The first ten

Let's talk about where I am with these guys...the first 10.

• 01. Visit New Mexico. - I would LOVE for this to happen. But I have a feeling it won't get done before next July. Time and money forfend. Getting back to the Southwest is very high on my life list. I need to save up the money...save up the time...fly into Vegas...and go from there.

• 02. Visit the Okanagan. - This is something else I need to have happen, but don't picture before time is up. I almost got there this year, when my aunties went out West to visit family, even arranged for time off, but didn't quite have the money.

• 03. Go back to the Royal Ontario Museum...with more time to spend. - This will happen as soon as I get to Toronto, which may even be this November.

• 04. Go camping. -- DONE! - I've gone camping several times over the past two years with Ryan and Damian. The last time was the most gorgeous and fun and involved floating lazily down a river, playing in a waterfall, and other happy occurrences.

• 05. Fix my foot. -- DONE! - Got myself some nice orthotics and ugly sneakers and tromped all over Nova Scotia and Europe.

• 06. Drive around the Cabot Trail. - Man, I can't believe I haven't done this yet. Ryan and I have been planning, planning for this fall and never did make it.

• 07. Go back to school and/or find a career I like - Haven’t gone back to school yet but love being a datahead for the government. Just smart enough to keep me interested and just lazy enough to keep me happy. Today I worked on parametric and nonparametric means tests for all schools in the province for our assessments! I am just SO happy I managed to find a real life job sometime in my 30th year. Although my deadline was when I turned 30 and I missed that by exactly one week.

• 08. Go SCUBA diving. - This is another life-list must-do that I haven't gotten around to. When I learned Ryan and I were going on a cruise this year I thought I'd for sure get to SCUBA - but it turns out we were on a non-adventure, cultural kind of cruise. I WILL do it though. I did snorkel in the Ionian sea...that must almost count.

• 09. Hike to the top of a mountain and watch the stars. - DONE! Well, I lay on the beach and watched shooting stars, and that is close enough for me. What a beautiful night.

• 10. Pay off my Visa and overdraft. - I am so embarrassed that I haven't done this yet, you have no idea. It's eminently within my reach and yet I just don't have a handle on spending. This MUST happen before July. MUST. In my defense, I pretty much had this under control before said cruise, and I certainly don't regret that.

• 11. Ride a horse. - I have plans...for next weekend! We're going to Hatfield farm for a friend's birthday!

AHHH I Got so much done! I think I crossed like a million things off ... that is ...

4,7,8,11,12,13,14,16,20,27,31,33,46,49,54,67,70,77,78,79,81,88,90,93,98

Update!

Man, I guess I'm not doing well at keeping this blog up. But I DID accomplish some more things on my list!!

4. Went camping - in Bear Falls Nova Scotia with friends Damian, J-Vo, and Ryan. Even listened to J-Vo happily strumming a guitar in an old hardwood hemlock forest.

7. Find a career I like - working on it. Research officer seems like a good fit for me!

16. Go to Smiley's Creek to look at the autumn leaves. - Had a hike around Smiley's and examined lots of leaves. Got us lost and took a wrong turn into a Farmer's field. It was fun.

20. Go canoeing. - Ryan and I stayed at Milford House in October and canoed around for a good long time. I love it.

28. Buy or otherwise legitimately acquire a piece of art. - Bought myself two beautiful Yo Rodeo screenprints.

49. Go back to the library. - almost done. I paid my fines and got a new card, now for the actual visit...

61. Visit a working farm. -- My father took me along to Farmer's Annual Picnic at his boss' dairy farm in Shubenacadie. It was interesting and a little sad, as it was a fixed stall operation and the cattle couldn't wander or go outside.

79. Stay in a cottage on a lake. - See Milford House, above.

81. Go swimming in a lake. - A river. Totally qualifies. And I went to Long Lake many times and even Uniacke Lake a few times last year.

88. Sit in a hot tub in the winter. And roll around in the snow if there is any. - Yes! We just went to Malagash, stayed in a cottage with a hot tub there, and I didn't quite roll around in the snow but I did throw it over myself. It was so luxurious and amazing.

93. Make my living space a gorgeous, fun, welcoming place that people compliment when they come in. -- I think this is well on its way. Someone even asked to take pictures of our apartment!

Some more accomplishments...

85. Wander alone through the streets of a new city, or a new neighbourhood in an old city.

I did this! I accompanied my step-grandmother to Montreal this weekend, and blocked off a morning to putter through NDG, which is a neighbourhood of Montreal I'd never explored. Went to some local garage sales, saw the sights, then met up with my lovely friend Josh and his family for lunch.

59. Eat smoothies at least twice a week for a month.

TOTALLY done. I've been craving smoothies lately so it's a no-brainer. PS I LOVE SMOOTHIES SO MUCH. My favorite right now is an all juice and berries one -- orange/grapefruit juice with frozen blueberries, strawberries, mango, and blackberries.


