101 in 1001... Do it.

I've been neglecting this blog, but after last summer that's an awesome thing. That means I haven't been spending as much time strapped to a chair pounding out post like before. That means, that I've been taking advantage of a healthier life and have been getting out and living it up. Which is what brings me here today.

A buddy of mine was talking to me about his list and how he's been mentally checking items off, I can't say the same for myself. I know I've done some of the things on my list but now-a-day's it seems I'm more stoked about killing a task rather than putting it on blast. I think I've gotten to the point to where I can accomplish some things so fast that I'm mentally on to the next one already.

Example: As of my last accomplished post, nearly 4 months ago, where I took out three tasks, I have now accomplished ELEVEN more. Some even more than once. Woo Hoo!

Here's a brief look at what I've been up to...

18. Cook/Make something from my Pinterest. 
- In June I got all crafty and shit. Yeah, that's what I call it cause I'm a man. Haha. So I set out to Hobby Lobby, like a BOSS bought some supplies and created some custom ink for my Disc Golf discs.

21. Create short movies with videos (Clips) I've taken.
- So yeah, I've been making it a habit to capture more video. I've got a son who changes everyday and I want to remember that in a way still pictures can't capture. If this wasn't a lame blog, I'd actually have a video loaded for you to watch but... Well, I don't. My bad, next time.

39. Go Skinny Dipping.
- Done. And Done.

47. Go to the track and play the horses. 
- I wanna say we went twice this season. Nothing exciting happened, I didn't win big but I did win enough to keep playing and drinking and that's good enough for me. The next season starts soon so I'll be out placing bets this fall.

48. Go Tubing.
- Last summer was a long and slow burning summer, spending most of it injured had me determined to make the most of the sun season after rahab. And this video is just a snippet of that.


75. Record more video.
- Uhh... I guess this one goes hand in hand with #21.

80. Score within 5 strokes to par.
- Damn, I've been doing this for a while now. Granted it's at my "home course" where I have to opportunity to play at least once a week. But, I'm not taking anything away from this accomplishment, especially when my first score at the course (January 2012) was PLUS 26. Since January 19th, 2012 I have been scoring consistently anywhere from 0 to +4 and learning the game more and more each time.

88. Train More. Train Harder.
- After my injury I've realized more than ever than I need to get back to focuses on my health and fitness. I can proudly say that since January I've spent more time working out outside and lifting weights than I have been in recent years past. I've seen changes in my strength, in the way clothes fit and I feel better about myself. It doesn't stop here though... Next year I want to look at pictures of myself from this time and be exciting about how much better I look and feel.

93. Vacation at the beach.
- I can't believe I hadn't blogged about this already. Especially since I went twice and each time was a great trip. In fact we had such a great time that The Wife and I are hoping to make the trips an annual event. Our first trip was with a couple of friends in April, we enjoyed a childless, stree-free no rules vacation in beautiful South Padre Island, Texas. Can't wait 'till next year. Our second vacation was just as much fun with the family in Galveston, Texas with a stop in Brenham for a tour and taste of Blue Bell Ice Cream.

97. Win a Super Saturday (Disc Golf).
- This one's is almost out of my control. By that I mean, I have to actually play people to win. And since I've gotten better  I haven't had very many opportunities to throw with my crew. Summer is a busy time and as adults we've all got schedules and plans, family events and shopping at Home Depot or Bed Bath & Beyond. But in June I finally played the and beat the guys in my regular crew, for those counting, that's only 6 months after my very first round. #DiscountDoubleCheck

MY LIST

Lennon & Maisy = Music

OMG! I Love these girls... In the whole, If music be the food of love, play on, kinda way. So much so, that I actually typed "OMG". Lennon the, the oldest, has a smokey smooth voice and Maisy's harmonies are on point, their talent is far beyond their years. Alright that's enough from me, check out the videos below. Oh by the way, they're only 12 & 8 years old. 

Lennon & Maisy Stella - Call Your Girlfriend ~ COVER 


Maisy Stella - Secret ~ COVER

I can't tell you how many times I've watched their videos, let's just say that I actually had Call Your Girlfriend on repeat at work... And then played it several more times at home and now as I type this I'm listening to it again. 

