Nine and Three Halves!

D'oh, with the halves! I just crossed off get more work clothes. Since I just ordered some new work pants, and I got a few sweaters not too long ago! It's a step in the right direction.

Then I also half crossed off throw away (or give away) things we don't use/need. I have filled a couple bags with clothes to take to the Salvation Army box, but I can probably fill a couple more once Jeff goes through his stuff too. We haven't made a delivery yet. And I gave away a dresser to friends. So that totally counts! I'll cross it off the rest of the way when we actually take the bags to the collection box.

I cooked tonight. Shake N Bake, but it counts! It was really good too. I updated a couple other monthly things I think but now I can't remember specifically. Tomorrow is supposed to be date day, I think we're going to a movie. Not sure what we're seeing, but my guess is Role Models. Possibly the new Madagascar movie.

The Monthly Wrap-Up

Here's the update you've all been hanging on the edge of your seats for. I'm so sure. :)

25. Save $1 a day so I will have $1,001 at the end of this challenge! Still going.
28. Maintain the illusion of cleanliness a little each month. (3/33) I bought a Swiffer Duster, and was actually disappointed that it didn't do the dusting for you. Like, the commercials kind of made it sound like my dust would just jump off the shelves onto the fluffy rag thing. That did not happen.
36. Keep car at least MOSTLY cleaned out. It’s not a junk drawer. Clean it inside and out once every 6 months (0/5) Yeah I kind of planned to do this in October, didn't I? Heh. Well now I will shoot for November.
44. Spend some time outdoors at least one weekend each month. Even in winter ones. Even if it’s only 15 minutes and I’m shoveling.(3/33)
54. Cook more: 1 real (my version of “effort somewhat required”) meal a month (3/33) Shake N' Bake counts.
57. Date more: at least one outing (or possibly in-ing) that counts as a date every month. (3/33) I almost didn't count it at first since we argued the whole time. lol! But we went and saw Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.
81. Keep reading, and keep track of what you read! I updated my list in the sidebar of my other blog. I think that's the only realistic way to do this, maybe.
87. Blog at least once every other week. Two in a row to make up for missed posts is totally allowed. (5/72) November is totally taken care of, considering it's NaBloPoMo! Look over here: http://sarahthings.wordpress.com/

88. Successfully finish NaBloPoMo (blog every day in November) once.
89. Try every year (1/3)
90. Successfully complete Holidailies (blog every day in December) once.
91. Try every year (0/3)

99. Buy and donate gifts for the (is it Toys for Tots?) tree things at a store each Christmas. (’08, ’09, ’10) (0/3) Soon! I can't wait, this is actually pretty fun.
100. Celebrate this lists’ milestones! Do something special after you complete a total of 25, 50, 75, and the final item(s)! (0/4) I think I'm still hovering at 8 and 2 halves.
101. Check off items on this list as I complete them, and blog about it! Or at least blog the bigger items. Of course.

Eight Completed Goals!

I just crossed off #65... start a Christmas Village. I won two pieces on eBay and have them both in my possession. I chose a Norman Rockwell village. I'm now the proud owner of...

Rockwell's Studio:And the Williams & Son Country Store:

I also updated my list a little here and there. I decided I don't have to ride my bike in September or October after all. =D October is apparently much colder than I remember it being. It sucks. And September just fell through the cracks, so in order to make myself feel better I made it officially disappear.
I finished The Assistant by Bernard Malamud the other night - it was my choice from that list I wanted to pick from once a year (#84). And I started my next Jane Austen (#82) Pride & Prejudice... it's already more promising than Sense & Sensibility! Or maybe I'm primed for the writing style now? Who knows.
There are a few other monthly ones in there, but nothing very interesting. I'm working on a painting right now - but I can't post it just yet in case the person it's intended for finds his or her way here. That's #14. And hey - does carving a pumpkin count for "sculpt something" ? Because I'll be doing that tomorrow or Sunday. You should do it too. I had something else in mind for that, but it flopped. No you may not see it. It has long since been destroyed.
Coming up really quick here are #'s 88 and 89! I'm all signed up to post everyday in November for NaBloPoMo... that will happen here. Please stop in and leave me ideas for future posts. I will need all the help I can get!

