On the last day of the month of February, I think this seems like a good time to reflect and look back on 2013 thus far. I started this journey on my birthday (December 2nd for those of you who are putting dates in your calendar – my favorite color is pink and I like books J) and feel that in the last three months, I’ve crossed some major bridges. I haven’t “completed” as many tasks as I wanted, but I’ve made some steps in the right direction – the planning phase. Plus I’ve worked on a few of them, most that I can’t complete in just one day, and will continue to work on throughout the rest of the year.
So – let’s get back to the Officially Official List for 2013. Starting from the beginning…
1) Get my spin certification (finally) – better get my ass back to spin class… baby steps
2) Carve a pumpkin – better wait till Halloween so it’s not creepy
3) Build a snowman – with all the snow we’ve had lately, there’s no excuse that this isn’t done
4) Go ice skating – again, no excuse
5) Read 40 books in a year (start there and read more if I can) – I’ve read 7 thus far, only 43 more to go!
6) Do a wine tasting – or five – in the planning stages
7) Start a new tradition – in the planning stages (does book club count since it’s not technically “new?”)
8) Learn to play tennis – better wait till spring… but I’ve got a few willing teachers J
9) Learn to golf – again, let’s wait till spring
10) Skydive – eek this needs to be a summer trip J
11) Send out birthday and Christmas cards – didn’t make it for 2012… but 2013 is my year… they may be late but I’ll get them out!
12) Send out handwritten “thank you” cards – baby steps… I’ll do my best everyone!
13) Become a yoga enthusiast – this is happening. I LOVE YOGA!!
14) Shop local – I’ve been going to smaller retail shops around, I’ve got a list of new places to go J
15) Take a cooking class – planning stages…
16) Learn to bake. Period. Cookies, cakes, pies, etc. – this one will take some work… but I’ve got pie pans headed my way so there’s a start!
17) Cook a Thanksgiving meal – turkey and all – reading this makes me sweat and cry a little. Terrifying.
18) Attend a book banning rally/meeting and voice my opinion – haven’t heard of any… but my eyes are open
19) Do the splits – maybe after another month of yoga J
20) Find my favorites – food, song, artist, restaurant – testing out lots of new places… no official favorites yet
21) Attend an art exhibit – keeping my eyes open as well, nothing has caught my eye but I’m sure it will
22) Go camping and hiking – brrrrr too cold to do this now. But after reading last month’s book club book, a hike seems fairly appropriate
23) Learn how to sew – so many projects, so little time. And I need to make sure my sewing machine works…
24) Get a tattoo – I’ve looked at a few… nothing I absolutely NEED right now…
25) Road trip to see friends – a work in progress J upcoming trip to Chicago soon!!
26) Write fan mail – I’ve gotta do this. What a nerd.
27) Learn how to grill more than hotdogs – I’ll wait till spring and summer… last thing I want to do right now is sit on the deck in the SNOW, grilling. Ick.
28) Reconnect with old friends – this is one of my favorites – and a work in progress J
29) See Chelsea Handler – I better start tweeting at this bitch. Make her read my blog and she’ll love me immediately.
30) Assist in the adoption process at the ARL – better get back in there… and not form bonds with any of the puppies because they’ll be adopted out from under my nose and I’ll cry L
31) Complete DIY projects – a few upcoming projects in mind………… surprises of course J
32) Daily random acts of kindness – buying someone’s coffee, holding the door open for someone, helping without being asked… a work in progress
33) Smile, laugh and learn something new every day – I’m hoping this is happening… I guess I don’t notice it all the time, but I’m smiling and laughing and learning plenty – let’s hope it’s every day!
34) Become a cook – work in progress… I’ve been having anxiety watching Chopped lately so maybe those shows will inspire me to get at it
35) Go to the State Fair – my mom just got her pre-ordered tickets in the mail! Plus they just posted the acts for the Grand Stand… my man Dierks will be back to Iowa in August J
36) Participate in Norwegian baking traditions during the holidays – wait till holiday time…. J
37) Volunteer – lots and lots of it… your time is worth a lot to someone
38) Make my bed every day – I’m doing better than I thought I would do with this… I’ve slacked a couple days but I’m getting better. Also – I’ve read in multiple places, that a messy bed is actually cleaner than a made bed. So there.
39) Do 12 races – yeah… about that. I gotta start running again. And just sign up for these bad boys.
40) Buy a car – looking… but Little Red is still doing her part and running like a champ, even through this weather
41) Enjoy a spa day – I cannot WAIT to have this day J
42) Get organized (in all aspects of life) – slowly but surely. I’m a messy/organized person. I know where everything is… but other people think I’m a damn mess.
