Day 538, 463 to go

I have 20 things checked off my list! How exciting!
I do think, at this point, that I'm really happy with what I've accomplished so far. There are still a few things that I can "knock off" in a single day, albeit a very focused single day. My dates with the children are going well -- and it's a bit of an eye-opener how I view the different activities with them.

I take Tanner to park more often than I used to. So I don't see that as a "date" -- it's just what happens. What qualifies as a date with him has moved up a notch since I am home most afternoons with him after school. However, Tasmin is RARELY around anymore, so a late-night movie totally qualifies. I don't do enough with my boys. Good things to see and notice from this challenge.

Matt and I upped our commitment to the temple since the children are older and babysitting isn't such a difficult thing. We go twice a month most months now. LOVE THAT! It also means we'll FINISH our 36 pretty easily with lots of time leftover, when what I committed to was once a month for the approximately three years that this challenge takes. Cool.

The reading lists just aren't happening. Neither are the classic movies or the DVDs on the prophets. There's still time, but I see that they aren't "important" enough to me to really motivate me to do them. Many other things on my list jump out at me as "I REALLY want to get that done!"

There are also things on my list, the travel things, that were impossible to do before we paid off our consumer debt. I don't think I can squeeze them all in with a little over a year left now. But there's not much better than knowing we CAN, now that the debt is paid off.

I wish I'd made different goals on some things: the losing 30 pounds continues to fluctuate and I keep feeling like "Oh, I'm back where I started" and I get completely disgruntled. I know goals are supposed to be quantifiable, but I think next time I'll do something like "Eat healthy 5 days out of the week" or "Walk 30 minutes 3 times a week." And that "Go to the gym 6 times in one week"?? That was when we HAD a gym membership and I was walking 2 miles on weekdays and 8 miles on Saturdays. I have a lot of building back up to do...

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my progress. And yes, I will totally make another list when this one is over.

Hey 16!

I have 16 things totally done on my list. My temple sessions are well on the way, and most of my kid-dates are doing pretty good. I'm not reading enough (for list purposes anyway) and I need to get my crocheting done!! I have big doubts I'll ever get that sampler done for Tanner...

Day 469

I don't have too many posts because I just keep going back to update the original list. But oh, my, do I get to update a lot of things tonight! I have been getting so much done, one little baby step at a time. And too, I'm seeing a lot of things getting done kind of amazingly, without me really planning on getting it done... Like tonight, I cleaned out the birthday box, finally. It was birthday night and we are stone broke (because we only have TWO more payments to make to WIPE OUT our credit card debt!!) and I needed four presents for my wonderful nieces and nephews. To the birthday box, Batman!

Day 415

I've yet to decide if I should just re-post my list or enter a dated post.... I seem to be doing both. So some of the progress I've made doesn't ever get its own post, I just update the progress right on my original list.

Ahh.... summer means I did too get to have a few dates with my children. Never as many as I would have liked, but at least I DID spend some time with them. Maggie and I got more time than I counted as dates... doing stuff at home that wasn't necessarily for very long or just the two of us. For example, I bought little cash register money at the dollar store the other night and she and Tanner set up stores in the house (Tanner stole food from EVERYWHERE) and then I came "shopping" as various different characters in their stores. That was so much fun, and Maggie loved the attention and time we spent... but... NOT a date.

This particular goal has really made me aware of spending more time with my children. So many things don't classify as "dates" but if this has made me DO more with them, what a great goal that has been!!

Day 406

Wow. When we get to day 500 it will be the half-way point! I seriously need to get busier! Although, I must say, I was pretty darned impressed today with how many things I AM making progress on.

I'm laying in bed sick today and it was so nice to see things moving along anyway! Cool!

Day 387

I got to cross off something else today. I "cloud-watched" with Maggie and Tanner, but it's monsoon season so it was this amazing lightning show. We are broke, broke, broke this summer, so we scrounged through the house for coins and came up with enough for dollar sundaes for each of us (Taylor too!) from McDonalds. The air was beautiful, the sky was amazing, and the sundaes were oh-so good!

I have been using Mark Forster's AutoFocus System (it's free; I have to share) and it has been truly wonderful for me. (Well, and I got on the RIGHT depression medication and that has made a TREMENDOUS difference in my life!) So I feel like things are moving along just swimmingly, now!

I thought I would be really shocked when I checked in tonight to see how many days I had left, because I knew I had passed the one year mark. I thought I would go into panic-mode because there is so much left to do! But again, the way I set up my list to begin with, many things won't get checked off in the beginning, but a WHOLE BUNCH will get checked off near the end because they are items like "watch 10 movies" or "read 20 books" and I AM making progress on those goals. Go ME!!

Now, if only I had put "read or listen to Twilight series 87 times" on my list -- I could get that accomplished so easily!

ONE YEAR DOWN

I can't quite believe it's already a year. So much seems to get in the way of grand intentions. What a lovely life lesson to see that you don't just chuck it all because something got in the way... you step back, take a look and where you've been and where you want to go, and you re-commit and dig into life again.

Cool.

So I'm digging in...

I've battled with depression for years now, and saw myself falling down a hole since finally deciding to go the medication route. I tried two different medicines since last December, both with nasty side effects that left me just reeling. This latest, only a week into it, has left me so grateful for modern medicine! I feel like a brand new person! Like the curtains have been opened up to a beautiful spring day -- and they were some seriously heavy, drab curtains, let me tell you!

