A lot has been going on and I am finally getting the oppourtunity to catch up with this blog and my challenges.

Firstly, I have made a decision for my volunteering - I have choose to give my time to Hospice. Matt's father passed away on Nov 2 and this process with cancer has deeply touched us. He fought long and hard all the way to the end. Then my father survived colon and skin cancer only to later date from complications from a cancer they called a colangiocarcinoma - he had a cancer in his bile duct system that spread to his liver. Both him and my father in law were in the care of Hospice in their final days. This only feels like the best choice for me.

Also, we have to of my challenges in the works to finish out this year - we will be serving in a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving - something the girls seem egar to do. And we are doing the samatians purse gift charity for Christmas. Madelyn and Grace will each buy for a child thier age and we will send it off to be given for Christmas.

I am currently 20 days into 1 month with no pop - some days have been real hard with the lack of sleep and the fact that I do not drink coffee - pop was my caffine. I am about ready to crack this week and I have had little to no sleep in the last few days as the babies have been sick and up all night. Hopefully I can make it 10 more days!

I got my first Pedicure today - I have missed out on a lot - I will have to make sure that I afford myself this luxury more often.

Here a few of the recipes that I have used and the family really liked since I last posted recipes:

Fried Rice

2 cups enriched white rice
4 cups water
2/3 cup chopped baby carrots
1/2 cup frozen green peas
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
soy sauce to taste
sesame oil, to taste (optional)

Directions:
In a saucepan, combine rice and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
In a small saucepan, boil carrots in water about 3 to 5 minutes. Drop peas into boiling water, and drain.
Heat wok over high heat. Pour in oil, then stir in carrots and peas; cook about 30 seconds. Crack in eggs, stirring quickly to scramble eggs with vegetables. Stir in cooked rice. Shake in soy sauce, and toss rice to coat. Drizzle with sesame oil, and toss again.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 skinless chicken thighs

Directions:
In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Brush chicken with the sauce. Turn pieces over, and brush again.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn pieces over, and bake for another 30 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Brush with sauce every 10 minutes during cooking.

Sage Pork Chops

2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 center cut bone-in pork chops
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup water
2 cubes beef bouillon

Directions:
Combine the salt, sage and black pepper in a small bowl and rub on both sides of the chops. Melt the butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium high heat and saute the chops for 5 minutes per side, or until well browned.
Meanwhile, in a separate small saucepan over high heat, combine the water and the bouillon and stir until bouillon dissolves. Add this to the chops, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer chops for 45 minutes.

I did it! I used the crock pot everyday for 1 week (minus 1 day - we have leftover day in our house).
These are the dishes I made:
-roasted turkey
-roasted chicken
-shaghetti sauce
-pulled pork
-chili
-pot roast

This project actually made my life much easier last week - I threw the stuff in and left it alone - it made this week hard for planning what to make for dinner cause I am cooking again. I think the part that is hard is the fact that I knew I was using the crockpot all week, I knew I was throwing things in and leaving them - So I preplanned!! Preplanning is the key here - every other day I am thinking at noon - shoot I still have to get something out for dinner!! I think I have some options here - I know of OMAC (once a month cooking) that I think will be a new challenge for me on my next list :)

Recipes

I have been cooking up a storm making new foods for my family! With great success they are not that picky anymore!! Or maybe - I can cook :) I am going to share a few recipes that I have been meaning to post for the last couple weeks.

This first one was a new weekly recipe - and it also ended up being a new fish dish that the family likes:
Broiled Tilapia Parmesan
Ingredients:
1/2 cut Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 T mayonnaise
2T fresh lemon juice
1/4 t dried basil
1/4 t black pepper
1/8 t onion powder
1/8 t celery salt
2 lbs tilapia fillets

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the parmesan cheese, butter, mayo and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celer salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2-3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

The second recipe I am posting here is the Homemade (canned) Apple Pie filling - I doubt I will ever buy canned apple pie filling again:
Canned Apple Pie Filling
Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups with sugar
1 cup cornstarch
2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground nutmeg
2 t salt
10 cups water
3 T lemon juice
6 lbs apples

Directions:
1. Peel, core, and slice apples. Pour lemon juice over the apples.
2. In a large pan mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add salt and water and mix well. Bring to a boil, cook until thick and bubbly. Turn down on low - keep filling hot.
3. In steralized jars, pack apple slices into each jar leaving a 1/2 head space.
4. Fill jars with hot syrup - using a plastic knife to work the bubble out.
5. Please steralized lids on jars, process 20 minutes.

