Keepin it up

My 101 is still rockin hard!  I am trying to say my prayers daily.  This is by far the most important of my daily goals.  I am just shocked at how hard it is for me.  I used to be in a really good habit.  Zac and I would pray before meals and before bed, now we just gotta get back into it.  I did buy the bible on CD to listen to on my ride to and from work.  I figured not only would it help as a reminder for prayer, but also I would be able to check off that bible story each month.  Unfortunately it's in MP3 format and my CD player can't handle it.  I got it at Dollar General for $1.50.  I think I bought 6 copies, because they were on clearance and there are plenty of people who need it.

Anyway....I did my two new recipes too.  Bruschetta and huevos rancheros.  Both were delicious.  This was a little hard for me too.  I am not a recipe person by any means.  I really tend to wing it.  I, in fact, did not follow the recipe for either.  I just got the general idea and made it my own.  I still think it counts though!

That's where I'm at now.  I just hope I follow through with all this!

Weekly Update

It has been one week and I've already knocked a few goals off my list.  The hardest part is consistency for me.  But I did take my vitamins daily, floss almost every day and prayed for 5 minutes 5 of 7 days.  I get really distracted when I pray.  My mind is a thousand miles a minute and before I know it, I forget that I was praying.  I'm trying now to make it a part of my drive and be more focused.  Anyway. I got my baby food recipe book last night, got my compost book, watched some movies and made some calls, booked a flight and am ready to tackle the next week!

#34. Book the ticket to go see Chris and Lauren

We're doin it!  Zac and I are finally making it to Portland! I'm thrilled.  I'm heading out to see Chris and Lauren.  Chris is my best friend from chiro school.  He transfered schools half way through when his dad took a job at Western States, another chiro school.  That was when we were 1/2 done...so about 2 years ago now.  He came back home for my wedding and I promised him I would make it out to visit.  Lauren is one of my best friends from high school.  Her family moved right before our sophomore year to Florida.  I called Lauren the evening I graduated and told her I would come to visit.  I think in all I flew to florida 3 times to visit.  Lauren moved back to St. Louis for a few months, while I was there, to live with her sister.  She then moved back to Tampa then to Palo Alto to live with her aunt for a little while.  Hopefully she will still be there in April.  We have big plans to meet up in Portland and get to know the city together.  Chris and Lauren are both hilarious and very smart....I just keep pushing them to love each other.  It would be terribly convenient for me :)

Zac's dear friends from SIU-C ended up moving to Portland ohhhhh 3 years ago I think.  We have promised them we would visit when we found the money.   That never seemed to happen.  So we just did it.  Tickets are cheap, under $500 for both of us and we have a place to stay.  Luckily I did really well last month and got a big end of the month check that paid for us to get there.  I'm thrilled! Now its just a matter of saving up some spending cash for all the food Zac already can't wait to eat!


Passenger(s): ZACHARY BALLARD,
ABBIE FOXBALLARD

Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Frontier Airlines # 287

Lambert-St Louis Intl (STL) to Denver International (DEN)
Departure (STL): April 7, 6:55 PM CDT (evening)
Arrival (DEN): April 7, 8:21 PM MDT (evening)
Class: Economy


Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Frontier Airlines # 797

Denver International (DEN) to Portland International (PDX)
Departure (DEN): April 7, 9:15 PM MDT (evening)
Arrival (PDX): April 7, 10:59 PM PDT (evening)


Class: Economy

#96. Buy a basal thermometer

I really hate being on birth control.  I know that its not natural, and I don't like the way my body handles it. Zac and I were all set to use rhythm method and symptothermal methods for family planning after we got married....then he forgot to add me to his health insurance and that went out the window.  So glad I spend the 6 months before that taking my temp everyday to get used to charting and let my body get back to normal after coming off of the pill.  Needless to say I was mad and a little disappointed.  I had even done this 21 day cleanse...thats right, 21 days, to get rid of the hormones that were left behind. Then had to go right back on them.  Anyway.  I run out of my prescription for the pill on Tuesday and will start charting again.  I'm glad to say goodbye pills!

#98. Get a library card

My Thursday snow day was very successful.  Not only did I get my hair done, but I also stopped by the library and finally got a card.  I picked out three books when I was there, a book of great kitchens, a house plan book and a random one I thought could be a good read.  If I'm lucky, I will be able to mark 3 goals off my list just because of that wonderful little card!

