Curious Notions » resolutions 2010

2010 Resolutions Final Progress Report

Linda — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:50:09 +0000

Although I’ve failed several of my resolutions, I’m still much better off for attempting than had I not made these goals at all. For instance, I wanted to go to Houston 10 times to visit family and friends because in 2009, I was in Houston only 3 times. I fell short of 10 visits but I still managed to be home and see my loved ones more than twice the year prior. Also, I didn’t make it to my goal of 40 books this year, but at 39.4 books, I read 19.4 more books than I did in the year prior. I’m much better off now, deepening my relationships in Houston and broadening my horizons in terms of my reading. So you see, I’m always a big fan of resolutions, even if you don’t fully meet your goals!

Alas, it’s time to let go these resolutions and make new ones for the new year. I’m already 4 days late, finalizing the list for 2011! Before I finalized 2011 resolutions, here is my final progress report for 2010.

Financial

~~Rebuild year’s worth of emergency fund.~~
Transfer over my 401K from my previous job to my Roth IRA. FAIL
~~Do my own taxes.~~
~~Keep outings with my little from Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America on a budget.~~

Leisure

~~Continue doing 1 new thing a week.~~
~~Visit a new state from my list.~~ Drove to Oklahoma with Cindy a couple of weeks ago.
Read 40 books. (39.5/40) FAIL
~~Organize a book club.~~
Be more or less abreast with updates on 202 things in 1001 days. FAIL
Leave the country. FAIL
~~Write 15 letters.~~
Try out 20 new recipes (19/20) FAIL
~~Update movie, gratitude, quotations, and collage, and reading journal at least twice a month.~~

Community

~~Run a 5k for a charity.~~
~~See my little from Big Brothers & Sisters 2-3 times a month.~~
~~Donate to every sponsorship for charity my friends take part in.~~

Personal

~~Try at least 3 times to mend a relationship.~~
~~Not leave drawers and cabinet doors open.~~
Go to Houston ten times this year to visit friends and family. (7/10) FAIL
~~Be more organized.~~ (Blog post to come on how I’ve become more organized)

Question: How have you made your life better in 2010?

2010 in Review

Linda — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 20:24:02 +0000

It’s that time of year again! I share with you my personal recap of 2010. This year was much better than 2009 (which was much worse than my 2008). It was a year of recovery and regaining balance. I feel very fondly of 2010 but I’m ready to embrace 2011. Bring it!

Note: All links open in a new window.

January 2010

Rung in the new year with Alan, Jen, and friends.
Started a book club.
I finally organized my books.
An old high school and college classmate randomly invited me to Gourdough’s. I’ve since had 13 of their donuts.
Made a cooking video with my mom. Significant because it’s the most popular youtube video I’ve posted with over 10,000 views.

Celebrating New Year’s Eve

February 2010

Will came to visit from Dallas.
Launched a separate food blog.
Sent out Valentine cards and socks.
Had a Valentine’s Date with Alan at Joe DiMaggio’s and received beautiful flowers from Cindy and a lovingly abusive voice mail from Jon.
Progressive meal in Houston that took us to three restaurants for one meal.
Organized a trip to San Antonio to eat a 42 inch pizza.
Spotted a car hoarder. This blog entry got a lot of Austin search hits.
First real book club meeting. Discussed The Shack.
Despite all of the above, it was still a tough month.

March 2010

Watched An Education by myself.
Had a crawfish broil.
Went to Austin’s first annual Bacon Takedown!
Participated in a food blogger’s workshop, called TechMunch during SXSW.
Celebrated two years with Alan.

Crawfish Boil

April 2009

Saw Anthony Bourdain speak!!!
Went to Houston for my daddy’s birthday.
I piped my first cake (disaster) and saw the famed albino squirrel at the University of Texas.
Posted my first video blog.

May 2010

Made my first lasagna.
Learned to be more careful. More specifically, not to roam gas stations at night.
Treated Alan and myself to a date with Conan.
I ate a double down.
Austin Wine Festival with Brittany.

