New Year's Fresh Starts and Things To Accomplish Before I'm 40

I remember remarking a year or so back that New Year's resolutions are silly and that resolutions should be made all year long.  Though I do agree with this sentiment, partially, there is something nice about a complete fresh start.  The last week in December I've been figuring out how I want to deal with New Year's resolutions for 2018.  Weight loss?  Ah, yes.  Learning new languages? Kinda sidestepped last year, will be better focused this year.  Music goals? Still a ton.

Also during Christmas and News Years I binged the last 2 seasons of Fuller House on Netflix.  Grew up on the show and it's been fun seeing what the Full House gang is up to.  The character DJ pulls out a vision picture board of all the things she wanted to accomplish by 40.  What a cool idea!  And then I realized I'm going to be 40 in 4 1/2 years . . . 0_0

Also a while back I once did a 101 goals in 1001 days.  It was fun, but I accomplished about 15%.  15% is better than 0%!!  Just throwing that out there.  My 40th B-day is a little over 1500 days from now in 2022. 

So now I'm coming up with some goals, my by 40 bucket list.  And every New Years I'll reevaluate and base New Year's goals on where I am each year with my bucket list.

One thing I do want to do this year is write a poem every week starting this week till the end of the year.  I haven't written a poem in over a year!  A poem that's not tied to songs I'm working on.  That part of me needs to come out more.  It wants to; I keep stifling it.

Other things I want to do this year is start tapping again.  As in Tap dancing.  Get a portable tap dance board and follow along with lessons on YouTube.  Highland dance is another thing I need to start taking seriously.  Goal: get a dancing kilt and full outfit by the end of the year.  Then there's learning French, Japanese, and Irish.  I've got Duolingo and book goals with these languages.  Start uploading music on YouTube again.  Haven't done that in a REALLY long time.  And get comfortable composing game songs and jazz songs.

The last major goal, or goals, is to get virtual reality games uploaded on Steam with my siblings.  We're finishing up a game next week, and it takes a few weeks approval from Steam.  (I don't really know what that all means; that's what my brothers have told me.)

Oh!  And I did sign up to do a 1000 mile challenge this year from I Love To Run along with my Gryffindor team at Hogwarts Running Club and Companion Team on Whovian Running Club.  Multiple accountability.  I did 27 miles last week.  And this week I'm aiming for 30.

But mostly I want these goals to be a good variety.  Some easily attainable.  Some beyond my wildest dreams.  Self improvement.  Adventures.  New Skills.  Health.  Etc.

A lot can be done by 2022.

101 Goals in 1001 Days Revisited; What I Actually Accomplished

I didn't realize my 1001 days were up!!  March 4, 2013 through November 27, 2015. Wow, how time flies.  So how did I do?  I only accomplished 13 of them, but that's still 13!  Not zero!! 13 out of 101 = 13%, if you round up: 13/101 = 0.1287. And some of the goals I accomplished are filled with incredible memories which I wouldn't have at all if I didn't set these goals.

1. Enter a Music Writing Contest

I entered a music writing contest in 2013 by submitting the song "How Do I Feel the Spirit" to the church music contest under the children's song category.  I didn't win or place, but got a nice letter of rejection in response.  My first rejection letter. I've got to start somewhere.  I do want to expand the song as both a solo piece and full choral piece.  That would be a good project.

2. Get An Original Music Video Online

This was quite the project!!!  And it wouldn't have been possible if I didn't have the help of two of my brothers Robbie and Steven.  I wrote lyric and melody.  Steven and I arranged it, with Steven splashing together all those cool sounds.  Robbie directed and storyboard the video, coming up with cool shot ideas, and then edited the whole thing.  Steven did all the fancy graphics.  My only cringe of complaint is in the chorus where the vocals suddenly get louder then needed; I think we discovered that it was caused by accidentally layering the voice.  It's also why I haven't put the single up for download, because I want to fix it, but Steven and I couldn't figure out how.  I might have to rerecord it, along with finally getting the piano arrangement version out, which would be a good 2016 goal!!!

Here's a behind the scenes video, with arrangement track only.

