101 in 1001
To celebrate Leap Year, I’m leaping into 101 in 1001 (give or take a few)*!!!

“Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment and especially on their children than the unlived life of the parent.” – Carl Jung
*While this started as a 101 in 1001 list, our new goal extends to “Before they head out to college.” I am excited at the goals I’ve set – some big, some small. They will guarantee that I still have a life outside of blogging, be present in my own town, help me teach my kids to have a sense of adventure, and to grow and challenge myself. If anyone wants to join me for any of these, virtually or in real-life, let me know! If anyone has any suggestions or contacts to help me reach my goals, I’d be very appreciative!
My list was inspired by Smile, kiddo, who also pointed out the Day Zero Project! If this gets your creative juices flowing, please make a list of your own and let me know!
1 – 8: SEASON DEPENDENT
- Visit the Indiana Jones exhibit at Discovery Cube
- Take kids overnight trip skiing
- See the Glory of Christmas at the Crystal Cathedral – not sure what the future of this is – church splitting up!
- Go to Comic-Con – we’re starting with The Star Wars Celebration, April 2015!
- Attend the Manhattan Beach Open
- Visit 5 beaches in CA – all must be at least 100 miles from previous ones
- Play in the rain
- See snow in the mountain and walk on the beach in the same day
9 – 15: FOOD FOR THOUGHT
- Cook or Bake 1 new thing from each cookbook I own – 1 down, 14 to go
- Make Ice Cream in a Bag
- Have a picnic somewhere we’ve never been before
- Have a rainbow meal – food representing all colors of rainbow
- Learn how to make sushi – Does Spam Musubi count? Same technique – all I need are fish, not a can?!
- Go to a restaurant solo (no iGadgets either) and order a full meal, appetizers to dessert and relish in it!
- Drink as much water as coffee for a week started with a whole month: September, 2014!
16 – 26: FAMILY FUN
- Take kids on trail ride
- See a Cirque Du Soleil show – 2/7/16 We saw Cavalia’s Odysseo (created by Cirque founder: Normand Latourelle)
- Do a 5K with both kids – Looking into possibility of Running LA Big 5K then cheering LA Marathoners the next day!
- Build a blanket fort and sleep in it
- Send a message in a bottle
- Solve Rubik’s Cube
- Go to a drive-in movie
- Eat at Blue Bayou at Disneyland
- Find perfect sand dollars
We went to find sand dollars but only found rocks for skipping. We’ll try again in the Spring!
- Take kids to Vegas to see show (4/2015)
- Buy a Magic 8 ball and make all decisions for a weekend day based on what it tells me
27 – 34: SIMPLE QUIET TIME
- Read at least 10 books on my bookshelf; half must be “classics”
So far: Of Mice & Men (Steinbeck) - See Sunrise & Sunset in one day (Point Mugu, 11/9/13)
- Read or browse (if not interested in reading) the whole Sun. LA Times that Sun. morning
- Write my name in the sand
On the way home, still in my work dress, I kicked off my shoes and walked down to put my toes in the water.
- Watch a film in Spanish with no subtitles
- Look through my hope chest of memories with my kids – March 10, 2012
- Use my cards to send notes to people “just because”
- Make a wish on 12:12am/pm on 12/12/12! – I hoped that the world would not end on 12/21/12 and what do you know, here we are! I also wished for a safe family cruise and we got back having the time of our lives!!
35 – 43: MAKE THE WORLD A PRETTIER PLACE
-
- Try glass blowing
- Pencil sketch something from nature
- Leave chalk messages for neighborhood
- Learn how to sew
- Turn kids’ old sports jerseys into pillow covers
- Complete Lauren’s ABC photo album
- Complete 1 more photo album
- Take a picture of the shape of every letter in the alphabet
- Draw self-portraits
44 – 51: JUST F*IN WRITE!
- Write a short story and submit for contest
- Haiku a week for Summer Break
- Write a detailed zombie apocalypse plan – found old term paper on Serpent and the Rainbow for reference
- Take a song-writing class
- Develop my blog – what is it’s purpose, what is my intent?
