Bang!

I'm a real freak when it comes to my hair. 

I think it all started in the fifth grade. My mom, who was maybe just pretending like she knew what she was doing, tried to give me a cute chin-length bob haircut. It didn't work out. We decided that we needed to have a professional fix it, and so we ventured out to Great Clips, or somewhere equally high-end. I brought with me, as haircut inspiration, this book: 

I loved the new Mary Anne. That's for sure.

I'm not sure if it was because my hair isn't as thick as Mary Anne's, or if it was because the picture is just an illustration, but my hair didn't turn out like that at all. Instead, I looked like a boy. A boy who wore oversized panda sweaters with hot pink leggings. It was a horrific haircut, and it honestly took a long time to recover from such a scarring event. 

Since then, with only one exception, I've always grown my hair out long. The exception was over 8 years ago, during my freshman year of college, when the chin-length bob turned out to be a success. (Mom and I left that one to the professionals.) So lately, whenever my hair stylist/BFF Ashley cuts my hair, she knows exactly what I want: only a couple of inches trimmed off, long layers, and simple low-maintenance hair. 

And that's what I thought I was getting today. I went in to Bang Salon to be Ashley's hair model for her class. Truth be told, she did listen to what I wanted. And, no, I don't have a chin-length bob. But something else did happen: Ashley's teacher came to look at my haircut and mentioned something about bangs, then Ashley said something about bangs, and then I said, "Oh. I've been thinking about bangs." All of which lead to this:

Goodbye hair! I love you! 

I've had bangs before, but these are different. My past bangs have been whispy, swoopy, and far less committal. These bangs are something completely new for me. So that is why this counts as completing my scariest goal of all: #50 - Get a haircut that's out of my comfort zone. I thought I'd have to work up to this one, or that I'd at least put it off for awhile, but then, all of a sudden, it happened! I know my hair is still long, but I assure you this is definitely out of my comfort zone.

Ashley is taking appointments for haircuts.
She'll only give you bangs if you want them.

It's going to take some getting used to, but I know it's good for me to have a change. Plus, it really makes me want to start wearing red lipstick. New goal?

At least now I can part my hair in the middle. 

Did my heart love till now?

Forswear it, sight! For I never saw true beauty till this night.

That's the line from Romeo and Juliet that was running through my head most of yesterday, while I watched this: 

I fulfilled goal #26: See a ballet. I was especially excited to see this particular ballet because it was Romeo and Juliet - a story I know and love. 

Mostly because of this guy. 

My sweet mother agreed to go with me to the ballet, even though she honestly wasn't all too excited about it. So to thank her, I made us a lovely lunch beforehand. 

We went to the Ellie Caulkins Opera House to see the final show of Romeo and Juliet, which happened to also be the final show of the Colorado Ballet's 50th Anniversary Season, as well as the final show for Igor Vassine - a principal dancer with the Colorado Ballet for 20 years. I even got a little emotional when they were honoring Igor, not that I had ever heard of him before. But it felt very special to be in the audience for that particular show, and I liked thinking about how much it all meant to the dancers.

All in all, it was a beautiful way to accomplish a goal.

Not a bad view for $26! 

On a side note: when did I become a vampire? So pale! 

One Down, One Hundred to Go...

I have a deep abiding love for bookstores. While I don't enjoy shopping for clothes or shoes, I could spend hours perusing book shelves, reading titles and blurbs, and admiring cover art. Give me Barnes and Noble or give me a small used book store - I'm not picky. I love the smell, the ambiance, the excitement of finding a new story in which to lose myself. 


Maybe it's because of this love that I always forget about libraries. When I want a new book to read, I head to the bookstore to indulge myself in some retail therapy, and thereby end up spending way too much money. Why in the world would I do that when there are these magical places where you can take and read books for free?? That's why I made goal #55: walk to the library by my house, get a library card, and check out a book. It's something I always think about doing, and maybe even talk about doing, but, let's be honest, would I ever get around to it? Not likely.


Well, today I did. It was an easy goal to complete, and now I can say that I've actually started making a dent in my list. So I walked three blocks to the Woodbury Branch Library. 

Let me tell you, the Woodbury Branch is less than impressive. It's quite small. I came hoping to check out, as per recommendation of three friends, Rebecca by Daphe du Maurier as my first of five classic books to read (goal #11). Woodbury did not have it. In fact their whole "Classics" section was comprised of four half-full shelves - maybe a few dozen books. So instead I checked out a book that has both A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens in it. I've never finished a Dickens book, so that feels like a worthy endeavor. I'm starting with A Tale of Two Cities, and then we'll see what happens after that. 