The back of Conan

June 2010

If a June night could talk,
it would probably boast
it invented romance.
– Bern Williams

Went canoeing for the first time.
Moved out of my 2 bedroom apartment which I shared with Brandi and into a 1 bedroom by my lonesome. Meanwhile, Brandi moved to Dallas for culinary school.
Started a weekly writing exercise with my best friend.
Celebrated Brittany’s birthday at a bingo hall.
I ran into the same cat, dog, and mouse that I had previously first seen in San Francisco the year prior.
Saw Anthony Bourdain speak for the second time this year. Also had the pleasure of meeting him. And touching his tricep.

July 2010

Celebrated Fourth of July poolside and downtown.
Seriously started to write letters and my pen pals actually wrote back.
Hosted a girls’ weekend. Alex and Hillary drove in from Houston and San Angelo and we ate, drank, and were merry.
Celebrated my 27th birthday with two celebrations. An one-on-one date at a fabulous new sushi restaurant and then a group birthday with a handful of friends.
Jon who flew down and was able to make it to my birthday dinner, was in town an extra day and we spent all day eating, drinking, and being merry.

Jon and Me at my Birthday Dinner

August 2010

Participated in VEDA and met some wonderful people.
I vlogged my scoliosis scar which was a difficult feat for me.
I had my heart broken by someone dear to me.
Participated in an attempt to set a world record of most amount of people icing cupcakes at one time.
Finished my 21st book of 2010 : A Man Without a Country. One of my favorites.
Went to Houston to celebrate Aishah’s 27th birthday.

Aishah’s 27th Birthday

September 2010

Alan took me to see Joe Rogan!
Went to the wedding of Alan’s childhood friends.
Finished Reading Cook’s Tour by Antony Bourdain. My 28th book of 2010.
Made Bucatini All’ Amatriciana , my favorite recipe of the year.

Me & Joe Rogan

October 2010

I planned and organized a regional conference for work.
My dude turned 26! We celebrated for over a week.
Tried my first absinthe.
My half sister whom I haven’t seen in over ten years found me on Facebook.
Dressed up as a cop for Halloween.
Auditioned for a travel reality TV show after receiving an email from a casting director. I took Neville as possible partner and he totally outshone me.
A close friend’s brother died unexpectedly. Being with her has been a top priority whenever I’m in Houston. I’ve grown deeper in love for and with her.
Tried out Breakfast Klub, a culinary highlight in 2010.

November 2010

Voted!
Went to Austin’s first trailer park food festival.
I posted a blog post everyday in November as part of Nablopomo.
Walked Race for the Cure with Brittany and raised over 500 dollars for breast cancer research.
Saw Louis C.K. thanks to lovely boyfriend.
Saw old friends in Houston over Thanksgiving.
I listed 100 things I am thankful for.
Sent out Thanksgiving Day cards
Joined the Sketchbook Project.

Brittany & Me at Race for the Cure

December 2010

Participated in Reverb10.
Road trip to Oklahoma! Why Oklahoma? To cross off another state.
Attended annual Christmas Party for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America with my little and her cousin. This is our third year in attendance!
Had hot pot on Christmas day twice. Lunch with Mary Ellen and her mom and her brother, and dinner with my own family. I did exactly this last year for Christmas!
Tomorrow’s plan is to party on a rooftop downtown in celebration of a new and fresh year. A stretch Hummer may have been rented.

Annual Christmas Party with my Little

That was my year! I’m happy to have shared it with you and have your support, comments, and readership. It means an awful lot to me. Thank you!

Question: What are five highlights from your 2010?

