Day 1001

I cannot believe that I have finally reached Day 1001. In some ways, it seems like forever ago and in others I can't even begin to comprehend how that much time has passed. I went back to my original blog post on my 101 list and I realized that there had been a couple changes to the list since that day. Over the past 1001 days I have changed a lot and along the way I adjusted some of the goals accordingly, but I'm going to go through my 101 tasks and update you on the status of all them based on the most recent list which I have been going off for a good seventy-five percent of this journey. I'll try and put in pictures of the ones that I can and link you back to posts where I originally had checked an item off the list.

So here it is, the final report:

#2 - View at the Top

1. No coffee or soda for 3 months - Completed

2. Climb Mount Monadnock- Completed

3. Run a 5K in under 35 minutes - Completed

4. Read Paradise Lost - Not done

• I honestly cannot even remember what led me to put this on the list. I don't know if I though reading this book would round out my literary education or what, but I tried about three times to read this book and every time I gave up about page 10. I am not even sad that I never crossed this one off the list.

5. One day of each week leave the TV off for 6 months- Completed 

• Honestly, this one wasn't that hard to accomplish since leaving college especially, I have really cut down on time spent killing my brain cells in front of the television. In fact, I don't even own a television at this point in my life and I don't miss it at all.

6. Make a list of 25 things I like about myself - Completed

7. Go to church at least 3 times a month for 3 months in a row - Completed

8. Give up fried food for 3 months - Completed

9. Stop biting my nails - Not done

• I would love to lie and cross this one off the list, but it seems that once I think I've managed to break this awful habit, I'll get super stressed out and then I'm back to square one. This is one list item I'm going to hold on to until I finish it.

#12 - Giving the valedictorian speech

10. Pass the NCLEX - Completed

11. Pass the HESI - Completed

12. Graduate from Riv with a GPA of 3.8 or higher- Completed

13. Go without music for 3 days - Not done

• I can't say for sure that I was able to do this over the past 1001 days. I originally put it on the list, because I used to have to listen to music at night to fall asleep. It was a coping mechanism that I wanted to be able to live without which I am now able to do with usually no problems. So in some ways, the purpose of this item was accomplished, but the actual task never got done so its left undone.

14. Apply to and get into graduate school - Not done

• This is one item that I've said before I gave up on completing within the 1001 days long ago. In deciding to volunteer for a year after college, I changed the whole time line I had imagined for going back to school. This is one that I'm going to hold on to for the future.

15. Establish and follow a consistent workout routine - Completed

16. Save a minimum of $1o a month into a savings account - Not done

• Epic fail is all I really have to say about this one. I did open a savings account, but that's about where this one ended.

17. Minimize swearing - Completed

18. Finish scrapbook of Europe - Not done

19. Take dancing lessons of some type - Completed

• Line Dancing at Jenny Wiley Campground in Eastern Kentucky - once in a lifetime experience.

20. Go on a road trip - Completed

21. Make a time capsule - Completed

22. Make homemade ravioli - Completed

23. Pay for 5 people at the drive thru behind me on separate occasions - Completed

24. Finish reading all of the Jane Austen books - Not done

• I got to all of them except for Emma and Mansfield Park which are both sitting on my bookshelf waiting for me to set aside the time to read them.

25. Take a photography class - Not done

26. Learn and memorize how to make 5 dishes from scratch - Completed

• The winning recipes are: Homemade Mac 'N Cheese, Spinach Calzones, Chicken Parmesan, Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas, and Minestrone Soup.

27. Donate hair to Locks of Love - Completed

28. Become an organ donor - Completed

29. Go to a Redsox Game at Fenway Park - Not done

30. Call Mom once a week for 2 months - Completed

#32 - Finished today

31. Go ice skating - Completed

32. Crochet a baby blanket - Completed

 

33. Go back to the mountain for camp - Completed x2

34. Build a piece of furniture - Completed

35. Spend day with Grandma learning how to make egg biscuits - Completed

36. Go visit Annie in the Bronx - Completed

37. Renew my passport - Completed

38. Make a list of 101 things that make me happy

• This has literally taken me all of the 1001 days to complete, but so worth it. A few of the things on the list include the show Modern Family, arranging things in ROYGBIV order, porch swings, and finding a wheat penny.

#38 - Letters from my Grandma

39. Visit 3 museums - 2/3 Completed

40. Take B-12 Vitamin every day for a month - Completed

41. Buy Dutch Blitz - Not done 

• This one kind of became obsolete when I moved to Kentucky because everyone of my camp friends basically has their own set of cards and now that I live in Michigan Kevin has a set and there's no point in both of us owning them.

42. Be able to do ten ‘manly’ push-ups - Completed

#42 - I think that about sums it up

43. Clean my closet out of clothes that I don’t wear - Completed

44. Attempt to/Donate blood three times a year for the duration - Completed

45. Make a quilt - Not done

• Although I never got around to doing this, I am confident that I will in the future as Kevin's mom is a wonderful quilter and has offered to teach me. I cannot wait!

