I wrote about 5 things I wanted to do in December and, what do you know, I did those five things. So, as I have seen Gretchen Rubin and others do, I am sharing a list of 24 things I'd like to do in 2024. I hope I do them. What's more, I hope reading this list inspires the 0-3 readers of this blog to make their own list for the year to come. What I'm about to share isn't a list of lofty, hard core resolutions. Some are a bit idealistic, others are just fun, still others involve places I've meant to go, try, experience. May this year be the year that I get out there.
1. Take an online painting class. I take wonderful in person art classes at Michael Symber Studios in Elmhurst, IL and I plan to continue with those! However, I follow and have grown fond of quite a few artists on Instagram. Several offer online painting courses, and I'd like to give one a try. One front-runner is this watercolor house portrait class by Elizabeth Wade.
2. Walk the Steps at Swallow Cliff. I heard about these when my son was preparing to go on a scout high adventure trip at Rocky Mountain National Park. Some scouts walk these steps with their packs on for practice. My son never did, but I have been meaning to visit the Steps at Swallow Cliff for over five years now.
3. Start and finish travel prints for empty family room wall. This is a project that I'll be taking on at Michael Symber Studios this winter.
4. Do something with my @mileawhile photos. I have an Instagram for tracking my walks and each walk includes a photo taken along the way. I'd like to something with these photos. I'm picturing a big collage poster that I can display in the basement. Message me if you've made a collage from Instagram photos.
5. Take my family to a Brazilian steakhouse. I mostly just want to watch my boys react to endless offerings of animal protein.
6. Take a walk at Lake Ellyn. Twenty minutes away, and I've never seen this lake. Actually, had never even heard of it until a dogsitter told me how much my dog enjoyed walking there. My dog is not an enthusiastic walker so I gotta check this place out.
7. Make the Greek Yogurt pizza dough... using the skinny pizza dough recipe from @mybizzykitchen. I won't tell you how many large containers of plain nonfat Greek yogurt I have purchased for this purpose and failed to follow through upon.
8. Make the Greek Yogurt jello thing. I'm not even going to link it because it probably sounds so gross, but I need to try it.
9. Develop the habit of bringing reusable grocery bags to the store. I would love to stop dealing with flimsy plastic bags. The space, the guilt, the annoyance.
10. Learn five Lana Del Ray songs. I don't mean like learn to play them on the guitar or piano or prepare for karaoke or anything. I just mean, listen to these songs until I learn the words and have a sense of what they mean. LDR is my oldest's favorite artist, and he has chosen the five songs for me.
11. Eat at Riley's. It's a bar/restaurant in my town. I've been there once late night for a drink, but I'd like to eat there, finally, after a dozen years of living in Elmhurst, IL.
12. Meet my Peloton minutes goal. I'm not going to say what it is, but I will say that it is more than double what I achieved this year on the Peloton platform. I do track my outdoor walks through Peloton, lest you think I am a cycling fool.
13. Unsubscribe to 20 emails. I've already unsubscribed to 45, NTB, but I will keep going.
14. Visit the golf simulator five times. Every winter I fear that I will totally forget how to play golf (do I even know how to play golf?). Anyway, it does help me to pick up a club a few times between October and April.
15. See three movies in the theater. I love movies and buttered popcorn and giant Diet Cokes and reclining seats and being somewhere where I am not distracted by things I could/should do (fold laundry, empty dishwasher, stare mindlessly at phone).
16. Clean out "playroom." I attacked this sloped-ceiling secret room during quarantine and, guess what, it is full of everyone's sh$t again.
17. Try five new recipes. I mean dinner recipes. Send me any ideas but keep in mind I have one child who does not eat sandwiches, one who won't touch pasta, and one who hates salmon.
18. Make Marcie's cookies. My friend Marcie made some delicious peanut butter m & m chocolate chip cookies, and I am still thinking about them.
19. Make a new variety of puppy chow. I love the puppy chow I always make (and gift), but I'd like to expand my repertoire.
20. Complete the cardinal paint-by-number. I'm obsessed with cardinals. They're all over my house. I have a cardinal paint-by-number kit. Have had it for years, in fact. I'm going to paint it this year if all the paints in the kit aren't crusty and dried out.
21. Visit the Art Institute of Chicago. I have not been there since my freshman year of college. What?! I took a screenshot of the "free days" as motivation, but it wouldn't kill me to pay either. I'd love to get one of my kids to go with me, but it may be a tough sell.
22. Visit the National Museum and Shrine of St. Therese in Darien. There is daily mass there at 11:30 am. I can easily fit this into a weekday.
23. Develop a greens habit. I am talking about the green powder you mix with water that is supposed to help your gut, etc. I have already dabbled here this month and ended up with some bloating and distress. Yikes. Plus, the brand of greens I bought tastes HORRIBLE. However, I am going to circle back on this soon and start with fewer ounces.
24. Track added sugar. I am figuring out what this looks like for me. I need some controls/accountability in place so I don't go on a sugar bender (as I just did in December), but I know from experience that if I try to cut out sugar, the feelings of deprivation don't lead to good choices or results. Feeling my way here.
I also have a one-sentence guiding thought that I am working with for the year, but I'm going to keep that to myself for now. If you've made a 24 for 24 list or chosen a word for the year or made a resolution or two, I'd love to hear all about it and to cheer you on. If you're interested in getting in on any of my 24 for 24, let me know and I'll loop you in!
I am hoping to share my progress here for my 0-3 readers.
No comments:
Post a Comment