1) Put away $5 for every goal completed
- who doesn't want some cash to celebrate their achievements?
2) Donate $3 to charity for every goal I don't complete
- maybe someone can benefit from my failures! It will likely be the Parkinson Society, in honour of my grandfather.
3) Make a list of 20 non-fiction books and read them
- I typically read fiction, and only recently started to read some non-fiction books (typically about weight loss and self-improvement), and I'd like to branch out and read some different topics.
4) Make a list of 30 fiction books and read them
- I haven't had as much time to read as I used to lately, so I added this to force me to make time to read the books I enjoy.
5) Make a list of 15 classics and read them
- I always wanted to read books like Jane Eyre and Little Women (which I have started many times and I don't think I've ever quite finished), and I did read Wuthering Heights but really did not enjoy it... but I would like to consider myself well read.
6) Make a list of 10 book/movie combos and read/watch them
- isn't it always fun to complain about how terrible the movie was compared to the book?
7) Memorize 'Twas The Night Before Christmas
- it just seems like the perfect Christmas tradition to recite that on Christmas Eve.
8) Read a French novel
- it's been years since I've read anything in French, and I better do what I can to not lose it.
9) Write a letter to myself on Day 1 to be opened on Day 1001
- cause I'm clearly not a documenting nostalgic.
10) Read all the Harry Potter books again
- why not? I'm going to have to read them all again before I watch the movies anyway (I've only seen the first one at this point).
11) Watch 5 classic movies I've never seen
- I love Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz and It's A Wonderful Life, so I'm sure there's lots of classic movies out there I have yet to fall in love with (White Christmas was NOT a success story for me though).
12) Watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show
- I vaguely recall seeing it when I was little, but who doesn't want to watch Tim Curry and the Time Warp? (it also reminds me to watch Nothing But Trouble... I often confuse the two... I said I was little!).
13) Read 3 biographies
- much like my non-fiction list, I think there are some inspiring people out there to be read about.
14) Watch 50 of IMBd's Top 250 movies
- an excuse to watch Fight Club, Schindler's List and Jaws (all of which I've yet to see).
15) Make a play list of 101 favourite songs
- it might be tougher than it sounds, but it will be a killer play list!
16) Spend an entire day reading
- I rarely let myself enjoy a whole day of reading, undistracted and unsidetracked.
17) Write 5 blog posts based on creativewritingprompts.com
- I'd like to challenge my writing skills beyond all my self chatter.
18) Complete to 100 Snapshots Challenge
- a chance to improve and hone my photography skills.
19) Complete the 30 Day Song Challenge
20) Research prayer and try it every day for a month
- I've always wished that I had some connection to some kind of higher power.
21) Practice piano for 30 minutes every day for a week
- I'm determined to learn how to play!
22) Learn how to play 5 of my favourite songs on the piano
- how awesome to be able to play Bittersweet Symphony, November Rain, 3 AM, Colorblind, and the Mario Theme!
23) Expand my vocabulary by 100 words
- it would be nice to sound more concise and eloquent.
24) Research meditation and try it every day for a month
- oh to be stress free and relaxed every day!
25) Take a special interest course
- maybe a cooking class would be great, or a photography course, or maybe something I haven't even thought of yet.
26)
Take an AQ purely out of interest Take 2 coursera.com courses that I can put on my resume
- I've been taking them to improve my marketability, but it would be great to take one simply because it intrigued me. (edit: didn't have the money to spend on an AQ; coursera is free!)
27) Be able to identify 7 constellations
- an excuse to star gaze with intensity.
28) Learn how to change a tire
- after driving in the pouring rain, late to work, and the car shaking and my uneducated brain thinking it was a blown tire, and me not knowing even where the spare was let alone how to change it... well I figured I should learn.
29) Learn how to make 5 origami creatures
- cause it's fun and they look cool, and I've been able to make a crane since we folded hundreds in Grade 8, some with gum wrappers.
30) Lose 25 lbs total
31) Lose 50 lbs total
32) Run a 10km race
- signed up for September 24, 2011!
33) Bike to Lakefield and back
- I did it once with a youth group in Grade 9, and it was really tough but I persevered through it while others climbed into the van instead, and it was a proud feeling.
