#36: Leave Uplifting Notes for Strangers Around Town

To see more things I'm planning on doing, here's my Do Do List and my 101 in 1001 List.

My "Do Do" List

If you read yesterday's post, you see that our family has A LOT going on, and so there's A LOT going on outside of our immediate family/vicinity that we simply cannot do. We've really had to learn to say "I'm so sorry, but I just can't" and "We really wish we could be there, but it's just not going to work out."

Seriously, it's been a bit of a drag.

That's why when my friend Megan reminded me that I have so many opportunities that are available to me and I need to take advantage of them! It's my responsibility to share this beautiful world with Alexa and James and to share them with the world everyday! How exciting! Yeah, there's things I can't do, but when I focus on the can-do's instead of the can't-do's I am so much happier, and surprisingly, those around me are happier, too!

Like Jack Donaghey said, "[The world] is made by those who do do . . . I do do."

With that in mind, here is My "Do Do" List to be completed by the end of August 2013 (some items crossover onto my 101 in 1001 List)!

• Make/Print/Laminate/Post a Really Awesome Schedule for Alexa
• Help Nick Graduate
• Move to New Mexico
• Have a “See Ya Later” Grilled Cheese Party with All Our Colorado Friends
• Stay Up Late Watching Old Movies with Nick
• Finish Reading 15 Books
• Read with Alexa Everyday
• Post on Blog Weekly
• Update the Blog’s Layout
• Leave Uplifting Notes Around Town
• Hang Out with Cousins before We Both Move
• Go to Library Weekly
• Attend City Carnival in June and July
• Make Small, Cute Going Away Gifts for My Friends
• Identify 101 Things that Make Me Smile and Photograph Them
• Be 100% Positive in All I Say for a Week
• Turn a Good Deed Daily for a Stranger for a Week
• Buy Flowers for Myself (and a friend) for No Reason
• Figure Out a Way to Exercise with 2 Kids
• Host a Game Night
• Ambush Nick with Water Balloons (you’ve been warned...)
• Take Nick to that One Indian Restaurant
• Go to that One Ice Cream Place in Louisville
• Play in Shaving Cream with Alexa
• Make a Sign to Welcome Suzy to Colorado from Her Mission
• Do Something Special for My Parents’ Birthdays While They’re in Town
• Make and Eat Jello Jigglers
• Visit a New Park
• Rediscover the Joy in Photography
• Get a Pedicure

50 Books in 2013!

Okay guys, I'm serious this time -- for reals!

I'm really going to read 50 books this year, like starting today. Thanks to my Christmas gift, my new Kindle, I'll be reading at the gym a lot more often, so that's one way I'll get more reading time in!

I know I've said it before, but this time I mean it, and I'll hold myself accountable right here, on this page (and on my Goodreads page). 50 books in a year is about a book a week, 4.17 books a month, and gives a tiny bit of wiggle room for longer books. I'll put the titles and authors of the books I read, the day I start them, the day I finish them, my star rating for them, and I'll also show you what I plan to read next. Feel free to join or share your favorite reading suggestions in the comments section!

My goal is to always be reading something! This goal will surely blow any other book-reading record I've ever made for mys elf out of the water, so I'm excited to check this off my 101 in 1001 list and create some new healthy and stimulating habits for myself. Go me and literary pursuits!

