2012 Resolutions - Wrap Up

I set out to do two sets of resolutions. One from January to June and one from July to December. That didn't work out so much and I ended up just doing the first list.

So here are the 10 resolutions (in no particular order):

Photography Category:

• Start setting up a portfolio website and professional presence

I did buy the domain name and paid for the hosting, but haven't really worked on it since. I do have the foundation at least.

• Make/Customize a photo bag for my camera 

I totally built a camera bag from a diaper bag, some foam and geeky patches. It came out great!

Health Category:

• Take a yoga class - once a week 

Failed. I tried it a few times and I think my main issue is that they have all levels of yoga in one class. I felt that I had no idea what I was doing and the teacher had no interest in really fixing that.

• Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant) 

Mostly failed for the last half of the year, but did decent for the first half. Found a few new places to eat, but the making food part just didn't happen.

BONUS: However, I have lost 25 pounds, 4" and one dress size over this year. I'm down to no cream and only two Splenda in my coffee. I have not had a pop (Diet or otherwise) since May 20th.Technically, I haven't had anything carbonated since then either.

Travel Category:

• Three trips - one needs to be somewhere I have never been and one needs to be out of state. It can be day trips, but needs to be over 60 miles one way. 

Success! I made it out of the state twice! I went home to Chicago for my Grandma's wake/funeral and got to spend some time with my family. I did a road trip down to the bottom of Oregon to see some live Shakespearean theater (Henry V) with friends. The third trip was taking two friends to Port Townsend for some sea glass picking and photo taking at the fort.

Reading Category:

• 25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books (I read 40 books last year and 75% of it was between June and Sept.)

Success and then some! 61 total books read and 14 of them off the BBC list with 9 books that have come out in the last year and half. I've really been using my Kindle more and falling asleep reading in lieu of falling asleep to a movie. I don't get through as many audiobooks at work as I used to, but have been able to knock out a good chunk.

Misc. Category:

• Have a mani/pedi once a month     

I did the first three months and decided this just wasn't for me. It was expensive and to be done right needed to be about every two weeks. I think I'll do it every once and a while.

• Go to the make-up counter at a department store and get a make-over 

Failed! Came close twice, but the timing didn't work out.

• Get 2 haircuts from an actual hairstylist 

Success! Four haircuts! I like my stylist who my friend recommended.

•  Buy and wear two dress casual outfits that I wear outside of work 

Success! It happened in the later half of the year. I did get a fancy dress, but have yet to find a reason to wear it. I did wear a skirt/dress upwards of 12 times, I think. I am in boots as much as sneakers. However, I also discovered Woot t-shirts and my t-shirts have more than doubled in size. I have several new favorite T-shirts now that are geeky. My newest one has a tree reading a Kindle and a Telsa related shirt arriving soon.

BBC List of Top 100 Must-Read Books (Updated)

I have previously mentioned my wanting to read all of the books on the BBC List. I thought I would put which books I have already read and then I'll also have a list of the ones I need to read yet. I know the list isn't perfect, but it is a good jumping off point.

The ones in RED have been read (the ones Bolded were the ones I have read this past year). The ones in BLUE have not been read, but I have seen the movie so that should count for something.

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series – J. K. Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6 The Bible (I went to Catholic school so it counts)
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch – George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
34 Emma – Jane Austen
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses – James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession – AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchel
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

So the count is 31 down and 69 to go.

Books I Read 2012

Each category is in order of when I read it...

Bold means I now own it in book form. Italics means I own it in Kindle ebook form.

Top 8 Personal Favorites (Fiction and Non-Fiction):

1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer
2.  The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
3.  Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art - Christopher Moore 
4. The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1) - Patrick Rothfuss (autographed)
5. Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor
6. Frozen Heat - Richard Castle
7. The End of Your Life Book Club - Will Scwalbe 
8. The Dresden Files Books (In general- breakdown below) - Jim Butcher

Fiction Awesome:

• The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
• Slaughter House 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Seth Grahame-Smith
• Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
• Heat Rises - Richard Castle (Autographed)
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
• Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
• Rant - Chuck Palaniuk
• The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Holy Night - Seth Grahame-Smith
• In One Person - John Irving
• 1984 - George Orwell
• A Game of Thrones (A Song of Fire and Ice #1) - George R. R. Martin
• The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
• Storm Front (Dresden Files #1) - Jim Butcher
• Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery
• Stardust - Neil Gaiman
• A Clash of Kings (A Song of Fire and Ice #2) - George R. R. Martin
• Fool Moon (The Dresden Files #2) - Jim Butcher
• Grave Peril (The Dresden Files #3) - Jim Butcher
• Summer Knight (The Dresden Files #4) - Jim Butcher 
• Death Masks (The Dresden Files #5) - Jim Butcher
• Blood Rites (The Dresden Files #6) - Jim Butcher 
• Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2) - Laini Taylor
• Dead Beat (The Dresden Files #7) - Jim Butcher

Non-Fiction Awesome:

• The Nerdist Way - Chris Hardwick
• Women, Work and the Art of Savoir Faire: Business Sense and Sensibility - Mireille Guiliano
• When You Are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris
• Wishful Drinking - Carrie Fisher

Fiction Recommended:

• Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
• Tell-All - Chuck Palaniuk
• Animal Farm - George Orwell
• Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
• An Abundance of Katherines - John Green
• The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson #1) - Rick Riordan
• The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Austenland - Shannon Hale (Guilty Pleasure!)
• Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh 
• The Color Purple - Alice Walker
• Dodger - Terry Prachett
• A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens 
• Art of Fielding - Chad Harbach
• Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie
• Damned - Chuck Palahniuk

Non-Fiction Recommended:

• Barrel Fever and Other Stories - David Sedaris
• The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century - Thomas L. Friedman
• Blink - Malcolm Gladwell

Fiction NOT Recommended:

• Airhead #1 - Meg Cabot
• Lunatics: A Novel - Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel
• The Leftovers - Tom Perrotta 
• The Time Keeper - Mitch Albom
• Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules - David Sedaris 
• The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling

Virtual Me

I came across this website (http://api.modelmydiet.com/eywomen) that creates a virtual version of yourself and then you can input the weight you want to be so you can see the difference. Now, it doesn't take into consideration that people carry their weight differently so it is for people, like myself, that carries it all over instead of all in the stomach or legs.

Since a virtual version is easier to post than a real pic, here is my virtual before and after photo if I lose the pounds I want to:

I find this motivating because it is hard to visualize being smaller when you are heavy and have been for decades. I played around with what it would look like and this is actually 120 pounds which is closer to my ideal weight. Personally, I cannot think of myself this small. When I lost the weight last time, I got halfway to the goal and it didn't really feel any different. I was in smaller clothes, but it didn't feel any different to me.

I am really trying to stay motivated this time which is hard. I miss my trainer I had when I was in LA and lost all the weight. I put all the weight back on when he stopped training me. I don't think I will ever find a program as awesome as the Batman Workout which is sad. It was so awesome. I felt like I was going to die, but it was so worth it. Running around a gym, isn't the same. Plus, I am doing this by myself. With my schedule, I can't workout with anyone else since most people don't want to go to the gym at 11p or later depending on how busy work is.

At least food isn't the issue, I'm not an over-eater. I can stick to diet easy enough. It is the workout that is usually the deciding factor and the first thing I end up dropping. I am just powering through. I need to find stuff to do outside of the gym to do that is fun. I wish I found running fun, but it bores the crap out of me. I prefer something with more variety.

Watching the Biggest Loser on Netflix is helping. People dropping hundreds of pounds and you can see the changes each episode. I just fast forward over the drama. I prefer my drama to have Timothy Olyphant shooting people or battling over the 7 Kingdoms.

Back In the Saddle which is on the Wagon

It is no secret that I need to shed some pounds. The heaviest I have ever been was what I weighed when I left Los Angles in July 2008. I have lost the same 10 pounds over and over again since then. Once school started back up in the spring, I just couldn't seem to find the energy and/or time to make it to the gym.

You can't force things. You can try to put things in your favor, but you can't make them happen. I'm finally ready to do more of what I need to in order to get down to my goal.

Once school ended, I have gotten back on the wagon. I, sadly, started the year off at that peak weight. Right now I am 17 pounds lighter. It fluctuated a bit, but in the last two weeks I have really bucked down.

The ultimate goal is to lose an even 100 pounds which would still 25 pounds overweight for what my "ideal" weight should be for my height, but I am okay with that. An even 100 seems like a nice reasonable number. My goal for my birthday (end of September) is either: 

• Lose (and keep off) 35 total pounds (23 more than what I have lost so far); and/or 
• Drop a full size so that no matter what brand that size will fit me.