3. Eat 1 treat or less a day for 3 months

The whole idea of one treat or less comes from the fact that I love treats way too much, and one treat allows the indulgence without the overeating or depriving.  Thing is, I didn't just do the Eat 1 treat or less goal, I went an entire 3 months not eating any sweats, muffins, cereal, etc!!!  At all.  It was quite an accomplishment.

And then I developed bad habits again -_-;;  I'm a work in progress.

4. Do a Ropes Course

 I went camping with some church friends a couple years ago, and this was the first stage in the ropes course.  We had two courses to chose from, and I went for the easier option.  I'm really scared of heights!!!  Like, I hyperventilated the entire time.  Oh my gosh, I was so scared!  You have no idea.  But I did it :0)

5. Ride the Lift at Sundance and Go on a Hike

 

 This last Summer I rode the Sundance ski lift all the way to the top.  I don't know if what I did can count as a hike.  I walked around and enjoyed the AMAZING sights!  That counts.  Heh.  But the views really are amazing.  And anyone who lives here in Utah has to try it.  There's a point on the platform next to the restaurant--they have really yummy nachos and turkey sandwiches--where you can see both Utah Lake and Deer Creek Reservoir, all in one spot, looking left then right.  It's really gorgeous.  Oh, and the cell reception is the best in the valley because there's a cell tower up there.

6. Send a postcard to myself each month for a year

It seemed silly at first when I decided it would be fun to buy postcards, write a note on it, and then mail it to myself, even in the same city.  As in I drove two miles to drop the postcard off at the Post Office and then waited two days to get it back.  Sounds really silly.  But now I have all these postcards from trips and other adventures sitting in a special box.  It's such a fun way to journal, and looking at the postcards and stamps I've collected is really fun.

7. Receive my 100th Postcard through Postcrossing

When I first started Postcrossing the idea of getting 100 postcards seemed like a crazy high number.  By November 27, 2015 I didn't receive 100 postcards.  I've received over 500 postcards!!  From over 40 different countries.  And I'm still getting postcards.

8. Get a passport

I had a passport when I was a kid, but it was expired by the time I graduated High School.  I wrote down this goal because I really want to travel, and this was the first step.  Sometimes the hardest step to take is the first, which is why it's one of the most important steps when achieving a goal.

9. Visit Another Country

 I visited Japan!!!  That was an incredible goal accomplished.

Here's all the blog posts I've written about this trip thus far.  I still have 3 or so more posts I want to write.

Enoshima, aka Tri Force Island, Part 1, Enoshima Sea Candle, Enoshima Island Part 2, Japan, Enoshima Island, Iwaya Caves and Tide pools, Japan, Walking About Shibuya, Tokyo Japan, Day 2, Eating Steak While Standing in Shibuya Tokyo, Ikinari Steak, Tokyo Disney Sea, Part 1, Japan, Tokyo Disney Sea, Part 2, Japan, The Unique Tokyo Disney Sea Rides, Halloween at Tokyo Disney Sea, 2015,  A Japanese Meander and Kamakura, Japan Day 4, Meiji Shrine, Japan, Day 5 Part 1, Asakusa, Kaminarimon gate and Senso-ji Temple, Japan Day 5, Part 2, Tokyo Skytree, Seeing Tokyo City in the Most Amazing Way, Final Stop on Day 5, Japan, The Confusing Trash Situation in Japan, The Contrasting Toilets of Japan

It was amazing :0)

10. Visit Yellowstone

 In 2014 I visited Yellowstone.  Many years before I had visited the Grand Tetons, which are amazing, and only West Thumb in Yellowstone.  I wanted to return so badly, just to see all the natural wonders.  Walking on top a super volcano is really cool.

Watching Old Faithful with my Niece

11. Visit Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde!!  A long time ago, when traveling on another trip, I picked up a collection of brochures.  And one of the brochures was all about Mesa Verde.  As soon as I saw a picture of Cliff Palace I knew I had to visit!  And I'm so glad my brothers, sister-in-law, and I were able to make the trip.

Cliff Palace was amazing.  Petroglyph trail a highlight.  Balcony House scared me to death: That last climb!  It's an amazing place to visit.

