101 in 1,001

So I've heard of other people completing a list of 101 things they'd like to do in 1,001 days. That is where the idea of this list came from. I showed it to Steve and he is excited about it and suggests we print it out and hang it somewhere so we can start crossing things off. We are very much List People. Why, just today I made a list of what Sam will eat for every meal this week. I also make grocery lists. And chore lists. And meal lists (for Steve and me). And now I've gone and made a Bucket List of sorts. Obviously this is not my bucket list. My Official Bucket List will have grand and awesome things on it, such as: multiple trips to Tahiti, owning a Zaxby's for the sole purpose of eating free fried chicken, rescuing sweet, smushy-faced, needy pugs, and achieving world peace. This list is like my warm-up lap.

1. visit Paris, TN
I've heard cool things about this town, and Steve looked it up today online. Looks interesting enough. Been to Paris, France, why not Paris, TN?

2. go on a road trip
I have a feeling this will happen during the holiday season..

3. become CPR certified
When is it NOT a good idea to know CPR?

4. baby-proof the house
Not that my child will ever crawl in a forward-fashion, but here's to hoping.

5. cook a whole chicken
Oh their gooey insides gross me OUT. I'm looking forward to triumphantly placing that baked bird on a beautiful platter on the table while we all sit in our Sunday best and have a Leave It To Beaver kind of moment.

6. floss every day for a month
Flossing is not my forte. The tiny rope slips off of my fingers, my gums bleed, I never seem to do anything but gunk up the mirror. But it's good for me. I'll give it a shot.

7. have dessert for dinner
I'm looking forward to this one!! I will definitely document this with plenty of photographic evidence.

8. buy or make a headboard for our bed
It's just time already. I found a really cute DIY headboard, but I'm a little turned off by the amount of sewing... And since I don't own a sewing machine, it's KIND OF out of the question...

9. try sauerkraut
It looks like old, white hair to me, and it smells a little funky, but people go on and on about this stuff so I might just cook some up and slap it on a hotdog one of these days.

10. have a professional photographer take our family picture
 That mantle of ours is pretty bare!

11. try a new cocktail
I'm always up for new booze!

12. go to the dentist
It has been approximately six years since my mouth was scraped apart by a dental hygienist. I think it's time for a tune-up.

13. stick a toe in one (or more!) of the Great Lakes
They seem so far away, but I don't think we're ever going to live any closer. It's only about 7-8 hours away, which is really no further than going to my parents' house.

14. go water-skiing
I am 100% confident that I will face plant and get some sort of water-burn, but you never know. I could be some sort of natural out there and I don't want to miss my calling.

15. drive through the mountains in the fall
I'm a sucker for places with seasons and there WILL be a ton of photos to document this item on the list.

16. give a 100% tip for excellent service
Wouldn't that make some waiter's/waitresses' day??

17. sponsor a child
Why not?

18. get a massage
Steve thought this meant that he was going to give me a backrub. HA. And HA HA HA. No man. I am talking about a REAL massage. 

19. go shooting at a range with Steve
He is SO good at this, and I want to see him in action, as well as have him teach me a thing or two.

20. donate blood
I have the universal donor blood type and yet, I am skittish to give blood because I had a Very Bad Experience with being repeatedly stuck by a very inexperienced person in high school. But I think that it's high time I suck it up and do the right thing. (And yes, you will hear about this horrific story when the Blood Drawing Day comes.)

21. go kayaking
No rapids, just an easy little river.

22. buy a piano
I'm dying to play on a more regular basis, but there is no stretch of wall to put a piano on in our current housing situation. Hopefully in the next 1,001 days I can rectify that situation.

23. grow basil
I was definitely born with a black thumb, which stinks because fresh herbs are THROUGH THE ROOF expensive. And I kind of really got hooked on basil this year. I hear that Steve has a good record of keeping tomato plants alive. Maybe he'll have a couple tips to share so I don't kill the poor plant within the first week.

