101 Update as of March 14th

Here is an update on my 101 list with two weeks to go. It’s funny how having a kid can derail some plans, but help you get other kinds accomplished.

The 101 List

Start Date: Sunday, July 7, 2013
End Date: Sunday, April 3, 2016

In Process             Completed                                                  

1.             Make my new 101 list (it's nice to have something to check off right away, isn't it?)

2.             Find the perfect mojito recipe (preferably from Fish D'vine)
It’s not perfect, but I found some tricks from taking Dolly’s class at Harry’s on how to properly make drinks. It turns out one of the things that I’ve been doing wrong my entire life is muddling. Muddling doesn’t mean mashing the hell out of your herbs – you only want to muddle enough to release the fragrance. Who knew?

3.             Use a "word of the day" in a sentence every day for two weeks (or longer)

4.             Get my wedding ring re-sized (it was too small to begin with)
I completed this finally. I got it done around March of 2014, when my hands were swelling due to my pregnancy.

5.             Buy a map and put pins in the locations where I've left a little of Dad

6.             Use one week of our timeshare in a place other than the DR
We used this in Cancun, where they somehow sold us (read: MIMOSAS) on upgrading our timeshare. Hopefully we will start taking more advantage, especially with those special red hot weeks that are cheap and drive-able to a sister resort. We’re also going back to Cancun in December.

7.             Go camping

8.             Go fishing

9.             Go crabbing

10.          Go horseback riding with Rancho Lorilar in the Dominican Republic

11.          Attend one of the monthly USA Dance  events (or something comparable)

12.          Go to a murder mystery dinner theatre

13.          Raft a Class V river

14.          Climb a rock wall

15.          Go without eating out for two weeks
We have done this several times. I/we have been making an effort to eat at home as a family every night that we can. It’s also saved us money!

16.          Have a yard sale

17.          Have my aunt Mary over for dinner
She came over for Mark’s party, so I’ll check this one off.

18.          Hike Old Rag

19.          Complete the Couch 25K program

20.          Sign up for a 5K race - then do it

21.          Swim 1000 yards

22.          PADI Open Water SCUBA diver certification

23.          PADI Advanced Open Water SCUBA diver certification

24.          Come up with a weekly housecleaning list
We have one, whether or not it’s completed is another story. We do have a housecleaner who comes in once a month that has helped us a LOT.

25.          Make a filing system for all of my important documents
This is a work in progress, but I’m marking it off

26.          Figure out what I want to be when I grow up or figure out my degree path

27.          Drink bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape from 2006 France trip (hope it's still good)
We enjoyed it at Thanksgiving 2015. It was delicious!

28.          Make a photobook of Australia and New Zealand trip
I did this and love it! I also made a little photobook of our time in Surfers and Cooley for my Aunt Nancy and sent it to her.

29.          Set up a computer with photo editing software

30.          Frame and hang one or more of my own photos
I have six of my photos hanging in my office, and I also bought a set of frames to hang more in the house.

31.          Look into providing photos for Shutterstock

32.          Select photos and apply to be a juried photographer at the Foundry

33.          Fence in entire backyard

34.          Can tomatoes from my own garden

35.          Re-learn how to play Chess

36.          Spend a weekend in NYC

37.          See a Broadway show

38.          Send Aunt Nancy thank you gift 

39.          Send Chris and Sally thank you gift

40.          Make gluten-free bread

41.          Design egg carton to sell/giveaway eggs

42.          Take an impromptu trip to the beach (for the day or weekend)
I’m happy to report that we’ve done this a few times!

43.          Make a batch of wine

44.          Meet up with Nancy and Darryl in Germany or Austria
This will likely never happen, as my uncle Darryl is giving up his passport. We are planning to visit them in OZ again in May of 2017.

45.          Visit Key West (maybe even for Fantasy Fest)
Hey look, we did this and celebrated our five year anniversary!