Lastly, I think I finally mastered the peanut cookie. My kids and husband love them. They are soft, peanut buttery and YUMMY!! These ingrediants make what would be a double batch. The key to these to truely bake them until the are just starting to turn brown. They may not look done but they are and they will be real soft.

Peanut Buttery Cookies
2 c butter
18 oz peanut butter
2 c sugar
2 c brown sugar
4 eggs
2 T vanilla
2 sm boxes vanilla pudding mix
5 cups flour
2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 bag peanut butter chips

1. Cream together butter, peanut butter, sugars and eggs in a large bowl. Then add the vanilla and pudding mix.
2. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder and soda and salt. Stir into batter. Add peanut butter chips. Refridgerate for 1 hour.
3. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place onto a baking sheet. Flatten balls with fork tines in a criss cross pattern.
4. Bake in a preheated over at 375 degrees for about 8-10 minutes - or just until the cookies start to brown, do not overbake.

Apples, Apples - Read all about it!!
This is only a small amount of apples compared to what we have had around here lately! We are lucky enough to have a connection with a local Amish farm that gives us the 'seconds' from their produce stand. Seconds are basically the produce that we pass up because of its shape, size or bruising. So, I took these apples and have made homemade apple jelly, applesauce and apple butter. I have also made Apple Fritters! We also received peaches, onions, potatoes and beans. I have canned all of it except for a little bit of apples that are left - so I will make more applesauce with no cinnamon for Madelyn as she likes it plain.
Below are photos of my canning and Madelyn helping me make the first batch of apple butter.

Apple Fritters:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 T baking power

1 t nutmeg

1 t cinnamon

1 t salt

2 eggs

1.5 c milk

2 quarts oil for deep frying

4 large apples, peeled and cored

1/2 c confectioner's sugar for dusting

carmel syrup

Mix the first 8 ingredients together - this will resemble pancake batter. Wash, peel and core the apples - slice as desired.

Heat oil to 375 degrees in a fryer, or heavy bottomed pot.

Pat apples dry, dip in batter and place into oil - cook until both sides are golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels, dust with powdered sugar and carmel if desired.

Lastly, our GPS will be here tomorrow - I won it on Ebay for $83 - I found the same GPS priced as high as $480 - so I think we got a good deal. I can not wait to take the girls geocaching - I think this is going to be something fun that we will be able to do often!

Thanks for stopping by - this challenge has given me a change to feel acomplished!

The girls are getting excited - we have made our tradeable items for Geo-Caching. We made 14 ceramic tile magnants (for details on that go to http://www.stampingwithbettyboop.blogspot.com/). So we have 3 spots to locate - once Matt figures out the best GPS for us we are going to go on our excursion - I will be sure to take photos.

We also have started 2 more things on the list - Melaluca-nizing the home and Going Green - since these two things are the same. I purchased the Sol-u-mel all purpose cleaner, the fabric softener, diswashing detergent and Mela-gel. Let me tell you - so far so good. The fabric softener smells good, works good, and you use very little. The Sol-u-mel in full strength removes the permanant marker that has been on my kitchen table forever!! I also cleaned my bathroom with the Sol-u-mel - the sinks, counters, tub, toliet and shower - the soap scum, grime you name it - this stuff removed it! Since it is not a harsh product I did not gag the whole time while using it - no sneezing either!!! The dishwashing detergent also seems to be working well - and you use half the amount that a regular store brand. Lastly, the Mela-gel - an anticeptic gel - is AWESOME! Brooke got stung by a bee we think and she was screaming to the point of not breating - that gel was put right on the stink and she was perfect. The swelling went down in a very minimal amount of time and she didn't seem to be bothered by anyone touching the spot. That is awesome!

The quilt and camper projects have been at a standstill with all of the family events we have been doing together - the fair, air show, starting school etc. As soon we get back to these projects I should have something to update you on!

