Update -- a few more crossed off

Haven't been here for a while, but I after a visit I realized that I could cross a few things off the list. There are a few others I need to change -- like taking a stitching class at CATS. Since there is no more CATS, that won't be happening. I may still take a class at the Celebration of Needlework if I go, so I won't completely get rid of it.

Anyway:

17. Read Harry Potter 7
Read this the weekend it came out. I loved and hated it, if you know what I mean. I knew some people would die, but there was one death in particular that really upset me. I hated the epilogue, but the general story I really enjoyed and got through it pretty quickly.

48. Get a cell phone
This was probably a weird one for most people, but I only got a cell phone a few months ago. Honestly? I was going to get one when I started working in the city but Tim wanted me to wait so that he, his mom and I could get on a family plan. Well, a year later he got sick enough of T-Mobile that we went to the closest Verizon store and took care of it. I'm really glad I have it.

72. Wear colored and/or patterned tights
I love tights, and now that it's November and fall has finally arrived, I can wear them! I've worn some pretty black ones with a floral pattern and some lacy capri leggings. I'm going to buy some more of the lace tights because I love the look of them and they would also look pretty over tights of another color, which would also keep me a little warmer.

100. Replace all my pillows -- couch and bed
Did this a while back. Kohls was having a big sale on pillows and I bought some beautiful new chocolate brown and turqoise pillows for the living room -- four of them cost me around $45. I also bought standard bed pillows.

Two more are done

2. Finish Liberty Sampler
I finished this by working on it like crazy on July 4th and finishing it on July 5th. I'm really happy with it and will probably end up giving it to my parents.



27. Read Mary Hunt's Debt-Proof Living
I read this last week and got through it pretty quickly. I don't agree with everything she said but for the most part liked what I read. She and Dave Ramsey seem to pretty much be on the same page, but Mary tends to do a lot of little things at once whereas Dave tends to focus on one thing then the next. It really depends on what makes you more comfortable. I also like her Freedom Account idea. Dave talks about that idea briefly, but I think Mary does a good job of explaining how it works and going into details about some ways to make it work.

OK, here are my changes

I didn't make a huge amount of changes, but I deleted some and replaced them with others that seemed more important over the next couple of years.

18. I changed this from mentoring a child to teaching a child or an adult how to read.

22. This one is actually done -- re-read Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace." His books have really been helping me focus on getting rid of my debt.

23. This was about catching up on my framing, but now focuses on teaching myself how to do it in order to save money.

26. This one is also done - read Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover." I was hesitant at first, thinking it would be the same as the other. However, both books are very good and useful for different reasons, and I'm glad I have read and own both so that I can go back when I need inspiration.

27. Read Mary Hunt's "Debt-Proof Living." I'm reading this one this month. I've heard she has some ideas that work very well with the Ramsey plan and that's good. The more I read about this stuff, the more motivated I am.

49. Get $10k in savings. This will be my 3-6 months expenses so that if something happens I'm OK financially.

50. If I follow my plan, I'll have all my debts paid off except for the student loan by the time my 1001 days are up. I'm looking forward to it.

81. Replace livingroom tables -- this is in progress. I have a table I inherited from my grandmother, made by my grandfather. However, I'm not using it for much at the moment because it has a loose leg. Once I find someone who can help me fix it I'm going to replace one of the glas tables with it. The other glass table will also go. I don't think I'll replace that one, as I need to get steps for Smokey to get in the window (he's 13 and getting arthritic) and they will take up the space where that table currently sits.

84. Start funding my retirement with 15% of my income. I'm not sure if I'll be able to start this within the 1001 days or not, but I put it here to help remind me.

More changes

OK, I will be making more changes to my list shortly. I'm working very hard on getting rid of my debt and saving up 3-6 months of expenses for an emergency fund. When I originally made this list I felt that there was too much buying listed, and now I'm convinced I was right. I knew from the beginning this list would change, as things come up that become more important than when you start these kinds of lists.

So, I'll be taking some away and adding some that are more important to me at this time.