46.          Meet up with my cousin Emily - either in Boise or elsewhere

47.          Write a letter to the editor

48.          Plan a visit to South America

49.          Take a two-week vacation (or longer)

50.          Write up TripAdvisor reviews for 5 places/things in OZ and/or NZ

51.          Sign up to be a Foodie pen pal at least once

52.          Write a magazine-worthy essay or short story

53.          Send out Christmas cards (hopefully every year)
We’ve done this twice… not too bad for us!

54.          Find a cool glass bottle to display my Whitehaven Beach sand

55.          Spread some of Dad at Martinak State Park
I still need to do this. I had the perfect opportunity to make him a somewhat permanent fixture of the trail at Martinak, too.

56.          Buy a brick for the FACES building

57.          Plan and organize a WCCC meeting

58.          Go on a sailing adventure

59.          Eat a rooster that wakes me up too early

60.          Make Jay a new mug

61.          Spend a day technology-free

62.          Plant hardy perennials in front garden

63.          Get rid of red couch and chair

64.          10,000 steps a day for two weeks straight

65.          Do a liveaboard trip or cruise vacation

66.          Use Chase Sapphire points for a vacation

67.          Sell/giveaway laying hens

68.          Sell eggs from our flock (hopefully enough to sustain price of feed)

69.          Make brownies from scratch and share recipe on blog

70.          Visit Nancy and Darryl in Australia again

71.          Decide if finishing my degree in OZ is a viable option

72.          Visit Kathy's store Bead Soup

73.          Send Renee and Joanne souvenirs from vacation

74.          Enter something in the county or state fair

75.          Try out paddleboarding
I did this in September 2015 and LOVED it! It makes me want to move somewhere on the water and buy a paddleboard. J

76.          Decide if buying a boat is right for us

77.          Try out oil pulling for at least a month

78.          Successfully grow a plant from seed

79.          Research and buy a new car

80.          Dive a wreck

81.          Go to the Dry Tortugas

82.          Have a fabulous time at Christina and Dan's wedding

83.          Make lemonade from scratch

84.          Stay at a bed and breakfast

85.          Go to pony penning

86.          Have a gait analysis done and buy proper running shoes

87.          Watch a meteor shower

88.          Send a message in a bottle

89.          Harvest pecans from our tree

90.          Finish painting privacy fence

91.          Go on a last-minute vacation 

92.          Bring in fresh flowers to work for a month

93.          Give someone a gift for being awesome

94.          Attend a literary supper

95.          Attend Second Saturdays at the Foundry at least twice a year (6x total)

96.          Make Maryland Beaten Biscuits

97.          Go vegetarian for a week

98.          Perfectly cook salmon

99.          Grow herbs inside

100.        Put up blackout curtains in bedrooms

101.        Spend an entire afternoon reading in the hammock

Wine, Roosters, and Boats

43. Make a batch of wine

It's been bottled! We bottled it at 1 a.m. the night that my sister-in-law arrived. I bought some labels from Amazon and we've been having some fun with them. We printed out labels for the winners of our Ugly Sweater Party and called it "Ugly Sweater Sauvignon" and another label was called "Headless Chicken Wine." Or something like that. It was fun!

59. Eat a rooster that wakes me up too early

He was delicious in Buffalo Chicken Dip. I tried not to think about it too much.Let's just say that if there was  a zombie apocalypse, I could probably kill and eat my own chicken, but it's not something I think I'll ever be comfortable with. They're too much like pets to me. I tried to rationalize it by thinking what a better life our chickens have had than those who are raised until they're only 6-8 weeks old, then shoved into tiny pens and processed at a big plant, but it is still tough to eat something that was once a cute little peep.

76. Decide if buying a boat is right for us

I would like to mark this one off. I think it makes more sense for us to rent a boat from Schnaitman's whenever we want to go fishing or crabbing than to own a boat ourselves. Not to mention that we have several other friends with boats. It just doesn't make sense for us to buy one of our own. Yet. Maybe next year it will be a different story. Jay thinks that a small crabbing or rowboat would make sense for us to have. So, we will re-evaluate at a later date, but for now, I'm crossing it off.

I have completed 27 items of the 101 - 26.73% through my list.

177 days into my 1001 days - 17.68% through the days.

I am doing a good job keeping up with my schedule!

Oil Pulling... gross or helpful?

