101 in 1,001: Halfway There

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WHOOOAAAAA!!! LIVING ON A PRAYER!!

Couldn't help myself. Moving on.

In November 2019, I started my very first 101 in 1,001, at the suggestion of my friend Keri, like in Coffee with Keri. You can check it out here. She told me about this challenge and encouraged me to make what seemed like a very daunting list of goals.

Today, I am 503 days into my 1,001. You can read the full list here.

So I'm doing a little check-in to see what I've accomplished so far, what I haven't and what's changed between then and now.

Overall, I have completed 36 of the 101 things.

It may not seem like much, but keep in mind, I knew that I would not complete everything in 3 years. Plans change, and things don't always work out as planned, and that's okay! Also, several items on my list are habits, or things I want to do annually, so I can't check them off til the very end.

Professional + Education (4/10)

I don’t have 100 subscribers yet, but halfway there!

P.S - if you haven't subscribed yet, you can here!

I have designed a new logo, and have played with the branding over the last year. I have consistently posted every week, and I do have a Facebook page, you can follow it here.

I’m still learning as much as I can about blogging and marketing and branding and all the things, and hope to grow this blog as much as I can. It truly is my favorite thing (besides the girls, obviously), and I’m eager to see how I can use it to encourage and lift up others.

Health (4/11)

Okay, so I thought I had a bad knee. As it turns out, I just have bad hips. Which I found out from seeing a chiropractor, who helped me to strengthen my hips and core, and now my knee is perfectly fine! So there’s two birds with one stone.

I also splurged on a really nice workout outfit. And then another one. In the last year or so I've collected several new pieces of Fabletics and now I won't work out in anything else. You can check out my favorite leggings here!

Faith (2/9)

Many of my goals for this category were public/community event-related, and since many were canceled last year, I didn't achieve them.

However, I did purchase a new devotional, and it has been life-changing. I'm so glad I took that step to deepen my relationship with Jesus. This is the one I have.

Personal Growth + Lifestyle (3/16)

One of my main goals is to read 50+ books a year. I didn't read nearly that many in 2020, but I'm chasing that goal this year. I want to read at least 5 biographies, 5 classic literature books, 10 nonfiction, so please send me your recommendations! You can comment your favorites below, shoot me an email, or hit me up on social media.

P.S. - If you're a reader, follow me on Goodreads! I'd love to see what you're reading!

Travel (5/11)

Although I wasn't able to do nearly the amount of traveling I would like, I have knocked out a decent chunk of my travel goals. Last year, I visited one of my favorite places, Acadia National Park, with Elliot, and also completed our first road trip together!

We also visited Aruba and Florida last year, just before travel restrictions went into place. I'm hopeful to take a few more trips this year!

Marriage (4/10)

I'm realizing that a chunk of my marriage goals are financial in nature, but I consider finances to be an important part of marriage and teamwork, and financial goals shape your lifestyle.

Anyway, we paid off my car in October, and we're working on being completely debt-free.

We didn't get to do any marriage conferences or seminars this past year, but if you know of any coming up this year, I would love to hear about them!

As for anniversary celebrations, we celebrated our first anniversary last year as best we could, but I'm looking forward to a fun day trip for our anniversary this year.

Organizing My Life (5/11)

Finally, after almost 3 years of living in this house, our spare room has a purpose. It's no longer a room to hold Christmas gifts and wedding decor. It is an office. A nice office.

Also, I made sure to get Christmas photos taken this year, and so help me, I got Christmas cards out. Late, I might add, but cards went out. And if they were late, I sent New Years cards. Am I crazy? Yes, absolutely, but those dang cards were gonna spread some cheer.

Home (8/11)

How surprised are we that after a year of staying home, my Home category is the most completed? ZERO. We are zero surprised.

I repainted and styled my powder room, and got some cute shelves for our master bath. I decorated seasonally, and organized said decor into bins for each season. I have styled my new foyer and bookshelf. I have created a workspace for myself.

AND, I have finished unpacking boxes from when we moved, thrown out stuff I don't need, and reorganized into an acceptable amount of chaos.

Just For Fun (1/11)

I hope you all realized how thoroughly amused I am that I have done ONE fun thing. Obviously, not, but the evidence clearly points in that direction.

On my Just For Fun list, are things like Broadway shows, UD homecoming, and puppy classes. Obviously, Broadway isn't happening at the moment, and that's okay.

On the other hand, over the last year, I realized that Ellie would not enjoy being a therapy dog. Or even doing that kind of thing. She likes approximately 3% of the general public and that 3% just so happens to be the population that carries cheese on their person for sharing purposes.

Not her jam. It's okay.

If you have some goals you want to achieve, or even if you have your own 101 in 1,001 list, it's okay to not check everything off. It's okay to change your mind and it's okay to choose a different direction.

I didn’t and probably won’t complete a lot of these. But when scrolling through my photos over the last year and a half, I realized how many things I didn’t put on the list.

Like learning to bake cakes from scratch, and learning to decorate them. Or getting up early to watch the sun rise. Like helping plan the best Fourth of July party I’ve ever been to. Celebrating a wedding on a beautiful island. Learning to keep plants alive, or starting a vegetable garden.

I’m not disappointed in the slightest about not finishing some of these things. I was different on day 1, and I’ll be different on day 1,001.

Plans change. And we roll with it.