I am a little late for this final post of my 101 Things in 1001 Days project – but better late than never. When I initially started this project in August 2020, I felt very good and optimistic about my goals. I totally underestimated, for instance, that Covid and travel bans would be with us for a significantly longer time. Hence why I didn’t achieve the majority of my travel goals. Neither did I know that, during the almost three year project, I would be pregnant, have a baby, and our lives would totally change. Covid and baby are really the two main reasons why I haven’t succeeded with more goals. One being an excellent reason, the other not so much.

On the other hand, I mightily enjoyed the process of setting up 101 goals and checking in on them regularly. They definitely motivated me to do quite a few things, like swimming to the island in the lake in Maine where we stay every summer. Or even simple things like upgrading our towels.

I think I will continue the project with new goals, but take a bit of time to collect them first. After all, Covid really seems to be over by now so I might be able to be a little ambitious with new travel goals. Stay tuned for my next 101 things in 1001 days project 🙂 .

Begins: 15 August 2020 Ends: 12 May 2023 Done: 62/101

Food related (17/22)

1. Go vegetarian for a month: March 2023 √
2. Have one vegan day per week (100/100) √
3. Make ten different ice creams (2/10): frozen yogurt with caramel, cherry chocolate chip ice cream
4. Learn how to make my granny’s apple strudel: I finally did it in September 2021 √
5. Go without alcohol for three times one month (3/3): August/September 2020, June and July 2021 √
6. Learn how to use our instant pot √
7. Learn how to use the air fryer lid for our instant pot √
8. Make 20 different cakes/pastries (20/20): Arabian sponge cake, Caramelized Walnut Pear Tart, covered apple cake, browned butter blondies, plum olive oil cake, chocolate chip biscuits, chocolate coffee mayo cake, butter cake, spritz cookies, peppermint sheet cake with white chocolate frosting, cinnamon buns, Chocolate Caramel Sourdough Muffins, sourdough berry cake, cherry chocolate babka, marshmallow fluff fudge cake, basil apricot cake, plum cake with glaze, peach skillet blondies, almond streusel peach cake, pear almond cookies √
9. Make 5 African dishes (5/5): vegan Nigerian efo riro (a spinach stew), jollof rice, kelewele (spicy fried plantains), Asaro, chakalaka √
10. Make pasta myself: orecchiette in January 2022 √
11. Make 20 different zucchini dishes (20/20): zucchini soup with fried apricots, beetroot zucchini quiche, pan fried zucchini, gnocchi with zucchini and tomato sauce, green zucchini curry, shakshuka, my family’s zucchini stew, zucchini banana bread, zoodles, zucchini filled with orzo and vegetables, zucchini eggplant pasta sauce, raw zucchini salad, pasta with a healthy hamburger zucchini sauce, zucchini puree for Josephine, zucchini curry soup, vegan shepherd’s pie, pickled zucchini, bread filled with zucchini, roasted zucchini, zucchini pizza √
12. Find a recipe and make kürt böre‎ǧi
13. Make lemon curd: in January 2023 √
14. Make kaymak
15. Make tavuk göğsü: on 1 December 2021 √
16. Host a murder mystery dinner
17. Host a German “Kaffee und Kuchen” (coffee and cake in the afternoon) for Rich’s family: on 16 August 2021 √
18. Host a German dinner: Christmas dinner on 26 December 2026 for Rich’s family √
19. Host a Turkish brunch
20. Host a Turkish dinner: during our Maine family vacation in August 2022 √
21. Try 3 recipes from Rich’s family (3/3): his mom’s cabbage recipe, the family’s chocolate cake, his dad’s roasted zucchini √
22. Learn to make saag paneer from Rich: in May 2023 √

Hobbies (6/14)

23. Continue to read at least 52 books per year: ca. 114 books in 2020, 156 books in 2021, 95 in 2022 √
24. Reread the Harry Potter series: August/September 2020 √
25. Reread the Lord of the Rings books: started in September 2020
26. Send and receive 50 post cards via Postcrossing (7/50)
27. Do some embroidery: in December 2022 √
28. Knit a blanket
29. Organize my closet at least once a year (3/3) √
30. Replace my battered leather jacket
31. Either go to the gym at least once per week or cancel my membership: cancelled on 8 Sep. 2020 √
32. Lose 5 kg or give away my too tight clothes
33. Use my AMC movie subscription when cinemas open again: restarted in late March 2021 √
34. Test out all my old film cameras
35. Review at least 20 books on NetGallery and Booksprout (4/20): How to Declutter Your Mind: Secrets to Stop Overthinking, Relieve Anxiety, and Achieve Calmness and Inner Peace; Concentration: Maintain Laser Sharp Focus and Attention for Stretches of 5 Hours or More; Mediterranean Every Day: Simple, Inspired Recipes for Feel-Good Food; Dropping Like Pies

Blogging (6/11)