Wordless Wednesday – Oklahoma & Texas Road Trip

Linda — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 15:04:04 +0000

2010 Resolutions Progress Report

Linda — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:54:26 +0000

photo credit

The end of the year is nearing and although I’ve failed several of my resolutions, I’m pleased with my overall performance. There is one failure that was still quite rewarding. I wanted to go to Houston 10 times to visit family and friends because in 2009, I was in Houston only 3 times. By the time year ends this year, I would have made it 7 times. That’s more than twice last year. Further demonstration that it doesn’t hurt to make concrete goals even if you come short.

Here is my updated progress report for this year’s resolutions.

Financial

~~Rebuild year’s worth of emergency fund.~~
Transfer over my 401K from my previous job to my Roth IRA.
~~Do my own taxes.~~
Keep outings with my little from Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America on a budget. (So far so good!)

Leisure/Cultural

Continue doing 1 new thing a week. (So far so good!)
Visit a new state from my list. (Next weekend!)
Read 40 books. (36/40)
~~Organize a book club.~~
Be more or less abreast with updates on 202 things in 1001 days. (FAIL.)
Leave the country. (FAIL.)
~~Write 15 letters.~~
Try out 20 new recipes (19/20)
Update movie, gratitude, quotations, and collage, and reading journal at least twice a month. (So far so good.)

Community

~~Run a 5k for a charity.~~
See my little from Big Brothers & Sisters 2-3 times a month. (Mostly good)
Donate to every sponsorship for charity my friends take part in. (So far so good!)

Personal

~~Try at least 3 times to mend a relationship with a family member.~~
~~Not leave drawers and cabinet doors open.~~
Go to Houston ten times this year to visit friends and family. (6/10)
~~Be more organized.~~ (Blog post to come on how I’ve become more organized)

Question: How are you doing on your resolutions?

Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 29)

Linda — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 03:16:32 +0000

1.

Create your own visited map of the United States here.

One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to visit a new state. Well, we’re entering December and I haven’t done one lick of traveling this year. Abysmal since I vacationed twice in 2009 despite being unemployed for 5 months (Bestie gifted me her miles to visit her for one of those trips, but still!). One thing that impedes traveling by car in Texas is that you can drive a full day and still be in Texas. When Cindy emailed me about possibly helping her spend some vacation days, I immediately recruited her as a road trip buddy. We mulled over New Mexico or Oklahoma. Oklahoma won out because the two of us have horrendous sense of direction and it’s just a straight shot to Oklahoma from Interstate 35. Also, it’s a 6 hour drive as opposed to 9 hours. We’ll be road-tripping to Oklahoma on December 10- 13. Can’t wait!

2.

It’s also decided we’re going to eat and drink at Pops. Located on Route 66 and has 500 soda pop flavors. I am EXCITED!

3.

I told you in last week’s 7 quick takes, how I was late in the game in discovering This American Life. Well, my last night in Austin, Kim sent me a TAL episode about break ups and we listened to it simultaneously while online. It morphed into this virtual date of listening to sad break up songs just because. It felt very much like that Celine Dion’s All By Myself scene from Bridget Jone’s Diary. Except better because it was with a friend and was more funny than sad.

Me:
Seriously, where’s the wine?

Kim:
Oooh girl, it’s not even a wine song. It’s a tequila song.

4.

Tomorrow, I’m meeting up with the Kim for food and movie. I’m not sure where we’re eating yet but we’re watching Love & Other Drugs. Kim sent me a teaser interview that I surprisingly enjoyed. Anne Hathaway is adorable and my notion that Jake’s gay is wearing off.

Also, Kim told me that in another interview, they asked Jake what his favorite love song is. His answer: Willow’s Whip My Hair. A crush seed has been planted from that answer alone.

5.

I was under the impression that Texas trees do not do that pretty orange autumn thing and typically, they don’t. But this pretty tree stands outside my apartment. It’s kind of orangey right? I’m counting it.

Anyway, it’s a pretty view that greets me when I walk out of my apartment.

6.

Because I do not have internet access in Houston, I totally wrote yesterday’s blog post, today’s blog post, and tomorrow’s blog post ahead on Wednesday and scheduled them out. Magic!

