101 in 1001

Sunday, March 01, 2009

If you haven’t noticed, New Year’s has come and gone. Both U.S. and Chinese.

I typically don’t like to create a list of resolutions because they are always over-ambitious and I never follow them. Although there was that one time I gave up an ex-boyfriend for Lent and I really stuck to it.

Well readers, now that I am a mature 28-year-old, I am going to try something different. Last year, I read about some a blogger trend of 101 in 1001. The concept is that you have 1001 days to complete 101 things. The number of days was obliviously set to be catchy, but the program was designed to give people a realistic timeline to achieve their goals.

While I feel a little bit like Jason Lee on “My Name is Earl,” I like the idea of longer period of time so that I can set my goals higher. I was going to be ambitious and try to accomplish all of these things in 365 days, but I don’t want to set myself up for failure.

Below you will see my list of 101 things I hope to accomplish in 1001 days, or by November 28, 2011.

I felt a little hesitant about posting my 101 on Shot of Brandi* at first. Am I taking social networking surveys to the max? Is it weird for people to read this? Is this too personal? Is this like that horrible “25 things about me” thing on crack?!

Ultimately, I decided to proceed with this post because I want you, my dozen of loyal readers, to help me complete my 101. I’ve read that if you share your resolutions, or goals, with friends you are most likely to stick to completing the task. After reading this, I also encourage you all to create your very own 101 list!

Brandi*’s 101 in 1001

Shot of Brandi
1. Give Shot of Brandi* a makeover. I really want some blog flair!
2. Hit 150 unique blog readers
3. Post a vlog4. Record a successful lip dub
5. Hit 500 posts

Back to School6. Take a cooking class
7. Attend a wine tasting
8. Mix things up with a cocktail class
9. Register for a craft class
10. Learn another language (other than English or Spanish)

Food Yummmm
11. Go on a Chicago and/or New York Cupcake Crawl
12. Eat at Table 52 Chicago
13. Bake a pie
14. Make a turkey dinner
15. Bake Christmas cookies

Throwin’ it Back16. Write 10 handwritten letters
17. Subscribe to a newspaper
18. Find a pen pal
19. Ride a bike
20. Create my family tree
21. Visit my elementary school

Globe Trottin’
22. Travel to Napa
23. Explore Europe
24. Visit New Orleans
25. Sleep outside – aka go camping
26. Go to Disney
27. Get a passport

Crafty McCrafterson
28. Complete 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 scrapbooks (I’m slacking)
29. Finish a painting
30. Create a book of family recipes
31. Make jewelry
32. Really learn to crochet
33. Take a flower arranging class

Rockstar34. Sing live band karaoke
35. Try out for a reality show
36. Complete my “secret project” with reader Amy
37. Meet someone famous
38. Attend a concert of Brady’s choosing

Giving Back
39. Find one charity and contribute to it
40. Adopt an animal from the Lincoln Park Zoo
41. Donate 100 things to charity
42. Babysit someone’s kids
43. Complete the 29 Gifts challenge
44. Sign up for a local political party group
45. Send a letter to a troop (or troops!)

Let’s Get Physical
46. Run a race
47. Go fishing
48. Play wirlleyball
49. Go surfing, skiing or snowboarding (that’s for you, Brady)
50. Buy a bike

Cheee-caaa-goooo
51. Go to a jazz club
52. Visit the botanical gardens
53. Go sailing
54. Go on a history bar crawl55. Visit Ravinia

Day Trippin’
56. Go to Milwaukee
57. Visit Michigan wine country58. Tour the Wisconsin Dells59. See the suburbs
60. Walk around Evanstown

The Arts 61. Read a book
62. Attend a play or musical
63. Watch 5 Academy Award-winning movies
64. Visit the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago)
65. Go to a Renegade Craft Fair

Relaxin’66. Take a family vacation
67. Go on a picnic
68. Spend the day at a spa
69. Sign up for yoga classes
70. Get nails done quarterly (surprisingly I get them done like twice a year)

Treehugger71. Recycle
72. Switch to eco-friendly cleaning products
73. Keep a plant alive
74. Plant a tree
75. Upgrade my homeless cart
76. Use recyclable grocery bags

Gettin’ Wasted 77. Play in a beer pong tournament
78. Taste Absinthe
79. Visit the Miller Brewing Factory80. Dine at Goose Island Brew Pub
81. Attend a bourbon tasting

Random
82. Fly a kit
83. Build a sandcastle
84. Drive a convertible
85. Go to an amusement park

Let’s Get Digital
86. Sell something on ebay
87. Post a video to YouTube
88. Buy a video camera
89. Make an edited video
90. Meet Julia Allison

Hostess with Mostess91. Host game night
92. Have a party in my apt.
93. Attend/host a theme party
94. Read the Emily Post etiquette book

Personal 95. Get married : )
96. Start a journal after my wedding for my kids/grandkids
97. Find a new job
98. Meet a new friend
99. Find a church
100. Call my grandparents monthly (if I don’t see them)

Administration
101. Donate $1 to charity for every item not complete in time