New Year's List
There's a community in the spotlight, mission101_2009 that I joined, because I like their idea for the New Year as much and maybe even more than the usual resolution.
Basically you make a list of 101 things you'd like to accomplish over the next 1001 days and try to accomplish as much as you can. I made one and I'll put it behind a cut for your perusing pleasure.
But first, I did make an actual New Year's Resolution and it's to try to stop worrying so much about everything. Now that it's in writing perhaps I'll make some progress on it.
1.Pare soda down to a once or twice a week treat. After a solid 5 months of doing this without even thinking about it, I'm calling it complete. I don't crave soda, and in actuallity I'm down to maybe 2 glasses a month. Yay! 5/13/2009
2.Pare coffee down to a once or twice a week treat.
3.Drink at least 4 glasses of water every day.
4.Get down to and maintain a healthy weight of 130 lbs. (lost 0/25)
5. Alternate pilates and yoga training throughout the week.
6.Get at least 6 hours of sleep a night.
7.Find a skincare regimen that actually works for me and stick to it.
8. Actual take my vitamins everyday, for 3 months. Instead of just saying I will.
9.Eat breakfast.
10.Eat more vegetables and less meat and pasta. Try making at least 1 vegetarian meal a week. (26/143)
- Spanish Seasoned Rice with Fried Plantanes
- Meatless Ziti (2)
- Vegetable stir fry
- Cheesey Rice with brocolli and chopped pecans
- Meatless stuffed peppers with rice, cheese, garlic and onions.
- Veggie Sandwich (tomato, lettuce, cucumber and pepper) with cheese on pumpernickel. (2)
- Meat Free Burritos - cheese, sour cream, peppers, onions, lime juice and pink beans.
- Veggie Burgers and Fries (4)
- Vegetable Pita Pizzas (4)
- Vegetable Lasagna
- Meatless Fajitas - rice, plantanes, peppers, onions and avocados (2)
- Salad with arugula, pecans, avocado, dried cranberries and parmesan cheese
- Spaghetti with Garlic Sauce
- Vegetable Soup
- Linguine with mixed vegetables
- Cornbread and Zuccini Casserole
- CousCous with mashed sweet potatoes
11. Declutter.
12.Donate unused clothing/furniture/home goods/books to charity.
13.Volunteer at one of the local animal shelters.
14.Become more pro active towards causes I believe in.
2009
Earth Hour is March 28 at 8:30 pm local time. - I'll be celebrating it and have spread the world to everyone I know.
Earth Day is on April 22. - Guerilla Gardening anyone?
Defenders of Wildlife - Donations and Contributions to causes via letters and calls to representatives and spreading the word to friends and family.
World Wildlife Fund - Donations.
If anyone feels compelled to give me gifts for birthdays, sabbats, holidays, or just because, please consider donating to one of the above organisations, or Adopt a Species in my name. Any Species. I love them all, even the less glamorous and cuddly ones.
15.Read 101 different books and keep track of them in a journal. Comics and Graphic novels do not count. (1/101)
1. 50 Ways to Save the Ocean by David Helvarg
-informative, yet fun.
2. Little Big by John Crowley - The language is beautiful but the story is slow and a bit back and forth. I feel like I missed a lot of subtle plot points and it would require a second read to formulate a strong opinion.
3. Lamb by Christopher Moore
4. Perdido Street Station by China Meiville
16.Use the local library. Got my shiny new library card and checked out 3 books! 3/23/2009
17.Only buy used books.
18.Get back into watching movies. Go to the theatre alone if need be.(27/101)
- The Spirit - Good..
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Awesome.
- Spiderwick Chronicles - meh.
- Dan in Real Life - ok.
- City of Ember - Awesome.
- Hamlet 2 - meh.
- Taken - Meh.
- Repo! The Genetic Opera - AWESOME.
- Coraline in 3D - Awesome.
- Feast 3 - Awesome.
- A Boy and His Dog - Way worse than I expected. Meh.
- Sex Drive - Way more funny than I had anticipated. Good.
- Outsourced - Good.
- Watchmen - Awesome!
- Religulous - Very Good.
- Earth - Very Good.
- Star Trek (2009) - Awesome!
- Wolverine - Uggggggggh.
- Terminator: Salvation - Eh. It was alright.
