The End.

Wow. SO that's it! Went out with a whimper indeed! Actually, the final day went out with quite a bang because we had our CK Halloween party and it was nonstop shenanigans all day...AND night! So many shenanigans that I completely forgot it was the last day of my list haha!! But interestingly enough, in regards to figuring out my end-date for the list, I wrote this on January 23, 2007: "SO instead I'm just starting this Feb 1st and then the end date will be something like Oct 29th, 2009. I'll celebrate with some Halloween festivities?"

Ok! Well, to begin, I just wanted to say that my mom was right. While I didn't necessarily accomplish everything on the list, I did accomplish a ton...and stuff I never would've tackled had it not been for the list. To quote one of my first posts:

"In other words, why am I doing this aside from my little plan to get organized? My 30th birthday is Jan 6, 2010. Over the last few years, well since I graduated college really, I've felt as though life is just zippin' on by and all I do is go to work, watch my fave tv shows, and sleep. I really want to change that before I turn 30. It would most definitely give me a better outlook once I get there....I mean instead of arriving at the big 3-0 and thinking to myself: what the hell have I even done with my life?"

Well, "what the hell have I even done with my life" is the LAST thing I'll say on Jan 6th 2010! And now I have the list to prove it.

I would also like to note that my darkest days were after my two "massive" breakups and this list made me feel like my own person. I started this ginormous undertaking two weeks before the first breakup. Much of the list was actually devoted to doing stuff with John and his daughter. After the proverbial ax hit, however, I decided to revamp the list and make it more about me. That helped tremendously. And it helped again after the second breakup because I was already trained to have someone to fall back on: me. Even in my current relationship, I have such a better grasp on standing on my own two feet and knowing that I'm important too...that I can't just drop everything, forget about myself, and devote all my energy to someone else. I know it sounds so unromantic that way ;) but trust me, it's a lesson learned and an important one at that. But I would like to say that I finally see a lot of positivity in that past relationship and the things I learned from it. Everything happens for a reason and it feels great to finally see that. Nothing is ever a waste.

Ok enough of all that pontificating! No ginormous undertaking is complete without:

My 101 Things in 1001 Days RECAP!

A lot happened over the last 1001 days. My best friends' wedding, several babies, those two pesky good-in-the-longrun breakups, several dudes (ha...ha?), a couple hairstyles and colors, only one job and one apartment, surprisingly enough! OH! And a new and super rad boyfriend with whom I'd like to love for as long as I can :)

In the last 1001 days, I revisited a lot of Milwaukee, including the Zoo, the Art Museum, a couple Farmers Markets, the State Fair, and ten new restaurants. I got my culture on at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Ballet, and the Skylight Opera. I saw a bunch of hot air balloons, went ice skating, played in the rain, flew kites, watched the moonrise, learned to play golf, and carved a couple pumpkins, including Brad!

I made over 130 new recipes and tried weird produce items like dragon fruit and endive. I learned how to make sushi, a roux, and béchamel sauce! I made apricot barbecue sauce from scratch.

I saw Vegas AND the Grand Canyon. I went on a surprise trip through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri.

I had a blast being a Salvation Army bellringer. I did not have a blast donating blood and platelets. Some kids in Africa have my McDonald's Teeny Beany Baby collection. Some random Milwaukeean had a parking ticket paid by me. All my friends got homemade cards for Christmas, birthday, wedding, anniversary, baby shower, Baptism, etc etc etc...I seriously haven't bought a greeting card in like three years!

I finished Atlas Shrugged.

I read over a dozen books.

Most fun artistic project: Well, I didn't DO many of those, but to this day, I still remember all the work that went into Monica and Tim's surprise "Memory Lane" wedding gift :) I also really loved learning how to decoupage and making my sister her Hitchcock cabinet!

Most unbelievable (I actually did it!) task: See all the greater Milwaukee area fireworks at the same time.

Most glutton-for-punishment task: giving something up every...single...month. "Looks like it's sweet bakery again!" The worst give-ups were: 1. no eating out 2. giving up all alcohol except red wine. Boy that was rough after awhile!

My proudest moments: Teaching myself web design and making my portfolio site, as well as running the Al's Run 8K, but generally, becoming a real runner.

***

So I won't be adding to this blog anymore. It's done. "But what about 101 Things in 1001 Days: The Denouement" you ask? Yeah that. The following are the artistic projects I never finished (or even started!):

-Write/design a cookbook
-Create my box purses
-Zeetles!® A quote photocard project!
-Make a photography book via Blurb
-Participate in 26 things Photograph Project at least a couple times
-Build up a collection of goods to sell at an art/craft show (and be willing to part with them!)
-Create INKYTNMO* Scrapbook
-Hipster Geocache

I really do want to be in an art/craft fair in the future, so perhaps this will be the subject of my next blog: My Road to the Fair. Most of the aforementioned projects could be featured at said fair: My cookbook created via Blurb (I already narrowed down 33 recipes-one for each month of the list), box purses, and greeting cards. Along with vinyl 45 record notebooks and handbags, Polaroid lamps, rad baby announcements, 26 Things: The Milwaukee Alphabet, and other random stuff I'll figure out. As for the scrapbook? Yikes. Maybe I'll be bored one day. And finally, Hipster Geocache? This is the best idea ever and I'm determined to implement it. Especially for next year when it gets warm again!

So that is literally all she wrote! Thank you to the three people who followed me on this journey haha! And hey, if you--yes, I'm talking to you--stumble upon this blog, and want to liven up your life a little, try tackling this intense project. You won't necessarily notice a drastic change, but drastic changes definitely happen. I'm sure there will come a time down the road when I'll hit some major midlife crisis and I'll need to whip up another one of these.

It'll be awhile though.

I'm too big of a fan of sweet bakery.