A list of things I want to achieve in 2010 in order to improve myself (woo-hoo):

• ✔ Stick with the vegetarianism.
• DE-CLUTTER my physical life.
  • ✔ Set a week aside this late winter/early spring to plan and start a major overhaul of all of this junk I have.
• Focus on these items to study/read about in my spare time.
• Practice yoga regularly again.
• Cut down on sugar and soda.
• Separate recyclable items/come up with recycling system for the kitchen.

• Bath Country, Virginia
• Hot Springs, Virginia
• Crabtree Falls
• James River Park - Pony Pasture
• LotR-RotK in September @ Wolftrap
• Perils of the Lost Jungle Mini Golf
• Torpedo Factory Art Center
• Alexandria Archaeology Museum
• Leesburg Animal Park
• Poplar Forest
• Comfort & Joy Wellness Spa
• myfitnesspal.com

Dessert

• poached pears in saffron citrus syrup
• ✔ vanilla bean cheesecake
  • Made this in January or February. It wasn't that great.
• red velvet cupcakes
• raspberry fudge brownies
• carrot cake
• ✔ blueberry sauce
  • Made this with the vanilla bean cheesecake. Not good. Too much orange juice.

Meals

• cabbage rolls
• cabbage & noodles
• alfredo
• spinach casserole

I'll finish this list later...

• Sweetwater Tavern
  • I've actually been here once already, but I want to go back and try their jambalaya.
• ✔ Ben's Chili Bowl, in DC
  • Pretty good, but in a bad, bad way that makes my arteries want to shrivel up.
• Shawarma King, in DC
• ✔ Sticky Fingers Bakery
  • Went once, about two years ago. So good! Must go back again.
  • Just realized that I've had this place listed as 'stinky fingers' for a while. D: Whoooops!
• The Hard Times Cafe
• ✔ this soul food/comfort food restaurant in Alexandria...can't remember the name

• ✔ Psychology in Everyday Life: The Psych Files
• SRR Psychology Interviews
• LSAT Logic in Everyday Life
• Big Ideas
• The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
• NPR: Science Friday
• Norman Centuries
• ✔ The Moth Podcast
• The Classic Tales
• KQED: The Writers' Block Podcast

• foods I can't live without
• ✔ stuff I can justify buying in bulk @ Costco
• television characters I love
• ✔ de-cluttering/organizing I need to do
• favorite characters from books
• careers I wish I could have/try/do/whatever
• foods that need to be a staple in my life

• The Long Valley John Steinbeck
• Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
• The Brothers Karamazov Dostoyevsky
• The Hero with a Thousand Faces Joseph Campbell
• Love in the Time of Cholera Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Ulysses James Joyce
• The God Delusion Richard Dawkins
• God and Religion Bertrand Russel
• Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand
• The Prophet Khalil Gibran
• My Ishmael Daniel Quinn
• The Story of B Daniel Quinn
• God is Not Great Christopher Hitchens
• Thief of Time Terry Pratchett
• The Fifth Elephant Terry Pratchett
• Leaves of Grass Walt Whitman
• The Portable Steinbeck Steinbeck (edited by Pascal Covici)
• Julius Caesar Shakespeare
• The Way of All Flesh Samuel Butler
• The Histories Herodotus
• In Search of Lost Time Proust

• Slate.com
• CNN
• The Drudge Report
• I Can Has Cheezburger?!
• Craftster
• Allrecipes.com
• Fail Blog
• Passive Aggressive Notes
• The Smoking Gun
• 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet
• Wikipedia
• Etsy
• Amazon
• Facebook
• LiveMocha
• Postcards from Yo Momma
• Weather.com
• PostSecret

• Pre-school: ?
  • Can't remember the name of it. All I remember is that I LOVED it.
• Kindergarten: ?
  • Can't remember the name of this one, either. My teacher was named Ms. Grub. She wore a wig. She had a big mole on her face.
• Elementary School: Our Lady of Loretto, grades 1-3
  • Private Catholic school. Lovely uniforms (no joke, I loved them). Was chosen one year to crown Mary in the spring. Was every teacher's dream kid.
• Elementary School/Junior High: American Community School (ACS) of Abu Dhabi, grades 3-7

• 24-years-old.
  • :(
• A student. Forever and always, it seems.
• a libertarian.
• an atheist.
• incredibly stubborn.
• currently addicted to Listography.
• quite the procrastinator.
• unemployed and looking for a job, along with every other adult in the US.
• a middle child.
• a Halloween baby.
• a little pessimistic about life in general.
• prone to bouts of severe sarcasm.
• supposed to be a writer, but am unable to write!
• caring.
• frugal about some things, wasteful about ...

