ALRIGHT, I'M DOING IT.

Good morning! This huge glorious picture cheers me up big time.

Beautiful photo belongs to boltandfrolic

I first saw a "101 in 1001" list over at Ice Cream & Peonies and really liked the concept; 101 goals for just under three years is somehow more manageable than the traditional five-ear plan in my mind! After admiring Kay's list, I started to look for other lists and found such a variety in goals: buy a house, save X amount of money, improve patience, learn how to sew, get a massage. It was amazing to me how different and yet similar so many of our desires are and, really,what we'd like to see ourselves become.

Inevitably, all of this looking at other people's goals led to me thinking about my own. I like making goals, and I love making lists, so here it is: my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days.

1) Get a dog.
2) Gather all known addresses and birthdays for friends and family and consolidate them into an address book.
3) Hang a colorful print above my desk at work.
4) Travel to New York.
5) Invest in a great all-purpose bag, and use it.
6) Pull an Into the Wild and disappear for a weekend.
7) Switch all of my hangers to matching wood hangers.
8) Build a monthly budget tracker template.
9) Maintain a monthly budget tracker for two months (for now). (0/2)
10) Wear heels all day for seven consecutive days.
11) Learn to properly pan sear.
12) Buy all-white bedding.
13) Set up monthly automatic donations for a charity. Accomplished! January 2010
14) Research and go on a hike somewhere within Minneapolis.
15) Complete my AA degree in anthropology.
16) Complete my BA degree in anthropology.
17) Take guitar lessons, either private or through school, for either four months or until I can make a go of it on my own.
18) Find a scent that I love and wear it on a regular basis.
19) Visit Lawrence, KS, one last time.
20) Try something new for saving: every time I eat out, I must deposit $10 into savings. Progress: $40
21) Stop using paper towels.
22) Call one old friend each weekend for a month.
23) Buy a bar of fancy soap.
24) Get an A in a math class.
25) Upgrade car insurance policy.
26) Get a rug (that I love!) for the front door.
27) Make my own laundry detergent and  use it (on a trial basis).
28) Make my own all-purpose household cleaner.
29) Upgrade my digital camera [insert make/model here].
30) Take a photography class.
31) Go one month without paying full retail price on anything.
32) Set up a home inventory.
33) Buy a little black dress.
34) Get TiVo.
35) DIY: Reupholster...something.
36) Attend a Craig Ferguson LLS taping.
37) Buy a first edition of Fanny Fern's Fern Leaves from Fanny's Portfolio.
38) Build my own piece of furniture from scratch. (TV stand?)
39) Get Hermes the Fish a bigger bowl that looks good, too.
40) Set up my own research library, complete with a search-able electronic database.
41) Write one letter a month to my grandma for twelve months. (0/12)
42) Bake, freeze and mail a miniature pie to my grandpa (Cowboy Grandpa!) for twelve months. (0/12)
43) Create an inspiration board (that isn't an eyesore).
44) Give a homeless person $20, or leave someone a $20 tip.
45) Invest in a great pencil skirt.
46) Run one 5K per month for one year. (0/12)
47) Invest in some winter boots.
48) Go camping once on my own.
49) Set up a separate "someday" savings account and contribute a small amount to it monthly. This is to be held separate from my usual savings account and used for something truly indulgent, somewhere down the line. Progress: $0
50) Buy some oversized glasses.
51) Purchase a custom blog layout.
52) Boost my credit score by a minimum of 80 points. (0/80)
53) Get a facial.
54) Get into the habit of tithing (again).
55) Master the art of grilling.
56) Start taking a Sam-E supplement daily.
57) Do a week-long volunteer gig at the Smithsonian through Earthwatch.
58) Buy a piano...and have it professionally moved and tuned.
59) Go to a shooting range. Shoot things.
60) Grow my own lemon tree.
61) Plant and grow herbs in kitchen (rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley, dill, sage).
62) Learn how to snowboard.
63) Install water-saving shower head.
64) Overhaul my undergarments drawer--replace anything and everything that is less than awesome and/or sexy.
65) Purchase a sewing machine.
66) Buy a stupidly sexy bra--just because.
67) Open a credit card and pay the balance in full every month.
68) Work my way through a notorious cookbook, trying every recipe (unless I know I won't like it).
69) Go to a museum or art gallery by myself.
70) Go out for a drink with a friend once a month for six months. (0/6)
71) Have a friend or friends over for dinner once a month for six months. (0/6)
72) Make time for reading fiction: one novel a month. (0/33)
73) Create a better header for the blog.
74) Initiate plans for a social outing with friends (a play, a concert, etc.)
75) Update resume.
76) Play a game of Texas Hold 'Em.
77) Dance. Just once, but do it.
78) Set up a savings cushion of at least $3000. ($40/$3000)
79) Get a scholarship.
80) Wear a dress to the farmer's market.
81) Take a cooking class.
82) Find and purchase the perfect trench coat.
83) Improve my posture.
84) Sand and paint my console cabinet.
85) Build a wine rack inside my console cabinet.
86) Purchase a new down comforter.
87) Visit family graves in South Dakota.
88) Buy and wear a bikini.
89) Go to a drive-in movie, for old times' sake.
90) Establish and follow a before-bed routine religiously for thirty days. (0/30)
91) Go an entire week without swearing.
92) Hang ribbons over my shower.
93) Get into graduate school.
94) Decide which branch of anthropology I want to pursue in graduate school.
95) Buy a new set of flatware.
96) Wear at least one piece of jewelry every day for a week.
97) Try my hand at selling on Etsy.
98) Meet Linnie.
99) 2010: Girls trip to Bayfield, WI
100) 2011: Girls trip to [location to be determined]
101) 2012: Girls trip to Ireland

Writing this list was such a great exercise in self-evaluation, which I wasn't quite expecting but now highly recommend. Now that I've written down these 101 items, I'm able to look at them and understand what my "big goals" are: Become financially responsible, establish healthy habits, travel, and set myself up materially for this next phase of young adulthood.

Those of you with a list: How are you doing?

Those of you without a list: What are you waiting for? :) Come on, go for it: what do you want for yourself in the next 33 months?

All this list writing makes me very excited to get started!