I feel this is neither too ambitious nor too easy. I find for me that I need to lose 25 pounds to drop a size so 35 would give me some literal wiggle room for that goal.

The diet I am doing is the Slow Carb Diet as described in Tim Ferris' "4-Hour Body" and I am exercising at 24 Hour Fitness which is fully loaded including a pool.

The key seems to be staying motivated. So I am watching things like "Super Size Me," "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead," and any of the 11 seasons of "The Biggest Loser" that Netflix has streaming right now.

So, that's where I am at in the realm of things. I hope that stating these goals will help me stick to them, but just in case, the below images are also meant for inspiration. I hope you find them as motivating as I do.

Ah, perspective...

I find this image highly motivating

Resolutions 2012 - 6 Weeks Left To Go

So here are the 10 resolutions that my family and friends came up for me (in no particular order):

Photography Category:

• Start setting up a portfolio website and professional presence (Not started yet, but I plan on doing this over the summer)
• Make/Customize a photo bag for my camera (Done!)

Health Category:

• Take a yoga class - once a week (I went about 4 times and then school/work interrupted me. Planning on doing this again this summer)
• Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant) (Meh - About 50/50 about this)

Travel Category:

• Three trips - one needs to be someone I have never been and one needs to be out of state. It can be day trips, but needs to be over 60 miles one way. (Nope, not even close)

Reading Category:

• 25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books (With a month to go - 26 books and at exactly 25% of the BBC list)

Misc. Category:

• Have a mani/pedi once a month (3 months out of 5 on this)
• Go to the make-up counter at a department store and get a make-over (Still need to do this, but found a friend to go with me)
• Get 2 haircuts from an actual hairstylist (Done!)
• Buy & wear two dress casual outfits that I wear outside of work (Purchased a dress which counts for partial credit)

I still have until the end of June to get back on schedule with these. Then come July 1st, the list for the second half of the year kicks in.

Resolution Follow Up - Week #9

Some of the resolutions were weekly so here is how I am doing so far after night weeks.

Health Category:

• Take a yoga class - once a week

I suck. I still haven't been to the gym. My cold is almost completely gone now, but it hung on to the end of last week. I did go on a walk/hike that was 2.8 miles on Sunday so I should get a half a point credit for that.

• Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant)

After the hike, we went to an Irish Pub in Magnolia. It had amazing Shepherd's Pie and decent Irish soda bread. I would totally go back.

Reading Category:

• 25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books
• Running total: 18/25 Books (7/6 of the BBC books)

"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. It completely lived up to the hype. Once I get caught up on other books, I will definitely circle back to read more of the series. I approve of the casting for the movie coming out next year. However, I think it is insanely controversial to do.

On deck for next week: "Heat Rises" by Richard Castle (3rd Nikki Heat book from ABC's "Castle")

Photography Category:

• Make/Customize a photo bag for my camera
  

I have found my idea camera bag at Target of all places. I will post more details later, but it is not an actual camera bag. I need to go to the foam store to trick it out a bit. I did sew two patches on it to make it more mine. Once the foam is cut and set, I will take pictures of it. I am also debating on putting another patch on it or not. It is a black bag and a lot of my patches are blue and brown so it doesn't look all that great. Thankfully, Emerald City Comicon is coming up and I can pick up more badges there.

Thus concludes my ninth week's update on my Resolutions for 2012. See you again next week!

Resolution Follow Up - Week #8

Some of the resolutions were weekly so here is how I am doing so far after eight weeks.

Health Category:

I have a nasty cold. Started with a sore throat on Wednesday and I have been home from work from Thursday through Sunday. I didn't work out. I barely ate anything during those 4 days.

However, starting on Monday, I will be on my new 1:30p to 10p schedule. I just won't be able to work out until this cold is gone.

Reading Category:

• 25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books
• Running total: 17/25 Books (7/6 of the BBC books)

My BBC book reading goal has been met and then some with 3.5 months to go!

"Winnie the Pooh" by A.A. Milne (Stephen Fry and Judy Dench are two of the voices). Great stories which I had only remember a bit. Totally adorable audiobook.

"Animal Farm" by George Orwell. Loved it. Completely understand why it is a classic.