77. Try out oil pulling for at least a month

I've been at it for a month, only taking a day off here and there when I was away or when I forgot. I've been pretty good about getting into a routine with it and I would say that it's pretty much a habit now. I scoop out a spoonful and swish it around while I'm showering and getting ready in the morning. 

It really grossed me out for the first few days, but I eventually got used to it. The chewing/melting of the oil initially was also rather disgusting, but at least the coconut oil has a nice flavor.

Here are the claims:

1. It whitens teeth. 
2. It clears up acne. 
3. It can lead to a healthy, glowing complexion. 

There are also claims that it detoxifies your body and all sorts of other stuff. I'm not so sure about all of that, but I will tell you what I think.

My experience:

It whitens teeth. 

I should have taken photos for comparison, but I believe this claim. Mostly for me, I have problems with build up of coffee and tea. I've had no tooth staining since I started this regimen. My breath also seems fresher and my gums feel like I just left the dentist, even though I'm not always great about flossing.

It clears up acne. 

I actually did notice an improvement. When I began oil pulling, I was in the midst of a horrific breakout on my forehead. I thought perhaps it was a cycle issue, but after oil pulling for a month, I have to agree that my acne has been reduced by at least 50%.

It can lead to a healthy, glowing complexion. 

Well shucks, my complexion is already glowing. Ha! Actually, there may be some improvement. I should have taken before and after photos.

All in all, I'm glad that I did this little experiment, and I think that I will continue using the coconut oil. A few times I have also smeared it on my face as kind of a night cream, and I've also used it as a moisturizer. 

Verdict = coconut oil is some pretty awesome stuff. Give it your own trial!

It helps to be a little nuts

89. Harvest pecans from our tree

I had always planned to do this by putting a big tarp underneath the tree, but it turns out that the easiest way is to just pick them up after they've fallen off. 

I don't know if I'll be able to make a pecan pie with them, but I should at least be able to use them for the topping on my pumpkin pie crunch.

#90 Done

90. Finish painting privacy fence

Completed!

The awesome thing is that Jay did it. I came home from work one day last week and it was finished. :)

#23 PADI Advanced Open Water SCUBA diver certification

I posted about my experience on my main blog. There are some photos and even a video from the weekend about the fun I had getting certified.Next up will be Rescue Diver. 

That should be a challenging class, and I'll also have to get my EFR. I'm going to see if I can get my EFR taken care of at work. I'll have to check with the dive shop though... PADI likes to do everything their way and they have some kind of international standard EFR. The diver community on Scubaboard jokes that PADI stands for Put Another Dollar In. I think they might be on to something.

Our instructor and one of the divemasters were encouraging us to go on to Rescue Diver and continue on to divemaster eventually. Apparently rushing out, buying gear, and doing Advanced Open Water right after Open Water is a sign that you like diving. 

I really love the fitness aspect of diving. It's fun, so you don't feel like you're working that hard...and helping with the set-up of slinging tanks and weights gives you a good workout. 

I think being a divemaster would be fun. I greatly enjoyed helping the open water students, even though I didn't know much more than them. It's a wonderful world underwater.

I'm 21% through my list and only 13% through the time period. Hurray for progress!

Down to 17 hens

67. Sell/giveaway laying hens

It's official, we are down to 17 hens. I gave three hens to an arts council friend (one black star, one Ancona and one Australorp). I know that she'll take great care of them.

Here is our current flock:

4 Rhode Island Red/Barred Rock Crosses aka sex links (2 red star, 2 black star)

3 Easter Eggers

3 White Marans

2 Australorps

2 Silver Cuckoo Marans

1 Silver Laced Wyandotte

1 Golden Laced Wyandotte

1 Ancona

#94 completed

94. Attend a literary supper

Last weekend, I attended the Poe literary supper at the Caroline Country Club. It was a lovely event, full of Colonial Ladies wearing hoop skirts.

Plenty of bad jokes to go around, some death metal, and of course readings of Poe's works. 

All in all, a lovely night. Sadly I have no photos of ladies in hoop skirts. Or I do, but I must protect the identity of those involved. :)