This is what I wrote way back in June 2013:

(The inspiration – Day Zero Project website)
I’ve been feeling a bit ho-hum about my to-do lists and want-to-do lists lately, so when I stumbled upon a blog post about 101 in 1001 I was hooked. I compiled the list over a month or so, and am so excited to start! I chose to start on the 3rd of June 2013, so that my 1001 days are up on the 29th of February 2016, or a “bonus day” as some people call it. You know, just for fun.

I will be blogging about the things on the list as I attempt/complete them, and would love for you to join me on this fun challenge!!

(The following comes directly off the Day Zero Project Website)

The Challenge: 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 your part).

Why 1001 days? Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple challenges such as New Years resolutions or a “Bucket List”. 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 compete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips, study semesters, or outdoor activities.

So I gave it a good go but I’m afraid I crashed and burned a little bit. I completed 50 items on my list, and looking back, there were quite a few that were never really going to happen. I feel as though if we hadn’t moved around so much, that I might have been able to complete a few more, but on the whole, I needed to choose more achievable tasks. Anyway, we live and learn. I’ve highlighted the things that I would like to get around to doing one day (text in orange), but with no particular time line, and at the moment, there’s no real sense of urgency. It was fun though!  

001 – done!

(nh) – hoping to turn this into a new habit/new hobby

And here’s the list. I’ve broken it down into a few different categories:

Good for the body

001  Complete couch 2 5k I have always wanted to do a 10km fun run, but thought (aka was advised) that I should probably start with a 5km run instead so I’m currently in training for… (note: I didn’t technically complete the couch 2 5k program before I got injured, so I’m going to give it another go once my injuries heal.)

002  Do a 5km fun run … the Townsville fun run on 4th of August, 2013. I have a friend coming up from Brisbane to run it with me. I’m going to need all the support I can get! Completed August 2013. Read about it here.

003  Do 3 sets of 10 sit ups and 10 push ups 5 times a week for a month (nh) I want abs

004  Stretch for 10 minutes every day for a month (nh) I want better flexibility

005  Be able to do 10 “real” push ups in a row (nh) I want nice arms

006  Give up processed foods for 10 weeks (non-consecutive) I’ve been feeling sluggish and I want more energy, and I know that I always feel better when I’m eating whole foods instead of processed stuff.
Completed by August 2015. I didn’t give up entirely, but I’ve cut back to almost none since April and gee it feels great!

007  Return to a healthy BMI (nh) I haven’t been comfortable in my body for about 18 months now, and if we want to have more kids, I don’t want to start another pregnancy at an unhealthy weight. I’m very committed to this one.
It’s taken a few false-starts but am finally on my way to achieving this one!

008  Get rid of tuckshop lady arms Did I mention I want nice arms? I’m going to give myself the thumbs-up for this one, as when I was in Brisbane over Christmas, I got a few compliments on how good my arms are looking. It may have been the tan, but I’m going to also assume they were talking about a bit of muscle.

009  Try Zumba It looks like fun! Completed Feb/Mar/April 2014

010  Try Yoga again A reader suggested I give it another go and I could probably do with a bit of meditation and relaxation. Completed January 2014. I’ve been doing “body balance” at the gym which incorporates yoga with a few other things and am really loving it! I also did yoga with my friend when I was in Brisbane a couple of times, and whenever I visit now, this is going to be “our thing”.

011  Go to a driving range and hit some balls Might be good for a bit of stress relief? And it’s fun.

012  Climb Castle Hill Because it’s there. NOTE: I have moved away from Townsville, and am not sure this is going to be possible, so I’d like to find an alternative hill to climb. Update: I’m going to take Mount Archer.

013  Don’t chew nails for a month (nh) I’m 33. It’s time to kick that nasty habit once and for all. Update: I’ve attempted this 3 times so far. Hmph… Completed June 2014. They look so amazing! Update September 2014 – still going strong!

