stinkerpants design

Photo from here.

This is kind of embarrassing, but I’m going to tell you anyway.  A few weeks ago, I got inspiration from Bee Movie. It is, in fact, almost entirely responsible for my 101 in 1,001 list.

Awhile ago I heard about the decreasing number of honeybees.  I was sad about it.  Maybe even a little bit worried.  But it wasn’t until I saw Bee Movie that I started to feel really bad for the bees.

I am sure that most people did not cry at Bee Movie.  Clearly I have emotional problems.

But anyway.  Bee Movie is the reason why I added #2 (“Save some honeybees”) to my list.   I started researching a little bit today and realized that I couldn’t help any bees without having a nice, friendly backyard with lots of flowers. Chances are, I’d end up killing #8 (“Raise butterflies”) with our current backyard anyway.  So I’m going to have to start with #5 (“Figure out what is wrong with the soil in our yard and fix it”) and #6 (:Grow flowers in the backyard and keep them alive for a season”) first.

I have kind of a black thumb.  I’ve killed almost everything in our backyard.  Nothing has ever flowered there.  My main problem is that I’m totally, 100%, wholeheartedly LAZY.  I get all excited in the springtime about having a backyard full of gorgeous flowers, and then I am too lazy to water them.  I have also been too lazy to do anything about how dead our soil most likely is.  It just seems like so much work.  Maybe a beautiful backyard wasn’t enough motivation for me, but helping the poor little bees and butterflies certainly is.

Well…sort of.  It just seems like so much work to garden.  I wish I could hire someone to do this for me.

Do any of you guys like gardening?  What’s so great about it?  Do you think I would like it?  Is getting started the hardest part?

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While I wouldn’t say that hell has exactly frozen over, I will say that I have done something I never actually thought I’d do: I joined a gym.  This is something that I’d thought about doing before, but never really, truly believed I’d actually do.

My father-in-law and sister-in-law go to the gym all the time.  They go to Big Gym in a neighboring city.  I, for one, would never have enough motivation to go to any gym in any neighboring city.  Time at the gym AND time traveling?  No thanks.  I’d rather catch up on last night’s episode of Medium. And yes, I know I can download episodes of my favorite shows to my iPhone…but I’m too cheap.

And speaking of too cheap, let’s talk about the deal I got: on the last day it was offered, I got a 24-Hour Fitness membership at Costco.  I paid $299 for a 2-year membership.  That’s $12 a month, people.  Not bad.

So I decided to check out the Little Gym in our city, which father-in-law and sister-in-law said was “crappy.”  Well, I (for one) love it.  It’s small, but not run-down.  It’s not busy.  The people that work out there have an average age of 60.  They are not running around in tight little clothes, and the only guys making eyes at me are probably reminded of some girl they met during WWII.  Sign me up!

All of this gym-joining resulted from my desire to do two things:

1.  Not gain any more weight (I’ve gained 10 pounds since going off birth control a few months ago (no babies! It was for health reasons))
2. Jump-start my mornings so I’m not a slacker until 11am.

Thus far, I’ve been doing pretty good.  I have the motivation to go, because I already have to leave the house to drop Y off at the BART station for work.  I’d say getting in the car is the hardest part, so I’ve got that taken care of.  Also, I’m feeling a lot better since I started going, so that helps.

I find that working out really helps me work more efficiently, too.  I have more energy for the day, and I seem to have more time in the day.  Sweet.

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Anyway, so I am counting this as one of my 101 in 1001.  Number 28 was “Do Wii Fit 5x week for 3 weeks.”  Well, Wii Fit is boring and a crappy workout, I am sorry to say.  I do like the Yoga aspect of it, but everything else?  Not so much.  So I’m changing #28 to “Go the gym 5x week for 3 weeks.”  I plan to go to the gym a minimum of 4x per week for the next 2 years, for the record.  I just want to check #28 off my list.  Because that’s how I roll.

So.  About 10,000 years ago my friend Kate over at Pretty Damn Fabulous started the 101 in 1,001 project and encouraged everyone else to do it as well.  I am a serious slacker, so even though I really wanted to, I’m only just now getting around to it.  When Kate started this, she added an item to her list that she’s had a hard time checking off: #88: Get three more people to start lists.  Well, Kate, you can officially check another person off your list.

This list was pretty difficult and time-consuming to compile, but I’m really excited about it.  For some reason, I feel like I have purpose now (weird, right?).  Something about having long-term goals, both serious and non-serious, makes me feel good.

I’ll be updating randomly when I check things off the list.  I also intend to start taking more photos (good ones), especially of these goals while they’re being completed.  So without further adieu, the mission statement and my list:

Stinkerpants’ 101 in 1,001

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 organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Start Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Completion Date: Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The official list will be kept here.

