The Day Zero Project

You know how we make resolutions every New Year? And then don't keep them? You know how we say "I want to learn to ____" one day or "I want to travel to _____" or even "Let's go eat at ____", and then keep putting it off - because you can? Hopefully, that will end today. For me, at least! A friend of mine stumbled across this "101 in 1001" list thing in bloggy land, known as the Day Zero Project and we have decided to give it a whirl! What is it, you ask?

The Day Zero Project

The Mission: To complete 101 preset tasks in the period of 1,001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable, or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of effort on your part). The list itself, is harder than you think. 101 things that you want/need to finish in 2.75 years, is tough to come up with! I worked for almost 2 weeks coming up with a list of things I wanted to do or things I wanted to try. The idea is to give yourself more than a year because those just seem to fly by; or make it more real than something we do out of tradition, like "get in shape" that we all promise at New Years. Some of these are bigger than others. Some require a lot of willpower, while some require just time management. Some of these are goals of the masses (this is where we see "workout" come into play), and some of them are important just to me. Either way, I put a lot of thought into this list and am going to try my damndest to cross off every one of these! So, without further ado, here is my list:

Love 1. Identify both mine and Darren’s “love language” and utilize them in our marriage. 2. Dress up and go on a nice/fancy dinner with my husband twice a year. (0/6) 3. Spend an entire day in bed with Darren. 4. Make a cute apron and cook a special dinner for Darren, in nothing but it and high heels. 5. Make a great lunch and have a picnic with my husband. 6. Kiss Darren at the top of a Ferris Wheel. 7. Dedicate one day a year “Darren Day” and do everything he wants to do, eat, see etc. (with no exceptions). (0/3) Me 8. Write a letter to my future child. 9. Put something in my Hope Chest every month. (0/33) 10. Reach $15,000 in Pampered Chef career sales. 11. Get my concealed handgun license. 12. Inspire 3 people to start their own 101 in 1001 lists. (0/3) 13. Read 25 books of the Time Top 100 Novel List. (0/25) 14. Turn the TV & computer off all day, one day a week, for 2 months. (0/8) 15. Become a gallon blood donor. 16. Drink the recommended number of ounces of water everyday, for a month. (0/30) 17. Take 15 minutes for myself, every single day. 18. Learn to accept compliments, period. 19. Read the Bible, cover to cover. 20. Eliminate all soft drinks from my diet for the entire 1001 days. 21. Find a church that Darren and I both enjoy going to. 22. Post a blog at least twice a week. (0/286) 23. Wash my hair in the rain. 24. Legally change my name on my social security card. 25. Go to the beach and be more concerned with having a good time than with how I look in a bathing suit. Appearance 26. Build a better “work wardrobe” so that I have enough business outfits for an entire months with no repeats. 27. Lose 50 pounds and keep it off! (0/50) 28. Order personalized Nikes. 29. Develop a workout routine and stick to it! 30. Put on my new Nikes and get into the “groove” of my new workout routine at least 3 days a week for 2 months. (0/24) 31. Complete Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred; preferably, without dying. Home Life 32. Teach Coco to walk on a leash. 33. Take Coco to a dog park. 34. Find and frame our marriage license. 35. Buy a fireproof safe for all of our important documents. 36. Clean my closet and get it organized! 37. Keep my closet organized indefinitely! 38. Put the clothes away as soon as I get done folding them, instead of leaving them in the basket, every time I do laundry for two months (0/16) 39. Start recycling at home! 40. Create a cleaning schedule and stick to it for two consecutive months. 41. De-clutter my house so that cleaning for company no longer involves shoving anything in closets. 42. (Finally) finish the kitchen cabinets. 43. Replace the kitchen countertops. 44. Purchase a new refrigerator. 45. Turn our formal living room into a home office. 46. Purchase new living room furniture. 47. Install new flooring in the home office, den and dining rooms. 48. Find/Make a window treatment for the den. 49. Landscape the front yard. 50. Organize & paint my laundry/storage room. 51. Paint and decorate the ½ bathroom and the guest bathroom. In the Kitchen 52. Try a new recipe at least once a month. (0/33) 53. Learn to make pasta from scratch. 54. Learn how to make Beef Wellington. 55. Use every “gadget” in my kitchen at least once. 56. Cook one completely locavore holiday meal. 57. Learn how to make my own preserves. 58. Learn how to can/jar. 59. Make something homemade, package it as gifts and hand deliver to friends before Thanksgiving. Family & Friends 60. Expand our family. 61. Take my mom on a spa day, just because. 62. Take a girls trip with my mom and sisters. 63. Spend some “girl time” with a friend each month. 64. Host a game night for friends. 65. Take a trip at least once a year to visit family we haven’t seen in a while. (0/3) Thoughtfulness 66. Give a bottle of wine to a couple in love. 67. Send one package out to a friend or family member, every other month, for no reason. (0/17) 68. Pay for the person behind me in line, at least 5 times. (0/5) 69. Donate/give away anything that I have not worn in the last year. 70. Donate or sell all of my old books that I never plan on reading again. Responsibility 71. Clean out my car and keep it that way for at least a month (trash and dust free). 72. Fill my car up with has before the low fuel light comes on, for two months. (0/6) 73. Put $25 per paycheck in savings and leave it there! Travel & Entertainment 74. Host a grown up dinner party. 75. Host a holiday cookie swap. 76. Go to a beach where you can actually see through the water. 77. Attend a civil war re-enactment. 78. Take a hot air balloon ride. 79. Visit New Orleans. 80. Go deep sea fishing. 81. Play in the snow. 82. Spend an evening at a Jazz Café. 83. Spend an evening at a Piano Bar. 84. Spend an evening at a Blues Club. 85. Go on a winery tour. 86. Watch 125 movies off the IMDB’s Top 250 movie list. (0/125) 87. Go to the drive in movie with my husband. 88. Go horseback riding. 89. See the Trans Siberian Orchestra in concert. 90. Visit 26 Texas towns/cities starting with each letter of the alphabet (with the exception of x, then just visit a town/city with an x in the name). (0/26) 91. Get in the car with no idea where we are going and spend the whole weekend discovering new places. Expanding My Horizons 92. Learn to use my sewing machine. 93. Then make at least one thing for my house, instead of paying someone else to do it. 94. Take a cooking class. 95. Eat at 10 new restaurants we’ve never been to. (0/10) 96. Finish the cookbook I started. 97. When finished, have it bound. Accountability 98. Put $5 in savings for every task that I complete. 99. Put $10 in savings for every task that I don’t complete. 100. Blog about this experience. 101. Celebrate the end of 1,001 days with a GIRLS NIGHT OUT! Some of these items, I have tried to put realistic expectations on "keep it up for two months", "everyday for a month", etc. I'm hoping that if I can keep those things up that long, they will become habits or part of my daily/weekly routines and I will continue to incorporate those in my life! Some of these are going to be easier than others. Some of them require help or support from my friends and family and some are just going to take shear will or stubbornness. Both of which, I have! Start Date: Monday, August 24th 2009

Finish Date: Monday, May 21st 2012

Wish me luck - this could get crazy!