New Year's Resolutions & Wishes

With my favorite Top Chef, Richard Blais in Tampa Bay.
 I'm going to trade in the fine dining and valet parking scene for
more of the kitchen and grocery store parking lot scene in 2011.
For those who know me well, stop laughing and support me!!

Resolutions (things I can control)

1.       Eat out less & learn to cook. I will post my creations on the blog. And no, it won't be anything lame like spaghetti or mac 'n cheese. 

2.       Read and write more

3.       Apologize less. We say sorry for things we don't mean all the time. I think overusing that word devalues its meaning. I'm going to say, "Excuse me," next time I accidentally bump into someone. I am sure not remorseful for the bump, so why say, "I'm sorry?" 

4.       Procrastinate less.

5.       Spend more time with family.

6.       Be ready for swimsuit season when it arrives. I have inadvertently entered into a contest with a new acquaintance for who can get visible abs the quickest this year. I plan on coming out on top. 

7.       Be more assertive. 

8.       Be less inhibited. 

9.       Be more calm, cool and collected.

10.   Be more organized (in thought and in action).

Wishes (things I can’t control)

1.       Experience what Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and City refers to as “Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can’t-live-without-each-other-love.”

2.       Get kissed in the rain.

3.       Find a four leaf clover.

4.       Be moved to tears in public. For those that know me, I'm a fairly stoic person on the surface. There is definitely a reservoir of emotions underneath it all, but I find it difficult to freely express. 

5.       Meet people who are as straightforward as I am. I'm all about efficiency. Let's just tell each other what we really want and save that valuable time we would have wasted beating around the bush. 

6.       Experience a random act of kindness. 

7.       Find a beautiful vintage book.

8.       Get complimented on having good form (weight lifting or running).

9.       Have someone make me blush intensely.

10. Come out winning in a fight if I were to be in one.  

Adventures in 2011

I'll spin your head right round, right round when
I write my bucket list down, down

As I was waiting for my vehicle to be serviced, I killed some time at a local bar with a Ketle One dirty martini. It was either the martini at 11:30AM on a Wednesday or the fact that it was close to the end of the year that inspired me to write my 2011 Bucket List (and no, I don't plan on dying in 2011).

My Top Ten (in no particular order) & Why:

1. Run a half marathon under 2 hours 

I want to run a full marathon before I turn 30, this will be a good start. I like challenges that engage both the body and the mind and I want to see if I can do better than my first attempt at a half marathon 5 years ago. 

2. Get visible abs

I want to have a photo of myself looking ridiculously jaw dropping in a skimpy bathing suit. So when I am wrinkly and saggy, I can say to myself, "You lived your life to the fullest and pushed your body to be the best it can be." Here's to living without regrets. 

3. Send a gorgeous man a drink from across the bar

This is purely an exercise of building confidence (I do plan on lookin' smokin' to for this). I have never sent a man a drink or used a pick up line before because (a) I have never had to- I'm usually on the receiving end of such & (b) If I wanted to, I never had the guts to do it. I have no intentions of picking up anyone, I just want to do it, just to do it. My worst nightmare would be if I sent the drink and the man's wife/girlfriend/boo returns from the bathroom and gets really jealous. To that imaginary woman, you should feel honored that you are with a man hot enough to be worthy of me sending him a drink, so chill out!! 

4. Sky dive

I am afraid of heights. I just want to do one tandem dive to get it out of my system. Besides, I hear the adrenaline rush is quite the experience. The only way #4 would not happen is if my loving parents get overwhelmingly worried and I respect their concerns. No need of putting mom through all that stress (I might just do it without telling them first). 

5. Travel to a new continent

There are 3 continents I haven't been to: Africa, South America & Antarctica. It's my life dream to travel to all 7. It will most likely be Africa - I hear the pyramids in Egypt calling my name. 

6. Do a pull up

After I admitted I couldn't do one, a friend asked me, "What happens if you fall off a balcony?" To which I replied, "Well, I guess I would die!" So, I'm going to master the pull up so I can prevent myself from hypothetically going, "SPLAT!"

7. Learn how to pole dance

This is kind of #2 & 3. Building confidence and working on getting visible abs simultaneously. I don't plan on showcasing any moves, I just want a fun workout that makes me feel like I can conquer the world in 5 inch heels. 

8. Finance the construction of a water well in a third world country via Charity:Water

I don't make a ton of money, but I make enough to live very comfortably. I also make enough to splurge and waste money very comfortably as well. I feel I have been selfish with what I have and want to give back. Charity:Water is a great organization - check it out and contact me if you want to help. 

9. Increase my business growth 

In order to be a well rounded individual, I believe one must have personal as well as professional goals. I just started being a manager about 10 months ago at the age of 24. There is still so much to learn and so much I can improve on. I want to do far better than I have done this year and develop myself professionally. 

10. Engage in volunteer work

I wondered where all my time went and this past fall, I started a calendar to track what I actually did when I'm not working, working out or doing those necessary daily things (sleeping, eating, paying bills). Most of my time was devoted to a highly active social life - going out with friends, going on dates and traveling. I want to have my cake and eat it too. I want to still flutter my social butterfly wings, but I want to prioritize things and fit some monthly volunteer work in as well. Quality over quantity, I suppose. 

I will post updates when each item gets crossed off - hopefully with great photos too!!

Side notes:

Here's a terrible pickup line inspired by the bucket list, "If you think sending you a drink is sexy, wait 'til you see what I can do with a pole." I think I would start laughing hysterically before I can even finish saying it.

My Short Term Bucket List

I believe that you are more likely to accomplish goals when you write them down. Your goals can be as realistic or as fantastic as you want them to be, but writing them down is always the first step to making them come true. After I turned 25, I updated my "bucket list" because there were things I have already accomplished and I have found new interests worthy of pursuit!

Here are things from the list I made as a 19 year old that I have been able to cross off:  

1. See Rome and eat a slice of pizza by the Pantheon (and eat gelato by the Trevi Fountain too)

2. See an opera at the Sydney Opera House

3. Snorkel in the Great Barrier Reefs

4. Backpack through New Zealand and take a boat down Milford Sound

5. Swim with the dolphins 

Here are some things on my list I hope to get crossed off by time I turn 30:

1. Cruise down the Nile River and ride a camel across the desert

2. Run a marathon

3. Get kissed passionately under the Eiffel Tower (or on a gondola in Venice)

4. Sleep in an Irish Castle

5. Travel to all 7 continents (yes, Antarctica too)

I never thought I would do anything of the things on my list when I wrote them down as dreamy-eyed teenage girl...it was more just fantasizing. I didn't have that much money as a student, but I found ways to fund all those bucket list items without having to take out loans/borrow money. It just takes dedication, planning and imagination!

What things are on your to do lists? What are your wildest dreams? What's stopping you?

By the way, if you know of any amazing eligible bachelors out there that can help me cross off #3, don't hesitate to let me know!!