29 Things To Do

I didn't realize this would actually be this hard.  I see people with their lists of 13 things to do in 2013 or 29 things to do before 29 and being a list-lover absolutely had to make one myself.  It began as a slow and arduous task.  Man, I have to think of 13 whole things?? But I only have 3! Then the list grew and I decided to compromise at 20 Things To Do in 2013, okay granted that number is not that special because I could potentially do the same thing for the next 97 years, but hey I tried.  Then, the list took on a mind of its own and I ended up having to stop myself as I neared 40 things.  

So I had to be honest with myself, I'm probably not going to be able to do it all in one year.  My list was full of fun and exciting things.  Yeah, this is the year I'm going to learn how to surf! And try archery! And take my 3 year old skiing! And travel every freaking where!  Hey maybe I'll complete that flight that Amelia Earhart didn't finish this year...after I get my pilot's license THIS YEAR!  But THIS YEAR, I'm not going to be able to be quite so fun and exciting.  I have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.  I have 2 aging parents who are not all that healthy.  I have 2 small kids who, thank freaking everything and everyone, are healthy, smart, and love life (and love their grandparents).  That's a lot of doctor's appointments to go to and not very many nights of going out on my own.  I can't ask my parents to babysit and it would be such an insult to them if I brought in an outsider to babysit (not to mention how awkward it would be for the babysitter to watch the same 3 stories on CNN over and over for hours with my dad after the kids go to bed).  

So I toned it down.  Maybe 2013 won't be the most exciting, try-everything-new-under-the-sun-year, but it's going to be a good year damn it.  So here is my list of

29 Things To Do Before 29

1. Take my daughter skiing.
We didn't go last year because my son was still a baby and I know younger kids have skied, but it was just not his time (and I'm not so sure this year really is either) and I felt bad leaving him for a whole day.

2. Add 10 vegetarian recipes to my regular rotation.

This doesn't seem like so much but I cook for my kids and my parents.  Oddly enough, it is my father that makes this so hard.  I remember the first time I cooked Eggplant Parmesan for him from a beautiful fresh eggplant I bought special at the Farmer's Market, he turned up his nose as soon as he sat down and said "Ehk what is this???  You call this dinner?  It's not even real food!  Where's the meat?!?"  So I'm trying to find some vegetarian (or semi-vegetarian meals I can make that won't upset the masses.  If it was just me, about 29 out of 30 meals would be vegetarian.  I'm not a big meat eater.

3. Get a job.

I was a stay-at-home mom for a while and had many other issues to deal with (that I may reveal in a post I'm currently debating whether to write or not), but my kids are in school/pre-school and things are working themselves out so I am kind of dying to get back into the workforce.

4. Try Crossfit.

I love pain.  That about explains that.

5. Run a Race

I signed up for a 5k Zombie run in the fall because I've always wanted to do a race/mud run even though I am slow and have the lung capacity of a mouse...actually they seem to do pretty well scurrying around, but you get my point.  Unfortunately, my daughter's gymnastics observation ended up landing on the same day.  And it was when they would be moving her up to the next level.  So all of the money I spent and all of the training I didn't do was wasted.  This year I was thinking of doing a fun run.  My daughter can run with my and my son can sit in a stroller.  I think I can push his incredibly heavy behind a mile.

6. Complete a 1000 Piece Puzzle

I don't know why.  I've just always wanted to.

