a suburban-city girl stumbling her way through central PA.

12.16.2010

the listicle in review

earlier this year, i started a list.. it was going to be of all the things i wanted to do in the next year. i think it was going to be 100 things in 1000 days or something to that effect. the sad part is that i never even got to listing 100 really awesome things that i wanted to do so i didn't publicize it much. it pretty much just sat dormant on my computer hard drive until today.

even before going through the list, i can say that in the end, what i spent most of my time doing this year wasn't even something that was on the list. a lot of it was barely even remotely close to being on the list. i spent 200+ hours of my life studying to become a yoga instructor. hours reading the sutras and attempting to meditate and practicing the asanas and all of that. and the closest it got to being on the list was a few yoga poses that i wanted to perfect. or rather, just conform my body into. to be honest, i'm not even sure how close i am to those. let's take a look:


Food (at home)

   1. Make a damn good chili
    this is a truth fact. i made an excellent chili. it took two tries to get it, but it was awesome. i know it was awesome because we came home really drunk one night and everyone ate it all and then asked for seconds. and drunk people never lie.
   2. Use my slow cooker at least twice this year
    i don't believe i've reached this. i don't think i've even used my crock pot once, which is sad because it was all i wanted to christmas two years ago. i have to start using it. it's a spectacular cooking invention.
   3. Make more bundts
    i didn't do this one either, but to be fair, i did spend a lot of time trying my hand at ayurvedic muffins this summer which eventually turned into a bake sale where me and partner in baking crime raised $300 that we donated to Philabundance. so bundts, no, but baking, yes. 
   4. Make my own yogurt
    nope. not even close.
   5. Make my own granola
    also not even on my radar
   6. Cook a meat that’s not chicken or pork (these are my specialties and I have never in my life ever cooked a steak or lamb of even some damned ground beef)
    also, no. this summer my roommate and i got a CSA and even though it was only half a share, we had enough veggies to last us through each week. in fact, for a month after our newest roommate moved in, she thought the two of us were vegetarians because she had never seen either of us cook or eat meat!
   7. Incorporate Ayurvedic theories into meal planning
    in some semblance, yes, but mostly only when i order chinese. and the dosha muffins. there were plenty of dosha muffins to be found this year.
   8. Make my own chicken stock and soup
    chicken stock? no. veggie stock? yes. same same for soups - made a lot of soup this year but none were chicken in nature
   9. Make momma’s chicken and rice
    and no. again with the meat, no. i don't think i've cooked meat in months. i would say at least six months. maybe nine. it's unclear.
  10. This is the supreme goal which is actually another dozen food goals in and of itself but… reinvent and make this year’s Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner
    sigh. this will definitely not be happening this year which i'm very sad about, but christmas is only a week away and i didn't really do much at all. i will, however, be making the borscht this year, so at least there's that.
Restaurants That I’ve Never Been To

   1. Village Whiskey
    mmm, burgers with S and C. check!
   2. Grace Tavern
    nope, still not yet.
   3. Cafe con Chocolate
    yes and yes.
   4. Kong
    not even close
   5. Buddakan
    yes, with the old roommate!

Books to Finish Reading

   1. Snark, David Denby
    i have come to terms with the fact that i will never finish reading all 60 pages of this book
   2. The Help, Kathryn Stockett
    yes, so good!
   3. The Hour I First Believed, Wally Lamb
    yes, finally! a year later!
   4. The Invisible Wall, Harry Bernstein
    no.   5. Common Wealth, Jeffrey Sachs
    no.
   6. Tuesdays With Morrie, Mitch Albom
    yes!
   7. Cradle to Cradle, Bill Mcdonough
    no.
   8. Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden
    no.
   9. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
    no.
  10. Why Buildings Stand Up, Mario Salvadori
    no.