014  Get a professional makeover I’ve always wanted one!

015  Go short Like seriously short

016  Go blonde Short and blonde = super cute! (I hope!)

017  Go red Like seriously red

Good for the mind

018  Read 10 (non-parenting) books (10/10) I need to broaden my horizons a bit here! Completed July 2014

019  Learn 101 new words and use them on my blog … and try to remember them for future use!

020  Go to a blogger meet up This intimidates me a little, but they look like a lot of fun.

021  Complete an online course in website/blog design or something similar I used to be quite savvy with technological stuff, but not so much anymore. I’d like to be able to manage my new blog without having to ask Hubs to do everything for me.

022  Look in to what it would take to study radiography I have been thinking about this for a few years, and I’d just like to see if it might be something I’d like to do one day.

023  Become a JP Not sure why I want to do this, I just do.

024  Officiate at five weddings I have one booked in for September, two booked in for October 2014 and one for April 2015. Well on my way! (5/5)

025  Join a Marriage Celebrant Association in the town/state in which I am living  Good for networking etc. Joined December 2013

Good for the soul

026  Do something kind and out of the ordinary for Hubs every day for a month Because I love him and he deserves to be spoilt. Even though there was no particular month that I did something specific every day, I certainly have had this in my mind a lot more, and will continue to keep it in mind for the future. 

027  Don’t yell at Chanbe for a month (nh) I don’t yell a lot but I’d rather not yell at all. I’ve been finding that when I yell, he yells back which I don’t like at all, and when I’m calm in the face of a 2 year old tantrum, it calms him down a lot quicker as well. Duh.  Completed July/August 2013 and is definitely a new and worthwhile habit

028  Do devotions every day for a month (nh) This is really missing in my life and I’m feeling it.

029  Have a weekend away every year for just Hubs and I (nh) (4/4) I’m already looking forward to this! (Note: I changed this from “every 6 months” to “every year”. Not being around family who can babysit for a weekend makes this a bit tricky! But a yearly getaway will be lovely. I have managed 3 with still a year to go, so maybe 1 more would be nice!)  First weekend away December 2013. Read about it here. Second weekend away May 2014. Read about it here. Third weekend away together October 2014. Read about it here.

030  Do a mindfulness course As I mentioned, I could do with a bit of meditation and relaxation, and a better attitude towards myself and others will never go astray. I am currently working through a mindfulness “program” with a friend of mine who is somewhat of an expert in the field. I’ve been practicing more mindfulness since starting up Yoga again in 2016.

031  Have a girls weekend away, with no kids I did this once when I was 20 with four of my uni friends and it was so great! Can’t wait to do it again.

032  Think something positive about myself every day for 1001 days! This may seem a bit far-fetched and hard to measure, but I have a reminder that goes off every morning, and I don’t “dismiss” it until I’ve come up with something.

033  Write 20 letters to people (and post them!!) (nh) (5/20) I used to have a handful of pen pals back in the day, and loved writing letters to them all. Now with people so easy to contact, I hardly ever do (contact them), because I can do it “any time” and that time never seems to come. Plus it’s embarrassing how little I can write without my hand cramping up these days…

034  Send someone flowers I love getting flowers, and love giving them. I’m looking forward to this one. Completed June 2014. She liked them 🙂

035  Write a letter to myself in 1001 days Need to do this asap!! Completed July 2013. Read about it here.

Good for the fun of it

036  Go to the Harvey Ranges with Mum The Heritage Tea Rooms are apparently a lovely place to have High Tea! Completed June 2013. Read about it here.