7. Learn and actually attempt to Use a new Language.

I grew up rather bilingual in Montreal, but after moving I lost most of my French.  When I did practice with my dad after losing most of it, I would get "WHAT???  YOUR FRENCH IS HORRIBLE JUST TALK TO ME IN ENGLISH?"  And I've never actually spoken to anyone in French since then.  I can more or less understand my cousins and family, but I answer in English...EVERY TIME. Now everyone thinks I have no idea so they mainly talk to me in English and talk about me in French. Ha! 
8.   Play a Musical Instrument.
I would love to learn the violin or cello, but we have a piano so it's time for me to play a song without sounding like a 3 year old banging on the keys.  I, thus far, have not attempted to really play because I feel so guilty when I sit at the piano.  Something needs to be cleaned, or changed, or rearranged!  How can I just SIT here?!?! Not anymore!  It's on paper...well on blogger that I am going to learn so now I must do it.  It's not being selfish or irresponsible it's just something I must do now.
9. Learn How to Sew and Make Little Dresses for Africa.
I used to think I could sew....yeah I can't.  But I desperately want to make these. I want to make a ton and donate as many as I possible can...well I guess a ton if that's how many I make.
10. Go to Art Museums.
I've always had an appreciation for art.  I would love to go to art galleries, but I have not even been to some of the great Art Museums.  I would love to go to MoMA, the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Rocky, here I come!), and the Isabella Gardner Museum.
11. Read and Review 5 Books.
I'm not big on reviewing, but as I said as I bumbled through some ballet observations, this is important for memory as well as critical thinking.  And those of you who think that 5 books is not a lot for a whole year, well I have 2 kids, 2 parents, a neurotic dog, I'm trying to get a job, and I JUST like 2 seconds ago talked to someone from university about getting a post-grad degree and starting in the spring as an "off-term start."  So yeah, 5 books might actually be a bit ambitious.
12.  Make wontons.
I love cooking.  I love learning.  Why not learn something new to cook?
13. Put the kids' savings in 529s.
Haven't done it yet.  Must be done ASAP.
14. Make a Robot with my Daughter.
Robotics is so intriguing.  I think my daughter is at an age when she can learn and appreciate.  I have never made them before, but I have a few ideas in mind. Google is awesome.
15. Trade.
A couple years ago, I began forex trading.  I didn't make a lot of money, but it was a great hobby.  I really enjoyed myself and wish I was still doing it.  It can be time consuming but I kind of miss it.  So I think, this year I will start again.  Just for fun.
16. Take Myself Out.
Okay, so I don't really have that many people to go out with and those that I do know, don't really share my interests.  So who's to say I can't take myself on a date?  I can try the raw food restaurant, see Les Miserables.  I'm not sure why it always seems like such a big deal to have someone accompany me (or most anyone else for that matter).  If I'm to learn to love myself, I can learn to love my own company as well.
17. Try Raw Food Restaurant.
This is the restaurant I mentioned in 16.  Kill two birds with one stone, you say?  Why yes, I just may.
18. Hike the Entire Trail.
I've gone to a hiking trail that is supposed to have 7 waterfalls along the way.  First I went with a friend and the kids and it was just way to dangerous to continue.  I was having a heart attack before we even got to the first waterfall and turned around because I didn't think I wanted to see my kids fall of the edge and tumble to their demise.  Plus I could see that my daughter was nervous and had the same thoughts.  So we enjoyed the "easy part" of the trail and the caves and then I declared it time to turn around.  I would love to go with a grown up (maybe not by myself because I would hate to have to cut off my arm after I fall and get stuck and it's the only way I could make it home to my kids because no one could hear me call for help).  Me dramatic...eh only a little.
19.  Start and Ace Post Grad Classes.
Since it is time for me to get my career going the way I want it to, I need to take some more classes.  Well, I've signed up.  Now it's time to expect nothing but the best.
20. Spend as Much Time as Possible with my Mom...Without Arguing!
Moms and daughters bicker.  It's true.  But I love my mom and I don't want to be another stressor in her life.
21.  Join SOMETHING.
This kind of goes back to my New Year's Resolution to network.  
22. Make a Robot with my Daughter.
It doesn't have to be anything big or overly...well...robotic, but I want to expand her interests and show her that there are other things that may not be traditionally "girl" activities that would be really cool.  Plus hopefully, this will help me with my other resolution to not rot my brain.  We can both learn together.  And when my son is old enough, we can introduce him to our super-beginner knowledge of robotics.
23.  Finish Current Classes.
I got some online certification courses that I think may help me with #3 on this list - get a job - plus it coincides in a way with the post-grad classes I'm taking.  Like the first stepping stone on my way to a career I will enjoy.
24.  Get Rid of Clutter.
Clutter!  Ugh! I hate it!  It all must go!
25.  Get my Son in Sports.
He is almost 3, and I have serious guilt issues with the fact that my daughter had Mommy & Me classes from the time she was really little.  My son has sporadically taken a couple - gym and swimming, but I haven't been very consistent with it.  Now he will be 3 soon and able to join more - tee ball or karate or something else that I think he will really benefit from.  I am going to get him started this year and be more consistent.
26.  Take Kids Skating More
I feel like I take them a bit, but they would actually have a chance to improve their skills if they didn't basically have to relearn how to skate each time because it has been so long in between.  Plus now my son is old enough to go, we can make an outing of it any time we want.
27. Program SOMETHING
I've been fascinated with Python for some time now and would actually like to learn it and use it. So as computer illiterate as I am, I plan on making some attempt.  
28.  Take My Son Rock Climbing
Okay, not really sure if he would love it or hate it, but it would be cute and it's better than him climbing my bookcases.
29. Volunteer.
I've always wanted to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity or at a soup kitchen.  So this year, I am going to stop making excuses and actually do it.

