GOAL!!! (A List Update)

It's been a looooooong time since I updated you all on my list for 2012. Seeing as how today is the first day of fall, it seems like a good time to do a quick update. Here we go!

...In With the New

Hope you like the new look!  I know it's not perfect, but it's something and it's cheerier than the old look.  I was ready for a change.  It has been almost two years since I last updated the look around here.  I'm way too trendy to sit on one look for that long.  : )

You'll also notice that there's a new page listed up there.  That's right.  I just knocked #14 off my list for 2012!  I have a new blog!!

Don't worry!  I'm not going to stop blogging here; this will be in addition to Not the Marrying Kind.  I set up Not the Parenting Kind as a blog last year, but haven't had time to do anything with it.  I probably don't have the time now, but I've been itching to work on it more and more lately.  And so, out of more and more frustration with how much time work has been taking out of my life, I sat down and devoted a whole weekend to finally putting together months of work.

You'll note that Not the Parenting Kind's design is extraordinarily similar to Not the Marrying Kind.  That's intentional.  I see the two as sister sites.  Here, I'll continue to blog about marriage, weddings, and my life with A.P.  There, I'll blog about parenting and children and my fear about taking the leap into parenthood.  I see these as separate, but related sites because getting married and being newlyweds is so separate from becoming parents.  I see them as two distinct periods in a life and so felt the need to have two different internet resting spots.

I hope you'll join me over at Not the Parenting Kind, too.  I can't promise I will post there as often at first, but I promise when I do, it'll be worth your while.  : )

Sharing Is Caring (So Is Subscribing!)

Hi all! A fresh, new post will be up later this afternoon (check back around 10am CST), but first, some maintenance.

First up, I finally fixed the share buttons on the blog so that now you can email posts, blog about them, tweet about them, post about them on Facebook or Google Buzz, and +1 me on Google +. The buttons can all be found at the bottom of each post, next to comments link (see picture below). So, feel free to tweet, blog, and facebook/google it up to your heart's content!


Speaking of Google +, I'm on there. Are you? If you are, feel free to add me as a friend! I'm still learning how the damn thing works, so if you friend me, you'll have to forgive my inexperience.

Finally, if you don't already, have you considered subscribing to Not the Marrying Kind? If you've never really subscribed to a blog before, you're in good company. I was scared to do this for a long time, but now I have several blogs I read in Google Reader. It's awesome. I no longer have to check back to see if a blogger has updated. When they do, it automatically updates in your Reader. I highly encourage you to subscribe if you haven't already. And there are oh, so many ways you can do so! You can use the drop down menu on the right under "Get Updates On" to either subscribe via RSS to posts or comments or both! Or you can subscribe via email right below by entering in your super top secret email addresses. Finally, if you have a blogger account, you can add me to your reading list on the dashboard by cutting and pasting the URL for NTMK into the window that pops up when you click the "add" button. See? So many ways you can get updates on posts that way you don't miss one boring moment of my life!

Also, you can always keep up with me on twitter, pinterest, and polyvore, too! So go, go subscribe, follow, tweet, and whatever else your heart desires! I promise I'll do my part to say stupid, useless crap like how according to klout, I'm quite influential about The Bachelorette.

See you soon, my sweets!

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!

Dirty Thirties: An Updated List for 2011, Prt. 2

Here's the rest of the update to my list for 2011. Enjoy!

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.

I don't think we're going to do this, but I have been trying to be more grateful for all that he does. Whether he thinks I'm succeeding or not is another story.

24. Take a photography course. I have a groupon for one, so this should be a cinch.

Waiting until the weather warms up a bit for this one since I know I will have to do part of the shoot outside, and I don't want to freeze my tush off.

25. Take a guitar course. Same as above. I heart groupon.

Need to figure out this class as well. It's definitely got to wait until after I'm done working overtime.

26. Do another picture a day project.

I'm still brainstorming a good one. I've come up with nothing. I thought about doing outfit a day, but I wear such stupid clothes these days. I'm all about being warm and comfortable.

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 went to the dentist, and now I'm trying to find a lady doctor. I'm not sure if I want to go back to the one I had since I'm now at an age where I'm realizing that my lady doctor might also be the one who delivers my future unborn babies. I want to be with someone I really like and feel comfortable with. I'm not sure I 100% loved my old doctor. Plus, this is really weird, but the woman I used to nanny for coincidentally had the same doctor, and all I can think about now is that that doctor has seen both of our lady parts. Plus I used to refer her to my friends all the time. She's seen too many of our lady parts. She knows too much. It's time to move on. : O )

28. Journal again.

I thought about this the other day. Does that count?

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.

We're going to Disney World. It's been decided. I'll cross this off, though, when we've actually gone.

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.

Weather has to warm up significantly for me to do this.

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!

