Making Stuff Happen – My 101 in 1001

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I was minding my own business the other day, when the reality that in about 550 days I will turn 30. That doesn’t bother me (yet). But, it suddenly occurred to me that my life is passing by and I’m not taking the time to make stuff happen.

By stuff, I mean the guts of life. Gaining self-discipline, nurturing passions, and self-educating (since my school days are long-gone). I’ve seen a few people on the internet create these 101 in 1001 lists – listing 101 things they want to accomplish in 1001 days. It’s more like a well-thought-out, fruit-producing bucket list concept.

In 1001 days I will be 31 years ago. Many people say their 30s are their favorite decade, and I’m (truly) looking forward to them. (But not a day before they arrive!) I’d like to embark on the next decade of my life with a few things under my belt, be them successes, failures, passions, skills, or simply things I want from life.

In 1001 days I will say to myself, “I made stuff happen!”

(And of course I’m publishing it here because nothing motivated me like publicly stating a goal – or 101 of them.)

Kat’s 101 in 1001

Personal

1. Go to before by 10:00pm every day for 2 weeks
2. Wake up at 6:00am every morning for 2 weeks
3. Sign up for a 10k
4. Try a Bikram Yoga class
5. Run 8 miles without stopping
6. Go hiking in the White Mountains
7. Take an online class in something I enjoy
8. Learn handlettering
9. Organize music and get rid of CDs Finished April 2014
   
10. Create and maintain an address book
11. Learn a skill that I don’t know
12. Edit together our wedding video

Cooking

1. Learn to can food
2. Make bread from scratch
3. Plant a vegetable garden
4. Make my own granola
5. Learn the art of making a great cup of coffee
6. Find the perfect waffle recipe
7. Make my own pizza dough
8. Experiment making 10 new flavors of homemade ice cream
9. Successfully replicate a homemade version of Uno’s “The Cookie”

Spiritual

1. Daily devotionals for 1 month straight
2. Get involved in a ministry I feel passionate about
3. Do one pro-bono design job
4. Reread all works by C.S. Lewis
5. Attend one weekend retreat

Writing

1. Write a short novel
2. Write and illustrate a children’s story
3. Write one piece of fan fiction
4. Start and complete a 1001 gifts journal Started April 2014
5. Write to 10 of my favorite writers and ask for their advice

DIY

1. Restore Granna’s steamer trunk
2. Install board and batten
3. Learn how to tile
4. Learn metal stamping
5. Learn to use 5 new power tools
6. Make my own candles
7. Try glass etching
8. Learn to crochet (and actually make something)
9. Sew a patchwork quilt
10. Sew something I can actually wear

Boston

1. Go candlepin bowling
2. Buy a book from the outdoor Brattle St Bookshop
3. Visit Castle Island
4. Go to SOWA
5. Attend Boston Marathon Attended April 2014
6. Attend Head of the Charles
7. Organize a girls “bakery crawl”
8. Walk the whole Freedom Trail
9. Eat at Upstairs on the Square
10. FINALLY go to a Red Sox Game at Fenway
11. Sam Adams Brewery Tour

Massachusetts / New England

1. Spend an afternoon at the Worcester Art Museum
2. Visit Newport (and go inside the mansions this time)
3. Go to the seaglass beach in Maine
4. Visit Martha’s Vineyard
5. Go to polo match at Myopia
6. Go to Brimfield Antique Market
7. Explore 5 nearby towns I’ve never been
8. Explore the South Shore
9. Go to Block Island
10. Visit a cranberry bog (in season)

Travel

1. Take a weekend trip with my Mom
2. Girls weekend in Stone Harbor
3. Visit Brian in DC Finished April 2014
4. Visit Colls in FL
5. Go somewhere I’ve never been

Just for Fun

1. Attend two concerts
2. See the Phantom of the Opera
3. Host a fancy girly brunch
4. Host a fall BBQ
5. Host a seafood bake
6. Host a salt water taffy pull
7. Go camping
8. Take a dancing class
9. Read 5 classics I haven’t read before
10. Participate in a book club
11. Learn to sail
12. Go Wine Tasting in the Finger Lakes
13. Learn to Water Ski on 1 ski
14. Go swing and salsa dancing
15. Buy one piece of original artwork that I love
16. Visit three new art museums
17. Take a pottery class
18. Find a perfume I love and buy it

Marriage

1. (Finally) finish reading the Meaning of Marriage together
2. Start playing tennis together
3. Attempt to learn how to play golf
4. Buy fishing equipment and go fishing
5. Start a family memories book

Blogger/Design

1. Update personal freelance website
2. Update/organize my design portfolio
3. Redesign blog
4. Transfer to WordPress self-hosted
5. Start an editorial calendar and stick to it (for at least a month)
6. Attend 6 blogger events
7. Launch an Etsy shop
8. Learn about aperture and iOS on my camera
9. Start painting again
10. Find and complete 8 freelance design jobs