1001 Days – A Glimpse of 2.75 Years!

Wow. Nearly one thousand and one days ago I posted a list of goals.  101 goals.  That was May 30, 2008.  Here it is, February 2011.  Of the 101 things (well, 94 after last year’s revisions), I have crossed off 40 of them.  And, I am ok with this.

A lot has changed in this time.  A lot.  Many of the things I posted on my original list were hacked off last year when I took a hard look at what was still important to me.  One of my extra credit goals was to be less materialistic, and that particular goal drove me to eliminate a lot of unnecessary items from the list.

Back in 2008, we only had sweet Henry.  Now our family has grown to include Emmett and a future baby.  I realized that some of my goals we a bit too broad (playing with my kids everyday just wasn’t specific enough) or way out of reach for the given time frame (that Grand Canyon trip, for example).  I had a few too many travel goals on there given our budget and the age of our boys.  I quit one business and started another.

I was surprised, though, by some of the successes.  Some things I thought we’d never afford seemed to appear magically out of thin air (the front loaders, the basement shelves, Henry’s bed, even hiring an accountant).   Ok – just writing that out I’ve realized  how much our amazing neighbor looks like thin air – you’d think he’d read my list, though to my knowledge, he never has.  I’m pretty sure I owe him a BIG thank you note, to say the least.

Overall, I really liked this project.  Looking at it from the beginning, way back in 2008, it seemed like so much time.  But really, I feel like the time has flown by.  I have enjoyed randomly looking over my list (I’ve kept it in my blog sidebar all this time) and realizing I’ve accomplished something that I forgot was even on there.  And the bigger things, like paying off our vehicle, were so gratifying to cross off the list.

Some highlights from the last 1001 days:

• Our bikes and the bike trailer! – I seriously don’t think I could live without a bike again.  Since we only have one car, the bikes make life so much easier and more fun!
• Paying off the 4Runner. This has been a financial boon to our family.  It has eased more burdens then we knew it would.
• Learning to can and make preserves. I had no idea that writing this goal down and accomplishing it would literally change our lives!
• Visiting my family in Tennessee. This was such a great trip and I (and hopefully Henry) will probably remember it forever.
• Getting my CAPPA certification complete. I’m proud of myself for following through on this.
• Being nicer to my mom. My mom and I talk everyday, and we pretty much always have.  But even this month she told me how much nicer I am.  Our relationship is much better for it, and I am very thankful for her.

Some embraced failures:

• Hiking/snowshoeing more than three times a season. For some reason, three times just seems to be our max right now.  I’m ok with this.
• Owning land in Colorado. Although it would be nice, in many ways adapting in place has become much more important to us right now.
• Snorkeling in the ocean. I’m not sure why this ever made the list.  Perhaps it was because I am afraid of the ocean and I thought I should put some fear conquering things on here.  But I’m still afraid, and I really have no desire to snorkel.  People don’t have gills – for a reason.
• Ride the Silverton/Durango narrow gauge railroad. I actually looked into doing this last summer.  But besides being quite expensive for a long joy ride on a train, the website listed how much coal it takes to make the trip (6 tons per day!).  I just couldn’t justify using so much of a precious natural resource for the fun of saying I’d done it.  And it wasn’t that important to me.  I might reconsider when the kids are older, if they have an interest.  But for now, I’m ok without having done it.
• Finishing the list. After last year’s revisions, I had a hard time coming up with the last few items on the list.  I was tempted to fill them with fluff (like snorkeling), but I am glad I didn’t.

Some works in progress:

• Landscaping the back yard. – We built a fence for the chicken yard, and started the layout for the patio.  More to do but, but it’s under way!
• Hunting an elk. – I have my hunter’s safety card, now I just need a gun and a license!
• Writing a book. – I have actually started the outline for a book.  We’ll see where this takes me in the near future!
• Having zero credit card debt. – We paid off one, and have one in the works.
• Raising bees and making cheese. -  While we built a hive and had a swarm, the swarm left in the fall.  This summer we hope to get a swarm that will stay put so we can harvest honey one day!  As for the cheese – I technically learned how to do it.  I’ve just yet to do it successfully myself.

So all in all, I really liked this project.  And I plan on doing it again.  I’m giving myself until the 25th (my official deadline for the last list) to come up with another 101 things.  In the mean time, you can still see my 101 on the right hand side bar over there.  I definitely learned a few things, like how important making your goals be specific and measurable really is (who knew what they always told us was actually true!).

Have you been doing a 101 in 1001?  How is it going?  Are you enjoying it?