An Update on My List for 2011

Hi guys! It being six months in, I figured it was a good time to update my list for 2011. I'm in between some projects, but for the most part, I'm making good progress. Summer, and a slow down in work, promises to help get even more things checked off this list. Here's how I've been stacking up!

# 1 - 9 (losing the rest of the weight, getting measured for a bra, wearing that green dress, and going out on a romantic date while wearing said dress) are still being worked on...

# 10. Join a team sport of some kind. Possibly rope A.P. into joining, too. I want to be a part of a kickball team. Or maybe a good badminton foursome? I just want to exercise in a way that isn't in a gym, with my headphones on, ignoring everyone. - I don't know if we are going to join a team ever, but I'm trying to get A.P. to do something with me for 15 minutes every day. We talked about it tonight. I got the idea from Real Simple's monthly feature 15 Minutes and You're Done. Since I just brought up this new idea with A.P., I'd have to figure out what I could potentially get him to do, so now I'm going to peruse the site and try to put together some ideas.

# 11. Scrapbook. That's right. I said it. Scrapbook. - I have mad plans to scrapbook this summer. I've already got my photos organized. Now, I just need to order prints, and start organizing pages. This screams summer project!

# 12. Pay off my credit card before my 30th birthday. When I was 21 years old, I studied abroad in Italy. In order to get myself there, I had to put my airfare on a credit card. I've had credit card debt ever since. What's funny about that is how little I actually use my credit card and how totally not reckless with money I am. For almost a year, I carried an expired credit card in my wallet because I forgot to change it out. That's how little I use my credit card. I've just never been in a position to pay it off completely. This goal is almost completed. On my 30th birthday, I will make my last payment, and the balance will be $0! - Completed in March. I'm credit card debt free! Woot!

# 13. Get my life organized and keep my apartment clean. - Again, summer project. I'm thinking about doing some major purging this summer (again), as well as inputting some new organizational strategies around the house. Cross your fingers this finally works!

# 14. Find a way to get my life organized and keep my apartment clean. - See above

# 15. Try out the GTD system. (Not GTL...that joke never gets old with me.) - Attempted and completed in January/February. Way too hard.

# 16. Get new glasses. My prescription hasn't really changed much, but the last time I bought glasses was an embarrassingly long time ago. I want some new, rad glasses I can sport around town. - My better pair of glasses broke. So I need to make an appointment for a checkup, but I've been perusing pairs on both Warby Parker and Spex Club. Both great, inexpensive options for stylish spectacles!

# 17. Go camping in Michigan again. For a while, I did this trip annually, but A.P. and I have taken other trips the last two summers (Smoky Mountains, where we got engaged, and our wedding present trip to Montreal), and so didn't end up going camping. I miss it, and it's always fun to take the dog on a trip. - I plan on trying to fit this on our calendar some time in July. I'm also trying to plan another "family" vacation (i.e. we can bring the dog and cat...no pet sitters!). One depends on the other.

# 18. Write random, lovely letters. When was the last time you wrote someone a handwritten letter? Not a birthday card or a thank you card, but a real hello, how are you letter? I want to write at least five random hello, how are you letters. Email is overrated. - I still have not done this, but I bought some pretty stationary to use. So it's always swirling in the back of my mind. Also, I bought that Arcade Fire card to send to my brother-in-law, which totally counts.

# 19. Play badminton more. We registered for, and awesomely got a badminton set for our wedding. We only got to play once last summer, but it was so much fun! I want to make it a point to go to the park, set up the net, and bat around the shuttlecock (love that it's called a shuttlecock, btw). - Now that it's finally warm, I'm planning on rocking that badminton set a lot this summer. I've already talked to my friend about going to her parents' farm again, and I'm planning picnics in the park with A.P. and the dog. Badminton is involved in all of those things.

# 20. Read more. If only you knew what I did for a living. If only you knew how little I read. You'd be as embarrassed for me as I am for me. I read magazines all the time, but I need to find some new authors/books that I can enjoy. (Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments). - This year, I've been re-reading some things. The Poisonwood Bible (which, yup, I still hate), Pygmalion, and Othello among other things. I also read a few books on the Kindle earlier in the year. I got busy when I picked up all that overtime in February/March, and it seems like things haven't slowed down since. So, now that they finally are slowing down, my book list is long. I want to read Alice in Wonderland, some Nathaniel Hawthorne stories, and finish reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, among other things.


