100 Days to a Better Me

From today - September 1st - until December 9th, I have been inspired to follow the lead of Amy at Confessions of a Messy Mama to do "100 Days to a Better Me." Each person's journey and goals are different.

Concurrent with 100 Days to a Better Me, I am part of the Strong.Fit.Fab group. Although many of the participants are using Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, it is not recommended for people who have degenerative disk disease. So, I'll be doing other physical activities during this time period.

I'll also be working on activities that seem most pressing at this time for me and are a continuation of what I have been working on during this pivotal year in my life. (After my father's death on January 5th this year, I have made many changes and improvements in my life.):

Health - Food and Fitness
- For the next 100 days, eat three servings of fruit or vegetables every day.
- For the next 100 days, get at least twenty minutes of daily exercise.
- For the next 100 days, instead of 2 cans of Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi, drink only 1 can. (Ultimately, the goal is to not drink any pop. When the year began, I was drinking 3-4 cans per day, so I have cut my consumption in half - after drinking pop daily for 28 years.)

Self-Improvement/Education
- Make it a point to learn at least one new thing each day: the name of a flower that grows in the garden, the capital of a country in the Eastern Hemisphere, a Greek root word, or how to use an ingredient in a recipe that I've never used before. If it’s time for bed and I can’t identify anything I've learned that day, look up a word in the dictionary that I don't know.
- Homeschool 5-6 days each week, and take one day off to ensure I don't burn out from teaching.

Organization and Home Maintenance
- Declutter one area in the home. It can be as small as a drawer or as large as a closet. (Spend an average of 15 minutes per day on this project or 105 minutes per week.)
- Work on the list of items that need to be done to address water damage. Do at least 10 items on the list (there are 74 projects) over the next 100 days.

Spiritual Growth
- For the next 100 days, make a point of doing some form of prayer each day in preparation of and during the Wellspring program which begins at the end of September.

Caring for and Connecting with Others
- For the next 100 days, actively look for something positive in each person in my family every day, and write it down. Use these for Christmas gifts.
- Continue participating in the 3 in 30 Challenge as a way to stay accountable for setting three goals per month and reaching them.
- Begin participating in the 30 Days of Lists and Autumn Blog Challenge as a way to continue writing daily, and giving Sophia and Olivia an insight what I believe, enjoy, and think. (This began on June 1st with the Summer Blog Challenge since they are always curious as to what I write in my Take a Stitch Tuesday journal.) I won't be doing both of these each day, rather I'll pick and choose which ones I want to do.
- Complete the 12 in 12 Challenge that Sophia, Olivia, and I are doing by December 12, 2012 (12-12-12).
- Continue with Foodie Penpals as a way to introduce others and myself to healthy food options.

Creative Expression
- Continue with Take a Stitch Tuesday; and do a weekly journal entry which includes the stitch of the week, personal reflection, and gratitude list.
- Continue with the Embroidery Journal Project and do one embroidered quilt square for each month (September, October, November, and December).
- Complete Coloring Mandalas - For Insight, Healing, and Self-Expression. I have 25 mandalas left to color. That works out to doing one about every four days.


Financial
- Don’t buy anything that I don’t absolutely need for 100 days. Use any money I save to do one of the following:
=> Pay down debt.
=> Put it toward a six-month emergency fund.
=> Put it toward a car to replace the one with 214,000+ miles on it.


(Some of the ideas are from 60 Small Ways to Improve Your Life in the Next 100 Days)

To help me, I have a chart that I created specifically for this challenge. In this way, I can keep track of how I am doing, and make sure I'm moving forward with my goals.