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Friday, January 1, 2016

101 in 1001 - SISTER STYLE!



This is my sister, Megan:



That's her on the right. Ugh, isn't she just the prettiest? Well, my super pretty sister and I have been talking about goals/resolutions a lot lately. See, today is the first day of 2016, and that means it's a big time for setting goals to accomplish in the next year. We both had a small list of personal and professional goals going, but no real time scale; they were simply things that we would like to accomplish in 2016.

This morning, Megan called me with an even better idea. She had stumbled across a blog in which the blogger had a list of 101 things to do in the next 1,001 days. That's about 2.75 years. It's the perfect amount of time, because you don't have to feel like you're making a bunch of resolutions that might be difficult to achieve within a year, but you're also not going too far out into the future.

So Megan and I decided to do the 101 in 1001, and better yet, we're going to co-blog about it! I'm going to post each of our lists with a little blurb about them, and we will come back to this post over the next 1001 days to update our progress. On top of that, we'll be doing a monthly update: what we've accomplished, what we've worked towards accomplishing, and what we'll be doing in the following month. It's a great way to hold each other accountable and encourage one another to achieve these goals, and we hope you'll enjoy reading along on our journey!

So without further ado...

Kellie's Goals

Starts January 1, 2016
Ends September 28, 2018
10 completed, 91 to go

I don't normally make New Year's resolutions, but a lot of changes are happening/have happened in my life lately. I recently completed my bachelor's degree, I'm searching for a job to start a career in writing/editing, and I'm preparing to [finally] move out of my parents' house. In addition to that, there's a possibility that my boyfriend and I may be moving out of the state in August or September, as he is applying to PhD programs around the country. So a lot of my goals are professional and financial goals, as well as educational goals (just because i'm done with my undergrad degree doesn't mean I'm done learning!), and I've sprinkled in some things I'd like to do before leaving Arizona in case we do move. On top of that, I have a lot of cooking goals, since moving out of my parents' house means I need to be ready to cook dinner nightly and plan breakfasts and lunches! I also have a lot of personal growth goals. I want to focus on "extracurricular" things that I love, and writing, reading, and singing are the biggest of those, plus I want to focus on improving my overall health and activity!

Personal:

1. Move out of my parents' house
2. Run a 5k
3. Visit the library and check out a book 5 times
4. Take a one-week social media break (and longer if I like it!) (January 2016)
5. Do vocal exercises daily for a month
6. See a musician I love in concert
7. Go to a Seahawks game
8. Clean my room and organize it in a way that's easy to maintain (January 2016)
9. Purge unnecessary things that I've been holding onto "just in case" (January 2016)
10. Read 40 new books (1/40)
11. Read 5 new books from the linguistics section of my bookshelf (these count towards the 40 overall)
12. See two musicals
13. Lose 50 pounds
14. Watch all of the movies from Eric's collection that I've never seen
15. Hike to Tom's Thumb again
16. Run 3 times a week for a month
17. Do 30 minutes of yoga every day for two weeks
18. Go to the Heard Museum
19. Completely fill up a journal
20. Start and complete 5 knitting projects (1/5)
21. Purge my ridiculously massive makeup, nail polish, and hair care collection and get rid of anything I haven't used in the last 6 months
22. Write 5 blog posts (unrelated to 101 in 1001)
23. Hike twice a week for a month
24. Send five "just because" cards to loved ones
25. Get a houseplant...and don't kill it. (March 2016)
26. Do 10 DIY projects
27. Reread the Lord of the Rings books
28. Go to a professional soccer game
29. Write a short story (fiction or non-fiction)
30. Visit the Japanese Friendship Garden
31. Read all of the magazines I subscribe to all the way through (instead of just stacking them on my desk for 'later')
32. Build something from scratch (with Eric's or Dad's help, probably)
33. Watch a movie from every year I've been alive: 2/28 (Sisters-2015, Ten Cloverfield Lane, 2016)
34. Go a full day without using my computer (except for work purposes, if applicable)
35. Knit a blanket
36. Go to the ballet
37. Throw a surprise party
38. Establish a weekly date night with Eric (January 2016)

Cooking/Food:

39. Cook 20 recipes from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook
40. Join a farm CSA
41. Learn how to make my "signature" cocktail
42. Make 10 new recipes from Pinterest: 1/10 (Honey Sriracha Chicken)
43. Go wine tasting
44. Make an Indian dish from scratch
45. Make a Middle Eastern dish from scratch
46. Make a magnetic spice rack
47. Poach an egg without cheating (January 2016)
48. Grow a vegetable or fruit
49. Try 10 new restaurants: 2/10 (Bootleggers Modern American Smokehouse, Gertrude's)
50. Make baked goods for neighbors
51. Make pesto from scratch
52. Make five restaurant copycat recipes
53. Have a picnic with a homemade meal
54. Try a new type of international cuisine (March 2016--South African food)
55. Cook a five-course meal
56. Host a dinner party for close friends
57. Learn to make my favorite coffee/tea drinks at home (Chai Latte, French press coffee, coffee frappuccino, January 2016)
58. Do meal planning for three months
59. Make macarons
60. Do Meatless Monday for three months
61. Host a tea party

Travel:

62. Travel to a new state
63. Go to a Major League Baseball game at a stadium I've never been to before
64. Go to Washington with Eric
65. Get a stamp on my passport
66. Go snowboarding
67. Go camping
68. Visit a local bookstore when I travel to a new city/state
69. Go on a road trip
70. Take a trip or staycation with just Megan
71. Take Eric to Disneyland for the first time
72. Visit Kartchner Caverns (before moving)
73. Go to a Mariners game at Safeco Field
74. Leave the city to watch a meteor shower
75. Visit Monument Valley (before moving)
76. Take a weekend trip with Eric
77. Visit a National Park that I've never been to before
78. Hike the Grand Canyon
79. Visit a new town/city in Arizona

Education:

80. Take a class or online course
81. Relearn the Arabic alphabet and practice speaking Arabic again
82. Study Hindi
83. Study Dutch
84. Practice speaking Spanish again
85. Watch 30 documentaries: 8/30 (Iris, Girl Rising, Antarctica: A Year on Ice, Miss Representation, The Propaganda Game, Advanced Style, January 2016; Champs, Grey Gardens, March 2016)
86. Learn to change a tire
87. Meet with my favorite former professor at least twice to catch up
88. Learn five new things about geology from Eric (2/5: Capillary Action, Continental Nuclei, January 2016)
89. Teach Eric five things about linguistics

Professsional/Financial:

90. Get a writing/editing job (January 2016)
91. Get published again
92. Pay off my credit card
93. Pay off my car
94. Donate to three charities that are meaningful to me
95. Create a home office space for freelance work
96. Do my own taxes (February 2016)
97. Do freelance writing/editing work for three different companies: 1/3 (March 2016)
98. Go to an ASU Alumni event or utilize the Alumni Network in some way
99. Start an Etsy shop wth Eric
100. Get dental insurance and go to the dentist for an annual cleaning
101. Save $10 for every goal accomplished (3/101)

So what am I most excited for? Since I can't say "all of them" because that's cheating, I'll pick one per section (sorry, I'm awful at narrowing things down). I'm excited to start my career (get a writing/editing job), try some new international cuisine, travel as much as I can, learn more about geology (my boyfriend's field of study), and start having a weekly date night!

---

Megan's Goals

Starts January 1, 2016
Ends September 28, 2018
3 completed, 98 to go

This year, I'm turning 30. My life has been riddled with stupid choices and soul searching. It has taken me a long time to figure out who I am, but now I know. I have finished school and I've spent two years in my career which I love; I finally feel like my life is settling down. I know who I am, what I want, what I enjoy. I love my job, but I want my life to be defined by so much more than what I do for a living. I don't want to spend all my free time doing paperwork and prep. I want my life to be full of love, laughter, experiences. I want to be intentional about feeding my creativity, about gaining new skills, about traveling to new places. Who knows, maybe this list is just an early mid-life crisis. All I know is, I want my life to be marked by a passion for the people, places, and things around me. This list will help me do that!


