The End!

Finish date: November 26, 2016
Total items completed: 60

Today marks the end of my 101 in 1001 journey.  I was not able to complete all 101 items, but I am proud and grateful to have completed the items that I did complete.  Here are the highlights:

Participating in a Color Run with my mom - May 2014

Getting back into the sport of swimming in 2014 (pictured winning my age group in 2016)

                                     

Completing an obstacle race in 2016

Adopting my cat, Sabrina, in December of 2014

Finding my wedding dress! October 2016

Seeing a show at the Grand Ole Opry in April 2016

Going on a hot air balloon ride in February 2014

Going skiing for the first time in February of 2016

While I was not able to check everything off of my list, I am so happy to have checked off the items I listed above.  Had you asked me almost three years ago, I would not have believed that I was capable (and able to!) achieve these things.  To me, it was always a list of things that I wanted to do.  Now, however, over half of them are fond memories that I will cherish forever.  

Things on my list that I still want to complete:

1. Paying off the credit card.  Oh, finances. This is a major goal that my fiancé is helping me prioritize and improve.  

2. Visit another country.  Luckily this is getting closer to becoming a reality!  We are currently planning our honeymoon. We will be going to Europe in 2017!

3. Learn how to french braid my own hair.  One of these days I will be able to do this!

4. Experience a white birthday or Christmas.  My family has talked about spending Christmas in NYC.  Hopefully this will happen!

5. See the Colts play in Indianapolis.  The fiancé is totally getting dragged to a game within the next few years!

Thank you to my wonderful family, fiancé, and friends for supporting me on this journey!  I could not have done these things without your support!  I love you all.

~Heather

Wedding Dress

59. Try on a wedding dress.

I admit, I added this item to my list because I had hoped to be married (or engaged) before the end of my 101 in 1001.  It's now true!  I have a wedding date set and am in the middle of planning our wedding.

The first wedding dress that I tried on was my mother's wedding dress.  As beautiful as the lace train was, my swimmer's shoulders could not move in the sleeves.  I knew that I would need to find a different dress to wear.

My mom's dress.

I took my mom, my matron of honor, and one of my bridesmaids with me to a local wedding dress boutique around the end of October.  By the end of the appointment, eyes were teary and we were almost positive that I had found my dress.  After visiting another nearby bridal store, we quickly returned so I could say yes to my dress.

I am very excited to wear my dress in June of 2017.

Items completed: 60

Professional Photos

67. Have professional photos taken.

Getting engaged is a great excuse to have professional photos taken.  My fiancé and I knew that we did not want to spend a ton of money on engagement photos in Arizona, especially when we would have additional "engagement" photos taken in New York before our wedding.

Luckily, my matron of honor's husband's hobby is taking photos.  He graciously agreed to take a few pictures of us on a warm November evening.  At first, my fiancé was not excited about taking the photos, but he wound up having a great time.  Thank goodness for wonderful (and talented!) friends.

Items completed: 59

No More Soda and Fast Food

57. Give up soda for six months.

Growing up, I frequently drank soda.  Soda is how I survived college.  Now that I've discovered my love for salted caramel mochas at Starbucks, I rarely drink Coca Cola.

However, giving up soda completely for six months was more difficult than I thought it would be.

I had several strong cravings for a fountain drink throughout the summer months.  Luckily, I was able to avoid the fast food restaurants and stay soda free for six months.  Now that I have completed this challenge, I will occasionally grab a soda on my way home from work.  I do not think that this will become a habit, though.  

Items completed: 57


79. Stay away from fast food for at least two weeks.

Cooking is not one of my best skills.  When I lived alone, I would grab fast food for dinner at least once a week.  Now that my fiancé and I live together, we prepare meals together at home every night.

Because of this, I do not have a specific set of weeks in mind for this list item.  I'm pretty sure that we have avoided fast food for several weeks over the past six months.  

Items completed: 58

Jane Austen's Novels

41. Read all of Jane Austen's novels.

After reading Pride and Prejudice in high school, I purchased the complete works of Jane Austen. I didn't pick it up until this summer.

