The 101 list

No, it's not a joke! I've decided to give it a try - 101 things to do in 1001 days (courtesy of Day Zero Project). The rules are simple, and as many before me, I'm posting them here:

The Challenge:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: 
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple challenges such as New Year's resolutions or a 'Bucket List'. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips, study semesters, or outdoor activities.

Now, on to the list itself. It was actually hard coming up with 101 things; some came from random ideas, others are sort of along the same lines. I tried to organize them into "topics", well, sort of... Some goals might belong to more than one, but you get the idea :)

ADVENTURE & TRAVEL
1. Dip my feet into the Atlantic Ocean
2. Dip my feet into the Pacific Ocean
3. Go camping
4. Go rockclimbing
5. Go to Las Vegas
6. Take a road trip to USA
7. Visit Boston, MA
8. Visit London, UK
9. Visit New York City, NY
10. Visit the Maritimes

COOKING & BAKING
11. Bake a delicious treat for G
12. Build a gingerbread house
13. Go strawberry picking and make jam
14. Learn to make pizza from scratch (including dough)
15. Make a pie on Pi day
16. Make 50 recipes from scratch (0/50)
17. Make homemade lemoncello
18. Make our own wine, share it with friends

CULTURE & LEARNING
19. Go to the ballet
20. Learn a new song on the piano
21. Learn CPR
22. Learn French
23. Learn to change a tire
24. Learn to play golf on a real golf course
25. Learn to say "thank you" in 10 different languages (0/10)
26. Make use of a local library
27. Read "Anna Karenina" (in Russian)
28. Read "Gone With The Wind" (in English)
29. Read "The Hunger Games" trilogy (0/3)
30. Read all of the Harry Potter books (0/7)
31. See 10 classic movies I've never seen (0/10)
32. Take a course at LCBO

FAMILY
33. Complete a baby book for V
34. Get a family picture taken
35. Phone dad at least once a month (0/33)
36. Potty train V
37. Start a family Christmas tradition
38. Start planning for baby #2

FRIENDS
39. Go to a spa with a friend
40. Host a board games night
41. Send 10 “just because” cards (0/10)
42. Send an unexpected gift to someone
43. Surprise someone with flowers
44. Write a letter to a childhood penpal

FINANCES
45. Don't buy anything new for a month (excluding groceries and bills)
46. Finalize my will
47. Pay off my credit card
48. Pay off my student loan
49. Save $10 for every completed task
50. Start saving for retirement

FOOD & DRINK
51. Don't eat anything after 19:00 for a week (0/7)
52. Don't eat out/take out for a month
53. Give up something for Lent
54. Give up something for Nativity Fast
55. No alcohol for 101 consecutive days
56. Swear off coffee for a month (0/30)
57. Try 33 different types of beer (0/33)

HEALTH & FITNESS
58. Become flexible enough to touch my toes
59. Buy a treadmill/ elliptical
60. Drink at least 1 litre of water daily for a month (make it a habit afterwards) (0/30)
61. Reach my goal weight
62. Run a 5K race in 2012, 2013 and 2014 (0/3)
63. Take a Yoga class

HOME ORGANIZING & IMPROVEMENT
64. Back up and re-organize all digital files
65. Clean out old make-up
66. Convert old school notes to digital format
67. Create a car emergency kit
68. Create an emergency preparedness kit for our home
69. De-clutter our basement (including laundry room)
70. Get rid of 101 things (0/101)
71. Get rid of clothes that does not fit
72. Organize all of our DVDs & Blu-rays
73. Organize contact information (addresses, phone #s, e-mails, birthdays)
74. Organize old photos and convert them to digital format
75. Organize our wedding album
76. Plant a garden
77. Renovate the kitchen

PERSONAL
78. Celebrate my 30th birthday with a bang!
79. Don't complain about anything for a week (0/7)
80. Follow through with a New Year's resolution
81. Get a new haircut
82. Get class G driver's license
83. Make a custom recipe book
84. Make a list of 100 things that make me happy (0/100)
85. Motivate someone to make a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days (0/1)
86. Not log into facebook for a whole week (0/7)
87. Release 5 books into the world (http://www.bookcrossing.com/)
88. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years (http://www.futureme.org/)

PHOTOGRAPHY STUFF
89. Complete a 365 day photo challenge
90. Get my picture taken with Santa
91. Make a "Year in Pictures" album
92. Make a photobook
93. Use my grandpa's camera

VOLUNTEERING & CHARITY
94. Become a qualified Children’s Restraint Technician (with S.E.A.T.S. for Kids)
95. Do some volunteer work
96. Donate $10 for every failed task
97. Donate 1 million grains of rice (0/1,000,000)
98. Donate blood
99. Send 10 shoeboxes for Christmas (0/10)

101 LIST
100. Reflect on this list at end date
101. Write a new list for the next 1001 days

(I'm creating a tab in the menu above to find it easier later. Oh, and I'll be posting updates too, so stay tuned and see how much money I'll be able to save and how much will go to charity!)

Beef and Irish Stout Stew

I'll be honest with you... other than having a great time in an Irish pub when I was younger, I really don't see the significance that St. Patrick's Day brings. Then again, I'm not Irish by any stretch of genealogy, so I have an excuse.  BUT... as I'm doing his genealogy, it turns out, my hubby is 1/32 Irish (his 3rd great grandfather was born in Ireland and immigrated to Canada during the Great Potato Famine).

So this year I figured, why not make some Irish dish for supper. I looked and looked, and there are TONS of recipes out there, many sound delish! However, even though I like to cook, I look for simpler dishes that are still delicious, but will be easy to replicate and don't require any fancy-hard-to-find ingredients. I came across the Beef & Irish Stout Stew and decided to give it a try. It turned out AWESOME! And I'm not just saying that cause I made it, it really was THAT GOOD :) I'm not a huge fan of beef, but this just melts in your mouth with minimal chewing of beef involved (you know, the kind one has to do with a well-done steak).

Enjoy!
(click on photos to enlarge)