All The Plans... Or I Really Must Be Mad To Do This Again

I know.

 

What is my brain thinking?  Making more plans and doing another 101 Things in 1001 Days Project.  Is it weird that I'm actually excited about a list which is basically a To-Do List? 

 

Probably. 

I seriously need help.  Then again I love a good list.  Even better I love making lists.  So here I am.  Making a list.  And hoping that I do a little bit better than last time.

This time round I've tweaked the goals a little.  Mostly because there's no way I'm going on a cruise or anything else remotely too enclosed in with other people while there is a pandemic going on.  Which naturally meant I had to be just a tad creative in some of my goals and come up with things that I wanted to do while still be socially responsible and protecting myself and others.  

And here it is - 101 Things in 1001 Days.  Pray for me.  And send chocolate.  I'm probably going to need it..

Start:    1 Feb 2021

Finish:  30 Oct 2023  

 

1.     Buy 10 items that are second hand

2.     Buy a telescope and learn how to use it

3.     Buy only second hand clothes for 1 year

4.     Do 5 things that are good for the environment

5      Do an Ancestry DNA test

6.     Do an online course

7.     Do facial exercises every day for 1 month

8.     Do yoga once a week for 1 year

9.     Drink water every day for 1 month

10.   Experience a White Christmas

11.   Finish a 1000+ piece jigsaw puzzle

12.   Finish 1 of my ongoing stories

13.   Finish a cross stitch project

14.   Get a greenhouse and use it

15.   Give flowers to someone

16.   Give myself a manicure once a month for 1 year

17.   Give myself a pedicure once a month for 1 year

18.   Give or donate to a charity

19.   Give someone a care package

20.   Go 1 month without eating chocolate

21.   Go sugar free for 1 week

22.   Go on a horse drawn carriage ride

23.   Go to a car boot sale

24.   Go to a Christmas Market

25.   Go to a Farmers Market

26.   Go fruit picking

27.   Go glamping

28.   Go on a picnic

29.   Go to a lantern festival

30.   Grow a plant from a seed

31.   Grow a sunflower

32.   Have breakfast in bed

33.   Have a meal by candlelight

34.   Have a spa day

35.   Have afternoon tea at a hotel

36.   Have fish ‘n’ chips by the beach

37.   Have fresh flowers once month for 1 year

37.   Install a bee house

38.   Knit a cardigan

39.   Knit a hat

40.   Knit a pair of socks

41.   Learn a new language

42.   Learn how to knit on a knitting loom

43.   Learn how to make compost

44.   Learn to crochet

45.   Learn to identify 10 constellations

46.   Learn to arrange flowers

47.   Learn to make gingerbread

48.   Learn to play backgammon

49.   Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find

50.   Listen to 5 TED talks

51.   Listen to 10 songs or pieces of music you haven't heard before

52.   Lose 10 kilos

53.   Participate in "A photo an hour" and post on my blog

54.   Plant a herb garden

55.   Plant a tree

56.   Plant some spring bulbs

57.   Read 5 'classic' books

58.   Read 25 graphic novels

59.   Read a book a day for 1 year 

60.   Read 1 Agatha Christie novel

61.   Renovate 1 room in our house

62.   See a meteor shower

63.   See a movie outdoors

64.   See the Aurora Borealis

65.   See the cherry blossoms

66.   See the snow

67.   Send 10 postcards

68.   Send a message in a bottle

69.   Sleep under the stars

70.   Start an orchard in our garden

71.   Stay overnight in a castle or historic house

72.   Stay overnight in a treehouse

73.   Take a boat trip

74.   Take a photo a day for 365 days

75.   Take a pilates class

76.   Take a Tai Chii class

77.   Take a train tip

78.   Take part in NaNoWriMo

79.   Try 5 beauty products/brands that I haven't used before

80.   Try 5 foods products/brands that I haven't had before

81.   Try 5 new smoothie recipes

82.   Try a mail order subscription of some sort (Loot crate, Book crate etc.)

83.   Try a new kind of tea every month for 1 year

84.   Visit an island

85.   Visit a lake

86.   Visit a sunflower field

87.   Visit 5 museums online and do an online tour for each one

88.   Visit 5 places/sites in New Zealand that I haven't been to before

