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