Happy New Year!!! During the final month of the year I finished 7 tasks! I'm excited for the new year, as fresh starts are always very motivating for me. I love starting a fresh planner, a new desk calendar, and new excel spreadsheets for budget and media tracking! Before kicking off the new year, I want to take some time to reflect on what I was able to accomplish in December. Make Gingerbread Cookies from ScratchI don't bake often and it's something I wish I knew more about. When I was brainstorming tasks to put on my 101 Things list, I originally put "Bake something from scratch", but when I though about it more I decided I wanted to bake something that could become a tradition. Baking gingerbread cookies felt like a fun holiday activity to turn into a yearly tradition. The recipe I used was from Tastes Better from Scratch, and it was very easy to follow! They were simple to make and it was helpful that they didn't require any specific tools that only a serious baker would have, or any hard to get ingredients. It was all very accessible. They turned out great! The first batch I baked got a bit overcooked, but I got the hang of it by the second batch. The only downside? My GERD was not a fan. lol There are a lot of foods that can upset my reflux, and cinnamon and ginger are common offenders. So, although they were delicious, unfortunately gingerbread cookies will not be a yearly tradition for me. Watch a Christmas Movie in DecemberI'm a big movie fan, so I always enjoy adding movie related activities to my 101 Things list! This list entry serves as a reminder to celebrate the Christmas season before it's over. This December I watched A Christmas Story, All American Christmas Carol, Elf, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966 Animated version) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 Live Action version). Watch a Movie in a TheaterOn December 4th I went to the theater for a special holiday screening of Elf. It was really fun seeing the movie in theaters after so many years of watching it at home. Buttered movie popcorn makes every movie a little bit better! One of the benefits of watching Elf in a movie theater was that there were several families there, and hearing the little kids giggle at the funny scenes was so cute and made the experience even better. I definitely want to continue to watch re-screenings of my favourite films in the future. It's something I'll keep an eye out for now that I know how fun it is! Go on an Outing with MomWhen I watched Elf in theaters I went with my mom, so technically I completed this task at the same time as the task to "watch a movie in a theater". However, my mother and I had another outing recently when we went to dinner at the Melting Pot. It's our favourite restaurant to go to together and as usual, the fondue was to die for! Organize File BoxThis list entry is one that I've been putting off for awhile. I had a cardboard box full of paperwork that I wanted to organize and put into a file box. It took two days but I finally got all of that paperwork sorted and filed! Now when I need to find paperwork from a doctor's visit, or a statement from my job regarding benefits, I'll know exactly where they are instead of having to dig through a box. Follow a Painting TutorialI completed this task twice this month! The first painting tutorial I followed was the House Cat tutorial from Let's Make Art. I'm not going to post my completed painting because... it did not come out great! lol It was a great tutorial though and I hope to give it a second try at some point. The second painting tutorial was also from Let's Make Art and it was the Dozing Fox. I completed this tutorial along with my mother. I made several errors and the fox ended up looking more like an orange cat, however I think it might be fun to retry these two tutorials and see if I can improve on them as I learn more about watercolor painting. Watch a Foreign Film in Another LanguageI'm a fan of mysteries and whodunnits, so when Netflix recommended the film 7 Women and a Murder (7 donne e un mistero), it seemed perfect for me! This movie is Italian, so it worked out perfectly for this entry of my 101 Things list. 7 Women and a Murder is a comedy as well as a crime mystery, and I thought the cast was wonderful! Italian is a beautiful language, and I found the captioning to be accurate as far as I can tell. I really enjoyed the film and I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a humorous whodunnit to watch. In summary...This year I completed 18 tasks! Granted my 1001 days started towards the end of June, so I'm not even a full year into it. That said, I've done much better with checking my list frequently and tracking my progress when compared to my last 101 Things list attempt.
I feel really excited to start 2023 and make some more progress on my list. I already started a few tasks like "watching a movie from every year I've been alive" and "read both volumes of The Complete Sherlock Holmes". Now I'm ready to finish those in the coming year and get to work on my other list items. If you're reading this around the time it was posted, Happy New Year! I hope 2023 has good things in store for you and your loved ones! Thanks for reading!
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Through the month of October I was able to complete 4 tasks! Along with the tasks I finished, I also started working towards several other tasks as well. I feel like I'm doing better than my first attempt at 101 Things in 1001 Days. I still have momentum and I'm checking my list more frequently. The Tasks I've Complete This Month: This month I was able to tackle three more tasks from my list. I tried fish, went to a theme park thanks to a mobility aid, and learned all of the U.S. state capitols.
My 1001 days started on June 20th, so I'm a month and a half-ish into my two and three-quarter year timeline. At this point I've completed two tasks. The first task I completed was writing a letter to open on the 1001st day. I did that task on 6/20/22 which was the day my 1001 days started. The second task I completed was coloring in a page from a coloring book. I started it around July 9th, and then set it aside and finished it today, August 2nd. The coloring book is Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford and I used Tombow dual brush pens. The Tombows created a very vibrant drawing, but they did bleed through to the back of the page. Those are the only tasks I've fully completed, but I have started on a few others.