Numbers 27 and 56... DONE!

I love being able to update the number of goals completed! I have now done SEVEN full goals! And those two halves are still waiting on me to finish them up. Heh...
#27: On Monday (I know I said Friday... but I ended up leaving work sick. :( Obviously I was able to reschedule though...) an HR person came and helped me set up my 401k. Where I work they contribute 5%, then will match up to another 4%, so I just set it up with that 4% for now, and will figure out how I might want to change it as I go. I was told that with each raise I get I should add another 1%, and then I won't even miss that money... that seems pretty genius. I will plan on at least doing that!
#56: I totally bought this game for myself:

And it arrived yesterday! And I spent all last night singing my little heart out! Jeff won't play my new game with me. What a jerk! I think he thinks it matters how your voice sounds? And it so does NOT. That's the whole point of living room karaoke. You can sing as horribly as you want! Woo! Good thing too, 'cause I'm pretty horrible. Though I did sing Bohemian Rhapsody on MEDIUM and I didn't get boo-ed off stage! Randy and Paula even liked me! Simon said it was "just okay" though. Jerk.

When Sickly; Goals = Null

As I just said on my regular blog, it's hard to care about goals when you are sick and whiny. That said - I didn't get all my monthly things done before October showed up this morning. I think it doesn't count though. I was counting on using this last weekend, but then it was wasted and gone in a blur of snot filled tissues, "I think I have a feeeeeeverrrrrr", and "My faaaaaaace hurrrrrts" 's. That's right, I admit it. I whine.

Anyway. I did do some of my things. And I'm going to give myself through this weekend to do my monthly things that got skipped. Like riding my bike. Hopefully I feel better very soon because at this moment I can not even fathom having that kind of energy. Here's the rundown (well just the parts with updates/comments):

2. Make a turtle. Done. It doesn't have eyes yet, because I couldn't find the kind I wanted when I got my supplies. But it still totally counts as done. I will take a picture eventually. :)
25. Save $1 a day so I will have $1,001 at the end of this challenge! Doing well here. :)
28. Maintain the illusion of cleanliness a little each month. (2/33) Luckily I did some of this before getting sick. It doesn't matter that it just got messy again afterwards.
41. Ride the bike I had to have at least once a month from May-October each year. Starting now. 8/08, 9/08, 10/08, 5/09, 6/09, 7/09, 8/09, 9/09, 10/09, 5/10, 6/10, 7/10, 8/10, 9/10, 10/10, 5/11 (1/16) I'm giving myself some extra time for this.
82. Read Jane Austen: The Complete Novels. (1/7) Woo! I finished Sense and Sensibility last night!!! I really did like the story... just not such a fan of the writing style. Oy. I'm holding out hope that the other 6 won't be so rough.
84. Read at least one book from this list each year. (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) (0/4) I did borrow the book from Denise, after all. I'll probably start it tonight if I don't fall right asleep.
87. Blog at least once every other week. Two in a row to make up for missed posts is totally allowed. (5/72) I just blogged my fifth blog. I'm weak. Technically there was one post during September, but today is only the 1st of October so I think I did pretty well. I definitely didn't fail. I have a clause. :) http://sarahthings.wordpress.com/
100. Celebrate this lists’ milestones! Do something special after you complete a total of 25, 50, 75, and the final item(s)! (0/4) I'm up to 5 and 2 halves. :) I really need to finish that stinkin' booty just so I can count that item as done. lol!

Also... I did get my hair cut. But it doesn't affect #97 (Donating to Locks of Love) because the hair that got cut off? Had highlights. And couldn't have been donated anyway. I knew this when I put that on the list, I did my research. I should still be able to do it, but it will take all the growing and non-highlighting I can do between now and my end date (allowing for a few trims here and there).

AND... as for #20 (Keep my car running...) it's in the shop getting a new radiator. I feel like I should be able to cross something off for that.

I think that's pretty much everything. Sorry my list posts are so boring. I'll try to spice up my next one somehow.

