Well the answers to those questions are "well over a year ago" and "in 9 days," respectively. So I reiterate my title to this entry... oops.
I do this sometimes. Don't we all? Start projects with the best of intentions and then after a few days/weeks/months when the new wears off they fall by the wayside. They sit in a pile - or in this case an imaginary corner of the internet - collecting dust and consciously or unconsciously or maybe with a mixture of both we ignore them.
I hate that this happened with this blog, because I still think it is a cool idea, and ya'll know how I love a good list. But the time has passed and I think it is time to give this thing a proper send-off. So without further ado, my list as it stands now, 992 days from when I started it, complete with itemized explanations for things that didn't quite get done.
HEALTH
1. Lose 50 pounds - Let's not even talk about this one, okay? I lost some pounds. A handful. Moving on.
2. Eat breakfast every day for 2 weeks - Instant oatmeal, my constant friend.
3. Use elliptical once a week for 6 weeks - We have an elliptical? How about we remember that last summer I dutifully attended twice-a-week water cardio classes and call it a draw?
4.
5.
6.
7.
8. Ride bike once a week for 1 month - This sounds so easy, and yet...
9. Jog one mile without stopping - Har har.
10. Fix my feet - Magic heel cream definitely doing the trick.
11. Go to bed by midnight every night for 2 weeks - I'm calling this one done. We've been pretty good about bedtimes.
PERSONAL
1. Get pregnant - There's still nine days left, right? Right, Ben? Hello? *crickets*
2.
3. Call my sister once a month - Still wish I did this more, but we've gotten good at texting.
4. Get a tattoo - I still want one. Ben still disapproves.
5.
6. Take a class in graphic design - Nope.
7.
8. Donate hair to Locks of Love again - Did this when I got my pixie cut last year!
9. Finish reviewing entrepreneur textbook - What?
10. Learn to change my tire - How hard can it be, really?
11. Plant a tree - We planted TWO trees, thank you very much! Take that, list!
12. Send a postcard to Post Secret - I don't really have any juicy secrets but I still might do this.
13.
14. Do something with wedding dress - Does "keep it hanging in the back of my closet for five years" count as "something?"
15.
TRAVEL
1. Go to Disneyworld - Didn't make it, but I would like to amend this anyway to say screw Disneyworld, I want to go to Harry Potter World.
2. Stay in Gatlinburg-esque cabin - Yes! Ben and I took a great little trip to Asheville!
3.
4. Visit Rob in Washington D.C. - Didn't make it to D.C., but we did visit him, sort of, when we went to his wedding in Tucson!
5.
6.
7. Go camping - We went on a white-water rafting trip where we had to sleep in a lodge the night before. In sleeping bags on the floor. No A/C, no showers... I'm calling it camping.
8.
9. Go to an IKEA store - Yes! In Atlanta! Magical!
10. Take a scenic drive - Ben and I drove over 1,000 miles across New Zealand. It was seriously scenic.
CRAFT
1.
2. Scrapbook this list - Obviously I thought this would be way more important than it was.
3. Get prints from wedding made - No. We've only been married for five years. Plenty of time.
4. Print pics once a month - Well, see, the photo guy at Sams turned a little stalkery on me, sooo...
5. Organize photos - I did this! Go me!
6. Make "J" project - The fact that I had to think for five minutes about what the heck this even meant should tell you all you need to know about whether or not I did it.
7. Reupholster brown chair - I bought fabric! Baby steps.
8.
9. Research purchasing a photo printer - We didn't.
10. Finish recipe book for Amanda - Sorry Amanda.
11. Bake a cheesecake - Why did I want to do this? The challenge, I guess. I hate cheesecake, though.
12. Cook a turkey! - I cooked a tiny turkey for a party at GMA. Done!
13. Make bread from scratch - Yes, back when the Bread Machine was in our lives. RIP, Bread Machine.
14. Build up scrapping portfolio - Sort of. I did some good scrapping, I think that counts.
15. Research purchasing a laptop - Ben has his fancy work one, but I still want one of my own.
16. Send pages to scrapping magazine - Not yet, but this is still something I actually want to do.
HOUSEHOLD
1.
