Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Need to Get Crackin'!

So, I figured it was about time for an update. Below is the list of my goals I have yet to achieve and some of my comments on them. I have until next April 22. Oh man.

Travel
1. Go to the Grand Canyon and watch the sunrise.
28. Visit Washington, D.C. I may get to achieve this one soon - I have a sales guy who wants to make a trip out there, and take me with!
29. Hike Mt. Timpanogos at night and watch the sunrise from the top. We almost did this last year, then decided "Meh - we'll do it next year!"
33. Travel to at least one LDS church history site.
38. Visit my sister and brother-in-law in Rexburg once or twice a year [1/4].* One visit down, 3 to go. I have a new niece coming soon, so I'm sure I'll get up there again soon. :)
75. Stay at a bread and breakfast on the Oregon coast. We're planning on going to the Oregon coast this summer - maybe we'll stay at a B&B, but maybe I'll modify this goal. We might decide to stay in a house instead.

Staying Educated / Writing
2. Finish writing my book, and get it published. I keep setting dates to do this, but it hasn't happened yet. I'm in the editing phase now.
15. Write a short play.
16. Take the GMAT / apply for business school. I'm studying for the GMAT, but I need to buckle down and study harder. It's hard to be motivated.
18. Read one book a month. [8/32] Kristen and I have been reading a lot of books lately. Mainly because she gets them from the library.
89. Write a freelance article and get it published somewhere.
92. Re-memorize some of the poems I learned in 5th grade (Casey at the Bat, Sick, The Little Blue Engine, The Gettysburg Address, first page of Paul Revere's Ride).
94. Take another tap dance class / get back into tap. Hmm...maybe this summer.
96. Learn all the articles of and amendments to the Constitution (don't have to memorize word for word).
98. Read Les Misérables.

Physical Appearance and Health / Self Control
3. Lose about 4 inches from my waist, and add 1 inch to my arms. We're P90X-ing it, baby!
8. Whiten my teeth.
26. Highlight or dye my hair (for the first time) just for the heck of it.
27. Go one month without eating out (fast food or otherwise).
45. Get a physical.
51. Go on a 45-minute (at least) bike ride once a week. [0/143] This probably needs to change. This was to help me get healthy, but we're already exercising a lot.
53. Stop getting road rage. Doing better on this, but I haven't been driving much.
55. Have a week-long (or even month-long) facebook fast. Probably going to be week-long.
67. Attend a session at every Utah temple [6/13]* So far we've hit Provo, Mt. Timpanogos, Draper, Manti, Jordan River, and Salt Lake (just attended SL last week).
68. Go for two weeks without any type of food made with refined sugar.
78. Get a massage (hey - it's not just for girls).

The Home Life
17. Plant a small "garden" (at least with potted plants). Probably going to have to be potted, since we don't have a plant-able area anymore.
60. Make a shelf or display cabinet of some sort for my shot glass collection.
72. Get a fish as a pet.

Firsts
5. Learn how to ride a motorcycle.
11. Sell something on eBay.
35. Go skinnydipping. :)
66. Bake a cheesecake.
71. Learn to snowboard.
97. Make a brand new meal once a month. [18/32] We're doing great on this. We love mykitchencafe.blogspot.com, and use it a lot for new meals.

Dating / Being Social
9. Go horseback riding on a date.
42. Be in a dinner group (start one if there are none to join).
65. Surprise my wife with a random gift*
74. Buy a BBQ and use it for a small party.
86. Go on a couples date once a month. [5/22]* Just this last weekend, we went on a fun date with
Janae & Richard. We went to the Y Ball, a formal dance and dinner for married couples - it was lots of fun. Afterwards we went to their house for ice cream and chatting. We LOVE us some couples dates.

Financial
21. Pay off all debt...early. We only have the car, and we're planning on paying that down some with my end-of-year bonus. I paid off the other loan I had...early.
59. Save 35% of my take-home pay (put it in savings and don't touch it). We've been doing all right with this. I was doing great with it before we got married. :)

Service
20. Give blood every two months (I have O negative and CMV negative blood, which means I'm the universal donor, and that they can give my blood to babies). [8/16] Still letting them stab me on a regular basis.
31. Pay for a stranger's meal at a restaurant.
69. Buy a homeless person a meal (and eat with them).
83. Write my little brother (on a mission) as often as possible.* [9/??] Trying to do my best at this. I miss him.

Acting / Music
22. Audition for and act in a film.
37. Act in a play at the Hale and one at the Scera. [0/2] So far, no good.
41. Be able to immediately snap in and out of character when acting. I'm not bad at this now.
70. Record songs in a real recording studio.
82. Be the lead in a play again.
93. Write a song (this is getting pretty ambitious).

Family
25. Be at home for my littlest brother's / dad's birthdays for the first time since the year 2000.
49. Surprise my family with a random trip to see them. I'm going to count coming up there in April for my little brother's play. It's not really a surprise, but it's close enough. :)
99. Visit my little brother's grave. Maybe I'll get to do this when we're there in April.

Random Fun
34. Babysit a new baby. I just had a niece born, and I'm sure we'll get to babysit her soon!
56. Play outside in a thunderstorm, including - but not limited to - jumping in puddles.
62. Go to a concert. We're going to see Paramore / Relient K on May 8!
63. Go to a drive-in theater. Gotta find a theater first!
81. Buy a kite. Fly it.
90. Go to a water park.

Being Part of the Community
95. Read books to kids at the library.

Other
12. Organize and print off all my journals.
79. Buy a new computer.*
85. Write in my journal at least once a week for a year [0/52] I'm mostly caught up my journals, but I haven't really been consistent yet.
91. Get at least one custom-made, French-cuff shirt.
101. Adjust any of these goals if they are no longer applicable, and reward myself with a treat for every one accomplished. Haven't done any rewarding for my goals, but I've done some goal adjusting (as evidenced by the goals with asterisks).

* - adjusted goals since original list was made


Well, there we are. I still have 67 goals to complete. Sheesh! There are several that have to be done during the summer time, so I'll make a special list of those for this summer. The rest...well, I better get going!