# 21. Rotate in some new old shows. I watch a lot of TV shows. So many, in fact, that sometimes I have to stop watching shows for a while, and rotate in other ones, which means I can get a few seasons behind. Right now I'm super behind on Mad Men, Dexter, Rescue Me, and Big Love. I aim to get caught up before new seasons start up again (particularly Rescue Me and Big Love, which both end this year). - Coming up soon: Big Love, Rescue Me, and Dexter. Again, this is because work is finally slowing down.

# 22. Buy a home. This might trickle over to the beginning of 2012 (hopefully before the apocalypse), but we've been talking about it a lot lately, and think that we can start looking for a place by the end of the year. - Working on it.

# 23. Walk in A.P.'s shoes. My brother suggested that A.P. and I walk in each other's shoes for a month. He says we bicker too much about how we both contribute more than the other. I don't know if I'll truly be able to do this one, or if I'll be able to convince A.P. to do it, but it might prove interesting, that's for sure. - This is one that is probably never going to happen. I don't think I can convince A.P. to really do it, and frankly it's sort of a weird, pain in the ass thing to do. I think it would be interesting, but I'm not going to beat myself up if it never happens.

# 24. Take a photography course. I have a groupon for one, so this should be a cinch. - Hoping to do this in July or August.

# 25. Take a guitar course. Same as above. I heart groupon. - I start my class at the Old Town School of Folk Music in two weeks!

# 26. Do another picture a day project. - I probably shouldn't cross this off since I haven't completely photoshopped all the pictures and posted them, but I took them, and therefore did a picture a day project. Next time, I'm going to do something different. I didn't like that A.P. was taking the photos. It's not his forte, and frankly, he doesn't like doing it. But we did it. It's not great, but it was my first real, successful attempt at a project like this. And it got me taking pictures.

27. Get regular about doctor appointments. Before grad school, I was super, super diligent about going to the lady doctor and to the dentist. Since grad school started, I've been not so diligent. Time to get back into old routines. - I saw my dentist in January, and have to make another appointment soon. I'm making an appointment for the following in the next few weeks (trying to get a bunch done during my mini-vacation): lady doctor and eye doctor.

# 28. Journal again. - Haven't done this at all. It feels strange to do. I need to get over that somehow.

# 29. Go someplace new in Florida, possibly Disney World. A.P. is a Floridian, born and raised. Every year, at some point, we make the trek to Florida. And I hate it. I'm bored, and all I see are the insides of people's houses. I feel like I've been to Florida three times, but I've never really been to Florida. I told A.P. next time we go, we have to take a day trip somewhere. I voted for either Disney World, or Eatonville, the birthplace of Zora Neale Hurston. - Completed in April. We went to Disney World.

# 30. Go on a hot air balloon ride. I bought A.P. a gift certificate for a ride for his groom's gift, but we still haven't used it. It's time to cash that baby in. - Have to figure this out.

# 31. Get our finances completely in order. I think we finally found a money management software, which is going to be awesome once we figure out how to use it! - We found a financial planner and are in the midst of figuring out/filling out her 11 page assessment form. I also met with a rep at my work about starting a 401K type retirement savings account. And A.P. and I are working on saving our money in the mean time so that we can open a joint retirement account. Plus, we're still saving for a house.

# 32. Call my parents more. Call my great aunt more. Part of GTD is to schedule things like phone calls. That may sound silly to some, but I'm the sort of person who at 7pm as I'm cooking thinks, "Oh crap, I have to call my mother," but don't because it's inconvenient at the time. Then, at 11:30pm, I remember again and it's too late. The cycle starts all over the next day. So scheduling a phone call wouldn't be the worst thing. - Yeah, still bad about this. It has a lot to do with my job. I talk all day, so I hate talking on the phone now. It's terrible. It seems like the worst chore ever. I'm trying like hell to get better about it.

# 33. Blog five times a week on this blog, and 2-3 times a week on my other blog (that we write for our family only). That's a lot of blogging! But I think if I try hard enough, I can do it. - I don't want to cross this off until the end of the year, but I think I've done a great job with this goal in particular. I need to get better about the other blog. I started out 2-3 times a week, but I'm mega behind now. Still, that is the less important blog to me. That's really just a place for us to update our family every once in a while what we've been up to.

