I am participating in an amazing new project called Day Zero.
I created my own list of 101 things that I want to do. Some of them I’ve already done and would love to do again. Some of them are practical things that always slip my mind, but really need to be done. Some of them are things that I’ve only dreamed of doing. Some are things I didn’t even realize I wanted to do in the first place. I took suggestions from my friends, from the kids, from Husband, and from other people participating in the project. Making my list was harder than I expected it to be, so much of my life is focused on doing things for the house and the kids and the family that it’s hard to make a list that is only about me. But I struggled through, worked on the list for about a week, and finally finished.
The best, most genius part of my list are the money parts. For every goal I complete in time, I will put $10.00 into savings. For every goal that I don’t achieve, I’ll donate $10.00 to charity. Worst case scenario, I’ll donate over $1000 to charity in small increments over the next three years. Best case scenario, at the end of those three years, I’ll have a nice little nest egg, an emergency fund that we’ve talked about wanting to build but have never been able to. The military isn’t exactly a well-paying gig if you just look at the cold, hard cash that comes in. Fortunately, they balance that out with a housing allowance (and utility allowance for those of us overseas) and free-for-the-most-part health insurance, which we would not be able to get in the civilian world.
Anyway, my list of 101 things. Like I said, some are things I’ve done before and want to do again (I always forget that I love Lemon Meringue Pie. I’ve made one once, and I should really do it again). Some are practical, but easily pushed aside as something that can be done “later” (a mole check). Some make me giggle because they’re corny, but still important to me. One such example is “Watch fireworks with my husband.” Husband has been deployed for the past three summers in a row. He’s missed so many Father’s Days that the kids have given up on ever celebrating the day again. The last time he saw Boy #3 blow out his candles, he was 4. And he always, always, always misses 4th of July. Notice that the list covers nearly three years, so even I doubt the Military’s ability to keep Husband at home over the summer. But a girl can dream, can’t she?
I will continue to update my list on the Day Zero website, but I’m going to go ahead and put it here, too. Setting realistic goals and then working to meet them is one of the most difficult things to do for so many people, and sometimes it’s helpful to see someone they know doing it. We’ll use it as a teaching moment. That and I know you will all hold me accountable.
Here’s the list:
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Finish February Lady Sweater
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Organize upstairs cabinets -
Ride the London Eye
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Finish school
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Hit my fitness goals
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Find a dress for my brother’s wedding -
Have a Christmas tree decorated only in handmade decorations -
Run a 5k
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Go to Paris
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Make everyone in my house matching pajamas
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Ask 20 friends to suggest a book, and read them all
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Get a brazilian wax
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Read all the books I own but haven’t read yet
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Kiss in front of the Eiffel Tower
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Get a mole check
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Go to Oktoberfest
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Go vegetarian for a week
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Get a full body massage
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Try and finish 5 ideas from Instructables
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Make a list of 100 reasons I love my husband
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Kiss someone in the rain
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Send a handwritten letter
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Begin writing a book
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Watch every movie that has won an Academy Award for Best Picture
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Listen to 26 songs I’ve never heard starting with each letter of the alphabet
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Get another tattoo -
Watch AFI’s Top 100 movies
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Watch all six Star Wars movies
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Make a lemon meringue pie
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No dining out/fast food for one month
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Watch my brother get married -
Make pumpkin pie from scratch with real pumpkins -
See Les Miserables in London
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Have high tea
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Learn fair isle knitting
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Learn to use liquid eyeliner
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Visit a concentration camp
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Visit the CM’s
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See Ange in person
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Meet an MSIslander
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Wade into 5 major bodies of water
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Drink champagne at breakfast -
Reread the Eddas
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Get a 2nd fridge or freezer -
Knit a blanket for the living room
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Make 30 different kinds of cookies from scratch -
Watch fireworks with my husband -
Visit an amusement park -
Watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace
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Make a pie on Pi Day
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Try 30 new recipes -
Knit and wear Nutkin socks
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Get a facial -
Adopt a family for Christmas -
Read The Catcher in the Rye
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Go on a family vacation
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Visit 10 English Heritage sites
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Write on 20 creative writing prompts
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Go back to school -
Attend the Olympics/visit Olympic Park
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Visit France
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Visit Ireland
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Visit Neuschwanstein Castle
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Eat chocolate in Belgium
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Buy myself flowers for no reason -
Visit 5 new countries
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Go up the Eiffel Tower
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Meet an online friend in person
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Take a family vacation
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Buy a new pair of glasses -
Update my blog at least twice a month
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Visit Omaha -
Make a gingerbread house
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Take a yoga class
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Go to London
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Make pasta from scratch
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Go somewhere by train
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Spend Earth Day barefoot
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Have breakfast in bed
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Make bread from scratch -
Buy a fountain pen -
Visit the birthplace or gravesite of a famous person
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Make 5 new friends -
Get a spray tan -
Say yes to everything for a day (within reason)
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Spend the night in a blanket fort
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Make pizza from scratch
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Travel to Germany
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Go cherry picking
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Visit Wales
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Visit 5 museums
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Spend a day exploring and photographing my village
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Go on a picnic
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Visit Indiana -
Cook a Mexican meal on Cinco de Mayo
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String popcorn and cranberries while drinking hot chocolate
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Put $10 into savings for each goal I reach
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Donate $10 to charity for each goal I don’t reach