Hopefully my new library card will remind me to go borrow books more frequently, though I think I'll start looking for some larger branches. 

Truth takes time

What the title should really say is "Goals take time." "Truth takes time" is a recurring phrase from Alias, used in a very emotionally gripping story line... so I couldn't help myself.


Anyway... goals do take time. I keep feeling disappointed that I haven't accomplished any goals to post about yet, but I have been working on some of my long-term goals. For one, I have been reading through the Bible. I'm reading one of those chronological bibles that is broken down to read one section each day to finish in a year. I'm on February 12th (oops!), but I'll catch up. To be honest, it's a little hard to stay motivated when I'm reading about God's instructions on how to build the Tabernacle, and how to make the priests' robes. But I'll just keep powering through.


I've also been working on learning French. I have the Rosetta Stone, and I'm slowly working my way through it. I'm only on Unit 2 of French 1 so far. Technically, I could have a conversation in French already. Anyone want to talk about whether or not the cat is on the table? How about if the dog is under the bed? I've got that down.


The biggest time consuming goal right now, though, is to get a full time teaching job. I've been working on my resume and cover letter, renewing my Colorado teaching license, and searching for private schools in the area since public schools will no longer receive any funding. (I almost went on a political tirade right here, but that would be obnoxious.) This will be a long process, but definitely worth it if I can get a job.


And tonight I'm going to make and write my first of 33 "just because" cards to send out. I don't want to say too much more about that so the recipient can be pleasantly surprised by mail in a few days. I was pleasantly surprised by mail tonight, and I think it was the best thing to happen to me all day. (Thanks Julie!)


Hopefully I can get one of my smaller goals accomplished this weekend. The last two weekends were filled with the Oscars (I had to see four movies in two days!) and Snow Camp. Too bad I didn't make goals about spending all day in a movie theater or hanging out with hundreds of high schoolers. Maybe next time.

The List

Here, in no particular order, are my 101 goals: 