037  Go fly fishing with Dad Dad has been into fly fishing for years, and I’ve never given it a go. I’m sure he’d love to take me out and show me how it’s done! (Right, Dad?) While staying with Mum and Dad at Woody Point, Dad and I went fishing a couple of times and he showed me the basics of fly fishing. Fun! (We didn’t catch anything though…)

038  Go to a Roller Derby Loved the movie, (love Drew Barrymore, love Ellen Page, love Juliette Lewis – win win win!) must go see it live. Though I’m a bit scared…

039  Take Chanbe on a bus ride We used to ride the bus all the time in Wang, and now that Chanbe is older, I know he’d get a real kick out of it. Such a simple thing that I’ve been meaning to do for months. Completed July 2014

040  Put $10 away for every challenge I complete Cha-ching!! Not sure what I will spend it on!

041  Wear a different piece/set of jewellery at least once each week, for the duration of the challenge, or until I run out of jewellery! I have so much lovely jewellery, and it just sits in my jewellery boxes. I used to love matching my jewellery to my outfit, and I’m going to get back in to that!

042  Do a jigsaw puzzle Just because.

043  Fly a kite I can’t remember the last time I did this!  Completed December 2013

044  Go horse riding I’ve been thinking about doing this the last couple of years, but horse riding while pregnant is not a great idea! Will have to time this one carefully 😉  Completed December 2013 (post to come!)

045  Ride a Segway Weeeeee!

046  Learn to do 10 new hairstyles I get bored of same-old same-old hairstyles. Time to vamp it up a bit!

047  Paint my fingernails a different colour each month for a year It’s pretty and will help with my nail-biting habit.

048  Visit Magnetic Island We have “contacts” who can get us well-priced accommodation so we really should take advantage! (In a good way.) NOTE: Again, since moving away from Townsville, this might not be possible, so an alternative might be considered. Perhaps Stradbroke Island?

049  Visit Wangaratta I’d love to catch up with my Mums group down there, meet all the new additions to the families, introduce Quinn, and see Chanbe catch up with his old crew. That would be so lovely. Completed August 2013. Read about it here.

050  Visit Dimbulah I spent a lot of my childhood there, and since we’re so close (only 441km!) I’d really like to get back there and check it out. I visited over 10 years ago and it blew my mind!

051  Visit Darwin Hubs is very keen to go to Darwin and I haven’t been since I was very young. This is definitely a winter trip.

052  Visit Perth I LOVED Perth when I visited (in 2005) and Hubs has never been, and it’s on our wish list of places to live, so it would be great to visit. Plus we have friends over there that we’d love to see.

053  Take the kids to South Africa This would be an epic trip. Hubs’ Ouma Lies hasn’t met Chanbe and Quinn, and I would so love for her to have some time with them. It won’t be on the cards til towards the end of this challenge, but I’d love to make it happen.

Good for the kitchen

054  Plan meals for a month I hear it saves time and money, both of which I could do with more of. I usually like to cook what I’m in the mood for, and not sure I like the idea of taking away the spontaneity, but I’ll give it a go!

055  Master the art of making macarons Here’s one of my first attempts a few years ago. Since then I have learnt a lot, and have made them 3 times this year so far. I’m getting close, but still have a few things to perfect! They taste delicious already, but they gotta look good too. I definitely slam-dunked these in my last attempt. Now I’m kinda sick of them!

056  Make every recipe out of one recipe book (22/100) I love this idea. I was given the recipe book She’s Leaving Home by Monica Trapaga by a very good friend of mine for my 30th birthday, and had made about 10 of the recipes out of it already (which I will make again for the challenge!) After flicking through the whole thing, page-by-page, I decided that I would use it for this challenge. And what a challenge it will be! With 100 recipes, including sweets, soups, main meals, dips, sauces, drinks, sandwiches and cakes, it will certainly keep me going for the duration! Read about some of them here, 

057  Take some kind of cooking class I’m not sure in what as yet, but I’m excited to try something new in the kitchen.

058  Do a baking/cake decorating course I would like to get better at cake decorating and learn some cool techniques.

059  Make pasta from scratch Cos it’s just so damn good.

060  Make pierogi 5 times (5/5) I don’t want to lose this skill, and I want to get really good at making them so they look and taste just like Nanny’s did. Read about it here, here, 

061  Try 20 new fruits/veges (6/20) I’m sick of just buying carrots, beans and broccoli, and apples, bananas and oranges each week!