This is my responsibility and I've for sure been slacking. A.P. and I have had conversation after conversation about this, and I still just haven't made us sit down and get it done. I'm always working , it seems.

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.

I've been so so about this. It's been harder with my crazy schedule, but I do feel like I'm better about this now. I've called my father more, and made a point to see him more since we have a car. My mother has been trickier, but I've been trying. I'm not crossing this off, because I still think I can do better.

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 know, guys, should I cross this off yet? With the exception of two weeks where I missed a fifth day, and this past week where I only blogged once, I've blogged five times a day here and for the most part at BlogHer, too.

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.

I think I've been better about this, but I've still got a lot of work to do. I'm managing my time better, but I also calculated how much work I've been doing on average the past few weeks, and it adds up to about 63 hours a week. That's exhausting, no? Plus...I miss my husband and being calm around him. I'll wait until the end of the year to asses and possibly cross this one off.

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.

Tickets just went on sale, and I think I'm going to buy them this week when I get paid on Friday. So you can check back on my list page later this week to see this bad boy crossed off!

36. Learn to sew. More on this later.

I've still not really talked about this. I feel a post coming on...

37. Eat out less. Eat fruit more. Eat candy less. Eat dairy more.

Working on this, and getting somewhat better. But those 12 hour days are killing me. And frequently the last thing I want to do is come home and cook. I am trying to do some crock pot cooking. That's tough, too, though.

38. Play with our guinea pig, Henry, more. Yes, we have a guinea pig. It's a long story.

I haven't been playing with him more, but I've been buying him more treats and petting him more. It's hard to find any time to play with any of the animals. Pretty much all of the playing we do these days revolves around falling asleep on the couch while watching TV.

39. Find a good pair of gym shoes.

I looked again today. I'm hoping to buy these soon. My knee is longing for comfortable shoes!

40. Digitize all of our photos.

I was getting really good at this and I was super on top of it for a while. Alas, I got behind. I'm hoping to get started again soon.

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?

I haven't done this at all. I talked to my father about his next hang out session with us being at my house. Perhaps I shall set up our video camera to do that.

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.

A.P. and I have talked a lot about this. I don't think this is going to happen. A.P. has only been at his job for a year, and I don't have the time off yet, either. And while we might have the money for the plane ticket, we probably couldn't afford the plane ticket, the visa, the medical, etc. That's the kind of thing that requires a lot of planning and frankly, we can't even plan for a trip to Florida. So needless to say this is on the way back burner right now.

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]?"

Yeah, still on progress on that shit.

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 didn't end up throwing myself a 30th birthday party at all. I decided I didn't want to throw it myself and nobody really was offering to throw it for me, so I skipped it altogether. I was going to do something small with some close friends and family and that didn't work out either. So instead this has been all about hanging out with my best friend, A.P. And that's been okay with me. But we will throw a party soon. When things die down.

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!

I'm on it! I found this amazing blackhead/whitehead cleaner and I started using the Zeno system on some of my more stubborn cystic bastards on my chin. It's been good so far. My skin is much clearer. So we'll see how it goes. I may still go to the dermatologist.

And that's it. I feel like I haven't made much progress yet, but so many of these things seem to be time or weather dependent, and I hate to say it, but me having more time off closer to summer is going to be key in me crushing out a bunch of these things. Still, it's good for me to go through this list every quarter or so. How is everybody else doing with their New Year's to do lists/resolutions? Any progress? Or have we all given up?

Dirty Thirties: An Updated List for 2011, Prt. 1

Today, I turn 30 years old. It's really not that big of a deal. You think it's going to be a big deal, but it's not. Getting old is pretty much something you get used to after 21, and you realize that every birthday after that is just about getting older.

I'm trying to get back on track with blogging this week. I've pumped enough hours into work lately, that I'm a bit ahead of the game. I'm also happy to report that even though I stayed up until, like 3 in the morning last night doing work, today I'm celebrating with A.P. (I have the day off of work, and he took the day off) and I'm not doing a lick of work. Yay!

So, with 30 still feeling fresh and new, I figured it's a good week to check in with my list for 2011.

1. Lose the rest of the weight I've gained since I started dating A.P. four and a half years ago. Do it at my own pace, and without headache or self-loathing.

I've actually gained weight. It's not a lot, but it's not the direction I was hoping to go in either. Oh well. I'm getting used to my curvier body, too. I can't decide if that's a good or a bad thing.

2. Do my knee exercises more often. I have a bum knee. It's sad and true that I have a bum knee and I'm not even 30. Supposedly if I did these exercises 3-5 times a week, it'd be less of a bum knee (but still technically a bum knee).

