101 in 1001 My Second Set of Un-New Year Resolutions

This is my second 101 in 1001 bucket list.  As a list person I love the idea of checking things off, compared to creating one or two resolutions that may or may not happen.

My last 101 in 10001 list was made three years ago (posted here) and was a fun way to reach many goals and push myself to check items off my shorter term bucket list. Although I didn't reach all of my goals, I finished over a third of them which is more than I would have done without this list. The goals that I still want to complete from the last list are peppered in here, but most items are new.  

With us being in lockdown because of COVID-19 right now I focused my list on smaller goals I can achieve right now (and celebrating the little things) as well as bigger plans post pandemic. As with last time, I will continue to check off items as I complete them to keep me accountable and to let me see how far I've come.  I hope this helps to inspire some other people as well

 

1. Read 50 Books✔ ✔(Grown-ups Marian Keyes, ✔Handmaids Tale Graphic Novel, ✔You Love Me, Green Witchcraft✔, If You Tell✔, Jaws Peter Benchley✔, Nothing to See Here Kevin White✔), Heartless✔, The 90's Chuck Klosterman✔,  The Break by Marian Keyes✔, Freaks, Geeks, & Asperger's Syndrome✔, State of the Union✔, A Heart that Works✔, A Good Girls Guide to Murder✔, Heartstoppers 1✔, Heartstoppers 2✔, Heartstoppers 3✔, Heartstoppers 4✔ Where the Crawdad Sings✔, The Hangman✔, Such a Fun Age ✔, Just Like You ✔, Rachel Again✔,  Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage.✔, The Friendship Cure✔, For You and You Only✔, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely fine.✔, Fair Play✔, Summer Sisters✔ 
2. Donate blood
3. Visit Ireland
4. Drink at the Guinness Brewery
5. Take a clay sculpting class with Jack
6. Write a book of essays based on this blog✔,
7. Pitch the first 10 years of my blog as a book of essays to publishers✔
8. Get my blog book published
9. Successfully complete the license plate game on a road trip (got 48 states on July 2018 road trip)
10. Run an 8KM race
11. Run a 10KM race
12. Complete the Conqueror Virtual Challenge Appalachian Trails✔
13. Complete the Conqueror Virtual Challenge Pacific Coast Trail✔
14. Complete the Conqueror Virtual Challenge Hadrians Wall (in two weeks)
15. Complete the Conqueror Virtual Challenge Mount Everest (in a week)
16. Buy and hang a display for my Virtual Challenge medals✔
17. Learn how to better use photo shop
18. Hike to a frozen waterfall in the winter
19. Grow my business by 20 percent 
20. Attend an overseas family wedding
21. Read the entire Harry Potter series with Molly  
22. Be able to complete a 3 minute plank
23. Learn to do a Kart Wheel
24. Be able to do a headstand (I was able to do these thanks to a regular Hatha Yoga Class in my 20's but have lost it over the years)
25. Take a nature survivalist class
26. Get professional family photos done at least once a year✔✔✔
27. Take an archery class✔
28. Pay off the remainder of our mortgage ✔
29. Send a message in a bottle (with the kids)
30. Attend a blogger conference
31. Visit 3 new MLB stadiums for games (with Chris)
32. Get an updated professional biography photo each year
33. Run a 5KM colour run
34. 10 pieces of mail for a friend in one month to show them I'm thinking of them (one per year)
35. Get an article or short story published in a prominent magazine
36. Enter a fiction writing contest
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
37. Participate in philanthropy that is Molly and Jack's selection✔ (UKRAINE walk with Molly)
38. Complete 31 days to Building a Better Blog (not necessarily in 31 consecutive days)
39. Finish a childhood photo album for both Molly and Jack
40. Have my Multiple Momstrosity blog reach a million hits
41. Post 100 articles with my new site The Canadianna
42. Take a photo of the same view in all four seasons
43. Visit Central America with the kids✔ Costa Rica April 2023
44. Get more photos of the kids with their grandparents 
45. Get more photos of Chris and I with our parents
46. Celebrate a friend with a really expensive bottle of sparkling wine
47. Visit the Redwood forest
48. Redo the basement bathroom✔
49. Visit The Thousand Islands
50. Go ice fishing
51. Run a trail race
52. Treat my family to a themed dinner and a movie ✔ (Young Guns)
53. Go on a family vacation with my cousin and her girlfriend✔
54. Stay overnight at the ice hotel in Quebec
55. Write 150 blog entries about my life with the kids
56. Practice Hatha Yoga for 30 minutes a week (for a consecutive month)
57. Practice Hatha Yoga for 45 minutes a week (for a consecutive month)
58. Practice Hatha Yoga for 60 minutes a week (for a consecutive month)
59. Practice Hatha Yoga for 75 minutes a week (for a consecutive month)
60. Take the kids on vacation to New York City✔
61. Go on an overnight trip just me and Molly
62. Go on an overnight trip just me and Jack
63. Re-paint the upstairs bedrooms✔
64. Fix trim on main floor painting
65. Fix trim on upstairs hallway painting✔
    