46. Send a postcard to PostSecret.com - Completed

47. Weigh less on Day 1001 than I do on Day 1 - Completed

• This is something I put on the list very hesitantly since to fail at this one would be kind of hard to admit. But I decided to just go for it and I am so thankful that I have not had to admit failure in the least, in fact quite the opposite is true - about sixty pounds opposite.

48. Watch 20 Oscar Best Picture winners (that I have not seen yet) - 13/20 Completed

49. Go to a drive-in movie - Not done

50. Read the Bible from cover to cover - Completed

51. Visit 5 new states - Completed

52. Learn how to do a cartwheel - Completed

53. Blog about the list and how its going at least once every other week - Not done

54. Read 10 non-fiction books - Completed

55. Learn how to make sweet tea- Completed

56. Spell my name out in photographs - Completed

• I can't take full credit for this one as I had some help. My friend Kate as a going away present for when I left Kentucky gave me a framed version of this list item with both photos she and I had taken. I like to think it counts.

#56

57. See and take pictures of at least 5 sunrises - Not done

• The seeing part I can confidently check off, the picture taking I'm only 75% sure of.

58. Host a board game night - Completed

59. Identify 10 people who inspire me - Completed

• In no particular order: Florence Nightingale, Don Miller, Eva Pageau (my Meme), Father Ralph Beiting, Mother Teresa, Greg Mortenson, Gary Hirshberg, Prof. Pat Hagan, Paul Farmer, and Sister Dianna Ortiz.

60. Build a gingerbread house - Completed

61. Memorize a poem - Completed

• Fire and Ice by Frost and most of The Road Not Taken by Frost. I didn't say it had to be a long poem...

62. Get a massage - Completed

63. Send a message in a bottle - Not done

Part of #64

64. Make a collage of my camp pictures - Completed

65. Go skiing - Not done

66. Learn how to and make bread from scratch - Completed

67. Discover 20 new bands that I like and buy at least 5 of their cds - Completed

68. Visit Sammi at school or have her come visit me at school - Completed

69. Ride in a hot air balloon - Not done

70. See a Broadway play - Not done

71. Say a prayer every night for a month - Completed

72. Go to 5 concerts - Completed

73. Create 10 play lists of 10 songs each for 10 different emotions - Completed

74. Learn how to make Pic-A-Lili and make it with Mom - Not done

75. Go to the dentist - Completed

76. Floss every day for a month- Completed

77. Pay off library card debt - Completed

78. Don’t complain about anything for 3 days straight - Not done, many attempts however

79. Go horseback riding - Not done

80. Visit Grandpa’s grave - Completed

81. Send the Floyd House a Care Package - Completed

82. Send the Bloemker Family a package - Completed

83. Send the girls a picture and a letter - Completed

84. Clean out the boxes in my closet at home - Completed

85. Learn 5 new songs on the piano - Not done

86. Send Leia a care package before she comes back from AmeriCorps - Completed

87. Send Brian the 'Sticky and the Brain' Picture - Completed

88. Buy Friday Night Lights Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD - Not done

89. Watch the original Disney Movie Robin Hood from start to finish - Completed

90. Run for SGA President for Senior Year - Completed

91. Send Kim a postcard - Not done

92. Send another care package to a camp friend - Completed

93. Print out pictures to fill the frame Shawna made for me - Completed

94. Take a yoga class - Completed

95. Write Courtney a letter - Completed

#100 - The collection (also #38 - ROYGBIV)

96. Buy a nice camera - Not done

97. Learn how to change a tire on a car - Completed

98. Learn how to change the oil in a car - Kind of Completed

• I was taught how, but there are no guarantees I could pull it off by myself now.

99. Make a Zits comic strip book out of old calendars - Completed

100. Acquire 5 more bandannas of various colors - Completed

101. Donate 1 dollar to a charity for everything not completed on the list by Day 1001

And so the final count is this: seventy five items completed to the fullest and twenty six items left either half done or never started. This list has helped me do some things I never thought I could, and helped me realize I didn't actually want some things I thought I did. Although the perfectionist in me wishes I could be finishing day 1001 with nothing left on the list, I can say I am happy with what I've been able to do and all in all I'd consider my 101 list a success.

Now I just have to choose a charity to receive my twenty six dollars - choices, choices.

23 Going on 85

I have been meaning to blog about my recent crafting adventures for some time. Due to the fact that I used to have a ton of extra time on my hands combined with the fact that I still don't have much of a social life I have taken up several projects as of late. One of the main things I have started is crocheting which I have done on and off since I was younger, but never with much success. I decided to try my hand at it one more time and finally this time it stuck. I am working on a big project which cannot yet be revealed on the Internet, but I promise when its done I will post pictures. However, I can share with you my first completed project of which I am very proud.