From those one hundred or so times I noticed that the video quality is always good and the recording equipment looks pretty solid too. And in one video, dayamn, you see a huge selection of albums on shelves. I figured these weren't just some cute little girls riding a YouTube wave, so, off to the internets I went. I found that they are daughters to Country/Pop duo Brad & MaryLynne Stella (The Stellas). Now that's a family business. I wish these girls and their family the best, I'm sure we'll all hear from them soon, I just hope their music is in line with their covers and the industry doesn't try to make them some silly pop act. We need music on the radio again, there is entirely too much nonsensical talentless noise spewing from speaker these days. 

The Stellas - Riding in the Back Seat

Three more down. #36, #72, #89.

#36 Get paid more or get a new job.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! It’s about time! My pockets will be slightly heavier every month.

#72 Play the lottery.

Pretty self explanatory, and horribly unexciting. If I was a big winner this would be a better post.

#89 Transition to Apple (iCal, Notes, Reminders, etc) exclusively.

While I don’t think much of Siri, I do appreciate the ability of having everything I need in one central place. That place being, my Apple products, it’s extremely convenient to have my schedule, pictures, music and notes with me at all times, so I’ve made an effort to add and include everything on my phone and computer.

Time to add $15 to the pot. [See: The List #31]. 

#92 Update iTunes Content. DONE.

This desperately needed to happen but I sit in front of a desk for 8 hours a day Monday – Friday, so when I get off of work the last thing I want to do is jump in front of another desk for more “work”. Shit, I don’t even really like plopping down and watching TV. Exactly the reason why I missed the last few episodes of Hung, True Blood (I actually just had to Google “HBO vampire show” ‘cause I forgot what it was called) and The Walking Dead. And right now my DVR is flooded with unwatched episodes of The Office, Community, Central Texas Gardner & The Daytripper. And yet, I’ve spent money on the best computer I could afford (once you go iMac you don’t go back) and in my opinion the best television of anyone I personally know. But that TV is for Football season, GO IRISH, Go Cowboys!

Anyhow, The Wife and I along with a couple of friends of ours had a vacation planned to South Padre Island, so I needed to update my iTunes to make room on my iPhone (Note to self, buy a larger capacity phone next time). I’m a music junky, it’s been with me since I can remember. Music is a time machine that transports you to a moment in your life. Just the other day I heard a snippet of song in passing, I can’t for the life of me think of title or author, but when I heard it I was instantly taken back to the days of loose clothing, messy hair covered by a sweat stained cap and high school hallways… Oh, it was a country song. Haha. What I’m trying to get at is, I have so much music that I can’t even fit it all on my phone and that’s even after losing hundred’s of tracks when an old computer caught a virus and corrupted all the media.

I got to the point where I couldn’t even snap pictures with my phone because I had no space. So one afternoon, I sat down and freed up some much needed space. That's exactly what my phone needed… However, the freed up space has me thinking about new songs and albums I want. It’ll never end.

#92 DONE.

Here’s a picture from our trip, that my roomy phone was able to capture. 

MY LIST

Two Down... #13 & #23.

#13 Clean out closets & drawers.

I can't remember exactly when, but one day I decided that I was tired of sifting through socks and "drawls" I never wear, so I decided that day was a good day to clean'em out. I grabbed a Hefty bag and took care of bih-ness, filling it with brand new dress socks, sparkling white crew socks, boxers that hadn't seen anything but the back of the drawer in years, undershirts & shorts. 

Once that task was done, I headed towards the closet... I-ight, if any of you know me, you know I have entirely too many clothes, everything from high school crap (I graduated over 10 years ago) to some really nice dress clothes. So this task was gonna take a bit of control, let go of old crap, and yes even a few T's that haven't quite fit well in years and probably hadn't been worn for years longer. At last count I had, I don't know, easily over 60 T-shirts. That's ridiculous, seeing as only 10 or so are in regular rotation. Anyhow, I hit the closet with the furry of a newborn's stuffed animal. Hey, it's hard to let go, who knows when I'll want to that Crockett High School T-shirt again (Note: I didn't even attend that school) haha. I'm not a hoarder or anything, far from it but who knows maybe my son will want one of those random t's someday. In the end, I did get rid of a good amount of T's, some dress shirts, dress pants, shorts and shoes. DONE!

Which leads to...

#23 Donate clothes I no longer wear.

