kids to shower.—Most days, this goes well. Other days, I’m too tired. But being up and showered and dressed before them starts my day out a lot better.
16.Exercise an average of 5 hours a week.--Done
17.Replace the upstairs carpet.—Not done, and my husband doesn’t want to. And I just read an article on MSN that said many home renovations aren’t adding much money to the value of a home. So we’ll probably skip it and leave it for the next owner.
18. Refinish downstairs floors.—See above.
19. Paint living room and dining room.—Not done.
20.Paint park bench out front.—It was done. But then my mother-in-law sat on it and broke one of the boards. And the bench is almost 8 years old anyway, so it’s time to just replace it.
21.Replace porch mat.—Done.
22. Get the kids outside to play every day that weather permits.—I’ve been doing well with this. Especially since Johnny is old enough to play in the backyard by himself.
23.Join or start a playgroup.—Playgroup? Who has time for that? But seriously, we do have Johnny’s friends over when we can.
24.Learn to knit.—Well…my mom gave me knitting needles and yarn for Christmas 2008, and promised to teach me how to knit. Some day we’ll actually get started.
25.Deep clean one room per month.—This is a good goal, but it’s harder than it sounds. Instead, I took two days over the summer and cleaned the house top to bottom.
26.Eat three healthy meals a day and stop snacking.—I still skip breakfast way too much, but the snacking has gotten better.
27.Cook more vegetarian meals.—My kids seem to eat meals a little better when they have meat in them. Meatless meals are almost always either a vegetable soup or pasta. The soup, they pass. But they’ll always eat pasta.
28.Buy as much organic and local produce as possible.—The problem with the farmer’s market is that the best stuff goes early, and I’m just not into getting up early on weekends. Having read some alarming information about pesticides and certain produce, I’m trying to make the switch when it’s possible.
29.Recycle every thing that can possibly be recycled.—After the city went to once a week recycling, this got a lot easier. I recycle stuff I never bothered with before, like empty toilet paper rolls and the lids to Jameson’s cat food cans.
30.Start buying more products made of recycled material. For example, paper towels.—New goal: stop using disposable products and switch to reusable. After the Ditch The Disposables Challenge in the fall, our changes have stuck. We use paper towels and paper napkins infrequently.
31.Switch all light sources to compact fluorescent bulbs.—The plan was to make this switch as the regular bulbs burned out and got used up. And we still haven’t done it because the regular bulbs are lasting a long time and we still have plenty of new ones in the closet.
32.Go out once a month for "mom's night out," or have John take the kids somewhere and have "mom's night in."—On a fairly regular basis, I get out by myself. Usually to the gym, but sometimes to shop. And John takes the kids places and leaves me to home to clean to my heart’s content.
33.Read the entire Bible.—Haven’t even started.
34.Go to church every week.—This is a big goal for 2010. I miss church a lot in the summer because our parish is not air conditioned and I can’t handle the heat. But, weather permitting, I think I need to go more often.
35.Floss everyday.—Pretty much.
36. Potty train Johnny.—Done. And Maureen is 90% trained too. See ya, diapers!
37. Take up yoga.—SO done! I love yoga.
38. Nurse Maureen for at least one year, maybe longer.—I made it to around 9 months and had to stop then, not by choice.
39. Figure out what to do with all the outgrown baby clothes in the basement.—All the boy stuff went to my brother and SIL. The pink stuff is still down there, waiting for someone to hurry up and have a baby girl.
40. Get the bird nest out of the downspout by the kitchen.—Turns out it wasn’t a bird nest, it was construction debris from the project next door. But it’s out.
41. Never have another mouse in the house again.—FAIL. We had two in the past year. And my awesome cat, Jameson The Mighty Hunter, caught them both in record time.
42. Paint upstairs bathroom.—We have a big project planned for the bathroom, as soon as the plumber gets back to us with a start date. After that, the painting will be done, because I thought it was pointless to do it before the renovation.
43. Recaulk shower.—After fighting a recurring mildew problem and water leakage issue in the shower for ages, we had a plumber come out and look at it. Sometime soon, we’re having the shower ripped out and retiled, which will eliminate any need for caulk.
44. Paint (or replace?) storage tower over toilet.—I got rid of the tower, and when the shower in complete, we’ll install a cabinet on the wall.