This has become especially important lately because, as I lamely told A.P., the cold makes my knee hurt. Lately, we've had this damp, icky cold weather, and it's been making my knee hurt even more. I know. I sound so old. Ugh. Anyway, I did some exercises the other night, and it felt really nice. So I'm going to try to do them 3x a week. I've moved the gear into the room, and I figure before bed is a good time to do some monster walking.

3. Wear this sexy green dress I bought several years ago that I, for whatever reason, have never worn.

Still haven't done this one. It's got no sleeves, so I'm thinking when the weather warms up.

4. Find a bra to wear with the sexy green dress.

Still haven't done this one either. What can I say, when one hasn't been the priority, the other falls to the wayside, too.

5. Get measured for a bra. It seems like every time I gain weight, my boobs get bigger. But then when I lose weight, my boobs stay the same size. I've been guestimating for too long what size bra I am. It's time to bite the bullet and let some old lady at the department store grope me a bit.

I haven't been measured for a bra, but I did find some that fit pretty nicely the other day. They're probably way off, but I just haven't had time lately to go to a department store. And frankly for now, I'll settle for a good bra that fits and isn't ugly as hell.

6. Make A.P. take me out on a fancy date so that I can wear the damn green dress!

So, technically, A.P. took me out on a fancy date for my birthday. But I didn't wear the green dress. It wasn't really appropriate. I did wear the black cocktail dress I was supposed to wear on our wedding day, though. So that was kind of a big deal.

7. Take our engagement photos. Yes, that's right. We still haven't done that. Oops.

Gotta do #1 first. Plus we're waiting for warmer weather? I don't know. We just never think about it.

8. After we take our engagement photos, chop off my hair. I found this old picture of my grandmother and am thinking about whacking off my hair so it looks like hers (in a slightly more updated way, though I do sort of appreciate the vintage charm of this cut).

See above.

9. Travel somewhere exotic...again. We went to Belize on our honeymoon and it was my first time really visiting an exotic location. I see what the fuss is about.

We were going to try to do a mini-cruise to the Bahamas interwoven in our trip to Florida, but I think that's a bust. So, now, well, we're just working on it. Maybe when summer gets a bit closer?

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.

We're not joining a team, but I'm trying to get A.P. to take a badminton class with me at the local park district. I think I'm this close to getting him to let me sign us up. It's $10! How can you go wrong? If you hate it, you just don't go back. After all, you've spent less than a night at the movies!

11. Scrapbook. That's right. I said it. Scrapbook.

I really don't want to talk about this one, because it involves what I was hoping to work on for our wedding anniversary, and I've been so busy with work, I haven't done it at all. Lame, lame, lame.

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!

Did this yesterday! Scheduled my last payment for today, and I am officially credit card debt free. I'm excited to have a ton of money freed up each month. And on to the next chunk of debt: school loans. Fun, fun, fun!

13. Get my life organized and keep my apartment clean.

The place is a mess. This so isn't happening. Though I'm hoping to work on it a bit today. Something about turning 30 makes me want to clean this joint up.

14. Find a way to get my life organized and keep my apartment clean.
Uh, obviously haven't done it if number 13 is still a hot mess.

15. Try out the GTD system. (Not GTL...that joke never gets old with me.)
I tried. I failed. It's complicated. Some things about it though have gotten me thinking, like the premise of doing things if they take 2 minutes or less. That's just good sense.

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.

A.P. just got his prescription updated, and we went to go pick up his new lenses yesterday. I tried on a bunch of glasses and it inspired me to get some new lenses. I think that with my freed up income and my additional overtime, I will splurge on a nice pair of frames in a couple of months.

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.

Wait until simmer.

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've had this lovely set of stationary that I bought for this purpose laying on my coffee table for the past month or so. I can't think of one person I want to write a letter to. What a bummer, huh?

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).

If I can get A.P. to take that class, I can cross this off my list. Keep your fingers crossed ladies!

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).

I hate to admit it, but that Kindle has been a huge boost for me in terms of how much I've been reading. I read the following since January (and you can judge me all you want for that first choice, but we ALL have guilty pleasures, and one of mine is Tori Spelling, so suck it)

• Uncharted TerriTORI by Tori Spelling (which I read in like a week, which seems like a long time, but I only read before bed for about 10-20 minutes)
  
• Easily Amused by Karen McQuestion (good, but the ending felt like a let down, and there were some annoying grammatical/usage mistakes that annoyed me)
  
• Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua (I've already commented on how this book is going)
  

I've also wish listed Wendy Kopp's new book, A Chance to Make History, as well as some others. Kindle, despite it's boring display, lack of features, and frustratingly high price for a digital file, has transformed my reading life.

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).

I've been working too hard to watch anything but mindless reality TV while I work. I'm thinking about joining Hulu Plus, though. That might get me caught up. Not sure if it's worth the 7.99/mo price, though.

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.

Still working on this.

To be continued tomorrow...

Check back to see what the hell else I've been putting off.