Hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas.

Dave and I spent Christmas in Indiana with my family.  All six siblings, plus their respective significant others were in town, which is a rare occurrence.  As you can see, my parents purchased a very large tree to celebrate the occasion.  Having everyone together was crazy, and lots of fun.  We maintained our sanity by staying at a hotel.

We celebrated New Year’s Eve in Chicago with my sister Amy and her husband, my sister Maggie who is staying with us for a while, and my brother Michael.  Maggie helped me make cabbage rolls for dinner, and Michael hosted the party with champagne toasts and everything.  We actually spent most of the evening in a very heated game of Settlers of Catan.  We did, however, take a break to properly ring in the midnight hour.

All told, the holidays were busy and great.  It was really wonderful to visit with my whole family.  Insults were flying the whole week, of course, but no one ended with a black eye,  so I’m going to call the holidays a success overall.

Happy New Year!

#1 – Make a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days.

Dave and I went out for a great dinner on New Year’s Eve at our favorite BYOB Thai restaurant.  Dave surprised me on Christmas with a bottle of wine in my stocking that was from the same vineyard as a great bottle of wine we had had on our honeymoon.  We shared the bottle over dinner last night.  It was wonderful!

And my official Thai fortune for the new year can be seen above.  Should help me out with the list, no?

I have finished my 101 in 1001 list and started the clock.  I have until Thursday, September 28, 2011.  You can read all of my goals and follow my progress on the new 101 in 1001 page I created.  I promise to blog along the way.

I better get started.

Do you have any resolutions this year?

Last year my sister, Amy, put together a list of 101 things that she would accomplish in 1001 days.  I loved it!  What a great way to work towards all those things in life that you want to do or know that you should do, but often get distracted from as life happens.

Here is the idea:

• The Mission – Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
• The Criteria – Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable, or clearly defined.  Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. representing some amount of effort on your 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 such tasks as overseas travel or outdoor activities.

As my New Year’s resolution this year, I am writing down my own list of 101 things to do in 1001 days.  I have been working on the list for about a week, and am just putting the finishing touches on it today.  I will post it tomorrow and set the 1001 day countdown clock.

Happy New Year everyone!