- Fanboys - Awesome and made me ridiculously nostalgic.
- Max Brooks: Monster Hunter - Restored my faith in low budget horror.
- King of Kong - Awesome video game documetary. Billy Mitchell is a serious douche.
- Transformers 2 - Giant Robots punching each other? Check. About an hour too long.
- The Hangover - Hilarious!
- Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl - Good.
- Delicatessen - Very Good.
- UP - Amazing.
19.Relax. Seriously.
20.Go for a walk at least 3 times a week in non winter months. (70/429)
21.Walk to the convenience store/pizza place/farmer's market routinely instead of driving. (7)
22.Start and finish the wedding scrapbook.
23.Take at least 2 photos a day for a year. Not just of myself and the family. Photos like I used to take. Take more photos in general. (restarting once my eye is healed)
24.Re acquaint myself with the DSLR I just had to have, but am too freaked out by all the buttons to use on a regular basis. I've managed to master the manual function! It's not much more difficult than using it on my small camera, there is just a much wider range of settings and they are numbered a bit differently. 5/13/2009
25.Get a passport.
26.Visit Canada.
27.Let Joe teach me Spanish. Don’t get frustrated and give up, like I did in High School.
28.Visit Central America.
29.Go snorkeling.
30.Visit 5 states I’ve never been to. Driving through them does not count. (0/5)
31.Ride a horse.
32.Watch less filler TV. Find something to do instead. I've been crafting, cooking or cleaning with the TV on in the background or going outside and not having the tv on at all. I've cut my TV time down to less than 12 hours per week. 5/13/2209
33.Work on artwork for the comic scripts Michael gave to me LAST YEAR.
34.Write more. Even if it’s only in my journal.
35.Work more diligently in my visual journal. 200 pages. (14/200)
36.Visit more abandoned places and document them. Falling through floors or getting fined never bothered me before, and it shouldn’t now, either. (number of places visited: 7)
37.Go on a New Jersey road trip and see all those things in South Jersey I’ve never seen.
38.Go on a road trip to someplace else.
39.Camp in the Adirondacks.
40.Visit Disney World, because I was only there for 20 minutes as a senior and it sucked.
41.Go on at least 2 hikes a month during non snowy months. (4/30)
42.Visit with Jen! Giggle and dork out to the max.
43.Stop making big deals out of dumb things. Breathe.
44.Kick depression square in the ass.
45.Finish the 101 beer challenge with Joe. (9/101)
46.Spend more time with my girlfriends.
47.Grow my own herbs and don’t kill them all this time.
48.Celebrate all of the Sabbaths, even if it's in small ways. (5/23)
49.Set up proper altar space(s).
50.Plant a tree or two.
51.Go back to Massachusetts.
52.Donate money to charities at least twice a year and ask for donations instead of gifts for birthday and holidays.
53.Try at least 10 new foods. Document them. (3/10)
- Cheese and Chicken Pupusas (El salvador)
- Avocado Sushi (Japan)
- Chicken Shahi Korma, Vegetable pakora -(Indian)
54.Go sledding down a big hill.
55.Visit with my siblings more.
56.Call my mom and dad at least twice a month.
57.Learn patience.
58.Become less fidgety around the in laws. Learn to just say ‘no’ instead of dancing around uncomfortable questions.
59.Get out of debt.
60.Learn to legitimately like myself, try to get rid of this crap self esteem.
61.Nip the social recluse trend in the bud.
62.Swim in the ocean again. Completed August 15, 2009
63.Wear a bikini without being ridiculously self conscious.
64.Finish that pesky Graphic Design degree, even if I may never use it. I’m 5 classes away. Just suck it up.
65.Stop worrying.
66.Learn to either swing dance with Joe or belly dance alone.
67.Go to karaoke and sing.
68.Learn to juggle.
69.Get a star chart or astronomers guide and attempt to find constellations on starry nights.
70.Save every $5 bill I get.
71.See another Broadway show.
72.Stop making so many plans in advance.
73.Get a massage.
74.Quit being terrified of screwing up. It’s going to happen anyway.
75.Send Christmas/Yule cards to friends and family.
76.Stop saying ‘no’ so much.
77.Try something scary.
78.Go to a balloon festival. Attempt to overcome fear of heights and get into one.
79.Give more compliments and accept the ones I get more gracefully.
