101 Challenge Update

I haven't participated much in New Year resolutions, but that's mainly because I keep a running list of challenges I'm always trying to complete.  I'm currently about a third through my second 101 challenge, which is a list of 101 smaller challenges that I try to finish in 1,001 days.  I did this once before and had a blast, so I'm thinking this is going to be a forever thing for me.  They help me stay on track with things I care about, like reading and personal growth.

I'm happy to report that I've already completed 56% of my 101 challenges, and I think I will be able to complete at least 22 more of my goals before time runs out this September!  I had a lot of my time taken by work this year, and I didn't get to read half as much as I did the previous year, but I ended up accomplishing a lot more than I thought I would.  Here's a quick recap of some of the highlights.

• I crossed off challenge #8 when Caleb and I took our first just-us camping trip this summer.
• Challenge #14 (bring plants into our home) is kind of a joke now.  We have 11 plants in our apartment and two vases with extra cuttings.  It's awesome.
• Journaling every day for #25 hasn't happened, but I'm going to be picking it back up and finishing strong.
• Challenge #27 dictates that I write letters.  Instead of sending out Christmas cards to everyone this year, I hand wrote just a couple letters to family I haven't seen in a long time.  It felt very sweet.
• Blogging 4 times per month hasn't happened this year, either, but I'm going to do better with challenge #35 this year.
• Learning something new each year for #36 has found a very obvious and super fun theme: dance.  In 2014 I picked up belly dance, in 2015 we started learning West Coast Swing, and in 2016, I want to learn the shuffle!
• I completed challenge #46 just this week!  We finally have wedding pictures displayed in our home!
• This year was the year of lipstick for me.  After trying many different kinds, I took a trip to Sephora, and they helped me find a beautiful berry shade from Sephora that feels very bold for me, but I like it.  #49 is finished!
• #50 and 51 (exercising consistently and drinking water consistently) were poorly planned, I think.  Past me said I needed to do those things for 6 months straight!  It's been a hard goal to reach considering I'm a newbie at these things, but I'm now one month in on the water-drinking part, thanks to delicious hot tea.
• I settled in with a group of lovely girls from church this year.  It's hard to make friends as an adult, but I'm glad that #68 and #70 were both a part of my challenge list.
  Caleb and I eaten so much Japanese ramen and made so much Korean food at home since the creation of this list.  Challenges #74 and #77 seem so trite now!
• When my parents moved in June, it forced me to clean up everything leftover from my wedding (#89) and everything that had been in my room (#88).  The circumstances were bittersweet, but I'm really glad I have those things done now.

And there you have it!  I can't believe I only have 270 more days to try and finish the rest.  I think that I'm already on track to beat my record from my first 101 challenge, but I hope I'll be able to get a lot closer to completing all the challenges this time.  I'm also really glad that I've kept with this.  I'm competitive by nature, and even if I'm competing against the clock or competing against myself, it helps me get more done, which I love.  Onward and upward!

What do you hope to accomplish in 2016?  Have you ever done a similar challenge?  Do you have any suggestions I could add to my next list?

Our Summer Bucket List

I've started writing some good lists as part of #29 in my 101 Challenge.

First things first, Summer Bucket List!

I can't for the life of me remember where I printed this adorable list template from.  If you know the source, please let me know!

I've been having a lot of fun with this, pegging down what I want to do, asking Caleb what he wants to do, seeing a great summer sprawl out before us, and getting to put this sheet of paper on our fridge!  (We don't have much on our fridge.)

What's on your summer bucket list?  Wanna come swing dancing with us?  Do you agree that The Sandlot is the best summer movie ever?

My Korean Meal at Home

To complete #77 of my 101 Challenge, I prepared a Korean meal at home last month.  I will say, the meal wasn't terribly traditional, but it did have all Korean dishes.  Usually there is a main dish with meat, plain rice, soup, and side dishes and kimchi, but we improvised for our lunch.

We had buddae chiggae (army stew), jjajangmyeon (the black bean noodles), and bokempop (mixed fried rice).  I used what I wanted to from two soup recipes I found online, the jjajangmyeon was purchased from a nearby Chinese restaurant, and the bokempop was made from a  recipe our Korean sister Alice wrote for us in 2008.

My parents, my sister, and her boyfriend all said everything was pretty good!  I would have used less gochujang and less Spam in the stew (to make it less spicy and less salty, respectively), but it was good.  I really liked getting to have Korean foods again!  So yummy!

A very loose bokempop recipe:

New Restaurants in 2014

As part of my 101 in 1,001 Challenge, I wanted to visit and review 10 new restaurants in Atlanta over the 1,001 days.  I didn't expect to finish this challenge within 4 months!

I'm so thankful for Scoutmob and for all the deals we got to use to get 50% off our checks.  That made this challenge a lot easier on the bank.  Another perk: Caleb and I both have new favorite restaurants!  He can't get enough of Noni's meatball sub, and I would rather go to Miso Izakaya than almost anywhere else.  Anyway, here are quick blurbs on the ten!

My 3 Spring Bollywood Movies

I made sure to include Bollywood movies in my 101 in 1,001 challenge, because I know they make me happy.  The colors, the drama, the nonsensical plot developments, and the pretty people.  The first Bollywood film I ever saw, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, hooked me.  I later watched a couple on YouTube on my own, saw Slumdog Millionaire, a friend introduced me to Monsoon Wedding, and then in Korea I found a Bollywood friend who took me back to the legitimate Bollywood scene once more.

