101 in 1,001: The first update!

One month down, 33 to go!  

Remember when I debuted my 101 in 1,001 project at the start of 2012?  I'm hoping to do mostly-monthly updates on my progress, primarily to keep myself organized and on track.  My plan is to outline the completed goals, the in-progress goals and the goals I am launching that month.  (I switched to a google doc to monitor my progress, too.)

First, the completed goals - just two so far:

#74: Sew a gift for someone.  (More on this a little later, but trust me, it's done.)

#78: Paint one room in my house.  Yes!  I painted my kitchen/dining room area on January 17.  I love having color in that space now, which is the main room in our apartment, and I am really happy I took on this project, even though I remembered midway through how taxing painting is!

Next, the in-progress goals.  Some of these will go on for a long time.

#22: Take at least one walk per week for one year

#47: Volunteer at six races

#62: Send one card per week for three months

#66: Make a list of important birthdays and send mail accordingly

#67: Go to three cultural events with a friend (I changed this to six and it might go higher)

#82: Cook one new recipe per month

#90: Try six new foods

Finally, what you've been waiting for: the goals being launched!

#7: Go to 25 yoga classes (this is a longterm project, not just for February!!)

#12: Take a vitamin daily

#56: Document spending for one month

#75: Print out photos and make a 2011 album

#83: Bake a birthday cake

#94: Read a book and see its film adaptation

I think this is a doable challenge: a mix of one-time and ongoing daily projects.  The yoga thing was woefully neglected in January and I hope to get back on track this week.  I also really want to get better about taking my Vitamin D and calcium.  I am eager to document my spending because I've identified some larger wishlist items I'd like to save for later in the year, so this will be the first step to see where I am flushing dollars.  And so on.

Starting the list last month was a great energizer to my spirits.  All of a sudden, opportunities are popping out at me: restaurants and recipes to try, events to attend, building blocks to begin for future goals.  One time, Josh and I went on a walk specifically to keep the (short) streak going and ended up having a really nice stroll. The whole "life is not a dress rehearsal" notion has come up a couple of times: I found myself "practicing" a couple of list items to gear up for the real effort, which is sometimes productive and sometimes counter to the whole point.

This project is a thrill for me, and I recommend it (or some variation of it) to any of you, Readers. For me, it was a healthy exercise just to put these 101 goals into writing, and I loved the response from friends who chimed in about where they could help.  I'll need it, that's for sure!

Onward to February!  Thanks for reading!