101 Things – Round 1
Official start date: May 19, 2005
Official end date: February 14, 2008
Official progress report: 34 things completed, 1 thing postponed, 66 things to go.
Anything that has been completed will be marked in bold. Wish me luck!
Learning Things
1. Learn to knit
(Started 05.06 and 06.06 – still more to learn but I know the basics)
2. Re-learn how to sew
3. Take a floral design course
4. Take tap dancing lessons
5. Learn to make candles
6. Take a class to remember how to create a wedding cake
7. Learn to salsa dance
8. Try to learn to surf
9. Learn to play poker
10. Learn to drive a stick shift
Travel Things
11. Have Beignets in the French Quarter in New Orleans
(postponed to the next 101 things due to Hurricane Katrina – 08.28.05)
12. Bet $20 on Red in Las Vegas
13. Kiss the Blarney Stone in Ireland again
14. See the Constitution in Washington DC
(Saw the Constitution in person on 08.24.06)
15. Watch the sunrise and sunset over a foreign beach
16. Visit my old apartment in Astoria, Queens, New York
(Visited 10.28.05 while attending conference in NYC)
17. Take a ride on the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls
18. Take Randy to Disneyworld
19. Take Mom on a spa day
(Took Mom for her very first pedicure ever on 08.15.06, in honor of her birthday)
20. Go downhill skiing
21. Take Randy on a picnic
22. Go to the Grand Canyon
23. See a Saturday Night Live taping in person
24. Play in the ocean
(Played in the Atlantic ocean on the Outer Banks on 05.02.07)
25. Visit 5 states I have not been to – might be tough since I have been to 35 already
Creative Things
26. Finish a 26 things project
27. Take a class on photography
28. Make a new duvet cover
29. Take at least 10 new photographs every week for a month
(Ellie has made this really easy – ellieduncan.com/pictures.htm)
30. Take a self portrait in black and white
Sports Things
31. Attend a local HS football game
32. Go to a college football game
33. Go to a professional baseball game
(Saw the Indians beat the Reds at the Jake – 4 to 3 on 06.26.05)
34. Go to a professional hockey game
35. Go to a professional basketball game
36. Go water skiing
37. Run a mile without stopping
For Others Things
38. Pay for the car behind me in a fast food drive through
39. Put change into expired meters on the street
40. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity
(I was a regular volunteer for the Lexington Habitat ReStore.)
41. Complete 2 Race for the Cure Walks
42. Go through every room in my house and find at least 3 things in each room to donate to charity
43. Give my parents an outstanding anniversary gift
44. Send a letter to an author whose work inspires me
Finance Things
45. Buy a new house
(Closed on our new house on Summerwood Drive on Friday, October 13!!!)
46. Remodel at least one room in the new house with limited professional assistance
(We gutted our new family room – torn down walls, added can lights, added tons of trim – completed 03.01.07)
47. Buy stock in a company that I believe in
48. Buy a new car
(Bought a new Pilot – 12.07)
49. Build up a 3 month emergency fund in savings
(Done with a deposit made to the ING account on 11.18.05 – new goal is 6 months)
50. Update the household notebook with pictures and serial numbers
(Completed in anticipation of the move – across several evenings in 11.05)
51. Get a safe deposit box
(Finally got a safe deposit box at our bank 02.03.07)
52. Change my 401K contributions to be more aggressive
(Changed contributions 01.10.06)
53. Become debt free except for mortgage
(Everything – student loans, both cars, credit cards, personal loans – paid off on 05.01.06!!!)
54. Max out my Traditional IRA each year
Organization Things
55. Organize my car’s trunk
(put together an emergency kit for the trunk on 05.21.05)
56. Organize my photos
57. Go one month without buying any magazines I don’t already subscribe to.
58. Catalog our CD’s
59. Catalog our DVD’s
60. Keep an entirely clean and clutter free kitchen for an entire month
61. Keep an entirely clean and clutter free living room for an entire month
Food and Drink Things
62. Amass a bar well stocked enough to make at least 10 different cocktails
(stocked the bar when we moved from Kentucky on 10.15.06)
63. Host a cocktail party
64. Take a class in wine tasting
(took a fabulous class in the 6 main varietals on 06.21.05)
65. Find a signature dish
66. Make fresh salsa from scratch
(Made a batch on 04.17.06 from a recipe from The Best Light Recipe)
67. Cook Thanksgiving dinner for more than 4 people
68. Become a vegetarian for 1 week
69. Bake a loaf of bread without a bread machine
70. Visit one new restaurant every month for 1 year
Emilie Duncan Event Planning Things
71. Backup both EDEP’s laptop once a week for 2 months
(www.carbonite.com – 100% auto backup for under $50 a year. Perfect!)
72. Get my EDEP portfolio together and updated
73. Archive all my old client files
(My computer files on former clients are organized and the paper files in some lovely binders – done 12.07.05)
74. Create list of all items in EDEP emergency kit for easy re-stock
(Completed 12.18.05 – it is 3 pages long!)
75. Be quoted in at least 2 magazine or newspaper articles
(Quoted in May 2007 Columbus Monthly and July/August 2007 Bridal Guide!)
Truman Things
76. Get Truman certified as a Canine Good Citizen
77. Get Truman certified as a Therapy Dog
78. Take Truman the Dog swimming
79. Adopt another dog to keep Truman the Dog company
80. Go to a dog show
(Went to the Crown Classic Dog Show at the IX Center in Cleveland on 12.17.05)
For Me Things
81. Have a baby
(Elizabeth Jane was born 09.07.07 at 8:04 pm)
82. Grow my nails long enough to get regular manicures again
(Done as of 08.07)
83. Lose 20 pounds
(Lost 28 lbs after Ellie was born – 09.07)
84. Go to the movies and buy a ticket for the next showing without looking at the schedule beforehand
85. Wear pigtails in public
86. Wear my pearls in public at least once every 6 months
87. Contact my favorite teacher to thank them for their influence on my life
(Sent an email to Mrs. Rocker, my 12th grade AP English teacher on 08.26.06)
88. Do at least 1 crossword puzzle a month for a year
89. Take my Flintstone vitamins every day for one month
(Took them every day in 02/07 as prenatal vitamins – other prenatal vitamins made me ill when I was first pregnant!)
90. Stop swearing for a week
91. Buy and keep a plant alive for more than 1 month
Movie and Music Things
92. Watch Rocky
(Watched it on 05.27.05 – he should have won)
93. Watch The Godfather
(Watched it on 04.22.06 – the first time I have ever watched the whole thing at once)
94. See all 5 Best Picture nominees either in the theater or on DVD
95. Go to a movie solo
(Saw the 1:35 pm showing of Rent on 12.10.05 – A-MAZING)
96. See another concert at House of Blues Cleveland
(Saw Lifehouse at HOB Cleveland on January 28, 2006 – great show)
Just Because Things
97. Play at least one board game every 2 months
98. Ride a roller coaster with my hands up the whole way!
99. Go puddle stomping like mom and I used to do
100. Save $1 every day to be used for a KILLER celebration on February 14, 2008.
101. Start working on the next 101 things to begin on February 15, 2008
