31 for 31 – one month in

One month ago yesterday (my 31st birthday), I declared to all the world the 31 things I am going to do to make this the best year yet. We’re a month in, so lets see how I’m doing…

1. Do something I’ve always wanted to do, but haven’t for whatever reason – not yet… but I have some ideas in mind

2. Begin to learn a new language – I looked at my local community college course offerings & discovered they don’t offer Italian… looking for other options

3. Take a class to learn a new skill or hobby – considering knitting… I see people on the Metro doing it, it looks very therapeutic 

4. Do something that scares me – cooking this up for this summer

5. Figure out (& max out) my 401k – need to do that… I had to do our taxes, ok?

6. Ride my bike 50 miles – I rode 5 miles up to the farmers market & back?

7. Make lasagna & tomato sauce from scratch – soon

8. Learn how to make three (easy) signature dishes – does frozen pizza count?

9. Travel to NYC & never leave Brooklyn – soon!

10. Lose 15 lbs – I joined Weight Watchers on Monday

11. Camp, just for one night, in a tent. – wavering on this one

12. Complete another photo 365 project (keep an eye on Instagram – I’ll be using the #365for31 hash tag!) – in progress! I’ve not missed on day yet. You can see the full set on my Flickr page.

13. Bring on one new client who signs a contract (this is a goal related to my “real world job” in PR) – no new clients, but I am officially leading a new account! It’s putting my organizational skills to the test, which is awesome.

14. Master Photoshop & Lightroom – thanks to my friends at Adobe, I have a shiny new box with a Lightroom CD in it sitting on my kitchen table! Can’t wait to learn.

15. Volunteer – at least quarterly – hoping to do one of the many clean ups around my city in the next month or so

16. Travel unplugged in a new city (inspired by this piece) – while we were in Lancaster, PA last weekend, we only navigated by paper map. Not quite what I had in mind, but SO freeing! Thinking a trip to Nashville might be on the horizon. 

17. Visit a place I love (other than NYC) – oh, Chicago!

18. Splurge on something for myself – bag? shoes? jewels? undecided… 

19. “Finish” one room in our house – does our front yard count? Because that’s looking awesome!

20. Read at least five pages of something (a book, a magazine) before going to bed – this is going horribly… 

21. Complete an entire NY Times crossword puzzle (my grandmother was a crossword queen!) – I’m building up to the Times by working on the ones in the freebie newspaper they had out at the Metro every morning.

22. Bake pumpkin bread & send it to friends & family “just because” – I think this is best saved for fall, no?

√ 23. Write when I’m feeling creative & don’t beat myself up when I’m not – yes! I’m absolutely doing this! It’s freeing.

24. Embrace & reform my relationship with my inlaws – working on it!

√ 25. Don’t force myself to do things I don’t enjoy (running, reading on an e-reader…) – yes, yes & yes!

26. Embrace social media platforms I love & forget about the ones I don’t – I’m trying to do this (so bye-bye Google +)

27. Start watching Downton Abbey (because everyone says I would love it!) – how do I do this? Does someone have the DVDs I can borrow?

28. Love my husband the best I can – I’m trying!

29. Go for a long hike on the trail in Great Falls Park – weather is turning around!

√ 30. Make a plan to be debt free (well, except for the mortgage!) – paid off a credit card!

31. Say “I love you” more – always