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

Paperback Writer - Sharing My Writing From Other Sites

It's been a while since I shared some of my writing from other sites and publications...So I hope that something hear interests you, teaches you something, or even inspires you to try something new.  

I continue to be inspired by the fantastic team I get to work with, and the fantastic people I meet in my work as Managing Editor and Writer for Future Female Magazine.  The fall issue is fresh off the presses (does that apply if it's online?) and is about goals...Please check it out and share it with your friends, coworkers, and some other fantastic real Canadian people!

Today for my full-time job I write and ghostwrite articles for online publications, organizations and blogs, in addition to providing public relations services.  While I can't really share my ghostwritten articles on this platform, cause then I wouldn't really be a ghostwriter would I, I can share some of the other stuff I have been working on.  

Click on the links for the topics that interest you most, and if you enjoy what I wrote please share, like, and follow, and keep parenting and reading on!  If you have any ideas for a story, a playground review, or article on any front, feel free to shout it out!  I'm always looking for new sources of inspiration!

Image Courtesy of Kat Leroux, Future Female Magazine

Future Female Magazine  

Click Below To Read The Following Inspiring Articles by me! Or click here to enjoy the entire issue and fantastic articles about and by other fierce Canadian women!

Modern Feminism Medieval Style - Interview with the Queens from Medieval Times Toronto

Interview with Chanile Vines

Photo by Kat Leroux Courtesy of Future Female Magazine

How to Go From Couch Potato to Goal Busting Athlete

Goals & Bucket Lists, Moving Beyond Resolutions

5 Minutes to Fabulous Hair Beyond the Ponytail

Image Courtesy of Future Female Magazine, Photography by Kat Leroux

Frittatas & Friendship Served up With Gals That Brunch

Goals & Bucket Lists, Moving Beyond Resolutions

Pregnancy

Image Courtesy of Babygaga

What Being Pregnant Really Feels Like

20 Things That Can Be Predicted About Baby Before They're Born 

Parenting

2018's Five Best Educational Toys for Kids 10 & Under

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99 Red Balloons (plus 2) 101 in 1001 - A Year Without A New Year Resolution

I am a list person, and I had a very specific New Year's Resolution, or more of a goal, in mind for 2018. I've been setting monthly distance running goals for two months now and have successfully completed both, including running over 64 miles in the month of December.  I wanted to set a goal for running for 2018, to run 800 miles total for the year, which I'm still going to do, but I want it to be a part of something even bigger and a lot more fun.

Today I read  an article about creating a 101 in 1001 list instead of a traditional New Year's resolution list.  Basically it's a combination of 101 goals and bucket list items to be completed in 1001 days (so around two and three quarter years).  Since I'm about to celebrate a major milestone in 2018 (the big 40) I thought it would be very timely and more fun than a resolution list.

I am well aware that it's very unlikely that I get to knock every item off of this list, but it will be fun getting there.  I will add check marks when I complete something and enter the date that I complete it, and write some entries on some of them as well.  Here we go! This list is in no particular order.  I hope I inspire others towards not just meeting goals, but sharing things and pursuing some dreams!

Cheers to the things I'll complete before September 28, 2020!

1. Run 800 miles in a single year
   (Progress: ran 75.44 miles in January 2018, ran 75.76 miles in February 2018, Ran 58.01 miles in March 2018, ran 59.94 miles in April 2018, ran 60.93 miles in May, ran 45.91 miles in June)
2. Write a children's story about and for Molly & Jack
3. Take the kids to Disney✔ Completed March 2018
4. Donate blood
5. Successfully complete the license plate game on a road trip (got 48 states on July 2018 road trip)
6. Indulge in a scalp massage✔ On February 2, 2018 I had this and it worked wonders on my laptop neck!
7. Run 1000 miles in a single year
8. 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
9. Run an 8KM race
10. Run a 10KM race
11. Have a big 40th birthday bash✔
12. Learn how to better use photo shop
13. Grow my business by 20 percent in one year
14. Go hiking in the Catskill Mountains✔ Completed on July 12, 2018
15. Read the entire Harry Potter series with Molly and Jack (read book one with Molly and half of book 2)
16. Be able to complete a 3 minute plank
17. Learn to do a Kart Wheel
18. 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)
19. Go horseback riding with Molly and Jack✔ Completed August 10, 2018
20. Take a nature survivalist class
    
    
    

    

    
    

