101 things in 1,001 days

Now that it's April, I've got my fingers crossed that this months-long creative funk will finally pass. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and my ratty running gloves are tucked away in the back of the drawer where they are to stay until further notice. One thing I'm hoping will help battle this funk is my list of 101 things in 1,001 days. I posted the list on my tumblr in February of last year after reading my friend Whitney's list. I was so inspired! I have until November 22, 2014 to cross everything off and so far I've crossed off 33. Some things are daunting, others are a bit silly, a few I've done before and want to hold myself accountable for doing again, and a handful are downright ridiculous. But what can I do?! I'm stuck with it now!

The best part of making such a personal list so public has been the support. I never would have foreseen that and yet here I am over a year later with relationships that are a bit stronger thanks, in part, to the list. You'd be amazed how excited people are to help you with your mini dreams if you simply voice what they are! Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm. That's one of my favorite facts of life and definitely my favorite side effect of sharing this list.

But since I've been subject to that agonizing creative lull recently, I thought I'd share my list here too. Who knows... Maybe you'll have a suggestion as to what I should tackle next!

1. Finish a work of fiction
2. Submit it for publishing
3. Take an art class
4. Go camping for the very first time (better late than never)
5. Learn how to make macarons with Emily and Will 12/28/12
6. Witness the Chincoteague Pony Swim
7. Sing karaoke
8. Run a 5K The Color Run with Katy, Will, Emily, and Sarah in DC 9/9/12
9. Run a 10K
10. Learn how to knit 9/5/12
11. See a musical on Broadway Mamma Mia with Aunt Val, Uncle Bill, and Sarah 2/2/13
12. Host a meal at my house once a month for three months (0/3)
13. Successfully make a soufflé
14. Make 5 things for 5 friends (1/5) for Ali 3/1/13
15. Volunteer at a soup kitchen
16. Attend Baltimore’s French Language Meet Up
17. Plant and maintain a planter box garden
18. Donate blood
19. Read 15 classics (5/15) - Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen 4/12/12, A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs 7/6/12, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde 7/15/12, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson 9/21/12, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 12/20/12
20. Go to a music festival
21. Complete the 365 photo-a-day challenge
22. Go rock-climbing
23. Use my passport to visit a country I’ve never been to before
24. Make an inspirational banner
25. Learn basic Spanish
26. Solidify a writing routine
27. See a movie in the theater by myself The Artist at The Charles Theater 3/5/12
28. Participate in National Novel Writing Month 11/1/12-11/30/12
29. Build a blanket fort on a rainy day 10/30/12
30. Visit 10 museums I've never been to before (3/10) - National Geographic Museum 3/31/12, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History 3/31/12, American Visionary Arts Museum 4/8/12
31. Urban Pirate cruise on the harbor
32. Write a letter or e-mail to an author I admire
33. See Les Mis on stage at the Fox Theatre with Mom 4/28/12
34. Grab a friend and go to Zumba with Sarah 6/26/12
35. Open an Etsy store
36. Make a storyboard for a playlist
37. Buy a flapper dress
38. Knit or crochet a circle scarf 12/14/12
39. Host a tea party
40. Attend a horse race and place a bet
41. Go to a Navy football game with my dad 9/29/12
42. Explore a lighthouse on the coast of Maryland with my mom 8/12/12
43. Go on a trip with my sisters
44. Get a fancy cooking lesson from Chef… I mean Will! 12/30/12
45. Double the length of my quiet time each morning
46. Go tubing
47. Drink a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity in NYC with Sarah and Alison 10/6/12
48. Visit the observation deck of the Empire State Building (and look for Cary Grant)
49. Get a French press thank you Aunt Val and Uncle Bill! 12/25/12
50. Make Aunt Val’s tomato pie without supervision 9/25/12
51. Visit M et Mme Chauchat in Versailles 5/27/12
52. Stand at Point Zéro in Paris and take a picture 5/25/12
53. Have a picnic
54. Give up chocolate for a month
55. Finally buy a pair of boots 9/22/12
56. Kiss in the rain(!)
57. Learn how to poach an egg 11/18/12
58. Try brunch at 10 different restaurants (2/10) - Teavolve 3/18/12, The Hamilton 9/16/12
59. Obtain and wreck a Wreck This Journal (thanks for the gift, cousin Allie!)
    
60. See a classic film in a theater
61. Paint outside
62. Paint something on canvas
63. Bake croissants from scratch
64. Successfully perform a shoulder stand in yoga class 2/29/12
65. Go to the Baltimore Farmers’ Market & Bazaar right when it opens at 7AM with Amy 7/29/12
66. Make a meal only using food bought at a farmer’s market
67. Take an archery lesson (Legolas/Robin Hood complex? Ok yes…)
68. Attend a book festival Baltimore Book Festival 9/28/12
69. Make a dear friend
70. Pay for someone else’s coffee in a drive-thru
71. Watch 1 French film a week for 6 weeks straight (6/6) - Les Émotifs Anonymes 9/12/12, Joueuse 9/17/12, Le Papillon 9/26/12, Potiche 10/4/12, Une femme est une femme 10/11/12, Elle s’appelait Sarah 10/17/12
72. Go to bed by 10PM every night for a week 8/23/12 - 8/30/12
73. Make a donation to a cause I believe in Blood Water Mission 1/1/2013
74. Make a donation to my alma mater 5/20/12
75. Watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day
76. Visit Lancaster, PA
77. Join or start a book club
78. Cook a meal with my grandma 5/12/12
79. Send handwritten notes to friends and family (33/50)
80. Go apple picking
81. Enter a writing competition The Mysterious Undertakings of Mara Dew 8/30/12
82. Send a care package to a soldier I don’t know personally
83. Go to a red carpet premiere (on the sidelines - I’m not that delusional!)
84. Make breakfast al fresco with Uncle Bill 8/5/12
85. Spend a weekend at the beach 8/31/12 - 9/3/12
86. Write a bucket list
87. Make a lamp out of an old-fashioned fire extinguisher (like my mom’s)
88. Go vegetarian for a month
89. Figure out what I want to be when I grow up (ha!)
90. Tour the White House
91. Throw a themed party
92. Eat in an Ethiopian restaurant
93. Try to recreate the scones au nature I had at BAPZ in Toulouse
94. Play paintball
95. Introduce someone to the Dutch market with Sarah 3/2/13
96. Spend the entire day at Boordy Vineyards
97. Go horseback riding
98. Get paid for my writing
99. Sponsor a child
100. Inspire someone else to create their own 101 in 1001 3/6/12 - good luck, Libby!
101. Celebrate completing my 101 in 1001 list!

I've got a long way to go, but I'm looking forward to it! How about you? Are you keeping a list of some kind? If not... do!