My 101 in 1001 – The List

Here’s my list:

1. host a family holiday meal

2. host visitors at least 5 times

3. write  a letter to 5 old friends

4. go on a family vacation

5. host a monthly get-together for friends 6 months in a row

6. become really good friends with at least 3 new people

7. go on vacation with friends

8. add 36 new connections to network

9. have a “girls night out” once a month for 6 months

10. take the nieces & nephews for a fun weekend

11. do a yoga class 30 days in a row

12. complete the couch to 5k

13. run a 5k in under 30 minutes

14. run a marathon in under 5 hours

15. workout 60 minutes a day for 60 days in a row

16. be at goal weight by 2/3/2011

17. complete a half-marathon training program

18. take a hip hop dance class

19. go for a 1 hour daily walk for 90 days in a row

20. complete a 12 week weight training program

21. eat vegetarian for 30 days in a row

22. complete a 10 day master cleanse 4 times

23. eat a salad at dinner for 42 days in a row

24. fast once a week for 16 weeks

25. write a food journal for 30 days

26. complete a 14 day juice fast

27. complete a 10 day water fast

28. abstain from all beverages, except water for 42 days

29. give up sugar for 30 days

30. pay my bills on time/early 12 months in a  row

31. eat at home 5 times a week for 6 weeks

32. cook dinner 3 times a week for 6 weeks

33. organize home office

34. move items out of garage storage in wisconsin

35. plant a vegetable garden

36. take a sewing class

37. keep home clean and clutter free for 30 days

38. try a new recipe once a week for 12 weeks

39. bake something and give to friends/family once a week for 6 weeks

40. take a cooking class

41. take a painting class

42. write a book and publish it

43. take a ballet class

44. take a guitar class

45. take a voice class

46. write a daily post on my blog for 91 days in a row (1 for 91)

47. do something new everyday for 42 days in a row

48. learn to use my cricut machine

49. complete a craft project once a month for 12 months

50. meditate 60 minutes daily for 42 days in a row

51. travel to thailand and cambodia (2 weeks)

52. go on an all-girls trip

53. travel to spain (10 days)

54. travel to greece (10 days)

55. take hubs to the philippines

56. take a mini-getaway once a month for 12 months (ok to skip months when on vacation)

57. travel to indonesia and singapore

58. take my parents to china for my dad’s 75th birthday

59. travel to south africa

60. take hubs to niagra falls|the grand canyon|the statue of liberty

61. travel to australia

62. go on a  spontaneous road trip with my husband and our dog

63. go parasailing

64. camp out at yosemite national park

65. go scuba diving

66. go dancing with my husband once a week for 6 weeks

67. try a new restaurant once a month

68. have date night once a week for 12 weeks in a row

69. take my dog to a new park/beach once a month for 6 months in a row

70. take a last minute trip and choose the destination at the airport

71. spend new year’s eve in las vegas

72. pay off debts by 11/4/2012

73. write a will

74. have at least 3 streams of income

75. complete investools course (basic and options)

76. trade paper money account for 3 months in a  row

77. buy a home in LA

78. max out mine and hubs’ ira for 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013

79. work on investools 20 hours a week for 6 weeks in a row

80. establish 2 separate checking accounts, 1 joint checking account, 2 separate savings accounts, 1 joint savings accounts and 2 trading accounts with one institution

81. pay 10% to self first 6 months in a row

82. get a new job by 1/1/2011

83. work on “my brand” business at least 20 hours a week for 143 weeks

84. write a business plan for “my brand”

85. establish “umbrella” holding company and domain

86. do something everyday for “my brand” for 91 days in a row

87. apply for “mountain” job

88. write a letter to myself to open in 10 years

89. leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find

90. tie a note to a balloon and let it go

91. complete a 365 day photo challenge

92. identify 100 things that make me happy

93. read 101 books

94. take  a photography class

95. send a message in a bottle

96. visit a museum or art gallery once a month for 12 months in a row

97. recite “the invitation” by heart

98. learn 100 new words in 100 days

99. visit all 7 continents: australia, africa and antarctica left (4 of 7)

100. volunteer once a week for 12 weeks in a row

101. do community theater

My 101 in 1001 – The Inspiration

I read Mrs. Cupcake’s goodbye post yesterday. Whaaa? Huh? Oh, you’re not familiar with the ‘bee…as in, Weddingbee? Go here then: weddingbee. This site was very resourceful for me when I planned my wedding. But, more on that later. As I was saying, I read Mrs. Cupcake’s goodbye post, which prompted me to go to her new blog. As I was perusing her blog, I came across her 101 in 1001 list. This is not the first time that I have come across this list, but unfortunately, I don’t remember where I have seen it before.

I love, love, love lists. The “free spirit” in me hates to get tied down and be accountable/committed to anything. However, that’s where the “contradiction of sorts” in me comes out to play. I love organizational things: lists, file folders, planners, flow charts, etc.

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So, I came across the 101 in 1001 list some time ago and now, here it is again. It must be beckoning me to start one. Which I will do so and post it here. Have you come across this list? What’s on your 101 in 1001?