Help the planet:

001)  Get a couple of chickens for our backyard and eat truly free-range eggs.
002)  Save some honeybees.
003)  Go to the Farmer’s Market four times. (4/4) (we go all the time now)
004)  Set up an herb garden.
005)  Figure out what is wrong with the soil in our yard and fix it
006)  Grow flowers in the backyard and keep them alive for a season
007)  Eat a raw food diet for 3 weeks
008)  Raise butterflies
009)  Start saving and reusing plastic bags
010)  Pick fruit of some kind at an orchard of some kind
011)  Volunteer for a recycling group

Learn something new:

012)  Bake a pie (from scratch!)
013)  Take a Photoshop class
014)  Bake some challah
015)  Make an apron (nevermind. my mom made me one and now I have 3!)
016)  Learn to make five kinds of candy (0/5)
017)  Learn to play Mah Jongg
018)  Read 5 biographies of people I admire. (0/5)
019)  Watch 5 documentaries on things I don’t know enough about (1/5)
020)  Listen to 5 books on tape while working (0/5)
021)  Make pasta from scratch
022)  Find Cantonese classes and start learning to speak

Take care of myself

023)  Walk the dog 4x per week for two months (0/32)
024)  Take the stairs instead of the elevator all the time.
025)  Go on a walk with my dad.
026)  Start jogging
027)  Start a list on Mondays and finish it by Sunday for 2 months (3/8)
028)  Do Wii Fit 5x week for 3 weeks (0/15) sold the Wii–joined the gym instead
029)  Drink 8 glasses of water every day for three weeks
030)  Write in my personal journal once per week (0/4)
031)  Complete a NaBloPoMo
032)  Eliminate all processed foods for 30 days (0/30)
033)  Go a whole day making an effort to only focus on good things
034)  Join a book club
035)  Take a cardio step class
036)  Take my vitamins every day!
037)  Use a skincare regimen for 60 days straight (60/60)
038)  Complete 6 Questions to get the most out of life
039)  Wean myself off of earplugs
040)  Start using all organic products in our home and on my body
041)  Start a gratitude journal
042)  Respond to my emails as soon as I get them every day for a month (0/21)

Be good with Money

043)  Shop with coupons every week for 2 months (0/8)
044)  Put away $50/month into Savings 12 times (0/12)
045)  Put away $50/month into an IRA 12 times (0/12)
046)  Pay off my credit card debt
047)  Start saving for a house

Work on my business

048)  Get my etsy shop up and running (and closed it!)
049)  Submit cards and press kits to 15 magazines (5/15)
050)  Get on TV three times (0/3)
051)  Be featured somewhere 15 times (0/15)
052)  Buy a new Mac Pro for my business
053)  Buy a new, higher quality lens for my Digital Rebel
054)  Join two networking groups (0/2)

Be Social

055)  Throw a kitchen-warming party
056)  Have friends over for dinner 6 times (2/6)
057)  Have a girl’s night 6 times (2/6)
058)  Have a girlfriend over for afternoon tea
059)  Host a fabulous Chrismukkah Party
060)  Throw a Paw-Mitzvah party
061)  Take my husband to see Phantom of the Opera
062)  Go geocaching with Kathy and Mark
063)  Organize a camping trip
064)  Throw myself a birthday party (ie, suck it up)
065)  Walk the stairways of SF with a friend.

Be Creative

066)  Create a Tastebook
067)  Create a Tastebook for my mom
068)  Send out creative holiday cards
069)  Finish the scarf I’ve been avoiding
070)  Plot out a plot for a book
071)  Upload 500 nice photos to Flickr (0/500)
072)  Create photo books for past years (0/4)
073)  Figure out how to get my Twitter updates on my personal journal.
074)  Create photo books to be updated with events & printed at the end of the year (1/3)

Do Something New

075)  Fly in a hot air balloon
076)  Go sailing
077)  Visit Oatman, Arizona
078)  Participate in a flash mob
079)  Try a treasure hunt
080)  Go snowboarding or skiing
081)  Look into horseback riding lessons
082)  Fire a gun at a shooting range
083)  Rent a big house somewhere for a group of friends for the weekend (or longer)
084)  Go whale watching
085)  Visit a botanical garden
086)  Go on a haunted tour
087)  Send a postcard to Post Secret.
088)  Visit a country I’ve never been to before.
089)  Visit 5 states I’ve never been to before. (0/5)
090)  Visit friends in Los Angeles
091)  Spontaneously visit an amusement park with my husband.

Random Acts of Kindness

092)  Knit a scarf and give it to a cold person.
093)  Bring flowers to a retirement community.
094)  Look into becoming a mentor
095)  Send a random gift to a friend
096)  Volunteer for or donate $$ to NPR
097)  Donate time to animals
098)  Volunteer to plant trees
099)  Send a card to someone I’ve lost touch with.
100)  Pay 10 strangers compliments (0/10)
101)  Donate books to the library.