    
    
    
    
    
66. Renovate our kitchen
67. Redo the sink/vanity & toilet for upstairs bathroom✔
68. Hike at Sleeping Giant Park
69. Hike Tunnel Mountain Banff
70. Hike Johnston Canyon Banff
71. Hike Badlands Trail Dinosaur Provincial Park
72. Hike Stawamus Chief (Squamish) BC
73. Hike Helmcken Falls Rim Trail (Wells Grey Provincial Park) BC
74. Hike the Flowerpot Island Loop✔
75. Hike Warsaw Caves Ontario
76. Visit Newfoundland
77. Hike Torque Mountain Ireland
78. Hike Muckross Abbey Loop Ireland
79. Hike The Divis Ridge Trail Ireland
80. Clear sky full moon canoe paddle The Humber River
81. Visit the Grand Canyon
82. Hike in New Mexico
83. Raise $1000 for a charity with the kids
84. Take the entire family snow shoeing
85. Take a story writing class with Molly
86. Help Jack create his first Stop Motion Short
87. Visit an Alpaca Farm for an overnight✔ 
88. Go to Niagara on the Lake with Chris for a post pandemic 15th Anniversary Celebration
    
    
    
    
    
    
89. Take Molly for High Tea✔
90. Host a dinner party with the kids helping me cook✔✔
91. Try traditional Anishnawbe Food✔
92. Buy a New BBQ✔
93. Learn to expertly BBQ two new recipes
94. Enjoy a winterlit night hike with the family✔
95. Hike Elks Falls Provincial Park BC
96. Submit article pitches to 10 new publications✔✔✔✔
97. Learn to drive stick shift
98. Teach Ted to lay down on command✔ - Thank you for your help with this one Alysha
99. Try a game of golf
100. Create a gratitude jar
101. Take the kids to the top of the CN Tower

Hiking The Catskill Mountains

I've always wanted to hike the Catskill Mountains.  Maybe 13 year old me saw Dirty Dancing one too many times, but for whatever reason exploring the trails in Upstate New York has been something I longed to do.  That's one of the many reasons it made my 101 in 1001 bucket list and I was happy to cross it off.  It was a challenging hike and both Chris, I, and the kids huffed and puffed our way up the Kaaterskill Waterfall trail on a hot summer day.  I am so thankful I got to do this and share it with my kids.

Here are 13 tips for hiking the Catskills Kaaterskill Waterfall Trail

People swimming at the base of the waterfall (about half way up the mountain so to speak)

1.  Be prepared to walk along a fairly busy roadway after you park your car to get to the trail head.  Keep your kids close and make sure that oncoming traffic sees you
2. Start early in the day to beat the heat.  Our trail was quite shady, but by the time we were headed to the car (at around noon) it was a scorcher.
   
