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Things I Learned While Creating My 101 in 1001

Published on January 2, 2012 By Emily. Updated on January 2, 2012

Last year, I made 8 new years resolutions.  Each month, I wrote a post describing my current progress and feelings about those goals.  And by December (actually, much sooner than that), I was really tired of doing so.  I felt like the posts weren’t especially interesting, I wasn’t making remarkable progress, I wished I chosen different goals and I hated feeling obligated to write those posts.

So several months ago I decided not to have traditional resolutions for 2012.  Instead, I decided to attempt creating a 101 in 1001 list, as I’d seen many of my friends do.  Instead of a list of things I want to change about myself, my 101 items are things that I want to do or accomplish in the next 1001 days. I will not write update posts about my progress for the majority of these goals, though I will update the new 101 in 1001 page linked in the navigation bar.

Things I Learned While Creating My 101 in 1001

  • I’ve done a lot in the past 1001 days: Since April 5, 2009 I’ve moved out of my parents house, gotten married, moved to Massachusetts, moved my blog to self-hosting, visited the Pacific Ocean, saw one of the Great Lakes, went to a blogging conference, started several new positions at work, earned another teaching license and did so many other awesome things.  As a result, those sorts of things didn’t make it onto this list.
  • There are a lot of things I don’t want to do: I have no desire to go skydiving, ride the world’s biggest roller coaster, backpack through Europe, complete a triathlon, win a bake off or any number of other things.  Generally speaking, I’m pretty happy with where I’m at.
  • It’s tricky to come up with reasonable goals: My list is full of things that I’ve been intending to do for a long time, so I’m not too worried about being disinterested in them 2.75 years from now.  Part of me sort of feels like I should’ve chosen more things that would be a challenge, but I also wanted to choose items that I could actually accomplish. As a result, a range of items from fairly simple and quick (such as #8, 20, 55) to time consuming and difficult (#2, 33, 84).
  • I’m not as young as I used to be: This list officially kicked off on January 1, 2012.  As the day approached, I realized that 1001 days later is my 30th birthday.  So the list became a bit of a “things I want to do before I turn 30” list as well.  Overall, that reality didn’t change the content of the list much but now I feel like I’m counting down these days for an even more significant reason.
  • Coming up with 101 things is difficult: I thought that a couple days of brainstorming would yield my list, but I’ve been working on it for months.  I read lists on blogs including Heather’s, Cynthia’s, Julie’s, and Kelly’s, sometimes outright stealing from them.  I also checked out the “official” 101 in 1001 site, the Day Zero Project.  I’ve added to, subtracted from and reworded this list more times than I’d like to admit.

My 101 in 1001

Personal
1.  Pay off at least 1 student loan
2.  Participate in NaNoWriMo
3.  Keep the kitchen table clean for a month
4.  Unplug from the phone, internet and television for a weekend
5.  Go without makeup for a week
6.  Leave a 100% tip
7.  Leave 25 Operation Beautiful notes
8.  Update my passport
9.  Participate in Black Friday shopping at some ridiculous hour of the morning
10.  Consign or give away 20 items
11.  Take a personal day to do something fun
12.  Own real diamond earrings
13.  Create a photo book of my summer 2011 vacation
14.  Learn how to apply eyeliner
15.  Join/start a bible study group
16.  Write a letter to myself to be opened in 10 years
17.  Memorize a Psalm or other bible passage
18.  Get together with at least 3 college friends
19.  Spend 2012 going through this decluttering/organization calendar

Friends and Family
20.  Make and send a photo Christmas card
21.  Give everyone locally made Christmas gifts
22.  Write 15 snail mail letters to friends
23.  Go on a trip with my sister
24.  Visit each of my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents on both sides at least once
25.  Make a recipe book for my sister

Fitness
26.  Take a Zumba class
27.  Hike Mount Greylock
28.  Run a race in Maine
29.  Read The New Rules of Lifting for Women
30.  Be able to touch my toes
31.  Go indoor rock climbing
32.  Begin practicing yoga again
33.  Run an entire 5k (no walking breaks)