Jane Austen wrote seven novels.  I will discuss each one briefly in order from least favorite to favorite.

7. Lady Susan

Instead of following a traditional format, Lady Susan is told in a series of letters.  It focuses on a woman named Susan whose only goal is to make a younger man fall in love with her.  Susan is a rare Austen character because she is not a likable character.  Her story was interesting but definitely not my favorite.

6. Mansfield Park

Fanny, the main character of the novel, is a very endearing character.  Born to a poor family, she is raised by her wealthy aunt and uncle.  She falls in love with one of the only characters who treats her well, her cousin Edmund.  Again, this was an interesting book, but it was not my favorite Austen novel.

5. Sense and Sensibility

After her husband dies, Mrs. Dashwood and her three daughters are forced to live in a small cottage in the country.  Her oldest daughters, Elinor and Marianne, face several obstacles on their way to finding love.  While I liked reading about Elinor in particular, I thought the ending of the book was a bit rushed.

4. Persuasion

Anne falls in love with Wentworth but is forced to turn down his proposal because her family does not approve of his lowly status.  Years later, a chance encounter gives them a second chance at love.  I think Captain Wentworth is one of my favorite Austen male characters.  His letter at the end of the book was powerful and memorable.

3. Emma 

The title character believes that she is a good matchmaker and does her best to find her friend a good husband. Naturally, things do not go according to plan.  I wanted to hit Emma over the head with my book at a few points in the novel, but I found her more relatable than other Austen characters because she is confident that she knows what she wants in life.  Naturally, she is not right about this.

2. Northanger Abbey

I was a bit surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.  Catherine, a lover of Gothic novels, gets invited to stay at Northanger Abbey.  Because of her love of novels, she expects to find mystery and adventure at every turn, especially after hearing about a mysterious death.  I actually laughed out loud in places when reading this one.

1. Pride and Prejudice

I purposely read this book last because I knew it would still be my favorite.  I love seeing how Elizabeth Bennet's perception of Mr. Darcy changes over the course of the story.  Lizzie Bennet is certainly one of Austen's most outspoken female characters.  I love that.

Items completed: 56

Terrain Race Adventures and the Street Fair

20. Run an obstacle race.

Two years ago, I participated in a color run. I think that's the last time that I ran a 5k.  When my boyfriend told me about the Terrain Race, I hesitated before I signed up.  I knew that it would fulfill the obstacle race on my list, but I wasn't sure if I was fit enough to complete the course.  Unfortunately, none of the obstacles involved swimming.

When we arrived at the race site, I was expecting to see a starting line that I was able to stand in front of prior to beginning the race.  Instead, I saw an above ground pool.  We began the race wet from the waist down.  It was an interesting experience.

Our team faced 20 obstacles spread out across 3 miles.  Surprisingly, the most difficult part for me was the actual running.  I was able to scale retaining walls, climb over cargo nets, use a rope and small built-in stepping blocks to climb a wall, and crawl through a few mud pits.  I only had to skip the monkey bar obstacle.  Thanks to all of the swimming I do, my shoulders do not like to support my weight.

The teamwork that my friends and other contestants displayed made the race worthwhile and fun.  Everyone was willing to lend a hand with an obstacle and several people offered encouraging words when needed.  The one part that seemed to make several people uneasy (myself included) was the fire pole.  The pole was a bit too far away from the structure, which caused many of us to hesitate before making our way down the pole.

The final obstacle.

 Our team had a Scottish theme, hence the kilt. 

We were rewarded with a free beer when we finished the race.   I think it took us about 60-70 minutes to complete the entire course.

81. Visit the street fair downtown.

I grew up in the northwest part of Tucson, so I did not get to explore the downtown part of Tucson until recently.  The street fair, which takes place twice a year, has been an item on my to-do list for quite some time.  Luckily, my boyfriend and I were able to go this past spring.