- Create a writing desk
- Answer the “50 questions that will free your mind”
- Learn 25 new things by hitting “random” on wikipedia.com (done 8/19/13) – write short story using 3 of them
52 – 54: SPORTSPICE
- Go to a rodeo
- See David Beckham play with Galaxy – Made verbal plans with neighbors to go!
- Watch an Ironman competition live
55 – 60: SORT IT OUT
- Limit myself to 1 junk drawer & 1 Misc. box
- Figure out shelving inside “Game cabinet” so not just 1 big pile
- Get rid of 101 of my things – my kids’ toys are safe
- Get all CDs on iPod and sell CDs
- Get all pictures on computer with backed up copies
- Sort all actual prints and get them in sequential order
61 – 72: TESTING MY BOUNDARIES
- Take dance lessons and let someone else lead
- Take a photography class
- Karaoke with a live band backing me
- Speed Dating event
- Buy a Groupon for something I’ve never done before
- Be in a flash mob
- Daughter’s thing for me to do: Swim with us in pool at Nani’s
- Son’s thing for me to do: He’s still thinking
- Do a voiceover job – free or paid
- Write a business plan
- Complete a “thing to do” that one of my blog readers suggests (Vote below in the comments!)
- Learn how to play guitar
73 – 76: MY REWARDS
- Buy something for myself off of Etsy
- Get a massage
- Get cruising bike for me
- Buy a chair like the ones I love from the Sheraton – Modern Wingback Chair
77 – 80: MY ROOTS
- Go to Korea for the first time since I was born with the Korean Hapa Tour or a Motherland tour with Holt (the agency I was adopted through).
- Visit at least 5 different ethnic festivals (from countries represented in my family) & then the same week, cook a recipe from one of the countries
- Learn to make one Hungarian pastry or casserole from my Grandmother’s recipes
- Go to Korean Cultural Center in LA (Done: 02/02/15)
81 – 93: WHERE I LIVE
- Take a historic walking tour of Los Angeles
- Get as close as possible to Hollywood Sign
- Go to a movie premier
Invited to a Blue Carpet Premiere!
- Go to Grammy Museum
- Buy Star Map, drive around oogling at homes
- Be a tv or movie extra or seat-filler
- Go to the Getty
- Visit Samuel French Bookstore
- Attend a TV Taping – preferably America’s Funniest Home Videos
- Hike Runyon or Topanga Canyon
- See a movie at the Cinerama – May 31, 2014: X-Men: Days of Future Past

Cinerama Dome on Sunset

It’s fun being a tourist in your own town!
- Visit the Tim Burton Exhibit – I missed it – it was gone before I made list. I have to come up with a replacement
MODIFIED: See Danny Elfman play his hits from Tim Burton and other great films! - Watch local play or ballet – March 2, 2014: with Kids and Aunt Banana

Local PV kids – such an impressive show!
94 – 97: PHILANTHROPY
- Do the MS Walk with Team Hope – 3/1 – Registered and officially FUNdraising! I’ve raised $40 so far!
- Build a Habitat for Humanity house
- Find the best way to Pay it Forward for Single Parents
- Do Birthday Project this year – Announced May 31, 2014
98 – 100: DON’T WANT TO DO
- Don’t eat out for a week
- Don’t speak a single word for a day
- No Internet, Social Media, Video Games, not even blogging for a weekend
101: THE BIG KAHUNA
- Take my kids, their sister, their dad & his new wife to either a Disney Cruise or Disney’s Aulani so the kids can have at least one great family vacation memory together before the eldest leaves for college. Lots of great together and separate activities!
Don’t forget to leave a comment with your suggestion of the activity I will have to do! I will randomly choose one and complete the activity in the next 1,001 days!
Thank you for wandering by!
*The list will take me longer than 1,001 thanks to a little 600 day distraction called Grad School
Mar 01, 2012 @ 01:50:27
Watch the sun rise over the ocean. Love your list!
Mar 01, 2012 @ 13:31:58
YAY! Thanks for being the first person to submit at idea! I appreciate you wandering through!
Mar 01, 2012 @ 06:20:45
You’re up already!!