24. cook and eat brussel sprouts
I want to set a good example for Sam by eating healthy foods, but how can I do that when I have these preconceived notions as to which foods are NASTY and which are yummy? My friend Aly is known for making tasty, healthy dishes, and I am going to give her brussel sprouts recipe a try.

25. eat deep-dish pizza in Chicago
This would follow the item about healthy eating, wouldn't it?

26. see the Grand Canyon
I think it's on everyone's bucket list, so that is why it's on my warm-up list.

27. take Sam to an Auburn home game
He would love all of the people and excitement. And of course, seeing where Daddy wooed Mommy.

28. buy at least one more serrated knife
I swear, every time I need a serrated knife for something, the only one we have is covered in raw chicken parts. And I know I could just wash it off, but I feel like something that has touched raw chicken parts needs to be sanitized and sterilized in the dishwasher with super-hot water and steam. Call me crazy, but I need more than one serrated knife.

29. host a dinner party
I'm not a great cook, but I love having people over and having an excuse to make a big dessert.

30. buy fireproof box for important documents
A no-brainer.

31. go line dancing
This is a very Tennessee thing to do, but heck, we're 45 minutes from Nashville; Gotta take part in the local traditions.

32. find cute Christmas stockings
I would very much love to find stockings that are cute and match and are obviously for each individual person in the family (ie, they have our names on them), but I am so consumed with worry that I will find cute stockings for the three of us, buy them, have a second child, go to order another stocking for second child, and find out that the stockings have been discontinued. It will be an ugly tailspin and will probably result in my getting rid of the three stockings (but not without tons of guilt and angst since they were our "first family stockings") and trying to find equally cute and matching stockings, but that will be impossible since I will constantly be comparing them to the original stockings. Whew. I might save this one for Day 999.

33. go fishing with Steve
He's in his element when he's fishing. We don't talk much while he's out there, but he's fun to watch.

34. ride a mechanical bull
This just looks so fun to me.

35. buy food for the person behind me in a drive-thru
Wouldn't that just make your day?

36. make a family tree
There are such creative ways to display these nowadays, and I would love to have- in writing- all of our families' names.

37. go to a comedy club
I love to laugh. Can't think of a better place to do it.

38. try a new recipe at least once a week
For a few months, I was stuck in a rut of making the EXACT same things for dinner every single week. It was good, healthy food, but geez louise it got boring! After trying a few new recipes a week ago (and having success with that!), I decided that I need to branch out and try new recipes more often. I always have a stash of frozen pizzas in the freezer, so it will never be too big of a disaster..

39. make a gingerbread house for Christmas
I bought a kit to make one the first Christmas that Steve and I were married and I think I chucked the entire thing (still in tact in the box) in the trash when we moved out.

40. come up with a really great Halloween costume
The last Halloween I dressed up, I was a redneck, sooo....

41. go roller skating with Steve
He's so good at ice skating and never lets me fall down. Roller skating is something I've actually DONE, so maybe he won't have to catch me so much.

42. go wine tasting
Any excuse to drink some vino!

43. take a class on how to use my camera
Because it's a little sad to own such a nice piece of equipment and know so little about it.

44. make bread from scratch
This terrifies me. Too much flour? Not enough? Rolling pins, rising, warming, baking, yeast, YIKES. So many ways for this to go horribly wrong.

45. compete in a Muddy Buddy race
This looks like SO MUCH FUN. Check it out here.

46. go on a picnic
 I've got a basket and a quilt, so why not? There's got to be a park or square of grass around here somewhere!

47. lose 30 pounds
Oy. This needs to happen sooner rather than later.

48. go sledding
The uphill half of that could help with #47.

49. go to daily Mass once a week for a month
This is a toughie to work around Sam's naps and trying to keep him occupied by myself in church, but I definitely think it's worth it.

