Resolutions or whatever, 2012

So here's my list of goals for this year. None of these are revolutionary, and some of them are repeats that I should have done in 2011. You'll note there are fewer goals than last year. I think it's reasonable to note that we could end up with a foster kid at any minute, so I didn't want to add a whole bunch of stuff we'd like to do but isn't crucial. Anyway, here they are:

1. Get our kitchen knives professionally sharpened.
2. See a dermatologist (bonus points if he/she uses primarily natural stuff).
3. Take a picture of every item I knit (I give away most of the stuff I knit, and I have a terrible memory).
4. Knit myself a sweater.
5. Take at least two overnight trips with Andy (this is a repeat, even though I accomplished it last year, because it was so awesome for us).
6. Get tattoo (and artist's mockup, for customized stationery, because that's so badass).
7. Take multivitamin, fish oil, and Vitamin D supplement at least five times a week (because I feel a lot better when I do).
8. Find some sort of health/fitness class to do at least once a week. I need to spend more time keeping myself healthy, but I know myself well enough to know that I am not interested in going to a gym. I need some sort of scheduled workout that involves learning, so I'm looking into yoga, or tai chi, or maybe some sort of noncompetitive martial art or something that fits with my schedule and isn't outrageously expensive.

So! I think these are doable and reasonable, and they're all things that I feel good about getting done. Here's to a productive, healthy 2012!

What are your goals for 2012?

Resolution review

A year ago today, I posted a list of fourteen goals I had for myself to complete in 2011. Let's see how I did!

House and home
1. Redo upstairs bathroom. Done. It looks so, so much better. I still want to add a shelf and I have a print to hang, but I love going in there now.
2. Attach headboard to bedframe. Done. See below.
3. Get new nightstands. Done. We actually bought a gorgeous bedroom set (an extra-long sleigh bed [so Andy's six-foot-two self can sleep comfortably] and two nightstands) from some friends and refinished it. I am very happy with how they came out, and that the height all matches now.
4. Repaint the crappy job we did with cut-in in the living room. Didn't do. It wasn't really a fair item, though, because I can't reach the cut-in even on a step stool, so this would be more accurate as "Make Andy repaint crappy cut-in", which I wouldn't have added to the list anyway. Also, I've been assured that it's not as noticeable to people who aren't me.
5. Get our kitchen knives professionally sharpened. Didn't do. We bought a fancy do-it-yourself sharpener, which didn't help as much as I hoped. I'll add this one to my 2012 list.
Social
6. Host a fancy dinner party. We hosted both our annual Halloween party and Thanksgiving, so I'll call this one done.
7. Take at least two weekend trips with Andy. Done! We went to Belhurst Castle in May, Maryland to see the fat baby niece in July, and Boston in October! I liked this so much that I think I'll add it to this year's list too, because it's good for us to get away.
8. Visit friends in NYC and Boston at least once each. Done. I went to New York in March and again in December, and Andy and I went to Boston together!
9. Go camping and enjoy it. Half done. I went camping, but while there I confirmed that camping is simply not my cup of tea. I have decided that I like Andy and our friends enough to be willing to spend up to two nights a year camping, but that three nights is too much. The friends we camped with were picking out our site for Summer 2012 before we even left, so we'll see how it goes.
Personal
10. Relearn to drive standard. Not done. We sold the truck I was going to learn on, so it seems a lot less crucial now. Also, interestingly, a whole lot of people have found this blog by searching "I hate driving stick," so I'm glad we can agree that it sucks.
11. See a dermatologist and learn how to better care for my specific skin. Nope. I started paying a lot more attention to what I put onto my body, and I'd like to find a dermatologist who uses natural shit as much as possible. I just don't really know how to find that, so I sort of put it out of my mind. Going back on the list, for sure.
12. Investigate laser hair removal. Nope. I remembered I'm a giant sissy with sensitive skin and would prefer stubble to lifelong scarring.
13. Complete Couch to 5K. Nope. I got to week five, but running just really isn't my thing.
14. Nail down the design of my next tattoo, then get said tattoo. Half done. The design is complete, but the artist I was planning to go to is no longer an option (she's making some choices that mean I don't want her in charge of putting something permanent on my skin), so I'll have to research artists and save up for someone who's worth it.

So! Seven and a half out of fourteen (or out of thirteen, if we remove the one that was really for Andy anyway). Could have been better! However, in that time, we also decided to become and then got certified as foster parents, became godparents, redecorated a bedroom, and generally enjoyed the shit out of each other, so overall, 2011 gets a thumbs up from me.

Coming soon: my 2012 list!

What's your resolution this year? Do you have a list? I'd love to see it!

Hello, Boston!

Hooray! Andy and I are spending the weekend in fancy-pants Boston!

(We have a house-sitter, so please don't get any funny ideas. Not like we have anything worth stealing, but, like, don't try to break into my house and scare the sitter or anything.)

My best friend lives there, and I've tried to visit every year. This is the first time Andy has gone with me, so I'm excited to go visit (and it was one of my goals, so that doesn't hurt!). I've always loved Boston, and even wanted to go to grad school there slash move there forever, so it will be cool to pretend for a few days that that dream worked out, right?

Posting will be light (read: probably nonexistent) while we're gone, so you'll have to comfort yourself by reading me entire archives or something. You should. I do it once in a while, because I have a terrible memory and I often am like, "Oh, right! I did write that!"

Do you love Boston too? What is your favorite, shouldn't-miss thing for me to check out while I'm there?

Notes on Couch to 5k

Week One, Day One:

• Next time I go running on a lovely spring day, I will take a goddamn antihistamine first, or at least bring some goddamn tissues. I was a snotty, sniffly mess by the end of it.
• Pancakes is not an ideal running buddy. She's SUPER EXCITED ABOUT EVERY SMELL EVER so she'll dart all around the damn place. And if I keep the leash short enough that she can't try to dart over in front of me, she still tries to pull ahead and smell things and ends up dangling and walking on her back legs a little. (I think it looks like I'm abusing her, so I leave the leash a little longer than that.)
• One winter, even with regular brisk walks and stuff, is plenty of time to undo all the getting-back-in-shape work I did in the fall. 
• My cousin was in town for my sister's shower, and said, in reference to the women of my family, "We are not built for aerobic activity." I thought of that when I was running and could actually feel my gut jiggle with each step.
• I had forgotten that running clears out one's chest a little. Hello, coughing!
• I feel really virtuous about going for a run, and will now celebrate by going out to dinner with friends who are in town and drinking a margarita.

And now a visual comparison:

How I looked when I was running

How I felt when I finished

                         vs.










Any of you run? Any of you hate running? Chime in here!