15. Go back to vegetarianism.

I'm going to declare this one done, at least done-with. I went back to being veggie for a month in January, but I couldn't keep on with it, and may even go all the way omnivore soon.

So....that's 21 things in 269 days. Not too too bad!

Well on my way with the smoothie thing, and I know I've been having vegan breakfasts at least for the last little while.

LOVING smoothies right now! LOVING!

One more thing...

Oh my gosh, I actually have another thing done!

45 - make something out of clay.

Totally did this! Ryan and I went to a life-modeling class and I made a bust of some cute naked guy.

Progress report

So I've done 17 things in 240 days! Not too bad, really. A little off track for my goal of one thing every ten or 11 days, (I'd be done 22-24) but I'm actually doing really well! Especially considering how grey and lifeless I think my life has been over the past seven months. Really, not grey and lifeless at all. :) It's nice to look back on my achievements.

Well well well

I think I've done some things on my list! Let's see.

• 29. Go on a beautiful picnic with great food.

TOTALLY done! Stephen, Jordanna and I took a ferry out to Big Tancook Island and had a picnic overlooking the ocean with lovely sandwiches and even a bottle of wine.

• 30. Sing a song at Karaoke.

DONE! I went to a really fun house show and sang karaoke in front of all the cool kids. I was really drunk, but hey, it counts. I believe my inaugural song was (accidentally) Rock Lobster. And I also sang something by Johnny Cash.

• 38. Write another kids' book.

Done! Fleshed in. Needs editing.

• 53. Go to McNab's Island or whichever island you can take a boat out to.

DONE! It was an accidental island that I barely even knew existed -- Big Tancook. With Stephen and Jordy. Awesome.

• 97. Listen to classical music when cooking dinner.

DONE! I love having classical music channels come in on the television. Classical Pops FTW.

One thing I've noticed about this list is that it makes me fight my inner perfectionist and appreciate the smaller things in life. Doing each of these things didn't really count in my head -- karaoke at a house party instead of in front of a huge crowd of strangers at the Oasis? Listen to classical music while preparing regular supper instead of a giant Italian feast? Accidentally go to Big Tancook instead of McNab's? Participate in a picnic that I didn't pack myself, without the traditional coleslaw and potato salad? Write a children's book but not have completed the research needed to really finish it off? So, looking back, I need to wrestle with my expectations a bit more and have a bit more fun with serendipity and spontaneity.

Also, I'm going to cross one more off the list:

• 05. Fix my foot.

If it's fixed enough to wander around Montreal for three days, for hours at a time, it's fixed enough. Can't wait to go hiking this summer!!!

More things? More plans!

07 -> Go back to school or find a career I like. I'm hoping to do BOTH of these things. First, there's a job coming up at work that I REALLY want. And I'm planning on going back to MSVU in the fall to take education courses part time.

15 -> Ha, I TRIED this one for a month. Does that count? Then went back to eating fish, now I'm considering expanding to local chicken and beef. But I have not yet made the plunge into other kinds of meat, and it's a very emotional decision in some ways. So we shall see.

26 -> Watch 30 of the AFI top 100 movies. I watched two more! Some Like It Hot (genuinely fun and adorable) and It's a Wonderful Life (that one was kind of by accident).

88-> Sit in a hot tub and roll around -- I TRIED to make this happen for New YEar's, but to no avail. Next year?

83 -> Stay in my budget for Christmas presents -- I'm going to say I did this. I had a tight Christmas due to not getting paid for all the days I missed when the office was shut down (as a temp) but I DID stay on budget and bought only the essentials, for the essentials!

58 -> Make up a delicious fruity cockail and name it after myself -- DONE! My parents got me this delicious pomegranate liqueur for Christmas, and I made the following Scurtini: juice half a lime, 1 ounce pama liqueur, 1 ounce vodka, and fill the glass to the brim with 1/2 and 1/2 pomegranate pop and club soda. Delicious! And prevents scurvy.

56 -> Move into an apartment with a deck -> OR a lovely big condo with a deck! DONE!

47 -> Get myself a gorgeous bouquet of flowers -> DONE! I picked up some really nice local tulips at Pete's and they greeted me every day for almost a week in a vase on a tray on my dining room table.

92 -> Get a shoulder/neck massage --> DONE! They were giving them away free at work last week.

11 things done! In 136 days. You know, still not too damn bad. I'm making progress!

So, all in all, progress is being made! The next ones I'm going to tackle are smoothies and yoga. I hope.

Six things!

Wow, long time no write!

This list remains in my mind, though.

I crossed another few things off regardless!

21 -> Me and Ryan hosted a multi-course meal for a bunch of friends. It was super fun, yet stressful and a LOT of work. Lesson learned: Superstore Appetizers are going to become my friend.
48 -> SOMEHOW I pared my books down to two bookcases' worth.

