Check! Check! Check!

Okay, I'm baaaack! Did you miss me?

So to begin, I've been getting a LOT of stuff crossed off of my list of things to do in 2010. Or, well, not all the way crossed off, but starting to get things crossed off. Does that make sense? No? Okay, well I'll explain.

8. Visit Disneyland - no, I haven't made a trip out to California, but I did sign Pete and I up for the "Give a Day, Get a Day" program. You may have seen a commercial about it - if you volunteer with a participating organization (from the website), you can get a free day's admission to a Disney park. So. We are all set to volunteer with the MS Walk in April. Which is cool, because my mom has MS so it's nice to be able to help in any way.

19. Get a doctor - GOT ONE. So I've been having problems with my knees. They hurt and crack and pop when I sit down, stand up, go up or down stairs...etc. So after dealing with that pain and ridiculousness for way longer than I should have (two years, on and off) I finally started looking for a doctor. It's tricky, because I'm still on my parents' insurance now but will be switching to Pete's in four months or so. But I found a doctor and actually met her today and she was so nice, and attentive, and not weird, and didn't mind that I hadn't shaved my legs in awhile (TMI? Sorry). So that's crossed off the list.

22. Keep a tidier, more organized apartment - I'm getting better and better at this. Before people come over there isn't as much cleaning/putting away things that has to happen because when I make a mess I try to clean it up right away. It's kind of a pain at first, but in general it's not a bad plan. Especially because I flit from project to project and room to room so things get messy pretty easily.

25. Buy an original piece of art - I haven't done this yet, BUT Pete and I have commissioned a portrait of ourselves for our wedding! This also ties in to number 45. Nan Lawson is AMAZING. I first saw her work on Mel's You Are My Fave, and instantly fell in love. Pete really liked her work, too - so we are all set to go! I sent Nan pictures and descriptions of us and she's going to start working on our painting in a month or so. I'm pretty stoked.

26. Update logistics of blog - I've done some shopping around and found a woman whose templates I really, really like. She was on hiatus for awhile due to health reasons, but once she gets her shop up and running again, I'm going to pay her to make the blog look prettier. I want something new and fresh looking but I just don't have the time, energy, or equipment (photoshop/indesign/dreamweaver) to make this blog look how I want it to look. I can pay a small amount to make it pretty for forever.

32. Make dinner for family and friends more often - since I last checked in, we've had people over for a pancake breakfast (during national pancake week!) and our Friendly Feast clan has had dinner here. Pete and I have had a good amount of parties, with finger foods, but cooking an entire meal for a group of ten-ish people? It's hard work. But I liked it!

39. I've researched credit cards. My dad is all for me getting one (this surprised me). But I haven't filled out any contracts or anything yet. Still researching.

42. I started reading Metamorpheses. It's good, but very long (600-some pages). I'm trying to read 20-30 pages a night before I go to sleep.

45. See number 25, above.

46. Start a garden - I bought a ton of seeds! I decided to go with a container garden, because I live on the second floor of a four-tenant building and I don't know how keen my landlord would be with me digging in the backyard. So, container garden on the balcony. I've been doing a lot of research online/in books about which vegetables are good to grow in containers. The seeds came in the mail today and I am going to my parents' house tomorrow to ransack our garage to get pots and other tools that they don't use anymore. I'm going to start planting next week during spring break!

48. Stay home on Valentine's Day - Valentine's Day was AWESOME. Pete and I hung out all day, went to Whole Foods to buy lobster tail, and made homemade macaroni-and-cheese with lobster. It was delicious. It also lasted us for dinners all through the week. Then we ate some of our special ice cream from Cold Stone and watched Wall-E and Ratatouille and Up. Great night.

49. Since I last posted, my friend Kate came over and she knitted while I sketched a picture on this huge canvas I inherited. It was lovely. And on Sunday, I'm going over to Rosemary's to craft with her for a bit.

51. Open an etsy shop - I bought this book to prepare for my future crafting ventures. I don't remember if I posted about this previously or not, but I can't open an etsy shop without a credit card. So I need to get my act together and do that first.

52. Glass-blowing or letterpress class - since my parents are paying for my wedding in July...I figured I wouldn't give them very many ideas for my birthday (which is April 15th). However, I am going to ask for a gift certificate to Third Degree Glass Factory and a trench coat. And that's it. I looked into letterpress classes and they are waaaaaaaaaaay too expensive right now. Sad.

57. I've been commenting more on blogs that I usually read and don't comment on. It's been good.

61. Skydiving - no, I haven't gone. But I looked into some of the options around here. Then it scared me too much and I started doing something else.

63. Fan letters - I wrote a letter to Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife. I didn't write one for January but I sent the Audrey letter off a few weeks ago. It was good. I don't know how I feel about it. She may never even read it. Who knows.

65. Chuck Berry - I almost bought tickets to see him March 10 but then I realized I really couldn't afford it so this may be on the backburner for awhile.

72. I read two more books since I last posted about the list - Made from Scratch and Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant. Both were awesome. Made from Scratch made me want to buy chickens and start a garden (partially why I fast-forwarded and started ordering seeds) and live in the mountains, while Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant didn't make me feel as bad for eating weird stuff when I'm by myself. I highly recommend both.

73. Donations - I kept a pile going in the corner of my dining room of stuff to donate. Every time I came across something I didn't want/need anymore it went in the pile. Then on a Saturday morning, I went through all of my closets and my dresser and my desk and unpacked the last two boxes that I never unpacked from the summer and made a huge trip to Goodwill. I love editing. I'll probably do this again in the fall, too.

86. Talk less, listen more - I've made conscious efforts to shut up more and listen - in class, with my friends, with my family. I tend to talk - a lot - and it's nice keeping quiet sometimes.

95. Get a massage - ugh. I went to MassageLuxe and wasn't a huge fan. It felt nice but then as soon as I got out of the room the people at the desk were all, "SIGN UP FOR THIS! SIGN UP FOR THAT!" and it totally ruined my mood.



And that's all I have. So I've been busy! More soon.