36. Create my own business cards for my blog: ordered on 17 Feb. 2021 √
37. Publish 300 blog posts (218/300)
38. Publish 80 new recipes (21/80)
39. Get 10 new collaborations (10/10): Oxyfresh (Sep./Oct. 2020), Kollectin (Oct. 2020), Oxyfresh (August 2021), Chrissy’s Socks (Feb. 2022), Mise (March 2022), Le Chateau (March 2022), Intellifluence (March 2022), customized baby blanket (May 2022), Paint Your Life (May 2022), big fleece blanket (June 2022) √
40. Update my “About me” page: in November 2021 √
41. Create a media kit
42. Collaborate with another blogger
43. Attend 10 blogger meetings (0/10)
44. Host a blog or Instagram giveaway: September 2022 √
45. Learn how to do Instagram Reels √
46. Grow my Instagram to at least 2000 followers (2,053): April 2023 √

Work & Paperwork (4/7)

47. Update my Linkedin profile at least once a year (2/3): Sep. 2021, Apr. 2022
48. Update my CV once a year (2/3): Sep. 2021, April 2023
49. Organize all the teaching material on my computer by subject, grade and topic (instead of by school year)
50. Attend 3 professional developments that do not take place in my school (3/3): Leisen series of online workshops, Digitaler DaF-Unterricht – Beispiele, Konsequenzen, Perspektiven on 12 Sep. 2020, a 6 week long course on inclusion in April/May 2021 √
51. File my taxes on time (2/2) √
52. File all loose and important papers lying around in folders: it made sense to do this before we moved (but it wasn’t fun) √
53. Either apply for a Green Card or leave the U.S.: the application was submitted in April 2021 √

Travel (16/29)

New York City (7/8)

54. Take at least one walk through the City every week that I am here √
55. Go to Coney Island: we went in May 2021 √
56. Take Rich to Balthazar (French Restaurant in NYC): on 2 December 2021 √
57. Go to a Yankees game
58. Go to Governor’s Island: June 2022 √
59. Have a picnic with friends in Central Park: May 2022 √
60. Try 10 new restaurants in New York City (10/10): Loulou’s, Franchia Vegan Café, Murray Hill Diner, Voilá Afrique, Fresh Ginger, Beyti Turkish Kebab, Love Korean BBQ, The Perfect Pint, Copinette, Ammos Estiatorio *since there aren’t any new restaurants opening right now, I have changed this point to restaurants new to me √
61. Eat at German restaurant Heidelberg on the Upper East Side – in December 2020 √

U.S. (9/18)

62. Take Rich to the Hamptons
63. Go on our honeymoon (albeit a little later)
64. Travel to three new U.S. states (2/3): Pennsylvania and South Carolina in February 2022
65. Travel on the train from the East to the West Coast (or the other way round)
66. Visit my friend in North Carolina
67. Go to the Outer Banks
68. Visit Harry Potter World
69. Go camping – in October 2021 in Croton Point Park √
70. Go on a road trip – my Vermont fall foliage trip in October 2021 √
71. Take 3 weekend getaways (2/3): Labor Day weekend 2020 in Peekskill, Berkshires in June 2022, Philadelphia in February 2023 √
72. Meet Rich’s brother’s dog Christoph
73. Spend at least one week in the family homestead in Maine every year (3/3): October 2020, July 2021, August 2022 √
74. Stay overnight in the lake house in Maine: August 2022 √
75. Swim to the island in the lake and back: August 2022 √
76. Plant a quince tree in Maine: done for me in June 2022 √
77. [Renovate our room in the homestead: postponed because other renovations need to be done before it is our turn]
78. Redecorate our room there √
79. Start a German bookshelf in the homestead: in October 2020 √

International (0/3)

80. Travel to a new country
81. Visit my family in Germany at least twice (1/2): September 2022
82. Travel to Turkey

Beauty (4/8)

83. Organize all my earrings: in January 2022 √
84. Empty at least one eyeshadow palette: I actually finally did in June 2021 √
85. Use up at least one lipstick
86. Empty at least one blush
87. Use up all my beauty samples
88. Use at least one facial mask per month (33/33) √
89. Use up a bottle of nail polish
90. Stop biting the skin around my nails: actually, this time I had to check because I hadn’t paid any attention anymore – and I totally stopped biting √
    

Home (9/10)

92. Upgrade our coffee maker: yes! in April 2021 – first I broke the coffee jug (accidentally, I swear!), then we ordered a fancy fully automated coffee machine √
93. Upgrade our towels: in July 2022 √
94. Find a nice apartment when we have to move in summer 2021: we bought one in Turtle Bay √
95. Hire movers: I mean we also had to, but I would have wanted movers anyways when we finally moved on 21 July 2021 √
96. Upgrade our dining furniture: finally done in August 2021 √
97. Upgrade our living room furniture: in August/September 2021 when we bought a new couch table and got a new carpet and dresser √
98. Have a proper work space with a bigger desk at home: I decided against a bigger desk, but cleaned up my current desk and created a pleasant work space √
99. Hire a cleaning person for deep cleaning every now and then: this was my Christmas gift 2020 – we have cleaning person once a month √
100. Have at least one photo of Canavar printed and hang it up
101. Adopt kittens: October 2020 √

Interim stages: 100: 22 November 2020 / 200: 2 March 2021 / 300: 10 June 2021 / 400: 18 September 2021 / 500: 27 December 2021 / 600: 6 April 2022 / 700: 15 July 2022 / 800: 23 October 2022 / 900: 31 January 2023 / 1000: 11 May 2023

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