101 in 1,001 update

I'm into the last calendar year of my 101 in 1,001 project!

I didn't make formal resolutions this year, but I have been thinking about 2014 in a big picture, wanna-make-a-vision-board kind of way. It is a perfect time to revisit the 101 in 1,001 list and do some planning, since my list wraps up on September 28!

I have 51 items complete and 17 in progress.

I finished a few recently:

#90 Try six new foods. I tried a guava on Christmas Day. I've never had it not in juice form!
#89 Take a cooking class. The buche de noel cooking class I took with Sara through Minneapolis Community Ed covered it (and was awesome).
#43 Give blood at least once a year. (Five donation visits during the 101 in 1,001 project: twice in 2012, twice in 2013, and once this week. I'm glad I got more consistent about this - and thanks to Kate for the initial nudge!)

I'm trucking along at others:

#82 Try one new recipe per month. (I love that these are all collected in one place, in my Google doc.)
#92 Read five classic books. (I've been reading Sister Carrie, very slowly.)
#97 See five classic movies. (I watched "The Godfather" last month.)
#73 Take a photo of the same place every month for a year. (This one is really fun!)

I'm keeping my eye out for some that I need to get moving on:

#57 Learn the basics of car maintenance (either by taking a class or asking my dad to teach me to change oil).
#61 Complete three financial literacy projects. I've been thinking a lot about this and have some ideas.
#67 Go to six cultural events with a friend. (Volunteers and ideas welcome!)

And I got the ball rolling on some others this week, including: making a dentist appointment, picking my next poem to memorize, marking my calendar to volunteer at an upcoming race, marking my calendar for the local hot air balloon festival, and hitting the sauna on those cold, cold days when the gym was my best workout option.

There's a lot left to tackle, but with nearly nine months to go in the project, I'm making progress. Even if I stopped today, it's neat to look at the list and take stock of the progress: the nearly 50 items I've checked off in the last couple of years that represent more trying, learning and exploring than I would've done without the list. I'm also jotting down ideas for my next list as they pop into my head, and at risk of looking too far ahead, I'm excited to start fresh with a new 101 in 1,001. But first: the remaining 51 unchecked items. Onward!