Read in 2013:
1. Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf (my aunt-in-law): January 1st-8th,  ★ ★ ★
2. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen: January 9th-26th, ★
3. Stuart Little by E.B. White: January 27th-29th, ★ ★
4. Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison (another aunt-in-law): January 30th-31st, ★ ★ ★
5. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan: February 2nd-9th, ★ ★ ★ ★ 
6. Another Forgotten Child by Cathy Glass: March 12th-15th, ★ ★ ★
7. Persuasion by Jane Austen: February 28th, ★ 
8. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: February-April 20th, ★ ★ ★ ★ 
9. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon: April 20th-April 25th, ★ ★ ★
10. The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern: April-May 7th, ★ ★ ★  ★
11. While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age During the Civil Rights Movement by Carolyn Maul McKimstry: May 19th-May 23rd, ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
12. Skin Deep by Anne Hjelle: May 25th-June 1st, ★ ★
13. On Becoming Toddler Wise by Gary Ezzo: April-June 2nd, ★ ★ ★
14. F in Exams by Richard Benson: June 2nd, ★ ★ ★ ★ 
15. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie: July 27th-June 12th, ★ ★ ★
16. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott: October 2012-June 22nd, ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
17. The Book of Mormon abridged by Moroni: March-July 5th, ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
18. The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate and Live Well by Deborah Needleman: July 2nd-July 6th, ★ ★ ★ ★
19. Eternal Marriage and the Parable of the Silverware by F. Burton Howard: July 8th, ★ ★ ★ ★ 
20. I Love You, Ronnie by Nancy Reagan: ★ ★ ★ 
21. Decorate by Holly Becker & Joanna Copestick: July 9th-July 25th: ★ ★ 
22. Letters to Jackie by Ellen Fitzpatrick: June 18th-July 25th, ★ ★ 
23. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: July 31st-August 2nd, ★ ★ ★
24. Marley and Me by John Grogan: August 15th-September 12th, ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
25. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks: September 20th-22nd, ★ ★ ★
26. Toilet Training in Less than a Day by Nathan H. Azrin, ★ ★ ★
27. Ensign -- May 2013 compiled by LDS church, ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
28.  Doug's Rooms: Transforming Your Space One Room at a Time by Douglas A. Wilson, ★ ★ ★
29. Ensign -- November 2013 compiled by LDS church, ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
30. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

55 Things Left in 497 Days Left

 Ya know what I've discovered? This may not be news to anyone else, in fact probably nobody else, but there are too many good things we can do to fill our time than we have available to us, and priorities change.

I'm not quitting my 101 Things in 1001 Days goals, just letting go of some that simply don't align with how I really want to be spending my time. These are the goals that I thought were important to me, and it turns out they're good things to do, but there are better ways I'd like to focus my limited time, money, and energy at this time in my life:

2. Watch all the non-R-Rated movies on AFI's Top 100 Movies list (Maybe someday when we want to pay for Netflix DVDs, but I don't know even logistically how we'd do this without Blockbuster)

6. Get a passport (Passports are so EXPENSIVE, and in our family's case unnecessary)

22. Catch a fish and eat it (First things first: own a fishing pole)

35. Get one blog up to a hundred followers (This is just not as important to me as I once thought it was)

55. Be able to identify 10 constellations (Just not one of my top priorities)

67. Buy a point-n-shoot camera (I'll just save my money for a tablet or phone with a back camera instead)

74. Get par or better on one hole while golfing (I honestly don't know how I thought I would be able to do this...I golf like once a year)

88. Spend a whole day reading and read a book start to finish (I'm not an idiot, but apparently I had some very mis-construed ideas about motherhood and free time when I initially made this list)

99. Make a list of all family and friends Birthdays and Anniversaries (Two words: Google Calendar)

So by taking these off my list I have 55 more things I need to do in the remaining time I have left. I think I can still pull this off, but I need to get to reading (because a lot of my goals revolve around the lofty ambition of being scholarly). That being said, on Saturday I decided that once I read 50 books (as fast as possible) I can buy myself an E-reader! So I'm motivated and open to suggestions!

A couple projects that I unofficially added to this list are sewing Christmas stockings for my family and completing my Personal Progress goals by mid-March (a self-improvement program put out by my church, click here to learn more).

I'll be posting pictures of my stockings soon...I only told you just so you have time to prepare yourself, because they are pretty awesome!

#100: Build a Blanket/Pillow Fort

Alexa and I built a rudimentary blanket fort the other day (not nearly as epic as this fort, but we have limited resources of space and blankets...and attention span). We had a good time putting it together, kept it up all day, and even Daddy joined in on the fun when he got home. We'll definitely do this again soon!

To see a complete list of all 101 Things I want to do in 1001 Days, click here.