Oh! And as for # 27 (Putting money into 401k...) A lady from HR contacted me about setting this up since I'm eligible for employer contribution soon... she's going to meet with me Friday afternoon. Woohoo!

Ok, now that is all.

Weekly, Monthly, Yearly... Oh my!

Below are most of my weekly/monthly/however often goals... I think it's all of them but I may have missed a couple. I thought I'd copy a few people and put them in one post so I have somewhere to view what I need to remember to do most often. I will probably print these out and post them on my fridge or somewhere too... remembering is hard. Since I'm here I'll do a little update too. :) I started that other bootie but still haven't finished it quite yet. Soon! And today I ordered some awesome things from Dick Blick. Woo! I will be working on my sculpt something, and paint more goals soon! Just so you're not surprised if and when I post my sculpt something - I didn't order clay! :) I'm going to do a different kind of sculpture. Hopefully it's awesome, since I'm kind of building it up here. Don't blame me if it blows.

24. Save $ each month – opening an actual savings account is optional.
I might have to change this one. I am putting money aside... but look at my next goal. They kind of go together right? This one is so vague that the next one makes it kind of pointless?
25. Save $1 a day so I will have $1,001 at the end of this challenge! I am ahead on this one so far! Of course I'm on the easiest end of the challenge, so I thought I'd try to get a head start rather than try to catch up later. I'm just "burying" the money in my checking account right now, and keeping track of it, but I may get a jar and transfer it to cash soon. That will help keep me from spending it before the end of the challenge. lol.
28. Maintain the illusion of cleanliness a little each month. (1/33) I hate cleaning. Who likes it, right? Sigh.
36. Keep car at least MOSTLY cleaned out. It’s not a junk drawer. Clean it inside and out once every 6 months (0/5) Umm. I suck. I haven't done this yet. I think I will next month? Because then in another six months it will be April... and probably starting to finally be warm outside again... hopefully.
40. Try a new food just once during each year (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011). (1/4) I counted the duck I had earlier this year. I don't have to try anything new for awhile. :) That makes me happy.
41. Ride the bike I had to have at least once a month from May-October each year. Starting now. 8/08, 9/08, 10/08, 5/09, 6/09, 7/09, 8/09, 9/09, 10/09, 5/10, 6/10, 7/10, 8/10, 9/10, 10/10, 5/11 (1/16) Gah, this one is going to kill me. I'm pretty sure. And I was totally easy on myself too. Once a month? Psh. Tell that to my thighs.
44. Spend some time outdoors at least one weekend each month. Even in winter ones. Even if it’s only 15 minutes and I’m shoveling.(2/33) I was out there for a bit today messing with a wire hanger. Shut up. lol. I am not explaining.
45. Make sunscreen a priority – no bad sunburns! (1/3 summers) Pretty self-explanatory. Last year I got burned pretty bad TWICE. I was an idiot. This year I did much better. I plan to keep it that way.
54. Cook more: 1 real (my version of “effort somewhat required”) meal a month (1/33) Today is the 13th and nothing yet. Ha! Soon, grasshoppa.
57. Date more: at least one outing (or possibly in-ing) that counts as a date every month. (2/33) This month has totally been taken care of. We went to dinner and a movie for our anniversary.
81. Keep reading, and keep track of what you read! This one isn't a monthly or weekly... but it is a consistent one. I have to figure out how I want to do this. I have a list on my other blog that I was updating regularly, but I fell behind. Maybe I will try to catch up and fill in the peices I have missed and just keep updating that?
82. Read Jane Austen: The Complete Novels. (0/7) Gah. I'm still on Sense and Sensibility. The story is intriguing, the writing is killing me. I won't give up yet though.
84. Read at least one book from this list each year. (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) (0/4) Gotta finish at least the first Jane Austen before I can read one for this year. :) I will find the book soon though. Denise offered to let me borrow her copy, but I'm kind of a weird book collector.
87. Blog at least once every other week. Two in a row to make up for missed posts is totally allowed. (3/72) Twice in August and once for September so far. Right on schedule. And in case I wasn't really clear, I mean blogging over here: http://sarahthings.wordpress.com/