   

   

   Small Streams Beside the Path

3. Wear proper shoes.  I saw a number of people wearing flip flops on the trail, which would be great for dipping your toes in at the bottom of the waterfall, but not practical for the number of rocks you'll be climbing up and the type of tread you'll need.
4. Bring a backpack to dispose of any snacks you eat on the trail. Although it's a very heavily trafficked trail there are no garbage cans.
   
   
   

   

   Stopping for a water break along the stair portion of the hike

   
   
5. Go to the washroom before you head out.  We learned from personal experience when one of the little ones had to go that it can be hard to find a private space near the trail to take a wee.
6. Sign the hikers registry.  Do it for safety so people know you were on the trail that day and to help let conservationists know that you've enjoyed the trail. No one will know just how may people have benefited from hiking a trail, or just how popular it is if you don't fill out the guest log.
   

   

   The bottom of the staircase part way to the top of the falls

7. Go on a dry day.  I can only imagine how slippery this trail would be after the rain.
8. Try and convince your kids to be quiet on the trail.  During quieter moments we spotted a snake, several chipmunks, and a mouse.
   
   
   

   

   Our Chipmunk Friend Who Molly named Cookie

9. Pay attention to the caution signs, many of these cliffs are without barriers and it's a far drop.  Don't risk your safety for that perfect photo.
10. Pack plenty of water and a snack.
    
    
    

    

    A good reminder to us and the kids to be safe with our steps

11. Bring a change of socks, shirt, and some deodorant if hiking on a hot day and heading somewhere other than a shower afterwards. 
12. Remember - take only pictures, leave only footprints.  Even the hiking stick Molly found was left beside the trail for someone else to enjoy.
13. Hiking is about the journey and the destination.  Take a deep breath and a moment to really experience both

Me  - Victorious at the top of the falls

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My first 101 days of 101 in 1001 - When Resolutions Meet Bucket Lists

I'm a list person.  You should see my day planner, it has hundreds.  There are few things that feel better to me than when I get to cross an item off my to-do list.  Here's the thing - in the everyday, my to-do lists are filled with work and chores and not a lot of big ticket life goal moments, and I wanted to find a way to change that, even if that change was me chipping away at some things a little bit, day by day or month by month.

In December I read an article that really spoke to me about creating a list of 101 things I wanted to accomplish in 1001 days instead of  a more traditional resolution list (check it out in full here).  Yesterday I reached 101 days into this mash up of a bucket list and resolution list and I'm pretty happy with this progress.

Yeah, I know that it's highly unlikely that I'm going to complete every item on this list in less than three years, but I'm going to give it a shot, and for added motivation I thought I'd share what I have managed to complete, to help motivate me to push harder, and what I am planning on tackling next with my next check in being 250 days into my 1001. Some of what I achieved was big, other stuff was smaller tasks, moments, or to-dos that I routinely put off, some is a work in progress that I won't report on until it's complete.

Here's What I've Managed to Cross Off My List So Far - 9 Items

Take the kids to Disney✔ Completed March 2018

This will forever be one of my all time favourite moments, when Molly had to show Cinderella how they both had magic and matching shoes because sparkled high-tops are very royal

Indulge in a scalp massage✔ On February 2, 2018 I had this and it worked wonders on my laptop neck!

Have a pay per view article go viral (and earn me the freelance white whale of $1000)✔ on January 31st, 2018 I broke this record and have received over 2 million hits for this article  

Paint a painting✔ See my blog entry on this here

Run a 12.5 minute mile✔ Completed on February 20, 2018 during mile 3 of a 5 mile run

Walk along the ocean at Myrtle Beach✔ Completed on March 26, 2018

A view from the Myrtle Beach Board Walk on a Blustery Day

Finish Jack's baby book ✔ Completed February 24, 2018

No take out or fast food for a month ✔ Completed on February 28, 2018 and you can read about it here

Take Chris to try Korean BBQ✔ Completed on February 24, 2018

How do you stay motivated to complete your goals?  Stay tuned to find out how I do over the next 149 days this August!