7.

I met up with Alan on Wednesday before the work day to do our see you after the holidays hugs and kisses when he surprised me with an early Christmas gift. :) He upgraded my camera.

Question: What is on your Christmas wish list?

Austin Race for the Cure Pictures

Linda — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:40:52 +0000

Brittany and I walked Race for the Cure today. This is my 2nd time doing this race, and my 2nd time doing a 5k ever. Races do not appeal to me. I’m pretty much the most physically inactive person I know but I can’t wait to start doing this race every year. Seeing a big chunk of the city uniting and wearing their pink is awesome and inspiring. Adults, children, teenagers, babies, and even dogs jogged and marched in celebration and memory of their love ones. It’s a beautiful and hopeful vision. See for yourself below. I especially love the first and last photo.

P.S. Just a friendly reminder, there is still time to donate!

Question: How were you productive today?

Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 25)

Linda — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:40:56 +0000

1.

I took a small break from blogging and it was wonderful. I vegged out more and may have gotten addicted to Rock Band 3.

2.

Holidays are around the corner and I’m making my “who I need to shop for” list. This year I want to try to give more experience based gifts and less stuff. Experiences result in more happiness and less materials will also mean less waste. I’ve always known this but am recently reminded of some of the best memories I have with friends are experience based gifts. Taking Jessica to Renaissance Festival for her birthday. Jessica and Brandi taking me to Seaworld. Concert tickets. Broadway shows… This year for my little’s birthday, I took her to Austin Park & Pizza and she loved it. Last year I gave her Hannah Montana crap that she’s long since lost.

3.

Just finished reading my 32nd book of the year. Chuck Palahniuk’s Diary. I love Palahniuk but only mildly like Diary. It just wasn’t as engaging as I hoped.

An excerpt:

“Everything is a self-portrait. A diary. Your whole drug history’s in a strand of your hair. Your fingernails. The forensic details. The lining of your stomach is a document. The calluses on your hand tell all your secrets. Your teeth give you away. Your accent. The wrinkles around your mouth and eyes.

Everything you do shows your hand.

Peter used to say, an artist’s job is to pay attention, collect, organize, archive, preserve, then write a report. Document. Make your presentation. The job of an artist is just not to forget.”

4.

One of my new year’s resolutions is to read 40 books this year. 8 more to go! Crap, it’s crunch time. Less Rock Band, more reading.

5.

There’s been a really obvious trend to this last week. Maybe it’s because I watched season 1 Gossip Girl marathon style. How I Met Your Mother had a recent episode highlighting the fact that girls share too many details and the discomfort it gives men. My coworker was telling me how she doesn’t know how her parents make it because her mom shares everything much to her dad’s discomfort. My bff was telling me about an conversation that she and her husband were having with their neighbors. The men think that the women talk too much. My girlfriends tell me so many tiny details about everything and guys are more closed-mouth. When girls talk about break-ups, they truly just break it down. When my guy friends go through break ups, I noticed they rarely ever break it down. In short, women thrive on the chatter and gossip and men abhor it. I used to think it was a stereotype. I’ve now reconsidered.

6.

Going out for Halloween tomorrow. I love gawking at costumes downtown. My costumes the last three years have been documented on the blog.

2009

2008

2007

7.

I bought my Halloween costume on a whim this year. And even typing that makes me feel compelled to tell you that all of my girly bits are covered. I feel compelled though because I’ve noticed there’s a lot of judging of the sexy costumes as skanky and slutty and my costume has a garter belt. And fishnets. So its a little risqué. We (women) are always so worried about appealing skanky and slutty and cheap that we tiptoe around. I don’t know how many times I’ve asked my girlfriends if my miniskirt is too short or panicked because I forgot to pack a cardigan in my overnight bag to cover bare arms. Even when it’s 100 something degrees outside. I’m starting to feel a little defiant. A slut is someone who sleeps around indiscriminately. Showing a little arm and leg with a costume and being confident enough to do so is not an accurate indicator of what one does in one’s bedroom. I am wearing my dang fishnets.

