Rested

8. Go to bed no later than 10:00 pm every "school" night for a week

This is really something I should be doing all the time. I like getting up early…I like the world before most people are awake and if I go to bed at 10, I can easily be up by 6 or 6:30 and even maybe get a shower. Maybe because an infant is mighty unpredictable when it comes to wake up time and C wants to eat RIGHT NOW when she does wake up.

Last fall I had no choice but to go to bed. My pregnant body wasn’t having it any other way! For a few weeks, Alex was working the morning shift (up at 3:30) and everyone in our household was usually tucked into bed by 8:30. There were nights when we couldn’t wait for J to get to bed because we were both so tired..

As we get better with C’s feeding and sleeping, I am going to try to get myself to bed by 10. Alex is mostly working nights right now and we put our tv in storage, so I have no reason and no excuse to stay up!

On that note, I’m putting myself to bed!

Australia - Steam Ranger

Postcard from bronte523 from Australia.

Description: SteamRanger 11/11. 621’s birthday run

621, on its 75th birthday run, passes Investigator Beach Victor Harbour SA.

Wardrobe purging

5. Sort out all of my clothes and take the ones I'm never going to wear again or that don't fit to charity (or toss if they're in bad shape)
7. Pack away all of J's clothes and things that are too small or too young for her

I did all of J’s clothes in the fall of 2011 and mine this spring, but really, these are ongoing challenges. J’s clothes get too small seasonally, sometimes sooner and I should probably go through my clothes every season too…I couldn’t believe some of the stuff I found in my closet. There were clothes that I don’t remember buying and couldn’t remember why I would have ever thought they were worth buying. There were clothes that hadn’t fit in an eternity and if they ever did fit again, were not likely to ever be back in style. There were a few things that I loved far too much and just to suck it up and toss them…yes, you hoodie with the frayed hem and giant elbow holes.

When we were getting ready for C to arrive, Alex brought all of J’s clothes out of storage for me. We didn’t know if C would be a boy or a girl, so I first sorted the clothes by size and then sorted the newborn ones into a pile of definitely girl stuff and a pile that we could use either way.

There were FIVE giant rubbermaid containers. FIVE! J isn’t even five yet. And two of them were just baby clothes. It was crazy, but I haven’t bought a single piece of clothing for C. She has received some cute outfits and gifts, but so far, she’s doing great with J’s baby stuff.

Norway and the UK - Fishing and a mini

Postcard from Calendula from Norway.

I love this card – it’s so cute…and the back is pretty awesome too:

Postcard from petal52 from the United Kingdom

Description: Red Mini. From an original driftwood painting by Martin Wiscombe.

Dinner and a movie is the same as a day, right?

3. Have a sisters' day without J

One weekend back in February, J was supposed to go to Kelowna to hang out with my parents. Alex was away for the weekend and I was dreaming of my lovely weekend, alone. I was going to have my very own staycation that involved sleeping in, hanging out with my sisters, a Downton Abbey marathon and little else. But then J got sick. My mom was already in town for a meeting, so she changed her plane ticket…

I didn’t get my weekend alone (see #69 on the first list), but I did get my time out with my sisters. We ate dinner at Nuba and then saw Side Effects. I love Nuba and I think we all enjoyed Side Effects…I’m not sure enjoyed is the right word…but we liked it…

Trying to plan an entire day with my sisters was difficult, so I figured we could opt for an evening. The goal was decent time together, just the three of us, so that was accomplished…maybe if I didn’t work during the week and Teamhardcore didn’t work/train/race on the weekends and Rebar didn’t just have an ever-changing schedule, a day would have been possible.

I’m pretty sure this is on the list again this time, so we’ll see what we get up to…maybe we’ll actually get to have a day out together! [edit: yes, it’s #5]

Little Fish

2. Enroll J in swimming lessons before she turns 3

Break time! There’s lots to do in our apartment, but I need a break. Baby C has been learning to take a bottle and that has been a time consuming endeavour. It’s still early, but I thought while I have a few minutes to myself, I’d do something other than a chore…and still aim to be in bed by 10:00. Look at me, a party animal in my old age!

J has taken swimming lessons a few times, but these pictures are from January of 2011. She was sooo little!

Finding a swimming lesson time that wasn’t during the day on a week day or multiple afternoons a week was tricky. The weekend lessons fill up quickly, but we managed to find a pool (one of the cooler, therefore less desirable for little kids) that had lessons that weren’t at nap time (or the crack of dawn) on a Saturday.

Most weeks, Alex took J and they had a blast. I usually sat in the bleachers and watched, although I did go in with her a few times. The rest of her lessons were at the same pool on a weekday afternoon – I’d pick her up at daycare and head straight to the pool. She would sleep really well those nights!