88. Successfully finish NaBloPoMo (blog every day in November) once.
89. Try every year (0/3)
90. Successfully complete Holidailies (blog every day in December) once.
91. Try every year (0/3)

99. Buy and donate gifts for the (is it Toys for Tots?) tree things at a store each Christmas. (’08, ’09, ’10) (0/3) Soon! I can't wait, this is actually pretty fun.
100. Celebrate this lists’ milestones! Do something special after you complete a total of 25, 50, 75, and the final item(s)! (0/4) I'll have to go through and count and see how many I'm up to?! Not close to 25 yet, but slowly making progress. :) (I just counted... 4 and 2 halves. lol. It's not 5, oddly enough.)
101. Check off items on this list as I complete them, and blog about it! Or at least blog the bigger items. Of course. I'm trying to make sure I cross things off as soon as I can or I might forget to later! That would suck.

This one isn't recurring, but...

95. Take a really great nap! I totally did this one today. Awesome.

Make that 4.25 to go!

I totally made a bootie! I was really worried even before starting it because it just seems like it would be complicated. Then I was worried the entire time I was crocheting it because it didn't seem to be taking any kind of shape... but guess what?! It's the very last step that matters! Woo-hoo! Monkey is totally appreciating my crocheting efforts. Totally...

One more bootie to go! It probably won't get done this weekend, though I might start it tomorrow. I'm not a very good judge but it doesn't look like I have quite enough of the multi yarn to make the second bootie. I'll give it a shot though, I could be wrong!

One Crochet Goal Down...

Only about four and a half to go! :) I learned how to read and follow a pattern today! I'm sure I didn't learn everything I will come across as I do the rest of my crocheting goals, but I did learn enough to make one half of goal number six; the hat. And that totally counts for goal #1! I love crossing things off this list. It's so exciting! Now on to my proof:

Jeff's skull guy made almost the perfect model.
Except really the hat is for a much smaller head, so it's kind of stretched out here.

Since Chewy seemed so interested I let him try it on too...

Turns out he wasn't all that interested after all.PS The pattern didn't even call for the pom pom. I improvised. Awesome, right?

Note to Self: Look for this book

I was just looking at the list of books that I wanted to choose one from each year, and I think I want to start with this one: The Assistant, by Bernard Malamud. So this post is basically just to remind me to look for it at some point in the near future.

Carry on.

This List Whooped My Butt Today

I had to ride my bike today or risk a major fail on one of my "monthlies". Seeing as today is the 31st of August and goal #41 is to ride my bike at least once a month from May - October each year. Oy. I only rode for about 20 minutes, but I am seriously whooped. And okay, technically it was probably more like 15-18 minutes since I had to stop about half way for a couple minutes to walk a bit... My thighs are not used to this kind of torture.

I've been trying to go through and fine tune my list, adding things like "once a month" and so on so I can actually keep track of progress. I'm trying to decide my goal on this whole kitty litter thing. LOL! I am doing really well with it since starting this, but I don't really have it clearly defined so that I know when I can cross it off... It's not like the litter pan will eventually send me a thank you note or anything. I'll figure something out. Or maybe I'll just end up changing that one completely. Who knows.

While I was outside tonight I finally checked the picnic table, and I did give it a full coat, but it definitely looks like it could use another. So I will leave that goal right where it is.

A Very Exciting Update!

I think it is anyway! :) #'s 7 and 8 on my list go together. #7 is to finish putting our wedding pictures in our scrapbook. I didn't finish that yet. But # 8 is to then order a photo book that will look nicer... and that I did today! One of the girls on MLW posted a coupon code for picaboo (for a free book if you're a new customer! The code is BDBATH-184 if you're in the market. I have no idea how long the code will work.) So I ordered an awesome 20 page book with a leather cover for $8.99 - the cost of shipping. Righteous! And!!! You can look at it if you want by simply clicking here:

1 down, 100 to go!

Dude. I totally get to cross one whole item off my list now. YAY ME! It's not at all what I expected to be first, but it still counts.

#92: Blog about a weird/silly/awesome dream I had!
Click here.

