101 in 1001 update – April 2012

I haven’t done a “101 in 1001” update since late December 2011 but it doesn’t mean I haven’t worked on my list. I actually have several items to cross off, and it’s always a good feeling. But I’ve also taken a close look at my list and decided to change a few of my challenges. Some of them have not been that “challenging” and there are other things I’d really like to get done instead. So, here we go…

3) Grow food plants in the garden (Spring 2012) (1/1) – DONE
I’ve managed to grow a good amount of produce in my garden this past winter and spring, including more chard and some new leeks (I just made my first potato leek soup this week). I’ve grown green and read leaf lettuce.

Red leaf and green leaf lettuce in my garden

I’ve also grown a lot of sugar snap peas. If you don’t have a green thumb, peas are for you. As long as you provide them with something to attach to as they grow, you should get good results.

Sugar snap peas grow in my garden

My raspberry bushes used to be tiny but they’re now growing new shoots like crazy. I’m looking forward to a great crop this summer (we’ve actually eaten several raspberries in the past month).

12) Buy new tools to replace those missing from my tool box (1/1) – DONE
My husband recently sorted through his garage drawers and gave me back the tools he borrowed from me in the past. The good thing is, I probably won’t need to buy new tools now and I can cross this item off.

19) Clean out and organize the kids’ closets (1/1) – DONE
I still have a few bags of clothes to sell or give away but the baby clothes are gone and the bigger size clothes are sorted by size. No more cardboard boxes full of “stuff” either!

25) Create a kid’s art & craft box easy to access (1/1) – DONE
Technically, it’s not a box but a tower of storage bins we got at IKEA. It fits perfectly in our closet and kids can now get their art supplies on their own. And they do so, every day.

IKEA storage bins

38) Post once a day to my Every Day I See a Cow blog until December 31, 2011 (244/244) – DONE
Seeing cows every day was the easy part of this challenge. The hard part was blogging about it 365 days in a row. I still post three or four times a week if you want to see the wacky cows I stumble upon. I highlighted the Top 10 best cows of 2011 here.

45) Read 30 literature classics (1/30)
I recently read The Awakening by Kate Chopin. One down, 29 more to go!

52) Create an Excel spreadsheet for my business expenses and income for 2011 (1/1) – DONE
53) Track and document my business deductions and receipts for 2011 (1/1) – DONE
I didn’t start working on these two tasks until a month before the tax deadline but I managed to complete them and do our taxes by early April. Needless to say, I don’t want to wait until the last minute/month next year.

61) Have 10 family picnics (3/10)
I’ve had two more picnics with the boys these past few months. You’d think it’s a easy task but the main challenge is finding food the kids will eat besides chips. They’re not crazy about sandwiches and my youngest doesn’t eat raw veggies so it’s hard to provide a balanced, healthy meal. I’m open to your suggestions!

87) NEW – take a relaxing bath once a week (0/93)
Stef at Smile, kiddo suggested I take baths to relax so it’s now on my list. I can’t remember the last time I took a bath (in case you’re wondering, yes, I do take showers on a regular basis). I didn’t realize how much I miss it until she mentioned it.

88) NEW – Stop biting my nails (0/1) (it replaces Take my vitamins every day)
Call me nuts but Kristen at Motherese has challenged me inspired me to stop biting my nails, after sharing some tips that seem to work for a lifelong nailbiter like her. I chickened out when I originally created this list but I think it doesn’t hurt to try.

90) NEW – Write three things I’m grateful for every day for a month (0/30) (it replaces Drink Diet Coke only twice a week)
I’ve been doing really well when it comes to limiting my intake of Diet Coke. Last time I drank some (actually, it was more “a lot” of it), I didn’t feel good afterwards so I don’t think I’ll be drinking it often. Again, Stef at Smile, kiddo gave me the idea or writing down my daily gratitudes for a month. I’m not sure when I’ll be starting this but I’m excited about the experiment.

Finally, we have some newcomers since my last update so feel free to visit them. Welcome,everyone!

Believe Anyway
Fi’s Mutterings and Mumblings
Little Bits Of Waffle
Makes Me Wander
Smile, Kiddo
Sucettesoleil
Things ‘n’ Stuff
Vicrace Designs
Whyyjen

101 in 1001 challenge – December 2011 update

Can you believe 2012 is just around the corner? I have no idea where 2011 went but I’m glad this year almost over. I’ve found it very trying for our family in many ways and even though we overcame most hurdles, the journey was difficult, even painful at times.