France and Canada - school children and Camilla d’Errico

Postcard from timouni from France

Description: Robert DOISNEAU (1912-1994)/Pupils on rue de Rivoli, Paris, 1978

timouni wrote this card in French and I was once again reminded that I really should use my French every once in a while. Reading was fine, but I don’t know how well I could speak it if I had to and I’m certain my written French is appalling. Which is too bad since I used to be able to write easily and fairly well in French…maybe we should move to France!

Postcard from iheartmailart from Canada

Description: miyuki. 2008. Acrylic on Wood. Camilla d’Errico

Hong Kong - Lan Kwai Fong

Postcard from hamu_mato from Hong Kong

Australia - Melbourne Tram

Postcard from WattlePark from Australia

Apparently Blinky Bill is driving this tram. I took this tram around Melbourne when I was there too many years ago – it does a loop of the city centre. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) it wasn’t filled with Australian wildlife!

That list…

1. Complete my list of 101 things to do within 101 days of starting (September 21, 2013)

Well, my new 101 in 1001 list is done…I had given myself until September to do it because I thought we’d probably be moving sometime this summer and there might be things at the new place to add to the list, but I managed to fill up 101 things without leaving space for the new place…so, if there is stuff to be done (and there will be…when isn’t there stuff to be done when you move) it just won’t be part of the list!

So I’ve crossed off item number one on the list…only 100 more things left to do and some of them will be a huge challenge…

101 in 1001 part two, here I come…and yes, Andrea, I have included the spatzle!

Russia - Love

Postcard from LadaYatskovich from Russia

1001 plus 1

Yesterday marked the end of my first attempt at doing 101 things in 1001 days. Which means today is the first day of my second attempt. It would seem that I didn’t quite get everything done and that the stuff I did get done, I didn’t quite get all blogged.

So, without further ado, here are the final results. Most of the ones I didn’t finish will make it onto my new list, which can be found along with the old list on the 101 in 1001 page.

Completed!!!!

Me
2. Enroll J in swimming lessons before she turns 3 - March 2011
3. Have a sisters' day without J - February 15, 2013
4. Stick to the crazy diet for at least a month - November 18, 2010
5. Sort out all of my clothes and take the ones I'm never going to wear again or that don't fit to charity (or toss if they're in bad shape) - Spring 2013
7. Pack away all of J's clothes and things that are too small or too young for her - December 2011
8. Go to bed no later than 10:00 pm every "school" night for a week - September 2012
9. Make a new friend - May 14, 2012
10. Really reconnect with an old friend - Spring 2011
11. Mail Christmas cards before December 24th - December 7, 2012
12. Get up every workday morning for a week without hitting the snooze button - April 2011
14. Complete a full crossword puzzle - February 16, 2013
15. Find missing address book - November 8, 2010
16. Update address book - December 2011

Family
17. Set J's room up with a kid sized table and chairs for reading, puzzles and colouring - April 21, 2011
18. Make J's Hallowe'en costume - October 31, 2012
19. Go on an 10 "adventures” they're here [10/10]
20. Take Alex to the pool - September 26, 2010
24. Take J to a farmer's market - October 2, 2011
25. Stick to our budget for Christmas gifts - January 20, 2011
26. Write 10 thank you cards with J - September 2, 2011
27. Build a snow man with J - December 19, 2012
28. Make snow angels with J - December 24, 2010
29. Have family pictures taken - August 13, 2011

Food
31. Make gingerbread with J at Christmas - December 22, 2010
32. Make dinner from the Jamie Oliver cookbook five times - completed January 21, 2012
34. Make cupcakes with the cupcake kit from Maggie October 30, 2010
36. Try 50 new recipes - They're blogged here and there's a list here [50+/50]
37. Try a new recipe for dinner every night for a week - July 12, 2011
38. Eat at ten new restaurants or coffee shops [11/10] - completed January 7, 2012
39. Grow herbs on the deck - July 2012

Home
40. Decide what we're going to put on the clutter collecting wall in the living room and buy it/have it made – Fall 2012
43. Fix the grout in the shower - June 2012
45. Sort out the basement storage and get rid of anything we haven't used for a year - April 15, 2012
46. Install more shelves in the laundry closet - Fall 2010
47. Buy a new fridge - March 11, 2011
48. Buy a new stove - March 11, 2011
49. Get area rugs for living room and dining room - December 16, 2011
50. Declutter 101 items to toss, give away, sell on craigslist or give to charity - they're all here [280/101]
51. Finish J's bathroom - wall art, towel rack etc. - December 9, 2011

Entertainment
52. Go to a movie as a family - August 2012
53. Visit at least two of the places in Alex's day trips book [2/2] - July 29, 2012 and May 4, 2013
54. Go to a movie with Alex - May 28, 2011
56. Ask five people to recommend one book and read that book. Even if it's not a book I think I'll enjoy. - September 2012 [5/5]
57. Get an iPod and load all of our CDs onto it - May 21, 2012
58. Sort out our books and give the ones we're not interested in or won't read again to charity - January 2011
59. Have three dinner parties[3/3] - February 2012
60. Host a baby shower - October 30, 2010
62. Host a Christmas party - November 27, 2010