With a FULL Hefty loaded in my ride, I rolled into a Goodwill and donated my goods. I will always be a supporter of thrifting and thrift stores, as a child a lot of my family's clothes were from donated goods and even to this day I still enjoy going to thrift shops in search of hidden treasures. I know someone out there is enjoying some new duds as much as I did and that makes me happy. 

For those of you keeping score that is now $10 more added to the pot for these accomplishments (see: MY LIST #31). 

MY LIST

12 Rounds of 101 in 1001 DONE.

If you've been following [You should be :)], you may have noticed that I've started a whole new set of 101 in 1001. If you haven't been following, shame on you haha, let me fill you in...

On March 13th I started 101 things to do in 1001 days, which ends December 9th, 2014. The project is simple, you set 101 goals (anything) that you'd like to accomplish and then you've got 1001 days to attempt, complete and/or fail. Easy.

I've been doing this for a little over a month now and I am thoroughly surprised as to how well I'm doing. Surprised not because I didn't think I'd accomplish many of my goals but because I am pretty much slaying the list at this point. As of April 20th I have completed 12 more goals which I'm pretty excited about. 

This post is just a teaser [Give me a break, I'm blogging "on the clock"] post but I will dedicate a post to each individual accomplishment soon, so check back often and enjoy.

MY LIST

Music Monday: I Can't Go For That (Cover)

Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers - I Can't Go For That [Cover]

#50 Hand Write and Send Letter. DONE.

In this case it was a "Thank you" letter/note. 

As you can tell from some of my recent posts [Here & Here], I've been playing disc golf and I'm really enjoying the game and the outdoor physical activity. Before I ruptured my Achilles a good friend of mine, "Beans", tore some ligaments in his leg on a disc golf course as he took a bad step walking down hill. During his recovery I mentioned to him that when he was able, we should go throw together. 

Fast forward a few months and I'm the one with an injury. 

After I had somewhat healed and had a good amount of strength and mobility in my leg he calls me up to invite me to play disc golf with him. I was a bit hesitant and very nervous but I met him and some other friends on the course and had a blast. I've honestly not had this much fun playing outside since my days of playing football. The competition, the camaraderie, the smell of the outdoors, the grass and even the smell of my dirty clothes after throwing take me back to my youth. I wish I started playing earlier. 

So, after a few weeks of playing I knew I had to thank him for getting my bum ass off the couch and inviting me out to throw with him and the guys. I grabbed a pen and a thank you card and let him know how thankful I was. 

I should also thank my step-father for hooking me up with an awesome starter kit, a brand new bag full of discs and a practice putting basket. But for him, I think a day or more with him on the course will serve better than a thank you note, I know he loves this game. 


***   ***   ***


To see more of my 101 things to do in 1001 days click HERE. 

Moving Pictures.

#17 Compost more. DONE.

Last spring after cleaning the yard and flower beds, preparing for new plants and flowers, I had a lot of extra clippings, leaves and various yard-waste. I had been thinking about starting a compost pile for a while but never took the time to get started, that and the fact that I had a feeling The Wife wouldn't want me collecting a pile of decomposing earth in our backyard. I’m sure her main concern was, the aesthetics of a compost heap don’t quite blend well with a manicured lawn and trees, I understand that.

With that in mind my composting began in planter-pot. The pot was small enough to not be an eye sore but big enough to start. Initially the pot didn’t have any drainage holes so I had to drill them, gotta have drainage and air circulation or that heap will begin to STANK!

Original Compost Pile.

Recently we’ve been getting a much appreciated amount of rain; while good for the drought burdened area it’s not so good for my potted composting. The lack or aeration and drainage has made for sour turns, not good. Now that The Wife is pretty much on board with composting and Young Money helps turn it when we’re in the yard playing, I’ve decided that now is a good time to “Compost more” (#17).

New Compost Heap.

Link to My List

#56 Inspire. DONE.

Well that didn't take long at all, #56 on My List can be crossed off. on top of that, this pairs with #31 on my list so now I'll have to add $5.00 to the 101 in 1001 savings bank. Sweet-ass! :) 

But today, I'm here to tell you that I've inspired a good friend of mine, Crispy, to start his own 101 in1001. Ever since I mentioned that I had a blog and upon his first visit to it he's been all bout it, he thinks it's the coolest thing. For good reason too, it is a pretty awesome blog. Ha-ha, kidding. Seriously though, he digs it and likes the idea of having an presence in the great world wide interwebs. he's been wanting to start a blog for some time now, we even briefly started one together but nothing came of it and I think the blog itself may have been pulled from blogger. Oh well. 