Travel
34.  Go to Canada
35.  Visit 2 more (new) states
36.  Travel by train
37.  Explore Albany, NY
38.  Visit the Susan B. Anthony museum in Rochester, NY
39.  Go to Katz’s Delicatessen
40.  Eat at a David Chang restaurant
41.  Get postcards for states I’ve visited but don’t have cards for (CT, PA, NH, etc.)
42.  Go to the Troy Farmer’s market

Food
43.  Go to a wine tasting
44.  Make a perfect loaf of bread from scratch
45.  Bake a birthday cake
46.  Host Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner
47.  Surprise my coworkers with baked goods
48.  Eat only locally grown/made food for a day
49.  Successfully can applesauce
50.  Make pierogies from scratch
51.  Grow my own tomatoes
52.  Host a cookie swap
53.  Can jelly or jam
54.  Make and perfect my own tea blend
55.  Make sangria
56.  Try 5 new restaurants in Berkshire County
57.  Buy, try and cook with Sriracha
58.  Mail someone baked goods
59.  Cook using tea as an ingredient
60.  Create 15 original recipes

Home
61.  Decorate the outside of our home for the holidays
62.  Save enough money for a house down payment
63.  Buy a house
64.  Get a chest freezer or second refrigerator
65.  Refinish a piece of furniture
66.  Complete 3 projects posted to Pinterest
67.  Find a way to display my elephant collection
68.  Have a complete set of Fiesta for 12, including lunch plates and mugs

Entertainment
69.  Beat Portal 1
70.  Watch the first 50 movies on IMBD’s top movies
71.  Watch Gone with the Wind
72.  Go a week without watching TV, Netflix or Hulu
73.  Attend a Steeple Cats game
74.  Go to a performance at Tanglewood
75.  Return to the Big E
76.  Attend Gordon College homecoming
77.  Attend a free local college concert
78.  Host a party
79.  Go caroling
80.  Go to 3 local productions
81.  Attend a poetry reading
82.  Read 7 Pulitzer Prize winning books

Work
83.  Attend a game for each high school sport
84.  Complete an entire MIT Open Courseware course for a subject I teach
85.  Earn my special education certification
86.  Take a grad level science class–and pass
87.  Create full year curriculum for all classes I teach
88.  Write all of my lesson plans a week ahead of schedule

Blog
89.  Write 5 guest posts
90.  Conduct and post an interview
91.  Do 5 vlogs
92.  Write a “day in the life” blog post
93.  Add 5 new quality food blogs to my reader
94.  Do a “what I ate Wednesday” post
95.  Learn to use my new camera
96.  Read 5 food related nonfiction books
97.  Post to the Food in Jars Flikr pool
98.  Participate in Pimp My Preserve
99.  Move all recipes to Recipage
100. Back up my blog
101.  Participate in a blogger penpal exchange

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Filed Under: life Tagged With: 101 in 1001, goals, lists

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Comments

  1. Cynthia (It All Changes) says

    January 2, 2012 at 4:44 pm

    Love this…absolutely love it. I want to be a part of some of them ;-)

    • Emily says

      January 5, 2012 at 7:54 pm

      Consider yourself invited…I’m counting on you for #26 and #42 especially!

  2. Jen Solak says

    January 2, 2012 at 5:43 pm

    http://www.iberkshires.com/story/40014/PNA-Offering-Free-Polish-Cooking-To-Save-Culture.html If they offer this again, we could learn how to make pierogies together! Great list by the way!

    • Emily says

      January 5, 2012 at 7:53 pm

      Oh wow, what a cool program in general. If you see things like that in the future, send them my way. My local news reading is spotty, at best.

  3. Ryn Brunell says

    January 2, 2012 at 5:58 pm

    Your sister likes this list. Trip!

  4. Kelly says

    January 2, 2012 at 6:13 pm

    LOVE this list!! SO many good things!

