971 Days to Go

Last Week's Priority Goals

1. Get 1,000 words written for new screenplay.
2. Consolidate U.S. Bank accounts.
3. Write two more profiles from e-mail interviews.
4. Read "The Catcher in the Rye."
5. Write a blog post.
6. Complete another recipe from my 101 Recipes List.
7. Schedule a hot stone massage for my stay at a very nice hotel/spa/casino in Vegas at the end of September (spa appointments must be made a month in advance).
   

Last Week's Secondary Goals

1. Practice my violin.
2. Catalog books.
3. Organize office.

I actually managed to get to nearly 3,000 words in my screenplay last week, and I should hit 6,000 today with no problem. I'm really working on adopting Jerry Seinfeld's chain method, and it's done a good job keeping motivated to write this week (even on Tuesday when I'd already worked a total of 14 hours between my "real" job and freelance).

I'd also nearly finished The Catcher in the Rye last week, but I've been so swamped this week that I literally finished it about 10 minutes ago. So I'm a few days behind on my reading schedule, but I should have no trouble making that up in the next several months. Next up is Part III of The Lord of the Rings, a.k.a. The Return of the King.

I'm tabling getting my U.S. bank accounts consolidated for the moment. In practical terms, I've done it since nearly all our money is at ING now. It's just a matter of actually getting them closed. But since keeping them open is not hurting anything, I'm going to move that down on my list of priorities.

Oh, and the really exciting goal accomplished from last week is that I have officially scheduled my hot stone massage at the Red Rock Hotel, Spa and Casino in Las Vegas! It's going to be pricey at $160 for 50 minutes, but I figure I'm going to be getting the best of the best in Vegas, right? The optimist in me is thinking I'll be able to get up $160 in the casino, thus making the experience free, but the realist in me is planning on being out $160 but with very relaxed muscles.

I also invested in a Moleskine notebook this week, which has been awesome. So, despite not posting this week's goals, I did at least get some written down. You know it's been a crazy week when you can't even get your goals posted until Friday, but here they are finally, straight from Tuesday's Moleskine entry.

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This Week's Priority Goals

1. Hit the 6,000-word mark in my screenplay.
2. Complete both freelance editing projects on my current plate.
3. Finish "Catcher in the Rye."
4. Catalog movies.
5. Visit the farmers' market.
6. Foodblog recipe from last weekend.
   

This Week's Secondary Goals

1. Write a blog post.
2. Organize office.
3. Meal plan.
4. Another 101 recipe.
   

984 Days to Go

Last Week's Goals

1. Get to the 4000-word mark in my 2007 ScriptFrenzy screenplay. (Not done, but other creative progress made.)
   
2. Write two more profiles from e-mail interviews for my in-progress article. (Not done. No excuses.)
   
3. Consolidate our U.S. Bank accounts. (Not done. My half day went to more important things, like hanging out with my mom and my sisters.)
   
4. Finish reading LOTR: The Two Towers. (Completed!)
   
5. Have a status update with Jordan. (Completed!)
   
6. Write two blog posts at my regular blog. (Completed!)

Other Accomplishments

1. Jordan and I spent the afternoon reading and chatting at a coffee shop, thus fulfilling Month No. 1 for No. 16 on the Creativity section of my list.
2. I volunteered at the soup kitchen again, and this time my youngest sister, Kate, came along for the ride.
3. This isn't on my list, but I've started helping my mom and one of her friends coach a soccer team of 4- to 5-year-old girls. This, as I'm sure you can imagine, has been an adventure. Kate's helping with that, too.
4. I did some research and outlining for a different screenplay that's taken over my brain than what I had originally intended for my belated 2007 ScriptFrenzy script. So, now I have two screenplays I want to write. I think I'll concentrate on the one that's taken over my brain for now and try to get some actual scenes written this week.
   
5. I vacuumed. To those to whom this seems trivial, I can only defend myself by pointing out that you had not seen the carpet.
   