21. Get professional family photos that I love
22. Take an archery class
23. Swim at the bottom of a waterfall
24. Make a balloon payment on our mortgage
25. Send a message in a bottle (with the kids)
26. Paint a painting✔ See my blog entry on this here
27. Attend a blogger conference
28. Create a strategic business plan
29. Read Anne of Green Gables with Molly✔
30. Visit 5 new MLB stadiums for games (with Chris)✔ PNC Park July 2018
31. Get a professional biography photo I love
32. Run a 5KM colour run
33. Go to the outdoor movies in the summer for a picnic✔ August 13, 2018 - Before Sunrise in Christie Pitts Park
34. 10 pieces of mail for a friend in one month to show them I'm thinking of them (one per year)
35. Go on a special family vacation to celebrate my 40th
36. Get an article or short story published in a prominent magazine
37. Frame and hang my Alice in Wonderland prints
38. Write a fictional short story
39. Write a fictional novella
40. Grow my business by 25 percent in a year
41. Clean out the spare room closet✔
42. Use my office as an office to better divide freelance life and home life
43. Indulge in a professional cleaner for our house (just once)
44. Get published in a prominent newspaper (article or short story)
45. Participate in philanthropy that is Molly and Jack's selection
46. Complete 31 days to Building a Better Blog (not necessarily in 31 consecutive days)
47. See But I'm A Cheerleader on Broadway
48. Go on a date to see classical music in the Casa Loma Garden✔
49. Run a 12.5 minute mile✔ Completed on February 20, 2018 during mile 3 of a 5 mile run
50. Walk along the ocean in Myrtle Beach✔ Completed on March 26, 2018
51. Annual girls spa weekend to reconnect with friends✔
52. Finish Jack's baby book ✔ Completed February 24, 2018
53. Create a 3-7 year old photo album for both Molly and Jack
54. Get a croquet set and play croquet with the kids✔  Given to me by my parents on August 10th, 2018, played with M& J on August 14, 2018
55. Save up $1000 in coins and spend it on something indulgent for me
56. Run a 12 minute mile✔
57. Invest in a good camera✔
58. Learn to grow my brand/business using Instagram✔
59. Have my blog reach a million hits
60. Go on a winery tour/tasting with friends
61. Buy the perfect little black dress
62. Go Geocaching with the kids
63. Save up $1000 in coins and spend it on something indulgent for the family
64. Take a photo of the same view in all four seasons
65. Teach the kids how to tie their shoelaces
66. Celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary with something special
67. Visit Central America with the kids
68. Teach the kids how to fish (take them fishing) - Molly has been taught by Chris
69. Get eyelash extensions for a special event✔
70. Get more photos of the kids with their grandparents (Trip to Disney March 2018 some)
71. Run a 11.5 minute mile
    
    
    

    

    
    

72. Get more photos of Chris and I with our parents
73. Learn how to curl my hair with my straightening iron✔ achieved September 14, 2018
74. Go to a class to learn something new with the kids
75. Celebrate a friend with a really expensive bottle of sparkling wine
76. Run a 11 minute mile
77. See Vampire Weekend in concert  June 5, 2019✔
78. Join and play in an co-ed fun sports league
79. Treat the family to a special meal of cornish game hens
80. Find the perfect meal of beef wellington
81. No take out or fast food for a month ✔ Completed on February 28, 2018
82. Go on an annual date day with each kid one on one
83. Read Lemony Snicket Series to/with the kids (Book 1 - February 3, 2018, Book 2 - February 23, 2018 Book 3 - March 24, 2018, Book 4 May 10, 2018), 
84. Go out west to visit Chris's grandmother
85. Visit Redwood forest
86. Save $1000 in coins and spend it all on charity
87. Redo the basement bathroom
88. Visit The Thousand Islands
89. Go snowshoeing ✔ Completed January 19, 2019 
90. Go ice fishing
91. Take Chris to try Korean BBQ✔ Completed on February 24, 2018
92. Hike the Elora Gorge Trail✔ Hiked May 26, 2018
93. Donate and reduce 2 garbage bags of clutter each month for a year ✔  (done more in a big chunk thanks to Marie Kondo
94. Run a trail race
95. Treat my family to a themed dinner and a movie (at least one per year)
96. Get myself professionally measured for a bra
97. Go on a family vacation with my cousin and her girlfriend
98. Run a 10 minute mile
99. Stay overnight at the ice hotel in Quebec
100. Write 200 blog entries about my life with the kids
101. Teach the kids to ride their bikes

Anything you'd add?  Did I inspire you to write a list?  Let me know, I'd love to hear it.  

Running Down A Dream

About a year ago I noticed that my body was getting extra doughy thanks to my sedentary life as a freelancer.  It's easy to skip a meal and then eat an extra portion at dinner or sit chained to my laptop all day when a deadline is looming.  Back when I was commuting into work, those little walks to the bus stop, to the subway, and around at lunch added up towards my daily step count.  Now that I'm at home working most of the time my step count to and from the bathroom isn't as mighty as it once was.

This bothered me and I knew it was time for a change. I want to be a role model to my kids, and being healthy is a part of this. I have all of this flexibility as a freelancer which is great for kid pick-up, appointments, and the numerous other errands I can fit into my day, but I wasn't spending any of it on myself.  Then I remembered how much I missed running, something I used to do all the time before I was put on bed rest when I was pregnant with Molly and Jack - which was years ago. I wrote about getting started running again earlier this year, along with my very slow building love for running here.

Image courtesy of Pinterest

Fast forward 11 months and one 5KM run completed on my birthday later and I figured it was time to begin challenging myself further with my running. I run several times a week on a very regular basis, and see progress.  I track my distances, but with no real end goal beyond debating an 8KM or 10KM in spring of 2018. While many of the changes in my body aren't noticeable to the eye, I see and feel changes every day.  I see changes in the way I'm able to run after the kids, the muscles in my calves and legs, and the energy I have to really tackle a work assignment after taking a runch (running lunch break).  As necessary in the world of freelance, I am a very deadline driven person, so I decided to apply this to my running to help make it even more of a priority in my life.  I decided that I was going to run 50 miles over the month of November, and today, a day before my deadline, (under-promise, over-deliver - is a work motto of mine) I logged 50.44 miles over a series of 17 runs.

Some runs this month were triumphant where I clocked some of my best mile times ever.  Others were painful and slow and I didn't want to get started, but I completed them and I'm happy that I did.

Image courtesy of Etsy

One of the things I love about running is the progress I can see and how my body becomes capable of things that it couldn't even dream about doing just a few weeks earlier.

Now that I'm riding high on my last challenge completed, I wanted to raise the stakes, particularly since my one year runiversary is coming up (that's a real word right?).  In the month of December I am going to run 60 miles.  I mean I have an extra day to get it done, after all and there isn't any additional temptation to drink eggnog instead, right?

So now I've done it, I've said it and no matter what happens I'm accountable virtually and to myself.

What inspires you?

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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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