The fat lady is about to sing....

On day 1000 of 1001, I think perhaps it's time to take a moment to look back on what I've seen and experienced over the last 2.75 years.

Did I finish everything on the list? No. Is that the point? I don't think so. On Day 1, I probably would have said yes, but now my thoughts on the list have changed. I think the list in and of itself can be a great insight into where we were and who we were for a brief moment in our lives.

I started this list on October 18, 2006. I had just turned 33 and most of my focus was on accomplishing those things that I thought I should accomplish because those are the things other people expected. Those things, like passing my professional exams, losing weight and getting married are the things I imagined that other people expected of me. Whether or not they were things that I actually wanted to accomplish is something I'm still trying to figure out. At the time, not being able to cross those items off of my list seemed like a horrible failure on my part. Today, I'm trying to figure out if an actuary and a wife are things I really want to be. As far as losing weight, I'd LOVE to weigh 120 pounds, but if I continue to put off living, loving and caring about myself and truly enjoying life until I've reached that goal, then perhaps I've missed the whole point of the list completely.

As I near age 36 (closer to 40 than 30...ugh), my attention has turned to learning how to truly nourish my soul. I hope that my next list and the next 1001 days draw me closer to that goal.

But before the excitement of a new list (like a new baby or a new friend) starts to overshadow the old, let's look back and reflect on the great adventure I've had so far.

