One of my 100 Things to Do in 2017 is to write a blog post every month, and last year I wrote two updates on how I’m doing but didn’t continue. So my intention for this year is to post on the last day of each month to say what I did from my list, and any notes I want to add about it. To do all 100 this year, I need to average 8.3 Things each month.

1/100 – Thing 1 – watch “Hans Rosling – The magic washing machine”, 1/1/17
I watched this before going to bed after watching the ball drop at midnight, because I thought if I could start off the year with one thing crossed off already in the first hour of the year, that might give me some good karma to get a lot more things done this year than in 2016. So I’m glad I got this video over with first, so there’s a lot less build up about its potential for greatness than there could have been. This video was kind of funny, but not enlightening. Just kind of meh.

2/100 – Thing 2 – watch “Elizabeth Gilbert – Your elusive creative genius”, 1/5/17
This is a video I’ve watched before and will definitely watch again and again. It gives a hint of what was to come when she later wrote Big Magic, which I read last year and absolutely loved (and will probably read again and again too). Basically, Liz advises going back to the ancient Greeks, where people said “you have a genius” and not “you are a genius” – then if you’re creatively blocked, you don’t have to get depressed and think that you suck, you can just blame your muse for not showing up to work.

3/100 – Thing 3 – watch “Amanda Palmer – The art of asking”, 1/5/17
I love Amanda’s delivery – she tells us a little about her experience as a performer, and we get to see some of that in the way she speaks. This was a great little video that advocates crowd-funding by likening it to a street performer putting out a hat or guitar case. You’re not “making” someone pay you, you’re asking them. And when they do, you both feel it’s a positive exchange of energy. And it’s not just about money – Amanda has asked for things or services and people have offered them to her. For people who have trouble asking for or receiving money or help in their lives, it’s a must-watch.

4/100 – Thing 4 – watch “Diana Nyad – Never, ever give up”, 1/7/17
What an inspiring story! I had never heard of Diana, so I looked her up online and actually watched the video showing her finishing her historic swim before I watched her TED video. Wow. I am not a strong swimmer, and I don’t like swimming, so to me the idea of swimming for over 50 hours, a distance of over 100 miles, is utterly unfathomable. The fact that she tried and failed a few times, and then kept going for it and finally achieved her goal? Incredible. You really can do almost anything you set your mind to, if you are determined and persistent.

5/100 – Thing 35 – bake a cake from scratch, 1/7/17
6/100 – Thing 45 – try a new recipe, 1/7/17
Mark was watching a few episodes of Two Broke Girls, which put me in the mood to bake. I was going to make a cake but decided to make cupcakes instead. It still counts as baking a cake from scratch as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know if I had ever tried the Devil’s Food Cake recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (my favorite cookbook) before, but the cream cheese frosting recipe I found on the Internet was new to me. I put lemon extract in the frosting instead of vanilla, so that was a fun twist. I brought some of the cupcakes to work with me after a few days so I wouldn’t eat them all myself, because Mark’s not big on chocolate. Oh, and Charlotte helped because she loves to help with cooking and baking (and anything else you’re doing).

7/100 – Thing 5 – watch “Brené Brown – The power of vulnerability”, 1/8/17
I’m finding it hard to write a response to this one. I listened to it almost two weeks ago (as I sit here on January 21, starting my blog post that won’t be published for another week and a half), and I just read a transcript of it, and it’s just not hitting me. Maybe because I already know that vulnerability does not equal weakness? She says feeling vulnerable and feeling shame are related, and I can’t help but remember how my least favorite question a person can ask is, “What’s the most” (or most recent) “embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?” Because I can never come up with an answer. Life is what it is. So… I don’t know. This is another video that I just didn’t get anything out of it, and that’s okay.

8/100 – Thing 28 – do a Tarot/Oracle card reading for someone other than myself, 1/13/17
I had my new cards with me, the I Am Power Deck from Love, Light and Legacy, at work with me. I am absolutely in love with this deck. Each card has an “I am ____” phrase on it, which can be used in meditation or as a mantra or as a journaling prompt… They are very open to interpretation which is so lovely. Before I left work for the day, I pulled a card for each of the three college students that were working that day. I also brought the cards to a meeting on January 17 where I knew I would see a certain friend of mine, and I pulled a card for her as well.
[Interesting side note – my 8th Thing of 2016 was also done on January 13.]

In addition to doing the above I’ve also started reading Delirium by Lauren Oliver, the first book in the trilogy (which is Thing 79). I had Mark call and make a reservation for us to go to dinner for Valentine’s Day on the Sunday before (Thing 41). And I got a white scarf with pink and black hearts on it that I can wear for Valentine’s Day at work, but I can also wear on Pink and Black Day (Thing 32), a holiday I created when I was in college that falls on March 25.