11. Take a trip with just my husband & 13. Have fun celebrating my 30th birthday...growing up should be fun!!

On Friday, March 13, Les and I took a quick weekend trip to NYC, to celebrate my impending 30th birthday. This was the first trip we had taken by ourselves in nearly two years and we had a lot of fun. We had planned on seeing a show and having a nice dinner Saturday evening, but realized upon our arrival that my alma mater, WVU was playing in the quarterfinals of the Big East basketball tournament. We were able to secure two tickets and attend Friday nights game. We held off on purchasing show tickets for Saturday, not knowing how Friday evenings game would turn out.

As it ened up, they lost the game, but by that time, most of the show tickets (or at least the ones we could afford) were sold out...so I never got to see Wicked. But...the game was totally fun and so worth it. We had a lot of fun. We still did go out for dinner Saturday evening, after building up a HUGE appetite by walking many, MANY miles in the city, siteseeing.

It was so much fun and I cannot wait until the boys are old enough to take on trips like that.

#4 Start a MOPS group at our new church - Help get a preschool started at our church

Well, I tried very hard to get this task completed, and I was onto a good start until our church decided to pursue running a pre-school! This leaves no extra room for a MOPS group. :( But, in lieu of beginning the MOPS program, I have decided to be on the committee to get the new preschool started. I am very excited about this and looking forward to this new responsibility. In the mean time, I am remaining with my old MOPS friends at CWG and will be taking the Steering Position of "Creative Activities" coordinator next year. Should be a fun year!!

#2 Get Lucas baptised

On April 19, our dear friends, Matt and Lucy Taffoni, who are also our children's godparents came to visit and be here for the baptism of Lucas Austin Gibbs. We really wanted them to be able to be here for the ceremony, so that is why we held off so long. It was a beautiful day! Can't you tell Lucy and I are the dearest of friends??

The poor little one just was not feeling the greatest on this day, though. Turns out, he was teething!!

3. Join the Church

On Sunday, March 1, we were scheduled to attend the new member orientation dinner at our church. After two years of regular attendance, we were finally getting around to becoming members. We knew that we were wanting to schedule Lucas' baptism in the upcoming month and I really wanted us to be members for we had him baptised.

But...there was a terrible storm that weekend and the orientation was postponed until the following Sunday, March 8. This was not a problem, but delaying everything by a week meant our introduction to the church wouldn't happen until March 15, when we were already planning on being in NYC to celebrate my 30th birthday. Upon talking to Pastor John, he assured us that we were already considered members of the church congregation and that we can simply stand up with the next class that is recognized.

#95 Insure my wedding rings - Done

This task was something that DESPERATELY needed to be taken care of, as I am constantly taking them off and leaving them in various places in my house. With a very active 2.5 year old and an ever increasingly active baby, this was a recipe for disaster. In fact, two times in the past two months, I have thought they were GONE!! So, in the policy for our new home, we added a special policy to cover my engagement and wedding rings. This makes me feel so much better...however, should I ever have to use the policy, I would be very sad as I love my set and hope to keep my original rings, that my wonderful hubby first put on my finger, forever.

#14...Buy a house - Done

After being back in Northern Virginia for a little over two years, we have finally decided to make it official and bought a house. It is still in Gainesville, just a few minutes from the house we are currently in. We closed today and are moving this weekend. We are so excited to have a place of our own!! I'll post pics soon.

#5...Enroll Tyler in preschool - Done

Tyler is enrolled for preschool next year and I am so excited. So is he actually. It was so terribly cute, the day we went to drop off his registration check he went with me and did not understand why he wasn't getting to go into one of the classrooms. The director was nice enough to allow us to check out one of the empty three year old classrooms and I was SO impressed. This is a GREAT school. It is extremely hard to get in to. In less than 2 hours, over 100 children were registered for less than 40 open spots in the program (it had already been filled with over 200 returning children or children from church or alumni families. I was the 26th person over all to register and still had to take our 3rd choice for his class (T/TH afternoon). I had really wanted a morning program, since Tyler is such a great napper, but we will just have to adjust his nap schedule a little. There was no way I was going to turn down a spot. :-)

#1...Finish this list - Done

I finished the list. Oh my, this was SO much harder than I expected. It literally took me WEEKS to complete. Of course it didn't help that, at least twice, I lost my list before I was able to save it and had to start all over!! But, it is done now and now I can't wait to start tackling the items.

The List

Here is my list...a couple of spots open for those great goals I have forgotten.