Lastly, I think we finished up with the last of the potatoes - so I wanted to share how I processed all of it for freezing:

Mashed potatoes: I decided to do homestyle potatoes because I did not have to peel them - so I washed and cut up a large pot of potatoes - boiled until ready. Once I drained the potatoes I poured them into a large bowl - I mashed the potatoes to the partly lumpy stage mainly because I made so much of them. I added milk and mixed well. Then I separated the potatoes into gallon sized ziplock bags. Smooched them flat getting as much air out as possible. I made 3 ziplock bags of potatoes and the store nicely in the freezer. To prepare to eat - I thawed the potatoes, poured into a bowl - microwaved for about 10 minutes - added seasoning,butter and milk - mixed well with a mixer and well-la yummy mashed potatoes.

French Fries/hashbrowns/potato wedges etc.: wash and peel potatoes if desired - cut into fries - blanch fries in boiling water for about 5 minutes - once they are well drained place in a single layer on a cooking sheet. I put them into the freezer for about 1-2 hours. Then I pour them into ziplock bag. Pre-freezing in a single layer allows you to take and cook what you need and they are not stuck together. If they do start to stick you are able to tap the bag on the counter to break them up. You can cook these potatoes as desired.

I have seasoned fries made up too - after they were blanched, drained I pour the seasoning over the potatoes on the cookie sheets before putting in the freezer. When ready to use - throw into the over at 350 to bake for about 20-30 minutes.

We tried a new recipe today:

Salmon with Lemon and Dill
Ingredients:
1 pound salmon fillets
1/4 cup butter, melted
5 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.
2.
Place salmon in the baking dish. Mix the butter and lemon juice in a small bowl, and drizzle over the salmon. Season with dill, garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper.
3.
Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until salmon is easily flaked with a fork.

I liked the salmon for the most part, but not sure if I personally would make it for myself again - Matt said the spices were a little strong for him - like really strong on top and bland at the bottom. So, this recipe will not qualify as a fish recipe that the family likes :(

On Tuesday, I took my mom to the social security office - she has applied for 3 different types of SS. I am now working with her case worker at job and family services to help her with medicaid, foodstamps etc. I also got her hooked up with a free cell phone through http://www.safelink.com/ - they give her a phone and free minutes monthly. I hope this helps me stay in contact with her while we get through all of these application processes. I then took here to get breakfast and get a few basic things that she needed grocery wise - she thought I was going to restock her place. I wish I could but I too have bills and food to put onto the table. I hate telling her no, but I just can not support her. Then she wanted ciggerettes - knowing that I had to take Grace to preschool I told that I just did not have the time to run store to store. Everytime she comes to the house she acts as if she is starving - maybe she is, and she is in dire need for that 'drag'. I do not smoke and from what I recall I have no addictions (except to chipotle - but being that I work from home now it is not readily available to me) so I do not know what it is like to 'need' something nor do I ever want to experience that. But, I also feel that if you can't afford it you just shouldn't do it. She basically puts the little money she gets monthly towards prepaid cell phone minutes and ciggerettes - not rent or electric or even FOOD. I can only do so much - but in my book ciggerettes are not a need its a want. Anyway - I hope this journey with my mom helps my relationship with her, but its truely hard at times. I feel that I can not bond with her because its like talking to my 4 year old.

I finally posted on my other blog - http://www.stampingwithbettyboop.blogspot.com/ check it out. I have decided that because I am behind on posting there I will need to complete posting to the blog 143 in 1001 days for me feel that I 'techincally' completed that task. Hopefully with all of the goals that I want to complete I should have plenty to choose from.

I really appreciate all of the support I am getting through this process. At least at this point I do not feel overwhelmed with this large 'to do' list and am starting to feel accomplished with things in my life - rather than just feeling like all I do is chase 4 kids around and work. I really don't have a lot of time for the things I want to do - rather I, at times just do not make the time. In any case - I am just glad this personal challenge is going well as it makes me feel good about myself.

A quick update!

I have been pretty busy like normal. But I have my mom set up on a waiting list for low income housing and a meeting with Social Security - tomorrow I will take her to get signed up etc. I placed my first Melaluca order to start the process of Melaluca-nizing my home - I got fabric softener, dishwasher detergent and some SolUMel oh and some Mela-gel. Brooke got stung/bit by something on Saturday and that gel took the sting out right of her hand. She calmed in seconds. I also have 2 of the 3 colors cut for Grace's quilt. I am thinking at the rate that I am moving I may be able to make each girl a quilt for their birthdays. Since, they have been watching the process I am going to try to find a way to dress it up so they will still be surprised when they get them. Matt has also made a lot of progress on the camper. The entire lid to the pop up has been reframed and put back together - now he is working on the front end of it where there was some damage. Lastly, I shot a gun this past weekend. It was a small handgun - forgive me for not knowing what it was but Matt is going to teach me to use his shotgun as well. I did hit the target even got a 'kill' shot on the sheet - I promise to get some of this stuff photographed to show all of you!

