safety deposit box

26 things planned, a few things done.

on january 3 of last year, i made a list of things i wanted to do in 2011. here’s how i fared:

1. get married - DONE! (and: best day ever.)
2. run a marathon - not done! but i did run a 10K, and i cheered on the marathoners this year, so there’s hope for me yet.
3. take a class at ucb - this year, i promise.
4. read one book each month in addition to my book club pick - now i am in two book clubs and i only barely manage to read both books each month. so, maybe?
5. work on keeping in touch with people more - a work in progress.
6. stop procrastinating as much - i have done less midnight baking this year, so we’ll count this as a halfway.
7. resurrect my magical new york blog - not at all. sorry, old blog.
8. see the march of the elephants in the city - they didn’t do it this year! so: not achieved, but not for lack of trying.
9. leave new york at least 6 times this year - rang in the new year in chicago, saw d.c. in february, went on a montaukmoon and a trip to charleston in june, spent the 4th in boston, got stuck in the city in august thanks to irene, visited connecticut in both september and october, spent thanksgiving in indiana, enjoyed 14 hours in philly, and finished out the year with christmas in d.c. not bad, 2011. 2012 will be the year of international travel!
10. work out in the morning at least three times each week - shockingly, i have become a morning exerciser. step two will be to wake up early enough to work out longer…
11. to assist in no. 10, i want to give myself a bedtime and stick to it - not shockingly, still pretty terrible at this. hence the need to wake up earlier…
12. spend one weekend per month doing something new - much of the first half of this year was spent wedding planning, and much of the second half was spent working too much, so i didn’t get to try as many new things as i would have liked. this goal remains in 2012.
13. get my drivers license - also still a to-do. maybe i am still a procrastinator?
14. reorganize the apartment - some done, some remains. this year’s plan is to buy a couch.
15. learn a signature baking recipe - i can almost bake a few things from memory (i can certainly shop from memory, which is great), and i can now make my corn salad without looking at the recipe, so maybe that counts.
16. try one new restaurant per month - done! new faves include: colonie, the grocery, prime meats (and any other brooklyn-y places you can think of.)
17. ruthlessly sort out my closet, and host a clothing swap - did it! i hosted two swaps this year, and somehow my closet continues to bulge. i think it’s time for another?
18. complete the process with big brothers big sisters - i’ve been meeting with my little for almost a year! she’s in the teen mom program, so she’s 20 (her son is four), and while we both have busy lives, it’s been great to get together when we can.
19. continue to better balance work and play - i think i got worse at this. my candle burned at both ends, and i’m a bit burned out.
20. achieve my work goals - many goals exceeded, many changed over the course of the year, and as always: there’s still so much to be done.
21. give up one trashy tv show - i stopped watching antm, and i don’t think i watched a single thing on mtv this year, so my main reality squeeze is now just the real housewives franchise (bev hills, nj and ny, of course), which i think is ok.
22. plan more brunch dates - i had some delightful brunches this year. (including this one just a few weekends ago.)
23. go hangover-free in 2011 - all i can say is thank goodness today was a new year, as i officially made it through my year without hangovers. starting tomorrow, i plan to go another year…
24. throw stephen a birthday party - success! we gathered our nearest and dearest last march for drinks at roebling inn, and it was grand.
25. clean up my digital life - sort of? i definitely stopped using quite so many different social media outlets, but then i also got new ones and figured out how to do stuff from my smartphone, so who knows.
26. be a good person and true to my best nature; learn to be kinder, calmer, more patient; keep laughing and loving life - life goals, onward and upward.