#67. Buy a book about composting

This may sound really silly, but amazon makes some of my dreams come true.  I am obsessed with books.  Given, I have plenty on my selves that I have not read, but I never pass one up.  From decorating to anatomy to fiction and award winners, I love them all.  When I bought my baby food books, I also picked up a book about composting.

I think maybe its the dad in me, (dad is a farmer) that makes me obsessed with gardening.  Not flowers necessarily, though I think they are beautiful and am envious of my mom's ability to surround her self in beauty, but vegetables and fruits.  I made Zac promise that when we build a house, if he gets a home theater room, I get a green house.  What has two thumbs and digs on plants....this girl!  Even though I've never had my own home, I plant a little garden at each house I live in.  I even go so far as to dry my own spices.  Oregano, sweet basil, rosemary, thyme..etc.

The natural progression of this for me is to start making my own compost.  I think I'm a little bit of a hippy at heart.  Perhaps thats why I like my hair long and don't bend to my sisters' will and cut it :)  I really want to decrease my need for store bought foods and "live off the land." Not too hard to do when your family raises cattle and you can garden (especially if I do get that green house!)  I want to try to limit the waste I produce that goes into landfills too.  So much of what we throw away can be recycled or composted its shocking.  It takes a little time and effort to become knowledgeable, then its a matter of putting things into place and letting the system run.  This is my way of becoming knowledgeable and making sure I can set an example for my family.  I really believe that everyone can make a difference and it all just takes a little effort

#43, Buy a book of baby food recipes

Thank you amazon for making books cheap and gratification instant.  For those of you that read my daily blog, Little Trailer Big People, you know why this was important to me even though I have no kids yet.  I have a huge family, lots of babies (6 this last year between my family and my husband's) and the health of all those babies is very important to me as a physician and aunt/cousin.  In fact, I get to take care of two of them tonight (see you soon Zavier and Zayne) and I get to take care of Bean, Aubrie, and Everett on a regular basis.  This is just another way for me to care for them and make sure they get good quality, natural foods, still full of nutrients instead of preservatives.  Who knows, maybe one day I can convert the whole clan, considering how cheap and easy it is, and we will have a monthly  cook session to get them set.  I need to know how to make more than apples, pears, and sweet potatoes for that so I will be pumped when I get my books!

P.S. Maggie tried the sweet potatoes with Caroline's rice cereal last night and she was yelling for more!

The journey begins

I have officially finalized my list of 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days.  I suppose I started the list and started working on Jan 1st, but I am going to start my 1001 days today.  This is because I have 3 goals, I think, that I'm going to try to accomplish daily, and while the 1st would have been more appropriate probably, some of them I didn't add to the list until yesterday, and I would be sad to fall short right at the beginning.  Anyway, here goes.....101 of my goals.

Health and Fitness

1.  Start and finish P90X (0 of 90)

2.  Do Burst training daily for one month (0 of 30)

3.  Floss every day! (14 of 1001)

4.  Buy a yoga video and actually do it for two weeks (0 of 14)

5.  Stick with a skin care system for one month straight (7 of 30)

6.  Lose 55lbs (7 of 55)

7.  Take my vitamins every day (16 of 1001)

8.  Try to cut out soda for 1 month, then for good (0 of 30) (0 of 1001)

9.  Complete a 7 day master cleanse

10.  Get my eyes checked

11.  Get my teeth cleaned

12.  Get adjusted at least twice a month (2 of 66)

For Me

13.  Read 1 book each month (2 of 33)

14. Watch one movie each week that I’m interested in (8 of 132)

15.  Get a massage every other month (2 of 16)

16.  Make sure to have my wedding ring checked and re-dipped every 6 months (1 of 6)

17.  Get a deep conditioning treatment on my hair

18.  Complete 1 painting each month (2 of 33)

19. Buy Rosetta Stone Spanish

20. Learn Spanish

22.  Take 1 picture each day for 1 year, then make a coffee table book (0 of 365)

23. Pick out a house plan Zac and I love

24. Get the tattoo I’ve wanted for years.

 