Another busy weekend…but I am starting to feel that I am accomplishing some of the things that I have set out to do.

*helped Matt when possible with the camper
*spent time with my mom
*started a quilt
*made laundry soap
*planned 2 wks worth of meals for a more organized shopping trip
*use more of my potatoes
*used my over ripe bananas before they hit the trash

On Friday, I thought it was Grace’s preschool orientation – well I get there (dressed nicely and with make up on J ) to find out that orientation was this coming up Thursday! Duh – I need to pay more attention! Well – I already had plans to pick up my mom to come to my house for the weekend. I helped her apply for social security, section 8 etc. So we went and picked her up a little earlier.

On Saturday, we all swam together and the Babies and I cheered Matt through the ‘fixer upper’ part of this camper process. I also made homemade french-fries to go with our dinner Saturday night.

On Sunday, I finally got out the hambones from the freezer and made a pot of Bean and Ham soup and Ham and Potato soup. I sent the majority of the Potato soup home with my mom so she would have something to eat, as I have no clue what she actually has. I made a loaf of banana bread, planned my dinner menus for 2 wks and made laundry soap concentrate that will make 10 gallons of detergent. I also started cutting the fabric for my first quilt - I will post the photos as I make a little more progress.

I wanted to crunch the $$ value of what the savings would be to our family. We typically buy a 92 (but in theory is really about 56 loads on average) load container of tide for around $20 every month. (about 36 cents a load)

Borax 3.36
Soda 2.16
2 bars of Dove Burst soap 2.97

This equates to $3.51 per 10 gallons of detergent (160 loads) = just around 2 cents per load…So the bottom line is we went from spending $20 a month to about an average of $1.17 a month for laundry detergent for a $14.04 a year to wash our laundry based on regular usage. I think that is AWESOME!

Laundry Soap Recipe
The Dry Version: (Thanks Wendy for sending this me!)
1 bar Fels Naptha Soap, finely grated1 cup Washing Soda1 cup Borax
Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
Use 2 tablespoons per full load

The Liquid Version:
1 bar Fels Naptha Soap, finely grated, 1 cup Washing Soda, 1 cup Borax
Grate soap into a small saucepan. Cover with hot water. Cook over medium low heat, stirring continually, until the soap completely dissolves. Put washing soda and borax in a 5 gallon bucket. Pour in the hot, melted soap mixture. Stir well, until all the powder is dissolved. Fill the bucket to the top with more hot tap water. Stir, cover securely, and let set overnight. The next morning, stir the mixture. Mix equal amounts of soap concentrate and water in a dispenser container. Shake before using. Use 1 cup per load.

**I used 2 bars of soap for the smell and suds factor - I could not find the Fels Naptha so I hope this works - from what I read it should.

Today, I decided to make homemade Salisbury Steak – something we typically buy prepackaged. It turned out wonderful! Here is the recipe:
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, mix together 1/3 cup condensed French onion soup with ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, salt and black pepper. Shape into 6 oval patties.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown both sides of patties. Pour off excess fat.
3. In a small bowl, blend flour and remaining soup until smooth. Mix in ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder. Pour over meat in skillet. Cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
I doubled the sauce, kept the ketchup amount the same. I also could not find this onion soup so I used dry onion soup mix and 10 oz of water (in addition to the ¼ cup water) Then I added dry beef onion soup mix to the gravy mixture. The kids loved it. After I fried them up in the pan I baked them in the over at 350 for 1 hour.