About a month or so ago, I was desperately trying to come up with a gift for Kate and now that I don't have unlimited access to all sorts of fun power tools my options were limited. And then I decided to try to make her a hat, but not just any hat - a monkey hat. I found the pattern on another blog and decided to give it a go. It went amazingly well. In fact I was able to finish the entire hat in two days. The only problem was it came out about the right size for a 8 year old child's head. And so I had to repeat the process, but with a bigger crochet hook and another few days later I was able to finish the monkey hat and send it to her. I will admit I contemplated keeping it for myself, but I forced myself to send it off before I could change my mind.

Homemade Card

Another thing I have been doing a lot of lately is making homemade greeting cards of sorts. I've mainly just been utilizing scrapbooking supplies that I've had around for awhile, but this past Friday I was able to go to an actual card making class. At the class, you go in and there's supplies set out for four different cards and you can make one of each for a small price. 

My favorite

So I spent about an hour and a half on Friday with ten middle age to elderly ladies making cards. Just a typical Friday night in my life these days. Actually, that is much more exciting than my typical Friday night which usually consists of some reading, some baking, or some type of craft project and then going to bed before 10pm. I think I may be turning into a Grandma way before my time.

Well, I have to go check on the homemade granola I am currently in the middle of making. My dear friend Molly from Camp Shawnee sent me some for my birthday and I loved it so much I got the recipe from her and am now attempting to make my own. I wish I could link you the delicious smell that is coming out of my kitchen right  now because it is wonderful. I'm waiting for it to cool so I can add the dried fruit and bag it up for my breakfast - yum yum!

Delicious & Nutritious Granola

The Grand Tour

As promised, here are some pictures of the new apartment. And yes it really is that empty. I'm furniture challenged at the moment, but I'm working on it. 

I thought I would post the floor plan of my apartment so you might have something to reference to and then you might be able to picture it a little better. My apartment looks exactly like this except its flipped completely like a mirror image. I live in the front of my building so my view out my windows is mostly of the road and some other buildings, but I do get to see the most beautiful sunsets most nights. 

My dining room, kitchen, and the door to the laundry room.

My super empty living room.

The extra bedroom/my craft room.

The bathroom in the hallway.

My room (please note my ghetto fab night stand).

My walk-in closet.

Bathroom off my bedroom.

That about does it for the tour. It obviously is still in need of some TLC and decorative touches and some furniture, but I can't complain. I have a bed, a bathroom, a place to cook and even a table to eat at. The rest I'm sure will come with time.

Still Here

For all of you who have been concerned, please rest assured I am still alive. I have just had a crazy whirlwind of a last month or so. In fact, I think its almost been exactly a month since I last updated you all on life and so here is the long and short of it.

I spent most of the month of October orienting full time at Eaton Rapids Medical Center where I was hired per diem on their med/surg floor. Its a very small community hospital in the the town of Eaton Rapids, but everyone there has been super welcoming and helpful with aiding me in transitioning back into nursing. This week I started at Allegiance Health in Jackson where I will be working full time on a cardiopulmonary med/surg floor. I have in class orientation all this week from 8am to 4ish pm every day which can be more exhausting than working on the floor. Next week, I start my orientation on the floor and then I have one more week of classroom and then back to the floor for good. I will be orienting on days till mid December and then I will be transitioning into my full time nights position. So between working 36 hours a week at Allegiance and picking up extra days at Eaton Rapids, I will be kept very busy which I will not complain about as that's all I wanted for the last several months. 

On top of starting two new jobs, I also moved into my very first apartment in the middle of October. I really love my apartment and feel super blessed to have gotten it. Its a two bedroom second floor apartment in Mason, MI. It has two bathrooms, a spacious living room/dining room, a kitchen, and even a small laundry room with my very own washer and dryer - no laundry mat for me! The best part about it is that I got the apartment for the price of a one bedroom because there was a special when I signed my lease. Its almost too big for just me, and because I don't have much furniture its pretty empty. My living room is probably the worst as I don't own a TV, a couch, a coffee table, or really any decorations. In fact, right now its mostly full of the packaging from my bed which just arrived this past weekend. Up until that point, I'd been sleeping on my mattress on the floor with a milk crate for a night stand. The milk crate lives on, but I have now upgraded to sleeping on an actual bed. I'm not too concerned about my lack of furniture, I'm sure that I will eventually acquire more than I need but until then the floor works just fine for me. It is different to live all by myself, as I've spent most of the last few years living in community or the dorms where there's always someone else around. However, I am enjoying it and its giving me some time to work on some projects from my 101 list which I will hopefully be posting pictures of soon.

Speaking of pictures, I'm sure you all are anxious to see what the new casa looks like, but my camera has not made a miraculous recovery so I will have to borrow Kevin's camera some time soon and then post the photographs here for your viewing pleasure. 

Well, that's my life in a nutshell and its almost my bed time as I have work tomorrow at Allegiance from 8am to 4pm and then at Eaton Rapids from 7p - 11p. Working makes me an old person that goes to bed at 9:30 or I'm useless the next day. 

Goodnight!