34) Complete the 100 Pushups Challenge
- isn't the pushup the ultimate gauge of fitness?
35) Complete the 200 Situps Challenge
- why is 100 push ups but 200 sit ups?? I don't know, I didn't make up these challenges. This one I don't mind so much, but 200 is a LOT.
36) Try each of my exercise videos
- I have a lot, and some I've never tried, so I think I should go through them and see if they are actually worth keeping.
37)
Become a Lifetime Member at Weight Watchers Reach my goal weight
- what a sweet day that will be. (edit: trying to save money, it was taking to long and not always working efficiently)
38) Run a half marathon
- some days this seems too daunting, like something I don't actually want to do, but what a heck of an accomplishment for the non-athlete/non-runner to complete a half marathon!
39) Try a belly dancing class
- have you seen the abs on those girls? Totally worth it.
40) Take a yoga class
- I've only ever tried yoga in my Wii games, and it's tough to strain your neck to see the TV while in downward dog... plus flexibility is NOT one of my strengths, so it's definitely worth a real world try.
41) Maintain my goal weight
- I don't know if maintaining will be tough or easy but I will have to do it.
42) Learn how to do a cartwheel
- I have never been able to do one. Ever. I was the chubby kid, the last thing I could do was fling my pudge up over my head. I tried a few times, all the girls did at recess was flip cartwheels. But I never could. And I became afraid of falling. But I will do it!
43) Touch my toes
- I don't think I've ever been able to touch my toes either (I did say that my flexibility wasn't great!) and it would be really great if I could finally do that.
44) Try burlesque dancing
- this one might end up being a video in the living room because I have no idea where to find a class like this near me, but I think it would a lot of fun.
45) Try pole dancing
- I tried to sign up for months, but the only place in town that offers it kept screwing me over so I finally gave up. But I still want to try it, and it would seem that a certain bachelorette party in the fall will include some poles, so I am looking forward to that!
46) Learn the Single Ladies dance
- I love choreographed dances. And this one is hot.
47) Swim a total of 10km
- I think one length of the pool at my gym is 20 metres, so I've got a lot of swimming to do.
48) Sort my music in iTunes
- it's not bad right now, but needs some consistency.
49) Organize my photo collection
- this one is daunting because I have literally thousands of pictures on my computer that are all in various folders by date, and I would like to get them organized and properly named.
50) Sort my filing cabinet
- I just bought it a few months ago and just kind of threw everything in (I have a LOT of teaching resources, and I will only accumulate more throughout my career) and it really needs to be better sorted.
51) Pay off our school debt
- we are close, but it will be so nice not to owe anything anymore!
52) Create a time capsule
- again, back to the documenting nostalgia. Although I have no idea what I intend to put into this capsule, or how long I will sit on it.
53) Start saving for retirement
- just did an annuities unit with my Grade 12s; I want that kind of cash when I retire!
54) Write down every moment that's ever hurt me and burn the paper
- if it's good enough for Ben Affleck in Surviving Christmas, then it's good enough for me.
55) Look at myself in the mirror in the morning and at night every day for a week and say one positive thing about myself
- I need to work on positive self-talk.
56) Wear a bikini in public
- I bought a really cute colourful (but mostly purple) bikini a few years ago and would soo desperately love to comfortably and confidently wear it in public.
57) Wear a sexy Halloween costume
- shopping for costumes has always been tough for me; Halloween is typically a free pass for girls to dress slutty and that's what costumes tend to cater to. Then there's frumpy old me (see why I need to work on the positive self-talk??) I would LOVE to wear a cute and sexy Halloween costume, and not have to wear robes and big dresses.
58) Make a list of 101 favourite quotes
- there are so many good inspirational ones out there, I just need to put them all together and read them to myself regularly.
59) Buy and wear sexy lingerie
- ok, maybe more info than anyone really wanted to know, but it kind of goes with the Halloween costume. It must be nice to strut around in sexy clothes for your husband. I'd like to know that for myself.
60) Donate blood 3 times
- I used to do it all the time, but then I had a few bad experiences in a row, and it basically meant I was out of commission for 2-3 days, and I just could not afford to miss work just to give blood. But I would like to get back into it.