I've begun learning the capitols for the states and I'm at 84% when I quiz myself on them with Geoguessr.com. I've also started my task to watch a movie from every year I've been alive. So far I've watched a movie from 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2022. I'll keep working on my goals and hopefully I can keep up the momentum! Imagine my surprise when I checked how many days I had left... and realized my 1001st day was over a week ago!I managed to accomplish 25 tasks out of 101!
January is the perfect time to reflect on the past year and set goals for the new year.
As of January 15th, I have 138 days left for my 1001 days! Reflecting on My List Looking over my list, the first thing that stands out is how much my goals have changed over the last couple of years. There are several things on my list that I no longer want to achieve. Two things that fall into that category are to get my driver's license and a car, which are goals I've abandoned. I use public transportation and delivery services, so getting a car really isn't a priority now. I have also learned to have a healthier understanding of my diet and health goals, so a list entry like "Track calories every day for a month" is something that I now believe would not be good for me. I suppose it's only natural to change over time and have a different perspective on my goals. Another goal that I could have achieved, but chose not to, includes watching the Olympics. My first opportunity to do so was the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which ended up being postponed at first due to Covid. Then when it came time for those Olympic games to kick off there were many who were calling for a boycott due to concerns of racism and sexism. I was one of the people who chose not to watch the games, as I felt that athletes were not getting the respect and equality they deserved. My next opportunity to watch the Olympics will be the 2022 Beijing Olympics... which are also being boycotted, and at an even larger scale. This time, rather than being spectators and some athletes that are choosing not to participate, it's entire countries that are boycotting the event. The United States are allowing athletes to compete, however U.S. government officials won't attend due to the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity perpetuated by the Chinese government. Another obstacle I've found while attempting to complete my 101 Things in 1001 Days list, is that I could have never anticipated a global pandemic. Many things on my list such as, visit 5 museums, attend a film festival, go bowling, go to an event at the library, and eat at a restaurant with live music, are now a lot less simple. Although at this point public spaces are opening back up, I'm not necessarily comfortable being around other people or going into potentially crowded places. Yet another road bump in my 101 Things journey has been my health. My Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue diagnoses have made some of my previous goals less easy to complete. Something like my goal to do a 30 day exercise challenge, is not only probably impossible for me now, it would absolutely be a bad idea. Before, that goal would have made a positive impact on my health... but now it would probably trigger a flare up and make me sick. A lot of life consists of learning to adapt to new situations, and my disability is still something I'm learning to live with. Looking to the Future After assessing my list, I know that I certainly won't be doing all 101 things, but I can also see many goals that are still within reach! Some of the list items I feel confident I can tackle within 138 days are:
How I'm Feeling At this point, I feel like my 1001 days are wrapping up. As I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I feel more focused on the goals that still feel attainable. It's only natural that I would change my mind over the three or so years, so I'm not too worried about the items on my list that will go undone. I'm excited about how many I have accomplished and I'm already looking ahead to the future and considering what might go onto my next list. The goals I'm most looking forward to squeezing into my last 100+ days are the ones that involve learning new things. The start of 2022 feels like an exciting fresh start and I'm hoping I can keep crossing things off of my list! Happy New Year!!! Well the new year is here and it's time to reflect!
The Covid pandemic definitely made an impact on certain list items. Tasks that involve going places or attending events are out the window for now. I also got a diagnosis for fibromyalgia and that has effected what I'm able to do as well. It has been a really unpleasant learning experience to find out what my body can and can't do now. Although this year was a bit rocky I don't want to let it completely derail my 101 goals! I'm starting my year off by going through my list and picking out the tasks I know I can get done this year if I put my mind to it. My word of the year this year is "progress", so my focus for 2021 is to keep up some momentum with the tasks I've started and try to at least make some progress every day. Well... I don't think any of us predicted 2020 being so strange, stressful and disheartening. This year the world is facing the crisis of Covid-19, the U.S. is dealing with the injustices of the systemic racism in our country, and I've also been dealing with personal struggles including a new Fibromyalgia diagnosis, serious side effects of the new medication I'm taking to help with the Fibromyalgia, the loss of my grandmother and big changes in management at work. I've seen several posts online with the sentiment that it's ok if you haven't been productive during quarantine. I find solace in knowing I'm not the only one who's been beating myself up over not getting more done. I think a lot of us are just focused on getting through the day. Times are stressful and scary and we're all just trying to hang tight and hope for better days soon. I have made some progress with several of the tasks on my 101 Things in 1001 Days, but I haven't completed many. I'm making this post to help remind myself of how many things I've already made some headway with and motivate myself to follow through with them! Tasks I've Started and Need to Keep Working On:We're into December of 2019 |
Learn More:Check out https://dayzeroproject.com/ to learn about the 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge. Categories |