Question: How do you celebrate Halloween?

Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 20)

Linda — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:06:51 +0000

1.

It’s been one of those weeks at work. You know, where it’s going by SO slowly and at the same time you can’t believe it’s Friday already and still have a mountain of stuff to do before a weekend work event in exactly 7 days. Panic!!

2.

Dates during the week make the week go by faster. Work’s been supremely busy this week and will continue to be so til after next weekend so it was nice to have a home cooked meal by Deesh and Bing on Monday, a delicious seafood meal on a rainy day with my my man on Wednesday, and a date by my lonesome yesterday. I went to see Easy A on my own. Friend date, boyfriend date, date with myself. Good balance, no?

3.

What’s he thinking about? Football? Fantasy football? Where’s our dessert? Ultimate Fighter episode on the DVR? That he wishes date night was every night? All good guesses. :)

4.

The aforementioned dessert was too pretty not to share.

5.

I finished reading Anthony Bourdain’s Cook’s Tour this weekend putting my year’s total of finished book at 28. 12 more to go before I reach my new year’s resolution of 40. My favorite exerpt from Cook’s Tour is about the spirit of Vietnam. Currently in the middle of Tim Ferriss’s 4-Hour Work Week, and Eating Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant (Amazon Affliliate links).

6.

A year ago today, Alan surprised me by coming back from Korea about 2-4 months early.

7.

This week’s small indulgences (aside from the dates) include bubble tea, greasy noodles for lunch, pumpkin spice lattes, breakfast burritos, chocolate croissants, and dancing home alone while I clean.

Question: If you could treat yourself to a luxury under 300 dollars right this instant, what would you choose?

Review of Resolutions

Linda — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:03:42 +0000

photo credit

Because an unexamined life is not worth living, here is my progress report for this year’s resolutions.

Financial

* ~~Rebuild year’s worth of emergency fund.~~
* Transfer over my 401K from my previous job to my Roth IRA.
* ~~Do my own taxes.~~
* Keep outings with my little from Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America on a budget. (So far so good!)

Leisure/Cultural

* Continue doing 1 new thing a week. (So far so good!)
* Visit a new state from my list. (Hmm, it’s not looking good.)
* Read 40 books. (The count is at 24)
* ~~Organize a book club. (If you’re in Austin, Texas and are interested email me. First meeting is scheduled for 1/31/2010.~~
* Be more or less abreast with updates on 202 things in 1001 days. FAIL.
* Leave the country. (Not looking good.)
* ~~Write 15 letters.~~
* Try out 20 new recipes (15/20)

sausage and rice
beef stroganoff (fail)
honey and garlic drumsticks
lasagna
Apple Dews
new recipe for meatloaf
marinara sauce
spinach quiche
bacon and cheese quiche
coffee jello
mango pork potstickers
shrimp fried rice (new recipe)
garlic noodles
meringue cookies
smashed avocados and potatoes

* Update movie, gratitude, quotations, and collage, and reading journal at least twice a month. (So far so good.)

Community

* Run a 5k for a charity. (November?)
* See my little from Big Brothers & Sisters 2-3 times a month. (Mostly good)
* Donate to every sponsorship for charity my friends take part in. (So far so good!)

Personal

* ~~Try at least 3 times to mend a relationship with a family member.~~
* ~~Not leave drawers and cabinet doors open. (I don’t know how this bad habit started!)~~
* Go to Houston ten times this year to visit friends and family. (4/10)
* Be more organized. (Blog post to come on how I’ve become more organized)

Question: How are you doing on your resolutions?

Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 14)

Linda — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:36:45 +0000

1.