80.Start and finish at least 2 big paintings. (0/2)
81.Improve watercolour skills.
82.Learn to use oil paints.
83.Sketch more often.
84.Build a new computer, mostly by myself.
85.Get my chest piece touched up, maybe added to.
86.Quit being afraid of difficult sewing projects. Make a corset and a purse.
87.Be less judgmental.
88.Watch at least 5 sunsets from different places. (0/5)
89.Watch at least 5 sunrises. Period. (0/5)
90.Learn to play chess. Stop getting pissed when Joe wins.
91.Actually use Swaptree to barter media for media.
92.Scan all those childhood photos.
93.See my dentist/physician/gynecologist/dermatologist regularly. Get things taken care of.
94.Go on a day trip to escape at least once a month. (8/33)
-Dingman's Ferry, PA
-Camden Aquarium, Camden, NJ
-New York, NY - Greenwich Village and Chinatown
-Poconos, PA /East Stroudsburg, PA - Flea Market and Abandonment
-West Orange, NJ - Turtle Back Zoo and Lunch
- Asbury park, NJ
- Millbrook, NY - Bennett School for Girls
- New Hope, PA
95.Drink more wine.
Wines I have tried thus far:
Ghost Pines - Merlot - good
Mirasou - Pino Grigio - bad
La Vandemmia - Chianti - great
- Reisling - good
Westfall Winery - Cabernet Savignon - great
Made by my friend's parents at a winery - Bordeaux - ok
Barefoot - Chardonnay - ok
Root I - Cabernet Savignon - delicious!
House Wine - Mixed Reds - blech.
96.Try my hand at bookbinding. Make my own journals for logging accomplishments.
97.Put $2 for every goal I don’t accomplish aside and donate it.
98.Put $5 aside for every goal I do accomplish and save it.
99.Do my makeup and wear more skirts. I like doing it and I don’t because let’s face it, I’m lazy.
100. Stop waiting for my friends to take initiative and host games nights and dinners again
101.Have a tea party.
102.Try my best to complete this list. Don't beat myself up or feel like a failure if I don't get to everything.
To those who've already passed into the New Year, Happy Belated New Year! And to those like me who are still in 2008, have an excellent night and here's to new beginnings!
Basically you make a list of 101 things you'd like to accomplish over the next 1001 days and try to accomplish as much as you can. I made one and I'll put it behind a cut for your perusing pleasure.
But first, I did make an actual New Year's Resolution and it's to try to stop worrying so much about everything. Now that it's in writing perhaps I'll make some progress on it.
1.Pare soda down to a once or twice a week treat. After a solid 5 months of doing this without even thinking about it, I'm calling it complete. I don't crave soda, and in actuallity I'm down to maybe 2 glasses a month. Yay! 5/13/2009
2.Pare coffee down to a once or twice a week treat.
3.Drink at least 4 glasses of water every day.
4.Get down to and maintain a healthy weight of 130 lbs. (lost 0/25)
5. Alternate pilates and yoga training throughout the week.
6.Get at least 6 hours of sleep a night.
7.Find a skincare regimen that actually works for me and stick to it.
8. Actual take my vitamins everyday, for 3 months. Instead of just saying I will.
9.Eat breakfast.
10.Eat more vegetables and less meat and pasta. Try making at least 1 vegetarian meal a week. (26/143)
- Spanish Seasoned Rice with Fried Plantanes
- Meatless Ziti (2)
- Vegetable stir fry
- Cheesey Rice with brocolli and chopped pecans
- Meatless stuffed peppers with rice, cheese, garlic and onions.
- Veggie Sandwich (tomato, lettuce, cucumber and pepper) with cheese on pumpernickel. (2)
- Meat Free Burritos - cheese, sour cream, peppers, onions, lime juice and pink beans.
- Veggie Burgers and Fries (4)
- Vegetable Pita Pizzas (4)
- Vegetable Lasagna
- Meatless Fajitas - rice, plantanes, peppers, onions and avocados (2)
- Salad with arugula, pecans, avocado, dried cranberries and parmesan cheese
- Spaghetti with Garlic Sauce
- Vegetable Soup
- Linguine with mixed vegetables
- Cornbread and Zuccini Casserole
- CousCous with mashed sweet potatoes
11. Declutter.
12.Donate unused clothing/furniture/home goods/books to charity.