So... re-assessing, re-committing. It is GOOD to be alive! I LOVE waking up happy.

JOY!

SUCCESS!

I have no idea how many days I have left, and I'm not even checking in because I've completed something.

But I have finally hit $5.00 earnings on Helium! How silly that I'm so excited about that, but there it is - I am. I wrote fourteen articles in rapid sequence last year and have done NOTHING with my writing since then. And it hit the $5.00 mark. I set a goal to earn $100 from Helium before my 1001 days are up... so I definitely need to get writing again. And I can see the best "sellers" are my articles on homeschooling. Oh how I loved homeschooling. If the world keeps going the way it is, we'll probably be back to it!!

Day 294

Another item got crossed off so there are 9 things done and 92 left to do. But I am making progress on some of those 92 things that have lots to do on them. For instance, I've had dates with Maggie and Tanner, I've attended the temple and I've made time to work on the afghans and watch the movies on my list.

I need to up my focus on dates with older children. Avery doesn't have ANY! I've been to his band concerts and stuff, but we haven't done anything special together before or after. I also need to quit reading (okay, maybe hurry up and finish) the Twilight series for the second time (sheepish grin) and get on with my reading list.

I have re-committed myself to my personal scripture study (why do I always seem to have to do that? Will I ever get on a pattern that I stick with?), so hopefully that will move forward again as well.

I seem to have been a little side-tracked by discovering some new list ideas like Getting Things Done and AutoFocus. Instead of letting them be incorporated in my 101/1001, I let them sidetrack me completely. My darling husband says I need to put ALL these things that I love to work with (the above lists, FlyLady, etc.) and combine into my OWN thing -- and then publish that! That would be way cool!

Day 264

I think that's the right number day. I may have to go back and edit it...

Just got back from the temple with Mel and my dearest friend, Liz. Man, we share our trials and challenges with each other and gripe about the things we don't like about life, and share joy about what we do like -- and I just adore being with her. I can sit in a room in complete silence just next to her and I feel it was time well spent. There is something about that woman's spirit that I just love being around. She's amazing.

8 down, 93 to go?!?!

I thought I'd be much farther along... Time to re-group and re-commit. I swear it's all about the crashed PDA.

Day 249 and way too long between posts

An update long overdue...

#1 - Still reading scriptures, but mostly the Book of Mormon. Need to get back to reading the Bible as well, but have enjoyed my time. Getting a really good personal scripture study program going around the whole day. Listening to General Conference talks almost every day (as suggested by our leaders) and reading scriptures and Jesus the Christ every night. I just need to add Preach My Gospel and writing in my journal and I will feel extremely well-accomplished!!

#3 - Had an opportunity to go, but it fell through at the last minute. But it caused me to connect with about five other friends who want to hike Sabino, so I should be able to make that happen soon!

#4 - Up to 8 miles in one morning. Just over 2 hours... Wonderful! So excited I can go so far. A BIT sore, but not zapped-the-whole-day.

#6 - Up to 4.52 and they have LOTS more ways to earn now. Will explore that as soon as I get my new PDA toy up and rolling... (old one crashed and burned and I am calendar-less and therefore completely inept at getting ANYTHING done.)

#16 - Mission accomplished!! Went to Florida and Georgia over Christmas break. What a wonderful memory...

#19 - Making friends with a lady who owns Mesquite Nursery. Extremely knowledgeable and totally willing to offer advice and help! (They advertise a "salad bowl garden" in one of those big pots on your porch. Cool!)

#22 - Under the $8000 mark and going!

#25 - Levi's is half-way done and
#26 - I have the pattern picked out for Nicole

#28 - Hit the "Lost 22 pounds" mark on the scale a couple of weeks ago, but that was before Patti brought seven layer cookies in to work to "share". I think I ate the whole pan...

#31 - Floor is all finished. The trim still needs to be finished, but I can't make Matt do it. He's working two jobs right now as it is. He can finish it when he can, but I'm marking this one DONE!

#32 - My own laptop is getting combined with fixing my PDA that crashed. Matt and I are getting ACERS, the teeniest little laptop. SO adorable and I just can't wait!

#35 - Went to DisneyWorld with Grandma and Grandpa Claridge over Christmas break. We did every free thing you can do over there. It was so much fun. Of course, I wish I could take the kids to REALLY do Disney, but things being what they are, this will have to suffice.

#36 - And while we were there we sat on the beach in the freezing cold and watched the fireworks!!

#82 - Found a roller rink still exists in Tucson and Maggie wants us to go for a date! Two birds...

#85 - Had plans to read TODAY at Love of Reading week in Maggie's class, but Tanner came down with pink eye. Now it will have to wait until next year... :-(

#89 - TA-DAH!! Couldn't come up with a reason to be keeping them, so they went in the recycle bin about two weeks ago! Woo-hoo!!! Can I just say how good THAT felt?!?! Filled up the whole BOX!

#93 - Temple sessions
I'm going to have to do some serious calendar searching. Because my record of November until now is in my broken PDA. This is becoming more tragic than I realized at first...

Okay - now I have to go to the original post and see how many are actually accomplished. Because some actually got DONE!