50. go deep sea fishing
This is actually a goal of Steve's, but I like the ocean and watching him fish, so I think I would thoroughly enjoy it too (so long as I'm not prone to deep seasickness).

51. take a zumba class
Apparently I'm the only person on the planet who hasn't been to one of these classes yet.

52. write a piece for a magazine, newspaper, or website
And no, not just for my website. I'd love to write on a topic that I know something about (You: as opposed to??), such as Hypnobabies, or Extreme Eczema, or why certain people should no longer possess drivers' licenses. You know, everyday stuff.

53. get a physical
This will be scary. Especially if the doctor comes at me with one of those fat-pincher-things. Or wants me to step on a scale. Or asks me to successfully pee in a cup.

54. go for 30 days without diet coke/coke zero/diet pepsi/ any variation of a diet brown carbonation confection
I never thought I was one of those people that couldn't go without a Coke, but it turns out that I'm hooked like a crack addict.

55. do the Dukan Diet with Megan
It sounds absolutely miserable, but I would hate to be the fat friend.

56. revisit sushi
Not at the same all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet, but perhaps under more pleasurable circumstances. Maybe circumstances that don't involve me spitting the sushi back out onto my plate.

57. have a clothesline
My mama has a clothesline and sheets never smell or feel better than right after they've come in off the line. Doesn't hurt that it can save a LOT on the energy bill..

58. straighten my hair at least twice a month
It's time to switch things up, ya know?

59. eat spaghetti in Italy
I'll actually eat anything and everything in Italy, I just really want to go there. Spaghetti seems so fitting. I don't know how I could go there and not eat some spaghetti at some point.

60. take my vitamins
I recently started taking my vitamins again and noticed that the last time I had my vitamins filled was in Virginia. Approximately six months ago.

61. go on at least one date a month with Steve
Not a couch date, but a real-life, go-to-dinner-and-talk-about-something-besides-how-horrendous-that-last-poopy-diaper-smelled date.

62. go to a parade
Any kind will do.

63. read the books and magazines piling up next to my bed
This is hard. I want to start them but I feel like a failure if I get halfway through and stop. I always want to drop whatever I'm doing and finish reading it. Unfortunately, there is just not time to read a magazine cover-to-cover these days and bookmark all the recipes I want to try as well as the articles I want Steve to read, and and and..

64. cook a live lobster
I will most likely feel horrible about this. I know that chicken breasts come from a once-living chicken, and beef from a cow, and bacon from a pig and all that jazz, but actually seeing my soon-to-be-dinner thrown to its death in a pot of boiling water? Sheesh. 

65. go to a fondue restaurant
I just need an excuse to eat cheese for dinner.

66. have a banana fudge ice cream cone at Springers in Stone Harbor, NJ
Best ice cream I've ever eaten in my LIFE.

67. make iced coffee
Once I make this happen, we can stop contributing to Starbuck's ever-increasing bottom line.

68. add $10 to the vacation jar every time I complete an item on this list
Then I can make a Bucket List dream come true-- TAHITI!!!

69. go to a local festival
I'm not sure what festivals are thrown around here, but I'm curious to see. I used to go to a Peanut Butter Festival in Brundidge, AL. It was AWESOME. Festivals devoted to peanut butter are my kind of festivals.

70. go rock climbing
I mainly just want to rappel off of the top of the rock, but I understand that in order to do that, I will have to haul my butt up said rock.

71. quit using plastic bags
I really don't need 46,000 bags to keep in my house for our three tiny trashcans, but for some reason, that is the excuse I give myself when I forget the reusable bags in the car...

72. have dinner by candlelight
Ooh-la-la. Romance!

73. ride a roller coaster
Another thing I want to do with Steve. He's suddenly gotten the nerve up to ride county fair rides, and I guess if he is willing to put his life into carnie hands, he's ready for the big leagues- a real, true-to-life roller coaster.

74. completely surprise Steve
I'm working on this.

