Thirty One Things...

(photo credit: moi)

I am only vaguely going to address the nearly six month gap in my writing here. I didn't quite reach six, so there you have it.  But, you know, life has a funny way of catching up with you, and the like. (I feel like I gleaned that last sentence from a Disney princess movie, maybe?)

But what better way to start back into it by declaring on my birthday eve a grandiose to-do list for the next year?  Totally unoriginal, plenty of list-makey types do this , so I was inspired to create my own.  Plus I love a little structure in my life...it's like my own personal annual corporate strategy!

And while I have a mental list of about a million things I would like to accomplish with and for my girls this year, I tried to keep the focus more "self" relevant, so the list doesn't include "potty train D" or "make sure both girls can back float".

So without further ado, my list:

1. Finish my Master's degree (which means finish my research and write about it)
2. Get Published.  Either a story, a journal article, an essay, hell I'll take a haiku (that.won't.happen.).  I just want to see my name, on paper, preferably glossy, followed by 500-2000 words of my choosing.
3. Make donuts (or doughnuts) and macarons.  Because I like a challenge, I'm scared of hot oil, and I'm pretty good at cupcakes by this point.
4. Read two books a month. I'm not fussy about fiction vs. non-fiction.  Last month I read NW by Zadie Smith.  This month I'm thinking of finishing Makers: The New Industrial Revolution and The Conflict.  
5. Teach H how to read.  Ok, this is kid related, but only because I loved to read at her age, and she's SOOOOOOO close to reading.
6. Buy a second house.
7. Plant and maintain a veggie garden.  I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle last year, and all I wanted to do was be my own food producer.  Realistically, I'd like some squash, some lettuce, maybe some tomatoes...
8. Take better pics.  Or, learn to take better pics.  Or think more before pressing "click" on the camera.
9. Join a hiking group.  My family hiked a LOT when I was young, and then I rejected it in my rebellious stage, but I really love it, and I love sharing the experience with others.
10. Run 10 km/or a real race.  
11. Learn to swim properly.
12. Sew this t-shirt.  Sew this dress.
13. Re-finish a piece of furniture at minimal cost.
14. get a cool hair cut/colour that is relatively easy to maintain.  Nohing funky, but something less blerg than my current mop.
15. Make green smoothies a habit.  Good people do this (my dad, my sis-in-law, etc.).  I wanna do this too.
16. Get a skin care routine for my thirties.
17. Get glasses or contacts.  My eyesight is less than stellar.  I try to ignore this, but I end up squinting. A lot.
18. Find the perfect shade of red lipstick.  My bestie and I are both into achieving this totally vain goal this year.
19. Set up and keep a real budget.  I've set up a personal budget before, but more as a challenge, and I didn't really stick to it.  I'd like to actually stick to it for a period of time (3 month minimum).
20. Learn more about graphic design.  I like it, I'm interested in it, and I'd like to learn more about it.
21. Stay up to date on my industry (professional communications, marketing and PR).
22. Stay in touch with people who are important to me and to our family.  This means making an effort to schedule phone calls, write letters, send postcards, etc.
23. Make more, convenience-buy less.  Homemade meals, homemade doodads, etc.  This may prove challenging as Target moves into Canada this Spring (I've still never been to a real Target.  Only online.)
24. Get my family into broader food interests.  We're already great about limiting meat intake, but I want to try more Thai, more Korean, more Ukrainian.  Try more.
25. Get hooked on meal planning.  I get so bored having the same spaghetti once a week.  My 4 year old loves it, but it sorta kinda gets me down.
26. Get in better shape.  
27. Pursue writing as a career.
28. Continental travel!  Minnesota! Chicago! DC! Quebec! Northern Ontario! BC! I wanna see what I can see!  Without flying overseas!
29. Become more cultured.  Meaning, hit up cheap opera matinees, take in plays, leisurely stroll through art galleries and museums.  Perfect my contemplative postures.
30. Attend a film festival.  Nothing major here, I'm not talking TIFF.  Even just some local film fest.  I just love movies and used to love film festivals.
31. Be more in the "now"with my kids, husband, friends and family.  I'm starting to get it about how quickly kids grow, so I want to really savor it.

And that is it.  I mean, some of them could be easy to scratch off, others (like the last one) are way more abstract.  But it'll be nice to have some guidelines to look back on throughout the year.  So tomorrow, I'll turn 31, and I'll start on my list.  And groundhogs will determine the length of Winter.  (My forever connection to B. Murr).