Mama's Lovey-Dove

Mamma Mia!

Hooray! I just got a ticket to see Mamma Mia on Broadway in November. I am super excited.

101 Things in 1,001 Days

I'm doing it.  Today is day 1.

Today, 7/7/09, I am beginning the "101 Things in 1,001 Days" project.  That gives me a finish date of 3 April 2012.  See the count downer thingy on the right!  I'm excited about this feature, although I'd like to find a flashier way to count down.  But that's OK.

So this idea comes from Day Zero.  Check out the website if you are interested.  And I'm going to be honest:  my 101 Things To Do list is NOT complete.  And I reserve the right to edit and delete items from the current list.  It's important to me that this list NOT just be my daily list of things to do (e.g. go to the grocery store, pay bills, grade tests) but that this list represent all those things, some of them admittedly minor, that I keep meaning to do but feel that I never quite get to actually doing, you know?  And I'm planning to keep my master list on my hard drive but occasionally post updates here.

As of right now, 66-100 are "to be determined," and I'm taking suggestions, if you have any.  But here goes:

101 Things in 1,001 Days—A Tentative List

Bold indicates that these are in progress

Bold and stricken though indicates that the task is complete

1.        Go 1 week without watching any TV or DVDs

2.       Reach my goal weight of 130 pounds

3.       Stick within my Weight Watchers points range for 6 weeks straight

4.       Sew 6 differentt purses with 6 patterns I already own—4 by Amy Butler, one by Heather Bailey, and one “freebee”

5.       Sew 1 skirt and overskirt set

6.       Read Dickens’s The Old Curiosity Shop

7.       Reread the entire Harry Potter Series

8.       Commit to and follow The Artist’s Way plan for 12 weeks

9.       Get materials together and apply for promotion at work

10.   Go for 2 months without buying cosmetics (exception:  replacing any used up products)

11.   Go for 6 months without buying cosmetics (see exception above)

12.   Keep budget accurately for 3 months straight

13.   Go for six months without buying any new clothing (except underwear, if needed); instead, sew, refashion, rediscover

14.   Practice yoga for 20 minutes a day, three days a week, for a month

15.   Practice yoga for 20 minutes a day, three days a week, for two months

16.   Post something, however trivial, on either of my blogs each day for a month

17.   Try one new recipe a week for three months straight

18.   Make an appointment and see the doctor about the “neuropathy” in my toes

19.   Find a new medical doctor, one with whom I am comfortable

20.   Make (and wear) at least one dress from a retro pattern

21.   Make (and wear) at least one dress from a vintage pattern

22.   Reread The Lord of the Rings

23.   Eat strictly vegetarian (but not necessarily vegan) for three months

24.   Practice meditation for 20 minutes a day, each day, for eight weeks

25.   Read through the Bible, Old and New Testaments

26.   Mail in mortgage check, rather than phoning in payment, each month for a year—put the extra money towards something fun or towards the principle on my mortgage

27.   Read Anna Karenina

28.   Read War and Peace

29.   Read The Gulag Archipeligo

30.   Read The Oak and the Calf

31.   Read Moby Dick (and actually finish it!)

32.   Read The Golden Notebook (and actually finish it!)

33.   Each week for two months, do one good deed and not get caught

34.   Spend a year working the 12 steps, one each month, possibly via Emotions Anonymous online

35.   Organize my craft / sewing space to make it more usable

36.   Spend one hour a day, each day, for two months just writing, sitting in front of the computer, drafting.

37.   Read Trollope’s Barsetshire Towers

38.   Read Trollope’s Dr. Thorne

39.   Read Trollope’s Framley Parsonage

40.   Read trollope’s The Small House at Allington

41.   Read Trollope’s The Last Chronicle of Barset

42.   Read the Forsyte Saga

43.   Read Middlemarch

44.   Read Our Mutual Friend

45.   Make something out of the yards and yards of natural colored linen fabric I have

46.   Make a new black wool-blend skirt

47.   Make a new grey wool-blend skirt

48.   Embroider 4 pillow cases for my bed

49.   Embroider 2 pillow cases for my guest bedroom

50.   Make 4 decorative / throw pillows for my living room

51.   Find a better way to store my winter scarves

52.   Find a better way to store my silk scarves

53.   Make window treatment for my bathroom

54.   Hang shelving in my bathroom

55.   Hang photos in my bathroom

56.   Make window treatment for my kitchen area

57.   Do work (anything, even a day) as “outreach” in local schools

58.   Read Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials Trilogy (I’ve read the first two, including The Golden Compass—want to reread these, then finish)

