Update to 101 things to do in 1001 days

At the beginning of 2010 I posted a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I posted a couple of times with updates but that was ages ago. Today I dug out that old post and had a review of what was on it. Many items no longer have relevance to me. Quite a few others have been completed. Here's what it looks like now.

1. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
2. Go vegetarian for one month - I've been vegetarian for over a year now - can tick this one off.
3. Walk the Milford Track - we're booked to do this in December this year
4. Spend a holiday exploring the top of the North Island (everywhere north of Auckland) - had a couple of trips to Northland which is a great start but also have a vague plan to continue with this item in the future.
5. Visit the Coromandel - not yet
6. Visit Tauranga - not yet
7. Make a quilt - not likely - craft work just isn't on my horizon these days.
8. Go to 3 music concerts - Womad twice and the Joe Cocker concert - done!
9. Invest in a decent sound system - have a functioning stereo setup - done!
10. Downsize my house and my mortgage - sold the house, have no mortgage, am renting - done!
11. Blog at least once a week - a bit of a fail on this but maybe on the improve
12. Have a massage once a month - not so important to me anymore
13. Declutter my house - I did that when I moved. This is an item that needs to be executed on a regular basis
14. Clean out garage - as per #13
15. Stick to my budget - I threw the budget out when I sold my house. This hasn't resulted in any issues for me and I'm saving a decent amount per month and have no debt.
16. Track all expenses - nope, see #15
17. Try 50 new recipes - I won't try list all the new recipes I've tried but I reckon it would be getting close to 50. Going vegetarian and needing to cook gluten and dairy free regularly ensures I try new recipes often.
18. Listen to one new musician / band every month - fail! But I also don't feel this is important to me anymore.
19. Buy a piece of art - this is also not important to me anymore. I'd rather be out looking at the great outdoors which is the best piece of artwork around.
20. Find a great cupcake recipe - I've finally decided that cupcakes are overrated so this is off the list!
21. Replace my lounge suite - nope.What I have is perfectly functional so won't be replaced anytime soon.
22. Make new cushions for the lounge - nope. The cushions I have are just fine.
23. Increase mortgage payments - no mortgage anymore.
24. Go skiing - done!
25. Compile my favourite recipes - all my favourite recipes are in a folder in the kitchen. Done!
26. Give blood regularly - I give as regularly as I can. It seems that blood donation time often coincides with me getting a cold sore or a cold.
27. Become a volunteer for the Samaritans - nope. This is still in the back of my mind to do but not a priority right now.
28. Go sky-diving - hmmmmmm. Why is this on the list? It can stay for now but it seems doubtful I will rush out and do this.
29. Only buys clothes / shoes for replacing existing items - this is pretty on course. The exception is specialised clothing for outdoors / alpine environment etc as I am still building up what I need for that.
30. Take 3 cooking classes - I did one and now my cooking classes tend to be via youtube.
31. Complete Christmas shopping by October - hahahahaha. Whatever.
32. Attend a yoga retreat - maybe I will do this one day but I would rather be climbing a mountain or camping by the beach than doing this.
33. Eat less red meat - done! I eat none.
34. Eat more fish - done! I eat fish on a regular basis.
35. Donate $10 to charity for each task I don't complete - Will do this.
36. Go camping - yes. Often.
37. Go on an unplanned road trip for a weekend - I do end up doing quite a few last minute trips into the outdoors. Road trip? Not likely.
38. Put together an emergency kit - I've done this although I think all emergency kits need regular review and updating.
39. Take a dance class - nope. It's possible I might try swing dancing though.
40. Do yoga three times a week for a month - I probably got close to this a year or so ago. Now it's more likely to be three times a year.
41. Go to a live comedy show - done! Have been to several.
42. Buy fresh flowers once a month - nope. Not important to me.
43. Make 25 different cocktails - nope. But I've tried lots of different pinot noirs and a fair few whiskeys. Does that count?
44. Try out a new restaurant once every two months - nope. Eating out isn't a priority. I'd rather cook something different at home than pay through the nose for mediocre food.
45. Make a winter dress - nope. I don't need any more clothes and when I do it is likely I will go buy something rather than make it.
46. Spend a rainy day with someone in bed - still working on this one. There's always so many other things to do.
47. Sleep under the stars - done!
48. Read a science fiction book. Really? Why did I put this on here. I am so far behind on my reading these days it's unlikely I will force myself to read a genre in which I have no interest.