  5. Emily Johnson says

    January 5, 2012 at 8:41 pm

    I love your list! What a cool idea. I haven’t heard of this before but it sounds like much more fun than resolutions. I’ll look forward to hearing how/when you accomplish this. I think one of your vlogs should be the tips on making the perfect loaf of bread from scratch. I have tried many times, and while they all taste good, they are definitely not perfect. :)

    • Emily Johnson says

      January 5, 2012 at 8:42 pm

      Ok…and I have no idea why that last line is there in my comment…I think I forgot to uncheck a box somewhere…

  6. Emily says

    January 22, 2012 at 10:22 pm

    love your 101 in 1001! they all seem so “do-able” and not outrageous. I’ve tried to sit down many times and write out mine, but I always get stuck after about number 20 or so. I like how you broke it down into categories, maybe when I seriously try to write mine again, I’ll do that :)

    • Emily says

      January 24, 2012 at 6:01 pm

      Aw, thanks! It was a lot harder to come up with everything than I expected, but almost a month in I’m feeling great about deciding to do a 101 instead of regular resolutions. Much less stress!

Trackbacks

  1. 101 in 1001: One Year In » Relishments says:
    January 8, 2013 at 8:19 pm

    […] days ago, I began embarking on my goal of completing 101 goals in 1001 days.  A year into the process seemed to be as good a […]

  2. » 101 in 1001: The Final Tally says:
    October 2, 2014 at 7:43 pm

    […] 2012, I posted a list of the 101 things I intended to do before my 30th birthday.  As of last Saturday, I am done.  My time is […]

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Emily
Despite the cool temperatures and wet weather, we Despite the cool temperatures and wet weather, we had another fantastic year at @freshgrassfestival. I can never get over how, in addition to all the incredible music, the event features a great venue (@massmoca), delicious food from mostly local vendors, a great local beer tent and bar stocked with @berkshiremtdist and a kid-friendly atmosphere including a @kidspacemm art tent.
Shout-out to some of my favorite acts of the day @ajleebluesummit, @cj_field with @gregcaproni and @theblacklegacyproject.

Looking forward to next year!
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I am literally weeks behind in my work life and my I am literally weeks behind in my work life and my blog posts, but I just hit publish on my end of August/beginning of September meal plans! Some blogging progress is better than none! Click the link below or visit my profile to see how we used these 2 CSA pick ups from @mightyfoodfarm.
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It's always a beautiful day at the @coastalmainebo It's always a beautiful day at the @coastalmainebotanicalgardens.
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We made our annual trip to @thebistrobox in Great We made our annual trip to @thebistrobox in Great Barrington today, bringing along our 6 year old for the first time. 
Pictured: onion rings, pressed Cubano, BOX burger, raspberry mint iced tea/ (huge) side of fries, grilled hot dog, strawberry lemonade. Everything was delicious and my daughter especially enjoyed trying out the lawn games.
Until next year!
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New on the blog: a list of everything I made for d New on the blog: a list of everything I made for dinner this week. A double @mightyfoodfarm CSA pick up plus hosting my in-laws for dinner resulted in me actually planning quality meals.
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Get the recipe links at https://www.relishments.com/blog/twice-as-good-csa-meal-plan-152/ or click the link in my profile.
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I had the opportunity to visit the Bridge of Flowe I had the opportunity to visit the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls this morning. It was as beautiful as I remembered and a great morning for hanging out with some friends.
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Brian and I finally made it to @ the week before w Brian and I finally made it to @ the week before we went on vacation. I loved the atmosphere, decor, location and, of course, the beer. All eight beers we tasted were delicious and I'm looking forward to going back soon. 
More thoughts on the blog at the link in my profile or at https://www.relishments.com/blog/hot-plate-brewing-in-pittsfield/
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I made my first ever trip to @seconddropfarm in La I made my first ever trip to @seconddropfarm in Lanesborough this morning to pick blueberries with my daughter. We had a lovely time at the farm, and especially enjoyed the short walk to the lush blueberry bushes, and the beautiful flower and lavender fields. We didn't participate in pick-your-own flowers today, but it's definitely on my radar for the future.
We are looking forward to some muffin baking soon! 🫐
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It's good to be home, but we had a great time with It's good to be home, but we had a great time with Brian's side of the family in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina last week.
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