1. Ride 10,000 motorcycle miles in 365 days. - 3,270/10,000 - I think I actually rode more miles than this, but a new puppy has definitely bitten into my riding time this season.
2. Ride a 500-mile motorcycle day. - See the explanation for #1
3. Ride a 1000-mile motorcycle day. - See the explanation for #1. Besides, that a LOOOONG way!
4. Change the oil in my car.
5. Change the oil in my motorcycle. - #4 and #5 seemed like a good idea at the time, but for me, learning about myself has meant realizing that I really don't like getting dirty.
6. Learn to drive a manual transmission. - Completed 6/20/2009 with the help, patience and car of Troy. I think driving from Hay, KS to Denver, CO means that I can cross this one off of the list.
7. Visit California. - COMPLETED 6/23/2009. We visited Kelso, CA and the Mojave National Preserve on our 10 day road trip out west. I highly recommend it! It's in the middle of the desert, but that's definitely part of the appeal.
8. Visit Chicago. - COMPLETED 1/26 & 1/27, 2008
9. Visit New York City.
10. Ride on a train.
11. Get at least 5 stamps in my National Parks Passport. - COMPLETED 6/24/2009. I was also able to complete this one on our road trip out west. Over the course of the trip, we visited Zion National Park, the Mojave National Preserve and the Grand Canyon. There were LOTS of stamps at each destination, so check!
12. Run the Indianapolis 500 Mini Marathon. - I was registered for this in 2009, but I hadn't trained, so I just completed the 5k. I think that was VERY good decision on my part. I did walk/jog it in 2006 though.
13. Weigh less than 200 pounds. - Hopefully soon.
14. Weigh less than 175 pounds. - Maybe someday.
15. Weigh less than 150 pounds. - To dream, the impossible dream!
16. Work out at least 30 minutes 500 times. - 253/500 Complete - I actually completed well over 300, but I didn't make it all the way to 500 and I stopped counting at some point. Strange how working out 300 times still counts as a failure.
17. Be called "skinny" by someone who isn't prompted to do so by this list. - See #15.
18. Wear make-up every day for one month. - My hangup always seemed to be the weekends.
19. Be in bed by 10 PM every night for one week. - This one seemed VERY easy on paper, but unfortunately I am too much of a night owl.
20. Be up by 6 AM every morning for one week. - See #19.
21. Go to the dentist twice. I REALLY should have done this. Teeth are one of the most important determenents of overall health.
22. Get my cholesterol checked. - COMPLETED 01/13/2007
23. Eat no chocolate for one month. - COMPLETED October 2007
24. Drink no soda for 6 months. - COMPLETED 9/16/2008
25. Drink only water for one month.
26. Get married or be planning my wedding. - hahaha. Actually, I'm not even sure that this is something that I'm looking for at this point. I think it's easier to find what makes me happy when I can go to my own house and be alone. It's hard to do that if you're married and living in the same house.
27. Learn to juggle. - This one's just weird, huh?
28. Keep my car clean for one month - COMPLETED January 2009
29. Buy a new car - COMPLETED 12/27/2008 This is REALLY easy when it's a new car!
30. Bowl a 500 series. - This was quite possibly the most frustrating item on the list. Despite the fact that I bowl in a weekly league, I COULD NOT get it crossed off of the list. I would get REALLY close though. I can't tell you how many weeks I was in the 480s and 490s. UGH!
31. Bowl a 200 game - COMPLETED 2/21/2007 (201)
32. Set up an IRA with regular contributions - COMPLETED 3/6/2007
33. Draw up a will - COMPLETED 5/16/2008
34. Have $XXX,XXX in my 401(K) account - This was CLEARLY the wrong time to make this one a goal. Before the economy tanked, I was well on my way to making it happen. Oh well. It's a good thing I'm young and still have plenty of time.
35. Have 9 months of earnings in savings - Um, HELLO! Have you seen all the things on this list that I've spent money on?
36. Save $1 per day to spend on something "fun" at the end of the 1001 days. - COMPLETED 6/19/2009. Actually I spent some of it on my casino night birthday party and the rest on our road trip out west. Both VERY fun!
37. Spend no money for 1 week other than what is required for bills (mortgage, electric, phone, etc.)
38. Learn to make pie crusts with Mom. - I still really need to and want to do this one.
39. Take Mom for a day of pampering at a spa - COMPLETED 8/9/2008 I was very pleased that she loved this. We'll definitely have to do it again.
40. Go to the Auburn/Cord/Deusenberg Festival with Dad - COMPLETED 9/3/2007
41. Plan a "Surprise to Troy" trip - I guess technically I could count our road trip out west because I did all of the planning and he just basically got to sit back and say, OK, what's next? I won't though.
42. Buy a GPS System or Autocomm System - COMPLETED 5/14/2008
43. Send on card per month to someone who makes a difference in my life. - There's a reason I put this on my list. I'm so bad at it!
44. Send birthday cards to everyone that I have birth dates for. - See #43.
45. Cook and serve an entire holiday meal by myself.
46. Take photos of my parents for mounting. - Once again, this is something I don't want to let slip through the cracks. I really want to have these for the future.
47. Do a video interview with my parents. - See #46.
48. Plant a flower garden.
49. Plant a vegetable garden - COMPLETED 5/10/2009
50. Watch no TV for one month.
51. Volunteer at Soup's On.
52. Give $1 to charity for each thing not finished on this list - I'm taking a check for $52 to Robert's Park Soup's On program tomorrow
53. Donate my hair to charity - COMPLETED 5/26/2007
54. Do a charity walk/run/ride - COMPLETED 4/21/2007
55. See a concert - COMPLETED 9/29/2007
56. See a play.
57. See an outdoor production of something - COMPLETED 6/29/2007
58. See a symphony production.
59. See an IMAX movie - COMPLETED 6/14/2008
60. Visit the Indianapolis Museum of Art - COMPLETED 4/12/2008
61. Enter a Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament - COMPLETED 4/21/2008
62. Complete a knitting project that I can wear - COMPLETED 6/30/2007
63. Take 3 photography classes.
64. Take dance lessons.
65. Take a cooking class with Troy - COMPLETED 6/28/2008
66. Sell at least one photo that I have taken - COMPLETED 5/10/2008
67. Pass Exams MLC / MFE.
68. Pass Exam C.
69. Pass Exam EA-2B.
70. Go to a movie alone - COMPLETED 5/2/2008
71. Memorize the US Presidents - COMPLETED 8/4/2008
72. Sew the buttons on my black coat. I'm totally going to complete this one tonight or tomorrow night. Just under the wire!
73. Decorate for Christmas while listening to carols, drinking hot tea and eating cookies. - Aww, sounds sweet, huh? Why didn't I do this one?
74. Have all of my Christmas decorations down, organized and put away by January 15th - COMPLETED 1/15/2008
75. Commute to work by foot, bicycle or bus for one month - Completed August 2007
76. Really organize my scrapbooking supplies - COMPLETED 3/2/2008
77. Play no computer games for one month.
78. Learn to meditate (work up to 20 minutes per day)
79. Keep a journal every day for at least 2 months.
80. Pick strawberries and make strawberry shortcake - COMPLETED 5/28/2007
81. Pick apples and make a cobbler - COMPLETED 9/20/2008
82. Fast for 24 hours - COMPLETED 5/23/2008
83. Ride in a limo
84. Ride in a horse-drawn carriage - COMPLETED 2/16/2008
85. Ride in a hot air balloon.
86. Go Blonde
87. Try one new recipe a month for 6 months - COMPLETED 7/6/2009 I actually just finished this one by trying out a smoothie recipe provided to us by Troy's college chum, Bill, when we visited them in Austin. Yum!
88. Sing karaoke in a karaoke bar
89. Create another 101 list - COMPLETED 4/22/2008
90. Read all of the Book Babes books.
91. Read 50 books.
92. Watch 50 movies - COMPLETED 12/10/2007
93. Buy a digital camera - COMPLETED 2/26/2007
94. Play Bingo in a real bingo hall - COMPLETED 2/23/2007
95. See 5 movies on their opening weekend - COMPLETED 1/22/2007
96. Let someone else order my meal for me in a restaurant - COMPLETED 1/13/2007
97. Win more than $25 in the monthly poker game. - COMPLETED 01/04/2007
98. Eat in a restaurant alone - COMPLETED 12/29/2006
99. See a musical - COMPLETED 10/29/2006
100. Host a fancy dinner party. - COMPLETED 9/6/2008
101. Pay off my credit cards - Alas, not yet....