I also just made my first real change to my list. Number 47 went from love more (which is still a goal of mine, just not one that I can seem to think of a better way to qualify - which makes it a bad goal for this list) to Get a filing cabinet, and use it to file all important documents. It seems odd to replace "love more" with something so tangible, but it is still a good goal to have.

FIRST EVER LIST UPDATE!!!!

That might be one too many exclamation points... what do you think?
If you look at the list in the side bar you'll see I sort of crossed of part of #55. It's kind of cheating though.

#55: Play a Wii - or buy a Wii, and then play it.

Sunday night we went to Best Buy. And they have a Wii display... and I played it. But only for about 30 seconds of actual playing... the other 3 minutes were spent trying to figure out how to move the wheel thingy so I could actually start the game. (Which I'm pretty sure was MarioKart.) And there were Best Buy guys standing behind us making me feel all weird, so once I crashed the first time I moved on. Stupid Best Buy Guys. But... it makes me feel better to have something at least partially crossed off my list. I won't cross it off all the way until I get a whole minutes worth of play time though. That totally seems fair.

I also started on #82 last night, by starting the first part of Jane Austen: The Complete Novels, which is Sense and Sensibility. I'm not far yet at all, though. In my defense I first read the introduction by Karen Joy Fowler (who wrote The Jane Austen Book Club - movie of choice for #83). Normally I totally skip introductions, but it was actually pretty interesting. I may decide to read the actual book before watching the movie. No promises.

And I have to double check... but I might have to come up with a new #19. I thought I had to finish staining the picnic table still, but now for some reason I think maybe I did actually finish it already... Was I going to do a second coat or something? I'm not sure. But I will check out the table and if it's already done I obviously won't count that.

Look at me making progess! Maybe I have half a chance after all.

The Complete Original List

I realize I'm posting this on August 20th, but I just decided today start a separate blog just for this challenge to help keep it separate from the rest of my ramblings (which are here: Where the Sarah Things Are). I'll be using the drop down list in the side bar to update as I complete or make changes to items. So without further ado... Here is the original list in it's entirety!

CRAFTY-ISH THINGS
1. Learn how to read and follow a crochet pattern, then…
2. Make a turtle.
3. Make a roly-poly pig for my mom.
4. Make a roly-poly frog.
5. Make a roly-poly dog.
6. Make a hat and booties combo for a baby. Any baby. Pick one.
7. Finish putting pictures in wedding “scrapbook”.
8. Then order a wedding photobook online that won’t look as crappy as my scrapbook.
9. Fill an album with our Niagara Falls (honeymoon) pictures.
10. Take more pictures. Actually print said pictures and put them in albums.
11. Start and complete holiday craft challenges.
12. Sculpt something.
13. Draw something.
14. Paint something.
15. Learn to sew.
16. Paint or otherwise re-do the headboard/shelf/thing.
17. Get hinges for the hope chest lid, and actually put them on!
18. BUILD something.
19. Finish staining the picnic table.

FINANCIAL THINGS
20. Keep my car running as long as I can. When I do need to replace it – make an informed decision, and make A/C a requirement. If I should randomly win some $$ and get a new car before this one dies – GIVE this car to someone who NEEDS a car.
21. This one’s private. Bwah-haha!
22. Get renters insurance.
23. Buy a house. (I’ve got almost 3 years…. It could maybe happen.)
24. Save $ each month – opening an actual savings account is optional.
25. Save $1 a day so I will have $1,001 at the end of this challenge!
26. Pay off all credit card debt.
27. Start putting money into 401k - as soon as I hit the one year mark so work will match.

