SQUIRREL!

Consistently consistent.

Over the years there have been a lot of ups and downs, ins and outs, this and that's. But one thing remains consistent: my follow through never keeps up with my initial enthusiasm.

Lots of things have been going on over the last few months, and packing up a house full of crap confirms that I have full-on ADD. Digging through boxes and closets reveals a never ending string interests and hobbies. I am a little scared that if I don't change my ways I will find myself in an episode of hoarders one of these days.

Examples: school, work, exercise, every hobby I have ever had, blogging. I am still interested in all of these things, I just find something else I am interested in more and move to the next thing. I am a dabbler in a million different things. As part of some recent self reflection, I realize that I am not present in the moment very often. I need to slow down, simplify, listen and take it all in.

I am one of the dogs from the movie Up. SQUIRREL! A bit unfocused and easily distracted. But I like to think that this makes me quirky and endearing, rather than flaky and frustrating.

My "new" house is half the size and ten times the ghetto. But it has tons of potential, is in a great area that is walking distance to plenty of shops, restaurants and bars, and will be absolutely fabulous one of these days. Right now it's kind of like your crazy Uncle Earl - sagging in the middle, a little dilapidated, wearing some out-of-date fashions, and a little offbeat, but still your favorite.

I have been kind of busy working on my life list too. Updates to follow.

Out with the aughts, in with the tens

Normally, the new year jump-starts me. I make lists, I get invigorated. This year? Not so much. I am not sure what the problem is, but I just can't get motivated. (I can't even get my new years post out before mid month - yeesh!)

I have always been interested in many many things. As a kid my answer to "What do you want to be when you grow up?" changed at least every month. I come from a family of nerds and voracious readers, so I was never at a loss for subject material or projects. One year in elementary school I got the award for reading the most books over the summer.

As I got older, not much has changed. I still jump in and out of things pretty often. I am a certainly a dilettante. I have piles of half finished projects, unread or half-read books on a hundred different subjects. Sometimes it wears me out just thinking of all the things that I want to learn, try or experience before I leave this planet.

Therein lies part of the problem. I spend a lot more time thinking than I do doing.

Last March I made a list. I have a bad habit of losing interest in things quickly. My follow-through is not nearly as great as my start. I worked hard to come up a well rounded list that contained items that would be beneficial and fun and keep me interested and engaged. So in lieu of resolutions, I will continue to work on my list. I have been making progress, but it's hard to believe that 9 months have gone by.

So for 2010, my words are action and focus. I want to spend a lot more time out conquering and a lot less time holding down the fort. I need to focus on being present in each moment and making the most of every day. On making day-to-day life easier by reducing clutter and establishing some routines. I am not supposed to spend all my time and energy tending my stuff, so I won't. 2010 . . . here I come!

By the way . . . what do we call this decade? The tens? The teens? The tweens?

Where everybody knows your name

Several years ago an acquaintance of mine and I decided to run a marathon. Neither of us had ever run more than a mile - and the last time either of us had done that was high school. It seemed like a lofty goal and we both figured "How hard can it be?" We were wrong . . . and we were right.

Many times during those first few months I asked myself what the hell I had been thinking as gasped for breath and fought the urge to curl up on the side of the road and wait for the buzzards to get me. As the weeks went by it got easier and my acquaintance became a good friend.

We survived. We raised money for charity. We made a bunch of new friends. Since that first marathon we have gone on to run several others, but that's a story for another day.

Our little group is not the stero-typical running group. We may not really look like runners. Most of us aren't super lean or super fast. We tend to slack off at times and are quick to cut a run short if we just aren't feeling it that day. We pick races based on how good the t-shirt is and how much swag we get.

One thing that we don't slack on is our post run routine. For years we have met in the same place on Wednesday nights at 6:45 pm. We run 3, 4, or 5 miles depending on the weather, training schedules, or general mood. Afterwards . . . we do not pass go, we do not collect $200, we go directly across the street to New York Pizza and Pasta for food and adult beverage.

We have been going there since the week it opened. We were one of the very first group photos that was hung on the wall and we were put in a place of prominence. (Since then, we have been bumped to the corner in favor of all sorts of local celebrities.) They welcome us warmly, rearrange their tables for us, and happily eat our extra birthday cake.

It's great to have a place where you are a regular, and it's great to have a group of friends that you can exercise with and then go put all those calories back with. Good times.

Everyone Loves a List

Another day, another list. The idea is intriguing, 101 tasks in 1001 days. Find out more here.

I started my first life list in high school. Some of the items have changed, and those first lists are long gone, but this as a good time to re-focus. Long term life list items are listed at the bottom (some of them didn't fit in the 101/1001 plan).

This sounds like a great way to shake things up. I started on March 17 and will have until December 13, 2011 to complete this list.

Updates:

In progress

Complete

Keeping my priorities straight:

1. *Private* - Relationship

2. Pups - more exercise, more training, more dog park, more petting, more lovin

3. block out time for things I enjoy - friends, family, baking, tennis, biking, walks, etc

Planes, trains, automobiles and adventure:

4. Say "yes" to at least 10 things I would initially say "no" to (5/10)

5. travel to 3 states and 3 countries I have never been to before

6. ride in a hot air balloon

7. leave my city once a month, leave my country once a year

8. scuba dive (6/19/10)

9. skydive

10. paintball

11. visit at least 10 new places (2/10)

12. visit dfw as if I was a tourist

13. volunteer abroad

14. go to 5 museums (1/5)

15. climb to the top of a tree and take a picture of the view

16. go to the beach (6/18-6/23/2010)

17. take a trip by myself (6/18-6/23/2010)

Mama nature:

18. adopt one new "green" habit per month (4/33)

19. gardening - finish all my projects

20. compost - revive my pile and get a new bucket for the kitchen (3/27/09)

Building up my karma:

21. stop bitching about something and try to change it

22. give 10 anonymous gifts (0/10)

23. complete at least 1 cycle of 29 gifts

24. Donate 1 million grains of rice on FreeRice and 5 trees from answer4earth

25. Help someone through Kiva (01/12/2010)

26. write anonymous post it notes and leave them for people to find (0/50)

27. send notes to people's supervisors when they do a great job (2/10)

28. tell 5 teachers or others how much they have influenced me

29. compliment 1 person I don't know well each day for 30 days (0/30)

30. donate blood regularly (not just when they come to the office)

Let's get physical . . . it's best to look good AND feel good!