Lastly, I made the best chocolate chip cookies! I have been reading a lot about cookies to find the best combination of ingredients and I think I found it for my cookie recipe of the month! Here is the recipe:

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

Thursday's are New Recipe Day - At least for now :)

I made this recipe with the peaches I had bought at the Amish market on Monday as they were starting to get really soft and we would not finish them in time. I had to tweak it a little and added a few things – I used limejuice (I was out of lemon) so I used just a splash. Then I added about a 1-½ tsp of cinnamon to the peach mixture. Lastly, after I put the dough mixture on I used brown sugar on top instead of the white and sprinkled just a little more cinnamon on top. The house sure did smell good while it was baking! And it tasted yummy! The only thing I would change is doubling the dough so it had more to go around :)

Fresh Peach Cobbler (from cooks.com)

3 lbs fresh peaches
1 T lemon juice
¼ c light brown sugar, packed
1 ½ T cornstarch
½ c water
½ c granulated sugar
½ c un-sifted all-purpose flour
½ t baking powder
¼ t salt
2 T butter
1 lg egg

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 2 quart casserole. Peel and slice fresh peaches. Place in greased casserole. Stir in lemon juice. In a 1 quart saucepan stir together brown sugar and cornstarch. Gradually add water, stirring until cornstarch is dissolved.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickens, 5 minutes. Pour sauce over peaches in casserole.

To prepare topping, in medium size bowl, stir together sugar (minus 1 tsp), flour, baking powder and salt. With a wooden spoon, stir in butter and egg until a soft dough forms. Drop spoonfuls onto peach mixture (topping will spread as it bakes). Sprinkle with reserve teaspoon of sugar.

Bake cobbler 40-45 mins or until topping is golden brown and filling bubbles. Cool slightly on wire rack. Sprinkle with additional sugar if desired. Serve peach cobbler warm at room temperature.

Frugality is the practice of # acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and # resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services, to # achieve a longer term goal.

We try to do things to save money etc. As do many American’s I am sure. We shop at BJ’s, Aldi’s and Save A Lot for 50% of our grocery purchases. We then buy our meat from a butcher to save money as well. I make my own baby food to provide not only healthy meals to the babies, but it also saves us a lot of money.

On Monday I bought a 50 lb bag of potatoes from the Amish stand up the road from me. I buy many things in bulk with all good intentions of making it worth my while – but recently I have been finding the fresh produce going to waste before I get to it. Now that isn’t very frugal is it? Well this 50 lb bag of potatoes is not going to waste. I sorted through the bag and pulled out all of the smaller potatoes and put them in a bucket for steaming, I have another bucket of medium potatoes perfect for mashed potatoes. Then I started to peel and cut. I have 1 zip lock bag of fries, 1 of hash browns and 1 of seasoned steak fries. I still have 1/3 of the bag left so I hope to do more tomorrow. If I calculate correctly I should have 9-12 bags of frozen potatoes plus the two buckets of potatoes that I have separated.

I will watch the Amish stand’s in the near future for peppers and onions – I will precut all of that and freeze it – then use it as I need through out the winter.

Oh – I forgot to mention in last nights post! We got our camper – it was a great deal – it cost us $46 (2 clambake tickets)!!! It is an older model pop up. It needs a few structural type repairs which Matt has all the wood to fix any of the framing issues. Then he will see what types of mechanical things that need fixed. I will be updating the interior. Matt will be replacing the floors – its 1970’s brown! Ugh!! I will post photos once we start the revamp project!

I finally got the time to sit down and write a little about my progress through this challenge. I felt very much accomplished by completing the list and starting my blog but even through I am only a few days into the project I feel like I should have several things ’accomplished’ off of this list. I have been taking my daily vitamin and hope that I should start feeling the effects of that soon.

Now that I have started this – I am dreading doing my laundry! HaHa. I have the hardest time getting it all washed, folded and put away! Getting it washed a folded was always part of my normal routine until the twins were born. My mother in law ends up finishing up the wash because I get it started then I forget about it – well more side tracked. I am thinking if I pace myself by doing one load a day, wash, fold and put away the goal of getting my laundry where it belongs should be accomplished. This first time – getting all of the laundry put away as I have stacks everywhere will be a project. Two baskets in my room, two in the older girls room and towels on my dining room table that I still need to put away let alone the laundry that I still need to wash…uck!

I have already started thinking of things for our handmade Christmas – I am planning for this to happen Christmas ’10. I know I can make the kids PJs, hats, scarves – maybe even a quilt. The kids obviously would like toys or games – so I am going to think that route too. Suggestions would always be appreciated!

I have completed my list!

This is my blog to document the completion of my list of 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days.

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

http://www.dayzeroproject.com/

A friend of mine from high school created a blog where his list is posted to complete. When I saw this, it was the first time I had heard of the day zero challenge. It really got me thinking about things I want to do so, needed to do and needed to accomplish/finish. So I decided that I am going to create/complete this list. My starting date is 8/15/09 as my list is now complete. This makes my ending date 5/11/12.

