101 update: 1 year to go

So yikes. I have one year to go to complete my 101 in 1001 list, and it's not looking pretty. BUT, I have an entire year to get my stuff together and get it done. I never quit or give up on things so that's not even an option. But I have done some of the stuff listed and just never shared it with you, so let's at least get you up to date before I see how much is actually left.

93. Buy a sewing machine, Cricut cutting machine, or some other crafty machine.
Um, check. After borrowing my mom's brand new sewing machine for the first 30 or so bird mobiles we sold, we finally decided we could afford a sewing machine of our own. But, since my mom's was brand new when we borrowed it, it wouldn't be right to then give her back her used sewing machine and then go buy ourselves a new one. So, we went and bought the exact same one and gave the brand new one back to her. Maybe one day she'll actually open it and use it!

85. Go to a zoo.

Check. Did that on April 28, 2012 with a couple friends and their babies. And my best friend Amy, who serves as my memory and overall Lacey historian,  (since my own memory took a sick leave about a year ago and has yet to return) is the one that reminded me that this item was on my list and that I'd just completed it!


41. Get parents’ home videos transferred to DVD.




Calling them "videos" was a little forward thinking. They were more like home films as they were the rolls of film on 3" reels. For Christmas, my sisters and I started the process of getting them transferred to DVD for them and we got to watch them together on Christmas morning. Crazy how 50 feet of film really only accounted for about 5 minutes of play time, and how short the films were once they were all transferred to DVD. But they were thankful to have them saved to a type of media that wasn't going to break down or fall apart anytime soon so the mission was a success.

21. Publish at least 101 blog posts.

Published number 101 (since beginning the 101 challenge) on October 27, 2011, and it was just a quick little blog to say that Charley was now taking the cute pacifier. But that lasted for probably 30 minutes or so, and then she was done with pacifiers all together. She sucked her thumb for a little while, but doesn't even do that anymore. That stuff is for babies she says! (Although, this same pacifier resurfaced at the bottom of a toy basket not too long ago and Charley thought it was fun to play with it now. But she obviously doesn't need a pacifier therefore there was no need to start that habit at 8 months old, so I took it from her after taking a picture.)

There are a few items I'm working on:

15. Go to the movies 10 times.
In the 1 year and 9 months since this began, I have been to TWO movies. So, I'm obviously working on it, although very slowly and I better pick up the pace a bit to finish in time. The two movies were: Horrible Bosses and Hunger Games.

1. Read 101 books. 
Um, yeah. Like I predicted a way long time ago, I'm definitely going to need to start counting the books I read to Charley because the books I've read myself over this time period is a whoppingNINETEEN. I've been attempting to read my latest book for over a month now, and despite the fact that every other female whipped through this book and the following two in the series in just days, I just haven't been able to get into it. Although, once you get to certain 'scenes', the book should start to go by faster and I haven't got there yet. I'm still too busy reading through the 'inner goddesses' inner dialogue. So annoying.

Anyways, I'm going to make a valiant effort to finish all 101 books. Starting tonight. With, The Cat in the Hat.

To update you since I last did, these are the other 6 books I've read which brings me to my current 19:

14. Gods in Alabama - Joshilyn Jackson
15. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
16. Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
17. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
18. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
19. Room - Emma Donoghue

33. Learn to identify all 50 states on the map and their capitals.
Who put this one on my list? It's a dumb one, but oh well. It's there which means I have to do it. Plus, my mind could use a little exercising these days. I'm real close to saying I have them all memorized (not learned, because I know I'll forget them in a year or so) but that darn Frankfort, Kentucky and Concord, New Hampshire throw me every time. I did download an iPhone app to quiz myself with when I'm bored.

      

59. Have no soda for an one month.
I have probably already completed this one, in fact, I'm sure I did while I was pregnant as I rarely had soda then. But, because I didn't 'track' it per say, I'm going to make June the month of no soda just for fun. I love a Dr. Pepper as much as the next person, but I pretty much get a headache every time I drink one because I'm not used to the caffeine I guess. So, yesterday I had one just because I knew it'd be a month before I would have another, and yes, I got a headache. Why do I enjoy things that hurt me so?



65. Bring my lunch 4 days of the week for an entire month.

I'm pretty sure I completed this one without trying too, but I'll re-do it to make it official. I prefer to bring my lunch these days because 1) it's cheaper and 2) I'm too lazy to walk and get something. That's terrible isn't it? Today being Friday means I just completed my first week of this task as I only bought lunch once this week. It was Chinese food, in case you were curious.



So that's where we are. 30 completed and several in the works. And as I read down the list, I know of several that will be completed over the rest of this year. Looks like I'm procrastinating on this project as I tend to do with everything else in my life. Find me on June 10 next year (the day before my deadline) and I'll be running around going to movies whilst forcing John to go out on a date night with me, and reciting state capitals and constellations on our way.

Following Suit

When you get to be a big-time blogger such as myself [I mean, how much bigger can you get than 68 thousand followers and going on my eighty-fourth year of blogging], you are required to do one of two things: 1) Become a "professional" photographer**, or 2) Open a shop of some sort and sell some stuff. It's in the original blogging decree that we all signed electronically by just typing in the web address: http://www.blogger.com/.

**Professional photographers can now be defined by anyone with a nice(r) camera and a watermark on their pictures. Bonus points if you can con someone into paying you for your sessions.

So, I do have a nice(r) camera, so one would think I would follow all of the other pros out there and choose option 1. But no, option 1 was too easy (because you know, photography is only a matter of pushing a button) and I like to make things hard on myself. Instead, I chose option two and have been wildly successful selling stuff. In fact, I have had two hundred sales in my shop in just over 1 month of being open. WILDLY successful, I tell you.

So now, it is my moral duty as a blogger to not only pimp myself out on my blog [YO! BUY SOMETHING FROM ME!] but to also make a permanent link to my shop in my sidebar. Done, and done. And yeah, the bird thing came about because after doing Charley's nursery, I am obsessed with all fake birds, and real ones as long as they are from a distance.

In fact, in an ironic situation from this week which will make me even further question if I am making the right decision between "professional" photographer or stuff-seller, all of this happened:

     1) I bought a bird-themed camera bag for my nice(r) camera. Every pro has a cool bag, of course.

     2) The next day, we sold an item from our Etsy shop.

     3) When I went to Paypal to transfer the money we made from the sale into our bank account, I realized that the camera bag I purchased on Paypal credit had yet to be paid for, and the sale we made covered the price of the camera bag almost perfectly, minus $2.08. Ca-razy, right!?

So, was that fate telling me that my silly little shop is only going to fund my "professional" career as a photographer? It's all too much for my little brain! For now I'll stick with stuff-seller. I don't have a watermark, after all.

Bag purchased from this lovely little Etsy shop.

Anyways, all of that to say 1) I (ahem, "we" - since my lovely husband is the seamstress in our business) sell bird mobiles and owl pillows now! & 2) Every household needs these items! And finally 3) Here's to early retirement!
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