101 Things Update

101 Things December progress:

#7 Finish the Old Testament

2 Chronicles finished

#18 Visit my family in Wisconsin

We spent 2 days with my grandparents, including one evening with my aunt and uncle and cousins and a few minutes with my other uncle.

#24 Make my own tree skirt

I decided to remove this one because I found one I liked at an after-Christmas sale.

#29 Find a new folk/bluegrass band I like and buy an album.

I received a Nickel Creek album for Christmas!

#30 Stop drinking diet soda

I haven't been drinking much pop at all lately because I have stopped buying it. Therefore, I have stopped drinking diet soda.

#35 Back up all digital pictures.

I have all pictures backed up on an external hard drive and also on my Picasa account.

#61 Start using cloth napkins.

I have stopped buying paper napkins and am using some soft cloth napkins I collected from my grandmother's condo.

#77 Read 24 new fiction books.

I read Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers. New total 4/24.

How I did in 2010

Now that 2010 is over, I guess it's that time to consider how I did on my 10 goals for 2010 before I set new goals for 2011.

• Drop satellite TV - We did this and have adjusted well. I would say that I am almost completely over my withdrawal. Going from hundreds of channels to about 4 is rather jarring, but it was totally worth it!
• Replace Seth's vehicle - Seth got a 2008 Ford Ranger pickup truck last March and it is totally paid for.
• Pay off 2nd to last student loan - We did this several months ago and are now working on Seth's Sallie Mae loan.
• Organize/clean out the filing cabinet in our home office - Oh my, this still hasn't been done and it is driving me crazy. Whenever I have to find an important document, it takes forever!
• Learn a new craft (like crocheting or knitting) - I have learned how to do some basic crocheting, but I haven't really kept up with it.
• Make my own all-purpose cleaner, scouring powder, and laundry detergent - I have made all of these and use them regularly.
• Drink two quarts of water every day - I have been drinking more water since we stopped buying pop. I don't know if I drink a full 2 quarts, but I do know that I rarely feel parched when I leave school like I used to.
• Begin teaching flute lessons again - I now have 4 students and will have 5 in the new year!
• Get a summer job - I ended up working at Holiday World. I haven't decided about doing that again. It did help with the debt!
• Finish reading the Old Testament - I am almost through 2 Chronicles. Here are the books I still need to read for the first time in their entirety: Ezra, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. I definitely slacked on this goal. I must admit that I find the sheer volume of the Old Testament VERY intimidating.

I guess I did at least reasonably well on 8 out of 10 goals, so I will call that a success! How did you do on your goals for 2010?

101 Things Update

Welcome to my monthly update on my progress toward 101 Things in 1001 Days. In OCTOBER, I completed the following...

#14 Meet with a new teacher friend to practice conversational Spanish

I have enjoyed speaking Spanish over lunch with our new librarian. It is disheartening to hear how rusty I have become outside of what I use for teaching my elementary kids, but at least I'm doing something about it.

#32 Get new tires for Seth's truck (only the back ones were necessary)

#67 Get my nice Bjorn dress shoes fixed

I went to the shoe repairman in H-burg and paid only $4 to have the strap re-sewn!

#22 Create a substitute box for each school in case of emergency absences

I now have both boxes completed and just need to remember to get the Lincoln Trail one out of my trunk :)

#84 Get a new dentist

I made an appointment with a different dentist. We can't get in until January, but that shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully we will no longer have to endure water pick torture!

#97 Read 12 non-fiction books

1/12 complete. My husband and I finished Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler, which we have been reading for a long time as a nightly devotional.

#77 Read 24 fiction books

2/24 complete. I finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling.

I have decided to wait on...

#89 Grow my favorite herbs in an indoor planter

I had 6 plants going; 5 sprouted and looked great and then were suddenly killed by a yellow fungus that formed on my potting soil. I think I will wait until Spring and try different pots/soil.

Special Note on...

#8 Finish paying off debts

We made our last payment on my students loans this month!!!!!! Now we have just hubby's consolidated student loan to go and we will be completely debt free. It won't be long (9 months if everything goes according to plan) until ole' Sallie Mae gets kicked out of our guest room!!!!!

101 Things Update

I thought I would give a monthly update on my progress toward 101 Things in 1001 Days. Here is my September progress...

Completed:

#1 - Get my sewing machine cleaned

#11 - Get a laundry drying rack

#47 - Read outside under a tree

#51 - Make a new friend

I have enjoyed getting to know our new library/media specialist at school, who is just a few years younger than me.

#62 - Start a prayer journal

#67 - Get my nice Bjorn dress shoes fixed

#68 - Organize our storage area in the shed downstairs

Hubby did this!

#69 - Make a bookmark out of a favorite photo

I used a picture taken on the ski lift in Colorado on our honeymoon!

#73 - Clean up my front deck

#74 - Repot/prune house plants

#79 - Complete a crossword puzzle

#87 - Buy a bunch of plain washcloths and begin using them instead of paper towels

I still have paper towels from previous stock-ups but I am going to try to avoid buying them in the future.

#93 - Send a birthday card on time

This card was to my mom.

#94 - Make homemade softscrub

Love it!

#95 - Get my laptop serviced

In progress:

#3 - Learn how to crochet

I can do the single stitch, and I have learned how to turn my work.