#11: Run a 5k

Back in May (I know I'm a little behind...so sue me) I ran in the Families Supporting Adoption 5k where a portion of the proceeds went to the organization for which I am now serving as Chairperson.

This is Alexa and I before the start of the race:

A friend who came to support me in the race got a picture of me towards the end of the race.

Not to brag or anything, but I totally got 5th place out of all the ladies who ran. Yay for me!

To see the complete list of 101 Things I want to do in 1001 Days, please click here.

#59: Run or Walk for a Cause

Last Saturday our family walked in the Wheat Ridge Festival Parade with Families Supporting Adoption to promote a positive view of adoption in our community. It was so fun!

 Good friends, Deb and Jaran, who are (obviously) Hoping to Adopt.

 Good friends, Amanda and JD with their nieces, also Hoping to Adopt.

Cute shirt, right??

To see a complete list of all the 101 Things I want to do in 1001 Days, click here.

#49: Grow a Plant

Late Spring we decided to plant a small garden in our raised garden beds we built on our back patio.

As a quick side note, do you remember what our patio looked like when we moved in? I'm really just proud of how much we've done whether or not anything grew. But I digress...

Our feeling on our garden was that we'll plant it, water it, and let the sun and the dirt do their thing. If something grew, great! If not, we'll try something different next year.

On our first attempt at gardening we have had 8 strawberry plants, 1 bell pepper plant, and 1 watermelon plant that have thrived in our little garden. There was, unfortunately, one casualty: our beloved cantelope didn't make it. Fare thee well our little withered friend.

Our strawberry plants when they produced fruit for the first time!

Nick and Alexa water the garden together practically every morning. It's so cute!

 That HUGE plant Nick is watering is our watermelon plant. It definitely has a Manifest Destiny approach to the garden.

 Alexa and I just after we finished enjoying some delicious strawberries. Yeah, my bangs need trimmed - back off!

We actually were able to grow things! Who knew my science teachers instructing me on photosynthesis were actually right! We will definitely be doing this whole thing again year after year! Go Sun, Dirt, and Us!!

#71: Surprise Nick at School with a Homemade Lunch

Alexa and I like keeping Nick on his toes. We show up at his bus stop or at his work occasionally just because we know he loves it.

Last week we showed up at his work with a lunch, the camera, and our awesome selves as a fun mid-day surprise. Unfortunately, we did not show up with a charged camera battery, so you'll have to take my word for it and just enjoy this picture of some of Alexa's favorite outdoor surprises (rocks and sticks) instead of one from our surprise lunch.

To see my complete list of 101 Things I want to do in 1001 Days, click here.

#8: Host a Themed Dinner Party

One of my closest friends and her husband turned 40 in June and so after everyone was done traveling for a bit we threw them a birthday party.

Well, actually, it was a birthday funeral.

There were funeral potatoes, eulogies, wills and testaments, and the ceremonial kicking of the bucket! As the honorees walked into the party Amazing Grace was playing, and then the music list included classic funeral tunes like "Another One Bites the Dust," "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead," "Wanted Dead or Alive." It was way fun!

Perhaps the highlight was that our guests of honor got a surprise hearse ride to the party. Awesome!

To see my entire list of 101 Things I want to do in 1001 Days, click here.

#96: Donate Hair to Charity

#90: Do a Photoshoot for a Friend

Remember that one time that I made a list of 101 crazy things I wanted to accomplish in 1001 days? Well, I haven't forgot about them (even though I haven't updated you in a long time), but these goals are still very much alive and kickin' in my heart!

One that I accomplished recently is I did a photo shoot with my sister-in-law's sister and her husband for their first anniversary. Here are a few of the photos that I really thought turned out well:

They're holding a wedding picture, and next year they'll take a picture holding this one that I took and so on. Cool, right?

 I may have had a little fun playing with some effects on the right here...I kinda like it though.

I had such a fun time and it was such good practice for me and I hope they like the end result. 

PS Doesn't Ashley just have the most lovely face and most beautiful blue eyes ever??

Pssst. The correct answer is "Yes!"