89.   Visit Stewart Island

90.   Walk for 30 minutes every day for 1 month

91.   Watch 5 foreign language TV series

92.   Watch 10 documentaries

93.   Watch 10 movies from 10 countries

94.   Watch 10 movies from before the year I was born

95.   Watch 52 movies in 52 weeks

96.   Wear each piece of clothing I own at least once in 1 year

97.   Win a giveaway/competition

98.   Write a book

99.   Write a story and post it on Inkiitt

100. Write and post 50 blog posts a year for 3 years in a row

101. Write a "To Do List" every week for 1 year

All The Fails .. Or How I Went On My 101 Things in 1001 Days Project

Back in February 2018 I had - for some absolutely crazy reason - the idea of taking up the challenge of 101 Things in 1001 Days or Day Zero Project as it is often known.  

 

Why I have no idea.  Except my brain is cruel and really just wanted to taunt me with a list of goals to achieve in 1001 days.

Result?

Pretty much a big fail and isn't that not a surprise.  Though weirdly not a total fail.  30 goals completed.  Which in itself is kind of amazing for someone like me who constantly flits from one thing to another.  So the fact that I managed to achieve some of the goals on my list is sort of a win right there.  We can just forget about the 71 fails... 

 

1.     Adopt a cat  A total success.  Our 3 month old kitten is now a big 3 year boy and very much a part of our family.   

             
2.     Attend an author talk  

 
3.     Bake a cake for someone and give it to them  What was I thinking?  Me?  Bake?  Yeah so was never going to happen.

 
4.     Buy a house  Yes.  Twice in fact. Though we sold the 1st one 1st and we brought our next home just outside of the 1001 days.  Still the 1st one counts.  So goal completely achieved.

 
5.     Buy a telescope and learn how to use it   I so want to do this.  Although finding a not-too-expensive telescope may be part of the problem...

 
6.     Buy at least 1 thing from Etsy  

 
7.     Complete a Blogmas   Another thing that was probably never going to happen.  Though I did make a start so half a win maybe???

 
8.     Create a reading/writing nook for myself in our new home.  I love the idea but the reality is I'm just as comfy reading from the sofa in the lounge.

 
9.     Crochet 1 thing  

 
10.   Do 5 things that are good for the environment.  Yay finally another goal achieved.  The 5 things were: 

Switched to a bamboo toothbrush

Started and maintained a veggie garden

Plant 2 fruit trees

Installed a water collection thingy for the garden

Brought a hybrid car 

 

11.   Do an Ancestry DNA test 

 
12.   Do an online course 

 
13.   Do facial exercises every day for 1 month 

 
14.   Donate to a charity  SPCA

 
15.   Drink 3 litres of water every day for 1 week 

 
16.   Eat a meal by candlelight

17.   Eat vegan for a day  Have done this multiple times

 
18.   Eat vegetarian for 1 week   Also done multiple times - I hardly eat meat at all now

 
19.   Experience a White Christmas  Pretty much a bucket list item.  One day this will happen, though probably not in the foreseeable future what with a pandemic and such

 
20.   Find 5 new blogs to follow  People just don't seem to 'do' blogs anymore so finding new ones that I actually liked and wanted to follow was super hard.

 
21.   Find 5 new tweeters to follow  5 and probably more.  That they are nearly all cat ones sums up my mood though I did find a nice author to follow so that's pretty cool.

 
22.   Find a lipstick I like  Okay so it's more of a tinted lip balm but I am so sold. Colour AND moisturiser all in one.  Maybelline Baby Lips Candy Wow in pretty much every colour they make.

 
23.   Finish at least one of my ongoing stories  Cue hysterical laughing. I actually started another story.  Can my brain just behave.

 
24.   Finish cross stitch project  Technically I finished this just after the 1001 days but I'm counting it. 

 
25.   Get a professional manicure 

 
26.   Get a professional facial 

 
27.   Give someone a care package  Did one for my mum when she was sick.

 
28.   Go 1 month without eating chocolate  Achieved completely by accident due to being very sick last year and could only eat soup for a month or so.  Still a win is a win.