On Our Way to Mesa Verde, Petroglyph Point Trail in Mesa Verde National Park, Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park, Balcony House in Mesa Verde National Park, Spruce Tree House Tour in Mesa Verde, Mesa Top Loop Road at Mesa Verde

12: Have a Game Night

 Having a Mine Craft LAN party totally counts, right?

13. Ride the Heber Valley Railroad

 Riding the Heber Valley railroad was just a really fun thing I wanted to do.  The train, for this voyage, only went to Deer Creek and back.  I really want to ride it again, but this time to Vivian Park and back.  And try one of their theme nights.  I wonder if they're going to do a mystery train this Summer.  Solving a mystery while riding the train sounds really fun.

And those are the 13 goals I accomplished!  Now I need to plan out another 101 goals, including many I didn't accomplish last time.  If I start the next set of goals on Saturday January 16th, 2015, then it would end on October 13, 2018.  These next few years are going to be crazy.  Got to have some good things to look forward to :0)

101 Goals in 1001 Days, Take Two

Back in January my Sister-in-law Krista introduced me to the Day Zero website, where you aim to make 101 goals that you'll accomplish in 1001 days.  It's a 3 year bucket list.  Back then I spent several weeks planning out perfectly what my 101 goals should be.  I was meticulous, but overwhelmed, and not honest with myself with what I really wanted.  There was a problem of making some of the goals too big, like learn 500 Japanese Kanji.  So, in many ways, I didn't allow myself a chance for succuss.  I did complete 14 goals before giving up, so it wasn't all bad.

Recently I decided to reevaluate my list and start anew, and decided that my greatest chance for success was to keep many of my goals private, so that I can create a list more honest to what I need at this point in my life.  And I devised a way to keep myself on track.

This time around I typed out my goals into categories.  As I'm working on a goal I'll keep track of the details on regular lined paper, but as soon as I finish a goal, I'm going to type out a journal like entry about my experience, what I learned, and maybe include some pictures.  Even with all this I still may not be able to finish all the goals, but if that happens those goals will bump over to the next 1001 days, which will start June 2, 2015.

Some of the goals I'm working on:
Read 6 Young Adult/Young Reader book series
Read 100 Sci-fi/Fantasy Short-Stories
Learn Amigurumi
Learn Wire Art Jewelry
Compose an Original 8-bit Song
Learn to Edit Videos
Take a Cooking Class
Attend a New Exercise Class
Make a Visual Goal College
Have an Original Star Wars Marathon
Lean the JLPT N5 Kanji
Visit Another Country
Etc

This time around I'm going to have fun with this!  And learn a lot at the same time:0)

Sarah

101 goals in 1001 days, and the 1st day of my 365 Day Photo Challenge

(Day 1 of the 365 day challenge)

Day 1 in my 365 Day Photo challenge. This year I didn't create a list of New year Resolutions, instead, a few months ago, I put together a list of 101 goals I plan to accomplish in the next 1001 days. As of today I have 887 days left with 10 goals completed, but since first starting the list I kept rearranging and changing goals. Today I decided to sit down and finalize the 101 goals, knowing that from here on out there would be no more changing a goal to some new obsession or some silly new task.

I went to www.dayzeroproject.com and started browsing other peoples goals to get ideas, and found out about the 365 day photo challenge, where, for the next year, I'll take a picture everyday of whatever fits my fancy. It sounds really fun, and it will be awesome sitting down a year from now and go through all the shots, reminiscing.

The picture at the top is of my most favorite craft store which is closing next week, a few months after Borders, my most favorite book store, closed. Seems like an awful, sad trend. I picked up a bunch of scrapbook paper. It's really quite depressing walking through the store, seeing how its grown so empty.

Here is the final 101 goals I'm working on! I have till the middle of June 2014 to finish them all. I underlined the goals I've finished.