There you have it, my list of 29 Things To Do. 
Here, are some of the items that were on my original list that I had to take off (and no getting a pilot's license and flying around the world wasn't ACTUALLY one of them).
Try archery - time and money? No Idea, but obsessed with the idea because it is definitely the best way to survive a zombie attack (ok, too much Walking Dead), but seriously it seems really cool.
Go Camping - I'm a little nervous to be outside with my kids.  What protection do I have to offer?  Hey, maybe this is one for after I learn archery!
Attend Nerd Nite - I've always wanted to, but this goes to me not wanting to ask my parents to watch my kids.  I would hate for them to wake up and drive my parents nuts.
Go to a Sushi Bar and order the Omakase menu - again babysitting issues
Learn to Make Sushi - No one would want to eat my sushi anyway and I don't think I should be trying to give my family food poisoning, cause well, it just may happen that way.
Learn to Surf - I would love to learn with my daughter, but what would my son do during that time?  Oh and there isn't exactly an ocean in my backyard.
Travel - if I did I could surf, but time and money constrictions may or may not leave this one not checked off this year and, frankly it would just piss me off to not be able to accomplish something.
Go Rock Climbing - I take my daughter and plan to take my son (#28), but I never get to actually climb because I have no one to belay me.  The rock gym near me has a woman's night, but again, it's at night and I feel guilty asking my mom to babysit.

The Nutcracker

One of my resolutions this year was to stop rotting my brain and attempt to find ways to "be smarter" or at least be able to engage in a conversation with normal adults without sounding like Beavis and/or Butthead.  I read at one point, that reading, listening, seeing, or experiencing an event is not necessarily enough to engage your brain and really create "learning" or "smartitude" (yup, made that up so you could see the effects of semi-isolation on my brain).  I believe the statistic is something like you remember 10% of what you read.  However, after learning or experiencing something, if you critique, analyze, write about, or teach someone else about what you just learned, the chances of remembering is much higher.  It also flexes your critical reasoning abilities which is really important in just about everything in life.  

So, while I enjoyed watching The Nutcracker with my daughter, I thought perhaps it would be smart of me to reflect upon my experience.  

Now please remember: I am not a professional dancer, nor a professional critic, nor do I purport to be.  So instead of a critique, I will simply recall some of my observations.

1. Ballerinas have calves like bowling balls.

Holy crap, I just kept saying "Oh my goodness!  Look at her calves!"  The muscle definition in the legs of a ballerina is absolutely phenomenal.  No wonder people take barre classes for a workout.  I'm sure it's nothing compared to these women who train en pointe for who knows how many hours a day, but if I could have just a little bit of that sign me up!

2. Story telling through dance can be wonderfully abstract or very straightforward and mix them together beautifully and still make sense.

I loved how the story was told in such an abstract manor and pieces of the dance had to be interpreted in order to create the story, however there were parts in which the boys were mad and, in order to illustrate that, they all fell to the floor and began pounding their fists and kicking their legs.  Hmmmmm, I wonder where I've seen that before?  I had to laugh because the interpretation was all of the sudden so literal.  These pieces were woven together so well that they created a beautiful unique whole.

3. The Asian dolls, once again, struck me as a racist interpretation when they came out.

Maybe it's just me, maybe it's that I was raised in a generation where everything had to be super, extra PC and if there is just one smattering or inkling of something that may not be quite kosher, it is wrong.  Because when I think about it, they can't very well change the music and if they didn't have the dolls, that would just be way more racist.  If the dolls were dressed any other way would it change the ballet?  Were these actual tradition costumes from something I just an ignorant to?  I didn't seem to have a problem with the other dolls.  Oh well, if after all of this time others didn't have an issue with it, why should I?  They are just dolls after all.