I started the year by learning that my estranged father had passed away. The event brought back painful memories but also ignited some curiosity about someone I never knew. I see some good things coming out of it, eventually. Then I had to get another dental crown because an old filling was expanding and cracking my tooth. I had to put my 14-year-old cat to sleep with no slow warning that something was wrong with him. My back pain reached excruciating levels and lasted for months until I stumbled upon an Indian herb (Holy Basil) that seems to work wonders. My freelance business did better than I expected and I had the chance to define the types of projects I really want to work on in the future. My husband had to deal with some demons of his own and it made things difficult for all of us for a while. My youngest started preschool and was great at the transition, while my oldest started kindergarten and had a rough start. He now behaves well 95% of the time and as of this Christmas, he can mostly read on his own. He also had hernia surgery in the fall, which was super stressful for me. My garden was under constant attack for half the year and my crops weren’t as plentiful as expected. And of course, we all got sick with the nastiest stomach bug just before Christmas. As I said, I can’t wait to wish 2011 goodbye and welcome 2012.

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a 101 in 1001 challenge update and I thought, what better time than today, as my last post of the year? This update includes what I completed in October, November and December 2011, so there was quite a lot of time to catch up with, and unfortunately, I didn’t complete as many projects as expected. As I said, better luck in 2012!

Home & Organization
15) Install microwave oven over the stove or repair the current oven (1/1) - DONE
16) Get our gas stove burners fixed (1/1) - DONE
18) Sell or donate the baby toys and clothes in the closet and garage by end of summer 2011 (1/1) – DONE
32) Print memorable photos of my oldest child for the large photo collage frame I bought and put it on the staircase wall (1/1) - DONE
33) Print memorable photos of my youngest child for the large photo collage frame I bought and put it on the staircase wall (1/1) - DONE

I got so pumped up about getting 32) and 33) done that I bought more photo collage frames to document the first couple of years for each kid. I won’t add this new project to my 101 in 1001 list but I’m looking forward to taking care of it eventually.

Writing / Creating (I’ve nowadded Creating to this project list title)
34) Spend 3 hours a day on writing activities (paid or not) during the week, 2 hours a day on weekends (138/1001)
36) Post once a week to my Perfecting Motherhood blog (61/143)
38) Post once a day to my Every Day I See a Cow blog until December 31, 2011 (243/244)

I’ve decided to scrap item #39) (Post 2 to 4 times a month to my Buy Products From France website) . I’m not motivated to maintain this website and the revenue generation is not enough to motivate me further. So I’m rewriting this item with a new project. I’ve been wanting to sell my photographs and other art for a while and I’ve found a few websites I could try out. Putting it on this list will hopefully make me take action.

NEW – 39) Post photographs and other art for sale on Zazzle.com and a few other similar websites (0/1)

Reading
44) Read one book a week (44/143)
47) Read 5 to 7 new books with my kids every week (33/143)
48) Learn 3 to 5 new words every week and keep a log of them (20/143)

Career
I haven’t done any of these two items yet and 2011 is over. Can you see how screwed I am?
52) Create an Excel spreadsheet for my business expenses and income for 2011 (0/1)
53) Track and document my business deductions and receipts for 2011 (0/1)

Family & Leisure
I’ve done pretty well in this category and was able to make some numbers move up a bit.
54) Spend one-on-one quality time once a week with my oldest (26/143)
55) Spend one-on-one quality time once a week with my youngest (28/143)
57) Cook one large family dish every week (18/143)
58) Make/bake one family dessert every week (13/143)
59) Try 10 new recipes (3/10) (Halloween cookies)
60) Bake Christmas cookies and share with friends and family (1/3)
This is the first time I’ve done this. My chocolate chip cookies didn’t come out as planned but I still managed to put some goodies together and mail them to friends and family. At this time, this is quite an accomplishment for me.