49. Prepare and have a romantic candlelit dinner at home. I might have to do this sometime. This can stay on the list.
50. Read at least one non-fiction book a month - like I said above, I am very behind on my reading. When I do read it does tend to be non-fiction these days.
51. Complete a sudoku every day - I have been doing this recently as it helps keep my brain active.
52. Go to a wine and food festival - this can stay on the list but not sure if it will be achieved.
53. Go to 10 plays - since the list began I have probably been to 2 plays. I'd like to see more though.
54. Go white-water rafting - done!
55. Menu plan every week - nope. This can come off the list. I am now into planning each meal around what we have in the fridge and cupboard. I buy a ton of in-season fruit and vegetables every week and this forms the basis of what we eat.
56. Reduce grocery spend to $70 / week. I'd have to look at this. I'm not too focused on cost at present, more interested in quality.
57. Review goals once a week. Oops. Once a year maybe.
58. Make soap. Maybe one day.
59. Take a bubble bath every month. I jump in the spa on a regular basis so this one is replaced by "Soak in the spa.".
60. Build something out of wood. Really? Like what? What was I thinking?
61. Buy a "round town" bike for running errands. Since moving into a house on the hill it makes more sense to stick to a bike with good gears. I tend to just use my road bike.
62. Set up spare room as a real guest bedroom. Nope. Off the list.
63. Go on holiday to Japan. That would be great but I think there are other countries that would come before Japan. Would be cool to go to Nepal. Malaysia.
64. Donate 100,000 grains of rice on freerice.com. I did do this for a while. Not sure where I got up to. Might have to look into this and get back into it.
65. Create a cleaning schedule. hahahaha Cleaning happens when it happens. Usually not often enough.
66. Take a class and learn something new. youtube is my classroom. I learnt how to make homemade corn tortillas that way. :)
67. Donate food to the local food bank once a month. Nope. Hmmmm. Will think about this.
68. Do a random act of kindness once a month. Haven't kept track of this. Seems doubtful. Although I do think I do acts of kindness often anyway.
69. Knit something. I have been thinking about doing this. I wonder if it will get past the thinking stage?
70. Make a loan through Kiva. Nope. Have to look into this further.
71. Go see a 3D movie. So not interested in this.
72. Keep in regular contact with my brother. I think I fail with this one although it's easier these days with him being on Facebook more often.
73. Sew Christmas stockings. Nah!
74. Go to an art gallery every month. Not every month. Need to do more of this.
75. Get involved with local Transition Towns group. Nope. Can't see that happening.
76. Take a pole-dancing class. Done!
77. Assemble a first aid kit for the car. Great idea! Need to do this.
78. Have a productive vegetable garden year-round. I wish. I did notice that my broad beans have sprouted over the last few days which is a progress.
79. Complete a scuba diving course. Let's replace this with "Take up rock and ice-climbing."
80. Learn to garden organically. Still to do.
81. Reduce food wastage. I would like to think I've done this but I think I still fail as I find containers in the fridge with yucky stuff in them.
82. Visit my parents twice a year. Big fail. I never seem to have any annual leave as I'm always off on outdoor adventures.
83. Write an “if anything ever happens to me” letter. Need to do this.
84. Clean out and organise my filing system. Still to be done.
85. Check my car's oil and water every month. hahahaha Once a year perhaps!
86. Change the oil and oil filter at least annually. Oh. Did this. Once in the last 4 years is ok right? Plus, apparently the bung in my sump is.... um.... bung and can't be removed easily so may never happen again. I am sure the car will die before it needs to be done anyway.
87. Once a month meet a different friend for lunch. Not doing too badly on this.
88. Clean out the dreaded box of cables. Nope. It sits in the corner glaring at me. One day.
89. Swim in a lake, a river, the sea and a pool. Done!
90. Wear matching underwear at least once a week. hahahaha I reckon as long as I wear clean underwear then that is good enough.
91. Put $10 in a jar for each completed task. Not done.
92. Try geocaching. Nope. Maybe.
93. Donate to one new charity each year (ongoing). Nope. I am rethinking charity donations.
94. Take more photos. Yes!
95. Take an art class. I did this!
96. Visit a waterfall I haven't been to before. Done!
97. Write a positive thought down every day for a month. Nope. But I do think positive thoughts every day.
98. Kiss in the rain. Done!
99. Mid-winter swim. Done!
100. Write my name in the sand and take a photo of it. Done!
101. Bake bread once a month - new recipe each month. I now bake bread several times a week. Same recipe every time because I found a gluten free recipe that works and don't want to go back to producing bricks.