2. Get backyard fenced - No, but I don't think we're going to anymore.
3. Take stuff to dry cleaners - Let me put it this way. The stuff I needed to get dry-cleaned no longer fits me. That's how long it has been. And will continue to be.
4. Learn more about gardening - I bought a book! I learned that I am not very good at it and I need to hire professional help.
5. Paint upstairs bathroom - Did it!
6. Paint craft room - Not going to do it!
7. Put stuff on the walls - I put SOME stuff on the walls. I feel that I was prophetically vague when I put this item on the list. So... done?
8. Refinish/seal porch bench - Ugh, I still actually need to do this.
9.
10. Plant and grow at least one vegetable or herb - We are growing a blackberry bush. It produced five edible berries this year! See item #4 above.
11. Organize kitchen cabinets - I did this!
12. Clean other half of garage - No. Wait, there was a time when half the garage was clean? I don't remember this.
13. Organize/clean my office at work - Good news! I don't work there anymore! So I did clean it... out.
14.
15.
16. Get a new microwave - Still the same annoyingly small one I've had since college.
17.
18. Get bumper fixed - Nah, it's hanging in there. Literally.
19. Have carpets cleaned - I cleaned them myself, but they still need professional attention.
20. Tile the bathrooms - I'm too intimidated to do this without help. As evidenced by the fact that it is still on this list.
21.
22. Keep bedroom clean for 30 consecutive days - If you count the two weeks we were out of the country, I think that yes, we did this!
CULTURE/ARTS/WRITING
1. Read 101 books - I probably got pretty close. Counting childrens books, right? I do work in the kids section of a bookstore. They should count.
2. See 101 movies - Ditto the books, I bet we got close here.
3. Send Stephen King my thesis - Is there a not weird way to go about doing this? Googling his home address seems creepy.
4. Start Lent/Advent devotionals at church - I wrote some Advent blogs, actually. Maybe at the new church?
5.
6.
7.
8. Visit the Frist - Why haven't I been here yet?!?!
9. See a local play or musical - Ben took me to a high-school production of the same play we directed in high school. Ours was better. :)
10.
FAITH
1. Read the Bible - I'm trying. I should try harder.
2. Pray every day - I'm trying. I should try harder.
3. Consider sponsoring a Compassion child - This is something I want to do in the future.
4. Record hymn album for grandparents - Not done. Still think it would be nice to do.
5. Seriously prepare children's lesson for four straight weeks - We no longer go to the church where I taught the preschoolers so I guess this one is moot.
FUN
1.
2.
3. Go to a hockey game - Not going to get a chance to do that in the next nine days!
4.
5.
6. Go horseback riding - Did it! In New Zealand!
7.
8. Buy and wear a fun message t-shirt before it's too late - Heather pointed out that I did make (and wear) my own Twilight shirt. Although I think her exact words were "stupid Twilight shirt."
9. Get an adorable winter coat - No adorable coats for me. :(
10. Go to a local high school football game - Maybe this fall!
11.
12.
So there you have it. If I count right, I'm officially marking 57 of my 101 things as done. Some others aren't done but I've changed my mind or circumstances and I don't want or need to do them anymore. Others I still desperately need or want to do.
The good news is that while my 1001 days are essentially up, I'm not terribly sad that I didn't officially complete all my tasks. After all, I did a lot of things that weren't on the list, too. Some were stupid time-wasters and I should've been doing things off this list instead. But a lot of the things were special and important and infinitely more memorable or precious than anything I could've pre-planned with a list.
1001 days passed. And I lived. I cried and I laughed and I made friends and I lost things and I grew and I failed and I loved, hopefully more than anything else, I loved.
Here's to the next 1001 days, whatever they bring.
THE END.