"Charlie and Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl which was lovely and read by Eric Idle.

On deck for next week: "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card.

Thus concludes my eighth week's update on my Resolutions for 2012. See you again next week!

Resolution Follow Up - Week #7

Some of the resolutions were weekly so here is how I am doing so far after seven weeks.

Health Category:

• Take a yoga class - once a week

Again, I didn't make it this week. I also only made it to the gym once. I suck. Once my new schedule kicks in (1:30p to 10p), it will be easier to do the gym after work and still get up early to work on school stuff.

• Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant)

Made a pork stir fry with onions, pea pods, broccoli and celery with some Lite Italian dressing for a bit of flavor. Hit the spot despite lack of rice and/or noodles.

I also went to a wood fired pizza place that was trying to be as close to a Hard Rock cafe as it possibly could without infringing on copyrights and trademarks. The cheeseburger wrap was delicious.

While it was discovered on a cheat day, the new Cherry M&Ms are delicious. They are like chocolate covered cherries without the gushy center.

Reading Category:

• 25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books
• Running total: 14/25 Books (4/6 of the BBC books)

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"by Annie Barrows & Mary Ann Shaffer - AMAZING! A must read. I stayed up late to finish it. Cannot recommend it enough.

"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" by Seth Grahame-Smith. Had to pick up the book since a) the trailer looked AMAZING and 2) he wrote "Pride & Prejudice & Zombies." This book was GREAT and so looking forward to the movie!

On tap for next week: "Animal Farm" by George Orwell and "Winnie the Pooh" by A.A. Milne (Stephen Fry and Judy Dench are two of the voices). This will bring me to 6/6 of the BBC books 3 months early and leave me just 9 shy of my 25 books total goal. I just I will need to up the stakes for the next round of resolutions come this July.

Misc. Category:

• Have a mani/pedi once a month

I got this done just before the red dress party and got a nice temptress red color for both. I took the polish off the hands because it would look odd, but since my feet live in sneakers, I'm keeping them on my toes.

Proof:

Dress borrowed from Martha. Thanks, Martha!

You know these are my feet as they are roughly the same color as the white towel below.

Thus concludes my seventh week's update on my Resolutions for 2012. See you again next week!

Resolution Follow Up - Week #6

Some of the resolutions were weekly so here is how I am doing so far after six weeks.

Health Category:

• Take a yoga class - once a week

I didn't make it again. There are only 3 class times that work and all of them are mid-morning. I had a choice for sleep or yoga and sad to say sleep one 3 times in a row. I also only made it to the gym once this week due to school and work running long. However, work schedule will be changing soon so there is hope to get back on a normal schedule-ish.

• Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant)
  

I went with two friends to the Lake Forrest Grill and had a yummy pork chops and veggie meal.

Reading Category:

• 25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books
• Running total: 12/25 Books (4/6 of the BBC books)
  

"To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. I had only seen the movie before which was in 7th & 8th grade and barely remembered it. I really liked the book and had completely forgotten the ending which was great. It was a longer book than the last two so I only read one this week.

On tap for next week:
"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"by Annie Barrows & Mary Ann Shaffer

Misc. Category:

• Buy & wear two dress casual outfits that I wear outside of work
  

Well, I actually got a real dress which should count as one of the outfits. It is a formal evening wear. Black sleeveless with grey bust and a black shrug because I do not do sleeveless. I got the whole thing for no reason other than it fit and was $20. Also, it lies about it's size. It says it is 4 sizes smaller than it actually is unless it is mean to be worn like a parachute.

Thus concludes my sixth week's update on my Resolutions for 2012. See you again next week!

Resolution Follow Up - Week #5

Some of the resolutions were weekly so here is how I am doing so far after five weeks.

Health Category:

• Take a yoga class - once a week

I didn't make it this week. First week back at school and I had to move my studio office back into my apartment. Something needed to get sacrificed. I did make it to the gym 3 times this week, so all is not lost. I will make better plans for next week.

• Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant)
  

Well, it wasn't an epic meal, but I did purchase pork loin and cooked it in the oven. I got down the Better Homes red and white cookbook and looked up how long I should cook it. It is a step in the right direction at least. Next time, I will add flavor!

