just a time from now

My completed mission101 #4 can be found HERE.

All that is blue --90 tasks-- are DONE, which is good.
All that is red --11 tasks-- are FAILS, which isn't as good, but I'm going with the learning experience rational to mitigate my sense of well...failure.

The Fails
Exercising_ I put this on every list and on every list it is a fail. I want to, I won't so, this task is NOT going on any more missions.
Organizing family photos, I put this as ONE SINGLE task!! Am I out of my mind??!!?? Perhaps, but that aside, I'm making this worth 7 WHOLE tasks on mission #5 because it's just that intimidating.
Lauren's Book was partially done with mission #4 and is now included in both missions #5 AND #6 because doing 25 or so drawings is a lot!! Seriously. This project accounted for 5 fails all on its own.
Maybe one day, I'll learn to play the recorder & a couple of tunes, but for at least the coming year, this will remain 2 fails.

The Completions
I read ALL of my bookclub books plus all of the books I chose to read
I watched my 1st 24 movies on the BEST 100 MOVIES EVER List
I did 9 PLUS  drawings, which caused me to kind of amaze myself
I wrote 7 -- all my remaining works-in-progress-- stories
I wrote the story at least for Lauren's book
I wrote 3 nonfiction essays, something I hadn't done since, you guessed it, high school
I kept up my photography, my modified 365 Project & 100_snapshots
I finally finished 3 Lauren -related projects, finally because 1 was actually her baby book and,
in general,
I kept our very little family running as smoothly as I could. Menus were made weekly, appointments were kept, chores were done, blood was donated and so on. Sure, I could have been more on-top-of-it house & yard work-wise, but I did better than I have in past years. Oh, and I reorganized a bunch of stuff plus, we also did a number of cool events, a musical, a play, several actually-at-the-theater movies, a couple of art events and so on. A lot of these things/ events/ whatever would not have been accomplished otherwise. Of this, I am sure so, YAY!!! mission101.

What have I learned, you ask? Well, that organizing the 101 tasks efficiently so that they're easily monitored is key. My 1st mission was a total mess. My 2nd wasn't much better. With each subsequent list, I've learned how to keep the tasks and their various steps organized so I can tell what I'm doing, refining that process even more with this last list, as I'm sure I do again with the next. It's all about keeping track, and about setting realistic tasks.. At least for me :)

Tomorrow, a couple of days ahead of time, I'm posting my mission101 #5. Is Excited!!!

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Day Twenty-One
Three Gratitudes_63/ 63
          I'm grateful:
61_that when I look deep inside myself I’m okay with me.
62_that I have loved
63_that I have been loved


           One Positive_21/ 21
Obviously, doing, and now completing, this meme, which has been so rewarding for me. I have had much fun so, thanks to those of you who shared with and encouraged me, I appreciate your interest. And as for the point of it, which was the redirecting of my thoughts in a more positive direction, maybe so.
          I did one act of doing something beyond the normal: I completed this meme which has required me to post for 21 days in a row and despite the fact that I did have to do one double-day post, this is the most I have EVER posted since coming to Livejournal waaaaay back in 2005 :)
          I did exercise: I worked in the garden for 45 minutes and finished potting, at least, all of the plants I've already bought.
          I did meditate: I did for 20 happy minutes

No days to go

*

Day Nineteen
Three Gratitudes_57/ 63
          I'm grateful:
55_that I enjoy reading and have the time to indulge myself.
56_that throughout my life I have had good people around me because I can be something of (or basically) a space cadet.
57_that I have had passions, but that I have never become overly obsessed about them (for to awfully long)
          Because I'm nearly at the end, these gratitudes are getting pretty random, I must say :)


           One Positive_19/ 21
Well, I finished the last of the stories I'm doing for this particular mission101 so, very cool. And Lauren and I went to the mall looking for some particular things, we found, and bought, those particular things and we came home. Sort of like a precision strike, wherein we bought nothing we weren't supposed to. This is not only a positive, but kind of amazing as well.
          I did one act of doing something beyond the normal: Today, honestly, I did everything at a very normal level.
          Wait, I know, how about that when the total cute Pacific Islander dude, with the thick wavy half-way-down-his-back brown hair, at the Vans store asked, with a perfectly sweet smile, how I was doing, I merely looked up at him, through my fringe of blond (and my glasses) and, smiling, said that I was just fine without drooling on him not even once. Yeah, that so counts.
          Ditto the sweet faced Asian dude with the completely straight down-to-his-waist- black hair at the cash register. Way to go, Vans!!
          I did exercise: I worked for 45 minutes potting plants and then, Lauren and I spent 2.5 hours cruising the mall.
          I did meditate:I did 25 blissful iPod minutes

Two days to go. Oh whoa!