31. re-establish yoga practice (home and studio)-be able to do splits, scorpion & handstand

32. maintain standards for pushups (75) , sit-ups (80) and 2 mile run (17:00)

33. down with Dr Pepper, up with H2O

34. be able to do at least 2 unassisted pull-ups

35. incorporate small bits of exercise and stretching into my work day

36. lose 10-15 pounds (9 gone!)

37. brush/floss/wash face/take out contacts/take vitamins etc EVERY NIGHT!

38. back to being more girly - nails, lotions, smelly stuff, hair, clothes

Just call me a polymath:

39. read 50 books

40. exercise my brain - new words, puzzles, games, etc

41. learn to make candles

42. learn to juggle

43. learn to knit

44. learn a cool magic trick

45. learn to play chess

46. take a fencing class (knowing how to sword fight might be handy!)

47. go to the shooting range to be comfortable with our gun

48. learn a large basic set of phrases in another language (or 2)

49. make 1000 paper cranes and and learn 5 other origami shapes

50. learn a great joke and a great go-to toast for a couple of occasions

51. take a dance class (9/5/09-11/15/09)

52. come up with a go-to signature alcoholic beverage order

Social Butterfly:

53. host a dinner at least every 2 months (1/16)

54. host a mystery dinner party

55. host a theme party (costumes, roller skating, etc.)

56. create a list of family and friends I want to nurture relationships with

57. communicate at least once a week with someone on that list

58. learn 100 new facts about those on the list

59. join postcrossing and send/receive at least 10 postcards

60. accompany 5 friends/family for one of their favorite hobbies that I haven't done

Food, food and more food:

61. try 15 foods that I have never tried before (4/15)

62. try 15 foods that I think that I don't like (2/15)

63. bring my lunch to work at least 3 days per week (0/143)

64. eat at 20 new restaurants (no chains) (8/20)

65. try at least 5 new recipes each month (0/33)

66. take a cooking class

67. have 15-20 great go-to recipes in each category (apps, main, veg main, sides, desserts)

68. join the organic/locally grown food coop (04/14/2009)

69. eat breakfast at least 5 times per week (0/143)

For my sanity:

70. find balance - work/home/other interests

71. write letters to myself to open on future milestone birthdays & end of challenge

72. start each day for 1 month with 15 minutes of quiet time/meditation (0/31)

73. make a list of 25 things I like about myself (1/2010)

74. make a list of 25 things that make me happy (12/2009)

75. make a list of the cool things that would be on this list if I hadn't already done them (4/15/09)

76. don't complain about anything for an entire month (0/31)

77. don't make a sarcastic or rude comment for one week (0/7)

It's all about the Benjamins:

78. get out of debt/stay out of debt

79. grow emergency fund to $10,000 and keep it there - start rainy day fund after that

80. write will/get papers in order

81. go 40 days without buying any material thing for myself that I don't need

82. create budget and stick to it - plus really track where all money goes for a few weeks

Creativity is cool:

83. scrapbooks - get current and stay current

84. scrapbook - finish T's birthday gift

85. scan family photos and create DVD

86. begin family trees and geneology project (recruit family members to help)

87. take a photography class (done! 4/24/10)

88. get a new camera and use it

89. take an art class - painting or ceramics

Free my Chi:

90. clear clutter, free up energy

91. re-establish household routines (daily, weekly, monthly)

92. pick up after myself - never let things get out of hand

93. photos and other docs into offline backup (11/2/09)

94. throw out socks and undies I would be embarrassed about wearing if I got hit by a bus

95. work on focusing on the task at hand instead of succumbing to my total ADD

96. closet clean out/wardrobe update - if it doesn't fit or look fabulous, out it goes!

Rules, there must be rules:

97. create a blog for this pursuit and post updates as tasks are completed

98. take a picture to celebrate each goal's completion

99. put $10 in savings for each task completed and buy something special with it

100. for every task not completed donate $20 to charity

101. have a party to celebrate the completion of my 1001 days

Some of these tasks may sound a little vague, but rest assured that I have specifics for each of them. I will use this blog to hold myself accountable. Stay tuned!

Life List Goals (in no particular order)

Visit all 50 states (28 so far)

Visit 75 countries (8 so far)

Make a quilt

Fly a plane

Write a book

Ballroom dancing

Parasail

Climb a mountain

Become a beekeeper

Get a donkey

Go rock climbing

Learn to surf

Learn to sail

Become a black belt

Be able to hold my own at gambling

Create a foundation/charity and GIVE, GIVE, GIVE

Learn sign language

Be conversational in three new languages

Take a road trip with no pre-determined destination

Take a class every year (or 2 at most) - can be something new or learning more

Some ideas for classes: art history, world literature, wine, web design

Take up piano again

Write down as many of my childhood memories as I can remember

Help others do the same

Be known as a fabulous cook, photographer, friend, relative and lover