My 101 in 1001 days (that’s 2 and ¾ a year!!)

So i'm begining this on March 1, 2009... that means the last day of my challenge is November 26, 2011! Yeah that's a long time... but look at this list! I'll update as i complete things and include pictures... so i hope you enjoy!

ME
1. Grow hair out so it’s down my back, at least to my bra line
2. Treat myself to a day spa massage once a year. (2/3)
3. Get a pedicure at least 4 times a year. (12/12)
4. Get my Happy Pill dosage right and keep it right
5. Take one bubble bath a week (100/143)
6. Read 30 books that aren’t typical for me (3/30)
7. Sit and Watch the sun rise 15 times (0/15)
8. Treat myself to a "me day" once a month. (5/33)
9. Have at least 5 lazy days a year (5/15)
10. Learn the basics of a new language on CD (like in the car)
11. Enjoy a latte at least once a month (22/33)
12. Have a movie marathon day where you see at least 5 movies

US
13. Do a couples devotion every Week for a year. (0/52)
14. Take family photos once a year. (1/3)
15. Make and bake our first baby.
16. Have a candlelit dinner once a month. (0/33)
17. Take a trip planned by Chris
18. Take a trip planned by Me.
19. Go on a picnic.
20. Cut down tree for Christmas. (1/2)
21. Do the 40 day Dare (4/40)
22. Bring Chris breakfast in bed 5 times.

Pups
23. Walk pups at least 3 times every week (no longer happening i think)
24. Give dogs a bath every month (10/33)
25. Give the dogs a special treat every week (40/143)

Environment
26. Use my reusable bags for EVERY grocery trip. (3/143)
27. When said baby is born, use only cloth diapers. (chris vetoed!)
28. Finish changing all lights in house to energy savers

The House
29. Sweep the floors once a week. (50/143)
30. Put Laundry away every week (15/143)
31. Change the sheets once a week. (50/143)
32. Scoop Poop in Backyard every other week (1/72)
33. Plant flowers for every season.
34. Build Deck
35. Cut down tree in front yard and plant new one
36. Paint Bedroom
37. Replace floors
38. Fix up front of house

Memories/Photos
39. Take a picture in a photo booth, twice. (0/2)
40. Document all tasks with a photo.
41. Finish Family Photo Wall
42. Scrapbook twice a month. (2/66)
43. Update blogs so family/friends can keep in touch
44. Send out a family update with each Christmas card (1/2)
45. Create a memory book for my family and Chris’s (2/2)

Healthy Me
46. Lose 20 pounds to be a goal weight. (0/20)
47. Take a yoga class.
48. Run a 1/2 marathon.
49. Have veggies everyday (22/1001)
50. Follow Sonoma Diet for all of wave 1

Food!
51. Cook 30 new recipes. (7/30)
52. Try 10 new restaurants. (1/10)
53. Have a Crab Feast
54. Organize (into recipe book) all loose recipes.
55. Make sushi.
56. Make 5 new vegetables (1/5)
57. Make Pizza from scratch once a month (0/33)
58. Go to the farmers market 10 times. (0/10)
59. Blog 101 recipes in food blog (7/101)
60. Grow an herb Garden

Others
61. Make a meal for a family at church
62. Volunteer to serve food at a homeless shelter.
63. Send a card a month to someone unsuspecting. (0/33)
64. Compliment 10 strangers. (10/10)
65. Host a party for Chris’s friends.

Crafts
66. Make a quilt.
67. Finish and Frame Cross Stitch
68. Make baby blanket for said baby
69. Make Christmas stocking for said baby

Organizational
70. Donate/sell/throw away 101 things (101/101)
71. Organize scrapbook table to finally stay organized.
72. Make closets/dresser functional and in one room
73. Organize linen closet (throw out stuff) monthly (1/33)
74. Get the basement in order

Soul
75. Do a devotional everyday for a year. (0/365)
76. Read the Bible entirely.
77. Graciously accept every comment I receive for 1 year. (0/365)
78. Let my feet sink in the sand once a year. (2/3)
79. Pray over every dinner (24/1001)
80. Go to church 101 times. (40/101)
81. Make a list of 101 things I like about myself.
82. Make 5 new friends. (1/5)
83. Sing a meaningful song for a church service
84. Stand up for yourself when someone puts you down

Computer/Work
85. Learn a new program
86. Organize all photos.
87. Organize/delete, etc email once a month (1/33)
88. Go through and update work list 3 times a week (6/429)
89. File everything each Friday (2/33)
90. Create a to-do list for next week every Friday (1/33)

Just for Fun
91. go Skiing
92. Take a road trip to somewhere overnight
93. Host a Board Games Night
94. Go Fishing
95. Play Golf or go to the driving range 3 times a year (0/9)
96. Go to the National Zoo
97. Go to 5 new museums. (1/5)
98. Go to 3 baseball games (2/3)
99. Buy a new car
100. Build a sand castle on the beach (must be waist high)
101. Dance in the rain.

Reasons behind 101 in 1001 days

So i've set forth to do a lot of things in this blog (Cleaning for a whole week documented, Sonoma Diet, Weight Watchers, etc) and i haven't followed through with any of them...but that's going to change.

