Ringing in the new year
Ok, so I'm a little late on the resolution list. We've been a bit preoccupied with the new dog, the de-Christmasing of the house, the returning and exchanging of unflattering clothes, a mad dash for home organization prompted by a new CD storage thing and a host of other projects.
At some point I'll try to post about our Christmas travels. But for now, a list of my goals for 2005. It's a combination of the mundane and the even more mundane, but it works for me.
1. Follow fewer recipes.
My goal here is to cook more intuitively -- to see ingredients and know what to do with them, to think about my food rather than blindly following recipes. To do this, I'm going to set a goal of one improvisational meal a week.
2. Wash face every night before going to bed.
Too much information? Perhaps. This one is self-explanatory.
3. Deal with the bathroom renovation.
Here's a dirty secret: Our one and only bathroom -- if you don't count the toilet that's plunked down next to the washer and dryer in the basement, which I don't -- has been in a state of wretched disrepair for just over two years. In a fit of impatience, I pulled down the hideous wallpaper and cheap paneling wainscoting, with hopes of just painting the walls until the time came when we could afford to replace the sky-blue fixtures and vinyl flooring. But the drywall on top is chewed up and uneven, and the previous attempt at wainscoting was a vile yellow plastic tile, which was glued directly to the drywall.
So what we need is a total re-do, and we've been paralyzed by thoughts of how expensive this might actually be. But I am herefore resolved to get going on this project. First step: Take bathroom measurements (already done) to bath design store and/or Home Depot for preliminary estimates by Jan. 17.
4. Get published in a national magazine.
It's a lofty goal, but it's the next logical step for me. I write regularly for a glossy regional magazine, and it's time to parlay those clips into a national consumer magazine story. I have a couple ideas and just need to put the pitch letters together. Supposedly that was a project for the week off that is now ending. Ha. New goal: Send at least one pitch letter by the end of February.
5. Re-organize basement.
In wake of the minor basement flood last August, I threw out lots of cardboard boxes that were ruined. Their contents, however, are still strewn around the basement, in need of sorting, trashing and re-storing. We bought some plastic bins at Target the other day, which is a start. Really, all this will take is a focused few hours one weekend, plus an hour or two for mopping the floor. To be done by the end of March.
6. Stress less. Exercise more. Be happier.
Also self-explanatory.
You'll notice a conspicuous absence on this list -- I am not going to resolve to have a baby in 2005, simply because it's not something I can control. I can do a few things, it is true, like following the temperature charting schedule carefully and watching my health. But other than that, it's out of my hands.
A belated Happy New Year to you all!
At some point I'll try to post about our Christmas travels. But for now, a list of my goals for 2005. It's a combination of the mundane and the even more mundane, but it works for me.
1. Follow fewer recipes.
My goal here is to cook more intuitively -- to see ingredients and know what to do with them, to think about my food rather than blindly following recipes. To do this, I'm going to set a goal of one improvisational meal a week.
2. Wash face every night before going to bed.
Too much information? Perhaps. This one is self-explanatory.
3. Deal with the bathroom renovation.
Here's a dirty secret: Our one and only bathroom -- if you don't count the toilet that's plunked down next to the washer and dryer in the basement, which I don't -- has been in a state of wretched disrepair for just over two years. In a fit of impatience, I pulled down the hideous wallpaper and cheap paneling wainscoting, with hopes of just painting the walls until the time came when we could afford to replace the sky-blue fixtures and vinyl flooring. But the drywall on top is chewed up and uneven, and the previous attempt at wainscoting was a vile yellow plastic tile, which was glued directly to the drywall.
So what we need is a total re-do, and we've been paralyzed by thoughts of how expensive this might actually be. But I am herefore resolved to get going on this project. First step: Take bathroom measurements (already done) to bath design store and/or Home Depot for preliminary estimates by Jan. 17.
4. Get published in a national magazine.
It's a lofty goal, but it's the next logical step for me. I write regularly for a glossy regional magazine, and it's time to parlay those clips into a national consumer magazine story. I have a couple ideas and just need to put the pitch letters together. Supposedly that was a project for the week off that is now ending. Ha. New goal: Send at least one pitch letter by the end of February.
5. Re-organize basement.
In wake of the minor basement flood last August, I threw out lots of cardboard boxes that were ruined. Their contents, however, are still strewn around the basement, in need of sorting, trashing and re-storing. We bought some plastic bins at Target the other day, which is a start. Really, all this will take is a focused few hours one weekend, plus an hour or two for mopping the floor. To be done by the end of March.
6. Stress less. Exercise more. Be happier.
Also self-explanatory.
You'll notice a conspicuous absence on this list -- I am not going to resolve to have a baby in 2005, simply because it's not something I can control. I can do a few things, it is true, like following the temperature charting schedule carefully and watching my health. But other than that, it's out of my hands.
A belated Happy New Year to you all!
posted by mc at 9:52 AM
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