25 Things - A Recap
Another year has come and gone for me, birthday-wise. (Though it hardly feels like it - I think I'm in emotional shut-down mode for the new job and upcoming move.) I've tried to do 25 things before this birthday happened. Some of those goals were met; some, I had no reason not to meet, but they fell by the wayside. Here's the recap of the last year:
1. Take a creative class - painting, writing, etc. - Not completed. I'm hoping it will happen this year, now that I have a regular schedule I can adhere to. Still not sure what kind of class, but it will be full of creating.
2. Take kendo lessons, at least one class - Accomplished, and I was surprised by how much I was not interested in it.
3. Start sewing afghan squares together (this is the third year that damn afghan is on my list...) - Accomplished. The afghan is now 7x5 squares, and I've almost finished making all the squares. Awesome.
4. Make another shawl for myself, in a fiber I don't have a shawl of yet (cotton is a possibility - preferably a cape-like shawl) - Did it - a black shawl in cotton. See above post.
5. Make sushi - I did, and it was delicious. I've done it several times since then, too, and I'd like to try dessert sushi next - with fruit!
6. Freakin' exercise regularly, in some way - I'm doing this now! Physical therapy has finally paid off enough that I'm able to run several times a week. Now the issue is with building my endurance from scratch. Not fun - I can hardly run three minutes at a time.
7. Have a tea party in our new apartment, when we get one - Had one with friend Kaelin and sister Laura - complete with cookies.
8. Make or trade for all of the Christmas presents I give - I more or less accomplished this. I bought one or two items (at local stores) due to lack of time. I'll call it a win.
9. Focus on poetry again (reading and writing) - I didn't give the poetry a go so much as poetic writing, through the myths for my novel. I bought plenty of poetry, but rather than reading it, it just collected dust.
10. Publish a poem/short story - Nope. Never even attempted it.
11. Get my own tea set - Yes. It's gorgeous, and gets used at least once a week. I love a weekend morning with a tea pot.
12. Cook/bake something unusual that takes extra effort - perhaps a souffle? - Never baked anything that I thought qualified for this. Maybe I'll make the Guinness cupcakes this year...
13. Complete a crossword puzzle on my own (I'm really bad at those) - Did it! Or close enough. And I haven't done one since then.
14. Get a bike - Not yet. Perhaps this year.
15. Get my orange skirt, so I have a skirt rainbow at last - I got two orange skirts, and I'm even wearing one today!
16. Volunteer somewhere - maybe the children's museum - Nope. I should get on this.
17. Take Spousal Unit to Mall of America, as he's never been there - Nope.
18. Read The Reader in German - Doing it now. I'll count this one as completed.
19. Move into our apartment that we don't have yet, on or before December 1 - Yep. And now we're moving out of it.
20. Buy a mattress. You know, for sleeping. Beause we don't have one. - Done.
21. Have regular date nights with Spousal Unit again. Even if it's just going for a walk. - Accomplished. We don't really call them date nights, but we are spending a lot of time together, and it feels date-ish.
22. Finish a second draft of my novel. Maybe a third. - Finished the second! Working on the third.
23. Apply for that writing program I'm interested in - Nope. I got too intimidated by the number of people who apply for the program. And it turns out, I can make good progress on my novel without being in class.
24. Read a book about quantum physics. Just for funsies. - Never got to it, but I still have the list of suggestions.
25. Continue to write my blog. (o hai, i are doin it nao) - Accomplished! I see no point on the horizon at which I would stop writing it.
Overall, I accomplished 17 of my 25 goals for the year. Not bad, as some of them were kind of a big deal. Several of the uncompleted ones will carry over, like trying to get published and baking something awesome.
1. Take a creative class - painting, writing, etc. - Not completed. I'm hoping it will happen this year, now that I have a regular schedule I can adhere to. Still not sure what kind of class, but it will be full of creating.
2. Take kendo lessons, at least one class - Accomplished, and I was surprised by how much I was not interested in it.
3. Start sewing afghan squares together (this is the third year that damn afghan is on my list...) - Accomplished. The afghan is now 7x5 squares, and I've almost finished making all the squares. Awesome.
4. Make another shawl for myself, in a fiber I don't have a shawl of yet (cotton is a possibility - preferably a cape-like shawl) - Did it - a black shawl in cotton. See above post.
5. Make sushi - I did, and it was delicious. I've done it several times since then, too, and I'd like to try dessert sushi next - with fruit!
6. Freakin' exercise regularly, in some way - I'm doing this now! Physical therapy has finally paid off enough that I'm able to run several times a week. Now the issue is with building my endurance from scratch. Not fun - I can hardly run three minutes at a time.
7. Have a tea party in our new apartment, when we get one - Had one with friend Kaelin and sister Laura - complete with cookies.
8. Make or trade for all of the Christmas presents I give - I more or less accomplished this. I bought one or two items (at local stores) due to lack of time. I'll call it a win.
9. Focus on poetry again (reading and writing) - I didn't give the poetry a go so much as poetic writing, through the myths for my novel. I bought plenty of poetry, but rather than reading it, it just collected dust.
10. Publish a poem/short story - Nope. Never even attempted it.
11. Get my own tea set - Yes. It's gorgeous, and gets used at least once a week. I love a weekend morning with a tea pot.
12. Cook/bake something unusual that takes extra effort - perhaps a souffle? - Never baked anything that I thought qualified for this. Maybe I'll make the Guinness cupcakes this year...
13. Complete a crossword puzzle on my own (I'm really bad at those) - Did it! Or close enough. And I haven't done one since then.
14. Get a bike - Not yet. Perhaps this year.
15. Get my orange skirt, so I have a skirt rainbow at last - I got two orange skirts, and I'm even wearing one today!
16. Volunteer somewhere - maybe the children's museum - Nope. I should get on this.
17. Take Spousal Unit to Mall of America, as he's never been there - Nope.
18. Read The Reader in German - Doing it now. I'll count this one as completed.
19. Move into our apartment that we don't have yet, on or before December 1 - Yep. And now we're moving out of it.
20. Buy a mattress. You know, for sleeping. Beause we don't have one. - Done.
21. Have regular date nights with Spousal Unit again. Even if it's just going for a walk. - Accomplished. We don't really call them date nights, but we are spending a lot of time together, and it feels date-ish.
22. Finish a second draft of my novel. Maybe a third. - Finished the second! Working on the third.
23. Apply for that writing program I'm interested in - Nope. I got too intimidated by the number of people who apply for the program. And it turns out, I can make good progress on my novel without being in class.
24. Read a book about quantum physics. Just for funsies. - Never got to it, but I still have the list of suggestions.
25. Continue to write my blog. (o hai, i are doin it nao) - Accomplished! I see no point on the horizon at which I would stop writing it.
Overall, I accomplished 17 of my 25 goals for the year. Not bad, as some of them were kind of a big deal. Several of the uncompleted ones will carry over, like trying to get published and baking something awesome.
I also accomplished a lot of things not on this list, like getting a job in my field, finding many free pieces of great furniture, and doing some actual novel research. It's been a good year - here's to an even better one on the horizon.
Comments
Post a Comment