1. starfruit – meh

2. parsnips – meh

3. purple sweet potato – a bit dense

4. abiu fruit – very weird

5. wild peaches – wow!! AMAZING!

6. wild plums – super tart but would probably be nice if they were more ripe

Good for the house and family

062  Keep the kitchen table clear for a month (nh) I would like to be able to use our kitchen table to eat at, at every meal, without looking at the mess, sighing, and just pushing it all up against the wall. It should not be used as a dumping ground!!

063  Have a family photo taken This is very overdue. Here’s one that I took myself, on my phone. It’s not the photo that I want, but it’s a nice one!

064  Open a bank account for Quinn Just one of those things I’ve been meaning to do for, you know, almost 5 months. Completed November 2013

065  Sort the baby and kids clothes into sizes I want them to be easy to find and organised. Completed: September 2013. I culled a lot, coming to the realisation that most of the baby clothes I was keeping were already 2nd (or 3rd) hand, and it was time to let them go. There is always gorgeous, inexpensive baby and kids clothes at op-shops, and I love op-shopping for such things, so I gave myself permission to get rid of a LOT. I kept sentimental stuff, and organised according to size, but the rest has been given away (see #91) or sent to op-shops. Feels good!

066  Buy potted herbs and grow them (and EAT THEM!!) I’m going to try my hand at basil and parsley to start with. We have so far grown (and kept alive!) basil and spring onions. Win!

067  Write a will We don’t have much, but it’s mainly about where we would like the kids to go if anything happened to us.

068  Invest our savings I will feel very grown up once we do this. We have a plan, we just have to DO IT.
Completed June 2015

069  Get passports for the whole family Ours expired last year, so I definitely need to renew them asap, and I’d like to get them for the kids too.

070  Go camping (nh) We bought a tent for $70 at a garage sale a few months ago and we can’t wait to use it! We’ll probably need a few other things as well before we head out. Completed June 2014. Read about it here.

071  Print some fun name labels for Chanbe and Quinn We have an amazing printer now and I’d like to design something fun for them.

072  Take a photo of the kids each month I have a reminder in my phone for this one.

Good for the creative juices

073  Launch my new blog All the ideas are there, there’s a new name, there’s web hosting, I just need to either do it myself or outsource it. Pronto! Completed September 2014.

074  Have my “old” blog turned into a book I love the idea of having my blog turned into a book. It’s like a really cool journal! Working on this as of Jan 2016.

075  Do another NaBloPoMo I’d like to do a specific type of NaBloPoMo and not just post random photos or half-hearted tid-bits every day, as I’ve done in the past. Completed May/June 2014. Start reading here.

076  Learn to knit (nh) It looks so relaxing and grown up.

077  Knit 3 things I love giving hand-made gifts, so I can add this to my repertoire.

078  Take singing lessons I love singing and even though I don’t think I have the best voice in the world, it would be cool to learn a few techniques to best use my voice! Look out world!

079  Make 101 cards without buying more supplies I have so many card-making supplies and I want to try a few new designs. NOTE: I actually just hand-made 150 (ish) Christmas cards (2013) but I had to buy new supplies, so it doesn’t count!!

080  Restore a piece of furniture This looks like lots of fun. Might have to wait until we have a shed of some sort. I’m not sure what I’ll be restoring, but I might start small and if I love it, do something a bit more challenging next time.

081  Learn how to use our photo editor Hubs walked me through a few things for a recent project I did, but I’d like to learn how to do everything myself. Slowly getting the hang of it.

082  Make a quilt out of my old shirts I have so many old shirts that I know I’ll never wear again that have really cool/cute pictures on them. I’d love to make a little quilt, instead of just throwing them out.