#15 - Earn enough Swagbucks to purchase another season of the Andy Griffith Show

I am almost ready to get my 2nd $5 gift card.

#19 - Complete my Kodaly Certification

I have completed 2 of 3 levels. Level 3 will be this summer.

#22 - Create an emergency substitute teacher box at each school.

The box at Lincoln Trail is done.

#32- Get new tires for Seth's truck

The tires have been ordered.

#55 - Memorize a poem

I have started to memorize "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.

#77 - Read 24 new fiction books

I read one fiction book in September. It is called Bringing Them Home by Elizabeth Wiens.

#89 - Grow my favorite herbs in an indoor planter

I am growing a number of herbs in my various windows. So far the dill and basil have sprouted!

I don't expect every month's update to be this extensive, as many of these things were started before I made the list. However, the first month's progress is encouraging!

101 things in 1001 days

Well folks, I have jumped on the bandwagon with a few of my other blogging friends and created my list. Thinking of 101 things was very hard but also very fun! Actually completing these tasks will be much the same, I suspect. I think I may have to do # 72, reading underneath a tree, today! I will update monthly on how my list is going. You can make your own list here.

1

Have sewing machine cleaned

2

Learn how to hem

3

Learn how to crochet

4

Learn how to use a sewing machine

5

Have a baby

6

Wax my car

7

Finish reading the Old Testament

8

Finish paying off debts

9

Re-read the Little House series

10

Move to a small single family home

11

Get a laundry drying rack

12

Learn how to can food

13

Re-start my movie log

14

Meet with a new teacher friend to practice conversational Spanish

15

Earn enough Swagbucks to purchase another season of the Andy Griffith Show

16

Watch the entire series of Lost

17

Finish the Harry Potter series

18

Visit my family in Wisconsin

19

Complete my Kodaly Certification

20

Start a community children's choir or expand the church children's choir to include children from other churches

21

Learn how to make my own yogurt

22

Create a "substitute" box for each school in case of emergency absences

23

Re-vamp our home filing system

24

Make a tree-skirt

25

Polish any brass lamps/accessories around the house

26

Have a photo shoot of just Seth and me

27

Get a fast enough internet connection that we can easily watch TV on the internet

28

Transfer all home videos to DVD

29

Find a new folk/bluegrass band I like and buy an album

30

Stop drinking diet soda

31

Finish my list of songs organized by music literacy concept

32

Get new tires for Seth's truck

33

Stop biting my nails

34

Print my favorite snapshots and place them in a small photo album

35

Back up all digital pictures

36

Find a free budget maker on the internet

37

Enter all written family tree data onto my genealogy computer program

38

Try "The Keeper"

39

Paint my recipe holder red to match my kitchen

40

Paint my kitchen memo board red to match my kitchen

41

Organize my recipes by type of meat/main dish

42

Get a small clock to keep on my keychain

43

Visit Luke and Kayla in Pennsylvania

44

Read a children's chapter book in Spanish

45

Try homemade dishwasher detergent to see if it works

46

Fast

47

Read outside under a tree

48

Submit one piece of writing to be published (in a magazine/newsletter, etc.)

49

Finish professional growth plan

50

Learn how to make homemade crackers

51

Make a new friend

52

Sing a song in Spanish at church

53

Have a flute/trumpet recital with Seth

54

Learn a new way to do my hair

55

Memorize a poem

56

Have a picnic at the park

57

Start my cute owl decor collection

58

Decoupage the matting on my picture frame in the office with pieces from a map

59

Volunteer to do a scripture reading in church

60

Invite our Sunday School class over for a game night

61

Start using cloth napkins

62

Start a prayer journal

63

Flip the matress

64

Learn how to cook a Chinese dish

65

Hide a random love note for Seth to find

66

Sell something on eBay or Craigslist

67

Get my nice Bjorn dress shoes fixed

68

Organize our storage area in the shed downstairs

69

Make a bookmark out of a favorite photo

70

Memorize an entire chapter from the Bible

71

Plan and execute an actual birthday party for someone

72

Find a pair of jeans at a thrift store that REALLY fit me

73

Clean up my front deck

74

Re-pot/prune house plants

75

Go ice-skating

76

Make a set of cloth napkins

77

Read 24 new fiction books

78

Have 24 date nights

79

Complete a crossword puzzle

80

Replace the recliner chair

81

Change the drawer pulls on my desk

82

Go through an entire day without using TV or internet

83

Make a cloth book cover for my planner

84

Get a new dentist

85

Visit Ferdinand State Forest

86

Go to a Spanish-speaking church service

87

Buy a bunch of plain washcloths and begin using them instead of paper towels

88

Learn a new word and use it in a conversation

89

Grow my favorite herbs in an indoor planter

90

Host a giveaway on my blog

91

Play recorder duets with Seth just for fun

92

Make hummus

93

Send a birthday card on time

94

Make homemade soft scrub

95

Get my laptop serviced

96

Finish my "Seth and Amy" scrapbook

97

Read 12 new non-fiction books

98

Go to an evening concert by the Evansville Philharmonic

99

Move important documents into a fire-proof safe

100

Develop a family mission statement

101

Play flute in a multi-instrument ensemble