*as of today, 1 down, 6 to go
2. Get a job in my field of study
*accomplished, June 2013
3. Live in my own apartment (again)
*accomplished, July 2013
4. Finish my scrapbooks for ages 21-26
__this needs work...a lot
5. Send birthday/anniversary cards to people consistently
*__this is difficult, but I'm working on it
6. See 3 new countries
*Mexico in April 2013
*Norway scheduled for March 2014
__Maybe I'll cross into Sweden from Norway to complete the tri-fecta
7. Participate in 3 community service activities
__I'm behind on this. I'm going to start taking my own advice.
8. Save $10,000.
__ this is one of those really super-lofty goals...I'm including stock stuff and really keeping my fingers cross that they do most of the work for me...even though I have started speaking with a financial advisor to find a more reasonable and logical and helpful approach to look at saving for life. (Let me know if you want to talk to him because he's amazing).
9. Have a compost (again)
__ I had one with my roommate, Lauren, in Buffalo and I tried to start one in a plastic bowl in my parents' house but one day and 20 fruit flies later, it was destroyed. I decided I need an outdoor space or a basement for this endeavor.
10. Maintain a vegetable garden.
__I am not a green thumb. I think I'm actually more of a frosty blue thumb. I killed a cactus once; no, this is not a joke. SO you can understand why this will be a huge challenge for me.
11. Read Don Quixote (again...kind of)
*__ To be fair, I started this but I stopped when I got "too busy." I took a class on the book as a grad student and had a hard time keeping up (sorry professor!). I was doing a great job trying to read a chapter per night this year before life got crazy. This post is a good reminder for me to pick up where I left off...it's actually a fascinating and laugh-out-loud funny book. I'm reading it in Spanish - this makes it a greater challenge.
12. Learn another language
__I feel like this one is open to interpretation. I've mastered the language of teaching...my online teacher intonation is absolutely incredible, if I may say so, but I think I'm really aiming for a new language that is an actual, certifiable, dictionary definition of a language...like Chinese, for example...I still have a few years, it could happen!
13. Write 10 letters to strangers
__Macy's has a special connection with Make a Wish this year...for every letter to Santa they'll donate a dollar...that might just take up all of my letters. But I also would like to write one to my elderly neighbor (who DOES have a green thumb) to thank her for her gardening efforts because they make me smile when I see her beautiful flowers! And also to a family that lives near mine who lost two children to Williams Sarcoma Disease. I'd like for them to know that a stranger is sending them some positive vibes.
14. Try 3 new exercise regimens:
*Crossfit, January 2013
*Pole dancing, January 2013 (yes, it's actually really difficult and not for the uncoordinated and it's a lot of fun IF you go to the right place)
*Weight lifting, November 2013-Present (it's empowering to walk into a room full of equipment and do your thing like you own the place. It's NOT exciting (for me) to become bulky. Gotta' balance the weights with the cardio. I added some cardio classes and now I'm really happy with the combined result! (more on this to come in future posts, I'm sure).
15. Learn to cook "pinto"
*Completed in December 2013 (this past week!) This is a Costa Rican staple usually consisting of day-old rice and beans mixed together and cooked on the stove with some cilantro, onions, and sometimes any other leftovers that you want (I've seen a great range and all of it has been excellent). It is most often offered paired with a side of natilla (kind of like a mix between cheese and sour cream), fried cheese (OMG to die for), salchichon (sausage), eggs, toast, or any other scrumptious breakfast item that you desire.
16. Learn a song on the guitar and play it from memory.
__I have a guitar, now I need to actually learn something.
17. See the northern lights
__I am really hoping our timing is right in Norway in March!
18. Write by 35x35 list
__It's in the works...I still have more open spots on the list, though!
19. Camp and cook all three meals there.
___ I didn't ever camp until I was 23 years old. I did it on a road trip across the country in 2009 but because we were on the move, I don't know that I really got the "camping experience."
20. Catch, prepare and cook a fish.
___I'm sorry, vegans. It's on my list. I've done all of these things in different moments but I've never completed the whole process and I think there's something to be learned there about life and cycles and follow-through. I might be a vegan by the time I finish this task.
21. Learn 5 Crockpot Recipes
*Dad's Chili
*Apple butter
*banana bread (who knew?)
*vegetable and rice soup
___One to go! Might have to try the pulled pork recipe my sister told me about using root beer...
22. Use a paddle boat (of sorts)
*My parents bought a kayak. How timely for this list item! Completed (now on multiple occasions) in 2013
23. Jump from a high place
___I haven't found the right opportunity yet, which is why I wanted to not be too specific with this #...a waterfall, skydiving, bungee jumping, snowboarding...something just high enough to scare me.
24. Get dinner and a movie by myself
___I think this is a good life skill. To learn to enjoy your own company. I've actually read some really interesting articles on this. I think I see people sometimes and I'm so uncomfortable doing things on my own that I feel bad for people when I see them alone. So this will be a challenge to me to "own being alone" doing something for me.
25. Run a 1/2 marathon
___I haven't done a half marathon and the closest I've gotten since this list is a 5k mud-run...I may eventually change this goal to include that mud run because that was also something I've also wanted to do...I'm still contemplating if the distance of the run is really my intention with this goal....TBD.
26. Attend a large scale festival or event.
___ I'm not talking a concert I'm talking BIGGER. Maybe I can camp at a festival and cook 3 meals there...2 birds with one stone(...poor birds)
27. Go on vacation with friends.
___When I was young, my parents and their friends planned vacations together. They vacationed with friends. We're pretty young and just kind of getting hold of vacation days and how it works and saving money and such, but I've wanted to get some sort of tradition started, or just get people I like together for more than just lunch. This will be accomplished in Norway in March, if not again...maybe it's something that could be repeated on my 35x35 list...
28. Own a bike.
__I haven't had a bike since I was little. I remember my dad teaching me and I remember being angry when he let go of the seat, even though I did just fine. My grandfather was an avid cyclist and passed this on to our family as some sort of legend/tradition/experience. I'd like to live that somehow. I feel like having a bike is somehow part of who I am, even though riding one sometimes scares me.
29. Create a work of art.
___I'm not sure what this means yet. When I do it I'll let you know.
30. Get a crash course in automechanics
*__This one is half in the bag as my car is failing and often requires maintenance...once I "know it all" I'll check this one off.
Anti-climactic ending, if you read them in order, but that's just the way they filled the list. One by one. My 35x35 list is at about 30 as of today, but there's room for change there. I've also realized that some things I've put on my 35 list, I accomplished already! So if worse comes to worst, I intend to exchange anything that I might not accomplish with something from the future list. This is what I meant about it being your list and your rules.
Tell me the about the biggest challenge on YOUR list.
I'd love to hear what you guys have planned!
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