If you’d like to use our badge feel free – it’s on my take part page.
I would fail on number 99!!
What’s Etsy?
Mar 01, 2012 @ 13:30:27
No you wouldn’t! Although I cheat, there are days where I don’t have my kids because they are with their dad. But still, it’s kinda peaceful living in your own bubble for a day – I’m guessing! I’ll let you know how it goes.
Etsy is like Ebay for hand-crafted items. LOVE IT! You can find so many cute things!
Thanks for wandering by and best of luck to both of us to get through our 101!
Mar 01, 2012 @ 06:21:53
And I just noticed you have the badge – sorry, I’m in need of a coffee!! 😉
Mar 01, 2012 @ 19:04:59
Wonderful list! Go Skydiving- just a thought 🙂 Something I always wanted to do.
Mar 01, 2012 @ 19:07:23
Ooooh, that one gives me the willies, but fair enough, it’s in there!! Silly, I’ve always preferred the idea of skydiving to bungee jumping for some reason!
Mar 02, 2012 @ 06:15:18
Hehe, well have fun with your journey. You’ve definitely have a list full!
Mar 02, 2012 @ 05:43:47
I love the variety in your list. For the “don’t speak a word for a day”, you may want to consider a silent retreat – I find that being in a supportive environment helps with that one. 🙂 (My meditation blog, if you have any interest in reading/exploring further: http://meditationmania.wordpress.com/)
Mar 14, 2012 @ 07:16:09
It’s inspiring how dedicated you are to your family. 🙂
Mar 14, 2012 @ 20:53:37
Thank you! I’m also trying to make sure that I schedule enough stuff for us to do together, not just his, her and my events! Thanks for wandering through!
Mar 25, 2012 @ 22:53:14
Hi, I am a new 101er. You have a lot of cool ideas that I found as inspiration for my own list. Good luck! 🙂
Mar 25, 2012 @ 22:55:06
Thank you! So fun! I’ll check out your list too. Thanks for wandering by!
Mar 25, 2012 @ 22:58:57
Yep, thank you! Let’s support each other on this 🙂
Apr 08, 2012 @ 12:38:19
I really likje this list, it’s inspiring! 😀
Apr 08, 2012 @ 16:03:17
You should consider doing one too! It’s been great fun so far! Thanks for wandering through!
Apr 25, 2012 @ 11:22:01
This is fantastic! I love the fact that so many of these items are free, or next to free.
What about facing your biggest fear (or any fear) whatever yours might be. For me, it involved taking a tour deep underground in the Bellamar Caves in Cuba, inspire of being extremely claustrophobic. The experience turned out to be both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time, and something I was very glad I did.
You go girl!
Apr 25, 2012 @ 11:33:27
Excellent suggestion! I will have to think on that one, I am afraid of heights if not strapped in so that could be one. I have to see if anything larger comes to mind. I think my fish thing is severe dislike, not fear.
Maybe I can find a way to incorporate both?! LOL!
Thanks for wandering by!
Aug 05, 2012 @ 17:39:49
I love the different categories of your 101. Good luck with your list! 🙂
Aug 05, 2012 @ 20:55:23
Thank you! I’ve fallen a bit behind lately but will press on! Thanks for wandering by!
Aug 21, 2012 @ 08:11:46
I love some of the things on your list! I have a similar theme going on over at my blog!
Aug 21, 2012 @ 08:25:48
So fun! I’ll wander over in a bit to check it out! Thanks for stopping by!
Aug 22, 2012 @ 09:45:20
Thanks!
Nov 21, 2012 @ 18:18:41
Cool list. that’s a lot of stuff to do and experience. i might make a list like this my self.
Nov 21, 2012 @ 23:28:36
You totally should! It reminds me to live life! I’m a little behind right now though.
Nov 22, 2012 @ 05:25:17
There is a lot to do on that list!
Sep 26, 2014 @ 21:01:41
Come visit me! You could check off #6 and visit Portland!!! I love this list!
Sep 27, 2014 @ 00:47:52
Great idea! I’ll think about it!! Thanks for wandering through! Miss you!