 
29.   Go on a horse drawn carriage ride 

 
30.   Go on a cruise  So not going to happen now.  Cruises and a pandemic do not go together

 
31.   Go to 5 conventions/conferences I managed to go to 1

 
32.   Go to a Christmas Market  Went to the Kimbolton Christmas Market our 1st year in Feilding.

 
33.   Go to a Farmers Market  Feilding had a Farmers Market every Friday and I never went once.  I must be mad

 
34.   Go to an art exhibit

 
35.   Go to an Ice Sculpture festival

 
36.   Grow a sunflower

 
37.   Have afternoon tea at a hotel 

 
38.   Have a bath by candlelight  Midwinter indulgence which was actually kind of nice

 
39.   Have a stone massage 

 
40.   Have fresh flowers in the house once a month for 1 year   I managed about 5 months mostly cause it was summer and I had lots of flowers popping up in my garden.  Now just need to figure out how to do this in the winter...

 
41.   Host Christmas in our house  No surprise this never happened as my Mum always wants Christmas at her house.  Maybe I can just do Christmas for me and Other Half one year?

 
42.   Improve my photography skills 

 
43.   Knit a pair of socks 

 
44.   Knit a pair of fingerless gloves 

 
45.   Learn a new language  I did do a Japanese course.  But since I already knew some Japanese I'm not sure this counts.

 
46.   Learn how to make compost 

 
47.   Learn to play backgammon

 
48.   Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find

 
49.   Listen to 5 TED talks 

 
50.   Lose 10 kilos  Actually 13 kilos lost and counting. 

 
51.   Make 5 new (to me) recipes  Hahaha.  Me cook?  Yeah that's a nope.

 
52.   Paint my nails a different colour each week for 1 year 

 
53.   Participate in "A photo an hour" and post on my blog

 
54.   Post comments on 101 blog posts by other bloggers  I did about 10.

 
55.   Plant a herb garden

56.   Plant a tree  Planted a feijoa tree

 
57.   Plant a vegetable garden  Done for several years.

 
58.   Print off photos of places I have been to and get them framed

 
59.   Read 5 books in a genre that I don't normally read  See below

 
60.   Read 5 graphic novels  Actually read about 70 odd so a big big win

 
61.   Read 10 nonfiction books in 1 year that aren't on knitting  Easily done.  Got to about 100 and lost count.

 
62.   Read a book a day for 1 year  

 
63.   Say hello to 5 new people  Well I did move to a new town so that was pretty easy.

 
64.   See a movie outdoors

 
65.   See a play

 
66.   See a musical

 
67.   See a live show (i.e. Brian Cox)

 
68.   See a pop-up theatre production 

 
69.   See the Aurora Borealis 

 
70.   Send 101 handwritten notes  

 
71.   Set up a bird feeder in the garden   We have a cat so this was never a good idea.

 
72.   Spend 24 hours offline (no Internet, no computer, no TV, no cell phone)  Done

 
73.   Start a garden  Mega done

 
74.   Stay overnight in a castle or historic house 

 
75.   Take a boat trip  I'm counting the handful of ferry trips between the North and South Island.

 
76.   Take a pilates class 

 
77.   Take a Tai Chii class

 
78.   Take a train tip 

 
79.   Take a yoga class  It was online but hey it still counts, right?

 

80.   Take part in NaNoWriMo again 

 

81.   Try 5 beauty products or brands that I haven't used before  

O'Right shampoo and conditioner, so hard to get which is a pity as I loved this eco product

Ethique, got a selection of their shampoo bars and my hair did not like.  Sadly a big pass from me. 

Maybelline Baby Soft Candy Wow lip balm, see point 22.

Soap and Glory, got a selection of their products most of which my skin hated.  Constantly itching anyone.

Revlon Pink Happiness perfume, love, love, love.  Sadly it's hard to find.

 

82.   Try 5 drinks (or brands or flavours of drinks) that I haven't had before

I got to about 4 so almost completed.

