20 things before 2013 UPDATE

1. Finish knitting the scarf for my mom - some progress, but nowhere near finished yet
2. Get an awesome job that i love - job search is definitely underway, no actual new job yet, though
3. Learn how to coupon
4. Practice my Spanish - Si! Donde esta el biblioteca? Mi hermano es muy gordo y mi hermana es muy feo! (just checking if you read this, Eric and Lindsay)
5. Start learning French - progress-ish!!! i recently got the French I Rosetta Stone... haven't started learning yet, though... (thanks again Rich! Tu eres muy simpatico!)
6. Travel to a foreign country i haven't visited yet - Turks and Caicos!!!
7. Write poetry/fiction
8. Make something (scarf, quilt...) - i want to make curtains, i just need to find my sewing machine... i know it's somewhere!!!
9. Take pottery classes - too much $$$ at the moment (especially while i'm trying to finish #19 on this list!)
10. Take a class in photoshop - i'm not even sure why this one is on my list anymore... oh well! i'm stuck with it!
11. Get an apartment - i hope granger getting an apartment counts...
12. Make artwork for the apartment
13. Visit Annapolis - trip was planned, but had to be canceled due to unforeseen circumstances (read: Angie messed everything up!!! AGAIN!!!!!)
14. Visit Monica in Charlottesville - i was going to go earlier this month, but granger got a long weekend and came up to DC... and with my upcoming international travel, i'm gonna have to wait until the fall to go :(
15. Visit a state i haven't been to before - new jersey or kentucky, get ready, because at some point in 2012, i'm visiting you!
16. Volunteer at least 6 times - 1/2 way done (3 so far: Kenilworth-Bandalong Litter Trap clean up, IONA house meal packaging, Marvin Gaye Park-Bandalong Litter Trap clean up)
17. Read at least 12 books for fun - this one i am accomplishing with aplomb! (24 so far: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, The Missing Person's Guide to Love, Dracula, Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, Magician's Gambit, Castle of Wizardry, Enchanter's End Game, Guardians of the West, King of the Murgos, Demon Lord of Karanda, Sorceress of Darshiva, Wuthering Heights, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Tears of the Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, The Kalahari Typing School for Men, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Valley of Fear)
18. Consolidate, organize, and get rid of excess stuff - constant work in progress: donating, throwing away/recycling, and organizing what remains
19. Pay off grad school loans - nearly 1/2 way done! i just sent over my first payment, which lopped off 42% of the total. so, 58% more to pay off, then FREEEEEDOMMMMM
20. Lose 20 lbs (starting weight: 170; goal weight: 150) - making really good progress! current weight: 155 (and holding!!! 155 has been something of a plateau for me...)

so, ok, i STILL only have 2 of these 20 things accomplished.  that's not great considering that i should have crossed at least 10 off by now (it IS the end of june, after all...).  but hey, i'm making serious headway in #19 and #20.  #1, #2, and #16 are actively being worked on, and i took a giant step forward for # 5...  and if it weren't for that darn angie, #13 would be crossed off too!

zambians...

william fitzsimmons: goodmorning

i am IN LOVE with this song:

summer 2012

so much to do, so little time!

i feel like i am really packing things in this summer...  for the most part, they're fun things that i'm busy with, and most people would be really excited at the prospect of my summer.  BUT, while i am slightly excited, i am someone who really appreciates free time and not having something to do at every moment (even if said something is SOMUCHFUN).  so bottom line, even though others might be jealous about everything i'm doing this summer, i feel like it's actually going to be on the stressful side for me.  here goes:

6/8 - 6/10: granger in DC for a long weekend

EITHER: 6/16: annapolis for the day; 6/17: father's day

OR: 6/16 - 6/17: charlottesville to visit monica

6/22 - 6/24: NC to visit granger

6/29 - 7/1: packing for europe (hopefully i can convince granger to come visit!)

7/2 - 7/18: working in prague

7/18 - 8/6: working in crete

8/6 - 8/11: beach with la familia

essentially, i have 1 more weekend in DC until mid-august, unless i decide to stay in town 6/17 - 6/18 (although angie and i have been planning on going to annapolis for a while and i also  want to visit monica before i leave for europe).  again, i know i sound like a jerk for complaining about this, but just remember that my idea of the perfect weekend is one at home (with granger), reading a good book in a sunbeam, with sadie cuddled up next to me, followed by a friend or two coming over to hang out/watch a movie.  low key, essentially.  so don't be too jealous of my exciting, busy summer. i'm gonna be exhausted at the end of it.