Items that have been completed will be in Blue. Items in progress will be italicized. I will also be posting about each item as I complete it, or am working towards completing it. :)

Creativity
1. post weekly to stamping blog
2. catch up Grace's Scrapbook
3. catch up Madelyn's Scrapbook
4. start and keep up with Brooke's scrapbook
5. start and keep up with Dakota's scrapbook
6. finish sihoulette portrait of Grace and Madelyn
7. make each kid a halloween costume
8. have christmas cards made by nov 1
9. make bday cards for everyone in my family (15 members throught out this process)
10. learn 5 photo editing techniques with PhotoShop
11. finish the kids mural
12. finish the name projects 0/3
13. sell on of my creations
14. get of on my creations published in a magazine
15. Help Matt make a Daddy/Daughter pg for each scrapbook
16. blog day zero challenge
17. learn to crochet or knit (both?)
18. make a quilt
19. finish girls bedding project
20. enter gingerbread house contest
21. buy canvas' for each girl and let them creatively paint as they wish - display in home

Family
22. have a family game night once a week 0/143
23. go geo caching with kids 0/5
24. go to an indoor waterpark
25. go on a family vacation to Canada
26. buy a camper
27. take a family camping trip
28. celebrate the true meaning of christmas incorporation our traditions
29. Madelyn's special day with parents 0/2
30. Grace's special day with parents 0/2
31. Dakota's special day with parents 0/2
32. Brooke's special day with parents 0/2
33. Move the twins into their own bedroom
34. go to visit an aqurium
35. Have Madelyn and Grace serve at a soup kitchen durning the holidays with Matt and I
36. Go Green - minimum of 5 things to help the environment
37. participate in operation christmas child www.samaritanpurse.com 0/2
38. have all handmade christmas
39. place something on freecycle monthly

Matt
40. go to the Carousel Dinner Theatre with Matt
41. learn to shoot a gun and go hunting with Matt
42. Date Night' 0/30
43. see a broadway play with Matt
44. go paintballing
45. cook a fancy dinner for 2
46. complete the love dare

Home
47. Create a filing system and catch up on all filing
48. put my laundry away after each wash
49. have a yard same spring/summer '10
50. purge for yard sale
51. put flowers in my flowerbeds
52. back up photos/files monthly 0/33
53. declutter my kitchen (get rid of the stacks)
54. paint every room in the house
55. Build the 'well' to go over the well
56. melaluca-nize our home
57. create a realistic cleaning schedule

Cooking
58. make a special fondant cake for matt and each child 0/5
59. learn to make 10 commonly prepackaged foods homemade
60. find 5 fish dishes that the family likes 0/5
61. bake 1 new cookie recipe each month 0/30
62. make homemade doughnuts
63. make/jar applesauce
64. make/jar applebutter
65. try 1 new recipe per week 0/143
66. introduce 10 new fruit/veggies to meals
67. use the crockpot everyday for 1 wk

Personal
68. get down to 125 lbs
69. once weight is lost - wear a bikini again
70. once weight is lost - get belly button pierced
71.take a multivitamin daily
72. learn a line dance even if that means take a lesson
73. create a cookbook of my recipes to pass onto my kids
74. meet a dork sister
75. make another attempt to contact my biological father
76. go to my dad's grave
77. spend more time with my mom
78. volunteer - still deciding
79. set a christmas budget and stick to it
80. read the bible
81. Get a Pedicure
82. Send a just because card 0/20
83. Support Ohio farmers - got to each pick your own patch in Geauga County 0/6
84. Do hair and make up weekly 0/143
85. finish one complete cycle of 90X
86. ecome more frugal
87. get eyebrows waxed monthly
88. visit the dentist and get the dreaded rootcanal done
89. read the twilight series (I guess I need to know what all the hype is about) 0/4
90. pay for a person meal after me in the drive through
91. donate blood
92. no pop - 1 month
93. participate in post crossing 0/15
94. do Aflec papework
95. do something speical with my mom - my treat
96. read the books that I bought that are waiting to be read
97. get clairnet revamped for Madelyn
98. Learn how to use my Dad's 35mm camera
99. tip a great waiter/waitress 100%
100. do a digital scrapbook about this challenge
101.create a new list