Cooking:

1. Take a cooking class
2. Host Thanksgiving Dinner
3. Make a soufflé
4. Take a knife skills class
5. Make homemade pasta
6. Pickle something (January 2016)
7. Make bread from scratch (January 2016)
8. Cook all meals at home for one month
9. Try 5 new foods
10. Make dinner with ingredients picked from a local farm or farmers market
11. Make my own pie crust
12. Make my own puff pastry
13. Make macarons (January 2016)
14. Go meatless for one month
15. Make mozzarella
16. Make homemade pizza, dough and all
17. Make homemade orange rolls
18. Make caramels
19. Make freezer meals one time a month for six months (1/6)
20. Make homemade vanilla
21. Make pesto
22. Grow (and keep alive) my own tiny herb garden
23. Learn to poach an egg
24. Make pumpkin pie from a pumpkin
25. Make homemade fried donuts
26. Join a farm CSA
27. Make tabbouleh
28. Make the perfect coconut rice
29. Try one new Pinterest recipe a week for 6 months (1/26: Mushroom Rice, January 2016)
30. Cook a completely French meal  (1/17)
31. Try a new type of international cuisine  (Korean--1/27)

Travel:

32. Visit the Grand Canyon
33. Visit the Rez with Uriah
34. Go on a spontaneous road trip
35. Stand on the Four Corners
36. Visit Antelope Canyon
37. Visit Monument Valley
38. Go to the Renaissance Festival
39. Hike to Havasu Falls
40. Visit Tovrea Castle
41. Go to Disney World with Uriah
42. Watch a meteor shower at Lost Dutchman
43. Take Uriah to Washington
44. Visit a new country
45. Drive to the top of South Mountain
46. Visit NYC between Thanksgiving-December
47. Visit a new state
48. Visit Harry Potter World
49. Visit the Musical Instrument Museum
50. Visit the Rose Bowl Flea Market

Create:

51. Design and hang a gallery wall
52. Knit something difficult (socks, gloves, sweater)
53. Do all handmade gifts for one Christmas
54. Make a birthday calendar (January 2016)
55. Complete 10 DIY projects from Pinterest (1/10: Winter wreath, January 2016)
56. Make a joy jar and put one paper in each week until Thanksgiving (Made January 2016)
57. Sell something on Etsy
58. Knit a chunky blanket

Give:

59. Leave a 100% tip
60. Have flowers delivered to someone
61. Throw a surprise party
62. Give 5 "just because" gifts
63. Pay for someone else's meal at a restaurant

Entertainment:

64. Have a fancy Kentucky Derby party
65. Read 30 new books
66. Go to an opera
67. Listen to live jazz music
68. See an outdoor movie
69. Watch 5 classic films
70. Take a break from Netflix 1 week a month for 6 months
71. See a new Broadway show (in AZ...)
72. Read all the books I own and have never read (included in the 30 books goal)

Personal:

73. Clear out my trunk
74. Fly a kite
75. Go to a shooting range
76. Memorize 15 new scripture verses
77. Try a new workout style
78. Buy fresh flowers every week for a month
79. Get a new job
80. Chop off my hair
81. Learn to open a beer with something other than a bottle opener
82. Get car repairs
83. Hike "A" Mountain
84. Lose 40 pounds
85. Run a 5k
86. Learn to draw the perfect wing tip eyeliner
87. Learn to tie a tie
88. Pay off one credit card
89. Change my own tire
90. Send out Christmas cards
91. Start seeing a psychologist
92. Take a ballroom dancing lesson
93. Try Top Golf
94. Do yoga three times a week for a month (Wk. 1--done, Wk. 2--)
95. Do 25 consecutive push-ups
96. Treat Kellie to a sister day
97. Unplug completely for 24 hours
98. Get a physical
99. Replace my couch pillows
100. Complete a "spring" cleaning purge
101. Save $10 for every goal accomplished (6/101)

I've always loved cooking and while I'm a moderately good cook, I want to be so much better. I want to take the time to learn new skills in the kitchen and make some of the things that I always purchase pre-made. I'm also really looking forward to visiting more places in Arizona that I've always wanted to check out. And finally, I'm excited about seeing a psychologist. I've been considering seeing a therapist for a little more than a month now, and I'm just ready to start seeing myself, my responses, my motivations in a new light and hopefully using that to be more like Jesus! Here's to the next 1001 days!


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