59.   Start a Gratitude scrapbook

60.   Complete 10 pages in my Gratitidue scrapbook

61.   Finish reading Vanity Fair by Thackeray

62.   Visit NYC

63.   Organize stuff in bathroom

64.   Paint my bedroom

65.   Rearrange furninture in my bedroom

66.   Get new bedding for my bed

66-100.  TBD (Hey, I want some latitude to see how things develop over the next 999 days.  Which, come to think of it, is like 666 only not)

101.  Post when I complete each of the above

101 Things in 1,001 Days

I'm thinking about signing on for the 101 things in 1,001 days project.   I always feel like I'm not getting "enough" done, and now that I type it, I realize that the "enough" is kinda vague.  But that's the point.  I mean, with the 101 "things" to accomplish (note my overuse of the air quotes here), you are supposed to pick specific, concrete, measurable tasks to accomplish.  Like "finish Thackeray's Vanity Fair." Or "sew five new purses, using patterns I already own." Or "refrain from purchasing cosmetics for six months."  This last would be a hard one for me, which I'm kinda embarrassed to admit.  But the point is, I'd come up with a list of specific and sometimes seemingly insignificant things that I actually would be able to accomplish.  I'm always, as you know, a big one for writing down goals and list of things, both short- and long-term, that I want to accomplish.  At the very least, the process of writing out goals helps me to think through my values and my ambitions and what I really, really want, you know?  Even if I don't achieve everything on the list, just writing the list is its own reward in some ways.  (I'm sick as I'm typing this, so let's use that as an excuse if I'm totally rambling!)  And even if I don't achieve everything on the list, I'm sure that I'll achieve some things that I wouldn't have if the list weren't there, you know?

On a related note, I've been thinking about my job and living in Vermont and why I stay and why I do what I do.  And I have realized that one reason I value my job and one reason I probably will stay long term is that this particular job allows me in so many ways to do what I want to do with my time and with my life.  And that's invaluable, is it not?  I mean, I don't adore every, single thing I do at work, day in and day out, but I do enjoy the teaching.  I enjoy prepping and planning classes, which so often means rereading works that I love.  I enjoy the discussions about literature and writing.  I enjoy interacting with my students.  I generally hate all the meetings I have to attend each week, but I feel so very blessed in having wonderful colleagues, especailly those in my department.  But the kind of work I do allows me all kinds of freedoms that I wouldn't have in many other jobs.  My hours are, for example, somewhat flexible:  when I have class, I need to be there, but otherwise, I can shape my schedule the way I want, week to week.  In fact, I can even ususally teach during the time slots that I desire.  As compared to many, many other careers, I get lots of time off work.  Some of the time I'm not teaching, I do need to use for work related matters.  But still, as compared to much of the world, I have a lot of time off.  And yet, I always feel like I'm not quite using this time very well:  I never seem to get to the things I really want to do.  I never sew or write or read or cook enough, and I spend way too much time watching crap on DVD and killing time online.  I want to find a way to work beyond some of this.  I can't quite figure out if it's because I'm lazy or depressed or unmotivated or stupid or just unrealistic.  But it bothers me that I don't seem to make time for things that bring me pleasure and filfillment, opting instead for activities that allow me to zone out and just not engage with the world around me.  I should add that I think that sometimes zoning out is fine and maybe even important.  But that's not what I mean.  I mean, that I just think I could be spending my free time in more profitable, fulfilling ways. 

I'm going to stop now, because I'm feeling worse, and I don't know what I mean any more.