61) Take a photo and blog about each of these goals as I accomplish them
- did I mention that I like to document nostalgia? Besides, what good would it be to do all these super cool things and not brag about it?
62) Write a list of 101 things I have already accomplished
- I tried really hard to make this a list of new experiences for me, things I have never done before. As I rifled through the Day Zero Project website for ideas, I realized that I had already done a lot of cool things in my life, and I would like to document those, and prove to myself that I am capable of achieving goals.
63) Tie a note to a balloon and let it go
- Very message-in-a-bottle without feeling quite as much like pollution. Plus, I doubt people actually check bottles for notes. Assuming the bottle just doesn't end up in a dirty old creek somewhere never to be found. I have higher hopes of my balloon note actually making it into someones hands. No idea what this note will actually say.
64) Eat 30% carbs 30% fat 40% protein for a week
- I've heard from several places that more protein than carbs is better for you, so I thought a week of practice in eating as such could be an eye opener.
65) Eat at an ethnic restaurant I have never tried before
- This could be tough since I have already tried many of the ethnic restaurants in our city, not to mention abroad, but we could always drive closer to the Toronto to find something.
66) Be vegetarian for a week
- just another excuse to improve my eating habits and encourage me to eat more fruits and vegetables as well as get some new protein sources in my diet.
67) Eat at 10 new restaurants
- not that I really need an excuse to eat at a restaurant, but we always seem to think of great restaurants to try when we AREN'T eating out, and then when we do decide to go out, we forget all those great ideas and end up eating at the same old commercial places (à la Kelsey's, Montana's, Red Lobster, etc).
68) No eating out for a month
- have to counteract all the eating out.
69) Make a pie for Pi day
- I'm definitely more cook less baker, and heaven knows how my pastry will turn out, but between the math and the food, I couldn't resist this suggestion.
70) Try 5 new foods
- This one will be a bit of a challenge because I am always adventurous in trying new foods, so it will be tough to find things I have yet to try. I will try to keep this to a specific simple food, but it might have to be a new dish if I can't find individual foods.
71) Make a custom recipe book
- I have so many loose recipes and many from my grandma's collection that I would love to put together a nice book.
72) Make 5 new desserts
- not being a baker of any kind, I rarely make desserts. Plus the healthier desserts don't typically appeal to me much so I try to avoid making any at all. But I would like to try to have a few go to recipes if ever needed.
73) Give up chocolate for one month
- I'm not sure what even possessed me to think I could enjoy this goal at all, but I'm going to try. It's not going to be pretty, be forewarned. Tell myself I can't eat chocolate? Do you know what one thing I will be thinking of for the entire 720 hours? (wait... if I pick February, that's only 672 hours........).
74) Cook an elaborate 3 course meal
- sure I cook somewhat fancy dinners all the time. But I've never really tried to put together a nice presentable coursed meal; salad was just always in a bowl beside your dinner plate to be eaten at the same time. Timing could be tricky!
75) Go horseback riding
- When I was 12, I went to a summer week camp where I got to go horseback riding every day (it's also where I discovered that I am as allergic to horses as I am dogs and cats). Since then, I've rode a small horse in Cuba. I would really like to ride an actual horse again.
76) See a play/musical
- I'm really hoping Nick will buy me tickets to see Wicked for my birthday this year.
77) Finish my cross stitch
- It took me about 4 years to finish my first wizard cross stitch, and I've had my second one sitting around for about 6 or 7 years now. The lovely stars, sun and moon picture is not even half done. I want to get a Christmas cross stitch, but not until this one is done!
78) Get another tattoo
- Maybe it's true when they say once you get one, you can't stop. I have images of more Japanese characters going up my spine, the beautiful geisha on my back, my snowman-with-a-teddy-bear for my grandma on my shoulder.... Plus I've always viewed it as a reward for losing the weight.
79) Go white water rafting
- it looks fun. I've never done it. And I'm attempting to plan a big 30th birthday blowout for next summer (since myself and most of my friends turn 30 next year) which includes a weekend of white water rafting near Ottawa.