As some of you know i'm pretty open and what i'm about to tell you a lot of you experience and others don't believe it really exist or you just might not understand it. Well here is it. I have depression. Clinically Severe depression... well that's what i was diagnosed with back in college. Since then i've been on and off various medicines that have worked and haven't worked. Everyone is different in how depression effects them and why it does but here's my story.

All the women in my mom's side of the family suffer from this... i've been told it's just a chemical imbalance in us... caused by nothing and nothing and cure it... just treat it. With me personally i get tired physically and emotionally. I loose interest in things I love and I can't really think clearly. I become very forgetful and often just don't care. I wake up every morning (doesn't matter how long i slept) not seeing the point of getting out of bed (even though i have a job and dogs that need me). I get irritated at silly things only to realize that later it was silly. etc, etc, etc

I'm telling you this because i'm going through this again because i got cocky a while ago and went off my medicine thinking i would be fine... i wasn't... i got back on it on a very low dosage and that's not helping me so i'm going to see my doctor today to get it all fixed... or as i like to call it... Get my HAPPY pills.

Some of you might judge me from this, not understand me... but i'm writing this in hopes it might help someone. So many people are in denial that depression is only if something bad happens to you, or you're weird etc if you have it... but with me it's nothing i can change or fix... it's my chemicals... it's in my genetics. So if you think this could be you, talk to someone b/c there is help... and it's hurting more then yourself.

With this being said... Since i'm going in for my "tune up" i want to also start off on a fresh page... so i'm doing 101 in 1001 days! How fun is that!
It's going to get me on track and keep me there and help me do all the things i've been wanting to do. Don't worry this is still my food blog but i will be updating the next post (my list) often with pictures, updates, etc on how i'm doing... and this all begins March 1st!

It's cool, we're not getting cut on yet!

So i wen to my surgeon today and we're going to start a round of antibiotics and hot compresses and see how that does. Hopefully it will do one of two things... make it disappear or bring it to the surface so he can scoop it out. If it doesn't do either and/or gets worse... off to surgery i am! booo! But i'm hoping we're going to be avoiding that! keep your fingers crossed!

really??

So for those of you who know me know i've had a few surgeries lately... apparently my body just LOVES growing random bumps that are painful (lets hope it likes growing babies just as much)... well i have another one and it's on the other leg now! GEZZ come on! I'm up to one a year now! UH!

So i'm off to the surgeon tomorrow... a doctor here gave me a prescription for an antibiotic that i will tell him about in case he thinks i could try that route... we'll see! This just better not work against my TTC plans!

5 days until no more birth control!

Barley Barley I MADE Barley!

Okay this is very "throw this and that in" sorry, i'll do my best to try to get it close!
First cook your barley according to the packages directions.... I made 1 c uncooked barley. Be prepared this will take 45mins-1 hour depending on how soft you want it.
*Once it was almost done i added in 1/2 a tiny can of tomato juice and 4-5 diced grape tomatoes.
*Then i added in some italian seasonings
*around tbsp of lemon juice
*tsp or so of ground blk pepper

I think that's all and it was really good!

Stuffed Sonoma Pork chops

This recipe is adapted from what i remember my friend Martiena said she used according to a recipe in the Sonoma Diet cook book. Oh and beware because i don't measure so these are guesstimates.

Ingredients
2 boneless pork chops (of a decent size but don't have to be huge)
4 tsp FF cream cheese
2 tbsp reduced fat feta cheese
2 tbsp chopped up mushrooms
2 tbsp chopped up red bell pepper
Spinach leaves, enough to put a layer down on each porkchop
pepper
basil
garlic salt
Italian bread crumbs (gluten free.... oh these weren't in the recipe but i used them)
1-2 tbsp olive oil

Take your pork chops and place btw some plastic wrap and beat them until thin
Spread 2 tsp of the cream cheese on each
Sprinkle 1 tbsp of feta, mushrooms, and bell pepper on each.
Top with a layer of spinach and roll.
Put pork roll in small baking dish that has been covered with non-stick something)
Then top the Pork Chops with 1/2-1 tbsp olive oil each and sprinkle with the pepper, basil (mine was dried), garlic salt and bread crumbs.

Bake at 425 for about 30 mins or until done

Stop the presses, i MADE barley and Chris liked it!

OOOH yeah! My good friend Martiena (who got me on this diet) made a dinner very similar to the one above and Chris just LOVED it! So i of course had to recreate it on Sunday night! LOL! We mainly had it so soon b/c i had some porkchops i had defrosted in the fridge and if i didn't use them soon they would be bad so this was perfect!

This is a Sonoma friendly meal. It's Stuff porkchops (she served hers on a bed of yummy wilted spinach, so good, i'm just lazy) barley, and green beans (we had mixed greens salad at her house that i brought).

This was also a surprisenly easy meal to throw together... but did you know barely takes FOREVER to cook??? But that's okay because it's SOOO cheap! When we started eating it at her house Chris thought he was eating rice and when we told him it was barley he was cool with it, esp when we told him you can get it for less the a dollar a bag! Sweetness!
So now my husband and i are "crunchy"!