We enjoyed seeing the wide variety of items for sale as we walked along the rows of shops.  Although we did not buy anything except lunch and ice cream, I am glad that we went.  I am hoping to go again this winter.


Items completed: 55

Adventures in Nashville

2. Visit Nashville, TN and sit in on the Bobby Bones Show see a show at the Grand Ole Opry.

I am a huge country music fan.  Visiting the Bobby Bones radio show was the original goal on my list, but when I emailed the show, they said that was not going to be possible.  :(

Instead, as my boyfriend and I planned our visit to Nashville, I decided to get us tickets to see a show at the Grand Ole Opry.  I'm pretty sure that this is a must for country music fans who visit Nashville.

We purchased seats in the mezzanine section.  Looking back, I think it was the right decision. We had an unobstructed view of the entire stage.  During the two hour show, we got to hear music from Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, Phil Vassar, Point of Grace, David Nail (one of my favorites!), Bill Anderson, Pam Tillis, Jerrod Niemann, and Lee Brice.

David Nail

Lee Brice

 A few weeks after we purchased our tickets, I learned that The Property Brothers were going to be signing copies of their EP after the show.  Their show on HGTV is one of my favorites, so waiting in line for almost an hour to meet them was definitely worth it.

I was able to get one of the 100 copies of the CD!

This was definitely a night (and a trip) that I will never forget.

Items completed: 53

Skiing in Telluride

91. Go skiing or snowboarding.

I've wanted to try skiing for quite awhile.  I never took advantage of the lifts in Flagstaff when I attended NAU and never seemed to have the time to travel anywhere else during the winter months.

When my boyfriend mentioned a trip to Telluride, it sounded like the perfect opportunity to learn how to ski.

Signing up for a group ski lesson was a good decision.  I spent four hours learning how to stop, turn, and put on my skis.  After several falls (it took me quite awhile to learn how to stop), I felt like I was finally getting the hang of things.

The next day, after stretching my sore calf muscles, I put my skis back on and made three trips down a double green run.  My boyfriend was very patient with me and would wait nearby while I slowly made my way down the run.  There were a few times when I would have been really frustrated (and, to be honest, scared) without him by my side.

For the record, I never fell off the ski lift!  Lining up to get on the lift proved to be the trickier part for me. 

My third day of skiing was spent traveling down an entire double green run.  Our little group traveled higher up the mountain than the previous two days and made our way down to the bottom together.  I brought up the rear, but I made it down the entire run without falling!  Sure, I had to throw my arms out a few times, but I managed to remain upright.  I'm pretty proud of that.

Did I mention that the ski village in Telluride is beautiful?  You could ski right up to the hotel, which was pretty awesome.

Enjoying wine on a balcony after a long day on the slopes.

I can't wait to go back next year.  :)

Items completed: 52

Fire in the Fireplace

74. Have a fire in my fireplace.

I've lived in my apartment for almost five years.  In all that time, I have never used my fireplace.  I've stared at it longingly during the winter months but never took the time to put it to good use.

My boyfriend gave me the push to finally check this item off of my list.  He brought over some pieces of wood and created this beautiful fire.

The only downside? We picked the warmest night in January to have it.  We actually had to open the window to cool down the apartment.  It's definitely an Arizona problem.

 My cat didn't know what to think of the fire.  She ran away whenever the fire crackled.

Items completed: 51

Fantasy Football

32. Play fantasy football.

I developed an interest in NFL football in 2010.  When my students told me that I had to pick a team to support, I chose the Indianapolis Colts.  I began to spend my Sundays watching bits and pieces of the games and developed a pretty decent knowledge of teams and players.

When a friend from college posted on Facebook that they needed one more person to complete their 14-person league, I jumped at the chance.  I've wanted to try fantasy football for a couple of years now.  I was (somewhat) confident that I had enough knowledge to have a decent season.

