This is how I did on my Annual Big List. Not great, but not terrible. I had a lot of trouble with momentum this year; for the first six months I was miserable because of my work situation, so I didn't do anything, for the next two months I was broke because I quit my job, and for the last four months I was exhausted because of my new job. There are a lot of things on this list that I should have done but didn't, and I'm trying to make next year's list more manageable.
Personal Development
1. Make a sincere effort to introduce more calm into my life Sort of. I think I'm calmer, but I can't point to a specific reason.
2. Find a church I like; attend as needed Nope.
3. Personal No, damnit.
4. See my work in print under my own name, either in hard copy or online No. I wrote this and this, among other things, but as you can see, I got none of the credit.
5. Personal No.
6. Write a first draft of a novel, no matter how much it sucks No.
7. Take public transportation as often as possible No.
8. Write a letter to someone No.
9. Sew something No.
Household
10. Find an apartment I truly like Not an apartment, per se, but I found an awesome living situation.
11. Cook one new thing each week; record in the cooking blog I set up and have hardly used No.
12. Cook one good thing from each cookbook, or throw it away No.
13. Make sushi No.
14. Give the FlyLady method a serious effort for at least one month No.
15. Do not leave dishes sitting in the sink overnight Hahahaha.
16. Have a completely clean house on the 1st of every month Um, no.
17. Personal Nope.
18. Have a completely clean car on the 1st of every month Yeah, right.
19. Get my car washed every other month Nope
20. Buy my produce at a farmers' market as often as possible No.
21. Buy local whenever possible I did ok with this, but not great. I tended to buy locally only when it was convenient instead of going out of my way to do it. I plan to do better next year.
22. Plant an herb garden Yes, but I need to choose my herbs more carefully next year. The basil was delicious, but who the hell needs that much parsley?
23. Go antiquing Yep. Didn't buy anything, though.
24. Make Christmas cookies Yes, three times.
25. Put up and decorate a Christmas tree Yes. The first project of the new year is to take said tree back down.
Career/Education
26. Find a new job or make peace with the one I've got Done, thank God.
27. Get organized at work and stay that way Yeah, right.
28. Re-join WIN Not yet, but I still plan to do this.
29. Go to bed by 11 p.m. on work nights This was marginal, at best.
30. Be on time to work every day I did terribly at this for the first half of the year, then I found a job where punctuality is mandatory. I've been late once or twice, but I've been doing really well on this one.
31. Take six classes and get As in at least four I took seven classes and got As in six.
32. Have all class assignments done two days before the due date Yeah, right.
33. Do all reading for every class Did I mention that a couple of those classes were pointless and stupid?
Culture
34. Try a new restaurant (January) Kelsey's Irish Pub
35. Try a new restaurant (February) Buca Di Beppo
36. Try a new restaurant (March) Asian Bistro
37. Try a new restaurant (April) No.
38. Try a new restaurant (May) Faryab
39. Try a new restaurant (June) Olney Grille
40. Try a new restaurant (July) No.
41. Try a new restaurant (August) Ardeo
42. Try a new restaurant (September) Pizzeria Paradiso
43. Try a new restaurant (October) No.
44. Try a new restaurant (November) No.
45. Try a new restaurant (December) Pho Real
46. Get my Netflix queue below 200 Not even close.
47. Go to a play I went to see Wicked at the Hippodrome as part of my Christmas present from my parents. I highly recommend it.
48. Go to an event at the Kennedy Center
49. Attend a formal gala I knocked out #s 48 and 49 at the same time by going to a formal gala at the Kennedy Center. Microsoft may be the evil empire, but they throw one hell of a party.
50. Go to an art museum I poked my head into one of the Smithsonian art museums, but I don't think you can really call this one done.
51. Attend a classical music concert I saw an awesome show at Strathmore; they played The Wizard of Oz on a screen above the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the orchestra played the entire score.
52. Join the Young Benefactors of the Smithsonian Not yet, but I do intend to do this.
53. Take a duck tour No, for like the fourth year in a row.
Financial
54. Pay off all of my credit cards I paid off one, and another is close.
55. Stick to a strict budget No.
56. Record all money spent No.
57. Roll my Fidelity plan over into the new IRA No, but I now have an actual financial advisor who is hounding me to do this, so it's on the menu for early next year.
58. Have my taxes done by March 1 Yep.
59. Deposit my tax refund directly into my IRA No. However, I did spend it wisely, splitting it between a financial cushion and credit cards.
60. Have $400 in my vacation fund by the end of the year I actually did away with the vacation fund altogether.
61. Withdraw money for the week on Mondays; do not use debit card No.
62. Personal No.
63. Continue to make regular payments on my student loans despite the deferral No.
64. Personal Yep.
65. Personal Yep.
66. Do not use my credit cards at all, except for automatic payments that must be paid off every month Oh, yeah right.
67. Make three charitable donations this year I think I made one.
68. Personal No.
69. Personal Not practical.
Reading
70. Read four short stories per week. No.
71. Read a book on the beach Yes.
72. Read the entire Bible No.
73. January/February Classic: Pride and Prejudice No.
74. March/April Classic: Vanity Fair No.
75. May/June Classic: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court No.
76. July/August Classic: Dubliners No.
77. September/October Classic: Frankenstein No.
78. November/December Classic: Don Quixote No. And this one pisses me off, because I was determined to finish it before the end of the year, it was really getting interesting...and I lost it. It's somewhere in my house and I can't for the life of me find it. How do you lose a book that size? It weighs as much as a brick!
79. Read the ALA's 2007 Notable Books Not a one. I did read several of the Notable Children's Books, however.
80. Read all of the Persephone books I own Not a one.
81. Buy four more Persephone books I told myself that I wasn't allowed to buy any more until I read the ones that I have, so...
Health/Fitness
82. Get dental insurance Yes.
83. Handle my most pressing dental issues Yes.
84. Take my lunch at least 4 days a week I had good weeks and bad weeks, but altogether I take my lunch far more often than I used to.
85. Limit eating out to once per week Not even close.
86. Go to the gym at least once a week No.
87. Kayak three times this summer O. and I went once.
88. Buy a bike Yep.
89. Personal No.
90. Wear a size 8 Not even close.
91. Ski at least once No, but this is in the plans for early next year, when I chaperone the ski club trip.
92. Play tennis three times No.
Personal Care
93. Learn how to apply makeup No, for at least the fourth year.
94. Wear a bikini I wish.
95. Personal No.
96. Find "my" perfume No.
97. Develop a skincare regimen that I stick to religiously No, but I need to do this next year, before I start looking like a wrinkly old woman.
98. Get a haircut at least every three months No.
99. Get professionally fitted for a bra Yes. I got poked and prodded by an old lady with a measuring tape, and I finally have one that fits.
100. Personal No.
101. Get a massage Yes, twice!
102. Get a facial Yes, twice!
Travel
103. Go away for the weekend by myself No.
104. Spend a weekend at the beach I spent a day at the beach...didn't quite make a weekend.
105. Visit two states I've never been to before I visited Ohio. And technically I visited Massachusetts, but I flew in, spent four hours in a meeting, and flew back out. I saw only what I could see between the airport and Cambridge from the window of the cab, so I'm not counting it.
106. Go camping No, but the number of people who have told me that they want to do this strongly suggests that it will be done next year.
107. Visit Rochester twice I made it once.
I'm looking forward to next year. I think it's going to be an awesome one.
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