LIFE THINGS
28. Maintain the illusion of cleanliness a little each month. (0/33)
29. Clean/organize both closets.
30. Be better about the litter pan. :gag:
31. Organize desk. Try to keep it that way!
32. Get “more desk” somehow so the laptop can live in harmony with the desktop.
33. Organize the junk drawer!
34. Buy a new couch. Or at least get a couch slipcover thing.
35. Have a yard sale.
36. Keep car at least MOSTLY cleaned out. It’s not a junk drawer.
37. Become uber-organized. At least at work. Mostly.
38. Throw things away (or give them away) when I/we no longer need them. Hoarding is bad.
39. Be more patient with Dale. Or teach him to be more patient in general. Which ever comes first.
40. Try a new food just once during each year (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011). (1/4)
41. Ride the bike I had to have at least once a month from May-October each year. Starting now. 8/08, 9/08, 10/08, 5/09, 6/09, 7/09, 8/09, 9/09, 10/09, 5/10, 6/10, 7/10, 8/10, 9/10, 10/10, 5/11 (0/16)
42. Cut back on the caffeine for awhile. Some. Not all.
43. Eat more vegetables. Or start taking vitamins at least.
44. Spend some time outdoors at least one weekend each month. Even in winter ones. Even if it’s only 15 minutes and I’m shoveling.
45. Make sunscreen a priority – no bad sunburns! (1/3 summers)
46. Make a friend.
47. Love more.
48. Speak up.
49. Become a morning person.
50. Get more work clothes. Multiple colors of the same Old Navy polo shirt, 3 pairs of “dress” pants, a sweater, and some fleece vests shouldn’t count as a “work wardrobe”.
51. Require slightly more maintenance. Aim for “low” as opposed to “non”.
52. Be more conversational/social/whatever you call it.
53. Send a thank you card.
54. Cook more.

FUN THINGS
55. Play a Wii. Or buy a Wii – and then play it.
56. Karaoke! (On the Xbox counts)
57. Date more. Maybe at least one outing that counts as a date every other month. (0/16)
58. Buy an instrument.
59. Learn to play it! (I’m thinking guitar or keyboard… It’s a tough decision!)
60. Hang out with my mom more. Just for fun.
61. Build a snowman.
62. Get a fancy SLR camera.
63. Make my own ice cream.
64. Have a game night.
65. Start a Christmas village!
66. Get a massage. A real one!
67. Find another new-to-me writing or photo blog challenge that sounds interesting – and complete it! Make sure to update this item with the challenge you chose.
68. Vacation in a state I’ve never vacationed in before. (driving through doesn’t count.)
69. Go to Green Lakes! Have a picnic. Rent a paddle or row boat! Which lake is negotiable, but the picnic and boating are not.
70. Go to a Drive-In! (Or other “movie under the stars” that is non-drive-in-able.)
71. Apparently there is a 100ft. waterfall in Oxbow Falls Community Park (Canastota). Who knew?! Go see it. Take pictures.
72. Go somewhere crowded. Don’t freak out. (AKA don’t take it out on Jeff)
73. Go camping. (Real camping. In our own tent, or possibly small pop-up.)
74. Go to Lights on the Lake - finally!
75. Go to Critz Farm. Don’t forget to buy Apple Cider!
76. Go to Feats of Clay and paint own pottery!
77. See a comedian.
78. Try a new restaurant.
79. Go ice skating.
80. Go to a play.
81. Keep reading, and keep track of what you read!
82. Read Jane Austen: The Complete Novels. (0/7)
83. Then watch that Jane Austen Book Club movie.
84. Read at least one book from this list each year. (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) (0/4)

RANDOM THINGS
85. Win some money. Anything over $20 counts.
86. Get a plant. Don’t kill it.
87. Blog at least once every other week. Two in a row to make up for missed posts is totally allowed.
88. Successfully finish NaBloPoMo (blog every day in November) once.
89. Try every year.
90. Successfully complete Holidailies (blog every day in December) once.
91. Try every year.
92. Blog about a weird/silly/awesome dream I had!
93. Write a story.
94. Have a surprise birthday party. Preferably not one I have to plan. Hint, hint.
95. Take a really great nap!
96. Teach someone something.
97. Donate hair to Locks of Love.
98. Buy and donate items to an animal shelter.
99. Buy and donate gifts for the (is it Toys for Tots?) tree things at a store each Christmas. (’08, ’09, ’10) (0/3)

LIST THINGS
100. Celebrate this lists’ milestones! Do something special after you complete a total of 25, 50, 75, and the final item(s)! (0/4)
101. Check off items on this list as I complete them, and blog about it! Or at least blog the bigger items.