And so it begins...

#17 - Picture for 11/3. Compute keys. These are my keys to the world! Scary thought, but true. Isn't technology grand?

I've learned quite a bit just in the two days since I've officially started this "project". First thing I learned: This might not go according to plan. Why? 1. Life happens. 2. I'm not perfect. Big surprise? Not really. The fact that I seemed to be striving for perfection... Even less of a surprise. It's a character defect of mine that I struggle to rid myself of. Mind you, I'm not saying that I actually achieve perfection. In truth, far from it. But, my list shows me that, yet again, I tend to strive for unattainable goals. Pretty much anything on my list that I put down "do X every day"....yeah, not such a hot idea. I'm setting myself up to fail. Some of these things I can't manage to do once a week, yet I expected myself to jump in and start doing them every day, without fail.

Hmmm...Time to rethink a bit, which is what I did in the shower this morning (a great place for deep thoughts to happen!). First thing I did was take some of the dates off of some of my goals. Why? The goal is 1001 days. I don't have to accomplish 45 things in the first 30 days. 101 things, 1001 days.... I've got time. Breathe! Besides, I don't want this to be the New Year's Resolution I give up on by January 15th, ya know?

In thinking about the point of this project, one overall goal is to get better organized. This project has set me on a path to get there.
- I did actually start working on the house (goal #1) and will probably have it finished by Dec 1.
- I did do my dishes this morning (goal #6) and am motivated to keep my kitchen clean. It's good to have clean dishes. I like not having to eat cereal from a cool whip bowl! (a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea).
- I have been more conscious about what time I go to bed (goal #7), even though I haven't made it yet. Not that this is a great excuse, but I'm still finishing up wedding stuff. The actual season of shooting weddings is pretty much done for me from now until March, but I'm still processing the last few events and want to hit my deadlines.
- As for taking a picture of each of my goals (goal #20)... I'll post pics of the CLEANED rooms as they become complete. Too embarrassing to post the before shots! Dishes...I'll shoot a pic of those later. It takes time to do dishes, and I didn't want to be late getting out of the house this morning. (I was still 10 mins late leaving). The bedtime thing... Hmmm...I can't do it for the days previous, but I think I'll move my alarm clock next to my bed and maybe shoot a pic of me in it and the time it is. I promise not to cheat. And that will keep my accountable. If I have to shoot a pic and post it showing what time I get to bed, maybe that will motivate me to get there earlier.
- I have a plan for #24 (photo session of me). When I told a friend/client about this one, she offered to do the shoot, and we'll probably do it after we all thaw out in the spring/summer and head to the beach at the Cape. I won't be able to complete this one for a while, but there's a plan being formulated. (Thanks Sarah!)
- #27 - Tithe 10% each month - I did put my check in the plate last Sunday for my 10% tithe for Nov. I'm very humbly proud of myself. God always provides and I've known that. Hopefully this will get me out of living in a spirit of poverty. It has been said that the spirit of poverty is not that you're afraid you don't have enough, it's being afraid that more will not come. Something like that. God has always taken care of me and I need to trust that he will continue and will bless my faith in Him.
- #29 - Business plan - I have started researching and writing notes for this. It's not going to be perfect from the start, but that's why they call it a rough draft, right?
- #39 - I did take some time to plan my week this week. I put in appts, things that I need to do (i.e. go to Staples and get DVDs so I can keep producing weddings). Not really feeling the good effects of this one yet. I'm sure I'll appreciate it soon though.
- #50 - Video cabinet - Jason and I started this yesterday. I had him pull all the videos out and pick 5 to get rid of. Unfortunately, life happened and we had to leave and now all the videos are stacked in the middle of the living room floor. A work in progress...
- #57 - Online course - I haven't actively done much on this except start thinking about what kind of course I want to take. I'm thinking about marketing, or small-business finance if there is such a thing.
- #74 - Donate blood 2x/yr - I'm donating on Sat. and last Sat., I went to a health expo and signed up to be a platelet donor and a bone marrow donor.
- #95 - Reconnect with Mr. Lunn - I'm going to try and get to the high school one day at lunch, but I'm also planning to go to a football game soon. I wanted to go to homecoming this Friday, but I have something else I HAVE to do. :-( (I'll tell you about Mr. Lunn soon)

It has begun, a little unsteady, but it's a start. I have a feeling I'm going to learn much about myself through this. To keep things updated, I think I'll post an updated, shorten list periodically. Not sure how often yet.

Stay tuned! (p.s. I promise to try to be less long-winded)