62) Try 10 new restaurants (5/10)
72) Watch one new movie with my husband every other week (12/72)
74) Email or call my sister at least once a month (5/33)

Health & Personal Growth
There’s definitely room for improvement here in 2012…
87) Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night (105/1001)
88) Take my vitamins every day (165/1001)
89) Eat at least one good source of protein every day (156/1001)
90) Drink Diet Coke only twice a week (12/143)
91) Exercise (strenuously) at least 2 times a week (35/246)
92) Check my blood pressure twice a week (10/246)
93) Get 2 mammograms (1 a year) (1/2) – one down!
101) Develop 3 new friendships (0/3)
I almost want to mark 2/3 for this last item because I made friends with two great ladies in my town this year, but I’ll wait a little while longer before I go ahead and make it official.

I found out today from Sarsm that we got lots of new 101 in 1001 challengers (look in my left sidebar for the complete list (please give me a couple of days to add them). If you’d like to join us in this challenge, it’s not too late and the start of a new year is the perfect opportunity to take on new challenges. If you want to sign up, just visit Sarsm and let her know. We’d love to have you join us.

101 in 1001 challenge – October 2011 update

Can you believe it’s October 26 and I’m doing my “101 in 1001″ update for what happened in September just today? What can I say, September has been a crazy, crazy month for me. My son’s kindergarten teacher quit after the first week of school. No, I’m not making this up, sometimes s*%t happens. Her replacement came in the class with no (and by that, I mean ZERO) teaching experience and left the class in chaos every day. No spot was available in another class so we decided to pull him out of a great opportunity to learn in a French immersion program and bring him back to our local school. During the transition period, he had hernia surgery. As common as it is, I worried about it. A lot. Before, during and after. I also picked up one more recurring client and a couple of projects, trying to squeeze work in between everything going on. The transition to the new school didn’t go well and I couldn’t wait for September to end, with October bringing better news. I want to tell you what happened in October but I need to save it for my next “101 in 1001″ update. Hint: it’s not much better…

So here are the very few things I’ve managed to do in September. Sometimes, life takes a priority and you just have to deal with it. It would be nice to get a break once in a while, but I just have the feeling I’m not due for this yet.

Homegrown raspberries

2) Grow food plants in the garden (Summer / Fall 2011) (1/1) – DONE
I declared war on very rude squirrels who never gave my melons a chance to grow as they munched onthe fresh seedlings and melon flowers (morons!), but I still managed to grow a few other things, including raspberries and zucchini. I’ve planted new seeds for a winter crop, so let’s see what happens to them. Fingers crossed - my bad streak has to end at some point, right?.

64) Shop at a farmer’s market (1/1) – DONE
We visited a local farmer’s market where I managed to find some delicious green beans and plums. By the way, I’d have green beans out of my garden if the bugs and squirrels didn’t munch on them so much… We also bought home the most fragrant strawberries of the whole summer. Definitely something to do on a more regular basis, especially in the summer.

99) Take a class to learn something new (1/1) – DONE
This summer I took a class on writing children’s books. Although I want to focus on picture books for early readers, I learned a lot from this class and even got an idea for a chapter book. I don’t have time to entertain it further right now, but it will be a fun project down the road. Right, when I have time…

And please don’t ask me about the Health side of my 101 challenges. The summary is: I’m not eating great, I drink too much caffeine and I’m not sleeping even close to seven hours a night. I’m exhausted. Enough said.

So there’s a lot ot make up for October and only 5 days left in the month. I’m sorry this isn’t a very inspiring story for people who may consider joining us but it’s still a great thing to accomplish as a person. I just remember there is a reason for allocating 1001 days to do everything.I know when things settle down (even for a few minutes), I’ll take a look at my list again. It’s only a matter of time.

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“101 in 1001″ challenge – September 2011 update

It’s taken me way too long to find the time to write this update but I’m finally doing it! Since this is an August update, I’m using August 31 as my latest update date for tracking purposes, even though I’ve managed to get a few more things done so far this September.

With the kids being out of school two weeks in August, picking up a new client and working on a large writing project for another, August hasn’t been a very productive month. But this is the very reason why I love this “101 in 1001″ challenge. Since I have 1001 days to get everything done, I don’t beat yourself up if not much happens every single month.

We’ve got quite a few newcomers to the challenge. Feel free to visit them and view their own 101 in 1001 lists by clicking on the links in my right sidebar. Welcome, everyone!

