101 in 1001

So.......there's a project called 101 in 1001. The basic idea is you come up with a list of 101 things to do in the next 1001 days. I first encountered it on Jessica Claire's blog, and again on Melissa Jill's blog. I thought I'd take the plunge as well. I actually started the project on Jan. 21, 2007, but am a little late to post it to the blog.

I haven't exactly got 101 things down yet, but wanted to at least start the project!

I also wanted to avoid cliches like "get more fit" or "flatten my tummy." ACK! CLICHE!!!!!!!!!!

Since the list is incomplete, I'm taking creative suggestions.

Also, here are a few other bloggers who are doing this (disclaimer: I know NONE of these people, but wanted to show I'm not off my rocker for attempting a project like this.

- I LOVE the last two items on THIS blog!

- Here, Here, and Here are three more I liked.

Without further ado .... here's my list (so far):

Start: Jan. 21, 2007
End: Oct. 18, 2009 (I found a really cool date calculator on Kristin Greenlee's blog.)

(in NO particular order)
1. Marry the man of my dreams — DONE!!!! Sept. 27, 2008
2. Quit my full-time news job — DONE!!!!!!! June 4, 2008
3. Learn how to speak rudimentary Italian
4. Go on a vineyard tour in Italy
5. Learn to juggle
6. Earn as much from Heartland Photography in one year as I did from any previous job
7. Adopt a child internationally
8. Learn how to play (basic) piano
9. Dye my hair — DONE!!!!!!! Oct. 24, 2008
10. Develop a long-term documentary project
11. Attend WPPI in Vegas
12. Put 10% of my income into a retirement plan
13. Put another 10% of my income into investments
14. Play the stock market
15. Buy a share of stock in Apple Inc.
16. Travel in Africa (again)
17. Become a member of a wine club
18. Read one book a month for one year — DONE!!!! April 21, 2009
19. Buy a new car — DONE!!!! July 27, 2009
20. Buy a gold coin
21. Eat veggies grown ONLY from my garden for one summer
22. Practice yoga 2 times/week for six months
23. Play in a real poker tournament — DONE!!!! Oct. 19, 2008
24. Be interviewed on NPR
25. Go to Mt. Rushmore
26. Go to Washington, D.C. — DONE!!!! Jan. 20-24, 2009
27. Join a fantasy team
28. Attend Liana's Business Boot Camp — DONE!!!! April 29-May 1, 2008
29. Fly first class
30. Have a Heartland booth in a bridal show — DONE!!!! Jan. 4, 2009
31. Purchase an original piece of art — DONE!!!! Jan. 29, 2008
32. Book 20-24 weddings/year
33. Take a SCUBA diving class
34. Have something ELSE published in Better Homes & Gardens magazine
35. Have a wedding featured in a magazine
36. Hit the 1 gallon mark for blood donation — DONE!!!! June 24, 2009
37. Visit the center of the continental U.S.
38. Take a walk on the beach (of a warm, tropical-like place, not an inland lake!) — DONE!!!! Aug. 14, 2008
39. Finish one of my "in progress" quilts
40. Keep tax information current on a monthly basis (i.e. don't wait until the end of the year to get organized!)
41. Send birthday cards to everyone on my birthday calendar for one year
42. Make peanut butter fudge — DONE!!!! April 26, 2009
43. Do not get a plastic bag at a retail store for a month (i.e. use a cloth bag I will keep with me) — DONE!!!! Nov. 21, 2008
44. Replace all possible lights in house with more eco-friendly light bulbs
45. Make one new recipe/week for 3 months — DONE!!!! March 11, 2009
46. Keep my car clean (i.e. no junk rattling around in the back seat/on the floor) for 3 months — DONE!!!! April 14 - July 14, 2009
47. Floss every day for a month DONE!!!! April 14 - Oct. 10, 2009
48. Take a dance class with ERB
49. Learn to belly dance
50. Develop and implement a regular backup system for my computer
51. Volunteer as a classroom aid in a local school (to read to children)
52. Document the birth of a child (scheduled July 2009)
53. Read "How to Win Friends & Influence People"
54. Participate in the Bike Across Kansas
55. Write/mail Jeanel a letter once/month for 6 months — DONE!!!! 3/12/08, 4/14/08, 5/3/08, 6/30/08, 7/30/08, 8/24/08
56. See the northern lights
57. Go to Nicodemas, Kansas; learn a little about its history
58. Photograph Castle Rock at sunrise
59. Go to the Grand Canyon — DONE!!!! May 23, 2009
60. Paint a room in my house — DONE!!!! Feb. 17, 2008
61. Read pages 1&3 of the newspaper EVERY DAY for a MONTH
62. Take my vitamins every day for a month
63. Develop a newsletter for HP — DONE!!!! Nov. 20, 2008
64. Have a photo published on Trash The Dress Web site
65. Make my own hot chocolate mix — DONE!!!! Jan. 19, 2009
66. Be a counselor for diabetes summer camp — DONE!!!! June 15-19, 2008
67. Photograph a wedding in Hawaii
68. Eat authentic sushi — DONE!!!! Jan. 23, 2008
69. Attend the March for Life in Washington, D.C. — DONE!!!! Jan. 22, 2009
70. Go to groundhog day activities in PA!
71. Tour the Boulevard brewery in Kansas City — DONE!!!! June 18, 2009
72. Tour the Harley Davidson factory in Kansas City. — DONE!!!! June 18, 2009
73. Photograph a family for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
74. Participate in a triathlon (as a team member, not solo!!!)
75. Get my 3 a day for an entire month!
76. Enter photos in a competition
77. Donate my portrait photography services to 2 auctions/year — DONE!!!! March 22, 2009
78. Get large canvas prints made
79. Get karenmikols.com UP AND RUNNING!!! — DONE!!!! Feb. 28, 2009
80. Go visit Bobby Ann & Vern in their winter nest, catch spring game while in Arizona.
81. Go to the Salt Mines in Hutch.
82. Finish filling out this darn list — DONE!!!!
83. Plant a garden (to eat veggies from my garden #21, I have to HAVE a garden!) DONE!!!! — May 4, 2008
84. Re-do the master suite in Erik's house (bedroom/closet/bath)
85. Get a stinkin' blog counter figured out on this blog — DONE!!!! Aug. 19, 2008
86. Get the new Heartland site up and RUNNING. — DONE!!!! June 1, 2008
87. Have an article I write published in an industry magazine (wedding/portrait photography industry)
88. Put the odometer on my bicycle — DONE!!!! June 2009
889. Make a batch of lemonade FROM SCRATCH (well, I don't have to grow the lemons!) — DONE!!!! Oct. 15, 2009
90. Visit Miss Susie in Independence — DONE!!!! June 28-30, 2009
91. Blog stalk a blog COMPLETELY unrelated to photography for ONE MONTH.
92. Keep the dining room table clutter free (i.e. no Karen piles) for one month — DONE!!!! Sept. 22, 2009
93. Finish sanding/re-staining the wooden chest — DONE!!!! March 8, 2009
94. Clean/organize the garage so one of us can pull in during the winter — DONE!!!! Oct. 9, 2008
95. Do a blog post exclusively about Esse ... show photos from my kitty's youngest days. — DONE!!!! Sept. 12, 2008
96. Get 2008 wedding album designs completed/to the printer/binder before 2009 weddings begin.
97. Lift weights 2x week for 3 months (to encourage strong bones and fight off osteoporosis) — DONE!!!! April 16, 2009
98. Get that tree taken care of in the backyard. — DONE!!!! June 1, 2009
199. Build a patio with the limestone; eat a dinner al fresco — DONE!!!! Aug. 17, 2009
100. Visit "baby Paul" at college — DONE!!!! Nov. 9-10, 2008
101. Pray night prayer every night for a month — DONE!!!! April 25-March 25, 2009