13.Volunteer at one of the local animal shelters.
14.Become more pro active towards causes I believe in.
2009
Earth Hour is March 28 at 8:30 pm local time. - I'll be celebrating it and have spread the world to everyone I know.
Earth Day is on April 22. - Guerilla Gardening anyone?
Defenders of Wildlife - Donations and Contributions to causes via letters and calls to representatives and spreading the word to friends and family.
World Wildlife Fund - Donations.
If anyone feels compelled to give me gifts for birthdays, sabbats, holidays, or just because, please consider donating to one of the above organisations, or Adopt a Species in my name. Any Species. I love them all, even the less glamorous and cuddly ones.
15.Read 101 different books and keep track of them in a journal. Comics and Graphic novels do not count. (1/101)
1. 50 Ways to Save the Ocean by David Helvarg
-informative, yet fun.
2. Little Big by John Crowley - The language is beautiful but the story is slow and a bit back and forth. I feel like I missed a lot of subtle plot points and it would require a second read to formulate a strong opinion.
3. Lamb by Christopher Moore
4. Perdido Street Station by China Meiville
16.Use the local library. Got my shiny new library card and checked out 3 books! 3/23/2009
17.Only buy used books.
18.Get back into watching movies. Go to the theatre alone if need be.(27/101)
- The Spirit - Good..
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Awesome.
- Spiderwick Chronicles - meh.
- Dan in Real Life - ok.
- City of Ember - Awesome.
- Hamlet 2 - meh.
- Taken - Meh.
- Repo! The Genetic Opera - AWESOME.
- Coraline in 3D - Awesome.
- Feast 3 - Awesome.
- A Boy and His Dog - Way worse than I expected. Meh.
- Sex Drive - Way more funny than I had anticipated. Good.
- Outsourced - Good.
- Watchmen - Awesome!
- Religulous - Very Good.
- Earth - Very Good.
- Star Trek (2009) - Awesome!
- Wolverine - Uggggggggh.
- Terminator: Salvation - Eh. It was alright.
- Fanboys - Awesome and made me ridiculously nostalgic.
- Max Brooks: Monster Hunter - Restored my faith in low budget horror.
- King of Kong - Awesome video game documetary. Billy Mitchell is a serious douche.
- Transformers 2 - Giant Robots punching each other? Check. About an hour too long.
- The Hangover - Hilarious!
- Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl - Good.
- Delicatessen - Very Good.
- UP - Amazing.
19.Relax. Seriously.
20.Go for a walk at least 3 times a week in non winter months. (70/429)
21.Walk to the convenience store/pizza place/farmer's market routinely instead of driving. (7)
22.Start and finish the wedding scrapbook.
23.Take at least 2 photos a day for a year. Not just of myself and the family. Photos like I used to take. Take more photos in general. (restarting once my eye is healed)
24.Re acquaint myself with the DSLR I just had to have, but am too freaked out by all the buttons to use on a regular basis. I've managed to master the manual function! It's not much more difficult than using it on my small camera, there is just a much wider range of settings and they are numbered a bit differently. 5/13/2009
25.Get a passport.
26.Visit Canada.
27.Let Joe teach me Spanish. Don’t get frustrated and give up, like I did in High School.
28.Visit Central America.
29.Go snorkeling.
30.Visit 5 states I’ve never been to. Driving through them does not count. (0/5)
31.Ride a horse.
32.Watch less filler TV. Find something to do instead. I've been crafting, cooking or cleaning with the TV on in the background or going outside and not having the tv on at all. I've cut my TV time down to less than 12 hours per week. 5/13/2209
33.Work on artwork for the comic scripts Michael gave to me LAST YEAR.
34.Write more. Even if it’s only in my journal.
35.Work more diligently in my visual journal. 200 pages. (14/200)
36.Visit more abandoned places and document them. Falling through floors or getting fined never bothered me before, and it shouldn’t now, either. (number of places visited: 7)
37.Go on a New Jersey road trip and see all those things in South Jersey I’ve never seen.
38.Go on a road trip to someplace else.
39.Camp in the Adirondacks.
40.Visit Disney World, because I was only there for 20 minutes as a senior and it sucked.
41.Go on at least 2 hikes a month during non snowy months. (4/30)
42.Visit with Jen! Giggle and dork out to the max.
