I’m not normally one for resolutions. I figure, why set myself up to fail. But, there are some things I want to work on in 2012, so I thought I’d come up with a 12 things for 2012 list. I’m thinking of them as things I want to do, not things I have to do.
Spend less money on books. I know myself…instituting a book buying ban would result in me running out to the bookstore on the 2nd of January and buying everything in sight. So I’m just going to work on curbing those spending habits. I have plenty of books in the house that need to be read. And I used to send books to Powells for store credit…I want to get back in that habit. And then there’s the library. As much as I don’t care for our county system, they really do have lots of books. I need to start checking them out.
Spend more time at indies. This might seem to contradict spend less money on books, but there’s a method to my madness. We have very few indies around here, so spending more time at indies forces me to explore or take mini road trips. In other words, it’s not something I’ll be doing every weekend, and it might force me to plot out my purchases and curb some of that impulse book buying. It’s also a good way to meet up with friends.
Stop going to Starbucks. I’ve done this before. Successfully, I might add. Until I started slipping this past year. And then after HB crashed his motorcycle, lattes turned into a major comfort food (or is that drink?). And even though I go the decaf, non-fat, sugar-free option, I still don’t need to be drinking them. I mean, really…fake coffee, fake milk, fake sugar. Why bother?
Start my own book club. I’ve flaked on the club I joined in late 2010. While they’re a fun group of women, we rarely talk books. And there’s generally only a handful of people who have read the book. And, someone keeps making the executive decision to change the book we’re going to read. The most recent list for 2012 is made up almost entirely of books I’ve read…that’s no fun (for me). So I’ve recruited my friend Rochelle, and we’re going to try to start our own group, on a smaller, more devoted scale.
Take a trip (outside of California) by myself. I’ve done this before, too. I’ve been to Seattle, and Portland, and Savannah, all by myself, and I loved those trips. I’ve spent way too much time with other people this past year, and while I really, really love those people, I really, really miss being able to do my own thing. So I’m thinking maybe Washington, D.C. Or maybe someplace else. Planning is half of the fun!
Explore photography. This might be tricky, as I’ve only found one option for a photography class, through the community college. The class meets on a weeknight, and I’m not very good with weeknight activities. So I might need to reconsider and find another avenue to learn more about cameras and pictures.
Take a class just for kicks. This is separate from the photography class that may or may not happen. The Adult School has a few weekend options (the bread baking class sounds fun).
Get back into the yoga habit. Even if it’s just once a week. Once a week is better than nonce a week.
Bay to Breakers. This is a yearly run (I’d be doing the walk option) held in San Francisco. I’ve tossed around the idea with friends of making it a girls’ weekend in San Francisco. If this doesn’t pan out, I’ll do the Rock to Pier walk that I did in 2011. They’re both about 7 miles in length…totally doable, but also a reason to get back into my daily walking routine.
Museum trip. This usually involves a trip to San Francisco or LA. My mom and I have done the Tut exhibit, the Getty Museum, and the Getty Villa. And last year I went to the Huntington Library (note: totally worth a second visit). The Terracotta Warriors are in LA for a few months…I should consider that, too.
The Shelf of Doom. I created the Shelf of Doom for the TBR Pile Challenge, but I love the name so much that I don’t want it to go away. So as I read a book from the shelf, I’ll replace it with another book that’s been in the house for over a year. Hopefully, this will keep me moving on reading more of the books I already own.
A sentence a day. I’ve already started doing this, but I want it to become a habit. I bought a beautiful paper planner for 2012 (because I do calendars much better on paper), and at the end of each day I’m writing one sentence. It tends to be a long sentence, and I’m playing fast and loose with sentence structure, but it’s my way of summing up the day or putting to paper something I especially want to remember.
Revisit this list regularly. Okay, so this is #13, but it needs to be in here. I will revisit this list frequently and reserve the right to add or change things as I go along.