083  Add 5 blogs written by men to my regular reading list (5/5)This one’s about broadening my internet reading horizons. I already read about 30 blogs regularly, so what’s another 5 more? I’ve been adding these blogs to my reading list, but haven’t been finding them particularly relevant or interesting. Any suggestions anyone?

084  Relaunch my celebrant website It went “down” about 18 months ago and even though I have re-registered the domain name, it needs to be coded again (apparently). Hubs is looking in to this, but again, I’d love to be able to do it myself. My dear friend Nicole Taylor has designed a lovely new space for me!

085  Celebrate 5 years of blogging – July 1, 2013! That’s really soon!! Perhaps a cake-baking occasion? Completed July, 2013. Read about it here.

086  Celebrate my 1000th blog post That’s going to be a doozy. I’m not sure that I could do a 1000 layer cake! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha….

Good for nothing (in particular)

087  Create some photo albums to print out Thanks to digital photography, our photos just sit on our computer, or I post them on this blog. I want albums to flick through dammit!

088  Decide where to live in 2014, 2015, 2016 This is very exciting. I thought I’d dread it, but it’s fun to look at all the options! We have a short-list of 4 towns for next year, and then who knows after that!

2014 – Mt Isa! 2015 – Rockhampton, 2016 Rocky again. It’s a miracle!

089  Sew Hubs a pair of jeans Hubs has been wanting me to sew him a pair of jeans for as long as we’ve been together – pretty much as soon as he found out I had a sewing machine. Doesn’t mean I’m any good at using it!! But I’ll give it a red hot go.

090  Send birthday cards to everyone on my calendar for a whole year (nh) Using the cards that I make! It’s so lovely to receive a card in the mail for your birthday and I like to make my family and friends feel special.

091  Give away 101 things (101/101) I could almost give away 1001 things!! We have so much that we don’t need. Update: I’ve filled 8 garbage bags and sent them off to op-shops; I’ve given away 4 kitchen items to a friend; I’ve passed on 4 bags of baby clothes to friends and family. I’m sure I’ve already reached my 101 quota with the 12 bags full, but I’ve still got a couple of years left on this challenge, so I’m just going to count them as 12 “things.” Update: I have definitely done this over the last year.

092  Watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy (with Hubs, so he can tell me when to close my eyes!) This is one of those “cos everybody else has done it” things. Sometimes I like to be like everyone else.  Completed January 2014 (3 epic movies in 4 days! It was crazy!)

093  Learn to juggle 3 balls I have the juggling balls ready to go!

094  Comment on 50 different blogs (5/50) I need to see what is out there that I’m missing!

095  Send a secret to post secret It will probably be boring because I have no secrets… or do I?… Completed Jan 2016

096  Sell 10 things on gumtree/ebay (10/10) Might as well get some money for some of the stuff that’s sitting around the house!  Completed October 2013.

097  Finish watching The West Wing (we’re up to season 5 out of 7) We really went hard on The West Wing for about 5 months straight, and now we’re taking a bit of a break, but I really want to watch the rest. Completed December 2014 . Read about it here.

098  Compliment a stranger on what they are wearing if I like it It’s nice to be told that you look good by a complete stranger. This one will be fun! And I might even do it more than once! Completed June 2013. Read about it here.

099  Actively seek out 10 things my family/friends are doing that I can encourage them with (nh) (10/10) I feel like I’m missing out on stuff my family and friends are doing at the moment, so I’d like to make a conscious effort to find out what’s going on in their lives and cheer them on! Completed June 2014. This was a really worthwhile exercise and one I wish to continue. It takes a bit of effort, but I have felt much more connected with people through doing this.

100  Personal Goal You’ll never know…

101  Start writing my next 101 things in 1001 days list I’m not sure I’ll start my list straight away, but here is the first thing I’d like to add to list #2:

* Learn to do 5 things with my left hand, that I would normally do with my right hand

* Be able to do a cartwheel again