A Side Note of Inspiration

This is not directly list related but I had to share. I have spent a lot of time lately planting and growing things. This is a picture of my 86 year old Great Aunt Annie. This is the MOST positive person I have EVER met. Every where she goes and every single person she meets is enriched by her spirit, her wisdom and her wit. I hope one day to be in my garden at 86, not just to be there, but to have a smile on loving every second of it. Thank you Grannie Annie for all that you have taught me and all the love you have given so many of us all these years!

#51 and #76

51) Plant and nurture (with out quitting!) the wonderful heirloom seeds I bought.

76) Buy and spread the stuff to kill the Chinch bugs in the lawn.

So I am off and running with the list!!! So very excited and find myself thinking about it all the time. How to make your life better now, is to do the things you have been putting off...NOW! So this weekend (after spending a RIDICULOUS amount of money on composite boards, dirt, manure, posts and other a sundry materials) we finally put in the garden I have been dreaming of. Of course, I took a good look at the plants before I started putting them in the ground and...they are being attacked by aphids! Damn heirloom seeds, bread for taste and NOT pest tolerance! So before all my hard work went to waste before my eyes I ran out to get some Neem oil. And (insert appropriate onomatopoeia here) the afflicting aphids are gone, for now, I harbor no notions that they are gone for good, I must be vigilant I am learning!

Which leads me to #76, the lawn. We are having some catastrophe of a herbaceous nature in the tiny postage stamp lawn we own and have pledged to the HOA that we will be in charge of keeping the appropriate shade of green. At the wonderful Home Show we attended people where more than willing to come out and do a "free evaluation" of the situation. Little did they know how cheap we are and how small our lawn really is (no spreader needed, just stand in one spot and throw out handfuls of what ever and you will have it covered!). So they came out yesterday and told us we have a fungus, not Chinch bugs like we thought. So I think I am going to try the Neem oil on it first, since it is a fungicide, since it is good enough for an organic garden and since my child plays in this yard, I am going to mix it up and water the affected areas. Hopefully it will be as effective as it was on the aphids! Here's hoping! 98 to go!

#67 Donate Blood

Ok, this might seem like an easy one to start with, and maybe it was a little, BUT trying to find an hour to donate blood when you have an 8th month old is harder than it sounds. Chris and I went to the Palm Beach County Home show on Saturday and had a wonderful time. And FYI, which I should have known, don't sign up for any drawing AT ALL unless you want to be harassed to the point of madness! Anyways, my wonderful husband, knowing I wanted to get at least one list item accomplished, encouraged me to take the time while he made endless loops in the parking lot with a baby who had been at a home show all day. 8-0 After a long and extremely drawn out process, I left with a purple bandage, a slightly bruised arm and 2 tickets to the Improv Theater! They say I "saved three lives" but I was more shocked about the Improv Tickets. Nice surprise and it will be a fun date night! Here is to crossing one off the list! Only 100 more to go!

Inspiration

I have never really been a diary type of girl, so therefor, I never thought I would be a blogger. I never really had that much to say, or much of a hobby (or one that I stuck with for long), and I just didn't think anyone would really be interested. Then I read Jennie Clishim Sheppard's blog about her list. So Jennie you can scratch #101 off your list, even before your start date! In the interest of making my marriage happier than it already is, doing something other than playing Farmtown, being a better person for myself and my son, and to do something that will cost me little or nothing but make life so much richer, I am embarking on my own list adventure. And for the record, I am totally copying Jennie, but you know that imitation is the best form of flattery.

The premise is from The Day Zero Project.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

So I will Start October 1st 2009. And it will end June 28 2012. Here goes nothing!


Here is my list:

Completed
In Progress
Not yet started

To be more Adult:
1) Make and sign a legal will.
2) Pay an extra Mortgage Payment so that we will always be one month ahead.
3) Pick a guardian for our child/future children should anything happen to Chris or I.
4) Start a Florida Pre-pay Account for Jack.
5) Open a Roth-IRA for Chris and I.
6) Enroll in one class at PBCC.
7) Be 15 minutes early to every single place I go for one week.
8) Buy Life Insurance.
9) Fight to get the commission I am owed from ETS.
10) Buy office supplies and get the important paper work we have organized and labeled.
11) Buy a portable Hard Drive and back up important photos and paperwork.

To be a better (and more fun) Mom:
12) Read a bedtime story to Jack every night for 2 months (0/61)
13) Let Jack get really, REALLY messy with his food (I don't let him do this yet at all!)
14) Take Jack outside everyday for a month, rain or shine, South Florida heat be damned! (0/30)
15) Burn to CD all the wonderful children's music that is sitting on my computer.
16) Make Jack a Halloween Costume from scratch.
17) Take Jack to the Library once a month for a year, and each time get 1 grown up book for Momma to read. (0/12)
18) Buy Jack Finger Paints.
19) Start a Christmas tradition.
20) Breast feed my son on his first Birthday.
21) Take Jack to the Zoo, with my Mom.
22) Make homemade Play-Doh.
23) Finish the letter to Jack in his Baby book (Prod Chris to finish his too).
24) Have a professional Photo shoot, buy a few photos.
25) Have a family picnic, complete with basket and checkered blanket.
26) Find a Job that will let me make enough money to work from home till Jack is finished nursing.
27) Make ice cream from scratch.
28) Put this list in Jack's Baby book so he can know what kind of woman his Mom is.