# 34. Prioritize. Family first. Hopes/dreams/personal goals second. Work third. I'd hate to be 40 and still wondering why I haven't done what I wanted to do. - It's been challenging to do this since this year, and at this job, I've taken on a ton of responsibility, which in some ways makes me indispensable. I still think I've done a good job of putting this blog and my writing and some other personal goals ahead of my real job. Not a lot ahead, and I still forsake one for the other on occasion, but I'm getting better about this every day.

# 35. See Spring Awakening. If A.P. won't buy the tickets, I will. I've wanted to see this for a long, long time. - Completed May 7th. It was a bit disappointing, but I did it.

# 36. Learn to sew. More on this later. - I'm going to try to take a couple of one day classes this summer. I want to start with some basic skills first. I can't really take on a ton of new projects right now, but it would be nice to make some pillows or curtains or hem some pants.

# 37. Eat out less. Eat fruit more. Eat candy less. Eat dairy more. - Eating out is still tough, but I'm working on it. I eat fruit at least once a day now. And I try to eat a yogurt with lunch every day. I am still working on drinking more milk.

# 38. Play with our guinea pig, Henry, more. Yes, we have a guinea pig. It's a long story. - I've been better about this, but there's still a ton of room for improvement. Poor Henry.

# 39. Find a good pair of gym shoes. - You would think this would have gotten crossed off my list in January, but I still can't find a pair I like. So sad.

# 40. Digitize all of our photos. - I'm doing this in conjunction with the scrapbook project. I have a new flatbed scanner, and I'm going to try to buy a film scanner this summer.

# 41. Record my father talking about the Olympics. My father was an Olympian. He didn't win or anything, but he won a lot of awards in the Asian Olympics. It would be so cool to record him looking at photos and discussing both. How cool would that be to show to our kids one day? - This is something I still haven't done. I need to get it together.

# 42. Visit my sister and her husband in India. I wish I could have traveled to India before I met A.P., by myself. I think it would have been amazing. I've always wanted to go, see where my father was born and raised, and I'll be excited to do that. But the thought of traveling to such an exotic place with my picky eater husband, and staying with my sister kind of makes me dread the whole thing. Maybe that's a good thing, though. Maybe if we do go, the trip will be awesome because I had such low expectations. - I think this is out for this year. Frankly, we have other financial goals and trips we have to/want to take before we shell out a ton of cash on India. We're staying local this year (we went out of the country twice last year).

# 43. Get A.P. to put his keys and wallet in the same damn place every day. This won't happen, but wouldn't it be awesome if it did? And I didn't have to hear, "Have you seen my [insert keys, wallet, glasses, headphones, bag, etc. here]?" - This might be another one I have to get over, but dammit I want it to happen!

# 44. Throw at least one party. Back in the day, I threw awesome parties. I would cram up to 30 people into my one bedroom apartment throughout the night. It sounds crowded, but it never felt like it. It always felt awesome. The last party we threw was our housewarming party when I first moved in. Instead, we've been focusing on hosting holidays for our family. I'd like to throw a kickass party again. It's a lot of work, but always so much fun. - I'm thinking some kind of late summer party might be in order. We'll see! I've been gathering ideas.

# 45. Clear my skin. This is the year, I've decided, that I'm done with acne. It sucks to have adult acne. And what's worse is I can never seem to find a product that clears my skin. This is the year I find a dermatologist, and start to look like a grownup, not a teenager! - Again, this is something that's gotten better, but I still think I'm going to go see a dermatologist this summer. I kind of don't want to, because it has always seemed a bit vain to me (my skin isn't as bad as some, you know?) but lately, the level of scarring that I've had has really started to bother me. Something about my skin is changing, and I don't like it or know how to deal with it.

Phew...that's a lot of projects I'm juggling. I'm hoping to cross off at least five or six by August, which is when I'll next update you guys. Still, I'm proud of myself for doing this list. It's totally helped me focus my attention this year on a number of things. Besides actually making the list, posting it online and writing about it periodically has been a big help. It's allowed me to refocus my attention on various projects. I can't wait to next write about this and cross even more off. Until then, feel free to check on my progress by clicking on the page link at the top! See you tomorrow with the Friday dance and another awesome engagement shoot!