43) Buy myself something sparkly – I bet a car comes before something sparkly… but it can’t hurt to look J
44) Read and watch the classics (list to come) – I forgot about this list… HOWEVER thanks to a friend of mine who LOVES the classics, I have purchased a few!
45) Host a dinner party or two – once I’m in this new place – it’s totally happening.
46) Attend showers, weddings, parties for my friends – I love this part too J I love being a part of someone’s special day
47) Keep a plant alive – I hope I can do this… with this new place maybe I’ll buy myself a love fern… see if I can keep it alive… and make sure Toby doesn’t eat it
48) Be spontaneous – I’m sure I could be MORE spontaneous… I’ll work on it
49) Go to shows and sporting events – locally famous or a little more famous – lots of concert attending planned, so ready for the rest of them
50) Go to the Fleur Cinema by myself – with wine, cheesecake, and an Indie film – I’ve got one that I absolutely NEED to see there… not an Indie but it’s a true mind F. (I’m not spelling that word out – there are people who read this who wouldn’t appreciate the f-bomb.)
So there’s a quick look at “The List” as an update… now I can get back to the real fun I’ve had since my last posting J
Let’s see… we had our third book club meeting J As usual – it was fantastic. Another small group, which is awesome. A great book, great food, great conversation – I am SO GLAD this is finally working out. I’ve wanted to either start or just become a part of a book club since I knew what a book club was. I’m glad I’ve found a group of girls who loves it as much as I do J A week ago I also made a trip up to Ames to see Dierks Bently, Miranda Lambert and Lee Brice at Hilton. Despite the weather and the roads, it wasn’t a terrible drive and it was absolutely worth it. I made new friends, got to see old friends, and enjoyed a FANTASTIC concert. Worth every penny. Plus I got to wear my cowboy boots again and I’d just been waiting for something to come up where I got to wear them again. In another couple months I’ll get to wear them again for a road trip to Omaha for Jason Aldean – get excited for all THAT once I’m back. Let’s see… what else. Oh yes – I attended a 1st birthday party for little Miss Harper. She was running around and making a “cheers” with people (must have learned that from her dad) with her sippy cup. Such a little monster. Can’t wait till they move back to Iowa so we can see them even more! We had a going away party for our doctor who’s leaving, that was a sad day. He’s so great – everyone will miss him. I suppose it’s worth it to him though – to be back in his wife’s hometown, back with her all the time, and getting paid better. No real problem there – other than we will miss him.
I took a restoring yoga class last Sunday – thinking it would be a good way to close out my week and start a new one. Well – I was right. This yoga stuff has really gotten into my head. I wasn’t sure what to expect – I didn’t know if it was going to be a hard ass workout that left me wanting to vomit when I was done, or if it would be a lot of stretching and relaxing. The latter was correct – and it was just what I needed. It was more of a mental restoring session – kind of a detox for mind, body and soul. It may sound a little corny – but really, that’s what it was. Anything negative feeling or thought I had was let out during that hour. I restored myself back to “normal” so I could be the best I could be. We did a lot of deep breaths in and out, and our instructor said “breathe in – I love. Breathe out – I am loved.” After a few rounds of this, tears started streaming down my face. It wasn’t a sad cry – just a relaxing cry. Something I needed – something that needed to be done to cleanse myself from any negativity. After a rough week at work I’ll for sure head to that class again.
Well I’ve brought this up and down; exciting to calming and restorative, and I think that’s pretty accurate with how my day has been going as well. Slow in the morning, then crazy busy, and back down to a relaxing evening (after I nearly busted my shoulders in kickboxing tonight). I’ve got an hour and 23 minutes left of work and a great book to read, so I’m going to end with a quick quote and some “food for thought.” This comes in two parts… the first –
“The future is exciting.”
I don’t know an author, but I love the quote. You don’t know what will happen in the future, and that’s the fun of it. Not knowing what your future holds, that in itself is enough to give me butterflies. The second is a manifesto, if you will, for 2013. I think this fits perfectly with my “year of doing” for the year as well:
“Simplify. Be Inspired. Be Original. Work Hard. Enjoy.”
Again, no author – but I love this. Kind of an updated “don’t sweat the small stuff” for those of us in our mid-twenties. Don’t worry about what other people are doing and a whole bunch of other crap. Worry about you, and grow that way. Simplify your life, be inspired by someone or something. Be original and work hard at your originality. Enjoy your life. Don’t work so hard that you can’t enjoy it. There’s my psychoanalysis and therapy session for the evening. Enjoy the rest of the week and make your weekend memorable and worthwhile.
Simplify and Enjoy,
S
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