 
83.   Try 5 foods that I haven't had before.  I had pomegranate for the 1st time and loved it but that's about it.

 
84.   Try a mail order subscription of some sort (Loot crate, Book crate etc.)

 
85.   Try 5 restaurants/cafes that I haven't been to before

Hansens Cafe, was our fav until they closed

The Wool Shed Cafe

The Herb Garden

Relish in Waikanae

Salt and Pepper, for my birthday last year

 
86.   Visit a country I haven't been to before 

 
87.   Visit an island

 
88.   Visit 5 museums

 
89.   Visit 5 parks/gardens 

So close - visited 4.

 
90.   Visit 5 places/sites in New Zealand that I haven't been to before

Easily done thanks to moving to a new area and a South Island holiday.

Marton - Hawera - Opunake - Kimbolton - Taihape - Gore - Balclutha - Invercargill - Te Anau - Geraldine.

 
91.   Walk for 1 hour every day for 1 month

 
92.   Walk in 5 different locations/areas  See above

 
93.   Watch 10 documentaries  Doing 365 Movies in 365 Days helped with this.  Saw about 20 so or

 
94.   Watch 5 foreign language films  Ditto.  Some of which are now some of my favourite films.

 
95.   Watch 5 foreign language TV series  Watched 2, the French thriller/sci-fi series Into The Night which was really good and the Danish series The Rain which started out good but just got weirder and weirder

 
96.   Wear 5 different fashion items that I haven't worn before 

 
97.   Win a giveaway/competition

 
98.   Write a book

 
99.   Write a story and post it on Inkiitt

 
100. Write and post 50 blog posts in 1 year  Achieved in 2018 and 2019.  We won't talk about 2020...

 
101. Write a "To Do List" every week for 1 year 

Februrary's Plans

Plans, plans and more plans.  My brain really is a sucker for punishment, still it's nice to have some goals... even if I might not achieve them all.  

 

This month it's onwards and upwards and more of the same, though looking back it's nice to see that I did actually finish some things and made some decent headway with others. 

I'm just hoping that the heat doesn't get any worse or that my brain decides to goes on strike...

 

Reading

 

No plans as such because as we all know reading is pretty much a big part of who I am but I am keen to work my way through a rather large pile of e-magazines I have currently got out on loan plus the dozen or so audio books which recently fell... "cough"... into my hands.

Gardening

 

So much to do so naturally I've been getting stuck it and madly trimming trees and shrubs and clearing beds.  Even so it looks like I have barely made a dent and I'm pretty sure the weeds and the trees are growing faster than I can keep up with.

Oh well at least I'm getting plenty of exercise and fresh air.  The plan for this month is to carry on as normal with all the above tasks as well as lay down several bags off compost.

Can I just sleep now?

Crafting

 

Cross stitch project finished and done.  I know right?  Even I'm kind of amazed and surprised by that.  Especially since it's taken me so very, very long.

 

With that looming project finally gone I'm weirdly very keen to do more (stupid brain) and am already half way through my latest project - knitting a blanket for my cat Nudge as well as eyeing up some future projects such as a knitted blanket for my bed, a pretty cardigan for me and a nice cross stitch to hang on our wall. Oh and there's a pompom rug that I want to make plus try out my knitting circle loom and... 

I'm almost kind of glad that the winters down here are long and dark just so I can get busy with all this crafting.

Watching

As I mentioned in my previous post with so little to watch I've had to do a bit of hunting to help wile away the nights.  My latest watching marathon is Waking the Dead, a British crime show.  How I missed this show when it first screened I have no idea but at least now I have 9 seasons to work my way through.

Get Fit and Healthy

 

Does gardening count as exercise?

 

I really hope so, otherwise I've been fairly lackluster about this, though there has been the occasional walk so that's at least something.

On the other hand eating wise things are going well.  A constant diet of smoothies, scrambled eggs and vegan curries seem to be doing wonders, not only for my energy levels but for weight lost too.  I'm also seriously loving all the plant protein meals that I've been having lately.

At this rate I might just need to get myself a new smoothie making machine.

Writing

 

3 blog posts last month, other than that nada, zip, zilch, finito.  So I really need to push myself into doing more.  Perhaps the winter will see this goal finally being tackled properly.  Until then blog posts it is.