80) Finish my scrapbook
- I started a wonderful scrapbook almost 2 years ago to track my weight loss and my monthly goals. It's gotten a lot thicker than I expected it to, but I've been consistent in taking my picture every two weeks, and even though I haven't added an entry since last August, I want to get it put together since I have all the info and photos.
81) Spend an entire day at the spa
- the only time I've done that was the day before our wedding, but between the wedding itself and Nick going through testing for an exciting new job opportunity, it didn't really end up as a quiet, calm and relaxing day. It was really enjoyable but I'd love to do it again and really enjoy the quiet and peacefulness.
82) Complete a colouring book
- it seems calming and therapeutic. And since I can't draw a stick person to save my life, it's about as artistic as I can get. Maybe I can find a Christmas colouring book.
83) Go ziplining
- I had originally wanted to go to Costa Rica for our honeymoon, and that included going through the forest high above the trees on a zipline. Once we switched to Cuba plans, there was no zipline in our activity list. But I've found one in Ontario so there is hope for me still! Plus it reminds me of the old kids zipline that used to be out at our local zoo, and it always thrilled yet terrified me, so it's a bit like conquering a childhood fear.
84) Go to a rodeo
- I have been to one before, but I don't really remember much about it. And I've tried to go again but it always seems way to expensive. But now I have to go.
85) Watch the sunset and the sunrise in one night while camping
- It's beautiful. Doesn't need much more explanation, does it?
86) Get professional photos done once I have lost the weight
- I don't know quite how racy of photos Nick is going to end up with, but if they get really racy, they sure won't be the picture included in the blog entry! It's just another thing that only thin people do in my mind, and I want to be that person.
87) Dance in the rain
- I've certainly kissed in the rain, but I don't think we've ever danced in the rain. And I like the rain.
88) Have a picnic on the beach
- There's not really a lot of beaches around here, but I'd love to pack up a real picnic with all the staples like potato salad, macaroni salad, white buns, deli meat... yum!
89) Build a sandcastle
- Will probably happen shortly after the picnic lunch I imagine. I've actually never built anything more fancy than a pile of dirt.
90) Sleep under the stars
- I remember building small lean-tos one year at Guide camp and we slept with our heads sticking out; I'd love to do that again.
91) Hug a tree
- Simple and sweet. I don't know that I've ever actually hugged a tree while concentrating on nothing but my thoughts of how much I love the tree. I don't have a particular tree in mind, but I think I will know it when I see it. I would think it would be a Christmas tree, but those are tough to wrap your arms around their trunk. I'll have to find a Plan B.
92) Go rock climbing
- Again, something I have never tried. But I just bought a Wag Jag that included mini golf and a small outdoor rock climbing wall, so I see this goal being completed this summer!
93) Finish a 500+ piece puzzle
- Maybe a Christmas one (are you sensing my not-so-secret passion yet?) or maybe a tropical landscape. Again, I think I will just know when I see it that I'll have to buy it.
94) Host a movie marathon
- it just sounds fun. And I'm hoping it will be in a new house with a good entertaining media space. I don't know what movies, or even if there will be that many people in attendance, but it will be an event! (Maybe I could go with The Santa Clause 1, 2 & 3. Or Home Alone 1 & 2....)
95) Go on a road trip without a pre-set destination
- I am insanely organized and a huge planner, spontaneity isn't really in my vocabulary, neither is not being prepared, so this one could test my limits for sure.
96) Perform a Chinese fire drill
97) Try geo-caching
- I like hiking, and this way I will have a specific destination. Plus I'm curious as to what is in these mysterious caches and logbooks.
98) Test drive a VW Beetle
- it's been my dream car since the released the newer models; I have several models around the house (I had many more when I was 16, I've pared down). So someday I will actually be in one!
99) Celebrate a new holiday
- A friend once told me I am very holiday impressionable and it was a great compliment. I love holiday traditions and can't wait to find a new one to celebrate.
100) Dance in the moonlight after a candlelit dinner
- This could go with my 3 course meal, but I've got to hope that the weather co-operates with me, which isn't exactly a common occurrence.
101) Host a Christmas party
- Again, hopefully in our nice new house. I would just love to have a full all-out decorated, food prepared, cookies baked, music on, lights twinkling, movies playing, gifts exchanged, games played, laughter shared evening. *sigh*