1. Read the whole Bible
2. Run a 10K (technically completed, just not in a race, May 2012)
3. Run a half-marathon (Bum hip, not going to happen.)
4. Be able to hold a conversation in French
5. Try the elliptical machine (I quit the gym. Don't need it. I have Jillian.) 
6. Go out to eat at a sit-down restaurant by myself (I don't see the point.)
7. Play a game of Risk (completed 12/2012 I think)
8. Go on a date to the zoo
9. Buy a bike (completed 7/3/14)
10. Climb a 14-er (completed July 2013)
11. Read 5 "classic" literature books (1/5)
12. Read 5 non-fiction books (2/5)
13. Paint a painting (completed 9/4/12)
14. Make sushi (completed, don't know when) 
15. Take a dance class (completed summer 2013, kind of)
16. Clean up my gmail (I don't care - google gives me so much space!)
17. Get a full time teaching job (completed 10/3/11)
18. Bake a loaf of bread (completed 3/26/11)
19. Make a pie from scratch (completed 4/23/11) 
20. Make a full Italian meal from scratch (completed 3/26/11) 
21. Make my own pad thai (Too unhealthy - works against other goals.) 
22. Host a grilled cheese party (Um, I don't want to.) 
23. Put my Morocco pictures in an album
24. Go to an art museum by myself
25. Travel to Europe
26. See a ballet (completed 3/6/11)
27. Drink only water for 1 week (I can still eat. Duh.) 
28. Eat vegan for 1 week
29. Attend a family reunion (completed 7/15/12) 
30. Watch 5 documentaries (3/5)
31. Hike in the Grand Canyon
32. Go on a road-trip without a pre-set destination (3/30/12)
33. Give a 100% tip
34. Travel to 3 states I've never been to (3/3)
35. Make cookies for my neighbors
36. Send 33 "just because" letters/cards (one/month) (completed) 
37. Make homemade hummus
38. Make homemade bagels
39. Fly a kite
40. Camp in the Olympic Peninsula (completed June 2013)
41. Host a murder mystery party (completed 10/6/12)
42. Make a wish at 11:11 on 11/11/11 (completed on 11/11/11)
43. Knit a Gryffindor scarf
44. Volunteer for a film festival
45. Go on a scavenger hunt (completed 7/18/11)
46. Plant and keep alive a vegetable plant (completed summer 2013)
47. Go to Disney World  (completed January 2013)
48. Go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (completed January 2013)
49. Volunteer at 3 new places (completed)
50. Get a hair cut that's out of my comfort zone (completed 3/14/11) 
51. Perfect one of Julia Child's recipes (I don't want to. Too unhealthy.)
52. Refinish a piece of old furniture
53. Participate in a flash mob (These are no longer a thing.)
54. Go cross-country skiing
55. Walk to the library by my house, get a library card, and check out a book (completed 3/5/11)
56. Donate blood
57. Print, frame, and hang pictures in my living room
58. Write a note in a book and donate it
59. Take a hot yoga class (5/21/12)
60. Go somewhere new and touristy within Colorado (ie Mesa Verde or 4 Corners) (3/31/12)
61. Pay off student loans (I added grad school to this, so it'll be awhile...)
62. Buy someone flowers for no reason
63. Sponsor a child (completed, ongoing)
64. Go tubing in Boulder Creek (completed August 2013)
65. Complete the 30 Day Shred with Jillian (for a straight 30 days)
66. Get a pet
67. Make a blog for this list and blog about all my goals
68. Build a snowman
69. Drink a cup of tea on my front porch (completed 9/3/12)
70. Make a reusable annual advent calendar
71. Send out Christmas cards (completed Christmas 2012)
72. Put all of my cds in my itunes
73. Pay for a stranger's drink (ie in line at Starbucks) (completed)
74. Go to Vegas with Jess again (completed 6/22/12)
75. Get a manicure (completed 7/11/11)
76. Listen to an audio book (completed 9/17/11)
77. Grow an avocado pit
78. See a live taping of a tv show (completed summer 2013)
79. Eat gluten-free for a week (completed August 2013)
80. Learn how to tie a tie (completed 12/26/11)
81. Help Tory achieve one of her goals (Is she still doing them?)
82. Help Ashley achieve a goal (She is not doing them.)
83. Help Jess achieve a goal (completed 3/28/11)
84. Buy something on Etsy (completed 8/7/11)
85. Make my bed when I wake up everyday for a week
86. Make and send a valentine to someone famous
87. See a Cirque du Soleil show
88. Correct grammar or punctuation on a sign
89. Keep my room clean for a month straight
90. Hand-make a gift for a baby (completed October 2012)
91. Be able to do a pull-up
92. Be able to do 5 REAL push-ups
93. Build a sand-castle
94. Whiten my teeth
95. Go Christmas caroling
96. Hike at Mount Rainier (completedish June 2014)
97. Keep a journal where I write one thing I'm thankful for every night for a month (completed on Facebook, November 2013)
98. Put googley eyes on the monster bush (completed 9/29/12)
99. Get started on my Master's degree (I'm in it!) 
100. 
     
101. 
     

The Big Idea

I have to say, first of all, that I never thought I'd have a blog. I mean, why would I? I don't have anything particularly interesting to say, nor am I an outstanding or witty writer. But most importantly, I don't live a very fascinating life. My life, actually, is quite boring. Not to say that I'm unhappy - I'm fairly content in what I have. It's just boring is all. I feel like I'm one of those people that's always waiting for my real life to begin. Like when I get a teaching job, when I have enough money, when I get married.... that's when I'll do all of those things I want to do. That's when I'll accomplish goals and become a well-rounded interesting person. But in the mean time I'll wait, and waste my time with inconsequential things. 


What I've decided, though, is to stop waiting. 


On Valentine's Day I went out to a lovely dinner with Stasia, Tory, and Ashley. Tory brought up that she was thinking about doing 101 goals in 1001 days. I don't know exactly where this idea originated, but it's something I've seen before. The goals can be anything you want them to be: some very big and important, and some small and fun. As soon as Tory brought it up, I thought, "That's something I should do." What an excellent way to stop being so boring and to start actually living my life.  


So, here's the plan: I have 1001 days to complete my 101 goals. That gives me until November 15, 2013. I've come up with most of my goals,  but I am leaving a few blanks to add more as I move forward in this. To be honest, it's all a little daunting. Some of these goals are pretty huge for me, and some will take a lot of long-term work and slow progress. But I'm also very excited to start living a fuller and more interesting life. 


I'm writing this blog as a way to keep track of my progress and accomplishments. Plus, I don't do well with self-motivation, and I need some sort of accountability, even if no one ever reads this. So... here we go! Day one!