Travel
66. Take J camping, preferably in a tent (not in a tent, maybe next time) - February 5, 2012
67. Take a holiday with Alex only - Summer 2012
68. Take a holiday with J only - February 5, 2012

Creative and writing
70. Knit a winter hat for J - November 2010
72. Post on this blog every day for one month March 31, 2011
75. Write at least twice a week for Get Fit Chicks for a month October 28, 2010
77. Get the postcard section of the blog up to date - June 2012
78. Send at least five postcards a month for three months using Postcrossing [3/3] - March, April and May 2011
80. Send a secret to PostSecret - Spring 2011
84. Write and mail (ON TIME) 12 birthday cards in a 12 month period – Spring 2013
85. Choose a month from the 26 things photography scavenger hunt archive and do the scavenger hunt – Spring 2013

Professional and Volunteering
88. Take a risk and take on a BIG challenge that is outside my comfort zone on the next project at work - Spring 2012
89. Take at least one course that will help me do my job better - May 22, 2012
90. Sponsor a family at Christmas - January 26, 2011
91. Find a new position within Guiding - October 2011
92. Clear my personal email inbox - home and work - November 8, 2011
93. Once clear, maintain clear status for a week - November 15, 2011
94. Once maintained for a week, maintain for at least another month - January 4, 2012

Fun and Random Stuff
98. Bake something yummy for someone special as a surprise - October 7, 2010
99. Surprise someone with a care package - April 2012
100. Put $5 in a special savings account for every item I cross off this list [70/101 saved] – June 11, 2013
101. If day 1001 comes and there are still items left, donate to a charity that is relevant to our lives at that time – June 11, 2013

Partly complete

Me
1. Fit back into pre-tumble down the stairs clothes
13. Weigh less on day 1001 than on day 1
*I definitely did number #13, but then I had a baby in April and I’m not quite back done there yet…

Family
21. Do an insurance inventory of the contents of our home
22. Get our 72 hour emergency kit properly stocked
Dear Shannon, these two are VERY IMPORTANT. Get them done. ASAP. Like, yesterday.

Food
33. Make dinner from the Best of Bridge cookbook five times – I managed 2/5, I think, it might be 3/5…but I’ll blog about it…one day

Home
41. Hire a painter to finish painting
42. Install a back splash in the kitchen
44. Clear J's closet of the boxes from the move

Entertainment
None
I either completed the things on this part of the list or didn’t even start…

Travel
None
I either completed the things on this part of the list or didn’t even start…

Creative and writing
71. Sew those secret Christmas presents for those specific people (yeah, yeah, I'll elaborate later) – I started them…
73. Blog about each one of the 101 things
76. Send a special thank you letter just because – I had a few people in mind and I ever finish the letters…
79. Make a list of 101 beautiful things in my life – this was harder than I expected and ended up being more personal than I thought…I got a good way through it but I don’t think I would have shared it
87. Write in my real live paper journal at least once a week for three months – I started this a few times and never made it through the three months

Professional and Volunteering
ALL COMPLETED!

Fun and Random Stuff
None
I either completed the things on this part of the list or didn’t even start…

Not complete (and likely not even started….)

Me
6. Buy nothing for a week [exceptions: groceries, necessities, emergencies, services/bills]

Family
23. Make photos books for J's first two years

Food
30. Make pizzelle
35. Make dinner from the Good Housekeeping cookbook five times

Home
Nothing not started  - everything either completed or at least started

Entertainment
55. Watch all the nominees for Best Picture for one year (not necessarily the current year)
61. Host a board game night

Travel
63. Go to Seattle on the train
64. Have a mini-reunion with some of my HPA friends
65. Go to Portland
69. Spend at least one night away from both Alex and J

Creative and writing
74. Answer "50 questions that will free your mind"
81. Put wedding photos in an album
82. Put honeymoon photos in an album
83. Put UK2009 trip photos in an album
86. Do a photographic day in the life (one photo for every waking hour)

Professional and Volunteering
All completed!

Fun and Random Stuff
95. Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find
96. Put change in someone's expired parking meter
97. Pay for a stranger's meal/coffee/purchase

Blissful summer fun

Last night was watering night at my parents’ house…J was bored after dinner and the next thing we knew, she was in the sprinkler.

It wouldn’t be a sprinkler party if you didn’t soak your head (and of course your clothes!)

Tonight J was prepared. She went and put her bathing suit on after dinner and had a blast.

I love this one and couldn’t decide if I liked it better that the previous one or not, so there are two…

While it was warm today – the low 20s probably – it was really windy and the wind was cold, but judging by the look on her face, it didn’t faze J!

And now we’ve made the leap into summer!

Bonus? She was asleep within minutes of being tucked in tonight.