Back from Vacation

My husband & I were fortunate enough to be able to go to Las Vegas for a family reunion. Each day there was a family event. We also went to see two shows; Lion King and a Cirque du Soleil show called Believe with Criss Angel. I also got to spend time by the pool, read, and I did a little stitching. The one thing I did not do was gamble. What I found is that there is plenty to see and do in Las Vegas even if you don't gamble. I hope I can go during the winter sometime to restock on sunshine and warmth. This past February we went to Phoenix where my husband was playing in a golf tournament. It wa wonderful to escape the cold, snowy, clouding northeast for a few days. I hope we can go somewhere sunny and warm again this coming February. The best part is having a time of peace away from routine and having dedicated time with my husband.

The only downside to vacation is catching up on your real life when you get back. But it is so worth it! I am thinking we should plan four long week end vacations a year. It is amazing how quickly you fall back into your normal routine when you return home. I love my children dearly but I am glad they are old enough to be left on their own for a few days so that DH and I can take these kinds of trips.

This trip helps me work toward my 'Strengthening Family Relationship' goal on my '101 Tasks List' . Now to get back to my stitching. I want to be able to post a finish here soon.

101 Tasks in 1001Days ( 8/1/09 - 4/28/12)

The Mission: To complete 101 predefined tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined.
Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some work and growth on my part)

Why 1001 Days?
We often create lists of goals such as New Year's resolutions which we don’t achieve. One reason is that we procrastinate.

The key to beating procrastination is to set a realistic deadline. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year,
because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks that may require multiple like seasons to complete.

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive: Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focused: Accomplishing any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end.

3. Assessment: Constantly evaluate your progress to motivate you to further progress.

4. Welcome Failure: Failure presents an opportunity to learn.

5. Write down your goals: It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

6. Keep your goals in sight: Review them frequently to ensure that they are at the forefront of your thinking.

7. Tasks are steps to completing goals. My tasks are organized by goals.

Start Date: August 1, 2009

End Date: April 28, 2012

Strengthen Family Relationships:

1. Plan a monthly date night and occasional trips with DH
2. Call or email my father, Lin & Wilfred , and my brother at least once /month
3. Have monthly dinner for family at my house
4. Take Erica to the Art Museum or Cloths Line Sale
5. Teach Eric how to cook
6. Document family b’days and anniversaries
7. Send out cards every month ( b’days, anniversaries, etc)
8. Create new family address book
9. Plan & have Eric’s 60^th b’day party
10. Plan and have Erica’s Graduation party

Promote Great Personal Health:

11. Develop habit of aerobic exercise 3 days/week
12. Develop habit of weight training 2 days/week
13. Practice yoga or relaxation techniques daily
14. Lose weight: target 1=170
15. Lose weight: target 2 = 150
16. Lose weight: target 3 =135
17. Take care of my teeth; identify a dentist & schedule regular dental appointments
18. Schedule mammogram annually
19. Schedule annual Gyn visit
20. Schedule annual physical exams

Enhance My Home & Life:

21. Power wash & stain deck
22. Apply sealer to dry basement walls
23. Clean out & organize basement
24. Organize files in lateral file drawers and new file drawers
25. Clean out all boxes of paper
26. Organize/Review Finances & document bill paying
27. Replace kitchen countertops
28. Have roof replaced
29. Make or buy drapes for family room
30. Decorate Library
31. Decorate Family Room
32. Replace carpeting upstairs
33. Paint hallway, stair case, and foyer.
34. Paint family room and kitchen
35. Install tile floors on first floor
36. Redo powder room
37. Buy new mattress and box spring
38. Have screens repaired
39. Buy a new front door and have it sealed
40. Develop a new landscape design & implement it

Pursue and Improve My Needlework:

41. Cross stitch at least 5 days per week
42. Finish Dragon Virtues Afghan WIP
43. Finish Story Teller WIP
44. Finish Dragon Ride WIP
45. Finish Wedding Sampler WIP
46. Finish Mini Mandala Garden I #3 WIP
47. Stitch 2^nd Day of Christmas WIP
48. Stitch 3^rd Day of Christmas
49. Stitch 4^th Day of Christmas
50. Stitch the Kiss on Mira RR
51. Stitch Taj Mahal
52. Stitch the Bliss Fairy
53. Stitch Dragon Needle Case
54. Stitch Delightful Dragon Fob
55. Stitch 3-6 Christmas ornaments per year
56. Finish Mira RR and Hang
57. Finish LKRR and Hang
58. Finish TWRR and Hang
59. Finish all stitched Christmas ornaments
60. Finish quilt for Eric Spencer
61. Sew three polar fleece throws
62. Make large floor pillows for Eric Spencer
63. Sell surplus stash on ebay
64. Send out 1 RAK /year