A list of people, dead or alive, I would invite to the ultimate dinner party so that I could pick their brains:

• John Steinbeck
• Abigail Adams
• Vladimir Lenin
• Ayn Rand
• William Faulkner
• Terry Pratchett
• Bob Dylan
• W.E.B. DuBois
• FDR
• Alfred Hitchcock
• Daniel Day Lewis
• Jon Krakauer
• Janis Joplin
• Eartha Kitt
• Andrea Gibson
• Benazir Bhutto
• Annie Dillard
• Ray Bradbury

• Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
• Narnia
• Gotham City
• Heaven
• Hell
• Middle-earth
• the parallel universe from the His Dark Materials trilogy
• Oz/Emerald City
• Discworld

• Female
  • Anita (Annie)
  • Genevieve
  • Matilda
  • Elisabeth (Beth or Betsy)
  • Josephine (Jo)
  • Bronwyn
  • Helen
  • Sophie
  • Isabel
  • Lyra
  • Eowyn
• Male
  • Henry
  • Lawrence (Laurie)
  • Theodore (Teddy)
  • William
  • Thomas
  • Liam

• knitting
• crocheting
• reading
• hiking
• dreaming about fishing
• writing (fiction, journal-ing, rants, lists, etc.)
• being outdoors as much as possible

• Dinosaur Land
• tubing on Potomac
• kayaking
• the beach
• Assateague Island
• camping in late spring or early autumn
• ✔ go to Wisconsin

Like last year, I pledge to WORK on these goals. But I won't beat mysef up or think less of myself if I'm not 100% successful.

• read 50 books
• lose 50 pounds
• reorganize my apartment
• call/email parents more often, so that I never get those annoying 'are you ok', 'are you still alive' emails from Dad
  • (Seriously, if he's that worried about me, he'd pick up the phone and call more often. /rant)
• go kayaking
• not be such a doormat/stand up for myself more often
• watch less television
• journal regularly
• take more photographs of get-togethers and such with friends

LOVE

• ruffle bibs (as long as they aren't obnoxious, as in, they'd look good on a pirate)
• leggings
• flats
• slouchy boots
• ankle boots
• chunky jewelry
• silver jewelry
• scarves (cotton, knit, etc.)
• cardigans
• flower appliques
• subtle, pink-ish makeup with clear or pink-tinted lip gloss
• banded hem
• flocked cocktail dresses
• sequins
• shirt-dresses
• plaid
• flannel

• goal one - haircut
  • REACHED!! Now for the haircut! :D
• goal two - new pair of shoes
• goal three - manicure
• goal four - pedicure
• goal five - season 1 of True Blood on DVD
• goal six - season 1 of some other show on DVD
• goal seven - hot rollers or a new purse
• goal eight - a beta fish or some sort of home decor
• goal nine - a new, nice outfit
• goal ten - a puppy

• Arts
  • Mosaics 1
  • Viking Wire Knitting
  • Sewing: A Sewing Machine Primer
  • Sewing--Beginning
  • Beginning Embroidery
  • Digital SLR Camera photography class
  • Outdoor Photography: The Natural World
• Business
  • Financial Planning: Personal
  • Investing: Getting Started
• Creative and Personal Interest (in Communications)
  • Creative Nonfiction I
• Culinary Arts
  • Cake Decorating
  • The Icing on the Cake

• I can be very lazy.
• (related above) I procrastinate.
• I'm hyper-critical of the people closest to me.
• I'm a jealous person. I try to hide it, though, and I don't think even my closest friends would accuse me of it. But I definitely am.
• I can be a bit too sensitive.
• I'm too argumentative, particularly when it comes to politics.
• I'm stubborn.
• I bottle things up inside.
• I have a hard time opening up to people about my feelings.
• I am clueless about what I want to do with my life.
• I'm a pretty irritable person.
• I'm easy to annoy.
• I have too many pet peeves.
• I'm overweight.