43.Stop making big deals out of dumb things. Breathe.
44.Kick depression square in the ass.
45.Finish the 101 beer challenge with Joe. (9/101)
46.Spend more time with my girlfriends.
47.Grow my own herbs and don’t kill them all this time.
48.Celebrate all of the Sabbaths, even if it's in small ways. (5/23)
49.Set up proper altar space(s).
50.Plant a tree or two.
51.Go back to Massachusetts.
52.Donate money to charities at least twice a year and ask for donations instead of gifts for birthday and holidays.
53.Try at least 10 new foods. Document them. (3/10)
- Cheese and Chicken Pupusas (El salvador)
- Avocado Sushi (Japan)
- Chicken Shahi Korma, Vegetable pakora -(Indian)
54.Go sledding down a big hill.
55.Visit with my siblings more.
56.Call my mom and dad at least twice a month.
57.Learn patience.
58.Become less fidgety around the in laws. Learn to just say ‘no’ instead of dancing around uncomfortable questions.
59.Get out of debt.
60.Learn to legitimately like myself, try to get rid of this crap self esteem.
61.Nip the social recluse trend in the bud.
62.Swim in the ocean again. Completed August 15, 2009
63.Wear a bikini without being ridiculously self conscious.
64.Finish that pesky Graphic Design degree, even if I may never use it. I’m 5 classes away. Just suck it up.
65.Stop worrying.
66.Learn to either swing dance with Joe or belly dance alone.
67.Go to karaoke and sing.
68.Learn to juggle.
69.Get a star chart or astronomers guide and attempt to find constellations on starry nights.
70.Save every $5 bill I get.
71.See another Broadway show.
72.Stop making so many plans in advance.
73.Get a massage.
74.Quit being terrified of screwing up. It’s going to happen anyway.
75.Send Christmas/Yule cards to friends and family.
76.Stop saying ‘no’ so much.
77.Try something scary.
78.Go to a balloon festival. Attempt to overcome fear of heights and get into one.
79.Give more compliments and accept the ones I get more gracefully.
80.Start and finish at least 2 big paintings. (0/2)
81.Improve watercolour skills.
82.Learn to use oil paints.
83.Sketch more often.
84.Build a new computer, mostly by myself.
85.Get my chest piece touched up, maybe added to.
86.Quit being afraid of difficult sewing projects. Make a corset and a purse.
87.Be less judgmental.
88.Watch at least 5 sunsets from different places. (0/5)
89.Watch at least 5 sunrises. Period. (0/5)
90.Learn to play chess. Stop getting pissed when Joe wins.
91.Actually use Swaptree to barter media for media.
92.Scan all those childhood photos.
93.See my dentist/physician/gynecologist/dermatologist regularly. Get things taken care of.
94.Go on a day trip to escape at least once a month. (8/33)
-Dingman's Ferry, PA
-Camden Aquarium, Camden, NJ
-New York, NY - Greenwich Village and Chinatown
-Poconos, PA /East Stroudsburg, PA - Flea Market and Abandonment
-West Orange, NJ - Turtle Back Zoo and Lunch
- Asbury park, NJ
- Millbrook, NY - Bennett School for Girls
- New Hope, PA
95.Drink more wine.
Wines I have tried thus far:
Ghost Pines - Merlot - good
Mirasou - Pino Grigio - bad
La Vandemmia - Chianti - great
- Reisling - good
Westfall Winery - Cabernet Savignon - great
Made by my friend's parents at a winery - Bordeaux - ok
Barefoot - Chardonnay - ok
Root I - Cabernet Savignon - delicious!
House Wine - Mixed Reds - blech.
96.Try my hand at bookbinding. Make my own journals for logging accomplishments.
97.Put $2 for every goal I don’t accomplish aside and donate it.
98.Put $5 aside for every goal I do accomplish and save it.
99.Do my makeup and wear more skirts. I like doing it and I don’t because let’s face it, I’m lazy.
100. Stop waiting for my friends to take initiative and host games nights and dinners again
101.Have a tea party.
102.Try my best to complete this list. Don't beat myself up or feel like a failure if I don't get to everything.
To those who've already passed into the New Year, Happy Belated New Year! And to those like me who are still in 2008, have an excellent night and here's to new beginnings!