91 Days to Greatness: #0

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BIG FAIL DAY. I didn’t quite start out with a bang (hmmmm…a phrase I’m all too familiar with…) and my number one reason is because I didn’t have a plan. There’s a phrase that comes to mind: “When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” That’s totally what happened to me today. *Sigh*

From now on, I am going to write a plan and so my 91 days will begin November 5, 2010. Please don’t roll your eyes or laugh at me. It WILL be different this time. I swear…just bear with me.

On Johnny Rockets, french fries and a root beer float

I returned a dress today. I wrote that so nonchalantly and casually as if it was just any dress. It was supposed to be my wedding dress. I had fallen in love with a gorgeous Monique —- oh, you know, Lhuillier, that is. And it was $50’effin-thousand dollars. True story. So, after that fantasy was squashed in a millisecond (and, yes, I did consider having it made in China and such), where does one go from there? Especially when one is not at a weight she wants to be??

I went looking online. See, I was confident I would lose the weight. So confident that I found a dress online from a mega department store and ordered it sight unseen —– in a waytoosmallofasizei’membarrassedtoevensaywhatitis. I had it in my hands 6 months before the big day –bursting with confidence I would fit into it on time. HAHAHA!!!!

Yeah, I couldn’t fit into it. The size I bought was sooooo small, there was no way alterations would have worked. No worries, though, since I found a dress 5 days before the wedding. True story, again, but I’ll save that one for another day.

So, yeah, I went to return the dress and stumbled into Johnny Rockets. I had a cheeseburger, fries and a root beer float. Yum! I went in with the dress—-as if it were my date. I took her to Papyrus, also, to find some “Thank You” notes. We made it to Janie and Jack and bought my niece the cutest pink puffy jacket. It even had a bow.

Then, I decided it was time. We walked into the store and I blatantly lied to the sales lady. I told her my mom bought the dress for my sister (clearly it would not fit me). I even found myself saying it was for a pageant, but my sister didn’t use it because it was too long on her and she didn’t want to get it altered. I don’t know where all of that came from.

The sales lady took her out of the box and quickly processed my return. I walked away and glanced at some purple (my favorite color) evening gowns before leaving the store. It felt like a huge load lifted off of me. I was happy with the pretty notes I found and excited to bring the new coat to my niece. It was a brand new start to something good.

Just Married!

My husband and I tied the knot on October 23, 2010 in Chicago and it was one of the best days of our lives (cheesy as that sounds)! We recently got back from a very relaxing honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas, which I will muse about later. I received lots of feedback, inspiration and help from the online wedding community, so I will definitely be writing about things that are resourceful and helpful. I honestly do not know how people planned weddings before the internet:)

Just to give you a brief synopsis…

We had about 170 guests with a Catholic church wedding ceremony and an art gallery reception. There was a New Orleans-style jazz band, a parade, a DJ, a photobooth, a flip-flop basket, personalized shot glasses, open bar all night long, cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres, family-style dinner, cake, sweet table and late night pizza. We infused our cultures (Filipino, Chinese, Polish) and tried to be as inclusive as possible. We truly had the time of our lives and so did our guests!

If there is anything that you would like information on or help with, feel free to send me a message or write a comment. I will definitely be writing longer posts about each category (and posting pictures!).

Photobooth fun!!

91 Days to Greatness

I’m not really sure which way this blog is going, but I will try to be as consistent as possible and to make it easy to navigate. Like many people before me, there are certain changes I’d like to make in life and I’d like to write about them. I hope you can all help me be accountable to these changes and if you’d like to share in the journey, then all the better.

I’ve never been big on being held accountable for anything…it’s the free-spirit in me, I guess. But, I know that’s a big reason why I haven’t accomplished certain goals or why I’m not where I want to be or am somewhere I don’t want to be.

Why 91 days? I have read time and again that it takes about 6 weeks to make or break a habit. I am choosing 91 days (13 weeks) because that is the duration from November 3, 2010 – February 2, 2011 (the end of the Year of the Tiger). See, it’s the Year of the Tiger, according to the Chinese zodiac. So, this is my year. I didn’t quite start out with a bang—–but I’d sure like to end with one:)) ROAAAARRRRRR!!!

This is my pledge to the world:

In the next 91 days (starting November 3), I’d like to do the following:

1. Post everyday.

2. Lose 1 pound a day. WHOA! I know…it seems undoable and I do not advocate it, but it is something I would like to accomplish. I will be talking more about my weight, but not now.

That’s about it. I have a long hurdle ahead of me, but I am confident I can accomplish anything I want to if I just set my mind to it. Wish me luck and love!

xoxo,

L

Hello world!

Welcome to my world! I started this blog to keep an account of things that are on my mind, objects I find interesting, places I’ve been/am going to and just an overall journal about my life.

Some things you may find me writing about: food (I’m a self-proclaimed foodie:), wedding stuff (I recently got married), travel (I live a pretty peripatetic life), homelife (yeah…I just made that up) and design/decorating, fashion, movies, music, books, fitness, art, the D word (d.i.e.t), relationships and basically anything and everything that comes to mind.

Please feel free to introduce yourself and leave comments. I love to read them:)

xoxo,

Laila (not my real name—-just an acronym:)