45. Get rid of ugly wood cabinet and put up a towel bar instead.—Still trying to convince my husband.
46. Figure out how to never have ants in the kitchen again.—An open bottle of tea tree oil inside a cabinet worked all spring and summer as ant repellent. Best 6 bucks I ever spent.
47. Invest in a wardrobe of good quality, classic clothing that will last for years. Which, of course, means getting to one size and staying there.—Still working on the getting to one size. But most of my clothing purchases over the past year have been classic styles that can also be worn in more than one season.
48. Train Jameson to use the toilet.—I think Jameson is probably too old to learn new tricks. And even if I could toilet train him, I’d also have to teach him to flush, because the alternative is too gross to contemplate.
49. Regrout tile in bathroom.—I’m hoping I can get the shower guys to also do the floor while they are here.
50. Replace bathroom rugs. New towels?—The rugs have been replaced. We might do the towels after the work is finished, I’m watching for linen sales.
51. Stain window frames in bedroom.—Not done. We’ve talked about it, but the strong smell of the stain means the kids and I will need to go someplace else for at least 24 hours. Otherwise I’ll get a migraine.
52. Restore marble counters in kitchen.—I’ve tried various treatments on the counter to make them pretty again, with no luck. If anyone has a solution, I’m all ears.
53. Paint upstairs hallway.—Not done. The painting will probably get done all at once.
54. Redecorate kids room and come up with ingenuous storage ideas.--Forget redecorating. We'll wait until we move and they each have their own rooms and then decorate according to their personalities. And the best storage idea? Take the outgrown clothes and toys to my brother's house. Problem solved.
55. Get laser eye surgery.—My husband is so against this. He thinks glasses are sexy. I think being blind is so not sexy. Maybe some day.
56. Charter a sailboat for the weekend.—Not done. And Maureen is afraid, so we might not do this until she is older and also big enough to help haul sheets.
57. Have couch steam cleaned.—Did it. But now the couch looks gross again. I give up.
58. Brush Jameson daily.—He bites me when I brush him. So I brush him when he needs it the most and leave him alone the other days.
59. Seal brick in kitchen and bedroom.—Not done. Needs to be done ASAP. I’m tired of cleaning up brick dust.
60. Seal stucco on back wall.—Not done. Not sure if it needs to be, actually.
61. Paint baseboards and window sills in kitchen.—Done, but now they need it again.
62. Invest in good quality bakeware.—My SIL gave me a set of nice bakeware for Christmas a couple of years ago and I got rid of the old stuff.
63. Start doing Tastefully Simple parties more often.—I stopped selling all together. Too much work and not enough time.
64. Learn to craft something that I can sell for a profit.—Something knitted, maybe? See #24.
65. Find a good preschool for Johnny that isn't too expensive.—He is in his second year and Maureen started in the 2 year old program too. And I’m the treasurer for the program.
66. Get an iPod and download all the cheesy music from my childhood to listen to while working out.—Done. I love my iPod. How did I ever live without it?
67. Learn to like oatmeal.—Blargh…oatmeal gags me. However, John has been eating Irish steel cut oatmeal and says it is better. So maybe I’ll try it. But I’m not hopeful.
68. Do more arts and crafts stuff with the kids.—Not only do I do more projects, we have an entire cabinet filled with supplies. Sometimes I surprise myself.
69. Buy more shoes.—I’ve mostly bought running shoes, because you can only put so many miles on them before they need to be replaced. But I did get a super cute pair of suede boots!
70. Iron all of John's work clothes.—I’ve been doing well with this, but it’s partly because he changed positions at work and the shirts he wears most often don’t need to be ironed.
71. Stop obsessing about dirt in my house.—If people would stop walking inside my house with their shoes on, this would be easier. But seriously, I’m sticking to my cleaning schedule and sorting out excess so the house is easier to keep clean. And that’ll have to be good enough.
72. At the same time, streamline my life so that everything gets done.—That’s where the dayplanner and the obsessive list making comes in. And while I usually have something to do, most of my lists get done. Eventually.
73. Play my flute more.—I haven’t touched it in so long, I wonder if I still know how to play.
74. Learn a new instrument.—Such as? I don’t know where I got the idea I’d have time for music lessons.
75. Start volunteer work.—Does writing the EAH blog on my own time count as volunteer work?
76. Try new foods.—This is going pretty well. I’m learning to like stuff I didn’t like before.
77. Read more nonfiction.—I’ve developed a serious addiction to books about wreck diving. Which is funny because I’m terrified of the ocean.