Update

I'm making another change to my list. One of my stitching goals was to finish Sleeping Beauty. After much soul searching and discussion, I've decided to give her away to someone who wants to finish her. :( The design is beautiful and I love the color of the fabric, but it's Wichelt and it's driving me crazy. She's been a WIP for 5-6 years and I don't see every finishing her when I have so many other pieces using Zweigart, fabric I find I prefer.

So, I'm going to gather the WIP, the chart and all the floss and see if I can find a home for her. I'm sure I'll find a good home over at the Mirabilia BB. Eventually, I'll buy and start her again on fabric I like. I bought that fabric before I knew the difference between fabrics. Lesson learned.

Instead, I'm going to replace that goal with finishing Liberty Sampler. That is a huge goal of mine for the year, so I think this is a good place for it, too.

Two more items scratched off

1. I have completed my Rush CD collection! Yay!

2. I got all my stitching stuff in one place, finally. Technically, it's in two drawer systems, but all in the same area. I found the largest 4-drwaer system Target had, and it's almost as tall as me, but it's still not enough for everything. So, I have an additional smaller 3-drawer system where I keep my specialty floss, beads and other stuff. I feel so much better now that I know where everything is. My charts are all in binders sitting on top of my piano. Once I get decent bookshelves I can put them there, but at least they are all together, that's the main thing.

I also changed a few of mine, as some of my goals have changed. I'm working on organization in my livingroom area right now, hence the stitching organization mentioned above. Tim has decided he likes how open the livingroom is now that the tree is down and I haven't put back the honkin' huge and impractical glass-top round coffee table. So, he's OK with me not putting it back, which concerned me because he likes the look of it.

I'm getting a small side table with a drawer from my grandmother's house, so that will replace one of the matching square glass-top side tables, and I plan on getting another sidetable in a cherry-type wood (will match the other table) to replace the second glass-top side table. I may still end up getting a coffee table, but it will be small and will have a drawer or shelf or something. This place is too small to have furniture that does nothing except collect dust and not store anything

Finished a few more on my list

I knew I had finished a few books on here, but there are some other items that I finished that I forgot I had listed here. Cool!

39. Read Beowulf: Finished it pretty quickly. I actually enjoyed it. I'm planning on getting Cliff's Notes so that I can study it a bit more like I would in class. I'm interested in learning more about Old English and think I might be able to do it that way. I'm also going to read the essay Tolkien wrote about it. The only thing that got to me was how many times some of the stories were repeated -- instead of just saying "Beowulf told the king how he bested Grendel and his mother" they go through the whole story again. I guess it's more poetic to do it that way. :)

47. Buy something for Mo she wouldn't buy for herself: Mo is my sister. She buys fantastic work clothes as she's a corporate attorney and has to look the part. However, last time we were together she commented on my "leisure wear" and that all of hers is stuff that is leftover, nothing she actually buys as comfy clothes. So, for her birthday a few days ago I sent her some nice blue cotton pjs from Macys. It's something she just wouldn't buy for herself.

62. Read Last of the Mohicans: I enjoyed this book, but probably won't reread it. It took a while to get going and the archaic way of speaking got on my nerves a bit. I liked the actual story, though, and am glad I read it. I've always loved the Daniel Day-Lewis movie, and still do, but there are a lot of differences. I won't go into details, but if anyone watches the movie instead of reading the book for a test or book report, they'll be in big trouble!

68. Try a new food: Did that today at my department's holiday party at Lucky Strike Lanes. We ordered a bunch of appetizers and they had fried mac & cheese. I was good and only had one, but it was YUMMY! I'm sure that one piece had enough calories for the day.

Finished Angel of Love!

There's one more scratched off my list! I've been working on her a little here and there for over 5 years. I finally decided enough was enough and finished her on Sunday. The funny thing is that it's not the patchwork, beading or metallics that bothered me, but the huge "boring" parts with all the blue and white. Of course, with that busy skirt the other parts need to be very subtle, but it took me a long time to stitch all that when I had other more colorful things to stitch.