101 things in 1001 days

I first heard about this idea a month ago and have been excitedly writing my list of 101 things I want to accomplish in 1001 days.  I hope this will inspire people to make their own list, or maybe just decide they want to focus on one goal.  There are things in here that I have always wanted to do, goals that will push me a bit, things that scare me pretty badly and just some good old fashioned my-kind-of-fun! As I was making this list, I remembered back to when I was in a gift store at the Oregon coast and there was a big container of pretty stones and little bags you could fill up with the stones. I watched as one little boy was filling up the bag and asking his grandma "Should I get this one?" over each one he picked up. His grandma explained that he should get the ones that will make him happy because this was his special bag of stones and he would be the one to bring them out and admire their color and shape and feel. Nobody else could choose them for him. That's kind of how I feel about this list. Some of the items may seem silly to other people but they are my special adventures that will make me very happy. I plan on reporting on each of them on this blog so I hope you'll tune in from time to time to take a look and share this journey with me. Drumroll...here's my list!

1) Read the Standard Works (Old and New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price) I found a reading schedule online to help you read them in a year. I am excited, I've never read the Old Testament all the way through before!

2) Make a white dress with a blue satin sash (A Sound of Music thing)

3) Enter the WOW Women on Writing story contest (An online contest, I've won once before and it's a great contest!)

4) Submit something to the Ensign for publication (Something I've thought about for a long time)

5) Make homemade valentines, a May Day basket, and a super cool jack o'lantern (holiday fun we need never grow out of)

6) Pay off my credit card

7) Go to the Brigham City, Ogden, Bountiful, Salt Lake, Oquirrh Mountain, and Draper temples (Haven't done sessions in any of them)

8) Send a care package to someone for no reason. (Love putting together care packages!)

9) Write a book for Kindle and submit it to Amazon. (Discovered the process a month ago, excited to give it a try)

10) Learn to say five phrases in French and Italian. (Such beautiful languages)

11) Keep a kitchen journal for a year (A wonderful idea I heard about, to write down favorite recipes, tips, housekeeping ideas, etc.)

12) Read Louisa May Alcott's 8 classic books (Little Women, Little Men, Jo's Boys, Eight Cousins, Rose in Bloom, An Old Fashioned Girl, Jack and Jill, and Under the Lilacs)

13) Make a dandelion chain (I've always wanted to try that!)

14) Feed the ducks (A favorite childhood pastime I haven't done in awhile)

15) Make homemade croissants (Something I've wanted to try ever since it came out in the Martha Stewart magazine)

16) Read each conference Ensign cover to cover (Doesn't get any better than council from the prophets and church leaders)

17) Throw a "favorite things" party.  (Again, kind of a Sound of Music thing but I just think these are so fun!)

18) Make homemade apricot scrub (I actually found a recipe!)

19) Learn how to iron efficiently (As far as homemaking skills go, ironing is definitely my "Waterloo"

20) Take a trip other than La Grande/Smithfield (If I am living in La Grande)

21) Throw a surprise party (Something else I've always wanted to do)

22) Take a rose petal dream bath with my own northern lights (Again, a recipe I found that said it was like taking a bath in a secret garden. Who could resist that??)

23) Create a superb resume (With my sister's help!)

24) Learn a new magic trick (Something to add to my classic disappearing quarter trick!)

25) Do the "carrot a day" challenge for 3 months (I have some serious female issues and that is supposed to help!)

26) Write my first "Lavender Linens" story (A story I am continually making up in my head about the Inn I run with my husband and six children)

27) Go through my belongings and de-clutter (Already taken two car loads to DI)

28) Become certified in first-aid. (Something I definitely need to do)

29) Cook a turkey (Never done it before, excited to try!)

30) Make a jam recipe that doesn't call for pectin (I tried once before and the result was more like gummy bears than jam)

31) Be able to play a new hymn on the piano (I can only play "Sweet Hour of Prayer" in an emergency

32) Buy a nice sheet set (I love nice sheets!)

33) Write a fairy tale (If anyone has read the introduction of "The Ordinary Princess," that's the kind of experience I'd like to have)

34) Visit a museum I've never been to before (My dream is to go to the Smithsonian!)

35) Get a roll at the Pie Dump (A strange name for a restaurant but I've been told the rolls are heaven on earth.)

36) Get a Bear Lake raspberry shake (Lived here for a great many years and still have yet to have one!)

37) Make the food for it and then go on a picnic (Been wanting to try out my beautiful picnic basket)

38) Make a roast beef with all the trimmings (Always wanted to try that!)

39) Make my own snow globe (A winter craft I've always wanted to try)

40) Grow my hair at least two inches (I've always had a thing for long hair! I'd love mine to be longer!

41) Walk the Greenbelt in Boise (A place I loved as a kid and I was absolutely certain was inhabited by leprechauns)

42)  Color through a coloring book (Another favorite pastime I don't think any of us need to leave behind)

43) Learn my credit score and how to improve it (And mostly not be afraid of it)

44)  Learn napkin folding and do it at a holiday dinner (found a tutorial for little Easter baskets online)

45) Host a Christmas party (Bring out my vintage Crosby, Como, and Cole records!)

46) Decorate a cake (Believe it or not, I never have!)

47) Make homemade vanilla extract (Super excited for this one!)

