101 in 1001: My List of Things to Do July 2, 2008

I am going to undertake the 101 in 1001 challenge — coming up with 101 goals or tasks to complete in 1001 days. You’ll see updates on the blog of when I complete an item on the list, most likely accompanied by photos to prove it, when I can! :)

By making my list public, I am not only keeping myself accountable to actually DO the tasks, but challenging all of you to create your own lists and share! Some are little goals, some are huge life tasks…but all will help me to push myself a little bit more over the next 1001 days to be a better wife, friend, daughter, photographer and woman. Any suggestions and encouragement for completing these tasks are definitely welcome.

So, here we go:

Erica’s 101 in 1001 List

Start date: July 3, 2008

End date: March 31, 2011

Family Goals

1. Buy a house (Yay!! 12/5/08)

2. Take photos of all of our immediate family members (Finished: Jacob, Justin and Leslie, Dad and Suzanne, Alison and Chris. To Take: Mom and Greg, Jim and Jeri)

3. Schedule a play-date for Petey, our miniature schnauzer

4. Convert family home videos to DVD (2/8/09)

5. Spend a weekend with Jacob

6. Visit my dad in Portland (8/21, 8/22, 8/23)

7. Make my mom and Greg take a vacation or weekend getaway

8. Visit Jeff’s grandma in Mansfield, Missouri (8/31/08)

9. Build up our savings account

10. See Justin and Leslie more often

 

Wifely Duties

11. Have professional portraits taken of Jeff and I

12. Go to a St. Louis Cardinals game with Jeff (9/6/08)

13. Plan a surprise for Jeff

14. Get an album made with our wedding photos (11/6/08)

15. Have a picnic together (8/20/09 – in Central Park)

16. Take a weekend trip away from city life

17. Write a love letter

18. Watch a scary movie with Jeff — he loves them…I don’t (10/18/08 — The Ring)

19. Play golf together

20. Take more walks with Petey and Jeff

 

Business To-Dos

21. Become a completely full-time photographer

22. Print photos on canvas (12/08 …and more to come!)

23. Read 3 books that will benefit my business (1/3 – The Last Lecture)

24. Send out anniversary cards to past photography clients

25. Create an organized home office

26. Develop a welcome packet for wedding clients

27. Network with Kansas City area photographers

28. Become a member of a photography group, club or organization (12/11/08 WPPI, Wedding and Portrait Photographers International)

29. Attend a photography workshop or conference (8/18/08, Free to Succeed)

30. Get ericamay photography on the preferred vendor list at a local venue (8/2009 – Circle S Ranch… amazing venue!)

31. Mentor an aspiring photographer (1/20/09)

32. Improve my calendar/schedule-making methods (9/9/08)

33. Implement a new budgeting/payment tracking system (7/24/08: QuickBooks Online)

34. Take photos in at least 15 states (11 – Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, New York)

35. Buy the Nikkor 24-70 2.8 lens (8/26/08)

36. Buy the Nikkor 70-200 2.8 lens (7/16/08)

37. Buy the Tokina 11-16 2.8 lens (8/5/08)

38. Buy another flash (9/15/08 — Nikon Speedlight)

39. Order custom M&M’s for my business to use as gifts

40. Send photos to vendors after we work together

41. Take more photos of babies and children

42. Create a new digital filing system

43. Get rid of our old desktop computers (11/26/08)

44. Choose my all-time favorite photographic hero (8/13/08, Dorothea Lange)

45. Incorporate more story-telling elements into my blog

46. Create an official workflow checklist for post-processing (4/9/09 – Thanks to Shootq!)

47. Outsource more of my post-processing work

48. Try a new source of paid advertising

49. Find good music for my website

 

Cooking Projects

50. Learn how to make homemade noodles (7/12/09 – recipe in the blog post!)

51. Try 10 new recipes (5/10)

52. Bake homemade puppy treats for Petey and friends

53. Grow my own tomatoes

54. Learn how to make sushi

55. Bake something for my coworkers (strawberry and lemon cupcakes, 7/25/08)

56. Make a dessert dish from scratch

57. Cook breakfast for Jeff at least once a month

58. Skip fast food for one week (10/5/08 – 10/11/08)

59. Bake a cake using the multi-layer Betty Crocker system that I bought on impulse

 

Friendly Tasks

60. Mail a personal letter every week for 10 weeks

61. Have a girls’ weekend retreat

62. Host a fancy dinner party for friends

63. Host a “favorite kid food” dinner party for friends

64. Dog-sit Nigel more often (Nigel moved to Springfield… :( Petey misses you!)

65. Have a night out with Kasie (2/20/09)

66. Organize a board game tournament for friends

67. Call or visit a friend I haven’t seen in at least a year (11/12/08)

 

Travel Dreams

68. Visit the Carolinas

69. Travel internationally

70. Send 5 postcards through www.postcrossing.com

71. Get my feet wet in the Pacific Ocean (8/22/08 – Oregon Coast)

72. Go camping (Labor Day weekend 2008)

73. Give Branson, Missouri, another try

74. Take a weekend road trip and photo-document every detail

75. Stay at a Bed & Breakfast or hotel in the Kansas City area – observe the city like a tourist

 

Service Projects

76. Work on a missions project/go on a mission trip

77. Send an Any Soldier, Inc. package

78. Donate 10,000 grains of rice on www.freerice.com (12/24/08)

79. Make improvements to the Kansas HOBY program (6/11-6/14/09 )

80. Partner on a project with City Union Mission

81. Do at least 3 Operation: Love Reunited sessions (7/7/08, 1/18/09, 2/21/09)

82. Buy an Angel Tree gift at Christmas time

 

Personal Growth/Make Me Happy Items

83. Read the Bible all the way through

84. Take a break from the Internet for an entire weekend

85. Turn off the TV for 48 hours

86. Go to a concert (Cool Hand Luke, 7/7/08, Copeland 4/7/09)

87. Read the news every day for one month

88. Visit an orchard and pick fresh fruit

89. Write a letter to a former teacher

90. Watch the sunrise (8/23/08 – on the Oregon coast)

91. Watch the sunset

92. Keep fresh flowers in my home for an entire month (7/6/09-8/6/09)

93. Try that banana milk and a new cupcake variety at BabyCakes (7/18/09 – banana cupcake!)

94. Learn how to change a tire

95. Purchase an original piece of art (8/1/08 – ceramics from Archival Designs)

96. Get a massage (10/26/08 – Denver, Colorado)

97. Write a letter to someone I’ve never met who inspires me

98. Get rid of old and irrelevant e-mail messages in all inboxes

99. Take daily vitamins once a day for an entire month (and beyond!)

100. Get new glasses

101. Order a Big Mac (8/26/08)