Can't Sleep :-(

It's 4 a.m. Eastern time and "ME NO SLEEPY!" (Me no likey).

I'm at an AMAZING workshop in Kentucky right now .... and can't sleep. Part of it is new environment. Part of it is my roomie, Anne, is nowhwere to be seen. She was going to drive in late (last night?), but isn't here yet and I'm being a worry wart (UGH!)


Anyhow, before I went to bed last night, I discovered how much I like the bathroom counter. It makes for lovely ring detail photos. I can't decide which I like better, so I'm posting both.

Registries

Ok, we're registered! (Erik had a LITTLE TOO MUCH FUN with the scanner gun!)

Please CLICK HERE to view our registries!

On the Laws' blog!

After noticing that there were NO photos of Carol on her blog from Robin & Chris' wedding, I sent her a few to post. (we're getting ready to upload the entire set soon!)

I LOVE making it onto people's blog or facebook profiles! When I get around to it, I'll share some of those!

Mini Moon location!

Since Erik works in the sports department, we won't be able to take a honeymoon immediately after the wedding.

That's OK, though, becuase we'll take what some fellow photogs call a "Mini Moon." Basically, it's a short getaway for the newlyweds! (I'm shamelessly stealing the term from Justin & Mary Marantz )

Anyhow, we'll "Mini Moon" at the STUNNING College Hill Bed & Breakfast! There's even a NEW little guest cottage I ADORE that isn't on their Web site yet! I'm excited to stay there, because it looks UBER relaxing!

Is it Sept. 27 yet? Yet? YET?

Wedding Web site

Ok, so this is a first post, and sort of a test.

I've put up some information on a Web site as well, and am not sure if we'll put all of our information on the wedding site, or if we'll maintain a blog for *just us.* At first, this blog will probably have a LOT of wedding planning, etc., but later it could have other things such as home makeovers! (Erik has just been introduced to HGTV)

SO, withour further ado, please CLICK HERE to visit our wedding Web site!

Be sure to bookmark it, because there will be updates!