Thursday, August 21, 2008

My list of 101 tasks


Because I want to be a better person

  1. Read 50 books (3/50)
  2. Start a book journal and write date, title, author, and one-sentence review of each book I read
  3. Learn Welsh at a beginning level
  4. Take a cake decorating class
  5. Complete at least two rough draft chapters of my novel (0/2)
  6. Try a new recipe once a week (5/143)
  7. Design and create a web page
  8. Complete the cross-stitch I'm working on
  9. Learn how to change the oil in my car
  10. Learn how to change a tire by myself
  11. Learn to knit something more complicated than long rectangular scarves
  12. Learn to drive a manual transmission vehicle
  13. Make 10 recipes including an ingredient I’ve never used before (0/10)
  14. Give up gossip for a week, 4 times (0/4)

Because I want to be a healthier person
  1. Exercise at least once a week for 40 weeks (0/40)
  2. Exercise at least twice a week for 40 weeks (0/40)
  3. Exercise at least three times a week for 40 weeks (0/40)
  4. Drink enough water at work that I have to refill my water bottle 4 times daily
  5. Eat something with oats in it every day for thirty days (0/30)
  6. Give up sugar for one month

Because I want to be a better mother
  1. Breastfeed until Molly is 1 year old
  2. Keep Molly away from the TV and computer 98% of the time
  3. Read Molly a book every evening
  4. Learn some baby sign language and teach it to Molly
  5. Take 3 new pictures of Molly every week (5/143)
  6. Do not swear or curse in front of Molly
  7. Make homemade baby food for Molly
  8. Do not feed Molly solid food until she is 6 months old
  9. Write a letter to Molly every year on her birthday (0/3)
  10. Create and send invitations for Molly's baptism
  11. Take Molly for a walk around the neighborhood at least once a week, weather permitting (5/143)
  12. Do not let Molly watch TV until she is 2 years old
  13. Do a new activity or play a new game with Molly every week (5/143)

Because I want to be a better wife
  1. Counter every negative thought about Mark with a positive thought
  2. Tell Mark I love him every day
  3. Go on a date once a month
  4. Call Mark every evening when I leave the office
  5. Every day, write down one thing I love about my husband
  6. Do something romantic for my husband at least once a week (3/143)
  7. Once a month, do something Mark wants me to do that I don't want to (i.e. see a movie I'm not interested in, go out when I'd rather stay in) without complaint (2/33)
Because I want to be a better employee
  1. Stay "internet-slacking" free at work for a week four times (1/4)
  2. Get a promotion at work, or move to a different company
  3. Have 100 internet-free days at work (0/100)
  4. Spend at least one hour per workday either doing productive work or (if no assignments) learning something to improve my work
Because I want a healthy and happy family
  1. Each time I go grocery shopping, replace one regular item in my grocery cart with an organic item
  2. Do not buy anything containing high fructose corn syrup
  3. Buy nothing containing partially hydrogenated oils
  4. Eat dinner at the table instead of in front of the TV
  5. Call my aunt once a month (0/33)
  6. Send my grandmother a letter or postcard twice a month (2/66)
  7. Send Christmas cards every year (0/3)
  8. Make it to work by 7:00 (so I can leave by 4:00) three times a week for 10 weeks (0/10)

Because I want to have my financial situation in order
  1. Save enough money to take Mark and Molly on a vacation to England in September 2010
  2. Save a "maternity fund" to cover six weeks of expenses for my next maternity leave
  3. Create our wills
  4. Stick to a budget
  5. Start a mutual fund for Molly and make a monthly contribution (0/33)
  6. Go for one week without spending money except on one trip each to the grocery store and gas station, 4 times (0/4)
  7. Have 200 no-spend days (2/200)
  8. Have 20 below-budget weeks (0/20)
  9. Hold a monthly financial/budget meeting with Mark (0/33)
  10. Stick to my list whilst grocery shopping, without purchasing any impulse items, 10 times (0/10)
  11. Pass up something I don't need but was going to buy just because it was on sale or I had a coupon, 10 times (0/10)

Because I want to be organized
  1. File all papers that need to be filed
  2. Establish a better system for filing papers and keeping them from piling up
  3. Clean out and reorganize kitchen cabinets
  4. Organize and purge my book of printed-out recipes
  5. Organize the books on the bookshelves and get rid of unwanted books
  6. Vacuum once a week (2/143)
  7. Wash the sheets once a month (1/33)

Because I want to be a better Christian
  1. Read at least one chapter of the Bible a week (0/143)
  2. Pray at least once a day
  3. Attend church at least 3 times per month (3/99)
  4. Say prayers before meals
  5. Get more involved in my church
  6. Give up something every year for Lent (0/3)
  7. Buy an Advent calendar and start a tradition of reading a scripture each night of Advent
  8. Follow a Lenten Devotional every night of Lent
  9. Buy a book of five-minute devotionals and do them

Because I want to do something fun for myself and my family
  1. Complete Canada/New England cruise scrapbook
  2. Visit a Rennaisance Festival every year (0/3)
  3. Find a Scottish Highland Games and visit it
  4. Plan a trip longer than a weekend to visit my brother in Atlanta
  5. Try 5 new restaurants (1/5)
  6. Attend a play or show three times (0/3)
  7. Make a new fabulous restaurant- or bakery-worthy dessert 15 times (1/15)
  8. Wear a skirt once a week for a month (0/4)
  9. Put my hair up or back once a week for a month (0/4)
  10. Plant a container garden of vegetables and herbs and keep it healthy
  11. Visit St. Augustine on a weekend day, 3 times (0/3)
  12. Go on a hike
  13. Visit 3 new museums (0/3)
  14. Have a picnic
  15. Plan a trip to England for September 2010
  16. Get myself a locket and put Molly's picture in it

Because I want to leave a good impact on the world
  1. Buy and use reusable fabric grocery bags
  2. Complete organ donor registration
  3. Put together a shoebox every Christmas for Operation Christmas Child (0/3)

Because I want to hold myself accountable for completing these tasks
  1. Give $5 to church for every uncompleted thing at the end of the 1001 days
  2. Create a new 101 list after 1001 days
  3. Create a blog and document my progress at least once weekly

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