I don't often write To Do Lists, but when I do, they tend to be ridiculous like the above image. I wrote that the day before I moved out of my studio apartment in Seymour, and yes, I still have it sitting on my desk. My knee surgery was a mere three days away and a lot of confusing things were going on in my life. That list is classic, sarcastic Audra. I keep it nearby to remind me that no matter how bad things may seem, I can get through it.
I've got a busy week ahead of me, with the opportunity to cross off another item from my 11 New Things List. I was so excited about that, I scrolled through my blog to copy and paste the list and do some some of that cool crossing out. That's when I realized, I never posted it. Here we are in June, the year half over, and I completely forgot to do it. I dug out my notebooks and found the list I had written back in November of last year. My inspiration for this list came from a photography blog I absolutely love, Melissa Jill. Melissa shares so much, her work is beautiful and I truly hope to some day be as successful as she is. She compiles a much more impressive list, her 101 in 1001. She lists 101 goals that she hopes to accomplish in 1001 days. Check out her post here.
I decided to start much more modestly. Since it was 2011, I figured why not try for 11 New Things. So here we go!
1. Start a blog.
- Success! I mean, you're reading this, so obviously it happened. But back when I wrote it, I never would've thought that I could start a blog and post on a regular basis. I hope that the people reading it find it entertaining, informative and inspirational. After one year of blogging under my belt, I plan to link it to my actual website.
- This has yet to happen. Photo Junction is a program a lot of photographers use to design albums. I'm generally good with programs, but I just haven't taken the time with this one. At all. Man, I need to stop being so lazy.
- I bought a high end digital point and shoot last year to not have an excuse for missing photos. I'd say I'm about 50/50 on this one. At the beginning of the year, I had the lofty aspiration to do a photo a day for the entire year. That fizzled out after a few weeks, but maybe it's something to shoot for for next year.
- Eeks, not doing so good with this one either. I've only read one book this year. I watch too much TV, I listen to a lot of music and I write, but reading hasn't been a high priority. Then again, I have half the year left, so maybe this isn't a total loss.
- Audra and money do not get along. I thought it was funny that I didn't use the word budget, as it sends shivers down my spine. I don't know why, it's just something I'm horrible at. I figured if I at least kept track of what I spent money on, I'd be taking one step closer at being responsible with my money. I have been doing this, but I don't look at it. That's my next step.
- Unexpectedly, this has happened. I went to see the Video Game Orchestra back in April. I took a day off from work and drove to Massachusetts. My last vacation where I left the state, and I'm not counting visits to see my family in New York, was Mario and Vanessa's wedding in Hawaii, I think almost 5 years ago. I'm really bad about taking time off from work. The first vacation I took after that Hawaii trip was the week I took off from work to recover from my knee surgery. I'm a wild one, I tell ya!
- I've never once in my life been able to do a pull up. I can do a flexed arm hang, but still no pull up. I've even written this on the goal board at the gym to try to light some fire under my butt, still, it hasn't happened yet. But it will!
- It's not what you think. The road to recovery was a long one, and my first physical therapist, Tom, coined this phrase. He saw me through the first month of my recovery, which was probably the hardest and most painful. I trusted him when he told me to do exercises that I thought I was not prepared for, like peddling a bike one week after surgery and jumping on a bosu ball four weeks after. Tom got a better job and left the practice I was using, and he joked that it was just one of the many break ups I'd experience along my journey. As I approach the two year mark of my surgery, I have one more visit with my orthopedic surgeon, to make sure everything is still attached and functioning properly. I feel great, so I know it will not be an issue. I'm really excited to not have to see Dr. Schacter ever again. (Hopefully)
- I love handmade things. I love being creative. There are so many blogs that I follow, which I will list in an upcoming post, that inspire me to do more. I want to make my own wrapping paper with cute rubber stamp designs. I want to learn how to sew. And knit. I want to come up with some fantastic room design for when I have my own house. I've got a long way to go on this.
- Again, there's a lot of time left in the year, so I'm not worried yet. Andrew is one of my best friends from high school who's a big time lawyer these days. Our schedules are both pretty hectic, but I'm determined to get down to DC and visit him.
- Sigh. This is a huge one for me. I write a lot, but it's what I like to call "Fun Writing". My brother's friends used to tease me about it in high school. I write stories, don't ask to see them because I never share, but I've always got a notebook and pen with me. I've got a thing for pens and paper, but that's another blog entry. I don't write in my journal any more. I haven't in almost three years. I have a beautiful, massive leather journal. I looked for weeks until I found one I loved as much as my last one. And it's been sitting, collecting dust for a long time. I remember when I stopped and those wounds haven't healed yet. I feel like I'm closer, but I still can't sit down and do it.
This list will pop up again, near the end of the year for a final run down on what was accomplished. Keep your fingers crossed for my FINAL knee check up this week, then I'm off to shoot Jeff and Sarah's wedding. I can't wait!
For the record, they teased because they were interested (and because they couldn't comprehend writing for fun). I thought it was really interesting that you wrote so much, but to this day I have no idea what is in all those notebooks.
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