48) Do a "gold rush" activity for my nephews (A really fun adventure I found on Pinterest!)

49) Make DIY bouncy balls (Um...best science magic trick EVER!)

50) See a dermatologist about some skin issues (Never too late!)

51) Memorize Moroni's discourse on faith, hope and charity and spend a month studying charity and love.

52) Start a blog (check!) and write at least ten new entries. (Lots of writing ideas that need to be written!)

53) Invent a new fruit salad (I love fruit salad!)

54) Read a biography about Rosemary Kennedy (JFK's oldest sister and the inspiration for the Special Olympics)

55) Go through all my video cassettes and thin out (Yeah, as my family will tell you, I've got quite the collection)

56) Go to at least five mid-singles activities (Need to get out more!)

57) Get the butterfly habitat (Let's you raise your own caterpillars to butterflies and then set them free.)

58) Write 10 handwritten letters to people (Cause who doesn't love to get mail!)

59) Learn all the crochet stitches and crochet an apple blossom  scarf (I just love that image, an apple blossom scarf!)

60) Create a new pasta dish (Never be the pasta gourmet that my brother is, but hopefully I can create something pretty yummy!)

61) Make shrinky-dinks with Jenni (A favorite activity my sister and I used to do together

62) Make kettlecorn (My family loves it!)

63) Get the personal doctor appointment I need to have done (I'm okay, just need to have it done)

64) Move into my own place when the time is right (The end goal, but will be when the time is right)

65) Have the mole on my neck removed (Not looking forward to it, but will be glad to have it done)

66) Go to the Gourmandise bakery in S.L.C. (I've heard their lemonhead cookies are to die for)

67) Make a gingerbread house (Haven't done that in years)

68) Go to the aquarium in Sandy (Wanted to do that since it opened!)

69) Make a homemade doll or stuffed animal (In case you didn't already know, I'm about ten years old at heart)

70) Make homemade pastries (bear claws, danish, can't wait to give it a try)

71) Tour the underground place in La Grande (This whole little area that just opened up, I'm so excited to see it!)

72) Make an apple pie decorated with fall leaves (the leaves are made out of pie crust)

73) Make embroidered dish towels and pillow cases (I've always dreamed of having a beautiful linen closet and I want to start it off!)

74) Make homemade citrus cleaner (Made of vinegar and orange peels, excited to try it!)

75) Read discourses of President Hinckley (He is the voice of positivity in my head)

76) Make apple cider (want to try it the old-fashioned way, squeezing out the juice with cheesecloth)

77) Make homemade rosewater (Uh,,,because who doesn't want to smell like a rose!)

78) Do the apple cider vinegar & glycerin hair treatments on my hair for a month (Supposed to work wonders)

79) Recycle an altoid tin into something fun (There are so many fun ideas out there!)

80) Get a diamond candle (A fun candle that has a ring inside and the chance to win a real diamond ring)

81) Find my signature roll recipe (Tried lots but none that really wowed me.)

82) Make homemade vanilla perfume (Because who doesn't want to smell like vanilla and baking!)

83) Create a new story character (It was said that P.L. Travers created a character for her own amusement, a flying magical nanny.  I want to do the same!)

84) Learn to check the oil on the car and fill it myself (Yep, Dad's still doing it.  Want to learn more about cars and started with that.)

85) Have a Secret Garden dinner party (An absolutely beautiful idea I saw on Pinterest)

86) Make a notebook of all of Bro. Satterfield's selected quotes (A religion teacher at BYUI who changed my life)

87) Make someone breakfast in bed (Breakfasts are my favorite meal to cook!)

88) Write a "Little Women" missing story (An idea that's been in my head for awhile, simple "fill in the gaps" stories from the Little Women world)

89) Have a kitchen herb garden (An idea that came in a book I got.  I am probably showing my domestic dorkness but I can't tell you how excited I am at the prospect of growing mint and lemon verbena in a teacup garden in the kitchen!)

90) Create my own exercise regiment and follow it everyday for at least a month (I'm thinking "Footloose" will definitely be a part of it!)

91) Make a magic letter box (An idea I saw in a book, a place to keep letter-writing materials.)

92) Have a "Sisters, scones and sugar scrubs" party (All six Blake sisters, and  mom, some scones of the Utah and/or England variety and my friend's recipe for homemade sugar scrubs)

93) Make homemade scented laundry detergent and linen spray (If I'm going to run an inn called Lavender Linens, someday, I'd better learn how to make lavender-scented linen spray!)

94) Make a quilt (Shouldn't be too hard, considering who my mom is!)

95) Read "Peace and Plenty" (A book on finding financial serenity)

96) Read all of Elder Bednar's learning series books (Such a great series from a master teacher!)

97) Have a random act of kindness day (Always wanted to try that)

98) Build a doll house (Maybe even one with electric lights??)

99) Make homemade candy bars and wrappers (Channeling my inner Willy Wonka!)

100) Take a class in something (Always learning something!)

101) Make homemade bubbles, play dough, and watercolors (Some essential need to know things!)

Alternates/extra credit (If for some reason I am simply unable to do one of the above things or I may just do all of these too!)

1) Go down a waterslide or go on a ride that scares me
2) Watch all of Audrey Hepburn's movies
3) Have a homemade root beer and pizza night
4) Organize all my pictures
5) Make homemade butter mints
6) Learn to juggle