Creating and following a list in 2010 was one of the smartest things I've ever done. It wasn't about big, grand, exotic plans -- although those are fun, no argument here about that -- but more about little plans we tend to leave for another day when we know that day is likely to never come. We're a lazy species when it comes to taking small, proactive steps to get us where we want to be.
I learned so much about how making specific goals can lead to big, positive changes. I ran a 5K and became a runner along the way. I wanted to eat alone at a restaurant and realized I'm much more independent than I've given myself credit for in the past. I wanted to make 10 Food Network recipes and ended up spending more time in the kitchen in 2010 than ever before.
I'm going to make a list every year and I think all these little things will add up to a very full, content life.
2011 To-Do List
1. Make a dish with saffron in it
2. Run a half-marathon
3. Own cowboy boots
4. Read 25 books
5. Take a girl's weekend trip
6. Celebrate my birthday with a fancy girl's night out
7. Try a new ingredient once a month
8. Start/finish my recipe collection
9. Organize a streamlined, calming, productive work space upstairs
10. Own investment jeans
11. Take Kyle to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens
12. Go to the Fort Worth Modern Art Museum and eat lunch at Cafe Modern with a book in hand
13. Throw three parties!
14. Run 5 5Ks and 2 10Ks
15. See a concert at Billy Bob's
16. Meet my goal weight of 132 pounds
17. Try out three more "best burger" places from this list
18. Send a birthday card to every single person on my birthday spreadsheet (oh, yes, I have a birthday spreadsheet)
19. Finish Kyle's baby blanket (in time for his birthday!)
20. Redecorate Kyle's room and transition him to a twin bed
21. Buy canvas art for the walls
22. Try a new cupcake in NYC
23. Write and submit a piece on parenting
24. Go to Bass Performance Hall
25. Small kitchen reno: install new kitchen cabinets, replace the backsplash, buy a new sink
26. Run 250 miles over the course of the year
27. Raise money for new moms (somehow)
28. Get some adoption questions answered, just to know
29. See my brother graduate high school
30. Go without: meat, alcohol, and sweets for longer than I did last year
31. Go a month without tv
32. Finish the book of letters for Kyle
33. Be more supportive of Mike and his hobbies/goals
34. Throw a baby shower
35. Get a third tattoo
36. Start planning my 30th Birthday Vegas Bash!
37. Take our Christmas tree down by my birthday
38. Stick to my monthly menus better
39. Meet Katherine
40. Lift more weights than in 2010
41. Host a dinner party in our yard
42. Visit a new state
43. Give $100 to someone who needs it
44. Send thank-you notes for kindness and not just material gifts
45. Make handmade lemonade with Kyle in the summer
46. Encourage Mike to clean out and fill up his saltwater fish tank
47. Try pork belly
48. Hang out with Cherie at least once!
49. Make more of an effort to dress up for work
50. No frozen lunches for the entire year
51. Take one class that will expand my interests: business, creative writing, ballet, web design, etc
52. Make something delicious in my new dutch oven
53. Go to bed before midnight more often
54. Go to a Farmer's Market once a month
55. Choose to de-stress more often with: exercise, talking with a friend, reading, cleaning, or alone time and not with eating, yelling, worrying, or lounging on the couch
56. Make: beef wellington, cioppino, (better) cinnamon rolls, homemade hummus
57. Visit friends in Houston
58. Wear a bathing suite (just a bathing suit)
59. See a therapist
60. Plan/save for a trip to Canada
61. Watch Kyle stomp puddles in rain boots
62. LEARN TO DRIVE A STICK
63. Hang my wall map
64. Make breakfast more often on the weekends
65. Keep the house cleaner than past years
66. Read another Jane Austen book
67. Update my SS card and passport
68. Paint our living room (and buy a rug)
69. All Christmas cards/Christmas presents sent/wrapped before Christmas!
70. Make a general doctor's appointment to get my cholesterol, blood pressure, etc., checked out
71. Take more family pictures
72. Make a friend in the neighborhood
73. Clean out the extra bath once and for all! (Then decide what to do with it.)
74. Organize my jewelry
75. Enroll Kyle in a Little Gym class