Not bad I reckon. I wrote this list at a time when I needed to figure out some direction to go in. These days I am so happy with the life I have and enjoy what I have got and what I am doing, that I don't know that I need a list anymore. I reevaluate life often and I think that's the key.

Update on 101 things to do in 1001 days

As promised, here is an update on my 101 things to do list. While working through the list it's made me realise how I have lost my focus over the past few months - time to get back into this!

1. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
2. Go vegetarian for one month
3. Walk the Milford Track - this may well happen in 2011 - in fact the plan is to walk it twice out of season (walk it in one direction then turn round and walk back)
4. Spend a holiday exploring the top of the North Island (everywhere north of Auckland)
5. Visit the Coromandel
6. Visit Tauranga
7. Make a quilt
8. Go to 3 music concerts
9. Invest in a decent sound system - complete - bought a second hand amp and surround sound system
10. Downsize my house and my mortgage - I'm heading towards this goal with my house going on the market within the next couple of weeks
11. Blog at least once a week - I've not done so well with my blogging but hope to get this back on track from now on.
12. Have a massage once a month - not doing very well on this but it's become less important to me these days
13. Declutter my house - this has been going well but of course there is always more
14. Clean out garage - this is almost complete - one more load of rubbish should finish this off.
15. Stick to my budget - not doing very well here but working on it
16. Track all expenses
17. Try 50 new recipes - I need to do my sums as I am certain I am progressing well on this one
18. Listen to one new musician / band every month
19. Buy a piece of art
20. Find a great cupcake recipe
21. Replace my lounge suite
22. Make new cushions for the lounge
23. Increase mortgage payments
24. Go skiing - done! Went up skiing twice during the winter and it was fantastic!
25. Compile my favourite recipes
26. Give blood regularly - I've been struggling with giving blood. I couldn't give a couple of months back as I was suffering from cold sores. Now I can't give for three months due to the surgery I had on my finger.
27. Become a volunteer for the Samaritans - this is one to look into in the new year - have to find out when the next intake happens
28. Go sky-diving
29. Only buy clothes / shoes for replacing existing items
30. Take 3 cooking classes - I did my thai cooking class but the other two classes I had enrolled on were cancelled so I need to find some more.
31. Complete Christmas shopping by October - totally failed this year - I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet
32. Attend a yoga retreat
33. Eat less red meat - this is going very well
34. Eat more fish - with the reduction in red meat I have been eating a lot more fish.
35. Donate $10 to charity for each task I don't complete
36. Go camping - done! Many times!
37. Go on an unplanned road trip for a weekend
38. Put together an emergency kit
39. Take a dance class
40. Do yoga three times a week for a month
41. Go to a live comedy show
42. Buy fresh flowers once a month
43. Make 25 different cocktails
44. Try out a new restaurant once every two months
45. Make a winter dress
46. Spend a rainy day with someone in bed
47. Sleep under the stars
48. Read a science fiction book
49. Prepare and have a romantic candlelit dinner at home
50. Read at least one non-fiction book a month
51. Complete a sudoku every day
52. Go to a wine and food festival
53. Go to 10 plays
54. Go white-water rafting
55. Menu plan every week
56. Reduce grocery spend to $70 / week
57. Review goals once a week
58. Make soap
59. Take a bubble bath every month - hmmmm, I removed my bath when the bathroom was renovated so this isn't happening. I am in the spa at least once a week and usually more.
60. Build something out of wood
61. Buy a "round town" bike for running errands
62. Set up spare room as a real guest bedroom - I had completed this one but I had only borrowed a bed which has now gone so have to start this one again
63. Go on holiday to Japan
64. Donate 100,000 grains of rice on freerice.com
65. Create a cleaning schedule
66. Take a class and learn something new
67. Donate food to the local food bank once a month
68. Do a random act of kindness once a month
69. Knit something
70. Make a loan through Kiva
71. Go see a 3D movie
72. Keep in regular contact with my brother
73. Sew Christmas stockings
74. Go to an art gallery every month
75. Get involved with local Transition Towns group
76. Take a pole-dancing class - done!
77. Assemble a first aid kit for the car
78. Have a productive vegetable garden year-round
79. Complete a scuba diving course
80. Learn to garden organically
81. Reduce food wastage
82. Visit my parents twice a year
83. Write an “if anything ever happens to me” letter - complete although I am planning to do this at least once a year to ensure things are up to date
84. Clean out and organise my filing system
85. Check my car's oil and water every month - doing well on this one (surprisingly)
86. Change the oil and oil filter at least annually
87. Once a month meet a different friend for lunch - doing well on this one
88. Clean out the dreaded box of cables
89. Swim in a lake, a river, the sea and a pool - river, sea and pool all done. Hoping to get the lake one out of the way later in the year
90. Wear matching underwear at least once a week
91. Put $1o in a jar for each completed task
92. Try geocaching
93. Donate to one new charity each year (ongoing)
94. Take more photos
95. Take an art class - complete - totally enjoyed my basic drawing skills class
96. Visit a waterfall I haven't been to before
97. Write a positive thought down every day for a month
98. Kiss in the rain
99. Mid-winter swim
100. Write my name in the sand and take a photo of it - complete
101. Bake bread once a month - new recipe each month