Here’s my August 2011 update and my main accomplishments:

34) Spend 3 hours a day on writing activities (paid or not) during the week, 2 hours a day on weekends (70/1001)
Because of ongoing writing projects with a client and a writing class I’ve been taking, along with blogging on my two personal blogs, I’ve spent quite a lot of time writing this month. Something very challenging when I sometimes have little time for it but this experience has proven me it’s possible to squeeze things in. At least some days…

41) Join a book club (1/1) – DONE
I joined my first book club in August and attended my first meeting. It felt great to be able to discuss a book I’ve read with other people. Most of the time, nobody else is reading the same books I am at the same time so I’m glad I’ve made this commitment. I’ve still been able to read a new book almost every week, along with many new books with my kids. Joining a book club was the natural next step.

61) Have 10 family picnics (1/10)
I took my kids to Balboa Park recently for a museum visit, where I ended up spotting typos that won’t be fixed. Afterwards we sat down on the lawn in the park for a picnic. This was a good test to see how the kids would handle a different setting for lunch. Let’s just say they ate until they were not starving anymore, then stood up and started walking around. This tells me I’ll need to find a quieter, less distracting spot for our next picnic.

On the health side, I’ve been pretty bad getting enough sleep at night, taking vitamins every day and limiting my Diet Coke and caffeine intake (to compensate for the lack of sleep). Now that we’re starting a new routine with kids in school, I hope I can find my own routine and schedule to make these things a priority.

As I said earlier I’ve taking a writing class but since I didn’t finish it by the end of August, I’ll cross it off in September. I really hope September allows me to accomplish a few more tasks. So far, things have been pretty chaotic this month, so I can’t tell for sure… Isn’t it what life is all about?

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www Wednesdays – August 17, 2011

We’ve done a lot of great reading this past week, so I’m excited to share our discoveries with you.

My bookshelf

- What I’m currently reading
I just started “Commencement” by J. Courtney Sullivan. I know I said last week I’d be reading “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Seibold next, but I just joined a book club (one of my 101 in 1001 tasks). The book to read by the end of this month is Commencement, definitely not something I’d pick on my own, but book clubs are here to expand our horizons so I’m glad to have this experience.

- What I recently finished reading
“Rebecca” by Daphne DuMaurier. This is a wonderful read, a mix of romance, mystery and emotional struggles. I’m usually good at guessing what’s going to happen next in a book or a movie, but I never guessed how this story was going to turn out (except the very, very end). Many twists kept me on my toes, making me eager to find out how things would wrap up. I’ll be watching the movie soon (with Alfred Hitchcock as the director!). Now here’s the weirdest thing about reading Rebecca. About an hour after I finished the book, something clicked inside my head. Hey, I’ve read this book before!!! I must have been a teenager then and I believe I read it in French. It was quite amazing to read this book for a second time without any recollection of the first time the whole length of the book!

- What I think I’ll read next
“The Lovely Bones” by Alice Seibold. It will be quite a different read from Commencement, so I’m looking forward to getting to it eventually. I have lots of great books coming my way, so I’m going to have to pick up the pace if I want to read them because the library asks for them back!

My kids’ bookshelf

- What they’re currently reading
My oldest has finally requested we read the first Harry Potter (Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets”) together and he’s enjoying it so far. I promised him we’ll watch the movie when we’re done, which seems to keep him motivated.”
We’re also reading some great books about nature, and our favorites are:
“Mister Seahorse” by Eric Carle (where you lerarn that seahorses are not the only male underwater creatures to take care of their babies)
“Secret Seahorse” by Stella Blackstone (the illustrations are made out of fabric!)
“Do frogs have fur? : a book about animal coats and coverings by Michael Dahl (great book to learn more about this subject)

- What they recently finished reading
I’d like to thank my fellow blogger at Pseu1′s Blog for recommending the Hairy Maclary books by Lynley Dodd. So far we’ve read “Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy” and “Hairy Maclary’s caterwaul caper” and the kids enjoy the stories and the narrative very much. I don’t think I would ever have known about these books unless someone mentioned them to me, so thanks again!

- What I think they’ll read next
We’re getting books about sharks, pirates, seasons and school – what a mixed bag! I’ll highlight those we like best when we get to read them.

What about you? Any books you or your kids are reading you’d like to share?

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