Thanks to Netflix, I was able to watch these three films commercial free!  (Thanks, Netflix!)

Band Baaja Baaraat (Band, Horns, and Revelry)

A guy and a girl become business partners in wedding planning!  This means that you get to see loads of Indian weddings in this movie, which is one reason why I liked it so much.  Another is how close and personal you get with some of the more intimate details of India like the back alleys and some of the wedding traditions.  I found the plot progression to be less melodramatic, too, which makes it an excellent entry Bollywood film for people who are interested.

My First Try At DIY Dry Shampoo

I learned of the wonders of dry shampoo in 2012 and found that the Batiste brunette variation was my favorite.  The dark color meant my hair didn't look like chalk, and the nice smell was fun.  It soaked up the oil in my hair and let me start washing my hair only every other day, which was a great time saver, too!  However, after finishing the first experimental can and loving the dry shampoo, I realized that it was mega expensive.  The brunette formula I used cost upwards of $8, and it only lasted me a couple months!  Plus, that pretty smell wasn't enjoyable anymore, because the propane and everything else in the formula started to aggravate my lungs each time I sprayed it.

Cue the Wellness Mama blog, my health nut kick, and this super easy recipe for homemade dry shampoo!  There's even an adaptation for dark hair, and it couldn't be simpler!

I Want to Be a Health Nut

Late last year, I discovered the Wellness Mama blog.  Reading up on how easy it can be to go natural with face wash and deoderant challenged me to make the jump to cutting out the harmful things I put on my skin every day.  I put a few projects like this on my 101 Challenge because I wanted to challenge myself to actually make these changes instead of just talking about them.  Well recently, I've found a couple more reasons to not just jump but leap from the products I've been using.

Check out this article from Food Babe about deodorant.  Yikes.  The aluminum zirconium used in deodorant blocks up the sweat ducts in your skin and prevents sweat from exiting your body.  This stuff is a potent neurotoxin, and the manufacturers use lots of it to make their product such great antiperspirants.  Not sweating is nice, but all of this is not good for your body.  Also, there are lymph nodes there in your arm pits, and having all of the toxins near them can affect the immune system.  I bought some coconut oil from the DeKalb Farmer's Market, and I will start making my own with this recipe soon.
(For the record, Caleb thinks the deodorant stuff is BS, and I know some chemicals have been engineered to help the human body, but natural sounds better, dang it!)

So that deodorant article was the last straw on the camel's back, so to speak.

I realized that this health stuff is important.  Really important.  Heck, considering all the cancer causing additives I could be excluding from my diet if only I would eat healthier things, this health stuff if vital!

But a girl can only afford so much change at one time, and I'm talking about the "afford" that involves money.  An organic lifestyle is an expensive one, and while I'd love to be able to know that what I'm putting into my body is pure goodness, I have to take little steps for now.

The good news is, not only are there gentle steps I can take toward better food, there are also other things I can do for my health.  I just bought the ingredients to make my own dry shampoo last month.  I read about the detriments of sitting a while back and found an app that I've programed to ding every half hour so I can be sure to stand up, even if it's just for a minute.  Caleb and I have made it a point to add Juice Plus into our budget, so we're getting all of our fruits and vegetable vitamins (the gummies are so yummy!).  I have fruit, coconut milk, and spinach smoothies a couple times a week.  I've also started having tea at least once a day to help me drink more water.

Second Sushi Date

This time we didn't learn to make sushi, but we did get to eat it.

Thanks to a Facebook ad, I heard about Ra in Midtown.  I signed up for the the emails and got a $20 gift certificate for my half-birthday month!  So, on one of the last days of February, Caleb and I headed off for some sushi.  After an appetizer of potstickers, we ordered the Salmon Asparagus roll (fresh tasting and yummy), the Rainbow Roll (my favorite of the night), and the Viva Las Vegas Roll (just stupid, do not recommend).

The restaurant's atmosphere was cool and sexy.  It has some great happy hour deals that don't just include drink, which is pretty neat.  We chose our appetizers and sushi rolls from the discount menu and got everything for a great price!  Unfortunately, we didn't find out until after we'd eaten everything that the gift certificate didn't apply to discount food, but it wasn't too expensive, so it was all good.

101 in 1,001 REBOOT

In order to encourage myself to reach the goals I'd like to see myself reach (instead of just spending hours consuming entertainment), I've created this challenge for myself.  In 1,001 days, I'd like to accomplish these 101 things.

I've done a 101 goals in 1,001 days challenge before, and while I didn't complete everything on the list, it was very helpful for keeping my focused on things I want to do.  In general, I work best when I have a pace runner, someone or something to egg me on to get things accomplished, competition.  Going through my firstmy first challenge motivated me to do a lot of things I wouldn't have otherwise done.  Also, when my challenge finished in November, I almost immediately dropped by 3-year strong habit of journaling every day.  Ridiculous.  This is why I decided to make a new challenge (which I've detailed below).  It's a tool for me to keep track of my goals, and for me, it works!

In an effort to keep growing, learning, and doing, this is my second 101 in 1,001 challenge.

Start date: January 1, 2014
End date: September 28, 2016
90% complete

In progress  ::  Completed