• Appetizers/Snacks
  • Maryland pumpkin seeds
  • jalapeno popper spread
  • hot banana salsa
  • baked brie appetizer
    • I thought it was disgusting, but I made it on Thanksgiving and my friends liked it.
  • Pumpkin bread
    • Really good, if you like sweet breads. I'd use more pumpkin next time.
• Main Dish
  • Schweinebraten Pork Roast
  • Crawford Polish bake
    • VERY good! Definitely a keeper. Comfort food.

• Blue Lake International Symphony band, Summer 2002
• Graduation '04 at the Giza plateau, in front of the Sphinx.
• Moving to Egypt at the beginning of my junior year.
• Driving alone for the first time, to pick up Christine in Allenton for a basketball game. We were both scared shitless, lol.
• Marching band, winning all 1's in competition my freshman year. Kick-ass.
• Camping trips with my friends in Egypt my senior year.
• Vietnam, February 2004 with Colleen, Dana, and 16 other students.
• The Hague International Model United Nations conference, February 2003. Got to visit the tribunal for Milosevic, as well as the red district of Amsterdam, and other cool things.

Some of these might be strange. Some of them are probably more normal than I realize.

• I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate the smell of plain cream cheese. It makes me terribly nauseous.
• I really want to learn how to play the hurdy gurdy.
• I love eating canned peas right out of the can, with a little salt, after draining them. Yum!
• I like to sprinkle a little pepper on my popcorn.
• I have absolutely no desire to ever go to Disneyland or Disneyworld. According to one of my best friends, this is very strange.
• I have an exceptionally difficult time opening up to people about really important, private things. This has caused a lot of extra problems in my life.

• ✔ 9
  • I'm so excited about this movie!
    • It was good. Not fantastic, plot-wise. The animation, though, was amazing. Good enough for me to buy on DVD.
• ✔ Angels & Demons
  • Very entertaining! Will definitely purchase on DVD.
• G.I. Joe
• ✔ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  • I'm still bitter that they put off the release date. I can't wait to see this. The trailers are AMAZING.
    • Worth the wait, although I remain bitter...
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine

• ...do hard drugs (and probably ANY type of illegal drugs at all, though I've always kind of wanted to try pot, just once...).
• ...have biological children.
• ...visit Israel.
• ...drive while intoxicated.
• ...completely understand children.
• ...get over certain regrets I have about my life.
• ...give up my stubborn streak.
• ...despise myself again.
• ...drink Goldschlager (or any type of cinnamon-flavored liquor) ever again.
• ...forsake my yankee/northern ties.
• ...vote for a Democrat or Republican presidential candidate again.
• ...take back what I've said about Johnny Cash or Elvis. Ugh.
• ...really learn how to gracefully admit when I'm wrong.

• Cave diving
• Fly airplanes
• Enjoy running
• Climb Mt. Everest
• Become an astronaut
• Write a bestselling novel
• Dance
• Sing
• Smoke weed
• Work at an archaeological site
• Talk to my paternal grandfather one more time
• Give my parents a hug
• Lighten up
• Wear makeup without looking like a clown
• Drink absinthe
• Run a mile in under 9 minutes
• Wear heels

• Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Eddie Vedder
• Led Zeppelin
• The Who
• Bob Dylan
• The Young Dubliners
• Joni Mitchell
• The Eagles
• The Rolling Stones
• Bruce Springsteen
• The Doors
• Cream

• desserts
  • sweet potato pie
  • tiramisu layer cake
  • meringue
  • pumpkin butterscotch muffins
  • pumpkin roll
• main dishes
  • vegetarian lasagna
  • potato & pumpkin pie
  • borscht
  • vegetarian chili
  • barley bake

• American Indian history, particularly pre-colonial
  • 1491
  • Cahokia!
• theoretical physics
  • Michio Kaku x 2
• Buddhism
• Holy Roman Empire
• art history
• US history
• dinosaurs
  • How to Build a Dinosaur
• nautical archaeology
• South American archaeology
  • 1491
• evolutionary biology

