Completed: #31, #32

Completed: Visit St. Lawrence Market, Visit the Distillery District.

I don’t have any photos of St. Lawrence Market, but it was a quiet Sunday morning that was spent there a few weeks ago. Boyfriend & I grabbed some brunch, walked around and gazed at all the merchants and their goodies. The only purchase made that day was a $5 necklace that I really dig (picture to follow).

This afternoon, Boyfriend & I spent a good few hours walking through the Distillery District’s cobblestone streets. Tasty panini’s, and even tastier homemade ice cream! Mmmm, PB&J ice cream!

On a non 101-things topic, things have gotten a little less hectic in my life, and I am finding a LOT more free time on my hands. I plan on taking advantage of the great weather we’ve been having as well as diving straight into a few books that I have been meaning to indulge in. Toodles, Summer! You have been an interesting one… now, on to the boots and the wonderful jackets of Autumn!

Completed #13 - Bake cupcakes!

Completed: Bake Cupcakes

It’s a friend of mine’s going away and birthday party tomorrow, and I am in charge of bringing in some desserts, so I thought I’d cross one item off of my 101 things in 1001 days list - bake cupcakes.

I wanted my first batch of cupcakes to be tasty cupcakes made from scratch, and it has totally been accomplished! These babies are SO tasty! They are vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream topping and a sprinkling of chocolate! A darling coworker of mine forwarded me a recipe for Magnolia Vanilla cupcakes so I knew those would probably be killer cupcakes. I think the use of pure vanilla over artificial vanilla extract made a fairly large difference.

This experience has turned on some sort of switch in me - I told the BF that I’ll be baking a WHOLE lot more nowadays! :) Thank goodness for the gym membership!

The recipe can be found on this website. Happy baking!!

Completed: #12

Completed: Hit the Driving Range

I have completed item #12 in my 101 things in 1001 days list. I look like such a dork in the pic! And I am positive I looked even dorkier trying to swing that club… or whatever it is. I realized within 20 minutes of trying this particular adventure that I am in no way any sort of golfer. I hated mini-putting, and I hated this. I am not really sure how some folks find this kind of thing relaxing - but to each their own, yeah? At least this made me realize that it’s just not my thing.

And about that 101 things list - I accidentally deleted it. I am such a geek!! I had a pretty lengthy list and I clicked on “delete”… my head was elsewhere. It’s been happening a lot lately. I need to stop and think just a little more before I act.

I’ve been trying to work on the list but it’s a lot harder than I thought! I can barely make a list of 101 things… there are a ton of things that I wanted to do, but I live in a city that makes it pretty easy to go to a musical or something equally funtastic any day of the week. Regardless, I will complete that list - sooner or later :)

Completed: #4 & #6

Each time I knock an item off of my 101 in 1001 Days list, I plan to blog about it a little.  This week, I’ve accomplished #4 and #6.

#4: Go to a Tennis Match

Last week, BF & I both played hookie (read: we booked a day off) and spent the (fairly rainy) day at Rogers Cup @ York University. Unfortunately for us, the majority of the day that was supposed to have been spent cruising around the grounds and watching various tennis matches ended up just being 1 match - the Nadal and Levine match. It was the first tennis event I had ever been to and it was really quite exciting - especially for someone that doesn’t really watch tennis at all to begin with. However, I am automatically a sports fan when we’re outdoors and I can witness the action right in front of me. A+! I will definitely do this again - I’m trying to convince BF that it’d be a good idea to catch the US Open :)

#6: Take a spinning class

One evening last week, I decided that it’d be a good idea to just go ahead and join a spinning class. It was an hour long ordeal, and it was almost bearable, if not for the incredibly painful seat. I’m sure I could have probably completed the entire hour decently if  my bum didn’t feel the way it did, but it was definitely a decent first time. After about 50 minutes, I think if I continued to push myself as hard as I did initially, I probably would have thrown up. Needless to say that next time (and yes, there will be a next time!), I will take it a little easier… baby steps, you know.

I still have to complete the 101 list - for some reason, it’s proving to be a fairly difficult task. I try to do as much as I can (example: i’ve been to every sporting event except hockey, i have been to musicals and etc) so it’s hard trying to put something new and exciting on the list.

Oh well! Hope you’re all doing better than I am :)

The ‘101 Things in 1001 days’ Project

I am all about changing myself for the better, so I found this interesting project that I might have to start on my own: The 101 Things in 1001 Days project.

From their website:

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focussed. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

Stay tuned for my list! It will definitely take me a few days to gather my thoughts and come up with a list of great things I want to accomplish in just under 3 years.