To be more involved in my community:
29) Give away vegetables from my garden to five neighbors on my street I don't know.
30) Attend one Young Democrat's Meeting.
31) Volunteer at least 8 hours to the campaign of a local Politician I believe in.
32) Volunteer at least 8 hours to a local Cause or Charity that I believe in.
33) Attend 4 HOA meetings. (0/4)
34) Volunteer for one HOA community activity or committee.
35) Go to the Boat Parade at Christmas and the Community Parade on the 4th of July. (0/2)
36) Make and send a Soldier a Care Package.
37) Attend a local theater show.

To be a better wife:
38) Make love to my husband every night for one month. (0/31)
39) Pack my husband a delicious and hardy lunch every day for two weeks. (0/14)
40) Give my husband a compliment, each and every time I see him doing something I like for one month. 0/30 (And Beyond, but they say the goals have to be specific!)
41) Take a bike ride with my husband once a month for a year (0/12)
42) Take a trip with Chris out of the country.
43) Go Kayaking with Chris, even if we have to get a sitter.
44) Not say one negative thing to Chris for one week.
45) Go Camping with Chris.
46) Go and Visit Chris's Grandparents grave site 4 times a year.
47) Spend a Day at Discovery Cove with Chris.
48) Go to bed every every night for a week at the time Chris wants to go to bed, with out any protests! (0/7)
49) Take a romantic trip somewhere cold.

Just 'cause I want to:
50) Print out all my favorite digital pictures so that I can Start and FINISH a scrapbook of Jack's first year.
51) Plant and nurture (with out quitting!) the wonderful heirloom seeds I bought.
52) Buy a French Cookbook, and use it to learn more cooking techniques.
53) Make Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon.
54) Host a (Big) Holiday at my house.
55) Mail in a secret to Post Secret, make it a work of art.
56) Go strawberry picking.
57) Go to the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot.
58) Go paint balling.
59) Learn how to SCUBA dive.
60) Go wine tasting at a vineyard.
61) Finish a cross stitch, big or small, just finish it!
62) Buy an ipod, fill it with music I love.

To be a better human being:
63) Get $10 in quarters, carry it with me, use it only to feed other people's meter, use till gone.
64) Find a women's shelter and donate any clothing I own that I have not worn in a year.
65) Anonymously do 10 acts of kindness.
66) Write 12 snail mail, real, hard copy thank you letters to the people who have influenced my life. (0/12)
67) Donate Blood.
68) Take a home cooked meal to someone who just got out of the Hospital or had a new baby.
69) Buy the next person in line's coffee.
70) Use the blue tooth headset (I have) while driving.

To be a better homeowner:
71) Clean the bathrooms, top to bottom, twice a month.
72) Vacuum once every week.
73) Redo our Kitchen with new cabinets and counter tops.
74) Finish our Master Bathroom (Remove boarder, repaint, finish installing hardware)
75) Unpack one box in the garage every week till it is all gone.
76) Buy and spread the stuff to kill the Chinch bugs in the lawn.
77) Get the Royal Poinciana in the front yard trimmed.
78) Plant two Avacado Trees. (You gotta have a girl and a boy!)
79) Plant a Bananna Tree.
80) Take and Frame a beautiful set of Art Photos for above the couch, make it something special.
81) Put up Crown Molding in our Bedroom.
82) Fence in the back yard.
83) Replace the front Door.
84) Go through and clean our all the paper clutter, what are you keeping it for?

To be more healthy and active:
85) Walk on the Beach everyday for a Month (0/31)
86) Buy a Baby and Me Yoga DVD.
87) Work out on the elliptical every Wednesday and Saturday.
88) Take a walk once a day with the whole family for the Month of February.
89) Visit the Farmer's Market every Sunday for a Month, buy our produce there! (0/4)

To be a better Sister/Daugher/Friend:
90) Take my Sister out to a nice dinner, my treat.
91) Love my Brother for who he is, do not correct him or be negative for 5 get togethers. (0/5)
92) Spend a long weekend in the Mountains with Grannie Annie.
93) Spend one night out with Linda. Have a Blast!
94) Send Carol the money to buy a plane ticket and come for a visit.
95) Find something to love about my Mother-in-law.
96) Make one of those annoyingly cute, but wonderfully loved, family photo Christmas cards, send them out!
97) Make 3 new friends and keep them.
98) Each week, pick one person I never talk to from my FB friends list and catch up.

For the List:
99) Donate $5 for every task not completed.
100) Blog about each task as it is completed. (0/101)
101) Inspire one person to make a list of their own. (0/1)