Reading Category:

• 25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books
• Running total: 9/25 Books (2/6 of the BBC books)
  

"Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire: Business Sense & Sensibility" by Mireille Guiliano was a random choice when I needed something to read, but turned out to be a really interesting read with a lot of good advice, tips and tricks. I highly recommend it.

"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald was "meh" at best. Read the whole thing in one day. Wasn't impressed. It was a very pedestrian story with very fancy language. I enjoyed his prose, but the characters and plot were "meh."

On deck for next week: "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams and "Lunatics" by Dave Barry

Thus concludes my fourth week's update on my Resolutions for 2012. See you again next week!

Resolution Follow Up - Week #4

Some of the resolutions were weekly so here is how I am doing so far after four weeks.

Health Category:

• Take a yoga class - once a week
  

I am still convinced that mortal humans are not meant to bend this way, but I am in the minority. Missed class last week due to snow. I did a little better than before. My wrists are still too week to put that much weight on them, but I was able to do and/or hold more poises. Still not my thing, but I understand the importance of stretching.

• Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant)
  

Found a new deli place near work. I had an awesome chicken salad wrap and need to go back on a cheat day to try the "Mountain" (Corn beef, Pastrami, Russian dressing, etc).

Reading Category:

• 25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books
• Running total: 7/25 Books (1/6 of the BBC books)
  

I had a few books reserved, but the first one didn't show up until Thursday. I went in and picked a random audiobook on Tuesday and then again on Wednesday so I had something to listen to at work.

"Airhead" by Meg Cabot is the first book in the series. It was a teen book and a fast read. Basically, a average teen geek girl gets into an accident and has her brain transplanted into the body of the number one teen super model in the world. It was cute and done in a way that didn't seem as hokey as my description. However, I don't think I'll continue with the series.

"Tell-All" by Chuck Palaniuk is a book set in the hay day of the movie industry. It was a slow annoying start, but it got really good. I enjoyed it more than I thought.

"Slaughter House 5" by Kurt Vonnegut. Really enjoyed this. Wasn't sure what to expect. It was non-traditional narrative, but really awesome. I can see how this influenced a lot of people.

Thus concludes my fourth week's update on my Resolutions for 2012. See you again next week!

Resolution Follow Up - Week #3

Some of the resolutions were weekly so here is how I am doing so far after three weeks.

**Valid Excuse: Seattle got hit with a massive snow storm. I've been stuck in the house from Wednesday to Saturday. **

Health Category:

• Take a yoga class - once a week
  

I wasn't able to make it to yoga or the gym at all this week. I did use my flash cards and tried to stretch a little.

• Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant)
  

When I stocked up on food, I found some pre-cooked chicken tenders in the freezer section. I made a honey mustard sauce and severed it over spinach with some fresh mushrooms. It will be added to the regular rotation. I also went to a sushi place I have been wanting to try in Northgate.

Reading Category:

• 25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books
• Running total: 4/25 Books (1/6 of the BBC books)
  

I actually read two books this week. I finished "The Nerdist Way" by Chris Hardwick. It is kind of a self help book for geeks/nerds. I started it a while ago, but finished the last half of the book while imprisoned in my snugly warm apartment. The second was a collection of David Sedaris essays called "Barrel Fever and other stories." It was relatively short, but solid writing as is always the case the his writing.

I have a few books reserved at the library for next week. It all depends on which one gets transferred first.

Photography Category:

• Make/Customize a photo bag for my camera

I actually found the pattern for the bag from a place here in Seattle that makes sporting gear. I'll be able to get all the material there as well. Time got cut short on Monday due to the threat of snow so I haven't gone to the store yet, but it is all scouted out. It is actually an inflight diaper bag that has all the compartments and is the right size I am looking for.

Misc. Category:

• Have a mani/pedi once a month

When to a place here in Green Lake. I got the mani/pedi, but only got nail polish for my fingers. A nice clear so when they chip it won't be as noticeable. They did a good job, but they only took cash so I had to leave my Kindle Fire while I ran off to get cash two blocks away.

Thus concludes my third week's update on my Resolutions for 2012. See you again next week!

Resolution Follow Up - Week #2

Some of the resolutions were weekly so here is how I am doing so far after two weeks.

Health Category:

• Take a yoga class - once a week
  

Second class went much better. I hid in the back of the class this time. I also talked with the teacher afterward. I asked for some exercises to help unclench my back. I also told her that I have a hard time putting too much weight on my wrists. She said that over time they will get stronger and I will get lighter so just do as best I can. Additionally, while cleaning, I found some yoga flash cards that I bought sometime during 2004.

• Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant)
  

I took the leftover onions, green & red peppers and mushrooms and stir-fried them with some chicken marinated in Italian dressing. It was quite tasty.

Reading Category:

• 25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books

My second book of the year (and first off the BBC list) was "Little Women" by Louisa M Alcott. Extremely girly, but good. Not enough to make me read the sequels, though. It made me look up the episode of "Friends" where Joey reads it. "Beth's sick. Jo's there, but I don't think she can do anything."

Thus concludes my second week's update on my Resolutions for 2012. See you again next week!

BBC List of Top 100 Must-Read Books

I made mention in my wanting to read all of the books on the BBC List. I thought I would put which books I have already read and then I'll also have a list of the ones I need to read yet.

The ones in RED have been read. The ones in BLUE have not been read, but I have seen the movie so that should count for something.

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series – J. K. Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6 The Bible (I went to Catholic school so it counts)
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch – George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
34 Emma – Jane Austen
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses – James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession – AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchel
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

So the count is 17 down and 83 to go.

Resolution Follow Up - Week #1

Some of the resolutions were weekly so here is how I am doing so far after one week.

Health Category:

• Take a yoga class - once a week
  

I took my first yoga class at 24 hour fitness where I now have a membership. I was way more stressed out leaving the class than I was going in. The problem with classes like this is there is no beginning, middle or end. So, yelling out poises when I have no idea what she is talking about was a bit stressful. Add to that I am as limber as Frankenstein and you get tighter and tighter muscles instead of looser. Yet, I promised to go so I will continue, but am not expecting much.

• Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant)
  

I did one of each. I made shrimp skewers over brown rice with onions, green and red peppers, and mushrooms. I also went with friends to a wood-fried pizza place and had a chicken and garlic pizza and smores with peanut butter for dessert. It was a cheat day.

Reading Category:

• 25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books

I finished one book so far. "The Eyre Affair" by Jasper Fforde which was awesome, but not on the BBC book list. I have "Little Women" on reserve for next week which is on the list.

Misc. Category:

• Get 2 haircuts from an actual hairstylist

Haircut number one is done. I went to Habitude in Ballard. I told Candace the purpose of my visit and gave her free reign. The below is the result. The pics were taken by my friend Martha (who also recommended Candace) and I probably need to do a few more, but these are within a half hour of getting it done.

It may not look that different to you, but she lopped off 3 inches and my hair hasn't had layers in 5 years. It's been just a straight cut all the way across with no shape.

So this is as straight as my hair gets (Thanks, Grandma!) She recommended two hair products which I did purchase. The first was Aveda's Phomollient styling foam to help do something. Still not sure on this stuff. The second was Aveda's Be Curly to control frizz and give the curl some control.

Thus concludes my first week's update on my Resolutions for 2012. See you again next week!

Resolutions for 2012: A follow up

So here are the 10 resolutions that my family and friends came up for me (in no particular order):

Photography Category:

• Start setting up a portfolio website and professional presence (Overdue, really)
• Make/Customize a photo bag for my camera (I need to have something that is practical and me)
  

Health Category:

• Take a yoga class - once a week (I will try, but my back is a wrought iron fence)
• Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant) (I tend to eat the same things and they tend to be frozen and then microwaved)
  

Travel Category:

• Three trips - one needs to be someone I have never been and one needs to be out of state. It can be day trips, but needs to be over 60 miles one way. (This can be my excuse to finally visit Portland and/or Vancouver)
  

Reading Category:

• 25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books (I read 40 books last year and 75% of it was between June and Sept.)
  

Misc. Category:

• Have a mani/pedi once a month (This requires me to stop chomping on my nails)
• Go to the make-up counter at a department store and get a make-over (I am not big on make-up unless the occasions calls for it and even then it is pretty minimal)
  
• Get 2 haircuts from an actual hairstylist (I usually go to Super Cuts/Fantastic Sams type place)
• Buy & wear two dress casual outfits that I wear outside of work (I usually live in jeans and t-shirt outside of work)
  

Some of the other recommendations didn't meet the SMART criteria, but were well intentioned. I look forward to seeing how this unfolds. Once this is posted, I am committed to doing them.