78. Stop turning the radio up so loud when I'm alone in the car.—You know what? Listening to loud music in the car is my guilty pleasure. And my hearing is fine.
79. Tame the stuffed animal explosion in our house.—I give them to my brother. And tell him that I don’t care what he does with them, as long as he doesn’t give them back to me.
80. Go camping again.—Stupidest goal ever! I’ve sent John camping with one or both kids three times. And I stayed home in my nice comfortable bed.
81. Finally learn and understand what "offsides" means in soccer.—I think I get it now. Maybe.
82. Learn the rules of rugby.—Sort of. I’m still learning. But one thing I’m sure of is that real men play rugby.
83. Join a women's basketball rec league.—I’m actually looking into this, I totally miss playing on a team. But I don’t know that I actually have the time for it.
84. Give more money to charity.—Instead of money, we’ve been giving stuff. Outgrown clothes and unused kid gear to a refugee resettlement center, frozen pumpkin pies to our church for the Thanksgiving dinner, etc.
85. Sleep more.—Yoga helps me sleep more soundly, which I think is more important than hours.
86. Take time to stop and smell the roses.—Grocery store roses never smell. And real roses make me sneeze if I sniff too hard. But I have been more appreciative of the beauty surrounding us everyday. So count this as done. And ongoing.
87. Grow some roses to smell.—I don’t think our yard gets enough sun for roses. But I smell my mom’s when I’m at her house.
88. Take family members up on offers to babysit and spend more time one-on-one with John.—Although we haven’t been to the movies together since Johnny was a baby, we have been out together without the kids. Mostly to dinner.
89.Put together the Adirondack chairs. –They are still in our basement. Probably will stay down there until we move.
90.Go to a Terps basketball game.—Not done. And they have been stinking. Maybe this year I’ll take in a local game with my dad.
91. Get more culture.—Define culture. But yeah, I’ve been reading more non-fiction and have been to a few museums.
92.Read "Moby Dick" and try to understand why John likes it so much.—Most boring book. Ever. I watched the movie instead.
93.Choose guardians for the kids just in case.—I have someone in mind. But nothing in writing.
94. Always drive the speed limit.—Hah! On Baltimore roads? That’s the best way to get run over.
95. Take more time to daydream.—You know what I do on the elliptical at the gym? Half the time I’m zoned out. I think that counts.
96.Find a cause and get involved.—I joined the Baltimore Humane Society Running Team. Which benefits the homeless animals.
97.Rent 'Grey's Anatomy' DVDs and see what I'm missing.—Eh. Not interested. I don’t think I’m missing anything.
98.Use the good silverware and dishes for regular occasions.—Done.
99.Learn how to make pasta.—I tried to make gnocchi once. And it didn’t work because I overcooked the potatoes. And I made homemade pierogies. Actual pasta, like spaghetti, I have not tried.
100.Teach Johnny how to read.—He’s getting there. This is not a priority, that is what kindergarten is for.
101.Learn to let go of things out of my hands.—It’s a process. But I feel more peaceful and content than I did when I first made this list.
I was surprised to see how much I had accomplished since I made the list, and a little chagrined to see that some of my more important goals (the soda, the nail biting, the painting) haven't been touched. And when I deleted the goals that are either complete or not practical (toilet training the cat), I've actually come pretty far in the past almost-two years. And I have a jumping off point for 2010.
Do you make resolutions? And if you participated in the 101 in 1001 challenge, have you looked at your list since you first wrote it?
2009 was a pretty good year for us, but I know it was pretty tough for some folks. So here's sending some happy vibes for 2010. One thing that did not happen a lot was blogging, but I'm happy with what I put up. Below are links to my favorite post from each month. I'd also like to thank all my guest bloggers.
January: Making Resolutions That Stick
February: Breastfeeding With Hypothyroidism
March: The Case Against Judgement
April: Homemaker vs. SAHM: Does It Really Matter?
May: My Daughter, The Fashionista
June: The End Of Fertility
July: Not My Best Day
August: Living With Sibling Rivalry Without Throttling My Kids
September: Breastfed Babies And The Growth Chart
October: The Small Purse Club
November: Deadlines
December: See Mommy Run
Happy New Year to all my faithful readers!
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