75. pick a pumpkin
I mainly want to take pictures of Sam in a pumpkin patch; you caught me.

76. wear makeup every day for a week
I'm very OK with washing my face and brushing my teeth and calling it a day hygiene-wise. I don't wear makeup or really "do" my hair or wear a lot of jewelry. But I think doing a little something more for my outward appearance might do something positive for me on the inside.

77. invest in undergarments suitable for a lady with a husband and a child
In case you're just now tuning in, check THIS out. Also, in the shuffle of moving, I am somehow without a slip, camisole, or strapless bra- things that a lady my age typically owns. My friend Vicki is going to help me rectify this situation very soon.

78. go to the Poconos
Steve thinks this would be romantic. I've never been there before, so who am I to knock it? All I know about it is what I've seen in bridal magazine ads. And that was just two people sitting in a giant champagne glass hot tub having a Very Romantic Time. In my opinion, Very Cheesy, but maybe there is another side to this great mountain range.

79. eat a cheesesteak IN Philly
Every time we go visit Steve's parents, we eat the most delicious cheesesteak in the history of cheesesteaks at Nifty Fifty's. And I see absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. But I feel like it's time we ventured into Philly and tried a cheesesteak from one of the two Very Historic Locations? Yes? Maybe decide for ourselves whose is better?


80. make something crafty
This might be dinner one night.

81. find a personally inspirational quote and work it into a piece of art or home decor
I've seen a couple things I like, but am waiting. Mainly because I'm very indecisive.

82. volunteer at least 1 hour per month
I used to volunteer all the time. It feels so good to give your time and do something for someone else. I need to quit making excuses and start making it happen.

83. watch the Phillies play the Braves
Yes, LIVE. I can't stand to watch baseball on TV. Unless of course I'm trying to nap and there's no golf on.

84. roll Toomer's Corner
Done it before and can't wait to get back and do it again.

85. get on the VIP list at Skybar
I know people. And they're going to get us on that list. And then we're going to party like we're rockstars. Or at least like we have a babysitter for the night.

86. go listen to 17th Floor with Steve
I will never live down the fact that I am the sole reason that Steve never heard this band play while we were in Auburn. Never mind the fact that we didn't meet until his junior year of college, I caused this travesty. I MUST FIX IT.

87. find curtains for guest room
Yes, boring, I know.

88. organize folders and paperwork that is piling up in guest closet
I know this is boring as well, but it nags me in the back of my mind constantly. I just haven't figured out a way to organize it all so that I can get to everything, all the time.

89. go to a concert at the Grand Ole Opry
This is another one of Steve's goals, but I know it's something we need to do while we're stationed here so close to Nashville. 

90. run with Steve (and keep up)
Oh this is going to be so tough. He's very encouraging when we jog together, but I know he's got to be wondering if I'm not walking with a serious bounce in my step due to the slow pace.

91. make a will
Hmmm... who will get my millions?? And my child that will render them socially ka-PUT after 5pm central standard time?

92. make a Christmas wreath
I've yet to hang a wreath on my door for Christmas and I hope I can knock this item off the list by this Christmas.

93. write a random letter to an old friend
Correspondence is key to making sure that we stay "friends."

94. start an IRA
It's time the money works for us and not the other way around!

95. update my voter registration
It's just time.

96. make a list before entering Target and only buy what's on the list
This one sort of makes my palms go sweaty and my pulse rise. That store does something to me. I can't explain.

97. take Sammy to at least one playdate each week
So far we've found three opportunities each week to interact with other moms/babies in some form or fashion.

98. find some good Tennessee bbq
Because it shore ain't findin' us.

99. make homemade jam
This could take care of my strawberry dilemma.

100. set up home-cleaning schedule so the toilets get cleaned more than once a month
Maybe I could get them cleaned BEFORE the ring shows up. What a novel idea.

101. blog about completing 101 in 1,001
I promise it won't be boring!