• sewing pillows w/ sewing machine?
• watercolor stencil portraits
• crochet slippers
• star blanket
• star pillows
• recover my desk chair
• jewelry board
• a zine?
• paper bird cages

the good

• dating
• CrisisLink
• Adrian
• seeing Joe & his family
• going to Minnesota and Wisconsin
• the new house in Elk Mound
• new flatmate
• reconnecting with a couple of friends
• losing a little weight
• having that 2-hour meeting with the head of my department
• eating healthier (for the most part...I'm making progress)
• seeing The Capitol Steps
• the wedding!
• finally learning how to crochet granny squares
• cooking more often
• new books and tv series

• orange juice
• organic whole milk
• carrots
• fish (at least one serving a week)
• broccoli
• beets
• lettuce
• onions
• pumpkin puree
• ground turkey
• bell peppers
• apples
• bananas
• garlic cloves
• mushrooms
• frozen blueberries
• Kashi or Fiber One bars
• raw almonds
• oatmeal
• cinnamon
• honey

• living room bookcases
• dining table drawers
• bathroom sink cabinet
• bedroom closet
• hallway closet
• kitchen drawers
• refrigerator
• nightstand
• clothing!
• arts & crafts stuff
• kitchen cabinets

• I'm very aware of many of my faults (but probably not all of them).
  • And being *aware* of them only means so much...
• I'm not apathetic about politics, society, etc.
• I'm very opinionated (this could also be listed as a fault, since I am often too opinionated).
• I'm a pretty decent writer.
• I'm well-read.
• I'm fairly intelligent.
• I'm a very curious individual.
• I consider myself very giving.
• I love, love, love my volunteer job!
• I'm enthusiastic about the things I love, lol.
• I have nice eyes.
• For someone my weight, I have pretty nice legs.

• Finish Adrian's granny square afghan
• ✔ start an afghan for myself
• do something with the kitchen walls so there's more color!
• carve/paint pumpkins
• ✔ little felt magnets and/or pins
  • Well, they're not felt, but whatever.
• an autumn wreath for the front door?
• a Christmas wreath (knitting/crochet themed)

Taste:

• milk chocolate
• fruit salsa
• Chengdu spiced lamb from P.F. Chang's
• ice cold water w/ sliced cucumber and a little fresh mint in it
• Popsecret's Homestyle popcorn with a little bit of pepper
• Fuji apples
• Diet Coke
• cinnamon
• tea
• caramel
• pistachios
• freshly picked red raspberries with a tiny bit of sugar sprinkled on top
• pumpkin turkey chili
• garlic
• butter pecan syrup
• salty ocean air
• the sweet rot in the air from fallen autu...

I will not hate myself if I don't complete most of these goals. But none of them are unreasonable. All of them are doable. A couple of them are absolutely essential. No, absolutely necessary if I appreciate and respect whatever tiny shreds of sanity I have left.

• ✔ Watch more classic/top movies (see IMDB list for reference).
• Read fifty books.
• Journal more often.
• ✔ Love/appreciate myself a little more.
• Read the complete works of William Shakespeare. (Can be included in the fifty books challenge.)
• ✔ Keep more in touch with my family.
• Crochet baby blankets for Adrian, Jackson and Sophie.
• ✔ Go fishing and be outdoors as much as possible. No matter what.
• Find gainful employment.

• spiders
• babies
• house centipedes
• driving next to semis and large trucks or vans
• raw chicken
• disappointing people
• losing a family member or close friend
• the real world
• sweaty, muscle-y steroid bums in the gym
• the economy
• my family never being all together in one spot again
• never finishing a piece of writing for my dad
• feet
• smelly dogs
• the police
• Big Brother
• fundamentalists
• large crowds at amusement parks

• popcorn
• rainy spring days
• summer thunderstorms - really dramatic thunder & lightening
• overcast, lonesome autumn afternoons
• first winter snowfalls
• kittens
• the smell of wet cement after a rainstorm
• the smell of cedar trees
• Shenandoah
• dawn
• dusk
• fireflies
• spontaneous mini-roadtrips
• new books
• the smell of coffee on airplanes
• flying business class when I can spare the miles
• swimming
• camping

• Catch-22 Joseph Heller
• East of Eden John Steinbeck
• One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Into Thin Air Jon Krakauer
• Harry Potter I-VII JK Rowling
• John Adams David McCullough
• His Dark Materials trilogy Philip Pullman
• 1984 George Orwell
• Cannery Row John Steinbeck
• Into the Wild Jon Krakauer
• Sophie's World Jostein Gaarder
• Ishmael Daniel Quinn
• Candide Voltaire