Our photographer for our wedding, Melissa Jill, is not only amazing at what she does but she’s also inspired me to make a list of 101 goals I’d like to accomplish in 1001 days. I think it’s a pretty neat idea.

You’ll see that many of the following have specific lengths. (Example; do X for a month, accomplish Y in six weeks.) My thinking behind this is that it’s been said that anything you do for 30 days becomes a habit. I’m not going into this with unrealistic expectations by thinking I’ll change overnight. Instead, 30 days of this and 40 days of that will hopefully ease me into becoming the person that I’d really like to be.

Unlike Melissa, I’m not a phenomenal photographer. But similarly, I’m going to document my goals with my trusty old Nikon and a blog post. I’ll be referring back to this post throughout the next 1001 days. Wish me luck!

Start date: Tuesday, March 4, 2008
End date: Monday, June 7, 2010

And of note, these are in non-sequential order … except, of course, number 1. Awww.

1. Marry the love of my life, Rocket Man
2. Get down to my college weight of 140
3. Travel to Europe
4. Start a family
5. Take a photography class
6. Stick to a strict diet for one month
7. Walk the dogs every day for a month
8. Say no to alcohol for 60 days
9. Get a manicure/pedicure once a month for three months
10. Get my hair professionally colored
11. Become more involved in my church

12. Move back to the Midwest
13. Finish my website, rocketwife.com
14. Finish my other website, amylatek.com
15. Finish up my collegiate credits to get my degree
16. Volunteer my time once a week for 6 months
17. Get a new wardrobe (preferably after I accomplish number 2)
18. Watch every Lord of the Rings Trilogy
19. Watch every Star Wars movie without falling asleep
20. Go to Mexico, excluding Rocky Point
21. Pay off my car loan
22. Have a savings account with a minimum of $5000
23. Give up caffeine for 60 days
24. Make a new recipe for dinner every night for one week
25. Visit five large art/science galleries in the Valley
26. Meet Emma Stonebraker
27. Pay off my student loans
28. Go to Mass twice a week for a month
29. Get up every morning before 7 am for a month
30. Visit Havasupai Falls
31. Go camping with Brandon
32. Take a class, if I can find one, about tea
33. Read The Bible from cover to cover
34. Consistently work out 3x a week for a month
35. Get in the habit of putting my clothes in the hamper instead of on the floor
36. Make new girlfriends
37. Go on a solo “adventure” once a month for a year
38. Go fishing
39. Write Joshy letters when he goes to Iraq
40. Take my lunch to work every day for a month
41. Get rid of cable
42. Re-read every John Steinbeck novel I own
43. Make a collection of greeting cards to send so I have no excuse not to send cards on time
44. Write two letters a month for a year
45. Make a swear jar in which I have to put a dollar in every time I curse
46. Drive up the coast of California in a convertible with Brandon
47. Win a poker tournament
48. Go to a professional football game. (Preferably NOT the Cardinals)
49. Write in my journal every day for six months
50. Wear shoes, not flip flops every day for a month
51. Go hunting a shoot a deer
52. Visit my brother and sister-in-law in Wisconsin
53. Read all of the design books I have bought and not read over the years
54. Plant a garden in the backyard
55. Take a class on wine
56. Shave my legs 3x a week for a month (HA!)
57. Learn how to change my oil in my Hyundai
58. Go to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field
59. Have a dinner party
60. Cook a meal with only fresh, organic products
61. Visit the China town district in downtown Phoenix
62. Go to the spa by myself
63. Go to brunch once a month with Lilly for as long as possible
64. See Bon Jovi in concert
65. Visit Winslow, Arizona while listening to the Eagles the entire way
66. Buy a piano
67. Go to New York City
68. Take dance lessons with Brandon before the wedding
69. Go deep sea fishing
70. Stay in an over water bungalow on our honeymoon
71. Buy a sketchbook and take a drawing class
72. Bring my childhood things from my parents house in Indian to Arizona
73. Get to know our neighbors
74. Vote for a democrat for the first time in a presidential election
75. Watch the entire seasons of Sex in the City in sequential order
76. Bring my mom and sisters out to visit at the same time
77. Wash the dogs every other week for three months
78. Take Farley BACK to obedience training to teach her how to not jump on people
79. Learn how to cook eggs
80. Go to a Cubs spring training game
81. Shower every single day for two weeks. (Double HA!)
82. Quit my job to freelance professionally
83. Take a bikram yoga class
84. Take an early morning boot camp class and stick with it this time
85. Get rid of social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook
86. Read the newspaper that I subscribe to in the morning before I go to work
87. Run a mile under ten minutes
88. Update my portfolio
89. Find a space in the house to turn into a craft area/studio
90. Watch Pride and Prejudice with my mom on Thanksgiving
91. Visit Maggie at Ball State
92. Go skiing in Colorado
93. Take a cooking class
94. Make the bed every morning for a month
95. Visit Sarah and Adam wherever they may be living
96. Eat at the Ethiopian restaurant in Tempe
97. Win the original Mario Nintendo game
98. Find a new pub in the Valley and visit
99. Go to SXSW
100. Go to the opera
101. Straighten my hair for a month