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There's a Hole In My Bucket - Spring Family Bucket List

The minions really loved knocking items off of bucket lists since we started the project last winter, and we've continued it each season.  We seem to struggle the most out of our winter bucket lists, this year only completing 13 out of 23 items!  Most of these items are for the family, but some are for me as an added motivation for my 101 in 1001 goal/bucket list, and since I'm a little late posting this, we've checked a few items off already.

I love bucket lists because the have inspired us to book activities, appreciate what each season has to offer and get out and move, even when we were tempted to just curl up and binge on some Netflix - which when it's cold outside is really easy to do.

Enjoying some of the sweeter moments of last spring

Feel free to steal ideas from our list, and if you have any must see / must do suggestions please let us know so we can keep adding to our own list.  I'll be adding check marks and writing posts as we cross stuff off our list.

1. Learn to ride our bikes
2. Go on an Easter Egg Hunt✔
3. Park or Outdoors clean up day to help celebrate Earth Day✔ 
4. Go on a Scavenger Hunt 
5. Go on two hikes✔
6. Visit Disneyland✔ 
7. Research what to feed ducks and feed the ducks✔
8. Celebrate May the 4th (Star Wars Day)✔
9. Go and see the cherry blossoms at High Park
10. Fly a kite✔ ✔ 
11. Visit one new playground
12. Go for a walk on the beach✔ 
13. Go on a date with each kid while Chris is at a ball game with the other✔✔
14. Visit Pioneer Village for their Princesses and Pirates Festival✔
    
    

    

    A fav climber in Etobicoke

15. Watch A Recorded Version of Wicked (The Musical) with the kids✔
16. Go to an outdoor flea market/craft market/farmers market✔
17. Plan our garden✔
18. Plant our garden✔
19. Try archery (for the adults)
20. Go to Great Wolf Lodge (moved from winter)✔
21. Go to Garage sales✔
22. Host our own garage sale✔
23. Complete an Earth Rangers sponsorship of a salamander and a grey fox
24. Use a fire pit✔✔
25. See Won't You Be My Neighbour in theatres
26. Try new BBQ Recipes
27. Have a picnic✔
28. Jump in muddy puddles

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Painting the Roses Red

This year, in the spirit of both New Year's Resolutions and bucket lists, I started a 101 in 1001 list.  Details on my bucket list/resolutions can be found here.  One of the items I wanted to check off my list was to paint a painting, so to get my list rolling before January is gone the husband and I booked a date night at a sip and paint event place.  We decided to support local and visit Pinot's Palette in the Junction, and walked over Saturday night after dinner.

One of the ideas of this list is to help expand my horizons, do things I've always wanted to do, and in many cases push myself outside of my regular comfort zone.  I think it's important to show the minions that something can be fun and worth trying, even if you aren't that good at it.  My grandmother Alice was a painter, I am not.

Apparently the last Friday in January is typically when most people abandon their New Year's Resolutions...and it's called fail Friday, so it seemed like the perfect day to take on a challenge from my list!  After watching some Bob Ross painting on Netflix, we decided painting a winter cabin would be the perfect selection.  We put on our aprons, grabbed some beer, and followed our instructor's lead.  It was challenging and fun, and I'm glad we did it.

In our festive aprons we're ready to get started!

As we finished our paintings I realized that the last time I painted anything other than a wall in my house I was in grade nine art class.  So, It's been nearly 25 years since I picked up a brush! 

My winter cabin 

Here are Chris & My paintings side by side

While I don't think I'm going to give up my spot at my laptop writing any time soon and host my own art show, painting was fun, rewarding, and relaxing.  Molly has decided that she wants us to hang both eerily similar paintings on the wall above her bed.  So at least we have one fan. 