This league chose to do an auction draft.  I'm not sure that I would ever choose this option again.  I spent three hours on my computer "bidding" to get the players that I wanted.  The first player I purchased was Andrew Luck because, obviously, I wanted him for my quarterback.  That didn't work out so well since he was out for most of the season.  I would up, once I went to sleep and autodrafted for the rest of the evening, with Matthew Stafford for my back-up QB.  Luckily he did alright and I survived until I picked up Ryan Fitzpatrick and, though he too was injured, Peyton Manning.

The Patriots defense and kicker helped me place third in this league.  Not too shabby.

A few weeks after joining my first league, a friend asked if I wanted to join her league.  I figured I had nothing to lose, so I signed up.  Aaron Rodgers was my QB this time.  I'm pretty convinced that if he had ended the season with higher fantasy numbers that I would have won this league.  Instead, I took second place.

I think I am glad that the season is finally over.  I would become pretty obsessed with checking the scores of the games on Sunday and (sometimes) overanalyzed which players to start.  I would definitely play again, though.  Maybe I'll be able to find a league to join for the 2016 season.

Items completed: 50

NYE

36. Do something fun for NYE.

What comes to mind when you think about doing something fun for New Year's Eve?  It's taken me a couple of years to cross this item off of my list because I kept thinking that I needed to go to a party in order for my night to be fun. 

This year, however, I realized that going to a party on NYE isn't something that I consider fun.  Instead, I spent the majority of my evening at a friend's house enjoying good food and conversation. 

Around 11:30pm, my boyfriend and I opened a bottle of champagne and rang in 2016 curled up together.  In my mind, it was a very fun and relaxing evening, which is just what I wanted.

Items completed: 49

Sunset at the Beach

85. Enjoy a sunrise sunset.

When I created my list, I decided that I wanted to enjoy a sunrise.  As a morning person, this is something that I do frequently, especially when I swim at 5am during the summer months.  I often get to see the sun rise over the mountains while in the water.  It's breathtaking.

I recently went to Florida for the first time and found myself on the beach.  My boyfriend and I decided to spend our last night enjoying the sunset at Treasure Island.

There's a (somewhat) funny story here.

Everything was going our way.  We drove the short distance to Treasure Island and were easily able to find a parking spot. However, once we parked, we realized that we both forgot to bring our wallets!  We searched the entire car and were able to scrape together $1.25 in coins, which allowed us to spend an hour on the beach.  We spread out a blanket, cuddled together, and enjoyed the beautiful view.

Is there anything better than curling up on the beach and watching the sun set? I can't think of anything at the moment.

We wound up staying past our allotted time limit and, luckily, we did not receive a ticket.

I did not want to leave.

Items completed: 48

Star Wars Premiere

24. Attend the midnight premiere of a movie.

I am a morning person.  It's easy for me to wake up at 4:30 in the morning to go swimming, but staying up until midnight is pretty difficult. 

Luckily, most movies now premiere earlier in the evening.  I purchased tickets for the 8pm showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and was in bed before midnight. I was pretty excited about that.  I had a wonderful time at the movie with my boyfriend, even if we were in the second row.  We're not quite nerdy enough to get there more than an hour before the movie.

Items completed: 47

Buying A Real Tree

29. Buy a real Christmas tree.

It's been many years since I have had a real Christmas tree in my home (or my parents' home).  This year, I got to enjoy the fresh pine smell for three weeks.  Honestly, I think my cat enjoyed the tree more than I did.  She loved to hide among the presents and got a kick out of the ornaments. 

Items completed: 46

Adventures in Sonoita

87. Visit a vineyard.

Is there a better way to spend an afternoon than tasting various kinds of wine?  I am not an expert on wine, so I enjoyed spending an afternoon tasting all types of wine in Sonoita.

 Hops and Vines in Sonoita, AZ

 

 Hops and Vines in Sonoita, AZ.

What I learned: 

• Mulled wine is amazing.  
• There are so many wineries to visit in Sonoita.  We went to three but there were several that we did not get to experience.
• It is possible to get a bit tipsy on small samples of wine.
• Arizona makes some pretty spectacular wines.

Total items completed: 45