My Spiritual Life

25. Set aside 5 minutes to talk to God everyday (11 of 1001)

26. Find a church that Zac and I like

27. Go to church every Sunday for 3 months in a row (0 of 12 weeks)

28. Buy the Book of God (the bible as a novel)

29. Read the book of God

30. Learn a new bible story each month (2 of 33)

Zac

31.  Go on one date night each month (1 of 33)

32.  Give him a good back rub each month (1 of 33)

33.  Sit through a whole movie with Zac each week (8 of 143)

Friends

34. Book the ticket and go see Chris and Lauren

35. Call Lauren every other week (8 of 71)

36. Call Chris every other week (8 of 71)

37. Call Josh once a month.  (3 of 33)

38. Make a date with Courtney each month (1 of 33)

39. Make a date with Angie every month (3 of 33)

40. Call Chelsea once a month (4 of 33)

Family

40. Spend the night with the kids 1 night a month (1 of 33)

41.  Send out birthday cards to all nieces and nephews (2 of 17)

42.  Anniversary cards for Mag, Annie, Mom and Courtney (1 of 4)

43. Buy a book of baby food recipes

44. Make baby food for Caroline

45. Visit Danny, Doug, and Grandpa Everett twice a year.

46. Update the online Family Tree

Professional Life

47. See at least 30 patients/week for 1 month (0 of 4)

48. See 45 patients/week for 1 month (0 of 4)

49. Hand out 1 business card a day for 1 month (0 of 30)

50. Follow up with Don and Jack about the family plan

51. CCSP certification

52. Pediatrics diplomate

Finances

53. Pay off the American Express

54. Pay off the Ace account

55. Pay off debt to Dr. B

56. Take $50 out per paycheck for spending money (7 of 66)

57. Save every $5 bill for vacation

58.  Pay off the white car (4 of 6 payments)

59. Pay off the red car (3 of 45 payments)

60. Pay off the trailer (3 of 45 payments)

61. Pay back Mom and Dad

62. Restart Zac’s contributions to his IRA

63. Change Zac’s contribution to his work 401K

64. Save $50 each month into a Christmas savings account (3 of 33)

65. Save $1000 into our joint savings account

66. Get our emergency fund back up to $4000

Random (some of these go in other categories...I know)

67. Buy a book about composting

68. Read the book about composting and start a compost for the garden

69.  Buy an external hard drive

70.  Back up my pictures onto an external hard drive

71.  Convert my CD’s to MP3 and store on external hard drive

72. Plant spring seedlings

73. Plant garden at Mom and Dads

74.  Fix clock in the kitchen.

75.  Scrapbook my wedding pictures

76  Scrapbook my honeymoon pictures

77.  Save $1200 and go on another ChiroMission

78.  Apply for a position as a teacher at a local prison.

79.  Take the raw footage of our honeymoon and turn it into a DVD

80. Buy a fireproof safe and put all our important stuff in it.

81.  Buy tickets and go see the Nutcracker at Christmas

82.  Fix the leg on the red kitchen chair

83.  Put $20 in a savings account for each of the goals I reach (4 of 101)

84.  Work on EE stuff every week (12 of 143)

85. Book a cruise with Zac to Alaska

86. Buy a new book of house plans

87.  Make an inspiration book for our house

88.  Buy a new pair of chucks and retire my black ones.

89.  Try 2 new recipes each month (4 of 66)

90. Catch up on Dexter (Season 3-  DONE) (Season 4- 0 of 12)

91. Catch up on Lost (Season 4-Done, 5-Done, 6)

92. Scrape and repaint the bathroom surround

93. Repaint the bathroom cabinets

94. Repaint the brown cabinet in the living room

95. Make sure I am added to Zac’s health insurance in Feb.

96. Buy a basal thermometer

97. Re-read my natural family planning books

98. Get a library card

99. Stop using the f word (1 0f 1001)

100. Complete the patient call list by the end of Feb.

101. Make a new 101 in 1001 list.

A work in progress

I have decided to start a 101 in 1001.  Basically its a list of 101 goals that are to be accomplished in 1001 days.  It's more reasonable than 1 year or trying to write a new list each day or week or month.  It's my sort of master list.  The goals are supposed to be well defined.  At least I tried.  I have 93 so far...so when I come up with the rest, I will publish the post officially, but I am already working on my goals which makes me happy. Those in italics will be goals in progress, those with a strikethrough are accomplished.  I can't wait to see this all over my page. Wish me luck...it may be a long 1001 days.