Stay tuned for some regular updates of some of my more noteworthy list items as I cross them off the list. 

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There's A Hole In My Bucket: Summer Bucket List

The minions really loved knocking items off of bucket lists since we started the project this winter, and continued it into spring.  I'm happy to report that we're getting better at knocking things off of our list and actually managed to complete 18 out of 30 items on our spring bucket list (much better than the 14 we managed on our winter bucket list!   Bucket lists have inspired us to book activities, appreciate what each season has to offer and get out and move, even when we were tempted to just curl up and binge on some Netflix.  Since some of the items are still doable for summer we moved a few from spring over to our summer bucket list that we worked on collectively as a family last night.

This list is designed to get us out there and enjoy everything that summer has to offer; I'm hoping that we keep improving our records and eventually complete all the check marks.

Feel free to steal ideas from our list, and if you have any must see / must do suggestions please let us know so we can keep adding to our own list.  I'll be adding check marks and writing posts as we cross stuff off our list.

Climbing a log on a Father's Day Hike at Tiffany Falls

1. Go and see Despicable Me In Theatres✔
2. Go to a Drive In Movie✔
3. Explore three new playgrounds or parks✔✔✔
4. Fly a kite✔
5. Try using a scooter
6. Ride our bikes (learn to ride a bike)
7. Complete a nature themed scavenger hunt✔
8. Go on three hikes✔
9. Make Toronto beautiful with a park clean up day
10. Have an outdoor garden tea party
11. Go canoeing ✔
12. Have a picnic in the park✔
13. Celebrate Molly & Jack's 6th Birthday✔
14. Visit the ocean✔
15. Collect sea shells✔
    
    

    

    Molly climbing a tree stump on a hike

16. Say hello to a French person in French in Quebec✔
17. Go to the cottage✔
18. Go to Black Creek Pioneer Village
19. Eat food from our garden✔
20. Try new recipes for food from our garden✔
21. Make our own ice cream sundaes
22. Enjoy the sun and lay on the ground to watch the sun and the clouds
23. Make a flower crown out of wild flowers
24. Go to Santa's Village✔
25. Jump in muddy puddles✔
26. Go to a baseball game with daddy✔
27. Go to an outdoor flea market or craft market✔
28. Visit a farm✔
29. Try three new splash pads✔✔✔
30. Read all of the Captain Underpants books (Read 1-10)
31. Read all of the Ivy and Bean books✔
32. Read all of the Bad Guys books✔
33. Read all of the Princess & Black Book Series✔ 
34. Go to Canada's Wonderland✔

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There's A Hole In My Bucket: Our Spring Family Bucket List

The minions really loved knocking items off of our winter bucket list and it definitely inspired us to book stuff and get out and move, even when we were tempted to just curl up and binge on some Netflix.  We didn't do great on our list, but we got out there and tried a lot of new things and knocked 14 of the 30 things off.  Since some of the items are still doable for spring we moved a couple over to our spring bucket list that we worked on collectively as a family last night.

This list is designed to get us out there and enjoy everything that spring has to offer; I'm hoping that we do better on this one than we did on our winter one!

Feel free to steal ideas from our list, and if you have any must see / must do suggestions please let us know so we can keep adding to our own list.  I'll be adding check marks and writing posts as we cross stuff off our to do list.