1. Finish this list - this is so hard!!
2. Get Lucas baptised
3. Join the church
4. Start a MOPS group at our new church
5. Enroll Tyler in preschool for next year
6. Finish Tyler's babybook/scrapbook/memorybook
7. Start Lucas' babybook/scrapbook/memorybook
8. Finish Lucas' babybook/scrapbook/memorybook
9. Blog once a week for eight weeks (0/8)
10. Blog about every item I complete on this list (0/101)
11. Take a trip with just my husband
12. And another one...
13. Have fun celebrating my 30th birthday...growing up should be fun!!
14. Buy a house
15. Have kitchen (of above said house) painted
16. Have bedrooms (of above said house) painted
17. Send all family members a birthday card (via mail or e-mail) for one year
18. Complete Tyler's newborn study
19. Complete Lucas' newborn study
20. Have family photos taken
21. Finish Lucas' first year photos
22. Market/Advertise my business
23. Attack my laundry and get it caught up so that I can have ONE true laundry day
24. Take a photography class
25. Read 7 books (0/7)
26. Teach Tyler the ABC song
27. Potty train Tyler (Lord help me if it really take me 1001 days)
28. Potty train Lucas (I'm wondering if I might not be able to cross this one off the list before #27!!)
29. Teach Lucas the ABC song
30. Teach Tyler to count to 20 (1-20 in order...no skipping)
31. Teach Lucas to count to 20
32. Go to church every week for 1 month (0/4)
33. Take a Sunday School Class
34. Have my stationary line sold in a retail store
35. Plan dinners/shopping lists each week for one month (0/4)
36. Clean out our filing cabinet
37. Clean out my closet and donate all unused clothes/shoes to charity
38. Host a mom's night for myself and friends
39. Plan a dad's/men's night (maybe weekend) for Les and friends
40. Take family vacation to St. John
41. Train for and run a race
42. Drink 6 glasses/water every day for 2 weeks (0/14)
43. Exercise 5 days/week for 4 weeks (0/4)
44. Go on a cruise
45. Have celebration for my parents 35 wedding anniversary
46. Take Tyler and Lucas to a WVU football game
47. Take Tyler and Lucas to a WVU basketball game
48. Go to bed before 11 pm for seven nights in a row (0/7)
49. Have 10 date nights with Les (0/10)
50. Plant flowers in spring
51. Take family vacation to Hilton Head, SC
52. Delete all unnecessary photos on our photo drive (this will be really tough for me, because I just HATE to delete pictures, no matter how terrible they are)
53. Write a children's book
54. Donate $5 to the American Cancer Society for every task not completed
55. Help my parents set up the webcam we got them for Christmas
56. Start a meal program at our church for new moms
57. Serve on a committee at church
58. Decorate the outside of the house for Christmas
59. Have an easter egg hunt for the boys and their friends
60. Attend the Gibbs' Family Reunion in Texas
61. Get a check-up
62. Reconnect with an old friend
63. Tell my boys (all of them) I love them every day
64. Try one new food Les REALLY wants me to try (I am NOT adventurous when it comes to food)
65. Have a will made
66. Learn how to REALLY use our DSLR camera
67. Get new portrait lens for camera
68. Get bookcases for boys' rooms
69. Finish out guest bedroom in basement
70. Finish out playroom in basement
71. Fence the yard
72. Buy playset for the backyard for the boys
73. Throw away all the old magazines in our house (I don't know why, but I just can't seem to let them go...I might need to re-read one of the articles, 'ya know??)
74. Pay off debt
75. Contribute more to boy's college funds
76. Print, frame and hang the "landscape" photos from our various vacations
77. Make my blogs prettier
78. Finish designing my website and make it live (this may be an ongoing, constantly evolving goal)
79. Take Tyler to a movie in a theatre
80. Take the boys to a MLB game
81. See the Cherry Blossom Trees
82. Call a friend once a month (0/32)
83. Have first birthday celebration for Lucas
84. Get another massage (my first ever was wonderful...I need another one)
85. Organize my recipes
86. Try yoga
87. Bake a cake from scratch
88. Use video camera more often
89. Organize current video clips onto DVD's
90. Have a dinner party
91. Try a new recipe once a month (0/32)
92. Attend a Sunday school class
93. Teach a bible school class
94. Visit Ground Zero
95. Insure my wedding rings
96. Get my teeth cleaned
97. Get new prescription for glasses/contacts
98. Take Lucas for a ride in wagon
99. Teach Tyler to ride a bike/trike
100. Play a round of golf with Les
101. Play tennis again

The Plan

February 8, 2009 - November 5th, 2011

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 organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.
Why I want to do this: My cousin started a list and then my mom and I decided to follow along. It is a long term goal and not just a 'New Years Resoluction'. Wish me luck!