Yoga

   1. Set up a home practice of some sort
    yes, kind of, vaguely, okay, maybe not really.
   2. Stick to a yoga schedule (at least 1x a week)
    AHA! yes times a thousand! how about sixteen hours a weekend, listicle???
   3. Get into a full eka pada rajakapotasana
    ugh, sads, no. i am beginning to think that this pose may take years to manifest itself into my body
   4. Take artsy yoga pose photos with Shelb
    nope, but she took them with her bf, so that counts for half?
   5. Arm balances!
    what up, bakasana? what up, working on handstands?   

Travel

   1. Arizona to see Louisa and Mav
    YES PLUS ZOEY.
   2. San Diego to see Jennie
    no, sads. maybe next year

Do This Everyday For A Week/Month? How Long?

   1. Blog
    eh.
   2. Get to work on time
    ooph, mayyybe.
   3. Bedtime at 9 (this may help numero dos)
    ha.
   4. Meditate
    mmmm, three days in row? one time for FORTY FIVE MINUTES. that should count for something, because that fucking HARD.
   5. Run
    dear running, let's you and i never meet again, okay? i love the yoga and i hate you. it's official. sorry, no hard feelings?   

Don’t Do This At ALL For A Week/Maybe Lent?

   1. Twitter
    THE TWITTER HIATUS OF 2K10. RIP @_missbee
   2. Facebook
    hmm. maybe not this one. there have been mini hiati, but i doubt any lasted for a week
   3. Personal email during work
    ha.
   4. Eat meat!
    hmm. maybe, perhaps, not really sure. i didn't keep a good log, but i'd say there's a vaguely 60% this happened.

Etc.

   1. Brush up on my French
    non, je regrette. and i dont even know if that's spelled right.
   2. Donate old clothes that I don’t wear anymore
    in the process. the bags have been sitting in my room for weeks now, just have to take them over to the salvation army.
   3. Organize closet space
    kind of, yes! at least one closet!, no, two!
   4. Win at least once at Johnny Goodtimes quizzo
    hmmm, think not, but we did win a baller last place prize of a hot air balloon calendar! so that counts, i think
   5. Learn how to snowboard
    well, i got on a snowboard. twice. and didn't end up crying in the middle of the mountain or in the hospital, so i think that gets half credit.
   6. Take a class at DU
    yeah no.
   7. Run from home to the Art Museum
    damn you, hc sweatpants.
   8. Finish le Broad Street Run
    didn't even start.
   9. Sky dive
    nope - but i SCUBA DIVED! WHICH WASNT ON THE LIST!
  10. Learn to drive stick shift
    nah
  11. Repot the ivies and other plants
    yes, and bought new plants!
  12. Put up some photos in my office
    yes!



overall, i'd say i didn't hit half the shit on my list, but i wouldn't call it a failure either. i spent a lot of time doing other extracurriculars instead (the yoga training and scuba diving, mostly). and i'm almost finished watching The Wire which is maybe The Best Television Series Of Life.

plus i drove through the blue ridge mountains, sent out an RFP for a potentially $60M+ building project, rearranged my bedroom, ate at zahav, unclogged a sink drain with my own brute strength, used fennel for the first time ever, went to yogaville, learned what the heck tat soi was, made life altering decisions, applied for a new job, threw out half my makeup, won money at the craps table, became lactose intolerant, flew in a helicopter, went to a county fair, and didn't have any completely major mental breakdowns. i said completely major.

so thank you to everyone who bruised a coccyx, got their auras read, felt completely overwhelmed by vegetables, missed a quizzo question, tweeted the crap out of the cliff lee trade, ate brunch, drank girly drinks, spent three hours throwing themselves into handstands, meditated, laughed, cried, played, tried, tweeted about anything really, took photos, played in the snow and drank hot toddies, mopped an overflowing kitchen sink, went to cantina, the phils, the eagles, black sheep, landmark and/or drove more than two hours in a car with me and read my blog this past year. major hearts and friendship dust to all of you.