1 Read the standard works in one year
2 Do a ropes course
3 Don't eat fast food for a month.
4 Achieve a 2nd High Achievement Institute certificate
5 Download a RiffTrax track (I downloaded Avatar: The Last Airbender. I was hoping the track would improve the sad, catastrophic mess of a movie. It did, slightly. It's still a sad, catastrophic mess of a movie. Let's pretend it never happened.)
6 Cook something from one of my cooking magazines
7 Attend a cooking class
8 Learn how to crochet
9 Attend an exercise class everyday for a week
10 Once a month for a year send a postcard to myself about something fun I did
11 Sell something on Etsy
12 Visit the Timpanogos Cave
13 Visit the Kennecott Copper mine
14 Earn a Ham Radio license
15 Get a passport
16 Run in a 5k
17 Attend my first yoga class
18 Get out of debt
19 Do a Maze
20 Write my personal history
21 Put together a family history book with stories
22 Have one or less treat a day for three months
23 Make a scrapbook
24 Don't weigh myself for 1 month
25 Scan and organize old family photos
26 Digitize VHS family videos
27 Interview my grandparents and type out transcript
28 Complete a 365 day photo challenge
29 Get an original music video online
30 Do a Japanese version of an original song
31 Have an original Star Wars marathon
32 Attend a dance class
33 Visit another country
34 Visit Mesa Verde
35 Get a graphic novel started online
36 Get through all 60 lessons on Spanishdict.com
37 Finish the beginning/Intermediate Living Language Japanese series
38 Finish the beginning/Intermediate Living Language French series
39 Go down the Provo River (My brother and I checked out the Halloween Provo River Cruise back in October. It was fun, cheesy, and a whole lot colder then the wonderful, warm, strange weather we've had these last couple days.)
40 Go to a midnight premier showing of a movie
41 Make a music playlist for exercising 
42 Learn Iris Folding
43 Go to the Quarry (indoor rock climbing)
44 Visit a hot spring
45 Buy flowers for myself for no reason
46 Have a board game night (The new credit card version of Monopoly is so much more fun, and faster then the original. 'Nuff said.)
47 Meditate daily for 30 days
48 Go to a local Farmers Market
49 Learn to play the guitar
50 Learn to draw
51 Get and stay organized for a month
52 Read 100 books
53 Learn to play 50 Hymns
54 Learn to play 10 final fantasy piano pieces
55 Make a wire art necklace
56 Paint a piece of art
57 Keep a food diary for three months
58 Learn 500 Japanese kanji
59 See the tulips at Thanksgiving Point
60 Complete a cross-stitch project
61 Don't log into facebook for a whole week! (It was hard, but I did it!!)
62 Ride the Heber Valley Railroad
63 Write in my journal everyday for 3 months
64 Take a hymn that isn’t copyrighted and do a choral arrangement
65 Watch the sunrise on New Year’s Day (I did this a couple days ago, having heard that it's a Japanese tradition. There is something wonderfully symbolic in it.)
66 Learn to compose 8-bit music
67 Learn to edit videos
68 Read 200 short stories
69 Learn all the Japanese kana
70 Buy a new swimsuit
71 Eat at 10 new restaurants
72 Read on the beach (I did this a couple months ago on the Ventura beach. Amazing.)
73 Go to the Opera
74 Go to a local theater production
75 Build a snowman family
76 Get down to my goal weight
77 Clean out my email inbox
78 Learn the Star Constellations
79 Attend a Comedy Sportz performance
80 Read Petite Nicholas in French and understand it
81 Visit a new State
82 Publish an ebook
83 Compose a complete musical fireside
84 Receive postcards from 20 different countries through Postcrossing
85 Visit Yellowstone
86 Learn to bake 5 different types of cookies
87 Memorize a favorite poem
88 Attend a cultural festival
89 Enter a writing contest
90 During the Spring/Summer ride a skii lift and go on a hike
91 Listen to 20 Academy Award winning or nominated soundtracks
92 Finish a nanowrimo novel (I did it! Ha!)
93 Go out dancing
94 Make a wish at 11:11 a.m. on November 11, 2011 (How often are we going to live through a date like this? Never again. I wanted to pause and relish the moment . . . and make a secret wish in the process. It's got to be luckier then wishing on a star, right?)
95 Make something I see on Pinterest
96 Read a Japanese manga back-to-front and understand it
97 Make a visual goal collage
98 Play a new board game (See #46. Okay, technically it's a new version of a classic . . . so I'm kind of stretching this one . . . I'll rethink it. I can always use an excuse to buy more games.)
99 Watch every Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis episode
100 Create a stop-motion short
101 Write a letter to myself to open at the end of the 1001 days

Always,
Sarah