An oldie but a goodie picture of little Molly enjoying the great outdoors

1. Attend a Maple Syrup Festival✔
2. Plant a garden✔
3. Go and see Beauty & the Beast in Theatres✔
4. Go and see Boss Baby in Theatres✔
5. Go Camping in June✔
6. Go to the Victorian Tea House for a family tea (we hosted our own tea with Nana for Mother's Day) ✔
7. Explore three new playgrounds or parks✔
8. Visit neighbourhood gardens for ideas✔
9. Go and see the cherry blossoms in High Park✔
10. Fly a kite
11. Try using a scooter
12. Ride our bikes (learning to ride a bike)
13. Complete a nature themed scavenger hunt
14. Go on three hikes✔✔
    
    
    
    
    

    

    A moment from an autumn hike

15. Draw a giant rainbow using sidewalk chalk✔
16. Make Toronto beautiful with a park clean up day
17. Enjoy the sun and lay on the ground to watch the sun and the clouds
18. Do family Easter egg hunt✔
19. Make a flower crown out of dandelions
20. Jump in muddy puddles
21. Go to a baseball game with daddy✔
22. Go to an outdoor flea market or craft market
23. Go to garage sales✔
24. Throw stones in the water✔
25. Go for a walk along the water on the lake and beach
26. Make a spring themed rainbow dessert
27. Bust out that BBQ for some grilled food✔
28. Visit a farm
29. Go to the Zoo ✔
30. May the 4th Star Wars Themed Event✔

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Dead Mom Walking

About a year ago I was experiencing a life crisis.  I was in full panic mode about my identity as a person, my career and becoming a mom.  I was also chock-full of hormones and every single commercial aired on TLN was making me cry.

My cousin recently told me about her last visit with our grandmother A in the hospital before she passed away.  My grandmother was in a panic and kept asking my cousin, "What's next?" Her response of, "I don't know grandma, you need to tell me" was poignantly true and a truly beautiful and fitting answer from the baby of our family.  

In the middle of July last year, I was very pregnant and forced to slow down and try to relax before I became a mom.  This "relaxation" time took me away from my work and things that I enjoyed and was good at. It forced me to think about becoming a mom and had me obsessively researching everything that could possibly go wrong during my C-Section.*  It felt like there was no longer anything that I had control over.  I feared not having the "mom instinct" required to take care of our babies.  I just wanted the babies to be born so I could see what was next and figure out how I would become a mom while staying the person that I was.

This is me. Just over 6 months pregnant with the twins before going to my friend C's wedding.

I didn't stay the person that I was. I'm a mom now and once I arrived at that realization I found that I'm happy about it and wouldn't trade it for anything. 

Here we are, a year later and I'm about to hit a new change in my life come mid-September.  I'm going from full-time mom to working mom and I feel guilty and terrified already.**  I recognize that each and every mom goes through this.  Chris had to deal with this transition just two weeks after the kids were born, but lets be honest, they were pretty boring then, all they did was sleep and eat and cry.

When I was first off with the minions, time seemed to go on forever and days dragged, especially in the first 6 months and when Molly had colic.  Now that the kids are a year old, and I only have 4 weeks left of leave, time is speeding up at a pace that has me feeling a different type of panic.  I am Dead Mom Walking. 

Suddenly I am motivated to connect with all of my mom friends at least one more time while we're still off together.  I'm looking up recipes to stock the freezer so come September my evenings can be spent with my kids rather than cooking.  I am researching and heading out to mom friendly coffee shops and activities, all things that I was lukewarm about just a couple of months ago.  I have filled a giant bucket list of things to do before our lives all change again.  I even booked all of my remaining vacation time before I return to work to ensure that I have at least 1 or 2 extra days a month at home with the kids (including almost 2 weeks in December) to stay connected, where I will plan super-mom activities.  Guilt induced, super-mom activities.

I can't say that there aren't going to be tears about this next transition, from Molly and me (I honestly doubt that Jack will cry).  I'm going to try to turn this "What's next?" into a curious and happy question about the next step of our lives as a family.***

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*The drama provided in all of those afternoon real life/birth stories shows I was watching each and every afternoon weren't exactly helping my pre-birth anxiety.  

**Especially since Molly's separation anxiety clicked in.  Twist that knife a little deeper fate, there is no sound worse than those Don't leave me mom sobs.

***That is until I become a best selling author and am able to work from home every day.