Back in the land of blogging

Humble apologies to all for the lack of blogging in recent times. It has mostly been a deliberate move as I needed to get a few things sorted in my personal life before I continued with my blog. That is all done now so I am free to get back into it.

So, while you get a new entry today it's going to be short and sweet. Obviously I've been doing all sorts of things over the past couple of months so my next few entries will be reports of various trips, progress on things around the house, some moaning about broody chooks (again!) as well as a well-overdue update on my 101 things to do in 1001 days list.

Life remains very busy for me but I am having fun, getting out and about and moving on. Be patient with me and I will fill you in on ski trips, alpine training, tramping, camping, my trip to Australia and all sorts of other adventures.

Mmmmmm, Thai cooking

Before I get stuck into this blog post I have to apologise for the lack of photos - I was so busy with the class it didn't even occur to me to take any photos.

Anyway, yesterday I went off to my Thai cooking lesson. The class was from 9:30am until 3:30pm and was run by a lovely young Thai woman who has been in New Zealand for five years. She had two other Thai woman to assist her which worked out really well as some things took longer than planned. They were great at helping us catch up when we fell behind. In the class there were eight of us there to learn new skills.

Well, we sliced and pounded and stirred and cooked our little hearts out pretty much non-stop all day. We did have a small pause for lunch which consisted of yummy curry puffs that we had made. They were delicious.

Throughout the day we made the curry puffs (minced pork, potato, carrot, spices and seasoning wrapped in puff pastry), chicken stirfry, pork curry, jasmine rice and a dessert of water chestnuts. The part I enjoyed the most was making our own curry paste from scratch. It's the most that my mortar and pestle has ever been used! We got to use ingredients most of us had never heard of through the day as well as things that smelt like death but tasted fabulous.