Now Crispy's got a list of his own and will soon be starting his own blog just like I did in 2007. This is a great opportunity for him to accomplish some goals and the blog will (should) hold him accountable since his list will be published. Besides, this is too much fun and some of the tasks on his list match mine, so we should be able to accomplish them together. Stay tuned and I'll revisit this post with a link to Crispy's blog once he starts one. 

Here's his list of 101+

1 Get a motorcycle license

2 Buy a new bigger TV for the living room

3 Buy a motorcycle

4 Beat Nat Mendez at madden(trust this dude is cold at madden)

5 Warrior Dash

6 Buy a vehicle (sharing a car sucks and kids can’t ride the motorcycle)

7 Make my own pizza

8 Join a crossfit gym

9 Get promoted or at least get paid more

10 Lose 30 more lbs

11 GO SKY DIVING

12 Tattoo (finish my sleeve)

13 Go camping

14 Get to work on time for a whole week

15 Find another place to live(house or duplex)

16 Take my mom out to dinner

17 Get married to BRANDY

18 Clean out closet and drawers

19 Do dishes everyday

20 Go to the drive in

21 Go tubing

22 Buy a lawn mower

23 Read a book

24 Run a 5k

25 Go to a Dallas Cowboys football game at the new stadium (still haven’t been)

26 Go scuba diving

27 Buy new couches

28 Take a hip hop dance class (gotta sharpen up my moves hahah)

29 Go skinny dipping

30 Buy a laptop

31 Buy a video camera

32 Take the family to the aquarium

33 Go H.A.M. when it comes to training

34 Go to Schlitterbahn

35 Go to Six Flags

36 Try out a game of disc golf

37 Take fam to the zoo ( dallas or ft worth)

38 Buy a new mattress

39 Go to a Miami Heat game

40 Go to Texas Rangers game

41 Save more money

42 Design my own t shirt

43 Go to tailgate

44 Go to Texas Football game

45 Take a boat to the lake

46 Donate clothes I no longer wear

47 Take a family photo

48 Try rock climbing

49 Take a trip to my grandmas

50 Buy dumbbells (don’t have any so any weight is heavier)

51 Clean house

52 Eat smaller portions

53 Volunteer at the Special Olympics

54 Buy a bike and ride with the kids

55 Buy a bed set 

56 Go somewhere I've never been

57 Go to a UFC fight

58 Fly on a plane somewhere

59 Attend a Halloween party (so I better get invited to yours) haha

60 Take family to visit my dad

61 Start a blog

62 Go on a beach vacation

63 Go to the ROT Rally

64 Meet a celebrity

65 Go to SxSW

66 Go to ACL

67 Drink a green beer

68 Buy a tablet(iPad2, Kindle Fire, whatever)

69 Get the iPhone 5 when I get a new phone

70 Go to an art museum

71 Eat something ive never tried

72 Go to a hookah bar

73 Ride a bull

74 Take kids to Sea World

75 Go bungee jumping

76 Go water skiing or wakeboarding

77 Try kite surfing

78 Go bowling

79 Go on a helicopter ride

80 Take family to Blues on the Green

81 Go watch the bats

82 River boat day cruise

83 Go to a Houston Texans game

84 Eat somewhere new

85 Pay off credit card

86 Be more happy

87 Get a massage

88 Get a pedicure and manicure

89 Play the lottery

90 Take the kids to a park

91 Buy a weed eater

92 Kick it day with DY (Mortal Combat and a bad ass movie)

93 Random dancing in public

94 Date night with the  Ybarras

95 Go fishing

96 Take more pictures

97 Go on a picnic

98 Go to the Texas State Fair

99 Retry Crispy-Bang

100 Tint the windows

101 Buy a surround sound

Alternate - Buy a camera

Again! - 101 Things to do in 1001 Days.