Contribute to my Department/College/Institute

65. Develop ten articulation agreements for our BS degrees
66. Develop annual workshop for Community Colleges
67. Develop & document support agreements with SE, CS, IST, and NTID
68. Develop and execute curricular changes that distinguish & strengthen our degrees
69. Strengthen the systems administration sequence
70. Add large scale computing to the curriculum
71. Develop a capacity model for our programs
72. Develop a faculty development and assessment plan

Pursue Scholarship in Support of Curriculum

73. Write three papers on collaborative learning, experiential learning, or active learning
74. Join ACM SIGITE & join curriculum committee
75. Read three books on curriculum or pedagogy
76. Act as a peer reviewer
77. Identify an opportunity to edit or write a text book
78. Develop a active learning textbook for the Intro to Unix Course

Pursue Excellence in Teaching

79. Redesign Advanced Routing and Switching Course (4050-545)
80. Revive 515 lab manual and update annually
81. Revise layout & content of 351 lab manual annually
82. Develop a substitute curriculum for Freshman Seminar
83. Learn new techniques and incorporate them in my courses.

Pursue New Knowledge

84. Learn C# and OOP
85. Learn BGP
86. Learn IS-IS
87. Learn OSPF
88. Learn MPLS
89. Learn IGRP/EIGRP
90. Take a research methods course
91. Take and pass the CCNA certification exam
92. Take an organizational behavior course
93. Learn how to do zero based budgeting

Invest in My Personal Development & Contribute with Service

94. Develop the habit of refection using a written journal or my blog daily
95. Improve organization by cleaning out & organizing my office at work
96. Take golf lessons to improve my game.
97. Participate in a woman’s golf league at least once and play with others.
98. Take sailing lessons and start sailing regularly.
99. Refine my leadership capabilities by reading, workshops, & practice
100. Serve my church by serving on at least one committees, teaching Sunday school
101. Volunteer at LPGA each year

Reflecting Forward

I spent time this week reflecting on the next 101 tasks I wanted to list to support my goals. Some of the unaccomplished tasks from my first list and some that I did accomplish have been moved to the new list. Looking at what I accomplished off my first list helped me to redefine what really matters to me. I lost sight of this list over the last year or perhaps longer so I realize I must review it regularly in order to accomplish the tasks I have set before me. I must have a plan. My plan is two fold. I will print the list and put it in my daily record book. This is a notebook I have to keep track of my work responsibilities. Secondly, since I have decided that from now on Sunday will be my day for reflection and relaxation, on the first Sunday of each month I will review the list and select those tasks that I will work on during that month and put the 'to dos' on my calendar. If you are curious about some of my goals please feel free to look at my new 101 Tasks in 1001 days list.

New 101 Task List

I realized today that I forgot all about my 101 task list that I started in 2006 and which ended in April of 2009. I went back to that post and updated it so it reflects what I did get accomplished. Unfortunately I did not get as much done as I had hoped. This week I will update and post my new 101 task list to reflect what I want to accomplish in the next 1001 days.

Why is this so hard for me?

As you can see I have not posted since January. I had every good intention of posting to my blog but fail to do so because I think my posts will not interest other readers. I have continued to visit the cross stitch BBs that I frequent. Unfortunately the traffic on those BBs is quite low compared to what it was 2 or 3 years ago. We all have only a certain amount of time and I suspect as more of us blog we spend less time on the BBs.

I like the BBs because they are like a multiperson conversations. Blogs feel very one way to me. I know that people who read your blog can comment but I rarely get a comment so I feel like I am talking to myself. On the BB if I post a progress pic or a happy dance you usually get at least a few people who comment. Or if you have a question you can usually get an answer. The blog is a great way for me to express my opinions about something or dispay pictures or updates on my work but is not necessarily the best way to have a conversation.

I 've decide to try again beacause there was a thread on one of the BBs asking for our blog URL and because some said she had gone out and read my blog. I felt bad because it was so out of date. So I added my blog address to the list and said I would start to blog again.

My cross stitch goal for this year was to finish 10 projects. In previous years I have had more specific goals and have not succeeded. This felt comfortable. I am on track to complete 10 projects this year. So far I have completed 6. The last two were Deco Spirits- Fire panel by Mirabilia and Christmas is Forever by Lizzie Kate. Pictures of those two are posted above.