2010 New Years List

Last year, I created a list of 102 things that I wanted to accomplish this year. Some of them were big (like getting my first full-time job, getting married, etc) and some where much, much smaller (eat a piece of pizza backwards).

I got through half of my list. I had hoped to be farther along in my quest, but alas, I tried my best.

As a recap, here it is.

1. Graduate from college (May 15, 2010)
2. Find a job
3. Get married
4. Go on an amazing honeymoon
5. See the sunrise or sunset at the Grand Canyon
6. Gamble in a Las Vegas casino
7. Drive up Highway 1 from LA to San Francisco
8. Visit Disneyland
9. Drink my own Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista (I tried but it was WAY too strong. Pete had one.)
10. Stop at any bizarre road-side tourist attractions we see
11. Get to the beach. It's been too long.
12. Rent bikes somewhere and ride them around and stuff.
13. Have a giveaway on the blog (whee aren't you all excited?!? Sooner than later, I think.)
14. Paint the apartment (we painted one room. I want to paint more.)
15. Adopt a dog.
16. Buy a new couch (broken)
17. Buy a new bed (the bed frame/headboard part. The mattress is fine)
18. Lose 30 pounds (I gained three pounds. oh well. However, I signed up for this today. Hopefully I'll get going now.)
19. Get a doctor.
20. Finish writing one of the four novels I have started right now.
21. Stay up to date on my magazine cataloging.
22. Keep a tidier, more organized apartment
23. Make a ton of crafts (watch the blog for developments on this)
24. Have a tea party. Complete with ridiculous hats.
25. Buy an original piece of art.
26. Update the logistics of the blog (I'm ashamed this hasn't happened yet.)
27. Join a book club
28. Write more letters
29. Spend a weekend in a B & B somewhere pretty
30. Get fresh flowers for the house once a month (I did for nine of the three months
31. Go on runs with that dog we're apparently going to get. (We didn't get a dog, but we did get Scout!)
32. Make dinner for friends and family more often
33. Have an Arrested Development party
34. Spend an entire day in the Central Library, taking photographs and reading whatever I want
35. Learn how to drive stick-shift
36. Learn how to use the darkroom in my house
37. Take a class for fun (sewing, cooking, knitting, baking, SOMETHING)
38. Try tennis again once it gets warmer outside
39. Get a credit card
40. And never be in debt, once said credit card is received. (I got a credit card stemming from Pete's credit card account, and he was in debt. Not in a LOT of debt, but debt nonetheless.)
41. Go skinny dipping (after I lose those 30 pounds, duh)
42. I have had this book since the day after I saw the most amazing, inspiring play of my life. I want to finally read it.
43. Ride an exotic animal (camel, elephant...something weird)
44. Put my arms around an enormous redwood tree (Muir Woods)
45. Have a portrait painted/drawn of Pete and I (we've already decided that this will be our wedding gift to each other)
46. Start a garden
47. Make gnocchi from scratch
48. Stay home on Valentine's Day this year and cook an amazing meal and watch Disney movies
49. Create a craft night get together once a month (I did this a few times. Not enough.)
50. Ask for help. (Working at a new job? Constantly asking for help.)
51. Open an Etsy shop this year (also ashamed that this didn't happen.)
52. Take a glass-blowing or letterpress class
53. Get all the "good art" in the apartment framed
54. Have a boudoir shoot (scheduled for 2011!)
55. Be comfortable enough in my own skin to go swimming with the kids from Wilson. (HA! I'm done with that place. This one doesn't count.)
56. Get completely off Paxil. (I tried. It couldn't happen.)

57. Start commenting more on all the blogs I read. I'm horrible at that.
58. Buy flowers for my parents on my birthday and my wedding day
59. Send a message in a bottle
60. Throw those rocks into the ocean
61. ...go skydiving...?
62. Read all the Babysitters Club Little Sister books in one day. Eat little kid food and take breaks to call childhood friends.
63. Write fan letters to 12 people - one per month.
64. Go to a blues or jazz bar in Chicago
65. See Chuck Berry in concert
66. Suck it up and go on a rollercoaster.
67. Take a candle-lit bath.
68. Sew something for real and wear it.
69. Learn how to play chess
70. Learn calligraphy
71. Embroider another pillow/blanket/something
72. Make a 100 Books To Read list and read 20 of them this year (SO CLOSE. 19.)
73. Clean out my apartment and donate, donate, donate
74. Help build a Habitat for Humanity house
75. Give to NPR
76. Buy cloth napkins and use them
78. Create a clothesline when it's warmer out and dry clothes on them
79. Volunteer on an organic farm
80. Participate in NaNoWriMo in November 2010
81. Visit Rodeo Drive in LA and maybe (maybe) buy something. Small.
82. Watch the rest of the movies from AFI's 100 Greatest Films
83. Grow a bonsai tree
84. Revisit SARK and actually take her advice.
85. Start and display a collection of something (I have started a collection of Pez dispensers. They are not currently displayed anywhere.)
86. Talk less, listen more
87. Stay up all night long and watch the sun rise. Preferably somewhere pretty.
88. Have a bed day - read, doze, watch stuff on the computer, doze...eat minimally.
89. Go to a drive-in movie
90. Graffiti something, somewhere.
91. Dance in the rain
92. Get a bikini wax
93. Make cheesy/hilarious Christmas cards for me and Pete's first "official" Christmas together and send them to everyone we know (After sending hundreds of wedding invitations, thank you cards, graduation announcements, etc...I was sick of buying postage. Next year, for sure.)
94. Learn my blood type
95. Get a massage
96. Have something to brag to Swatek about (this will definitely happen in the later part of the year)
97. Really, really surprise Pete. No hints allowed.
98. Finish an entire coloring book
99. Eat a piece of pizza backwards (how have I not thought to do this until NOW?!)
100. Make some delicious baked goods every month and take them with somewhere else - mom's school, Pete's school, fire station, etc.
101. Get a passport
102. Go paintballing - with very nice people that won't hurt me too much.

and one big fat MAYBE
103. Try surfing. We're only going to be in LA for a short period of time but I would LOVE to take a surfing lesson. I've wanted to learn since freshman year of high school.

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Most of the things that I didn't complete in 2010 were simply because of laziness. Others - I couldn't afford it financially. Or I just ran out of time.

For 2011, I am planning on attempting to do all of the things above that I couldn't complete in 2010 (within reason - I won't be returning to San Francisco to drink my own Irish coffee). I will also be making some more resolutions, but things that are a bit more...simple. Definitely not 102 of them. I'll share those tomorrow.