So I mentioned my morning routine in yesterday’s VEDA video blog but I had originally planned on unveiling my new personal project as a Quick Take and link my friend Martin. So, as an excuse to plug a friend (haha!), I’ll mention it again anyway. In August I started a 10 week personal project called The Artist’s Way. As part of the Artist’s Way, I will be writing 3 stream of consciousness pages in my journal every morning before I go on with the day. I first read about it on Martin’s blog but though I was slightly intrigued, I was not motivated to follow suit. When Alex visited me a few weeks ago, she gave me The Artist’s Way as a birthday gift so I took it as a sign to go ahead and embark. So far, it’s painful. I won’t lie. Today’s morning pages I ran out of things to talk about and kept writing, “I’m sleepy. I don’t want to do this. I’m going to Houston!!” Over and over again.

2.

I haven’t danced or witness a dance circle since middle school. Dance circles were ALL the rage in middle school. Mainly because I went to a private Catholic school and the circle prevented the nuns from seeing the freaking going on in the middle of the circle. Not very wholesome, my middle school. However! I witnessed my first dance circle as an adult and it was pretty wholesome! I noted a fun phenomenon. If you build a decently sized dance circle, it will invite strangers to join your little dance party. If you build it, dancers will come. It’s true. Anyway, here’s my video proof. The preview screen shot is of my man, breaking it down.

Youtube Link

3.

Today is my third consecutive day of partaking in VEDA (Vlog Every Day in August), here’s my video for this morning. It was very very rushed. I did it in one take and did not bother editing even slightly. I talk about things I’m bad at.

Youtube Link

4.

I’m going to Houston for the weekend. I’m not quite sure how to pull off this VEDA thing without Internet access. I may rope Kim and Cindy into letting me use their Internet and also starring in a vlog! I haven’t told them yet…Hoping they won’t see this blog post til after I call them later today. I always love my weekends in Houston. Good food, good people, mommy hugs. Good for my soul. I also get to add to the 4 restaurants already backlogged for my food blog.

5.

Current book: A Man without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut.

Random excerpt: “The biggest truth to face now – what is probably making me unfunny now for the remainder of my life – is that I don’t think people give a damn whether the planet goes on or not. It seems to me as if everyone is living as members of Alcoholics Anonymous do, day by day. And a few more days will be enough. I know of very little people who are dreaming of a world for their grandchildren.”

6.

One of my 2010 resolutions is to read 40 books. Yesterday I finished Who Moved My Cheese?, bringing up my total finished books to 20. Yeah, I’m behind. I hope to finish A Man Without a Country and I’ll grab a couple of books off my bookshelf for Houston. Feeling the pressure!

7.

Man, the last really good year I had in terms of New Years Resolutions is 2008. I made 17 whopping goals and completed them all but 2 (the one about the passport isn’t crossed out but I did complete it!). In 2009 I made 17 resolutions and met only 3. This year, I’m on track to complete 13 (not counting the books) out of 20. I guess that’s not bad but being on track doesn’t quite mean I’ll make the cut.

Curious Notions » resolutions 2010

2010 Resolutions Final Progress Report

Financial

Leisure

Community

Personal

Question: How have you made your life better in 2010?

2010 in Review

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

April 2009

May 2010

June 2010

July 2010

August 2010

September 2010

October 2010

November 2010

December 2010

Question: What are five highlights from your 2010?

Wordless Wednesday – Oklahoma & Texas Road Trip

2010 Resolutions Progress Report

Financial

Leisure/Cultural

Community

Personal

Question: How are you doing on your resolutions?

Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 29)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Question: What is on your Christmas wish list?

Austin Race for the Cure Pictures

P.S. Just a friendly reminder, there is still time to donate!

Question: How were you productive today?

Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 25)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

2009

2008

2007

7.

Question: How do you celebrate Halloween?

Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 20)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Question: If you could treat yourself to a luxury under 300 dollars right this instant, what would you choose?

Review of Resolutions

Question: How are you doing on your resolutions?

Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 14)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Question: What’s going on with you?