My favourite dish of the day was the chicken stirfry which had really simple ingredients of chicken, mushrooms, sherry, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, tamarind paste, water and sugar. Hmmm, I guess that doesn't sound so simple but it was super simple compared to the curry paste we made which had ingredients of lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallots, roasted peanuts, shrimp paste, salt, coriander, chillies and cumin - all of those were pounded together into a paste. While it took quite a long time to prepare the finished result was divine and totally worth the effort.

So that is one of my cooking lessons off my list of 101 things to do. The next one I have booked is the chocolate one. I am very much looking forward to that one!

A natural at pole-dancing?

Well, last night was my pole-dancing class. I was a little apprehensive about this class - to be honest I think I was more apprehensive about wearing short shorts than of the class itself.

The class was quite small which helped with the nerves although the full-length mirrors were a bit of a challenge. We started off with some warming up and then moved onto a "routine". That wasn't too bad. We also did some "climbing". That took me back to my school days and climbing ropes in the gym. With a bit of help I managed to climb quite high. We also did some spinning - and it seemed I was a bit of a natural at that (are you proud of me, Mum?).

All up the class was a lot of fun and not at all sleazy. I have a few sore muscles today but I have been told that tomorrow they will be much more painful - oh yay! I think it would be a great class to continue with - brilliant for building core strength and you never when some pole-dancing skills could come in handy. :)

Thanks to Sarah for taking me along.

Pole-dancing here I come!

Did that get your attention? hahahaha

On my 101 things to do list I included the following item :

76. Take a pole-dancing class

Tomorrow night I have got this booked. My friend Sarah is taking me along. I did wonder what I would have to wear and was sort of happy to hear that a t-shirt and shorts were the right type of clothing (short shorts apparently - ugh!). And apparently no moisturising or oiling of legs or arms allowed - I guess that is so you don't slide right off the pole.

Anyway, this is just a short post - I will update in the day or so after the class to tell you how it went - and, no, there will be no photos - not when I am wearing short shorts!

Update on 101 things list

It's been a while since I reviewed my list so thought I would get that done today.

1. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
2. Go vegetarian for one month
3. Walk the Milford Track
4. Spend a holiday exploring the top of the North Island (everywhere north of Auckland)
5. Visit the Coromandel
6. Visit Tauranga
7. Make a quilt
8. Go to 3 music concerts
9. Invest in a decent sound system - complete - bought a second hand amp and surround sound system
10. Downsize my house and my mortgage
11. Blog at least once a week - am just managing to keep up with this.
12. Have a massage once a month - so far so good - need to get booked in for this month
13. Declutter my house - spare room complete, rest of the house still to do
14. Clean out garage
15. Stick to my budget - not doing very well here but working on it
16. Track all expenses
17. Try 50 new recipes
18. Listen to one new musician / band every month
19. Buy a piece of art
20. Find a great cupcake recipe
21. Replace my lounge suite
22. Make new cushions for the lounge
23. Increase mortgage payments
24. Go skiing
25. Compile my favourite recipes
26. Give blood regularly
27. Become a volunteer for the Samaritans
28. Go sky-diving
29. Only buy clothes / shoes for replacing existing items
30. Take 3 cooking classes
31. Complete Christmas shopping by October
32. Attend a yoga retreat
33. Eat less red meat
34. Eat more fish
35. Donate $10 to charity for each task I don't complete
36. Go camping
37. Go on an unplanned road trip for a weekend
38. Put together an emergency kit
39. Take a dance class
40. Do yoga three times a week for a month
41. Go to a live comedy show
42. Buy fresh flowers once a month
43. Make 25 different cocktails
44. Try out a new restaurant once every two months
45. Make a winter dress
46. Spend a rainy day with someone in bed
47. Sleep under the stars
48. Read a science fiction book
49. Prepare and have a romantic candlelit dinner at home
50. Read at least one non-fiction book a month
51. Complete a sudoku every day
52. Go to a wine and food festival
53. Go to 10 plays
54. Go white-water rafting
55. Menu plan every week
56. Reduce grocery spend to $70 / week
57. Review goals once a week
58. Make soap
59. Take a bubble bath every month
60. Build something out of wood
61. Buy a "round town" bike for running errands
62. Set up spare room as a real guest bedroom - I had completed this one but I had only borrowed a bed which has now gone so have to start this one again
63. Go on holiday to Japan
64. Donate 100,000 grains of rice on freerice.com
65. Create a cleaning schedule
66. Take a class and learn something new
67. Donate food to the local food bank once a month
68. Do a random act of kindness once a month
69. Knit something
70. Make a loan through Kiva
71. Go see a 3D movie
72. Keep in regular contact with my brother
73. Sew Christmas stockings
74. Go to an art gallery every month
75. Get involved with local Transition Towns group
76. Take a pole-dancing class
77. Assemble a first aid kit for the car
78. Have a productive vegetable garden year-round
79. Complete a scuba diving course
80. Learn to garden organically
81. Reduce food wastage
82. Visit my parents twice a year
83. Write an “if anything ever happens to me” letter - complete although I am planning to do this at least once a year to ensure things are up to date
84. Clean out and organise my filing system
85. Check my car's oil and water every month - doing well on this one (surprisingly)
86. Change the oil and oil filter at least annually
87. Once a month meet a different friend for lunch - doing well on this one
88. Clean out the dreaded box of cables
89. Swim in a lake, a river, the sea and a pool - river, sea and pool all done. Hoping to get the lake one out of the way later in the year
90. Wear matching underwear at least once a week
91. Put $1o in a jar for each completed task
92. Try geocaching
93. Donate to one new charity each year (ongoing)
94. Take more photos
95. Take an art class - complete - totally enjoyed my basic drawing skills class
96. Visit a waterfall I haven't been to before
97. Write a positive thought down every day for a month
98. Kiss in the rain
99. Mid-winter swim
100. Write my name in the sand and take a photo of it - complete
101. Bake bread once a month - new recipe each month

