101 in 1001

OK, I'm a few days late on this, as certainly the ideal time to begin this kind of challenge would be January 1. But I actually just discovered it yesterday, and then I needed the better part of today to draw up my list. But here it is, 101 things to do in 1001 days:

KNITTING and ART
1. knit a sweater for ME
2. paint Meghan’s Georgia O’Keefe knock off
3. design and knit an Orioles scarf to wear to freezing April games
4. knit something with bamboo and/or soysilk
5. knit a baby gift for everyone I know who has a baby (it starts . . . )
6. buy some fancy, super expensive yarn (cashmere!) and not feel guilty using it to knit something for myself
7. learn fair isle--the right way.
8. knit one item per month for Christmas ‘08 and ‘09, so Christmas knitting is done by the end of November each year
9. teach someone to knit!
10. knit at least 25 things from my Ravelry queue (0/25)

HEALTH
11. have LASIK; burn all leftover contact lens paraphernalia in celebratory fire
12. take a daily multivitamin (0/1001? I’m not counting this one!)
13. take a yoga class, possibly with Meghan or, haha!, Mom
14. go to the dermatologist
15. stop drinking so much damn diet soda (cut to 1 a day) and drink more water
16. buy a bike, and ride it
17. start running 1 day a week after work and both Sat and Sun; increase to 2 days after work if not dead yet (that should do it . . .)
18. cut TB down to 1/month (er, that’s Taco Bell, not tuberculosis)
19. go to the dentist

BEAUTY and other SUPERFICIAL NONSENSE
20. get a new, exciting haircut (maybe this one)
21. tattoo #4
22. buy a matt & nat handbag (or perhaps receive one as a gift!)
23. buy wellies, and actually wear them when it rains
24. buy a black suit jacket
25. if hair refuses to remain attractive shade of blonde year round, start getting it colored or highlighted
26. find and purchase the perfect pair of jeans
27. get a facial

EDUCATION/PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT/WORK
28. read War and Peace and 9 other classics I’ve missed out on (0/10)
29. start piano lessons
30. take a Portuguese course
31. learn to Salsa
32. join a Stitch ‘N Bitch and/or a book club
33. take a French refresher course
34. learn to ski
35. learn to water ski
36. get a Spanish-speaking “e-pen pal” and write at least once a week
37. read Love in the Time of Cholera in Spanish (woo, I’ve started!)
38. re-join LASA; read the journals when they arrive
39. visit the National Gallery or another museum once a month
40. give Harry Potter a try
41. read 101 books (0/101) – including those 10 classics
42. write and publish (somewhere!) an article/paper that has nothing to do with sugar and FTAAs

FAMILY/RELATIONSHIPS
43. plan something for Josh’s 30th (eek!)
44. cut the mats out of Nelly’s fur (without inadvertently stabbing Nelly or emotionally scarring her for life)
45. stop calling Josh a doofus, even when he is one
46. visit Amy in NC
47. assume Meghan and Vince will get married, and help plan Meghan’s wedding without strangling her
48. visit Dave and Laura in NY
49. find a vegetarian meal Dad likes and do NOT give Mom the recipe
50. find out what ever happened to Jolly Joel
51. host a big holiday (Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas)
52. spend more time with Alicia before she hits 16 and becomes too cool for everything (go to the BES Invitational every year)
53. do NOT have a baby; unless we revisit that discussion and change our minds, in which case, start planning for a baby (but there will certainly be no planned babies birthed before these 1,001 days are up, regardless)
54. attend 10 year high school reunion and be fabulous; convince Clare to go as well
55. make a new friend (IRL, not on the ‘net, where it’s so much easier)
56. teach Josh some basic Spanish so he stops saying “¿Donde está el baño?” every time someone asks if he speaks Spanish

HOME and FINANCE
57. open and fully fund a Roth
58. buy a new house that isn’t 2 hours from place of employment; alternately, find place of employment closer to house
59. redo the bar
60. put hardwood floors in LR and DR and replace carpet in the rest of the house
61. pay off all remaining school loans
62. de-clutter house and get rid of crap we will never, ever use (I’m looking at you, weird cheese tray from Mom!)
63. buy new dining room and bedroom furniture, and a sofa bed for the basement
64. plant veggie garden every spring and actually use the veggies, not let them rot on the vine and/or in the fridge
65. plant lilac bush
66. fix the revolting condition of the bathtub (re-caulk)
67. get rid of basement fridge and replace with mini fridge behind the bar

TRAVEL and EXPERIENCES
68. visit Europe—or at least book the trip for my 30th (just after these 1,001 days--eek! eek!)
69. elect President who will permit me to travel to Cuba; visit Cuba
70. go to an Os game out of state (and don’t get killed by the opposing team’s fans)
71. visit CA, TX and FL (0/3)
72. go to a Ravens game and don’t annoy Josh with a bunch of “stupid” questions while we’re there; pretend to enjoy football
73. see Amy Winehouse in concert, if she’s not dead yet; also see The Killers again
74. eat at Pazo and 19 other new restaurants (0/20)
75. go to a wine tasting and/or take a wine class
76. take a cruise
77. visit another alpaca farm, preferably in Peru
78. visit Bolivia
79. rent a hotel room downtown for 4th of July or New Year’s Eve to watch the fireworks over the harbor
80. find the best Chinese restaurant
81. see Wicked
82. take a ghost tour of Old Ellicott City, Fells Point, or other for Halloween
83. get an actual martini at Cosmos instead of frou frou girlie Chocolate Raspberry Martini

SOCIETY
84. go back to Nicaragua to work with Fabretto or JHC; stay for 2 weeks if I can!
85. give blood twice a year (0/6)
86. set up an automatic monthly donation to Fabretto, JHC, ASPCA and/or other charities; increase it every year
87. Donate $5 to charity for each thing on this list I don’t complete by the deadline.

RANDOM
88. buy a car with manual transmission
89. smile graciously at a Yankees/Red Sox fan at Camden Yards and don’t give them the finger behind their back (and there’s the first $5 . . . )
90. make a Nicaragua photo book
91. do something with my wedding dress, i.e., don’t leave it hanging in the guest room closet for all eternity
92. collect and frame all the Beatles LPs (regular full-length studio releases)
93. get Aunt Rose’s chrusciki recipe; make chrusciki without killing anyone or setting the house ablaze
94. make an LOLcat
95. send a postcard to PostSecret
96. write and send scathing letter to DC Metro system documenting atrocious failures and supreme dissatisfaction with service; then suck it up and deal with poor service
97. master Super Mario Galaxy and Super Paper Mario
98. play Civ IV on a level above “Warlord” and win (time victory OK but, let’s face it, pretty weak)
99. buy an orchid. Don’t kill it.
100. start using reusable grocery bags
101. learn to read tarot and entertain people at parties with astonishing insights ;)

So, there's my list. Wish me luck. I'll try to post it in the sidebar and keep track of my successes and failures. Because I know that most of, well, humanity is supremely interested in whether or not I've won Super Paper Mario . . .