**

Day Seventeen
Three Gratitudes_51/ 63
          I'm grateful:
49_that David has a very strong work ethic that has pulled us through several tough times.
50_that I volunteer to help clean up abandoned homeless camps, not being truly able to ever imagine living in one.
51_that David and I aren’t gullible, have never fallen for any scam and have taught Lauren how to be aware also of the possible pitfalls.


           One Positive_17/ 21
Lauren and I had a little TV time, an eppie of Psych, before we were off to pick up Cindy so we could meet with Barbara for lunch in Willow Glen. We had a lovely time, chatting and laughing and eating. Then home we came for one more eppie of Psych before David, Lauren and I drove to downtown San Jose for a meeting with our financial guy that ended at just the right time for us to have dinner at the Spaghetti Factory so, all and all, a decent day, which is definitely a positive.
          I did one act of doing something beyond the normal: Well, everything we did today was because I got it going, making sure everyone was where they needed to be so, as an organizer, I did go a little beyond the normal.
          I did exercise: No, I didn't.
          I did meditate: Again, my 25 iPod minutes.
To expound a little, my understanding of the point of meditation is to quiet 'the mind' in order to attain some kind of enlightenment, which means for me to quiet the left, or rational and dominate, side of my mind so that the right, or more creative, side can roam free. By listening to my music, by allowing my mind to chase the music, soaring, dancing, stomping to the rhythm, I can, or am learning how to, quiet the left side of my mind and let the right side do what it does best. Hopefully.
     I've tried to meditate the 'right' way never making it longer then a couple of weeks before I just couldn't stand it, I'd get so antsy. I'm learning that doing what is considered the 'right' way isn't necessarily what's right for me, maybe because I'm not looking for enlightenment as much as inspiration.

Four days to go.

**

Day Fifteen
Six Gratitudes_45/ 63
          I'm grateful:
43_that as late as it was, after several unsuccessful tries, I finally was able to carry a baby to full-term
44_ that David and I have, so far, enough money to pay for Lauren’s ever increasing UC tuition
45_that I love and respect and admire my daughter completely


           One Positive_15/ 21
Although the day began drizzle-y, by 8:30am, when I left to get Lauren, it had cleared up somewhat. The drive was actually nice because, since it was overcast, the light was easy on the eyes, without all that lovely dabbled sunlight. We arrived back around 10:30am, brewed some tea and talked and talked and talked, very nice!

Day Thirteen
Six Gratitudes_39/ 63
          I'm grateful:
37_that I have never truly wanted for anything
38_that at times, I have been afraid of not having enough money so, thereby learned not to be crazy
39_that David, Lauren and I are not into flash and extravagance


           One Positive_13/ 21
The weather was lovely especially early in the morning so, I really enjoyed being outside cleaning out a lot of the dead potted annuals and starting to figure out which new plants I want to put in which old pots and I got the grocery shopping done, which is always a positive.

Day Ten
Three Gratitudes_30/ 63
          I'm grateful:
28_that David has been gainfully employed at a very good job, where he’s respected and able to do work he respects, for over a decade.
29_that we live in an area where fresh valley-grown produce is easy available
30_that they invented Netflix and conveniently located its headquarters, and one of its distribution centers, right down the street


One Positive_10/ 21

Day Eight
Three Gratitudes_24/ 63, which means, with this, I'm a third of the way done!
          I'm grateful:
22_that Lauren has had Jimmy, and that Jimmy has had Lauren, since 2^nd grade as each others very best friend. They are both strange little ducks and, by and large, this set-up is just best.
23_that Lauren was able to go to the same college as Jimmy (see above)
24_that Lauren was able to get into college near enough so that we can see her easily (you can imagine here, tears of JOY!!)


One Positive_8/ 21
I have several tasks I try to get done daily, currently read one canto in Paradiso, write one to two verses in Lauren's little book, write an hour on my story, watch one eppi of my educational vid, catch up on LJ, catchup on Yahoo, a little housework and a little gardening and here's the positive, right now I'm actually accomplishing what I'd like to plus the added bits because of this meme.
          Because even though I always want to function this way, normally I don't because normally, I get obsessive. I must finish writing the story, I must watch the last 6 eppies, I must read the last 300 pages...obsessive...obsessive...obsessive so, I get one thing done as the other things fall pitifully to the wayside.
          Right now, happily, I am so far away from being able to complete anything, I am entirely not obsessing. I couldn't care and so, I'm functioning as I should. Weird.
          I did one act of doing something beyond the normal: Let's just say I did and let it go at that, 'kay?
          I did exercise, both dancing for 15 minutes, vi...gor...ous...ly AND 45 minutes working in the garden
          I did meditate. I did, again using my iPod, for 33 minutes.

Thirteen days to go.

***