Priority Goals for This Week

1. Get 1,000 words written for new screenplay.
2. Consolidate U.S. Bank accounts.
3. Write two more profiles from e-mail interviews.
4. Read "The Catcher in the Rye."
5. Write a blog post.
6. Complete another recipe from my 101 Recipes List.
7. Schedule a hot stone massage for my stay at a very nice hotel/spa/casino in Vegas at the end of September (spa appointments must be made a month in advance).
   

Secondary Goals for This Week

1. Practice my violin.
2. Catalog books.
3. Organize office.
   

991 Days to Go

I feel like I didn't really get much accomplished this past week as far as 101 progress, but I was unusually busy, so I suppose that's some consolation.

We started attending a new church last Sunday. The music was great (which is no surprise, considering the phenomenally talented Kirt Mosier [a.k.a. orchestra director at Lee's Summit West High School] is the worship minister), and the sermon was pretty good. But the thing that impressed me most was the invitation for anyone who was interested to go volunteer at a soup kitchen in Kansas City on Monday. I'll admit it was hesitant because I (1) was new to the church, (2) would be going by myself with a bunch of people I didn't know, and (3) already commited to seeing some old friends Monday night. But I'd been asking God for an opportunity like this for some time now, and I knew I needed to go, despite being fairly far outside my comfort zone. Plus I kept telling myself I'd get to cross something off my 101 list, which I realize is selfish, but sometimes we need a little something to get us over the hump. So, I went. There were a ton of volunteers there this past Monday, and it was a lighter than usual crowd, so I didn't feel like I got to contribute as much as I would have liked. However, the church is taking a group down every Monday for the foreseeable future, so I should have plenty of opportunities to help out. At some point I'd like to take the camera with me and document the event, but I figure I better get a little more experience there first.

I just posted my first mission101 foodblog over at this site's sister blog, so go check it out. That meal coupled with lunch out with Jordan's parents last Sunday makes me 1 for 33 for having dinner with the families once a month.

I transferred most of my paycheck this month to my Electric Orange account, which means I should have a few extra bucks at the end of the month thanks to the interest I'll be accruing. And free money rocks. :-) I also balanced our budget two weeks in a row, and I should have time tomorrow to balance it for this week.

I'm planning on devoting more time this week to catch up on my Creativity and Organization tasks. Here are my goals for this week:

1. Get to the 4000-word mark in my 2007 ScriptFrenzy screenplay.
2. Write two more profiles from e-mail interviews for my in-progress article.
   
3. Consolidate our U.S. Bank accounts.
4. Finish reading LOTR: The Two Towers.
5. Have a status update with Jordan.
6. Write two blog posts at my regular blog.

My Husband Rocks

I can cross off one more item on my list thanks to my super-awesome husband. He bought me a one-year subscription to www.apstylebook.com, meaning I basically have an online, up-to-date, searchable AP Stylebook at my fingertips any time I'm at a computer.

Also, check out my new blog post at formerlyditty.blogspot.com. That makes 65 more blog posts to go in the next 1,000 days.

Day One: August 1, 2007

The countdown has begun...

I've already crossed two items off my list.

Under the God section (see sidebar), we've decided to try out a new church. I recently found out that I cannot be a member at our current church because I was baptized as an infant (and do not feel led to be baptized again). While that would not been the deciding factor for whether or not we stayed, the fact that we cannot be involved in any ministries other than volunteering for Kindness Outreach was unfortunately the proverbial final straw. We're not leaving on bad terms or anything (at least not on our end). We simply feel that we need to be at a church where we can give back. So we're moving on. I'm excited about trying out the new church this weekend; it'll be nice to be able to really focus on God while at church and not have the membership issue hanging over my head.

Secondly, under the Culture/Food/Wine section, you can note that I've crossed off "Find a French pen pal and converse regularly." I signed up at Polyglot about a month ago and was almost immediately connected with not one, but TWO pen pals, with whom I've been conversing ever since. Obviously, if our regular correspondence falls by the wayside, I'll have to un-cross this, but for now, it feels good to be 1.98 percent through my mission.

Cheers,
Sarah