Before injuring my Achilles I was actively blogging, averaging about 18 posts a month. That all ended when my active life slowed to a complete halt, there’s nothing interesting about an adult American male’s monotonous life of recovery. Although, while holding the couch to the floor I did catch too many TV shows about nothing really… You collect miscellaneous garbage and dead cat’s, sign up for hoarders. Do you enjoy casual sex, drugs and alcohol and maybe have a kid because of it, that’s MTV. I’ve got hundreds of channels of high definition rot your brain, time suck “entertainment”. I’m glad I’m feeling much better, indoor life isn’t for me.

With that said, I’ve decided to embark on another 1001 day journey to accomplish and yes, maybe even fail 101 goals. This will be my second go-round with this project and since this is the reason I first started blogging in 2007, I figured it would help get me out of this (lack of) blogging funk of 2012. Check out my list below, check back often and let me know if you’re doing something similar or plan on it. 

My 101 in 1001 Days ends December 9th, 2014.

1 A day with my brothers. 2 Attend a Notre Dame football game. 3 Backyard camp out. 4 Build a raised flower-bed/garden. 5 Build deck in backyard. 6 Build up savings account. 7 Buy and wear more bowties. 8 Buy and Xbox 360 or PS3. 9 Buy heavier dumbbells. 10 Buy more (Vinyl) albums. 11 Buy resistance bands. 12 Clean house daily. 13 Clean out closets and drawers. 14 Clean out garage. 15 Compete in a Disc Golf tournament. 16 Compile a soundtrack of my life. 17 Compost more. 03/14/12 18

Cook/Make something from my Pinterest.

19

Create a budget.

20

Create a photo-journal.

21

Create short movies with videos (Clips) I've taken.

22

Do something I've never done before.

23

Donate clothes I no longer wear.

24

Eat at new (to me) local restaurants.

25

Eat healthier.

26

Eat something I haven't before.

27

Enjoy Epoch responsibly.

28

Eye exam + new contacts.

29

Family picnic.

30

Find a new swimming hole.

31

For each goal completed, award self with $5 to save. [$45]

32

Get a bike (and ride it).

33

Get a Hole in one (Disc Golf)

34

Get a new (larger) vehicle.

35

Get a new tattoo.

36

Get paid more or get a new job.

37

Go Camping.

38

Go Fishing.

39

Go skinny dipping.

40

Go to a concert.

41

Go to a Texas tailgate party.

42

Go to a theme night at Alamo Drafthouse.

43

Go to bed at a decent time for a whole week.

44

Go to Schitterbahn.

45

Go to Six Flags (Fright Fest).

46

Go to the drive-in.

47

Go to the track and play the horses.

48

Go Tubing.

49

Grill Baby Back Ribs (more than once).

50

Hand write and send letters.

51

Have another "Super Saturday".

52

Have clothes tailored.

53

Have house sale-ready.

54

Host a Halloween party.

55

Host an Outdoor Movie Night.

56

Inspire. - 03/14/12

57

Keep records of yard work.

58

Lay a dry creek bed in backyard.

59

Learn a full song on the guitar.

60

Maintain Up-To-Date resume.

61

Make a damn good Pomarita.

62

Make my own beer.

63

Make my own wine.

64

Massage (at least ONCE).

65

Monthly outings with The Cohens.

66

New dentist + dental work.

67

No fast food for a month (Including breakfast).

68

Open separate savings account.

69

Pay off credit card.

70

Pedicure/Manicure (at least) twice a year.

71

Play and beat LIMBO.

72

Play the lottery.

73

Raise chickens.

74

Read books that are on my shelf looking much smarter than me.

75

Record more video.

76

Reverse pick-pocket someone.

77

Ride a train anywhere.

78

Run a 5k.

79

Say yes more.

80

Score within 5 strokes of par.

81

Sew my own shirt.

82

Skydive.

83

Take a Yoga class.

84

Take family photos.

85

Take son to a sporting event.

86

Take son to Blues on the Green.

87

Take son to Shady Grove Unplugged.

88

Train more, train harder.

89

Transition to Apple (iCal, Notes, Reminders, etc) exclusively.

90

Try rock climbing.

91

Update blog tags.

92

Update iTunes content.

93

Vacation at the beach.

94

Vacation to a place I have never been before.

95

Visit a cave.

96

Visit a winery.

97

Win a "Super Saturday" (Disc Golf).

98

Write & send DG course proposal to city council.

99

Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years.

100

Write a letter to myself to open in 5 years.

101

Write in Journal.