After working through this list again I realise I still have a lot to do. I need to get my planning hat on!

Art class completed!

Today I went to a Basic Drawing Skills class. Anyway one who knows me would tell you I am a practical, logical person rather than someone who is creative or artistic. I had always written myself off as being totally useless when it came to things like drawing. But I also have a bit of a stubborn streak so decided I should go along and do a class and see whether I could be taught!

The class itself covered off some basic techniques with lots of practising along the way. Some of the first attempts were hilarious! Actually the first exercise was to draw each other without looking at our sketch pads. The results were very Picasso like!

We carried on and learnt about negative space, angles, measuring, shading and all sorts of wonderful things. The picture below was from the last exercise we did which pulled together all of the things we learnt. I reckon it's not bad considering it's my first ever art lesson. :)

Pecking order, vege garden and 101 things list

I am concerned about my chooks. Their coop has heaps of feathers in it currently and I am worried that one of my lovely ladies has decided she is queen of the coop and is pecking the others.

After feeding them the other day I hung around and watched for a while. Miss Broody (the supposed Queen of the coop) had been turfed out of her nesting box by me (as happens twice a day!). She stalked over to where the other three were munching away and started attacking them. I have three different breeds (not sure what breeds though) so maybe that is something to do with it? Hmmmmm! I have no idea what do you do about hen-pecking? Off to Google that one now but any suggestions are welcome.

My garden is reaching its peak currently which is sort of great but always a bit sad to know that my fresh produce supply will start to wind down over the next month or so. I would love to be able to keep my garden going year round but we suffer from hard frosts over winter which kill most things off. I will manage to keep silverbeet going (much to the delight of the chooks) and am going to research what else might survive in our winter.

I am loving having my 101 things list to motivate me. I review it every few days and it's a great reminder to me to get off my butt and achieve something. I love doing my sudoku although I don't always do one daily. I am almost on target with blogging once a week and I would really like to increase this to at least twice a week. I've had a massage, a bubble bath and am eating a lot more fish than I have in the past (salmon on Sunday night was divine!) I have a few things booked which will allow me to tick a few things off over the next couple of months. Next month I will blog about progress against each of the 101 things and needing to do that will certainly motivate me to get a few things completed before then.