So I've accomplished six things since I started this blog on October 10, 2007. That's six things in 71 days, or slightly behind schedule, as it's supposed to be one thing every ten days. Still, not bad!

38 -> I've started to write another kids' book. Can't cross this one off YET, but it's commenced.
14 -> I helped my dad bake some pies, but I can't say yet that I've baked one from scratch!
55 -> My friend Rebecca is bringing her yoga mat over on Saturday and we're gonna have a yoga date!

Update! Shmupdate!

Haven't made too much progress lately. However, I did help my dad bake a pie, have an advising appointment at university to talk about going back to school, and am planning a very fancy dinner for friends to happen around Christmas time. I LOVE Christmas!

Adventure

I need an adventure. SRSLY!

I think I'm going to put a tandem skydive on the list. That would be really awesome. I need to save up the $300 though. What else is there? White water rafting on the Shubie river. Kayaking (I think I could do kayaking, as opposed to canoeing ... too hard on the foot). Climbing, although not now (foot). Skating. Any other suggestions?

A fail and a possibility...

My CD exchange potluck this weekend turned out kind of meh...only lovely Jsangspar brought a CD, so we just traded CDs! There were about six people there. So even though I technically accomplished this (I did host a CD exchange) I'm marking it not done.

My friend Rebecca may need an extra or even an actor this Saturday for a film shoot! PLEASE PICK ME!

Some more dones....

Most importantly, I saw whales! In person! Ryan and I took a trip to Brier Island this weekend and went on a whale watching tour, in a little boat with big ocean swells and a chill North wind. It was super awesome.

I also went to the exhibition! I patted a horse and rode on a new ride, the pirate ship.

Also, I got my blood pressure checked today and it was normal! Good news! I thought it'd be cycling out of control or something. So my weight loss efforts are already having their desired effect.

AFI's top 100

I added a new goal. I haven't figured out how I want to remove goals without keeping a record of them. I'd like to see how the list changes. Maybe I'll keep my original post static and change the list on the side.
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Movies.

Ryan and I rented two -- Sullivan's Travels and The Deer Hunter. Watched The Deer Hunter last night. Before I started this thing I'd seen 38. Now I've seen 39.

29 to go! I'll be watching the six of the top ten I haven't already seen (plus maybe the Wizard of Oz, it's been so long), so that leaves 23 to choose from the rest of the list. Recommendations accepted!

I'll bold the ones I've already seen.

1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. The Godfather (1972)
3. Casablanca (1942)
4. Raging Bull (1980)
5. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
6. Gone with the Wind (1939)
7. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
8. Schindler's List (1993)
9. Vertigo (1958)
10. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
11. City Lights (1931)
12. The Searchers (1956)
13. Star Wars (1977)
14. Psycho (1960)
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
16. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
17. The Graduate (1967)
18. The General (1927)
19. On the Waterfront (1954)
20. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
21. Chinatown (1974)
22. Some Like It Hot (1959)
23. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
24. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
25. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
27. High Noon (1952)
28. All About Eve (1950)
29. Double Indemnity (1944)
30. Apocalypse Now (1979)
31. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
32. The Godfather Part II (1974)
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
35. Annie Hall (1977)
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
37. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
39. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
40. The Sound of Music (1965)
41. King Kong (1933)
42. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
43. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
44. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
45. Shane (1953)
46. It Happened One Night (1934)
47. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
48. Rear Window (1954)
49. Intolerance (1916)
50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
51. West Side Story (1961)
52. Taxi Driver (1976)
53. The Deer Hunter (1978)
54. M*a*s*h (1970)
55. North By Northwest (1959)
56. Jaws (1977)
57. Rocky (1976)
58. The Gold Rush (1925)
59. Nashville (1975)
60. Duck Soup (1933)
61. Sullivan's Travels (1958)
62. American Graffiti (1973)
63. Cabaret (1972)
64. Network (1976)
65. The African Queen (1951)
66. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
68. Unforgiven (1992)
69. Tootsie (1982)
70. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
71. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
72. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
74. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
75. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
76. Forrest Gump (1994)
77. All the President's Men (1976)
78. Modern Times (1936)
79. The Wild Bunch (1969)
80. The Apartment (1960)
81. Spartacus (1960)
82. Sunrise (1927)
83. Titanic (1997)
84. Easy Rider (1969)
85. A Night at the Opera (1935)
86. Platoon (1986)
87. 12 Angry Men (1957)
88. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
89. The Sixth Sense (1999)
90. Swing Time (1936)
91. Sophie's Choice (1982)
92. Goodfellas (1990)
93. The French Connection (1971)
94. Pulp Fiction (1994)
95. The Last Picture Show (1971)
96. Do the Right Thing (1989)
97. Blade Runner (1982)
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
99. Toy Story (1995)
100. Ben-Hur (1959)