4. The balcony has to be the best place to be because you can not only see the entire stage but also the pit.

It was really, really cool to be up on the first balcony.  We got a great view of the entire stage with no one's head in our way.  The angle and point of view was great.  But, maybe even cooler than that, was that we could see directly down into the pit.  So when there was an interesting sound or instrument we couldn't identify, all we had to do was look.  My daughter wanted to know how there was a sound that sounded just like horses, "check out those doohickeys the percussion guy has, that's where the sound is coming from."  Yes, I use only technical terminology.  

5. People can disagree on their interpretations but still adore the story and the dancing.

I know, The Nutcracker, what is there to disagree upon?  But we did.  Partially on purpose.  I would ask things like "do you think everything is getting bigger or is she getting smaller?"  "How do you think those rats got so big?"  "How do you think the nutcracker came to life?"  "Why do you think she had to go to sleep before all of this started?" "How did the uncle end up on top of the clock?"  And then, I would try to play devil's advocate just to make my daughter think just a little bit more.  Turns out her view of the nutcracker is very similar to mine when I was little - What do you mean a DREAM?  HELLO, THE NUTCRACKER IS JUST MAGICAL!  I love the way kid's see things.

I really enjoyed attending the ballet and cannot wait to go back again, hopefully before the next Nutcracker showing!  

Do you go to The Nutcracker or other ballets?  What are your thoughts and observations?  (Remember like I said, I'm not trying to pretend I am a real critic with real opinions so please be nice.)

Resolutions

A New Year.  

So many people make resolutions and as someone who makes random resolutions all year long, I'm not the only one...for once.  For once, it's a normal activity to take part in.  This year, the plan overall is to take care of myself and get my sh*t together which brings me exactly to #1...

1. Get my sh*t together.

This is more or less my catchall.  There's a lot on my life that I feel could use work and damn it I'm going to do it and I'm going to make myself proud of me in 2013.

2. Take care of myself.

I let make my weight yo-yo, I give up on eating healthy and binge on crap when I feel sad, I put myself in situations I don't need to be in, I eat til I hate myself, or I starve myself, and I have other bad habits.  So I'm going to treat my body like a temple and regardless of my emotions I'm going to take care of it like I love it.

3. Stop letting the things other people say dictate how I'm feeling.

My father is an angry person and routinely tells me that I'm never going to make it, or I'm never going to be or do anything with my life, I never finish anything, I'm not as smart as I think I am, or just plain to shut the hell up.  Also, my cousin who was here basically told my parents to put my stuff and my kids' stuff in trash bags and tell us to go.  Then my dad fell while he was conveniently outside turning his lungs black and bringing in his third hand smoke in what could only be an effort to exacerbate my son's respiratory issues. Of course I was the only one capable of getting my dad back upright because that's what I do. Of course he doesn't know that my parents practically strongarmed me into coming home and now ask me not to leave due to their health problems.  He doesn't know that so why should I care what he says. My first reaction was "do you realize I would effing love that?!?!?!" And then it was "who the eff are you to judge me???" And I was actually really upset by it, but why should I get my panties all in a bunch because someone else wants to act like a ?  I'm not going to.  Not any more.  Well, at least I'm going to attempt to tell myself that it is not that serious and to stop taking everything so personally.

4. Remember that failure is not an option.

Sounds harsh, but ever since I heard Jiro from Jiro Dreams of Sushi say that's what he told his son, it kind of clicked and I use it as a manta when I feel like giving up.

5. Network.

I never get out of the house.  I feel like I never have a conversation with anyone who is anywhere near my age group.  I feel out of the loop and well, like I'm getting dumber every day.  I would love to be around people with whom I can have intellectual discussion and from whom I can learn things, further network, etc etc.

6. Make efforts not to rot my brain. 

I do make some efforts already to keep my brain active, but sometimes it feels like as I'm getting older my brain is just rotting.  So, while I plan to take care of myself physically, emotionally, career-wise, etc I cannot forget to take care of myself cognitively as well.

Well, finally this year's resolutions are ones I should more or less be able to keep.

What are your New Year's Resolutions?